Getting a new bunny [Alexander vs Hotaru, R, NDE]

[Alexander Kuma-Hebi]

Thread Title: Getting a new bunny [Alexander vs Hotaru, R, NDE]
Participants: Alexander Kuma-Hebi, Hotaru W. Kuchiki
World: Soul Society
Death Setting: Non Death Enabled
Rating: R
Location: A meadow in wilderness beyond Rukongai. No rocks, trees, and other obstacles.
Special Conditions: This isn't a fight for sake of fighting, but rather for the Sake of Alexander gauging Hotaru. Thus, if she injures him or forces him to start his Kenpachi counter, she wins and gets winning TP.
Circumstances: Alexander is in a bit of trouble. His Vice Captain is gone, and he needs somebody to fill that role. Since he got advice to "get himself a new bunny from the same breeder", he went to Sozen, who directed him to Squad 11 and it's Third Seat, Hotaru W. Kuchiki. However, since he couldn't just appoint her without a test, he summoned her to a certain location to see what is she made of.

[Alexander Kuma-Hebi]

Golden Dragon Bar, Eastern Rukongai, few days ago

Golden Dragon was one of the best bars in Eastern Rukongai. It was somewhat even classy, and even served food, but it wasn't inn or a restaurant. It was a bar. It was widely known for two things. It's special tea made of secret ingredients. And sake. Thus, it was a place frequented by two men, who each liked it for a different reason. One liked it because it was clean, a little classy, and had that incredible tea. Other one liked it because it had best sake east of Seireitei, and there was always somebody there willing to drink with him and cause ruckus. Needless to say, these two almost never visited together. It just wasn't usual. Yet, on that day, the bar was empty save for those two sitting in a single booth, each drinking his beverage of choice. Their conversation was highly unusual, but so were they. They weren't just ordinary men. Hell, they weren't even both human. And they were Shinigami. And not just Shinigami. They were Shinigami Captains. One was a genuine, giant lion who wore Shinigami uniform and haori which indicated that he was Captain of Squad 9. Yes, he was Raion Souretsu, Captain of Squad 9, renowned for being a lion and a legendary drunkard at the same time. Other one was incredibly tall as well, and wore exquisite suit, white trench coat was laying next to him on his side of the booth, and on it's back was insignia of Squad 3. Tall, in suit, with sunglasses, there was no mistaking who this was. Alexander Kuma-Hebi, Captain of Squad 3, best known for his mercilessness and and elaborate clothing.

The conversation had a rather calm tone. Well, as calm as it could be, given it included these two. "... and now I am again in a tight spot, you see. I have no Vice Captain again, so literally everything has fallen on me. Without me, the Squad would fall apart as it is. I have no objections to taking care of everything, but it eats all my goddamn time. I haven't been to Human World since forever, and it's been even longer since I got to kill somebody worth killing." Alexander paused, taking a sip of his tea, and then continued. "There is no denying it, I must get myself a new Vice Captain. But that's the problem! Our ranks are rather thin, so it's hard to find anybody half decent, let alone somebody who could do the job I would give him. God, this is annoying..." Across him, Raion emptied his God-knows-which cup of sake, and then looked at Alexander with a look that could be best described as... disturbing. "Ya know, all yer problems could be solved by this little baby here if you would only..." Alexander interrupted him. "No. I don't drink, and that's final. I need a solution, a real solution." Raion chuckled a bit at Alexander's remark, before speaking again. "Well, the less you drink, the more for me... Well, if ya need a new bunny, you better go to the same breeder where ya got yourself the last one. And get me some playboy bunnies too..." Alexander's only reaction to this was facepalming himself. But then, he realized what Raion tried to say. "You drunken idiot, you are goddamn genius!"

A meadow in wilderness beyond Rukongai, present day

Alexander was waiting. It was unusual for him to wait, yet it happened. He would have probably been late as usual, were it not for him hearing a Hollow's roar and rushing to off it. Weirdly, Hollows location coincided with a place where he had to meet with somebody. Yes, he was meeting somebody in a middle of nowhere. It was a bit strange to see him. There he was, wearing his usual suit and shoes and coat, of course with his signature sunglasses, his Zanpakuto both sheathed at his side, standing in a middle of an empty meadow in the middle of nowhere. But it was a location he specifically chose for being pretty remote. Alexander's training sessions were often quite violent and destructive, and thus, this test was bound to be like that too. And he couldn't just go and wreck half of Seireitei because of this, because then the old people from the bunker who fashioned themselves Central 46, would have his head on a plate. No, the testing had to be done out here, where he couldn't wreck anything. And it was important test too, and Alexander figured it could do with some privacy. Not everyone should see it. Hell, nobody should see it. It was for his eyes only, though outcome could be important for the entire Squad 3. It all depended on how it went.

