The exchange between the newcomer and Ruby was, as Machie expected interesting. Not only did the lanky man appear to be insulting the powerful woman (judging by his expression), he brushed past her. Machie stared, unsure if she should feel vindictive amusement or awe. Either this man was powerful enough to stand up to this woman or incredibly stupid. He outright dismissed Ruby.
Without realizing it, the dark skinned woman pressed a palm to her mouth to cover her surprise. Beneath her hand, Machie's expression shifted back to its blank mask, though there was a calculating look in her eyes.
Predictably, Ruby screeched and attacked the new arrival.
Would he lose his arm or would he be able to fend off the pissed off and terrifyingly powerful shinigami lunging for him?
Nasima perked up, ears twisting to face forward atop her head. The zanpakutō spirit even stopped washing her paws, a testament to her interest in the events surrounding Machie.
The feline woman's hand fell back to her side and she resumed her position. As much as she wanted to gawk openly, Machie really didn't want to draw too much attention to herself now. Though critical and judgemental, the dark skinned woman was far from hypocritical or blind. She was well aware her continued survival did not mean she could go toe to toe with most of the others here. Machie had come because she wanted to toughen up --the plague had beaten the need for strength into her. She judged herself more harshly than anyone else. Even if she thought Ruby a bit tyrannical, Machie acknowledged the woman had the power to back up her expectations of respect and obedience. The dark skinned woman couldn't look down on someone like that, even if she didn't like their methods, she couldn't afford to.
Post by Yuudai Takeshi on Feb 16, 2018 22:17:27 GMT -5
The exchange between the two fighters was enthralling to say the least. Damn, I haven't felt this good in a long time. It's your old Fifth Division instincts coming back. Museihei was referring to Yuudai's time in the Fifth, of which most of his career had been comprised of. Yeah. I guess fighting is in my blood.
He watched as the woman traded blows with the man, their blades clashing. I think she's holding back a little on the guy. It appears that she might be. Yuudai smiled a little but was also hesitant to be so happy. In normal combat, underestimating your opponent could lead to injury or even worse, death. He decided to let it go for now. If things ended up being more of a challenge for her than she initially thought she would be punished for it in combat.
Yuudai looked around at the other Shinigami that were there, gauging their actions and their faces. Most seemed enthralled by fight, while others were disinterested. There was one particular female Shinigami who managed to look disinterested and attentive at the same time. Maybe it's just me but every time I look at her I feel like I'm looking at a cat.
He turned to the group, his back turned to the fight behind him as he addressed the gathered Shinigami. "I understand that some of you may think this exercise is pointless, that there is no sense in beating each other up." He paused, his gaze sweeping across the crowd. "Consider this though: suppose you're out, doing your duty to the Seireitei, and you're attacked by a Hollow, or worse, a rogue Shinigami. What will you do?"
He crossed his arms and turned back toward the battle, his voice rising ever so slightly so that the crowd could still hear him. "Even though you aren't actually in the battle itself, you can learn quite a bit by just watching these two. Learn how to maneuver your blade, how to strike. Some of you may think that you already know how to do that, but I can guarantee you that when you're faced with a former comrades blade at your throat, everything you thought you knew goes straight out the window."
His eyes refocused on the fight, waiting for it to get even more interesting.
Word Count: 387 Total Word Count: 1933 GP: 38
Last Edit: Feb 16, 2018 22:18:27 GMT -5 by Yuudai Takeshi
Post by Osamu Shimazu on Feb 17, 2018 5:23:09 GMT -5
He could literally see the anger welling inside her as he spoke, and once his eyes were finally off of her and she was behind him, he could feel her unrest through the energy she exerted. Yes, like the rest of what remained of the Gotei, she seemed to only be holding on by a thread. When he felt her anger rise to a head, his instincts told him to turn. He saw her, mid swing, tearing her blade through the space between them.
His feet worked immediately, doing their best to get him as far away from her as possible. His eyes managed to train on the blade long enough to deduce a lack of any tell tale rusting before his flash step carried him a handful of feet further into the courtyard. Down the length of his torso, starting at his armpit, ran a thin line of pink flesh that quickly reddened with blots of blood. He visibly frowned, the change in expression cracking his otherwise unyielding face.
In all, he seemed more concerned with the new tear in his shihakusho, which he held limply in his hand, its tattered edges falling off the tips of his fingers. His eyes held this picture a moment longer before he balled his hand, the tattered clothing alongside it, before his eyes rose again to meet who he only could assume was a fully fledged officer of the Fifth. He released his fist and the torn edges of his uniform fell, revealing a portion of his bare chest down to the bottom of his ribs.
of all the damage, this is by far the worst.
Nowhere else on his uniform had he sustained any such damage. Frayed ends, rips, tears, sure. But this? The whole thing was beyond ruined now. What a sorry state! The great military, so far fallen a good soldier frets over a damaged uniform, knowing resources are too limited! He never once spared any attention to the menial wound he'd sustained, but everything else seemed to just deepen his frown.
"What in the hell is your problem? You can't just go around swinging your sword at people! I'm neither your subordinate nor your instructee!"
Another step and he was a dozen or more steps into the courtyard, certainly further than his first step. Yeah, sure, fine. She got him good, attacking someone with their back turned because she didn't like what he said. That would be her only pot shot, as far as Osamu was concerned. If there was one thing he was good at, it was keeping his distance and handling things from far away. It went hand in hand with all the training he'd received at the height of the Gotei's might, and had served him well since the onset of the plague. He'd make sure she didn't close the gap between them again, and he'd humiliate her in front of all gathered if he had to.
