Who Needs Sleep? Redux (Open)

Mon Jul 05, 2021 6:59 pm

Saera yawned as she walked onto one of the training fields of the Fourth Division, far later at night then she particularly wanted to be there. Annoyingly, despite her yawning, she hadn't been able to sleep. For one reason or another tonight was one of the very few instances where the barracks were almost empty, or at least the part of the fourth's barracks where Saera laid her head. The lack of other people had made her... antsy, and what was the best solution for restlessness that was determinedly not caused by an underlying fear of abandonment and loneliness because someone like Saera would never have problems like that, no sir, not at all?

Saera shook her head to clear it of the uncomfortable thoughts that had started to crop up as she continued on, but in answer to the earlier question, the best medicine for insomnia was exercise, or more specifically, training, which was why Saera now found herself standing uncomfortably alone on a wide patch of packed down dirt, holding a specially crafted replica of her released Zanpakutou, made with a solid steel shell filled in with lead, in one hand and a small electronic speaker she'd obtained on one of her stints back on earth.

Saera paused for a moment and bent down to place the speaker before hitting a small button on the top, causing it to start playing through a pre-loaded list of music before straightening and moving further in to begin her warm up exercises. After a while though Saera felt she was ready, and was already feeling a nice burn from doing the basic movements hefting around the weighted practice weapon, so picking up the tempo from the song currently playing, one of her favorites, she began to go through increasingly complex movements, following no set form, just allowing each movement to flow into the next. Eventually, as she started to get more into the training she began to sing along with the next song to come up.

"Thunder racing through our veins, one breath provokes a storm..."

This particular song was extremely fast paced, and her workout began to reflect this rapidly. Thrusts, blocks, parries, sweeps, slashes, as she continued to work the weighted weapon mock up became a blur of dull steel grey coupled with the whistling of the cut wind. A wide grin made it's way to Saera's lips as she sung and struck, now this was a workout.

Mon Jul 05, 2021 8:17 pm

Furukawa Asami | Officer of the 5th

It was not uncommon for those of other divisions to find their way to the training fields of the 4th Division for out-of-hours practice. Tonight, it was Asami that found her way to the barracks with her weapons sheathed patiently at her hip and waiting for her attention. She had waited until the hour was particularly late so that the grounds would be as quiet as possible, and yet it quickly became apparent that she was far from alone.

High octane music echoed across the yard as a sole Shinigami went over her own Zanjutsu drills with a polearm that possessed an impressive air of grace and power. Clearly, it was a weapon that she had practiced with for a considerable amount of time and yet a broad smile sat upon her lips even as the tempo of the song only continued to increase.

Asami first thought to leave the other Shinigami to it and quietly take off before the song ended, but there was a curiosity that picked at the back of her mind that she could not suppress. So, with intentions made up in her head, she gave her target a wide berth and began to approach from out of her direct line of sight. Waiting on the sidelines until a particular lull arrived, she finally announced her presence with a wave and a compliment.

"What a fascinating technique, that weapon is rather like water in your hands."

Asami flashed a smile that did not run quite as wide as Saera's own, and looked the woman up and down. There was a purpose to her movements, even the slightest ones, and that made her interesting.

"Do forgive my intrusion, I'm Asami Furukawa from the 5th Division."

Burning the Midnight Oil | END POST

Tue Jul 06, 2021 12:42 am

The night was perfect for those who can't sleep and the weirdos as well. Of course, walking through the 4th Division building to the training yard wasn't weird at all for one Amon Breach. Or Breach-san as people actually called him. It was something that he respected and was annoyed at, but at least it was respectful of anything, it wasn't like they meant -san in a bad way, right? Despite that, Amon kept to himself and spine to no one... Well there was Saiko, then Hanako and the 2nd Divisions Vice Captain just the previous day.

Despite that, Amon sought to sharpen his skill by finding out what exactly he could do with a broadsword, more specifically his Asauchi. He oy knew some basics of training, nothing insanely technical or complex, and seeing others fight with their Zanpactos gave him a few ideas. That was why he was heading to the teaing yard, being a new part of the Combat Division, Amon felt he really needed to get technique down.

Finally approaching the yard the new Shinigami noticed two things, firstly the high octane music which... Eh? He was fir heavier stuff like Slipknot, Avatar, Metallica and that jazz, he wasn't all too familiar with this band. And secondly, the two females, one approaching the other and starting to talk. He let loose a light sigh and crossed his arms, staying in a dark spot so that he wouldn't be noticed and just wait his turn.

"Well... Here's to hoping I get a chance to practice some..." Amon thought, leaning against a wall on his right.

