2026-04-05: A Meeting of the Martial Arts
- Log: A Meeting of the Martial Arts
- Cast: Hyousuke Suzuki, Lisa Silverman
- Where: Rengedai - Main
- OOC Date: 2026-05-04
- IC Date: Sat Oct 20
- Summary: In an attempt at sharing knowledge and proving that Kasugayama students have at least a modicum of discipline, Hyousuke's martial arts teacher arranges a meeting between his class and another. It's there that Hyousuke meets his match in the form of Lisa Silverman, pitting her Kung Fu against his Muay Thai.
(|============================= Rengedai - Main ==============================|)
-=============================================== Sumaru City/Rengedai Ward ====-
The central ward of Sumaru, built on the Tanabata River that splits the city
like a yin-yang symbol, is called Rengedai, or "Lotus Pedestal," because it
looks like a lotus flower floating on the water. It's a quiet, peaceful place to
live, and though it has undergone modernization over the past decade or two, a
good number of historical sites remain.
Its most standout feature is Mt. Iwato, a small mountain with a significant
network of caverns that spelunkers are advised not to explore casually. Alaya
Shrine is available for worship at its foot. It has never been set on fire.
The prestigious Seven Sisters School stands nearby; according to rumor, the
symbol sewn on the school's uniforms will protect you from the Joker Curse. To
the west is Honmaru Park, built on the site of feudal leader Kiyotada Sumaru's
castle and in his dubious memory, but it's under construction, so you can't go
in there.
Mansions, houses, and apartment complexes dot the riverside banks. The Lotus
Plaza Shopping Mall is right there with them, offering modest shopping in
convenient walking distance.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
It was fair to say that Kasugayama high school had a reputation. The uniform alone came with a plethora of connotations, and the students seemed to relish in reinforcing them at times. Therefore, Hyousuke quietly posited, seeing Mutou-sensei's gathered pupils might have been a surprise to the other pupils gathered into that rented room at the community centre. They were still Kasu students, and they still displayed some manner of unruliness when they thought they could get away with it, but they were far and away more disciplined than the rumours might have suggested.
Mutou-sensei's influence was no doubt a part of it. A stone-faced older man with close-cropped and greying hair, his solid features and unwavering gaze made him seem more like a living cliff face than a person. When he spoke, his orders were always short and sharp, but they boomed like cannonfire and never failed to spur a student into action. From the moment that they'd filed into the community centre and said their greetings, to the warmups and stretches barked out at organised rabble, to the instruction to find a sparring partner they'd not tussled with before, one would not have been blamed for thinking he was a drill instructor rather than a teacher.
With the order given, it was as if a bind had been released from the Kasu students' chests, and they were allowed to breath freely. They scattered across the floor as if dispersed by a breeze, seeking someone to show their skills to. Hyousuke, for his part, turned towards the nearest person available that he didn't recognise, and flagged them down with a short and sensible - if perhaps a little overeager - wave.
"Hey!" He said, hand lowered back to his waist. "You got a partner yet?"
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
Lisa Silverman is well aware of Kasugayama's reputation! Most students of Seven Sisters High are, and while there was a horrible time with that curse a while back, Sevens once again reigns supreme between the two. ..Right?
The man net to Mutou-sensei is also a master; he is a little younger, more relaxed in his expression as befits his style. Nevertheless, he's a hard instructor too. He'll have a lot to talk about with Mutou, in theory. His orders in turn are calm, direct, and to the point.
His name...? You'll get it later.
Lisa Silverman sticks out. A girl in this context is not as rare, but a white girl in this place certainly is. She's blonde and blue-eyed. But she's dressed like everyone else.
Hyousuke waves, and Lisa turns to him. "Lei Ho!" she greets back cheerfully. She looks up to his face--he's a little over half a foot taller than she is--and grins. "Looks like I do now!"
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke, out of the corner of his eye, could see Mutou-sensei turning to speak with his fellow instructor. At that distance, and with the din of sparring sessions already underway, there was no chance he could have made out what they were saying. Even if he strained, there were too many factors at play to catch even a snippet of the conversation. Not that it mattered to him - his potential sparring partner was now a definite sparring partner, and he met her greeting with a wide, beaming, grin back down at her.
"Then let's get a spot." Hyousuke said, canting his head towards an empty area off to their side. Tall and blonde, with sharp eyes that glinted like cut emeralds, he stood out from his peers in his own way, and the deep scar that struck from brow to cheekbone like a line carved by a dagger only emphasised that. However, nobody paid him much mind as he took his place upon the mat, save for Mutou-sensei - though even that was just a quick glance to make sure his students were playing nicely with others, than attention given specifically to him.
