Fun! Fun! Fun!

[Saito]

Stationary targets, what a bore. A noticeably beat up straw dummy stood its leathery covering torn and worn through constant beatings from the blunt side of a shinigami's blade. Saito stood in a sweaty slump his eyes intensely watching the unmoving target. The training wasn't particularly hard however he'd been at it all day and the sun of Seireitei bore down on him as he strove to maintain form. His breathing was still, regardless of that, he was tired.

Breaking form he slashed his blade through empty air before sheathing the cold steel of the Katana. With a loud exhale he sat on the floor putting his forearm over his knee as he sat. Enjoying some well deserved relaxation. The boys azure orbs squinted as he looked into the skies a powerful sun staring back at him. It would have been a nice day to take a stroll if Saito hadn't already started his training. Instead he found himself sitting in a field of flattened dust. That was a lot better than the alternative was it not?

A brisk wind swept through the area taking with it the stillness of the lads shihakusho and scarf as both attempted to leave his sweaty body and find a new owner. With a sigh the boy gripped his Katana again his gaze and lips turning his face into a barrier of seriousness.

[purple]"Again."[/purple]

The boy's resolve for his Zanjutsu was getting larger and larger with every session. One of these days he would have to really start learning some new kido. So much effort went into his swordsmanship that he was lacking in that department. Bah, all in due time. With a few grunts and wisps of cloth the shinigami found himself back on his feet, his hands rediscovered a tight grip on the hilt of his katana. His feet found their correct placement and in a flash Saito was off. He took a step toward the straw dummy unsheathing his blade slashing with his full strength.

It seemed good, for the time being anyway however there was one small problem. Saito forgot to switch his blade to the dull side before his swing. A split second later the dummy's top separated from the bottom while Saito's eyes closed in frustration.

[purple]"Another one."[/purple]

In the distance three other had shared the same fate as the newly fallen warrior. An ode to memories folly.

[Dalj]

As Dalj walked onto the barren fields of the training grounds. Grounds, he noticed he was still a little stiff. He wasn't getting enough activity to fill his day lately. "Man, im bored as hell." We muttered to himself as he continued walking, he noticed some disfigured and decapitated straw dummies in the field, and could hear the sound of a mans winded lungs somewhere not to far off.

When Dalj finally reached the man he was semi impressed with his form. The man was an obvious dedicated warrior, for he was training himself raw, and that made Dalj respect him almost aromatically. The loose dust felt nice on bare feet, the sun was keeping the ground nice and warm today. but that was nothing new for soul society. Watching the man train in the distance spurred Dalj's natural love of combat, for fighting new opponents was in its our right, one of the funnest things Dalj ever got to do.

Dalj deciding it was time to speak to him, walking up to him very causally, hoping the man would notice him, Dalj figured formalities would be a waste of time. So he thought getting right to his point was the way to go. "Hey, the names Dalj. I come out here to train sometimes too, but I think this is my first time catching someone else here? Wanna mark the occasion with a good spar?" Dalj asked with a excited look on his face, like he was about t oget a yes.

It was only while waiting for this reply that Dalj noticed the mans exceptionally odd caliber of appearance. The first though to Dalj's Mind was, 'pretty boy' but Dalj didn't want to pass judgment to fast. After all there were plenty of pretty boys who could kick ass.

[Saito]

As Saito went and picked up the tarnished dummy another figure had made its way to the field. At first he gave no inkling that he even knew of the being's existence. Instead he walked to the dummy sheathed his Katana slowly and carefully before bending over in order to pick up the heap of mangled straw and leather. As he rose he began to take in the shinigami before him. He expected a regular run of the mill Reaper. What he got however was an entirely different story. A behemoth stood before him almost an entire foot taller than Saito. His silvery hair dropped down to his shoulders while ever growing bangs threatened to cover his forehead entirely. What Saito guessed to be the mans zanpaktou was almost as tall as he was, definitely at least taller than Saito and the weirdest thing was the fact that the man wore no shoes. He looked a true brute, but Saito was not one to judge simply by covers the man had introduced himself nice enough anyway.

Saito had never seen the man before in his life, but he would choose anyone over the faulty dummies he was unintentionally making. He broodingly closed is eyes as the man finished his introduction and with a straw dummy in hand retorted,[purple] " So you are a man with no last name? I am Hajime, Saito unseated, fifth division."[/purple] Just a tad bit sarcastic? In recent years Saito had lost control over the power of his tongue, in reality he had given up on starving it. He was sure the man wouldn't mind a little sarcasm, either way it was rude to introduce oneself by first name only a lesson Saito himself had to learn at some point.

