[center][b]Summary:[/b] People start training. Crash continues to get beaten up, while Kathy and Carmen spar under Yutaka's direction. Ryuu punches some bags and then heads to the magic dojo. Dora the Explorer shows up in a cameo no one was expecting. [i]Swiper, no swiping![/i][/center] [i][u] - Tora - [/u][/i] The zombified man completely let his stance fade away as he stood curiously at the shapeshifting student. His pale eyes simply stared at Crash, who turned into a blond highlander. Tora wondered if Crash was going Super Saiyan. Nevertheless, the teacher would continue the training. Answering Crash with a blind grunt, the zombie put up his [i]Dragon[/i] stance again. He, however, planned on using a hybrid mix of multiple martial arts, along with his own methods of sparring with others. The teacher simply stared at the now-blond-Crash, wondering how he could train Crash for a long time. Tora decided that Crash could probably handle on his own. In other words, he proceeded to try kicking a-s. The cursed man groaned... ...before launching himself toward he shapeshifter. However, he was not close enough to actually begin delivering attacks that Crash could (probably) block, so the zombie began to walk through the ring using his hands. After taking about six steps with his hands, Tora pushed himself toward Crash, spiraling like an extremely powerful torpedo. Should he miss, Tora would push himself back into the ring by using the ring's walls. [i][u] - Carmen - [/u][/i] Carmen willingly stood across from Kathy when instructed to, and didn't even have to say her name. The gas mask man posed an introductory question and Kathy answered first. Carmen thought altogether longer about the question posed, before answering, a bit hesitantly. "I'd imagine that if Kathy has more experience in hand to hand combat than I do that she would have the advantage, despite the weapon. I have very little experience," she admitted. "Plus, my trumpet may be long but it might take longer to attack with than with bare hands," she finished, still not exactly resolved in her contemplations on the question but semi-confident in the answer she posited. [i][u] - Crash - [/u][/i] Crash wasn't aware of the stance his teacher was using as he readied himself for the mans approach unsure how to utilize this forms powers, his eyes were still a crimson color though they seemed to shine brightly in this form. He growled impatiently as the zombie stared at him, feeling an uncomfortable rage crawl beneath his skin, though it was easy to suppress luckily. He flinched back as the man came towards him readying his heightened senses for the oncoming barrage of...what the hell was he doing now? He watched the teacher take 6 steps with his hands, lifting a questioning eyebrow he hissed as he barely managed to block Tora's spiraling attack, it clipped his shoulder as he dodged to the side hitting the ground on his he stayed on the balls of his feet leaning forward on one hand he dug his fingers into the sand looking back up at Tora as propelled himself back into the ring with an angry growl Crash launched himself at Tora recklessly aiming to collide with the teacher and hopefully get a few punches in...likely situation he was going to regret this move. [i][u] - Tora - [/u][/i] Tora's eyes grew wider. For a split second, a reflection of Crash's anger sparked brightly from his eyes. The zombie, twisting his body around, crouched and kicked in front of him, leaving Crash in midair for a quick second. He then jumped and did five front flips: in each flip, his hooks created a larger distance from him. After flipping around in the air long enough to unwrap some of his chains, Tora swung his hooks directly towards Crash. The hooks wrapped themselves cleanly around Crash's neck, though they did not harm him with their sharp tips. Thinking that Crash could handle such an attack, Tora swung Crash behind him, letting the student harshly land directly beneath him. As the teacher fell, the hooks let go of Crash. Tora fell straight down on Crash feet-first. He yelled his iconic battle cry before flipping off of Crash, immediately putting up his [b][i]Tiger[/i][/b] stance, thinking that Crash would pop right back up like a... woopie cushion. Not that woopie cushions ever exactly refilled themselves with air. [i][u] - Crash - [/u][/i] Crash hadn't expected that reaction whilst in midair he could only wait for Tora's next move his hands reflexively reaching out to grab the hooks but they had already curled around his neck he gripped the chains as he had before hissing angrily as he was pulled behind the teacher, unprepared for the speed he hit the ground at he was immediately knocked spare his vision swimming for a moment as he tried to pull air back into his lungs. He roared out in pain as Tora's feet drilled into his chest, pushing him further into the ground before springing off of him like a spring board. The shapeshifter's bruised body screamed in protest but he surged forward aiming to at least get one hit on the teacher, his lips were moist with a red substance as he aimed 3 swift punches at the zombies torso using the forms fast speed, though on the third punch the blonde highlander slid away and Crash shrunk back into himself, blinking up at Tora. [i]...oh...sh-taki mushrooms...