Tear's Big Project, Day 1

[mysterical]

Characters: Tear Grants and YOU
Setting: The meadow on Floor 25
Format: Starting action, reply as you wish.
Summary: This is the first of the two days for Tear's offer of training in magic. There will be closed parts for certain people and a few open sections.
Warnings:  Magic, fighting, Luke and Asch in the same area with pointy things, possible explosions?

[Tear made her way to the meadow thirty minutes early, a book in her hand as she made that way. She looked around at the empty space and grimaced. Why she'd thought this was a good idea, she'd never know, but she was determined to see if she could get the residents of this Tower of Horror to arm themselves in light of the recent problems with the administration.]

Closed for Luke fon Fabre (OU)
[If the redhead looked carefully enough, he'd see the brunette looking off into the distance at the flowers as she waited for the others to gather.]

Closed for Asch the Bloody, Sheba and Xion
[She'd decided to work on the redheads away from one another, but any friends they brought were fine. She'd expected to see the blond after their exchange on the network.

Closed for V/V, AU Link and Zelda
[She couldn't wait to introduce her two new friends to one another. Link had training with bows and swords. Between those, Tear was sure that V/V would find something she could use.]

Open Section for Magic Training
[This was perhaps the most anxious part of the entire ordeal—trying to figure out how the magics of so many worlds worked and to see if those interested could actually learn to use the Seventh Fonon, or if she was going to be spending her night telling them all how to do battle first aid.

Only time would tell, right?]

Open Section for Fighting Training
[As opposed to the magic training, this, this she had no issue with. She was a proficient with her staffs, maces and knives. Besides, she'd learned as a child that anything could be used as a weapon in times of need. And with the many sword wielders as she'd met since coming to the tower, she knew that this would be fine!]

Comments

[gomu_ningen]

[The combo proved successful, dropping the lad as he was consumed in flames. Grunting and gritting his teeth as he hit the ground, he stood slowly and took in a deep breath of air.

As his belly expanded, he grew and inflated like a balloon, erasing the oxygen in the area and extinguishing the flames in the process. Once filled, the rotund yet knife-inflicted Luffy turns to face Tear with a pair of puffed cheeks. Gripping the handle of the blade, he withdrew it from his shoulder and tossed it back in Tear's direction, the blade falling to the ground as the blood trailed from it's point.

As if he were swallowing water, Luffy gulped and immediately the air in his body shrunk him back down to normal size. His skin slowly turned to a deep crimson pink, the air leaving his pores as a steady cloud of steam raised out of his limbs.]

Thank you.. For taking me seriously.. I didn't get your name, though..

[mysterical]

[Tear shook her head as she retrieved her knife and then cast First Aid on the boy.]

My name is Tear, Luffy. And battle is always serious. However, I think you've got enough adaptability to be formidable in battle if you chose to be.

[gomu_ningen]

[He clenches his fists, looking at them as if they weren't his own.]

But I lost..

That fire you cast, how'd you do it?

[mysterical]

You put up a good fight against a person using magic on you. I never would have guessed someone could literally suck in the flames and put them out that way.

And, the second spell, the fire one, was actually the same as the first. It's hard to explain it. Some spells are based on certain fonons—elements in other worlds, I've learned—and if you cast a light spell on top of another light spell, you can get a fire spell.

Does that make any sense to you?

[gomu_ningen]

So.. It's like stacking pieces of bread on top of one another, and you get a sandwich?

[These were the terms that Luffy understood. Forgive his simple, food oriented-mind.]

But is there any way for me to learn magic? If it helps me get stronger so I can protect my friends, I don't care what it takes!

[mysterical]

[She gave a huffy laugh under her breath. It's nothing that new. Mieu and Luke needed things explained simply as well.] Yes, I guess you could say it like that, Luffy. However, I'm not sure how you could learn spell casting if you don't have an innate ability. It's... not something you can force without extremely messy consequences.

Have you considered working on the skills you just showed me?

[gomu_ningen]

[The young man drops back down into a fighting stance, his knees bending and his legs spreading shoulder width apart. Now in a horse-riding stance, Luffy bends forward and slams a single fist into the ground.

His flesh begins to turn a bright hue of dark pink, as if the blood in his body was trying to rise out from his skin. A thin curtain of steam begins to emit from his appendages, surrounding his body as he lifts his head to look at Tear from their few yards apart.]

This. This power shaves years off my life.. I'd do anything to protect my friends, but I can't help my friends if I'm dead.

[In the blink of an eye, Luffy sends out another volley of punches. However, this time the speed has been multiplied. The very air around his blows seems to tear, the sound shaking the area around them as if a jet engine were ripping between each punch. It looks fierce, but without connecting to an object, Luffy is well aware his power only looks flashy.

