Jim ducked to his left, narrowly avoiding getting kicked in the face… for the third time at least

Goddamn, she's absolutely destroying me; I can't even begin to fight back

"You're incredible" Jim exclaimed, leaping backwards to evade Tatsuki's relentless onslaught

"And you're holding something back" she accused him, moving in to close the gap and catching him with two quick jabs to the gut "Is it because I'm a girl?"

Jim inhaled sharply as she punched him and tried to ward her away and catch his breath before replying

"I don't get it… this is a karate club right, so you'd only want to see what Karate I can do… of course I'm holding back everything that's not karate"

Tatsuki laughed… and continued to laugh, causing Jim to frown

"What?"

"You're not very bright are you?"

"That's a little rude…"

"Sorry, sorry" Tatsuki replied, stifling her laughter with the back of her left hand "Karate is just the set of techniques used in the fight… it's true that's what is taught, and there are prohibited attacks in competitions, but karate isn't only for sport, it's about self-defense first, I wanted to gauge how well you could defend yourself if this were a street fight"

"Oh… well then"

Jim seemed to speed up slightly, his stance and his demeanor far more comfortable and Tatsuki grinned, this was much better


"Please enlighten me as to your progress with the Tidewalker" The shadowy figure asked calmly, seeming to lean back into a large throne

A feminine voice replied

"He is strong my lord… but not unbreakable, we are proceeding behind schedule… but proceeding nonetheless"

Whatever replied the shadowy throne figure was about to say was drowned out by the sounds of Layne's screaming, causing the shadowy figure to smile

"And the Blood of the Mountain?"

"Lost in the retrieval of the Tidewalker… but we are preparing an expedition to recover it…If you could beseech our benefactors for aid in this endeavor…"

"I will consider your request, before you leave however… what of our search for the identity of the Thunder King?"

"Ongoing… the prophecy states that they will make themselves known once the Blood of the Mountain and the Tidewalker are known, so all we can do is wait for them to show themselves"

"Very well, inform me when the Tidewalker is prepared, I have plans for him"


"How is he now?" Moll demanded "We gave up a lot to get this stupid sword, it better be working!"

Isane turned to her, her expression hopeful, despite Moll's rudeness

"It's working, Lieutenant Bluzer is recovering"

"Thank god"

Moll seemed to waver, and swayed slightly before slumping down into a nearby waiting room chair

Isane knew her third seat and close friend well enough to notice that something was still very wrong, the details hadn't been made clear to her, but Moll had returned with the ominous blade that looked like it was made of blood and the hospital had set to work

"What happened out there?" she asked, curious as to what loss Moll was talking about

"Layne… we lost Layne"

Isane gasped audibly before demanding more information


Man, she totally annihilated me

Jim smiled to himself ruefully as he rubbed his sore neck, though the rest of his body ached something fierce, after Tatsuki had finished kicking his ass she'd given him some light instruction and some things to practice on his own

"You'll do" She had told him when he asked how his impromptu evaluation had gone "I've seen worse"

"I guess that's the best I can expect" he muttered to himself, at least happy he was being accepted some place, He hadn't managed to make any friends at school despite his best efforts, everyone seemed to be avoiding him for some reason, except Tatsuki, who after completely destroying him had seemed to warm up to him

Jim trained his eyes on the guy walking at least thirty feet in front of him, his host Ichigo, who'd alternating between cold and standoffish, and warm and friendly over the last week, Jim honestly couldn't figure out what the hell his deal was, it was like the guy was bipolar

A flash of movement caught his eye and he whipped his head around to witness a short and petite girl with black hair wearing a black kosode, hakama and a white sash around her waist, standing on top of a power pole and looking down directly at Ichigo and Jim as they walked

"Whoa, what's that girl doing?" Jim asked, attracting Ichigo's attention, pointing at the girl on top of the power pole

Ichigo turned around and looked in the direction Jim was pointing

"What girl?" he asked

"The one on top of the power pole!" Jim said before turning back in the girl's direction only to see empty sky "What the…? She was right there!"

Ichigo looked at Jim weirdly before turning around and continuing to walk

"I swear I'm not crazy!"


Exactly eight days after the sword had been delivered Joel strode directly out of the fourth division, steady on his feet, and his fists clenched, before being tackled in a hug by a speedy blur

Nemu had latched herself around his chest in an uncharacteristic display of affection, gazing up at him her green eyes seeming to pierce his very soul

Joel said the first thing that came to his mind

"Please don't kill me for being late, I have a good excuse" he offered lamely "I almost…"

Nemu glared at him, as if daring him to finish that sentence

Joel didn't have a good follow up and settled for merely stroking her shoulder, as she seemed rather unwilling to stand up, until Renji and Moll arrived, having heard that Joel was due out of the fourth division today

"Ready to go Joel?" Renji asked lightly, as he and Nemu stood up

"Yeah, let's do it" Joel replied, his face hardening "These bastards nearly killed me… and they've got Layne, I think it's high time for a little payback"

"Absofuckinglutely" Moll agreed