[5th/10th] It's Only Destiny

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Lok_Ukaru

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Dec 7, 2006
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[Black] Lok_Ukaru (Lok Ukaru)
[Blue] Seathan Kellar (Roy Karosiji)

Word Count: 10,064
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Roy stood there watching Lok, trying to measure up his new friend as best he could. There was something about the new guy that he couldn't explain. Was it the weather that was getting to him, or maybe a bit of primal instincts. Either way, he wanted to make sure this battle was a long and enduring one. Where he could see the full potential of the other combatant.

"Alright Lok. Come at me from everywhere you can. Oh, and don't hold back from using any means. Even your sword can be used."


Lok drew his zanpakutou from it's sheath. It shined brightly as the dwindled light from around him reflected on it's the metallic beauty. He smirked a little and took a stance that showed preparation for a battle to come. His right arm extendd out with his sword and then gently came to rest about four inches from his side. He moved his feet out as well, getting a litte lower to the ground that he stood over.

"Let's start then..."

Lok sped forward and slashed once with his zanpakutou. He stopped and spun back around on one foot to face his opponent once more. This time around he kept his guard up so that he could be ready for anything that could happen. The boy then started to examine his surroundings thoroughly, while still keeping an eye on his opponent. This battle would go much smoother than his last. He would make sure of that.

The potential that Lok had within him would be shown. The sweat already appearing on his forward was dire proof of this matter. Even if he didn't win. This fight would help become a better fighter, and for now, that was all he needed. Strike that, it was all that he wanted.

It was a good attack, but nothing that was too hard to avoid. Roy just jumped up and over the blade as he landed a few feet away. He wanted to see what the next move would be, but made sure not to show too much interest on his face. Inside however was a different matter, Roy was excited and filled with joy. He was anxious to examine Lok's potential to the fullest of his abilities. He had a good eye for judging people and there was definitely something of interest here.

"Don't hesitate there! If you hesitate you leave yourself open. You can't be sure how strong your opponent is so falling back on the defensive should be a last measure. Instead take the time you have in between attacks to figure out how you're going to hit me."

Roy usually didn't offer advice to his fellow combatant, but he felt compelled to in this case. Often he would simply strike back with a series of direct attacks that would keep his opponent on his toes until he got in just the right position. Then he'd hit them with everything he had to utterly decimate them. But this was different than an all out brawl; it was more of a training session. With combat experience being the goal for his comrade and fun being the reward for himself.


"I'm not wasting time. I've examined you the whole time. You're reaction to my attack, your reaction to it, and the place that you chose to land. It's all factored into my presumptions of the way you fight."

Lok was still staring directly ahead of himself, however, now his head began to move so that his eyes met with Roy's. He smirked and immediately began on the offensive once more. He ran at full speed and slid under his opponent, slicing once on his through. He then leaped back up and jumped up on a rooftop to gain the higher ground. He had to make sure he didn't make any stupid mistakes.

Roy jumped up once again, but swung his left leg out to kick the flat end of the blade aside as it came by. He gave a grin at the little combo made against him. Had his opponent been faster it would have been a lot of trouble reading and then evading that move. Luckily Roy's specialty was speed so he had little to worry about in the matter. Bending the right leg, he spun about the floor, sweeping it so that he could disperse his momentum and maintain his balance at the same time. As his body spun about, he noticed that Lok had decided to take the battle up above to the rooftops rather than to wait around to get pushed around.

"What's he planning to do next? Does he intend to snipe at me with kidou from a distance?"


Lok ran to the side of the roof so that where Roy stood, he could not be seen. From there he scraped some shingles off of the stops with his zanpakutou and let them slide to his right foot. There he let them rest until he needed them. In the mean time Lok shouted down to his opponent.

"Having fun down there?"

More than you'll ever know.

Roy thought to himself before he ran over to the nearby wall and jumped up off it to the roof. He turned his body around mid-way through the jump so that he could get a good view of his surroundings before landing antipodal to Lok's position. Roy slammed his foot down on the roof to knock a shingle up into the air before grabbing it with his left hand and slinging it at Lok like a ninja star. But he didn't stop there, instead of waiting to see if Lok had successfully dodged the projectile, he repeated the process of de-shingling the rooftop and throwing the hardened clay pieces at the young man.

"I told you to stop wasting your time!"


As wonderful as Roy's attacks were, he was hitting nothing. By now he was probably noticing that Lok wasn't anywhere to be seen. The boy had disappeared from the rooftop, leaving his whereabouts undetected. The only thing missing were the few shingles that he had previously removed from the rooftop.

Suddenly two shingles came flying from two direction in the air towards Roy. They were moving rather quickly, and because of their flight patterns their sources were unable to be seen.

"The kid managed to duck away in time.. And that's why he came up here, but didn't use kidou. Smart move."

He leaned out as he brought forth his right leg in a thrust to destroy one shingle while he karate chopped the other with his left at the same time. Lok was definitely taking his advice about planning ahead, but now Roy was reduced to a different kind of game than he had originally thought he'd be playing. It made him eager to find out who would win in this little match. Would Lok tire out and give up before he could get all the hits in? Or would he manage to pin Roy and force him to submit victory to his cunning adversary.

"Alright Lok... Let's play."


