2024-01-09: Ten Seconds
- Log: 2024-01-09 Ten Seconds
- Cast: Arisugawa Joy, Dias Flac
- Where: Viridian Forest
- Date: January 09, 2024
- Summary: A chance encounter in Viridian Forest leads to a deal--and a duel.
<Pose Tracker> Arisugawa Joy has posed.
Nede is a peaceful realm -- perhaps all too peaceful, that it can't respond quickly to the sudden emergence of the violence brought on by the Ten Wise Men. The people there have largely accepted on other forms of conflict resolution, and in the wake of it...
There are those that bristle, feeling cooped up and restricted by their society.
Viridian Forest is scarce a real forest -- it is a curated environment resembling a forest, but largely without many of the hazards that a real forest may have; it's a suitable place for children, and also consists of a park for commuters to pass or stay.
So it is strange, then, in this peaceful space, that--
CLASH
SPARK
TSHINNGG
Those are unmistakably the sounds of battle -- between at least one sword, and another metallic object, deeper into the woods off the beaten path. And upon inspection...
Arisugawa Joy is currently training. She's dressed in a black tanktop and sweatpants, with her hair done up into a ponytail, and is carrying a metal rod she's wielding like a blade. Her opponent is Honedge, a Pokemon that is unmistakably a sword -- it has three eye-like reliefs on its guard, and a long blue scarf as a tassel on the end of its pommel.
She crosses, and feints -- Honedge spots her ploy, and twists in midair to strike her back; Joy draws the rod behind her back, blocking it as she pivots and strikes at the weapon with her elbow.
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
There's nothing inherently wrong with a realm being at peace. But for those who've devoted themselves to battle, there simply is no place there within for them.
Dias still has no intentions of becoming a Pokemon trainer, even if he's resigned himself to the fact that Rena and Claude are. One of those ways in which he's resigned is going out of his way to study up on Pokemon. Even if he isn't going to train them himself, he ought to be informed, not just because it's relevant to his companions, but because--as Rena's pointed out many times now--it's such a huge part of Nedian culture.
Not to mention, if he's going to battle against Pokemon directly like he did with James' Koffing, he'd damn well better have a grasp of what they're capable of. Dias has no desire to get Sludge Bombed again.
He thus has been reading up on the matter; now he's returning to the "wild," inasmuch as any place in Nede can be called "wild," to observe these Pokemon again, this time with an actual understanding of things like types and moves. It's a different sort of training than Rena and Claude, so he's on his own for the moment. (Dias might be part of the party now, but it's still his instinct to work things out on his own.) He's been here before, so he isn't expecting any surprises...
*clash*, *spark*, *tshinngg*
...but he hears one anyway. It's a sound he knows intimately well: the sound of steel clashing on steel.
Instantly, Dias is on alert. He crouches, drawing close to manicured shrubbery on the side of the path, and hones his ears for the direction of the sound. When he pinpoints it, he rises partially to creep carefully off the path and around the brush, avoiding any twigs underneath that might crack and give his position away, using trees to mask any visual on his approach. (Dias is a tall guy. Bushes just won't do.) The sounds of battle grow louder--
Or rather, of a spar. Even before Joy and Honedge enter his view, Dias can tell it's not a real fight. It isn't harsh enough, not desperate enough. He thus has a certain set of expectations even before he arrives on the edge of the spot where the sparring is taking place, standing fully upright behind another tree.
He watches for a breath, taking in the scene. Then he makes a decision and steps out from behind the tree, no longer masking his approach. He doesn't come any closer than the side of said tree, though. He simply leans against it, folding his arms to show he's not about to draw his own sword on her, and watches Joy spar for however long she chooses to let him.
She might technically be an enemy, but Dias has the sense she won't attack him out of the blue. Of course, he doesn't know her well enough to *trust* that, so his folded arms still nonetheless keep a hand close to Swallowblade's hilt.
<Pose Tracker> Arisugawa Joy has posed.
The sparring match continues, even as Joy notices Dias moving out of the tree in witness of their battle. It's a good instinct, because Honedge isn't letting up on its pressure -- it takes advantage of the fact that it's a floating sword to stab at her from below, which nearly catches her off-guard; she has to grab hold of the metal rod with both hands to deflect it aside, and whirls with a strong pivot on one foot to bat it aside.
