Squad 11 Captain's Office

Within the living quarters of squad 11, lies an office for the captain. Right now, it belongs to Ichirin Mayonaka, the new captain of the 11th squad. It has wooden floors, white walls, and a large desk parallel to the back wall. Sadly, it is rarely used by the captain. Ichirin has a bad habit of neglecting paperwork.

Great, another stack. . .

This was the first thought Ichirin had as she sauntered into the room, bringing with her a rush of air as the door swung on its hinges behind her. Her amber eyes had immediately focused on the loathsome pile of papers that had made its way to her desk earlier during the day. Paperwork. . . in her opinion the worst part of being a captain in the Gotei thirteen. She took a couple hesitant steps towards the solitary desk, not bothering to look around, since, as usual, the room was otherwise empty. She simply stared at the papers, with a hint of contempt in her brilliant yellow eyes. She knew that it was imperative the papers were signed and whatnot, but she really didn’t have the patience to perform such a menial task. The task just didn't become her. After a moment’s contemplation, she turned on her heel, so that her back was now to the desk.

I’ll just let somebody else do it. There are more important things to be done than pencil-pushing.

She thought with a sense of resolution, even though it didn’t really solve anything. Her entire “strategy” relied on another squad member coming into the office, seeing the paperwork, and then doing it. In the back of her mind, she had already considered the fact that this was in fact, highly improbable. But, she also did not care; that much was obvious. Banishing these thoughts from her consciousness, Ichirin walked a straight path right back out the door she had come through mere moments ago. Though she wasn’t walking particularly fast, the slight momentum of her gait caused her oddly spiky, yellow-coloured hair to flutter, though the miniscule movement was barely discernible. The door slammed shut behind the flighty captain, signifying her departure. As quickly as she had come, Ichirin Mayonaka left the office, driven by the compulsion to seek a cure for her boredom, and of course, to avoid paperwork. Why she had coome in the first place, was a mystery, even to Ichirin herself.

It had been a long and very borign day, he needed to relax, and what better way then a quick sparring match with his favorite Captain. The sky was beautiful though, a deep blue with plenty of whtie and fluffy clouds. The grass was growing nicely as well, a lush green and pleasing to the eye. He made his way up the steps, leading up to the squad 11 office. Strolling along to take in the scenery. He was half way up the steps and dressed in the normal attire, a long white haori, the sleeves stopped at his wrists, and it didn't drag on the ground. His mettalic light armor was showing beneath the haori. He had developed a hood into his style of clothing, it was under the haori and covered the forhead of his mask, the thick chunk of metal with red tinted eyes, that mask. He was just at the door way, notcing the 11 symbol, the finaly made door frame and the white texture, the stone steps were actually a nice touch. He was right at the door when he found it sliding open and a sillhoutte nearly ran into him."Woah hey i was just coming to get you."

He said with a bit of a laugh, Tysukiya was at home, she would normally be jealous if he talked to any other girl but her, so he simpyl left her on the bed with a round of Halo, it distracted her so, she loved to tea bag more people than lipton(ice tea) and she was pretty damn good at it. He raised his hand in a wave as he bowed to the other captian, rising up he walked to her side but still facing her."I was just wondering, could you show me that one move again, the one with the kick, that one really hurt, and i have pretty much everything else mastered. Unless you'd like to try your hand at sword play." he said with a devilish smile, though hidden beneath a mask, and even his voice was rather raspy with the metallic mask on, but still he said it with a bit of confidence, it was one of his best traits, sword play and hand to hand.

As Ichirin was just stepping over the doorframe of her office, she suddenly felt the presence of one with a vast amount of reiatsu. She wasn’t alarmed or intimidated though; it was familiar and not much different from her own. Having also seen his form in the doorway, she simply stopped to avoid a collision with the newcomer, Marrock. At first, she looked puzzled, even a little annoyed. But then again, she hadn’t had any specific plan in mind as to what she was planning to do anyhow. Once Marrock was at her side, she turned to face him with a hint of a smirk gracing her lips.

