((OOC: application for speed please and thank you's))

Kaiyo squinted in the sunlight as she stepped outside; it was early morning, but already boiling hot. The annual Shinigami race wasn’t easy; completing was deemed an achievement. The course was laid out by the 12th Squad; with obstacles placed at each turn and the route planned to be the most strenuous as possible. Kaiyo had entered and was really excited about the race; on average only a third of those who entered actually finished the race; so the small girl was feeling rather optimistic. Kaiyo had left her Zanpaktou in her room as she didn’t want to have to carry extra weight; there were stations throughout the course that offered drinks to the runners, so she didn’t bother bringing any water either. The route had been marked clearly; starting just outside the southern wall of Sereitei and going through over twenty districts of Rukongai, before finishing at the northern gate of Sereitei. The race had been opened to civilians but very few entered each year; usually if the civilians completed the race they were snatched up by the Gotei 13 and given a crash course in the academy before being transferred quickly to a squad.

Kaiyo stood grinning at the start line; hundreds of competitors surrounding the small girl Kaiyo slid her right foot backwards to get a better start, waiting for the fireworks used to start the race. Kaiyo had only tried this race once before; and she had been caught in another Kidou spell from another runner at the start of the race; this year however she was determined to finish. Ranked officers were often the prime targets for cheaters; in a no rules race everyone wanted to take down their superiors. Flash stepping the race was definitely allowed; but you had to stick to the course exactly; which made it more difficult. Kaiyo nudged the two large bulky men either side of her, grinning up at them they each nodded down to her. The firework shot up into the sky and exploded with large band; spelling out go in the sky. Kaiyo shot forwards as the two men either side of her held out their long arms; blocking all attacks that would have hit her; Kaiyo mentally congratulated herself for employing two of her more loyal squad members for help in the race.

The blonde girl flash stepped the first stretch of the race slowing down to a steady pace when she thought she was vaguely safe; smiling Kaiyo at the front group of the race. Her headband chasing along behind her windswept hair Kaiyo rounded the corner; she had decided early on no matter the obstacle she wouldn’t stop moving. The various training poles and pillars that littered the next part of the course made her giggle slightly but she still didn’t stop. Skidding under the first pole Kaiyo had to quickly jump the next one which moved! Of course the 12th squad couldn’t be trusted to simply make stationary obstacles, how naive of her to think so. Throwing the weight of her body onto her left foot Kaiyo ducked and dodged around the various obstacles; on particular pillar that popped up from the ground had made her scraped her foot along it in a last minute leap over the damn thing. Kaiyo stepped with her right foot and spun around another pillar; hearing a crash next to her as a Kidou spell hit it. Her heart beating through her chest Kaiyo felt beads of sweat beginning to form along her forehead; this was definitely not going to be easy.

Kaiyo could feel her muscles tightening under the pressure; she had been running for an hour so far and the strain was starting to take it's toll. kaiyo had briefly read about this, the build up of lactic acid in her muscles was because they're weren't getting enough oxygen, Kaiyo had no choice but to run through it. kaiyo rounded her next corner with such speed her body was parallel to the ground; placing her palm flat on the ground she pushed off from her hand and carried on running the next obstacle course more daunting than the last.

The fact that there were various boxes that needed to be trodden on to pass wasn't the hard part, the fact that those boxes and barrels were currently floating in water made the task less appealing. Kaiyo didn't have time to stop, she was running in the first twenty of the race so far, but aside from that she had no idea of her current position. Releasing all inhibitions Kaiyo leapt onto the nearest box, it was definitely unsteady, keeping her centre of gravity low she used her current momentum to leap onto the barrel in front of her; it began rolling underneath her feet. kaiyo was far too tired to giggle at her current situation; instead she pushed off from the barrel and landed with a small roll onto the large wooden box. Kaiyo could feel the beads of sweat rolling down her face; the blistering sun not helping matters. The small girl had to keep moving, if she slowed down at all she would lose her pace and not finish; quickly jumping sideways onto a more stable box Kaiyo focused her spiritual energy at her feet and flash stepped to dry land.

Still not stopping she carried on her run; quickly grabbing a cup of water from a nearby station, her breathing turning into more of a pant the small girl continued. Kaiyo could see a figure up in front of her, spirit of competition had always been a key part of the girl. She took a deep breath and focused more of her reaitsu. The figure was going at a steady pace, but Kaiyo was catching her. Even so close to exhaustion the girl managed to smile to the half dead man dragging his feet forwards to continue the race. Kaiyo sped past the man; her arms moving swiftly at her side and her legs pumping quickly, Kaiyo's heart was pounding heavily in her chest. She was determined to finish the race. Although rounding the next bend the girl didn't liek her chances.