One more shingle came from directly above Roy, coming down fast towards his body. In anticipation to the dodge three more shingles were thrown from various directions so that Roy couldn't move very far.

Roy had already set off in the direction where he had last seen Lok, which had saved him from the first shingle and brought his attention to the others as he turned around. He moved his head left to avoid the next one as it barely scathed his right cheek, scoring a hit for Lok as a line of blood drizzled down the side. Roy did a one handed reverse somersault to evade the next one, which landed nearby him.

Lok sprung out from directly behind Roy while he was in the middle of his dodging maneuver. He slashed at his back and then proceeded to take the battle back to the ground floor. Once landing on soil, the boy sliced a few small trees with his zanpakutou, getting some unusually thick branches and tree trunks, about the width of a carpenter's nail.

He stuck his sword firmly into the ground. Then he tossed the sharp branches and tree trunks, which he had before hand sharpened with his zanpakutou, at his opponent. Lok smirked, picked up his blade, and got ready to be on the move again. His pocket was also a little larger than it had been before, making it a little uncomfortable to move. It looked as thought it were holding something.

The blade sliced through a significant portion of both his clothes as it went acrossed his back. He gave a small grunt while finishing his manuveur before giving chase to the sly and tricky rugster. Though he was in for a surprise when Lok flung even more projectiles at him, forcing to jump back atop of the roofs before grabbing one of the wavy tiles used for a shingle and threw it at his foe.

"Two can play at this!"


Lok saw the shingle coming towards him and reacted rather quickly. He sliced through the projectile with his zanpakutou, not even flinching. Both pieces of the shingle went around the shinigami's body and eventually fell to the ground. He gave a bit of a smirk as confidence rushed through his body. He still wasn't going to underestimate his opponent, but for now things would be a bit smoother.

The boy now took his zanpakutou, holding it tightly within his hands, and charged at Roy. This time he accounted for the fact that his target could dodge at any second, so he kept his guard up in case of such an event. As the shinigami's feet hit the top of the roof, he leaped forward with tremendous speed, the air whisking by his face, and slashed once at his foe.

Roy's left hand shot out and took hold of Lok's. He was getting sick of playing the defensive, only throwing in an attack or two of good measure, and thought it was about time to add a bit of excitement to the game. He fell down on his back as it curved to allow him to roll for his planned suplex. Thrusting out his right leg. Roy would use it as a place holder in Lok's stomach as he would throw him headfirst towards the ground past the little bit of ceiling he was standing on. All this time Roy never did bother to take he right arm out of his gi, the restriction used as a means to keep things interesting.

Lok caught himself as he was being tumbled and thrown. His right foot touched the ceiling before he could fall as he used a single step of shunpo. Immediately, he was back on his feet at the edge of the rooftop. Although panting a little, the boy seemed alright.

"Remind me... not to try that again... until later..."

After slowly catching his breath, the shinigami jumped down off the roof to the ground floor. There, he moved his hair back a little and took another deep beath. It was the first time he had ever shunpoed and it was a little scary at first, but he understood how the technique worked now. It did take quite a lot out of him though, so he told himself not to use it unless he absolutely needed to.

Lok shifted his footing a little on the soil. It parted in the direction that his feet moved and some of it swept into his sandals. He didn't notice too much, instead he kept his eyes on his opponent. Roy could be right next to him within a split second, so he had to be prepared for just about anything that may come his way. Again, the shinigami took a deep breath. His eyes darting from his opponent to any possible area that he could end up with his incredible speed. He held his zanpakutou firmly and prepared himself for what was to come.

Roy performed a single handed kip up to his feet before facing Lok. He had to give credit to where it as due; shunpoing in that particular scenario was a very difficult thing to pull off for most people. But Lok made it look easy, so easy that it made Roy want to go in there again and push him around a bit just to see the results. Jumping down to the ground, he noticed that Lok was assuming the defensive once more.

"He better be thinking about what he's going to do next or I'm going to get angry for being short changed."

As the tip of his boot slightly made touching point with the floor, Roy suddenly burst forth like the speed demon he was. Shoulder moving up and down in sequence with his legs, he was running almost as fast as Lok could when shunpoing. Quickly Roy circled about him, going faster and faster as he built up speed and momentum. And as he reached his peak, Roy bolted straight towards with his hand held out just to give Lok a little playful shove.


Lok saw his opponent coming nearer to him. In response he stuck out his body so that he could take the blow, but in doing so, he moved his right arm back for a full movement range. It held his sword. As the weapon glinted in the light, it went at full force into Roy's gut.

Or so Lok thought, because the thing he had forgot about was that Roy's right arm was there all along within the gi. So, although he did get a "hit" by slicing through Roy's clothes, it didn't do any damage as Roy merely moved his right hand to deflect the blade from any vitals. Sparks emerges as the metal in his glove met with that of Lok's sword. Roy smirked at the furvor presented in the heat of battle and, instead of a light tap, took hold of his foe by the face prior to slamming him head first towards the ground.

Only an inch, just one more inch was all it would take for Roy's new friend to feel the pain of smacking into the ground with all that speed. And yet that was the difference between Roy and some other people he knew. Lok was being held by his shirt as Roy looked keenly at him. His brown eyes locking fiercely with that of Lok's.

"Remember, we're simply having fun here. Any more moves like that and there I won't move my hand to catch you before your head bounces like a basket ball."


