There ain't no fear, there ain't no hope

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

Who: Ginia Solana (whiskytraitorfirefight, Hatake Kakashi (ura_no_ura), OPEN to spectators
What: Sparring and feeling out skills
When: 8 AM, Monday 02/10
Where: The Battle Dome
Summary: Ginia agrees to spar with Kakashi so he can gauge her skills.
Rating: PG-13 (Violence, language)


[As agreed, Ginia is in the lobby of the Battle Dome a few minutes before eight AM. She stretches lightly and paces around the room, limbering up and focusing. Should set up a room or was that something he wanted to do? She mulls lightly over before leaving the room to his decision.

Her mind is focused, but she's leery. She knows this is a test, that all she can do is show what she knows, and everything else falls into place. It's not a matter of how good a fighter he is, it's all insignificant. It still feels like she's walking into a trap.]

Comments

OBSERVATION DECK

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

[Grab a drink, grab a snack, get your bets in because the show is about to begin.]

I'm sorry this is stupid long whoops

[reviling]

[Levi's been spending a lot of time at the battle dome lately, practicing mostly with other weapons (guns, knives, swordplay) against a different kind of enemy than he's used to (people). They have to be frugal with the use of the gear, if only because gas can be hard to come by. It shows up rarely, and he keeps at least one canister extra if possible, but that's usually all he's been able to hoard at one time.

He's left it behind today in favor of practicing dual-wielding swords against human enemies generated by the simulator. It's not the same, but he's developing a few techniques that work for him.

So he's taking a break, getting water from the obnoxious machine in the hallway (he'd all but destroyed one the first time trying to get it to work) when he happens to peer in on the other room, somewhat surprised to see two people whom he's interacted with more significantly than many others in Luceti so far.

He watches for quite a while, actually.]

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

[The room, of Ginia's choosing and design, is a glimpse into the battlefield she's grown up on. It's a cityscape with tall office buildings, parking garages, smaller buildings holding local businesses, open lots. Lamp posts, traffic lights, and the occasional tree line the sidewalk as abandoned cars sit on the asphalt road.

A city park cuts through the center, some trees, statues dotting the area. At the center is a water feature set into the ground, holes drilled into a brick walkway shooting up streams of water at set intervals.

It's an abandoned city, a wartorn city. Glasses are broken or boarded up, doors locked and barred, some buildings bombed out husks with unstable ceilings and foundations. Mines lay hidden on the streets as in some areas, in other, large pits cut across streets.

The city is both a testament to the ingenuity of man and their own self-destructive power. A world where the monsters aren't man-eating titans, but humanity themselves.]

[reviling]

[he watches the scene below, mostly standing at the window instead of sitting, and making note of any apparent strengths and weaknesses of each, different techniques and moves that he could imitate or avoid.]

[corps]

[ Eyyy Levi, what up. Erwin's just going to join you silently, jacket thrown over one shoulder, still a little sweaty from his own practice session. Though they'd been sharing a room, he'd stayed behind a little longer than Levi had. He has more to catch up on, he thinks. He's been out of direct combat for too long, giving orders rather than taking action, and he certainly hadn't been keeping up with practice regimens as well as he should, his thoughts and his time alike consumed by the day-to-day running of the Corps. Levi has been flooring him easily when they spar together, where he remembers them being more evenly matched in years past. Levi's made a snide comment or two about it being his age, but he knows the true reason well enough. While Erwin hasn't gone soft--no soldier in the Survey Corps, especially a veteran, could be considered soft--he certainly has lost time to make up for.

But the scenario displayed in this room had caught his eye, and he isn't surprised to find Levi watching as well. Getting to watch their new allies in a serious combat situation is an unexpected treat, and he is observing very carefully. ]

Kakashi after the fight

[ura_no_ura]

[ Kakashi heads up the observation deck afterwards, to see if anyone's still up there now that the fight is over. ]

[reviling]

[he just opens the door to leave the room to find Kakashi standing already in the doorway about to enter.]

Checking for witnesses are you?

[ura_no_ura]

[ Oh, it's Levi. Kakashi gives him a nod hello. ]

Mm, something like that. [ A slight pause. ] How much did you see?

[reviling]

[He glances over his shoulder rather nonchalantly, the room back to its blank default state.]

Most of it.

I'm so sorry this is late D: RL is hell right now

[stilldontgotit]

[Well, given their plans to spar, Riku couldn't pass up an opportunity to see Kakashi fight. So, during the duration of the fight, he hangs at the edge of the deck, eyes locked on both combatants.

By the time he makes his way up, Riku lets out a whistle of approval, and gives him some short applause.]

I gotta admit, those were some quick reflexes. I'm amazed at how casual you were at first.

[After all, he stood there reading like it was no big deal. That takes guts.]

it's cool <3

[ura_no_ura]

[ Kakashi had not expected the applause, but he'll take it just the same, and nods his head in greeting at Riku as he closes the distance between them. ]

Casual, hmm? [ Yeah, that's exactly the sort of image Kakashi wanted to give off. Looks like it worked. ] I'd like to think I was testing Ginia-san's ability to look underneath the underneath.

[ Because despite how casual he did appear, he certainly was anything but. ]

[generalflirt]

[ Well all the rooms are full here. Of course. And he ends up going up to the observation deck with his Pikachu on his shoulder as he is wont to do when he doesn't have anything better to do. Might as well see who is using it and what they are using it for. The other five don't stand out but the last one--

Oh, that's Ginia-san. And there's-- that douchebag from yesterday.

Huh.

Well, he settles in to watch it, having stepped in at the tail end of it. Yep ]

[ura_no_ura]

[ At some point or other, Kakashi comes around to the observation deck and happens upon--

Oh, it's Shikamaru's friend.

He doesn't exactly say hi, though he does give him a glance and a slight dip of the head. And then he notices the bright, fuzzy creature sitting on his shoulder.

Huh. Interesting. ]

[generalflirt]

[ How polite. Masaomi doesn't really give a response though, opting instead to make like he didn't see the guy. Instead he stretches, stands, and makes to just head on out ]

[ura_no_ura]

[ Of course, just like before, Kakashi's late.

He has a bad habit of being late. Never arriving anywhere on time.

Sometimes he thinks he needs to undo this habit, especially when it's one he had picked up in memory of Obito. But it's hard to break a habit you've developed over the course of half your life. Sixteen years is a long time to be late, and today, Kakashi strolls through the door exactly seventeen minutes late.

He's in full uniform, as usual, and raises a hand in greeting when he spots Ginia. ]

Morning.

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

[By the time Kakashi rolls in, Ginia's taken a seat and begun listening to music on her phone. She's dressed in simple workout attire; cargo pants, long-sleeved shirt, hair braided and pinned against her head, a knife at her back and one in her boot. When she spots him, she nods back and calmly pauses her music and removes her headphone.]

Morning. I thought I would let you choose the room.

[ura_no_ura]

Mmm, I think it might be better if you do the honors, actually.

[ He's a little curious what she'd pick, after all. What sort of environment. There's a lot that you can tell about a person depending on what kind of environment they prefer to fight in, after all. ]

Though, before we get to that, I wanted to suggest that we do this in a few stages.

[ He pauses to let her absorb this. ]

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

[Her room, her choices. That she can work with. Though stages. She gives a small lift of her chin, watching him.]

What do you have in mind?

POST-FIGHT

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

[Ginia sits by the river, slowly breathing in the cold February morning air. She trails a hand in the water, pulling her hand out when the cold is too much. Her cut has been healed and bandaged, her other scrapes and bruises looked at too. Those are easy to shrug off, injuries come with the job.

But it's pride that's a little harder to heal. She knows too much pride is dangerous, not enough leaves you too uncertain, but like most things in her life, balance is hard to find. There's a lot to think over. Her skills, her performance, her strengths, weaknesses.

Her hand touches her neck, remembering the kiss of metal. He was right. She took his eyes off him, forgot who the enemy was. She could have died at any point in there, should have died. It wasn't a fight, it was a slaughter.

She also knows she shouldn't be too hard on herself. She can train harder, get sharper, fight back as much as she can. But it's hard. It's hard knowing where to go, when everyone's training began at half her age. She's a rookie and all she have are her guns and wits and she's not sure if they're enough.

Ginia exhales sharply and dips her hands into the river to splash cold water onto her face. If there's time for self-pity, there's time for focus and training. Still, she'll stay out there a bit longer, clearing her mind, willing to talk if anyone comes by.]

[reviling]

[He's come outside for some fresh air himself - used to training in open yards, he prefers it, though it is somewhat cold for prolonged skirmishes outside. Levi hopes that spring will come around soon in this place, and it occurs to him he never thought to ask how much long winter will last here.

The cooler air feels good on his skin, not wearing a coat and warmed from the exertion of sparring for the past hour or so. He hadn't gone to find Ginia after her fight with Kakashi, feels no especial need to seek her out and see how she's doing. They don't know each other quite that well, after all, and though she's become quite a useful and helpful ally, it will be quite some time before Levi considers her to be someone he should go out of his way to ensure her well being - at least, when it comes to something like this. For all he knows, she wants to be left alone anyway.

But he spots her, and after a minute approaches, letting his boots crunch on the path so she doesn't startle by his sudden appearance.]

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

[The warning is appreciated. Ginia turns her head to see who's approaching, rising when she sees it's Levi.]

/Captain./

[The sign is quick, accompanied with a small nod. Did he see the fight? Or was he training at the Battle Dome and happened to see her outside? Or some combination of the two? Either way, she'll let him initiate the conversation. She'll think fast if he has questions, but if he didn't see, then maybe she can go a bit longer without saying anything.

Because Ginia's responsible enough to know she has to tell them sooner or later. She's a liability and a burden otherwise and the heaviest burdens are the first left behind during evacuation.]

[reviling]

Hey.

[he watches her for a moment, silently. If she doesn't want to say anything about it, he's not going to pry. She isn't one of his squad members, she isn't one of the cadets whom he would otherwise attempt to ensure that they're calm and able to deal with their trauma. He won't initiate that conversation, but if she wants to talk through it, he'll listen.]

Don't stay out here too long.

[generalflirt]

Yeeeeeesh, Linda, you have to admire how those people can cause so much destruction, don't you! It's a pretty impressive thing, all things considered.

[ He spoke loudly to his partner, his arms folded behind his head as the Pikachu walks next to him. Sure they came to use it originally, but when the loss was settled he tried to keep track of where everyone went in the aftermath of it and frankly it's early enough to excuse himself in the form of just going to get breakfast.

Well that and Ginia ducked out. And it's obviously why he's hamming it up with this "acting" ]

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

[Ginia hears Masaomi approaching and sighs a little. She skips a rock across the river, the stone hopping twice before sinking, then gets up to face him. She smiles, slightly, and waves.

Time to figure out how much he's seen.]

[generalflirt]

[ He glances over once waved to, and waves back. Linda sighs to herself and rolls her eyes at this proceeding and the boy himself makes his way over towards her ]