Description: Kataki Tsukitomi awakened... something in Hotaru. A need to prove herself, a drive to show her might. When she has a chance meeting with Frei, she takes an opportunity to show the confused monk just how strong she's become. However, his words and the sudden appearance of her student, Kentou, leave Miss Futaba feeling unsettled, and her friends plan to win her back from whatever force has changed her so... ("The Moon's Three Treasures", Part 3)
Why is different chi different colors, Kentou had asked when Hotaru took the youth to Frei to try and get help in teaching him about drawing upon the breath of life in a way that allows him to use that power she knows he has in actual combat, elevating himself to the next level, catching up with so many fighters who have come before him. It isn't something as innocuous as mere color that occupies Hotaru's mind as she stands quietly in front of a simple, mounted, humble looking training dummy off in one corner of the expansive church property.
Why does some chi feel so wrong? is the question that occupies her mind, tightening her right hand into a small fist, willing the serpentine-like red energy into existence, watching it coil along her forearm before gathering into the palm of her fist. Taking her hand forward, she brings it close to the wood of the dummy, just enough to watch the surface be charred by the contact, then retracts her arm, opening her fist and allowing the energy to dissipate.
A power she thought she would never use in a fight. Months ago that was the case. She wouldn't use it. She couldn't. She had seen what it could do... in a dream at least. That was then. This is now. This is after three fights have come and gone and the young fighter has unleashed that savage, more brutal chi on opponent after opponent, with catastrophic results. The pain in her arm after such attacks reminds her of a similar ache she used to feel when drawing upon that more gentle, less deadly blue energy of hers in the past. A weakness she eventually learned to overcome with help from the most unlikely of sources...
Opening her hand, Hotaru holds it up in front of her. What a difference letting go has made. Letting go of the fear of going all out, of the worry about harming her opponents. Those three she has fought so far have no place calling her weak after what she did to them. One by one, she'll prove it to everyone, just like her brother has had to. All this time she had thought he was the lost one... it took this long for her to realize he was simply providing the example, showing her the way.
Exhaling then breathing in again, Hotaru clenches her fist, drawing the energy up into her hand and swinging out toward the dummy. A small discharge of a red-orange pulse shatters the wood, sending splinters into a cloud out behind the hapless target. Staring quietly at the result, Hotaru shakes her head slowly. That was only a small fraction of what she could do with it, only a small part of her newfound power. "Heh."
Where to begin.
To say that Frei's world is crumbling is probably something on the level of gross overstatement. In fact, in terms of harm to the actual monk in question, he's smelling of violets. The bumps and bruises of his SNF in Venice are long since healed, he has money and something to do with his time and a place to live. But as most people can tell you, that's only part of the equation. The actual day to day things of living aren't exactly "living", they're survival; the ability to move from moment to moment with a reasonably full belly and no worries about personal security. In fact, the idea of security -- that the moment following this one is going to more or less be the same as the next, that things are what we expect them to be -- is probably one of the core things in the human psyche that allows people to actually live their lives without going stark raving mad.
In terms of security, Frei's stock is a little low.
It's one unexpected occurrance after another, really. His odd premonitions and gut feelings, the appearance of Kataki, meeting with Ayame twice, and perhaps most recently and most importantly, the mauling of his friend Mizuki by an individual that can't be anyone but his own brother. For the first time in his life since his father died when he was a child, Frei cried. To Mizuki's eyes, it was out of remorse that her injuries were his fault, and to an extent that was the case. But in reality, he was crying from frustration.
A change of scenery is usually best for this. One tiny throwaway comment Mizuki made -- "what if he were to attack one of the students?" -- has had Frei watching the YFCC, personally, like a hawk. He sleeps in the infirmary, not at home; he spends all day making sure everyone is fine, to the point that the daystaff are on the verge of complaining to Alma or Rose that he's going to drive them crazy... and more that they're worried about him.
Someone seeing Frei walk up the steps to the church yard would know why. The normally vibrant green eyes are dull and glassy, with dark circles underneath them that contrast oddly with the faint freckling of Frei's features. It's not as if he seems sad, or even depressed; rather, it's as if his normally expressive energy has been turned inward in an attempt to find some sort of solution, and like a whirlwind is simply eating him up from the inside out.
The first thing he sees, as he crests the final steps, is Hotaru destroying a training dummy. Not just beating it up, but *destroying* it. He stops, and a flicker of winter air blows the tails of his headband out behind him. He says nothing.
The spray of splintered wood falls to the grass after a while, leaving only half the dummy still mounted in place. It won't really be very useful anymore, other than perhaps practicing sweeps... Hotaru's right hand clenches and unclenches and the girl exhales softly. Silently she glances to the left, blue eyes coming to rest on a stone sepulcher, an angel made of bronze kneeling in prayer just over the sealed entrance.
The glance is brief before Hotaru turns away entirely, facing Frei yet not even seeming to see him at first, her expression a pensive mix of uncertainty. Her mother... would never approve of how she has decided to fight as of late. But wasn't it her mother that was holding her back all this time anyway? No wonder Gato was able to progress further than she.
That weird state of facing Frei yet not seeming to see him lasts only so long before Hotaru's eyes finally focus on the young monk. In the past such recognition would almost always be accompanied by a peaceful smile of acknowledgement. But not this time, the girl simply nodding her head once in greeting. "Frei," comes the statement, the girl exhaling, trying to put aside the thoughts that had occupied her mind moments ago.
"What brings you here?" The question has the slightest bit of an edge to it. Coming from anyone else it wouldn't even seem out of place. But coming from the girl that so often welcomed people to her property without the slightest hesitation, it may seem just a little bit 'off'.
Dressed in an outfit that looks very much like most of her China-styled attire, her hair is bereft of ribbons or pig-tails. Pig-tails did not a awe inspiring warrior make, she had concluded in the midst of her most recent Saturday Night Fight.
You don't have to be Sailor Mercury to tell that something is not right here (although if you were Sailor Mercury, you would helpfully volunteer "Something's not right here!" aloud). The difference in demeanor, difference in dress, the fact that she just disintegrated a poor wooden dummy... yes, it all does register on Frei, whose reputation for obliviousness is somewhat undeserved. At first he doesn't say anything, letting Hotaru speak. After all, it's obvious to anyone that he just interrupted (or almost interrupted) training... and while the monk himself has very strange ideas about martial arts training, he knows lifelong devotees like Hotaru take it very seriously.
A brief, mental flicker of his mother practicing iai in the traditional fashion -- face impassive as, with a single silver flash of the blinding draw, bundles of straw are severed so quickly they don't even fall at first from the fineness of the cut -- are shoved to the back of his mind.
"...a need to think," he answers at last, trying to smile. The benefit of the doubt... he owes Hotaru that much. After all, this is her land, and it's her company he just intruded on. And seen solely from outside, stripped of their context such as Hotaru's SNF fights, the behavioral changes may simply be a bad mood. In fact, optimistic Frei is *certain* they're simply a bad mood. And thus he forges bravely on in the conversational gap, trying to fill it up so that he doesn't have to explain the details at length of why he's here. "I like your hair like that," he offers. "What made you want to change?"
"A change in perspective," the girl answers somewhat vaguely, her response short and not terribly inviting of follow up. It's a weird reason to give for a different hair style, in any case. She leans her head to the side just a little, studying Frei with a strange intensity. She has seen the young man fight many times in weekly SNF events, but it had been almost a year since they had faced off in the midst of a chaotic team battle SNF.
A year since she had tested herself, somewhat indirectly, against Frei's ability as a fighter. So much had changed since then. Her Kyokugen training. Her time spent teaching Kentou. Fight after fight, day after day spent in intense training... Never before in all their encounters had she looked at the young man with doubts about what he thinks about his ability compared to hers. It just hadn't mattered before.
Why does it matter now, she almost starts to ask herself, before dismissing the thought entirely. Of course it matters. It just does. Kataki had said Frei must think she weak - that Frei would have begged for her to never fight his dangerous brother. That Frei would have done anything to keep them from battling because clearly she was incapable of taking care of herself. Of. Course. It. Matters.
"To think..." She sounds a little... disappointed perhaps? Her right arm rests against her side, her left hand reaching over to clasp at her wrist behind her back. "I could use the help of a sparring partner this afternoon... a chance to practice a little before my matches this weekend. But if you need some time alone, I understand."
"I don't doubt it," Frei says amicably. To an outsider it really does seem like he is just too stupid to see the signs. Of course, that unassuming facade is perhaps one of Frei's great personal strengths. He's riding the wave out. If Hotaru needed a change, then well... maybe the weird behavior is her way of dealing with something. "I mean, you did just kinda splinter that training dummy and all." He smiles, though perhaps now that he's done so, it's easy to see why people are worried about him. Just as something isn't right about Hotaru, something's not right about Frei either. The :D has faded to :), and there's a question mark attached to it besides.
