Springs Unwound[Taigakai/Seiko]

"Note to self, get more than two hours of sleep per night, at least for now." Seiko murmured to herself as she sat up on her bed, reaching up under her glasses and rubbing tired eyes. She rolled her shoulders, feeling the exhaustion in her muscles but she ignored it and hopped to her feet. She thought about heading to the workshop straight away but most of her stuff was already gone as it was being shipped off to Kohaigakure, at least the Clan maintained a small compound there that she could sleep and work in.

What to do today then?

She considered that question through her shower and getting dressed, pulling her hair into a long utilitarian braid and then cleaning her glasses before slipping them on. Perhaps it was time to... Actually socialise. Seiko pondered her list of friends and frowned slightly at how... Short it was. She'd go and see Taigakai, she hadn't seen him in a while.

Straightening out her skirt, she pulled on a long coat in white and blue and headed out the door, hands in her pockets as she found her way towards Taigakai's house. She stopped in at a cafe on the way there, grabbing some coffee for herself and tea for Taigakai, she'd make today her treat as she was sure her cousin was still bothered somewhat by the exams. Some time later, she reached his house and gave three sharp knocks to the door, stepping back and snapping her heels together to wait.

Taigakai was up thankfully. Moping in bed wasn’t really going to make him feel much better about anything. Instead he was at a side of the room with mirror panels lining the walls and a bar horizontally cutting through it. It was in a room almost like a second living room. He was gripping the bar with one hand, and balancing on one foot while stretching the other back, chest lowered in a bow.

He took in a breath before he heard three knocks and jolted up, bumping his head on the bar and falling onto the floor with a thud. “Ow…”, he mumbled, rubbing his head. He scrambled up and put on a jacket, something a bit thicker in material but it rested halfway down his arms instead of over his shoulders proper. The rest of the clothing on him was a skin tight outfit void of design or anything flashy, but it seemed to be a sleeveless one-piece suit that zipped up in the back. His hair was tied back in a ponytail. Well, most of it.

He walked to the front door and opened it to see Seiko there to his surprise. “Oh, hey cousin! What… What brings you here? Don’t think we really have lab gear to give you.”, he said with a smile to greet Seiko with, though he really wasn’t sure what brought her to visit. They never did actually have lab equipment for Seiko, but she never asked them for that either. “Come in, come in!”, he said, moving to the side and moving the door with him so she could.

When Seiko heard the thump from within the home, she was worried that she had woken Taigakai from sleep. She pulled her sleeve back to check the time and it wasn't that late, maybe he was just resting? Luckily those worries were banished when he opened the door and she recognised his exercising gear. She gave her cousin a small smile and adjusted her glasses.

"Ah good, I didn't wake you." Seiko primly walked past him, handing him the tea she'd brought. She put her now free hand behind her as she entered, taking a sip of her own drink. "I came to visit because I realised that I had spent far too much time boxing up my workshop and getting ready to move. There's only so much time you can spend in a quiet room alone before you start wondering exactly what's wrong with you." She gave a small chuckle and shook her head.

"Luckily, I know exactly what is wrong with me. Hence coming here to try and... Banish it somewhat. I apologise for interrupting your exercising. How are you feeling today, Taigakai?" She made sure to make eye contact, having to remind herself that most people preferred such a thing, so many social queues to try and remember...

“I’m alright.” That was mostly a truth. Failing the exams still stung but that was something for him to get over and do better next time. He held on the cup and the scent wafted around from the steam. Earl Grey. Not a bad choice.

“You found out what’s wrong with you?”, he asked, not really sure what she meant by that. “Well.. that’s good I guess. Is it curable?”, he asked before taking a sip of tea. “Also, ‘sno big. I wasn’t really going to do anything drastic.” It really just was ballet practice so he stayed relatively flexible. He closed the door behind her and stepped around to walk into the living room so they could sit down and chat a bit. “So you’re moving…When is that happening?”

He didn’t seem too excited, but that’s because of a number of things, one of those being Seiko was his friend and his cousin and they were close. “Is it far?”

