Here I stand

[joinmyreunion]

Kadaj had given Hojo a wide berth.

It hadn't been that hard. Hojo had seemed to be extending him the same courtesy, but Kadaj wasn't taking chances. He'd been vigilant so far about following Even's advice and trying to leave as little trace of himself behind as he could. Nel helped, too, making sure he got his things washed and returned to his room quickly, and his crockery and utensils were quickly washed, or at least put in to soak. She'd bought him some bleach, too, and showed him how to soak his toothbrush and hairbrush in it so that, if Hojo did break into his room, he probably wouldn't get anything useful anyway.

It was weird and unpleasant to try and live while being mindful of everything you might leave behind for someone unscrupulous to collect evidence without your consent, but Kadaj felt like he was managing.

He'd also taken to training his bankai against Yylfordt. Not the full of its abilities, of course; he wasn't about to flash those around in the Palace, but improving the techniques he'd learned while he was out in the world was useful. Yylfordt wasn't as difficult as Kyuzo had been, but he had more brute force to put into a fight, and he used different tactics, even if they did mostly consist of relying on brute force.

Kadaj couldn't beat him consistently yet, but he was getting there. He'd be able to beat Yylfordt without taking a scratch if he used Reunion, of course, but he needed to keep training at dual wielding. He could practice Reunion out in the wider world, away from prying eyes, on Fiends that people wanted destroyed and the Gotei squads hadn't got around to yet.

Still, Kadaj was running up against a snag that he knew was going to be a solid wall in the way of his training. Yylfordt used brute force, yes, and Kadaj had to use his speed to circumvent that, but eventually he'd come up against someone that could use magic, or that he couldn't defeat without using magic himself, and that was when Kadaj was going to struggle.

He could ask Gin. Gin he was fairly sure would have taught him before now if he'd asked, but Kadaj would rather not end up owing Gin a lot of favours, and a part of him knew it wasn't smart to let Gin know every single ability he had in his arsenal. Plus, Gin would probably respect him more for finding another way.

Kuja had tried, but Kadaj had got frustrated easily, and tantrums had usually ensued if Kuja continued to push him, and Kuja's patience had worn thin. Kadaj had ended up learning every one of Kuja's favourite plays and poems by heart, because that was easier than learning to read them, and he'd mentioned no more about learning magic since.

He could ask Aizen, but Kadaj was wary of admitting such a weakness to Aizen. Ienzo wasn't to be considered. Nel was nice, but Kadaj wasn't sure of how she'd be as a teacher, and anyway, going to someone else's subordinates with a weakness was as bad as going to them.

Then Even had come along, and Kadaj had been set to hate him because they'd fought each other in the past, but he'd found that, really, he didn't. Even was a bit stuck up, sure, but he'd also been almost nice in the face of Hojo's interest in Kadaj. Kadaj had since afforded him respect, and Even had been respectful in return, which was new territory for Kadaj. If he was honest, he kind of liked Even, in the same way that he liked Nel.

So it was in this atmosphere of growing respect and the sown seeds of affability that Kadaj, after a training session with Yylfordt and subsequent shower, went to track Even down. It wasn't a safe conversation to have in the kitchen, or somewhere else public, so Kadaj want to find Even in his own quarters. He'd made his home, so to speak, in a distant end of the Palace, where no one else really went. They hadn't known it was here before Even came, or at least, they'd known it was here but hadn't known how to get to it, and had little reason to venture down here now. As a result, the whole area felt like Even. The rest of the Palace was a mishmash of other reiatsu signatures, but here was as definitely Even's domain as Orochimaru's labs had been his, and as Kuja's quarters were his.

Kadaj felt like an intruder in someone else's territory, and he knocked politely when he could feel Even on the other side of a door in that unmistakable sense of glaciers and icicles emanating from beyond it as if you could open it onto winter.

Comments

[joinmyreunion]

Kadaj looked at Tayuya as if she'd just kicked his puppy. "What did I do?" He asked, sounding offended to be lumped into the same pool as Yylfordt at this precise moment.

