Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Hornet and Phantom. Enjoy the 4000-word chapter. I don't own Bleach, Tite Kubo and a few others do.
Sparks flew from their blades as both slid backward. Both Sui and Riku shared a look at each other. He was curious at the moment about what was happening next. Sui looked at her soaked clothing, spinning her blade as Riku and she circled each other.
"I think I'm getting a hang on this, but think is not the same," Riku said while cracking his fingers as he tightened his fingers around the hilt of his blade. "How do you constantly focus this much energy and not pass out," Riku said while he sighed and charged forward a moment later.
Sui ducked the slash while kicking Riku backward, throwing him into the water. He sighed and slowly stood up at the moment, looking at the smirking captain. It was a sign he was beginning to enjoy the more he encountered it because of how he knew for a fact that it was a rare sight.
"Hmm…" Riku said before Sui flung herself at Riku who was busy focusing his energy a moment later.
He sighed and hummed a moment later. He blocked her blade, grabbing her arm as the duo started to grapple once more. Riku stabbed at her right foot only for her to loop it around his chest.
"How many times are you going to try that?" Sui asked, somersaulting onto Riku's shoulders before tilting backward.
"About as many times as you're going to snap my neck like that," Riku said while he nodded once more. "I'm beginning to believe you enjoy trying to grapple with me at the end of the day," Riku said while he hummed.
He collapsed into the water, taking Sui with him as the duo's swords slid away from them at the moment. Sui was unconcerned as Riku focused his reiatsu towards throwing her backward.
"Hmm…" Riku said while Sui blinked in concern and interest as she turned to look at her friend. "So, is this what you've wanted?" Riku said as Sui rolled her eyes a moment later.
"Yes, but do not get distracted by that much power," Sui said as she hummed and spun her sword a moment later. "You will not be able to control it if you do not focus? Well, this time, you know better next time," Sui added before she started her attack all over again.
"It is not impossible to win that easily, you should know," Riku added while he sighed and started to think of a new move.
He stopped trying to use his Reiatsu. It wasn't like it would stop Sui and him from clashing anymore. They were BOTH determined to defeat the other. She threw herself towards Riku who was unable to do anything but throw himself backward, aware of HOW dangerous she was if she got close to him.
"You know… This is rather fun unless you constantly think about all the cuts you might get." Riku said as he locked blades with Sui again.
She smirked, she almost wondered what it would be like to cut loose… But she thought better of the idea, doing that would only cause more pain, and while she was FINE with using pain as a teacher? She was neither ok with destroying the entire Soul Society for a training match nor was she ok with hurting her friend.
"I suppose a bloodthirsty savage would enjoy it," Sui said as Riku chuckled before being pushed back. "As I said, a bloodthirsty savage such as yourself," Sui said which garnered a smirk from Riku as he turned to look at her with interest.
"Your aware YOU are also enjoying this far more than you believe, yes?" Riku asked with a smirk of his own. "Don't try and hide that smirk. What do you enjoy the most about this then? It isn't like I'm trying to make this a fight to the death, I'm not one of the other captains." Riku added as he twirled his blade through his fingers a moment later.
Another kick sent him back into the water as Sui smirked and leveled her blade towards her student. She was beginning to see WHY Kenpachi enjoyed combat so much, but to her? Making Riku look ridiculous was its reward in her book at the end of the day.
She'd tell him that, but she also didn't want to hurt his feelings. It was also more fun just to mess with him like this as his constant struggling was amusing was something she could improve given enough time and effort.
"You know I'm taking this as seriously as possible, right?" Riku said while he pointed his blade in her direction. "Anything less aside from the occasional joke? You'd have my head on a pike. You know that, right? I'm not that stupid." Riku said which got a hum as Sui crouched down and faced him once more.
He knew that she was enjoying this fight and that made him happy. The slight of her small smirk which was something that Riku had rarely seen on her face… Then again? If it was so easy to see her smirk? Riku could also tell she was far more serious… Or at least, she was trying to pretend, and she was failing due to the amount of amusement she seemed to take from this.
The woman watched as she threw herself forward at the moment. He was forwards backward, throwing himself backward as he slid through the water, trying to regain his balance while Sui lunged after him, slashing at him in a way that almost made him glad she wasn't going all out.
"I only enjoy teaching," Sui said which got a raised eyebrow. "And your company, Riku. Even if you can be incompetent at times and often make me question how you've gotten through training." Sui joked as Riku rolled his eyes and started to focus his energy once more.
