Determined for Success (Open)

Shakau walked into the Kidou training grounds, determined to do her best. This time she was going to go till she couldn't go any longer. She wanted to be better. She knew how important Kidou could be and it wasn't her strong suit so as much training as possible would be important. Dummies lined the walls all around the grounds and the dirt beneath her feet looked recently kicked up from a previous training session. Besides the slight signs of previous life, it was barren. She set her zanpakuto and book bag down on one of the outskirt benches and walked into the middle of the room. She heard the distant sounds of people chatting and laughing but all was silent here. Shakaku plopped down on the ground and began to stretch. She thought it was ridiculous to stretch before training. When was an enemy going to stop and say, "Hey? Did you stretch?" but her proctors insisted they be loose before any sort of strenuous activity. Reaching for her toes, she wrapped her hands around her feet and leaned forward. The tug in the back of her legs was uncomfortable but not unbearable. After holding it for a while, she leaned to the side. Held it. Leaned to the other side. Held it. Stood and stretched down. Held it. She was soon getting tired of stretching and wished Auryuu would be there to help her already.

Ezrachek walked over, attempting to practice a kido that he ran across in a battle and was planning to perfect it before bringing it upon the captains for approval. He saw the girl stretching and preparing for her training. He walked closer and let his reiatsu flow wild as he focused his energy. "Bakudo #1! Sai!" He called out as the Kidou shot from his palm, binding the unexpecting Shakaku's arms behind her back. He sprinted over towards her bag and Zanpakuto. He grabbed her Zanpakuto and ran up the wall, jumping up at the peak of his run, and grabbing on the ledge of the roof. He climbed up with the Zanpakuto slung around his neck. He stood at the the top of the roof and waved her Zanpakuto teasingly as he released her from the binding "You actually believe those proctors!? You won't have time to stretch in battle. A real shinigami is always loose!" He called out to her as he threw down her Zanpakuto towards her as he aimed at one of the dummies. ""Hado 3! Crimson Strike!" He yelled out as he shot the Kidou towards the target with his left hand, wasting no time, he switched his stance, having his right hand dominantly forward. "Hado #4! White Lightning!" He shouted as he shot the white lightning out of his finger, destroying two targets quickly in a row. He jumped down and gave Shakaku a smile

"Well well well, nice to see you here, it's always nice to see such a beautiful face in such a... a barren, ugly place" he said to her as he smiled and gave her a small hug. "Once you are able to do that, then maybe perhaps you will finally be able to beat me in a battle. Until then, you will never be able to beat me. That's just fate, and you should plan on being able to beat me, or staying out of my way, because shinigami or not, I have always been the person to strike down anyone who is in my way." He looked at her with a completely serious aura about him. He felt his dark past creeping into his heart. The red in his pupils started to flow around, and his reiatsu went wild, bringing them both to their knees. He fought it off after a few moments and the red in his eyes faded. He looked to her and put out his hand to help her up. "S-Sorry about that.. I d-don't know what came over me. Anyways, where were we? I am going to train you, aren't I?" He laughed as he tightened his Zanpakuto around his waist and rubbed his ribs lightly, the two bottom ones were still slightly fractured from his spar with Arawn.

Shakaku remained calm through Ezra's whole performance. Raising an eyebrow, she backed away from him slightly. "You sure are a bundle of energy this afternoon." She commented, looking him up and down. Snatching her zanpakuto from the ground, she placed it by her bag again. "No need to disarm me from my zanpakuto that I was already away from." She rolled her eyes, slight annoyance building in her gut. Turning to face him, she growled. "And for your information, I was stretching because I wasn't really looking for a battle." She did a few lunges till she got a few meters away from Ezra. Raising her palms she said, "Bakudo number 4! Hainawa!" Golden ropes entangled the dummy. She ran up to it and punched it in the face, sending its head rolling on the ground. Smiling with pride, she rubbed her hands together. She was getting better and better at this the more she practiced. Looking at Ezra she smirked. "I'm not as weak as you seem to have convinced yourself I am." She stretched her arms over her head and down so they were behind her back.

