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Post by Yumichika Ayasegawa on Feb 21, 2023 21:53:46 GMT -6
Eyes beginning to smolder, Yumichika smirked and lifted his own zanpakuto, still in its sheath. He slid the tip off his chin. “You always did have a way with words, Chizu-chan, but you shouldn’t be too hard on the others. Not everyone can be as ruthlessly brutal and excessively hard to kill or please like you, my dear. There’s a reason why we’re Division Eleven after all. And if you don’t take a step back and get your dirty nosebleed away from me, I’ll cut you anyway for being a bitch and unladylike~”
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Post by Ikkaku Madarame on Feb 21, 2023 22:04:04 GMT -6
Ikkaku cackled loudly as he watched Chizue sputter and turn beet red, curling her lip at Yumichika. He stood up, picking up his zanpakuto and placing it in its sheath. "You hear that, woman? Yumichika is more of a lady than you are!"
Chizue whipped her head around and snarled at him. "You shut the hell up! I'll speak however the hell I damn well please!" She walked over to retrieve her sheaths, placing her own blades back in them. "Once we rebuild the large dojo again, we'll finish this." She turned around and pointed to the recruits. They flinched stepping further back. "And you lot! Don't think you all will get off easy! You have a lot to learn about this division! So don't slack off on your training! The Gotei is counting on us to rebuild our strength! We won't tolerate anyone who isn't willing to give their all to this division!"
Ikkaku watched as the officers stood up straight and bowed to her, shouting "yes ma'am"s at her. He let out a hmph and gave a half grin, moving over to Yumichika. He spoke to him under his breath. "Good to see she hasn't changed. She's still as hard on the newcomers as ever. They'll be whipped into shape in no time."
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Post by Yumichika Ayasegawa on Feb 21, 2023 22:34:58 GMT -6
“No doubt they will be,” his friend murmured, “but she’s not a real miracle worker here. She has the same problem as others I know.” Without any further warning, Yumichika shoved the butt of his zanpakuto into Ikkaku’s stomach. “That’s for calling me a lady. I’ll have you know that even Las Noches hasn’t made me change that much, Ikkaku-san.” He strode towards the hole he'd created. "I'm the only gentleman in this division, not another of the females."
Ikkaku grinned at him, rubbing his midsection. "Well she sure as hell hits harder than you, that's for damn sure."
"Are you sure about that?" his fellow officer purred. "Perhaps I pulled my strength to spare you after the beating you already took." He raised his hand to sweep over the now empty room. "After all, you're the one bleeding all over the floor. Again."
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Post by Ikkaku Madarame on Feb 21, 2023 22:43:32 GMT -6
Ikkaku scowled, wiping the blood away with the back of his arm. "Nah. It was a draw. We both bled equally. And this isn't even enough to satisfy her zanpakuto. That thing needs way more blood than this to be satisfied."
He turned away and headed for the door. "Well, I'm outta here. If the show's over then there's no sense in sticking around."
"Go ahead and leave," his friend murmured. "You never stick around for clean up unless you lose, which is once in a blue moon. I'm going to choose some recruits to fix this mess. Until the big dojo's up again, it needs to stay intact."
"Yeah yeah," Ikkaku waved as he walked out the door.
He walked off, planning on heading back to the barracks until he noticed a trail of blood leading to a courtyard. It was the only real rest area on the grounds aside from the officers' barracks. A couple of their past members who were well versed in nature along with swordplay had tried to keep up with two different gardens in the past--a flower garden and a zen garden. Said that a peaceful place to "decompress" would do them all some good. Neither of them lasted longer than a week, and so they gave up entirely. Now the courtyard was just a large area with benches surrounding a large, tall tree in the center to offer shade. Somehow the tree had managed to survive a beating throughout the decades. How he had no idea. But there it still stood, stubborn and determined to outlive everyone in Eleventh Division. And sitting on one of the benches with a towel to her nose was Chizue. She sat with her head down, unmoving as she pinched the towel around her nose. Her gaze was blank as she stared down at the ground.
