Day 44: Sun Room (4th Shift)
As soon as she had the chance, Sheena ninja'd herself out of the cafeteria and away from the conversation she'd been semi-forced to have. She probably could have just clammed up and told the boys to go away, but she'd kind of owed at least Endrance some kind of explanation. It wasn't everyday the embodiment of darkness pops up and delivers a
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But they hadn't met just so they could discuss the gap between reality and imagination, right? Okita dropped one foot back and then pulled the hair tie out from his pocket, gathering his hair up into a high ponytail. With his other foot, he shooed the kitten off back toward the couches to get it out of harm's way. "There's no need to apologize, so long as you're ready to begin. I need to see just what you're capable of, but we can't get too serious or the nurses will intrude. Stand beside me." Solidifying his stance, Okita wrapped his hands around an imaginary sword and he looked to Junpei. "Copy me as best you can - do not try to cover for your mistakes. I need to see what level you're at."
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Once his teacher had pulled his hair back and stopped looking as girly, the teen felt a little better. He could deal with this no problem. So, Okita wanted to see what Junpei could do? The junior was hoping he didn't suck as much as he sometimes thought he did. He was good at fighting, yes, but that didn't mean he was good at fighting the correct way.
Moving to where he was instructed to, Junpei looked the stance over and a little grin came onto his face. At least the first thing he was pretty confident he could do. Sliding a foot forward to better center his weight, Junpei bent his knees just enough to maintain his balance and absorb an incoming blow. His hands came up to hold hs own imaginary sword, though the way his hands were positioned indicated that what he was imagining was not a katana, but something more European in design, with his back shoulder more tense than the other.
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And now to adjust that grip. Okita took Junpei's hands in his own and adjusted his fingers, rounding his hands out to fit around a katana hilt rather than a European sword. After ensuring that his hands were in the right position, Okita again checked his back, making sure it was straight. "Good. Now stand firm."
No sooner had those words left his lips then Okita suddenly pushed with all his weight against Junpei's right side.
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Junpei took in every word Okita said. He needed to pay attention to this. He knew he was a slacker in school, but this was academia and not something remotely as boring as school. This was something he needed. This was something he could be proud of, something he would follow through with if only to feel Chidori smiling that small smile only he had ever seen down on him from the afterlife.
With the adjusted grip, Junpei realized that he needed to be imagining himself with his big-ass katana and not his big-ass bastard sword. He made a mental note to keep that in mind, nodding to his teacher, but only got it half-filed away when suddenly Okita was shoving him.
The junior reacted on instinct, knees absorbing some of the force as he dropped his right shoulder down to gain leverage to push back into Okita. Moving his back foot to the left, he started to pivot toward Okita, bringing his imaginary sword down in a diagonal cut.
Two seconds later, he realized he was probably going to get dogpiled by the staff if he followed through, so he stopped. Immediately, he looked over at the nearest nurses, hoping they weren't in the process of stampeding him. He really didn't want to get sedated when he was going to be hanging our with Evangeline that night.
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Okita lifted one hand to hold Junpei's hands where they were and then looked over his stance - solid, but there was an opening. Tapping Junpei's left shoulder, he looked up at the taller boy and smiled. "Once you have speed on your side, this won't be a problem, but any time you cut down at an enemy, know that you'll be exposing a vital location - here." He tapped Junpei's neck now. Then he moved back, putting his hands behind his back. The nurses seemed to relax when he did that and began going about their business again. "You do seem to have good reflexes, although you'll want to rely less on your strength and size and more on your agility for kenjutsu."
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Paying attention to Okita again, he nodded. Power and stamina were what Junpei used to get through Tartarus and be the S.E.E.S. front line, but maybe he was too used to having Yukari and Minato there to cover for his mistakes, like when he overextended in an attack and ended up on his butt when the damn Shadow dodged. As it was, he was far more experienced in fighting the Shadows than another sword-wielding person. There were only a few Shadows that used swords and they tended to do that pokey thing than the slashy thing.
"Yeah, I'm kinda more of a beatstick than a speedy guy." That was Minato. "Do you know what baseball is, sensei? Cause that's my original basis for using a sword. I've learned a lot through Tartarus runs and having to fight to stay alive, but it all goes back to baseball."
