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FFVIII: Final Cry (Ishu and BlisteredBlood)

The Headmaster laughed as Alphonse mentioned the events of the play last year. It had been a quirky little thing that did not even make it to the second intermission. The students had destroyed their stage with all of the movements, mechanics and who knew what else! It had all been too much all at once.

Ishu had not seen the play the year before so she was completely at a loss with their conversation.
 
"But then again, let's leave that part out for now. Besides, I don't exactly feel as though it should be spoken of. Though it did draw a whole lot of laughs from everyone, including the whole student body and faculty. Just not the right kind of laughs, anyway." Alphonse spoke again after a bit as he looked off to the side with a bit of an embarrassed look on his face, despite he caught a glimpse of Ishu looking between the two of them, not really sure of what it is they were talking about.
 
The Headmaster chuckled under his breath as a few students walked by and he recalled the events of the horrible play. He looked over at his daughter and then to Alphonse, "Well, since the two of you are going to be participating in a final tomorrow, I probably shouldn't keep you. I think you should focus on practicing your skills or getting and over-abundant amount of sleep."
 
"Yeah, you have a point there. Besides, I wouldn't wanna waste time on reminiscing when you got so much else to do around here and that includes getting Ishu here her SeeD license." Alphonse answered with a smile on his face as he looked in her general direction once more, standing up out of his seat and stretched himself out with a groan. "In any case Ishu," He said to her once his arms were down by his sides. "We should probably get going for right now. No doubt your dad here is gonna be a busy man when all of this here is done." He added with a chuckle.
 
Her father waved passively at them with an "I can handle this in my sleep!" expression, "Just be ready for tomorrow! Both of you!"

Ishu nodded between the two and stood up. She hugged the Headmaster and drew away carefully. She stared at him for a few moments before tensing and untensing the muscles in her body. She smiled over at Alphonse and walked around the table, Ready? The girl was excited about tomorrow. She did not think she would be able to sleep but she planned to do so anyway.
 
"And so we shall. Ishu, come on! We got a lotta prep work to do between now and tomorrow." Alphonse answered before looking over to Ishu with a big smile on his face before getting up from his chair and then gestured for her to follow him out of the Quad area. "On top of all that, I gotta get my gear from my dorm room. Meet me back in the Training Area in about 20 minutes." He added as he began to head out.
 
Eh!? She blinked over at him, The Training Grounds?? She was planning on sleeping! But... she wasn't going to say no. Alright, she hurried after him and looked up at him from his right, what should I bring? You're bringing armor so is there... something, I should bring? When it came to fighting, which was the only thing she was failing at in her studies, she had no idea what to bring or... do.
 
Alphonse blinked a few times before putting his hands to his hips before realizing something. Apparently, he neglected that Ishu was probably going to need some sleep if they were going to do any real training later on. With that in mind, Alphonse out his hand to his chin and then itched it a few times before looking over to Ishu once more and then nodded at her once. "You know... Tell ya what. Meet me at the Training Grounds in about an hour and a half. You look like you're about to crap out on me if I keep you going any longer than I should." He admitted with an arched eyebrow.
 
Oh, ok! She smiled, relieved that she could get a nap in. Before Alphonse could continue on without her, she hurried next to him again, What should I bring? Should I bring anything? Her light blue eyes searched his features for an answer. Did she need armor too? Or was that a preference?
 
"Just make sure you bring your tools. Besides, you're gonna need them for what we're gonna be doing later on." Alphonse answered with a nod of his head. "And by tools, I mean your equipment. Whatever it is, make sure you have it on you." He added as he pointed at her.
 
She stared up at him blankly for a recordable five seconds before responding, -Right.... right. Tools... She chewed on her lower lip as her gaze trailed off to the side and she contemplated his suggestion, or requirement. Tools... tools... she started to walk up the hallway into the Garden while thinking, very hard, about her "tools".
 
At that point, once Alphonse saw Ishu head off on her own to ponder about what it was she was supposed to bring along with her, he would then head off on his own in another direction to go find a store to go stock up on what they were going to need for their training session. Chances are, they were going to need quite a bit. Maybe a few potions, a few phoenix downs and the like. Chances are, Ishu might get roughed up quite a bit in there.
 
She decided to go up to the Headmasters Office, the whole time walking slowly and... pondering. She collected her little shopping bag and went back to the elevator. Once inside, she slid her card and put in a code. The elevator turned around and the door opened to a large room with a giant glass door that led out into a balcony. There were sheer drapes over the door to help filter the light, just barely.

