Sasuke is quiet the rest of the way to the west wing. Taka can't really make out what's in the blanket, but it is sort of limp rather than solid. Weird.
In the west wing, he takes them carefully up to the shrine, through the gates and in once he's sure no one else is there. He stops at one of the statue and turns to face Taka, pulling the blanket away and catching what's beneath. The blanket he tosses out of the way.
Three billiard balls tumble down, but stop before they hit the ground, strung through with chains. One is a little longer than the other two, and he's holding the end of all three by a small ring.
[He takes a few steps back. One of the chains he loops up into his hand while the other two hang down. He doesn't lift it above his head so much as he starts swinging it above it, not roughly, just the twist of his arm at the elbow. He releases the chain and lets all three swing.
And then he throws it at one of the statues, letting it tangle wildly around the width of it.]
It's used for capturing. [He moves over to unwind it from the statue.] You throw it at the legs. [He holds it out to Takaomi.]
It isn't difficult the use. The momentum of the weight is what does the tangling. You just have to make sure you throw it right.
Sasuke reaches up and steers Takaomi back and in line with the statue, giving enough distance the throw won't be shitty. And then he... well, he has to make himself flush with Taka's back, enough space between them it's not weird, but so they're pretty much level.
He takes Taka's arm up, loops the chain of the longest ball in Taka's hand.] Don't go straight up, or you'll hit yourself in the face. Swing it in front of you and then up on the way around. You'll be able to tell. It'll feel the most natural. Don't go slow, or they won't have enough momentum to stay up. Swing hard. [He maneuvers Taka's hand to swing the balls diagonally, and on the loop around, he lifts Taka's arm to put them above both of their heads.
And then he drops his arm, sliding a bit to the other side, letting Taka have control and room.] When you're ready, let go of the loop so they're all together, and then throw it over-handed. You can aim for the statue's head, but if it's someone... aim for their chest. By the time it gets to them, it'll have dropped to their legs. Especially if they're running.
[ he nods once, taking the information in. he's at least not embarrassed or anything by the closeness since he's concentrating on the lesson, and he lets it swing in his hands for a moment after sasuke steps away. once he things he might has the hang of it, he... aims and then tosses it towards the statue.
it hits. it's not a perfect throw, and it doesn't tangle onto the target as well as it could have, but it at least connects with it. ]
[The warmth of him disappears when he moves away to retrieve the bola from the statue, untangling it. He gives it back to Taka, and then he steps far enough out of the way he won't get hit from the swinging billiard balls.]
Keep practicing.
[He's just going to watch.]
Last time... with Ishikirimaru. What happened exactly?
[ he actually hasn't told the story to anyone other than merriment. even senri doesn't know the details.
so he frowns, and goes to try to toss the boleadoras again. he's swinging it in front of him when he starts to talk. ]
... we were tailing Ruin when Luna showed up. When we interfered, Ruin ran off, so Luna attacked me instead. Cunning had given me a gun before, but I only had one bullet. I shot her with it and it slowed her down enough for Ishikirimaru to jump in.
[ he does not mention that he is pretty sure he would have died if he hadn't connected that shot. ]
[This gets Sasuke to frown, but he actually doesn't bother wasting his time chastising or scolding Takaomi. It's hard to be prepared without normal abilities and without a lot of maintenance.]
Did she talk to you then? Did she say anything... about why she was doing it?
... I think she just had something against gods in general. She didn't give us a villain monologue, or the kind of crap you see in movies. But she said she was tired of the gods and wanted to end it as soon as possible.
[ he shakes his head. ]
The contest has a minimum of six weeks though. Killing them off won't make it go any faster.
What are you talking about? You want to kill Justice.
[ it's said flatly
and then he lets go of the chain again, and he watches it soar through the air. it's a little off, in that it hits the torso instead of the legs. taka clicks his tongue in annoyance. ]
I don't think we can really judge too hard on the shit we said at the very start.
It would probably show. It's easy to fake a certain viewpoint or personality if you're a good enough actor. But it's harder to fake change.
[ luna did enough weird things that it made people suspicious of her. takaomi didn't really speak to newt enough outside of arguing with him in trials to really be able to speak of his character. ]
... I guess what I mean is that you can usually see when people grow.
[Ugh, he shouldn't have said anything. He hates the truth in this. He hates it himself especially, having... seen it in Naruto, in Sakura, but never in himself.]
Keep practicing. Make sure it's hidden and no one finds it. I think you two will be better equipped Thursday. I don't have Lie Detection this time.
We'll have to rely on figuring it out unless one of us knows someone else in Justice who has it. Mouri outed himself last trial. Someone else may go after him.
If he dies, would it bother you? The only way to know is if you ask him. We'll just have to assume he was smart enough to defect rather than be blindly loyal.
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[ he watches him go for a moment before following along ]
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Sasuke is quiet the rest of the way to the west wing. Taka can't really make out what's in the blanket, but it is sort of limp rather than solid. Weird.
