driftfleet | (no subject)

That depends. Are you afraid to try and hit a girl?

[ Implying that he might not be able to hit her even if he tries. Ooooh, girl you need to crank that confidence down a notch. ]

[Wow, Ino. Wow. Just wow. How dare you.]

I'll have you know my teacher is a girl. [Well, a lady, but.] I wouldn't fight anything but my hardest against her, or you.

[ She just looks amused ]

Well, in that case, I don't believe I'm too inundated to take you up on it.

Good.

[Because he could use the practice, too, frankly.]

Where should I meet you?

Is the beach okay? The ships are a bit cramped ...

The beach is perfect. Give me a few minutes.

Okay, I'll be here!

[ She'll give him a little wave, before shutting off the video.

And then she'll just be doing some stretches to warm up while she waits for him to get there. All that sitting around and tanning has not been great for her flexibility ... ]

[He's down in a few minutes, parking the shuttle a ways up the beach from where he spotted Ino on the way down. He closes the space between them at a jog, slowing once he's close to toe off his shoes and leave them behind in the sand.]

Hi. How are we doing this?

[ She has to smile a little bit at how he seems ... almost excited? After all, there were little to no pleasantries there ... ]

Up to you. I don't mind busting out the big guns, so to speak, if you don't.

[ Let's blow things up :D ]

[He is excited. This planet has been relaxing, and he feels calmer than he has in probably years, but sparring was still a major part of his routine back home and it feels strange not doing it regularly.]

[Her suggestion gets a small smile and a decisive nod.]

I don't mind at all.

[LET'S BLOW THINGS UP 8D]

[ She seems to approve of that suggestion, if the smirk on her face is any indication. She wouldn't be so relaxed about showing off around many of the other Fleet members, but she gets the feeling she can trust him not to go running around telling the wrong people what he might see.

So, she'll slide a foot back to put herself in a ready defensive stance ]

Well then -- ready when you are!

[His posture is not quite a perfect mimic of hers; his training was different, after all, and he holds himself differently. But he does move into position himself, shifting his weight for a few moments until he gets settled on the sand. It'll be an interesting challenge. Not as bad as the oil, but interesting.]

[He takes just a second to make a few instinctive calculations, and then pushes Ripple between his palms, shooting a stream of bubbles towards her. They're not powered strongly enough to do more than sting, but his expression's calculating. He wants to see how she blocks.]

[ As pretty as they are, Ino is pretty sure being hit by them is not the object of this exercise. She could just ... you know, try and run away from them or dodge, that would probably be the normal thing to do!

But instead, she's going to see how easy it is to destroy them, since that will vastly change how she interacts with the bubbles. So, in a lightning-quick movement, she pulls a few small knives from the pouch on her leg and flicks her wrist to send them hurtling through the stream -- and, if they make it through, they'll be coming at him, too. (At non-vital points, of course!) ]

[The more Ripple he infuses into the walls of the bubbles, the hardier they tend to be; these are somewhere in the lower range, which means that, while the knives do meet with some resistance, they're able to break through fairly easily if they hit the bubbles dead center. Hitting them along the curve will lead to a slight shift in trajectory, sending one or two of the knives away from him to bury themselves in the sand.]

[Caesar's response to the knives is roughly equivalent to Ino's response to the bubbles: he wants to see how well they're aimed and how much force is behind them, so he doesn't put a ton of effort into dodging. He shifts sideways on the sand, but not quickly enough to avoid them all, and one grazes his upper arm sharply enough to draw blood. He glances down for long enough to wipe it away with his thumb, then focuses back on Ino, a grin tugging at the corner of his lips.]

Fast, [is all he says before he's shooting another stream towards her, crackling with Ripple this time, reflecting rainbows in the dimming light.]

[ Well, that's interesting! She definitely takes note of how they bounce (and how fucking pretty they are like what the hell) before his comment gets a giggle, because that was hardly the fastest move she's got.

She darts to the side to dodge this time, to see if he can move the stream at will or if it's a straight shot, so to speak -- and once she's off to his side a little more, she'll try again with another knife.

