Shameful Son Meets the Ariya Yakuza's Demon

Kendo and meditation were unintentionally joined on this dark day. His sword swings matched the rhythmic tilting pattern of the single bamboo fountain to the farthest edge of the damp and sandy ground. Were his mother present he'd be scolded for his empty sword swings. Displays such as this one were proof of lack of concentration and inability to focus. His stiff movements were those of someone whose mind was focused on something else entirely unrelated to his body's current actions.

Left handed downward thrust. Right handed diagonal strike. Left handed downward thrust. Right handed diagonal strike. Each loud clank caused by the bamboo fountain's tilting matched his movements perfectly. His body moved, but he was not there to monitor it.

The deep gray clouds over head blanketed the sky several hours after he'd entered the state, and the dense heavy rain began beating down on him several hours after that. The rain had become heavier as time passed. Before long the rock garden he trained in would become flooded. Still, he would continue to practice, not from desire to improve, but because he would most likely remain completely unaware of what was going on around him.

Left handed downward thrust. Right handed diagonal strike. Left handed downward thrust. Right handed diagonal strike. He'd probably remain in his broad squatted position atop the largest rock of the five, until he passed out from exhaustion; even that wouldn't happen for several more hours. No matter how many times he swung the wooden swords they could not cut down the mental blockade that barricaded his consciousness from the outside world. Only his mother could do that; his mother or a determined outside force.

Left handed downward thrust. Right handed diagonal strike. Left handed downward thrust. Right handed diagonal strike.

Maximus had been scouring the grounds of Seireitei for something to do, his mind extremely bored. As he trudged through the rain which fell like a swarm of tears of the sky crying over some great loss he felt the sky's sadness and knew his longing, it was the longing for a companion whether it be one of love or one of battle, it mattered not, he merely needed another semblance of life to focus his stress into. So as he heard the rhythmic swings of bamboo swords, he entered the flash-flooded garden.

A man in the robes of a shinigami stood upon a rock nearby a curtly overflowing waterfall, repeating his swings emotionless as if he was not even aware he was doing it and seemed more to be in a trance then anything. With each strike he shifted the falling rain, sending out rippling cuts of water through the air. Maximus smiled, truly interested in the man and hoping he may be willing to spar with him in the great rain.

"Would you care to spar?" he called out, yelling to be heard over the downpour.

Left handed downward thrust. Right handed diagonal strike. Left handed downward thrust. Right handed diagonal strike. He continued, completely oblivious to the Shinigami who'd entered the steadily flooding rock garden.

Left handed downward thrust. Right handed diagonal strike. Left handed downward thrust. Right handed diagonal strike. His robes clung to his skin, but this hardly affected his movement. Beads of rain turned fused as his wooden swords flew threw them forming airborne waves of steadily increasing size. The waves flew a short distance before falling from atop the giant rock and into the mass of water still growing above the sandy ground.

Max grew annoyed as the shinigami continued onwards, completely ignoring him, so he decided he'd get his attention. Max leapt upon the rock, grabbed one of the swords during a downward strike, pulled it free with a disarming technique and hopped backwards to land atop one of the garden walls. He smiled playfully, waiting for what would surely turn into a foe from his rudeness' response, but hell, it was worth having a bit of fun...

Left handed downward thrust. Right handed diagonal strike. Left handed-, Yorudan's trance was broken. The shock that followed was due more the the changing weather than the intruder's rudeness. He began to cough up rain water he'd swallowed during his unintentional meditation.

After composing himself he tucked his remaining wooden training instrument into the right side of his belt, near his zanpakuto. After locking eyes with the intruder he quickly thought about whether he should yell at the man for snatching his training sword, or thank him for pulling him from his trance.

The intruder's smile annoyed Yorudan more than his act of rudeness. His playful smirk was most likely the reason he'd decided not to do either. Instead he exhale as he gave a quick nod to the man, hoping he'd just go away. The rock garden was quickly filling with water, it was already past ankle height, who knew how long until it would become knee high.

