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Hey, Sakamoto Ryuji here.

I can't be the only one with ass kicking on the brain after that invisible dog bullshit. What's the consensus on fighting instructors around here? Did that turn out to be a thing?

If anyone's got the time show a few moves and still taking requests, I got one of my own. I'd appreciate a few tips if you feel like sharing. I'm talking about the badasses that know what they're doing, not just the make it up as you go kind (like me). Hate to say it, but the stuff we're facing in events is a little different from what I'm used to.

Dunno what I could trade for it, but I learn fast! And I'll think of something. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

PS: And if you're looking for Akira, don't worry. Nothing bad happened to him. He just went home. Sorry.

_{[The last bit is the real crux of the message and also the thorn in its side; bundling it in with the request lessens the sharp prick of it. Not by much, but some.]}

I | Exercise facilities + outer grounds

_{[Anyone with an eye for blond phantom thieves can usually spot Ryuji adhering to a runner's training schedule, a carry-over from home. Indoors in the weight room, outdoors on the grounds, casual long distance jogs, short distance drills--he's at it most days, alternating between staving off boredom and building on his strength.

Usually time following an event are cool down days, a period to let himself recover from the trial of the week. Not this time. He keeps his foot jammed on the gas pedal with the restlessness energy of someone who has something he has to face but is taking every detour to avoid it. The request for some self-defense pointers had been practical--if the Tartarus event taught him anything (and the Asgard event before that, and the zombie event before that), he could use them--but it's also fuel for the avoidance fire.

Usually there's room for a chat in between squats on the beach or a friendly wave on a run, but don't take it personally if he seems a bit standoffish today. He's distracted, brows set in a flat line, viciously pouring energy into his routine with a nice, healthy contempt for the ground or the horizon, whatever he happens to be staring at.

If someone catches his eye, though, he'll forcibly relax, offering a smile. It comes a beat too late to be effortless, but that's hardly out of place, right? They've all been through a lot coming out the other side of the event meat grinder.]}

II | Training center

_{[Futaba. Morgana. Iwai. Yusuke. Ann. Makoto. Haru... Akira. How could he have thought this place felt small? With all of the people most familiar to him--people he'd shared the burden of events with, sat across the breakfast table with, lived with in the case of his two best friends--gone to fuck knows where, Wonderland feels infinitely massive and empty. He could handle this together. Alone, it's... it's hard. Harder than he imagined.

There's still Akechi, and isn't that the height of irony, to be the last man standing with Akechi Goro, out of everyone. He hesitates a while with phone in hand, Akechi's name in the To: field, but his hands aren't interested in sending more messages.

They want to make fists. They want to break.

Those in the training center will be privy to Ryuji, uncharacteristically stoic and grim-faced, slipping on a pair of gloves and squaring off with a punching bag with a frenetic violence to match. Either that punching bag insulted him, or someone didn't burn off quite enough energy climbing stairs in Tartarus.

The flurry is broken up only by a wince after a particularly hard punch. Peeling off his glove reveals a streak of red from split knuckles. Apparently someone also doesn't know when to quit.]}

Fuck

_{[Any gym rats handy with bandaids...? Alternatively, maybe you see him taking himself and his bloody hands for a walk to the clinic for something to wrap them with. He's probably not the only needing aftercare after that doozy of an event, even if his most recent war wounds are fresher.]}

III | Kitchen

_{[The thought of going back to his empty room in his empty section of hallway throbs worse than his bandaged knuckles. Suddenly it's like his first day in Wonderland all over again, not knowing what to do or where to park himself in a strange, unwelcoming environment.

He ends up in the kitchen, hungry but not really, searching the fridge and cupboards with a listless indecisiveness. He's probably standing in your way as you go to grab something--and will continue to stand in your way until prompted, or he notices you.]}

_{[And he'll slide to the side to let you get to your business, smile apologetic.]}

IV | Wildcard

_{[Ryuji'll be going about business as usual in Wonderland post-event, so feel free to come up with your own starter around the mansion and/or elsewhere! Or hit me up for a different one if you're not feeling the locations/prompts.]}

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

_{[He came out to have a good time and he's honestly feeling so... he's not even sure??? Wynonna's bringing on a strange mix of awe, curiosity, and anti-authority feelings. This is a lot for a guy who in actuality has limited experienced with the weird and wacky outside of the Metaverse.]}

What the hell! Just what kinda world do you live in?

