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 Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 8:07 pm
Kiran nodded as he followed after Jianyu. Everything was going well. Almost a little too well. When did any of his scams go exactly as he wanted them anyway? Kiran stomped down on that little voice of doubt. How could this go wrong, after all? Jianyu, so far, was playing right into his game. He didn't see how things could blow up in his face this time like they had in his prior scams.
"Yeah, sure. This looks good," Kiran replied as he glanced around the street. Empty and quiet, it made a perfect setting for this little scam. "Hm, but what to use for a target?" He scanned the street again and spotted a tree off to the side. "Aha! That should work."
Kiran trotted over to the tree. Bending his knees, he sprung up, catching a low branch. Then he pulled himself up onto it. After years of practice, climbing a tree of this small stature was easy for him. He reached up to a higher branch and tugged an apple free.
"Where should I place the target?" he called, turning back to Jianyu.
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Posted: Mon May 31, 2010 3:22 pm
Jianyu watched Kiran haul himself up onto the branch, raising one dark eyebrow. The boy was nimble, obviously quite used to climbing trees, and he pulled himself up with ease.
"Place it wherever you like." Jianyu said as he turned around, untying the string that held his bow against his waist. "Farther is better."
Reaching into his pocket, Jianyu pulled out a small leather glove, sliding it onto his right hand. Then he bent his arm behind him, slipping an arrow from his sheath and strung it easily into the bow, pulling the string back so that his fingers brushed against his cheek.
"Ready." he said.
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Posted: Mon May 31, 2010 4:34 pm
Kiran nodded then climbed down from the branch. He trotted on down the street, throwing a glance over his shoulder to check how much distance he had put between them. When he decided he was far enough away, he stopped and turned back to Jianyu. He must have walked a good twenty or thirty feet from where Jianyu remained. Kiran could only imagined the difficulty of hitting a target as small as the apple from that distance. But Jianyu certainly seemed confident of his abilities to Kiran.
A grin stretched from ear to ear across his face as a crazy thought hit him. Kiran took the apple and placed it on top of his head. "All right," he called out to Jianyu. "Try and hit the apple!" Keeping the apple balanced on his head, he folded his arms and waited to see what Jianyu would do. Could he really hit the apple like this, or would he be too afraid of hitting Kiran by mistake?
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Posted: Mon May 31, 2010 4:41 pm
The boy was certainly confident, Jianyu had to give him that. He watched as Kiran ambled down the long abandoned street, stopping when he was about thirty feet away. Then he placed the apple onto his head, and Jianyu could see the whiteness of his grin even from this distance.
What is that boy thinking...?
Jianyu raised the bow a bit higher, pulled the string back a bit farther. Then, closing one eye, he positioned the bow just where he wanted.
And then let the arrow fly.
It whistled past his face, rifling his hair, and whisked across the top of Kiran's head, slicing cleanly through the center of the apple and embedding both the arrow and the apple in the tree behind where Kiran stood. Letting his arm drop, Jianyu walked over to Kiran, reaching up to yank the arrow from the tree.
"Your turn." he said, bringing the apple to his lips and taking a bite. "Show me how you fight."
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Posted: Mon May 31, 2010 5:09 pm
The smile remained plastered on his face until he heard the whistle of the arrow soaring through the air. And it was coming right toward him. Kiran had half a second to blink, too stunned out of his cockiness to even flinch as the arrow pierced the apple on his head. He turned around stiffly, staring at the apple and the arrow that had penetrated it dead center.
"No way," Kiran breathed out, hardly believing what just happened. How could Jianyu hit the apple so perfectly from that distance? Perhaps he had doubted the man's skill a little too much. But Kiran felt excitement thrumming through him. To have that kind of accuracy from that distance? "I want to be able to do that," he thought out loud.
He torn from his thoughts when he heard Jianyu speak. "Oh, right. The deal." Kiran had almost forgotten about his part in the deal, more interested in testing out Jianyu's skill with the bow.
