Barracks

[Hunata]

Inazuma sighed deeply as he stopped in front of a wooden building. He had finally arrived to Squad 10's barracks, his new home for the foreseeable future. Inazuma ran a hand through his short dark brown hair and nodded to himself. 'This is it,' he thought. 'This is where I become someone. Bring honor to my family, slay Hollows, and serve the Gotei thirteen.'

Inazuma opened the door and walked into an empty foyer. He glanced around the innards of the building. Being a 3rd Seat Officer, Inazuma would be sharing this barracks with the 5th and 4th Seat, as well as the Lieutenant. There is a grand room for the Captain as well, but typically the Captains could afford their own accommodations. Inazuma furrowed his brow and his blue eyes darted around as he moved out of the foyer and into the adjoining hall. He continued down the hall, checking the rooms until he finally came to his own. He opened the door and walked inside. 'No one's home,' he thought, 'Must be out training or something.' At the thought of training, Inazuma placed his left hand on the hilt of his Zanpakuto, firmly attached to his left hip. This gave him reassurance. He was the new 3rd Seat of Squad 10.

[Setoku]

Inazuma would find himself hanging out in his room for about twenty minutes until another sound would even echo through the empty hall. The tenth Squad, under it's current Captain, was infamous for it's training drills - But the Lieutenant was either the exception or flat out avoiding it - Because the sound Inazuma would hear next was a window slamming shut, followed by the sound of someone crashing into the floor boards.

"God... Dammit..."

Chujiro rubbed his head lightly after he rolled to a sitting position in the main hall. A two story fall onto his head - The Captain always did say he was a little too klutzy for his own good. It had been five years since his transfer from Ninth Squad, and he was regretting it more and more each day. Originally a Fourth Seat in the prestigious squad, he grew tired of serving the Nine Wheels of the Squad - So much so he transferred to tenth in hopes of being allowed more freedom to lay around. Instead, he got promoted after two years, and was constantly training or filling out paper work - It was a pain.

"Stupid Captain.... I swear to god the Soul King has it out for me. Don't you, Majesty?"

He spoke aloud to himself, pushing himself onto his feet, and adjusting a wakizashi worn on the rear of his obi slowly. His badge was worn slung from a hanging part of said obi - And the black Kamishimo around his person seemed a little too large. But this would end up being Inazuma's commanding officer, whether either man liked it or not. He paused a moment, before suddenly realizing a new third seat had joined the squad - In hopes of avoiding him and therefore avoiding more paper work, Chujiro bent his knee's, and slowly begun to creep his way to his private chambers - The only perk of this god awful job.

[Lacrimosa]

Unfortunately for the lieutenant, the Soul King really wasn't on his side on that faithful day, for he would be interrupted no more than three steps into his stealth maneuver. "S'cuse me, lieutenant? I'm from Squad Four. Where are the latrines that needed cleaning?"  

Behind him stood a young Shinigami who looked as peeved as his voice had sounded. Bandages were wrapped around his fingers and a fading bruise could be seen around his left eye. With him came the smell of burnt hair and his standard Shihakushō seemed to be covered in a light layer of ash. Like all members of Squad Four, a medical backpack was slung over his shoulder, but what he was brandishing wasn't a Zanpakutō. Instead, he was equipped with a mop and a cart of cleaning supplies, for cleaning duty was what was usually assigned to new and untrained members of Squad Four. After all, there were only so many people that could stub their toe and require their limited services in times of relative peace.

[Hunata]

Inazuma had just placed his small number of personal belongings, a spare obi and Kamishimo, as well as a necklace bearing the symbol of House Shiba, onto his bed, when a crash reverberated through out the Officer's Quarters. He slowly moved toward the doorway, peeking through the crack of the door that he hadn't closed properly, curious but wary. As Inazuma grew near, he heard a mans voice, and then another mans voice. He furrowed his brow. 'Who is out there? Is it the Captain?!' Inazuma thought with sudden alarm. If it was the Captain, he may wonder why Inazuma failed to show up to training, and would then result in Inazuma being reprimanded. On his first day out of the academy no less. Inazuma couldn't let that happen! He was in the process of closing the door when he paused, did one of them mention something about a... latrine?

