Swole City

[yinsukin]

Roman

What did he just say?

Roman blinked, staring at him as he screamed so passionately.  It was odd, to hear someone yell at him like a concerned parent, especially someone he just met.  "What...?  What did you say?  I can be strong fighting for myself?"

That wasn't what he wanted to ask.  The old man said he would be there for him?

[YOLF]

Yusho

Yusho huffed like a recently promoted minister and brought the napkin up to wipe his soiled beard. "I said, you can be stronger if you have something or someone to be strong for. And you definitely have ties to lose, if I have anything to say about it."

[yinsukin]

Roman

Roman froze.  It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling, one where the barriers put up fall away, smashed down by a comment he wasn't expecting.  Although, never in his life had he experienced a person who was so brazen in their compassion. 

"And, you.... really think that?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

[YOLF]

Yusho

"I haven't lied about my feelings or beliefs to you. Why wouldn't I speak what I think and a protegé needs to hear?" Yusho made a thrumming, affirming sound from deep within, and uncrossed his arms.

Picking up his dish, he snorfed the rest of the noodles, reds and greens down like a tiger, and downed the rest of the broth down with an invigorated sound. It came back down on the table with a punctuating clink, and he stared over it at Roman, expectant.

[yinsukin]

Roman

Thats right.

Roman looked away.  "Thanks," he said, taking the last bite of meat.  "I haven't had someone who cares like that in my life before.  Most of my 'friends' were not the best.  I'll try not to disappoint you or Mira with stupid decisions."

In retrospect, the money spent today was absolutely worth it. "Well I guess we should keep moving right?  Whats next?"

[YOLF]

Yusho

"Don't mention it." Yusho made a sound not unlike satisfaction from his pursed lips, before his expression melted into an easy smile. "I have an idea of where you're starting for a physical regimen now. I can show you some basic hand-to-hand moves for self-defense today, but until we've built you up some, we're swimming with the essentials."

[yinsukin]

Roman

"Well the girl, Mira, she gave me a workout routine but no hand to hand combat training," he said with a sigh.  "I technically already worked out a few hours before I met you.  I was just scrounging around for more ways to improve myself."

He did not mention that he was stalking Mira on instagram for workout information and....other things.

[YOLF]

Yusho

"Here I thought you were making slower headway." He laughed like an old oak groaning in the wind. "I should take a look at what you're doing then. If I'm unsatisfied, I'll supplement it with my own exercises, eh?"

[yinsukin]

Roman

Roman took out his smartphone and pulled up the Instagram app, realizing the workout he stole from Mira might not really be sufficient.  He could mention the running combined with park pushups and pullups.  That sounded pretty hardcore right?

"Well I was going to go to the gym, do some weight lifting and then do push ups in the park!"

Damn it!  I combined the two!

[YOLF]

Yusho

"How many sets? What kind of weights?" Yusho leaned forward, continuing before he could answer. "How long has it been since you started? I have some catching up to do for my recovery, but there other tasks troubling me, so I might not be able to stick with you every day."

Unsaid went just how much time he was actually expecting Roman to be putting into this training of his.

[yinsukin]

Roman

Roman pressed his fingers together, giving the old man a stupid guilty grin.  "I just started today.  Technically I did some workouts in my high school class but you know...."

At this point, Yusho was already reading his mind so there couldn't be too much more of a loss of his dignity right?

[YOLF]

Yusho

He leaned back, crossing his arms with a sonorous nod. But his eye twinkled with something like challenge. "We have a lot of work ahead of us."

[YOLF]

Yusho
2 PM, Nexus Time

Yusho didn't blink through the hundreth groan that made its way out of Roman's mouth, out of just as many falls on the hard ground. He leaned down and offered his hand, pulling the boy up with little time to rest. "Remember, you're made of soft and hard, and you don't want to hit the ground with the hard parts and risk breaking something.

He dusted off his student before straightening him out in front of him again. "You want to roll out of the soft parts, so it hurts less and you can bounce right back into the fight. Now. Let's try that again."

[yinsukin]

Roman

"Damn it," Roman said with a huff. 

This was the third workout he had done today.  Every order Yusho gave him felt like running a marathon at this point.  It wasn't so much that he was physically tired, but that his body refused to act every time he ordered it to move.  Vetoing that resistance caused him mental strain, annoyance, frustration.  As he took the old man's hand, he said,

"If this can hurt me why are we doing it?  Shouldn't you be teaching me how to kick someone's ass so I don't fall on mine?"

[YOLF]

Yusho

The dragon-blooded pulled Roman to his feet and gave his back a curt slap. "Throw away the idea that you're going to be in fights and never get hurt. You can do everything right and still fall on your ass, and if you can't get up after the first time, you can forget returning the favor."

"Once more, with spirit" he commanded, assuming a relaxed stance for his student. "Then we'll call it for today."