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Posted: Mon May 31, 2010 10:04 pm
Jianyu munched on a piece of apple as he scrutinized Kiran. The boy's confidence seemed to be a little shaken from his earlier example with the arrow, and Jianyu was not quite certain as to why. Perhaps he had not expected him to hit his target?
But he always hit his targets.
Sliding the arrow back into the sheath on his back, Jianyu unlatched the sheath and set it down beside him. It was followed by his bow and the cloth bundle of arrows. He then walked back over and stood in front of Kiran, folding his arms across his chest as he looked down at the boy.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 11:03 am
"All right," Kiran said as he slid his left leg back and bent his knees. He paused, lifting his gaze to Jianyu. "This might not seem as cool as shooting an apple off my head," he admitted with some embarrassment. When he practiced, it was usually with Uncle or when he was alone with no one watching him. When he first came to know Uncle, he always thought the old man looked a little dorky when he would practice his fighting style.
Kiran raised his arms and started to move them in a familiar circular pattern that he had practiced over and over throughout his training. But he paused again, his gaze dropping to the heavy looking armor that Jianyu wore. A thought formulated in his head as he remembered seeing Jianyu place his coin purse there.
"Perhaps this would work better if you came at like you were attacking," Kiran suggested, lifting his gaze back up to Jianyu's face. "I always learned best by actual fighting."
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 4:47 pm
Jianyu watched carefully as Kiran moved, his arms slipping gracefully above his head in circular motions. He was careful in his movements, slow and steady, and Jianyu's eyes narrowed slightly as he took in each small move, each tiny detail, trying to ingrain them into his mind. Studying your opponents behavior was a key element in his training.
"I will do as you say and come straight at you." Jianyu said, and bent his body down, readying himself as he lifted his arms. Then, with a quick step to the side, he darted towards Kiran.
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 6:19 pm
Kiran watched Jianyu's movements as the man cam at him. He moved out Jianyu's path, using the circle walking technique that Uncle had taught him. He got around behind the man. His hands moved in swift, fluid motions then thrust one hand at Jianyu for a palm strike. His hand hit the metal of Jianyu's armor, and he winced, shaking out his hand. That hadn't been the smartest move, but he had gotten caught up in a common move that he practiced when sparring with Uncle. Uncle, of course, never wore heavy armor like Jianyu.
Kiran waited for Jianyu's next move. If he could slip his hand under that armor "by accident" in one of his attacks, he might be able to grab the coin purse hidden beneath it. If he could do it right, like he believed he could, he would be able to snatch it without Jianyu realizing it.
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Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2010 10:57 pm
Kiran had deflected him, though not quite as easily as he had liked, considering that the younger boy was shaking his hand like he had injured it slamming it into the front of Jianyu's armor. His outfit was the normal one that he wore for training, and Jianyu had become used to its familiar weight. It was necessary for him to constantly be on guard with everything that went on in the back alleys of Lunaria, so he was usually always dressed in his training guard, bow tied to his waist, arrows strapped to his back.
Bending his back low, Jianyu moved in a slow circle around Kiran, his dark eyes narrowed as he surveyed his options. He could rush him, but Kiran was smaller and lighter, and could easily dodge the movement. Going high would have a higher chance of injury to the younger boy, considering he was not dressed quite like Jianyu, and he did not want to wound the boy. His last option was to go low, so Jianyu dived forward, wrapping his arms around Kiran's legs to tackle him to the ground, forcing his knees to buckle.
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Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 11:29 am
Kiran made a quick mental note to ask Uncle to teach him how to fight someone with armor. He had never fought someone wearing armor in the past. And until today, it never occurred to him that he really should have asked about that by now. With the war and fights against the Legion, he was likely to come across many enemies wearing some type of armor. If they all wore armor like Jianyu, he would be in big trouble. His hand still throbbed from that last attack.
