Like Family (Osamu, Reyla, 5th grounds/CLOSED)

It wasn’t his, but it sure fit nicely. After his less than pleasant run in with Rubicana and Victoria, he’d found himself in dire need of a new uniform. One that wasn’t torn, bloodied, and used as part of a replacement decoy he was sure he’d never come into possession of again. One of the condemned saw fit to, well, ‘donate’ him a new one. Wasn’t his, but yeah, it fit.

Today he found himself overseeing the varied operations in the Second’s Underground. With what amounted to a skeleton crew, he was responsible for ensuring their success, and side dealings while he worked were certainly unwelcome.

His malcontent with Reyla’s interruption, then, was visibly evident. She held her hand out to him, a missive tucked against her palm. He plucked it from her grasp, his eyes flicking from her to the words scribbled onto the page. His company was requested in the Fifth, to speak with none other than Third Seat Victoria.

Oh, great. Another field trip.

Again his eyes were upon Reyla, and he remembered she was in fact present during his last encounter with the Fifth Division. “Very well,” he replied at length, before scribbling a quick note of his own, informing his subordinates of his hopefully brief absence. He nodded to Reyla when he finished, and the two set out. Osamu took the lead, figuring Reyla was lucky enough to make it to him in the first place, much less find her way back out of this sprawling and chaotic network.

“I remember you,” he began before long, “you’re that spellcaster from Runicana’s drill. What are you doing delivering messages from the Fifth?” It was an honest question, he certainly didn’t mean any disrespect. Hell Butterflies were a rarity in the days since the Plague, their keepers and their duties cripplingly halted during Seireitei’s recent catastrophe. It made sense to have a subordinate deliver messages, but last he remembered, she wasn’t a subordinate of the Fifth. What might compel her to change that fact? He was sure a future for her was brighter someplace that respected her spellcasting a bit more than what he imagined the Fifth may.

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    Reyla eyed Osamu for a moment after he asked his question, their footsteps echoing in the halls of the Second's complex. His words seemed innocent enough, but with the second you couldn't always tell. Not to mention his actions during Ruby's training didn't leave Reyla inclined to like the man. Regardless of his reasons he had deliberately antagonized another officer during a time of crisis, and the result had been disastrous. Unfortunately the best course of action seemed to be to keep her feelings to herself for the moment since she was outranked by Shimazu in more ways than one.

    "I remember you from that day as well, as for why I'm delivering messages for the Fifth the answer is simply that I've been transferred into that division at my own request." The transfer from Third to Fifth was admittedly strange, so before Shizamu could ask the obvious question Reyla continued, "I believe that in the current situation my abilities will be best used where I have more immediate access to newer recruits so that I can train them in Kido, a subject which seems to be largely ignored by fresh recruits. I also felt that I would be of more use placed in a more active combat role than what I would experience in the Third. I now act as Third seat Aeserninus' assistant as well as holding the rank of officer among the troops of the Fifth."

    As the pair stepped back out into the light Reyla stepped forward to take the lead. It was a certainty that Shizamu knew the way to their destination, but it wouldn't do to be seen being led to her own division by a member of a different division. "I trust that answers any questions regarding my placement that you might have?"


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She sure is long winded, he complained to himself, his expression unyielding despite his mounting anxiety. He nodded slowly as she spoke, though, sharing her own interest in the Shinigami’s more mystical arts. But then she was Victoria’s assistant now, was she? He half expected Rubicana herself to be present, and this to be some sort of revenge scheme of the Fifth.

When they finally emerged from the second’s underground, they made their way through the empty and unkempt courtyards of his own division and towards the slightly more ‘lived in’ courtyards of the fifth. Along the way, he pressed on.

“And how do you like it? Rumor has it Genki’s on his way on up to the Captaincy. I don’t know much about him, but I do know Madam Aeserninus will be by his side, as his Lieutenant. And her, I know a bit more about,” he was choosing his words wisely. “After all, in my experiences she’s a little... rougher than most. Maybe disciplined is a better word for it, I guess.”

A few more foot steps.

“What is it she wants with me, anyway? You must know something, being her new assistant and all, or am I reaching?”

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    As Reyla continued to lead Osamu through the Fifth she couldn't help but allow a small smile to show, not that her follower would see it as she kept her attention pointed forwards. "I'm enjoying it, I must admit. There's more camaraderie here than I'd grown accustomed to in the Third." The pair quickly made their to the general practice grounds, which was Reyla's cue to turn towards one of the larger fields, or more specifically a hidden grate on the ground in one of the corners. "I'll admit that Third seat Aeserninus can be rough around the edges, but I hardly see that as a problem. She's honest about her views and what she'll tolerate." Perhaps a bit too honest. "I'll also agree that she takes discipline seriously, but considering her responsibilities that's hardly surprising. Regardless I'm not a position to confirm any rumors."

