Himawari looked up and span around at his words. He’d moved so fast! His leg caught her right on the spot between her neck and shoulder, forcing her down to the ground. Good thing my shoulder’s fully recovered this time, she thought, or it would be round 3 with Squad 4.

Be that as it may, her shoulder still killed as she propped herself up onto her elbows, looking up at him with a look of admiration on her face.

“Good,” Himawari grinned, as she flipped herself back up onto her feet, “I never expected such an offense from you.” It was true; as long as she’d known him, Ryouta had been a rather defensive individual, preferring Kidou to either conceal himself, or to keep an opponent at bay. To see him take such a successful attempt at head-on confrontation impressed Himawari greatly. And would only spur her on to make this fight completely enjoyable for them both.

She charged him, leaping upwards to feint a kick of her own towards his shoulder. She vanished at the very last minute, reappearing at his feet, to kick them out from under him. She resumed the attack she’d previously faked; coming down from above, this kick aimed straight for his stomach.

"I'm learning lots of things at 2nd Squad...it's actually pretty enlightening," Ryouta responded to her statement.

Ryouta raised his right hand to block her kick, and was surprised when she flash stepped away at the last second. Taking a leaf from my book, I see... He did a sort of stationary flip to avoid her trip, that is, he flipped backward, thus jumping and avoiding the attack, then used his right arm to brace himself and flip him back into position. Just in time to get kicked in the stomach. He went skidding backward several meters as he used Hoho to stop his movement.
"Ouch...good kick. That hurt! It's so totally my turn now."

He flash stepped towards her, his right fist already coming toward her stomach, but at the last second, he flash stepped behind her and aimed a spinning kick at her temple. She brought up and arm to block, catching his foot, so he brought his other foot down to (relatively) lightly kick her shoulder, which caused her to let go.

He flash stepped again, this time coming in to attack her left side with a roundhouse kick- she deflected this with an open palm and punched out at him. He flash stepped, this time right in front of her and lashed out with a punch at her neck. If it connected, it would cause her trachea to involuntarily convulse, thus not allowing her to breath for at least a good 10 seconds.

Himawari had never felt such a sensation. The second his fist collided with her neck, she was suddenly without breath. Panic suddenly welled up inside her as she grasped at her throat. She was back in the river, struggling for breath, an image of her brother flashed before her, his eyes wide with terror as she drifted further and further away.

After what seemed to her to be every bit as long as eternity, she found herself gasping, her lungs dragging in air as if they were every bit as desperate as her. It was only now that she noticed she had keeled over on to the floor in her desperation.

She leapt upwards. She raced forward, flash-stepping across the distance between them, aiming a punch straight for his jaw. She couldn’t even see him properly, and seemed to have forgotten whom she was fighting. She hadn’t held back, not even a little.

Ryouta saw the punch coming right at him, saw the full force of reiatsu behind it. He also saw that he had somehow untapped something in her subconscious, something that caused her now to attack without holding back, as fast as she could, as strong as she could.

And so, he panicked. "Bakudo no Nana: Steadfast!" He braced himself both with the spell and with his own reiatsu and held out both hands to block the all-out punch. BOOM! The combined effect of her punch and the immovability of the kido he had cast resulted in the energy being released in the only way it could be, through sound and through both his arms and the one arm she had used to punch. It felt like every cell in each of his arms had been pierced with a needle that had had its tip placed in fire for a good 5 minutes. He was certain that Himawari felt the same pain in her arm.

"Damn...good hit. Sorry about the throat punch; it's just a fairly standard Covert Ops way to incapacitate an opponent without using kido. Sorry." Ryouta apologized. The feeling in his arms was beginning to return, and he rubbed up and down both of them to quicken the pain relieving process. "Shall we keep going?"

ooc: again, speed please for the above posts

Himawari leapt back at the pain now coursing through her arm. She grasped it with her other hand, desperate for the pain to stop. She looked up at him, her eyes still slightly unfocused. The whole area was blurred before her; the only vague thing she was able to make out was the tall figure before her. His words fell deaf upon her ears, the only sound audible to her being the blood pumping through her head.

She took a step back as the figure came towards her, before racing forward. Her fist thrust forward, her ability to judge her own strength gone. She moved purely instinctively, coming at the figure like a wild animal. She thrust her elbow down towards his gut, before spinning around to thrust a palm under his chin. She span in the other direction, driving her foot into his waist. She dropped to the ground, before back-flipping away once more. She pushed off from where she landed, kicking upwards towards his head.

((Just in case this is confusing you a little, she has no idea that Ryouta is even there anymore.))

Ryouta's eyebrows came together as she rushed at him. Something didn't feel right; she hadn't responded verbally to him. Had she lost control of her conscious mind? It looked like it.

As her fist thrust forward, he sidestepped the wild attack. Her elbow came towards his stomach; he flash stepped to her other side, only to be kicked in the waist. Luckily pelvis's are fairly strong, he thought as he was thrown several meters. He looked down to see she was coming at him with a kick upwards aimed at his head.

