Let's try that again...

[evillurks]

Now that he's growing accustomed to having her as a true agent again, Myra's recovery in her own world puts The Shadow slightly short-handed. He finds his own wheezing a severe liability whenever stealth is needed, forcing him to rely on other agents for quiet investigations. The alternate solution, and one he struggles to uphold, is to be supremely diligent in taking care of himself except when he truly needs to take to the streets firsthand. The restriction grates on his nerves, and coordinating agents to do some of the footwork takes up more time.
He is careful, following the unexpected incident in ancient Japan, and he is also busy. The drug market has gone fairly quiet, but there is a definite gradual increase in violent crime. Arresting the individuals involved seems to have no impact on this slow crescendo. The network is spread wide and thin, scratching the ground for clues. After a matter of days, The Shadow has done all he can do about the matter. Once again he must wait, sift the city through his agents, and hope some vital puzzle piece comes to light. On this break from work he recalls a social obligation. A morning outing has him arriving at the Rettigue apartment with sake and scotch. The place has been abandoned the past few days, but that means there's no paperwork to tidy. The grand spaces and spartan furnishings should make it a comfortable place for a blind man to visit.

When the sake is warm and the cups set out, he sends off an invitation, and then laughs quietly at his own unfamiliar attempt at hospitality.

Comments

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

Ichi's eyelids flutter at The Shadow's reaction to the sound as he snappily reaches out for the glassware, bringing a quick halt to their loud clatter.

"You alright?"

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

The Shadow hisses in pain as he pulls the device out of his pocket. "Fine... just caught off-guard." He sounds annoyed at himself for it, into the bargain. There is the quiet clicking of buttons as he calls up the message, a moment of quiet while he reads, and then he tosses the device aside. "Just a report from one of my agents. Not an immediately useful one either, unfortunately."

Nothing seems to have quite fallen, and the only item to take any damage is his knee. "Sorry for the interruption..."

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

Ichi takes the sake bottle when he lets go of everything, and pours a little more into his cup, not quite filling it. He picks up the dice as he fills his cup though, and holds the faces up towards The Shadow, showing the sum.

"It was odd." He offers the bottle to The Shadow. "And don't worry about it. As far as interruptions go, it could have been worse." He sips at his sake with a grin.

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

"Hm. You didn't hit the table." He rubs his knee ruefully, but simply sets the sake bottle down in favour of his tumbler. There's still a swallow of scotch left in it, and he takes it in one gulp as consolation for his bruising. "I should have warned you I'm never off the job, but I invited you because I don't expect anything to come up. My agents are in the field looking for information, but at the moment I've reached a dead end." He sighs, coughs, and puts the empty glass down. "So I'm accurate, but it takes so much focus someone could walk up behind me without my noticing."

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

"But your hearing is still impressive." He's also an amazingly fast study, but Ichi has a hunch that The Shadow is already very aware of this fact, and feels there is little point in mentioning it. "I'll only be asking that kind of concentration while I'm explaining the techniques. After that, do whatever works best for you, whether its translating it into what you see, or something else. I don't think we'll lose much in translation." It's a relief to Ichi to know that The Shadow can grasp the way he 'sees'; it should help when he explains certain things that he hears. Ichi takes the dice from the table and returns them to his sleeve, the coins there jingling gently as he arranges the small assortment of items he keeps tucked in his clothing to keep the dice from falling out.

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

Tuned to listening, now, he catches the clink of coins. "You need pockets. It might take me less concentration if I practice more, but I definitely can't afford to have that narrow a focus on the streets. I'd get myself killed in a hurry." He eyes the bottle of scotch and his empty tumbler, considering. "It's a good experiment though. I'll try practicing alone. Until your arm is healed, at the very least."

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

"Don't worry about the arm, it's fine. We'll practice whenever you have time. I'm only ever walking around, it's not every day that's like that night in the town. Besides, the practice will keep it from getting stiff. I enjoy the chance to do proper demonstrations. I don't get that opportunity often."

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

"I have time now, but we might be better at it sober." He gives a wry smile. "I think you've had as much as I have, and I'm not sure I want you waving a blade around in the living room right now." He's not entirely confident of his ability to duck, at the moment, although he's still thinking clearly enough.

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

"Two drunken swordsmen, waving sticks at each other doesn't sound like fun? When one of 'em is blind to boot?" He gives a laugh and leans his cane against his neck. "We might end up with more bumps and bruises than lessons."

