The cold mist of the morning dew settled along the hard dirt ground of the academy training field. The sun’s brow just barely poked out from under the high walls, which created the fourteen-yard in diameter circular training field that had become Anz’s new morning routine. In the dead center of the field a strange contraption rose from the dirt straddling a black bag. Not terribly complex in design the modified standing pull up bar consisted of an average chin up bar with two straps attached so one could hook their feet in it. The real strange part lay in the white board attached at a ninety-degree angle to the top. On the board in red marker lay series of integrals and complex variables describing the unbalanced state function of a reiatsu wave traveling through graphine at temperatures below –78 Celsius.

While that alone may have seemed strange to some it was perfectly logical to Anz, who hung by his feet in white sweat pants and no shirt, small electrodes and monitors stuck to his body at his chest, sides, and temples. A red marker sat diligently in his hand as he pulled his upper body to once again be parallel to the white board erasing two numbers and replacing them with question marks. Sweat dripped into his one eye while the other covered by what seemed to be an ordinary eye patch projected three-dimensional graphs of his most recent experiment into his optic nerve.

Sorahana Satoru stood still, arms folded, his tall thin form sillhouetted against the morning sun of Soul Society. He stared down at the man below him, who hung from some sort of exercise bar. Intrigued, and having nothing to do this morning, he continued to observe his fellow academy student.

The man pulled himself up with his legs and abdomen, before writing numbers on the board that was attached to the contraption as a whole. By the looks of it, the device was designed to test mental acuity whilst the physical body was under stress. An interesting, and certainly unique method of training.

He must be very intelligent to have devised this. I wonder if his physical and spiritual prowess matches the sharpness of his mind?

Taking in the sensors and the apparent nature of the numbers and symbols on the board, Satoru guessed that the man was some sort of scientist. He unfolded his arms and instead clasped them behind his back, still staring down into the training field, his brown hair moving in the breeze, and his shihakushô flapping along with it.

Anz continued his steady pace, the muscles in his abs starting to warm as the equation on the board evolved into a solidly defined complex variable, the boundary conditions slowly giving way to the final form he was hoping to create. His head moved back and forward, closer and further from the board when suddenly PATCH pinged, stuck in his equation he hadn’t even felt the reiatsu until the owner was right above him. Relaxing on the bar he looked towards the source. A man stood above, watching him work out. PATCH zoomed in on the shinigami, remotely accessing the seireitei mainframe, grid lines wrapped around his face identifying contours, marking distinct facial features and eye color. The file opened displaying two lines the minimum data that Anz had wondered.

Name: Sorahana Satoru

Division: Unknown

Dropping from his perch and standing straight he spoke a smile on his lips as he pushed the white board down folding it in on the pull up bar.

“Good morning Mr, Satoru, some might feel it a little creepy to be stared at while working.”

(PATCH is a supercomputer that looks like a black eye patch over his right eye)

As he noticed Anz relax on the bar, and look over at him, Satoru knew he had been rumbled. Smiling slightly, he waited for the man to speak, and sure enough, he obliged. Dropping down from the bar, his voice carried over to where Satoru stood, the sheepish smile still lifting the corners of his mouth.

“Good morning Mr. Satoru, some might feel it a little creepy to be stared at while working.” Satoru jumped lightly from the wall, landing easily, and walking casually over to where the other student stood. His eyes twinkled as he approached, his footsteps muffled by the grass of the field.

"I apologise." He replied, stopping a small distance from the stranger. "I was simply intrigued by the exercise you were conducting. But I find myself at a disadvantage - you know my name, yet I am uninformed." He held his hand out to shake, inclining his head politely. "Would you care to educate me?"

As he waited for a reply, Satoru took in the eye patch that covered his face. There was something strange about it, but he couldn't quite decide what it was. "In fact, that's not all I'm curious about - your eye is quite unique."

