A first taste of battle, the first step on the ladder

[x0dus]

Iwao, wearing a freshly pressed robe embarked on his first day as a qualified Shinigami. His basic training was finally over at the academy and despite his troubles with the Kidou aspect he was able to graduate.

"Today is my first step to becoming a Captain. I'll go to the training room and take on a big name. That should rattle a few cages" said Iwao with a confident swagger as he approached the building.

As Iwao got closer to the doors, he saw two Shinigami walking out of the Training facility, one carrying the other who looked heavily injured and damaged.

"Err, are you okay?" asked Iwao, curious as to who could be capable of inflicting such damage.

"Yeh, hes fine - I think he bit off more than he could chew this time." replied the injured man's friend, who seemed like he was speaking from experience.

"Ok well, make sure he goes to the Infirmary, hes looking pretty nasty!"

Iwao curiously stepped forward and into the Training Room, as he walked in for the very first time. He noticed a female Shinigami standing tall at the back of the room, shouting at what seemed to be her subordinates.

"You guys are weak, pathetic. This training facility is responsible for providing Shinigami ready for combat, at the moment you guys aren't even capable of beating the stupid training dummy!" shouted the woman.

Iwao saw this as the perfect opportunity to prove his worth, to show what he was made of. This would be a shortcut to becoming a Captain, people would surely hear of Iwao if he defeated the Head Trainer.

"Hey, lady! How about I take you on" said Iwao as he was getting into a fighting pose.

"Hah, who are you kid?"

"Mendoza Iwao from the proud Mendoza region of Argentina!"

"Never heard of you, get to the back of the line like all these other chumps!"

"No can do, Im going to become a Captain and Im taking your name for starters!"

"You seem pretty sure that you can beat me, but what makes you think you're even worthy of facing me. I got 20 guys in here who have been training for months, what makes you think Im going to give you an opportunity so quickly."

"Because I'll do whatever it takes to become Captain, and if beating you is a step I have to take then so be it."

"Interesting, well - why dont you try what my trainees have yet to accomplish. Take on the training dummy in a 1on1 fight. If you win, your wish will be granted and we will fight."

"Training dummy, sounds weak."

"First lesson of combat kid, never underestimate your opponent!"

----

And so the fight began, Lelerai pressed a button from out of nowhere and out came a mechanical dummy, looking worse for wear but still operable.

[x0dus]

Name: Mendoza Iwao (surname, first name)
Race: Shinigami
Biography:

From the region of Mendoza in Argentina, Iwao was born to an Argentinian father and Japanese mother. The name Iwao means ‘stout’ which describes his personality and physical appearance. From an early age, Iwao helped his family business which dealt with tourists who wanted to climb the mountains of the Mendoza region. At the age of 19, Iwao died tragically whilst trying to help a tourist who got themselves in trouble climbing a tricky part of one of the highest and most dangerous mountains in Argentina.

After his death, Iwao went to Soul Society and decided to become a Shinigami, hoping to do his family and the region of Mendoza proud by rising through the ranks and becoming a respectable officer, with his ultimate ambition of becoming Captain. During initial training, Iwao has shown physical prowess due to his very active lifestyle in his previous life. He has an aptitude for combat and physical activity, but lacks the focus and concentration to excel in Kidou training.

He has a grateful attitude towards Soul Society for giving him another chance to live an honorable life and make his family proud, something which he feels he failed to do in his human life. His ambition is to become Captain and earn the respect of his peers, he aims to do this by protecting the people and honor of Soul Society by putting his life on the line if need be.

Attributes:

STR: 4
DEX: 4
CON: 3
INT: 1

Secondary Attributes:

Tenacity: 2
Reiryoku: 1

Stats:

Hitpoints: 23 + 40 from ‘Toughness' = 63
Reiatsu-points: 33

Characteristics:

Toughness - Your body has developed a steely composition. +40 HP. CON 3 or higher required.

