I know it's a shame

[gracefuldahlia]

It had not been hard to see how long it would have taken to devise a way to call on his scythe without Zexion's assistance. Marluxia had been better placed than others to learn, since mist manipulation and chakra control were already a part of his repertoire, but the process had still been slow at times, and frustrating. Zexion had guided where he could, and Marluxia had made sure not to let his frustration with the rate of progress show.

The first time he'd succeeded, and Graceful Dahlia had taken her familiar form and weight in his hand, there had been... comfort. It had felt as though a missing item had been returned to its proper place.

It had lasted a frustratingly short spell, and further practice had lengthened the time Marluxia could maintain the weapon by mere seconds. He required, according to Zexion, a sparring partner. Someone Marluxia could trust to push him in a fight, and help Marluxia train his control of the scythe under more trying circumstances.

He'd known the moment would come, of course, and it made Marluxia wary. The only person he could consider for such a role was Lumi, and Lumi was....

Marluxia did not like admitting his own weaknesses, but Lumi was in a league somewhat above Marluxia when it came to physical combat. They acted as partners, and Lumi was the closest thing to a partner that Marluxia had on Spira, but Lumi was the stronger. In some ways it was like having Larxene assist; Lumi was very much his own agent, who worked with Marluxia for his own purposes, but Lumi was more dangerous than Larxene because Larxene had been simple. Simple was not something that applied to Lumi, and Marluxia afforded Lumi the careful respect adopted by one who swims with sharks, which anyone who associated with Khamja did.

When it came time to bite the bullet, Marluxia ensured they were not in the Palace, or otherwise in range of anyone from Khamja. Though he was distantly aware that L likely had spies no matter where they went, L was not a problem. Aizen, Gin, and even Kuja, however, were not to become aware that Marluxia was currently at a disadvantage compared to the Order's members, or that he currently bore any difficulties. He was too strong to acknowledge a weakness, unlike Kadaj, who was too weak to be a real problem. Khamja was a dangerous place to occupy any of the intervening ground between those two points, and so Marluxia did not want the fact he was training in something to become public knowledge.

They'd gone on a journey to deal with a mark which, for them at least, would pose no real danger. It was in the Travel Agency, away from civilisation centres, and the Palace, that Marluxia had made mention of his need of a sparring partner to Lumi. Lumi could, if the mood so took him, erase Marluxia when he was vulnerable in such a session. Marluxia knew that, and yet Lumi was the only one Marluxia even trusted halfway. He was, at least, reasonably sure that Lumi would not take the opportunity to end him.

"It would require you to hold back," he said, knowing that holding back was something Lumi was more than capable of, but it was something Marluxia thought needed to be stressed. He wasn't sure if Lumi might realise how much he may have to hold back, although the possibility of sustaining injury was something Marluxia had made his peace with. "When it comes to combat prowess, I am good, but you are better," though he wasn't fond of admitting that, either, but Marluxia's advantage, up to now, had been in the magical aspects of combat, "and I require you to push me, but likely not yourself."

He hadn't told Lumi what ability he was trying to practice, as yet. That information need only come if Lumi seemed amenable to the idea of helping Marluxia train at all.

Comments

[thesilentstorm]

Lumi, for the moment that hung between them, the pause between his stalled blade and the reappearance of Marluxia's, locked eyes with his opponent.

Then, out of the corner of his vision, he saw the petals.

He took that as his cue to get out of the way of the newly formed blade. He avoided the swing just in time and, this time, he launched the first attack, closing the distance between them with fearless ease.

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia expected an attack from Lumi, and used the half second created by forcing Lumi back with a swing to take the scythe in both hands.

He could use it to defend that way, and braced himself against Lumi's first attack with bared teeth and a grunt. He followed it up with a short, two handed swing that should push Lumi back a step again, before letting go with one hand to bring the scythe back and then around again for a cross swing. In the Organization his nom de guerre had been the The Graceful Assassin, and there was a distinct grace to the way he moved with the scythe. He didn't pause, using the momentum from his swing to bring the scythe's blade in an arc around himself.

The small smile on his face gave away the fact that he was enjoying himself, despite his reservations.

[thesilentstorm]

The graceful movements and elegant execution of Marluxia's attacks were not lost on Lumi. He appreciated his skill with the unusual weapon, skill that showed in the ease with which he swung the scythe and moved around it as he advanced and withdrew. Learning how to avoid and counter his attacks, as well as find an opening in which to launch his own, was important, but it didn't stop him noticing the aesthetics of the situation.