He would have to time this just right. As she came up, he flash stepped, but just slightly, appearing right in front of her, and drove his palm into the her right clavicle, hopefully with enough force to break the bone. Without waiting to see if it had worked, he flash stepped behind and aimed a powerful kick at her side- where he knew one of her kidneys would be.

Ryouta hated having to use the brutal, precise methods of the 2nd Squad assassination techniques against her, but he saw no other way out. He feared that if he used kido, her primal rage would cause her to struggle violently against her bonds, and if so, she would do herself very severe damage.

Himawari stepped back as her right collarbone snapped clean, only to be forced forward as she was kicked from behind, a sharp pain now erupting in her lower torso. She spun around, her right arm hanging limp from the injury to the collarbone. Ignoring the immense pain, her left fist thrusted forward, aiming for his lower rib cage. She span around once more, delivering a kick to the same area, in an attempt to increase the damage greatly.

She flash-stepped away, completely blinded by the combination of pain and rage. She sped around the immediate area, before coming in low and fast from behind, aiming a powerful kick towards his thigh. Her other leg came in out of nowhere, colliding with his shin, the combining impact vibrating through her. She leapt upwards, onto the roof top of a nearby building, before leaping skywards, bringing her leg down hard upon his own shoulder.

Ryouta was caught by surprise as she spun even after suffering two rather serious injuries- this surprise was what caused him to get hit in his lower ribcage, he felt 3 bones crack, possibly one break. As he slid backward, she spun again and aimed a kick, but this time he was ready, and blocked the attack while flipping away, nearly failing to do so after he felt a sharp twinge of pain from his ribs.

"Himawari! Snap out of it!" His words had no effect; she flash stepped towards him, aiming a powerful kick towards his thigh. He spun to his left to dodge the attack, but her other foot came in hard and fast into his shin. Ryouta dropped to one knee- seconds later, before he could recover, her foot came down hard on his shoulder.

Ryouta fought to remain conscious. He would have to render her unconscious. It was the only way. Fight past the pain... He opened his tearing eyes and took stock of the situation. She was running at him again, this time coming in for a punch. He would have to hold nothing back- as she neared, he flash stepped behind her and aimed a kick at her coccyx to disable her legs; as she stumbled, he flash stepped in front of her, twisting as he did so and burying a foot in her solar plexus. If that didn't knock her out...he feared what else he'd have to try.

ooc: FYI, i've been reading up on critical strike points in humans. it's fairly interesting, and i think has really helped my hand-to-hand combat rp. i hope it shows

((I’ve noticed, and since I’ve had to look up half the terms you’ve used, I am extremely impressed, though am heavily reminded of why I failed Biology... Science was not my forte...))

Himawari flew backwards, the sensation of another bone cracking as she collided with the wall. She slid down the wall, ending up in a sitting position between the wall and the floor. She hung there for a moment, her vision unfocused and blank as it looked at the floor at her feet. Then with one sudden movement, her palm slammed into the floor, forcing her back upwards onto her feet. She slowly stood upright, her eyes as unfocused as ever.

Letting out a great cry, she charged forwards once more. She leapt upwards, bringing a roundhouse kick straight towards his head, somersaulting away. She came in again on his left, her left fist aiming straight up into his arm. She dodged around his back, aiming a similar blow down into the small of his back.

As Himawari hit the wall, Ryouta began rushing towards her. He stopped when she got up unsteadily- and for the first time he noticed how unfocused her eyes were. Sh*t...

Again, she charged him. Damn it! At this rate, I'm going to have to employ Koppojutsu (bone breaking) His eyes followed her as she leaped up and brought a roundhouse kick towards his head. "Bakudo no Ni: Block!" He raised a glowing hand and caught the kick, but she wriggled free and somersaulted away. Then came in at him again from his left; her first punch hit his arm, then she dodged around him and kicked him in the small of his back. Ryouta hit a wall and felt it crack under the force. That is going to hurt in the morning...

Ryouta turned to face her. "C'mon, Himawari, it's me, Ryouta! Snap out of it!" Still no response, just staring at him with unfocused eyes. She charged him, then aimed a high kick at his face. He reached up and deflected it downward; as soon as her foot hit the ground, he came down with it and crushed her right instep with his knee. He flash stepped above her, twisted and tried a kick at her face. She caught it and swung him down into the ground. Exactly as planned- as she did so, he brought his elbow down and crushed her left instep.

He hit the ground hard, but flash stepped away as soon as he oriented himself. She followed him, stumbling, definitely slowed by her foot injuries, but still pretty fast. She's like a goddamn berserker! He flash stepped to meet her, punching at her lower (sometimes called floating ribs, because if broken can cause severe internal damage) ribs, but the attack was blocked with her left hand. Undeterred, he flash stepped around and aimed a kick at her shoulder- somehow, she turned and blocked it. Ryouta flash stepped above her in a very precise position- as she looked up, the sun blinded her momentarily. The moment was more than enough. Ryouta came down with a hard chop at her carotid artery (could cause unconsciousness), then flash stepped back.