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

"Sticks, yes, sharp blades no. I have a gentleman's cane, if you really want to have a go at each other." He's actually game for the idea, despite having bruised his knee already. "I'm not too far gone yet, but I'd better not have another if we're going to spar."

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

"If you're up for it." Ichi sets his half-emptied sake cup on the table and tilts his head to the side, amused. "We can work on the draw, less waving sticks at each other, and more at the air to start with. If we're not too far gone, we can give the sparring a try."


((OMG, seriously? Buzzed Ichi and Buzzed Shadow waving canes at each other in the Rettigue apartment? The idea has me hysterical!))

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

((The idea is entertaining, but I may be distracted, as a fight involving calling the police just broke out at the neighbour's...))

The Shadow stands, very slightly stiff at the knee, and goes to fetch the cane from the stand at the door. He returns with it and nudges it gently at Ichi's hand. "It's not a sword-cane, but see if that's acceptable. I promise not to hit you with the head of it." He seems amused over the idea of a slightly drunken friendly match.

The cane is sleek and cool, but it is varnished wood rather than metal. The head of it is a silver eagle's head, however, not much smaller than Ichi's fist. It could certainly serve as a brutal weapon in the right hands.

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

((Whoah. Yeah, um, do what you gotta do. I'll be around, till whenever but if you have to go, go.))

Ichi inspects the length and then lets his fingers dance over the ornate handle and smiles.

"You are a man of fine tastes." He laughs and hands the cane back to The Shadow, using his own to help him to his feet. He stands with his feet wide in his usual, bow-legged stance. "The cane will be fine, if a bit oddly weighted." He holds his cane at his hip as he lowers into a slight squat. "One of the most important things, in the draw, is not to forget about the hand holding onto the sheath. You have to draw with both hands, really." He reaches over to draw, and brings the entire cane out, sliding it through his hand in a slowed demonstration of the proper technique. He ends with the sword held almost parallel in front of him.

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

((They've just shown up as I was starting to type...))

The Shadow moves to stand beside him, facing the same direction and leaving space enough that they're not likely to hit each other by accident. He takes a wide stance as well, but does not quite mimic the bow-legged aspect of it. That might be a bit much on his knee at the moment. "It's mostly for show. Sometimes it's convenient to play the part of a feeble old man."

Watching closely, he tries to copy the motions, pulling the whole of the cane from his side as if it were a blade.

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

((Well, let me know if you need to head out.))

"A lot of this can be done almost the same way if you're holding the blade the other way, instead of in reverse. For me, rotating the wrist makes it a faster motion." He 'sheaths' the cane and reaches out for The Shadow, setting a hand on his shoulder to locate him. He lifts his hand as he moves in front of The Shadow, standing still, with his ear towards him. Carefully, he reaches out with his cane and taps The Shadow's foot, and then adopts a more traditional stance, returning the cane to his side. "I'm not going to cut, but I'll draw. I want you to draw the way I showed you, using a forward motion of your body, instead of cutting, like a normal attack. Aim here." He motions to his gut.

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

((No, it's quieted down now. I just hope it lasts. On the other hand I should try to sleep soon.))

The shoulder he finds is bony and quite high, but The Shadow stands patiently still while he reorients himself. He mirrors the pose and holds the cane at his side, attempting to mimic Ichi's moves. He's not moving particularly fast, focused on mastering accuracy first. The cane itself makes a harmless but sure slice for the blind man. The grip feels terribly backward, since he's not used to it yet.

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

((I should probably call it a night myself. I hope things remain quiet for you.))

Ichi draws, and The Shadow will note, that the draw/cut comes in quite neatly beneath Ichi's traditional guard. Reaching out, Ichi checks the position of The Shadow's cane.

"See?" He backs off a step and repeats the reverse draw at the same speed as before, with a forward motion that almost looks like he's trying to ram his shoulder into his opponent. "It's a whole-body cut. If you have enough momentum, you can shove them away so that they won't fall on top of you as you move on to the next target. Iai, is about efficiency. The fastest way to defeat an enemy with the fewest movements."

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

((Sleep well.))

