A "Routine" Patrol

A routine patrol. That's what she had bee told. So far, Atsuko had seen nothing that would leave her to believe it was anything but, as she leaped from rooftop to rooftop above Karakura town. This was also why she hadn't wanted to go on the patrol. It was boring, all things considered. Sure, it was a change to get out an get some real exercise, and see the human world once again, but Atsuko figured she could have done something much more productive back at the division headquarters.

Unfortunately, it was Captain's orders. Erika had it in her mind that Atsuko had been cooped up in her office for too long, thus the reason for having her replace one of the regular patrols. There was some other logic to it as well; there had been reports of heightened spiritual activity in the area lately. So, that meant there was a possibility that she might encounter something. However, with each step she took, she drew closer to the end of her route. Perhaps it was a fluke? Either way, she was going to have to report an uneventful night if nothing turned up. So, with a light sigh, Atsuko continued on, choosing the roof of what looked like a school for her next stepping stone.

Espionage, a mission that could not be handled from anyone else than him; Atsushi Saburo. He is the only man that the Council holds confidence in achieving such kind of missions. After all it was his specialty; assasination and espionage hold many similarities except for the fact that there is no killing involved.


It has been a while since he has started following this shinigami. Though she could have noticed the presence that kept following her, she didn't seem much to be into what she did. Probably patrolling he thought as he saw her leaping toward the school's roof.

The last part of the mission was what he detested though; learn of his/her intentions. He only accepted this mission as it was the only that he could complete with higher chances of success. But it would be impossible for any being to just tell its intentions to a complete stranger. Consequently, the only feasible way to make her confess her intentions was interrogating her. A method that he loathed as it may involve beating her.


Alas, he vanished from the corridor he was standing and before she could leap on the next building's rooftop, he appeared in front of her "Greetings, nice day isn't it?" he introduced himself with a friendly manner.

It was at the apex of her leap that Atsuko noticed something off. She hadn't noticed it before, likely because it was flitting about in unison with her almost, but now that she paid attention, there was another spiritual presence here other than her own. Of course, by the time she realized it, the being abandoned all stealth. Ayaka would have laughed - Atsuko had allowed herself to get careless, and miss a tail that probably would have been obvious near the beginning of her patrol.

"Tch." Atsuko's eyes narrowed into a glare just as the man appeared before her. Reflexively, her right foot slid back slightly, placing her left side a little more to her front. However, she did not reach for the zanpakuto on her back. There was no immediate indication that this man was a threat. Of course, if he was, it was a simple matter to draw her weapon, since Atsuko knew she could do so in the time it took for him to do the same.

"Its decent enough," Atsuko replied, eying the man. He wasn't human - or at least, not a normal one - and he definitely wasn't a hollow. He could likely be one of the disturbances that had been reported a few days ago. "You've been following me." It came out as a statement, as Atsuko was fairly sure it was true. How else would he have known exactly when to pop out? Either way, his reply would either confirm or deny it, which would possibly tell her how she should react.

"And here I thought you were leaping unconsciously, perhaps I have underestimated you a bit" said the hooded man with a rather vehement and kind of amused tone. "But before drawing your blade, don't you think you should listen to my reason of following you, miss?" he applied in reference to her fighting stance. Then he peered at her searchingly, until his gaze met hers.

"Can you blame me for being cautious?" Atsuko asked, her stance remaining the same. His answer had all but confirmed her suspicions that he had been following her. "You were following me, after all. Since you don't know me personally, you know me for what I am. Therefor, you either follow me because you wish to hunt me, or you follow me because of curiosity - a hunt for information, so to speak." It seemed logical. That was a skill ingrained in her by Ayaka - speak your mind. In hearing your own words, it became much easier to understand and make sense of them. "Which is it then? Are you a threat, or simply curious?"

He let out a distant sigh before replying to her rather suspicious answers "It seems that my options are limited." he expressed his thoughts with a grinning face. "Perhaps my efforts to come approach you peacefully were futile...in this case-" he raised his right arm, showing his quincy cross to the shinigami, before gathering spirit particles with it.


"The use of violence is permitted." he said with a dejected look on his face before directing reishi to his crossbow which he was holding on his hand and firing five arrows toward her, with her chest as target.

Atsuko figured the man had never planned on doing this peacefully. Someone who had that in mind never resorted to violence so early. "You're a threat, then," she said, drawing the long blade from her back as the Quincy revealed his bow. She was more than ready by the time he fired his arrows, thanks in part to having remained vigilant throughout the exchange. Atsuko quickly slid to the left and pivoted slightly on her left foot in the process to both dodge the arrows narrowly, and present a smaller target to her opponent.