    Osamu was reaching for information and she knew it, and more importantly she knew that Osamu was aware that she knew it. One didn't reach the higher echelons of the second division without learning how to gather information discreetly, and Osamu was being anything but discreet in his probing. "As for your summons my understanding is simply that my superior-" Reyla suppressed a shudder at using that word, even if she had to give the woman respect she hardly believed anyone to truly be superior to her, just a walking a bit farther ahead on the path that Reyla was sprinting down, but she had to at least pretend that she didn't mind the classification. "-wishes to speak with you about something that you left on our grounds."

    At this point they had reached the grate to Victoria and Genki's training ground, so without any further pause Reyla opened the hatch and climbed in, swiftly finding herself in a large training area divided into various terrains ranging from frozen tundra to lush forest. When Reyla had first been allowed into the facility she'd been amazed by the complexity of the enchantments that held the place together and restored it every night. Much to the chagrin of the the ones who had brought her down there to fight she'd become so distracted by the spellwork that they'd had to drag her away from what she had been looking at just to get her to start training.

    Luckily Victoria was waiting close to the bottom of the ladder in order to facilitate Reyla and Osamu finding her. "Third seat Aeserninus, I've brought third seat Shimazu like you asked." Though I'm not sure why you were willing to have him down here.


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The conversation continued well into the grounds of the Fifth Division. According to Reyla, things weren’t so bad in her new station, though she did seem to share his own general opinion of Victoria. She lead him through the vast courtyards of her new home, so to speak, entertaining Osamu’s blatant prodding. As it were, he’d left something behind and Victoria saw fit to give it back.

Annoyance pitted in his stomach. Of course her only goal wasn’t to return his torn garments to him. Not her. He was sure there was something more... brash? — going on here. His only guess was that she must want to drive her point home, for the third and final time. He was brash too, though, and definitely a degree more straightforward than his Second squad comrades. Oh, how will it play out, this butting of heads once again? After all, he came to realize that she was every bit as stubborn and stuck in her own ways as he was.

Silence accompanied them on the remainder of their trek, the echoing of their footsteps in these once great halls their only company. Before long they’d made it into a vast underground complex most certainly of great use to the Fifth: an undergrounding training vault, climate controlled with multiple ‘biomes,’ perfect for training in highly specialized scenarios. It was so like the Fifth to train in such extreme environments; they respected such ridiculous feats of endurance and strength.

By the time he was finished soaking in the scenery, he noticed Reyla’s own footsteps came to a sudden halt. Just beyond them Victoria stood, having ancitipated their coming. Nearby, the top half of his old Shihakusho sat, neatly folded. As always, she was mostly unreadable, sitting behind her rigid, stone face. He locked eyes with her, hoping she was as interested in keeping this distance between them as he was.

“Hello, Madam Aeserninus,” he said, deceitfully cheerful. “I understand I’ve left something behind,” he gestured to his folded clothes, “I left in such a hurry last time; I apologize for littering your grounds with my rags.”

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"Indeed you have Osamu," she purposely neglected his rank and last name. As far as she was concerned his rank held no water. He was a trouble maker and as one in her division, the fifth division, he'd have never achieved anything beyond a squad leader posting and most likely one in a hellish deployment zone. Clearly the second valued him for some reason she didn't see. Still, this game of baiting, cat and mouse as it was sometimes called, had begun and she was going to play it. "The last time you were here you left this shirt of yours behind. I've taken the liberty of washing and mending it myself. Do be careful with it, not many people have some of my handiwork with a thread and needle to call their own. I'd cherish it if I was you, maybe even retire it from use."

Within her mind she was deciding what words to use. How to phrase her statements in such a way that she would get her point across without being obvious. All the while maintaining the face she wore for much of the work she did. Calm, placid an not betraying of the intentions. "I will say though Osamu, if you wish to leave your uniform here you might want to join this division. We're always looking for more people." A slight smile knowing he'd decline that offer. Why would he accept? To accept would mean being busted all the way back down to trooper. In her eyes ranks from other division didn't hold much weight in the fifth. After all, rank in the fifth meant you lead others which meant you were responsible for their lives on top of your own. Any squad leader who lost a large portion of their squad often found themselves being retrained or at the fworst busted back down to squad filling ranks. Victoria had experienced it several times herself in her career. It happened to most who served in the fifth at least one time and sometimes it was simply because there needed to be a consolidation of squads when many had suffered damage and needed to be reformed for use. In cases like that the less experienced squad leader yielded authority to the more experienced. 