Max seemed confused at the mans reaction, and again, loudly over the rain he spoke.

"How about a spar?" he called out through the downpour. They were both soaked and the water continued to rise quickly, the irrigation system in Seireitei apparently poorly designed... He held his wooden sword is his left arm, ready to deflect a strike if his foe suddenly struck out, but ready to strike if his foe agreed and drew his own wooden sword.

"A spar?" Yorudan replied. He wouldn't ordinarily entertain such a request; playing with others annoyed him. However, his current predicament was his own fault. Had he not been so distracted he could have walked off the moment he'd first spotted the man and avoided their meeting. Perhaps as a form of self punishment, Yorudan accepted.

He bowed and then politely introduced himself before pulling the wooden sword from his belt once more. "Kurio-Raion Yorudan from the Eighty-First district of South Rukongai ." He spoke as if he were royalty, but those unfamiliar with the slums of Rukongai knew nothing of the unofficial Eighty-First. He'd almost wished he hadn't said it.

Max smiled, what a fun opponent, he'd heard rumors, nothing more, but rumors of a strong force of shinigami in the Eighty-first district. He gave a low bow and replied.

"I am Maximus Ariya previously of the Ariya Yakuza and now a member of the Third Squad," replied Maximus polietly, he saluted the man and a smile spread his features, "Let's begin..." With that he charged forwards, a quick strike at his foe's right arm lashing out as he cut through the dense rain, its pound altering his strike slighlty so it would hit a little to inside, making a difficult parry-resist.

"Ariya Yakuza?" Yorudan replied, knowing full well of the group's existence and past actions. He actually carried the name Ariya, did this make him part of the main branch? "Consider yourself lucky, the Ariya Yakuza never transgressed against those of South Eighty-First. Otherwise my actions here now would undoubtedly lead to my own execution." He continued, his voice slightly irritated, not by the presence of an Ariya Yakuza, but by his own feelings earlier.

The fact that even for a second he regretted naming his place of birth, caused a temporary self-loathing. He knew better than to ever hint or feel as though he were ashamed of where he came from.

As his opponent lept from atop the gate and dashed across the large rock Yorudan stood atop, he stepped into his opponent's strike. He forcefully twisted into the strike while firmly gripping his wooden sword. The moment the wooden blades met a burst of water and bits of wood exploded outwards from the impact. He shoved it back along the sidewards arc it traveled on; it was almost as if Maximus' strike had moved in reverse, at least part way. He took another step forward before lunging the tip of his practice weapon in towards his opponent's chest.

Max's arm lurched backwards, thrown slightly off balance, and as his foe jabbed at his stomach he hopped backwards, the blow losing much of its power. As he did so he slashed downwards in a powerful strike focused on the center of the jabbing wooden blade. His skin was coated with pure blissful rain, his enjoyment flooding him and his days in the Yakuza felt so close now... He relished the moment of adrenaline and focus, his smirk becoming a smile of pure happiness, he licked the rain from his lips as everything seemed to slow down to a point of perfection, rain which pounded slowing to a speed of slow motion, his own strike moving frame by frame...

His mind returned to the present and everything regained its speed, his blissful moment of perfection over, and as it was gone, he felt an emptiness nothing could fill.

Again, an explosion of crystal clear water burst from the point where their practice weapons met. The spherical wave carried thin chips of wood within it.

Yorudan continued pushing forward, he dashed on and lept into the air after his opponent. He moved through watery wave and wooden splinter alike, thrusting the partially damaged tool forward once more, seeking to land a more abusive strike.

The rain had become so heavy that it felt as if he were swimming in a lake as opposed to soaring through the air. As the falling water droplets broke on his face his instrument drew closer and closer to the abdomen of Ariya Maximus.

Max continued backwards, the water slowly dragging him downwards.. A smile still spread his face and in a moment he came down on his opponent with his blade, his bliss breaking away further as his opponent and himself closed in to meet in a force that could part the sea. He lived for this, breathed for this, and in all reality, felt closer to this man then any foe he'd ever faced before. As he sailed through the air, a short distance between them, he cried out in a ecstasy-laden voice.