Ikkaku walked over to her, his arms folded in his sleeves as Hozukimaru rested on his shoulder. "Hey. Why the long face?"
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Post by Chizue Nakamura on Feb 21, 2023 23:22:47 GMT -6
Chizue blinked and looked up at Ikkaku. She groaned, rolling her eyes. "Ugh, what the hell do you want? If Yumi-chan catches us fighting and breaking shit out here he'll kill us both."
"I didn't say I was looking for a fight! I said why the long face!" Ikkaku scowled at her.
"And why the hell do you care?" Chizue tilted her head at him, removing the towel after wiping her nose a final time. She set it beside her on the stone bench.
"Cause I know you and you don't make faces like that one you were just making," Ikkaku stepped forward and sat down next to her on the bench.
"Oh how rich," Chizue scoffed her tone dripping with sarcasm. She shook her head. "Ikkaku Madarame thinks he knows me."
"Oh don't I?" Ikkaku raised a thin brow at her. "You've been on my ass for how long now and you think I don't know you?"
"That's precisely what I am saying." Chizue turned her head away from him. She wasn't in the mood to bicker with him, but she also knew she couldn't stop herself from doing it anyway. "I told you. I wasn't just sitting around crying the whole time you and Yumi-chan and the captain were gone."
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Post by Ikkaku Madarame on Feb 21, 2023 23:31:01 GMT -6
Ikkaku grunted, staring straight ahead at nothing in particular. He had to admit she was right. Even after the one year they were gone, he could tell she was different. The flash of her earring caught the corner of his eye. Without turning to look at her, he asked, "So where'd you get those?"
"Get what?" Chizue raised her eyebrow at him this time.
"Those." Ikkaku pointed to his ear, turning to look at her. "You don't wear jewelry. So where'd you get those?"
Chizue's cheeks flushed and she crossed her arms under her chest. "What, a girl can't wear nice things when she's in a division full of brutes?"
"Stop taking everything I say out of context!" He groaned irritably. He scratched the top of his head and went to stand. "Fine. Don't tell me."
"They were a gift," Chizue blurted out without thinking once he stood up. She saw Ikkaku pause, then sit back down, turning back to look at her once again. His eyes were filled with curiosity. "They were a gift from someone." She repeated.
Ikkaku blinked. He couldn't imagine who. Her wearing jewelry was crazy enough as it was. But someone giving them to her... It must have been a girlfriend, he thought to himself. "Well... I guess they look alright. So long as you don't get them ripped out during a fight. Then your ears will look all fucked up."
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Post by Chizue Nakamura on Feb 21, 2023 23:46:29 GMT -6
Chizue was silent for a long moment, unable to process the words that came out of his mouth. But thinking of her earrings made her think of things she did not want to process in front of Ikkaku. So she shut them out for a later time. "Why thank you for the advice. How very kind of you, Ikka-kun," Chizue turned and put on a fake smile, folding her hands under her chin and batting her eyelashes.
Ikkaku made a face and leaned away from her. "Th-that's not-- Ugh, whatever. Are you gonna tell me why the hell you're here sulking or not?"
"No, of course not," she said plainly.
"And why the hell not? After I came over here and showed you some compassion and you're just going to go full tsundere?"
"Yup." She grinned when Ikkaku grumbled under his breath. Her grin faded quickly, however. "If I show weakness, I lose what little respect I have in this division. Emotions aren't something I can afford to share. With anyone."
"Is that what the hell your problem is?" Ikkaku asked her with a tone of exasperation. "You think experiencing what every living thing experiences makes you weak?"
It wasn't the full story, but she couldn't exactly deny the validity of what he said. She had always felt that way about being in Eleventh Division. Being female made her automatically at a disadvantage in this division. She heard the whispers and grumbles and insults, but she ignored them. She wasn't here to foster equality, after all. She had a goal she was trying to achieve. At least... she did. Still did. But she had to admit that hiding behind a mask of uncaring and aloofness was exhausting.
"I don't need you to tell me what does and doesn't make me weak, Ikkaku," she said under her breath.
