Unbridled Ambition [Finished]

Ryuzaki stood as she returned and curiously gazed at the things she had gathered. He'd dabbled in trying various drugs in the living realm, but none of them had ever really had an effect on him, he guessed that was due to his gigai though. Or perhaps it was because human drugs had no effect on Shinigami. He really had no clue.

"I know, my Zanpakuto spirit seems a bit aloof though. Occasionally he comes by to tell me what I'm doing wrong, but he never gives me any constructive advice. Maybe I just need to try harder to get through to him. Well, let's do this, I guess"

Ryuzaki watched as she performed her ritual, and he thought the noises she was making were a bit spooky. It wasn't that he was spooked by them, just that they were what you would classify as being spooky noises. The scent of the strange concoction began to enter his nostrils as he made his way slowly closer. It was an odd smell, not bad, just odd. There was a bit of an earthiness to it but that was to be expected, what really surprised him was that it smelled almost, but not quite, sweet. Directly in front of the fire now, he wondered for a moment if this was actually going to help him or if it was just some nonsense that the woman had dreamed up. He would never know if he didn't try though, so he leaned forwards and the smell became much more intense, he could now distinctly make out some other unusual scent, it was almost lemony. Ryuzaki filled his lungs with the smoke and at first felt that nothing had changed. He looked over to complain and noticed that there was no longer a woman in the forest with him. Across from him stood a wolf, it seemed to want to do him no harm but he made sure to keep it in his sight for a few moments before he determined that he was truly in no danger. At first he didn't want to turn his back to it, but then he reasoned that this was probably just the woman he had already been interacting with. His brain still wasn't functioning that quickly due to the blow he had been dealt earlier, but it was a great deal better than it had been. He imagined that he would have his full faculties in mere minutes. Reassured he turned, his goal in mind. As he did so he noticed Asanagi standing next to him, long black hair billowing in nonexistent wind. He looked down and noticed that his sword was nowhere to be found.

"Well that's just swell. I guess I'll just have to face whatever comes my way with no weapon. How could that go wrong?"
"I assume you're being sarcastic and not actually seeking the answer to that question. Might take a while to explain it to you if not."
"You aren't funny Asanagi."

Ryuzaki walked for about ten minutes, heading deeper into the forest before he started to feel apprehensive. Asanagi was following a bit behind him, apparently he intended to be no help. As he made his way past a large tree he began to hear a low grumbling which slowly crescendoed into a roar. He turned his head to see a great dark shape charging towards him, its mouth was open wide, exposing its fangs. A moment before it reached him he dodged to the left, narrowly avoiding the swipe of the beasts paw and planted his hand on the ground. Summoning all of his strength he launched his foot into the bears neck with a kick leveraging all of his body weight. The beast made an audible snort as Ryuzaki felt its windpipe give slightly under his foot, but it was obvious to him that it would take more than that to kill the thing. The beast reared up and swiped at him once more but Ryuzaki quickly rolled under its paw and delivered another swift kick to its ribs. This kick though seemed to have little effect, and Ryuzaki decided to go about this another way. The bear circled around him, readying itself for another charge, this time though Ryuzaki had a plan. As the bear charged once more he swiftly jumped to the side but this time he was a bit slow, the bear managed to make contact with his right arm, leaving a nasty gash. Ryuzaki paid no mind to this and jumped onto the bears back, wrapping his arms around its neck, locking his hands together. The beast let out a roar that left his ears ringing but halfway through its display he began to tighten his grip, determined to come out of this encounter on top. The bear abruptly became quiet, and began attempting to shake him off vigorously, but Ryuzaki would have none of it. Gathering up ever last bit of energy he possessed Ryuzaki squeezed the beasts neck with all of his might, and began to feel the things windpipe being crushed. It was a challenge to stay in position, but the beast gradually began to lose power as its oxygen supply was cut off. Eventually it fell to the ground with a thud, but Ryuzaki continued to apply a consistent pressure until he was sure the thing wouldn't be getting back up. He unwrapped his arms from the things neck and clambered off of its back and onto his feet. As he made his way back to the area he had been training in earlier Asanagi walked next to him.

"I'm actually quite impressed you were able to pull that off. I thought you'd have a difficult time with this, but you proved more than capable. Perhaps I'll teach you some things the next time we speak"

With that Asanagi faded into nothing, and Ryuzaki reached the large tree he had rested under previously. Exhausted, he once more sat with his back against the tree and closed his eyes.