Discovery (Closed - Asadi)

“Get up.” A woman’s voice called to him in his mind.

“No.” Came a muffled groan beneath the pale blue comforter that lay upon a human figure. Asadi layed in bed, head nestled deeply into his pillow, his hair askew from a restless night’s rest. He was more than comfortable. You know what it’s like when you finally hit that perfect spot. That one spot where the outside world doesn’t matter. This was exactly where the man lie and he certainly didn’t want to move from it. But like all things, when you finally hit that sweet spot, the outside world seems to call upon you and disturb your sweet, sweet rest.

Unfortunately for him, it wasn’t something as simple as having to take a leak waking him up. No, it was the spirit of his sword, Alya (meaning sky, heaven, loftiness). Unlike her name, she was anything but heaven. This woman, she was something beyond demonic. There in the back of his mind he could see her looming over him, glaring at his soul, demanding more of him than he care to share.

But, she pushed him on. The boot to his ass when he didn’t want to go. The voice of reason to his comedic wit. Alya was the ying to his yang and he needed her to push beyond what he was willing to do and say. He loved her despite their clash of personalities, knowing full well that he couldn’t simply live life without her.

“I’m not joking around, Asadi.” Her voice called to him yet again, the tone more serious than last time. It came on as a growl more than a warning.

Peeking his right eye open, he saw her looming figure actually standing next to the edge of the bed. The pink haired woman glared at him, her arms folding as he felt her energy fill the room. It was palpable, suppressing him against the bed like a spiked blanket. Needles seemed to press against his skin as his hair raised on end. “ALRIGHT!” He spouted off, throwing the covers to his feet. With a grumble he rose up, his feet swinging to the floor as he stretched his arms over his head, giving a big yawn.

The woman took a step back, her crimson eyes peering at him with disdain as her aura slowly faded, leaving him with a slight chill as his body briefly shook. “Buh.” He muttered as his head settled against his comfy bed, pushing off of it to stand. “No need to be that way, Alya.” The man rubbed his upper left arm, trying to awaken his senses for the day.

“It’s noon. You should have been up hours ago.” She reminded him in a condescending tone.

Asadi’s tongue clicked against his teeth. “Nah. I’m off duty today. No need to get up at the crack of dawn.” Thankfully he was; last night was a horrible night. He barely slept a wink - constantly tossing and turning, unable to find the right spot to finally drift off to sleep. It was unfortunate. But the day was calling whether he liked it or not. Mostly not when it came to his sword’s spirit constantly telling him to get up.

Getting dressed, Asadi put on his black sleeveless shihakushō, feeling that his human human clothing that he manage to sneak in would cause too much ire and disdain from his fellow shinigami. It was such a shame they couldn’t be a bit more lax with the rules around here. Grabbing his Zanpakutō and attaching it the left side of his hip, he went out to enjoy the day.

It didn’t take the man long to succumb to the hunger that plagued him. He found himself buying a dozen blueberry bagels at the market and gladly accepted the sack the baker provided him to carry them in. Carrying them in his right hand, he munched on a bagel with his left hand, enjoying the sweet flavor of the blueberries as he walked the streets of his division.

It was as he crested a small hill, he felt a familiar presence - someone he hadn’t seen in a long time. Upon the hill, he spotted a lone figure hanging upside down in tree. In an instant he recognized that deep pink signature that lay upon that empty tree. It was Yui, someone he’d not seen in a long time, yet knew her from a passing and whispers upon breath.

Well, this was certainly a turn of events. A smile crested upon his lips. Perhaps it was time to mingle among someone who might know him from word of mouth. This could be rather fun if he played it right. Flexing his right hand, the bagels in his bag shifted about from the moment - maybe she was as hungry as he was.

Asadi walked over the hill and down to the young woman. His presence didn’t seem to disturb her at all. Standing before her, he leaned his close, studying the purple haired woman closely. She appeared to be in a deep mediation. Maybe she was communing with her sword - to be honest, he wasn’t for sure. Should he disturb her?

She was cute, that was for sure; her small frame made him adore her. As he stood before her, the jokester in him was calling out, wanting to scare the living shit out of her by suddenly scaring her. Yet, Alya was in the back of his mind chastising him for even thinking of doing such a thing. “I won’t.” He said to her in his mind. “I’ll simply let her know I’m here.”

Alya seemed to back off at that point, letting him know it was a better idea, especially not knowing the true extent of the shinigami’s capabilities. While true, he wanted to mess with her a bit to get her attention. But, what could he possibly do to her that would cause his blade’s spirit to chastise him? The thought instantly popped in his head as a smile came to form on his face.

Eagerly, sat his bag of bagels on the ground beside him and rubbed his hands together. Leaning forward, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. “Hey beautiful, I got some bagels for you in case you were hungry.” The man whispered softly to her, expecting her to open her eyes in angry. Quickly reacting, he grabbed the bag of blueberry bagels and presented one to her with a smirk. “You know you want one.” He said in a singsong way as he held out the bagel with his right hand.


1104

She was very in tune with what was going on in her meditative state, so much so that she was slipping into her inner world, the vast maze that she had only ever figured out once. Almost instinctively, she started to run along the ever changing paths, not with any sense of urgency, but mostly just instinctively and at a brisk pace. This is how it always was, the massive shifting walls covered in vines and foliage, the place looking more like ruins. She still didn’t know what every door she found led to, and she was planning to spend some time today working on that exact problem, see how far she was able to make it towards unlocking something new. The more she did this, the more familiar things became, even though the walls would constantly change and sometimes them doing so would reveal new paths and doors that she had never seen.

