Voice Of The Outside

A cool, almost frigid wind blew through the streets of Hama Town; cutting into the exposed arms of the black-haired young girl who wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to generate a little heat. She hadn't come to Hama Town for any special reason beyond shopping, but now wished she had the foresight to predict the weather and stay with the block-head and wolf whisperer instead.

But, she kept walking instead; wishing Jinta was with her for the sole reason his Shikai could generate flames and warm the place up a bit. "Trust me," She thought irritably, "to come shopping the one day the place hits near freezing temperatures." She was in her Gigai, and the look she cast people must have been pretty angry, for people jumped out of her way with a single glance in her direction.

Sitting inside a cafe a grey-haired girl sat reading over a magazine before spotting a new face walking down the street. "Oh? What's this some random girl just strolling around my town?" She stood giving the waitress a dirty look while walking out of the cafe without paying. Following this stranger the girl started smiling a sinister smile.

Harumi was aware of the look the minute it rested on her back. You didn't last long on the front-line of a war without being aware of your surroundings, but instead of highlighting the fact, she kept walking with the same pace and stubborn set of her shoulders, rubbing her arms for warmth still to complete the disguise. "What I'd like to know is who it is." She wasn't even sure if it was a male or female, only that the owner of those eyes were watching her very intently. "Worry about the things you can change, not those you can't" Her father often said, so Harumi simply sighed and took a turn down the next street, aiming to shake her follower.

Sprinting around the corner after the stranger in front of her the Azami stopped as she spotted the mysterious person making her way through a crowd. "HEY GIRLIE! STOP RIGHT THERE!!" Azami chased after the girl again pushing people out the way as she stepped onto the top of a car "So where do you think you're going?" Oblivious to the fact that the people below are shouting for her to get down Azami smirked with a rock in hand "Hmph." She then hurled the rock at the stranger's head

"Is everyone is this town so rude!?" Harumi swallowed a small green pill, her spirit form emerging from her Gigai as the body; now controlled by a mod soul made its way into the crowd. Turning, Harumi saw the girls expression and sighed. "She can see me?" Focusing so much on the girl atop the car, the rock hit Harumi right in the forehead; bringing a small trickle of blood down between her eyes. Anger, pure and untamed, coursed through her. "Hadō 31: Shakkahō!" The blast of red flame flew quickly towards the car!

Smiling Azami jumped down behind the car to protect herself from the Kido. "Hey girlie. In Hama Town these people are spiritually aware due to some certain town secrets. Some may be stronger than others but they all can see you or at leastfeel your presence. There's no need for a gigai here. Hmph. But I suppose a little rat like you wouldn't know about that. I could just fillet you now or toy with you a bit more." Picking up a handful of gravel Azami stood and tossed them at the stranger as she drew her blades.

"Rat!?" Anger erupted like a volcano within her and she leapt into the sky to avoid the gravel, while chanting slowly beneath her breathe. "If these people are spiritually aware, then they'll have the sense to move." Cupping her hands out in front, Harumi took a sharp inhale of breathe and fired off multiple Hadō 32: Ōkasen waves, each one weaker than they could have been, but covering a larger radius.

Attempting to block the Kido, Azami was pushed back the continous waves of the blasts. "Tch. Looks like you weren't all glitz and glamour after all." Picking herself up Azami charged at the stranger quickly weaving through the people in the streets who were running away from the scene. Jumping up at the girl Azami swung her blades in an attempt to knock her opponent off balance.

A Kidō barrier blocked the blade coming at her from the left, while she clashed fiercely with the girls right-handed blade! Sparks flew, but neither seemed to back up or give in. They were locked in a contest of wills as surely as their zanpakutō were. "Your actually pretty good," Harumi said with an angry smile. But a smile nonetheless. "I'm Harumi Kazuki,"

Spitting onto the ground as she glared at the girl in front of her Azami sneered "Satonaka...Azami Satonaka. I'm the strongest female in this town. Aside from my mom. I can't just let some random street trash walk through without paying respects like she owns the place."

"Remind me to show you the same courtesy if you ever come to my place," Harumi said sweetly. Diverting the blades and leaping back, the black-haired girl performed a somersault and fired off multiple Shō spells as she moved, all with the goal of knocking Azami off balance. "But I've heard that name before... Satonaka?"

