The doors of the Fifth’s main barracks exploded outwards with all the force of a mighty hurricane assaulting the building. Shinigami in the immediate vicinity cowered, most of them unused to the temperamental storm that had now come back. When the dust finally settled, the doors were barely hanging on their hinges and the space within was devoid of any life. It was, however, a complete mess, as if the aforementioned hurricane had rampaged within before disappearing within sight. Papers were strewn on the floor, stacks of paperwork and filing cabinet had collapsed and spilled their contents onto the wooden planks. The desk was overturned and askew in a corner and the door hung only on a single hinge.
 
As the Fifth scrambled to get their bearings and piece the strange situation together, the sound of a crash behind the barracks was heard. A few Shinigami rushed towards the back, ready to diffuse any situation that got out of hand. They were met with the sight of the Sixth Seat on his back and the Fourth Seat standing over him, pissed and panicking. 

“Why the hell did you do that?! I told you countless times before she arrived that we need to break it to her gently! You should’ve listened to me, I know what she’s like!” The Fourth Seat bellowed, his panic spurring him on. “She’s going to kill someone! Literally!” He knew the Sixth had underestimated Yuzuki’s legendary temper and had assumed all those rumors to be exaggerated. Well, the office’s state of complete disarray proved everything he’d doubted. “You’re cleaning up the office and fixing the goddamn doors now! Go!” He glared and the Sixth scrambled up, making his way towards the mangled office but not before shooting a glare towards the Fourth Seat.
 
The Fourth Seat didn’t even acknowledge the Sixth’s dirty looks. He was rubbing his temples in frustration, pacing around the open courtyard directly behind the main barracks, a look of immense worry on his face. There would be no stopping Yuzuki today, not at all. Something would be broken, something would die today. 
 
---
 
Yuzuki had stormed out of the Fifth after a thorough look through stacks upon stacks of documents, some pulled out from the archives just for her. There was literally no way to explain her anger and its burning glare was focused on one thing and one person only. Iwakura Osamu. Yuzuki didn’t personally know the man, nor had she ever seen him but after looking through the documents, she certainly knew quite a bit about him. And that was exactly where Yuzuki’s rampage would be directed at: the 10th Division. 

Arriving at the doors, the Shinigami standing guard could definitely tell something was up with Yuzuki. With her seething expression that was dripping with hate and anger, the Shinigami started sweating nervously, though it could also be attributed to her crushing reiatsu. It had been let out to its full potential as any control Yuzuki had had broken the moment she stormed through those doors. 

“Where is your Captain?” She hissed. 

“He is at the factories, Lieutenant.” The men said, after taking a look at the Lieutenant badge strapped to the sash around her waist. “What business do you have with him? We can leave him a message –“ 

Yuzuki abruptly cut him off. “My business with him concerns his face and my fist.” She could vaguely hear the Shinigami calling out after her as she whirled around and Flash Stepped towards the factories, going at unfathomable and unmatchable speeds that brought her in front of the factories in a matter of minutes. However, she was only met with a near-deserted battlefield with dead piled high along with several soldiers lingering, probably guarding the bodies. She barely batted an eye at the piles and turned to the nearest soldier. She had seen no man with a white coat and assumed the Captain was not here. “You! Where is your Captain?” The man flinched back, the fear growing in his eyes at the sight of the woman. He shakily pointed back towards Seireitei, indicating that Osamu had departed back towards his Division. Huffing in irritation, Yuzuki made a mental note to send a token of appreciation to those two Shinigami that had guided her in the wrong direction, to the factories for nothing. She swiftly Flash Stepped back towards the 10th, now angrier than ever, her haori-like coat flapping behind her. 

She was just a hundred meters or so from the entrance to the 10th when she spotted a man with a white haori. She doubled her speed, approaching the form at a breakneck speed. She made out the number 10 on the back of his coat and she glared, almost willing a hole to burn through his head. She stopped right behind him and for a moment, she stopped, chest heaving, searching for the appropriate words to spew towards the man. What came next was typical Yuzuki-speech. “You stuck-up piece of shit. Who do you think you are?” Her words came out slightly quieter than she intended to but that only to serve to amplify the anger that laid underneath the words.

It was a busy but pleasant day for Osamu, he was still on his post battle high and NDV recruitment lines were so long even he was surprised. He was in the process of returning from an unscheduled trip to the factory, where he had checked that it would be able to cope with increased industrial demands. He had also annexed some near by residential areas in the recently reclaimed Western 22nd to be converted into workshops to deal with prestigious amount of material being generated by the hulking mass that was general known only as, the factory. 
 
He was in the process of returning from this trip to his office in order to do some preparatory work for an upcoming conference when he felt the presence of something akin to a typhoon hurtling up behind him. He was not alone, he was never alone nower days, he was surrounded by his guard of eight loyal men that accompanied him not only into battle but any time he left the security of his division HQ. Something moving that fast that was this unexpected caused everyone to spin around and start to draw their swords. Things could have gotten exceptionally nasty exceptionally quickly had Osamu not recognised the face heading towards him. He had never seen it before in the flesh but he had seen the personnel file. He had heard Yuzuki was back in town so he had made it his business to do some research. Of course he only had paper records to go on but it had informed him that she was capable and fierce as well as giving him an ID photograph. 
 
Before she had even finished moving up to him he had waved his guards down, instructing them to relax. He had opened his mouth to say hello when she cut him off and immediately launched into rude berating. But Osamu being who he was, was in no way phased by the display. He had his buttons and believe me you could push them, but just being rude to him wasn’t enough. If anything he found it a refreshing change from the smiles and kind words which masked sharp daggers that he usually had to work with. 
 
Smiling, he just let her finish before saying. 
“I think I am captain of the 10th division.” He said with a slightly amused air. “In fact no, I am quite sure of that one.” It was interesting he didn’t use his name quite yet. He wasn’t at the stage he could ask her to call him by his first name and he loathed being referred to by his family name. So for the moment, simply referring to him by rank would do. He continued to defuse the volatile situation in his own little way by continuing and saying. “As for the stuck up piece of shit, well I’ve been called worse. I suppose I have to work on my people skills really. Clearly I am very bad at impression management.” The man was still smiling, it was almost as if he enjoyed it. Certainly it did not bother him. 

Yuzuki only barely managed to resist the urge to facepalm so hard she was sure she’d have broken her face. She gave Osamu a look – a rather strange combination of irritation and incredulity that surprisingly worked pretty well. “I know who you are, smartass. You apparently can’t comprehend a simple question, can you?” Her tone was cutting and mocking, letting him on to the fact that she was genuinely irritated by his response and was now convinced he was dumber than a door. 

