It seems as if Shichiro was getting another recruit today under his wing. Headquarters had given him a message another knight was supposed to be arriving shortly in orchid City under his platoon. It turns out, he was getting a female member for his platoon. Admittedly, Shichiro was a bit excited knowing it wouldn't be a complete sausage party anymore. He wasn't saying he was unhappy with his current roster, he figured a nice, female would be a good addition to the squad though. Situated by the gate, Shichiro placed his hands into his pockets as he waited with his companion, Lily Panther.

He wasn't given a name or a general description of the girl but he might be able to  recognize them if they were wearing standard Rune Knight issued uniforms. Who was he kidding, nobody wore those after the first time they are given and introduced into the knights. All they needed was their government issued pendant with their names on it and they were fine. Well, it doesn't matter. Regardless of who it was, they would surely recognize him. He didn't mean for it to happen but it seems he's become a famous figure in Fiore with just his reputation. It became more profound after he had taken down the leader of the dark guild, Eternal Nightmare by the name of Odin. He was a powerful lich that he had bested a little while ago. Rumor has it that he had escaped his prison which wasn't too much of a surprise to him.

Once Hitomi was able to get out of the rut that she was in due to the situation with Odin, she quickly got active within the Rune Knights. She needed to keep busy if she didn't want to keep thinking about him. The latest news about him breaking out of jail was a surprise, but the biggest surprise was that she was to be placed under none other than the man who was partially responsible for her life taking on its new course, Shichiro Uchida. Rereading the letter she was given about her placement she could feel butterflies in her stomach. What a twist of fate! Smiling she'd fold the letter up and tuck it away in her sports bra, snuggly between her cleavage.

Equipped with Kusanagi placed on her hip and in its sheath, dressed down in a halter top that looked more like a sports bra on her, a pair of shorts that had a sort of ribbon around her to hold her sword, and a pair of sneakers on. Hitomi would probably look unprofessional in the eyes of some Rune Knights, but it was honestly too hot to dress in the uniform they gave her. In fact, according to some of her peers, hardly anyone wore the uniforms, and as long as she had the pendant on she was ok to wear what she wanted, which she was wearing on the same ribbon her sword was.

As she approached the gates that led into Orchida city she could see Shichiro. Waving him down as she closed the gap between them, she would only stop when she was a comfortable distance from him, close enough to where the two were on the edge of their personal spaces. We meet again Ser Shichiro. Who would have thought it would be under these circumstances? I know I didn't. Smirking at how the universe worked

As he stood there leaning against the gates of Orchid City, Shichiro continued to look around for whoever was supposed to appear as the fourth member of their squad. Suddenly in the distance, Shichiro had spotted a figure approaching the city's gates, one he'd recognized before. A top heavy woman he had once met in Oak. She was waving at him as she closed the distance between him. Shichiro's face twisted into one of gloom as she walked towards him. Arriving in front of him, she was a little too close for comfort as she began to speak to him. 

She said it had been too long since they had last seen each other, even though it was still fairly recent that one day he had met her in the art gallery, begging him to join the Rune Knights. Somebody in management clearly had some sort of twisted mind to play a joke like this on him, sending this one to be beneath him. Well, it didn't matter. She was here to stay and nothing would change that, no matter how much he despised it. Taking a few steps backwards, Shichiro began to speak. "I see you've made it into our ranks, either they were really desperate for new knights or really gullible and persuaded by your, eh charm," Shichiro had said, sneaking glances. He'd then continue on to say "And don't call me 'ser'. When we're alone, just call me Shichiro. All that formal crap makes me seem stiff," he retorted.

He didn't even hide the fact that he wasn't particularly happy that she was the one he would be in charge of. For whatever reason, that caused a small pang of sadness in her chest and she stopped smirking and put on a neutral face. Not only did his facial expression ooze displeasure but his words also practically belittled her. She understood that the two started off pretty rocky but under the circumstances, at the time she did what she thought she had to do in order to protect her guild or at least not get captured because she was in a dark guild. Lowering her gaze she shrugged, trying to brush off feeling hurt by what he said.

Considering I'm n A-Rank mage and they don't know about who I use to affiliate with, I don't see why they wouldn't have accepted me, but I guess that's beside the point now.

