Volume One [Mirai/Kenichi] [Closed]

Mirai's demeanor hardened upon the approach. She looked more professional, confident. Seeing Kenichi's desire to move first, she nodded. She preferred having more time to observe an enemy before striking and he would give her that chance.

"I will only interfere if it seems you need aid." Mirai said as she popped in a small pill and her gigai was pushed behind her and a mod soul took over.

"Take care of our things, please."

"Yes, ma'am."

Kenichi went into battle, but Mirai only moved close enough to observe. As Kenichi darted in and went for a blow on its head, the beast barely even realized Kenichi was there. The blow struck its target and the hollow threw its head back in a pained howl. However, though the pain was caused, only a small crack formed on the cap. A chip fell, disappearing before it hit the ground. And in a moment of fear and obvious rage, the hollow opened it's maw to show off dozens of teeth and the red energy that rapidly shot from its mouth aiming directly at Kenichi.

A pained howl echoed from the hollow's lips, eliciting a confident grin in the martial artist's face. This expression was by no means one borne out of some aggression toward the beast, but rather a success in properly forcing it to focus solely on him. Step one was completed. Now it was time to move onto the next phase.

Electrified spirit power continued to dance around his body as he vanished and darted through the air, an attempt, no doubt, to distort the wolflike creature's overall vision with unpredictable movements. However, evasive manoveurs would have to take a backseat once he witnessed the wolf opening its maw to fire rapid waves of crimson energy from its mouth, each targeting him directly. Fearlessness in his eyes, Kenichi placed his palm forward, generating five small bolts of lightning around his fingers.

Striking his palm forward, he released each bolt of lightning, allowing that array of bolts to collide and clash in a whirlwind of crimson and azure energies. From there, he'd soar below the hollow's mouth, executing a rising uppercut to it's large jaw, attempting to rob the beast of it's ability to fire cero.

A small smile graced Mirai's lips. Kenichi was doing well. His attack on the hollow was strong and well placed, and when the hollow countered, he kept calm and moved very well. Kenichi successfully negated the energies that threatened to consume him by using his own energy. Mirai wasn't sure that she would need to help her new friend. He could obviously hold his own. She was impressed.

Kenichi went in and upper-cut the hollow. Kenichi would feel a bit of the hollow's bone shatter, teeth breaking on each other. Kenichi had hit beneath him, where none of the strong hierro armor was at. The hollow howled in pain again, backing up until its large backside slammed into a building and it fell. People ran and screamed, fleeing the shop they had been hiding in until that point.

Angered and in fear for its own life, the hollow howled again. However, this one was different. This howl sounded more bestial, like a wolf but lower pitch. The sound reverberated in the air, rippling outward. Anyone who heard the sound wouldn't be able to focus their senses very well. They would come down with a serious case a blurry vision. Some would see three of this hollow, while others could see six, nine, or more. And all would look solid. Once the howl ended, the hollow jumped at Kenichi, whatever mirrored images Kenichi saw following its attack. The intent was to crush Kenichi in under his massive paw, using the confusion to prevent a dodge.

His decisive approach between shifting and disrupting the wolflike hollow's line of vision had merited a firm degree of success, but a cornered beast will always find a way to retaliate. As if on cue, the hollow howls with enough force to disorient the vision of those present. Kenichi was no exception as that rippling howl temporarily distorted his peripheral vision, leading to a temporary pause in his charge. At once, their appeared to be multiple hollows striking simultaneously, and for the first time, albeit temporarily, Kenichi found himself on the back foot as that paw slammed him onto the ground.

From an onlooker's perspective, the wolf's attack appeared as though it had crushed the martial artist, but if one bothered to gaze a little closer, Kenichi remained unbent as he rooted his feet against the ground. Possessing physical strength that defied the realm of common sense, Kenichi was more than capable of maintaining his body's stance against the large hollow. When his vision returned to its proper order, Kenichi brought that otherworldly strength to bear, pushing the paw upward to avoid being crushed.

Electrified spiritrons, the result of Shouryuu Ken flowing through his body, surged around his body as he shifted his feet forward, skidding in under the belly of the beast to execute a fierce palm strike against its large frame. Transferring that collective flow of lightning from his body to its own, Kenichi repeated the process again, following fist up with fist in a merciless flow of aggression. He had no intention of killing it, however, merely subduing it and allowing Mirai to cleanse it would suffice.

There was a brief moment that Mirai though Kenichi had been hurt. Her eyes widened and she shunpo'd in just a bit closer, but as her eyes caught sight of what was really happening, she stopped and continued watching. Kenichi had maintained his footing, even under the weight and strength of the hollow. Mirai smirked, pulling her zanpakuto from its sheath. She had no intention on interrupting Kenichi, but she would exercise the monster, as it was her job.

With the beast pushed back by his own paw, it was too off balance to really compose itself before Kenichi was on the attack again. A hard strike of lightning fired up into its underside, the energy blasting through its midsection. The howl of the hollow entered the air again, as it jerked back and fell onto its side. Taking the chance, Mirai shunpo'd forward and swung her blade with both hands and in a clean arc, the zanpakuto slicing through he hollow's mask. As it vanished, Mirai sheathed her zanpakuto and clapped. "Well done. You fought well."

