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 Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 1:30 am
The night air was brisk, a calm breeze ruffling the leaves, lifting them up in tiny whirlwinds that made them dance across the ground like a couple caught in a dance. The sun, just beginning to set, painted the sky in a brilliant display of pinks, reds, and purples that perfectly accentuated the changing leaves of gold and crimson. Lerato stood in the middle of a field behind the first division’s koi pond, zanpukatou already resting easily in his right hand, the soft tap of approaching feet holding his interest. “Well then… I guess I managed to do something right if your willing to make such haste to get here.” His laughter was a low chuckle that coated the small clearing with a velvet baritone. “Calm down. Your emotions are almost tangible…” Turning to face the young shinigami Lerato gave a small bow. “You’re out here for a single reason, and a simple one at that. The only thing you need to worry about is whether you have the necessary strength to accomplish what I want.” In a display meant to make the woman’s blood boil Lerato lifted the tips of his lips into a crooked grin as well as the tip of his blade in an invitation to draw her own.
“Well? Don’t keep me waiting… If you do I might lose the desire to train you, keeping that asuchi of yours just that for quite a while.” While he was going to come out right and say it he dearly hoped that the green eyed lady would pick up what he was trying to say. If she complied with his wishes, he aimed to bring her that much closer to obtaining the knowledge that eluded so many other shinigami. If she was strong enough, and willing to put up arms with someone of his rank, he could force her to exhaust herself, thus allowing for an easier connection to be established between the zanpukatou spirit and herself. “Now, show me just how well you’ve practiced your bladed forms!”
His voice echoed off of the surrounding trees as if the very fabric of the Soul Society was calling forth the young shinigami, egging her on into battle. Before the evening was over one of two things would happen; either Hoku would have learned the name of her zanpukatou spirit, thus ridding herself of the asuchi, or she will have ended up in the hands of the fourth squad, too wounded to lift so much as a finger. “Show me why you should be able to call yourself a member of the first division in the Gotei Thirteen; the most proud of the Court Guards!”
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Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 2:10 am
Hoku moved with as much swiftness as her body would enable. She was nearly worn out by the time the Lieutenant had halted at their destination. Not being proficient in shun-po just yet, she had used nearly every ounce of her energy to keep up with him. Her hair, which had fallen out of its tidy state, poured over her shoulders and around her face as her head lowered a bit in the attempts to catch her breath. “Bloody hell…” she managed to murmur between gasps. It was at this point where she nearly regretted taking on such a challenge until Lerato began running his mouth again.
Her green eyes flickered up at his face from under her hair. Once again, his arrogant words drilled into the sector of her mind that was teaming with rage. A crimson leaf fluttered past her eyes in that instant, leading them to follow with its brilliant hue. Glancing back toward the Lieutenant, she began to notice that their entire surroundings were layered with tints that she was all too familiar with. The man’s outline was so precise that the contrast of him was nearly blinding- as if she were staring into the sun.
Standing up straight, she had forgotten why she was tired. Her attention was entirely transfixed on the delight that was placed around her. Had this man known of her condition? Was it a ploy to distract her?
The vein in her temples began to throb as she closed her eyes for a moment, taking in a deep breath. In the blackness, she was able to take her focus off the beautiful colors and locate the energy within herself. She extracted them while exhaling. Now feeling the tingle in her fingertips, she opened her eyes once more. Lerato stood out like a polar bear in the jungle. Landing a hit on him would have been no issue- minus his advantage in speed. She quickly fixed her hair to keep it out of her vision followed by removing a black roll of cloth tucked under her obi. Wrapping her hands, she stated in an English accent, “It is lovely to meet you as well, sir. I am prepared to give you my all.”
Clenching her now protected firsts, she resumed her previous position and settled herself into a comfortable stance- relaxed for added flexibility. Her feet slid shoulder width apart while her honed hands directed at every vital point on Lerato’s body. Her blade remained sheathed on the small of her back. She’d unleash it when she saw fit to do so.
Springing forward from the left foot, the extended fingertips of Hoku’s right hand sliced for Lerato’s corroded artery.
