First Day of Work [JTT, Closed]

[Irina Davayte]

Training for CTP

Irina stared at the Departures list flashing in front of her. KZN to DME: Departure 7:55pm, arrival 9:30pm. It was such a short time, but when she arrived in Moscow for her connecting flight, Irina would be the farthest she had ever been from home: 602 kilometers, to be exact (she had checked). It wasn’t that she was any sort of hermit; she simply had never had a reason to get too far away from home. Her family had vacationed in the mountains when she was a child, but that was just a couple hours’ drive away. When they dropped her brother off at college, his school was about the same distance. Everything she had ever needed was simply in a relatively small radius. She took a deep breath and tugged her backpack a little bit tighter on her back in sort of a self-hug. Her flight was announced, and her heart fluttered with excitement as she lined up with the other travelers, trying to look as calm and casual as possible.

She happily settled into her window set, eyes glued to the scene outside before the flight even took off. She tried to memorize every bit of what she saw: the terminal where her father, mother, and brothers had dropped her off, and once the flight took off, the birds-eye view of her home town of Cheboksary. An ache settled in her chest as she imagined her best friend Altan at home. What was he doing? Playing a video game? Packing up for his own move to school? Thinking of her? She tried to push the thoughts from her mind, but couldn’t shake them off. She kept replaying their last conversation in her mind.

Early that morning, Irina and Altan were walking together through their neighborhood, just like they had 1,000 times before, just to have one last talk in person before they piled into her family’s mini-van to take her to the airport. Although they still spent some time together, Irina couldn’t help but think that Altan had been distant and even angry since she turned down his proposal. They hadn’t discussed the conversation since it happened, and Irina hoped to keep it that way. Irina missed being able to tell Altan precisely whatever was on her mind, but she was completely opposed to the idea of getting married, so much that she didn’t even want to discuss it. How could Altan think it was a good idea? Why was their friendship not enough for him?

Altan interrupted her thoughts by requesting one last fencing match, as he pulled both of their sabers out of his backpack. Irina grinned and took hers from his hand. They backed up, and carefully raised their right arms. He waited to force her to make the first move, knowing that she preferred to let her opponent do so. “You know,” she said as she slashed her sabre to his right side, making sure to not leave her body open to counterattack, “When I beat you, I will have improved my record against you for this summer to 17 wins to your 15.” He blocked her, and sharply slashed downwards. “I don’t know about that,” he said as she casually deflected his blade to the side. “How about we make this one count for two matches, so I have a chance to win overall?”

They exchanged a few blows. “If you say so,” she agreed, “but I still think I’m better.” “If you follow my advice,” he teased. “I’ve always appreciated your advice,” Irina said sincerely. She patiently blocked his blows for a few minutes, trying to tire him out. Altan, knowing Irina quite well, wanted to try to get a point as quickly as possible. So he went hard on the offensive, trying his best to catch her off guard with a well-timed feint or a riposte of her block to get inside her guard. She remained patient and focused, not allowing him to take advantage of his strikes.

Although they were just playing, Altan knew that this match was particularly important to Irina, whose confidence was shaken by her impending move, and leaving behind everyone she loved. So, when she attacked from the left with a twist that she had carefully practiced for weeks, even though he had finally gotten pretty good at deflecting it, he let her score a point on him, being sure to make it look accidental. It was the first time he had ever let her win, but he smiled internally as he saw Irina light up with pride and joy. “I told you I would get you,” she said spiritedly.

“You’ll have to come home soon,” Altan responded, “So I can have a rematch.”  Irina stopped walking and looked him coldly in the eye. “I told you, I’m going. And I’m staying until I finish my degree.” “I didn’t mean that,” Altan faltered, not understanding how he got backed into this corner. “I meant, when you come home for Christmas. Or the summer.” “I might not come home,” she countered, although she fully intended to come home to see her family at the times he mentioned. “I’ll be busy. I have a job.” He sighed. “Come on, Irina. We have to go meet up with your family to get to the airport.”

“I’m sorry,” she softened, seeing that he was hurt. “I’m really going to miss you, Altan.” “Me too,” he said, opening his arms as a request for an embrace. Not a hugger, Irina hesitated, but let herself be folded into his arms, which were slightly sweaty from the fencing. He drew back, studying her, and decided to try to kiss her. “What are you doing?!” Irina demanded, roughly pushing him away with both hands. He had no answer. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but you need to leave me alone right now,” she barked.

