Gran Voyage Type: Story
Gran Voyage Name: Laying the Foundation
Gran Voyage Location: Marineford
Gran Voyage Description: Even though Linedwell has enlisted with the Marines, this doesn't mean his work has come to a close. New recruits must endure grueling training sessions on the legendary island, further preparing them for what they'll experience out in the field. Linedwell, fully confident in his abilities, doesn't believe this boot camp will anything to worry about; but he's in for a rude awakening.
NPCing: None (PCs are welcome)

The day started off with Linedwell entering the Marine-based dojo and introducing himself to who Linedwell could only describe as the "Grand Master" of this place. The instructor known was known as Mr. Miyagi, and he appear to be the least bit impressed with the would-be martial artists that entered his dojo. Besides Linedwell, there were ten other Ensigns occupying the same space. One by one, Mr. Miyagi began to walk up to each of the Ensigns and began to size them up, inspecting them to see if there was any potential that he could see in them. The young Rainrex heir wasn't exactly sure what parameters the Dojo Master made use of whilst inspecting them, but there seemed to be more to it than initially met the eye. To their disbelief, there were a few that Mr. Miygai immediately asked the vacate the training area. Confused glances were exchanged between all of the participants, but those who were asked to leave knew better than to question his judgement, opting to leave quickly before something else devolved of the situation. Six Ensigns remained after these dismissals, and the tension within the air was palpable.

A few moments later, the old man made his way to Linedwell's direction and quickly asked him to perform what he felt "combat" was all about. Linedwell wasn't sure what he meant by this, as the answer to what combat was seemed more than obvious. Did he simply want him to showcase his skill and abilities? If this was the case, he was more than capable of this.

With a slight sigh meant to relax himself before his performance, Linedwell began to reach behind himself, placing his hand on his hilt. As this occurred, Mr. Miyagi quickly cleared his throat with the intention of stopping him.

"No, I want to see what you're capable of without the use of a weapon...if you're capable of anything, that is."

There were a few snickers here and there after the old man's words, yet, Linedwell couldn't blame them for the doubt that they likely had in his martial prowess. His stature was diminutive, to say the least, and he was much younger than any of the other recruits - the closest one to his age being about twenty years old. Once he reached the center of the room, Linedwell closed his eyes for a brief moment, clearing his mind and allowing him to recall all of the training he'd endured in his young life.

After about three minutes of random flurries of punches, kicks, drop kicks, back flips, front flips, 100-hit combos, and attempting ancient techniques that he'd just made up the instructor had finally had enough. With no warning, Mr. Miyagi dashed forward and began to strike out at Linedwell. Linedwell attempted to dodge the blows as best as he could, but eventually he ended up in the position of having his right shoulder chopped with the force of what felt like steel. Even though the blow hurt, he found his ego was bruised much more than his body had been. His speed, which he took much pride in, wasn't enough to evade such a frail looking old man?

"It's as I thought. Your mind is polluted by what you "think" combat is. You're far too flashy when it comes to the way you envision yourself taking down an opponent. Nothing I say will ever clear your mind of that foolishness, thus, I have to beat it out of you if you're to have any hope of learning anything worthwhile."

Before Linedwell could even react to this, Mr. Miyagi was already barreling forward. There was no time whatsoever for Linedwell to provide any sort of meaningful reaction to this, and he soon felt an immense amount of pressure impact against his chest. The force of the hit caused the young Marine prospect to be sent flying backwards, tumbling across the bamboo floor and crashing into the far wall. There were a multitude of gasps coming from the other Ensigns, as well as a few of the higher ranked Marines that had arrived to spectate. Throughout his entire life, Linedwell could only remember being this thoroughly defeated once; this occurring after he defied a direct order from a lowly member of the Claret family. Even though one could have simply regarded this as a mere act of teenage rebellion, it was something that could never be tolerated. The beating he received afterwards wasn't at the hands of a member of the Claret family, but rather, at the hands of his father that had been ordered to discipline him. Even though the attacks that Mr. Miyagi doled out were extreme, it was far too obvious that he was holding back. How had this old man acquired such strength? It made no sense for someone that appeared to be so frail to hold such power.