Tue Jul 06, 2021 2:41 am

The Big Woman

Hanako Yamada

The quiet hours, somewhere in the dark of the night, when everyone was sleeping. ALmost everyone. Of course there were always a few Shinigami on duty, something that was especially true for the First and Fourth Divisions. Hanako even knew where the members of her own Division on duty currently were. It wasn’t difficult, she wrote the duty-roster. In fact she spent most of her day with duty-rosters and then some. It was just one of the days at the beginning of a month when administrative duties took up a lot of time. At least by now Hanako had learned her way around books and files well enough so that she had no more backlog.

Still, she had almost pulled an all-nighter again, when her inner voice of reason, meaning Bakumusha, had told her that she should stop and get some sleep. She was fast enough now with her work so she could afford not working herself up. She listened to that voice.

Or, at least, she tried. Leaving her desk and the work was one thing, the work leaving her another. Sleep eluded her because of it and the enormous amounts of black tea she had consumed didn’t help either. So she wandered the compound of the Division, enjoying the peace and quiet, thinking about whether she should visit a bathhouse, when some noises cut through the quiet of the night.

She followed the faint noises until they grew louder and she was able to identify them as music. She didn’t recognize any of it, but didn’t give it much thought. She’d never given music any more than a fleeting thought, never felt any connection to it.

She rounded a corner and saw one of the training areas, filled with surprisingly many individuals. Well, there were only four, herself included, but for the late hour it was quite the gathering. There was Saera, the woman that had accompanied her on the Senkaimon-incident. She had grown to highly respect the abilities of this woman. There was also Amon present. He had been with her to visit Takehiko Kuchiki just recently, where he threw himself into a sparring match against Takehiko without hesitation, who had a far greater spiritual pressure and unknown abilities. A courage and determination she also respected and shared. It looked like the two of them had found as much sleep as she had.

“If I had known you two would be up, I would have given you two of the night shifts.” she said with her usual half-smile, but immediately waved the comment away. She wouldn’t really have done that. Off-duty was off-duty and she would never punish one of her people for not being able to sleep.

She greeted both of her comrades with a nod, not insisting on formalities as usual. Then she turned towards the fourth person. She didn’t know this one, since she had missed the introduction, although she was sure it wasn’t one of her own.
Hanako bowed politely, because that’s what you do when meeting a stranger, and introduced herself.

“I’m Hanako Yamada of the Fourth Division. I think we’re not acquainted yet.”

Her voice was calm and friendly, although a bit raspy from too little sleep and too much hot tea.

Coding Altered From: [The Frost]

- Hanako Yamada -

= Hanako's Timeline =

>Julia Victoria von Aschewald<

>>Julia's Timeline<<

Tue Jul 06, 2021 8:54 pm

Furukawa Asami | Officer of the 5th

Asami let her gaze wander briefly over Saera's shoulder in the direction of the warrior lurking in the shadows, enough to suggest that she was aware of his presence without calling him out on his decision to hang back. Everyone had their own reason for being here, and it was not her place to cast judgement publicly. At Saera's words, though, her gaze returned to the hefty weapon in her hands and she cocked her head to the side as a puzzled look crossed her features.

"Oh, are you sure training with such a weapon is beneficial? If the weight is off then it might throw you off when it comes to using the real thing. Far from ideal in a combat scenario."

When the conversation turned to her own armaments, she placed a hand upon the shorter of the two sheathes and flashed a short blade that was purely black in colour.

"Not quite as extravagant as your own, I admit, but my blades have an appeal of their own."

Her hand moved down from the Tantō to grasp the hilt of the Katana but, noticing the approach of another pair of figures, Asami let it return to her side and turned to face the newcomers.

Naturally, her eyes went to the larger and more imposing presence of Hanako first. Asami was a tall woman herself, easily capable of turning heads should she so choose, but this one had her beat by about half a foot and that set off the alarm bells of recollection in her head. The 4th's Vice-Captain was a woman of such stature, and this woman bore all the signs of a prolonged period spent doing paperwork that Asami did. The badge upon her arm was all the confirmation she needed, and so she reciprocated the bow given with one of her own.

"Asami Furukawa, 5th Divison. This is an unexpected pleasure, Vice-Captain, but I hope I'm not intruding on a midnight lesson?"

A light laugh escaped Asami's lips, as this was clearly a coincidental meeting that had brought a lot of unexpected activity to a previously quiet night. Then, finally, she took notice of the other figure. There was no need for her words, as his business was clearly with the Combat Division, but it sounded peculiar for the Captain to send for one recruit in particular at such an inhospitable hour. He was a Kuchiki though, perhaps that was reason enough.