The man approached Anz with a smile, extending his hand grasping it firmly as he spoke Anz replied “Anzai Kuro, or Anz if you prefer, future head researcher for the 12th division… well at least that’s the plan.” Satoru’s eyes revealed his next question before his mouth did and the observation brought a smile to Anz’s lips. “Nice catch, few people, even subconsciously, notice the optic relay inlaid into the PATCH’s stitching. However, since you asked, PATCH is a microcomputer inlaid into my optic nerve and linked with the Seiretei mainframe. It compiles, organizes and relays data to and from my lab and is capable of advanced trigonometric mapping hence my prior knowledge of your name, I promise I saw nothing beyond your name in your file. I wouldn’t want to be intrusive.”

Next he turned to put away his work out bar, which folded into a suitcase using the white board as the outer shell. “So what brings you out here so early in the morning? I normally don’t run into anyone else for at least another hour or so. Not to say I mind the company. It’s just always good to find out the cause for anomalies in any data set.” As he spoke he switched PATCH to standard view mode and sent a command to his main processor to run three hundred test scenarios on the algorithm he had just finished.

The other man grasped Satoru's hand firmly and shook, speaking as he did so.

“Anzai Kuro, or Anz if you prefer, future head researcher for the 12th division… well at least that’s the plan.” Satoru grinned as his suspicions were confirmed. Anzai continued, answering his other question even before it was asked. "Few people, even subconsciously, notice the optic relay inlaid into the PATCH’s stitching. However, since you asked, PATCH is a microcomputer inlaid into my optic nerve and linked with the Seiretei mainframe. It compiles, organizes and relays data to and from my lab and is capable of advanced trigonometric mapping hence my prior knowledge of your name, I promise I saw nothing beyond your name in your file. I wouldn’t want to be intrusive.”

Satoru nodded slowly. "I rather thought you might have been a scientist of some description." He gestured towards the PATCH, and spoke again. "A fascinating piece of equipment, certainly. I would not be surprised if it could fetch details of my entire life, or even of all my Household's business. I do, however, appreciate your restraint. There are certain aspects of my past that I would not like to revisit." His smile seemed to fade slightly as he spoke, an air of regret around his words.

"So what brings you out here so early in the morning?" Anzai asked as he turned to put his equipment away. "I normally don’t run into anyone else for at least another hour or so. Not to say I mind the company. It’s just always good to find out the cause for anomalies in any data set."

Satoru sighed, looking over the walls of the training field at the rising sun, and answered. "I was simply looking to escape the mansion." There was stress and fatigue in his words, but he willed it away, and smiled once more.

My problems are my own. It is not for me to burden him.

"It is a lot harder running a noble family than is commonly thought, and I came to get some training in before classes start today. But that it not something you want to hear about - it is much too boring for casual conversation. Do you come here every morning then?"

“I wouldn’t say every morning, but most, I find it helps me clear my head and get some work done which is always a nice combination. However, if you’re interested I do have a small proposal for you.”

Reaching into his bag Anz pulled out what appeared to be a large pile of white papers, a black box, his zanpakuto, four metal rods, and a blue pen. Flipping through the document for a few seconds he paused for a moment and then cut the pile about in half, still it was just slightly smaller then a phonebook.

“You see I’m currently running an experiment attempting to detail the actions of reaitsu on a sub-atomic level through zones of both static and varying potential. In order to ratify a temporal space equation which accounts for the behavior of reiatsu particles on a sub-atomic level. However, I find myself lacking the proper raw data to complete it. And… since you’re here for a work out anyway, I’d like to spar with you while we both happen to be wearing a few electrodes and various other monitors and readers akin to the ones I’m wearing now… If your interested I’d also have to ask you to sign this phone book of a contract which roughly states any data or future research which this may lead to, is mine and mine alone, as well as non-disclosure agreement about any of my experimental designs until the paper is published, at which time you will receive a letter and a lovely fruit basket.”

Without waiting for a response Anz clicked a button on each of the four metal rods that shot high into the air and held place in a square around the training field. As he spoke again, his hands moved like an airline steward out lining what he was saying.

“Also we would have to stay within the boundaries of the experiment as defined by the sensor relays… Oh, and I almost forgot, no shikai, the excess energy would create anomalies in my readings.”