"And you think I would have made a move such as that is I knew you weren't going to block it. The will to survive, it will drive us towards our choices even if it means breaking a promise or vow we had made previously. I know you weren't going to injure yourself on behalf of this battle."

Lok kicked upwards, releasing him from the grip of the glove that was attached to his gi. Immediately after landing, the boy jumped up to the rooftop directly behind him and readied himself again. This time he was preparing for another attack like the last one. Again, he scratched off some shingles with his zanpakutou and smiled.

"Care to play the same game as before?"

The only answer that was given had been Roy jumping up there to a part of the roof in junxtaposition to Lok. He adjusted his right arm a bit as it still remained within his gi all this time. Roy had kept to the rules of the game, he didn't break them even with the over board push towards the ground. He was merely setting boundaries for which Lok should not cross while also bearing in mind the consequences of failing to play properly. Roy tapped his boot on the tiled roof, up and down did one of the single shingles move in accordance to the movement of his foot. A light tapping noise being produced ever time it rose and then fell.

"Very well, we'll continue playing. You have three hits on me so far. If you manage to hit me ten times, I'll agree to fight you for real as a reward for your hard work. Let's begin."

With that Roy lifted up the tile he was toying with and kicked it out at Lok before speeding towards him again. This time however, he jumped to the roof next to Lok before lunging at him from the side. It was a move to draw out a slash from Lok before Roy would counter and then tap him on the forhead. If succeeded he'd simply point out what happened by saying, "Left yourself open."


Lok smiled as Roy rushed in. He was at the edge of the roof so all he did was set his footing to a looser stature and slipped off of the roof. As his opponent passed by him, he grabbed on hand onto the edge of the platform above and swung himself back up. He landed and immediately kicked up the shingle that he had scratched off form before.

The boy threw one after another at his opponent, leaving Roy almost no room to recover from the attacks. Then, the shinigami jumped down to ground level from behind the building, so that he was out of sight from his opponent. The boy was now nowhere to be seen or heard. Perhaps a game of hide and seek was in order?

"Darn I lost track of him again."

Roy had been too busy ducking and weaving through the barrage of tiles that he barely even caught the direction Lok had fallen out of sight from. It was one thing to try and not get hit while trying to only dodge most of the attacks most of the time, but it proved to be an even harder and much more tedious task to keep his eyes on the slippery 'snake' that he was sparring with. But that wasn't a bad thing either. Roy was actually glad that Lok was able to show him this more adverse style of fighting. It was different than his, but there were still benefits to be gained from it. Luring the opponent to you while causing a distraction just before disappearing from line of sight...

"There's only one problem to your strategy. Here I'll show you."

With that, Roy fell backwards at the edge and disappeared off the rooftops as well. Being able to snipe at your opponent was one thing, but when both individuals were sneaking about the game had a new difficulty to it. Roy wanted to know how his friend would deal with an opponent who was using the same tactic.

"This is what makes things fun. Hopefully you can show me something worth my while, Lok."


The boy thought it was rather funny. He was listening to the motion going on from the rooftop and heard his opponent drop down to the ground floor as well. Lok realized that since Roy wasn't speaking, he must be trying a surprise attack as well. He smiled. He knew just what to do to spite his opponent's actions.

"So you're trying the hide n' seek routine too, eh?"

Lok made sure his voice was loud and clear for all within a long range to hear. After shouting he sneaked around the building, making sure that he couldn't be heard at all. He stuck his zanpakutou into the side of the building and carved out a gigantic chunk of poorly made cement. The shinigami grabbed it before it could fall and then sliced off the back of it, so that the front would fit, but leave an inner hole. And so the boy fit himself into the hole and pulled over the flat piece that would disguise his hiding place.

He had just enough room to move his arms, but not his legs. So he took his blade and stabbed a tiny hole into the flat cover to his hide-away. This way he could hear any voice form outside. Another advantage to this hiding spot was that the boy could feel the vibrations of footsteps on the ground near him. He couldn't be seen either, so he was virtually undetectable while in his haven.

"Only showing you the flaw in your tactic. Though I can't say it's working very well since we're both not supposed to reveal our positions by talking. Oh well, I guess that just means I'm not very good at hiding myself from a fight. You know just as well as I do that I'm a different type of fighter than that."

Roy knew that he was being lured to Lok's position. Why on Earth would a smart tactician like Lok decide to reveal his position so easily otherwise? It was pure common sense to set up a trap or two and then pull in you opponent to get the better of him. And Roy, expecting such a thing, was going to walk right into the said trap without even a moment's hesitation. He wasn't going to it because he was crazy, nor because he was an idiot. He went because he wanted to test himself and his ability to react in such a situation. Had it been any other case, he probably would have gone about it a different way. Remaining silent while easing his way to his opponent before springing on him as any animal involved in the hunt would on its prey. But this was a different game, where Roy had explicitly reserved himself as not only the bait, but as the prey as well. And the job of the prey was to drag the predator out in the open. This was his task in mind as he walked casually throughout the hallway.

"So show yourself already, I don't plan on spending all my day in the dark. It's too cold as it is."

Roy made his voice very audible so as to point out his location. No doubt in his mind that when he turned the next corner, Lok would be waiting for him with a couple of surprises laying in wait for him. He was somewhat eager to see what in particular. Come on Lok, show me what you've got.