This gave Inazuma reasonable doubt. Perhaps it wasn't the Captain. Maybe Inazuma was just paranoid and juttery. First day and all that. Inazuma decided he should check and confirm one way or the other. He began to reopen the door, slowly, and peek his head into the hallway. What he saw were two Shinigami. One looked in the process of sneaking into the Lieutenants Quarters. A thief? Maybe, but Inazuma doubted it. He however failed to see the Armband on the Lieutenant. The other looked like a normal Squad member. A guard? Then what was the talk of latrines?  And why didn't Inazuma hear or see him earlier when he first arrived?

Inazuma stepped into the hallway, and decided to follow his training. When in doubt, find out.

"Hey! What's going on out here?" Inazuma declared in a feeble attempt of an authoritative voice.

Inazuma grimaced. He needed to work on giving orders it seemed. Among other things...

(Sorry for the long in between time. Been busy. Just started College and it took a few to get settled in with how things will work. I should be able to post on the regular now, though, so don't worry. ^_^/)

[Setoku]

He was gonna make it, after such trial and tribulations such as falling through a window... He was gonna make it!!!! But a peevish little voice caused his ears to perk slightly, as he took his third step. Slowly he turned his head over his shoulders, giving a quick glance at the mopping cart that took up most of his view....

"Uhm... Over... there...?"

Chujiro slowly rose his left hand, pointing to the boys right - off toward some tucked away corner. Still, an automated Mop and Bucket... he never thought he'd see the day! Still, that was a close one! (Clearly, Fourth Squad is the most over-looked poor souls xD) He needed to make a clean break - Yet of course, another interruption would cross his line of hearing. This time, though, it sounded like someone attempting to sound in control. It couldn't be one of the seats, could it? The officers under him were way more confident than that....

"Is that really any of your concern, young one? Me and this Mop Bucket here could of been having a top secret conversation you know..."

Chujiro turned his body, facing full where the voice came form. Even the new guy that was scheduled to be here wouldn't of been so bold as to question anything... Unless it was a Kuchiki or a Shiba or something. He hated those noble family types.... But clearly, this boy would no doubt get a kick from Chujiro's earlier statement - Clearly he could see what a trained Lieutenant could not.... The mop bucket wasn't automated.

(Short and took forever x.x sorry bout that, Work and all e.e)

[Lacrimosa]

His question having been answered, the young Shinigami turned to look in the direction the lieutenant was pointing, only to have his frown deepen. He was sure that he had already checked that corner of the barracks after taking one too many wrong turns. Why was the layout of Squad Ten so complicated? He had just managed to memorize all the twists and turns of Squad Four, and here he was, tossed into an unfamiliar division for cleaning duty after failing another Kido evaluation by blowing himself up.

A tentatively commanding voice that revealed the presence of another Shinigami in their close proximity stopped all further inquiries, although new ones arose as to the identity of this man who did not seem to recognize the lieutenant of his own squad. The young teen peered over his shoulder, poking his head out from behind his cart of cleaning supplies, to take a look at the older man who had appeared just as Squad Ten’s lieutenant answered with another non-answer. He didn’t have time for any mind games and wanted out. He needed to finish his cleaning duties ASAP so he could get back to training although one tiny bit of the sneaky sneak’s answer tickled his interest. In the wrong way.

“Who’re you calling Mop Bucket!?” Said mop became a picket sign to be waved indignantly under the nose of the offender, and said bucket became a bell to be rattled so as to draw attention to his less than impressive frame. Ranks be damned, just because he was from squad four, doesn’t mean they could call him stupid names. “I’m Yamazaki Kōta of Division 4! Remember that for when I will become captain commander!” Never mind the fact that Kōta still had latrines that needed cleaning or that he still struggled with the most basic of Kaidō spells, he had big ambitions, and he won’t accept being trampled on!

[Hunata]

It was at this moment that Inazuma knew, he screwed up.

After gaining the attention of the sneaking young man and a "mop bucket," Inazuma noticed the Lt.'s Armband adorning the older of the two young Shinigami. Inazuma's heart dropped. He just verbally assaulted a Lieutenant. Was he going to be kicked out?! What would his family think about that?