"You do seem to love coming to my beloved grounds and causing trouble for my men and I. First in that simulated battle exercise several years ago and most recently once again with one of my officers, Rubianca I think it was? Regardless, if you enjoy coming here and causing trouble perhaps you'd care to join us? See what the fighting fifth does as her duties to protect the career you have in the second as a jailer? Must be nice, in the rear with the gear never needing to expose yourself to beings that want nothing more than to devour you and don't care how they go about it. I will say this," Victoria paused for a moment, "-if you intend to continue to come on to my divisions grounds and make trouble I will file a complaint with not only your divisions leadership but with the first division as well. I wonder how that would effect any chance you'd have at ever rising above where you are now? Would you care to find out?"

A dangerous tone crept into her voice as she spit those last few lines. Effectively she'd challenged him to argue with her over his motives.

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    They might as well be rags for the level of professionalism you decided to show during the exercise. Strength and skill aside, if you can't put your self righteousness aside enough to leave another squad to their own devices rather than deliberately interrupt them, and then have the gall to complain about professionalism, then you don't deserve to be in your position. 

    As Reyla watched Victoria speak to Osamu she made a small motion with one of her hands causing a faint click to sound out from the trap door above them. A very simple spell that amounted to nothing more than very light telekinesis, not even providing enough force to lift a small object, was all it took for her to turn the lock on the trap door, ensuring that the trio wouldn't be disturbed by any of their peers who might want to make use of the underground facility. With that taken care of Reyla turned her attention back to Victoria and Osamu as she listened in on their conversation. She almost laughed when Victoria offered him a position in the Fifth, she was clearly mocking him while pointing out his apparent tendency to skulk about on the squad's grounds. She didn't actually know much of anything about third seat Shimazu outside of the fact he was an officer of the second division and that she didn't have a particularly high opinion of him after witnessing his behavior, even if it was only the one time. He'd been polite enough on the way here, but she doubted that was out of any true respect.

    Reyla frowned when Victoria mentioned a simulated battle, she hadn't heard about that event. She'd have to ask about it later, asking questions now could undermine Victoria's position. Her frown deepened somewhat when Victoria mentioned the incident at Ruby's training exercise. She wasn't sure what Victoria stood to gain by being so flippant about Ruby's identity, but given that Reyla actually respected the woman the tone didn't sit well with her. However her expression only lingered for a moment before slipping back into a neutral mask as Victoria made her not at all veiled threat, though admittedly Reyla was somewhat surprised that someone of Victoria's reputation would be using paper work to present her threat.


WC:379

He chuckled nervously. She came at him softly at first, and little by little she went further into it. Eventually, she went for the throat. Wolves did that, didn’t they?

“‘In the rear with the gear,’ huh? Madam,” he said, amused, “what a clever jab, except you’ll notice I’m not in the rear.” He held her gaze, his tone shifting, “I’m right here, in front of you. And it seems you’ve got some problems with me you refuse to let go of. You’d send your assistant halfway across Seireitei,” he gestured towards Reyla, “to summon me so we could continue this grudge of ours? Take notes, assistant, at the efforts of your mighty officer. May you one day be half as great as she,” he jabbed back. Surely Reyla felt her time as equally wasted as he did.

“As for Rubicana,” he snorted the name, “she attacked me! Can’t imagine why, considering I was signed up to attend Rubicana’s drill. As soon as she noticed I’d arrived, she came at me tongue, then sword. And so she did, and decided it necessary that she run the length of her blade down my chest. Do you know I never laid a finger on her, Victoria? You call that me causing trouble? But here you are, causing me trouble. Threatening my career after your thug attacked me in broad daylight.”

“So you can feel free to file all the complaints you’d like, Madam,” he spat that wretched title, “just shows your character.” His hands rose from their place at his sides, pulling apart his uniform just enough to reveal his bare chest. A dark line ran the length of his exposed skin, a memento of his visit with Rubicana. A scar, given to him by an awol ally. “I present you with my complaint. It was bloodier the last time we met, a little uglier, but don’t worry, it didn’t hurt. But it was certainly surprising. I can’t imagine why she might come at me in front of everybody. Take a good look, because I assure you nobody else has seen it. Didn’t get a soul involved that wasn’t already. Didn’t need anybody getting in trouble. Couldn’t have a certain officer taking blame for her crazed soldier, and getting punished.”