Lok could hear the footsteps of his opponent slowly making their way past his hiding area. He knew that know would be a perfect time to strike, but something made him hesitate. It was the feeling of uneasiness. Call it a gut feeling, or whatever you want, but the boy felt that attacking now would be a mistake.

He remembered the shingle that he kept in the pocket of his gi. The shinigami took it out and sliced a small hole in the flat cement panel that was protecting his hiding area. He threw the shingle threw it, watching it bounce about three feet before stopping. It made enough noise to be heard by Roy, and this was exactly what Lok was counting on.

Come on Roy. Just walk a little ways over here. Check out the noise.

If this plan worked Lok would be able to attack his opponent from the side. This would prove to be a worthy attack, but it would have to be perfect. The shinigami would have to attack the side of Roy that contained the pocketed arm. His other arm would have a harder time interacting with an attack that it wasn't familiar with. Yes, the plan was perfect. A few simple steps made by the target would complete the entire thing and set it into motion.

Lok could hear the footsteps of his adversary again. Hopefully Roy was making his way towards the shingle to investigate what he did not know. He was so close to success. The boy could taste it in his stale mouth.

The anticipation was killing him, every step he took led on to another wave of tension between the two warriors. Which only grew in intensity as he drew closer and closer to his opponent's unknown whereabouts. There was a couple of noises made by an object as it bounced and clattered against the tiled floor. It was very strange to say the least, but Roy simply took it as his que to enter the scene. Step by step he proceeded down the ominous looking hallway. It was absent of life and seemed to be darker than the other hallways due to the shading presented by the sun's rays hitting the wall to the right. A perfect place to set up an ambush to say the very least. He planned this out too well. I best be careful, less I want the same thing that almost happened last time to happen once again...

Walking over and kneeling down to pick up the object in question, Roy had seemingly unwittedly gotten into the very spot positioned for Lok to commence his surprise attack. His back and right side were left open as he reached out with his left to examine the carved shingle as he picked it up and looked at it. Roy tried not to show any signs of being surprise as he realized that now was the opening that Lok had planned along when he came through the hidden section of the wall. The tip of the sword thrusted out at him, catching the tip of his gi and barely missing the flesh as it sliced through a portion of his undershirt while Roy barely jumped back away from the attempt to scewer him. Bringing up his left hand, he threw the sharp tile before twisting his entire body around and extending his right leg to sweep the ground as he usually did to distribute momentum and remain balanced at the same time. Too close for comfort.

A drop of warm sweat came down the side of his cold face, catching his attention as he stood up fully once more. Now that he noticed it, his heart was actually beating a little faster than usual. If Roy wasn't expecting an attack he'd probably would have been impaled to the wall on his left. Not a very fun thought, but it was true. He winced suddenly as he saw a bit of red coat his outer gi. He managed to nick me somehow after the initial blow. Did he twist the blade knowing that I would try to dodge? This made Roy even more excited now that Lok was half-way there to reaching his goal. Now things were getting down and dirty.


Lok smiled constructively as his teeth bore slightly. He titled his head to reveal the blood of his trapped prey. Indeed his opponent thought he had initially missed, when in fact the surprise assaulting slash was really what caused the wound. The boy had moved so quickly and with the sword talents that he already possessed, adding speed to it meant nothing to him at all.

As his head moved he could see the side of Roy's face, seeming to acknowledge the little pain that he could. This was gratifying, but the shinigami had no idea why. He didn't understand this sudden sensation inside of him. He wanted to see the man in front of him dead. With blood painted across his lifeless face and seeping through his unclean and wrinkled clothes. It was the strangest feeling and Lok wanted it to go away. It isn't natural for me to think these things.

This time, in response to the images, he screamed out and jumped back from the former battle scene. His hands slowly crept into his hair and covered his forehead and his eyes. They squeezed down to relieve some of the pressure from his headache. This wasn't happening, it couldn't be happening. He thought that his soul had suppressed those memories and thoughts of how he used to be. Why was it wearing off now?

"STOP!! Get out of my Head!!"

He screamed at the top of his lungs and fell to his knees, practically on the verge of tears now. The boy dug his dull fingernails into his skin near the sides of his skull. He couldn't take it. Enough was enough. The images were pulsing through his brain, they were becoming his vision and he couldn't stop them.

"Why..."

"Geez, get one little hit to draw blood and you go all psycho on me. Even if the demons from your past show up again to plague your thoughts, you shouldn't cry and beg them to leave. Instead be the man that I had been fighting all this time. The kind of person who's confident in his decisions and doesn't fear the situation regardless if the demon your facing is stronger than you. True strength comes from standing your ground and fighting for what you now believe you truly stand for. If you're not going to be that type of man, then this entire battle up to now has been one big pointless waste of time."

Roy was getting annoyed that Lok just had a mental break down all of sudden and couldn't hold his own weight. He walked over to the young man and stood just a foot away from him. His shadow encased the kneeling Lok that appeared to be the worst kind of weakling before him. The kind that ran away from his fears and chased after only the pleasantries of life. Those kinds of people could never understand true strength to Roy, for they always depended on being just a step ahead in their overall huge nightmare that they were fleeing from on a daily basis.

"Lok Ukaru. Get a grip on yourself and fight me!"

