A baker and his assistant [Inv]

SEARCHING IN THE DARKNESS

WE ARE CREATURES OF THE NIGHT

RUNNING FROM THE DAY

There would be no bread making today, no smell of warmth or sweetness to welcome any stray customer. All that dared venture near the well known establishment would be greeted with a closed indefinitely sign. Deep within its very walls however, a silver haired man, shirtless, sweaty and wielding a seemingly ornate katana stood panting somewhat heavily. Immediately three humanoid shadows would appear , forming a rather close triangle around him, each moving to attack him almost simultaneously. Ducking one attack from the front, the vizard would kick out with his left leg to catch the other shadow from the back as his sword arm glided through the air to cut through the shadow that stood perpendicular to the pair .

His motion fluid and instinctual the vizard woul pivot on his right to catch the other shadow with a swiftly executed roundhouse before dispatching the other shadow behind him with an arcing slice to the midriff. Only one shadow remained and before it could react a volley of bala would perforate its body, turning it into Swiss cheese. As each of the shadows dissapated the vizard would rise back up to a standing position, before exhaling deep and slow to calm himself.

A little rusty, he murmured to himself, but nothing that can’t be remedied with a little training. The years had been kind to Caesar as they generally were with most shinigami who had quite the lifespan. At his two hundred and thirty years he might as well have still been considered (and still looked like) a young adult barely out of their twenties. Sheathing his zanpakuto the vizard focused on steadying his breathing. That was the one thing that needed immediate attention, months of running around a bakery had kept it somewhat stable, but it was nothing compared to the rigours of combat. His mind replaying the events of Theocolese’s visit. He was naive to think that he’d never have to draw his blade again, especially after his encounter with the quincy in Hueco Mundo, the threat of the quincy however, also lay at the doorstep of the gotei and as much as he wanted to, the vizard could no longer stick his head in the sand.

It wasn’t long before his mind wandered to Ain, it had been awhile since he last saw his assistant. At first he’d simply held her absence down to the fact that the gotei were getting suspicious, but now with a potential war on their hands it made sense that they would stop sending her to the human world in order to help fight off the quincy threat. Still the vizard couldn’t help but miss the fearless, if somewhat annoying blonde with knack for disrespecting authority. As much as she was a danger to the bakery, the place was a lot more quiet without her and his customers were the first to pick up on this thought thankfully it didn’t stop them from returning.

He couldn’t dwell on the thought of them now, some would definitely have come today for their daily fix of bread and beverage but their slight grievance was something that would have to come second in the baker’s mind. He didn’t know when it was Theo would disappear but when he did, the vizard would have a second apprentice he needed to look out for, for her sake he needed to be at his best. Yet even he knew there was only so much reiatsu shadows and summoned clone would be able to do, he’d have to go out and seek combat and it was that very thought that caused Cae to hesitate somewhat. Deep down inside, as much as he hated it, there was something about fighting that, for lack of a better word, turned him on and it was a sensation that had only grown once he’d fused with Eac. The monster that was his inner hollow would remain permanently in check, but as recompense Caesar found himself taking on the inner hollow’s more sadistic tendencies. Even he knew full well it only took one trip to death’s door and the inner hollow’s shackles would be undone.

It was for that very reason he trained, he had to be sure that when he eventually would go out, he was back to his self. At the very least that would also help keep the monster in check. His breathing having steadied Cae would now focus on stretching and excercises to relax his muscles and keep them supple, lord knew how much tightness needed to be kneaded out. (chuckle) Yes his customers would have to wait, but in the scheme of things the fate of the world was a more important thing.