Running Blind (DM)

Kaiyo was running blind through Sereitei...She wished it were metaphorical.

The newly ranked 'most-stupid-lesson-ever' was one that had formed as a cruel training method for only the girl alone. She'd asked around, nobody else in her lessons had been asked to blindfold up and sprint full pace around the inner ring of Soul Society. Of course her natural assumption had been that her teacher was just trying to kill her. So, as any rational person might, she hunted the man in question down. Her initial rage diminished in a matter of seconds when he looked to be in a bad mood, and had only sheepishly managed to ask (very politely) why the task had been assigned to her. Apparently, Kaiyo's speed although impressive, was a skill she needed to refine further. By reducing her sight, he hoped she might heighten her other senses and thus increase her battle prowess...Or something like that. In all honesty, once she had whispered her question through a strained voice, she wanted to hide from the barked reply.

So, regardless of how it had happened. There she was. A young female academy student racing through Sereitei with a tentative expression. Never had someone had such a terrified expression on their face as Kaiyo right now. Her blindfold at least was a lovely red ribbon that matched her academy robes. An unusual choice was to carry her Zanpakuto with her; the extra weight shifted her balance a little and had already clipped a corner as she passed it.

Kaiyo had begun just over an hour earlier, but already the streets were starting to buzz with life; she knew the lunchtime rush was about to hit. Another grimace sprung onto her face as she dragged her hand softly against another cold marble wall, pulling her weight in for a right turn when her hand met only air. Her hair flicked against her blindfold as the girl leapt almost instantly in the air. A yelling soldier had seemed to radiate enough energy for her to judge him to be there and miss him just a few inches. A roll back up to her feet and things seemed to be getting better.

That was until the unfortunate girl heard a sharp clatter behind her (a planned morning spar apparently) whatever the noise was, she lost her footing and stumbled full speed into a group of 12th squad; crashing through various 'delicate' vials an folders and machines. Kaiyo lay in the darkness for a moment, surrounded by what she judged to be at least 6 others, and some fowl smelling stuff. Bloody Brilliant.

Things started looking up for Tatsuya and the second squad. Everything was calm and quite. They even had plenty of prospects who wanted to join Second Squad's ranks. Oh yes. Things were definitely looking up. "Hmm. Almost lunch time." Tatsuya thought as he looked up from his dwindling paperwork. He finished up one last page before getting up from his desk and heading to the door. He opened his door to leave, but was instantly blocked by a squad member getting ready to knock on the door. He looked down at the smaller man, easily towering over him by at least a foot and a half. "Uhh." The man expressed nervously as he looked up to Tatsuya before fumbling with some papers. "Yes?" Tatsuya asked with a curious stare. He recognized the man; a newly appointed Junior Officer, 20th seat. "Vice-Captain O-Okibi. I...I..." The man nervously spoke, breaking eye contact with Tatsuya. Tatsuya patiently inquired with a soft "Hmm?" It was always the same thing. People who didn't really know him saw a giant brute of a man, ready to do eat up anyone who got in his way. He was used to it. Even used it to his advantage many times. Another couple of seconds passed before the man continued. "I just wanted to to discuss ways of maximizing the quality of our training regimen, Sir." The man quickly blurted. "Oh... Well..." Tatsuya answered hesitantly as he didn't want to keep Sumiko waiting. "Forgive me, Vice Captain. I came at a bad time and it's not really an urgent topic. I'll just save it for later." The man quickly interjected before turning to leave. Tatsuya sighed. "No, no." He called out, stepping out of the office. "I was merely going for a stroll. We can discuss it on the way." He stated and quickly caught up with the man, who looked surprised by the development. Tatsuya started to walk away and then turned back to the man. He prided himself on being available at all times he was on duty. No matter how small the issue, he wanted to be there for the squad. "Oh... T-thank you, Sir." The man replied, still nervous as he caught up and walked just slightly behind Tatsuya's left side.

