Description:
As someone who just got beaten pretty hard by Sagat, Seishirou is back on his feet pretty soon. Oh, no, when he walks it's still with a slight limp favoring the side Sagat launched his foot into, but it could be perceived as surprising that a ninja type fighter who got ruled by the former Emperor of Muay Thai is able to walk at all.
It hurts a great deal, but Ryouhara knew a thing or two about pain.
Besides. If he was even a minute late, he'd've heard about it plenty from Seijyun's principal.
Right now, the ninja is dressed in a simply uncharactestic set of blue coveralls with fingerless gloves, hauling a degree and variety of gardening tools. From shovel across his shoulder and the backpack slung across its end to a set of spades at his belt, he's hauling a decent variety of items out of the school.
His characteristic headband still sits at his brow.
Well. A job's a job, right?
Finally, after quite some time of maintaining a fairly well hidden position in a treee, Talia gets tired of waiting. She drops down, landing softly on the earth below. There's a short moment where she takes in a more complete view of the park, no longer needing to keep focused solely on her target. She remains silent for several moments, simply enjoying the view. Finally, she remarks exactly loud enough for her voice to carry clearly to Seishirou, "You do good work." She isn't currently looking at Seishirou, and her tone is as flat as always, but it's somehow clear she's addressing him.
Oh, Ryouhara had very little clue she was there.
No indications, no prior warnings. It would have been a little different were it inside Seijyun High itself, but out here, Seishirou is recognizably vulnerable. Then again, that's also why Seishirou is hardly surprised when the landing is soft, the voice carrying to him businesslike and clear. He halts, dropping his shovel handle to the ground for a span long enough to let a highly polished wrist buckle glint under the light.
"I usually don't get spotted like this," the ninja wonders openly. It was half the reason he wore coveralls to Seijyun--most were used to his normal urban ninjutsu attire. Of course, there were also strict dress codes at the school for janitorial staff, but that part is carefully left unimplied.
"Huh," Seishirou recognizes, also not actually looking directly at Talia. For all any bystander would know, the two are having mutual coversations with thin air. "You're that wire staff-fighter that's been making the rounds..."
His grin is faint.
"Excuse. Gunfighter." So everyone /else/ said.
He volunteers very little else other than that.
They're familiar with eachother.
That's all that needs to be established now.
When the ninja refers to her a "wire staff-fighter", there's a slight narrowing of her eyes, and Talia presses her lips ever so faintly. She continues appreciating the scenery for a few more moments, considering the scenario as fully as she can.
"I.. am varied in my approaches," she allows. She takes a few steps not quite in Seishirou's direction, yet closing the distance all the same. "Some apply better in some situations than other.. But I have my preference." This last is stated with slightly more emphasis, breaking her near-monotone for just a moment.
"You have an interesting grasp of tactics," Seishirou mentions. "Some call that gimmickry."
It's hardly an accusation. Seishirou is referring to something very specific, gauging the reaction. The latter's dissatisfaction at his initial assessment is not beyond him. Regardless, his own look is placid, sharp half-lidded eyes straying more towards the other fighter.
"We have our preferences," he finally agrees.
He then opens a free hand, still gripping the shovel in the other. His tone and pacing changes to something a little simpler, more direct. "You've been watching for some time," he guesses. She would have had to have either followed him here, or attained information that he worked here to have been able to spot him so quickly, that much he could tell off the bat. "You're either collecting information about me..." --as any real televised battle might have revealed-- "Or.."
He pauses.
"... Someone at your level won't waste time with idle chatter."
Everything has a purpose. Simple logic.
This time, Talia looks away rather pointedly. There's some truth to each statement the ninja makes, but she's still struggling with the mere notion of what she's been contemplating.. and now is on the verge of carrying out. Another moment passes, then Talia takes a few more steps, turning to face Seishirou directly. She verbalizes a roundabout agreement, "'Act only such that you gain.'" Maybe the quote worked better before translation, but the meaning is still clear. She looks at Seishirou for just a moment longer before finally getting to the point. "I have encountered certain obstacles I am uncertain how to overcome.. as I believe so have you." Having let it out, she gives the ninja the chance to respond.
"Hm," he echoes curiously.
Darkly.
Something about obstacles shaped like Muay Thai gods.
There was some sort of subtext about her, Ryouhara could tell. She carefully considered her choice of words. A strategic choice, but the overall sentiment is something he could understand.
His free hands slides into his pocket. A little self-conscious, Seishirou's eyes narrow just a little, biting his lower lip in thought. While some might find it strange that he even bothers to consider the words he's known personally only for a handful of minutes.. Well. This is hardly a personal arrangement, is it?
