Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll!

OOC: This is a private thread. Only Tsubaki is permitted in it so far. If anyone posts again without asking first, I'm deleting your post, no questions asked. If you want to join, PM me.

Haishiro had always thought he was decently fashionable. Sure, the transition from Shinigami robes to human clothing had been awkward at first and he’d made quite a few blunders but the experiences paid off in the long run and after a few years, he actually became interested in what separated the men from the boys in terms of mannerisms, actions and even their clothing. With so much time on his hands, it was only natural for the outcast to experiment, right? And so it started in April of 1974 with Haishi’s first job working for a start-up fashion company.

The company ultimately failed but he came away from that experience with a plethora of knowledge regarding the savage business world. In the end, he bounced around from company to company over the years, always careful to forge or wipe his record clean at the end so people wouldn’t notice that he never aged over the years. Currently, he was employed by Issey Miyake, Japan’s best known fashion designer and even though it was the weekend, Imitsu had gone in to work, trying to ignore the fact that Yoruichi might be with Kisuke at the moment. As he walked out of the building’s front door, his mind took a stroll down memory lane, remembering how he’d first arrived at his marketing position in this company…

Haishiro had appeared at the Miyake Line in July of 2007 as a young, 28-year-old-sclub. He didn’t put it that way to be self-deprecating; he said it because it was the sad, sad, God’s honest truth. Nearly every day for the first year, he dragged his raggedy self into work wearing an untucked and in his colleagues opinion, baggy dress shirt, his hair was frozen with gel and he was fitted in jeans or slacks so ill fitting that they would’ve rendered any ass – let alone his ass – unidentifiable, a tiny protuberance awash in a sea of denim. Hell, he even mixed black and brown.

All of this would have been quasi-acceptable if he had been an insurance adjuster or a back-room clerk at the local Barnes & Noble book store. But no, he worked at Miyake, home to some of the sharpest-dressed mofos this side of the globe. They had guys who didn’t mind telling you that you looked like a Maloof brother. One particularly dispiriting day, a designer not known for her nattiness took a glance at his outfit – jeans, navy blue sneakers, a loose-fitting white and green vertically striped button-down – and scoffed, “You wear that to work?” She said that she respected Haishi’s willingness to embarrass himself.

There’s no use pretending that comments such as that didn’t sting. Imitsu wished it didn’t, but improvement mattered to him and the approval of his colleagues was something he yearned for. His suits became tailored for a slim fit that accentuated his athletic build. Slim-fit jeans rather than baggy ones fit for homeless families of three and more hugged his hips. Skinny ties, aggressively cut polo’s and dress shirts began to fill his wardrobe. In short, by the time Yoruichi showed up out of the blue, Haishiro looked like a fashion expert, maybe even one who had studied the subject his entire life. It was a remarking metamorphosis.

So then the strangest thing happens: he lugs himself all over town in his quest to ascertain just exactly what a normal existence is for a Vizard such as himself and suddenly, he’s Mr. Fucking GQ. Apparently, what barely passes for fashion at his work is cause for suspicion in Karakura Town. Haishi couldn’t even begin to tell you how many times in the last couple of months he was asked, normally by drunk girls, if he was gay. He’d tell them no, he was flattered, but in reality, he worked at a fashion company as a marketing consultant. In sloppy, barely coherent sentences, they’d usually respond with, “You just dress kinda gay, I guess. Looks nice…but gay.” Ironically, Imitsu had decided to spruce himself up in case Yoru ever did come back – which she did – and his many female friends that he’d acquired because he’d cleaned himself up ended up getting him in trouble with his girlfriend. Seriously…that’s just sad.

Now, once again, he was being eyed by several pairs of eyes that belonged to a troop of young, nubile young female adults. Coughing uncomfortably, he shifted his weight so he wasn’t looking at them and ordered his lunch from the female behind the register, another young lady who was eyeing his all black, fitted suit with more than curiosity in her gaze. Sheepishly mumbling a thank you for his change, Haishi beat a quick exit and grabbed himself a table outside under the awning of one of his favorite lunch spots – Box Kitty. Yea, the name was odd but the food was great, the prices were fair and he could usually find a spot to eat alone without being bothered. Today, though, the tables were all full and to obvious disdain, the one he’d found was the closest one to the street. It was also in full view of everyone else as well.

“Man…I sure with Yoru was here…” He already missed her even though she’d only been gone for a few hours. Sure, it was a bit silly for him to mope about when she wasn’t around – he was a grown man, after all – but in all fairness, they’d just been reunited and Haishi was very eager to spend as much time with her as possible. Placing his ticket on the edge of the table so the server would see it when he came around with his food, Imitsu kicked his feet up casually on the feet of the table and leaned back, his hands locked behind his head comfortably. “I guess I’ll head back to work after this…clear away some of those proposals…it’s not like Yoru needs me or anything.” Azure pools of intelligence cast a wary gaze over his surroundings, always alert for the possibility of any trouble in the form of Hollows, Shinigami or Arrancar…you never could be too careful when you lived in Karakura Town, no matter what sort of being you were.

Her quick, angry steps had become slow and hesitant. Wasn't she just being silly for being this angry and bothered by the harsh words from her captain? She glared down at her Zanpakuto that was at it's place at her belt. Oh don't try to act all innocent and silent now you prick... you already got me into enough trouble! She was ready to take that shikai spirit of hers and whoop it's ass...or at least try to. He always managed to get her into some trouble and then acted as if nothing at all had happened after wards! If that wasn't annoying then she didn't know what. Couldn't I have just gotten some sweet, flower loving lizard or something instead of some dragon that only thinks about tormenting me and others around?

No answer came from the Zanpakuto as it seemed to be either trying to get her more pissed off by ignoring her or it simply didn't bother to have an argument with someone as hot headed as herself, she leaned towards the latter reason, so she simply frowned and quickened her pace again. This was certainly not her day...

Gritting her teeth she pondered about tripping some random human, but thought that if her captain was perhaps watching her from somewhere he might then make her scrub the floors in her division for months...with her toothbrush as punishment for "picking on weaker ones".

She wasn't wearing her gigai so no one noticed the blue haired female shinigami that made her way along the street in deep thought and with an angry frown on her face. She stopped every once in a while and looked at some new thing that she had never seen before with a confused and curious expression on her face, the anger slowly getting pushed aside by the joy of finally getting to be alone and be able to look at all the new and various things this town offered. Gnawing lightly on her lower lip she poked the window of a clothing store as she eyed some skirts that didn't really seem to have the right to be called skirts... they were more like belts. She wondered if any female would actually put this on and wear it around.

Sighing to herself she stepped away from the window and smiled faintly. She was just being old fashioned in thinking now, of course everything was changed from since when she was alive. She looked down at her shinigami robe and kept gnawing on her lower lip. She surely wouldn't pass any fashion points anywhere. Glancing again in a random shop window she saw her reflection and leaned a little closer. hmm..I guess it could be worse...

She chuckled as she thought that and made funny faces at the window before a serious expression rushed over her face again as she tried to compare her face with the face of a girl she had seen on a poster in one of the stores.

She pushed her long, blue hair away from her face and studied herself slightly. Her blue eyes ran over her face that was reflected in the window and studied the small and straight nose, full lips, small chin that she sometimes thrust forward when she was being stubborn (her brothers always made fun of her when she had done that, and said that now there would be no way to win the argument when she made that gesture) and then she ended it by sticking her tongue out at her reflection and taking a step back.

Laughing out loud she shook her head and wondered if she was going insane. What on earth am I thinking? She put her hands in her pockets and just kept going, not bothering any more to look to the sides. Her anger was finally completely fading out and she was thankful for that. Noticing that the place she was about to walk passed was called "Box Kitty" she blinked slightly and rolled her eyes. What the heck is up with that name..? Seriously... was that the best they could come up with?

Stopping in her tracks she frowned slightly and couldn't shake off the feeling that something wasn't quite...right. There was some tingling sensation, some strange spiritual feeling that made her snap her head to the sides as if trying to see from where this was coming. It wasn't a strong feeling but enough to make her uneasy, as if it was someone very close. And true enough, she noticed a handsome and well dressed man that sat about 2 tables away from her. Staring at him she narrowed her eyes slightly as she ran her gaze over him. Who was he?