Something wet touched her forehead, and she stopped mid-jog and blinked, hard, twice. What the hell was that? It had never rained in this world, even if it had never seen sun either. That meant there was only one thing, and she focused for a moment, reconnecting to her real body and senses. There was someone, RIGHT in front of her, extending something in her direction.

“- for you in case you were hungry. You know you want one.” What had happened? What had he done in that moment? What else had he said before she realized what was going on? Too many unanswered questions, and ever so slowly, Yui’s violet eyes opened and she looked towards the bagel for a moment, then to Austin… Ash? Something like that. She couldn’t remember off the top of her head. There was a solid moment of complete quiet and Yui didn’t even breath… and then, she was gone.

An arm wrapped around his neck, locking with her other arm for leverage, while her knees wedged themselves into his back. She had used her signature silent Shunpo to get behind him, and while she wasn’t pressing into his back and tightening her arm to choke him, it certainly was a disadvantageous situation for the man. Slowly, she leaned in to whisper something to him, while her Reiatsu made itself known in the form of a ghostly pink fire that felt like a deep void, completely without emotion or regret. Her voice was quiet and full of hostile intent held back by the barest of restraints her self control could muster.

“Tell me what you did and said… and you may live to enjoy the…” she paused, looking towards the bagel still extended towards where she had been a moment ago, “…bagels you brought for me.” She didn’t squeeze further, but her locking arm still had full range of motion without letting him go, so she allowed herself to extend forward and reached for the bagel from his had, all while not letting him go. She could emit her blades from anywhere and stab him at this point, but the honest truth is, she didn’t know if this situation warranted it. He had brought her food, and even if she didn’t understand what had happened before, there was a significant chance that she was overreacting, which may or may not have happened in the past. She couldn’t continue that train of thought for fear that it might incriminate her. So she remained fixed, already too deep in her course of action to take it back now, but as to punctuate her point, a single blade came out of her extended hand, perfectly slid through the hole in the bagel, and then retracted again so that she could grab it. Bending her arm again, she looked at it for a moment, waiting for him to respond.

634/1473

Asadi barely had a moment to blink before Yui disappeared before him. Suddenly he felt an arm wrap around his neck and knees in his back. She was a quick little shit - he didn’t have anytime to react to her. Well, maybe if he hadn’t been caught up in being so friendly to her. Already Alya was calling him a moron in his head. That sent Asadi grumbling as his left hand reached up, his fingers trying to work their way under Yui’s forearm in attempts to help loosen her grip on him. Already he could feel the woman’s reiatsu flaring up around her form, feeling the empty void of it pressing against him.

Yui was certainly overreacting from his little tease. He thought that maybe the bagels would have made her forget all about it and possibly make her laugh it off as if it were nothing. So much for that plan. It had all backfired on him and now he had the small framed woman attempting to choke him, demanding to know what he did to her - only then to be distracted by the blueberry bagel he held in his right hand. Seeing a small arm reaching out, he withdrew his arm, trying to hand it to her, only to see a single blade extend from her hand and move into the hole to bagel, pulling it out of his grasp.

That had to have been on of her abilities; if she could do that, where else could they come from. Swallowing hard, the sound audible to the woman being so close, Asadi gave a weak smile. “H-hey now. Come on and calm down.” He gently tugged at her arm, attempting to loosen her grip on him. “I was just bringing you some food and thought I’d give you a start.” An awkward chuckle left him. “If I thought calling you beautiful would cause this, I’d hate to have seen what would have happened if I said otherwise.” As it was, Asadi was in the dog house for this little venture, he might as well get his bang for his buck.

“The bag on the ground… It’s got at least ten more of those. I thought I’d share them with you.”

“Trying to butter her up in your situation, Asadi?” Alya questioned him. He couldn’t help but smirk. “Maybe.” Asadi said in his mind. Already she could sense his intentions.

“Don’t do it.” It was too late. Leaning his head back slightly, he could she Yui’s cheek. Without a warning to her, he gave her a tiny peck on the cheek. “Come on, cutie. Let me go now.” The man teased her as his reiatsu started to flare, the dark grey away swirling around him as the air around them seemed to stir at his own volition. If she dare continue this hold of her’s he’d be sure to blast her off using his ability. It was all he could do at this point besides using hoho to rush off and hopefully pull her free by the sudden movement.


511/1615

Yui was not a novice when it came to Hakuda, so when his fingers reached up to try to grab her fore-arm, she simply tightened down, actually choking him for a moment as a physical way of saying ‘don’t even try it’. She wasn’t killing him… or even actually hurting him, at the moment. She was threatening to hurt him… but not actually committing to it just yet. It was upon seeing her blade that he gulped and likely realized the direness of the situation. Yui herself was curious about this bagel, but more or less, she was waiting on his explanation. He was just messing with her? Yui had never been much for pranks… but what had he done was the question she had posed… and he had been very vague about that…

Wait… he called her Beautiful? He’s messing with my head… has to be… she thought to herself… but isn’t that also what he had declared a moment ago? He had been trying to scare her or… what was it… give her a ‘start’? This was a Death God? Who was this guy? Her mind swam with confusion and trying to hammer what was the most likely possibilities, still silent as ever, when he offered more of the bagels that were on the ground beside him. A peace offering. Well, that was fine… and she leaned her head forward just a little bit to place the bagel in her mouth so that she could let him go without falling on her ass when he did something completely unforgivable.

He kissed her cheek. Sudden realization flooded her mind, that wetness she had felt on her forehead when she initially woke from her meditation. It had indeed been from the real world, but it had been a kiss?!? Bagel still in her mouth, Yui began to blush, and without another moment to think, released her hold on him and attempted to plant both feet into his back, using as much force as she could muster. With any luck, it would send him flying into the tree and make him eat it… but regardless it also put her into a position where she could flip, create some space, and get away from this madman. “Are you fucking kidding me?!” she roared, the bagel now in her hand. Come on now, no need to waste good food… and it was good.