"You can beg me not to toss you in with the rest of the rabble after I'm finished with you." By now he was well within earshot that nobody needed to try to listen in on what was happening between Ruby and Osamu. A safe, yet small distance existed between himself and the edges of the crowd. Perfect so that they could see, first hand, the intricacies of what was almost certainly about to go down. His thumbs on either hand fell in towards his palm, the other four fingers stiff, prepared to let loose whatever sort of spells would help in what surely would be an emotionally charged reaction.
Action 1: Dodge. 40 str v 50 speed = +10, equal. Master v Master, equal dodge. Resulting damage -3 wounds. 40 str v 20 def is major wound (-3 wound ranks) = menial wound
Action 2: Change range. 50 speed v 40 speed = +10, equal. Master v Expert, advantage check. Range change successful. Ruby is now outside of melee range.
Post by Tristan White on Feb 17, 2018 13:44:33 GMT -5
Tristan felt the pressure before he heard to commotion... not the one in front of him in the nice protective bubble but the killer instinct he detected behind him. His eyes shot wide when all the cogs in his head finally began working and he knew what was about to happen, he knew he recognised the guy who Ruby had been speaking to as a member of the second division, the ones who reclaim the inflicted. Tristan had come up with his own name for the second and its members; the grim reapers. Wherever they go death surely follows and coming into the fifth, the lion's den to poke the beast was not a good plan for anyone, now especially. He turned, forgetting the small cut on his arm and slamming his hand on the bubble and shouting at the top of his lungs; "YUUDAI!" He bellowed as he grabbed the hilt of his Zanpakuto and felt himself be taken inward.
"What the FUCK are you doing?" Kaze stood, crimson red hair blowing in the wind as she glided across the pond to stand before Tristan.
"You know damn well what I'm doing... This is a member of the fifth, my friend!" His fists began to clench until his knuckles went white.
"IS she though? I mean you met the girl a few times sure and sure she's in the fifth and she's a little higher up the food chain? So what, take her place!" Kaze snapped at him with a grin that lay upon her face like the predator to prey. She was the side that only saw violence, only saw what could be gained from bloodshed and unfortunate as it was, it was her insight that had kept Tristan sane since the plague. He stood still then took a deep breath. "All those reasons you stated before saying I should basically stab her in the back... They are the reason that I'm going to help her."
Kiken's snow white ears flopped out from behind Kaze's back quickly followed by a beaming smile and a giggle; "Oh brother, you know I'll always fight for you!" She bounced out and took a step towards Tristan before placing a hand on his chest where his heart lies; "Go help your friend." She spoke gently with that determination in her voice.
Tristan snapped back into real time to see Ruby swing her zanpakuto straight at Osamu's shoulder as if she was going to decapitate him! He felt the weight of Kikenkaze as he drew her blade and used Hoho to come upon the scene staying on the left, a distance Ruby. He had his Zanpakuto drawn but held in a neutral position as to not appear hostile but at the same time, his guard was up. He wondered if he should release his shikai as these two would have the place on their knees if they really got going and he knew if that were to happen then the damage would be done that no one would be able to forgive. The blade connected, shredding Osamu's clothing and clearly making him angry to the point Tristan made sure he would not be drawn into the conflict without complete and necessary cause. ___________________________________
OOC:
post: 542 WC Total WC: 1172
Last Edit: Feb 17, 2018 13:56:21 GMT -5 by Tristan White
Her blade connected with his flesh, and though his speed had saved him from a very serious wound, she felt good. So good, in fact, that a most unfitting smile pulled at the edge of her mouth. She followed with red flames as he ran away to safety, knowing full well what would happen to him if he remained within her reach. She'd reduce him to nothing more than a mess of bloody flesh and tattered robes. So good on him for doing the only thing that would keep him alive. For now.
Her problem? He was her problem. What he represented. What he looked like. What he'd said. That he'd neglected her request for him to leave. All of these were her problem, but most important of all, that she just wanted to beat someone bloody. And this was the Fifth, no better place than to let it all go.
She read him like an open book. Such were the perks of her spiritual sensing, as it gave her an advantage when facing someone who didn't place much care in such a skill. And all it took was a simple glimpse of his energies, as they whispered his intent right into her ears. Stay a safe distance away from her, was it? From what she'd assessed during his dodge of her strike, he was a master at Flash Step, though was he better than her? She wanted an answer to that question.
Her half-smile returning to a frown, Ruby twirled her sword in her right hand, each revolution culminating in a woosh. She looked upon him with fire, first to his cowardly steps back, and then to his strange hand formations. Every woosh of her blade was accompanied by a calculated step forward, each foot landing just in front of the other, coupled with her pony-tailed hair and feminine movements, culminating in this femme fatale look. It was both a conscious and subconscious endeavor, all of it coming together to scare her opponent enough for his nerves to work against him. A mental kind of warfare.
The shouts from nearby were surely from those who had finally realized what was happening. She paid them no mind, her entire focus on the man in front of her. If the message of her spiritual energy - of which told of her desire for no one to interfere - wasn't enough, well, they deserved what was coming to them.
Woosh came the final revolution, before Ruby grabbed her hilt and lunged at the lanky man in an attempt to close the distance. If she made it to him, she'd cleave him in two - from his left shoulder down to his right hip - with a diagonal slash.
The world seemed to slow down, as Reyla und Kyojin danced their dance. Even though he knew, that he brought his sword down right now with the force and the intend to hit, although not to kill. But it seemed so slow. His mind realised this fact in the same moment, that it realised, how useless it was to realise it.
