Quiet Time Partnership (Tensai)

Vespera Velázquez

"Always ready to rock!"
Color Code: 0088d5

Back in the Library again. Normally, it'd be to meet up with Hunter and pick out some new books to read, but today Vespera Velázquez was looking for someone. Pierce had told her about a Meister that might be a decent match for her, so she was absolutely giddy as she walked around the labyrinth of books. He mentioned that this Meister seemed to enjoy quiet, so the Library seemed like a natural place to find him. Pierce had offered to introduce them, but not only would that have been awkward, Vespera felt like she needed to do this herself.

She was also very concerned about her clothes. She decided to go with her usual outfit since it wasn't as showy as some of her other outfits, but also showed that she had some style sense about her. She was looking for someone who was wearing a black hoodie. Apparently this guy wore it at all times, which made him a lot easier to pick out. Pierce said he was from Japan and was blonde, an unusual combination, but Vespera never wanted to assume that meant he'd look Asian at a glance. Lots of people assume from the surname Velázquez that she's is Mexican, something that doesn't really bug her so much as seeing the looks of surprise on people faces when they see she's European.

She finally came across someone wearing a black hoodie with blonde hair, but they appeared to be taking a nap at an isolated table. Vespera approached, but had no idea what to say. She didn't want to wake him up, and she didn't want to just sit there and wait on him to wake up. That would just be creepy. She started pacing back and forth, trying to figure how to handle this. Maybe an "accidental" stumble to make a noise? No, that would be rude too. Maybe she just needed to say something. Maybe he wasn't actually asleep. She moved just a little bit closer, not quite in range to touch but close enough for a whisper to reach.

"Hey... you awake...?" she asked in her standard British accent.

Tensai was currently in the library taking a nap. It was that horrible time of the day when there would be a lot of loud students in the dormitory, happy that their day of classes was done. However, Tensai was never one of those people. In fact, he detested the amount of noise they made in their small celebrations. Because of them, he had to take a small nap in the library almost every day to avoid having to deal with the noise. He wished more than anything else that he could sound-proof his room immediately...but his parents weren't willing to spend the money on that kind of thing. How unfortunate.

As a typical rule, he didn't get the luxury of having pleasant dreams. This particular dream wasn't particularly bad by all standards considered. He wasn't being forced to fight anyone in this dream...he was just numb. But, "numb" perhaps isn't a satisfactory description. He was sitting in a black room...or was it a room? It was simply a space that he sat in. Not really feeling anything tangible, perhaps "sitting" is the wrong word as well. All he could feel was the slightest warmth that kept him content. In this dream he was calm and surrounded by silence. The darkness surrounding him made quite a lovely residence. Nothing dared disturb him here...except possibly Vespera.

"Hey... you awake...?"

The noise pervaded through his big black nothingness. It seemed to ring off the walls that were not there and refused to simply let him be. Suddenly, color began to appear: bright, pervading, vibrant color. The noise from that one sentence began to amplify within his mind...pushing him from his comfort. His comforting nothing was replaced by an indifferent something. In this case that was the library.

As he woke, he did not stir. He knew better than to violently jerk; that could cause subtle changes to one's surroundings. That was almost never a good thing. Opening his eyes, Tensai began to very clearly see the table that he had been sleeping on. That wasn't very helpful. Sitting up slowly, he rubbed his eyes sleepily. Someone had whispered, yes whispered, to wake him up. He wasn't naive enough to think that someone would yell in a library; his dream had been an exaggeration, an amplification of his weakness to stimulus. Looking around, he quickly found what was a logical guess as to who had awakened him.

She was most definitely a student...not library staff like he had assumed. However, that raised many more questions than it answered. For one, who was she? That could wait though...more important questions came very readily. Two, why had she awaken him? He didn't even know her and he highly doubted she knew him. Three, why was her hair blue...that was just unnatural. He turned to her with his large, sleepy eyes and thought for a second. Perhaps she needed one of the many books he had made as a small fort to discourage people from looking at him. Yes, that had to be why a stranger would wake him.

