A Lesson for a Lifetime

"Begin!" Sounded the voice of the Instructor to his students.

Two males, dressed in the traditional robes of the Shino Academy stood across from each other, long wooden poles gripped in their hands. Suddenly, one charges fiercely, screaming out in determined fury. His bright red hair whips about as he delivers repeated strikes at Kyousuke; an up and coming, but quiet and distant recruit into the Academy.

Kyousuke easily blocks and parries his attacker's strikes, eventually spinning outside a direct thrust aimed at his gut, coming up behind his enemy; his back completely open. Kyousuke doesn't assault the opening, however, as his red-haired opponent suddenly throws a kick back, connecting with his chest.

"Nnggh!" Kyousuke grunts, stumbling back before dropping to a knee, trying to catch his breath.

His enemy seized the opportunity, spinning around and leaping into the air. He raises his wooden sword over his head and releases a shrieking wail, striking down hard over Kyousuke's face, drawing blood from his forehead.

"Enough!" The Instructor commanded, stepping between them, declaring the red-headed youngster the victor.

Koga walks around the Shino academy campus with his hands behind his head.
Koga walks through crowds since more students just step aside for him.
"Hmm I feel special."
Koga thinks to himself.
Koga sees the zanjetsu classroom open and walks in.
As Koga walks in the instructors instantly kneel to the ground facing Koga.
"Hello Captain Wolf."
The instructors say.
"Hey what's up."
Koga says to the class with his usual happy voice.

"We were seeing which of our students possess the necessary skills to advance in Zanjutsu, Sir." One of the instructors explains to the Squad 12 Captain. The middle-aged officer then cast a leery eye over at Kyousuke, who casually strolled back to his spot, blood streaming from his forehead, "But one of them just doesn't seem to be learning at all." The Instructor returns his focus to Captain Wolf, "I am requesting he be expelled from the course."

"No." Another voice declares, and the crowd parts once again for another Instructor who makes an appearance, "You will not expel him."

"Sir?" The current instructor inquires, perplexed.

The Head Instructor stands next to Squad 12's Captain Wolf, staring directly over at Kyousuke, "That student should have been declared the victor." He insists, "He had his opponent completely off-guard, but refused to capitalize. That's the only reason he lost. Had he taken advantage, you would likely be dragging his opponent off this mat."

The substitute Instructor remained quiet, glancing to Captain Wolf to await his opinion.

"How about I test him out?"
Koga says with an Ichimaru like smile.
"I have nothing to do and I do need to still look for some potential recruits since I am here."
Koga takes his zanpaktou,it still be sheathed, and places it against a wall.
"So what do you say kid?"
Koga puts the wooden zanpaktou in place of his real one.

Kyousuke looks up, a bit disoriented as his eyes shift about the room before landing on the white-robed, white-haired figure.

"Me?" He asks, turning his hand into his chest.

"That's Me, Sir, insolent fool!" The substitute Instructor scolds him, "Show respect when addressing a Captain!"

"Why show respect to a brand new person?"
Koga asks bordly.
"All instructors grab a sword and attack me. All at once."
The instructors do as he says.
They charge at Koga but in a blink of an eye they all fall to the ground and Koga stands on the other side, his zanpaktou not even moved.
"So kid you want to try your luck?"
Koga asks with a smile.

Dragging themselves off the mat, the Instructors watch as Kyousuke took up his make-shift sword from his lap and rose to his feet.

His face bore no fear of the revered Captain; wearing only an expression of blank curiosity. Why would a Squad Captain want to test him, he wondered. Kyousuke shook his thoughts aside as he stood across from Captain Wolf and faced him directly.

"This should be good..." A single student mutters quietly, nudging the one next to him.

"Yeah." The other young male concurred, snickering at the sight before them, "I can't wait to see the beating he's going to give him."

Kyousuke assumed his stance, placing his right leg behind him slightly and scooting his left forward a bit. He relaxed his grip around his sword, lettng it drop to a perfect angle. To the trained eye, he mimiced the Head Instructor's form perfectly.