"You fight with great skill, Yorudan," Max spoke truly, he'd never faced one of his skill, but in reality, was very new, very weak in regards to a shinigami, and such was expected of him, but it still meant something, even if it was only to him, moments separating them from one another, moments which would soon be gone, lost forever to the brutal flow of time as the ground was lost to the brutal flow of the rain...

Maximus' offensive block caused yet another eruption of watery wave and wood chip wood chip.
As the two locked blades the words of Ariya Maximus and the compliment they carried fell on unsuspecting ears. Yorudan knew how well he fought, but he'd never expected any member of the Gotei 13 to make such a statement during training sessions, even if this one wasn't mandatory. Prior to this he only gave just enough effort to avoid being kept after hours for additional practice.

"This is nothing, but I must admit, you've forced me to put more into this fight than I would have had to were I fighting other members of my own squad." As he spoke the sounds of wood slowly cracking peaked through the sounds of the loudly falling rain.

As the two hovered in air, just above the water's surface, the ripples that their own spiritual pressure caused were beaten from sight by the heavy rain; until the rain finally stopped.

Max glanced up and let out a deep laugh, his entertainment simply growing as the rain ended, both weapons greatly damaged. He knew their bout had been destructive to the powerful practice toys, but he'd not expected to come so near to breaking them.

"It looks like the sun has come to smile upon us as we reach a climax," Max said more to himself, but loud enough for all to hear, which wasn't much. He really didn't feel like continuing, the beauty of the newly-cleared sky too pleasing to his eyes for him to easily tear away, and in the water below a reflection of the two soaked warriors. He sniffed the air, the moisture mixed with the smell of wood creating an aroma which pleased him greatly.

He stepped forwards, coming at a cross body right slash with both hands, it was past the point for trickery and games, the sun wanted to watch a fight, so a fight he would give...

"The sun always shines brightest after a storm..." He thought as the new sunlight beamed into his eyes. His eyes had been exposed to the dark stormy setting for so long, that it would be a while before they would fully adjust.

He squinted slightly in an attempt to keep his focus on Maximus, but hooded man had already sprung into action. Yorudan had almost no time to raise his defenses. As his concentration broke, so too did the roughly crafted spirit particles supporting his air stationed body.

As he fell into the water's surface he caught himself before he submerged fully. Ariya Maximus' blade just passed over head before he sprung upwards in an aqueous burst. He rose his damaged wooden blade and aimed it at his opponent's newly exposed right side.

The slip up in controlling his midair stance worked to his advantage this time, but he would not allow it to happen again.

Max cursed as his opponent skillfully fell to avoid the blow, leaving him wide open. His enjoyment was still there, but the damned annoyance was in the back of his mind, killing his buzz. He held his hand downwards in an attempt to stave off his opponent quick enough to recover, but knew it would not be so, moments from the blow landing on his right side he called out loudly, "Bakudo three: Hikari-no mekurumeku!" A blinding flash erupted from his palm, weaker then it would have been if he would've chanted it out, but he hadn't the time, he had to act now...

"Kido?!" Yorudan shouted as he continued upwards. He didn't remember which spell Bakudo three was, but luckily he didn't have to. As he looked on and the beginnings of a bright light resonated from Maximus' hand he froze; the water that was dragged up with him during his jump however, continued upwards. The light that shot forth was fragmented and dimmed by the water's reflective properties.

The resulting multicolored flash faded as the water returned to its resting place atop the sandy grounds of the rock garden. Yorudan took the opportunity to leap backwards away from his opponent.

"Kido, in a wooden sword fight?" He questioned while locking eyes with Ariya Maximus. "I should have known better to expect simple swordplay from one of the Yakuza."

He firmly gripped the training tool as he continued. "Do you have anymore tricks or can we continue?"