As she did this, Atsuko began to mutter something quietly, probably too much so for her opponent to hear. "Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man..." She did not attack either. Rather, her left hand was at her left side, and the nodachi in her hand at her right. After dodging the arrows, she began to slowly pace around the Quincy...

Is that an incantation of a Kido Spell? he wondered and acted adequately. He vanished from her sight by using a skillful Hirenkyaku and appeared on a higher spot than her. "Though you skillfuly evaded my laughable attack, I cannot guarantee what will happen to you if we continue this fight." he said in a clearly underestimating matter.

"So what do you say?" he asked her, deciding to settle matters in a more peaceful way.

"Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws..." Atsuko continued mumbling the incantation, keeping the same stance until the Quincy vanished with his own version of shunpo. She simply turned her head to regard him with a smirk. After attacking her like that, not only was he taunting her, but he was offering her peace? Clearly, he didn't know who he was dealing with.

"I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request," Atsuko replied, before muttering one final thing under her breath. "Hadou number 33..." In that instant, she vanished with her own shunpo, using the quick burst to take her directly above the Quincy. Her left palm was aimed directly down at him as she shouted the last word. "Sokatsui!" A compact ball of blue fire shot down towards him. As she had used the full incantation, it was a good deal more potent than if she had been quick about it.

Despite being fully prepared for the attack, it seems that he had underestimated the fact that it covered a quite wide area. His first action was to barely evaded by bringing his body away with a single leap, but just before the spell could prove fatal, he vanished completely and luckily evaded danger.

With a proximity of a few metres, he appeared standing to her right flank "Then I will have to comply in the appropriate manner fitting this situation..." he said and took a look in her face "by leaving the scene and attributing superiority to you." he calmly announced his choice and headed backwards with a relaxed pace.

Atsuko landed, and calmy turned to face the man. It wasn't too surprising that her attack had missed, since Quincy had a technique similar to shunpo. However, his words did surprise her - he was giving up? It seemed rather suspicious. However, Atsuko did not follow him. She had orders to patrol, not to hunt. So, if this truly was the end of their encounter, then she would head back to Soul Society. She would only do so once she could no longer feel the Quincy's Reiatsu though, lest she leave herself open to attack.

"But then again, I think I will defy fate" he expressed his thoughts in a superstitious manner before turning back instantly and shooting another volley of six arros, directing them vertically towards her direction. He regenerated another arrow in his crossbow, but yet he didn't release it purposely, waiting her to make her move, while he stared, more focused, at her direction so as to attack her more swiftly and precisely by the time she reacts.

Having been prepared, mentally, for the retreat to be a feint, Atsuko was not surprised when the Quincy unleashed another volley of arrows. This time, they were better aimed, and more precise - he meant business. That meant Atsuko had to step it up as well. She was also growing rather tired of him, so she didn't want to delay this any longer.

"Tsumetai hen'iki ni hawotonaeru!" Just before the arrows hit, Atsuko's nodachi lengthened, changing into an exotic looking polearm, which she spun up above her head in her right hand, simultaneously sliding to the side a few feet as she deflected a pair of the arrows, while allowing the rest of them to slam into the ground. One managed to nick her calf as she moved, but it was of no consequence. However, Atsuko did not attack the Quincy. The polearm was held at her side, ready to bat away an attack, while her left hand was held out. A strange mist seemed to be gathering around it, collecting near her palm.

He peered searchingly at the mist she gathered around her palm and at her stance, he realized shooting arrows now would be a complete waste of both time...and arrows. "I acknowledge your abilities...your reflexes are unique but your stance is a bit flawed" he said as he regenerated another arrow but this time it was a bit different than the others. It had a lingering hue of red and was a tad longer than his common arrow, overall coated with white.

He let the arrow leave and softly muttered "Bakuyaku Ya". His aim was not her but the ground in front of her. As soon as the arrow collided with the ground, an explosion followed which could easily cover the radius she was within, unless she had another trick her on her hands.

Considering what she was doing, Atsuko was forced to wait longer than she wanted to before dealing with this new attack. The mist collecting by her left hand formed into a three and a half foot long javelin, made entirely out of ice. Taking hold of the Javelin, Atsuko moved just as the Quincy launched his arrow.