No matter what the reason behind the old man's strength, Linedwell could feel a sensation that he couldn't describe as anything other than anger. During this point in time, he was beginning to forget the fact that this man was merely an instructor, instead, he began to look at this old man as a foe that needed to be dealt with. Maybe it had been because there'd been no one that had embarrassed him in such a way before, or maybe, it was because he hated the fact that this man was able to arouse such a painful memory. Regardless, it was now Linedwell's goal to deal as much damage to this man as he'd dealt to him.

However, before Linedwell had a chance to initiate an attack of his own, Mr. Miyagi had already closed the distance between them.

"Hi-yah!"

"Shit!"

"WAAAAAA!"

As this last yell was belted out, Linedwell felt one of the chops doled out from the instructor finally land solidly against his shoulder. Even though Linedwell hadn't been struck in the stomach, he felt all the air escape from his lungs as he collapsed to his knees. He had narrowly been able to stop himself from falling face first into the wood floor of the dojo, but the pain of the hit he just suffered still pulsed. He could feel that his right arm would begin to give out soon, so he pushed himself back a bit - allowing himself to sit up on the floor. With his left hand now raised and resting on his injured right shoulder, he began to think back to how exactly he ended up in this position.

This was supposed to be a mere exhibition of his martial prowess, why was this old man taking this so seriously? Then again, maybe this wasn't serious to the old man at all. Throughout the entire ordeal, it was plain to see that this old man was holding back a great deal. Was he simply here to embarrass the new recruits? If this were the case, it would make complete sense; by allowing them to be completely overwhelmed by an instructor they would be forced out of a mindset of complacency. If one was going to work towards the goal of upholding justice, they needed to keep in mind how necessary it would be to improve themselves at all times. Giving them all a taste of the true gap between themselves and the trials they'd face in the field was a good way to do this. This was something that would either make or break them, and Linedwell wasn't in the business of being broken.

"You seemed much stronger when you first walked into my dojo...I thought, at the very least, that you'd attempt to defend yourself. I admit, there's not much you could actually do to stop me, but I assumed you'd put up a far better struggle than this..."

If Linedwell weren't currently reeling in pain during these words, he would have been able to afford to be upset - but right now the only thing he could think about was that it was beginning to get a bit harder to breathe. What the hell was wrong with this guy? How could their possibly be this much of a gap in power between himself and anyone else? Living in the bubble that he'd lived in for so long had ruined his perception of the potential that others held within this world.

It slowly started to become obvious to Linedwell that admiring Mr. Miyagi's strength wasn't exactly going to stop him from attacking. Getting the rest of his coughs out and finally catching his breath, Linedwell began to push himself up onto his feet. He wobbled for a bit, but soon enough he was able to stand firm. He'd never been thrown around like this before, but it wasn't exactly something he planed on getting used to. Maybe it was because of the fact that Linedwell was focusing so much on defending himself that he was in the predicament that he was currently in - at some point, he'd need to play offense. If Mr. Miyagi wanted to see what he was capable of then he'd make sure to show him. With a desire to prove himself now setting his soul on fire, Linedwell dashed towards Mr. Miyagi at a speed that represented the maximum of what he was capable of in this moment in time.

The amused smirk on Mr. Miyagi's lips was all too obvious as he continued to barrel forward, but Linedwell made sure not to let it get to him. Linedwell sometimes allowed his temper to get the best of him, causing him to think rashly and act in ways that were detrimental to his goals. If he were to feed into any sort of anger or annoyance right now, the Grand Master known as Mr. Miyagi would surely see through anything he attempted, and hand him yet another ass whooping.