“No I can.” Was Osamu’s response to her accusation that he could not answer a simple question. “I just decided to toy with you a little bit as you decided to ask a stupid one. As for the smartarse thanks, normally people just call me an arse. Smartarse is an improvement.” He was enjoying all of this, it felt fresh. But it was becoming increasingly apparent Yuzuki did not feel the same way. She couldn’t step back and see the game of it all. Perhaps it was a bit too soon to expect that. 
 
Putting both hands behind his back he took a few steps forward towards Yuzuki, calm, relaxed, contended, saying in pleasant tones. 
“No need to introduce yourself by the way, I know you by reputation. Your personnel file makes for interesting reading. It’s good to have you back up here Lieutenant. I look forward to seeing you in action and the impact you have on this little theater of the war. But you aren’t here to exchange pleasantries, I have been told you almost never do that. So, how can I help you?” He appeared genuinely pleased to see her and certainly he wasn’t vexed by her. If she continued to verbally abuse him he might join in but it wouldn’t be in anger, more in a sense of play. Still, he was interested to see what she came out with next. 

She levelled a scarily intense glare at his face, inwardly amused at her mental tirade as she mentally deconstructed Osamu’s appearance. He looked as if he’d never slept a day in his life, reminding Yuzuki of one of the human world’s creations, zombies. It was a very faint resemblance but Yuzuki still felt slightly alarmed at how much she left the human world impact her. However, no matter where she looked, her eyes were drawn back to his nose. No doubt he’d been the butt of one too many jokes and cruel taunts. That didn’t even make her feel bad as she only glared harder, almost tempted to lash out and simply break the thing. His uniform was also completely different, giving Yuzuki one or two things to think on; appearance and uniform always gave her the information necessary to deduct several traits of a person’s personality.

“Yeah, no shit, I don’t waste time on insects like you. And I reckon that you very well know what I want.” Her voice was raising now, her control slipping away little by little the more Osamu played dumb. She stepped closer to him, close enough that he could probably see the fire raging in her eyes. “Give me my job back. What the fuck am I supposed to do now that you’re playing overlord?” She spat, her words dripping in venom. Gods, she hated the man already. The fact that he was just standing there and smiling pissed her off more than anything. He was foolish. 

Osamu kept on smiling as she continued to get wound up and seemingly ever more frustrated. Her accusation that he was an insect not worthy of her time struck him closer to home than he would have liked, but she would have to work that particular trigger a tad harder to get a real rise out of him. But he did loath people thinking of him like that and his reaction tended either to be to try and prove them wrong or obliterate them. But he already didn’t want to obliterate her. Her record on paper was too impressive. He wanted people of this skill running around, helping the war effort, the cause and him. Such a shame that she didn’t want to seem to play along. 
 
His smile and slightly cheeky air dropped instantly, not as though he were upset but more like he was just taking off a mask. Instead a level and slightly worn expression emerged. There was a few seconds of silence before he waved away his escort. 
“Wide perimeter boys. She isn’t going kill to me. Break my jaw perhaps, that’s about it.” He sounded almost disinterested, like this was some sort of casual affair. When his guards had retreated some distance Osamu smiled again, but it wasn’t a happy, cheeky mocking smile, not mocking her anyway. If anything you could tell he was mocking himself and the twists of providence that had brought them to this place. “Not one to play the game are you? A shame.” It wasn’t said as a put down, more a sad observation. “It usually ends up disarming most people. But you aren’t most people.” He gave an odd sad little sigh. He had hoped this would turn out better. He wanted her on his side. He wasn't phased by her rude words in themselves, rather by the fact that he could see himself loosing any chance of creating the right impression on this woman. He attempted to salvage the situation by changing tack radically. 
 
“Maybe I’m not giving you enough credit. Your record didn’t list you as actively insane. If your this angry then you this angry for a reason. And yes, I do know why you are here. I just hoped I was wrong. It would have made things a lot easier.” He gave another little sigh before a slightly amused look found its way back on his face and he chuckled again ever so slightly. “You aren’t going to like hearing this. But you remind me of me.” He gave another tiny little chuckle before adding. “Or at least what I think most of the time but I learnt the value of holding my tongue long ago.” 
 
Pausing for a few moments to gather himself he declared. “Okay, I’m going to be plain with you. I don’t like being jerked around when the stakes are high. I’ll extend you the same courtesy. Shortly after you left, this place fell into a state of total logistical and resource crisis. That would have happened whether you were here or not. The 5th however, was hit particularly badly. They had lost their crutch. But I cannot overstate the disaster that awaited the entire soul society.” His tone then perked up a tad as he engaged in a brief moment of high spirited flare to try and add some light to the gloomy conversation. “Into the breach stepped a young, fresh faced captain, yours truly. Ready to save civilization.” His tone was more mocking himself than anyone or anything else, he even indulged in a semi amused snort at his own expense before dropping to his previous tone and continuing. “In all seriousness though I am one of the biggest reasons there is still a soul society for you to come back to. This includes your division and indeed in your absence your division plummeted into disarray very quickly, a disarray I pulled it out from. A thank you would be nice.” That last sentence was said with just a tiny hint of venom to it, truth be told Osamu was tired of doing a stand up job but being treated like the whipping boy. Some gratitude would be welcome for a change. 
 
But he didn’t let it bother him and he kept on going in matter of fact tone. 
“The resource crisis has not lessened. Centralisation was, and continues to be, a vital part of saving us all. Having you do that job was inefficient at the best of times, no matter how skilful you may have been. But then we could afford it. It’s dangerous now. Why should I put others in jeopardy for you?” Osamu hoped that Yuzuki would at least consider the welfare of divisions other than her own. He wonder though if she would agree with his analysis or respect his rank, experience and obvious extraordinary efforts enough to take him on faith. 

Yuzuki’s eyebrows automatically shot up at his statement, nearly disappearing into his hairline. Based on his previous claims, he regarded himself as the savior of Seireitei. If Yuzuki had been there when he’d emerged as a dictator, he wouldn’t have been standing right in front of her, and instead would’ve been lying under the ground in many tiny pieces. She smiled lightly at the thought of simply killing him and getting rid of his self-important presence via a particularly bloody method. Alas, that was illegal. Yuzuki didn’t doubt, however, that she’d have to fight for her place to be first in line. “Is that why the Fifth was declared the best Division around seven hundred years in a row? Is that why it was the most impeccable and organized Division around? Because I did a half-assed job? I know you might not want to admit it but I’ll lay out the facts for you. You’re scared. You don’t want another one of you around here, do you? After all, you said it yourself. We’re alike. I can beat your ass any day, not just combat-wise but I’d wager organization-wise. You’re just scared that someone as good as you and possibly better than you is back, aren’t you?” Her tone was perhaps the most cutting and humiliating part. Confident, cutting and mocking. She was inwardly making fun of him and it was apparent even to the smallest of children. 