Her spiritual pressure was roaring, her free hand clenched into a fist. “If you ever kiss me again as a prank I will kill you. Slowly. With a rusty knife.” Her face was still a deep shade of red, her tone bespoke unbelievable rage and deathly seriousness, trying to process what was exactly happening all at once. He had also started to use an ability of some sort… one of the reasons she had tried to get away from him so quickly, but there was more important things on her mind at the moment… like how much of his blood would make this right… but she soon dissipated her Reiatsu, looking down at the bagel in her hand for a moment. “On a different note… these are really good. Where did you get them?” It wasn’t poised as a polite question, but a demand for information. She was still pissed and he was going to have to do some serious work to get this tiny Shinigami to calm down.

569/2042

You know that moment when you’re just trying to do an innocent joke, where nothing was suppose to go wrong and no one was suppose to get hurt? This certainly wasn’t one of them. While Asadi was simply trying to have fun and be nice, Yui seemed to think otherwise and now it had landed him in a dire situation. While he knew killing another shinigami for no reason wasn’t exactly legal by any means, this woman seemed to have other thoughts. The rules had flown out of the window as he felt the intent to kill was over him from her spiritual energy. Such a shame - least he’d die by someone beautiful.

“You’re a moron.” Alya chimed in. Asadi couldn’t help but give a weak chuckle. It is what it is. He replied to Alya.

“I’m not going to save your sorry ass. Now get with the program, brat.” Yes, mother dearest.

Before he could get serious and actually attempt to break free, Asadi noticed the rise of color on Yui’s face. Oh? So he had finally gotten her attention, that was good. But before he could even utter a word or attempt to break free, he felt both her feet plant firmly into his back. Uh oh, she was going to try something funny. As Yui released her on his throat, Asadi already channeled his spiritual energy to his feet. Upon her pushing off his back, the god of death stumbled slightly, gaining his stride as he rushed forward, scooping up his bag of treats in the process before skidding to a stop, chuckling all the while.

The man couldn’t help but smile as he heard her ranting about him kissing her and threatening him death by a rusty blade. “Oh, my. Oh, my.” Asadi said as he turned around to see the feisty woman berate him, her spiritual energy dominating the air around them. “Whoever said it was a prank?” He teased as he felt a death glare from Alya. It didn’t take long after that for the woman’s rage to calm down as she looked down at the blueberry bagel he had picked up from the market.

“Oh, calm enough now that we can actually have a conversation. That’s nice.” With his left hand, he ran his fingers through his hair, pushing the few stray strands out of his vision. “If you must know.” The man tipped his head to the left, “There’s a nice bakery down the road from here that makes them. Nice folks too.” Asadi reached into the bag and pulled out another bagel, giving it a kiss, he threw it high into the air for Yui to catch. “Have another one with my love, Yui.” The man gave her a playful wink, hoping to set her off again. It was too much fun not to tease her after getting her so riled up over nothing.

“Now, if you’re done being mad at me for telling the truth and calling you beautiful. Why don’t we enjoy a bit of breakfast without spilling blood over good food.”

“You’re such a dick, Asadi.” I know. But, only the best kind. Alya chuckled. Oh, wow. Seems even I can make you laugh sometimes.

537/2152

He claimed he wasn’t kidding, and she knew it was complete bullshit. There was no way someone like this could be in the Gotei 5… he was provoking her, and she was letting him. Damnit. She had lost her cool and played right into his hands. This bastard was either the most dimwitted individual in Seireitei, or a genius at acting and messing with her head just ever so perfectly. Either way, she was not about to let him continue to get to her. Yui drew in a deep breath and let it out very slowly, calming her nerves even more and steeling her temper for now. It could be useful at times, but this wasn’t it, because it was his goal to bring it out of her… and she wouldn’t be defeated so easily. The sheath of her Zanpakuto seemed to grow out of the sheath behind her as she released her Shikai. Who had said it was a prank.

“It was a prank, just not a good one.” She had declared it a prank, because there was no way someone who just met another, without getting to know them at least a little bit first, could ever make those kinds of comments. Either that… or he was a complete and utter moron. Quite possibly a combination there-of. Regardless of all that…

This bagel was amazing.

She listened closely as he described where he had got it from, and with practiced ease, she pulled out a pencil and tab of paper from her sleeves and wrote down the information. She had every intent on investigating this shop when she found herself in this area again, but for the moment, she needed to keep her attention on the weird Shinigami before her. It was quite obvious that ignoring him would only lead to more embarrassing situations, and she was not about to be the butt of his jokes simply because these bagels were tasty. She never let her violet gaze leave the man, and decided that if he was going to share his food with her, she could at least introduce herself… but before she could, he did something else that gave her pause.

It was a loaded statement. One one hand, Yui was never one to waste food, and didn’t want to decline the food or it would hit the ground and be ruined. On the other hand, if she simply caught it and accepted it, she would be ‘accepting his love’ and play into his hands yet again, and the debate in her mind angered her again. Deciding on what to do, she quickly reached back, grabbed her Zanpakuto, made a single slash at the incoming Bagel, and then sheathed it and caught the treat all in one fluid motion. The single part of the bagel that had met his lips had been severed, and fell to the ground, while the rest of it was secure in her small hand.

“I accept it without your love. You should not waste good food, idiot.” She paused then, thinking about how to transition next, still watching the man carefuly. “Aside ‘idiot’, what is your name?” It wasn’t posed as a request, but an order, a demand for information… but hard to take seriously considering that she was also munching on the bagel as well.

