After School Explanations - SotVD

[banthesun]

Afternoon sunlight filtered through the windows as Kyoko picked up her schoolbag and left the classroom. She'd been stuck with cleaning duty, but today she didn't mind. She had another errand to run; today she was going to clear up what this 'persona' buisness was once and for all.

She hurried across the school grounds to the tennis courts. Kyoko knew he did his training there after school every day, and hoped to catch him while he was packing up alone. It wouldn't do to plan this out so much only to miss him because she was running late.

Ugh! This is like I'm going to confess to a crush or something. That's so depressing!

Thankfully, he was still there when Kyoko arrived, and she called out to him.

"Uh, Mr Dorian? There's something I need to ask you..."

[Penguinator]

Dorian had been facing off against Galahad, wielding a smaller blade than he was used to - one must be prepared for combat with whatever is handy. Hearing a voice, he stopped and stood straight up. He was surprised to hear that it was a female's voice; prior to this moment, he had only ever been joined by Sir Soga or Sir Davis in his training.

"Hold, Galahad." The command was firm, though mostly unnecessary. The knight, chivalrous as ever, had made a slight bowing gesture in the presence of a lady.

Slipping his sword back into his scabbard, her turned to see... he wasn't sure he recalled her name. "Yes, my Lady? What's troubling you?"

[banthesun]

Ah, it's weird how he's so polite but archaic. Is that just how he learned Japanese?

"Um, I wanted to ask you about all this persona stuff. You seemed pretty knowledgable about it, sir."

Kyoko glanced over at the knight he'd been training with. Having a persona out here only seemed to support her assumption.

"Like, I guess, I'm still not sure if- um, if all this stuff is real..."

[Penguinator]

Dorian raised an eyebrow. "I can assure you that this is all very real." He nodded to Galahad, adding, "What we feel, our persona feels, and vice versa. Our persona is very much a part of us. Something hidden, locked away until the time comes, but very real." He paused, looking distant for a moment.

"The shadows are also very real. The pain their strikes cause, for example. Now, our persona can enable us to use magic to cure the most of what they can do to us, but this is, for all intents and purposes, very real."

To lighten the atmosphere, he grinned widely. "Is there anything else of which you wish to inquire?"

[banthesun]

"But, magic? Monsters? It's all a bit hard to believe! Why doesn't anyone know about this?" Kyoko looked down as she replied, shaking her head slightly.

Despite her denial, Kyoko was still ready to believe him. The feelings she got when she summoned Mimi let her know it was real, as absurd as the whole situation was.

She glanced up at Dorian again, and asked "I mean, what even are these things?"

[Penguinator]

Dorian shook his head sadly. "My Lady, what good would knowing do? In many cases, ignorance is bliss. What would people do when they found out not only that there are creatures that can kill them, but only select people can defeat them, and conventional methods won't have an effect?"

"As for your second question, I do not have all the answers. I do not believe that anyone in our group does."

[banthesun]

Only select people can defeat them? Is this what the persona project is about?

Kyoko shivered, despite the sun. "Creepy... This is like some kind of horror movie..."

Dorian had said he didn't really know what these persona things were, but Kyoko still suspected he knew more about it than she did. After all, here he was training.

"Uh, sorry, I couldn't help remembering you told me you'd been training since you were a kid? Doesn't that mean you've known about this for longer than the rest of us?"

[Penguinator]

Dorian raised an eyebrow and folded his arms over his chest. "Longer than anyone else? Not at all. My training has been nothing extraordinary. Nothing that would prepare for this."

[banthesun]

"What do you- oh! You mean it was just martial arts and that? Is that something they teach overseas? Sorry, I just assumed-"

Kyoko was acting flustered; that misunderstanding was so embarrassing! She tried to cool herself back down.

"So you're still new to this too? I guess you just looked like you really knew what you were doing..."

[Penguinator]

"Well, yes. I believe I am the eldest here, aside from the instructors, and I also have a beard. I believe that would make me look even older."

Dorian grinned, continuing. "My father wanted me to take to the sword at a young age. I think that it was my personal upbringing that brought me to it, rather than something that is purely 'overseas.'"

[banthesun]

Kyoko was getting even more confused with each explanation. "Wait, the instructors are older than you?" She wouldn't be too surprised about Jarod being older, but now she wasn't sure about just how old the others were.

"Your father trained you? You're not like, actual knights, are you? I didn't realise that was still a thing," she admitted.

I guess that might explain why he talks like he does.

[Penguinator]

Dorian tilted his head to the side. "I'm not honestly sure of their ages. I imagine that they're older. They may not be."

"As for being a knight, yes, and no. My father was in the service, but it wasn't quite as gallant as knighthood."

[banthesun]

"Ahh..." Kyoko was still a bit unsure quite what that meant for Dorian's family, and that much was clear in her reply.

He was a soldier? Or... what's like a knight? A retainer, maybe? Ugh, Miyuki would probably know about this kind of stuff...

"Um, I hope this isn't rude, but, uh, does that mean you're a noble or something?" Kyoko felt it was probably a rather impolite question, but she was worried she might have been treating him improperly if he was.

[Penguinator]

The question caught Dorian off guard, and he rubbed at the back of his neck. "Well, yes. But it's not a particularly high rank, and it's not something that I care for people to know."

[banthesun]

"Oh, ah, okay. Sorry! I won't tell anyone!"

Wow, that was just about the most embarrassing answer I could have imagined! He is a noble, and it was an impolite question... Now I don't know what honourific to use for him! I guess if he doesn't want to draw attention to it I should stick with sensei. Ugh, that was too embarrassing!

