Crash Course (Yuki)

[Lepa]

Casey let out a small groan as he raised his arms up in a lazy stretch. He cracked his back, taking in a deep breath of the ocean air. Switch had said something to the effect of it being good for one's lungs, and admittedly, Casey took that advice any chance he got. Even if by some chance it wasn't good, it sure did feel nice to breathe in. As he lowered his arms, he took another deep breath and stared out at sea.

It was about the time that he and Taylor had agreed to meet. Aside from a spare first aid kit and a lunch bag of sports drinks, Casey hadn't really prepared anything - equipment, plans or anything else. It was only their first session, so he figured he'd just try to examine the kid's weaknesses and work from there. He at least had a good eye for that sort of thing, especially after spending several years learning how to read people when he was nothing more than a thief on the streets.

"Wonder if the kid'll make it..." Casey thought out loud to himself. He hadn't been waiting terribly long, but he couldn't help but worry when the image of Taylor getting mugged crossed his mind. He couldn't help but pivot aside, glancing over his shoulder at the city in anticipation. He knew skipping out and staying home was always an option for Taylor, but given the kid's track record... Even if Casey had only met him about three times, he'd found him in trouble every single instance.

He hoped he didn't put Taylor in trouble by just asking him to come out here.

[Yuki]

Taylor had gotten up early, normally he liked to sleep in on weekends but he needed to prepare for his meeting with Casey. He packed a lunch and a few other things he thought he may need. So he then waited till it was time to leave. He would be lying to himself if he said he was not nervous. He was going out to the docks to start learning how to fight with a guy he has only met a few times. Thankfully his family where all busy today, his parents where out and had Ellie with them and Anna had taken off somewhere too so there was no one here to ask where he was going.

Stepping out of the house and locking it behind him Taylor made sure his backpack was secure, he then summoned the winds and took off into the sky. It was the fastest and easiest way to get to the docks, and a sure way to avoid getting mugged. It did not take long to reach the docks and thanks to being in the sky Taylor spotted Casey rather easily. "Calhoun!" Taylor called out as he came closer then landed near Casey. "Ummm, hi." Taylor said with a weak smile.

[Lepa]

Casey's needless worries dissolved once Taylor called out, flying into view. He let out a small sigh of relief once he landed. "Hey, Taylor." He greeted back. "Guessin' ya didn't have much trouble gettin' here, huh?" He glanced up at the air space that he'd been occupying moments before. Must be nice getting around that quick, he thought.

"Anyway, ya ready? I figured we'd start light," he shrugged. "I mostly just need to figure out what yer not very good at before doin' any training. I'd pick it up better in a fight, but uh... since learnin' how to that is the entire reason yer here, I'll just be askin' a few questions, instead." He grasped at his chin in thought. "So... ya say ya can't fight, or don't wanna. I'm gonna assume that means ya got no experience with hand to hand kinda stuff. What about yer powers? What's the extent of what ya can do with 'em? I know ya can fly, ya can blast people with it, and ya mentioned a wind barrier last time..."

[Yuki]

When Casey asked if he was ready Taylor nodded, he was as ready as he could he could be. It seemed Casey was going to start off light and named the fact that Taylor did not know any hand to hand combat so started asking about his powers and what he could do and brought up the wind barrier he had mentioned last time. " Ahhh well there have been a few things I have been working on.. It would just be easier to show you though." Taylor replied as he looked around for anything he could use for the first thing. He then saw a small plank of wood that had been abandoned and forgotten. Taylor then went over and picked it up. He then threw it as high into the air as he could and summoned his Razor winds, the air sickles then cut through the air cutting the plank into small pieces. The pieces then fell down to the ground. But Taylor was not done yet, he then raised his arms and started to concentrate, as wind started to swirl around in front of him. The winds started to get stronger and thanks to random small debris that happened to be around the shape of a small tornado could be seen. Taylor did not hold it for long though and let it dissipate. After it was gone Taylor breathed, and then looked at Casey to see his reaction.

[Lepa]

Casey let out a small, impressed whistle. "Well, damn. I'd almost ask what ya'd even need my help for," He made a small snort. "But I think I can see some problems." He rested his hands on his hips. "I got no doubt that yer powers are good for takin' out multiple guys, but it also looks like it leaves ya wide open." he shrugged. "...So I guess that's where the problem is. If someone gets close ta ya, yer powers don't mean much if ya can't blast 'em away in time..." He scratched at his head in thought.

"Hmm... Okay. I think this means we'll start with counters and escapin'." he nodded. "Yer a bit on the smaller side - hell, I am too - but... that's good here. It makes ya harder to target 'n harder to hit," he explained. "But before I give ya pointers, I just wanna see how ya react naturally first." Casey walked away from Taylor, then turned back to face him and called out. "I'm gonna rush at ya! I'll try not to hurt ya, but that all depends on how you react!" Casey then got into a ready stance. He really did want to start light, but there were some things he just had to judge by action. "Ready...? Hah!" Casey then bolted forward, charging at Taylor.

[Yuki]

Taylor gave a small smile at the complement but Casey was quick to point out his flaws too. Yeah, he always did have trouble when people managed to get to close to him.. Like the time when he first got kidnapped... He was powerless when he got jumped. Taylor shuddered at the memory and shook his head as if shake it away. Casey then went on to speak again.


"Hmm... Okay. I think this means we'll start with counters and escapin'."


That made Taylor a little nervous, "Ummm ok?" he replied and waited to see what Casey was gonna do. He went on to say how small he was but how it was a good thing as it made him a smaller target. Taylor then watched as Casey started to back away.


"I'm gonna rush at ya! I'll try not to hurt ya, but that all depends on how you react!" "Ready...? Hah!"


" Wait WHAT??" Taylor said in a panic as Casey was now charging at him. Oh god he was serious. Taylor's eyes grew wide with panic, he then quickly summoned his winds and formed his wind barrier around himself. It was normally his best way to keep people off him so it was his defult thing to do but he was suddenly unsure if it was enough to keep Casey off him so then at the same time he started to send blasts of wind at Casey as well in a attempt to slow him down.

[Lepa]

Casey couldn't help but hide a smirk when the winds started to circle around Taylor. Good, he thought. The kid's powers were pretty versatile, and it'd be a damn waste to not use 'em. Taylor himself had mentioned he sometimes thought of his powers as a curse for all the misfortune it brought, but honestly, Casey was a bit envious. He couldn't just throw his own fire around in the same way Taylor could unleash wind streams, so he hoped their training would at least help the kid realize even a smidgen of his potential.

As he drew closer, Casey's rush slowed into a firm stance as he found himself stalled by a sudden wind blast. He'd tried to maneuver around it, looking for small bits of dust and debris in the air as a guide, but... he had to worry about that stuff getting in his eye, too. Still, he'd managed to halfway escape one or two of the streams until he eventually found himself caught in a direct blast.

Casey planted his foot down and put his arms up in a guard to protect his face, trying to peek around them to figure out his next move. His hair and vest whipped about under the winds, forcing him to lean forward closer to the ground. After a moment of trying to resist and slowly sliding back, Casey rolled aside. He got out of the wind's path, continued his roll back onto his feet and continued his charge.

He'd finally gotten much closer to Taylor, but by this point he'd stopped running. "Whew...!" Casey let out a loud breath, veering himself outside of the wind zone. "Okay, okay...! S'good now! You can stop!" He sputtered, trotting past Taylor. "Yeesh...! Definitely more than I expected," He couldn't help but pant out a small laugh. "But I think I got a good idea from that." He straightened himself up and started to dust himself off. "Can ya use them blasts up close? Like, all small like?" Casey asked, turning to face him.

[Yuki]

Taylor did his best to keep his stall tactic to keep Casey back, he wanted to trust that Casey would not hurt him but at the same time was worried about it. So he did his best to keep the wind streams random so it would make it harder to move around. Taylor watched as Casey made his way through the wind and unfortunately was slowly getting closer, if this was a real fight Taylor would have started to use his Razor winds but he held back, not wanting to hurt Casey. Though the closer Casey got to him the more nervous Taylor got. Soon however Casey stopped his approach telling him to stop.


Taylor sighed in relief and stopped his winds, he then looked at Casey as he spoke.

"Can ya use them blasts up close? Like, all small like?"


Taylor blinked, smaller wind blasts close up? Oh god was he thinking about coming at him while that close? Taylor did not much like that idea of that..

Giving Casey a weary look, " Y-yeah.. I can give it a shot." he replied.
Then as if to practice it Taylor raised his hands and summoned the wind again, this time in a more controlled denser matter. And then shot it off in a random direction.
"Uhh... Something like that? Taylor asked looking back at Casey.

[Lepa]

Casey nodded. "Yeah, like that." He ran a hand through his hair, still a bit ruffled by the winds. "I was thinkin' it'd be good to help ya escape if someone tries to grab ya." He took a deep breath, still catching his own. "If yer lookin' to defend yerself without hurtin' folks, I reckon bein' able to push away at specific points can help with that. Fer example..." Casey lifted both hands, clenching his right hand around his left wrist. "If some weirdo latches onto ya here, maybe you could try forcin' it off with one of them smaller blasts." He flexed his fingers, emulating a potential wind attack.

Casey then let go of his wrist, taking a step or two back. He lifted up his own hand in demonstration, palm up and fingers curled as if he were holding a ball. "Now, me..." He glanced aside as blue flames sprung to life and harmlessly engulfed his hand. "I got fire, so I can kinda do the same thing by burnin' folks who try 'n put their hands on me." he explained, staring at the small blaze. "...I can't shoot fireballs or nothin', though. My flames just kinda... stick to me, or somethin' like that. Can't really explain it..." He dismissed the flames with a shrug. "I try not to use it much, though." After all, he usually sparred with friends for fun, and it wasn't really fair to bring fire to a fist fight.

"...Anyway, my point was you've got more options than me when it comes to fightin' with yer wind, and that's good." He approached Taylor again. "So let's try out my earlier idea: I'm gonna reach out and try to grab yer wrist. If I grab it, I'll hold onto it, nothin' more. All I just need ya to do is try and knock my hand away with one of them small blasts. Okay?" He paused, waiting for Taylor to answer and prepare himself. Once he was ready, he lurched a hand forward, trying to grab at Taylor's wrist.

[Yuki]

Taylor nodded when it seemed he had gotten the idea Casey had suggested, yeah something like that would be helpful at a closer range.. He would definitely practice that more when he had the time.

But right now it seemed Casey wanted to teach him how to use that as a way to escape from someone who may grab him by the wrist. Taylor watched as Casey then demonstrated what he wanted Taylor to do. Once again Taylor gave a uneasy look, would he even be able to push someone away after they grabbed him? Well it was something he needed to work on if someone managed to ether sneak up on him or get past his wind defense.


"...Anyway, my point was you've got more options than me when it comes to fightin' with yer wind, and that's good."
"So let's try out my earlier idea: I'm gonna reach out and try to grab yer wrist. If I grab it, I'll hold onto it, nothin' more. All I just need ya to do is try and knock my hand away with one of them small blasts. Okay?"


Oh boy here we go, There was not much Taylor could say so he just prepared himself and nodded. "Ok," Taylor replied.


When Casey reached out to grab him Taylor did not really try to stop Casey as he grabbed his wrist. Then copycatting what Casey had showed him before Taylor then formed the concentrated winds and blasted Casey with a powerful sudden gust of wind and even tried to slip his wrist out of Casey's grasp.

[Lepa]

"Gah...!" Casey grunted out as the concentrated force struck him in the gut like a straight armed punch. He had braced himself for it, but the attack had come out much harder than he expected. Though he maintained his grip, it loosened enough for Taylor to shake his wrist free from his hand. He stumbled back a few steps, doubling over as he clutched at his chest. "Whuh..." Casey strained to speak. "Sh*t, Taylor...!" He coughed, though it transitioned into a laugh. At least he wasn't mad. "Maybe I started off too easy on ya..." He mused, standing back up straight. "But hey, at least it worked." He shrugged, then scratched at his head. "Now, I don't mind takin' wind tunnels to the gut, but... maybe we'll do the rest of the basics without yer powers first, and then add those on later..." He suggested a bit sheepishly.

Casey probably spent the next hour or so going over several methods with Taylor. Most of it was basic self defense and escaping holds, though some were a bit more complicated than others. He seemed... uncomfortably familiar with the amount of ways to ambush and take down a person, but it was no doubt good advice. Sure, it wouldn't always work against anomalies like the rubber thug from the other day, but Casey emphasized it was important to deal with the most likely scenarios.