“You know, this scar,” his bare chest and scar were still visible, his Shihakusho just below his shoulders, “I kept it as a reminder of what the fighting Fifth is capable of. I think you should also take a look, and remember that you talk with your subordinates about focusing that ferocity at the real enemy,” he finally shifted, pulling his uniform back over his shoulders before adjusting its fit. “There’s few enough of us around as is.”

“Even so, I want to know what Rubicana’s superiors,” he meant Victoria, “did about her attacking an ally at the very place he signed up to be. Your assistant was there, she can attest that I did nothing but respond with the very same animosity I Ruby addressed me with. The same venom I’m always greeted with when I deal with your beloved fighting Fifth. I would appreciate you find some way to let go of whatever you think happened, because evidently it’s all wrong to begin with. And whatever free time you’ve scrounged up to call this makeshift meeting, the Second falls behind on because you’ve decided to pull me from my own valuable work to do this with you.” He had to win her respect. He had to be direct. The Fifth respected proof of capability. Proof of strength.

“You seem to think you and yours are the only ones with ‘prowess’ to speak of,” he spoke of her earlier derogatory comments aimed at the Second, “how’s about you take the fight from your attitude and put it somewhere more a little more valuable.” He smirked. “Like here,” he opened his arms, gesturing at the very facility they stood in.

“It really does seem like you want it after all, so why not? You’ve pulled me from my work, so now the only thing that will make this deviation worth my time is some firsthand experience with the Wolf of the Fighting Fifth itself! To be clear,” he looked to Reyla, then back to Victoria, ”Consider this me challenging you. Nobody in the Fifth resists a formal challenge, do they?”

His heart was pounding. He could feel whatever entity residing in his heirloom blade itching to be wielded. Slighted, I feel slighted. They’re here together for some reason. She didn’t just bring someone to witness her threats and mania. Is she really just here to watch? Or is she here for a more direct role of support? This blade, it encouraged these thoughts of treachery and orchestra. For the first time, however, it felt the blade was directly linking with him. There was something else inside that was sharing these feelings with him, yet Andromeda had always manifest asleep or in more direct and sinister ways while awake. This time, instead of hinder him, it seemed to encourage him. And he felt he must oblige. It demanded resolution, it begged release.

She need only agree. He’d get his payback for Rubicana, one way or another.

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How delicious. How very delectable. It was all she could do to not lick her lips in anticipation of the blood she would make him spill before she allowed Reyla to unlock the hatch. How much would she make him bleed before she decided he'd been thoroughly educated in why so few dared to talk back to her? She stifled the smile that threatened to split her face but couldn't keep the right side of her face from tugging at the taught skin of her burn as the corner of her mouth curled into a smirk. He was playing into her hand as she had wanted. She'd been kind all those years ago to simply immobilize him in an non-destructive way. She'd not made it clear why she was the fifths fiercest warrior second only to their captain.

"You are still in the rear boy," she spat. "Your division doesn't deploy anywhere near the numbers the fifth does. Total, the combined deployment numbers across the other four division do not equal even two thirds of the fifths. You act like coming to my summoning means you've walked onto the front line of an active battle." She chuckled deeply in her chest before she exhaled completely, "You're so hopelessly wrong Osamu. You are a jailer and nothing more. I have no grudge with you. I have a problem with how every time you appear you cause problems for either myself or someone in my division.

You claim you did nothing to warrant her attack with one breath but two breathes later you admit to responding in kind to her animosity. Did you think she wouldn't escalate it? Did you think she, a member of this division, wouldn't rise to meet your challenge with steel and fury?" A cackle erupted from her lips, "You're quite foolish Osamu. I wouldn't have suffered anything from her actions even if she had killed you. She is accountable for her own actions and we handed a suitable punishment the details of which you are not high enough in rank to demand much less request them from me."

"I don't give a damn whether your division gets its work done or not. If your squad mates are incapable of working without someone constantly over their shoulder then they are poorly trained and should be retrained till the training sticks. I think the officers of the division should be held accountable if their underlings are incompetent at their most basic duties. We don't have that problem here in the fifth," a disgusted look cut across her face, "That little cut on your chest should be plenty enough to make that fact clear to you."

She finally let the smile she'd been conceal break across her lips. "No, no we don't. Go on and draw your steel then," Victoria grinned back. This would be fun. 

