Turn Back The Clock III - A snake charmer and a wild man! [BleachitP]

[strawberryman]

((The events of this thread take place around 40-60 years ago. Haven't decided on a set number yet. Sue me.
This is a predetermined thing between Shirubaru and Nukari, so add-ons can be applied, but try not to just jump in.

Opening music: Rwar.))

Youta cursed as he noticed the open window, scrambling to the pantry becoming the most important thing on his mind. As he opened it, he let out a loud sigh. Trashed. This sort of thing had been going on for years. It wasn't always him, but he was getting sick of it, as were all of his neighbors in Rukongai. But what could he do? All the expeditions into the nearby forest always left him and the other men who went to deal with the "Wolf Man" beaten half to death.

The funny thing was, he only ever did that when people entered the forest. Otherwise, he'd just kept to himself when he wasn't snatching food from the locals. Pretty much the behavior of an animal, he said to himself. And he never killed. No, he only did enough to drive people off. The people had sent all sorts of complaints to the Seireitei, but no one ever delivered. It was always just the polite "We'll get back to you". So people pretty much gave up, and accepted it as a part of day-to-day life.

That didn't mean they didn't want to change it, but...

[H. Zee]

11th Squad Captain Shirubaru, Kenpachi of Soul Society, shunpo's to outside Youta's house with a bottle of sake, singing crazily at the top of his voice.

I can't get no-o! Sat-is-faction! Yeah!

Wow, I can see why that Elvis guy is really kicking up a storm in the Mortal World!

He pauses and looks around groggily.

Wait a minute, this isn't a tavern. Did I overshoot?

He walks wobbly towards Youta's door and knocks, before getting down on his knees. Do you have sake? he shouts underneath the door.

[strawberryman]

"What the hell?..." Youta opens the door, looking at the Captain like he's crazy. "Uh, no, sorry, we don't have much of anything. Need to go shopping, thanks to a certain person who should have been taken care of a while ago." Youta says this as jabbingly as possible, running a hand through his hair. "I'm guessing by your state that you're not here to take care of that, are you."

[H. Zee]

Take care of what?

Who are you?

Do you have sake? I told my men I'd bring back more sake...

It's the middle of the day. Looks like the 11th Squad don't waste time when it comes to drinking.

[strawberryman]

Youta grimaced at the man. ...no, wait, maybe he could use this. "No, I said. We don't have any sake. This guy in the woods keeps stealing it. He's been around for years, and we're getting sick of it. So if you want sake, you're gonna have to talk to him." He hoped this would work. It was stupid lying to a Captain, but if it worked...

Well, he had to stop himself from grinning at the thought.

[H. Zee]

A wild man in the woods? Shirubaru frowns. Actually... I heard about this. I sent some lower seats to go beat on him and get him to stop stealing stuff, but they came back all bruised and crying like little girls.

Gah! Look what you've done! I'm sobering up! He better have some hefty quantities of sake, stranger. What's your name?

Shirubaru is standing a little straighter now.

[strawberryman]

Youta has to hide the fear he's feeling. But he was in too deep now, might as well follow through. "Fukui Youta. And he has to have quite a bit, seeing as the whole neighborhood's been sacked fairly often." He starts to sweat a little. Hopefully he wasn't sober enough to see that, and he'd buy it.

[H. Zee]

He seems to buy it.

I'm going to catch this wild man, says Shirubaru confidently. No-one beats up my lads and doesn't answer to me for it.

...Also, sake.

He turns and begins to walk towards the forest. After a few steps he stops and turns his head slightly. Oh, and by the way, Fukui Youta, you're a very brave man to try and manipulate a Kenpachi.

With that, Shirubaru shunpo's into the deep parts of the forest, landing on a tree branch and crouching there. It snaps and he lands in a pile of leaves.

Hello? Wild man?

He gets up, brushes himself off, and begins to walk around, occasionally staggering, or stumbling over tree roots.

He's had a lot of sake.

