A New Face [Inv]

She really was a breathe of fresh air, having a very playful, almost childish aura to herself at times. She was seemingly excited, to some degree, to be training with the Taichou-- noting it as something that was special, in some way. As she mentioned for him to follow, and if he could keep up with her, he made sure to make it seem as though he was always going to stay behind her is she kept moving that fast. However, Ryuusuke was holding back with the intent to keep her unaware of just how fast he was. Hohou was his strongest trait as a Shinigami, along with his Zanpakuto.

Arriving into the open training grounds along with her, it felt nice to inhale the oxygen out here, rather than it did inside. A soft breeze whirled past him as he looked wayward to Shizuka, who he had stood opposite to just 5 meters away. It was a lot of flat grassy planes, with a few knobs and knolls, but only the dojos in the distance proved to be a real obstacle. With Hakuda being the subject matter, it wouldn't be hard to avoid destroying anything-- Besides each-other.

" I'm gonna feel just awful when I bruise that pretty little face of yours. "

It seemed Ryuusuke still couldn't bottle up his charm, if you could call it that. Normally he was very reclusive, but ever since this injury he had received, Ryuusuke knew he was wasting what little time he had in this life. He was trying to enjoy himself the best he could. This was a good start, making torts to the fierce girl who always seemed to share identical remarks back to him.

" Try not to let down your guard, and I mean really think about it. When you strike, you almost always leave an opening. You need to have foresight of that opening being made-- Hakuda is a very predictable fighting style. Especially the less knowledgeable you are, everything appears more elementary and easy-to-read from the get-go. "

Stretching his one arm, back, and even his neck and legs to warm up, Ryuusuke was hoping she would do the same. It was healthy to do so, but not to mention he wouldn't mind seeing her do some yoga-esque stretching. Females were known for being much more flexible, something that actually allowed her somewhat of an advantage if she cultured her talents.

" Just get limber, loosen yourself up. I mean, I am doing it from force of habit when I spar-- Also because I was injured. I don't want to strain myself too easily, I've got duties to take care of when I get back to the Hachibantai. One I have had the time to take part in as of recently because of my wound is all the lovely paperwork. "

Thinking about the pain of the paperwork, he didn't know what would be worse to him. Another stack of paperwork to go through when he got back to his office, or Shizuka burning out his ailments and birthing new flesh. It was almost like a phoenix. A really painful, almost mean phoenix.

" You can try to strike me first. I'll even ask please? "

He had wanted to see what her strikes were capable of if all he did was try to dodge or dampen the damage he would sustain through footwork and perhaps some blocks-- If need be. She too could likely be agile and fluent on her feet. Still there wasn't much stopping Ryuusuke from getting hurt by any of this if she struck hard, and true. Well, perhaps some knowledge on where to strike would also benefit her-- But he had no doubts she knew where to hit him to cause pain.

She brought forth her figure with relative ease, in a manner just as swift as the kick aimed for his wounded side. He had anticipated her to go for weak spots, and all he had to do now was side-step just to have her miss by a small margin, his left hand now in a position to securely grasp the leg's ankle and heel that had risen up, nullifying the momentum she had and holding her there.

Not exactly a smart move if she was as quick as he, but Shizuka probably didn't realize her other leg, which was being used to maintain balance, could lash up at this moment if she had anticipated the grab, and smack him across the head with more than enough force to daze him and force him to let go-- At the very least. He quickly pushed the foot he held against her position, likely causing her to stumble back without falling until she caught her balance.

However, Ryuusuke didn't give her much time to do so, wanting to force her reflexes and impulses into adapting to this style of combat by pressuring her to make split-second decisions-- So that she may learn from good experience. Dodging was smart, but you didn't win by solely dodging. She needed to devise counter-strikes, maybe use a little footwork to dodge whilst she commenced said strikes.

Regardless Ryuusuke had moved forth with haste but not speed, and when he was just a moment before her-- He had jumped into the air with both heels facing her upper body, namely her chest. It wasn't all that fast, but the force behind it held all the kinetic force of his leg and back muscles pushing against his heels and feet-- Meaning it would probably plow right into her chest and put her on her ass, should it connect.

He was really hoping she would dodge or react though, so that he didn't have to hit her, because no matter what he would feel bad in some way. That, and he genuinely wanted Shizuka to get better. Ryuusuke hadn't much time to personally train people, like his father did him before his passing, and it gave him an internal sense of ease-- Peace of mind, to be able to help someone else.

As he committed to an action that he was going to come to regret, there was still a shred of joy, soon cancelled by the pain of her foot striking his backside. Due to her rotating motion, even though it was working against gravity, had allowed her to set him off course in his flight. He had gone a few feet higher in the air and rotated due to her strike off-setting his balance, his eyes and head swiveling to look at her as her poised himself to land on his two feet and hand.

Ryuusuke was behind her by a few meters (no more than 5), albeit he had managed to be facing her, almost landing like a cat would. He landed in a kneel, however, taking a stand as his only arm, the left, rubbed the part that was now sore from being struck. She too was on the ground in some manner, sparing Ryuusuke some time to speak.

" You seem to be getting the hang of this. "

As soon as she would turn to face him, that's when Ryuusuke waited to strike. A Shunpo matching his best would guide him to occupy the space just before her, and his single hand sought to wring around her neck at a withheld speed. Either she would prove fast and witty enough to escape the grip, or she would need to act swiftly and strike him out of the hold-- Because his grip constricted with every second, slowly forcing her throat to collapse if she did nothing-- Asphyxiation.

Internal guilt tugged at his muscles slightly to relieve her, because while he held back in speed, the potential of each move he made was quite grave if she did nothing. The point of this was to scare her into acting- Fight or flight. In this scenario, the fight wasn't exactly real-- But the pain was real. The inability to breathe daunting. So it forced her mind to believe in it all-- But most of all herself.

With his hand clenching her throat, he looked at her with a leer, although eye-contact was broken shortly after by her palm, thrusting his chin and face up away-- Breaking his concentration as well as his visuals on her.

This is getting fun.

Even further, a punch in his gut had delivered a sensation that even he didn't like very much at all. His hand retreated by impulse, and he gasped for air forcefully due to her making him exhale all the air he held within. However, another Shunpo guided him to her right side after her two points of contact were made-- Her right hand in front of her whilst Ryuusuke was again, at her right side.

She had a possible, and even powerful follow-up attack with that right hand if she knew to use it swiftly enough. He was setting her up for success in the sense that, if only she knew what to do either by instinct or planned thought, it would likely show her improvements in Hakuda all-the-better. Regardless, his left hand made a fist and struck for the right side of her ribcage. It was fast, but not strong enough to crack any ribs or do any real internal damage. Perhaps a pretty wicked bruise would appear, at best, but the pain was what he meant to inflict.

But the games were just beginning.