Chihiro's Training Montage

[petabytes]

Who: Chihiro Fujisaki, seperately with Dean Winchester, D'Artagnan, and Shannon Beiste - possibly others; I'm open to other characters dropping in the threads, so long as everyone else is!
Where: Various locations
When: At various points within the week
Rating: PG, PG-13 at most.
Summary: Through the course of her personal mission to become stronger, Chihiro seeks the help of various residents who had offered to help her.


They're probably busy. I don't want to be a bother. Maybe it's hopeless, I shouldn't waste their time.

These thoughts and more had often swirled in Chihiro Fujisaki's head whenever she thought back to all of the people who offered to train her to defend herself and strengthen her body. Weighing in at less than 100 pounds and standing less than five feet tall didn't leave Chihiro with a lot of room to grow, and it was often easier to simply look at herself for a few good seconds and give up.

As the mansion's cruel tricks chipped away at her, however, her behavior began to change. Rather than being discouraged, Chihiro found her resolve. She could either give up, or bite the bullet and strengthen herself - and she had too many good friends counting on her to stand up for herself to take the easy way out any longer.

"...Alter Ego... if anyone asks for me for the next few hours... tell them I'm not available. I'll be back, all right?"

Comments

With Dean Winchester

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Things always seemed to get in the way of Chihiro and Dean getting together, whether it was a leg injury, an event, or a secret meeting of some kind that precluded their promised training session. With Dean having been so busy, and Chihiro's lack of will to pursue the matter, it was never quite the right time.

However, after finding her resolve, and coming to trust Dean even more after the revelations of the shadow event, Chihiro couldn't allow herself to put it off any longer, especially considering that their training session offered a good excuse for her to get some time alone with Dean to discuss her problems without her personified insecurities looming over her shoulder.

---

She meets Dean at his room, dressed in a blue tracksuit, struggling to carry a gym bag full of various fitness paraphernalia. After trying and failing to take a hand off the bag long enough to knock, she sets the equipment down next to her before rapping lightly on the door. "Dean...? I, I'm here..."

[righteously]

Dean answers the door with a sandwich in his mouth. Well, alright, it's not an entire sandwich, but judging by the size of the bite taken out of the thing in his hand, it's enough to feed a small village. He blinks in surprise at the girl on the other side of his door, pausing mid chew to take in the track outfit and the gym bag.

...He forgetting something?

"Wa?"

So, okay, talking with his mouth full is rude and unattractive, but manners slip his mind for a second. Oh, shit, yeah, he promised to train her. He fully intended to, too, he just hadn't gotten around to setting anything up. Wellp, now was as good a time as any, and he nods emphatically, steps back to give her room.

"Yeah, yeah, c'mo- 'n. Gimme min', okay?"

It's all said around a mouth full.

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"I'm sorry if I came at a bad time..." Chihiro meekly shuffles her way into Dean's room, dragging her bag behind her with some effort. "I just didn't want to put it off anymore."

She naturally slots herself into whatever corner of his room seems the most out-of-the-way, trying not to bother him while he gets ready.

"I can come back later, though, if you're busy. I understand. You don't have to feel obligated, or anything like that..."

[righteously]

By the time she shuffles in, he manages to swallow and grab a swig of his bottled water to clear his mouth. "No, no, not a chance. You're right on time."

The food gets put on a plate, shoved aside on the table. He rubs his hands together to clear them of crumbs, and finally takes in her jogging suit.

Frowns.

"Right, first thing's first- thinking the kinda training I'm gonna be able to give you's not gonna come out of that bag. The kinda fighting I do and the kinda fighting you'd do are totally different."

Not that he knows a hell of a lot about martial arts or anything, but he does know the bar-brawl hand to hand marine-style combat training he got from Dad just ain't gonna cut it for someone of her height and build.

"On the bright side, thinking I know exactly who you need to talk to for that. Gotta set it up with her. In the meantime, I think we're gonna focus on something a little more short term solution."

He reaches behind him, tugs a flash of metal from his waistband and holds it out to her. His gun, pearl handled grip and all. It's not the one she's gonna use, but he'd like to see her reaction. See how she feels about it by the look on her face rather than the words out of her mouth- always a lot more accurate when it comes to reading people- and the way she takes it from him'll tell him a hell of a lot about her skill level.

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She blinks a few times, as if her eyes were adjusting to what Dean had just presented to her. After a second, once she realizes what he's shown her, her eyes widen. "Is that... is that a real handgun...?"