"Not things we can afford to keep secret," he finally concludes.
It's about the closest he'll ever to admitting having a problem he can't solve immediately.
"I have a small compound in the forest to the northwest," he explains, though further information is.. not entirely forthcoming. Information about a style like hers isn't going to volunteer itself for long, and it's likely his only chance. "Let me guess."
Seishirou's done homework.
"You're having trouble with supernatural power."
Talia closes her eyes, displaying some of the more open emotion that Seishirou has likely seen in his homework, aside from the moments of terror here and there. That was less about letting down her guard, and more about having it forcibly ripped from her; slightly different case. She takes one breath then opens her eyes to look at him. She nods once, then after a short hesitation speaks again. "My training.. had some holes I wasn't prepared to close." She tilts her head slightly to the side, then asks, "You, too, have similar holes, do you not..? You needed to thread the needle, and yet you chose.." She trails off, offering a faint shrug.
Seishirou studies Talia carefully as surely as she was studying him only minutes prior. Apparently grimly satisfied with the obvious response, he nods once. It's a stiff motion--the next admission is his to make. Slowly, the shovel lifts, raising and then settling across his shoulder again. "Ineffective strategies," he finally sums it up their problems in two words. "A needle that can't be seen can't be threaded. But it /is/ there," he insists.
In short, the entire cornerstone of his resolve and his style, something he's had a great deal of time to settle in. It's not something he expresses any due distress over. It's troubling, but the set of his look is still half-lidded, resolution creeping into his tone.
"It's only a matter of time before either of us discover the solution, with or without one another's help," he rationalizes coldly. "But," he allows, "it would be useless to waste time pursuing that end, if we both know this much about the other."
Briskly, he continues. "I'll be heading back in an hour. I will provide the necessary information. Studies. Training. And in return.." He nods to Talia once.
He needs to say little else.
Talia looks at Seishirou with a searching gaze for a few moments, considering his words carefully. Finally, she returns his nod, taking several steps back before turning away. There's a short sprint, then a leap, and to all observers.. Talia has left the grounds. Anyone privy to the conversation that just took place would know, though, that she isn't going far. There's a date to keep.
Doesn't mean one can't run an errand or two, first.
Ryouhara looks up as Talia makes herself scarce in a hurry. Oh, he's well aware she'll be close by. It's the only answer that makes sense--she wouldn't be able to find the location of his center of operations otherwise, right? Hm. The ninja takes a moment more for a quick breath, and then is hone himself, swiftly.
A date to keep.
Though he does store the equipment in a third party shed not to deeply hidden in the park, about an hour later (almost exactly, for anyone paying attention to the time) Seishirou has arrived. WHat he describes as 'his compound' is a strange location, set off with rather well hidden tags marked with script that glows malevolently when one passes. A small clearing, of course, is the main crux of what the tags seeem to be guarding. It houses.. a lot of partially buried machinery. A lot of buried machinery, and an ominous hand-set stone staircase leading underground. Beyond the obvious, there is more than one way into whatever's buried underground, though most of the exits have been artfully buried. Ohe is.. quite large.
Seishirou hardly bothers to keep the door locked--who would it keep out? But that said, he'd gone inside for some time. And then brought out a large, very heavy bag. Having changed out of his coveralls, he only stops and waits.
When Talia approaches, she's extremely wary. While she has good reason to believe an understanding has either been reached or is in the process of being reached, it's well established that the ninja can do some truly hazardous things to the unaware.
Like drop an edged girder on them.
So it's with no small amount of caution that Talia follows the trail, such as it is. She very nearly misses the markers, but her recently heightened (and even before quite substantial) paranoia of all things glowy causes it to stand out to her. For a moment she fears it's a trap, but she finally concludes.. well, if it is, it is. Risk comes before reward. With her impassive mask, Talia finally catches up to Seishirou, bag and all. She arches an eyebrow as she takes in the new scenery.
No, the marks are hardly traps. As well concealed as they are, they're too far out to be useful for that purpose. Early warning markers, that burn off the trees only a minute after passing them. The arrays Seishirou currently use are only good for so many hours, so the few Seishirou puts out are replaced nightly. Talia's arrival is known to him in advance.
No, the true defenses are much closer and much fewer in number. They are all disabled, at any rate.
When Talia arrives, the ninja is sitting in the middle of the clearing, making.. notes.
A lot of them.
Apparently copying down legible text into a notebook based on the multitude of graphs, scrolls and charts collected around him, all in arcane script.
A few are upside down.
When she arrives, he looks up, fairly unsurprised--is that the tag you just saw a little ways back sitting next to him?
