Target Practice is Over || Elise

A mixture of feelings and thoughts had arisen within Tetsuko upon learning about the special military demonstration. Tetsuko, personally, had a somewhat positive view of the armed forces. Not greatly so, but Tetsuko did admire their service and willingness to put themselves at risk for the benefit of others, holding them with the same reverence she did Heroes and other servants of the public. Tetsuko herself, however, didn't have much interest in joining them, not when the far more righteous and independent option of Heroism existed. The Shindou girl couldn't exactly see herself picking up a pack and rifle, no, her own warrior's path was a much different affair.

That being said, this particularly military demonstration had still piqued Tetsuko's interest. The details weren't completely clear to her, but from what Tetsuko understood, the military was attempting to establish a better understanding of Quirked individuals, and how they might better integrate them into the current forces. The importance of this was not lost on Tetsuko, who herself was the first Quirker of her family line, and thus carried the burden of bringing their school to new heights with her blessing. Part of that was pushing them into an increasingly Quirk-centered future, which naturally predicated improved relations. If there was anything Tetsuko could do to help with that, she'd gladly attend.

Of course, that wasn't her only reason for attending, and like many of her peers Tetsuko was interested in seeing what the military's training and equipment might have to offer that would aid them in future Heroics. Many were treating it like some kind of festival, but perhaps most surprising to Tetsuko was her girlfriend's interest in it. Tetsuko had initially postulated that Elise was keen on investigating the medical camps for more knowledge and training, but the Eisenberg girl seemed to have different plans in mind...

Yes, Tetsuko was well on her way to learning a lot about one of Elise's much more unorthodox hobbies. To think, that the once pacifist girl was now something of a firearms fanatic! It had been incredibly surprising to hear Eli's hobby, but Tetsuko had gotten rather used to learning new things about her childhood friend as of late. They were both changing and growing alongside each other, like they always had, so it was becoming more and more natural to watch one another bloom into something different, not unlike flowers.

Heading into the grounds with Elise, Tetsuko found Eli's arm wrapped around her own before the Germanic girl proclaimed her first choice of attraction. "Firearms? Alright, sounds good to me." Tetsuko replied with a shrug and half-grin. How was it possible that Elise looked so adorable when she got excited about guns of all things? Tetsuko might never know the answer, but the result was clear: Elise was cuter than ever in a festive mood, which after all the pain and strife they'd been through, had Tetsuko's heart swelling with affection and joy. She didn't even particularly care that, well, guns weren't exactly her thing.

There was a wide variety of firearms on display within the armory, most of which Tetsuko had never even seen before. And the few weapons that did look familiar to her were simply the ones she'd seen used in movies and other fiction. It probably came as a surprise to no one, but firearms weren't exactly the swordswoman's are of expertise. Ask her to distinguish between any number of swords or other martial weaponry, and Tetsuko could speak on endlessly, but if it had a trigger she was utterly clueless. Her own grandfather denounced the firearm as the weapon of a warrior, but that was his own opinion, and Tetsuko herself was curious to see what worth they might have for her.

At the very least, Elise seemed to be enjoying herself. She pointed out a long rifle, a sniper to be exact, something Tetsuko had heard of before but never actually seen up close. Seeing any of these firearms in the flesh was a strange experience, given she'd only witnessed them before through a screen or on a page. Elise, on the other hand seemed incredible familiar with it, yammering on about how deadly and powerful it was, a uniquely endearing excitement in her tone. Even in spite of the subject matter, Tetsuko couldn't help but smile along as she listened to Elise go on and on about these weapons she was fascinated with. There was something about the way her eyes lit up with glee and awe that had Tetsuko's heart aflutter with affection. Little did the Shindou girl know, Elise's aptitude for firearms went beyond just her knowledge of them, and although Tetsuko figured Elise probably knew how to fire one, she had yet to realize just how skilled the young German was!