Lumi took a quick step back to avoid the arcing cut and then stepped in close, aiming his blade at the area of snaith a few inches up from Marluxia's grip.

It was an experimental move executed to see whether the reishi that comprised the structure of the scythe as a whole was evenly spread throughout the weapon, or if it was concentrated and tempered in the blade as a focal point. He was testing for weakness.

If other ex-Nobodies could create similar weapons, it would be useful to know if they were likely to have any vulnerable areas he could exploit.

[gracefuldahlia]

Lumi's blade made contact, and Marluxia felt the impact reverberate through the weapon and through his wrist and arm. He grimaced for a moment, pulling back. He needed the space to give him a chance to assess the state of Graceful Dahlia.

The blade was the strongest part, of course, since that was where it was designed to hit other things, but the rest was by no means weak. Fortunate, or Marluxia could have found himself having to recreate the scythe again. As it was, the scythe still felt solid, and he doubted he was going to lose it again too soon. He brought the weapon back, adjusting his grip slightly before he came at Lumi again, blade blurring through the air.

[thesilentstorm]

Lumi watched his reaction to the blow, pulling back while Marluxia took a brief moment to inspect his blade. When he came at him, he stood firm and did not move until Marluxia had already started his strike.

He didn't raise his sword to block the attack and instead stepped aside once the momentum of Marluxia's swing had taken him too far to redirect the blade to catch him. He was good, Lumi had seen that, but he didn't think he quite had the level of ability required to turn on a gil like that, not when he was so out of practice.

He moved in close and switched the grip on his sword to reverse. With the point of the blade safely out of the way, he stepped behind him and aimed a blow with his foot at the back of Marluxia's knees. Should he manage to throw Marluxia's balance off enough, he'd have a chance of disarming him.

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia missed, and had expected nothing else. He wasn't out to seriously injure Lumi, after all. Minor cuts and scrapes were inevitable, but severe lacerations were to be avoided.

Still, he'd expected to miss by being deflected, not dodged, and the moment Lumi dodged, Marluxia knew there would be a follow up. He tried to adjust, and turn back towards Lumi, but Lumi's foot hit the backs of his knees, and they buckled under the impact. Marluxia hissed as one knee hit the ground, and he moved quickly to recover, pushing himself back up with his other foot the moment it did. He'd had Lumi's sword at his throat once already; he didn't want to provide a second easy opening so soon, even if Lumi had created one.

[thesilentstorm]

Lumi allowed himself a smirk at getting Marluxia so off balance. It certainly put paid to his earlier easy grace.

He put a bit of distance between the two of them and adjusted his grip on the hilt of his sword. He was starting to learn what he could expect of Marluxia's scythe. It was growing easier to push him. Time to stop holding back so much.

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia was back on his feet reasonably quickly, and he turned to face Lumi again. Lumi was getting used to the fighting style associated with a scythe, he realised, which meant that things were about to get harder.

He could hold Graceful Dahlia's form a little longer yet, and he adjusted his grip, holding it ready, just a little over halfway down. If his grip was lower, he could reach farther, but was also at greater risk of losing the weapon to some well performed but aggressive deflection.

This time, he waited for Lumi to move.

[thesilentstorm]

And move Lumi did.

He darted forward, aiming a direct attack at him. It was a clean diagonal slash, starting from the lower left and going up. Lumi was fast. Such an attack would force Marluxia to either avoid his attack entirely, or defend against him with an overhead counter.

At least that's what Lumi suspected he'd be forced to do. If Marluxia had any other methods of dealing with such a straightforward assault, he would be interested in seeing them.

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia raised his scythe, and brought it down to block Lumi's attack. Lumi was fast, but Marluxia had known that already; mostly he wanted to see what Lumi's approach was going to be like now that he was familiar with the weapon and associated style. Lumi was highly adaptable, which meant that Marluxia could hone his techniques more effectively when sparring against him. A straightforward attack might seem simplistic, but it would also push Marluxia to respond in predictable ways. That gave Lumi an advantage, because if he chose a moment to be less straightforward, Marluxia would not be the one in control.

As such, Marluxia kept his eye out for any openings, slim as they may be. There would be more if he was using magic, or certain attacks, but he wished to concentrate on extending the time he could hold Graceful Dahlia's form, rather than simply putting up a better fight against Lumi, so instead he defended, and waited for an opening.

[thesilentstorm]

Lumi didn't intend to offer him any gaps in his defence. He wasn't one for playing particularly defensively as it was, instead preferring to hit his opponent hard and fast and not give them a chance to strike him in return. He wasn't one for lengthy battles, but he was prepared to deal with it for the sake of Marluxia's training.

