The Riddle of Steel [Hanako/Fuuko]

[Satoshi Fuuko]

"Shit! Sorr-Hmmm!?" 

Fuuko was about to apologize when Hanako came at her instead of crumbling to the ground. That, in and of itself, was pretty impressive. She liked Hanako's Moxie, that was for sure! She brought her hands up, but followed Hanako's movements. Her speed wasn't near what Fuuko was at and she hopped over the first kick like she was skipping rope. 

The second one, Fuuko planted her foot. She let Hanako swing her leg and kick it, and tried not to flex when it did. She wanted Hanako to feel like she was kicking something hard, but not actually hurt herself. Besides, while Hanako was kicking, Fuuko could load up another strike. This time, she aimed one down at Hanako. An open palmed strike (she remembered this time) right about where she thought Hanako's shoulder would be. Her intent was only to push Hanako down, push her into the dirt and make her change tactics. 

"Thought you wanted ta slink around! Yer not gonna retreat, huh!?" Fuuko teased as she threw her palm strike. 

____________________________________

Reiatsu: 4075/5000 - Blood Bank: 000 - | Unreleased Tachi

Blood Collection Passive [00] |

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats & Skills}Stats:

Reiatsu: 5000

[[Strength - 400 Points (700) +75%
Speed - 350 Points
Spiritual Pressure - 400 Points (500) +25%
Reiatsu Strength - 45 Points (27) -40%
Light Aura - 95 Points
Dark Aura - 05 Points
Instinct- 95 Points
Senses- 70 Points (52) -25%
Energy sensory - 40 Points
Healing Expertise - 0 Points

Total: 1400/1400 SP]

Current Skills 17/17
• [Pain Tolerance] {3}
• [Lack of Fear] {3}
• [Zanjutsu] {1}
• [Strength of Will] {3}
• [Damage Recovery] {1}
• [Bleeding Tolerance] {3}
• [Blood Scent] {3}

[Hanako Nozawa]

Despite Fuuko avoiding her first kick with ease, Hanako felt her second strike the woman's ankle! However, true to her experience before, she proved laughably unable to even make the woman budge with a kick to such a vulnerable joint. Her eyes rolled upwards, and as Fuuko's open palm came towards her, Hanako reacted as quickly as she was able! Using the very same leg still in contact with Fuuko's ankle, she twisted her own and used her heel to hook the other woman's body and use her as an anchor!

She felt the faster Shinigami's palm graze her shoulder, but somehow, managed to avoid being pushed to the ground. With a quickness and agility that came with her training, Hanako used her free leg to awkwardly hop up and away, just passed Fuuko in the seconds it had taken for them to trade blows! As though to punctuate her particular show of acrobatics and skill, she even threw out her hand in an attempt to return the smack on her training partner's nicely toned bottom as she sprung back to her feet. A moment later, assuming Fuuko hadn't managed to catch her by now, she spun on the ball of her foot, arms raised and ready to meet with the next attack!

"Why would I do that?" Hanako chuckled in her throat, breathing deeply to control her heart rate and settle herself again. She staggered in place, almost pacing back and forth on unsteady feet in a fluid manner that appeared to come more naturally to her once she had stopped overthinking herself. Truly, the awkwardness of preparing a strike had gone from her once the back-and-forth had actually begun. Her smile grew a little more sincere, a little more cocky, and she bounded forward again without waiting! Again, she feinted an open-palm strike towards Fuuko's arm, hoping to lure her into a vulnerable position before twirling out of her own strike and backstepping to the woman's side! Without using her hands or feet to attack, she then rotated her hips and tried to tag Fuuko's side with her own bottom in an, admittedly, more playful manner than before!

[Satoshi Fuuko]

Fuuko was impressed that Nanako had avoided the palm strike and when her leg was suddenly hooked, an intrigued eyebrow raised up. The girl was speedy enough, and she had the brains to come up with some interesting ideas. Fuuko realized right away that this wasn't about testing Hanako's limits, or even really playing tag. If Fuuko wanted  to, she could smack around Hanako pretty effortlessly and she didn't want to do this. No, this was amounting to something more akin to dancing. Fuuko or Hanako would take a step and then the other would have to respond in a way that didn't make them both look like idiots. That was the best way she could test the would-be ninjette. 

