Challenge Accepted (Kiyr/Rai)

[Mathew Amtrum]

The supplies were delivered where they needed to go and Mathew and his new apprentices were now in front of the place he now called home. A rather large and abandoned house. The Den of the Dragon as he started to call it. It was once a nice brick house, though the bombings have left it need of fixing up. Something that the apprentices would be able to help with, along with his own power.

"This is it. Your new home away from home. You will be staying with Bastille, the Leon's, and myself for the time being. The Leon's have their own room, and you two will share one as well."

He started to walk to the house from their place on the street. He was expecting both of them to follow him as he was going to continue talking.

"As I said before, you two will train as my apprentices. But you are competing. Only one of you will be sponsored to become a true Dragon, and with it the power, respect, and privileged that you currently lack."

He stopped in front of the door and folded his arms at the two students. He would not let them pass yet.

"To begin this, I require a sacrifice. You will decide what it is, and tell me how it is a sacrifice to you. If it's not good enough, you will be punished."

[Raikotsu Sudeki]

Rai thought for a moment, what could he possibly sacrifice? Then almost as plain as day the answer came to him but he immediately regretted it, but he had nothing better to offer.

"I will sacrifice to you my only weapon."

Rai said as he took the bokken handle out of his sleeve offering it to Matthew with his palm open.

"This is my most treasured item as it was given to me from Leon. It has seen me through a lot of fights and I will miss it now that it is being taken away, but under your training I plan to become strong enough to not have any need of it."

He was reluctant to offer something so precious to him, but it was necessary...

[Mathew Amtrum]

Mathew took the weapon from Raikotsu Sudeki with a nod of his head, tucking it in to his belt without a word as he shifted his gaze over to the young woman with him. What would she choose to sacrifice to gain admittance? This was her last chance to turn back before Mathew considered the apprenticeship a binding contract.

One that he would not allow her to break until he was good and done with her. Which could very possibly be never.

[Kyrie Blaze]

Kyrie followed behind, her eyes sweeping the location, the buildings, the general condition and layout, and then again as they stopped outside the house. The house. Not a home, not right now. Who knew, perhaps never.

But that was a non-issue at the moment, and remained to be seen.

The fact she was rooming with Rai versus the Leons (how was that even possible?) was a necessary sacrifice. She was sure she could subtly train Raikotsu if he proved to be an unsuitable roommate.

She let Raikotsu go first, for more than one reason. Ladies first. And to see what he was capable of giving up. Considering they were in competition - already, she naturally thought - not only did she have to have something of worth, but something to trump his offer. The fact he gave up a weapon was interesting. He literally left himself defenseless if he had no idea how to do so already. More than that, he was giving Mathew trust; entrusting his safety to the Earth Dragon.

'...interesting...'

When Mathew turned to her, however, she stood straight and tall, chin lifted proudly.

"I have nothing of material value to bestow upon you as a sacrifice. A small keepsake from happier times, while it means something to me, I do not feel it is enough. I have nothing of value aside from myself." She gently tapped a finger to her temple and then her heart before she crossed her arms behind her back. "So to you, Mathew, I freely offer my undying and unyielding loyalty, and the trust that you use it justly and keep it safe. This is not a light decision, since Barker destroyed the world, I have only trusted myself and my own wisdom to survive."

He destroyed her family. The only person left to be loyal to was herself. And she was fiercely devoted to her own survival. Her offer was twofold. Loyalty and trust.

Was it enough?

[Mathew Amtrum]

He let out a slow exhale as she offered her sacrifice. Very different from the one that Raikotsu had offered. Very different from many sacrifices he had seen in the past. But the pledging of loyalty was a tricky one, and he had no guarantees that she would actually follow through with her statement.

"Raikotsu here is a member of the Sudeki family. A family that is well known for honor and discipline. Every member of that family is an accomplished martial artist, and I would trust to follow in their honor code. He bestowed to me a weapon given to him by one of my dearest friends. A man who many say is dead."

He took a small breath, his gaze never leaving her. His voice stern.

"On the other hand, you are a loner. A scam artist who lies and cheats to get by. You are so used to lying that it is probably as natural as breathing is to you, and you expect me to take your word that you would remain loyal?"

An interesting thought.

"Both sacrifices are acceptable."

He said with a smirk. She pledged her loyalty to him. If she broke that, he would make her pay dearly.

He opened the door for them to enter.

[Raikotsu Sudeki]

Rai looked at Kyrie and smiled.

"Well roomie, ladies first. Oh, and I will respect your privacy I'm no pervert and have no interest in anything you may have in your belongings so I will not for any reason search through them."

He gestured his hands towards the door and bowed his head slightly as a sign of respect for the young woman who would be his new roommate, as well as his new rival. But outside of the battle field, unless specifically instructed, he saw no reason to try to take advantage of her, because someday, no matter who made a Dragon first they would eventually both be allies, and friendship is something Rai valued.

