2023-01-11 - Synchronized Fighting Practice
| Title: Synchronized Fighting Practice | |
|---|---|
| Summary: Endo invites Kyouka out to the Rainbow Bridge so he can start teaching her the Nanohite's team attack. | |
| Who: | |
| Where: Rainbow Bridge (Yamanote High City) | |
| OOC - IC Date: 1/11/2023 - Tuesday, Febuary 09, 2016 | |
.***************************** Yamanote High City *****************************.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+ Rainbow Bridge +*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Despite its name, the Rainbow Bridge spends most of its time bone-white,
like an angel's harp carved of driftwood in the dark water of the bay.
Periodically it crosses beneath an island every bit as man-made and
geometrical as the bridge itself, planting pillars to claim it and then
traversing water again. It's visible from a wide variety of angles from the
coastline, forming a hypoteneuse that crosses the bay via Odaiba and, with
the aid of less iconic bridges, permits quick travel from Yamanote to
Shitamachi.
Foot traffic is possible across the bridge, and many visitors dare the long
walk to get a good view of the city on one side, and the sea on the other.
Walking atop a bridge is a poor way to see the bridge itself, of course, but
that is what the Yurikamome elevated train line is for. Slung beneath the
bridge for much of its journey, the fully automated, driverless train gives
a great view of the Rainbow Bridge on its way to Odaiba.
For a few hours every night, this expensive landmark truly lives up to its
name, glowing with different hues depending on the season or holiday.
Rarely, a combination of floodlights makes a genuine rainbow of the bridge,
with deep reds at its foot and violet at its peak. Small, colorfully lit
tugboats and civilian craft float beneath the gleaming bridge, buoyant on
the liquid dream of a starry sky.
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
Its late in the evening, a quiet night on a quiet weekday. About the only spectacular thing happening is the regularly scheduled lightshow thats enveloped the massive bridge that stretches from the main body of Tokyo to the manmade islands of Odaiba. The structure twinkles with a dozen multi-colored lights, moving in a long pattern down its body.
Endo has agreed to meet Kyouka here tonight, and he waits on the long walkway that runs above the road and the railway that hugs the bottom side of the bridge. The boy isnt transformed yet, dressed in a heavy black coat, shirt, and a simple pair of jeans. He hasnt brought any snacks this time, it looks like.
Hes currently leaning against the railing at the side of the bridge, looking out over the water. On the far side of the bay the mass of lights that make up Tokyo are spread out on the horizon, some of their luminescence bleeding into the water nearby.
<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
It's certainly been a bit since Kyouka last got to hang out with Endo, and she readily accepted the invitation. It'd be a nice diversion from her fruitless efforts to search the city for Strike Wolf's creator.
She was dressed as she normally was for the weather, jeans, t-shirt, long-sleeved flannel, and a purple parka and pair of hiking boots that both looked well-worn but importantly were also still warm and comfty. She had her backpack on, so there was at least the potential for snacks on her end.
She was smiling quietly as she watched the lights on the bridge as she rode over, and drawing deeply of the nighttime air as she approached Endo on the walkway. She waved a hand in greeting as she got reasonably near, "Yo, Endo-san! It's been a minute. How've you been?"
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
"Hey, Kyouka-chan." Endo calls back, waving his hand in the girls direction once she makes her presence known. The boy leans away from the railing, turning toward his friend.
"I'm alright," He replies cheerfully. "Been busy. I had to move to a different store while my usual one gets fixed." He refers probably to the incident with Shadow Stern, and the destruction of the konbini near the dark burger.
"How've you been?" He asks in return, hands stuffing into pockets to keep warm once he's finished his greeting. "Are you holding up okay?"
<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Kyouka makes a sympathetic face as Endo explains the trouble with his store. "Oof, that sounds rough Bet you gotta get used to a new routine and a new store layout and all that in the meantime, huh?"
She shrugs a little as Endo asks how she's doing. "Eh, chugging along. Some good days, some bad. Learning a lot more about... all of this." She gestures vaguely. "... including that there's an even scarier version of the ogre we fought that one time."
Definitely one to put in the 'bad' column.
