estoria | [open] dojonuts

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[open] dojonuts

Who: Instructors at DOjo or DIEjo & you!
When: From today onward; training days will be held several times a week and the building is open for use outside of that, so feel free to tag in at any point!
Where: The dojo in Residential District's park
What: A dojo opens in the park! Chaos ensues, probably.
Rating/Warning: N/A, will update as necessary

A SPARRING MATCH A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY
i;
[There's a new building in the park that's finally finished, sporting a bundle of balloons outside because some moron heard that's what you're supposed to do for grand openings and now they'll be there until they deflate. Maybe you're here because you've seen the flyers advertising it or heard something mentioned on the network. Maybe you've been dragged over by one of the instructors! Maybe you spent too long staring at the DOjo or DIEjo banner and now someone's trying to usher you inside?! Either way, you'll be greeted warmly upon entrance and encouraged to mingle and familiarize yourself with the building and the other people around you.

The dojo itself is pretty sizable and has plenty of space to poke around in. There's an indoor section that's styled very traditionally, with wooden floors and a rack on the wall that has a number of wooden and bamboo swords for communal use. Outside of the building is an outdoor training area with a flat dirt ground, as well as targets and training dummies for people to whack. On the porch, there's a mat off to the side for shoes and a water cooler with cups stacked on top.

Strangely, there's also a list posted to the inner wall by the entrance that simply says Do not spar with these instructors if you're just beginning. Several names are listed below it in red, including Yamatonokami Yasusada, Okita Souji, Sayo Samonji and a few others. It seems like the list is a work in progress; new names are added frequently...]

ii;
[Introductions are done, rules are explained, and now it's time to dive into the meat of the dojo - training and practice. Since all levels are welcome, there are instructors both in and out of the building teaching everything from the very basics to more advanced techniques or specific styles. Activities throughout the day include:

• Spectating. Anyone's free to come watch! The inside of the dojo isn't enormous, but there's plenty of space in the outdoor training area to roam and make passing comments to your poor friends who are stuck in sword hell.

• Form practice and repetition sets. The most tedious part of training, but an important backbone for any style. Are your arms getting tired after 50 strikes to the air? Too bad, you're only halfway through!

• Instructional sparring matches. Instructors will go toe to toe in order to showcase more advanced moves to students, students will be paired with instructors for tutoring matches and to get tips on their form, and students will face off against each other to practice with someone of their skill level.

• Competitive matches. Take on an instructor or a fellow student to test your strength and skill! A very small person that is apparently just called Small Troop oversees these matches, keeping tally on the chalkboard. The truly bold can even take on one of the instructors on the "DO NOT SPAR WITH" list with the promise of a prize at the end! It's like a spicy food challenge, but slightly more health-hazardous...! Those who make it through a match will indeed get a prize, too: the whiteboard at the front of the hall now sports a very fancy calligraphy CONGRATULATIONS and then their name in much sloppier writing.]

JUST KIDDING WE REALLY NEED A DOCTOR
iii;
[Phew! It's been a long couple of hours already. You may be sweating buckets or feeling the awful burn of Sore Arms (that's going to hurt in the morning), but don't worry, mercy is arriving on swift wings and carrying a tray of snacks. It's finally time for a break! There's water and tea, canned coffees for those who need a stronger pick-me-up, sliced watermelon brought out with salt, and riceballs. Some may be significantly more misshapen than others, and watch out for any riceballs stuffed with unusual fillings... Lump of canned tuna or straight-up wasabi, anyone?]

[Alternately, at some point during the break period, someone will pose a suggestion: this dojo needs its very own mission statement. Every good dojo has a strong motto, after all! Everyone is encouraged to throw their suggestions into the pot - really, because if it's left in the hands of the morons who named the dojo itself, it's bound to be Bad.]

iv;
[Maybe you overshot your restraints and ended up seriously wailing on your sparring partner by accident (or "by accident", you bloodthirsty freaks). Maybe you're the unfortunate person who landed a partner that can't control themselves and you're now sporting a few shiny new bruises or cuts. Either way, injuries happen! It's a training risk and it's definitely a risk when the instructors are mostly swords, oops...

First aid knowledge is also pretty scant here, so anyone ushered off to the repair area might have to put up with people uselessly shoving ice packs at them and offering to bandage things that probably don't need bandages and whispering can we just use sticks for splints to each other. Some of them aren't great at judging injury levels either, so people with teeny tiny cuts could end up with five bandages and others who need a timeout may just get a "YOU'RE FINE" and a gold star sticker. GOOD LUCK.]

