11824/Training starts at the beginning

Training starts at the beginning
Date of Scene:	29 June 2022
Location:	Brooklyn
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Jessica Jones, Shredder

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Jessica Jones has posed:
It's been not a day, nor a two, but a few days since Saki invited Jessica to his dojo. She had taken her sweet time, first to even truly consider the offer, and then to consult about it with some Defender friends who are better verse in the mysteries of karate magic and ninja cults. Not because Shredder in particular looked like a bad sort, but because she was Jessica Jones, P.I. and didn't trust anyone, ever. Weirdly, there wasn't too much that came out beyond some kind of weird ass legend that made no sense. So Jessica actually braved a showing at the dojo, definitely not early morning as requested.

She also was dressed in the exact same clothes, so either she has quite a few of the same getup, or she isn't a firm believer in variety in her wardrobe.

Shredder has posed:
    Saki is present, though with another group of students when Jessica arrives. Her presence, though not hidden, goes unresponded to by the master who stands in a traditional black and red kimono, a red dragon stitched into its weave. The students are standing silently, each on one foot, standing perfectly still in some sort of balance exercise. A few of them wobble a little, trying to maintain their form. Jessica though? She seems ignored for the moment.

Jessica Jones has posed:
Jessica is perfectly fine being ignored, she heads to the waiting area meant for parents to wait to pick up their kids, and just sits down, pulling out her phone and goes about her business. An office away from office, she has zero intention to inerrupt his class, no way she's repeating any scenes here. She'll wait patiently for him to free up, meanwhile doing some research on other cases through her phone.

Shredder has posed:
    "Phones are not permitted in the dojo," the voice from Saki suddenly announces, only moments after the phone is produced. The rest of the students continue their exercise, and Saki retrieves a cane from the wall of weapons on display. He walks to one of them, and a sharp, though not injurious slap is given to the boy's thigh. "No distractions," he says, even though it didn't appear that the boy had been distracted. "She is not your concern. You have a task to complete."

Jessica Jones has posed:
For a moment Jessica looks like she's about to say something incredibly rude as Saki raises his voice at her, but upon realizing who is the owner of said voice, she does a typical teenage eye roll, before putting it away, crossing her legs, and crossing her arms. Her expression is that of zero patience, but at least she says nothing, so there's that. Jess arches a brow at the admonishing of the student, but makes nothing more than a mental note of it. Who knows, maybe it's considered proper teaching techniques in places like this. She never cared for martial arts after all.

Shredder has posed:
    It's the only thing said to Jessica until the end of the lesson. There are a few more activities that are done, and then the class is dismissed. A few of the students glance at each other, and glance at her, since she's older than most of them, but make their way out of the dojo in an orderly manner.

    "You are later than I expected," Saki admits. Despite the observations he made, apparently he did still expect her to be at the time he requested. "Have you come to begin?" He arches a brow, approaching her in a steady but casual manner.

Jessica Jones has posed:
Jessica is actually taking the time to do a little therapy exercise while she's forced to wait without using her phone, she looks lost in thought, but also rather pissed. Any student who glances her way gets an evil stare right back, before she brushes it off. "I honestly didn't expect to ever set foot here again, so I guess that's something," Jessica remarks flippantly right back, clearly not caring to lower herself too much. "If you will still have me, if my being late is an issue, I'll just leave."

Shredder has posed:
    Saki seems to consider the question for several moments, weighing his decision rather than giving an immediate agreement or refusal. He takes the cane he had used during class and returns it to the wall without a word.

    "Yes, I will still take you. But going forward, punctuality will be expected," he says. Your first task has already been completed. Idle time in this society often results in time looking at a screen. Time that is spent outside of the self. Noise that numbs a person to their internal condition. To master yourself, you must spend time with yourself." He gives a 'come hither' motion with his hand, and walks back into the office of the dojo.

