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Post by Touj on May 15, 2018 18:24:17 GMT -6
66.3/37.0 Telekinetic Powers- 27/50
After spending the rest of the afternoon doing sets, Touj decided to it a day for working out. He went to Hatori and offered a sheepish smile.
“Sorry for pushing you so much lately buddy,” he said as he ran his hands over the leathery skin of the spectral being. “I'm glad you put up with me.”
The shijin didn't seem upset in the slightest- always a good sign. But Touj couldn't help but feel slightly guilty, a feeling he tried to push down past where Hatori could sense.
He didn't even know why he was the only one who could touch Hatori, much less how all this magic worked. The magic and creatures around the lab were still so foreign to what he was used to. Even though it seemed like they were making progress with his guesswork, Hatori would probably benefit learning from-being with- someone with an ounce of magical knowledge or at least some better smarts. He felt like he was wasting Hatori’s time, and there wasn't anything the Genbu could do about it: they're bonded and Hatori's stuck.
Hatori pushed his head further in Touj’s palm, breaking him out of his spiralling thoughts. So much for not making the Shijin worried. His companion radiated support and confirmation and pride. Touj took a deep breath and tried to recenter.
“Okay, okay, I'm not the worst,” he conceded. “But. I could do better.”
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Post by Touj on May 15, 2018 18:24:51 GMT -6
66.4/37.1 Telekinetic Powers - 28/50
With doing better in mind, Touj went to the library that night before heading back to the park to train with Hatori. He still didn't fully understand how telekinetic powers worked. But didn't seem like the people writing about it did either, otherwise they would've made it easier to understand.
Still, there were some major takeaways that would helpfully get them further in today’s lesson. For one, Touj was on the right track about the whole ‘mental muscle’ visualization. The more the Shijin practiced, the better he would get and the more challenging tasks he could take on. Of course, there was a limit to how strong Hatori's power could grow: but finding where his true limits were would take time and diligence.
With that in mind, Touj brought weights and various objects- from light tennis balls to a bench he dragged over from a public area in the park (he'd return it) for Hatori to practice with.
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Post by Touj on May 15, 2018 18:25:24 GMT -6
66.5/37.2 Telekinetic Powers - 29/50
“Let's start a regular workout schedule, okay?” Touj said before instructing Hatori on the exact training. Hatori already understood what sort of powers Touj wanted him to learn- now it was just a matter of getting the tortoise spirit strong and quick enough. “Now we just gotta build up your abilities.”
The pair started coming to the park for two hours every morning, getting Hatori used to maneuvering objects with his mental powers. Over the course of a few weeks, the shijin steadily grew stronger and more confident in his abilities.
Touj always knew his constant companion was smart but spending more time actively engaging with the Shijin made him sharply aware of it. The spirit was dexterous and quick to respond to Touj’s requests. Every trial the human put in front of him he bested easily- and Touj found himself genuinely proud.
“We'll get this in no time, huh?”
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Post by Touj on May 15, 2018 18:26:00 GMT -6
66.6 (nice) / 37.3 Telekinetic Powers - 30/50
After a few weeks of rigorous practice, Touj was satisfied the shijin was mentally “fit,” so as it is. Maybe not- maybe Hatori could potentially lift buildings and change the course of rivers if he put his mind to it- but the big boulders and park benches the Shijin could move with precise ease was good enough for him.
What consistently astounded Touj about Hatori’s style was how exact and calculated his moves were. Even when it was Touj’s instructions, Hatori made exact and thoughtful decisions about how to best execute his movements.
While Touj had always relied on speed and instinct to get him through a fight, he slowly realized Hatori's methods weren't bad, just different. He was far from the quick-to-frustrate, hesitant student he'd been when they started experimenting with his powers: sometimes, a split second was better spent making a specific, targeted attack. Touj learned the boundaries between inflicting his fighting preferences across the board versus Hatori's own weak points. Over the weeks training the duo balanced the human's tendency to demand an immediate, unthinking response with Hatori’s frequent slips to take too much time away from the presence deciding the best response.
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Post by Touj on Jun 28, 2021 22:41:29 GMT -6
66.7 / 37.4 Telekinetic Powers - 31/50
While there was still plenty of room for improvement, Touj finally acknowledged that there was only so much you could train into someone like Hatori. He sighed, patting the dark, rough scales of the shijin who hovered near his chest.
"Maybe I should try to do things your way a bit more, huh?" he mused out loud. "I mean, you're the one who can actually do this stuff. It's not as if I can move anything with my mind."