Retracting his fists, his body continues to turn color, the steam rising with a hastened pace as he watches Tear.]

Let me try.. I don't know if I can use magic.. But let me try.. Please..

[mysterical]

STOP! [She held out her staff at his throat, her face a blank.]

You will not do something like that in front of me again as you request my help. Is that understood? [Her voice is ice cold.]

[gomu_ningen]

[There's a final burst of steam as Luffy's body disappears behind a veil of mist. The shadow of his figure looks as if it has been cut in half, his height now dwindled down to a mere two feet. The voice that echoes through the fog sure sounds like Luffy, but it is a much higher and more child-like pitch.]

"Sorry! I hope I didn't scare you!"

[The wind carries the fog behind him, revealing the now dwarven-sized Luffy. His clothing and hat have shrunk as well, without any explaination as to why he now stood equal to Tear's knees.]

"That's a technique I only use when it's an emergency.. So don't worry."

[mysterical]

[She stared at the diminutive male with a barely controlled expression of surprise.]

How...how do you do that?

[gomu_ningen]

[Still in his "chibi" state, his voice squeaks as if he were an adolescent.]

Do what? Oh, my GEARS move? I kinda' pump my blood through my body real fast, so it gets heated up and lets me move faster and with more strength. I don't know why it makes me tiny like this, but it'll be a few minutes before I'm back to full size.

[Removing the hat from his head, Luffy's tongue hangs out of his mouth as he begins to pant like a dog, using his hat as a fan in the still air of the meadow.]

Still feelin' kinda' hot, too. I think since I'm made of rubber my body can handle it, but I know it definitely shaves away my health.

[mysterical]

[She stares at him in fascination, confused as to what it is that she's just witnessed.]

I think before I can teach you anything, Luffy, that you need to tell me more about your world and how it works.

[gomu_ningen]

Ok!

[He nods his miniturized head, sitting down indian style, though it does 'little' to shorten his height even more.]

Whatcha' wanna' know?

[mysterical]

Start with 'made of rubber'. [She sat down across from him, ready to see what kind of story he'd give her.]

[gomu_ningen]

Oh. I ate the GumGum Fruit, so since then I've become a rubber man!

[I.. Come on Luffy, you gotta' be more descriptive than that.]

It's one of the Devil's Fruits that exist where I'm from. They're all these different types of fruits that when ya' eat 'em they give you strange and mysterious powers. Some can turn you into animals, others make it so you can control the weather. They're usually found in a place called the Grand Line. It's a stretch of sea where the greatest treasure in the world is buried. Nothing there has any rhyme or reason. The weather and seasons can change from one island to the next, where one might be winter while the other is always summer.

Does that make sense?

[mysterical]

[She stared at him. Did he really expect her to believe that just eating a fruit could change the way one's body was composed?

But then, she thought about all of the things that happened on her world that would be unaccounted for on others. Dead people brought back to life through fomicry? One person possessing the power to completely destroy the world if they so chose?

Okay, so, she would let that go as a quirk of his own planet. The rest, the rest was...at least a little believable.]

So far, yes. Continue.

[gomu_ningen]

So I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit as a kid, and since then I've been this way. I've always been strong, though. People who eat Devil's Fruits can't swim though. It's like some sorta' curse that the ocean won't let you live, so you just sink like a rock in water.

What else did ya' wanna' know?

[mysterical]

What kind of...magic...exists in your world?

[gomu_ningen]

Card tricks, rabbits in hats. I've seen people do some crazy things, but it's mostly because they've eaten Devil's Fruits.

[mysterical]

So, before you got here, you haven't really seen much magic or artes truly performed?

[gomu_ningen]

Hnnn- Kinda'? I've seen Village chiefs and I've seen ghosts and stuff. Do ghosts count as magic?

[mysterical]

G-ghosts? [Congratulations, you've said the magic word, Luffy!]

N-no! They aren't magic! They're not real!

[gomu_ningen]

What do you mean they aren't real? I've seen and had ghosts go right through me! They're really real! This girl Perona who lives in the Tower here is from the same place I'm from. She can control and make these little ghost guys get inside you and make you super down on yourself!

[mysterical]

St-stop it!

[Hello, Luffy, welcome to the one thing that Tear's terrified of! Really, really, REALLY scared doesn't even begin to describe how she feels on the inside as she looks around the busy meadow for said ghosts.]

[gomu_ningen]

. . . You scared of ghosts or sumthin'?

[Luffy leans back, grabbing at his sandals as he laughs aloud, slapping a knee as he watches her.]

Nothin' to be afraid of! I can fight off any ghosts that come at you! I've done it before and I can easily do it again!