tampered | LOG; Ongoing

When; Monday, June 11th; early afternoon
Rating; PG (for now?)

Characters; Hirako [

orthodontic], Rukia [

juicebox_woes], and Kensei [

combat_knife]

Summary; The three decide to have a sparring session on the beach, while discussing current events...
Log;

The ocean really did look completely different during the day. Whistling under his breath, Shinji gazed out at the water, watching the waves as they lapped rhythmically, folding into the sand. He'd only seen the ocean once when he was alive, but it had been at night. The way the moonlight reflected off the water that time had struck a chord within him. Perhaps that was why, even in his afterlife, he preferred to do his misdeeds after dark, with the moon hanging over his head. He was under the personal belief that he fought better shrouded under the deep sky. Not that he had anything against sparring during the day. If only the sun wasn't so hot..

Wiping the back of his hand across his forehead, Shinji crossed the remaining distance from where he stood to perch on one of the large rocks along the shoreline. Rukia had said two, but he'd shown up a bit early. He'd forgo the dramatic entrance for the element of surprise.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Trying to get the jump on me, Hirako?"

With a flicker of shunpo, she was standing on the beach a few feet from his rock. He might have intended to take advantage of the time, try to catch her off-guard, but Rukia knew better, knew the advantage lay with her. She had stealthily taken it away from him by suggesting this venue for their spar. Hirako was newer to the City than she was, and not only that, but this was her own chosen training round. She knew every rock, every dune, every pathway that she herself had carved through them.

Shaking her head slightly, she shucked off the thick outer-layer of her robes, leaving her in just the Special Forces uniform. Stretching, she turned a few back handsprings with an easy, almost lazy grace to them, testing her flexibility.

"Really not very sporting of you, you know."

"Heh, you forgot to take into account his reinforcements," Kensei said, coming up the beach from the same direction Rukia had. "Or maybe I'll let the two of ya fight it out then take whoever's left."

Kensei moved with a lean, feral grace as he warily approached the two. He knew that Shinji wasn't above trying to psyche an opponent out, he was the only vaizard that Kensei knew who could look just as creepy with his mask off as he did with it on.

"If you wanted sporting though, you came to the wrong place," he told the limber shinigami. "We're not here to be sporting, we're here to get results."

Shinji gave Rukia an amused grin as he rose from the rock, long limbs unfolding. "I wouldn't dream of trying to pull one over on you, Rukia. What fun would that be for me?"

Standing his ground, Shinji chose to let the shinigami come to him, his fingers gripping the blood-colored hilt of his blade as he waited. It was an manipulation on his part, distancing himself from his opponent; though his sword play was excellent, the cero blasts he favored using were much better as long-range attacks.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shinji could see Kensei approaching. His smile grew wider.

"Let the games begin."

With a curt nod, she stopped her gymnastics, taking up an easy and fluid stance before drawing Sode no Shirayuki, the blade singing softly as steel slid from the saya. It felt good, to be holding the blade again, it's presence no longer conspicuously absent from her mind.

She had never fought a Vaizard before, in truth had only seen snippets of what they could do. But this time... she'd get the chance to see how they fought, how they moved. And maybe...that knowledge would give her an edge should she ever have to use it.

Vaizard is hollow and shinigami. Means that logically they could have access to not only the standard repertoire of kidou and hakudo, but to hollow-type attacks as well. Means I need to be on guard for ceros, sonidos, and the like.

The playful smile that was on Kensei's face just a few seconds disappeared as they all drew their zanpakutou. Since this was a training session for Rukia, Kensei intended to have both he and Shinji attack her. As good as they all were he didn't want there to be any mistakes. When you slacked off in training... that was when you got people killed in real fights.

Without any warning, Kensei sprang at Rukia, his zanpakutou still in its released state. There was no reason to let all of the tricks out of the bag right away. Besides, just because he was a vaizard didn't mean he was a push over without just his regular shinigami powers.