“Trust me when I say no-one would be in jeopardy because of me. You’ll probably have a hard believing it with your superiority complex and all, but Shinigami and even Captains came to me. You think that’s insufficient?” She shot back, eyes narrowing in distaste.

Yuzuki’s protest caused Osamu to laugh slightly, he was laughing at the situation but also at her. He stopped himself after a few moments though, he hated being laughed at when he wasn’t in on the joke and he suspected Yuzuki may feel the same way. Her fundamental misunderstanding of his words was amusing to Osamu but he did not want her more upset than she already was so he brought it under control.

“No I think you’re good, I think you are very, very good. The records certainly suggest as much. You ran the fifth fantastically. The accolades were well deserved. I would have loved to have you in my team. But you could have run it even better if you doing the same thing for all divisions simultaneously. The broader base of knowledge and information and the efficiencies of scale would have served you well. That’s what I have and what will be lost if the 5th goes independent. You should be justly proud of your achievements but they were made during a period of excess. A period long since passed. As for not wanting more of me around believe me there is nothing further from the truth. I want many more people like me around, like you. That’s one of the reasons I was so happy to learn of your return. There is real opportunity here but I need you to work with me, with us all. As for you thinking that you might actually be better at this than me? Some Captains may have come to you once but now they all come to me. I would gladly set up some sort challenge were it not for the fact that it would be a wasteful and frivolous use of time and resources during these tight times. But never think that I believe you are incompetent, things could just be better than they used to be.” Osamu’s last point was particularly heart felt, as he had said, she reminded him of himself and he hated people thinking he was in some way lesser, or unsuited to his task. He chose to exhibit a kindness to her by making it very clear he didn’t think poorly of her.
 
However, he wasn’t quite done with his key arguments. He could have elaborated the one already established but he didn’t feel the need to insult Yuzuki’s intelligence by drawing her attention to the details at this stage, though she seemed happy to insult his. Instead he would bring her attention to an altogether separate point. “By reducing your administrative burden, and I would point out reducing not entirely eliminating, I also allow you more time to do the things only people like you can do. Train you men, lead men and kill powerful foes. Every minute you spent filling in paper work was time you could have spent doing one of those three. During this time of civilization ending crisis we all need every person who is best suited to combat duties, performing those combat duties. A civilian who could not harm a hollow could do your paper work, but the reverse is not true. I have made the machine more efficient at a time when it desperately needed it. I can’t just throw that away! Please consider the bigger picture.” 

“Fuck your bigger picture! I refuse to consider it if you're the central figure that takes up 95% of it! What do you think I’ve been doing all this time? There must be someone who manages the Division from the Division itself, someone who actually knows how the Division functions. If you want to run the Division into the ground, be my guest. But then you answer to the Captain-Commander and the Central 46.” It was fairly obvious how dissatisfied Yuzuki was, not only with Osamu’s ‘expertise’ but his attitude as well. He wouldn’t budge an inch, using half-thought out reasons to justify himself. She was close to simply face-palming and then in turn breaking his face and for a moment, her fist clenched in an attempt to stop herself. 

Osamu didn’t rise to the claim that he took up 95% of the bigger picture. He wished it were that way but truth be told he was at a best a slightly larger than normal cog in a gigantic machine. He didn’t feel like he possessed any real significance or weight. He was just an unimportant part of a monolithic whole and all he could do was make it run a little smoother, he didn’t control the direction of the machine or what it produced. Perhaps that would come in time. Her decision to fuck the bigger picture though did prompt a response. 
“None of us can say fuck the bigger picture now. Not now, we can’t run our own little fiefdoms anymore, we can’t be isolated. No one can be allowed to think small, everyone has to work for the bigger picture now. It’s the only way we will survive this.” 
 
Her demand that someone from the division, who knew what the division needed should be involved in the process was far from foolish and it was a concern that Osamu was alive to. He had set up a system where the division told him what they needed, beyond what was covered in the standard needs assessment, he just made everything else happen. He had teams of men dedicated to each division and over the past 100 years they had grown to know each division quite well. It was a well-run system with plenty of receiver feedback. Osamu was going to explain this to her, even show her how it was done but in her current temper he doubted she would be amenable to either idea. Instead he cut to the point.
“Believe me those concerns are addressed. As for me running the division into the ground? When you left and the hollows came it started running itself into the ground all by itself. I picked it up, I rescued it, and I brought it back from the brink of oblivion. Not your own staff, not even your Captain. Me.” 
 
He noticed her fist clench in rage, she seemed almost as angry as he had been when he was accused of treason, almost. Surely it couldn’t hurt her that much could it? He made a little mental note of this and it would factor into what he did next. Maybe this woman of steel was easier to hurt than he had realised. 
 
Eventually, however, her hand shot out and she grasped at his scarf, drawing him closer and giving him a livid look. This was one of the many instances where her surprisingly monumental amount of physical strength came into play. He wouldn’t be able to break free simply by struggling or pulling, no matter how hard he tried. As he was taller than her, however, she dragged him lower to the point where she feared his posture would slip and he’d bend like a noodle. That was the least of her concerns, however. “Listen here and listen well. I’m not going to ask you again. Give me my job back or I swear to Kami himself you will not be able to walk upright for the next decade.” She hissed, eyes flaring so intensely she was sure he could see it.

Osamu was not as trapped by being grabbed by the scarf as some might think, a little tug or twist and the knot would come free and he could sail away harmlessly. Osamu was unsurprised when he was grabbed by the scarf and pulled down, his face showed it. He could see how angry she was, he knew how that felt. He felt that angry allot, almost all the time. He knew how it ate at you, particularly when you kept it bottled up and he knew she had less control than he did. Her outbursts had proved as much. But Osamu could be kind, very kind. Her clenched fist, her hot words. This violent outburst. It all made him feel a bit more charitable. So he was going to give her a gift.
“Oh I know this.” He said with a slightly sinister air. “I know this and so much more.” He added, sounding almost hungry now as well. “You need something else… Here is a gift for you.” Silently he raised his left hand up very gently and slowly bringing it up in front of her face. Then, after a tense pause he flicked her in between the eyes. “There you go.” He said with a smile. “Now you have self-defence.” 

