Katsumi's Return (Open)

Many days have passed since Katsumi's first real mission. After a long absence, it only seemed right for the shinigami to spend the day away from the pressures of the Gotei 13. Although the mission was hard and long, Katsumi was able to take a lot from it. A calmer spirit surrounded him, which can be sensed by those around him. Less talkative and more action driven towards tasks at hand. And better awareness of his surroundings was of key importance to him. Although Katsumi volunteered for his last mission, it would be a mission which he will never soon forget.

Walking the streets of Rukongai, Katsumi made his was to his favorite noodle stand. "I'll have some mushroom soup and glass of sake." Katsumi said in a calm stern voice. The waiter, who is very familiar with Katsumi, was taken back by the order. "Did you say mushroom soup and some...umm...sake?" Katsumi was never one who casually ordered sake. In fact this would be his first drink since being in Soul Society. Katsumi simply looked at the waiter and nodded his head with a grunt. "I'll bring it right out." The scroney little man ran to the back to put in the order. Katsumi knew that the difference in his life was evident. He wasn't sure how to take what he saw. He even tried to forget it all together. However to forget such events would be like erasing a part of history. Katsumi began to pick at the soup, already brought out to him. The waiter was coming from the kitchen area again with his glass of sake. Katsumi sat in his chair looking up at the sky. Bright spring sky with a few shade clouds. It almost could have been a perfect day. Katsumi stood up and raised his glass of sake to the sky. Closing his eyes, Katsumi began to murmer under his breath. Katsumi pulled the glass close to his chest and bowed his head. After taking a deep breath, Katsumi slowly poor the sake to the ground. Sitting back down, Katsumi began to slowly eat his soup. "Is there anything else we can get for you?" The waiter asked as he passed by his table. "I'm fine." Katsumi said. After finishing his soup, Katsumi laid the money down on the table and began to walk off. "Excuse me sir...this isn't enough to cover the bill." The waiter exclaimed a little loudly. Katsumi turned around and walked back to the man. "Forgive me my friend. I'm haven't been myself lately." Katsumi said and he stood close in front of the man. The little man began to step back nervously. "It's fine. We all have our bad days."

Katsumi began to chuckle. "A bad day is when you wake up with a crank in your neck. Or when you find out that somebody robbed you while you were out." As Katsumi spoke his voice began to grow louder and more annoying. "You have no idea what kind of stuff can cause a man to have a day like I'm having. Neither can words express it." As Katsumi spoke, it was clear that the people around him were beginning to get annoyed with him. Katsumi slammed the rest of the money down on the table and stood there starring at the man.

"Don't be giving us shinigami a bad reputation." said a voice on the far side of the noodle stand. There was a loud slurp as the speaker fed himself noodles and chewed. The long haired redhead grabbed his drink to wash down the mouthful. Arawn looked at Katsumi with chopsticks in hand and a stack of papers balanced on his lap. It was his lunch break so he was eating and working at the same time. He wore the customary shinigami black robes with a white lab coat over it. "I don't want people to be afraid of me due to your foul mood. Pay the man and leave." he gave a dismissive wave at the large man. He'd seen such actions before; men of great size and little character. Bullies to put it simply. Just being bigger and stronger they felt a need to prove it. Worse yet they felt the need to exert said power upon those weaker. The man before him did look familiar, but that wasn't saying much. Of late Arawn had met so many shinigami it was hard to remember who was who. If this was someone he knew, his words alone might be enough to end the situation. But if it wasn't things might turn ugly fast. His true hope was that the lab coat would deter any action. Very few people raised a hand again those in the 12th division merely out of fear of finding themselves on a disection table. Nothing like that had ever happened as far as he knew, but he wasn't about to deny such rumors. He now addressed the waiter "Don't worry, the alcohol has gone to his head."

Katsumi recognized the voice of the man. Although they had met briefly before, Katsumi knew enough to know who this man was. However Katsumi always had a problem with anger. Katsumi chuckled at the mans words. "The alcohal has gone to his head." Katsumi turned around to face the direction of the man sitting in the chair. As he turned he noticed that it was in fact who he thought it was. Not willing to throw his pride away, Katsumi brushed his hair back and fixed his coat. "None of this concerns you scientist. Finish your food and keep your mouth shut." Katsumi began to walk out. As he did, he made sure to pass by the man and gave him a dirty look. Katsumi chuckled and slowed down as he got to the mans table. Katsumi leaned over the table and in a small voice said, "Too much time in the lab has really taken a toll on your brain. Your not that special my friend. Know your place." He said as he pocked his finger in the mans chest.

