The Bee and the Scarred Man

The Meeting
Out of all the instructors who could have come all the way out here to meet with this so-called 'official representative', of course they had to pass it onto Goryōmaru - who truthfully had figured it would be him who they picked as he was the newest instructor. And to make matters worse, this representative was late! Goryōmaru could only sit cross-armed against the Sacred Stone of District 47 and contemplate his lesson plan for the next few weeks. He had to take the day off for this damned meeting, which would set him and his students back.

Goryōmaru was quite taken back by thoughts of his lesson plan, when a breathe of wind swept across the field. A set of wind chimes strung up beside the Sacred Stone rang, whispering a sweet song into Goryōmaru's ears. "The sounds of Spring, surely..." Goryōmaru said with a stretch. He didn't normally have this much time to himself, especially between his duties and his personal studying. The calm was nice, too nice for somebody like him, a demon in disguise.

No, he wasn't truly a demon, though it would take more then that to convince Goryōmaru otherwise. He looked to the east, where the wind had come from. The road stretched far, towards the rest of East Rukongai, trailing off into the distance as if the world became a sudden drop right about there.

There was a soft humming in the air - quieter then the sound of chimes, yet it was omnipresent. "You would be the representative from the Shinsengumi, correct? You match the description I was given by Head-Instructor Gengorō."

"Oh, you saw right through me? Well, we've got one pretty decent teacher here, don't we?" The man told the man as he walked across the fields. "Ugh! Why is this place so large? Didn't you guys make some infrastructure since I've been gone?" He continued walking until he reached only a few meters away from Goryōmaru. "Anyways, sorry I'm late, I was caught up in a scuffle with a few intelligence officers, hope I didn't cause too much inconvenience. The name's Naraku Shukuzen, yourself?"

Naraku was a strange man. He came up here - late - began to informally speak to the person he was supposed to meet, criticized the Academy and then introduced himself? But Naraku didn't particularly have any concern for this, he was supposed to do his job, regrettably. "Argh! I have to meet old geezers, today? I'd rather go to a strip-club and chug down a few pegs...even if they are girls!"

"Goryōmaru, I'm an Instructor of the Shin'ō Academy. It's quite an honor to meet a member of the Shinsegumi, and quite an experience for me. This may be the first time we've met, but I have some interesting information on you Mister Shukuzen," Goryōmaru changed subjects before Naraku could say anything else. Pulling a scroll from his sleeve, Goryōmaru extended it towards Naraku.

He examined the shinigami now that he was closer, and liked the man's style. Goryōmaru was a big fan of any style that wasn't the bland, uniform clothing of the Soul Society. Rags and cloth colored brown, white, and black get rather boring after a few centuries. "I was told to give this to you. They instructed me not to open it and wait for you to fill me in on the details."

He noted Naraku's hat, with its fur lining and dot-pattern. It paled in comparison to his neat-fedora, but now wasn't the time to go comparing fashion sense with such a high ranking officer. "So? What does it say, Mister Shukuzen?"

Naraku read the scroll's contents, the details of it were rather surprising. He never expected someone of his rank to go and...well, do this kind of mission. Then again, his superiors were always plotting ways to annoy Naraku, he was sure of it. "Well...this shall be...amusing?" Naraku thought to himself, and looked at the instructor before him.

He wasn't very attractive, far from it really. Sickly skin, dull black hair, and rather creepy eyes. Though, his sense of fashion was quite well done. Though he didn't have too much of a difference, the Fedora caught his eye. It was entirely black, with a single red sash surrounding its circumference, but it was definitely not better than his own hat. "Oi, Naraku, cut out of that!" A voice told him on the inside, he knew it was Mitsubachi, again, but she was right and he continued on his duties.

"Well, it says you've come here for an Instructor Training Course. As such, I'll have to challenge you to a battle. It appears they chose you because of...your similar personality? I wonder what it means by that? Have any clue, Goryōmaru-san?" Naraku asked him, truly pondering for the reason these two were pitted to battle. Was it an intricate conspiracy? Or was it simply a way to annoy Naraku, then again, it could have easily been a way to do the same to Goryōmaru, who knew?

"Instructor Training Course...?" Goryōmaru thought. He hadn't recalled any mention of a damned training course, which pissed him off even more. This would probably set him back even farther then he already was, all things considered. "No clue," he touched the pommel of his zanpakutō and looked closely at Naraku. He had a certain air about him, one that itched at the back of Goryōmaru's throat each time he inhaled. It would be a good fight, and if winning won him some extra privileges with his training... he would have to win.