[purple]"...but you may call me Saito. And as for a spar I'm sure anything should be better than these useless things."[/purple] He continued as he raised the all but destroyed dummy in his hand. Utilizing the art of shunpo he dissipated, and just as quickly re-appearred dummy now gone from his hand and added to the pile up he had been previously creating.

Going head to head with this man would probably be quite the annoyance because of his colossal size however Saito's pride was to much for him not to accept such a blatant challenge. The purple haired shinigami gripped his Katana once again his left hand finding the comfort of its hilt. Seeing as the man without a last name had made himself the challenger any special rules would be laid out by him. Saito waited in his stance for the spar to begin.

[Dalj]

Dalj chuckled in his throat at little at the mans smart remark, concerning his introduction. Dalj never had been one for formalities, but this time he felt it would be appropriate, seems how he had laid down a semi formal challenge. "My apologies, I am Dalj Thorn, unseated 3rd division." Dalj noticed the man was capable of shunpo, making it obvious that he was no beginner. Which appeased Dalj's craving for a good fight. Dalj looked around taking in his exact surroundings. The sun was high, making the environment warmer then he liked. The dust on the ground was loose, and plants were no where to be seen save the rare dried out shrub.

"Well, seems how you don't have a preference, I say we use all our strength. Shikiai and kido are allowed, and when either one of us has had enough we can say we want to stop." Dalj now noticed the man had been examining him, and his stature. Dalj chuckled, his shoulders rising and falling with his chuckles. "yeah I know Im pretty huge, always have been. And I never have liked shoes of any kind. they make it more difficult to move around, in my opinion. There also just damn uncomfortable."

Dalj laughed at himself now, slightly amused by his own personality. and how odd he was in some ways. 'oh well, thats the life of a chaotic good character...' Dalj thought to himself. Using his left hand he reached up, over his left shoulder, and grabbed the handle of his souls sword. "So are you ready to fight?!" this question being asked in complete seriousness, Dalj was tired of the chit chat, he desired violence, and we desired it now. However he was trying to keep himself in check as best he could, without his friend here, he couldn't afford to freak out.

[Saito]

It seemed Saito was observing his newly found opponent as inconspicuously as he at first thought. Upon noticing Saito's awe at the man's strange ways he felt the need to explain himself, a task that wasn't truly necessary but at the same time put the purple haired shinigami at ease. He showed no acknowledgement of the man's explanation but afterward he did something Saito liked. The man was straight to the point. It was something Saito respected, he liked when people didn't beat around the bush so the fact that the man before him wasted no time in reaching for his blade, no doubt reading Saito's movements, was a good thing.

[purple]" Ready when you are."[/purple]

As the man grabbed his blade Saito allowed him to get a grip before attempting anything. It was, after all just a spar blood was not meant to be spilled, en-mass anyway.

He would start off the bout testing the man before him above all else. Once his hand and blade were firmly in tact Saito unsheathed while stepping forward. His slash would be an upward diagonal slash easily block able or dodge able.

[Dalj]

"Haha, I like your style! No hesitation!" Dalj said as he jumped back several feet to avoid the strike, while simultaneously unsheathing his own blade. He was temped to say more but decided against it, to many words was one of his personal downfalls, and he knew this well. So instead he would simply study the situation for a moment.

So he took his typical sword fighting stance, leading with his left side, he held his sword with both hands, elbows bent, arms downward, hands resting near his left thigh. his feet were about four feet apart, his left foot straight, facing his opponent, and his right foot, was opposite, he contemplated the stature or his opponent and figured playing to his disadvantage of height, would be to predictable and easily compensated for. So instead, he would ignore that factor and play to his own strengths, he lunged at his opponent with a sword thrust aiming for Saito's heart.

Depending on how his opponent reacted to this, Dalj would either follow up with a combo attack, or possibly kido, but for now he simply waited for a reaction.

[Saito]

Dalj had unexpectedly dodged the bait of the elementary swing, instead choosing to stay out of its path. Usually people would have kept their pride and attempted to clash and overcome the Purple haired swordsman so maybe the man before him was a little bit more battle experienced than previously expected. Saito would pay no attention to the man's words, however, not out of disrespect it was simply that once he was in the zone whether sparring or not he was not one to talk until he or his opponent were defeated especially in the case of such a big adversary like the one before him. The shinigami got into his stance as Saito finished his swing bringing his blade back to the side of his body, gripping it with his left hand.