Dark and Stormy, nice and easy. At the first Christmas celebration at his current job, Haishiro had been presented with a fancy pants full-on Pottery Barn cocktail kit: ten-gallon martini glasses and a silver-plated shaker, stirrer, strainer, tongs and serving tray. Two years later, it’s still in the box. That’s not because he doesn’t drink; with the kind of life that Haishi leads, there’s nothing – and yea, this sounds bad, but really: nothing – he likes mores than a little medicine at the end of each day.

The truth of the matter was, he’d never busted the set out because he simply wasn’t a fan of the fussy drink. Imitsu never believed in cocktail hardware and ironically enough, unlike his fetish for cooking gourmet, sumptuous, over-the-top meals, he hated crafting a cocktail from fresh-squeezed guava juice, muddling it with mint leaves and blood-orange zest. No, give him a whiskey and coke any day of the week and he’d be much happier. His basic philosophy regarding cocktails was straight forward: very few ingredients, very good ingredients, very simple preparation.

Which brings us to the Dark and Stormy.

Haishiro never did grow up with a yacht, a cottage on Nantucket or had a Roman numeral after his name. He had no clue this drink existed for the first how many hundreds of years of his life. And now can he share how he wept for all those lost years? In his humble opinion as a man who’s tasted hundreds of cocktails over the course of his life, the dark and stormy is everything a great cocktail should be: damned tasty, of course, but also fizzy, cold, summery, and very, very easy to make. It consisted of packing a decent-sized highball glass with ice and filling it halfway with some good dark rum – fifteen year old El Dorado from Guyana and Gosling’s were his favorite. Then – and this is the crucial part – top it off with real ginger beer. Finally, squeeze lots of lime into it, stir it with a straw and let that smile form on your face as you taste your creation.

And this was the last reason Haishiro liked this restaurant. Their bartender made a mean Dark and Stormy. “Damn, that’s good.” He licked the beery foam off of his lips and sighed in contentment. Surrounded as he was in a sea of conformity with a premium placed on uniformity, Imitsu couldn’t help but yearn for some sense of normalcy in his not so uniform life. It seemed as if every day was an emotional and physical roller coaster ride that did little but complicate his existence even further. For one brief moment, he wished he’d just been left for dead in the Severing World. Everything would be so much simpler if that had been the case. Just as quickly, Haishi banished the thought and buried it beneath his feelings for Yoru. No, he was glad he was still breathing. She made it all worth it.

Fingers tapped out a random beat on the thin, aluminum table top as he absentmindedly stared at the passing pedestrians on the sidewalk and traffic in the street. The Vizard wondered where his food was. The drink was great but his stomach was starting to growl in protest.

His eyes narrowed suddenly. All five senses perked up noticeably.

Haishiro stopped his daydreaming and focused his attention on the reiatsu that had suddenly appeared on his radar screen. Twin blue orbs swept across the sea of humans and his gaze settled on a small, blue-haired girl that was definitely not supposed to be there. Quickly gauging the strength of the reiatsu he was feeling, Haishi concluded it to be on par with his and frowned. Who was she? Her clothing identified her as a Shinigami with the Gotei 13; yet, he felt no killing intent from her. Had she been sent here to kill him? Was the Soul Society still after him? Questions swirled around in his mind and as he startled to settle himself, Imitsu found himself scrutinizing the girl further, realizing that she seemed just as surprised to see him as he was to see her.

Dressed as he was in his well-tailored and might he add, expensive-as-sin suit, Haishiro didn’t exactly feel like ruining it should she attack him. Plus, his plain white button up underneath his jacket was just back from the dry cleaners and the casual, round toe dress shoes he wore were brand new. The frown on his face deepened. His options were limited at this point. Pretending to ignore her wouldn’t fly – she’d already seen him looking her way. Well, he might as well say hi and see what she wanted.

He tilted his head to the side. A thin smile curved his lips upward ever so slightly. Eyes skewered the girl with a natural intensity that was neither hostile nor friendly. Realizing full well that other people would think him a nut for seemingly conversing with himself, Imitsu went ahead and said, “Hello there, Shinigami. Care to join me?”

The air around them seemed to have gotten slightly crackling from tension and she no longer noticed the humans that were walking around her. She shifted uncomfortably and glanced to the sides, looking to see if perhaps this was some sort of a trap or if she was going mad because that person seemed to see her as clearly as she saw him and he also talked to her easily without showing any signs of surprise and addressed her as a shinigami!

Well that at least showed that he was probably talking to her and not someone else, unless there was another shinigami standing behind her which she doubted. That also showed very clearly that this wasn't just any human that had an unusual spiritual energy. Was he an ally of the shinigamis? She brushed that thought away almost as soon as it had entered her mind, if he was, then he would not look her over as if he was waiting for her to either have a chat or jump at him and try to rip his head off.

She narrowed her eyes slightly and took a step in his direction, it was as if he wasn't very eager to fight but at the same time it seemed as if he was very ready for it if she decided to attack. But then again they were in the middle of a very crowded human place, and she had just gotten scolded for letting the anger and need for fighting take control over her so the last thing she needed was her captain scolding her even more if she would attack this man here in front of her and perhaps get a human or two in the way.

Just calm down and think... he has not made the first move so you have got some time at least for now to question him

Gnawing on her lower lip she took one hesitant step towards him, wondering if he was simply mocking her with his offer or if it was his way of stalling perhaps a fight that could occur at any moment. She wondered who and what he was, she had never felt a spiritual presence like his before. It seemed that he was of her own level, but she was still recovering from fighting that hollow earlier so she wasn't overly confident if this would end up in a fight. But she'd rather die than back down so even the slightest move from his half that would indicate a threat and she'd be at him in the split of a second.

Having her hand on the hilt of her Zanpakuto and all her muscles tense she took a few steps closer to him, looking him over and measuring his strength. Without any reason the thought well dressed popped into her head.

Well this was just great! Her first trip into the human world and she got into a fight with a hollow that almost chopped her head off because her shikai spirit was a moody prick that liked to interfere, then she got scolded by her captain until she almost crawled away and now she was facing a possible enemy and all she could do was admiring his clothes and looks!? If she wasn't sure that it would make him slightly amused then she'd have slapped herself. Without letting the normal, serious expression falter she said the words quickly

Who are you?

She was glad that she had full control over her voice and drew in a small breath, completely calming herself down and thrusting her chin slightly forward as she expected an answer not later than now. If he would not answer then she would be right to take him as a threat, or that was at least one of the things that she had been taught in the academy. But what to do then? She didn't know his powers, she was slightly tired from an earlier fight and she was alone here facing him.

Well it was not as if she was alone in the town, her captain was somewhere around...or well she hoped so at least. And besides she would be able to handle this situation....right?

OOC: Sorry for the crappy post. Trying to do to many things at once and my mind blanked. My apologizes.

His smile dissolved into the soothing breeze that tickled his skin as it swept stray leaves along the sidewalk and ruffled women’s skirts. A fine, almost cruel black eyebrow arched up into a fine point, the pupil underneath it enlarging slightly in surprise at the young lady’s response. While the words she spoke hadn’t been wholly unexpected, the Vizard had assumed – albeit incorrectly – that this particular Shinigami would at least show him the courtesy that he, so far, had shown her. There was a barely visible twitch in the muscles in his right cheek. She wasn’t being very friendly at all, not in the least. The corners of his mouth remained flat and his gaze turned hard before he relaxed and shot her a cheerful smile. Haishiro hadn’t remained alive this long by losing his temper or misreading his opponents.

“How rude. I invite you to my table and instead of politely accepting or declining; you choose to demand that I tell you who I am.”

Imitsu reached for his mixed drink and took a generous gulp, enjoying the sourness and strong alcoholic content. Feeling the liquid burn its way down his throat into his stomach, he bit back a yawn and failed to suppress a bemused look on his face as he glanced at the girl. He supposed it wasn’t fair of him to be harsh to the young one. After all, from her point of view, there was every possibility that he was an enemy and would potentially wish to battle. As for Haishiro, everyone he met was his opponent and over time, it’d become as second nature to him as breathing the very air that swirled about them. Having various spirit beings of every nature appear out of thin air became commonplace. It was almost odd when a week went by and a spiritual being didn’t show its face around him.

Haishiro was about to speak again when the waiter appeared as if by magic, hoisting a flat round plate which held several orders – one of which, was his. A heaping plate of carne asada tacos greeted his hungry eyes and he snatched the plate right out of the server’s hands, quickly thanking him. He licked his lips. The delicious smells from the dish were sure to make anyone’s mouth water. Warm and fluffy tortillas wrapped themselves comfortably around tender skirt steak trimmed of excess fat which were nestled in beds of rice and lettuce. Chopped white onions, shredded Jack cheese and tangy Pico de Gallo salsa were there to guarantee the meal burst with flavor and for those that enjoyed something a bit more sour, lime wedges were teetering suspiciously on top of the tortillas.

Cupping one tortilla tenderly as if it were a newborn puppy, Haishi brought the tortilla up to his mouth and was about to chomp down eagerly when he froze and realized that the young girl was still standing there. He sheepishly forgot that there could be a potentially dangerous situation developing. Damn his stomach and weakness for fine food!

His eyes went from her to the tortilla comically. Crap, he really wanted to just sit down and eat but it wasn’t like this Shinigami was just going to be on her merry way. So, what was he to do now? Great. First Yoruichi ditches him in the morning for Kisuke, then he goes in to work to find a pile of files he has to go through and now he can’t even get a peaceful lunch. Seriously, what gives? Did some ethereal being delight in watching him deal with hurdles every day?

“If you must know, you may call me Imitsu-san. Now, have a seat why don’t you? As you can see, I’m just about to eat lunch and I get very cranky if I miss lunch.” Without any further discussion, Haishiro bit into his carne asada taco with a blissful expression plastered on his face. Mmm….delicious.

OOC: don't make me kick ur ass, ur post is great like usual ^^


Well this was just....did he just forget that she was there right in front of him when he got that stupid food and ignored her question?? This guy was just asking for her to explode, but she took a few small breaths and reminded herself that she was a respectful shinigami, or something like that, and her anger got pushed slightly aside. She sighed and let go of the hilt on her Zanpakuto where her hand had been ready

Oh well my apologize Imitsu-san for my rudeness, I shall be sure to wait here quietly until you finish your meal.

There was venom dripping of each word as she muttered them through gritted teeth. Walking to the chair, she grabbed it roughly and pulled it slightly out before taking a seat. Placing her elbows on the table she gave him a small smile that barely lifted the corners of her mouth before speaking again

But after you are done with that then I expect more accurate answers on your behalf.

Although she had that small smile on her face, her eyes were shooting fire in his direction. To say that she was annoyed would be a very nice way of putting it, she really hoped that mind powers could work and he'd choke on that damn food of his. She knew she wasn't being polite, but really... who said that under all circumstances one has to be polite and then especially when meeting a possible enemy? And besides this day was already turning out to be a disaster, could it really get any worse?

Moving her gaze from him while he was eating she watched a waiter pass by with some food to a table that was right across them. There was a family sitting there, a man with his wife and 2 kids. They looked all so happy that Tsubaki frowned slightly before taking her gaze away from them. No matter how long it passed from her death, she remained bitter from loosing out on life and that scared her slightly.

Sometimes she caught herself thinking that if she hadn't been lucky and found by a shinigami early after her death then it would have been possible that she had turned into a hollow.

Shrugging that thought away she focused her mind again on what was happening now, not that this guy seemed to be focusing on anything else than eating. She crossed her legs and leaned a little back in the chair, wondering if she should return to Orihime-san's house after this or if she was suppose to meet her captain somewhere else, that is if she was going to get away from here without any trouble.

Why not just attack him right now and get it over with?

The voice rang in her head and made her jump slightly in her seat. She was still getting used to her majorly talkative and bad mannered Zanpakuto. Really she didn't know that shikai spirits enjoyed this much to torment their owners. She could almost see his grin as she jumped in surprise each time he growled some comments into her head. Hissing a reply she then blocked him as well as she could so she wouldn't get distracted again like in that fight earlier

I am not talking to you..

If sex could be turned into a form that could be eaten and ingested like food…Haishiro was pretty damn sure he was having the best sex right now. The explosion of flavor tingled his taste buds and his nose picked up copious amounts of the delicious aroma. He practically drooled over his lunch and gave another tick in the ‘win’ column for living in the real world. Their food, alcohol and drinks were far superior to anything that was produced and sold in the Soul Society; no doubt, that was due to the fact that here, in the world of the living, food and drink were essential whereas it was a luxury and force of habit in the Soul Society.

Imitsu’s actions were a blur as he devoured the first taco within minutes, sucking down the entire thing as easily as a fat kid with cake. Spices, lime juice and salt were licked off of his lips with an eager tongue while a red-gloved arm grabbed yet another taco to munch on. Though he showed no outward signs of it, Haishiro was quietly deliberating with himself regarding the matter at hand. Sure, he’d bought himself some time with his act of eating lunch – not that it was really an act, he was fucking hungry – but he knew that sooner or later, his new friend’s patience would run out and she would demand some real answers. Therein, lay the problem.

What was he to tell her? Should he come out with it and tell her that he was an enemy? That he was a Vizard and had been ordered to be exterminated by the Soul Society? Or should he lie. Perhaps he could convince her that he was just a spirit-endowed human. Or maybe she’d believe it if he told her he was a Shinigami from another division. After all, there were so many Shinigami, one couldn’t be expected to know them all, especially if they were from another division. Still, going down that avenue of action would open up a whole new set of issues…stirring the proverbial hornet’s nest, so to speak.

So…what would he say?

“I accept your apology and it’s quite alright. You don’t have to wait quietly, you know. Some conversation would be nice. And don’t worry…I’ll answer your questions, eventually.”

Haishi wasn’t trying to antagonize her, not in the least. It was just his odd way of socializing that always seemed to rub some people the wrong way – it really was a wonder that Yoruichi got along so well with him. While he wasn’t mean or caustic in his speech, the young man had a way of pinpointing the crux of the issue in any given situation and the way he went about gathering information was well…quite asshole-ish at times. Sarcasm surrounded his speech like a veil. Plus, Imitsu enjoyed sparring with people verbally to take their measure. It was surprising how much information one could leak should they let anger or personal feelings take over.

“So, what brings you here, hmm? It’s not often I see Shinigami wandering down a busy street like this with something on your mind. Something is on your mind, is it not?”

He seemed to be really enjoying that food and she almost got hungry just by watching him stuff his face. At his question a small frown made it’s way to her face, was it that obvious that something was bothering her? She shifted slightly on her chair and wondered how it was best to answer that.

Well clearly she was not going to say that her captain had been scolding her because she liked to play with her pray and she couldn’t really say either that she had rushed off in a bad mood like some spoiled brat, she made a mental to apologize properly to her captain next time she'd see him.

And plus letting him know that there was a captain not far away could be a bad idea, although he probably wouldn’t have any problems with sensing the spiritual presence anyways. Although he wasn't captain level, then maybe he had some friends here that were. One could never be too careful.

Ah well I am just on a small mission and got a little curious to look around. I haven't been to the human world since... well since I died. So I was kind of just eager to see how much had changed since then.

She smiled quickly at him before going back into deep thought, wondering if he maybe knew more than he seemed to do.
After a short silence she shrugged off all conspiracy thoughts though and felt that she really wanted to have a small conversation with him. He seemed to be able to maybe educate her a little more about the human world as it was today, well seeing that he lived here and seemed to be doing well.

It wasn’t everyday that she came to the human world and she was kind of tired of talking always to the same people in Soul Society that only talked about their captains or vice captains, or then they only talked about when next training or spar would be. Who wouldn't get tired of that after a while? Even herself, that love fighting and training.

She also had decided that he didn't seem all that bad, although she was still ready for a fight if he'd say or do something wrong. Leaning slightly forward and looking at him with a curious expression she asked the first question that came to her mind.
Even though he didn't want to answer any of her questions about his identity then he could still answer some small and innocent questions.

So ...what do you do here for living?