Roy clenched his left hand so hard that it made very audible leather upon leather accompanied by the clanking produced by the metal incorporated in his gloves. He looked at his new friend with an unhesitating determination, one that showed that he too was once a victim of the past. That he searched hopelessly for answers to a mystery that could not be solved merely by chasing shadows in the dark corners of forgotten dark alleys. Yet in the end, it actually turned out that he was fleeing from them instead. And once he knew that, he stepped up to fight his demons without restraint.

"Show me that you're not the slave to the demons that haunt you!"


"I don't... understand... any of this..."

The boy spoke, but his face was hidden in his long, wavy locks of hair. It added a bit of the drama effect, but as the tone changed in the middle of Lok's sentence, it would now be noted that his personality had changed. What was once the clever and energetic boy, was now the bloodthirsty and crafty sociopath. If anything, while in this state of mind, the shinigami was even more intelligent than before. However, his thought logic was a bit out of place. It could be active at one point, and then be completely severed within an instant. It wasn't exactly the safest being to be around, let alone fight.

As the boy looked up now, his eyes and face could be seen. Lok's eyes didn't look any different at first, but the more one looked, the more their true intentions were available. But if one was too lazy to stare for that long, then a simple look at his facial expression was enough. The shinigami had a faint smile that matched the rest of his face, and while a simple description or glance would prove it be like any other smile of his, this smile matched his face too perfectly.

In that instant, any sane human's reaction would have been to run the hell away, but it seemed that Roy was here to stay for a real battle. The boy rose up from the ground, steadily. He jumped up in the middle of the hallway, placing one foot on each wall beside him. This balanced the shinigami in mid air as he pointed his blade at his opponent.

"I will bathe in your entrails you pathetic imbecile. Your will to fight will only conserve your hatred for what you cannot understand. It is through this uncertainty that I will bleed your wounds dry and drink their product to fuel my existence."

"Strong words.... Let's see if you're tough enough to back them up."

Roy didn't bother doing any fancy poses or anything too extravogent. He merely extended his left arm so that the elbow popped before bringing it back. The very threat was absurd being that it was coming from a guy who could barely keep his cool at the sight of blood. And the way the guy held himself propped up on the wall was just asking Roy to give him a quick kick to the nards. But he restrained the temptation as he just watched Lok for a moment. There was a strange way about how he talked and moved, almost as if he was an entirely different person all together. This only made Roy want to address Lok more seriously than he had been earlier.

"Get down from there before you experience some unwanted pain."


Lok smiled again. He kept his position firmly on the wall and stared into the patient eyes of his opponent. He knew that his friend wouldn't hurt him, and that's exactly what he was counting on. The task of a battle wasn't going to go far. He would slaughter...

Suddenly the boy fell to the floor. From the outside, he simply looked to be in a daze, but inside there was a battle going on. Lok was fighting for control over his mind, but his counterpart could not have this. In a desperate siege of control the alter ego sped forward at an incredible speed and slashed at Roy with his zanpaku, before falling over again. In the midst of the battle on the inside a new form arose.

The shinigami's eyes turned black, and his pupils grew and turned yellow. This was only for an instant however, since now the boy had control over himself again. He came to his senses, quickening his reaction and leaped up from the ground. Now was no time for sitting around. He had no idea what had happened in his absence, but he had to win this battle. At any cost. Well... except fighting himself again...

Everything went gray for a moment before a burst of blood spewed out from left to right in a diagnal gash created from Lok's sword strike. Roy took a few steps back and held his wound with his left hand as it stung painfully. He barely even saw the shinning piece of steel whiz by him before he realized that he was in danger of having his vitals hit. And even then, he barely managed to move just enough to keep the wound from being a serious one.

What the hell was that just now!?! His speed.. it was unbelievable... nothing like what he was showing off earlier. Was he actually holding back all this time? No, that can't be true. If he had been hiding his power, I would have caught at least a few parts here and there where he accidently slipped up. Unless this was the part where he slipped up...

Roy didn't know what just happened right now, but one thing was certain in his mind. If he wasn't more careful and took this seriously, he could end up losing his life over being too loose. He took his left hand and placed it calmly on his chest open palm wise now.

"Cleanse this wound and protect it from harm, use my strength to protect those in need... Chiyudo #6, Appakuhoutai."


Lok's back was facing his opponent at the moment. He knew something was wrong. It obviously wasn't normal to lose conscious for a period of time, come back, and notice that your opponent was badly wounded. That's when he heard Roy shouting an incantation, and then a bright light appeared. The boy turned around immediately to see his friend healing his former wound with a kidou technique. A rather remarkable sight indeed.

Either way, if Lok's memory served correctly, that hit was the sixth attack, which meant that there were still four more to go. He took out his zanpakutou and got the same determined look on his face. Whatever happened in the last few minutes, it shouldn't have made that much of an impact on the battle.

"Well, this is rather redundant, but that counts as the sixth hit. Which means, from now on I'm going to make it a hell of a lot harder for you to get any more than that. Try as you may, I still think you're lacking what it takes to get off four more hits without a great deal of trouble or effort. You don't have to take my word for it, but I'll advise you not to try any of those lame tactics before. Cause this time I intend to expose every opening you present yourself with. Not out of spite, just to show you why such tactics fail when fighting me."

