338/Potential

Potential
Date of Scene:	25 August 2015
Location:	Uminari City - Verone Academy
Synopsis:	Ichiro Sakamoto finds Seishi staying late after kendo club practice, getting in some extra training.
Cast of Characters:	Seishi Tamashige, Hoshiyomi no Mikoto

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Seishi Tamashige has posed:
School hasn't yet resumed for the fall, but clubs still meet over the break, and Verone's kendo club is no exception.

Today's club meeting has been over for a while, of course. Almost all of the club members have packed up and gone home, training finished for the day. One, however, has stayed behind. Seishi - still in her practice gear and with her hair tied back in a neat and practical braid - wields a training in sharp, repeated downward swings, drilling this one basic movement over and over into muscle memory in the stillness of the otherwise empty gymnasium.

She's been at this for a while, but she shows no signs of stopping.

Hoshiyomi no Mikoto has posed:
Some part of him thinks the whole thing is bothersome, but it's a distraction from other, much more unpleasant things, so what can Ichiro do but suffer through it? If nothing else, it would be interesting to see just what this place has to offer in way of possible competition--not that he's expecting children to really be competition, mind you. But some part of him still wants to see talented people do well. Old habits, you see, die hard as they say.

Of course what he witnessed this day is... well disappointing might be too strong of a word considering some of the older students showed a good deal of promise. Most of the new students however... well, everyone must start somewhere, right? He had opted not to be involved with practice today and instead merely observe, under the pretext that being a new student meant he should watch before doing. But now he's preparing to leave when the sounds of practice are still echoing. Peeking around the corner and seeing just who it is gives him a moment of pause. There's determination there, that much he can clearly see. He can't really help but watch for some time, minutes at the least, while leaning against the wall. Yes, observe for now...

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Repetition. You learn by repetition. The most basic of basics, over and over again, until hopefully the body remembers it without even having to consult the brain.

Ichiro will have already had the opportunity, during the practice earlier, to see that Seishi is very much one of those 'everyone must start somewhere' cases. In truth, for only having just begun learning at the start of this school year, she's not as bad as she could be - swordless though he may have been, Akashimaru was a trained swordsman and not at all a bad one, and the bleedthrough of his skills that's come from awakening to her role as his reincarnation has helped a little.

But compared to her fellow club members, many of whom have been training since at least middle school if not earlier... well.

She goes on drilling, focused and persistent, until finally the heat and her own body's protests declare that it's time for a break. The practice sword comes down one last time, carrying the motion through, and then she steps back, sighing, and turns toward the spot where she left her bag and the bottle of water that's inside it.

As she does, she sees Ichiro leaning against the wall and starts slightly in surprise. "--ah, Sakamoto-san. I didn't realize anyone was still here."

Hoshiyomi no Mikoto has posed:
Let's be honest, he's judging. It's hard not to notice that he's standing there silently judging what he's seeing. There's no malice to it, though. It's just a quiet assessment of what he sees, and what he sees is... in need of work. But as he watches Seishi continue her drills, over and over, without an end in sight it would seem, he begins to see the raw ore that could be refined into something truly special. A diamond in the rough, so to speak.

When finally her practice comes to an end and he's noticed, there's a brief moment when she might catch that judging look on his face, but it quickly fades into a smile and he offers a wave to her. A pleasant greeting. "I was just leaving actually, but I heard sounds so I thought I'd see who else was still here," he says, voice even and firm, but with a gentle tone mixed in under it. "I'm a bit surprised to see it was you, Tamashige-san. Pleasantly surprised, that is." He moves from the wall, walking to meet her. "Do you always practice so late?"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
An embarrassed smile spreads over Seishi's face, breath hitching out of her in a rueful little laugh. She dips her head in a nod, then reaches up to push the straggling wisps of her hair back out of her face.

"Since I only started this year, I'm pretty far behind everyone else," she explains. Moving past him, she sets the practice sword down and then kneels beside her bag to open it and pull out her water bottle. "I'll never be able to catch up if I don't put in extra time training."

The plastic seal of the bottle's cap cracks as she twists it open. A careful sip, and then she looks back up to Ichiro, bright-eyed and faintly flushed with exertion. "So now that you've had a chance to sit in on club practice, what do you think?"

Hoshiyomi no Mikoto has posed:
"I see," he says, hands going into his pockets while he looks over the place. Without so many people flailing around, the place is actually rather peaceful. Admittedly the perfect place to practice. "Practice is good, Tamashige-san. But too much practice in an effort to force skill is bad. It leads to sloppy habits with your swordsmanship and leads to harming yourself when you overdo it." There's... actually concern in his voice. It's there, undercutting the even and perhaps somewhat distant tone that dominates his voice. "Just be mindful not to push yourself too hard."