"You fight with your skills as a swordsman," spoke Max, his smile faded, "I fight with skills I've known from the street. No honor is gained in how you defeat your foe, only that you defeat him. Where I come from, fair play is a luxury none can afford." Max launched himself at the man, his sword skimming the water as he came at him, an upward strike followed by a trail of water... Such a reaction angered him to the core, he detested such high and mighty thoughts, kido was simply one of his talents whereas swordsmanship was his opponents. To win a battle fairly was to discard tactics and fight on instinct, and that was something Max would never do, tactics had saved him many times, and hopefully it would do so now...

Instead of waiting for the attack to come to him, Yorudan stepped in towards it, bringing his own instrument down to collide with that of his foe before it could gain any real momentum. Their blades were locked in place but the stream of water continued on its upward path before splashing Yorudan's already soaked robes.

"Watch who you're lecturing, Ariya Maximus!" He shouted. "These aren't the streets." He took another step in towards his opponent's center while continuing to angle his instrument in a way that kept both locked in place. "If they were you'd have been slain already for introducing yourself as Ariya Yakuza and then blatantly challenging a Kurio-Raion!" He then quickly brought the hilt of the weapon up and drove it up and in towards Maximus' jaw.

The blow landed in a loud crack, and with it came Max's anger in full fury. In an instant he struck out, angered greatly, slamming his weapon at his opponent while sending off a kick at his striking arm and finished with a headbutt. No matter what had begun it or whether Max had gained respect for the man, he'd just stripped himself of it. Max would show him strength, Max would show him power, and in the end, if the man won, Max would show him respect... But that would wait til it was over, for now Max was out for revenge...

Countering Maximus' sloppy sword swing hardly cost any real effort, Yorudan brought his training sword down on his unprotected sword hand with all the force he could muster in an attempt to disarm him.

His opponent's round house kick however, came as a complete surprise. Prior to this moment Maximus had shown know real skill in terms of unarmed ability, kicking in particular. The kick landed with a brief thud, the shock that ran threw Yorudan's arm caused him to drop his wooden weapon. As it penetrated the water's surface Yorudan lost any hope he had of winning.

The sun beat down on the water's reflective surface and gave the illusion that the two combatants stood suspended atop a lake of golden dust. The bottom of the body of water could not be seen, it made retrieving a lost item impossible, being a person looking down at it would have no way to trace where the object had landed.

Maximus' headbut had not yielded an effect quiet as successful, Yorudan backed just out of reach and avoided any real damage. Still, a busted bottom lip would cause trouble during meals.

"Looks like you kept your unarmed abilities a secret as well." He said loudly. "I suppose the real danger in fighting a Yakuza are the secrets he keeps through out battle. Apparently it's a tactic that works though." He continued. "It's a pity you didn't bring your own training sword. You'd have stood no chance if I fought you with the two handed style I'm accustomed to."

Max dropped his training sword into the golden lake in the first moments, but as his opponent spoke, he took it as the only apology he'd get. His anger melted away, both unarmed, and Max dropped from a fighting stance and let himself fall into the cool lake. As he fell into it and emerged, as if baptizing all anger away, he looked into the golden sun and smiled.

"Maybe next time you may show me your prowess with dual blades," Max said, making no comment of his own prowess with the style, it was his way, to never tell his opponents his tricks amid a fight, nor after, for you always needed a surprise to overcome a foe. He laughed childishly and continued his swim.

"Good day, Yorudan-san," Max said, swimming away playfully, "Thanks for playing with me." In all reality, the sight was confusing... But it was his way, for if he did not enjoy life, what was the point in living, and as always, the thunderstorm always passes, eventually reminding you how beautiful the sky is...

-Complete; Ready for Grading-

DIbs on this one

both of you showed excellent writing skills through out this fight, it started to get a little hazy with the imagery like in the last quarter of the posts, but the bar was already set high so it wasn't that much of an issue.

Afro: you presented great fighting prowess with your writing, nice work, and got your character across fantastically.

Max: you also presented great fighting SKILLS not poise or finesse, more of a mad fighter, which i liked, two opposites fighting each other.

Maxthedemon: 22 exp

Yorudan: 22 exp.

nice work, i hope to see more omakes involving both characters.