So, she only smirked when Hanako slapped her butt. Clearly the two had some basic magnetic attraction, perhaps cause of Fuuko's natural charisma (though that often was anti-charisma in some people's eyes) and her natural assets. However, she certainly wasn't going to take all the credit for herself. Hanako's cheerful personality was infectious and the purplette was also very cute in her own right. 

As Hanako bounded away and made her declaration, Fuuko grinned and bounced in place with her arms at her sides, even as Hanako bounded back in for another attack. This time, Fuuko brought her hand up to block the feint, not worried about another incoming attack. She was now expecting  Hanako to feint and when she sidestepped and stuck out her hip, Fuuko used her speed to adjust the point of impact to be a bit... cheekier. When the soft collision hit, Fuuko flexed and thrust, shooting her rump out with as much force as she thought might send Hanako off kilter at a pretty rapid pace. 

Being cheeky, was one thing, but Fuuko certainly wasn't going to let Hanako get away with it literally. She turned quickly and used her speed to try and zip past Hanako, and end up with her own hips at the ready, waiting with a slightly less powerful hip check aimed where she thought Hanako might end up. The whole time she had a bright grin on her face. At least this girl wasn't boring. 

[Hanako Nozawa]

She had definitely gotten too cocky for a moment here. As Hanako spun around into position and thrust her hip out to strike Fuuko, the other woman had chosen to meet her with her superior speed and fight fire with fire -as it were. Hanako's eyes widened in shock as she felt resistance strike her hip, then strength push against her when she wasn't prepared for it. Her momentum shifted, and she lost her balance as she stumbled back to the side and away from where she and Fuuko had only just stood! However, her sparring partner had made it around her first, and by the time Hanako could right her own balance and stop herself, she felt another strike -this time, against her bottom again!

Hanako reeled, squeaked, then tumbled, and ultimately fell to the ground where she rolled head over heel for a moment before finally catching herself! Before she could come to a stop, she bounced up and back to her feet, though now with her outfit covered in dirt and sweat beading across her forehead. However, when she spun around with another bounce, she was smiling from ear to ear and making it clear that she was enjoying herself despite clearly being outclassed.

"You know, you're softer than you let on~" She chuckled from her throat, showing some teeth after her very poor joke. One hand gingerly rubbed her stricken hip, which had ached a little even after what was undoubtedly Fuuko holding back, but she fell back into a readied stance again shortly. Without taking her eyes from Fuuko's, Hanako bounded after her once more, closing the distance between them as quickly as her feet could carry her! She readied herself for a punch, and threw out her hand to tag Fuuko's shoulder, then followed with another, then a second hip strike towards Fuuko's thigh and pelvis! Her strategy now, if one could call it that, was completely bereft of any thought of keeping her distance, but rather reveled in how close she could be and still remain effective. She used the downright intimate distance between them to try and catch Fuuko unprepared to counter, employing what a more experienced martial artist might have recognized to be its own style in and of itself.

Truly, Hanako was finding where it was she felt most comfortable in her style now, as well as she was showing off to her senpai. Like the mythical Miss He, she almost flirted with Fuuko as she struck, spun, and twisted herself around in the barest few inches between them, doing her best to land what attacks she could without letting the other woman escape to a safe distance!

[Satoshi Fuuko]

Fuuko watched Hanako tumble with a smirk on her face. Even though she wasn't a true martial artist, body-to-body, close quarters fighting was something she loved. She was a brawler, which maybe made her predictable to those with real styles, but, like Hanako, she wasn't held back with rigid technique restrictions. She could dance anyway she liked and has Hanako popped up and chirped at her, Fuuko raised her eyebrow. 

She ran a hand down her ample bosom and down along her hip, then smoothed out her skirt along the curve of her rump, she she jutted out for exactly that purpose. "And here I thought I was lettin on pretty loudly." Fuuko mused. She straightened up, pulled everything back into place with a tug and then readied for Hanako's attack once more. She certainly liked how aggressive the student was, not willing to wait for Fuuko to come at her. 

Fuuko braced, bending her knees with her hands up. She swatted away the first punch and bent her arm down to intercept the second, letting Hanako's fist slap against her. It left her open for Hanako's hip, which made Fuuko hop backwards, only for Hanako to keep pressing on her. She had some options, but she thought that maybe a punch might give away her guard. Speed might get her away, but in this  instance, that might be admitting defeat. She was already taking little steps back just to keep repositioning herself. 

