[PRP] The Real Journey Begins

[BlackPidgeot]

Yuri watched as Luke's swings became fueled by anger, and with good reason. ... Wow. Talk about messed up. The man frowned and sighed, placing a hand on his hip disapprovingly. "Man, where do people get off," he muttered.

That's just pretty low, kidnapping someone's brother and then sticking around to be their teacher.

Anyway, that was probably enough of that. This was getting pretty personal.

Thus Yuri held his stick out in front of him again in a battle stance. "All right, show me what you've got."  

[Suudonym]

Bitter indignation was actually preferable to most of the other feelings Luke usually encountered, but the feelings led him to wonder what he would do the next time he saw Van. Feelings of sentimentality or attachment no longer existed, certainly, but what exactly was it he expected from the instructor for retribution?

The suggestion was met with a light incredulity that translated easily despite leaving the words unspoken: He would just embarrass himself. A faint shake of his head; there was only so much improvement he could make repeating the foundations by himself. He fell into an appropriate posture.

The last time he'd sparred against Yuri was when his overall health had been at a record low. He remembered being distracting and sluggish, quickly falling too short of breath to continue. He remembered feeling entirely pathetic and was nothing short of fully determined to prevent feeling that way again. Though dull, his movements were calculated and clean. Like this, his chances of success in an actual battle weren't very good, but he at least had the obstinance to hold up.  

[BlackPidgeot]

"Come on!" Yuri urged Luke as the boy seemed to hesitate. A grin spreading across his face when the red head came at him. The older man easily parried Luke's strikes, but that's not what mattered. He was judging the strength behind the blows and the execution.

The crack of wood against wood resounding several times, while Repede looked on nearby with his typically indifferent expression.

"Good, keep at it," Yuri encouraged, despite the fact that Luke was far from being where he needed to be.  

[Suudonym]

He could do better than this, damn it. Luke wouldn't be satisfied with any progress made as long as he knew he had once been at a higher level. The fact that he was starting to feel worn down was mortifying; were he using a blade instead of a branch, he probably would have already drained his stamina. In defiance of his limitations, he redoubled his efforts, willing to sacrifice the duration of his breath and strength to prove to himself that he could fight properly.

And he could fight properly, for all of a few additional minutes before he overreached himself. Luke moved back almost staggeringly, though the fact that he maintained a guard implied that he had no intent to stop entirely in spite of his weary condition.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Yuri blinked as Luke suddenly put all his strength into fighting back, knowing that the kid was wearing himself out. Which became evident when he stumbled back.

However, Yuri didn't let it end there. He advanced on Luke, swinging his branch as if he were an attacker.

"You need to pace yourself," Yuri told him firmly. "Know your limits and think with your head."

With another forceful swing, the man then knocked Luke's branch from his grasp. Ending by pointing the end at the boy.

"A weapon doesn't make you invincible. Even with a gun. It might give you an advantage, but if you don't know how to use it you'll just end up dead."

Like those people in the warehouse.

Anyone could wield a gun, or even a sword, but without proper instruction and practice it was useless.  

[Suudonym]

Luke moved to block, but his grip was weakened in his exhaustion, and he managed to keep up his guard only for a brief time before the branch was knocked from his hold. He stood in silence for a time, his expression and breathing controlled. Eventually his gaze fell aside, "I know." And he did know, but damn it, maybe just for a few minutes he didn't want to feel like eight years of practice were completely useless - like he was completely useless.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Lowering his stick, Yuri then tossed it aside before stepping up to Luke and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, don't let it get you down. You'll get there, I'm gonna help you. So how about trusting me a little bit?"

They would practice every day, he would see to that. Luke needed this, needed something to work towards, to fight for. It would be good for him.  

[Suudonym]

There was another short spell of silence, an apparent hesitation in how to respond, and an eventual light sigh that yielded to an apologetic smile, "Right. Thanks." He honestly didn't know how Yuri still had the patience to deal with him; he doubted he couldn't count on both hands the number of times he'd been drawn out of various depths of hopelessness. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to express his gratitude appropriately. The single word of appreciation was like a drop of water out of the ocean.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Yuri smiled then removed his hand from Luke's shoulder as he started to walk back towards where they'd camped.

"C'mon, lets get out of here. We should reach Mako town sometime today."