She breathes pretty difficultly, wheezing a little bit; it's not just windedness causing it, but she's not faltering. Of course, compared to a seasoned swordsman like Dias who's seen countless battles, Joy is a comparative novice; she's only witnessed her first desperate, life-or-death battle (or so she believes) against Ida and Zed the other day.
But...
There's promise there too. Despite the inexperience, her footwork is solid. She's learnt from self-defence classes and other forms of martial arts; her swordplay is less so -- there's a self-taught sloppiness to it, and perhaps it is easy for Dias to reason that there simply aren't many people willing to teach swordplay in Nede, so the youth has little in the way of tutelage.
"Mister Dias Flac... is it not?" Joy speaks up. "I remember you, from the other day."
She notices Swallowblade, and lingers on it for a while; 'So that's a real sword,' her thoughts are almost too easy to read, even for one who's not a psychic.
She sets the metal rod down and kneels before a backpack, first taking a towel and wiping her face with it; then, she takes out what looks like a blue L-shaped container, and slowly inhales into it, spaced out several times. Her breathing sounds a bit easier afterwards.
"How are you... accomodating to Nede?"
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
She's certainly a novice. But she's a novice with promise. Dias already knew that, though; he watched the tail end of her battle with Ida and Zed, and while he doesn't know them any better than he knows her, he could tell they were skilled. There is something about her breathing, though... While her footwork is good, it sounds like she might be ill, rather than simply out of breath. That's going to kill any staying power she might otherwise have.
And, of course, her swings are sloppy. But that's no surprise. Dias has already observed enough of this world to know that fighting Pokemon directly as she is just isn't how things are normally done. The important thing is that she can--and did--deflect that attack. But would that be enough against the likes of the Ten Wise Men?
Probably not. But that's not Dias's problem.
"Yes," he replies. "And you're Arisugawa Joy. I remember you, too." He heard Ida address her that way the other day at the meeting with Mayor Nall and Prof. Oak. He notes the way her eyes track down to the sword sheathed at his hip, though he doesn't comment on it; then he tracks the strange object she takes out and breathes into.
"Hmm. Just fine," he decides to say. He nods slightly at the inhaler. "What is that? Some kind of medicine?" Her breathing *did* sound easier after she used it, after all.
<Pose Tracker> Arisugawa Joy has posed.
He remembers her. There's a quiet mirth that doesn't quite bubble up to Joy's face as she packs her things away, and offers what looks like a little berry to Honedge, as a treat. The sword looks more mirthful than her Trainer, and... well.
Seeing a sword nibble away at a berry, somehow, certainly is an unusual experience, but one that reminds that Honedge isn't just a sword -- it's a kind of living being too.
Dias inquires about the medicine, and Joy nods. "My heart and lungs have been weak since birth, and sometimes the airways just seize up, and it gets difficult to breathe. The medicine helps with that. They call the condition asthma."
It's a possibly fatal weakness in combat, but Joy has always been well aware of that. And she reinforces that, as she says:
"But... I won't let that stop me, even if they all tell me it's foolish. I want to defend Nede from the Ten Wise Men, above all else."
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
Unusual for sure. Dias watches the sword nibble ("nibble"? is it really nibbling if it doesn't have teeth? or a mouth?) at the berry. He's read about those too--various kinds of tree fruits that Pokemon enjoy. Different Pokemon have different tastes, even--some like them sour, or bitter, or sweet, and so on. It is strange that a sword can be alive, but Dias has encountered all kinds of strange monsters in his time, too. It's probably better to think of it that way.
"I see," he says of the asthma. He doesn't need to question her about that; she asserts her determination to defend Nede, no matter how serious her disadvantage is. "I've met people like you before. People willing to die to protect their homelands."
Is it foolish? In his opinion, with a condition like that, it is. The Ten Wise Men aren't so kind that they'd be willing to go easy on someone with asthma. Pursuing this path means pursuing an early grave. There's no point in saying that, though. If 'they all' tell her it's foolish, she's clearly heard it all before. She's not going to back down because a total stranger told her to.