But then that question. What a question it is. There Ichiro stands with not a smile, but a rather deep frown. How can he reasonably answer that question without sounding like he has some sort of superiority complex? A deep breath, a drawn out sigh. "There is promise here, from many people." It sadly sounds like there might be a but after that sentence. He's slow to continue though, as if trying to judge Seishi's reaction before continuing, to note if he might need to soften his words a bit. However, in the end Ichiro is rather blunt regardless. "But my assessment is not good, sadly." The way he looks at her, that stern and distant look, pretty much screams that he's lumping her in there with everyone else. "But..." he continues, frown slowly becoming a hint of a smile as his features soften some. "That's what practice is for."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Wearing that embarrassed smile again, Seishi acknowledges the words of caution with an exaggerated wince and another little nod. She hadn't been thinking of it as trying to force anything - but he does have a point.

His judgment of the club as a whole, however, has her brows lifting in surprise. "Really?" she says, not doubtful or defensive so much as genuinely curious. "I mean - I'm a beginner so I don't really have an eye for how good anyone else is, I guess, but I got the impression that the bar was set pretty high." This may or may not have anything to do with the senior club members going out of their way to impress upon her what kind of standard they expect her to meet.

She regards Ichiro with fresh curiosity as she straightens back up from where she was kneeling. "Have you been training long, Sakamoto-san?"

Hoshiyomi no Mikoto has posed:
What to say to that? He looks off to the side a bit and there might be just the hint of flush to his face. He almost looks uncomfortable with the question. He coughs, a hand coming up to cover his mouth. Looking back over to Seishi, he offers a defeated shrug. "For as long as I can remember, I've had a sword in my hand." Rubbing at the back of his neck, his embarrassment is clear to be seen as he moves over and takes up the practice sword, staring at it. "It would not be an understatement to say I was born to hold a sword." Though there's a sort of weariness in his voice. He even looks tired as he stares at the sword.

A turn, hands clasping hilt. One swift motion, perfect form. A single swing down with power enough to feel the air moving as it parts away for the blade to pass by. One single cry as the motion goes through. In that moment, there's very obviously a change in how he holds himself. It's not so much a high school student holding the weapon. There's more experience behind that form, like someone that has drilled the motion endlessly. And then Ichiro is back, staring ahead. A deep breath and he faces Seishi once more, sword placed down before her again. His smile is there, yes, but the weariness remains. "My standards, I'll be the first to admit, are perhaps somewhat unreasonable, Tamashige-san."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Her eyes widen a little at his unexpected reaction to her question; for a short space, she can't find anything to say, and watches in silence as he picks up the practice sword.

Then he moves, and her breath catches at the swing, the suddenness and the fluid power of it. Even Seishi, beginner though she is, can see the difference between this and what she's seen in club practices up until now - or maybe it's more than that, a degree of mastery in that simple movement that resonates with Akashimaru's residual memory within her. Either way, it's clear on her face that she's impressed.

And yet--

"Sakamoto-san..." Her brows draw together as she speaks, slowly, a look of concern coming over her face. "Do you... really want to be in the kendo club?"

Hoshiyomi no Mikoto has posed:
He's concerned when she says nothing. Ichiro leans in a little closer to Seishi, a hand moving up with the intent to wave in front of her face, but she seems to recover quickly enough and the movement is halted. And... he's asked another question. This one, however, does not get the same reaction as her first. Instead he sits there, a look of bewilderment clear on his face. It somewhat quickly becomes a more bemused expression as his hand continues moving up, past her face and... comes down as a light chop on the top of her head. Weariness leaves him and his smile is once again bright. He even laughs; a sound almost like relief escaping him as he goes from leaning over to sitting on the floor. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be," he admits. "Though even if I didn't want to, everyone does things they don't want to do. Everyone has burdens they unwillingly shoulder, and for some those burdens are greater than others." He shrugs, picking up the sword and passing it over to her. "But while the sword might remind me of my burdens, it is not a burden."

He stands, smoothing out his pants some. "You're an interesting person, Tamashige-san. And I see a lot of potential in you," he nods. "But... there's a lot of work to do." There's that judging look again. "Now, let me return the question. Do -you- really want to be here, Tamashige-san?"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Seishi blinks at the chop, and then she laughs too, reaching up to rub the top of her head where the side of his hand struck. "Sorry," she says, ducking her head a little. "I suppose that was an odd thing to just ask out of the blue." His answer seems to have eased her concern, at least.

Accepting the practice sword when he hands it to her, she shifts it in her grip until it's leaned back out of the way against her shoulder. He turns the question back around on her and she tilts her head to the side, a thoughtful look coming over her face as she considers her answer.

"...I'm a little bit out of place here, aren't I?" She looks away as she says it, off across the empty gym. It's not just the kendo club - she's out of place at Verone, a middle-class girl of no particular pedigree, at a school known best for catering to families of wealth and lineage. "But I'm here because this is what I chose. Even if it's tough, there's a goal that I want to reach. So... yes." Turning her face back toward him, she meets his eyes again, and smiles. "I do want to be here, Sakamoto-san."

