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[windbreak]

[ voice | video | text | action ]
Hey, this is Yosuke. [He doesn't sound too much like he's gritting his teeth - just don't ask how many tries this recording took.] I'm probably in the middle of something right now, so if you want to leave a message, I'll get back to you. Alright, later.

[Beep!]

Comments

[windbreak]

Don't tell me you don't remember, partner! I had those bruises for weeks! And I thought I'd never see my wallet again!

[Part of his mind insists it's a stupid thing to get all keyed up about, under the circumstances - but somehow, even though he knows that at best it'll only lead to a black eye, the sensation is reassuringly nostalgic. Man, how does Souji do that?]

Though now you mention it, I never did get around to the payback...

[izanyagi]

Yeah. It had been only a short while after I had arrived here...you could barely lift your own wallet, I could only make a few leaves grow.

[The grin on his mouth grows, and he raises a single eyebrow in a fake mocking manner.]

...now that we've been both training, how would it turn out, I wonder...

[Only one way to find out.]

Meet me on top of the roof?

[windbreak]

[Grinning back, Yosuke hops to his feet.] Heh, why not? You're on!

[But a slight pressure against his chest makes him hesitate, and instead of sprinting up the steps with the same alacrity, he stops to pull one of his kunai out of his jacket and peer at it.] Oh, although... I guess I better put all of these down somewhere first.

[Because an unarmed violent punch-up on a high roof will be perfectly safe, of course.]

[izanyagi]

[It's enough for Yu to stop running before he stands there, one foot in the air, thinking about it.]

No, bring them. We can't figure out how strong we've become if we don't give it our all, right? If it becomes too dangerous, we can think of a safe word to stop the other from attacking.

[This is probably the stupidest idea. The BEST stupidest idea.]

[windbreak]

[Blanching, Yosuke freezes halfway through twirling the dagger around his finger.] A safe word? A-Are you serious? You could... You could just cabbage me off the roof before I got a chance to say it! There's no way that's fair!

[izanyagi]

[That just causes him to laugh. Please never, ever change. The image of Yosuke getting hit not by one giant cabbage, but hundreds of them...]

I promise, Yosuke. I will not cabbage you off the roof. If you want, I can set up a perimeter. I want a brawl to test our abilities. Besides, I don't plan on using giant cabbages against the giants.

Do you want to see how strong we've gotten or not?

[windbreak]

[Yosuke mutters something about not wanting to get beaten up by regular-sized cabbages either, but it's decidedly under his breath.] Alright, alright... [He points the one kunai already in his hand up at Souji, in a gesture that isn't meant to be any more threatening than if it was just his finger.] If you stick to that, a perimeter's probably overdoing it... But the moment someone calls time out, it's time out! Sound fair?

[With that, regardless of the answer, he does sprint the rest of the way.]

[izanyagi]

I was almost hoping cabbage was going to be our time out word at this point...

[He doesn't take the weapon at his face as a threat either, continuing to grin all the way up, attempting to pass him or at least make that intention known. Yosuke's always been faster than him, and he knows it, but hell, what's a little fun between friends if you don't start this competitive streak early?

Time to get the blood pumping. He hadn't felt this excited in a while.]

[windbreak]

[Yosuke doesn't look back; part of his mind is already psyching him up for something that beyond a shadow of a doubt will get his blood boiling like it hasn't for a while, and another part is scrambling to recall how many knives he actually brought with him, which is to say how many he carries with him without thinking these days. Two, four, five... seven? Wait, or did he just lose count...?

One way or another, he makes it to the roof, and quickly darts away to find a spot where he can plant his feet, not too close to the edge.]

Okay...

[For an instant it looks as if he's going to fling a pair of daggers Souji's way before even facing him, but they simply stay in the air when he lets go of the handles.

He draws another pair, his smile widening even as his eyes narrow.] Ready when you are, partner.

[izanyagi]

[He grins from his side, resisting the urge to clap when Yosuke's daggers hover next to him. His eyes never leaving his friend's, Souji takes the bag he always carries with him and drops the entire contents of dirt on the roof, giving it a few kicks to spread it around before stepping over it.

Wood, bamboo and plants grow around him, first covering his feet before they move upwards to cover his hands and chest. It kinda looks like a magical girl transformation at that part, and stops a few seconds later when even his face is covered by pieces of leaves. No doubt about it, it's not quite the plant armor that he showed off a while ago; somehow more refined, made for a user that can control plants in full. Far lighter and made for quick movement and speed, if asked he'd probably call himself a leaf ninja because he's a terrible dork. Parts of dirt are carried upwards during the growth, forming slits in the armor so he can easily grow new things as needed. His sheathed blade was already on the roof from his previous training session, so he simply walks over, removing the white cloth covering it before giving it a few spins and setting himself in a fighting position.

Now he can't resist doing the come hither motion with his free hand.]

Let's go!

[windbreak]

Yeah, here I come!

[Geez, Souji, always showing off without even trying. Well, that is pretty much the whole point. And as depressing as it might be, he's certain he can't ... which makes this as good a time as any to just wing it.

