Post by Hadrian J. Ryan Ⅻ on Mar 10, 2014 2:23:58 GMT -5
“Ryan-san!”
John smiled. It was a nice smile, with no menace or mockery in it. There was a slight teasing edge to it, but nothing more. Her reaction was perfect. She was the type of girl who appreciated flattery, it seemed. Her embarrassment appeared distorted, it was the face of a girl who was secretly pleased, but didn't want to admit it because of something silly. John couldn't help a wisp of laughter escaping his lips. Although he was being trounced, he was really enjoying this. Rin was bringing something out in him that wasn't usually there, a light sort of playfulness which served to lighten his mood.
She charged towards him as expected, and his arrow was far closer to hitting her than he had expected. She seemed taken aback, as if she had never expected him to do such a thing. She pulled out of her charge after she avoided the arrow, and turned to watch it sail into the distance. Against a more aggressive (and faster) opponent, something like this would have been her undoing, but John let it slide. There was an ease in this battle, both did things that they could never get away with in a normal fight. So this is what sparring is...
“…Now isn’t that better than running? Normally I’d say you don’t seem to be the type to enjoy it but you’ve proven yourself to be a wildcard…”
She said, with a devilish smile. Now she was enjoying herself. John returned the smile with a half-smile of his own. However, he was already planning his next move. Despite having stopped, John knew Rin wasn't going to give up on this charge that easily. And he was right. She resumed her charge, zig-zagging towards him as she did so. Zig-zags were annoying. It made it difficult to conserve reiatsu when trying to hit an opponent. Instead of hitting them with a well placed arrow, one was required to either cause an explosion, or fire multiple arrows to try stop the person from advancing.
John went with the multiple arrow option, as he didn't want to severely injure Rin with an explosion. He fired three arrows simultaneously from his bow, with each arrow spreading out in a fan. Given the speed and magnitude of her zig-zagging, it was unlikely that all of them would miss if she didn't alter her strategy to account for them. John secretly hoped none of them would hit. Arrows were unpredictable in the amount of damage they dealt, if it was a lucky shot, they could do a lot more damage than intended. A critical hit... John thought with a wry smile, drawing the comparison with turn based RPGs.
However, Rin was still able to continue her charge, despite the setback. John cursed himself for his foolishness. He should have used the extra time to prepare, not dwell on thoughts regarding his arrows. She swept up to him, and at the last second, crouched down. And for the third time that day, John was swept off his feet by Rin Miyamoto. He fell backwards inelegantly, landing with a thud on his back. The jarring impact forced him to release his bow, which dissipated almost immediately.
But she was following up with another attack. A blow to the chest from he her nodachi, regardless of whether it was the blunt side or not, was not something John was too keen on experiencing. She had given him a few precious seconds though, giving him the time to prepare himself. First, he swept his left arm across his chest, while at the same time bringing up his right arm. Immediately, he formed Hohle Schneide. He hoped the blade would again take the brunt of the force, preventing him from taking too much damage.
His left arm acted as a support for the blade, it would stop Rin's attack punching the point of John's own sword into his own throat. The nodachi swung down, impacting Hohle Schneide. John closed his eyes, lest some shards of the broken blade flew into his eyes. But what he heard was not what he had expected. His Hohle Schneide remained intact. The ringing of the hollow metal reverberated around the empty field, a lonely bell tolling in the dark night.
She's holding back... John thought to himself. How kind of her. But then again, she was probably only doing that for the sake of her own enjoyment, as opposed to John's safety. John gave her a quick smile before she backed away, allowing him to get up. She didn't seem like she was going to attack just at that moment, so he took the time to examine the blade, trying to see if it was still fit for use.
There was a fine hairline crack running up the sword, parallel to the gap which was part of the design. It probably wouldn't survive another hit, even if Rin was holding back. "You did quite a number on this again, Miss Miyamoto. Your strength really is incredible." He flashed her another quick smile. He decided to keep this Hohle Schneide formed, it might come in handy soon. While he was armed, he could initiate another attack, but it seemed Rin had decided to answer the question he posed her earlier.
“I absolutely love it. I’m so in love with what I do. Everyone’s powers are their own fingerprint I think; no two are the same. At least, I’d like to think so, ne~. I do my best to show off when I can afford to~…. While most might consider my spiritual powers to be just a bit on the inelegant side, I still enjoy it. I think it’s…
Thrilling~"
She twirled her beautiful blade in her hands as she spoke, letting the moonlight bounce off it, highlighting in the beauty of its design. For such a long sword, she wielded it with remarkable ease and grace. John could definitely learn from her sword skills. Her elegance and style, accompanied by her resourcefulness was inspiring. However, none of this was a display of her Spiritual Powers. John felt the offer form on his tongue, and it was beyond his lips before he had a chance to consider the implications of what he was saying.
