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What makes you think I even have any of this shit?

[spoilers: he doesn't. He's rusty and he knows it, even though he spent years doing kendo and fencing both in Japan when he was studying. Even now he doesn't quite expect to be able to win against Yamato, but there's also something satisfying about the idea of just being able to hit someone with a stick and not feel bad.

Which is why he looks at the armor and snorts, shaking his head.]

You're not going to, right? I'd rather not take the pity. I canceled work for a few days so I'll take what I get.

I try not to assume I know what people own anymore... [HE HAS WEIRD FRIENDS WITH WEIRD SHIT and then there's Retrospec, it's honestly just not worth guessing.

Anyway, Yamato doesn't bother explaining that it's not pity--even if he'd wanted to, Baren probably wouldn't want to hear it. Instead, he just shrugs, like he's not actually kind of excited for this.]

Suit yourself. Let's go then! [The armor he'll leave on the table for now, to be put away when he gets back home--he should just put it away now, but he's too eager to get going even to dart back into his room.

Unfortunately, their crappy college student apartment life doesn't offer them the space to spar at home, but of course Yamato knows a place nearby. It's a small little clearing, as if someone began to create a park and gave up after planting a single tree, but it's spacious and deserted and more than enough for their purposes.

Yamato's exceedingly gentle as he sets down the bag, and it's immediately clear why as soon as he unzips it--aside from the two standard bokuto he pulls out, there's a third, noticeably different sword resting in the bag. With an intricately designed metal guard and the care with which Yamato makes sure it's still securely tucked into the bag, it's probably obvious that that's no ordinary practice sword. SAMURAI JACK AND HIS VOODOO SWORD, THE SERIES...

He seems happy enough to leave it unattended, though, turn back to Baren and holding out his spare bokuto. He even smiles, which is probably a little creepy considering they're getting ready to beat each other up. OH WELL.]

[Baren's admittedly curious, wondering why there's a need to be gentle when there's just a bunch of practice swords in there - and then there's the glint of metal and he understands. Normally he wouldn't be able to make connections, but he wonders if there's something in the way that Kashuu and Yamato have always seemed very close. If there's a connection based on the fact that Kashuu also constantly has his sword with him now, and how he reacts based on the conditions that the sword itself is under.

His eyes flick to Yamato and he tilts his head curiously, but he doesn't say anything about it - instead he just moves on seamlessly and takes the offered spare bokuto. There's a smile on Yamato's face, but Baren just shrugs. A fight is a fight to him, though he thinks briefly regarding previous flashes of something that he'd seen—

Charges of ninja, the easy flips through the air, the feeling of satisfactorily dealing out damage without breaking a sweat.

—and he can't help but wonder if this bokuto is a little light in his hands. Huh. All that shit that he'd seen... could he do that?]

You good, Yamyamtaro?

[Indeed, perhaps the only thing that isn't surprising about all of this is how closely their memories seem to align. Things will never be the same as they were before the accident, before Kashuu disappeared across the ocean only to come back draped in insecure confidence. But even then, it seems only natural that the both of them have been affected--and maybe it's not surprising that Baren's been roped in, too. Truthfully, Yamato has a hard time imagining what things would be like, were Baren oblivious like so many of their other peers.

But that's not something he has to worry about (not that he would have anyway, since pondering these things, as Baren had so kindly mentioned, doesn't suit him). Instead, he gets to focus on running a hand over his own bokuto, a quick check for any dents or splinters. When he's satisfied, he nods, apparently done hiding his eagerness.

Taking up his position, he holds his sword ready, nodding one more time.]

Ready when you are.

[It's been goddamn ages since Baren did kendo. ... Or about three years or so, but in his mind, that's close enough to ancient history. Yet it's nice to know that muscle memory at least manages to bring him part of the way through, also taking position opposite from Yamato. He never had to be phenomenal at kendo, but Baren was also naturally adept at most things.

He wonders if that'll be enough to hold up against his least favorite sword nut?

Though his contemplative expression lasts only a second before he breaks out into a grin, taunting and cocky.]

Alright, let's see if you're not wasting your time with a dead art, Yamyamtaro!

[Strangely enough, Yamato doesn't react to the jibe. This is, perhaps, the one and only time Baren won't be able to get under his skin so effortlessly--once the fighting switch has been flipped, he's a different person entirely.

So he just smiles, and stands, looking totally relaxed. He has no idea how much Baren knows about proper kendo (not that he's expecting this to be "proper"), but he isn't about to explain--instead, once it looks like Baren is ready, he goes straight for an overhead strike, accompanied by the forceful, almost frightening kiai that's given him the edge in many a sparring match.

If Baren doesn't manage to block or dodge, surprisingly, he'll only feel a light tap; for how hard Yamato goes in his fighting, he's still got enough control to prevent serious injuries. (Mostly.) Even if he does, though, it's a quick attack before Yamato jumps back, ready to defend any counterattacks Baren might throw his way.]

