Rukia Kuchiki and the Blindfolded Barrage

This is a great idea, Rukia! Give the spiritual freak of nature some tips on how to fight better, what could go wrong!?

Rukia cursed inside her head once more as she was forced to throw her body to the side, narrowly missing a deceptively powerful fist punching a hole through her abdomen. Instead, the attack only cratered the dirt and caused a few tremors to emerge around them.

The trees shook, birds panicked and flew away, and the various forest critters watching their spar in morbid fascination trembled with primal fear. All of it was caused by the dough-faced boy with a smoking fist. Wrapped around his eyes, a simple cloth fluttered in the wind.

How did I even get into this situation!? Why did I willingly choose to subject myself to this type of danger!?

One Hour Ago…

"Let's eat, then we'll train okay?"

"Gotcha."

Now…

Oh… yeah.

Mash fiddled with his blindfold, obviously nervous about being in such a state. Which is the highest height of bullshit she'd ever seen! Here she was fighting with all her skill against his blind punches, and Mash was uncomfortable with wearing a piece of fabric.

His senses were good enough to track her every movement and accurately guess where he should next attack, to the point where Rukia believed he didn't even need eyes to fight. The only person she could compare him to was the Captain of the 9th Division Kaname Tosen, and he was actually blind!

"Why do you keep talking so much in your head?"

Rukia grumbled from her spot on the floor, picking herself up from where she tossed herself to avoid the hit from Mash. "Is that how you keep following me?"

"Sometimes. Mike warns me whenever you get too close."

Rukia blinked, "Who's Mike?" She asked, hoping she didn't regret her question.

"My right pectoral muscle."

…taking a deep breath, Rukia chose not to think about that and how exactly that works and hurriedly changed the subject. "Alright, round two. This time, I want you to stay in that exact spot. Try to defend without taking a single step."

Mash shifted, planting his brown slacks into the ground beneath him. He nodded, "Kay."

She dashed forward, gripping the handle of her Zanpakuto with both hands. Twisting her hips as she got closer, Rukia gave an upwards slash with her whole body. The only indication Mash got of her impending attack was a sharp exhale through her nostrils, but it was enough.

Mash's muscles twitched as her blade approached his chest, forcing Mash to twist his upper body to the side while keeping his feet firmly planted as her swinging sword strike just barely scrapped his pectorals. His instincts screamed at him to take a step back, or at the very least step to the side, but Rukia told him not to move his legs. She's older than him so she's gotta know better than him, right?

Rukia hardly seemed put out by Mash's casual dodge, planting her sandals into the dirt and loosening her grip on her blade. She turned her next attack into a downwards slash meant to slice him open. She held back of course, no matter how strong the opponent accidents still happen. Being careless and just assuming Mash is strong enough to handle her at full power would be inviting trouble. Should Mash make a mistake, Rukia would capitalize on it. Only to teach him to not make it again. She's the teacher in this scenario after all.

Exhaling, Rukia put all of her weight into her forward momentum and cut Mash down his toned chest. Mash responded to this by catching her Zanpakuto in his hands, just before the edge could harm his friends. The blindfold-wearing Mash was reflected onto the blade, his serious demeanor a clear contrast to the baby-faced kid she met earlier. The blade trembled as Rukia tried her best to pull it out of his grip, both hands not being enough to wrench it out of the inescapable hands of Mash Burnedead.

With her sword firmly in his grasp, he grunted and threw it to the side, Rukia included. She flew through the air, taking note that the sky has already darkened. How long had it been since they started practicing? The question would remain unanswered as Rukia gracefully rolled in midair, catching her fall on one foot. Launching herself off of the said foot, Rukia brought herself back to Mash. "Mistake number one! You caught my weapon, why didn't you disarm me before throwing me?"

"Uh…" Mash tilted his head to the side, contemplating the complicated question. Why didn't he do that?

"Mistake number 2! You took your mind off of the ongoing fight!" Rukia dashed and brought her Zanpakuto up perpendicular to her body, stabbing for Mash's creampuffs. The ones below the belt.

Mash sensed that his precious two puffs were in danger, as well as his chances at a future family. Crouching down and shifting his feet into a wide power stance he became intent on catching the devious Rukia before she severed his lineage. He did not want to know whether he was strong enough down there. That's one area he never exercised in.

Rukia gave a sharp smirk, delighted in the fact that he played right into her admittedly small hands! With Mash's wide stance and her lithe enough body, she slid right under his grasping hands and right between his legs. Twirling around mid-slide, just before he left her range, Rukia let out a cry, slicing at the Achilles tendon on his left foot.

Of course, Mash's muscles warned him of the extreme danger and he listened, lifting his left foot and rolling away from the singing blade. He was up on his feet in less than a second, ready to continue the fight against his friend/teacher. Despite being blindfolded, Mash could feel Rukia's smirk on her face. It took a moment for him to realize that he moved his feet, signifying his loss.

He lost… why did that feel so weird? He knew that they were only doing this exercise to strengthen his mind and by extension his senses, forcing him to listen to Rukia's thoughts during combat and react to them. Every loss meant something for him to improve upon, something to strive for besides just the next workout or creampuff. He knew that.

So, why did it sting so much when he didn't come out victorious? Mash never thought of himself as a prideful person. Maybe he just got used to beating every challenge he ever met, whether it be workouts given to him by his pops, or the wildlife looking for their next meal.

"Huh, that's weird." Mash succinctly summarized.

Oh well, he lost. Time to move on. Reaching up to finally take off his blindfold, Mash leaned back as Rukia's stab went over his face.

Backing up, he asked her. "What are you doing? I lost."

Still smirking, the slightly sweaty Rukia held up three slender fingers. "Mistake number three! You put your guard down around an armed enemy."

Mash tilted his head once more, thoroughly confused. "But… I thought it stopped when I lifted my foot?"

Scoffing, Rukia answered back in an amused tone. "When did I ever say we'd stop if you moved?"

"Uh, is that a trick question?"

Groaning, Rukia slapped a palm to her face. "No. I only said you should try to stay in one place to better your reflexes."

"Did you? I remember your words sounding a lot shorter."

"I said something like that." No, I didn't.

"See! You just said you didn't!"

"Tch forgot you could do that."

Mash let out a soft breath, "Wow, your memory's bad."

Rukia's twitched.

He crossed his arms, having the gall to look pouty at her. Pouty! "So when will we stop?"

Rukia adjusted her grip on her Zanpakuto, her weapons ringing as she steadied herself, feeling an uncharacteristic bloodthirsty grin forming on her face. She couldn't help it, being a teacher turned out to be quite fun. Is this what her instructors always felt? Glee at not only teaching the next generation but also at the chance to beat up brats while under the guise of instruction? Is that why people take on students? Normally she would've been dismayed at that assumption, but since she's enjoying herself so much she couldn't find it within herself to care.

Pointing the tip of her blade towards her friend/student, she answered his question. "We will stop when I say we can stop!"

With her piece said, Rukia leaped into action. Mash mimicked her, tossing his fist behind him.

The Soul Reaper let out a battle cry, feeling her blade sing through the air. Its target, the venerable wall of muscle rushing toward her. Mash inhaled, feeling the speeding wind around him flow throughout his body and into his muscles. Energizing his blood to better his fighting capabilities. Exhaling, he cocked his fist and punched.

Boom!

Their sounds of battle echoed throughout the night. Mash's father didn't get much sleep that night.