Conflinct of the hopefuls: Itou vs Zeich [DE]

Another fight… I suppose I don’t have a reason to decline…

Zeich sighed as he read over the note that had been left for him at his room back in the Squad Seven Barracks. Upon returning from another stroll through Seireitei—the Seventh Seat found that he could calm himself more easily when his body was doing something, rather than sitting put, and thus had taken the time for a short walk in order to reflect on himself—Zeich had noticed the note pinned on his door, an invitation to spar with an Academy Student who was showing a good deal of promise. The Shinigami himself had been a similar case, and when he had challenged Hibiki Kamikawa to a fight in order to gauge himself against some of the upper echelons of Soul Society, his request had been accepted and Hibiki had taken him somewhat seriously throughout their battle. He had shown his promise then; this “Itou” must have been attempting to do the same here.

Zeich ran a hand through his long hair, knowing that he had no real excuse to not accept the challenge. It was bothersome, but he supposed that he could use the fighting practice anyway; he hadn’t had a chance to join in many missions that would keep his reflexes sharp, and so sparring with another Shinigami would give him plenty of opportunity to keep in practice. Of course, Zeich didn’t “spar” in battle, like most Shinigami; instead, he aimed to kill, aimed to win beyond decisively. After all, in a real battle, one didn’t attempt to hold back, to aim for non-fatal strikes; instead, one aimed to kill, and practicing without using one’s full strength merely blunted one’s reflexes and resolve to kill when it came to true battle.

Sitting on his bed, the Seventh Seat took a moment to look around his room. The place was sparsely furnished, as befitted Zeich; though being a seated officer meant that his room could come with more perks, he was content to live with just the basics. A writing desk and chair sat against one wall, while his bed sat on the opposite side. A small clothes chest next to his bed contained a few outfits, along with Zeich’s formal Shinigami uniform—the actual uniform, completely free of alteration, unlike the Seventh Seat’s usual outfit—and a stand for the Shinigami’s two Zanpaktou completed the few furnishings in his room. Like Zeich himself, there wasn’t much visible on the surface, but despite its humble appearance, it was enough.

Taking his two Zanpaktou from their stands along with the swordbelt that hung nearby the two katana, Zeich wrapped the latter around his waist and slid the two sheathed weapons into the holsters on his belt to hold them in place. A hand was raised to adjust the scarf around his neck as the Shinigami finished his preparations, his fingers brushing lightly against the hidden rope scar around his neck. Closing his eyes and forcing the unpleasant memories down, Zeich finished adjusting the lay of his scarf so that it hid the poorly-healed injury and lay wrapped around his throat and part of his shoulders. Pinning it in place to hold it still, the Shinigami turned and headed out the door, locking it behind him as he went.

The trip down to the nearest Senkaimon station was uneventful, to say the least; no one ever bothered Zeich, as he was still a fairly unknown Shinigami. Atop that, his distant and cool nature tended to put people off, though that was because they didn’t look beneath the surface; a good look at the Seventh Seat’s eyes would show that he felt the same emotions any other living being felt. He just wasn’t an openly emotional person, one that kept his feelings bottled up, hidden beneath the surface. Zeich was expressive through his eyes rather than his face or body, though the latter’s language was still there, just muted and subtle compared to that of an average person’s own reactions and habits.

The trip through the Senkaimon and to the World of the Living was uneventful, though it did give Zeich a few minutes to wonder just why he had been called out to the human world for a sparring match when there were plenty of arenas within Seireitei that would have sufficed. Of course, he couldn’t pretend that he began to know or understand this Itou fellow, so it was really a fruitless train of thought. It didn’t matter, of course; since Zeich was not particular to civilian casualties in a battle, it was easy enough to find a deserted area so that the two of them could fight without any risk of human injuries or even spiritually-aware humans noticing them.

Zeich’s Senkaimon appeared at ground level, as he had requested upon reaching the station within Seireitei; he wasn’t fond of dramatics such as leaping from an open doorway in the sky when he could simply step out onto land without any need for unnecessary flourishes. Instead he simply made his way towards the area indicated by the Squad 13 member that had sent Itou through and that had been kind enough to inform him as to the general location in which he would find the Academy student. While he walked, he made quick checks of his equipment, sliding his Zanpaktou partially from their sheaths in order to assure himself that there were no catches when he drew his weapons completely.