[cierva]

"That sounds like a plan," she said acidly, getting to her feet. "I'm done sitting around here and getting insulted by that idiot."

Yylfordt, she was sure, went out of his way to make her feel bad. She was one of only two non-Espada Arrancar in the Palace and she was newer than most, too. She hadn't had much time to hone any of her skills, new or old, since she'd subjugated her Hollow. She'd barely even been evaluated. Having the Espada she was supposed to answer to, and who was supposed to train and look after her, insult her for pointing out that somebody like Kadaj shouldn't be able to beat him was too much.

Especially since he was obviously being a little bitch about getting beaten by somebody else.

"Pretty sure Nel'll be up for it," she huffed.

[jawmask]

Grimmjow shrugged at Kadaj's question, but stayed quiet, awaiting Yylfordt's meltdown and what he thought was going to be a spectacular display of him inserting his foot so far into his own mouth that even his brother'd be awed by it.

Tayuya, Grimmjow knew, was happy to have another girl in the group. It wasn't that hanging around with all guys was bad, it was just that she'd been stuck with that dynamic forever. Having somebody new to side with in arguments was probably a novelty.

That, and Yylfordt was being a dick.

[palehornedprince]

Yylfordt sneered. "Yc ev cra't vilgehk syhyka du bid y clnydlr uh sa, pnu," he said, his expression as dismissive as his tone was derisive.

He was pissy, he knew, and being mean for the sake of it, but she'd pissed him off. Kadaj had always been one of the weak ones of the group. He didn't mind being the weakest Espada, he'd made his peace with that, but realising he was being overtaken by Kadaj had bruised his ego.

Not that he'd admit to that, even to himself.

[soundfivebitch]

Tayuya growled at Yylfordt's inflammatory answer. Despite being told not to use Al Bhed, he was doing it again, probably to be deliberately aggravating.

"Do you want the honour of punching him, or can I?" She asked Apache.

[joinmyreunion]

Kadaj scowled, eyeing Yylfordt, but he kept his mouth shut. He genuinely wanted to spar with Apache, and it didn't matter that she was unarmed, he needed to work on his defensive skills a lot because they were newer to him which made an unarmed Apache an ideal partner, really. He also really needed to corner Tayuya about tags and ink for Even.

But with Yylfordt winding them both up, now wasn't the time.

He was going to have to beat him good and hard next time they sparred. His ego needed more than just bruising.

[jawmask]

Grimmjow had a feeling that a lack of self-preservation instinct probably ran in the Granz family. Szayel was famous for it, but Yylfordt had shades of it himself, especially where Apache was concerned.

"Ghulg ed uvv. Ajah ev cra lyh'd payd oui eh y vekrd, cra lyh cdemm cdyp oui eh ouin cmaab, telgrayt."

[cierva]

"Feel free," she said, glaring at him. "If I did it, I might have to put in for a transfer."

Not that that didn't sound appealing, at the moment. Working under Nel, or Halibel, or even Nnoitra seemed more appealing than suffering Yylfordt's teddy-throwing tantrums.

"Ni'm vomd e twat," she bit out, not giving a toss that nobody else in the room could understand her. "Uw ni zem era lyhi yw e pussy ni't nefi dy zeq num fuckin' cubm."

[palehornedprince]

"Frydajan, pnu," Yylfordt said, in response to Grimmjow. "Cra'mm lremm dra vilg uid frah cra'c hud uh dra nyk."

He didn't understand what Apache had said, but he also knew she'd probably done that deliberately, so he refused to comment on it. It would only be letting her win.

[soundfivebitch]

Tayuya scowled, taking Apache by the arm, partly to lead her towards the door, and partly to keep her from lunging for Yylfordt. Letting her beat the snot out of Yylfordt right now probably wasn't the smartest idea, she was right. Even though Tayuya doubted Aizen would consider it an unprovoked attack.