“How about swordplay?” she said, her smirk growing. As the captain of Squad eleven, which specialized in melee combat, she was curious to see what Marrock had to offer in terms of a spar. She had to be careful though. If the fighting happened to excite her inner hollow. . . things would get messy. Lately, Nirihci had been quite volatile. . . and increasingly annoying. Ichirin quickly banished these thoughts as she waited for Marrock’s, whatever it may be.

(My posting is gonna be slow. . . I’ve got stuff to do, and I’m going to the gym later. Plus I’m uber tired. e.e)

He could almost feel it, the flush of emotions she had, he could read them easily to the point that a reluctance came ot her iris, he knew her inner hollow might get restless. Though he kept the thoughts to himself, he focused on her grin, something that resembled his own at this point. "Great ive been desperatly bored." he told her as he lead the way, taking her arm down the steps, hooking it around hers, then releasing it as they reached the last step."How about your training field, its personally the best around in the soul society, secluded so no one can interupt either.' he said as he faced forward, shoulder to shoulder with her, still leading the way just a little bit.

"Afterwards we could stop some where to eat. Im quite hungry honstly." He kept a small turn of his head, he wouldn't want to be rude and make it seem as if he weren't looking at her, though to some degree he always enjoyed the scenery. As they walked along, he made note of the tree's thickening to each side of them the further along they went, a river bed right over the other side of the small forested area. They were taking the path that led to the regular training ground, but to go to her own, he cut off into the middle of the trees, takign her hand to not get seperated and flash stepped along the river bed, folowing the stream untill it led over a huge waterfall. This place was an open field but with gigantic trees that nearlly covered the sky, they arched over the field to cast shadows all around, yet the center was an open skylight and sunlight still peaked into it giving off a very bright sun rich tone."I always loved this view.." he said as he jumped down off the cliff with about 40 feet down he slowed himself and hit the ground with a slight thud, as he turned up to her."Come on already!"

“Sure, whatever.” Ichirin said in a rushed tone of voice, with an irritable expression as Marrock linked arms with Ichirin and practically dragged her down the stairs. Nonetheless, she let herself be led to the fabled training field; though she would always seem grouchy, she was still quite easygoing. As they were walking, she let her gaze wander, studying the trees and other surrounding shrubbery. She didn’t care if she seemed rude or not, she felt a special connection with the trees. After a while, Ichirin began too sense that they were getting closer to the regular Squad eleven training ground. She was debating on just heading there now, since Marrock knew the way there anyways and would likely follow. She was pulled out of her contemplations when he grabbed her hand. She resisted the urge to scowl as she was pulled along again.

Oh come on. . . as if he thinks I can’t find the way to my own training grounds without him.

She thought with a roll of her eyes. Like Marrock, she stopped at the edge of the cliff and looked down. Even though the roar from the cascading waterfall drowned out most other background noises, she clearly heard Marrock’s words. There weren’t many others whom she had allowed to set their eyes upon this place, especially considering that she usually preferred to train alone. But she felt a connection to Marrock, partly because he was in the same position as her; they were alike in many ways. So, she had shown him this place a couple years ago.

Now Ichirin herself was about to jump over the cliff, but she had a little surprise for Marrock. If he wanted her to hurry up, then fine. There was a mischievous gleam in her eyes as she shifted her right foot forward and then leapt off the edge. She didn’t bother slowing herself; the momentum would work in her favour. Once she was halfway through her descent, which was less than a second later, she reached back over her left shoulder with her right hand, quickly grasping the blue-clothed hilt of Tokoyami, her initial zanpakuto. She swiftly ripped the largely-proportioned blade free of the black cloth that bound it and leveled it so that it was facing down towards Marrock. Once she got close to him, five feet above him to be exact, she swung a heavy blow towards his right shoulder with surprising speed, given the size of Tokoyami, which was five feet long and five inches wide. The Ebony blade was heading towards Marrock’s right shoulder at a fast rate; Ichirin was aware that this was a dangerous move, but she figured he could evade it, if he was truly worthy of his title as captain.