"Okay, this one's kinda annoyin'..." Casey admitted as they stood by one of the warehouse walls. Again, he ran a hand through his hair in thought. "Dude comes up, grabs ya by the neck, pins ya to the wall. Real pain in the ass if he manages to lift ya off the ground, too." He furrowed his brow at the memory of experiencing it himself. "...I ain't gonna do that liftin' part cuz I ain't a jerk." He snorted to himself. "Still, I just need ya to stand flat against the wall. I'll hold ya by the collar instead so it ain't, uh... weird, and I'm gonna need ya to try stabbin' at my throat with yer hand." He instructed. He lifted a hand, pressing his fingers together and made a stabbing motion as an example. Again, he asked Taylor if he was ready, gave him a moment to prepare and then firmly grabbed at his collar.

There was little time for Taylor to react however when Casey was suddenly blasted aside by... a cute, pink heart beam?

"How dare you!" A higher pitched voice called out. It belonged to a young woman dressed in a frilly outfit. She'd been holding a pose with her hands in the shape of a heart. "You thought you could mug a child out here?! Or worse?!" She shifted her stance, placing a hand on her hip and pointing at Casey accusingly. "Think again, creep! Not while Chiyoko Uzuki is here!" She changed into a fighting stance. "C'mon, get behind me!" She urged Taylor.

"Nrgh..." Casey groaned, sitting up and rubbing his head. "The hell are ya talkin' about, ya dumb-" he started to protest, then froze. "...Chiyoko?"

[Yuki]

Taylor grew pale when he had hit Casey a little to hard with his wind powers, "S-SORRY!" Taylor said loudly. He did not mean to do that.. Well it was clear he was going to need to practice that move... A lot. Thankfully though Casey was not upset and seemed to laugh it off but suggested for the rest of the time he don't use his powers. Taylor rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and nodded in agreement.


From there Casey would teach him basic self defense and escape holds. Taylor did the best he could but it was clear he would need to work on some if not all of them. But he did everyone one of them with little to no complaint.


Soon they moved to a wall of one of the warehouse's, Taylor stood with his back touching the wall.


"Okay, this one's kinda annoyin'..."


Oh great... Taylor would think to himself.


"Dude comes up, grabs ya by the neck, pins ya to the wall. Real pain in the ass if he manages to lift ya off the ground, too." "...I ain't gonna do that liftin' part cuz I ain't a jerk."


Taylor nodded.

"Still, I just need ya to stand flat against the wall. I'll hold ya by the collar instead so it ain't, uh... weird, and I'm gonna need ya to try stabbin' at my throat with yer hand."


Taylor watched as Casey showed him what he wanted him to do, and somewhat doubted he could do this... But he nodded, "O-ok.." He replied as Casey then grabbed the collar of his shirt.


Just for Casey to suddenly be sent flying.


The young teen stood there stunned for a moment before looking at the owner of the new voice. And honestly he had no idea what to think of what he saw.

" W-what the.." Taylor said as he stared at Chiyoko,

"The hell are ya talkin' about, ya dumb-""...Chiyoko?"

Taylor heard Casey say. He felt like he had heard that name before.. Not that it mattered right now though.

The woman urged Taylor to get behind her, but instead he stepped in front of Casey. Taylor held his hands up in a calming motion, "W-wait, its not what it looks like. Calhoun is just training me, he is not trying to hurt me I sear." There he went again... Playing hero, a role he never asked for but constantly stepped up for anyway. What could he even do anyway? But he could not just let this woman attack Casey ether.

[Lepa]

"W-wait, its not what it looks like. Calhoun is just training me, he is not trying to hurt me I swear."

The girl eased her stance, letting her arms drop at her sides. "...Oh." She replied, the righteousness gone from her tone. However, her flat disappointment quickly swelled into surprise. "...Wait, Calhoun?!" She leaned aside, trying to peer at the man behind Taylor. Casey himself got to his feet, brushing himself off.

"Uhhhh..." He failed to find words to say. "...H-Hey." He said experimentally, stiffly lifting a hand in greeting.