"E ruba ouin lulg nudc uvv," she spat at Yylfordt, her Al Bhed less fluent and smooth than his own, or Grimmjow's.

He was deliberately trying to piss people off, and now he was just getting offensive.

[cierva]

Apache left the sunhouse, incensed.

She stood in the corridor for a moment, fuming.

"I really hate him sometimes," she snarled. "Maybe I should ask Aizen for a transfer. Dunno why I got stuck with him anyway."

[jawmask]

"Stop pissing her off, man." Grimmjow said, after the two girls had left the room. "It ain't her fault you got beaten by Kadaj."

He flopped back in his chair, a grouchy expression on his face. He hoped that Apache's spat with Yylfordt didn't end up being Tayuya's spat with him.

[soundfivebitch]

Tayuya left with Apache. As tempting as shoving her flute so far down Yylfordt's ear she might encounter his brain and prove whether he actually had one was, it also risked bending her flute on his thick skull, and she'd rather not.

"Ignore the sniveling cockweasel," she said. It was the best advice she could give. "Let's go and find Nel and see about doing a girl's night out." She grinned, meanly. "Don't pretend it wouldn't be fun to get dressed up so their jaws drop, and then leave them alone with their hands for the night while we have some fun without them."

She included Grimmjow in that, but only because she lived to torment him, sometimes. It wasn't entirely his fault he associated with dickheads. It did get boring only being able to leave the Palace with them, though. Sometimes you just wanted to get away from the testosterone.

[joinmyreunion]

Kadaj, who had missed at least half the closing statements to the argument that had developed on account of not being able to understand more than a few words of Al Bhed - he'd learned that 'pnu' meant 'bro' only through repetition - looked ever so slightly peeved.

"What's so bad about being beaten by me anyway?" He asked, half offended. Apache had showed similar derision, but at least she wasn't familiar enough with him and his strengths and weaknesses to be making an accurate judgement on the matter. Yylfordt should know better, so should Grimmjow, but rather than just being upset that his beating Yylfordt at sparring was being treated as if Yylfordt had lost to some complete newbie, he was just irritated. "I've probably had Souba since before you knew how to hold a sword," he pointed out.

His training had just been hit and miss, and centred on his speed. Now he was getting more experienced, and learning how to use his speed and brain to work against opponents that far outstripped his strength.

[palehornedprince]

"It's not losing to you," Yylfordt said, defensively, although it was a little. "She just pissed me off going on like she knew what she was talking about."

He curled his upper lip and put on a bitchy falsetto, "You're supposed to be Captain level," he said, mockingly. "Like the strength of the vilgehk Gotei Captains doesn't vilgehk vary. I can't see that little kid one being a fair fight against someone like Gin, somehow." He sunk into his seat, grumpy. "And I was only masked up anyway, so she can suck it. It just beccac me off having some newbie vilgehk Fracción trying to imply I'm weaker than she thinks I'm supposed to be."

[jawmask]

"You are supposed to be captain level," Grimmjow pointed out. "Kadaj has only just got Bankai, that probably makes him lieutenant level, so no matter which captain we're talkin' about, you should be able to beat him." He pointed a finger at him, eyes narrowed. "If you don't think that you should be able to automatically win just because you're an Espada, you ain't got any reason to be actin' like this about it."

He put his feet up on the table and crossed them at the ankles.

"But, Kadaj is right. It ain't supposed to be about winning or losing," he said, giving a shrug. "It's training. You're both supposed to be improving. Y'don't think Captains got Bankai and suddenly became the most powerful people in their Divisions, do ya? There's a reason why the older ones are harder than the younger ones -- they've trained, dickhead. We're ranked mostly according to raw power and if you don't train that, you're just gonna be some dumbfuck with cow horns and a massive reiatsu."

Yylfordt was the least battle-ready of all the Espada, barring his brother, who probably only managed to win because he used underhanded tactics in the field. Grimmjow didn't doubt that a released Luppi would be able to smash Szayel if he didn't use any of his freaky techniques, fully released or not.