-

[As for anyone else in the park, the sound of screaming may both A) rudely shatter any peaceful park silence you were trying to enjoy and B) draw your attention over toward a new building by the park's edge. And boy, there sure is a lot of screaming happening... Some of it could be battle cries or power shouting, but there are definitely a few in there that sound genuinely distressed and pained?!

Moreover, there's a large sign on the outside of said building that simply reads HELP in sloppy, bold handwriting. And is that blood on the corner of the sign?? OMINOUS... Anyone who approaches to get a closer look will see that the bottom half of the sign has broken off and lies in the grass below. It says NEEDED IMMEDIATELY, SEEKING HEALERS AND ANYONE WITH FIRST AID EXPERTISE. Someone pity these fools and lend a hand...]

TEAM BUILDING EXERCISES FOR DUMMIES
v;
[Practice has finally come to an end - but don't think about leaving just yet. This is a traditional dojo, after all, and you know what that means? Everyone pitches a hand in to clean it up at the end. It helps the students to care more about their school if they have to put work into its maintenance themselves, right?

And there's a lot of maintenance to be done. Tufts of fox hair can be found here and there, or a broken door or two from some earlier wild matches, maybe streaks and splatters of blood in a few places, and-- is that a hole in the floor? When did that even get there? The outside area needs to have its ground leveled again, too, and scattered practice swords need to be returned to their proper places on the wall. Looks like everyone's got their work cut out for them... The small troop will also lend a hand if it looks like anyone is struggling, taking a tiny cloth to the floor or trying to show the best way to scrub out blood. With so many people working together, surely this won't take too long!]

vi;
[Cleaning has been Successfully Accomplished, hopefully with minimal bodily injury or property damage. Now it's time to go home and take a shower and sleep for a year, right? ...Nope! It looks like the dojo bonding hasn't quite finished yet. Escape is possible, but you may have some persistent people insisting on dragging you along despite your protests.

Anyway, it's not uncommon to share drinks after a successful day in training, but for the sake of the non-drinkers and underage among them, a cafe is what's ultimately decided on. Their field trip into the city is a blind game of follow-the-leader with no actual leader and they may take some detours (another cafe! A nice shop! A cart selling pretzels that just smells too good to pass up!) depending on who wants to go where, but they'll reach their ultimate goal eventually.

It's... it's the Macho Cafe. Enjoy?!]

(This is an open mingle for the dojo's opening and subsequent training/practice days! Feel free to toplevel, comment around and threadjack to your heart's content!)

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[ Mikazuki is MOST DEFINITELY going to play grabass because how can he not tease Kasen who has been put into this precarious situation? Kasen is always fun to tease given his usual elegant refinement and he's not one to usually put himself into an embarrassing position like this...so sword grandpa HAS to take advantage.

So, Mikazuki is going to wait until Kasen is returning with his order specifically and reach out to grab his hand before he can get away. It should be noted that he's practically sparkling as he chats Kasen up with this and that, leaning to get a better look at what he's wearing every now and then. With a little bit of clever maneuvering, Mikazuki manages to get Kasen to turn fully around and that's when he goes in for the kill.

He has Touched That Ass. ]

Oh my, my. Kasen, it's so firm!

[ There is a very, very short list of people that Kasen is able to tolerate when he's feeling flustered, and unfortunately for him... Mikazuki is on that list. He can't help himself. Mikazuki is one of the national treasures of Japan, the most beautiful and elegant sword there is, and so in the face of that, Kasen feels that he has to swallow his discomfort for the sake of appearances. It's not so bad! He can surely just play along until the amusement of the plugsuit has worn off, and he can discreetly cover his shame once more.

This is what Kasen thinks. Yet reality is never so kind.

He's actually enjoying chatting with Mikazuki, since he does tend to enjoy the conversations he has with the older sword, and it's enough for him to relax somewhat. His guard is down. Even if Kasen notices those glances, he pays them no mind, since surely Mikazuki isn't being a dirty grandpa!! Surely!!!!

Which is why he makes the mistake of turning his back on him. This is immediately a mistake as he feels a hand on his B- butt. He gives a sharp and short yelp of surprise, and yet he turns around so quickly that you'd have to wonder if he might get whiplash from it. The expression on his face is nothing less than Kasin coming forward in full force. ]

[ ...But only for a moment. He can't show that side of thimself to someone he admires!! Or at least not over something like this. He stumbles over his words as his face returns to that familiar scarlet, and he raises his hands to cover his face, but there's no curtain of his large, flowing sleeves to hide it. ]

Mi- Mikazuki-san!!

[ He's so scandalized!! This is the worst day of his life?! He thought so highly of you, jiji, he thought you were better than being a dirty grandpa... He was so wrong... He stammers over a few more syllables, then buries his face into his hands as best he can, though the red is even showing up on his ears. ]

Please keep your hands to yourself!!

