(Untitled)

[ashestoashes6]

It'd been a while since Rai last went into the Nexus proper--he'd been sticking around the apartments more often than not, half out of a desire for isolation and half out of paranoia. However, he was healed from his encounter with Nebiros physically, and while his speech still lapsed sometimes, he wasn't jumping at shadows (at least during the day

Comments

[opposingsoul]

Vergil, almost always present in the Nexus proper, looks at Rai as he approaches. When it's apparent that Rai is coming to him he closes his book and puts it in a wide pocket inside of his coat. "Rai, hello," he says quietly, nodding to him.

[ashestoashes6]

"Hey," Rai responds easily, sitting down nearby. He's managed to replace his lost glasses, at least, so he's not squinting. "Uhm, if Ren shows up yelling at me...sorry. He's barely been letting me out of his sight lately." Rai grins. Can hardly imagine why.

[opposingsoul]

Vergil chuckles quietly at that and he nods. "Understandable," he says. "Do not worry, it takes far more than that to shake my nerve."

He looks at Rai curiously for a moment longer. "So, are you prepared to learn to defend yourself?" he asks quietly.

[ashestoashes6]

Rai returns the look steadily. "Yes." He needed to learn, he couldn't be dependent on other people to save his ass all the time, and he wasn't going to let himself be put in that position again.

[opposingsoul]

"Then let us walk somewhere else," he says quietly. "Your initial lessons will be simple. Weight, balance, various stances to allow you to maintain control of yourself. It's the later lessons that will become difficult."

He smirks a bit, he's telling a SLIGHT fib there, but what can he say? This is going to be a bit monotonous. Mastery of the self has never been easy, after all.

Poor Rai.

At least you'll get good lessons on how to fight.

[ashestoashes6]

Rai nods, understanding. Of course, he wouldn't put it past Vergil to throw something unexpected in there as well. And it's not like anything else for him has been easy up to this point, either. :D

He'll follow you wherever you decide you want to go, Vergil.

[opposingsoul]

Vergil is already walking off to some area outside of the AV field. He doesn't exactly have much to say, nor does he imagine that Rai is going to speak up. They don't seem to be headed anywhere in particular, as Vergil finally stops in the middle of nowhere and looks at Rai. "This should be good. Now, let's see you throw a punch, I want to see just what I'm working with here," he tells Rai pointedly.

[ashestoashes6]

While Rai didn't fight as a general rule, he'd had to sometimes--growing up an orphan tended to lead to a lot of people trying to kick your ass on the way home, only to be compounded by the fact that Rai had been thought of as a monster by everyone around him, and if he couldn't run away, he'd been forced to fight it out more than a few times, at least until he could make a break for it. He made a fist the proper way, subtly shifting his weight in an attempt to make himself harder to knock over, then waiting for a few moments before lashing out. Nothing that would do him very well in an actual knock-down drag-out brawl, but he never claimed to be a fighter.

[opposingsoul]

Vergil catches his fist in an open hand and he sighs quietly. "You've got a lot of work to do, but at least I don't need to teach you how to make a fist," he says quietly, letting go of Rai's hand. "Your goal is going to be to land a single blow on me before I can block you. That won't be the end of your training, but it will be a point where you can handle yourself well enough against just about any mortal being the multiverse has to offer."

He steps back and looks over Rai. "So how much HAVE you fought before?" he asks curiously.

[ashestoashes6]

"Not much," Rai admits. And then he smiles. "Got my ass kicked most of the time, too. I tried to avoid it whenever possible." And sometimes when it wasn't, as well, but that's another story entirely.

[opposingsoul]

"You know, for a shield you're not much for defense," Vergil observes, his tone just a little more pointed than it probably needs to be. "You're going to be willing to use the knowledge I give you? That's the important part. Power is nothing without the resolve to use it whenever it is required."

[ashestoashes6]

"I was a kid...moreso than I am now," Rai says. "I didn't want to do anything that would alienate me more. Not that it was possible. That doesn't matter now, and it shouldn't have then." His eyes harden, he's all determination. "I want to be able to protect those I care about, no matter what. Myself if I need to. I shouldn't have relied only on my power to do that for me."

Of course, having the power helped...

[opposingsoul]

"Good," he says. "Always remember that. The only thing that you need to rely on is your own ability to keep going. As long as you CAN keep fighting, you won't need anything else."

He steps back and lays the sheathed Yamato on the ground. He takes off his coat next, revealing a vest and the muscular arms of a swordsman beneath it. "I recommend that you take off any of your clothing that you don't absolutely need. Training with weight comes later."

The mun can continue if you really like, but it's likely going to be long and drawn out monotony from here. XD;;

[ashestoashes6]

Since Rai'd walked out without his trenchcoat, wearing only his usual high-necked sleeveless shirt and pants, the only thing he did was to use the hair tie around his wrist to pull his hair into a ponytail from where it hung loose down his back. He wasn't about to take off his glasses--he rather liked being able to see.

[opposingsoul]

Without another word of banter, Vergil starts to instruct Rai the basic principles of combat. He'll keep this up for about three hours, or until Rai asks to stop, whichever comes first.

Welcome to the Sparda School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts, Rai. You're gonna wanna bring a water bottle next time.