Suzuki shows Hinote around! Also a brief kendo lesson!

Seiyou was a big, awesome school. Sometimes, Hinote wishes he attended Seiyou instead of Seishou---it looks like a big castle, from one of his fairy tales he enjoys so much! It has a huge auditorium! The drama department is top notch! But alas, his parents choose the school for him and that was Seishou. Luckily, however, he still gets to visit from time to time! Expcially since the school is loaning out thier auditorium for a show soon!

Hintoe arrives into the auditorium's backstage area as he looks around curiously, keeping his hands to himself as he he clears his throat. "Uh? Hello? Someone told me someone would be here to help me look around, and figure things out." he says as he holds a thick binder in his off hand. He continues to walk across the staged area as he looks out among the many many rows of Auditorium seats.

"Yeech! That's a lot of seats. Uggggghhhhh--- Stage Fright---setting in..." he says placing a hand to his head a moment as he takes a big deep calming breath.

     That and Seiyou was pretty friendly to other school students visiting! Blame the enigmatic yet friendly principal for that. When Hinote arrived, it seemed that Suzuki hadn't arrived yet! She'd agreed to show Hinote around, but she had done it almost automatically without entirely listening to the request at first. Still, it was too late to go back on it. After Hinote had already explored and wandered out onto the stage area, Suzuki arrived!

     She took a small breath as she stepped into the auditorium, and then spotted... Hinote! Right as he spoke of stage fright. Well. Maybe she wouldn't be the only one nervous here then! Suzuki began to approach the stage, her foorsteps relatively quiet. She had just come from her Kendo practice, so was still somewhat in that mode, her movements a graceful and ready-to-hit-things type. "...Hello. Would you happen to be Kagari-san?" Suzuki asks as she finally approaches, quickly ascending the stairs to the stage. It would be quickly obvious that she is relatively tall when she approached. "...I'm here to show you around and help figure things out." She murmurs. "...Do not fear the large amount of seats.. Everyone comes to see you and enjoy drama club's plays."

Hinote Kagari gulp! Well, he manages to calm down, and then Suzuki arrives. "Whew--- there you are. Yes! I am Hinote Kagari, from Seishou! You must be... Suzuki?" he asks. Suzu moves in a manner that's familar to him, it puts him on edge for a moment, because he's been knocked out cold too many times by Rurako by now- having just joined Seishou's Kendo Club just a few days earlier. Suzu isn't going to knock him out to prove a point now, is she!?

Gulping again, he sort of tries his best to calm down. "Right--- dad says.. Stage Fright is normal though, that even he gets it. And he acts professionally!" he insists as he smiles. "Well show me around. I have this big ol' binder to make sure the planned set is going to work out on your guys stage along the way." he says with a smile.

     Suzuki actually probably would be known by Hinote then! As she was one of the more skilled members of Seiyou's kendo club. Possibly one of the most skilled, though a new member may or may not have heard of her /just/ yet. She didn't seem particularly interested in knocking Hinote out though, especially since she didn't have her kendo sword on her at the moment. "Yes. I am Suzuki Natsume." She says softly, offering a slight bow towards Hinote, very formal-seeming as she straightens up.

     "It is normal. Even kendo club members get it occasionally, particularly before exhibition matches." Especially Suzuki. So many people, all paying attention to her. Ugh! "Well. First... I believe the seating is roughly enough for 1000 people." She says, motioning to the rows of seats. "I sadly do not know the exact dimensions of the stage, so you may have to ask Drama club about it. ...I largely help with the physical construction, though I have not seen a set that doesn't fit it yet." Suzuki says with a slight smile. "I would give a rough estimate of ... mmm." She thinks a few moments. "I believe something like... 30 feet by 70 feet, but that is an estimation." She motions her hand towards Hinote, before turning unceremoniously towards the left side of the stage to lead him off towards it. "...Actor restrooms and changing rooms are off to this side over here." She murmurs, motioning towards a hidden place off to the left side. "Entrance to the backstage is across from the changing rooms and restrooms." She says, motioning towards the backstage entrance, then towards the changing rooms and bathroom area. "There's two back entrances to the stage on either side of the back stage so that actors and backstage members can get in and out as-needed without disrupting immersion." She murmurs.

     "...Is there any other information you need? Oh. The sound system is also ... very good, I believe the access is on the right side of the backstage area for that." She adds.

