Chapter 25: Light Sparring (2)

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

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AN: Big thank you for 300k views! I'm happy to see that you guys are enjoying the story and I hope to continue improving on my writing skills and overall character and world building. 

The constant influx of comments and power stones has done wonders for my motivation, I look forward to seeing where I end up taking this fic.

Chapter 25: Light Sparring (2)

"Are you sure you can fight like that?" Shunsui's reluctance to cross blades with Koda was fairly warranted. After all he had said it himself, he could only see within a one-meter radius. Moreover, Shunsui wasn't someone you could fight with a handicap, and come out the other end unscathed. 

Especially taking into account that he was by no means a conventional fighter, regardless of how low people thought of him, in spite of how "dirty" his tricks were he would make use of each and every tool within his arsenal to win. Having someone in Koda's situation fight him didn't make any sense, he would just have parts of him slowly chipped away until there was nothing else. 

With that said, the concept of maintaining one's "honor" when fighting was utterly alien to Koda. Fighting was fighting, from his perspective there wasn't any need to complicate things with petty conceptions like virtue and probity. 

No matter what form it inhabited, combat was always pure to him. If you weren't fighting dirty, were you really fighting at all? 

Shunsui may have shared that mindset to some degree, but naturally he had his own unique set of ideals when it came to battle. Regardless of what side you fought for, the minute two sides attacked the other, they were both deemed evil. Killing another, no matter the motive, was an inherently wrong act. 

Did it mean Shunsui would never kill another? Absolutely not. His morales still applied, but he didn't consider himself a good person to begin with. His principles served to prevent him from killing without remorse, not stop him from taking another's life as a whole. 

In his eyes, when someone could kill without even the faintest hint of regret, they were no longer people. They had become machines, Shunsui was someone who would allow his heart to endure endless pain, if it meant he could take lives while retaining his humanity, it was worth it. 

"Weren't you listening? It's not a choice, but if you think that's sufficient reason for you to hold back whilst we're sparring—" Koda willingly began to strain his Reiryoku reserves, forcibly pushing his field of view from one-meter to five-meters. The burden this put on his stamina was immense, but one-meter just wasn't enough. 

"—you'll die" With remarkable agility, he placed himself in front of the fiery cluster of beryl flames. His opponent shuddered as he broke into a cold sweat. Although he was able to pull both of his Zanpakuto's out in time, crossing them over each other to block Koda's attack did little to alleviate the pressure of his swing. 

"Surprised? Even blind, the presences of both you and your blades are clear as day to me" Shunsui didn't understand why Koda was displaying such ferocity, this was the intensity he expected of someone who was actively trying to kill him. Didn't Chōjirō just state that aiming at your opponent's vitals were forbidden? 

He turned to the instructor, inwardly expecting him to tell Koda to tone it down a bit.

But to his dismay the aspiring-lieutenant did nothing to intervene, blankly watching on with usual emotionless gaze. Shunsui could feel his grasp loosening under Koda's might, the sound of alloy sparking polluted his eardrums. 

His confusion was shared by Ukitake, the spars himself and Shunsui had normally revolved around teaching each other what they could. Yet this was different, Koda didn't see this as a learning experience nor a friendly match, the minute his sword clashed against another, it was a declaration of war. 

This was the mindset the true Yachiru had instilled into him, fighting without the intent to kill bore no fruit. At best it was just a meaningless show to entertain the masses, if you truly respected your opponent you would do anything within your power to mutilate them with whatever means were at your disposal.

"Oi, aren't you being a little bit excessive?" He couldn't help but drop his usual nonchalant tone, right now he was being consumed in the heat of combat. To make matters worse, his opponent wasn't even responding to him, simply donning a manic grin as he exchanged slashes with Shunsui in an attempt to put him six-feet under. 

'I can't afford to keep this up any longer, it looks like he's fighting without reason but that just isn't the case. All his attacks are precise, almost like he has a sixth sense for where my weak points are. I'm sorry junior, but you were the one who said it first, I can no longer afford to hold back on you!' 

He couldn't let this be a one-sided fight, he had to take control of whatever momentum he could. In one swift motion, he lowered his right-blade leaving only the left one in order to parry his swings. 

Koda could feel the impending danger as the tip of Shunsui's brand was aimed at his chest. However he wouldn't allow it to connect, not when there was still something he could still use in order to retaliate. 

What he did next, sent unadulterated chills down the spines of everyone in the room. 

"Have you lost your mind?" Normally Shunsui was the object of such a phrase, but this time he couldn't stop the words from leaving his lips. 

Koda had grabbed the brunt of his blade with his bare hands, crimson droplets fell onto the floor as the maniac-in-question didn't even show a slimmer of anguish. Rather it looked like he was enjoying it, this was Shunsui's first time fighting a true resident of Zaraki District. He had heard rumors as to how brutal they could be, but witnessing it first-hand wasn't like anything he had imagined. 

"Yeah, a long time ago" He could feel his panic rising as Koda yanked the right-blade out of his hands, throwing it behind him as if it bore no worth. 

