Alice in Watariland

When he’d trained Kisho Matsumoto, he commented on the fact Zanjutsu was like a dance but now he could see the same in Hakuda. The way their bodies flowed against each other like waves on a shoreline. Each attack counters or accepted, each step analyzed and precautions taken. This was the essence of battle, this was the brawler's dance. The smoke on his fingertips faded but that was okay, he needed to focus.

But his movements were sloppy for a reason as the drunken fist was best described as controlled chaos. As he haphazardly swung and missed his right leading leg became a pillar for his left to snap around with kick to sweep her legs from under her - as he did so he realised two things, the first was the searing pain as she raked up his arm and luckily missed his face as he used the momentum to dodge it by inches.

The second and the most important thing was he had forgotten her greatest weapon - the tail, as it snapped around his leg and entrapped him.

A familiar iron smell leaked into the wolf's nostrils. Her swipe had been successful! The smell of blood invigorated her, filled her with a familiar battle lust. Now her heart beat more quickly, her body heated up, and soon Yuki's actions would reflect this change.

No longer would it be a graceful dance. As Watari's leg slammed into her body Yuki braced herself, doing her best to weather the strike. Unfortunately the man was strong enough to sweep her, but it really didn't matter too much. As she fell she tugged against the limb she'd trapped with her tail! With any luck they would both be dropped to the floor.

For a brief moment things went dizzy. Her head had impacted pretty hard. But after literally shaking it off she sat up. Hands braced against the chilled surface beneath her, tail tugging again in an attempt to drag Watari closer. She wasn't finished with him!

"Drew first blood. You'd better step it up."

“Eh? Some of us aren’t built with claws” Watari’s side ached, his arm hurt and the adrenaline that was pressing him onwards before seemed to have eased slightly. All he could smell was a mix of sweat, blood and strawberries. It was a nice combination, it reminded him of happier days with his brothers. Well, without the strawberries but that a Yuki Kimono exclusive that he wasn’t going to trade for anything.

With this Watari gently grabbed her tail and pulled it softly.

“If I recall last time I did anything with this, you made me see stars” The correct play of course was to pull on the tail and blind her with pain and then attempt to remove the imb if possible because that would limit her options and severely disadvantage her. Unfortunately Watari wasn’t that interested in making Yuki Kameko an enemy again so he guessed the banter would have to suffice.

He still hurt from the previous maneuver with her tail though to be fair, as long as she had it she would always have the numbers advantage. Watari watched her on all fours, she really was like a wolf in combat wasn’t she?

"I suppose that isn't a terrible excuse."

Yuki winced just a slight bit at the pull. Clearly it wasn't an attack, nor an attempt to catch her off guard. Was the fight over? Might as well see it through. If he started something again she'd be close enough to use all her weapons.

And so the little wolf was slowly pulled closer to the Suzumei. Once she was next to him she sat up on her knees, right hand settled upon her hip while her left was brought close to her lips. She closed her eye, sniffed at her claws, and did her best to commit the scent to her memory.

"It takes a lot of training to use it properly in a fight. Plenty of conditioning. But it can still be a little sensitive."

Her tongue flickered out against her fingers, tasting crimson spoils of her victory. When her eye opened again she glanced down towards her tail, tugging against the man's grip a couple times. Was it really necessary to give him such information? No. In fact it was probably a little dangerous.

It is quite dangerous. Stop it.

Trust is earned.

Saying that isn't going to change anything. He is going to come after you again. Who can say what he might do next time. He is close enough. Maul him! Go for the throat!

The blood was wiped away on the sash which covered her chest. It was red, after all. Certainly easier to clean. Besides, the blood was starting to get her into a certain mood. Right now she was trying her best to be civil, however the constriction of her pupil and the occasional squeeze of her hand against her left side were obvious tells that she was having troubles remaining in this state of mind.

"Are you done? Now what happens?"

“I don’t know” Watari stared up at the ceiling as he let her tail go, Yuki Kameko was so close now, the scent of strawberries was long replaced with the scent of sweat and their own blood but he could almost taste it on his tongue. He tilted his head as he examined her, had there really been that much blood? Huh. That would explain the dull throb of his arm.

The Head of the Suzumei examined the long scratches that went down the length of his arm and contemplated “Do you get this little voice in your head that comes with each pulse of your heart? It told me to rip your tail off. It’s weird every time I fight you there’s this little voice that tells me to do the absolute worst and then I don’t” Watari observed the twitching and the way that red orb seemed to constrict. Was she like how he was? Was she fighting the urge to keep fighting? If he stayed here this close would she rip his throat out with her teeth? It was like standing too close to a fire.

Watari understood a lot about Yuki Kameko in that moment, he understood why the flame of her spirit burned so brightly it drove her to defy the establishment at every possible turn. He had told a lie before he realised, when he said he feared for her - Watari feared anybody that dared to stand in her way.