Hinote Kagari pulls open that big binder to reveal pages of text, highlighted lines and other such things. He has to flip through the pages, and gets to a bunch of big boxes with sketched lines over them. He looks at his measurements, then the stage, then his measurements, then the stage. "Okay... 30 by 70 is going to work. We'll need to flip stage elements in between intermissions. That won't be too hard. That's standard... there.. should be room for that..." he mumbles.

Hinote is so new to the Kendo Club he hasn't had time to really look at other Kendo members in other clubs. "Oh! You're in Kendo Club? I'm in Seishou's Club! But...I'm fairly new. See. I figured it might help!--- uhmhuh-- with my .. cheorgraphy in swordfights." he says. "Though usually, Rurako- the Club Captain, just knocks me out before clubs over because I'm still learning how to block." he sheepishly admits.

"It is helping me a little as intended thou..." he adds as he walks across the stage over to the side areas with Suzu. He looks down at his binder.

"Yeah this should do. At least I'll have room to turn in the ridicolous costume I'll be wearing." he grumbles to himself.

"Are you in any other Clubs besides Kendo?" he asks curiously.

     "...Again, I would get the actual measurements, just in case my estimation and memory are wrong." Suzuki says. It was /actually/ slightly bigger than that, so that was the better way for her to be wrong though! "I believe that either side has a large amount of space for stage area movements, yes." She pauses, mention of kendo gets a small smile. "I am a member of the Seiyou Kendo Club yes. I have even competed in a few interschool tourneys." She says, though doesn't state her placement in them.

     "Ah, that is your issue. You should deflect, not block." Suzuki says towards Hinote with a slight chuckle. "...The club captain should endeavor not to actually knock you out though. That could cause long-term damage. Make sure you get regular checkups with a doctor." Suzuki says softly, there was a slight concerned note in her voice as she resolves that she should talk to Rurako later on to ensure that she is made aware that that's a terrible idea and a health hazard.

    "I am glad that kendo club is helping, it's a pity there isn't a fencing club for you to join at Seishou though, as it would probably be even more helpful for swordfighting and similar." Suzuki says with a small nod.

    "...Have fun with the ridiculous costume. Memories to look back on and laugh about are good." The question of if she's in any other clubs gets a slight shake of her head. "...Not at present. Perhaps sometime, but I keep busy enough with just one club."

Hinote Kagari snerks. "I'm playing the play's main villian. A dude in this ridicolous big black armor. The fake sword is also ridicolous---and that keeps breaking, I'm wanting them to just do away with it, but, eh. Theactrics." he grumbles. "Someday I'll play the hero though. Those are always easier, less bulkier costumes." he grumbles, as he closes the binder.

He says and rubs his head. "Nah, I'll be fine." he insists. "and.. deflect? What do you mean.. deflect?" he grumbles. "Isn't that just a block? Ugh, I'm so conufused." he complains.

"Maybe you.. could take some time later and show me?" he asks, rubbing the back of his head. "I mean, if you want. It'd be nice to surprise the captain like that." he giggles a little to himself, the mental image of catching Rurako off guard slightly pleasing.

     "...You will definitely be remembered then. ...Heroes always need a villain, after all. ...Without one, there is no point to the hero. In a way ... playing the villain is heroic in its own way." Suzuki says with a slight nod to herself.

    "A block is to attempt to stop the blade, a deflect is an effort to turn the blade so that you can open the enemy for a counter-attack. A block is your last line of defense, and if you are forced into using it, you have frequently already been forced into a losing position. You use the deflection much further away, keeping the enemy's sword from striking close to your body and reducing its strength even if it does strike and allowing you to get out of the way." She murmurs softly.

     "...I can attempt to show you, however do not skimp on blocking. It is, after all, your last line of defense. If your last line of defense falters, then you are likely to be knocked out. Killed, if they were real swords." Suzuki says softly, giving a small nod. "You are a beginner, so I will not engage you in a fight-style of teaching. Form comes first."

Hinote Kagari listens to Suzuki's advice as he crosses his arms a bit, holding his binder in one of his hands as he huhs... "I.. never really thought about it that way.." he says with a thought. "I've just been practicing the strikes and all that so far." he admits. "Then Rurako will have me try to fight and usually get my butt handed to me." he says, thinking about it hard.

"She's good. She doesn't even try when she fights me. It's kind of pathetic really, I just need to get better so I'm not so pathetic." he admits.

"I'll ask her about deflection I think, too..." he ponders.