The Shinigami soon arrived at the intended battlefield, saying nothing as he approached. Amber eyes glittered in the afternoon sunlight as he stopped, right hand draped cautiously over Polaris’ handle. The Seventh Seat was wearing his usual garb today, the change in uniform suiting him well. Sleeveless and altered to have a zipper along the front like a jacket, Zeich’s Shihakushō hung down to his waist, a black undershirt visible in the inch or two between the bottom of the robe and the pants he wore beneath. His arms were wrapped in jet-black bandages as always, hiding the tattoos down both limbs, and his hands were covered by fingerless gloves. Zeich forewent the sash that he normally wore today, keeping only the tightly-tied scarf and mantle of his extra accessories on his person. The mantle itself wrapped around his shoulders, bound up at the left side by a wolf’s-head clasp and complimenting the scarf that hung from his neck.

Zeich took a brief moment to glance over his opponent’s figure, analyzing any potential weak spots and coming up with at least two. The first was the man’s robes; the downside to robes was that they fluttered and were easy to grab hold of, thus creating a handhold that could be used to incapacitate the wearer. It was why Zeich had modified his own uniform; though the mantle and scarf created grab points, they were intentional handicaps that could be easily removed when the Seventh Seat was serious in combat. His tight jacket and undershirt created no grips that could be used against him in combat, and thus removed one potential weakness in close-combat grappling.

The second weakness was the student’s obvious lack of intelligence. Who heard of punching a wall for a warm-up? All Itou was doing was either causing unnecessary property damage or else harming his knuckles, perhaps both. Zeich figured that his opponent was a bit slow in the head, and thus it was just another opening to exploit. But there was no need to telegraph either weakness to Itou; after all, this was a battle. One did not simply inform an enemy of their weaknesses unless overconfident, and Zeich was far from that. He felt reasonably certain that he could handle this battle with fair ease, but he was still wary enough to know that few things were sure in life. This could be one of those cases.

There were no words spoken; Zeich was not one to make conversation in battle, or really much in general. He was an efficient speaker, saying only what needed to be said; taunts and jeers were a sign of weakness and a waste of breath and energy that could be used in combat. Instead, the Shinigami drew Polaris from his sheath in a backhand grip with his right hand, the heavier katana sliding free with ease. A quick flick of the wrist had it brought up into a one-handed forehand hold before Zeich lowered his arms to his sides, letting his muscles relax and loosen up so that he could prevent unnecessary strain on them during battle. Little things like the tension of one’s body really made a difference in the long term, and when it came to physical fighting it was that much more imperative.

The Seventh Seat was not one to act on the courtesy of the “first move” either; in battle, a surprise attack or ambush often turned the tide in the favor of the ambusher. Instead of waiting for his opponent to come at him, Zeich suddenly darted forward, racing across the ground with his impressive speed. His attack was straightforward; the Shinigami’s arm came up in a rapid cross-body slash from lower-right to upper-left as he struck with nearly no warning, his left hand gripping the handle immediately after. Itou hadn’t yet drawn his Zanpaktou, and as a result he was left vulnerable to the strike; even if he dodged back, there was still the vulnerability of having no weapon to put between himself and his opponent.

Zeich’s follow-up strike was an unusual one; rather than bringing his sword around and overhead using the momentum to follow with a downwards slash, instead he released the weapon with his right hand and brought it downwards and then back up in the opposite direction of the first slash, almost like creating an X. Zeich was ambidextrous and could use both hands fairly well with his swords, and though he had become accustomed to wielding Polaris in his right hand and Ventus in his left, the Seventh Seat had trained enough that he could use either weapon in either hand without suffering any sort of weakness as he struck.

The attacks had come lightning-fast, and the third was right behind them, a thrust that would pierce straight through Itou’s chest if he did not take the opportunity to move aside. Zeich’s initial strikes came quickly, with no delay between each attack, meaning that Itou had to react quickly if he was going to come out of this fight without any serious injuries.

Remaining Reiatsu: 500/500

The first of Zeich’s attacks struck true as the blade sliced into his opponent’s arm; though the slash had been aimed cross-body, Itou had thrown himself towards Zeich’s left in an attempt to dodge the Seventh’s Seat strike. However, the attack had gone through, leaving a moderately deep cut in the student’s right arm, which immediately soaked his white clothes in a dark blotch that spread outwards from the injury. Zeich felt no remorse at injuring an Academy student; by making a declaration to battle, one also accepted the potential consequences that came with it. Injuries were not uncommon, and severe ones were always a possibility. Instead of worry about holding back to avoid injuring Itou, Zeich just continued to press his attack.

