Hakuda Saturday [Open]

Intending to train the following techniques.




Gaen had wandered up to the Hakuda training field on this lovely Saturday morning, trying to make use of his day off to help train up his skills. He wasn’t going to his division’s training dojo for one specific reason: Fourth division didn’t really have one. There was a place in the building meant for combat training, but it was presently being used as a storage space for excess beds and food trays, so there was a bit too much clutter to freely train in. Now, despite being a medic, Gaen felt he really needed to work on his fighting skills since there had been a recent encounter that could have come to a much better outcome had he been in better fighting shape. Right now he was endeavouring to bolster his combative repertoire with a few moves he had practiced briefly with a friend, but needed a little more work to bring them into full muscle memory.

When he got up to the field, he dropped his medical bag, and shuffled his upper robes off, showing the lack of right arm and impressive array of scars decorating his right side. He fished out a roll of gauze, wrapping the strip of fabric around his stump to hide the unpleasant sight as much as he could. He personally didn’t mind his scars, they didn’t bother him at all physically, but he didn’t want to worry or bother anybody else who may come up to the training field. He would have just kept his robes on, but unfortunately, the flowing fabric interfered with his particular martial art.

He grabbed his bag and robes, walking over to the training dummies where he first spotted a fellow busily smacking one of the unmoving sparring partners. It was Gaen’s intent as well to hit one of the dummies, but a living breathing person to train with was always preferable despite the possibility of mutual harm.

Hi there! Um, if it’s not too much to ask, would you mind horribly if I joined you? Gaen asked, a quick bow mixed in with his request.

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My name is Gaen, unseated, Fourth division. He said in reply to Honoka’s introduction, though he was a little surprised at the substitute Shinigami part. Gaen had never met one of their living proxies from the moral plane, which made enough sense he supposed. It was a fairly rare instance for a substitute Shinigami to be conscripted, let alone make trips to the hospital. He briefly wondered how they took care of their injuries and such without a medical detachment in the human realm, but figured they probably went to human hospitals instead. It made Gaen think about inquiring after semi-permanent medical facilities for the field, which would be handy for emergency cases with patrols, as well as the substitutes. He made a mental note to look into that as he walked over to the ‘sparing ring’ which was just a cleaned up circular patch of dirt.

Gaen stayed near the edge of the circle, bowing in respect and as the ‘technically’ official beginning to their spar. He dropped into a low stance, shifting his body weight back and forth as his feet moved rhythmically, as if he could hear some music in the distance that he was dancing to. His one good arm changed position in front of his face from left to right guard in pace with his feet.

So, did you come to the Seireitei just to train? He asked as he bolted forward in a quick jump, planting his hand as he landed to cartwheel closer to Daichi. He landed within kicking distance, using the momentum to bring his foot up into a very sudden round house kick aimed at the substitute shinigami’s right shoulder. Because Soul Society has some interesting tourist attracitons most overlook in their day to day if you’re interested after this. Gaen said happily, indulging in an odd habit he had of talking during fights. He didn’t like ‘just fighting’ and having a pleasant conversation during a spar helped take his mind off the fact that he was trying to knock somebody silly.

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Gaen felt his blow come in contact with the Daichi's arm, reflexively pulling his foot back to lessen the blow. There was a sharp thud sound, but Gaen hoped that his sparring partner didn't feel that too badly. He looks well practiced, probably uses his arms for blocking a lot, most likely didn't feel a thing. He thought as he watched how Daichi moved. He followed through with the round house kick and flowed back into his lower 'dancing' stance, bobbing and weaving in his rhythmic pattern.

That's a shame that you only come here to train, I mean, the view from Sokyoku hill is really breath taking! He said, remembering the last time he had gone up to the former execution grounds. It was actually a little ironic that the place where such a gruesome ritual had taken place so many times had the most stunning view of Seireitei that you could find. The last time he had been up there was the during the cherry blossom festival, and it was quite beautiful. It had made him wish he knew how to use the camera on the phone thingamjig they gave him. Still, he could understand him trying to use his time here productively since a commute through dimensions wasn't something one wanted to have to do particularly regularly. He wondered why reflexes wouldn't transfer from the physical to the spiritual body though, trying to riddle out why the biology would become a stopping point. It was true though that shinigami operated on a much faster level than the average human, and substitutes, as far as he was aware, had very limited access to their rietsu in their human form. He logged the idea as something that required a little more study, maybe he could visit the library and look the matter up more closely.

He watched as Daichi came in with a left punch aiming towards his right side, which made sense. Gaen was most often attacked from that direction since the vast majority of his sparring partners (of which there were admittedly few) viewed it as his weak side. However, that would only be true if Gaen ever really defended with his arms, which was rare since his left arm acted more like a leg when he was in a fight. Gaen flipped onto his hand, bringing his left foot up to meet with Daichi's incoming fist to push the attack away. When the feint came to light, Gaen was literally upside-down and in no real danger of being punch in the stomach. However, to avoid being punched in the groin, Gaen switched which leg he was using to defend with. He didn't have time to do it properly of course, and what was supposed to be a fist meeting a foot became a fist coming in contact with a knee cap. It didn't hurt so much as feel a little funny, but Gaen was at least a little concerned for his sparring partners fist. He figured that the man likely had stern knuckles though and decided to press on.