She could guard herself alright, but Hanako might also get in a few strikes here and there. Her student had changed the dance and Fuuko was impressed. She did have an answer, though. As she backed up and kept her guard up like a boxer, she watched Hanako. They were close enough to be able to feel each other's heat and whatever natural and artificial scents that washed over them could tickle their noses. Fuuko always smelled like smoke and spices, the various different kinds of cigarettes and pipes swathed her in an aroma as exotic as her appearance and as inviting, yet strong and striking as her personality. 

Fuuko danced along with Hanako for a brief few moments until a grin spread across her face. She waited until Hanako had committed to a strike, then Fuuko planted her foot and rolled her shoulders back. Normally she might use her thick skull to interrupt Hanako with a headbutt, but this wasn't a real fight and Fuuko had a much more ample  weapon at her disposal. She thrust her chest out forward, trying to use their close proximity to catch Hanako with a chest bump. Fuuko was pretty sure her assets were large enough for Hanako to actually feel it if it connected, but soft enough to not actually  hurt the way a headbutt would. 

[Hanako Nozawa]

For a few scant seconds, it seemed as though she might have had her senpai on the back foot! Their dance continued, ever so precarious as to flow back and forth while the two traded blows. The balancing act of aggression and defense switched their roles in time to the beating of her racing heart. She had almost forgotten the point of this was to train and better herself, and had instead simply been enjoying being so close to Fuuko that she could smell the various spices and aromas clinging to her hair and her clothes.

Alas, Hanako was skilled, but not good enough to overcome her dance partner. Before she had realized it, the strain had settled into her body. Fatigue was slowing her down, and she was having to work to draw in a deeper breath each time. Regardless of her impending exhaustion, Fuuko had taken an opportunity left open for her, and struck out in a way she hadn't been anticipating! Hanako tried to fall backwards to avoid the hit, but she was too slow to react before feeling the counter press into her and push her away. She stumbled, appeared to have caught herself on one heel, and ultimately fell to her back in the dirt with a low thud that knocked the air from her lungs.

She fell quiet for a moment, dazed by the fall and the weapons which had defeated her both. However, then her breaths returned, and with them, soft laughter to follow. Rather than bounce back to her feet like before, Hanako pushed herself upright and crossed her legs much more slowly. Her skin was covered in a sheen of sweat, to which the settling dirt and dust were beginning to stick. She smiled wide, as much as she could while gasping for breath, as she turned her gaze back up at Fuuko, "Yeah, you're right. You're pretty open about it." Whether from the exercise or from Fuuko's final attack, a faint blush had turned her cheeks a light pink.

"I think," she began before pausing, and slumped forward a little before resting her elbows on each knee to support herself. "I'm going to need a second. I've never had a spar like that before." Still, her laughter continued between breaths. Her posture shifted momentarily while she checked on her zanpakutō and straightened it behind her waist. "That was a lot of fun, Fuu-chan!" She looked back up at Fuuko while wiping the sweat from her eyes on her sleeve, then chuckled again, "I'm totally stealing that last move, too."

[Satoshi Fuuko]

Fuuko could see that Hanako was starting to get exhausted, even before her "counterattack." Fuuko was built, and her zanpakutou as well, to be able to hang in a fight nearly indefinitely. She had swells of stamina and could just go and go without really tiring. She wasn't used to others getting exhausted so quickly, but what was probably a light workout to Fuuko was something a bit more intense to the academy student. As Hanako topped to the ground. Fuuko grinned and gave her chest a slap, making them wobble as she strolled over to where Hanako had flopped. 

"So I pushed ya to yer limits, eh?" Fuuko asked with a grinned. She watched Hanako and grabbed her arm and yanked her to a standing position and curled an arm around her in a playful headlock. "You still think you earned the right to call me Fuu-chan!" She said and pushed Hanako against her chest while ruffling the girl's purple hair. "You'll call me sensei, dammit!" Fuuko barked playfully and then pulled Hanako up and put an arm around her to let Hanako lean against the blonde. 