"If you want, miss, you can release here. I won't take it personally. As long as it isn't going to kill me and everyone and in the nearby village!"
Although John finished with a nervous smile and a chuckle, inside he was already regretting his words. Idiot!! She'll probably end up killing me now, perhaps by mistake. Please reconsider... John was hoping she could see his laboured breathing, and the sweat on his brow. Perhaps her concern for him would prevent her from taking him up on his offer. This fight was draining him enough as it was. He probably wouldn't be able to survive her release unless he used his Vollstandig, and that would be taking things way too far. He decided to intervene and try and retract his offer.
"Actually, for the good of everyone, I think we should keep our reiatsu output to a minimum. We might end up creating a whole load of Fullbringers in the nearby village by mistake. And while Spiritual Powers are fantastic, I don't like the idea of any more people fighting in the endless wars between the different races..."
His request ended on a lot more serious note than he expected. And in a way, it led nicely into her questions for him.
“..I like helping people. I might not have the easiest time showing it outright, but I know that this is my calling. I don’t think I could settle for a normal life. Not after all my experiences and adventures.
What about you, Ryan-san? Hopefully you don’t mind this beautiful warmonger picking at your brain for a bit, ne~?”
John blushed at her reference to his earlier flattery of her. She had obviously taken it on board. Ah well, he hoped he would be at least a memorable opponent for Rin, if not a particularly strong one. But she had asked him a question. Was he proud of his abilities? Of course he was, it was his greatest pride in life. But, the question was more subtle than that. She was asking was he proud of the way he used his powers.
"I don't think I know a Quincy alive who isn't proud of their powers. It's why we swear on our pride as Quincy, quite a lot." John smiled. It was well known that the Quincy were a proud race, and took greater pride and joy in their abilities than most races. "I could never give mine up. I would hope that I'm not so weak-willed that my powers define me, but I would certainly like to think they complete me. I couldn't imagine not being a Quincy." The very thought sent a shiver down his spine. Losing his powers would be the second greatest loss John could imagine, it was only slightly outranked by death.
“What is the Vandenreich like? Do you like your powers? I…I realize that life gives us so many options but you chose spiritual powers over a normal life. A peaceful life, maybe. I suppose what I’m trying to ask is, what made you want to be who you are today?”
"Your questions get more difficult, miss." John said with a small smile. He was not offended, in fact, he enjoyed the conversation. It was far from the idle banter between friends, but it was a searching conversation, where both parties were trying to work out what made the other tick. He took a moment to think before responding. It was a tough question. What is the Vandenreich like...? There were so many ideas about what it was like, John could have used this opportunity to lie, to colour Rin's perception of the Vandenreich in a favourable light.
But that was not the kind of relationship John wanted to develop with Rin. If he lied, he would be undermining the very trust he wanted to build.
"What's the Vandenreich like..." John said, repeating her question and weighing out his response carefully. "I think... The best word I have is... devoted. Everyone in the Vandenreich has a purpose, and sometimes those purposes don't quite match each other. But what everyone has in common is that they are willing to die for that purpose. That single minded devotion is what makes every Vandenreich soldier so dangerous. It wouldn't be a problem, if it weren't that so many of us hate Shinigami with a passion. We certainly don't do things by halves." John laughed. It wasn't very funny, but there was a kind of dark humour to it.
"As for me personally... My powers are something I've been familiar with from a young age. I'm an Echt Quincy, a pure-blooded Quincy. All my family members are Quincy. So, I've been accustomed to them for a while. For a while, my development suffered a setback due to the intervention of my father, but that's been taken care of..."
There was a steel edge in John's voice as his father came up. The joking tone was gone for a brief second, and there was a flash of anger in his eyes. All those years of training, gone. All those people he could have saved, dead. That Hollow, his classmates... His father had so much to answer for. In a way, he had paid for his crimes, but John still felt that anger burning. Why couldn't he just let it rest?