Perhaps Yuzuki could’ve been forgiven for the way she reacted. That one, single flick raised her anger to monumental levels reaching for the heaven before it simply… disappeared. Just like that, in the blink of an eye, Yuzuki had deflated, her eyes no longer reflecting the anger that she felt. She almost relaxed, and a light easy smile played on her lips. Until, of course, one realized rather too late that her wrath hadn’t been diffused. No, not at all. It had rather been concentrated into her palm, the said hand coming up and slapping Osamu squarely on the cheek, the smack resonating in the open area. As she drew her hand away, Yuzuki’s smile dropped and she realized that she wouldn’t really be surprised if she had broken something. Her hand certainly stung more than usual. In comparison, smashing an Adjuchas’ face in two with a single punch had hurt just slightly less than he hand did now. So there was no telling what damage she’d done but she sure as hell liked it. 

"Touch me again and I'll break your face for real." Her words were ominously quiet, perhaps slightly more effective than simply screaming.

Osamu wasn’t fooled by her sudden expression of calm. He knew himself to well for that one and he believed her to be more like him than she would have liked. He knew she would only be angrier in the short term, that was his design. He wanted her to hit him. Furthermore, fake expressions to mislead an opponent? Please he used that trick as well. Furthermore, she was fast but so was he. He saw it coming. But despite all this he didn’t move. He sat there and he took it. He wanted to take it. It hurt but he wanted it to hurt. The sting of her palm on his face, the ringing sound, the heat of her anger in her skin. He felt like he had been hit with a concrete block and that was exactly what he was expecting. He was surprised blood didn’t seep from his mouth and there was certainly a raw red hand print on his face. Looking her in the eye he was silent as she warned him about touching her again. He tilted his head to the side ever so slightly as his eyes continued to burrow into her soul. Just a little bit more of a prod and she wouldn’t be able to stop herself. She would be forced to let it out, or so Osamu thought and that was what he wanted. He wanted to give her release. The running of the division hardly matters any more, and to just give her what she wanted after a solitary slap would make him seem week and pathetic. But there was something more important at play, the fire in a soul. He wanted to see it burn free, if only for a while. Let those frustrations in her out. After 100 years in the living world he wanted her to bear it down on him. 
 
So. After a brief silence he leant forward and put his forehead on hers. 
“Do it.” He said quietly, almost whispering into her ear. Before suddenly he was gone. She was left holding a scarf in her hands whilst Osamu stood some way down the street. At first it looked like he had his sword in his hand but this was not quite true. He was indeed holding his sword but the scabbard was still on, fixed there by a small clip he had sealed as he flew back. This way he could hit her and it would hurt but it wouldn’t take off any limbs. 
 
“You can do better than that!” He called out across the distance between them. “You want to fight, fight! You’re angry at more than me but I am all that’s here! Go on then! Hurt me!” He was volunteering to be her punching bag, though a punching bag that fought back, to make it worth it, to really allow frustrations to be worked out. He could have done with a few of those, but it was too late for him on that front now, or so he thought. But he could provide that service to her. Taking it for her, that was his gift for the moment. 

Yuzuki felt an immense surge of satisfaction run through her at the bright-red handprint that was slowly emerging on his face, a souvenir of their little ‘discussion’. She stared back at his defiantly, not fazed by his calculating eyes in the least. She could practically see the gears turning behind them, always formulating a plan. She was slightly curious – he wasn’t retaliating. What was he thinking? The silence stretched between them, tense and far from comfortable. 

While her display of violence had calmed her some, by a tiny margin that could barely be counted as significant, Yuzuki’s anger immediately skyrocketed the moment his forehead made contact with hers. He was goading her, tempting her to do something she knew carried consequences. He was way too light-hearted about everything – there was surely something going on, some plan of sorts formulating in his head. However, those two words simply set off the explosion. Blood was pounding in her ears, urging her to follow after the man. She could clearly see his movements as she speculated she was on the same level of Shunpo as he; she followed after a moment’s notice.

She barely batted an eye at his drawn sword; her hands clenched themselves into fists instinctively as she quite literally materialized in front of him, lunging for him, one arm extended. The other was drawn behind her, out of his sight, clenched in a tight fist. She didn’t even need to pump reiatsu into her limbs, as that was only required for high-level Hollows with equally high levels of Hierro. She was certain she could literally break his face with a single punch. She felt the same surge of satisfaction go through her as she glimpsed the red mark on his face that stood out like a beacon, almost as red as the scarf she had tugged on. 

“You’re doing something you’re going to regret but don’t blame me – you offered!” Yuzuki punctuated every word deliberately before disappearing and reappearing again, this time within striking range, her outstretched hand reaching out for his face. 

Yes! Yes! Screamed a part of his brain as she came for him. Let it out! Hurt me! But he wouldn’t make it easy for her, that wouldn’t make it fun for her nor would it pleasant for him. If there was no challenge in it there was no point for either of them. He noted her speed with a pleasant satisfaction. Speed was the key to almost everything in the world of combat and he was happy that she had not only realised this but that here was someone he couldn’t lazily swat away or casually avoid. This was going to take effort. He liked effort and he guessed she did as well 
 
As far as the fight was concerned it wasn’t the hand he could see that he was worried about, it was the hand behind her. Her left hand was outstretched to grab him, smash him in the face perhaps? That wasn’t important. He knew she was smart and he knew that she wouldn’t underestimate him that much. He believed she was operating on the assumption her left hand would fail, so he acted appropriately. With his sword raised he waited until the hand got just past the point of his guard before he brought his sword across to hit the outside of her left for arm in an effort to deflect it across her own body. This would mean that she would at best shoulder charge him but more importantly her concealed right hand would, hopefully, be brought of play. It wouldn’t be able to reach him by going round her back and if she were to swing it around in front of her it would have a very long way to go and come at an awkward angle. 

But words were part of the pleasure of all of this as well. Whilst defending himself he called out to her. 
“Regret it? You could break almost every bone in my body and I wouldn’t regret it. No one has managed to hurt me in a long time. I could do with a pulping.” He laughed slightly at that, smiling genuinely but also slightly manically. He was happy but it was a slightly scary kind of happy. Or at least it was for most. He wagered Yuzuki was not so easily unnerved. 

But Osamu was not content just to defend. He knew the fun was in making her work for it, there would be even be fun for her if she was hurt a little bit, if she had to struggle. So he went on the offensive. He went to move past her on her left hand side, that arm having been deflected. Bending low slightly he span about as he went past her in an effort to slash her across the lower back. Of course with his scabbard on it was quite safe but it would be a fair old whack. 

