A strange Character Indeed (Kaiyo)

A break was what would best suit Kaoseu as he sifted through paperwork. Having been out of contact for such a long time, he needed some exercise. He decided he'd head down to the Dojo, for a little pick-me-up, just to get things going again. He thought of it as both a release and a possible recruiting mission. A grin on his face, he brushed the white hair from his face and stood up, grabbing hold of his blades, at which point Kuromeru let out a rather loud yawn, as if being woken up after a long time. Kaoseu stifled a chuckle as he strapped on his blades and quietly left the room. He padded gently down the hall, then out the sliding door of the front of his barracks.

As he went outside, he took a deep breath of the fresh air, relishing in the warmth of something natural on his skin. It was a good day, not too bright, few clouds, maximum air quality. It couldn't get much better. He grinned, thinking of how much Kaiyo would've enjoyed a day like this, then frowned, and his brow furrowed, remembering the blackened corpse he had seen what seemed like forever ago, and his nagging suspicion returned. He shook his head, having no logical evidence to go on, and continued on to the Dojo. Once there, he set about preparing, lessening his Spiritual Pressure a bit so as to not harm the students that wandered in and out as he got worked up. He drew Kuromeru in a reverse grip in his right hand, and Shiroi in a normal grip, though up close to the guard. Without a word, he Flash Stepped, and was gone. When he reappeared, he was kneeling, and the blades were reveresed; Kuromeru in a normal fashioned grip, and Shiroi reversed. Then, three dummies split apart into three pieces. Satisfied with his work, he made to turn around and came face to face with a large group of students that had been watching.

As if this were some kind of stimulus, the students all began talking at once. Kaoseu made out a few words here and there, like "teach" and "demonstration". Grinnging wider, he held up a hand to quiet the crowd.

"Does anyone wish to participate in a demonstration, of sorts- A spar, if you will, to put it bluntly." he asked. Most of the students went wide eyed, pale, backed up, or all three. Fighting a snicker, he awaited one of them to step up.

Kaiyo recognised kao's reiatsu as soon as he'd appeared, turning her head around she smirked lightly to herself as she watched him slice the dummies apart in a single strike. The sun hit the top of her hat, covering her hazel eyes in shadows as she stood perfectly still when Kao appeared in front of the murmuring group. Of course with such an impressive display who wouldn't want some teaching. Kaiyo figured it would be best if she didn't volunteer though, the temptation to test progress was almost too great for her to pass up and holding back would be a difficulty.

Of course having turned around pre-emptively to watch Kao, she was staring at the front of the gabbling students. Her eyes tracing along to the dummies, inspecting the clean strike. The silence brought her attention back, her eyes snapping into Kao's line of sight as she instantly smiled. A faltering smile as she glanced over her shoulder. Her face dropped to a scowl when she noticed the supposedly fearless students who had all stepped backwards to seal her fate. Her head whipped back around to Kao, a weak smile of sheer panic spreading across her face as she opened her mouth to mumble some kind of excuse.

'Buzz will!' a plucky voice chirped from behind her. They were getting lynched later.

In a matter of a second, all the students, save for a small girl, who had been looking at the damage still, had backed up, leaving the little brown haired girl, apparently called Buzz, as the sole individual left. With a grin, Kaoseu tilted his head to the side, motioning towards the larger, center portion of the room.

"Okay, Buzz, how much have you learned, and what is your ranking, or at least the equivalent?" he asked. He was trying to maintain a composure, but he felt slightly off. The girl looked as if torn. "If you don't want to do this, I can get another volunteer." he offered, hoping he was right in his conviction, though the girl looked promising, and reminded him slightly of Kaiyo, with her lost look, that somehow maintained a determination.

It was about then Kaiyo realised how much she'd missed him, it was hard to come across real friends in Soul Society; but there were always a few exceptions. Her hand swept up , tracing along the back of her hat as she listened to his polite response. Clearly not wanting to pressure her into it. Of course pressure was on her now; she didn't have much choice and had already given into the temptation for combat. She smirked slightly, 'I'm not very good' she stated quite bluntly. It was true, Buzz wasn't; known more for reactions Kaiyo herself had issue's controlling.

Kaiyo stepped tentatively forwards, the crowd of students dispersing around to all get a better view. The girl slowly tugged at the rough handle of her fake Zanpakuto as she unsheathed it from her back. Patting her right foot along the ground as she slid it backwards and dropped into a standard stance. 'Erm, what are the rules?' she mumbled, keeping her gaze low with her colder than usual voice. Acting differently to herself in the hopes it would further her disguise; she needed extra caution in combat.

A smile alighted his face. It wasn't often the younger ones had much pluck against a higher up, but this girl seemed perfectly willing.

