Reflections in Rippling Water [Alexander/D'gerik - Closed]

Perhaps one could have known less what they had just walked into. The building's door was open, at a first glance, one would be able to see that the house was entirely empty. Plant life litters all corners outside, and the inside is no better. Tatami mats broken by weeds. Other than that, there wasn't anything special to see from the outside. Upstairs however, lay the truth hidden in the mist of reality. An Arrancar, possibly unknown to the soul society was resting, woken only by the angered scream of poor Alexander.

He sat himself up, a tinge of annoyance in his eyes. He looked around seeing no one from his lookout on the other side of the abandoned homestead.

"Of all the damnable... How in the bloody hell is anyone even here?..."

He stood, walking only slightly above the ground to avoid the building from crumbling beneath him. Slowly he made his way to the edge of the balcony, looking over his side but unable to see anything or anyone.

"The hell?.. Oh so I suppose I'm hearing things now. Right..."

Finally he made his way to the opposite end of the structure and find his silence. The Arrancar spots an individual where there shouldn't have been anyone for miles.

"Who in the hell... humans don't dress like that... a Shinigami maybe?.."

He whispered to himself.

The forest nearby was a dead silence from all angles. The treeline extended forwards for at least a mile, maybe two.At the end, the faintest sign of buildings and civilization made their appearance. Regardless, the sights were not the reason for this Arrancar's stay. All he really wanted was some rest, but that wasn't going to happen. He looked down upon Alexander, hidden from sight, and observed to see what the stranger would do to prove himself as either passive, or a threat...

Word count: 310

GP:  6

"Hello...yeah...hi... this is the First Division guy you just sent through..."

The dialogue pauses for a little while, one side of it speaking but inaudible to anyone but Alexander.

"...uh-huh...yeah... well I might just have an explanation for that..."

Having come around to the front of the building, its open door and ruined interior, it'd been time for the young Shinigami to phone in. Normally quite patient and polite, Alexander puts that aside, at least for the duration of this call. A clever, witty, retorting speech ready and waiting, it of course fizzles to nothing in his mind the moment the phone on the other end is picked up. As it is, this situation is absurd, to the point of questioning if this is someone's idea for a joke. There he stands, in the middle of a forest clearing, no sign of civilisation for miles. There's not even the distant sound of cars on busy roadways which, from Alexander's experiences so far on Earth, is a basic ambient sound very difficult to get away from.

"So, the reason I'm not turning up on your monitors in Karakura, is because I'm not in Karakura... Yep... Middle of nowhere, right in a lake, actually."

No sounds of laughter on the other end... that may or may not be a good thing. Instead, there's silence, which definitely isn't a good thing. For a little while he waits, but after so long...

"Hello? Someone still there?"

The operator from before picks up again, and speaks, their voice notably stressed. At this point, it's likely this isn't a joke...

"No idea, I'm afraid. There appears to be some old ruin, but no address or anything."

Another pause as one side of the dialogue continues...

"How long will that take?"

The young Shinigami has begun pacing slightly, now he wanders over to the lake side, idly shifting through pebbles for any good skimmers.

"You know, I was wondering about that, you'd think Karakura was a pretty common destination..."

A small pebble is thrown, making a series of three quick skips along the water's surface.

"A couple of weeks, huh? Still, you'd think he'd be able to put a simple set of coordinates in properly..."

Another pebble, this one gets a bit further.

"Yeah, I guess... So how's that trace going? Got it? Great."

As Alexander listens, his expression drops, becoming somewhat more serious. The skimming stones are put down, and he speaks softly, quietly.

"No, I don't think there's anyone else here..."

None the less, the young Shinigami is now glancing around...

"Two blips? You sure you've got the right co-ordinates?"

He appears to be getting ready for something. Was there a noise? A sudden realisation of something seen out of place? Or are time old instincts telling him now that he is being watched?

"A red one and a..."

