Sequence 03

[maestro_ezio]

Who: maestro_ezio and open!
What: Bare-knuckle boxing and sparring, what could possibly go wrong?
When: About an hour or so after this post
Where: Training rooms.
Warnings: Violence, blood, punching, manly bonding, potentially a lot of half-naked guys? (Ezio's a given here).

Comments

[thinkin_arbys]

She'd entered without making much of a noise, carefully glancing around before she finally slipped through a grate leading into the room. Though she had nothing to lose by having her identity discovered, now was not the time to field the questions of why she was dressed as a man, or why she even cared. No, this was about chasing the strange liberation Ezio kept offering her, that worldly alternative to what she'd been seeking for so many years. No one needed to know she was here. What if it didn't pan out? What if she didn't find her answers

[maestro_ezio]

"Are you trying to prove something, Giustina?" he asked her when he turned around. The pose was not entirely forced, but Ezio could see the facade it played. A hand went on her shoulder as he smiled. "It is good that you have come. Tell me, what do you know of fighting?"

He wanted a measure of her perceived strength, to know how she saw herself. Her actual skills would be presented soon enough.

[thinkin_arbys]

"Did I say you could call me that in a public place?" Her expression was stern, but she relaxed just a little when he touched her shoulder. For some reason, she'd half expected him to come directly at her right away. It wasn't precisely distrust, but their approaches to things had thus far seemed quite different, and she wasn't going to give him a single inch to get one up on her, physically.

She spun her Stand around in her hand like a gunslinger, depositing it in the holster that hung from her belt.

"I have no formal training. Everything I learned was from tussling with farm boys and--" She almost said my brother, but caught herself. Too much to explain, there. "--and a couple of men I met in America. I didn't let them get too close, so, as I've said, it was all done with my Stand. I suppose I could grapple someone in a pinch, but it doesn't really pay off to get that close around Stand users. It seems a lot of our ability is determined by distance, and every Stand works most efficiently at a certain distance from the User. You

[maestro_ezio]

Honesty, very good. "Then I will teach all I know. I know your Stand is important to you, but you cannot rely on it often. It is useful but the less you use it, the more surprised your enemy will be when they see it."

He crossed his arms against his chest. "Being straightforward and clever are good things to have. Not all battles can be fought merely with weapons or fists. If we are to meet these Purists, we will need to know how everything about them and new methods of fighting. I will be learning as well. We cannot feign ignorance, much less now. But do not think your sex is a weakness," he added, very seriously. Most in his time would frown upon women, but he trained several into skilled Assassins, and knew the likes of very intelligent and powerful women. "I will train you just as hard as I trained my recruits in Roma."

[thinkin_arbys]

She considered his words for a moment. Really, she shouldn't need to use her Stand at all unless another Stand User attacked her. Fighting for her was always about necessity until now; she convinced herself that defending against the Purists and those who speak against them--as they did to Fugo--is cause enough for learning.

"I'll say it one more time: My Stand is a part of me. I will know when it is right to be used." With a slight nod of acknowledgement, she took a small step back, removing her hat to toss it aside before reaching to unhook her belt.

She leaned down to remove the covers from around her lower legs, as well. "So you've trained a lot of women? What were you dealing with? Prostitutes, farm girls, nobles' daughters...?"

[maestro_ezio]

Ezio shrugs. He would still consider it mostly a weapon for now. The concept of the a Stand was still fairly new to him and would take some time getting used to.

"The courtesans were my allies. I used them as a distraction against guards and I would hide among them. As for training, they were enemies of the state. I recruited them to fight against the Borgia. Caterina Sforza was loyal to the cause as well. She did not show the Borgia mercy."

[thinkin_arbys]

Sadly, she wouldn't tell Ezio the true nature of the Stand's bond, not completely. She might never do it, for the simple fact that in the grand scheme of things, it wouldn't matter unless she was in a life-threatening situation. In all honesty, she hoped never to have to use her Stand for that again.

"I imagine," she said, standing up again and removing her capelet from her shoulders, "that looking like that probably helped you gain allies."

[maestro_ezio]

He had to laugh. "Perhaps, perhaps not. I only dress like this when I fight with my hands." Ah, but what kind of fight? He'll leave that one be, half-fearing another chastisement from Guistina. "Many of my allies were gained out of trust and loyalty. I helped them and they helped me."

