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 Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 2:27 pm
Behind the Vice-Captain's office is a small-circular arena, with a diameter of about 10 meters. It is a plain dirt area, with no obtrusion, and only small rocks littering the arena. It is surrounded by a small grove of willow trees that cast a shadow over most of the area and keep it at a comfortable temperature.
Here, the spar that will be the Vice-Captain of 12th Squad, Zebediah Flamstel, and the unseated member of Squad 1, Fukabi Hitobashira, will take place.
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Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 3:34 pm
((Do keep in mind that Fukabi's gender is not known at this point, because she is disguised.))
Moving slowly, Fukabi's straw KomusÅ flapped gently against the sides of her neck, a slight breeze ruffling the otherwise smooth movement of her stride. Her tanto was tucked into her waist wrappings, the smooth brown handle peeking out a little above hip level at a slight angle, crossing near where her belly-button would be. She was extremely nervous about this encounter, but she knew it was needed. Without these kinds of experiences, she wouldn't be able to be called a shinigami. Battle was a part of her life now, and that was something that she needed to come to grips with. She steadied herself once again, taking a long, deep breath, then finished walking onto the training grounds, her feet making soft tapping noises against the dirt floor.
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Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 4:06 pm
Zebediah looked up at the figure approaching him in his own private training grounds. "So you're Fukabi Hitobashira, eh?" Standing up, he noticed that the individual in question was barely up to his stomach. "From the documents I could find, you're an unseated member of the 1st Division... So you're under Lerato-chan and Fefnir-san?" The Komusou drew his attention almost immediately, his own curiosity getting the better of him. "Well, do you wish to get started? I'll give you 3 free attacks. After that, I cannot guarantee what will happen." He smiled at the figure, as he thought of his own challenge.
"The guidelines for this battle are simple. Force me to yield, or make me pass out, or force me to draw my Initial Release. If, and only then, will you be declared the victor." Smiling he removed his top sleeves "I am Zebediah Flamstel, 12th Squad Vice Captain, and Head of Security for this Division... So do not be mad if you are burnt..." With that, Zebediah clasped his hands together in a bow, and almost instantly his searing hot reiatsu burst forth from his body, the highest temperatures being closest to his body, while the warmer temperatures were washing over the young squad member. Underneath his feet, the ground began to heat up from the sheer heat coming from him. "Come now, and see if you can cut me." As he said that, the Spirtual Pressure crushed down on top of Fukabi, with about 75lbs of pure force raining down on the smallish frame in front of him.
((Seriously, just come at Zeb. He's actually really strong. XD))
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Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 6:24 pm
Taking time to... size up, her opponent, Fukabi took a half step backwards, her komuso ruffling slightly with the motion. The man was definitely larger than her, nearly twice her height by her reckonings, although she could be wrong, she often was. Either way, the odds of her facing him in any physical capacity were zero, one flick from one of his giant meaty fingers would likely incapacitate her for some time. But there had to be a way.. As the man released his reiatsu however.. that way seemed less and less likely to show itself.
The wave of rolling pressure felt hot, but not so hot that it burned her, just.. not the way reiatsu normally felt. There was a distinct undertone of fire to the feel, something that was not overly uncommon, but especially violent in this one. Something told her that he wasn't the brightest fruit on the branch, such shows of power were wasteful. Either way the pressure was heavy, enough so that her knees initially buckled under the weight, and it took her a moment to reposition herself.
"Cut you?" The small girl's voice was held a lower tone, but still was choked out, the pressure being inconvenient. "You aren't an arrancar or a captain. You are much, much stronger than I am, but if I hit you it will still pierce your flesh." It was a slight show of bravado, something that she had been working on making a part of her interactions. It helped to create the illusion that she was a male.
Her show, or lack thereof, to illustrate that she was not a coward complete, the diminutive girl made several shuffling steps backwards, putting some distance between herself and the large man. She wasn't about to engage him head-on, as that would quite literally be pointless.
"If you want to fight, then do so. I'm not a toy to play with, and I won't be accepting any 'free-hits' anytime soon." She placed her hand over the hilt of her tanto, swallowing sharply to steel her nerves.
