I, Captain

[Satoshi Fuuko]

Fuuko had been spending a lot of time busying herself. While on duty, while off duty, any time she wasn't actively sleeping, she was finding something to fill her time. It wasn't anything new, Fuuko was never one to be idle, unless it was relaxing in a parlour with a nice hookah. The point there was to do as little as possible. How she wished she was at one of those right now. How she wished she was anywhere but in front of the entrance to the Squad Seven barracks. 

She had been keeping herself busy so that she didn't have to talk to certain people. Fuuko was already someone who appreciated  confrontation more than a lot of others. She liked  to fight, but in this  case, the fights that would be happening weren't to spar  or just to knuckle up and have some fun. Fights with reason behind them weren't as exciting to Fuuko. Especially ones that just thinking  about pissed her off. That was the case with Kimiko Nakajima, her sensei. Someone she trusted implicitly. She still did, but there was a very very sore subject between them. A subject that if Fuuko had to bring up, there'd be more than words involved. Kimiko seemed like she was having some troubles as of late, so Fuuko had made herself scarce, and waited and waited for things to approach her. 

They didn't. 

The other  kind of fighting she didn't want to do was the one that would have her  explaining things to someone else. Nearly since they met, Fuuko had put Kaen, Vice Captain of Squad Seven, on blast for not growing a pair of balls and accepting the Captainship of said division. She didn't care  about his excuses. In her mind, he was hurting the Soul Society every second that passed that he wasn't a captain. The idea that she might be a captain before him seemed like a ludicrous joke from an ambitious rookie at first, but Fuuko grew strong fast. There was no denying her ability. Her squad has been assigned a Captain, though, but Fuuko was vocal about how she felt about her Captain. within the division, it only seemed like a matter of time before Fuuko challanged Captain Frost for the position. Then, she finally got Bankai. 

That's when everything changed. 

At that instant, she could no longer be a captain. She could no longer be a vice captain. She was stuck. Her Bankai wasn't a thing she could use. She could only hide it away forever and just hope that no one ever  found out about it. Iroka, Fuuko's squadmate, best friend, and sworn sister, thankfully, achieved Bankai shortly after. Fuuko asked Iroka to take the Vice Captaincy in her stead. That built in an excuse for the blonde. Now she could just do her job with her head down. 

That, however, wasn't good enough  for Fuuko. She wanted to make a difference. She started using her position to talk to other captains. She wrote up treatments for projects to try and put Serireitei ahead of the game instead of behind the eight ball where it had basically been since she had joined. With almost a quarter of the Captain's seats vacant, Fuuko's desires were being ground to a halt. The Rukongai was in ruins. The Beastclans were getting extremely aggressive with their borders, and there had been a cleansing thanks to the shit that had gone down in the Human world. That wasn't even including the poverty, disease and general misery that spread out through the more rural areas. 

Fuuko was fed up. She wasn't  a reactive person, she was proactive and if she wasn't doing something, she was going insane. She'd run out of people in her own squad to bitch to and she was starting to run out of divisions with which to also inquire about things. It seemed like her responses from the Ichibantai were starting to become redundant. She needed fresh eyes, she needed a new solution. She needed someone to vent to. 

"That fuckin bastard." Fuuko growled to herself as she clenched her fists. Kaen was the only name that came up. She considered him a friend, and thought of him in ... other ways as well, but the relationship was complicated. They didn't so much as talk  as Fuuko would yell at him and call him names and he would just brush it off. He was stuck  in his own head and Fuuko didn't mind helping with that... until she realized that she  was doing the same  thing he was. There were  differences, of course, but she could just feel kaen trying to turn things around on her. Just the thought  of him being so casual about it or, worse, figuring out they were so similar. She couldn't live like that. Not a life where he could wave that in her face forever.


Fuuko just had to think  of something. Something to be able to foist upon Kaen that was actually believable. That wouldn't seem like she just needed to talk. The Ichibantai's letters helped, for sure. Maybe she could just yell and he wouldn't have time worry about her being a hypocrite?! She inhaled a breath and grabbed the nearest passing shinigami and asked for  directions to where his barracks were.  She hadn't actually been there before. When she thought  she had the right care, she knocked loudly and then shoved the door open and put on her best smile.

"Ooooh, Kaeeen~" Fuuko purred. "Where the fuck are ya!?"                                                                                                                           

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen's office was a lot different than it normally was. Given the lieutenant's recent stressors, one would expect it to be a chaotic mess. It... wasn't. And that probably should be the first warning sign that something was off with him. His office was meticulous. His desk, normally a complete mess of paperwork to be done seemed to be almost clear of any leftover work. A large post-it board had been placed up on the wall behind his desk, with an image of the recently disappeared Captain Celes Shindazu, along with a number of other Shinigami, along with a small page beside each figure with a number of notes on it detailing their last known activities and locations.

Kaen himself had been behaving differently than usual as well. He'd not been at the training fields of the 7th Division nearly as often as he normally had, and he had been less approachable than normal. Still amiable, friendly and helpful to anyone that came to him of course, but he was going out of his way less and less to approach other members of the division. Whatever had happened during his attack on the Niflheim seemed to be affecting the Shinigami, and he was dealing with that in his own way. At least it was a sight healthier than the last time his behavior had taken a dip.