She knew that beating Osamu up would be hard, and she could admit it. Beating on a Captain was infinitely harder than reducing a 15th Seat to a broken mess. Nevertheless, that only set her blood pumping harder and she smirked to herself. He’d reacted just as she’d wanted him to, deflecting her left arm with the katana still sheathed in its scabbard. A laugh, somewhat condescending, rang across the street and she followed his movements closely as she spoke. 

“You definitely have a few screws loose, man! Also, bad move.” Yuzuki whispered the last three words, the amusement in them clear as she allowed him to whack her lower back. Simultaneously, with her lips pulled in a rather menacing smirk, Yuzuki crashed her right elbow right behind her, right into Osamu’s face which was at most a dozen inches away from her. He’d lowered himself slightly, allowing her to reach him by angling her elbow slightly upwards, as if he hadn’t it would’ve been impossible. As she couldn’t accurately judge the distance behind her, she decided to go the safe route and swung her right side backward slightly, bringing her elbow back father with more force. Osamu’s hit had winded her slightly, yes, but it was far from fatal and she’d probably compensated his move equally well. Nevertheless, the challenge was welcome. 

She whirled around right after that to face Osamu and her knee came flying up, right towards his chin. If she was lucky, she’d have the immense honor of dislocating his neck. The adrenaline was pumping in her veins, fueling her movements and increasing the force behind every hit, making her feel more alive than she'd ever had in the past 100 years. 

This was why you get behind people. Because they can’t see what they are doing. They fight on guess work and drill. He was expecting a kick or for her left arm to come spinning around along with the rest of her body. A blind fire elbow to the face was unexpected but only because it struck him as a bad idea. He saw the arm go up ready to deliver the blow and he saw it start to come down. He was surprised at just how on target it was considering Yuzuki couldn’t actually see his face. But that just meant she wouldn’t be able to adjust her aim as he leant his head to the left without having to move the rest of his body. Her elbow only just missed him it came so fast, less than 5 centimetres off. But to people like Osamu and Yuzuki a centimetre may as well have been a mile such was their respective degrees of control and finesse. 
 
His sword smacking into the small of her back forced him to smile slightly. If his blade had been properly drawn that would have killed her and boy was he going to rub that in her face. But before he had the opportunity to do so she seemed determined to plant her knee in his. He wouldn’t have time to get out of the way of this one, but thankfully his sword was in such a position as would aid him immensely. Simply by pulling the sword slightly closer towards him, but keeping it stretched out horizontally, right to left, her knee would connect with what would be the flat of his blade rather than him. He just jumped up about a centimeter off of the floor at the moment of impact but this meant there was almost no friction holding him in place and her blow was following through with his own momentum. He was sent hurtling back and his wrists and shoulders momentarily ached by absorbing what shock from the blow still went through. With most people he wouldn’t have felt that ache, none of the force would have gone through. But he felt it from her. He was not really hurt. His careful timing had meant she had merely pushed him a safe distance away. But part of him wanted to take that blow full on and not even try and stop it. He wanted to know what it felt like to be hit that hard by this woman. But he was determined to play with her a little longer. 
 
He landed with cat like grace and instantly leapt back a single bound, just in case she was coming at him even as his body sailed away. When he believed he was safe he stood up tall and declared. 
“And you lose!” They were words custom built to anger her but he said it with a slightly friendly tone, suggesting that it wasn’t really said out of hatred. “If I had my scabbard off your spine would currently be laid open and you would be a twitching mess on the floor. Point to me I’d say!” He smiled at her with a face that intentionally just said hit me! Osamu was keen on the counter attack, letting his foe commit to an offensive and then exploiting the gap. As such, he just stood there, guard raised and eyes sharp, waiting for her, goading her, to come at him again. 

 His words to Yuzuki were what gasoline was to fire. She flared up, her eyes burning and for a moment, she crouched there, the anger running through her veins. That foolish man, didn’t he realize that she had let him do it? She very well knew that it was a play-match of sorts, and had therefore decided to lay along with him. In reality, it’d have been different. Yet this man continued to be an insufferable ass. For a split second, she sat there, seething, a glare directed towards Osamu. And then, she simply disappeared. Nor did she reappear for a very long time and, as the seconds ticked away and melted into a minute, Yuzuki knew Osamu was probably feeling unnerved. 
 
All of a sudden, she leapt out at him, aiming a kick right from above. She’d been perched on a nearby building nearly thirty meters away and a powerful leap had aided her aerial attack. Her leg came crashing down onto him, striking something that she wasn’t sure of. Was it metal or bone? Nevertheless, as she descended to his waist-level, she abruptly turned and, still airborne, aimed a powerful back-kick towards his ribs. All of this happened in a split second at blinding speed. She wanted to hit him, she wanted to draw blood, she wanted to feel bone breaking beneath her touch. Her previous hit, while successful, wasn’t satisfying. It wasn’t Osamu’s Zanpakuto that she wanted to break. It was him. 

"I let you hit me, you ass." She retorted quietly, close enough to him that he'd be able to hear her whisper. "If you hadn't deflected with your sword, your head would've been rolling several meters away. And now, I'm going to fucking kill you."

When she vanished he immediately began expecting an attack from an unusual angle. Which one he couldn’t be sure but he was damn sure it wasn’t coming from the front. After a few moments he began turning around erratically on the spot, presenting no pattern to exploit. He occasionally checked the air above him and scanned the roofline, he even paid attention to any rumbles in the ground in case she was burrowing up from below, hollows had tired that one on him before. He was sure of one thing though, she had not gone off in a hissy fit. She was too determined and too strong for that. He could have run, he could be back in the safety of his division in a heartbeat but he didn’t want to be safe. He wanted this one to go, almost, all the way. 
 
When the attack came he was not caught entirely unawares, though it was something of a surprise. Just as before he wanted to work on allowing your foe to commit and exploiting a gap. He was tempted to get out of the way of the first blow but she would be expecting that, plus he might not have enough time. Raising his zanpakuto up slightly above his head he used both hands to support it as he leg came down and hit it hard. So hard he was forced down on to one knee and bent almost double. So hard he gave out a little growl of pain as the shock went down through his arms, down his spine, legs and into the earth. But the growl flowed into an odd little chuckle. The blow hit so hard the scabbard cracked. It didn’t break but a very definite fault had split open. This was dangerous for Yuzuki. If she kept on hitting it that hard the scabbard would fall apart and she would be facing his real zanpakuto. 
 
