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Nico senced Hitsuguya's reiastu walk over to her desk and drop something off. She tenced up and shunpoed into her office.
The papers randomly lying on the ground flew up into the air as she stumbled into the office. Hitsuguya had just left and the letter stilled smelled fresh of his reiatsu.
Nico put her hand over the letter and shrugged. Hitsguya was guilty while he wrote this letter. She wiped her fprehead and with a heavy heart, opened the letter.
She read it thrwe and grunted. "Idiot!" She yelled as she tore up the letter with her lond claws. "We already have lost enough people!"

((ouch ^^ anyway, i'm back. we can go on fighting if you haven't given Kurai permament brain damage ^^))

((so I noticed ^^ perhaps another time, then? It was getting interesting before my untimely exit...))

((bon ^^))

Kurai's eyes snapped open, and she sat up. The rustle of grass beneath her told her she was still in the maple and bamboo forest, but the vice captain was no where to be seen. Turning her head, Kurai became aware of a sharp pain on her temple.

She prodded the area and hissed in pain. The skin was tender and bruised. So was her ego. She had lost her concentration for a minute, dwelling on the semblance of Yoruichi she'd seen and she had let the attack get through.

There was no way she could let their match end so poorly. Rising stiffly, she slid her wakizashi back into its sheath and departed the black bamboo clearing, senses alert for Nico's now-familiar aura.

Kurai laughed darkly as she followed Nico's attack. The steel blade sang as it cut through the air towards her head, but she simply turned her head and smirked.

"Clever," She had slipped her wakizashi from it's sheath in the space of a second. The short blade flickered up and caught Nico's Kurogihen in a shower of sparks. "But not quick enough. I... will be the next God of Flash,"

She had invoked her sister's nickname. Yoruichi had been a master of the shunpo. No one could catch her, and it seemed Kurai strove to emulate her. Arrogant words for one so untried. Of course, Kurai's flaw was her pride, but it was in her nature to push herself to the breaking point, proving her strength. This battle would be no different.

Nico had stepped up her shunpo, and the telltale aura flashed much more quickly. Kurogihen was singing a faster rhythm, and, though Kurai could follow the attacks, it was difficult to keep up with the multiple flash steps.

Not that she would admit to this. Her sword hand moved in a blur as she deflected Nico's blows. Their two swords moved so quickly them seemed to spin a web of steel over Kurai. The metal mingled with sparks and not a few drops of blood.

As Nico drew off the attack, Kurai came to rest with her guard up towards Nico. She had never lost track of her opponent, but some strikes had gotten through. She took a single, stumbling step forward, and several wounds to her arms and legs spurted fine sprays of blood.

"..ch.." Kurai's lips were adorned with beads of blood, but she refused to go down. "Again," She urged. "This time...I'll catch all your strikes,"

Kurai arched back at Nico's attack. Again, the vice captain was moving very quickly, and her aura was taking on blackened tints at its edges. Clearly, she had been holding back before, and Kurai was pleased to see a higher power release. It meant Nico might be taking her a bit more seriously.

Nico's blade whistled scant milimeters from Kurai's taut stomach, and Kurai swept her wakizashi in a parry across her body, fending off the blow. She grinned at her success, but then the strike had been slower than the previous flurry of blows.

Another thing she had to take into account: Nico was strong. Kurai was built on slender, graceful lines. She was strong, but Nico demonstrated a higher brute strength that could be felt in each blow.

"Care to try again?" She taunted, keeping the strain masked by a crooked smile.

Kurai's frame crunched sickeningly against the iron-hard black bamboo. Her head took a particular knock, but she simply glared at Nico, her temper flaring. She spat a fine mist of blood that speckled Nico's face and shoulder. It was unclear whether she'd done this intentionally, but chances were she had.

She flashed a crooked smile, cocky as ever. "Make me," she challenged. She knew speaking against the firey vice was a bad idea, but she had a bad habit of pushing her luck. She liked Nico, thus, she wanted all the more to prove she wasn't weak.