     "Practice defense and deflection before strikes. Though strikes are an important part of the fight, your defense and footwork are even more important." Suzuki says softly, smiling towards Hinote slightly. "Fighting and sparring is important, and her method will teach you, but you need to learn the form as well." She says, motioning towards Hinote. "If you have enough knowledge, I can give you a small lesson."

     Suzuki smiles slightly at that. "It wouldn't be much of a problem for me, I have some free time after this. "But the importance of blocking versus a deflection... a block frequently has the enemy's blade close to you, and your own blade in a difficult position to recover from. Deflection you use more of the tip of the blade and turn their blade to the side so that you only have to use a minimum -- if any -- movement to evade, as well as leaving you more space for your own counterattack or footwork."

     "...But I have gotten distracted; what other information do you need for your drama class, if anything?" Suzuki asks softly as she looks around. "I will do my best to provide it."

Hinote Kagari smiles. "That would be great. I'm just kind of terrible at it, is all." he just finishes off He sighs and opens the binder again. "Well you guys seem to have everything. You guys have a light and sound system setup somewhere right?" he asks, looking to the far back of the stage to find out if there's a light booth anywhere.

"I mean, of course you guys do, I just need to know where it is." he says as he smiles. "Otherwise, well. Things aren't fun if they're not flashy and sound right." he insists.

He finally pauses a takes a deep breath. Okay, he's calmed down a bunch now, placing two fingers on his chest for a moment. "So no Kendo Club today after this, for you?" he asks. "Well if you have the time..." he murmurs. "I have a little bit. I have until tommrow to get back about this stuff anyways." he asides.

     "Of course we do. I don't know any self-respecting auditorium that would not have such." Suzuki says with an amused look towards Hinote. She thinks a few moments as she begins to move towards the backstage area, leading Hinote over to the lighting and audio controls. "Right here, and there are catwalks above the stage for moving the lights and hanging wired pieces of the background." She says, pointing out the ladders and stairs leading up to the catwalks, as well as each of the light fixtures.

     "...Lights do make it easier to see and enjoy everything, however." She tilts her head slightly. "Ah? Oh, I already completed my kendo club activities earlier. ...I am here mainly as a favor to the drama club, they asked me nicely." She says softly. "Once you have everything noted down, I'll show you where our kendo club practices."

     Suzuki waited patiently for Hinote to write those things down, before beginning to lead Hinote through the large school -- it was likely a good five or ten minute walk of likely relative silence. And possibly Hinote having to jog occasionally to keep up, as Suzuki seemed to take large steps and move quickly.

Hinote Kagari finishes jotting down the notes, he's made a pretty good diagram of the stage, and locations of where things are. It's sketchy, but it'll be good for Seishou's Drama Club. "Well, thanks all the same. They must be busy with thier own thing if they had to send you." he says softly. "Or just lazy." he says with a playful smile.

He goes along with Suzuki, and while she's quiet, or doesn't ask things, Hinote does. "This place is really big... and castle-like." he muses. "Infinity was a mess to get around when I went there recently." he insists. "This place is probably just as bad! How do you get to classes on time across the school?" he asks flabbergasted.

Though, Suzuki's long steps seem to already tell him the answer. He thinks about castles for a bit to himself in his head. His head goes some not nice places in the process--- about his friends, and promises made, which also involved a castle.

"I wonder if real castles are this big..." he muses outloud, a little solmenly.

     "Busy. They were doing mock-rehearsals today. Getting new members acquainted to acting. Or so they told me." Suzuki responds to the comment regarding the drama club being busy. "You're welcome." She says, offering a slight bow of her head towards Hinote.

     "Most of the classes are close together, and they give a reasonable leeway between classes to get to your next class. It does not always work, but it is enough generally." Suzuki responds regarding the size. "...Needless to say, it's rare that you see a student that is particularly far out-of-shape at this school though." She adds with a slight chuckle.

     "I believe that this school was a castle at one point. So real castles are, yes. Some were bigger. It all depended on the money of the lord or emperor that had it made." Suzuki responds to the out-loud musing. Once they arrived at the kendo club's room -- which had its own building off to the side of the castle-like school, and was rather large and well-equipped. This is likely not a huge surprise with how traditional Seiyou is; as Kendo is an honored tradition and sport.