Once within range of the instructor, Linedwell prepared himself to throw a quick right straight. When the punch reached the halfway mark he quickly pulled it back and threw a fast left jab aimed for his chest. He had hoped that the quick feint would be enough to catch Mr. Miyagi off guard and at least allow him to deal a bit of damage. Instead, Mr. Miyagi simply stepped backwards a bit...and that simple back step was enough for him to completely dodge Linedwell's attempt. Even though he could have been discouraged by this fact, Linedwell simply continued to push forward with his offensive. Left punch, right punch, left elbow, right knee, right kick, headbutt...so many different types of attacks and yet nothing would land. He'd thrown flurries of attacks for so long, and Mr. Miyagi didn't even appear bothered enough to counter attack. It seemed that what Linedwell had assumed from the beginning had actually been the case the entire time. This was a test to see what he was capable of, but Linedwell began to fear he wasn't exactly impressing the old man; hell, he wasn't even impressing himself at the moment. What else could he actually do during this spar to actually give himself an advantage? It was hard to admit, but as old as this man was, he outclassed him in every possible category. Was he actually supposed to be able to land a hit on someone like this, or was merely surviving a feat within itself?

All his life Hiro thought that the training regimen his father put him through was the toughest in the whole world. He knew now just how wrong he'd been. "Coming through!" he shouted as he barreled through a marine carrying supplies. He'd been told to report to a Dojo for assessment, sadly he'd woken up late because of his bunkmate's snoring. Just as he rounded the corner, Hiro smashed into a couple of barrels. One could say his flight through the air was majestic, his arms flailing about while marines watched with mouths agape. Miraculously he landed on the barrel as it screamed down the cobblestone path "OH SH-" It was when the Dojo doors came into view that he realized: he fucked up. The barrel smashed against the stairs leading up and sent the young marine flying through the Dojo doors. Flour exploded all over his clothing, making him appear to be some sort of huge ghost.

Hiro was quite lucky that the door he 'entered' was open slightly. He flew across the Dojo in what felt like slow motion. Although he could not see everyone, the people he did see watched in surprise as slammed into the opposing wall. "OOF!" Hiro slumped against the wall upside down, his feet touching the ground in front of him. "E-Ensign Luciano reporting for duty..." Hiro slurred, accidentally poking his eye in an attempt at a salute. Here he was not even a full day into his training, covered in flour. He quickly righted himself and sat in line before the instructor could formulate a response. "Please accept my apology for my tardiness, sir!"

With a few crashes and bangs, it was quite obvious that someone, or something, had entered the dojo. This being much more evident by the fact that this "someone" was now giving greetings to those in attendance within the dojo, introducing himself as Ensign Luciano whilst apologizing for his tardiness. Linedwell didn't bother to take his eyes off of Mr. Miyagi, however, it seemed that Mr. Miyagi appeared to be distracted by the ruckus that had been caused by this late arrival. Not wanting to lose a chance to take advantage of this, Linedwell pressed forward and threw yet another punch, and this time the punch managed to actually land. The blow impacted the old man's sternum, yet, it didn't harbor the reaction that Linedwell hoped it would. Instead of the old man crumpling to the ground in pain and professing how much of a martial arts master Linedwell was, the old man decided to react by hitting Linedwell with an immense punch. The blow slammed into Linedwell's stomach, causing him to lurch forward in pain. Even though this attack was enough to stop Linedwell completely in his tracks, it seemed Mr. Miyagi wasn't finished just yet. While Linedwell was still in position, Mr. Miyagi lowered his stance a bit and attacked with an upward open palm, slamming his open palm against the bottom of Linedwell's chin. The force was enough to cause Linedwell to be sent upwards to the point that he was now standing on the tip of his toes - if his tongue had been hanging out of his mouth in this moment, it would have been a forgone conclusion that force of the impact would have caused him to accidentally bite it off. Mr. Miyagi then followed up this assault with a straight right opened palm strike. Mr. Miyagi seemed to have taken Linedwell's strike a bit personal, as this open palm strike that he had now struck Linedwell with was placed in the same area that Linedwell had just struck him in. The only difference between these strikes were that Linedwell's strike had done little to no damage...but Mr. Miyagi's strike had been strong enough to send him flying across the dojo yet again.