"Oh?" She said and looked at Hanako's chest. "Do you think yer equipped enough!? Maybe it's not the best tool for assassination, heh!" Fuuko closed her eyes and exhaled. "I'm glad ya had fun, but in the end fun ain't what our job is. If I ain't teachin ya anythin, then we're just horsin around." Fuuko said, surprisingly serious in the moment. She gave Hanako a soft back on the back and then eased away from her so she could pull out her pipe. She stuffed the kiseru and and lit it, letting the smoke wisp into the air before she took a small puff and blew a few rings into the air. 

"Haaaa~" Fuuko offered the pipe to Hanako and then glanced off to stare at nothing. "So, yer dead set on Nibantai?" Fuuko asked. "It's a shame." She said. "That not everyone's cut out for the Yonbantai. We've had to get a lot stricter lately, but we still need soldiers with good combat prowess. I'd say you don't seem like the Nibantai either, but... ahhh, I think you have some things in common with Kimiko-san, though." Fuuko admitted. "Which is pretty fuckin ironic if ya ask me! Then again, here I am, nearly at the top of my division and I can't heal a fuckin lick, heh." 

[Hanako Nozawa]

A soft, defeated squeak escaped the would-be Shinigami as she was grabbed and pulled back up onto her feet by her arm. For a brief second, she panicked and thought she had gone too far, until Fuuko enacted her "punishment" by holding Hanako's face to her breasts and ruffling her hair. Honestly, not the worst punishment she'd ever received. They were soft, and beautiful, and perfect, and she gave a small, muffled response without giving one ounce of a fight to escape; a sarcastic attempt to answer with "Yes, sensei~"

Alas, she would be freed much too soon, gasping for a breath with a more reddened face and a goofy grin.

"You think I'm not?" Hanako chuckled in her throat, happy to lean against her sensei for support while her legs felt like heavy jelly. "I think it's a great move~ Fast, unexpected, and it sure knocked me off balance~" She chuckled again, before being unceremoniously let go so that Fuuko could stuff and light a pipe. Perhaps a little less subtle than she should have been, Hanako took a few steps away fro her sensei before dropping to the ground again, using her ankles to lower herself into a seated position once more without so much as lifting her arms. The initial shock of her exhaustion had passed, but that didn't make her any less tired.

"Yeah. The academy decided for me after learning that I have a knack for stealth -both hiding and finding others." She chuckled again, unsure whether or not Fuuko was able to tell she was suppressing her presence out of habit by this point; just as Shihoin-taichou had taught her. "I'm not too excited about the idea of being an assassin, but as far as I've been told, that role mostly belongs to the Onmitsukidō. Information gathering, infiltration, and rescue missions; that's what I've been told to expect." Her breathing settled, and she broke into a wider, but no less goofy smile. "Besides, have you seen Shihoin-taichou?" Another fit of laughter, this one full-bellied and loud.

"I can't cast a healing spell worth a damn, either." Hanako shrugged. She was quite enjoying the candid conversation thus far. It felt good to get some things out, even if only to hear herself say them. "I've made friends who are going to the Nibantai, too. I couldn't leave Tsuki-chan like that." Her expression fell a little, still remaining cheerful but with a melancholic tone in her voice at the thought of losing her friends only to be assigned to a new squad she knew nothing about.

[Satoshi Fuuko]

Fuuko looked at Hanako and winked. "Oh, you have the assets." She mused. "Go ahead and take it. I doubt I'd get ta use it out in the field." She mused. She then raised an eyebrow. "They picked?" Fuuko shook her head. "Like hell I'd let anyone pick for me!" Fuuko barked, puffing out her chest bafore looking away. "Well.. I guess Kazu kinda picked for me, but..." Fuuko sighed. She wasn't interested in bringing up that topic with her new student. 

Fuuko took a few more drags from her pipe and became much more relaxed. She glanced over Hanako and continued. "No, I think you'll do fine in any division ya wanna be in. I'm just a lil upset that I gotta teach  ya but I can't lead  ya." She then glosed her eyes. "Ahhh, but maybe that's how my  sensei felt too?" Fuuko shrugged and blew a smoke ring into the air. "I woulda been insufferable if Iwoulda joined the Juunibantai." Fuuko mused. "But..." Fuuko pointed her pipe at Hanako. "I didn't, exactly, see any stealth shit today." Fuuko teased. 

