Back in Action [Joint Training | R | NDE | Permission]

[Yoko Kusanagi]

Breathe in. Breathe out. Nothing else. For Yoko this was a natural thing, practiced for thousands upon thousands of hours. Meditation was as normal to her as eating. Most days of her life started with an hour alone in silent meditation, and a quick session often helped her find the answers she sought. This was not the case for her new associate. Luke was willing to try, but it seemed he was either distracted or overtired. Maybe both. His breathing never seemed to fall into a perfect rhythm. Yoko listened carefully to the rise and fall of his chest. On occasion she snuck a peek over at him. That was when she saw his head bob downwards for just a moment. The beginner had nearly fallen asleep on her.

Though she didn't fault him for it, she couldn't help but let out a sigh of disappointment. He seemed to jolt back awake after that, though she didn't know it was due to the Doll’s influence. He was a novice. She needed patience and understanding, not judgment. After another few minutes, she began to try to guide him. “Open your mind to the world around you. Though our power comes from different sources, it all comes back to the world itself. The energy within you and the energy within the waterfall are no different.” Of course that wasn't literally true. She knew the difference between reiatsu and kinetic energy, but at their core they were both forms of power.

“The difference between my fist, that stream, and a ball of fire is just how the energy is applied, and what form it takes. Let that energy flow through you. The pathways you once used in your arms are still there. As you breathe in, bring your energy through them. As you breathe out, bring it back to your core. In… and Out… In… and Out…” If only she knew how easily she teed that one up for Jager. The exercises themselves were not hard, at least for her. The goal was not to draw out his power by force, but to help him realize it was already there. Yoko's theory, though it was just that, was that the artificial zanpakuto had been nothing but a leech. It fed on the bount’s spiritual energy to enhance his body. If she was right, that means he already had the power he needed and just needed to let it transform back into raw magical might.

That exercise repeated itself in a few variations for nearly an hour. One by one, she led him through various parts of the body and instructed him to channel his power there with the same feeling as if he had been moving his muscles. She knew by that point if the man hadn't fallen asleep then he would be near the limit of his ability to sit still. Though she had hoped to illustrate some of her view, the Fullbringer had only scraped the surface. Fighters like her relied on the principles she had spoke of. All things, living and not, had a soul. Manipulation of those souls was the root of her power. To her, the views she had expressed was as much a fact as the desert was a piece of shit.

“That will do for now.” By this point, between the hike and the bike ride it was just past noon. The sun was high in the sky, which made it easy enough to see. Given that neither of them had stopped for breakfast, nor had Yoko packed any food (ignoring the emergency rations in her bike), it was possible that Luke might have guessed what came next. “Your next step in training relies on that awareness, so I do hope you actually tried just now.” The woman pulled a bandana out of her pocket and tied it over the vampire's eyes. It was nice and thick, yet still wide enough to completely block any sunlight from reaching the man’s eyes.

”Your next task is simple to understand, but far harder than the warmup we just did. Open yourself to the energy around you and let it guide you. The goal is easy. Find lunch. The restriction, as I’m sure you guessed, is that you are not allowed to see until you find the food and bring it back to this gate.” Hopefully the meditation had calmed the man, because Yoko was a harsh instructor. The man wanted to take risks to find his power? So be it. If his lack of self-control was as bad as she thought, then he would likely fail the challenge by ignoring the rule. On the other hand, if he had grasped the lesson then the task should present minimal challenge. There was always the chance that he walked right off the cliff and killed himself, but she gave him more credit than that.

This was an exercise the Fullbringer herself knew to be possible, as she had completed the task herself in the past. In her case it was through the five human senses, not energy sensory itself, but the difference shouldn’t matter a ton. It wasn’t the point of the exercise either. The point was to force calm, rational thought. If Luke let panic set in, or lost hope, then he would have already failed. On the other hand, if he was able to maintain awareness of himself and the world around him to the point that he found a meal, then it would be clear to Yoko that her trainee was not as brash as she thought. In the end, this was all a mere precursor to the training ahead. If he proved himself here, she had faith that he could survive the more brutal methods.

[Deleted]

Luke opened his eyes once Yoko began talking to him again. He was bound to ask her what she was talking about before realizing that she was giving him instructions and guidance. Open his mind to the world around him, huh? Though he had to disagree that the power in him was the same as a waterfall. Reiatsu was a different energy source all together. But Luke had the feeling that wasn’t what Yoko was getting at with this. As the Fullbringer continued talking he’d blink with understanding, realizing what she was getting at. Focus his energy through his arms, huh? He could do that. ”In and out eh? Don’t think I don’t see that secret me-”Shut the fuck up. Luke snapped back before putting up a wall between himself and Jäger, locking the crass Doll away into a further part of his mind.

Heeding her advice though, Luke did more than just focus on his breathing. As the Bount sat silently he worked to focus his reiatsu through the pathways that Yoko mentioned. Like dried riverbeds they sat until Luke opened the dam and let the reiatsu course through them once more. From his shoulders to the tips of his fingers he focused that energy, providing a constant and steady stream. As he breathed in he pushed the energy down his arms, as he breathed out he brought the energy back into him. It was, honestly, almost like slowly lifting a weight. If he thought of his reiatsu pathways like muscles that needed a constant, careful, workout in order to improve then things would make more sense to him.

As the time passed Luke continued this form of training. The focus of his energy channeling would change depending on where Yoko instructed it to go next. Luke was careful to listen to her words, memorizing them as well as the feeling of this workout for later. At some point though Yoko announced that they had done enough of that. Opening his eyes, Luke quickly realized how sore he felt. Moving his arms felt tense and the Bount took a few moments to work on cracking various joints and bones. He was also pretty fucking hungry. ”So what’s next then?” Luke asked as he got to his feet, bending his back backwards to stretch it out.

“Your next step in training relies on that awareness, so I do hope you actually tried just now.”

”Eh?”

Confused, Luke blinked before his vision was taken away. The bandana was tied tightly around his head, blocking out even the light of the sun, as Yoko explained the next stage of the training. ”Wait what?” Luke asked, as if he was wanting to confirm that Yoko actually just asked him to go find food...blindfolded. Wait they didn’t bring food?? ”Well you didn’t pack anything but the clothes on your back so..” Windstarke answered. He wasn’t allowed to take the blindfold off until he both found food and brought it back to the gate? Weren’t they in the middle of the fucking Japanese wilderness?

Opening his mouth as if to voice a protest, Luke frowned before grumbling a little. ”So I can’t take this off till I find food...great.” Luke grumbled outloud as he began walking forward, remembering where he was facing and where things were in position to that. But thinking about what Yoko had tasked him with as he wandered off into the woods. Luke wasn’t...okay. Luke was an idiot but he wasn’t stupid. On top of having senses comparable to a animals, the Bount was also decently developed in Energy Sensory. This shouldn’t be too bad, right? Even if he couldn’t see he could still sense the spiritual energy of everything around him for at least half a mile. He could feel Yoko’s even as he got steadily farther from her. But there was a problem, Luke realized. Sensing spiritual energy wasn’t like sensing life energy. What if something didn’t have enough reiatsu for him to be able to sense it to be-GAH FUCK! Luke mentally swore as he slammed his knee into a tree trunk. This probably wasn’t going to go very well.

Needless to say it really wasn't going all that well at first. The Bount found himself stumbling, tripping, and banging his way through the forest. This is stupid.. he thought to himself, finding a tree to lean against. Panting a little, Luke was surprised to realize just how tiring hiking through the woods without seeing could be, on top of gradually growing hungrier and hungrier. Without sight he was being much slower, methodical, and using his other senses a lot more than he normally did. Hell, this was the first time Luke had ever been blind folded as a result of training. Not the first time in a fight though. Looking upwards at the sky he thought back to the time he spent in Taka's Fighting Ring, using his growing powers and combat training to make himself some fast money.

