The Riddle of Steel [Hanako/Fuuko]

[Hanako Nozawa]

Hanako's grin faltered. It wasn't that she didn't understand Fuuko's words -far from it; she understood perfectly well what was to be expected of her. A life of violence was all that awaited her, whether she stayed in the Gotei or returned to the Rukongai to live out her days until reincarnation. She had been made to accept that long ago. No, what was upsetting now was the abrupt change in tone back to the serious, and the sight of Fuuko harming herself before asking that she do the same. She accepted her reality, but that didn't mean that she was completely comfortable with it just yet. After all, to fight and purify Hollow was to rescue their souls from their torment. The thought that she'd have to kill was more unsettling.

"As grim as it is," her expression had darkened a little, betraying her thoughts without notice. She chewed on the corner of her mouth a little to relieve the stress of this part of the conversation. "I understand. Our job is to fight and to kill, to prevent even more suffering. The world is a violent place, through and through." Hanako stepped forward, into Fuuko's personal space so that they were nearly touching in the scant inches between them. Her eyes swiveled downwards, her hand hesitantly reaching for the exposed blade of Fuuko's zanpakutō before stopping just shy of the cutting edge. "If I wasn't fighting for the Gotei, I would be fighting in the Rukongai. At least here, I can make a difference, even if I don't like the methods." She looked Fuuko in the eye with a steady resolve, and pressed her thumb gingerly to the blade. A wince discolored her expression, before it was scoured away again by a playful grin as she drew her scratched hand free.

"But, life can't be all about the bad." A small, demure chuckle followed. "What's the point to it if we don't have some fun, too?" Her grin widened a little, and she raised her hand for Fuuko to see. The scratch had been the slightest of openings, leaving room for just a few droplets of blood to escape and settle on the white of her thumb. "Did you still want a taste, Kou-chan~?"

[Satoshi Fuuko]

Fuuko saw Hanako falter a bit when Fuuko changed gears so abruptly. Her brow furrowed. The blonde knew that she could be a bit whiplash-y. She could go from super serious to super unserious and back again at the flip of a switch. Iroka was one of the few people who could handle it, which is why they were so close. Hanako didn't need to be a part of Fuuko's quirks, but Fuuko felt it was important to make sure Hanako understood. 

When Hanako spoke, Fuuko grinned. She raised her hand and put it on Hanako's head and ruffled the girl's hair. "That's right. The reasons we fight are good  reasons. Protecting people you love, protecting people who can't protect themselves, protecting the very fabric of the world, protectin everyone." Fuuko explained. "If you can turn the harsh reality we haveta face into somethin positive, then yer gonna be a damn good shinigami." Fuuko encouraged. "That's part of the reason I'm in the Yonbantai instead of Squad Eleven, where I probably belong. Where  I wanted  to be... when I was in the academy." Fuuko exhaled and closed her eyes as she thought about those days. 

As Hanako touched Shukketsubuki's blade, she would hear a voice in her head. Rough, but girlish. It was the avatar of Fuuko's sword. "Oi, Imouto-chan! Do you really think you have what it takes ta be a part of this family!? It's a lot ta live up to and if ya fuck up, the Boss ain't gonna suffer any bull shit, ya know?"

"Heh." Fuuko chuckled. "Believe me, I cram a lot a fuckin fun  into the job. Don't worry about that! Heh." She then looked at the proffered hand and raised an eyebrow at the nickname. "Oh? Isn't that a bit bold?" She asked as she grabbed Hanako's wrist. Her nose was already twitching, but as she brought up the thumb, she began taking big sniffs. She then pressed Hanako's thumb against her nose and began sniffing it like a doog. Several short sniffs and then a few long ones. After a few moments, she exhaled. "So pure~" She hummed. "Definitely an unforgettable scent." Fuuklo added. 

Fuuko then smiled at Hanako and pressed her lips against Hanako's thumb. She gave it a soft kiss like she was kissing a boo-boo, but then opened her mouth and let her tongue run gently along the cut. She shivered at the taste of iron and then sucked at the wound, as though she might get more blood from it. Her eyes fell on Hanako as she did and after a moment, she pulled away, leaving a small bit of saliva on Hanako's thumb. 

"Yeah... I fuckin do..." Fuuko laughed as she sheathed Shukketsubuki and clapped Hanako on the shoulder. 

[Hanako Nozawa]

Hearing the voice in her head was, indeed, something entirely new -and a little on the weird side. It had given her pause for a moment, not able to recognize where the voice was coming from as she was. However, when she figured out the source, it only made her smile a little more. Was this what it felt like to commune with a zanpakutō? Would her own feel the same way? Or, was it deeper than that, and truly the feeling of connection with someone else that she was enjoying at the moment instead?

As Fuuko took her offered hand and familiarized herself with the student's scent, Hanako found herself torn between feelings of being baffled and a little embarrassed. This was definitely not something she was used to, though it did strike her as amusingly similar to a few other ways she'd both flirted and been flirted with by others. A small chuckle escaped her as Fuuko inhaled deeply, broken by a cute gasp of shock when the blood was licked from her wound. That feeling only grew by what Fuuko did next, into a shiver that ran up and down her spine and forced her smile to widen a little more. By the time she was -at last- sated, Hanako had found her knees grown a little weak, and her face warmer than it had been before.

"Well, then~" She turned her brief flirtation with being flustered into renewed drive to get just what she wanted out of her senpai. The clap of a hand on her shoulder only signaled her to step closer, and she pressed her lips to Fuuko's briefly while wrapping her own arms around both the medic's shoulders and neck. "Shall we, Kou-chan~?" Her tongue and lips played dexterously with the words, calling her the nickname again only to tease further. This had been a very interesting meeting so far, it turned out. She had gotten a different kind of insight into the Gotei, into the divisions themselves, and finally into herself. She would be damned if it didn't keep being interesting, too~

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

33 posts x 50 TP = 1,650 TP

1+2 = 3 extra paragraphs x 5 TP = 15 TP

1,650 TP + 15 TP = 1,665 TP total for both participants