Fuuko then shrugged. "I get it, though. Like I said, I'm in the healin division and I can't heal fer shit. I mean, I can sew up a cut and put a bandage on somethin." She tapped the pommel of her zanpakutou. "Shukketsubuki can keep people alive, but as for me? I'm really just a glorified janitor. Guess that's why I'm so adamant about changin our rep. I'm sick of gettin the chaff from the academy. I want  people ta come to the Yonbantai. I want people ta see we're important. Not just for puttin the blood back in when people have battles." 

Fuuko looked at Hanako and grinned when she mentioned her friend. "Well, that's a good enough reason for me! I met my sworn sister in the Yonbantai. Now, there's no one else aside from my bro that I love more in this world. I'd do anything for her." She said and pounded her chest. "So, good. Make those comrades. Follow yer heart! You'll do me proud, I'm sure, even if it's sneakin around like a bitch! Heh!" Fuuko then knocked out the ash out of her pipe and grinned. "Yes, I've seen Kimiko-chan. We're good friends, actually." Fuuko admitted. "She's definitely a fuckin hottie." Fuuko chuckled. "But she's also one of the sweetest people I've met. That she's the head of the assassins..." Fuuko let that linger as she tucked away her pipe.  

[Hanako Nozawa]

Hanako continued to dwell on her thoughts and feelings for a little while longer while Fuuko commented. She did like the insistence that her teacher would never let anyone choose for her, only to chuckle at the subsequent reveal that someone had, indeed, done just that. She did perk up at the admission that she would do well in any division, which felt good to hear, even if it did make her consider things she had thought were already decided. She was assigned to a division, was she not? Why else was she putting up with specialist courses meant to improve her skills in stealth, then? These were things she would have to put more thought and consideration towards later, after a relaxing bath and dinner.

"When would I have been stealthy during... that?" She chuckled again, gesturing with one hand at where they had just been sparring moments earlier. It wasn't a real question, of course. She only meant to share more in the comradery between them, and have a laugh at the expectation that she would employ stealth during a class specifically meant to assess her combat abilities. Regardless, Fuuko continued, and Hanako's grin grew a little more peaceful.

That didn't stop her from questioning just where Fuuko had decided to stop, though. "What about her being the Nibantai captain?" Hanako tilted her head, a little confusion showing clearly in her expression now. The red was leaving her cheeks now, and her breaths came more easily and casually than they had before. While she certainly couldn't be expected to take a break like this in the field, it seemed to have been exactly what she'd needed after such an intense burst of activity.

[Satoshi Fuuko]

Fuuko shrugged looked over at Hanako. "Maybe you shoulda tried harder?" She said with a slight smile. "Ta be invisible." She thumbed at the busty student. "You gonna cover those things up when you go on a stealth mission? Cause that's one way ta fuckin get caught." Fuuko mused. She then closed her eyes. 

"I know her zanpakutou is cool as shit. I don't know how sneaky she is, though." Fuuko admitted. "Our paths don't really cross in the field." Fuuko admitted with a frown. "Sealth missions don't, exactly, call for some obnoxious nurse ta be followin them around. If I see  em, it's because someone dragged their half dead carcass back to the Yonbantai or, we were told to go clean up a mess." Fuuko didn't directly say it, but she implied that if Hanako joined Squad Two, then she'd probably see very little of her sensei in the line of duty. 

"Anyway, you got some form for me ta sign or somethin?" Fuuko asked. "I guess I gotta evaluate ya. Should I send what I find off ta Kimiko-chan? Hmmmm?" The blonde winked at Hanako. "How do you think our little lesson went? EVen though we never really did whip out our zanpakutous." Fuuko asked, with a smirk, raising an eyebrow at Hanako. "I'm just glad I ain't the one gettin graded over here. Fuckin academy." Fuuko hissed. "If ya hadn't noticed... me n' school don't exactly  mix." The blonde said, pointing a thumb at herself. "I only barely graduated. Heh." Fuuko admitted. 

[Hanako Nozawa]

"What? These?" Hanako feigned a look as though she were absolutely aghast that Fuuko would suggest such a thing, while simultaneously pushing her chest out and using a hand to ever so casually gesture to her assets in question. She laughed again, "It'd be such a shame to ever cover them up, same as you~" Her smile never fluctuated, confusing whether she was joking or being terribly honest about her desire to... well, not conceal herself on stealth missions. After all, where was the need if she were concealing her presence otherwise?