[/i] [i][u] - Tora - [/u][/i] Tora held his [i]Tiger[/i] stance for a while... before loosening up. The zombified man deemed Crash to be surprisingly unfit against him. Then again, Tora [i]did[/i] sort of immediately start training by beating the living day out of his own student. The man tilted his head slowly, as if he were wondering if Crash was going to fall asleep at any moment. The teacher, wondering if the student was alright, began to walk toward Crash. The zombie heard in his own head, [i]"What the heck are you doing? You're supposed to [b]train[/b] him. Do you need Merriam's dictionary to understand that?"[/i] And another voice said in his head, [i][b]"Take it easy. Go ask if he's okay and just... have him run. Or something."[/b][/i] Tora nodded to himself, though the zombie would have to somehow communicate on that part while getting over his inability to talk. Dragging himself toward the student, Tora attempted to help the student back up, growling like he usually did. It was strange for a zombie that growled so much to suddenly yell out humane battle cries of victory, but then again, there were others that acted far stranger than he did. After helping the student back up, Tora wondered what he could do to let Crash understand that he should begin training with easy stuff. The cursed man got an idea. Motioning Crash to stand still, Tora suddenly smashed a hook into the wooden boxing ring. He then let the hook slide into the floor a little. He waited. After a few seconds' worth of waiting, Tora took out a paper and pen. Though his English had been severely downgraded to the point where even Bill Nye would say "Wow, you're stupid," it was enough to get straight into the point. The zombie humorously scribbled something down on the paper before showing it to Crash. On it, there were two things listed: "1. Do 100 lapz rund the dojo" "2. Prakdis punshing wid Dora" He spelled his name wrong, but you get the point. [i][u] - Seven - [/u][/i] Seven slept for a while until waking up and didn't bother to look at the other people trying to something he was busy grooming his face and body when he turned around to see what was happening. He looked at a weird zombie looking man (Tora) and decided to bother him because he was bored, he slowly walked there and poked the weird man at the back. His ear perked up just poking the man's back... he was just entertained just by poking him multiple times. He then grew bored then walked away well he jumped up to the air and walked towards a man with a weird mask (Yukata) Like a cat he played the guy's hair from above. Like his cat anture he made little cat mews and noises just by playing with his hair. [i][u] - Garden - [/u][/i] Garden smiled and petted a bit Sir Lion head. She listened intently on what Lady little feather said. "Hhmm.... I don't know which one to pick...I am curious with the shooting range...." She said as she continue to pet Sunflower. The little kitty look at Lion and little feather and yawn again. [i] "I dwon't know...I jwust wemembwed neaw thwis gwuy (Ryuu) awnd I pewwedon hwim... Then shwe pwick me up... I lwike hew...." [i] Sunflower said then looked at Garden telling her with his eyes that he wanted to be on Lion head. Garden giggled and placed Sunflower on Sir Lion head. "He wanted to be on your head Sir lion." Garden said happily while Sunflower yawned and began to sleep on his head. "So Lady little feather where would you go?" She looked back to see Dani, she waved at him. "Hello there Sir Dani." She said as she curtsied to him. [i][u] - Crash - [/u][/i] Crash was currently knelt on the floor just in front of the zombie, breathing heavily as he tried to suck oxygen into his lungs he was clutching his stomach visibly wincing he was definitely going to have a very colorful stomach after that brutal assault...he wouldn't be surprised if his internal organs were even bruised after that. He wiped at his bloody lip, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the floor with a grimace, he'd managed to cut his tongue as well, he also had a small cut across the top of his cheek which was already surrounded by the tell tale sign of a bruise. He swallowed as Tora approached him, gritting his teeth and preparing to force himself to his feet ready for his teachers next move, if he was still breathing he was still going to fight. He blinked in surprise as Tora helped him back to his feet, looking a little unsure of what was expected of him...had he failed already? He really wished he could understand the strange growling noises the man made at him. "I may have jumped the gun a bit there..." Crash murmured, feeling rather foolish for his previous confidence, just because he learnt how to do a