Presently, Kaen was in his office, in the small "living room" set-up in the office corner. A cup of tea was on the coffee table in front of him, and he was almost robotically performing bicep curls with a dumbbell with one hand, while reviewing a report with the other. This was... uncharacteristically professional of Kaen. At any rate, when he overheard the loud and obnoxious[/i] voice through the hall, following a loud knock at his door, he looked aside for a moment.

"Hey Fuuko." He replied audibly. "Come on in. I was wondering that it had been awhile since you tore a strip off of me." He stated. He assumed she was here to blame him about Celes. Well that was fine. Whatever.He probably deserved it. The lieutenant set the paperwork down on his desk and then placed the weight beside the couch to get up to greet the other Shinigami for when he presumed she would presumably burst into the room. Assuming she hadn't burst in the second he confirmed his presence in the room. At least Fuuko was energetic. He did appreciate the woman's candidness with him, even if he strongly suspected she wasn't nearly as candid with herself as she was with others.

And who knows, maybe a row with Fuuko would help give him some of his own insight into what to do next. Kimiko hadn't been any help, but then, that woman was a lot less impulsive than the fourth division officer.

[Satoshi Fuuko]

Fuuko was halfway into Kaen's room when she heard him chirp at her. Her face drooped and she pursed her lips. Her cheeks immediately flushed red as she registered what Kaen said. Her fists closed and she kicked the door shut so that it slammed loudly. "Whatd'ya mean tear a strip off a ya!? Tch! You bastard!" Fuuko barked. "You think I can't just show up ta see how yer doin!? Isn't that some shit!?" 

Fuuko snorted and stuffed her hand into her shihakusho and pulled out a cigarette and match. She lit it and took a drag and blew a puff of smoke into the room. "Well, if that's what ya think of me, maybe I should just fuck off?! It ain't like I've seen you around my office lately!" Fuuko replied. "Heh. Only when yer on yer back and barely conscious!" Fuuko crossed her arms under her chest as she let the cigarette bob up and down while she spoke. 

As she scolded Kaen, she looked around. She had been around Kaen enough to know that he wasn't nearly as neat as what his office claimed him to be. That wasn't something that Fuuko put together right away, but the giant board that attracted Fuuko. "What the fuck?" She muttered and took a step towards it. "Captain Shindazu..." She said and began scrutinizing everything else on the board. 

"So... yer..." Fuuko began but paused. She wanted to bitch about Kaen finally doing his job, but instead, she brought her hand up to her chin. "So... she ain't comin back?" Fuuko muttered, an obvious attempt to hide some sorrow or sadness in her voice.  She quickly turned around to look at Kaen with a frown. "I'm just a fuckin nurse." Fuuko growled. "No one tells me shit  about shit!" Fuuko snorted and smoke hissed out from her nose. "But, you know..." Fuuko raised a finger. "This shit can't keep happenin, right?" Fuuko said with a wave of her a finger, making a circle with it.

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen couldn't help but grin just a little bit at Fuuko's temper. Some things weren't changing anytime soon. "If you're up for another night drinking, I'm not going to say no, but doesn't seem your speed lately. You've been becoming almost respectable from what I hear~" He replied. He turned his neck to one side, then the other, offering an audible pop on both turns. Well, at least his mouth was still working. For now. He could cover up with his usual brand of quipping, smartassery and, if need be, sarcasm.

Kaen grinned a little bit more at Fuuko's challenge. "Hey now. I've managed to avoid Squad 4 better than usual lately. Guess you gave me some good motivation to stay out of med-bay~" He fired back. Indeed, between his mission with Kimiko, the Niflheim adventure, the recent assassination attempt on him courtesy of the Central 46, the Tsukuyomi retrieval attempt, his rendezvous with Camilla.... Kaen had somehow not come back in half-dead condition since his sparring match with Celes that Kimiko had very definitely and definitively won.

Then she noticed the posterboard, and Kaen's grin vanished instantly. "............." Kaen looked aside. "Last reports say she allied herself with a Vandenreich operative and defended Vandenreich from a Shinigami operation." He would have known-- he was there. I'm narrowing the search for her in Karakura Town, as the most likely first resort hiding place for her but that place is practically an active warzone right now; you can't throw a rock across the street without hitting someone that'll eat most of our seated officers for breakfast. In some cases, literally. Until I can confirm if she's there or not, I can't risk sending people to investigate on a "most likely" basis." There was a very slight waver in Kaen's tone as he worked to keep his voice neutral. Or at least as "matter of fact" as possible. He wasn't sure if Fuuko had known that Celes had been a friend to him, but bloody hell, if it didn't hurt to talk about Celes right now. Kaen had trusted her. He'd confided in her, commiserated with her about how shitty it was that everyone he put his trust in turned on him, abandoned him or died; and there she went doing two of the three, and for all Kaen knew, it was now three for three.

Kaen sighed. "And no. It can't keep happening. You're right about that." He got up from the couch, even if only because he didn't feel comfortable addressing Fuuko while sitting like that. "But I'm guessing based on what you just said, you're not here about Celes. Who are you here for? ....Is Kimiko taking this whole situation with Celes okay? ....Haven't had an opportunity to check in with her, and I know she was personally trained by Celes up to Captaincy. Practically her pupil. I understand you two are kind of close? If I recall correctly you turned down the Second Division Captain's offer of training to work with Captain Nakajima instead didn't you?" Not that it mattered to Kaen either way. "But if you need help with anything Fuuko, I'm at your disposal. I'm ahead of my usual reports anyways, and I could use a break from all the reading."