It took a while, but the man finally got comfortable enough to speak clearly, without stumbling on every few words about his ideas. It was a lengthy walk to the Fourth Squad barracks, so Tatsuya and the man had plenty of time to discuss his ideas. Which were actually pretty decent. They were very well thought out and his notes were very detailed. Tatsuya could definitely see the squad implementing them. Tatsuya was just about to turn a corner when a familiar person came around. See her with her light blue hair and big blue-green eyes always brightened his day. They saw each other and smiled. "Hey there. I was just going to look for you." Sumiko said to Tatsuya, her voice pleasant and cheerful. "Found you first." Tatsuya said with a smile. "Oh, who is this?" She stopped in front of Tatsuya and looked at the man following him. Tatsuya introduced them to each other and told Sumiko what he wanted. "Sounds interesting. I'll let you two finish talking then." She smiled. Tatsuya was about to say something when the man spoke first. "Actually I already said everything I need to say. So there is no need for me to keep Vice-Captain Okibi busy any further." He bowed his head. "Very well. You can just leave your notes on my desk and I'll take it up with Captain Akarui as soon as he's available." Tatsuya handed the man back his notes. "Of course, Sir." The man took his notes. "It was a pleasure to meet you Miyamoto-sama." He bowed. "Nice to meet you." Sumiko cheerfully replied before he turned to leave.

"So." Sumiko reached for Tatsuya's right hand with her left. "Any ideas for lunch?" She asked as they started to walk again. "I was going to ask you the same question." Tatsuya looked down. "Alright." She said with a smile. A few moments passed, and her lips pursed as she tried to think of something. "I don't know. You pick something." She playfully poked Tatsuya in his side. He chuckled at her indecisiveness. "Okay." He thought for a second. "How about...?" He was interrupted by a loud crash of multiple objects hitting the ground just around a corner. "What was that?" Sumiko craned her head to the side to get a better look around the corner. Angry shouts from several men could be heard before they rounded the corner. "Don't know, but someone doesn't sound too happy." He said just before rounding the corner. They quickly spotted eight men hovering around a single person on the ground. Male or female they couldn't tell at that distance. "Oh my." Sumiko uttered as she inhaled a putrid stench carried over by the wind. "God what is that smell?" She asked while pinching her nose, inciting a chuckle from Tatsuya. "It pays to be a bit taller then most. It's just down at your level....Oop, there it is." Tatsuya shook his head sharply trying to expel the scent from his nostrils. "That's what you get." Sumiko stated while refusing to release her nose. "Looks like the the one on the floor crashed into everyone." Tatsuya said, trying to breathe through his mouth. "I don't think those guys are just gonna let him walk away. You should help before things get out of hand." Sumiko suggested. "Lets wait a bit, see how things play out." He stated with a grin.

'Ow, ow, ow ow ow, OW!' Kaiyo yanked her hand free from under what she assumed to be a particularly heavy person. The short girl sat up, her face blank and her blindfold still on. Kaiyo opened her mouth to speak to the angry yells that began to rumble all around her, her expression froze for a moment as her face scrunched up in the disgust. 'What the hell is that smell?!' Her hand flew to her nose, trying to block out the stench. 'Ah god, did one of you fart?' She yelled through her hand. Still in a world of darkness and desperate to escape the smell that felt like it was being inhaled with her air, she scrambled backwards along the floor, feeling her hand smashing through something. The sharp sting of broken glass was instantly infected with a liquid from the broken vial. It stung. Turning in the other direction she leapt up, now clasping her hand with the other as she flailed upwards through another three shinigami; they all dropped to the ground. Kaiyo continued to roll around, 'My hand, my hand, it burns!' Two strong arms grabbed around her shoulders and lifted her off the ground. 'It's sodium chloride' one voice barked at her. Oddly enough, naming the poison came as no comfort.