Ishu walked into her bedroom and set the bag down on a glass table to the right. She took off her uniform coat and dropped it on the table as well. She untied her hair and let the white strands fall down over her back. The girl cooed and removed the rest of her clothes, dropping them on the table too. She hurried over to her oversized bed and slipped in under the covers, curling up in the warmth as she faded away into a light sleep.
 
After hitting a few stores and getting the things that they were going to need, Alphonse would then head over to his lockup where he had then found his equipment he was going to need, primarily his equipment, ranging from his armored left gauntlet that extended up to the shoulder, a cape that looked to have been split in two, decorated with the SeeD insignia on each part, steel-toed boots and an armored mantle to put over his shoulders. At the side of all that was his hand made claymore that looked to be about as tall as he was, but even with that, he could manipulate it around very easily.

After gathering his things, he decided to head on back towards his dorm room to take a little nap. No doubt he was also going to need some rest, too.
 
Ishu jerked in her bed when her alarm chimed. She reached out to the side of her bed and swat at the air. The alarm went off and she sat up. Her hair had curled in her sleep and bundled up around her shoulders. As she sat up, it fell down and rolled against the bare skin of her back. She got out of bed and went over to the glass table. She picked up her clothing and dressed herself. She thought about what she was supposed to bring but came up with... nothing. She didn't have a weapon and she didn't have any...armor. Ishu wasn't strong enough to carry anything on her body other than a bag. She was physically weak and she didn't see that getting better. This made her feel almost worthless- but she shunned those thoughts as she remembered that she had Alphonse.

Picking up a brush, she brushed out her curled up hair until it had been tamed and then she tied it up to keep it out of her face. She went to the door that led out of her room and entered the elevator. It turned back around and moved down to the bottom floor. Ishu walked all the way to the Training Grounds and waited near the entrance for her escort Alphonse.
 
After a short 30 minute nap once he was in his dorm room, Alphonse would then awaken slowly, sighing to himself. Time to get ready, I guess... He thought as he then began to get himself ready for what was soon to be their time to train. After rolling his shoulders a few times to loosen up a bit, Alphonse would then give out a few grunts when she started to do some light stretches to keep himself loose. After a little bit, Alphonse would then begin to dress himself in his equipment after getting a better change of clothing on, ranging from a tan sleeveless undershirt to wear under the mantle that the "ruined" cape was attached to and slid his left arm into the gauntlet. Once those were on, Alphonse would then get on a dark brown pair of pants, looping it with a black leather belt then out on a set of black steel-toed boots. Once he was all set in getting dressed and equipped, he would then pick up his claymore and then attached the heavy blade to his back, hearing a metallic "click" once it was in place.

"Alright. Hopefully you're there when I get there, Ishu." He muttered to himself before making his way over to the Training Grounds.

On his way there, he would spot Ishu there at the entrance waiting for him. Smiling on arrival, Alphonse walked over to her and extended his right hand out to tap her left shoulder a few times to get her attention. "Been here long?" He asked.
 
She blinked and turned around, smiling when she saw Alphonse. Her eyes trailed over his setup, amused and impressed, Wow...isn't that... heavy? Really heavy- or so it looked. He must have been used to wearing that, maybe a lot, otherwise it would put a lot of stress on him. Pointless stress on his muscles and body, stress that could break him in a battle. But he looked fine, great even! How come she couldn't do that? how come she couldn't be strong enough to carry something like that?

Ishu reached out and touched the metal on his shoulder, transfixed by the smooth and cold feel of the armor. It is very nice. Where did you get it?
 
Alphonse simply shrugged his shoulders in reply to her question she aimed at him before feeling her fingers trail over the metal that made up most of his equipment. "Meh. I get used to it. It's really not that big a deal." He answered her but looked at her oddly when he saw that what she had was all that she brought. Just a change of clothes? Alphonse thought as he then lifted his right hand up to his chin, itching it a few times before putting that same hand to his hip.

"If you're asking about the claymore, I made that for myself before I got into SeeD. I've had that for a long time now." Alphonse spoke as he gestured over his right shoulder and pointed at the blade attached to his back. "As for everything else, it's all SeeD standard combat attire. Well, with a few modifications, of course." He added.

"In any case Ishu," Alphonse spoke once more, his face showcasing a bit of concern on his face. "I honestly hope your brought something other than what you have there. I mean, I don't wnna sound like a jerk or nothing, but is that honestly all you're bringing into the Training Grounds?" He asked, his tone also showing a great deal of concern.
 
