[ un: XIII / VIDEO & ACTION ; pick your poison! ]

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[ For the browsers of the network who had tuned into this particular entry, they are met with a dizzying sight. The cinematography is atrocious. The feed bobs and weaves from side to side, shadowing the curious movements of the head of the person holding the comm device far too close to his nose from the other side. It may be difficult to see, but the turquoise-ish fluid oozing from a small puncture wound was a bold contrast against the otherwise metallic slate of the wall. ]

The wall scolded me! That's so weird..! [ The owner of the voice was... Hard to identify. Maybe a young woman, or an even younger boy. The teetering footsteps that bounced the camera seemed to imply that he was cautiously keeping his distance from the wound of his own making; a interested sort of hesitance that seemed unclear in its intent. ] So, I was thinking, maybe I should put something up so I can throw my knives when I get bored... But wouldn't that mean I have to put a hole in there, anyway? Even if I try to be good I'll still get in trouble! [ The exasperation in the stranger's voice left as quickly as it had arrived in lieu of something sincerely enthusiastic. ]

Oh! [ The video was obscured by a brief cascade of white and then a large, red eye. Bowing right over the communicator to regard it upside down seemed like the most reasonable route to take, even if not the most comfortable looking to a casual observer. ] I'm Suzuya, your new crewmate! Let's all get along ~ You can call me Juuzou instead if you want, I don't really care about that. [ There were more important things to discuss, after all. ] So, the wall wont take away my Quinque if I'm bad, right? It just tells me not to..?

Comments

[smokingguns]

Why do all the passables and hotties also have the psycho code embedded in? It must be a thing. A whole damn thing. Even Misa Misa, really. Oh well. Matt wholeheartedly knew that, even if he wasn't one of the two describers, he wasn't whole-brained either. A nod was the only way to convey without rambling out something dumb about stretching and that was what he did.

That tiny tidbit of information was interesting, too. Something that got afforded and skimmed over just as quickly as one another in favour of the conversation of knives. So that's what it was jingling around. To him, that meant the information was there for the taking, it was a matter of navigating the waters. The knives make him inwardly uncomfortable, but he knew better than to show someone a weakness. Throwing them at someone wasn't an issue. He had no skill in it but he knew how to throw something. "I can do that. Give them back and throw them at you. You better have some cool superpower I'm not in the mood to murder someone I'm enjoying talking with."

His gloved hand extended in offer to place the knives and to show his willingness to do this little routine.

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Juuzou didn't tend to ever hold his cards close to his chest. Almost any question that Matt thought to ask would be answered in earnest. He seemed satisfied when Matt took the knives from him. With a wiggle of his arms and a shrug of his shoulders, he removed his shirt and let it clatter noisily to the floor. "If you need some more you can take them." He offered whilst taking a few steps backwards. Without the risk of fabric flowing he could move far easier to avoid getting stuck with a blade. His undershirt didn't even have sleeves for him to worry about.

"Those are weighted pretty evenly so it shouldn't be too hard to throw," He commented. Juuzou stopped about fifteen feet or so away from Matt. He raised his left arm to his head, bent at the elbow. "You should throw them over arm and hold them at the handle, okay? Step forward on your dominant side to help guide the blade towards me. Use a good amount of force, I think it's better for a beginner to throw too hard than too light!" He instructed with an enthusiastic nod of his head.

"Do your best, Matt-san! I'm ready!" Juuzou announced and rocked back onto his heels. "Remember, aim to kill or I'll be insulted. Have faith in me~"

[smokingguns]

Matt's eyes didn't need to follow the movement to know that he had just divested himself of a large arsenal. The way it fell told enough of that. "Let's start with these. I'm not a knife-thrower main." Catch him with a gun and you're fucked though. Maybe not, but his aim was spot on and that had carried over into real life, luckily for him. Holding these things in his hand, Matt didn't know he was holding bioengineering at its best. Just that it existed and that they looked pretty impressive. He was going to have to get a book of some sort to draw the things he saw in. Not for himself, for Mello. For Near. They would be able to use his information much better than he could, so said him.

