Morning Exercise (Open)

The morning air was crisp as the leaves swayed under the gentle breeze. Visible puffs of steam hissed from Jin's teeth as he slowly performed Xing Yi's first form: "Wu Xing Lian Huan Quan" or the Five Linked Elements. The first basic forms of this martial art. Every bit of his sinews on his body were relaxed as he took on various sequences of stances. As the body moved, his breathing remained focused and calm. But the earth had a slight tremor with the feet landing against the grass through each movement. He must've looked quite ridiculous as he performed them. But there were not many people around thankfully, otherwise the teacher would rather stop practicing and just walk around.

It was only a fleeting moment of time for Jin after finishing to grade papers for a teacher who needed an extended absence. Hunching over his shoulders to focus on marking student work eventually became awfully tiring and tedious. To be outside and moving was really a nice change from being cramped inside the apartment. After all, he can't possibly practice his kung fu in there with consideration that he's on the top floor where he could bother neighbors from below. But at least Jin could admire what amount of nature is apparent in this park.

That is until he accidentally slips on a patch of wet grass as he extended his leading leg in the air to stomp down. As the Chinese man was subject to the laws of gravity as his back soon slammed against the furry green ground with a loud sound.

"Ow..."

He cringed into a ball to wait for the pain to go away.

It was nice to know that while the snow had left in spring, the cold had not completely gone just yet. The days were most likely going to get warmer, so she would relish all she could in the cold weather. She had brought her sweat pants, and a short-sleeved shirt, along with her black jacket to the local Hayabusa park. Well, local for her would be pushing it, considering her home was in Nokawia. She was probably going to roam the park and town before leaving for the day. Maybe she would buy some lunch along the way, she could do with a lovely bowl of ramen. ‘I need to remember to order extra onions this time…’ she recalled.

She would walk into the entrance to the park, and give a light jog into the area, assured that her own body heat would keep her fine if she ever got sick from the brisk weather….not that she ever did in the first place. Lorielle needed to keep in shape after what had been going on lately. Kendo to her was not enough, and she did not want to be full of just muscle; a figure would be nice to keep after all. Maybe not for other people, mostly for herself. As the jog continued, it would not take much time for her to slow back down and take a breath or two, and went to sit on a nearby bench, when she noticed a large shape fall face-first onto the ground. It was actually her substitute teacher that had come to her for one class, the class she recalled taking half a nap in. ‘It’s weird to see someone who looked so calm lose himself…’ she thought on the way over to him. She would kneel down beside him and tilt her head with a look of concern. “Mr. Zong Wu! Are you alright?” she would ask, reaching a hand out to him to try and help him up. Hopefully he didn’t get hurt too bad.

It finally receded as Jin finally relaxed from the jolting pain. Sitting up, he kept rubbing the afflicted area to disperse what was left of the sensation. How embarrassing, to allow himself to slip up on the wet grass. Perhaps more embarrassing is that someone saw him. On top of that, she offered a hand. With a glance he could see a familiar face. Who was she again? Surely he taught in one of her classes before.

"I'll be fine," he waved away her hand in dismissal, "I had worse."

The previously flummoxed teacher finally got onto his feet to start examining his own clothing. Streaks of brown latched onto the fabric as evidence of his little accident. It caused him to sigh morosely at this. It was probably about time to just go back home to wash up instead.

"So what brings you here--" he started and then abruptly paused to remember her name.

Through the crevices of his memories, Jin sifted through various names that he may have read off the attendance list. But it served futile as there were way too many students to differentiate from the overwhelming count.

"--Sorry. But what's your name again? I could've sworn I've seen you before."

Lowering her hand to her side, Lorielle would give him a worried face. “It never hurts to be careful. Maybe you should practice on a mat or something. It’ll help you slip less,” she said, her friendly light smile returning. If nothing else, she had to make up for sleeping in his class, and hope that he forgot about all of that. Hopefully no sucking up was in order. But he was most likely not like that. Though, even looking rather disappointed in his attire now ruined from the dirt, he would still find it in himself to ask her what she was doing. ‘Passive guy,’ she thought to herself. “I was actually here for some exercise. Trying to get my mind off of things and cut loose for a bit,” she said, answering his question. She did hear him stop for a moment. Though maybe it was better not to be awkward about it.