Finally walking up off the steps, the monk walks off to the side, for the moment turning his back to Hotaru. A hand comes up to lay, palm flat down, just above his breastbone, as Frei turns to the formerly pigtailed young woman and averts his eyes somewhat. "The truth is I don't really want to be alone right now, no. I guess I said I wanted to be alone, but what I really meant was I'd like to be alone inside my own head." He pauses, then rubs the side of his head with one hand. "Sorry. Whenever I'm alone lately my mind wanders since I don't have anything to focus on, and I start thinking about things I shouldn't, problems I can't solve..." Like Kataki. Like facing his past. Like trying to make sure none of his friends get hurt.
Hmm.
"I, uh... well, I guess you've probably heard," the monk adds, dropping his hand. *Now* the shadow of guilt passes over his features, inescapable no matter how many times he's told this isn't his fault, that he didn't do anything wrong, that Kataki is to blame. Lines of red across Mizuki's skin against the white snow in the morning. "My brother... kinda cut up Mizuki. Bad." He pauses, then looks at Hotaru with such sudden, fierce intensity that the 'old' Frei seems to come back for just a moment. "Promise me, *promise me* you'll stay away from him if you can. I don't know what he wants, I just know that he's willing to hurt people important to me to get... something. I don't want you to get hurt because of me."
Oh, Frei, you idiot.
There isn't even a flicker of amusement as Frei mentions her having shattered the wooden training dummy. That wasn't 'training'. That wasn't even hard. That was simply extending her limb and unleashing a fraction of her strength upon the useless equipment. Of course, it isn't 'training' that has her interested in baiting Frei into a fight either really.
He expresses his concern about being alone, about problems he can't solve, and Hotaru remains impassive, offering little in the way of anything resembling help to the monk. Whatever it is she's dealing with, she certainly doesn't seem interested in lightening his burdens in the slightest.
As he starts to speak of Mizuki and his brother, however, Hotaru's eyes widen slightly. She hadn't heard. In fact she hasn't been around the YFCC for a while now. A cancellation notice was put up regarding the classes she religiously taught each weekend the previous Saturday, though that in and of itself isn't unusual. Sometimes SNFs take her too far away to make them after all. But the thought of wasting her potential on those wide eyed students barely capable of throwing a punch properly just annoys her as of late...
"No I hadn't heard," she states neutrally just before the intensity of Frei's expression comes to bear on her and Hotaru's look of surprise becomes guarded. It's no surprise to her that Mizuki couldn't stand up to the likes of Kataki. The swordsman bested her in a fight and the gulf between her and Mizuki is... well, large enough that the outcome was a foregone conclusion in her mind.
But then the concerned monk asks her to make a promise it's too late to request. Even as he speaks, Hotaru is shifting into a bit of a ready stance, turning one shoulder toward him, both hands coming up in small fists, one nearer than the other, but both arms bent at the elbow. "I can't make that promise," the girl states, turning her feet a little, her stance becoming solid, rooted, different from the swift, evasive style most are used to seeing from her.
"We already fought." she continues, her voice neutral, blue eyes focusing on Frei intently. "Kataki... He knows a lot, Frei. He is powerful. Not just with a sword, but in other ways as well." And then she's off, speeding toward Frei, a blue and white blur. His express readiness to commence the spar isn't needed, apparently, nor is any warning offered as young Futaba zips in closer, sliding to a stop just shy of him.
"You should," she continues, shifting her forward momentum into a powerful, double palm press aimed for Frei's stomach, lending leg and torso strength to her arm strength as she tries to slam the monk backward hard. "...speak with him. And listen for once."
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has started a fight here.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Frei has joined the fight here.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Frei with Strong Punch.
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Frei 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
It's a Kodak moment. There's enough shock on Frei's face from her commentary about Kataki that it's easy to understand why his last-ditch attempt to get out of the way of Hotaru's actual attack once he even processes that she's made one is both clumsy and entirely ineffective. The palm strike slams into his unguarded stomach forcefully, Frei exhaling sharply and stumbling backwards before toppling over on his back. Even by the somewhat comical standards of Frei's occasionally slipshod way of fighting, that was pretty sloppy.
But can you blame him?
Brow furrowed, the redhead extracts himself from the ground and looks at Hotaru intently, as if finally seeing some of the things he was willing to overlook in her sudden and strange shift in demeanor for the first time. That was not a sparring punch. No warning, no ask if he's ready. It just sorta happened. That aggression... where did it come from? "I'm glad," is the incongruous reply. It sounds genuine, too. "I'm glad you seem to be okay. Well, partially okay anyway."
Planting his feet somewhat, Frei takes a deep breath and centers himself. He doesn't attack, which probably isn't that smart, but he's still not sure he wants to fight Hotaru in this condition just yet. Something's wrong. "I don't doubt that he's strong," he adds, in a slightly distant tone. "He takes after his mother, after all... and say what you want about Isis Tsukitomi, but she's a true genius when it comes to combat. As for other ways, well... that depends, I guess. The brightest steel can be the most brittle, after all."
COMBATSYS: Frei gains composure.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
Her double palm press delivered, Hotaru pauses, holding the stance for a moment as she requires a second to pull back from the execution of force just delivered. The young man is sent tumbling but she doesn't pursue immediately. There's no challenge to be found there. The fact that she attacked him out of the blue isn't something she weighs heavily, it seems. There is a soft exhale as she shifts back to her stance yet the underlying vehemence doesn't seem to let up any, the girl fixing Frei with a icy cool gaze.
"I am okay," the girl replies, watching him get back up, holding her ground. "It wasn't a pleasant encounter but... now I understand what it is he is doing, Frei." Her mouth curls into a faint smile, an expression that almost reflects the girl she was before but for the subtle edge to it. "If I saw him again, I would thank him for the effort he put into helping me see things from a different angle than I had before."
She falls quiet then, no longer focusing on the red haired monk as if taking a moment to search her thoughts, "As for Mizuki I... It is too bad what happened to her. Perhaps she wasn't strong enough for what Kataki was offering to teach her. She had her chance, I'm sure." She lifts her hands once again, clenching her fists, attention focused back on Frei. "But surely that can't be the case with you. You are his brother, after all... He wants you to be stronger, Frei, I know it."
She frowns faintly, "Why did you run from it? Your family's legacy... everything you could have been... why did you flee the chance only to regress and become nothing of any import?" She shakes her head, deciding she's given him both the time to get ready and a 'warning' she isn't going to let off by now. "What is there to show for all your years since then!? Who would be proud of what you are now??" comes the questions, her tone bitter, her forward arm trembling a little. "He's only concerned-"
And then she's in close again, both hands seeking a grip on Frei's right forearm as she rolls her shoulder into his chest, "- about the disappointing path you have been following all this time." Her body tensing, she attempts to flip him over the pivot point her shoulder makes, slaming him down into the grass hard on his back, only to finish with a harsh twist of his captured limb before releasing it and backing away a couple of steps.
COMBATSYS: Frei fails to interrupt Quick Throw from Hotaru with Quick Punch.
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Frei 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Hotaru
It's like she's joined a cult.
There's really no other way to describe it. In another time and place, Hotaru's words... if they were about some charismatic religious figure instead of Frei's own brother, if they were words of redemption rather than condemnation, that's what it would sound like. It's definitely what it sounds like to Frei's ears... as if someone or something has reached some sort of remote point in Hotaru's mental geography that he'd never seen before. It's actually quite terrifying, from his perspective, because cults are the homes of zealots... people who've lost perspective with the idea of balance.
It also means she's a little more serious about this than he thought, and so Frei has to make some sort of defensive effort... but in truth, he's still too stunned to offer much in the way of competent defense. Never mind that his fighting is considerably more... well, random than Hotaru's. She's got a lifetime of skill and grace and training; Frei, meanwhile, relies mostly on intuition, guts, and luck. Thus his attempt to drive a hand past her guard to deter the throw she's attempting doesn't work out so well, and with a gasp of pain he's sent stumbling in the other direction. Certainly, if the blue-haired fighter's goal is to prove her technical superiority, she's doing a good job so far.
But her words... those are something on an entirely different level than her strikes.
One eye closed as he grits his teeth against the pain in his wrist, he nevertheless strives to answer, honestly. "I stopped because there was no way to keep studying the sword and remain 'myself'. Not that I could see." He stands a little straighter, his normally expressive face somewhat blank, as if he's pulling a rote answer from somewhere. After all, Hotaru's not the first to ask this question of him. Mizuki's 'cousin' Kimi did too, and in practically the same words. "Because not everyone learns to fight in order to be good at it. I learned to fight so that I could find something in myself worth doing, and I found it. If others think of that as 'disappointing', then... I don't really have a response to that," he finishes, eyes somewhat downcast. Easy to say you don't care about the opinions of others, but harder to do.