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Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 6:58 pm
Her fluency in an English dialect threw him off guard. Sure, there were a fair amount of people in the Soul Society that could understand the rather angular language, but very few of them chose to speak it. So few, in fact, that the majority of people of non-Japanese decent were forced to learn an entirely new culture. “Thank you. You don’t know how tiresome it can get having to switch back and forth between two languages.” If there was anything he could say about the woman in his few minutes of knowing her it was that she definitely wore her emotions on the ends of her sleeve. First annoyance, then briefly regret and anger, and finally a sense of wonderment. ‘So what they wrote in her file was true… I didn’t think it was even possible.’ “Such a colorless life must be hard… I couldn’t imagine a world where I could only enjoy the brilliance of life on a rare occasion such as tonight. Remind me some time to pick your brain.” He chuckled, watching as the awe drained from her face as if she was suddenly thrown back into reality.
Taking one step to the left, he allowed his larger frame to carry him away from Hoku’s slicing hand. “You know, it’s really a shame you think you can stand against me without a blade… You’re too pretty to be getting bruised up.” His tone held something more than just the mocking tone, it held sorrow or perhaps pity. In the span of a second Lerato had brought his left hand, palm open, against the side of the woman’s wrist. At the same time be brought the end cap of his blade in an upward strike just below the armpit. Unless she managed slip underneath the attack odds were she would end up with a few broken ribs and possibly a dislocated shoulder though in the long run it could be worse. “Mind telling me why you refuse to draw your blade? I don’t mean to pry so I apologize if I’m coming off rude, but in my experience it makes communication a great deal easier… so why fight what might help?” Though the prospect seemed odd to him he wasn't going to question it too much. Instead he let the warm spiced scents of the evening leaves fill his lungs, a perfect match to the brisk evening air. Had the circumstances behind why he was out here been different he would have considered this one of the most relaxed settings he'd been in but testing the strength of a new recruit was never 'relaxed'.
[I was going to do more, but I didn’t want too much action in a single post]
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 4:11 pm
Lerato's pale figure in Hoku’s perception rendered the movements into slow motion but not slow enough. In contrary to her eyes widening, Hoku wasn’t astonished by the Lieutenant’s strength. Her exasperation came from her own realization that she had miscalculated his speed and skill for hand-to-hand combat. She managed to recover from his blocking maneuver by taking a step back. Unfortunately, the pommel of his blade had grazed the skin and cloth where her shoulder connected to her breast.
At the point of impact, she utilized her flexibility and quickly bent backward until her fingertips met the ground and used the momentum and powerful upper body strength to spring off her feet. She straightened her midriff, toes reaching for the sky, the moment she became vertical with the earth then pushed against it with all her strength. Her entire body left the ground for a second and concluded the fluid back hand-spring as she landed at a crouch approximately two meters away from her opponent. She immediately straightened herself up by returning to the starting position. It was at this moment that the wound she had obtained on her right side began to shed blood. What made matters worse was that her top had been ripped in the same location- somewhat exposing a part of her torso that she didn’t care for anyone to see.
Regadless if it was the colorful aura of the location or her own anger getting the best of her, Hoku was seeing red now. She could have cared less if he complimented her lingual abilities or her appearance or even the throbbing pain he had inflicted upon her. She certainly didn’t want his pity. In fact, she HATED this egotistical man who automatically concluded himself to be the receiver of the “Mr. Clairvoyant-officer of the year” award. The only honors Hoku wished to receive was to pin a metal through his chest or perhaps his forehead. This wasn’t the only thing that was barreling across her mind. He ripped my bloody shirt! Her face grew hot. She had been considered as a handicap the moment she set foot in this twisted world and she wasn’t about to live up to it. Especially not in the eyes of a man like Lerato.
The corners of Hoku’s crimson lips rose into a slight smile. Beads of sweat began to collect on her brow as she eyed the man down. Although she didn’t feel any obligation to answer his questions, she wanted nothing more than to alleviate herself of the coldness of his gaze. She knew that she was in his division now, disliked or not, and thus would have to earn some sort of mutual respect. Respect, in Hoku’s eyes, was obtained by understanding and trust. Therefore- if he understood why she didn’t want to use her blade just yet, then maybe she could trust him not to be such a git in the future. She was pretty sure that it was unhealthy to be ticked off all the time. Too bad it felt so good. It was the energy boost she had been looking for.
