You are the Thunder and i am the Lightning (solo thread)

Kaiyo's eyes glistened in the light, her mind far away; delving through thoughts she would never share with another person. A faint clicking attracted her attention back to reality, making her jump over so slightly as she turned towards the noise. The lock on the door clicked, then swung open slowly. Kaiyo's gaze travelled up the intruder. He, like her, was wearing human clothing. Stonewashed jeans and a plain black t-shirt, a lightly tanned skin tone. Squad jaw. Blue eyes and vaguely short, brown hair that was spiked up ever so slightly. 'Sorry to keep you waiting' he smiled, strolling towards the table Kaiyo was sitting at as he dropped a small folder onto it. Kaiyo shrugged politely, 'It's fine, i was miles away' she laughed, her cheeks prickling a rose red as she dropped her gaze to the floor. Kaiyo moved her right arm up, sweeping a rogue strand of hair back into place before dropping her hand back onto the table.

'Well, as you probably know, I'm not part of the Gotei 13, so i don't know your rank or even squad placement...' The man flicked open the folder, a light smile still dancing along his lips. 'Which is why i can safely say, from your performance earlier, we'd be happy to accept you onto this program'. He looked up at Kaiyo, the pair making direct eye contact this time. The gaze lingered a little longer. Kaiyo breaking the connection as she nodded, leaning back in her chair as she replied. 'Thanks...So when does it start?'. The guy nodded slightly to himself, still looking through the folder in front of him. He moved his hands up to his face, rubbing his face gently through his light stubble. Perhaps it was on purpose, or just through not shaving; regardless, Kaiyo thought it looked good. He looked up once more, moving his hand out to Kaiyo as he stood up, leaning over the table slightly, 'I'm Teiji, and we start in just a few hours, Kaiyo'. The blonde girl leant forwards, bearing her own crystal white teeth as she smiled back at Teiji, also rising to her feet as she took his hand with a firm handshake. 'Nice to meet you' she replied.

Teiji slowly brought his hand back, scooping up the folder as he turned to leave the room. Still talking back to Kaiyo a he did so. 'You might be in for a bit of competition as well, people who get your kind of scores in these tests, well some people like proof it wasn't just a fluke.' With that, the door clicked and opened again, Teiji glanced back to Kaiyo for a moment, lowering his head to hide a smile as he left the room.

It was just past midday when Kaiyo was shown to the barracks. The entire facility was vast, and held no resemblance to any part of the Gotei 13, despite being hidden on the outskirts of their area. It seemed more traditionally military, in fact Kaiyo was half expecting to be given a set of combats and asked to change. The short girl had heart of the program through the central 46. A special training program for highly advanced Shinigami, from all areas. A training place where actually being a shinigami was quite irrelevant, but Kaiyo had agreed to take their tests, and to go along. The blonde girl was wearing grey skinny jeans, a light blue t-shirt and no headband. Kaiyo was wearing a most black belt, with a lion on the belt buckle, along with many bracelets along her wrists. Her headband hadn't been allowed, she didn't know why, but she was told not to wear it. The girl was being lead along the bright hallways to the sleeping quarters by a woman. Kaiyo had tried to make small talk with the woman in question, but it had quickly become apparent that she wasn't the talkative type. The pair left the current building, the ground was light and dusty, with hills surrounding the extensive complex. Kaiyo was lead into another building, the walls were just as plain, white and clean. It was odd, but Kaiyo could smell nothing, not a single thing stood out in this place. They came a halt just around the corner, next to a blank door. It was a light wooden door, with no door handle and a key swipe next to it. The woman slid a card through it, the little light switching to green as the door clicked open. The woman didn't move. Instead she just looked kaiyo up and down for a moment. Almost as if she were sizing her up for a fight. Out of respect, Kaiyo tried not to laugh at her serious mannerisms.

'There's 4 to a room, everyone's still arriving, You have been assigned a bed and a shelf with everything you will need on it. Your uniform is also on your bed, you're going to have to be ready to go in 2 hours'. Nothing else? The woman turned around and left Kaiyo, after dropping the card into her hand. Turns out expecting a uniform had been right. The girl blamed that fact on her her thinking it earlier. Still, Kaiyo wandered into the room. The white wall thing was clearly a heavy theme in this place. The beds were a shiny silver metal, all placed against the far wall of the room. Each saying a different name on the end of it. A large window stretched across the back wall as well, above all the beds. Kaiyo glanced around the door. Surely enough, 4 shelves were also put up, each with a name as well; just in case people got confused. The blonde girl smirked at this thought, wandering over to the door in the other side of the room. Kaiyo flicked on the light switch and had a good look around their bathroom. It seemed nice enough. A mirrored cabinet was above the sink. A bath along the right. And a separate shower at the end. All a perfect white, but with black towels hanging along the bath. Kaiyo shrugged, wandering back out the bathroom to another person staring at what she could only assume was their bed.