The second slash was less effective as Itou jumped backwards, but Zeich’s follow-up was a mere second behind, leaving only a small window for evading the stab. The student attempted to leap to the opposite side from which he first dodged, but as a result the stab caught him in the opposite shoulder, the blade digging another deep gash into his shoulder. Though it wasn’t decisive by any standards, the wound let forth more blood; even if Itou didn’t get struck again throughout the fight, he had a very good chance of bleeding to death. And even if that didn’t happen, the student was practically guaranteed to burn through his stamina much faster as the loss of blood flowing through his body weakened his muscles.

It was a weakness, an injury that could be exploited. Due to the depth of this particular wound, though the other had drawn blood as well, Zeich knew that it would be best to focus on the left side of Itou’s body. After all, blood was flowing more freely from the second injury, meaning that the left arm would weaken more quickly; the Seventh Seat was not an expert or even particularly skilled in his knowledge of the human body’s circulatory system, but even he could guess that more blood loss meant that the amount of oxygen being delivered to the muscles would decrease rapidly, thus weakening that arm more overall. That would be a point to press, of course; Zeich had no qualms about using an enemy’s weakness to overcome them, and would pursue that opening mercilessly.

Itou’s comment about it being two against one, even if it had meant to be playfully taunting, was enough to earn a small spark of irritation from Zeich. It didn’t show in the Seventh Seat’s face or posture, barely even flickered in his eyes, but it didn’t matter; the older Shinigami was finding himself becoming perturbed with the student’s lighthearted nature when it came to battle. Combat was serious; life and death were often on the line and only one’s skill with a weapon, with one’s body, with one’s very spirit were what determined on which side a person ended up. Focus and concentration were essential in the constant battle for survival, and wasting one’s focus in idle banter or lighthearted remarks was a good way to get killed.

Zeich understood that, to this student, this was a mere spar, a match against a seated officer as a way of proving himself. However, Zeich never took any battle as simply a spar; he threw himself into it fully, as if his life could be on the line, and never let his reflexes get dulled. He was far from the best fighter, the ideal soldier, the strongest or the elite, but the Seventh Seat was a survivor. He lived because he was ready, because he was prepared and because he was always on his guard. That was why he would win this fight; unlike the student, who would be holding back enough to avoid any severe or fatal injuries, Zeich intended to throw everything he had at this fight in its proper time, just as he would if he was facing a Hollow.

Itou took his own opportunity to attack despite his injuries, which was a gamble; by not treating injuries with that much blood flowing, he was going to exhaust himself that much more quickly. However, it also gave him an element of surprise, attacking when he should be retreating defensively, making an unpredictable move. Zeich’s own mental celerity wasn’t fantastic, but he was paranoid enough to know that he couldn’t expect anything from an unknown enemy, and as a result he was not surprised by the seemingly foolish attack. That didn’t mean that he knew what to expect, right away, but he wasn’t startled, and his defenses were up.

Right away it was obvious that Itou had planned on using a two-weapon style similar to Zeich’s own, giving the Seventh Seat some insight into the student’s actions. Keeping the sheath at hand provided both a blunt object and a solid defense, even if it lacked the sturdiness of spiritual steel, and also drew the opponent’s focus in two directions, meaning that they had to split their concentration in half. There were downsides, of course, but Zeich was familiar with a two-weapon fighting style and could easily adapt his reflexes to deal with potential attacks from Itou. He himself was sticking with one for the moment, using Polaris as effectively as he could until he drew Ventus as well; Zeich hoped to force Itou into expecting a particular strategy, becoming comfortable with one style of fighting before the Seventh Seat threw him for a loop with a new style.

The first strike came quickly, and was an obvious feint; in order to bring about the sheath for the upwards swing, Itou’s body would have to contract in a rather specific manner, otherwise the sheath would be behind him and there was no way he could bring it about for a full swing in time to catch Zeich while he was blocking the feinted strike. The Seventh Seat saw it, but while the first strike was a feint, it was still a threat to his body if it hit him. He couldn’t just ignore it in favor of blocking the sheath’s blow, so he decided to do something unorthodox, which suited his combat style just fine.