'Sodium chloride? Oh my god i'm gunna die, i need a healer- someone call the 4th squad, i don't want to lose my hand!' A large hand clasped over her mouth that muffled her screams. If her hands weren't being held, she would have loved to remove her damn blindfold around now. Spaced cleared from behind the girl, the breeze of the day now reached her back. Kaiyo ached all over. Her feet hit the hard ground and her knees buckled for a moment. The grasp around her arms grew tighter as her arms were pulled further out to the sides, this was when kaiyo started to worry.

She couldn't see, but from what she could tell, about six people stood in front if her. 'Sodium chloride is salt...its only salt water you idiot' the stark aggression in the faceless female voice rang alarm bells in her mind. The girl's shoulders relaxed, glad at least that a poison wasn't going to burn her hand off. That, and kaiyo needed to relax and keep a cool head right about now. Another breeze grazed along her cheek. 'So what is a stupid little academy student doing running around with a blindfold on?' It wasn't a sincere question, she could tell that herself, so she couldn't help but reply with something equally enough to sincere. 'Heh, i guess i didn't wanna risk my eyes seeing someone as ugly as you'
She heard it. Odd. Maybe her teacher had been on to something. The punch sliced through the air at a speed fortunate for the plucky girl. Her left shoulder dropped, her head following as the strike whistled past her ear. Holding her momentum, kaiyo bounced up to hr other side, pulling her weight round as she swung her left arm round to the right. The man grabbing on to her left flew into her attacker, toppling her restrainer from the other side. The anger rose with the yells. Kaiyo backed up, smiling apologetically as she waved her hands in front of her. She really wasn't doing herself any favours. 'Maybe we could just forget about all this?' She smiled, a hint of desperation in her voice.

'Maybe the 12th squad could just use another lab rat' another voice snarled. Yeah, this was definitely only going to get worse. 'Ah, not again...'

They both waited near the corner, watching the scene unfold. From the voice, they could tell that the person that caused everything was a young woman. Soon they heard the crash of glass on the ground followed by the panicked shouting of the young woman. Upon hearing that, Sumiko began to jog over to them, followed closely by Tatsuya. They quickly stopped when they heard the term "sodium chloride," the contents of the container. "All that fuss over salt water?" Tatsuya rhetorically asked and shook his head. Even Sumiko couldn't help but stifle a giggle at the young woman. Things heated up from there. First verbally, then physically. Someone threw a punch at her, but she skillfully dodged out of the way and then threw off one that was holding her. At the prospect of of the 12th squad finding another lab rat, Tatsuya finally announced his presence. "My, my. What's going on here?" He walked over to the group.

The 12th squad goons went quiet as another voice appeared. A man's even, he spoke with a cool confidence that she assumed meant he held some kind of rank. The silence was quickly picked up by the girl, taking her second attempt to try and explain herself. Still blindfolded, Kaiyo faced in the direction she assumed the voice had come from. She was talking, quite expressively and with her hands, to nothing but air. 'It's my bad, heh...i tripped' her arms out she added a quick grin at the end, trying to soften the deal. Kaiyo moved her hand up to her cheeks, yeah; boiling hot. To disguise such a movement the girl swept her hand through the back of her hair, ruffling it gently to the slight mess she liked it to look. At least her blindfold was soft.

The hushed scientists rumbled with disgust and the familiar female voice of aversion spoke again. More subdued this time, though there was a clear disdain in her voice; Kaiyo wasn't sure if it was for her or not. 'Sorry Vice Captain Tatsuya, we were just -dealing- with this-student- who thought it appropriate to ruin months of work, then attack our squad members...nothing to do with second squad' her voice trailed off t the end, but it was still loud enough for everyone to hear. That lady had some guts.