Roy was being plain blunt now in his way of handling this affair. Either way you put it, this was starting to get very messy. Although Lok didn't have a single scratch on him, Roy was left with a large thin scar across his chest and half of his upper shinigami outfit was hanging out, making it impossible to rest his right arm any more. Instead, he reached over and tore the entire top part off. Revealing a red sleeveless shirt that had a tear mark in the front and one in the back from where the sword had sliced into him. It was a rather odd sight to have loose baggy hakama and then a shirt on top. But Roy didn't care about appearances in the least. What mattered to him was how comfortable he was when he was in a fight.

"I'm ready to continue where and whenever you want to."

Roy took his right arm and held it behind his back. Even now he wasn't going to go against the rules of the game that he himself made and agreed to. Until Lok made the tenth and final hit, he would continue to fight with only his left hand. He even refused to attack his opponent and bring harm to him regardless of what the situation had been before, during, and even after Lok's little fit. This was a promise between two men and Roy sought to keep it no matter what.

"You may come at me or retreat to your game of hide and seek when you feel ready."


Lok noticed the actions of his opponent. He wasn't going to hold back any longer, and this was bad news for the boy. Maybe something had happened while he was gone. Maybe something had infuriated Roy. Nonetheless now was the time to step up. The shinigami had to let any distractions leave his mind so that he could embrace the battle.

The shinigami prepared an assault in his mind and took advantage of the first move. He put one foot in front of the other, quickening his pace as he reached his target. The boy let his eyes rest a little, but opened them once more. What he was about to do, he swore he wouldn't do again until he was ready.

Lok ran forward and sliced once, horizontally, with his zanpakutou, so that, if successful, the blade would strike across Roy's chest again. However, Lok didn't stop there. Immediately the initial attack, he performed a one step shunpo to appear about a foot behind his opponent. From there, the shinigami swung his blade all around him, to account for Roy dodging the first slice.

Panting heavily, the boy jumped up to a rooftop again. He was easily visible, that much was for sure, but it didn't matter. He just needed some distance to catch his breath before he would continue on another plan. The boy made sure that one hand was on the handle of his blade, while the other was keeping him from falling over. He was kneeling on rough shingles, but the pain wasn't really the issue. Roy's next move was the only thing on Lok's mind.

Roy jumped to the wall on his right to avoid the first attack with the intention to lunge from it and push Lok around a bit more. This didn't go as planned, cause when both of his feet landed evenly on the wall just as he would leap from it, he noticed that Lok had shunpo'd behind him and was ready to bring on yet another slash to his back. However, right before the second attack could made its way to cut him and score another hit, Roy performed a shunpo of his own to escape the length of the blade. Appearing on a rooftop in the distance as he watched Lok hit nothing but thin-air. He charged forward as Lok too entered the scene on the roofs, jumping from roof to roof to close the distance between the two once more. From a different perspective he might have looked to be a raving lunatic that was running towards a poor defensive individual in a hulking manner, ready to tear the poor innocent victim into pieces.

I'm coming for you Lok and when I get there you better be ready for me. Cause I'm not going to let you off easy like last time. Oh, no. I intend to drive you to your limits and then beyond. If your muscles give out from under you and your body refuses to respond, we'll continue this game until you reach the goal set out before you. Even if you have to suffer horribly for now, I'll force you to get up and go beyond to the next level. To attain your power even if it might cost your a day of tremendous pain to do it.


Lok looked up and saw Roy closing in on him quickly. The boy smiled casually. He took his blade, spun it in his hand and with the blunt end of the handle, smashed it into the roof. The area of the roof directly under the boy caved in and brought him into an unknown building.

Darkness engulfed the inner workings of the building. The only light that shone through was from the hole that the boy had just made. He waited in a corner for the footsteps of his opponent. But just to be sure, Lok also kicked up some dust to fill the room. This would prevent any solid vision in the area as well.

The ground started to rumble as the wall behind Lok shook before exploding as Roy emerged through it with his hand stretched out. Debris and other objects held in the wall burst out towards Lok as his nemesis entered in an unmistakenably noticed way as he continued forward behind the bricks and such that flew at Lok as projectiles. Roy wasn't going to allow himself to fall for the same tricks that Lok had pulled on him before. Instead he decided to stop fooling around with the peaceful way of trying to find his hiding opponent.

"I've got you!"

Roy yelled out in an intimidating voice as he went with the flow to Lok. Who was probably scared beyond belief from the sudden change of events.


As a matter of fact, this was the exact reason Lok had kicked up dust in the first place. He smiled again as Roy charged at an object that wasn't even remotely close to where the boy was. He laughed a little as he charged towards the hastily acted target. He slashed once across the man's left side and then jumped up and out of the hole he had previously made.

Lok jumped a few roofs over and stuck his blade into the shingles. He leaned a little on his handle to rest a bit. This was battle was becoming a bit of a burden. But, he had to continue. This fight was imminent for the boy to become a stronger fighter.

"I have to finish. I can't stop here."

Roy's hand clenched down on what appeared to be Lok's head, but it turned out to be a manican wearing clothes that had been made for some kind of design suggestion to early day shinigami attire. There was a nick of the flesh that took place on his exposed left side as the real Lok got in a sneak attack before quickly escaping to try and recover from his exhaustion. Roy accidently ripped off the head to the human sized plastic doll and threw it aside before following after him. He reached the roofs and made his way towards Lok once again. It wasn't clear yet if Lok was going to go back down into the ground floor of this building as well, but Roy had already thought of a plan to take care of the problem should it arise.