Jessica Jones has posed:
"It's my job, I'm a P.I. I always have to research, investigate, it takes time, it takes work, it's hard," Jessica states, annoyed, "I'm not some teenager posting stupid videos on tiktoks for views and affirmation from total strangers..." it's easy to tell she's offended, but she stops there.

She follows him to the office, looking as far from calm, as possible. "I get your point though...sure, being with yourself sucks."

Shredder has posed:
    The sensei makes no response to her defense of why she was using her phone, as if it made little difference to him if she was curing cancer. "If you know your enemy and know yourself, you will win every battle," Saki says, moving to a small hot plate and turning it on.

    He steps up to a shelf containing a series of teapots. Not exactly the most martial of arts. After a moment of deliberation, he selects one that is black, whatever material it is, it certainly doesn't seem like something that was purchased at a standard shop. He goes to the water cooler to fill it. "If you know either your enemy OR yourself, you will experience a loss for every victory." He fills the pot, and goes back to the teapot, selecting a tea from a small selection. "If you know neither your enemy nor yourself, you will always suffer defeat."

Jessica Jones has posed:
"I know a fist to the face does a pretty good job," Jessica quips, clearly not subscribing to martial arts wisdom, then again she's been around Daredevil, Stick, Danny, Colleen, and hell, sometimes even Elektra. She got to hear a lot, and snark it a lot.

"A loss for every victory...?" Jessica does seem dumbfonded by that last bit, "not sure I follow," she admits, before wrinkling her nose at the tea pot being filled, "I really don't do drinks without alcohol in them...."

Shredder has posed:
    "You can make an end which you desire," Saki explains. "But if you have not come to know yourself, that end will be empty, and whatever the external world may see, you will remain losing. You will be hungry for something else to fill that emptiness, and your victory will be hollow.

    He walks across to another simple cabinet, and opens it. Inside are a host of small bowls. "We are going to practice a tea ceremony. It is a sacred thing in Japanese culture, we can discuss alcohol at a later point. I seem to recall you saying something about not wanting to learn....magic karate." His steel eyes glance to her.

    "I want you to select a bowl for yourself, and then select one for me. What you interpret to represent each of us. Take your time and choose when you are ready. There is not an incorrect answer for this exercise." He stands aside with a gesture to the cabinet. Inside there are dozens of bowls. Some have representations of animals real or mythical. Some have designs crafted with vibrant colors. There are not two that are the same.

Jessica Jones has posed:
"...ok..." Jessica says non-chalantly, clearly not perceiving just what Saki said, or rather, choosing not to take it to heart. "A tea ceremony? I gotta admit, that's the last thing I ever expected to do in a martial arts place..." Jessica notes, at least she respects the fact he mentioned it's sacred in his Japanese heritage, and didn't outright make fun of it. It's probably not notable to him, but anyone who does know Jess would note it is a mounumental show of respect to not poke immediate fun at it.

She smirks as her own words are reflected at her, "I have a bad history with karate magic," she quips, before looking at the bowls, and eventually reaches one which has a fiery phoenix depicted on it for herself. Asked to pick one for him as well, she hands him one with a yin yang depiction.

Shredder has posed:
    Saki accepts the bowl with both hands. He doesn't look at the one chosen for herself first, but first for himself, then takes a small tray that is folded against the wall. He takes it out to the main room, setting it up on the mat. It's very low to the ground, and places the bowl upon it on one side. "We all have three faces," he says. "In Japan, there is a saying. Each person has three faces. The one they show the public, the one they show their friends, and the one they only show themselves. I find this to be deplorably lacking."

    He returns to the hot plate. There are three spoons present. A bamboo spoon, a steel spoon, and what looks to be a stone spoon. His hand drifts between them, and then he abandons all three. He goes to a closet, plucks a plastic disposable spoon from it, and returns to the teapot. All of his motions are calm and measured, as if he was preparing some precise ritual. His kimono is folded around his hand, and he uses it as a pot holder to take the teapot, and returns to the small tray. "Sit," he offers to her. He himself does not sit, though. Not yet at least.