A Day on the Beach (Open)

[DanteHyu]

Dante got off balance a bit after the last swing, sending him onto one leg. He watched Sora throughout the entire time and noticed his return swing. It was pretty slow for a sword this small. Then again, Sora's toy might've been a bit heavier. Maybe. Dante attempted to lift his blade up in a block and was succesful, but went down into the sand after his sword hit him in his chest. With his momentum, he lifted his legs over his head and rolled up from the ground.

"Wow. Nice job. You caught me off guard there, Sora." As the teen brandished his weapon again, he heard the question. "I take some lessons at a local dojo where I live. That little roll I did was from playing a sport." After his explanations, Dante stepped forward and swung downwards. If the hit was to be retaliated... Well, Dante would be left wide open.

[hp=5/5]

[mrcrazycakes]

"Wow, really?!" Sora asked, looking amazed. Dante's hit got him square in the chest, and it was enough to knock the younger boy onto his back. He sat up and pushed himself to his feet again. "So that means you know how to fight with a sword, right? Could you show me how to do it? I bet I'd be a lot better at it if I knew how to do it!"

[DanteHyu]

Dante relaxed himself and returned to a more casual stance. He gave a smile to the young boy. "Well, why not? No harm in getting better, right?" The swordsman stretched his hands up into the air for a few seconds and brought them back down slowly. He immediately got down into his fighting stance from before. Both hands on the hilt, feet spread shoulder length apart. "Here. Try this position and see if it works for you."

As Dante waited, he explained why it was a decent position to be in. "Standing like this will give you a nice advantage, as long as you keep your legs a bit loose. You want to be able to move anywhere when your opponent does. This is only a starting stance, so don't get into it every time you dodge an attack or something."

[mrcrazycakes]

"You mean like this?" Sora asked, standing with his legs a bit apart, bent a little at the knees, with his left arm raised and held in a fist while his sword was in his right hand, the 'point' of it aiming at the sand. "Is this good? What do I do next?"

((Why yes, I AM using you to get Sora a bit of character development.))

[DanteHyu]

"Good job, Sora. You're doing great so far." Dante proceeded to execute the next step. For this, he simply stepped forward and slashed at the air, returning to a new position with a quick turn to his left. The only difference was that his legs were bent more and he gave some relief on the grip of his sword. He looked at Sora and nodded, signaling him to go ahead and do the same as he had done.

"Now, this is a position you would go into after a single or double swing. This allows you to keep control of where your opponent is, for the most part."

(Fine with me. I'll try and teach Sora most of what I know to the best of my abilities.)

[mrcrazycakes]

Sora copied what Dante was doing, and he did a fairly good job of replicating what he saw. A fast, accurate swing. He was really amazed that there was somebody who could really show him how to fight like he was really going to do it. This was great! Now he'd definitely be able to keep up with Riku next time they sparred. "How was that? What's next?"

[DanteHyu]

Dante gave the young boy a thumbs up before continuing with the next thing. "Next, I'll show you an effective three part slash. This will deal a nice amount of damage if executed correctly. So, watch me and try it yourself and end it with the stance you just learned." At that point, the swordsman took two quick steps forward and brought his wooden sword up over his right shoulder a bit and brought it down diagonally, doing the same over the left shoulder and then finishing with an overhead slash before turning to his left and returning into his second stance.

"You go ahead and try it now, then I'll teach you an invaluable move."

[mrcrazycakes]

Once again, Sora repeated what he saw, and he did it well. Almost like he was a natural with this or something. He grinned, returning the thumbs-up after executing what Dante had shown him. "All right! I'm ready when you are!"

[DanteHyu]

"You know, you're pretty good. You learn quickly and that's a very good thing to have in life, not just a fight." Dante relaxed himself, motioning for Sora to do the same. "I'm pretty sure you already guessed this, but blocking is key to a counter attack. The only way to counter is to get a good block in. Thus, I'll teach you a sturdy guard that will hopefully make your opponent suffer slight recoil."

With that, Dante brought up his sword, the "blade" angled diagonally across his chest, one hand on the hilt tightly and the other hand pressing against about the middle of the "balde". "If someone decided to strike at you and you pulled this move on 'em, there should be no reason why you shouldn't easily be able to keep from getting hit."

[mrcrazycakes]

Sora replicated the stance, but his was a bit reversed, with the blade pointing upwards rather than downwards. But given the stance Sora had decided on, it would be faster to do what he had done than Dante's. "You mean like this, right?"

[DanteHyu]

"Absolutely perfect, Sora. Well, maybe you might want to bend your elbow a bit more. If you keep it too locked, you might hurt yourself if the attack is powerful enough." Dante let his sword down and stretched a bit, giving Sora a smile. He was amazed at how well Sora was replicating the moves he had been taught. He was a natural at it!

It took a bit longer for Dante to even get the hang of some of the stuff he had now almost mastered. It almost brought a tear to his eye. Technically, Sora was Dante's student, which meant he was passing off pricless knowledge to someone who could use it probably more than he would. "Those are pretty much the basics. You've got 'em own pretty nice and with these moves, you'll be well off and a force to be reckoned with." Well, maybe note a "force to be reckoned with," but pretty close.

[mrcrazycakes]

Sora laughed a little, rubbing the back of his head and looking a little embarrassed. "Yeah, my mom tells me I'm a fast learner, so I can pick up a lot of stuff easy. But I couldn't have picked it up without your help, right? Thanks!"

[DanteHyu]

Dante gave Sora a thumbs up, happy about the end of the lesson. He looked out towards the ocean, watching the lowered sun. It wasn't too low, but it had made a significant change in the light. The young man placed his thumb on the sun, blocking it and then lowering it to reveal it slowly. It was beautiful as always from this position.

"Your welcome. I'm glad that you're more prepared for anything now." He looked over at Sora with a smile. "I can thank you for relieving me of all of that boredom. I think I would've died if you hadn't had been here."

[mrcrazycakes]

"Yeah! And if you hadn't come over here, I wouldn't have gotten a free sword fighting lesson!" Sora replied, givin a big grin and two thumbs-up at his newly made friend. Who would've thought? Someone to teach him how to use his sword better, right on Destiny Island? Now he'd definitely be able to keep up with Riku in their sparring matches. "Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it! You should stop by here more often; I'm almost always around here, and I bet Riku'd like to meet you, too," He said, putting his hands behind his head in that unique way he did.

[DanteHyu]

The young man gave a lengthy yawn and glanced towards his boat. It swayed with the ocean, being held to the dock by a strong rope. Dante gave Sora one final nod and said to the boy, "Well, I think I might go home now. It's getting darker and the waters aren't so forgiving during the evening." As Dante walked away, he gave a small good-bye wave.

The swordsman stepped into his boat and exclaimed to Sora, "I suggest you get going in a bit, too. Just to be on the safe side with the oncoming rain and whatnot. Seeya later, Sora! Take care of yourself!" With that, he was off. The small oars paddled him off towards the main island, his body disappearing slightly over the horizon.

While rowing back home, the young man thought to himself about that events that had transpired that day. Wow. I got a new friend today and he was sorta younger than me. I even taught him some moves with the sword! It was amazing! I know what sensei means now about the feeling of passing on knowledge. I wonder if the rain will keep me from seeing most of the sunset tonight... hmm.

Dante stopped the rowing and laid down in the boat. He stared up at the ever darkening sky, as his boat drifted slowly towards his destination by wave motion.

[Exit Dante. End thread]