Seiko turned and spent a few moments looking at Taigakai, a small frown on her face. There were problems and pain there still, how did other people help with that such things? She hummed quietly and stepped closer, reaching out to rest a hand on Taigakai's arm. Gentle, closeness, those were good things right? "You did well, Taigakai. I truly am proud of your showing in the exams. Not everyone makes it to the finals. Failure always hurts but you are strong and I have faith in you." Seiko didn't have faith in much of anything but logic and results and Taigakai had given her the latter.

"As for what's wrong with me. It's quite obvious, an overabundance of intelligence and eccentricity. It makes me quite the strange person." She said, her eyes almost twinkling with the small joke she made. It wasn't often that she was able to make jokes like that. She took her coat off and folded it over her arm, humming quietly and looking around. She had to collect her thoughts before she spoke... She'd need to tell her cousin that she'd removed another emotion, she wasn't sure how that conversation would go.

"I am moving to Kohaigakure, the culture there is more to my liking and with more empty space to practice with my golems. My home might be small but you are always welcome there Taigakai, even if you wish to spend a few nights. I will also be returning here on occasion, both of my parents live in Hakagakure after all and I think my mother would worry terribly if I was gone for too long." She pursed her lips but gave a shrug.

“Hm?” Taigakai stared back at Seiko while she was doing her best to be supportive. A couple moments later, he gave her a smile. She really didn’t have to do that but it was incredibly sweet of her. “Thanks Seiko. I’m really okay though, I promise.”, he said. Needless to say, his spirits were lifted a little higher regardless.

He took another sip of tea but jolted and tried to not do an accidental spittake at her joke. Being around Seiko enough gave Taigakai enough of an understanding of what her humour, or lack thereof, was like. She seemed proud of her joke too. What a literal nerd.

“Mm?”, was his response while he grabbed a napkin to wipe his mouth. “Oh, yeah, I’ll absolutely visit when I can! Wonder what your new lab would look like. You gonna have those big like tesla coil things? Do some neat Frankenstein’s monster type of stuff?”, he asked, giving this relatively smug look on his face that was just a tell he was being a dork about it.

“So, moving and promotion stuff aside, you been working on stuff since the exams?”, he asked. Of course, he knew she was, it just a matter of what project. It was a good stimulant for Seiko’s socialisation to be interested in these things, even if they did beat the crap out of you later. “Any new fun robot friends on the way?”

He seemed to be in better spirits now, that was good. She could no longer understand sadness but she did know joy and though what he was feeling wasn't strong enough to be called that, it wasn't as bad as it was before. She finished off her coffee, finding a bin to toss the cup into. Was it now that she should tell him? He'd given her a proper opening for it. Perhaps it was better to speak of it earlier than later.

Seiko turned to face her cousin and gave a small shrug. "I've been given leave by the Council to begin learning some of the Lobos Path. The information within that section of the clan has helped my Jiangshi Project greatly and I'm finally making inroads for it. I just need to find someone to test it on to ensure that the Frames are able to do what I think they can. My next... Friends, as you put it, likely won't be very robotic at all." She paused and gave a small nod before continuing. "As for other projects... I managed to make another breakthrough emotionally. I lulled myself into the correct trance after figuring out what would be best to excise and I removed another emotion, this time it was Sadness, an emotion I felt wasn't useful. The freed processing power has already had a noticeable effect and I'm finding it easier to take in information and read through technique theories which is pleasant."

She folded her hands behind her back, straightening up slightly. "I'm on the verge of something great with this, I can feel it. There are more walls and barriers to break down but I know I can become something incredible. My new lab is fairly sparse at the moment and no, it doesn't have tesla coils, it does have some better steelworking machinery however so I should be able to improve my chasses as I craft them. I have plans involving that as well. What about yourself, what have you been working on or have you been resting? I'm not going to scold you if you have been relaxing, the exams were stressful but you know me... I thrive off of stress and difficult situations."