She didn't interject Fuuko's comments about not seeing Shihoin-taichou on missions with a comment of her own this time. However, her face did drop a little, as she thought again about the meaning behind those words. She likely wouldn't see many of her friends on stealth missions, not unless they were assigned to the same tasks. It gave her pause once more, until Fuuko had moved the conversation along enough to drag her away from such thoughts for a little while longer.

"Oh. uh..." Hanako's hands patted around her clothes for a moment, as though she had, in fact, been given some sort of form. Finally, she relented and shook her head, before chuckling again. "No, I don't think I do." She dropped her hands and recomposed herself, one subconsciously landing to rest on the hilt of her zanpakutō. "Well," she thought for a second, her eyes rolling up as she considered the last several minutes more deeply. "I think it went well. I, uh... I tired out a little quickly, but you taught me something and gave me a little bit to think about. Besides, we did have fun~" Her smile widened, and she punctuated her thoughts with another chuckle.

"I'm not sure how much we could use our zanpakutō anyway. We're supposed to be training, not trying to hurt one another." She nodded her head briefly to the side, in place of a shrug. Perhaps it showed through in her words already, but she was clearly not comfortable with the idea of using the sword against a fellow Shinigami- a friend, even! After all, it was a tool made for killing, and accidents did happen.

[Satoshi Fuuko]

Fuuko smiled. "It would be." She then slapped her own chest with a balled fist. "And I ain't ever coverin these puppies up. No worries there." She chuckled and winked at Hanako. It was a shame she was Hanako's teacher. She'd have tried to get a date or drinks out of the cute, busty spy by now. It was good that Fuuko was a damn professional. 

"Good." Fuuko nodded. "I did have fun," smiled the blonde. She then glanced down at the tachi hanging at her side. "Yeah, I guess." Fuuko said with a soft sigh. "Not that I'm sayin anything, but I just like to get bruised and bloody when I fight. A few cuts and a black eye suit me just fine." Fuuko then grabbed the sheathe and held out in front of her parallel to the ground. "I can't tell..." Fuuko said thoughtfully. "She'd either be very good  for trainin or fuckin awful  for it." She then smirked. 

"Oi, bitch! Whatcha think?" Fuuko barked. 

"Waaaahhhh! Anegoooo! Why are ya callin me names!? I didn't even do  anything!" 

"Yeah, that's right! Ya didn't do shit! I bet you were sleepin. I know ya weren't drinkin without me!" 

Fuuko looked at Hanako. "There's a fully stocked bar in my inner world. It's fuckin great." 

"I wasn't slee-*yaaaaaaawn*ing! I knew ya weren't gonna give me anythin ta drink, so I took a nap!" 

"I mean." Fuuko frowned suddenly. "That wasn't an invitation. That was-" Fuuko's face grew pale suddenly. "Oi! Oi! Bitch! Is... Is ... with the thing!?" 

"I'm not a bitch!" Shukketsubuki whined. "What are you talking about!? Anegooo! I'm thirsty!" 

"Rggghhh...  I can't say  it, baka!" Fuuko raised her hand and patted her hand against Hanako's clavicle. "Pay. Attention." Fuuko growled and jammed her zanpakutou back in her obi sash. With her hand now free, she glanced up and made a gun with her finger and "fired" it a few times. 

"Huh? Oooooooooooh! Uhhh, you know I can't check... I don't even know why you asked." 

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck! I hate you!" 

"Waaaahhhh! Anego! No you don't! Take it back!" 

Fuuko closed her fist and then jammed her knuckles into her forehead. "Not you, Hanako-chan." Fuuko breathed and patted Hanako on the shoulder. "I thought... maybe it would be fun for you to see what a real interaction was like with a Zanpakutou spirit, but she is a lot  more talkative than your average spirit. I just hope ya ain't got a blubberin crybaby like I got." Fuuko then pinched the bridge of her nose. "If I say somethin nice, she'll get an ego, but, really... she's the worst. She's the worst  zanpakutou I've ever  met. Heh. I guess, really, ya couldn't do worse." Fuuko shook her head. 

"Anyway, it ain't really somethin ya need ta worry about. Is there anythin else ya need from me? Don't let me waste anymore of yer time, heh." 

