Does she do anything BESIDES train?! [Action, Open]

[gunblade_grrl]

[Evening free hours find the SeeD cadet hard at work in the training room with her weapons, but unlike last semester there's something new; as her gunblades snap through the air, every once in a while there's a sharp report as of gunfire, and one of the blades jerks off at greater speed, almost randomly. It's clearly hard work; there's sweat

Comments

[bunnypassingby]

You're good with those.

[This is quiet, but genuine admiration, because Mikuru sucked with one gunblade in Intro to Weapons and she's really impressed with Maria's managing to use two. Plus, though they were classmates for Military Movement last quarter, she hadn't really seen Maria use a weapon until now.

[Speaking of weapons, Mikuru's holding her own twin pistols, though she's in civvies rather than her battle maid outfit that she would have worn to class sometimes.]

[gunblade_grrl]

[These particular gunblades are designed for one-handed use, to judge by their size and balance, so that's at least not insane, right?]

[She wipes her forehead with her sleeve as she turns, still smiling.]

Thanks, but I have a long way to go before I'm anywhere near competent with them.

[bunnypassingby]

[Not like Mikuru would be able to tell! Maria looks plenty competent to her, but Mikuru hasn't seen good gunblade use too much, so if someone who knows what they're doing says they're not, she'll buy it.]

How long have you been using them?

[gunblade_grrl]

Complicated question. I've been training in this basic two-weapon style of fighting for years, but I didn't start using it with gunblades till last quarter when I got here.

And now I'm working on practicing with the triggers.

[bunnypassingby]

[Mikuru nods.] Two gunblades must be a lot of hard work... It's really cool that you use them!

[gunblade_grrl]

Once I really get the trigger system under control it will actually be easier than using two normal swords, I think. They go a long way towards adjusting momentum and movement!

[Are you sure you want to get her down this road, Mikuru? Because she can probably go on about gunblades longer than Squall and Seifer combined.]

[bunnypassingby]

[Mikuru knows not what she does!]

Really? That recoil looked pretty nasty [and oh how Mikuru hates recoil]; wouldn't you have to adjust some more for that?

[gunblade_grrl]

Oh no, not once I understand it! See, the recoil will actually help balance out the momentum of the blades, because for gunblades it triggers in the direction they're going. See, watch!

[She lifts one gunblade, then swings it towards the dummy. Just as it strikes, she pulls the trigger. The gunblade jerks forwards as energy races down the blade, exploding sharply to propel the gunblade into the target all the harder.]

[bunnypassingby]

Oooooooooooooooooh. [She nods, impressed, and pretty sure that if she tried that, she wouldn't be able to hang on through that forwards recoil.]

[gunblade_grrl]

[See those forearms, Mikuru? She probably has the grip strength to crack walnuts. She will never be a sweet dainty thing...]

And that means...

[She lifts her other blade, then swings the first one at the dummy again. This time she pulls the trigger just as the sword rebounds off the target. The shivering explosion rocks the dummy, but also sends the blade rocketing backwards. Maria pivots with the momentum to bring her second blade into the dummy.]

[bunnypassingby]

[Mikuru bursts into applause.]

That makes sense now!

[gunblade_grrl]

It's really hard to keep up though. Both timing and rhythm. This is the best I can do right now.

[bunnypassingby]

[Mikuru nods.] Good luck! I think you'll be amazing at it.

[gunblade_grrl]

I will be if it kills me.

[You have no idea how literally she means that, Mikuru.]

How are you getting along, then?

[bunnypassingby]

[That declaration gets a blink from Mikuru, but Maria's question distracts her from thinking about it too much.]

Um, I'm getting a lot more accurate than I used to be! So I thought I'd try working on my speed, and start in normal clothes instead of, well. [She puts her pistols in one hand and uses her now free hand to hold some of her hair up in a pigtail like those she wears when she's in battle maid costume.]

[gunblade_grrl]

Speed of aiming and firing or running-around-the-battlefield speed?

[This is one way in which Maria is just a little vain: she won't consider cutting her hair. Never mind that shorter hair makes for easier fighting, let alone maintenance; in Maria's mind she has pretty much only one good point, and that's her hair.]