However, soon he looks up and his face becomes more set, more stern. "But I don't believe in a way of teaching that relies on hurting others. Sometimes we have to open ourselves up to be hurt to progress... but what Kataki did to Mizuki has nothing to do with 'teaching'. He almost killed her! If that's the kind of strength he wants me to have, then I reject it with all my heart."
Too easy, Hotaru ponders. She used to think him a competent fighter with a strange, quirky style all of his own. It lacked the technical precision of her own techniques, but it was no less effective in its own ways. But now? Perhaps it's just an indication of how far she's come, she muses. He only seemed capable before because she was holding back so much of her own ability. She always knew she was capable of so much more. Deep inside she knew it.
"How is it worthwhile if you're okay with being to be mediocre at it?" she snaps back, finding his responses irritating on some level she can't quite grasp just yet. One hand comes up, resting over her face, her fingers pressed against her forehead, her palm resting just over her nose, her eyes squinted shut as if struggling to make sense of something.
Those she had fought lately... well, Birdie and K9999 had it coming. Zach... he was just in way over his head, she couldn't help what happened there. But Frei? She knows she had never been angry at the monk before. Why now? Was it just another part of having her eyes blinded to the truth before? "I-" the girl starts, lowering her hand, blue eyes fixing on Frei once again, "You said yourself that your mother was skilled and your brother followed in her steps. What is so special about you that you're above learning what they learned??"
When she steps in on him again it's with a straight, hard kick, aimed for the young man's ribs with her right foot, followed up with a spin kick to roughly the same spot with her left foot with enough strength to send him rolling over the grass if his ability to avoid the brunt of the force stays roughly on track with how he's represented himself thus far. "HAH!"
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Hotaru's Light Kick.
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Frei 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Hotaru
As he told Ayame not too many days before, there's only so much being smacked around even Frei will take before he gets serious. And while he might not have great technical skill, when it comes to playing to the defensive, there's few better in his proverbial weight class. The feinting first kick is brushed aside by the monk's forearm, but even as the second kick is coming toward him he snaps out a hand and catches Hotaru's foot with it, wincing briefly with the pain, before shoving the girl back. It looks easy, but his breathing isn't exactly regular... Hotaru's been hammering him so far, and he's never been very good at dealing with evasive types like her. Unlike the rest of his family, Frei's strong suit isn't speed, it's resiliency.
Well, that and good intuition... maybe some of the swordsman's instinct runs in his veins after all. If Hotaru were really out to kill him, there wouldn't have been a moment of hesitation there. So what's going on here? The confusion shows in the green eyes for a moment as he regards his opponent carefully. His response, though, is at first calm and measured, unruffled. "When did I ever say I was above it?" he asks, voice quiet. And for a second, his expression becomes vulnerable, the facade of calm cracks. "I'd have thought you of all people would understand. How close you wanted to be to your father, and how distant you were because of... different expectations. Do you have any idea how happy I would be, if I could have been the son my mother wanted me to be?! Seven years! I haven't spoken to her in seven years!"
The wind around the monk suddenly swirls with ice crystals, blue-white energy gathering around his hands as he stares Hotaru down. "I don't know why you're suddenly so judgmental, but I don't need to explain myself to you or anyone else! Kataki should be happy that he can be so close to Mom... that he can be the perfect swordsman she really wanted! I can never be that person. I've tried really hard to accept that!" In a sudden swipe of movement, both arms cross over his face suddenly, twin orbs of ice swirling out toward Hotaru, looking to collide in a sudden burst of frost, appropriate for winter. "It has nothing to do with mediocrity!"
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Hotaru with Hyoushou Rengeki.
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Frei 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Hotaru
That's more like it. He's getting into it now. Angry? Maybe... Frei's emotions are mixed and Hotaru is hardly the perceptive girl she should be. But he's not just waiting for her to beat him to a pulp now. There is nothing to be gained by killing Kataki's older brother. It's more like she's trying to prove a point. And as she begins to stride toward him after having been pushed away, it's as if she's got nothing else on her mind right now.
As he brings up pieces of their conversation in this very yard not all that long ago, however, Hotaru hesitates, coming to a stop, swallowing once. "I've come to understand the problem between my father and me was myself. My own inability, my holding back. If I knew then what I know now, I COULD have been the child he wanted. He wouldn't have had to leave." the girl continues, hand coming up to rest lightly against her chest as she continues, her tone having taken a sentimental shift.
"All these years I never understood, but now I do..." eyes stray over the snow speckled grass before coming to rest on Frei once again, "That's what Kataki wants you to understand. You CAN be close to your mother like him. The problem is you, you need to change. Change your understanding, change perspective." She shakes her head, mouth curling into a frown. "Are you not just as judgemental of your brother? What he does makes you angry, but it's just because you don't understand yet what he is offering." She shifts, lowering her hand, fingers clenching shut again as Hotaru turns her shoulder toward Frei just as the orbs snap out, closing in on her.
As they converge on her and strike dead on, forcing Hotaru to loose ground, her feet sliding back over the grass before sufficient traction is found to catch herself, it's hard to tell what if anything she was trying to do about getting hit. Evasive might not be the best way to describe her now.
"You should talk to him about it. You've tried being that person, but you tried on your own. He could help you." Hissing a little as she bits back the chill that soaks through her for a moment, the girl charges right back forward again, pulling her right hand back before swinging it in toward Frei's chest with a light strike, spinning forward into a follow up elbow tap afterward.
COMBATSYS: Frei fails to interrupt Quick Punch from Hotaru with Fierce Punch.
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Frei 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Hotaru
And there's that lack of finesse again. Whatever calm Frei did have, Hotaru is slowly eroding it, with her combination of physical and mental 'attacks'. In a completely uncharacteristic move, Frei attempts to simply *overpower* Hotaru's quick strike with an overwhelmingly overbalanced right cross to the face. In the end he doesn't look too much worse for wear -- more annoyed than hurt -- but even if he is a mountain of sorts, Hotaru's pickaxe is chipping away at it. But the physical... that's only one part of the equation.
And perhaps the real sign that's something wrong is that usually, after one of Frei's chi-empowered strikes, the energy flowing around whatever body part he's using fades away, a momentary burst to conserve his strength. Now? Now it just bleeds out around him in a visible aura of shifting colors, sometimes red-gold, sometimes red shading into indigo, reflecting his confusion and frustration. "And how many times will I have to change? Five? Ten? A thousand? You say that all I have to do is give in to what they want, but are you really listening to yourself talk? 'Just be what other people want you to be, and you can be happy'? To hell with that! I've fought so long, and so hard... just to be comfortable with myself!"
Turning toward Hotaru, Frei adopts... a stance. In fact, if you were to put a sword on his belt, it would actually be a battoujutsu stance... the entire body tensed to move at the slightest provocation. It's probably the first true martial stance Frei's ever adopted, though without a weapon it doesn't mean much. Perhaps some buried memory draws it out of him... after all, 13 years of training don't just disappear. His voice is low as he looks at Hotaru with something approaching pity. "I'll talk to Kataki about it when he decides to handle the situation like a civilized adult. As for you... the Hotaru I know would never suggest I roll over for anyone to make them happy. So why don't we finish this?"
The strikes were hardly earth shattering, to be certain, but Hotaru's speed was more about avoiding getting struck than anything, and to that end her attack was a success. She steps back immediately after, however, lowering her arms. As Frei adopts a stance she seems to abandon hers, both of her arms resting against her side, mouth curled into a frown as he answers her words.
She isn't conscious of the similarities in the way she's attacking him both physically and mentally - just like Kataki had, belittling, mocking, teasing, questioning, leaving her a doubting, uncertain wreck halfway through their miserable bout. And now she's fighting Frei the same way. This isn't a test of martial arts talent. This is a test of seeing how well one can hold up in a fight as every aspect of their life gets picked apart just like happened with her.
"The Hotaru you know..." The girl hehs, her breath visible in the crisp, cool air as she shakes her head, brushing at her vest idly, knocking away stray ice left by his chi attack. And then her arm lowers back down against her side. "Yes, I suppose I should finish this." No 'we' to this match, in her mind. That would imply some kind of equal footing or cooperation or respect...
The same red-orange energy he saw the girl use upon first arrival begins to coil along her right forearm, collecting around her clenched fist. Inhaling then exhaling softly, the girl glares back at Frei, the illumination flickering across her features as she falls silent for a long moment.
And then she charges again, lifting her right arm up at her side as she attempts to nearly barrel right into Frei, her left seeking a grip on his right forearm so that she can twist his arm up and to the side in a swift but effective armlock.
The intent is clear, if successful, as Hotaru brings her right hand forward, laced with that angry, churning energy, so unlike the blue chi she has always drawn forth in the past. If she gets her hold, her right hand stops just short of Frei's chest- and then comes the release, all of the spiraling chi on her arm drilling out with explosive force, delivering savage, piercing damage entirely unlike the 'Gentle Fist' varient of Kenpo arts Hotaru has practiced for over a decade. "HAAAAH!"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Frei with Maou Satsujinken EX.