[strawberryman]

As Shiru walks into the woods, he notices something following him. And growling.

[H. Zee]

If that's a wolf I am so making it my pet, grins Shirubaru, turning around and scanning the undergrowth.

[strawberryman]

((Cue Music.))

After a few moments, a figure rushes Shiru from the trees. Is it a wolf? To any other person, it might be too quick to tell, but Shiru can clearly see the billow of a cape, and black, loose clothes, with a seeming large ball of fuzz attached to the top. From deep within the mane, he can see the piercing eyes of a wolf. But he only has precious seconds to take this in as the form reaches him, throwing up a bandaged foot with long, rough toenails akin to claws to the Captain's face.

[H. Zee]

Shirubaru leans out of the way of the kick, loking surprised at the wild man's speed. He attempts to grab the man's leg as it rushes past his face and twist it sharply, hoping to send him spinning into a nearby tree.

[strawberryman]

The wolf man is thrown, but he manages to turn around, hitting the tree in a kneeling position. He has surprise in his eyes, but he wastes no time in pushing himself off, rolling into a handstand and throwing a flurry of kicks as he spins himself around.

[H. Zee]

Whoa whoa whoa whoa, says Shirubaru, blocking each kick with his arms with the speed of a striking snake. He is being forced to back away from the flurry of attacks. I'm looking for a wild man, can you help me find him?

Shirubaru trips over a tree root as he backs away, falling down just in time for a particularly powerful kick to meet empty air. Shiru backflips back to his feet and leaps up into the tree, swinging from a branch with one arm.

Heh. Just joking, I know who you are, wild man. Can you speak?

[strawberryman]

The wild man growls, and does indeed speak, though his words are detached and awkward. "GET! OUT! LEAVE!" He then drops from his handstand, hunching over with his hands, which are bandaged as well, his fingernails in similar disrepair as his toenails. "My home!"

[H. Zee]

Hey, I'm just your friendly neighbourhood Kenpachi man, says Shirubaru, flipping himself up onto the branch with his one arm, using the other to pop a cigarette in his mouth. I'm not here to invade your home. let's talk, wild man. I hear you've been stealing food? And other, ahh, more alcoholic substances perhaps?

He sits on the branch, swinging his legs and gazing down at the wild man.

[strawberryman]

"Only take need. Get hungry.", the wild man growls. Suddenly, he makes a barking noise, and speaks again; "No talk, 'Kenpachi man'!" He shoves himself off the ground with his arms, landing on top of the branch Shirubaru was hanging off of. He kicks a leg down onto the base of the branch, and there's a loud crack. He jumps off to another branch to watch 'Kenpachi man' fall down.

[H. Zee]

Kenpachi man falls down.

He does land on his feet, but wobbles a bit and has to lean against a tree.

You're fast, admits Shirubaru. And you have a decent reiatsu as well. Hrm. Maybe I should be sober for this.

He looks at the half-empty skin of sake that he left abandoned on the ground when the wild man attacked, and then picks it up and finishes the last of it.

Nah. Come on then, wild man, if you want a fight, let's have a fight. Maybe I will get a wolf as a pet after all, heh heh.

Shirubaru shunpo's suddenly, appearing crouched halfway up a tree behind the wild man and kicking off with a powerful spring of his legs, barrelling towards the wild man with arms outstretched to grab and, if the grab succeeds, Shirubaru will try to take the wild man to the ground in a complex wrestling hold.

[strawberryman]

Wild man doesn't see it coming. While he isn't easily subdued, he's subdued nonetheless; He seems just as frantic as a wolf to get out of the hold, however, and attempts to bite onto any areas of Shirubaru nearest his mouth.

[H. Zee]

Gahh!

Shirubaru rolls away and vaults to his feet, doing a little dance of pain and grabbing the bleeding bite-wound in his thigh.

Garrghhhh that's gonna get infected, says Shirubaru in an annoyed voice, looking back at the wild man. Note to self. Do not attempt flashy grapples on people with huge pointy teeth.