"I'm sorry, did you need one of those books?" he asked in his quiet voice, motioning towards the small fort. She wasn't wearing anything particularly vibrant and she wouldn't be loud in a library. Tensai could handle a little interaction without freaking out: yeah.

Vespera Velázquez

"Always ready to rock!"
Color Code: 0088d5

Vespera almost jumped back in a startled mess. Oh, she'd really done it now, he actually was asleep and actually heard her whisper! Oh man. She was sincerely hoping that if he was really asleep then that wouldn't wake him up. There was nothing more rude than waking someone up, even if they did look uncomfortable. That sleepy look on his face was... so CUTE! Oh, settle down Vespera, that's getting way too far ahead. He asked if she needed one of the books around him, and she looked at them. It was an impressive selection... no, snap out of it!

"Oh, I am so sorry!" she apologized, still in a whispered voice. "I wasn't sure if you were asleep or not. Uh... I'm Vespera Velázquez. I'm a Weapon. I heard you might... uh, be looking for a Weapon."

Smooth. Really smooth. She failed to mention how she heard this, though she learned it wasn't uncommon for such word to get around the Academy, with or without Pierce's help. Still... waking him up just for this was likely getting off on the wrong foot. Well, what's done is done. If he really needed a Weapon it might just get his attention.

After he asked, she was getting ready to select a book; he was sure of it. After all, she was currently eyeing up the small plethora of books that he'd used to construct his handy, little fort. Tensai began to reach for one of the ones he'd used for the top. If she wanted him to take one of the ones from the side he'd have to dismantle the top first. After all, a crashing noise would be unappreciated by both himself and the library staff who was kind enough to let him sleep here. However, he was more worried about how loud the crash would be...if it was too loud he'd freak out and faint. That wouldn't be good for anyone in the library; someone might have to carry him back to his dorm room.

However, that seemed to not be the case. What she was about to say was a bit different from what he was expecting. Much different.

"I wasn't sure if you were asleep or not. Uh... I'm Vespera Velázquez. I'm a Weapon. I heard you might... uh, be looking for a Weapon."

Tensai's wide eyes widened a bit more in a kind of sleepy surprise before returning to his normal face. Actually, he'd have to think about that for a little bit before he gave a definite answer. It was true that he needed a partner. Actually, he probably really needed a partner soon. He couldn't go on any missions by himself because of his poor physical acclimation. It was kind of a nuisance considering how he could just attack on his own if he wanted to. But, that didn't matter if he couldn't catch his opponent to attack them and couldn't last long enough to wear them down: so many nuisances.

However, he wasn't particularly comfortable with strangers. He didn't like the closeness that matching soul wavelengths would entail. He would be able to match wavelengths with his brother if his brother was a weapon. He wasn't really comfortable with anyone else to do something that intimate with someone else. Tensai was socially awkward and this was almost asking too much of him. Conversely, no one was really jumping to be his partner. He hadn't ever asked anyone because he wouldn't be comfortable with them right away. No one really asked him because they probably didn't even know he existed. Thus, it wasn't really like he could just turn down such a scarce offer.

Maybe she'd be fine with taking things a little slow...he'd have to see. "Ummmmm. I'm not really ready to try to match wavelengths with you yet. That's a little too personal for me right now," he said as he looked at her. He poked his index fingers together as he talked to have something to occupy his senses. He could focus his hearing on the small "thuds" they made and try not to worry about how loud she would respond. Not being quite done explaining, his brain had hastily thrown together a couple sentences. "But...if you don't mind doing a few things together first I'd give it a try. I...I'm not necessarily a social butterfly; I can't do things quickly with people. But if you don't mind showing me I can trust you I won't have a problem. Is...is that okay?"

It became apparent that as he talked more to people...he became more and more awkward. However, Tensai didn't notice this of course...he was too busy worrying about loud noises or her reacting poorly. Oh Tensai, so awkward.

Vespera Velázquez

"Always ready to rock!"
Color Code: 0088d5

The boy seemed surprised. Well, upon further review it would have to be surprising to have someone come up to you out of the blue asking to be your partner. At first, Vespera looked a little down when her potential partner said he wasn't ready to match wavelengths, but then he explained that he had some problems working with people. Vespera grinned and stood up strait, placing her hands behind her back, then nodded reassuringly.