Hands in her pockets and a soft look of amusement in her expression, Tetsuko watched as Elise asked to use one of the sniper rifles. One of the young soldiers agreed to let her use it, and before he could say anything more, Elise had picked up the sniper rifle and darted off toward the shooting range, proclaiming her already learned experienced with the handling of the firearms. Sensei... Must've been Kobayashi. Tetsuko really wasn't sure what kind of circumstances might have lead the principal to teaching a young girl how to shoot a sniper rifle, but she supposed as long as Elise was having fun with it...

Giving a bemused shrug to the solider who looked at her in bewilderment, Tetsuko would follow along to the shooting range, eager to see what kind of skill Elise had with a gun. She was a fast learner, so surely it hadn't taken much for Kobayashi to drill in the basics. Yet, once the man began to instruct on how to reload, Elise made clear she was proficient in far more than just the basics, reloading and priming the rifle with speed and precision that would please any drill sergeant! Tetsuko's brows were raised as she stood silent and curious to see what skills her girlfriend had picked up from the former JSDF Lieutenant. Elise, with complete confidence, requested moving projectiles, and already Tetsuko felt like she was about to be impressed, yet the lengths which her jaw would draw towards the floor had not yet been foreseen.

When Elise told Tetsuko she was next, the swordswoman was taken aback, her cheeks flushing up lightly as she stammered a bit. "R-Right, I'll just see how it is first..." Her, firing a gun? Tetsuko was more likely to shoot herself than the target! With cautious concern, the Shindou girl watched the confident Eli raise her rifle, her skill and comfort more than evident. Tetsuko had rarely ever seen her look so self-assured, so poised and focused. Hell, the only other time Tetsuko had seen Elise this collected was when she played the piano, a far cry from target shooting!

The disc flew into the air at a distance, its speed such that Tetsuko wondered if she could cut it down were it launched at her. Indeed, at this range it would likely take an incredible amount of skill to utilize such a pinpoint weapon to eliminate the target, and no short deal of - Then Elise hit it on her first go. Tetsuko's eyes widened in surprise, utterly speechless at her lover's marksmanship. And it wasn't beginner's luck, or any kind of luck, as Elise skillfully dispatched one disc after the other in quick succession, showing the kind of sniping skills that would make any grown man tremble at the thought of crossing this sweet Germanic lass!

"Holy shit..." Tetsuko uttered, entirely stunned. Elise von Eisenberg, pianist, medic... And world-class marksman. Who would've guessed it? "You're amazing, Eli!" The swordswoman proclaimed with genuine surprise and pride. Yes, although Elise's display was fearsome and powerful, Tetsuko could hardly stop herself from feeling incredibly proud of her girlfriend's skill! But, when the burden come on her to follow up the act, Tetsuko immediately became flustered. How was she supposed to even try to accomplish the same?

"U-Um, I-I think I'll pass, I'll stick to swords..." Tetsuko uttered with an awkward chuckle... Though, Elise had been willing to be shown the joys of swordsmanship... "I-I mean, I can give it a try, start of with something smaller though... And I'll need you to show me the steps." Tetsuko said with a soft smile towards Elise. If this was her lover's passion, it was only fair that Tetsuko let Eli have all her fun in showing the swordswoman how to wield a firearm. Though their hobbies were certainly different, the joys that came from sharing them were nonetheless prominent in their relationship.

There were two subjects that always succeeded in drawing Elise's attention, those being Tetsuko and firearms. It didn't matter where she was or who she was talking to, Tetsuko always was a central piece of her thoughts, and as such it was easy to understand that the young Eisenberg was rather distracted with the presence of her lover and teaching her the wonders in firearms, to the point she had been oblivious to the fact she was being observed. The proud and happy exclamation of her lover that she was amazing after the performance with the sniper rifle had led Elise to grin sheepishly at the compliment, clearly enjoying the attention she was receiving from Tetsuko. There was always something about being the focus of Tetsuko that made her feel so alive, that moment she had eyes only for her truly were the moments she felt the most excited. When the iron-blooded lass said she preferred to stick to swords the burgundy-haired lass couldn't help but pout for a moment. She knew Tetsuko was more of a swordfighter than a gunner, but she still really wanted to show Tetsuko that same feeling she had when wielding a firearm, but it was in that moment a voice drew her attention.