554/2596

Asadi listened to her berate him for his ‘prank’ once again and couldn’t help but smile all the while. It seemed that he certainly did goad her, especially since she released her shikai. What temper she seemed to have. It seemed this little person was filled with more of it than her body could ever hope to possibly contain. That made it both cute and dangerous. What sort of person could possibly hope to quell the anger within? Asadi didn’t know, but surely she wasn’t a danger to him. After all, he had to deal with the bitter spirit that resided in his sword. Dealing with her wasn’t an issue even if she tried to make it one every time he came into her world.

His bagel soared through the air, straight to his target in a dramatic arch. Before it even reach its target, Yui drew her sword and in an impressive feat, sliced away the part of the bagel Asadi had kissed, letting it fall to the ground while she simply grabbed the rest of it. His lips turned into pout, his head dipping down slightly as he feigned disappoint and then quickly rebound with a smile. Yui had cut off the piece he kissed, rejecting his ‘love’ that he had given her and then proclaimed it a waste.

Putting forth his best English accent that he could, he tried to mock the movie that he had seen while on Earth. “Easifa. Asadi Easifa.” He proclaimed pointing to his chest with his left thumb, tipping his chin up slightly in a nod to her. “But you, Yui, can call me idiot or just anytime of the day.” The man gave her a playful wink. “And, before you jump to conclusions, I know your name because we’re from the same division and heard plenty about you.” Without another word, he took several steps toward her, closing the gap between them while keep a good few feet between them just in case she decided to strike out against him. Luckily for him there was a nice sized stump next to where she stood for he sat down on it, placing the bag before him and opening it.

Reaching in, he grabbed himself a bagel with his right hand and munched on it. The burst of flavor that washed over his tastebuds were almost orgasmic, especially after this little ‘life or death’ situation that happened with the young woman. “You know…” He said in between chewing his food. “I wasn’t joking or pranking you when I said you were beautiful.” That was the truth. She was rather cute in his books. But, he wasn’t here just to admire her - he was there to enjoy his breakfast with someone and Yui fit the bill. Yui was part of his division and an elusive figure that only seemed to be caught in rare glimpses in Asadi’s time within the division.

“Take it for what you will, beautiful. Whether you think of it as some sick joke or prank - know that I think of it as the truth.” Asadi smiled after finishing his bagel and once again grabbed a bagel, this time with his left hand. Subconsciously, his right hand crept over to the hilt of his weapon. At this point, he wasn’t even sure if she would strike out at him in anger once again or turn beet red. It was hard to really tell at this point with her. All Asadi knew was that he had to be ready for anything.


588/2740

There was a weird ping of satisfaction that went through the tiny Shinigami as he hung his head in shame at her quick and decisive rejection of his ‘love’. She had been beaten, ridiculed and made fun of almost her entire career, so someone coming out of the blue saying words of not only kindness, but downright affection? That was more suspicious than someone walking around with a Hollow Mask on, saying they were hungry and that everyone was looking tasty, at least for Yui. She would have been far more understanding if he had simply started making fun of her like most people did, but somehow, it was also so off-putting that it was setting her off balance, unable to react instantly like she normally did.

Then there was that horrible English accent when he talked, and Yui couldn’t help quirking a single eyebrow up, still eating the bagels she had been given. Introduction complete, she knew that he wasn’t on her list of strong people that she kept tabs of, at least not yet anyway. It was when he uttered her name that she stopped chewing and froze. He had known about her?! That was an interesting, and suspicious, twist to this interaction, and it was only when he continued to speak and explained how he knew that she finished what was in her mouth, bringing the bagel down and away so she could reply.

“So they’ve started talking about the ‘Queen of Failure’ again, have they?” That made a lot of sense, and she had earned that nickname through the division because of her vain attempts to fight people she was clearly outmatched against in a struggle to get stronger. How many times had she wound up in the Aid Station afterwards? She couldn’t keep count. But more than that was the reputation she had gained through the squad as the one who was so weak she couldn’t even get a proper position in the squad. This was likely a result of what had happened with Captain Kasumi, as she was certain that it was making a lot of people mad that she was getting special treatment from the Squad Commander. They probably were busy jaw-jacking and complaining that a failure like her was a waste of the Captain’s time. The idea made Yui bite her lip, trying to suppress her anger at the thought.

Asadi’s voice cut through her mental state, and she was quickly brought back to the here and now, and turned her eyes to meet with Asadi’s again. He stated that he wasn’t messing around regarding his opinion about her appearance, and for the first time, she didn’t react immediately. Instead, she was carefully considering the possibility that he was someone who was pressured into getting into her head, a type of psychological warfare. He would try to win her over and get her to open up, and then either crush her as viciously as possible to break her will, or feed the information to others in the Division who wanted to get back at her for catching the Captain’s attention.

It was his follow up that dismissed this thought. This time, there wasn’t anything to gain by the statement. The initial statement would have been the one attempting to open her up and make her weak, and he would have waited to see what her response was before figuring out the next move. No, he wasn’t attempting anything like that… he was trying to express his opinion in a way that she might be able to believe because he felt it was the truth. Was it possible that someone was controlling him and there was a puppetmaster behind the scenes, trying to screw with her? Who would put forth such effort? Still highly suspicious, she didn’t reply outright, but noticed his hand placement; he was prepared if she tried to attack, which meant he was taking the matter seriously. He truly did know quite a bit about her to know that she might lash out from such things.