And now another subtle change to his voice. It's the odd combination of absolute calmness, while at the same time, it's obvious that something has him very, very worried. The pacing of his words are slow, deliberate, as if it were vitally important the person on the other end caught every last word.

"Okay, I need you to put down the phone, and go find an officer... explain to them what's going on. Have you got the coordinates? Are they fixed? Good. I'm going to hang up now. Whoever's in charge might want to call me back, but I might not be able to answer the phone. Don't worry, I'll be just fine, just go find someone. Okay... Goodbye..."

With the tenseness in his voice, saying 'goodbye' at the end seems rather odd, but it is nonetheless said with the same carefulness and forced calmness as the rest. Putting away his phone, Alexander drops his left hand down to one of the two Zanpakutou by his side, holding the sheath and quietly pushing the blade out, just slightly, with his thumb. His right hand hovers, ready above the sword's hilt. Already looking around the clearing, across the lake, towards the forest, seeing no-one, he slowly creeps his way back towards the old ruined building. Ready for who knows what, he makes one careful step across the threshold of the structure's main entrance...

Word Count (Total): 709 (1387)

GP (Total): 14 (23)

Entertained at first, the mystery being watched the man he had confirmed to be a Shinigami. He had never seen the device Alexander was using, and the mere thought of what it was further entertained him. After all, he had never really lived long enough to see its creation. Still, he could only really hear one side of the conversation save for the laughter on the other end which almost made him laugh himself. Upon hearing the Shinigami mention address, he chuckled to himself and mumbled;

"This house hasn't been used since the Shinto period. I somehow doubt any address exists..."

How curious for him... It had been ages since he last encountered another Shinigami, and even more so since he last visited the world of the living as he was doing now.

As he watched, he grew bored, and would have continued on with his rest of not for the sudden change in the Shinigami's composure. At first he thought it was nothing, seeing as the boy was impatiently skipping stones. However, it wouldn't be long at all until her realized something was wrong. He had little to no idea what Alexander spoke of when he said "Two blips", seeing as most of the tech they have nowadays far had not even existed in his time. But something was clear; Alexander knew now that he wasn't alone.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me..." He mumbled.

A soft, almost imperceptible sigh escaped his lips as Alexander entered. The Shinigami would quickly find just how long this building had been here. The moment he set foot inside the tatami beneath his feet would crackle and break. little would he know that directly overhead is where the "Second blip" was coming from. The mystery being picked up his Nodachi, strapped it over shoulder behind him, and approached the steps. He plainly called out;

"This building is much older than you, probably. You may want to watch how you step, Shinigami."

From the top of the steps, whether Alexander noticed him or not, what could be witnessed was definitely not human, dead or living. The amount of white coming down the stairs was ridiculous. Pure white Tabi that seemed to barely even make contact with the floor, followed quickly by a pair of equally white Hakama, the white top of a Gi topped by a Haori of the exact same color. The being's hands looked as though they were covered by leather gloves, white as well of course, if only a bit darker. However, as his head came into view, it became clear they weren't gloves - rather, they were bare flesh.

"I would personally suggest treating the tatami as though it was the water in the lake outside." he spoke as he descended. Upon reaching the end of the case he calmly approached the Shinigami, his hands remaining at his side, only coming up and into his Haori about halfway. It didn't matter to him what Alexander replied, stated, or even threatened, he continued on his path straight ahead. Finally, upon reaching no more than two meter's distance, he pulled his hand out from his Haori with two parchment wrapped blue rectangles with a stick stabbed into each. He extended his arm out, offering one to the Shinigami.

"Want one? . . . It's ice-cream. Sea-salt. . . It's weird, really sweet, you can't even taste the salt at all. It's kinda like... Oh what do the humans call it... Raspberry, something like that? Oh whatever, it tastes like fruit, really good, want one or not?"

He took a bite out of the bar in his other hand and watched, waiting for a reaction.

