Deep in the Preserve, Saturday Afternoon

[raspberryturk]

Really, there were old habits that died hard whenever Reno made his way to the island. For example, for all he liked to pretend that he didn't give a shit about his abilities, that his speed and dexterity and fighting skills were all just natural to him, Reno had developed a habit, in his years around Fandom, of going out and training. A run around

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[flowering_mind]

Ino’s old habits went along the same sort of lines, funnily enough, but they weren’t what had driven her out of the room she’d shared with Zack that afternoon.

For a few moments it had felt almost-normal-and then it hadn’t been, and while she didn’t feel good, and hadn’t for… for longer than she was ever going to admit to Zack, she’d been good enough to slip away from the awkwardness. (Running from her problems with Zack? Why yes, indeed.)

Besides, she’d noticed Reno’s mind on the island and it had taken hardly a second to confirm which Reno it was, which meant that, abruptly, Ino had a goal in place for the morning.

Her presence disappeared long, long before she ever hit the preserve and while Reno was still faster and stronger than she was (unless she augmented her own skills with chakra), Ino was the one who’d grown up in trees. She hadn’t lost the knack of being terribly silent in them.

Ino knew better than to stop and watch him practice. He would notice that, someone staring

[raspberryturk]

If Reno had been anywhere but the island, he might have been able to react in time. If he'd been anywhere but here, or, hell, even if he'd been attacked by anybody but Ino, he might have stood a chance at dodging, at least ducking a little to deflect some of the blow.

It was those eyes, framed in that face, that made him stop dead in his tracks and take that blow square in the jaw.

And it was the fact that the next thing he was doing was spitting out a tooth that had him furrow his brow and take a slightly more defensive stance.

He had absolutely had that coming.

He fuckin' knew it. And that's why he wasn't taking a swing back.

"Feel better?"

[flowering_mind]

She'd meant to just land the one blow, to give him the hit that he so richly deserved and then--well, Ino hadn't exactly decided what was to come next; this wasn't her most well thought-out plan. But then he said 'feel better', like it was a joke.

Or maybe it just sounded like it to her ears.

Ino knew she was very nearly the furthest thing from unbiased here, but those words in that voice, just made all her fury bubble up and the next blow she went for was faster, chakra enhancing both speed and strength, as she aimed her knee for his ribs. He didn't need those ribs anyway.

[raspberryturk]

Reno could hear the crack his ribs made before the pain even registered, and now he was moving, not even bothering to say anything else before bringing his baton up toward her with all the speed that had earned him the title, 'the fastest of the Turks.'

And then some. Thank you for that, Lady Ghanima.

That was the hell of it, wasn't it? He knew he deserved the first punch. The first punch, he could forgive. But if Ino was making a second blow, and she was putting enough force behind it to break bone, then she wasn't going to stop. And, as much as he deserved that first swing, there was no way in hell he wasn't going to fight for his life. He'd reached a place where he had something to live for. He'd be damned if he was going to let Ino - even Ino in a Turk uniform - take him away from that.

[hotceltogoth]

Considering Fandom, Ronan had figured it was a reasonable idea to get some sword practice in -- one never knew what Fandom was going to throw at you next, after all.

He was avoiding actually hitting the trees, for the most part, because he didn't want to actually cut any down. But there was definitely some serious shadow-boxing going on, if Reno happened to look his way through the trees.

[raspberryturk]

Really, it was hard to miss. Reno had a bit of a hawk-eye when it came to action. Came from being a Turk.

He gave a little smirk as he watched, and then decided to have himself a little fun.

It'd been a while since he'd last seen this guy, and if disappearing from view in a red and black blur only to appear a moment later perched directly overhead was somehow wrong of him, Reno so didn't want to be right.

Dropping a twig down from where he was perched? What was wrong with that, huh?

[hotceltogoth]

See, twigs were mostly harmless. (Mostly. Filif would have a few things to say, Ronan knew, if he intimated that all twigs were entirely harmless -- and had enough power in a twig smaller than Ronan's pinky to back those things up.) This twig, however, had Ronan glance left, then right, then -- breaking all narrative conventions -- up.

Seeing what he was pretty sure was a familar hair style, he raised one hand, waggled his fingers, and, in greeting, said, "Woo woo."

Reno could probably see the smile trying to break through Ronan's oh-so-serious expression.

[raspberryturk]

"Woo woo," Reno laughed, smirking down at him. Unlike Ronan, Reno wasn't much for hiding those grins of his. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

What that saying even meant had always been beyond Reno. But when he said it in that lazy drawl of his, that hardly mattered.

Another moment later, and he was flipping out of the tree to land nearby.