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Frei 1/-----==/=======|=====--\-------\0 Hotaru
Pretty fast. Not entirely what Frei expected, either. But it's not the throw that disconcerts him in the slightest. No, it's that energy. It's not Hotaru. Or rather, it *is* Hotaru, but the monk's inability to get away from the attack gives him plenty of time to think it over while the sudden burst of angry scarlet is coursing through his veins. Even as his aura flares to fight it. Even as he thinks very carefully about what's going on. And while Frei can't read auras like Alma can, when it comes to reading someone's emotional state through their chi, there's few better.
It's not her.
When he finally recovers, finally gets back up, there's certainly evidence that Hotaru did her worst. The clasps on his qipao overshirt are gone, and it hangs open, revealing the white tank top Frei wears underneath, and that too is sliced through. Apparently that new trick of hers is worse than it looks.
Frei himself is breathing heavily, glancing at Hotaru with cold eyes... but the constant aura of chi that seemed to resonate with his rage is, if not gone, then flickering. Anger doesn't come naturally to the monk, and it's almost as if it's a foreign presence some sort of internal immune system is trying to fight off. Wiping blood from his mouth, he is silent for long moments before he finally speaks. "I've felt that before. Not from you. Someone else. It's distinct, but I remember it because it was so distinct. Some... woman." A woman who capitalized on his feelings of doubt and shame at not being able to help Sakura, his friend...
Oh.
In an instant, the monk's hands come to his side, perhaps bidden there by thoughts of Sakura, and suddenly burst forward, a person-high torrent of chi rushing forward at Hotaru with a cry of "HADOUKEN!" Of course, rather than the prismatic colors the attack normally is, instead it's a wash of red-purple... but that doesn't mean it carries any less force, slow-moving though it may be.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru reflects Hadou Souran from Frei with Kobi Kyaku.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Frei 1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0 Hotaru
The blast blows Hotaru backward as well, the girl staggering, the air currents swirling around her, blowing hair and clothing out of place. But there's no mistaking where the brunt of the brutal damage was felt and Hotaru regains her footing quickly, staring back in Frei's direction. As he gets back up, the girl looks him over, from head to toe. There's nothing he can do against her, in her mind. If only he would accept Kataki's help... "I was like you before I met Kataki. I thought I already knew what I wanted, how I should be. But-..." she shakes her head, falling quiet as Frei begins to speak of the devilish attack she had just unleashed, twisting chi in ways the gentle girl never would have done before.
"Yes," Hotaru replies as Frei mentions the attack having come from another. "Yet another who had struggled to show me what I was missing. I wasn't listening back then either." She shakes her head, lifting both of her hands in front of her, palms forward, her own reaction as the young man unleashes a powerful blast of chi through the air in her direction.
The surge of power rippling over her bare forearms is similar to the attack she just unleashed on him a moment ago. Red-orange, spiraling, coiling power. And then in comes his projectile and Hotaru steps forward to meet the large projectile head on, slamming both of her hands forward into it. And where her fists meet, a disk of that energy appears, protecting her behind its uncrackable barrier.
The girl grits her teeth, pouring more effort into the barrier as the projectile pushes against her, driving her back a little... and then with one last burst of power, she manages to force a small portion of Frei's own attack spinning back at him.
Lowering her arms, Hotaru stumbles forward a step before catching herself, tightening her fists and glaring after the attack sent back. "She's another one not afraid to toss away inhibitions to progress, just as Kataki taught me to do," the girl states quietly, her voice cold.
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Hotaru's Reflected Hadou Souran.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Frei 1/----===/=======|======-\-------\0 Hotaru
With a flick of the wrist, Frei reaches out and... effectively throws his open-palmed hand into his own attack. The much-reduced energy attack flickers around his hand, held still in midair for a moment, before he simply disperses it in a flash of light. Of course, that's not easy to do on the fly... anything he tries to throw back at Hotaru now is going to be a little reduced. He doesn't look surprised; he's been on the receiving end of Hotaru's reflective power more than a few times. But the outright *creepiness* of what she's saying is finally seeming to sink in, like medicine to help out those anger-fighting antibodies.
And yet...
And yet, some part of him is still angry at her, even though he can't seem to figure out why. The thoughts in his head are almost audible: 'why am I angry?' 'what's wrong with me?' 'why is this happening?'. But there's no emotional wave that Frei's never surfed. If he's going to be angry, he's going to use it for what it's good for and figure out later what the point of it is.
He doesn't attack; instead, he brings his hands in front of him, palms inward, and centers himself. He probably won't survive whatever Hotaru's next strike is, but he has to try. Just blindly rushing at her isn't going to accomplish anything. "You can't just throw away inhibitions. Not if they're real, and part of you," the monk says quietly. "You can ignore them, maybe. You've certainly gotten stronger than the last time we fought. But I wonder... is the price you paid for that strength worth it?" He lowers his eyes somewhat as the wind around him kicks up again, resonating with his aura. "I have a different kind of strength than my brother does, Hotaru. It's not better, it's not worse, it's just... different. I don't get caught up in 'better' or 'worse'... why are you?"
COMBATSYS: Frei gathers his will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Frei 1/=======/=======|======-\-------\0 Hotaru
The price paid? Hotaru pauses for a moment at Frei's words, giving him time to collect himself - but for a moment. She had discussed 'price' with none other than Kurow Kirishima in the past. The price he paid for his skill, his power, his influence. She had told him she could never pay such a cost at the time. And for a moment, as she thinks on that conversation half a year ago, she wonders why she felt that way then but finds the costs irrelevant now? Nothing comes for free, not even power like she has now.
But the results have been incredible... the girl unleashing destructive power against all those she fights and walking away from each of them barely scratched. Compared to the way her fights had gone in the past, the difference has been staggering. But again, that question echoes. 'Is the price you paid for that strength worth it?'
The girl's chin lowers a little and for a moment she tears her eyes away from Frei. "It's getting me closer to what I want. I-... my brother will..." Hotaru grits her teeth, mouth clenching shut, attention snapping back to Frei as her right forearm ignites once again with a bright display of that red-orange power she's been drawing upon throughout their fight.
Her fists clench tightly as the girl takes a step toward Frei, "What kind of strength involves getting beat up without any hope of victory?" Another step, "What kind of strength can be found when those around you think you're nothing but a joke? A weakling that needs coddling and protection like a small child?" Another step, "That isn't strength!!"
And then she's sprinting forward, drawing back her power infused fist, energy flaring up around her entire arm as she barrels in toward Frei without any hint of slowing down. "This is strength!!" she screams, fist slamming forward, all of that energy discharging from her limb for a second catastrophic explosion no less deadly than the first she had struck the monk with only moments ago.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Frei with Satsujinken.
[ \\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Frei 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0 Hotaru
He's just too injured to deal with it, really. Hotaru is ten million times faster than Frei will ever be, regardless; the sudden burst of angry red chi, like blades of blood whipping through the air, overwhelms his defenses. It shows, too; he goes flying into the side of the actual church with a sickening *CRACK* sound, wood splintering in the rough shape of his body. Clothes are hopelessly torn, visible skin dripping with blood. For all his resilience, Frei's not invulnerable, not by a longshot. But the power he was gathering hasn't disappeared, hasn't melted away. If anything it swirls around him like an angry nimbus, looking for an outlet.
He has just enough strength to crawl out of the point of impact, green eyes blazing. He holds out one hand, wobbly though he is, prepared to give one retributive strike before he collapses. However, it never seems to come. His strongest attack, the power he fought so hard to draw on -- the element 'Void', the perfect balancing of yin and yang -- won't come. It's not that it arrives in some sort of dark red form, like the shift in Hotaru's chi. Instead it simply doesn't happen. Eventually the power bleeds off into the air without Frei's concentration to keep it flowing freely.
As his knees hit the ground, however, his eyes are open wide with shock, and then with realization.
It's a long time before he speaks to Hotaru, and when he does, it's with a voice wet with occasional coughs of blood. But somehow, it's more of the 'real' Frei than the confused and angry man who's been here so far. "No..." he says, finally, quietly. "That's not strength. That's 'power'. The two aren't... aren't the same. 'Strength' is ability to bear under adversity, to realize happiness. 'Power' is simply force." Tiredly, his head leans forward, dark red bangs falling over his eyes. "You beat me. You beat me so bad, my vision's getting a little blurry. But... is it what you wanted? Do you feel like you've accomplished something now? Was it... worth it?"
COMBATSYS: Frei takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Frei can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/=======|
Was it worth it?
As Frei's ruined form hacks and coughs beneath the broken side of the Church proper, perhaps one or both of the adversaries may realize they are not alone.