The woman turned around when she noticed kaiyo. Tall, medium length red hair and seeming fairly strong. The woman let out a small laugh, 'They're joking about these uniforms right?'. Kaiyo ignored he quick glanced the woman gave her, fighters tended to do it more out of habit than anything else, but deeming Kaiyo as not a threat, the woman had spoken. Kaiyo laughed lightly, 'I wish' she added. Fairly certain not wearing this uniform wouldn't be such a good first impression. 'Oh, Kaiyo, nice to meet ya' she remembered, moving closer to offer a handshake to the woman as she answered. 'Amaya, and you too'. The shorter girl moved over to her own bed, it was one in on the right, just next to Amaya's. Kaiyo reached across the end of her bed and picked up the uniform. If she could've guessed it would be plain combat trousers, boots and a green shirt...Kaiyo sighed, dropping the neatly folded bundle back onto the bed as she pushed her left heel against her right. Sliding her feet out of her trainers and dropping them onto the bed. Amaya began to do the same, shaking her head with a slightly annoyed smile as she began to get changed, 'This program better be worth it' . Kaiyo probably couldn't have phrased it much better herself. Kaiyo slid her bracelets off her wrist, taking hold of both corners on her shirt as she pulled it off over her head. Reaching over as she put on the plain black vest first. Quite surprised when something cold and metal fell out of the folded black top. Kaiyo picked them up and pulled them closer to her face to read them. Dogtags seemed a bit far, but whatever. Kaiyo turned over the small metal chunks, her name was already engraved in them.

'Kaiyo Saiyouko. 1st Tier.'

'What the hell is a 1st Tier?' she thought to herself. Shrugging it off as she moved the metal chain over her neck, pressing the cold metal against her warm neck for a moment. Before returning back to her uniform change.

Regulation had never exactly been Kaiyo's favourite word. As such, uniform didn't suit her when it was so...Uniform. The girl was changed in her new uniform. Shiny black boots, neatly creased combat trousers. Her shirt was slightly different to how Amaya had suited hers. Instead, Kaiyo hadn't done it up, leaving her black vest showing, and the sleeves rolled up to he elbows. Bracelets back on of course. Kaiyo spun around on her new heavy boots, they were quite slippery on the floor though. Amaya snorted slightly when she saw how kaiyo was dressed, 'I don't think they wanted you to wear it like that' she noted. She was wearing her uniform correctly. The shirt was even tucked in, done up perfectly, but for the very top button and sleeves rolled down. Kaiyo shrugged, 'I figured no-one would mind too much'. Amaya smirked once more at the girl, opening her mouth to ask something else when the door swung open again.

Two more room-mates this time. If any of them snored they'd wake up in the hallway. Both women seemed average height. One had short, spiky black hair, and the other a light brown colour, tied and clipped back neatly into a bun. Both smiled quite nervously as they walked in. Kaiyo nodded upwards to them, 'I'm Kaiyo' she smiled. 'I'm Amaya...Like the bed says' the woman next to her gestured to the sign at the end of her bed. A polite giggle followed. The woman fanned out towards their beds. Most likely given the same uniform change order. 'Mao' the spiky black haired woman said, greeting the others, rather informally as she too began to change. The last woman seemed rather distant, less friendly at any rate, though her introduction seemed stable enough. 'I'm Natsuki'. Kaiyo watched that last women closer, she really didn't seem so social. That, and she gave Kaiyo an especially bitched up glare, most likely due to her uniform choice. Though Kaiyo really didn't see how she had strayed from the norm so badly.

This whole place was weird. The original hearing with the central 46 had just said that Kaiyo would be receiving extra training, due to her progress in ability. That's all this place was. Yet everyone seemed so serious about it, it all seemed so military that Kaiyo was starting to wonder what else this place was. There was no Zanpakuto allowed, and no usual shinigami uniform. Kaiyo couldn't even sense the reiatsu of anyone else around her, so she had no actual gauge of how strong they were. A moments silence passed in the room. Kaiyo had finished settling in, and was just staring up at the ceiling from her bed. The girl leant forwards, glancing left and right to the other women, her hand tracing along the engrained words on her dog tag as she spoke. 'Hey, erm, what tier do your tag things say?'. The women looked inquisitively at each of their own labels, answering one by one. Amaya, who was for some unknown reason polishing just the ends of her shoes, answered first. 'Tier 1'. Mao was next, finished doing up her bottom three buttons to her shirt. A look that, like Kaiyo's, showed off the vest. 'Mines 1 as well'. The three turned their attention to Natsuki. The woman who was arranging the items on her shelf paused, picking up her dog tog to take a look before returning to her task at hand. '1'. There was another silence. Kaiyo didn't have a bloody clue what the tiers were, how many there were, or whether or not 1 was good or bad.