"Now that we're in a less crowded environment," The ninja explains simply, "We can discuss." Strategies. And how to compensate for their failings.
Talia tilts her head again, looking at Seishirou with a look that can closest be related to puzzlement. It's not quite curiosity, but more an awareness that there's something new, and a need to at least acknowledge it to herself. Talia finds herself in the frustrating circumstance of not /wanting/ to know, but finally being forced into accepting the /need/ to know. She walks slowly towards the ninja, regarding the documents with no small amount of wariness. "There are many paths, but some lead nowhere.. Are you able to show the way?" Her monotone slips slightly, and there's something.. not entirely unlike hopefulness, at the end.
"I can't say that I have all the answers to the issues you're having," Ryouhara starts, his voice preoccupied and distant in the middle of writing. He works very quickly--but despite the speed his writing in the spiral bound notebook is impeccable. He's likely filled about ten pages since he's sat down, and two more flit out in the space of time it takes him to finish speaking.
"But I have information that you can use. I don't expect you to need much else."
Another page.
So begins his explanation, detailing briefly what lay on the pages even as he writes them out. "Fear of the unknown. That's the weakness. But to be as good as you are... you have the ability to use what you fear, the same as anyone else. Though the methods are held secrets by some, it is no feat of mysticism."
He rolls up all the scrolls, all the charts, all the strange items and packs them away. Still, he continues. "Everything that exists is a science. Mechanical or otherwise. Everything conforms to rules. Working within those rules, they can rarely be exceeded or broken. What you are looking for lies in the center of your own fear."
Seishirou stands--he offers the book. "Twelve pages," he starts. "A beginner's explanation of what you're encountering, and what I've observed in general. As the first part of our trade, I'll show you this energy and what it's capable of. You'll find the exercise useful. After you've shown me your ability with mechanical projectiles, I will complete more pages. And we will stage another exercise. That's the deal. I'm presuming you've already accepted."
The book hangs there in the air, floating if not for Seishirou's grip.
It has exactly 200 pages, only 12 of which are currently filled.
There's slightly more open fascination as Talia watches the .. scribing. It's the only way she can really describe the process Seishirou is engaged in. She doesn't attempt to read the pages from where she is, because at this point, she's not certain it's meant for her, or that she'd even understand it. Instead, she simply watches and listens.. And her attention quickly shifts more firmly to what Seishirou's saying than what he's doing. Once he finishes speaking, she spends a few moments in contemplation, looking at the displayed object.
".. One could deny a choice, but that would be untrue. Choices abound, but not all lead to one's desire." There's a pause, then a nod. "Your terms are fair. Tell me what you require for the first exercise." She takes a couple of steps back, putting herself far enough away from Seishirou and his collection of documents that she can move freely, without moving so far as to obscure his view of her actions.
The Ryouhara clan ninja nods. A fashion close to her interests, he finds her words to be in line with what's about to proceed. In truth, following him here--this is the only possible conclusion. The particular location is secret to everyone but his allies. That Talia found her way here without a giant steel marble trying to crush her is indicative of his concern for her and her status.
One deliberate blink later.
"You'll need three minutes," Seishirou summarizes.
He turns the book so that the spine faces into the wind. And he flicks it at Talia, clearly meant for her to catch. Though in most cases, Seishirou flinging a book at someone that he has just written in would be a precursor to a building-rocking explosion, the black leather-covered book is filled with legible non-exploding text, not at all scribbled. Clearly for her benefit.
"If you're able to read and retain all of it in that time," Seishirou explains, making a single handseal and holding it to center himself, "I'll not be surprised, but impressed. Keep the book for now. Right now, it defines the process of molding the internal energies of the body and its spirit. Read page eight. That's the ability of some to mold the form properties of this energy into an elemental nature." He explains this all very patiently and very calmly. "You'll need it. At the end of three minutes, I am going to set fire to the immediate area. You will most likely be included."
He considers, doing some calculations in his head.
"Two minutes, 24 seconds," he informs amiably.
Talia casually reaches to catch the tossed book, now having decided she can trust his intentions. Tilting her head at his statements, Talia blinks once. Twice. Frowns. She subsequently concludes that Seishirou is entirely serious, and that her training has begun. She promptly flips the book open, beginning to flip through the pages using multiple fingers as ad-hoc bookmarks. She skims over every page first to get a notion of its content, then puts more detailed attention where her mentor directs.
At the same time, perhaps without even consciously realizing it, Talia begins to shift her stance, tensing slightly. After all, if one knows an attack is coming, one doesn't just kick back and let it come.. particularly if they don't know how to stop it, yet.