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Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 6:49 pm
"Oh, I'm not 'toying' with you..." Zeb spoke as he pulled a cigarette out of a small pocket in his kosode setting it alight with a small lighter that he pulled out of the same pocket. "I'm giving you a chance to attack me. If I win too quickly, it wouldn't be a real spar, so I'm giving you free attacks." He smiled at the figure. "What I really want to do is to burn your body so badly that I can see if you are a male or a female."
He watched her shuffle backwards under the weight and heat of his reiatsu. "But, from what I can tell is that you wouldn't be able to cut me at this point. I've brought this to a battle of wills... And fear and doubt have already crept into your heart. My size and reiatsu are intimidating you, and you are doubting yourself, and the power you have within you. So my first step, is to bring the battle to you..." Sighing as he drew his Zanpaku-tou, he dug his feet into the soft ground, creating a kick point to lunge forward. Raising his blade so that it was aimed at the Komusou, he felt himself ready to tear that straw in half.
Bunching his leg muscles, Zebediah shot himself forward at a speed that was almost half the speed of shunpo, and was easy to read; a straight-forward charge at the individual and to tear the mask in half with his blade. The only problem for Fubari; how would she deflect the attack?
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Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 7:35 pm
Mostly due to her excessive paranoia when it comes to men, Fukabi was well-prepared to move by the time the Vice Captain had done the same. For such a straight-forward attack, it was simple enough to dodge, a quick lean backwards, so that her head nearly touched the ground, was all it took, that and a quick shuffle to the side to twist her body. She may not have been the best fighter in the world, but she was flexible and agile, and that was invaluable in this instance. Waisting little time, she thrust her left hand outwards, index finger extended, during the twist, moving it so that it the direction it was pointing would intercept the path of the Vice Captain's attack and movement.
"Hadou number four, byakurai!" A quick flash of light surrounded her finger, then exploded outwards in an inch-wide beam, slicing through the air in a direct path for the other shinigami's ribs.
Immediately after the attack completed itself, Fukabi had rolled away, keeping a hand on top of her komuso to make certain it did not fall off. She may have been wearing a mask underneath the object, but she didn't want to take any risks, especially not with a man.
"You assume much, especially for someone who is supposed to be wiser and more powerful than the rest of us." Her voice was calm, hiding her nervousness well, and maintained the low tone. "I am hiding everything about myself, so what makes you think you can read me so well? You leap like a tiger chasing a mouse, without thinking about what the mouse might be hiding. This is not wise." She bowed slightly at the waist, making certain to keep her eyes directed towards the Vice Captain. "Fukataichou." The formal title was added on as an addendum to her statement, to show at least that she was trying to be respectful.
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Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 10:00 pm
A quick reaction; quicker then he had expected came from the hulking figure. Zeb simply stepped two inches to his own left to avoid the kidou-based attack. "You want to fight with kidou then? Fine. Have your way..." raising his zanpaku-tou at chest level, he gathered his reiatsu into his hands and blade. "The wave of power crashes down, crushing everything in it's wake..." Zeb said softly as he exhaled. A ball of energy formed along the length of the blade. The ball of energy stretched out until it was razor thin, and about 2.5 meters across. "Hadou #32; Ookasen."
The wave of energy quickly jumped forward in a slicing in motion aimed directly for the komuso. Zeb also followed the arc of energy with his own body and blade, ready to swipe wherever she went. While continuing to move, he gathered reiatsu into his left hand, preparing Kidou #31: Shakkahou. "I've actually already discerned your sex. Your voice is too low for your size, and your flexibility is too high for someone who moves with such ease." He smiled as he was almost upon her, not caring for what she did. Lowering his blade until the tip was almost upon the ground, he slashed upwards, diagonally, ensuring that at best he would at least catch the surface of the komuso. "And I've had too much experience with people who bullshit." Smirking a bit at his own intelligence he finished it off. "You, madam, are a female."
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Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 10:53 pm
Mildly surprised at the speed with which the hulking man had reacted, Fukabi was barely able to duck in time to avoid the slashing wave of yellow fire. As far as she knew, the attack was not meant to be that thin, most likely a specialization of some sort, but she had no deep knowledge of the kidou herself, so it was only speculation. Dropping low to the ground, essentially knocking her left leg out from underneath herself and crouching on her right heel, the ball of which pressed into her upper thigh while the left foot extended out in front of her, the wave of fire passed harmlessly overhead, the komuso rustling slightly from the motion.