She wondered how many different jobs there were nowadays. Perhaps he worked at an office or maybe he was a cook. Well judging by his clothes he seemed to be in some good and well paid job. While waiting for his answer she kept pondering about what his answer would be, that is if he would feel comfortable with answering.

Polishing off his second taco and stuffing nachos into his mouth like they were the last ones he’d ever taste, Haishi pondered the question, regarding her with an analytical gaze. The angry stance from earlier was gone. Her aggressiveness had cooled down a few notches as did her apparent hostility. In fact, it seemed that she was more curious now than anything else; which was a good thing. This attitude change played in his favor quite favorably, allowing him to perhaps learn more about her in a somewhat controlled situation. If they hadn’t started fighting by now, Imitsu doubted that she would suddenly attack him now, out of the blue.

“I take it you’ve been away from the human world for quite some time…” Haishiro trailed off as he noticed people were beginning to stare at him. Crinkles in his forehead suggested a puzzled, potentially annoyed look. Incomprehension flooded his eyes for a brief moment before the realization hit that to the rest of the restaurant’s patrons, it would look as if he was conversing to a ghost. Actually, that would probably be a decent way to describe the Shinigami to the average human. It would definitely be a lot easier to going about it the right way and explaining the relationship between the world of the living and the Soul Society.

Snapping out of his musings, Imitsu sighed heavily. In a loud voice so those near him could hear clearly, he explained, “I’m an actor…sorry if I’m disturbing you but I’m just rehearsing some lines.”

A few customers gave him some awfully odd looks while a few of the young women from earlier just giggled and winked at him playfully. Shrugging their reactions off, Haishi turned back to – he paused in thought. Wait, he didn’t know her name yet, did he? She still hadn’t introduced herself, which was awfully rare for a Shinigami. Normally, they were so enthused with their position as a member of the Gotei 13 that they couldn’t wait to spit out their name, rank and which division they belonged to. But, that wasn’t the case with this particular Soul Reaper. She may have seen a bit distracted but she was more intelligent then he’d given her credit for.

“Oh, I work as part of a marketing team that works for one of the major fashion labels here in Japan. It’s a thankless job but it pays the bills.” He looked at her thoughtfully. “Since I told you my name and my job…would you be so kind as to let me know just who it is I’m talking to?”

With a small sigh and regret on her face as she thought once again about all she had missed out in life she answered

Well you could say that there has some time passed...

It wasn't until he said all of the sudden out loud that he was practicing some lines that she noticed all the people that were staring at him. She had totally forgotten that she didn't have her gigai on anymore and had to hide a smile as he seemed slightly annoyed over all the staring. Well the gigai was at Orihime's house so nothing Tsubaki could really do about that issue.

Hmmm he will just have to keep "rehearsing some lines" she thought to herself and chuckled slightly.
It was kind of tempting to say something that would make him raise his voice, but she didn't think that would help her in having a conversation and asking him questions so she decided against that.

She nodded as he answered and had a look of interest on her face that said she was really into what he was saying. In fact she was sucking in every bit of information she could about the human world and his job sounded really fascinating to her. She would give a lot to be able to be longer in the human world and not in that suffocating Soul Society, although she would never say that out loud...

I like the sound of that, seems to be fun

She spoke in an honest voice, it somehow made her excited to be able to talk about a job that didn't involve killing or training with swords. Sighing to herself she almost got too distracted by her own thoughts to hear his question about who she was. Hesitating slightly she pondered if she should tell the truth or not.

Well...it wasn't really honorable to lie, even to a possible enemy and he had until now at least answered her questions truthfully from what she had seen. Shrugging slightly she decided that if wouldn't hurt to try to be friendly and open for a change, seeing that she never was able to communicate properly with anyone except her cousin Tamaki. Bowing her head slightly she answered him in a steady voice

Well my apologies for the late introduction. I am Hasegawa Tsubaki a lower shinigami of the 10th squad. Nice to meet you

She said the last words with a small smile on her lips. It was surprisingly easy to talk to him... she was used to the stiff conversations with her fellow shinigamis. They were most of the time like... well like they had sticks up their asses or something and she was no better. But she was slightly relaxed here, as if coming in contact with the human world and remembering some of the old days had softened her slightly up.

But she had to be realistic, she was soon going back to Soul Society no matter how much she enjoyed being here and it would only cause her trouble to get more comfortable here. But with a stubborn look she straightened her back and decided that she would at least enjoy this conversation while it lasted, although she was on the guard if he was trying to trick her into giving some information that was not supposed to be leaked out.

As there came a short silence she tried to search out to find if her captain or vice captain were somewhere close by. It seemed weird that no one was close by or had popped up and she was slightly worried that something might have happened, although what was she supposed to do about that? She wasn't strong enough to be of any help. but by talking to Imitsu then maybe she could get some information perhaps? Although he definitely didn't seem like the kind of person to leak something out.

She was still puzzled by the feel of his spiritual energy. He was not a shinigami she was positive about that, he did not have the same feeling as Orihime so maybe he was a Quincy? They weren't exactly enemies of the shinigamis but there were certainly some conflicts. He did certainly not seem to be an arrancar, that was kind of just out of the question. But she had also been warned about one more race, the Vizards. If he was one of them then surely she was supposed to fight him or let some higher up know. But she really wasn't comfortable with that... for some reason. She did enjoy fighting and she didn't regret killing hollows, but somehow she didn't really see why they had to be fighting the Vizards like that. Maybe she was just not informed well enough and there was some very good reason, but frankly she was not sure what to do if Imitsu would turn out to be one of them.

Shrugging that thought off she came to the conclusion that he was probably a Quincy. But he didn't seem...arrogant enough and he certainly didn't seem to hate her guts as he knew she was a shinigami. But well that had only been rumors that she had heard, not all Quincy's had to be the same.

Had his powers really eroded that much over the years? Was he only comparable to a lower Shinigami now in terms of his amount of spiritual pressure? How pathetic. He once held the title of being the 6th seat in the 13th Division – meaning he was the sixth strongest warrior in the entire Division from the Captain down. To think that after all these years of staying in the real world, training by himself day and night to achieve that singular goal of becoming stronger – it actually all backfired. Maintaining that level of proficiency in the ways of the Shinigami had been a dismal failure. This was the definition of irony and had it happened to someone else, perhaps Haishiro would have found the entire affair quite humorous. As it was, a dark mood settled over him.

The Hollow inside was snickering. It was mocking Haishiro. It told him that he was a pitiful creature, unable to stand on his own two feet without relying on the power of others. The words it uttered were like a slow-seeping poison that gradually ate away at Imitsu’s confidence and self-control, threatening to destroy his tether that bound him to reality. Fear, anger and loathing were right around the corner should Haishi let his guard down. He felt the Hollow laughing, calling out to him and it was with a sick pleasure that he stomped on it, forcing the beast back down into the depths of his soul.

In its place, Yorutsuki rose up, her sweet, melodious voice laced with her own annoyance and disappointment. Haishiro couldn’t blame her. Hell, he felt the same way. It disgusted him that he was on par with a lower Shinigami. The realization that he was no longer at a seated officer’s rank hit him like a dump truck. A brief crack appeared in his calm, outer appearance as his jaw clamped shut tightly for a quick second, the muscle in his cheek twitching before that mask of feigned indifference took over once again as if nothing had happened. The slight slip had been miniscule in its impact on their conversation and Imitsu doubted if the Shinigami had even noticed it.

“The 10th squad…who’s running that these days? I’m assuming that Captain Hitsugaya is still in charge.” He commented offhandedly while busy sweeping the remains of his plate for every morsel of food that was visible. As Haishi ate his last nacho, he glanced back at Tsubaki, the thoughts of a battle to test both their skills invading his thoughts. It might not be such a bad idea, after all. He refused to believe that he had sunk so low as to be compared to a lower Shinigami that wasn’t even seated; it was almost unfathomable to him. Yorutsuki immediately chimed in, agreeing that a fight was the best solution. The Hollow; well, it didn’t take a genius to understand how it felt about the situation.