[Satoshi Fuuko]

"What?!" 

Fuuko practically coughed up the cigarette she was sucking on when Kaen spoke up. "Respectable!? Who the fuck told ya that!? Heh! If you wanna go drinkin, we can go drinkin! Honestly, I havent had a goooood buzz in a while. I need  ta get shitfaced." Fuuko snorted. She took an extra long drag off her cigarette and rubbed her forehead as it billowed from her mouth and lips. She glanced passed her hand at Kaen. 

"Heh, yeah..." She offered him a soft smile. Whether she was proud of him or a little sad that she was seeing him less because of it, was hard to tell. "I'm sure they got some kinda award for stayin out of the hospital the longest...." She pursed her lips. "It's called a promotion to Squad One, Heh." She gave Kaen a cheeky grin. However, her smile faded when the subject changed. It did more than fade. 

"What?" Fuuko growled. "She did what!?" One of Fuuko's hands lashed out and unfurled, her open palm demanding more from Kaen while her other hand clenched into a fist. "What do you mean? I'm not fuckin smart. I don't understand what the fuck yer sayin? She joined the Vandenreich!? The same fuckin people who want to obliterate the fucking worlds!?" Fuuko's eyes narrowed. She needed to punch something, but Kaen's office was to clean and nothing was in punching or kicking range. "Oh, I'll go to Karakura my damn self. They wanna see a warzone!? I'll show them what a fucking warzone looks like!" Fuuko bellowed. 

She threw her cigarette to the ground and smashed it into the floor, putting enough power into her stomp to nearly crack the floor. "I don't know how Kimiko is takin it! I didn't know there was something to take until right, fuckin now! Yeah, we're fuckin friends, and yeah, Kimiko trained me, but what does that  matter? Maybe I should  have let Shihoin train me instead." Fuuko said, narrowing her eyes. 

"So, how many fruckin captains do we even have now, huh?! It's been a minute since I could take a head  count, but every time I do, it seems like we lose more than we gain! And, no fuicking offense, but I'm not exactly keen on on all the ones we got left." 

[Kaen Youji]

Fuuko's eruption of rage was about what Kaen had expected. Though it didn't seem personal, at a glance. He guessed she didn't know Celes all that well afterall. "The same fuckin' people who want to obliterate the fucking worlds." He confirmed. His hand twitched as he longed to curl it into a fist, but refrained, trying to keep composed in front of Fuuko. One of them had to keep their emotions in check and a cool head. ....Or at least a lukewarm head. ......Slightly on the warmer side. Not an erupting volcano. "I don't understand it, and I don't care to understand it. She made her choice." Rogue, Las Noches, XCution, Uzaki Enterprises, simple banditry, Kaen could have understood and forgiven all of it. But the Vandenreich?! Kaen's teeth grit, from his own barely restrained frustration, the words he spoke, tense and tight, his own anger at Celes's decision slipping through despite his attempt to hold it back. This had hurt him. This had hurt him badly. He felt personally betrayed by Celes, and he wasn't sure how he was going to handle that.

Fortunately, Fuuko then said something that immediately pushed Kaen off that track. "Much as I'd like to take you up on that offer, no." He replied. "I may not be your direct superior, but remember what happened last time you rushed out into a warzone with a Captain-level combatant. I'm not sure I'm up to having my lungs perforated a second time." He replied. While he was sure Fuuko had worked to improve since then-- her improved ranking being proof of that, he wasn't about to okay the woman rushing off into danger like that. Even though he knew full well that the simple act of him arguing against her doing that would only assure that's exactly what she would inevitably do. Still....

"....We have the Captain Commander, Captain Shihoin, your Captain, Senshi, Kimiko, Captain Tezuka and Captain Raburedo." He replied. "So Seven. About half capacity." He mentally sighed, already knowing what that reply was likely queuing up, and what was about to come out of Fuuko's mouth in response to that. But he wouldn't cut her off. That'd only incite her even more. He'd at least let Fuuko say her piece-- a piece that was probably going to insult him, and tell him to get his own act together to at least make that number eight Captains instead of Seven, but she'd come all this way, and he probably did deserve it.

"And Kimiko Nakajima's a good person, Fuuko. Just.... has her own problems to deal with too. We all do. You do, I do, she does. ....I guess Celes does too, even though that doesn't justify what she did." He shook his head in frustration and despite his intent to keep standing he just couldn't and he dropped back onto the couch in his office and sighed. "....Shit." He looked down at the coffee table, and then back up at Fuuko and then back again. Was it even worth it? Could he entrust this to Fuuko? Or would he just regret it again? How could he extend a hand and trust people when all trusting people ever did was get him hurt?