His breathing steadied as his opponent came forth with a two-handed thrust towards him. Not the best opener, the lunge would leave the shinigami easily knocked off balance and since he combined it with the thrusting motion almost all of his weight would be pushing forward on an easily evadable attack an opening Saito couldn't pass up as a swordsman.

He would evade and counter, almost simultaneously. As the lunge began, his right hand would fly into action slightly raising just enough to point at the mans knees. One quick syllable would escape his lips as he pivoted his left foot so that the side of his body was facing his opponent, [purple]"Hadou no Ichi: Sho." [/purple] Dalj's blade would strike where the man was as Saito's timed dodge saved him, while his counter would be almost impossible to stop since the man wielded his rather large blade with two hands. Thrust was far from the most powerful of kido however in the right hands it could be quite effective. Saito expected it to completely knock the man off balance and to the ground from this distance.

Luckily the weakness of the attack would ensure no serious damage done, a bruise at most.

[Dalj]

Dalj noticed the man shifting to evade him, and at this point knew he had misjudged the style of fighting this man uses. 'so he likes to be well rounded' and as Dalj heard the word, uttered from his opponents quick lips. He knew it was time to switch it up. Dalj was sent flying back, because he was still partially in the air when sho was casted he got pretty good distance, after a few seconds he made contact with the ground, using his right foot and knee to land, and then following up with his left foot to regain his stance.

readying to attack again he muttered to himself. "Im gonna enjoy this fight! BAKUDO 21, Sekienton!" The red smoke created by the blast of this kido covered the area, and Dalj used this to his advantage, after gathering himself up, he noticed a slight twinge of pain where the main force of sho hit him. He smirked, as it was only a minor twinge of pain, not even really damage in the strictest sense, but it still made Dalj mad, because now, Saito had managed the first hit. But it was nothing major, this battle was still young.

As the smoke spread, now to encompass about a fifty foot radius, Dalj used shunpo, to flash behind his opponent, again, leading with his left hand he swung his sword from the right, he wasn't close enough to cut his opponent in half, but if it hit, it would cut the whole width of his lower back, about half an inch deep. While he was using his left hand to swing his blade his right hand was at his side, his index and pointer fingers locked onto his foes left shoulder. "HADO 4, Byakurai" He whispered to himself, aiming the lighting bolt at his left shoulder, while simultaneously preforming the swing of his blade was very difficult, and therefore neither attack was full strength. However no matter if one or both hit, they would both deal notable damage.

[Saito]

The man was successfully evaded, and struck because of the openness of his first move. In a regular battle that would have been the time to end it by overwhelming the opponent with a volley of moves in order to strip away any hope of recovering, however this was not that type of battle. The purple haired shinigami allowed the man to find solid ground again and deliver a counter of his own. Whether this was a good or bad idea would soon come to fruition because it seemed the man was going for incapacitating blows, which weren't very welcoming to Saito, who was simply attempting faux damage.

One good thing came out of the ordeal however. Saito was able to gather that the man was quick to regain himself as seen by the fact that as soon as he was able to get a solid foundation on the ground he reacted quickly and intelligently. He used a reiatsu based smoke bomb to cover his movements as he thought of a way to attack his opponent. As the current of smoke grew enveloping the area in front of Saito he knew an attack could come from all directions. He didn't like it. At first he looked around himself in order to look for any strange movements however he'd already planned what he would do next. In an instant everything went haywire. His opponent appeared behind him, something he could just feel. Along with the fact that a shift in light would occur alerting him to an almost seven foot man towering above him.

The smoke by now would have reached its climax in front of him but it would still prove useful. As the swing of the blade sliced through the air Saito's presence would be gone, the blade keeping a few slivers of hair as its prize thanks to a well placed shunpo. The Kido spell would rip through the smoke and hit something on the other side but none would be able to tell until a few seconds later when the smoke cleared and the appearance of the combatants were revealed. For only just beginning the battle had quickly escalated from clashing blades to an all out brawl. Something both could use to further hone their skills.

As the smoke cleared it would be revealed that the right arm sleeve of Saito's Shihakusho had been torn and charred on the edges as particles of yellow dissipated into nothingness. The lad had used arc shield his most advanced kido to divert the bulk of the lightning beam sent towards him and the smoke. Saito's kido strength wasn't up to par enough to actually fully eat the brunt of a beam like technique however using it at an angle would give him enough time to move himself out of its way. His body was unscathed save for the uncomfortable feeling of heat for the second that his sleeve was torn and now the battle would continue.

