Not you again... ~closed~

Snopy was unprepared for the full speed of the blade coming at his chest and unable to react in time. Though he tried to jump back, the blade left a rather large gash on his chest, that was now bleeding. Snopy jumped back a few times and looked down. It hurt, it hurt a lot, but he allowed himself to show no signs of it. I just can't seem to keep this thing healed for more than a week. He looked up as he listened to Logan's word. Snopy himself raised an eyebrow. Don't rely on tricks? Learn to stand my ground? Snopy shook his head at the comment, before Logan continued speaking. Snopy sighed as he prepared to respond.

You really should get to know me before you make such snap judgments. Tricks and distractions to me, are simply part of the game. My code of battle is as follows, do whatever it takes to win so long as you protect those you do not wish harm to, for me being allies, loved ones, and innocents, and avoiding killing your foe if it is not necessary. You are much stronger than I am, so in a straight fight, I stand little chance. Even if I fought with utter conviction, it would still be difficult. I simply use my head in an attempt to bridge said gap. Second off, don't think for a second I don't know about standing my ground. I have been in hundreds of battles, many of which these so called tricks would have been useless. In my past, when I was stronger, much stronger, I could have deep wounds all over my body and continue fighting. It took someone doing a so called dirty trick to kill me, as they distracted me with many hollow and pretty much destroyed my heart from behind. I know a little bit about standing my ground. Finally, you should really keep your mouth shut about me when it comes to the people I care about. My entire life has been dedicated to protecting the people I love, I always seem to save them and it hurts me in the long run, but I still do it. Even now, after I died and was torn from my family, I have found people I want to protect and don't think for a minute I'm afraid to give my life to do so.

Snopy looked away for a moment. Honor is all well and good, but I have to do everything I can to win. How can I protect anyone if me binding myself to honor gets me killed. I only harm the people whom are my enemy, and I protect innocents and bystanders. I think that is enough, no one knows how much I've sacrificed to do so. Snopy's speech was a bit unusual. His tone was obviously quite offended, not at the man's sense of honor (as Snopy sees nothing wrong with it), but at the way he seemed to make snap judgments. So I think you should be careful before you start making assumptions, you've opened up more wounds than you think. Snopy looked over at Logan. His expression was returned to normal and looked on. At this point he really didn't care about what Logan did. He just wanted to move on. His past wasn't something that haunted him, he just hated it when people acted like he hasn't been through his fair share of troubles.

Logan seemed one hundred percent uncaring towards Snopy and his speech. It did not even phase him. He just stared straight forward at Snopy, his emotionless gaze not faltering in any sense. After Snopy had stopped talking completely, Logan continued to stare at him. About ten seconds passed before Logan stepped forward until he was only a foot away from the Shinigami he was attempting to help get stronger. Logan looked down towards him, their difference in height once again being noted when this close to one another.

"Obviously you misunderstand." Logan began with his normal tone, his voice being deep and smooth when heard, "Seeing as I do not plan to kill you, nor have I made any hints towards ever wanting to, your use of tricks was unnecessary. In an actual battle... winning is everything. But when your opponent does not intend to kill you, you ward them off as long as you can until you can feel your body getting stronger. This gash..." Logan raised his hand to point towards the cut he himself had caused on Snopy, "Tell me that after this fight between the two of us that you will not remember the pain. You will. And you will learn from it. This is not a battle to win, this is battle to learn and advanced. If you can't see that..." Logan then turned away and began walking off towards the Seireitei, "... then there is no point of us continuing."

"Do not assume the meaning behind my words. I didn't say that you would not protect those you love. I asked 'how could you'protect the ones you loved if you were not strong. You note the difference between our strength, but answer this... If I were to attack a woman that you cared for, would you be able to stop me?" Logan stopped walking and turned his head back towards Snopy. Logan's eyes were cold now. No longer emotionless, but instead determined. It seemed as if he was testing Snopy, wondering what path he would take. "Now, where do you wish to go from here?"

