Getting to work (Day 1, Early Morning)

[Usagi Zenko]

Zenko nods at that, looking for something to prop the oar against before looking for the coils of rope they were to work with. Jumping...now there's something I can do.

[Hida Sayuri]

Sayuri stands up from the coil of rope she'd been sitting silently on. Yep, she'd always been there, morning person and all, even if her player isn't. There hasn't been anything to add anyway, no surprises up her nonexistent sleeves to spring on her cousin as far as her capabilities go.

She grins at the children's game, taking one end of the rope and uncoils it, leaving the other end for someone else to pick up before she starts twirling.

[Tsuruchi Kiyo]

Boy? Girl? Boy? Girl? Not girl? Boy ...-ish ... Crane! ... Not Crane, gah! a look of mild frustration crosses her mismatched eyes before she greets the Phoenix, "Ohayo Scholar-san, I'm Tsuruchi Kiyo. As for which weapon would suit you best, I'd say anything that helps keep the boarders as far away from you and back off the ship as quick as possible. A polearm, a spear, or a bo might do for that, or any of the weapons Ram-san suggested. I wouldn't use my head like he does though, not all of us have such thick skulls," she grins.

The eyebrow over Kiyo's pale eye rises at the Hare's choice of training weapon, "Ohayo Usagi-san. Tsuruchi Kiyo, a fine weapon you got there."

Ooh ropeskipping, good choice ... Wait what?! her eyes widen at the suggestion of doing the exercise while holding coiled ropes, "Uhm Hida-san, maybe we should just start off with the basic warm-up before adding the extra weight? Not all of us were training among the Crab..."

[Agasha Qian-Fan]

So he was still getting those stares, even after a week onboard. He mused silently about getting a tattoo that said 'I'M MALE' somewhere obvious but ruled it out quickly as being far too uncivilised. About then the Hida's training ideas got through to him.

". . . while carrying rope . . . ?"

[Asahina Masamichi]

What in Jigoku are thee people doing? he thinks to himself as he gets on the deck. He gives a quick bow to those present, hoping not to be invited to their strange games.

He goes to the foremost, port ballista and carefully removes and stows the tarp. With his eyes and fingers he proceeds to go over every inc of the device like a love until intimately familiar with it before replacing the tarp gently and moving to the next...

[Usagi Zenko]

"Hello Tsuruchi-sama! I'm Usagi Zenko." He smiles, and nodding towards the oar. "I figured I should get some practice with a weapon I might find on a ship, near at hand."

He goes about finding some rope to coil about his arms, eager to be one of the first to try jumping the rope.

[Tsuruchi Kiyo]

"Well ... good luck," it's not clear if she means jumping rope or wielding an oar in battle, when she picks up the other end of the rope to help sayuri swing it.

[Usagi Zenko]

"Thanks!" the Hare spends some time wrapping, and then re-wrapping the rope about his arms, trying to make sure that it wouldn't come loose while he jumped. Occasionally, he remembered to check and see if the ocean was sneaking up on them.

[Hida Musasha]

The big man goes as well, jumping rope with two coils of rope wrapped around his arms. The thuds from his jumping and landing never breaking a rhythm that tells he's done similar training before.

[Usagi Zenko]

Once prepared, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Hare does just fine at jumping rope, even with the weight of the other ropes.

"Let's try a little faster?" he urges the rope twirlers on, happy to finally have something he was good at to do.

[Hida Musasha]

The big Hida shrugs and goes to swap out with one of the rope twirlers, letting the cowardly Usagi have a moment where he wasn't terrified.

[Tsuruchi Kiyo]

Kiyo swaps with the burly Hida and skips in with the Hare, forsaking the added weight of the rope. A lips curl into a smile as she keeps things simple for her warm up.

[Usagi Zenko]

"Hip, hip, hip" the Hare start's making a bit of noise as he times each jump, his bare feet slapping against the wood of the ship each time he comes back down. He seems to have adjusted to the roll and pitch of the ship well enough, and he holds his arms in against his chest so that they do not get in the way of the twirling rope.

[Tsuruchi Kiyo]

Never one to be left behing Kiyo tries to up the ante but finds herself forced to skip out before she gets herself tangled in the heavy ropes.

[Usagi Zenko]

Finally he jumps out to let another take their turn, a ghost of a smile on his face. "Gives you a good feel for the deck, jumping like that," he comments to the others.

[Agasha Qian-Fan]

Watching the others jump rope brings a raised eyebrow from Qian-Fan. Oh he was in Bushi Country now and sticking out like a sore thumb despite his clothing. When his turn came though, he proved to be competent, if not nearly as good as the bushi. He stepped away to let someone else try, blinking in surprise.

"That . . . that was actually quite enjoyable."

[Hida Musasha]

The big man nods, "You'll find tha doing things ta train yer body will actually be quite fun, until th' soreness kicks in th' next day." He continues to spin the rope, letting the others train their bodies.

[Agasha Qian-Fan]

"I'm not quite the stranger to hard work and hardship that most shugenja are, Hida-san. I spent several weeks out in our wild northern provinces during the War. Until Kari-san found us a safe route back to Kyuden Isawa."

His face saddened a little.

"Was too late there, as well."

[Hida Musasha]

He nods, "Don' think too much on th' past. It's th' future we are here fer. Them barbarians ain't gonna be on th' ocean, it'll be different kinds o' barbarians we hafta fight." He keeps spinning the rope, his huge shoulders making his armor slide up and down.

[Agasha Qian-Fan]

Now that got his attention.

"Really? I know very little of the lands south of here. Can we expect trouble from the natives?"

. . . and do they resist Fire prayers like the northern scum? Oh I hope not.