Taigakai set his cup down and folded his arms over each other while Seiko explained her newest line of projects. Her loss of emotions always seemed to bother him but that was something that really couldn’t be helped. “Sadness helps people empathise with others and connect over that loss. It brings those with like feelings closer together in a time where they are most vulnerable.” He wasn’t trying to make Seiko feel bad for her decision, just explaining the emotion at hand.

Aw no coils! She wasn’t going to be that mad of a scientist after all! Oh well! Taigakai let out a sigh, rolling his head to the side. “I’ve not really been training or relaxing. Kind of in the middle. Keeping things simple.” For how long though? “I’m just kind of at a loss of where I want to go right now.”
And none of them really felt like they fit well for him. It also boiled down to expectations by lineage. Occam did crazy strong things in the ANBU. Yuki was a head medical ninja. Seiko was making strides in some kind of research. His parents didn’t hold a huge expectation of him though despite this.

There were options for what he could do, but nothing felt like he was really ready for any of that, especially with how the exams went for him. He sighed. “There’s some stuff I could probably do, but there’s a lot I need to get done before I even figure that out.”
Refining skills, finding a pathway that would actually get him somewhere good. But where to start?

Seiko pursed her lips and then looked to Taigakai for a moment before cocking her eyebrow. "Other viewpoints are always helpful, cousin. However you cannot honestly say that anyone would come to me of all people for emotional support. I give logic and stark viewpoints, even when I had sadness, I could barely understand sympathy." She said with a shrug, she didn't seem bothered by what he said, in fact she seemed to have found it kind of amusing but even her blunted social perceptions knew no one would come to her for support.

"Rest is good, there's no point in burning out. I'd be happy to do some training with you and see if there is anything further I can suggest? I believe working on your current strengths would be a good plan for where to go but we also have a sensei that you could go ask, even if she seems to believe that we are cats." She let out a bemused sigh and shook her head.

"Today isn't for work things however, instead I'm here to get some rest myself and spend time with someone that I can tolerate and that tolerates me. Did you have any plans for today?" She paused and scratched her chin for a moment. "Or to continue with differing viewpoints, do you have any exercises you could show me for keeping your centre and improving balance perhaps?"

Training? On the one hand, it’d be good to do something like that but on the other… How many large rocks was she going to throw at him this time? Seiko was ridiculous and he needed to catch up to her level. He scratched the back of his head. She mentioned resting, so it didn’t seem like training was really in her intent, more that Seiko was making the offer for him if he wanted to do that. He probably should but… No, not today.

“I don’t really have too many plans for today. Buuuut.”, he said while tilting his head to the side with his eyes closed. “I do need to go shopping for some stuff to help make food.” He opened his eyes when she mentioned something for balance. He was doing some form of stretches to maintain a limber state and balance before she got there. “Oh, yeah. I can think I might have something in mind for that.” They had more than enough time before the market closed. “I guess it’s something that I really need to keep for skating, otherwise I’d be all over the place, wouldn’t I?”, he said with a sheepish grin.

Taigakai took another sip of tea, it was more than cooled down by now. But Earl Grey was one of the few teas that were okay when chilled, so it didn’t seem to bother him. He started off to the room where he was just in, lined with tall mirrors on a wall and a long rail to hold onto, while beckoning for Seiko to follow. “Looking for a way to stick to your golems and stuff a bit better? Orrrrrr…..?”, he asked. Though he wasn’t too sure what she needed to practice general balances for, he knew she wasn’t going to ask a question from some voided area that wouldn’t bolster her some time later.

"Oh, shopping? I wouldn't mind going along, I should probably pick up some things for myself so I don't go hungry, I've been quite bad for forgetting to eat." She admitted, frowning slightly. Her work and her creations were just so interesting that it was too easy to forget that she was still human and still needed sustenance, science itself couldn't sustain her... Well not yet anyway. She followed Taigakai to the other room and folded her coat over the rail before stepping away from it.