The sitting man rolled his eyes. It seemed things weren't going to go smoothly as planned. He had only succeeded in redirecting the man's anger upon himself. Well it was better this way, it was doubtful the skinny waiter could withstand the large man's ire for long. Pick on someone your own size won't work for such a big brute, maybe of Tatsuya was here. Arawn thought as the man poked him in the chest. Still after facing monstrous hollows, humans rarely intimidated him.
"I guess you're the one to show me my place?" he said evenly eying the larger man. His hand still firmly on his glass he flung the remainder of this drink, green tea, into the man's face. Swiftly he kicked his chair away and rose to his feet. The papers he had balanced on his lap fell to the floor in a heap. Thank goodness they were stapled. In the very same motion he slammed his elbow into the man.If he had been the same height the blow would have been to his face, but the difference in size made the strike land into his chest instead. He took a step back and pushed the table away to give himself more room. "I don't like being poked." he grunted and raised his hands. His zanpukto slapped against his leg as he shifted his stance. He was tempted to draw his weapon, but he didn't want to severely injure the man.

Katsumi, stepped back a couple of steps when his chest met the mans elbow. As the man took his stance, Katsumi slowly pulled off his Shinigami coat revealing his Squad 2 uniform. Wiping his face with his coat before throwing it to the ground, Katsumi then took his stance. "You think your high and mighty don't you Scientist?" Katsumi quickly shunpoed forward with a punch to the mans chest. Trying to even the blow he was just given. "Let's do this." Katsumi said with a cocky attitude.

His eyes widened as the man flickered out of existence only to reappear inches in front of him. There was little time for Arawn to defend, instead he braced himself for impact. The man's fist caught him in the center of his chest and pushed him backwards a couple of feet. The impact sent a small shock through his system knocking the air from his lungs. Arawn coughed and then took deep breath of air to replace what was expelled. So the man knew shunpo, that meant he wasn't some small fry. I guess he has more than size going for him then. Arawn thought eying the strange uniform he wore beneath. It was one he'd seen before, but at the moment he couldn't recall where. Still he worry about that later he hadn't the time to ponder such things. With a small hop Arawn closed the gap between them. His body barely rising three feet off the ground, he cocked his leg. But he didn't release a kick until he was almost on the ground again. Instead of using the jump to kick high into the giant's face he kicked down and low at the man's knee. He flicked at jab at the man's face to distract him from the main attack.

katsumi chuckled as the man stood there contiplating what just happened. As he stood there chuckling, he was taken by surprise at the mans move. katsumi quickly raised his arms to block his face. As the man kicked downward Katsumi losened his knee and folded with the hit to prevent from breaking it. Although it didn't prevent any pain. Katsumi, know kneeling on one knee grunted with the hit. Looking up at the man, Katsumi smiled. "It feels good!!" Katsumi, jumped upward, tackling the man. As Katsumi rolled forward, he jumped back up drawing his Zanpakuto.

His attack was met with a decent counter. I guess he's not going to go down easy Came his thought as he bounced backwards after the blow. The fact the man was enjoying himself was disturbing; if the man was a battle maniac the fight might not be easy at all. Arawn's eyes twitched as the man's hand went to his weapon. In a swift motion the man drew the blade free from it's scabbard. The man held the weapon expertly, he was no novice in hand to hand combat, it was expected he'd have some skill with a blade as well. Arawn cocked his head to the side locking eyes with his opponent as he gave the larger man a cold glare. He release his reiatsu in a burst, the air around him started to vibrate.
"Are you sure that's what you want?" he said softly as his right hand hovered over the handle of his zanpukto. His left hand grabbed the sheath and rested against the tsuba. Slowly his thumb traced golden dragon that made up the weapon's guard. "I didn't want to cause too much of a ruckus, but since you've drawn your weapon on me there's no way I can forgive you.." He then smiled and released his grip on the zanpukto and stopped his reiatsu's assault. Arawn stood in a fighting stance and held his right hand forward. He beckoned to the large man. "Come then, I guess I'll show you how a scientist fights."

Katsumi knew this man was stronger and faster. However with his training in Squad 2, Katsumi hoped it would be enough to make this interesting. "Your pretty confident for a Scientist." Katsumi said as he chuckled. "I bet you don't get that much fighting time. Seeing how your always stuck in those stuffy labs. Maybe today you will learn to stay out of other people's business?" Katsumi took closed his eyes and took a breath. Without any hesitation, Katsumi took to the skies. Coming down hard, Katsumi wanted to draw the man backwards. Grunting loadly, Katsumi came to the ground in front of the man and stuck his Zanpakuto into the dirt. Using the Zanpakuto as a post, Katsumi swung around with a high kick towards the mans face. Katsumi wasn't here to kill the man. He just wanted him to know that he means business.