Though he would speak again, asking for her name, to which Lorielle would nod a bit. “No big deal. You have a lot of students to remember, and we only have a small number of teachers. Lorielle Rutherford if you remember at all,” she said. She wanted to kick herself saying her full name. If he did remember, he would remember she was the one who slept in his class, and the last thing she wanted was a scolding of a teacher; outside of class no less. Eager to change the possible onset of subject, she would fluff the hair from her face with a hand. “Also no, I am not here to ask for the answers to the homework,” she joked, giving a small laugh and rubbing her head. Hopefully that would hit home. “Though…” she began. “What were you doing here? I just found you after you fell. Exercising too by the looks of it?” she asked.

"Perhaps," Jin agreed.

Though it would be a constant pain to keep loading it inside his already small car and carrying it all the way over here to enjoy the solace this forest provides. It's an unnecessary hassle. This mistake is just simply by chance through his own negligence after all. Still, it was embarrassing to have someone play witness to this.

"Lorielle Rutherford..." the teacher closed his eyes for a moment to sift back through his memories. It would be only for a while until they popped open from finding it had matched. That girl who had struggled to stay awake in his classes. Her. What an interesting day to meet up with her of all places.

"Ah yes. I remember you. Second year class for history that I subbed for."

Perhaps she was just here to exercise? Why else would anyone come here besides enjoying the nature, a past-time that's more relegated to the elderly. Jin had to chuckle at her joke on her home assignment from earlier. At least this one was willing to share a sense of humor with him. Unlike the many others who just shied away from him.

"Indeed. I came here to work off a sweat," he returned with a joke of his own, "I guess you could say I was starting to gain weight."

‘Oh crap. He remembers me,’ she thought. Hopefully he won’t mention how much she slept. But luckily, he did not seem to mention it, which meant she was safe for the most part. Had he mentioned it, she probably would suddenly look at her nonexistent watch on her wrist and run away. She would have continued with her exercise. Though, Zong Wu seemed a bit less stiff than usual today, either because he made a small joke, or because Lorielle saw him fall, and he was trying to play it off casually. ‘Probably both,’ she thought.

“Yeah. I actually haven’t been to this place much, and Nokawia does not have many places to exercise. At least, not the shrine,” she said. Exercising at the shrine would obviously be a bit silly. Though, she would grin slightly at his last comment. “You? Gain weight? You look as heavy as a feather,” she retorted back. She could not possibly imagine his figure deviating. He seemed like he had a fast metabolism given his rather straight body. Though she would not look closely, and avoid trying to give off the wrong signal. That would be horrible. “But what were you doing here for exercise? Not running I hope?” she asked. Maybe he was doing some other kind of exercise that was better than simply running.

"I see. So you're from Nokawia, Lorielle? I guess that explains why you're here then."

It is true what she said about the city. It was a realm for the elite and rich to dwell in. A number of less privileged students usually looked down on these people. Of course it's reciprocated with the snobby kids in his classes. Jin had driven through there before. There really wasn't a good place to work off a good sweat. Speaking of which, it's likely this girl lives with a rich family.

"Age and a teaching job does that to everyone," Jin explained with a small grimace spreading on his face, "Keep that in mind."

It has been a hectic time when he realized he was starting to gain weight. He knew it came from the poor diet that he had been consuming. He barely was able to get to this city with his previous account. The teacher wouldn't be paid until later. Until then, he would have to make-do with plain microwave-able food from the convenience store.

"Oh? Well..."

This was getting a bit embarrassing. And it would tip the girl off when he became a little bashful.
Now he couldn't just say he was just running. She wouldn't believe it. How frustrating. Especially with how he just fell.

But Jin relented, "...I've been doing a bit of kung fu."

