Battle! [day four morning!]

[swordofzero]

Suzaku Kururugi vs. Zoro Roronoa

Weapons: Shoryu and Elizabeθ Buckley
Location: Gym
Time of day: Morning

He had lost, lost to Gino and therefore lost Huashi. Gino had refused to transfer her back, which seemed to infuriate the girl no end and meant that Suzaku had to try and win her back off Gino as well as Nunnally.

But getting back Nunnally was the main aim, before Gino got desperate or bored and used her weapon. A lot of people would get hurt if he did and as the days went on Suzaku was getting more and more worried.

To add to his worries Lelouch was still adamant about fighting Gino, despite the fact that Suzaku hadn't been able to beat the taller (and now older) knight. Still Suzaku shook the thoughts out of his head and concentrated on the here and now. He needed to try and win another weapon, though if he used Theta's weapon it meant he could fight unarmed.

But he would still feel better if he had another weapon as well, to fall back on and that meant attempting to beat this man, Zoro. He waited silently for him to appear.

Comments

[shishi_sonson]

When the pair of them returned, they'd spot Zoro through the windowed wall, already off in his own little world.

The man was, for one reason or another, shirtless as he went through the motions of a thorough workout. His body was practically a machine, thickly muscled despite how lean his overall frame was built; constructed piece by piece over a number of years spent training, Zoro's regiment apparently involved performing vertical push-ups, his powerful arms lifting his entire weight away from the floor. Once he was satisfied, he removed his left arm from the equation, holding himself upright with only his right.

Running diagonally down the length of his chest, the two might notice an immense scar, deep and messy; it had since been cleanly stitched, but a keen eye might notice that it had been done once previously, and not very well. Various other battle-earned cuts and knicks dotted his skin, but this, as well as a series of odd scars around his ankles, was the most noticeable.

As they entered, Zoro stopped, lowering himself gently back down to the floor. Not to be rude, but he remained seated there, folding his legs beneath him as he grabbed a fluffy, school-issued towel and dabbed it against his skin.

"Ah, you two get everything settled?" he asked, smiling lightly as he looked up at them.

[myblueskies]

Romeo led Miss Buckley back to the gym room where the fight was and looked around in the rooms until he found Zoro. They didn't get bothered, the adults who watched the gym to make sure that discards didn't get in knew him on sight by now. He was here every day with Zoro, and they had probably seen miss Buckley go in with Suzaku. He found the room finally and with another encouraging smile towards his hopefully new friend he opened the door.

He had seen mister Zoro train before, and had seen his scars before, they all looked like they hurt. But nothing seemed to hurt mister Zoro; nothing at all. Romeo hadn't asked about them, he wasn't that brave.

"Yes boss! This is miss Buckley and she has agreed to be on our team willingly and help us fight!" He grinned up at her with another smile. "Isn't that right, sir!"

[ergaleomancer]

Theta was just a bit scandalised when she saw him practising with his shirt off, and as such she made a point of looking anywhere but at Zoro. Having found a spot on the ceiling to feign fascination with, she turned her eyes there, waiting for him to get the hint and make himself decent.

At least she was listening to the conversation, and she nodded in confirmation to Zoro's inquiry. He didn't sound that bad now, maybe she was just getting over-dramatic about Suzaku's loss. But she had wanted Suzaku to win!

"Well, I'm here, at any rate. Fair is fair, even if I'm unhappy about it."

[shishi_sonson]

Zoro did pick up on Theta's consternation, but did nothing immediately about it; perhaps he found her discomfort a little bit funny, judging by his faint grin, or perhaps it was a good sign that he didn't care much about Theta's sex. Instead, slinging the towel over his shoulders, he steadily lifted himself from the floor, rising up to his full height and posture and approached them.

"Alright then," he said, sounding fairly casual about the development. Getting too excited about a new ally just wasn't his style. Still, he was secretly pleased that Romeo had managed to convince her not to stubbornly storm away, and gave the young lad a nod of his head in approval.

As for Theta, though, Zoro looked at her closely while wearing his usual 'frown'. "Sorry you're so unhappy about being stuck with me. I'll try to make this as painless as possible for you, at least, but I need your cooperation while I'm a Player this week."

Finally, as a show of some good faith, Zoro picked up a loose-fitting shirt and slipped it on over his head.