He lifted himself up from the Sacred Stone and walked past Naraku, facing just opposite of the Shinsegumi representative. They picked Naraku Shukuzen for a reason, namely for how similar they were. "Is he like me?" Goryōmaru considered, though he quickly refuted the idea. Nobody was like him, thankfully.

Goryōmaru smirked, "Mister Shukuzen, in the name of the Shin'ō Academy I hear by accept your challenge, if you'd be willing to let me fight you. Though I do request you avoid touching the hat, I consider it one of my few personal possessions in this world."

"Well, I accept your challenge, Goryōmaru-san. However; I must differ, you shouldn't touch my hat as well. It is indeed one of my most important possessions. I do believe this could be the reason why our respective organizations chose us to battle one another." Naraku did say, grinning at the prospect of another individual having the same passion as his own.

"But I must say, your hat isn't all that spectacular. A simple Fedora? Please, my fur hat is far more stylish. Then again, a Fedora always has its benefits." Naraku commented on his style, whilst he picked up his blade. "So, Mitsubachi. What do you think of the guy in front of me?"

Mitsubachi responded, internally, "Oh my, this man is quite strange. His energy...it wreaks of decay, and even more so is his zanpakutō. Wait...this is Gashadokuro. Be careful Naraku-kun, this man is not as simple as he appears." Mitsubachi told him, and Naraku had a crossed look on his face. "How many times have I told you...STOP PUTTING "-KUN" ON THE END OF MY NAME!" Mitsubachi laughed, "Hahaha, poor Naraku-kun. Can't do much, can you? Anyways, good luck~ I'll be working on my honeycomb in the meantime. Don't summon me unless I give permission." She told him explicitly, before retreating from his mind.

"Well, seems I'll be relying on myself for the majority of this battle. My zanpakutō has decided to be fussy, again, how does yours treat you?" Naraku asked, beginning to draw the decorated blade from its uniquely decorated tsuba and saya. "Sorry for the rudeness, I feel slightly...incomplete without this zanpakutō of mine."

Goryōmaru gritted his teeth at Naraku's remark. "What an asshole," Goryōmaru thought as he slid his zanpakutō from its sheath with a loud ring. He wasn't about to take an insult lying down, especially when it was something so damn personal. The air seemed to grow cold as the blade seeped a milky white aura into the air, draining away the color from the Spring green grass beneath his feet. "I suppose it's fine, though a zanpakutō is a Shinigami's greatest asset. It's the main topic of my Shinigami Basics class, perhaps you could do with a lesson."

He rested the nodachi over his shoulder and gave Naraku a sly smile, "Or perhaps a lesson on the effects of Kidō? Are you familiar with the ninth Bakudō spell?" Goryōmaru made a motion with his free hand and whispered:

"Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini!! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat!"

A red glow engulfed Naraku as the word 'throat' passed his lips, "A paralyzing spell, quite potent when used properly."

Naraku stood still, and calmed himself before attempting to do much. The spell was used by an academy Instructor, not a student. He had to be careful of how he broke out of this spell, for it could indicate at certain doom if he wasn't cautious. He couldn't talk, nor move, so how was he supposed to retaliate? "Tch, this spell is one of my personal enemies. But then again, I'm sure I can counter it properly with...ah, I have it."

Within the depths of his mind, Naraku began to conjure an incantation:

"God of the storm, rage now and show me the path forward to the peaceful lands!

A large current of electricity began to form at his body, as he thought the words. Unlike the traditional spell, Naraku had modified it to the extent in which he was capable of making it traverse through his - what he called - "spiritual nervous system". As he did so, the influence of Geki had been slowly mitigated, and then entirely removed thanks to the flow of electricity discharging any foreign influence from his body.

He showed that he was capable of movement again, and noticed Goryōmaru's expression tensing. "What? You surprised a student like me could break out of that?" Naraku provoked him, quite obviously. In this battle, there was no need for subtleties, or was that a subtlety in itself?

"Surprised isn't the right word, Mister Shukuzen..." Goryōmaru dug his zanpakutō into the ground and clapped his hands together. There was a brief spark at the tips of his fingers, that resembled the very spell Naraku had used. "You were nice enough to target yourself with that Hadō, so why not amplify it?" he split his hands and let loose a surge of electricity. It bounced between his palms and leaped like a wild dog through the air, to the most electrically charged target in the area. Naraku Shukuzen, who had made himself a walking magnet for a technique in the same vain.

"He's smart," Goryōmaru considered briefly. "I can use that against him, surely."

"Tch. This dude isn't as bad as I hoped he'd be." Naraku contemplated briefly on how to counter. The lightning was racing towards him, and he had very little time to react. Immediately it struck him, and he then quickly took a braced stance and calmed himself. The lightning struck! It caused him excruciating pain for but a moment, and he then used that energy that fueled his veins as a means to emit that energy elsewhere. Even in pain, Naraku was capable of chanting:

"I am a being of Heaven and Earth, of Thunder and of Lightning! Heed thy cry and unleash your wrath!"