She rolled her shoulders a bit, a few loud pops sounding as she cracked her neck as well to try and get herself a bit more ready. "My mother's been getting me back into physical training, I got a brief reprieve due to my showing in the Exams but she says that if I spend all day in the workshop I'll ruin my back. So I thought I'd talk to someone who actually knows about stretching and exercising that won't berate me for my poor life choices. Hence asking you. It will also help with riding Golems, or so I hope." She shrugged and hopped from foot to foot to get her blood pumping, sluggish as it was at times.

"As for training, it's always just a suggestion, I don't like going outside much but... It's another way for me to..." She paused and pursed her lips. "...Socialise. Another thing that I regularly forget to do. Most people are just so dumb and they can't see past themselves, they can't look at the world properly and see the beauty in it. So many people just complain..." Seiko stopped herself and shook her head. "It's why I like spending time with you, Taigakai. You seem to be able to appreciate the small things, the intricate details... It's refreshing."

Taigakai unzipped his jacket and placed it on the floor next to the wall adjacent to the mirror wall. He picked up Seiko’s and placed it next to his, so it was off the rail. While it was never really hidden in the first place, his lean frame was easier to pick out with fewer frills and sequins in the way. “You have been pretty bad at remembering how to human…”, he said, with a bit of a smile. He lost count to how many times he visited her place and brought food over to make sure she was eating. It wasn’t like he minded though, it was just something that he could at least help her with since she kept herself ridiculously busy.

“Your mom’s retired mednin right? Was she concerned about like posture or just general core strength?” Taigakai wasn’t too keen on all the intricate stuff on medical practices and concerns, but some of the stuff that did apply such as balance and core strength was something he knew was important in general as well as how much it played into shinobi life.  “But if her concern is your back… Maybe she’s concerned about a natural curve going forward for leaning over your desk.” But the amount of time spent sitting at a desk and the change in how straight her spine may be also did change her balances and she wasn’t likely to practice balancing at other angles to centralising them.

He figured he’d do a very simple observation and examination of her back before trying an exercise so that they can work on things that would help her more than other practices. “Bend forwards and reach to the floor.” When she did that, he placed both hands on her back, only touching with his fingertips. There was a small chill, but that was to be expected. “...And slowly stand up straight.”, he said, his hands tracing from her lower back to her shoulders as she did so. He was testing to see how straight her spine was at one angle but would also look from the side to see if there was a hunch starting to form.

“I know that there’s a lot, and I mean a lot of people that can’t match up to your brains. We’re all stupid, and I know I’m extra stupid. But I want to believe that there are others that can enjoy small things in life.”
Typically, they were civilians though, and Seiko wasn’t the kind of person to just appear in a street market one day and strike a conversation with a random family. Plus she would probably weird them out with her big sciency words when talking about something as simple as family bonds or something. “I’m pretty sure your mom wants you to try to make some friends in Kohai though.”

"Yes, she retired a few years ago. General posture is one of the worries, I spend so much time bent over at the waist working on the insides of my Golems or hunched over my desk that she's worried I'll ruin my back. Being honest, I doubt it will happen due to my unique physiology but... Only the ignorant refuse the advice of those better trained and I am anything but ignorant." Seiko kicked her shoes off and moved them over to where her coat was, she always preferred having her feet actually on the ground, it gave her a better sense of balance and the sensation of the cool flooring was nice.

"Not only that but she is continuing her teachings in Meteoric Offensive which requires a lot of physical effort, so it's probably for the best that I generally up my core strength and flexibility anyway." She reached up under her glasses to rub her eyes for a moment. Nuts and bolts but she hated the names for the techniques she was forced to learn, her mother had told her it was tradition though so she had to keep to it. After hearing what she had to do from Taigakai she rolled her neck and then leaned forwards, tips of her fingers to her toes. She then slowly rose up. Taigakai would be treated to the strange sensation of her vertebrae clicking together and meshing into a single smooth metal rod within her spine. Her body after all seemed designed to have redundancies against internal damage.