Saito held his zanpaktou straight out to his left side. Coaxing his opponent to come. Saito would calm his breathing as his focus tightened with intensity. A serious calm played on his lips as he awaited another move from his opponent his azure orbs dissecting the man piece by piece for any sign of weakness.

[Dalj]

Dalj couldn't believe how fast, the man was able to react, in an instant or Dalj's presence. He used a shunpo to leap out or range of the sword slash, and at the same time mustered enough concentration to use Enkosen. And now that The smoke was dissipating, a second try at a similar strategy was meaningless. It mattered not to Dalj though, he didn't like attacking from the back anyways, it felt under handed to him. So Dalj decided on a straight forward attack this time. He eased his stance slightly, and then whispered to himself, so Saito didn't hear. "Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini!! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat! Way of binding 9! Geki!" If successful, this kido would completely stop Saito's movement by encasing him in red light.

But Dalj did not care if it worked or not, either way it would provide enough distraction to create a valid opening. So as soon as he stopped whispering the spell, he used Shunpo to rush forward blade ready to slice. He held it at his chest, extended behind him for a full power strike. keeping his left side stance he stopped about four feet shy of his adversary, and swung full strength. The swing was aimed to be just under the shoulder, and was coming in from the right. Dalj didn't want to severely injure this man, but he wanted him to think he did, that way, he wouldn't hold back at all. Dalj wore an excited, and mischievous smirk, he was enjoying this fight so much, it made him forget about anything else.

It was times like these that he thought he should join the 11th squad, but he figured it wasn't the place for him, as they were to blood thirsty there, and it might over stimulate his negative temptations. But at times like this, it seemed like it didn't matter which personality was on the surface, because both loved battle. And the opponent Dalj fought now was both strong, skilled, and every bit as smart as Dalj. Which promised a good fight. However though all of this Dalj was curious about one thing, what was this mans weakness, and although he couldn't find it yet. He knew it would become apparent if he forced his opponent to Shikai, and so he decided he would, no matter what.

[Saito]

Saito eyed his opponent taking his stance into account. He seemed much more relaxed than before. An awkward pause would ensue however as Dalj began mouthing something. From their distance Saito wouldn't be able to hear what the man was saying and he wasn't projecting enough to even insinuate that he wanted Hajime to hear him. The purple haired shinigami simply waited to see what would happen. Usually he would have been attacking by now but for some reason he just waited. He shouldn't have. A red light began to encase the man as Dalj's Bakudou struck home.

Although he did say anything goes Saito didn't think he would use those types of techniques on him. Saito was by no means a kido master and at his level the only way he knew to break a low level bakudou was through force alone which would give Dalj more than enough time to continue on with his attack. The red light would encase the young shinigami as he fought against it gathering his own reiatsu to shatter its effect. By that time however Dalj had already begun his swing. Saito would jump back praying he was fast enough but to no avail.

He would find a sharp pain running through his body and his shihakusho was dampened with that wet substance most know as blood. His eyes wandered to the spot for a split second before refocusing back on his opponent. Well, then it was time to get serious he supposed. He placed his sword in front of him its blade glistening vertically almost symmetrically cutting him in half. Then he was gone, reappearing directly next to the man's left his blade now slicing horizontally toward Dalj's shoulder. It was his sword hand and would be difficult to block given their positions. He would have to turn his body and block while Saito would already be mid-swing. He really had only one choice in order to get away from the blade, it was a tactical attack. His reiryoku would rise as he went on the offensive.

Saito's power as a swordsman was even more dangerous than his combinations of weak kido to produce better effects. His tactical mind allowed him to graduate early solely on the ease of his swordsmanship something rarely seen in the academy.Now he would have to prove why.

[Dalj]

Dalj congratulated himself in his own mind when he realized he now held first blood of the match. But his opponent seemed to be invigorated by this turn of events, and it shocked Dalj, that he regained himself so fast, after such a powerful, direct hit. However Dalj would not waver, in this fight, this was important to him.

Dalj figured this attack couldn't be blocked considering his opponent was as fast as him. So he simply decided to run, the second he noticed Saito to his left, he used a Shunpo to rush away, stopping roughly twenty feet away from his opponent. Dalj looked down to inspect his shoulder, and he wasn't able to outrun the swing entirely, he was cut, and the bleeding soaked his arm, as the warm blood flowed, he quickly moved his left arm around to asses the damage, and although the cut was about an inch long and a quarter inch deep, Dalj retained full movement of his arm, even though it hurt like hell. He smiled though, because pain was an asset, it could be used, as long as it could be controlled.