Wait, did he say automated mop bucket? Inazuma paused, blinked, and looked at the young Shinigami behind the cart of cleaning supplies, who was now visibly upset with being completely looked over. The younger man had just made quite the statement, understandably miffed, but he admired the kids spirit.

"I'm sorry sir, my name is Inazuma Shiba. Third Son of Hanta Shiba. The new Third Seat of Squad 10. Reporting for duty" Inazuma half shouted half croaked as he snapped to attention. He had calmed down, but back at the academy, the one he was only a few days removed  from, he had heard that some Lt.'s could be strict and down right sticklers for protocol. Something he had broke, albeit, in a minor way. "And, uh, sir?" He looked at the younger Shinigami from Squad 4, "that's not an automated mop bucket."

[Setoku]

Chujiro was standing tall, indeed! He was the one in charge of this situation! The look on his face would send nothing but fear in shock into those lower class Shinigami - Making them fear for their careers! But it was doubtful he was like that. But as he tried to compose himself like a bad ass, his whole routine was ruined by an incoming Mop below the nose, and a loud banging by a bucket. Of course, the only squad that didn't fear his reputation. Fourth Squad. He needed to fix this! Calm this boy down.

"Yamazaki-kun.... I am sorry. But your dreams.... are a little bit lofty. But hey, I will do well to remember."

As he said this, he grabbed the shaft of the mop, moving it slightly to take in the other person in this.

"Shiba, huh? I thought you noble types... Dishonored or not, understood authority to your superiors? Either way, welcome to Squad Ten. The worst, most hard working squad in the Seritei! .... You're gonna hate it."

Chujiro frowned a moment, before letting his eyes cut off to the side... Taking in the now seen fourth squad member.

"But if you ever address me like you're in charge again..... I'll kill you."

Right as he finished his sentence, his eyes shot back to the new guy - It sounded so vicious, yet it was probably no doubt ruined by the pipsqueak with a mop in his face.

[Lacrimosa]

Not expecting to have his “weapon” so forcibly grabbed, Kōta’s knee-jerk reaction had been to tug at said weapon with all his might, even leaning backwards so as to make good use of his admittedly negligible weight. The motion had him bump into his cart, and, although it had only been lightly, the bump sent said cart full of chemicals rolling towards the poor man who was being reprimanded. Kōta did not notice that, however, as the lieutenant had captured his full attention with only minimal movements and a shift in tone.

Kōta needed that mop for his job, but Chujiro had seized it, limiting his movements and inadvertently kicking him into a state of high alert at the same time. It was irrational, but the thought of having his freedom of movement hindered, even slightly, made him very uncomfortable. He felt cornered, and the chilling glare sent his way did not help at all.

“Lofty only to the weak spirited!” he grit out, particularly content that his voice betrayed none of his restlessness and uneasinessIf flight didn’t work soon, fight would be the only option left. Of course, that was a horrible idea, even he knew that.

He may be known for picking fights often, but those were usually for the purpose of gaining specific types of battle experience, something that wasn’t quite possible yet should he challenge a lieutenant. The last thing he wanted now was another reason to get an earful from his superior officer for getting into unnecessary fights.

It wasn't uncommon for Kōta to get into trouble, and due to his inability to heal himself properly, he had to rely on his squadmates to patch him up. It wasted Squad Four's time and resources, which was why he had been trying to keep his impulses in check lately as he was doing now. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, the quicker I’m done with my cleaning, the quicker I can get to becoming Captain Commander.”

(OoC:Aaaaaand I'm back to being rambly. too lazy to make this post concise.)

[Hunata]

The young Shiba watched the debacle between Chujiro and Kota with awkward unease. The younger Division Four member was quite the spark plug, but it was becoming of him, showing true spirit and will to succeed where others wouldn't even try. Not many in Kota's position would even dream of his current goals, much less shout them out loud at a Lieutenant.

Inazuma smiled and was actually beginning to relax from his tight pose as Chujiro made eye contact with him.

Inazuma stopped smiling.