"You said before that your 'boss' taught you a new way to relate to your Pokemon. Does that have something to do with your decision?" he wonders.
<Pose Tracker> Arisugawa Joy has posed.
It means a lot, that Dias doesn't need to dote on her condition or advise that it's foolish to do so because of it. He also comments on having met people like her before. People willing to die to protect their homelands.
She wonders where they are now, or if they've seen their resolve through and are resting in the ground now.
"You must have seen your share of battles... and your share of allies come and go," Joy can only even begin to imagine what that's like -- she can't even remotely say she's familiar with it. "Does that mean you feel differently, though?"
She is curious. What drives a man like this...
But Dias also mentions the 'Boss', and the way in which he taught about how to relate to her Pokemon.
"... when the troubles first started, I inquired about resistance to every adult I knew. My teachers, the police, my family -- they all told me to stay put and let the appropriate people take care of it. I didn't like that answer... to be honest, I also bristled at how hasty our Mayor wanted to involve you in our troubles too."
It's a bit of a roundabout answer to what Dias asked, but she comes around to it: "When I first met the Boss in my journey, he was the only one who soundly defeated me. And when I asked how, he told me that though I cared for my Pokemon and looked after their needs, my heart wasn't truly with them, in their struggle."
She closes her eyes.
"The Ten Wise Men don't care about League rules. That's why I want to temper myself, to be there with my Pokemon, that we can together better resist them. And to that end... only Team Rocket seemed willing to do something about the Ten Wise Men. That's why I've decided to ally with them."
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
Sometimes, people need to see something through no matter how disadvantaged they are. And even disadvantaged, Joy isn't weak. It might be foolish, but she knows her condition far better than Dias could. It would be even more foolish for him to try to lecture her on something he only just learned about but she's lived with her entire life.
"I don't do allies," Dias replies immediately--then catches himself with, "...Rena and Claude are an exception." A beat. "But it's true I've seen a lot of people die in my time."
Does he feel differently, though?
"Differently from what? Death is normal where I'm from. Bandits, drought, war, monsters... Any number of things can kill you. Even a skilled swordsman like me is far from immune. One careless moment, and that's the end."
...He didn't actually say how he felt, though. But then, would a brusque swordsman like this really be interested in talking about feelings?
He's silent when Joy gets into her own experiences. Given what she'd said the other day, on top of what he's seen so far of Nedian culture (the Pokemon bits aside), it's no surprise that the standard attitude is 'let the authorities (someone else) handle it.' When the troubles first started, though, huh...
"How long ago was that?" he asks. "I had the impression they only just unsealed themselves and made it here to Nede."
The actual answer to his question is a separate matter, though. Her heart wasn't truly with her Pokemon, according to this 'Boss.' Dias wonders how he'd know. He certainly can't tell--but then, he doesn't have an interest in training animals either. (Even if he likes them.)
Regardless of that, it's true the Ten Wise Men aren't going to care about rules someone else has set up. They've declared themselves rulers of the universe. The only law they'll care about is their own.
"What *is* Team Rocket doing about the Ten Wise Men? Being willing to act and taking action are two different things." (Dias doubts Joy will just tell him, but there's no harm in asking as long as she's in the mood to talk, either.)
<Pose Tracker> Arisugawa Joy has posed.
It doesn't surprise Joy when Dias says he doesn't do allies -- she'd pinned him as a lone wolf type. ... she definitely won't admit it, but the type he reminds her of she'd only seen in media, so seeing a real life example of it is also pretty cool.
"Hmm..." Joy doesn't point it out, since she knows it'd probalby prickle Dias -- but he doesn't need to say it to know that those two mean a whole lot to him.
But to hear Dias speak of his realm, where death is a constant occurence...
"I see. And disease, no doubt. The way you were unfamiliar with my medicine, someone like myself probably would have died long ago," Joy remarks, with a surprisingly even tone.
How long ago was it?
"It must have been... only a few days before the Rockets moved in on the Laboratory. It's a coincidence, I'll admit, but it's become a goal I can't simply ignore."
Dias has a more direct answer. What *is* Team Rocket doing about the Ten Wise Men?