     "We will use practice Shinai, it is less dangerous than a bokken for training someone new to kendo." Suzuki says, moving over to a cubby that was marked with her name. She opened it, pulling out a pair of shinai. One looked newer, while the other was more worn and used-looking. The newer one -- a backup in case the main one ever broke -- is offered up respectfully towards Hinote, even to the point that Suzuki kneels down and offers the practice shinai face-up on her palms. "We will do a simple training to show you the various defenses to practice." She murmurs softly, slowly standing once the Shinai is taken, and then taking her own blade. "Before anything, show me what you have learned of your posture." Suzuki says, making her way onto the training mat and holding her Shinai down in a relaxed posture.

Hinote Kagari follows along and huhs a bit, maybe he should come to Seiyou more often, and walk around. Get used to the idea. Lord knows how long he has before he dissapears to Waldia with Runealy and Gaofelle anyways. For now, he'll just keep learning and studying and going to school as normal. He doesn't talk out loud about that. No. That would be silly. He does however, brighten his eyes as thye get over to the Kendo's club room. He blinks and takes the odd sword as it's offered to him. "T..thanks." he says as he looks it over.

Then Suzuki asks about his posture, he... hems and haws a bit and takes a pretty standard posture with the sword. He's obviously new, but he has the right idea. It isn't perfect--- bent forward just a little bit wrongly. "I guess this is my best posture right now." he says.

     "It's probably different from the Bokken that Rurako likely uses, from the fact you have been knocked out. That is much less possible with a Shinai." Suzuki says softly as she notes that examination. "The Bokken makes a scary noise, but will not harm you notably even if I struck you with all of my strength." Suzuki says. As Hinote takes on his form, she steps forward towards him. "...Close, good for a beginner. It's important to keep straight here." She says, moving forward to straighten where he was bent wrongly, and making a few other small adjustments. "Make sure to keep your arms somewhat loose as well, you want to be able to move when it's necessary, and keeping your muscles too tense will be bad for that."

     Suzuki steps back and then lifts her own blade, showing the proper posture. "Like this." She says, taking on a standard posture. It's boring, but an effective posture. "Now then. I believe the best way for you to learn how to block will be for you to swing at me." She says softly. "Move slowly, so that I can show you the movements that I go through." She says, smiling towards Hinote. "Don't expect to be fast enough to block against your captain immediately, though. That will take time and effort." She adds, as she waits for Hinote to do a strike.

Hinote Kagari lets himself be guided, he's blushing a little, but mostly in embarassment. Ugh, he's so /bad/ at this! "Ugh.. yeah okay this feels better." he says to himself, as he holds the Shinai. "Right, I usually, use the other one." he asides. "So does she. Is.. is this a thing I should bring up?" he asks curiously to Suzuki as he raises the 'blade' and, and nods.

He raises the blade and goes for a twelve 'oclock strike, right overhead, something easy- he's doing it slow, of course, not trying to actually HIT Suzuki--- but not so slow as to make it look like he's delibratly moving in slow motion.

In theory, this is a super easy block!

     "If it is the policy of your kendo club to all use bokken, use bokken. I prefer Shinai as it prevents chances of things such as 'being knocked out'." Suzuki responds simply. "Making the suggestion to switch to shinai for safety's sake is never wrong, however." Suzuki adds. And then Hinote raises his blade.

     As the blade comes down, Suzuki shifts her own blade, turning her body as the blade is turned almost flat against her side, angled to the right with the blade between herself and the strike. It's a slow movement, but fast enough to block the similarly-slow attack. "This is one of the standard blocks. It will most likely stop the attack. However the position of my blade is presently in an un-ideal place, you are closer to me than I would like, and your blade is /far/ closer to my body then I would ever like." Suzuki explains. She steps back, straightening her blade and pointing it towards Hinote once more. "This can be done on either side, and it is still effective. You've likely been taught or shown this technique before."

     She gives a small nod. "Now then, swing at me again, this time slightly faster, as if you were actually trying to strike me." Suzuki says simply, watching Hinote carefully, standing with the tip of her own blade about one inch away from the tip of his own. "I will show you deflection next, and explain why it is generally better, though you will likely see and feel it, as well."

Hinote Kagari blinks as he takes in the lesson... he hrmmms and looks a little crosseyed. It isn't going over his head, but it's enough to absorb with how distracted he seems to be at the moment. He finally pulls back as he takes in the movements and hrmmms. "Alright...I think.. I get it." he murmurs.

He raises his sword, and this time goes for a strike down at an angle, aiming down at '1-oclock', trying once again to strike Suzuki.