"I'm Hyousuke." He said, bowing a little in the customary fashion, before holding out his glove. Despite only being some months old, the things were clearly well-used. Not so much damaged as they were worn down a little, the slight fading of the branding and the marks upon the synthetic leather showed that they'd seen plenty of use. The gumshield he slipped in made that clear as well, though that was in a little rougher a state, being gnarled by bite marks inside and out. "Hyousuke Suzuki. It's a pleasure to meet ya!"
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
"Sounds good." Lisa doesn't even try to listen in on the instructors; it's fine. She's one of a smaller set of students than the Kasugayama set, since her training doesn't come through the school itself. Nevertheless, now she has a partner!
...The scar is pretty notable; Lisa can't hide that she looks at it for a few moments, wondering what could've caused it.
But she bows back, and taps his glove iwth her own. "Lisa," she answers. With her pronunciation it could as easily be 'Risa'. Her gloves are newer; that might seem to indicate she's newer to the practice... but that's not precisely true.
"Lisa Silverman! Nice to meet you!" Her Japanese is perfect, despite the name and the looks. Native, even.
But then she puts in the gumshield of her own, and steps back. "Ready?"
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
"Ready!"
Hyousuke launched forwards the moment he was sure that they were both ready for the other, and lashed out with a sharp left jab. It was a light strike, intended more to probe her defences and test to see what her reaction was, more than it was to hurt. That aside, it was a sparring session. Even the right straight he followed through with lacked any real sense of power, and certainly carried no desire to harm behind it. They were there to practice, not to brawl, and he was certain he'd be running laps every minute between lessons if Mutou-sensei caught him trying to.
Despite the knowledge that should have been focussing on the sparring match, Hyousuke's curiosity overwhelmed him.
"Silverman..." He began, rolling the word around on his tongue a little, before speaking again. "Sounds like a Western name. You from around here?" Like his punches, the question lacked any real force behind it. As inelegantly as it had been phrased, Hyousuke's tone leaned firmly towards curious rather than accusatory.
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
Forward! Lisa is immediately set on the defensive for the moment, and the first blow is brushed aside with a left-forearm block, the right straight weaved around as she instead goes for a tap with a two-strike combo of her own. Her footwork is good; she stays on his center, making sure to move along with his movements to keep her positioning up.
The question gets a tight sigh--as Lisa moves for another defensive block and counterattack. He's likely to get through her defenses if he can make for an unexpected angle--she's relatively new to having others to practice with, compared to him probably.
"It is," Lisa says, "But I was actually born here in Sumaru. My parents are naturalized."
She darts to the side--and comes in with another set of touch attempts with a sweeping wing punch to go with it. "Hah!"
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke noted the agility she put on display. He'd been quick, but she was quicker - enough to work around his strikes and push in to return the favour. His guard flexed into position and pushed against her, smothering the blows against a stance that was as solid as the person wielding it. It was a brutish solution when compared to hers, but he was a brutish man. Agility wasn't exactly his strong suit... though that didn't mean he didn't know how to use it either. Despite his size, Hyousuke managed to shift with quick and deliberate steps, before throwing out another jab.
It was a strike that put speed over power again, and he pushed forth with it again. Then, his right followed - but not in the straight that he'd levelled at her before. It was a bodyblow aimed at her side, starting low and arcing up towards her torso.
"So you're from here?" He asked, before drawing his guard in to weave around the punch. He was a big target though, and closer than he should have been with a reach that long. He took the first few strikes, and his move sidewards left the last one glancing off the edge of his forearm.
"I only got here a few months ago. I'm *still* trying to find my way around." It was partly him lamenting not being as good with directions as he'd have liked, but mostly just him continuing the conversation. For all his bluntness, he seemed oblivious to the consternation he'd caused, like a clumsy hound blissfully unaware of the chaos left in its wake. That friendly remark was followed with a decidedly unfriendly left hook, swift as it was sharp, before his right shot towards her chin for an uppercut.
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
Lisa's certainly not as strong as Hyousuke--he's bigger, has more leverage--but she's very fast. ...Which makes sense, since she patterned her style off of martial arts movies before she got a more formal teacher. So she finds that he can just take a few blows, and she nods in some approval.
The first jab she can brush away--but the second surprises her, gets in a hit. "Oof!"