"Right now, we have to gather more power," Joy explains, because that's enough on the tin that she doesn't register it as revealing. "We don't know if they'll strike outside of where they've fortified themselves... so I want to do more scouting too. No doubt, they also have minions they're sending around the place."
She pauses for a moment... and even though she hesitates, she proposes something that's been on her mind:
"I... have a request for you. No, not a request, a trade." A pause, then she bows her head. "Mister Dias Flac. I'd... like to learn from you, if you'll take me. I want to refine my swordplay."
"And in turn... I can teach you more about Pokemon and Nede -- even if you aren't willing to train them, it's useful to know their temperaments, their abilities, how to stop them. You've seen a lot of younger, docile Pokemon that are suitable to live around towns, but that's not what all Pokemon are like. If you know where to look, I think you too could find ones that would suit your needs, even just challenging yourself against them. Take Honedge, for instance."
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
"No doubt," Dias agrees, just as even-toned, of Joy's assessment of her chances of survival growing up in Filgaia. In the same way, though she hadn't asked earlier about how many of those he's known willing to give up their lives for their homelands are still alive today... Well. It's just as well she hadn't asked. War *was* one of the big killers he'd mentioned.
Only a few days... That *is* a coincidence. It makes Dias think that it's more an excuse than anything else. That her real goal is to get strong and fight, and the Ten Wise Men are the best goal to set, with Team Rocket a convenient means to an end. It's probably true that she has an emotional attachment to them, though, given how she speaks of their Boss, so it's not like they're *just* a means to an end.
She does talk some about their goals, though nothing more than he could've guessed himself. Still, he nods. "No doubt. They had plenty over on Filgaia," he replies. He doesn't know that explicitly, in all fairness--but the Sorcery Globe was their doing, and it created a *lot* of monsters over the past seven years. Plus, *someone* had to put a crack in that seal that bound them first.
He eyeballs Joy with that intense red stare of his when Joy proposes a trade, though. "No," he replies, unhesitating. "I don't do allies, and I don't take disciples."
Setting the issue of Team Rocket aside, she's already gambling with her life. If he trained her and she got herself killed anyway... The very idea runs him through on a blade of existential horror.
Of course, then Joy goes on to say what she'd offer in turn--and the promise that there are wilder, more powerful Pokemon out there is one he's hard-pressed to ignore. The Four Fields await, but until then, he has precious little to do. He already commented to Rena once that his skills are going to rust out here, and one can't grow strong if one lazes about in between the big battles. He considers Honedge; then he looks back at Joy.
"I don't take disciples," he repeats. This time, though, the look in his eye is assessing. "...But if you're going to challenge me to a fight, I won't say no."
<Pose Tracker> Arisugawa Joy has posed.
Joy can't even begin to comprehend being in a war, despite the fact that her homeland is largely going to experience one. She can't fully internalise what that's like; even the media she's consumed can only go so far, because the spark to really depict it like it might be just is not there.
And perhaps, it is a coincidence. Joy isn't lying about it -- she is fervent and resolute in her goal, but... perhaps it was a convenient outlet to make herself seem more legitimate, than just being a delinquent. There's a part of her that is still a bit scared about tearing away from everything.
So on Filgaia, the Ten Wise Men had minions....
But Dias pre-empts her with a 'no', but she pushes on with her explanation regardless, in part because...
Because she does believe Pokemon has something for everyone -- the kind ones who love animals, the ones who want to see how far they can go... even the lone wolves who don't fit into society.
"... all right," Joy nods quietly. "I think that works for me too; I'm searching for the meaning of strength, and in some ways, I think that can only found in the middle of battle."
She reaches for her bag again, and puts on a jumper. It's not exactly defensive clothing, but it's better than just having a tanktop on.
"Pokemon like Honedge linger near Armlock City to the southeast, a place where Nedians sealed away dangerous weaponry. Some theorise that they were borne from past experiments. In the deeper caves, there are stronger species still."
As if feeling like she's paying her due for the duel, Joy takes hold of Honedge and holds it horizontally in front of her, focusing her spirit and concentration.
"... I'm ready."
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
"Then we have a deal," Dias replies. Maybe there's a place for him in the world of Pokemon, and maybe not, but this is at least the most promise he's seen in them with regards to his own quest for strength.