It was like a game of cat and mouse, he would always be going about his day and she would try and suprise him with some form of deadly attack, over the years he had grown used to it, even that one time she did get him, just that once though and he had a cold, and a fever, and was in bed sick with a bowl of boiling hot soup in his lap... okay she really did get him, but it was just a nick, and normally she would just end of hurting herself. He stood in the center of this field, his spirit pressure was just a bit higher than her own, his eyes watching closely as he waited, he felt a strange sense, he felt a suprise coming, initially relieved as she dived off, but immediately on guard. She made her move, and he was more than ready, though he didn't want to show it. He watched her bring the sword out, her hand taking hold of the hilt, and he was already out of the striking distance, but with a small glimmer in his eye, and a gentle smirk, he stepped back infront of her swing, launchig his left arm up, the palm opened to a pair of fingerless gloves. He stopped the attack, her blade hitting the mid section of his fingers and stopping directly in place.

"I know your stronger than that, show me!"

His hand spun as he spoke pulling the women's blade forward, tugging it passed him at his side, as he pulled her body forward with the sword, in the next instance his stance was different, his body turned side ways, his left hand up in a gaurd, as was his right hand being brought down, his right foot was sent flying forward straight foward towards her stomach, the kick wasn't nearly enough to hurt but more of distance move, that used force to push her instead of a force that would hurt. If it connected she'd be thrown a few feet, and he would have his distance to bring up a counter. Though as his mind always played out each scenario he imagined in miliseconds what would happen it she caught his foot, if she had he would bring up his left to the sternum in a mildly powerful kick. If she blocked the kick and redirected, he would use that momentum to fling his body up into a straight left, then right and backwards sweeping kick, if blocked or dodged he would then following that up into a right legged straight kick to the head and back away.

He could almost feel the excitement, the feeling of battle with an equal, a real chance that you may die. Thats truly living, that blood pumping, adrenaline filled feeling: where time slows down, your body becomes one big muscle that you can control with the easiest of effort, that every move feels perfectly placed and powered to deliver the maximum amount of damage, but he knew he couldn't do that, not yet. She could easily bring it out, but as of now he held back, his foot half way across the gap as he watched it move, her blade had just left his hand moments ago, and he was already in this stance, he couldn't help but think how quickly time passes yet just how slow it felt, he was drawing in the breath as his foot was just moments from impact.

Ichirin narrowed her eyes in frustration once she saw Marrock move out of her range for a moment. Though she was travelling through the air at a considerably high speed, she could still see everything in her line of vision with clarity; she was fully alert. Seeing as there was no way she could possibly come to a complete halt now, she was going to simply let her sword clash upon the ground. It would leave her open for a split second, but she could deal with that then. But it turned out that she didn’t have to worry about that at all when Marrock moved back into the path of her swing and stopped the blade with his hand. Though she was mildly shocked, Ichirin knew that it was something to do with whatever the glove on his hand was made of, otherwise his hand would have been badly cut. She felt herself getting pulled forwards and gritted her teeth in frustration. Of course, she had thought of a way out of this already, though I went against everything Tokoyami had taught her. Before she could be pulled any further, she let go of her sword. Since Marrock had let go of Tokoyami anyways (I think o.o), Ichirin didn’t consider it to be a big deal, even though Tokoyami would be pissed about it later. Not waiting for gravity to allow her to drop the rest of the way to the ground, Ichirin vanished altogether, leaving a slight rush of wind in her wake as right after, Marrock’s foot would pass through empty air. She had obviously used a flash step. She reappeared some feet behind Marrock with her back to him, nonchalantly reaching up with her right hand and catching hold of Tokoyami’s hilt before it could completely pass where she was standing. A second or so after she had let it go, Tokoyami was in Ichirin’s possession once again. She turned around so that she was facing Marrock once more.