She grins. "Not bad." She seems in better spirits, though she is still a little defensive as she adds, "Sure am. I'm as Japanese as any of us."
Glance...
"Oh, yeah?" A beat, "Hirasaka's kinda confusing anyway--the only reason I'd go there is the mall, just about."
Since he doesn't press the matter, she seems to get over it a bit. But... Unfriendly!! The hook comes, and Lisa realizes from his movements what's coming next--so she takes the hook on her arms so that she can dart back out of the way of the uppercut, instead of committing to motion that would've seen her struck. "Whew!"
She comes back with a three-hit combo, down down up-left, and adds, "But if you really want to know Sumaru as a teenager, you have to try Yumezaki!"
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Whatever remarks Hyousuke might have had about Lisa's heritage - if any - were knocked squarely out of him when she launched into a combo. Again, he took the blows, moving just enough to lessen their impact, but never truly dodging out of the way. It was throwing punches against a brick wall - he took it without flinching, simply pulling his guard in and weaving from side to side until the time was right to lash back out. But his defence wasn't impregnable. The final blow caught against his jaw, drawing a quiet cry of surprise from him before he gave his response.
"If my friends don't drag me off somewhere else after midterms, I'm gonna!" He said, speaking through clenched teeth and tightly-held gumshield before lashing out. Two blows came first - a left jab to her face, followed by a heavy right. One to snake through her defences, the other bludgeon past them. Another hook came from his left, short and sharp, rocketing towards her jaw - but no punch followed. His right leg heaved through the air instead, careening towards her thigh in a quickly-executed roundhouse, before slipping back into place. "There anywhere in there that does tea? I've only found one spot that does the good stuff!"
Ma'am did excellent green tea, but it was ultimately still green tea. Ichika's recommendation remained the only place he frequented for anything fancier.
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
That's definitely for the best. Lisa doesn't like talking that much about her heritage. It's usually awkward...
She's not really tyring to hurt him at least, since it is just sparring--being able to land the blows at all is good enough for now. The occasional cry of surprises is nice, too.
"Cool!" Lisa answers. Friends... that's nice. The jab to the face impacts her headguard, but the heavy right she clamps both of her arms on to defuse. The hook for her jaw gets her already moving--but the roundhouse strikes home, since she was expecting a punch. "Aiyah! Not bad!"
"Hmmm. Probably...? I don't really seek it out. My dad makes me do tea ceremony lessons, so..."
She doesn't do that. "But they have great bubble tea at a few places!"
They'll probably finish the spar eventually, and have a chance to just talk--but before that...
Lisa demonstrates pretty darn good punching, and acrobatic maneuvers; if he ever tries for a sweep, she'll jump easily over it.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Again, Hyousuke thought to make a response. Again, Lisa struck the words out of him, shooting past his guard with speed and precision. He was fast - faster than his size might have indicated, at least - but not quite enough to weave around her blows the same way she did his. But no matter what he took, and no matter what she dodged, frustration never crept into his features. Nothing close to it ever manifested. Instead, he grinned. The conversation died down not because he'd lost focus, but because all of it was focussed on that exchange of blows, with him swinging out and trying to carve apart her defence while she slipped away from his strikes. It was only when time was called that he seemed to snap out of it, freezing like a statue for a split second before stepping back and offering to touch gloves again.
"Hell of a fight." Hyousuke remarked, once the class was given the all-clear to take a minute or two to get their breath back. He didn't seem to be much worse for wear, needing only a moment or two to settle his breathing to a normal pace, but the wide smile remained. "Is everyone in your class as good as you?"
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
She's taken a few too by that point--But she notices that he doesn't seem to get frusstrated at all. The conversation dies down, sure, but she has to focus too. So when time is called...
She'll touch gloves too, and bow. She smiles back once they can talk again. "Thanks," she says. "You, too! You're really strong. And you know how to use your height... I'm a little jealous," she jokes. Since he's so tall.
"Nope!" Lisa answers cheerfully--but then laughs, "Or at least, I'm not supposed to say that. Sifu tells me I'm talented, but need to polish my technique a lot, and unlearn some habits... since I mostly taught myself at first."
"How about you? I have to admit, i didn't expect C--Kasu High students to be so disciplined. No offense meant. Just not the vibe I usually get off your school." A beat, "Though maybe your teacher is why..." He seems pretty intense.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke nodded at her comment on heights as he tipped a bottle of water into his mouth, not so much drinking from it as he was pouring it down his throat. He gave no verbal response at first though, simply listening while he got his fluids back, and took a moment to roll his shoulders and try to keep some flood flowing. He arched a brow at her mentioning she was self-taught as well... though that did not come with a look of interest. Wistfulness flashed across his eyes instead, though Hyousuke himself did not seem conscious of the fact.