Dalj, knowing that this could drag on, decided to conserve as much spiritual energy as possible. So for now he would stick to his blade. And as such he rushed Saito, with a Shunpo Dalj reappeared five feet away from the front of his opponent, blade raised high above his head, He now brought down the swing full force, he hoped he was still far away enough to avoid a counter, but at least he knew he was within striking range of Saito. As his blade began to fall. He idealized a string of combo attacks, to try an force a trump card out of Saito. But for now he was fighting in the moment.

[Saito]

Dalj shunpo'd at the last second a showing of skill and collected-ness not many could muster under pressure. Respectable to say the least. He wasn't as proficient as one of the elders however as blood began to seep from his arm a shallow cut, just enough to bring forth a small river of the red 'stuff' but a cut none the less. Saito paid it no mind, however and noted to himself that he could not cut the man again as that was not his intention. He hated the sight of unnecessary bloodshed even if it was friendly.

No sooner had his opposition noticed that he had been cut had he went on the offensive once again. It was nice to have a regular sword battle for a change. No one had been quick to unleash the power of the zanpaktou and the fight was just as heated without them. A well placed shunpo put Dalj in front of the purple haired shinigami who had reset his position while Dalj was checking himself. He now stood with his Katana in front of him vertically and flipped so that the dull side was facing Dalj. Saito was breathing heavier than normal showing a bit of fatigue. Although he was calm and collected he was still a novice in comparison to those above his level. He would have to use energy wisely and pick his moments. After a few breathes he would go back to controlling himself and collect his demeanor.

He stepped forward with his left foot and once again with his right in quick succession as the blade began to fall, easily closing the five foot distance between him and his opponent. As he did this his body would end up outside the blade arm as Saito's blade hit the side of Dalj's altering its course to Dalj's right using his momentum against him the young shinigami would now be more than likely forced to complete his downward slash. Saito's blade would now be on top of Dalj's Katana as the purple haired shinigami's weapon rose up in an attempt to smash into the man's stomach.

The steps Saito took put his right foot in front of him and his left behind him. It served to close the distance and give him a nice pivoted stance out of the way of the blade coming down. Saito's Katana would now come up as he slashed at the stomach of his opponent though only bruising damage would occur and hurt ribs if successful since he flipped his blade beforehand.

[Dalj]

Dalj was surprised to see Saito flip his blade, He felt a little humiliated that his opponent wasn't taking him seriously, but he cared not, whether his opponent was serious or not mattered not to him. So Dalj continued with his attack. When he exited his Shunpo and let his blade fall, he knew Saito would either block or divert the attack, so he came prepared for this. When his blade was diverted to the ground Dalj let it continue down to the ground sinking into the dirt to act as an anchor for his next move. Keeping his right hand on the handle of his blade, he removed his left hand from it and waited the brief seconds, and let Saitos blade land its hit. Dalj winced in pain, the wind was knocked out of him, and his vision blurred for a second. But not long enough to let Saito Escape.

Dalj quickly grabbed onto the handle of Saitos blade, over Saitos hands. And held it as tight as he could, so his opponent could not escape. Then while his right hand still used his own Katana as an anchor to the ground Dalj used all his might to pull Saito into towards him, then once his opponent was being brought closer Dalj removed his right hand and formed a tight fist. Throwing a punch Towards Saitos face. dalj was putting all his might into this punch and was squeezing Saitos hands as hard as he could. He hoped this would land, because it would be deeply pleasing to humiliate his opponent with a punch to the face, the same way a turned blade had done to Dalj. And as the pain in Dalj ribs reminded him, it didnt have to bleed to hurt like hell. So he anticipated a good solid punch to the face to hurt quite a bit.

[Saito]

Saito once again found success in his attack as the man's ribs were smashed by his attack. The man has somehow braced himself for the attack however as he did not move from Saito's force and furthermore reached to grasp for Saito's left hand, which was the hand he used to to weild his Katana. It would be to no avail however as the young shinigami simply took advantage of the man's weakened state.

Saito attributed the mans ability to even stand without having to recover from the attack to his sheer size, however there was no way his strength was up to par at this point so fresh after the attack. Along with the fact that Saito was already in a grounded position it would be even easier for him to take the upper hand in this situation. As he felt the tug of the man he put pressure on his leading leg and pulled with a force of his own and delivered a punch of his own to collide with the fist of his opponent. As he did this he would drop his Katana. It was now a bout of Hakuda.