𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒍𝒚 (𝑲𝒖𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒊) 𝑬𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕 »« 𝙱𝙻𝙴𝙰𝙲𝙷/ᴋɴʏ

ii.

Iris. Plum. Tulip. Hanagoromo. Peony. Peach. Equinoctial.

    Ichigo swipes up with his blade. He adjusts his grip and slashes horizontally from the left. His foot uses his weight to pivot his entire body, spinning in a complete circle.

  He side steps to dodge an imaginary enemy, spinning around and swinging his blade left. The imaginary sound of metal hitting metal rings in his ears before he immediately swings his sword towards his right, then quickly upwards. He spins again, dodging an imaginary blade.

  His feet dance around each other, never making a sound. He spins and spins and spins, twirling and weaving in the air. Ichigo dances faster and faster, the power behind his elegant swings becoming stronger.

  He leans in the air, flipping upside-down. He raises his sword to his left side before swinging towards the ground. The slash twists and curves into the ground, splintering the wood beneath Ichigo as he falls.

  Ichigo swings up before swinging left, right, down, diagonally, vertically, horizontally, back up, then down. The slashes weave in on themselves, Ichigo's blade singing in the empty room.

  Ichigo flips one more time, raising his sword. He suddenly twists in the air before he hits the ground, spinning upright before stabbing his sword harshly into the ground.

  His eyes throb beneath the blindfold attached to his face as he stands up, lifting the sword with him. Ichigo releases a breath before suddenly swiping up.

Iris. Plum. Tulip. Hanagoromo. Peony. Peach. Equinoctial.

  Ichigo repeats the forms of his dance, ignoring how the splintered floor slowly cuts up his feet. He ignores the quiet footsteps shuffling outside of his attack radius.

  He freezes after the last form as he feels blood start to seep through his blindfold. Ichigo straightens his posture, swiftly swinging his sword to the side before he elegantly sheathes it.

  Ichigo reaches up and unties his blindfold, slightly bloodshot eyes blinking open. "I thought you were heading to the dojo today... Tatsuki."

  "And leave you to train without supervision? I'd prefer not to end up making sure you stay in your damn bed at the hospital. For the third time," Tatsuki states with her hand on her hip. Ichigo smiles softly as he turns to face his childhood friend, giving her a small look.

  "I was close to perfecting it, Tatsuki. A small price to pay for refining a breathing style," Ichigo defends himself with only halfheartedly conviction. Tatsuki snorts loudly before rolling her eyes. She walks forward, carefully stepping over broken off wood panels and sharp splinters.

  "What's with you and the transfer student? You both just up and disappeared in the last period," Tatsuki asks, masking her worry with suspicion. Ichigo gently shakes his head with a small chuckle.

  "Ara, ara... I keep forgetting how observant you are..." Ichigo sighs quietly and turns around. "Rukia-san is... on a side I didn't know existed. Something happened last night and she was weakened. Until she's fully healed, I will be helping her."

  "...is it about demons?" Tatsuki stops before Ichigo's back. She watches for any signs of worried tension in his shoulders or any shaking in his hands.