| An Old Life Anew; Open | |
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| Topic Started: Oct 5 2017, 03:09 AM (1,001 Views) | |
| GrimRPer | Oct 5 2017, 03:09 AM Post #1 |
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"I died once. But my death was necessary for me to remember everything. The truth of my kind, and the truth of my own past." It has been a while, since Nova has holed herself up in her room. And one day, she left a note seeking help. That note was gone now, and those who helped her made sure to not tell anyone about where she was, what happened, the best clue was "Nova is gone". Where to? How? Until when? All those questions were responded with a "Dunno" or "Don't know". And for a week since that day, she has been resting a lot in her room, regaining her strength, but now she was out, calling herself "Kaede", the human form that overwrote the kid she used to be. The dojo was a bit noisy earlier, there was a group training, but even the she only slacked at a corner, using her time to meditate and piece her memories together further. But once those students left, she borrowed a broom and got up, going to the center of the room and practicing with it as if it were a spear. |
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| bonniecanuck | Oct 6 2017, 11:41 AM Post #2 |
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Bonnie Bushi
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Edie walked into the dojo, bowing in as she always did, with a naginata in her hand. Once the KHS group practice had ended she found it prudent to go work on naginata or other martial arts in her own time. By doing this she had a way to keep balance in her martial arts training, and could keep up her regimen and skills in those arts. She didn't necessarily follow such a schedule to a letter, since there was only so much she could do and she still had running and horse riding as part of her physical routine, but whatever she did at any time, she made sure to devote herself to it in the moment. "Hmm?" She caught wind of the person who was already inside doing their own routine, using a broom as their weapon. This was a bit unusual - while sometimes the dojo had anywhere between one to a small group of people beside her in it when she was using it, nobody really practiced in such a manner. In any case, she had been thinking about doing a workout routine suited for herself. Intensive happouburi warmups, followed by engi form training. Usually she'd be doing these with another person, but with an analytical, aware mind like hers, she would also be suited well enough to self-analyse and critique her own work. Sometimes, if someone suitable could be called upon, they would work on drills, particularly shikake ouji attack-and-defense drills, or, in even some instances, sparring. Would this necessarily work with this other person though? They didn't seem to be following the art of naginata, and she wondered whether her routines would be right for them. She wasn't sure as she sat down on the floor to meditate and bow. |
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| GrimRPer | Oct 6 2017, 09:00 PM Post #3 |
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Clearly there were flaws in her style, too many openings even, but there was a sort of harmony to every move, almost as if it was a dance, ignoring Edie's presence. Nova-Kaede had her training to focus on. She needed to gain more experience in combat, if she hoped to one day be useful. "I don't want to hold anyone back again! If I can heal, I can fight too! I'd rather be a Combat Medic than just a priest that stays in the back while everyone fights!" Her thoughts pushed her on and, after a while, she stopped and brought the broom down, as if to sweep the floor. Her eyes setting upon Edie, pondering if the girl has come to practice as well, and maybe, just maybe, they could train together. |
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| bonniecanuck | Oct 7 2017, 09:23 AM Post #4 |
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Bonnie Bushi
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Finishing her mokuso and bows, Edie couldn't help but notice that the other in the dojo was watching her. She looked at her. This wasn't someone that she had seen once before, not just in the dojo but in the school as a whole. Is this a new student? she thought. What a way to be introduced... She got back up. Facing the other girl in shizentai, she bowed. It was a courtesy bow as opposed to the normally shallow bows used in rei. "Good afternoon. I expect that you are here to do your own workout?" It was a bit too direct and on the nose, but given where they were, it probably was best to get that out of the way before anything else was exchanged. "I wasn't expecting anybody to be in here now, but it's absolutely no problem for me. But I can leave if you'd like." She looked at what she had in her hand. She wondered whether the girl was practicing naginata, as it looked more like she was using a spear, so she wasn't sure if what they were doing was much the same. |
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| GrimRPer | Oct 7 2017, 11:40 AM Post #5 |