Words (Total): 613 (923)

GP (Total): 12 (18)

The young Shinigami hesitates as he hears a voice coming from somewhere inside the building. It had already crossed his mind to step more carefully after discovering the apparent integrity of the flooring under foot. Having planned on finding some other way, perhaps, quite simply, treading cautiously and testing his weight on the ground with every step, that idea is abandoned as the presence of another is indeed confirmed for him. Chances are, he'll need to utilise a proper and full range of mobility.

As one would expect, Alexander immediately, almost instinctively looks around to try and find this other person who had just made themselves known. Before he'd even stepped into the building, he'd been 'warming up' his spiritual senses. Though not strictly speaking a master of the technique, he is at least proficient in the art. There'd been... something, though the young shinigami hadn't been able to tell exactly what, or where, or even if it'd just been his imagination. Now that he has a visual though... It's somewhat like one of those optical illusion or puzzles, where there is both a young and old lady. At first you can only see the one, but once you spot the other, she's there, plain as day. There is the other spiritual being, and it seemed almost strange that he'd not registered such a clear presence earlier.  

Dropping into a stance, the clearly already quite tense individual seems ready to draw, maybe even a striking draw. He doesn't move or attack though, and though he doesn't let it show externally, he's somewhat surprised this other person hasn't already struck. This only makes him suspicious though, what are they up to?

He'd been somewhat hoping that it'd simply been a mistake, that he'd had nothing to worry about and had simply been over-reacting. But no such luck though. Instead, he now has to be on guard for this person who may or may not be after blood. On the other hand though, the young Shinigami no longer has any reason to be so tentative with his air soles. Despite the fact that it is the suggestion of a potential hostile, he carefully and slightly, conjures the footing, ending up exactly as he was before, it seems, but in fact he is, almost imperceivable, a millimeter or so off the ground.

Despite present appearances, Alexander isn't really the sort to jump into battle, or even make the first move. Part of it is an acknowledgement that combat, no matter what reasons one might have to feel however secure, always carries some inherent risk, however small. Most of it though, is that Alexander simply doesn't like violence. Yes, an enemy can always get lucky, and unknown factors can always come a part of a fight, but he's more concerned with doing harm, then being harmed.

Although he displays quite the level of swordsmanship skill, simply by the way he stands ready in stance, this Shinigami is in reality an office worker. He sits at a desks, signs paperwork, sorts out the files and generally avoid the front lines. The only time he gets out and about, like today, is when he runs the occasional errand, or is working the delivery of documents. This is not to say that he isn't a capable combatant, simply that he's not as aggressive as most.

He marks the other person's words. They speak of treating the mats as he did the water outside. Whoever this person is, it's obvious now that they'd already been watching him and had thus been concealing their presence. An Arrancar. He imagines there's some sort of standing order, that such creatures should be treated as enemies, should be engaged on sight, killed if possible. In short, treat them as most of them would treat any of us. Was there a war of sorts declared? He couldn't imagine there was any kind of peace treaty with them, he'd have certainly heard if there was. Don't you just treat them like you do other Hollows? Is he meant to attack straight away, or wait for reinforcements? Would they know? The Seireitei, that is. If he just held, ready to fight, but didn't actually attack until others got here, who would know? Surely it'd be safer to engage only if necessary, to prevent escape or casualties. Oh, he probably wouldn't get anywhere career wise by not taking the risk. Surely, people would be more impressed if he went ahead and took down an enemy like this by himself. But then, Alexander isn't really the kind interested in climbing the ranks. No, he'd prefer to get the team in on this, make certain that this goes smoothly. It'd be worse, wouldn't it? If he went ahead and attacked, and the Arrancar then got away. Of course, they're more likely to attack him... His job then, is to stay alive.