He reaches for the hilt of his unreleased Zanpaktou. Don't make me take this out of its sheath, wild man, says Shiru in a warning tone. If my old mentor were here he'd have killed you six minutes ago and mounted your mangy head over his fireplace, so be glad you're facing the new, friendly Kenpachi here.

Shirubaru removes his hand from the hilt of his sword without drawing it, and then leaps forward, kicking and punching towards the wild man over and over, so fluidly it almost looks like a dance.

[strawberryman]

The wild man's speed still continues to impress, dodging a few blows without thinking twice. But Shiru is, after all, a Captain. Which is to say he doesn't come out completely unwounded. After a particularly devastating punch in his shoulder, the wild man jumps back, rolls forward, and throws a decisive upwards kick towards Shiru's jaw.

[H. Zee]

Shiru takes the kick on the chin, quite literally, and disappears upwards into the leafy canopy with a grunt.

Damn drunkennessness.. ness, mumbles Shirubaru from somewhere lodged in a tree. Ruins my reflexes.

He drops back down. The unlit cigarette is still in his mouth. Wait a sec. He takes out a match and strikes it off his stubbly chin, before using it to light the cigarette. There.

You're going to regret that, wild man, says Shirubaru in a cheerful voice. But I'm impressed. That kick would've taken most men's heads off.

Shirubaru drums his fingers on the hilt of his sword. Then, with a sigh, he opens his arms wide. Your move. Come get me.

[strawberryman]

The wild man stands up, looking exhausted and a bit wobbly. If he didn't end this now...

His fist begins to crackle with reishi as he makes a final charge, throwing the last of his strength into one blow. The trees shake as he makes his stand, and the punch is thrown. A low-powered shockwave travels through the air as it's delivered, regardless of whether it connects.

[H. Zee]

The dust clears to reveal...

Shirubaru has blocked the blow with the flat side of his quickly-drawn, unreleased sword. It's a long, thin katana, identical to every other unreleased Zanpaktou apart from the model copper snake entwined around the lower half of the blade.

See what you've done? You made me get serious, says Shirubaru. Do you have a Zanpaktou of your own, wild man? Your reiatsu is certainly strong enough.

[strawberryman]

The wild man makes one last growl before he collapses backwards, out cold. Shiru may note under the man's cape is indeed the form of a sword. Further investigation reveals it to be a chokutō, lacking a sheathe, but wrapped in cloth bandages, much like the man's limbs.

Speaking of which, the bandages around his left hand (the one he used to deliver the punch) are cut around the knuckles, and that area is bleeding, but he still seems to be breathing, and stable.

[H. Zee]

Hrm.

Shirubaru stands over the wild man. I have no idea what to do with you now.

He picks him up and slings him over one shoulder, shunpo'ing back to outside Youta's house.

Oi! I found your wolfman! What the hell do I do with him now?

[strawberryman]

Youta peers out a window. He can't believe it. He quickly runs out, staring. As do a few other people. "Oh, god. You're serious? Please tell me you're-" The wild man woke up.

Without a moment's notice, he'll attempt to struggle out, using Shirubaru as a spring board (if successful) to jump onto the roof of Youta's house, running.

[H. Zee]

As Nukari's feet hit the roof, Shirubaru reacts instantly. His arm snaps out, grabs the nearest thing to hand, and hurls it at Nukari full force. Shirubaru aims and pitches the throw perfectly.

By the way, the nearest thing to hand happens to be Youta himself.

[strawberryman]

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" Youta yells as he flies through the air. The wolf man looks, and for a second, considers dodging... but instead stays, catching the man and consequently getting knocked back.

[H. Zee]

Shirubaru leaps after the man he just threw, taking advantage of the wild man's moment of pause to land in front of him.

I was aiming to knock you off the roof entirely, says Shirubaru, disappointedly. Also, sorry Youta, but you've been getting on my nerves and I was reasonably confident you'd be okay when you landed. Just wanted to shake you up a bit.