The Lieutenant's eyes seemed to bore into his soul. Inazuma felt himself, quite literally, being sized up by his superior. He was visibly relieved when Chujiro looked toward the Division Four member, only to feel exposed once the Lieutenants eyes darted back on to him.

And that threat.

Not a threat, a promise.

Inazuma believed every word, completely ignoring the mop that caused his superior to look like he had a dread locked gray beard.

"Yes sir. I understand. It was an honest mistake from an honest subordinate. A thousand pardons." Inazuma said as he bowed his head respectfully. "Thank you for the, ah, welcome. It's good to be here. I promise to prove I deserve my position."

Inazuma looked up and swallowed. He was definitely nervous and lacked self confidence. But he meant his words. He knew he had been given this ranking more than likely due to his Family's Noble status. He knew full well some would hate him just for his Family name.

But Inazuma refused to be deterred.

[Setoku]

Chujiro kept his gaze on The Shiba, his eyes never blinking, always boring into his soul. But just as quickly, his eyes went from all bussiness, to light manner cheer. As the boy bowed and scrambled frantically to keep his Job, Chujiro merely grinned, and let out a harty laugh.

"Just kidding. You need to relax. You're a proud member of Squad Ten. The Legacy..."

Chujiro rolled his shoulders slowly, allowing the side of his kimono to open, exposing his right peck. A circle of barb wire surrounded the house of Shiba emblem, tattooed above the arioula.

"Of my Cousins, Former Second Squad Captain Luc Shihouin, and Former Lieutenant of Thirtenth Squad, Shiba Kaien. So not only will you be welcome here due to your name sake alone, you will be expected to surpass former Shiba Captain Isshin of squad Ten. My name is Shibata Chujiro, of course."

Shibata, much like the Fong Family, Shibata was a second class Noble House, who normally served among the Shiba. But Chujiro was a special case. Given the birth name of Shiba, from Kaetrina Shiba, his Mother, Chujiro instead took the mantle of his father, Shibata Kanjuro. Clearly, Chujiro knew this boy, but had the boy met him? Perhaps.

"My mother is Kaetrina Shiba, incase you were curious as to my tattoo. And Kota-chan, stop sniffling. It is only us three, and I need to see just how strong my future Captain Commander. What do you think, new guy? You in?"

Chujiro suddenly released the shaft of the mop, and let his right hand touch the hilt of his sword. He knew all about Kota and his reckless ways, and truthfully? Chujiro approved.

"And don't hold back, Kota-chan. But please, let's keep our weapons sealed and Hado off. If my captain comes back and finds me teaching you some tricks, it'll be my head."

This was odd, truly. Not only had both stumbled into what they thought was a dangerous situation, the lieutenant was offering to teach them new tricks! But Chujiro had his motives for this sudden shift... It was the 12 reiatsu he had suddenly felt flare into existence then hide away nearly as quick... And of course, the thirteenth one that was brighter then all of the others combined... It was clearly Captain Level, but something felt off about it, like a Hollow was merged with a captain... But either way, he needed to keep these two in here, and hopefully out of trouble. He was also hoping the shift in demeanor would distract them from even feeling the reiatsu in the first place. Especially the two most prominent ones.... To him, or any Shiba, anyway.

(Sorry for the sloppy style of this post. I'll get in my computer tommorow and clean it up a bit. And fix the grammar errors x.x and the Lamicros-style rambling ;P)

[Lacrimosa]

Kōta had given up on wrestling his mop free while the family reunion was taking place. Although he did consider gnawing at Chujiro’s hand, the man was effortlessly keeping him in place while almost casually reminiscing about their family so he doubted it would have done much. Instead, he settled with digging his heels into the floor and letting go of the mop to stubbornly cross his arms, bucket rattling in his hand.

He wasn’t particularly paying attention to what the two men were saying, and he knew Ma and Pa back home would spank him six ways to Sunday for his lack of manners, especially towards a well-known clan, dishonored or not, but he was unfortunately in a rebellious phase of his life. This cleared his mind to sense something strange coming from the direction of his squad, but just as quickly as it had appeared, whatever had tickled his senses vanished.