“Hey, I’m sorry about the bruises, there’s a difference between when I fight and when I train. Intent to kill really is just that” they were close now. Outside of her hesitation? It was nice, he doubted they’d ever been this close amicably since Watari had his hand around her throat and was throwing her through a window.

As her tail was finally released a gentle sigh of relief left the wolf. She pulled it over into her lap and moved her fingers against the obscured appendage, digging her fingers through the thick layer of soft fur which covered it. Eventually her eye returned to normal. She was calm once more.

"Yes. It has been speaking up more frequently as of late but I've always felt something within me, something which urged me to fight. To hunt. Even now it lingers as a feeling, nestled within the back of my mind. A moment ago it wanted me to rip out your throat."

When Watari apologized for the bruises a giggle slipped out from the small Shinigami. "Bruises are nothing. I apologize for the arm." Of course the sash covering her chest left plenty of skin exposed. Her belly. Shoulders. Collar bone. Neck. She had plenty of old, thin scars. Most were hardly visible, only faint lines, but there were a few which were more recent.

She stood to her feet, stretching her arms briefly overhead before she extended a hand towards Watari, ready to help him up. Today hadn't turned out so terribly. She'd made a friend in Rei and she discovered that Watari wasn't completely terrible. It was a start, right?

Blood ran from his arm and dripped to the floor, yet another wound suffered at the hands of Yuki Kameko, you know at some point he should start a list. Watari would have continued the fight but what was the point? Yuki had the natural advantage in close combat, one day Watari would surpass her.

What he would most definitely do was send a detachment to her door whether she wanted it or not of that maid of hers and four retainers. Regardless of what Yuki Kameko thought, she still needed a noble staff of employees. Also, he couldn’t help thinking that maybe the wolf girl had grown on her.

Watari reached up to take her hand but rather than use it to let himself up, he pulled her down into an embrace and pecked her on the lips. A brief moment of thankfulness and comfort for everything that she had done. She wasn’t his wife this was true, he wasn’t going to try that anymore but that didn’t mean that the Head of the Suzumei Family didn’t actually feel things for the wolf girl now.

“Promise to kill me if I become as big a monster as you thought I was?” whether she hated him for the embrace or felt closer to him for it. Watari was sure he actually did love her outside of it all. He had regrets, he regretted springing that marriage proposal on her as a bait for her to attack him but he also regretted not allowing her to strike down every noble at that party because he was convinced she could do it.

What?

Betrayal!!!

The wolf had been caught completely off guard by Watari's sudden pull against her hand. Her tail extended as far as it could, shifted in an attempt to regain her balance, but enough force had been applied in order to drag her down. Instantly her mind snapped into combat mode.

Her hand, grasped by Watari's, squeezed down tightly against it, pushed upwards in an attempt to pin it overhead by the time she landed. Meanwhile her left hand swept out with the intention of pinning down the man's other hand! After all she really only needed her teeth. It helped that she was being pulled in towards the man's face.

TEAR OUT HIS THROAT!

Lips parted. She was prepared for her counter attack! As she flopped against the much larger man's body she had already started to move lower, only to stop herself when she felt his lips against her forehead. Her last minute adjustment, a move initially meant to bring her within killing range of her target, had spared her lips from a kiss and had spared Watari's from being torn off.

YOU FEEL IT! YOU'RE SO CLOSE!

Yuki's heart beat rapidly within her chest. She could hear Watari's as well. Fingers gripped more tightly still for a moment. Again she fought against her adrenaline fueled savage nature.

LOWER! A LITTLE LOWER!

It's-

SINK YOUR FANGS INTO HIS FLESH!

It's fine-

YOU ARE UNDER ATTACK!

No! No. I think it was something else.

Settling down against Watari's body she pressed her face into the crook of the man's neck, drawing in one long deep breath. A solid minute passed. Gradually her fingers eased their grip, her tail halted its large swatting movements, and the red in her face disappeared. She exhaled, calmed for the most part.

A kiss. Damnit. Just a kiss. What the Hell?

Slowly she sat herself up on Watari's lap, eyeing the man directly. She was a little annoyed, and not just because he tried to steal a kiss. Hands shifted back, settling upon her hips. Finally her gaze returned to normal.

"You need to be more careful" she grumbled. "I promised already, didn't I?"

. . . Well he missed the kiss but there was something else - He had completely misread the wolf-girls savage nature. He felt her heart beating in her chest. He felt the tautness of her muscles. Much like how Watari before had been like a coiled spring, Yuki was a bullet in a barrel of a gun that had just misfired.

One heartbeat.

SEE. SHE WANTS TO DIE.

Another heartbeat.

SHE WANTS YOU TO DIE.

A third heartbeat.

SNAP HER NECK. SHE WANTS TO KILL US.

“‘Ey Watari, you really aren’t good at this romance thing my man, don’t be so pushy” a voice hissed in the back of his head, Watari could almost visualize the yellowing teeth that it came from, sharp and jagged. A face in his mind, gaunt and pale with sightless holes for eyes. So this was the face of Belaziel? Some sort of abominable mummy, he was okay with that.