What was her name? Poison Ash? It had been such a long time since those fights he'd damn well nearly forgotten all of his past opponents names. He could recall the fights just not the names. Anyways. He remembered how Poison Ash had gotten a cloud of corrosive poison in his eyes, blinding him for nearly a day straight afterwards. He remembered the feeling of panic he got when he first realized he couldn't see, and the sting of a heel kicking his face, and how he bumbled around afterwards. He felt himself frown. This is pathetic. he told himself as he realized that just because he was blindfolded didn't mean he couldn't see. It didn't cripple him.

Slowly inhaling and exhaling, Luke lowered himself further till his butt touched the ground. He sat quietly, focusing on his breathing, as he took the time to let his other senses open themselves up further. The thud of something falling from a tree. The rustling of leaves being pushed by the wind. The scent of dirt at his feet. As Luke took the time to let his senses sharpen he worked to sharpen his Energy Sensory awareness. Animals, just like humans, possessed their own souls. Theoretically, everything had reiatsu. If reiatsu was the energy of the soul then anything living with a soul should possess it. Luke worked to sharpen his Energy Sensory from it's half mile radius to a shorter, more alert, distance. His brow furrowed as his focused.

One by one, little by little, sparks of light began to illuminate in the darkness around him. Like little fires inside lanterns or burning atop candles, reiatsu signatures began to become clear to him. His lips pursed some as he noticed a good few reiatsu signatures not that far away from him. Lifting his head, Luke focused his Energy Sensory on them until the little flames began to take a rudimentary shape of what it was. Long body...four legs...a deer? A Sika deer. Luke nearly forgot that Japan had its own deer. Pushing himself to his feet, Luke began to make his way towards the signatures while being mindful of any obstacles in his way.

Spending 20 TTP to Learn Spirit Waves

Crouching once he was close enough and resting his hand against the trunk of a tree, Luke was probably about fifteen yards away from the grazing herd. Well, "herd". It was only, like, four of them looking for food now that the Winter was warming up. Now how was he going to get them? If Luke went chasing after them he'd, without a doubt, slam into a tree. Wrestling them wasn't a option. "I didn't hear a rule saying you couldn't use one of us." Jäger offered but was declined. Lifting his right hand and extending his index finger, Luke "stared" at the digit for a moment before deciding to try something. He hadn't done this in a long time, not since Munran'na altered his fighting style. He was certain he could still do it if he really wanted to. It was like riding a bicycle.

Pointing his hand at the closest energy signature like it was a gun he focused. Sending reiatsu into the tip of his finger and letting it build up, Luke put what Yoko had him do during meditation into practice. Once the reiatsu was ready, Luke mentally went Bang!. Like a gun, a ball of reiatsu fired from his finger and flew straight into the side of one of the deer. That sense of accomplishment was quickly shattered though when Luke realized that, though the deer got knocked over, it quickly got back up and began sprinting away with the others. His jaw dropped for a moment, preparing to go after them, when he realized what went wrong.

I'm an idiot. He told himself, going "tch" as he lifted his hand back up. With how strong my reiatsu is right now...that was like the deer getting punched by someone who had never worked out before in their life. I basically shot a baseball not a bullet. Luke explained to himself, frowning as he got to his feet. So the hunt continued with that bit of knowledge gained.

Finally, after who knows how long, Luke approached the Shinto Gate where Yoko waited. In Luke's hand was a transparent container, as if made from reiatsu and air, with a collection of about six or so wakasagi. "I ended up finding a river." Luke explained, reaching up to remove the blindfold from himself. He was...rather dirty. And his pants looked as though they had gotten wet at some point. Luke had ended up using some Air Arsenal creations to catch the fish he had brought back. He looked, and felt, tired as hell from all the hiking.

[Yoko Kusanagi]

Benefit of the doubt. It was a very powerful thing. Yoko had gained some slight faith in Luke when he actually managed to complete the meditative exercises without too much further groaning or complaining. She still wasn’t sure if he would be able to complete everything assigned to him, but she was certainly going put him through his paces. And after completing that first task, she was actually willing to give him that benefit of the doubt. Luke had showed the ability to actually shut up and focus when the chips were on the table, and that was the biggest roadblock that she had seen for the vampire. Since he was able to properly focus his attention on a singular goal, she had little doubt that he would succeed at the next stage… assuming he didn’t get too frustrated.

That meant Yoko had an awful lot of time on her hands though. She watched Luke wander off into the woods and couldn’t help but suppress a giggle as he struggled right away. Clearly the man had done one of two things. Either he had inferred some deeper meaning in challenge and assumed he had to go on a hunt, or he had just been oblivious to the world around him. Yoko got up from her perch under the Shinto Gate and took a few paces over towards a Fuji Apple tree on the edge of the clearing. One swift strike shook the thing violently and a dozen apples tumbled down onto the grass at her feet. She did hope Luke wouldn’t be too annoyed by this realization when he got back.

After depositing the apples back under the gate, Yoko set back out to the woods and began the ever so fun task of collecting firewood. It was important to not grab anything to fresh if she wanted the fire to burn well. It took her a few minutes, but she eventually caught the scent of decaying timber. Without any hesitation she let her nose guide her to a fallen tree that was almost entirely dried out. That would burn quickly, but given the tree was thicker around than she was, it would be enough to last for quite some time. It actually took her a good deal of effort, but the Fullbringer ripped the tree from the ground and hauled it back to the clearing.

Once it was there, she laid it down and snapped it into manageable pieces. A blow was sent into the ground in preparation for a fire pit. A small crater was made, devoid of any grass that might start a wildfire. Hunks of the tree were tossed in, and a small fire was started with the aid Soul Command. Sure, she could have just used some flint or rubbed a stick together, but a minor application of reiatsu was far easier. The fire was made in preparation for the return of the Bount. Based on how he had started, Yoko was quite confident that he would return with meat, and she wasn’t about to eat anything raw. The last thing she wanted was to be hours from civilization and get the runs.

With that task done, there was the matter of setting up an actual place to sleep. They were probably going to be here for quite some time. While Yoko was perfectly capable of falling asleep in a literal hole in the ground, she preferred to be a bit more comfortable when possible. More trees were needed, though this time she chose ones that were still quite alive. For a structure she wanted things that still had all their strength. Could she punch a bunch of trees to death? Sure. Did she really want to do that? No. She wanted something far more precise if she was going to do actual construction work. If she was sloppy and ended up with splinters in her butt as a result then it would only be herself that she had to blame.

Dependent on how focused Luke had been at that specific moment, he may well have missed it. For just a single moment there was a surge in reiatsu in the area as Yoko had activated her Fullbring for a single moment. Under her breath she had called out her power’s invocation. ”I am Gundam. Guardian.” It was a rare use that made sense to release at her first level, but she did so nonetheless. A simple English Longsword, a kabar combat knife, and a pistol were willed into existence with the release of her power, but the release was ended as soon as those weapons had spawned into existence. The pistol got tucked into her waistband in back. The pistol was only summoned on the off chance that she would need it later to scare off a bear or something like that. As for the knife it got threaded into a loop on her pants, and would no doubt come in handy for pure utility.

As for the sword, she got to work with it right away. Trees fell one by one to single swings of her blade. When her raw strength was focused onto a single point like the edge of a blade, cleaving through the trunk of a tree was not anything challenging to her. Given each one only took a single swing, she had soon cleared a good chunk out of the edge of the clearing. With a bit more effort she had jammed four of the logs into the ground back at the campsite. Those four stood vertical, as the corner pillars of the structure. The remainder of the logs were rolled together to make a floor and other smaller ones were lashed together to form a roof.