What sort of power level did this one have? He senses something that he could probably handle, but thinking, erring on the side of caution, some can opponent's conceal their full capabilities. A hand going into a Haori, this doesn't do anything to alleviate Alexander's concerns. All sort of nasty things can be concealed in a pocket and brought out to bear. He's almost tempted to shout out orders for them to pull their hand out slowly, like some sort of civil law enforcer with a suspicious offender. Instead though, he remains focused and ready to fight. Whatever it is they have, he won't be caught off...

[Huh?!]

The sort-of-a-word is clearly thought in his head, though not said out loud, at least not verbally. Icecreams? He doesn't break his stance as the newcomer takes them out, but nonetheless, the mix of surprise and confusion is evident on the Shinigami's face. It's fair to say, it's not the sort of thing he'd been expecting. For a few moments, he seems to be trying to figure out what the...

Probably the least helpful thought going through his head is:

[Raspberry wouldn't be blue...]

The whole scenario, his expectations and the sudden reveal... It has him somewhat off balance. Eventually though, despite himself, he relaxes slightly, still in stance, for the most part. 

"I'm... I'm afraid I'll have to decline... Sorry."

Why the hell is there an apology? Wait, nevermind, this is Alexander we're talking about...

"Er... you do realise that... I mean... You knew I wasn't exactly going to say yes... It's not exactly, the sort of thing, a Shinigami would... You being a Hollow and all..."

Word Count (Total): 1087 (2394)

GP (Total): 21 (44)

OOC: Yeah, sorry for the long wait on the reply, been having some troubles... Still, I'll try to get a bit quicker on the posts.

“Ugh. . . what a drag. It really is a Shinigami. . . What terrible luck” D’gerik thought. He wasn’t too keen on fighting himself, and coming face to face with someone who most likely wanted him dead just because he was alive and walking the Earth didn’t really suit his fancy.

The first step, of course, was to judge what level of skill his would-be opponent had. From the stance he held alone, he could tell the being was a decent swordsman. Other than that, his abilities at reading spiritual weren’t the greatest, but he could still tell the individual was someone he just MIGHT be able to keep up with, and that’s stretching it. Regardless, D’gerik would much rather avoid a combat scenario if at all possible.

The tatami already had a couple of holes here and there, so one more really wasn’t going to bother D’gerik in any way, shape, or form. It wasn’t his house regardless. Still, D’gerik was happy to see that the Shinigami at least had the decency to listen to his suggestion and conjure some decent footing when standing in a house older than he was. But the truly pressing thought in D’gerik’s mind was; “What’s this guy going to do?” He had no idea at all! Was he going to start a fight? Would he take the ice-cream? Would he hit it aside? Would he try to trap D’gerik? He hadn’t encountered a Shinigami since he BECAME an Arrancar! So who was to say things had changed? But then, who was to say they hadn’t? Who was to say that they never stopped looking for him? That they had finally found him and that now they were going to make him pay for what he had done all those years ago to their comrades and to the entire family he eradicated from the face of the universe? Well, if that’s what the lone Shinigami had come to do, they wouldn’t have sent just one, much less one of a lower level. Besides, if the conversation through his phone earlier was any indication, this boy was here entirely on accident, meaning he was safe, for now…

So the Shinigami didn’t want the ice-cream huh? “Oh well” he thought. D’gerik would shrug his openly and put the spare ice-cream away again. “Suit yourself” he replied before taking another bite of his ice-cream and starting to walk outside. Of course, this means he would pass right next to the Shinigami in the same casual pose as before without so much as blinking even. He took a few steps outside, turned around and asked “You coming, or not? I really would much rather not break the house any further. Besides, my nap was already interrupted, might as well take a walk, no?”

