Life... Death... Huh?

Shunsui Kyoraku

"Waiting and having faith is also a captain's duty."

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Posting Music: "Bleach OST 2 - #12 A Requiem"



"Drink, my friend!"
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Well, today seemed like it might actually be half-decent. That's what Shunsui was thinking as he made his way through what appeared to be one of the most barren wastelands that the earth had to offer. Really he wasn't so much concerned with the decency of the day. He was more concerned with whether he personally could have a bit of fun. Shunsui, who appeared to be in his late forties, had a bottle of sake in his dark skinned hand and a desire for mischief in his mind. His long, black hair was tied up as usual, and bounced in a rather silly fashion against his floral kimono, which he kept over his shinigami garb at all times, draped over his shoulders rather than worn like it was supposed to be. The expensive flower-shaped hairpins protruding from his ponytail, along with the kimono, gave him a rather flamboyant appearance. His visible and dark chest hair, thin beard, and sakkat didn't help this appearance, but anyone who had fought with or against him for any amount of time could tell you that it was one of the most well-kept facades of all time.

Shunsui's feet made a slight thumping noise as they hit the ground one after another. His sandals sliding against the dirt as the dust flew up in a small cloud around his feet. Shunsui opted out of wearing the traditional tabi, he preferred to feel the open air against his toes.

Shunsui sighed and took a more quick step forward, shunpoing with expert efficiency and accuracy as he moved through the plains. He breathed in the fresh air, taking in the sight of the apparently endless expanse as he moved. Then he felt it, there! Some spiritual pressure! Shunsui redirected himself, aiming his shunpo towards the source until he appeared, on his left knee with his right hand on his sakkat, only a foot behind the figure. He tipped the sakkat up, glancing up at the woman. "Well hello there." He smiled a little, "Isn't it a bit hot and deserted out here for a lady like you to be goofing around?" He chuckled, raising his bottle of sake to his lips and taking a swig, wiping his lips with the back of his hand and smiling at the woman, "I'm sure you have a good reason for being out here, could you please explain to me? I'm just looking to have a little fun, as it is."

Shunsui Kyoraku

"Waiting and having faith is also a captain's duty."

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Posting Music: "Unmei no Yoru" -Fate/Stay Night OST



"Drink, my friend!"
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Shunsui lowered his free hand from his hat to the wakizashi in his left hip. He rested the hand on the hilt of the wakizashi and moved his hand in a circular motion as he observed the woman. She seemed to be innocent enough, no evil intent apparent. Shunsui had learned, however, in all his years spent serving the soul society, that judging a book by its cover was a deadly mistake.

He lowered his hat down, slightly obscuring his face as he extended his legs, pushing his body up into a standing position and leaning his head back, taking another swig of sake.

"It's better than a hot and crowded city, that's for sure." Shunsui smiled, this one knew what she was talking about. He really didn't like the city, sure there were bars and a lot of pretty women, but it was all too noisy for him as it was.

"No, no. I s'pose you should know. I'm training out here. Simply because it's nice and calm and hot. And I like it hot." Training, eh? Despite his small smirk at the possibly inappropriate comment, he knew that this could be serious depending on who exactly this woman was, and what exactly she was training for.

"Name's Kanako. Kanako Yuudeshi. And to who do I owe this pleasure?" Shunsui grinned, she certainly was a delight, wasn't she? He slid the back of his free hand under the brim of his hat, brushing his knuckles against the underside before pointing his index finger up, pushing the hat up and showing his face better as he spoke. "My, my, well I guess I owe you that much for intruding so rudely on your training." He laughed teasingly, "My name is Shunsui, Shunsui Kyoraku. No one important, really, just an observer." He laughed again, "So tell me, what is a cute girl like you training for exactly?" He looked her in the eye, his smile still present but his tone deathly serious.

Shunsui Kyoraku

"Waiting and having faith is also a captain's duty."

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Posting Music: "Unlimited Blade Works" -Fate/Stay Night Arranged OST



"Drink, my friend!"
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"I suppose I can tell you that, too. I'm trying to surpass my twin brother, Hideo. See, he and I are supposed to share a seat in the Vizard Corps... Co-Head. So we make it into a contest of strength. He's winning, but only because he can punch through sekiseki." Ah, so there it was. The truth came out. Vizards, eh? Interesting. Shunsui hadn't had much contact with them since the winter war. He hadn't known much about them even before then. He knew his former lieutenant was one of them, but other than that...