As Jianyu circled him, Kiran turned, following the movement. He never liked letting an opponent slip out of his sight. His arms were raised before him, slightly bent at the elbows and ready to counter any fist thrown at him. But he hadn't counted on the man diving at him. He stepped back with one foot in surprise, but that would do little to save him from being tackled to the ground. Kiran bent down low with his left leg extended before him. Then he pushed forward to meet Jianyu's diving action, hoping that his forward motion would keep him from being driven back.
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Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2010 6:34 pm
Jianyu had not expected Kiran to actually lunge himself forward to meet his attack. The younger boy was obviously a surprising adversary, and it made Jianyu think more carefully of him. As it was, the unexpected movement caused Jianyu to lean back himself, his right food sliding to keep his balance as his hands shot out, gripping both of Kiran's wrists in his hands. In one quick, smooth movement, Jianyu flicked his own wrists, flipping the boy over onto his back. He landed with a thud on the hard packed dirt street. Jianyu crouched down above Kiran, one hand pressed to the boy's chest.
"My win." he said.
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Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2010 8:10 pm
Kiran was surprised when Jianyu grabbed his wrists. Before he even had the chance to try and pulled his hands free, he was sailing up through the air. For a brief moment, it felt like time slowed as he flew over Jianyu then he slammed into the ground. The shock of the impact knocked the breath from him. His mind reeled as he struggled to gather his scattered wits. Kiran blinked and stared at Jianyu crouching over him.
"Heh. It's not over quite yet," Kiran said with a cocky smirk. Jianyu had a hand on his chest, but other than that, there was nothing stopping Kiran from attacking again. He grabbed hold of Jianyu's wrist and tugged on it, bringing the man closer to him. Then he thrust his free hand up, aiming for just below Jianyu's armor. If he planned it right, he hoped to slide his hand beneath the armor and snatch the coin purse.
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Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 1:34 pm
He had fire in him, Kiran Tambe. Jianyu was slightly impressed by his ferocity as the boy grabbed his arm, jerking him unexpectedly forward. The movement caught him off guard, and Jianyu's balance wavered, his foot sliding to keep himself from falling. He felt a hand move under his armor, and Jianyu's hand shot out, gripping Kiran's wrist almost painfully tight. He stood back up, yanking the boy with him as he twisted his arm behind his back.
"Were you perhaps attempting to take something of value from me?" Jianyu said in a low voice as he bent over Kiran's shoulder. "Perhaps my coin purse that I have tucked underneath my armor for the specific reason to prevent thieves such as yourself from stealing it?"
Keeping Kiran close to him, Jianyu half dragged him back over to where he'd lain his things. He gathered up his bow and arrow in one hand, the other firmly gripping Kiran's wrist.
"Because you have intruded upon my good hospitality, and taken me for a fool, I will not let you go so easily." Jianyu leaned around to arch one eyebrow at Kiran, a dark expression on his face. "You are coming with me, Kiran Tambe."
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Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 2:25 pm
The plan was working perfectly. Kiran expected to be walking home with a purse full of coins in a matter of minutes. Nothing could go wrong with this scheme. This was just too perfect.
Or so he thought until he felt Jianyu's hand grab his wrist in a grip that made him wince. Seconds away from pulling off this perfect scam, and he had gotten caught. Kiran cursed internally as he was dragged off the ground with his arm twisted uncomfortably behind his back.
"What? Me?" Kiran asked innocently, or as innocently as he could managed given his current situation. He knew he hardly looked innocent. "Why ever would you think something like that?" Of course, he knew exactly why Jianyu would think that. The man had hit the nail on the head with his accusation, after all.
Stumbling along as Jianyu dragged him by the arm, Kiran glowered at the ground in annoyance. How could he be caught so easily? Most people wouldn't have even noticed the slight movement of his hand when he tried to snatch the coin purse.
He caught the look on Jianyu's face out the corner of his eye and gulped. Something in that dark expression told him that he wouldn't like whatever Jianyu was plotting to do with him.
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