Naraku had then manipulated the lightning that surged inside of his body, collected it at his skin, causing it to vibrate at tremendous speeds before he muttered "Inyou Raikoushiden!" The lightning was emitted outward! It caused a radius of one meter surrounding him to be extinguished by a powerful surge of plasma.

It took Naraku a few seconds to hold himself, and then began to ask the man, "Wow, Goryōmaru-san. I am impressed, you deserve your rank of teacher." Naraku began to weave a spell using his spiritual energy, as he transferred it across the ground and plants. "But, I need to test all of your ability!" Immediately sparkling yellow energy soared from the ground as several vines, lashing at the middle-aged man and hoping to subdue him with their strength.

As golden ropes coiled around him, Goryōmaru's mind raced with his next move. This 'fight' had been nothing but a pissing contest of Kidō, one that was growing rather old to him. Tearing Gashadokuro from its place in the ground, he brought it down hard into one of the kidō chains with a loud snap. "All of my ability?" Goryōmaru was amused by the remark. "Believe me, even a member of the Shinsegumi cannot handle all of my ability. Inside me lies a dark power Mister Shukuzen, though I legally not allowed to use it as I please."

He cut through the other golden chain with ease, an added bonus of his swords unusual glow. With enough precision, it could cut through these meager Kidō like butter, though he wasn't sure how many more of these Kidō he could dish out himself. It was a tiring process to spam Kidō spells, especially back to back like this.

Naraku felt a slight drain of his stamina. He had just redirected a powerful Kidō and used another against his opponent, surely he would also have felt a similar drain in energy? "So, I think we're both tired of this magical fiasco aren't we? I mean, playing a game of chess isn't really "Shinigami-style", is it? Then again...when you look at Human World trends...yeah, I'm not sure about that." Naraku thought to himself - out loud - forgetting there was a battle going on.

"This man's a mind reader," Goryōmaru quipped to himself. There was so much more to Naraku Shukuzen, though it didn't seem like it at first. Though their little bout was short, there was something to the way Naraku moved that peaked Goryōmaru's interests. He would need to delve a bit deeper... gather some information on this man. After all, Shinsegumi information could be valuable in the right hands. "You talk a lot, Mister Shukuzen. I can't see why they thought we were similar. Especially considering that drab little hat you where."

The air rang with the sound of chattering bones, and in an instant Goryōmaru had vanished. Like a ghost fading into the night, Goryōmaru had disappeared from sight. That is what he wanted Naraku to think, for he had actually played the Shinsegumi like a poor old fiddle. He raised Gashadokuro, readying to strike without holding back. "He can take it," Goryōmaru thought. "He is strong."

Naraku for a moment was taken by surprise! His speed was...no, it wasn't monstrous, it was simply untraceable. However; after every step his presence must've been brought back again, that much he could deduce. And so, he closed his eyes, and kept his blade in his hand. He attempted to hear the physical sounds of things, and then delved onto the spiritual level. He saw nothing but free reishi, constructed into the environment before him.

"Where?" Naraku pondered, and thus he found him! Gashadokuro's decay had been centered on a small radius, which Naraku used to discern his adversary's location. Immediately his reaction was to mitigate the damage by letting his weak arm take the damage, before he used a masterful display of acrobatics to gain some distance. "Tch." Naraku groaned at the injury, as he then used his own shunpo to glide across the field.

Unlike the elder man in front of him, Naraku's mastery wasn't so profound, but...his steps were incredibly articulate! Within a blink of an eye, Naraku's appearance in front of Goryōmaru would have taken any sane shinigami by surprise, and his sword arm reached out to slash his chest without any warning. "Can he win?"

The blades clashed and the steel sang, but Goryōmaru only laughed. "Quick are we?" he said as he pushed off of Naraku, sending the shinigami staggering back. Goryōmaru waved his sword and touched it with the side of his hand, "Another kidō?" he considered.

No. He wouldn't do that.

Goryōmaru raised his sword and disappeared, appearing beside Naraku with a ghostly whisper and the chatter of bones. His spiritual energy seeped out like a wild mane, grabbing at Naraku's flesh like a beggar grasping for coins. "Catch," Goryōmaru said as his sword swung towards Naraku.

Naraku's immediate reaction was imminent. He released his energy around his body, preventing Goryōmaru's energy from decaying him entirely. As soon as he did so, Naraku used his forearm to lessen the impact from Goryōmaru's sword swing, before retaliating with a slash of similar speed.