For the moment and since Juuzou had moved away, Matt considered taking off his glove if it weren't that he would leave fingerprints. If he was going to be serious, though, the gloves would be a problem. Well, if he just wiped them after. "Over arm. Got it." As for insulting Juuzou it might more be Matt's inability to specifically aim a knife in a way that he knew how to control the item itself. With a small amount of skepticism, he took his glove from his hand and slipped it into the pocket of his overcoat. The long game couldn't be to get his fingerprints, even L couldn't set something like this up. ...Maybe.

The look he gave the item for a moment had him go through all the steps that had to be taken in order for this to happen and his paranoia had paid off before. This time, however, it filtered into him taking the knife into his left hand. He didn't have a dominant hand, and so while he took a few little bent-arm+step combo attempts, they were more to feel out the movement. "If I stab you I'm not saying sorry."

The first attempt was just as someone who had never thrown a knife outside of a versus map before would have gone. Mostly that it had a good, solid direct aim and a good flow, but the knife definitely wasn't as professional as someone like Juuzou could do. Since he wasn't told to take it easy, quickly enough, he tossed the other three as well, one after the other with an actual intent on aiming to hit him.

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Killing with his bare hands was not something Juuzou was shy to do. He didn't need his blades to be dangerous and felt confident in his ability to retrieve his Quinque if Matt did a one eighty and decided to be a jerk. Luckily for Matt, Juuzou did not see him as a threat. Even luckier for Matt is that the knives were always wiped down after use. Not for hygiene reasons, or for the sake of cleaning away evidence, but because it was important to keep them in the best condition possible. That was the least Juuzou could do considering how rough he tended to be with the small weapons.

Every practice step was met with a subtle bunch of tension. Juuzou was alert and ready to react in a hair-trigger. First knife. The throw certainly lacked finesse, but it was better than expected. Juuzou raised his left leg high and set his arms behind his head. He pointed his toes within the cover of his slippers and spiked the knife downwards as soon as it was in range. The blade stuck fast into the ground at an angle from the force of the outwardly dainty strike of his tiptoes. "Aah, that was good! I'm impre--"

Juuzou swept down to pick up the knife as if he hadn't noticed the other three coming his way. His head snapped back and he staggered. With his spine bowed to bend his body backwards he intentionally obscured the view of whether he had been hit or not. Of course he hadn't. Juuzou straightened back up, grinning with the first knife between his teeth and held by the blade. The other two had sailed harmlessly behind him thanks to the change in his angle and slight shifts of his weight to properly sell the initial stumble.

A firm flick of his tongue turned the knife once in the air. It landed obediently into the waiting palm of his hand by its handle. "That was close! Good try, good try~!" It wasn't close at all, everything was planned just to give Matt a bit of a shock. "It's fun, right? Those Quinque feel soooo good to throw..." He spoke with genuine mirth as he twirled the knife in his hand about his fingers in a smooth figure eight. "Matt-san is a natural!"

[smokingguns]

The display of Juuzou's athletics let alone his command of his surroundings and the awareness therein maybe didn't register on Matt's face, but he certainly felt it. That was fucking awesome. Like video game awesome, the last time he had that kind of thing in front of him was definitely a video game. Damn that was fucking cool.

Also, let them speak forever of how he just got told he did something good. He knew he hadn't but the sentiment was there. "Says the guy who just dodged them and then caught one of them in his mouth for good measure." Alright he could give back what he got, "That was really god damn amazing. The knives, too. Quinque?" His eyes were easily enough to scan over Juuzou to make sure he hadn't been nicked. "So." He began, trying to figure out and navigate which way this goes. "Good looking. Talented and badass. You're not really training for the circus, are you?"

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Matt seems to have been entertained and Juuzou was satisfied. He grinned and crossed one foot past the other in a sweeping, well practiced bow that sliced the knife in his hand through the air with a sharp turn of his wrist. It soared upwards and wedged itself into the ground only a foot or so away.