"If there are, Taigakai, they are few and far between. Also, you aren't stupid, stop insulting yourself. You work hard, you make your parents proud. I've seen your movements and they are graceful and elegant, I've actually based one of my upcoming designs off of them. That's not the mark of someone stupid, simply the mark of someone whose focus is on something else and that's not a bad thing." Seiko winced slightly and then put one hand to her shoulder, maneuvering it until there was a loud pop and she let out a satisfied sigh. "Oh that's been annoying me for days now." She muttered before looking at Taiga to see what else he wanted her to do... As well as pointedly avoiding the remark about making friends, that was a bit too difficult to get into.

Well, her spine was straight. So there's that. And then she popped her shoulder. Was that normal? That wasn't normal for normal people standards, but they weren't exactly normal. So was that...? Normal? He didn't know anything about her anatomy. She wasn't really sided with one clan or another and that made her about as weird as he was with his metal snow.

Taigakai seemed a bit surprised. Him? Not stupid? He had a hamster in a wheel for a brain, and even he knew that. But he figured she meant that he wasn't someone with an underdeveloped brain or something. "I mean, I guess, but that's really more what the Toketsu focus on isn't it? Elegance and beauty." He figured he was sounding too dismissive. "Though you have a point, it does take a lot to get there, but even I know I need to refine things more." Things weren't as smooth and clean as he'd like. There was always room for improvement, though he figured that could be said for anything.

"Riiight.. so." He cleared his throat. "The first thing we'll do is pretty simple stuff." Well, simple for him, though he wasn't too sure as to where Seiko was with her stuff. "You can hold the rail if you need to for this one. But you're going to stand on one foot, raise the other so it matches your knee like so." Taigakai moved so he was back next to the rail but not touching it and far enough away so that he had room to kick a leg out for the exercise. He raised a leg up, foot level to his knee on his other leg. "When you're there, raise your arms and then you'll just want to practice kicking outwards and back to rest and then forwards and back to rest." Raising his arms so they were in front in the shape of a ring or halo in front of him, he then swept his leg to the side and then returned it so his foot was level to his knee and then swept towards the front and returned to his knee. With practice, it was seamless but there was hardly a wobble at the grounded foot if any.

With Seiko's anatomy, he wasn't sure how mechanical it was or if this practice would have the same effect for someone with a skeleton less rigid. "With this practice, the shift in balance from center to side or front helps you centralise it when things shift. So when you move around while grounded at a point, there's less wobble because your balance is still at center.", he said. Taigakai hoped that at least made sense.

"There is no harm in constantly improving, constantly refining." She said simply as she watched what he was doing. She knew that she could probably just lock her joints and hold the position perfectly but that was kind of defeating the point of the exercise, she was specifically trying to reduce how rigid her body was as it made certain things more difficult to deal with.

With a nod she moved over next to the rail, shook herself out and then stood up straight, arms out in front of her in a ring similar to Taigakai and then she lifted her leg up. She could feel the slight sway in her body as she held the position but she was stable enough to start practicing the kicking, following her cousin's motions. "I learned something amusing from my mother though I'm unsure to the truth of it. Apparently her work has noticed that Rikigaku have a higher chance of spine and joint damage than most other clans as well as a lower overall physical level. I can't help but think that so much time in front of a workshop isn't good for a person. It's very likely this is another reason that she is pushing me to continue physical training, so I do not end up like the others."

She smiled slightly and shook her head, continuing her movements. Seiko spent a few minutes in silence, considering what to say next, perhaps she should talk about her own work but she knew how boring it would sound. "How have your parents been? I've been talking about my own but I've neglected to ask into the health of yours. Has anything interesting happened?"

"You know, that's actually completely fair.", Taigakai said. He stared at Seiko's ankle, she could very well cheat the exercise but he knew she'd make an honest effort if it was seriously needed. Her mother was looking out for her personal wellbeing, and that was good that Seiko was let known about certain issues that were common amongst the Rikigaku.

"Ah well... Dad's work at the academy is as lively as ever." Academy students always brought some new chaos to the room so while some old tricks were well known, others were just a bit more creative. "Actually it's kind of funny to see what pranks he's gotten used to and how he can just react to them while carrying on the class."

