Pregame omake 2 - Setsuna, Makoto and some other fanservice

[Anastasia]

Omake episode 2: Martial Arts lessons? Setsuna meets Mako-chan?

> Damn it all. As the girl with long green hair, your best friend and general pain the ass leads Setsuna along, she has to wonder.  Martial arts lessons, now? How do you let yourself get talked into this? Yet she seems strangely fixated on it, for some flight of teen w himsy that escapes you.
> Even the sunshine of early spring Tokyo and the people milling by don't offer a speck of relief to the unusually determined girl.
* Setsuna sighs, shaking her head as she follows Megumi through the streets. Why does she keep letting the other girl talk her into these things?
> Heading down the cheery streets of Juuban towards a single story building, Megumi stops. It's not much to look at, though a sign says, in old style kanji, 'Kempo'. "I think this is it..." she murmurs.
* Setsuna shrugs, letting the brunette lead the way. Self-defense is about the last thing she's really interested in - most people tend to leave her alone anyway thanks to her height.
> Heading inside, you see it's simply one large area inside, mats about as a small selection of teenagers and adults go through various kata. Clad in white, loose martial arts uniforms, they practice their craft loudly and with great energy. Watching them from the far wall, near a little door to the back, is a rather small and mousy looking man, a happy if disciplined look on his face as he watches the students.
* Setsuna merely observes the goings-on in silence, letting Megumi do the talking for now - it WAS her idea, after all, so presumably she has something in mind.
> Leading through the middle, uncluttered section, she carefully heads towards the man in back. He nods walking over to meet you halfway. "Ah...Megumi? Your father said you'd be coming today," he says, a kindly smile on his face. "You brought a friend," he notes then, turning to Setsuna. "Excellent to meet you, I'm Masataka Takyanagi," he bows.
* Setsuna bows in return. "Setsuna Meioh - a pleasure to meet you, sir," the tall girl replies simply.
> "Are you here for lessons as well," he smiles back. Before you get a chance to speak, MEgumi pipes in. "She is - we're going to do our first lesson together," she nods.
* Setsuna sighs almost imperceptibly, but nods. 'So it would seem...'
> He nods. "Alright, in that case...I'll have Makoto get you started," he says, turning. Nearby, working with another boy, is a strikingly tall brunette in a gi. "Makoto," he calls once.
* Makoto looks up at the sound of her name being called. "Hm? Oh." She turns to the boy and pats him on the shoulder. "Just keep practicing that form. You're doing well." That said, Makoto walks over to her uncle, eyebrows raised. "What's up?"
> "New students," he smiles to her. "Could you get them changed and set them through their first lesson?" So asking, "I'd do it myself, but..." with a small bow of apology, "I have an appointment in a half hour I have to keep."
* Setsuna looks at the brunette with curiosity. Rather unusual to meet another girl anywhere near her own height - she's something of an oddity in that way.
> Megumi nods, giving Makoto a pleasant enough smile. "Makoto? I'm Megumi," she adds. "She's Setsuna - tall, dark and quiet."
* Setsuna rolls her eyes at the description, but nods to the other girl. "A pleasure to meet you."
<Makoto> "Oh, sure." Makoto replies easily. "No problem." Giving the two girls an appraising glance, Makoto bows politely. "Nice to meet both of you." she replies to the greetings affably. "If you want to follow me, I'll get you some gi. What sizes would you like?" She asks, beginning to turn, and head for the equiment storage, slow enough for the girls to follow.
* Setsuna follows along behind at a sedate pace, letting Megumi take the lead - this is her idea, after all.
> "Small," Megumi says, her slight frame and long, wavy hair agreeing with her words. "Something tall for Setsuna...like yours."
<Setsuna> "That should be fine," Setsuna demurs.
<Makoto> Makoto nods, her ponytail bobbing lightly with the motion as she gives the pair another glance, and a half smile. 'Not as roomy in the chest, though.' she thought, flushing a bit at the random thought. "Gotcha." she replies, humming a little. "Not much call for that size in our age group." she notes idly as they approach the storage room, and she pushes open the door.