He began to walk along the water, assuming that the Shinigami was following him. D’gerik was pretty sure he would, seeing as that would mean for him an Arrancar escaping from his grasp. However if he didn’t follow, D’gerik would turn his head to assure. “Look, I really don’t wanna fight. . . It’s tedious, people get hurt, someone ends up either dead or looking like a fool. So you can either come along and have someone to talk to or wait here by your lonesome whilst someone comes to pick you up…”

The lake was fairly sized, shaded almost entirely, due to the time of day, making it perfect for a simple walk over its calm and peaceful waters. D’gerik would begin to walk along its surface, conjuring his steps as the air solidified millimeters bellow his feet. It would be a silent walk for the most part. Seeing as neither of them really had any small-talk conversation to bring up. It would really consist of about ten or so straight minutes of walking as D’gerik finished his ice-cream, then rinsed the stick in the water before placing it back into his coat pocket. A few more minutes of walking, and D’gerik would finally break the silence.

“That device you were using earlier when you got here. I’ve never seen one like it before. Pardon me for seeming so old-fashioned, but they didn’t really have those back then. . . and it’s been a really long time since I’ve had any sort of communication with anyone from any of the three worlds. In fact, I’d say you’re the first one in about 40 or 50 years – maybe more.” The device, of course, is referring to the Shinigami’s cell-phone. D’gerik was old. REALLY old… He had seen civilization rise from its earlier stages, but there came a point where D’gerik felt he had seen enough of it, and moved on to the world of the hollow. This being his first time back, he was pretty much ignorant of the changes that they had made. He never really followed the Espada either, meaning their technology was also lost to him. A big part of him was sure that the Shinigami was still paranoid and unwilling to speak. Whether or not that is true, however, remained to be seen.

Word Count (Total): 853 (1776)

GP (Total): 17 (35)

OOC: No worries mate. Everyone has their stuff to take care of. I'm just making sure you're alive is all.

Remaining at a fixed distance, now that one has been established, Alexander takes a few careful steps as the Arrancar approaches and passes. As they turn their back on the young Shinigami, he hesitates. Such a display of confidence, nonchalant in the face of an enemy poised with weapon already in hand, it seems obvious that this is a more dangerous situation than spiritual senses would indicate. He stays silent, even with the Arrancar's beckoning, completely focused on the situation at hand. He'd had a chance to strike them from behind, end this then and there. It is the basic creed of the Soul Academy to strike at enemies thus, but something had stopped the young Shinigami. Now he's following the unusual individual out onto the water. He'd relaxed his stance to walk normally. Once a little way out, the Arrancar turns their head and speaks again. Though it seems unusual for what Alexander expected of the species, it seems to match what he'd learnt of the individual so far.

[Doesn't want to fight? You and me both...Still, given the circumstances...]

The Shinigami sighs slightly as he continues to escort the Arrancar. Now at this point, what was he waiting for? He'd not attacked before when he had an opening, though, now that he thinks about it, neither had his target. It was obvious they'd been watching him, and Alexander hadn't noticed. Was he just instinctively addressing some sort of weird exchange, parley of honour, 'you didn't attack me when my guard was down so I won't attack you'? Is he now just patiently waiting for the Arrancar to finish their ice-cream. No reason why not, they didn't seem to be doing any harm right now. So with that said, where was his backup? You'd think reinforcements would be a bit more prompt. Oddly enough, he'd been in this situation before. This was in fact the second time he'd confronted an Arrancar, and despite what he'd been taught about the race, that one hadn't wanted to fight either. Of course, she'd been rather attractive and had at the time been suggesting something somewhat more appealing to Alexander than ice-cream. Heh, how would this be? Was he working his way through the traditional deadly seven? He'd had lust and gluttony now, so all he needed was an Arrancar that was really annoying, or another that'd try to bribe him... and so on. Ah, but alas, real life doesn't work that way.

Finally, the ice-cream is finished, and as the empty stick is rinsed, the young Shinigami is tensing up again. None the less, he takes a deep cleansing breath, clearing his head to speak confidently. Before he could though, the other begins speaking, breaking the silence. It throws him slightly off balance... Again.

"Device? Oh... Right... Guess it would kind of seem new to someone who's... But, I mean, wow, Fifty years, that's... Well, that's longer than I've been a..."