few fancy flips and punches last week didn't mean he had become combat savvy...He caught the motion from Tora and pretty much froze, flinching as the hook flew into the wooden boxing ring. [i]Well...never again...if its scary it can bloody well remain so[/i] Crash thought to himself, he had orginally thought to train with Tora in an attempt to get over his mild fear of limb manipulation, what better way to get used to seeing body parts at peculiar angles then sparring with a zombie? And although he no longer felt he would lose his breakfast if he saw it, he was regretting ever wanting to conquer that fear. He blinked at the teacher wiping a line of blood away from the corner of his lip in an attempt to clean himself up a bit, he felt his sore face crease into a grin as he watched the zombie scribble on a piece of paper, it was a rather entertaining site. He leaned forward glancing at the paper curiously as he was shown what was listed on there. [i]Laps? Aww man...basketball training all over again...Dora?[/i] He couldn't stop himself laughing at that he knew it was rude, but he couldn't help it he paid for it as the movement made his bruised stomach ache. "Ow ow ow, laughing not good" He groaned, rubbing his stomach with a grimace before he stood up adrenaline still in play he nodded at Tora. "Right running I can do that" He grinned at Tora, figuring it would be better to soldier on at the moment instead of nursing his broken ego and licking his wounds. He jogged away from Tora, beginning his laps gritting his teeth and ignoring the dull ache that passed through his limbs he was still healing slowly thanks to his previous shift but its powers were subsiding slowly but surely. [i][u] - Little Feather & Lion - [/u][/i] Little Feather felt her stomach twist nervously as Garden voiced her preference, of course of all the dojo's it would be the one she really wanted to avoid. She was busy chewing her lip and failing to not look stressed when she heard the kitten speak again, she was barely able to stifle a laugh at the story wondering who on earth the kitten had decided to randomly pee on. It had to be one of the more unfortunate guys which in her head was Crash or possibly Ryuu? She couldn't be sure, she smiled at Garden. Lion also found the cats story amusing it made him lift the corners of his jaws as if grinning at the kitten, though he was still confused as to where on earth the creature had appeared from. "He's positively adorable" Little Feather grinned at Garden, sounding rather 'Mercy like' in manner it was obvious she'd heard the silver haired woman use that sentence before. She was distracted as someone flopped onto the ground beside them, she turned to face the student instantly recognizing the purple haired boy as he huffed a greeting up at them. "Dani!" She exclaimed, a wide smile breaking across her face. "Hey! Where have you been?" She asked him crouching down next to him, concern momentarily breaking through her joyful expression. "Are you ok?" She asked, offering her hand to help him up. Lion turned towards Dani raising the ridge above his eye questioningly he had literally just turned back to face Garden and Sunflower when he heard the woman giggle and felt something being plonked down on his large flat head. His ears flicked out to the side and he went cross eyed trying to look at the kitten curled up on his head. "How did you know he wanted to be on my head?" Lion asked Garden probably surprising both students, his voice was deep and melodic with a purring undertone. "Hello Dani, hope you are well" Lion greeted the spectre as well. Little Feather smiled at the lion. [i]Finally[/i] She thought in response to him revealing his human voice, he had been holding out on everyone...not that it had probably bothered them all that much. [i][u] - Garden - [/u][/i] Garden was startled with hearing the human...like voice? From Sir Lion. "Oh wow! I didn't you could speak like that, I mean no offense really.” Garden said happily, interested in Sir Lion a bit more while looking at Sir Lion. “Oh I just looked into each other eyes! Sunflower seemed to want to…” She said also wondering how did that happen, how did she know that Sunflower wanted that by just looking at his eyes. “Well greetings again to you Sir Dani, I am glad you can make it, that voice was coming from Sir Lion, it was a surprise but it’s really cool to know he can talk, really cool!” She said as she patted Sir Lion head even though Sunflower was on his head. "He is such a cutie!” Garden said in a bubbly tone then looked the three of them (Including Sir Lion) and then looked at the dojos. “This will help us be strong, I want to try range…” [i][u] - Dani - [/u][/i] "Well, I've been in my little beach hut thing, transforming my bedroom into a living area." Dani replied. Dani reached up and took hold of Little Feather's outstretched hand, and hauled himself off the ground. He quickly brushed himself off. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was worried I would be late for training, so I ran all the way here. At least now I know I'd make a terrible runner in a marathon." Dani said. "Greetings, Princess Garden." Dani said to Garden with a bow. For some reason, her courtly manners had rubbed off on him. "How are you today?" However, before Garden could answer, a deep, manly voice rung out. "Hello Dani." Lion said. Dani looked around, not realizing that Lion was the one who spoke. "Who's there? Where are you?" he asked. [i][u] - Matt - [/u][/i] Fire... Water... The sky... And fear. Lots of fear. These were the only things Matt could remember after he awoke from his... Er... Nap? It wasn't a nap as much as a strange occurrence that causes him to have visions of his past lives. He looked at his watch, wondering what time it was. [i]Wait... I've been asleep for an hour? Just sleeping on this random table at this bar. I'm surprised I haven't been drawn on. Not that I'm complaining.[/i] Matt thought. He stood up, put his empty cup on the counter, and left the building. He headed along the path towards the training grounds. Unlike the classes at the academy, he had heard that nobody was allowed to skip these classes. Matt found his way to the training area, and entered one of the dojos. The first thing he saw after his eyes got accustomed to the light was Crash, and his battered up body. [i]That can't be good. I may be having second thoughts on coming to this dojo instead of the magic training, or the archery.[/i] Matt thought with a frown. Nobody had spotted him yet, maybe he had a chance. If he slowly left, maybe he could go over to the ranged dojo. Maybe. He cautiously turned around, and quietly began to make his way out. [i][u] - Darwin - [/u][/i] Darwin skipped through the corridors with skittles spilling out of his hand as he popped one after one into his mouth, never to be seen again. Some thoughts went through his head, why were they training him? He already had pro MLG skills like Ryuu. But no one seemed to notice him! Damn...he must be that good. He was like a ninja...super rainbow ninja, jumping from place to place dispatching his enemies with nothing but a muffle. Yes, he was awesome. So there was...skipping through the corridors when suddenly he saw a disturbing sight. "MAAAAAAATT" He called out as he saw him leaving the training centre. "YOU CANT LEAVE! YOU MUST TRAIN! TRAIN, TRAIN, TRAIN! IF you want to be awesome like me, you must train! Now get back in there and kick ass like a duck!" Darwin grinned almost like he was ready to eat Matt. Maybe he tasted like an orange skittle..... [i][u] - Yutaka - [/u][/i] "Those are both very good answers," Yutaka nodded, smiling broadly under his mask. Then chuckling he announced, "But the correct answer would be: me!" The teacher himself could almost hear the crickets chirping from his lame joke, but he did have a reason for it. "Now now, before you two start waving that off, consider this. I am the one instructing the two of you, so like Carmen said, I would have advantage over both of you in experience. And I have some weapons accessible to me here that I'm very used to using and, like Kathy said, I'd have the advantage in reach as well." There was more he wanted to explain, but the loud sounds coming from the wooden ring in the dojo grabbed hold of his attention. "Er..." Yutaka looked at the rough fighting going on there, then at the two girls in front of them. His gaze wandered back and forth for a moment as he wondered which was more important to address. [i]'Tora knows that he should hold back for a student, right?'[/i] Well, he would step in if things went too far but for now he gave his fellow instructor the benefit of the doubt. He gave the two girls his undivided attention again and continued the lesson. "For a unique weapon like your trumpet Carmen, experience itself is probably the best teacher but we can start with this: find a place where you can put both your hands on the trumpet and get a good grip on it. Make sure you can let go at any time you need too though, so don't hook your fingers in anywhere and make sure that your thumb isn't pressed between your hand and the instrument." Turning to Kathy he continued, "Now because Carmen does have a much longer reach, it'll be better for you to use kicks rather than trying to draw in closer for a punch. Unless you're more used to using your fists?" Seeing her shake her head he nodded, "Perfect. Now I want the two of you to take turns, but first let's have Carmen attack while Kathy defends. Slowly, at first, just get used to the motion and stop before you actually hit each other. Then if you get confident the two of you can start adding some force behind it. Carmen, try to practice swinging up or sideways at Kathy from below. Though most people like to swing up from around the head, it's a lot harder to see attacks coming from below so let's practice those first. And Kathy, when it's your turn to defend then I want you to either dodge while moving closer to Carmen or kick the trumpet off