Ahaha, I apologize! Sincerely, I do. [ HE DOES! Look, he couldn't resist but he does feel bad since Kasen is so embarrassed about it. Mikazuki will slide himself out of his seat so Kasen can take it and hide himself a little more easily and just for his sake...he'll try to not comment on the red of his ears either. ] It was a rare opportunity and I could not help myself! That's no excuse however...so! Feel free to give me a punishment you see fit for my crime.

[ At least he'll take responsibility for his actions!!! Still, even while he says this, he's still just kind of leaning towards Kasen and looking him over with interest. He will eventually reach over and take the uchigatana's covering hands, holding them in his own. ] Do allow me to give you this advice...you shouldn't hide yourself, Kasen. You are far too elegant and beautiful to be doing so, even in this situation I would say you outshine all the others.

[ Kasen is still trying to recover from this great upheaval in his life that he doesn't respond immediately to Mikazuki's words. He does think to himself that he won't be punishing him, certainly, since he has no right to do such a thing! Or more simply, Kasen's biases are very strong, and he wouldn't even consider doing such a thing. Which is a shame, because he really should when it comes to Mikazuki...

Kasen is too easy to pick on, so when his hands are taken, he just looks on with abject horror, though he doesn't try and pull his hands away. It would be terribly rude, but more than that, he's also just stricken and firmly rooted exactly where he is. Being stricken would be better than the alternative, though, and that's something he becomes quite aware of as he's unexpectedly praised. It's not only praise from the sword he admires so much, but also praise that touches him very deeply.

he's deda

His face is already red enough as it is, so it doesn't exactly get redder, but he does stammer through another word before he ends up just looking away. The expression is less one of flustered anger, and much softer, but he's still beyond mortified! He would certainly wish that this praise come at an equally elegant time, such as serving Mikazuki tea at the teahouse or in moonlight... Though these are just Kasen's poetic fantasies getting the best of him. He's genuinely touched (since it doesn't occur to him that he might still be being made fun of), and that's also why he's suddenly at a loss for how to accept it. ]

I— I am not worthy of such praise. Especially not now... But thank you, Mikazuki-san... It is—my goodness—it is incredibly kind of you to say.

Edited 2015-11-02 03:06 (UTC)

[ There may be a little teasing still involved but Mikazuki is no liar so he mean what he says! Kasen's response is about what he expected and he can't help but hide a smile behind his own long sleeves. After a thoughtful moment, he'll reach over again and give Kasen a gentle touch to those unbearably reddened cheeks of his as if he were trying to soothe the elegant sword of all the embarrassments he's had to endure this night. ]

You are perhaps the most worthy of this praise, Kasen. And... [ He'll sit besides him for now, blocking the aisle in case the staff try to steal Kasen away again but this also kind of traps Kasen where he is, doesn't it? ] I am merely being honest. It's something I have often thought but it is hard to bring up out of the blue, I think. Aha, though I could have said so at the teahouse at any time...since we both work there. [ He thinks that MAYBE, just maybe...he is not the best at picking the time and place for such talks. ]

Though... [ Here he goes. ] allow me to say that despite this establishment being inelegant to you, it does suit you in a way. I am very glad that I was able to witness such a sight.

[ Kasen is at least oblivious or uncaring to being trapped, though that's likely his biases showing again in full force. Being trapped with grandpa does seem like a better fate than being recruited to the macho cafe, in fairness. The touch on his cheek certainly makes him wish this were in a more refined setting, since if he had one of his fans, he could hide his face all the better (and create a shield). As it is, this doesn't help get his flustered embarrassment to fade in the slightest. At least he's reached a sort of plateau where he can't go much higher, but this "at least" isn't very comforting to Kasen. ]

Ah— No, excuse me. I do not mean to doubt your sincerity, Mikazuki-san.

[ He bows his head lightly in apology, even though he still can't completely accept the praise. He's a moment from an invitation born out of being flustered more than boldness for them to have tea together sometime, but he's distracted from that by the additional comment. Kasen looks back up, and the line of his lips turns thinner, since he's definitely not sure how to take this. It's praise from Mikazuki-san, but at what cost... ]

...Well. [ He 'hmphs' lightly ] This sort of establishment does not suit me completely, but... I suppose it does. In a way.

[ it's a concession, but a very small one ]

Having a healthy physique is important to an elegant lifestyle, that is all.

Ahaha, I thought so! [ He so badly wants to add that he thinks that Kasen can make anything look elegant simply because it's Kasen but it wouldn't do well to fluster him further. Perhaps something he can tell him later in a more elegant setting as per Kasen's poetic fantasies. In fact...something has just hit Mikazuki in the midst of their conversation and as soon as Kasen is finished, that's when Mikazuki will pounce once again. ] Oh my!