Thankfully for Osamu he was forced down so hard that the blow aimed for his ribs would sail harmlessly overhead. With a roar of effort he surged up, running his blade along the inside of the leg he had blocked and if Yuzuki did not do something to prevent it the blade would hit her hard right in between the legs. Not as bad for her as if it were a man but it would again be a solid blow if it connected. The effort was also aimed at throwing Yuzuki off balance and may send her cartwheeling onto her back. As he rose he declared. 

“But I did deflect it and I did hit you! That’s what matters my dear! Your record tells me you are brilliant. Be brilliant!”

While she quickly figured out that her first kick had connected with Osamu, Yuzuki’s second kick obviously hadn’t struck anything and sadly, he was just as fast as her. His roar of effort should’ve alerted her and to an extent, it did. It was just entirely unexpected. She registered the feel of the scabbard running up her leg and the jagged edge where she’d cracked it left a myriad of rather painful scratches. However, the stinging sensation that was left behind was nothing compared to the following hit. Yuzuki was anything but a man and the pain wasn’t comparable to a man’s but boy did it hurt much more than she’d initially thought. The pain spread like wildfire in her general pelvic area and she let out a pained cry. Her foot landed lightly onto the ground and on instinct, she leapt up in a roundhouse kick before leaping away. The pain wasn’t debilitating but it made her double up slightly and cross her legs. She was used to pain, getting cut, hit, sliced, smacked, you name it, on her limbs and torso. But never had she been hit like that. 
 
A moment’s worth of silence stretched out between them and she eventually looked up, her eyes burning and her face scarlet with embarrassment. “You’re sick! What the fuck is wrong with you?! Do you regularly hit women in such places?!” Her voice was beyond pissed, yet the embarrassment was detectable as she stumbled slightly over her words. She hated him. It would be one thing if it was just them – fine, she probably wouldn’t be able to look Osamu in the eye for the next decade. But with his guards standing around? The worst that could happen was rapidly becoming more and more likely. 

“I sure as hell hope that hit broke your head! There’s brilliant for you, you creep!” She called back, still pissed and angry beyond belief.

Her roundhouse kick was something that he couldn’t really avoid. He was so close to her body and she moved so fast he was just going to have to take it. But again he could block it and soak up the majority of the damage with his zanpakuto. All it would take would be turning his weapon through 90 degrees after he landed his blow into her pelvis. So he did just that and again leapt up into the air ever so slightly, he even began to shunpo away as the blow landed so the momentum of the hit would be lessened. His scabbard cracked just a tiny bit more as he was blown to the side by the force of the impact. But streets were far narrower than they were long and even the reduced force of the blow sent him hurtling into the wall of a nearby building. The degree to which he had lessened the impact was demonstrated by the fact the wall merely cracked rather than out right shattered as he hit it. 
 
A pained and slightly winded murmur of “Bloody hell.” Could be heard as Osamu swiftly righted himself. But he saw his opponent wounded, confused, uncomfortable and awkward. Again this was an opportunity and now he would attack. As he righted himself before the offensive he declared. 

“I am sorry and no, I don’t usually hit people there. But you’re too good, and I respect you too much, to cut you slack. I’m going to strike you in the same places I would if I was trying to kill you and take advantage of the same opportunities. You are too good at this for me to go easy on you.” Thankfully the guards were sufficiently removed to effectively protect Yuzuki’s dignity and in Osamu’s mind Yuzuki had all the more dignity because he had been forced to hit her there. Now he came at her, declaring. “Now hit me hard! You want to now do it!”
 
His offensive seemed plain and simple, he charged straight at her, face locked in savage effort. He was holding his weapon with both hands in one of the stranger looking zanpakuto offensive stances. His hands were close to the left hand side of his head with the blade pointing straight forward at Yuzuki’s face. It looked like an awkward posture but to anyone who knew sword techniques they knew the thrust to the face was not what you had to be concerned about. This was one of the most adaptive charging postures possible. It could snap into thrusts, overhead blows, side swipes, leg sweeps and a similar array of blocks at a moment’s notice. Again this was feeding into Osamu’s general emerging tactic. Let your opponent commit themselves then move around them as appropriate. 

The moment he started charging, Yuzuki felt her adrenaline surge higher than it’d previously been. The weapon in his hands was held strangely but Yuzuki had learned over the years not to underestimate unfamiliar positions – heck, it applied to Hakuda as well. The stranger stances were often deceptively powerful and were aimed to kill. Yuzuki simply stood there, legs still crossed and her posture slightly hunched. The pain had faded a bit but he didn’t know that as she continued to pretend she was still in a great amount of pain. 

Just at the last moment, when she was sure the blade was about to go through her face and into her brain, Yuzuki ducked, half-crouching down on one leg with the other extended and her body aligned to the right. Her elbow immediately lashed out towards Osamu’s abdomen in an arc, a hit that usually delivered internal bleeding and was pretty powerful all on its own without the need for reiryoku. Wary of the blade still above her, Yuzuki immediately moved away a fraction of a second after her attempt on hitting him, shifting her weight onto her outstretched leg and quickly moving away from him. This time, positioned somewhere behind him, Yuzuki fully crouched down and swiftly swept her leg across the ground in an attempt to bring Osamu’s form down as her leg collided with his ankle.

“Apology not accepted. Do try to keep your Zanpakuto away. But you are faster than they give you credit for.” It was obvious as to who Yuzuki was referring to; ‘they’ being the Shinigami. Most she worked with on a daily basis and knew everything worth knowing in Seireitei and after a minute or so of colorful threats on Yuzuki’s part, they’d told her everything she’d needed to know. She’d have to correct some of their information, though – Osamu was just as fast as she was.

Osamu hoped she was in as much pain as she appeared to be, but he knew he couldn’t rely on it. It was an opportunity he had to exploit but he must not allow himself to be careless, she had faked a sensation once before today and she could do it again. He hoped she was enjoying the pain though, it added to the satisfaction of the fray. Perhaps that was just in his own mind and he was projecting too much of it on to her but he didn’t think so. 
 
He knew she would do something as he came towards her, she certainly would not just stand there and take it, not after the blow he had so recently delivered. When she went down and began to deliver her savage blow to his gut he had two choices. Evade, or attack. Evasion would likely have allowed him to escape the blow unharmed but he would also forego any realistic chance of hitting her. Today was not about victory or skill. Today was about effort and pain as well as the pleasure that came with it. The release that came from unleashing anger and frustration on something that could make you work for it and the rising spirits and zeal that came from taking a good few blows yourself. More importantly, this was about her, not him. So he opted to take the hit, only minimising its impact a little, whilst also delivering her a solid blow of his own. 
 