((OOC: well i'm obviously not so observant; Xavier just pointed out that i can't actually use shunpo until i get 20 in speed :p so from here onwards i won't be using shunpo, just running quickly ))

Despite her best efforts Kaiyo ground to a halt when she saw her next obstacle, convinced someone was trying to kill her she disregarded her momentary pause of pace and speed forwards. The swinging blades wouldn't have been so difficult if they had a pattern to their swinging; instead of flying around the path aiming for peoples necks (or so it appeared to the girl at least). Kaiyo could feel her body screaming out for a rest; but she had promised herself she would finish.

Her headband billowing along behind her Kaiyo carried on running, starting with a swan dive forwards to dodge the first blade, shifting her body weight to the left she leapt sideways to avoid another blade. Kaiyo was panting heavily as she could hear her heart pounding in her ears. Focusing only on finishing she jumped quickly over a flying sword, arms kept at her side she leaned forwards to streamline her body more. Kaiyo had to keep her senses alert and sharp, the faint sound of something slicing through air came from behind the small girl. Not even waiting to find out what Kaiyo threw her body downwards, landing with a roll to keep running she saw the metal fan flying past her. Releasing a small sigh of relief Kaiyo's eyes widened; how could she not have noticed the next part was uphill!

Sighing angrily Kaiyo heard some more whirling from behind her, this time she was certain it was more than one, leaping as high in the air as she could Kaiyo waved her arms to steady herself for the landing, scowling at the 5 Shuriken that flew past her. Unfortunately for the blonde girl her landing had been a little too premature, as she felt the stabbing of metal land at the back of her shoulder Kaiyo growled slightly; she didn't even have the energy to grab it out of herself. Ignoring all shooting pain currently circulating her body Kaiyo regulated her breathing as she rounded the bends and curves up the hill. The 'hill' as she had so carelessly called it had turned out to be more of a bloody mountain. getting slightly annoyed at herself for deciding she was going to finish the race Kaiyo's face dropped as she got to the top of the hill.

This had to be a joke, and the small girl probably would have decided it was a joke if she hadn't seen someone carefully climbing down the hill. On the bright side Kaiyo was now on the return journey of the race, on the other side however the 12th squad had managed to make this side of the hill less steep; so people could run down it! Kaiyo giggled as she saw two people trying to run down the steep hill, both ending up rolling and bumping down. wasting now time in thinking about how she would get down Kaiyo simply leapt down onto the slope. Sliding down before the speed got too fast the girl decided this would be great training for her; trying to make her feet move quick enough to keep up with practically falling down a mountain. Kaiyo grinned as the adrenaline rushed through her body. The small girl was agile; leaping into the air when she thought she was about to trip, landing carefully each time she would strain her feet and legs to move faster.

Kaiyo could see normal ground getting closer and closer; this time citizens had lined up at the barriers of the route to watch the final runners. Kaiyo grinned as she leapt back to the ground, landing from feet to hands to feet again she set off once more. Regretting her rather flashy landing which had just sprained her ankle. Kaiyo stopped smiling and returned to her world of focus, from what she'd been told on the return trek the obstacle’s get even harder, as if they had been a walk in the park so far. Flowing all the energy she could muster around her body and too her ankle Kaiyo carried on; grabbing a large cup of water and chucking it down her throat quickly.

Kaiyo made a mental note; never EVER enter this damn race ever again!

The blonde girl was about half way, few runners were left, all Kaiyo knew was that there were people in front and behind her. The blonde girl could feel the beads of sweat running down her body and flying off with her speed; her heart could have possibly travelled through her chest it was beating so hard. The blonde girl's expression was sheer exhaustion, Kaiyo knew from now one she couldn't stop, if she did she'd probably just black out.

A momentary lapse of confidence slowed the girl down, shaking her head desperately Kaiyo pushed her body forwards, she couldn't even bear the thought of not finishing. The next part of the challenge appeared to the girl as her pumping arms continued up the slight hill and was met with the next obstacle. Kaiyo decided at this point after a weeks rest she was personally going to kill the 12th squad. The latest devil mission didn't seem so hard, at first glance. The path was surrounded by large walls on either side; the path had taken a week to set up; somehow the 12th squad had managed to make the gravity heavier in that 200metres stretch.