"Ohhh." Tatsuya smirked and raised an eyebrow at the female who spoke for the group. "Come now. I find it difficult to believe that a young student of the Shinōreijutsuin would purposefully destroy important research material or attack any member of the Gotei 13. Especially the 12th squad. Not at the risk of becoming a lab rat, as one of you so abruptly put it." Tatsuya's voice was low, but had definite confidence in it. "Besides, as a Shinōreijutsuin student, her guidance falls under the entirety of the Gotei 13 Divisions. We must be a shining example of patience and benevolence for the future members of the Gotei 13. Unnecessary acts of petty revenge over an obvious accident will stain our image and quite possibly discourage potential new recruits from wanting to enter into the Gotei 13. Right?" Tatsuya lightheartedly spoke, but the underlying tone in his voice was obviously a warning for the lack of respect. Sumiko silently stood just behind Tatsuya off to his left. She hoped the woman would take the warning. She knew Tatsuya was patient, but one thing that always got under his skin was lack of respect. Tatsuya had always been respectful to everyone he came across, unless they gave him a reason otherwise, and he only asked for the same respect in return.

The man's voice was calming. He spoke slow and still held attention, so she figured he had to hold some kind of rank. Panic still fluttered beneath her breastbone though, and she decided it best she revealed herself to the supposed disaster she'd managed to cause. Slowly and cautiously, as if worried that sudden movements might startle them like wild deer, she tugged at the blindfold around her eyes. Light rushed her vision and she scrunched up her face, unable to help her eyes watering as she blinked away the darkness. Finally she got a good look at them all. 'Fuck they look mad' she screamed inwardly. The calm that had wrapped their anger was apparently just a polite restraint; they expressions were all a lot more severe. That was of course aside from the man who stood amongst them, rattling on about something. Too out of the loop; she thought quickly, stepping in to focus on what the stranger was saying.

Petty revenge...Her mouth dropped open, almost as wide as her eyes had shot. The snarling glances were just getting more hostile. Had she not been so painfully polite, Kaiyo would have liked to shove her blindfold in the man's mouth! He was meant to be helping surely? It felt like watching a car slowly crash. It was all she could do to stare and watch.

Tatsuya finished and of the the more burly men from the back mumbled a response. 'We were clearly joking about the lab rat thing, Sir'. A pulse shot across her body, who was he? Kaiyo began lightly chewing on her bottom lip as she tried to find some clue as to who he was. She let out a small squeak when she saw the Vice Captain badge. At least he was on her side; or trying to be. The woman snarled, 'Sorry Vice Captain, but i think we'll be the ones to 'guide' this particular student...' Her hand moved across to her Zanpakuto and kaiyo's heart damn near stopped. Would that be her fault? If they fought? In her panic, the girl became suddenly aware that she was still staring at the man, she averted her gaze. She'd been unable to remember what squad his badge stood for anyway. 'I think i feel guided enough thanks' she cheered, waking her hands around expressively. Her light-hearted attempt didn't seem to work. The woman stepped between Kaiyo and the other shinigami; darting a death glare to the girl first. She hadn't warmed to her particularly.

Kaiyo stepped backwards against the cold wall, grimacing as she heard another crunch beneath her foot. 'Not a-fuckin-nother-one' she snarled to herself. Practically gagging as another putrid smell infected her nostrils. 'God that smell's bad enough' she thought out-loud. The woman seemed to consider Kaiyo's words in a moment shorter than she had Tatsuya's. 'Thanks for your concern Vice Captain Tatsuya...Take her back to the squad barracks' she called over her shoulder, looking directly at the man as she spoke. Her other squad members seemed more uncertain, but they still made that dreadful advance towards Kaiyo.