"Mom on the other hand..." Almost as if on cue, there was a soft noise as Taigakai's mom was in another room flopping onto the floor. "She's... having an art block right now." One of the worst things to happen, an art block. A loss of the creative funk. Taigakai moved over and put his hands at Seiko's sides to help her steady herself while doing the exercise, small adjustments made here and there. He didn't really have to say anything, she could probably feel the shift in balance, despite how small the adjustments were.

"Your balance is good, but when you move, there's a bit of a wobble at your ankle. Try to do this a bit slowly to feel the shift in balance and when you think you're stable enough, move your leg a little faster and repeat after switching what leg you're balancing on."

Seiko nodded along to what her cousin was saying, taking it all in and processing it in her own strange way, breaking it into blocks that she could respond to. "Mmm, I remember the pranks my own Academy class tried, I never joined them of course, it was far more amusing after all to learn the Rikigaku Hexa Chassis technique before I even left the academy, that scared my teacher something awful." She smirked slightly and shook her head before adjusting her balance with Taigakai's help, finally riding herself of that slight shake in her ankle.

"Art blocks? Hm, that does sound bothersome. Have you considered taking a walk with her, having a look around the clan compounds or watching people training? Those usually give me inspiration for designs and techniques when I'm lacking." She reached up and scratched her cheek as she thought about how to help. She liked her aunt, there was less pressure interacting with her, made her thoughts flow easier.

Seiko swapped legs and found that the less she focused on her limbs, the easier this exercise was so she let her mind wander a bit. "I'll be honest as well, there is a slight bit of selfishness with these movements. I'm aiming to create more complicated chasses and with that, I need to know better how balance and movement works, so learning this sort of thing enables me to balance my Knights better and let them more in a more fluid fashion, increasing their combat effectiveness. Actually on that note, do you think you could do some dynamic modelling for me at some point? I'm most comfortable with you and I know you're unlikely to get embarrassed, much like myself. I need to get a bit closer detail on joints and movements."

"Inspiration could very well come from anywhere but... I'm not sure how well her inspiration would take from watching training." It could happen, no one ever can tell where inspiration would strike. Actually, fashion ideas came from the weirdest places, from food to warped gears, to anything few and far between. Taigakai understood it but the more random bursts eluded him still. "I'm not really sure what'd trigger her next line. Mom's a bit of a wild card when it comes to that kind of thing." It would definitely take more than clan compounds and training, but Seiko's suggestion was noted for later.

"Complicated how?", he asked while watching her posture and only stepping in to slightly nudge the smallest things to refine her positioning. As for her inquiry on dynamic modeling, Taigakai had an idea of what she meant but wasn't all too sure. "What do you mean by dynamic modeling?" If she meant just studying general gestures he had while ice skating, that wasn't an issue at all. He was more than happy to help regardless.

After it seemed like Seiko had gotten the idea of things, he caught her calf. "I think you got the idea for this one. Next is just to see how big of a shift in your balance you can handle." He moved in front of her, settling down on all fours, resting on palms and knees. "Rather than focusing on the core center vertically, it's also important to work on the balance horizontally. Using your arm and alternate leg as counter balances so that way you're not leaning more in one direction than the other.", he explained. To give an example, he stretched his left arm and right leg outwards and straight along the general line of his body and then went back to resting only to immediately switch. He kept it at a moderate pace as going too slowly would make one focus on a wobble, and the other would swing too wildly to really get the point across. He did it a couple more times and then went back to rest. He moved back to sit on his knees, gesturing for Seiko to give it a shot while she was explaining. He had a feeling she'd feel the effects more here since the balance is a bit more widespread too.

"I plan on fusing my Golems with a variety of... Rather interesting things. The first step is to create and utilise unique chasses built around the element drives, that will let me test out weapons and granting the Golems additional functions. Those shall be my Knights. However after I've managed that, I plan to bring some of my Golems to a near true functionality of life. With vital materials gained from outside sources, I believe I can cause a resurgence of the life energies within them in order to create Knights that possess some of the abilities of individuals with Kekkei Genkai and even Kekkei Tota." Her eyes lit up as she spoke, a bit more life and energy entering her voice, such things always excited her.

