Bleach Hereafter RPG

The winter months in the Seireitei were a lot colder than he had imagined as the icy winds circulated through the circular maze-like shiro. Most of his division mates were inside the warmth of the barracks either training or attending to more political matters upon the comfort of tatami mats. As with all of the other rookies, he was assigned the most menial and uncomfortable tasks relegated by his superiors. As opposed to the warmth of the 7th divisions compound, he was assigned to walk a beat on the routine patrol route for South Rukonagi.

Every sector of the southern district was crawling with fledgling 7th division rookies, so much so that their heavy presence began to cause unwarranted concern from the denizens. In an effort spread out he began to walk north, and although his eyes were peeled for duty, his stride slowly became an aimless meander. The large shinigami soon found himself in the 3rd divisions jurisdiction near the Black Ridge Gate. He had overheard casual banter from a group of other shinigami headed toward the mountains, something about an open practice session.

His curiosity compelled him to loosely follow the group past the last districts of the Rukon and into a discretely tucked clearing in the mountainside. The clatter of both bokken and zanpakuto filled the air with grunts of effort mixed with intonations of both failure and success. The only one seemingly set apart from the fray was a stocky man with a headband of messy black hair, taller than most present, but nowhere near his own titanic proportions. He seemed lively as he barked embellished instructions behind the butt of a cigarette.

“Interesting. I wonder if this is a recurring event…”

He muttered in thought as he stood off to the side, choosing to observe the scene for a moment. Of course, the giant would stick out like a soar thumb as the sun gleamed off of his rose crimson mask and bled the custom white/rose hue of his shihakusho like a bright white dwarf star.

"Good Gods, it's a mountain!"

The words come out of nowhere but not doubt predictably to the newcomer who's arrived at the clearing. Given a few minutes to watch the ongoings, it's a surprise that the taller man hasn't taken notice of the giant-sized man before now! Taller and broader even than Koshou, the masked individual does make quite the sight as the former looks to bring his attention onto the Soul Reaper with the hidden face. The man's expression is easily read, and just as easy-going as he offers a broad grin toward the man who's shown himself up here with a lift of a hand to go with the exclamation as his other reaches up to hold the cigarette as he draws a drag from it. A faint plume of smoke is exhaled with a swift breath that's quickly swept away by the faint but crisp mountain breeze. At the sight of this new person so tall and literally a little larger than life, the rest of the people here have ceased their own practicing and grown a tad quiet at the exchange.

"Well, come on over and welcome. I'm Hattori Koshou, 'Beast' of Squad Eleven!" The claim comes with an exuberant poking of his own chest with one of his thumbs as he re-tucks the cigarette back into the corner of his mouth to dangle there - dangerously close to falling from its perch with every movement of his mouth. The nickname sounds a little ... well, HE calls himself the beast of Squad Eleven that much is clear at any rate. Still, with the invitation and introduction, his gesture to move up front and center is given with a measure of expectation. Slightly feral eyes taking silent measure of this mammoth of a fighter joining the Shinigami's ranks.

As he looked on for a while, Bosake studied the movements of the various shinigami. Their footwork, speed, and overall techniques were impressive throughout. This was a talented group, a crop of journeyman at the very least that knew their way around the general combat arts to be certain. While he was capable in his own right, the rose crimson giant was no prodigy, just large and a bit obsessive when it came to his duties. The clamor of steel was heavy in the air providing him with both nostalgia from his prior occupation as a blacksmith striker, which wasn’t all that long ago, and a bit of nervousness as intimidation towards any participation became palpable.

However, before any such feelings could settle, a loud remark in reference to his size was shouted. The announcement caused a subtle wave of ceasefire as the majority of the group stopped to give their attention. Being as large as he was, Bosake was no stranger to stares or drawing a crowd, such things to this point no longer bothered him and were generally expected in most cases. The stocky soul reaper who seemed to be in charge of things had singled him out with an exclusive welcome to join the fray.

“Hattori Koshou, ‘Beast’ of Squad Eleven?”

Bosake repeated between his ears as neither the man’s name nor his title as ‘Beast’ struck any familiarities in his mind. The giant soul reaper was however a newcomer and just because he was unaware didn’t necessarily mean anything of the contrary. With a heavy nod, Bosake made his way over as his large shadow and dense footsteps trudged atop the mountainous landscape. He halted just a few paces short of Koshou before giving a secondary nod and replied with his own deep and bellowed voice.