While Linedwell rolled and tumbled across the floor once again, Mr. Miyagi directed his attention to the new arrival.

"Linedwell...when you're finished pouting on the floor, go start training on the equipment over there."

After speaking, Mr. Miyagi pointed towards another section of the dojo that sported a multitude of workout and training equipment. Mr. Miyagi then directed his attention back to the new arrival.

"So...do you think you'll do any better than he did?"

Though Linedwell told himself he needed to control his temper, he couldn't help letting that comment get under his skin. After sucking his teeth in annoyance, Linedwell slowly wobbled his way back onto his feet before limping his way over to the gym equipment.

Amazed at the speed and skill of the old man, Hiro cautiously stood up. "I'll try." he muttered. As he strode across the floor he couldn't help but draw parallels between this man and his instructor back home. They both carried themselves in the same way and showed no mercy when it came to combat. Hiro stopped in front of Mr. Miyagi and bowed. Although he'd only seen a fraction of the fight between them, he knew he couldn't hold back; he would have to start fighting at his peak performance. He stood erect and shifted his feet into a familiar stance. Gotta try and keep him on his toes!

"Will you begin before or after my afternoon nap?" he chided, clearly not impressed. It was then that Hiro began his assault. He dashed forward and threw his right fist towards his stomach. Mr. Miyagi took a quick step back but not before lashing out with a quick chop. Hiro staggered back from the blow but forced himself back into the fray. He rushed forward once more and dropped low, attempting a classic leg sweep move. It was easily read by the not-so-frail old man and hopped over. Hiro continued with his attack, using his arms to propel him upward. He twisted his body ever so slightly to allow his other leg to fly up at his opponent.

"Hmph." Mr. Miyagi spun his body in mid air to avoid the attack. As Hiro reached the peak of his ascent he realized his mistake. Whether or not his kick hit or not, he left himself wide open. Mr. Miyagi followed up with a mid-air spinning kick, smashing against Hiro's back. The young marine flew several meters before crashing into the line of ensigns awaiting their ass kicking. It had quite some time since Hiro felt a blow like that. Images of his brother clouded his mind as he struggled to his feet. His hands shook visibly as he made his way back to the center of the dojo.

Despite the fact that he'd just got knocked around by a man 50 years his senior, Hiro was gripped with excitement. This was his first step towards his goal and he intended to make sure he moved past it. Smacking his lower back with his fist, Hiro once again entered that familiar stance. He spread apart his feet and motioned towards Mr. Miyagi. He knew his odds of besting him were slim to none, so he would use this experience to his advantage.

"I would like you to test my defences, sir!" Hiro shouted with earnest.

Mr. Miyagi appeared to start to say something before thinking twice and letting it go. Instead he closed the gap between the two of them faster than one would expect a man of that age. Hiro jumped back and brought his arms to deflect a strike only to realize it was a feint. Mr. Miyagi slammed his free fist into the youth's side, sending him back a couple meters. To his credit Hiro was able to maintain his balance for most of the flight and landed on his feet. His last second hop backwards was the only thing that kept him from crumbling to the ground in pain and yet the fight was far from over. What can I do against him?

The walk over to the gym equipment felt like one of the longest treks he'd ever endured. Even though the walk only consisted of about a few feet, the damage he'd experienced only moments before during his spar with Mr. Miyagi. Even though the strikes were mostly open palm strikes they were able to deal such substantial damage. The force behind his strikes were of a level that Linedwell had never dealt with before, not even during his experiences he'd been a part of when facing the Clarets he'd vowed to deal with. Being beaten and thrown around in such a way wasn't exactly how he envisioned his day going, but at least this spar had opened his eyes. Though this was only one man, it allowed him to see the broad gap between himself and the immense threats that would face him as he went further down this path as a member of the Marines...he had a very long way to go. He wasn't exactly sure how he'd be able to bridge the gap between himself and the caliber of fighter such as Mr. Miyagi, but at least he had a goal. With something in sight it would be easier for him to push himself to reach such a level. Under the tutelage of someone like Mr. Miyagi, Linedwell felt he was finally making a crucial first step.