A man approached them, judging from the engineer's reaction a higher rank soldier who soon complimented her shooting, causing the girl's lips to curve into a smile once more while he asked if he could increase the difficulty a little. "Sure~ I could show Tetsu a bit more on how to fire the rifle~" Elise answered with a sheepish grin, clearly not minding it at all. In the end, she was the type of person who enjoyed a good challenge, and yet she was in for a pleasant surprise. While the lieutenant was setting up the machine Elise started reloading the magazine as she explained to her girlfriend. "There are three steps you need to learn to be able to properly wield any sort of firearm, sensei might be better at explaining this, but I personally call it the 'SAS'" A curious choice of words, but the girl continued her explanation with a smile.

"The first thing you got to keep in mind is that it all begins with the way you hold your body, from the way you position yourself to the method you use to hold the rifle. One of the problems I had when sensei taught me was that I held the gun too strongly and tried to fight back against the recoil, but you can't beat that. The recoil is a sacrifice you make for the increased strength of your firearm, so instead try to learn to position your body in a way you soak in, or 'absorb' the recoil with your body. That's the 'S' the S of Stance"

As she took her stance the girl positioned her body in such a way the rifle was properly placed and any recoil would be absorbed by her shoulder and the rest of her body. "Next up is the A for Aiming~ It's important to be able to aim properly, in the end, a shot missed is a shot wasted, right sir?" She asked the lieutenant with a grin as she continued. "I heard most snipers tend to first find the right angle to aim at before they use their scope to properly hone in on a targeted spot, but sensei taught me to do that with the scope alone!" Although that was a feat most soldiers weren't capable of, in the end, it took way too long to track someone through a scope unlike using one's own broader vision to look around the landscape.

"Then you got the S for Shooting, there isn't a need to strongly pull the trigger, just a squeeze is enough~ you'll see once I start firing~" And then the exercise would begin. Taking a deep breath Elise watched the first red dummy emerge onto the field, and almost instantaneously her body moved as if on an intense speed auto-pilot she shifted her angle and fired straight at the dummy, hitting it cleanly in the chest. However, as the second 'wave' emerged it seemed the girl would struggle somewhat, the first red dummy in the form of an enemy soldier being shot down properly once more, but when she aimed at the next target her body froze for a moment and she could be able to be heard whispering audibly. "A civilian... no, calm down Elise, remember sensei's lessons." Indeed, a moment hesitation had followed that could have likely led to the third dummy to fire back at her, but after she took it down and cleared the second wave it appeared things would change soon afterward.

To the Lieutenant, it might have looked like an interesting surprise, the way it felt like Elise was automatically ignoring the green dummies and instead went straight for the red ones. However, with each wave and increase in the speed and amount of dummies it started to become more noticeable: If he looked at the expression of the girl behind the sniper rifle he would no doubt see her smiling cheerfully as if she was playing a game rather than doing an actual target practice.

Indeed, despite the fact she had hesitated at first, the moment she grew used to the civilian dummies their presence it seemed her focus had become so intense that she could easily avoid shooting them by accident and instead aimed straight at the red enemies while ensuring the green ones their trajectory wouldn't cross in the path of her bullets. Nonetheless, as she finished and lowered the rifle once more Elise couldn't help but grin at the two of them. "But I think this exercise might be a bit too hard for Tetsu~ Hehe, even I struggled a bit, it's not easy to fire a rifle when civilians are in the area. To properly calculate the path of your bullet, the timing of your shooting, requires a lot of focus~"

Looking at the lieutenant once more she asked with a grin. "Are you here to practice also sir?"

Dauwz: 11 x 2 = 22

Elise: 20 x 2 = 40

Tetsuko: 19 x 2 = 38