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Post by MisterMau on Apr 18, 2023 22:41:52 GMT
Taka was a regular sight around 8th division at this point. While he and the 8th Squad's 3rd seat were often seen squabbling, they were still often seen together quite often for one reason or another. However, he had a very specific reason to come looking for her today...and boy oh boy did it burn him inside a bit. He grumbled to himself a bit, marching his way to try and find Suo around the 8th Division sector "can't believe I'm actually gonna ask the shrimp for help, she's never gonna let me live this down" the two had a very healthy rivalry (arguable on if it was actually healthy for the two of them), each of them having "won" at least a few times. Enough that they always argued who was actually ahead in their rivalry, though getting them to argue wasn't the hardest feat in the world.
With all of the chaos that had been going on after the Royoka incident, chief among them was the Quincy of all things, Taka found himself training more and more lately. He wanted to become more powerful, he had to keep up with Suo....he had to be able to protect her, a thought that had struck him very surprisingly while he was training one night by himself, it didn't seem to stop showing up either. It bothered him more than he was willing to admit, for one he knew that Suo could protect herself better than he probably could. The girl was a powerhouse on the battlefield. Taka was no slouch, but most of his combat prowess came in the form of technique and versatility, he was a very different type of fighter than Suo was. The other reason it bothered him was....just how much knowing that fact didn't make that feeling go away! So...he decided there was something he needed to get better at, ironically she was the best person to look for when it came to what he had in mind. He was also sure that she would never let him live down the fact that he was about to ask her for help. Aw hell, it's not like you give her any peace"
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Post by notdomino on Apr 18, 2023 23:04:11 GMT
The was urgent news, but then again there always was urgent news. Of the lax staff within squad 8, it was Nanao who really held things together. Both Suo and the cap would dump their work onto her when convenient. She'd give them both an earful, but her loyalty to being a person of duty would keep her from actually doing anything about it. Suo sat in a garden, her zanpakuto resting on her lap. She was in medi-... well who are we kidding here? She WAS meditating but fell asleep in the process.
For some reason, a memory of their drunken picnic with Asahi breached her mind. She'd never forget that day, or how strangely close it made the trio feel. From that day, she would converse with Kyoraku on politics among the gotei 13, and what it took to be a Captain. She didn't want a lieutenant or Captain position unless she remained in Squad 8. With a laugh, Kyoraku would always just tell her that he didn't plan on dying anytime soon. A more serious Nanao would just give her the same answer. So as 3rd, there was a hard truth that she'd just have to accept her station for the next couple hundred years. As for training, she took shots every night. This crop of shinigami were tough, but they couldn't out drink her. She wanted to maintain this newly found title.
A snot bubble burst upon her snoring nose, promptly waking her up. Patting the weapon, she-"Good talk." A groggy response, to a weapon she often was at odds with. She sensed someone familiar nearyby but made no effort to move. This spiritual pressure, it was actually coming to her. "Why hello~! Haven't seen your mug in a while." A big smile and warm welcome.
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Post by MisterMau on Apr 18, 2023 23:05:20 GMT
It wasn't long at all before he knew he was on the right track, he could feel her spiritual pressure not too far away. If he could feel hers, she'd for sure be able to feel his if she was paying attention "well, if I run off now she'll probably just chase me down to know why I fucked off" chuckling a bit and continuing on towards where Suo should be. Taka was of course met with a cheery hello, to which he responded "hey there Suo. Didn't know you could sit still long enough to meditate" not being able to help himself and immediately start to tease her "I ah....yeah, I should've said hi or stopped by more often I guess" looking off to the side a little embarrassed "sorry"
Taka was honestly unsure of what actually made him feel compelled to explain himself, or apologize, but....he couldn't deny something else. Even though it was just part of her greeting, she was right, he hadn't actually seen her a lot recently, he missed her though. Get outta your head!
"I actually uh...I wanted to ask your help with something" he sighed and continued to look off towards the ground "could you teach me how....how to improve my shunpo"
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Post by notdomino on Apr 18, 2023 23:06:50 GMT
"hey there Suo. Didn't know you could sit still long enough to meditate"
"sorry"
Suo recoiled. So much for being nice to the guy. Didn't he ever get tired of teasing her? Maybe it was an off day for her, as she usually would reply with a jab right back. A short lived silence would be followed up with an annoyed side eye. "Whatever.... " She was motivated, more than usual. With the arrancar sightings and even rumors of quincy stirring about, Suo was gearing up for combat. It felt as though war was truly upon them ever since Aizen had left.