Lumi braced himself against Marluxia's defensive strike with a hand against the flat of his blade. It felt heavy, half due to the weight of the weapon itself, and half because of Marluxia's own strength pushing down on it. Nonetheless, he pushed back with both hands against him, adjusting his position as he did to move in closer, intending to land a hit with his shoulder to Marluxia's chest, or his elbow to his stomach, should the position be less than optimal.

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia was pushed back as Lumi fought against his defensive blow, and then found himself taking a shoulder to the chest, which both knocked his balance, and the wind out of him.

He pulled back sharply, using a little chakra to boost the small jump into being a longer one. Graceful Dahlia was a mid-range weapon; ordinarily he'd deal with someone who got up close and personal like that with something more magical in nature. With Lumi, all he could do was back off and try and keep him within blade range.

He adjusted his grip on the scythe before swinging again, leaving a swathe of pink blur in its wake as he closed in once more, on the offensive.

[thesilentstorm]

The limits of Marluxia's fighting style were showing. Being at too much of a distance meant that he didn't have a hope of hitting an enemy with his scythe, variable reach or not. However, if he was too close he could certainly suffer under these circumstances.

A gun would take him out, as would a quick move and a small amount of effort to get close enough to slide a knife between his ribs. Such observations would be useless against his usual methods of fighting, however.

The situation would be different with his magic to back up what he could achieve with the weapon. He could force an opponent back with any number of spells and counter with them. It would make his fighting style more unpredictable and infinitely more dangerous. Lumi wondered if, once Marluxia had learned to keep his scythe in play for an indefinite amount of time, he would be called upon to fight him using his magic also, to see how he did with the scythe and that new drain on his Chakra.

That would prove interesting.

Lumi watched him jump back and put himself well out of his reach. Marluxia had started using Chakra enhanced moves, a sign that he was getting used to how much Chakra Graceful Dahlia typically used up in combat. He took up a more defensive pose as he came at him, wanting to see Marluxia's attack patterns as well as drive him back to put a strain on his ability. Both should have an effect on the Chakra amount used and both should be beneficial to Marluxia's training.

[gracefuldahlia]

When Marluxia fought with the scythe, there was a halo of lethality, with Marluxia at its centre. Getting inside that range was dangerous, but would negate the weapon, staying outside of it was safer but made Marluxia harder to hit.

Lumi's judgement was right, however, Marluxia would be infinitely more dangerous with both the scythe and magic. Marluxia hadn't planned, yet, to involve magic in his sparring with Lumi, but it was a possibility for the future.

For now, his style remained mostly strictly physical. Each sweep of the scythe blade was followed by another, from one side to the other, and back again, then around, and then up for a vicious downwards strike.

He narrowed his eyes as he felt the scythe trying to dissipate in his hands, and forced it to hold together a moment longer. Still, the first petals of chakra began to shear away as he swung.

[thesilentstorm]

Marluxia was, quite clearly, growing more and more comfortable with his scythe. He was skillfully and forcefully attacking and, Lumi noted, getting more and more into the learned groove he must have perfected back before he lost his powers.

Lumi kept to a distance, looking for an opening as Marluxia used attacks with a consistently wide reach to keep him at bay. Then he saw it; the Scythe was beginning to fray. He took a chance and leapt forward, aiming his own attack at Marluxia's weakening blade.

[gracefuldahlia]

Of course Lumi would spot the opportunity. Marluxia gritted his teeth as their weapons clashed, and for a moment that left a metallic ringing in the air, the Graceful Dahlia held.

And then it failed once more, exploding into petals of pink chakra that whirled in the air and dissipated.

Marluxia was better prepared this time, and the moment the scythe lost form, he stepped away, striving to stay out of Lumi's reach as he gathered his chakra to forge the scythe yet again.

[thesilentstorm]

Lumi didn't miss his more on-the-ball reaction to his scythe's destruction. Last time he had floundered, allowing Lumi to get into a place where he could feasibly deliver a killing blow. This time, however, he got out of the way as fast as possible and Lumi could tell that he was trying to recreate his scythe again.

Good.

He waited, adjusting his grip on his sword, for the Graceful Dahlia to burst back into being.

[gracefuldahlia]

It seemed to take less time for Graceful Dahlia to take shape once again. Practice was improving his performance, and Marluxia stepped forward to commence another attack a moment before the scythe snapped back into existence, a trail of petals in his wake as he swung once more.