[Satoshi Fuuko]

"Did she really make a choice?" Fuuko said, tilting her head. "Because I owe Captain Shindazu a debt that I don't think I can ever repay." Fuuko admitted, lowering her head and looking down at the ground. Her clenched fists loosened a bit. "I'm sorry." Fuuko said, looking over Kaen and noticing his demeanor. She didn't know the extent of their relationship, but she knew they had  one. She could see enough in his body language, as stoic as he was trying to be, or maybe because  he was trying to be stoic in the face of Fuuko that she could notice. "I just wanna make sure she wasn't coerced before she catches an ass beatin." Fuuko added, smiling wearily at Kaen. "Guess that's what the board's for, huh?" Fuuko added with a nod to the investigation board tacked up. 

"Heh... last  time I didn't even know my zanpakutou's name. Things would be way  different if Sis and I fought that bum again. I can hang  with a Captain now. And Iroka-chan even has Bankai now. She's a Vice-Captain." Fuuko stuck out her chest proudly. She was  proud of how far Iroka had come. However, she was also  sure that would be enough to keep Kaen off of Fuuko's trail. The last  person Fuuko wanted to know she was hiding a Bankai was Kaen. He wouldn't  get it. He'd just call her our for being a hypocrite, which, in he mind, she most definitely was not. Fuuko put a frown on. "It must have been pretty bad..." She said softly. "Yer not usually one to pass up a fight. Certainly not for my sake..." 

"Heh." Fuuko took a moment to light up another cigarette while Kaen listed off the remaining Captains. "Obviously Kimiko's fine and I can only assume the Soutaichou has a good head on his shoulders or we're all fucked and none of this shit matters anyway. We've never really had a one on one conversation, so." Fuuko shrugged and took a drag. "Nor have I really spoken with Captains Raburedo or Senshi. Captain Frost, however, is a fine woman and fit captain, but she does not  belong in Squad Four." Fuuko narrowed her eyes and she growled. "I'll say it till I can't fuckin talk.... She's not  a doctor. She's..." Fuuko paused. out of respect to the woman's position, she wasn't going to blurt out Miranda's particular weakness. One that would make it impossible to Captain Squad 4. 

"As far as Captain Tezuka goes... well, I'm convinced he's as much of a liability as he is an asset. He and I don't see eye to eye when it comes to the best way to protect Soul Society and I ain't convinced that protectin Soul Society is even his number one goal. Not that I'm accusin him of anything, I just don't mix well with his kind, ya know, nerds. Geeks, whatever. They are always thinkin  more than they need to." 

Fuuko then closed her eyes. "And Sensei... I love her. I'd give my life for her, I'd do anything  for her, but... she took something from me and I don't know why and I'm not ready to have that conversation. It won't  be a conversation." Fuuko's fist tightened again and her eyes closed so tightly that any hint of tears were forced back from where they came from by sheer will. "Not to mention some shit I've heard. The last  thing I want is for my teacher to be unfit for duty, but somethin is stickin in the back of my head. I don't know what it is..." Fuuko looked at Kaen. "Ain't that your job to figure that shit out? Is it time for us to have another conversation?" Fuuko asked, looking at Kaen. "It won't  be a one-sided one this time." Fuuko said, putting it out there. "But.." 

Fuuko looked around and waved the hand with her cigarette in the air and meandered until she plopped down next to Kaen. "Only someone who gave a shit would act this passively about someone betrayin Soul Society." Fuuko looked at Kaen. "Betrayin you." Fuuko looked at Kaen with soft eyes and set a hand on his leg. "You ain't gotta hold it in for my  sake, ya know? I sure as shit wouldn't if the roles were reversed. I'd lose my shit. I'm halfway there and I only knew her sparingly." 

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen's visage cracked for a second when Fuuko asked her question, and he let out a sigh, looking defeated for a moment. "Does it matter if she was or not?" He asked. "Maybe my subordinate Zeich was coerced. Maybe Camilla was coerced. Maybe Enma was coerced. Maybe the next person to betray Soul Society will be coerced as well-- if they're turning and joining a genocidal cult hell-bent on destroying us and everything we care about, does it matter if they had their arm twisted or not? Celes made a choice. A choice I don't understand, and cannot in any way, shape or form, condone or support, and because of that choice, thousands of people could have been killed. Might still be killed." He wasn't sure if he was trying to convince Fuuko or himself.

When Fuuko assured him of her improvement, Kaen filed that one away for later, and simply focused on the conversation at hand. "....Senshi's.... Got potential." If I hadn't ruined it Kaen thought to himself. "Likewise, only met Captain Raburedo in passing, back when he was a lieutenant. And I agree with you for the most part on Captain Tezuka, though honestly, I've yet to meet a Captain of the 12th Division I actually liked. If he really is the kid of the previous Captain, Bokuga Sayuri like he claims... Honestly, I can believe it." He stated.

"If you don't want to talk about it, I'm not forcing you to." Kaen added, glad the conversation was moving away from Celes. Moving over to Kimiko, especially with Fuuko's thinly veiled accusations was not a HUGE improvement, but it was at least an improvement. "Tell you what, I'll talk to her this week and see what's up. Kimiko and I have been getting along lately, so it doesn't even have to be business." Of course Kaen knew what was up, but damn if he was prepared to betray Kimiko like that.