Very precisely he saw how his blade was swinging towards his opponent and then how she raised her hand. With a flash a plane of solid energy formed and she used it as a shield to catch his blow. With a sound like he had hit glass Gekido collided with the Bakudo and stopping it completely right above the shoulder. Smart! This lady was a really smart fighter. He simply had to admit it and there was no shame in that. Quite the contrary. There was much more satisfaction to fight against an able and smart opponent, even if he would loose. But it hadn't come that far yet. Then, he saw the movement of her arm and her blade swinging around. Hilt forward she pushed it up.
Too close! They were standing too close together! Kyojin realised, that he wouldn't be able to bring his own weapon down between the two of them to parry her hilt. Another testament to her skill...
With a crack that echoed in his head much louder than it really was, the hilt connected with his chin. It didn't feel like something breaking, but it was a good hit and would soon leave another mark.
With a grunt he took half a step backwards as his head jerked up. For a moment he saw the sky above them. In this very moment he was very vulnerable. Too vulnerable for comfort. He had to do something, had to react! Instead of pushing straight against the force of the blow, that was trying to hurl him backwards, he transformed some of it's momentum for a quick sidestep. He brought his head down again, and focusing Reyla he pulled his sword back with his right arm. Then he swung horizontally from right to left, aiming for Reyla's left side.
In the middle of this movement he felt the surge of spiritual pressure behind him. The same taste he had felt earlier. The same weight. Ruby! The intend to kill! What in all worlds was happening here?
Kyojin's block failed, wound would have been minor (equal at strength, advantage favoring Reyla at Zanjutsu), reduced to menial due to Reyla's modification. Counter attack: at 20 Strength and Journeyman Zanjutsu.
The hilt of her blade connected with Kyojin's chin with a satisfying crack, but despite how it sounded Reyla knew that the damage wasn't that serious since she was holding back. She wanted to teach Kyojin a lesson, not kill or humiliate him for no reason. Speaking of attacking for no reason however...
Even as Reyla watched Kyojin step aside and prepare to strike Reyla's attention was drawn by the massive release of power and rage that was happening behind her, apparently someone had managed to actually cause Ruby to blow her lid. Reyla turned her attention back to Kyojin just in time to bring her blade down to her side, stopping his attack completely, but rather than press the attack Reyla looked him in the eye as she let her barrier fall, "We'll have to do this another time. I'm going to see if I can't stop this before it gets any farther."
With that Reyla broke off from Kyojin and turned to face the fight going on behind her between Ruby and a lanky, pale Shinigami. If Reyla's senses were correct, and she admitted that she could certainly do to improve in the use of her sixth sense, then this man was of a similar strength to Ruby, if not stronger. That meant that they both were far beyond Reyla's own power. Luckily Reyla had no intention of trying to directly combat the two Shinigami in front of her. Reyla stretched out her palm as she calmly walked forward, her spiritual energy gathering in her palm just before she cried out, "Hado number 1, Mekakushi!" The ball of energy pulsed once before shooting off to erupt in a bright burning light between Ruby and her target. Reyla had no doubt that they both could easily protect against such a low level spell, but she also felt that that would be enough to grab their attention.
When she spoke, her voice was like frosted steel, "What the hell. You are both high level members of the Seireitei, and we have few enough members in the first place to risk losing you two, so what exactly is going on? Actually, don't answer that, just stop, before I have to jump in, and before you say anything smart I know you'd both be able to knock me out of the equation easily, but I want you to consider one thing. The only reason I was even here in the first place was to reinforce the nearby buildings with supporting Bakudo so that they would stay stable until we could divert resources to fixing them. If you use your senses, you should be able to tell that nearly every building around us has my spiritual marks on it somewhere, and beyond that nearly ten percent of the buildings in this quadrant have my energy in them in some form. I'm not afraid to be struck down, but if that happens what do you think would happen to those spells? Especially if I can't bring them down safely and they get a bit...erratic in their falling apart? What do you think would happen to the repair crews inside of those buildings?
Machie was impressed that the thin man kept his arm. She concentrated on the shinigami who dared challenge Ruby.
So he isn’t stupid, the feline shinigami thought, he’s as powerful as she is.
While she observed the exchange between Osamu and Ruby, the dark skinned woman had forgotten about the conflict occurring within Reyla’s barrier. They moved so quickly that Machie had difficulty tracking their movements; one moment Ruby was several feet away, the next their positions had changed and Osamu was wounded.
The spiritual pressure coming from Reyla and Kyojin’s direction alerted her to a change in their short fight. Machie turned to see the smart mouthed shinigami on the ground and the woman who’d attacked him threatening the two strongest shinigami in the vicinity.
Machie wasn’t sure whether she was more annoyed at Osamu and Ruby for all but brawling and pushing this shinigami to threaten to let the whole place crumble (or explode), impressed at Reyla’s cleverness --the only thing keeping her from getting swatted like a fly-- or scared for her own safety. The dark skinned woman shifted, trying to calculate the best way to avoid being hit by falling debris. Of course, she hoped Ruby and Osamu might settled down, but she wasn’t quite ready to trust them (especially Ruby) to respond well to Reyla’s interruption.
Machie sent Reyla a quick, worried look before schooling her face and resisting the urge to inch towards the exit. Trying to leave now would draw too much attention to her position. If she stayed still and mimicked her comrades, the feline woman could make it out of this without becoming the next target. Unlike Kyojin and Osamu, Machie had neither the confidence nor the strength to stand against Ruby or Reyla.