While Kyoko tried to contain her embarrassement she noticed the awkward silence that was growing, and she glanced down at the ground.

"But, why us..." Kyoko eventually piped up. "Why are we the ones who have to fight the shadows?"

[Penguinator]

Dorian noticed the girl's flustered look, and laughed. "Don't beat yourself up over it."

Grinning in response to the second question, he put a hand to his blade. "I believe it is because we are the only ones who can."

[banthesun]

Kyoko looked concerned, hearing Dorian's assessment.

"That just seems unfair... Is this meant to be 'fate' or something?" She sighed. "I mean, you've had your training, and Asami, Tsubaki, and Soga too. I haven't had anything like that. Even without the monsters and magic and stuff I don't think I understand anything. This is all just so weird..."

Kyoko shook her head, and glanced aside again.

[Penguinator]

Dorian laughed. "And yet, you have been able to hold your ground, have you not?" He grinned, and bowed slightly. "Come, my Lady. There must be something more pleasant for us to talk about."

[banthesun]

"I- huh?"

He really thinks I've been helpful in the velvet world? But I really didn't know what I was doing at all... Kyoko blushed slightly at his kindness.

"Ah, sorry! I guess it's that we've never really talked that much when we're not on missions."

[Penguinator]

"This is true." Dorian had taken out his blade and eyed it up and down, then slipped it back into the sheath. "What sort of things do you usually do in your spare time? Perhaps we could talk about or engage in one of those activities."

[banthesun]

"Oh! Uhh..." Kyoko ummed and ahhed, a bit unsure what to suggest. What counted as an 'activity' to Dorian? "I'm not really in any clubs or anything. I guess I like... shopping?"

It sounded pretty weak to her, and Kyoko doubted Dorian would be interested in something like that. Not to mention how awkward it might be hanging out with him in that kind of situation.

"Uh, maybe there's some tv shows we could talk about?" she suggested instead.

[Penguinator]

"Mm." Dorian went over to a large athletic bag. "I don't watch television. Here, catch."

He tossed the bag, adding, "Take a weapon."

[banthesun]

"waitwhat- Oof!"

Kyoko was taken by surprise, and barely had time to cover herself with her off hand before the bag hit her. She tried to scoop up the bag's strap with her right before it hit the ground, but it's weight meant she was just pulled after it, and the bag hit the ground with a clatter.

"Sorry..." she replied automatically, even though she knew she probably couldn't have caught it, what with her left arm being as weak as it was.

After brushing herself off, Kyoko reached down and unzipped the bag. She selected the lightest blade she could find inside, though it still felt much heavier than the weapon she summoned on the otherside of the velvet door.

Kyoko tentatively examined the weapon, before asking Dorian, "Uh, this isn't real, right?"

[Penguinator]

Dorian rubbed at the back of his neck. He hadn't imagined quite that reaction from the bag's tossing. "Don't apologize, my Lady; I caught you off guard."

As she inspected the weapon, he nodded, pulling his own blade. "Very real. ...Although I suspect we ought to start with something that isn't," he added with a light chuckle.

[banthesun]

Kyoko reacted with surprise when Dorian told her the blade was real, snapping it back into its scabbard. She held it a more respectful distance from herself and looked back at the bag.

"Ah, yes, maybe we should..." Kyoko searched the bag for a training weapon small enough for her to be comfortable with. "You really train with these? Isn't that, uh, really dangerous?" she asked, sounding incredulous. "And they let you carry all these around school?"

[Penguinator]

Dorian walked over to the back, carefully selecting a pair of practice blades and extending one towards the girl. "Not with Galahad. With someone else, it might be." Indicating the bag, he grinned. "No one has ever asked to see the contents. For all they know, I really am a tennis player."

[banthesun]

"Thanks." Kyoko accepted the weapon and tried to get a feel for its weight. "I never thought of training with personas. I don't even know how that might work with Mimi..."

Dorian's response about the bag took a moment to sink in.

"Wait, you're SMUGGLING WEAPONS INTO THE SCHOOL!?"

[Penguinator]

Dorian shook his head. "Smuggling is a strong word, especially when there are many around regardless. There is a fencing team, and there are of course some kept by the leaders of our team."

[banthesun]

"Well, the fencing team wouldn't have real weapons though... Kyoko didn't seem very sure. "Uh, I guess you probably know what you're doing. So, uh, what were you wanting to teach me?" she asked, raising the training weapon. Her left hand hovered over the grip, as she worried about its weight.

[Penguinator]

Dorian reconsidered what had occurred within the last few minutes. "Perhaps we should postpone our lesson, my Lady. It has been a rather intriguing day." He began packing up his blade, polishing it before withdrawing it to its scabbard. "When next we meet, we can find you a more suitable practice weapon."

[banthesun]

Kyoko lowered her weapon. In part she was relieved that they weren't going to have to fight, but another part of her was disappointed that it wasn't going to happen after the effort she'd put in psyching herself up for it.

"Okay, sure. Uh, you are still going to help me with my training at some point, right?" She glanced aside. "I do sorta feel like I need it..."

[Penguinator]

Dorian slung the bag over his shoulder, reaching for the girl's weapon. "Indeed, my Lady. But a part of any training is beginning with the correct equipment."

[banthesun]

Kyoko passed him back the training sword and went to pick up her own bag.

"Dorian, uh, thanks... For helping me understand what all this stuff is, I mean. Uh, actually, I guess it is all still pretty confusing... But thanks for helping anyway!"