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Swole City

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yinsukin:
Roman

For a moment, the world seemed to slow.  Even the grunts of the body builders around them quieted, leaving only the moment.  It was the kind of second in time that a person intuitively knew would be important no matter the outcome.

"Can you teach me, just enough that I can train on my own?" Roman asked.

YOLF:
Yusho

Yusho's contemplative look slowly split into a fond smile. But his stare lost none of its edge, nor did his brows soften even in the sensitivity of the moment. He answered plainly, but an ardent wind was in it. "I certainly can, but learning anything useful will be up to you! I was starting to wonder if you'd ask - I can't do miracles on my own. However, before we begin I have one more question."

"Are you certain you want strength? The kind that I help you nurture may not make for the easiest way to live." The dragon-blooded crossed his arms and stepped closer to the younger man. His voice trailed not like a teacher reading from a book, but like an elder speaking to a junior.

"The way I see it, the strong with even an inch of morals have a responsibility to the weak. And so long as you're strong, regardless of your wishes you will be called upon to exercise that strength. Simply possessing the potential will draw you into all manner of conflict, and from the moment you desire power, you are complicit in this cycle. You may gain the ability to choose, and to force choice, but only honesty and restraint can change an ill put in motion."

yinsukin:
Roman

"And what did you sacrifice?"

Roman stared at the man with wide eyes, his breathing silent.  The young man held onto those words with all the weight one would their very life.  The words of the strong were just as powerful as their fists.  After all, that was the nature of the world.

YOLF:
Yusho

It was like Roman entered the eye of the storm. Yusho's own breath stilled, and his gaze fled to the side before recentering itself on the younger man. "Friendships that should have lasted me a life. The ability to live quietly and enjoy the honors allotted to my blood. My eye. The peace to be satisfied with what the world is."

He chuckled, and the moment passed. The dragon-blooded stepped forward and hooked an arm around Roman's shoulders, shaking him vigorously. "Not satisfied with just answering, were you, you had to throw a question back at me? Precocious lad. If I was still a monk, that might have earned you a hit from the ruler!"

yinsukin:
Roman

Roman felt a chill come over his body, but it left as quickly as it came.  The sensation was like a sudden gust of wind.  Before he had time to really think about it, he found himself being rattled by the old man, shaken out of whatever strange feeling came over him.

"Sorry, sorry!" he said, resisting the urge to cover the back of his head.  "But I had to know!  I needed to know what I could lose!"

Although, now his resolve was as strong as ever.  After all, if his experience was like this guy's, then there could be no possible drawbacks.  How can you lose dear friends if you have none?

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