The two hour mark passed as a knocking on the room door came just before it opened. Teiji smiled at the four women staring at him. He too was in uniform now, wearing a light black coat over the top of his regulation uniform. Kaiyo straightenned her posture when she saw him, it was instinctive, she couldn't even help it. The guy remained at the doorway, 'I need you all to head outside now please' His voice was smooth and polite, with an underlying tone of command in there. All the woman nodded and walked straight out the room. Kaiyo rolled off the side of her bed, slipping just slightly on the damn boots as she wobbled to her feet. The others were already out of the room as Kaiyo tried to get a decent footing. Feeling a hand wrap around her arm and help her up. The girl turned around to Teiji, smiling up at him as her cheeks began tinting a light shade of red again. 'Thanks' she said, sincerely. Teiji kept his hands on Kaiyo when she turned around. Smiling at the girl as he looked into her eyes for a moment. 'You have this, special air about you. You're different, and you're naturally like that.' he spoke, almost as if he was talking more about her than to her. He laughed gently, 'You know who you are..' the summary made a bit more sense. Kaiyo didn't know what to say, so she didn't, she just looked at him, stunned for a moment. 'I want to get to know you better Kaiyo Saiyouko'. Kaiyo breathed slowly, taking a short step back from Teiji as she smiled politely, 'I think i might be late'. Kaiyo dodged around the guy, jogging lightly out of her room and down the hall. Just when she thought this place was going to be a boring learning experience. Teiji hadn't met Kaiyo for long, he was the examiner for her tests, but other than that, he really didn't know her.

Kaiyo was lead to a large lecture hall, and took a seat near the back. A small collection of people had appeared on the stage, all wearing the same black jackets Teiji had been wearing. Kaiyo was fairly certain she hadn't been given one of them, so they were probably he indicators of the folks in charge. An elderly man took the first step towards the podium, beginning his speech in a monotonous tone. Kaiyo couldn't concentrate, she was trying. It was just like, she could hear music playing through her mind and all she could do was sit motionless as her mind replayed what had happened with Teiji. It was more than likely she'd blown it all out of proportion. The thing was, that kind of thing didn't happen to Kaiyo so much, her usual reputation stopped such advances with the gentle reminder than she could snap most people in two before they had time to even realise she'd moved. Her time in the real world again was usually different, this was still different though. Far less subtle, and how he'd described her was just plain weird.

Kaiyo's thought process stopped dead in it's tracks when she registered her name. The man at the front had been rambling on about the tests that everyone was required to pass to be accepted onto the program. Announcing to everyone who had received the overall top marks in all of the tests taken; Kaiyo Saiyouko. Kaiyo was thankful at that very moment that only three people know who she was. The rest of the room were left with wandering eyes to find the culprit. The only way to not seem obvious was to also look around, for the people who knew Kaiyo, this actually quite a feeble attempt at hiding herself. Though she managed to get away with it. Nobody had even official mentioned her attire, although a fair few glares had followed her around. The man continued talking. The strict rules around the program meant nobody was allowed to mention their position as a shinigami or whatever else. That was odd, Kaiyo had just assumed they'd have the patrol teams and recon units, shinigami who weren't officially part of the gotei 13. In actuality, ayone who'd heard of the test was allowed to take it, so for all Kaiyo knew, superhumans were also amongst the group. Now there was an interesting prospect. Kaiyo slid further down in her chair, hoping for a bit of rest. The man at the front finally stopped talking, Kaiyo lifted up her hands to join in the round of applause. A woman took the stage next, neatly tied up blonde hair with a few curls falling down at the front. The woman strolled up to the mic, slamming her hand down on the podium. (Kaiyo jumped) She smirked, 'Everyone stand up and swap seats with someone' she announced confidently. What a stupid request Kaiyo thought to herself, slowly rising from her seat as a mutual set of glances left to to swap seat with the man next to her. The woman at the front of the stage then began her speech. It was, clearly her feeble attempt to get more attention from the newest recruits.

This part, was however more interesting. 'As you all know, your test was actually five tests, which gave each of you an average score. These tests gauged your reaction time, your tactical reasoning, your in-combat skills, your leadership capabilities along with other factors such as an in depth personality evaluation...This program will increase your score in each of these areas, and many others that you were not tested on. We are not part of the Gotei 13, as such a name for us is hard...So we are referred to as the Unseen.'

It happened before Kaiyo had a chance to stop it. It was just instinctive and was over so quickly the girl didn't have a chance to take it...Kaiyo snorted in laughter, tilting her head backwards to let a full blown laugh echo through the lecture hall. The girl's smile dropped as soon as the eerie silence fell, a sea of annoyed faces turned to glare at her. Kaiyo lowered her head to try and hide her shame. The woman shook her head slightly, it was almost as if kaiyo could see her mentally putting a cross next to her picture. How was she to know she was being deadly serious...Kaiyo didn't want to be part of any kind of 'organisation' that referred to themselves as the Unseen; it just sounded like they needed their own scary theme tune. Regardless, the woman continued her talk.

'Each of you were told to take the tests through a recommendation, most of you will not even know who recommended you. Because, as our name might suggest, people do not know about us, and do not talk about us'. Kaiyo was biting her bottom lip very hard at this point, wishing this woman would change topic so she didn't have to hold back her laughter. 'Now, here is the basic information would will need to know about this program. It will last about two months, your occupation has been handled and you will be informed of the the reason for your absence at that time. You will be required to wear the uniform provided. There will be a continual leader-board of those achieving the highest in your continual assessments. Each of you have been placed in Tiers, from one to five. All of you will be given a personal mentor, who you will meet after this.' The hall was fairly big, but Kaiyo didn't have a clue how many people were in it. About 125 all together; Kaiyo didn't know how many people had failed the tests. In fact, she was still feeling like these people weren't telling her much at all. Then of course, like any self respecting secret organisation, came the fatal blow. 'Finally, you have all already signed to this fact, but you are now in our care for the duration of this course, and leaving the program half way through is not an option.' This place was seeming more like a prison with every passing minute. The woman nodded slightly then smiled once again, 'Thank you for your time' she concluded, walking over to her seat. The doors along the sides of the hall clunked open as people began filing out. Kaiyo pushed off the arm rests attached to her chair as she began a gentle jog down to the front stage. Moving against the crowd held the advantage of the last speaker noticing the girl wanted to talk to her, and waiting at the front of the stage for her.