What would she do if turned on by a comrade? If she had to fight someone here? Truth be told, Machie would likely die or flee. Neither option was one the dark skinned woman wanted to admit to considering out loud. That was why she had come here in the first place, other than the fact that it had been a requirement.
When she spoke, her voice was like frosted steel, "What the hell. You are both high level members of the Seireitei, and we have few enough members in the first place to risk losing you two, so what exactly is going on? Actually, don't answer that, just stop, before I have to jump in, and before you say anything smart I know you'd both be able to knock me out of the equation easily, but I want you to consider one thing. The only reason I was even here in the first place was to reinforce the nearby buildings with supporting Bakudo so that they would stay stable until we could divert resources to fixing them. If you use your senses, you should be able to tell that nearly every building around us has my spiritual marks on it somewhere, and beyond that nearly ten percent of the buildings in this quadrant have my energy in them in some form. I'm not afraid to be struck down, but if that happens what do you think would happen to those spells? Especially if I can't bring them down safely and they get a bit...erratic in their falling apart? What do you think would happen to the repair crews inside of those buildings?
"So I say again. Stand. Down."
Tristan stood with his zanpukto drawn, his gaze fixed upon the two shinigami in front of him bear down upon each other like titans. He was unsure of what to do next until he heard the dark-haired girl speak, he had seen her around the Seritei and recognised her as Reyla from the commotion within the fight pit he had only a brief moment to witness. He knew what he wanted to do, to jump in and help his friend but in truth, he knew that with their power levels he would be little more than a nuisance. He slipped the phone from his pocket and send a text to Victoria. 'Need you at training barracks. Urgent.'
He clicked the lid shut before taking several steps to move beside her as he looked at Ruby and then to Osamu before letting out a sigh and looking straight on; "Ruby... You are above this, regardless of what he has said that has made you this angry we are too few in number to have either of you beating the seven shades of shit out of each other..."He turned to Osamu staring into his cold dead eyes with his own; "Whatever Ruby has said to you and her in return is of little consequence. It is literally hell out there with those rabid bastards trying to slice your head off left, right and centre and I would know!" He flashed his arm with the still dripping, bloody wound. "But coming to the fifth of all places to then piss this woman off of all people isn't the best idea given the circumstances! All of us are exhausted, all of us are waiting to see who could be next to start falling apart at the seams but we are ALL THAT REMAINS! So why don't both of you just take a moment to realize what you are doing before we end up with one of the officers down here." He felt his hand tremble slightly as he turned fully to Osamu with a sympathetic look in his eye; "Please leave... We don't want this to escalate any further and as Reyla says, if she gets hurt all this comes crumbling down. Do you want that on your conscience over words from both parties that are spoken out of exhaustion and short fuses?" He hoped that his diplomatic nature might just be able to persuade the furious group to calm down long enough for someone to arrive who had the firepower at least to be respected by either of the powerhouses.
Tristan realised that such a brash action may not have been the smartest of ideas but regardless he had to stop this fight before more casualties were created, the Gotei was falling apart even now, five years on and with tensions balancing precariously on the edge of a very thin knife it would not take much to spark a civil war. No matter what happened he needed to pray that the two would at least consider some words of reason even when they come from someone far lower than themselves.
When their blades connected and locked the clash raced through his arms and shoulders. For a second it was a stalemate between Reyla and Kyojin as no one of the two was really trying to push back the other. And right then and there, as Reyla's gaze met Kyojin's, there was an understanding. They both had felt that their sparring-match was over, that the situation had escalated in a way that would threaten everything they came here for. Be it that they respected this training or not, what was true for most Shinigami that had come here today was, that they had at least some wish to help the Soul Society regain it's former strength. Sure, attendance was mandatory, but as the situation in the Gotei was it was hard to believe that anyone, that didn't want to come, would, order or not. So be it conscious or subconscious, there had to be something. And one of the individuals that had initiated this exercise had seemingly completely lost it and was about to destroy it all.
"We'll have to do this another time. I'm going to see if I can't stop this before it gets any farther."
As Reyla spoke she let the barrier, that had protected their match, fall. There was another split second that the two looked in each others eyes. Kyojin gave just a slight nod. Then Reyla broke off and turned towards the fight between Ruby and another Shinigami Kyojin didn't know. The intend to kill was so strong even he himself, with his badly trained sixth sense, could feel it. Well, for that matter, the tension could probably be felt by the stone they were standing on.
When Reyla fired her attention-drawing-Kido and spoke to the fighters Kyojin made a decision. He stepped forward and took a position behind and to the side of Reyla.
He was far, damn far away from a level on which he could hold his own against Ruby and that other one. On his own, that was. But that held true for Reyla as well. And still she stepped forward to try and stop this before something really bad could happen. And if the fight hadn't been enough, this action surely was to awake some respect for Ryla in him. She did fight fair and with honor and now she made a stand even with the prospect of loosing fast and painful. But she wouldn't be alone anymore. Not because he began to like her. If he did or not was a question to be answered another time. But he could respect her resolve. And understand it.
So he stood by her side, his sword still drawn, ready to do what was necessary. Yet, if this all ended in bloodshed, it could very well mark the final stage of the complete and utter destruction of the rest of the Seireitei and by extension the Soul Society and all worlds in existence. And probably not even metaphorical.
And while he and Reyla stood on the one side of those two, Reyla trying to bargain with her own life and quite literally held together lots of the Seireitei, another one, Tristan, raised his voice also and tried to reason the two fighters into forgoing this madness. So, more of the Shinigami finally came to their senses as they witnessed Ruby going more and more off the sane path.