Kaen sighed audibly as Fuuko encouraged him to open up, and slumped back into the couch. "Fine. I'll tell you what I told Celes. I'm fucking tired Fuuko. I am tired, of getting stabbed in the back every time I reach out to someone. I'm tired of forming connections with people just to then get some overly formalized letter on my desk telling me they bit it fighting a Hollow or Las Noches or the Vandenreich or whatever. Tired of making friendships and then finding those friends have just been added to my professional hitlist. If this is what leading the 7th means, then I'm not cut out for it." He stated plainly. He shook his head. "Celes knew that, and did this anyways. And I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about that. Righteous anger, vengeance "purge the traitor" and all that, I guess. That's my job after-all, isn't it?"

"Honestly, I just miss having someone that could point me at an obvious enemy and say: "Beat it's face in." He looked at Fuuko, then got off the couch. "...Speaking of which. You said you've improved? You think you can hang with Captains now?" He asked, in a tone inviting challenge. "Cause I have the feeling you've wanted to take a swing at me for a long time, and I'm more than willing to indulge you if you think you're hot stuff now. If you can actually back up your talk, maybe you'll even give me a knock hard enough that I'll forget to let Captain Frost know you're thinking of chasing Celes down."

[Satoshi Fuuko]

Fuuko furrowed her brow at Karen’s response. She flashed some teeth and shook her head. "Yeah, it fuckin matters!” Fuuko hissed. “If they were coerced, then that means we find em, kick their asses and drag em back after fixin what broke em! If, for some fuckin reason, they’ve decided they are true believers, then, well… tch.” Fuuko made a distasteful face. “Don’t make me fuckin say it…”

Fuuko listened to Kaen speak on the remaining captains with a nonplussed expression. She didn’t know about their background or how good they might* be. “Well,” Fuuko muttered, “For those of us who wanna make sure this place is the best place it can be, it’s our job to make sure everyone else is up ta snuff.” Fuuko raised an eyebrow. “It’s yer job specifically, but, and maybe ya don’t believe me of all fuckin people, but I feel responsible for it too, ta some degree.” Fuuko said, flashing Kaen a cheeky grin.

Fuuko pursed her lips when Kaen offered to talk to to Kimiko. “Fine. Whatever. I don’t know what yer gonna come back and tell me.” Fuuko added with a shrug. It was when Kaen finally opened up that Fuuko paid him her full attention. Her eyes softened as Kaen began to explain how drained he was. Fuuko stood up when Kaen did and marched over to him. Her eyes lowered to Kaen’s chest, but she didn’t stop until she was pressed against him. She hugged him tightly and was silent for a long time, even after Kaen challenged her.

“I wish … I wish I could promise you that I’d never betray ya, but if I did that, then I’m sure I’d wake up one day havin to chase yer ass down and I don’t want you to look like a jack-ass, after all that talk, heh.” Fuuko smiled as she rubbed Kaen’s back gently. Fuuko then started to pull back but stopped as her lips brushed against his ear. “If you won’t let me bed you, I’ll have to find another way to put you on your back, huh?”

Fuuko pulled away with a wide grin on her face. “If ya see any Captains, be sure and let me know~” Fuuko teased. Her golden eyes flickered for a moment before she spoke again. “I know I never shut up, but talkin ain’t really my forte. Anything we gotta tell each other can be said a whole lot better and a whole lot more sincerely with our fists and swords, so, yeah… let’s fuckin do this!” Fuuko said and slapped Karen’s chest.

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen didn't have much to say to much of Fuuko's statements. Part of him agreed with her. Part of him questioned if it was even okay to agree with her. He wanted to believe that Celes's reasons for her defection mattered. But her defection had potentially killed thousands. What reason was good enough for that? Could he stand in front of the graves of those killed and say: "But she had a good reason" like it meant anything? His face, at the very least, didn't brighten up.

The hug was unexpected, and surprise flickered in Kaen's blue eyes. He sighed and hugged her back. "Am I a hypocrite? That my mind even pauses to think you might be right? That I should just talk this out with Celes and see if I can find a reason not to go through with this? ....What does that say about me that I haven't extended that to others? What makes Celes different than every other traitor I've captured or put down; other than that I know her? What does that say about me that I'm only willing to do this for the people I know?"

He didn't stop Fuuko when she released the hug, though he returned her smirk regarding her comment, even if he didn't answer back. "No, it seems yelling sense at people is your forte~" Kaen retaliated. He got up as Fuuko slapped his chest, and grinned. Fighting. Now there was something he could get behind. "Besides. You're talking such a big game, I'm interested in seeing how well you can back it up."

He walked past Fuuko to the door of his office, heading out. "Training grounds here are never empty, but they'll make room." Kaen had, by choice, made sure his office was not particularly far from the training fields of the Seventh, which, courtesy of his predecessors standards, were arranged not unlike a traditional Japanese palace garden. A wide expanse of tiled floor to provide an open field for fighting, surrounded by running streams, traditional Japanese bridges, and cherry blossom trees; meticulously well maintained and cultivated. While there were indeed plenty of Shinigami at work, training their Hakuda techniques (a strategy heavily emphasized by Kimiko during her brief Captaincy of the Division, nobody was going to stand in Kaen's way when he came with a visitor.