Eventually Luke returned to the makeshift camp, clearly quite tired from his ordeal. Yoko had put in a good amount of work to make this trip more bearable in the meantime. When her companion approached she was in the process of spreading leaves over the roof of their structure to help insulate the roof and fill in gaps that might otherwise let water through. ”Nice find. You like what I’ve done with the place?” She waited to hear his reply before she offered a proper evaluation of his training. Given how beat up he looked, it was pretty clear that the vampire had actually avoided cheating on his task. Step two of Yoko’s plan to make him a good caster type was finished.

”It looks like you managed to figure a way to get it done. Shame you missed the apple tree over there, but I won’t complain about having some fish. The goal of that was two fold though. The first is to appreciate your environment at all times. If I asked you to repeat that in a different area, I doubt you’d miss the nearby food source a second time. Second is that I’m sure you’re pretty beat after that. You get a bit of a breather for now, but we’re gonna push on to the next phase after lunch.” With her evaluation given the Fullbringer grabbed the fish and began prep work with the knife she had summoned earlier.

After that prep work was finished she quickly whittled a few skewers for the fish out of a spare log and got them cooking on the fire. She sat there in silence for a bit unless Luke felt the need to make conversation. Once the fish was ready, she offered him the freshly cooked bounty, as well as however many apples he could stomach. Of course she took her share too, but she did at least offer ”Thanks for hunting up something good by the way. It’ll be way easier without the blindfold in the future, but I can probably handle that part from here on out.” There was in fact a method to her madness, and she was actually quite far from cruel. Had the exercise not been a valuable training tool she wouldn’t have done it in the first place.

With the rumbling in their stomachs sated, Yoko explained the next step in the training to her companion. ”You’ve made good progress on control. We’re going to switch gears a bit and work on endurance and power now. I’ve noticed that people always seem to be able to draw out more of their power when they actually running close to on empty. As long as you can get into the right mindset, then breaking your limits seems to happen when you have nothing left to give. I don’t care how you do it, but for the next step I want you to drain every last drop of reiatsu out of your body. And then I want you to keep going. Every time you feel a trickle of power starting to recover, spend it. Even if you’re not sure you can summon enough energy to make an ability work, I want you to try. We’ll keep this up until it’s time for dinner.”

[Deleted]

Needless to say he was rather surprised when he took off the blindfold. Last he was here there had been nothing more than a lone Shinto gate standing atop a cliff's edge. But he saw that Yoko had been busy herself rather than just lazing about while he completed his task. She had created a makeshift campsite out of trees she must have collected from the nearby forest. It didn’t look half bad. But Luke didn’t really appreciate the design or effort at the moment, mostly because he was giving Yoko a deadpan face as he looked at what she was pointing at. A apple tree was just...there. Did either of you notice that..? Luke asked his Dolls as he passed off his fish to Yoko.

”No..”

”Yes. I. Did. I just didn’t say anything. Fufufu.” Jäger was lying.

Appreciate the environment huh? So that was Yoko’s lesson for him. Seems Luke ended up looking for some deeper meaning to the training than what was actually there. He could have saved himself a lot of hassle if he had noticed that tree. Luke was a bit too tired to say anything, just sitting down by the fire and closing his eyes while he waited for everything to cook. Being handed some fish and apples, Luke went to town chowing down on his portions. Despite not having any seasonings or spices put onto them, the fish just tasted great in its own way. Maybe cus Luke caught it himself or maybe because he was so hungry that it just didn’t matter. Regardless, he cleared through his portions rather quickly. He was already a speed eater to begin with but now it just looked like he was swallowing everything whole.

Getting the chance to sit and rest with a full belly was appreciated though. Chewing on a apple, Luke perked up when Yoko started talking again. Listening to her next step in the training, Luke raised an eyebrow at her idea. Spend all his reiatsu and everytime he felt even a little power come back blow that however he could? ”I don’t see the point in that at all. It’ll simply leave you in a constant state of exhaustion.” Windstarke replied, though they all knew Yoko wouldn’t be able to hear the Doll’s protest. Luke listened quietly, his muddy brown eyes focused exclusively on Yoko, before they closed and the Bount pushed himself to his feet. ”Then I’ll go ahead and get started.” Luke replied calmly and without any questions.

As the Bount relocated himself away from the campsite, Jäger once again spoke his mind. ”Wait you’re going along with this? What if this is all some sort of plan to steal your sperm?” Well, he had to go and ask a retarded question. But the first part of his question was okay to answer. What she said makes some sense. People, humans especially, always pull more power out of our asses when we’re near our breaking points. It’s happened how many times for me? You three are proof that it at least works. Luke replied as he found a decent enough space that wasn’t swallowed up by trees. He was still in view of the camp Yoko made.

So now the problem was going to be burning through that reiatsu. Luke had a lot of it, after all. Cracking his fingers, Luke closed his eyes and focused. Stretching his right hands fingers out into a gun shape, the Bount pointed his fingergun out over the cliff and focused. Reiatsu gathered and concentrated in his finger until it was released, firing a blast of reiatsu outwards into the air that travelled some distance before vanishing away. Spirit Waves didn’t cost much reiatsu, but Luke saw it as a opportunity to get back into using the technique he once frequently used plus giving his reiatsu strength some stretching. Well, Luke got to work.

Hours later and a billion and a half Spirit Waves later, Luke sat on the cliffs edge. Breathing heavily as a result of burning away all his reiatsu during this training, and drenched in sweat, the Bount stared down at the canyon beneath his dangling feet. ”You’ve been at this for a few hours now. You feel any different?” Windstarke asked as Luke closed his eyes. Just tired. Like my body is made of lead. Luke answered as he pulled himself back from the cliff by scooting back and getting to his feet. Looking at his hand before pointing it out to the sky, Luke built up the energy that he was beginning to get back. Wincing from effort, a cloudy ball of reiatsu appeared in his hand before transforming into a lousy beam that fired into the air.

Luke wobbled backwards, his stamina taking another massive hit as he hit zero reiatsu again. Letting out a massive, built up, breath Luke slammed his back against a tree as he crumbled down onto his butt. Panting heavily, Luke began to question how effective this was. He wasn’t feeling any stronger at all. He only felt more and more tired. Resting his arm against his knee, the Bount looked up at the steadily lowering sun in the sky. He might have been able to do this stuff faster if it wasn’t daytime. He didn’t dare use the Bount resting technique during the day. He had no idea what would happen. If the other Bount powers he had all brought about a weakness to sunlight, then there was a reasonable expectation that even the resting technique would do the same. Closing his eyes, Luke just decided to rest until he found more energy to expend again.

[Yoko Kusanagi]

Now it was time for some fun. Yoko had played along quite nicely. She had told Luke over and over that the key to him growing stronger in the spiritual arts was meditation and calm. She had helped him gain better control through those means. They had both agreed that the safe way was the way to do everything right? Surely Yoko had been completely genuine with all that, and didn’t actually think about using her earlier plan of putting Luke’s life on the line to force to grow stronger. That simply couldn’t have been her plan all along. No, such deception would have been downright evil of her. Well, maybe not evil, but definitely a dick move at the very least.

Several hours had passed while Luke drained his reiatsu down to virtually nothing. In the meantime Yoko had continued her work on the shelter, adding a side on it that blocked the direction the wind came from at least. It seemed that her coworker had finally run out of steam though. She heard the thud of his back against something. It seemed that he lacked the energy to even stand up. Perfect. Sure the situation was artificial, but her plan had come together nicely. Step one had been to build trust. She had offered value and insight that made her seem like she was on his side and interested in his progress. Step two had just completed by draining all his body and soul.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Play This - Bleach OST - Confrontation}

Now it was time for the third and hopefully final phase of her plan. Yoko walked over to Luke and crouched down. One arm draped over his shoulder and onto his chest. Her lips right next to his ear. It was almost intimate. But then her plan revealed itself. The words that left her mouth were not “it’s time for dinner.” No, they lacked even the warmth that they had a few hours ago when they had last spoke. ”Too easy.” In one swift motion she grabbed the fabric of his shirt and hurled the man right off the cliff. The motion was simple enough, as with her monstrous strength it took no more than a flick of her wrist.