The dual-wielder retreated a few steps before being forced to confront Koda with only one-arm, one cutting arm that was. Thanks to his brief but worthwhile Hakuda training he managed to land a solid blow to Koda's temple, temporarily disorientating the man as he rushed to retrieve his second blade. 

"You're pretty quick with your hands huh? Any plans on teaching me sometime?" He wiped the faint trickle of blood on his lower lip, learning hand to hand combat was most definitely on his bucket list. The notion of being helpless should he hypothetically lose his blade wasn't something he wanted to become reality. 

'Christ does he hit like a truck, I'm pretty sure he almost dislocated my jaw. That's going to be a problem, if he figures out my weakness I'll be in quite the pinch' 

Though he had succeeded in retrieving his Zanpakuto, for some reason Shunsui opted to sheath both of his blades rather than prepare himself for his next offensive. 

'Shit, he figured it out…' 

"It's not as easy for you to read my fists as it is my Zanpakuto right? Sorry but I'm the type to use every asset available to me in order to win. You're the same aren't you?" 

Differentiating Shunsui's sword from his body was relatively easy, allowing Koda to react to his attacks swiftly. However, trying to distinguish his fist from the other parts of his body was extremely difficult, Koda simply didn't have enough mastery over his "vision" yet to accomplish such a feat. 

If he couldn't come up with a solution, he would be slugged into oblivion.

—

Hikaru had decided to take a leisurely stroll through the Seireitei, his recovery had been quite excruciating but if he wanted to return to his post anytime soon, it was necessary. 

The Kaido treatment had kept him alive but his scars still persisted, which wasn't really all that problematic. 

'I wonder if the ladies will dig this? With war over the horizon I'm very much not keen on dying a virgin. Maybe I can impress Captain Katori?' 

He quickly shook his head, having the sense to understand how idiotic that endeavor was. Still, if he had to settle down with any woman she would be on the top of his list. She was the first to visit him whilst he was bedridden, as someone who understood how difficult it was for her to make time. It meant the world to him. 

However something far more pressing was lingering in his mind at the moment, the founding of the 11th Division, and more importantly, the announcement of their first Captain. 

Unohana Yachiru, the woman he had been sent to dispatch off had attained the position most could only dream about, his brain still struggled the process that this was reality. He wasn't ignorant to the fact that the majority of Shinigami were former criminals, but to think one he had been directly sent to kill had obtained such a sought-after privilege. 

It seemed borderline idiotic. They had not only invited someone known for slaughtering Shinigami in the past, but had given them immense power and influence within their ranks. Where was the logic in that? 

'Though, if she's been made Captain there's a chance that he's a part of the 11th Division now. If that's the case, I'm definitely going to challenge him to a rematch. This time he won't have a forest to protect him, maybe if I ask Captain Katori to adjudicate I'll garner some recognition, surely I'll be able to garner some points with her' 

He continued to stroll with a smug grin on his face, praising himself for his clearly foolproof plan. 

"Are you that idiot?" He slowly turned around, fully prepared to confront whomever had the gall to sneak up on him, in spite of him being off-duty Hikaru was still a Lieutenant at the end of the day. 

"Who do you think you—" 

He hurriedly forced down the words back into the deep ridges of his mind, beads of sweat darted down his skin as he felt his skin turn pale upon realizing who the individual was. Failing to stop himself would have probably been the greatest mistake he made ever since his birth, his restraint was the only reason he was still standing. 

His blood started to grow cold as the horrid memories of him being hacked as if he were a mere piece of meat resurfaced, only to come to the realization that all his efforts were for nothing. 

But he didn't cower, though he was terrified, his pride had already been damaged too much to allow himself to look pathetic again, he couldn't let his already torn ego shatter even further.

"Captain Yachiru, apologies for failing to recognize you, to what do I owe the pleasure?" As he had done so many times before, he greeted his superior with proper etiquette and civility. 

"I don't care much for your pleasantries. If you bear enmity for me, be a man and make it known. But that's besides the point, I didn't come here just to watch you tense up like a little girl, I have a few questions for you" 

He ignored her blatant off-handed comment, not that he had much of a choice, and rose his brow, being approached by her wasn't exactly something he expected.

"How long did you spend in the academy?" Quite the random question no doubt, especially considering that was information she could easily get her hands on thanks to her rank. 

Nonetheless, Hikaru had a duty to answer. 

"It took me four years, but the average tends to be six or more. There isn't really a standard for how long students spend in the academy just yet, but if you excel enough chances are you'll graduate early. Of course, the accelerated class is an exception" 

"Elaborate" She ordered with a tinge of annoyance in her voice. 

"I'm pretty sure there's only two students in it right now, but they're basically direct disciples of the Head Captain. I met them during my final semester, they told me that it was up to him when they graduated. Though I'm not privy as to what he expects of his students, I'd imagine the requirements are higher than usual" 

She didn't like that answer, already having to spend two whole days away from her "husband" was aggravating enough. Not knowing when she'd be able to place him into the 11th, returning him to her side, where he clearly belonged, was another matter altogether. 

Something had to be done, her mood was souring by the day and the chances of her lashing out were becoming dangerously high. Considering that the Gotei 13 were currently in the midst of preparing for the oncoming war, an outraged Yachiru was the last thing they needed.