Lok felt the vibrations getting closer. He took a deep breath and turned around. There he saw, once again, a charging force of brute strength coming towards him. Again, the boy struck the rooftop with his the end of his handle and jumped inside of the hole he made.

Roy had expected just as much as he too jumped down from his position on the rooftops and made his way to the outside of the building that Lok had jumped into. Examining the building for a moment, Roy then went about the business of destroying the foundation by striking different key portions with his left fist. The place would soon give in and force Lok to come out of his hiding spot, leaving him open once again for Roy to come at him. This was all just a game to Roy, but it probably appeared like he was bent on causing a great deal of physical harm to his comrade. It was necessary though to make it seem as real as possible in order to bring Lok's full potential out. The rising on one's fighting spirit was something that couldn't be nursed easily. It had to grow from the strife of trying to survive annihilation. And that's just the scenario Roy was trying to simulate with this training exercise for his new friend.

This was all too amusing. Little did Roy know that the boy he was trying to get out of hiding, well, he wasn't actually hiding. Lok had pretended to drop from the roof, when in actuality he had held on with one hand. When he heard the smashing of his opponent's first attack on the building, he jumped up to the roof and then down to the ground floor.

"Now would have been a good time for some kidou..."

However, the boy did not currently know any kidou techniques to aid him in this sort of situation. The price you pay for being lazy. There was no need though. If Lok wasn't brain dead yet, then he counted seven hits so far on his opponent, which meant he only needed three more. He didn't need them right away. When the time was right, the circumstances would reveal themselves. They always did.

The shinigami thought to himself in the mean time, trying desperately to pull together a strategy before the lunatic destroyed the entire building.

There are only two exits as of now, but he did make a few of his own. But, if his plans were to take the building down, that means his looking for me, every inch of the way. He still has no idea that I went into hiding so that I could lead him into this trap. He must think of me as some blundering idiot. Nonetheless, I have to take care of this situation as thoroughly as possible.

The building soon went under with Roy standing there looking for any movement or attempts to flee the scene. Yet not a single sign of life was produced as the entire place made a pile of bricks, wood, tiled shingles, and broken furniture. A mess would basically sum up what to call the tragedy that he brought down before the storage house. Roy was more busy looking about the area for Lok before standing there and thinking about what had just occured. A smile curved on his lips as he figured out what had just transpired. "Good move... good move indeed."

This left Roy with only too options. One was to just sit around and drag Lok over to his position. While the other was to simply go around to the area where Lok's energy signature felt the strongest. It wasn't rocket science to know that somewhere in the vicinity Lok was hiding, waiting for him. Hell, if he really had to, Roy could simply go about searching the area where he believed Lok's reiatsu could be felt best at.

'That's the problem with being dead. You can only conceal yourself as best as you can , but keep in mind to hide your power. But I doubt Lok is that much of a moron. Judging from his actions prior to this, he's clearly leaving it open just enough to lure me to where he wants me to be yet again. Heh, looks like he wants me to bite on the bait. Good to know he has the next part of this whole thing planned and set up for me. It'd be rude not to follow his "script".'

"Come out, come out, where ever you are."

Roy chuckled to himself as he went about the business of tracking down Lok in a slow and calm fashion. Walking to his destination gradually, taking up all time he could so that Lok would recover from his state of being fatigued.


Lok smiled again, under the safety of his new haven. He closed his eyes and gently started spreading his reiatsu across the area around him. It would disperse the energy to a very low level in a very large area, making the boy even harder to track. And since he was located in a small area with only one entrance and exit, he would not be surprised with an attacker trying to sneak up on him.

Eventually Roy made his way near the so called haven that the participate of his game had been dwelling in. However, there came no move from him to enter place nor to come about from another way in order to commence a surprise attack. Instead he merely stood there, one arm tied behind his back, looking intently upon the whole encampment.

"Geez, you just want everything to go your way. Dragging me all the way out here and now you want me to come in there after you. When I restricted myself to using only one hand for this entire time. The game was supposed to be you coming after me, not vice-versa. So I'm afraid that if you're going to want any more hits off of me from now on, you're going to have to at least place some more effort into this."

Roy waited for a response from the lad, even though he doubted that one would be returned in kind. He waited for a bit anyway, giving Lok at least a chance for him to voice his opinion on the whole perspective that was just given.

"Well, what do you think? Am I not being too easy on you? Following the metaphorical carrots that you've been dangling in front of me when placed before me."


"I'd say you've been mighty generous."

A voice came from behind Roy. There standing was an awkwardly positioned Lok. His smile was, again, feverous and blood thirsty. Something had happened.

How the hell did he manage to get behind me so fast without me sensing him?!

It was startling even for someone of Roy's calibur to be put in this situation. But rather than jumping around like some fool, he made a simple about face to get a better look at Lok. Something was definately different about him; the look in his eyes was different. There was an ominous killer intent in the way he gazed at Roy, an eerie aura of sorts.

"Oh? So you've come out again to play. Whoever the hell you are."


Lok laughed hysterically, as once again, the battle inside of him was being fought. His eyes started flickering black and yellow, but stayed their natural mode, indicating that Lok's mind was still fighting hard to regain control over his own body.