Kentou stands in the open gate of the Church Yard, his hand lingering upon the metalwork of the portal. The boy makes no sound nor motion. How long he has been watching this confrontation is hard to say during the confusion of battle, nor is he announcing his presence. Initially because he did not wish to interrupt his Master and Instructor in a friendly spar, a common courtesy.
Now? .. Because the Apprentice does not know what to say. Chocolate eyes wide, lips parted a fraction in shock.
Its like walking into a bad dream. A nightmare where unrealized fears are manifested in the theatre of the mind, to be forgotten on returning to a sane and rational world. Kentou cannot fully comprehend what he's seeing before him. The utter, near-murderous violence inflicted upon Frei. FREI of all people, one of the most inoffensive friends the boy has ever met.
He.. This isn't what it looks like, he tries to rationalize. It was just a mistake.. an.. an error. She miscalculated and hit him too hard. Repeatedly. An experiment gone wrong. There was another attacker here moments ago and they barely repelled him? Something.. anything..
It can't possibly be that Hotaru is bullying Frei like some third-rate thug...
The destructive punch born of hell's fury delivered, Hotaru slides to a stop, feet digging small divots in the grass as Frei is launched some distance away before crashing against the wall of the building. The girl's winces - not for Frei's fate, but her own, her left hand reaching over to clamp down over her wrist wrist as the flaming chi over her forearm begins to bleed off, leaving a sharp ache in its wake.
Hissing a little, the fighter continues to clutch her arm, eyes coming to rest on Frei as he drops to his knees without any kind of retaliation sent back her way. Shaking her head slowly, she starts to turn away silently, as if having nothing else to do with him. He barely fought her. Maybe she just is that far along now. Or maybe he just refused to fight at all. Out of fear? Anger? Helplessness? Is it weakness that stayed his hand in hopes she would relent early?
But then he begins to speak and Hotaru pauses mid-step, half-turning, still willing to listen to him, it seems, even after all that, even if it's just to try and shoot down his words once again. He calls into question her strength and Hotaru glances at her hand, releasing her right arm so that she can hold it out in front of her, looking at the limb that has wrought such destruction in so little time... all because Kataki helped her see why she shouldn't hold back...
But... Frei says that isn't the same and Hotaru responds with tight lipped silence followed by a slow exhale, releasing the pent up energy she had been building up throughout the fight. The monk's words bring back memories of her childhood, lessons from her mother... stories, sayings, axioms... Has she really thrown all that away? And for what? With a second huff, the girl turns to walk away, blue eyes coming to rest on a boy at the church yard gate.
And then she stops again, her mouth still tight lipped. She should have something to say to him. She really should. But nothing comes. Closing her eyes, Hotaru resumes walking, right up to and past Kentou, leaving the church yard to venture out to the streets of Southtown.
In the moment she passes by Kentou, however, she murmurs softly, "Leave me be. Don't leave Frei."
The youngest Futaba has seen many emotions on her Apprentice's face in the months she's known him. Those sincere eyes have looked upon her with admiration, loyalty, awe and even love. Those glimmering eyes completely incapable of deceit or guile.
But never fear.. Not until this moment.
Those mousy eyes stare at her as she approaches. The younger boy recoils, promptly shuffling out of her way as if recoiling from something wearing Hotaru's flesh. There are no words that come from him, no recriminations or demands for explanation. Such sounds would pale before the raw force of emotion behind those eyes.
He's never had cause to doubt her. But.. This? Nearly destroying Frei and not having a single shred of remorse? The girl tries to be hard and even-handed when training Kentou, he knows. But not once has she ever failed to observe compassion.
Is this what she desires most? To have those who ever loved her, fear her?
Kentou's back presses against the cool iron-wrought fence beside the gate. Obeying her words without a hint of reply.. Chest rising and falling rapidly as he simply continues to stare. Fearing for Frei, knowing how hurt the Instructor must be... But cannot take his eyes off of her for an instant. Hoping beyond hope that what he's seeing.. Isn't truth.
Meanwhile, this scene goes mostly unnoticed by Frei. He had enough energy to get his final question out to Hotaru, but even if she'd had an answer he probably wouldn't have heard it. The body requires time to fight back against this sort of thing, even for quick-healing types like professional fighters.
As master and student pass silently by each other, Frei is leaning back against the destruction of his point of impact on the church, the untouched corner of a wall supporting him. His legs splay out on the ground and his head lolls forward, hair still sweeping into his face despite the headband, wounds of his combat evident. After a while, he finally groans, then leans his head back, expression almost sleepy with combat fatigue...
Yet a curious smile spreads across his face as his blurry vision picks out exactly who it is that's arrived just in time. For a second, he tenses as Hotaru walks by him, afraid that in whatever mood has consumed her the girl might lash out at the boy... thankfully, she does not. Strangely enough, the monk sees that as a good sign. It means that whatever distant moral country she's inhabiting right now, it isn't so far distant from home that she would take it out on Kentou... or other children, as Mizuki's question continues to haunt his mind.
There's a wet cough, and then Frei vaguely waves his hand at the student he and Hotaru share. "Ah, hey, Kentou..." Frei says absently. "How you... doing?"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has ended the fight here.
It isn't until Hotaru's stalked down the street beyond and out of view that Kentou begins to realize how long he was staring. Time itself catches up to his senses as the boy finds himself standing in the open gate, eyes lingering at last corner where his Master turned from view. Confusion and conflict swirls behind his eyes, head slowly shaking as if trying to deny what he just saw.
If he closes his eyes he'll wake up in bed. This can't be real, it can't be rea-
The sound of Frei's horrible cough sends a jolt down Kentou's spine. Growing concern for his Instructor.. The young man Hotaru once held in high enough regard to help her teach her very own pupil, and herself.. Forces the youth to slowly turn away from the street. Inching away from the gate in jerking, hesitating motions.. The boy finally turns his wide eyes to the sundered Monk.
While violence is a fact of life for people of their vocation, there is a limit. A line of savagery one does not cross lightly. Knives, lethal techniques.. Certainly Frei has felt their use before. But only from monstrous people.. Not..
"....F..Frei.." Kentou finally speaks. As the boy finds his voice, so too does he begin to find urgency as his slow approach evolves into a faster, stumbling sprint. Sliding to a halt on his knees at the Taoist's side, Kentou reaches out to carefully grasp the Instructor's shoulders, trying to help him up, "Are.. are you okay?? C..Can you get up?"
The raw damage inflicted here.. This is nothing like Hotaru's techniques.. Nothing at all.. But such thoughts are forcefully, if reluctantly put to the side as the boy focuses now on the more important matter. Making sure Frei is alright and gets the help he may need..
"Hm," Frei murmurs, thoughtfully. "That's a pretty... good question." And it is. He's actually distracted, not exactly thinking about just how bad he got beat. Of course, Kentou's concern suddenly focuses his mind on it, and as a result he makes the effort to try and get up. Palms go down on the ground, there's a little movement, but the monk lacks the strength to get himself up for the time being. Perhaps incongruously, he turns his face back to Kentou, fighting down a wince at some internal pang, and tries to smile again. "Nope. Don't... think so."
Leaning back, the monk rests his head against the church for a moment, and then closes his eyes. For a second, there is nothing... and then, eventually, there's a sort of... warmth. Snow on the ground under the injured fighter's body actually spreads away, as if somebody had dropped a hot iron on the ground, but the actual sense isn't any more than someone's breath exhaled. "I wish... I knew Mizuki's trick... for doing this to other people..." the monk adds, coughing again. "I can only do it... for myself. But it's handy."
Depending on how refined Kentou's senses have become, perhaps he can feel it: the flow of chi from the very earth beneath Frei into his body. 'Borrowing' strength from the air. His outfit being a wreck doesn't change, but slowly and surely, cuts start to seal a little faster, bleeding staunches.
However, he still looks *tired*, and no amount of healing energy is going to fix that fatigue... a fatigue that's entirely mental and emotional. He opens one emerald eye and trains it on the young fighter with a neutral expression. "I wish you hadn't seen this... but maybe it's good for you to see it." There's a pause, and then he adds, in a somewhat sad tone, "She suddenly... needed power. Not strength, but power. And I guess she found it. But... Kentou, 'power' isn't the same as 'strength'. Please... remember that."
As the Monk murmurs in his usual puzzling manner, Kentou can only pout, utterly perplexed. Sometimes the guy can be hard to understand, even when he's making perfect sense. Clearly that's the true power of Old Chinese Magic, in the boy's estimation.
And then, Kentou again gets another glimpse at yet another one of Frei's nigh-paranormal Old Magic tricks as the youth's hands recoil from him abruptly. Feeling something... Something emanating from the Instructor. The boy's training under Frei's tutelage has had.. minimal results to date. The boy's sensitivity to the flow of life in the world is barely above that of the average, close-minded human being. That said, Kentou is not without some insight into the spiritual transaction Frei undergoes.