"...Sorry... Eh, I didn't really choose to take up my powers. But as to why I joined the Vandenreich... I believe anyone with power has an inherent duty to protect those who don't. I take up my bow in the name of protecting innocent people from Hollows and the such. Much the same as you, miss. With the Vandenreich, I have the support of thousands of fellow Quincy, as well as powers beyond those of a normal Quincy. We spread the Light of der Kaiser, protecting humanity from the Hollow plague. Unfortunately, it just seems that we are at cross-purposes with the Shinigami. Which invariably ends up portraying us as bad guys."
John finished with a little laugh. He was full of them today, it seemed. Although it was funny, it was also true. The Shinigami as a whole were so self-righteous, that it seemed that whoever fought them became the 'bad guys' in the ever more complicated drama that was the war of the Three Worlds. But Rin was proving to John that maybe he was right in thinking they were an organisation just like the Vandenreich. They were both morally ambiguous, and contained both good and bad people in their ranks.
However, John realised that he was not going to keep a hold on Rin's attention if he just left it there. He suddenly felt a panic, as if their encounter would end if he didn't do something. He didn't want it to end now, he was just getting to know her. So John came up with a devious, and tricky plan. Well, in reality it was quite a simple trick to execute, it was just that he wasn't sure if it would work. He still had the damaged Hohle Schneide in his hand. It was time to make good use of it.
Shifting his grip on the hilt, he ran towards Rin. She would have plenty of time to react though. Whether she attacked before he got within slashing range or not didn't matter to John. The technique would be able to work regardless. If she slashed at him first, John would simply parry with Hohle Schneide. And if she didn't, John would slash diagonally up at her, going from her stomach up to her left shoulder, using the flat of his blade naturally. He didn't want to give away that he knew that this attack was not going to work.
There was no doubt that the blade would shatter this time, regardless of whether he parried, or she parried. But this was what John was counting on. As the blade in his right hand shattered, he immediately formed a second blade in his left hand. Assuming she had used her sword to parry his first attack, she would be open to his second sword. Added to the fact that she shouldn't expect him to be able to use two Hohle Schneide at the same time, plus the fact that it was in his bad hand meant the attack should be a complete surprise.
However, if John did hit her with the flat of his second blade, the impact wouldn't be very severe. His strength was far inferior to hers. It probably wouldn't even bruise. However, the hit was victory to John. If the blade touched her, he would look right into her face with a smile and simply say: "Hit" as if this were a game.
Reiatsu = 835/1050 : -30 for 3 Class 7 arrows; -50 for 2 Hohle Schneide
John smiled. It was a nice smile, with no menace or mockery in it. There was a slight teasing edge to it, but nothing more. Her reaction was perfect. She was the type of girl who appreciated flattery, it seemed. Her embarrassment appeared distorted, it was the face of a girl who was secretly pleased, but didn't want to admit it because of something silly. John couldn't help a wisp of laughter escaping his lips. Although he was being trounced, he was really enjoying this. Rin was bringing something out in him that wasn't usually there, a light sort of playfulness which served to lighten his mood.
She charged towards him as expected, and his arrow was far closer to hitting her than he had expected. She seemed taken aback, as if she had never expected him to do such a thing. She pulled out of her charge after she avoided the arrow, and turned to watch it sail into the distance. Against a more aggressive (and faster) opponent, something like this would have been her undoing, but John let it slide. There was an ease in this battle, both did things that they could never get away with in a normal fight. So this is what sparring is...
“…Now isn’t that better than running? Normally I’d say you don’t seem to be the type to enjoy it but you’ve proven yourself to be a wildcard…”
She said, with a devilish smile. Now she was enjoying herself. John returned the smile with a half-smile of his own. However, he was already planning his next move. Despite having stopped, John knew Rin wasn't going to give up on this charge that easily. And he was right. She resumed her charge, zig-zagging towards him as she did so. Zig-zags were annoying. It made it difficult to conserve reiatsu when trying to hit an opponent. Instead of hitting them with a well placed arrow, one was required to either cause an explosion, or fire multiple arrows to try stop the person from advancing.
John went with the multiple arrow option, as he didn't want to severely injure Rin with an explosion. He fired three arrows simultaneously from his bow, with each arrow spreading out in a fan. Given the speed and magnitude of her zig-zagging, it was unlikely that all of them would miss if she didn't alter her strategy to account for them. John secretly hoped none of them would hit. Arrows were unpredictable in the amount of damage they dealt, if it was a lucky shot, they could do a lot more damage than intended. A critical hit... John thought with a wry smile, drawing the comparison with turn based RPGs.