"Hm. Height may be a disadvantage, again." The Shadow shifts his stance, crouching lower, and makes another attempt. He is rail-thin, but wiry, and his moves have force to them. The second attempt is no quicker, but more fluid and delivered from a better angle. "I've had that problem a few times..." There were guns involved, but having a pile of bodies block one's moves is never a good thing.

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

"Banno-Sensei was not a short man." Ichi offers. If he was still alive, he'd consider recommending The Shadow adopt one of his disguises and try to spend a little time studying with a proper master. As it was though, such an option was not available. "He didn't use the reverse blade often, but he was very skilled with it." Ichi holds his hand out again, checking The Shadow's cane and then moves to the side, checking the position of his arm and hand. "Being as short as I am, it's not uncommon for the body to fall on top of me. If that happens, you don't need to get out from under it immediately. You can use it to mask your next move, and figure out where your greater threat is coming from."

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

Taking up an entirely new disguise is not out of the question, but due to his work The Shadow lacks the proper time needed for devoting himself to a traditional teacher. Ichi is doing well, however, and the focus of the practice is driving the fuzziness of alcohol from The Shadow's mind. He allows his new instructor to adjust his grip and position as he sees fit. "Even in my own country I'm on the tall side, but there've been a few moments like that. Usually not just one body, though. The trick is to play dead or at least have a shield, while still not being hampered by it when the time comes to attack." With Ichi beside him, he repeats the move against an invisible opponent a few times to reinforce the feel of the proper motions.

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

((Not sure how much hand-waving we want to do here. I only know so much about the artform itself, and what I can describe, well, we've both seen in the movies at this point.))

Ichi bows his head with a smile at The Shadow's comment. It's hard to gauge just how much information he already has from his extensive experience that eclipses Ichi's own.

The Shadow is precise and accurate in his movements, the sound of the cane swinging through the air is encouraging.

"Shadow, I-" He scratches his head, uncertain. "Is there anything in particular you saw that might interest you? We could use it to work towards, otherwise, I'm just going to reiterate everything that Banno-san taught me."

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

((Hm. Perhaps a bit of summary and a brief sparring session?))

"Part of it must be getting used to the grip. I've learned fencing and knife-fighting as well as the katana, but this feels backwards to everything I know." There is something in his tone that speaks of appreciation for that, and for the opportunity to learn something so new. "I didn't have much of a chance to watch you at work, I was busy myself. Why don't you go through a few moves, and I'll try to copy you?" They've moved away from the rug and onto hard wood floor by now. There's a fair amount of open space, and the furniture is sturdy enough to take a beating should Ichi hit anything by accident.

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

Even so, Ichi does a double check of his surroundings just to make certain that there isn't anything he might knock into, should he string a few moves together. Locating himself almost dead center in the open area, he sits down and holds his cane at his side. In his mind, he is replaying the events of the ambush, picking and choosing parts that he thinks may be most useful to The Shadow.

"Iaido is mostly intended for protection in an ambush during daily activities. Many of the katas start while sitting." He appears relaxed for a moment, and then with hardly any warning, he bursts into a flurry of movement, swinging his cane as he moves into a standing position and then stops, hunched over, and tip pointing to the ground. In that short series of motions, he demonstrated quite a few different cuts. Lowering his cane to the floor he smiles. "Many of the motions also apply when standing. I'll go through that set more slowly, but standing this time." He resumes the hunched position and shows the six different moves he makes, at a speed that allows The Shadow to easily note the fine intricacies of each movement.

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

((The ghost plot seems to have started already, and just after I've taken a sleeping pill...))

The initial display causes both The Shadow's eyebrows to rise. He had an impression of Ichi's speed, but this is the first chance he's had to truly see it in action. With his shuffling gait, bowed head, and stocky figure, Ichi is not a man who gives the impression of being fast in anything.

The slowed demonstration is more useful, and he begins to try mimicking the motions, keeping just out of sword reach. "I'll practice it from a sitting position, too. That could come in handy."

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

((You're probably asleep, but the ghost plot seems to be petering out, so I'll make a post before I call it a night. Hope you slept well.))

That speed, is only part of what makes him such a terrifying swordsman, but it is most of the reason. It's also the reason he plays up his appearance.

"When you do, you'll want something to cushion your knees until you get used to moving around on them. I still get sore if I kneel too fast." Ichi stands still, listening to the movements of The Shadow for a bit, and occasionally pausing him, and checking his positioning, to make sure the correct motions are practiced.