"Tch." Azami struck a few of the spells away before one caught her legs causing her to fall to her knees. "Looks like the street walker has those Kido spells my mom taught me. Hmm..I should probably teach some to my brother as soon as I learn a few."

"... Brother?" Harumi asked, appearing thoughtful. "I know I've heard the name before... but where? And who?" Her eyes finally lit up and her arms dropped to fall loosely by her side. "Satonaka. Your brother's called Haruki, right? Has a friend named Yurei?" It had to be.

Stopping her charge towards Harumi, Azami looked on in confusion. "What did you do to my brother!? How do you know his name? I swear if you touched even a hair on his body I'm going to kill you in this life and the next!"

"We only had a sparring match," Harumi said quickly, waving her arms in front of herself. "He told us about Inshu Senshi, and we agreed to help him out." She explained, backing away for safety. "She's very hot-tempered."

Azami refused to lower her blades as she inched closer towards Harumi "Oh? You must not be lying if you know that name. Then again you could've tortured that info out of him. I need some actual proof that you did nothing to him."

Harumi hesitated a moment before reaching for her mobile. "Look through the contacts," She said, tossing the phone over. "Haruki's should be in there, along with Yurei's." She said, her eyes wide and her smile returning.

Looking at the phone Azami froze. "Looks like its the real thing. Hm. I still don't trust you all the way just yet though. You could just be an agent for Inshu."

Sighing, Harumi resigned herself to the fact she wasn't going to get through to the girl. She was as stubborn as Kentaro when he set his mind on something, and with him all she could do was follow him. "Well, I guess I understand that." She replied, smiling at the girl across from her. "But, how about a sparring session, then? Maybe you'll come to trust me through that?"

Azami flashed a wicked smile as she looked at Harumi. "A fight is what you want? Well hm. I'm always game for that. It will give me the chance to test out my training...bring it on!"

Harumi started off their match with a flash step followed by a sword strike aimed for Azami's left-side. "Her reflexes were quite sharp earlier with the Kidō, so how will she fair with Zanjutsu?" Her blade moved ever closer.

Turning to block the sword strike Azami smiled as Harumi's sword clashed with her own causing her to be pushed back before tripping over some loose gravel. "Tch. One swift move. Don't get too confident, that won't happen again."

"Of course," Harumi said, non-sarcastically. "You just tripped, that's all." She leapt backwards and then up into the sky, spinning on a lamp post to gain momentum before creating several fiery orbs of energy all around her. "Fureaahoshi!" She called, the orbs flying forward.

Eyes widening Azami shifted her body weight to her left side allowing her to dodge behind a lightpole but not before one of the fireballs singed her legs. "Haha. That one actually hurt. What was that more of that Kido?"

Nodding, Harumi landed lightly in a crouched position, slowly bringing her head up so she could look at Azami. "Yeah, Kidō's my most advanced skill, whether it be binding, destructive or healing. My mother's a skilled Kidō master herself, and my father's got a pretty high level himself." A smile crossed her face and a longing for home filled her tone at the mention of her parents.

"Ah. My mother doesn't really want to teach meand Haruki those spells cause she wants us to rely on our own strength." Azami paused as a slight sneer appeared on her face. "Hm. Maybe that's what the training with that ditz was for. Now I get it." Gripping her blade Azami sprinted foward lapsing into a short burst of shunpo by sheer accident before slashing at Harumi's chin.

The blade glanced her chin, Harumi's own zanpakutō barely raised in time to stop it doing more damage. Surprise at the sudden attack made her stagger back and trip, with her ending up on the ground. Rolling to the left and cutting her arm on the sharp edge of a stone, the black-haired girl finally returned to her feet and wiped the blood from her chin before a green light removed the cut completely. "That wasn't very nice,"

"More kido huh? Looks like someone likes using some random tricks. Oh well. Its not my problem anymore." Azami smirked as she looked at Harumi to make a move. "Looks like the pony only has one trick after all. Hmm...if what I think is correct then I know how to defeat you."

