driftfleet | second; text

[Don't be rude, Sasuke. Remus scowls for a moment, eyes darting up and down Sasuke. He's a slender thing, and missing an arm-- Remus isn't stupid enough to think he could actually beat the other boy, no, but he presents a very unassuming figure. And it isn't that Remus has never fought; he's fought plenty-- but with magic.

He's never punched anyone before.

But-- well, Sasuke will surely block it. Surely. God, he hopes he'll block it; he'll feel like an utter prick if he ends up breaking his nose--

But that's the point. It's to learn to fight, not to be nice, Merlin, and he tells himself that with an internal huff. Right. So. Hit him, he tells himself, and finally actually swings his right fist, aiming for Sasuke's face. It's a punch with an effort behind it, even if it's not the greatest punch in the world. He's trying.]

[ Remus's internal dialogue translates to nothing for Sasuke beyond a drawn out pause in which he wonders if he'll actually do it, in no way feeling a fraction of the same inner conflict even when that fist finally raises. The anticipated -- or optimistically hoped for -- block doesn't come either, that punch making direct contact and forcing his head to turn with the weight thrown behind it. ]

... [ His own fingers graze over his jaw near the point of impact, one eyebrow lifting when he turns to fully face him again. ]

I've gauged how well you can punch. I should probably also gauge how well you can take one. Are you ready?

[ Uhhh. ]

[He yelps when Sasuke doesn't block, just fucking takes it, and immediately pulls out of his position to take a few steps forward.]

Jesus, are you-- hang on, are you all right! Why the hell didn't you block it!

[ Now it's Sasuke's turn to move, taking one step back to avoid any physical contact that isn't strictly combative. ]

... why the hell would I block it when I was trying to measure your natural punch?

Because I could have hit your bloody hand and shown you that! My god, are you all right?

[Sure, he's not bleeding, and obviously the punch wasn't so good that he's stunned-- but still, Remus isn't exactly weak, and it's a punch to the bloody jaw.]

[ He's actually trying to figure out for a split second if he should be offended or not. ]

Of course I am. I'd hardly be bold enough to call myself capable in combat if I couldn't take a single flawed punch.

Aren't you giving yourself too much credit?

I know I'm not that weak, thank you.

[Not nearly as strong as Sasuke or what he's used to (not that Remus knows that)-- but still. Anyway. He finally accepts he hasn't actually done any harm and takes a step back, huffing a little, his heart still hammering. Spreading his legs and crouching a little, he replicates Sasuke's stance as best he can and braces himself.]

All right.

[Pain is, at least, something he can take well.]

You're that weak. [ Sasuke's quick enough to disagree, voice wholly devoid of emotion. This is really the only training tactic he knows because it's the only one he himself was ever exposed to -- harsh critiques and tough evaluations. ]

Have you ever actually punched someone or been punched before? [ A question to get out of the way first, taking his time looking Remus over more slowly in order to choose just where to hit him. ]

No. I've gone through . . . pain, worse pain than a punch, but no, not that.

[He notices that stare, and so doesn't relax, because he's a little afraid Sasuke is just going to do it out of nowhere.]

That explains some of it. [ Like the lengthy pause, the awkward movement of his body, the -- in Sasuke's warped mind -- overreaction to actually possibly hurting someone... ]

Sounds like a story worth listening to. [ But definitely not one that Remus will be capable of telling right away, not when Sasuke's casual stance shifts in the barest blink of an eye, nearly impossible to see, and bony knuckles are driven with considerable force right into his midsection. He restrains himself from actually sending him backward but not from sinking that fist in with precise enough aim to stun him and drive air from his body, hitting considerably harder in return.

That's going to leave a nasty bruise later. ]

[He drops to his knees like a stone, losing his breath. He doesn't try and get to his feet again, just stays down and gasps for air. It's a far harder punch than Remus had given, and Sasuke is far too slender for such a punch-- he's got hidden strength, clearly, or perhaps it's just a ninja thing.

He's got a bit of time to think about all this, gasping for air-- but soon he staggers up, his mouth set in determination.]

Well. There you go, then.

[ Sasuke just looks down at him as he struggles in his bid for air, finally actually reaching for his collar when he starts to get his bearings in order to aid him in standing back up. ]

... it's similar to what I expected. Adjust to shallow breaths before forcing deeper ones; I doubt you have any diaphragmatic rupturing but it's likely bruised. [ And he sounds so incredibly calm while saying it, too. ]

Fortunate we have a doctor on board, isn't it? [A beat, and he grins, albeit still wheezing.] Ah, no, we don't, do we?