Soon enough, Linedwell had managed to make it further into the dojo and to the gym equipment. The amount of equipment here was almost overwhelming; almost to the point that he wasn't exactly sure where to start. To his left there was a machine that appeared to be used for running. Linedwell wasn't exactly sure if he was in shape enough to run right now, especially given the fact that he was currently still clutching his chest. The pain of the open palmed attack he had endured was still currently throbbing, but if he was going to advance he'd need to learn to deal with the pain.

With his mind now on pushing himself to his limit; Linedwell made his way up onto the machine. There were multiple dials on the machine, and Linedwell wasn't sure which of these dials actually started the machine up. It took a few minutes of trial, error, and almost being thrown off of the machine before he finally found a way to start it up without potentially killing himself in a gym accident. With the conveyor belt finally moving, Linedwell began his workout first with a brisk walk as he wanted to make sure he'd actually be able to handle running. As he started on his walk he could actually hear the spar ensuing behind him. For some reason, Linedwell simply assumed that the newcomer would be able to do a lot better against Mr. Miyagi than he had. The guy gave off a vibe that seemed to indicate that he was some sort of martial artist. Linedwell's forte was actually in the use of weaponry - yet, he hoped that by coming here he'd at least be able to learn a few more things about hand to hand combat that would help him out if he were ever in a pinch. This guy, however, seemed to know his way around a close quarters fight. When he began to hear more of the sounds that were emanating from the battle he started to get a clear picture of the situation playing out behind him. Even though the man appeared to be strong, Mr. Miyagi seemed to be proving he was far stronger. How would this guy go about turning the tables on the old man?

There was no time to think, the battle was on. Hiro rushed forward all the while ducking and dodging the old man's attacks. He knew these strikes were meant to make him overcommit.  He lashed out with a flurry of fists, placing a few slower strikes in between. His blows were easy for Mr. Miyagi to defend but for the first time Hiro was pushing him back.  The few moments he spent reveling in his achievement were all it took. Mr. Miyagi's fist seemed to teleport from a defensive posture to a threatening hay-maker.

The blow sent him hurtling across the room. "You're too predictable." Mr. Miyagi sounded disappointed. He pointed to the corner of the room. "Take one of those weights and run 100 laps around the island. We will continue when you've finished." Mr. Miyagi turned as he spoke and began to address another ensign. Hiro laid there for a few minutes, letting the pain wash over him. He had no idea that their fight would be so one-sided but laying there feeling sorry for himself wouldn't change a thing. This world is unfair, this is nothing new.

Hiro forced himself to his feet, unable to find words to say at this point. He felt ashamed as he struggled with the weight. He had to get stronger than this he just had to. The weights were made of what appeared to be steel. Hiro judged them to weigh about 150 kg each. His eyes watered as he lifted one, resting it on his shoulder.It took everything he had to lift two of the weights and place them on his shoulders. Hiro eyed the old man as he began to instruct another student. I won't be beaten!

The spar seemed to go on for far longer than Linedwell had been able to endure against Mr. Miyagi, and by this point Linedwell had began to finally up his workout from a brisk walk into a jog. His chest was still pounding, but the longer than Linedwell ran the less intense the pain became. He could feel himself getting used to the pain, and as such he knew that his endurance would slowly begin to rise. Soon he'd be battling against far stronger opponents, and one thing that he couldn't let hold him back was the fear of pain. He needed to endure everything that he could and push himself to the limit.

Out of the corner of his eye, Linedwell managed to catch a glimpse of the male from earlier flew across the dojo. The spar had finally reached its conclusion and it seemed Mr. Miyagi was now instructing the new student to train with a few of the weights in the corner. Linedwell could only assume the spar had ended the same way his own spar had ended earlier.