“My hands are my original chosen weapon.” She stated firmly, once again in English. “If I must entrust myself to something peripheral, then I must ensure that my original weapon can endure the harsh circumstances of real combat first. Therefore, I want my hands to get a feel for this first. It is how I was brought up. I don’t expect a wanker like you to understand.”
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 7:22 pm
"Remind me to issue you some stronger clothing." He laughed. The ease at which her shirt tore away was remarkable and, had he not known any better, he would have thought it was made from a lack luster material. Unfortunately her torso caught his eye. The blood had started to run down her ivory skin. 'Great... how am I going to explain a ripped shirt and a bloody breast...' If he was lucky the others in the squad wouldn't pay it much mind. If he was lucky they would just see it as another sparring injury. Rubbing the bridge of his nose he jogged the the edge of the clearing. Raising his voice he called over his shoulder, "If you really want to be like that, fine. I won't stop you." His voice was calm, collected. He had dealt with stubborn people before, and he was sure she wouldn't be his last. "But I refuse to bring a blade up against someone as new as you when you refuse to raise your own." Even though he had his back turned to the girl he could very clearly feel her reiatsu; a boiling mixture of anger, hatred, and perhaps embarresment. With a pull of a string his saya slipped from his waist just as he planted the tip of his zanpukatou into the earth. "I must apologise though. I'm afraid I'm not the most fluent person in unarmed combat. I'm not the worse out there, of couse. But I'm by no means a member of the seventh division." If the young lady wanted to play a game of patty cake who was he to deny her.
"You're quick." Lerato smirked as he lifted his chin, a crooked grin blessing hardened features. "You have the ability to be great..." He trailed off, making it clear what he meant. She was still just another unseated shinigami; a lower member with a shallow hitting zanpukatou. The telltale swish of shunpo brought the lieutenant within arms reach of the emerald eyed girl. "Wanker?" He asked raising an eyebrow. 'Great... not only is she stubborn, but she crazy...' He had familiarized himself with a fair amount of British insults both when he was alive and while he was stationed on patrols in the world of the living. "Really? Here I am trying to help you and you feel the need to insult me?" Lerato rolled his eyes. At least she had been smart enough to fall into a crouch. While it didn’t leave a lot of room to build up strength for an attack, it did leave her plenty of ways to strike out while keeping a firm defensive position. So instead of trying to break through the defense provided by her position and possibly tiring himself out he chose to make one swift attack. Lunging forward off his left foot, he brought his knee up at a fast pace. ‘Better watch out deary…’ He thought to himself. If left on it’s path it would connect with the woman’s left shoulder blade.
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 11:55 pm
With that, Hoku grinned. He had taken the bait.
Though her shoulder and torso throbbed with the ounces of vital fluid it was leaking, she was able to hold out until the end- whenever that was. Her irritation didn't seem to reflect upon him though he looked as though he was irritated with her rude comments. This would simply fire-up the sparring match. It was obvious that she’d have to draw the blade eventually but now wasn’t the time for it. She wanted to see what this man was made of in strength in speed. She, at first, saw herself as quicker than he, but this was no longer the case. No, she’d have to see what he was really made of in technique. Her style, though undefined, was still seemingly superior than most. Surely she’d get the advantage in some way. She just had to find out how.
Hoku could see him, utilizing whatever technique made him quick, as his right knee drew up toward her left side- the weak side of most individuals. Admittedly, she too was weak on this side but was too used to being aimed there. As the Lieutenant’s knee headed for her shoulder blade, she pivoted off her right, twisting her entire body around to face him. Managing to capture most of the blow with both her palms, she used his momentum to push herself to the right and aim a strike with the knuckles of her right fist to the back of his neck- the point where the spine connected with his skull.