"It's amazing to see how quickly he seems to have perfected his combat stance." One of the Instructors whispers, earning a nod from the Head Instructor, who stood quietly next to them...

Koga's left hand lays gently on the hilt of the wooden sword on his left side.
"Well common dont be shy."
Koga says with a chuckle.
"Ill try my VERY best to not kill you."

Kyousuke keeps his composure before carefully starting to approach the Captain, gently setting one foot in front of the other. As he closed the distance, he began to slowly circle the Squad 12 Captain; a steel, yet gentle gaze in his eyes.

He had almost made a full revolution around his opponent before suddenly lunging forward; attacking from his left side. He raises his weapon and makes a swift strike down between his neck and shoulder; a killing blow to the average enemy...

Koga raises the back of his left hand at the sword.
"Seki."
Koga says with ease and quickness.
A bakudo 8 seki appears and the sword hit the small blue orb.
"Circling an opponent won't get you anywhere. Just a waste of energy I think."
Koga now stands right infrnot of the student,his hand laying on the hilt again as he jumps into the air and kicks his right leg towards the student's head in a spinnin motion then lands on the ground.

Kyousuke gasps as his attack is cut short with a heightened Bakudo spell. Before he could manage a counter-attack, he felt the Captain's foot crash hard into the side of his head, sending him bouncing along the mat before crashing through the structure doors to the outside, where he comes to rest.

Kyousuke groans, twitching as he lay face-down on the ground. He knew that the Captain had delivered a controlled kick to him, otherwise he probably would've knocked his head right off. Kyousuke slowly began to push himself up, rivers of blood falling from his lip and forehead. Amazingly enough, he had managed to retain possession of his sword as he struggles to get to his feet again; his body trembling in agony...

Koga scratches the back of his head as he gives off a small chuckle.
"hehe whoops. I think I focused a lil to much spirit energy into that kick."
Koga gives a wide smile to the student.
"Sorry about that lets continue though."
Koga begins to slowly walk over to the kid.
Koga disappears for a second but a tiny spike of energy appears behind the kid as Koga focuses a more powerful kick to the right side of his head with Koga's right foot.
"You know in actuality I'm the weakest Captain in order of strength I think."
Koga says with a chuckle.
Koga's left hand appears as if it feel asleep on the hilt,it just laying there.

Captain Wolf's voice came as a soft, muttering hum as Kyousuke staggered to his feet. He felt numb, having been able to sense the Captain's level of spiritual power in that tiny instant. He knew there was no way he could win this fight, and grew even more suspicious about why the officer was choosing to test him out like this.

His wounds bled profusely, yet he did not let them hinder him as he readied himself once more. Every now and then, his vision would blur, making it rather difficult to focus. The young student took a moment to shake his head, trying to regain full concentration as Captain Wolf approached him once again. Panting softly, Kyousuke took his stance once more, preparing himself for another assault.

His concentration took a brief lapse then as the Captain suddenly seemed to vanish into thin air. Kyousuke's eyes bulged a bit until he felt a sudden rise of spiritual pressure spring up from behind him. He wasted no time, ducking low as he felt the a quick gust of wind sweep directly over him, barely evading a 2nd kick from the Captain. The force of the blow almost was enough to knock him completely off-balance, but Kyousuke manages to focus his center of gravity to prevent that from happening. Crouched low in front of the Captain, he suddenly twists around on his back foot, spinning about and rising to strike his sword diagonally across Wolf's chest and midsection.

Koga lifts his left index finger up from the hilt of his sword and an enoksen appears.
The enoken blocks the attack.
"Very good. Would have gotten me there I think."
Koga takes a few steps backwards and draws the wooden zanpaktou and holds it in a reverse grip.

Kyousuke groans as the Captain uses another Kido technique to block his strike, but felt a bit humbled when the Captain admits he likely would have been successful were he a bit, or rather, a lot stronger.