"But yeah, I'm looking forward to doing some training," she says with a grin. "What're we working on tonight?"
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
"It's mostly the same, but it's a longer way to go." Endo explains, offering a small smile afterward. "But, it should only be for a little bit."
"There are more of those?" He asks about the ogre. "I guess that makes sense. There's a lot of youma, they don't ever seem to run out of them." A somber nod follows, the boy adding: "I hope it wasn't too bad. But you're here, so I guess you managed."
"But for tonight..." He begins, "I was thinking we'd work on fighting together. We all have a technique we use--I thought someone should probably teach it to you. Or, you know, the general idea of it."
<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Kyouka nods, "Oh, yeah, I can see how the extra travel time would be a hassle." She's no stranger to getting used to new places, herself.
Kyouka just nods when Endo asks about there being more. "Yeah... Ivy's hopefully got that particular source of ogres taken care of, though, so hopefully we won't have to worry about them again." She lets out a short, mirthless bark of a laugh when Endo says he hopes it wasn't too bad. "Yeah, uh..."
She glances off at the bay for a moment to collect her thoughts. "... this ogre can snatch the Pure Hearts out of people. Including magical girls." After a moment she adds, "And magical boys, I'm guessing."
She takes a deep breath and nods. "But yeah, I made it," she says with a firmness in her voice.
But she lights up as Endo describes what they're working on. "Hey, cool! That sounds awesome. Since I'll be a magical girl for longer than I thought, it'll be handy if I can work more effectively with everyone."
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
"Ah. That sounds bad." Endo offers to the idea of stealing hearts. "I'll try to watch out for them in the future." He sounds somewhat concerned, though it passes soon enough.
"Well, I hope you'll hang around with us for a while longer," Endo notes, "I mean, you've been really helpful, and all." Another nod and Endo clears his throat, pointing upward. "Let's go up to the top of the bridge, we can practice there."
A glance is cast along the empty walkway, making sure its clear before Endo digs into a pocket and grasps the purple gem he keeps there. There's the usual flash of light, an ugly violet that wraps around him briefly before leaving him clad in his knights armor.
He begins floating upward after, gliding up along the wiring that hangs at the side of the bridge. He trusts Kyouka to follow in her own way; the rails make it easy enough to do so, even if shes not capable of flight yet.
<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
"It was," says Kyouka, looking a bit concerned herself. "... but thankfully with everyone pulling together, we were able to defeat her."
Or at least, everyone else was able to defeat the ogress.
She blinks a bit as Endo hopes she'll hang around longer. "Yeah... I can't remember, did I tell you about Strike Wolf?" She certainly hasn't gone blabbing about it, but she has been much less reluctant to discuss it. She does smile a bit when Endo declares that she's been helpful. "Glad to hear I'm doing some good, at least."
She nods when Endo points up, and simply brings her arm up across her chest, wrist by her cheek so the sleeve of her arm pulls down a bit to reveal Strike Wolf's standby form, a five-sided gem on a black leather bracelet. "Strike Wolf, set up!" In a burst of surging, bright purple energy, she's left standing in her own barrier jacket of shorts, tank top, vest, visor, and amored boots and gauntlets.
She crouches, the briefest of spell circles appearing at her feet before she rockets upwards after Endo. A light purple shimmer ripples over her as she runs up along the rails and cabling that hold up the bridge, even on completely vertical inclines.
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
Once Endo reaches the top of one of the supports he stops, feet floating down gently to touch the cool metal of the spherical column. He appears to have at least prepared a little: There's a small manequin nearby, a frowny face painted on it. Probably the target dummy for the nights exercises.
"I don't think you told me much about Strike Wolf." Endo notes to Kyouka when she arrives, adding: "But I'd like to hear it."
He turns toward the target after, adding: "Oh, and this'll be our practice dummy. We're just going to work on lining up and timing our attacks tonight. You and I'll probably work well together, since we're both close-range fighters."
<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Kyouka manages to reach the top with a lot of jumps and very improbable wallrunning. The magic of devices! She makes one final leap and lands on the top of the bridge in a tidy crouch before standing back up again.