“A pleasure Hattori Koshou, I am Eido Bosake of Squad Seven. May I join in on the exercise?”

---

WC: 318
Total WC: 659

Koshu was beyond eager in allowing him to participate, it perhaps may have even made his day the way the stocky soul reapers grin broadened with excitement. He had gestured to an open spot amidst the crowd of trainees just ahead of where they stood. As Koshu lurched ahead it was clear the Beast of Squad Eleven himself would be his sparring partner. The ambient soul reapers gasped and clamored amongst themselves as Koshu had dropped into his stance before all but reassuring him that he did not need to hold back.

Bosake wasn’t sure whether he should be honored, terrified, or both. While a bit eccentric and jovial, it was evident to anyone with a shred of awareness that the Beast was just that. Perhaps this was an initiation into whatever sort of open training club this was, or maybe Koshu was sincerely curious about his abilities. In either case his bingo card for his first few weeks in the Seireitei did not include crossing blades with a member of the Gotei 13 special forces branch, otherwise known as the advanced combat unit.

A small stream of onlooking shinigami parted like a school fish as he waded through them and entered the clearing, keeping Koshu’s gaze as the faint glint in the man’s eyes relayed his focused intent through maw of his rose crimson mask. Koshu’s reiatsu felt saddled yet feral, but thick in the atmosphere like a blanket of weighed kinetic energy. Pushing up the guard of his zanpakuto with his left thumb, a small glint of his blade peaked up from beneath it’s sheath. In the same instance Bosake flared up his reiatsu and became enveloped in a bulbous wisp of vibrant green, blue, and violet with holographic textures that gleamed like komorebi in the afternoon sun.

---

WC: 303
Total WC: 962

INIT: O3SuMVE51d100
1d100

“Shun Shun Rikkia...”

Bosake muttered as six scarab beetles made of his own pure reishi took shape and materialized from the wave of his reiatsu aura, hovering around him in a low hum as their photonic makeup dazzled in the same hues. One such scarab landed immediately on the guard of his blade as he slowly unsheathed it and assumed a short stance with his zanpakuto tilted forward, held from the dead center of his large torso.

”He is slightly off measure, I have the angle to attack first. I had better try and make this first attack count, I may never have a better opportunity…”

He thought as his gargantuan hands squeezed the hilt even firmer. With a deep breath he drew in his anxiety and exhaled nothing but measured focus as he concentrated his energy. In a flash of speed Bosake shot forward, covering ground much faster than anyone might expect for a man of his stature, hopefully including Koshu.

He would arrive immediately in melee range in front of the 11th Divisions Beast with his double gripped zanpakuto poised overhead, attempting a downward tomahawk slash with all of his might, as if intending to split his new acquaintance down the middle.

“HMPH!”


COMBAT TRACKER

---

WC: 206
Total WC: 11681d100+20·1d5·1d6

It was a bold opening move, one wagered amidst the element of surprise as such a forward headlong attack would have been frowned upon by his Spiritual Arts Academy instructors. Although realistic about his abilities, Bosake had a bolstered confidence about his constitution, sure enough about his stature that he could withstand a cataclysmic error if it ever came down to it. In the moments before impact, he noticed there was no change in Koshou’s smirk despite the masked giant’s imminent haymaker. There was a small chance the stocky man might have been frozen with fear, but that was unlikely if he were truly the beast he proclaimed.

A reverberated clang echoed throughout the vicinity as a violent pressure wave of air rushed through the surrounding area, a direct correlation regarding the level of force behind each of their zanpakuto. The crowd of onlookers shielded their faces from the wind and debris as sparks danced between the struggled clash. Koshu’s timely block was solid and virtually immovable despite their vast different in size, he was strong, and probably a lot more so than he was letting on. In a clever yet advanced motion, the beast twisted his wrist and leveraged the momentum to not only push his blade into the ground, but leave the giant flat footed for a vicious retreating slash aimed for his abdomen.

“Gyaku Unmei!”