"That's fine by me." she said with a sort of higher pitch to it, trying to contain her excitement. She sat down at the table and carefully moved one of the towers of books to the side so she could still see him. "Your name is Tensai, right? Sorry, I have a friend that's been trying helping me find a partner, so that's how I got pointed to you. I sort of have a... hm... I'm not exactly confident of my Weapon form so I'm extremely nervous talking to people who could be partners. So, anything you want to do then name it." she added a long-winded explanation just to put as much on the table, well, metaphorically, as possible.

If Tensai has problems dealing with people then hiding things from him wouldn't be a good way to start. Vespera needed to make sure that he knew how she found him and why she's had trouble finding a partner herself. Hopefully he doesn't take that as stalker-ish, because she really did need Pierce to help her find a partner, and she saw a definite psychological reason for her to partner with Tensai. Vespera is a defensive weapon, not only making her a good fit mentally, but physically since she could tell that Tensai wasn't exactly a powerhouse. It was kind of frightening to think about how Pierce was able to piece all this together without drawing too much attention. Then again, he was a Revenge Specialist, right? Vespera made a quick mental note to never get on Pierce's bad side.

"That's fine by me."

Breathing out a sigh of relief, he continued to press his fingers together as he kept focusing on that noise. Through this, he hoped to dull whatever she said. However, she seemed to be a relatively quiet individual. Or perhaps that was just because she was in a library currently. Tensai briefly considered that she would be loud, obnoxious, or otherwise over-stimulating when not worried about first impressions or in a quiet place. However, he shut his eyes for a second and pushed that thought from his eyes. He kept his breaths steady and instead of focusing on what could be he focused on the soft, rhythmic thuds that his fingers made. If he didn't let anything bother him he wouldn't freak out. Yeah, he could control it if he wanted to. Not really, but he needed to believe that for a moment. If nothing else, Tensai needed a weapon partner sometime soon.

"Good. That's uhhh...yeah that's good. I'm glad."

"Your name is Tensai, right? Sorry, I have a friend that's been trying helping me find a partner, so that's how I got pointed to you. I sort of have a... hm... I'm not exactly confident of my Weapon form so I'm extremely nervous talking to people who could be partners. So, anything you want to do then name it."

Tensai blinked hard at how much she'd talked. She certainly had a long story about her pursuit of a partner. Well, not really that but just a very lengthy description of her current situation. She wasn't confident about her weapon form so what could it be? Maybe it was just short like a knife or something like that. Perhaps it was something that was impractical and kinda useless like...a pillow or something soft. He had no clue what kind of obscure object she could turn into that had her so self-conscious about it. He decided he'd ask her this before telling her what he wanted to do to determine he could trust her.

"So uhhhh...ummm...what is your weapon form? I uhhhh...I don't know what it could be that has you so ermmmm...not confident about it. I'm sorry."

He was used to tagging on "I'm sorry" to the end of the things when he was uncomfortable around people. And at this point, Tensai was most certainly uncomfortable. He wasn't totally reclusive to the point that he didn't know the importance of having a weapon partner, so he definitely knew how important this encounter was between himself and his first real possible partner. But, she was currently sitting beside him and had taken down one of his books in his little fort. That meant that he couldn't even really retreat if he wanted to. Shit.

It wasn't like he was looking for an excuse to say "no" to her offer though. He wanted a partner and one that didn't seem to mind being quiet was probably one of the best out there for him. Yeah, he would just have to be clear that he needed her to be quiet most of the time so he wouldn't freak out and faint. That wouldn't be good.

"So, I ummmm...kinda can't handle loud noises or bright lights. I'm sorry. I have ummm...super powers of observation and yeah. If I get over stimulated I'll freak out and faint. I'm sorry. But uhhhhh...it's useful a lot of the time. I can almost see in the dark and hear things from far away. If you make loud noises I'll definitely not be upset...I'll just be unconscious...and yeah. I'm sorry."

