Underground Training Facility <UTF>

One might think something like this could not exist but they'd be wrong after seeing this place. This place is located directing under the shop and somehow is located under any sewer lines that one might expect to find. It's a very deep cavern covered by a realistic sky colored ceiling that always seems to be day with no visiable lighting source. How he does this is beyond anyone's comprehension. The land itself looks to far reaching mountainous desert with a few plains. Here you will find many items meant to imspire you, such as a tree to revitalize you (it's dead) and a spring to hydrate you (It's drying up). This is where Urahara trains individuals without worrying about property damage. The trap door to the training area also has a piece of paper with disclaimer written so small, it would need a magnifying glass to read.

    A large figure descends the latter into the Training Facility. He stops about half way down, and jumps the rest of the way, landing rather heavily, but unhurt. Yasutora Sado looks around, expecting someone else to be here.

    Currently the youth is wearing one of his tighter outfits, similar to what he wore when he ventured into Soul Society. It doesn't make him look any smaller, though. Hopefully his opponent won't be too self-conscious of that...

Toushirou Hitsugaya would already be there. He's standing majestically on one of the rocky outcroppings, with his white coat flapping from wind from god knows where. And knowing Urahara, best not to know. The little captain notices a figure descending from the ladder, but moves not an inch. Chad will come to him. Lazy shinigami.

Hitsugaya is not alone either for there's a taller shinigami standing behind him. In fact, that close together with their matching uniforms and hair colors, they almost look like father and son. Almost. Unlike the motionless little captain, however, Ukitake is munching on some pocky he got while he was on the SDF-1.

    If Chad didn't know better he'd probably think that WAS the case, they even have similar names! But he's a bit more observant than that.

    He doesn't waste any time approaching the Captains. Though he addresses Jyuushirou first. "Good evening Captain Ukitake." He says, then pauses to glance at what he's eating. "..have you ever tried eating more fruits and vegetables?" Chad's only ever seen him with sweets. They might help out the poor Captain's health, even for being dead he's not in good shape.

    Chad then turns, facing Toushirou. "Captain Hitsugaya, thank you for your time." He says. "I promise I won't waste it."

Toushirou Hitsugaya makes little indication that he cares about the conversation about healthier food, but honestly, Shiro does care! Mostly because that candy keeps getting foisted onto him. Even now. While waiting for Chad, Ukitake offered a stick of that candy not once, but 5 times, which Shiro kept trying to decline...and yet ate every single one. SIGH.

Shiro nods somewhat appreciatively at Chad for his words. Due to Ukitake asking Shiro to help with Chad's training, which he also did not deny, the little captain waits for further instruction from the bigger white-haired captain.

"Good evening, Sado!" Ukitake uses the more formal address even though he waves in greeting with the obligatory Thirteenth Division dorky salute and grin. "You've grown a bit since we last met, haven't you? You'll be bigger than Zaraki before we know it!" He looks a little sheepish at the admonishment, though that doesn't stop him from eating the last stick of his pack, "I eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, Kotetsu and Kotsubaki make sure of that." Boy, do they.

Now, to get down to business before Shiro-chan gets too annoyed. "I heard Shihouin wanted you to test your skills against a captain-level opponent. I asked Hitsugaya for his help, and he agreed, so he'll be your opponent first, while the two of us both offer advice. Then, perhaps, I might even try a spar of my own."

    Chad nods as Ukitake explains it. And here he thought Hitsugaya already knew the score. "Yes. Ms. Yoruichi believes the best way for me to hone my skill is to fight against captain-level opponents. Eventually moving up to fighting against a Ban Kai." He's deadly serious as he says this, as well. It's clear he's prepared for it.

    "I won't waste your time, I'll provide enough of a challenge for you."

Toushirou Hitsugaya isn't too annoyed! Not yet! Even Shihouin's name doesn't spark a look of disgust. That cat keeps biting him! Finally learning that she is responsible for this training exercise, well, Shiro's reaction is simply nil. Maybe he's been watching Byakuya lately for tips.