Sui watched with interest as he turned to look at the energy building. It was still a flawed technique, but it was clear there was potential that be trained into something grand given enough time and effort.
"You're putting too much energy into your technique; you should know that for a fact," Sui said as she slowly but surely walked towards him. "You could kill yourself doing that if you do it so stupidly, you know," Sui added while Riku shrugged a bit and slowly started to think about what to do next at the end of the day.
"You know this ISNT going to be as easy as you seem to think it is," Riku added as he closed his eyes before he heard the sounds of Sui drawing her sword a moment later as he paused to crack his fingers.
He smirked while chuckling and opening his eyes a moment later as he paused to look at her blade. Riku took another fighting stance while he cracked his back and settled into a spider stance once more.
"You know what's funny?" Riku asked and then aimed his sword towards her. "I heard you said I'm still learning, but you're not trying to outfight me. You keep trying to teach me when it comes down to it… That fight on the pillars was rather interesting, yes?" Riku said while he looked at her with amusement.
"Yes, it was rather interesting how you got subdued so easily," Sui said which got a roll of the eyes from Riku.
"Yes, losing to my teacher, a woman who's been in countless missions against hollows," Riku said with amusement as he chuckled and then started circling her once more. "Yes, she defeated a lone soldier, a single member of her division who's only studied under her for a… What? A week? Yes, congratulations, captain." Riku joked before he charged forwards, blade raised towards her.
He knew that Sui could defeat him easily at the end of the day. She was the captain of the division for a good reason. He could only ponder what was her next move.
"Your sense of humor is masking something… Is it a concern?" Sui stated while deflecting one of the slashes towards her ribs.
"Concern for my friend, yes," Riku said as Sui somersaulted backward. "You're my friend. I just want you to know that at the end of the day. I hate how you think that things have to be only the mission, always the mission. You act like you're not allowed to be busy in life." Riku stated as he cracked his fingers in response, readying for combat once more.
"I… Thank you." Sui stated as Riku nodded while he hummed. "It is nice to know that someone is a friend… Still? There are plenty of things to focus on when it comes down to it." Sui said before Riku shrugged.
"Then let someone else focus on it, Sui," Riku said, deflecting a blade at his neck and then kicking her backward. "There is ALWAYS going to be something to focus on. You know questions all can't be answered…. I want those answers, but I don't want to keep worrying about them." Riku said before he deflected another slash at his ribs once more.
Sui locked blades with Riku, sparks flying from their blades once again. He raised an eyebrow as Sui's eyes narrowed as she started to think about what happened, what Riku had told her.
"Don't constantly dwell on things out of your control," Riku said before Sui almost caught his ribs. "And don't stab me again, it's beginning to get old considering how used to it I am. You always go for breaking something important." Riku said with a smirk as he leaped backward.
"Someone has to keep you from forgetting you're not the teacher here," Sui added while Riku hummed and shrugged.
"I think we've both learned a lot from this," Riku said as he paused to crack his neck. "Like how you learned constantly pretending to be focused and stoic is just hurting yourself and you need to stop. You're acting like you're not serious 100% of the time? Something terrible is going to happen, it isn't. You are WELL aware of how often things are out of control here. Do you need me to remind you of our best warrior? The one you consider an affront to all we stand for?" Riku said while Sui was silent a moment as Riku hummed.
It was far more amusing to him than he had any reason to believe it was. He charged forward; his sword raised towards her as he leaped towards her. Sui paused to sidestep the strike, grabbing him by the left wrist and flipping him into the water. Riku countered by gripping her free arm and pulling her into the water a second later.
Sui growled, but she had to respect the move. They were trained to fight dirty if they had to… And she knew Riku was simply screwing her which caused her to smirk as both climbed to their feet.
"You good?" Riku questioned as he spun his blade through his fingers as he nodded to her while she climbed to her feet a moment later.
Sui held her sword towards him. Riku started to do the same as Sui smirked before slamming her sword into the ground. Riku hummed as she slugged off her captain's jacket while he raised an eyebrow and then looked at her with a nod as he flipped his sword around and slammed it into the water.
"I'm going to regret this," Riku said while he cracked his back and then started to think of what happened next.
Sui grinned and rushed forward, throwing herself into a dropkick which Riku ducked before he threw a punch. Sui blocked it with her palm before twisting around to elbow Riku in the jaw, throwing him off his feet as he rubbed at his chin.
