boxofsleep | (no subject)

He seemed to like it. That was good enough for Xikkuyo, for the moment; it would have made her happy, if she still could be. It was the sort of warm approval Yukiko had always sought, once upon a time, in another lifetime altogether. The smiles and nods of her parents, of teachers, of people in positions of power and authority--striving always for people to like her work, to like her, desperate to ensure that she was worth keeping around. Xikkuyo's own smile brightened in return, quietly hopeful as she clutched her fan to her chest.

She nodded in understanding; hopefully, it wouldn't be the case..... But if it was, she'd have to bear with it and do her best, for everyone's sake. Even in the TV, she had never been the best fighter of the group. Souji was probably the best of them all--he was an amazing natural at leading them all like that! But Chie had trained for years to hone her Kung Fu, too, and Kanji was so strong, and Yosuke was so fast..... She wasn't much good at it, herself. She wasn't much good at anything, really. Anything useful, at least.....

"No, they just..... show up. When I do things, I mean. Saïx said I'm..... that my special talent is healing."

That was what the 'test' had determined, anyway, awful as it had been. The assumption had been forcing them into a life-or-death situation would be enough of a shock and push of necessity to force their powers to emerge, out of sheer desperation and survival instinct..... Having a berserker rushing at her with a drawn claymore was harrowing enough; she'd ended up cowering and sprawled on the floor, covered in sakura petals and knocked prone from when she'd tried to run. She'd been bloody from where Saïx had slashed at her, and her clothes had been torn, but..... she'd been completely unharmed, when she'd gotten back up.

Now that wasn't something Axel was expecting to hear. A specialised healer? Definitely new. Still: Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Aero - all spells mirrored in one of their members' elements, why not Cure? He'd at least have been glad to hear that she had it worked out, were he able to be.
No idea just what these kids had been through beforehand, after all. It had all been so different when it was his turn, when the Organization had been new...

"You know, that's not a bad skill to have at all." He smiled again. "Not the flashiest of things, but it's something that's always going to come in useful. We'll have to get you up and running with some different magic, too, so you can defend yourself." Take out the healer first: fighting dirty, but a logical tactic. She'd have to be able to keep herself safe before she could take care of the others.

A harder power to train than some, though... hmm. He'd have to work this one out.

It was definitely different. There was a well-established protocol for everything, now, not just the basics. There were no arguments about whether or not new members should be allowed. There wasn't even such a clean, sharp divide between founders and Neophytes anymore--half of each camp was dead, after all. And now that the kids were here, they constituted a third wave of membership, one that ostensibly put the first two in the same boat, so to speak. There was almost more in common between them, these days, than there was different, now that they had such a radically changed membership.

Xikkuyo didn't know anything about the politics; she logically couldn't have. But if nothing else, she still understood a little bit about the need to fight and defend herself. She still understood the concept of attacking the healer, first and foremost, even if the Shadows they fought weren't usually that smart..... Xikkuyo nodded in understanding. "Yes, sir. What do I need to do?" How did she even do it, for that matter? Without her Persona, she was..... she was just.....

Nobody? But they were all Nobody, after all, everyone in it together. Each a void, but part of the same whole. And if it had had to change from the way things were - it'd had to change. After all... they couldn't have gone on the way they were.

Axel reached into a coat pocket and pulled out a number of what looked like crystalline panels, pausing to put one back away safely. This girl wasn't going to need Cure as an extra, after all.
"Take a look at these. Your basic magic spells... fire, ice, lightning." He pointed them out in order. "How about we start with the fire one? Go on, take it. You'll be talking to the expert, after all." After all, who could teach her how to use it better? A shame for any of the kids who were ice or lightning aligned, but ... well, he was sure they'd work it out, after all. Even he could get his head around Blizzard if he had to, and with an alignment like hers he doubted there'd be any problem in teaching her the full range.

No reason she shouldn't do just fine.