He did this by a deft flick of the wrist and a hard sweep down to his left, the point of his scabbard almost scraping the ground, to aid this he stepped hard to the right and put the weight of his whole body into it. As a result, so long as Yuzuki stood her ground and was determined to hit Osamu in the abdomen she would have to take a blow like a golf swing to her entire right hand side. Still, since his weapon was sheathed it would merely be a hard blunt force blow. And when it came to hard blunt force it seemed Yuzuki had the edge. By driving her elbow hard into his abdomen she hit his armour, made of the new spiritually resistant metal. But as tough as it was it was nothing compared to her. She hit him so hard the armoured plate buckled and he felt the concussive force rippled into his body. It hurt, it hurt a lot. It hurt like nothing had hurt him for over a century and he relished it. Still, it was a colossal pain that felt like someone had detonated a small explosive charge somewhere in his digestive system. The man gave a low but very definite. 
“Arghh!” in pain but he didn’t let it stop him. As bad as it was, and as delicate as his digestive system may be for the next few days, he was not bleeding internally. He was a captain, he didn’t go down quite that easily. Though he had hit her with his own attack, just as she had landed a fine blow on him, she did not seem to be slowed overmuch by the effort and rapidly appeared behind him for a second attack. This one however, would not be so successful. Continuing the motion form his hard blow down Osamu span around on the spot, weapon still almost against the ground and connecting hard with Yuzuki’s ankle, knocking it aside before it could reach him. 
 
Meanwhile the guttural noise of pain from her colossal blow had metamorphosed into an “ahh” of worrying satisfaction before he eventually dramatically and loudly declared. 
“Yes!” He really dragged out the beginning of the word and he sounded far too happy about it. Especially since the aching after shock of the pain was still thumping throughout his lower torso. “That’s better! Again! More!” When he said the word more he almost bellowed it out at her, half cry of defiance, half order. "You know you want to." Osamu really was enjoying this a tad too much but truth be told he needed the pain. For him, even taking it was an odd relief in a manner that might have been of concern to Yuzuki. But he needed all the release he could get. Then again she was probably more concerned with smashing his mad eyed face in than worrying about his mental condition. 
 
Osamu’s own counter offensive was just a tad tricky this time around. Moving his blade a centimetre or two down as he spoke, so it touched the ground, he then flicked his sheathed weapon up in a way that scattered dust and grit into Yuzuki’s face. She would have seen his weapon sailing in close behind but it was a faint, the moment he believed her vision would have been impaired he twisted his wrists to the right and arced the blade across in a way that would have connected with her waist from the left hand side if she did not somehow block or evade the blow. The stakes were getting higher now, we was moving faster, and more importantly, harder. But so was she. That was how it was meant to be and he would have it no other way. 

Yuzuki smirked at his faint sound of pain, only to give one of her own when he clubbed her with his sheathed Zanpakuto, the katana colliding with part of her right side. It knocked the air out of her lungs and winded her pretty badly – at this point, she was sure her entire right side would be covered in bruises. Fortunately, she’d detected his movements about a fraction of a second prior to the hit and had arched her back slightly, putting a bit of her body out of reach of his Zanpakuto. As it was straight, it couldn’t effectively hit the entire right side of her body but it did hurt – it felt like he’d smashed into her with a hundred-kilogram pole. Winded, Yuzuki still crouched behind Osamu as he blocked her foot and aimed his Zanpakuto. 

With a groan of effort, Yuzuki spun back up and barreled into him from behind, elbow pointed towards the exact center of her back. The minor movement of Osamu’s Zanpakuto had made her anticipate a potential attack and she instead decided to get out of its trajectory but not before her face was sprayed with a bit of dust. As she stood, however, she did manage to avoid the full brunt of the blow on her waist. Unfortunately, it had redirected the hit towards her thigh, the hard hit leaving a bright red mark that was probably not going to fade anytime soon. It soon started burning and she hissed in pain slightly, shifting her leg behind her a bit. Her eyes stung from the dust and she glared at his back, before that glare melted away into a smirk. 

The pain had given her new life, all the more incentive to hit him and hit him hard. This was nothing like beating on a minor Hollow. This was different, something more rejuvenating and while it was considerably more dangerous, it felt better. They’d already dealt each other serious injuries but they were far from stopping. No, Yuzuki wouldn’t stop until he couldn’t move. Nor did she think he’d stop either – Osamu was a Captain, he could certainly stand his ground much longer than the other Lieutenants she’d bullied and provoked into a fight. This was much better, and it showed on her face as the bloodthirsty excitement took over.

Osamu was glad to feel the satisfying thunk of his blow landing home not one, but twice. He had not been counting on that kind of good fortune. He knew it hurt her, just like she hurt him. He could almost see the bruises in his mind’s eye and he could feel the ones on his own body. Though truth be told, the first one, that red raw slap across his face, was still his favourite. But every blow given and received was a little moment of twisted, guttural pleasure. But as tempting as it would have been for him to just sit there and continue to soak it up he had to make her work for it just that little bit more.
 
He had been expecting her to come at him, full force from the front, up through the dust and to bear down on him like a tiger. The tiger bit may have been accurate but she wasn’t coming hell for leather from the front. She simply wasn’t there. She had already come at him from above today and so that left the rear. Of course, above or behind, he would get out of it the same way. He wasn’t waiting to find out what was behind him, nor was he going to try and block it. Instead he ran forward as fast as he could, running away from her blow as it came at him, buying him a few precious moments. After he had travelled about three paces forward he rammed his sword into the ground and cartwheeled over it, pirouetting as he did so. His white captain’s robe fluttered hauntingly in the air and even an uneducated observer would have to admit he was, for a moment, a model of grace and poise. 
 
In the moment he could see the face of Yuzuki coming at him, true he was upside down but he could still read her expression. Blood thirsty excitement. That was what he wanted to see. His own eyes were wild and hungry but for a moment there was a warm smile on his face. It juxtaposed strangely with his almost carnivorous eyes but it was there none the less. By the time he hit the ground though it had turned into a vicious smirk. Now the two were face to face and unless Yuzuki changed course she would be coming straight at him, full force. Osamu didn’t have a moment to loose, no sooner had his feet touched the ground than he leapt up like a coiled spring and pirouetted through 360 degrees in the air, his blade was outstretched and it was bearing down with almost all the force he could muster. He was spinning like a hurricane and gravity was on his side, it was a lot of force. If Yuzuki did nothing this blow would hit her diagonally hard from the left, impacting her shoulder. If she did get out of the way though she would be able to see, rather than feel, how hard Osamu was gunning for her. This blow was hard enough to crack the ground beneath them and whilst shinigami of their levels were tougher than the ground this was still a blow to be reckoned with. 
 