The man would fall off the cliff, and it would take everything he had left to even form Air Ground to stop him from being crushed by the fall itself. This had been the plan all along. Drain him dry. Remove every last speck of his strength. And then threaten his life. It was a simulation, sure, but her goal was to recreate the situation that made a hero find new power. Luke claimed that Yoko was too late for this method to work, but either she was right, or he would be too dead to brag about it. Having hurled him off the cliff, she walked up to the edge herself and took on the role of villain.

”Did you think I did this all out of the kindness of my heart? Did you actually think I gave a shit about you?” Her laughter filled the air for a mile around. It bounced off the nearby hills and created an echo chamber filled with her cackling cries of hysteria at that peril of her coworker. ”I even tried to give you a warning earlier, but here you are like an idiot. Not a drop of power left in your body, and now it’s time for you to die like the monster you really are!” It was honestly a little hard for her to say those lines, given that it wasn’t how she felt, but Yoko acted as best she could to try and force Luke to do what he needed to do and surpass his limits.

She dove off the cliff after him, but she didn’t let herself slow down or use air ground. Yoko was in a streamlined dive right towards the Bount. If she reached him, her arm was pulled back into a punch with all of her strength. Given the man’s dropping physical power and current complete lack of stamina, even a single punch from her would probably prove fatal. This was the moment she had worked to create. A life of death crisis out of nowhere. Sure, she didn’t want him to actually die, but if he did then that just meant he was too weak to save himself. Would Luke be able to find a way to surpass his limits and defend himself, or was his fate to die out in the Japanese wilderness?

((In case it's not obvious, I consent to Luke having a plothax powerup moment so that he doesn't die.))

[Deleted]

Luke opened his eyes and perked up a little when Yoko approached him. What did she want? Was it time to quit? Well, regardless, Luke intended to ask her just what the point of this training method was supposed to be. He was failing to see how blowing all of his energy was going to increase his power in the end, but didn’t get to ask his question because of what Yoko did next. Blinking and giving the Fullbringer a awkward look when she got a little too close, Luke was about to open his mouth when the words that slipped between her lips like a snakes tongue reached his ear. He didn’t even get to go “huh” before he was suddenly fucking thrown. ”What the hell?!” Windstake took the words out of the startled Bounts mouth.

Letting out a yell as he fell, a million questions shot through Luke’s head as he frantically and instinctively reached out for something to grab. But Yoko had been smart to throw him as close to the center of the canyon as she could to make sure that he didn’t simply grab onto something. ”Grab the air! Air ground now!!” Jäger shouted as if Luke had the energy to do it. Well, adrenaline pumping through your veins was a good way to muster up some power that was for fucking sure. As the Bount hollered as he fell he would reach out with his right hand and muster what little reiatsu he had remaining.

Similar to the process of creating air ground, but actually creating reiatsu, Luke created a Class 7 Advanced Air Platform ledge for him to grab onto. Almost like he had grabbed onto a bar, the Bount bounced from the sudden shock and swung a little. His fingers felt like they were on fire. Wincing and grinding his teeth, Luke practically begged to hold on and that he could gather the strength to actually generate some real air ground to grab onto. But the hours of blasting away his reiatsu had taken his toll because the Platform dissipated only moments later, letting the Bount begin falling once again. Thankfully, though, he was able to create a patch of air ground to slow his fall again though it ended up giving away under his feet after slowing him down. Thankfully he wasn’t that far up now, so when his feet, then knees, hit the gravelstone floor of the canyon nothing was broken. Cept maybe his pride.

Panting like a dog and drenched in his sweat, Luke turned his attention back up to the top of the cliff. ”Kusanagi...what the fuck are you-” Luke began to ask before he was cut off by what Yoko had to say. His panting quieted down as his face perfectly displayed the mix of emotions that he was going through. His eyes flashed with shock and confusion as he listened to what she had to say. Luke didn’t think she was doing this out of the kindness of her heart. She had made it perfectly clear when she kicked her door in that she was doing this so he didn’t end up getting her killed. The man pushed himself to his feet with enough effort, but what Yoko called him actually nearly made him fall back down.

”-now it’s time for you to die like the monster you really are!” The two Dolls were stunned. Luke was stunned. His muddy brown eyes widened and just...stared at Yoko. He looked at Yoko as if she had just stabbed him with a knife. That word repeatedly echoed through his mind. ”What did...you just…” He began to ask, his voice to low for Yoko to realistically hear him, before Jäger interrupted him. ”Move stupid!” he shouted, snapping Luke out of it when he realized that the Fullbringer had literally leapt from the cliff and was plunging towards him. Taking a step back was already a struggle so could he actually avoid this? ”Nngghk.” the Bount growled through bared teeth as he mustered up reiatsu from the depths. Before Yoko could slam into him, the Bount would suddenly blur with high speed Movement as he maneuvered to his right.

At least, to Yoko, it might seem like he blurred. Movement would jump his Speed to 900 for that single step. It, thankfully, only cost like 25 reiatsu. Thanks to it Luke would be able to avoid getting pancaked by Yoko. Reappearing about fifteen meters away, Luke ended up falling over again after coming out of his step due to the state of exhaustion he was in. ”Get up! You can’t fight her in this state. Bring one of us out!” Windstarke exclaimed as Luke looked back to where Yoko had landed. ”He can’t. He doesn’t have the reiatsu to pull you out, let alone me!” Jäger snapped back in panic. Jäger would cost more than Windstarke to summon anyways. Pushing himself back to his feet and panting heavily, Luke’s mind began to race trying to think up something. Those two techniques alone pushed him even further down the drain.

”Can you use that Nebel thing to get away? Or the shadow one??” Jäger asked, trying his best to give Luke options. After a moment's thought, No.. was his answer. Not only had Yoko’s trap practically drained him dry, but she had made sure to do so when it was still fucking daylight out. The sun was still out and shining down on Luke. If he used his Bount powers now then Yoko was going to be the least of his problems. She had him. His back was to the wall and he didn’t have any fangs or claws to pull out. All he could do right now was try to get away.

[Yoko Kusanagi]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Play this – Naruto OST – Girei}

Luke had managed to avoid her strike, but only barely. The Fullbringer had landed fist first into the ground, and even for her that stung a little. She shook it off quickly enough and popped up into a normal stance, not even a fighting one. Luke had managed a little bit of power, but nothing substantial. She needed to push him more. Further. What more could she do than simply threatening his life though? Perhaps he thought so poorly of himself that his life simply didn’t hold as much value as that of others? Yes, that was a good villain move right? Threaten to kill everyone he knows, loves, and cares about. Make it look like they all want him dead too. Yeah, that could work.

With a hand on her hip, she gave Luke the best confident smirk she could manage. Reiatsu flowed out from her as she activated Cog. She didn’t think it would actually do much on Luke, but it couldn’t hurt to pump out an intimidating aura right? Once Cog was active she began to walk towards Luke. Her strides were painfully slow. Deliberate. An obviously sarcastic slow clap started. ”Very good! You managed to avoid instant death! You might just make this interesting yet!” The condescension and sarcasm dripped off of every word she spoke. It was clear from her words that she thought nothing of him in his current state, even though in truth she knew she was stoking the fires of a resurgence in power.

Another step towards him. She had heard what had triggered him. She would exploit that. ”Why do you think Kazura was so quick to approve the time off and didn’t stop it? Why do you think I came back from the middle of the desert soon after you showed up and proved your strength? Did this all seem like a coincidence to you? What about all those times your so-called friends worked alongside you… did you think that’s because they liked you?” She offered him time to ponder what she was getting at. She was doing everything in her power to break him. ”It’s because they’re afraid of what you are, Vampire. You’re an unnatural abomination, and you’ve grown strong enough that Kazura realized I need to make sure this is your last ever sunset.”