to the side so it doesn't hit you." Taking a couple steps back, Yutaka gave them some space to try it out as he watched the red-haired boy start jogging around the dojo. He looked more like someone who had just picked a fight in the streets than a student under the instruction of a legitimate teacher, but at least he was in one piece and seemed to have the energy to move around still. It was at this point that Yutaka felt a slight poke from behind. "Hm?" Turning around, he saw an interestingly-dressed fellow (Seven). He probably didn't have any right to comment on anyone's attire because of his own, but he saw the humor in it. "Hello there." He greeted, tilting his head up towards the boy (Seven)."Are you here for training as well?" [i][u] - Kathy - [/u][/i] Listening to the oddly violent noises coming from the wooden ring, two thoughts came to Kathy's mind. [i]'Is Crash alright? Isn't he bleeding?!'[/i] And, [i]'I am really glad I chose Yutaka over Tora now.'[/i] Her worry and sympathy went out to Crash, but there was quite a large sense of relief that she was not the victim of those heavy blows. She nodded, listening carefully to Yutaka's instructions for their own training. Keeping her hands closed into loose fists, she took a stance in front of Carmen with both her hands near her hip and one foot slightly in front of the other, shoulder-length apart. "Ready?" Kathy asked Carmen, waiting for her to make the first move so she could run her defense. She seemed a little distracted though, peeking over at Carmen's shoulder every so often when Crash passed by during his laps. At one point she finally asked him, "Are you alright? What exactly was Tora trying to teach you with all that?" [i][u] - Carmen - [/u][/i] Carmen listened to the instructor's words intently. When it was time to mock attack Kathy, she was at a bit of a loss. Her normal trumpet playing position was the most ergonomic way to hold it for playing, but due to the long leadpipe might be completely ineffective for fighting. After a moment of experimentation, she arrived on a grip that placed her left hand on the back bell curve and her right gripping the third valve slide. It allowed her a good range of movement and solid grip with leverage. She also noted that she could also jab a rushing opponent with the leadpipe like using the butt of a gun. Looking positively out of her element, Carmen looked at Kathy. "Ready when you are," she said, noting her interest in Crash running by. When there was a break, she decided to begin. "Okay, here we go," she said audibly at Kathy, making sure she was ready before starting. She moved towards Kathy, holding the trumpet low and horizontally, and began the mock swing, which would ideally come up and connect with Kathy's side. [i][u] - Crash - [/u][/i] Crash jolted to a halt regretting the action as he leaned against the wooden side of the dojo, he grinned at Kathy his chest heaving as he sucked in oxygen. “Nope, but nothings broken so that’s always a plus” He commented between pants, his eyes flickering from her to Carmen he touched the back of his neck. “Probably not to be such a cocky git” Crash shrugged at her. “You should see the speed this guy moves at...” He chuckled, apparently not concerned about the violent training session. “Don’t look so worried...Dora’s pretty tame, believe me. I’m still standing” He grinned at her, leaning both his arms on the side looking as if he was in no rush to move instead looking rather...content watching Kathy and Carmen. [i][u] - Leroy - [/u][/i] Despite Leroy's promise to see Oona down at the beach, he never really stuck to it and went back to his room instead. It had been more of a casual, 'see you there if I do' kind of situation more than a real promise anyway. And besides, 'Beach Olympics' seemed like something more for people interested in the athletic department. Not people like him who were abnormally thin and preferred more a sedentary lifestyle. So why exactly was this painter making his way over to the training center? Well, one, he had never really received any formal instruction on using his abilities better. And two, which was his real motives, he was interested to see other peoples' abilities at work. He got to see a few of them back in the auditorium of that chaotic day, but he was sure there was still other interesting powers to observe within the diverse academy. Whistling to himself, he entered the magic dojo and looked around to see what everyone else was doing so far. [i][u] - Tora - [/u][/i] Tora tilted his head, watching Crash begin to run a hundred laps. The zombie opened his mouth dumbly before loosely closing it again. Maybe he was doing alright, after all? Tora lost all of his knowledge on how emotions exactly worked, so he could not exactly tell what Crash was feeling. The teacher, however, felt accomplished when Crash met up with some random female student. Maybe he could teach her how to fight as well. He, however, clearly knew that teaching students one-by-one allowed