Instead of using shunpo, Atsuko leaped straight up, aiming to pass the arrow as it shot towards the ground. The plan succeeded, though she had timed it a little late due to having to form the javelin. As such, she was partially caught in the blast - instead of using it as a boost entirely. The blast burned off a good inch or two from the bottom of her uniform, and she could feel the heat searing her calves. Aside from that though, the blast also provided her the boost she had hoped, launching her upwards at the Quincy.

Provided she could get within range, Atsuko aimed a quick thrust with her zanpakuto, with a followup to be determined based on how he reacted.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The zanpakuto, if you haven't seen it:

Spoiler:

The ash filled the area around the shinigami and disabled his sight of her, until she saw her leaping toward him with a threatening polearm on her hands. His first reaction and thought as well was to distance himself from the enemy with a Hirenkyaku and appear a few metres behind the point she would land. He quickly reach his pocket to take a vial and hurled it towards her landing area.

" Gritz " he exclaimed and a man-sized pentagonal quincy cross instantly enveloped the area while she was mid-air.

Atsuko wasn't surprised that he had dodged the strike, although she couldn't help but be a little disappointed. However, his plan seemed to be somewhat flawed. She heard him speak, and saw him toss something on the ground, resulting in a pentagram appearing on the ground she would touch down on. There was one problem with this, one glaring error that the Quincy had forgotten about.

Spiritual beings, such as Quincy and Shinigami, could create footholds in midair, and as such, they could essentially stand on thin air. Even though she was only a foot or two above the ground, Atsuko still had this ability. She wasn't about to chance landing in that pentagram, and as such she kicked sideways, drastically altering her course and sending her around the pentagram instead of towards it. At the same time, once on her new course, Atsuko twisted in the air to launch the javelin at the Quincy. It traveled with speed rivaling an arrow, and was aimed at his center of mass.

This time more prepared than before since he had sight of her. He was surprised to see that his attack failed and muttered curses about fate, Gods and other such stuff. His hand still in his pocket, he didn't let a single moment to waste, he swiftly took it out and aimed her with it.

Just as she was about to throw the ice-encased javelin of hers, he said " Wolke ". Three blue beams came out from the vial, shot towards her direction. The collision between two of the beams and her flying javelin, created a sudden blast, followed by a intense black smoke and sent her javelin flying upwards. The last beam remained focused on her direction, the shinigami.

The javelin, being made only of ice regardless of its thickness, snapped in half from the impact, and as the two pieces spun away, the faded into mist. It had served its purpose however, leaving her with only one beam to deal with. Slamming her feet to the ground, Atsuko skidded to a stop and spun her polearm, arcing the blades of the weapon upwards in a vertical slash that connected only with air.

"Shouhi no Shimo!" she yelled, in time with the slash. At that moment, a three foot crescent moon-shaped blade of ice launched from the polearm, oriented vertically as it flew at Atsushi. It was not aimed to intercept the third beam, however - rather, it passed by it, its target the Quincy. The smoke would help conceal it. The beam, however, Atsuko planned to take on the shaft of her polearm, knowing the risk, but understanding the rewards it could offer later.

The smoke was certainly a problem for him, that would prove costly in return for his reckless attacks. And it did; he barely saw through the dense smoke but he managed to take a glimpse of something. He reacted by using a Hirenkyaku and gaining foothold in mid-air by condesing reishi around his feet.

He observed as her attack in form of a vertical flying blade, passed through that spot which if it hadn't been for his vigilance, he would lie on the ground, sliced in half by it. He brought an arrow from one of his robe's inner pockets, it looked black and was coated by a pitch of black, constantly exhaling a black smoke. He put it on his crossbow and was ready to aim at the girl, but he hesisated.

"You fight well, for a woman that is, and you have gained my respect. Pardon me for my intrusion. I will take my leave but remember this; our fight is still on the run" he said to the girl with a soft smile before using an impressive Hirenkyaku to leave the scene, this time permanently.

[END]
((OOC: Zaf said that he would approve us if we had at least 10 posts. So here we are ^^.))

"For a woman." Atsuko managed to deflect the beam off the shaft of her polearm as expected, ducking down a bit to dodge that which was not blocked. She was a little annoyed that the Quincy had fled so early, though she did find it amusing how he had misread her latest attack.

Still, the fight was over. Sealing away her shikai, Atsuko stabbed the zanpakuto into the air and twisted it, opening a senkai gate that would take her back to the Soul Society. At the vey least, this would turn into an interesting report.

I hate to admit that I will have toapprove this, truly.

Welcome aboard Koizuki and enjoy your fighting here.