Incantations:

Destroy
Heal
Chain
Restore

Traits:

Ambitious: Achieving your dreams has always been your #1 goal. Your XP gains are multiplied by 1.5.
Skilled: You are obsessed with developing your martial skills. Instead of gaining characteristics every three levels, you gain them every two levels.
Normality: You are a very normal looking person. This causes people to underestimate you for some reason. +2 on to-hit rolls.

Combat Info:

To-hit: +2 for Normality = +2
Defence: Base 10+2 from Tenacity = 12
Damage: 10+1
Landspeed: 30ft

[x0dus]

Name: Training Dummy
Race: An artificial contraption, clearly created for training.

A moving mass of metal and cloth. This machine has seen a lot of wear, yet it's gears are in order. It is powerful, but not extremley fast. You may need to hit it a lot, though.


Attributes:
(Level one)
Str:2
Dex:2
Con: (7)
Int:2

Ten:1
Rei:2

Hp:67
Rp:57

Traits:
Anal Retentive
Hard-Bitten
Normality

Characteristics.
Toughness

To-hit: +1 +2 +2 +2 (+7)
Defense 10+2 (12)
Damage: 1d10+1
Saves:1d6
Landspeed: 20ft
DR: 8

[x0dus]

Initiative Rolls:

Mendoza Iwao: [roll0]
Training Dummy: [roll1]

[x0dus]

--- -D- ---
--- --- ---
--- --- ---
--- -I- ---

D = Training Dummy
I = Mendoza Iwao

[x0dus]

The battle commences, as Iwao clutches his Zanpakutou nervously - he freezes for a second unsure of what to do.

The Training Dummy takes advantage and dashes forward 20ft, right up in Iwao's face.

The Dummy makes the first move and attacks Iwao right down the centre.

[roll0]
Iwao Defence = 12

[x0dus]

The Dummy connects with its attack, hitting Iwao in the torso. The dummy appears to have dealt some damage to Iwao:

[roll0]

Iwao takes the damage, gritting his teeth and looking onwards. Keeping his eyes focused on the dummy.

"I need to attack, NOW! Or else I'll lose to this hunk of junk and become a laughing stock!" Iwao thought.

Iwao braced himself, gripped his Zanpakutou tight and aimed a slashing attack down the centre of the dummy.

[roll1]
Dummy Defence = 12
[roll2]

[x0dus]

Dummy Hitpoints: 67-7= 60
Iwao Hitpoints: 63-4= 59

Iwao connected, and hard. Looking almost in shock as he landed his first real blow in his first real battle. The dummy took alot of damage, buckling backwards due to the damage. Iwao clutched his Zanpakutou tighter, with growing confidence and stepped forward as the dummy prepared its next attack.

"I must dodge this attack! Remember the training, watch his feet and arms and dodge the blow!" thought Iwao as he attempted to dodge the attack.

[roll0]
Iwao Defence = 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

The dummy lands another strong shot to the body of Iwao. Iwao feels the shot and is winded. He backs away slightly and regains composure.

"This is just a dummy, get yourself together Iwao! We won't lose here, not today!"

Iwao bent his knees and got into a lower stance, looking to put his whole body into each swing of his blade. He charged forward and aimed to attack the Dummy, looking to end the fight.

[roll0]
Dummy Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

Dummy Hitpoints: 60-3 = 57
Iwao Hitpoints: 59-7=52

Iwao connected with his attack, but was unable to deal substantial damage. With Iwao looking worse for wear, this looked to be a long battle for the Mendozan warrior looking to make a name for himself.

Meanwhile, as Iwao was trying to come up with a plan on how to deal more damage, the Dummy launched a fast attack at Iwao's legs. Looking to slow his pace down and win the battle.

[roll0]
Iwao Defence: 12
[roll1]

Iwao still frustrated at his lack of power, waited anxiously for the dummy to attack.

"Move! Dodge! I can't take another hit!"

[x0dus]

"Argh!" Iwao groans from the pain of a strong hit from the training Dummy.