For someone who didn't want to seem stiff, he was sure putting on like he was an asshole. Shrugging at his last comment she would do as he asked. A part of her was happy she didn't have to use that honorific all the time, his name was such a mouthful already. So Shichiro, what's the plan today? Will I be meeting the others? I was told there were others by the guys at headquarters. Her question was genuine as she was very curious to know. If he answered it or not her eyes would float towards the grass, she noticed it was green and dry, this was good for fighting on.

Making note of her facial expression, Shichiro had picked up the sense he had said something wrong as she was no longer in that bubbly mood she was once airing a second ago. This made him reach behind the back of his neck, scratching it nervously wondering what he should do from there. He had then listened to her call herself an A-rank mage as well as admit that the Rune Knights didn't do a thorough background check. He wasn't going to make a fuss about it but in the future he would have to talk to somebody about managing new recruits better and not just letting anybody in without a background check. Either way, he was happy to get a female on the team even if it was one who had attacked him. 

She then inquired about there being other members of the team that he would have to introduce her too. Well, it was true that he would be introducing her to the team eventually but right now, they had all temporarily split up to attend to their own individual business.  The only person he could introduce her to was Panther Lily. "Well, it seems the other two had things to do so I came here to greet you alone. I don't know what they're currently up to but it's their business. You claim to be an A-rank mage but I don't think I've seen what you're capable of during that whole encounter we had. Care for a practice bout," Shichiro inquired.

He called it a practice bout but she was thinking more like a rematch. Hitomi might have been the one to attack him first, but she didn't win that battle and now she had something to prove. Placing her right hand on Kusangi's sheath she would nod at his question. I suppose I could use some practice. Is it ok if I used a sword? She had gotten the sword as a gift from her grandfather.

An opportunity to actually use it hadn't arisen since she obtained it, but she hoped today would break that dry spell. Still like before she didn't have any spells, this sword would be one of the few upgrades since the two last fought. Thinking it over she realized she might be able to take the same amount of hits as she did before. A lot had changed between now and then. This was a man who had taken out Odin. Hitomi had to admit to herself that she didn't really know Odin's strength to start with but his feats were enough to have most people fear him. If that was an indicator then Hitomi knew that she was about to scale an ice wall again. Maybe this time around she would get the upper hand though, for her this fight would need skill and a lot of luck. More luck than skill maybe, the luck that he would slip up and give her some opening to take him down a peg, the luck that he'll catch a charlie horse and fall to the ground while she's going in for the not really kill.

Waiting for a response to the woman's reply, it seems she was alright with the idea of a rematch. This was good as he wondered if she would be any good in a real fight. He'd then continue on with his conversation. "Good, good. Of course, you can use any weapon or spell you want and I'll see what you got. Come let's go someplace away from the city so we won't be interrupted or disturbed," Shichiro said, sneering. He'd also use this opportunity to explore the surrounding area a little more. With that, he had walked away from the town's entrance in a random direction. Looking for the ideal spot, Shichiro would place his hands into his pockets, turning his head to keep an eye out for a clearing of some kind. Eventually, he came across one with a large, three meter pond in the center of it. The pond itself was two feet deep and had various fish swimming inside of it.

The clearing itself was at least fifteen meters in diameter before they went back into the dense vegetation of the forest. Other than that, not much stood out to Shichiro this fine day as he was getting ready to battle with this woman he had fought before on this type of field. If she had followed him, he'd turn to her and ask, "Is this an acceptable field for our spar to take place or would you like to go someplace else that might hinder our movements a bit less. I can't say I know much about the area yet so if you think we should find some place else, I won't object." 

With the confirmation she needed she followed Shichiro until they came to a clearing with a pond. It was the perfect area for a spar and away from enough peering eyes and people who might get in the way. When the question arose if this was acceptable she would only smile. She herself didn't know the area well either, actually, she didn't know anything about Orchidia since it was her first time here. Making a note to get the lay of the land later, the demi-human continued to walk until she walked past Shichiro, and was standing on the opposite side of the pond away from him and then going ten more meters from the pond. The distance she created between the two was to allow herself more freedom and control. It probably wasn't wise to let him make the first move so she did the honors. Although she stood on the opposite side of the pond she herself was not standing in front of it.

It's perfectly acceptable.