What was Alexander testing, then? Well, the question is "who" rather than "what". He decided to listen to wise (thus incredibly rare and valuable) advice from Raion, and get himself a new bunny from the same breeder. To be exact, he needed a new Vice Captain, so he decided to get one from the same place as before, the Kuchiki family. Naturally, he went and asked Sozen, who directed him to Squad 11 and it's Third Seat, Hotaru, who he claimed could be perhaps the right person for the job. Alexander trusted Sozen's judgement, but of course, he couldn't rely just on that to give such important rank to somebody. Therefore, he sent summons for her, specifying place and time, where he would meet her and test her out. It was all good, the note he sent. It included time, place, and directive to come armed. One couldn't be tested by Alexander without being armed. Sadly, that Hollow from earlier messed things up, so Alexander was here five minutes early, and it was annoying. He didn't like waiting for other people, even though he and punctuality passed by each other on a street long time ago, and didn't really come in touch since then. Still, he wondered how good would Hotaru be, and would she be good enough to get herself a promotion and Alexander a bit of free time to dedicate to things other than running his Squad...

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and Skills}
Strength - [800*2=1600] Points

Speed - [600*2=1200] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [200*075+700=850] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [500+700=1200] Points

Light Aura - [50] Points

Dark Aura - [50] Points

Instinct - [300] Points

Senses - [200] Points

Energy sensory - [0] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points

Total SP: [2600] Points


[Weapons: Swords] [4]

[Hakuda] [3]

[Battle Analysis] [3]

[Strength of Will] [3]

[Damage Recovery] [1]

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru Kuchiki seemed like she was looking towards a normal day of little to no sleep. Since Asmoskon's disappearance, she still dreamt about it, keeping her up at night. So, after falling asleep for the fourth time, she woke up to the rays of the sun this time instead of the darkness of her room. She got out her zanpaktou and started her ritual cleaning of Rivu~aiasan. How are you doing this morning, little one? Did you get enough sleep today? No, I never do anymore. The guilt just eats at me at what happened to Asmoskon. I still perform my duties, but he's always in the back of my mind.

I know he is young one, but you needed to tell him what had transpired. It would hurts worse if you didn't. It is sad about his family. It is and if I would've known at the beginning, everything would be different. That's what is hurting the most. It all could've been avoided if I wasn't so stupid. Well, young one, it's too late to change things now. If he knew what you were doing to try to find him, I think he would think differently of you now. I know, but he doesn't. He thinks I betrayed him. I need to find him and set everything straight.

With that, she shut their connection and sheathed her zanpaktou. She yawned, while standing up, and then started to stretch out her body. With all of her stress from what's going on personally with her, she seemed tighter than usual. Once she got out of her area and into the common area for the seated officers, they just looked at her. She just stared at them, telling them through look alone to not ask her about it and she was handling it. With that, she went off for a short walk around the barracks. 

The walk in the morning helped her release a lot of tension and would get her ready for the day. While walking around the barracks, she saw someone running towards her. It seems like all of her messages were now being delivered by a carrier and she was getting a little popular with all the messages she was getting. Once the messenger arrived, he stopped, gave her a letter and then ran back to wherever he came from. She watched him leave and then looked down at the letter addressed to her.

She opened it slowly and read the letter. She looked at it kind of dumbfounded. It was a personal letter to her from the Captain of the Third Division, Alexander Kuma-Hebi. She had to read it again, because she couldn't believe a captain would seek her out like that, that wasn't part of the family. The letter said that he wanted to test her for the open Vice Captain position in his squad, with date, time and location. She did hear that Takehiko-san had left the position, but she had no idea why. It wasn't her business, so she wouldn't ask.

After she read the message again, she went back to her section of the room and continued with her work. She was excited to actually get to try for a Vice-Captain position, but she still had work to do in her current division. But, the happiness was tainted, since Asmoskon wasn't there to celebrate with her. It made her sad, but it just reinforced her drive to find him again. Once her duties were done, she went back to researching ways to try to find him again. 