Kaiyo twisted her shoulder to the right, quickly avoiding one particularly angry person who had refused to budge even a inch to let the girl past. One thing became quite apparent to Kaiyo as she moved closer to the woman, she was a lot taller closer up. Kaiyo grinned up at the lady, leaning her weight on her left leg as she spoke. 'Hi, erm, sorry for laughing earlier and erm....You said this wasn't optional but i figured seeing as we haven't actually started yet i could, ya know, just kinda skip it all' she smiled weakly. Kaiyo had heard enough to make up her mind, and asking to leave seemed more polite than just doing so. The woman folded her arms loosely a Kaiyo began talking; closed body language, not good. Leaning back against the stage once the girl had finished, the blonde lady sighed lightly. 'Look,you were suggested for this because you've reached a certain level, and the people above you reckon you can get even better. So, it's your call i guess, but if i remember right...You're the one who got the highest mark on our tests...And they're not easy tests'. Kaiyo looked blankly up at the woman for a moment longer. Surprised she was actually letting her choose to leave or no; but she had put up a damn strong argument for Kaiyo to stay. Kaiyo lowered her head, trying to think clearly for a moment. The woman reached forwards and patted the girl on the shoulder, 'But, i hear you like a decent fight, so if ya do stay...I'll show you what a proper spar is'. Kaiyo looked up into the woman's eyes. There was something there, a twinkle, a spark of excitement. Kaiyo bit her bottom lip gently before she smirked. 'Then sorry for wasting time your time, i'll go find my Mentor' she added in a cheery tone. Oh ye of strong convictions, how easy that seemed.

Kaiyo ended up just walking back to her room; seeing as she had no actual clue who she was looking for, she figured they could find her there at least. The girl swiped her card through the scanner as the door slid open. Kaiyo wandered in slowly, feeling quite tired all of a sudden, she decided to go for a quick power nap. The girl jumped over the edge of her bed, shuffling up as she moved her left arm under her pillow and shut her eyes. Kaiyo wasn't sure if she was asleep or not, rather it seemed more like that stage of consciousness when you can hear what's going on around you, but your in a deep enough sleep to not be able to move, unless you wake up. Natsuki was the first voice for kaiyo to register, still motionless on her bed as she listened. 'But she's so short, and she doesn't even seem to take this seriously, did you hear her laughing?' she snapped. Amaya's voice was next, a more calm tone this time, 'Well the name is pretty stupid' she smirked slightly. Mao's voice came next, 'The kid seems fine to me, a bit young maybe, but it just means she needs more discipline.' Natsuki sighed heavily. All the voices seemed to be moving around the room. 'Well i still don't trust her' She moved closer to Kaiyo, bending down next to where she was lying as she looked back up to the other two. 'Does she really look like she could beat me in a fight?' she quizzed, an annoyance was clear in her tone. This time however, the noise was just loud enough to wake Kaiyo up. The short girl jolted forwards, her eyes wide with shock for a second, as she relaxed her shoulders and glanced around the room. Seemingly ignorant of Natsuki falling backwards onto Amaya's bed in shock. The blonde girl blinked a few times, 'Hows it goin? 'she smiled around the room. Mao snorted a laugh as she turned back to riffling through her shelf, 'Welcome back to the land of the living'. Kaiyo smiled weakly, shuffled back along her bed as she leant against the head-board. Bringing her knees up as she wrapped he arms around them. 'Did you all find your mentors?' she puzzled. The nods and noises that followed were of a positive answer...Kaiyo hadn't been woken up by hers yet. The girl shrugged it off though deciding if it was so important she would have been found.

'When's food?' Kaiyo moaned, really starting to get hungry. It was a trait of those with a higher spiritual energy, they got hungry, and having not eaten all day...Kaiyo was starving. Mao rolled her eyes at the girl, pushing her shoulder back a bit. The black haired woman had since moved onto Kaiyo's bed, and the pair had been talking for quite a while now. Mao glanced down to a black watch on her wrist, 'Hmm, now' she added. Had she not been so modest, Kaiyo would have mentioned what a perfectly timed question that was. As it was, the girl simply smiled and jumped off her bed, making her way to the building next door for some food. Amaya and Natsuki followed as well. Kaiyo had just reached the door to the dining hall when someone from behind had called her name. Once again, the others went ahead, assuring the girl they would save her a seat. Teiji appeared around the corner, walking confidently towards the girl with a smile across his face. Kaiyo moved away from the doors slightly, so as not to obstruct others from entering the dining hall. Teiji moved in closer, leaning against the wall with a smile as he spoke. 'I might have been a bit forwards earlier, but...I do still really want to get to know you...And seeing as i'm your superior officer' he shrugged with a cheeky grin. Leaving a long enough pause for kaiyo to speak, giggling slightly as she did so, 'Well then doesn't that just mean you'd get in more trouble?' she smirked. Teiji moved closer, still smiling, his warm breath was prickling against Kaiyo's cheeks. 'I think you're worth it Miss Saiyouko...I hear you made a bit of a scene earlier as well'. Kaiyo's smile dropped in an instant, 'What? I thought nobody had really noticed?' she snapped back in a mild panic. Teiji laughed gently again, 'Come on Kai...Just let me get to know you a bit better' he persisted. Leaning back away from the girl when a voice appeared behind the girl again. 'Kaiyo Saiyouko'. It was becoming trend for people to sneak up behind the girl then shout loud enough to make her jump. Kaiyo spun around to face the woman.

