Welcome to Gaia! ::

William lay peacefully in the field of the meadow, chewing on the sweet end of a piece of grass. The sun was hindered in its attempts to burn him by the cool shade of the tree above. A light breeze made the scene even more beautiful and enjoyable. He sighed in utter content, for he had found a place of true peace where he could relax when not fighting. His eyes stayed closed while he simply soaked in the serenity of the world around him. “Such natural places were rare in the real world…” he muttered to himself while he took out the blade of grass and replaced it with a swig of some cherry mead. “Mmm, I had missed this,” he happily said with a wipe of his slightly scratchy face. “And I need to cut that again sometime.” The world passed him by as if he were a stone. Birds chirped and came near, bugs scuttled across his open hands without reaction; such quiet he had not had in a while. It reminded him of his former garden in the real world with the exception that there were Sakura trees and the sounds of the city. Here his ears heard only nature and its soothing melody. He scratched his nose when it itched, for he did not want to sneeze and ruin the moment, “I could really get used to this.”

William had been relaxing quite peacefully when his ears twitched at the non-nature sound of footsteps nearby. He opened an eye to see that it was another Shinigami. At first the figure seemed preoccupied, but then he began moving toward William. He did not move; however, he made sure to keep an eye a slit open to watch the person. They approached him addressing him with a question of identity. "Honestly, I'm not quite sure I have a good answer for that since I died, but if you are looking for a name to call me by then mine is William Stark of Tenth Division." The person's tone of voice and manner dictated or at least showed William that he was not necessarily in an agitated mood, so he said, "Want to join me? I have a bit of Western wine that you can try if you wish. It's a special blend that I've been trying to imitate from the real world." He waited for the newcomer's response to his question before he asked, "And who do I have the honor of meeting today among nature itself? You'd be surprised at how many people here like being in those buildings when such beautiful and tranquil spots can be found out here." He stretched his arms and legs a little before readjusting his position to better see the person before him. Soft purrs of sleep came from the back of his mind while he patiently awaited the person's responses.

William looked around the place before closing his eyes again. "Suit yourself," he said before talking a swing of his wine. He wouldn't argue on the security of the buildings. Kasen was also right in stating that there were so many places, for he had already seen several Sakura orchards around. There was also the mountain in the distance where he could see a partially flat spot he might be able to visit. So far he had not had any paperwork besides his designation of Squad. "So....what brings you out here?"

William smiled and gave a single chuckle of knowing; he was being asked to spar again, though this time he had a choice. When he heard the sound of a sword being unsheathed and then another, he opened his eyes to carefully watch his opponent. One of the swords was rather detailed and even had an indication of an animal while the other seemed plainer. Never the less, he didn’t doubt the plainer one hid something beyond the surface; something similar to what Charles had shown him as far as a second form went. A yawn from the back of his mind told him that Hantoresu was awake, “Morning. Looks like someone wants to fight me again.” “Hmm? Another? Well, it would seem that you are attracting more attention to yourself than you originally wanted. At least you are getting more training.” There was a pause while he could hear another yawn come from his Zanpakuto. “I feel that I am closer to you now that we have been together and talking for some time now. Still there is something that we lack,” she said thoughtfully.

“I think so too; maybe we should ask the Captain about it,” he suggested before yawning as well, “and stop yawning so much! I keep on having to do it too.” He heard snickering in his mind while he lifted his legs over his head and propping himself up on his shoulders to get up. With a swift and powerful movement, he jumped up from his laying position. William jumped around a little on the balls of his feet in an attempt to loosen some muscles and joints up for the fight that he knew was going to come. “I accept your sparring request although it wasn’t necessarily directed at me,” he said with a laugh while he shook out his arms and made a few jabs forward but away from Kasen. “I too like the nighttime; the whole world changes before our eyes in only but a few hours. I cannot relax anymore though, for I have done so for about two weeks in recovering from my previous fight.” He stopped jumping around and instead bowed to his opponent as was tradition before a friendly fight. “If you still wish to spar now, merely step forward. If you do not and would prefer to wait until tonight, then we can go our separate ways until nightfall. We can then meet back up here if you wish.”

William finished his bow, noting that no one in Seireitei that he had fought followed the common courtesies of friendly sparring. He took on a stance of self-defense; however, he began moving toward Kasen cautiously to observe his opponent. “I think we shall,” he responded to Kasen’s question playfully. His previous mood of relaxation was now gone; now he was ready to fight. When he was within striking distance, he made a left hand jab at him to see how he would react. His right arm stood at the ready to block while he did this. His swords on his arms clinked in their sheaths while being moved around. “Do not play with your prey; strike while you can,” Hantoresu spoke to him in a slightly bored tone of voice. William gave an internal sigh and consented to her advice. His left arm came back only to have his right replace it in a fake-punch. His weight shifted forward, setting him too close to Kasen for either of them to strike with much power. He stayed there only for a moment before he stepped away; this time almost on Kasen’s other side. Patiently he watched what his opponent did, for he did not wish to be struck on bare skin by the blade. He had kept his arms within blocking distance of Kasen’s possible counters.

William was elated that his opponent had put away his sword; however, he was disappointed at the same time. “Well there goes part of the challenge,” he thought while he shifted stances to become fully hand-to-hand oriented for the moment. “You didn’t have to sheath your sword; I would have fought you like that as well.” He moved to the side of the kick before preparing his hands. When the leg came back down, he shot his arms forward. Unfortunately his hands missed by a few inches, allowing Kasen’s leg to go completely back down. “I hope you are skilled in hand-to-hand combat, for I have trained for centuries on end. Then again, a lot has changed since I died, and the people here seem to have otherworldly speed and strength.” He sidestepped to the right and set a left-hand jab soaring for Kasen’s face. If his opponent was at least a little competent in hand-to-hand or had good reflexes, the blow would miss. William was simply waiting for Kasen to make the mistake of coming close enough for him to grapple and throw whichever way he liked.

William smiled when his hand was caught by Kasen. It was a good move; however, such stationary offenses tended to be far weaker than they were supposed to be. His words, combined with his attempted attack on William’s wrist made William rethink how serious the fight could get. Then came the kick, and he chuckled at the somewhat naïve fighting style. “You may have been trained in the medical field, which I do not doubt; however, you do not seem to have been trained in hand-to-hand. Lifting your leg and extending both arms was a bad move on your part.” William sidestepped with his fist still in Kasen’s grip before catching Kasen’s leg between his free arm and body. A split second later, he swung around with both Kasen’s leg and his arm acting like ropes before letting him go from his throw. The attack on his wrist never hit, for he had jerked Kasen forward, making such a sudden stretching movement improbable for most people. “I also will not doubt your speed or strength if you were able to catch my retreating fist like that.”