"Heeey, you've reached Yang! Well, actually, you didn't reach far enough, 'cause I'm not here right now! But don't yang up! Just leave a message on this baby, and I'll get back to you soon enough, okay?"
[Exhale. And Naoki's head falls back against the bed, his mouth twisting.] I wish I could've switched with you. Well, we were caught up in a river at first, but we ended up on a beach...
[ And his head is unprotected, so guess who's getting himself a good hair ruffling? Yep, it's Hiro. ] I scared a few people away from our practice room, so we're still good to go.
[ Yes, who would have expected this leggy blonde girl to terrify people, really. ]
Where were you??
I ended up at the beach with several others.
We started upriver and I wanted to get some fish, but
Every time I got one, I got sent back upriver again XO
[When her hand lands in his hair there's a light laugh and a swat of protest as he ducks his head, but he's not fighting her too much. He's definitely better than he was the last time they saw each other. ] Amazing what sleeping for a few days can do, huh? [Said by the kid who usually doesn't sleep. There are very slight bags under his eyes but he's energetic enough that he tilts his head to indicate they should head inside.
There are still issues he's dealing with, but training with Yang is the best way to ignore them and make things better. ] What do you mean you scared them away? That's a little hard to believe. [A beat ] ...well. Not that hard. They left in one piece right?
Yep, they're fine-- [ idle hand flap. Don't question it, Hiro, and ignore the mildly traumatized people they might pass inside on their way to the room. ]
Besides, I've got to save my concentration for you today. We're gonna have a lot of ground to cover, and today's just the basics.
[He's good at ignoring trauma to a point, it's fine. So they pass by people and he follows, glancing back to make sure Baymax is following him as well as they walk through the gym toward their room.]
It's not really gonna be that hard to teach me, is it? [He seems a little uncertain about it, but not enough that he's going to back out or anything.] Like I said, I don't want you to go easy on me. That's why I asked you specifically.
No, from what you told me, I'm pretty sure you'll pick it up fast enough. But your aura's not unlocked, so we'll have to keep that in mind. You're going to feel things a lot harder than us Beacon students would.
[ ... Maybe that's a thought, unlocking his aura. But for now, she won't pursue it until she sees how he handles this session. ]
But no worries, that doesn't mean I'm gonna coddle you. If you want to learn how to keep yourself safe, you came to the right person.
I didn't think I could unlock it. [He knows what aura is and he knows it's attached to his soul, but at the same time he hadn't thought it was something just anyone can unlock. But it seems fair to focus on real hits and real pain without a buffer in between. They arrive to their practice room soon after and he shuts the door, letting Baymax park himself in a corner to be on stand-by and leaving his hoodie with the robot.]
I have some concerns. [The robot has a lot of concerns, actually, but that happens when you're babysitting a Disney protag. Hiro grins though.] It'll be fine, buddy. Don't worry.
[He works on stretching out his arms while he turns to look at Yang again.] So...what do you want to work on first?
[ ... Yeah, she'll mention parts of this to Ruby later. Unlocking his aura could really help this tiny string bean of a kid in the long run, physically speaking.
For now, she just offers Baymax a salute and lightly bounces on the balls of her feet, shooting Hiro a grin. ]
What do you want to work on first? Stance is important, but we can work on your defensive stance or your fighting stance first. Once you've got 'em both down, combining them comes next.
[Considering that Ruby's part of the reason he's even here at all? That's probably wise, even if he has no idea what Yang is thinking. He faces her with his arms up over his head, blinking quietly as he watches her and ponders that.]
What good is my fighting stance if monsters can hit me right back? [He shrugs.] Defense is probably the most important thing to buff up on before we get into anything else, just so I have a way to back out in a fight if I need to.
It was getting hard for us to breathe too. As if things weren't terrible enough! But who knew Mosley would pull through for us?? Although up until now, it seems like everything was a distraction so that the city would be rebuilt.
Page 110 of 160