After Class Conversations (Ace and Tessa)

Tessa had just finished up her last class of the day, and it was about time for her to start grading some tests. They weren't supposed to be handed back for a few days, but it wasn't like there was anything better to do right now. The only thing she had to do was pick up some bread on the way home, so it was pretty pointless to leave the school this early.

With a sigh, Tessa pulled the first paper from the stack. Opening her top desk drawer, she grabbed for the red pen that lay inside and got to work. The test wasn't too hard, yet somehow a lot of her students just weren't getting it. Didn't matter. If they didn't get it, she'd have to spend a bit more time on it. Maybe try a different approach tomorrow. For now though, she'd sit in her room alone and grade these. It wasn't fun, but it was something to do.

Sylas was dead. Honestly, Ace couldn't care less. It wasn't like the two had any special bond, he was just Ace's mentor... and a shitty one at that. All it meant was that he needed a replacement of some kind. Someone to keep him in practice, should he not get any missions for a while. Especially if that... thing came back. He'd been looking into teachers at the school for a while. Stein was getting old, and was out of touch now, so even though he was admirable, he wouldn't cut it. Mister Pyotr was.... a definite no. However, there was one that seemed appropriate, even where all others seemed to fall short.

Ace squatted outside of the classroom, just beside the door frame, brewing a strategy to convince her that he was worth her time. Even if he was the best tactician this school had to offer, he'd have to prove it. He poked his head through the door, his expression stern. "Miss Levinson." He said, attempting to draw her attention. "Are you busy?"

Tessa peered over at the door lazily. Somebody needed something? "Not particularly." She replied, setting the pen down and leaning back in her chair. Looking up at the ceiling, she just looked bored. The kid was no doubt a student. He was too young looking to be another teacher or a concerned parent. Not that it mattered, if they were asking if she was busy then no matter who it was they needed her attention. If that was the case, it'd give her something to do, even if it was just a trivial task.

He stepped in, walking up to her desk as though he couldn't care less about anything else going on in the room. Even if there were a student in every single desk, he wouldn't have noticed them. His eyes were focused solely on the teacher in front of him. This was the respect he felt she deserved. It was the same respect he gave to Stein and Ms. Yumi.

"My last Meister was incapacitated, you see." Ace wouldn't beat around the bush. It bored him and wasted time. "I don't believe that any of the other students in my class are suitable partners for me, but I don't want to resign from the academy. I take on solo missions in my free time to continue my contribution, but I need someone to train with to keep my edge. I was wondering if you would conduct private lessons with me."

Private lessons? That was all? Tessa had almost thought he'd ask to partner with her for a moment. To be honest, she didn't particularly want a weapon partner, so she was a bit relieved. Training, however? That she could do. "Unfortunate about your partner." She said flatly, making eye contact with the boy. Reaching into her pocket, she stood from her desk and pulled out a small box. Opening it, she put one of the small white and brown sticks between her lips.

"I was looking to kill time anyways. Is now alright?" Tessa questioned, though she didn't seem too excited. That just wasn't in her personality, after all. In fact, she looked a bit tired... Like she hadn't slept in awhile and had no energy. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, as though thrown up in a rush, or without care.

Ace didn't react to the comment on his partner, but nodded in reply to Tessa's question. "Yes, now is perfect. I don't have another mission for two days." He folded his arms and observed her unlit cigarette. "Thank you for this." Now, he was simply awaiting further instruction.

Tessa nodded, stepping down away from her desk and into the open space below. She stood on the far end of the room, fixing her eyes onto Ace lazily. She didn't know what this boy was capable of, or how much he knew about her. "Begin when you will." She offered, tucking away the box in her hand. This would certainly prove interesting if it became a regular thing... It'd give her an excuse to train.

The kid was a weapon. Tessa knew this much, but he asked to spar. Either this kid intended to collect souls on his own, or he was already a competent fighter looking for someone more to his skill. If it was the later, she was lucky. That would give her someone that could actually keep up with her to train against.

Ace was prepared for this fight. He'd studied his opponent in-depth, he wasn't intending on going easy, he wouldn't underestimate her, and he wanted this. After a few awkward breaths, Ace's breathing seemed to stop altogether. At the very least, it wasn't audible, nor was his chest rising. He raised one of his legs and pressed his foot firmly the other leg's thigh, knee pointed outward. His left arm straightened, the back of his palm facing Tessa. The other arm was raised over his head, hand curled into a fist.