Once the surprise wears off, she can't help but feel her heart sink just a little. "Oh, that's right... I remember last time we talked about this, you mentioned firearms training..." Lowering her head, she flushes with embarrassment, not-so-subtly shuffling in front of the bag of training equipment she had hauled with her in order to conceal it from view.

She extends a hand cautiously toward Dean's gun, but then withdraws it briefly to make eye contact with Dean, to silently affirm that he was indeed offering it to her. After a moment, she reaches forward again, with both hands - small hands, Dean may note, even for her size - and very carefully picks it up in a way that keeps her fingers far away from the trigger, the gun's barrel pointed away from both of them, and her hands off any moving parts. The way she carries it, like it could go off at any second, is more indicative of nervousness than any sort of training.

"I... this is the first time I've ever held a gun before... In, in Japan, it's illegal to even touch a live firearm..."

She bites her lip, looking down at the weapon she held so cautiously in her hands. It could be her own lack of confidence and experience, her anxiety about holding something so dangerous, or even differing attitudes between American and Japanese cultures on the nature of firearms, but holding the gun in her hands doesn't make her feel stronger at all.

[righteously]

His eyebrows creep up a little at her question, and he doesn't answer. Just stoically holds out the gun- it's real enough, she'll find out when she takes it. He doesn't blame her for thinking they'd be doing something a little more physical, and if it were plausible, they might. The fact of the matter is, Dean's never been a jogger. Or an exerciser. He doesn't do weight lifting or bicycling or whatever it is olympic athletes and karate instructors do. He gets better by being hands-on, by straight up hand to hand combat, and that's just not gonna work with Chi. He wouldn't even begin to know how to teach her to fight, they've got such a different build that it'd likely do more harm than good.

He'll leave that to Jo, she'll do Chi right. He knows it.

Back in the real world, Chi takes the gun. If nothing else, he can say she treats it with the proper amount of respect and concern. Keeps the barrel away from where it could do the most harm and her fingers away from the place that could make it, but that's about all he can say. The rest is just nerves, complete and utter lack of form or familiarity, not even really any natural ability that he can see.

"The safety's on." He nods towards the gun, feels the compulsive need to put her at ease. In all honesty, it's good that holding a weapon doesn't give her a since of power. The only thing worse than a gun in the wrong hands is a gun in the hands of someone who thinks it makes them stronger. That's not it at all- it's the knowledge of how to use it and when that's going to keep her safe.

"C'mon. We're going down to the shooting range, and we're gonna do a little target practice."

A beat.

"You, uh, you can leave the gym equipment here 'til we get back."

[petabytes]

"Oh, of course... I'm sorry that I forgot about what we discussed last time we talked about this..." She's clearly still mentally kicking herself over preparing herself for the wrong sort of training. "I'll take it all back to my room once we're done, of course..."

She hands the gun back to Dean the moment it feels appropriate to do so, then follows along behind him as they make their way to the shooting range. As they walk together, she quietly contemplates the benefits of learning how to use a gun properly - Wonderland's events are often dangerous, even to people who can fight hand-to-hand, so being able to protect herself is a necessity, after all.

"...Do you think I'm a lost cause, Dean? I mean, I know how small I am... I'm not going to get any bigger, either... I'm sixteen years old, so a growth spurt this late is out of the question..."

[righteously]

"Don't worry about it. Seriously." The gun gets tucked away, and he grabs his own bag from beside his bed. It's not something he put together especially for her, he didn't even know she was coming, but old habits die hard and keeping an action bag ready at all times is just something he learned from dad that never quite went away. Saved his ass more than once.

The shooting range isn't exactly an official place, so much as an abandoned room a ways off from the general population for the sake of noise control. It's got everything they need, though, made to be a replica of the one he's used to back home.

He selects a booth near the middle, sets the bag up on the counter and digs through it. Two sets of noise-muffling earpieces get set on the table, along with a small, de-clipped baretta. It's the smallest practical handgun he's got. The bag gets set aside, and he holds it up.

"Alright. First and foremost, guns aren't toys. They aren't the solution to your problems. They're weapons, and they're not something you should fuck around with lightly, understand?"

[petabytes]

"I understand..." Dean's firmness sets her slightly on edge - she's not quite used to seeing that side of him directed her way, but she understands the gravity of the situation warrants it. Guns are tools designed to kill, with no other purpose - to treat them without proper respect and care is to invite disaster.