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Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 6:36 pm
As soon as Lerato had lifted off the ground he caught his mistake. Hell, even a rookie could have seen flaws in his attack so it didn’t come as much of a surprise when the girl pushed herself to his left making him completely miss his target. But he wouldn’t let a previous gap in judgment cloud his mind of the future; he had to protect the open vitals that had been created from his stupidity. Luckily he was able to bend over enough to keep Hoku’s retaliation from being too severe but even so, the feeling of her cotton wrapped knuckles catching the edge of his neck unnerved him. Someone so new shouldn’t have been able to get the jump on him that easily. Had she made a direct blow, or even just chosen a different material for her wraps, he very well could have been much more injured then he was. “Not bad. But if that’s all you have than I must have over estimated your abilities. The instructors at the Shino Academy had wrote a lot of praise about you, but I guess that could have been more or less because of your family.” His voice cut like a razor through the evening calm. If she was going to take so much pride in her anger, Lerato would give her all she could handle. Standing up after his attempted flying knee the lieutenant brushed off his pants.
“Well?” A swirling of reiatsu pulled the dewy grass inwards towards the olive skinned man. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised though. All upper-class citizens think they can just buy power. It’s a shame, really. I thought that you’d be different… Oh well. I guess even I’m wrong from time to time.” His laughter was filled with a condescending sneer. ‘This’d better work or I’ll be eating s**t over it for years to come…’ Reaching into his pockets the man pulled out a set of tailored black gloves, designed specifically to channel his overly energetic reiatsu. “Now then,” he continued as if nothing he had said had been out of the ordinary, “I want you to really try to attack me. Put your all into it and if you seriously can’t give me anything more than what you’ve shown so far I’ll personally put in the request for a change of squad. After all, I can’t have any weak wrist runts in my squad.” Pulling the second glove down into place he rolled his neck from left to right, then right to left. “Cripple…”
Without another moments hesitation Lerato sprung forward, closing the short distance between the two shinigami in three quick steps. Even without the use of shunpo Lerato was quicker than others of his rank. It was his speed and his smarts that had always kept his classmates on their toes back when he was in school. Once he was close enough to easily reach out and tap the girl he threw two quick jabs with his left hand, neither of which had been intended to actually injure the girl. Instead he was hoping to shake her up a bit while his right hand came around for the left side of her ribs. Banking on the probability that she would drop her elbow to save her abdomen he followed up with a firm open handed thrust with his left hand aimed at her head. The right hook was really the only punch of the set that was likely to cause physical damage, though the open handed bop to the head would likely do much more to infuriate Hoku.
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Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 9:24 pm
The red prevailed. In fact, Hoku was so seething with rage that her vision began to blur while her temples throbbed with blood rushing to hear head like a thermometer in lava. How DARE he! She had done nothing to provoke such spiteful comments. If they had been in a different situation, she would have no issue in educating this ignorant tit on how much she despised her family. He didn’t deserve a single word of it.
She hated her family’s legacy and their stupid wealth. No matter how hard she tried to escape from it, talk of them and their relations to her always seemed to pop up out of nowhere like an unwanted rodent burrowing in the garden. She loved her mum and pa with all her heart but what they had done to her was nothing less than unforgivable. She didn’t even want to be a stupid bloody shinigami in the first place.
Hoku didn’t have time for a rebuttal as he came at her once again. There was no chance in her dodging this one as he struck from both sides with such force. She couldn’t handle taking another shot to the abdomen so naturally she went out of her way to protect it. Using both hands, she blocked his jab with her palms only to receive another directly on her forehead. It wasn’t a very hard blow as it was equivalent to an elder brother giving his little sibling a noogie. She found herself going cross-eyed for a second, which presumably looked quite silly. Once again, her face grew hot. Her teeth gritting, she seized this opportunity to do the unthinkable- she grabbed the fist she had blocked and put her weight toward leaning into him. Her right heel gripped the earth to ensure her balance as she raised her left knee into the lieutenant’s crotch.
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Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2012 8:35 pm
Her reaction had been almost instantaneous; blood rushing to her face in a fury that was almost palpable. “If it’s this easy to upset you, Hoku, you’ll never be worth anything in the field.” Ice seemed to crawl into his voice, chilling his words beyond the point of being uncaring. “Stop waiting for an opening. In the first division we’re known as the best. If you want an opening, go make one.” He growled. How much more was he going to have to taunt her? Just how far was he going to have to go until she would break? ‘I don’t have time for this…’ The sun was already starting its slow decent into the horizon and while he was positive there were lanterns stationed somewhere around this opening, he wasn’t quite sure he could reach them with this woman as fired up as she was. Luckily for him the woman made her biggest mistake of the night; she willingly put herself within grappling distance of a larger opponent. Over all it wouldn’t have been that bad, but as far as he knew Hoku didn’t have any training in a martial arts that focused on manipulating one’s height and weight against them.