“I thought you said something about swordplay? Don’t screw around, draw yours as well.” Ichirin demanded in a haughty tone, glaring at Marrock. Given the fact that he hadn’t drawn his zanpakuto yet, and his words, it almost seemed to her that Marrock thought he was stronger than her, which annoyed her. She lowered her zanpakuto slightly, now holding onto it with both her hands. Her swings would have more force behind them this way.

He watched the women flash step, obviously suprised that he had stopped her attackl with just his hand. It was not the gloves, they were simple frabric that did little more than conceal his jutsu, it was the point in which he stopped her attack, using the spirit energy he normally gave off to concentrate at that point and leave her attack to less than cutting standards. Following her movement before his leg could even complete the motion, he was spun around, his body straight and his eyes focused, he was just as fast though maybe not completely. He had more bulk and was a bit slower, but a bit stronger. Nothing that could make a real difference in this situation, they were to close to even. She was right, he had mention sword play, the problem was he was without his own sword: Tysukiya. That would be a dilemma in a sparring match, but easily adaptable.

He raised his left hand, slipping off the seal his gloves made, and left the glove fall carelesly to the ground, as it fell a large surge of spirit energy was sent from his palm, like a massive explosion, his hand bore the symbol of a cross that ran through his arm untill covered by cloth. It was on both sides of his hand, though with his hand flat a purple sphere began to spiral just an inch above the tattoo, it was bright violet color that when looking inside of it was like looking into the mind of a dreamer, so many thoughts and emotions and events taking place inside this small orb that were to numerous to count, the orb flattened covering his palm from finger to finger and stopping at the wrist, he reached forward holding his hand out with the fingers spread, slowly enclosing his palm around thin air that materialzed into handle of black energy, clashing against his hand the two energies creating friction, as one fought for dominance, the black energy was the weapon he began to create, and the clashing was the seal, it was to seal this weapon to his palm, and the weapon was fighting it, but quickly it was over powered and the blade extended into an enourmous Odachi, an 8 foot blade, the one he made was as light as air.

This all happened in a mere single moment, as he brought the Odachi up over his head and swung it down the energy finalized into a grey steely blade, it resembled a rain cloud, just before the storm. As if tempered so many times that would be garunteed not break, the carbon count was off the roof, which was the density of the blade. A small aura came about it as he took a step forward, his foot landed a breeze slammed into him, the release of spirit pressure of the blade, engulfing a small portion of the training field, it was lower than a captain level, but still high. He would go on the offensive, and rushed forward, the blade held back at his side, the tip to the ground hovering over the grass as his arm was straight back, he leaped forward when just feet from her and swung the blade in a horizontal slash, the length could keep her at bay, while also great for slicing."Ready that's just the beginning!" he said with a small smirk, as the blade flew forward in a long arc, he made sure to watch her carefully, his eyes trained on every movement she made, he studied that, watched to see what twitched, and what didn't, what joint turned and when. He would normally never analyze her attacks, if he had then training would get boring, but he always loved counter attacks, and enjoyed using them back.

“That’s what I’m talking about.” Ichirin said with a more pleased expression as she observed the formation of Marrock’s zanpakuto. In all honesty, she thought it was quite odd; it looked pretty complicated for a shikai release. Ichirin tightened her grip on the hilt of Tokoyami as the reiatsu from Marrock’s blade suddenly assaulted the area. Anticipating an attack on Marrock’s part, she released some of her own reiatsu, not to be outdone. Oddly enough, it seemed that her blade managed to absorb much of her released reiatsu. Afterwards, the edge of her zanpakuto had a dull, black glow. She was contemplating on using her shikai, since it appeared that Marrock had. . . but no. She was confident that she could do without her own shikai, for now at least. Then, once Marrock began to run towards her, Ichirin simply waited for him to get close. Having seen the length the his blade from afar, Ichirin took one small step back and then swung Tokoyami with both hands towards Marrocks blade as he too, was swinging it. She swung it with perfect timing, so that her blade would either stop his dead, or even deflect it, since she had put a good amount of force into the swing. Either way, once Marrock’s slash was intercepted, Ichirin would suddenly lunge forwards inside Marrock’s defense to try and knock him off balance. Given the size of his blade, using it this close up would be difficult to impossible.

