fandomhigh | Japanese Art, Friday, Period Two

Algren, clad in actual modern clothing today instead of the yukata he'd briefly contemplated wearing to class before deciding that might be laying it on a little thick, was looking faintly amused as he settled in for his lesson today. He'd set a low table in the middle of the room, all desks and chairs pushed off to the side, and there were cushions on the floor around the table so that students could sit comfortably. On the table were stacks of brightly colored pieces of paper, cut into squares.

"Ohayōgozaimasu," he greeted, giving a small nod once it looked as though his students had settled in. "Good morning, and welcome to Japanese Art. I'm Captain Nathan Algren-- Mr. Algren for the sake of this class will do."

Or Algren-Sensei, though that seemed a little too formal for the sake of a class of three. He shrugged his shoulders all the same.

"We'll be covering several different types of Japanese art over the course of this workshop, starting with the one most people have at least a passing familiarity with," he gestured to the paper, "and moving on into calligraphy, perhaps some theater... Japan has a vast and diverse selection of art forms to choose from, and we'll barely be able to scratch the surface over the course of the next few weeks. This week, of course, is reserved for introductions - name and if there's anything in particular you hope to take away from this class - and then we'll get into folding some paper."

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Nathan waving a knife in the man's face while he illustrated his point verbally probably helped with that somewhat, as well.

"I can't say I'm particularly remorseful about that," he admitted, shaking his head and looking down to carefully crease his paper with his thumbnail. "People get so wrapped up in stories, swept away in the romance of it, they forget to consider that actual people lived those things."

"War is not at all like the movies," Steve agreed, "or even the books."

"The books are entirely too clean," Nathan sighed. And then, in a wry attempt to turn the conversation in a slightly less morose direction, he added, "and they smell better."

Steve laughed. "Yeah, they haven't quite captured the smell of a few hundred guys who haven't had a real shower in months."

"I was cavalry," Nathan shared. "We had plenty of smells beyond the unwashed soldiers to contend with."

Though in fairness, the horses tended to smell better than the men did.

Steve wrinkled up his nose. "We'd moved past horses by then. Granted, most of the guys had never driven a Jeep 'til someone gave them the keys, but that didn't stop them from trying."

"I'm mostly certain I've never so much as seen a Jeep. I don't think that would stop me from trying, either."

Cars were interesting. He had no idea how they worked, but that didn't mean Nathan wasn't intrigued.

New York boys with zero driving experience broke a LOT of Jeeps. So many Jeeps. "It didn't stop me either," he said with a laugh. "I got better?"

"Experience and necessity will do that," Nathan agreed with a chuckle. "I'd say you'd be surprised at what a person can pick up with time and desperation, but I can't imagine you'd be all that surprised."

"I learned how to drive a motorcycle, shoot a gun, parachute out of a plane..." Steve said.

"Well... I can do one of those. Though I could before I ever went to war," Nathan mused. "I did learn how to use a sword, though."

They carried sabers in the cavalry!

... He'd learned how to use one to far better effect in Japan, of course.

"I don't know how to use a sword," Steve said. "I can use a shield, though?"

"And there's something I don't have experience with," Nathan replied, shaking his head. "Not that I'm in any hurry to run back into battle, either."

The last one he'd been in hadn't been terribly kind to him.

"Well, this school isn't the best for avoiding fights," Steve said, "but I suppose you know that."

"I've been around long enough to know that entirely too well," Nathan confirmed. "I might not be hurting for a fight, but that doesn't mean I can't hold my own if it comes to that."

Limp and all, he was still a force to be reckoned with. There had been a reason Katsumoto had likened him to a tiger.

"Better us than the students, right?" Steve said with a little smile. "Not that they let us."

"I'll be so stunned if ever we have an invasion that the students don't immediately leap on that I'd probably be useless anyway," Nathan snorted. "Clearly, they're all invincible."

Clearly.

"Well, teenagers," Steve said. "We were all stupid then. Some of us outgrew it."

Possibly not Steve "Let's Jump Out of Airplanes" Rogers, but some people.

At least with Nathan 'Fighting Guns With Swords" Algren, he was in good company.

"... Do you know anybody who did? I'm still looking."

Especially around here.

"Peggy," Steve said, "but she was always much smarter than the rest of us."

"Clearly, the island needs more people like her, then," Nathan decided, smiling faintly. "Maybe the rest of us could learn a thing or two from somebody who actually managed it."

Steve smiled fondly. "They broke the mold when they made Peg."

Japanese Art, Friday, Period Two

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