Anzai finished his statement with a child like smile on his face, exited to go home and look over this data, not once considering Satoru' may say no. Though, still waiting for an answer.

(I give you permission to take control of my character and have him put the sensors on.)

"I’m currently running an experiment attempting to detail the actions of reiatsu on a sub-atomic level..." Satoru listened with interest to Anzai's proposal, watching as he removed a myriad of objects from his bag, particularly intrigued by the four metal rods. Understanding little of the actual experiment, but getting the overall idea, he considered it.

"So you're asking me to fight you while you collect data on how my reiatsu behaves inside this specific area of... what? Electric charge?" He tapped his chin thoughtfully, debating the idea in his head. "Have I got that about right?"

The only part of this that really puts me on edge is the idea of signing a contract that long without the chance to read it properly...

Assuming that Anzai was trustworthy, and that if he wasn't, he wouldn't be at the academy in the first place, Satoru took the pen, and signed the contract. "I have one condition of my own. This is an anonymous test. My name is not to be published, neither is any detail that could lead to my identification. The pride and prestige of the Sorahana House depends on that. Otherwise, I'm happy to be your guinea pig for the morning." He grinned, and removed the top half of his uniform, allowing Anzai to place monitors and sensors wherever he saw fit. The vast tattoo on his back rippled as he moved, an angel of death in robes and armour bearing a flaming sword in each hand, and a halo of fire that surrounded it's beautific features.

Anzai clicked a button on the four rods, and as Satoru watched, they moved swiftly into their positions around the training field. “Also we would have to stay within the boundaries of the experiment as defined by the sensor relays… Oh, and I almost forgot, no shikai, the excess energy would create anomalies in my readings.” Satoru shrugged, smiling. "That's fine with me. I have not yet learned the name of my sword in any case. Am I to assume that Shunpo and Kidô are similarly banned?" Standing bare-chested in the middle of the field, Satoru waited for an answer, curious about what the coming fight might bring.

((OOC: Would you mind clarifying the size of the area? Presumably it's the max possible size within the field - ten yard edges in this case?))

Anz finished checking various tables and graphs through PATCH making sure each of that each of the sensor relays was responding correctly and was calibrated to the proper conditions. Hearing the end of what Satoru said he answered while having PATCH quickly run a typed transcription of their dialogue in front of his eyes.

“Of course absolute anonymity, no one will ever know of your of your efforts… Does that mean you would not like the fruit basket either? Also, no its not an electric field it’s a set electrostatic potential field, however it should have no bearing on the fight and you shouldn't even feel it, unless you have metal in your body which may tingle abit… While shikai is restricted, shunpo and kido will be fine but please refrain from any kido over 40.”

Reaching back into his bag Anz put the contract, and the box that once held the sensors away and pulled out his combat kit, a pair of grayish chain mail like gloves, four small metallic boxes and a bag of marbles. The gloves went on while the later two slid gently into his pockets. Leaving his zanpakuto in the bag he closed it and tossed it to the end of the field. With an enthusiastic smile he walked to the middle of the field and bowed in respect to his opponent his fist resting in his open palm and his eyes in constant contact.

“We may begin whenever you are ready, please do not take me discarding my zanapakuto as anything but what it is, an understanding that I am horrible at swordsmanship. The fight is over when one of us yields and once more please try to not touch the sensor relays at all.”

Stepping back Anz lowered his stance, with his feet pointing perpendicularly and his right foot forward his stance was reminiscent of a boxers stance accept he kept his palms open and his weight shifted just slightly onto his back leg. Patch displayed a measurement of the distance between them in his eyes as well as gave a prediction of his opponents attack range by adding the trigonometrical measurements of the length of his arm and zanpakuto sheath, this was displayed to Anz as a thin wire grid around his opponent and would reshape and get more accurate as the fight continued.

(OOC: the area covers the whole yard which is roughly 14 yards in diameter or more simply a 28 yard by 28 yard box. Also Anz does do some slight grappling so there may be some if statements in my rping fighting style, like if the grab connects he will X but if not Y.)