However, Rin was still able to continue her charge, despite the setback. John cursed himself for his foolishness. He should have used the extra time to prepare, not dwell on thoughts regarding his arrows. She swept up to him, and at the last second, crouched down. And for the third time that day, John was swept off his feet by Rin Miyamoto. He fell backwards inelegantly, landing with a thud on his back. The jarring impact forced him to release his bow, which dissipated almost immediately.
But she was following up with another attack. A blow to the chest from he her nodachi, regardless of whether it was the blunt side or not, was not something John was too keen on experiencing. She had given him a few precious seconds though, giving him the time to prepare himself. First, he swept his left arm across his chest, while at the same time bringing up his right arm. Immediately, he formed Hohle Schneide. He hoped the blade would again take the brunt of the force, preventing him from taking too much damage.
His left arm acted as a support for the blade, it would stop Rin's attack punching the point of John's own sword into his own throat. The nodachi swung down, impacting Hohle Schneide. John closed his eyes, lest some shards of the broken blade flew into his eyes. But what he heard was not what he had expected. His Hohle Schneide remained intact. The ringing of the hollow metal reverberated around the empty field, a lonely bell tolling in the dark night.
She's holding back... John thought to himself. How kind of her. But then again, she was probably only doing that for the sake of her own enjoyment, as opposed to John's safety. John gave her a quick smile before she backed away, allowing him to get up. She didn't seem like she was going to attack just at that moment, so he took the time to examine the blade, trying to see if it was still fit for use.
There was a fine hairline crack running up the sword, parallel to the gap which was part of the design. It probably wouldn't survive another hit, even if Rin was holding back. "You did quite a number on this again, Miss Miyamoto. Your strength really is incredible." He flashed her another quick smile. He decided to keep this Hohle Schneide formed, it might come in handy soon. While he was armed, he could initiate another attack, but it seemed Rin had decided to answer the question he posed her earlier.
“I absolutely love it. I’m so in love with what I do. Everyone’s powers are their own fingerprint I think; no two are the same. At least, I’d like to think so, ne~. I do my best to show off when I can afford to~…. While most might consider my spiritual powers to be just a bit on the inelegant side, I still enjoy it. I think it’s…
Thrilling~"
She twirled her beautiful blade in her hands as she spoke, letting the moonlight bounce off it, highlighting in the beauty of its design. For such a long sword, she wielded it with remarkable ease and grace. John could definitely learn from her sword skills. Her elegance and style, accompanied by her resourcefulness was inspiring. However, none of this was a display of her Spiritual Powers. John felt the offer form on his tongue, and it was beyond his lips before he had a chance to consider the implications of what he was saying.
"If you want, miss, you can release here. I won't take it personally. As long as it isn't going to kill me and everyone and in the nearby village!"
Although John finished with a nervous smile and a chuckle, inside he was already regretting his words. Idiot!! She'll probably end up killing me now, perhaps by mistake. Please reconsider... John was hoping she could see his laboured breathing, and the sweat on his brow. Perhaps her concern for him would prevent her from taking him up on his offer. This fight was draining him enough as it was. He probably wouldn't be able to survive her release unless he used his Vollstandig, and that would be taking things way too far. He decided to intervene and try and retract his offer.
"Actually, for the good of everyone, I think we should keep our reiatsu output to a minimum. We might end up creating a whole load of Fullbringers in the nearby village by mistake. And while Spiritual Powers are fantastic, I don't like the idea of any more people fighting in the endless wars between the different races..."
His request ended on a lot more serious note than he expected. And in a way, it led nicely into her questions for him.
“..I like helping people. I might not have the easiest time showing it outright, but I know that this is my calling. I don’t think I could settle for a normal life. Not after all my experiences and adventures.
What about you, Ryan-san? Hopefully you don’t mind this beautiful warmonger picking at your brain for a bit, ne~?”
John blushed at her reference to his earlier flattery of her. She had obviously taken it on board. Ah well, he hoped he would be at least a memorable opponent for Rin, if not a particularly strong one. But she had asked him a question. Was he proud of his abilities? Of course he was, it was his greatest pride in life. But, the question was more subtle than that. She was asking was he proud of the way he used his powers.
"I don't think I know a Quincy alive who isn't proud of their powers. It's why we swear on our pride as Quincy, quite a lot." John smiled. It was well known that the Quincy were a proud race, and took greater pride and joy in their abilities than most races. "I could never give mine up. I would hope that I'm not so weak-willed that my powers define me, but I would certainly like to think they complete me. I couldn't imagine not being a Quincy." The very thought sent a shiver down his spine. Losing his powers would be the second greatest loss John could imagine, it was only slightly outranked by death.
