frostythehitman

[ James jerks a finger over at one of the boats. ]

That one. I had to ask around to find out, but it's that one there. You ready to go?

Yeah, let's do this.

[Rinka boards the indicated boat and settles herself as comfortably as possible on a small fishing craft.]

[ aaaaaand let's just fast forward now through the trip to Pesgare until they find a nice quiet place somewhere there for them to beat the daylights out of each other. ]

Alright. Let me know when you're ready.

[ James just stands there with his hands at his hips, because he doesn't need to stretch or prepare or NOTHING. ]

[Rinka, meanwhile, is going to stretch and warm up, because like hell she's going to do this cold. After about ten minutes she's starting to feel limber and fishes the blindfold from her pack. Stepping to the center of the area, she covers her eyes, and focuses. Listen to the sounds around her, feel the air on her skin, smell the scents on the air...]

Okay. Come at me.

[ James is hesitant at first, but then approaches her slowly. He didn't like the idea of this to begin with, and he feels even more uncomfortable with it now that he actually sees Rinka blindfolded in front of him. So he takes it slow and easy. Instead of throwing a real blow that could hurt, he instead reaches for her forearm to swing her around a bit until the force of rotation is strong enough to maybe send her stumbling to the ground. ]

[Sparring with Anna had kicked up a couple new memories. Training with her father and kicking ass against a bunch of really questionable looking guys. She' still not too sure how well she'll be able to put any of that to use just yet though.

As James grabs her arm, she feels a strong urge to dump him on his ass. But it's like reaching for a book that's on a shelf, and while she knows what order the books are in, she's not sure exactly which book her hand is in front of.

So down she goes. Only instead of going face down into the dirt, she tucks her chin and somehow manage to turn her fall into a roll.

As she climbs to her feet, she brushes her hair out of her mouth and makes sure the blindfold is still secure.]

Do that again.

[ Well. Color him impressed. Those are some pretty quick reflexes she's got there, especially when she can't see where she's falling.

If she wants to do it again, then fine. James is less hesitant this time, though, because now he knows he's not just throwing a blindfolded girl to the ground. He grabs her arm and swings her around again, just as before. ]

[Rinka forces herself to keep her eyes closed, to not try to see through the blindfold. It's there both to remind her to not rely on her eyes, and just in case she does accidentally peek.

Focus. Listen. Smell. Feel. Everything but see.

And just before James hand closes on her arm again, there's a moment when she almost thinks she can see something in her mind. A brief flash of energy, like a flame, outlining a hand and an arm.

And then she's falling again. But as she falls, she cab 'see' more. Shoulders, legs, the outline of James's head. Tuck the chin and roll.]

Almost had it.

[She gets to her feet again, this time taking up a more defensive position. Feet in a stable position, arms out front protecting her midline.]

[Hey. James.

There's a golden retriever coming your way.

He has a collar and tags, but more importantly, he has a leash, with no human on the other end. It's just dragging behind him as he trots up to various people. He raises a paw to gently tap their leg, but when they shift aside or walk away, he moves on to the next person rather than follow.]

[ James feels the light tap on his leg and looks around to see...a dog. One that clearly has an owner and is clearly trained. He looks around for anyone who might be looking for a lost dog, but can't hear or see anyone that might fit that description. Everyone is ignoring the dog, calmly going about their day, no sign of trouble or concern.

So James leans down and pets the dog lightly. Because how can he resist? ]

Hey there. Are you lost? Looking for help? Can't find your owner?

[The golden retriever accepts the pets, then gives a soft woof in reply to his questions. Once he's certain he has James's attention, the dog trots a few yards in the direction he'd come from. Then he looks back at James to make sure the man is following him.]

[ Well, alright. If the dog wants to show him something, who is he to decline? James sure enough follows the dog, keeping a few steps behind. ]

[ He recognizes the stance she adopts immediately--more competent, like an actual fighter prepared to take a hit, than just some helpless kid in a blindfold.

Huh.

He decides to push it a little bit. Instead of another round of swinging, this time he takes an alternate approach. She's got her upper body protected, so instead he hooks his leg around hers and yanks. It's less warning than the swinging--at least with that, there's time to realize what's going on and prep for a fall. Here, it's instantaneous.