Irina winced as she recalled the pain in her best friend’s eyes. She couldn’t believe she had left things that way with the person she was closest to in the world. But it was partly his Altan’s fault , she thought with a twinge of guilt for blaming him. He knew how she felt about him, and he knew how she felt about marriage. Yet he still asked the question that he knew he would not like the answer to. Not wanting to analyze the issue any further, she turned her thoughts to her new job.

Really, she didn’t know what the job would be at all. She had, of course, heard of Uzaki Enterprises, but she still had no idea why it seemed that she was the only one able to see the strange writing on the flyer for a classical music concert that she had found. She even showed it to her brother to ensure that she was the only one seeing the writing. Sure enough, Demyan had not seen the writing at all. When she showed him the flyer and asked what he though, he looked at her somewhat sideways and said that the music sounded like something she would enjoy, but he wondered why they were advertising the concert so far away from where it was held. If she had told Altan about accepting a job that she heard about by such suspicious means, he would have tried to stop her and keep her safe. But she was on her own now, and the prospect of being able to take on whatever adventure she pleased thrilled her.

Soon when it was time to change flights in the Moscow airport, Irina saw children wearing Mickey Mouse ears with their parents, headed for Disney Land in Tokyo with their parents. Her excitement rivaled even theirs. She barely slept at all on the overnight flight. Although she lived outside of the city at home, she was no stranger to public transportation; it was the most efficient way to get around her home city of Cheboksary. So when she arrived in Tokyo in the evening, she confidently navigated the large airport, boarded the train, and walked to her new apartment.

Irina was relieved to find that her place, which was part of housing for interns with Uzaki Enterprises, was in a safe-seeming part of town. She met with the landlord to get her key, unpacked the few belongings she had packed (her other things were being shipped, since it was cheaper than flying with them), and slept soundly until her alarm went off at precisely 6:00 am. She preferred to make her breakfast herself, but since she had not yet gotten a chance to get real groceries, she took a bottle of water with her out the door, and stopped at a café to get something to eat.
She had been instructed to be at work at 8:00, so she arrived outside at 7:45. She then waited patiently in the lobby for her new boss, who was to meet her there.

[Kazura Uzaki]

Training for CTP

Kazura's Spiritual Ink had worked flawlessly. He had placed messages all over the world that could only be seen by spiritually aware people telling them they were special and to call a number if they wanted a job using those particular gifts of theirs. While it wouldn't really have a lot of success on people who are already aware of what they were, those who were finding themselves at a loss due to unnerving new powers or sights that they couldn't explain would be more likely to be drawn to it. Seeing ghosts, seeing powerful beings, being attacked for what they were... Those sorts of things could bring anyone to the ones who promised answers.

He wanted to attract all kinds of those people to his organization in order to educate them and either retain them for work for the embetterment of the living world or send them on their way back to where they came from more fit to survive than they had been before. So far he had a high turnover rate, though, with many moving on past his company. He wasn't quite sure yet about this new hire from Russia, but he would give her a chance as he had given all of them. Maybe she'd stay on after her internship and her education in the local university. Maybe she'd go back to Russia... He just couldn't know just yet.

The CEO reviewed her application as he went into work at 7:59 am. She appeared to be a great applicant in general due to her work ethic and dedication, but she hadn't demonstrated any knowledge of the spiritual world or what she was. She didn't know that humans who could see ghosts were rare and special and that she could be of great use to Uzaki Enterprises in their spiritual department. But that was going to change soon. After all, the boss had arrived for her new hire orientation. He entered the lobby to find Irina already present and accounted for. That was pleasing to him.

The girl was definitely easy on the eyes, but something about her just gave off the aura of "Not Available". Maybe she had a boyfriend, was uninterested in men, or just wasn't interested in a relationship right now. Whatever it was, Kazura's 'hot girl' alarm was quickly shut down by her aura. "Good to see you here so promptly, Ms. Davayte. Please, come with me." The inventor would lead the girl into an empty elevator. The doors closed automatically but the man hadn't pushed any buttons yet. He just waited for the doors to close so they could have a little bit of privacy.

"I know that you already have a grasp on who you are, at least we all hope that we do, but today I'm going to show you what you are. And introduce you to Worlds that you've never seen before. Your first lesson in being a Fullbringer is the power of souls. Watch and observe." With a wave of his hand, all of the buttons on the elevator were suddenly pressed without him ever making phyiscal contact with them. He left his hand raised and they all deactivated save for the button that lead the elevator to an underground floor of the building. They would exit the elevator into an underground dojo with a soft mat and an assortment of various wooden weapons and armors against the wall.