Post by Yuudai Takeshi on Feb 20, 2018 10:31:04 GMT -5
Yuudai sighed, his attention now being torn away from what had previously been a solid match. What the fuck is happening now? He turned to see a bewildering scene. Ruby was facing off with a Shinigami who wore the armband of the Second. Ah, so that's how it is. Yuudai knew that tensions between the divisions were high, especially those between every other division and the Second. Personally, Yuudai didn't understand why. The Second was simply doing their job, nothing more, nothing less.
He sighed and flash stepped over to where the Shinigami and Ruby were facing off. A motley assortment of various subordinates, including the two who were previously fighting against each other. The woman named Reyla mentioned something about the whole place around them collapsing because of her strengthening Bakudo. She's blackmailing them? Smart. She's not strong enough to fight either of them, but she knows what she has going for her and utilizes it.
Yuudai stepped in between the two when things settled down. "Ms. Oukami." His body was turned towards her, his arms crossed in front of him. A feral rage was in her eyes, her sword still at the ready. Please don't tell me she's lost her fucking mind.
"Need I remind you this is an open training exercise. This gentleman here, from what I can see, was merely observing our exercise. Please remember that you have a duty to be an example for these people, and attacking a man simply because he may have slighted you or because of your feelings towards him and his division is not the way a leader should act."
He walked towards her, close enough that he could whisper but still a little bit away so as not be encroaching on her personal space. "I understand that you're frustrated and under a lot of pressure, but please calm down and let's return to the exercise. We can talk later if you need someone to vent to."
Yuudai smiled, but it was more of a forced smile than anything. Why do these things happen when I'm around? It's that old Fifth Division fighting spirit. It seems to never go away, and it always seems to rub off on people.
He turned to the man who was the target if Ruby's anger. "I must apologize for Ms. Oukami." He bowed slightly to the man. "There was no need for violence. But I must ask you to leave though." He lifted his head and stood straight up. "I wish to return to the training exercise with no casualties."
The text had come and for a brief second she had thought it wasn't important. Then, then she heard the commotion in the training yard. When the seriousness of the issue struck home she took off in a dead sprint her phone dropping to the ground. Her legs sped her across the unkempt grounds with all the speed they could muster. A crack of thunder sent her careening over large swathes of ground in a singular bound. As she sped to the yard her mind raced over what could have happened. Had someone who was infected managed to keep it together long enough to lose it outside of the containment facilities again? Had someone lost their mind from the long hours, constant losses and near endless patrols? In moments she was atop the exterior wall of the training wall.
She prevented herself from making the jump immediately. She could have most definitely but that wasn't what was needed. For a brief moment she took in the scene. Rubianca had her steel drawn and had attacked someone else who had also drawn steel. She presumed the later, who was looking vaguely more and more familiar by the second, had drawn steel to defend himself as he already had sustained damage. She'd arrived just as they had separated and as she watched Rubianca had begun the motions to attack again while a younger male shinigami had stepped between and from what she was picking up he would not be enough to stop Rubianca's steel even if he'd drawn his. That was all she needed.
Another thunderclap and she was between them, her left forearm hitting across the younger mans shoulders to lessen the force of her impact and drive him to the ground. She'd not wanted to do it this way but it was the only way she could think of to save him and keep herself from taking a serious wound. Instinctively her right arm shot up to protect her head. Victoria's head snapped towards Rubianca just moments before the girls forearms impacted with hers.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT!" her voice bellowed as she held Rubianca at bay. "EVERYONE DROP YOUR FUCKING STEEL! DROP IT!" The green orbs were wide and her pupils small as they shot between Rubianca and the now recognized second division shinigami. This guy again? What trouble was he causing this time? Though, she hadn't a clue what had caused this spat but whatever it was she couldn't immediately blame him.
"Now," she began her tone returned to normal but her voice as frigid as the mid winter nighttime winds as she addressed those present, "Will someone tell me exactly how this started and who started it. Keep it to facts." Her eyes kept shifting between Rubianca and the second division member. She'd kept her energy in check thus far though if the need came she could always unleash it and settle any actions that needed to be taken quickly enough. Right now what was most important was getting both parties calm and getting the facts. "Well?!" she snapped at the group her irritation vocalized, "Someone speak up!"
Post by Osamu Shimazu on Feb 21, 2018 2:27:47 GMT -5
All eyes were now on Rubicana and himself, and he dug his heels firmly into the ground cementing that fact firmly in his mind. They all saw what happened, and they'd see what was about to happen next, too. Similarly tense, every step towards him resulted in an audible whirl of her blade. She was a warrior, through and through, after all.
As she inched closer and closer, from somewhere behind him, he heard gasps, whispers, and eventually a full blown plea for cessation. His stomach was knotting. Despite the growing presence, and the mounting protest, she inched her way little by little, the look in her eye never once shifting. One brave soul thought even to put himself a safe distance between the two. He was sure, however, seeing Ruby's state, that he was well within harm's way.
Her methodical steps turned into a great lunge, as she put all she could into closing the distance between Osamu and herself, her sword poised once more to cut him to pieces. His arms spun in great, intricate arcs as if the beginnings of some punishing spell by which he'd counter the charging woman, despite the cries and protests of those gathered.
But they were in the Wolve's Den, weren't they?
She came between them like a booming clap of thunder, bringing a comrade down to safety while simultaneously intercepting Osamu's aggressor. He winched, remembering a time years back he'd been brought down in a similar fashion by this titan of a woman. Just like he remembered, on came the bellowing. With one command, and a great breath of air, she commanded everyone disarm themselves. When things were to her liking, her orders shifted to demands, needing to be filled in on the situation.
