Battle in the Fading Light [NDE, R]

[Hadrian J. Ryan Ⅻ]

Thread Title: Battle In the Fading Light
Participants: John Ryan, Yuki Momochi
World: Human World
Death Setting: Non Death Enabled
Rating: R
Location: This fight takes place on top of the White Cliffs of Dover, a beautiful spot. The sun is just setting for the evening, and it makes the water in the sea glow a golden orange. The whole place feels as if it is being illuminated by an orange light as a result. Perhaps there could be a battle advantage in such conditions, perhaps not. The nearest town is a few miles away.
Special Conditions: None
Circumstances: John has been hunting Hollows in England, and ended up in this spot for the end of the day. He has come to the cliffs to watch the beautiful sunset. However, despite John desperately wanting everything to go to plan, everything gets turned upside down when he meets a Shinigami.

[Hadrian J. Ryan Ⅻ]

John opened the small wooden gate which divided the traditional stone wall. The fresh sea air was blowing in across the cliffs giving the air a vibrant, salty taste. John checked his watch. According to the man in the village, and by his calculation, sundown was going to be in another 10 minutes. He was looking forward to it. He had been in England for quite a while now, hunting Hollows. He was looking forward to taking the time to relax. He needed the time out. All the battles recently had him tensed up like the wound spring in his watch.

He came to another gate, but this one he hopped over, his coat and cape billowing out behind him as he did so. He was now in the last field. Nothing separated this and the age of the cliff. John looked out, already the light of the afternoon was taking on a dusky orange glow. He was just on time. He checked his watch again. Just on time... He was looking forward to this. Sunset wasn't something he got to see often. He was always doing something else.

As the bottom of the sun just tipped the edge of the horizon, like a giant red ball balancing on the thin rope that separated sky and sea, John sat down, lying back on the grass. He propped himself up with his elbows to ensure he got a good view. The grass was warm and soft, the summer weather had been treating it well. The sun was about a quarter of the way down now, and the sea looked like it had caught fire. The beauty of it all was astounding.

Except for... There was someone else here. Another Spiritual Being obviously, John could sense their reiatsu. His proficiency in Energy Sensory was ok, but it was good enough to sense a presence in a wide open space like this. He sighed with frustration. No one could leave him alone! Everywhere he went he was hounded by people who wanted to kill him. Hopefully this person would be a little nicer.

"Please, would you mind giving me a second? I'd like to enjoy the sunset..." John said, without turning around. But any enjoyment he could have gleaned from the experience had dissipated. He was on the alert now, ready for an attack. Hopefully, however, his opponent would be reasonable... John loved those people. The sun was nearly down now, he would turn around soon, just as the last vestige of light dipped below the horizon.

SPOILER: Click to show

{John's Stats and Skills}


Strength - [60] Points (42 with Strategist Deduction)

Speed - [100] Points (70 with Strategist Deduction)

Spiritual Pressure - [130] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [100] Points

Light Aura - [60] Points

Dark Aura - [40] Points

Instinct - [50] Points (75 with Strategist Boost)

Senses [50] Points (75 with Strategist Boost)

Energy sensory - [30] Points (45 with Strategist Boost)

Healing Expertise - [0] Points


Total SP: [520] Points


Skills

[Calm Mind] {1}

[Weapon : Sword] {2}

[Weapon : Bow] {2}

[War Strategy] {1}

[Battle Analysis] {2}

[Battle Focus] {1}

[Strength of Will] {2}

[Leadership/Charisma] {1}

3 banked

[Deleted]

Yuki was amazed at the view as she walked along the sandy coast. She smiled you don't get to do this every day in the Soul Society. Yuki stood there for a while just observing the land. If Mom could've seen this! She sat down observing the sunset petting Hiroki who had fallen asleep a while ago. Yuki sat there for a while and then noticed a boy around her age.

