exsiliumlogs | Everyone's a superhero

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Everyone's a superhero

Date & Time: December 21; Friday afternoon
Location: Training Facilities
Character(s): Asuka; Open
Summary: Training, for lack of anything better to do.
Warnings: None come to mind. Maybe some angst.

She'd been to mandatory training yesterday and she hadn't found it anything special. Well, except for the fact that they actually wanted her to swing the stupid spear around. It wasn't hard, but it felt completely different from when she'd been in her Eva. That was to be expected, of course, but at least she'd worked up a sweat and it had been something to do besides scroll through the network posts or wander around the run-down buildings on this end of town. So she'd come back on her own to try and work at it. If nothing else, when Asuka put her mind to something, she could be incredibly stubborn. So, alone in one of the training halls, she'd set to going through different spear forms.

It was strange. She could remember her Eva using a similar weapon. She'd trained in its use in simulations; she'd used a halberd or an ax against at least one Angel. Her body remembered the movements and how to hold the weapon and how to shift her feet, even if intellectually she knew that she'd simply been pulling at the control panel in her entry plug; relics of syncing with a giant war machine. The Initiative had given her some basic pointers yesterday, as well and even if she'd brushed them off at first, she still kept them in mind.

Lunge - withdraw - parry with the haft. Lunge - follow through with the end of the haft. Lunge - retreat - advance. Over and over again until her legs and arms ached with effort and the movements were slowly etched into her mind and into her body.

If she was going to fight, she was going to be the best. She wasn't going to accept anything less.

Besides, it gave her something to cling to - something that wasn't home or her Eva or anything else that reminded her too much of the last few weeks of her life. It helped keep her focused and away from that part of herself that threatened to drag her back down into another spiral of self-loathing and catatonia. At least for now.

She paused to give herself a breather, half bent, one hand on her knee, the other supporting her spear.

"Remind me why I'm doing this again?" she spoke aloud. After all, there was no one else here to hear her. Right?

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Au contraire, Asuka. This girl had been heading into the facility to get back into the swing of things (which she needed desperately. If she couldn't have a familiar surrounding, she could at least have a familiar training schedule), but when she had come in, she'd spotted the redhead and decided to watch her for a moment. One of the perks of being a ninja: watching people silently comes second nature.

But she'll speak up when Asuka talks out loud, moving from her place leaning against the doorframe. "Not bad," she said, a small smile on her face.

Asuka glanced up and wiped a few stray strands of hair (and some sweat out of her eyes). For a moment she blinks in suprise - she hadn't expected anyone else to be out here (well, she probably should've) and she straightens, trying to fit back into her role as a competent, boastful professional. It felt like there were cracks, but maybe if she believed it hard enough, she wouldn't be a stupid, unloved little girl.

She shot the newcomer a grin and shrugged, "You think so? Thanks. It's not exactly my specialty, but I did... something like it back home."

She listened curiously, taking a few steps closer and examining the training facility.

"Is that your weapon that you chose when you got here?"

"What, this?" Asuka glanced at her spear, "Well, yeah. Seemed like a good choice."

She cocked her head in Ino's direction, "Why?"

"Just curious." She removed a small kunai from the pouch on her belt, twirling it with a finger absently as she looked around. "I'm kind of new here, so I'm still learning the ropes, so to speak."

She paused in her twirling, turning to face Asuka. She offered her free hand for a handshake with a smile. "I'm Ino, by the way."

"Welcome to the club," Asuka replied, tone flat. At least this other girl couldn't really lord over Asuka's newcomer status. She shifted her weight, eyeing her kunai for a moment. After a moment she reluctantly extended her hand to shake, "I'm Asuka. Asuka Langley Soryu."

She arched a brow, "Do you really believe everything these idiots are telling us?"

"Nice to meet you, Asuka." Her handshake was firm and confident, and once she shook her hand, she answered the question.

"And no, not at all. But for now, it's all the information we've got." And there didn't seem to be much of a dissent about the information they were given, either, which was the strangest part. And the most frustrating, considering she was counting on someone knowing something a little extra that she could work with.

"Charmed," Asuka replies with a smile. The handshake is returned - just as firm, if Asuka can help it. She's not getting shown up in anything. Even if she's kind of worn out from doing drills.

Her lips quirk into a disapproving frown, "Yeah. Not like we can really leave to go check stuff out, right? At least not if we don't want to face some sort of wasteland."

"Pretty much," Ino sighed. It wasn't as if an unexplored, harsh wilderness was anything new, but it was still frustrating, especially when the people here hadn't had much time to build up their resources. "And venturing outside of this territory could get you into a whole lot more trouble than just not being able to find a meal."

"Tell me about it," Asuka grumbled in reply, "I'd rather not end up getting eaten. Or killed by whatever freaks might live out there."

She'd much rather stay here, honestly. She gave Ino a long look, "So, what are you going to do? Fight for them anyway?"

Because that looked like their only option right about now.