[Still, he obeys the advice: shallow breaths, and slowly it feels as though his stomach isn't trying to claw its way out of his torso.]

Any-- ah-- any hope at all to be taught, then?

Edited 2016-02-15 04:59 (UTC)

[ It would be amazingly cruel of him to hit Remus and then refuse and leave, honestly, and he's trying to move away from that behavior. ]

... it'll be difficult considering the shape you're in, but I can make you less inept. [ ... okay, he's moving away from that behavior with incredibly tiny baby steps. ]

That's all I've ever aspired to be. [Cheerful sarcasm: probably the only way he'll get through this. God, but his stomach hurts.]

What shall we start with, then, beyond trading punches near my books? Is there some kind of training regimen you use?

[ Sasuke actually eyes him for a beat or two whilst trying to determine if his first statement had been a joke. Probably. ]

Many. [ As if that's any surprise. ]

If what you want is to gain physical strength then you'll have to learn more than just proper stances and techniques. You'll have to gain endurance as well.

What's your current workout routine?

Beyond what I do on full moons? Nothing, frankly.

[He reaches for his wand and waves it. A small notebook and a pen come flying from out of his room; he grabs them and goes to sit, ready to write all this down. He's never going to remember it on his own.]

... nothing.

[ He repeats it just to be sure that he did in fact hear him correctly. Right. Okay. ]

In that case I expect you to start with a minimum of fifty push-ups so I can see when you become tired. If it isn't within that set, I'll push you to do more. Squats are another good place to begin, with a similar limit.

What about your stamina for running, and your overall flexibility? [ There's going to just be so much. ]

[He scowls at that flat little nothing; he's a wizard, not a brute, and they're trained for different things. He's good at what he does, it's just that what he does isn't . . . this.

Whatever. Bruised pride shoved aside, he writes down those exercises (squats, push-ups, sit-ups?? x 50).]

Fairly flexible by normal standards. I can run for a fairly decent amount of time, actually. [Thanks to Moony, anyway.]

[ Wizard vs. brute, round one. Force him into attempting basic charm spells and mock his failures in revenge. ]

Remember again that our worlds are very separate from one another. If you say 'normal standards' then I don't have an appropriate frame of reference for what that means, and 'fairly decent' falls under that same category. Are you willing to show me the lengths of your stamina now or should we schedule another time?

Oh, we might as well now.

[He remembers, suddenly, why he'd declined to try out for Quidditch years ago. Remus sighs and rubs his nose. Sasuke has the uncanny ability to make him feel both stupid and out of his depth without ever really trying; it's quite disconcerting.]

Push-ups . . . I should imagine I can't do any, so why don't we just skip that particular humiliation, hm? As for running . . .

[They don't have that much room here. Remus sucks on his teeth, glancing around, trying to think.]

I should imagine I could complete a mile in around fifteen minutes, if I truly pushed myself.

[ He takes a moment to do the conversion to kilometers in his head, already having come across a need to know it while here. ]

... if you want to learn, you need to be willing to push through what you call 'humiliation'. If you can't do a push-up, we'll rectify that. [ His tone is factual instead of mocking, not exactly known for his empathy but he can still try to remember what it was like when he himself was learning. ]

I'll aid you with your form. If you have trouble doing one now then it'll be harder for you to learn on your own when I've told you to do fifty.

[It makes sense, unfortunately, and Remus can find no cruelty in Sasuke's gaze, no eagerness to see Remus fail. He's stoic, but not nasty. So he nods and bites back his sigh as he gets to his knees.

God, he hopes nobody walks in.

Palms flat against the floor, body drawn out, toes pointed-- he can do one push-up, at least, can't he? He takes a breath and lifts himself up off the floor-- and oh, it turns out one is the absolute limit of his abilities, because even this is difficult. Fucking hell--]

...

[ He watches quietly for a moment or two before hunching down closer, eyebrow again quirked. ]

Hold that position; locking your knees will make it easier to maintain for a moment. [ As he reaches out, totally unashamedly placing his hand against Remus's lower back in order to push down to straighten his spine. Ass too high in the air, common rookie mistake. ]

Try to get accustomed to the muscle memory of this position. This is what you're aiming for.

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