thenearshore | [closed] Not a letdown

The fight against Axel had proven one thing. Saïx had no clue how to fight in wolf form, or even how to best utilize anything specific to being a shinki. He'd gotten injured horribly and had been unable to keep Leo from getting injured.

And he'd been so stupid to ask to change back to human mid-fight to cast Borderline when doing so resulted in blighting the inside of his mouth and throat. He was protected from being blighted by contact with an ayakashi while in his wolf form, but the second he changed back, he wasn't. So the ayakashi blood in his mouth from when he bit its shoulder off blighted him, then when it attacked, he as blighted more.

Leo had told him he did well, but he couldn't help feeling that wasn't the case. A few days later and that feeling hadn't gone away and it was only getting worse. But Sora had replied not long ago to say he was willing to spar with them when he got better. Maybe soon he wouldn't be such a disappointment.

Saïx was cleaning up after his meal when he heard Leo walk in. "Hello, Leo," he said, turning to face him.

"Good afternoon, Saix." Leo glanced around the kitchen, frowning. "Can we talk?"

He knew something was bothering his shinki, both thanks to the connection he had with Saix and just basic observation. It was time to address this.

Upon noticing the frown, Saïx crossed his arms and leaned against the counter.

"Of course." What else was he supposed to say? 'No' would be rude and make it seem like he was hiding something, which he most certainly wasn't. At least not technically. He knew Leo had to be aware of his feelings, which meant he wasn't hiding it.

"Somewhere else? This is a private conversation, after all."

"Lead the way." He wasn't all that concerned about where they have the conversation.

Leo led Saix to the library, where he could usually be found and where he frankly preferred to have any conversation, even over the BBS. It just felt more private.

Also, the really comfortable sofa was in the library, which Leo sat down once they arrived. "You've been acting oddly since the fight with Axel. What's bothering you?"

He sat down on the other end of the sofa, crossed his legs and rested his hands on his knee.

"I let you down. I know you said I did not, however, I put you in danger and got myself horribly injured thanks to my lack of experience and failure to think strategically. If I hadn't been between you and Axel..." Saïx trailed off, having done his best this far not to think in detail about all the bad things that could have happened, he wasn't going to change that now.

He figured it was something like this. Why did no one ever take him at his word in this world? Leo shook his head.

"If I say you didn't let me down, you didn't let me down. We didn't know what we were dealing with when we faced Axel--I thought it was a normal, if freakishly large ayakashi. Our injuries were just as much my fault as yours, perhaps moreso mine. I have experience with ayakashi that you don't, and yet I underestimated Axel." He sighed a little, though not out of annoyance. "The only person who feels you failed is you, Saix."

"I see." He looked down at his hands as he mulled over Leo's words. He did feel reassured by the comments. Not just in his own performance, but in how difficult and abnormal Axel was as ayakashi go.

"Regardless, I want to be better prepared for the next fight. I've contacted Sora and he's quite enthusiastic about sparring once he's physically up for it."

"...saying Sora is 'quite enthusiastic' about anything is being redundant, you know." He did like his god-son, but he wasn't going to lie. "Sparring might be good, though, I haven't had a chance to determine the best way to use your abilities in battle after all."

"There were so many exclamation points in his text messages, that I almost wondered if he even knew what a period was." Saïx shook his head.

"That's the goal. That and avoiding a repeat of the fight against Axel. My wounds may have healed, but the scars are still there." Both physically and mentally, however, he only acknowledges the physical ones by reaching across his belly to touch his side where the worst injuries were sustained.

"Since you're an intelligent weapon and not a sword, I'll likely just stand by and watch so I can learn what you do naturally, if you don't mind." Sora might, but Leo knew what he was doing.

"I don't mind at all." Although, he wasn't quite used to being referred to as a weapon, even if he knew that was exactly what he was when in his vessel form. So he minded that part just a little. Not enough to draw attention to it or let it affect him beyond the moment in which it was said.

A shinki was a weapon. Leo didn't consider Saix only a weapon, but really, what else was he going to call a giant wolf thing? "Pet" just sounded like something Niles would say.

"Good. You can spar here, since I believe Sora's temple is a beach, and no one wants to fight on sand."

"That's probably for the best. I'll let him know when he gets back to me."

He went silent for a moment before asking, "Was there anything else you wished to discuss?"

Leo shook his head. "That was it, really. I honestly don't think of the fight with Axel as a failure, and you did not let me down, I promise."

"Thank you. I appreciate your honesty with me." He stood up and headed to the door. "I should go get ready for work."

He had finally heard back from Sora that he was feeling up to sparring, so Saïx and Leo were outside Odin's temple early that morning waiting for him to arrive. He had no clue if Sora was bringing a shinki with him or not, but he had told him what his own vessel form was so that he might be prepared for it.

Edited 2016-10-09 19:01 (UTC)

Since this was just a sparring match meant for Saix' training in his wolf form Sora just brings himself. After recent events with his own shinki he's not in the best position to use Riku Replica much right now and Nageki isn't a weapon. Using Nageki would only give Sora an unfair advantage with his weakpoint scanning.

His keyblade and magic would be enough for a little bit of push and shove.

He arrived at Odin's temple mostly on time. Honestly, he was kind of looking forward to this. No more resting and being told to rest and finally being able to stretch his wings a little puts Sora in a fairly good mood.