“Does it? I hope I don’t come off as a snobby rich kid. That would be bad,” she said, giving a sheepish smile. Nokawia tended to have those kinds of people. And it was true, she had a fairly wealthy family for money, but recently she had been earning money her own ways, particularly through her new job at the club in Nadashiki. So hopefully she was becoming less spoiled. Though Zong Wu seemed rather weary when he talked of being a teacher and the trials that come with it. Granted, Lorielle never planned to become a teacher, as being any bit close to school after graduation would be things that could only exist in her nightmares. When Zong Wu finally admitted what he was doing out here, Lorielle grew a smile of interest. “Kung fu you say? What kind? I have been going back to kendo, so learning any type of martial arts is something that interests me,” she said. She would remain there, gladly able to listen to his explanation no matter how long it went. She was not strong herself, but who knows, learning all of these fighting tactics could come in handy later in the future.

"Don't worry. You don't look like the part," Jin assured her and then added with a bit of his humor leaking out, "...so far."

She seemed rather plain and average in behavior compared to the rich children from her own town. He would not have to worry about the snotty nature coming out from her. Though it would be great if she tried to pay attention in class, regardless of being snotty or not.

He answered offhandedly, "Xing Yi. Something I've been practicing for a while."

Or rather his whole life. There was times he had been called the Crushing Fist Master for his martial prowess. And he was never meaning to flaunt it here since no one seemed to ever have much interest in it. No one was ever a martial art fanatic regardless. Though maybe she'll be different? Who knows?

"It's an internal style of kung fu. Xing Yi Quan roughly translates to Intention, Form, Shape, or Will Fist."

Lorielle would feel a bit relieved at his first comment, until he made his mention that she still had a chance. It was probably a joke, and Lorielle most likely knew that, but she still maintained half a dejected look on her face. “Remind me to kissup more often,” she said, giving her own sense of humor back. Luckily he was willing to explain his martial arts in a bit more detail. It interested her enough, more so than if she was not currently in kendo. “I have been learning kendo myself. I use a polearm and a katana sometimes,” she said. Her skills with a polearm are no doubt far superior to her swordsman skills and she may even could be able to teach someone. The polearm was a very powerful tool and did nothing but cripple the swordsman in combat. “Maybe I will have to teach you sometime. I don’t think I am that bad. Unless you learn stuff like that as well,” she said giving a half grin, still looking a bit nervous despite her words. Could she even teach?

Maybe he would be able to teach her if she asked. It could be something to help her. Maybe in the future it could come in handy going up against Shadows and the like. But she would not ask. She could never request something that demanding from her elder teacher. She should show some respect, and react so by straightening her posture suddenly and less casual. She had to remember he was her teacher after all.

"Of course."

He chuckled slightly at her response. It was rare for him to talk with students outside of class. And even rarer when some of them actually tried to make some conversation with him. Through these rare times, Jin could actually have some enjoyment interacting with people younger than him. She seemed to have taken a bit of martial arts herself. Kendo seemed to be an average part of Japanese repertoire of sports and martial arts. And for polearm... naginata? There's been a few clubs of it in other parts of Japan as much as Jin remembered. Though many of them were girls.

"Sure. Though it'll hard to teach an old man like me some new tricks past his prime," he admitted.

Age was starting to catch up with Jin. While he still possessed a good part of his physical capabilities, there's still that deterioration that keeps coming onto him as time passes. It was something he accepted as he continued forward. Not like it would change much of anything...

The teacher noticed his student finally stiffening up. Oh no, not this. That's when things get more boring.

"Relax. You're outside of school. I don't mind a bit of informality, Lorielle. But if you're so worried about that, it might help if you could try to stay awake in my lectures," he remarked wistfully at her, "But honestly I don't mind if you bring in coffee to keep yourself awake. Just don't spill it."