"I'm not going to play anymore. I want to see what color you turn if I've chopped you up into little pieces."

Within a flash the shinigami was already three yards behind Roy. His blade was thrust outward as if he had already striked a target. In fact, he had attempted to, but didn't look behind him to see if it was a successful attack or not. The smile on his face didn't fade in the slightest. If anything, it became larger in size, making his eyes squint and his face wrinkle.

Roy had already moved in accordance to Lok and was now standing behind him. He was bleeding on his right side from yet another gash that had been made on his open and less defendable side. Holding back Reiatsu was a very troubling task when trying to fight with such a high handicap against one's self. It was the eighth hit in total, but was required to be taken in order to catch up to the fleeing vermin.

"Don't bother. I've compensated for your speed."


"Then you wouldn't have been talking to the wall."

Lok was again, behind his opponent. Right now, his speed was amazing and there was nothing that accounted for it. His sword was tipped with blood.

"Looks like I've hit you again, you little-"

The boy put his right hand to his forehead and grabbed at his hair. From the expression on his face it was clear that he was in incredible pain. His eyes winced and stayed shut as his mouth wrinkled a little in frustration. He suddenly started to speak, but the tones were changing rapidly, one after another. It seemed as though the real Lok was fighting back again.

"Get out of my head!!"

"I am in control now, boy! You will not remain in this mind any longer. If there is one thing I understand it is that you are weak. You are possibly the weakest thing that I have ever come across and you need me to become stronger. Without me, you are nothing! Nothing!!"

Now the shinigami's head was twitching back and forth. Both of his hands were scraping at his face in pain. The boy's head must have been throbbing from the struggle that was occurring inside of it. He made no effort to conceal his suffering.

"Get out!! Get out!!"

"I will never leave this place, and nothing that you can do will be able to drive me away!"

The boy's hand now moved slowly and steadily towards the handle of his zanpakutou so that both hands were grabbing a hold of it firmly. With his final ounce of strength he thrust it into his right shoulder. It was good thinking. The amount of pain that was given by surprise gave Lok the opportunity to take over his body once again. He fell to one knee and shoved his sword into the ground to lean on. He tore off part of his clothing to wrap around his shoulder wound and then rose from the ground.

"Let's say we continue."

"Hmph, if you so desire."

Roy made an about-face and popped his neck a couple times to try to relieve some of the soarness that he was feeling around there. He was down to the last hit for the game and he really wanted to make it interesting. Extending his left hand and bending his arm slightly at the elbow, Roy began to enter a real fighting stance. His legs parted each other so that they were evenly spaced a foot away from each other in distance. This was the first time he was actually standing in way that made him prepared for combat and left him little to no openings whatsoever.

"One more hit left. Think you could get me in the next couple of moves without running away?"


"Before I do, answer me something. That other me... How much stronger was it than I am?"

"Hard to tell... I wasn't paying that much attention."

Roy didn't want to think about the other half of Lok's persona right now, but he wasn't going to lie to him.

"If I were to guess, I'd have to say he was strong, but not strong enough to cause me a great deal of trouble if I fought at full strength."


"The power I feel from him. I have a feeling that I may be seeing more of him later on. The stronger I get, the more he tries to take over my personality and state of mind. My thoughts and my being..."

Lok shook his head to wake himself up from his ramblings. He had to end it here and he'd do it with the last bit of strength left within him. The shinigami charged at full force and slashed once with his zanpakutou.

Roy moved his hand and caught the blade in between his thumb, his index, and his middle finger. He stood there looking at the pain shown in Lok's actions.

"Don't think about it that way. This fight has made you stronger, that's true. But you have to think about the strength you already have in you. The power that you've used to keep this "other you" sealed within. Remember, nothing can change who you are right now; not even the other you. As long as you keep that in mind, you'll know how to keep the distinction between the real you and that other jerk."

Roy abandoned his fighting stance, dropping his gaurd as he flicked the blade away. Taking his left hand, he placed it on the young man's shoulder,

"Listen, things happen that are out of your control sometimes. Just make sure that you don't blame yourself for the sins of the other you. Even if he does take control of you from time to time, don't let him use it as an edge to win you over all the time. And hey, if worse comes to worse, you can count on me to keep your *** in check."


Lok looked up at Roy and smirked.

"You're going to hate me for this, Roy."

The shinigami, made a quick fist and gently tapped it into his friend's gut.

"That's ten."

"Heh, so it is. Well, I guess I owe you a real fight next time."

Roy smiled and walked away from the battle that had taken up more than a few sectors in the heat of their little skirmish. Although the last hit wasn't taken the way he wanted it to be, he had to say that it was the best outcome of his more recent battles. It was a good workout, one that kept him on his toes and gave him a few ideas. Different strategies were a highly valued things and experiencing them was a treasure in and of itself. He would make do with what he learned and use it to his advantage in some other way. With his back to Lok, he raised his right hand that was held behind his back the entire time and waved to his tactician friend.

"Later. It's been a real blast hanging with you."

There were no more words to be given between the two as Roy took a turn around a nearby corner while placing his hands behind his head. Just as fast as he came, Roy was gone again. Leaving nothing but a memory behind him.... that and a whole lot of damaged buildings.
 

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