October Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: September 4th
Where: Meeting Hall, the Far Shore
Summary: Training and informational sessions for newly arrived gods and shinki



In anticipation of the latest round of new arrivals, Heaven has partnered with the new gods and shinki to organize a very helpful informational reception.

It seems Bishamon's temple is unavailable this week due to business, although she has generously allowed a number of her shinki to go on with their usual tasks of passing out pamphlets and assisting the newcomers to settle in.

Gods and shinki arriving at heaven's meeting hall are, should they allow it, guided kindly towards a traditional-style dojo and banquet hall towards the back of the meeting hall itself. The gods and shinki are free to take their time during this day to learn about the details of their new life from Amaterasu's shinki or from the many veteran new god and shinki volunteers.




God Training

Newly arrived gods are escorted into a banquet hall for an informational meeting covering the basics of proper god behavior, although the minor deity conducting the meeting is in too much of a rush to take questions afterwards. They are encouraged to discuss the information with each other and ask questions of more experienced gods, as well as instructed to guide their new shinki appropriately.

Shinki Training

Various volunteers are stationed around the dojo, passing out helpful informational pamphlets. There are many shinki, including Bishamon's and Amaterasu's, who will be more than happy to train in using the borderline as well as offering a lecture on the basics of what is expected of a shinki and the importance of teamwork with other shinki and with gods. Shinki are encouraged to work together to practice what they've learned and discuss their perspectives.

The garden is available for borderline practice, and a few of the last training's slightly tattered crayon-drawn borderline targets have been brought back out and pinned to bales of straw to make a practice area. One of Amaterasu's shinki is drawing replacements with a large inked calligraphy brush. His targets are simple but elegant, but somehow, before they make it over to the target bales, they're ending up crayon-scribbled into much brighter colors. Maybe it's the child shinki who are in charge of putting them up? They do seem to be giggling a lot, and Amaterasu's artist shinki is looking more and more annoyed...

Physical Training

The dojo is stocked with a wide variety of practice weapons, traditional and modern, to offer some practice opportunity to gods who, for example, find themselves with a sword shinki but are at risk of cutting off their own toes. It's also useful for veteran new gods wishing to train with their current partner shinki.

There's an additional task that the hosts are more than willing to ask for help with. The Meeting Hall seems to be suffering an invasion of cute soot sprites. Although they're harmless little spirits, they leave smears of ash and soot wherever they go, and the shinki are running themselves ragged trying to keep the hardwood floors and white walls clean! They're handing out cleaning rags and flyswatters to squash the soot sprites flat and scrub the resulting smears away -- and, for the softhearted, butterfly nets: although they implore anyone with a net to be sure they let the soot sprites out again far, far away.

Rest and Refreshments

The meeting hall's facilities are less modernized than Bishamon's: there are rainwater barrels set out by the dojo with fresh towels for hardworking gods and shinki to wash their face and hands. The water is ice cold, so it's very refreshing, too-- brr!

By lunchtime, the banquet hall where the gods' informational session was held has been cleaned out and re-set with cushions to sit on around long, low tables. Gods and shinki who come inside for lunch will be served a plain but hearty meal, with soup, rice, fish and pickled vegetables to refresh them for the afternoon's training.

The hall will stay open even after the lunches and tables have been cleared away, so that those who want a quieter space to talk with their new partners can find somewhere in the room. Hopefully the occasional stampede of soot sprites won't be too distracting.

In Summary:

• Get all the information you can handle
• Veteran new gods and shinki are welcome to volunteer showing the ropes
• Get in some training
• Help catch soot sprite pests
• Spectate if you want
• Have fun~

Comments

[reformedsinner]

[Buildings, sadly, can't dodge or take hits well. And they're annoyingly expensive to repair.

Hakkai chuckles.]

I do appreciate the concern. And I'm curious to see how you do it! My shield doesn't shed nearly that much energy, no matter what I'm blocking.

[And if Trunks turns out to be better at blocking powerful attacks--

Well, Hakkai isn't sure how much of what he learns here he'll be able to take with him, but it could be a technique that's worth learning, should they ever face that strange boy in combat again. Which, he suspects, they almost certainly will.]

[light_of_willpower]

Maybe you should just come over when Goten and I are practicing or something. He's been really helpful, and is a good sparring partner. He seems to know good places to get to, to avoid damaging places that aren't already kind of damaged.

[reformedsinner]

[Hakkai chuckles.] I think he's had practice. But I'll have to, yes.

Does he practice at your goddess's temple now?

[light_of_willpower]

I'm not surprised he's had practice. And only initially--he took me to some of the abandoned areas, and we sparred there. I don't think Mai would appreciate her temple getting too damaged.

[A hand comes up and rubs at the back of his neck sheepishly.]

Honestly, I'm glad when I had my back to the wall, it was solid wall and not any of the windows, when Goten blasted at me and I reacted.

[There was some damage to the stonework, but not nearly as much as there could've been.]

[reformedsinner]

Well, on the plus side, it would have been an excellent test of your barrier if you'd blown out a few windows.

[He rubs his chin, and adds:]

... but much too messy. I should ask Goten which of the abandoned temples he's been practicing near.

[Ayumu'd wanted to investigate them for her shelter, and it'd be best to pick the ones that aren't any more badly damaged than they'd been when Hakkai had seen them.]

[light_of_willpower]

I'll leave that to you and Goten. But Mai has a lot of open space near her temple, which is part of why I practice there too regularly, besides it being my home. Feel free to drop by, as I've already appreciated your advice and help.

[reformedsinner]

Thank you -- I shall.

[He smiles, inclining his head politely.]

To be honest, I'm very curious to see what you can do!

[light_of_willpower]

Why?

[I mean besides the obvious.]

I mean, I don't object. Just--I don't even know what I can do yet.

[reformedsinner]

Well, first, it's interesting to see what someone with powers similar to my own can accomplish. It helps me come up with ideas of my own.

[He turns his hands palm up, and adds:]

And it gives me ideas about what I should teach Goten, too.

[light_of_willpower]

[Which all makes sense, and really, Trunks doesn't mind. He was just curious.]

Well, if you want to set aside time, I'm happy to experiment. You might also ask Mai, as she wasn't surprised, aside from initially, at the Chi-blasts. So she might be familiar with similar from her life.

[reformedsinner]

Is that so? Thank you! I will have to ask her.

[He smiles.]

It's nice to have the chance to learn a bit more about those abilities. I've been working on them alone for years.

[light_of_willpower]

I can't say it's been years yet, but aside from the help you've given me, and then a bit from Goten, I know how that feels.

[Since aside from said smaller shinki, most of Trunks' work has been solo while trying to figure out what he 'knows' or doesn't know.]

[reformedsinner]

As a shinki, you are starting again from scratch in many ways -- aren't you?

But instinct and experience still matter.

[Sometimes they could surprise you -- as with Trunks and his unexpected shield.]

Regardless, yes, I'll be happy to work with you both. I am learning from it, too, after all.

[light_of_willpower]

Good point. And you working with me has already helped, so I'm happy to continue as long as I'm not a bother.

[reformedsinner]

[Smiling, Hakkai bows politely to the other man, and folds his hands together as he straightens back to his full height.]

Not in the least. I'll be happy to continue working with you as well.

Please enjoy the rest of the afternoon, then, Trunks!