He fell down to his forearm and side, using the speed of the fall to fuel the speed of his legs as he twisted his pelvis and brought his legs into a wide corkscrew sweeping motion. His aim was to take Daichi's legs out from under him because while Gaen was very comfortable fighting close to the ground, few others were and it gave him an advantage against the very, very many fighters with more experience than him. Hey, I'm sort of curious, how does one actually get a job as a substitute shinigami? It's not like you can just submit a resume or join the academy while in the human realm. He asked as he tried to trip Daichi up.



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Ya, it did used to be an execution ground, but it's never used for that anymore. Gaen said as he felt his feet come in contact with Daichi's leg and deftly knock them away. Most of the time it's just a big empty field, and it's easy to forget it's sordid history. He had often walked along that 'big empty field' and thought expressly of the places history, having been staunchly against capital punishment for the entirety of his memory. From what he understood, it was also largely against the rules here in Seireitei and needs very special and specific permission to be enacted. Still, he knew he shouldn't hold the history of a place against it, let the bad decisions of past men pollute what something could become. Like a lovely look out spot for instance. Knowing the sad fact that people had been killed there is an important reminder of things that should never be repeated, but it shouldn't subtract from the beauty of the world. He said as he followed through with his leg sweep and came back up to his feet, again in his back and forth swaying motion.

The wild kick from Daichi was a little too far off the mark as the man went into a backward roll, but it did stop Gaen from pursuing right away to press his advantage. It was around this moment that Daichi mentioned Kurotsuchi, and a chill ran down Gaen's spine. Gaen was of the opinion that no sentence ever began with 'Kurotsuchi' and ended well, so he wasn't particularly surprised that the following story involved human experimentation and a ludicrously high mortality rate. I find it hard to believe that this 'captain' is still getting away with such insane activities! Gaen said with no attempt to mask the contempt in his voice. If there were ever somebody that Gaen could say he actually 'hated' it was the twelfth division captain. Even the bloodthirsty and hyper violent captain of the eleventh division along with all of the combat divisions' inhabitant warranted a mild dislike with a similarly disliked understanding of why a division of those specialized in violence was considered necessary. It must have been a horrible experience! On behalf of Soul Society, I want to apologize for such inexcusable behaviour on our part! He said, fighting the reflex to stop fighting entirely to bow in respect and recompense. Daichi was here to hone his fighting skills, and in this Gaen was at least hoping to provide an adequate sparing partner.

He lunged forward and planted his hand, coming into a swift cartwheel and extending a leg to try and kick at Daichi's left thigh. It was an attempt to hobble the man with an attack to a major muscle group, but it was at this time that Gaen noted the kick that Daichi was coming forward with. As much as he tried to wriggle out of the way, the best Gaen could manage to do was put his ribcage in the line of fire. He felt Daichi's foot against his left side, an attack that certainly stung. Gaen tried to roll with the hit, not certain if his own blow had connected as he rolled back into his swinging stance.

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Gaen was a little surprised when Daichi had mentioned that he considered himself lucky to have been at least unconscious during the whole experience with Kurotsuchi. While he would have to admit, if the choice was presented to him as to whether or not he had to be awake for a procedure of any variety, he would happily enjoy anaesthesia; however, he thought the 'bad luck' of being in Twelfth division for an operation was greater than any good fortune Daichi may have experienced. It was sort of like being stabbed in the stomach and considering yourself lucky that you didn't get both kidneys skewered. Being lucky in this instance would have been avoiding the whole terrible ordeal in the first place!

You have an astoundingly positive outlook on life. Gaen blurted out as Daichi flipped overhead, also realizing the irony of himself, a person usually considered hopelessly optimistic, noting another persons' overarching positivity. He spun on the ball of his foot as Daichi landed and saw the roundhouse kick coming, himself having used a similar strike earlier on in this very bout. Gaen pitched forward, bringing his hand down directly in front of him and raised up his right foot in retaliation to the roundhouse kick. Ideally, the kick would sail overhead and his foot would come forward to smack Daichi in the face with his heel.

While I personally didn't have a hand in the dealings of this 'operation' I have to admit I feel guilty by association. I am a shinigami, and we are supposed to be held to high standards of morallity as we govern the afterlife in a manner of speaking. He said, pulling his foot back and doing a back flip into his dancing stance again to make some space, regardless of whether or not his attack had made contact. As for other tourist locations, I highly suggest the Fourth Division Gardens. We try and keep it as lush and peaceful as possible for the patients to wander. Oh, and there is a wonderful food district, lots of variety and generally very good.

Word Count: 349