Wow! You must be very talented! Do you craft weapons often or is this the only one? She leaned to one side as she peeked at the rather large sword strapped to his back. It as thick and, obviously, heavy. The handle was rather large as well, though it had to be in order for the person wielding the weapon to actually be able to wield it without the blade just dropping off.

When Alphonse asked about her attire, she looked at herself. It was the same uniform she had been wearing earlier but her shoes were slightly different. The bottoms were thicker and she had gel on the inside. It was perfect for staying in uniform and being able to walk around questionable terrain, Um... yes. She smiled nervously and fidgeted with the bottom of her overcoat, I don't have a...weapon, or armor.
 
"As far as I know, this is the only thing I made for myself. It was a pain in the ass to get the materials for it, though. A lotta searching around mines, beating up on monsters, digging into the ground, all that shit." Alphonse answered honestly as he saw her now checking out the blade attached to his back. "When I finally did get all the stuff I needed, I then spent about a year crafting this weapon to the exact specifications. Again, it was a pain to do, but it was a necessary pain." He added as he shrugged his shoulders.

When he heard Ishu's reply, stating to him that she didn't have a weapon or armor for that matter, Alphonse sighed a bit before shaking his head. Apparently, this was going tot ake a lot longer than he had anticipated, but he knew that she would have to require being looked after. A lot. "Well, there's no turning back now, kiddo. So what say we get in there and do some training. I'll keep you covered and I'll give you some pointers, too." He offered with a smile.
 
Oh... that is astounding. To think that he spent an entire year crafting a weapon was just... wow! He must have put a lot of care and love into the weapon. Alright. She nodded to him and stepped over to his side. Pointers would help her quite a lot. She knew the Grat fairly well as she had fought quite a few in her time but anything else in the Training Grounds could easily overwhelm her.

Have you fought in here often? She smiled at the sound of her question. It sounded like one of those cheesy pick-up lines: "Do you come here often?" and it just made her giggle a bit. Even if he hadn't fought in here a lot, he should know plenty about the monsters. She was confident in her safety with him and even more confident in his skills.
 
"Yep. Spent a lot of time in caring for this beauty. When I got it to just the right specs and even fine tuned it, I can easily say that it just felt right in my hands, particularly the swing arc and whatnot." Alphonse answered as he then reached behind him and took a hold of the handle of his claymore and unattached the blade before drawing it out, holding the magnificent blade out in front of himself for a long while before pointing the sharpened tip down to the ground.

"I've fought here plenty of times," Alphonse spoke again as he looked over to Ishu and nodded his head with a smile on his face. "Most times, I usually come here whenever I get bored or when I have questions to ask about a certain enemy that's been giving me problems." He added.
 
It is a very beautiful piece of weaponry, she hovered over it after he put it into the ground. I like it. You must be very strong to be able to wield it. How much do you work to keep your muscles strong? She rest her palm on the flat end of the blade for a moment before drawing it back and looking toward the entrance of the Training Grounds. Standing halfway down the hallway wasn't far enough to deafen the sound of the wildlife inside.

There were lots of bugs, rushing water, trees and winds. There were a few different kinds of monsters. Sometimes Handlers would leave the Garden to collect new monsters and let them run amok in the slightly controlled area.
 
At first, Alphonse paused a for a moment to think about her question, looking upward in thought before putting a hand up to his chin again and itched it thoughtfully as he thought about his training regimen. Sure, he had done a lot in order to maintain his body in order to keep it running at peak condition, but how much was the real question that he had asked himself. "You know, I'm not really sure. Sometimes I work out like three times a day, I think." Alphonse answered as he then hoisted up the claymore again and placed the flat edge of the blade against his back before following her inside, listening to the sounds of the wildlife in here.

Soon enough, Alphonse went silent as his face now began to take on a bit more of a focused look, peering around from side to side.
 
To think that so much work had to be put into ones body just to be able to wield a weapon. Plus all of the heavy armor he was carrying. Well, it wasn't like he was carrying an entire suit on his frame but it was all uneven. Couldn't that be worse for you? She ceased her minds endless ramblings of questions and concerns and walked with him into the Training Grounds. She would need to stay focused in order to survive. No, the whole world was not covered in wooded areas and forests, but it was all... different. Anything could be around the corner. Even here.

There was a small patch of land that split into a fork just inside the doors. They could go either direction they wanted and they would meet back here at this spot. I didn't matter which side they went to first, unless they didn't plan to walk the entire path that circled the entire Training Ground area.
 
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