[thinkin_arbys]

"Don't expect the same from me." However, she was wisely removing the looser parts of her clothing, giving him less opportunity to grapple, to gain an advantage; it also freed her movement.

"And how have I helped you at all? Why do you trust me?" She moved closer again, sizing him up, the heels of her hands resting on the curve of her hips.

[maestro_ezio]

"We are not so different, you and I. We both do what we must to achieve our goals. We do what others cannot and will not do. I would rather have someone like you by my side fighting, to understand what it is to be an Assassin."

Ezio briefly looks her over. "And people like us must always ---" he quickly moves in, punching her hard in the stomach, then follows up by holding a closed fist to her face, "be prepared."

[thinkin_arbys]

She was anticipating an attack, but not a direct punch to the gut. That was a dirty blow if ever there was one, and her knees gave way as the wind rushed from her lungs. A lesson, and a good one at that. Ezio was fast, and he aimed for easy vulnerabilities.

Letting her weight carry her, she leaned into his fist just a little and reached to brace herself on his bared shoulder...

The weight transferred to the foot she was using to pivot, settling ever so slightly on his toes as she aimed an easy knee at his opposite hip. The inside of the hip. Very kindly, she did not go any further toward the center of his body.

[maestro_ezio]

The only fighting Ezio knows is dirty fighting.

He had anticipated as well, but not quite like that. The blow threw him off balance as he jumped back, away from the attack. Her knee did manage to actually connect with his hip, to his surprise. It stung and he knew he'd be getting a bruise in a few hours. If her kick had been any faster and aimed anywhere further, Ezio would've already been down. "Very good," he said with a grin. Normally, he would have counterattacked by crushing her knees in. Instead, he set the ball of his foot on one of her knees. "And now you cannot walk."

[thinkin_arbys]

There were two trains of thought in her head at that time: One, the blatantly active one, was analyzing his movements and attempting to learn from them, to find a style or a pattern she might duplicate, The other, more sinister train of thought was how best to use her Stand against this. More than that, she considered how any of what he was doing could possibly escape her Stand. She'd have covered his face, broken his foot, and stolen the hand that moved to hit her.

If she was using her Stand, he would already be dead.

Unlike Ezio, she pulled no punches, miming the effect of his blow by letting her weight drop again. Her wrist was hooked under his ankle, followed by an ungentle push up and in with pressure at ankle and knee, forcing his leg into a right angle to make it easier to shove him off balance; and shove, she did.

"You can't attack my legs. I can fight without legs. Attack my head and hands, if you're planning to win completely."

[maestro_ezio]

No holding back.

Ezio rushed quickly, kneeing her hard in the stomach, following with an uppercut to her chin and striking her neck with the edges of both hands. He shoved her hard to put space between them. He stood lightly on the balls of his feet, then broke into a fast run. He jumped to the wall, skimming it quickly then jumping off in an attempt to pin her down to the ground from the side.

[thinkin_arbys]

The speed with which it happened surprised her, not because she hadn't expected it, but because it was more dynamic and direct than anything she'd been subjected to before.

The shock of being shot by Ringo screamed back into her brain, the sensation of wood cracking against her spine, knocking the wind out of her just after Gyro had done the same. She fell, scraping her lip against her teeth when he shoved her back--a sort of whiplash effect--tasting blood far sooner than she'd expected.

He was serious now, and she knew it. Instead of fighting back where she knew she'd lose, it seemed wiser to submit for a moment. This way, she could watch him, learn his strategy, try to figure him out while she was able. She couldn't combat the uppercut, but she could wrench out of a second blow; there was nothing to be done about his strange talents for climbing, but with her Stand, she could have destroyed him...

So, against every survival instinct she'd ever have, she simply waited.

[maestro_ezio]

Taking a few steps back, Ezio stopped for a moment to breathe. He watched her closely, with a keen eye for the slightest movement.

The floor was too clean; no dirt nor dust to be found. And he still had no proper measure of just exactly how strong her blows were. Her last blow had been a tactical one and would not require an obscene amount of force to win. Both were key to fighting, he knew, but control of one's strength and exploiting it was necessary.

He stepped in, feinting a punch to her chest when instead he grabbed her wrist and brought her closer, hitting her cheek with the palm of his hand as opposed to breaking her nose.