"Face it, man." He ran his fingers through his hair. "You're not so great against somebody with higher speed than you. Kadaj isn't so great against somebody with much higher strength than he has. You should both be learnin' the best way to handle opponents you struggle with, but you're there treatin' it like some sort of competition and getting all bitchy when you don't come out of it how you'd like."

He huffed a breath out and laid his head back against the back of the chair.

"Sparring is mutual," he said with a sigh. "If you're going into it to be treated like a punch bag, or treat your opponent like one, you're doing it for the wrong reasons. It ain't about dick-waving, it's about improvement and lookin' at it, you could fucking use some."

[palehornedprince]

Yylfordt scowled. "Oui ghuf fryd, pnu, oui vilgehk dyga dra syt pedlr yc y Fracción ev oui fyhd ran, pid E's celg uv ran cred. E kud macc aynylra uvv so mycd kenmvneaht yht yd maycd cra cilgat so telg uhla eh y frema."

He looked sour, folding his arms and staring at the wall. He'd have left the sunhouse, but it meant running the risk of walking straight into the girls.

"Ec ed duu silr du ycg dryd yvdan kaddehk so ycc gelgat po ouin vilgehk kenmvneaht E tuh'd ryja baubma kaddehk becco yd sa vun mucehk?" Sometimes a bro just needed to sulk in peace.

He was sulking, of course he was. Finding himself getting beaten by the kid whose role in their group dynamic was 'the mental one that sucks Grimmjow's cock' was an injury to his pride that it'd take him a bit of time to get over. Of course Grimmjow was right, he did need to train, but as the weakest Espada, he hadn't exactly had any sparring partners of an equal footing to go up against before, so he was used to sparring sessions ending with himself getting bounced.

It used to be different if he clashed swords with Kadaj, and now Kadaj was yet another person who was going to be able to bounce him around the training facility. The kid was spookily determined, and had set to training like his life depended on it. Yylfordt had never seen him so focused.

And it sucked. It was great for Kadaj, sure, and in a few days maybe Yylfordt would be happy for him making progress, but right now his jaw still hurt where Kadaj had clocked him with his foot, even though Nel had given him a once over, and it sucked.

[joinmyreunion]

Kadaj sighed, audibly, and when he spoke, his voice was weary. "I'm getting really sick of you speaking Al Bhed around me, Yylfordt."

It was infuriating, and in their little group, there was only Kadaj and Apache that didn't understand it, which made it all the more vexing.

"Whatever you said, Grimmjow's right," he said, with a shrug of his shoulders, getting comfortable in his chair. "I've beat you three times out of the last five. I want to start stepping it up, but that doesn't mean I think I can beat you every time, yet." He shrugged again, "Just that I will, one day, and it'll be sooner than it should be if you're not trying to learn too."

It took ten years to get the hang of Bankai. That was the standard, and that didn't mean that after ten years you'd be at full strength, just that in ten years you'd be competent enough to use it effectively. They were tricky to obtain, trickier still to master. Kadaj was having to start from scratch on some aspects of swordplay, and unlearn some things he'd been doing for years because now he had two swords to handle. He was having to learn to use a sword in his offhand, it was hard.

And Yylfordt was the one getting childish?

"It comes to something when I'm being the reasonable one," he added, quietly.

[jawmask]

"It's lucky I don't sulk like you every time I get bounced by the Berserker," Grimmjow muttered. "Me an' him are pretty evenly matched and both of us come off pretty bad in nearly every fight. Remember the time he fucking hammered me with that weapon he pulled out of his ass? Who was it who beat him? Kadaj."

He rolled his eyes. It was still a sore point, but the fact of the matter was, when Grimmjow had been beaten half to death by a technique he hadn't expected and wasn't used to facing, Kadaj had come forward and done exactly the same to his attacker.