He looked back at the lieutenant, but saw no noticeable change in his demeanor. If anything important was happening, surely at least Chujiro would notice and do something about it. It would appear that the man was comfortable enough to challenge him and his third seat to a fight, so Kōta concluded that could brush the anomaly off as just his imagination and accept the challenge.

“I have not been given permission to carry my zanpakuto around in times of peace, so that won’t be a problem,” he said, tossing aside his bucket and cracking his knuckles. He had yet to learn his zanpakuto’s name anyway, so it wasn’t as though its absence would cramp his style. Of course, he omitted to mention the fact that he was abysmal at Kidō, one of the main reasons he was still unseated despite having graduated with high marks in all other combat fields.

“Sorry, but I’ll be going first!” he shouted in the younger Shiba’s direction as he took off in the lieutenant’s direction. The approach was fast, but no in no way rivalling the speed of Shunpo, so Kōta expected the man to see him coming from miles away. He had shifted his stance so that only the left side of his body would be facing Chujiro so as to decrease the amount of targetable area his opponent had. His left arm was bent to protect his left flank while his shoulder was raised to offer minimal protection to his face once he had tucked his chin in.

His current target was Chujiro’s right foot, and Kōta slammed his left foot down where it would have been as soon as he was within range should the older man not move it out of the way. The purpose of this first move was to restrain the other man’s movement by trapping his foot, but that wouldn’t last long. The impetuous brat would then follow up by shifting his weight to his other foot so that he could gather enough power to rotate his waist and push forward with a right uppercut aimed at Chujiro’s face.

[Hunata]

'Well that escalated quickly,' Inazuma thought.

He watched as Kota ran towards Chujiro, their battle sure to be intense, albeit, short. If it was his Lieutenants goal to distract the two younger Shinigami, it sure worked. Inazuma detected nothing except the flare of Kota's temper. Then again, his mind was also reeling from Chujiro's revelations.

He was the son of his aunt Kaetrina?!

Inazuma had been seriously taken aback. He of course knew all about the story of his aunts "disgrace". Honestly, Inazuma didn't see what the big deal was. The Shibata were still noble. So what if his aunt wanted to take her husband's name. No need to get THAT upset. His grandfather had been a traditionalist, however, and though Inazuma's father, Hanta, was leading the Shiba now, he  knew that such an "issue" couldn't just be resolved.  He had known they had a son, but never would he have thought that it would've been his Lieutenant. That said, he could see the family resemblance to his aunt. Inazuma could remember his aunt, having seen her a couple of times before going to the Shinigami Academy, after his father took over the clan.

And now, just after finding out he had a cousin, he was being told to spar him. Yeah.. things had escalated pretty fast since he walked into the Squad Ten barracks.

Inazuma placed his right hand on his Katana, which hung from his left waist. He recently learned the name of his Zanpakuto, Ten no Kaminari, and loved to enter his inner world, to meditate and train with his weapons spirit.

'Too bad I have to stay sealed,' Inazuma thought as he watched Kota's assault on Chujiro.

(Sorry for the wait.)

[Setoku]

Chujiro saw the boy coming, indeed, 'miles away,' yet he seemed to pay it no mind. Chujiro was taking in Kota's stance, realizing right away this boy was use to hand to hand combat. He didn't even request a nameless Zanpakutou for the spar, nor showed any signs of wavering from said spar weaponless. Chujiro suddenly felt a wealth of respect for the boy in that moment, enough to allow the boy's foot to drop ontop of his own.

"You move good, Kota-kun."

Chujiro offered as his right foot felt the weight of the child's foot upon it. Yet it wasn't much - Even when he threw all his weight into it. Chujiro seemingly made no move to avoid anything at all.... Odd, indeed? Once the weight shifted from his foot, to the boys opposite foot, Chujiro spoke, yet his voice showed no signs of distress.

"Mistake one. When you have a man's foot under your own, use it to hold the man in place, or this...."