Her sword hilt reappeared in the sheath as her Shikai faded, and Yui herself walked over to the tree, then walked up the trunk, and then walked out onto a branch with her hair hanging down, and began to munch on the bagel after saying a couple words. “We will see.” This was probably the least aggressive of options, and wasn’t outright vicious with her tone, merely suspicious. “Thank you for the bagels.” Common courtesy.

751/3347

Asadi couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as she called herself the ‘Queen of Failure’. Where was this coming from exactly? Nowhere in his head could he even pick up any memory of her being called that. Perhaps the there were unheard whispers and hushed talks when he was around, but none that he had ever walked into. Perhaps it was because of his happy-go-lucky attitude that put people off of talking bad about others in front of him. Well, besides the normal cheeky jeers that everyone says with a smile on their face. Now, Asadi couldn’t help but feel bad for the woman as a slight scowl appeared on his features. Truth be told, all he had heard about her was of her great tenacity and penchant for seeking out those that were stronger and wanting to fight them. That was an admirable trait to have.

The shinigami couldn’t blame her for wanting to get stronger. While there were plenty around in each division that were more than content by being lazy and enjoying just being in a division, Asadi dig enjoy getting stronger, becoming better than what he was. It was the drive that pushed him forward even when he felt like being lazy - that and Alya screaming in his mind that he could do better. Behind all of that, Asadi admired the woman for constantly trying to better herself. ‘Queen of Failure’, no, Queen of Fighters was a more suitable title for the small woman. The man grunted at the comment, shaking his head as he ate the bagel.

Watching Yui silently, he continued his feast on his bagel as she moved away. It seemed nothing phased her this time. Perhaps she took his word for what it was worth, either that or she simply gave up trying to fight it. Whatever it was, she simply walked away from him on his perch and back onto her original spot on the tree branch. Then, she did something that he thought he never would have heard issue from her own lips, ‘thank you’. Yui actually showing a sign of gratitude caused the shinigami to smile and chuckle. “You’re welcome.” He replied in kind.

“I’ve got plenty more if you want any. You know, if the two that you have aren’t quite enough." Grabbing the bag with his right hand, he gave it little shake before putting it back on the ground. It was quiet moments like this that reminded him of being back at home with his family. Simply meals like this with the ambient noises playing on his ears relaxed him. Asadi could have closed his eyes and doze off. But something plague at his mind - why was she called the ‘Queen of Failure’.

“Don’t do it. That’ll be rather rude of you” I know… but I have to know. “If you do it, you know she might come at you with those blades again.” That’s why I have you here to protect me, my dear Alya. “I have to ask myself why I revealed myself to you at least once a day.” Well, you know it’s because of my charm. “I hate you.” Love you too, Alya.

Asadi fidgeted with his half eaten bagel, tossing it from hand to hand as he silently watched Yui in the tree. “Forgive me for being so bold…” He paused, biting his lower lip as his gaze rolled around from Yui to the ground, out to the rolling hill, and back to her. “But, you called yourself the ‘Queen of Failure’... I’ve never heard of anyone calling you that. It may just be because the way I am around people, but no one has ever called you that when I’m around. Why… do they call you that?” Asadi dropped the half eaten bagel into the open bag and stood up, striding over to where the woman hung. “From what I’ve seen of you and heard, you’re a hard worker who strives to get stronger. That’s anything but a failure to me.” Asadi was being sincere with his words. This woman seemed anything but a failure in his eyes. She seemed to have a heart of a winner. But, he really didn’t know the true her beyond passing and whispered words. It was kind of heartbreaking to hear such things when he thought the opposite. Maybe he could possibly get her to open up about it. Maybe he was just opening up wounds that should have been left closed and to mend in their own time. There really was no true way of telling at this point. All Asadi could do was brace himself for whatever outcome may come his way for prying into her private life. This was now a waiting game.

792/3532

He gave a quick ‘Your Welcome’ and proved that he knew manners and etiquette after all, even after the obvious breach of her personal space. Yui had finally finished her first bagel and was biting into the second one, enjoying the silence, but noticing that he was observing her. That was fine; she would have been doing the same thing if the situation was reversed, and that meant he actually did have some intelligence behind that façade of annoyance. He offered more, and while she certainly knew she could eat them all, she didn’t want to impose like that… even if it was from someone who she was looking at in the light as an annoyance more than anything else. He didn’t have a secret plot, he was just an idiot. That was actually kind of reassuring. She gave a gentle shake of her head side to side. “They belong to you.” Simple and concise.

It was some time before he spoke again, Yui not being the one to break the silence under normal circumstances. Bold? She turned her violet gaze and locked onto his own once again. He inquired further, and her eyebrow rose, or rather fell, considering she was upside down, as she found it quite odd that he had been gathering information on her and not heard that name. It was only usually uttered in places like the Food Court and other public areas she occasionally couldn’t avoid when some of the Squad Members wanted to get under her skin. He wanted to know why she was called by such a horrible title, and she supposed, just a bit, she would be willing to explain. She did owe him after all, since he had given her some bagels.

“I’ve been in Second for over 400 years. In all that time, no matter how hard I trained, my power has not once increased beyond the slimmest of margins. As a Death God, I fail even at the basics of Kidou, and can’t control my emotions once they start to slip. So the others call me a ‘Queen of Failure’ because no matter how hard I try, simple people who are gifted pass me up with ease.” There was pain and regret in her voice, but even though her fist was clenched, she managed to keep herself together for a moment. “It’s not about effort. I push myself harder than anyone I know. There is something wrong with me. If the name ‘Kenpachi’ could be obtained through sheer force of will, I would have long had that title instead.”