"Ah, nevermind if you're not good, I'm not either, I just have good reflexes and response. As for the rules... Hm... Swordplay only- No Kidou, and... how does a good, old-fashioned first blood sound? First to three?" He replied as he shifted his grip back to the first, with Kuromeru in his right hand and in a reverse grip, Shiroi in his left in a normal grip. He slightly widened his stance, and angled both feet slightly inward, almost as if making himself pigeon toed on purpose. "Ladies first?" he asked playfully, wanting to get a feel for her abilities, so he'd have a measure of what level to fight on.

Kaiyo bit back a light chortle at the modesty of her new opponent, gracious as ever she nodded lightly. 'First to three' she confirmed. Making a mental note to remember to flinch when she got hit, it was something she always forgot. Old habits died hard. Hidden by the darkness of her cap, Kaiyo allowed her eyes the momentary vanity to survey Kao's stance. It was odd, but she held no doubt towards it's power.

She nodded once more, her brown hair bobbing with her neck as she did so. Slowly exhaling as she rushed forwards with her blade, a very obvious lunge at his mid section. It was a poor attack really, obvious and not exactly well executed, but that was just the test hit. Kaiyo herself hadn't had the privilege of fighting Kao in a long while, and wanted to be able to get a feel of his progress because from what she could tell already. He'd make a great sparring partner.

Kaoseu frowned slightly as Buzz rushed him. Fair speed, good balance, good form... Not bad... he thought to himself. As she drew near, she drew her arms back and then into a very shoddy thrust that didn't quite match what Kaoseu had just watched. As she attacked, he easily turned his hips, left side first, so that he was sideways and his right foot was still in the girl's path. As he did this, he brought his right hand up, blade pointed down so that his hilt would collide with her fingers and hopefully dislodge the blade, and brought his left hand down and angled towards Buzz's shoulder/upper chest region, so that they would both clamp down on her arms, and his right foot would proceed to knock her off balance or down. He watched his actions in slow motion, hoping for some reaction or attempt at a counter.

There was a split second when the girl flinched slightly to avoid Kaiyo's hilt, this was quickly over-run by the a possibly over-dramatic wince as she lowered her hand very quickly, allowing her blade to fly from her hand as she was dropped. Adding an arm flail for extra effect as she landed with a cushioned thud on the grass. The crowd seemed impressed with Kao's skill at least.

Still not wanting to over-do such an act, lifted herself up slightly, lead by her right leg as she lifted it inches from the ground, sweeping her foot at Kao's feet as she twisted onto her stomach and around with her strike. Making it back onto her feet as she raised her hands into a weak hand to hand stance. Seeing as her blade was on the other side of him. 'Sorry' she added weakly.

Kaoseu was having trouble processing. His brow furrowed as he watched the girls reactions. To everyone else, they may have seemed normal, but to Kaoseu, something just wasn't right. Her movements were too familiar, but also too fluid for an Academy student, who should have had trouble being in the presence of a Vice Captain. And although her movements were familiar, they also seemed slightly... fake, as if she were taking it easy on him, having moved half a second before Kaoseu actually made contact with her.

Intrigued, confused, and with a slight feeling of frustration, he carried on. As Buzz fell, and suddenly lashed out with her foot, Kaoseu, caught up in trying to figure her out, took the hit. Reacting quickly, he did a shoddy chasse, using the momentum to swing his right leg at Buzz's waist in a swift kick to the side, making it hard to jump over and hard to duck. As he did so, he jammed both blades into the ground and arched his back, so that if he missed, he'd flip backwards hopefully unharmed, and if he connected, it would add power and still get him out of harms way.

Kaiyo lowered her guard slightly, dropping it to block the kick; albeit badly. Kao's foot connected with the side of her arm, banging into the side of her body with the added force of using both blades, Kaiyo was flung to one side. Her hat tumbling off her head as she crashed to the floor, rolling slightly as she stumbled back up to her feet. Making a conscious effort to start panting lightly. Kaiyo leant back down and put her cap back up, tugging it over her hazel eyes as she side-stepped back in front of her opponent.

Of course as far as the crowd was concerned, Buzz was just getting beaten up by a Vice Captain. Kao didn't seem so sold by her act, which meant Kaiyo needed to try and block her instincts...Easier said than done.

Buzz charged forwards, flipping over the blades as she brought her right leg out, trying to land with what seemed like an axe kick at Kao's shoulder. Of course it wasn't so well executed, and a little slow seeing as she used the hilt of her own sword to help herself jump over it. But hopefully it would help show Buzz was at least trying.

Kaoseu felt his foot connect and smirked lightly. Following through with his previous plan, he flipped backwards, landing almost silently on his feet. He looked to Buzz, whose cap had been knocked off in the assault, and his heart skipped several beats. Closer to the back of her head, he could see, as she bent over to pick up her cap, the roots of her hair weren't brown, as if she had dyed it. However, this is not what startled him. The roots were a golden blond, which, more out of habit, Kaoseu placed as her natural hair color, visualizing it rather than the brown. What he got was something he was not expecting; the little Academy girl was a complete twin of Kaiyo, his beloved friend and 11th squad captain, or rather, putting all the previous oddities she presented in fighting together, she was Kaiyo.

