we fear rejection, prize attention, crave affection

[ferrociously]

[He's been allowed to stay, at least for now. Tachihara honestly hadn't expected it, knowing their new Commander and her wrath, and knowing that the Hunting Dogs need to work hard to rebuild their reputation after everything that happened. Letting a traitor stay is risky. And traitors are a touchy subject for all of them. Tachihara wouldn't have blamed them if they decided it was safer to have him killed, or simply let him die.

But he's being given a chance, and he's going to take it. A mission to remind him of what they do. Jouno will be keeping close tabs on him, he knows, and will most likely be frequently questioning him and listening for lies. He'll have to be careful.

He'll have to work hard, which is why he's outside now, training, working himself into a sweat, and trying to keep his mind off everything. He doesn't want to think about the fact that he's lost his friends in the mafia now - he doubts they'll ever let him go back, and he can't risk contacting them - or the fact that he could still be losing his family in the Hunting Dogs, too. He hasn't fought with a sword in a long time, so he's grabbed a wooden one, and is going through some drills, stepping forward and swinging high-high-low against an imaginary enemy, then stepping back, outside of that enemy's reach, and then forwards again to repeat. It's exhausting when you keep it up for a while, but it's a good feeling, too, the way it makes his muscles burn. Move forward, parry-low-high.

He falters a bit when he sees Tetcho approaching in the distance, out for his own workouts most likely. Parry-low-side step-high-high, step back again.

When Tetcho is close enough, he stops, turning towards him to bow respectfully. He's honestly nervous about talking to him - he assumes he knows - but he knows it has to happen sooner or later.]

Tetcho-san. I thought I'd better get back to practicing with a sword.

[Guns really are his preferred weapon, but the Hunting Dogs all carry a sword. And he will do his best to prove he can be a Hunting Dog again.]

Comments

[suehiro]

[ swords he knows; they cut straight to the hand of the matter and while his mistake had been to judge poorly before, his sword is still true. and the hunting dogs need his strength.

tetcho holds back because this isn't 1)an enemy and 2)tachihara needs practice, more of it, before they can go full-on out. without his metal manipulation ability and tetcho's plum blossoms this is a fight focused on physical strength and stamina.

he offers openings, hoping that tachi will catch onto them and try to exploit them to hit him. ]

Faster.

[ferrociously]

[He does his best to speed up, knowing that this is still slow compared to what Tetcho can manage. And he's trying to find those openings. A low swing there means Tachihara can aim at his shoulder, a blocked attack allows him to spin around to try to sidestep him without worrying about a counter. Usually he's too slow to pull it off, too out of practice, but as they keep going he's definitely improving.

A lot of it is muscle memory that's slowly returning. And building enough confidence.]

Fast but not impatient.

[He repeats it as a reminder to himself. His old weakness, one Tetcho has tried to work out of him. It's definitely still there, and his time in the mafia hasn't helped.]

[suehiro]

Fast but not impatient. [ tetcho can't help but smile, feeling more like hunting dogs with each passing moment. fighting always grounds him, it also brings out something else violent self-righteous but in the training room, with a fellow hunting dog this is just good.

he feels the tip of tachi's sword land on his shoulder and then his smile turns into a smirk and he swipes, low and aimed at knocking tachi off his feet. but he is pleased at feeling the blow land, because that means... to tetcho... that tachi is still a hunting dog first and foremost. ]

[ferrociously]

[Tachihara feels a surge of pride as his blow connects... And he lets his guard down. He wouldn't have been fast enough anyway. He's knocked right off his feet, landing on his side, his training at least letting him fall safely. It's still a blow to his dignity - not losing against Tetcho, but that he got too cocky, too fast.

He should have been prepared for a counter attack.]

You're still too fast for me, Tetcho-san.

[Which means he has to train harder. Next time, he'll give him more of a challenge.]

[suehiro]

When was the last time you fought with nothing but a sword? [ tetcho thinks far too long so he will not hold any of this against tachi. one gets better with practice and determination. ] You'll catch up, speed suits your ability and fighting style too.

[ he reaches down and offers a hand to help tachihara to his feet. ]

[ferrociously]

[Tachihara takes the hand, letting Tetcho help him to his feet.]

I've been using guns for the past three years.

[And guns suit him, too. His ability allows him to control a gunfight, but he enjoys the adrenaline and chaos of that, too, throwing himself into danger. He's had to be careful not to reveal he has an ability, after all.]

You're right. My skills are rusty.

[suehiro]

[ tetcho gives a considering look; gun and wielding them is more the area of others, jouno wields a gun more often than his sword- at least, tetcho thinks so. while he does not carry one because his own ability is linked to a blade and he has been training with a blade since ... well, he'd been younger than tachihara when he'd picked up his first training blade.

it does not mean guns and shooting are an area he lacks knowledge of... ] Once you've reached an acceptable level with your sword you can swap it out for guns.