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    Reyla watched the back and forth between Osamu and Victoria with mild amusement, and in some cases barely hidden contempt. After they had both made their challenges however Reyla felt the need to speak up before she would be forced to take cover from the ensuing combat. "That is a very interesting take on events Third seat Shimazu, and I can't even fault anything you said as a lie. Well, except for one thing. I don't actually recall a 'sign up' sheet being sent out through the seiretei to announce the exercise that Rubianca led, messages and some flyers yes, but a single central sheet to identify everyone who would be there? Not so much. However, as I mentioned at the time I had been extraordinarily busy so it wouldn't be unreasonable for me to have missed a detail such as that. However-" a small smile slid across Reyla's face, "I do seem to recall that you said that you had made your way to the exercise simply to observe, and before you ask even if I couldn't hear you from behind my barrier you were more than within earshot of several people, so why would you have signed up for a drill that you had no intention of actually participating in? Also, if your presence is so important in the Second, why did you leave your duties to simply observe a training exercise?"

    As Reyla continued to speak, her voice never rising beyond a conversational volume and her tone never varying from innocently curious, she propped her arm on her hip to strike an even more unconcerned pose. "I also heard about how you spoke back to Rubianca. I am well aware that she was hostile to you before you said anything, but was that really an excuse to label the entire Fifth division as 'having lost touch with reality'? I was under the impression that as one of the highest ranking members of the second you'd be able to have some control and show a bit of discretion. Surely Rubianca wasn't the first to make accusations about your duties to you, so why go out of your way to taunt her?" Reyla laughed lightly and pushed a stray locket of hair out of her eyes. "These are all questions that I admit to being confused over, but now that I've found out this isn't a one time thing, and after seeing where your actions have brought you today, well I think I understand."

    Reyla shook her head, "Really though, do you think the best way to get someones attention is to anger them, get them to fight you?" Reyla gestured to Victoria as she spoke, "I mean I definitely see why you'd be interested, but what you're doing is essentially the same as a child kicking sand in his crushes face because he doesn't understand why he's feeling that way. Me? I would have started with a nice dinner, but to each their own I suppose. Regardless, you've got Victoria's undivided attention now," Reyla's grin took on a sinister edge, "so I'll leave you to 'enjoy' it."

    With that Reyla disappeared with a simple flash step, reappearing a decent distance away standing above the nearby treeline. She had no illusions that should he want to Osamu could easily follow her and make any complaints about her accusations painfully well known, but by doing that he not only would be turning away from the woman he had just challenged, but also added weight to Reyla's words. She knew that he would see through her blatent attempt to get under his skin, but any attempt by himself to argue her points would only lead to her petty statements gaining weight, not that Reyla felt Victoria would believe a word of what she had just said. Her point however would have been made. Your not the only one who can thinly veil baited statements here anymore Shimazu. You'll pay for embarrassing my friend. 

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He scoffed and turned his attention over to Reyla, “Duties change on a daily basis, you know that. That day in question, my tasks had been completed and I ventured out to make use of otherwise idle time. Instead, I was greeted with malice. The two of you seemed dead set in highly judgmental preconceived notions.”

“Don’t you see the hypocrisy in everything here? I’ve been labeled a dog by Rubicana as a member of the Second before being attacked, and hounded by a mad woman hellbent on retribution on the wrong side. I may have met Rubicana’s malice with malice, but even those within earshot, if not yourself, would remember my attempts shortly before her striking me to smooth things over and continue on. Why does it even matter what I said? Or what she said? Had I committed a crime? Is inconveniencing someone, burdening them, insulting them, grounds to initiate violence and then persecute the victim?”

“No matter what I was doing there, or why I was doing it, nothing I had done warranted the resistance I had been met with, both verbally and eventually physically. For you to stand in defense of such judgments, and then to cast your own, saddens me. I hope to see you come around, eventually.”

She’d said her piece, and vanished a safe distance away, intent to watch events unfold from here on. As for Osamu, his head was swirling. Reyla had many questions that supposedly confused her, but how he and they could be in such opposite ends of the spectrum on this matter not only confused, but frightened him. That an individual as publicly unhinged as Rubicana could greet him with such animosity and not handle any at all in return before resorting to violence astounded him. That an officer and her aide could also paint Osamu as the enemy in it all? That was much worse.

If it wasn’t clear before, it certainly was now. For all the time he’d spent believing Victoria was perhaps onto something, that she was the way she was because it served some great purpose. He was wrong. She was no different from the rest of the rabble in the Fifth. They were all emotive brutes.