Blood dripped from his jaw as Sui took another fighting stance, Riku hummed and looked at it before surging forward. Sui went for a punch only for something to blind her eyes. She felt the liquid slam into her eyes, causing her to rub at them.
Riku seized the opportunity, punching Sui before grabbing her left arm and sweeping her feet out from under her. Sui countered by shooting out her right arm, balancing in a handstand as she wrapped her feet around Riku's throat as she twisted. Sui spun around, collapsing into the water as Sui flipped to her feet.
"Damn it…" Riku muttered as he collapsed into the water, rubbing at his throat before looking at Sui who was busy smirking.
"You have the skill and training to keep up a good fight… But you're being cocky." Sui stated before Riku kicked her backward. "Do you wish to interrupt my teachings?" Sui questioned as she picked herself up from the water a moment later.
Riku could only slowly start as he cracked his fingers, realizing that he was going to be picking a fight with someone who was FAR stronger than she looked. This woman was far more dangerous than he appeared.
"I'm learning so much already," Riku said with a smirk as he chuckled to himself. "You know many within the division think you don't care about our lives… I know you do; you wouldn't be worrying like this unless you care to a degree." Riku said while he dusted off his hands.
Riku slowly inched closer towards her with a sigh. He expected more pain in the fight. He'd learn, sure… But getting thrown into the water again? He hated that, Riku was going to understand that she was toying with him.
"I do, but a leader cannot focus always on her soldiers," Sui stated while she pointed towards Riku. "If you were the standard of the division? Then I have no reason to worry as much. The Soul Society constantly needs warriors like us, we cannot be allowed to put ourselves above the majority." Sui added as Riku shrugged.
"If we don't care about ourselves? Then we're just throwing our lives away." Riku said as he crossed his arms a moment later. "Sui, you are well aware for a fact that our lives are far more important. We are CONSTANTLY on the frontlines of combat, engaging in missions behind enemy lines." Riku added while he rubbed at his temples.
Sui closed her eyes while she started to think about the mission down the road. Sui was quite curious about how the mission would progress if her enemies had already been dealt with at the end of the day.
"How are you so wise, but yet willing to do something like this?" Sui questioned as Riku shrugged.
"Because I have you as a teacher, you think I don't pay attention in class?" Riku asked, looking down at the water with interest. "I have plenty of topics on my mind, why? Didn't we talk about futures outside the Soul Society?" Riku questioned before cracking his fingers and sighing as he rubbed at his temples, a headache starting to form.
"Damn you, I did," Sui stated while she cracked her fingers, looking at Riku. "I do care about the rest of the division at the end of the day. It is just I must remain professional and on point. Friendships between master and subordinate often slow down the warrior in question. You are one of the few I've seen at the end of the day that can do that." Sui added while she hummed to herself.
Riku was silent as he finished rubbing at his temples. Still? They fought to continue, even if ended up putting him in the hospital. He was quite curious while he thought about the wounds he'd be feeling from this fight.
'Oh, I'm starting to think I made a mistake.' Riku thought to himself as he mentally sighed while cracking his fingers.
"Are we going to continue this?" Riku questioned, gesturing to the rest of the battlefield. "Well? You've already almost broken my arm, might as well finish the job… You kick like a horse." Riku added while he looked at his bad arm.
Sui raised an eyebrow, curious as to how he meant before he lunged towards her, hands raised in a double-fisted strike that sent her rolling into the water. Riku flipped into a hammerfist only for Sui to bring her feet up, catching Riku's chest as she vaulted him into the water, forcing him to dig in his fingers to stop himself from being hurtled back further.
He was about to push himself to his feet before he felt Sui tackle him, throwing both of them into the water and knocking him to the ground. He looked up and then blinked at Sui who pinned him to the ground a moment later.
"Hmm, didn't expect this to be honest, did you?" Sui heard from Riku as the two soul reapers looked at each other.
Sui looked at her loose hair coming loose, all part of the fight having made her reckless… But then again? If things had been that complicated, it wouldn't have been fun. Sui's hairs framed her face as she started to think as she thinks about his fight when things came down to it.
"Got it all out of your system, Sui?" Riku questioned, a smirk appearing on his bloodied face.
Was he done? Not even close, but there was no reason to let Sui know that. It would ruin the fun that he had. That? And he wanted Sui to have at least SOME moment of amusement before he took it away for the time being.
"Did you enjoy it?" Riku questioned with a small smirk written across his face which Sui didn't notice for the moment. "Please, I'd like to have an answer." Riku put in as he hummed, beginning to think about the next move during this fight.