Bringing her leg back underneath her, and standing with a light hop backwards, she was able to avoid the frontal slash, although there was a mild scratch mark across the upper portion of the hat that had not been there before. Straightening, she crossed her arms over her chest, and glared at the tall man from underneath her mask, although he wouldn't be able to tell.
"Have you never met a small boy? Or all all the men you know simply hulking brutes? No offense, fukataichou." She half bowed again, keeping her voice on a low register. "Your logic is not sound, there are plenty of men and boys who are flexible and have higher voices." She nodded her head curtly, causing another rustle from the komuso. "Besides, I think you just want me to be female, it could be all in your head you know."
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Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 11:31 pm
"Hmmmm...." Zeb scratched his chin as he took a long drag from his ciggerette. "Perhaps you're right... It might all be in my head..." He smiled as he continued to inhale the thick smoke, but then again..." Zeb rushed forward again, this time with a forward thrust. The thrust was a feint that he was going to let go of in mid-thrust, hopefully skewering the komuso. If not, it, along with her face would likely be destroyed by the barrage that would follow.
Continuing his movements as he flowed from the blade leaving his right hand, he followed it with a sharp and quick elbow smashing, aiming directly for the mask. That flowed to a spinning heel kick from his left foot, and ending it with a roundhouse kick from his right. The heel kick was intentionally aimed for the blind-spot that the komuso created. This ensued at least one attack would hit, due to them all coming from opposite directions. "The reason I think you're a she instead of a he is because my gut is telling me so." Zeb smiled as he stood still after his flurry of blows. As he stood there he untied his waraji, slipped off his tabi, and then removed his hakama, leaving him standing in his boxing shorts, hand wraps, and foot wraps. "I apologize Eefret. I shall make it up to you later with a nice sharpening and polishing done in the forge." He bowed to his zanpaku-tou that was held in the air about 3 feet off the ground by the willow tree's seemingly woven bows.
"But, to continue..." Zebediah paused for a quick moment as he cracked his neck "I'm better with my body then my blade... Except when I'm using Shikai... Then it feels like an extension of my body." Smiling he took another puff and slowly exhaled. "I'll keep calling you woman until you prove otherwise... But please... Come at me. It's no fun to keep chasing you around like some sort of puny insect. Be aggressive. And fight me." His eyes became suddenly sharp, and the smile vanished from his lips. "Or be reprimanded when I actually get serious. I'm not responsible for your death if you continue to piss me off.
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Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2011 4:14 pm
As the thrust came towards her face, Fukabi did what she did best when fighting an opponent much larger than herself. Duck. Except this time it was done in a fashion that left the komusou behind, and in the air, attached to the Vice Captain's sword. As her face and head were wrapped with black silk, leaving only her eyes visible, her features remained entirely concealed. Rolling to the right with a few quick heel twists timed to move at the same moment as the spinning heel kick from Zeb's left foot, she was able to move directly behind his back, moving smoothly a second time following the roundhouse kick by ducking low and moving behind his back, essentially invisible to his field of vision. The man was quite skilled with his hands and feet, but wasn't taking the fight seriously. It seemed that he was more focused on removing her mask than actually striking her, which left an opening in his timings that a person of her size and stature could quite easily take advantage of. As it stood, this now gave her perfect positioning as the man disrobed, something that took a lot longer than simply reacting, as would have been wiser. She remained still for a small period of this, but as he moved to slip off his tabi, she placed two of her fingers within an inch of the center of his lower back, just far enough away that the movement was silent.
"Hadou number four, byakurai." The bolt of light exploded outwards a half second after the name was spoken, sounding a crack across the field.
Without waiting to see if the attack had hit its mark, which it likely would have given the distraction and distance, she dropped low to the ground, drawing her tanto in the same motion with a backwards grip and stabbing upwards twice, both aimed for the direction of his groin. A quick drop and roll later, and she was standing on one knee several yards away, tanto held in a forward stance, with the blade pointing to her right.
"Please do not take offense at this, fukataichou." She began, her voice maintaining a low register, "But you are not acting like a Vice Captain. You are acting like an overconfident fool. No one has the time to undress on the battlefield, no one has the time to treat something so casually. Have you so quickly forgotten the rules that the academy taught us? Or are you simply choosing to ignore them? These things that they taught us are important, and you are fighting like a baboon with no skill but violence."