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In an equally courteous bow to Edie, she responded "Fancy meeting you here in this fair afternoon. You are partially correct in assuming I have come for my own workout, however I have also come seeking a challenger.". This girl's speech pattern was different from who she was before, and even the voice... But who is she? And with a friendly smile, she introduced herself as: "Call me Kaede. Just Kaede. You are welcome to stay, spar with me or do your own workout session. Who knows, maybe I could follow you." |
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| bonniecanuck | Oct 7 2017, 12:00 PM Post #6 |
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Bonnie Bushi
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"Challenger, huh?" Edie was taken slightly aback by the suddenness of this demand. "I've only just arrived and you're asking me to fight. Still, I suppose it's going to be alright. If you do wish to, though, I do suggest you use a different weapon instead," she continued as she frowned at the broom in the girl's hand. She inclined her head to a naginata that was conveniently placed at the wall of the dojo close to them. She had no idea who had left it there - it was likely one of the school rental ones, and she took inventory of the three or four she owned on her own so she knew she wasn't missing anything. Did it matter though? She set the naginata down as she went through her stretches and warmups. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kaede," she said in between her breaths and silent counts. "You can call me Edie. I'm looking forward to working with you in this time." Finally finishing the last twists and stretches, Edie bent down to pick her naginata up again. "Won't you join me for the next part? You can't get into a match without loosening up and getting your motions right." With that, she moved from shizentai into chudan, and moved forward into a fast-paced hayasuburi rapid-strike routine - a technique that was hardly if ever employed but something she had learned as a highly intensive means of building her endurance and strength while getting her form straight in preparation for the main workout. "HAYASUBIRI...HAJIME!" Edie launched into fast-paced motions, with empty men strikes and her sharp voice counting upwards punctuating each step. "ICHI! NI! SAN! SHI! GO! ROKU! SHICHI! HACHI! KYUU! JUU!" It was a tiring, rigorous exercise, but it was something that really got her into the swing and mood of the moment. |
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| Corruption | Oct 7 2017, 09:22 PM Post #7 |
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A seemily normal lad entered the dojo. He was focused on Kaede, but did not ignore Edie. He was blond, caucasion, with a faint scar on his right cheek. His eyes were slight brown, and his skin was tanned a dark shade. However, the tan was faded at the top, as if he got it while wearing short sleeve tops and t-shirts that were of sligtly different length sleeves. He looked around and asked them "Mind if I join you?" |
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| GrimRPer | Oct 7 2017, 11:18 PM Post #8 |
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"I will be honest: the challenger wasn't meant to be you initially. But Then came to mind it would be a good idea for us to practice then. No need to go all out, of course, but neither to go too easy.", and with that Kaede went to swap her broom with a wood naginata that could be used for their session. Letting Edie do her warmups, she got a feel of the practice weapon they were to use. "Ah, sure I'll exercise with you, Edie. Would be awful if I disappointed you on our first training together!", without hesitation she would follow her routine, imitating the motions as she observed, getting a good feel of her new body. It was then when someone else asked if their participation was allowed. At this moment, Kaede was serious again. Nothing against him, she was psychologically getting into the mood for a serious training. Her eyes going his way for a moment as she replied "I see no problem, what do you say, Edie?" |
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| bonniecanuck | Oct 8 2017, 05:21 AM Post #9 |
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Bonnie Bushi
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"Whatever opportunities you'd like to take, I can take them too. Regardless of what ends up, I hope that we do well for ourselves and for each other." Finishing her exercise, Edie stood at four metres' length from Kaede in shizentai, ready to begin. Before she could though, she looked over to the voice and the person that had arrived at the door. She recognised who it was when he walked in. "I don't think it'd be a problem, though I'm not sure how we can make it work for three people. I hope you won't at least mind while we take some time to spar between us first." She offered a helpful smile indicating that she was doing what she could to work things out for both of them. "Otagai ni rei!" The command to bow to each other. Edie gave a shallow 15 degree bow, her body straight and her head slightly bent down without compromising her sight ahead. "Onegaishimasu." An invitation to please have a good and proper training session. Then a swift motion into sidestep and the position of chudan-no-kamae. She was ready. |
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| Corruption | Oct 8 2017, 07:09 PM Post #10 |