He applauded as she had gotten better. He smirked at her comments, seeing that she had missed his point. "First of all, you never have to look for a fight to find one. Secondly I applaud you on your Bakudo, however you can ask your dear friend Tenma, not all restraints work on a target. If ypu were to try that move on me, it would be you who would be on the floor. Now what im trying to teach you is the ability to cast kidou simultaneously. You have to take your grip on your reiatsu, and be able to split it in two, right and left half. From that, you will be able to create flow-ways in your body to channel your central pool of reiatsu through. Like this. Hado #2! Reel! Hado #3! Crimson strike!" He called out as he pulled the dummy close to him with his left hand, and then swinging around, he struck the head with the crimson strike, shattering the head and sending shrapnel flying into the wall. "You try!"

"Yeah, yeah," Shakaku grumbled. "Your a student, too, you know." She mutter darkly under her breath. Holding her hands out she repeated his moves. It was a bit more effort to combine two different kidous together in one attack but she managed to do just as much damage to her dummy as Ezra had. Glaring at him she spoke, "Anything else you would like to criticize about me?" Looking back at her dummy she repeated the combination of the two techniques and was satisfied when it came out smoother than the first try. She was glad that she was starting to get the hang of these techniques.

Ezrachek glared at her after she made her comments. He waited patiently as she finished her repitions. Ezrachek jolted behind her, at such a speed that was unmatched. He had gotten faster as he neared his graduation from the academy. He got extremely close to her, to the point that she would be able to feel his cool breath on he neck. He walked around her, keeping the same distance from her. As he got in front of her, he reached towards her face with a calm aura. He placed his forefinger and thumb gently below her chin, as he raised her face until they were looking eye to eye. The deep crimson red was back in his eyes, swirling around like a bottle of blood being swished about. He moved his hand to slightly behind her ear, moving her hair behind it in the process. He looked into her eyes and saw complete beauty. "Hoshi to kyōsō suru utsukushi-sa. You are right, i am a student here too, however me and you are not alike when it comes to our past. You were not born into a time of war, you were not raised to believe that if you stopped to rest, even for a second that you would be killed. Focus and Determination. We both have it, the only difference is I have more of it. It's natural. However what i have that you don't is instinct. The instinct of a wild animal, that knows the truth in life is that you have to kill or be killed. I know my fate on this day, is the same as the night that i was almost killed. I failed to use my instinct, because for some reason, for once in my life, i was not focused on killing, but rather protecting someone precious to me. So before you think i'm criticizing you. Look deeper into it! I'm protecting you Shakaku! Because my already fragile heart, would surely shatter if anything harmful were to happen to you. My whole striving, the reason why i have totally surpassed you in every aspect of our training, is that I never want to have to be saved by you, and look unworthy and unsatisfactory in your eyes as I did that night." Ezrachek growled out as he leaned over and kissed her once more, this time, keeping his hand by her ear. He pulled back and turned around, not giving her a chance to complain or making any comment. He did not want to see the tear that rolled silently and calmly down his cheek.

"Now... Now that you have gotten the hang of it. We have to work on your stamina and endurance." Ezrachek walked down towards the dummy's and knocked them over. "The only target left is me. I need you to prove to me that you will never stop until the person who is trying to hurt you, ceases to move. Do NOT stop sending Kido at me! I will keep coming after you until you make me stop. Only then, will I accept that I can stop worrying over you, and I will accept that you can be better than me at something." Ezrachek said as the Crimson in his eyes became deeper and darker as he unsheathed his Zanpakuto. He steadied his legs, and waited for her to be ready. He gave a nod, and then he sprinted towards her. He hoped that she would not hesitate, or he would strike her down.

Shakaku didn't flinch away when he got close but his kiss made her tense. What was wrong with him? Why was he being such an ass in such a nice way? She jumped back when they separated and grabbed her zanpakuto. Who did he think she was? She was capable of protecting herself, she didn't need a guardian. Unlike the last time they fought, he made the first move and she remained calm. When she felt him behind her, she dropped and rolled out of his path. Getting to her knees she said "Bakudo number 4! Crawling rope!" Instead of letting many ropes fly from her hands she only let one. It flew towards Ezra and attempted to grab his ankle but he jumped away. He is fast, she growled. But not as keen as I. She wanted him to jump away. For in the shadow of the first rope was another. That second one caught Ezra by surprise and wrapped around his right ankle. Jumping at the opportunity she said, "Bakudo number 4! Pale lightning!" She sent the electric shocks through the energy ropes right towards Ezra's leg.