He winced remembering some ill-fated attempts to do just that, but shook the thoughts away and focused on the creature in front of him. Hatori was much better at thinking through his actions, making decisions strategically than he was. Maybe it would be more useful to teach him the ways they could use his powers to their full advantage by showing him the range of options available, rather than just teaching the spiirt to think on his feet.
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Post by Touj on Jun 28, 2021 22:50:07 GMT -6
66.8 / 38.0 Telekinetic Powers - 32/50
Although Touj was resolved to teach Hatori strategy, it took just a half hour for him to realize how poorly suited he was to teach anything about strategy to anyone. His father had been the strategy person, the general - and his brother was raised to take up the mantle. Touj had been to all the lectures, heard all the information explaining why certain battlefield choices were right and wrong a million times: it always went in one ear and out another. He was always happy to throw away the book and rely on instinct: a complicated, but often successful approach to fights.
"Not everyone's as lucky as you," Touj recalled his father scolding. "Acting on impulse alone results poorly for most people."
Looking at Hatori, a small semi-permeable tortoise spirit watching him warily, Touj finally understood his point. Hatori would not be able to get throug situations the same way he could, if not because of instinct because of size and strength. He needed to find ways to help Hatori compensate for those physical differences and use his powers to edge above.
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Post by Touj on Jun 28, 2021 23:07:43 GMT -6
66.9 / 38.1 Telekinetic Powers - 33/50
So: what's the best way to teach someone how to become an effective strategist when you spent most of your adolescence trying to absorb as little strategy as possible? Touj knew there would be no elegant solution to his problem, but he did remember some points from his studies. First, the basics: you have to make a plan that takes into account your surroundings, and the people you're fighting with.
His father was more focused on what these points meant for an army, and tried to convey them with a sense of scale to his sons. Unluckily for him, Touj had a hard time comprehending fights on that level: but luckily for Hatori, that meant strategizing in a specific fight instead of a larger battle was what the human excelled in. Slowly but surely, Touj led his shijin to another part of the park than the usual clearing they practiced in: this space on the side of a hill and forested.
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Post by Touj on Jun 28, 2021 23:14:18 GMT -6
67.0 / 38.2 Telekinetic Powers - 34/50
"Let's go over the rules," Touj said.
He positioned Hatori further up on the hill, motioning for him to stay in place. From there, Touj took a lap and returned to Hatori, tapping him on his shell's sternum. From there, Touj frowned and gave a thumbs down: he tried to convey that the tap was a bad thing. Hatori, for his part, did not seem very impressed by the performance, but Touj hoped he still got the point. With a grin, the man jogged a bit back down the hill away from the Shijin and started stretching.
Truth be told, he wasn't excited to do this exercise just to help Hatori: it was also going to be one of the first chances he had to test himself and train in quite a while. While Touj had faced many exciting fights in his life, he had never had a showdown with someone who could move objects with their mind. This was as much a training for him as for Hatori, he decided.
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Post by Touj on Jun 28, 2021 23:19:59 GMT -6
67.1 / 38.3 Telekinetic Powers - 35/50
Hatori, watching him stretch, had grown noticeably wary of the man as he got ready. It wasn't a surprise - Hatori had always been perceptive - but Touj wasn't sure if he was using any of that time to plan how he was going to play keep-away successfully. At least the shijin knew something was coming, which was a better preparation than you would usually get in a fight.
"Are you ready?" Touj said, cocking his head with a grin. He could feel a flash of Hatori fill him with affirmation, combined with low-level anxiety. "Good."
Not wasting any time, Touj started running up the hill at the Genbu. He was only 10 meters away, and would quickly reach the Tortoise if nothing was put in his way: as he was thinking that, he could feel the ground beneath him start to shift. The dirt, sandy and rocky from being on an incline, was responding to Hatori's obvious mental attempts to displace it: but no such luck. Refinding his footing, Touj returned to running up the hill.
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Post by Touj on Jun 29, 2021 18:45:20 GMT -6
67.2 / 38.4 Telekinetic Powers - 36/50
Hatori knew he had to find something more concrete to slow Touj's approach: moving dirt or sand, many many molecules all at once wasn't something he was capable of: but he could try to launch a larger object quickly to slow his approach. At first, all he saw were a few fist-sized rocks. In quick succession, the shijin levitated them and threw them in short succession at the approaching human.