Kota's arm came flying in for an uppercut, his right, and Chujiro's left hand shot up, palm facing the fist, and easily pushed it aside. In the same movement, Chujiro twisted his waist to the right, and forced his body low, shoving both hand's toward the boys covered left flank. One, grabbing onto the arm and shoving it out of his way, while the other sent an open palm smack toward his (Unless you fight out of the arm grab) exposed kidney. Speaking as he was moving.

"Too give you both a better chance, Cousin-kun, Kota-kun, I will refrain from using my weapon. Let me show you how the Six Wheels of the Ninth Squad are taught hand to hand."

(It's been ages since I was able to go Hand to Hand RP style xD Lac, you awesome <3 If it wasn't clear enough what I did, let me know and I'll amend it.)

[Lacrimosa]

The feeling of triumph that had bubbled into existence when Kōta’s foot made contact with that of the lieutenant was gone almost as quickly as it had come when he felt his blow get deflected. A litany of curses was recited rushed through his mind as he calculated what his miss entailed. As one would expect from an experienced fighter, his opponent’s riposte was merciless, palm slamming into him. Pain bloomed where the blow had connected, but Kōta grit his teeth, refusing to let something that did not break bone or rupture any organs deter him, and retaliated almost as quickly.

Before Chujiro retreated from his forward stance, Kōta attempted to bring his right hand, the one that had been pushed aside, down onto his opponent’s shoulder where he would take ahold of the black fabric of which Shinigami Shihakushō were made of. His opponent’s blow had enough force to push him backwards a few steps where Kōta would regather his composure and take on a defensive boxing stance should he have missed his mark. Should he succeed in his endeavor, Chujiro would be pulled forward by the combined weight of Kōta and the blow he had just dealt to him.

[Hunata]

Inazuma stood to the side and watched with interest, studying the Lieutenants technique and admiring Kota's brazen assault. It made him nervous.

The younger Shiba removed his Zanpakuto from his waist, leaning the Katana against the wall, not wanting it to interfere with his fighting style. Inazuma didn't inherently excel at hand-to-hand combat while in the academy, but he could scrap. Growing up with two brothers kind of drilled some fight into you.

Regardless, Inazuma would give it his all. He continued to watch them battle, silently waiting, preparing to seize the opportune moment that would surely come.

(Sorry for a long wait for a short post, I wasn't at home this weekend. Did this with my phone.)

[Setoku]

Chujiro felt the impact - Rather shocked it hit, it was a long shot, by any means. No matter, there wasn't much time to formulate a plan - While Chujiro's defense was vicious, Kota's seemed to be more intelligent - To normal fighter's standards. Clearly this boy had been around when it came to fighting. As the Boy was clearly reeling from the attack, his mind clearly formulated a plan. The hand Chujiro pushed aside fell onto his shoulder before he had a chance to compose his own stance, and he felt the boy grab a handful of fabric. Under any circumstance, this was a clever idea..... but this wasn't just any circumstance. Once the boy was sent reeling back, he would notice his speed stumbling back increase, as Churijiro shoved the same shoulder into the boy, essentially helping him out. Speak as he went...

"You leave yourself too open.... your only hope is my Cousin, and it seems he's just gonna stand there...."

Chujiro smiled inward as he rammed into the boy, hoping the boy didn't formulate a way so quick to turn this on Chujiro... That could be bad.

[Lacrimosa]

Kōta felt himself take off, only backwards this time and even faster than before. The lieutenant had decided to play along with him and had pushed forward for a tackle his shoulder. Had they not been heading in the same direction, the hit would have hurt much more. As it was, it knocked the wind out of him, but it also gave him the opportunity to wrap his left around Chujiro’s torso, attempting to trap his arm between them in a hug.

“I don’t need his help!” he shouted vehemently, although it came out more as an angry wheeze.

In the process, he somehow got his right arm caught in the mess for Kōta’s right hand had still held onto the fabric of Chujiro’s right shoulder when he had been tackled. The diminishing distance between his opponent and he had forced Kōta to bend his arm at elbow level. All in all, it was a mess of tangled limbs to him.

With no more momentum to strike at his opponent with his limbs, he did the only thing that crossed his mind: Kōta brought his head back, and smashed it forward, aiming to slam his forehead into Chujiro’s nose. That wasn’t the most graceful of move, but that was the impetuous brawler’s style. At least he didn’t go for the gonads again. Yet.



