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((This is Open so people can come in and interact with my character for connection purposes!))

Natsuki traversed the area that lay between the various practice areas. Her time training was finished for the day and now decided to spend the remainder of it seeking some time of reflection in the mellow atmosphere that lay in the destination she seeked. There it was quiet for a reason, people who went their often chose to communicate with their swords. Finally the small field came into view. it was simple in design, flat, short stubby grass and relatively wide open. Natsuki adjusted the strap to the small bag that she had slung over her shoulder. Soon she was somewhere near the center of the little field and that was where she sat. Taking the bag from her shoulder she emptied the contents from it in front of her small seated body. A rolled material and a small pouch fell to the ground. she unrolled the mat like object and it became clear it was a war time scenario layout. grabbing the pouch she pulled colored rectangles from it and position them on the laid out mat. once all were in place she simply observed the scenario and made gentle 'hm' sounds as she tapped at her chin thinking about possible courses of actions for both sides. She was relatively solitary when it came to this place but she did enjoy creating stratagem against herself or others who might like to take a crack at her scenarios.

Natsuki's ears perked at the foot steps that approached from behind. turning her head show cased the pink headband that held her hair out of her gold colored eyes which were locked on the unfamiliar face. "Well the training sessions for the day were finished, I don't really need the noise of my colleagues interfering with my scenario layout." Natsuki explained simply pointing out the mat that rest before her. "The colored blocks represent military units of opposing factions, it's important to practice with war games to be ready for any sort of scenario that might occur out in the field." she went on explaining an unasked question to the stranger. "I'm Masanori Natsuki, I've yet to apply to a division therefore I remain in the transitional quarters of the academy. I assume you are already past these preliminary training days?" She question taking note that she hadn't seen this person in any of her training regiments.

۞Angel Kotoshi۞

When the world is yours....

Angel nodded to what the girl said as he looked at the mat and the colored blocks. He rubbed his chin as many thoughts flashed through his head about the scenario, but he shook his head and smiled, "Im Angel Kotoshi. Its a pleasure to meet you Natsuki." He went to the other side of the mat and was about to sit down, but his attention was drawn to someone else that walked up to them. He tilted his head and shrugged as he sat on either side of them, "Having a talk as you can see. No rules against that is it?" He smiled as he teased the man.

.....what is left for you to take?

"No, there is no rules against having a chat..." He remarked quietly, eyes never lifting from the simulated battle field. "Just as it's not against the rules to try and tease a superior officer, Mr. Kotoshi. But just because it's not against the rules, it doesn't mean it's a wise choice." This time he did lift his eyes from the mat and raised a single eyebrow. "You were a member of the second division if I recall correctly, yes? And now you wish to try your hand at kidou..." Humph. Turning his attention to the mat he continued, his tone edging just a bit on the side of annoyed. "You see Mr. Kotoshi, I have a bit of a temperament problem which is only made worse when I am uprooted from by work to come down here and make sure the younger members don't try to hurt each other. Then if I do see some of them causing trouble, I have to settle the qualm without the use of force as I would be liable for their safety... but you, you I can have my fun with and dump you in the fourth division's lap with little more than a slap on the wrist so please don't push me." The worst part of his whole reprimand wasn't that he had yet to reveal his position, but was instead the nonchalance of his tone.

Lerato nodded with a short affirmative while moving a small gathering from the main group forward into a spot that showed the topography was lower then it's surroundings and moved three of his pieces on the right side from his former move into a slant that cut across the valley to lay a foot away from Natsuki's small patrol. With a larger force gathering in the valley most inexperience fighters would send wave after wave of bodies to fall upon them. Sadly this would also leave them at a disadvantage as the three members of his men sat on either side of the hill. The only opposition they would currently meet would be the three lone members from the woman's side, an equal opposing force to clash with. "Sounds like you'd do well to apply under the sixth division. They hold many of the same ideals and tend to be a fair amount quieter than the rest of us." He laughed as she told them about the new recruits boasting about their meager power and claiming to be the greatest out there. How long had it been since he had done the very same thing? "Don't worry about them. The majority will fall during the first few missions while the rest will be straightened out. Saying one is the greatest is just adding another target on their back. If they want to see some great shinigami, they should pay attention in class and read their texts. History is the only place where shinigami become the greatest out there. No where else."

(i have no qualms about it = w=)

[[Hope ya don't mind if I stick my head in here.]]