He chuckled softly to himself. Punching through sekiseki was quite a feat. He was impressed. No wonder this woman wanted to catch up. It seemed like she had a lot of work to do herself, then again, everyone had room to approve. No one was perfect, perfection was unattainable.

"Now that I think about it... a training partner would have it's uses. Whaddaya say, hun?" Shunsui laughed openly at this, a playful smirk on his lips. "Oh, I'm not one for fighting, Kanako-chan." He said sweetly, his use of the informal honorific a show of his flirtatious nature. "Although I am a bit rusty after all this time. It has been quite a while." He thought it over for a moment. Would there be any harm in it? Surely not. It was simply a spar, after all. And besides, all she wanted was to get stronger, he could understand that. He tilted his head to the side and smiled, slipping his bottle of sake inside his robe and placing his other hand on his hat, his pink kimono caught the slight breeze and flowed elegantly, if not rather goofily, in the wind. "I guess there'd be no harm in it. It's only a spar. Alright, sounds good then." He slid his left hand to his zanpakuto's sheath and drew it, leaving the wakizashi sheathed for now. He wanted to draw this out at first, test his opponent's strength before fighting with any kind of seriousness. He stumbled back a bit, feigning a slightly drunk state before holding his sword up in a silly fashion. "I think the lady should make the first move." He grinned.

Shunsui Kyoraku

"Waiting and having faith is also a captain's duty."

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Posting Music: "Keiyaku" -Fate/Stay Night OST



"Drink, my friend!"
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Shunsui let his sword hand drop, aiming it at the ground. He kept the smile on his face as he did so. This one seemed like she was going to be a bit of an interesting development.

"I see that you carry two zanpakuto." Shunsui tilted his head forward, the hat shadowing his face. She was quick to state the obvious, apparently. Either way, she was observant, even though the wakizashi wasn't technically a zanpakuto. He didn't like using it from the beginning of a fight, he really did like drawing these things out.

"Then again, I'll only need my training blade for this one." Only the training blade, huh? What kind of spar did the woman think this was? There was only one way that Shunsui sparred, and she would learn that soon enough.

Even though his stance looked loose and drunk, he had subtly set up a stance to where he could either block or move away if need be, a perfectly deceptive defensive stance. He saw the woman run towards him and chuckled as the blade hit the ground. Watching it swing wildly, he dodged the first couple of strikes. He dodged left, then right, then left, then a duck, then a jump. He smiled at the woman, "My, my, you'll have to try harder than this. I think you already know that, so why are you messing around?" He chuckled, stepping out of her swinging range and pointing his sword at her in a salute.

Shunsui Kyoraku

"Waiting and having faith is also a captain's duty."

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Posting Music: "Keiyaku" -Fate/Stay Night OST



"Drink, my friend!"
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The woman's attacks.. They seemed to be completely random. Shunsui knew that there was more than likely a method to her madness, but he wasn't going to bother trying to find one until she got serious. And he figured she wouldn't get serious until he did. Why try and end the battle so soon though? Why not have some fun?

"Alright, so maybe I wasn't being as serious as I'd like..." Shunsui laughed quietly, looking at the woman with a playful glint in his eye, "Neither am I. To be completely honest with you, Kanako-chan, I'm just playing around right now. If you haven't noticed, I didn't swing my sword or feel the need to block even one of those attacks." He stood upright, shrugging, and twirling his sword casually. "Really now, if I was serious about this, you would know." He laughed again.

His mischievous gaze turned into a serious glare immediately as the woman rushed at him. He calmly raised his blade to block the first before simply backing out of the way of the second, third, and fourth. For the fifth, he shunpoed back about two feet, smiling as he was just out of the blade's reach. Most would find it a testament to exactly how fast and precise he was that he could shunpo like that without losing his hat or kimono. Shunsui raised both hands into the air, palms up, and began tossing his sword from one hand to the other, smiling at the woman. "My, my, Kanako-chan. If you really want to get stronger, you'll have to get serious and try harder than that." He grabbed the hilt of his sword with his right hand, slicing down through the air. "I mean honestly, I haven't even attacked yet." He said, lowering his head and gazing at the woman through the shadow that the brim of his hat was causing.