In the west wing, he takes them carefully up to the shrine, through the gates and in once he's sure no one else is there. He stops at one of the statue and turns to face Taka, pulling the blanket away and catching what's beneath. The blanket he tosses out of the way.
Three billiard balls tumble down, but stop before they hit the ground, strung through with chains. One is a little longer than the other two, and he's holding the end of all three by a small ring.
It's a boleadoras.]
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takaomi tilts his head. he is not entirely sure of what it is, and that's apparent from his expression. ]
What are those?
[ at least they look like they'd hurt if you hit someone with it. ]
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[He takes a few steps back. One of the chains he loops up into his hand while the other two hang down. He doesn't lift it above his head so much as he starts swinging it above it, not roughly, just the twist of his arm at the elbow. He releases the chain and lets all three swing.
And then he throws it at one of the statues, letting it tangle wildly around the width of it.]
It's used for capturing. [He moves over to unwind it from the statue.] You throw it at the legs. [He holds it out to Takaomi.]
It isn't difficult the use. The momentum of the weight is what does the tangling. You just have to make sure you throw it right.
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... he's a little relieved that it's for detaining and not outright killing. despite the weight, it doesn't feel as heavy because of that. ]
Can you show me how to swing it properly again?
[ he doesn't want to accidentally clock either of them in the face on the first try. ]
sorry this is gay
Sasuke reaches up and steers Takaomi back and in line with the statue, giving enough distance the throw won't be shitty. And then he... well, he has to make himself flush with Taka's back, enough space between them it's not weird, but so they're pretty much level.
He takes Taka's arm up, loops the chain of the longest ball in Taka's hand.] Don't go straight up, or you'll hit yourself in the face. Swing it in front of you and then up on the way around. You'll be able to tell. It'll feel the most natural. Don't go slow, or they won't have enough momentum to stay up. Swing hard. [He maneuvers Taka's hand to swing the balls diagonally, and on the loop around, he lifts Taka's arm to put them above both of their heads.
And then he drops his arm, sliding a bit to the other side, letting Taka have control and room.] When you're ready, let go of the loop so they're all together, and then throw it over-handed. You can aim for the statue's head, but if it's someone... aim for their chest. By the time it gets to them, it'll have dropped to their legs. Especially if they're running.
😔
[ he nods once, taking the information in. he's at least not embarrassed or anything by the closeness since he's concentrating on the lesson, and he lets it swing in his hands for a moment after sasuke steps away. once he things he might has the hang of it, he... aims and then tosses it towards the statue.
it hits. it's not a perfect throw, and it doesn't tangle onto the target as well as it could have, but it at least connects with it. ]
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Keep practicing.
[He's just going to watch.]
Last time... with Ishikirimaru. What happened exactly?
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so he frowns, and goes to try to toss the boleadoras again. he's swinging it in front of him when he starts to talk. ]
... we were tailing Ruin when Luna showed up. When we interfered, Ruin ran off, so Luna attacked me instead. Cunning had given me a gun before, but I only had one bullet. I shot her with it and it slowed her down enough for Ishikirimaru to jump in.
[ he does not mention that he is pretty sure he would have died if he hadn't connected that shot. ]
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Did she talk to you then? Did she say anything... about why she was doing it?
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[ he shakes his head. ]
The contest has a minimum of six weeks though. Killing them off won't make it go any faster.
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[Luna... What the heck. He doesn't know if he ever understood her, or if he did and just didn't want to admit it.]
You know I said the same thing when we first arrived. No one so far has tried to accuse me of killing the gods. Besides... Estelle.
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[ it's said flatly
and then he lets go of the chain again, and he watches it soar through the air. it's a little off, in that it hits the torso instead of the legs. taka clicks his tongue in annoyance. ]
I don't think we can really judge too hard on the shit we said at the very start.
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[He gives Taka a LOOK. Very funny, asshole. But then it softens considerably.]
Why? Some people hold onto their convictions.
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[ luna did enough weird things that it made people suspicious of her. takaomi didn't really speak to newt enough outside of arguing with him in trials to really be able to speak of his character. ]
... I guess what I mean is that you can usually see when people grow.
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Keep practicing. Make sure it's hidden and no one finds it. I think you two will be better equipped Thursday. I don't have Lie Detection this time.
We'll have to rely on figuring it out unless one of us knows someone else in Justice who has it. Mouri outed himself last trial. Someone else may go after him.
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taka walks over to the statue to pick the item back up, holding it carefully. ]
If he's smart he would have switched, but I guess it's not like anyone would know for sure if he did or not.
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[RIP]
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But I can try asking about his alignment.
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Keep practicing. Don't let anyone see you, and don't tell anyone where you got that. I'm going back.
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[ he opens his mouth to say something, and then closes it. it takes another moment. ]
If I still need help with it, I'll find you.
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