Preliminary: Cierro vs. Jin [R, NDE]

OOC Note: Kuroi's watching this out of interest in how Jin may have improved since their last encounter. I'll have a post of his watching at the end of the thread. It should be noted that Kuroi can recognize Jin with ease because he's known him for decades. The title makes it obvious to someone like Kuroi, who has known Jin that long, and met him so many times.

"Verbreiten..." That was the voice of the Espada's opponent as he arrived. The Bount Leader's shiny black dress shoes stepped down into the arena. Following it was a wave of heat that suddenly filled the entire arena. The Bount Leader, Jin Yamada, had arrived. However, he appeared much different than most would have remembered him. There was a bounty put on him after he had left the alliance with Sonken Kouhai. Knowing that, Jin came to this thing prepared. He knew that he would be in the public eye as a result of entering this tournament, and so that was why he came disguised.

The Bount Leader wore black dress pants and a long black trenchcoat which he had unbuttoned at the moment. Underneath that trenchcoat, one could see the crisp white dress shirt he wore with the loosely tied tie underneath. On both hands, he wore clean white gloves with black crosses sowed into the back of them to symbolize his Catholic heritage. Atop his black, wavy hair, he wore a tophat, which was pushed down low enough where it cast shadows across his face. But even if it wasn't, Jin's face couldn't be seen at that moment for he wore a mask over it. It was one of those Venetian masks that were worn at masquerade balls, except Jin's covered his whole face and was secured by a black band that wrapped around the back of his head. The mask itself was white on the left side and black on the right with a cross symbol etched into the forehead. Only eyeholes were visible on it. The part of the mask that had the mouth, however, had no hole.

Jin knew that his opponent wouldn't know who he was as he didn't know who his opponent was either. All either of them would know were the nicknames they used to enter this tournament. However, Jin knew that invitations had been sent to some of the strongest beings who could use reiatsu. Shinigami, Arrancar, Humans, Bount, and Quincy. If he was seen by the Shinigami and Arrancar, they would know that he was alive and kicking. So, that was why Jin was disguised at this moment. He had come prepared in more ways than one though. Having been informed that his opponent's name was 'The Deceiver', Jin wasn't going to take any chances. This was a tournament with strong competitors. There was no reason why he shouldn't be cautious. His opponent might use illusions or something to deceive him in that way. If he did that before the battle began while Jin was unprepared, it would mean trouble. Jin had fought people who had done that. So, Jin took advantage of something that only Bount could do with their releases. He came to this battle with Hitze already released ahead of time. He hadn't sealed it after they had finished training the day before. This way, he could hide who and what he was by not allowing spectators to see the release of his doll.

His opponent wasn't even here yet, which made him really cautious. As Jin stood there with his hands to his sides, eyes scanning all around for any sign of his opponent, his body wavered and shifted. It was almost as though there were two of him. His body was constantly shifting until finally, it settled and he appeared normal. When that happened, the heat died down as well. It didn't fade out completely, but it wasn't noticeable all throughout the room anymore. Jin clenched his fists at his side as he stood there waiting. He scanned the area with the aid of his other keen senses. He had to admit that this battle was going to be fun. He would get to show the strength he had gathered over these past 17 months. No one would know, however, that this power belonged to Jin Yamada except those that had fought him and knew his reiatsu from those battles. No one would even know that he was a Bount unless they had felt the reiatsu of one before or had seen him release his doll, which no one present had. This was going to be good.

Jin's Remaining Reiatsu: 3000 (-400 for Doll Summon)

Jin's eyes flitted around, moving from his sides to the entrance before him and back to his sides. He was checking all sides for where his opponent would appear. He was extremely cautious right now because he knew that he had to be careful against someone nicknamed 'The Deceiver'. He wasn't stupid. As time began ticking away, he started thinking that his opponent was cooking something up. This was a tournament of the strongest reiatsu beings out there. Why would his opponent not show up? Did he get taken out already? Jin wasn't sure, but his high instincts were telling him to be on the lookout, which he was. Then, Jin heard the announcer's voice. They actually had one of those for this thing? Jin wouldn’t know because he had been one of those participants who hadn’t been able to make the party. Not everyone had been able to attend. Jin’s reason: he didn’t want to go to something so out in the opening and be caught by any Arrancar or Shinigami that had entered. Despite not knowing there was an announcer, he still decided to keep a keen eye on this one.

A slight movement of his head allowed him to see the announcer and keep watch on his surroundings. Jin's instinct was telling him that if he looked somewhere else, he'd miss his opponent's arrival and then he'd be caught with his guard down. Despite having to wait, Jin wasn't going to miss his opponent when he or she arrived. He wasn't going to be caught with his pants down. He would wait forever for his opponent’s arrival if he had to. Though, Jin was starting to get more and more anxious when his opponent failed to show. Jin thought that it was really rude to be honest. Then again it could all be a ruse. Jin had to keep that in mind too. Anything could go when fighting someone named 'The Deciever'. What's the problem? Not showing up to their own match? It may be a trick though. I should keep waiting to see whether or not they're really not showing up...