"We'll talk as we exercise this morning. Your application says you're adept at fencing? I am no master of the sword myself, but you'll find that I have other skills that will prove me a worthy opponent." Picking up a wooden training bokken on the way into the center of one of the rings. He held the weapon in both hands as it was meant to be held, but apart from that he had no particular form that showed any specific style of combat. It was a Japanese shape to the blade that he held, but there were other options if Irina wanted. There were plenty of bokken, but there was a saber in the mix if she was more comfortable with that. Being made of wood, however, it would obviously be balanced differently than a metal blade.

[Irina Davayte]

Irina was somewhat apprehensive, but perhaps not as alarmed as she should have been. She thought that she was going in to meet her boss, not the boss. Since her father was a lieutenant general in the Russian military, she was used to having important military people over at her home, and she was not particularly intimidated by Kazura's fame. Not to mention, he looked not much older than her, and much more relaxed than many of the stuffy people her father worked with. What first surprised her was when he used the elevator, with apparenty functioning buttons, without touching them at all.

"I know that you already have a grasp on who you are, at least we all hope that we do, but today I'm going to show you what you are. And introduce you to Worlds that you've never seen before. Your first lesson in being a Fullbringer is the power of souls. Watch and observe."

Her engineer's mind went to work, deciding that there must be some sort of wireless system set up. She was satisfied with that explaination, but what was he talking about, "what you are"? And what is a "Fullbringer"? None of this was in her job description. Actually, that had been very vague, come to think of it. She would feel foolish asking these questions now that she had already accepted the job, as apparently she was already supposed to know these things. So she tried to play it cool by asking "What will be my responsibilities here, exactly?"

Suddenly, they were in some sort of basement gym, and she was sure that being asked to fence and chat was not part of any normal job. She knew that she should probably be nervous in this situation, but she certainly felt more comfortable with fencing than she did with office work. She carefully picked up and gently waved around bokken to match Kazura's, which was less familiar to her than the saber she usually used, but certainly less awkward than the sticks she and her brothers found in the woods to spar with as children, so she was comfortable enough. Not wanting to attack her brand new boss right off the bat, and wanting to get an idea of his fighting style before she did anything, she watched for him to make the first move.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats}

Strength - [50] Points

Speed - [50] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [30] x1.5 (45) Points

Reiatsu Strength - [30] x1.5 (45) Points

Light Aura - [45] Points

Dark Aura - [55] Points

Instinct - [70] x.75 (52) Points

Senses - [70] x.75 (52) Points

Energy sensory - [0] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points


Total SP: [300] Points

[Kazura Uzaki]

Kazura was disappointed that he didn't get a fun reaction out of Irina with his trick. He was adept at reading people, so he could see that she wasn't particularly shocked. She must have rationalized how he accomplished that trick. She would be a tough nut to crack, it seemed, but she didn't question, didn't falter. She was determined and stubborn, but those were qualities of a person with strong character and good morals. Someone who would help him to defend innocents. With a bit of training she'd be perfect.

She asked a... politically perfect question. Kazura figured that she had more questions that were held back, but this one well worded question would give her a lot of information. If he let it. "You can be a little more candid with me, Ms. Davayte. I may be your boss, but I adopt a very loose policy. Ask whatever questions you wish, especially if you don't have a clue what I'm doing. I accept criticism of all kinds. As for your duties, I'm not sure yet. We have to find out your strengths first."

Irina opted for the same Bokken that Kazura was using, which was more suited for Kendo rather than fencing. That showed Kazura that she was willing to follow leadership and to work as a team. Good qualities, for sure. Maybe he was over analyzing it all, but then again, that was just within his nature. "Alright. Let's warm up. First, I will demonstrate an ability you will develop very soon." Kazura (still holding the bokken in two hands) pointed the weapon forwards towards Irina. From this angle, it was clear to see that the weapon was perfectly straight.

"Everything has a soul. Everything around you, everything you touch, everything that exists. While living beings have complex souls, the souls of nature are much simpler. Fullbringers like you and me are able to communicate with these souls. They obey us. Watch." Closing his eyes for dramatic effect, Kazura willed the soul of the wood to bend. The wood bent to nearly a ninety degree angle without snapping. He was touching the weapon, yes, but he wasn't moving and the weapon was the same as what Irina was carrying.