Whether he did or not, he did not elaborate on his thoughts on the matter, instead choosing to continue the conversation in a far more carefree manner than when they'd been punching at each other.
"It's mostly him." Hyousuke said, shrugging a little as he lowered the bottle and held it off to one side. "I know Kasugayama's got a reputation," he continued, putting a quiet emphasis on the school's proper name, "But we're not all like that, and I think he wants to show it." Hyousuke looked towards his teacher. The man was every bit as intense as Lisa thought, and more besides - he was like a thundercloud, carved into the shape of a man, his eyes fierce as lightning yet firm as rock.
"Your sensei's gotta be good too. If he's getting those habits out of you and teaching you to work that quick, he's gotta know his stuff. Had a hard time hitting you, even *with* my height." He chuckled a little, still smiling, before turning to look back at her. "So, you been doing this long?"
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
Lisa also gets some water! She's one of those irritating girls who manages to look good even with her hair sweaty. (It's a skill.) but the wistful look he gets surprises her. Hmm.
Well, they just met. That's probably too personal to ask about.
"I've met some cool Kasu types," she admits. "You, and one other guy..." And a terrible awful brain-dyed boss, but he's not important right now.
"Cool. Well, it's working."
"He does! My manager set me up with him," she explains. "Sevens doesn't have a kung fu club or anything, but still." And hitting her... She grins. "If I can see it coming, I can usually block it! ...But, there's some stuff I don't see coming because I've only been training with other people much kinda recently..."
A beat, "Since middle school! I got really into martial arts movies, and I thought.. I could do that!"
"So I started learning."
"How about you? You're really good, yourself. And you never lost your cool at all!"
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
"One other guy?" Hyousuke asked, his head canting to the side a little. With his crop of honey-blonde hair dampened a little by sweat, it was all the more susceptible to falling to one side as he tilted his gaze. He was the very image of an inquisitive hound, even as he blinked a little, then righted himself and listened to the rest of what she had to say. He was silent, save for quiet words of acknowledgement, but his nodding and focussed gaze left little doubt that he wasn't simply pretending to listen.
He also did not comment on her manager. That, he assumed, was simply in reference to someone from a bog-standard workplace, rather than anything in relation to idols or similar.
"Since I got to Sumaru. So... about half a year? Maybe?" He said, after taking a moment to look away and figure out an exact length of time, before promptly giving up and giving a vague answer. He also decided to leave out the part where he'd been getting into fights for far longer. They had just met, after all, and he had no intention of elaborating on details that strangers had no right knowing. "It's kind of a blur. Mutou-sensei made me work *hard* for this, so I never really kept track of how long I'd been training."
That part wasn't a lie, or even an evasion of the truth. If the warmup at the beginning had been any indication, the man was a stern - and remarkably effective - teacher.
"But I gotta ask..." He continued, once another thought popped up into his head. "How'd you manage to teach yourself? Was that with the movies too? Sparring against people's something we did pretty early."
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
"Mm-hm. But he's a secret!" Lisa doesn't clarify further. Instead, he mentions gtting to Sumaru and... Hmmm.
Half a year or so. That works fine. "Ohhh... Well, that's cool. I guess the time is less important than the..." Hmm, what's the phrase? "Well, it's less important than how hard you work."
But? "Yep!" Lisa answers. "Movies, searching out ideas... I didn't have a lot of people to practice with, so I mostly practiced moves and forms. And once you've got that down, the movements get easier."
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
She didn't enquire any further about how he'd attained his skill in far shorter a length of time, and that suited Hyousuke just fine. He had no intention of elaborating on his past and the experience it gave him. Or on the nightly excursions he went on to make some money in lieu of legally-recognised employment. Or the multitude of other things that had honed his body as well as his nerves. He doubted that she would believe him anyway, if - for whatever godforsaken reason occurred - he decided it was a good idea.
"Well, if you ever need more people to practice with, hit me up." He said, in response to her mentioning how few practice partners she'd had in the past. "Between you and me? I could use more training partners too. There ain't many of us, so it'd be nice to train with someone new." He gave a grin, but had no chance to follow up on it. Mutou-sensei called out that their brief break was over, and Hyousuke was nothing but eager to get back out there.