"I came to watch," he admitted. It seemed only natural he should be the one to speak up and answer. He was, after all, the unwelcome outsider. "And she didn't like my being here. Called me a weasel, and advised that I leave. And when I showed more interest in the group gathered beyond her, her blade bit into me as I made my way over to watch more closely. So I offered to personally familiarize her with the concept of cause and effect." He stood in the same spot he'd landed in moments earlier, his posture straightening from its earlier combat ready stance, but in Victoria's presence, he dared not drop his guard.
Lucky for her that Victoria came to keep her safe that reality check.
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Last Edit: Feb 21, 2018 16:02:33 GMT -5 by Osamu Shimazu
Reyla was somewhat nonplussed when the combatants didn't seem to notice her or her proclamation, but on the other hand she was somewhat relieved. She knew she wasn't strong enough to get involved, even if she felt the need to try. Thankfully two others had stepped up alongside her to try and get the altercation to stop before anyone got in any real trouble, unfortunately trouble found them. With a crash a new woman had placed herself into the middle of the conflict, though from what Reyla could feel this woman was much more suited to dealing with Ruby and the other Shinigami, in fact, the woman actually looked a bit familiar...
It took her a moment, but Reyla was able to place the woman's toned, scar ridden face as belonging to the Fourth Seat of the Fifth division, Victoria Aeserninus. Admittedly the ears were a bit of a give away. Regardless, this definitely meant that she was more than qualified to handle the problem, as was evidenced by her barked orders demanding clarification, her presence demanding respect. As Reyla sheathed Majo no Tsuki the other Shinigami, the target of Ruby's ire, began to speak, causing Reyla to frown, and once he was finished she spoke up. "Unfortunately I cannot dispute this man's...flattering description of what just happened, all I can say is that this was an open training event, and that myself and Kyojin," Reyla gestured to the man in question, "Were in the middle of sparring when we felt Ruby's energy spike up followed by this gentleman's. We," Reyla gestured to herself, Yuudai, Tristan, and Kyojin, "Stepped in to stop this as soon as we realized what was going on, at which point you arrived."
Reyla's gaze shifted over to Ruby, who had yet to respond to anything happening, and still looked ready to strike. She didn't know just what had set the woman off, but Reyla desperately wanted to talk to her, she may have only met her once, and that before the plague, but Ruby hadn't struck her as the sort to just lose her mind over something like this, especially in a way that contradicted her own goals of improved discipline.
There were so many interruptions. First Tristan, of whom she remembered quite well, followed by Reyla and her unimpressive - and if Ruby wanted to be frank, positively ineffective in its intent - threats to bring down the Fifth along with her. Then came good-guy Yuudai, somehow finding the courage and speed to drop himself center-stage, in between Ruby and the ghoul she wished to slice up. Even under her complete focus, the thought crossed her mind. I mean, come the fuck on man. 'Don't mess with crazy bitches' would have been sage advice here.
But alas, Yuudai was just the salad before the main course: if you liked eating a fist or two to the face. Ruby couldn't believe that she had somehow - though after all of these years, she should've - caught wind of this little debacle, had made the however long trek over, and still had had enough time to intercept Ruby without her noticing. Saying the scarred woman wasn't the fastest Shinigami still breathing was a colossal understatement, but hey, that explosive entrance was pretty cool. It made Ruby's hair and red sash writhe about uncontrollably. That's how cool it was.
Stopped in mid action, Ruby let out a sigh. Her lips rumbled as the hot air rushed out of her lungs. She gave her commanding officer a tired - and somewhat annoyed - look, then down at poor Yuudai (damn that's got to hurt) and finally past the blonde mess of hair to where her intended target stood. She gave out another sigh, her nostrils flaring with frustration. With Victoria now in the picture, whelp, that was the end of it.
She whirled around with an audible hiss, her hair and sash following with delay, and stepped off from the commotion. She ignored Victoria's anger as she twirled her sword - twice back and then twice forward - as her wooden sandals fell rapidly to the stone. Finding the pain in her forearm negligible, Ruby stopped, and swiped the silver of her katana against the mouth of her scabbard. click.
"He's right," she spoke up, turning on her side so that both Victoria and the rat could hear her. There was no rage in her eyes, nothing but controlled focus. "I drew first, Victoria." A sufficient answer to the question asked. There was more that Ruby wanted to say, to list the reasons for drawing her steel against a fellow Shinigami. But she knew the why didn't matter much to someone like Victoria. These days, with the force drawn so thin, the people running things didn't care much about the why so long as things got done.
Plus, if Ruby knew any better, she'd be getting an earful later.
Post by Yuudai Takeshi on Feb 21, 2018 23:13:39 GMT -5
It seemed as though one minute Yuudai was standing straight up, the next he was flat on his ass, eyes staring up at the sky above him. What the fuck? He barely had time to think this before his skull and body came crashing to the ground. OH FUCK!!! The pain was immediate and excruciating. He could feel some bones break, his arm and ribs included.
Yuudai coughed up a small amount of blood onto his Shihakushō, which was a little cause for concern. He looked up, his head feeling like someone had punched it, then set a firework off inside, then punched it again for good measure. He saw the blurry image of a blonde haired woman. He squinted a little, his eyesight slowly coming back into focus. Well I'll be damned.
He just recognized the figure that had used him as a speed stop. "Well, if it isn't Ms. Victoria... "The Wolf"... Haven't seen you in a while." He had faint memories of wanting to be her pupil at one point, but that seemed like a millennia ago.