The book is actually /quite/ exact in its details. Even at the introductory level, it's hardly light reading, but it's also .. very explicit and almost unnervingly scientific. Eschewing the quasi-religious foolishness of some others, it describes chi and the sensations it produces in similar fashion to how a medical journal might a first person account of a psychological disease.
-...AURA: Described by some as 'force of will' or 'determination,' this is more an effect of the movement of the natural energies in the body. Warm sensations have been reported just before chi impacts. This is the nature of the subject's internal chi reacting to the chi outside the body as it disrupts the aura. Harnessing the aura is a matter of concentration and proper breathing, emotions towards the incoming need to be tightly controlled...sometimes chi can be molded to retain elemental properties depending on the emotional nature of the user...not uncommon to see electricity, water or even fire...-
Seishirou was, in fact, deadly serious. He remains silent, allowing her to read. He's gained a proper gauge of her ability from his studies, so he is quite sure that, unlike Ingrid, she is likely to more or less survive what he is about to do. But, he'll only give her those three minutes to familiarize herself.
And at the exact moment those three minuets are up from the time he initially started to speak, his hands begin to blur into rapid gestures.
- ..many fashions can be used to mold chi mnemonically.. -
Seishirou hisses out the words, breathing in air. "Hope you're ready.."
Katon - GOUKAKYUU NO JUTSU!
Easily half the clearing Talia occupies--luckily, one that's had most of its exploding securities moved or disabled--is almost immediately bathed in pure fire, blown by the ninja as easily as if he were a dragon.
As Talia reads, her expression quickly slips into a frown. She reads a page again.. flips forward.. flips back.. goes back to the first page, re-reading each page rapidly, before finally returning to the page that inspired the initial frown. Upgrade: Scowl. At this point, she's looked at each page in the book at least 3 times, and fully read - as opposed to simply skim - all of them at least once. She doesn't like something in what she sees, and it's upsetting her to the point that her normal emotionless facade is totally abandoned. Standing there, mid-scowl.. she realizes there's motion out of the corner of her eye. Rapidly, she twists to face Seishirou, eyes widening.
Her time ran up. Now it's time for..
wait.
Even as Seishirou is taking in a breath, Talia slams the book back to the upsetting page, and her eyes close. Her expression almost seems to fracture, it returns to the mask so abruptly. There's a backwards leap, and while it's far from enough to put Talia out of the range of the flames, she's far from the center of impact. The edges of her coat are singed, and her hair is mussed.. but still her eyes are closed, and her face still.
As for the book? It's slipped under her jacket. She's not ready for it to be damaged just yet.
The field is burning.
Well, Seishirou apparently knows how to garden, so throwing around that much devastation will be of little consequence, but it's.. as far as anyone can tell, it's honest to goodness fire, free for the examination for the moment. He can replant the grass trivially.
-...All elemental-type chi assumes all of that element's properties. A fire created by hand is the same as fire created by the spirit except that it is dependent on the originator and that it responds to opposing chi. Energy responds to energy...-
The ninja breathes outwards, tucking his hands into his pockets and peering through the smoke. As he moves, he steps on smaller fires that crop up, putting them out before they get too close to his own personal bag of documentation. He looks onwards closely, finally making out Talia's form beyond the dwindling inferno.
He raises a brow at her only-slightly-charred form.
She hid the book--the first indicator that she'd at least passingly understood what it held.
"Not bad. Then you know when I use this technique.. the fire will burn anything it touches." He seems quite satisfied. He repeats. "But. Like anything else in this world. Anything that follows rules can be controlled. Anything that can be controlled can be defended against."
But her eyes are closed? To that, at least. Seishirou frowns.
"That was only the first form." he mentions idly, without even bothering to chide or make a recommendation. It's unclear whether he intended his all along, but he takes his hands out of his pockets again. A series of seals, and then at the last, clasps them together into a strange triangle shape just in front of his mouth. Breathing in slowly, he explains. "You might need your eyes. The next form of this technique is going to follow you."
Amidst the ruins of the clearing, Talia stands still. While she was projecting calm, it was taking everything she had to not break down again. She repeats a phrase in her head, a newly discovered mantra, using it to retain focus, retain clarity, and retain control of her own self. Everything Seishirou is telling her is heard, categorized, and filed away.. but at this instant, she's fighting to maintain control. She can absorb it when she's ready.
When Seishirou speaks of 'first form', Talia's eyes slowly open. She looks at Seishirou with a flat gaze, looking more dead than before. She stares at him when he begins the series of handseals, then her mouth quirks slightly. Maybe part of a smile, maybe part of a smirk, maybe part of a scowl. It quickly straightens.