"You're strong. It's not every day I can allow another to deal with a hollow solo," Mirai said as she walked back over to Kenichi. "Who are you training with?"

After Mirai blurred in with her blade and landed the finishing blow, Kenichi let out a soft "phew" as he wiped the sweat from his head. There were light bruises on his face and arms, but certainly no more than that. Turning to the woman with a grin, Kenichi would flex his arm in typical showboating fashion as he chuckled. It was always nice to show off in front of his friends. Now that the hollow had been handled, they could return to what their day had been before. Waving off the thankful civilians, Kenichi would crack his neck as he turned his gaze toward Mirai.

"Thank you, thank you. I take pride in my skill. As far as who I train with, I've met quite a few people. I had a woman who I viewed as a teacher before, but she's no longer with us anymore. There's my family, of course. Each of them possess a supernatural skill that goes hand in hand with their martial arts. Oh, and there's even a recent friend I look at as something like a brother who I train with, too! I have more than I count on one hand."

Mirai began walking back toward her gigai as Kenichi explained all of his training partners. He had a good support system; that was good for someone as young as him. "I'm sorry for your loss," Mirai said when Kenichi mentioned his late teacher.

At her gigai, she quickly put it on, the pill popping back out of her mouth and returning to a little plastic container she kept in her pocket. Picking up all of their things, Mirai looked toward their table, only to be disappointed. A group of teenagers claimed it while they were busy. "We can find another place to sit..."

"Do you see anywhere you want to go?" Mirai asked, taking a look around.

"Don't worry about it, too much. It's alright. She wouldn't want me reflecting on her death too much, let alone lament on her passing. She never failed to remind me of that fact when she lived."

Kenichi patted Mirai's shoulder reassuringly, a hearty chuckle escaping his lips as he placed his gaze on the next location of choice. Unfortunately, their table was taken by a group of teenagers. Since they no longer held that position, Kenichi's eyes wandered around for the next best place. After a few minutes of diligent, albeit brief observation, he pointed to a nice expanse of grass usually reserved for picnics.

Of course, he didn't fancy the idea of letting her set against plain old grass, so he requested a favor from one of the people he had helped by rescuing the lot of them from being hollow chow. Within seconds, he was provided with a blanket. Setting it across the area, Kenichi turned back to Mirai and presented it as if he was a salesman trying to sell her on an item.

"Ta-Da~! This spot looks way better. A nice fusion between sun and trees, and we can still finish eating our meal and enjoying our conversation. Sound good to you?"

Mirai looked around as well, but was focusing on finding a bench or a new table to sit at. When she glanced over to Kenichi, he was gone. A quick search and she found him being handed a blanket. Soon, the two were having their own reading picnic. She appreciated the gesture as he laid out the blanket; she didn't want her bare legs to be in contact with the grass. It always ended up making her itchy, even if she was in a gigai. Likely a psychosomatic reaction from when she was alive, and allergic to anything in the old garden. As a shinigami, were allergies a thing?

"Thank you," Mirai said, taking her spot on the blanket. She helped pull their stuff out the the duffle and reorganize their things. She was very particular where things should be set, and separated Kenichi's stuff from her own, while also placing the books in a level stack. When something looked half-an-inch out of place, she fixed it to "perfection." Once things were organized, she sighed, relieved by the cleanliness.

"Lovely," Mirai said, grabbing a cooled piece of her food. "After things get a little chaotic, I can't help but clean up. I can't stand the messes that come with battle. I know it's a little strange, but it's my way of trying to return something to normal, I guess... Apologies if it bothers you; some people make fun of me for it."

Kenichi shook his head softly, a simple response to assuage her worries. Unless someone went completely against his sense of moral value, he found it quite unnecessary to be judgmental. Even apart from that, in this specific instance, he thought it was an endearing trait to possess. It reminded him somewhat of his beloved friend. Of course, he couldn't quite imagine the man cleaning up on a battlefield of all places. Even so, there was nothing to offer outside of a reassuring smile as he opened his lunch box, resuming his meal as he placed his hands over the container.

Exhaling softly, he closed his eyes as crimson spiritrons surrounded him in a gentle heatwave, expanding that energy over his food. Performing an act akin to reheating one's meal, Kenichi sighed happily as the energy dispersed around him. It might have seemed like such an unnecessary sequence, but what could he say? He preferred his food hot.

There was nothing against food that cooled off, some foods were in fact quite delicious when served cold, as a matter of fact, but he ordered a lot of meat. There were no shortcuts with meat. Eating it cold was out of the question. Bringing his chopsticks towards a piece of tonkatsu, Kenichi chewed on the meat with satisfactory grin. Setting his gaze on Mirai, he'd chuckle sheepishly, gauging the woman's reaction.

"It doesn't bother me at all. Don't worry about what anyone thinks about you unless they have your best interests in mind! Of course, if they do, and they still make fun of you... I guess that makes things a little more complicated, doesn't it? Either way, I don't mind at all. I hope you don't mind what I did just now. I prefer my food hot."