Several more steps were taken towards the man. She was getting close, but her advance was purposely delayed. She was giving him time to get just enough energy to do something with it. ”You’re a threat to everyone around you. I wasn’t lying when I said you were fine as long as you don’t start treating people like cattle, but we know the truth about you demons of the night. We just haven’t caught you yet. Vampiric charisma means you can lie to our faces about it and we’d never know the difference. Did you think we’re dumb enough to not realize that?” Another few strides. Her pace had quickened and she was only a half dozen feet away now.

Yoko’s hand reached back and pulled out the English Longsword she had made earlier. This was the finale. This was do or die. One swing to decide if Luke had the power he needed all along or not. ”After I’m done putting you down, I’ll go purify everything you’ve ever touched. Every loved one. Every family member you’ve kept hidden away. Each person you’ve called a friend that isn’t already in on it. Even that stupid fucking cat of yours.” She sprung at him, the sword brought down in an overhead blow aimed to cut the Bount cleanly in half down the middle. If it bit into him, there was no chance of him surviving. ”I’LL WIPE OUT EVERY LAST TRACE OF THE CORRUPTION YOUR KIND HAS INFLICTED UPON THIS WORLD, VAMPIRE!”

[Deleted]

Yoko spat more exposition at him as she recovered from her landing. Luke’s eyes, more trained to focus on combat, didn’t fail to notice that Yoko seemed a bit stung by what she did. Even shebeasts with assloads of strength weren’t impervious, it seemed. Deeps breaths in and deep breaths out, Luke glared ahead at the Fullbringer who walked towards him with a deliberate slowness. Like a lioness walking up on her fallen prey. He recognized the use of Willpower: Cog, the intimidating aura she was pumping out was the telltale signal of that technique. Unfortunately for Yoko it wouldn’t work on Luke, seeing how it only worked on weaker people, but the message still came across the same. She was acting cocky. She was certain the kill was hers.

Luke realized quickly that he was stepping back away from Yoko. His feet had instinctively moved the Bount back due to his body unconsciously prioritizing flight over fighting. Luke returned his attention to Yoko as she once again began talking, and what she had to say definitely had the sort of effect she was looking for. When what she was saying registered with him, Luke’s eyes began to widen. What she was saying...there was no way it was true. But thinking about it, it was strange that Kazura had just instantly okayed their training trip. Karakura was always under need of protection from spiritual threats after all, all hands needed to be on deck at all times. That made sense, to him, at least. With no ability to know when the next attack would come Karakura would need Uzaki Enterprise to always be ready...yet here the two of them were hours away from the city in the wilderness. And Kazura okayed that without a second thought?

Luke didn’t know anything about Yoko. All he could do was take what she said about her own return at face value. But that couldn’t be right. There was no way she returned just because of him. She started talking about his coworkers. Marcus, Vesta, and Kazura himself. It made Luke remember the night he met Marcus. Back then Luke had been experimenting with and testing his powers in Taka’s fighting ring to make some money. Marcus had been scoping the location out for potential members. He had filled out the application the Fullbringer had given him and been honest about his race. While Marcus never showed any outward sign, Luke was certain at that time some sort of thought or another went through his head when he found out what his newest coworker was. Was the training they did, the nights they went out eating and drinking, was that all fake? Just to keep an eye on a potentially dangerous individual?


“We uh haven’t really set a date yet, but I was wondering… if it’s not too much of a hassle and you’re not too busy, would you be one of my groomsmen?”

Marcus had even invited Luke to his marriage. Had it been fake or was Marcus just overly trusting? Paranoia was beginning to form. Was Vesta also in danger? And then there was Kazura. If the CEO was worried about Luke...then it made sense why he didn’t send Luke away when the reports about the controlled Hollow attacks came out. Everyone else was sent on missions outside the city, but Luke wasn’t. Despite being one of the stronger in UE, he wasn’t sent away. Kazura might have said it was because he wasn’t sure how strong Luke was really, or what his strengths were, but Luke knew that had to be bullshit. Nobody else in UE had fought and defeated Vandenreich Sternritter. Now it made sense. ”Luke, stop! Stop freaking out!” Windstarke shouted, trying to put some sense back into Luke’s thoughts. One of the mans flaws was that he was easily stressed out. He was prone to freaking out if backed into a corner.

”It’s because they’re afraid of what you are, Vampire. You’re an unnatural abomination, and you’ve grown strong enough that Kazura realized I need to make sure this is your last ever sunset.” Yoko taunted as she continued her approach. ”No..” Luke murmured, trying to speak despite the boulder that seemed to be caught in his chest. “Bount... answer carefully. When was the last time you fed?” The words Aevus directed at him when he found out still rung clear in his head. "This, is what most Bount I've ever met have been like. You hear a lot of legends about them. But the most common name would probably be." "First and foremost, figuring out what you are, as you clearly don't know. From there, I can get a better feel of how to handle ya." "- you should have told me you were a fucking BOUNT!" Even Taka had quite the reaction when she found out, though he understood why she did.

”You’re a threat to everyone around you.” Couldn’t blame Yoko for not knowing. Nobody in Uzaki’s knew about it actually. Not a single employee, or Kazura, knew about that night Luke first faced the Vandenreich. They didn’t know that Luke was partially responsible for the destruction of the Hatagaya District. That he had killed hundreds of people in a single night. That his own Doll was responsible for this. His entire desire to be a hero was because of that night. Luke strived to make amends for the disaster he caused. The only way he could do that was by devoting his life to saving others, to helping others, to fighting evil that threatened other people's lives. Becoming a hero that fought for the justice he sought.

He wasn’t a monster. He wasn’t a monster that fed on other people. He was a hero trying to make things right. Luke’s teeth ground together in his mouth, crunching and cracking together in his building anger. Yoko was threatening his friends. What family he had left. And even threatened to go after every single Bount she could find. Why did Luke care about that last part? ”Because you’ve fooled yourself into thinking you’re one of them. You’re not human. You’re a Bount.” For a moment, the times he shared with everyone he knew in UE flashed in his mind before it all snapped. ”I am not...a monster!!” Luke shouted as he accidentally Gated and caused his reiatsu explode, and activated that technique.

Yoko’s sword which threatened to cleave him in two was suddenly blasted back as a glowing aura surrounded the man and pushed outwards. If Yoko was touched by it then she, like her sword, would be pushed back against her will. A quarter inch for every 100 Luke had in Reiatsu Strength. This technique had a name, Ken, and it was something Luke knew thanks to Marcus. With his Reiatsu Strength breaking its limits and shooting to a whooping 1400 (700 base), Yoko wouldn’t be able to break through Ken. But Ken was a defensive technique. What she needed to worry about was the teal colored light building up in Luke’s right hand. ”I won’t...let you touch them! I will protect them!!” Luke roared as he threw his arm forward. Despite being a Class 5 technique, with 1400 Reiatsu Strength powering the Spirit Wave that Luke fired was practically the size of something you’d see in DragonBall Z. The massive teal colored beam blasted through the canyon, blowing apart the floor and running stream before it eventually made its way into the cliff face itself. The beam burrowed its way through the earth until it shot out the other end.

Steam sizzled from the palm of his hand as Luke stood there, unmoving, his eyes wide with fury. His eyes, normally a muddy brown, were now glowing amber. The Bount blood inside him had been fired up, displaying itself now in his eyes. ”Doesn’t matter…” he said softly, venom dripping from his voice as his arm lowered itself limply. ”It doesn’t matter what any of you bastards think of me...my goal won’t change…I won’t quit until I become a hero...” he hissed to himself, before he ended up dropping to a knee. Ken, Gate, and that Spirit Wave? No, there was no way Luke was going to remain standing or even conscious when he blew all that energy. He had already been running on fumes. In a anime, someone might say he used his own life energy to fuel those attacks but...this wasn’t an anime so. Luke’s head hit the gravel floor hard, unable to remain conscious now due to blowing all his energy and more.