At the same moment Seishirou is beginning the final release of his technique, Talia darts her free hand (not holding the book under the coat) into a pocket, lashing out with the hand towards Seishirou as she leaps backwards.. in a straight line from Seishirou. She crouches on landing, in case further evasion is necessary.. But she wasn't simply waving at the ninja.
Five blue shotgun shells fly towards Seishirou's face. If they're caught in flame, they'll each ignite.. producing a large enough smoke cloud to obscure a human each. With an added bonus of a small concussive blast as they fire.. they are shotgun shells, after all.
Regardless of that faint facial tweak, Seishirou's followup is inevitable. He has little idea of her personal trauma--oh, he has an idea, but the extent is as of yet an item that demands eventual measurement. Right now? There is only the principle to illustrate.
The fire forms a wavy indistinct 'snake' of molten gas, hissing throguh the air as it .. the only possible description would be 'slithers' for the gunslinger, 'visibly' curving in the air very faintly as it cleanly attempts to make a hole of scorched ozone where Talia currently stands. However, the shotgun shells fly into the inferno easily. For the fireblast and the speed of the projectiles, they meet quickly and disperse equally so. The 'head' of snake is chopped off almost before it is born, in an explosion of concealing smoke.
And concussion.
This is what actually interrupts the technique, dully impacting the ninja as it disperses his fires. The ninja, of course, is driven back a few steps, /almost/ falling off his balance with the force as if slugged full in the face. Luckily, range of effects are a subjective thing when fire snakes are involved. He would have had to move quickly otherwise.
Technique stuffed, the ninja.. nods once.
Stiffly.
Though he /appears/ little injured for his ordeal--bloodied lip aside, there is no smile on his face, no self satisfaction or smugness in what he illustrates, but no embarassment at having his technique interrupted, either. It would be useless to try and find Talia in this smoke, even though he's familiar with fighting sightless. Instead, his hands slide back into his pockets. They stay there. He waits.
Waits, and repeats once. "Anything that can be controlled."
While Seishirou waits out the cloud, Talia has taken up position on a nearby rock. She's sitting about 7 feet away from the position where Seishirou last saw her, reading through the dozen pages she's received so far with the additional time she's bought. Her expression is still faintly annoyed, but she's much calmer now. When she notices the smoke clearing enough that line of sight between herself and the ninja is possible, she closes the book. Standing slowly, she looks at Seishirou with something almost resembling a smile.
"The near mountain seems large because it is close. The far mountain seems large because it is a mountain. Go to the mountain." It has a ring of a quote to it.
"...."
Most of the fires have gone out of their own volition now. The Ryouhara boy steps .. well, towards Talia, but only just so. He's got a different objective. His expression is blank, almost paled as he kneels just long enough to pick up one of the shells from the shotgun blast. It flips end-over-end in the air as the ninja tosses it up once, testing for its weight.
He doesn't even seem to care when the shell lands again in his hand begins to crackle at and almost through his skin. Instead, with a casual hand-whipping motion, he silently flicks it with an underhand throw across the way. Not too far from Talia, but ultimately aimed nowhere near her. His target?
Seishirou catches the shell out of the air, not five feet behind and to the side of Talia's current position. His expression, too, is blank, but he, unlike the crackling thing that just threw the shell to him, is hardly silent.
At least, not when he elects to speak.
"I'm not much fond of mountains," the ninja explains.
The copy Seishirou just made destabilizes rapidly, turning to a crackling haze in the air and then finally flickers out of existence. It's worth noting that that's been seen exploding in prior tournament videos.
It's not mentioned in any of the 12 pages.
"The first step is seeing," Ryouhara nods, already on his way back down the stairs with his bag. "It continues from here on. I'll want to see more of this--" he holds up the shell without looking back. "But .. first. Lunch," he insists.
He has not eaten at all since before Seijyun.
While Talia's focused on Seishirou, she seems largely disinterested when he fetches one of her spent shells. Her attention becomes much more engaged, however, when she notices the crackle. She immediately sits upright, looking far more alert and concerned.. When the shell is tossed, Talia instinctively puts some distance between herself and the velocity vector of the tiny projectile. She isn't sure /what/ he's doing, but it could easily be another --
Another ninja?
Seeing something like this on televised fights is one thing, but in person.. Talia alternates her gaze between the duplicate and the /presumably/ real ninja. She can't be entirely certain of that at this point, aside from the obvious duplicate's tendency to degrade. At Seishirou's declarations.. Talia simply nods. When he begins walking away, she falls into step behind him, silent in both motion and speech.
After all, what more is there to say? Her sensei has spoken.
Log created by Talia, and last modified on 00:55:11 03/10/2007.