Kusanagi had been hanging in its sheath on her left hip until she reached for its hilt with her right hand. Lunging forward towards Shichiro, the blade leaving its sheath as she did so. Hitomi slashed Kusanagi in Shichiro's direction when she got ten meters from him during her lunge. The slashing motion of her blade activated a spell that Kusanagi possessed, a single arc similar to the length of the blade shooting out towards Shichiro in an attempt to catch him off guard in the spell, which if it would hit him the arc would turn into multiple slashes hitting the left leg, right leg, left arm, and right arm. From there she would attempt to swing her blade in the opposite direction of the first slashing of the blade in an attempt to strike him with the blade once in range to do so. Her lunge would ultimately end once she either reached Shichiro or reached fifteen meters. It was a risky move seeing as might have been able to move but with the current distance that she made between them, she wasn't so sure if he was that quick.

Spoiler:

Watching the woman walk instead of answering his question immediately, Shichiro was unsure if this was the right place for a sparring match. He hoped he didn't offend in any way but in the grand scheme of things, you normally don't get to pick your battlefield anyway. Should she have objected, he would continue his walk in order to find another suitable place to do battle. He had watched her until she was a good ten meters away from the pond itself. Shichiro on the other hand had been just inside the clearing being just at the edge of the clearing itself being exactly eighteen meters away from his opponent although she was back in the dense forest, out of his view. Fastened with equipment, Shichiro was currently wearing his battle Cast Hood and Cuirass, his two meter tall, one meter wide sacrificial shield which was currently only his back fastened no lower than his waist. He was, of course, adorned with his trinkets such as his necklace and his Jaan Earrings which greatly increased his physical constitution and resistance. The woman finally answered his question by saying it was acceptable before she reached for the weapon on her hip, lunging forward while swinging it. Well, he wasn't aware they had already started but whatever. 

Panther Lily had jumped off of Shichiro's shoulder as Shichiro started to run directly at her and her spell. He wasn't sure the nature of it but he knew it wasn't something he'd have to initially worry about being harmed by given his gear. What he witnessed was his opponent take a large motion towards him in an effort to throw and attack towards him. Not a substantial one either. He simply just ran towards her and the spell itself in order to see what it was about and counteract. It seemed like a particularly strong spell but nothing Shichiro couldn't handle. Allowing the spell to hit him, Shichiro would have suffered damage to his limbs and body but luckily for him, his sacrificial shield had a unique magical property surrounding it. It had the ability to take on whatever the damage it's wielder might sustain as its own. The shield had simply suffered scratch marks in place of Shichiro as he ran towards his opponent that was still mid lunge. 

As he travelled two meters, Shichiro lowered his upper body a little bit, allowing his shield to protrude forward, and twisting his upper body slightly to the left. As his opponent was about to land at her allotted destination, Shichiro had rammed his shield into his opponent's chest in an attempt to deal damage and knock her off balance. It was a good attempt and all but maybe she should be a bit less reckless when attacking. Maybe observe her surroundings, the position of her opponent and what not.

Stats and Equipment:

She didn't think he would have come at her while a spell was coming at him. Hitomi realized that she should start thinking less when it came to fighting as it was just going to cloud her judgment. Of course seeing him as she lunged her eyes settled on his shield which took her attack, leaving a few scratches on it. Hitomi knew she would have to break through that shield if she was gonna do any damage to the Kingsguard. Once the two were in range of each other, her second attacked mirrored her first as she swung her sword in the opposite direction, causing the blade to hit the shield that was aiming at her chest. Hitomi held her position with all the strength she could muster, stopping the shield with her blade from knocking her off her feet, a sound like thunder filling the air between them once the clash of the two items met in the middle.

Ah you're strong, I suppose I should expect nothing less from the Kingsguard.

Pushing herself back from Shichiro, using his shield as leverage she would press her sword into his shield just a bit before pushing herself back and away about two meters. Continuing to complete the swing of her sword, an arc of lightning shot from the blade. The arc is five meters wide and one centimeter thin. another sound as if thunder crashes erupted from the blade as the arc of lighting shot forward. Continuing to control the motion of her blade she brought the hilt to both of her hands, pointing the blade directly at Shichiro she ran forward into him again activating another spell in which a beam shot from the blade. The beam is 3 meters wide and tall. another sound of thunder erupting from the blade as she did so.