And James is curious to see how she'll handle it. ]

[Satisfied that James is following him, the golden retriever leads him around a corner and down a couple blocks, stopping for traffic when needed. After a few minutes, they arrive at a bus shelter where Tatsuo is sitting, elbows on his knees, head resting on his hands. The dog walks up to him and sticks his head between Tatsuo's arms, causing him to sit up. Tatsuo ruffles the dog's ears affectionately.]

Hey, boy. I'm okay. I just need a few more minutes.

[And then he notices he's got company.]

Oh, hi James.

[She goes down... but instead of just getting back up, she swings out her own leg, trying to kick James out from under him. He flickers in her 'sight,' there one moment, gone the next, but she does her best to guess where he actually is.]

[ James blinks, surprised. ]

The dog's yours?

[ Then he realizes that Tatsuo wasn't exactly looking all that great when he first walked up to him. No one holds that kind of pose when they're having a good time. ]

What's going on?

[ It's not the most well-aimed kick. But James wasn't expecting any kind of retaliation at all, so even a haphazard kick is enough to knock off his balance and send him toppling to the ground with a quiet "oof!"

Once the initial surprise wears off, he can't help but grin. ]

Were you actually aiming, or was that just a lucky shot?

Yeah, this is Yujirou. I adopted him last year.

[as opposed to getting him from Retrospec]

As for what's going on... I got a few memories back to back, and the childhood ones always hurt like hell. S'what I get for repressing all my childhood trauma in my past life.

[Tatsuo ruffles Yijirou's ears again]

So I guess someone got worried and decided he was going to get some help, huh?

[Yujirou let out a woof of agreement and gives James a tongue-lolling grin, looking quite pleased with himself]

[Rinka is both pleased and a little surprised when she feels her sneaker connect with James's legs. She'd been pretty sure he would be there, but wouldn't have been surprised if she'd missed. But she hadn't missed; she'd actually managed to kick him. And knock him to the ground if the 'off' she hears and the heavy vibration she feels through the ground are any indication.]

I was kinda aiming actually.

[She gets back to her feet and offers her hand down to James]

[ He chuckles a bit upon realizing that someone who can't see a thing is offering him a hand up, but he takes it and pulls himself back on his feet. ]

Alright, fine, I admit it. Maybe you can see through that thing a little bit.

[ Well shit, how do you expect James to resist a grin like that? He can't help but smile back and ruffle the fur on top of Yujirou's head.

He's pretty quiet aside from that though, for a few moments. Petting the dog is easier than figuring out how to respond to Tatsuo's words. ]

Well...now I can't let him down. What's this all about?

[ He's intentionally phrasing things vaguely because he's not quite sure how to talk more directly about this. So instead, he'll just...express the intent to help and let Tatsuo figure out what 'help' means to him, and how James can do it. ]

[She's trying to not feel cocky, because her ability to sense him is still patchy; there one moment and gone the next. But wow did it feel good to have knocked him down.]

It's weird. Kind of like... flashes of light. Except it's not light, because it's in my head.

[She puts up her fists again]

Might be getting the hang of this.

[Yujirou's tail thumps against the sidewalk. Right behind the ears pls James.]

Basically, there was a murder I was trying to solve in my past life. It was a twenty year old cold case where a woman in charge of a foster home was shot and killed. No one was ever charged with her murder, and as far as I can tell, no normal police record of the case existed. At least not where a regular detective could access. So I've been trying to put the jigsaw puzzle that are the memories related to this case together, while I'm still missing pieces.

[While he talks, Tatsuo digs into his jacket pocket and produces a ziplock baggie of boned shaped dog treats. Homemade dog treats. He palms one to Yujirou, who happily scarfs it down.]

[ He raises an eyebrow. ]

So, what, you wanna take this to the next level now?

[ Because oh, if this is gonna be a fistfight, he can make it a fistfight. ]

[ And behind the ears James goes. But even as he scratches Yujirou's ears, his expression grows less happy and more conflicted. Like he's not quite sure what to make of Tatsuo's words. ]

Huh. Why?

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