Hoshiyomi no Mikoto has posed:
Those words, that spirit... he'd be lying if he said it didn't take him back a little bit to see someone in this day and age with that sort of determination. After all, in such a soft age, people can afford to be more lax in their belief. But here... here he sees a bit of the good old days, as it were. In response his smile becomes a good deal more pronounced, almost as if he's eager. "Very well!" He proclaims it somewhat more loudly than might be considered polite, but there's nobody around so there's no reason to hold back. "Then I'll train with you whenever you want. We'll make a proper warrior out of you yet. And..." he trails off, looking up with a bit of a sly grin. "Maybe we can do something about that friend of yours too. I don't think he'll get far climbing trees."

But wait! recalling that also makes him recall that there was a third that night and he's quick to address that question now that it's popped up in his mind. "Ah... speaking of which, there was another girl there. I hope everything turned out alright with her." He looks at Seishi, the question clear on his face even without asking it. They remained with her, after all. Surely they would know whether or not the girl was alright or if it was something more serious.

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Surprise flashes across Seishi's face at his offer, and then she fairly lights up with enthusiasm. "That would be great! At least, as long as it doesn't cause trouble for you." Still smiling brightly, she sketches a little bow in his direction. "I look forward to learning from."

The quip about Shiori's tree-climbing gets a laugh and a nod - but then he mentions the other girl who was there that night, and some of the mirth fades from Seishi's expression. "I hope so, too," she says. "The EMS guys who came seemed to think she'd be fine, but I didn't get a chance to get her name or anything, so I'm not sure how to check on how she's doing. I did give them my contact information to give to her when she woke up, though. I haven't heard anything yet, but I'm still kind of hoping maybe she'll get in touch with me."

Hoshiyomi no Mikoto has posed:
He hadn't meant to kill the mood, but it seems he effectively did just that by bringing up the unfortunate girl. Ichiro nods, expression darkening just a bit, but he doesn't let it completely wash over him. In fact, he's back to his normal self fairly quickly. "I'm sure she'll be fine. If nothing else, I'm sure she'll want to at least thank you for watching over her while help was coming." Yes, the girl certainly wouldn't do something as mean as not thank the people that looked out for her, right?

But enough of that depressing stuff! Ichiro is quick to switch modes and get spirits back up. "Anyway, I assure you it won't be any trouble for me. If nothing else it'll serve as a pleasant distraction," he says moving back over to where he had been leaning on the wall to collect his things. "And..." he muses, expression darkening just a bit for a very short time. "It's nice to spend time with others when you're doing things like this." He picks up his bag and turns, pleasant air back about him. "So, Tamashige-san, will you be practicing more?"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"You're right, of course." Despite the shadow that seemed to pass over her for a moment there, Seishi bounces back quickly, nodding in agreement. "It's probably kind of embarrassing for her, too, having passed out in the middle of the park like that. If I do hear from her, I'll be sure to let you know how she's doing."

Turned away as he is to gather his things, it's difficult to say if Seishi notices the flicker of darkness that crosses his face. When he asks if she plans to practice more, she considers it for a moment before shaking her head. "I've probably done enough for today," she decides. "Like you said earlier, it won't help me to overdo it."

This decision made, she bends to her own bag, making sure the cap is secured on her bottle of water before she stashes it. Once she's got the bag's strap over her shoulder, she straightens again, hefting the practice sword in her other hand. "Which means I'd better get this put away."

Hoshiyomi no Mikoto has posed:
"Thank you, it'll be a weight off my mind to know she's doing well." Well, it won't really be a weight off his mind at all, truth be told. He doesn't really care all that much about the girl. But Seishi's worried, and he at least feels some sort of connection to her, and thus will do his best not to upset her. Even if he has to choke down words he doesn't mean.

At her decision not to continue practicing, he nods, and watches while she goes about putting her sword away. Well, if there isn't going to be any more practice being done he supposes there's no reason to stick around and turns to begin walking away. Ichiro stops just past the door and considers, looking over his shoulder to Seishi. It couldn't hurt to enjoy himself among the company of others for a little bit, right? "If you're done with practice," he begins, turning to head back into the gym, "I suppose I could treat you to something to eat before you head home? Unless I'd be imposing."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
The practice sword is put safely away with the rest of the club gear, and Seishi takes a last look around her to make sure that she's not leaving anything out of place, until Ichiro's offer brings her attention back towards him. He's surprised her again, but not in a bad way; with a smile, she lengthens her stride to catch up with him across the open floor of the gym.

"You wouldn't be imposing at all," she assures. "I still have some time." Truth be told, these days she doesn't like to go home any earlier than she has to. Hanging out with a friend would be a lot better than finding a way to fill the time on her own.

"Ah, but you don't have to treat me, though," she adds cheerfully, a beat later. "I can pick up my share."