She starts to do a few stretches as she explains, "Oh, well... see, Strike Wolf isn't technically mine. He was being stolen by a mage and sent out a cry for help. I heard it and managed to rescue him. We're looking for his creator so I can return him." She stops stretching for a moment to look to her gauntlet. "... he wasn't finished being built, so... I hope once we get him back to his creator he can do even more good for the world."
She looks to the dummy and chuckles a little bit at the frowny face painted on it. "Yeah, that makes sense. Strike Wolf and I have tried getting some longer range attacks to work, but so far no luck."
She steps up next to Endo, "But hey, we'll adapt, right buddy?"
<Affirmative.>
"So what's first?"
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
"Oh, I see. Fallen Stern was stolen too, that's how I found him. But, his owner is...uh, dead, I think. He was in storage for a long time." Endo nods. "It's good that you're trying to return Strike Wolf, though. I hope his owner is a good person."
He turns to the target once again. "Well, usually Nanoha and Fate start off by blasting. Then Lera and I follow up in sort of an...X shape." He traces a line through the air with a finger. "Mostly, you want to try to be fast. So I'll go in, hit it, then you follow up. It's not that exciting when we're using this guy," Endo pats the dummy on the head. "But we can try and get rhythm going."
<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Kyouka remembers something being said at one point about ancient devices... so Fallen Stern's original owner being deceased makes sense. "At least the two of you are able to do some good together now." She nods, "Yeah, me too. I mean..." She looks to Strike Wolf. "... if they weren't, then they wouldn't have made Strike Wolf in a way that would allow us to synchronize like this. Right?"
<Correct. Partner Kyouka is highly compatible.>
She smiles, and then listens to Endo's explanation. "Don't think I've met Nanoha, yet..." she says absently as she thinks that over. "Okay, I see. So coordinated strikes, and I assume the aim is to just... hit with a whole bunch of attacks faster than our target can react to them all?"
She nods and does one final warm-up stretch, and then settles into her ready stance. "With a real target we'd have to worry about them actively trying to evade or put up a defense, huh?"
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
"Yeah, we're a good team. Like you and Strike Wolf, I guess." Endo smiles brightly, floating a few feet backward. He hovers in the space above the bridge, adding: "I'm sure you'll meet her soon. We'll all get together at some point."
"That's right. Just hit them with everything we've got before they get a chance to react. Attacking from all sides, with overwhelming force and speed."
"A real target'll be harder, yeah. But this'll be a good start. I'll go first, and you can follow up when you get an opening."
And he does, lunging forward, delivering a shallow cut across the dummy as he soars past. A quick motion, the blow light enough to leave both the target intact and enough space for Kyouka to come in after.
<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Kyouka smiles at the compliment. "Thanks." And then nods. "Looking forward to it."
The casual use of everyone's names does remind her of something, but she saves that thought for later.
She contemplates her options as she waits for Endo to make his attack. Blasting from afar is simple enough, and dashing in with a sword seems relatively simple to attack and move past, but she's confined to melee strikes, which means she has to get that much closer to her target.
On the other hand, she's relatively fast and nimble, which does work in her favor...
She's already charging up a dash when Endo moves in to make his attack, and surges forward once Endo is clear. Endo went high, so she stays close to the ground, though since this is practice, she checks her speed and only lightly taps the dummy on the chest.
After that she hops back, frowning as she considers. "I need to get used to the speed of everyone's attacks, that was way too much of an opening. And I have to get closer than everyone else since I'm working with melee attacks..." She ponders for a moment. "Strike Wolf, what would you say to coming up with... a less powerful version of Shining Moonlight Strike that we could charge more quickly? Something we could charge while waiting for everyone else to take their attacks?"
<Noted. I will analyze these parameters.>
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
"Yeah, you'll get used to everyone as we work together more. That's part of it." Endo floats along back toward the dummy, taking a stance next to it. "That was a good start, though." An affirmative nod follows.
"We'll go a few more times, just to practice. And then we can arrange for you to work with Fate next time, or Ren, or Lera. Just so you know how everyone moves."
"Okay! Let's go!"