There was a calm aura about him, though his reiatsu was flowing freely, untamed and wild, yet some how still controlled. He was just at the women as she knocked away his blade, a usefull tactic but it wouldnt be enough to stop him. She closed in as he watched his blade was still hit by the force of her swing, so he used that and spun himself, just as she would step in to attack he was already around to swing again, his blade flying from the ground up in a vertical slash, with all of the force he had in his single arm and the force he used form her swing to bring it all back to her in one devastating blow. His eyes shifted from inside the mask to watch his blade flying through the air as he pulled it and twisted his wrist stabbing it into the ground, she tried to knock him off balance and it did so, he was rushed back and onto his ass by her technique."Very good, you noticed i had a longer weapon and closed the gap, Zanjutsu 101!" he said he picked himself up from the ground, rolling his shoulders a bit he lifted his hand, the purple orb began to spin and the Odachi rose from the ground next to her to fly into his hand.

His spirit energy suddenly dropped, the blade was covered in a purple flow, his hand once again outline in this dark violet color. The blade shrunk and slowly became a katana, a five foot blade and a foot long handle, for a total of six feet. He was strong to strike extremely effectively with a single hand, not even the hand he actually uses, he was right handed to be honest. With the newly formed katana, he swung it downwards then jerked his hand downward to spin the blade, keeping the handle against his palm it did a 360 and he caught the blade, swinging it upwards then horizontally and finally stopping it as his left arm was completely aligned with his shoulder the blade straight as an extention of his hand, his arm was held out the blade facing away from her. He was on the offensive again, this time he charged forward and jumped into the air, using the same attack she did when they first began, but thrusted his feet down propelling himself further using his own wieght to drop his arm down straight towards her chest, his muscles tensed as he was halfway down with the strike and suddenly jerked his wrist down to follow through with the attack."hyaaa!"

“Don’t chastise me! Do you think I became a captain for nothing?” Ichirin asked in an annoyed tone, taking a couple small steps backwards after she had successfully knocked Marrock down. As she did his, she also pulled Tokoyami back, leveling it out in front of herself, into a defensive position. Still, she could easily switch to offense if she needed too.

Enough with the theatrics. . .

Ichirin thought as she observed Marrock performing a series of movements with his newly formed katana. She didn’t appear shocked by the sudden transformation of his zanpakuto, but she was wondering about it nonetheless. She was surprised that he was trying another head-on attack after the last outcome. Since Marrock was attacking from the air, Ichirin raised Tokoyami up above her head in a horizontal tilt to attempt to block Marrocks incoming blade. Holding Tokoyami’s hilt with her right hand only, she placed her left hand on the father flat side of the buster blade to reinforce her block. If she succeeded in blocking Marrock’s swing, the instant his blade clashed with her’s, Ichirin would bring her left hand back and allow her blade to tilt down towards the ground, pushed by the force of Marrock’s slash. This would cause his blade to slide down the length of Tokoyami, towards the ground as well. Knowing that this would leave him open for a moment, Ichirin took advantage of it. As Marrock’s blade would likely be slamming down towards the ground, Ichirin stabbed the tip of Tokoyami’s blade into the ground and jumped up so that she was level with Marrock’s head. Using Tokoyami to support her weight as she was in the air, Ichirin swung around sideways and sent a light kick to the side of Marrock’s head. It wasn’t enough to seriously injure him if it hit, but it could send him reeling.