Kaen popped his neck and positioned himself in the center of the training ring, to face Fuuko. "Do me a solid though-- one I think you'll like. I want you to hit me as hard as you can." He stated. Kaen didn't want to hold back on Fuuko, but he didn't want to kill her either. He wanted to see what the woman was capable of. Based on her demeanor he didn't expect anything fancy or flashy from her. Bull-rushing through her problems seemed about her speed. She was the sort that was going to meet him head-on, and not stop. Kaen wanted to meet that energy in turn, but he wasn't planning on sending Fuuko away with broken bones. He needed to know just how hard he was allowed to hit back.

[Satoshi Fuuko]

"Heh." Fuuko's eyes flickered at Kaen's words. Even though it was her suggestion, she still loved that Kaen was into it as much as she was. It made her smile. What he had said about Celes had not gone unnotieced by Fuuko, however.  About being a hypocrite as well. She couldn't say one way or another, at least not regarding Celes and all the people who kept betraying him. She certainly had her own biases, that was for sure. She waited until they were walking out to the training grounds  before she spoke up again. "I don't know. It ain't my call." Fuuko shrugged. "Are you doin the best you can do, or not? Cause if you are, then that's all you can do other than keep pushing yer best to be better than it was before... That's all any of us can do." Fuuko admitted, eager to get on with it. 

She looked upon the fancy training grounds. She didn't often visit other squad's training facilities. She kind of assumed they were all mostly the same. The Yonbantai's training facilities were probably the most  different since they had to accomodate medical and janitorial training as well as combat. In reality, up until Fuuko started gaining rank in the division, the "combat" part of the training facilities had been pretty lackluster. Now they looked proper, and things were sectioned off nicely, but not like this. 

"Well, shit! Feels like I'm in some fightin game level." Fuuko said. "You know, I never was any good at video games. Why push a little button and wiggle a stick when you have fists that can do the real, fuckin thing, right?" Fuuko said with a grin as she cracked her knuckles and neck and started stretching. Kaen's words gave her pause. "What? You think I'd hold back!? Who the fuck  do ya think I am?!" The only person she had ever really recalled holding back on was her student Hanako, who was, at the time, not strong enough to deal with anything resembling Fuuko's full power. "What about you?" Fuuko asked as she stepped up and looked at Kaen. "You gonna pull yer punches on me of all people!? If you do that, I'll really kick yer ass!" 

Fuuko closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then flashed a toothy grin. She pulled up her fists, something resembling a boxer and began to bounce on her feet. When she felt right, she locked onto Kaen and threw herself forward. "Oraaaaaa!" She barked as she approached and as she got within arms length, began to fire a flurry of rights and lefts at Kaen. 

____________________________________

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

Blood Collection Passive [00] |

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats & Skills}Stats:

Reiatsu: 5000

[[Strength - 400 Points (700) +75%
Speed - 400 Points
Spiritual Pressure - 400 Points (500) +25%
Reiatsu Strength - 50 Points (30) -40%

Light Aura - 95 Points
Dark Aura - 05 Points

Instinct- 200 Points
Senses- 200 Points (150) -25%
Energy sensory - 100 Points
Healing Expertise - 50 Points

Total: 1800/1800 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}

[Kaen Youji]

"I'm doing the best I can." Kaen assured her. "My worry has always been if there's someone better to be doing it. If that's the case, I should be doing what I can to get them into a position they can do the most good." Kaen's friendship with his former lieutenant had in some ways benefitted him, but it had also left the current 7th Division lieutenant with a tremendos inferiority complex. A simultaneous desire to prove himself, while also certain he wasn't good enough. And for all the victories and wins he'd accomplished, instead of convincing Kaen he'd risen to the challenge, all he saw was that the challenge wasn't adequate.

As they moved out to the training yard, Kaen grinned at Fuuko's commentary. "One of the first things Rin did when she returned was a complete rehaul of the training facilities. I helped a fair bit making the finances work and some of the transportation of these trees." He'd also used some of his personal finances to shore up where the budget had gone short. "But yeah, I can't keep up with Kimiko on them. I don't dislike them. Fun way of puzzle solving when I've broken myself up too much to actually train. Or when I'm trying to be considerate of the squad. But I agree. Doing it myself is a lot more fun." Except for that recent experience with Kimiko where he'd had to fight a real-life video game. That had been a trick and a half.

Whatever Kaen had been thinking before, his face changed as soon as Fuuko stood across from him. His game face was on. His face was serious, but there was a fervor and intensity behind his eyes. This was what it was about. Once he got in the ring, everything else melted away. Nothing else mattered but the match. And what he wanted was to see just how hard he was allowed to hit Fuuko back. "I didn't think you'd hold back. But I want your best. Shot. Not just a "real" punch, or a "serious" punch. I want to feel how hard Satoshi Fuuko can really hit."

He didn't even answer her question at first, the intensity in his face growing and a grin playing at the edges of his features. Then she charged and Kaen shifted into Karate's horse stance, hands at his hips, curled into fists. He'd expected one good shot, Fuuko was feeding him several. Kaen braced, and her first blow clocked him square across the jaw. If Kaen hadn't braced for it, it probably would have knocked him flat on his ass. He could practically feel his brain rattle in his skull from the blow as only muscle memory, drilled to perfection through centuries of repetition caused him to backstep from his horse stance into seisan dachi. He barely had the wherewithal to duck the second blow, Fuuko's swing ruffling his hair from the near miss. His arm came up and checked the third, her fist colliding with his forearm.