A smile showed on Harumi's lips, the rarely seen competitive edge she possessed showing through as she ran her hand along the edge of her zanpakutō. "One trick...? No, no, I've far more than Kidō at my disposal. It is our illusions that create the world, Kokoro no Dorei." She whispered beneath her breathe to avoid Azami hearing it. Nothing outward changed except the shape her zanpakutō took. The sealed form remained, though a second, small dagger-like blade with a thin guard with two forward pointing, looped circles appeared in her free hand; both weapons connected via a long chain. "Well see about that," She uttered before the dagger left her hand towards her foes chest with a single spinning throw!

Moving her blade in the path of the oncoming dagger, Azami deflected the trajectory of the weapon "What was that?! Some other powerful kido? No one mentioned they could make weapons out of it." Stumbling back from the force behind the attack Azami smiled "Looks like I was wrong. Heh. You know girly...you certainly proved to be a pretty good adversary." Looking around at the cleared area Azami thought to herself "I wonder if she will release her zanapkuto, I don't want to release just yet cause it could kill one of us."

"You know," Harumi said, seemingly vanishing from view. "Kidō is a wondrous tool." Keeping her real powers hidden behind the lie of Kidō, Harumi decided to take the deceit as far as she could and formed several structures that appeared as though they could have been created with Kidō. "But thank you, Azami. Your everything Haruki said you were." The structures formed into swords and flew forward, with an apparition of Harumi joining them to strike as they did!

Attempting to block the apparitions, Azami found herself lost in the haze. "What about Haru-" Her sentence was cut off by a scream of pain from a blade cutting through her side. Holding in the pain, Azami continued "What....did..h..e say?" Looking around she thought to herself. "If I can keep her talking, maybe I can figure out a way to distract her."

Further apparitions formed, this time Harumi attacking alongside the mirages she had formed. "She took that well, though." She moved closer, though it was one of the three apparitions that spoke. "He said you were powerful. A view I'm beginning to share." Just what was she waiting for, though?

"Hm? Well if that's the way you and him both feel I guess I really can't dissapoint you." As she spoke a large plume of dark feathers began to appear around her and spin around creating a large vortex. "HAAAAAAA!!!!" Increasing her spiritual pressure a cloud of black smoke surrounded her and her blades, through the large haze Azami's voice could be heard "Request, Tanatosu!" Nine small orbs shot out from her blade and began to spin and increase in size. "This....is my zanpakuto. I hope you're ready!"

Harumi's eyebrows shot up in surprise, her hand moving to shield her eyes from the sudden increase in spiritual force. "That's her release!?" This wasn't good. "Her power exceeds mine..." Glued in position, fear kicking in, Harumi just stood; the illusions cast previously vanishing with her loss of concentration.

Charging forward with nine orbs circling her body, Azami smiled. "Take this!!" Bringing the small gray orb to her front, Azami swung her blade. "I'll counter a mist with a mist...Mercury!" A dense fog erupted from the small 'planet' as Azami began moving her sword in a crescent shape. The mist suddenly sped towards Harumi, condensing and freezing everything in its path.

Not really sure of the techniques properties, Harumi took the largest leap back her skills in Shunpo would allow all for the purpose of gaining a few seconds to think. "How can I...? Wait... Bakudō 40: Mukō!" She cried, stopping on the ground. The barrier sprung up, and then a second and finally a third so the mist wouldn't seap in around her. Their strength, though, wasn't enough, so she outstretched her hands and took a deep breathe. ""Heart of the south, eye of the north, finger of the west, foot of the east, rise now and become my shield!" Using a later incantation to strengthen the spell, she simply waited.

Jumping up onto a lampole, Azami lunged foward at Harumi before colliding with her shield. "I really should've saw that one coming. Tch. Rookie mistake. Oh well, I can't lose my focus now. It all or nothing. I will defeat you and prove to myself that I can do this!" Grabbing her blade tightly, Azami ran toward Harumi's barriers and began swinging rapidly in an attempt to break through.

Things Intensify
Watching her barriers be chipped away at, Harumi took several deep breathes; happy for the time to gather her thoughts. "Why am I afraid...?" She sked herself suddenly. "Because it is a natural human response," The hypnotyzing words of Naibu Shizuka sounded in her head from one of his many lectures. "Even if you know that which drives your opponent, you cannot hope to understand their skills. Everyone fears that which they do not understand. What is important is the will to move on, regardless of hardship." She nodded slowly, finally understanding his words. Determined, she turned to face Azami...