Glancing up at her, Haishiro added, “And it’s a pleasure to meet you, as well.” Handing off his now empty plate to a passing waiter, Imitsu stretched out comfortably, leaning back in his seat and rolling his shoulders one at a time before cracking his neck to the left and right. Finishing the rest of his Dark and Stormy, he stood up while extracting a worn, leather wallet that was a timeless piece in this day and age. Flipping it open with one hand, indicating a deep familiarity and comfort with the object, Imitsu extracted a few bills and threw them down on the table for tip before beginning to walk off into the bustling crowd that flowed along the sidewalk.

As he neared the concrete pathway, Haishiro turned and raised an eyebrow at Tsubaki. “Well, now that I’m full, why don’t you and I go have that fight that we’re technically supposed to have.” Without further explanation or even a change in his facial expression, he melded into the people rushing by and headed off into the distance, waiting for the Shinigami to follow.

I'm sorry, Heida!


*fwhaps Jon with a newspaper* God damn it !! xD

“Purpose? Haven’t you sensed it by now? I am neither Shinigami nor Hollow. My reiatsu is also not that of a human so I cannot possibly be a Quincy which leaves one possibility. You’ve thought of it haven’t you? Mulling it over in your mind, debating whether or not I’m a foe or friend.” A harsh laugh emanated from between normally handsome lips that had been upturned into a cruel expression of cold wrath. His pace was quick and steady, forcing the young Shinigami to hurry and keep up or be lost in the crowd. Long legs carried Haishiro further and further away from innocent bystanders as his destination neared. For him, the fight was inevitable. Violence was a constant in his life; this situation was no different.

Craning his neck back around to visually confirm Tsubaki was following; Imitsu crossed the street with his usual agility, dodging cars and scooters. They walked in silence for another five minutes or so. “Let me tell you who I am. That will answer your question regarding your little Captain…as well as your unspoken question concerning my place in this pathetic war of yours.” The words, mannerisms and actions of this man were clearly at odds with his earlier calm and composed demeanor. The man spat each sentence out with evident scorn. Syllables dripped with hate and spite as the heat of his words seemed to sizzle the very air about them; the sun even shrinking from the blazing intensity of Haishiro’s speech.

Eventually, the path that Imitsu blazed led them to the middle of a park. The playgrounds were barren – most likely, the children were all in school – as was the rest of the grassy field. A light wind carried the scent of barbecued pork across the void. Leaves rustled quietly as if afraid to disturb the two reiatsu-radiating beings. No living creature, be it human or animal, could be seen. The two of them were alone.

Finding a wooden park bench, Imitsu plunked himself down comfortably letting his laser gaze sweep over Hasegawa. An analytical tilt of his head betrayed the thoughts of combat that ran through his mind. Shrugging indifferently, he crossed his arms and stared off into space, revisiting the memories of his past, memories that were always painful no matter whom he was sharing them with. Not the first time today, he wished that Yoruichi was with him. He missed the feel of her body pressed against his.

“Yes. I am a Vizard.” Imitsu said without preamble. Some of the venom had evaporated from his speech but the sheer anger was still there. “I was a seated officer once. I served under Ukitake-taichou nearly four decades ago.” He watched Tsubaki’s face closely for any hint of a reaction. “I did my duty. Protecting the Seireitei, battling Hollows and watching the flow of spirits between the world of the living and the Soul Society…I did it all. Life was good. I met a woman.” Haishiro hesitated. “She was everything I could ever have dreamt for. Then one day…it was all taken away. I was transformed into a Vizard and hunted by the very same people I had fought next to for so many long, grueling years.”

A lone squirrel scurried between the two of them. Its inquisitive nature caused it to pause and stare at the two odd creatures near its home before it darted up the trunk of a tree and disappeared into the leaves. Imitsu envied the creature for having such a simple life. If only his existence could be so blissful and free of worry.

“For nearly ten years, I ran from hunter-killer patrols sent by the Captain-Commander to hunt down us Vizard…as if we were the enemy. How ridiculous. Every time I think of his reasoning for doing so, all I can do is simply laugh. He had no real reason to do so…save for his own paranoia and old-fashioned ways. So…due to the orders that I’m sure you’ve received before, you and I…are supposed to fight…to the death. Don’t you see, Tsubaki? We’re enemies. Our mission is to kill the other. So, shall we get to it?” Sky blue eyes surveyed her evenly.

Haishiro stood slowly. He waited for her reaction. Would she think with her heart or her mind? It would be interesting to see.

She sensed that his emotions were flaring and he seemed to be getting more upset by the minute as he stomped off ahead of her, making her have to almost run to be able to keep up with him. As they came to a quiet park she stopped just for a short while to look around and take a deep breath. Somehow the air seemed to have a different feel to it here than where they had been, she really preferred places where there was less of people around.

As he sat down she stood in front of him, leaning slightly on her left leg and crossing her arms while waiting for him to start talking. But as he started to spill it all out her face got a confused expression and then it was a mix in between disbelief, anger, sympathy and finally hesitation. How could she be sure that he wasn't lying and had on his own account turned on Soul Society? But after seeing his expression, watching him closely and listening to his story she just simply couldn't believe someone would be able to pull off such a great acting.

True enough it was her duty to take him now as her enemy and fight him to the death, or she would disgrace her honor as a Shinigami and be throwing aside all that she had been taught in the academy. But then why did her hand hesitate as it had been on it's way to grab the hilt of her Zanpakuto? Why did she feel a pang of guilt run through her as she tried to somehow make herself feel like the right thing to do would be to fight him and try to kill him? Wasn't that what being a Shinigami was all about? Slay the enemies and protect the humans?

But what had he ever done to deserve something like that, hadn't he served and been loyal until by some accident he had been dragged into a whirlpool of unfortunate things and by perhaps bad luck or cruel fate been cast out of the life in Soul Society and then hunted down like a wild animal? She hadn't seen from his behavior that he was a vicious killer or a cruel sadistic that liked to eat humans alive as some of her fellow Shinigamis had sometimes described Vizards.

Well...I..

She closed her mouth, feeling like a complete idiot as she tried to form a sentence that would somehow make sense. What the Hell was she supposed to do in this condition? She felt as if his intentions for a battle from earlier were gone and now it was completely up to her what was to happen in the next minutes. Well that was not exactly the scene she had wished for, she felt as if she was being measured and tested and to be frank she was clueless on what to act on. She didn’t want to fight with a fellow Shinigami to the death, well technically he wasn’t a Shinigami any longer but that still didn't change her thinking.

What the Hell are you waiting for..?

Her hand went almost automatically to the handle of her Zanpakuto before she could even comprehend what was going on. The impatient blue-ish glow of her Zanpakuto being very clear as she drew it slowly from it’s sheathe, her deep blue eyes fixed on Haishiro’s face. Ranmyaku was growing very impatient and was pushing and prodding inside her head, trying to make her take a hasty decision and he was definitely hoping for a messy outcome.

She took a deep breath, kicking her impatient partner out of her head before pointing her Zanpakuto at Imitsu with a small smile on her lips. Perhaps Soul Society wanted her to take him down and perhaps she could be called a traitor for not taking him down, but at the moment Soul Society could just piss off for all she cared. But on the other hand she did know that she wanted to test his abilities one way or the other. She let her sword arm fall down her side, pointing her Zanpakuto downwards and then spoke again in a non threatening nor arrogant way.

Mister Imitsu-san, I have received no orders for removing a Vizard from this area and I have not seen any violent creature here that is in any way threatening the lives of the humans that live or work here. And by that I can without feeling guilty say that I have no reason to try and slay you here like any other Hollow. But I wont deny that I'm curious about your abilities and I wish to challenge you to a spar that will not require our deaths but more of a test to our skills. Do you accept?

To Hell with the rules and to Hell with Soul Society, this was her once in a lifetime chance to test herself without being constantly watched or criticized by her fellow Shinigamis and heck if she would start now to skip a spar that could improve her skills. Tilting her head to the side and grinning slightly, she waited for his response. It was probably right that she enjoyed fighting too much, but no one could say she didn't at least ask first !

Now if he would take this badly or accept her proposal for a non lethal spar was all up to him.

