The walk was short for Arata and Candice, the girl's house being not that far from where they fought the thugs. They enter the house and are greeted by a modest looking living room linking to a fairly sized kitchen. The thing that caught his attention however was the large screen T.V.
Candice looks to see the executioner make his way towards her couch and scrambles to stop him, telling him to wash up first before anything else. She then shows Arata the bathroom on the second floor and asks him to leave his clothes but his underwear in the hamper where she can wash them up. He again follows her orders and strips. Candice looks on and subtlety licks her lips before she regains herself, taking his clothes and leaving before Arata bared all his glory to her. As she leaves, Arata takes off his mask, putting it atop his underwear.
He showers peacefully, silently thanking the blessing that was warm running water. He steps and changes into what little clothes he had. He goes to the living room and sits down on the couch before turning on the T.V. An action movie immediately pops up, a car chase happening before him. He settles into the sofa, relaxed but the calmness was pierced by a seductive "Hey" near the stairs.
The culprit was Candice and she stood there changed. Her attire from before was now swapped out, a black and lacy bra and pantie set replacing it. She walks to Arata, swaying her waist from side to side and stands in front of him, blocking his view of the T.V. She sends him a sultry smile as she then sits on his lap and wraps her arms around his neck. She gently pulls his head toward her own. Arata does not respond to her advances, not one bit, having made himself immune to a woman's charm.
The lime-haired woman grinds her lower half on his thinly clothed lap but does not excite the man. He remains soft. Her face shifts into that of annoyance. "Are you gay of something?" she questions Arata which only results in the man tilting his head to the side in confusion.
Candice sat there in disbelief. First he didn't know what an arcade was, not he doesn't know what 'gay' was? "You know... homosexual?" she said somewhat awkwardly. Arata only tilts his head again, further confused. Candice growls in frustration and bluntly say, "Do you like fucking guys?"
Arata lets out a silent 'ohh' before she shakes his head no. "No. I prefer women as sexual partners" he said simply. The girl on top of him suddenly shifted, turning angry. If he was attracted to women but her advances weren't doing jack shit, is he saying she isn't pretty?!
"Then why the hell aren't you getting hard?!" she practically yells into his face.
"Because only I control who I am aroused by" he then says. She then light grips his thick neck, her hand barely encompassing the thick nape and squeezes it lightly.
She growls, "You saying I'm not pretty enough to be turned on by?"
"No. You are pretty. It's just I refuse to let carnal desires to fuck control me"
She looks down at him surprised. Never has she seen a man withhold his own arousal. He truly is something.
She sighs disappointingly. "Damn. Now the moods broken". She then takes notice of the T.V, too engrossed in seducing Arata to notice the film that was playing. "Oh nice! I love this movie!". She then shifts her body around until she was in a position where her legs were draped over Arata's lap and her upper body was next to his.
The two watched until the movie ended. Arata then collects his stainless clothes and makes his way to the front door.
"Hold up" Candice says before Arata opened the door. "If you wanna hang out more, come by. You're... something"
"... Is that a good thing?"
Candice lets out a cute giggle. "Well, you aren't boring that's for sure". Arata simple nods to that and takes his leave. He was about to make his way to Orihime but changed his mind, going to Urahara's instead.
As he closes the door behind him, Candice's expression turns more serious and she goes off to change. "His majesty will sure want a report".
*Flashback ends*
Yoruichi was laughing like it was her last day on earth. Arata, in contrast, was silent as he reached his 1000th push up, his arms barely tiring.
"A beautiful girl was ready to jump your bones and you willed yourself to not get hard!" she laughed. "Damn Arata. You sure you aren't a prude?" she then teased before she yelped as Arata stood up, making Yoruichi roll off him. She frowns but then smirks as she says, "You know, I'm gonna need to punish you now"
"Bring it" Arata challenged. The flash goddess quirks an eyebrow at the fact he isn't picking up his sword but shrugs it off as she rushes the man. Just as he was in range, she goes for a series of jabs against Arata but to her pleasant surprise, he blocks them.