Ezrachek smiled as he was hit with crawling rope as it tied his arms to his sides. This had made everything more interesting. He laughed as he walked over to her "Congratulations! You seem to have been able to get me sooner than I imagined." He told her as he decrease their distance between each other. He laughed as he crouched in front of her, thrusting himself forward and up, lodging his knee into her gut, sending her skyward. He then kicked off of the air and got behind her, keeping behind her as the stayed on their path through the air. He then kicked off of the air and placed his foot on the middle of her back. He kicked forward hard, sending her towards the ground with a good speed.

"I told you if you tried to bind me, that it wouldn't work. Like i told Arawn when i fought him. The one thing i excel at more than Zanjutsu, is Hand to Hand combat." He laughed as he waited for her to make her next move.

When she hit the ground the breath go knocked out of her. Gasping for air, she grabbed the energy rope and yanked it down, sending Ezra towards her. Instead of trying to throw a punch at him, she instead thought of a very risky move. She would have to do it though. She wasn't going to let Ezra get his way. Gritting her teeth she growled, "Bakudo number 8!" She created a bubble shield around bother her and Ezra so they were in a confined, very small space. He was fast but she knew she'd have a better chance of fighting him if he didn't have very far to go. She bounced off the ceiling and walls of the bubble, taking Ezra with her because of the energy cord. When she was sure he was dizzy, she jumped behind him and dug her heel into the back of his knee. He fell forward and she heard the satisfying thud of him hitting the side of the bubble.

Ezrachek groaned as he hit the ground. He kept his cool and raised to his feet as the bubble was put up. He noticed that she was starting to run around, bouncing off of the walls. Ezrachek spun hopelessly around until she was finished. He felt her heel hit his knee and the thud he knew she would feel was his free foot hitting the wall as he backflipped over her, pushing against her, back to back, slamming her into the shield. "You have to either take down this shield or be struck down! Hado #4! White lightning!" He demanded as he placed his palm to her back, and focused the reiatsu into the perfectly arctic white lightning bolt that shot from his fingertips

A lot of thoughts went through Shakaku's mind. First was that she forgot to return a book she borrowed from the library. Second was she was in a near death experience. Third was she wasn't going to lose. Placing her hand against the shield, she realized she was going to try something that she wasn't even sure would work. She was going to do it anyways. "Hado number 4," She growled. "White lighting." She sent the lighting bolt travelling through the shield, above their heads, down the other side and straight into Ezra's back right at the moment that his lightning bolt shot into hers.

Ezrachek stopped the bolt from leaving his hands, as he grabbed tight to her clothes. He crouched and with all the strength in his legs, he jumped up, back flipping above the bolt, he had mostly escaped the bolt, until it clipped him in his Achilles heel. It his the ground and collapsed to the ground. His body was completely limp and he was temporarily stunned. He was caught in the rope, and stunned. There was nothing more he could do. He coughed as he first attempted to speak. He failed and he attempted once more."Con-Congratulations! You finally beat me...NOW RELEASE ME DAMNIT!!!" He demanded as he waited for her to release him

Shakaku stood there, shocked for a second, but soon was shaken from her trance. Releasing all her kidous, the shield shattered, the lighting disappeared, and the energy rope fizzled out. She was confused and cautious for a slight second. He wasn't faking this was he. A little guilty about her obvious mistrust in him, she sat down beside Ezra and examined his wound. There was a large red burn on his heel but he didn't seem to be injured anywhere else. "Are you okay?" She looked at his face with worried eyes. All her anger dissipated and was replaced with worry. She hoped she hadn't hurt him too much. Despite his large ego and his increasingly annoying loud mouth, he was still her first real friend. "This better not be a trick!" She growled, keeping her zanpakuto close and keeping an even closer eye on his face for any signs of trickery.