[Yoko Kusanagi]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Play This - Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works - Fist of desperate~Awakening}

”I am not...a monster!!” As Yoko’s sword swung down towards the Bount, it stopped in its tracks without him so much as lifting a finger to defend himself. The man was aglow with power, and the Fullbringer had found herself flung backwards by his raw might. Her sword was blasted back, and she instinctively jumped backwards a dozen feat as well. A bead of sweat rolled down her face as she realized that her coworker had managed the breakthrough that she had tried to force upon him. The simulation had been good enough. The threat had been real enough. As much as she hated it, she had been evil enough. It was a complete success.

Now she just had to survive what she had created. That was the hard part. She saw the energy blast charging in his hand plain as day. He had used the technique dozens if not hundreds of times in her presence in the last few hours alone, and she wasn’t about to miss something like that. I’ll just dodge it, she thought. With Bringer Light that should be easy enough. That’s what she thought, but oh how woefully unprepared she was. ”I won’t...let you touch them! I will protect them!!” Yeaaah, he’d gone full hero. The blast that erupted outwards from Luke made her think more of a Final Flash than what she’d seen earlier in the day.

It was huge. No. Massive! There was no way she could hope to dodge something that obscenely large. Her metal arm was thrown in front of her to try to catch it, but the sheer mass of the attack caused her to slide backwards until she had dug into the ground up to her ankles. Shit. This is what she had been trying to get out of him, but she had underestimated his potential. Her arm sizzled and cracked, clearly coming close to reaching its limits just by holding back the spirit wave from enveloping her. If she didn’t bust out the big guns, then she was going to die. As much as she didn’t like to admit it, she simply needed more than her base strength for this.

As the elbow on her metal limb threatened to give out, Yoko answered Luke’s defiant roar with her own yelled proclamation. ”This is it! This is what I knew you could do!” She continued far softer, at a volume that she thought perhaps only she could hear. ”I’m sorry that I can’t let you kill me for how I treated you.” Reiatsu flooded into Yoko’s right arm and she activated a technique strong enough to defend herself: Impact. There was no reference nor a battle cry. She owed Luke too much as it was. Her right hand met the beam and split it cleanly down the middle. Reiatsu flowed out around her and raced off into the forest.

Her breath was heavy from the use of impact, but it was nothing on Luke’s exhaustion. The man was beyond spent, and it was painfully obvious from looking at him. ”Doesn’t matter… It doesn’t matter what any of you bastards think of me...my goal won’t change…I won’t quit until I become a hero...” With those words said, he collapsed onto the ground. That had been everything he had left. Still a bit cautious, Yoko advanced over to him, her eyes and ears alert for any sign of movement. All she could hear was the rise and fall of his chest with each raspy breath. That had indeed been enough to knock him out, but he had done it.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Change Music - Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou - Sakura no Saku Koro ni}

Given everything that Luke had just been through, she felt awful about the whole thing. She had done what she needed to do to make him stronger, yes, but did the ends justify the means? She honestly wasn’t sure. In the olden days, when she truly cared for no one but herself (and Kazura of course), it would have been an easy decision. His power was improved. His chances of surviving future attempts on his life were up. The chances of him saving innocents were better. But Yoko was no longer an innocent here. She had become that which she despised to help fuel his growth. Did those steps down that road make her evil, or was she still a good person even though she said such awful things?

At that point, she didn’t know, and that bothered her. With a heavy heart full of pity for the Bount, Yoko kneeled down next to Luke and lowered herself into a seiza-style stance. As gently as she could manage, the woman rolled the man over so that his head rest in her lap, rather than the harsh ground of the forest. A hand was run through his hair as she talked to him, even though she knew he couldn’t hear. ”I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.” Over and over again she repeated herself. She hated what she had to become to force his power out, and she despised herself for putting him through that kind of betrayal.

Quite a bit of time passed like that before the Bount was able to awaken. If he tried to move, a hand on his chest would keep him pinned in place. ”I know it’s not good enough, but I’m sorry Luke.” Once those words had escaped her, she braced herself for whatever vitriol might be sent her way. Regardless of if he said nothing at all or cursed her and a thousand generations of her ancestors she continued her apology. ”I know you may not believe me, and I know you’ll probably never forgive me, but I didn’t mean anything I said back there. I played a part that I saw you needed. Every good hero needs a villain right?”

Once more she braced herself for whatever harshness Luke might have in store for her. The weight on his chest was lifted at this point, as she removed her hand and let the man stand if he so wished. Yoko’s head remained bowed in shame at what she had done. ”If you want to despise me, that’s fine. If you want to hate me, I accept your hate. If you want to beat me down, I’ll take it without resisting. All I ask is that you don’t take that out on the others. They had nothing to do with this. Hell, I haven’t even seen or talked to Kazura in years. The orders to return I got were from his secretary for Christ’s sake. I acted on my own and did what I thought would unlock the spiritual power within you. You even told me this method worked in the past for you!”

Her head was bowed all the way into the dirt at this point. She had prostrated herself before the Bount, and was clearly ready to accept punishment as the man saw fit. It was obvious that she bore him no ill will at this point, and felt nothing but regret at her actions. Once more she begged him. ”Please forgive me, but even if you don’t, please remember that feeling. It took almost everything I had to hold back your attack. Even if you choose to hate me for the rest of your life, I’ll accept it since it means I was able to help a hero become stronger. You don’t need to become one. You already are a hero, a protector. You’re not what Karakura deserves, but what it needs right now.”

Fucking dammit. She’d ruined the whole emotional plea with a batman reference at the end. And she’d been doing so good too! Hopefully he missed that one at least.

[Deleted]

”Nnnghk..” Luke grumbled, signaling that he was coming to for the Fullbringer, before his eyelids slowly peeled back to reveal those brown eyes again. He was alive? Did he destroy Kusanagi with that attack? Memories about what happened before he passed out returned to him, before he realized that Yoko was right there in his vision. His focus shifted onto the blonde, blinking for a moment, and then realizing what had happened. The fact that she was still there meant that his attack had failed. But, the fact that he was still alive meant that everything she had said to him had been fake. She had been screaming about why she was going to kill him, after all. The fact he would still be alive would be strange, so him waking up must have meant that she had said those things to trigger and push him.

Also, did she put his head in her lap? The Bount was still so exhausted, confused, and honestly still too pissed for his inexperience with intimacy to make an appearance. Looking at Yoko caused those emotions from earlier to start bubbling back up, but the expression she wore on her face and the look in her eyes was why Luke didn’t explode and why he remained quiet. Her hand pressed firmly to his chest to keep him from getting up. It was obvious she had something to say. She apologized. Luke looked at her, blinking slowly, as she expressed her grief over what she had said and done to him.

Going off what she said, it looked like she decided to play the role of villain to put Luke into a situation where his power would explode. ”Sorry to burst your bubble, but you’re a bit too late if you were hoping for me to awaken some hidden power by fighting you.” had been what he told her. He was an idiot for not realizing how wrong he had been. Time and time again, when pushed into a corner and all his power failed, Luke would always reveal a brand new asspull to get him out of trouble. Yoko had been smart enough to see that he had been wrong it seemed. The weight on his chest lifted, freeing him to get up. Yoko wasn’t his lover, so the Bount sat himself up to get his head off of her lap. But he didn’t suddenly jump to his feet, he just chose to sat there while she continued on.

What surprised him was that she was bowing her head to him. He blinked, surprised, but still remained quiet as she continued. What Yoko told him he could do to her...he just didn’t see himself doing that. There wasn’t any point in hitting her over this. He’d already blasted her with that massive attack already. She explained how all of what she had said had been an act to push Luke to awakening his true spiritual power. She even said that Luke had told her that what they had just done worked for Luke in the past. Shit. He really had been wrong about what he said earlier.