She smirks up at him. "You're getting faster. Good". Arata attacks, throwing precise kicks aimed at her head but she evades with little difficulty. She then sees Arata close in on her and punches her to which she blocks. She winces though, the punch probably causing a light bruise underneath her sleeves. The executioner doesn't stop his offense, however, as he closes in at her again, throwing a mix of brute punches and skillful jabs. Yoruichi, who was focused in defending, shamefully neglected her legs as she soon felt a hard kick at her kneecaps and buckles slightly just as Arata was about to land a punch right to her face.
But it was not to be as Yoruichi blocks and grabs his arm. She turns her body, making Arata look at her back for a few seconds before the werecat throws him over her shoulder and into a nearby leafless tree.
"Damn. Nearly had me there Arata. You really are getting faster...but," she then walks to where Arata laid. The man in question had stars dancing in his vision before He looks up at the golden-eyed woman. "You can be even faster" she said as she smiled.
Before Arata could ask what she meant, she disappears before his eyes. He looks around before he finally sees her meters away from him. Just as he did, she flashes again, appearing in front of him.
"That redhead did the same thing awhile back. I assume this is a known soul reaper technique?" he inquires. He remembers his mentor's words, about how a warrior must always be versatile in their skill to be able to overcome whatever situation they may find themselves in. That was why he was trained intensely, focusing on all aspect of his body, sculpting him into a fast but strong fighter. While he enjoyed overpowering his foes, staying at a pace they couldn't keep up at was also entertaining.
Yoruichi simply nods. "It's called shunpo or flash step. To boil it all down, it allows you to move faster than the eye can follow. With that out of the way... want to start?"
Arata steps back from the purple haired woman and nods. She smirks a devious smile causing Arata to sweat drop.
Some time later...
Arata focus again, trying to muster up a burst of speed from him. Through out the hour training with Yoruichi, the two worked to get Arata prepped and ready to preform shunpo. It consisted of the two fighting each other with Yoruichi using flash step on Arata to both improve his senses and hopefully make his preform shunpo at least once.
To Arata's displeasure, he didn't. Yoruichi assure him that the technique takes time to fully get down so there was no need to feel frustrated.
"Then that means more training. Good. I am eager" he said though his voice didn't give off his eagerness.
While Yoruichi appreciates a dedicated person, someone who was willing to go to great lengths to improve themselves, she doesn't want Arata to overwork himself. "Take it easy alright? Stuff like this shouldn't be rushed and you'll only damage yourself if you push your body too hard"
While the masked man understood the woman's logic, time was of the essence. It wasn't a matter of if butwhen his next fight was going to come. Powerful people always battled. Whether by choice or chance, it didn't matter and he wanted to be prepared. He knew the instance he encounter his first hollow that the power of future enemies was only going to increase so he had to prepare himself.
"Understood" he said simply. Yoruichi frowns slightly, feeling as if he didn't understand but nods regardless. "I should be off. Orihime is probably worried about my whereabouts" he then said.
Yoruichi smiles and says, "Sure Arata. Take my words to heart and come by whenever you want to train more".
He leaves the underground area and enters the shop. He sees the tanned man, Tessai. The man was sweeping the floors before his eyes landed on Arata. The executioner paid him little mind until Tessai greeted him.
"Hello Arata. How was training with Yoruichi?" he asks. "Rough I take it?"
Arata wasn't one to partake in small talk and responded with a simply "Yeah" before heading to the door. He was stopped once again by Tessai's voice.
"Fighting isn't the only skills a soul reaper knows" he states. Arata looks back at him to see him sweeping the floors but he continued to talk. "How about I give you some kido lessons?"
"Kido?" Arata said confused.
Tessai pushes up his glasses. "Kido is a form of soul reaper combat focusing on spells and incantations. Considering I have ample time, I see no reason not to teach you. They may actually serve you well in the future".