"Hey? I'm here!" Sora called out, looking around.

Saïx waved Sora over when he arrived. "Thank you for coming." He was truly glad that he'd agreed. It wasn't as though Saïx had any other weapons with which to weaken an ayakashi in a fight, so he needed to do what he could to get better with what he has.

"I want you to know that even if it seems as though I am completely out of control at any point while we spar, it's nothing to worry about. I don't know if it's a thing that happens whenever I fight, or only when I'm angry while fighting - as my only fight was against Axel. I go into what appears to be - and feels like - a berserk state, however, my mind is calm and clear." He doesn't know how important that reassurance will actually be to Sora, but he felt it necessary given how furious he got last time.

[As Saix explains his berserk state Sora rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. He knows about that berserk state better than he’d like to admit.]

Yeah! Cool, that shouldn’t be a problem or anything.

[He laughs and nods. Another downside of knowing a shinki and not being able to say anything about that is dodging stuff like this. It almost felt like lying and Sora hates lying. It feels so strange to be talking to Saix like this still.

But he rolls his shoulders and grins. If anything, a little sparing will be therapeutic.]

Just give me your best shot! No holding back!

Of course.

[He nods his head and then looks over to Leo.]

Let's get started.

[Leo glances up from his book, setting it aside]

I do reserve the right to end this little sparring match if either of you look to be getting out of control. This is my temple, after all.

[And as much as he's come to care about Sora, he knows what Sora told him about Saix. He can't be positive Sora won't forget himself and take whatever he may feel towards Saix's actions before on his shinki.

And also Saix's berserk state might be a problem.]

Okamiki

Edited 2016-10-16 02:58 (UTC)

[It's probably a good thing to be careful about, Sora can get a little carried away sometimes, even with just sparing. If sparing in the Underworld and in the Coliseum were any indication.

Sora nods, giving a light shrug to Leo and brandishes his keyblade. He's swapped to his basic keyblade today, the normal Kingdom Key which should do just fine for sparring. After all it would probably be a little overkill if he busted out Unbound for this.]

We won't go destroying the entire place, I promise. Just a little bit of smashing up!

[He laughs, joking. Then he moves into his usual battle stance and lets Saix take the first leap.]

Of course.

[Which he manages to say just before Leo uses his name and he transforms into the big, blue, wolf. Anything he says from this point out, only Leo will be able to hear.

Saïx waits for Sora to get into battle stance and takes the moment to size up the key shaped weapon before springing toward him. He can feel the extra power coursing through him, but his head is still clear enough to remember this is sparring and not him trying to kill Sora, so he doesn't try to bite him like he had Axel, he just attempts to knock him off balance.]

[It really is a big wolf form! Sora has knocked around all sorts of different creatures but this is pretty neat. Saix is scary looking but Sora isn't intimated or scared.

Sora is ready for the first leap and he brings his keyblade up to guard and digs his heels into the ground. He quickly retaliates with a Slapshot combo, a wide uppercut on Saix that helps him keep his ground at the same time. He'll then begin a three hit combo on Saix as quick as can be.]

Edited 2016-10-22 16:22 (UTC)

[At least he didn't knock the kid over. That would have made for a very disappointing fight, but given that Sora had fought against the ayakashi and managed to survive while he waited for their help, it would have been shocking if he couldn't hold his own.

The first strike hits him hard enough to put him off balance and the other hits push him back a few feet. This would be harder than he thought. The only fight he's had in this form was with Axel as an ayakashi, and he didn't seem all that quick or smart. But Sora definitely was.

Saïx found some solid footing and guardedly moved side to side, keeping a close eye on his opponent as he tried to come up with a plan for his next attack. Going in without one would just get him maimed.]

[Sora moves back into his usual battle stance as Saix moves starts pacing from side to side. He's watching carefully but there's an obviously interested smile pulling at his lips. He's got first hand experience fighting Saix in his human form with that giant ugly claymore but this is totally different. Would this form be just as savage?

Since Saix is waiting Sora decides to take initiative and uses Flash Step to close the distance between them and attacks again. Sora is a fighter that relies heavily on speed so Saix would have to be able to keep up.]

[Saïx is quickly learning he needn't hold back. Sora is quite capable, and a more experienced fighter than he is in his wolf form.

He doesn't manage to come up with a plan fast enough and Sora attacks him again, putting him on the defensive. Saïx crouches down so Sora's attack goes over his head before springing up to attack him while his defenses are (hopefully,) down. Teeth and claws are both bared and aimed to dig into the soft flesh of his arm. If the attack lands, he'll puncture his skin, but there's not enough strength behind it to badly maul him. Enough to hurt, enough to maybe even bleed, but not enough that he shouldn't be able to continue fighting.]

[And Sora is caught by the attack. He yells out and grits his teeth as Saix digs into his arm but he doesn't relent his hold on his weapon or give up. He suddenly uses Reflectga and a bright dome of light erupts around Sora and will separate him and Saix with a minor explosion between them.

Paces away, Sora grits his blade and starts charging a Blizzaga spell, aimed right for Saix. How's his dodging?]

[closed] Not a letdown

5/1 - Leo

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5/4 - Leo & Sora (possibly Roxas?)

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