Knowing or not knowing the score doesn't really matter in this regard. The elder captain asked him and he complied, he's just that kind of guy. It's just respect, and wow is Chad giving him a whole lot of it. The big guy knows Shiro far better than even some captains in Soul Society. Shiro appreciates having his time well-spent and Chad picked up on it right away. The little captain nods in acknowledgement. Shiro unfolds his arms from his sleeves and reaches for the zanpakuto strapped across his back.

So young and respectful. Ukitake smiles gently, "Helping friends is never a waste of time." Now for the training, and the elder captain takes a step back while pulling something from within his haori: An apple. See? He does eat healthy too!

    Young and respectful? That's Chad. He was even polite to all those 11th Division Shinigami who were trying to kill him! It's just in his nature. "It's not, but... I still don't want to be a burden. We're all trying to improve in order to face whatever Aizen will send at us. So I don't want to feel like I'm taking up time you could be spending training in a better way..."

    Chad's taking this seriously, at least. As Hitsugaya reaches for his sword, Chad forms his own spiritual armor over his right arm. He pauses, waiting for Hitsugaya to move first. Chad's the slower one, so if he acts first he'll just leave himself wide open for a nasty counter attack.

Chad shouldn't worry too much. Ukitake gave up on most of his training when it started conflicting too much with naptime. Hitsugaya lost most of his training time when he got Matsumoto as his vice-captain and had to do all of her paperwork.

Hitsugaya really isn't in the mood to speak too much today, but he finally, and equally as seriously, says "You would only be a burden if you had skills and would not fight at all." The captain's eyes narrow at the black and red armor that formed on Chad's arm. "Soul Society can use allies like you."

Shiro launches himself at Chad from the short rocky outcropping. Although it's not quite a flash step, it's still monstrously fast. Chad was expecting him to attack first, and so Shiro puts all his strength into his swing, and the force of gravity also pretty much helps as he brings the sword down on the tall human.

Chomp. Nomnomnom. Ukitake will give Urahara credit: The apples might be pricey, but they're really delicious! He also catches Chad waiting on Shiro to strike first, and gives the giant bonus points for patience.

    Chad was more than ready for Hitsugaya's strike. Or, he thought so, anyway. Even without using Flash Step the Captain is nearly at the limit of what Chad can follow. He does his best, though, to block the sword strike with his arm, but not without being cut. He's a bit disappointed, he was hoping Hitsugaya would at least use his Shi Kai, but if he won't bring it out from the beginning he'll just have to show him he's going to NEED it.

    Chad has no Flash Step advantage, but he does move as quickly as he can, strafing to the side, and launching a punch at Hitsugaya's midsection.

Hyourinmaru bites into Chad's arm, but not too deeply, which is good, because it could have simply chopped off his arm given the force that Shiro put behind him. While he's pulling his punches now(so to speak), he's not about to let anyone off easily. Despite what Ukitake said earlier, Hitsugaya does have the time to train. It's part of his routine as a captain to go out and have a healthy spar with his squad leaders especially since you-know-who tries to avoid it at all costs. Hitsugaya's squad leaders would then train the regular troops. The arrangement gives him the opportunity to learn and experience new techniques.

 The little captain just isn't in that space that Chad just punched. Since Chad had to punch so low to get to his midsection, Shiro leaps into the air, and aims his sword for a swipe across Chad's shoulders.

    This time Chad gets to put up some better defense, and manages to deflect Hyourinmaru completely and avoid any damage. Hitsugaya will find out very fast that Chad's right arm is made of toughter stuff than he likely expected. It's as if the vast majority of Chad's intense spiritual energy is concentrated in that arm. Or rather, that's just how it is all released.
    The youth quickly sees he cannot afford to play around either. He was also pulling his punches when he punched at Hitsugaya's midsection, he still has trouble just going all out right away when a spar begins. But he realizes he cannot afford to be so gentle right now. So he charges his right arm up with a large amount of spirit energy and launches it at Hitsugaya. In the air or not, he doesn't need to be within arm's length for THIS to hit.