The man was correct about the labs being stuffy; that much Arawn would acknowledge. Still the rest of his analysis was just the usual stereotype that smart people can't be athletic. It would be just as stupid for him to say that anyone with physical prowess had to be an idiot. For a moment Arawn thought this might be the case for the large man as he jumped up and came down in an overly telegraphed strike.
"You made it my business." He said with a small shrug With minimal movement he shuffled backwards to avoid the attack, only too late to realize that it was nowhere close to hitting him the first place. There was no way to mask the surprise as the man drove his weapon into the ground and then balanced his massive frame on the hilt. With only a second to spare he raised his arms as the large foot came at his face. Perhaps this man isn't a complete idiot. Arawn thought the blow made him skid backwards. "Still I'm no pushover myself." he said aloud. Arawn in place, as he spun he flipped off his lab coat in one fluid motion. Now free of the white frock he tossed it like a net in front of his large foe. It may be simple, but the large white fabric would serve as a smokeless smokescreen. But rather than launch a frontal assault, Arawn used shunpo. He vanished from behind the white wall and appeared to the man's right flank. Wasting no moment stepped forward and sent a kick with his front right leg at the man's weapon. The amount of force behind the strike was more than enough to dislodge the zanpukto from beneath him. Dirt went flying as the blade tore free from the earth. As the kick landed Arawn launched a punch with his left at the man's chest as he fell.

Katsumi had multiple thoughts go through his head as this man launched his strike. "How can I fall for that blind spot? What's his next move? Where is his opening?" Katsumi grunted as he hit the earth with full force. Katsumi grabbed his Zanpakuto from the ground and quickly shuffled his feet to move him a few feet back. Smitting the ground with his fist, Katsumi rose up. "It seems like your a worthy fighter after all Scientist." Katsumi said trying to compliment him without forgeting the fight is still on. "The names Katsumi. Squad 2, 11th seat." As Katsumi introduced himself, he walk around the man. Hoping he wouldn't realize that Katsumi was studying his stance and finding a weak opening. Katsumi began to chuckle. Katsumi made his way all the way around the man. After staring the man in the eyes Katsumi stuck his Zanpakuto back into the ground. Without flitching, Katsumi smiled. "Hado 21, White lunar spear." Katsumi stood there as a moon shaped spot of reaitsu formed in the skie. Katsumi shot a spear at the man trying to pin him to the ground.

Katsumi? The name sent a tickle in the back of his head. It sounded too familiar. Had he met this man before? If so the man didn’t recognize Arawn either. It was possible whatever relationship he had with this man wasn’t on good terms. But if that were true he would definitely remember the man. The old adage was true; forgive your enemies, but don’t forget their name. This man couldn’t have been an enemy, but he was making himself one now. All these musings were an unfortunate distraction for Arawn. Although he had kept his eyes on Katsumi, he wasn’t really paying attention. Too late did he realize the man had cast a spell, the orb of energy had formed and now shot forth it’s lance of light at him. Lacking the focus to shunpo Arawn had no choice but to try and dodge the shot normally. As fast as he was he was the ability to evade within such a small distance was beyond him. Even as he shifted his body the searing shot of energy ripped into through his side and into the ground behind him. Arawn’s eyes widened in pain as a small cry escaped his lips. He looked down at the pink flesh exposed by his now torn uniform. Barely had he avoided a critical injury, there was a deep cut into his side as if a sword had hit. A wave of nausea hit him as he gazed at his own blood. He felt like vomiting, but held back as best he could. Blood was of little problem for Arawn, but when it was his own he often felt light headed or queasy. During fights this rarely occurred due to his adrenaline flowing. Right now there was no such adrenaline pumping. Both of his hands quickly went to his side applied pressure to the wound. Arawn could feel the warm trickle spread over his fingers and race down his side. He jumped backwards to give himself some space.