It wasn't often that Ace actually had to use martial arts in a fight. Normally, if he was fighting on his own, he'd just take advantage of his speed and overwhelm his opponent. No need to worry about form there. Tessa Levinson wasn't a normal opponent though, nor was this classroom open enough for him to not risk injuring himself.

Ace's eyes narrowed for a moment, inspecting Tessa for a more hidden opening than the fact that she literally didn't have her guard up. Sure, she was a Meister, a teacher at that, but that didn't make Ace inferior. With proper cunning, even the strongest opponents can be beaten. R-right? King's face entered his mind. 'no matter how much you try to act like you have the upper hand you'll never be able to defeat me in a fight.' Is it true that there really are some fights I just can't win? Doubt wasn't something Ace encountered often. Confidence was something he definitely had in abundance.

Regardless, this woman was not King. He didn't have to worry about that demon messing up his chances. If I strike high using my fists, she'll duck and counter. If I try to sweep her, she'll go over me. I need to direct my attacks at her core before following up with something more devastating. Ace sprung forward, aiming a kick straight for Tessa's stomach, then followed up by spinning away to launch another kick for her waist. He tried to swipe her hands away with her open palm, then went in for a jab to the ribs.

When Ace took off, Tessa took note of his speed. This kid certainly wasn't slow. When he kicked for her gut, she hopped aside, putting up her arms and lowering her body to take the second kick. This kid had skill. She couldn't make the mistake of staying off guard. The boy would humiliate her. Stepping back from the swipe, Tessa quickly made a grab for Ace's jab at her. If she caught his arm, she'd try to pull him towards her and raise a knee for his gut.

This was looking promising to Tessa. It wasn't often that a student actually gave her a good challenge. There was something to this kid. She'd have to look into it later, provided she didn't need a nap.

Ace stumbled forward a bit, being pulled in by Tessa's grip, then steadied himself and vaulted directly over her. He directed his knee to her head, and fished a smoke pellet from his pouch to prepare for his next attack.

Tessa took the knee, caught off guard. She stumbled forward a bit, but managed to turn and face Ace. That one was impressive... Actually hurt quite a bit. This kid was no newbie, so she had no reason to hold back too much. Taking a more on-guard looking stance, Tessa seemed to be taking Ace a bit more seriously now, even if she didn't say it. Yes, this time she was ready.

This battle... It had Tessa feeling something she hadn't in awhile. Not quite happy, more like content. The battlefield was home, but if the oponent was weak there was no point in trying. Ace, however, was proving able to keep up, and maybe even do better. She hadn't realized it, but she really did miss fights like this. They got her heart going a bit, in stark contrast to it's usual dead feeling... At least to her.

As Ace hit the ground, he dropped to a sort of squatting stance with one leg extended outward and the other bent in underneath him. His palm was stretched out over the extended leg's foot and his free hand pushed the collar of his shirt into his mouth. He remained in this position for only a moment, then tumbled forward and kicked up at Tessa's stomach twice from the ground, attempting to launch her into the air. Whether he succeeded or not, he would send his smoke pellet into the ceiling, letting the smog slowly sink to the room below.

Tessa instantly went into the defensive when Ace moved forward, backing up away from the first kick, then stepping sideways and turning to avoid the second. Tessa made a kick towards Ace on the ground. When the pellet popped and the smoke began to slowly fill the room, Tessa became interested. Kid had some brains too, huh? Limiting the opponent's vision was a good tactic, if you had a way to see in the fog yourself. The smoke didn't bother her too much, though it would probably make breathing a little harder, as well as vision.

The kick knocked Ace onto his back, sprawled out on the floor. Although he wasn't going to let the higher ground give Tessa the advantage. His arm transformed into a chain and he quickly snaked it around the teacher's ankle. Ace spun around on his back like a hip-hop dancer, popping into the air and yanking the chain hard.

Tessa was caught off-guard by the chain, her leg being ripped out from below her. It must have been part of his weapon form, because she would have heard a chain when he was moving earlier. Landing on her back, Tessa made a grab for the chain that was wrapped around her ankle. If he wanted to use abilities, that was all him. It just meant she would too. It seemed childish, but he did want practical experience...