Ukitake's attention is still fixed on the duel as he leans against a rock and coughs into his hanky. Its just a small burst, he'll be fine. "Speed versus strength," he comments quietly. Nothing out loud just yet, he doesn't want to give either fighter the impression he's judging them too quickly. Patience is good both for teacher as well as student, after all.

Toushirou Hitsugaya is never at a disadvantage when he's up in the air, but the earthbound might have a harder time connecting some wussy punches when hopping around trying to reach him. The surge of spirit energy from Chad tips the boy off that Chad is actually taking things seriously now. Remember when you fought Shunsui, Chad? Guess what, Hitsugaya just did that now. The shot Shiro deflected with a wave of his hand obliterates the rock formation behind him. Not the one that Ukitake is currently enjoying his apple on of course. Shinigami's do love apples so much.

"What happens when you meet the Arrancar that goes for the killing shot right from the start?" The little Shinigami states emotionlessly. A dual helix of water shoots from the hilt of his sword, dancing off the blade and into the sky where the harmless little fountains become roaring ice dragons. They encircle the flying captain who shouts, "Sit upon the frozen skies, Hyourinmaru!" Shiro waves the dragons on to attack the human, and see how well that armor of his can take to freezing.

    Hitsugaya makes a strong point. Chad is far too kind in the opening blows. Fighting against a friend he cannot help but hold back, but even staring down a mortal enemy there's still part of him that nags, from the back of his mind. He doesn't like to use his full power unless he must. But, Hitsugaya is still right. Against an opponent like the Arrancar, he simply won't get a chance to use his full power unless it's right at the start.

    This he knows all too well.

    Chad doesn't engage in banter for the moment, his opponent has said the one thing that really matters. As Hitsugaya releases his Shi Kai, Chad leaps back a few feet to escape the initial icy burst. The strongest ice-type Soul Slayer, hm? He's heard nothing but impressive things about it. He tries to bat the dragon away when it launches at him, though he doesn't get away from that unharmed. It is certainly cold, a biting cold that penetrates even the armor on his arm. Still, not enough to stop him though.

    So the first attack was deflected, Chad is capable of more. At the very least he has been able to increase the sheer capacity of his blasts. Let's see Hitsugaya effortlessly deflect his next blast, which erupts from his fist with at least twice the force of the last!

Ukitake watches with growing concern. Thought that may be because he's almost finished with his apple, he's out of food, he's still hungry, and he knows Urahara will just jack up the prices on him again.

It matters little what people say about Hyourinmaru. Hitsugaya hears them talk all the time. Experiencing and surviving Hyourinmaru's strength is the only thing that really matters in battle. Chad said that he wouldn't waste his time twice, so he had better keep to that promise. Just as Chad releases the double-sized spirit energy shot, Hitsugaya sends two dragons down to Chad. Deflecting that shot with a little wave is out of the question, but Shiro can just dodge here and let the energy burst take out a portion of the artifical sky. Ukitake has much to worry about! The repair prices just went through the roof.

    And here Chad runs smack into the second problem he had with Shunsui. Whenever his shots were too powerful to simply deflect, they could still be dodged. Learning speed and agility, that's not very easy. But for now Chad has to worry about other things. Like dodging ice dragons.

    His blast rooted him in spot for a moment, giving at least one of the dragons time to get a good hit on him. The other, Chad barely manages to escape from. He's still not doing yet, though! He's not going to let this session end with Hitsugaya running circles around him.

    Chad moves forward, running past the ice and past the damage to the ground, just far enough so that he can leap into the air and send another blast at Hitsugaya. Not just one, though, not even two, but three! He pauses a bit just before firing the third one, just to throw Hitsugaya's timing off. No more casual building up of attack power, this is a much larger leap and hopefully it'll be enough to at least graze the Captain.

Thanks, Shiro-chan. Ukitake looks up at the smoldering hole in the roof, and waves cheerfully to a peeking Ururu. "I hope the General approves that coming out of the division's budget," he murmurs.