Teiji snuck off in the background as the woman from earlier stepping a bit closer to Kaiyo. No smiling a much as she had been earlier. 'You left earlier before i had a chance to introduce myself, I'm Kaori...I'll be your mentor'. Kaiyo looked blankly at the women. Why was it she got the very woman she'd laughed at only hours ago. Karma could be her only answer, because it was the bugger that gave Kaiyo such poor luck. Kicking her brain back into gear the girl smiled, 'Nice to meet ya' she beamed. The woman's lips moved to form different words for a moment, before she actually spoke. It was there again, that glimmer of something else in her eyes. 'Well how about we try that spar now then?' she smirked. Kaiyo's eyes fluttered between Kaori and her room-mates eating their dinner. 'I, erm, i haven't eaten yet' she smiled weakly, thinking it would be a subtle enough way of declining. Kaori spun Kaiyo around with a strong, fluid movement, pushing her along as the pair walked down the hallway. 'You can get food afterwards, come on'. Just like that, Kaiyo was marched along to the nearest training ground.

The large area seemed more like a sports hall, a high ceiling, a polished floor and wash white walls. Kaiyo glanced down at her feet for a moment as Kaori took her stance, 'Erm...Can i fight without these shoes?' she asked with a meagre smile, still unsure what this woman was hiding. Kaori laughed slightly at the girl, 'Sure'. Kaiyo dropped to the floor and began un-tying her shoes. Fiddling around with the damn laces as she looked up just in time to see a shiny boot speed straight into her jaw. Kaiyo flew backwards across the floor, feeling the instant aching pain from the kick. Disorientated from the attack, Kaiyo stumbled back up to her feet. 'What the hell was that?!' she shouted, her voice hollow and her vision still blurring. Kaori appeared right in front of her again, thrusting her palm upwards into Kaiyo's ribs as the short girl shot backwards into the wall. Bouncing straight off it and falling forwards onto the ground. Seriously, this woman had mood swings! That in itself was odd, usually Kaiyo's reiatsu was high enough to at least lessen hits like that, and let alone make her bounce off a wall. Kaori held her stance just a few metres away from Kaiyo, 'You really think an opponent would wait for you to take your shoes off?' she snapped. Reminding Kaiyo more and more of Tenrai with each moment that passed. Kaiyo moaned in pain as she pushed herself back up to her feet. 'Well if i asked nicely then yeah!' she snapped back. Kaiyo kicked her left foot forwards, the black boot swinging off her foot and rattling across the floor. Kaiyo smirked slightly, glancing down to her left foot for a moment. The blonde girl moved her right forearm up, twisting on the ball of her right foot as she twisted around Kaori, pushing her left elbow backwards at the womans face as she moved. Kaiyo smirked slightly at the woman.

Flash stepping back to the other edge of the hall; the girl slid to a halt in her bright yellow socks. Her other boot spinning around on the floor as Kaiyo took her stance. The short girl was nodding slightly to herself, now fairly certain that her opponent was better than her. Kaori moved closer to Kaiyo, keeping low as she approached and moving quickly up as she slammed her fist into Kaiyo's shoulder. The girl staggered back slightly. ending backwards as she felt Kaori's knuckles swish past her nose. Kaiyo shifted her weight, spinning around her she brought her right heel towards Kaori's jaw. The woman leant back with incredible ease, twisting to one side as Kaiyo's following roundhouse kick swung just inches from the woman. Kaiyo could already feel her breathing becoming more sporadic, beads of sweat rolling down the side of her head. Kaori smirked, 'Here i heard you had skills' she scoffed.

Kaori's leg swept out in a wide, graceful art, connecting with Kaiyo's ankles, throwing her off balance. Without even realizing what exactly was happening, Kaiyo found herself flat on his back, sucking in deep breaths of air that seemed devoid of oxygen. The subsequent tunnel vision that threatened to take away her sight cleared, with just enough time to roll away from a kick to the ribs. This weren't looking so good for Kaiyo. It had been a long time since anyone had been so marginally better than her and as much as the girl enjoyed combat, she felt somewhat lost without her zanpakuto. Kaiyo scrambled back up to her feet, sprinting forwards against the wall. Her own breathing was fighting against the comping sound of Kaori following behind her in those damned boots. Kaiyo knew what she was expecting, her to jump straight off the wall and flip backwards to behind her. Kaiyo had instead gone for a different approach. Kaiyo pushed her arms out in front of her she reached the wall, tucking up her knees as she spun to the right. Kaiyo flash stepped forwards, throwing a one-two jab cross at Kaori's face. Finally landing two decent hits on the woman. Trying to take advantage of her turned face, Kaiyo pulled her guard down, pushing her right foot forwards with a push kick to the woman's ribs. Just as Kaori was pushed backwards, she swiped her hand out at Kaiyo, scraping her fingernails along the girl's cheek. Kaiyo winced, turning her head to the side as she moved her hand over her cheek. Blood trickling down the side of her face as she glared back at her new Mentor.