Vespera Velázquez

"Always ready to rock!"
Color Code: 0088d5

"So uhhhh...ummm...what is your weapon form? I uhhhh...I don't know what it could be that has you so ermmmm...not confident about it. I'm sorry."

Vespera almost wanted to smack her own forehead for neglecting to mention her weapon form. It must have been burned into her subconscious by now to not lead into a conversation with a potential partner with that.

"Right. Sorry. I'm a metal Bo-Staff." she said in a slightly more hushed tone, avoiding eye contact.

She had developed a complex about it ever since arriving here. She certainly thought her Weapon form was a perfectly legitimate weapon, but all of the Meisters Vespera had talked to so far scoffed at the idea. They wanted weapons that did more direct damage, not something that required a certain level of finesse to use. Tensai looked like someone who could see the value of her Weapon form. Her green eyes met back up with her potential partner as he started to speak again.

"So, I ummmm...kinda can't handle loud noises or bright lights. I'm sorry. I have ummm...super powers of observation and yeah. If I get over stimulated I'll freak out and faint. I'm sorry. But uhhhhh...it's useful a lot of the time. I can almost see in the dark and hear things from far away. If you make loud noises I'll definitely not be upset...I'll just be unconscious...and yeah. I'm sorry."

He was... confusingly apologetic. Then again, with a condition like that it must be something he's accustomed to doing. Vespera almost wanted to sigh at this. It definitely meant Tensai wouldn't be coming to any potential performances that she and her currently non-existent band would be putting on. In fact... could he even enjoy music if he has such a problem with loud sounds? That'd be a huge barrier between them if that were the case. Vespera couldn't live without her music. It just reminded her that she needed to charge up her MP3 player when she got home. Then another thought crossed her mind.

"I think I can handle that. However I am curious if you can handle music. Sorry, music is just a big part of my life, it'd make me really sad if you couldn't enjoy music. Does it actually make it to where you can interpret the sounds from music though...? Sorry, my curiosity is getting the better of me. I keep my music playing to myself on earphones most of the time so it shouldn't be too much of a bother I hope." she rambled, trying to both explain and question at the same time.

She realized she was just as bad about sounding apologetic as he was. Funny how that works.

"Right. Sorry. I'm a metal Bo-Staff."

With a small nod, Tensai thought about using a staff in combat. It seemed like a natural thought considering that if she was willing too go through all of his awkward little "tests" then she would be his partner. So, as he thought of how such a task would go it occurred to him how perfect a staff would be as a weapon for him. It was a pretty straight-forward weapon to use. He would just block with it and swat haphazardly at whatever he needed to beat away. However, it occurred to him that he wouldn't even have to do the latter. Given that he could attack on his own, he could simply use the staff to block and try to get inside his opponent's range. That was: if he ever found the need to fight anyone.

It became obvious to him how good of a partner Vespera could be for him. Personality-wise, she seemed to be very agreeable and willing to almost bend over backwards to not make things too difficult for him. He was definitely thinking about just accepting her offer without any other kind of test. However, that just wouldn't do. Knowing how uncomfortable he would be with resonating, Tensai was being a little over-cautious concerning this type of commitment. Being someone's partner was serious; he shouldn't even dream of taking it lightly. Setting that to the side, he needed to, if nothing else, reassure her that her weapon form was fine by him if not perfect.

"Well ummm...you see, I think a Bo-Staff would be handy. I'm ummmm...not very aggressive and not much of a physical fighter. I'm sorry. You know, I'm not very strong...or fast. I'm ummmm...also not good with any kind of fancy weapon-work. I'm sorry. I feel like a Bo-Staff is straight forward and defensive enough to fit me. You know, if you're okay with being used mainly for defense."

"I think I can handle that. However I am curious if you can handle music. Sorry, music is just a big part of my life, it'd make me really sad if you couldn't enjoy music. Does it actually make it to where you can interpret the sounds from music though...? Sorry, my curiosity is getting the better of me. I keep my music playing to myself on earphones most of the time so it shouldn't be too much of a bother I hope."