Satoru breathed a sigh of relief as Anzai confirmed his desire for absolute anonymity in the test. It was definitely not something he wanted to be common knowledge, as it could jeopardise the whole reputation of his house, and turn him into a joke.

“Also, no its not an electric field it’s a set electrostatic potential field, however it should have no bearing on the fight and you shouldn't even feel it, unless you have metal in your body which may tingle a bit… While shikai is restricted, shunpo and kidô will be fine but please refrain from any kidô over 40.”

Satoru smiled, and gestured with his hands open to either side. “That’s fine; I wasn’t planning to use high level kidô anyway.”

As Anzai placed some sort of metallic gloves on his hands, sliding four metal boxes and a small bag into his pocket, Satoru noticed with surprise that he left his zanpakutô in the bag. “You are not using your sword?”

Anzai approached him and bowed, showing respect with his fist resting in an open palm. “We may begin whenever you are ready. Please do not take me discarding my zanpakutô as anything but what it is, an understanding that I am horrible at swordsmanship.”

Satoru bowed back, looking at him, trying to understand his opponent. Shrugging, but unwilling to face an unarmed man with a sword, he removed his zanpakuto from his sash and placed it to the side of the field, before returning to face him once more. “I may as well use this time to practice my hakuda. It is perhaps one of my weaker areas, in relation to my other skills.” He had not practiced unarmed combat for some time, but he was confident that he could remember the necessary techniques and skills that were required. As Anzai stepped back into his stance, Satoru copied him, but stood slightly more upright, hands open but close together in a tight guard, defending his face.

“Well then, let us begin.”

((OOC: Ok that's cool. I'll take my lead from you regarding RP grappling etiquette.))

Anz frowned as Satoru relieved himself of his sword, he knew many shinigami would do the same from some traditional sense of honor left over from days long past. However, he had spent years studying how to fight an armed opponent without a weapon and had even gone as far as to make the combat gloves he currently wore. Shrugging he removed his gloves and slid them into the pocket with the marble pouch making sure to slid them beneath the bag so he could access the bag without worrying about them falling out. Finally he shifted his stance to account for the now unarmed opponent, his right leg slid slightly forward and to the right widening the stance and centering his weight rather then shifting it back.

“Very well then, lets begin!”

He slid forward closing the short gap between them and sliding his back leg forward to add momentum and torque to a cross hook with his left hand, upon contact he would bob left following through with a quick jab with his right hand. The quick one two combo followed by a sudden flash step appearing on Satorus right side, his body squared with his opponent with his left leg just a smidge back. His hands shot forward three times in open palm jabs aiming for upper ribs, lower ribs, anf pelvis. Finally he ended his attack by sliding his left leg back entering his initial stance with his right hand back just around neck height and his left lower near his naval. While this went on PATCH analyzed Satoru’s response judging strike distance, reaction speed, reiatsu emissions and looking for indications of preferred sides such as right or left handedness.

As Anzai removed his gloves, Satoru adjusted his position slightly, right leg still forward, improving his balance and the strength of his stance. He noted that Anzai changed his own posture, moving his own right leg and centring himself in preparation for the coming fight.

This man knows what he is doing. I should not underestimate him.

“Very well then, lets begin!” said Anzai, and Satoru relaxed a little, giving himself more leeway to adapt to the coming attack. As his opponent slid forward, Satoru bent back a little, avoiding the left cross, before swaying forwards and slightly right, bringing an open left hand parry across from inside to outside, deflecting the jab.

Anzai then performed a quick shunpo, appearing to Satoru’s right. The fact that he had previously swayed in that direction worked in his enemy’s favour, and the first strike connected solidly, before Satoru brought his arm in between his body and Anzai. The other two strikes hit his defence with no effect, and Satoru brought his right leg up, lashing out with a straight side kick aimed at the chest, before bringing it back in, aiming a second at the right knee cap in a flash. Both kicks were made without his foot touching the floor, increasing the speed, but at a slight cost to their potential power. He finished by stepping down with his right foot, and aiming a strike to the temple with the back of his fist.