“Well I must say that was a nice introduction.” he grimaced. He chided himself for not taking things more seriously. He now sounded like a braggart being so easily wounded by the other man. In terms of skill there was no doubt he had some. It felt rather foolish for him to limit himself while the man did not. If he used his sword things might turn in his favor, still if felt like a crutch to rely on Huang Long. The longer the fight, the worse it might be for him with such a wound as well. Somehow he needed to turn things around. As a stray drop of blood struck his foot and idea formed. Despite the now throbbing pain in his side Arawn grinned. He may be reluctant to use his zanpukto, but kido was another story. The perfect spell came to mind, one that he loath to use. Once more he let his reiatsu pump into the air.
“By my hands, taste my blood as if falls from my open wounds. Hado #22: Blood Daggers.” With the chant complete he pulled his hands from the wound. The crimson liquid on his hands had already begun to shift. In seconds Arawn now wielded twin daggers in his hands. Although made of blood they looked shiny like the metal. The kris blade was barely under a foot long in appearance and an inch thick. There was a with a small square guard and the handle was simple and smooth. Wasting no time Arawn threw the blade in his right hand at Katsumi’s head and then threw the second one behind it. The blades flew end over end through the air with a dull hiss. Almost a foot before weapons could reach the big man Arawn cut off the flow of reiryoku thereby ending the spell. The daggers quivered in the air and then exploded back into the blood they had been formed from. Instead of two deadly knives coming at his head there was now a splash of blood. It was like someone had shattered a balloon filled with blood, it spread out to block his view much like the lab coat. But unlike the white jacket this smokescreen was flying at him to blind him further if possible. Arawn had already lunged forward at the man his reiatsu flooding forth anew. “Hado #22: Blood daggers.” Two new blades formed in his hands as he rushed forward to attack. Finally his adrenaline was kicking in, the lightheaded feeling was fading along with the pain in his side.

Kido training:
Hado #22: 748/320

Katsumi was surprised that the man wasn't able to dodge the spear in time. Katsumi wasn't wanting to hurt the man bad. Just show him his abilities. However whats done is done. As the man threw the blades at Katsumi face, Katsumi could tell that they were traveling as fast they could be. But still not willing to risk it, Katsumi got down on one knee and waited for the blades to pass him. As he did, the blades splattered back into blood. "That was weird." thought Katsumi as he rose back to his feet. Katsumi learned from earlier not to stay behind a screen. It cost him last time, but he wasn't going to let it harm him again. "Full me once shame on you, full me twice shame on me." Katsumi remembered the voice of his trainer when he was back in the real world those many years ago. Katsumi quickly stepped to over to the side to come out of a blocked visual, only to find the man had escaped the bind and was close to him with two more red daggers. The countanance of the man was different. He had a look on him that Katsumi had only seen in a fighter. An experianced fighter, not a scientist. Katsumi quickly swung his Zapakuto forward to meet the blades in mid contact. The force of the mans riatsu along with his running start pushed Katsumi back a few feet. Still when they came to a stand still the blades were still in contact and for the first time, Katsumi looked the man eye to eye. For a brief moment Katsumi stopped and looked him in the eye. It seemed like minutes had passed as Katsumi remembered the man. Katsumi jumped into the air and backwards with a back flip. Landing on the nearest roof, Katsumi stood ready to fight. As he saw the man down there he shouted, "Arawn."

He moved quite fast for a man of his size. Not to mention his reflexes were sharp. The blinding blood avoided the man had met his charge head on. Arawn marveled as his crimson weapon managed to ward off the man's zanpukto. He knew the strength of their weapons was decided by their spiritual power; in this case it suggested the man's power was equal to his own or Arawn's was greater. For this fight it seemed that the later held true. His skill for detecting energy had a short range, upon getting close he could feel the difference in power. With that fact in mind it was best to wary of the man. Many shinigami had another skill he lacked; the ability to hide and suppress their reiatsu. Thinking himself stronger would only end with him making mistakes. He had made one such error already. On cue his side throbbed as the large man jumped backwards and away. As he landed on the roof of a building he called out his name. For a moment Arawn was shocked.
"So it would seem that you do know me." he responded. "Then I guess this wasn't just a unfortunate accident?" That being said he gave a small sigh. While he was curious as to why someone would target him; he thought it best to end things quickly. His side was starting to hurt again; a sign his adrenaline was wearing off. Not to mention his head was getting fuzzy. Arawn took careful aim and once again launched the twin blades at his opponent. They had only halfway completed their flight when Arawn shunpo'd to the right side of the man standing on the roof. As he vanished and reappeared his hand grabbed at his own zanpukto. Rather than draw forth his blade Arawn instead swung the still sheathed weapon at the man's back.