Not for the first time in his life, he realises that he's babbling. Not normally a failing for him, usually he's quite measured and eloquent, but all that's happened today has him off his usual rhythm. Not to mention, the situation has him slightly nervous. Still, it doesn't take him long to regain his usual composure. He stops speaking and rallies.

"Ahem... Of course, all you need to know, is I have, and have used, a means of communicating with my command in the Seireitei. Such methods I imagine are not unheard of for you, though my kind would have used kido in the past to manage such a feat. They are apprised of my current situation and others will be on the way. Since you've been out of circulation for a while, I shall introduce myself. I am Alexander Vulfna of the First Division and as it happens, the Seireitei's stance in regards to Hollows has not changed since last you would have heard. So, since I am a Shinigami..."

Now comes the point he usually dreads... drawing one of his two Zanpakutou, actually bringing a blade to bare.

"...Though I too have an aversion for the like..."

It's uncertain if anyone is coming, or if they were, how long they'd be. With such a long wait, chances of another Arrancar turning up, or the risk of Alexander's quarry slipping away and escaping without a single exchange of blows, especially bad if he should have been fighting all that time... As much as he'd like to try and avoid it, work a way around it... One hesitates to say 'weasel out of it'...

"...One has to do as their duties command."

Though he had excuses, and as one would mark, not reasons, to hold back on an attack, and at least some doubts, in regards to his opponent's power level, Alexander was no coward. He could only hold himself at bay for so long. In what might even be considered a traditional, theatrical pose, the tip of the drawn sword is pointed at the Arrancar.

Word Count (Total): 836 (3230)

GP (Total): 16 (60)

D’gerik stared in confusion a tad as Alexander started to babble about time, which of course wasn’t the point. Regardless, D’gerik was glad to see the Shinigami was self-aware and returned to the subject as hand. He had already figured that the Alexander had called for help, and knew for certain he wouldn’t be there for much longer. Regardless, he was ever growingly curious as to how technology had evolved throughout the years, and even more so that the Shinigami had integrated technology into their own society. The fact is, fifty years was an incredibly short amount of time in comparison to the amount of time he had existed as a hollow. In fact, most of today’s technology wasn’t even considered science fiction when he was alive!

As it was, D’gerik had indeed been out of circulation with both Shinigami and Arrancar alike. That being the case, he was able to infer that the basics of honorifics and courtesy were intact. The Shinigami finally introduced himself as Alexander Vulfna of the First Division. He felt a tad confused when Alexander mentioned the Seireitei’s stance in regards to Hollows; as it happens, D’gerik had never been close to Hollow or Shinigami long enough to understand their stance on each other. He had started “Well I’m glad to see that-. . .” only to be interrupted by Alexander taking his stance. It didn’t matter to D’gerik whether or not Shinigami disliked Hollow or not, all that he detested was battle. But it seemed now that he had no choice. Regardless, he understood that Alexander was compelled to do so by his calling as a Shinigami.

“Damn it all. . .” he muttered aloud and continued with a deep sigh; “I was entirely hoping we could avoid this. . .”

He didn’t want to fight he knew the differences in power between the two of them, and knew exactly what he would have to do.

“Alexander Vulfna. . . I do not think any less of you for choosing your duty over your own desires. That being said, there are things you must know before we do this. . . I know you are stronger than I am, and are most likely capable of keeping up with me as well. That being the case, do not be surprised if I run . . . because I will. I will do all I can, but feel it would not be much. I knew before you had told me that backup was on the way which is a luxury that, unlike you, I do not have. I am unwilling to lose my life over the beliefs of a stranger, whatever those may be. . .”

