[ Voice ]

[transcendens]

[ For those who are familiar with his habits, that Sousuke chooses the voice option instead of the customary video is indicative of a problem. But his voice is as smooth and calm as ever, as though there’s absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. ]

To those with whom I made plans to spar, I’m afraid I’m going to have to reschedule. [ There’s the

Comments

[yet_shall_live]

[This is the voice of disappointment.]

Whenever. Not like I care.

[transcendens]

If you won't judge me unfairly for being less than my best, I would be more than happy to meet you as planned.

[ Sousuke has learned compromise. ]

[yet_shall_live]

Not going to keel over are you?

[Maybe he'll see fit to teach Kanda some of that.]

[transcendens]

No, I don't expect that that will be a problem.

[ It might be, but from the calm confidence in his voice, it may be hard to tell. ]

This afternoon, then?

[yet_shall_live]

Long as you don't expect me to go easy on you.

[If Kanda cares about Aizen's well being, he's pretty good at hiding it.]

[transcendens]

Absolutely not. I'll never know what you're capable of if you hold back.

[ This will only end badly, but Sousuke neither cares nor backs down. ]

[yet_shall_live]

[An affirmative noise.]

This afternoon, then.

[transcendens]

I will meet you there.

[yet_shall_live]

I'll be waiting.

[Kanda doesn't bother with further conversation. He only disconnects. He'll be waiting quietly in the cherry blossom grove in Hachi-en when Aizen arrives.]

[transcendens]

[ And Sousuke, good as his word, arrives right on schedule. He's wearing black, trousers and a button-up shirt. The clothes are nice, but they only succeed in make him looking even paler than he already does. But he moves with confidence, and his posture is straight and his eyes bright when he reaches the younger man's side. ]

Kanda, yes?

[yet_shall_live]

[Kanda, dressed in a a black yukata over hakama, manages not to look quite as pale. He pushes off one of the trees when Aizen approaches, tossing him one of the boken without much more than a glance up and down.]

You look like shit.

[transcendens]

[ His off-hand, the left, catches the boken without much difficulty, though his lips thin as he reaches out his arm. But they quirk upward into a wry smile a moment later.]

I forgot to put the make-up on again this morning, didn't I? Shall I go back and freshen up?

[yet_shall_live]

Tch.

[Having no use for whatever sense of humor Aizen is attempting to display, Kanda settles for rushing Aizen. It's a simple matter to reverse his grip on the other boken, to lunge headlong at the older man, and bring his own wooden blade down in an overhead sweep.]

[transcendens]

[ He's fast for a human, Sousuke will give him that. And if he'd been well, he would have knocked that boken out of Kanda's hands in a heartbeat. As it is, he does nothing quite so impressive.

Instincts override injuries, and his arm snaps up to block the blow. Pain blossoms, sharp and stabbing, along his chest as some of the cuts tear open. But he only grits his teeth, shifting his weight and pushing back with the boken to force Kanda away. ]

[yet_shall_live]

[He bounces back, letting himself be forced back, but rebounds with a horizontal slash to the gut. If he notices anything off about Aizen, he doesn't speak of it.]

[transcendens]

[ The block is swift, immediate, and he winces visibly from the strain of it. A bead of sweat collects at his temple, the effort to keep this up and ignore the lancing spikes of pain beginning to take its toll. But he only twists away, unlocking the wooden blades before lashing out with a upward sweep toward Kanda's chest. ]