"This is of course difficult and the closer to a person I craft the Chassis, the easier it will be to properly integrate the materials and grant the abilities as the life energies will recognise the form. IT might technically be possible with beast forms but I'll leave things like that to those that truly work the Lobos Path." She followed Taigakai's instruction, getting down onto her hands and knees and starting to follow along. She was definitely far slower at first at least until she realised that moving slow was causing issues with her balance which prompted her to speed up, even still she kept speaking, answering her cousin's next question.

"I need to get a proper look at how muscle groups function and the movement of joints during strenuous activity, as well as a proper brush up on anatomy lessons. In the simplest way possible, cousin, I need to get a very good look at your body and your body in motion so that I may model the mechanical functions of my Knights after them. I've got other plans for the larger more powerful frames but very few points of reference for the thinner, more agile chasses, hence your assistance being required." She told him plainly as she continued the exercise, it was interesting to physically feel her balance shifting as she performed the exercise but her body took to it quickly, following the motions and the swapping more smoothly.

Taigakai listed to Seiko mentioning her new project ideas. She always seemed to spark to life about her more-than-passion projects. He at least gave the a listen a tried his best to understand at least some of what she mentioned.

"Well, the best thing to show motion for me is what I do best. Skating." That was probably a more obvious idea than people dying when they are killed. He paused for a moment. A lot of the clothing he had was either dark or flashy, things that weren't skin tight were layered over and those that were covered up any muscle definition with colours and sequins. He'd have to find a way around that. Maybe his mom had an idea. Hopefully a good one.

Skating aside, he supposed he could try to do whatever else Seiko needed for her agile golems that weren't skating based. Well, whatever he could within reason. "I guess we'll have to plan a day at a lake or something for skating and whatever else you have in mine for your studies." Ideally a lake, something that can be frozen over easily and in a large amount. If not, that was fine too.

After doing the exercise a few more times, Seiko let out a sigh and just let herself flop onto her stomach with a quiet thump. She took her glasses off and rested her cheek on the floor, taking a few breaths before groaning. "Exercise always makes me want to do other stuff. I know I need to continue though or I'll be in bad shape for any higher ranked missions. I can't always rely on my Golems to be the muscle." She cracked open one eye and looked up to Taigakai, giving him a somewhat embarrassed smile.

"I appreciate you doing this for me. I do apologise for how bad a training partner I'm going to be. Having a nice little lake day however... That sounds nice. We could set up a picnic if you'd like, less actual worry about doing things. I'll just sketch you as you move and the rest we'll work out then." She sat up and stretched outwards before shaking herself off. "So, what's next then? I can promise you I'll do it but I'll also likely complain, nothing more to be done." She looked down at her feet and wiggled her toes, noticing a hole in her tights and frowning slightly, she'd need to toss this pair out.

Taigakai nodded. "Well, those are the most basic stretches, so I guess we can do something that requires a bit more effort. Low energy exercises are necessary but can also be a bit boring." It was a bit ironic for someone with such low energy to make a comment like that, but Taigakai would much rather practice spins and jumps. The rush of air around that kind of movement felt great but they weren't really anywhere to skate so he has to resort to things more on the scale of ballet instead. He rubbed the back of his neck. "So then the next one....."

Taigakai got up and walked around, looking for something. He picked up a pole resting on the floor next to the wall, it was a short staff, probably closer to a club more than anything, and handed it to Seiko. "Hold it out in front of you like this.", he said, moving his arms in front of him, keeping them straight and fully forward. "And you'll be walking on your toes, placing a foot in front of the other like you're walking on a tight rope."

This exercise was still simple in concept but instead of being stationary, Seiko now had to move. Moreover, her balancing points would be narrowed to her toes instead of the full soles of her feet, knees, and hands. This would help refine balance on pinpoint spots, though there were other things to be done later like finding balance at a moment's notice. For now, this would be enough. Back to the topic on helping Seiko out in turn though. "A picnic sounds great. And if we can get to a lake, that gives me an excuse to skate." He was always looking for an excuse to do that. Though, he'd probably be the one more likely to bring food than Seiko. While he didn't eat, he wasn't sure if she knew how to cook food that was more than a supplement for nutrition. Flavour mattered too, of course. He didn't like doubting his cousin, but he knew her well enough to know she struggled on how to be human most of the time.