"So. I'll make you a deal. You lend me your strength and I'll fight anyone you want - maybe they'll beat me, and you won't have to put up with...well, whatever it is you don't like about me," he began, ending with a shrug of his shoulders. "Either way, this will be a good test for myself."

Naturally, this likely sounded like a lot of ego, with Zoro simply wanting to act macho and show off his big, manly muscles; if that's how it came across, Zoro didn't argue against it. However, he actually meant that this would be a chance to earn Theta's trust; he could fight, using her Weapon, and prove to her that no Weapon was a joke. By his own sort of demented logic, that would force her to trust herself and thereby become a stronger Weapon for the future - an absolutely foolproof plan.

[myblueskies]

Romeo tried not to beam when Zoro nodded at him, but he had been around the swordsman enough to understand that that meant that Zoro was happy with what he had done, and that made Romeo very happy indeed. As it was he started to look a bit more confident, ready to step in if the two seemed likely to get angry at each other; because he didn't want that to happen at all.

He kept quiet though and listened as Zoro explained about the deal he would make with Miss Buckley. It sounded like a good plan, except that Romeo did not think there was anyone in this school that could beat Zoro! But since Miss Buckley seemed angry that the other man had lost surely she would be happy if Zorro won with her weapon. Romeo glanced at her watching and waiting quietly.

[ergaleomancer]

When Theta heard the rustle of fabric, she glanced back at Zoro, and was relieved to find he'd gotten himself decent again. It had nothing to do with sex, and everything to do with the fact that her society didn't particularly approve of nudity. For anyone. She listened to his challenge, and immediately nodded.

"Sherlock Holmes. I don't know what it is you want me to do, but I'll support you in fighting him." She didn't read his words as particularly arrogant, but rather she supposed he was a lot like her. How were those who had great skills meant to act, after all? Lie about it out of some false sense of modesty? No, she thought those that were simply boasting reeked far more of desperation than he did.

[shishi_sonson]

"Hmmm," Zoro grunted simply. 'Sherlock Holmes' - maybe he'd only just seen that name when all of the week's Players were announced, but something about it seemed otherwise familiar. Unable to immediately place a finger on its significance, Zoro simply shrugged, then gave Theta a nod.

"Fine. I'll fight him as soon as he's ready," he said. "Ehh, but maybe one of you can help me with that; those...er...campters? - conporters? - the things with the little letter buttons - I'm not so used to them."

Now that the towel was no longer needed to cover his shoulders, Zoro used it to dab away a bit of sweat from around his brow and temples, then politely deposited it in a provided hamper near the room's door.

"Well, I'm done here. I think it's about time for lunch, too...Romeo-kun, you hungry?" he asked, heading for the door. He stopped short, though, and looked back to Theta. "And...well...you too. If you want to."

[myblueskies]

Romeo grinned as well, though he was a little worried that his two friends were going to fight each other. Still he was happy that Zoro and Miss Buckley had finally came to an agreement. He would have offered to use the comutes, or whatever they were called but they were strange. Strange even than the mirrors that talked or the booths were you bought things from.

Lunch! Romeo was hungry, he was hungry most of the time though he was eating more than he had ever eaten in his life before. "I'm coming boss!"

When Zoro extended the invitation to Miss Buckley Romeo was surprised. Not that he had invited her but that there had ever been any question of her not joining them. She was their friend now. "Do you want to sir?"

[ergaleomancer]

Theta frowned at that request, shaking her head. "I could have a look at one of them, but we don't have anything like them in my world. I couldn't promise anything." Still, she followed along as they headed out of the gym, walking quite a bit more slowly than she had initially. Yes, lunch was a good excuse to sit down, and goodness knows she needed to sit now.

"I'll come along to lunch, yes, yes." She turned her attention to Zoro and cleared her throat. "It's Elizabeθ Buckley, and your name was Zoro?" She'd heard his name, but she wasn't sure if he'd heard hers. Better to check and confirm and be polite, if they were to work together.

[shishi_sonson]

"Good. Maybe we can talk things over," Zoro replied, once Theta had agreed to join them. Hopefully, he thought, she wouldn't be off-put by his usual silent demeanor at a meal.

"Ms. Buckley. Right." Calling her by her first name so soon just didn't feel right, especially since she seemed so hesitant to work with him in the first place. As they walked, he glanced at her from over his shoulder, offering her something halfway between a scowl and a smile. "Zoro Roronoa. Pleased to meet you, after the fact."