His feet hit the ground as soon as his blade clashed into hers, but instead of clashing it dipped and began to slide along the edge of her Tokoyami. Quick on his feet and extremely clever he released the blade, the sudden release sent it pummeling to the ground in spinning fashion, with his hands both free and his katana at the ground next to her Tokoyami, he watched as her body began to spin, raising his hand in a defensive position he caught her ankle, spinning her forward, he grabbed her other leg as well, both ankles in his custody he brought her to the ground, away from both blades, then bent her legs up next to her head, in a bit of a provacative position, something he didn't mind seeing her in. His body was ontop of hers, almost pushing into her, but lightly. Her hands were free, and he was looming over her, his hair draped around his face, casting a shadow along his jaw, or rather the mask. A slightly creepy sight as the sun was setting behind them, the sky a light orange, and the clouds disapearing the sun still in full view but much more orange than yellow. "hmpheh. Try hakudo again and it'll be worse. Sword play only right?" he said as a mockery to what she had told him in the beginning, as he released her legs from the positon he stepped back, picking up Tokoyami, staring at the daringly beautiful blade.

"Beat me and you may have this back." he said his voice a bit playfull, a bit teasing, but mostly to entice her."And remember... never let your emotions get the better of you... To be truly dangerous, one must control them and harness them to their favor." He ran his finger along the flat edge of the blade, hold her in his right hand."Tokoyami, how beautiful." he noted and turned his gaze to his sparring partner, turning the blade to her. He parted his feet, one behind the other in a strong defensive stance, his left hand now gloved, but when he had done it was a mystery, but her sword was in his right hand hand, the blade facing her and his left hand straight towards his body to keep it out of the way of sword strikes."Show me your sword skills. I have no doubt of your hakudo either, but this is sword play."

Ichirin tried to jerk her foot free of Marrock’s grasp, but failed and was sent down to the ground, in a slightly embarrassing position. As she glared fiercely up at Marrock, she vowed that she would get him back later, in the worst way she could think of . . . perhaps a swift kick to the genitals would suffice. Though she looked as if she were quite angry, her intentions would be well-hidden. Once Marrock got off of her, Ichirin stood up as well, lightly brushing herself off in the process.

“My mistake. . .” she said in a smooth, nonchalant tone as she gazed over to where Marrock now appeared to be holding her zanpakuto. She didn’t like that at all, but she didn’t let it bother her too much. After all, as her zanpakuto, Tokoyami lived within her, and if she needed to get it back bad enough, she could. For a moment, she pondered on how she could show her “swordplay skills” without her zanpakuto, but then she recalled Marrock dropping his own, and figured that he meant foor her to use his zanpakuto, while he used hers. She bent down and grabbed the katana by its hilt and then righted herself, pointing the katana tip-first at its original owner. She still didn’t like this, she didn’t want to fight against her own zanpakuto, even if it was just a spar; but she wouldn’t and couldn’t back out now. She ignored Marrock’s miniature speech and shifted her right foot forward slightly, obtaining a more firm balance on the ground, which was now disturbed by numerous footprints, thanks o the beginning stages of their spar.

“All right . . . you need to stop talking so much.” Ichirin said, in a simple response to Marrock as she suddenly lowered the blade of the katana so that it was now pointing downwards, towards he ground. Less than a second later, she pushed off the ground, running towards Marrock at a fair speed, still holding the katana aligned with the ground. It looked as if she would charge him head-on, once again, but once she was within a couple feet of Marrock, she put on a sudden burst of raw speed and disappeared altogether from what would be Marrock’s line of vision. Shortly after, she was at Marrock’s side, on his left. She swung the katana upwards in a wide arc, so that it was slashing towards his left arm. It wasn’t enough to critically injure Marrock or sever the appendage, but the attack was quick and sudden, and there was some force behind it.