"So your element is fire?" Xikkuyo looked up at the panels obediently, nodding. Fire, ice, lightning..... Fire had been for her, once. Ice and lightning..... she wasn't sure if those were still Chie and Kanji's specializations--they hadn't had almost any time together since they'd gotten here..... It wasn't very fair. But maybe they'd be able to practice together, later? They could talk about how their first day of training went, and it could almost be like the old times.....

Xikkuyo carefully accepted the Fire panel, turning it over in her hand. It shimmered a vibrant red-gold against the black of her glove, almost glowed in her hand like a live coal. Maybe it was even warm..... She couldn't quite tell like this. but it was fascinating, holding what seemed like a piece of frozen fire, crystallized in her hand. She was curiously reluctant to tear her gaze away, lifting her eyes back up to Axel as her fingers curled around the panel. "What do I do with it?"

"You got it," Axel replied to Xikkuyo's first comment. He tried to think back to how it'd been for him to first learn these things, first had to call on the flames that lay inside him - but it was a little strange. Perhaps, on some level, he'd always known. He'd always responded strongly to fire and warmth, after all - how could it have been anything but natural for his soul to take on the form it had when all else had been lost?

He nodded at her and looked around. No Heartless here for easy target practice: hm.
Well, he did have one usable target that'd hardly be hurt by the flame...

He stepped back, away from her, once she'd grasped the panel.

"Okay, so here's the drill. I want you to concentrate on it," he said, tapping at his temple. "Imagine it connecting with you. Imagine the spell within it coming to life. It's yours."

Xikkuyo nodded in understanding, taking several steps back herself as she realized what Axel meant to do. They needed a good arm's length or two between them, or it wouldn't do much good to cast, would it? Farther was better, in this case; thankfully, the sad lot was fairly wide, easily enough accommodating them. "As long as you're sure you'll be okay....." She didn't want to hurt her teacher, after all..... or was that supposed to be the point? Learn how to use her powers by healing him, after she'd hurt him? What a strange way to do things.....

"Okay, focus....." Xikkuyo took a deep breath, narrowing her eyes and concentrating. She tried to remember exactly how it felt, summoning Konohana Sakuya, calling down a torrent of flames to rush upon a Shadow with Agilao..... what had Konohana Sakuya felt, doing this? What would she think, of her other half trying to do this without her now? Was she even still there at all? She wasn't trying to connect with her Persona, now..... she was trying to connect with this spell she held, this little shard of fire, a burning instant frozen in time.

If it had burned once, it could burn again, then..... Let the flames rise once more. The panel grew hotter and hotter in her hand, as Xikkuyo raised her fan above her head; she brought it down with a sharp snap of her wrist, and anything more she might have said lost in the sudden roar of flames. A sizable fireball sprang from the feathers as though blown by an unseen wind, rushing forward to engulf Axel in an explosive haze of flame and smoke. Looked like a simple Fire hadn't quite been enough for her.....

As she stepped back, Axel grinned, nodded - he made a 'bring it on' gesture with one hand, before spreading them wide, making himself the most obvious target he could. After all, what could go wrong? His own affinity, or healing: either was a good enough option. Of course, he'd prefer this to work as planned, but what was he going to do?

The sheer scale of the rushing flames was definitely not as planned, though. He'd expected a spark, perhaps, something that wouldn't even kill off a Shadow. A quick pulse and that'd be it. What he'd got? That - that was on Fira scales, at the very least! It hit Axel hard, sinking into his core - and he smiled. Impressive, for someone whose affinity wasn't anything close.

Waving the smoke away, he asked - "Are you sure you've never done this before?"

Xikkuyo let out a breathless giggle, beaming and bouncing in place--a nearly perfect facsimile of excitement and delight. "It worked!" It wasn't quite a lie, perhaps--she hadn't been certain that she'd be able to manage it at all, without Konohana Sakuya doing it for her..... but it certainly was quite diplomatically dodging the question, while offering up enough implications that Axel could draw his own conclusions, wrong though they probably would be.

Either way, it was a relief to see that he hadn't been hurt by the attack; she'd been..... well, maybe not worried, but concerned, even if Axel had seemed entirely at ease. She opened her free hand, now curled into a fist; the panel was gone, melted away as though it never had existed at all. What had happened to it? Would she need a new one? Xikkuyo looked back up at Axel, still smiling. The others probably wouldn't be that easy..... "What now?"