Her eyes drift over to the earmuffs Dean had set aside. "Are... are they really that loud...?"

With Shannon Beiste

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Chihiro didn't know Shannon Beiste very well, having only spoken to her over the network once, and receiving a recommendation to meet with her from John Egbert. Despite the mansion's current event making communication between the two of them difficult, Chihiro had managed to promise to meet with her after the event was over. Once Shannon sent out her next open call for self defense training, Chihiro made a point to attend.

---

"...Ms. Beiste...? Did... did I come at the right time...?" Chihiro meekly pokes her head in the door of Beiste's room / gymnasium, having arrived dressed for the occasion in her school gym uniform. "I'm sorry if I'm intruding... I've never done this before, so I'm not sure what the proper procedure is..."

[usskickass]

Beiste takes a step back from the battery of punches she's delivering to a hanging bag (which, if she's being honest, was very clearly taking the shape of Cooter in her mind). When she turns to see Chihiro, however, her face can't help but break out into a smile. The little thing's just too sweet and kind-- something like Brit, although missing some of the other girl's spunk and self-confidence.

She hopes this self-defense stuff will help with that.

"You're just fine, chica. I just hang out here and wait for anybody who wants a lesson." She gestures at Chihiro's getup. "Which I'm guessin' is what you're here for, right?"

[petabytes]

"Ah! Yes, that's right... I wasn't sure what the proper attire was, so I thought going with my school gym uniform would be fine... I can go change, though, if it isn't..."

She shuffles into the room, eyeing all the equipment Beiste had set up - it reminds her of the training rooms back at Hope's Peak Academy, though luckily without the ridiculously draconian gender restrictions.

"I'm sorry about not coming here last time... I was too afraid that the event would make it too hard for us to talk to each other, and that there would end up being an accident..."

[usskickass]

"What you're wearing is fine. Just keep in mind that you won't be dressed and ready if you need to protect yourself outside this classroom."

Beiste shrugs at Chihiro's explanation, smiling warmly down at the girl. "Whatever makes you comfortable, girlie. That's the most important thing, here. If you're uncomfortable with learnin' this stuff, you're not gonna really memorize it and be able to use it when it counts."

The fact is, Chihiro has to feel safe when they practice these moves, because they are going to get real intimate real fast, and if talkin' funny is gonna get in the way, well. Beiste'll try to cut out whatever it was that the mansion decided to pick up on for that event.

"First, though," Beiste continues, "have you stretched any? Kinda an exception from the 'you won't be this prepared' rule, since we don't want you hurting yourself if you don't have to."

[petabytes]

"I... I'm comfortable..." It's somewhat clear that she isn't exactly 100% comfortable, seeing as how there's something that Beiste doesn't know about her which could come to light through a lot of close contact. She rationalized it to herself that since there aren't any gender restrictions on any of the mansion's various facilities, her secret won't really matter as much. Surprise, surprise; turns out it still matters to her, even without the threat of imminent death.

Still, there are ways to keep certain things concealed, and Chihiro had been doing this for a long time. Taking a deep breath, she steels herself, and tries to put it out of her mind, changing the subject.

"I'm not very flexible... I'll, I'll probably end up needing help stretching..."

[usskickass]

"No problemo! Just follow my lead, alright?"

Beiste leads Chihiro through some basic stretches to get her muscles warmed up. Once they're done, she cracks her neck a little, doing her best not to think too hard about the role she's about to take on in these exercises. The fact that she had to pretend to be someone enacting violence on a woman wasn't so difficult years ago-- after all, it was just part of the training. It was the point of the training. But after the stuff with Cooter, well. The whole things a little more complicated for her, and the best she can do is act like it's not even on her mind to begin with.

"So, I'm thinkin' we're gonna want a signal of some kind in case you get too wigged out. I'm gonna be right up in your, uh, personal space, and if you ever feel unsafe I need to know right away so I can get outta there." She holds up a hand, palm out. "Only thing is, just sayin' stop isn't enough, because that's part of the pretendin'. So you gotta come up with a word you'll remember, but won't say by accident."

[petabytes]

More prepared for a lifetime of sitting in front of a computer and not moving much than for any physical activity, Chihiro proves not to be very limber during stretches, often requiring assistance and producing many involuntary noises of protest and discomfort. By the time they're done warming up, she already appears to be a bit winded - it becomes immediately apparent that Chihiro is likely going to be a "project".

