Moving day...

[foolishjustice]

Who: Goro Akechi, mostly open but one prompt for Mav
What: The new guy settles in...and regrets transferring in right before finals.
When: The first week of March and into the next weekend.
Where: The library and local cafes, the training grounds, and Lumiere room 305
Warnings: None anticipated...

[Hall of Pythia/local cafes]

[Of course he just had to transfer in right before exams. He'd been frustrated by the timing, but of course his superiors had insisted. So here he is, right before final exams...he'd at least had the requirements for combat and magic classes waived due to the late transfer, but that still leaves him looking at tests for unknown lesson plans. As confident as he is in his general studies, it still makes him nervous. That's why, if he spots someone who looks like a student about his age, he'll put down his coffee and wave at them before calling out in Japanese accented English.]

Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to have copies of this years' syllabi for twelfth graders, would you? I just transferred, and I want to make sure my old school covered everything I'll need to know.

[Lumiere 305]

[For the first full week of March, Akechi was far too busy and exhausted to really introduce himself to his roommate. He'd partially unpacked, setting up his ant farm at the back of his desk, and then spent the rest of his time either on classwork or learning his way around the campus.

By Friday, however, he finally finds time after class to finish his unpacking. And, well...he does have someone he should really be introducing himself to. He offers a grin that's carefully measured to not show too many teeth...and, honestly, doesn't seem entirely natural.]

I'm sorry I've been so scarce since arriving, I seem to have picked a very troublesome time to transfer. My name is Goro Akechi, I look forward to getting to know you.

[Following the field trip into the orichalcum mines, the one thing Akechi had taken time from his studies for was to pay a visit to the forge. With the weekend now here, it's time to test out what he'd requested...a set of arrows, barbed and tipped with a glittering gold metal. Judging from the weight of the vanes on the back, a pretty heavy one, at that. Left to his own devices, he'll spend the majority of his Saturday here, alternating between archery practice (those who know how to hold a bow properly will note that he's left handed) and exercising his familiar. He's also chosen a...strange outfit to practice in. Even more strange, the mask vanishes when his familiar is summoned.]

It feels a little strange, being able to train like this out in the open...

Comments

Familiar Training

[prisoneroffate]

You've got a pretty interesting ability there.

It's a familiar familiar, huh?

[foolishjustice]

[Robin Hood lowers his bow from firing what looked to be an arrow of pure light that somehow still struck the target as if it were solid. Akechi smiles, posture straightening in pride.]

Don't most of us? I was under the impression that was the point of our coming here.

[prisoneroffate]

What do you call your Persona?

[He'll get straight to the point here, fellow PHANTOM THIEF]

[foolishjustice]

You know what this sort of familiar is called? I'm a little surprised.

[The familiar in question moves to stand behind Akechi, but he doesn't seem threatening.]

His name is Robin Hood.

[prisoneroffate]

Robin Hood? I guess that fits. Can you summon others, or is he your only one?

[deuteranope]

[Having time and distance to get used to this intruder is more than okay by Mav, who spends more time than usual out of the room unless he knows Akechi won't be there -- the times this lines up with his own free time is slim, but he lucks out occasionally. It lets him watch the ants, open a few drawers, inspect his own side of things for signs of similar snooping...but meeting one another is something he can't put off forever, and he's...pretty sure it's better if he does. Before he psyched himself out wondering who the heck he's supposed to be sharing a room with.

...Now if only that person would actually show himself while he was in front of him.]

Uh-huh, whatever. I'm Maverick, my cat's not here right now, but she's Ricktoria, if you don't like cats you're on the wrong fucking floor.

[foolishjustice]

[For the most part, his belongings are pretty normal...aside from the fact that he apparently takes fashion advice from Mr. Rodgers. His most casual clothing involves a blue argyle sweatervest. He takes his favored weapons to class with him, leaving the most unusual thing a securely locked box the right size, shape, and weight to be holding a sword of some sort. Also, he's brought coffee with him. Lots of coffee.

He has, however, noticed the signs of snooping, given the pieces of masking tape he put over the sides of the drawers.]

It's nice to meet you. I've never had a cat before, but I'm fine with them...as long as she doesn't bother my ant farm, anyway.

[deuteranope]

[So much coffee... An amount of coffee that rivals his own cache of hot chocolate.]

