I know nothing about sword fighting. All of my knowledge comes from the Drizzt books and this little movie playing in my head. Writing the sparring was fun.
Shinigami -death god, soul reaper
Konso -soul burial (sends plus souls to Soul Society)
Zanpakuto -(no real translation, but it's the physical weapon manifestation of the reflection of a shinigami's soul)
Wooden blades cut through the air at unnatural speeds, frequently coming together in successful defenses. The combatants flew at each other again and again, skidding, ducking, leaping over the borrowed training grounds. A black cat watched from a distance, paying far more attention than any normal cat would.
"Where did you learn to fight?" Rukia asked, impressed. Even if his moves were graceful, his slashes were awkward, and that had nothing to do with his bandaged hand. He had never used Japanese-style weapons before. Ryou smirked, that kind of grin alien to his soft face.
"A friend tried teaching me, but I moved away before I could learn too much. I've been picking up other information and incorporating it into my fighting style since then." Rukia somehow doubted that, but said nothing. Neither of them panting, they slid back into stances, wooden practice swords at the ready.
Ryou held a stance more suited for two smaller blades, but adjusted and held the sword at an unusual angle. Rukia's stance was one she learned during her academy days in Soul Society, wielding the sword with practiced ease.
They flew at each other once more, neither backing down to the challenge presented. Ryou's battle plan included many feints, blocking at the last possible second, and relied on slipping around the opponent through a series of feints and blocks to stab them in a pressure point. In short, the kind of strategy one would expect from an assassin. They broke apart.
"I don't think that's your kind of weapon. Your stance would be better with something smaller, with one in each hand."
Ryou nodded. "That might be better."
Rukia opened the chest full of practice weapons, and withdrew two dagger-sized bits of wood.
The flurry of fighting began again. Rukia noticed Ryou relaxed at the divided weight in his hands, but he didn't drop his defenses. If anything, Rukia had to work harder to avoid finding herself slashing at air.
When they stopped for a rest, neither of them having won, their breath coming out in heavy gasps.
"You're really good. I haven't done sparring like that for a while," Rukia said.
Ryou laughed; a harsh, barking sound. "Likewise. I picked up a few things from you."
"Do rien," Rukia said, slipping into French again. Ryou kept to Japanese, to her disappointment.
"I was worried my non-traditional training would put me at a disadvantage. I guess my worrying was for nothing. Same time and place to tomorrow?"
Rukia mopped the sweat from her brow and smiled at him. "Of course."
Ryou picked up his school bag and left, leaving Rukia to pack up the practice swords. Once finished with that, she went up the ladder and out the shop.
Her soul phone beeped. She flipped it open to see the pulsating dot on the screen, alerting her to a nearby hollow. She popped a soul candy in her mouth, and her soul separated from her body, dressed not in the school uniform, but in traditional black clothing from . She ran down the street. The body, now inhabited by an artificial soul, stayed at the shop.
She saw Ryou jogging in the same direction, an identical figure next to him. As she neared, the second figure became Ryou's reflection on a glass window. The hollow roared, leaping off the rooftops.
"Ryou!" Rukia yelled, "Look out!"
Ryou dived out the path of the hollow, recovering through a barrel roll. The hollow's landing destroyed a few benches and a mailbox. Rukia unsheathed her zanpakuto and charged at the hollow. She was forced to block a slice from a giant claw, and noticed out of the corner of her eye Ryou ducking behind the hollow. Two soot-covered daggers appeared in his hands. Rukia lost sight of him as a second claw came down on her. She jumped out of the way and used that opportunity to escape the first claw, her sword sliding away with a flash of white sparks from the friction.
The hollow drew its claw back, and Rukia raised her sword in a defensive position. The blow never came, replaced by a howl. Rukia shot around for a second hollow, but none could be seen. The first hollow's claw remained raised, trembling, the rest of the creature shaking with it.
Rukia's eyes widened. She had seen this before a few days prior. Something else had killed that hollow, and apparently it was after this one too. Taking advantage of the paralysed hollow, Rukia jumped at the chance and sliced its dog-like mask.
The hollow disintegrating, Rukia grabbed a wide-eyed Ryou and flash-stepped them both back to Urahara's shop.
"Are you okay?" Ryou asked, voice filled with worry.
"I'm fine." Rukia's voice turned sharp. "What did you think you were doing?"
Ryou looked shocked. "I was trying to help!"
"Normal weapons can't hurt hollows," she scoffed.
"What about your sword?" Ryou demanded, all traces of shock gone.
"It's my zanpakuto; it purifies hollows. I'm a shinigami, you're not. You could have had an absence seizure out there, and then who knows what could have happened?"
Ryou stopped at one word: "Shinigami? A death god?"
"It's our duty to help souls pass on, either through a soul burial or what happened back there."
"Where do they go?" Ryou flipped from worry to demanding, and now to genuine curiosity. It frustrated her, but she calmed herself down and answered him.
"Soul Society. It's like normal life in an old-fashioned setting, except no one ever goes hungry unless they're destined to be a shinigami."
"So you're dead?"
"Yes. I'm older than you by four of your lifetimes." Rukia's temper refused to be quelled. "So let me take care of hollows!"
"Rukia, how old can shinigami live to?"
"Thousands of years, but it's very rare to find one over a thousand. We usually die of natural causes or from physical injuries." Rukia told herself that once this child's curiosity was satisfied, he would do as she said.
"How old can plus souls live?"
Odd question, but a question nonetheless. "In the living world, not long. A hollow might eat them or their chain will wear away, turning them into a hollow. That's if we don't get to preform a konso first. In Soul Society, they live indefinitely, long enough for them to forget their time among the living. Then they're reborn."
Her anger boiled over. "You could have been killed! You have no way to fight them and if you had an absence seizure it would have doomed-!"
Rukia broke off, realizing Ryou had missed what would have turned into a viscous rant, instead dealing with said medical problem.
I just noticed you readers might get confused with the names 'Ryou' and 'Rukia'. For the sword fight, I wanted to show that Bakura was evenly matched with most shinigami.
Nebel: I don't know what it actually sounds like, but it looks like it sounds like new bell from an English-speaking point of view. My penname is French for Silver heart. Sometimes people shorten it to Argent, silver. Bakura wants someone to spar with, and to learn a few things. Of course with muscle memory most of the training passes to Ryou. I think I'm making Ichigo a bit OOC with paranoia. As for finding out about Bakura, well, if I give you a hint that'll give away that idea. But that won't be for a while. I want to wait for other events to come to pass.