Burning the Midnight Oil | END POST

Tue Jul 06, 2021 9:53 pm

Amon simply waves at Hanako as she spoke, referring to him and another woman. A bit of a taco fest going on there, he thought, not getting involved or saying much. He wanted to observe and once it's done he'd go on to practice himself. Perhaps they'd spar and he could see some real action, maybe. As far as Amon knew they could all most likely bust his ass, like throwing a kitten at a wall- which is a really bad analogy but very accurate in his case. Hell he didn't even have a Kido or Bankai like other people, and he's only ever run into a Hollow or two.

"Well... Nothing ventured, nothing gained." Amon briefly said to himself before pushing himself from the wall as another man entered the area. He didn't quite catch that name, but the rank? Captain Kobiyashi. This wasn't the guy but still the fact this person was sent here was... Nearly unsettling for Amon. Shit, he hoped they weren't going to get chewed out for being around so late.

Once Amon walked up, he kept himself at a five foot distance from the group. The dark wasn't enough to reveal that he was wearing a plain white t-shirt with a pair of gray elastic gym shorts than stopped just below his knees. He also had on black sports shoes, but other than that, the only identifying features were the very numerous scars along his arms, neck, and arms. All of which were either from past injuries let them be animal, human, or something else.

"I... Uhh..." Amon started to choke on what he wanted to say. Damn you bravado, where art thou! It was still very hard for Amon to interact with people as it was, sure after a minute he's up front but he didn't do well with groups.

In the words of one Mike Judges Butthead, "Hughhughhughhughhugh, this sucks."

"A-Amon," Amon finally said after seconds of trying to grip at his words, and it was very evident he was not the social type, "Amon... Breach. I'm just here."

Wed Jul 07, 2021 8:37 am

The Big Woman

Hanako Yamada

Hanako acknowledged Saera’s remark with a snort and a crooked grin.

“Tired is the right word. I’ve been buried in administrative work the last few days, like every month. Drank too much tea and now my mind is tired but my body still has to catch up.”

She shrugged, then looked around. It was quite the assembly here. Fascinating how many were up at this late hour. Amon seemed a bit uneasy. Hanako wasn’t sure why that was. Anyway, she was pleased that he was present. Maybe there was a chance for a bit of training she had in mind since the visit to the 2nd Division.

“Amon, nice to see you again.”

Before she could say any more Asami reciprocated the greeting. When she addressed Hanako formally as Vice Captain, the big woman realised that she wore the badge on her arm. She took it off and fastened it to her obi on her left hip. She usually wore it there, only today it had bothered her, sitting at her desk.

“Nice to meet you. You’re not interrupting anything official, I’m technically off-duty and only came here by chance. But I have indeed just thought about joining...if Saera has no objections, of course. She was here first and we have enough space that all of us could train for themself, especially at this time of night.”

Hanako’s eyes wandered to Asami’s weapons.

“A Daisho, and quite an unusual one, as far as I can tell. I would like to cross blades with you some time.”

Her left hand patted the sheath of Bakumusha. A plain looking Katana, with no fancy sheath or any ornamentation on the wrought-iron-tsuba. Just like Hanako, who was usually never seen with any kind of decoration, aside from her badge.
When she sensed yet another person arriving at the training area Hanako turned around and saw a slender young man come towards her. He was considerably shorter than her and seemed to be nervous. What made her eyebrows rise a few millimeters was the outfit he wore. It was the red and white from the academy. It was rather unusual for a student to wander around the Division compounds. However, the explanation for this came instantly.

“Nice to meet you. I am Hanako Yamada of the Fourth Division, my comrades Saera Kirin and Amon Breach, as well as Asami Furukawa of the Fifth Division.” Hanako answered and politely introduced herself and the others present, since she didn’t know how much Koyo had heard.

So, another Kuchiki, what a coincidence. Most Shinigami could go their whole lives without meeting a single person of a noble family personally. Since Captain Kobayashi was adopted into one she had met three in less than a year. Hanako wondered if she should feel honored.

“The Captain requested your presence? Here? Now?”

The surprise was easily audible in Hanako’s voice. How, in the Soul King’s name, had he known she would be here? Did he know her that good already? And why did he send young Koyo to her. There was no sense in...well...unless…

“Heh, I think I might have an idea.” she said, more to herself than to anyone else.

She made an inviting gesture with open arms and looked at all present, remaining with her eyes on Amon and Saera. She shrugged, the question clear in that small movement. It was, first of all, Saera’s decision if she wanted to share the space. And then it had to be consent between everyone present if they wanted to do something together.

“What do you think?”

She again gave everyone a glance, including Koyo. She was off-duty, it was the middle of the night, this here was a chance-meeting, more or less, and no emergency existed. If possible, Hanako wouldn’t be here as Lieutenant Yamada but ...well, Hanako.

Coding Altered From: [The Frost]

- Hanako Yamada -

= Hanako's Timeline =

>Julia Victoria von Aschewald<

>>Julia's Timeline<<