Outward Reflections [Asami, Hyosuke]

It had been a while since Asami had ventured out beyond the Seireitei outside of official business. But most of her free days of late had been spent in the Furukawa Archives, tending to herself and trying to do anything but think about those dark thoughts that lingered at the back of her mind. Eventually, though, even she could not stand those same four windowless walls. Her training regime had suffered from her absences, her body a little slower than she would have liked, so when she had found a flier for a school of sorts opening out in the Rukongai it had captured her attention.

There was no way she would run into him out here, at least. Perhaps, finally, she could focus on something else wholeheartedly.

Musai Kyoutei hung at her hip, the pair of blades sheathed, though a hand did tend to naturally rest upon the pommel of one of them. Even for all the work that had gone into improving security in the districts, one could never be too cautious. It was quite a depressing thought to have, that all of this was practically on her doorstep, but she quickly moved on to the actual focus of the day.

It did not take all that long to find the place in question. Her knack for investigation certainly helped steer her in the right direction, her status as a seated officer of the Gotei might have helped too but she had opted to be a little more covert. Carrying her weapons was a clue enough towards her profession, though the choice to wear casual training clothes instead of her Shihakusho did at least add a little mystery. Approaching the entrance, she wondered if she would be greeted personally or expect to make her own way inside. Her knowledge of dojo mannerisms was not exactly as pristine as she might have liked.

There was a certain charm to the effort that was put into these flyers. In a world where so much could be done with new technology, she could not help but feel like a lot of appreciation had been lost for those simple traditional arts. That was the thought that immediately crossed Asami's mind as her gaze wandered beyond the art and to the man creating it. There was a certain note of recognition as she seemed to realise who owned this dojo, though not anything like familiarity.

"Oh, it's quite alright. I would not wish to disturb your work."

Letting him finish his artwork, she took a moment to adjust her fascinator to tie her hair up into a higher ponytail. There was a certain reverence given to a man's devotion, though it was expected in turn of course. He approached, and Asami was quick to follow his own bow with one of her own.

"I clothe myself appropriately for the occasion, Master Niyagata. You will not find my dress nor decorum lacking."

Nodding along at the direction given to her, and generally accepting the instructions given, Asami removed her shoes and let her feet feel the ground beneath them as they stepped inside. She was hardly unaccustomed to fighting barefoot, though it was not her preference if given the choice, she had come to appreciate a different style of combat. Perhaps even learn a thing or two.

"I would dare to wonder what you have heard of me, though. I was not aware that my reputation preceded me by any particular margin unless I had done something to earn such attention." Though perhaps he was just humouring her with such comments, she was not a woman of great renown and yet had served the Gotei for many decades.

"It is often a shame to be lacking in tea, though I have developed a distaste for it of late so you need not worry yourself with such things. Now, forgive me, for I did not come here solely for the company. I have let my blades gather dust in these past months and I dared to wonder if a fresh perspective might better guide my development."

Taking her own position at the front of the room, where a student or a challenger might find themselves before the instructor, Asami studied Hyosuke as he began to address her initial proposal. There was certainly an air of integrity to him, a level of articulateness that suited his noble position, but he was quick to laugh and smile. Perhaps a little too quick for her liking, but perhaps it was just in her current nature to be a little more guarded around those that had too much to be jovial about.

"Our schools of weaponry may differ, but I am sure your wisdom will not be hampered by my choice of blades."

She glanced down at Musai Kyoutei, hands patting the hilts of her weapons reassuringly. There were not many who wielded paired weapons, and fewer still that used them as she did, but her technique was not exactly what she had grown concerned about.

As he offered a little more detail about his history, Asami was quick to note what tidbits were being given to her and what more was being alluded to. At the final comment in his assessment, though, her lips did begin to curl into a polite smile. Outwardly suggesting that she was pleased with his judgment of her character, though inwardly there was a sense of relief that he had been so restrained. Still...

"Fifth Seat, of the Fifth Division. But that is my only correction to what you have said about me."

Now she was expected to return, so she would meet him with an earnest honesty and perhaps glean a little more from it.

"I too have little care for politics and yet possess an interest in keeping myself well informed, which certainly makes an individual like yourself interesting to me. The rukongai is not a place I would expect a noble head to be running a, forgive me, simple dojo. Less so a former Captain of the Gotei Thirteen. Such a thing would be worth investigating, would it not, when one is ever considering the possibility of dangers within our midst?"