[ -- Figuratively, of course. ] It has just occurred to me that we rarely have time to talk like this. [ He sets his hand on the uchigatana's own before he continues. ] Which is a great shame to me since I am enjoying this thoroughly...so, what would you say we set aside time for another of these talks in the future?

Not that I don't appreciate our talk now in this, ahem, cafe but you might appreciate the teahouse more. [ Truth be told, so does Mikazuki. ] Ah, but -- [ Both hands move up a bit and give Kasen's biceps a squeeze, squeeze with his usual graceful smile as he does so. Help him because he just CAN'T resist and it's a good thing he had Kasen sit down lest he give his B- butt another touch. To the other's relief however, Mikazuki's touch doesn't linger too much as he defers to leaning back in his own seat instead and his feelsy hands have gone away into the insides of his large sleeves. ] I apologize, haha, that's the last time I'll touch you tonight, I promise.

Ah—

[ Kasen's expression at least softens, since this is at least more in line with what he's comfortable with. Even that hand over his isn't too terrible when the conversation turns towards this, and it helps him to recompose himself. Kasen at least smile feebly once more, and he nods. ]

Well, I would greatly enjoy that, Mikazuki-san. It's odd to find a teahouse here, I have to admit, but it's actually quite an elegant one. It would be a wonderful setting, since it adheres quite nicely to the aesthetics described by—

[ Mikazuki actually saves himself here from being subject to Kasen nerding out about tea ceremony aesthetics, since that squeeze to his bicep is definitely distracting. It's not as bad as getting his butt touched, but it still gets that nerding out to quickly get caught in his throat, and Kasen's hand comes up to delicately cover his face again as he glances away. ]

...Which is to say, yes! Yes, I do think I'd appreciate the teahouse more.

[ kyaa mikazuki-san ]

[ Kasen is too moe for words sometimes!!! Especially when he is admiring Mikazuki? It makes the treasured sword want to scoop the uchigatana up into his arms and he probably would or will sometime so watch out for that probably...at least right now...he won't. Mostly because they're both sitting now and it'd be a bit hard to do in the enclosed space. 'Next time', he thinks...whenever that will be. ]

You're the master of tea ceremony at Porta Caelestis, correct? [ That is to say, he's seen Kasen at work a number of times but not actually in action yet. Which is a true shame since he's certain that Kasen is magnificently elegant at his job as he tends to be with all things in his life. He HAS to ask...leaning towards the uchigatana with a curiosity present in his eyes. ] What exactly does your job entail?

-- Actually! Could you show me? Here? [ Well damn if he isn't putting the elegant sword into a potentially inelegant situation. But Mikazuki always has these random indulges and while Kasen is well within his right to refuse such...well, Mikazuki has a few tricks up his sleeve to try and get Kasen to oblige! He doesn't hope it'll come to that though so he'll patiently wait for his companion's answer. ]

[ Kasen nods to affirm that it is indeed where he works, and as Mikazuki asks about it, it's easy to see how Kasen almost visibly brightens. The shame of being stripped down to his plugsuit is forgotten, since of course tea ceremony is one of his passions. In fact, it's second only to his love of poetry, since Kasen's legacy from his Tadaoki meant that tea ceremony was something of particular importance to him. He starts to reply, and there's enthusiasm clear in his voice, though it's gentle and refined. ]

Well, it is making sure that the ceremonies are done properly, since there are many, many things to take into consideration. Whether it is the type of tea, the season, or even the wares used in preparation, all have their own—

[ But he trails off gently as Mikazuki asks him to demonstrate, and he looks almost bashful instead. He reaches up to scratch at his neck idly, but laughs. ]

Oh, well...! I suppose I could, but it wouldn't be very impressive. This is hardly the proper setting for a true ceremony, and I doubt they even have anything close to the right equipment...

[ He's listening intently and trying to picture how it all must look based on what Kasen explains and it must be nothing short of perfect elegance. A lot of meticulous preparation goes into it and honestly, CERES really chose the right person for the job. ]

You are right, of course. As lovely it would be to see here and now... [ They are still in the Macho Cafe and Kasen might momentarily be forgetting how he's dressed or so Mikazuki thinks since he seems more relaxed, but, he'd probably remember if he had to make a show of a tea ceremony. Best to keep things simple for now then and make a promise for later. He's sure that both he and the uchigatana would much more enjoy their teahouse as a setting. ] hmmm!

How about next time we're able to at the teahouse instead? Let's make it a date?

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[open] dojonuts

VI... ... ...b.........

thanks jiji (also 1/2)

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