Looking over at Vespera, Tensai thought of how music could be a "big part" of her life. It seemed to Tensai that filling one's precious silence with sound was little more than asking for a headache. Why would someone do such a thing? However, while he disapproved of filling one's silence with music, he couldn't run her life for her. Also, it wasn't like her listening to music on a music player would cause him to freak out. So, he shouldn't really have a problem with it right? That was the appropriate response in this situation...right? He knew about the threshold for passing out and it wasn't music coming from ear-buds would be super loud in any regard. That much would have to be made clear.

"Ummmmm...yeah you listening to music shouldn't hurt me to the point of fainting. But...for interpreting the sounds I ummmm...don't know what you mean. I'm sorry. The sounds are just the instruments right? What do I ummm...need to interpret? I'm sorry."

Vespera Velázquez

"Always ready to rock!"
Color Code: 0088d5

"I feel like a Bo-Staff is straight forward and defensive enough to fit me. You know, if you're okay with being used mainly for defense."

Vespera was practically beaming as Tensai said that she'd be a good fit. She always saw herself as a defensive weapon, so that was perfectly fine with her and she nodded rapidly to indicate that. She was so happy that she couldn't even speak right now. Sure, it wasn't an official "OK" from him but this was the most progress she'd ever had with finding a partner! Her expression returned to normal, albeit still smiling widely, as Tensai asked for an explanation on what she meant with her question on interpreting sounds.

"Well, I play guitar, and while I think I'm getting decent with it I literally can't find the notes for a lot of songs I'm wanting to try playing, so I'm having to try and learn them by ear, and it's harder than it sounds. Or maybe I'm just totally inept, I don't know." she explained, then she reached to scratch the back of her head as she let out a nervous laugh. "I'm sorry, I was kinda hoping you might be able to pick out the notes but if you don't like music then you wouldn't really know how to do that would you?" she apologized, still having a slight nervous laugh as she lowered her hand and then stopped.

"Sorry I went off on a tangent. Anything you want to talk about, go for it."

Tensai most certainly noticed how excited and elated Vespera was at his response to her weapon form. He supposed that if she was self-conscious about something, finding someone who was not only accepting of it but praising it must be well welcomed. That seemed correct, right? That's what people did when they were self-conscious...right? Well, Tensai would certainly be glad if he found someone who genuinely enjoyed the fact that he was quiet and reclusive. As much as his brother tried to hide it, Tensai could easily see that Toshioni only really tolerated the fact that his brother was no social butterfly. And this current encounter with Vespera was making it ever more apparent. He willingly ventured that Toshioni had been the one to tell her friend about him. Actually, considering this was a female and his brother was pretty popular, Tensai could almost say that Toshioni might have been this friend of hers. Maybe not though.

"Well, I play guitar, and while I think I'm getting decent with it I literally can't find the notes for a lot of songs I'm wanting to try playing, so I'm having to try and learn them by ear, and it's harder than it sounds. Or maybe I'm just totally inept, I don't know."

Tensai began to awkwardly look at the desk at which he was sitting as he heard her continue to talk. Why would she tell him all this? He knew that she was explaining herself but why would she go so in depth about it? It was clear that he wouldn't be able to do things like that right? He didn't listen to music. He didn't even know what a "note" was or what it applied to in music. Was it like something that was written down about the music, like an actual note? Wait...why was he even wondering about this? If music was important to her and they became partners she'd probably teach him enough about it to make him conversational. If not, oh well. That wasn't in his hands. However, something loomed over him as there was a small, awkward silence. He knew he should say something...but what was there to say? It wasn't like he could relate to her about music or anything like that. What to say, what to say?

"Oh...I'm sorry."

Yeah, that would suffice. If nothing else, it was something; she couldn't say that he didn't try. Well, she could and he wouldn't really try to stop her either. It wasn't like he had the voice for protesting anything vehemently or even with noticeable emotion. That was just something that he had grown to live with.