On his way down, Ace would attempt to land on Tessa's chest. Whether he succeeded or not, he'd kick her hand away from his chain and jump back into the smoke, taking his chain with him. He held his leg in the smog, where she couldn't see his weakness, as her sweep from earlier had taken its toll.

Tessa rolled aside to avoid having her chest stomped in. Her hand, however, was successfully knocked away. Rolling back onto her feet, Tessa looked around the smoke cautiously. "Covered in white, it's pretty easy to hide in the smoke for you, huh...? I can't say the same. However..." Tessa opened a hand, shoving it towards the ground quickly. As it hit the ground, there was a heavy blast, which Tessa hoped would send the smoke away. It'd also crack her floors a bit... Perhaps Soul-Menacing the ground wasn't the brightest move in a spar... Too late.

Once he got his recovery from the immediate pain, the Weapon tossed a miniature soccer ball under Tessa's table, the last of his supplies, since the soccer ball had taken up so much space. Feeling the tremors in the ground, Ace jumped into the air, landing on one of the walls as the smoke faded. Just as it had all nearly left the room, he spiraled through the remaining shroud, aiming at Tessa like a drill. He was coming from pretty far away, so Tessa probably had time to react, but it was his best opportunity to attack.

Tessa took the opportunity to make a small hop out of Ace's reach, allowing momentum to carry him forward. He'd left an opening. Grabbing for the boy's ankle as he passed, Tessa hoped to take hold and slam him back into the wall. She didn't look like much, but she relied more on physical power than movement. Running was never her thing, so taking advantage of openings like this to exert her power was always welcome. This kid had a little to learn, taking strikes like this from so far, but he had potential for sure.

Tessa moved back, leaving his range. Of course, he couldn't expect to get such a good hit in on a one on one fight just by surprise alone. Into sports, teach? Just before landing, Ace whipped the soccer ball over to the direction he was heading with his chain. Just above it in the air, he spun and struck it with his foot, spiking it towards Tessa. Obviously he'd land on his ass, but it would certainly make for a better result than letting his opponent land a free hit.

Tessa stumbled as she missed the grab and, oblivious to the soccer ball, charged up another Soul Menace, aiming it for his side. Her mistake was immediately realized as the ball came into the side of her vision and kicked at her. Gritting her teeth, she tried to raise her free arm to knock it aside, but the ball connected to her shoulder instead, causing her to stumble back and preventing the Soul Menace from connecting. He was smarter than he led on. She was slacking here. If this was a real fight, they'd have gone for a kill shot by now, and she'd be dead. Tessa needed to start training hard enough to improve again, rather than to just stay in shape...

Ace landed, balancing the soccer ball on his heel, then sent it over his head and began dribbling it, focusing entirely on the ball and not his opponent. He bounced it on his knee a few times, rolled it up onto his chest, then crossed it between his legs. He was keeping his mind occupied while he determined what his next move was. Once he was ready, Ace shot the soccer ball at Tessa's feet, tailing right behind it. He threw his fists at her with precision, but not too much force, all while passively weaving the soccer ball around her legs. If at any point in time, the soccer ball strayed from the fight, Ace would either power shot it into a wall to make it come back, or whip it over to him with his chain.

Tessa made a quick leap into the air as Ace made his punch, attempting to drop a hand onto his head and allow the force to drop him to the ground. If she connected, but he didn't fall, she'd light off a quick Soul Menace for a good measure. Not strong enough to fry his brain or anything, just enough to hopefully finish putting him down. If she were to miss, however, recovery would be a bit tricky... Though she had a plan.

Ace watched Tessa as she went into the air, her hand outstretched for his head. Any sort of physical contact with her could prove dangerous. After all, Tessa hadn't been too shy using her abilities in this fight, and a Soul Menace could sting him quite a bit. Not taking his eyes off of Tessa, Ace kicked the ball up above him and caught it on his head, cringing as her weight brought him to a kneel. He could keep her from touching him, but he couldn't possibly hope to predict her intentions with such an awkward maneuver.

Tessa sighed as her hand landed on the ball. It was an interesting idea, but it'd prove pointless if she had any say. Carrying her momentum into the awkwardly balanced flip, Tessa tried to place a hand on his upper back for balance as she let herself down, being sure to being the arm down nice and heavy, so he knew this wasn't end game for her. This brought her back. The balancing acts on the pole of the halberd mid-battle were always interesting. Maybe she'd get another weapon after all...