The words of encouragement she gave him were appreciated though. She believed that he was already a hero. His gaze softened and lowered for a moment. He wasn’t sure he could agree with her on that right now but he decided not to press the issue or start a argument. Once all was said and done, Luke let silence persist between them for a bit longer as he cast his eyes upward to look at the damage he’d done to the canyon wall. Spirit Waves wasn’t exactly a strong attack and yet it had done that? ”Get up. It’s embarrassing seeing you act like this.” Luke replied, looking away from Yoko as he said that. Regardless if she did or not, he decided to keep talking.

”Too be honest...I’m not sure I can forgive you for what you said.” Luke replied, letting that sink in for a moment. ”But I’ll accept your apology. You didn’t mean those things...you were just trying to push me. I understand that now. So...let’s just move on like that didn’t happen.” Luke compromised. He was the type to hold grudges, but he’d also forgive those that deserved to be forgiven. Yoko couldn’t take back the things she said, but the reason she had said them in the first place and her grief filled apology let Luke forgive her. ”Can’t argue with the results though..” he said softly, lifting his arm up and looking at it. He could feel the power just flowing beneath his skin now.

The block on his powers from Munran’na were gone. Without the sword to sap his spiritual power to turn it into physical power, Luke’s true spiritual might that had been slumbering and growing had finally awoken. Whether or not it would help in the end was waiting to be seen. But, even so, the training had been a success. Grunting and pushing himself to his feet, Luke wobbled a little. He was still exhausted from all of that. He’d need to wait till sundown to use his resting power to fully recover. As he got up though, the words that Yoko had said played through his head again. ”It’s because they’re afraid of what you are, Vampire.”

He had to wonder how accurate that was. Yoko might not feel that way, but what about everyone else? Could there have been some truth to Yoko’s words? Whether he wanted to accept it or not, the fact of the matter was that Luke wasn’t truly human. He was different from the Fullbringers that made up Uzaki Enterprise. Were they afraid of him? Did he get funny looks when he wasn’t looking? Luke had no idea. It doesn’t matter. Luke told himself. Even if everyone in Uzaki Enterprise was afraid of him for being a Bount, it wasn’t going to keep Luke from keeping his promise. He’d let his actions speak for him, as he always did, and show them that he wasn’t the monster they thought he was. He’d have faith in his comrades rather than letting what Yoko say plant seeds of doubt that would grow into anxiety and distrust.

”Hey, Yoko.” Luke said lightly, turning to look at her softly for a moment before he decided to ask the question on his mind. ”If you don’t mind me asking...what’s your reason for being in UE? What’s your reason for wanting to fight?” Hopefully this blonde didn’t have a mental breakdown for being asked that question, but Luke had faith that Yoko wasn’t as inept as Yetsuna was.

[Yoko Kusanagi]

It seemed that Yoko pouring her heart out on the ground was enough to at least get Luke to realize she was sincere. That was good. When instructed, she rose her head and returned to a normal seated posture. Though Yoko was normally decently proud, she had had no issue with prostrating herself before the Bount. There were times when pride didn’t matter in comparison to what was at stake, and that was definitely one of them. Ensuring that Luke took her apology seriously was far more important than any embarrassment she endured. It had been worth it to her for sure. From that same position she sat there and actively listened carefully as the man spoke to her. In that moment the most important thing in the world were the thoughts of her coworker.

”Too be honest...I’m not sure I can forgive you for what you said.” She couldn’t help but frown when she heard what he had to say. She knew that she didn’t deserve to be forgiven for what she had done, but she had been hopeful. It’s just a prank bro! Right? Nah. He had taken her words to heart. Yoko had spouted whatever came to mind, but it appeared that she had cut him deeply with her words. It would take a long time for her to earn his trust back after that, but she was more than willing to do what it took. Given that last attack he had unleashed, Luke was easily one of the most powerful members of Uzaki Enterprises, and she would gladly cast away her pride to better her relationship with him. That was her solemn duty.

Her ears and head perked back up a bit when his voice returned. ”But I’ll accept your apology. You didn’t mean those things...you were just trying to push me. I understand that now. So...let’s just move on like that didn’t happen.” That was… good. She was filled with joy that he would look past the incident, and understood her motivation. But all the same she would not forget. She would remember the words she said every time she thought of him, and she would do what she could to atone for her sins. It would take a long time, but eventually she might be able to actually see eye to eye with the Bount. That might require getting a pair of stilettos though.

Jokes aside, the conversation changed topics after that, and Luke reflected on the power he had unlocked. Yoko had already praised it verbally, and offered a meek nod in response to that. She didn’t know that Gate had been used, and thought that was his base power. In her mind, Luke was definitely a terrifying man to fight. Still, despite that, something deep inside her wanted to challenge him once he had recovered fully. She wanted to see the full might that the Bount had to offer with his potential unlocked. Hmm… she supposed that wasn’t right. It finally dawned on Yoko what she had actually done. Yoko had stolen a play right out of Freeza’s playbook. Insult the race? Check. Refer to them as a lesser lifeform? Check. Threaten to kill all their friends? Check. Yoko was just glad that the Super Saiyan was on her side.

Once that had passed though, Luke changed the topic again. ”Hey, Yoko. If you don’t mind me asking...what’s your reason for being in UE? What’s your reason for wanting to fight?” The question caught her off guard. It wasn’t the kind of turn she had expected the conversation to take, but she couldn’t fault him for asking. To him, she was no doubt an enigma. Why was she willing to go to such lengths to help him? Why was she willing to throw away her pride and morality just to make him stronger? There was little doubt in her mind that her justification for her actions needed to be worded carefully. That’s what she saw this as. He wasn’t just asking an icebreaker. He wanted to know why she went so far.

”You’ll have your answer soon, but for now, lets get back to the campsite.” Quite a good deal of time had passed by this point, and the last twinkle of sunlight faded on the horizon with those words. ”If we’re going to get into that, I want to get dinner started first. Give me a few to go rustle something up.” Whether he objected or not didn’t really matter much. No doubt the man was starving by now, given all the power he had used. Yoko’s own stomach was rather empty, and she desperately wanted some food. If she revealed the rations in her bike that would probably result in getting smacked too, so she stuck to her earlier promise of hunting.

A few minutes later Yoko emerged back at the campsite with a deer slung over her shoulder. A quick use of Soul Command stoked the flames of the fire she had started hours ago, and more logs tumbled from the pile of firewood onto the smoldering blaze. She began to cut into the still fresh venison with the knife she had created earlier. After the chunks of meat were laid out on a makeshift grilling platform she let out a deep sigh. She couldn’t stall any longer, but at least she had a few minutes to gather her thoughts on the topic. Her motivations and reasons for Uzaki Enterprises being her employer and why she fought were not the same, and it had a lot of points to cover.

”I suppose it all started back in Vegas. I met Kazura there when I was still a teen, and frankly I was starstruck. I’d followed his work in the tech sector, and had a bit of a crush on him. He was a living legend in my eyes. We got attacked, and he learned of my powers there. He said once I was old enough I could work for him, and I never agreed to something faster. Can you imagine turning down an offer like that? One of the only men in the world that my young, naive heart longed for had not only acknowledged me, but he saw me as useful enough that he would give me enough money that I would never have to worry about my expenses again.

Of course, there was a catch there. I was 16 at the time, and I couldn’t exactly leave everything behind and go work for him immediately. A few years passed before I could take him up on his offer. I deployed to the Middle Easy for Her Majesty’s army in the meantime, and did a tour helping to deal with Al-Qaeda. By the time I got back from that, the fangirling had tapered off, but it was nice to have a stable civilian job offered to me. I took my military training and applied myself as head of security. Honestly, this wasn’t really done for any deep seated reason. It was just the best job I could hope to get at the time, and it let me put my powers to good use.”

