juneshero | [exsilium] IC contact

...

[well, he didn't completely fall]

[still, he frowns. He can sort of understand where she's coming from - the phone numbers and emails of his friends from the city on his phone were testament to that - but hearing that she kept count? A little startling. Was he ever that bad?

Yosuke bites his lip, because the answer was obvious]

... Sorry. [he looks away] I- That was mean. [a slight self-deprecating laugh] It's not like I can say anything about making friends.

[he's not his partner, who made friends as easily as breathing]

Well, it's kinda weird sometimes. Having friends. Like... actual friends, not just people who say they're friends but don't really... [he frowns then brushes it off] Well, whatever. Don't worry about it.

[he pulls her hand. He hasn't fucked up anything, has he?] We're supposed to get some training done, right?

[ People who say they're friends but don't really... Kougyoku knows what comes next, but she's never met a person that awful. At least, she thinks she hasn't. All of her friends so far were the real deal! Right? She won't ask Yosuke about it for now. She's already forgiven him. ]

Huh. [ She only blinks and tilts her head in curiosity before shifting her attention to—ah, her hand. ] Right! It's here.

[ Carefully, she leads him to the side of the river where there was nothing but snow, snow and more hills of snow. She doesn't know how to stop, though, so once they reach the edge and she still has some momentum pushing her forward, she lets go of Yosuke and falls face-first in the snow.

Don't mind her, she's just hanging out here... ]

Edited 2013-12-22 11:32 (UTC)

Kougyoku!

[he has better control over skates (though Yosuke will admit that snowboarding is more fun) so the brunette skates over to where she is and... kind of flutters around for a moment, not sure if he should just pull her out or not. After a second though, he steps over to where the poor girl's hanging out and calls out again]

Hey, you okay?

[he reaches out a hand, but laksdjfals;djk how are you supposed to pull a girl out of the snow when she's face first in it? ... Somehow, this reminds him a bit of Yukiko but that's a thought for another day!]

[ Kougyoku pushes herself up when she hears Yosuke a second time, and takes his hand to get up from the snow. She's still smiling... She's okay! ]

Yata said if I needed to stop, I should fall down.

[and he pulls her up with practiced ease. But wait a moment, was she- Oh, she's serious]

Ah... Maybe we should teach you how to skate properly first... I mean, what if there wasn't anything soft to land on! You could be hurt!

Honestly. [he puts his hand on his waist as he shakes his head] Is that really the best advice this Yata guy could give you on how to stop?

He said I could also slow down. [ But she thought there was no time, and she doesn't know how because Yata didn't teach her. ]

Anyway, we can do that after we train!

[ She starts undoing the shoelaces of her skates and changes into her boots. ]

Yosuke, in that world you fight in, did you only use your weapons?

[... drat. There goes his plan to escape death and humiliation. As Kougyoku undoes the laces on her skates, Yosuke is left tapping his currently frozen show against the ice. Should he just break it? Would it ruin his shoe? He's almost got enough saved up to buy/trade for a thicker coat than his school uniform but maybe he should consider putting that into a shoe fund instead.

Ugh, here he thought that saving for a motorcycle was hard]

... Huh?

[oh shit, he wasn't listening shit shit shit what did she say? Something about weapons?]

Uh... No? Sort of?

[ Or he could always ask her to magic the ice away. That was a thing. Not that she would offer—it's so convenient! ]

I see. Of course you'd have something else! [ It only made sense. ] Show me that today!

[ Once she finishes changing, she walks to the middle of the open area, expecting Yosuke to follow. Ahaha, she's taking out her hairpin... ]

[oh that was an option? Yosuke thought it only worked one way MAN YOUR SKILLS ARE SO USEFUL KOUGYOKU]

... ...

[oh fuck oh fuck ohfuckohfuckohfuck?!?]

W-w-w-wait!! [he holds his hands in front of him defensively as he backs away] I can't- I don't even know if I can summon Jiraiya! Not here anyway!

I... [a little put out] I've never tried.

[then with the previous apprehension disguised as indignation] And it's not like I needed to. Geez, not everyone's from a magical combat world, y'know? Cut me some slack!

[ yeah but he's gotta ask ]

Then, you intend to go against an army with your knives alone? [ doubtful! ] Maybe there was no need to fight in the past, but what about the future? Will you march into battle when you've forgotten your sword? Everyone was brought here because they have the power the Initiative needs. Show me that power!

[ Kouen and Judar gave her some faith in herself. It's time for her to return the favor. That, and she really wants to fight...

Yep, that hairpin just turned into a sword. ]

Don't hold back!

Wait, wait- Shit!!

[he moves to draw his knives but slips on the ice and actually loses his balance this time around in the most comical fashion]

Yeouch!

[he moves to a sitting position, at least enough that he could jump to his feet if he needed to but points to his shoes and sputters out]

Can you at least let me have some traction back first?

[ With the wave of her sword, the ice disappears? evaporates? just work with me here, Kougyoku never originally had ice magic until she came to Exsilium. ]

You and Yata are both fond of that word... [ Shit. She looks on, still in position. ]

Are you ready now?

[hey, whatever works! Yosuke's just glad the ice is off and he doesn't have to worry about falling on his face (as much)]

[he stands up and collects his knives. Okay. Okay, he could do this]

... Sure.

[he gives her a lopsided grin as he puts his headphones on and goes into his makeshift fighting position, desperately reaching into his mind to try and find the familiar presence of his Persona]

But go easy on me, 'kay?

[ Kougyoku can't judge, it happens to her, too. (but not as often)

She smiles and holds her sword with both hands now, but unlike Yosuke, she doesn't seem nervous at all. She wields her weapon and faces her opponent as if it was natural to her. ]

Okay!