“I’m very pleased you take great pride in being an officer of frontline soldiers. I know well, as do we all, of the great strength of your fighting force. You’d disrespect not only the Second Division, but also the Fifth to cast such pitiful insults not only at me, but my own subordinates and superiors? Tell me what you junk it is the Second accomplishes ‘in the rear’ as you say? Every moment you spend baiting and insulting you prove your incompetence, your selfishness, and quite frankly, your silliness.”

“Your problem isn’t about cleaning up other people’s messes or even the amount of paperwork you need tend to afterwards. Your problem, Victoria, is more personal than that; your problem is that you’re a self righteous hag who mistakes her lengthy tenure as a wealth of experience. Be wary the rise of the underdog. Like the rest, you cover your own in the event of dishonor instead of working towards righting the misdeed. You seek only to further it.”

“But really, I must thank you for clearing this all up for me. We must quickly inform the remainder of the Seireitei that having an attitude is grounds to be assaulted by an on-duty soldier! Who do you think you are? What do you think this is? The very fact you take pride in your AWOL soldier, stand in front of me and continually insult and demean me and the division I serve... and for what, exactly? Certainly not camaraderie; not honor or justice. You’ve proven yourself well beyond any of those concepts.”

“You have a bloated sense of self, and so you seek to impose your flawed will on others. You strive to seek fault, while covering and ignoring your own. I will see to it that sense of self is checked, and checked again. This ‘line’ down my chest is proof of one thing, and of one thing only: a problem, and a very serious one at that, within the Fifth Division.”

“Reyla, you’ve done yourself an immeasurable disservice choosing this one and her motley crew to be your mentors. I know it, you’re a smart woman, and smart women have very little to learn from brutes like Victoria.”

He rolled his neck around in few small circles, cracking his neck and loosening his muscles. For the first time since he’d arrived here, he extended his spiritual senses outward to take in this new environment. Without a doubt, a high number of this facility’s functions were operated with Shinigami magic, the essence of which filled the room. He bent his knees, and found a comfortable position with which he may begin his assault.

From his spot fifteen feet or more from Victoria, he joined his hands together as if in prayer. A few hand seals later, he’d hold the pose; from the folds of his uniform, a glowing crimson tattoo blinked to life, starting as a pale glow atop the fingers of his joined hands before slithering into a full sleeve of ancient script down the length of either arm. From within, he felt the uncomfortable sting of the magic at work. His face was hard as stone. He released his hands, but the markings remained.

“I’ve drawn all I need to,” he spoke of the magical markings that now ran the length of his arm.

“If you and your kind won’t back off, and back down, perhaps then you must be made to. And if I can’t now, you better believe I will someday,” he promised.

He stretched his arm out, open palm facing Victoria, and a streak of blue fire sprang forth, closing the distance between himself and his adversary.

984
2,770

Outside of melee range
Action 1: Stat Seal on self, Spirit reduces to 55 for 1 (of 2) rounds.
Action 2: Sokatsui at 55 Spirit and Expert Kido cast outside melee range.

Prattling and arguing with Reyla followed by more about how wrong she was and how he was some poor victim in this whole situation. Once more on about how Reyla had made a mistake joining the fifth and the usual garbage that the other four division spat about the fifth division when they knew full well that the fifth was not a collection of stupid people. Intelligence came in many forms and those that flocked to the fifth we're those who's minds wrapped around the arts of war better than any other subject. She could entertain his prattling all day if she wished to but they were past that point and the only way he was going to hear her was to receive the beating she should have handed him five years prior.

He made the hand signs she'd witness him make several months prior. Perhaps the single most confusing thing for her was how hand signs bypassed the audible portion of spell casting. Then again she wasn't much in the way of a caster. He promised that someday he'd make 'her kind' back off and back down. She could only presume that he'd become a thorn if she didn't do a good enough job of educating him now. His hand came up and she began to move towards him as the blue flame leapt from his palm. The flame licked over her reddening her skin as it washed over. It did nothing to arrest her advance. She was within arms reach of him now and she halted her advance inches from his palm.

"Should have run when you had the chance Osamu. You put too much faith in your spells. Did you honestly believe such a pitiful spell would do anything to stop me? Keep me from reaching you? Show me what you've learned in the second. Show me how its equal to or superior to the training and life we endure in the fifth. Show me how you'll make me back off and back down jailer," she sneered at him. She was actively mocking his capacity as a warrior now. She'd not sought to strike him yet. She could most likely whenever she wished to. For now though she would simply mock his attempts to harm her. To best her at the game she knew so well. 

At the end of this there would be a healthy fear and respect for her in his heart and a collection of new scars on his body to mark witness to his folly. 

