damned_institute | Nightshift 39: Music Room

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Nightshift 39: Music Room

[from here]

Adel was right - this would be a good place to practice in. There was a good deal of open space - or would be, once he rearranged things a little - and in case anything did happen in the Sun Room, it would be easy enough to close this room off.

Akihiko quickly busied himself with moving most of the couches and chairs to the sides of the room while he waited for everyone else to arrive.

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Soma, too, stayed back for the moment. The truth was that she was itching to fight, but most of the people here acted as if they were more than a little proficient in various forms of martial arts. She certainly considered herself talented enough to take any of them on - why not, when she could predict their movements? - but at the same time, she was well aware that her real skill lay in piloting and not hand-to-hand combat. And there was the irritating little detail about her reflexes being dulled.

So she watched the two young men - both of whom seemed about her own age - approach each other, leaning forward slightly in interest.

Akihiko smiled, nodding to Leon as he entered and took his seat. "Adelheid-san, I would be honored," he said, taking a bow. "And I think we all have something to learn from each other. We have various styles, and I think that despite age differences, gender differences, and the like, we can all do well."

He nodded to Adel, then stepped towards the center of the room, taking a minute to warm up a little more. "I'm ready to begin when you are."

Styles... huh. Training at the Maximal military academy hadn't exactly been complicated: all martial, no art. So long as the other guy was out for long enough for you to grab your weapon again it didn't really matter.

Still, even Depth Charge had to admit that he was maybe, possibly, probably just a little interested in what these two had to show. He pushed off the wall and stepped forward, just close enough to catch whatever action was about to unfold. The holo-chips were down- and personally? His were on blondie.

"I'd be inclined to agree with that," Adelheid amicably answered. There were some formidable female fighters from his own world, after all, and some of the greatest fighters were quite young as well. Of course, he couldn't say whether that was the case or not with the present company, as he seemed the only one inclined to give his name, but that was something he was used to.

After waiting to let Akihiko finish warming up and getting into his stance, Adelheid nodded and raised his hands, shifting into a boxer's mode instead of his normal open stance. Akihiko was clearly a boxer, so why not face him as such? Adelheid's first attack was a lunging jab, just something to test the other boy's guard. Besides, he'd disgrace the Bernstein name if he didn't give a proper show to the people watching!

And there was the opening salvo. Boxers, the two of them seemed to be - while 'float like a butterfly, sting like a bee' was not Conklin's MO, he could certainly see the appeal. There was a kind of grace to it - not like karate or jujitsu, but a different sort of grace entirely.

It would be interesting to see these two at work...

Soma was quiet as ever, completely focused on what was going on. Learning to box had never been much of an option for her, given her slight size, but it didn't matter much. She was sure she could learn something from this.

[sorry for short faily post; I blame being sick and gMail being stupid. D:]

Akihiko grinned as he blocked the jab, following it up with a right cross and left hook. "You're good," he said, moving back into his usual stance and waiting for the next strike.

Man, it had been too long. He felt out of practice, but hopefully, he'd be back in the swing of things soon.

Depth Charge knew better than to base predictions on the beginning of a fight, but hey, he'd gone one step further and based 'em on first appearances. Whether or not they'd turn out to be right, though, was another question entirely. Akihiko was right, Blondie was good- but something told him Akihiko himself had a little more to give. Call it a hunch.

Adelheid met both punches with sweeping blocks, using his height and leverage to meet power with power. Akihiko was definitely stronger than he looked, Adelheid had to admit that. Still, while the other man was skilled, his blows were just a little slow, just a little clumsy; of course, Adelheid had the fear that his would be exactly the same way, considering how long it had been since he'd been able to trade blows like this.

He pressed the attack, deliberately pulling his punches so they were a little slower as well, using his longer legs and greater reach to keep out of Akihiko's range- most boxers were trained to go after an opponent who was backing up, wanting to close the distance to a more suitable range. That was the hope, anyway...

...because, if Akihiko did so, then Adelheid had a bit of a trick up his sleeve. That would be in the form of a side kick, aimed directly at the boxer's chest. He held the same opinion as Akihiko- his opponent was good. It would be an insult to not use a style closer to what Adelheid was used to, for the sake of a warm up.

This was a fairly basic exercise so far, but Conklin was taking care to note each move both opponents made. All what he was used to, so far - he'd seen this before, and was beginning to compile information on how they fought. He could make a plan in which everyone would be playing to their strengths, and escape. Aside from Akihiko's own admission that he was a boxer, the spook was now getting the measure of his moves. He seemed a little slow, but that could mean that he was simply rusty - or his reflexes had been dulled, like Soma had mentioned that hers had been. Adelheid was taller, but he'd seen many a small opponent take out a larger one before...interesting.

It seemed to Soma that Adelheid was, if not the better boxer, at least less out of practice than Akihiko, though in her opinion it was still far too early to tell. Besides, she knew as well as anyone that size hardly mattered.

She couldn't help but fidget slightly, though - an uncharacteristic gesture to anyone who knew her. It was no good to only watch others fight. She wanted to participate as well.

Be ready for anything. Akihiko grinned, as he thought. He'd been anticipating the blocks, but not Adel taking steps backwards. That was interesting - then, that meant there was something up the blonde's sleeve. Well, he wasn't one for letting people hold back when they had something interesting to show in a fight like this, and besides - it'd been a while since someone had challenged him like that.

He was cautious as he moved forward, matching those steps, but not getting too close. It put him at a slight disadvantage, in terms of height, but he stayed close enough to throw a straight punch aimed at Adel's chest. He was ready to throw a follow-up when needed.

Blondie wasn't just going to stand and block all night, he was just biding his time- Depth Charge was sure of that. But how sure was Akihiko? The sudden smile had certainly caught his attention, but whether or not he was just bluffing would soon be all too clear. Whatever the reason, he had to hand it to him. The kid had balls of reinforced steel.

For a moment he looked sideways to the other two who stood watching, curious. Looked as though they were drinking this in like it was pure energon- noting each step and swing with careful precision, particularly the man. The young woman seemed a little less focused, though. Depth Charge couldn't blame her; even he was starting to feel restless, and he wasn't even all that interested in this kind of thing.

Interesting... Adelheid felt a smile creeping across his own face as Akihiko responded to him, reacting and thinking through their actions. This was something he'd missed from his many long days in the Institute; a real fight, with someone who knew what he was doing and approached it with talent honed by training.

It made the blond nostalgic, in a way; remembering who he was and what he was supposed to be doing.

He let Akihiko come to him, forcing the other boy to strain himself and press the attack, keeping his eyes open and his guard up as he did so. He just needed to wait for his moment, for Akihiko to commit himself and leave just a moment's vulnerability.

That moment came with Akihiko's punch. A straight punch... strong, yes, but Adelheid had taken far worse than that. He let the punch connect, forcing down the sting of a solid blow, and feigned staggering backwards. Another punch was soon to follow... and that was what Adelheid was looking for. Suddenly his leading leg lashed out in a low arc, aiming not for Akihiko's chest or face... but rather, below his knees. With that one motion he sent Akihiko sprawling. A clear point for him...

...but even as strong as he was, it took a lifetime of training and brutal fighting to not wince at how much that punch had hurt. Rusty Akihiko might have been, but he knew how to put force behind his blows.

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Nightshift 39: Music Room

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