Rather than lowering Polaris to block the swiping blade, Zeich leapt straight up, tucking his legs in beneath him to get some clearance before landing again directly atop the blade and pinning it to the ground beneath him. This would also pull Itou forward as the full weight of a human being on his sword would be difficult to lift up, even with his strength, and would cause his sheath’s swing to go wide, missing completely if he even managed to complete the attack. The biggest advantage Zeich had from the motion, however, was forcing Itou off-balance, and the Seventh Seat’s foot lashed up in a swift counterattack, aimed at the student’s chin. The only way to easily avoid it would be to let go of his weapon and move away, though that would be difficult in itself as he was already in a forward motion from the extra weight pulling him down.

This also had the advantage of preventing Itou’s pivot should he choose to hold onto his weapon, and even if he let go and dodged, it would disrupt the following counterattack. Zeich didn’t wait, and instead went straight on the offensive as Polaris came across in a horizontal cut, the weapon’s sharp blade aimed to pierce through Itou’s side and out the other should he not take the time to dodge. Back in his right hand, it was a fast slash, and though Ventus’s thinner blade would cut through the air much more rapidly, it was still coming at a considerable speed. And of course, knowing Zeich, the Shinigami would gladly press the advantage as he continued moving forward, now off of the weapon that he had pinned down with his weight. After the initial cut, he followed with a second swing in the opposite direction, though this one was angled diagonally to go from top-left to bottom-right in its execution.

The entire time Zeich remained silent, not speaking a word in reply to any of Itou’s actions. There wasn’t a cry for battle, or even the slightest sound of surprise; instead he simply remained dead quiet, not a word passing his lips, not a trace of emotion on his face. Zeich was focused on the battle, and didn’t let anything distract him from his goal: to cut. He had read once that focusing on one word, one mantra throughout battle sharpened one’s mind and reflexes in order to draw out the fullest one’s body had to offer. And so the Seventh Seat had chosen the word cut, because it meant so much more than cleaving through the enemy’s body.

Cut the enemy to pieces was only a part of his thought process; cut through their strength, cut through their defenses, cut with certainty and with confidence. There were so many ways in which to cut, to strike at an opponent that weren’t limited to only the physical aspect. One could cut an opponent mentally, cut at their spirit and morale, cut them to pieces without ever once drawing blood. Zeich was no master of this mindset yet, but he did have the ability to focus on that one word, the one concept, and as a result his whole body was honed to react, to strike in an instant, to tear into an enemy in a heartbeat and without losing sight of that one goal.

He would cut his foe down, and without mercy.

Remaining Reiatsu: 500/500

Zeich could already see his attack missing even as Itou fell to the ground purposely, keeping his weapon at hand while avoiding the straight kick that had been aimed for the student’s chin. It was a maneuver that seemed to be more desperation than inspiration, but nonetheless it got Itou out of the way of the initial strike. This didn’t faze Zeich at all, however, as falling was a potential result of being tugged forward by the Seventh Seat’s previous action; he could only predict so much, and his battle style relied more on his ability to adapt to changing circumstances rather than focusing only on what he expected to happen anyway. In the end, it was just another unpredictable move within the ever-moving tides of battle.

Rather than let the evasion bother him, Zeich simply shifted his tactics. His horizontal swing would likely pass right overhead, and as a result he grabbed the hilt with his other hand and brought Polaris down in a powerful diagonal cut, adding the force of both arms to the blow to increase the force at which it struck Itou. The student attempted to parry with a single arm raised, using his sheath to take the brunt of the strike. However, with his position prone on the ground, Itou had no support, was not braced for any sort of impact. His greater strength was simply mitigated by the fact that he had no backing to block, and as a result his arm was swept aside by the attack. On the plus side, the ineffectual block did prevent Zeich’s attack from landing on the student’s body, Polaris sliding along the hardened case and at an angle that barely missed Itou’s body. However, it also wrenched the student’s arm backwards, damaging the shoulder joint and likely further aggravating the cut that was already there along the arm.

This would mess up Itou’s counterattack easily, as the injury his arm would sustain from such a blow would at very least damage the muscles in his shoulder enough to make it painful to move the arm. The difference in their strength had prevented Zeich from completely tearing the muscles in his opponent’s arm and perhaps dislocating the student’s shoulder, but it was not enough to prevent injury of any sort. The uppercut that came, as a result, was slow and telegraphed to the point that Zeich easily jumped back, letting the punch swing into the air where he had been a few moments before. That left no room for the follow-up elbow blow either, as there simply wasn’t a target for the attack.