WC- 421

    Reyla frowned from above the battle that had just begun. She wasn't intimately familiar with the technique that Osamu had just used that resulted in the tattoos, but she did recognize his method of spell casting. It wasn't common, but it also wasn't unheard of for Shinigami to replace the spoken element of spell casting with some form of physical movement, in the end it wasn't the specific words or movements that created the spell, but rather the manipulation of will. The purpose of spell chants and intonations was to help guide the caster's will down the necessary paths, and there was no reason that physical actions couldn't serve the same mnemonic purpose.

    Silent casting aside however, Osamu's spell might as well have been nonexistent for all of the effect it seemed to have had on Victoria. He has to know he's outclassed here, so what's his game. I don't buy his self righteous underdog story, so what are his actual motivations? Even if he was telling the truth it wouldn't make sense for him to make a challenge he knew he couldn't win. Reyla's eyes narrowed, what's your game Shimazu?

    Unfortunately there was nothing Reyla could do at the moment, not that she felt Victoria would be thrilled if she did decide to step in the middle of their spat, so all she could do at the moment was sit back and wait.


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Blue flames washed over Victoria, batheing her in its — lessened — fury. She emerged from the other side, not unscathed but still tanking the brunt of his however dulled power. Her skin scalded, visibly reddening to reflect its heat treating while her eyebrows, lashes, and the ends of her hair all singed. Like a warrior, though, she came right at him. He watched as the distance closed between them, foot by prescious foot. At any time, and he knew it, he could have began countermaneuvering, but there was something off in the way she carried herself, and so he held his ground.

Eventually, she was within arms length. Characteristically, she bombarded him with taunts. There was method to her madness, he was sure of it, at least in her mind. As much as he was up to something, she was too. His arm markings shone with brilliance as she taunted his weak spellcasting — did she suspect a relationship between the arm markings and underwhelming spell force? — their radiance burning the entire length of Osamu’s own arm. It was as though both arms had both fallen asleep, that intense pins and needles sensation resonating from shoulder to fingertip.

He scoffed, and his feet went to work once more bringing sufficient distance between himself and Vistoria. His footsteps echoed throughout the chamber, meanwhile his hands went to work weaving their signs. When finally he was a sufficient distance from his adversary, his handiwork crescendoed into an audible shout and he clapped his hands together before pulling them apart. In the space between his outstretched arms, a glowing polyhedral rod of magical energy floated, about three feet in length. This piece of Shinigami magic was known as the Hyapporankan Bakudo; he snatched it from the air and twirled it above his head with a single hand, reaching up with his second hand before pulling apart in separate directions. In each hand, a single of these rods.

He launched one straight for Victoria and as it sailed through the air it broke apart into dozens of identical rods. A small number of these managed to continue on flying towards Victoria, while the others peppered the ground between them at random, sinking into the chamber floor like darts on a board. A moment after launching the first, he rested back and threw the second at Victoria, maintaining this barrage. Should a single one of these strike her head on, by design they’d proper body as indiscriminately as this chamber floor. However, he expected more from her; she wouldn’t tank this spell. She’d either bunker down or fight the wave head on and advance, no more showboating. Just full on powerhousing.

444
3,214

-20 Spirit (2 of 2)
Victoria Range Change Check: Speed v Speed / Shunpo v Shunpo. Disadvantaged -2, fail.
Action 1: Osamu Range Change Check: Speed v Speed / Shunpo v Shunpo. Dominant, success.
Action 2: Hyapporankan cast outside melee range at 55 Spirit and Expert Kido.

'Keep running,' she said as she swatted aside the first barrage of his binding spell as she began her advance anew. Her advance continued as he wound up and threw a second wave of those pillars. Some variety of bakudo of that she was certain. Why he'd try such a thing on her when his offensive spells hadn't work was beyond her but once more she batted aside the projectiles with about as much effort as it took to swat away flies. The rods crashed to the ground around her and she moved onward.

Like an iceberg or glacier she made her way onwards. Deliberate progress with nigh unstoppable momentum. So many in this organization relied on speed. So many counted on the ability to vaporize their opponents in singular focused blasts. Those that relied on those things rarely had back up plans when they ran across a being that could simply keep going through it. Speed was nice but once your legs were broken you were out of options. When one ran out of energy to keep hurling their most powerful spells what then? Pray your steel and swordsmanship was enough to seize the day? What a true soldier of this nation they all loved so dear was the capacity to take hits and keep marching. Eventually even the speediest would trip and fall. In time the mages mouth would grow parched or their hands cramped and their spells would begin to lose their power. While, any who had even the slightest shred of durability would simply march onward. 