[The funny thing is -

Baren shouldn't have been able to block that. He knows that. Even if he's used to running around, to dodging and ducking, he's too unused to the feeling of a bokuto in his hands to be able to use it effectively at all.

But his body moves before he thinks - he lifts the bokuto in an arc that's definitely unorthodox and blocks the overhead strike before he automatically shifts his weight. When Yamato jumps back, Baren pursues before he thinks about it - though rather than a strike, he thinks of.

Leaping? Right above, then bring his bokuto in a downward strike, abandoning any sense of rules that even he knows he learned when he was younger but - for some reason that's not what's coming naturally.

weirdass regains.]

[Baren shouldn't have been able to block that. Yamato doesn't know much about him, but he does know that Baren doesn't practice anything like this. Not with any sort of consistency, anyway, especially because of his job. How many times has he tried to pick a physical fight, only to be denied in the most obnoxious ways known to man?

And yet, here they are--it's startling enough to catch him off-guard, and it's only reflex gained from street fights that have him jumping out of the way, narrowly avoiding a nice clonk to the head.

A "what the hell was that?!" would be appropriate, here. But instead, Yamato looks... delighted? Not quite. But entertained, yes, certainly. He'd known fighting Baren would be satisfying, but he'd assumed that that satisfaction would come from effortlessly kicking his ass. Instead, it seems, it's going to come from the thrill of figuring out a brand new opponent.]

Wow, I didn't think I'd actually have to try. [BLUNT AND TACTLESS as per usual, but at least he knows his confidence (arrogance?) won't bother Baren. There's a fire in his blood, now, a new vigor in his movements as he darts forward, aiming a swipe at Baren's knees. Who needs rules?]

[Baren, meanwhile, is definitely in a stage of what the hell was that?! He doesn't remember his body being able to move like that - not with a sword in hand. He's athletic, sure, but most of his skills come in terms of dodging and running away. Retaliation is so very rarely a part of what he does. That's what he has friends with muscle for.

Hence why he's startled. Then Yamato is swinging back at him and he doesn't think.

He just. Doesn't think.

No, his body moves automatically as if it's used to this - used to dodging strikes and blows from swords in particular - and he jumps, landing with concerning precision on the tip of the sword to bring its weight down the ground even as his own hand swings, just to use the fake sword in his own hand to flick a cloud of dirt up from the ground and into Yamato's eyes.

Followed immediately by a sudden front flip right over Yamato's head to get away and behind him. The instinct is then to kick Yamato directly into the cloud of dirt—

He doesn't. He just looks shocked at himself.]

... the fuck?!

[He should recognize the look on Baren's face. It's the exact same look he'd worn himself, that day in the dojo. He knows what it's like to have your body take over, in a way that's far beyond instinct or reflex. He should, but it's different when he isn't the one experiencing it, and, well...

Yamato's always been way too vicious in fights. In the dojo, on the street, for years he's been told that it's like he becomes an entirely different person. Baren's defying physics like this, with the way he's moving--it should absolutely be shocking him just as much as it's shocking Baren. And it will be, once he slows down to comprehend what he's seeing.

But he can't do that now, when his body is in full-on fight mode. His eyes don't burn quite as brightly when they're drained of color, but there's a fire in them anyway as he throws up a hand, shielding his face. It's pure luck that he'd been prepared for that--luck, and the fact that he'd intended to pull a very similar trick on someone else not so long ago. Still, he has few options if he wants to protect his eyes, so he takes the risk and shields his face, letting the sound of Baren's clothing guide him as he spins around.

Baren's got a wide opening, and he knows it. There are a thousand things he could choose to do while Yamato's got his eyes covered, or while he's taking the time to turn. A thousand things and Baren does none of them, but the one thing Yamato isn't expecting is inaction, and he's too fired up to slow down now.

Some part of him registers Baren's words, his expression. But it doesn't register fast enough to stop him from lunging forward, aiming three quick jabs at him--one for each shoulder, and then one right at the junction of his collarbones.

Yamato hasn't regained any superhuman athleticism from Retrospec, yet. He isn't impossibly fast or accurate--he's not even at the level that the (very much human) Okita Souji was. His aim is imperfect, but in this case, that's a good thing, because he isn't toning down the force he's using, like he should be. But this is his own body taking over, too, reacting to Baren's stunts just like it did back in the dojo.

If his strikes land, Baren will most definitely be sporting bruises in those spots, if he isn't knocked down entirely. But whether Baren takes the hits or smoothly evades him, the reality of what just happened finally catches up to him, and he stops unsteadily, blinking. He's still tense, like he's expecting Baren to yell "GOTCHA" and tackle him into the dirt, but there's obvious confusion on his face.]

Why'd you stop? [OF ALL THE QUESTIONS HE COULD'VE ASKED]

Edited (stupid link) 2017-07-30 02:52 (UTC)

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