He lied on the ground, his head throbbing and his ribs shooting fire into his lungs. He couldn't tell, but he didn't think any of his ribs had punctured his lungs. And so he just lied there, listening to the conversation that was happening around him.
"Uhm, if it's not too much trouble Ms. Victoria, could you please help me up? I think you may have broken a bunch of my bones in the process of you using me as a stopper." Honestly I think you make a pretty good speed bump. Fuck... off...
We'll say for the sake of not having to go through all the calculations that Victoria has more than enough strength and Hakuda skill that she inflicts a Major wound on Yuudai when bolting over here.
It was striking how now everybody tried to stop Ruby. When she almost stabbed Kyojin just because of a rather vague sound, he got scolded, bitchslapped and immobilized by Kido. In short: Everyone had backed Ruby at that time. Maybe the suggested and then executed sparrings match between Reyla and himself had preventet worse than a bitchslap, but still: Nobody even thought about asking Ruby to pull in her horns. And now it seemed that suddenly everybody wanted to throw him- or herself at the Shinigami to protect someone that wasn't even from the 5th. Kyojin himself only stood here to back up Reyla if it became necessary, since she had earned at least a little respect from the big, blonde man. Whatever the guy with the tattered Shihakusho had done to blow Ruby's lid...he couldn't care less. Probably something similarly insignificant, considering how short the fuse of their 'drill instructor' apparently was.
When another female Shinigami landet with mighty thunder and buried Yuudai under her, it took a moment for Kyojin to recognise Victoria Aesernius, the fourth seat of his division. He hadn't had much direct and personal contact with her since he transferred. To be exact: none. But of course he knew who she was. She and her entrance was quite impressive, to say the least. So Kyojin obeyed when she demanded them all to put away their weapons. Although reluctantly, he let Gekido slide back into it's sheath on his back. For a brief moment he could feel disappointment emanating from his Zanpakuto. With a benign gesture he pattet the end of the sheath that hung behind his left hip.
I know, you were happy to have a real, honest and fair fight again after so long. But it still isn't the right time, it seems. And if we throw ourselves in there just for the thrill...how much thrill is it when we die?
The disappointment quickly subsided and Gekido was still again. She didn't reach out to him from her realm beyond very often, even less in words or visions. Mostly it was like this: feelings like the joy for battle or the courage that was one of the many things, that bonded this Shinigami and his Zanpakuto together.
At the moment no one directed any words at Kyojin directly, so he remained silent. There wasn't anything useful he could add anyway. The present situation did speak for itself and what happened before was briefly explained by Reyla. When she mentioned him as her sparring-partner he gave Victoria a nod. He noticed that Yuudai -the man would need a medic soon- called Victoria 'the Wolf'. That was interesting, something he hadn't heard before. A wolf was something important in his universe, too. But he put that thought aside for now.
Ruby didn't really explain herself, she just confirmed that she started it. When Kyojin looked at her, he could feel something familliar, old and almost forgotten burning hot deep inside him. He didn't like her and in his opinion a shinigami in her state of mind wasn't capable of fulfilling her role as an officer. But he couldn't do anything about it. For one, there was their superior, Victoria, who had taken matters in her own hands now. And he wasn't strong enough, not by a long shot. But he would become stronger and maybe a time would come, when he could settle the score. For now he would continue to watch and wait and see, where this situation would lead. In any case: it did seem like the exercise was over before it had begun. The example of a real fight had been cut short and Ruby would maybe get disciplined and Yuudai seemed in no physical shape to instruct anyone...
Victoria's arrival both startled Machie and made her feel relieved. Crisis avoided. Perhaps if she'd thought of it sooner, she could have summoned their captain to deal with the situation herself. Nevertheless, someone had done it. The feline woman straightened her posture; the Wolf’s arrival had made her stagger. Machie hated being so weak, so incapable of doing anything. She would fix that.
The petulant response from Ruby earned her a mental eye roll from the dark skinned woman. Agitated as she was with all the showboating and infighting, the slim woman knew better than to openly display it. With a soft huff, the catlike shinigami straightened her uniform in an attempt to maintain her relatively unruffled appearance. It didn't do much good; her shihakusho was threadbare and coming apart at the seems despite Machie's best efforts at sewing up the damage. Laundering and producing uniforms had been one of the things left to the wayside as the Gotei collapsed on itself. Even with the extras left behind due to the large losses in ranks weren't enough to maintain the polished look pre-plague shinigami had kept up.
Even now, when appearances seemed so petty, why were they drawing swords over slights that could have been settled otherwise? Everything else had worn to shreds. As much as it rankled, Machie couldn't bring herself to value pride. She had none to defend, not with the Gotei in shambles. Ruby's attitude both annoyed and confused her. Why fight so hard for the good opinions of those under you when all you needed was their cooperation?
A full ache throbbed in the dark skinned woman's temples. Would Victoria restore order or would she pick up where the loose cannon left off?
Machie's mouth thinned into a firm, grim line, turning her normally placid expression into something more severe.
Her nerves were too frazzled to truly enjoy the momentary relief of not being blown up or watching a blood bath.
Her eyes trailed over the scene around her, staring through as opposed to at her comrades.
Victoria lowered her arm as Ruby moved away. She frowned heavily as Ruby and Yuudai, both seasoned soldiers and both familiar with protocol, neglected to address her properly. Stooping she dragged the sorry excuse for a soldier to his feet with a look of disgust. Not a single person had disarmed themselves. That simply would not do. A female whom she didn't recognize, for this she could be forgiven as with the necessary drop in graduation standards in the academy as they struggled to keep divisions filled so things continued to run as they needed, verified what Osamu had said forgetting to add 'Ma'am' at the end of her statement. And there were were two others who reacted as if they knew who she was but did nothing in terms of saluting or coming to attention.