Almost as an afterthought, she fluttered her fan to help blow the smoke away; that was what it was made for, right?

Once again, Axel couldn't help but think - a natural. Definitely. Were they even sure that they'd gotten her element right?
He laughed at her fanning away the smoke - a friendly sound, proud of her all the way. "Now you've done it once, you'll be able to repeat it any time without another one of those panels. It's there now. Just concentrate, aim and fire." A pause, and he added, "... I'd say we probably want to work on your control more than anything as far as that spell goes. You've got a lot of raw power there... we've just got to make it work for you. Do you want to give that one another go, or do you want to try one of the others?" Although he could hardly call himself so willing to put himself in the firing line for the Thunder test, never mind the Blizzard...

"Okay." Xikkuyo nodded readily enough; she supposed that made sense..... She didn't understand how you could solidify a magic spell, but still, it made as much sense as pulling a fan out of thin air, right? Or a man taking a fireball straight on without seeming to have so much as a scratch on him, or a single scorch mark.

It was strange, though..... she'd never been the powerful one. She'd never been fast, or strong, or brave. She'd never been good at this. Was Axel really sure about that? That she needed to work on control, of all things? Xikkuyo looked down at her fan again, thoughtful; maybe it was just a fluke..... After all, she had a little practice with fire, unlike the others.

"Maybe we should try one of the others first....."

As sure as he'd ever been. It'd taken so long before he saw Roxas or Xion use anything of that caliber, how couldn't he be?
"Sounds good to me." Axel pondered for a moment, before handing over the Thunder panel. As talented as she seemed to be, he still didn't particularly want to risk being caught by a stray blast of ice. That definitely wouldn't be the best start of things...

"Don't try and hit me with this one, okay?" he said with a spot of a grin, stepping safely behind her now - just to be sure. After all, if she skipped up the power range in the same way this time, it'd likely be hitting more than the one spot. "I just want you to aim into the middle of the lot. It's a lightning bolt: don't throw it out, pull it down."

Xikkuyo took the Thunder panel, feeling a tiny jolt of something almost like static electricity as she did so; her fingers tingled at the touch, and she rubbed a thumb over it thoughtfully, studying the electric blue flicker and wondering how this try would go. It would certainly be different than anything she'd ever done before..... Souji and Kanji had always been the Lightning-users, not her. But she'd watched them use magic, right? Maybe that would help?

The way Axel stepped behind her, like he was hiding..... Xikkuyo raised a hand to cover her mouth as she smiled again, shaking her head. "I won't....." If she hit him now, then she'd probably end up frying herself in the process, anyway. She clutched the panel tight in her hand, concentrating on the way it buzzed against her, trying to picture Souji and Izanagi casting their spells. Souji always looked so cool and confident fighting, like it was effortless, and Kanji always seemed so tough and enthusiastic.....

"Concentrate....." Xikkuyo took a deep breath and raised her fan again, this time holding it poised high overhead, imagining a lightning rod. She didn't know a lot about lightning, but they'd learned a bit in school, like about magnets and positive and negative energy, about attraction..... It was all physics, right? She was usually pretty good at science. Don't bother trying to throw it out. Pull it down..... It didn't come from her, even if she was the one who made it.

It was hard to wrap her mind around the paradigm shift. It took a moment or two, but slowly, buzzing sparks started to crackle through her fan. She bit her lip, grasping the magic as tightly as she could manage and trying to will it towards the center of the lot. "Let this hit!" Her fan came down with a sharp snap of the wrist, and an ominous rumble of thunder followed. A streak of lightning came crashing down immediately after, then another and another, a thin line of bolts snaking forward and scorching the sand as they went.

They petered out into harmless sparks after only a handful of strikes, considerably more in line with the sort of power levels she probably should have been displaying, right from the beginning. A short but respectable Thunder, maybe enough to kill a Shadow if she was lucky.