He had indeed opened up some old wounds, but she was so used to that pain that it almost felt like second nature to her. Without that pain she might have been confused and lost. Without anything else to say on the subject, she returned to silence, quietly eating her bagel and letting the information sink in. Queen of Failure was an apt title not because she didn’t try hard enough to get stronger, but because no matter how hard she fought and tried, she failed.

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His eyes locked with her’s as she spoke. It was nothing more than a brief history of what had happened to her, but he could feel the whole history without her baring it all to him. There was pain and anguish behind every word and he could help but feel sorry for her. Asadi knew the struggle to become stronger; all the trials and failures that came with it. He himself was a failure at Kidou. At this point, the man was lucky to have awaken his blade’s spirit, granting him any sort of ability. This woman was his senior, yet despite that, they were practically on the same level. Yet, he hadn’t been putting in near the amount of effort and time. There she was striving for a title that hadn’t even come anywhere near his radar.

Kenpachi, a title that only belonged to the strongest of all shinigami. A high honor for sure and something that Asadi never thought to even strive for. Yet, now it was on his mind due to Yui’s pain and anger. “You’re not a failure.” He said softly. “At least, not in my books. Hell, I can't even do Kidou!” Asadi gave her a warm smile. Holding his arms out before him, bent at the elbow, palms to the sky, arms moving as he talked. “You’ve done more than most people in our division could ever hope to accomplish. You have a drive that puts them all to shame and they know it. They’re jealous of your ability to continue on in the face of adversity. You should be proud of yourself!” Hell, he’d be proud of himself if he was able to do something like that. Even with Alya constantly badgering him about his training, he still didn’t do as much.

Then a thought occurred to him. Why not ask if they both couldn’t train together and see if they can’t push each other beyond their breaking points, becoming stronger together. There was a good chance it might work - that was if she could put some of her pride aside to work with someone who she probably thought wasn’t worth her time. Yui did have a knack for seeking out stronger opponents and it wasn’t exactly like he was in the top one hundred of the division or the whole Soul Society. Still, it was worth a shot. Reaching out with his right hand, he closed his hand into a fist, extending his index finger to gently prod her forehead. “What do you say we train together or go on a mission sometime. Maybe we can get stronger together.” The man gave her a playful wink. “Could be fun and I can bring more of those bagels if you’d like.” This certainly was a shot in the dark. Asadi was more than willing to help her. It was in his nature to try and help a friend out when they were in need. Though they weren’t exactly friends at the moment, that could all change after today. “Besides, I don’t think you’d be hearing that title of your’s anymore once we team up. People tend to be a little more friendly when I’m around.” A soft chuckle left him and he gave her a wink. “What do you say, beautiful? Let's make you Kenpachi!”

552/4084

Yui raised her eyebrow at him stating that she wasn’t a failure, curious how he had come up to that conclusion, but then he continued to state that it was his own opinion. Fair enough, everyone was subject to their own opinion, but it wasn’t until he explained properly that she looked at it in that light. She didn’t really agree with it on some points; she had literally almost done nothing her entire time in the Division, and her drive to excel hadn’t really gotten her anywhere either. But he did have one good point; she never did back down no matter how rough it got, even when her squad had the great idea to beat her within an inch of her life because she insulted them. That had been a long night in the Aid Station.

She was caught up in those thoughts and trying to figure them out when she realized that he poked her in the forehead. Her eyes snapped into focus and she flinched, quickly fighting the urge to twist his arm behind him and apply pressure in a painful hold of his arm that her instincts immediately went to. No, she didn’t want to hurt the guy, but she couldn’t exactly let him get away with invading her personal space again… but what would be appropriate? Before she got to decide, he offered a new training partner and more bagels, both of which were very tempting in their own right. Maybe the close contact was just a part of his personality, but it needed to be curbed around her; she just wasn’t comfortable with someone touching her out of the blue… and if she let him get away with this one, he might try something more at another time when she wasn’t paying attention.

Almost in slow motion she smacked his hand away, but she had a smile on her face, just a gentle one, but still. “What did I tell you about ‘personal space’ just a minute ago? Unless we are sparring or something, no touching.” She had doubted highly they would stop calling her anything other than a failure if they were together, but at least they might not be so open about it. She had also, in her little statement, agreed with what he had said regarding going on a mission together. “I don’t think ‘Kenpachi’ is something that can be obtained simply with hard work and my obvious lack of talent… but damnit, why don’t we give it a shot?” There was something different about this guy though… what was it?

Oh, right. He hadn’t looked at her as less than an equal since they met. Sure, he had a death wish if he thought he could get away with kissing her again, but he had never once looked down on her from a metaphorical standpoint. Not a single time was there any feeling of inferiority when she was around him, and that was refreshing in and of itself. She didn’t comment on the ‘beatiful’ bit. Everyone had their own opinion, and even if she thought he was simply saying that as a part of his ‘flirtatious’ personality, she would be fine with a compliment once in a while. It might not stick, but it was certainly better than some of the nicknames she had gotten over the years. Standing up straight, she kricked her neck and gave him a gentle but confident smile. “Catch me if you can… but don’t forget the bagels…” A completely silent flash step and she was gone, but didn’t suppress her Reiatsu so that he could follow. She didn’t go full speed either at first, unsure how well he would be able to keep up as they made their way towards a training area.

630/4493

Almost in slow motion, Yui struck Asadi’s hand, something most people would consider aggression. But the smile on the woman’s face told another story. Yui was actually smiling! Asadi had finally gotten the woman who only seemed to have two emotions to show a bit of happiness. It was rather monumental. “How could I forget?” The man flashed a half smirk as his little companion seemed to take the bait, actually wanting to train together. There was finally a chance that he could actually get Yui out of her rut and help her achieve what she wanted, the title of ‘Kenpachi’, or at least get stronger. And with her tenacity combined with his efforts, maybe they could push beyond the brink.