"You're all 'sparring'?" she spat. She hated that word. She hated that word even more now that they're species was so raggedly thin in numbers. "You're all here 'sparring' while your brothers and sisters are on patrol routes on Earth? Disgraceful. Completely disgraceful." She moved away from Yuudai before she struck him. Reaching a position towards roughly the middle of the training area she spun on her her heal to face the bulk of those present. "SQUAD! AH-TEN-SHUN!" Victoria barked demanding everyone present who was capable of it tuning in to what she was about to say. "You all seem to know who I am so I'll make this brief. I am Third seat Victoria Aeserninus, fifth squads training officer and roughly second in command of this division at the present moment. Most of you I recognize and a few of you are new faces to me," she paused as she scanned the faces of those present, "I realize we're in a bad way in terms of man power. A lot of things have been let slide lately that five years ago I and every other officer would have stomped your guts out over. But I'll be damned if I'll have two people trying to kill each other IN MY TRAINING GROUNDS!"
She walked over to Yuudai and slapped him hard across the face, "I'm Officer Aeserninus to you trooper. We may be letting a lot of shit slide but you and I are not equal. I am your superior and you will address me with the due respect I've earned. Am. I. Clear?" Her tone was icy as she stared him in the eyes. Moving on down the line she stopped at Ruby.
"You, Oukami, you're supposed to have a hard-on for decorum and all that bullshit yet you lose your shit over this second division fuck watching your training? You do realize he and you work for the same side right? He's in the division that gets us clear targets to kill. You may not like his division and what they do but you do not get to attack them for simply watching your training session or if they choose not to follow an order you give them which you don't have the authority to give anyways," Victoria stopped as she looked into the much younger females eyes. There was much more to this than some bad attitude and not liking having her orders ignored. This would need exploration at a later date. "You and I will talk about this tomorrow. I leave for patrol at 0400 in Paris. You're coming with me and we'll talk about this while I run my route. We clear?"
Turning to the set of shinigami she was unfamiliar with she looked them all over. Not a single one of the three caught her attention in any noticeable way. "You three," she snapped as she looked between them, "Salute and introduce yourselves or do you want to try your hand at disrespecting me too?" Victoria motioned towards Yuudai whom moments before she'd slapped.
Ruby stared at Victoria with bewilderment. She couldn’t reconcile whether the woman was truly this oblivious to the truth, or if she was outright trying to fuck with their minds. I mean, come on, it was quite obvious that this kind of meeting wasn’t of Ruby’s doing. Orders were orders; Ruby mused that it was a concept that Victoria knew intimately, with all of the barking she was doing.
She took the sparring bit as a direct insult, the deepening frown speaking her mind. And she nearly lost it when she heard Victoria speak of disgrace. There was nothing dishonorable about fighting for what you believed in, and she didn’t much appreciate how the words seemed to be directed at her.
Thankfully, instinct took hold when the command for attention nearly brought the surrounding walls crumbling down. Soldiers like her were the reason the Gotei still stood - though with a crookedness bespeaking of its partial recovery - even in the face of absolute annihilation. Sure, she wasn’t the most stable being in the universe, but she had training. Training that she could fall back on when the need arose. And fall back on her training she did, bringing the soles of her feet together as she pressed her clenched fists against the fabric of her Shihakusho. She stood at attention and listened to what the Wolf had to say, with that same frown that never went away.
Most of what she spoke was nonsense, except for the bit on proper protocol when addressing a superior. A protocol Ruby had consciously neglected earlier, when she replied to Victoria. An decision brought on by the guidance of the Queen herself.
Rubianca. What? I don’t much like what she’s saying. Ruby could feel her spirit’s discontent from just the tone of her voice. You’re going to let her speak to you this way? She is my superior officer. She felt her spirit’s nose wrinkle in quiet anger. Have you learned nothing, my dear? There is nothing in this life save for one truth: that power rules all else. Authority doesn’t grant power. Power grants authority.
Red-eyes wanted to listen to Kachi, she really did. She wanted to speak up and tell Victoria that she was wrong. That Ruby did have the authority to dispense punishment as she saw fit, being an officer of the same Division, and having the strength to do so. But alas, she didn’t.
I can’t. Tsk, tsk. And here I thought we were getting somewhere. Kachi shook with disappointment. You’re willing to let go when it desires, but when I speak, you never listen.
Ruby closed her eyes as Victoria bit into her. She felt her stomach turn as the fire began to burn. She didn’t want to deal with any of this. Her urges, the voices, the people around her telling her that she was wrong. All of it was too much, the pressure at the center of the conflict forcing her eyes to well up with tears.
Having turned off all other noise, the world went silent save for the high pitch ringing within her ears. She felt her tears start to puncture her eyelids. She needed to get out of here before she decided on an action she’d forever regret.
“Ma’am,” she said, saluting Victoria with a deep bow. “I’m sorry, but I must take my leave.” Her voice was confident, not betraying the lie that she wasn’t well. She didn’t open her eyes until she was fully turned away, for the tears flowed down the sides of her cheeks like a ruptured dam. Her lips and chin quivered as she made for the cherry-blossom garden near her dormitory, all the while quietly wishing they’d let her leave without difficulty.
Oh, Kachi lamented. My poor Rubianca.
WC - 629/5387
[Attempted thread exit]
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