“What is the Vandenreich like? Do you like your powers? I…I realize that life gives us so many options but you chose spiritual powers over a normal life. A peaceful life, maybe. I suppose what I’m trying to ask is, what made you want to be who you are today?”
"Your questions get more difficult, miss." John said with a small smile. He was not offended, in fact, he enjoyed the conversation. It was far from the idle banter between friends, but it was a searching conversation, where both parties were trying to work out what made the other tick. He took a moment to think before responding. It was a tough question. What is the Vandenreich like...? There were so many ideas about what it was like, John could have used this opportunity to lie, to colour Rin's perception of the Vandenreich in a favourable light.
But that was not the kind of relationship John wanted to develop with Rin. If he lied, he would be undermining the very trust he wanted to build.
"What's the Vandenreich like..." John said, repeating her question and weighing out his response carefully. "I think... The best word I have is... devoted. Everyone in the Vandenreich has a purpose, and sometimes those purposes don't quite match each other. But what everyone has in common is that they are willing to die for that purpose. That single minded devotion is what makes every Vandenreich soldier so dangerous. It wouldn't be a problem, if it weren't that so many of us hate Shinigami with a passion. We certainly don't do things by halves." John laughed. It wasn't very funny, but there was a kind of dark humour to it.
"As for me personally... My powers are something I've been familiar with from a young age. I'm an Echt Quincy, a pure-blooded Quincy. All my family members are Quincy. So, I've been accustomed to them for a while. For a while, my development suffered a setback due to the intervention of my father, but that's been taken care of..."
There was a steel edge in John's voice as his father came up. The joking tone was gone for a brief second, and there was a flash of anger in his eyes. All those years of training, gone. All those people he could have saved, dead. That Hollow, his classmates... His father had so much to answer for. In a way, he had paid for his crimes, but John still felt that anger burning. Why couldn't he just let it rest?
"...Sorry... Eh, I didn't really choose to take up my powers. But as to why I joined the Vandenreich... I believe anyone with power has an inherent duty to protect those who don't. I take up my bow in the name of protecting innocent people from Hollows and the such. Much the same as you, miss. With the Vandenreich, I have the support of thousands of fellow Quincy, as well as powers beyond those of a normal Quincy. We spread the Light of der Kaiser, protecting humanity from the Hollow plague. Unfortunately, it just seems that we are at cross-purposes with the Shinigami. Which invariably ends up portraying us as bad guys."
John finished with a little laugh. He was full of them today, it seemed. Although it was funny, it was also true. The Shinigami as a whole were so self-righteous, that it seemed that whoever fought them became the 'bad guys' in the ever more complicated drama that was the war of the Three Worlds. But Rin was proving to John that maybe he was right in thinking they were an organisation just like the Vandenreich. They were both morally ambiguous, and contained both good and bad people in their ranks.
However, John realised that he was not going to keep a hold on Rin's attention if he just left it there. He suddenly felt a panic, as if their encounter would end if he didn't do something. He didn't want it to end now, he was just getting to know her. So John came up with a devious, and tricky plan. Well, in reality it was quite a simple trick to execute, it was just that he wasn't sure if it would work. He still had the damaged Hohle Schneide in his hand. It was time to make good use of it.
Shifting his grip on the hilt, he ran towards Rin. She would have plenty of time to react though. Whether she attacked before he got within slashing range or not didn't matter to John. The technique would be able to work regardless. If she slashed at him first, John would simply parry with Hohle Schneide. And if she didn't, John would slash diagonally up at her, going from her stomach up to her left shoulder, using the flat of his blade naturally. He didn't want to give away that he knew that this attack was not going to work.
There was no doubt that the blade would shatter this time, regardless of whether he parried, or she parried. But this was what John was counting on. As the blade in his right hand shattered, he immediately formed a second blade in his left hand. Assuming she had used her sword to parry his first attack, she would be open to his second sword. Added to the fact that she shouldn't expect him to be able to use two Hohle Schneide at the same time, plus the fact that it was in his bad hand meant the attack should be a complete surprise.
However, if John did hit her with the flat of his second blade, the impact wouldn't be very severe. His strength was far inferior to hers. It probably wouldn't even bruise. However, the hit was victory to John. If the blade touched her, he would look right into her face with a smile and simply say: "Hit" as if this were a game.
Reiatsu = 835/1050 : -30 for 3 Class 7 arrows; -50 for 2 Hohle Schneide