_{[Cowboys and biker gangs and demon-infested towns, oh my.]}

Does your family have somethin' to do with that? ... If we're talkin' monsters, do you ever go after supernatural people?

[sorry ryuji, she didn't mean or intend to overwhelm you.]

A pretty messed up one -- and yeah, my family did. There's a curse on our bloodline, the demons are connected to it, it's a whole thing.

[wynonna you say that so casually like everyone has a cursed family.]

There was a witch once. We didn't kill her though.

[no she and doc just...buried constance clootie alive in salt....]

Edited 2018-02-04 01:53 (UTC)

_{[He's varying levels of Loudly Overwhelmed most days; he just needs time to process this. Hearing about people's lives and the uniquely strange worlds they come from is one of those things that continually offers surprises.]}

And connected to the government. A secret part of the government that fights actual demons.

_{[To be fair, considering this is the second time in the span of a year he's heard about witches and governments involved in weird shit and secret conspiracies, he's open to the possibilities cursed families could be a Thing, too.]}

Well, you not killin' people is a relief, or this was about to get extra awkward...

_{[Both because 1) y'know, he's morally opposed to that shit, and 2) being what he is, he'd rather not find out the cool chick he's just met would feel duty-bound to slap some cuffs on him.]}

A secret for a secret: I'm no witch with magic spells, but, um. I might be a criminal? That gonna be trouble?

_{[It feels necessary to take the temperature of the water before he decides to cannonball in, or merely dip a toe.]}

To be fair, I was sort of blackmailed into the government part of things.

[like dolls threatened to blame her for some of the revenant murders if she didn't join and while she's proud of some of the work she's done as a marshall she can't say she likes answering to black badge -- especially now that lucado is her boss instead of dolls.]

Yeah, generally speaking I try to avoid killing people.

[she did...kill her own sister but willa would have died anyway and it wasn't an easy thing to do, but that's also not something she's going to share with a kid she just met.]

Not at all, as long as you're not hurting anyone innocent, I don't really give a shit.

... All that, 'cause of some curse?

_{[Government officials blackmailing people is somehow less shocking on the whole than demon, curse, and US Marshal strung together. Ryuji sighs with the air of someone who's trying to expel air so he has more room to fit these revelations. Wynonna's like a mystery bag that just keeps on giving!]}

Well... then I'm glad? Generally speakin'. That you're not a killer, and you're not about to try and shoot me.

_{[He tips his heads, running a thumb along his jaw, debating.]}

I guess you could say I do somethin' that's supernatural, but it ain't to hurt people. Just makes people side eye.

Yeah, more or less.

[sorry ryuji her life is...way more complicated than she would like it to be, but nobody ever asked her about that.

but right now she's more curious about what he does back in his world, honestly.]

And why would they be side-eying it?

We're gonna have to go back to that magic curse stuff and the government fighting witches at some point. Hold that thought.

_{[He might need to hear that story from beginning to end... and maybe see that badge of hers. Once he gets past his initial squinty-eyed, anti-authority paranoia, a secret organization that fights supernatural crime almost sounds as cool as the Phantom Thieves fighting other criminals. Almost.

Standards must be maintained.]}

Well, I figure it was gonna come out anyways if we got serious with trainin' since it's a big part of how I got into fightin' in the first place... I have this thing. A Persona.

_{[And he never knows quite how to explain it in such a way that people aren't left scratching their heads, so he just barrels on ahead, shrugging as he does.]}

It comes out when I'm fightin' for reals. Usually I can only use it in another world, though. That world's a lot different than this one. Things work differently. You can imagine stuff and just make it happen, kinda like how the closets just make shit appear. I didn't hafta worry about havin' actual fightin' skills there, I had my Persona for that.

_{[See his problem?]}

The government wasn't really involved in the witch business -- but yeah, we can go back to it.

[wynonna, you're probably just making things even more complicated for his brain to comprehend.

speaking of comprehension tho. that is a lot to take in for her.]

Is it like a Pokemon or something?

[that's her frame of reference for creatures that fight for you that come from Japan.]

_{[If they're going to mutually grind each other's brains into fine powder, they might as well go all out. Go big or go home, etc.

Still, Wynonna gets a look. Persona, not Pokemon! He's mildly uncertain if he should take that one in good grace, or be a little insulted she's equating him to a kid's program. His hands go to his hips and rest there in the quintessential Superman pose--which is a little fitting, given the subject matter.