Snopy listened as Logan spoke of his actual meaning. Snopy raised his eyebrow a bit. He also laughed how even though Logan was shooting randomly, his comment about protecting a woman he loved was actually one that hit home with Snopy. Yet Logan failed to realize one thing about it. Before speaking Snopy began to laugh a little.

Haha, there are a few points you're still missing as well. Well, really just one. The fact that I technically don't know your motives, and though you have saved my life in the past, my past experience warns me to stay cautious. I don't know that you won't kill me. Observation says you won't, but I'm just being safe. So my action was under the assumption that you may indeed try at some point, despite your claims. In the past people have said the same thing, and then tried to kill me anyway. I prefer not to risk losing my life carelessly. Second, in answer to your question, no. If you tried, I would be unable to protect her. Hell, she has a much better chance at winning against you than I do. He let out a sigh. I'd rather not have a repeat of what happened a little over a week ago, so lets get to it. I'll just trust you aren't my enemy while pointing out that on the off chance you are, the entirety of the Gotei would not be a fun enemy.

He stretched out for a moment. Alright then, where were we. Oh, right. I'm bleeding. Snopy stretched out as he shrugged it off. It actually by some miracle wasn't too deep. Snopy Shunpo'd forward and brought his blade down on Logan dead front. He'd just have to trust him and hope it turned out OK. It was funny too, because normally he wasn't quite this distrustful in the first place. Perhaps it was just they way Logan acted like he was hiding something.

Logan was done speaking. He hadn't talked so much in a rather long time, and frankly he wasn't one to enjoy it. Although, he did enjoy fighting and helping those become stronger. Snopy's distrust of him was expected, though his true intentions really were just to help him become stronger. His last strike, although quick, Logan still did not want to fatally wound Snopy. He was impressed that Snopy was able to move back and lessen the damage just enough to avoid being hurt badly. Logan brought his sword up and into the path of Snopy's as he came forward and slashed downward towards him. As the sword was stopped, Logan looked to him to as a final question, "Why is Kidō your most liked way of fighting?" It was a sincere question. He actually wanted to know because he had never understood the liking of spells to fight. He himself knew a few of them and wasn't too bad in it, but they were rarely his first choice when it comes to fighting in a battle. He preferred speed, strength, and the ability to annihilate your opponents.

Pushing his blade forward, the sound of metal against metal rang through their ears as Logan pushed Snopy back a bit. Once Snopy would land, he moved forward and began making rather quick strikes towards certain parts of Snopy's body. The first strike came a slash from above, slicing downward towards Snopy's left shoulder. The next came from Snopy's left and being brought back as a slash towards his stomach. The third, the blade shifted to where it was brought upwards, diagonally from his right side up towards his left under arm. If any of these were to hit, they wouldn't be very deep, but instead thin cuts. They probably wouldn't even bleed to badly either, just a constant sting when he moved his body. He hadn't used his normal speed either, he kept himself down towards Snopy's level, just a BIT above, to challenge him.

As Snopy's sword stopped dead, he listened to Logan's question. Why do I like Kidō. Well I guess because I'm good at it. There is a wide range to choose from for many situations, though at my strength not so much, and back when I was alive I always did a mix of ranged and melee combat. Seeing as Kidō is my only ranged option, well you get my point. There are a lot of reasons. As he finished answering the question Logan pushed him backwards and began swinging on him. As Logan brought his Zanpakutō down on his left shoulder Snopy tilted his body and barely dodged. On Logan's second swing Snopy swung his center backwards and dodged the second swing. However, he was not 100% focused after said action, due to the cut on his stomach causing him some distracting pain, which then caused him to not be able to make a single response to the final swing. The blade cut into Snopy's left underarm slightly, though it didn't hurt too bad.