She had doubted him in the elevator. She might still doubt him. After all, he had chosen the weapon. He would need to do something bigger, something bolder, something that would take some energy to complete. "You will awaken the ability to do small things such as that soon, but in time you will understand the workings of souls even better. You will grow in your ability to harness your spiritual energy. You may not be able to feel it, but you do have power in your soul. It's meager, but it's there." Kazura pooled reiatsu in his feet. The spiritual energy was the lifeblood of the soul. The body may have blood running through its veins, but the soul ran reiatsu through its "veins". Kazura pooled reiatsu into his feet and then pushed off of the ground while manipulating the soul of the floor.

The result? A pillar of light was left where he had been standing and now he was behind Irina. He had moved faster than the speed of sound without a noise, without a sonic boom, without any evidence but that light that was left behind. But where had he gone? He was right behind Irina. "Bringer Light, the technique you just saw, asks the souls of the floor to push you forwards. Or the soul of the air if you practice enough." Would Irina be surprised? Would she be shocked? scared? A million emotions could run through her mind, but what would she say? Kazura was performing what appeared to be literal black magic. He was moving faster than physically possible and bending things with his mind. How's that for a first day on the job? Especially when he said that she'd be able to do this all as well...

Remaining Reiatsu: 9,950/10,000 (-50 Bringer Light)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats/Skills}



Strength - [200 x.5 (100)] Points

Speed - [300] Points

Light Aura - [40] Points

Dark Aura - [60] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [400 x2.5 (1,000)] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [150] Points

Instinct - [250 x2 (500)] Points

Senses [150 x.5 (75)] Points

Energy sensory - [50] Points

Healing Expertise - [100] Points


Total SP: [1600] Points

Abilities

• [Crafting/Forging] {4}
  
  
• [Strength of Will] {3}
  
  
• [Analysis] {2}
  
  
• [Learning] {2}
  
  
• [Krav Maga] {2}
  
  
• [Street Fighting] {2}
  
  
• [Leadership/Charisma] {2}
  

Total SKP: 18

[Irina Davayte]

Irina's eyes were huge, frantically scanning the room for clues to what might be going on. If she had been a more verbose person, she would have yelped out in surprise when she saw Kazura behind her, but she was more accustomed to keeping her mouth shut. She was still working out how he had bent the wooden bokken. The properties of wood simply didn't allow it to bend so quickly without breaking; perhaps it could with a lot of moisture and time? But that wasn't the case in this room.

The matching weapon in her hand certainly felt like real wood; she had gently ran her hand along the blade to check as soon as he performed his trick. And his weapon certainly looked the same. If the core were made of something that could easily bend, even a thin coating of the wood would still snap. This puzzle was at the forefront of her mind as she tried hard to focus on what Kazura was saying about spiritual energy and souls. She had never really thought too carefully about anything of the sort; she preferred to focus on things that she could observe for herself.

Her family, like many Russians, went to an Orthodox Christian church, but Irina only attended the services; she wasn't sold on the idea that there was anything more in the world than what she could see. Her grandmother had told her not to worry, and that when she was ready, she would be able to sense the spiritual elements in the world. But what Kazura was talking about sounded more like voodoo than anything her grandmother believed in. But she certainly wouldn't insult him by saying so.

Immediately on seeing him behind her, Irina reached out to tap Kazura's arm, just to make sure he was really there. Heart still beating rapidly, she decided to take one mystery at a time, and to first check out the easier one. "May I borrow that?" she asked as politely as possible, indicating the weapon he held. If he handed it to her she would feel it carefully. It seemed to be a type of hardwood; it didn't feel like it was anything porous that could have been infused with rubber or a soft metal or something to help it bend more easily.

"I don't want to question you," she began hesitantly. "But do you mind if I try something?" Deciding she would rather further investigate and risk offending the man than risk not getting the chance to satisfy her curiosity, she put the tip of the bokken to the floor, held onto the hilt with her hands, and stepped hard on the blade, just below the bend. Sure enough, it snapped as she expected. She had run out of explanations. Frankly, she didn't even want to try to mentally tackle how Kazura could have moved behind her so quickly quite yet. She knew he was an inventor, but he had clearly told her that it was "souls" doing the work, not machinery.

She decided that the best thing to do would be to listen to and learn from what Kazura had to say; he certainly had more answers than she did, setting aside how strange they sounded. But that didn't mean she was out of questions. She decided that she needed to reverse-engineer the process if she was to understand it herself. "Tell me how you did that?" she requested, finally deciding she was safe to ask the questions she wanted. "I know you said you communicate with souls. But how? And how did you learn to do this?" She hesitated, still not sure that it was respectful to use so much candor, and since she was not very intuitive with people, not reading that it was alright with him. "If you don't mind telling me."