Axel was just taking precautions. Could he be blamed? It gave him a good enough view, in any case: and yes, far more what he'd been expecting. Good for a beginner, solid, but very much a beginner's attack. What, exactly, had powered up that Fira? Was that going to be a fluke?

He was still sure she had the potential... just, perhaps, she wouldn't be the instant prodigy he'd expected in other fields. Still, if she kept on this way, he was sure she'd be able to handle herself - hardly like he could have a problem with the idea of excelling at fire alone. No worries, nothing to be disappointed with.

He smiled, nodded, put a hand on her shoulder - "Nice. You've got it."

He definitely couldn't be blamed. Xikkuyo's face was lit up as she looked back over her shoulder at Axel, jubilant; she knows exactly how she should be acting, at a time like this. She knows how she would have acted, at least, and that's as good a guide as any other. She even finds herself daring to actually be optimistic, to go with it. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, after all--maybe she'd do okay with these spells. Maybe she'd be able to do what they expected of her.....

She hadn't known what to expect from the Thunder spell, other than it probably would be less effective than the Fire one. No surprise, there..... But what would the Ice one be like? Would she really be able to manage that, when it was so far opposed to Fire? Hopefully so..... Axel obviously wanted her to know the full complement, if she could learn them. She had to try for him, at least. But what would happen after she'd tried them all? Were they going to make her fight straight away?

"Two for two so far. Let's go for the last one." If Axel could manage it himself, as weak as it might be in his case, he was sure she could do it. Again, he fished for the last of the relevant panels, passing it over - and readying himself to beat a hasty retreat. If she returned to the same form as with the Fire, after all... he'd likely be testing out her healing skills sooner than he'd expected.

"This one's going to work more like the fireball again. Point and shoot in a straight line. Aim for the notice board, okay?" By now, he didn't think he'd probably have to tell her what to do, but - just making sure.

Xikkuyo nodded and took the last panel, shivering a little in spite of herself; she could feel the chill, even through her glove. This one twinkled a frosty blue-white, easily identified. Chie used some ice spells, didn't she? She never seemed like she was much of a fan of being a magic-user, really.....

She lifted her fan again, finding herself clutching the Blizzard panel even tighter than she had the others. It felt..... slippery, to her mind, like trying to get a good solid grip on an icicle, or climbing up a hill covered in slush with no traction. It wasn't as strange as the Thunder had been, but it still felt like it wanted to be elusive, like the magic was only reluctantly submitting to being awakened.

"Go!" A quick swish of her fan, and the spell was released--maybe a little too soon, but she didn't want to risk letting it slip away and fizzle before it could be cast. A gust of cold wind blew flurries of sparkling snowflakes back at her--at them both, most likely--, magic she hadn't quite been able to keep properly shaped with the rest of the spell. But a fair-sized ice crystal flew straight at the notice board regardless, hitting home with a solid crack and knocking the thing askew.

Probably not her best effort, she had to admit; a passable Blizzard, if a weak one. But at least it hadn't fallen to pieces like a snowball that wouldn't stick, right? It would hit, and it would probably hurt; if she really did take best to Fire, the way Axel did, that was probably more or less to be expected. Xikkuyo smiled uncertainly, brushing away some of the snow as she looked back to Axel. Was that..... okay? Should she try again, if it wasn't good enough?

It earned a smile from Axel, at the very least. Honestly, yes, he'd admit that that wasn't as good... but it wouldn't do to discourage her. After all, it was still better than a lot of what he'd seen, especially for a first time.

He wandered over to the sign, smiling, pushing it back into place. "Nice shot," he remarked. "Alright, you've got the basics down. I don't think there's really any need for me to stand here and school you on how to use them - you just need to practice. And you're going to need better targets before you can do that."

Axel spread his hands open, and with a flicker of flame, his chakrams appeared. "How about we go look for some?"

No, it wouldn't do at all, would it? Xikkuyo was already perfectly good at discouraging herself, thank you all the same. Her shoulders dropped with a hint of relief, tension starting to bleed out; it wasn't bad enough for him to be angry or disappointed in her, at least..... Or rather, as close as he could get. Regardless, she'd still apparently have other chances to prove herself.

