Random Encounters/ Sparring (Open)

[Rem]

"1302...1303...1304....1305..."

It was around 5pm, judging by the distance Rem's shadow had stretched as he continued his pull-up exercises on a sturdy tree branch near the rear of the school compound. It was one of his favorite areas to work out in. During normal school hours this place was as good as abandoned, which was good during the time he'd been recuperating from the numerous wounds he'd incurred on that one run-in with the enigmatic Valekin. Nothing like people staring and laughing at you when you awkwardly try to exercize with barely healed injuries to scar one's self-esteem.

"1398...1399...1400..."

Rem's triceps pulled taut as he pulled himself up at a steady pace. This workout was really beginning to pay off. There was already noticeably more muscle mass in his arms and upper body. He was stripped to the waist, wearing nothing but his usual pair of baggy pants that were riddled with zippers and chains.

"1457...1458...1459...1460..."

He released his grip on the tree-branch and let himself fall the entire twelve feet to the ground, where he landed in a partial crouch. The Japanese youth stood up straight, hundreds of beads of sweat dripping from his ripped torso as he did so, and stretched to loosen his body up.

"Now...if this would only make me just a little taller..."

Being only 4'11'' had its advantages sure; if it's one thing he'd learned during his stint in America is that being either very short or very tall was sort of a turn-on to the ladies, unlike those who're just a tad bit shorter, then it gets annoying. However, now that he had a steady girlfriend, one much taller than he was, his height or the lack thereof seemed more like a hindrance. He reached for his towel at the base of the tree and began to mop himself over.

[Lance]

Lance walked in the evening sunset as he wandered the school grounds. This school seemed pretty large- quite large. There was plenty of room to run around and enough to have occasional fights. Overall, it was spacey.


"Now...if this would only make me just a little taller..."

As he approached the rear of the school, he noticed a young man drenched in sweat and covered in what appeared to be scars. Ouch!

"Wonder what happened to that poor fellow...," he muttered to himself as he approached.

Hopefully, the man in front of him wouldn't attack him gratuitously. A few more steps covered the distance between the two and that is when Lance spotted it. This student was pretty short. Thinking carefully, Lance stopped a few feet from Rem and waved in a conciliatory manner.

"Hello there- how are you?"

[Rem]

"Hello there- how are you?"

One's natural reaction to a sudden, unknown voice in a place well known to be abandoned would be to instantly mount a defense of some sort, but after his encounter with Valekin, Rem considered himself anything but natural. Instead, he continued drying the sweat from his body and simply nodded at the guy who spoke to him.

"Well, usually you'd introduce yourself before asking how someone is, otherwise you'd just seem like some kinda weirdo. However..."

Rem extended a friendly hand to greet the man.

"...this school is full of weirdos. My name is Rem Aoyama, and I'm doin' pretty well, thanks for asking."

[Lance]

For a brief moment, Lance believed that the man would show open hostility to a degree. Guess not. As he watched Rem, who continued to dry himself off, Lance fiddled with his small green bag. Inside, various items, such as bottles and gauze tinkled gently against eachother.

"Well, usually you'd introduce yourself before asking how someone is, otherwise you'd just seem like some kinda weirdo. However..."

True..maybe not. It was just a personal method of approach, since names felt like labels…however, Rem had a point.

"...this school is full of weirdos. My name is Rem Aoyama, and I'm doin' pretty well, thanks for asking."

Lance took the hand and shook it warmly. The encounter hadn’t turned out so bad after all- it might have even been positive! Very positive!

Feeling quite relaxed, Lance replied apologetically

“Sorry about that. My name’s Lance Wespin, it’s a pleasure to meet you Rem.”

He gazed around at the desolate area with no one around, save the two of them. Frowning slightly, Lance asked

“What are you doing here all by yourself? It’s much more exciting to train with friends than individually.”

[Rem]

“Sorry about that. My name’s Lance Wespin, it’s a pleasure to meet you Rem.”

Interesting name. Rem shook the guy's hand appraisingly. Firm grip too. The Japanese youth simply gave his new acquaintance a lackluster grin and shrugged.

"Same here, Lance."

It didn't take a genius to figure out that this guy meant no harm, and considering how enthusiastic he was at their greeting, Rem easily ascertained that this person had no ulterior motive. He'd gotten a lot better at reading people over the last four months, when such a skill was integral to his survival.

“What are you doing here all by yourself? It’s much more exciting to train with friends than individually.”

Rem couldn't help but scoff and chuckle a bit.

"Unfortunately, making friends isn't my forte. Most people tend to keep to themselves around here, so I try to fit in. You're the first person to actually approach me other than my girlfriend."

[Lance]

"Unfortunately, making friends isn't my forte. Most people tend to keep to themselves around here, so I try to fit in. You're the first person to actually approach me other than my girlfriend."

Oh…that was a shame. This fellow didn’t seem to have any friends- well….Lance would help him out then. Grinning widely, Lance told Rem

“Okay then- I will be your friend! You can be my first friend at this school Rem. I’m not too good at making friends either- always feels like the chance is taken away at the exact moment when I go for it.”

Thinking back to the whole incident with his MPD, Lance wondered how on earth he had made it through his first year at his other school. He had been a sly, devilish brute- but now he was a better man.

Feeling a bit awkward, he laughed quietly to himself.

[Rem]

“Okay then- I will be your friend! You can be my first friend at this school Rem. I’m not too good at making friends either- always feels like the chance is taken away at the exact moment when I go for it.”