Bosaked exclaimed nervously as he stared down the oncoming beaten gold/brass blade, quickly condensing his holographic reiatsu into a thin barrier just before the moment of impact. The kinetic energy from the vicious slash caused his reishi to flash in a momentary elevation of luminosity before an array of spiked senbon-like tendrils made of his reiatsu came upon Koshou with a seemingly certain success. Using the tendril projectiles as cover, Bosake would then close the distance from Koshou’s backward leap and attempt a single hand downward diagonal slash, aiming for the left side of his neck down to his hip. He would then quickly follow up with a two hand horizontal strafing slash aimed across Koshou’s midsection, a reishi scarab descending onto the guard of his zanpakuto once more before potential impact.

“If you insist, but I may surprise you...”

---

COMBAT TRACKER

---

WC: 369
Total WC: 15361d100+5·1d5·1d100+5·1d5·1d6

As Koshou finds himself leaping backward those couple of paces, he grunts internally, his nostrils flaring a little bit as he feels the bite of his own sword cutting through the air turned back onto him like the stinging bite of one of those Kheper beetles that the giant appears to be using! Still, as he's moving backward there's Bosake as he comes flying toward him after a quick recovery. That look that crosses the more experienced Shinigami's features is one of approval and appreciation, and by the way that he seems to be watching and letting these blows come at him there's definitely a sense of Koshou taking the bigger man's measure. Assessing ability and reaction times, watching for the little cues and tells that may be improved upon later. And through it all, that ever-present smirk that's covering his face to reveal his eye-teeth in excitement.

"Gah! Come on! Stop trying to hit me and hit me!" The quip comes from Koshou even as he's leaning backward to avoid the first strike as it comes downward at an angle. The air whistles in front of him, like a breeze against his face as one sanded foot steps backward, hands shifting the grip of his sword to turn the blade down-facing. Just in time too, as the horizontal strike that comes zipping past once more clangs into the metal of his blade, scrapping and sliding past with a fresh shower of sparks that flare up as it guards against the second strike, narrowly avoiding the damage rather than trying to avoid it altogether. As the blade finishes its arc, Koshou looks to step forward now still moving just the one foot forward now instead of backwards as his blade comes upward with a slash, quickly turned and doubled down on with a reversed downward slash. One thing is for certain, Koshou isn't out here just because he's a member of Division Eleven. When it comes to the basic ideals and forms of Kendo, it seems he is well practiced.

COMBAT TRACKER

1d100+25·1d6·1d100·1d100+25·1d6·1d100

His initial mind was to proceed without a response or rebuttal, but it seemed the intensity of the fight had him somewhat amplified with excitement. He had no real lust for battle, or a longing to dance alongside death’s silhouette, but he was a shinigami of the court guards. Albeit still very much wet behind the ears, there was still pride in bearing a zanpakuto, and an innate desire to do so with success. The only person Bosake would surprise is himself if he ever managed to land a clean sword strike on an 11th division squad member. Zanjutsu was their bread and butter, and while he was no slouch, Koshou’s technique was clearly superior as the giant merely made a living around the safe but sure fire rudiments of the art.

As his diagonal slash whisked nothing but the tension in the air, the stocky shinigami seemed to dance with a more than timely backward step of evasion. Koshou’s hands then shifted like a makeshift pirouette, down facing his blade to guard against his hefty horizontal strike. It was about as close as Bosake’s blade had gotten thus far, progress was good, but he was still far from where needed to be to score a hit. Using the momentum of their clash, the masked reaper would push off of the leverage from their blades, just enough to jut back out of the way of Koshou’s upward counter strike. His basket woven sandals slid against the rocky terrain as he even needed to raise his face to the sky in order to narrowly remove his neck and chin from the range of the blades edge.

While the makeshift dodge was a sly enough maneuver to slide him out of harms way, the momentum left him slightly off balance and unable to react in time to the reversed downward slash. A loud reverberating clang ensued, concluded by a shower of sparks, as the insectoid maw of Bosake’s mask absorbed the force of the gold/brass blade, bouncing it backwards and creating a heavy recoil. While being thrust backwards the large shinigami would gather his bearings and focus his reishi, blasting forth a wave of his reiatsu fashioned into a swarm of holographic scarabs looking to wound and overtake Koshou within their modest vortex.