During this moment of realization, Kaoseu had not moved a muscle, so Buzz had an opening. As she jumped off her blade, leaping over his blades and rolling into an axe kick, Kaoseu immediately reacted without thinking, now seeing Kaiyo rather than Buzz. He flared his Reiatsu and brought his left arm up faster than a snake snatching prey, attempting to catch hold of her ankle and turn sideways as he pulled her the rest of the way through. As she passed in front of him, he was close enough where he could whisper and only she would hear him, and he couldn't help it, he whispered,

"Welcome back... Kaiyo." as he slammed her back down towards the ground. Now things would hopefully step up, though he knew she was in a guise for a reason, and would not make her break it, though there would be some explanation for such a scare afterward, he'd be sure of it.

Kaiyo's eyes flickered with panic as Kao whispered to her, before her brain even had a chance to register what he'd said, she was slammed back against the ground. This time getting an audible reaction from the crowd as the girl looked up at her friend. Oh yeah, things were going to get a bit more interesting now. Kaiyo sighed lightly as she slowly got back up to her feet. 'Come on Buzz!' a supporting voice from a class-mate, more likely it was just someone who didn't want her beating to finish just yet.

In a way though, Kaiyo was glad Kao knew now, it also meant he could just take out any anger in combat, a method she much preferred to actually explaining something, especially to someone she cared for. 'Buzz' nodded lightly. 'Can i have my sword back please?' she asked with a polite smile, still not sure how Kao would react to the whole situation. Kaiyo almost forgot she'd faked her death, and lied to her friends; such things seemed so far in the past. The gathered students had grown in size, a fully formed rabble jeering in anticipation.

As Kaiyo picked herself back up off the floor, Kaoseu couldn't help but laugh and shake his head. He was ecstatic that Kaiyo was still alive, and even more so that he'd have someone to spar against and not have to hold back, or at least as much. the students jeered and called out, as "Buzz" stood up once more. Kaoseu could see the change in her demeanor as she looked at him and politely asked for the return of her sword.

"Sure thing. Try not to lose it this time. I won't be so easy from here on out, and I don't expect any less than all you can give, either." he replied as he pulled her blade from the ground and tossed it back to her.

His eyes were alighted like an animals and he felt a stirring in him. He cursed inwardly, feeling Heiwa inching forward with his anticipation, feeding off of it. He'd have to be careful too, from here on out, he decided, as he spun both blades, channeling a bit of chakra through them so that the bloodstained bandages wrapped around his wrist, fingers and forearms, and he could still hold onto the blades. He slipped his right foot back and leaned forward, holding the blade in his left hand at knee level and pointed up, and the other over his head at a ninety degree angle, sword tip forward, inviting Kaiyo in.

Kaiyo smirked at Kao, 'I'll see what i can do, Sir' a facial expression hidden to the crowds as she fumblingly caught her blade, spinning it around in her right hand with an almost instant mastery as she gripped it tightly in reverse grip, still with only one hand. A slow rumble of cheering erupted by the move, it was quite clearly, an act of war. The urge to go all out was almost beating her needed disguise, so Kaiyo would have to try and keep her cool. Despite her longing for a good spar. Taking note of Kao's own stance, and his intensified reiatsu around his blades, Kaiyo charged forwards.

Her smile growing ever larger as she leapt into the air, keeping her body compact as she angled her landing down in Kao's left blade, bring her blade diagonally downwards at his torso as she did so. Not wanting to stand on her opponents weapon for too long, Kaiyo spun off it her right. Bringing her blade across at Kao horizontally as she did so. Switching her grip and landing back into a stance, both hands on her blade she waited. Anxious to see how far he was willing to go in this fight.

Kaiyo was no longer holding it all back. He could tell her power was suppressed and wondered at how someone with so much was doing such a feat so well, but soon realized that there was probably some catch behind it. As the small girl leaped into the air, Kaoseu snapped back to the situation at hand, feeling her weight land on his left blade, quickly followed by a displacement in her balance as she swung down at him.

Reacting in the best way he could manage, he took a step back, leaving his left arm extended, and spun his right blade into the air, and clenched his middle and pinkie finger, causing the blade to come back down. He had little time to react, however, as Kaiyo brought her blade across a second time. Now, he leaned backwards as well, as his right blade came down toward Kaiyo, he yanked back on his left, twisting his first three fingers together to cause it to swing around towards Kaiyo's left, hopefully making her go in one of two directions; Towards him, or closer to the wall, where she'd be at a loss for movement.

"Not bad. You're a shifty one, I'll give ya that, but seems as if you're a bit rusty." he jeered, his old Squad 11 instincts and manners coming to the surface as he straightened back up.