Rem blinked and cocked his head slightly, wondering if he'd heard Lance correctly. At his new friend's grin, Rem couldn't help but show his pearly whites as well. He was clearly amused, as well as intrigued.

"You're serious about that aren't you?"

He shrugged once more and then nodded.

"Well, I'd be a fool to say no when someone's so eager to become my friend. Why not?"

[Lance]

"Well, I'd be a fool to say no when someone's so eager to become my friend. Why not?"

Lance felt a bit more reassured when Rem agreed to his idea. Hopefully he wouldn't present himself as a weirdo from the start- or right off the bat....

Suddenly, he bent down and began to stretch his hamstrings, bit touching the tips of his toes. Feeling a slight pull, he straightened up and began to stretch his arms and neck. A bit of stretching never did anyone harm.

Abruptly, he stopped as he watched Rem carefully.

"Hey Rem- do you spar?"

[Rem]

"Hey Rem- do you spar?"

"Do I spar? Is the sun hot? Is water wet? Are chocobos yellow?"

He threw his towel over his shoulders and squatted intermittently.

"What? You lookin' for some friendly action?"

[Lance]

Lance nodded subtly as he acknowledged Rem's answer. He wanted to spar once in a while- it helped keep him in shape.

"I spar occasionally- it helps me out from time to time. I mean, if it's too much trouble then we could just talk."

He didn't want to offend his companion with picky little things.

[Rem]

"I spar occasionally- it helps me out from time to time. I mean, if it's too much trouble then we could just talk."

Rem let out a laugh and shook his head apologetically.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, you're still so formal. I don't really dig the whole formal speech thing. I'm not in Japan anymore. As for your spar..."

The youth removed the towel from his shoulders and hurled it high into the air. Since it was bundled up, its ascent was rather quick, however, it unwrapped as it fell, causing it to slowly make its way downwards in the area between them.

"...As soon as it touches the ground. We start."

This would be the first real fight he'd have had since his injuries had fully healed. He was a bit rusty, considering. However, during his recuperation period he'd had lots of time to catch up on the latest fight anime, and even some of the classics. Grappler Baki had already been a major influence on his fighting style, having so many individual martial arts to choose from, but now it seemed as though unpredictable was the 'in' thing. With that in mind, Rem let his posture slouch slightly as he bent his knees slightly and seperated his feet further until they were twice his shoulder's width apart. One fist rested lightly on the ground in front of him whilst the other was clenched tightly at his waist. By that time, the towel had just touched the ground.

[Lance]

Lance watched the towel as it floated to the ground in a slow fashion. His eyes traced the towel's simple arc, as his ears perked up to the sound of his opponenets feet sliding.

During this moment he himself had taken up a defensive position. Legs shoulder width apart, feet apart slightly in no specific order, and both hands up in front of him, one behind the other, with a slightly crouched position- he almost looked like a boxer.

Well, he wasn't a boxer necessarily- but he did have some tricks up his sleeves.

Smiling, he told Rem

"Who goes first?"

[Rem]

"Who goes first?"

By the time he'd finished that sentence, Rem was already sprinting toward him, having used his bent knees like a spring to begin his movement the moment his towel hit the ground. Each of his footfalls kicked up a small uprooting of dirt and all the while observing his new friend/opponent's posture. It was one of a boxer, or rather, a brawler, preparing to attack or defend at a moment's notice. That, he could handle, having been trained in Krav Maga he could attack an aggressive or passive opponent without having much to worry about. Leaning his body downward and forward the moment he got within striking distance of Lance, he flipped his body over with a jack-knife motion, whipping both legs up and over, aiming to make contact with Lance's shoulder with one of his feet after the other.

[Lance]

Watching closely, Lance immediately saw Rem shoot off like a rocket, as he aimed for the first strike. His ears picked up the sound of rapid footsteps as he backpedaled slightly- taken aback. His new friend was really aggressive!

Without a word, Lance waited until Rem was close, and prepared to defend- until Rem flipped over, with legs aimed downward in a weird aerial axe kick. Stepping back a bit, just out of reach, Lance felt the legs brush against the air, feeling a bit of wind blow against him. Shooting out his left arm, Lance pushed Rem's ankles down more, so he would fall forward more- face first, as the added force would spin him. At that moment Lance shot out his knee- which would make contact with Rem's face. If Rem pushed away or blocked, Lance would be prepared to kick out his raised knee and scoot back a bit. If not, then we'll see....

[Rem]

Rem should have been surprised when his feet sliced nothing but empty air, but for some odd reason, he wasn't. However, Lance's retaliatory action did take him aback. He had just been about to reorient himself when his ankles were redirected and he began a perilous little detour to the concrete, face first. However, if Rem was known for anything, it was his ability to quickly adapt to pretty much any situation. He landed in a one handed handstand, expertly supporting his own small body mass with just the one appendage, his body now parallel to his opponent's (though upside down), and then brought his leg back over, causing his body to now be perpendicular to Lance, just in time for his right foot to intercept Lance's advancing knee. Using the velocity from the other boy's attack, he kicked off of the joint, landing and skidding backwards a few feet on his back, safely out of his opponent's attack range as he sent his kick, but suffering slight skid burns on his bare back.
Pushing himself quickly back to his feet with a cat's spring, he flinched slightly at his smarting back. Lance's reaction time was certainly nothing to be laughed at. Not wanting to give his new friend/sparring partner time to regroup, Rem dove right back into the fray, sprinting toward him with a flurry of fists.