"Yes, I do believe I did," Sui added to which Riku nodded for a moment as Sui smiled.
He let her have it for a minute as Riku blinked, silently questioning what his next move was in this fight. He took a deep breath, readying himself for what he knew would be a rather sound thrashing if this fight went the way he expected it to.
Sui was cut off as Riku slammed his head into hers, leaving both of their heads ringing and bloodied as he threw Sui off him, rising to his feet as he looked at her. Sui grunted in pain while her head throbbed.
"That was why I asked," Riku said, rubbing at his head which was covered in crimson. "You, ok? You remember that you said to use every tool in the book, remember? That meant to do something stupid like that." Riku said as he pushed himself to his feet before he shook his head.
"You do realize now I have no reason to hold back now, yes?" Sui questioned, pushing herself to her own feet while starting to look back at him. "But yes, I do remember that lesson, I'm glad you've remembered it to begin with. Someone had to catch onto my lessons." Sui added as she cracked her fingers and prepared for a fight with her friend once more.
Riku could only roll his eyes as he sighed and nodded, smiling despite the overwhelming pain wracking his body currently. he smiled towards Sui.
"Yeah, was kinda figuring you'd say something like that, Sui," Riku stated with a pained smirk crossing his features. "Just thought I'd give us both a minute before it came to that," Riku added, rubbing at his chin with pain evident in his very features.
This was going to hurt, it would hurt a lot, Riku expected… But it was still something that Riku knew Sui had enjoyed to a degree. The small smirk written across her features told him just how much it had gotten to her to begin with.
"You know, as fun as this turns out to be at times?" Riku said and then looked up at the sky above them. "I question why you dislike this so much when it occurs. You enjoy doing more than being a captain, yet you hate the idea anyone considers you a friend. Why? Do you think me so weak that I cannot defend myself, Sui?" Riku questioned, raising an eyebrow as he rested a hand upon his hip.
"No, but that does NOT mean you can just act so callously," Sui added to which Riku only inwardly chuckled.
There was a flurry of emotions written across Sui's features. She was contemplating her next move, anger spreading across her face as the fact that one of her students had pulled such a nasty trick upon her.
Still? She had to commend it. Sui often wondered what was going to happen and Riku was certainly shaping up to be an interesting opponent the more this fight dragged on in his head.
"Do you want me to point out for a fact that your smiling?" Riku said as the duo began to circle each other like ravenous sharks. "Because you are. I finally managed to make you smile during one of these fights, you just hate being seen as something other than a captain, Sui… We're still people under these robes." Riku said which garnered a nod from Sui.
She'd be lying if she said this fight hadn't lifted some of the stress from her shoulders. It was nice to cut loose, not worrying about the next move, not constantly focusing on battle plans. Sui let out a hum, pondering if she should hurt Riku. They were both worn down more than they had any real right to be.
"Aren't you tired?" Sui asked, her eyebrow raised as Riku shrugged. "Are you not wounded? I need all of my best warriors healthy for the mission at hand. That includes you, Riku." Sui added to which Riku shrugged.
"Maybe, but you said fight until one of us collapses," Riku said as he cracked another small smile as he looked at her with amusement. "Besides? By now? I'm kinda used to this fight when it comes down to it." Riku stated, resting his hands upon his hips as he began to sigh, too pained to think about the next move.
"Do not think I will take it easy on you today and in the future, even you are my friend," Sui stated, taking another fighting stance as Riku hummed, brushing off the remains of his soul reaper robes.
"Long as you don't hold back your emotions, I'm fine with that," Riku said while he surged forward, knowing that holding back would only serve to lead her into another fight.
He landed forward, ok with losing if it meant he got to enjoy his friend's company more than once, that was all he asked for at the end of the day. Unsure what to make of this, to begin with.
"Meh, I've been in worse battles, to begin with," Riku stated, curious as to how this was going to go.
Then again? Riku had been in these battles before and as of now? He had no real reason to hold anything back. It was just amusing to him at the end of the battle.
That suited him just fine if he managed to enjoy her company for just a few minutes more and such. That would be enjoyable.
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out I planned on this chapter being 7500 words, but I didn't know how to make the chapter interesting for that long. The next chapter is just going to be talking and show how close Sui and Riku have gotten since their battles. Until 2-10 months, Lighting Wolf out!
P.S: Next chapter is 900-2500 words at the moment.