Once again she closed to within striking distance of him and stopped once more. She smiled and tilted her head forward slightly and to the left. Words were not needed everything was obvious with the smile and the tilt of her head. 

Wc -302 

There's no way she's this oblivious is there? I've seen her fight before, she has to know he's baiting her. There's no way she can get close enough to hit him at the speeds he's moving, not unless she's holding back on her own speeds. Not to mention it's clear he can't hurt her, even if he did have more power than he's showing there's to many flaws in his spells for them to pose any real threat to her.

Reyla's eyes narrowed as she bent her mind to figuring out what exactly was going on. Reyla had no reason to call Victoria subtle, and her actions were certainly speaking true to what Reyla had seen in the short time she'd been working with the woman, but even so she seemed to be showing a shocking lack of insight. Of course even if Reyla could tell that Osamu was baiting Victoria she had no idea what he was baiting her for. For all intents and purposes the two were in a stalemate with neither being able to do anything to the other by virtue of either underwhelming strength or overwhelming speed.

Idly Reyla began to channel energy through her fingers, seeming to toss flickers of lightning from one finger to the next as she attempted to puzzle the situation out. The action had started as a simple method to practice her finer Kido control, but after years it had become an almost instinctive act that she used to calm herself and keep settle her mind, that it still served it's purpose in keeping her skills sharp was just a side benefit at this point.

As Victoria began to attempt to close in on Osamu again Reyla shook her head before muttering under her breath, "Sanguine Kido number 4, Aspectu." As she felt the energy of her spell crawl from her heart into her eyes Reyla shivered, the almost velvety feeling of the spells that she had begun to develop still made her uncomfortable, though that was mostly because she couldn't help but be reminded of the time she spent- Reyla shook her head to clear her thoughts and focused on the battle in front of her, finding that both combatants now had bright red lines running through them.

During her...trials from the time of the plague Reyla had developed this spell after realizing that in spiritual beings power often flowed along the same paths as their lifeblood, and while she couldn't see anything that she wasn't already aware of, no spell could really replace the sixth sense that all spiritual beings used to detect each other no matter how much Reyla wished otherwise, this spell did allow her to watch the flow of power in her targets. Useful for reconnaissance or aiming at the target of a long range device as the spell could work through a magnification device, but not much else.

Unsurprisingly Victoria's energies seemed focused in her arms and legs, clearly focused for the act of hand to hand combat, Osamu's energy did start some alarm bells ringing however. Osamu's hands shone like rubies under direct sunlight, which was to be expected as he directed his Kido through them, but underneath the tattoo that had formed on his arm the streams of power were being forcefully constricted, which was causing a worrying build up of power that flowed along the lines of the tattoo itself. 

As the battle moved forward Reyla debated telling Victoria that something was up, but decided against it. She didn't know exactly what Osamu was doing in the first place, and she had yet to actually reveal any information on her newly acquired spells and was loathe to do so to someone who likely wouldn't understand what she was talking about.

Osamu on the other hand...

633

The game of cat and mouse followed them from their verbal spat and into their physical dispute. And while he managed to scorch her at the get go, as the seconds dragged on it became clear they were at a virtual standstill. Her strength and dexterity afforded her the capacity to bat his projectiles aside as though they were petty annoyances.

She charged towards him once more, a smug smirk plastered over her normally rigid face, but this time he sought to counter her maneuver. He was far too agile to allow her the chance to get close, and so he worked to maintain the distance between them, cutting a wide arc around his opponent, effectively keeping her at bay for the duration of her charge towards him. By the end of it all, he’d be the one wearing the tilted head smirk.

“With due respect,” he began from his position this time thirty or more feet from the she beast, “I’d like to keep you more than an arms length at all time,” his voice trailed off, “and so all your strength is useless if you can’t hit me.” The sensation in his arms was fading. More accurately, it was shifting. When a moment ago they were overcame with pins and needles, now it felt as though his arms would swell up until they popped. His skin crawled, and his muscles cramped. The red glow fizzled out and was replaced now by a pale blue shine, signifying the shift in ability. The seal he’d placed on his arms now dipped into the reserves of the energy it had been siphoning, adding it to his own considerable might.

A single step cleared the distance between himself and Victoria. A single palm outstretched and with the influx of power coursing through his arms, he’d bring the spell straight to her.

“Raikoho!”

310
3,524

+10 Spirit (1 of 4)
Action 1: range change at Advantage +2. Stealth Utsusemi
Action 2: Raikoho cast within melee range at 85 Spirit and Expert Kido