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Post by Ikkaku Madarame on Feb 22, 2023 0:02:05 GMT -6
Ikkaku sighed. "No. You don't. You decide what makes you weak or not. But don't choose something as stupid as 'emotions' as your weakness. Even hollows have emotions. They may have the emotional range of a toothpick, but they still have them."
He lifted Hozukimaru and clonked her on the head with the hilt. "So shut up with this dumbass 'I can't show emotion or everyone will think I'm weak' bullshit. You can beat my ass and walk away in a straight line. If that doesn't make you strong, then your benchmark is even higher than mine."
"Uh yeah, why the hell do you think I chose you as my rival," Chizue rolled her eyes at him, rubbing the top of her head. When he didn't respond she paused, then asked, "Why did you save me?"
"Wha?" Ikkaku grunted.
"That day in Rukongai when we were kids... why did you protect me?"
He looked away, turning his head to look back towards the dojo. "You weren't fighting that man as an equal. He didn't see you as a challenge. He saw you as an easy target. You don't get to choose an easy target and then feel all proud of yourself. That just makes you pathetic. You couldn't fight back, so I flattened his ass."
When Chizue was silent, he looked back at her, judging her expression, but he couldn't glean anything from the look in her eyes. He sighed and leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. "Look. If you want to surpass me, then I won't stop you. I won't make it easy, but I won't tell you what goal to pick for yourself. But don't make me your benchmark for success. You survived the hollow takeover. You survived what a lot of this division didn't. Hell, we thought you were dead until we were popped back here with that godly power crap. Kita made sure no one in Zaraki Division was left to fight back, but you didn't just roll over and die. And it wasn't just luck. You decided you weren't going to die, and you grabbed life by the balls and refused to let go."
Chizue let out a laugh he had never heard from her before. It wasn't the witchy cackle he was used to hearing. It was a soft giggle. He blinked, thinking he was going deaf or brain dead. No way in hell Chizue Nakamura just giggled. Obviously noticing the look on his face, she coughed, flushing pink and turned away, crossing her arms again.
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Post by Chizue Nakamura on Feb 22, 2023 0:16:23 GMT -6
Chizue thought on his words for a long, silent minute. Eventually, she spoke again. "But... I couldn't save them... I tried... I tried to help as many of us as I could. I even used healing kido... but I couldn't do anything." She pulled her hat from her back and placed it on top of her head, trying to hide her eyes as she felt the sting of tears burn them.
"They died fighting for what they believed in. Don't take that from them by blaming yourself," Ikkaku said to her, his tone less harsh and blunt.
Chizue nodded slowly. "Yeah... What they believed in..." She stood up from the bench, grabbing her zanpakuto swords and fixing them back to her hip. She picked up the towel. Before walking away she paused. "Ikkaku... what if fighting wasn't my whole life? What if my purpose in life wasn't just chasing the next strong opponent like you and the captain and the rest of Zaraki Division?"
"You asking me if we'd kick you out if it wasn't?" Ikkaku rephrased her question. When she didn't respond, he answered with a shrug. "It's your life. You do whatever the hell you want. Ain't nobody got a right to force you into their box of ideas. If you want to dress pretty and wear make up and go out with your girlfriends on Friday nights instead of fighting in the dojo with a bunch of sweaty, bloody men, then do whatever the hell makes you happy."
"Ugh," Chizue huffed, shaking her head. She began walking away, heading towards the barracks.
"What?! WHAT THE HELL DID I SAY THIS TIME?!" Ikkaku shouted at her.
"Goodbye Ikkaku," Chizue said over her shoulder. "Conversation is over."
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Post by Ikkaku Madarame on Feb 22, 2023 0:19:23 GMT -6
Ikkaku clicked his tongue and stood up, walking off in the opposite direction. "Women. I got a fucking headache now," he rubbed his bald head, his brows pulling together. "That's what I get for trying to have a normal conversation with that crazy chick." He strode off, going nowhere in particular, deciding to wait until he knew Chizue would be home and in her room for the rest of the day before he headed back to his own barracks. --END-- "Doctors Visit?": |
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