Spoiler:

With Hitomi's quick thinking, she had used her sword in order to block the incoming attack due to her prior lunge after casting a spell from her sword. The only reason Shichiro knew this was magic from the weapon itself and not the user was because she was a dragon slayer of the arcane type and not of the lightning type which she had exhibited just a moment ago. After all, he did pilfer that ability a long time ago and can incorporate its abilities within any spell he wanted. Unfortunately for him, she didn't know any spells at the time as if she was just a fresh Dragon Slayer discovering her powers. He hoped she would have improved by now and have learned a spell or three just for him to be able to use in the future. As their weapons had connected, a loud sound like thunder could be heard emanating from them which seemed to have affected Shichiro negatively. it was as if the world had grown silent. As he looked at the female known as Hitomi,  he could see her lips moving but no sound came out of her mouth. He assumed another spell was used or it was some ability of the sword again which deafened him. 

Well, this was fine. He'd still know if she was in the area with his sight and his smell as long as he kept his eyes on her. He didn't know how long the deafening would last but that was inconsequential. As the female began to move backwards to try and gain some distance, Shichiro just moved forward with her and kept pace in order to keep the sword connected with the shield so she couldn't continue her swing. Interesting enough this means he wouldn't be able to hit her either. Well this was fine as he wanted to drag this out as long as possible to see if anything he could consume would come out. So far it's just been abilities from that sword of hers but soon, it'll break. All it would take is one more push.

Stats and Equipment:

Battle Log:

She could see that she wasn't able to win this battle with her sword alone. The clashing of the two weapons was causing it more damage and any more damage or break it. She realized that she wouldn't be able to beat him, not as she was now. Nothing had truly changed between their last fight and this one besides her getting a sword and gaining a bit of strength. She didn't have many options,  she didn't have any spells outside of the ones on her sword, her strength wasn't nearly at the same level as his, and when it came down to it she was weaker and more fragile than he was, especially since she didn't have any gear to protect herself with. Hitomi had gotten herself into another uphill battle. She could win but the ever-growing gap between their skills was starting to show and she wasn't on the higher end of it. This realization that was setting in was starting to place her in a miserable place. She couldn't break through his fucking shield and if she hit it one more time she would be without anything but her hands to use.

Well she supposed that wasn't a bad thing, she did use her hands before and she wouldn't be opposed to using them again. Because Shichiro had closed and distance between them and practically stopped her from using her spells she was stuck to his shield like glue. She held her sword with her dominant hand which just happened to be her right hand, with her left hand she cocked her arm back and threw a straight punch right at Shinichiro's face with all her strength. If he was gonna stick to her like this then she would make him regret it. Not only did she throw a punch but right after she brought back her right leg just enough to put enough force into a kick into his right shin. In the middle of kicking him in the shin, she drug her sword away from his shield, moving the blade upwards rather than to the left or to the right. She needed to resheathe it, only use it when the perfect moment to strike with it presented itself. Hitomi was no longer in the position to use her weapon against his shield. Quickly as the blade went upwards against the shield until it was no longer pressed against it she quickly, with the flick her of wrist turned the blade in a way that the blade would safely slide into the sheath placed on her hip. Hopefully, her two attacks would be enough for him to be distracted enough and let up enough for her to even place her sword away. If not she would need to think up something else, perhaps go the less honorable path to gain the upper hand. Whatever the case she wasn't about to give up so easily. She was ready to retaliate against whatever he would throw at her if the thing she did fail, she would match his energy and respond in kind to any attack he may use against her.

Spoiler:

As much as he enjoyed putting her into this situation, he had to bring this spar to an end. His aim wasn't to knock her out as he wasn't interested in trying to carry her unconscious carcass through the streets of orchid city. He also wasn't a fan of getting strange looks and questions as to why he would be doing this either. He could say she was attacked and knocked unconscious which would be the truth until they asked him 'by what' and then he'd have to make up some sort of lie. If he was familiar with the wild life around here, he could probably make up some story that seemed believable but alas he was still fairly new here. Well, that was enough of that. Currently, he was still dead locked with Hitomi from the clashing of his shield and her sword. The good part of all this was his sense of hearing was beginning to return to him so there was that. He could actually hear the sound of steel clashing with each other as he attempted to keep her sword in place. This was a temporary plan in order to see what she would do but in the end, he figured this fight was just about over.