He wasn't really going over her stance, he felt a sparring match was more fun than an actual fight. He lowered the blade to his midsection, watching her through the tinted goggles of his mask, and easy followed her movement when she charged him, as he swayed her Tokoyami back in forth, not keeping it in a single position, so she couldn't read its movement. Then almost out of no where she disapeared, she was fast, extremely so and he could barely have tracked her. For a moment he thought of using a flash step but negated it the moment he realized she was much faster. His gaze was sharp and he followed her trail from the moment she moved to the time she striked, a small smirk rose from under his mask, a bit impressed. He twisted jerking his arm back to avoid the strike, he felt the blade graze his haori as he came down with a bottom strike with his right hand, leting his instinct take over for just a second as the blade was thrust down across her chest. If it had hit there woudn't be more than her clothing torn, it was the extent of his attack. Though he did it all in one clean motion, not a pause between his twist, his turn, and then the strike.

He knew at the low vantage point his area of attack was large, she could strike from any point really and he would only be on defensive. At the last moment of his strike, wether it hit or not was still up to question, Tokoyami was at the zero point of the swing, stopping for the milisecond he swung her back upwards in an arc, following the same path as the downward strike, his left hand still kept inwards to keep out of way of his own strikes and hers. He kept his eyes to her, following her movements and watchign carefully, then as if he hoped she didn't suspect it, his shunpo carried him a few feet away, as he ran through technique's in his head, he finally thought of a good plan. Dashing forward, his slower speed, meant he needed to strike faster, keep her on the defensive. He raised his arm, then brought it downa nd continued into a flurry of strikes, from up to down, then straight across and diagonally then back up in the same his movements began to pick up, the blade and his motions were starting to leave after images as he stepped forward into each strike, wether they hit, missed, or were blocked he didnt stop the onslaught. he had to keep her on her toes, and he did just that."Getting tired yet?!"

After she felt the blade tear Marrock’s clothing, she stopped her swing, knowing that if she let it travel the rest of the way to the ground, she would only leave herself open. Now holding the katana at her side, she stepped back as much as time would allow. Before she could get completely out of range however, Tokoyami tore a long rip in the top layer of her shihakusho. Now the white material of kosode underneath could be seen through her torn shihakusho.

Why do my clothes always get wrecked?

She wondered to herself irritably as she stepped completely out of range of the second swing, not pausing even after her shihakusho had been torn. She blinked as Marrock flash stepped away, and waited, with his blade at the ready. Once he rushed her with his flurry of slashes, she met him head on and systematically started to block, deflect, and even dodge some as they came, stepping backwards when necessary. Since she now had the smaller weapon, she was able to block each strike even quicker, though because Tokoyami was a bigger, heavier blade than the one she was holding now, the strikes were slightly more strenuous to block. Once the speed of Marrock’s slashes began to pick up more and more, Ichirin acquired a couple more tears in her clothing, mostly along her upper arms and shoulders, but that was it; she still successfully managed to block most of the assault. After another of Marrock’s slashes, she raised the blade on a horizontal angle and attempted to stop Tokoyami dead, reinforcing the block with her free hand like before, though this action was slightly more awkward with a smaller sword.

“Not a chance. . . .” she said in an overconfident tone as she held both of their swords in place. If she succeeded in blocking, she would then push upwards on the blade with sheer strength in hopes of pushing Marrock backwards and off balance. Whether this tactic was a success or not, she would, without hesitating, slash the blade down towards the right shoulder of its original owner. Again, it wasn’t a fatal strike, but it was quick with a bit of force behind it.

"Impressive.." He said inbeteen swings, his tall stature looming over her as he pressured the women into a defensive stance. Each swing of the blade sent a flurry of sparks, the intensity was rising to the point his attacks were little more than a routine pounding, just like he always did to her. There was no order, no pattern, though it wasnt random either. He was aiming for her blade, his blade, not for her body. He was truly impressed that she could counter dozens of strikes, or block them, and even if she had figured out that they weren't even towards her: the fact that her clothing was being ripped was the force of the more powerful clashes. Tokoyami and the unknown blade would strike together and send a force strong enough to cut fabric in tiny slivers. As he watched her movement, his face was a blank expression, the mask hiding him away behind a solid piece of metal. His strikes were mostly random, though not random, and his clothing only had a minor rip in the left arm, but beyond that he had taken no serious damage.