She'd flipped her hair to put him in the hot seat. Seeing him squirm oughtta bring her mood back up. He'd supply the perfect ammo. "Ooooooh, but you want myyyyyy help?" She scoffed, pretending to inspect her weapon before resheathing it. "Man, it seems like not sitting still has it's uses. Riiiight~, Riki...sen...pai~~~?"
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Post by MisterMau on Apr 18, 2023 23:22:37 GMT
Taka frowned, letting a small sigh out "Yes....I want your help" crossing his arms over his chest and looking up from the ground and back to her "and yes....it looks like your energetic self has put you a league above me in speed" and then Taka smiled a little at her "but to be fair, if you weren't so bombastic then we probably never woulda met in the Rukongai" though he would be hard pressed to admit it aloud, he didn't think he'd change any of that...even the part where she stole his painting. If he hadn't had her to be motivation to get better and better...well, who knows where he'd be today.
"What do I gotta do to have some...I dunno...pointers? Lessons?" whatever it was she'd ask, Taka at least figured that whatever extra skills he could get to fight against the enemy would be put to good use. What good was he as a comrade to Suo if he couldn't keep up with her? It was one of the strangest things to him that the idea seemed so natural, as opposed to solely wanting to get better to beat her to the next step. "I guess you could always say no, but I'll go ahead n' warn you. I'll keep coming back to ask, either way I'm gonna just come bother you" smirking at her a bit, trying to repair his blunder from before.
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Post by notdomino on Apr 19, 2023 2:28:25 GMT
A smile would come across her face in the most devious fashion. This would be as easy as shoving work onto the lieutenant. What could he do to get some pointers, indeed? "Hmmm, I dunno Rikki~~~." Mulling it over, in the most exaggerated way possible. "Were you at the last 3rd seats meet- OH wait, that one was girl's only. Never mind never mind." Waving the thought off. The meeting was trivial really, but Taka sure didn't know that. She wanted to pull him closer but would let the distance between them be what it was. He mentioned their past, a memory she held dear. At the same time, it was something she wanted to get away from. There were new memories to be made. If he'd allow her to stick around, these memories could even be more... She blinked. Daydreaming for what, they were in mid-conversation! She briefly covered her face... Why was she nervous around him recently? It had to be his fault!
"I'll teach you on the condition you tell me a secret. Something juicy or else it won't count!" She laughed. To shake herself from these uncomfortably warm waters, she'd make some waves. "That's right... Tell me something that only you know, and I can teach you one thing person secret. "
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Post by MisterMau on Apr 19, 2023 3:55:29 GMT
There was no mistaking that smile, it was the same smile she had when she thought of anything that could remotely bother him. That being said, he couldn't help but like seeing her smile like that. Wait, meeting? What? "C'mon, man. Holding meetings behind my back? That's cold" sticking his tongue out at her. Did she freeze up? Just as he was about to say something to grab her attention, she seemed to snap out of it "thought I'd lost you there for a sec, you alright? Sit too long in the sun?" leaning down and putting his hand on her forehead to feel her temperature, mostly teasing her for spacing out "I thought I was the spacey one, don't go stealing my thing. Then what good am I?"
Taka blinked at her condition, leaning back and letting his wrist rest on the hilt of his sword "A secret? A..juicy secret? Huh....well, alright I guess that's fair" there was a pause as he considered the condition of her help "one lesson, one secret. Man, that's hard...I'm pretty sure you know more about me than most people, so I really gotta find something good" Taka tapped his forehead, lightly chewing his bottom lip and staring off with that spaced out look on his face damn runt, what's she up to? I mean, it's Suo....what's the harm in telling her anything, she's got my back through thick and thin.[/color] When did he start knowing that for a fact?
After a bit of thinking, he snapped his fingers and nodded "Got it. Here's a good one for you. Remember when you took that time to train for a while, and finally came out of it ready to kick ass? Well I got called in for an interview by a few of the Captains since we were in the same class together, and our...well, competitive relationship wasn't unknown at all. They wanted to know what I thought about your capabilities. I told 'em that I wouldn't be the shinigami I was today if it weren't for you. I guess a few people know about that, but they did ask me not to talk about the interview...soooo, I hope that counts?" giving her a thumbs up, and a big smile.
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Post by notdomino on Apr 20, 2023 0:46:04 GMT
As he leaned down, she remained still feeling the cool touch of his wrist touch her forehead. She was brave and resolute enough not to blush, but the heat under her skin would give Taka some warm feedback. He always messed with her, but was she imagining that things were a bit more touchy than usual? Perhaps it was because of their day out drinking with a mutual friend. They always say sake brings friends closer. Friends. She's look at him, flipping her hair to the side, exposing her ear. It was unconscious, but it would only get worse. She'd grabbed his arm as he told her this secret.
