1394/Sparking Coals to Build a Fire

Sparking Coals to Build a Fire
Date of Scene:	08 April 2024
Location:	Obsidian Tower - Human Resources
Synopsis:	Sunbreaker wants to learn to fight. Fuyuko knows how to fight. It's only as natural as 1+1=2 for a schedule of lessons to begin.
Cast of Characters:	Fuyuko Yuuhi, Hinoiri Kirara

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Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
So it's been a tumultuous few weeks at Obsidian, and a typically terrible season in Tokyo. Corona has been quiet, which Fuyuko doesn't care for. Beryl hasn't trapped another kid, which Fuyuko does care for.

It's been enough to let a woman get back to ordinary levels of terrorizing her department, and now, to working on the usual assortment of memos, project escalations, payroll disputes, and general human resources problems.

It's a perfectly calm, ordinary day. The fake (and real) plants are watered, the sky is cloudy, and Fuyuko is as close to relaxed as she can get at work.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker was about to make Fuyuko's day better, or worse. Sunbreaker, generally? She wasn't known to be the most respectful. She was arrogant, cocky, way too smart for her own good. Now, she was reasonably respectful. Not impolite. But she didn't defer to anybody. She didn't grovel. Didn't kneel. Didn't beg. She'd make deals.

But she saw herself as everyone's equal...

Even if it wasn't true.

Heck, the most respect she ever showed wasn't to her superiors, it was to the support staff. Janitors and the like. She knew what really kept a company going.

So her coming into HR was likely not expected. Her coming into Fuyuko's office after only a quick knock? That was likely even less expected.

But when she slammed her palms flat on the desk and just stared at Fuyuko with an intensity that... frankly... could burn a hole in the wall? Possibly literally?

That was likely least expected of all.

"Teach me," Sunbreaker said. "How to fight. Not with magic. But with hands." Not a request. Not an ask. 'Do this'.

... Then again.... For Sunbreaker, who rarely accepted that others were worth learning from? This was quite possibly the greatest compliment she could give.

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
Fuyuko hadn't expected much today - she'd counted on paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork. With it having been a school day, she couldn't even count on her new gopher to bring her a coffee.

So having Sunbreaker burst into her office, march forward, and slam herself hands first down against Fuyuko's desk? Surprising! Very surprising. Enough so that Fuyuko looks up from her memos, perhaps to make a cutting remark -

Only to get a request that, given to anyone else, might result in a brush off, irritation at the entitlement, the arrogance to march into someone's space and demand their attention and skills.

But Fuyuko isn't anyone else. For one thing, it's literally her job to train and prepare these kids, and while she doesn't go out of her way to offer her services - dark energy kids are a pain and would think of her as another disposable resource - they are certainly available. For another thing?

Fuyuko was once a terrible, awful little girl. Her one remaining friend might argue that she hasn't changed that about herself - but that friend was and is just as terrible. Stellar and Lacuna had been the most insufferable assholes in all of Tokyo, and they'd been unreasoanbly proud of it.

"Fine. What's your schedule like? You're no stranger to hard work, so you must know this will take time and effort."

And maybe that will be a surprise, or maybe it won't be, that she's going to be given what she wants, that easily.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker was almost trembling. Not with fear. But anger. Intensity. "I hear you were one of the best, at least some of the people here seem to think so. And while most of them have about the potential and drive of swamp mold, enough of them confirm it that I have to believe there's some truth to it."

"I'll make the time, just tell me when you're ready. I don't care how much effort it needs, or any of that. I'm not *like* one of those sweet little pieces of soft puddy who think blowing up a pair of kindabads makes them special."

"I don't want you to hold back. I don't want you to be 'gentle' because it might hurt. I want your best. And if I can't handle it, it doesn't matter. I'll *learn to handle it*. Can you do that?"

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
Oh, there's a fire in Sunbreaker's eyes (and not just literally) that Fuyuko likes, particular if she's going to be taking her on as a more... particular kind of student.

"Kid," she says, and grins - actually grins, more expression on her face than Sunbreaker has likely ever seen, a devil-may-care grin with more than a hint of madness. "I'm going to drive you into the dirt, if that's what it takes to make you the best. I don't work with weaklings, and I don't believe in pity - knowing the sort of kids mahou usually are, they don't really believe in it either. They won't offer you a hand up until after they've kicked your ass, and you'd never accept that."

Proud knuckleheads never did. Fuyuko wouldn't have wanted to reach out and accept the pity that came with defeat, either. She and Kyouka had beaten each other bloody over the years, until a truce could be called, and Kyouka might consider herself the winner, but the truth was they'd each painted the city with the other's blood.

"Every morning, before school. That way your afternoons are free for the work you need to get done with Obsidian, and your school life is fit to be continued. Because you heard correctly: I was one of the best until age and the fade tried to take me out, and I have no problem teaching you to destroy your enemies."

Fuyuko casts a critical eye over Sunbreaker.

"What did you do to humble yourself enough to ask for help? What went wrong?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker gave a small nod. "Perfect. I'd expect nothing less. But... nothing really. I'd been considering you for a while. But I thought, frankly? That it would be a waste of my time. I didn't think I'd be here much longer and so learning to fight in this body wouldn't be necessary."