"This..." The girl's bewilderment quickly turned into disdain. "This is what you ran away to do?!" She clenched her fists, stomping a foot. "You pick on kids so bad that you scare them into defending you?!"

"I ain't pickin' on no one!" Casey growled back defensively. "You heard what he said! We're just training! Yer the one attacking unsuspectin' people here, not me!"

"Hmph!" She pouted, looking aside. "Well, a word of advice, from one of his trainees to another," Chiyoko addressed Taylor again, folding her arms with a huff. "Don't trust him! He'll just ditch you as soon as you and your friends are in trouble!"

[Yuki]

Ok so it seemed she was willing to listen, but then her tune changed again when she seemed to know Casey.


"...Wait, Calhoun?!"
"This is what you ran away to do?!"
"You pick on kids so bad that you scare them into defending you?!"



Taylor at this point just head plumed and sighed, this was not going to be easy was it.. It was clear these guys has history together and now it seemed he was gonna get caught up in the middle. Taylor stayed where he was though in a attempt to try and keep Chiyoko from going for Casey. Was it a good idea to try that? Most likely not but he really did not want a fight to break out.

Casey then replied to Chiyoko but she did not seemed all to pleased, she then addressed Taylor again.


"Well, a word of advice, from one of his trainees to another,"
"Don't trust him! He'll just ditch you as soon as you and your friends are in trouble!"


Taylor had no idea what she was talking about.. But it sounded like Casey had let her down somehow and she was still peeved about it.

"L-look... I don't know what happened between you guys.. But Calhoun has helped me three times, and now has offered to train me to better defend myself. That's it I swear. He has not threatened me to do anything." Taylor replied, though leaving out the part Casey almost did beat him up. Though of course it was more then just Casey helping him three times. The fact they both have dealt with John was another reason.

[Lepa]

Chiyoko didn't have much of a response to Taylor, only keeping a silent pout. She did genuinely think Taylor was in trouble at first, and it wouldn't be the first time she'd had a misunderstanding in her hero career. He seemed earnest in his explanation, but... she just didn't want to believe him.

Casey sighed, placing a hand on Taylor's shoulder. "Thanks fer vouchin' for me... really. But don't trouble yerself too much," He frowned, looking to Chiyoko. "This is, uh... something I gotta deal with." He removed his hand from his shoulder and brushed past him, stepping forward. What kind of man would he be if he left Taylor to deal with his own problems, anyway?

Casey took in a deep breath. He was still a bit irritated at Chiyoko's initial accusations and hoped to calm himself a bit before confronting her. "Look," he started off firmly, trying to remain diplomatic while standing his ground. He felt compelled to at least stay composed in front of Taylor. "Everythin' yer mad about... I'm... uh..." He trailed off in hesitation. He tried to fumble about for words as Chiyoko stepped forward.

Casey was met with a slap to the face.

"Gh...!"

"You're a thoughtless jerk, that's what!" Chiyoko angrily finished his thought, the small woman looking up at him.

Casey grunted, looking back at her. "Would ya let me explain?!"

"First, you threatened Bill! A lot!" She ignored him, jabbing her pointer finger into his chest. "He told me you even almost punched his face in!"

"Almost punching ain't punching!" He growled.

"And then he got kidnapped! Kidnapped and tortured, Calhoun!" She leaned forward, clenching her fists at her sides. "Tortured and hospitalized by that awful woman!"

"And I'm sorry!" He cut in. "I'm sorry I couldn't do anything! Really! But how the hell was I supposed to know that was gonna happen?!"

"You were the one who kept warning us about her!" Chiyoko insisted, though it was a small reach out of blind anger. "And then you left! Without saying anything! You... you big idiot!" She tried to swipe at him again, though Casey caught her wrist this time. "I thought she got you too!"

He stared back in silence, slowly lowering Chiyoko's hand. She tore her wrist out of his grip in defiance, trying to muster up her best scowl. Casey couldn't really argue with her being worried... even if she was the one who showed up and started this argument.

Chiyoko's expression, on the other hand, slowly shifted into one of disappointment.

"Instead... I find out you just... ran away like a coward."

It was a poor choice of words.

Casey growled back again, an obvious edge of rising anger now present in his voice. He stepped closer to Chiyoko, looming over her ominously.

"I ain't no goddamn coward, Chiyoko."