"I used to do tricks like this on tightropes and stuff. That wasn't too hard..." Juuzou spoke as he dropped down into a squat. He tugged the knife that he kicked into the ground out of th-- Oh. Oops. Now the floor was bleeding, too. He got excited and forgot about that. He stepped forward to stand on the new wound to hide it. Yeah, uh. Nothing to see here.

"Quinque!" He parroted whilst wiping the knife in his hand against the side of his pants, as if the unnatural turquoise colour wouldn't be very obvious. There were no injuries. Although the sting would be lost on him, the warmth and tickle of blood on his skin would have been noticeable. Juuzou was confident that he was fine. "Oh, no, I'm not training for that! I just used to do circus stuff a lot when I was younger. Not anymore." He explained with a shrug of his shoulders. Juuzou smirked and tapped the flat edge of his knife to his lower lip, not at all minding the remnants of Navi blood still wetting the steel. "But I don't mind putting on shows for handsome guys like you ~ Do you really find me attractive, Matt-san? That's cute!"

[smokingguns]

Matt hadn't made a fuss about the knives being stabbed into the fleshy metal of the ship again. In a way, Juuzou was right, if the ship couldn't take a few small holes then they were in bigger trouble. Just as long as it didn't hit anything vital, maybe. The flourish, in that way, caused a small smirk to drag onto his lips. Definitely an entertainer of some sort. He knew how to put on a good show and telling him that he did tightrope tricks as a younger person... He was already young looking but Matt already bet that it was a deceptive age.

There was a lot of very useful information given just then and Matt filed it all away for later. He was about to ask him a little more about this circus stuff until he realized the most that Juuzou gleaned off of that was the physical compliment. Mello would love a guy like this. Guys like this were easier to deal with even if they were clearly superior in every physical way on a scale Matt knew he wouldn't be meeting. That was absolutely flirting back. This was something he knew enough about, himself. "You don't huh?" He asked, taking a few more steps closer, hand still out of his glove. "I don't feel like lying, which means, yeah. I said you were good looking and I meant it. Handsome though? I think you're putting that on a bit thick. Half my face's behind my coat, the rest is mostly behind my goggles. Sounds like wishful thinking."

He reached his hand forward to use the back of the knuckle on his right hand and tried to wipe the bit of blood from his lip. Bold, but boundary pushing was a necessity. "But if I can use it to my advantage and maybe you teach me how to throw a knife accurately, hey. I'll play."

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Juuzou shook his head. "Not really." His job took advantage of his manoeuvrability and his skills with his blades, but he wouldn't call it a circus act. He liked to keep himself flexible and on the ball partly for familiarity's sake and partly to aid in his exterminations. One unlucky strike from a Ghoul and Juuzou very well knew that he would be dead, and that would be unfortunate.

Matt approached and Juuzou perked up. His eyes were wide and curious. "I like taller guys," The smaller of the pair explained with a cheery tip of his head. "I can see the shape of your face well enough, you know. I dunno what colour your eyes are, but your hair is so cool, and your voice sounds nice. You worry too much~"

Boundary pushing was a dangerous game to play with a person like Juuzou; he never knew when to stop. The flat of his tongue dragged along Matt's knuckle and left it with a little parting nip of his teeth. His nose wrinkled at the bitter taste of the blood that had wiped itself off onto the other's finger. Well, that did not taste like candy at all. Thankfully it was only a trace amount and Juuzou had been spared from future curiosity that could have ended up with a mouthful of delicious looking, but disgusting tasting, ship blood.

"Yeah! I'll teach you. Or, well, I'll try to, anyway! You already got the basics down so it shouldn't be too hard~"

[smokingguns]

Taller. Cool hair and nice face shape. Yeah that sounded like Matt when he was younger and first unleashed on the world, too. 'Good enough' was exactly how he viewed some of his own conquests. It's a valid way to be. "Not many people find out what my eye colour is." But the rest, that could be for free.

Matt didn't shy away at the warm, wet caress of a tongue against his finger and the teeth that followed. It hadn't been what he thought was going to happen, but he sure had no qualms about it. His eyes locked in on Juuzou's and a tiny smirk pulled his lips again. Yeah he doubted that tasted so great, that was why he came to move it away, but no. Had to do it the hard way.