[Hanako Nozawa]

At first, Hanako was simply curious about her sensei, who had gotten her own zanpakutō from her belt and held it out. It was a little amusing, mostly because she'd never quite sat and just... watched someone commune with their zanpakutō spirit before. They had been taught how in the academy, of course, but that was different. The way she was taught involved calm reflection and ceremony, and what Fuuko was doing most certainly wasn't either of those things. She wasn't sure how Fuuko had wanted her to react, but...

Well, all she could do was laugh. So, that's what Hanako did; she began with a light, throaty chuckle, and built from there as Fuuko's entirely one-sided argument with the unseen -and unheard- spirit continued for several seconds. The notion that Fuuko's inner world came complete with a fully stocked bar did intrigue her, and made her quiet down for a moment before the continued antics had her laughing again. By the end of it, Hanako's cheek were a little sore, yet she continued to smile brightly while her laughter died of its own accord. One hand remained on the hilt of her own zanpakutō, as characteristically quiet and mysterious as the thing remained.

"Is she?" The student chuckled again, sarcastically questioning just how talkative Fuuko's zanpakutō spirit could be in the wake of the argument. Her eyes drifted down to the sword tied to her waist at the question of its personality, but she genuinely didn't have an answer for that, yet. So, for the second that Fuuko had taken to pinch her nose, Hanako replied under her breath, "I don't know." However, that would be a question for another time.

"Well," Hanako brought her index finger to rest underneath her lip, rolling her eyes up as she thought of anything further Fuuko might do for her before they parted ways. She had oh so many things~ Which could she possibly choose from all the others, though? Her smile returned, and the brazen student gave a look that Fuuko would undoubtedly see through immediately. "I'm a little sore after all those times you hit me~" Her voice lilted, as any air of professionalism melted away around her. "How about an escort to the baths?" She chuckled again, leaving the insinuation of just what they would do in the bath up to her sensei.

[Satoshi Fuuko]

"Yeah, she doesn't fuckin shut up." Fuuko said, furrowing her brow in annoyance. "Unless we're fightin. Then she mostly is to busy drinkin." Fuuko grabbed the hilt of her zanpakutou and pulled it out of its sheathe enough to see her eye reflected back at her. She raised her thumb and then carefully slid it along the very small part of the blade. that was exposed. It looked like she barely touched the blade, but a trickle of blood began to drip from her thumb. There was a small drop, but even as it dripped, it seemed to steop just as fast. A small bit of sludgy, crimson replaced the initial drip that fell on the blade. When Fuuko lifted her thumb and sucked off the blood, there was barely even any sign that she had nicked herself. 

"Shukketsubuki maybe be the sharpest zanpakutou in Soul Society. She can't cut through anything, or some shit like that, but she almost never needs to be sharpened. She's drawn  to flesh." Fuuko lowered the sheathe she held and looked at Hanako. "Hanako-chan." She said and closed her eyes. "As much fun as we've had, you gotta understand... we're soldiers. Our existence is to fight and kill." Fuuko then pressed her free hand against her chest. "Even me and my squad, who've sworn oaths to protect and heal and all of that. In the end, shinigami exist to keep the balance. To kill hollows and shuffle the souls of the dead to the Seireitei." 

"Before we go tot he spa. Before you graduate, you have to be able to wake up every day knowin you might have to take a life and be able ta go ta sleep that night. There's no place in the Gotei where you can hide if you ain't got the stomach for it. Not in Squad Two, not in Squad Four, not even those geeks in the Juunibantai. Even they get called to do it. I ain't just tryin ta frighen ya or anythin. I know you can do it, but I don't know if anyone has really put things in perspective for ya, or laid things out so plainly. As yer teacher, if I don't say it, I don't think I'm doin my job." 

Fuuko nodded. "There's just... one other thing..." She continued. "I want ya to touch shukketsubuki." She nodded to the sword that still had a drop of Fuuko's blood on it. "As gently as I did. Just... give her a lil taste. Give me  a lil taste." Fuuko added, blushing as she spoke. "What I mean is, if I know what yer blood smells like, even if we're far apart, if yer in trouble... well, there's a good chance that I might know. My spiritual senses are fine, I guess, but," Fuuko touched her nose. "I've been around blood so much thanks to my work and Shukketsubuki that I can kinda pick it out even better  than I can sense reiatsu."