[Kazura Uzaki]

The girl was incredulous. Eyes wide open, she had to physically touch Kazura to understand that he was truly there, she had to physically touch the Bokken and even snap it in half to see that it was real. In his head, Kazura smiled, but on the outside he remained calm and collected. After all, he was the boss. Irina was very polite, very serious, almost to a fault as she tried her best to understand and satiate her curiosity while also not offending him. Her work must be very important to her if she was holding onto her manners while still burning for more information.

"Tell me how you did that? I know you said you communicate with souls. But how? And how did you learn to do this?" Finally a direct question that he could answer. And there were so many ways to go about answering it. He decided that it was best to start at the beginning. "The answer to that question will require me to explain the Three Worlds first... Let me get a new bokken and we'll begin our exercise as we talk." Picking up a new wooden weapon, Kazura began to stretch out his muscles by practicing the most common Kendo strikes. An overhead strike downwards, a jab, a slice from the side. He expected Irina to imitate him as well, though he paid attention to how she warmed up as she was more proficient with the sword than he was.

As the warmup continued, the inventor continued his explanation of fullbringers and the manipulation of souls. Starting at the beginning, of course. "Death in this world is not the end of life. The body may pass, but the spirit remains in the same general location. I imagine that you've seen these spirits. All of our kind can see ghosts." Kazura paused to let that sit in. What Irina had seen that day when walking away from Altan was actual dead people. Spirits. Ghosts. While the man didn't know this, he did know that Irina could see his spiritual message and had been interested enough to respond and call about the position.

"Spirits pass onto the next life only with help from the denizens of the Soul Society, the second of the three worlds, the first being ours. If they are not helped along, or have enough negative emotions from their life, they turn into monsters called Hollows. Beasts that are empty inside that must continuously eat to satisfy a never ending hunger. The white masks and the black bodies are the defining characteristics of hollows that you may encounter. The majority of them live in their own world of eternal night, the third world, but many plague our world."

With the warm up done by now, Kazura paused in his story temporarily. "Alright. Now that the upper body is warmed up, let's go for a quick jog." Still holding the Bokken, Kazura would start a light jog around the gym. He wouldn't even be using a fraction of his full speed, but he'd be pushing Irina to her max with the pace he set. "Hollows have different energy than those of regular spirits. Their energy is often dark and twisted. This Hollow Reiatsu, or hollow spiritual energy, is dangerous to humans, especially pregnant women. Children born to mothers exposed to this corruption are special. Fullbringers. Most never grow past the ability to just see spirits, but the truly dedicated will be able to control the souls of the world around them."

Right at the point where the gym curved, Kazura tested his new employee's reflexes in a particularly unkind way. He was still holding the training weapon and as they turned the corner he'd slow his pace just enough to be out of her peripheral vision before aiming a quick touch of the bokken to her knee. It shouldn't trip her up too much, but could surprise her and mess up her jogging gait if he succeeded in striking her. It wasn't aimed to hurt her, just catch her off guard and attempt to force her to pay attention to him. He did plan to test her in more than one way, after all... "When you've rested up and asked any additional questions, I'll tell you my story and how I came to be a Fullbringer. I was one of the rare few that weren't born this way.

[Irina Davayte]

Irina probably wouldn't have accepted Kazura's explanations so easily had she not seen ghosts and what he called "Hollows" herself back at home. She was relieved to finally have some answers for this bizarre phenomenon, although the answers were as foreign as her own questions. She did appreciate his starting at the basics; she found analysis easier when beginning from this standpoint. She tried to retain her composure, no matter how much the wheels in her head were turning.

At this point, the least-strange part of the situation was the fact that she was exercising with her boss on her first day of work, so she decided to be comfortable in that aspect. She was physically strong, especially for a woman of her age, so she was generally comfortable with physical tasks. She had never practiced Kendo before. In fact, as a fencer, she was coached to never touch her weapon with both hands. Not only was it not allowed, but it felt choppier, clumsier, and much less graceful than the proper style.

Her non-dominant hand was generally used only as a counterweight for balance, and when not needed for that, kept out of the way. Her brother had a nasty habit of striking her ungloved hand when she had it in reach, to remind her to protect it. But she enjoyed switching between foil and saber fencing and had even dabbled in epee, so she was excited to take on a new challenge. She knew that, in theory, her left hand was to be used to provide power, and the right was for dexterity. She played with her stance and strikes, equally quick as what she was used to, but much choppier, and to her, awkward.