She lifted Hiroki up to her shoulder and walked close to him. She was about to introduce herself but then realized she hadn't used a gigai yet. She stood there watching him. She jumped a little when he spoke suddenly. "Can you just sense me or can you see me as well?" she asked softly. She watched the sun go down as well. "Pretty isn't it, I've never seen such an outstanding sunset before"

[Hadrian J. Ryan Ⅻ]

SPOILER: Click to show

{MUSIC}

Can you just sense me? Or can you see me as well?"

A young girl. Naïve enough, obviously. She didn't seem to be aware of Energy Sensory. Or perhaps she was, but didn't know how to use it properly. Either way, John couldn't tell what she was like from just his powers of deduction to work out any more about her, it was time to see what she looked like. He didn't move off his elbows, but instead turned his upper body and head, just to look behind him.

She was young. As young as he was, if not younger. However, she didn't wear the distinctive uniform of any of the major races, and she didn't wear a mask fragment like an Arrancar might. Is she a Fullbringer? John turned back to the sunset, it was rude to stare, as a certain Princess once taught him. He chuckled at the memory, softly. The wind still carried in the fresh sea air, but there was no sound except the rushing of the waves, and the rustling of the windswept grass.

"Yes miss, I can sense your power. It's a little skill I've acquired." John said. It was nothing impressive, but it seemed this girl really didn't know about it. Maybe she was a lone Fullbringer, wandering the cliffs, and had just happened to run into him. John looked briefly down at his uniform. It was fairly distinctive. If she knew about the Vandenreich, she would have surely recognised him by now.

"Pretty, isn't it? I've never seen such an outstanding sunset before" she said, a little wistfully. John agreed with her, there was no time, usually, for moments like this in his life anymore. He watched as the last remaining rays of light tucked themselves below the horizon, waiting to emerge from the brief interlude of the night between the long summer days. He sighed, and stood up, finally turning to face the young girl.

"It is, isn't it... Anyway, miss, pleased to meet you! My name is John Ryan. And you are...?"

John beamed at the girl. He felt relaxed, both that he thought she wasn't going to attack him, and that he had managed to steal a few moments of peace in the hectic frenzy that was his life. Twilight had arrived, and the first few stars were twinkling in the sky. It was a beautiful night, and John was determined to keep it that way.

[Deleted]

Yuki smiled at him. "My name's Yuki Momochi, you said you could sense me, are you a human with high spiritual powers?" she asked as she walked forwards but tripped, her zanpakuto slipping out of her sash as well as Hiroki being chucked forwards. "Oh no, Hiroki are you alright? she asked her cat forgetting about her zanpakuto. "Sorry about that!" she said quickly.

It was hard for her to find her zanpakuto in the twilight. But she found it and placed it back in her sash. She cradled Hiroki and sat next to John. "Are you from these parts?" she asked curiously. She was glad to talk to someone around her age again. Hiroki jumped on Yuki's shoulder and hissed at the boy next to her. "I'm sorry, he usually likes anyone."

[Hadrian J. Ryan Ⅻ]

"My name's Yuki Momochi, you said you could sense me, are you a human with high spiritual powers?"

So she really didn't know what he was... "Pleased to meet you, Miss Momochi. I am a human, but I wouldn't consider my Spiritual Powers to be very high!" John laughed, just trying to make conversation. She seemed nice enough, perhaps she just didn't care about the war that raged between the Quincy and just about everyone else. Some people could be so oblivious... Talk about the pot calling the kettle black... I never try and acknowledge the presence of the war... John thought to himself with a wry smile.

The war was something he always tried to forget. However, it had impacted his relationship with nearly everyone he had met. That man, in the dark suit, Kazura Uzaki, as John had found out at a later stage, had relentlessly attacked him, for no apparent reason. It wasn't hard to imagine that that was as a result of the war. The Squad 4 member who he had met in Ireland had looked down on him for fighting on the 'wrong' side, and treated him like a child. She was strong, too strong for even four of them. The humiliation of that day burned in John's mind.

And there was that Squad 11 Shinigami he met in Karakura town, a man who mercilessly killed one of John's companions out of revenge. He had blamed them for the war too, and claimed that his side had the high moral ground. John hardly thought it was fair, given the situation the Shinigami had forced the Quincy into. However, there was a Shinigami who, for John, was their race's saving grace.