[Kyrie Blaze]

Kyrie's gaze never wavered from Mathew's as he spoke. She was well aware of the potential implications of giving her word and nothing but that. But she was doubly aware of his reputation. If she betrayed him, there would not be a safe square metre on this earth she could hide from him.

Her pact was binding by her words alone, and she would start to prove it immediately.

Away from Raikotsu. She hadn't given him her loyalty and trust. Those would have to be earned...and they would be very hard to earn.

But when he spoke, the blonde turned and gave him a soft, sweet, grateful smile. It wasn't overdone.

"Thank you for your generosity. I look forwards to rooming with you, as I have no doubt that was Mathew said on your family is true."

She passed through the door, first, with a nod of appreciation for Mathew's gesture.

[Raikotsu Sudeki]

Rai followed after her, still not sure what to think about his new comrade/rival but he felt she could be trusted well enough. He didn't believe in an absolute evil without reason, and she had not given him a reason so as to not be trusted. He followed into the room after her and immediately started to look around to inspect his new home.

[Mathew Amtrum]

Mathew followed behind but the place still pretty barren. There were a few chairs in the living area, none of which matched, and a table in the kitchen. The chairs would have to be shared for both rooms. The kitchen did have some dishes, again not matching. And the rooms which were upstairs were bare except for beds. With simple blankets.

"If you will follow me, we begin in the basement."

He opened a door a few feet in to the hallway that was in front of them, turning on a light to illuminate the stairway down. Old wooden stairs. Thankfully there was power, for now.

Once down in the basement they would observe that it was completely empty. Just a stone floor and brick walls.

"Sit."

[Raikotsu Sudeki]

Rai looked around as he entered the basement trying to figure out what kind of test we could possibly do here but at Matthew's words he sat down and waited for his next command.

[Kyrie Blaze]

It wasn't simply the items that Kyrie paid attention to - or the lack of - it was the entire layout and overall condition of the house. It seemed stable, but there were some obvious flaws. No house was really "perfect" around here. When they headed down to the basement - 'As though that was not creepy at all...' - she resumed her quiet observations, looking around with the aid of the light.

She paced towards the wall and sat there, with her back to it. But was still close to where Mathew was.

[Mathew Amtrum]

"A Dragon is not just a title. It is a symbol, and there are certain things about it that must be understood before we can move on. A Dragon is cunning. You must be able to read people, to understand what they want and how they think. Failure to do this will result in your life someday."

His eyes shot to Rai. It was something he needed to work on.

"A Dragon is honorable. Our word is our bond. We see through our promises and our threats. We acknowledge our brethren as equals and we treat them as such."

His gaze shifted to Kiyr. How much could one trust a con artist? Even if she changed her ways, would her past still haunt her in that aspect.

"However, while every word is true a cunning Dragon may still practice the art of misdirection."

He shifted his gaze between both of them.

"Should you become a Dragon, your goals are your own. You are your own master. But only one of you will have what it takes to be a Dragon. Your first step is to answer this question."

He paused for a moment, a small smile creeping across his lips.

"Who is your enemy?"

[Kyrie Blaze]

Kyrie liked misdirection.

But she heeded the words, nevertheless. And yet, with the question and creeping smile, found herself intrigued. An obvious answer, right now, was Barker. And whomever backed him. But that wasn't all. Sometimes, it was an enemy you couldn't see that was even more deadly. Riddles.

After a moment to collect her thoughts, she tilted her head.

"Time. Indecision. Fear. For the last two, you could say your enemy is yourself." She had faced either all three or a variation for the past seven or so years. "Though sometimes enemies are not physical beings, they can also be allies, like time and fear. If you wish for a physical face to answer your question, then at present, Barker and those that back him, further up."

[Raikotsu Sudeki]

Rai thought about the question for a moment he this Matthew was obviously not looking for a straight forward answer he was trying to see how much thought we could put into the answer. Kyrie definitely had the right idea with her answer but Rai would look stupid trying to say that he would share her answer, so he tried to think deeper.

"Time... Fear... Those are two great enemies as Kyrie said, and she is right one of the biggest enemies you will ever face is yourself. But I believe that there is one main enemy that no one can escape from, and one that everyone will fall to. That enemy is Death. If and when you die, your plans mean nothing, and the only things that matter are your accomplishments, but even those fade with time. Death is the greatest enemy because when it defeats you, it will do its best to make sure that nothing of you remains."

Rai paused reflecting over his answer before deciding that he had nothing more to add rather than this.

"In the end, Death always wins."

[Mathew Amtrum]

"Alright, and now that you have identified what you feel your enemies are I wish for you both to show your strength. Knowledge is power, but you require the strength to apply it."

He smirked and motioned for them to rise up.

"I will watch and see where you both stand. The loser of the bout will go hungry tonight. Do not disappoint."