Both combatants were freed from their grapple, and Zeich backed away a short distance of roughly ten feet to give himself a bit of breathing room. His mind was working the entire time, analyzing what he had learned in the brief clash he had just been in. It was obvious Itou was the stronger of the two, but that was no surprise; some Shinigami were focused on sheer brute force and strength. Zeich wasn’t a weakling himself, but he was focused more on his speed and maneuverability, his ability to flow through the battle and strike where it was necessary in order to inflict a decisive and crippling blow. The Seventh Seat was strong, and understood the value of physical strength, but that alone would lose readily to a fast opponent who wasn’t able to be hit in the first place.

Since strength wasn’t doing him much good in this case, Zeich decided that it would be best to focus on his speed and skill instead. Quickly he sheathed Polaris, with no flourish or exceptional finesse, just sliding it into its sheath without a word. In a moment, his left hand reached to the hilt on the opposite side, and the Seventh Seat pulled Ventus free. Unlike Zeich’s other Zanpaktou, Ventus was a much narrower weapon, thin and whip-like along the blade. Black bindings and no hand guard completed the weapon’s appearance, the thin katana held easily in the Seventh Seat’s left hand as he turned his body so that the right side faced Itou. Zeich’s left arm came up overhead, bent at the elbow so that Ventus was pointed towards the student.

This was the second attempt to feel out his opponent; Zeich planned on finding out just how quick the student was compared to him, to determine if he could simply overwhelm Itou with speed. If that was the case, then this battle would be over shortly, as the Seventh Seat was fairly fast, and could bolster his speed further thanks to his Zanpaktou should he choose to release it. But for now the Seventh Seat simply kept Ventus within its sealed state, unwilling to simply jump to conclusions before he had determined his foe’s physical prowess. Many a fatal mistake had been made by underestimating an opponent, and so Zeich was taking the time to analyze Itou from multiple angles.

The student charged again, and Zeich took the opportunity provided to him. When Itou tried to shoulder check him, the Seventh Seat easily sidestepped, using his superior speed and ability to read his opponent’s movements to avoid the attack with only the narrowest of margins. It wasn’t a nearly-failed dodge, but a precise one that Zeich had made in order to stay close to his opponent. As soon as Itou passed him, the Seventh Seat lashed out, Ventus’s thin blade whipping across the student’s shoulders where it would flay a thin but long slice of flesh from the back of his neck, just above the shoulder blades, should Itou not manage to avoid it. The thin weapon was much faster than Polaris, however, simply because it was small and lightweight, making it easier to swing. As a result, Itou would have to react much more quickly to Zeich’s strikes lest he be carved to pieces. The student did have the advantage that a light blade would not cut as deeply as Polaris’s thicker edge would, and so it would become a battle of attrition quickly.

Itou was stubborn, however, and attempted to follow up with an upwards slash as he turned back towards Zeich. Once more the Shinigami measured his step, though it wasn’t as accurate as he’d like given that the slash was a little faster than Itou’s shoulder charge had been and he didn’t have as much time to think. Suddenly the Seventh Seat was right in Itou’s face, within his guard; he had slipped to the side opposite the student’s sword-arm, meaning that it would be impossible for Itou to counter easily since Zeich was too close for his opponent to maneuver either his sword or his sheath around for close-range attacks.

Once he was in range, Zeich wrapped his left arm, the one holding Ventus, around Itou’s arm. The limb was caught in the crook of the Shinigami’s elbow, holding it fast by the forearm, and then the Seventh Seat twisted his body around in a move that he had learned observing Hibiki when the two of them had fought previously. Zeich’s free hand came up in a powerful upward punch at the inside of Itou’s arm, right at the elbow joint, and the strike would have enough force behind it to simply break the arm at that spot. Zeich had nearly had his own arm broken by the same move, and Hibiki had been physically weaker than him and had been holding back atop that. This blow, aimed precisely as it was, would easily shatter the elbow.

Cut through the enemy’s defense by striking down their offense… Zeich had intentionally aimed to shatter the elbow, as it would make it impossible to wield a weapon if Itou’s arm was broken. With only a sheath in the off-hand, it would be difficult to block or even attack, especially since one-handed strikes lacked a lot of the power that two-handed ones would. It would be the move that determined the battle, as Zeich was confident that he was much faster than Itou now. All he had to do was release Ventus and increase his speed with its Western form, and the Shinigami could finish this battle in a heartbeat. Without his defenses at their peak, Itou had no chance in the match.