Following Kensei's rapid movement as a cue, Shinji took to the offensive. Despite his gangly limbs, his movements were full of a confidence earned solely from decades of practice. Drawing his sword from it's scabbard and bringing it up in a swift arc, he dove towards Rukia, careful to avoid both the blade of his partner and his enemy as he searched for an opening in her solid movements.

Ahh. There..!

With his zanpakutou also in it's released state, Shinji swung in the direction of Rukia's flank, his intention to make contact without causing any (real) damage.

Well, she wasn't that rusty. Violet eyes flickered from one opponent to the next, gauging their movements. She could avoid this...if she just timed it right.

Gotta wait for it...Like sensei said... Wait for the opening...then strike. Don't fight on their terms, make them fiht on yours.

In a quick flurry of motion, she ducket down, planting one palm on the sand to kick up, slippered foot connecting solidly with the flat of Kensai's blade, her own Sode no Shirayuki coming down to intercept Hirako's. Utilizing the momentum from the twin strikes, she pushed off into a backflip, landing a few feet away. Fingers flying through motions and incantations, she sent the binding spell straight at both of them. If she was lucky, she could catch them both.

"Rikujokoro!"

Kensei saw the attack coming, the binding spell that she was beginning. He was impressed, she was definitely doing it fast, the entire incantation tight and perfect. If he didn't think fast, they were both going to be frozen in their tracks. He supposed they could have used their Hollow masks to break the binding, but that seemed like cheating.

Instead, Kensei put on a burst of speed, throwing himself between Shinji and attack. The six beams of light came down hard, the vaizard able to feel them pinning his body in place, a strange twisting sensation deep in his stomach. He would be out of commission for the moment but at least Shinji was free. So long he his friend could keep her occupied...

"Tch," Kensei said. "You're going to have to do better than that. We've been fighting together a long time. You're gonna have to think outside the box... show us something we haven't seen before."

Using Kensei's body as a shield, Shinji wasted no time in focusing on his opponent, darting quickly to catch her on the rebound. Though he hated the idea of sacrificing a fellow vaizard, he trusted Kensei's ability to take care of himself. The spell was a smart move but weak in execution, lacking the strength necessary to hold his friend for more than a few minutes. In the meantime, he'd make sure the opening Kensei had created didn't go to waste.

Time for a distraction.

"Spiritual attacks are your specialty, aren't they Rukia?" Shinji drawled as he brought his hand up to reach into the fold of his shirt. "You sure seem to have a hell of a way with kidou." Fingers brushing against the hard bone of the mask, he withdrew it from his clothes and placed it on his head. His blade stood at the ready, blocking hers in an almost casual manner.

"If you're interested, I've got a few tricks of my own I'd be willing to show you.."

"Don't hold back on my account, Hirako."

Mentally she cursed the ineffectiveness of her kidou. Despite all her bravado, Rukia could tell that the injuries and recuperative time had taken a toll on her, sapping her strength and weakening her reflexes. The spell wasn't anywhere near her usual strength, and it wasn't likely to get any stronger.

Twisting Sode no Shirayuki's blade, she tossed the zanpakutou up in the air, firing off a quick blast from each hand. "Soukatsui!" Bending over backwards, she kicked his sword out of the way, other foot flying up to kick her own blade back in the direction she was moving. A qhick handspring and it was back in her hands, leveled at the Vaizard.

Kensei strained against the bonds of the kidou spell, muscles straining as he brought his reiatsu to bare, trying to shatter the invisible bonds. Shinji taking the offensive had bought him some time to free himself from the prison.

With a final grunt he felt the bonds snap as he was freed. He immediately leaped back from the area where Rukia and Shinji were preparing to square off. He needed a moment to catch his breath and that was better done from a safe distance.

The vaizard watched Shinji put on his Hollow mask, but Kensei wasn't quite ready to commit to that yet. Instead he unleashed his zanpakutou, the sword changing into combat knife. While it lacked the reach of a sword, it was deadly in closer range.

Drawing on his reiatsu, Kensei focused his spirit energy into the weapon, a blue globe of destructive energy forming around the knife. As he as he saw an opening, he would fire a shot and the shinigami.

LOG; Ongoing

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject