savetheearth | (no subject)

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Who: Karl Aurion/Richard Locke and Neku Sakuraba
When: 01/07/14
Where: Shooting range!
What: Neku thinks Mr. Locke still doesn't have his memories. This is not the case.

School had just started up, which... made a certain chemistry class really awkward. Neku knew that Mr. Locke had forgotten about the numbers and the network, which very likely meant that he forgot about anyone from the network. That reduced Neku to the status of 'kid caught vandalizing who's in that one class,' which isn't really a good jumping point for a conversation.

He's not sure exactly what takes him to the shooting range- probably a mix of curiosity and the knowledge that him even holding a gun would piss off his grandparents beyond reason- but the moment he spots a familiar teacher he regrets his decision. How easy would it be to leave with Mr. Locke noticing...?

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As per Neku's request, Richard waits wordlessly and patiently for the boy to calm down. Whatever just happened wouldn't get asked about. It had to be something fairly intense to gain this sort of a reaction and something that intense had to be personal.

Neku takes a minute to process what happened- it's actually pretty straight forward, in a bizarre way. So... he was in a duel. With someone. But he dropped the gun? It might make sense on its own, but without context he has no idea what it means.

The boy takes in a deep breath. He can worry about this later. "...Ok. I think I'm good."

The comment doesn't succeed in fully easing Richard's worry, but does somewhat. Talking is less worrisome than silence, at any rate.

"You're sure?" Better to make sure than to have Neku pass out or the like. Driving him to the clinic would take no effort, but his grandparents would likely worry if their grandson were out for so long without warning.

"Yeah. Just... remembered something." That should be clue enough to what exactly about this is bothering him. He's not sure he wants to talk about it in public, though.

"I see." Nothing more needs to be said. He's not about to pry, either. The only question remaining is if Neku feels up for staying here longer or, if not, if he'd like a lift home. "Do you want to give holding a gun a second try?"

Neku takes a moment to weigh his options before nodding. "Yeah. Ok." He already got the one Echo; holding it again shouldn't give him another one. (He hopes.)

As long as he's sure, Richard doesn't mind. The gun gets held out for Neku once more. Please don't let the kid get another echo or faint or whatever else.

Neku takes it, breathing a sigh of relief when nothing else happens. He'll just look over it for real this time. Still no Echos... that's a good sign.

Once it becomes clear no second echo is coming, Richard visibly relaxes. So far so good. "It isn't loaded so look it over as you please."

Neku nods. "Ok." There's not too much to look at, since Neku knows nothing about guns so he doesn't know what he should really be looking for. Other than the trigger.

"The proper way to hold it, one which permits for good aim and with the lowest recoil, is this." A nice explanation on how to properly hold that follows. Guns and how to use them is obviously something Richard knows a lot about.

Nelu is not sure how he feels about his teacher knowing this much about guns. But he'll listen intently, still thankful no Echos seem to be popping up. If given the chance, he'll try and hold the fun as instructed.

The hold isn't perfect, but definitely not bad for a first try. It gains a nod of approval from Richard. "Good." There's a lot more that could be said about the grip and the like, but another thought comes to mind.

"I have some blanks left over if you want to give shooting a try." Letting a novice try shooting would normally not be something he'd do, but Neku may not get a chance to shoot one again any time soon. Not to mention, being able to even vaguely know how to shoot could help in a tough situation. Plus, he was a kid ones. He knows getting to shoot it, even once, is the best part.

"Really?" Neku's kind of surprised- as a perfectionist by nature, he's pretty sure he doesn't have this grip exactly right, and usually he'd want to get whatever he was doing perfect first before moving on. Not to mention... if he got an Echo from holding a gun, what would happen if he shot one?

On the other hand, he does kind of wan to shoot the gun. "That would cool." Yes, Neku. Go ahead and try to hide any excitement. Your teacher probably knows better.

Teacher may know better but student is still good at hiding it. "All right. Wait here a moment and I'll get you some protective gear." Richard walks off for a few moments before returning with protective glasses and ear covers. A quick explanation follows involving putting those on and how to load the gun.

Neku is making sure he's listening carefully, because... yeah guns are kind of dangerous. He's a little nervous with it, but he'll follow all directions given, glasses on and headphones off enough so he can hear Mr. Locke as they get the gun loaded.

Protective gear? Check. Explanation about usage? Check. Adult supervision? Check. Time to give this a whirl, though honestly, if Lloyd could shoot guns without accidentally blowing off someone's ear, Neku would be fine. Neku's just a bit more trustworthy than the kid who ran out into oncoming traffic all for a quarter. Now if only no further echoes come as a result, that'd be perfect. "Ready to give it a try?"

Neku nods. "Yeah." Admittedly, he's a little nervous, but this is also kind of cool so like hell is that going to stop him. He'll just have to hope and pray he doesn't get another Echo off of this.

No worries, Neku, Mr Locke has your back and is keeping a look out for anything potentially echo related. On the upside, nothing resembling concern or the like is visible on his face, a sign of just how much Neku is trusted with that weapon. "Just remember what I told you."

Neku nods. "Right." He's been very careful, at least, holding the gun at the correct angle and making sure his grip is right. He aims for several seconds, and then shoots.

He doesn't hit exactly where he wanted on the target, but there's no Echo. Thank god.

No echo is good. Very good. Richard watches Neku closely after the shooting and is relieved when no bad reaction follows. This permits him to give a proper critique of the shooting attempt, which in all honesty had not been bad. Better than some beginners who miss the target by a mile. "You hit the target, good work."

"Right on the edge, though..." Neku's a little disappointed he didn't do better than that, but Mr. Locke seems to approve... but maybe he's just being nice.

"Most people tend to miss the target entirely on a first attempt." Nice has nothing to do with what Richards says; it's all based on what he knows. Aim and keeping your hands steady on a first shot doesn't come naturally to people.

"Oh." Well... ok then. Neku is just setting the bar too high, apparently. What else is new. Though it kind of bothers him a little that he doesn't know if it came from the Echo or not. ~~It didn't.~~

"So I mean it: good work." He doesn't give out praise when it isn't deserved. Neku deserves it. Easy enough. "If you'd ever like any in depth instruction then come see me."

Neku smiles slightly, nodding. "Ok. Thanks." Maybe not right now... the adrenaline from the echo and firing a gun is probably a little too much.

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