As the Monk visibly recovers, Kentou can once again only stare. Marveling as the young man goes from completely brutalized to merely.. terribly winded. "That's... That's incredible.." The boy stammers breathlessly. Not once has this man ever failed to amaze him with the incredible knowledge and baffling techniques at his disposal.
Which is what makes the aftermath of the spectacle even more puzzling.
As the Spiritualist comments on what had just occurred, Kentou quickly looks over his shoulder and back to the gate. Pensively staring in the direction where Hotaru had last gone, thoughts already beginning to stir as he slowly returns that gaze to the recovering man, "..I.. Hai.. Frei.." Accepting the words without question. His hesitation stems from the fact that.. Kentou already knows this.
The vile younger Kirishima heir taught him that the goal of 'power' is definitely not what he wants. He's seen powerful people, indeed. But the price of power is.. something Kentou has no intention of paying. Honor. Compassion. These things are what defines true strength.
...Something Hotaru, herself, taught him...
"...W..what happened?.. Please.." Leaning closer again with wide eyes, "...Please tell me.." His heart pounding in his chest. Frei will know.. If ANYBODY would know what's going on with Hotaru right now, with that vicious, crimson Chi seemingly poisoning her a little at a time.. Frei will know it. Nobody knows more about Chi than this man.. He must have the answer!
For a moment, Frei doesn't say anything. Instead he lets his gaze wander over to the church yard, muddied and in disarray from the fight, and collects his thoughts. He knew he'd felt that power before, and Hotaru all but confirmed it herself. It was... that woman. But the two were merely similar, not identical. And didn't Dante, Jiro's 'rival', say he was going to be consumed by the purple-black, poisonous flame within...
Weren't Frei's words to Kentou not too long ago that 'death' is represented by the Yin force? That it's a natural part of existence? But still...
"It was..." He pauses. Are there words for it? His body still resounds with the pain Hotaru caused. He may be healing, but it's a slow heal; the blood and lacerations are still there. "I don't really know, Kentou. It's... it's a power I've felt before. But it's not 'Hotaru's power'... I think that's why it's... consuming her." He shuts his eyes and leans back again. "Everything has a cost in life. To receive, you must give. But what she's doing is taking without giving anything back. So for the scales to balance, it's taking something from her..." With a shrug, he shakes his head sadly. "I'm sorry. I don't know. But it is... my fault. Partly."
'Not Hotaru's power'...
Yes, Kentou has long suspected something was up. He's known there was something up with Hotaru. A mystery that did not seem to have an easy answer.
At first, the boy thought that there was a connection between this strange unclean power and Jiro.. After all, there are many superficial similarities. Jiro's crimson power is borne out of aggression and violence. The brand of that wickedness still burns angrily on his chest in the aftermath of their recent duel. For a time, the boy figured it was that American's doing..
Only recently had the boy begun to doubt that analysis.. Besides, the matter was never truly urgent. Hotaru had never used that technique in any of her fights before. She was doing well to suppress it.. So what was the harm?
...Apparently, that's changed.
Kentou slowly nods at Frei's side, taking in this wisdom and not doubting it for a moment. Yes.. Yes what he says makes sense. Very true.. and it explains what's going on very well..
Except that last part, where Kentou stops nodding. His perplexed expression turns to the Monk, staring at him in utter disbelief, "...Y.. Your fault? That's.. That's not.."
Frei? How could Frei be a party to what's going on with Hotaru? The man is even more of a pacifist than Hotaru is! There's no way he could have taught her such viciousness. There's more to this. Kentou continues staring at the monk, letting him take his time as he fights the urge to shake him into explaining faster! This is starting to spiral out of control.. Something has to be done.. And -fast-..
As expected, the young fighter's emotions are mercurial and easy to read, so when that final question comes, the monk is entirely prepared to respond to it with little deliberation. "It has something to do with Kataki," he says quietly, brushing a stray lock of hair out of his eyes. It's clear he's talking to Kentou, but his gaze is falling... somewhere else. Definitely not even on the premises... as if he were trying to find something in the city from this vantage point.
"She said she met him, and he... told her, or showed her, or whatevered her something that brought this about." He pauses again, thinking back to Hotaru's statements. She had 'seen the light', she'd found the 'truth'... a true believer's words. But Frei knows a lot about religion, and if he knows anything, it's that most religions don't bring something new, they help people realize something within themselves. "Have you ever heard the saying 'once is random; twice is a coincidence; three is a pattern'? This is the third time he's come up. He interrupted us in the center, he said or did something to Hotaru, and... he severely injured Mizuki. It's not random. He WANTS something, and he's using the people around me to get it."
Taking a deep breath, Frei finally turns to look back at Kentou. "So yes, it's 'my fault', in a way. Mizuki thinks otherwise, and that's because she's a giving person at heart. But I'm responsible, in some way. And I don't... I don't know how to fix it."
Told her?
Showed her?!
WHATEVERED HER?!?!
That's it. This guy is -dead-. Frei's brother or not!
Kentou bristles as Frei begins to explain the source of this recent malady. Jaw setting while his fists clench tightly, Kentou is only partly successful in fighting back a low snarl. He remembers that guy from the Youth Center, remembers that leer he gave Hotaru. That fancy-pants pervert has been planning this since the moment he laid eyes on her!
Burning chocolate eyes affix upon Frei's own as the poor brother is clearly torn over this. While the answer seems bluntly obvious to the boy.. Obviously the solution is not so simple to poor Frei.
As much as a punk this Kataki is, he's still family. Certain things you cannot do to family. At least, when you're a genuinely good person like Frei.
"...D.. Don't worry." Kentou asserts. Placing a hand on Frei's shoulder as the other rises in a determined fist, "..I'll go find Jiro. We'll put a stop to this guy.. And get him to tell us how to undo whatever he did to Hotaru!"
As much as Kentou distrusts Hotaru's love.. One thing is for sure, the boy knows Jiro would do anything to help her. He'd never do anything to put her at risk, and he has the strength to take down anyone whom could overwhelm Mizuki or even Hotaru herself. Together, they should be able to make short work of this 'Kataki'..
...If they can find him..
"If you think beating him up will solve anything," Frei says, his voice laden with sudden cold severity, "then you haven't really been listening to anything that's gone on here today."
It's true that Frei is confused about this whole thing. How should he handle it? What's the real answer, and what does Kataki want? And how is he going to face down someone who isn't *just* a fighter, but someone who represents an entire, complex bundle of emotional issues between not just the two of them, but Frei and the rest of his family too? 'The ties that bind'... and occasionally choke.
Blinking, the monk seems to realize how harsh he just was, and hangs his head a little. "Sorry. I didn't mean to yell. But I meant what I said. Fighting Kataki isn't going to do any good. Maybe it'll come to that eventually, but not right now." There's a pause, while Frei takes a sharp breath in through his teeth, and puts down hands down on the ground again, palm downward. This time, he has more luck getting himself upright, finally standing up, though he has to lean against the church a bit when he finally gets that way.
His eyes close again, as if he has to stop and visualize things before he says anything more. "But you're right, you should find Jiro and tell him. Not so you can smack around my brother, but because Hotaru is going to need him." He pauses, then smiles at Kentou a little. "And you. The people she cares about the most. That bond... you can't shatter it, you can't obscure it. That's what I mean by the difference between 'strength' and 'power'."
Duah?
The sudden shift in Frei's tone startles the youth from his previously iron-clad determination. The boy snaps his attention back to the Chinese Magician, "F..Frei.." Stammering at a bit of a loss.
It seemed pretty simple to Kentou! Just punch the guy a lot and he'll be inclined to fix the damage he did. Evil people are cowards after all. Of course, the youth should be a bit more understanding of Frei's choice of non-violence.. Especially with the target being his own flesh and blood.
With a helpless exhale, Kentou quickly reaches out as Frei tries to rise. Helping the young man up carefully, trying to keep him balanced as concern once again wells up within him. His techniques may have helped him recover, but he's clearly not 100% yet.. and may not be for awhile.
However, as Frei elaborates on their next course of action, Kentou slowly presses his lips tightly together. Eyes shifting to the gate a moment before adding, "..If.. if I tell Jiro.. Ahh.." The youth mentions pensively, "..I know he isn't going to stay away from Kataki.. With or without either of us.."
Kentou has become a little more familiar with the Stray Dog of late, and from what he knows.. Jiro is not one to wait on a more elaborate solution. Violence seems to be his first, second and third choice to solve problems. Not that Kentou is any better... But at least the boy will listen to his Master and Instructors. Jiro.. not so much.
As far as Hotaru? .... Yes. Kentou nods in agreement with Frei as his eyes drift downwards. A small smile peeks at the corners of his lips.
Hotaru will remember herself.. Kentou knows it. He knows who she really is, even if she doubts it herself. This isn't her. She just.. needs to remember. That's all.