Azami's blade finally broke through the barrier as she charged at Harumi. "This isn't personal. I just made a promise to someone important that I wouldn't lose no matter what! And that's a promise that I intend on keeping regardless of what happens to me."

The area around Harumi began to shimmer and change as though she were reconstructing everything around her. Hollow-like creatures with shining red eyes moved towards Azami to intercept her strike while Harumi herself moved forward, aiming to strike between the conjured shapes and strike her foe. "Here I come!" Her zanpakutō flashed towards Azami!

Azami smiled as she began swaying with her blade tapping on the 'Mecury' sphere in front of her. "Cry of Mercury!" Hardening the mist around her, Azami creates large waves that appear like a wall, causing it to crash down around the two of them forming a whirlpool. Standing in the middle of it,the water from the whirlpool began to circle around her in the air like a giant swing. The watery energy then gathers in her hands, forming a sphere in the form of its namesake planet. She starts to bring her left hand towards the planet-shaped energy projectile, then holds it with both hands, opening her legs a bit, then puts them back together as the energy continued to gather from the whirlpool. Azami then quickly brings her left hand down, firing the planet-shaped energy projectile in the form of a large lance.

The swaying torrent threw Harumi off and broke her concentration, causing her illusions to shatter like glass after a fall. Staggering backwards and somewhat dazed, there was nothing she could do when the projectile slammed into her body and propelled her the entire length of the street and through two sets of buildings! As the smoke and rubble finally cleared and stopped falling, Harumi was revealed to be lying face down with her zanpakutō returned to its sealed state...

"I did...it? I actually did it! Hell yeah! That'll teach you to doubt me?" Azami cheered before a bolt of what seemed like guilt shot through her body. "I should probably go check up on her." Leaning over, Azami placed a hand on Harumi's back. "Hey wake up"

The water mixing with the dirt nearby made Harumi lie in a pool of mud, but when Azami touched her she groaned and turned, planting a blob of the stuff in the girls face! "That hurt," She said plainly. The beginnings of bruises were already forming across her body and several cuts drew blood. "But thank you."

Wiping the mud from her face, Azami had a plain look on her face. "You're welcome. But you know.." Azami smirked as she pushed Harumi's face back into the mud. "Fufufu. How does that taste?"

Dusting herself down and spitting mud from her mouth when she did finally get back to her feet, Harumi looked at Azami with a somewhat evil expression. "Bad," She said as the mud left her hand and soon as it had, she turned and ran to avoid a repeat performance. The smile never left her face once, though.

Choking on the mud thrown in her face as she was laughing, Azami stood and chased after Harumi. "Heyyyy! We aren't done here missy! Why don't you turn and fight me again! Fufufu!"

Enjoying herself more than she ever thought she would, Harumi maintained the child-like behavior. She molded the mud she held into a ball and ducked around a corner. "You'll have to catch me first!"

However, a figure watched the two from above with purple hair and black eyes, though his face was hidden mostly by the shadow cast by a nearby building. "Yes, that is them." He said to a figure behind him, whose features were unseen and unknown. "Somewhat pathetic, wouldn't you agree?" Remaining just within range to see their actions and fighting styles, but remain unnoticed was something the two were obviously good at.

"I'll catch you alright! Then I'll bust those pretty little teeth in!" Azami smiled as she ran after Harumi with her fists clenched. Stoppind for a moment she looke around to see nothing "Hm...oh well. Guess it was just the wind."

"Report to the others," The purple-haired man said from the shadows. "I'll observe things here a little longer and see what actions they both take next."

Sliding to a halt, Harumi scanned the nearby rooftops from the ground before leaping into the sky. Observing a mere shimmer in the air for a mere moment, she finally descended just as Azami caught up. "I get the feeling that I'm being watched," Her shoulders tensed.

With her fists stopping near Harumi face, Azami looked around. "You felt it too? I didn't get a strong read on it but I felt like something was right on top of us."

"You too!?" So it wasn't just her and her fool notions, Harumi thought happily. "But then who... I didn't get a good look. Only something.... maybe a Garganta? Closing." Worry was evident in her tone.

"Ah. Don't woorry too much about it. There's not much we can do now. And if they do try and get our way, we can show them just how serious we are about disliking creepers." Azami looked around before allowing a grin to make its way across her face.