Falling forwards towards the twin blades, Katsumi grunted. In mid flight Katsumi reach forward his Zanpakuto and swung at the twin blades coming to him, knocking them off to the side. If there was one thing that Katsumi hated, it was being hit from behind. A cowardess move of a man completating whether or not kill someone. Seeing that the man never drew his Zanpakuto, Katsumi knew this man wasn't sure if he wanted to kill or not. Maybe that was a good thing for Katsumi. He caught himself in mid air and turned to face Arawn. Katsumi knew the man was faster. However Katsumi wanted to prove that he was still good. "You have the courage to talk big in front of me but you come from behind to attack me. You know there's a fine line between bravery and stupidity." Katsumi stood waiting to see what the man had to say. Maybe he will attack, maybe not. Either way, Katsumi was ready for whatever was about to happen.

The man spoke of courage caused a laugh from the wounded man. Just as quickly his hand went to his side as the action caused the cut to open anew. He should have realized that would happen. The laughter subsided and Arawn gave a sigh of relief. His other hand held his sheathed weapon against his shoulder. He tapped himself lightly with the metal scabbard.
"Stupidity, was it?" Arawn raised an eyebrow "If this was anyone else, it would have been a naked blade in your back. Maybe it is stupid of me not to outright cut you down." He gave a small shrug as he tucked the zanpukto back into his belt. "I said I won't use my blade, so I haven't." the red haired man pointed out. He was keeping to his word, just exploiting a small loophole by using it like a club. He had hit the man from behind to throw him into the frontal attack, nothing more was expected from that maneuver.
"And you speak of courage?" A bemused look came across Arawn's face. "You? Tell me again who was just terrorizing a defenseless waiter just moments ago? I do recall he looked much like the man before me. Of course I could me mistaken." He gave a wry smile. "And who was it that grew angry upon another person correcting his misdeed? Were you not the first to draw your own blade when this fist fight began? Were you not also the first to employ kido?" Folding his arms against his chest he turned his head to spit "If that's bravery, I'd like to see your idea of a coward. For that must be a truly wicked man. The word courage should be stricken from your vocabulary."

Hearing the words of the man, Katsumi began to lower his Zanpakuto. This man made sense but Katsumi wasn't willing to show his own mistakes. "You speak to me as a man who thinks he has this whole thing figured out huh?" Katsumi put his Zanpakuto back into its sheath. Katsumi recognized the man from the beginning, but couldn't recall his name. Couldn't recall where he met him. It wasn't until after the fight began that everything came back to him. Katsumi began to walk slowly towards the man as he spoke. "I used Kido to hold you down so this wouldn't get anymore serious. You were the one who use kido as a weapon to attack me. I was ready to leave this man to himself. You were the one who spoke out of turn and got involved. I was trained to draw your Zanpakuto to be prepared for anything. Too much time in your lab has blinded you from the basics. So tell me, which one of us made the wrong moves?" Katsumi finished speaking just as he approved the man. Now standing face to face with the man, Katsumi stood firm and starred the man right in the eyes. But still prepared. His spiritual energy was flowing good. He was ready to shunpo back in case of an attack.

WHAT!? Arawn thought to himself. He buried his face into his right palm and groaned in exasperation. Was he really saying that this was all Arawn's fault? Was this man mad? Did he truly see himself as the victim in this whole situation? Not just his side, now his head was starting to hurt. Slowly he raised his left hand as if to halt time for a moment. Raising his head he looked upon his opponent.
"So let me get this straight." he said slowly as to not make any mistakes. "You used Hado #21: White lunar spear to as 'to hold me down so this wouldn't get anymore serious'." Arawn pointed to his bloodied side and waved his stained hand for all to see. "How does impaling me with a large lance help any situation? There are better spells to restrict movement. I guess if I had died there things wouldn't have escalated this far. I guess that's what you were aiming for, then yes, Hado #21 was an excellent choice." His body was trembling, Arawn felt a sudden chill. The loss of blood was effecting him. "As for the matter of drawing your blade, I guess it's a difference in philosophy. It's good to be ready for any given situation, but I only use a weapon is only should your own skills fail. That aside I'd never look the other way when someone is being a bully for no reason other than they can. Yes, I did get myself involved, but don't regret standing up for that man. It be nice to do and say what you want without consequences. So even if you say I spoke out of turn, I'd do it again given the chance." Shaking his head Arawn shunpo over to his fallen papers and picked them up. Some of the tea he had splashed into Katsumi's face had been absorbed into the stack. He gave a groan and brushed the dirt from the paper. "But I wonder if you would have done the same if the person to speak out wasn't a shinigami? Would you still draw you weapon on such a person? " He gave a small shrug and tucked the papers under his arm and walked over to retrieve his lab coat. He didn't have time debate such issues with him. The coat was dirty from its stay on the ground and he shook it to get some of the dirt off. "Regardless, I suggest you give the man an apology. " That being said he walked to the stand and placed his money on the counter.