Yui cricked her neck, gave him a smile, and was gone in a flash. There wasn’t even a chance to react to her as he was left standing still, blinking at the sudden action. ‘Catch me if you can… but don’t forget the bagels’, the words were left on the breeze she created as she flash stepped away from him, her spiritual energy flaring out like a beacon in the night. Asadi chortled, shaking his head as he put his fists on his hips. “Of course… the bagels. Why do I feel like this is less about training with me and more about me supplying Yui with free bagels.”

“That’s all you’re good for sometimes.” Alya retorted. Asadi rolled his eyes. “I don’t need any of your lip right now, love.” The shinigami chuckled Turning away from the tree, Asadi walked over the stump he once sat on and grabbed the bagels with his left hand. Tying the bag up, he summoned his spiritual energy to his feet, focusing on Yui’s signature speeding off into the distance. “Alright, let’s play tag.” Asadi was off in a flash, it felt as if he feet didn’t even hit the ground as he raced toward Yui’s spiritual signature. In mere seconds, the shinigami crested the hill which he had walked earlier without breaking a sweat. And onward he went, chasing after her, his surroundings seemingly moving in a slow motion, only blurring to his vision once he caught sight of Yui. Now all his focus was on her as his stride began to come in time with her own until the shinigami was keeping pace with his racing counterpart.

“Ha ha!” Asadi laughed loudly as he glanced over to Yui from her right side. “I didn’t forget the bagels.” The man raised his left hand, the bag wafting in the air as they continued on before her dropped it back to his side. “Come on now, I know you can go faster than that. Don’t tell me you were waiting on little ol’ me.” The shinigami smirked. Today seemed to have taken a turn for the better. To think if he had stayed in bed, all of this wouldn’t happen. Now it seemed that he had managed to goad an old soul from her perch and out onto the field with some renewed vigor. Asadi loved to see the fire in person’s soul be rekindled once again. “Tell you what: last one there buys the winner lunch. That is, if we’re left standing from our bout on the training grounds.” Step after step, the shinigami put more vigor into his spiritual energy as he pushed onward, past his newly anointed rival. “Come on, slowpoke!” The man cried back to Yui as the training grounds came into view just ahead of them. “I know you can beat me!”

595/4679

The half smirk he had given her was etched into the little Shinigami’s mind, and she used it as fuel to propel herself forward. Still, not wanting to simply leave him in the dust without a clue as to where she went, she was slowing her Shunpo and allowing her spiritual pressure to leak out so that he could trace her location as she made her way towards the training grounds she knew were nearby. It didn’t take him too long to catch up which was a relief; she didn’t know what his skill with Shunpo was as adept as hers, and wasn’t trying to literally make him unable to catch her. He did have the bagels after all, and he was the one who got her to get out of her little stupor she had been in, so she owed him that much.

He flashed her the bagels as he came up alongside her, and then issued her a challenge which made her raise an eyebrow for a moment. He really didn’t know who she was at all if he was going to try to pull something like that; competitiveness was in her blood, and with a challenge on the table, she would pull out all the stops. But then he had the audacity to turn around and tell her that whoever lost had to buy lunch? Normally, this is where the conversation would have turned to her offering to cook something for them to eat, but not now. He had made this a challenge, a true race, and then call her slow.

“Don’t blame me if you trip!” she roared, a smile on her face that looked like she was a predator. Without a moment’s more hesitation, she propelled herself forward, bringing herself up to her true speed, all the while keeping her steps completely silent. She would never sacrifice her stealth for speed, even for something like a race; she had trained with it so long that she was fairly certain she wouldn’t know how to make her Flash Steps have a noise anymore. She would have to consciously create the noise… it was actually one of the first things she worked on when she learned the ability of the Flash Step. And now, she was pushing all that training into the steps, zipping through from rooftop to rooftop in a vicious display of her own speed.

She wasn’t even keeping exact tabs on Asadi’s location at the moment… she was simply focused, purely, on that finish line that was in the distance and making every single step count. True to her nature, she pushed even harder with every step, not worrying about the consequences when she got there, knowing it was more than likely going to make it to where she would need a short rest before they could do any training of any sort. That was fine… she would cross that bridge when she got to it. The only thing in her mind was winning this little contest between them. Even the terms of the ‘bet’ she had never quite agreed to fell off, and she pushed herself to her absolute limit as she sped through the grounds.

Unfortunately though, she was going to have to wait until after she stopped before she could find out if she won or not. As she set foot onto the training grounds, she realized entirely too late that she was stepping into a puddle, slipped, and tumbled end over end in a ball of purple hair and limbs until crashing into a wall. It didn’t hurt much… except her pride. After the dust cleared, she picked herself up, blushing slightly at her folly but still with a smirk on her face. "Ow..."

624/5217

She raced ahead of him, her ability far out pacing himself. Hmm… that was interesting in the back of his mind. The young woman seemed to claim that she was far superior to anyone else, yet as his senior, she outclassed herself against his ability. A smirk formed on his face as she showed her true colors at last. Maybe this is what she needed, an actual friendly challenge instead of the brute force most people within the division seemed to show. This was beyond perfect as his heart in his chest seemed to leap at the opportunity that presented itself. Yui even show rare confidence by teasing him about possibly tripping himself. This, this is what he needed out of a squadmate. Some form of friendly rivalry that made them push beyond themselves in order to excel beyond their own limits.



