Great Dojo

[SINIB]

Mira

Mira didn't notice the mark for all it stood out more once her flush receded a bit. She swallowed dryly at the unblinking intensity of Vanilla's attentions. "Right. Food. What do they have again...?"

She broke eye contact first to look down at the menu, and her eyes bugged out at the price tags next to various items. "There's so much of it. It costs so much." Her mouth moved a few times as she looked through it, skimming it faster than any human could have thanks to her perceptive abilities.

She didn't notice her own foot idly brushing against the demon's dress.

Vanilla

"Fufu..." Vanilla's tail slithered down and grabbed Mira's foot, carressing her sole and massaging all the stress and pain out of it. With careful applications of her charms, it even felt unbelievably arousing for the girl.

She leaned forward, and laid her finger down Mira's menu, covering up the price tags. "Don't sweat the little details, sweetie~"

[Panda]

Nanako

7:00 AM Nexus Time

With her first good night's sleep in what had felt like far more than a couple days, Nanako wound up waking up earlier than usual. Her usual morning routine went off like bouncy clockwork, with a quick breakfast, a morning jog, and shower to start herself off. Surprisingly, there seemed to be less disdainful glares now, though the squirrel girl barely noticed, caught up in her exercises as she was.

Eventually, she wound up wandering through a place that reminded her of the old projects back home, only much cleaner. Plenty of people roaming around like they didn't have homes to go back to, but they all seemed strangely okay with it. Intrigued, Nanako asked around a few places before she was pointed in the direction of a dojo, the squirrel girl following the directions to the letter, only to find herself landing in an empty, battle-scarred field. Darting among the ruined greenery, craters, and once-smoldering wrecks of vehicles, Nanako found herself face to face with a lean, well-built silver fox of a man, deep in his meditation.

The squirrel girl looked him over once more, her tail flicking back and forth behind her, before finally speaking up, "Heya, they said the dojo was here, but it doesn't really look like one around here. So are you that Sethrol the Calm guy they mentioned?"

[yinsukin]

Sethrol the Calm

The old man took a sip of the tea, his tongue lingering on the flavors as it slipped down his old throat.  The air today was swift, strong and heavy.  As he placed the cup of tea on the battered remains of a tank, he smiled at the newcomer.

"I suppose that is one name cast upon me," he said with a chuckle.  "I also answer to shitty old man and piece of crap.  How goes your day Nanako?"

[Panda]

Nanako

The squirrel girl looked almost thoughtful as she listened to him, then quickly shrugged it off and zipped in closer.

"Hm, don't think I'd call you that," she said briefly before zipping back, "Wait, how'd you know my name? Have we met?"

[yinsukin]

Sethrol the Calm

Sethrol picked up the tea again, swishing the colored water around as he stared into it.  "You are also known by many names," he said.  "Cowardly squirlgirl, woman of the iron tail, one who fought in the battle that shook the sky...."

Sethrol took a sip.  "Its not the worst thing in the world in a district such as this."

[Panda]

Nanako

Nanako's eyes narrowed at the mention of the nicknames, remember the mess she'd made of that matador fight yesterday.

"Definitely not a fan of that first one," she said, zipping over to the tank and sitting on it, tail swishing back and forth like his tea, "So who do I have to beat up to prove I'm not?"

[yinsukin]

Sethrol

"A profound question articulated in such a simple way," he said, smiling.  The gray-haired old man's musing grin revealed crows feet around his eyes and cheeks worn by time.  "I suppose you could start by beating up anyone who called you a coward.  Would you mind having a new nickname like "cheating bitch or squirrel beast?"

Sethrol peeled back a bit of the metal with his bare hands, revealing a tea kettle and a spare cup.  He extended the hand holding the cup to Nanako.  The gi slipped back for a moment, revealing his developed forarms.  "Tea?  Its not a bad idea to reflect before deciding to battle one's enemies."

[Panda]

Nanako

"Hm, rather be called a cheater than a coward," Nanako said, crossing her arms under her chest and absentmindedly crossing and uncrossing her legs. The squirrel girl cocked an eyebrow as Sethrol peeled back metal like it was foil and retrieved another kettle and spare cup.

She moved to accept the offered cup, only to stop short as the gi slipped a bit to reveal his well-built arm. She could already feel it pressing against her throat just looking at it, imagine herself gasping for whatever air she could sneak past his vice grip. A small gasp caught in her throat before she swallowed hard and took the cup, tearing her eyes away.

"What's there to reflect on?" Nanako asked, her curiosity piqued as she looked up at the old man himself, "Seems like a pretty simple solution to me."

[yinsukin]

Sethrol

For a split second, Sethrol tilted his head back, his face screwing up as if taken aback.  Then he laughed and said, "I agree.  Although, you realize that while we do not equate the two words, there are many who do.  Will the victory still feel satisfying if your beaten and broken foe calls you a cheat or worse, a cowardly cheat?"

[Panda]

Nanako

"No, it wouldn't," she said, shaking her head and sipping the tea, "But if I start beating up everyone who calls me a cheat, they'll come up with something else, and I'll be right back where I started."

The squirrel girl looked thoughtful for a moment, then shrugged again, "So what do I do about them?"

[yinsukin]

Sethrol

Once again the old man laughed.  "I wouldn't know!" he said, his tea spilling over the sides of his mug.  "I gave up on trying to make people think a certain way about me a long time ago.  All I do now is focus on my breath and the breath of the world I suppose.  I heard they chased you out of the colosseum.  Quite a fast one you were to outrun all of our men.  Why did you run?"

[Panda]

Nanako

The squirrel girl canted her head to the side as the old man actually wound up laughing hard enough to spill his tea, taking another sip of hers all the same.

"Had to get the bull to a medic soon as I could," Nanako said matter-of-factly, "Didn't really have time to beat up everyone there first. I already had to beat up the doc's doorman to get in."

[yinsukin]

Sethrol

Sethrol's eyes softened, even moreso than they already were.  "The bull?  You took the bull, the killer of champions, an animal said to take sadistic pleasure in beating our districts proudest warriors?  I'm surprised you did that over proving your valor.  Do you know why you did that?"

[Panda]

Nanako

"Didn't know about any of that," Nanako said simply, wincing slightly as she thought back to all that blood, "The fight was over by then, and that man was just bleeding it out slowly. I didn't like that."

[yinsukin]

Sethrol

Sethrol took another sip of his tea and said, "You know one of the great debates of this district and its culture is what draws the greatest strength.  Some have argued strength comes from protecting others.  Only the strong can afford and get away with protecting others because their power is so great it extends beyond their own wellbeing.  Others have argued power comes from turning away from that empathy, that the reality is that power only comes from focusing on ones self."

The old man dumped the tea into the grass before sighing.  "It seems you are a kind woman Nanako.  No matter what anyone says, its undeniable that kindness is something that requires courage of character and strength of the heart."