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The boy smiled. "I don't mind. I am Tony." He stepped back and go tone of the training equipment to get a naginata for warming up. His warm-up would seem a bit odd. First he would try to find the balance of his weapon. That is one very important things people often forget. It would be followed by swings of different types. The routine he would go through would show his style was based on having a relaxed body able to respond quickly. However, while he was doing this, his seemingly focused face could be betrayed by his eyes watching the girls in his peripheral vision. |
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| GrimRPer | Oct 8 2017, 08:36 PM Post #11 |
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"Alright, Tony. Step back for the time being.", and thus Kaede took a deep breath, taking a deep breath and standing straight, having a proper distance from Edie before they were to do the honors. With an equally shallow bow, Kaede returned the words slightly a second later. Her posture however was... Interesting. She stood straight, her feet together, the practice naginata behind her back, the blade to the ground in an angle. What posture was that?! Who would make the first move? With a gaze set on Edie, she awaited... But not for long. Without announcing, Kaede sprinted forth with a twirl to strike at Edie's side, and would prepare to jab the other end at her stomach soon after, giving a small opening in a quite harmonious movement. |
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| bonniecanuck | Oct 8 2017, 09:41 PM Post #12 |
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Bonnie Bushi
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Edie glanced at Tony again. He seemed to look quite familiar, but exactly to whom he bore a resemblance to she couldn't quite put her finger on. Not that it mattered or that she was judging in any case. She was sure that she had seen him around the school once or twice anyway, but only being able to see him up close like this perhaps was what made her acknowledge the similarities with that other person. Nonetheless, she didn't linger on it once Kaede had entered her stance. This was a highly unorthodox stance that was never used with a naginata. If anything else it seemed that the girl was using a stance made for using a lance or a spear, which really indicated that this wasn't the art for her. Her launching of the first strikes almost caught Edie off-guard, but she saw and moved accordingly. She stepped back in response to the first strike, and performed a furikaeshi hand switch to hold it off. With a posture that had the naginata guarding her chest as well as her hip, she held off both of those attacks. Probably should have put bogu on, she thought to herself. Dealing with a completely different style of fighting like this would mean that she would very likely fail to anticipate a movement and probably get hurt if she wasn't ready to take it. She went through the motions of furikaeshi again to place the naginata back on her right, and as she did launched a furigae strike on Kaede's head. "MEN!" |
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| GrimRPer | Oct 8 2017, 10:20 PM Post #13 |
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With both hands gripping firmly, Kaede didn't let her confidence get the best of her. She knew Edie was experienced, and the way that Kaede's own move was countered proved it. Instead, she blocked at the right time, just so Edie's attack would slide along what she assumed to be the shaft, open hands now holding the weapon in place as the only thing keeping it from falling were her index, middle and thumb, grazing briefly at Edie's weapon. Crouching and sliding her back foot around, she would twirl in an attempt to get behind Edie, and as her defense was about to come to an end, the next attack would soon start: the naginata was brought around, and as Kaede came to stand straight behind her opponent, she held the Naginata at waist level, pointing upwards to Edie's head. But there was a mistake... During her motion, close to Edie's side, she opened her guard, hesitating in the move. |
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| bonniecanuck | Oct 14 2017, 03:49 AM Post #14 |
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Bonnie Bushi
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Being taught how to read movements and take advantage of openings, Edie saw her opportunity and made for it. She performed waki gamae, turning the naginata away while she pivoted to make her move. Then, at the right measure, she made her move. "DOU!" She executed a perfect waist-level strike, swinging the naginata back around forward to strike at the side of the dou, the chestpiece of the bogu - or at least, if Kaede had been wearing it. Instead she held back and left the blade to narrowly touch her, so the full force of the naginata didn't knock into Kaede and cause a serious injury. That being done, she followed through by stepping back and returning to kamae. Whatever moves Kaede had next, Edie would be ready for them. |
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| GrimRPer | Oct 14 2017, 04:49 AM Post #15 |