"Suzuki, I have a strange question...." he murmurs. "If you had a chance to live out a dream, but that meant... going away somewhere for a very long time--- perhaps forever...." he says. "Would you jump at the chance?" he asks questiongly.

     "Don't worry if it's difficult. This is the sort of thing that takes practice. Kendo is as much muscle memory as intellect." Suzuki responds to Hinote. As the strike comes in, Suzuki moves her sword again. This time, she lifts her blade to strike Hinote's sword with the very minimum amount of contact, just enough to deflect it to the side -- and away from her body, while keeping a good distance.

     Immediately following that, she gives a loud, "Hah!" And swings her blade -- as if she were about to strike Hinote straight on the head. However, it would stop before it actually did. "...You can see the difference, yes? I was able to keep myself safe, keep my distance -- and then have an opening for a counterattack. That is the difference between a block and a deflection. I also used the tip of my shinai, deflecting with the Mono-uchi, rather than the take or the tsuba." She says, pointing to the mono-uchi, which was roughly a foot on the tip of her blade, marked with a white ring at the bottom edge of it. The Take was the middle of the blade, and the tsuba was the area right next to the grip.

     That strange question is asked though, Suzuki tilts her head a bit as she listens to him. "That is a question that is difficult to answer without context. If it is a place that you wish to be, then perhaps. If it is not... then perhaps not. One can rarely get far in life without taking a chance, though... at least... that's what my parents have said." She says softly, lifting her blade into a neutral stance once more. "Be cautious of who is offering that chance though; the winds of this city have held a sinister edge lately. But it may be best not to be so cautious as to lose it should it prove legitimate." She murmurs, trying to answer as helpfully as she can.

Hinote Kagari sort of puts down the sword as he thinks about this. "I... nrg, nevermind, I've just been dying to ask someone that, and---- nevermind." he says as he raises his blade again- and when Susuzki comes in for a strike- why it's Rurako PTSD all over again and he flinches a moment. Luckily, he doesn't get hit in the head, and he relaxes with a whew...

"I.. I think that's enough for today.. for me actually." he admits as he holds the blade out by the handle, so Suzuki can take it from him. "Thanks for...showing me around, and showing me some pointers." he smiles. "I can drop by again later, maybe? When maybe I'm more... willing to concentrate." he admits sheepishly.

"I guess my mind is just a mess today." he smiles.

     Suzuki reaches to take the sword when it's offered to her. "...Do not feel bad for asking advice; though a stranger you have only recently met is sometimes a strange person to ask." Suzuki says softly, her voice non-judgemental. As he flinches, she gives a soft 'tch'. "She's struck you hard enough and often enough that you're flinching. She needs to be instructed that her teaching style is not acceptable for new members. That sort of teaching style is more for mid or advanced-skill members." She says with a soft sigh.

     "That's quite alright, I was not intending to show you more than that. No need to unnecessarily load your mind when you have other things to focus on." She smiles as she turns to put the two training swords away carefully. "Feel free, I do not mind helping new people who are in need of pointers. I also don't mind listening if you need to get something off your mind." Suzuki says, carefully closing and locking her cubby with a small key. She gives a brief stretch. "I apologize for the surprise with the counter-strike by the way. You will get over flinching in time, as you get used to things. I would suggest practicing with someone more your level before you try deflecting against Rurako, though."

Hinote Kagari kind of rubs the back of his head. "She's a good teacher. She's just strict." he asides. "You know the type. Barely smiles, but is fair?" he asks. "Yeah that's Rurako. I know she means well." he smiles. "Anyways..." he repicks up his binder. "I should get back home and make sure my notes are legible, then get back to Drama Club tommrow." he smiles.

He bows , slightly. "Thank you for your time, Suzuki." he says with a smile. "Maybe next time, I'll remember to bring a snack." he insists, as he begins to leave the club room. Off he goes!

     "Still, you shouldn't be getting knocked out in a training session, unless you were exaggerating." Suzuki says softly. "But I suppose that is not really any of my business, being from a different school entirely." She adds, rubbing at her cheek absentmindedly. "I do hope everything goes well with drama club. It's always good to see the culmination of peoples' creativity." She says softly.

     "Please take care, I hope that you have a good evening. ...Snacks are generally a good idea after a good workout, yes." She adds as she watches him take his leave. After he leaves, she eventually wanders off as well, after ensuring that their training didn't dirty the room in any notable way.