Speaking of, he pulled his glove out and slipped his burned hand into it. "I want to learn. I'm good with a gun but I don't see a stockpile around here. This'll be better to protect myself." And also to keep someone like this a little more around should shit go down here. "My tricks aren't as useful as yours."

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The way Matt looked Juuzou dead in the eye presented him with a good opportunity to crane up onto his tiptoes. He was practically nose to nose with him. "Hmm..." Bright, ruby eyes didn't so much as blink for a few, studious seconds. Juuzou rolled back onto his heels and shrugged his narrow shoulders. "Well, your eyes are a light colour! I know that much." Well, he tried.

"Let's see, let's see..." Juuzou mumbled to himself as he pranced on over to his discarded overshirt. He crouched down and, whilst he hummed a vague tune to himself, pulled out one of the knives. "You want one to practice with?" He offered whilst spinning the Bikaku around atop his fingertip. "I've got at least thirty of them, so you can borrow this one if you want!"

A soft 'hup!' announced Juuzou's spring back up to his full, short height. "Knives are good because they don't have ammo. You can throw them and then go pick them up again. Just make sure to keep them nice and sharp!" He explained with a confident little nod of his head. "It's mostly practice but I'll help you out, okay~?"

[smokingguns]

This wasn't a problem. Matt knew this game and it was to see if he could be intimidated in any way, shape or form. In fact, to make it easier, he tilted his head down to give Juuzou a good look into his glasses and to almost close distance. No fear there, at least not where this was concerned. "That's pretty much it." They were lightish, that was the truth. Maybe if Juuzou had RGB values memorized he could have figured it out, but no, as it seemed he didn't.

Now that they had both backed down, at least Matt knew the exploit was right there. All he had to do was take it if he needed it. Both of his hands found his pockets again and he squared his shoulders toward where Juuzou was crouching. "Thirty eight." Matt said with confidence in the number but with hesitance to reach his hand out right away. "I don't know much about knife keeping. I wouldn't mind it, I'm pretty defenseless here. Nothing I had back in my room back home came with me." Only ridiculous things like keys and other things he had since gone through. "I'd appreciate the help, I don't like not being able to protect myself efficiently. Or anyone else."

Mello and Near were here and if that was the case, likely they had been brought for a reason. Matt had always been the tail and tagalong, which meant that was his job here too. Assist, observe, report and trust if he liked it or not sometimes.

[crossxstitch]

Matt had read him like a book and Juuzou hadn't even noticed. His initial intention had just been to scope out his eyes, but the reaction would have been subconsciously noted whether Juuzou had intentions to intimidate or not. He was just wired in a way not dissimilar to how a predator would assess its potential prey.

"... Huh?" That was... Wait a moment. The knife twirling about his finger was stopped by its blunt edge against Juuzou's palm and he set about confirming the quantity of knives he had. He counted the loose blades that had been used for his demonstration, softly mouthing the numbers back to himself as he counted. He paused and was silent. His eyes were blown wide and he looked from his shirt, to Matt, back again, and finally settled his surprised attention onto his glyph partner. "How did you do that!?"

No, now is not the time for knife training. Juuzou's attention just got snatched right away. "When did you count them?? How did you... Wow, I don't get it..?" Huh.

[smokingguns]

It was his job. His whole reason for existing. Reading movements, understanding body language, and maybe even better than some of his superior successors. Maybe.

No knife talk it was. Watching Juuzou go about trying to find out if he was right or not made Matt smirk. He knew he was right and just stood there with patience. He was used to this and used to do similar things in bars in the short time he was away from Mello. Allowing to make certain that the tally had been the same, Matt chuckled softly under the smirk and shrugged his shoulders. "I counted some of them when you were clanking them around, the rest when you took the shirt off." Even if fleeting, Matt was incredibly capable. "I have a photographic memory. I just put the photos together in my head. Ask me anything about the room we're standing in."

Closing his eyes, Matt pulled his goggles up and put one hand over his eyes. "How many bolts there are to our right or left, how many approximate steps to what item, what's around the corner in the direction I came from. That kind of thing. Anything."