Frustration apparent, she- "That was a moment you were supposed to talk about yourself to those captains. You could have been a lieutenant by now if you'd just given yourself some more props!" Letting go, she'd fold her arms, but that was just a shunpo clone. She was already behind him. "I guess that counts. " She pouted, the clone vanishing slowly. "First you need the legs strength. It's kinda like posing your way into your next move. Wait wait wait, do over." Another speed clone.
Suo would reappear at the edge of the room. "It's liiiiiiike. Well you've gotta be fast at base speed. I can't quite recall you ever doing leg day. But anywho, another secret, mister." Her first tip wasn't worth a damn. She wasn't actually the best teacher. She could show him better than she could tell him. At the same time, she liked the cat and mouse.
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Post by MisterMau on Apr 20, 2023 2:10:29 GMT
What was it about her that just poked the most confusing parts of himself? Just the motion she made of flipping her hair made him...well, it sent a wave of some kind of emotion through him, he wasn't sure what to call it. He did know that he kinda liked it. There wasn't much time to think about it though. When she seemed to get....annoyed by his secret, and grabbed his arm in the process, he just sighed and smiled at her "so you're upset that I said good things about you? Aren't you upset when I say mean things, too? I can't catch a break" of course she was gonna show off her skills while teaching him, he was always impressed by how damn fast she was. She worked hard for every inch of progress, and it showed. It was time he tried to get on her level.
"Well thanks for the lesson, Suo-Sensei. I'll have to take leg day more seriously I guess, not like I need to get my arms any more toned" flexing his right arm with a laugh that settled into a goofy grin "so another one already, damn you're playin' hardball today. So way back in the academy I was totally into one of our teachers for a bit, but after I got to know her a bit better doing some after hours studying, it turned out she was really not my type. She was way too quiet" Taka looked over at her and quirked an eyebrow "so, that get me anything better than...do leg day?"
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Post by notdomino on Apr 20, 2023 3:19:42 GMT
"Mmmmmm, Suo-sensei. I like the sounds of that. Has a ring to it, like I'm a captain or something. Sonny you've got to walk a fine line between mean and nice." She'd lower her voice and give it a distinct Yamamoto-like grumble, but before laughing out loud. No way she could keep that up. She remembers when she used to be on that squad, those were some highly desperate times. She was grateful for their lessons and tutelage, but they were far too serious a group. Kyoraku was more her speed. Another speed clone would put her nearest where she'd been meditating, a stiff expression. An expression given as if he'd said someone had died. Another shunpo would put her to Taka's back. So he was looking at older women? So that's what he liked. She was saddened a bit upon hearing it. Instinctively she wanted to run away, but she already committed to the lesson. She'd pressed her forehead onto his back, before her hand would rest on his waist. "Point your waist where you'd like to go first. Almost like dancing." Her voice lost a bit of its usual fire. "Point, release some spiritual pressure at the ball of your foot and-" she vanished. She'd reappear much further this time, facing away from him. As much as it annoyed her that she had no shot, she was more annoyed that she thought she stood a chance in the first place.
Too quiet... But still the age gap. He must have liked an experienced woman. A woman that could show him a thing or two about dating. To be honest, she'd only played around, never dated seriously. Taka on the other hand was far more versed than she was. Instead of agonizing she pretended to breeze by hearing it, but was that the right move? Should she have consoled him?
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Post by MisterMau on Apr 20, 2023 3:49:02 GMT
"Captain Suo Hijikata doesn't sound too bad. I'm a bit more partial to the sound of Captain Rikimaru Takahiro, but I could settle for the first one" he couldn't help but snicker at her old man Yama impersonation "that was pretty good, Suo. It's like the old man himself were here in the flesh"however, per usual, something seemed to snap her mood to the other end of the spectrum out of nowhere. Weirdo.
Feeling her light touch at his back and his waist, he softened a bit and his lips curled into a warm smile. Point his waist, focus on the timing of the spiritual pressure, and the concentration in his foot. Suo was gone again, and he took that to mean he should try out what she'd taught Alright...here we go Taka pushed off and in the same instant let the pulse of spiritual pressure out. The intense speed was way more than he expected, he didn't quite know how to land, and he was about to careen into her back. At the last second, he slammed a heel down and sent himself careening face first into the ground, tumbling to a halt just a few feet behind her on his back "Ow....I tripped" he lied, making no motion to get up for the moment, rubbing his head where he'd hit it a few times in the crash.
