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| - Three days. Three days had passed and there was still no word from Kain regarding the Shuuten, the date they set, or the nature of their meetings. Mariko was practically pulling her hair out in frustration, and argued confronting him. She was prepared to swoop down upon the Leaping Lion and shake the information from him. What annoyed her even more was the fact that Itazura wasn’t really in worry. He couldn’t say why… but he guessed it was a gut feeling. Something about Kain Akai told Itazura that he’d keep his end of the bargain. All he and his sister needed to do was sit and wait. ‘Try again, kid.’ Shiro Natsume advised. He was one of the three Captain-Generals of the third division of the Shuuten and probably the best Hakuda specialist Itazura would ever lay eyes on. He was tall, thin, lined with hard but lean muscle, and moved like a bloody gust of wind! All Itazura ever saw between one high-speed movement and the next was the way his silver hair blurred. ‘Too slow,’ he said again as Itazura’s strike whizzed past him harmlessly. ‘Here, watch me.’ Shin slowed his steps purposefully and flash-stepped from one place to another. He stopped a total of three times, crossing the courtyard in only three steps, but each time he stopped he was gone again just as quickly. It was the perfect speed for Itazura to see what all was involved. He attempted it but failed on his first try, but after seeing Shiro use it twice more; Itazura got it spot on and succeeded in moving across the entire length of the training ground in naught but three steps. ‘See? All you need is to be shown. Now, try and catch me.’ Shiro moved to the far side of the training field. ‘Shiro’s partial to feints. Use that against him.’ Hiei said from the sidelines. Hiei was the second Captain-General to serve amongst the third division. He was the younger brother of Yoichi Yamashin, who was the strongest man in Heisekai, or so the people said. Hiei and Shiro thought otherwise, naming the man Ranmaru Shibata Sr. Lean of build and short in comparison to Shiro and Fujimoto, Hiei was characterized by his well-combed black hair, gentle features and long black trench coat. Why two of the Captain-Generals of the Shuuten took time out of their schedules to coach him was beyond him, though he knew that Shiori and Erina where doing the same with Mariko this very minute. ‘Thanks,’ Itazura took charge after Shiro, who moved the moment he closed on him. ‘Remember what we told you,’ Hiei called across the yard. ‘Never attack in plain sight of your target. Calm your movements, think things through… and then pounce!’ Calming his breathing Itazura retreated into the recesses of his mind until he found his equilibrium. ‘Sekienton,’ he whispered. The training yard was shrouded in a cloud of red smoke. ‘Rei Furashuu,’ he whispered. ‘… Got you…!’ Shiro turned and lashed out, a smile on his face. The smile vanished soon after as his hand plunged through a veil of silver energy! ‘The little…!’ He turned to strike the real Itazura, but was too late. Itazura vanished with one step, reappeared with the second, and vanished again with the third. When the smoke cleared and Shiro looked at the young Kori clansmen he held a length of yellow ribbon in his hand as though it where it a trophy. ‘Gomakashi,’ Itazura said a tad breathless. ‘I finally did it.’ It was a rudimentary technique that Shiro had introduced to him as a means of building ones skill in Shunpo. All morning Shiro and Hiei coached him in the techniques execution, until they introduced the yellow ribbon. If he took the ribbon he didn’t pay for their dinner. ‘… Very nicely played, kid,’ Shiro was pleasantly surprised and clapped Itazura on the shoulder as he retrieved the ribbon. ‘In fact… here. Keep it,’ and he tied it around Itazura’s left forearm, ‘as a memento of your training.’ ‘Using that energy wave of yours like that? You channelled it through the floor, and gave it the same spiritual signature as yourself. The cloud hid it, making us think it was really you.’ Fujimoto spoke as he floated down from the heavens. ‘Not bad at all, Zura. Now, c’mon, I’m starving!’ Itazura’s stomach spoke for him and the four assembled nearly toppled in their laughter. ‘Argh,’ Koga’s companion complained. ‘You’ve gan and got us lost again, ain’t ye!?’ The man was Minamoto Kazuhira who was better known as Hikaru. He walked along beside Koga like a mini mountain, and brushed at his mess of blond hair with a scratched blue comb. The man had the worst sense of direction Koga had ever seen. He couldn’t tell north from south or east from west. At times he struggled following simple directions. Telling him to go right often resulted in him going left and then right, which he followed by another left. ‘What do you mean me!?’ Koga shouted back. ‘You led us down here, Captain.’ ‘I didn’y,’ now he was acting the child. ‘I tol’ ye te go left,’ ‘Which I did,’ and now a wall loomed up before them. ‘We’ll have to go the long way around.’ This would take them another hour at best. Ugh, he’d happily endure Ranmaru everyday of the week if it stopped him having to go anywhere with Hikaru. ‘The ‘ell we de,’ Hikaru roared. He threw his arm forward, clenched his fist, and the wall disappeared! ‘There ya go, lad. Cap’n Hikaru didn’y get where he is the day without bein' fit te break things,’ and he laughed loudly as he strolled through his handy work. ‘C’mon, I he a rack o’ ribs te sink me teeth inte.’ Unbeknownst to both however was the set of red eyes watching them from the darkness… ‘Haaaaaa, that hit the spot!’ Fujimoto made a big show of patting his stomach, and the waitress carrying off their plates couldn’t help but smile and giggle at him. ‘He’s so… um.’ she spun her finger around but the word escaped her. ‘… Colourful, animated, loud… or maybe he’s just an as-’ Shiro clasped a hand around Itazura’s mouth. ‘The meal was delightful, as usual.’ And he dropped a very generous tip into her waiting hands. ‘As for you,’ and Itazura squirmed in his grasp, ‘you’ve had enough time with the ladies today.’ ‘No fair! Let me go, you hulking brute! I only talked to three of them. Three!’ The journey back to the palace proved an annoying one for Itazura. The group had travelled to a small, quaint yakiniku restaurant. They grilled the strips of meat right in-front of you, and served it with whatever side-order you asked for: chilli, mayonnaise, herbs and spices. It didn’t matter. And it was spectacular! The food was delicious, the spices where incredible, and the waitresses serving the meal where pretty and talkative. Itazura had had the time of his life. He’d gotten one of the best meals in his life to date; charmed his way into a young waitress’s good book, stole a few kisses, and finished with an ice-cream Sunday. So how in the name of all creation did he end up being hauled back to the palace slung over Shiro’s shoulder like a sack of bloody potatoes!? The guards at the palace entrance regarded the Captain-Generals strangely, and Itazura was only returned to his feet when the wonderful figure of Ranmaru Shibata told them to wise up. ‘What are you all? Ten?’ and three sets of heads nodded in union. ‘Hollows take you all! You’re a bloody embarrassment.’ And he walked off with a scowl that sent the servants scurrying for cover. ‘Am I the only sane one left?’ The party continued until they where once again on the training field. ‘Okay, this time where gonna really put you through your paces.’ Hiei said with a grin. Oh, this’d be good. Either he’d be battered black and blue, or… well, he didn’t want to think about the alternative. ‘Zura, you’re with me. Our opponents… are the two in front of you.’ Fujimoto only watched as Itazura’s mouth hit the floor. ‘No holding back. No prisoners. We’ll restrict ourselves so we’re only slightly stronger than you, so don’t worry about that. You ready?’ ‘… Eh, what the hell. GO!’ he started by feinting to Shiro’s right, who immediately countered. Fujimoto repelled the follow-up strike and Hiei moved to flank him. Throwing himself between them, Itazura parried the blow to the side, where he twisted on the balls of his feet. He did a complete circle around Fujimoto’s body, where he tried in vain to land a kick on Shiro. He blocked it, tapped the leg aside, and drove the palm of his hand into the centre of Itazura’s chest! Spittle flew from his mouth as he went skywards, and Hiei was upon him. ‘Rei…’ Hiei narrowed his eyes, ‘Furashuu!’ The wave sent him skidding backwards, and gave Itazura all the time he needed to recover. When he did he noticed Shiro and Fujimoto sparring. Shiro was the better when it came to close-quarters combat, and Fujimoto was being driven back. Using flash steps Itazura closed the distance and appeared between the two the moment enough space appeared, where he wrapped his jacket around Shiro’s leading arm. ‘Now,’ and Fujimoto pulled Itazura’s shirt, which took Shiro with him, and delivered a solid punch to his jaw! ‘That’s the way, Zura! There are no rules in battle. It’s survival of the fittest!’ From the sidelines watched Ranmaru Shibata. ‘The child makes a good showing,’ he said to the blond-haired girl at his side. ‘But they’re holding back.’ She pointed out. ‘In a real battle he would be destroyed.’ ‘My lady,’ Ranmaru continued, ‘strength isn’t everything. I saw it in Shiro’s eyes. He wasn’t expecting the boy to use his jacket like that, which enabled Fujimoto to strike like he did. And his energy attack kept Hiei busy long enough for the boy to perform the move that helped Fujimoto. With an effective partnership, power becomes only a card to play. Watch, and you’ll see what I mean.’ ‘Very well then,’ and Tomoko turned once again to the sparring match. Yet from the skies a pair of red eyes stared, recording every detail… ‘… Soon,’ the speaker watched several screens flicker before him, each with a different scene. The first showed the sparring session between three Captain-Generals playing at battle with a silver-haired child who, surprisingly, was doing rather well. Watching the match from the sidelines was the princess herself, who was flanked by Ranmaru Shibata. A lion if there ever was one. The second screen showed a blue-haired girl doing similar exercises with Shiori Nakamura and Erina Ayaka. Like the boy she was doing quite well and was seemingly teleporting from one location to another instantly. That would require further study. Was it a zanpakutō power? Or was it something else entirely? The third screen depicted the wild card: Minamoto Kazuhira. He would require further watching. ‘… Soon I will have my revenge.’ Next Story > Escalating Tensions! Shūhen's Return.
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