"...W..we better find Hotaru-Sensei.." Kentou adds once more. Maybe he can't directly go after Kataki, but he can try to keep Hotaru from making the situation worse on herself. Or letting Kataki make the situation worse with her..
Blinking, Frei actually looks at Kentou with surprise, and then in spite of himself, is forced to laugh, though it's a little muted, all things considered. The student is almost certain to be confused as to why his co-sensei is amused, and thus the monk heads off the question before it's asked. "Haha... you read Jiro pretty well, I think. Yeah, the first thing he'll probably do is beat the heck out of Kataki..." With a long-suffering sigh, Frei brushes his hands through his hair, wincing a little as one elbow resists turning just so. "Maybe it'll be a good lesson for both of them, though. I know... Kataki won't kill anyone. He might hurt them an awful lot, but he won't kill." There's conviction in those words, a conviction that might not seem well-founded to others... but to Frei it is a belief in which he must maintain faith.
Stepping away from the wall, with Kentou's assistance anyway, the monk is wobbly, but can walk... or at least walk enough that he can get off the wall and make it to, say, the YFCC... or his apartment. "I'm not saying you shouldn't... fight him if that's what your heart demands, Kentou," he suddenly adds, sounding tired. "I just... I didn't want you to get in the mindset that all you need to do when confronting a problem is hit it hard enough until it goes away." He pauses again for a second, then speaks again, sounding thoughtful. "This might not be a bad time to step up your training, either..."
Murder.. Is a drastic thing.
If Kentou truly felt lives were in danger because of Kataki, he would not be having a conversation with Frei right now.
Though, the boy is certainly taken aback by Frei's burst of humor. o_o; Slowly he begins to understand the source of that mirth, fainting quirking the corner of his lip with a nervous smile.
Yeah.. But.
"...Jiro might.." The boy soberly adds.
That is the difference. Maybe Kataki has never killed anyone. Jiro.. has. Jiro will murder people whom threaten those he loves, he admitted as much. Blood is on his hands, and that's a stain that will never go away. No matter how justified Jiro believes he is, or whom he is trying to protect. Of course, if Kentou was there, he can try to keep Jiro from killing anybody. Kentou would even defend Kataki from Jiro if it came down to it. The Stray Dog is a killer, and because of that he will never be fully trusted again for as long as he lives. At least.. not by Kentou.
As such, until Frei decides on a course of action, Kentou isn't about to tell Hotaru's boyfriend about anything.
At Frei's point, the boy simply offers, "...My heart.." An impatient exhale, "..My heart demands that Hotaru remembers who she really is.." Nodding firmly on that point. Beating people up is... All Kentou knows how to do. When the only tool one has is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail. At least Frei and Mizuki have powers and mysticism that Kentou can't even dream of understanding. They can heal people or fix spiritual problems that.. Kentou can only stare at helplessly. At the very least, he can try to do something.. anything.. to make it easier for them to do their jobs. Or keep others from making things worse.
However, as Frei mentions training, Kentou blinks yet again. Surprised by Frei for the fourth time in as many minutes, "...I.. training? ..." Stammering at the word as the boy assists the Instructor forth, helping him cross the Church Yard and towards whatever direction he sees fit to go, "..I.. ah.. I think maybe.. maybe it should wait until you're feeling a little better? .. And after we help Hotaru-Sensei.. ne?" Smiling a bit sheepishly. As much as Kentou absolutely desires training, helping people seems a bit higher a priority to him! How can him training help any? He certainly isn't going to improve enough in a day or two to take someone on directly whom could overwhelm Mizuki or Hotaru.. He has pride in his talents but he isn't about to be -that- foolish..
"I don't know what it is, Kentou," Frei says, continuing to walk relatively slowly, but at least confidently, thanks to the young fighter's help. "Somehow talking to you has made me feel better. Thanks." There's a break in the conversation for a moment, broken only by the sound of footsteps on snow and concrete or grass, but then Frei speaks again. "Maybe because... I've led a pretty selfish life, you know? Been concerned with my own well-being first. I always felt like, if I were a good person, if I did the right things, it would make up for it somehow... but you're different. Your first thought was for me, or Hotaru, not yourself." He pauses again, then shakes his head. "Even when we found Mizuki cut up, my first thought wasn't about her, it was about me... about what I'd done, about my thoughts and feelings."
Shaking his head sadly, the monk simply shrugs as he continues the slow walk. "But there's no better time than now to keep your training up. Adversity is when we're most reminded... to push our limits."
The youth's demeanor betrays a measure of impatience, even if Kentou has no intention of leaving Frei alone. Hotaru may have been ensorcelled somehow, but even still Kentou cannot easily refuse a direct order. 'Don't leave him', she said. And he won't... At least until he's someplace safe where he can recover. As such, the boy continues to help Frei amble along. Supporting him as they continue through the Yard and head towards the street beyond.
At the sudden break in topic, Kentou blinks to his Instructor. Stepping in front of him just long enough to hold the gate open for him as he adds, "I.. I'm glad but.."
Once again.. Frei confuses the youth. His expression sags as he muses, "I.. I think you're being too hard on yourself, Frei.." Venturing the thought as he again moves to Frei's side once the monk has moved beyond the gate. Bumping the aperture closed with his hip and pushing with his shoulder until it latches into place.
"..You're hardly a selfish person. You work at the Youth Center..I mean. You teach people.. You're teaching me.. You're always helping other people. I mean.." The boy chuckles under-breath as his eyes drift away, "..I've seen what selfish people are like around here.. I've met a whoooole bunch of 'em.. And I know for sure you're not even a little bit like them. I mean.. I just think that.. well.." Eyes drifting to the path ahead, "..Your brother just has you all .. mixed up. I mean.. I have no idea what its like to have brothers or sisters or anything but.. Having that guy for a brother .. I... None of this is your fault... And you're not a bad person. You just feel.. I dunno.. guilty I guess, for stuff that he's doing." Lips pouting as he glances back up, "..Even if you really shouldn't be.."
On the subject of pushing limits, the boy grins a bit, "..Well.. If I ever meet your brother again.. I'll give him everything I got!" Although.. The boy IS curious. As much as this isn't really time for it, he DOES want to know just what Frei has in mind... "What... sort of training..?"
There's yet another look of surprise on Frei's face, and indeed, the young kempo student does continue to say things the monk might not have expected him to say. But the surprise is in no way unpleasant, merely catching him off guard. The stairs down to the street beyond the gates of the yard are a little slow going, but indeed, as before, Frei's steps get a little more sure with every passing second. Trained fighters worldwide are people who've learned to bounce back, physically, from damn near anything short of decapitation... augmented by certain other skills he has, Frei is making something of a miracle recovery... at least physically.
"That just goes to show you how important perspective is," he says quietly, secretly grateful for Kentou's reassuring words. And he does have a point. Frei himself has met people more deserving of the words 'selfish' or 'self-centered' than he. It's hard to think of that, however, when you're the one in distress. "What might seem selfish to one person is altruistic to another. The important thing to remember is... that multiple points of view can still be valid even if they contradict. You might think I'm just philosophizing for the heck of it, but if you want to understand chi... or at least, the way I do it... that's an important principle to grasp."
For a second, Frei looks off to the side and sees the lights of Southtown suddenly spring into being now that dusk is upon them, the glow of civilization just below their hilltop vantage point. No matter what happens to him, or even to most of the people he knows, life continues on. It's reassuring, in a way, and thus when he turns back to Kentou it is in good humor. "Training to find out who 'you' are," he says carefully. Moving his arm a bit, he pokes his finger into Kentou's chest, about where his heart would be. "Chi is very personal. If you want to learn how to use it, then you need to find the wavelength you're on. But I think you're ready for that step. I have to tell you, though..."
He pauses, then shakes his head. He could warn Kentou off, tell him he might fail... after all, this isn't like opening a book and assembling something from a manual. It's very spiritual. "It's not easy. It requires mental and emotional effort, and it's going to hurt a bit. But... considering what's happened to Hotaru, maybe it's for the best if you try and tackle that."
The Monk's honest reply widens Kentou's smile. Glad that his words seems to bring Frei a bit more peace of mind, even as the philosopher's elaboration of the point makes the boy somewhat dizzy. Squinting as he tries to follow the points as they're spoken, the boy can't help but nervously chuckle, "Aaah.. I wish I ... Could say that I understand but.."
Perspective is not something Kentou intuits quickly. To him.. the world is a bit black and white. Yin and Yang. Certain things are evil.. certain things are good, and the difference between them is perfectly clear. At least.. most of the time. By and large, he tries to trust his heart and just do the right thing. Thats.. all one needs to do, isn't it?
Although, as Frei states that this misunderstood principle is a cornerstone of using 'Chi'.. The boy frowns just a fraction.
That ever elusive ability that so many others have. It comes so naturally to so many who train only a fraction as much as he does. How could it be that evil people such as Kurow and Kataki possess such power.. If it requires spiritual balance and understanding? But then, those people seem to use a corrupting, twisted version. Abilities that only bring ruin in the end.. unlike a healthier more balanced theory of martial arts. The sort Kentou is trying to learn.