After spending the rest of her day in the libraries, she headed back towards the barracks. She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm her mind. In the next few days, she would need to get ready for this test. Asmoskon was very important, but she needed to split that time with training now, to prepare. Once she got back, she let her other seated officers know her good news and they all cheered and hoped for the best. Some even joked to remember her when she made it big and she just laughed at them.

It was finally the day. After three days of preparation and researching, she felt she was as ready as she was ever going to be. When she left her area of the seated officers' room, all the other officers were already awake. They cheered, gave her pats on the back and told her that she would do fine. She handled the Eleventh Division well, so it should be easy compared to here. She smiled, knowing it wouldn't be that easy, but grateful that they knew she would make it. She slowly walked out of the barracks.

Once out, she looked back at the barracks. She would either come back to the barracks a loser of the test and still Third Seat, or gathering her things as the new Vice Captain of the Third Division. She nodded to herself, steadying her resolve. She then Shunpoed away, making her way to the designated area. She went as quick as her Shunpo would let her, leaving Rukongai and finally ending up at the meadow that the captain wanted to meet at. She left herself enough time to get there about a minute early, just in case she had to walk so she would arrive on time.

Once she got there, it seemed like the captain was already there. She had never met the Captain of the Third Division in person before, so she was a bit surprised when she looked at him. The man was tall, like really tall. He was the tallest person she had ever seen. He towered a good foot and a half over her, and she didn't get that too often. It was kinda nice for a change. She also liked the suit he was wearing. It seemed like he wanted to look professional all the time, going with a suit instead of the normal robes. She walked towards him till there was about ten feet between them. She bowed and said, "I am here as requested, Alexander-taichou. I hope this goes well and you've found your Fukataichou in me."

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats}
Strength - 200 (150) Points.
Speed - 250 (338) Points.
Spiritual Pressure – 270 (203) Points.
Reiatsu Strength – 250 (338) Points.
Light Aura - [70] Points
Dark Aura - [30] Points
Instinct - [100] Points.
Senses - [100] Points.
Energy sensory - [50] Points
Healing Expertise - [0] Points

[Weapons: Swords] 2
[Pain Tolerance] 2
[Bleeding Tolerance] 1
[Illusion Resist] 1
[Damage Recovery] 2
[Poison Resist] 1
[Learning] 1
[Battle Focus] 1

[Alexander Kuma-Hebi]

"I am here as requested, Alexander-taichou. I hope this goes well and you've found your Fukataichou in me." Ah, she was here. Hotaru W. Kuchiki, Third Seat of Squad 11. Alexander had high expectations for her. After all, she was one of Iro's. And Iro was known for keeping his officers well drilled and sharp. Alexander expected that she would fare well on his test. He expected her to either pass or narrowly fail. Though, success or failure on test wouldn't be main factor of determining if she was Vice Captain material. Rather, it would be attitude, and how she coped with everything. Alexander liked to have strong subordinates, but would rather pick somebody who could barely lift a fork but was intelligent and sharp than somebody who could break through walls but had no brains. It was Squad 3, and there, it wasn't survival of the strongest, but rather the fittest. And not those fit just in body, but in mind. Hotaru would have to prove her competence in both fields, and she would have to be able to stand her ground against him. That was Alexander's condition for becoming Vice Captain, the main one. If somebody was to be his right hand, then that person would have to be at able to hold their ground for a bit against a Captain level opponent. Still, Alexander would not be going all out for this test. He wanted to test Hotaru, not to end up returning her remains to Sozen. In a matchbox.

Alexander observed Hotaru for another moment, before replying and then proceeding to explain what he would be doing and exactly how would he be testing her. "Alright. Lets see what you can do, Hotaru. I will be testing you, you are aware of that. However, whether you succeed or fail the test itself is a gauge of your powers, and is not going to outright determine whether you get the job. However, please take it seriously. It will be dangerous, and I would hate to have to return you to Seireitei in a coffin. Test itself is simple. Combat. Use whatever you want. Your goal is to either injure me or force me to get serious. However, I will simultaneously be evaluating your personality through series of questions about important things. Your answers will be equally important as your performance in combat, so take the questions seriously too." Saying that Alexander slammed his fists into each other, and then started to crack his knuckles. It was something he enjoyed, at least for a few seconds that it took. "Alright then. Come at me, and answer me this. What is the single place where your loyalty lays, and must always lay?" Alexander was ready. Hotaru would not only face trial, but also some education here...