'That was a low blow' she stated. Kaori jumped back up to her feet, wiping down her trousers as she walked confidently back towards Kaiyo. 'I fight to win' she retorted, moving her full body weight behind her right cross to the side of kaiyo's head. The short girl ducked quickly under the flying fist. Shooting back up with a tightly clenched fist towards Kaori's jaw. The woman grabbed onto Kaiyo's wrist, pulling the girl forwards as she lost her balance, twisting her own arm behind her back and moving her thigh against Kaiyo's stomach to stop the girl from falling. There was a momentary pause, filled only by Kaiyo's panting breath and a single bead of sweat rolling onto the floor. Kaiyo winced in pain, she ached all over, but she couldn't stop yet. The girl threw her body weight to the left, throwing Kaori over her back as she slammed loudly against the ground. Kaiyo moved her arm back in front of her, clenching and un-clenching her fist for a moment, her wrist was still red from Kaori's hold. Kaiyo waited for the woman to get back up to her feet, whilst she might have had no issue with fighting without any self respect, Kaiyo preferred a fair fight. Kaiyo's shoulders were low, the energy needed to put up might more of a fight was quickly leaving her, and Kaiyo still hadn't eaten! The girl's Mentor moved quickly, jumping down to the ground with an axe kick aimed right at Kaiyo's shoulders. The guy threw her body backwards, skidding too far along the floor (thanks to her socks) as she moved her arms outwards to try and not fall over. Kaori had already moved on, pushing her fist into Kaiyo's scrunched up face, the girl's neck spun around at the hit. Her vision blurred from the hit, Kaiyo tried to block the next few strike. Pushing hers arms out to block a series of fast paced strikes. The final blow came through fault of the girl herself. Tilting her head just to right a bit to allow Kaori's fist to fly straight past her neck. The woman followed through with her punch, twisting her hand around the collar of the damn green shirt Kaiyo had been told to wear. Kaiyo spun around to try and lose the shirt, moving to slowly as her collar was yanked backwards; forcing the back of her head into the solid ground. Kaiyo's burred vision began to lose colour, her head spinning for only a second before she blacked out.

The new Mentor reminded Kaiyo a lot of Tenrai... The woman lifted the short kid up onto her shoulder and made her way over to the infirmary. Kaiyo wasn't sure how, or why, but she always seemed to end up with the aggressive teachers who liked to try and kill her on a daily basis. Kaori sighed lightly, speaking the unconscious girl though a somewhat bated breath, 'Now that wasn't too bad'

Kaiyo moaned slightly as she rolled over in bed, 'Why do i always get the crazy people why try to kill me without having dinner first...' A silence followed, one unusual to the waking up of the 11th squad Captain. A confusion of the mild sorts fell over Kaiyo as she sat up, immediately feeling the soreness all over her body. Strained muscles and lots of bruising. There was a bruised face as well, but Kaiyo couldn't exactly see that. A head rush followed as the girl's blurred vision began to sway left to right; getting her bearings was really starting to become an issue here. 'Morning sleepy head' The voice alone made Kaiyo blush, the lines becoming steadier as she slowly turned to her to face Teiji. Kaiyo smiled politely, 'I look that bad huh?' she replied. She could tell just by his tone of voice, though the amount of concern he had for someone who was practically a stranger to him was a little odd.

He chuckled slightly, leaning closer to the girl's bed as he answered. 'Well, Kaori said you can take a beating pretty well, but she seemed more annoyed you left her with a black eye to be honest'. A small glimmer of pride welled up inside Kaiyo, her mind flashing back to those few hits she actually managed to land on the woman; she was definitely one tough cookie. The girl looked back over to Teiji, allowing a momentary lapse of noise pass before she spoke again. 'So...What's going on now?' she puzzled, still very confused by the whole situation. 'Well...You were put here in the infirmary until you woke up, then Kaori's going to take you to the first few classes and you'll be told what else from there'. Kaiyo's smile dropped at the mention of classes, if they expected her to sit quietly behind a desk for hours they had another thing coming. The girl had barely managed it during her time at the soul reaper academy, let alone after being in her squad for so long. Though a question remained, one Kaiyo couldn't help asking. 'So, Why are you here? I mean, don't you have someone to Mentor as well?' She asked in almost a cheeky manner, keeping full eye contact to read his response better. Teiji flicked his eyes down to the ground, his own tanned cheeks prickling a deeper flush as he mumbled his reply, 'Well I already told my student to go run some laps so i could see how you were' It might have been cute in another context, but at current, all it did was make Kaiyo giggle a bit. Though perhaps tinged with guilt for the poor sucker who'd been told to run laps, Kaiyo still smiled. 'You came all that way just to see how beaten up i was huh?' she smirked playfully. A false bravado was needed, 'Well no need to worry, I could take another round' she beamed. Still aching from head to to toe. Teiji eyed the girl with disbelief, pushing himself up to his feet as he looked down at the girl. 'Well, I'll see how you're doing later on, and good luck with Kaori, she can be a bit of a hard ass sometimes' he spoke with a genuine sincerity, leaning down to Kaiyo as he kissed her lightly on the forehead at left. Leaving the girl's cheeks burning bright with embarrassment and he turned and walked out. The fading sound of his footsteps allowed Kaiyo a small sigh. Sliding back down in her bed as she shut her eyes. She was tired, and in pain. In fact, Kaiyo wasn't in the mood for any of this shit at the moment.