“You are not an easy target to hit, Hattori Koshou, Beast of Squad Eleven…”

Bosake finally replied as he pointed the tip of his sword at the dark haired shinigami, mid air, in the final moments before landing back onto the ground. A pair of flanking scarabs would then land on the guard of his zanpakuto once more and imbue themselves into the blade before reverting to pure reishi, but this time, crackling in a static manner before blasting forth like a bolt of holographic lightning towards Koshou.

“Byakurai!”


COMBAT TRACKER

---

WC: 470
Total WC: 20061d100·1d100 +20·2d5·2d6

The definition of insanity was doing the same thing, the same exact way, repeatedly and expecting a different result. Till this point no matter how hard he tried, his zanjutsu was not working against Koushou. Although he wasn’t failing at it or making a fool himself, his efforts proved fruitless, only managing to get his head rung like a bell for all of his trouble. Despite his mask absorbing the full weight of the blow and protecting him from harm, he did feel the tinge of a minor whiplash prodding at him as he continued to fight.

To both his luck and surprise, his mid-battle audible of switching to a ranged approach had worked like a charm. From the giants vantage point, he could see his shimmering scarabs trapping the beast in their vortex and getting the better of his constitution. Although it wouldn’t be nearly enough to slow his opponent down, he had hoped their lingering nuisance would serve to create openings moving forward. As for his byakurai, while it seemed Koshou had countered it with a force of his own making, the singes on his shihakusho indicated otherwise.

“Indeed, you must never relent…”

He added as a piggyback to Koshou’s exclaimed advice to their captive audience, their mouths visibly ajar at the level of combat taking place in front of them. Tilting his head to the side Bosake dodged the first forks of lightning, just missing him by a few inches and traveling off into the distance to scorch an unlucky portion of surrounding mountainside. The last forking bolt of coiled electricity however aimed true, but with a deep horse stance the giant caught the lightning with the edge of his blade, blocking its transit to his midsection. The shadow of his own silhouette flickered vigorously as he ebbed against its force before eventually winning out and dissipating it with a labored slash. After a few moments of reprieve to catch his breath, Bosake would make a beckoning motion with his off hand, directing his scarabs to continue their swarm against Koshou.


COMBAT TRACKER

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WC: 344
Total WC: 23501d100

It's an impressive sight, the tall form of Bosake dropping into Horse as he uses his blade not unlike the other Soul Reaper had not only moments ago , using it as a foil against the blast of energy that comes at him in that defensive posture. Again, there's almost a bit of wind or pressure that swirls and kicks up a bit of dust about the giant man as he 'throws' the energy off of himself. 'Did he just pick that up now?' All the while, the sound of frustration and cursing growing as the sight of Koshou seems almost to be lost amidst a swarm and flurry of small reishi insects that continue to do their best to pain and impede the man from afar. No matter how he swings his blade or tries to shoo the little tornado of scarabs, Koshou cannot seem to shake them.

"Gah!" There's growling of a sort from the man before he's trying to swing that sword more precisely, trying to cut down the little swarms but also to no avail. Eventually the aggravation begins to build until the man is simply rushing forward toward Bosake now swarm of pestering bitemes and all. As he rushes forward, one hand tears at his Shihakusho and rips the chest of the kimono off of himself and throws it toward the giant man and then with another swing of that blade he throws the last of the residual lightning still coiling around his sword at the kimono cloth and Bosake trying to disguise it behind the obstruction. Rather than trying to cross blades again, he takes a move from his opponent as well and a wave of reishi gets sent racing toward the giant manifesting as a searing, intense heat ripple as he pushes forward with his own hand to release the energy. The push back and forth threatens to extend even into the kind of ring of other onlookers and students that have sort of done what's natural in this kind of situation. Now bare to the waist, it's easy to see the layering of stiff, white bandage-like cloth that's been wrapped about and about his midsection over and over. It doesn't seem as soft as regular cloth, and the damage and fraying that it shows doesn't seem consistent across the board, but surely seems to be mitigating a little bit of damage or compensating for it in some way. There's no words from the Shinigami now, just an eerily excited expression that borders on feral as the proverbial and literal dust begins to clear.

COMBAT TRACKER




1d12·1d100+40·2d6·1d100