“So, your intelligence exceeds your age. This is a welcome surprise. I suppose I’d pegged you wrong. Either that or the Shinigami Academy is turning out brighter students these days.” Pursing his lips slightly in an expression of deep thought, Imitsu debated her offer. Well, it wasn’t like he had anything better to do today. His girlfriend abandoned him to go flirt with her best friend. He had no other friends that he could spend time with and there was no one trying to kill him, for once. Plus, he’d finished most of the work he’d had to do at the office before heading out to lunch so his obligations there were wiped clean as well. There really wasn’t a good reason why he shouldn’t spar her. On the flip side, there were plenty of reasons of why he should spar.

Tsubaki wasn’t the only one interested in testing out his abilities and strength. Haishiro wondered why it was that he’d faltered and lost a portion of his powers. It was a mystery that baffled him. It eluded him and the mere thought of it drove him absolutely crazy. His lips reformed back to their usual serious, thin form. Purple hair swayed in the wind as Imitsu tilted his head slightly, thinking.

He mentally juggled the facts and unknown together, seeking a pattern and trying to concentrate on the most important things. It was no use. Answers eluded his grasp while his mind stubbornly chewed on the minor and inconsequential riddle of where his strength had eroded to and why it was that he’d become weaker. For some inexplicable reason, the riddle irritated Haishiro and he endeavored valiantly to shake it, but it remained. He sighed. There was little use in carrying this train of thought on any further. Decades of isolation had undoubtedly had a hand in his current state. The answer wouldn’t come to him right now so he pushed his musings aside and concentrated on the hard facts at hand.

She didn’t want to kill him. That was nice; but, she wanted a duel. It wasn’t a bad thing. Then again, did he really want to exert the energy it would take to fight her? Imitsu sighed and briefly rolled his eyes. Well, it was either spar her or continue moping about Yoruichi. When he cut it down to those two choices, it was pretty clear which one he should take.

Stepping out of his gigai that hid most of his spiritual power, Haishiro emerged in his spirit form. Dressed in the remnants of his tattered Shinigami uniform, the numerous scars across his hard body and the tears in the fabric quietly spoke of the battles he’d been in over the past thirty some years. Grasping his zanpakuto lightly, he smiled thinly at Tsubaki.

“I accept. But, go easy on me. I’m old and frail after all…and I’m afraid I’m not in the best of shape anymore. My apologies if I don’t prove to be too much of a challenge.” His eyes hardened. The sun’s rays reflected off of his blade as it exited its sheath. Holding it in his customary reverse grip, Haishiro waited patiently for her to attack.

Oh well then I shall be sure to take it easy on you

It amused her to know that he did have some humor even though he didn't really look like he smiled.... ever. And somehow it also seemed to make her feel a little more confident about herself when she heard his compliment about her intelligence, even though that was most probably just her vanity talking there.

Chuckling slightly she swung her Zanpakuto around while she stretched quickly and then took a stance, drawing in a deep breath while pushing her feet slightly deeper in the ground to get a good grip. This was not some mere training and now there was no one to stop her or her opponent so this was the real deal. If they would stop before someone would get hurt was completely up to them and it felt somehow so good that she wouldn't have been able to hold back the grinning even if she tried.

She charged head on and once within range she performed a roundhouse kick to Haishiro's side, twisting her sword arm she followed her action instantly after with an upward slash at his abdomen with her Zanpakuto. Knowing that they were about the same level and that he was much stronger than she physically then she had to rely mostly on her speed work, and now it was indeed a good thing that she had always trained that factor above her other skills.

She just hoped her mischievous Ranmyaku would be able to keep his nose out of her business for once and allow her to enjoy this spar with her new friend.

The little girl wanted to fight…badly. Haishiro couldn’t place a finger on the specific reason but he saw it in her eyes, her mannerism and the way she interacted with her surroundings. There was something that didn’t settle with him as he watched Tsubaki ready herself for their spar. Was it her eagerness? No, that wasn’t it. Imitsu had seen too much bloodshed and fighting in his life to be intimidated or put off by someone who merely had a hunger for combat. Like his own unanswered questions regarding his strength, he shuffled this second, baffling enigma into the recesses of his mind, vowing to return his investigative prowess to these matters later. For now, he should concentrate on bettering this small blue-haired pixie of a Shinigami that stood in front of him.

Without any warning or indication, Tsubaki raced straight at him.

A slim smile wormed its way sneakily onto Haishi’s set features. Muscles in his legs and torso flexed and tensed rhythmically as he assessed her maneuvers and speed. Her choice in attacking him head on was interesting. Was she that confident in her skill level that she was willing to go head to head with him right away? Or was she counting on factors other than sheer strength to best him? Did she plan on testing his reactions first before committing herself further or was she planning on unleashing on him straight away? These and other factors filed quickly through Imitsu’s mind’s eye. Each possibility was analyzed in split seconds and discarded just as quickly. He quickly came to the conclusion that this fight was packed with unknowns and unknowns were lethal. The slim smile turned into a frown.

Her roundhouse kick was impressively swift. With a deft move of his sword arm, Haishiro countered with the flat of his blade, stopping her attack with an equal force. At the same time, he sprang up easily as Tsubaki’s blade slashed upwards at his abdomen. Stepping lightly on the edge of her blade as it tracked his body, he pushed off with a soft touch and somersaulted backwards onto his free hand before springing off of that and landing back on his feet some distance away. His Zanpakuto was still held downwards in a non-threatening posture.

Imitsu cocked his head to the side to regard Tsubaki again. While they were in a spar, he was in no rush and like always, preferred to take his time with things rather than rushing in foolishly. It was already becoming clear where his opponent’s talents laid. Now, it was time to test his slowly forming theories.

“Hadou 31…Shakkahou” The words were quiet and purposeful. From his left hand, a mid-level hadou attack quickly formed in a spherical shape tinged with red. With a casual toss, Haishiro sent it flinging towards Hasegawa’s torso at a rapid speed. Moving around her, he leaped forward, coming in at her from her left side with his blade swinging from his right to left, aimed at cutting her torso in half from the side.

He countered in a very graceful and skilled manner, making Hasegawa very pleased about her opponent although he seemed to be the type that wanted to drag the fights slightly on. Seeing that her Zanpakuto tired her out when used for too long she tried avoiding long fights if she possibly could but well every once in a while wouldn't be all that bad plus that she hadn't even released it yet. Using a kidou was certainly something she was not all too fond of and she grimaced slightly as she saw the red ball of energy gather in Haishiro's hand. She was not very advanced in the knowledge in that department and now it seemed to come down on her.

Well this is something I have to remember to practice more when I get back... but well if she would keep standing there and ponder then she would most definitely get her ass burned, so raising her left hand and pointing one finger at the red ball that was now fully made and about to make it's way to her, she spoke fast and knew that she could at least slow his kidou down slightly.

Hadou 4 White Lightning

As the bolt of lighting struggled its way from her hand Haishiro was all of the sudden at her side and sending a dangerous blow at her torso, cursing out Hasegawa twisted her agile body and the blade of her Zanpakuto took the hit from Haishiro, the sound of the metal clashing was something that always made her heart jump in joy, but now was not the time as according to her predictions the lower level kidou she sent simply took out some of the damage of the kidou Haishiro had sent and therefore the red ball had kept going but at a slightly slower speed.

She pushed hard against Haishiro's blade and used the power of the thrust to send her light body slightly backwards as the kidou made it's way between them. Not giving either of them really a time to think she was charging at him head on again, sending a row of blows from her Zanpakuto at his front, not expecting them to really hit anything else than his Zanpakuto as she danced around and kept up the quick blows that were aimed all over his tall and muscular form. She wondered what he would do now, as an excited smile formed on her lips.

Spoiler:

He noted that her kidou was weak. Her Hadou 4 merely diluted the power of his low-level kidou attack, rather than countering it completely. The rest of his Hadou 31 exploded harmlessly into the ground between them as she blocked his attack and counter-attacked rapidly without batting even an eyelash.

Haishiro commented quietly as he parried her thrusts and slices while moving backwards defensively, “You make up for your lack of raw power with lightning-quick attacks and counter-attacks; yet, your overall style can be unpredictable…as if you’re training is overcome with spontaneity. It’s an interesting battle style; though, I’m not sure if that’s your own choice to battle this way or if it is because you cannot control your Zanpakuto.” The words were delivered coolly and flatly. There was no mocking or derisive tone. In fact, it was because Imitsu had experienced such a situation before that he could draw this conclusion from merely sparring with her for a few minutes.