He had met Rin Miyamoto in a place not far from here, in England, and he and she fought. However, there was no anger or bitterness in their spar, it was a duel between two friends. Her exotic beauty and larger-than-life personality had captivated John, making him believe that there was, perhaps, some hope at the end of this war. That perhaps Shinigami and Quincy might eventually be able to coexist in peace. While there were still other races to deal with, Hollows in particular, John thought things would definitely be better if that war just ended.

John was brought back into the present moment by the escape of a cat from the girl's arms. He hadn't even noticed it was there until now. He chastised himself for his careless observations. He wasn't going to get very far unless he worked on his observation skills. However, he didn't miss the other thing which fell to the ground... A Zanpakuto?! She's a Shinigami! John tried to make sense of things. She seemed remarkably inexperienced for a Shinigami, but perhaps it was a ploy... No, it was far too genuine.

She sat down right next to him on the grass. John edged over slightly, she was just a little too close. Plus, that cat was eyeing him up. The cat seemed to realise something was up with John.

[font color="8419e6""Are you from these parts-"[/font]

She was interrupted by her cat jumping onto her shoulder. The fat feline began hissing at John, displaying its disgust for the young Quincy. ...pleased to meet you too, Hiroki... John thought to himself, bitterly. He quite liked cats, it just seemed that this cat had taken an intense disliking to him. Perhaps it was just more astute than its mistress? They certainly made an odd couple, John had never met a Shinigami who travelled with an animal companion. It didn't seem like a practice that would be condoned in the Gotei 13.

"I'm sorry, he usually likes anyone." she said, apologetically.

"That's alright, miss. You can't win every heart over."
John stretched out his hand, trying to scratch behind the cat's ears, but his hand was swiped away by a fierce paw with a mean set of claws. Thankfully, John had seen something like that coming, and pulled his hand away before the cat could scrawl him. He resisted the childish urge to stick out his tongue at it. The cat was starting to get on his nerves... It took a while for John to remember her initial question.

"Oh, apologies! I'm not from here exactly, I was born in Ireland, but I'm not living there any more. But I am from the World of the Living, if that's what you mean, miss."

It was funny how distorted John's sense of scale was now. Before, he would here taken 'these parts' as just referring to the area around the White Cliffs of Dover, and now he referred to 'these parts' as a whole country. It was funny how little things like that changed after he joined the Vandenreich. He had really become a different person after joining. It wasn't long ago since he was receiving his first coat, and now here he was on solo missions. It was quite a remarkable achievement.

"Well, you're certainly not from around here, are you, miss? I couldn't help but notice your Zanpakuto. Why are you all the way out here? Not out to hunt me down, I hope!"

[Deleted]

She smiled at John. "Well your spiritual powers are more devloped than most humans."  When she scratched behind Hiroki's ears trying to calm him down, Hiroki actually swatted at John. "Hiroki! I'm sorry he only gets this way if someone has an odd spiritual pressure, he's kinda my spiritual pressure finder." Talking to John reminded her a lot Ami Yamamoto her best friend from highschool. Kind and easily okay with anything, she wondered if Ami was still alive. Talking to someone around her age felt nice. Even if Yuki's 115 she's still feels like she is 15 and she will always feel that way.

She smiled when at his response about him being from here. "I see, I've always wanted to go to Ireland!" She rubbed the burn mark on her cheek. "Well, you're certainly not from around here, are you, miss? I couldn't help but notice your Zanpakuto. Why are you all the way out here? Not out to hunt me down, I hope!" She blinked a few times looking at him confused. "Hunt you down? I thought it was against shinigami law to kill humans....and how do you know my sword is called  a zanpukto?" She looked at him trying to see if she could find anything odd about him.
 

[Hadrian J. Ryan Ⅻ]

"Hunt you down? I thought it was against shinigami law to kill humans....and how do you know my sword is called a zanpukto?"

John laughed. It was quite cold this time. How naïve, she really didn't know. Innocence was one thing, but this kind of ignorance was insulting more than anything else.