"A... a signal...? P-part of the pretending...?" She swallows nervously, bringing her hands up near her face. "I'm sorry... I'm afraid I don't really understand why... why that's necessary..."

[usskickass]

"Hey, hey, calm down, girlie. It's just I'm gonna ask you to yell things like 'stop' and 'no' when we're pretending you're fighting me off, so if you really want me to stop we need some other word for it, alright?"

She doesn't want Chihiro to get scared off by this, but it's true-- you need to practice being loud and attracting attention as a part of this. Sometimes that's all it takes to scare the attacker off. Nobody wants to be found being the bad guy.

...Although Beiste's aware that nobody really wants to be seen as the victim either.

With D'Artagnan

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Chihiro's relationship with D'Artagnan had been somewhat strained, ever since Chihiro guiltily confessed her secret to him. It had mostly been Chihiro's own insecurity and awkwardness that prevented the two of them from reconnecting - she couldn't help but feel guilty for "deceiving" him the whole time, and still didn't know if she could ever explain herself to him - if she could ever figure out enough about herself to explain, of course.

Despite the awkwardness, D'Artagnan had offered to teach her how to swordfight. If Chihiro was ever going to get stronger, she couldn't pass up this opportunity - an opportunity to train her body, as well as steel her resolve in the face of the challenges that her secret posed.

---

Asking D'Artagnan to meet with her for fencing lessons was much easier than she thought it would be, owing to D'Artagnan's friendly nature - as such, Chihiro looks fairly confident as she approaches him at their pre-arranged meeting place, having put together an outfit not terribly dissimilar from his own. "Hello, D'Artagnan! Thanks for meeting me here. I hope I'm dressed appropriately... I'm not really familiar with the clothes from this period..."

late to the party as always I am so sorry ;__;

[strangeboy]

D'Artagnan hadn't meant for things to become strained. He'd just... become busy after her confession and neglected almost everyone he knew. And he's not the kind of person who understands how to fix things once they're broken, but he's certainly the type to try. So, lessons for Chihiro were probably the best plan.

The day they meet by the fountain is a pleasant one, and D'Artagnan's brought swords-- one much lighter than his own for Chihiro-- and extra water. He smiles at her in return and waves a hand.

"You're dressed just fine, as long as you can move freely. Can you?"

[petabytes]

In response to his question, she briefly looks down at her own body, swinging her arms in a wide arc, moving her legs around, making sure that her clothing doesn't restrict her movement. To an outside observer, she'd look pretty ridiculous, but the normally self-conscious Chihiro doesn't seem to notice.

"It looks like I can," she confirms, kicking the toe of her boot against the ground. "I... I was going to try to see if I could wear one of those fencing outfits, but... they're too tight-fitting..."

[strangeboy]

D'Artagnan waves a hand. "The outfits are unnecessary and inaccurate. They're after my time, so I wouldn't know how to teach you in one anyway."

He comes to stand next to her and takes his first position, his left foot behind himself at an angle and his right foot in front. Right down to business. He's a serious teacher. He hopes she can be a serious student.

"We'll begin with footwork. Copy my stance."

[petabytes]

"Ah... your stance...?" They're starting already? "Oh! All, all right, I'll do my best..."

She looks over D'Artagnan's pose for reference, before looking back to her own body, attempting to mimic his stance to the best of her ability. It takes her some time to get it just right, but even then, she appears just a bit off-balance and weak on her feet.

"Is... is this good enough...?

[strangeboy]

Of course they're starting already! D'Artagnan has a lot to teach her, and it won't be the easiest thing. He waits patiently for her to get into her stance, examining her as she does so.

"You'll need to find your balance," he says, getting out of his own and approaching her. "If someone were to hit you here--" He motions on either side of her shoulders. "--It'd be simple to knock you down. One good push backwards and you'd go flying."

[petabytes]

"My balance? Oh..." She tries to find her footing, shifting her feet around, and somehow ends up in an even more unbalanced position than before. With a sigh, she stands back upright, and starts over, trying to match D'Artagnan's stance once again.

"I'm... I'm so small, though, I think even with a great stance I'd be easy to knock over..."

[strangeboy]

D'Artagnan raises an eyebrow. "Well, with that attitude, you certainly will." And he knows it sounds idiotic, and strange coming from his mouth, but still. He believes that a certain level of confidence is necessary for success, especially in sword fighting.

He moves to stand in front of her, his hands on his hips. "Look, Chihiro, you have to believe you're able to do this. You have to believe you'll win. That's half the victory."