"Yeah, I prefer living." She let out a little laugh, though. Better to joke about it; that way it doesn't seem like such a huge issue.

"As for what I'm going to do ..." She sighed, tossing her knife up in the air to catch. "I'll defend myself, and my friends, but I'm not too keen on taking orders."

Asuka's hand tightened on her spear. Nope, not goign to think about death or dying or anything stupid like that. She wrinkled her nose at the mention of "orders" and shrugged, "It is kind of a weird that they just sort of expect us to fall into line, isn't it?"

Then again, Asuka was usually pretty good at following orders.

"Because the alternative may be not knowing how to use your weapon the one time you need it?"

Needless to say, Pidonus had teleported immediately behind Asuka. She had her own weapon - a whip - in hand.

Asuka jumped - she hadn't really been expecting someone to teleport, let alone appear directly behind her. She whirled with a glare.

"What the Hell? Stop sneaking up on people, jerk!"

Pidonus grinned. "Gotta be ready for things like that on the battlefield, you know. We don't know what our opponents are capable of."

"Shut up!" Asuka snapped, "I didn't ask for your opinion!"

"You don't handle getting put off-guard very well," Pidonus responded, her tone surprisingly gentle.

"Maybe I just don't appreciate people sneaking up on me," Asuka retorted with a grumble, "Ever think about that?"

"Maybe. Though that could be why I did that, too."

Asuka threw her hand up in exasperation, "What the Hell is wrong with you? Just leave me alone!"

She hefted her spear onto her shoulder and started stalking across the training area. She needs a shower or something. She needs to find a place where she can think.

"You know, I could ask what is wrong with you. And I'm betting the actual answer is quite a bit," Pidonus said with a wry grin.

"The question is what you can do about it, of course."

Asuka halted, back stiff. For a long moment she fumed in silence and then whirled on Pidonus with an angry glare, "There is nothing wrong with me!"

Of course, there was. And she knew there was, but that didn't mean she liked admitting it.

"Why don't you mind your own business?"

"Because butting into other's business is literally my job back home, for one?"

Only a partial lie, there, in that Pid had reasons for doing so usually, but...

"Also, because if your anger's all you've got... Well, that almost never ends well, you know?"

Asuka stepped forward and jabbed a finger at the older woman as her voice began to rise into a shrill yell, "Well, we're not back home, are we? And I'm not really a pilot here, am I? You don't know anything about me! So stop trying to get inside of my head and stop acting like you care about me! Because I don't need you and I don't need your help!"

The girl's eyes opened, and her smile faded a little.

"You're both right and wrong, multiple times over. We're not home, but we still have a role to fulfill. I don't know anything about you but what I've seen, but just that says a lot more than any human... Hell, any humanoid would realize. And you don't need my help in specific, but sealing yourself off from getting any help like I've seen you doing so far? Well, that could end in who even knows what sort of nastiness?"

"You don't know anything about me," Asuka snapped in return, her expression still locked into a sour glare, "So just go away and leave me alone!"

She emphasized her point by actually trying to jab Pidonus in the chest with a finger.

Almost casually, Pidonus caught the finger in a gloved hand.

"What you do says so, so much. And it'll say the wrong thing to the wrong person, at this rate. Who knows how that'll end up?"

"Hey!" Asuka tugs on her hand, trying to wriggle it free, "Let go of me!"

She winds up for a slap. To Hell with this.

And that seems to be Pidonus' cue, as she suddenly released her grip on Asuka... And spun into a rapid low kick, aimed at tripping the redhead.

Asuka was caught completely flat-footed. She went down with a yelp of surprise and pain as her feet shot out from under her. Her spear clatters to the ground a few feet away and she tries to scramble back to her feet, face flushed.

"What are you doing-? What was that for?"

"That was for three reasons. First, a lesson. You could easily have dodged or braced against that without bracing. Second, your reaction to pain says a lot. And before I get to the third... Cure Serious Wounds."

Pidonus reached down, offering Asuka a hand to help her up, as her other hand tapped Asuka's leg - the pain of the trip suddenly fading.

Asuka slaps the hand away and scrambles up on her own, "Don't touch me!"

Her reply is terse and shrill.

"You were the first to attack. And while I'm not a master spearfighter, it's pretty clear that you're going to need more than just training if you want to learn that weapon. I can't make you take lessons... Unless, of course, you wanted to arrange some kind of bet?"

"I'm not betting anything!" Asuka swallows and tries to get rid of the lump in her throat. She's holding herself together - barely - as it is these days. Getting knocked on her butt is the last thing she really wanted and it isn't doing a damn thing for her mood or how she feels about herself.

"Just leave me alone!"

"What I'm saying is, if you could place a fair bet and win, I would have to promise to avoid you as best I could for... Lessay a month?"

"And I'm telling you to go away!"

Asuka's full-on yelling now, her hands clenched into fists. She turns to go retrieve her spear, intent on leaving.

"Can't say I didn't give you a chance... Greater Teleport."

And then, Pidonus was suddenly gone.

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Everyone's a superhero

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