He laughed as she expressed her mistrust. It meant he was doing his job. "Haha I'm glad to see that you are finally learning to have mistrust in battle,but how in the hell could it be a trap!? I can't even stand. Give me five minutes for my heel to regain feeling and i will be fine." He said as he reached over to her free hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She had beat him fair and square. "Don't let it go to your head though. In two days when i graduate and become a Shinigami. I will join the 2nd platoon, and then next time, you will never see it coming." He smiled at her and looked into her beautiful eyes. The crimson in his eyes had faded to a dull crimson that was barely noticeable. He rested for a while, just admiring the sky, watching the clouds silently moving across the sky, without any interruption or any effort. He envied them so much.

Shakaku narrowed her eyes but didn't say anything else. She instead lay next to him and stared up at the sky. It's blue was so clear it make even the most beautiful eyes look dull. She turned her head, looking at the side of Ezra's face and smiled. "It was a good battle." She looked back at the sky. "I'm starting to get into the swing of things now." After a few minutes of silence, she looked back at Ezra. "Your graduating soon?" She frowned. She wasn't sure when her graduation was going to be but she knew she had been there longer then he had. She felt ready to join a squad. Just the thought of it sent butterflies through her stomach. "My proctors haven't even mentioned graduation to me," She grumbled. She couldn't help feeling that everyone underestimated her. She didn't look strong but she felt it. She didn't look pretty but she felt it. She didn't look confident but she felt it. Why couldn't people see what she saw in herself? Sighing softly, she closed her eyes. "I think I want to join squad 1. Or maybe squad 3. But I also like squad 7." She frowned. It was such a difficult decision, trying to decide on the best squad for her. Why couldn't there be some kind of personality test or something? She swallowed down the anger and frustration that was building in her throat. Ignoring the feeling, she opened one eye and turned her head towards Ezra again. "What about you?"

Ezrachek lost his smile as he felt the tension and sadness in her voice. He was always been the top of his class, so everything came easy to him. Ezrachek turned to see her eyes. "I aspire to join squad 2! Assassination and Stealth squad. And yes I am graduating in two days." He said as he held up two fingers and then dropped them quietly. "Ya know, sometimes I think I may not be ready for it all. I am ready for the squad and I'm waiting impatiently for my Zanpakuto to reveal its name to me. I don't think im ready for the dangers such as the espada or arrancar... Menos, all of those. Until now, we have fought minor, weak hollow, but the enemies I will face as a member of 2nd squad. Shakaku, there is no promise I will ever make it back alive." He explained with solemn in his voice. He looked back up to the sky and sighed. His days of ease were numbered, and the number was small.

Shakaku sighed with him and looked back up at the sky. She would be sad if he died. She would maybe even cry. Even though she would miss him, she would have known that he wouldn't want her to linger on the pain too long. He would have wanted her to be stronger and stronger still. "You're too much of an ass to die," she growled but smiled. "I'm sure you'll do fine. Better thank fine, you'll do fantastic. You'll be one of the best." She felt jealous that everything came easy to him while people like her actually had to work to get there. She was at the top before he came along. He was a competitor but she respected him. He was a peer after all. "You're the lucky one of the two of us. You get to be in one of the top squads, travelling and seeing more than so many people." She sighed. "Sometimes I wish I didn't become a Shinigami. Sometimes I wish I could have traveled the world instead of being cooped up here." She hated her tiny little room that she slept in by herself and all the big, empty, lonely classrooms. She was ready to be in a family environment. To have people who she could look up to and people that could look up to her. "You're more lucky than you think you are. I want to be in a squad so badly. I want to finally do missions and have a million friends and maybe even become a squad captain. I can't wait for my zanpakuto to reveal itself to me because I feel that he or she is there. I can't wait for all of it. I feel ready." Growling she sat up and rested her head on her knees. "No one else does, though. I'm just the over achieving pipsqueak girl that no one pays any attention to." For the first time in a long time she felt sad. She felt all the sadness and loneliness that she has been denying herself from feeling ever since she became a student. She shook her head. "I best be going. And you better get that bandaged up." She motioned to his heel. Standing, she grinned down at him. "It was nice fighting you, Ezra." Pride filled her heart as she walked away. I battle won, she thought. That's one step closer.