"Oh, perhaps it is against the law for you to kill normal humans, miss, but I'm not sure that same mercy extends to Quincy like myself. And, well, I like to keep well up on the people who keep trying to kill me. What Squad do you belong to, miss, if you don't mind me asking?"

John tried to re-instill some warmth into their conversation. But, just like the night which had now fallen, their conversation seemed to be going a little cold. What had been an innocent conversation had been destroyed by John's own pride. This girl didn't mean him any harm, and here he was, furious with her. Why...? Because she doesn't know who I am...? John felt a little ashamed.

For some reason, he felt deeply annoyed that she hadn't recognised him as a Quincy immediately. Every other person he had fought had at least shown some knowledge of the Vandenreich. Perhaps she was so young that she hadn't experienced the Invasion. John hadn't been part of the Vandenreich then, so he had only heard secondhand stories about it. It was probably the event which had caused him the most hassle as a soldier, with every Shinigami he met having a view on it.

But, there was no point in mincing words. He stood up, the moment was over. Either they were going to fight, if she knew exactly what he was, or she was going to let him go away. It had been nice and relaxing for a while, but that was gone now. The breeze from the sea wasn't warm and refreshing anymore, it was cold and biting. There was a phrase for that... When weather reflected emotions...

Pathetic fallacy... I think. Or something like that... Or is that something else completely...? John gave his head a slight shake, as if to physically reorient his thoughts. He was already summing up the girl. She was young, about 15 in terms of... appearance. John blushed, his cheeks going red. These pre-battle observations were so embarrassing. He tried to sum up everything about his opponent, and that invariably taking into account the more... womanly aspects of his female opponents.

John kept his observations as brief as possible, thinking back to the time when he and Rin had locked gaze for what seemed like ages over crossed blades. The heat rushed to his cheeks again with embarrassment. Yuki must think he was a complete and utter weirdo, checking her out like this and blushing. John tried to calm his mind, and focus on whatever she did next. It was either going to be fight, or flight.

[Deleted]

Yuki looked confused. "Quincy? What squad am I in, 11" she answered. She thought about it for a moment 'quincy' what an odd word. She smiled saying the word in her head again. Yuki noticed one thing John seem to be furious with her and she wasn't sure what she did. Thinking back to what he said 'Oh, perhaps it is against the law for you to kill normal humans, miss, but I'm not sure that same mercy extends to Quincy like myself. And, well, I like to keep well up on the people who keep trying to kill me. What Squad do you belong to, miss, if you don't mind me asking?' She was silent for a moment.

"Why do you think I'm trying to kill you? I don't have a reason to kill you!" There was a mix of annoyance and confusion in her voice. John seemed so nice but he changed moods so quickly, but why? Yuki thought it was kind of cute that he was blushing for some reason. She noticed he was looking her over, she turned red slightly. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked quickly. She was kind of embarrassed that he kept checking her out. 

[Hadrian J. Ryan Ⅻ]

"...you actually have no idea, do you?"

John looked at her, bewildered, completely thrown off by her ignorance. He even forgot his embarrassment. His jaw was practically wide open, just gaping at her. She... She doesn't know what... what a Quincy is?! John had been so sure that announcing his race would be his death knell, one Shinigami he had met had not only identified him as a Quincy nearly straight away, but proceeded to slaughter one of his teammates.

And she's Squad 11?! What?! ...what?! This is seriously weird... Squad 11 was the bunch of brutes in John's eyes, the stupid school bullies who hit first, and thought about the consequences later. He certainly didn't expect one of their members to be a sweet, young girl. Also, is it just me, or are there way more girls than boys in the Soul Society. That's 3 out of 4 so far... I wish the Vandenreich were more like that...

John nearly had to slap himself to bring his thoughts back on track. The situation was now... sticky. Not only had he been cold and unfriendly, he had proceeded to check her out (solely for battle purposes, but that didn't seem so obvious anymore) and now she had completely turned the tables again. The shocked face was only going to placate her for so long.