She raced ahead of him, Asadi knew that he had to put in a renewed vigor within in steps in order to keep up with this little beast. His swords spirit called out to him, telling him that he could do so much better than this little pipsqueak of shinigami. Concentrating with all of his might, his spiritual energy seemed to burst forth at his feet. He could feel each solid thud of his feet hit the ground despite the fact that he was moving at breakneck speeds that would leave most humans left flabbergasted at the sheer thought.



Yet, despite all efforts on his behalf, he had lost the race as Yui arrived on the training grounds before him. A solid curse left his lips as he felt himself kicking his own person over and over again for losing to her despite all his best effort. That was all short lived though as he saw Yui suddenly slip in a puddle on the ground, tumbling end over end until she finally came to a screeching halt that left Asadi cringing internally. She had crashed into a wall, but managed to recover, picking herself up as she pushed off all the grass that seemed to cling to her body. Coming to a halt, the man sauntered over to the woman with a gentle smile, relieved that she hadn’t been hurt in her endeavor. Pulling a small blue handkerchief from his back right pocket, he attempted to hand it to her to clean the dirt that seemed to cling to her body for dear life. “Are you okay?” He asked her genuinely concerned for her well being.



At this point, the thought of their little challenge seemed to be placed by the wayside as the man looked her over with a casual glance to make sure that she was alright. “That was a hell of a spill. Nothing broken, I hope.” He said with a worried, weak smile. “I’d rather not have to buy food for someone who got injured on my account.”



484

Yui had used her senses to keep a lock on his position as they raced; it had been a competition after all, and she was nothing if not extremely competitive in every sense of the word. Hell, it was almost a fault, to be fair, because she would sometimes push herself too hard for the sake of competition, and this was an example of what happened when she did. If she had remained calm, and not been having so much fun with their little race, she would have caught the puddle and been able to avoid it, or at least compensate for it. But instead she had slipped and tumbled into the wall… and it was no accident that she hadn’t gotten hurt from it, having tucked her arms in, only extending them when absolutely possible to do slow to slow herself down a bit. He offered a small cloth to help her clean up, and she smiled and waved him off. “No no, I’m OK really. Besides… unless we are really taking it easy, chances are we are about to get dirty anyway.” She flexed her back, leaning backwards and then stretched her arms to either side, preparing somewhat.

“So… we are here… what do you want to do? Hakuda? Zanjutsu?” she asked, unsure what he was strong in and what he was lacking. She just hoped Kidou wasn’t involved, as she sucked with that stuff big time, and didn’t really feel like admitting it unless it came up. She took a good look around the training area, trying to wrap her head around the terrain and how different part of the area could be used in different ways. She did take a moment to raise her arm and wipe a bit of sweat from her head that she had gotten from the race, obviously the race had taken it’s toll. But she had always recovered quickly, so she would be fine by the time they figured out what they were going to do.

---

PWC: 339
TWC: 5556

Asadi's offer for his small cloth was turned down, he simply gave a shrug, tucking it back into his pocket. Alright, so she was a little roughed up from her trip, but that didn't seem to stop her in the least - that was good. The man gave a small yawn, stretching his arms high above his head, standing on his toes as he did so. Truth be told, he didn't really care what they practiced as long as they had a bit of fun out of the whole affair. "Oh, why not a bit of everything? Ya know, all in good fun." He gave a soft chuckle as his left hand fell to the hilt of his blade, giving it a light tap with his index finger as he thought to himself what would be the best option for the both of them. A grin came to his face as his left hand dropped back to his sheath, taking a firm hold of it as his right hand grabbed his blade's hilt, pulling it clean in one smooth motion. 

The man rotated his wrist, getting that old familiar feeling of holding his sword again. Lightly bouncing on his feet, his weight shifted from one foot to the other as he locked his emerald hues with hers. "Come on, Yui. What do you say we have ourselves a bit of fun with Zanjutsu first and move on once we're satisfied?" It was a novel idea for sure. But from the rumors, he heard about Yui, she wasn't one to simply give up even when the odds were against her. Chances were that their little spar wouldn't move beyond their use of Zanjutsu. That was a risk he had to take to get to see this small woman in action. He grabbed his hilt with both hands, shifting his left leg back, he prepared himself for combat against the speedy little demon. "Come at me, Yui." His words came out in a singsong manner as his grin broadened. 

334

A bit of everything? Like a full, no limit spar? The idea began to fuel her blood a little bit as the competitive part of her nature began to rear it’s head like a panther being challenged. As he drew his blade, she too reached back and grabbed the reverse bladed Wakizashi that was her Zanpakutou, Shiva. Normally, she would have flipped the blade over so that the sharp edge was on the outside, but considering that she didn’t want to kill the guy, she left it natural, that way she could go all out without fear of doing much more than bruising the crap out of him if she managed to land some hits instead of cutting into his flesh. She was holding the blade in a reverse position than most as well, to where the blade portion of the Zanpakutou was nearest her pinky instead of her thumb, like a dagger, which was her own style.

She gave him a nod, and her general demeanor seemed to change a bit. Gone was the bubbly and young nature that she normally exhibited, and instead it was replaced by stark silence, indifference, and calculation, which was a sure fire sign that she was taking it seriously. He made the comment for her to make the first move, and without any more need to be led on, she vanished from in front of him with a silent Shunpo, moving to his left side where his dominance was weakest and he was the most vulnerable, going for a quick swipe towards his ribs with the blunt part of her blade, and then moving in close, trying to make his larger size become a hindrance with a smaller target. Because her weapon was smaller as well, she didn’t lose nearly as much maneuverability and could press any advantage she had further, and it was her goal to put him on the defensive since her skill was lacking, using her speed as the basis for everything at this point.

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(P) 335
(T) 5891