> Inside are this and that, boxes and a few lockers. A rack of gis hang a bit back, various sizes dangling from clotheshangers. Nothing really special back here, even the smell of light dust isn't anything special.  "Setsuna's really tall...she's going to be a model at this rate," Megumi adds the second part with a teasing smile.
<Setsuna> "True enough," Setsuna replies.
<Makoto> Makoto nods, smiling wryly. "You get funny looks because of it, too?" she asks with weary wryness, plucking two training uniforms of the requested sizes from the rack, then heading out of the room, and offering them to the girls.
> Megumi nods as she takes hers. "This should be fine."
<Makoto> Makoto nods briskly. "Alright. There's a changeroom in the back, just don't forget to put the occupied sign up." she instructs. "We'll start once you finish."  
<Setsuna> "More often than I'd like, yes," Setsuna says dryly, accepting the gi from the brunette. "Thank you for your help." With another nod, she heads back to the changing room to get dressed.
> Megumi does as well, quickly emerging in her gi. Looks nice on her, if a bit loose. You'd swear she's managed to lose weight, a slim girl already.
* Setsuna comes out a moment later - the pant cuffs for the gi are even shorter than usual on her, although the top fits snugly enough. She's also tied her hair back into a ponytail to keep it out of her way as she practices.
<Makoto> Makoto nods, and goes into 'business' mode. "Alright...'Jisan said that this was your first lesson? Neither of you has experience with Martial arts?"
> "No, Dad wants me to learn, though," Megumi replies. "I don't think Setsuna has had any.":
* Setsuna shakes her head. "No, I have no experience either."
<Makoto> Nodding, Makoto bites her lip, thinking briefly before deciding on what to do. "Okay, we'll start simply, with some stretches. After that, I'll show you some of the stances and forms, and we'll go from there." she decides. "For the stretches, just do what I do, ok?" she suggests, and then slowly demonstrates some rather simple, but straining stretching excercises.
* Setsuna mimics the brunette fairly easily, her own exercise regimen having her in more than enough shape to follow along through the stretching routines.
> Following along, Megumi begins to stretch. "Like this," she asks, as she manages a pretty fair imitation of what you showed.
<Makoto> Makoto nods and smiles. "Perfect. Do it about once more, to get the blood flowing, and then we'll start."
> Megumi does so, her gi flapping and waving as she moves. That girl, it's good that it comes with a belt. Wispy as a ball of cotton.
* Makoto watches Megumi to get a general idea of her athletic ability for use in teaching her.
> OOC - I'm feeling saucy and willing ot test your dice luck. Roll 2d6-3 for a Mind check.
<Makoto> roll 2d6-3
* Hatbot --> "Makoto rolls 2d6-3 and gets 6."
> She looks decent, you suppose. Not an athetically inclined girl at first glance, beyond walking to keep her shape, you'd guess.
<Makoto> Makoto nods to herself. No issues it seems, so she should be able to start ordinarily, and handle the progression.
* Setsuna follows along, her movements fairly fluid.
<Makoto> Makoto eyes the tall girl for a moment, before nodding to herself. 'No coordination issues...good.' She waits for them both to come to a stop before she goes on.
> Stopping finally, Megumi waits for more instruction.
<Makoto> Makoto smiles at the pair, rubbing her hands together. "Okay. Now that the warmup is over, let's get started. Before we move onto the interesting things, I'll be showing you some stances, and simple forms. They...don't have a lot to do with combat, actually." she admits, blushing a little. "But the goal is to condition your body to the movements, and to increase your control and awareness of your own body. (more)
* Setsuna is now known as Setsuna-work
<Makoto> So, consider this...meditation, of sorts." she begins briskly. "I know it doesn't sound very interesting, but I promise you, you'll be glad of it when you progress farther. So, we'll do like we've done for the stretches. I'll lead, and you imitate me...but focus on the movements you're goung through, okay?" she instructs, assuming a horse stance, and beginning to show the girls what she wants them to do...
> Watching and mimicing reasonably, Megumi does an okay job of following. Not great, but she's not tripping over her own two feet. Not quite.