This silence was nice though, it gave her an odd amount of peace as well. Usually Kaiyo was woken to sounds of fights and breaking walls. So silence, however short-lived it may be, was a nice break. The girl's eyelids slowly fluttered open, heavy with sleep. Kaori was standing over Kaiyo, holding what appeared to be a large ice cream sundae. 'Wake up' she said bluntly, placing the dessert on the table attached to Kaiyo's bed as she took a seat. Kaiyo tried to her best not to wince with every movement, shreds of dignity wouldn't allow such displays of weakness. After a small struggle, she was sitting up again. Looking between Kaori and the ice cream. The woman's right eye was definitely bruised a swollen; a small payback for the pain she was in. The woman smirked lightly at Kaiyo, pushing the table closer to the girl as she passed her a spoon. Kaiyo smiled with happiness as she began wolfing down the food. 'Thanks!' she managed to add between scoffs. Kaori shook her head slightly and leant back in her chair. 'Just a quick warning, for the time you're here, you have to follow our rules...Which means nothing happens between you and Teiji' Her eyes had an added intensity to them, though forbidden things were always a lot more fun. Kaiyo just nodded along, not even paying much attention to anything but the lovely sweet pudding she had deemed her reward for not dying. The woman was wearing a well pressed uniform again, the same thin black jacket with it. Talking, under the assumption that the sugar crazed kid would actually be paying attention. 'So, our spar, we'll be going over what you can improve on later. Though as an initial evaluation, you really need to sharpen up your skills. Your whole group will also be attempting the various courses we have today, seeing as you're Tier 1 that means you're going to need to get top scores in that...Even in this condition. Oh and just for clarification..You know you got the top overall score. That doesn't mean you're the best, because you didn't score top marks in every exam, you just gained the highest overall average.' Kaori paused to allow Kaiyo some time to process what she had been saying. The blonde girl paused for a moment, tilting her head to the woman as she spoke. 'Do you have any more chocolate sprinkles?' she puzzled with a serious expression that just seemed to make a mockery of what Kaori had been saying.

She sighed heavily, almost utterly bewildered by Kaiyo as she leant forwards and snatched the remainder of the partially melted ice cream. 'You have 5 minutes to get changed' she ordered, storming out of the room in a flurry. Kaiyo's expression was more lost. The oblivious girl could only wonder who got so angry over not having anymore sprinkles. The girl didn't take too long to get ready, though a short detour was needed. Kaiyo winced in pain as she sneaked along the corridor. Moving swiftly now, turning round each different corner with speed, keeping her head low at each camera. Kaiyo was still skidding along the sterile floors on her socks though, the shoes were something she just didn't like very much. The girl spun around in the opposite direction when she saw two men walking towards her. Keeping her head very low, Kaiyo took a turn at the opposite corner. Detour time. Footsteps echoed along the halls in the distance as Kaiyo finally entered a large warm room. Buzzing with electrical's, the girl glanced over her shoulder and raced up to one of the many computers they had in rows along the lab. Kaiyo wasn't exactly known for her technology skills, but she'd had a bit of training in past months, all ready for this. The frantic tapping of keys began, the glaring screen of the machine reflecting onto her large blue eyes as the girl kept her focus. A small silence before a small box flickered up onto the screen, beeping once as Kaiyo began typing.

The Unseen, 125 new recruits, one month training. Filtered into tiers for more maximum potential. Kaori- senior staff member and mentor, female, unsure of specific details at the moment. Other recruits include Mao- short black hair-female.

Kaiyo slid her hands backwards off the keyboard as she stared intently at her own message, waiting for a reply, praying it would come quickly. The flashing cursor began to move, words appearing back on her monitor.

Good, this is helpful. Try and get more details about their operations. Be careful though. Stay low...

Kaiyo leant forwards on the chair, arching her back as her fingers danced along the keys as she quickly responded.

I know, i remember what you said. I have it handled, anything else?

No. Keep a low profile.

The box vanished off the screen, Kaiyo sighed lightly. Lowering her head onto the small desk as she shut her eyes. Alarm bells rang in her head as the door behind her clicked open, silently sliding open as the girl whipped her head around to the figure in the doorway. A tall, scary looking man. 'What are you doing in here?'... The girl's innocent smile appeared quickly back onto her face as she smiled. 'Just trying to check my emails, but your computers work funny' she added with a definite hint of confusion. Spinning back round to the computer as she entered a series of codes, each different box vanished from the screen. 'You need to get out of here' the low voice barked from the doorway. Kaiyo shrugged, hopping gently off her chair as she wandered back past the man, looking straight up to him as she smiled, holding eye contact for just a moment as she walked back along the hallway. A single bead of sweat rolled down the side of her head as Kaiyo made her way back to Kaori.