It was a strange feeling, being so free from the constant pressing thumb of restriction and 'otherness' that seemed to come from the Academy. Now for the first time he could actually breathe without feeling like someone was breathing down his neck or going to get on his case for not knowing basic Hado. He was free from that oppressive place, and now he could start working towards his goal. He felt free but that knowledge dragged him down a little. This fact was exactly why he had taken a walk far away from the group behind him that consisted of the cocky, the rude, and the ignorant. He wanted nothing to do with these people, but he knew he would have to interact with them at some point in his shinigami life.

He found a good-sized hill at had decided to sit on top of it, watching the beautiful sky pass the world over; the clouds wistfully flowing towards an unknown objective, the birds flitting to and fro without a care in the world. He wondered how wonderful it might be to be a cloud, to be a bird. To not have these eternal cares weighing down on his soul. He laughed dryly and shook the thought from his head with an actual shake of his head. No one liked a sour sport, and if he wanted to fit in and find a position, no one needed to see, much less hear, that side of him.

After a time he heard voices behind him, different than the drowning din of fake superiority and false hopes. He was a realist, he understood he wasn't 'the best' and had no illusions of becoming such. He had his own strengths, and his own weaknesses that he was more than aware of. He didn't understand why no one accepted their own weaknesses, as if ignoring them made those fatal flaws go away. He sighed, realizing he was getting far too philosophical for his own good.

Despite himself he felt an urge to go and talk to the small group that had assembled behind him. He couldn't be counted among one of the social elite, having barely uttered more than five words during his entire Academy career. So he pattered down, watching the group assemble more and more like a planet does stray satellites. Some kind of strange social magnetism had attracted this small group, and it had pulled Kodate in as well.

"Excuse me for saying so." The big man spoke softly, taking his place across from Kay who had just spoken. He glanced over the strategy table; if he wasn't playing he saw no point in thinking about it. "But if those novices talk tough, that means they are cocky. They make stupid decisions because they think they are invincible. And then they die. I'm sure you've read plenty of situations just like that in our history books." He didn't speak with confidence, just sincerity and like a man who had done nothing in his years but practice and study because he had nothing else to do. He had read about the dangers of emotion in the battlefield. It was very informative, if not incredibly dry.

"If someone can't realize the limit of their abilities...they're dead already."

"Ding ding ding." Lerato laughed in mock excitement as he pointed his right index finger at the tallest Academy graduate. "You hit the nail on the head, kid." He mumbled as he shifted in his seat. "The problem with people with an inflated ego is that unless you pop a hole in them, it'll keep fillin' back up." This time his laugh was genuine as he turned his glacier blue gaze upon the young lady that had shown up just before the towering man. "You see, no matter how many times we knock the snot out of you kids, you insist on standing back up as if you actually stand a chance. We have rules pertaining to how badly the seated members may beat up on incoming recruits. Of course there are some, like you, who want lift the restrictions and truly give them a chance to test themselves. But there are two sides to every coin, and the flip side of this one is that those of us who can put the cocky bastards in their place don't want to soil our hands." Leaning on his right hand he turned to his left, letting the extensive scarring on his torso show in the afternoon light. "If you're really worried about people dying, stick by them. Go ahead and put your own neck on the line so that you may save them from their own stupidity. If you do, you'll earn the respect of a lot of people around here, but don't come crawling back with puffy eyes whining about your friend being cleaved in half by a hollow." He didn't mean to come off as cold as he did but after the gore the Lieutenant had encountered it was hard not to be a bit cold to the realization.

"Names?" The word sounded unusually crisp coming from his lips. Despite being both a question and a command the singular word held the air of neither. Instead it crept its way around the two newest members of the small collection as if it waited for some unknown trigger before striking out at them. Giving the two shinigami an ample amount of time to respond before continuing Lerato drug himself back to the conversation at hand. "I'm glad to hear that you actually study." Though he had turned his face away from the surrounding people, even the most thick skulled child could hear the smile in his tone. "So I know why Natsuki is out here, and I have a fairly good idea why Mr. Kotoshi is out here but now I'm left wondering just what in the hell you two are doing out here." His tone was kind. Hell, this was the most eventful patrol he had been on in this part of the Academy in quite some time. "After all, this place is typically reserved for attempting jinzen. You know, the meditation technique where the majority of you try and fail to communicate with your zanpukatou spirit." He chuckled while planning his next few moves in advance.

[I apologize for the quality of the post. I haven't slept in about 29 hours, and just got done writing a 6 page research paper from scratch on a subject I knew very little about.]