"Ah. Though you may have been joking. Given the situation, it stands to reason that one would interpret it as threat. Wouldn't you agree?" He asked rhetorically, his tone stayed light with the same undertone as before. At the sound of the slight squeak escaping the young woman's gaze only Tatsuya's eyes shifted to her finally seeing all her face. He realized he met her once before, back in the real world. He quickly reverted his gave to the female shinigami when she spoke, no reaction that he recognized the young student. Sumiko sighed behind Tatsuya when the female spoke. Either the female failed to notice Tatsuya's too subtle warnings, or she just disregarded them flat out. She hoped it was the former. Then the female's hand move dangerously close to her zanpakuto. Instantly, the atmosphere around them began to heat up as Tatsuya's patience wore thin. He tried to maintain a calm exterior, but inside he was agitated. Sumiko stepped closer to Tatsuya and placed a hand on his arm. He looked down and stared straight into her big, worried, blue green eyes. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The temperature quickly plummeted back to normal. The sound of more glass breaking opened Tatsuya's eyes. He couldn't help but chuckle. The female curtly thanked Tatsuya and ordered the others to take the young woman back to the barrack. "That might not be a wise idea." Tatsuya interjected. "Given the circumstances, she might do harm then good in a laboratory setting. Just look at what happened in an open environment. You might lose even more valuable research if you take her back to your barracks." Tatsuya stated with a smug smile. "I think she might find the Second Squad barracks more to her liking. Much more open room and plenty of willing partners for Hakuda training." He added as a matter of fact. "Come on, You. There is nothing at the Second squad you can break that can't easily be fixed or replaced." He gently waved her over. "You wouldn't disobey a Vice-Captain's order would you?" He looked at the young student then at the female shinigami, Sumiku stifled a giggled in the background. "That won't be a problem right?" He asked casually, but the glare in his eyes bore straight through the female shinigami.

Kaiyo could practically hear the woman curl her fist. It was an odd mix of emotions when you desperately don't want to be beaten to death but there's a smell radiating from you feel that's so vile it makes you feel literally sick. The girl prayed to god she wouldn't be sick. Making a conscious effort to breath only through her mouth, her attention was grabbed by a small figure that appeared from behind the man. Obviously they knew each-other, but given her actions, Kaiyo was just a little more worried that he clearly needed calming down. 'Did the temperature just change?!' The goons had at least been stopped by the man's words, though three of them were in serious danger of bursting her personal space bubble. Her eyes darted around her, her heart beat starting to rise once again as her apparent flight response kicked in and she searched for an escape route.

She nodded avidly, 'It's true, i'd probably just break stuff'. Her words were never so well received. 'Shut up' one of the men closest to her snarled. Kaiyo head was snapping around left to right with a twitch like nod that stopped dead in it's tracks when Tatsuya spoke again. Just her luck, the squad she was being recommended to join after the academy and their Vice Captain was the one to save her from peril. There goes obedient and reserved from her application.

At the very least, Kaiyo had become more comfortable in this situation. She wasn't entirely convinced that this was a good thing though. Kaiyo lifted her gaze, her eyes locking on to Tatsuya's as she tentatively stepped forwards. Her Zanpakuto brushed against one of the large men closest to her and for a second; her heart stopped. She relaxed into her usual demeanour. Of course being taken to the second squad didn't exactly sound like off the hook like she'd hoped for, but she'd take it over lab rat.

The woman appeared to back down for a moment, not moving an inch, but not stopping the request either. It was only when Kaiyo reach her did she move at all. Kaiyo smiled cheekily at the woman, patting her on the back as she was just behind her. 'We should totally this again some time'. Then she moved; of course.

The woman was taller than Kaiyo, her hair jet black and almost half way down her back. As soon as Kaiyo's hand touched her, she moved. With grace of fighting well beyond the blonde girl, she twisted round, bringing her knee straight into Kaiyo's gut as she was slammed backwards into the wall. She held her momentum, twisting into stance as she unsheathed her blade. Snarling like a snake, she took a step away from Tatsuya; her squad members crowding around her like the loyal dogs they were. 'As 3rd seat of the 12th Division, i'm going to have to politely decline your request, Fukutaichou.'

Kaiyo flopped forwards from the her sized dent in the stone wall she'd been flung in to. 'But that wasn't polite' she yelled in annoyance, allowed to find her feet for a moment. The woman didn't even bat an eye towards Kaiyo, she trusted her squad members to hold the girl, but the Vice Captain was the problem she had. 'Someone's going to have to hold the blame for this interference in our work...I don't see why it should be any from our squad, when she was the one running around blindfolded' Her voice was oddly calmer than before, but the edge to her words seemed as sharp as anything. Kaiyo could predict this one, Vice Captain wins- hands down. Still, it wasn't best that she'd started such a dispute.

