Good Morning, Endymion! :: Morning [Open]

"Hehe, why thank you, Lui. And I see. I can't really say I've found myself either. Like, I really don't know what to do with my life once I'm done with school, since it's... everything I've known, really. I know my dad wants me to take over the buissness, but... I'm not sure I really want to."

"That's perfectly normal. Very few people have a purpose defined early for them. Seems like you dad's giving you a push in the direction he wants. He must really pride himself on how he runs it. I know my dad's given me some encouragement to take a look at his accounting job, but that's dull to me. My advice is to find some interests to explore. I lived near the dojo in Little Tokyo, so I took up kendo before I got into fencing. The town may be kind of cramped, but it's a hotbed for cultures and activities to try out. Who knows, maybe I'll show you around... if that's not pushing our secrecy."

Seeing that there were no logs to set on the stumps, he decided instead to select a thinner, shorter tree from among the others to train on. Backing a few steps away from the tree and motioning to Batilde to move towards the stumps to give him space.

In an instant, his smile dissolved into a stoic expression, one filled with focus instead of kindness. In an instant, Lui would begin a barrage of strikes on the wood, starting with light strikes with the tip into heavy blows with the blade. While the bark on the sides of the tree appeared to be cracking off, the wood below would not appear to be damaged. Lui was striking with restrained power, in consideration of his sword and the tree. Some of the branches at his side were not so fortunate, as some broke off with the blade swinging through them.

After a few rounds of intense and rapid jabs and slashes, Lui began to noticeably sweat. This prompted him to take a breather and grab a bottle from his bag and guzzle it on the stump nearest the tree. He looked back to Batilde.

"Well, this isn't exactly a plastic dummy, so I'll try not to cut the tree down to size. Don't think this fella can take a full-on pummeling. You want to take a shot at it?"

So, she enjoyed writing? Lui was a fairly studious student, so getting into writing was a consideration. He remembered drawing some primitive comics with his sister, but that practice fell out of practice quickly. He got too hung up on details when it came to world building or writing characters, so a good amount of ideas lasted about half a page before he realized he had nothing else to write. Maybe she'd let him see the type of writing she was good at. Nevertheless, she accepted his offer to tour the town sometime, and Lui kept it as a consideration for later.

"You've done this for a long time, haven't you?"

"Four years now, give or take a few months. It's been a real struggle to get to shape myself to best prepare for it. It takes quick feet, awareness of your body, and a fast reaction time. Sabers aren't the only weapons we use; the others are just more pointed. I prefer this kind of weapon, where you can deflect the opponent strikes when you see them."

Hearing that she was interested in trying her hand with it, he got off the stump and held the handle out to her, the blade pointed at the ground. Should she pick it up, the weight of it was apparent. It was light enough to swing with, but the material made the blade seem heavier than it normally would be. Lui stood at her side, watching her grip.

"Now the thing with this saber is that fencing weapons are held with one hand. The other hand stays at your side. Use your dominant hand, try to grip it around here."

He was noticeably cautious, trying to guide her on how to hold it without directly moving her hands. If he got caught trying to grab and guide her body, it definitely wouldn't make explaining easy.

"Alright, take a few swings. Get a good feel for it. Hit the tree if you want. Just don't strike the trunk with too much ferocity. Fencing is an elegant but quick style of fighting."

"It was supposed to be just the hands, just the hands..."

Beads of nervous sweat drooped down Lui's head as he realized that his captain instincts of training new members had kicked in, as he suddenly realized that his hands were on her shoulders and back to straighten her posture. As soon as she began to hold form, he quickly stepped away as he realized what he was doing. He was visibly nervous, keeping his hands shoved deep into his pockets. He glanced in any direction he could, expecting to seem some gawking observers but luckily found none.

"L-Like this?"

"Y-yeah... You're good. Just strike when ready."