He raised a hand. "Bakudo no Ku: Geki!" A pillar of red light surrounded her. He had just about run out of 2nd Squad techniques that would incapacitate instead of kill. Any further and he was scared he might kill her. "Get control of yourself, Himawari!"

Himawari crumpled as his blow hit her neck. She was suddenly aware of the most incredible pain she’d ever felt in her life; the burning sensation of her arm, the weighted pain of her collarbone, lower back and foot. How am I standing? Her eyes brought her attention to a faint red glow surrounding her. A Kidou... Geki... But who? She looked up, her eyes slowly focusing on the figure before her.

Tall, dark haired, and looking every bit as battered as she felt, she recognised the familiar face. Ryouta, but... were we fighting someone? She thought back: the sparring room, a chase across Seireitei. Then, the rememberance of an inability to breathe came to mind. Then... Oh no... The red glow slowly faded away, Himawari crumpling to the floor as there was nothing left to support her weight, “...Ryouta...”

"Damn..." Ryouta breathed. But he was also relieved she had regained her mental faculties. He rushed over to her. "Himawari, hold on, okay? I'm going to do what I can, but you're going to need to hold on."

He placed his hands over her crushed insteps. "Let the Nightengale descend from her place at the lord's side to heal the minor wounds of my comrade! Bakudo no San: First Aid!" Her feet healed. At least she'd be able to stand now. However, his kido was insufficient to heal her other more serious injuries...he really would have to get more practice in- since his 2nd Squad assignments have been given, he had really slacked off on that front.

Then, Ryouta stood and pointed his finger into the air. "Hado no Yo: Byakurai!" He repeated this a total of nine times, blasting off three shots spaced apart in a short amount of time, three more with longer spaces of time, and three shots spaced apart short again. It was a signal for 4th squad to hurry the hell up and get to where the shots had been fired. Ryouta sat down, physically drained.

"Well, on the bright side, this has been our most productive sparring session yet," Ryouta tried a brief little bit of levity. Then he grew somber. "I don't know if you heard me before- but I'm sorry, I never should have used that 2nd Squad technique on you. I made you lose control of yourself. I'm so so sorry. You must hate me."

Himawari could not help but laugh, despite the immense pain it caused to her stomach, “I rage on you like some kind of psychopath, and you think I hate you. I’m surprised you’re still here. I'd have run a good mile to get away from that.” She used her good arm to force herself to sit up, her broken collarbone straining over the motion. She screwed up her face in pain, before looking up at Ryouta, a weak smile on her face, “This wasn’t your fault. You had no idea that was going to happen.”

She looked at the young man, guilt washing over her; she had no idea how she could have possibly hurt him so much, “I’m the one who should be sorry here. You came looking for a little sparring practice, and ended up with a rampaging psychotic for an opponent.” She looked down at the floor, “I hope you’ll eventually forgive me...Ryouta.”

((Lightning SOS lol))

ooc: i thought it was a fairly good idea...it'd get my attention, anyway
Ryouta shrugged. "I still feel guilty." He looked up at the sky, then said, "4th Squad will be here soon- I can sense approaching reiatsus."

Several 4th Squad members ran up to the two of them. The leader looked them up and down and said, "Wow, you two sure did a number on each other."

Ryouta answered flippantly. "Thank you Captain Obvious, now if you don't mind, both of us are in considerable pain."

"All right all right, don't get your hair in a mess. Oh wait, it already is." The 4th Squad member replied. He motioned to the other members, who put both Ryouta and Himawari on stretchers. "Ok, back to headquarters."

The 4th squad members brought them back to the 4th Squad headquarters where the healing process began.

All Ryouta needed was a couple of standard Bakudo #29's cast on him, but Himawari actually required a Bakudo #59 to heal her kidney.

Fortunately, they both were out of 4th Squad, completely healed, the next day. Ryouta said, "Wow, 4th squad gets a bad rap. That was really efficient."

“No kidding,” Himawari smiled, scratching the back of her neck. She turned and looked up at him for a moment, before looking away once more, chewing on her lip as she pondered what to say. What had happened to them the previous day had been completely insane, and she’d revealed a part of herself that she would have much rather kept in the dark. Especially from him. She screwed her eyes shut, not wanting to look him in the face.

“Look. About yesterday,” she started, “What happened... is complicated. I don’t even understand most of it myself. But I think it should be pretty obvious to you that I am clearly nowhere near controlling myself in that state. I thought I could protect myself well enough to prevent it from happening, but I was obviously just kidding myself with some stupid idea.” She took a deep breath before continuing on, not wanting him to interrupt her.

“I never actually thought I would seriously hurt someone,” she told him, “Especially someone I care about. It’s only ever happen a couple of times before, and it’s never been so bad that me and the guy I’m fighting with both end up in hospital. So perhaps...” she glanced up at him, before darting her vision elsewhere, “...perhaps we shouldn’t fight together anymore. I don’t want to hurt you, and I’m sure you don’t want to deal with that...thing...again.”