Her fourth connected solidly with Kaen's forehead as the Shinigami actively seemed to headbutt her fist, while throwing a fully chambered gyaku zuki reverse punch, into Fuuko's solarplexis, ideally interrupting her assault, though if she tried to continue, Kaen would deftly sidestep to her left and attempt to circle to her flank. Of course, there was the possibility of Cutback, that he might have to worry about, but if he had to deal with that, he'd adapt. He had several moves to deal with Cutback-- albeit having his arms utterly shredded by it wouldn't exactly be a fun experience, and he realized fighting Fuuko with a handicap like that might actually be a problem.

Now his eyes were alive, and Kaen was grinning. "Oh that's good. That's great." He rolled his neck. "Welcome to a very exclusive club, Miss Satoshi. You asked if I was going to pull my punches, and after a hit like that? No. And you have no idea how rare it is for me to say that. No, if this is your full force, then I will come at you with mine."

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and Skills}
Class 0

Skills:

• [Martial Art- Karate] {4}
• [Pain Tolerance] {3}
• [Martial Art-Jiujitsu] {3}
• [Analyzing] {2}
• Hakuda {3}
• Zanjutsu {2}
• Strength of Will {2}
• Battle Analysis {1}
Total: 21


Stats:

[[Strength - 375 Points (750)
Speed - 375 Points (750)
Spiritual Pressure - 200 Points (150)
Reiatsu Strength - 325 Points
Light Aura - 45 Points
Dark Aura - 55 Points
Instinct- 175 Points
Senses- 100 Points
Energy sensory - 50 Points
Healing Expertise - 0 Points
Total: 1600 SP]

[Satoshi Fuuko]

Fuuko was in her element. Her eyes gleamed with delight as her fist connected with Kaen's. Her body shivered in delight as she landed a clean hit, even if she was pretty sure that Kaen had taken it just to see what would happen. She hadn't held back. She put as much "oomph" into her punch as she could. She could smash buildings with relative ease with her power. She could smash spongy flesh with much more ease. However, she knew that if Kaen was going to get truly hurt by what Fuuko was throwing at him now, then he wasn't just weak, he was a total liar. He certainly wouldn't be captain material if Fuuko could just knock him around with a few punches. 

Unfortunately, with Fuuko, she didn't half ass anything. Her Reiatsu was on full display, same as anything else. She put it out there for Kaen, maybe even without realizing it, so, when the response finally came, Kaen would feel the cutback even if it hadn't been Fuuko's intention. She had noticed Kaen's karate stance as well, but paid it no mind until she felt her hand hit his forehead. Her knuckles rattled like she had hit a baseball with an aluminum bat. The force behind it was as strong as she was, no, a little bit stronger even and she hissed as her arm retracted. 

It was enough for Kaen's return volley to catch her in the stomach. She exhaled as the breath was driven out of her and she quickly backed away. She clenched her fists and flexed her muscles and took in a breath as Kaen padded away. She let her arms drop and snorted through her nose. "Karate bullshit. Is this gonna be the whole fight?" She asked with an arching eyebrow. "And who the fuck is Miss Satoshi? Heh. I know yer tryin to be cute, but, shit. It's fuckin weird." Fuuko said and winced when she laughed. She rubbed her stomach. 

"I think we're about even on strength." She said. "You might even have the edge. Fuckin hell." Fuuko said with a shake of her head. "Ain't that embarrassin." She laughed again. "Well, I guess I need to train harder then." She said and put her hands up. She extended her fingers and wiggled them. "Your turn." She beckoned. "I wanna feel  it for real. Unf!" She added with a crude little thrust of her hips and w ink at Kaen. 

____________________________________

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

Blood Collection Passive [00] |

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats & Skills}Stats:

Reiatsu: 5000

[[Strength - 400 Points (700) +75%
Speed - 400 Points
Spiritual Pressure - 400 Points (500) +25%
Reiatsu Strength - 50 Points (30) -40%

Light Aura - 95 Points
Dark Aura - 05 Points

Instinct- 200 Points
Senses- 200 Points (150) -25%
Energy sensory - 100 Points
Healing Expertise - 50 Points

Total: 1800/1800 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}

[Kaen Youji]

Ahhh.... Ow. Kaen hadn't felt a solid cutback effect since he'd fought Luke. The gap between his spiritual pressure and Fuuko's wasn't as huge as the gap between his and Luke's but it was still considerable. Substantially considerable. His right arm was ripped open, muscles tore, and blood exploded from the limb, the appendage slipping to Kaen's side, looking borderline crippled. It wasn't entirely-- to most people it would be, but with Kaen's tolerance to pain, he could probably manage another swing or two of the limb if he really needed to. However, for the moment he was bluffing that he couldn't. The damage certainly looked sufficient to ruin the limb and render it useless. Besides, it meant he'd be able to let the limb rest for a bit. Fuuko didn't seem the sort to go for an injured limb, and hell. Maybe if Kaen gave the arm a breather, it would let him get an extra swing or two out of it.

Of course that did mean that Kaen would have to fight an arm down for the foreseeable future.