(OoC: Sorry for the late response. 2nd half of the week is usually when i'm busiest o,o; Also, I think i found Kōta's spirit animal: )

[Setoku]

Chujiro's eyes cut up a moment, taking in his cousin. Why wasn't he joining in...? He just seemed to be watching, as if formulating a plan, or letting the boy fight his own battles. A mistake, to say the least. The boy was brash, young, and while intelligent, he was too hot headed in these kind of things.

It was short lived though, Chujiro just as quickly felt tugging against his arm - He himself had made a mistake, and now his limbs seemed to be tangled up with the other boys - Instead of invert his eyes though, Chujiro turned his head to the side, trying to get a sense of what was going on over there - And then, an explosion of white took up his vision for a moment.

"What the hell.....!"

It was sharp, and quick - Luckily to the side of the head instead of his face, but either way, Kota's attack work, and gave him the time he needed to get out of this mess - But with these two locked together, that was unlikely. Beyond that, how much damage did Kota even take? Any? Chujiro couldn't say, he was still trying to shake away the white spots and the headache that was creeping into his brain.

[Lacrimosa]

Not five seconds after the blow connected, Kōta began to regret his life decisions. “Ow! Motherf-!” he let out as he let go of his hard-earned hold on Chujiro and stumbled backwards, clutching his forehead. The pain had caught up to him, and it felt as though some had hammered a nail into his skull. As unafraid of pain as he was, seeing stars dance behind his eyelids had been enough to throw him off and keep him open to any retaliation from the more experienced fighter.

Kōta was painfully aware of his vulnerable state and shuffled backwards as best as he could with his limited vision. A warm liquid was trickling down his face and his hands were colored in red when he brought them back down in a sloppy boxing guard. Who knew noses could feel that sharp when directly colliding against them.

[Hunata]

Inazuma watched Kota shuffle away and knew it was time to step in himself.

Inazuma, seemingly passive, had been waiting for a moment to surprise attack Chujiro, knowing it would probably be himself and Kota's best chance at beating the older, more experienced Shinigami. With Kota having sustained enough brunt, and Chujiro seemingly dazed, Inazuma had to act fast.

Following the headbutt, a vicious one at that, Inazuma began to edge closer to Chujiro. Once Kota had disentangled himself, Inazuma charged forward, attempting to tackle Chujiro from the side (Chujiro's right, Kota's left.), throwing all 180 pounds into his assault.

[Setoku]

Chujiro literally had no time to recover - His vision was still tinted by white, and as the boy backed off, blood trickling down his face, Chujiro figured it was over, but then the sound of weight against the wood of the barracks caused him to quickly turn his head in time to see Inazuma closing the gap between them relatively quick.

"Oh come on...."

Chujiro managed out, before his body suddenly dropped low, and he spun on his leg, sending his left leg out for a full sweep when as the much heavier boy drew closer. But the whole movement was made slower, and with much less strength then he normally had. Could it of been the headbutt from Kota? Clearly. But that bit of sluggishness could cost him. If Inazuma caught on even a second sooner than Chujiro could anticipate, he could still be tackled as he dropped, or, even if he dropped, Inazama could still easily deal with the sweep. So in reality, the attack seemed more like a pitiless feint than anything else.

[Lacrimosa]

Just as he regained his bearings, a dark blur pushed past Kota to continue where he had let off. That damn bastard, trying to steal his fight! Teamwork? What teamwork? He had worked hard to create an opening, and the third seat was about to snatch his game away…Well, two could play at that game.

When Chujiro ducked, Kota dived to the meddler’s right with both of his hands outstretched before him, essentially using his open palms to intercept Chujiro’s sweeping kick. With the way the lieutenant had countered his first attack, Kota realized that the man was far faster than he, so his best bet would be to immobilize him once more. It didn’t really click in his mind that he would be actually assisting Inazuma by stopping the sweeping kick should he succeed.

[Setoku]

( -Strums fingers on own leg waiting for Hunata-kun.- So... Lac... How's it been hanging? Lol.)

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