The announcer then leapt into the arena and began walking towards Jin. Being the cautious person he was, Jin watched the announcer suspiciously as he approached. Why did he need to get so close to announce victory? Next thing he knew, the man grabbed his wrist and lifted it into the air, surprising Jin. That was too easy of a win. This has to be some kind of illusion or something... These were the Bount Leader's thoughts as the Espada began falsely announcing the Bount Leader's victory. The Espada then sprung his sneak attack, but that was what Jin had been looking for. As the scimitar formed and began swinging, an orange cloud suddenly burst from the Bount Leader's body in a 360 degree fashion. At a stat speed of 400, the Espada had no chance of overcoming it. He was too close to Jin in that moment to do so. Even with the 300 speed he had, there was no way to get out because he was gripping Jin and the attack had come so unexpectedly. Despite his senses, he wouldn't be able to see it coming until it swept over him. Jin hadn't deactivated his doll. He had only confined it's heat to a smaller area; his body. However, he had changed the intensity of the heat, which was what had made it cooler around the arena. By having Hitze dispersed around him, he could use attacks like this without having Hitze appear first.

The Espada had overestimated himself. He was only three times Jin's speed when running. He had overestimated his speed in that moment. He wasn't running, which meant that his speed was only 300, only 50 above Jin's, in that moment of attack. Jin had the instincts of a wild animal and the senses of one as well. He could perceive such an attack at that speed, which was why the Espada's attack had failed. Jin believed he was in some kind of illusion. He thought that that was the only reason why his opponent wouldn't appear to him. This was a tournament of reiatsu users from all three worlds. Whoever was hosting this thing wouldn't send invitations to weak people. That meant that Jin's opponent was strong. Why would someone strong like that miss an important match? Especially with the prize that could be claimed when this thing was won. With those things in mind, Jin had remained cautious until the end.

He had used Hitzewelle to attack because he didn't want to go through the hassle of fighting someone with that name. He didn't want to waste time fighting someone if they used illusions. He would only be screwing his chances of victory. There was no doubt that the Espada would be caught in the attack because of the reasons stated earlier. He was in point-blank range, and despite his high senses, the heat wave would overcome him before his brain processed it. That meant he had no way to escape it with a simple step technique. Plus, even if he did use a step-technique, he would have nowhere to go as Hitzewelle was a technique that spanned a large area. It was like a tidal wave that practically filled most of the arena due to his high reiatsu strength. To escape it, Cierro would have to step out of the arena, which would disqualify him. If he was hit however, both his body and his blade would be turned to ash immediately upon contact with the orange cloud. His hierro and zanpakutou were both of inferior reiatsu, so the chance of hierro saving the Espada was highly unlikely in this case. As for the slash, since the blade would be turned to ash, that wasn't going to be happening. Looks like today wasn't the Espada's lucky day. Oh well. Maybe next time. "How...unsportsmanlike..." spoke the Bount Leader as the wave of heat subsided. Those watching would notice that most of the arena around Jin except for where he stood had also been melted away by the orange cloud that had passed.

Jin's Remaining Reiatsu: 3000

Hitze's Remaining Reiatsu: 3200(-200 for Hitzewelle)

Yet again, the Espada's plan was to be foiled. Whenever Jin released his doll, Hitze's body itself was what spread throughout the air and heated it up. That meant that when Jin focused heat around his body, he was focusing his own doll's body around himself. In a sense, the Bount Leader was actually wearing his doll, if one could think of it like that. Since dolls were sentient beings with personalities of their own, Jin was in a sense, wearing living armor whose only purpose was to serve and protect it's master, him, from all harm. This was something Hitze naturally did as the slice struck. Energy moving through the nervous system as electrical signals as well as the chemical energy being converted into kinetic energy moved much faster than 900 stat speed. Through contact with the Arrancar's hand, Hitze was able to feel the electrical, chemical, and kinetic energy which was to be used to initiate the swing, allowing it to act in time. Cierro wouldn't notice it until he went to lick the blade and it burned his tongue. That was when he would see it. The edge of his blade used in the slash had melted!

Since the body of his doll was covering him, whose reiatsu strength equaled his own, in order to cut Jin the Espada had to cut into the doll's body, which was made of heat energy. With such inferior reiatsu strength, less than half of Jin's own, the Espada had no hopes of cutting through the doll to get to Jin without having his blade melted. It was like trying to cut a rock behind a waterfall. The blade would become wet from the water before it actually cut it's target. However in this case, since Hitze was made of heat energy and reiatsu, the heat would melt the blade rather than get it wet. It was a protective precaution the doll took in order to protect it's master in such close quarters and as a result of the concentration of its heat around Jin. He wouldn't be able to see the heat energy, but it was still there. He was cutting through a doll that controlled heat energy and was of itself made of heat energy to get to Jin's skin with his zanpakutou of inferior reiatsu strength. Had his reiatsu strength been higher than the Bount Leader's, then his plan would have worked and he would have been able to actually cut Jin without his blade melting as a result of passing through Hitze's body made of heat energy and reiatsu.