After his heart began to settle down, he saw Batilde take a quick slash at the tree. Although it was exaggerated and left her open to a counter, it struck with force and determination. Her next move, a jab to the torso of the tree, caused her to neglect the root knot jutting from the ground. Lui looked back up to realize that she had hit the floor, screaming and then examining her minor injury. Lui quickly rushed to her side, grabbing a few bandages from his bag and expecting a wound to wrap up.

"Are you alright? There's a little bleeding there. Here, wash it off. I got some bandages if you got a cut.

But still, that was a good strike. A little exaggerated and open, but strong hit nonetheless. At least the sword didn't rebound off the tree and strike you on the forehead like what happened to Arthur."

Lui sighed with relief at the revelation that her injury wasn't serious. This is exactly why he doesn't take the real steel saber out of the room for training; it would've been a worse cut if it were meant to cut. Lui dabbed some water onto her cheek to wipe off the blood and dirt, watching her wince in pain from the initial contact. Making sure the bleeding was stopped, he set a small spherical bandage on her cheek over the bruise. Batilde responded to his comment as he put away his bottle.

"Pffft. Are you saying that just to make me feel better?"

"Ehehe, maybe. You got some real power behind you. I was the opposite when I started off; I could hit my target precisely, but I couldn't muster up the courage to hit even a dummy with my full strength. It took me a while to get to where I am today. I have my fair share of bruises as well. This little bruise just means you're making progress.

"I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable before... You don't get that many girls in the fencing club, I take it?"

Lui blushed slightly at the mention of girls in the club. They used to have a female member, but she just ended up joining the Martial Arts club instead because, as Lui remembers, "Why fight with swords when I can use my fists?".

"Oh, no. You're fine. It's just that I kind of went on autopilot there, like when I trained the other members. You did say you didn't want your... love interest to get the wrong idea, so I didn't want to get caught getting handsy. But yeah, we don't have many gals in the club, except for the faculty teacher Ms. Kamizura. She claimed to have trained at the dojo in Little Tokyo, but I do a majority of the training. So, yeah, sorry for being awkward back there. At least nobody saw."

He sat there for a moment, watching her amused smile and the badge of honor resting on her cheek before snapping out of it and getting onto his feet, his hand extended to pull her up.

"So you want another try, or would you rather head home?"

Lui's eyes lit up with excitement in response to Batilde offering to join the club. He was having exceptional luck with getting other people to notice the one forgotten club. If she was really interested in joining, he could train alongside her more. It was always exciting to watch a new member improve with every match until they match even his skill. Perhaps with enough members, Lui could get the group into competitions with more schools, maybe even nationally with enough dedication.
"S-seriously?! Oh yeah, you can absolutely join. There's a small fee involved with getting a new suit for you, but I think I can handle that for you. We have practice normally after school every Tuesday or Thursday in the Seven Stars Academy Sorority Hall. But I'm there after school almost every day just in case."

While he considered whether to continue training with Batilde or not, he heard his phone going off in his pocket. He pulled it out to see that his sister Sumi was calling him. He excused himself from the girl's presence and took the call beside the tree, still within earshot of Batilde.

"Sumi? What's going on?"

"Where are you, Lui?! I thought you said you were training, but you're not at the Sorority Hall. Where are you really?"

"I'm training elsewhere. Do you need something?"

"Yeah. I've got a shot of running for student council! I need you to run by the crafts shop and grab me a few materials. I'll be heading home in the meantime. See you later."

*sigh* "Alright, see you in a bit."

He flipped his phone shut and shrugged towards Batilde.

"Sorry, Batilde. Sis needs me to help get some stuff to make campaign posters or something. Knowing her, I'll probably working all day with her. Want to walk back?"

As Lui put his sword and scabbard back at his side, he reached into his bag and pulled out a scrap of paper. He quickly scrawled his phone number on it and hand it off to Batilde.

"For you, Mademoiselle. I can text you my address later. Hope it works out between you and your friend."

--Lui has left as well--

Batilde Gagnon of the Emperor and Lui Saito of the Magus have formed a Social Link!