The first dragon's full on strike should seriously start slowing Chad down. It only takes a moment for the frostbite to really set in. It's akin to getting your body stuck in the center of an icecube, but it takes seconds to freeze, not hours. But somehow, Chad is running to find a place for a better shot. He's either not feeling it or he's strong enough to get past it. Hitsugaya judges the first two shots and moves in closer to intercept, deflecting the first energy shot and dispersing the second with his zanpakuto. It was a good idea on Chad's part to wait on the last shot, since Shiro's too close now to dodge.

 However, the third blast is eaten by a dragon. It does not survive the experience. The blast travels from head to the tip of its tail, blasting ice everywhere. Hitsugaya is prevented from immediately retaliating from his attack when he's blocking his face from the ice fragments.

    Hitsugaya was right the second time. Chad feels it all right, but his endurance and stamina allows him to ignore things like that. To a point, anyway. First shot: deflected. Second: dispersed. Third: ...eaten? Shoot.

    Chad's not out of juice yet, though, and keeps moving forward. Hitsugaya looks distracted, perfect. He hates to rely on taking advantage of something so dirty as to attack while your opponent is distracted, but he cannot afford to show weakness right now.

    Still having enough power to fire off a fourth shot, Chad sends it in Hitsugaya's direction while the captain is still busy shielding his face from ice fragements. Of course, Chad is exposing himself to quite a lot of ice fragments himself. It's slowing him down even more, he can only put up with so much, afterall.

Now /that/ was impressive. Ukitake's eyes light up and he nods once to Chad in acknowledgement. "That's an impressive use of timing, Sado. You've picked up a few good tricks."

Toushirou Hitsugaya shakes off the ice shards that deign to attach themselves to his sleeve. Distracted, and without the early warning of Chad's slow charge, the fourth energy blast gives Shiro to little time to react. Hyourinmaru is barely raised when the blast strikes home. Shiro is not unscathed. His hands look toasted and his white coat has somewhat of a grayish yellow tinge to it, but he's still standing there up in the sky with a bland expression on his face. Chad got his first shot in, but Hitsugaya is hardly defeated. Hitsugaya's endurance is also pretty legendary. There's still a large reservoir of power that Hitsugaya can draw from. Bankai? Not this time, buddy. Chad is only a few steps away from becoming one with a glacier and that's only a Shikai. Shiro withholds any attack, waiting for the ice to do its work. He will be impressed if Chad can break through still.

    At least this goes to show just how far Chad has come. When he fought Shunsui he couldn't even /land/ a hit. And Shunsui didn't even use his Shikai. So it's certainly a step up for him, but not good enough, it seems.

    By now the ice of Hyourinmaru has gotten to him, and his movements slow to a crawl, and ultimately stop altogehter. But only for a few moments. The ice that starts to crystalize around Chad suddenly shatters off of him in a blinding spectacle, as he releases one final internal blast of spirit power. His body is warmed up again as a result, but he is also totally exhausted. The armor disappears off of his right arm, and he falls down on one knee. Still, despite that he looks like he would stand up and begin fighting again... just as soon as he caught his breath.

Ukitake puts a hand to his chin for a moment, then finally asks, "You set for a second round, Sado? You've been doing well so far, much improved over what Kyoraku told me of your first fight."

"One more strike from Hyourinmaru and he's done for, Ukitake. Pushing Chad on, Shiro thinks he could leech out another energy fist, but with any more ice and Chad won't be able to protect himself. Chad should get a blanket and go to bed before he catches a cold.Hitsugaya lands on the ground after waving the dragons off to return to the atmosphere. Any ice lying about shatters with the sound of crackling glass. It vanishes as Hitsugaya no longer wills it to exist. "You can't squeeze any more water from a stone."

At least Chad sees what he needs to work on now. Aside from speed and agility he needs to focus his output. Recklessly blasting his reserves when he should instead be more strategic. It'll take awhile, but he can work on it.

He's not quite so bad off as Hitsugaya thinks, though. Chad is back on his feet in a few moments. "I could probably still spar for awhile, if you're up for it, Captain Ukitake..." He's not willing to give up, not so quickly.

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