She decided not to watch Kazura's warm-up too carefully, as he had professed himself that he was no expert, and she had always been taught to always begin with the basics in order to not start any new sport with bad habits. Irina was not in poor condition, but she preferred to warm up her hamstrings before doing any kind of speed-work. Fitness was important to her, and she would be upset if she pulled a quad. Kazura did not seem to share this philosophy. She found it odd when he began a jog around the track, weapon still in-hand. She followed suit, although it felt very strange to change the way she held her arm while running.

Although he did have a much longer stride and was taking about 4 steps to her 5 or 6, Irina reasoned, she didn't see how he was going to keep up this pace for long. He casually continued his explanation of hallows and fullbringers, and she stored the information away in her mind as she tried to calculate how long she would be able to keep up. She loved the feeling of her lungs and legs burning as she pushed herself to keep up the pace; exercise almost always made her feel strong and in-control.

As she tried to count exactly the ratio of her stride length to his, Irina was puzzled to see Kazura fall just behind her. Whenever her brother Demir did this, it was usually to do something sneaky where she wouldn't notice. She watched out of the corner of her eye as he sharply, but not roughly, tapped the outside of her knee with his bokken. Unable to determine his intent, she wanted to ask what he was doing, but settled for giving him a quizzical look, one eyebrow raised high. "I have two older brothers," she shrugged as explanation for her lack of a reaction.

"When you've rested up and asked any additional questions, I'll tell you my story and how I came to be a Fullbringer. I was one of the rare few that weren't born this way."

"Wait," she protested, despite her burning legs and wanting to go with the flow, unable to pass up an opportunity to practice a new skill. "I've never done Kendo before. Will you show me how?"

[Kazura Uzaki]

OOC: New Special Condition added to the Thread. Kazura is suppressing his Reiatsu to the point where cutback is not a factor. As a result, he can't use reiatsu while they practice Kendo.

"Ah, Kendo is very simple. You score points by striking the head, body, or wrist or by achieving a thrust to the throat using only the top third of the weapon. It's a bit limited, yes, but close to saber fencing and not as limited as foil fencing. The area is also not limited to just a straight line but limited to a square area." Kazura, admittedly, only knew the basics of Kendo. He was more a hand-to-hand fighter than a sword practitioner, but he was starting to learn more and more about the sword. Him having purchased an outrageously priced weapon may or may not have had something to do with that... If he couldn't use it, it may as well be a trophy or a paperweight.

In essence, Kazura couldn't really show Irina the best way to perform Kendo, but he could still attempt to. "If you give me thirty seconds, I'll have read up on every Kendo form and strike to be able to show you." Pulling out his phone, Kazura pulled up Google and began to scroll. He was scrolling... very rapidly. It was almost as if he wasn't reading at all, just spinning his phone's scroll bar over and over again. But in reality, he was a very quick learner and had enough processing power to read all of the information on the screen and retain it in mere nanoseconds. Real life felt slow to him due to his super-computer like brain.

Having read all that Wikipedia and Google had to say about Kendo, Kazura was ready to spar after selecting his protective gear. "The match begins in a kneeling position facing each other. When you're ready, we will begin." Kazura moved off of the gym track and back onto the marked off areas for sword training. He kneeled to the ground with his weapon pointed upwards in perfect starting form. "While we do this, let's also talk. You have classes this afternoon anyways, correct? Don't want to take up too much of your time."

While waiting for Irina to get her gear, get into into position, and be ready, Kazura gave a brief background of himself. "I wasn't born a fullbringer. I discovered the spiritual world by an experimental accident that rendered a piece of glass into a window that could see Hollows and the ones who slay them called Shinigami. Research into this world is what filled my body with the energy. After two years of this research, my body had been changed and my powers began to form. For this reason, the object I have pride in, my fullbring, is my technology and my humanity."

"You will find pride in something that will manifest in your powers. Quite soon, I would imagine, given your growth already... Once we're done here, I'm sure that you will find that souls will listen to you, at least a little bit. Try listening for them in your spare time." Hopefully Irina had gotten prepared in the time it took him to deliver his short life story and they could begin exercising with a quick Kendo match. "In the future, however, you'll want to make sure that you assess your opponent's spiritual prowess before challenging them. If I wasn't holding back everything I have, then you could get seriously hurt by physically striking me."