"I'm sorry, I was kinda hoping you might be able to pick out the notes but if you don't like music then you wouldn't really know how to do that would you?" At this Tensai offered only a small nod as his eyes stayed fixed on the desk. He had turned his body to face her but he'd kept his face towards the desk. With a small little breath, he looked at her for a moment before his eyes awkwardly drifted down to his black shoes. Ahhh, black shoes...how soothing.

"Sorry I went off on a tangent. Anything you want to talk about, go for it."

With a fleeting moment of courage, he looked up at her and thought of what to ask her. What did he really do but play with kittens and take naps? What was there to really talk about? He could ask her if she liked cats. Also, he wanted to see what kind of person she was. If he were a more experienced Meister, he would've been able to look at her soul and tell. But, that wasn't the case, and he had no real inspiration to work towards that ability. But yeah, he would ask her if she liked cats and if she liked being warm or cold. These were important things to Tensai.

"So...do you ummm...like cats? Because kittens are adorable and ummm.... cats are great companions and I uh, I really like cats. I'm sorry. Also, do you like being warm or ummm...cold? Also, do you like going out at night? I've asked a lot...I'm sorry."

Vespera Velázquez

"Always ready to rock!"
Color Code: 0088d5

Vespera's green eyes lit up as soon as Tensai mentioned cats. Kittens even! She wanted to burst out in response immediately, but out of respect to let him finish his questions and also out of consideration of his hearing, she held it in for now. She still couldn't hide the gigantic smile on her face, her teeth were almost showing she was smiling so widely. She always wanted a cat back home but her mom just wouldn't allow it. After he finished, her smile went down a bit as she leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. She was happy to answer, though one question was odd. Despite her excitement for answering the cat question, she still managed to keep her voice down.

"Well, as you'll see in my clothing choices I wear a lot of layers, so I definitely prefer being warm. As someone who has some slight musical aspirations I do enjoy going out at night. As for cats... I love them!" she managed to make that a quiet exclamation. "Cats are so much quieter than dogs, too. I love dogs too, don't get me wrong, but I feel like I can have a more peaceful day with a cat than a dog." she continued.

She uncrossed her arms and leaned forward onto the table, her elbows on the table with her hands interlocked together. She still had a very bright expression on her face, pleased at how this was going so far. Tensai seemed like a bundle of nerves but he also seemed like he'd be a great partner if she can just keep her noise levels turned down.

"I promise I won't practice with my guitar while you're around, by the way. So, anything else?"

As he began to talk about cats, Tensai noticed that her face lit up. Her eyes seemed to light up and her usual facial expression was replaced by an extremely broad grin. Tensai assumed that meant she did enjoy cats indeed. However, he wasn't exactly sure about this. Maybe she was just being polite to him because she was about to say that she didn't agree. To be honest, Tensai wasn't the best about reading what facial expressions actually meant. That was one of those things that just came with experience: something he didn't have. When he finished speaking she changed her posture as she leaned back in her chair. Was she trying to distance herself from him? Or was she trying to seem relaxed for some reason, trying to make a calm aura.

"Well, as you'll see in my clothing choices I wear a lot of layers, so I definitely prefer being warm. As someone who has some slight musical aspirations I do enjoy going out at night. As for cats... I love them!"

Her voice stayed calm and quiet despite her getting noticeably excited. With a small little smile, he was glad that she seemed to appreciate three of his favorite things. Well, only being warm and cats were things that he actually "enjoyed". The third was almost a necessity; it wasn't like he could just go out during the day without preparing himself for such a strain. It was just too cumbersome of an experience to do with any sort of consistency. And, that was to be expected of Tensai after you really got to know him. He didn't have much ambition to change or resist the things that had become intrinsic to him. She continued to talk about cats and the reasons why she liked them. For this, Tensai really just tuned out every other word as he focused on staring at the desk for a moment until the familiar sound of silence snapped him back to an alert state.

He looked over at her and offered a small smile as some sort of comfort: this was going well enough to deserve that. He would try to at least see if he could sync up with her today. He wanted to take things slow but he thought of what Toshioni would say to him. Also, as much as he hated to admit it, he knew that he couldn't think of too much else to ask her. If they continued to "try" being partners, he would just end up asking her the same stuff and talking about nothing. It was sad but true; at least he recognized it.