Such an unlucky day for the Octava Espada. Since he wasn't able to cut Jin, he would have no blood to swallow in order to gain knowledge of Jin's abilities and past experience. Not only that, but he would be fighting with a blade that had no sharp edge. It's edge was melted away, making it dull and unusable. Yep, karma was indeed a female dog. Cierro was paying time and time again for his deceptive attempts to wound the Bount Leader. That wouldn't cut it in a battle like this. Jin wasn't a fool. He wasn't Bount Leader for nothing. He was a True Bount. He had mastered his doll. He had been, in a ways, trained by the strongest Bount in the world, who had then gone on to become one of the five Fallen. A man who it had taken three Espada to defeat. So now, without Jin's memories and with a dull edged blade, the Espada was at a disadvantage.

The Bount Leader put his arm down and stared in shock at his shoulder, trying to figure out what had just happened. So...the announcer...is my opponent? thought the Bount Leader as he stood there trying to figure out what had just happened. He felt the Espada's reiatsu, which meant that he had survived Jin's attack. Oh well, it wouldn't have been fun if he had been killed so easily anyway. Jin watched the spot where he sensed his opponent as the cloud of Hitzewelle faded and was met with a surprise. A shapeshifter...? His opponent was an Arrancar from the looks of his white robes. Jin couldn't feel his Arrancar reiatsu for some reason, but there was no one else who wore those inversely colored Shinigami robes. A slight smirk formed over Jin's face underneath the mask at the realization that he was fighting one of the ones after his head. He didn't know Cierro was an Espada, but he did know that all of the Arrancar were after his head on orders from Sonken Kouhai.

The Bount Leader made no movements as he watched the Arrancar, but instead mentally commanded his doll to spread out within the arena and increase in intensity. The arena's size was 100 yards long, but Jin usually had his heat spread out over a quarter of a mile when in battle. That was 440 yards. That was the limit before the heat had no effect. Hitze's heat would still affect the Espada within this range and at it's full effect. It would instantly begin to cause dehydration, headaches, throwing up, and hallucinations as a result of being in such heat. For Jin's heat to even cause these effects though, it had to exceed a temperature of 37.5 degrees Celcius or 99.9 degrees Fahrenheit, and even when it did, the effects would occur with prolonged exposure. However, the arena they were fighting in was 4.4 times less than the limit. The arena's size combined with Jin's higher reiatsu strength would cut the prolonged exposure time, decreasing it so that the heat would raise the Espada's body temperature even faster than normal.

When Jin had first used this ability in battle, he had his heat cover a radius of ¼ of a mile, and the temperature increased from around 60 degrees, which was pretty comfortable temperatures, to about 160 degrees in an instant. His opponent then had instantly fallen to his knees. He was only able to survive by releasing in a last ditch effort, which protected him from the heat because of the lava abilities granted as a result of the release. Here, the radius to which Jin had his heat spread out was much less than it had been then, which was going to magnify the heat's potency by 4.4 times as a result of concentrating the heat in a smaller space. With the temperature around 60 degrees Fahrenheit beforehand, the arena's temperature would increase by 440 degrees Fahrenheit, skyrocketing to 500 degrees Fahrenheit in an instant. This was the temperature people cooked turkeys at. Cierro’s release didn’t involve lava, so that wasn’t going to protect him from it. He would feel the dehydration, headaches, throwing up, and hallucinations instantly as a result of the sudden drastic increase in temperature and the reiatsu strength difference. In this kind of heat his brain, and the rest of his body along with it, were going to cook.

He was being stifled and suffocated by the unbearable heat, which Hierro didn't protect from. Running from it would do him no good as that would build up more heat and thereby cause him to overheat himself, especially in 500 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures. He was in a predicament. In this arena, there was nowhere he could go that was safe unless he stepped out, but that would mean disqualification. Jin wasn't counting on the Espada even being able to do anything after that. He would probably pass out after a second in that kind of heat. His brain would also be too fried by the heat to think. Just incase, Jin began gathering reiatsu around his body. He noted the speed advantage the Arrancar displayed earlier in an attempt to surprise attack him and to escape his Hitzewelle at point-blank range, so he was going to prepare himself. While Jin did that, the blood that was dripping from the shallow cut in his shoulder coagulated, blocking any of his blood from dripping out. This was Hitze trying to protect it's master by preventing him from bleeding out, as afterall, it was a doll with it's own personality and thought unlike the releases of Shinigami, Arrancar, and Humans. It's sole purpose was to protect it's master. Any blood that did drip out was soon evaporated by the incredible heat surrounding the area. As for the movement ability of his arm, with Hitze having melted the blade, it was only able to cut through a little. It hadn't been able to cut the muscle and tendon as a result of melting. Other than slight pain from the shallow cut, that arm was still good.


Jin's Remaining Reiatsu: 3000

Hitze's Remaining Reiatsu: 3200

OOC: I'm on Jin's side with this part of the conflict.