I'll Make a Swordsman Out Of You [Kenshin's Lesson]

The group Isamu had found himself a part of was certainly a mixed bag of people. He both knew and didn't know the people he'd be training with. Despite having performed alongside both Angel and Daisuke a couple of week prior in the Sentai Production at UA, Isamu was a little embarrassed that he didn't really know anything about them other than their names. Though that was something he was hoping to rectify today. If he had to put labels on the group, he himself was more the middle ground among them with Angel taking the moral high-road with a very admirable if not slightly naive outlook on life. That's not to say Isamu disagreed that such a thing should be attempted, he was just doubtful that one person would be able to bear that burden on one set of shoulders. Daisuke, well, he was rather simple to understand, his and Isamu's performance together at the Sentai Production making that readily clear. He was The Interceptor through and through.

Kenshin went on to describe how he wanted to proceed with the lesson, thankfully with sparring involved. Disarming was the aim of the game it seemed and it was something Isamu was fairly familiar with as it was an exercise his Grandfather had often put to him. The concept was easy to understand, in a contest between two swordsman the combatant with a sword was much more likely to prevail against the combatant who didn't. Taking away your opponents weapon didn't tend to be simple but it was certainly more than a little effective in changing the flow of a fight. Even more so that they had the restriction placed on them that the exercise was to be conducted with only the use of their chosen training weapons, meaning no Quirks allowed. That was more than fair Isamu thought, after-all the day was about improving their swordsmanship, bringing Quirks into things would only stifle that. Sure, if he was allowed to make use of his Quirk Isamu could more than likely perform the task with ease, but he didn't want that, not by a long shot. The handicap only served to feed his eagerness. 

The idea of fighting together against their temporary sensei wasn't one that sat well with Isamu and it seemed it was a feeling that Angel echoed. He reasoning was sound and along the same lines as Isamu's. They didn't know how each other preferred to fight, though Isamu had a sneaking suspicion that at least for Daisuke it was to fight alone, without anyone else distracting him or simply getting in his way. Isamu felt somewhat the same, though from a more traditionalist viewpoint. This was not true combat, and though he much preferred the wild unpredictability that it brought, Isamu knew that it had no place in the Dojo. Here he was comport himself with the honor and respect that his Grandfather had instilled into him over the long years of training. His own personal skills would see little to no benefit from fighting alongside others. If they were to complete the exercise put before them, it would be alone.

Now all that would have to be decided was the order in which they would spar with Kenshin. Isamu had preference on going last, not because of any hint of nervousness or anything of the sort. It was simply another lesson he had learnt years ago. Knowledge was power when it came to fighting. Knowledge of how your opponent thought and fought would allow you to adapt to them and hopefully counter their techniques. The more Isamu saw Kenshin fight, especially against two people who he suspected had very different fighting styles, the better prepared he would be when it came time for him to make the attempt. Before he could voice any of such preferences, a small hand rested itself briefly on his shoulder. The deceptively devilish girl had beaten him to the punch, expressing her own desire to wait things out and take her turn last. The smile on her face was serene and kind, but Isamu could see calculating look in her eyes. She was thinking much the same thing. From her prior admission she had fought Kenshin on at least one occasion before today, so either she was attempting to discern if  his fighting style had evolved since then, or more likely she was trying to feel out Isamu and Daisuke both, on the chance that they would be sparring each other at some point later on. 

"Clever Girl." Isamu thought, smiling softly as he quoted the old classic to himself. Either way he sliced it, Isamu was going to miss out on 'research'. Though he didn't mind all that much, sure he was competitive and loved a challenge, but it was nothing to get all tied up in knots about. If anything it only added to the challenge before him. He had next to no idea how Kenshin fought, only that it was obvious he was skilled otherwise he wouldn't have been put in charge of three people a few years his senior. Still, Isamu figured he could get some last minute research in. Looking over at Angel with a knowing smile he nodded.

"Fair enough," he began before turning to look in Daisuke's direction. "How about it Interceptor? Want to show everyone what you can do?" he said, hopefully goading the boy into action. If anything Daisuke looked almost too eager to begin and it only served to remind Isamu about the Sentai Production. He hadn't been quite sure of the reasoning then, but the Jet powered boy had been almost chomping at the bit to fight even if it was just mock fighting. With any luck he might be able to force a few specialist moves out of Kenshin and allow Isamu to more accurately gauge the challenge he was up against. Either way, Isamu knew that the day had only just begun, the fun was about to start.
 

Things hadn't exactly gone the way he had been expecting. Isamu couldn't quite pinpoint the moment everything had fallen apart but he was fairly sure it was some time between when he had motioned Daisuke forwards and when the aforementioned boy had bodily tossed him towards their instructor for the day..... Still, Isamu wasn't made, quite the opposite in fact. A wicked smile plastered across his face as he regained control of his own momentum, an excited laugh escaping his lips. This certainly changed things up a little but it could not be said that the little spar that they had ahead of themselves would be boring now. At the very least Isamu now had a better idea of where Daisuke's head was at. He wasn't just the slavering beast that he might sometimes resemble, there was a method to the madness. Isamu decided to roll with it, literally.

Using his newfound momentum Isamu fell into a roll, coming up and executing a horizontal slash at Kenshin's legs in the same movement. The reasoning was two-fold. One, Isamu wanted to either gain a little distance between himself and his instructor for the day if Kenshin opted to backpedal to dodge. Two, he could already hear the thundering steps directly behind him and Isamu had a good idea what Daisuke was up to. With his attack executed, Isamu braced himself on one knee as Daisuke used his prone form to vault high into the air, seeking a powerful downwards strike on Kenshin. With his impromptu team mate above him Isamu struck out once more, hoping to put Kenshin off balance defending from two angles at once. With Daisuke dropping down from on high, Isamu whipped himself upwards and around with speed, seeking to attack Kenshin with a whirlwind strike to the torso as he sought to block Daisuke's strike. 

If one on one match ups were off the table, then Isamu would gladly play along. While he much preferred the thrill of pitting his skill, and only his skill alone against his opponent, he knew now that today would likely not be one of those days. Still this was already fun and would likely become more so the longer the spar continued. If only they had been allowed to utilize their Quirks, then things would be much, much more interesting Isamu thought. He always loved combining two of his favorite things together. Quirks and Swordplay. 

Kenshin: 13 exp.
Isamu: 21 exp.
Angel: 10 exp.
Daisuke: 4 exp.