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Post by notdomino on Apr 23, 2023 1:33:47 GMT
Suo chuckled in response, but only shortly. Taka seemed enthused to give it a shot, so he would. Watching she could tell he meant to do the right thing but it was as if he were fighting with his body. It wasn't surprising... men were often stiffer than women. When he arrived tumbling to her feet, she stoop down and brushed her fingers along his cheek. "Ummmm, that wasn't quite it. I was watching closely, but it looked like a leg left an afterimage. But not your whole seeeeelf~." She was rubbing his failure in... BUT she would lend a hand and assist him up if he accepted after such a jab.
She wouldn't do this without bearing a gift though. She'd relay a secret of her own. "Maybe I'm being a little too hard on ya. So here's a secret as an apology. I've always had a crush, but the person doesn't even see me or even acknowledge me in the same way. So I bite my tongue and only focus on getting stronger. They'll HAVE to recognize me if I'm the strongest woman in the soul society. "
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Post by MisterMau on Apr 26, 2023 5:57:38 GMT
Taka couldn't help but roll his eyes a bit at her while she rubbed it in, but there was also a level of enjoyment he got out of it that he didn't expect. Usually her teasing just made him wanna strike back, invariably leading to them entering some sort of teasing war that proved how close they really were as friends, the way they talked to each other was only found in those who knew each other very well. "Yeah yeah, sorry I'm not amazing at it on my first try. Maybe I'll do better next time, I think I have an idea of what I did wrong" he looked at her hand, reaching up and taking the help without thinking about it, standing up and wiping off the back of his head where he'd landed, grinning at her and saying "thanks"
It was Suo being so forthcoming with a secret that gave him any pause. He listened to her, and felt oddly.....jealous? For one, he felt like he would've known if she was interested in anyone like that. For two...he couldn't really put a finger on that, but the idea of someone else being around with them bothered him. Taka did his best to shake himself of that line of thinking, his face falling a little for a moment before he mentally shook himself off and brought up his smile again. It didn't reach as far as normal, however. "Oh, a secret crush? Well how about that" Taka tapped his chin and cocked his head to the side "I guess he...or she must be a bit of a dummy. Despite being a competitive brat sometimes, you're still...I mean...you're a great person and all, and it's hard not to admit you're...I mean you're pretty cute" it was light, but there was a small flush on his cheeks as he spoke. Why'd he say that? Why did he want to say it and it was still making him feel all weird?
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Post by notdomino on Apr 26, 2023 21:58:19 GMT
Suo nodded when Taka gave his thoughts on the shunpo but quickly, paid close attention to how he received her words. With everything laid out on the table for him, did he finally get it? He was the only male she spent extended periods of time with outside of work... Well, the soul society was pretty male-dominated, which she is trying to fix but that's a whole other issue entirely. It had to be him! How could he not get it? Sadly... sadly... sadly... the get-in free pass she was trying to gift him flew over the shinigami's head. Suo couldn't help but chuckle to hide her melancholy. Of course, he wouldn't get it. This is just who he is, the person she fell for. When he mentioned her being cute, her ears perked up. Well, maybe he wasn't suuuuuch an idiot after all. Or maybe he WAS. She'd play the game to win, not to get a broken heart. The safest route was to,-"I'm glad you can at least notice it." She paused to take a breath.
A hand sat on her hip. "Oh, but he's just got this thing about him, you know?" She was going to bleed the poor fool of compliments if she could. It was music to her ears. They bickered so much, a compliment was almost weird, enjoyable as it was. "Like he sees me try but I can't ever seem to get the message across. Maybe I'm just not cute enough... I know I can come off tough, but I'm still a woman... I have feelings too. " 3rd seat? This woman deserved an Oscar. She wanted him to pile it on, so she'd pile it on with her pseudo-vulnerable charm.
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Post by MisterMau on Apr 27, 2023 21:02:46 GMT
With a simple shrug, Taka replied with "of course I notice it. It's not like I'm unable to appreciate the good parts of you y'know . You totally get under my skin when you wanna, but I wouldn't put up with it if you weren't worth it to me" he was feeling strangely warm from this back and forth, like there was all this unspoken good between them that was bubbling up to the surface. What was the harm though, they'd be back at their regularly scheduled picking and poking soon enough, why not break it up with some good vibes?
"Hold up for a sec, just roll back whatcha said really quick. You think you might not be cute enough, or pretty enough, or whatever word for attractive you wanna use, for this guy? C'mon Suo. You're definitely out of most people's leagues. Don't let it get to you too much, I bet he just doesn't know how to figure you out. You're kinda complicated, I still feel like I'm catching up sometimes....and I'm pretty sure I've known you longer than anyone" Taka sighed and shook his head in a bit of disappointment "seriously though, you deserve to be noticed, and you definitely are the baddest gal in Soul Society in my book"
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