Welcome Meeting and News

Welcome News
Yoshiro awoke in the arms of Momoko as the morning rays of the sun shone through the open window. She stirred and he kissed her on the forehead before rising to get dressed. Slipping on his new Commanders uniform, he turned around to see Momoko looking up at him with love filled eyes. "Mornin'." he said quietly.

She got out of bed and wrapped the blanket around herself before walking towards him. "You're leaving?" He nodded, although he didn't want to. "Trust me, I'd rather spend the day with you. But I've gotta get chewed out by my superiors then talk to Ryouta-Sensei. I've got questions I hope he can answer." She smiled and kissed him briefly before dressing. "You mean about Lyon's zanpakuto being similar to yours, right?"

"It wouldn't be as bad if they were only similar. Everything I could do, he could do. Yeah." He answered simply before walking out the door, shouting goodbye as the door closed. Momoko watched as he left, her smile never faltering. "I've got to speak to the Captain and see what's going to happen with the influx of patients." She left soon after...

As he walked towards the area in Western Rukongai the Patrol Teams used as their meeting ground and HQ, he pondered the current situation with the hollow, the appearance of the Arrancar's and the way he'd handled everything. There would be no avoiding certain conversations, especially since he'd fought the Arrancar and created a sizable lake where a secret, underground cavern had been before.

A hollow suddenly shot from a Garganta, but it was cut clean in two before Yoshiro could even clench his fist. Takeshi dropped down beside him, but Yoshiro could tell just by the red glint in his eye that he was currently under the influence of the Shinjo Persona. "Yosh." he said simply. "Relax. I have no quarrel with you. You showed the gap between us quite clearly the other day, and I quite like bein' fit to walk without the 4th Division gettin' their grubby mitts on me. Because I've got bloody amnesia, they think they can bloody well heal me. Hmph! I'd take your company over theirs any-day."

Yoshiro removed his hand from his zanpakuto's hilt and nodded. "I take it where friends now, right? I get along with Takeshi, so why not you as well, eh Shinjo? Come on, its time we got chewed out for botchin' another mission." Shinjo fell in at his right, walking by his new friends side. "See? If I had've been there... those bloody hollow wouldn't 'ave stood a chance."

"Ain't someone confident." Yoshiro replied, both walking through the HQ's front door. "Strange. There's no one on guard at the door." Shinjo suddenly moved incredibly quickly and blocked a knife shot from the back wall. "And someone's activated the defenses as well. Beautiful, wouldn't ya say, Boss-man?"

"Sorry!" A voice rang from the back. Tyrell Nishiki stepped forward, a set of throwing knives held in his hands. "I was practicing and then you guys walked through the door and... well, you know the rest." He said with a fool grin before throwing another at a dart board. "You two here for this bullshit meetin' too? Sojiro sent me, said the experience would do me good, but there ain't a sinner here!"

"We noticed." Yoshiro replied casually. "That was a pretty good throw. Bullseye on your first try? Try it from farther back." He walked to the back entrance, a small dagger of ice forming in his hand. The dagger flew true and split Tyrell's right down the middle. "How's that for a throw?"

Tyrell channeled a small amount of spiritual energy into one of his throwing knives and stepped out into the open, waving Yoshiro and Shinjo out of the way. Closing his eyes, he made the exact same throw as Yoshiro, his knife super-melting Yoshiro's ice dagger as it split it down the middle. "You were saying...?" He motioned, unable to remember his name.

"Yoshiro Kazuki. This is Takeshi Shinjo, but to keep on his good side, call him Shinjo. You're Tyrell Nishiki, right? The crazy guy who stood up to a Menos and won, right?" Tyrell smirked and patted his muscular chest. "Yup! That's me! You speak to Sojiro, then? He wasn't to happy about that at the time, but heck, I bet no one would've been." He laughed nervously before quelling the flames that suddenly awoke on his zanpakuto. "Sorry. I do that sometimes, 'cause I can't control my power yet."