Perhaps it was the fact that no one else would have attempted what she just had, or maybe he just didn’t realize her intentions but what ever the reasoning was Lerato failed to move away from the impending knee to the groin. When connection was made two thoughts ran through his head, ‘She has guts…’ and “Ugh…” A mixture of pain and pleasure sent adrenaline coursing through his veins and kept him sturdy on his feet. “So that’s how you want to play?” He didn’t need to speak any louder than a whisper to get his message across, especially with how close she had leaned in to make sure her attack landed. With all of her weight pressing inward, and the only point firm on the ground being a single foot it would be easy to break her stance. All Lerato had to do was catch her knee with his free hand so that she couldn’t put it back down to steady herself. Lifting his left heel to the back of Hoku’s right knee was easy. Soon it would fail and they would tumble to the ground.
Her knee gave way without much problem which made the lieutenant glad. Typically when someone fought to keep upright they were likely to rip a tendon or a ligament. By going down without too much fuss she saved herself the chance of destroying her knee. Granted Lerato ended up with a fair amount of scratches on his right hand. She had dug in quite deep during the fall. Keeping his right knee bent for leverage, and the left thrown out to the side as a brace Lerato -literally- had the upper hand in the situation. With his left forearm firmly on Hoku’s chest, and his right cocked back in a waiting punch the girl really only had two options: she could give up and take up her blade, or she could resort to a guarding position. “I’ll give you points for taking the risk of such a low handed shot, but you’d do well to remember who you’re dealing with.” He had bent down while he was talking, mere inches from her lips as the last syllables sprung forth from his.
[The puppet-ing in this post was given permission by Hoku1359]
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Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:39 am
For the first couple seconds, Hoku’s blind anger began to dissipate with her triumph. Never in a million years did she think she could land such a low blow on a high ranking officer. It felt good, to say the least. Unfortunately enough, it looked as though Lerato didn’t mind the pain all that much, considering it was any man’s weakness to get clobbered there. The next thing she knew, Hoku was on her back, staring up into his face. Her throbbing knee was an indication that she didn’t injure it to the point of numbness, but in spite of the relief, she was no longer on her feet with him looming over her. This was bad. Once again, her face grew hot.
Hoku’s first reaction would have been to struggle and slip her way out from under him but the crushing arm on her chest and the raised fist made her think otherwise. He would have certainly landed a punch to her jaw if she attempted such a desperate attempt. Upon assessing the situation further, she noticed that he had her pinned down from the side, making it impossible for her to kick him off. Not only that, but her sheathed blade, digging into her back, was trapped behind her. Retrieving it in this position was not possible. The forearm he had upon her chest applied enough pressure in just the wrong place that the wound she had obtained earlier began spilling out onto the grass. She could feel the dampness trickling down her side. Either he was going to punch her lights out, or she was going to bleed until she fainted. Unacceptable.
Something inside her began head begin to scream when he leaned in. The words he spoke were drowned out by the ringing in hear ears yet the scent of his warm breath slipped into her nostrils upon inhaling. The situation made her suddenly feel weak and vulnerable. Was she a victim now? Did she have to start begging for mercy in the shadow of this b*****d?
The blood loss and rage finally began to catch up with her and her imagination began to take control. For a moment, the soft earth felt easing and somewhat relaxing. Lerato’s white outline stood out in the fading red sky like a ghost that terrorized one in the comfort of their bed. Had the reaper finally come to take her soul away? Wait. That had already happened. This was real, and so was he. Hoku’s vision narrowed as her green eyes sardonically beamed up into his.
Raising her head, she briefly touched her lips to his then bit down as hard as she could on the target- his bottom lip. If anything, it would shock him into letting up just enough for her to reach behind her back or slip away.
Her grandmother once told her “Māo huì yǎo shí, tā bùnéng yòng tā de zhuǎzi.”
The cat will bite when she cannot use her claws.
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