Tora to properly focus in teaching. With that said, the zombie wondered if the female student was Crash's sister. Tora immediately stopped caring and began to think about what else he could teach Crash. Maybe he could teach him that "bungee" trick nearly every other combat teacher hated...? [i][u] - Ryuu - [/u][/i] Ryuu swiftly delivered a single punch at the training bag he placed in front of him, smashing the very center of it with a surprisingly decent accuracy. Something about his hits, however, felt lacking to him. As much as he enjoyed training, training felt incomplete without a partner. Not that he cared about that particular flaw, anymore. The reason why he always fell behind was because he accepted training alone. Now, he sort of improved on working by himself. The sunglasses-wearing student lied on his back, simply huffing a disgruntled mumble. The free training area he chose was literally filled with grass, a tree, and several training materials. Ryuu had set up the punching bag by using one of the branches to hang it onto. He aimed to improve his overall stamina and strength to prepare himself for any further "crazy stuff" that could happen to him. After all, some demons- yes, [b][u]demons[/u][/b]- decided to attack the freaking academy he began to attend in. And the entire attack was certainly not part of any "opening ceremony," from what he could tell. But more than worrying for himself, he felt a little worried about... his family. He wondered if the demons would somehow attack them. Sure, they were pretty strong in their own ways, but there were always those dark thoughts about him losing those he considered to be important to his life. And as much as he hated to admit it, he felt most worried about his sister. She was not particularly the combative type, despite being able to control his "totally-sh-t" attitude when he was younger. The last thing he wanted was to have his family attacked instead of him. So he needed to get stronger so that he would not need to worry about such matters. Lifting himself up from the ground, Ryuu was about to begin training again before he thought about something. [i]I need a teacher if I want to learn how to use my powers more efficiently, though.[/i] Ryuu sighed. Admitting that he needed some training in his powers, the otaku reluctantly left the free-training area to the magic dojo. [i][u] - Seven - [/u][/i] Seven looked down at the weird man with the mask and gave a tired yawn, still playing with his hair. “Maybe… I don’t know…there is nothing fun to do here!! I need something to kill or something!!” Seven said in a sour mood, like a very grumpy cat. His tail droop down like the only thing that was holding up his body was like a board on his chest. His ears also droop down and her gave out a pathetic mew. “Give me something to do Mask man!! “ Seven shouted at him then lie on his back getting annoyed with boredom, his worst fear water second…boredom. [i][u] - Cyber - [/u][/i] Cyber looked at the empty lot but just continue to walk while holding Alistair. As they went closer things began unravel it turned to three big dojos…. “Wow, Man I am ready!!” Cyber said as he ran towards the dojo and looked at each one. “Which one? I think I will go to this one! Come on Alistair!!” He ran to one dojo (Physical) and looked around, punching bags and a fighting match!! It was like a boxing game, Cyber smiled and began to stretch a bit more… maybe he though he could have change but no time for that now! “So Alistair ready? This might help you too!!” [i][u] - Kathy - [/u][/i] Seeing that Carmen seemed to be aiming for her side, Kathy decided to dodge instead of kicking the trumpet away. [i]’Dodge closer to Carmen.’[/i] She repeated in her mind, moving slightly sideways as she took a step towards her. She was beginning to see the point of just having a ‘mock’ spar. Her normal reaction would have been just to jump back, but that would have made her unable to attack Carmen as well. Actually stepping forward while dodging, however, put her past the trumpet’s ideal range and made it easier for her to get a hit into Carmen if she took advantage of the opening quickly enough. “Let’s keep going.” Smiling, she stepped back to the same range as before and readied herself again. Kathy gave Crash a funny look. “I’d be [i]really[/i] worried if you broke anything during training.” She wanted to actually do something to help tend to the bruises forming, but she was in the middle of training herself and didn't want to interrupt Carmen or Crash's valuable training time. Then tilting her head slightly to the side she asked, “A cocky git? Did you do something to rile the teacher up?” She thought that was kind of unlikely, but she didn’t know enough about the interaction between Crash and Tora to make any other conclusions. She let out a laugh at the inaccurate name Crash mentioned, instantly imagining a small cartoon girl with a pink shirt and purple backpack. She laughed, “Dora? I thought you were going to call him Hook?”