He fights well...

Anz’s watched as Satoru snapped his leg up, intercepting the first kick with his right hand in a sweeping motion the back of his palm slapping into the oncoming strike. As the second kick came in Anz lifted his leg snapping a short kick with his right leg into the attack, the impact stung but he used the second they should both be unbalanced to cast a kido, though Hado was not his forte any first year academy student could cast Sho, though few realized how useful it really was. “Sho”. The burst of energy was about as strong as a hard punch with twice the range, however it was aimed direct at the pelvic region of Satorus raised leg, PATCH guiding him to were to place his hand so he could focus on recovering his balance and ducking half a foot back, dodging the incoming blow from Satoru’s fist.

“Excellent, these readings will be impeccable”

He spoke his breathing calm and collected while PATCH ran an analysis on Satoru’s movements. It was easy to see the man had strong legs, especially considering his single leg double kick in such rapid succession. The small grid surrounding Satoru shifted to accompany the new data using the image of Satoru’s fully extended leg to show the furthest range of that attack. With a smile Anz held his position, PATCH displaying Satoru’s reaction time in small numbers in the bottom corner of his view. Now he needed to see the man take the role of aggressor. Sliding back he assumed his original stance the one intended for fighting an armed opponent however his weight was shifted a quarter inch more onto his back leg while his front foot rest gently on the ground.

Satoru reacted quickly as his attacks were deflected, taking the spell Anzai had used in the leg, which stung a little, but was of no real concern. It was enough to put him off a little though, and his back fist also went wide of its intended target, without a follow up technique. He prepared himself for Anzai’s counter, but it never came, and he was surprised to see his opponent back off, not taking the initiative.

What is he up to now? He said that the PATCH was some sort of microcomputer link… I wonder if it can analyse my movements? A great advantage it would be, to know the exact capabilities of an enemy.

“Excellent, these readings will be impeccable.” Said Anzai, and Satoru grinned, taking it as a compliment. “Well thank you. You are a worthy adversary.”

He took his stance again, his right leg still forwards. Pushing his hand towards Anzai, he started his offensive. “Bakudô no yon. Hainawa!” Yellow ropes of energy sped from his palm, aiming to capture Anzai’s arms, and as they did so, he stepped forwards with his left leg to Anzai’s right, whose current stance meant that, if the spell succeeded, his body would be open to attack. Swinging his right leg up into a powerful roundhouse aimed at the stomach, Satoru twisted his hips and torso, using the power of his whole body, and the momentum of his forward step, to add strength to the kick.

Anz watched as the energy gathered around Satoru’s hand, the displacement in reiatsu concentration indicated a low level directed spell such as a hado. PATCH indicated the direction angle of his hand showing a straight line towards his chest, with several colored lines indicating the various angles all kidos of the energy or less could be released at. The vast majority pointed towards his upper body. As Satoru began to speak Anz ducked beneath the incoming spell the yellow rope zinging above his head while his opponent took to the air his leg spinning towards Anz’s face, with little time to react he threw his arms up rolling back with the energy of the kick to reduce the damage as it slammed into his forearms.

Popping to his feet as Satoru landed Anz opened with a quick snap kick attack, his left leg snapping forward. His plan was simple, the snap kick would get Satoru’s defenses up, and a second follow up attack with three quick jabs would keep him moving. Finally following the set pattern he would follow through with a snap of his right leg now followed by a left hand punch slowed by a fraction of a second, as Satoru went to block it Anz would spring his trap his fist unfolding into a palm, ”Bakudo 10: Horin” the deep red tendril would fly from his palm wrapping around whatever Satoru used to black and tugging with the block attempting to pull Satoru off balance into a well placed roundhouse kick aat Satoru. Makig sure to displace the reiatsu on his leg to minimize damage and maxamize the amount of reiatsu released into the air, to either direction... better for the readings.

“He fights well, but his hakudo lacks the artistry his body build betrays, he was meant to hold a blade”