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But Heiji played baseball, too, and he'd somewhat explained it to him. Okita knew it involved swinging? Something like that. They tried to hit the ball. That would definitely explain the desire to put as much strength as possible into an attack though. "I may not understand it, but I see what problems we need to work on. Being a 'beatstick' will not serve you as well here, Junpei-kun. It may have kept you alive so far, but you can avoid greater injury to yourself and others by keeping a tight guard and striking with efficiency and speed."
Okita wasn't sure what a Tartarus run was, but Junpei's experience with fighting for his life would serve him well. It meant Okita could start with him at a higher level, and hopefully push him into sparring faster than he previously thought. It would mean the boy needed some sort of armor or protection without fail, but hopefully their practices would help him improve quickly. "Use your strength when your enemy is obviously weaker; but if he is faster--" Okita sidestepped and swung his imaginary sword diagonally, switching at the last second to bring it back up and thrust forward. "It will do nothing to help you. We will work on improving your speed and accuracy. With it, no matter how strong your opponent is, you will be able to land a hit - and kill when necessary."
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Junpei knew speed and accuracy were his biggest weak points. Maybe if he improved those by even a fraction, it'd make him better more than increasing his strengths would.
"I'm going to spend a lot of time picking myself up off the floor, aren't I?"
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As for Junpei's question? The swordsman laughed, shielding his mouth with the back of his hand. "Yes, I suppose, for the first few lessons you will." Okita was undoubtably faster than Junpei, even if he was shorter. On strength they might have been equal for Okita was not exactly one to rely on that unless he was pushing his blade against another person's in a fight. Putting up his hands, Okita nodded for Junpei to do the same. "Let's test that strength of yours though, hm? Push against my hands - the object is to match me, not overcome."
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Oh. Maybe it was because of the regeneration ability Chidori's life force had given him. That made sense. He wondered if it was still working in this place. Maybe. His ankle didn't bother him remotely as much as it probably should have. Huh.
Junpei set his hands against Okita's after setting his feet and pushed. A test of strength he cold do. Okita was probably pretty strong, so the teen didn't even think that he might be stronger at all. At least, not with Trismegistos practically asleep inside him. His Persona normally gave him strength no sixteen year old boy should have, but wit the wonky things this place did to their Persona, Junpei couldn't count on it.
Still, the boy had a strength that his frame did not convey. It took a moment for the teen to adjust, but he tried his best to match Okita.
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Okita leaned his weight subtly to the left and waited to see how fast it would take for Junpei to adjust. "Relax your shoulders," he said suddenly in a quiet voice. It was obvious to anyone who knew him that he was concentrating, reading Junpei's movements as a teacher should, looking for weaknesses and strengths as he shifted his weight between his hands, waiting for Junpei to follow him.
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"Tch." He reeled himself back in and tried to realign himself. His shoulders relaxed, but only for a short while before they tensed again.
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Okita compensated for Junpei's sudden push, evening the pressure out before slowly switching the pressure to his other hand. Junpei was definitely going to need to work on refining his skills. He had to work on his control as well and his ability to match his opponent - rather ironic, considering who was teaching him. Okita was known for his lack of control when it came to war. He couldn't stop himself from engaging his partner one hundred percent, even if it was just a friendly sparring match. It was partly for that reason that he wasn't allowed to spar the new recruits anymore.
"Feel your opponent's movements," he continued, his voice softening slightly. "If you're too tense, you'll only tire yourself out and lose the advantage in battle. If you can feel how they are going to move, you'll better be able to block and counterattack."
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This time, when Okita shifted the pressure, Junpei was not as quick to respond. Yet, when he did, this time he didn't overcompensate. He wasn't sure which he liked better, even though he knew both were wrong.
Feel my opponent's movements...
Junpei's shoulders started to tense again, but he caught himself. With an irritated expression, he relaxed again. This whole control thing was hella-hard.
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He could feel the tension in the boy's shoulders, it transferred to his palms and the way he pressed against Okita. He was trying hard, however, and after a few moments, Okita hummed quietly in approval. "Can you feel the difference? When you're tense, you can't tell how much pressure I'm giving you, but when you relax..." Here, he again switched hands, putting a little more weight into his right. "You can tell, can't you? Your hand will immediately sink back if you're relaxed and you can push back with the right amount of strength to maintain the balance."
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"...yeah. This is harder than I thought it'd be," Junpei replied, watching their hands as if the visual attention would help him. "I'm so not used to other people, like this. The Shadows just try to eat you when they get this close."
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