Snopy didn't bother backing off as he then brought his sword on Logan once more. This time he aimed at Logan's right arm, bringing his blade from below Logan's arm upwards. Perhaps some damage to his arm would slow him down some, though Snopy wouldn't be surprised if Logan by some dumb luck happened to be ambidextrous. Snopy then slashed diagonally down the chest, which if not dodged would probably leave at least a nice cut, though it wouldn't go too deep. Snopy did make that particular swing rather fast, putting more speed than he thought even he could, in hopes of just maybe getting a hit. Pushing the limit a bit would probably be tiring if he did it much more. Finally he lifted his finger and pointed straight at Logan's chest, being sure not to aim at any vital organs for just in case reasons. Hadō #3, Piercing shot. He fired it off at close range once again in hopes of a hit. He didn't bother to Shunpo back, as Logan was faster anyway.

Logan moved his body to the side and away from the first strike made by Snopy. It seemed that something he said or did must have moved into the Shinigami's mind because there was something different about the way he was moving. Logan inwardly smirked at this as the first attack was dodged. The first attack was indeed dodged, but the way it was dodged put Logan at an opening and it seemed that Snopy took it well. Logan moved back just a bit, but wasn't able to completely dodge the second strike down his chest. He looked down to it, blinking his emotionless gaze a single time. He brought his hand up to his chest and touched the small amount of blood that trickled from the cut he was just given. Looking up to Snopy, he smirked slightly, it actually showing along his face. A phrase was sounded in his ear and he looked up to see Snopy shoot a Kidō towards him. A small bullet looking energy shot towards his chest at a rather close range. Logan moved off to the left side and was almost able to completely dodge it, but the bullet did pierce his left arm. It didn't hit any vital veins or arteries, but it caused a bit of damage.

"Hm..." Logan looked down to his arm and then back to Snopy, nodding in approval of the males tactics and ability to actually land two blows on him. "Who is the woman you love?" Logan suddenly asked. Logan noticed a slight shift in Snopy's demeanor when he had mentioned it once before. Logan wasn't trying to distract him. There was a reason for everything that Logan said because he rarely said anything at all. He wasn't going to attack while Snopy was answering such a question or anything like that. He just really wanted his curiosity satisfied.

Snopy stood, surprised at Logan's lack of retaliation. Actually, he was more surprised that his hits truck, even with the increase of effort. He was happy the effort payed off. No one could ever really tell, but he was not a fan of exerting effort. He was indeed lazy, he just had an incredible capacity for ignoring it, a sheer act of willpower in the end. Then the Shinigami asked a strange question.

Who is the woman you love? Snopy was a little shocked, and raised an eyebrow for a second. However, he had no problem with the question and spoke in his usual casual tone. Who is the woman I love? Her name is Kanna Aikotsuki. If you don't mind, might I inquire as to why you asked? Snopy did it again, he began using unnecessarily large words. It just happened naturally, but he could tell Logan was intelligent so he wouldn't have to clarify. Again, this many times was the only indication he gave to his intelligence, though Logan may have figured it out by now, or maybe not. Either way, he spoke it casually and it was a perfectly honest question. Why someone he barely knew cared was strange. However, its not like he was hiding it.

"Kanna Aiktosuki..." Logan said as he made sure the name registered in his own mind before replying to Snopy's question, "I will make sure to remember it.... And... I ask because there was a look you got on your face when I mentioned whether you were powerful enough to protect a woman that you loved from someone with my power. It was a look of realization. I could tell that you knew if someone like me did attack this Kanna, you would be able to do nothing, especially if that person truly had the intent to kill her. You say she is more powerful than you and that she would have an easier time against me... This we must change." Logan closed his eyes for a moment and then took a deep breath, "Tell me.. Do you have your Shikai?" Logan opened his eyes and looked to Snopy once more, his eyes just as emotionless as always. Once Snopy answered his question, he would say nothing more. Instead he would begin another attack, but this time with more speed and strength behind it.