Before he’d had to leave the Soul Society and begin life anew in the world of the living, his own Zanpakuto – Yorutsuki – hardly listened to him. Training and battling were a pain in the ass. Not only did he have to deal with the enemy at hand but Haishiro always had to keep his Zanpakuto’s spirit in check. The inner battle of turmoil, when one isn’t in sync with their blade’s soul, could be just as tiring as and far deadlier than battling any mortal enemy. Haishi had managed to earn Yorutsuki’s respect in his time alone. Having demonstrated his will to live and his determination to carve out a new life had appeased Yorutsuki’s desire to belong to a master whom was strong in his own right. If he had to guess, the Vaizard would go out on a limb and say that Tsubaki’s Zanpakuto spirit was similar in personality.

Deflecting on last attack from her, Haishiro leapt backwards, opening a gap between them. After a simple analysis, he’d come to a fair conclusion regarding his plan of attack. Exploiting her disharmony with her blade psychologically was an elementary first step. It was always logical to disrupt an opponent’s flow; especially, when they were warming up and settling into a solid rhythm. Next, he would prolong the battle, sapping her energy while he kept his trump card hidden. His finaly step would be to land a few – no more than three – critical blows on her physically. He doubted that she would be unable to sustain a few hits once he’d released his Zanpakuto and pulled a few more tricks out of his hat.

“I told you to go easy on me. I didn’t tell you to treat me like an old geezer who can barely walk. I can feel the killing intent from your blade. Why not respect its feelings? Or do you doubt your ability to match up with your Zanpakuto’s spirit…” Haishiro stood in front of her, letting the sentence trail into nothingness. His piercing blue orbs peered into her own eyes, searching for a real answer while the grip on his own sword became conventional, rather than a reverse-grip.

He was clearly observing her fighting style and she hoped she was not a disappointment, well he didn’t seem really like he regretted fighting her so she took that as a good thing.

Well....thank you for that

But his last words hit a very sensitive spot. Indeed she loved fighting like this, but it was painfully true how badly she was doing in controlling her Zanpakuto spirit. It was probably most disgraceful from her behalf to let the more barbarian side of her take control in fights, and she was certain there were many others more worthy than her of having a powerful Zanpakuto like her own. But she had decided never to back down and try to be faithful to herself, so she was not letting this spar go to waste. She would prove today for herself that she was just as worthy as anyone else, rough style or not.

Most important of all, she was going to show Ranmyaku that she was not afraid of him and that she was indeed worthy of him.
Standing still now as she stared back into Haishiro's eyes she was squeezing the hilt of her Zanpakuto, refusing to let herself become frightened from the strong feeling of the spirit trying to take control. Sometimes she wondered why someone as fragile as herself and with not that much potentials at kidous would have a strong spirit like this. He would be able to crush her anytime if he wanted to, but it seemed as if he was content with having her, as if she had something more to her than she knew herself. Very well.... she never knew when it was best to back out, so why start now?

Lifting her Zanpakuto over her head, she felt as her reiatsu started flowing through her hands and to the Zanpakuto as she started to open herself more to it. A slight glowing bluish light appeared on the blade as the killing intent in the air kept rising. She gritted her teeth as she slammed the blade down into the ground, sending a wave of dirt and reiatsu at her opponent before she flash stepped to his right side and with a wild cry, raised her sword in the air and made a strike down at his sword arm. He would then have to stick to his words and deal with her when she started to let the Zanpakuto take control.

Now it would be interesting to see if he would find her worthy enough to let his own Zanpakuto spirit awaken.

She was reckless. The girl fought with passionate abandon infused with her Zanpakuto’s spiritual power but that alone would not win a fight. Fear of one’s power, respect of one’s power and respect for one’s opponent carried the day rather than pure strength. Still, Haishiro could not dispute the sudden rise in Tsubaki’s presence and power. The air around them seemed to electrify itself as tendrils of reiatsu began to reach out from her being. The bluish glow surrounding her blade matched the evidently serious expression on her face. Haishiro cocked his head off to one side.

Hasegawa slammed her blade into the ground suddenly, sending a distracting cloud of debris and reiatsu racing towards him. Instinctively using his left arm to block the cloud, Imitus knew it was a mistake as soon as he initiated the movement. Cutting it short, he pivoted on the balls of his feet, trying to look through the dust cloud for the little Shinigami. His eyes could not pierce the camouflage she’d created for himself and he had to admit that it had been a good move on her part. There was a flash of movement off to his right.

His head turned to the right. Too slow. A wild cry heralded the start of her attack. The blade was already in motion. Her speed had increased. Impressive.

Imitsu had no choice but to use flash step in an effort to escape the aggressive slash. He was fast but having been caught off-guard and flat-footed, he didn’t escape completely unscathed. Flashing out of the middle of the dust cloud and away from Tsubaki, he left a thin red trail on the ground. Glancing down at his forearm, he smiled thinly. “Congratulations. It looks like you’ve drawn first blood. Following certain rules, this qualifies as a win already. I take it that you’re eager to continue, though.” So, she was finally giving in to the battle. It would be rude of Haishiro not to reciprocate in kind.

He spun his Zapakuto in his hand by the handle as he began to let his own spiritual pressure rise. The blade spun in a circle quicker and quicker as a dark gray appeared to surround Imitsu and his weapon. Looking straight at Hasegawa, he said quietly, “Eclipse…Yorutsuki.” Haishiro’s Zanpakuto seemed to lengthen steadily as he uttered those words. A black glow was infused into the weapon itself as it spun faster and faster in his hands, elongating and changing shape before stopping suddenly. Imitsu held out the blade in front of him. It had gone from a simple Zanpakuto to a wicked-looking twin-bladed apparatus, one blade white and the other black. His shikai release was complete.

Without saying anything, he crouched and sprang at her head-on with the black blade extended in a powerful jabbing motion. His reiatsu level had risen following his shikai release and like his old professors and instructors had taught him, if you’re going to attack head-on, it better be a damn strong attack. The calm expression on his face as he attacked seemed at odds with the strong evidence of harmful intent emanating from his being. If she was going to play rough…then so was he.

It was all happening too fast and she knew that she better not underestimate the brute strength of her opponent, any mistake or miscalculation could prove fatal as the friendly spar had turned more and more serious by the seconds. It seemed that neither of them would back down and that both of them had something to prove personally to themselves as they danced around each other. With gritted teeth and a groan escaping her lips Hasegawa held her Zanpakuto in place as it met the jab of it‘s newly found enemy, trying to stop Haishiro‘s blade from making contact with her body, but he was far stronger than she was. She felt her feet starting to slip on the ground as she was steadily pushed backwards and her Zanpakuto was thrust back to make way for the twin-blade.

A line of pain sheared through her upper arm as the blades made two long, deep gashes in her flesh. Blood painting the ground where the small shinigami stood with the crimson red color. She was by now used to the pain of being cut with a sword but it never ceased to amaze her how much it burnt and made one want to scream in rage.

With a curse she managed to jump backwards, or rather stumble since the force of his blow had still been affecting her now unsteady feet. A shudder of relief ran through her stiff body as Haishiro‘s Zanpakuto stopped eating at her arm, but her bleeding still kept going without as much as a pause for the nagging pain to keep coursing through her. It took her but a split of a second to rip a piece of her shinigami robe and in a quick and sloppy manner bind it around the wound so that most of the bleeding would stop. It would do her no good to faint in the middle of the fight due to loss of blood, that would be something to make her pride explode with shame. Now as she wasted no further time and to not give the Vaizard a chance to follow through with his attack, Hasegawa ran her Zanpakuto swiftly through the air and cried out the words to make the spirit within awaken. „Shoushitsu, Ranmyaku!”

An erupt explosion of fire covered her sword-hand that clutched onto the hilt of her short tempered, but powerful Zanpakuto, as the roar of her companion, master/servant (neither one of them would ever submit to being the servant) and friend made her head feel like it would burst as the dragon finally got to have a saying in the battle. And he certainly planned to. She felt a strange thrill as always when she started letting herself go along with the will of her Zanpakuto as it grew steadily stronger, the raging inferno inside her growing steadily.