Pretty sure that even as a cat, she's got better fucking things to do than dick around with a bunch of ants.

[He's reasonably sure their home is secure, so he doesn't have to worry about chucking them out the window... Speaking of which -- ] There's another cat that comes by here sometimes. He can let himself in, but he's a polite little shit sometimes, so he might wait by the window. Don't fuck with the thing there or his collar, either. And I assume you fucking know by now to make liberal use of headphones if you plan on listening to shit, #FREETHEBEATS, blah blah blah.

[foolishjustice]

Don't worry, I don't intend on letting anything I listen to bother others. You would probably find my taste in music pretty boring, anyway.

[That's a complete lie, but he's not about to admit what he really listens to.]

On my end of things, I only ask that you don't look into the boxes I haven't unpacked. I have things in there that are of a...personal nature, and I would rather keep their contents private.

[deuteranope]

Yeah, if only me knowing about your shit taste was the biggest of your worries there. Imelda's good people, but she also wrecked some bitch's guitar.

[bond with him over cannibal corpse when mama's not home tho]

Sure. [And despite his snooping, his tone and expression seem genuine enough.] Don't care about your porn or your diaries. Long as it's not ever gonna have anything to fucking do with me, I'm good with that. [He pauses, hinting to his apprehension on his next "rule" despite it being fairly...normal.] I, uh. Keep the door locked. And the window. Don't leave your keys and shit behind or laying around unless you wanna sleep in the common area, which I don't fucking recommend either because there's a bunch of weirdo losers that stay here.

Training

[lastexit]

*Maya came to train, and she did a bit of that first. Her beat up collapsible baton in a small holster on her hip. However she lacks a bit in stamina, too many days losing track of time in her own mind. And just- not being the sporty one, between her and her sister. So eventually she decides to take a break and wander around, listening for anything interesting, and going from there. When she finds someone using arrows, well, she slips in and watches.*

Wouldn't a Gun be more effective?

*Maya doesn't make noise as she moves, so unless you look to the door when she enters, she probably got in unnoticed. At least she waits until after Akechi loosed an arrow? So- that's progress.*

[foolishjustice]

[He starts at the sudden voice, turning around with a tense expression. It takes him a moment to parse exactly what was being said, and then he lets out a nervous breath.]

Not with orichalcum ammunition. It would damage the gun, and the bullets would most likely pass entirely through the target. These arrows negate the magic of anything the arrowhead touches, so they're useful for magic using enemies that can't be defeated by a simple well-aimed bullet.

[lastexit]

*She'll give him his moment. She knows that this sorta reaction is on her.*

So magic doesn't always play with- what we learned is the most effective tools?

*There's not really vocabulary for this sorta thing, not that Maya knows.*

[foolishjustice]

More like...the more varied options you have, the more variety of situations you can account for. In many situations, a grenade launcher would be unquestionably more effective than a pistol...but if your target is close to an ally or an important structure, the pistol becomes the better tool due to its precision.

It's the same thing with this. A gun is better when fighting an opponent you're confident you can subdue through mundane means, while a bow with orichalcum arrows might be more effective against magical defenses or a sturdy enemy with dangerous powers.

[lastexit]

*Having to learn all the different variances of weapons was going to be like learning different instruments. Only she was good at music and fighting monsters was terrifying.*

Drawing the string takes space, so I thought a gun was just... better.

*This was more complicated than she thought.*

Training Grounds

[leekspins]

[Orihime spends quite a bit of time at the training grounds. It's only been a week since her recovery from her out-of-body experience and she's still regaining her strength. She gets winded more quickly than she used to, but she's building her endurance back up to what it used to be, and her appetite is as absurdly strong as it ever was. She just needs to make sure to pace herself while also frantically studying to catch up on the week of schoolwork that she missed.]

[After wearing herself out with a solo game of racquetball, she's resting on one of the nearby benches so she can read her textbook and take notes, chugging water, and occasionally satisfying her brain's need for a distraction by observing the other students and their chosen fighting styles. She still needs to contact Lie Ren and see if he'd mind taking her on as an apprentice, but she's held off for now. Once she's good and strong again...and once the pressure of exams have tapered off...she'll definitely approach him with the idea. For now it's just interesting to WOW THAT GUY JUST SUMMONED A HUGE BEEFY SWASHBUCKLING WARRIOR WITH THE BIGGEST BOW SHE'S EVER SEEN! Her jaw drops, and so does her water bottle.]

