Standing tall on the other side of the clearing, 3rd Seat Ikkaku Madarame glanced at Hisa with narrowed eyes. "You must not be important enough to remember," he spat.
Fuming, Hisa clenches her fists. "You terrorized my village years ago," she reminded him. "Don't you remember? Running around, shouting from the tops of your lungs that you could take anyone?" Her dominant hand twitched on the sheath of her sword. Ikkaku noticed the fraction of movement and glared at Hisa.
"And?" Ikkaku prompted.
Hisa chuckled under her breath. "And I've spent years training just for this moment..." she mused, unsheathing her sword and looking across the blade at the confident Shinigami. "The moment when I take you on!"
"So confident for such a little girl of little experience," Ikkaku remarked. "But who am I to refuse a good fight?"
"Girl?" Hisa scoffed, shifting her feet under her. "Little experience? You haven't the slightest idea about who you're talking to."
"And I don't really care!" Ikkaku shouted as he charged.
Hisa readied herself for the attack, watching his eyes and the motion of his arms as he slashed with his Zanpakutō. She blocked his attack, holding her bare feet steady against his advance. Caught by his sheer strength, Hisa skirted backwards to gather herself before she attacked. Her eyes narrowed against her opponent, and she charged headlong at Ikkaku. She slashed with her sword with as much speed as she could muster, yet Ikkaku managed to parry. She changed her tactic, kicking out with her foot, pounding Ikkaku's left hip, catching the 3rd Seat off guard.
"Adaptable," Ikkaku noted, giving a slight nod to Hisa. He swung his Zanpakutō, and Hisa ducked under the blade, though not fast enough. She stood straight, positioning her sword in front of her as a thin line of blood dripped from her cheek. "Persistent, too."
Hisa charged again; Ikkaku parried. Ikkaku slashed; Hisa dodged. The exchange lasted until Hisa was hunched from her efforts, yet her sword was still ready for the next attack.
Ikkaku straightened. "This fight is boring me," he stated. He sheathed his Zanpakutō and turned away from the fight.
"Where do you think you're going?!" Hisa demanded, charging forward. She didn't even see Ikkaku's movement, yet she felt his foot embed in her stomach and the breath leave her body as she was launched backwards. She rolled twice before hitting a tree on the side of the clearing. Blinking through blurry vision, Hisa watched, unable to say a word, while Ikkaku left the clearing with other Shinigami. Defeat was not a welcome feeling for Hisa, and while it swept over her, she slammed her fist into the dust. "Damn," she hissed.
"You're fast," Renji said from his position underneath a tree. "Not bad for not having any formal training, either."
"I don't want your praise," Hisa croaked.
"No," Renji agreed. "However, you do need medical attention. You fought well for having an infected wound. Can you walk?"
Hisa glared up at the Shinigami where he stood. "Of course, I can walk," she spat. "I'm not going anywhere until I feel like it."
Renji shrugged. "It's going to get dark soon."
"I'm not afraid of the dark." She struggled to a sitting position.
"Look," Renji began. "I'll take you to the nearest village and hopefully there will be a healer or someone to look after you."
"I don't need someone to look after me," Hisa protested. "And I'm not going anywhere with you."
Renji grimaced and sighed in frustration. "You spend too much time arguing. Let's go."
Before she could protest, Renji scooped her up and used Shunpo, running into the darkness of forest. The wind whipped at Hisa's hair, and her head swam with exhaustion. Before she closed her eyes, she glanced up at the Shinigami carrying her, mouthing the words thank you, even as her vision gave way to the calm of darkness.