The chakrams being summoned caught her by surprise; Xikkuyo stared for a moment in something like wonder, distracted. She'd never seen weapons like those before..... they looked pretty fierce. Axel must be a pretty good fighter, then, huh? Next to something like those, her fan seems so..... ineffectual, so inadequate..... Then again, when had it ever compared to the others' weapons, even in the TV world?

She wasn't afraid that Axel would let her get too badly hurt, but..... in a place like this..... "Won't people see us if we go fighting, though?" What would they even fight? How had people not noticed them using magic like this just yet?

Twilight's citizens had never been the most observant bunch, Axel thought. Everything the Organization'd done around town, ignored so readily - was it because they were keeping the Heartless under control? Or were they just that apathetic, just that used to it all?

As for Xikkuyo's enquiry, though, he shrugged. "The locals don't usually bother with where we're going." With a wave of his hand, the portal re-opened. "I'm going to have to show you how these work soon enough, but for now, it's darkness manipulation - just another short hop."

This time, they'd be taking one lot of corridors to reach another - a more mundane set, underground.

Xikkuyo just couldn't understand that. Not noticing strangers sneaking around, or strange lightning bolts from a clear blue sky? Inaba would have been buzzing about things like that! People would have investigated--kids like her would have, if nothing else. People would have gotten curious, and started rumors circulating. Was then keeping the Heartless population under control really worth not being curious?

Another one of those portals again..... This time, Xikkuyo doesn't hesitate to follow Axel into it, drifting close to his side as they go. "Darkness manipulation..... is that another spell from those crystals?" Where are they, even? She can tell it's some kind of tunnel, but other than that..... Maybe it'll be easier once her eyes adjust.

Axel shook his head. "Nope. It's something that you'll pick up soon enough, though." Especially if she kept doing as well as she has so far.

The Twilight Town tram corridors were a bit flickery, today: now this was interesting. Heartless or a mundane explanation? Worth a quick look around, after all, now they were here... Axel gestured around. "No-one ever comes down here. Well, the odd maintenance guy, but we see them once in a blue moon...

What we do get down here is Heartless. Have you been told about them? We're going on a little hunt."

"Oh, like the shrine....." Xikkuyo murmured to herself, rubbing her eyes. That had been basically abandoned, too, even in a place like Inaba..... It still seemed a little odd that a place right in the middle of town would have nobody but maintenance visiting it, but she supposed she couldn't argue. It was convenient for them, at least..... What was it even supposed to be used for, though? Was it abandoned because of these Heartless?

Xikkuyo nodded, a little uncertainly. If nothing else, she'd at least heard the name before. She was sure she'd learn more, if they were going hunting for the things. "Saïx and Xemnas mentioned them. They said those aer what we're supposed to fight." Among other things. She'd tried to listen, really she had, but so much of it had gone over her head..... She'd barely understood any of Xemnas' explanations, and Saïx hadn't been exactly forthcoming with help.

"Bingo," Axel remarked. "You're not going to be fighting them front and centre, I don't think - not like any of you kids came in swinging Keyblades. But it's an important part of what we do, so we're going to have to start somewhere."

He looked around for any obvious signs of Heartless presence. Usually some around here, somewhere... and as overhead the lights flickered, another flicker caught his eye. He gestured again, pointing around a corner, his voice lowered in tone.

"You see that thing there? We've found our first one. Shouldn't be a problem - it's just a Shadow."

Xikkuyo nodded, following the gesture with her eyes to see the glimmer of gold eyes and a small dark figure scuttling along the floor. She couldn't quite bring herself to say anything just yet--she felt sick at just the sight, throat tight and rooted to the spot. If she could have felt fear or horror, or even true revulsion, she would have; she recognized that creature. So the Heartless were what had attacked Inaba.....

She doesn't want to go. She doesn't want to touch one of those things. She doesn't even want to look at it. Xikkuyo clutches her fan tighter; it's not good to freeze up like this, not when he obviously wants her to hunt it, but..... Her own voice is soft, not quite a whisper. "Wh-what do I do.....?"