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Even if it was a slight contact and a kiai, Kaede knew what that meant: she left an opening for Edie, and Edie put said opening for good use. After a distance has been built between them, Kaede touched her side, giggling playfully. "Good, that was good! I liked it! Guess it is time to change plans.", and then she changed her stance, holding it parallel to herself on a hand, while another was in a sort of prayer. Now she played defensively, watching and waiting, breathing slowly and calmly. At first she would use of evasive maneuvers if attacked, and rely on parrying and encountered after a few attacks. |
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| bonniecanuck | Oct 14 2017, 10:36 AM Post #16 |
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Bonnie Bushi
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Edie nodded in acknowledgement and thanks as she secured her grip on the naginata again. It seemed that Kaede was looking to ramp things up a little more now, and she could anticipate that given that she seemed to be adopting a stance more focused on defense. She decided to make the opening move for that. She would start simple and generic, going with the tradition furikae overhead strike. It would give her distance and striking ability that would get Kaede to block and afford her to ability to respond quickly to a defensive move she made. All those considerations taken in, she made her move. She stepped forward, raising the naginata over her head, and taking another step brought it down. "MEN!" |
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| Corruption | Oct 14 2017, 02:59 PM Post #17 |
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'Tony' did not say anything, but kept getting used to the Naginata, and warmed up. He paid attention to their styles. Edie seem to be following training, but to be a bit unused to improvisation on her foes parts. She adjusted well. Her calling out "MEN" when she attacked made her sounded like she really hated men, but that was purely chance . . . . right? If not, it was a good way to unnerve male opponates. Kaede knew a style of fighting using lances, but that pose was also one many gamers or fans of different shows and games would know. She also seemed to be getting used to it, as if she had the knowledge, but lacked experiance and training. Interesting Kaede knew other styles of fighting. That one Tony also recognized. Asian, and designed for movement. Considering Edie seemed to be focused on stability, that maybe the right choice, but only if there was no mistakes or hesitation. Edie knew counter moves, and if Kaede could get close enough to attack, then Edie was close enough to counter. |
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| GrimRPer | Oct 15 2017, 12:04 AM Post #18 |
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"Overhead strike, eh?", she thought under her breath, bringing the shaft of her naginata in a swing to parry Edie in a swift move, adding more strength mid-swing to attempt to catch her opponent by surprise and hopefully cause Edie to flinch. Were it to fail, she would return to her previous stance, but were it to succeed... Were the parry to succeed, she would continue her swing and bring it "blade" first to Edie's side, but would make sure to stop an inch from hitting her. There was no need to harm her after all, not when it was a simple sparring match and she was experimenting with ideas. |
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| bonniecanuck | Oct 15 2017, 11:09 AM Post #19 |
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Bonnie Bushi
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Edie caught wind of the movement, and felt her opponent strike against her blade. The sudden power of the upward thrust caused her to stumble as the naginata was knocked aside, and she forced herself to react quickly to keep her grip on the shaft. However, such a move might have brought the weapon into the right place for her to block it. Sensing where such a move might be going, she instinctively lowered the shaft and pivoted to the left, avoiding exposing her side and hopefully letting the blade of Kaede's weapon graze if not miss completely. Would it be enough to stop what was coming? She wasn't so sure. But with the surprise that she had been given, it was probably the best she could do under the circumstances. |
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| GrimRPer | Oct 16 2017, 01:41 AM Post #20 |
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Fortunate for one, unfortunate for the other. Kaede saw her mistake in the direction she swatted Edie's attack a little too late, and soon saw the opening she created disappear as soon as her opponent used the outcome of the clash for defense. But as soon as her attack was blocked, Kaede drew the Naginata back and thrust towards the opposing shoulder, aiming to stop just an inch from hitting. What would follow however? She would go for thrusts, trying to see how well Edie deals with those, and to give her something to relate to the situation: "Imagine my lance is a snake trying to lunge at you, and that you are an agile cat. That might be a good way to visualize this situation.". She laughed, but it was a playful, friendly laugh. |
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