The youth allows the silence to hang in the air for a moment. Letting Frei catch his breath as they continue to walk the streets. However, the abrupt poke snaps the boy out of his thoughts, unable to hold back a squeak of surprise. "..But... I.. I know who I am.." The boy protests softly.
..Doesn't he? He's grown so much. Kentou has begun to understand himself, his true goals in life. Although...
As Frei states the youth's readiness, Kentou blinks. Halting in mid-step to look up to the taller young man. A blank expression slowly evolves into a look of confusion, "..But.. I.. wh.. what?" Stammering as this revelation blindsides him.
He had no idea that there was a technique that could 'unlock' his wavelength of Chi! Kentou didn't think it was something that could be.. ah.. 'forced' to activate in such a fashion. But then, Frei and Hotaru only told him that he needed to prepare and train himself for his eventual blossoming into the more spiritual arts. "I.." Mousy eyes drifting to the ground. "..I.. don't know if I'm.. Ah.."
Is he ready? Kentou has taken to all of his physical training with gusto. Never hesitating to work hard and train hard. Hardship of body is something Kentou is familiar with and has no fear of. He can touch it, taste it, feel it. His talents and gifts are obvious.. Even if its never 'easy'.
Of Chi? .. Kentou has no idea. He's.. felt it, he thinks. Once or twice.. sparring with Hotaru. Moments when he.. thought he felt something. But all his training in this area has been slow and unintuitive for him. For once, he just doesn't know if he's ready..
...But if he wants to even have a -chance- of helping to defeat Kataki.. To truly help Frei and his Master..
..Does he really have a choice?
Finally, the bottom stair is in sight, and probably to Kentou's surprise, Frei takes that last step without his help. At the bottom, he turns around to regard the young fighter with a distant, 'old'-seeming smile. "I know that. At least, I know that you know who Kentou is... you have an awareness of yourself as a person, your own thoughts and feelings. But that's not necessarily what I meant." He pauses for a second, trying to find a way to explain, and then puts a finger to his lips. It's a curious image; his youthful features and the somewhat strange, almost stylized pose of thoughtfulness, compared to the somewhat shredded clothes and the marks and bruises and cuts across his body.
"You remember your question about why chi is different colors? I think I finally have an answer for you... well, somewhat anyway." He suddenly laughs, rubbing the back of his head in embarassment. "What a great teacher I am. 'I might have the answer, maybe, if you squint a little'. Anyhow. I think the 'color' is just... something that comes from within. Most people, when they use chi, are using the chi in the air around them... they give it form through their will."
As if in explanation, the monk holds out his hand palm-up; inside, a little swirl of silvery energy forms, then flickers out... and if Kentou is quick to observe, he might notice a little wince of pain when Frei does that, too. Maybe he's not as well-healed as it looks. "That was just... energy in the air. I gave it a form. Since most martial artists learn how to use chi as a matter of... form, they're not necessarily worried about making the chi jump through hoops or anything. They just want the effect they're looking for. Nothing wrong with that approach, I might add," Frei says at last. "It works for some of the best fighters I can think of."
Turning a bit, Frei leans against a brick wall that extends up and over his head, thanks to the hill on which the church rests compared to street level, and for a second he looks quite happy at the cool feeling of the brick on his head, before turning to look at Kentou. "Since I met Aya, and saw how she did things... I'm positive I'm right. So what I want to teach you to find is your 'will', the frame of mind that lets you work with chi. It's unique to you, which is why I say it's like finding out who 'you' are."
While Frei manages the bottom steps on his own, Kentou is not far away. His hands partly outstretched in readiness in case Frei should need support once more. However, as Frei admits that the boy mostly knows who he is, Kentou tentatively offers a smile in turn. Although, his eyes still hold a measure of confusion. Not quite able to fully parse what Frei is getting at.
However! As Frei switches topics to something that the youth is most certainly curious about.. Kentou's eyes widen a fraction. Eagerly nodding as Frei seemingly has uncovered a piece of information that has been foremost in the youth's thoughts of late. An insight that perhaps can help clue him in on what's ailing his Master.
The youth is most attentive, narrowing his eyes a bit in sincere contemplation as the details of this theory are explained to him. Nodding at certain points, trying to follow every sentence and process this thoroughly. His eyes follow the flashes of energy at Frei's fingertips as he demonstrates.
Aya? ... The name flutters through his thoughts for a moment, but he doesn't let himself get distracted from the greater point as Frei offers it. An extremely important point at that.
".. My.. Will.." Tasting those words on the tip of his tongue. Eyes gliding downwards as he carefully processes this information, "..The frame of mind.. That lets me use Chi.."
That does make sense. Perhaps why he has had such a hard time is that.. He simply hasn't figured out which mental 'wavelength' he must be in to use Chi. It also lines up with what Frei's exercises have been. Understanding his emotions.. Knowing what he feels when he fights. Uncovering his wavelength!
It would also explain why Hotaru hasn't been able to help him in that regard as yet. Clearly.. While he is similar to her in many ways, his wavelength is different. Her serene, calm azurian power must not be the same as his own. Obviously that burning crimson isn't the youth's either.. Or it certainly would have manifested already.
"..I.. I think I understand.." The youth's voice whispers breathlessly. His hands folding over his lips as his eyes shift in rapid contemplation.
"Well, that's good," the monk jokes, smiling pleasantly. "You can explain it to me." Shaking his head to forestall further confused looks or sudden stammering, Frei gives Kentou a knowing look. "Like I said, this is still stuff I'm struggling to understand too. Get some rest, try to get your thoughts in order. I know it won't be easy, but when we try this you need to be... well, as much at peace as you're going to get."
There's another pause, and then Frei looks down at his hands, shaking his head. Red. Red, and not impact, but slicing, like it's trying to carve something out of the opponent. It strikes him that not only is that power Hotaru's using not 'hers', it's the *exact opposite*. Cold instead of warm, too. It's everything that she is not. And perhaps there's a lesson in that he can impart to Kentou too. "I wonder what side of Hotaru produced that power..." the monk says absently, thinking out loud... probably not smart, when Kentou's standing right there, too. "I don't think it's a coincidence that it's so opposite to her normal ways. That it would consume her, somehow..."
Shaking his head, Frei glances at Kentou, then waves a hand toward the street. "I'll be fine to get home on my own. I live in the Village, so it's not that far a walk." Silence reigns for a moment, before Frei speaks again, and this time his voice is very quiet. "I don't have the 'strength' to fight him yet, Kentou. Maybe 'power'. I could probably stand up to him in a fight. But that's not what I need right now. 'Power' is just something you use to make things happen, but 'strength' is the power to solve problems and make positive change..." With a shake of the head, he shrugs. "Promise me you'll take care of yourself and not do anything too foolish."
For once, Kentou actually begins to get the joke. Chortling quietly as he scratches the back of his head.
Perhaps its a sign if the boy actually begins to comprehend Frei's often inscrutable humor, maybe some of his other lessons are finally starting to sink in.
At least a little.
As the monk tells Kentou to get some rest, the youth peers at the man's shredded outfit and terribly abused form. "....H..Hai.." The youth thinks that perhaps Frei needs to take a bit of his own advice in that regard, but he isn't about to speak out of turn!
As the topic turns to Hotaru once more, the boy's eyes lower. His expression sobering immediately, slowly shaking his head. "..Its not Hotaru.. Not her at all.." Utterly denying that its some part of Hotaru that's giving her such a wicked power. Its an infection. A disease. Something afflicting her from outside of herself.
There's no way Hotaru could produce such evil. ...No way. Kentou would never believe that. Kataki did something to her.. Its his doing and that's all there is to it.
"We.. We won't give it a chance to.." Kentou affirms. His hands clenching to fists at his sides.
As Frei dismisses the youth, Kentou looks up in concern once more. His gaze scrutinizing his instructor carefully, trying to make sure this isn't simply bluster on his part. Not that.. Frei is known for such things. He isn't about to leave his side until the young man is obviously well enough. As Frei wisely admits that he needs more preparation before confronting Kataki on his matter, Kentou again nods with understanding, "..Hai.. Hai, Instructor Frei." The response, a bit hesitating.
After all, Hotaru had a great deal of that kind of 'strength' herself. And somehow that was.. warped. Does Frei have greater strength of mind and serenity than even Kentou's Master? ... The boy can scarcely believe it, but if anyone could possess that level of serenity.. It would be this man.
Kentou bows to the Chinese Magician then, fist to palm, Sword to Sheath, "I promise. I.. I won't jeopardize Hotaru or your Brother.."
Doing something foolish? Who does this guy think he is? Jiro?!
Log created on 00:24:08 02/14/2008 by Frei, and last modified on 01:15:19 02/17/2008.