He takes off, daggers in hand, rounding on Souji like a circling shark - and his other knives take off too, curving through the air in the opposite direction as if he thinks he can pull off a one-man pincer attack. In the blink of an eye, they're close enough to bear down -

- at which point they clatter harmlessly to the tiles, at the same moment that Yosuke himself screeches to a halt.] Hey, what...?

[A scrawny-looking tabby cat, that's what. Entirely unfazed by how close it just came to becoming a pincushion, it settles comfortably in the spot where it leapt down from the adjoining roof and begins to wash its face. It looks weirdly familiar, but it's not like Yosuke ever pays that much attention...]

1/3

[izanyagi]

[Hell yeah it was action time!

Adrenalin pumping, heat beating a thousand mile a minute, he swings his weapon again, keeping his eyes on all the daggers around him. If he can swing at them as they come at him, it just block a few while the armor took care of the rest, he's not quite sure which strategy to adopt yet. Then he could lunge a few plants at Yosuke to see just how good he'd gotten on his feet and with his powers--]

[izanyagi]

[-CAAAAAAAT-]

[izanyagi]

[Unceremoniously, the armor drops around him just a bit after Yosuke's daggers. Before his friend can protest or roll his eyes or anything that he should be doing, Souji has brought out three small pieces of plastic that he dramatically forms together into a feather teaser for just such emergencies, makes a piece of catnip grow and ties it to the end, dangling it in front of him.]

[windbreak]

[The cat seems content with this offering. It starts to bounce up and down after the dangling catnip, burbling enthusiastically.

Yosuke is less so. Raising an accusing finger, he opens his mouth, looks immensely troubled, and closes his mouth again.]

Were you... expecting that to happen?

[izanyagi]

No, but I carry that around for emergencies.

[Catergencies.]

Do you want some food?

[Food is scarce enough, but Souji's got a tiny little can in one of his pockets too, and opens it, dumping some of the contents on the ground. No sense putting everything down if it's not hungry, he'll wait to see how it reacts first...]

[Hey weren't they fighting or something?]

[windbreak]

[Yeah, Yosuke doesn't need to be a high school detective to deduce at least one important fact about that.]

... Time out, right? Time out.

[He snaps his fingers. On cue, the hilt of Souji's temporarily forgotten katana jumps away from its owner's side and into Yosuke's hand, safely out of feline range.

Meanwhile, the cat looks from the meat on the ground to the still dangling feather with the manner of someone going through a grave existential crisis. But eventually hunger wins out, and it dives for the free food first, scarfing it down in seconds.]

[izanyagi]

...yeah let's take care of it first. When's the last time you ate? Must be hard trying to find food in the garbage these days...

[He doesn't even protest when he sees the katana go away, grateful for the sharp weapon being away from the cat, before he shakes on the roof whatever is left of the canned food. As the cat is eat, he looks over to Yosuke smiling. Cats and fighting and best friends forever, what more could he ask for?]

Sorry! Good thing you noticed it too, otherwise I probably would be filled with daggers like a pincushion right about now.

[windbreak]

[Yosuke can't stop himself.] Dude, are you sure you didn't plant it there earlier?

[izanyagi]

[He holds up his hands defensively.]

And miss out on something I've been wanting to do for months? No way.

[He looks back to the cat again, petting it slowly between the ears.]

We can leave it downstairs and finish what we started...if you don't mind. [There's the sign and all and...oh wait, is the cat slowly going towards Yosuke now? The gait seemed like it was at least familiar with him, or maybe it was just overly friendly.] Have you seen it around before?

[windbreak]

Me? It's not like I go around with emergency cat food -

[But now that Souji mentions it - it's a lot skinnier and one hell of a lot less furious than the cat he remembers on that rooftop just after the flood, but the size and markings seem about right.]

... Aww, crap, don't tell me...?

[Just in case, he backs away a couple of steps, Souji's katana scraping along behind his back. It'd be more than a couple of steps, but he's not keen on the idea of falling off the gutter; for all he knows, that's what the vengeful cat is going for.]

[izanyagi]

It's useful. You never know when a cat might need it.

[Ummmm...]

Yosuke, I don't think it's going to attack you.

[Or maybe it will? It seems to be zooming on his left leg and increasing its pace (it just wants to rub against it.)]

[windbreak]

[Oh god, there's nowhere to run. If he shuffles back any further, Souji's katana will be dangling off the roof.

He shoots Souji a pleading look.] A-Anyway, like I was saying, I don't know any cats...

[A whisker brushes up against his knee, and he flinches.]

[izanyagi]

[He is not entirely sure you're telling the truth there, Partner.]

Either it's really friendly, or it seems to know you. [The way it's brushing and sniffing his knee, Souji has gotten pretty good at reading cat behavior to trust his instincts on this one.]

[The cat, for its part, seemed entirely pleased with this familiar smell, despite past issues. Or perhaps it was just planning something in the far off future...who knew at this point.]

[windbreak]

[Yosuke sighs.] Okay, okay, you can take it downstairs... Or am I supposed to just hold onto this thing forever? [He gestures at Souji's katana.]