The outcome was already clear to him as time went on. She had indeed grown stronger but not by much as it had only been a short amount of time since they last saw each other. The only thing that had changed was she had gotten herself a proper weapon. In that timespan, Shichiro had also got a proper weapon and some armor for himself to wear, even a companion that followed him for a while. The woman was then gearing up to attacking him with her left fist. It was a clever strategy considering how they are currently intertwined at the moment. As she telegraphed her punch by cocking it back with intent to use it towards Shichiro, he just simply reared his right hand, clenching his hand into a fist and outstretched it in a clockwise motion in order to swat away her oncoming punch when she finally released it. Afterwards, it seems she would go for a follow up attack of attempting to kick him in the shin. Realistically speaking, Shichiro couldn't dodge and attempt to press her at the same time or he would just lose his balance. He would have to give in and end the deadlock right then and there.

Shichiro would release the deadlock by moving backwards two meters himself. He thinks this is a good place to end his little test as he was starting to get hungry. After all, his goal wasn't to win but to test how good she was in a fight. She was a Rune Knight now despite her unsavory background of being in a famous dark guild known as Eternal Nightmare. Raising his right hand, he'd signal to her that was the end of their little spar as he only; wanted to know how effective she was in a duel.

She was ready to finish this fight, she was ready to claim a win once she saw him jump back two meters. Her excitement was building when she moved in to grab the hilt of her sword with her left hand, ready to unsheath her sword again and rain lightning down upon this man. Yes, this was the moment the rains down from the savannah came down and finally gave her what she wanted, which was a win. Unfortunately, that would not happen. Not today anyway as she watched Shichiro lift his right hand to signal her to stop the fight.

Hitomi kept her hand on the hilt of Kusanagi, even though Shichiro called for the fight to end she didn't want to end it. Gripping the hilt tightly she knew her knuckle had turned white as she gripped it the way she did. It took some mental willpower not to unsheathe it once more and after a few moments, she let go of the hilt. Dark clouds rolled in through the sky and a crack of lightning followed by a drumroll of thunder filled the sky. She didn't cause this display and it felt like the universe was mocking her.

Soon the rain came pouring down, it didn't bother her and she walked over to Shichiro. He was superior to her in nearly every way when it came to combat but this fight wasn't a total waste of her time. She learned a lot today. One of the things she learned was that the way of the sword was not for her and perhaps she needed to rethink her path in life going forward as far as what sort of combat stance she wanted to take. More times than none it was easier to tell a lie to oneself that they could get better but Hitomi knew that her abilities lie in something else.

How did I do? The rain settled down just enough for her to be heard but it continued to pour. slicking her hair back she felt her clothes pressing into her body, the rain doing a great job at making them practically see-through. She had been naked enough in her lifetime to not care but she couldn't continue to be out in the rain. She would listen to what Shichiro would say about her performance, thanking him for the lesson, and heading back to the city to get cleaned up.

- exit -

After Shichiro gave up and their fight came to a close, the rain had begun to pour from the sky as Hitomi walked towards Shichiro, asking if she did well. Placing his right hand to the bottom of his chin, he gave it a quick thought before he answered truthfully. "Well, your offense was powerful and showy. It's just when you're too offensive you tend to leave yourself wide open and thus cause massive damage to be dealt to your weapon in order to defend yourself. I'd give it a 'B' for Offense, 'D' for Defense and 'A' for effort. We gotta work on your balance more another time but not back for your rematch. Now come, I'm not really fond of getting wet in a forest area where it becomes murky and muddy. Actually, I'm not fond of getting wet at all," Shichiro had said as he began to jog back to town.

On the way back, he had picked up his companion, Panther Lily who had happened to be taking for the rain as soon as it started in some nearby shrubbery. It didn't do a good job but he was still drier than Shichiro and Hitomi, afterwards they had all hurried home in order to get themselves a nice nice bath, change of clothes and to relax. Panther Lily would also bathe even if he didn't like being in any kind of water for too long or so he claims. Shichiro can recall him enjoying bathes more times than most, which is quite funny. After that, he figured it was time to turn in for the day.

[Exit.]