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Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2011 4:35 pm
Feeling the reiatsu build almost instantly, Zebediah ignored it and allowed the hit to score. Arching his back in pain, he took the brunt of the energy. Jumping back quickly as he could, he nearly managed to dodge the incoming stabs with only minimal damage; two cuts on the outside of his boxing shorts, and 1/4" cuts which just barely missed the major arteries. Sighing in relief at the momentary save of his testicles, he began to think of his next move.
"There is a reason I fight like this..." He said as the smoke from the attack cleared, and the skin on the back was charred and smokey and blood gently leaked down his thighs. "I learned to fight from a man who was above Captain-class... And I learned how to take damage from him." He violently arched his back and let the charred skin fall to the ground. "I removed my clothing to give you a chance to score a hit. I also did it to increase my own speed about 15%... Now, you're going to fight a martial artist..."
Zeb then rushed forward, his left leg up as he slammed it down towards Fukabi's blade and hand, hopefully sealing her Zanpaku-tou's movements. At the same time he formed his right hand into the 'knife-hand' position which he coated with his reiatsu, and slashed it sideways across where her eyes were. The speed of his hand and leg was a bit more then 2-levels below shunpo, giving her almost no time to react. "And there was no academy training for me... I was in a solitary training regime for three years with no interaction of any kind from anyone but my master. Training lasted from sun up to sun down... A true spartanistic training regime."
He ended his small lecture by letting loose the kidou that he had kept in reserve this whole time; Hadou #31: Shakkahou. Releasing the spell from his left hand aimed at Fukabi's abdomen. "Do not insult me, and through me, my master's training. Or I'll kill you. Am I clear?" He spoke coldly and with contempt at her words clear in his voice.
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Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 2:53 pm
As it had been his primary form of aggression, Fukabi was well prepared for a frontal attack. The speed mildly took her by surprise, but not so much that she wasn't able to move her wrist to the side, twisting it slightly so that the blade of her tanto was aimed for the downwards moving bare foot, specifically with the tip angled towards the arch. If the foot kept its current momentum, it would be sliced open on the upturned blade. A split second later, she pulled it to the side, which would cause it to slice through the flesh of the foot if it had indeed landed on the weapon.
As the hand moved for her face, she dropped into a back bend, once again showing her flexibility, and snapped her right foot upwards with the momentum of the bend behind it, the aim of the leg once again moving for the groin. Thanks to him going on one of his talks, she was able to roll to the side and into a standing position, just in time for a ball of red fire to come flying at her abdomen from his left hand, presumably wordlessly. Moving in a swift arc, she twisted on her heels and slashed across the surface of the fireball with her zanpakutou, moving and redirecting it enough, but leaving her hand slightly blackened from the impact. Regaining her balance, she moved back into a ready position, with her right hand held in front of her chest, blade in a backwards grip pointing to the right, and her left hand held loosely at hip level.
"You know, you keep saying you'll kill me, and that you have all this training, but you keep fighting like a brute. There isn't any finesse behind it. Crunch, squish, bash, that's all you're doing." She managed to keep her voice low, despite the pain in her hand. "Besides, you can't kill me, this is a spar. Doing so would be seen as murder, and you'd be killed yourself."
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Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 9:55 am
Noticing the blade angled up at the last second, Zeb shifted his foot slightly to the left, making it so that the foot thankfully missed the blade entirely. The foot crashed down, and created a 2 inch deep imprint in the ground. "You wish for me to actually fight...?" he spoke softly, completely different from the person a moment ago. "Then I will fight you as I would fight someone of the same seat as me..."
Zeb then jumped backwards, within a foot or so of his Zanpakutou. Reaching back with his left hand, he drew the blade from the bramble of willow boughs, and stood perfectly straight "As is my duty, as the 12th Squad's Vice Captain, I will defeat you." Holding Eefret straight ahead, with the willows behind his back, and the edge facing what he knew to be a woman, he prepared for what would happen next.
"Please, come at me with 100% of your being." Zebediah spoke softly and calmly, analyzing the situation; her speed was not to be trifled with, but neither was his strength or his tolerance to pain. "I wish to actually see what a speed type is made of. To see what you are capable of whether you are capable of working in a squad." He spoke calmly, as he actually got serious.
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