Spoiler:

Helpful as always, Kaiyo leapt forwards, moving with her the speed and grace her body allowed her. The short girl stood between the pair, her hands patting the air in an action she considered to mean calming down. 'Okay, sorry. No-ones dead, so there's always that...Maybe we should all just take a moment to have a deep breath and-'

The woman lunged forwards, apparently hoping to go through Kaiyo as the blonde girl threw her body to the side. She rolled back up to her feet as the other squad members unsheathed their blades towards her. 'Come on! Peace and love?...Nobody?' she yelled.

Tatsuya didn't have time scold the young student before the female shinigami retaliated for her arrogant action. Sumiko gasped and yelped loudly in shock at the shinigami's action. Nothing escaped Tatsuya's lips, but his eyes showed surprise and anger. He watched as the shinigami drew her weapon and step back, the others falling in behind her. "Sumiko." His voice had completely lost that light tone he used before, now filled with restrained anger. "O...okay." Her voice caught in her throat briefly before she swallowed and answered. She already knew what he wanted from her, but it still bothered her to fall back. "As 3rd seat, you should know when to follow the orders of a Vice-Captain of the Gotei 13. Not draw your weapon." Once again the atmosphere began to heat up. This time though, it was more then a slight increase. "The only thing interfering with your work right now, is your stupidity. I highly advise you pick up all your materials and move on, or I guarantee you won't have the ability to research a paper when I'm done with you." There was no hidden meaning in his words anymore, they were plain, cut-and-dry words that meant exactly what he said. The young student tried to intervene and calm the situation, but time for talk was pretty much done. The female shinigami lunged forward and the young student dived out of the way. Tatsuya remained still, eyes blazing, not even reaching for zanpakuto. His reiatsu flared and spiked, red flames circling his body, and the temperature skyrocketed. His last warning to have the female and the others stand down. "You will stand down. That is a direct order. Or this will not end with a simple beating." He advised.

Kaiyo rubbed her back with tender sorrow, stumbling between the 12th squad guys. It was a peculiar king of stalemate going on here. Just unfortunate she'd been the only one to get hurt, it just seemed a little unfair all things considered. Perhaps that was a point best left unheard for a while (or ever). A breeze swept through the street, billowing through her hair lightly and pushing her robes gently against her skin. For all her panic and the heat that had suddenly begun to swarm around Tatsuya; the breeze was a welcomed rest-bite. Having at least the sense to stop short of the devil woman this time, Kaiyo skirted around the edge of the huddles mass.

A single bead of sweat began to form at the woman's brow, her grip wavered along with her resolve. A second passed like an hour. She lowered her Zanpakuto with a bow. Speaking low to the ground, through gritted teeth, 'Sorry for my disrespect and actions Vice Captain. We shall leave the, girl, under your custody'. Kaiyo took offence at her pause, like the fact she was a girl was in question. If she wasn't a girl what was she, a bloody horse? She buried that annoyance as her hand itched by her side. She rubbed her fingers against her palm, as she slowly dropped her shoulders. That had been seriously close. The woman sheathed back up her Zanpakuto and hurried off with the rest of her rabble.

Kaiyo stood motionless, her wall of hiding places had vanished. She glanced around for something to say. Feeling a heat rising to her cheeks as she lowered her head, trying to hide her blushing with her hair. An obvious ploy. She grinned quite awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head as she addressed the Vice Captain. 'Heh...That was close ey?'. Was it too soon for jokes?