He's no super cool spy, but like spies not a lot of people get to see this side of him.]}

If I show you, you're not going to pass out on me, right?

Please, I'm not that weak.

[and wynonna has seen some crazy shit in her time before, so while she doesn't have any idea what to expect of this creature of his, she's sure she can handle it. how bad could it be?]

_{[That earns a fleeting grin.]}

Works for me. Trust falls are a cheesy bondin' activity, and I don't wanna hafta catch ya on our first day.

_{[Just remember you asked for this anime bullshit.

He backs off to a corner of the mats, swinging his arms as if in warm-up. He's going to need some space for this--not to mention suddenly transforming into Skull might be a surprise better left for a safe distance.

Blue flames signal the change. They temporarily obscure Ryuji from view, and the person that emerges in his place has vastly different attire--black boots, black jacket, skull-themed mask. To add insult to injury during this strange show and tell, Saiten Taisei briefly manifests overhead, a ghostly entourage that looks decidedly like punk Donkey Kong on a cloud.

Needless to say, he's earned his own niche under the "supernatural" umbrella.]}

--This is it, my Persona!

_{[Pretty frickin' cool, huh?]}

Holy Shit.

[wynonna is nothing if not a wordsmith, okay? but she has never seen anything like this and it is pretty friggin' badass. between the costume change and then the persona itself -- she's pretty impressed and definitely surprised. she didn't know what she was expecting, honestly, but it wasn't exactly this]

That is one of the weirdest and coolest things I've seen in a long time, what can it do?

Yeah, so thaaat's pretty much why I figured showin' in person was better than tellin'. This is how I fight.

_{[Tada? In all honesty, Ryuji can never quite hide the fact that he's proud to have Seiten Taisei; it shows in his smile and spread-legged pose.

The end goal isn't really to dazzle people with the lights show or the costume change, though he'll happily accept a mystified "oh shit." His Persona represents his will. It's like wearing a part of his inside on his outside.]}

You ever seen a trainin' dummy get electrocuted?

I haven't, but it sounds like it'd be cool to see.

[look, this is some weird fantasy shit but she's into it -- and if she's going to work with him it's probably good to know what his persona is capable of, right?]

_{[She's said the magic words: cool to see. Well, now he absolutely has to show you, Wynonna! She's been racking up so many cool points with her life back home, he's got to catch up here.]}

Since you asked so nicely...!

_{[The most challenging aspect of the whole affair is maneuvering the dummy into position on one side of the room. After going toe-to-toe with moving targets and wannabe gods trying to end the world, blasting away an inanimate object is a cake walk.]}

All right, stand back! Here I go!

_{[Seitein Taisei fills the other side of the room where Ryuji stands and releases a concentrated zap of golden, crackling lightning hits the unfortunate test dummy square in the head and turns it's upper torso into a blackened mess.]}

Holy Shit!!

[wynonna claps her hands eagerly at the display, whooping a little in encouragement. she is nothing, is not enthusiastic.]

That was quite the shocking display you put on there kid, I think you really zapped that thing of everything it had.

[yes, those puns are intentional, she thinks she's hilarious.]

_{[Applause! Gosh, you're giving him a big head.

He's sure not complaining about her reaction, but it's not what he'd expect coming from a grown woman, either. But that's what he's starting to like about Wynonna Earp--she's not like the majority of adults he'd be looking for reasons to dislike and mistrust.

He'd taken a chance on her by showing her this, and he's well-rewarded for it. Well... sort of. Those are puns are bad and she should feel bad, but otherwise? His smile is as earnest as they get.]}

Aw, shucks, I'm gonna blush!

[wynonna is an adult in name only, in a lot of ways. she'd pretty much die before she acted her age, and would definitely off herself if she ever became like the authority figures who used to make her life a living hell.

but she will never feel bad for her puns.]

I've seen a lot of shit in my time, I haven't ever seen anything like that before.

_{[Wynonna looks positively electrified.

He's also a bad person and is going to hell.]}

That's 'cause you normally couldn't see it unless you went into the Metaverse! That's where we found out we could fight with Personas-- it ain't in the real world. It's like in people's subconsciousness? Subconsciousnesses? Whatever. It's like that.

_{[He's not Freud, he doesn't know what he's talking about. Sue him. He relaxes out of his battle stance and steps back into the middle of the mats.]}

This shit ain't normally possible in the real world. I think it's 'cause Wonderland's so fucked up--it's somewhere in the middle.

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