"Well. That's unfortunate." Kaen mused, glancing at the seemingly disabled arm. "I might be a tiny bit stronger, and a good deal faster, but it seems apparent which of us neglected sharpening our spiritual abilities, hmm? I should have thought that through a little more. That's a pity. Finally run into someone I can trade shots with full force, and throwing full force shots destroys the limb that hits you!" He grinned. "Oh well. Makes it more of a challenge."

He snickered at Fuuko's vulgar display. "Hope you can keep that attitude up right until the end~. Otherwise I'll feel bad, beating you with just one arm. But as you wish."

Fortunately for Kaen (but perhaps frustratingly for Fuuko), Kaen had an art for just this occasion. Kaen kept his left arm up, but he extended the elbow and his stance seemed to relax and become less rigid, and his fist opened up, the fingers partially cupped but not fully splayed out. If striking was going to just hurt Kaen more than it hurt Fuuko, then he'd have to go for grappling instead. There were a few minor complications, partially due to Fuuko's choice of attire. Many of Kaen's single handed throws worked best on gi's or, at the very least, against people wearing long sleeved shirts. Which Fuuko's sleeveless hakama prevented. Of course wrist holds worked just fine, but against a savvy opponent, were more difficult to execute. Meanwhile many of the throws that utilized Fuuko's lapel would be better suited as counter-moves against her.

That left one option as far as Kaen was concerned. Go for the head.


Kaen stepped in aggressively, and with considerable speed. Speed fast enough to let Fuuko think he was going at full pace. Kaen would estimate he was going at roughly 70% of his full speed (525). Fast enough to gear up if Fuuko recognized he wasn't actually going at full speed and called him on it, while still leaving room to spare. Quick enough that it was conceivable he was going at full pace. Why not full speed? Simple. It wasn't a matter of holding back on Fuuko at all. Quite the opposite. Kaen simply wanted to keep some cards close to his chest. He was treating Fuuko as a serious opponent, and against a serious opponent, he knew it would behoove him to feed her at least a little misinformation early on. Let her adapt to his slower speed and then have his actual top speed to surprise her down the line.

Kaen's left arm shot out as he lunged to Fuuko's own left side, palm extended going for the woman's face-- specifically her eyes and forehead. It looked almost like a palm strike, but if Fuuko allowed the palm to collide with its target, there'd be almost no impact (and consequently Kaen would not suffer a similar disabling of this arm). Instead, she'd realize what Kaen was trying to do. He wasn't hitting her in the face. He was shoving her, using her head as a fulcrum. That his hand would cover her eyes and blind her for a moment, was a simple bonus. This potential realization would, in a perfect world for Kaen, be paired with a sudden sweep of her left leg, trying to combine these two motions to turn Fuuko's body into a fulcrum, and smash her down into the ground in a powerful slam. If Fuuko's Cutback prevented Kaen from hitting her with his fist, then he'd simply hit her with Soul Society instead.

[Satoshi Fuuko]

Fuuko's eyes widened when she saw what she did to Kaen's arms when she didn't do anything. Worse yet, Shukketsubuki saw it. 'Ooooh! Anego! Look! Gimme! Gimme! You know, Anego. I never saw what you did in him, but I think I get it! That scent~ Wonderful!' Shukketsubuki swooned. Fuuko furrowed her brow in annoyance. 

"Bitch, shut up!" She hissed at Shukketsubuki and then held up her hand. "I-I'm sorry!" Fuuko gave a surprising apology to Kaen. "I guess I'm not really used to turnin it off so to speak." She admitted. "I wasn't even thinkin, heh." Fuuko scratched the back of her head, but as Kaen spoke, her timidity began to melt away again. She also couldn't help but flare her nostrils a bit. Blood always got her worked up and she hadn't really smelled Kaen's in some time. 

"Rrrrgh! You really know how to suck the fun out of everything!" Fuuko barked back. "Just show me! We'll see who's embarrassed and who ain't!" Fuuko said and pulled up her fists again. She bobbed in place as Kaen came at her. She watched him zoom forward and grinned again. He shoved out his hand and Fuuko didn't really try and block it or shove it away. She knew, now, that if he punched her, he'd shred his arm. She also wasn't terribly afraid of a palm strike either. As his arm shot out, so did Fuuko's. She swung a hook at Kaen's face, leaving everything else to what it was. Even if she was blind for a moment, she knew approximately where to swing. 

Since she couldn't see, the sweep would work as intended. Whether she hit Kaen or not, Fuuko would be driven into the ground and laid flat on her back. She was dizzy for a moment as she was dropped and laid on the ground with a scowl on her face. "More karate bullshit!" She barked, wincing from the impact while her cheeks flushed a bit. It'd take more than that to keep her down, though. "If I can turn it off, can we just swing fists at each other? Or am I gonna have to deal with this the whole time!?" Fuuko growled, looking up at Kaen. 

____________________________________

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

Blood Collection Passive [00] |

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats & Skills}Stats:

Reiatsu: 5000

[[Strength - 400 Points (700) +75%
Speed - 400 Points
Spiritual Pressure - 400 Points (500) +25%
Reiatsu Strength - 50 Points (30) -40%

Light Aura - 95 Points
Dark Aura - 05 Points

Instinct- 200 Points
Senses- 200 Points (150) -25%
Energy sensory - 100 Points
Healing Expertise - 50 Points

Total: 1800/1800 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}