Tatsuya didn't acknowledge the female shinigami, just stood there. Once the female turned and headed back to with the group, the air began to cool as his spiritual pressure dropped and the flames circling his body disappeared. His eyes remained unchanged however as his gaze moved to the young student. "This way." He lowly stated after she spoke, before turning and walking back to where he came from, staying in front of the student. He approached Sumiko and his gazed softened, but she was able to read it quite clearly. She looked at the student with a slight smile before quickly falling in step with Tatsuya and walked besides him. Her body was close to his, but no real contact other then them brushing against each other as they walked in silence. Though instead of heading in the direction of Second Squad, they went the other direction. They didn't say anything to each other as they walked for a couple of more minutes. Thought it was a comfortable silence for them, it was probably the opposite for the student who could only follow.

Tatsuya finally stopped after they rounded a corner and looked down at Sumiko. "You should check out her hand." His tone was casual as he spoke. "I was thinking the same thing." She said cheerfully, before turning to the student. "Sorry about the silence, but things were a little tense back there. He wanted to wait until we had some space between us." Sumiko said with a sunny smile, carefully taking the young student's injured hand. "I'm Sumiko Miyamoto, Third seat of Fourth Division." She merrily introduced herself. "And the big hothead next to me." "Hey!" She turned, sticking out her tongue out at him and giggling. "Is Second Division Vice-Captain, Tatsuya Okibi, in case you missed his whole title." She finished. "Hey, the only reason I got that way is because she figured she could do what she wanted, just because we are from different squads." He defended as he leaned against the wall. "I mean really. It's not like I'm some run of the mill 3rd seat officer." "Hey!" He stuck out his tongue at her, retaliating for the hothead comment. "Don't mind him. He's just mopey because he didn't get to fight." She playfully teased Tatsuya. "I'm not mopey." He crossed his arms and pouted. "I just have to pick my battles now. It's not just my image anymore. I have to think of the squad first, and me taking out a seated member of the Twelfth squad and her group does not look good on Captain Akarui." He added. "It still doesn't change the fact that you wanted her to attack you. You just wanted to make it justifiable when you did send them to the Fourth Squad barracks." She pointed out then lowered the tone of her voice to her best male impersonation. 'Hey, I gave them every opportunity to walk away. Even a direct order. She just refused to follow it.' She tried to sound like Tatsuya. "Am I right?" She asked. Tatsuya only grumbled. "The truth hurts, doesn't it." She teasingly poked again at Tatsuya's ego. Tatsuya sighed and rubbed the back of his head with his right hand. "Geez. What am I going to with you?" He stated with mock exasperation. "Nothing. You love me just the way I am." She smiled with angelic innocence. "I can't argue with that." He sighed and stopped trying to defend himself. Sumiko's smile brightened as she relished in her apparent victory. "How about you?" Sumiko asked the young student. "What's your name? And what made you run around with a blindfold?" She asked while examining her hand.

The light faded from her eyes as she dropped her shoulders in mild defeat. She hurried after the pair, finding the silence very loudly un-nerving. She managed only a few steps before she began to fidget. Clicking her fingers as she whipped her head around left and right, taking in all the sights at least. It was all quite same-ish, in fact Kaiyo would likely have been very lost if she were walking here alone...She felt alone. She pouted slightly and began to whistle to herself. Skipping an extra step every now and then so as not to fall too far behind. She eyed the pair quite suspiciously, they seemed close; comfortable enough to walk so near each-other at least. They stopped.

Confused, Kaiyo came to a halt herself. Her narrowing eyes darting sideways with confusion, was she meant to speak now? No. Tatsuya did. She leant in closer as he spoke, staring blankly into space as the words slowly formed meaning. She let out a small gasp as she remembered her hand, bringing it up into her vision to inspect the damage. It looked quite bad, at least, it was bleeding a lot still and she could see some flakes of glass lodged in there. She pulled her head away to avoid feeling ill.