"Look at it with a bit of perspective the next time you want to snap at people because you got beaten," he said, scowling at him. "We could all do with training more anyway. Kadaj is the only one taking that shit seriously."

[joinmyreunion]

"Well," Kadaj said, with a slight, helpless smile, "it's that or die."

That was the choice he faced. Train and take it seriously, or screw around and hope no one in Khamja decided he might get to be an inconvenience they could do without. Right now he was taking steps even Grimmjow didn't know about. He was taking steps Tayuya didn't know about, even, and that one was a little more unusual for him.

"I want to get out and take on some more Fiend hunts anyway," he said, softly. "They're what zanpakuto are meant to be used against." Plus, against them, he could train geostigma, and certain other abilities, that he couldn't train against sparring partners.

[palehornedprince]

Yylfordt was endeavouring to stay grumpy, but it was taking effort. Instead, he was coming out more grouchy, but the intent of his mood was still there. Grimmjow had a point, which was infuriating, but Yylfordt was determined to hold onto his snit, at least for the next hour or so.

"You're still welcome to that vilgehk pedlr," he said. "She's nuts." And mean, he thought, she was definitely mean. "It'd still have been nice to hear a 'it's okay, you'll get him next time', instead of," he trailed off, but pulled a face and flapped his fingers together to indicate a lecture.

"At least if I was telgehk her I could expect to get nagged."

[jawmask]

"So dick her, then." Grimmjow gave a snort, shaking his head. "I dunno why you ain't. She doesn't know why you ain't."

He sighed, though. Yylfordt had picked up the sword late in his life, unlike him, or Kadaj, so he had a lot of catching up to do and he wasn't doing it. Yylfordt had serious reserves of Chakra, but he didn't know how best to use them. That was a detriment to his fighting ability and his potential.

"Y'should train with her, though," he said, more of a suggestion than an admonishment. "I hear she's speed-based. If you had done it before, y'might have known a better way to deal with Kadaj. Y'can't really play the 'I can't hit girls' card when two of the top three Espada have tits." He paused. "Big ones."

[palehornedprince]

"Hajan cdelg ouin telg eh lnywo," Yylfordt recited, nodding faintly as he did. "Dad told me that one." He thought for a moment and looked over at Kadaj before he turned back to Grimmjow and gave him a pointed look. Grimmjow had clearly never heard it before.

"And I don't really wanna train with her," he said, "because if she manages to beat me, I'll never hear the end of it, and if I beat her, I'll feel like a telgrayt." He grinned, "So I'll stick with saying I don't hit girls. Especially not girl Espada, because I'll never stop bouncing."

[joinmyreunion]

Kadaj furrowed his brow when Grimmjow mentioned that Apache doesn't know why Yylfordt wasn't sleeping with her. From the interactions he'd witnessed, they were like himself and Tayuya when they'd first met.

He'd had a horrible crush on Tayuya, but she'd treated him like something she'd stepped in. Tayuya had been the first girl he'd really known that wasn't a streetwalker, and she'd been feisty, and cute, and Kadaj had been an idiot fourteen year old. He'd tried, awkwardly, to ask her out, and she'd responded by calling him disgusting and punching him in the face.

That was almost exactly what Kadaj thought the relationship between Apache and Yylfordt was like. Yylfordt might like her, because his grousing and complaining was of a similar pigtail pulling maturity as Kadaj's own young attempts to convince Tayuya he was cool, but Apache seemed to want none of it.

[jawmask]

"What part of 'it ain't about winning or losing' did you miss, bro?" Grimmjow asked, throwing his head back against the chair again.

He straightened up again fast though though, and looked at him again with a grin on his face. As far as he was concerned, Yylfordt wasn't fooling anyone.

"And that's bullshit anyway," he said, pointing at him and then flipping him off. "You'd have gone there ages ago if you weren't scared of her and maybe you wouldn't be scared of her if you didn't keep pissing her off so much. I swear, you do it on fucking purpose."