The realities of combat bring a harsh awakening to Iwao, who no longer feels so confident about the fight. Feeling helpless, he aimlessly swings his Zanpakutou at the dummy, hoping to change the tide of this fight.

[roll0]
Dummy Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

Dummy Hitpoints: 57-6 = 51
Iwao Hitpoints: 52-6 = 46

A good hit! Iwao feels the damage rattle through his sword. He lifts his head up with a new found confidence and steps forward, in an attempt to unsettle the Dummy's rhythm and dodge his oncoming attack.

[roll0]
Iwao Defence:12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

A powerful blow to the legs of Iwao lead him to crash to the floor hopelessly. Iwao is shocked at the power of this machine and lies with his back on the floor for a second.

"Get up Iwao! Get up! This is just the first step. You're going to be fighting real people! You can't lose to a dummy now!"

Iwao allowed the dummy to get closer and got up and tried to land a powerful uppercut-slash to the head of the dummy.

[roll0]
Dummy Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

Dummy Hitpoints: 51
Iwao Hitpoints: 46-8 = 38

The dummy anticipates this uppercut and leans back to dodge the blow, using the momentum of Iowa against him, the dummy goes for a powerful downwards attack hoping to smash down Iwao and end the fight.

[roll0]
Iwao Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

Iwao takes another hit, the damage is piling on and he sees no way out of this battle. The Dummy is starting to look considerably less beat up than Iwao, despite having taken thousands of attacks in its time.

Iwao takes a deep breath as the dummy patiently waits for his attack, he looks to end it all with one big blow but will the dummy allow him to hit hard enough to change the tides of this battle?

[roll0]
Dummy Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

Dummy Hitpoints: 51
Iwao Hitpoints: 38-6 = 32

Another missed attack, as Iwao looks onwards in frustration.

"This dummy seems to be hitting all the time, why aren't I!" Iwao questions.

In the meanwhile, the dummy was preparing another attack as it looked like Iwao would lose his first battle as a Shinigami.

[roll0]
Iwao Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

Another hit lands on Iwao, and the damage looks to be taking its toll now as Iwao is struggling to stand. His knees shaking and his sword lower, Iwao makes a desperate attempt to damage the dummy by swinging his sword furiously.

[roll0]
Dummy Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

Dummy Hitpoints: 51-11 = 40
Iwao Hitpoints: 32-6 = 26

A powerful blow lands on the dummy! And it once again buckles back from the damage. Iwao smiles as finally one of his attacks lands.

"You can do this, just keep plugging away. Remember why you joined the Academy. Remember why you did the training." Iwao reminded himself.

The dummy, as though it had emotions of its own - charged at Iwao furiously after taking such a powerful hit.

[roll0]
Iwao Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

Iwao takes another shot to the body, this time smirking at the dummy.

"Is that all you've got?" Iwao taunts the dummy, so dizzy that he has lost awareness that he is talking to a mechanical dummy.

Meanwhile, the members of the training facility who had previously been focused on their training exercises all turned to watch this battle which was quickly becoming epic. The trainees all understood Iwao's pain, as none of them were still capable of defeating the dummy and many of them had been defeated by it.

"Iwao, fight!" A random observer shouts.

Iwao turns and nods in acknowledgment, clutching his sword tighter and pressing on, going for another attack.

[roll0]
Dummy Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

Dummy Hitpoints: 40-2 = 38
Iwao Hitpoints: 26-4 = 22

"Damn!" Iwao exclaims in frustration.

Unable to land cleanly, he deals minimal damage to the dummy who launches another attack.

[roll0]
Iwao Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

"Pfft, this dummy's a joke!" Iwao taunts again, trying to hide his own damage and pain and focusing on the victory.

"This is my chance" he thinks, "I need to land a couple big blows and win this fight!"

Iwao relaxes his stance and quickly dashes into the dummy, attacking at the mid-section.

[roll0]
Dummy Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

Dummy Hitpoints: 38-3 = 35
Iwao Hitpoints: 22-2 = 20

Iwao's fatigue is evidence, as he is unable to land a clean shot yet again. The dummy pounces and attacks relentlessly.