[Irina Davayte]

Probably mostly due to having older brothers (who always seemed to be one step ahead of her), Irina was comfortable knowing that Kazura was stronger than her, and apparently had a very different set of skills than what she picked up in her training in swordsmanship. She was eager to learn more, as she did not often get to spar with someone who was an enormous challenge on her high school team, and hadn't even practiced formally since she graduated in the beginning of the summer. She usually won the district matches for her area in fencing, but she didn't like to get cocky (except with Altan), and she was always looking for techniques to improve.

Irina didn't plan to try to make a career out of her swordsmanship or participate in the Olympics or the like, but she hoped to find an outlet for it as an adult; she just didn't know how, yet. Anyway, she thought that this exercise would be a good opportunity to keep her skills sharp. Since Kendo was new for her, she wasn't worried about showing off; if she had wanted to attempt that, she would have chosen a more familiar sport. But she believed that people who tried to show off often ended up looking like fools, so it was more her style to keep calm and let her skills show naturally, even when faced with a less skilled opponent, and especially with an unfamiliar one.

She tried to reason why Kazura was reading so quickly on his phone. She concluded that there were two options: first, he couldn't really read all that quickly, and was showing off himself. Secondly, it was possible that he simply was able to take information that quickly. She settled on the latter, based on what she had seen so far this morning. Irina was still eager to find out what all of Kazura's strange talk had to do with her new position in his company. If Hollows were the problem, weren't the Shinigami he mentioned taking care of that, as she had seen one do back in Russia? What on Earth was she supposed to use these supposed "powers" for?

"In the future, however, you'll want to make sure that you assess your opponent's spiritual prowess before challenging them. If I wasn't holding back everything I have, then you could get seriously hurt by physically striking me." "Maybe I've bitten off more than I can chew," Irina pondered, but decided that the fact that she had been given this warning meant that she was safe with Kazura. Her brothers (who sometimes fenced with her without wearing the proper protective gear, to their mother's chagrin) would sometimes hold back to make sure they didn't injure her too severely, also. She adjusted her helmet and face mask more carefully, just in case. Irina preferred to get an idea of her opponent's style before she made her first offensive move, so when he signaled for the match to begin, she would hold her weapon in a defensive position and wait a split second to see what Kazura would do.

[Kazura Uzaki]

"While we spar, I'll tell you why this company exists..."

The match started and Irina chose a defensive stance and waited for Kazura to act. This would prove to be an unwise decision as the inventor capitalized on this moment of hesitation. Jumping forwards at 300 stat speed, he would appear to be just a blur as he moved past her and touched her torso on the way. "Do!" The attack was purposefully held back, but was so fast and so accurate due to his high processing power that it would be difficult to react to, much less respond to. Spinning around to face her, he placed his bokken in a defensive stance to allow her a chance to attack. "Hollows only seek to eat. They are a danger to humans as well as the spiritual races. Shinigami are stretched thin after numerous ongoing wars to the point where they can't protect us like they should."

So this company exists to educate, empower, and protect the world. It's a tough job, especially since the Shinigami rarely cooperate, but there are numerous threats besides Hollows. Threats that this company is equipped to protect against. At least, we try. There is a lot of resistance from all Three Worlds. That is where you come in. We need young, determined individuals who can be on call to protect the town against threats and go out and shut down evil where it is found. We do a lot of philanthropic work through mortal channels, but our kind is the only ones who can work through spiritual channels. Regular humans can't even see anything and aren't usually a target of Hollows."

[Irina Davayte]

*THWACK* Irina kept her eyes wide open, trying to take in what just happened. Apparently, Kazura was able to move so quickly that all she saw was a blur move adjacent to her, tapping her on the side. "Okay, I probably should have anticipated that," she thought, recalling the moment not long ago when he suddenly appeared across the room. She assumed his reflexes would be just as quick when she tried to make her own attack. She obviously needed to rethink her usual strategy. Some people would probably concede the match at this point, but Irina was too excited to have a new challenge and a new skill to practice to be concerned about losing.

She had certainly never sparred with someone as quick as Kazura, but the closest person she knew was her brother Demyan. If she wanted to overcome Demyan, she needed to get close to him and wait for him to get sloppy. She tended to be more careful, and therefore more accurate, than her brother, even though he was quicker and packed more force. She figured that in order to score a point, she would need to rely on her technique and years of practice to capitalize on Kazura's lack of experience with the sport. So she decided to try a basic strike to his right, hoping to assess any defect in his defense.