After quite a bit of talking, most of her life story really, Yoko paused to catch her breath and flip the venison stakes over. Without more than a few moments for Luke to process what she had said, she continued. ”So I know you were probably looking for some real interesting reason there, but that’s the truth behind why I started working there. I ended up redeployed to the Middle East after ISIS popped up, but I came back as soon as that battle was done. As for why I’m still with Uzaki Enterprises even now that my once-crush is engaged I suppose it boils down to it being the only organization I can make good use of my powers at. Since I got back I’ve been trying to form a team to help me… I guess with what I see my purpose as.

Why do I fight? Why am I a part of Uzaki Enterprises? To save people. I’m a soldier, through and through. Sometimes the enemy is a raghead in an oversized kitty litter box. Sometimes the enemy are literal demons from the afterlife trying to feast on humanity. Though the face of the enemy might change, war, war never changes. The way I see it, humanity is at war with the hollows, and Uzaki Enterprises it the army of humanity. Pretty much everyone in the spiritual side of the company at least tries to save people when they can, and that’s what I see as my purpose. So as of late, I’m trying to recruit for an Emergency Response Team. I want to stop people from getting eaten by the monsters they can’t even see, and to do that I need a team I can rely on.”

She had said a lot, and she finally stopped talking. Luke might have been looking for some big, deep reason out of her, but at the end of the day she didn’t have that. Her motivation was simple. First it was love. Then it was duty. That was her life. It was no longer defined by the passions of her earlier years, but rather a sense of purpose. She was on this earth to try and keep humanity safe. Honestly, she didn’t see herself like Luke did. Yoko was no hero. She was just a silent guardian. A watchful protector. She was there because she had a duty to fulfill… and goddamit she couldn’t get off the Batman reference train.

Another sigh left her before she shared her concluding thought. ”At the end of the day, that’s all I am. Just a soldier willing to do whatever it takes to win that war.”

[Deleted]

Venison was certainly a far better option for a meal then some apples or fish. Much better quality of meat, even from someone who prefered seafood and fish. Munching on some apples while he waited for everything to cook, Luke listened quietly to Yoko as she finally answered his questions from earlier. She had taken her sweet time getting to the answers, but Luke didn’t press her for them sooner or really say much of anything. It was obvious just by looking at him that he was still completely exhausted after that entire ordeal. While she was preparing the deer, he struggled with just keeping his eyes open. He’d never been this tired before. Blowing all his reiatsu, and more, was more exhausting than he once thought.

He looked at her as she spoke though. Her reasons for joining Uzaki Enterprise were simple enough. She was a girl who ended up having a thing for Kazura and followed after him because of that. As Luke thought, she had served in the military between the time she met Kazura and when she could actually work for him. Why did Luke think that? Luke, at some point, had wondered if she had served in the military because of how she spoke and her actions. She acted sorta similar in a way to how his father, who had served in the army before Luke was born, had acted sometimes. It was just a thought though and it hadn’t been one Luke actively pursued wondering about.

It did suck to hear that the man Yoko had a crush on was now engaged. ”She missed her chance.” Oh, Jäger was back. Luke was wondering why his Dolls had been so quiet ever since he woke up. Jäger had missed his opportunity to joke about Yoko being a lap pillow. ”Hmm.” Luke murmured to himself once Yoko had finished talking. Leaning back on his hands, the Bount cast his gaze to the night sky above them. ”Your reasons are good. I wasn’t hoping you had some...profound or awe inspiring reason. You’re a good person wanting to do good.” Luke replied once it was all said and done.

”I can respect wanting to save people. It’s...not why I joined at first but it’s what I’ve realized is the right thing to do.” Luke explained, before realizing that the way he phrased that sentence may have caused a question to form in Yoko’s head. Blinking, tiredly, Luke sighed and decided he might as well drop his own backstory on Yoko. ”At first I joined because I just wanted money. I wasn’t interested in fighting to save other people. My entire life the fact that I was a Bount was hidden from me, and it was only after coming to this fuckin’ city that I found out what I was. Marcus found me using my growing powers to make some money. Fighting ring. That sort of stuff.” Luke explained, scratching the back of his head as he remembered those days.

There were some things Luke was leaving out. Deliberately. He didn’t know if he could actually trust Yoko with his real reason for wanting to be a hero but...that was why he developed a cover story. ”But time after time I saw how people could use their powers to abuse others, as well as the monsters running around looking for their next meal. I never saw anyone doing anything about it...for the most part anyways.” Luke explained, thinking back to Impossible for a moment. ”Didn’t like watching people get hurt so, little by little, started goin out of my way to help people when they needed it. And now...here I am.”

It was all bullshit for the most part. Luke didn’t just start helping people out of the good of his heart. He did it because he felt it was the only thing to do after what he did. He believed that the only way for him to make amends for the hundreds that were dead because of him was to use the rest of his life fighting for others. Luke’s goals of becoming a hero of justice were purely built from grief and guilt. Yoko did it out of duty. Luke did it out of atonement. He was quiet for a few moments as he looked at the grilling meat, before he decided to speak again. ”Emergency Response Team though, eh? So...who else is in it besides us two?” Luke suddenly asked, smirking tiredly at Yoko. If it was what he thought it was, Luke would join it without any problems.

[Yoko Kusanagi]

Yoko listened as Luke talked about his own motivation. It was, much as her own was, quite a mundane reason that the man had joined. She couldn't fault him for taking the job for the money. She knew how well Kazura paid his employees. It was no surprise that that alone had been enough to lure the Bount in to working for Uzaki Enterprises. She would have to make a note to thank Marcus for recruiting him though. The fact that a Bount had been wasting their talents in underground fighting rings was a real shame, but she couldn't fault him for that. She'd been through that song and dance before, and she knew it was an easy way to make money when you had superpowers. Besides, at a venue like that no one would ask too many questions.

She also wasn't terribly surprised to hear that Luke was upset with the lack of protection afforded to normal humans. They deserved better, and she agreed with pretty much everything he said. What did catch her off guard was that Luke had just insinuated that he was on her team already. Yoko hadn't actually tried to recruit him yet. She had only casually mentioned the project as her current goal, but apparently that was enough for him to both decide that he wanted in and to assume he was already on the team. Honestly, he seemed like a decent enough fit, but she wasn't sure if she had ruined their potential synergy with her earlier remarks. She hoped Luke would actually be able to overlook them.

”Given this is my second day back from the Middle East? No. There's no one else yet. I read through everyone's files, and I've got some good ideas of who to recruit, but you're the first person I've actually talked to about it. Hell, Kazura hasn't even officially greenlit it yet. He's never really stopped me from doing what I think is right before though, and we definitely need a more organized response to some of the craziness that happens in Karakura. I'm planning to reach out to most of the other spiritually aware members in Uzaki Enterprises. There's a few exclusions, but not much. Not initially planning to talk to Zeich because he’s… well… a bit much. Him aside, I’ll probably hold off on inviting any New Employees in until they’ve proven to be an asset. Oh, and I suppose I’ll ask for Kazura’s permission, but I don’t think I’ll ever have the authority to try and issue him orders so it’d be weird to try and recruit him.”

She had taken Luke deciding that on his own surprisingly well. Normally she probably wouldn’t have shared so much detail with someone she had really just met, but she still felt guilty about her methods. Maybe opening up was her way of trying to atone? Hard to say honestly. She didn’t really know why she was willing to talk about it so openly, but it’s what she had done. That said, there wasn’t a whole lot more to say. The two of them had a few more days of training ahead of them, as Yoko did still intend to keep them out there for the whole duration of that week she had mentioned. That part hadn’t been a lie. Luke still needed to work on controlling the power he had unlocked, and she helped him tackle that challenge. Besides, they had some half decent shelter, a warm fire, and all the venison they could eat.

They had plenty of training left to get done.

[Zeich Yajuu]

Lovely training thread - I look forward to seeing more of this from both of you.

232 Paragraphs = 1160 TP each.