His hand tightened around the soft hilt of Tokoyami, the blade stopped at mid swing, yet he found himself pushing down with a single hand. She was using the same type of defense as before. A singular thought came about."Would she really use the same move twice, or is it a tactic, some type of decoy?" his inner thoughts dwindled as he felt the similar force upwards rising agianst his blade in a defient uprising. He wouldn't let that happen, with just his right hand he pushed back, the heavier wieght, longer blade, and his own superior strength helping to fend off her two handed push. "Your right... Not a chance!" With her sheer strength at full force on her own Tokoyami, he leaned back, stepped back, and removed all force he had against her, letting the blade she held swing upwards in an arc right passed him, his eyes following the sharp edge as it hovered slightly over his mask, and with that he used shunpo. It was just a single step, but he flung forward right in front of her."Its over, Love."

He stood in front of her, he had made a quick and decisive move. It turned the tide and forced her into an opening. He had used his own strength to force her to use more, then at the peak of the clash he pulled back letting the blade she help swing off into an uncontrolled arc. He moved in his body inches from hers, his right arm down, but with Tokoyami straight up against is owners neck, effectivly ending the spar. His left hand was raised, his hand was wrapped around her wrist, his mask almost disturbing in beneath the deep and dark sky, its red eyes peering endlessly into her own."I believe i win. " He kept a tense stance for a few more seconds, his face inches from hers staring into her, his body nearly pressed into the other, but he stepped back all in one motion. His face, mask, head almost disapearred as he was once again holding Tokoyami, carressing the handle, but with a small smile he held the handle out to Ichirin, holding the blades edge."There was one other thing, Ichi."

He raised his left palm, fingers out stretched a small swirl of reiatsu tunneled around his hand pulling his blade from her hand, then even before he could catch the handle, having it dissolve into a symphony of light, pure white pedals swirling around into a center mass, forming a small shape, that quickly turned into a glove. He slipped it on with little effort and turned his back to the squad eleven captain."Till next time i suppose, i was going to ask you an important question... but that'll be of no matter pretty soon." he said with an almost ominous tone, the light of the full moon glossing his figure, casting a dark shadow over his right half, leaving the other with a small, slightly sad expression."Well i must be off, we should do this again some time, real soon love. later." As the last words echoed he was gone, through a very strong flash step, leaving nothing but dust.

Kiro would appear running into the Captains office breathing hard. Upon entering he would kneel down placing his left hand flat against the floor. Lowering his head his light blue hair would fall over his face covering his icy blue eyes from being able to be seen. "Im sorry that I am late Captain. Is there anything you would like me to do?" He would state in between breath. His voice sound as if he was only 16 as does his features. He would then lift his head to look upon his Captains face to see if she was upset with him.

(First of all, she isn't even in there. Second of all, I already told you I don't have a laptop, that means I am not posting. e.e)

A subtle black butterfly with pink lining flutters into the Captain's office. It twirls around, leaving its trail before landing in the captain's desk. If any were to touch it, it would deliver the following message in the message of Ichibantai's fukutaicho Tageshi Ryonnen:

As Kiro looked up his eyes would widden with a blank stare within them as he looked at the empty office. He would then stand as he looked around seeing if he was really alone. Shaking his head he would turn around as a black butterfly flew in an landed upon the captains desk. Turning towards the butterfly he would walk over to it an lightly touch it. Hearing the message that it was playing he would turn away an wonder out of the office. As he left he would turn looking at everything an then smirk at how dumb he feels. Turning away he would leave the office in the order he found it.