If he cares to observe it, she doesn't appear to be sinking into the sand at all when she moves ... in fact, she's almost gliding on top of it.

But, you know, she's totally just a medic, am I right ... ]

[The way she moves is interesting enough to catch his attention quickly, his gaze fixing sharply on her feet for a moment before he understands. Just a medic; of course she is. It makes him laugh, just once, low and sharp as he dodges her knife and sends another stream to block it. The bubbles he'd shot before curve slightly towards Ino, but not close enough to catch her. She's caught on quickly enough that he's going to have to move much faster if he's going to touch her at all.]

[ She's not sure she wants to underestimate exactly how much control he has over the bubbles and how quickly they will move for him -- after all, it's entirely possible he's holding back or bluffing in some way -- but the speed they seem to be moving at so far at least makes her confident that her next move will probably be fast enough not to get hit.

She abandons the knives for now, darting around his latest stream before clasping her hands together with her index and middle fingers pointed upwards. It's not entirely clear what the point is for a moment, until next to her appears two other identical "clones". She doesn't think he will be expecting something like that out of her, which means it's likely to be a great distraction as all three of "her" rush at him for a punch. Luckily for him it should be easy to tell which ones aren't the real thing once they get closer, since anything that hits them will make them disappear into a cloud of smoke ]

[No, he definitely wasn't expecting that, and it's enough to get him to take a step back before he focuses on her again, eyes hard. He's fairly certain she's still the one in the middle, but he can't take anything for granted at this point - she's obviously got plenty that she's kept to herself. It's sort of exciting in its unpredictability.]

[She gets too close too quickly, anyway, and he's got no choice but to go on the defensive, throwing up a wall of bubbles in front of himself. When the clones disappear, one after another, he shoots a barrier bubble at the real Ino, big enough to swallow her up entirely if she doesn't dodge.]

[ She gasps when the barrier shoots her way -- one of the disadvantages of being so close this time is that she's got a much smaller window to escape in.

But luckily for her, there's a ninja art that was invented specifically for this purpose. She clasps her hands together again, and just as the bubbles surround her, she disappears -- leaving what looks like a piece of driftwood in place of where she once was.

As for where she is now, she'll be sneaking up right behind him and going for a literal kick to the ass, if he doesn't notice her before her foot can connect ]

[He thought he had her for a moment, he really did - but then she disappears, her body replaced by, what the hell is that, some wood? He probably shouldn't, but he's curious enough that he takes a step or two forward, trying to figure out what that is and how she did it.]

[Which means he's not watching his back at all, and when Ino kicks him in the ass, he yelps and stumbles forward across the sand, nearly tripping before he manages to catch his balance and turn on his heel.]

What the hell! [IS THIS FUNNY OR EMBARRASSING, HE CAN'T EVEN TELL??]

[ His reaction just ... makes her start giggling, sorry Caesar. ]

You should always watch your back, you know.

Clearly!

[He's definitely not turning his back to her again. How rude. Still, there's a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth as he decides to go with funny, at least until he can get his revenge.]

Is that what you learned in medic training?

Ah ... right.

[ Well, she trusts him enough to tell him most of the truth, anyways. She's pulled a knife from the pouch on her leg again, twirling it with one finger as she speaks ]

Well, there are certain things I have to say to the public, you know? If there's someone in the fleet who's a threat, I wouldn't want them knowing what to expect from me. I'd be a pretty terrible ninja if I gave myself away to everyone right off the bat.

[He's listening - very carefully, in fact - but his eyes are on that knife. Ino is definitely not somebody he cares to underestimate. Especially not after hearing this; he's unused to being quite so covert, but then, his situation was entirely different. Her motivations are admirable, and her suspicion is - well. Familiar enough.]

Should I be insulted that you don't think I'm a threat?

[ She laughs ]

Not like that. I'm talking about the kind of threat who'd do something to hurt an innocent person, or someone who can't fight back. I'd hope you weren't insulted by me thinking you're not that type of person.

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