Logan brought up his right arm, his blade now pointing towards Snopy's chest, this gesture being some what of a warning. He was about to attack. Shunpoing forwards, Logan brought his arm around and swung his blade towards Snopy's right side this time, instead of his left. Snopy being left handed was one of the things that Logan had noticed, so now it was time to challenge him. His second strike was just as fast. He brought his sword downwards, aiming to slice through Snopy's chest and actually do a bit of damage to him. Nothing would be fatal, but if these attacks were not blocked, he would definitely feel the pain and the blood loss would soon drain him of his ability to keep focus and balance. His third strike was a kick. He shot his leg upwards towards Snopy's chest for a blow right towards the middle. If it hit, Snopy would be knocked back at least five to ten feet away from Logan and once again Logan would wait for Snopy's next attack.

Snopy listened and everything Logan was saying made sense. Then Logan asked about Snopy's Shikai. No, you're probably thinking of her. Normally he would have had an awkward smile on his face and scratched the back of his head, but he was unsure of Logan's next move. So he just said it in his usual tone and kept stance. He immediately went on guard the very moment Logan began to move. Snopy watched as Logan pointed towards his chest. Oy again with the chest. It can't stay healed for more than 5 minutes. He readied his guard as Logan appeared before him. This time, the target was Snopy's right side. It would be harder to block, but by all means not impossible. Logan's speed certainly made it difficult.

Snopy brought his Zanpakutō around as fast as he could, the tip just barely striking Logan's blade. Snopy, perhaps out of pure dumb luck, had his sword angled so rather than pushing his sword out of the way Logan's slid down it towards the hilt. Snopy attempted to stop Logan's blade from then coming down on his chest, unfortunately his blade wasn't in a favorable position, as it moved to the side from the force of Logan's previous attack. Snopy attempted to divert the attack, but to no avail. The sword cut across his chest creating a second gash. The pain from the previous one was already a hindrance, but this was flat out bad. The blood loss might be a problem soon enough. Finally Logan brought his knee up. Snopy, still a little disoriented from the previous attack, was struck and sent flying backwards. He did his best to land on his feet, but the pain in his chest was bad.

It would likely hinder him as the fight went, but as Snopy landed he ignored the pain and Shunpo'd forward once more. He brought his sword around his body, causing his left arm to cross over his right, and moved in for as fast and hard of a swing he could pull off. Soon enough the blood loss would render him unable to continue, so he was going to go all out from here until that happened. After said slash was done, he quickly switched and raised his left arm up, bringing it down for a full power diagonal slash across Logan's chest. Finally he Shunpo'd behind Logan and as quickly and powerfully as he could fired off a spell. Hadō #4, Byakurai. He aimed for the back, and did his best to avoid any organs and Logan's spine. If it did hit, he didn't want to risk causing too serious an injury. However, it wouldn't be too hard to dodge as the pain in Snopy's chest caused him to hesitate for a moment before releasing the spell. Either way, Snopy was determined to see how much he could do.

Snopy's pain was obviously getting to him. His second attack and his third was able to hit. Logan knew that Snopy would learn from this battle and remember the physical pain that these wounds would have caused him. Logan was able to move out of the way of Snopy's slash towards him and then moved his body back to avoid the second slash that was coming down across his chest. They were creating their own patter here. Three attacks and then let the other do what he can do. Logan had attacked three times and then allowed Snopy to move forward, and it seemed Snopy was doing the same. As the second attack was dodged, Snopy moved behind him and pointed towards his back. Logan looked back towards him, in truth, expecting it to immediately be fired off and he would have actually been hit, but something happened. Snopy's pain had caused him to hesitate slightly and Logan was able to Shunpo out of the way. Having already vanished, Logan reappeared behind Snopy and set a hand on his shoulder, looking down to him with his usual emotionless face.

"It is up to you whether we continue or not. The wounds you have sustained will cause you to pass out soon. I think it would be best if we took you to the Squad Four Barracks." Logan stared at Snopy, waiting for his reply towards Logan's suggestion. Whether or not Snopy chose to continue to fight was completely up to him. Logan figured that Snopy would choose otherwise because he had already sustained a significant amount of injuries and apparently had someone back home waiting for him. Of course, Logan did not know that this Kanna Aikotsuki and Snopy were not officially a couple, but he just assumed they were.