The tip of Ranmyaku was surrounded with a swirling, blue fire that steadily crawled up the blade and each inch it left had turned now it‘s shape and color. About half of the blade held now the black color of a raven‘s wing as the other half had a purplish color to it that seemed to be constantly changing as a small flick of flames kept burning around the middle of it. Instead of holding the same old, straight shape of a shinigami Zanpakuto, it was now gracefully curved and as sharp as ever. The tip seemed to have the hook to catch an unlucky body part of the opponent if not careful while in a battle and just below that hook was another one, slightly smaller but none the less sharp or deadly. ((see spoiler))

Hasegawa stared at Haishiro for a heavy moment before she bounded forward, sword flashing in her hand. The fire grew slightly as if it had a life of it‘s own and craved now to get more blood from the vaizard that had been dangerously close to take it‘s owner‘s sword arm. Having now more speed and agility, Hasegawa drove the blade with a blinding speed towards his own that was now released, much to her pleasure. It had been a great surprise to see a twin-blade forming and she didn't think she had ever seen anything so well formed and well in fact she hadn't even known that Zanpakuto's could be turned to twin-blades. I must be careful not to let my Zanpakuto get caught in between those deadly blades...

As her Zanpakuto flew through the air and met Haishiro's, the clashing of metal sounded like music to Hasegawa and she was eager to get to hear it many more times this day.

Saying Tsubaki’s Zanpakuto release was unique would be quite the understatement. Haishiro studied its seemingly chameleon-like qualities as the color changed from a deep, coal black to an indigo hue near the tip of the blade. Twin, gracefully curved hooks caught his interest as he noted their particular shape. It would cause quite a mess if one of his appendages happened to be caught in their grasp and Imitsu made it a mental note to maintain his distance from this weapon. He’d never dealt with a blade shaped quite like this one and he wasn’t about to be the guinea pig for its destructive potential.

He noted her increased spiritual pressure and he had to admit grudgingly that at his current level, she was certainly more than a match for him. It chafed at his very being to acknowledge such a fact but Haishiro was no fool. Pride would get you killed and he didn’t fancy falling victim to that vice. With both of their Shikai’s released and their respective Zanpakuto spirits urging them to continue fighting, the battle was fast reaching the point of no return. Imitsu had a feeling that the young Shinigami in front of him might not be alright with stopping the battle until one of them lay critically wounded or dead.

It wasn’t that Haishiro feared dying. He just wasn’t a fan of fighting for no apparent reason and from his point of view, what had started out as a friendly duel being two spiritual beings intrigued with testing their own abilities had fast turned into a situation where their lives may be on the line. It seemed a bit pointless.

His blades came up just in time to meet Hasegawa’s attack. An eyebrow arched in precision as Imitsu hid his surprise at her large increase in speed and agility, not to mention, sheer power. Blocking her initial attack with his white blade that held far more defensive potential than his black blade, the Vizard’s motions became a blur as Haishiro ducked, dodged and narrowly missed being sliced to ribbons by her Zan’s released form. He could feel Yorutsuki’s confusion as she questioned him as to why he hadn’t utilized any of her abilities yet. Imitsu was confident he could have regained the advantage if he only struck out with his attack or defended with his Zan’s unique ability; but, oddly enough, he held out and refused to pull those tricks out of his hat.

Blocking a particularly vicious attack from Tsubaki, Haishiro weakened his grip on the blade and was thrown dozens of meters backwards before his back impacted squarely with the thick trunk of a tree. The force of the strike was such that it propelled the purple-haired man straight through the tree and into a stone statute that stood in the middle of the park. With a resounding crash, the statue came crumbling down around and on top of Imitsu as he smashed into it. A hazy cloud of dust rose into the air, obscuring the sun and blanketing the area. The sudden silence after the constant din of battle was at once comforting and strangely nerve-wracking.

One minute passed. Then another…and another.

The stirring of something buried under the mountain of broken stone broke the terse silence. A few loose pieces of stone and rock tumbled down the side of the pile. One arm was seen first, punching through the debris around it as it grasped for air. The haziness began to disperse as the outline of someone pulling themselves out of the wreckage could be seen. A growl of annoyance emanated from the center of where the stone statue used to stand.

Haishiro’s voice came through low and angered. “No amount of dry cleaning and tailoring is going to fix this shirt…it was one of my favorites.” As the dust cloud settled, the Vizard became visible again. His normally clean and wrinkle free dress shirt had been shredded in several places with one sleeve torn completely off. His collar was skewed and a few buttons had been ripped from their proper locations. The dress pants he had worn to work that day were not in much better shape.

With a dark, hateful look that sent a clear message, Imitsu gazed at Tsubaki quietly, his Zanpakuto spinning quietly in his hands as he spun it about its handle. He hadn’t wanted to do it but this little girl was really ticking him off. He figured it almost time to pull out his trump card…but not just yet. He wanted to see what she would do first.

Haishiro was an opponent she would only have dreamed of before, as he in a quite easy manner evaded and blocked her attacks with a graceful and strong battling style. But her eyes widened as her last attack had sent him flying. It would have been a lie if she wouldn't have acknowledged to herself that she felt slightly nervous as the minutes passed and no movement could be detected under the mountain of broken stones. When he stood finally she felt some relief surge through her, but when his gaze reached her it felt like she had been slapped. If his expression hadn't been that serious and angered, well hateful to be precise, then she would've most probably not been able to hold back the laughter of the now tattered and very dusty opponent. Way to get new enemies, dummy... Gnawing on her lower lip she let her gaze wander over him and wondered why he didn't use the abilities of his Zanpakuto, it could be that he didn't feel that she was worthy or that he didn't want to show any stranger what he was truly made of.

Lowering her sword to the ground, Hasegawa could not help but wonder if she had gotten carried away yet again. Why was this thirst for power and battling constantly overwhelming her? She could see now clearly as she slowed her mind down that the spar was turning to the worse, and that at a fast pace. It seemed so...unnecessary to keep going on with this that with a heavy sigh she decided this was over, while shrugging off the protesting growl from Ranmyaku. She turned her sword upwards and closed her eyes as she extracted the powers from within it again, so in her hands was now the former, straight and gray Zanpakuto.

While sheathing it she turned her gaze onto the Vaizard in front of her again and hoped he wouldn't be overly offended as she put the spar to a quick halt like this, but reasoning with herself she found that he would most probably just be glad to be rid of that. She knew that if he attacked now then he would most probably be able to give her a fatal blow, yet she wasn't worried. He seemed to have enough inside his head to not do that and get the whole Soul Society searching for a shinigami killer in the human world. Nodding towards him as if saying thanks or simply paying respects for the spar and for his powers, she turned on her heel and lifted her face to the sky. The wind that had until now seemed to be holding it's breath while the fight had been on, blew quietly around them, lifting her long hair slightly up as it wrapped around her petite form.

,,I am sorry for leaving this abruptly, but I don't think either of us is strong enough to stop if we keep going on from this point on. I didn't intend to carry this spar this far, and apologize for that and the state of your clothes." Her voice was low as she kept her gaze to the sky and held her hands behind her back. She couldn't look at him for she was afraid to show how difficult this was for her, to turn away from a fight and also finally seeing to her rising fear that she was not someone that should be left running loose while not being able to control herself. A respectable shinigami would never have just started a fight out of nowhere without any apparent reason, let alone feel this glad over being able to use his strength to the fullest and feel like the only place he belonged to was at the battlefield.

All her muscles were tense and she shuddered slightly as she felt like cold water was trickling down her back as the thoughts about the spar and about all her earlier questions poured over her. It pained her to know that the feeling of never returning to Soul Society was now becoming something that she had to deal with. Would she end up somewhere alone and bitter? Swallowing a few times she finally turned her face half way towards Haishiro and offered a small, sad smile. ,,I will tell no one of you existence here, Imitsu. But when I have achieved more power then I will come back and we will continue this."

Turning back again, her wounded arm throbbing as she had been so tense the whole time during the battle and while speaking now, she began walking without looking back again. All she could think about now was what to do in the future and how she could achieve powers, great powers.