Touj ducked away behind a tree as the rocks flew at him. He waited momentarily with a smile, peaking out from behind his hiding spot. This is exactly what he was hoping Hatori would learn: how to find his limits, and how to use his surroundings to his advantage. Checking the coast one more time, he emerged from behind the tree once more and continued his ascent.
"You're going to have to try harder than that-"
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Post by Touj on Jun 29, 2021 18:56:32 GMT -6
67.3 / 39.0 Telekinetic Powers - 37/50
Touj's sentence was cut short by a thick branch crashing into his gut. It knocked the wind out of him and while he stayed standing, the momentum pushed him back down the hill. After he caught his breath, Touj couldn't help but beam up at Hatori with pride. This was exactly what he was talking about, what he hoped the Genbu would learn. The element of surprise was necessary in battle, and he hadn't noticed a branch getting readied as he was running toward Hatori.
"Great job," Touj said out loud. "But I'm still coming up there."
The rush of smug accomplishment he felt radiating from Hatori turned back into anxiety and calculation. Good, Touj noted. Few fights ended in one hit, and he'd need to get ready for more constant engagement. Without waiting for Hatori to collect himself, the human began running towards the shijin again, steeling himself for a serious challenge.
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Post by Touj on Jun 29, 2021 19:06:44 GMT -6
67.4 / 39.1 Telekinetic Powers - 38/50
When Hatori through another branch at him, Touj was only narrowly avoid the projectile. This one could have done more than just push him back, Touj noted - it was pointed at him like a spear, which could have caused more serious injury. Sure, it was still only a branch, but he was appreciative of the thought and experimentation Hatori was putting into his methods. Iterating and growing was better than just finding one thing that works and sticking with it, after all.
Over half way there. Hatori launched a few more branch-spears at him, which he was able to dodge. Despite himself, Touj was getting invested in winning this: he'd always been a competitive person. He was trying to reach Hatori as fast as possible, not thinking as strategically as he hoped Hatori was - but quickly realized his mistake when he stepped on a mid-sized boulder, trying to use it to launch himself further up the hill.
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Post by Touj on Jun 29, 2021 19:14:44 GMT -6
67.5 / 39.2 Telekinetic Powers - 39/50
It all happened in a split second. Touj couldn't see what was happening, but he knew his feet had somehow made their way above his head: and he knew it was because Hatori had moved that boulder his weight rested on. Internally, he berated himself for not paying closer attention to the path he was taking up the hill.
But, there wasn't much time to think of that, or think of anything: the ground was hitting his back before he knew it. Touj shifted himself onto a shoulder, distributing his weight so that he rolled more easily a few feet down the hill: luckily, he had enough practice to not get injured from an unexpected fall. But, as he had hoped, Hatori was one step ahead of him: it only took him a glance forward to see that Hatori was positioning the boulder midair to fly at him, taking advantage of the remaining control.
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Post by Touj on Jun 29, 2021 19:18:22 GMT -6
67.6 / 39.3 Telekinetic Powers - 40/50
The boulder skidded toward Touj, but he was able to roll away, sideways to another area of the terrain and avoid the hit.
"Not bad," Touj said with a grin. "But you're going to have to try harder than that."
He was getting way to into this. Touj knew he was getting carried away with this training lesson. But, that being said, he wasn't exactly going to stop even after having the realization that he was overly invested in the outcome of his little match with Hatori. Sure, he wanted the shijin to prove that he had both mastered the skill and could effectively used it if the time ever came: but now, Touj admitted, he didn't want to be outshone. He wanted to prove to Hatori that he was a formidable threat in himself: and what better way than to effectively sneak up on him and win their little game?
With that in mind, Touj used the momentum from his roll to duck behind another tree.
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Post by Touj on Jun 29, 2021 19:21:31 GMT -6
67.7 / 39.4 Telekinetic Powers - 41/50
Slowly but surely, Touj used the forested terrain to make his way more slowly up toward Hatori. Sure, there was only so much cover he had - but he was taking his time to be more careful, more thoughtful about his ascent. Every time Hatori did catch a peak of him, he sent a few little rocks or sticks flying his way: but none of them hit, or really stuck. Touj knew he should've thought more about why that was, but in the meantime, he was more concerned with making his way up the hill, and which direction would be best to approach Hatori from.
In the end, he decided to try to approach the shijin from the east. The trees parted so that he would have a diagonal clear shot which should only take a few moments in the open before reaching Hatori: that would be the best way to get to him without getting hit by another attack. Touj made his way into position, and prepared to attack.
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