"... I've now been in two fights without magic. And that was enough. The first was a fluke, but the latter was out of henshin. Both of us were. While I could have likely won if it hadn't stopped when it had, the fact is if it's happening this often? I need to know how to do it... but if I want to know how to do it, I need to learn from someone who knows what exactly it is that we do. I refuse to be helpless in such things just because I never put the effort in. And if I'm going to be trapped in this body for the time being I'm going to damn well learn how to use it."

"Did you want to meet here for the lessons, or somewhere else?"

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
At least she's committed. But then, Fuyuko had expected nothing less. "It's good to revise your plans in the presence of new information. You're right - it's not always necessary to know how to destroy someone with your own hands. But there's more to fighting than magic, and and there are plenty of occasions where fighting hand to hand will make you more effective with magic. It's hard to dodge a fireball when you've just taken a fist to the gut."

Not that she has specific experience with fire, but the principle was the same.

"We'll use one of the team training rooms on this floor. They can be locked, to give you greater privacy - eventually you'll want to train around distractions, but when you're mastering the basics, the last thing we need is another little issue with La Crima, or an ill-timed distraction happening."

And yes, she is giving her a bit of a look, given that the last time Sunbreaker and La Crima fought a lab space needed major repair.

"I'm also going to make you a training regimen. Outside of our sessions, you're going to need to work on building muscle mass and physical endurance; it will make you a more effective fighter, and help you withstand the blows of your enemies. And I assume you've no problem fighting dirty?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker gave a nod. "Yeah. Back home it wasn't so bad. I could teleport and throw spells fast enough most ponies couldn't hope to keep up unless they were a professional. Here, with the way magic works and the new body? It throws everything off."

Then, an amused grin formed on her face. Cocky, arrogant, her. "Oh, I don't think La Crima is going to be a problem anymore. I worked out my issues with her."

... Uh oh.

"Gotcha, training regime. I can do that. But... no. I do have a problem fighting dirty. If I win by fighting like that, it'd be like beating your opponent in a race when they had a sprained ankle. If the only thing I cared about was *winning*, I'd have done that already."

"But just winning for the sake of winning proves nothing. They'll never understand I'm better than them, whatever. But I'll know. And I refuse to need to fight dirty to destroy them. I'll be *better than them* due to who and how I am.."

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
"Here, you're at a stark disadvantage - your agemates have had years to grow familiar and accustomed to their bodies, and you've had a fraction of that. All things consdiered, it's good that you've become as accustomed as you are, but as you've recognized, there's more for you to learn,"

...should she be concerned about La Crima?

"Just don't kill her. It'd be inconvenient for me to need to find a replacement."

Is that the only concern she has? No, but Sunbreaker doesn't need to know that.

"And very well. If you want to learn fighting by strict and proper standards only... I'll give you that. But you'll learn the tricks and secrets of dirty fighting too, even if you don't use them, because Kyouka will be teaching those brats everything she knows, and you can't defend against a cheapshot if you don't know what one looks like."

A compromise?

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker shook her head. "Oh, of course. I just gave her a gift and apologized. We're perfectly fine, now." And yet, that grin was so malevolent...

"But yeah, that seems fair. It's one thing to win by fighting someone fair and square. But if they decide to fight dirty? I have no qualms with going for the throat and fighting just as viciously. I can be better than them at everything, including fighting dirty if they want to go that route. How ever will they learn otherwise?"

... There was mayyyyyybe a hint of playful... viciousness.... to that tone there. As if she almost hoped someone decided to try fighting dirty with her so she'd have an excuse to fight just as dirty.

... She might not actually be that great a person.

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
Who cares about being a good person? In the game they played, in the wars they fought, the good ended just as dead and unmourned as the bad. At least the bad got to enjoy their ride to oblivion.

Sunbreaker was someone who would enjoy her ride. Oh, she'd earn her defeat, her inevitable stomping, her miserable end as a villain (and perhaps, as a living being), but until that time came, she'd live. She'd chase her ambitions, she'd carve her name into the city, she'd put every ounce of her power to a purpose that was hers.

it was exactly what Fuyuko liked to see. "Sounds like there's nothing ffor me to worry about, then."

And if La Crima did need help? She could always request it herself.

"Exactly. There's no point to turning down a weapon, especially when it could end up in the hands of your enemies. If they want to fight fair, you'll go toe to toe with them. And if they want to fight dirty... you'll be ready to meet them in the muck."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker gave a small nod. "Exactly. Fighting fair doesn't really work when I let them dictate what is and isn't 'okay'. Because if there's one thing I've noticed from these sparkles it's that they all loooooove to brag about how specialand wonderful and good they are..."

"But the moment that push comes to shove? They'll use any underhanded means they can to win, then rub it in our faces as if them winning by any means necessary means they were in the right. My gosh they love to crow about how good and pure they are, as if they have any right to judge," Sunbreaker muttered bitterly.

She then got to her feet and stretched out. "Good. I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay? I'm sure this will be very illuminating." And painful. Likely very painful. She then turned, heading towards the exit.

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
"That's the thing about the self-righteous - because they're convinced they're always right, anything they do becomes right. And anything you do, is a problem."

Not that she has intimate experience with that or anything.

"When push comes to shove, we all do what we have to do. I look forward to seeing what all you can do, Sunbreaker."

And she doesn't stop her from exiting - instead, she gets to work on her schedule, re-arranging things to free her early mornings.