Her attention snapped back to her situation as the woman turned around; she seemed very friendly. Kaiyo shrugged, 'It's cool, i'm just not a quiet kind of person' she added, instinctively holding out her injured hand to shake. She glanced down at the now red appendage and withdrew it, stepping closer as she offered a hand shake with her hand. Her injured palm taken to look at anyway, she allowed the woman to have a look, 'Oh it's fine' she added politely with a gesture to her severed hand. Kaiyo took in her moments silence as an amused look settled on her face, she giggled slightly, flashing her pearly white teeth to the pair. Now their pairing made more sense, they seemed to balance each-other, quite effectively as well.

Directly addressed, her face withdrew from entertainment and grinned at the woman. 'Nice to meet ya' she added. Not quite understanding what else she was meant to say. Kaiyo winced as the woman prodded her hand, un-wavering in her own cheery demeanour as she shrugged as casually as one could considering. 'I was told to try running without seeing so i'd sense stuff instead and like...' she paused; she herself hadn't understood the lesson and assumed it to be more of a punishment actually, just because she was already able to run fast. She shrugged honestly, 'I'm not sure, i think my tutor just wanted to challenge me or something...I guess it didn't really work' she giggled. Afterall, she'd only managed to run into a large group of people- not quite great senses there.

Kaiyo turned to Tatsuya, her eyes wide with appreciation as she bowed to him slightly, 'Thanks by the way, i'd probably be in a cage or something if you hadn't shown up...But i think you shoulda taken em anyway, show 'em who's boss and stuff' she smirked playfully.

"I say it worked well enough. You dodged a punch while you were blindfolded. Definitely not an easy thing to do." Tatsuya stated. "The instructors have ways to test abilities. Some more unorthodox then others, but they get the job done." He added. "Though I'm surprised that they wouldn't apply the training in the academy, under a more controlled environment." Sumiko looked over questioningly at Tatsuya. "A controlled environment is a safe environment. When the need is greater, one can overcome their limits faster." Tatsuya replied.

"Heh, saving you added some fun to an otherwise dull day. Though as much as I wanted to take them on, there are more ways of proving superiority then brute force. It's all in the attitude." He replied to the young student. "Though rank does have its perks." He added a smirk. "You should head over to the Fourth Squad, so they can patch up your hand. Other then the embedded glass, most of the damage is superficial. There doesn't appear to be any type of serious damage." Sumiko suggested after she finished checking the young students hand. "I'm sure you can make it over without running into any more trouble, right?" Tatsuya asked with a grin.

A glint of hope glistened in the man's words, and Kaiyo shone with enthusiasm. Perhaps all was not lost with the squad she hoped so much to join. Well, the squad she had decided fitted her best; she still wasn't overly keen on the fighting part. Though, especially more recently, it had become a particular vice of hers. Still she nodded enthusiastically. Holding back a chortle at Tatsuya's mention of attitude. He hadn't been that scary...His reiatsu had.

Kaiyo bowed her head slightly at the woman who let go of our heard, she sheepishly withdrew it to herself. Wiping it along the side of her leg as she shrugged. It didn't hurt too much, so she'd probably give the 4th squad a miss. She'd been there a lot recently, and her last experience there had been an odd one to say the least. In a bid to stave off her headaches she'd been avoiding the place like the plague. She took her chance to leave though, taking a short step back as she grinned happily and bowed to both people. 'I'll head over there in a bit' she lied, smirking as she turned around and waved over her shoulder, 'You're welcome for making your day more fun!'. With that, she sped off before either of them could change their minds, she kept in mind their kindness though. It was always good to keep friends such as them.

Tatsuya let out a small chuckle at her last comment. "What do you think?" Sumiko asked after the young student sped off. "Amusing." Tatsuya simply replied. Sumiko glanced at him with a slightly confused look. "She seems to have a knack for getting herself into trouble. Kind of reminds me of someone." Tatsuya shrugged as he passed it off. "Well I guess she is just that type of person." Sumiko stated with a giggle. "Now. How about that lunch we were headed to. I believe you had something in mind." Sumiko grabbed Tatsuya's hand and started dragging him away.