He paused for a long moment, thinking of what he would do against an opponent like him. It was unfortunate, but he knew he didn’t have much of a choice. His hands reached behind his back, one high and one low. Gently, he gripped the hilt of his blade and began to pull on both it and the blade’s scabbard. It would take little time before anyone witnessing the battle could see his blade wasn’t really a katana, but instead a nodachi. Easily twice the length of Alexander’s blade, the force of movement alone made the water bellow ripple and split slightly as it neared. He would lift his blade up, but instead of the traditional stance between two samurai, D’gerik took a different one. His blade was horizontal, and above his head in one hand. His second hand was open in front of him, but not too far ahead, and his feet were positioned more as a barehanded martial artist’s feet would be. It so happens that, if Alexander knew anything about foreign martial arts, he would be able to identify D’gerik’s stance as one of the Chinese art of Wushu with only a few very subtle differences. He would move no further then begin to speak once more.

“Don’t bother chasing me if I run, even with your technology I know this forest better than even the humans inhabiting this Earth do. . . Karakura town is approximately 27 miles north-west from here, just in case. One last thing. . . Alexander Vulfna, whatever you do, do not get cut by me or anything around us. If you have anything to close open wounds, attempt to use it as soon as physically possible. It is not my desire to kill you or cause you pain in any way. . .”

He remained silent once more, dreading this day, and hoping that it would never rear its ugly head. He turned his head for a moment to mumble something to himself, then turned back up with a sad look on his face.

“My name is D’gerik Blackheart . . . I have lived as a hollow for well over two-hundred years. It has been a pleasure speaking to you, Alexander Vulfna. And may we meet again another day, as anything but enemies. . .”

Everything that needed to be said was spoken, now it was time to begin a battle that would hopefully never be officially settled. . .

Words (Total): 860 (2636)

GP (Total): 17 (52)

D'gerik's own sigh became clear pretty quickly. The last thing he wanted was to fight - much less when he knew for certain that reinforcements were on the way for his would be opponent. Alas, there was nothing left to do, nothing left to discuss. D'gerik had spent his entire life fighting, and one more would not hurt him, even if all he did was dodge or counter attack. He cared little if others saw him as a coward for running, and cared even less if a Shinigami thought the same of him. D'gerik's instinct, after all, wasn't to feed - but rather survival.

Both combatants stanced and at the ready, he knew the Shinigami would have to be the one to make the first move. After all, he's the one who gave no other option but to fight. Regardless, D'gerik would have to rely on his knowledge of the battlefield and hope his opponent was not as well prepared as he was for this encounter. After all, even shinigami with desk jobs know how to fight when the time comes. . .

A similar thought ran through D'gerik's mind on the lake. He had learned long ago to attempt to predict his opponent, preempt what would be done in a battle and try to act accordingly. He had been staying at the lake-house for some time, and knew that it wasn't all that deep, much less so where they stood. He had stormed an idea, figuring that there were only two ways the Shinigami might attempt to begin. The first, a vertical or horizontal slash; A common start for a more graceful time period. The second, and the one that would apparently be used in this scenario was a thrust. The footing was just perfect for it, allowing one to keep their balance whilst still going for it with everything they had. D'gerik noticed the incoming thrust and began to drop. He figured he would get the drop (No pun intended) on the shinigami by lowering his height before countering with a parry. However, and to D'gerik's surprise, he had failed to preempt that the Shinigami would get the exact same idea. Thankfully this meant that the two would not leave the level of footing, dropping at almost the exact same rate. His counter parry would be as follows; D'gerik would lunge the tip of his blade in a diagonally downwards arc in order to parry his opponent's zanpakuto to the left. This would be followed directly be a continuing swing, where the momentum of the weighted blade  allowed it to continue it's path back above his head, and now coming down towards the Shinigami at full speed, nothing held back, and no regrets!

Words (Total): 451 (3087)

GP (Total): 9 (61)

OOC: No worries, Alexander. It seems death is becoming a common trend nowadays, as I too have been seeing my fair share of it. I bid you my condolences, and assure you that I am not bothered by your extended absence whilst you get yourself together.