A-amazing...!

[She doesn't bother to hide her awe, now leaning forward and gripping the edge of the bench as she watches in sheer fascination. Both archers are incredibly skilled. If Tsubaki weren't supposed to be a secret, she'd love to get tips from him to improve her own aim.]

[When Akechi lands a perfect bull's eye, Orihime applauds politely, beaming.]

That was amazing! I've never been able to hit the center before, but you did it as easily as breathing!

[foolishjustice]

[It's possible he might be showing off a bit, knowing he has an audience. He turns around with a measured grin at the praise, holding his bow behind his back in a theatrical bow.

If Orihime knows anything about the proper way to hold a bow, she'll notice he's left handed.]

I have been practicing since middle school. I used to be in an archery club.

[leekspins]

[Sadly, this version of Orihime has never met Ishida. But even if she had, he held his bow wrong too, so it looked natural enough to her no matter what! Hooray!]

Wow, really? They have those?

[Of course Daybreak has archery classes, and fencing, and magical combat...it's kind of necessary considering what's to come. But she didn't expect other schools to have such things, since it would only be for sport.]

[She looks at the bow, then at his summoned partner.]

May I try it? Or is your weapon linked to your summoning?

[foolishjustice]

Archery is a popular sport in Japan. I doubt every school has a club for it, but many do.

[He retrieves the arrow from the target, then holds out both bow and ammunition.]

The bow is ordinary, but mind the arrows. They're heavier than standard ammunition, so they might not fly quite like you'd expect for the pull strength.

[leekspins]

Oh that's okay! I've never done this before so I don't have any expectations to begin with.

[She smiles, bowing slightly to express her gratitude as she takes up the bow, then the arrow. Given that she's inexperienced, she's relying on her memory of Akechi's archery, so she holds it left-handed as well to mimic what he'd done. Even though she's right-handed. She moves her feet apart, keeping her right arm straight as she fits the arrow to the string.]

[Orihime's stronger than she looks, but she does struggle to pull the string, and her muscles quiver. She holds the arrow close to her cheek, keeping both eyes open as she takes aim...raises the point a little higher since he'd warned that the ammunition was heavy...and lets loose. The string snaps back in place, slapping against her unprotected forearm to leave it pink, while the arrow sails in an arc toward the target.]

[The arrow punctures the metal garbage can next to the target with a noisy 'KLANG!']

Ha ha! I kind of wish I'd been aiming for that...

[She sheepishly rubs the back of her head.]

I didn't realize how much arm strength it took to use a bow. That's a good workout!

Cafes

[thedevilwearsgucci]

FLAP. Someone's dropped a packet of printed sheets on your textbook as you were reading, Goro.

"THERE you are. I was wondering when I'd be able to catch up with you."

That would be the literature teacher, miss Cereza. Those papers she's just dropped on you are, in fact, class outlines. And... what outlines they are. "Dante's inferno and your own personal hell." "When good ghost stories go bad." "Crypic literature and psychedelic mushrooms; a study." "How accounts of exorcisms really bring out the worst in you." and the list goes on.

"I don't know who had the sense to drop you into a class just before midterms, but I figured you would need these."

[foolishjustice]

He blinks at the paper suddenly covering what he's trying to read, taking a moment to refocus so he can read what's on it. Then he lets out a relieved breath and smiles.

"It wasn't really my preference, but bureaucrats don't always think about the practicalities outside of paperwork. I was looking for copies of my new syllabi, though, so thank you."

[thedevilwearsgucci]

She nods in acknowledgement at the thanks, and perches on the corner of the desk for a second.

"I know you're busy with studying to do, but mind if I ask where you transferred from? For the sake of dovetailing your coursework."

[foolishjustice]

"I came here from Tokyo."

He gives the name of a particularly prestigious high school, the sort that only accepts particularly remarkable students.

[thedevilwearsgucci]

"Well! I don't know if I can match up to THAT standard, but I sure as hell can try."

To hear that kind of parlance come out wearing an accent like hers is... interesting to hear.

"Goro, it was, right? That's the name I have on your paperwork... How did they handle western literature as a whole over there? Fairly well, I imagine. You probably know your Sartres from your Thoreaus, I take it?"