Zeich leapt back once the strike was done, shoving Itou away roughly with his free arm as soon as the student’s own limb was released. The Shinigami quickly made distance between the two of them, and brought Ventus up before him. Itou wouldn’t be able to sense it with no ability to detect Reiatsu, but the Seventh Seat’s spiritual energy was gathering in the weapon as he prepared his Shikai; he hadn’t had much opportunity to use it before, but it was so natural to him now that he had discovered it, an extension to his soul, that he had no problem calling upon it at the slightest need.

Let us put this pup in his place. Ventus’s voice was deep and relaxed as he spoke with his master in that moment of connection between him. Zeich gave a mental nod to his Zanpaktou spirit before releasing his sword, letting it hover before him even as it started to spin.

“Let your howl echo to the four corners of the world, Ventus!” Suddenly the weapon began to spin rapidly, faster and faster, a whirlwind of steel as it became a smaller circle before Zeich. The shape began to take on that of a disc as it began to slow, a metal chakram with four short poles extending from the center in a cross-pattern, and a long blade emerging from the outer ring in the spot where each pole connected with it. Across Zeich’s forearm and wrist, a long bracer formed with two rods on either side of it, a holding area for Ventus when it wasn’t in flight. Even as the weapon finished forming, it slid onto Zeich’s bracer, held in place like a shield until released. This was Ventus, one of Zeich’s two Zanpaktou.

Once Ventus had been released to cover Zeich’s left arm, he drew Polaris once more with his right, giving him what seemed to be a sword and a shield; though Ventus was a chakram, the cross-brace and the overall shape gave it plenty of ability to block slashes, leaving it only vulnerable to stabs. Holding Polaris at ready in a one-armed grip before him, Zeich stood with his right side facing Itou, Ventus on the far side of his body from the student. It was an unusual combat stance, giving no obvious defensive posture, but that wasn’t the Shinigami’s intent at all. He intended to end this battle now, in the blink of an eye.

Remaining Reiatsu: 300/500 (-200 for Shikai (Ventus))

Shikai (Ventus): 1/10

Ready for grading!!!

OOC: Erm, two things. One, I never attacked to deal the "final blow". I feel totally godmodded, especially since I expected to put in one more post. Two, I was not asked if the battle was over; it was just assumed and modded in without being asked. If it is possible, can we back things up a bit? I'd like to finish this fight completely, even if it's just for the sake of getting enough in to finish my training SP/get some extra CTP.

((OOC: Itou has edited his last post as part of our agreement, so this post is in reply to that one.))

“You don’t understand…” Zeich’s eyes narrowed as he spoke quietly, his tone as empty of emotion as his face. The Shinigami held his Zanpaktou at ready, body tensed as he prepared to attack. However, the fight-to-the-death adrenaline that had rushed through him when Itou had been attacking was finally starting to drain out of him, and the Seventh Seat held himself back voluntarily. There was no need to go too far, after all; despite Zeich’s habit of treating every battle as seriously as possible in order to prevent weakness or hesitation in the event of a threatening opponent, this was nothing but a spar, and he was able to withhold his need to finish this fight decisively.

Though Zeich understood that this battle was essentially over, he didn’t lower his guard in the least. He may not be aiming to kill the student any longer, but that didn’t stop him from being wary, expecting any unexpected scenarios. The Shinigami instead switched Ventus over to its Western form, choosing speed over strength for what he had planned. Immediately the chakram whirled until the blade set in front of a stylized “W” on the weapon’s ring was facing forward, down the length of Zeich’s arm, and the blade extended forward, changing as it went. Three razor-thin wires wrapped around the blade, spinning about it with only about an inch of clearance from touching the metal edge itself. The other blades on the weapon retracted slightly as Ventus’s Western form was revealed.



In a flash of movement bolstered by the increased speed that Ventus’s Western form gave him, Zeich went from a short distance away to suddenly appearing right in front of Itou. It wasn’t a Shunpo, and wasn’t even close to one should the Seventh Seat choose to use one, but suddenly the Shinigami was moving at incredible speeds compared to the student. Nearly four times as fast, Zeich had no problem moving into close range in a heartbeat, faster than Itou would be able to react. Without a word, the Seventh Seat grabbed his opponent by the front of his blood-stained robes and lifted him up, aware that his diminished strength only allowed him to force Itou up onto his feet rather than lifting him up further.