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'Do it again.' Nasuki's voice was as calm, as monotone as it had been three hours ago when they started the exercise.

'I can't. It's too hard!'

The teacher reached down and pulled her pupil up off the wrestling mat. Kaiyo groaned and rubbed at the fresh bruises blooming over her shoulder.

'You can. Should I illustrate again?' a tiny smirk to tugged at Nasuki's lips.

Kaiyo glared at the older woman. 'You're talking like I'm not even trying!'

'Well, are you?

The glare intensified. Nasuki sighed and changed tactics. 'If you want to leave, then leave. If you want to stay, you're going to have to do better than this.' She peered into the younger girls eyes. 'I need a partner I can trust to put her all into this, someone I can trust on the inside. Do you want this?'

The blonde girl hesitated slightly. She could leave. Naski had made that clear over the last few days. But it tempted her, this idea of helping so many people, of learning so many new things.

'I want this. Show me again.'

Silently, Nasuki did.

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'I got lost' Kaiyo mumbled, twisted her right heel around just to complete the entire look. The woman sighed lightly, moving closer to the girl as she moved her hand onto Kaiyo's shoulder, pulling her closer as she turned around. So the two were standing side by side. Looking out at the first course. 'It's fairly simple, fastest time wins'. Kaiyo's eyes flickered from the left and along the course. It was pretty much what she'd expected, or rather, what she'd been told to expect. Lots of climbing and crawling and dodging, how fun. A final pat on her bruised shoulder and Kaiyo was sent off to conquer. With each step the increasingly familiar dogtags knocked against her skin, her un-done green shirt flapping along behind her. All of this, it was risking her position as Captain. Even the central 46 didn't know, and they weren't allowed to either.

Kaiyo exhaled slowly. The entire course was automated, so she just had to pass the first sensor to start her timer. The girl shuffled her left foot forwards, leaning closer to the ground as well as she got ready to set off. Lay low had never really been Kaiyo's speciality, but for the time being, it would have to be something she worked on, a lot. Kaiyo sprinted forwards, her arms pumping by her side as she leapt forward the first edge, stumbling to land on the ground again as she tumbled onto the floor. Picking herself up quickly enough, but the fall itself had cost her valuable seconds. Kaiyo continued forwards, leaping up onto a large metal ladder; or so it seemed. The girl began quickly climbing up, too short to just climb up, Kaiyo threw her body upwards until she got a decent hold of the next rung of the ladder. There was a platform at the top, with a ladder leading back down. Fuck off was this worth getting rope burns over. Kaiyo lowered her body down the swaying rope. The girl was by no means moving slowly, but she could have done this a hell of alot faster. A series of hurdles over other walls, more jumping and crawling under nets. Finally a monkey-bars finish. The girl swung her body forwards, rolling past the sensor on her landing. Her time appearing on the screen at the finish, her placement came up on their leader board as well. 24th, that wasn't too bad.

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'Because you have so much to learn' Natsuki spoke calmly, sipping green tea as she kept her focus on the girl.

'That's what people always tell me' Kaiyo smirked, not moving. This woman had called the meeting, and she was still confused as to why she needed her help.

'Then you should listen to them. Look, i know you Kaiyo, i've learnt everything about you, and you're my best shot at taking them down'

Questions ebbed onto the girl's readable response. 'Are you sure?'

'I've experienced it first hand, and the only way i can take them down is with your help. They're corrupt. They kill people for the highest bidder and they've been allowed to do so' The tone was becoming more serious now. The brunette had even placed her green tea back on the table. 'You know everything you need to for now, so get some rest'

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Kaori glared down at the blonde girl, disappointed likely at her poor timing, or maybe the fact that unlike other contestants, Kaiyo wasn't looking very tired. 'What the hell was that?!' she snapped. Clearly less than impressed. Kaiyo smiled slightly, glancing over her shoulder before looking back to the woman. 'What? It was a pretty tough course...Plus i still kinda hurt all over' she moaned slightly. Shooting for a bit of empathy and striking far wide. Kaori stepped closer to Kaiyo, the woman using her height over the girl to appearing more dominant. 'Do it again, and again, and again, until you get at least into the top 10'. Top ten, that was easy, it was possible to still keep a low profile with top ten right? Though it was a definite hassle. This woman didn't scare Kaiyo, sure she was strong, but since when had Kaiyo been afraid of pain...Or death. Plus, the blonde girl had a purpose for being there. One that extended far beyond being chosen for the program, or even passing their stupid tests. Kaiyo already knew what she had to do, hell she'd been training for a long time for this operation. Even agreeing to do this though...If she slipped up once, or was caught. On the off-chance this group didn't kill her, banishment to the real world would be the nicest f her remaining choices.

Kaiyo nodded, too annoyed to speak and not wanting to argue. The girl just turned away and made her way back to the start if the course. Getting the timing just right was going to be a pain in the arse. It was going to be a long day.