[ But she has a feeling—what did he call it?—Jiraiya won't come out unless she raises the bar a little. ]

[ Without warning, she attempts to pierce Yosuke with her sword, a vortex of water rapidly spinning around it as she rushes at him. Her footwork is relatively slow this time, so he has a good chance of dodging it. ]

[at the very least, at least Yosuke had his guard up. His music was set at the usual volume; loud enough to drown out background noise but not enough to mute everything around him. He'd just started tapping his foot when she came at him.

There's a small yelp before Yosuke narrowly sidesteps. Despite Kougyoku's slower speed, the water sword still almost clips his coat. Well, that was startling...! Again, he tries to reach for Jiraiya's familiar presence. It's there, he's there, but no where near the level that he should be.

Shit shit shit what should he do?

... Stay defensive for the time being. He couldn't use magic, but he was still fast. And Kougyoku was going easy(?) on him, so maybe he could figure things out from there]

[ Kougyoku's a little disappointed. This won't be fun if he doesn't strike back. After her last attack, she summons enough water to knock Yosuke off his feet in one fluid motion. It might have even pushed him back a few yards! That is, if it hit. ]

What's the matter? It's not training if you don't take it seriously!

[ Since she was so shy, no one would have ever guessed Kougyoku was like this in battle. ]

-!!!!

[Yosuke knew that Yukiko could be a beast on the battlefield but he never expected the same of Kougyoku! ... Maybe he should have.

He'd rather not get wet when it's so cold out. Couldn't something like this kill a guy? So if she wasn't going to let him go on the defensive, then the only option was to charge. Though charging headlong into a wave of water wasn't exactly the greatest plan either...

Yosuke steels himself before dashing forward with the intent to either jump or duck to one side depending on if the water came high or low. If he could dodge this, he could close the distance and try to hit her. Just think about the times fighting in the TV World... What did Chie always say? 'Don't think, feel!']

[ The water is aimed at his head; it's easy to dodge. Kougyoku seems to be more focused on the water's trajectory, too. Hurry, Yosuke! ]

[all right, so that's an easy trajectory to dodge... He could do this.

He ducks to one side, not as fast as he would like and if nothing else came from this, at least Yosuke realized now just how much he relied on his Persona when ti came to fights. The water grazes the tips of his hair (yikes!) but doesn't hit him (yes!). Once he's close enough, he attempts to take a swing at Kougyoku]

[ By reflex, she raises her arm up to protect her face. However, his knife makes a shallow cut on her upper arm, to which she reacts by sidestepping away from her opponent. She winces, and... Ah, she got hurt. The pain makes it a little difficult to hold her sword, evident by how she leans towards one side, but she's fortunate that it wasn't her dominant hand.

She laughs it off. ]

I thought you'd never strike back! But where's your Jiraiya? Ah, maybe it's because I have a soft spot for you... Well then, there's no other choice!

[ While she is stationary, water begins encircling her sword and soon, her entire body. ]

Dwell in me, Vinea!

[ There's another flash of light and this time, she herself transforms.

... YOSUKEEEEEEEEEEEE ]

[he has just enough time to open his mouth to apologize for cutting her when Kougyoku starts talking again. And oh my god, what is even happening--

...

n o p e

Yosuke can't help but stare because 1) that was really cool? and 2) holy cow he was actually going to die Jiraiya now is a pretty good time to show yourself]

Whoa! Isn't that going overboard?!

[but he raises his knives to guard, knowing he's well out of his league and kinda scared for his life. Sure, Kougyoku was a friend, but so was Chie and Yukiko and those two were terrifying. Terrifying. In the back of his mind, he feels a familiar power stirring again.

Though Yosuke doesn't realize it, fear and mental stress were definitely keys to awakening a Persona.... Though without an Evoker, summoning one in the Real World was definitely harder. Oh well, have at you, Kougyoku! ~~whip this boy into shape~~]

It will be if you don't start taking me seriously!

[ Kougyoku flies up in the air, above the trees around them, then swoops down headfirst. Her sword appears to be gathering swirls of water once more for her next strike. She won't be piercing him with her sword, but she certainly intends to hit him with her magic.

She seems to have every intention of killing him, though. Oh well, maybe her face is just—yep, terrifying. ]

[holy shit, she could fly?!? How unfair and ridiculously awesome was this Djinn thing anyway like, wow? Jiraiya seems kinda weak in comparison]

[and that sound just now? Totally not the sound of Yosuke almost shrieking like a little girl gosh]

[but in his panic, he vaguely recognizes a familiar power stirring in the back of his mind. With Jiraiya's help, Yosuke is a bit faster - not as much when compared to how he was in the TV World - but anything helps when you have a terrifying water princess bearing down on you. And maybe it was the fear of getting royally (ha) owned that caused the beginnings of a shadowy shape to appear above the teen as he dove to one side, mimicking his dodge roll. Sukukaja may or may not be in effect]

[ welcome to shounen manga, baby

Kougyoku sees something odd going on with Yosuke as he dodges, and although she doesn't know a thing about the tricks up his sleeve? She can tell she's getting warmer. The look on her face says, "Aha, now this is where it gets interesting." And that cackle? That means she wants to push him to the limit.

The girl is in the air again when she calls out, ]

Vainel Al-Salos!

[ A dozen spears of water appear in the air and Kougyoku begins firing them at Yosuke one by one like missiles. Now, the billion-dollar question: Can Yosuke dodge them all!? If he couldn't get Jiraiya to help him earlier, he'd be a dead man... ]

Edited (redundant redundancy) 2014-01-01 16:14 (UTC)

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i'm sorry for the lateness, but not really sorry for kougyoku

no, never be sorry for kougyokuAAAAAAAAAAAH

AAAAAAAAAAAH would be my reaction too