"I'll keep the exercises in mind so I can do them later, at the very least the static nature of them means I can prop a book up somewhere nearby and keep myself entertained." She smiled slightly at her cousin before hopping to her feet. It was difficult for her to say and she didn't but she truly enjoyed time like this with her cousin, no one pushing her, no one watching over her. It was peaceful and she enjoyed that greatly. She wandered over and took up one of the sticks before moving where Taigakai pointed and getting herself ready.

She lifted the stick, went up onto her toes and slowly started moving forwards, keeping her back and head straight so as not to spoil her balance. "As much as it is traditional for picnics to make one's own food, you know how atrocious I am with that. So I'll likely buy some things so that it's enjoyable and not... Entirely based on nutrition." At that thought she felt a pang of hunger run through her, she'd need to get something to eat while in town later. Taigakai might not metabolise very quickly but Seiko did, luckily it kept her lean as well which was a pleasant side effect.

"I know of a river fed lake at the bottom of one of the nearby canyons. My mother took me there for some friction training against water. Perhaps I'll even bring a swimsuit, might be enjoyable to go for a swim." Her mind wandered and she stumbled slightly, her feet slamming back down firmly on the floor with a dull thunk. She let out a quiet huff, turned around to face her starting point and then went back up onto her toes, starting the exercise again and this time making sure to keep a larger portion of her mind on it so she didn't mess it up again.

"If anything, I can prep something. Besides, I already know of one thing that isn't nutritious I know you'd bring mostly for yourself.", he said, sticking his tongue out at her in response. Her one dietary weakness. He was planning on getting her those anyways.

Though, Taigakai did seem a bit surprised about one thing she said. "It might not be a good idea to swim after I do skating. The water will get really cold and you might get sick." He didn't mind her enjoying herself, but he wasn't going to risk her getting sick or worse because of the Toketsu side of things that would be used to help her study. He'd feel awful, and he was sure she knew he would if she got sick or injured from the cold produced. So.. He figured they'd have to have a small plan for things, so that way the day went by without too many hitches, though he preferred there to be none. He was never too sure about things and tended to overthink and worry about it though.

Taigakai reached up and brushed back his hair, though it fell back in front of his face as if it were adamant to stay where it was. "Unless you have a way to generate heat, I'd suggest I skate after swimming.", though at this point he was just stating the obvious.

A small smile played over Seiko's lips as her weakness was brought up, she would have loved to argue against it but she had no basis for such a thing, it was quite true after all. She did have a bit of an indulgence problem when it came to cinnamon buns but she done her best to treat herself with them rarely, she didn't want to let her figure go to ruin after all.

"I'll have you know, Taigakai, that such treats do possess nutrition! Admittedly it is mostly quick burning energy and sugars but that is useful. Rations for military use possess a high amount of carbohydrates and sugars in order to give quick boosts, perfect for skirmishes." She told him, sticking her tongue out slightly before going back to focusing on the exercise so that she didn't fall over. "I'll swim first, we'll have a small bite to eat so that I can dry off and then you can skate and I'll perform sketches before your skating, during your skating and afterwards so I can detect any differences and can note them down properly. Stress testing is important for machinery especially."

After a few moments, Seiko stopped moving and recalled back to watching her dead. Rather than starting the exercise up again she instead moved into a few simple sword kata using the stick, although immediately she could tell her footing was off in several of the movements, her dad would be quite displeased with her. "I've never really cared about weapons. I've spent so long using my own body as a battering ram now that picking up and wielding an implement for causing damage almost seems... Counterproductive, like carrying an axe to open a crate when you are already holding a crowbar. What about yourself, Taigakai, have you ever considered taking up a sword of some variety?"