Irina, only eighteen years old, was surprised and delighted to hear that she was actually expected to take on some responsibility and help people. She imagined being able to focus her hard work ethic into defending people who needed it, and she had never been more excited about taking on a new task. She remembered the Hollow that she had hidden from in Cheboksary, and she couldn't wait to go and get them off of the streets. But wait, regular humans "usually" aren't a target of Hollows? "I saw a Hollow back home, outside of my neighborhood in Cheboksary. I assumed it was the only one." "Actually, I assumed it wasn't real, and I was going crazy," she thought. "Is my family safe from them?" Irina asked.

[Kazura Uzaki]

Irina didn't back down, thankfully, moving to strike at Kazura's right side. It was a simple strike, but one that gave Kazura a little insight into how a sword practitioner swung their weapon. Sure, the two-handed form was new to Irina, but she was still better with the bokken than Kazura was. He was a quick learner, too. With his high instincts and speed, he reacted to the strike before it was completed, moving his bokken to attempt to knock aside Irina's before stepping backwards out of her range. His stride was longer and he was faster, so it was fairly easy for him to get some distance, though she could chase him easily.

"Humans are only attacked in rare cases. Often its because they were special and didn't know it or the Hollow has gotten out of control in a rampage. The latter usually happens in very spiritually populated areas such as this Town. And when they do rampage, Shinigami and others are quick to intercept. If it would make you feel more comfortable, I'll work on setting up a radar station close by to make sure we can keep them safe. After all, that's the point of this department. We work to help others. Any way we can..."

[Irina Davayte]

"I'd like that," she said, mentally relaxing. She wasn't sure how she had been exposed to the spiritual energy that made her a Fullbringer, and she had no intention of discussing this with her family, so she couldn't be sure that they hadn't been exposed too. No matter how small the risk, she knew she wouldn't be able to rest easy without knowing that there was a system in place to keep an eye on them. She was not thrilled that they were so far away if they needed her, but she figured that anyway, she didn't know enough about fighting Hollows to do anything for them, yet.

Irina smiled internally as Kazura took a big step backward, moving back and to her right, rather than using her momentum against her. She wasn't condescending by any means, but she was glad to know that he wasn't invincible. His current position left his body open to attack, so, already on her toes, she took a couple short, quick steps to get close enough to reach him. She calculated leaving herself somewhat open as an acceptable risk, which was uncomfortable to her as a fencer, but wasn't so much of a problem in Kendo; she just needed to make sure that she scored a point before she was hit. She adjusted her arms' movement upward over his weapon, since she hadn't completed her swing, and attempted to strike his shoulder.

[Kazura Uzaki]

Kazura had inadvertently opened himself up for attack, which the Russian capitalized on by charging forward and thrusting into his shoulder. But unfortunately, for her, the shoulder was not a target area in Kendo. Kazura responded by countering her attack with an attack of his own that was easier given she had opened herself up as well. "Tsuki!" Pressing his Bokken gently to her throat, he would score a second point if she didn't have any way to follow up so soon after attacking the wrong site.

"Remember, Irina. Wrist, Head, Body, and Throat are all that counts in Kendo and a round doesn't stop until one of those are hit." Having finished his reminder of the rules, he withdrew back to the seated position to start the next round. "Still interested in continuing the exercise or did you have something else in mind? I've told you just about all I can remember that is crucial for you to know before working here." If she did want to continue, he'd hop back to his feet and wait, letting her attack first this time.

[Irina Davayte]

Irina winced. In trying to keep up with Kazura's pace, she had forgotten the rules, and struck an area that wasn't a target. With her weapon to the side, and thinking that the round was over, she wasn't able to redirect his attack, and the second and final point of the match was scored. Dissatisfied with stopping so soon, and wanting to keep practicing and learning, she hoped that Kazura would be willing to start another match. She decided that her desire to keep going was greater than her hesitance to waste his time. "If you don't mind, I'd like another match," she requested.

Happily, Kazura obliged. She knelt with him, and when he signaled the start of the start of the match, she struck downward toward his right wrist. "Kote!" Keeping him at arms' length was comfortable for her, and she preferred this stance to her previous strategy because it helped her compensate for moving more slowly than him. Trained as a fencer, Irina darted around on her toes, rather than taking the big steps that Kazura (and people practiced in Kendo) did. This gave her the advantage of being more agile for responding to his attacks, even though she was still slower. Although she knew she would still have many more questions about her strange new job, she was still processing everything she had just learned, and figured she could find out more when the time came.