[roll0]
Iwao Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

A powerful blow connects and Iwao drops to one knee, gritting his teeth due to the pain!

The onlookers gasp in shock as Iwao looks to be reaching his limits.

An onlooking skeptic is heard saying to his training partner: "I knew it, as soon as he walked in. This guy is a fool, thinking he can come in and take on the dummy without training."

The crowd began turning their back on Iwao, realising that he is just another victim at the hands of the ruthless dummy.

Iwao hears the crowd, and in frustration swings at the dummy looking to deal some damage.

[roll0]
Dummy Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

Dummy Hitpoints: 35-9 = 26
Iwao Hitpoints: 20-9 = 11

It was now or never, Iwao needed to land some huge hits in order to win the battle or he would face a humiliating defeat at the hands of the notorious training dummy. The dummy rushed forward, looking to end this long battle.

[roll0]
Iwao Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

Iwao, now tired, battered and bruised dodges the blow on pure instincts alone. The onlooking crowd gasp in amazement. Iwao, whose eyes are glazed from the damage he has taken, takes a deep breath and rushes forward haphazardly knowing that he needs to land a big shot in order to survive.

[roll0]
Dummy Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

Dummy Hitpoints: 26-5 = 21
Iwao Hitpoints: 11

The dummy begins to show signs of damage as its joints wobble randomly, it charges forward to make another attack sensing that Iwao is near exhaustion and could collapse at any minute.

[roll0]
Iwao Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

A mildly powerful attack hits Iwao who is by know standing on his last legs, out of gas and running on pure heart and guts. The crowd once again begin to cheer, hoping to inspire Iwao into pulling off a great upset.

Iwao rushes forward knowing that he has nothing more to lose.

[roll0]
Dummy Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

Dummy Hitpoints: 21-2 = 19
Iwao Hitpoints: 11-4 = 7

A weak shot lands from Iwao, who has no energy left in order to deal damage. The crowd look onwards for what appears to the be the inevitable as the dummy marches forward and deals the finishing blow.

[roll0]
Iwao Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

Iwao barely able to stand, down on one knee swings his sword upwards at the dummy, in a pathetic last attempt to deal some damage.

The crowd feel his pain, despite the skeptics and they once again begin to cheer him on.

"Iwao! Iwao! Iwao!"

[roll0]
Dummy Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

Dummy Hitpoints: 19
Iwao Hitpoints: 7-5 = 2

The dummy easily dodges a clumsy attack from Iwao and counters with a powerful blow hoping to end the fight, after almost 2 hours of combat.

[roll0]
Iwao Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

The crowd gasps once again as this battle, which started as a mere exhibition had now become an epic war between the two combatants.

As the dummy looked to deal its finishing blow, it placed too much weight on its front foot and missed Iwao, who was now an unconscious corpse, running on pure instinct.

Iwao could barely hear the crowd's cheering as he swung his sword upwards, hoping to hit the dummy, who had just lost its balance.

[roll0]
Dummy Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

Dummy Hitpoints: 19
Iwao Hitpoints: 2

A sloppy swing goes way wide of the dummy who regains its balance and counters. By now, the crowd are screaming in desperation hoping for Iwao to regain consciousness and somehow turn this around.

[roll0]
Iwao Defence: 12
[roll1]

[x0dus]

The dummy lands a powerful blow to Iwao's head, knocking him out completely unconscious.

The onlooking Head Trainer desperately calls for medical help as they rush in and take Iwao to the infirmary.

As Iwao was stretchered off, the crowd of trainees clapped and some even shed a tear for the brave effort displayed by Iwao, who fought to his last ounce of energy and got closer to beating the dummy than they ever did.

"You did yourself proud kid." The female trainer whispered to an unconscious Iwao who was being stretchered off into the Infirmary.

[x0dus]

Iwao Mendoza is defeated

[Jaran]

15 XP (RP Bonus) awarded to Mendoza.