Kaiyo was too tired to even react, instead the girl just carried on running; her muscles aching and crying for oxygen as Kaiyo prepared herself. The first step alone made the girl unable to breath. Her centre of gravity being pulled down by an incredible force Kaiyo could feel the sweat dripping down her face. The oxygen seemingly unable to reach her lungs Kaiyo shut her eyes, the force upon her body so great she could barely stand. The blonde girl pushed forwards her arms and legs, cutting slowly through the air as her feet dragged along behind her. Kaiyo was unable to even lift her foot off the ground, instead simply sliding them along the ground. Her entire body leaning forwards Kaiyo tried to encase her body in her spiritual energy, she desperately needed the energy from somewhere.

The blistering sun beating down as the weak girl struggled onwards, slightly adjusting to the new weight of her own body as she screwed her face with determination. Every muscle in Kaiyo's body willed the girl to give up, screaming out for her to collapse under the pressure acting down on the small girl, but her determined mind refused, pushing harder as Kaiyo began to move faster. Her breathing becoming slightly less strained as the girl edged along the last part of the gravity stretch.

From the moment the girl's hit the ground kaiyo felt lighter on her feet; her average pace faster as her legs pumped in time with her arms; her heart beating steadily in time with her breathing.

4.5+ Speed Keep it up

*thud* *thud* *thud* *thud*
The ryhthmic pounding of Kaiyo's feet on the ground seemed oddly in time with her heart beat; beads of sweat were rolling down her forehead with ease as Kaiyo's arms continued to pump through the air. The girl was certain, positive and convinced that if she had to stop for any reason, she would simply collapse. Kaiyo's muscles had tightened to the point where she thought they could so easily drop off; a build up of lactic acid was the unsublte way of her body screaming out for more oxygen, for a break. Kaiyo carried on. The girl determination was working on a what she could see basis, Kaiyo would keep at a steady pace until a new opponent appeared. Skidding round the corner Kaiyo leapt over a large bin that had been dragged to the middle of the track for some helpful reason. The noble's were waiting at the end of the next obstacle segment, the end of the race finally drawing closer. Kaiyo had reached the point in the race where each obstacle simply didn't stun her. Speeding past the Kidou corps was definately a challenge though. Kaiyo had only vaguely heard of this challenge, it had almost been denied from the race for simply being too strenuous on the contestants.

The temperature had dropped, moisture finally leaving the air as dark clouds cluttered the sky. Kaiyo could see the faitn outline of her own dried up breath. The girl prepared herself for the worst, running past the obstacle entrance. Dressed in their usual black attire three shinigami appeared in the sky in front of the Lieutenant. Kaiyo wasted no time in the fight, leaping off the ground and high into the aur the girl thrust forwards her flat palm into the chest of the one guy, sending him tumbling to the ground. Heart racing in her chest Kaiyo turned quickly, but not fast enough, a small shiny dagger grazing her cheek as the girl face her new opponent. Kaiyo worked best in close range combat, but she couldn't afford to waste what little energy she didn't have. Kaiyo spun back down to the ground, gaining enough momentum with her spin, and using gravity to her advantage the girl managed to keep moving in her landing. The effort to just move her arms and legs becoming more of an effort Kaiyo became quite aware of nobles pointing and the small lieutenant being chased by several members of the Kidou corps. Kaiyo let out a small sigh, turnign quickly the girl skidded backwards holding out her right arm, palm flat as she called, 'Bakudo 1, restrain!'. In unison the ashinigami toppled to the ground like skittles, their arms tugging tightly behind their backs as Kaiyo turned once more and acrried on running.

The girl's breathing began returning to it's 'regular' pace. A small round of applause can as Kaiyo sprinted past the gathered crowd of nobles. The girl released the Kidou spell when she was through the obstacle. Kaiyo could feel her blood trickling down her warm face, the girl was too tired to even wipe it away. Fuelled with determination alone Kaiyo pushed her body harder, faster, striving to finish; to get better. The girl flowed her remeaining spiritual energy along her legs, a small grin appearing on her face as she felt the slight rush if energy. Kaiyo had two obstacle left, the hardest of the entire race lay in front of her, and the girl continued on in a fearless effort to finish.

+1.5 speed