Not that Pokemon should just be a means towards gaining strength. They're living, breathing creatures, too. But that is precisely the point.
He waits for her to pull on that jumper; in the process, she explains to him where to find more Honedge and other, stronger Pokemon. Armlock City... Interesting. He nods once as he files that information away.
Joy takes up a stance with her Honedge. He, too, draws his sword. Being a real sword, it has its similarities to the Pokemon Joy wields, but there is a greater simplicity to it. It's not cut with anything else. It simply is--and it is as natural in Dias's hand as his arm is on his shoulder.
He squares against her.
And then he tosses his blade into his left hand.
"Ten seconds," he states in his gruff voice, just before he launches himself at her with blinding speed.
If she'd noticed any of the battle he fought against Jessie and James's Pokemon, she might recognize it as similar to a Gale Thrust, but without the raw power. Indeed, not only does he refrain from using any special techniques, but fighting left-handed reduces the strength of his blows considerably. However, they remain just as fast, just as precise, and just as relentless--no, even *more* relentless, because he's out to try to overwhelm her defenses. His own defense shows no holes to exploit, either. This isn't just any swordsman. This is someone who lives and breathes by the sword.
And, as promised, exactly ten seconds later, he stops. Possibly with the tip of his blade hovering an inch in front of her face--but possibly with their blades locked in a standstill. "Still wanna go another round?" he asks, deadpan.
On its face, it might sound arrogant; he's strong, and he knows it. Underneath, though, there's a ribbon of concern.
<Pose Tracker> Arisugawa Joy has posed.
A quest for strength. It is perhaps more core to Joy than a lot of things she's presented about herself; that quest for strength started when she was ten, after all, and emerged in many forms. The ability to go on a journey by herself, without having to be tended to at every turn despite her disadvantages; the ability to raise and grow and become close with Pokemon.
She was a Champion, in that field, even if the topic hasn't come up. Though there are many other Champion-ranked trainers, it doesn't dilute the achievement any.
But now she's growing even more, searching to other fields to find strength. She doesn't know yet what the meaning of strength is, but she knows...
Ten seconds.
Here, she'll find it--
Dias is unbelievably fast, faster than she can imagine a human moving; it's like an Arcanine moving at Extreme Speed. But Dias can see an advantage with her Style--
Where Joy can't follow, right now, Honedge can, and the first blow is parried less by the movement of her arm, but by the sword moving. And though Honedge, too, has much room to grow...
Together, they are more than the sum of their parts.
Ten seconds pass, and even left-handed, there's a distinct difference in so many levels. Dias is simply a physically stronger being, Joy being the teenager that she is, even a physically active one; his senses and reaction speeds are much more honed than hers is, and the difference in a split second means everything. Nothing she tries bears much fruit, but near the ten second mark, she moves to strike and--
Honedge flies out of her hand, to seek an angle of attack impossible for someone holding their sword to perform.
This leaves her too open, because they aren't fast enough, and Swallowblade is at the front of her face. It's unrefined, but... there's promise there. There's thinking, of what it means to fight with a living weapon.
Still wanna go another round?
Joy breathes a bit more laboriously, but the wheezing isn't there. It's not the constriction of her airways; it's the thrill of exertion coursing through her veins.
"Yes."
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
The brief duel ends with Dias the victor, Joy staring down the tip of Swallowblade--but he saw that maneuver she started with Honedge. If she'd been faster, he'd have been in trouble. It was a risky move, but there was definitely something inspired by it. He can see now what she meant about fighting as one with her Pokemon.
But even more than that... There's that gleam in her eyes, her unhesitating 'yes.' She absolutely has the will to see her chosen mission through, and the drive to grow even stronger.
It reminds him of Claude.
A corner of his mouth quirks up in a small smirk. "Hmm." Despite the invitation to keep fighting, he eases out of his battle stance, swapping hands to sheathe his sword. "We'll save it for next time, then--after I've had a visit to Armslock." In other words, after he's confirmed her information and is ready to learn more. He turns to start walking off--this time eschewing the trail to walk through the greenery as it is.
"I look forward to you challenging me again."