Shinjo made a mental note of that. It would be important information if he should ever fight against, or beside the youngster. "Control will come in time. But not if you sit and do nothing about it. Come with me, blighter, and we'll spar." Shinjo drew his sword, Tyrell soon following suit. Yoshiro stepped forward and nodded. "Okay you two, take it outside. I'm gonna get a roastin' for a failed mission. I don't need trashin' the HQ on top of it. Besides, hold down the fort, would ya Shinjo? And for the love of all that's Holy, don't kill him. There's something I've gotta take care of."

Tyrell made some smart-assed comment, with Shinjo replying with one just as snide before their sealed zanpakuto's clashed with resounding force! Yoshiro flashed away, mind on the subject of Arrancars and their zanpakuto... and why a certain one had once almost identical to his own...

Master and Student
The normal sound of steel crashing against the earth was the first thing that met Yoshiro's hearing as he approached the secluded hut he and Ryouta trained near. The area was spacious and almost always deserted save for those two, and because of that, they never held back. Craters, fallen trees, upturned earth and basic devastation of the landscape surrounded the small hut for a mile radius.

Ryouta Hachirou, the man who'd took and molded Yoshiro into the warrior he was today, was undergoing his usual exercises. His staff-like zanpakuto moved like a blur, his body movements graceful in their execution. The lion-skin sewn onto his right arm flashed as he turned, and a steel spike flew towards Yoshiro's skull at extreme speed!

A shield of ice shot up immediately, Ryouta's smile deepening. "With a face that stern looking, it wouldn't take a genius to see somethings troubling you. C'mon, a problem shared is a problem halved as they say." Propping the staff on his shoulder, Ryouta finally lowered himself into a sitting position. "Well, out with it!"

Walking forward and sitting opposite his mentor, Yoshiro sighed. "You know about the Arrancar I fought recently. Well, the thing is, his zanpakuto was so similar to mine, they could've been brothers. And last time I checked, zanpakuto's are unique to their wielder, because they are a manifestation of their power."

"Your point?" Ryouta interjected calmly. "Because mine is this. If two friends achieved their Shikai, and both could control fire, are their zanpakuto the same? No, they aren't. They're similar, and that's all. This Arrancar's zanpakuto wasn't called Aisumēkā, was it? Then its simply an Ice and Water type like your own. Satisfied?"

"With you making me look stupid?" Yoshiro replied, with a grin. "I'm gonna have to be. Thanks, Sensei. I needed that to set my mind at ease." Ryouta grunted and shook his head. "Then how come you've still got the long face? It wasn't just the zanpakuto you came to ask me about, was it?"

Yoshiro lowered his head and sighed sadly. "Yeah there's somethin' else, but I'm not sure I wanna hear the answer..." With a deep breathe, he spoke. "Could you tell me about my father and why he left?" Ryouta slowly got to his feet as he paced slowly. "Your father? Jiro Kazuki... Was a powerful man, stronger than myself, and Koichi by a fair margin. He was quiet, but always offered a helping hand." He looked at Yoshiro's face, taking in his outfit as well. "You look just like he did when he was younger."

Yoshiro grinned at that, but his happiness at the thought he resembled his father didn't last long. "Why'd he leave? You and Koichi were his best friends. He'd have told you both something."

"What's brought all this on, Yoshiro?" Ryouta asked suddenly. "I know the reason, but I'm bound to silence by the oath I made to him. I can tell you this much though. Whatever he's done, he's done it because of you. Because he wanted to help you. And by saying that, I've already said more than I should've." He walked forward and punched his pupil lightly in the gut. "You've got a little time before the scheduled report. Don't look stupid, I'm gonna be there to. So draw, and we'll have ourselves a little match."

Yoshiro leapt back and released his sword quickly. "You know, I've never shown you my actual Shikai, have I? Think its time I gave you a new goal to aim for. Show your Fangs! Kama-kō no!" Grey spiritual energy surrounded his staff-like weapon, transforming it and splitting it into two cleaver-like blades with a deadly, red cutting edge. The handle was just shy of being halfway up the length of the blade. "Well? It has been a while since I've even used my Shikai, that I've forgotten what it feels like. Yoshiro, be careful."

The two clashed for a time, and when their match finished, Yoshiro wasn't the only one to leave slightly wounded...

Next Story > An Unexpected Encounter: The Return of The Purple Devil!