While Linedwell continued his brisk jog on the treadmill, he couldn't help but catch a few glances of the male attempting to pick up the weights he'd been instructed to work with. He appeared to be struggling - far more so than Linedwell had in his earlier attempts with starting up on his own piece of equipment. He found himself perplexed when it came to how he should handle this situation. Social interaction had never been his strong suit, however, given he was a newly recruited Ensign, it seemed that it would make perfect sense for him to attempt to get over this weakness. Should he get off of the treadmill and see if the male needed any assistance, or should he simply act as though he hadn't noticed anything and avoid the situation entirely? Linedwell quickly decided on the latter and continued his run while facing straight ahead. He wanted it to appear as if he had no idea that anything had transpired, thus hopefully alleviating any of the embarrassment that the male might have felt about what just occurred. This ending up being the best decision, as the male quickly adjusted himself to the weights and managed to place them above his shoulders - Linedwell's assistance was wholly unnecessary.

The longer that Linedwell continued to run, the more he noticed that the pain that he'd experienced earlier was beginning to fade even more. Things were getting to a point where he began to feel that he could amp things up a bit more and increase the speed of the treadmill. After doing so, he began to go into a run now. The rate in which he was recovering seemed almost unnatural. Less than an hour ago Linedwell could remember being beaten up and tossed all over the dojo, the injuries he sustained felt as though they'd linger around much longer than they had - but right now that pain was a thing of the past. He began to wonder if increased recovery was something that Mr. Miyagi intentionally planned.

At this point in time, multiple Ensigns had now made their way over to the training area after having their brief sparring session with Mr. Miyagi. Many of them appeared to be completely drained after the encounter, opting to pass out on the floor instead of train as they'd been instructed to do. Linedwell opened his mouth to ask one of the Ensigns next to him if he felt any different so far, yet, before he could speak he noticed something odd. The male's breathing sounded extremely labored - as if he'd just finished running a marathon. There was a quick thought that maybe this feeling of rejuvenation was unique to only Linedwell. After quickly inspecting a few of the other Ensigns, he began to notice that some appeared to be recovering almost as well as he was, while others appeared to be losing stamina almost to a point of passing out. There had to be something more to the spar than Mr. Miyagi had initially let on.

As the seconds turned into minutes and the minutes into hours, Linedwell slowly began to notice that he'd still been training as hard as he possibly could within the dojo of Mr. Miyagi. Even though his intentions here today were to simply follow the instructions given to him by his higher-ups, he hadn't expected himself to become this invested in the task. Honestly, he wasn't really sure what he'd expected out of coming here today, but he was glad the day ended up the way it did. In meeting someone of Mr. Miyagi's caliber he was able to see just how far he'd have to advance if he were to ever stand a chance against some of the strongest that this world had to offer. There was no doubt in his mind that he'd be running up against these sorts of people in no time, and when he did, he knew he had to be prepared.

Given how invested Linedwell became with this training, he began to lose track of the other students/Ensigns that were training nearby - not even noticing the fact that some of them had already made their exit from the dojo. Linedwell had put all of his attention into his training, increasing the speed in which he ran on the treadmill to the point that he'd been in an all out sprint for the remainder of his time within the training area. With the feeling of rejuvenation having been long gone and extreme exhaustion beginning to creep up on him, Linedwell began to assume it was about time he wrapped things up. Mr. Miyagi seemed to also feel the same way about the situation, as it was now getting late into the evening, and given he was someone of advanced age, he may have been ready for bed.

"Come back tomorrow and I'll have more for you to do. With how hard you worked on this specialized equipment, I can estimate you've had a stamina increase of at least 66.6%...you should be able to handle tomorrow's training. Now, go get some rest."

With those words, Linedwell simply bowed in the direction of his new sensei - something he'd never done before. He then made his exit. He was now headed towards the barracks in order to take a shower and get some well deserved rest.