Koga was going for a jog around the park. He had to keep fit, and this was one of the ways that he used to do so, cardio was very important to him. If that wasn’t the case, then how would he be able to outrun all the police and other pursers if he didn’t contain the agility to do so? There was also the option of fighting it out as well, but the less violent he is, the less strain he would have on his sentence if the situation ever cones up to the point that he had to turn himself in. Either way, this was a beautiful day that he didn’t want to spend it in some foggy wasteland, he wanted fresh air for a change. Kogami took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling, as he continued his jog. However, something caught his eye, there was a familiar face and a not so familiar face. It was lori, but he couldn’t help but to wonder why she would be there in the first place. Kogami then notices the other gentleman as well, most likely an adult or some older gentleman. But who was he? That was the mystery, maybe had something to do with what was going on as of late? This curiosity had a specific pull towards Koga, and before he knew it, he was already near them. His hood was down, so you really couldn’t see the top part of his head, but for people who already knew Koga, they could always tell from the aura he brings.

It was the aura of something wild and uncontrollable, like they didn’t know what he was going to do or going to say. That’s usually the case as well, but Koga wasn’t in the violent mood at the moment. However, his mark of chaos tattoo did show on his forearm as usual, mosyly recognizable to those who were children, that was another distinctive characteristic that he used to communicate with the others. But that’s only if they wanted to respond in the first place, or play nice. “ Good morning, I happened to see you two… were you exercising? Mind if I join you?”

“You will? Neato. Don’t worry I will show you what I can do. Thanks!” she said with a grin. It had appeared it was time for her to continue on; she didn’t want to get too much into his personal space. Though he would give her a semblance of relief, she would sigh, as he ended up mentioning what happened in class. “Right…..sorry…” she would say. She was plenty embarrassed now, even she blushed a bit, which was rare for her. Maybe she will have to get into coffee a bit; it may actually help. “Alright then, I am probably gon-“ she said, stopping when he saw Kogami, just out in the open walk up to the two. ‘You know, for all of his merits, sometimes he just doesn’t think…’ she thought. He wasn’t wearing a disguise of any kind, nor was he hiding that tattoo on his arm. Lorielle turned from Zong Wu to give him a “Quiet and don’t stick out” kind of face, hidden from Zong Wu. “Oh, sorry,” she said, acting as though she did not know him. The best way to go through this is to be careful. She turned to Zong Wu and bowed. “I shall probably stop by after class one day if you are able. It is the only way I have time at the moment. But, I gotta go for now. See ya Mr. Zong Wu,” she said before jogging in place and jogging off. She had started to trust Kogami. Hopefully he won’t screw himself in the end.

((Exit))

Jin smiled as the girl was pleased with his leniency. She apologized for sleeping in, which was all good. But something was wrong when Lorielle stopped in mid-sentence. He felt a presence come up from behind. Turning around it seemed to be a boy of her approximate age. Very likely to be a student from school. But he hasn't seen such a kid. Nor does he ever remember. Strange.

"I guess?--" the Chinese teacher was a tad confused whether to allow him or not. There was some concern if Lorielle didn't seem to like the idea of having him in their little "party".

And that was made clear when she hastily tried to leave.

"Sure. See ya."

Only Jin and this unnamed boy was left in the park with the girl's disappearing figure in the distance. He wasn't quite sure what to do with this kid who just came out of nowhere in the park. At least he could try to make little conversation with him.

"So... nice day today, yeah?"

“The day? My day? This day? Well… what could be so nice about it..other than the fact that were alive to see it. The ting about days is that there are seen from different point of views. Some people see days as…. Hmm.. they see days as something naturally given… with no kind of care in the world. People who are out here in the park to enjoy themselves… but… what else could a park be for right?” It was a little cryptic, but Kogami wanted to see what this man was about. He didn’t sound off any alarms as yet and recognize kogami, so maybe that was a good thing. This might mean that the heat was off him for a while; he should thank the masked man when he gets the chance. People aren’t specifically looking for him as much, and hes able to hide in plain sight. If only he could somehow shift his entire actions onto what the masked man supposedly “forced him to do” , maybe he would be cleared to go back to school. But that’s a long way and he would definitely feel like a wise ass to con his way out to victory.

“So, heard anything gossip worthy lately? People seem to be on edge with all the incidents happening around in the city. The news must be flaring up..”