But, back to the moment.

“I’m serious. I just feel something on the air, I’ve felt it since spring began and the sakura started to bloom. There’s something coming, I don’t know what but I know that in its current state the Soul Society may be washed away by it” It was a feeling of anticipation, of purpose, a drive to awaken his Shikai and then maybe his Bankai. It forced him to keep climbing, to keep striving and to push towards his goals of becoming a Captain so that he could actually say something meaningful and be heard.

“How can the Soul Society have existed for this long at peace and simply nothing has happened?” his left arm hung loosely at his side, the blood was beginning to congeal and clot so Watari didn’t need to worry too much about bleeding out. The wound after all despite bleeding profusely wasn’t actually particularly life threatening. His right hand however shifted and rested on his lap in front of Yuki.

“The man I think I need to be. Isn’t a noble man”

Unfortunately Yuki had no idea what he meant. Sure Hollow activity seemed to be picking up, and she had been reporting some strange incidents recently involving Humans. Oh. And there was the party.

"I think you've already got that cleansing started on your own."

She placed a hand upon Watari's chest, pushing off gently to stand. This time she didn't offer assistance. Instead she took a step away and, facing away towards the diagram covered wall, she began removing the sash covering her chest. After all they were probably finished with their fight at this point.

"Change is certainly overdue. Yes. But we will make it happen. Nor are we alone. I'll invite the four of you and we will have a proper discussion on the matter."

When her kimono was untied she was for the moment left once more in nothing but her undergarments. Pink silk. Perhaps a little uncharacteristic for someone of her temper, but the color reminded her of her garden.

"Few people are truly noble. I think each person has the capacity for it. Most simply avoid it. It isn't an easy path, after all. I'll do my best to guide you along the proper path, but you must ultimately choose to take it."

By the time she'd finished speaking her kimono was back where it was supposed to be. She was already tying her robes closed when she turned to face the man. "In the long run taking that path will be more rewarding. People will respect you for it. Instead of ruling through fear you can rule through honor and admiration. I am certain that if you actually took the time to question the others you would learn that they too would rather take the difficult path. But if I must take it alone, even as I assist you, then I shall."

Maybe he was just a forward thinker bored with the lethargy that seemed to cling off the Soul Society’s bones. That was probably it, he was probably overthinking but at least it gave him something to do outside of wallowing in self-pity and being lost in noble games. He had played the game to win them all, and had won. The Suzumei were now in power.

The man wished she would stay there a while content in their proximity, but that wasn’t Yuki and he needed to stop lying to himself that she could see anything but the monster he knew he was. She wanted him to be righteous, she wanted him to be trustworthy, the truth was - through that shattered window was what Watari Suzumei didn’t want to admit. He was a monster.

“I have a lot to think about I think, you realise I can’t simply tell the servants you aren’t going to be my wife? Well I can, but even if I do they will still assume the entire thing is to keep them on their toes” Watari was sure Titus would be happy about the events, but as for the others? They had written themselves a perfect fairytale of their lord saving some poor noble woman and bringing her to join them in a higher pursuit of power.

“So please, take your handmaid and those contracts I gave to you before. Create yourself a staff, a gift -  nothing more” he said raising a hand as he stood and picked up the contracts before walking over to her and proferring them in her direction. The truth was his servants weren’t slaves, she’d long seen that, they were just idealistic servants who were being paid as employees and were convinced otherwise, a byproduct of noble society.

“I have no idea which path I’ll walk. The plan to overthrow the Gotei 6 is still unfolding. Will you visit me again? I have a strawberry patch that hasn’t quite got the level of care that it needs”

"We both have plenty to think about."

He was right. She didn't like these rumors, but they were going to persist now. Then again that was Watari's fault. He'd need to live with those consequences.

"I don't lie. I won't lie. I don't, however, hate you. At least, I don't think so."

Who knows at this point.

"You can at least inform them that I will consider the offer. That is the best I can do."

Why was she even helping him? Perhaps this was the honorable path. Or maybe she pitied him. Or his servants. Or herself. After all this was probably the best chance she'd ever get for something like this.

The documents were accepted. Perhaps this was his way of apologizing? And if any of them no longer desired employment she could certainly set them free. It would keep them employed. Hell it might even open up spots for others to be employed.

"Very well. Yes. I will visit again. I'm. . ."

Do I even tell him? It is a little embarrassing. But it is the truth. Fuck it.

"I am no good at these things. Being sociable with others. I am trying to change that. To be on friendlier terms with people. Perhaps starting with you four is a good path towards that. On that note each of you are invited to visit my estate."

With that she lowered her head respectfully. He had earned it. Sort of. He was trying, at least.

"Until next time. Goodbye Watari."

And so she departed from the room, fully intending to return home! Well, after gathering Rei, her things, and the four retainers listed. Also her zanpakuto.

//END