Since coming to this new world, Arata has been fascinated by the use of such magic. Plus, if it meant he would improve as a warrior and learn a new skill, he will take it. "Sure".
Tessai smiles lightly. "I am happy to hear that. I look forward to teaching you but for now, I think it is best you return to Orihime. She worries quite easily" he said. Arata nods and heads off, eagerness in the future coursing through his veins. He is going to get faster and learn spells. What an eventful future.
He presses his mask and returns to being human. He arrives back to the apartment and knocks. The sole occupant opens the door and smell attacks his unprepared nose and he recoils slightly. "What are you cooking?"
Orihime smiles brightly and says, "Chicken and lamb curry with red bean sauce!" she said with enthusiasm. "I figured you had a hard training session so I decided to whip up a protein-filled post-workout meal!"
"I... thank you for the consideration but there was no need"
The girls continues smiling and say, "Don't worry about. Now c'mon, it almost done. Take and seat and we'll eat together"
"Hold on. I got this for you" and he hands the stuffed bear to the girl. She lightly gasps.
"Oh gosh, thank you Arata! I know just where to put this". She then places the bear next to Enraku, her pink teddy bear. "I think I'll name you..." she then contemplates a nice name. "Kofuku!" she beamed.
"'Happiness'?". He shrugs. It's her bear now, naming rights go to her. "Let's just eat"
Seems like you're gonna met the toilet again soon.
Arata disregards the voice and sits at the table in the living room. Orihime steps out the kitchen with two plates of her creation. He grimaces slightly from the smell but the overall look looked normal enough. He takes a bite and notes that it wasn't as intense as her first dish he tasted. He gives off a thumbs up to which Orihime smiles brightly at. He turns on the television and flips through the channels, unsure of what he wanted to see.
"How about the news?" Orihime suggested.
"What channel is that?"
"Should be the next one actually" she said. He flips to the next channel and stares at a professional dressed anchorman announcing the latest news.
"-In other news, a 10 bodies were found dead in an alleyway a mile away from Karakura high school. Police reports suggest gang warfare took place as the bodies were affiliated with the local street gang, Oni. Police also report that nearby surveillance camera were fried, presenting no clear culprits as of right now"
"My goodness!" Orihime gasps. "I swear the gangs in this town are getting more and more violent everyday" she commented, disapproval laced in her voice.
"It wasn't gang violence" Arata stated before taking another bite. the orange-haired girl looks up at him, looking as if the deaths of the gangs members didn't faze him in the slightest. It unnerved her when she saw it.
"What makes you say that Arata?" she asks.
"Because I killed them" he said bluntly. He said it so casually, it was like talking about work or the weather. Her eyes widen and she moves her body back slightly but she chuckles nervously.
"You got me there Arata but this really isn't something to joke-"
"What are you talking about? I said I killed them" he said with no shame. He shakes the girl's soul from his confident claim. She tried to search for even a hint of teasing but she found none. what he said was the truth.
She was fine with the killing of hollows. In the end, they were going to be purified and be sent to either the soul society of hell. But the killing of another sentient, free-thinking person? That was something Orihime couldn't stomach. She avoided fighting because she didn't like fighting but killing made her feel sick. Even if the victims were gang members that were guilty of x amount of crimes, that didn't mean they should be killed.
Arata notes her appearance, notably her face. It was one of disbelief and horror, emotions he has encountered multiple times. He could tell what she was thinking just from her face. Why did he do it? How can he stomach ending a life?
Orihime was speechless for a minute before she returned to eating her dish, its taste dulled thanks to her emotions. Arat didn't expect this as he thought she would be trying to lecture him how wrong his actions were but instead of that, she reserved her voice and fell silent. He shrugs, apathetic about her or others opinions on his actions. If they didn't like it, tough shit. They just had to learn how to deal with it.
Arata changed the channel to an action movie and continued his meal. The two roommates ate in eerie silence and remained silent for the rest of the day.