"I... well, I... Then... I... Ah I believe... I owe you an apology miss." John stuttered over his words, partly from shock and partly from embarrassment. He gave her a small bow, flourishing his cape like a magician on stage. Bowing was something they did in the Soul Society, right? John had a vague notion that their culture was quite similar to that of Japan's. "I fear I misjudged you-"

Why are you looking at me like that?"

She said quickly, visibly annoyed and somewhat embarrassed. Oh der Kaiser save me... What on earth am I doing?! John's whole mind was screaming. It seemed Shinigami women were completely off the wall, his mind couldn't handle them. Every time one came along, things went completely and utterly crazy.

"I assure you miss! It's not what it seems! I was only, only..."

While he wasn't stuttering anymore, the words instead spewed from his mouth, flowing like water from a spring. It was only when he reached the end of the sentence that he realised that his hands were tied. He could hardly say he was analysing her battle capabilities... And then again, he could hardly say... the other thing either... What to do, what to do... The growing pause was making things more and more awkward. Time to revert to default mode, flattery.

"...I was only distracted by how beautiful you look..."

John's ears burned red, the line was way too simple, and way too cheesy. There was no way he was getting away with a comment like that. He began to wish the ground would swallow him up. And he was supposed to be good at this sort of thing!

[Deleted]

Yuki looked at him for a minute. "What do you mean I have no idea? Like what Quincy is?" she had to force herself from smiling as she said Quincy. She was zoning off getting bored again until John broke her thoughts. "I... well, I... Then... I... Ah I believe... I owe you an apology miss." Yuki waited for him to say what the reason was that he need to apolgize for. "I fear I misjudged you-"

"How did you misjudged me?" He better of have not thought I was small! She noticed he was getting embarrassed and nervous around her. She thought it was odd, that he was so nervous and tripping over his own words. Yuki remembered back when she was high-school; no guy ever stuttred and they pushed her around even her own classmates. Hiroki got ready to pounce, the orange tabby leaped into John's arms and started purring. "I guess he doesn't think you're a threat or whatever made him so mad earlier."

Yuki had then just heard the cheesiest excuse ever. "...I was only distracted by how beautiful you look..." Yuki raised an eyebrow. Really John, that's the best you could think of? "Really? Really?" She didn't look impressed. She had to wonder one thing: Why is he so nervous around me? Yuki fidgeted with her zanpakuto stealth giving her something to do until the lovey-dovey stuff stopped.  

[Hadrian J. Ryan Ⅻ]

John was about to go into full panic mode, when the cat saved him. It bounded from Yuki, and leapt up towards John's chest. Instinctively, John threw out his hands to catch him, giving him a place to rest. The cat curled up in his arms, rubbing its soft coat against John's white cape. The warmth of the cat was comforting against John's chest, it gave him a sense of peace. John tried to move his hand so he could rub the cat, without tipping it from its precarious perch in his arms.

He loved cats. He had one when he was younger, a petite black, domestic cat. She had been small, and even when she grew up she didn't get any bigger, retaining a beautiful sense of innocence about her that all kittens have. She used to sit on John's lap as he read, and whenever he turned the pages she used to swipe at them, as if they were the wings of the bird. She was a lovely cat.

However, while the cat had calmed him, it seemed to have the opposite effect on Yuki. She did not take the compliment well.

"Really? Really?"

She said, and she didn't look a bit impressed. She turned her attention to the sheathe of her Zanpakuto. Woah, hang on a second, what am I supposed to say now? John was left clueless again, he had to think of something to cover up his social blunder... He needed to say or do something which would cause her to forget his stupid comment...

"Apologies miss! I don't think I made myself clear! I was referring to your Zanpakuto! It's a fine blade... I was just wondering, miss, would you perchance be interested in sparring with me? I'm always interested to meet people with different sword styles. See, I'm only developing mine..."

He was like an engine starting up. While the start of what he said was jerky, and somewhat uneven in its delivery, as soon as he got talking about the sword, and his interest in sparring, the words were flowing nicely. John thought to the time when he would have considered sparring the ultimate insult, a way to 'fight' with an opponent, but just dressing it up differently. However Rin taught him that battle wasn't all life or death, that it could be fun and interesting too.