[Anastasia]

* Setsuna raises an eyebrow at the comparison to meditation. 'I think I can manage that...' Letting her mind free itself of the usual burdens of everyday life as best she can, she focuses on Makoto's movements, copying the brunette to the best of her ability.
<Makoto> Makoto watches them both carefully, and raises an eyebrow, noting the relative ease with which the green haired girl manages the stances. "Okay, I think I've got a good idea what you both can manage right now." she tells them when they finish. "You both look fit enough to start on simple forms without conditioning, first. So, we'll keep playing follow the leader." Makoto goes on with the lesson, demonstrating a few simple punches, and then showing them how to link them together. "Just work on that until you can move smoothly from one kind of punch to the stance, to the other." Makoto gives them another brief glance. "I'll watch and correct you as needed, but keep your attention on your body. You can feel it when it all links together." she smiles.
> Megumi nods, going along. Makoto sees her making a few mistakes as she struggles along, concentrating intently on the task ahead of her.
<Makoto> Makoto gently touches Megumi and corects her movements, physically guiding her over the parts she has trouble with. "Like that. Keep working at it, you're doing well so far."
* Setsuna watches Makoto working with Megumi for a few moments before starting herself, making note of the corrections - they're probably trouble spots in any event, so the extra caution should be useful.
<Makoto> Makoto turns to Setsuna and watches her for a moment, then moving a little closer. "You have the mechanics down really well." she observes with a smile. "But you look a bit stiff. I don't know if would help, but try picturing the flow of water in your mind. It might help ease the movements a bit."
<Setsuna> "Ah, I see," Setsuna replies - the technique is almost identical to one she learned in the course of learning to meditate, but it's rather hard to focus on keeping her mind clear and learning the unfamiliar movements. She does the best she can manage, however - even taking into account the fact that she didn't really want to come in the first place, there's no sense in doing a job poorly.
<Makoto> Makoto nods to herself. "Good..." she murmurs, watching both girls for a moment, and when she's satisfied they're moving correctly unguided, raises her voice a little. "You're both doing really well. Keep it up, and focus on the way your body feels as it flows through the forms. I'll signal you when it's time to finish."
* Setsuna nods slightly, trying to stay focused on the kata itself - it is unfamiliar, but it does seem to be giving her a good workout, at least.
> Megumi follows along. She's not bad at it now, t hough she's clearly a beginner and not overly talented at the art. Despite a few mistakes, she stumbles through it well enough, her breathing faster than normal.
<Makoto> Makoto watches them, and waiting until the first signs of persperiation show on their foreheads, she claps once. "Okay, you can stop now." she says easily. "That's about right for a first lesson. No sense in overworking you." She smiles. "That was a really simplified version of the most basic kata, just to give you an idea what to expect. The next lesson would be a more fleshed out version of the stances I showed you."
> Bending over to rest her hands on her knees, Megumi breaths deeply. "Wow, that was just the simplified version," she says, not quite panting - but close to it. "I feel like I just ran a race!"
* Setsuna nods, wiping her forehead with the sleeve of her gi.
* Setsuna is breathing deeply, but nowhere near the state her friend is in - the kata was at best moderate exertion, thanks to her time in the gym.
<Makoto> Makoto grins. "I can imagine." she sympathises. "But if you keep with it, in about few months, you should be able to do that without even breathing hard."
> "I hope you're right..." Megumi comments as she rights herself. Wiping her brow with her forearm, "Is there a shower here or a public bath nearby? I must smell terrible now."
<Makoto> Makoto laughs softly. "Just down the block, there's a public bath." she smiles. "And if you want some advice, stay there about an hour. Your shoulders and hips will thank you later."
* Setsuna chuckles at that. "I keep telling you that you ought to come to the gym with me sometime, Megumi-chan," she says with a smile. "This wouldn't be quite so hard if you did."
> A small nod there, as she proceeds to rub her left shoulder. "Sounds good, Setsuna," she nods, then shakes her head. "I'll be getting enough exercise if Dad makes me keep coming," is her repl.
<Makoto> Makoto raises an eyebrow, smiling. "The gym is good for conditioning, but the wear on your limbs can't really be recreated there." she observes.
* Setsuna shrugs. "I mostly do it to keep my mind clear, and staying in shape is hardly a poor side benefit."
<Makoto> Makoto nods agreeably. "Of course." she allows amiably. "I only mention it because you seem to be in good shape, but you might find yourself a bit stiff anyhow."
<Setsuna> "I see," Setsuna replies with a slight nod. "I'll probably also have a good hot soak later, then."
> "Yeah," Megumi agrees. "Thank you, Makoto," she follows, bowing politely. "I think I had fun...I think," she laughs, rubbing her back as she rises from the bow, wincing.
<Setsuna> "Yes - thank you, Makoto-san," Setsuna concurs, bowing as well.
<Makoto> Makoto giggles a bit, returning the bow. "My pleasure. Have your father call my uncle to set up a schedule for you, if you want to continue." she invites pleasantly. "It was nice to meet you both."
> Smiling as she walks away, "Have fun," Megumi asks her friend, curious. "It was harder than I thought..."
<Setsuna> "It was enjoyable enough, I suppose," Setsuna admits. "Good for a change of pace."

My thoughts? A nice omake warm up, and I got to mess with one of Setsuna's supporting NPCs.