"I promise I won't practice with my guitar while you're around, by the way. So, anything else?"

With a deep breath, Tensai looked at her eyes and steadied himself. His soul needed to be calm for this; he needed to be open for this. He saw going to try to sync up with her soul just for a moment to see if it was easy enough. "I'm...I'm willing to try to see if we can ummmm...sync up. Can I ummm...see your hand? I'm sorry."

Vespera Velázquez

"Always ready to rock!"
Color Code: 0088d5

Vespera put her hands together and her smile became open-mouthed, like she wanted to shout in happiness. She nodded her head, still sporting this goofy expression as she extended her right hand out. She was excited beyond anything she'd felt before. Finally! Her existence might actually be validated!

"Sure, here you go!"

Her expression finally calmed down, and she closed her eyes to try and relax. If she's too excited she might not be able to sync up, and that would be terrible after coming this far. She could tell that this was a bit thing for Tensai, so she needed to stay calm... in her mind it felt like an eternity, when really the time between when she closed her eyes and re-opened them was very short. And her expression had turned back to a more neutral look, albeit still with a slight but soft smile.

As she held out her hand Tensai breathed a few heavy breaths as he closed his eyes. He began to focus hard on matching up to her. This exercise had been taught to him by his parents because it apparently helped sync up with others. The exercise worked by a Meister and a Weapon synchronizing their breathing and focusing hard on each other. Theoretically, their heart-rates should sync up as well which would be a good level of connectivity. With their bodies linked together to an extent, they would then continue to focus on each other. Their minds on the same goal, they should get that much closer to syncing souls. The problem was that Toshioni didn't know if he could sync up with Vespera or not. The goal was for them to follow each other's lead and compromise somewhere in the middle, showing the dynamic of their partnership. If one dominated the other it wouldn't work out too well. But, there was nothing left but to try it at this point.

"Ummmmm... Vespera-chan, now we have to match our breath rate together. I'm sorry. I'll try to ummmm...match you and you try to do the same. I'm sorry if I breathe a little slow." As he spoke, he placed his left hand against her right. He closed his eyes and began to focus on picturing Vespera. As she breathed, he did his best to try to get on pace with her. That was the easy part, now he had to make that second nature to him. He would have to feel comfortable conforming to her breath rate and hoped that she would make the same effort towards him. If she tried to match him matching her, they would certainly synchronize better than just a one sided attempt, right?

Wait...there was still one part of the exercise that he needed to tell her about. She needed to focus on him for this to be effective at all. "To sync up our minds, we need to ummmm...focus on each other. That becomes easier once our breath-rates synchronize. I'm sorry if this takes time." Tensai began to feel a bit more at ease as he held his rhythm in a manner close to Vespera's. He couldn't exactly match it, but he felt their hands rise and fall together as their body cavities filled with air and then expelled it. He hoped that she wouldn't mind sticking around until this was done. She had sought him out after all; she would want to see it through. Right?

Vespera was extremely nervous. She'd never done anything like this before. She stayed silent and nodded when Tensai said they needed to match their breathing, and even with her eyes still closed she felt like she was still making eye contact. She kept focusing on him, which worked out well because that's exactly what he instructed her to do next. As she cooperated, still grinning widely, questions started to run through her mind.

Was this a normal thing that Meisters did to sync up with a partner, or is this something only he knows? She'd never seen anyone else do this, so she was pondering what exactly the purpose of this exercise was. Could syncing up be that difficult? Or does his personality require him to do so? She already felt like Tensai was going to be a great fit for her, but if he wanted to do this, she would gladly oblige.

The pressure of actually being the weapon of a Meister in the EAT class was starting to weigh down on her as well. She was confident in her own abilities, being able to fully assume her weapon form as well as her stand-alone physical abilities, but when she was in Weapon form, what else could she do? There's always Resonance, but Vespera had no idea if she would ever be capable of an ability of that caliber, or what hers would end up being for that matter.

All she could do right now is trust that Tensai would be able to accept her.