That was a sharp line of inquiry, but he had instructed her to drop the niceties. Rolling her shoulders, she slipped out of her jacket and turned to deposit it a little out of the way. Though her gaze did linger upon Hyosuke as she continued to study the man.

Whilst there was a measure of intent to her questions, Asami was hardly so naive as to assume that there was inherently something darker at work. The path of justice was to assume innocence until there was proof of guilt, and that was an ideal that she held close to her cautious heart. She knew only the broadest details of Hyosuke's history, and a few base facts were hardly enough to make a fair appraisal, so she had already decided to withhold any further pressure. That did not mean she would play ignorant of his actions, the amusement at her piercing honesty and the subsequent attempt to brush it off with such a leadingly brazen comment. Were she a more arrogant person then she would have been offended by such a flagrant display.

But Asami was far from a creature driven by ego, even if she played into that facet at times. She returned to her original position opposite Hyosuke, bereft now of her jacket and shoes, and bowed her head politely. A momentary breaking of his face from her site as she curtly responded to much of what he had said.

"It is a curse of those with inquisitive minds, to wonder what lurks in the shadows when others only see the light that casts them. Though I am glad that you see the truth behind my words, for I meant you nor your dojo any disrespect."

She straightened out again in time to meet his gaze as he shifted his stance, holding it evenly as she went to mirror him. From her hip, she drew her katana slowly. Ready to defend herself should Hyosuke choose to suddenly interrupt her, but making it clear that she was also not yet going on the offensive. Taking the weapon in her left hand, she would go to rest it over her shoulder in a similar fashion to her opponent, whilst her right hand still rested upon the sheathed hilt of her tantō.

"I would hope now that the real appreciation might begin. Test me in whatever manner you deem fit, Master, and I will show you my answer."

Cautious as she was that Hyosuke would try to disarm her with words before he struck, Asami's muscles had already begun to tense up as soon as he started speaking. There was no indication of the means by which he would attack, though his weapon was certainly the most obvious avenue and the one that she immediately considered. Still, his comment was enough to draw a response from her. Her eyes widened, lips beginning to part as the first note began to escape them, and that was the moment that he cut in.

Asami was not a talented Kido user, she did not enjoy practicing the demon arts nor did she find them particularly useful to her in a duel. That was not to say that she thought they were useless, or that she had not studied them as extensively as any other person at her stage of their career. So, as the bolt of lightning shot towards her from the tip of Hyosuke's finger, her body twisted like the releasing of a coiled spring. That was not to say that she was faster than him, quite the opposite, as the stream of energy connected first with her shoulder briefly before then being deflected around her by the flat of her katana's blade. Resisting the urge to flinch at the shock was the hardest part of enduring the first attack, though the pain was far from pleasant too.

Unlike Kido spells, of which she was knowledgeable, Hyosuke's innate talent was not something that Asami had any means of preparing for. Having already begun to move out of the path of the Byakurai, her gaze was slow to follow as he darted across her to continue the assault from another angle. The first of the daggers slammed home, driving into the meat of her thigh before she even noticed what had happened, though the rest found less purchase as she continued to swing her body around so that her right shoulder was now facing the direction of Hyosuke's approach. A few more knives missed, and others cut and scraped at her, but only the initial one remained embedded in her as the movement completed. It would not take long before a stream of blood would begin to trickle down the side of her leg, though Asami remained yet unaware that it was likely just as much Hyosuke's as her own.

She was already looking in his direction as he came into close combat, though, and that was perhaps where Hyosuke had overextended. He went to cripple her right arm, perhaps assuming that she might evade, but Asami was not about to sacrifice her position in the opening exchange. Gritting her teeth, she brought her entire body into the incoming blow even as it shot towards her. His precision was exquisite, but leaning into the strike reduced the time to impact and thus the power it could generate.

Would it still ache like all hell? Probably. But she retained enough function in her arm to pull her main weapon free of its sheath, and soon the tantō was flying back towards Hyosuke's own leading arm in a sharp thrust.

"Duty should always be a burden, lest we grow complacent."

Her stare was growing ever more intense, lips curling into a smile that seemed to suggest she had enjoyed the initial flurry even though it had certainly not gone well for her.