John waited for her response. It would be rude for him to draw his sword before she accepted. He hunched down, and gently tipped the cat from his arms onto the ground. He would need to keep his hands free if he wanted to spar effectively.

[Deleted]

"My apologizes at first I thought you were just flattering me to make an excuse, I'm not a big fan like flattery. But oh well, sure I'll spar with you!" she smiled as she offered her a chance to spar. She felt bad about her blunt comment about his failed excuse, but she would have to deal with it. She knelt down as John put Hiroki on the ground."C'mere Hiroki!" He stopped rolling in the grass and he batted at pouch on her sash and meowed loudly. "Not now Hiroki I just want you over here so you don't get hurt."

She drew her sword, and got into her stance. So she was ready, she thought this was going to be fun, sparring was always fun. Especially with her other squad members, but she frowned a little using shikai wouldn't be fair, since he's a quincy. She would just battle with Yukihana in her sealed state. Yuki prefers fair fights.

[Hadrian J. Ryan Ⅻ]

Whew... Bullet dodged...

John had to stop himself from sighing out loud. But it seemed it was out of the frying pan and into the fire. Now he actually he had to fight Yuki. Back to checking her ou- Err... Summing up her battle capabilities. John didn't mean for his thoughts to sound so twisted, it was just a poor way of expressing what he was doing... Focus! He wasn't going to get anywhere if he kept going on like this.

First her stance. She seemed well able to manage a sword, and familiar with it too. There was nothing special about it, just a standard sword stance. Her Zanpakuto didn't appear to be anything special, just a regular katana. It wasn't long, like Rin's Nodachi, so range wasn't going to be a problem. The only problem was going to be strength. John doubted she was physically much stronger than he was, but it was the strength of her reiatsu that worried him. If it was too strong, his swords would break, and he'd be next to useless.

She hadn't released either, which was a plus. Well, she was ready now, so he supposed he'd better prepare himself too. Now was a good time to practice his own sword technique, so he didn't plan on holding back to one sword. Somehow, the idea of fighting with only one blade when you could use two seemed a little odd. With two blades, you had double the number of attacks, plus a wider range of attacks at one's disposal.

John held out both his hands, letting them rise up by his sides like a preacher proclaiming to the masses. And with a simple thought, a sword appeared in each of his hands. To Yuki, it would appear as if these blades grew out of thin air, but the truth was more complex. The swords were made by John out of his own reishi, and the natural reishi in the environment. The blades were hollow to decrease the drain, but the spiritual aspect of the steel lent them a peculiar strength.

With his two swords ready, John assumed his stance. Putting his right foot back, and bending his left knee slightly, he lowered his centre of gravity for balance. It was basic physics. With this done, he put his arms and torso into position. Turning his upper body, letting his left shoulder point in Yuki's general direction. He then drew the sword in his right hand back across his chest, pointing the tip at Yuki. The sword in his left hand, he kept held right out in front of him, the blade parallel to the ground.

It was a stance which John thought covered him pretty well. If Yuki attacked, his sword in his left hand was perfectly poised to parry and block, while his right arm was left free to counterattack. Perhaps she'd read the move and try something different, perhaps not. Either way, John was ready.

"Would you like to go first, Miss Momochi?"

Reiatsu : 1000/1050; -25 x 2 for 2 Hohle Schneide

[Deleted]

Yuki waited for John to draw his swords, she was amazed that his swords appeared out of nowhere. "That so cool!" She grinned thinking that was an awesome technique. She watched him get into stance. So if I attack in a normal slash, he'd  block me with one sword and then counter attack with the other... She moved her left foot back a bit. "One question, John would you mind if I used my shikai? And I would like you to go first."

She waited for his response, she was thinking of a way to attack him with being blocked and then counter attacked. Maybe a slide and an upwards slice? Yuki had to think had she ever fought a dual swordsman? She shrugged and decided she would do her best even with a plan.