But the mere fact he made an attack of this nature showed he was getting almost as swept up in things as she was. In true battle Osamu was careful, restrained and patient. But this was play time and he played rough! It was a big, bold and savage, he wouldn’t be able to pull out of it. All of this was showing on his face as well. The pleasure of his smile of a few moments ago was genuine but now he was grinning like a demon, mouth open and hungry, teeth bared in menacing joy and anticipation. He looked as though he were about to cast aside his sword and just start eating her and, truth be told, he was closer to that than she might have realised. 

Watching him fly and pirouette over his Zanpakuto, Yuzuki was almost tempted to Shunpo over and kick the katana away from underneath him. It would certainly be easy enough – he was so busy showing off his agility that it would be child’s play to simply Shunpo over and deliver a well-placed kick. But she couldn’t deny the grace that Osamu possessed. At that moment, it occurred to Yuzuki that they were somewhat fundamentally different – while he relied on weaknesses and gaps that the opponent inevitably presented, Yuzuki simply used brute strength to annihilate whoever was in her way. And truthfully, after centuries of displaying her near-insurmountable amount of strength, not many dared to stand in her path anymore. That was mainly the reason she was often allowed to do whatever she wanted. It wasn’t something she entirely bothered with, however, so she didn’t meddle much and instead managed her Division in the absence of her Captain. But she knew Akimoto would never have allowed her to brawl like this with anyone. Luckily he wasn’t here to chastise her for her animalistic behavior but Yuzuki would bet her Zanpakuto on the fact that this fight would get out and spread among the Shinigami. 
 
However, that wasn’t something she’d dwell on now – she could worry about the consequences later, now she had an attack to avoid. Her eyes surveyed Osamu’s form leaping towards her and she grinned to herself. Too simple. She could simply block the attack with reiryoku to minimize damage on her skin but where was the fun in that? Yuzuki twisted away at the last moment, once again getting hit on her leg, this time on her calf. She could nearly feel her bone shatter underneath the force but after the hiss of pain, she laughed. Perhaps this was why she was considered a demon. 
 
But it was time to return the favor. Almost immediately after her struck her calf, she reappeared right in front of Osamu again and grabbed at his sheathed Zanpakuto with her left hand, holding it away from her with brute strength. She offered him a smile, a smile that was just as vicious as his. Her other hand Yuzuki placed on his shoulder to keep him in place just for a split second while her right knee came up and attempted to smash into his abdomen again. 

Osamu was surprised when his blow landed home, even he could hear her bone crack under the sound of his own scabbard shattering just that little bit more from the force of the blow. A few more of those and she would be dealing with naked metal. It was too easy. But as surprised as he was he was also happy. That hiss of pain from her lips was wonderful but not as wonderful as the laugh afterwards. That was terrifyingly beautiful. He wanted to hear that one again and again. That laugh may fuel some nightmares but it made him happy in a way that would take him some time to explain to her but he hoped that she already instinctively understood. 
 
When she grabbed his sheathed sword he knew she was cheating, pretending that thing wasn’t sharp was hardly playing along but he didn’t care. It was a different game now and he wanted to see how she was going to play it. He began to reposition, expecting to be set up for a savage attack but his own, furious offensive, had over committed him. He was unable to get away before her second hand seized his shoulder. Perhaps there was something he could have done at this stage to lessen, or avoid the blow but his brain didn’t even bother think of it. He saw it coming and he just looked Yuzuki in the eyes, staring deep, deep into those violet orbs that seem to burn like hell fire. He was, not at peace, but he was in the middle of a deeply satisfying burn when the blow hit. Again it struck his armour, but it was weakened from the previous attack and that area of his body was raw and sensitive. 
 
For a moment it felt like a bear was in the pit of his stomach, roaring and slashing. There was a tremendous pressure followed by a very painful release. Something had ruptured, big or small Osamu couldn’t tell but something had spilled open inside him and was even now seeping vile and perhaps vital liquids into the gaps around his organs. But he didn’t care, he was burst inside, she was broken and it was good. He wasn’t scared of the demon, for now at least he liked the demon, he was almost feeding off of it! His smile grew larger as he felt the pain spread and radiate through his body, he didn’t even scream. He just let out a quiet little chuckle and enjoyed the moment. He almost didn’t want to move as they both just hung there for a few scant fractions of a second that seemed to last an eternity. But that wouldn’t be fun for her and it wouldn’t be fair to himself. Using the fact she had two, firm, points of contact on him he brought both his knees up to his chest before kicking out as hard as a horse, one foot to her face, the other to the wrist holding the sword whilst his sword arm sharply twisted in an effort to aid it’s escape. He used his free hand to stabilise himself whilst he did this but rather than grasp her shoulder like she did to him, he grasped her neck and squeezed hard. 
 
If his effort was successful he would end the move with his left hand around her neck, both feet on the ground and his sword arm free to act. His vice like grip was not as firm as her would have been had she done the same but it was hard none the less, choking her, threatening to collapse the walls of the wind pipe, denying oxygen to the lungs and the brain as he squeezed and smiled. His sword arm came back for a huge blow. This wasn’t quick or subtle, like he would have been if he was using a point. A knick of a centimetre could kill a man but these were blunt blows and he needed big swings. The sword came down aiming to pummel her hard in her left kidney. He could have gone for the head but he didn’t dare hit it. It may have caused a concussion or other damage, combined with his chocking it may have even knocked her out and then the fight would have been over all too quickly. Hitting her in the kidney would hurt but she would still be awake, able to act and fight back. He wanted her to fight back. He couldn’t have it end now! Not now when it was so good! It had to go on! 

Osamu’s sudden resistance to her grip on him wasn’t entirely surprising and she angled her head away at the last moment so that his boot only grazed her jaw. Nevertheless, it hurt and she glared, even as she failed to pry his hands away from her. Feeling Osamu’s hands close around her throat, Yuzuki’s grip on his sword arm momentarily loosened. Combined with the kick, she lost her grip on his hand and instead clawed at the hand around her throat, sinking her nails into his skin. She could almost feel his skin come away under her nails along with something wet running down his hand. She’d drawn blood, nearly mangling his hand in the process. Once she had dug her nails in enough, she dragged her hand down his hand, wrist and arm with ferocity, all the while sucking in what little air she could. Her suffocating state forced her to dig both hands into the hand holding her hostage and she momentarily stopped breathing for a couple of seconds as his Zanpakuto collided with her side and back. She struggled to breathe but it only fueled her anger.