Standing eye-to-eye with Itou, the young man’s robes clenched in Zeich’s left arm, which bore Ventus, the Seventh Seat let his amber-eyed stare pierce through the other’s vision. “You claim to be emotionless, empty, calm, yet your demeanor suggests otherwise. You are a firecracker of emotions, both of despair and excitement. You make excuses for your loss; ‘I’m just a student and you’re a Shinigami.’ ‘I don’t even have the strength to stand.’” Zeich’s voice was coldly mocking as he spoke. “You are weak. You will never be strong if you give in, make excuses, find reasons not to put your all into your actions.”

With that, Zeich released his opponent, sending him sprawling to the ground roughly. As he did so, the Shinigami switched Ventus over to its Eastern form, letting the current blade retract and the chakram spin so that it was facing the opposite direction. The newly-revealed blade was wrapped in long green vines that were studded with deadly spikes, the thorns sharp as the blade itself and no less deadly as they coated the entire weapon’s length. This form was the opposite of Ventus’s Western shape, increasing his strength while lowering his speed, and though it cut down considerably on Zeich’s maneuverability, the Shingami had no qualms about doing so to prove a point.



A blow from Zeich’s foot was swiftly driven into Itou’s ribs after he was dropped onto the ground, causing the bone to creak. By the student’s own confession, he was too weak to stand or move aside, and so it seemed unlikely that he was able to avoid the strike. The attack, given its considerable strength, would knock Itou onto his side or back from the impact, just in time for another powerful kick, this time to the student’s leg. None of the attacks were aimed to break bones, but they would leave deep bruises that would ache for days after. Another strike would impact the torso again, and then an arm, as Zeich relentlessly struck at Itou, holding his blows back enough to avoid doing any serious harm to the young man.

“Do you like hurting? Do you like this feeling?” There was no anger or pleasure in Zeich’s voice as he continued to inflict minor injuries upon Itou. He wasn’t enjoying this, nor was he striking out in anger; instead, the Seventh Seat wanted to make a point. “If you do not, then why are you giving in and yielding? You can’t walk, so make use of whatever abilities you have. Whether you hold an enemy at bay with your weapon despite your inability to move or if you have to drag yourself away by one arm in order to live, fight to survive. Survive and live to become stronger, to exist. But if you truly want to die, say the word and I’ll end your existence any time; it’s not worth calling something as sniveling and pathetic as this display a life.”

One last kick would leave Itou sprawled on his back, staring up at the empty sky. Zeich left it at that, his lesson passed on as he turned to walk away. The Shinigami closed his eyes, took a deep breath to regain his composure, and sent a Hell Butterfly with a request that a Senkaimon be opened and a member of Squad Four sent to pick up Itou. The student’s injuries weren’t severe, though the broken arm would need to be set and splinted, so there was no concern that he wouldn’t survive until the medic arrived. Rather than worrying about it, Zeich took the short delay to meditate and think about his battle, to learn what he could from both his actions and his opponent’s.

You’re more compassionate than I thought, master. Ventus piped up again, a tinge of smugness present in his words. You could have killed him there, and in fact you wanted to; I could sense the desire beneath the surface.

It was unnecessary to kill him.

Is that true, master, or was it because you saw something of yourself in the student? You weren’t a student that long ago yourself, yet look how much you’ve changed.

Zeich paused, the calm of his mask broken for only a moment before he replied. He and I are nothing alike. He is weak and has no desire to survive and live; instead he is willing to run away from life, giving up and conceding rather than fighting with all he has. The Senkaimon opened before Zeich, the doors appearing on the ground in front of him before sliding open and allowing a medic from Squad Four through. The Seventh Seat motioned to Itou’s prone form absently, and the healer ran by to determine the extent of the student’s injuries. Zeich, his work done, started to head through the gate so that he could return to his room at the barracks.

You’re running away too… Zeich stiffened, the voice alien to him as he whirled to find its source. Absently, the Shinigami’s hand went to the scarf around his neck, and by extension the scar at his throat. He didn’t know why he did that, and lowered it with a small show of irritation at the action. Looking around, Zeich didn’t see anyone who could be speaking to him, but what worried him was that the voice felt… familiar. The Shinigami didn’t know why it would be familiar, as he couldn’t recall hearing any such voice, but something within him screamed danger. Warily, he headed back into the Senkaimon, now troubled and lost in thought.

((OOC: Battle is now over, though Itou can get in one more post for his defeat post if he’d like. Good to grade at his discretion now.))