Stepping back to place some distance between himself and his opponent, Kyousuke gives a thankful nod at the comment, observing as he finally drew his blunted blade from its scabbard. Kyousuke slowly inhales a breath and relaxes, trying to keep himself mentally focused, though he could not help but be overwhelmed at the strength and power Captain Wolf seemed to possess.

Still, Kyousuke was used to being target practice for other people's amusement and self-enjoyment, and he wondered if Captain Wolf was any different. Keeping his silence for now, he opted to simply show the Squad 12 leader what he was capable of. Perhaps this would determine whether or not he belonged in the Soul Society.

After wiping a small puddle of blood from his left eye, Kyousuke sprinted after the Captain, his sword at the ready. His feet pounded the earth as he picked up speed, his eyes narrowed with determination. As he got within a few inches, he sprung up into the air, feigning a direct attack and flipping about to land behind the Captain. Spinning on his heel, he cuts at his back...

Koga slightly tosses the sword to block the attack.
Koga not even turning around kicks his right leg backwards towards the student's stomach.
As he kicks his chest leans forward,dodging the sword due to the arch.
"Nice try."
Koga's spirit energy can be sensed in his right hand as he in less than a second is facing the student.
Koga thrusts a powerful punch due to spirit energy but stops it an inch short.

Kyousuke felt his weapon connect with nothing but the air. Before he could correct himself to defend against the Captain, he experienced what felt like a ram thrusting deep into his stomach.

"Oouulgghh!" Kyousuke gasps as his body bends around Captain Wolf's outthrust leg, his oxygen expelled sharply. His eyes swelled as he attempted to cope with this new level of pain. His arms subconsciously wrapped around his midsection as he crumbled to his knees.

He had no way to defend himself from another attack; his pain proving to be too great. Slowly, Kyousuke raises his head up to the Captain, awaiting his finishing blow. Kyousuke, kept a firm gaze on him for a moment until he felt him gathering his immense spiritual energy directly into his right hand. He curls his head into his chest, his eyes pinching closed tightly as he waited to receive a blow he was likely going to be feeling for weeks. Kyousuke's body trembled in pain and fear, and soon, he felt a burst of wind splash against his face, but that was it...

Curious about why he couldn't feel his nose in the back of his throat, Kyousuke opened his eyes and saw Captain Wolf standing before him, his fist just hovering there in front of his face. He glances up at the Captain, confused...

Koga looks at the wooden zanpaktou that sits planted into the ground,the hilt upwards.
Koga with the side of his foot hits the guard and the sword jumps into the air.
Koga catches the sword easily with his left hand and re-sheaths it onto the left side.
"Fear is more powerful than attacks."
Koga says with a gentle smile.
"Nice job though. You did decently for your level."
Koga goes back into the classroom and grabs his normal zanpaktou and replaces it with the wooden one.
"I'll see ya around kid."
Koga disappears from sight with a shunpoe.

Kyousuke remained knelt outside the Zanjutsu training area, remembering the words the Captain spoke to him. As he turned and headed back into the class, Kyousuke slowly rose to his feet, feeling his ribs bruised from the kick he had delivered, and his face was still covered in blood.

Still, despite the injuries the Captain had given him, Kyousuke felt he had gained something very valuable; of what that was, he wasn't sure yet, but he was certain that this was still the beginning of a very long road left ahead.

He wasn't sure if Captain Wolf was just being nice when he complimented his efforts today, or if he had actually impressed him a little. Regardless, he picked up his sword and stumbled his way back into the classroom arena, ogled by each student and instructor there. He wasn't used to being noticed like that, and a few glances around told him that he had earned the ire of a few of the students, and the admiration of others.

Looking to the Head Instructor, he receives a simple nod.

"Well done, Kyousuke Junichiro." The Head Instructor remarks in his gentle, aged voice, "You may take your seat now."

Clearing his throat, Kyousuke nods in return before reclaiming his position among the other classmates. Fortunately for him, that would be the last match he would be given today as class resumed once more...