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru stood there, waiting for the captain to tell her how he was going to test her for the position. It has been something that she has been wondering since she got the note, saying that he wanted to test her for the position. She was nervous, but excited at the same time. She felt that she was ready for the promotion to a Vice Captain. She felt that she had been through enough in her shinigami life that would prepare her for the duty that the position offered her.

After taking a few calming breaths, she felt herself relax a little more. Now that she had seen her, hopefully, new captain, she didn't seem as nervous. He was a tall man, but besides that, she didn't feel anything weird from him at all. It was nice to finally put a face to the name of the Third Division Captain. It would be a large move for her. She would move from the main fighting force to the ones sent in first to assess the enemy.

It meant that she would be put on more dangerous missions, but she honestly didn't mind. It was just the kind of thing she needed to hone and test her skills constantly and it would give her more range out in the human world to try and find Asmoskon. The Captain then spoke to her. It seemed that this test was not the end all be all for her promotion. He is just gauging her powers, but to take the test seriously. She nodded her agreement.

He continued by saying that the test was combat, using whatever she wants. She had to try to either injure the captain or make him get serious about the fight. It would be interesting if he did get serious. She knew that he was a Kenpachi, a type of fighter that she has never fought before. She knew they had great power, but she never thought the power of a Kenpachi would be in her face now, testing her for a Vice Captain position. Interesting how things were turning out for her.

The interesting part of this test was that he would also be asking her questions. The answers to these questions will be just as important as her combat performance. It was an interesting test. She didn't know of any test that tested fighting skills and someone's personality like this. She hoped that she would excel at a test like this, but she wouldn't really know until she tried. She felt ready and faced the captain. He said he was ready and asked her his question.

He asked what was the single place where her loyalty must always lie. While she was thinking about it, she unsheathed her zanpaktou. She didn't want to break out her Shikai right now. She wanted to save it for later, in case she would need it. For now, she took on her regular stance, placing her feet shoulder width apart with her knees bent. She zanpaktou was angled tip towards her left shoulder and hilt towards her right hip. She continued to think on this question.

There were many places that she could think of her loyalty being. One was with the Kuchiki family, of course. Family always had her loyalty. She could also say her squad, but she was pretty sure that thinking was still too small. Even loyalty to a Captain might seem small. Dwelling on the question, she thought that she might have a good idea of where her loyalty must always lie. She then centered herself to try to figure out her first move.

"My loyalty taichou, should always lay with the Soul Society itself, with the Seireitei. Because, without the Seireitei, nothing else would exist. We must always strive to protect it so that we may flourish." With that answer, she ran towards the captain. Once she got a sword's length away, she would diagonal slash at the man, slashing in the same way her sword was positioned. It would slash downward, left to right, at the captain.

[Alexander Kuma-Hebi]

"My loyalty taichou, should always lay with the Soul Society itself, with the Seireitei. Because, without the Seireitei, nothing else would exist. We must always strive to protect it so that we may flourish." A good answer, thought out, almost at center of the target. Answer was satisfactory as far as Alexander was concerned. But what followed it was not satisfactory at all. Hotaru charged straight at Alexander and attempted to slash him. It was basic attack, textbook example. However, it was too simplistic, and utterly reckless. Taking such action was ill-advised even when a combatant knew what his opponent had up his sleeves, and in a situation like this it was suicide. Not did Hotaru not know what Alexander was capable of, nor did she took into account the fact that he was a Captain, and that on average, she would have slim to no chances of cutting a Captain with her sealed Zanpakuto. Yet she had charged at Alexander straight on, and attempted to slash him. It was not good. Not only she was attempting to perform an attack that would not just fail, but also heavily backfire on her, but she was also full of openings that could be easily exploited if one wanted to. Her sides, and her back were entirely unguarded and exposed. A seasoned combatant like Alexander could have killed her dozens of times before she even started a slash.

Yet, Alexander would do no such thing. It would be entirely counter-productive to kill his potential Vice Captain, and would be incredible pain in his ass to have to explain to Sozen that he is now a family member short. That he had no intention of getting himself into. Of course, that meant he needed to protect Hotaru from her own recklessness. With his analytical ability and sharp mind, Alexander formulated a plan in less of a second, and as her slash closed in on him, he sprung it into action. His hand shot up, straight at her sword, blurring at 400 Speed, which was enough faster than the slash itself for the plan to work. While thumb and index finger were extended to form a shape similar to open pliers, other fingers were closed like they would be in a fist. Alexander timed his movement so that Hotaru couldn't stop her slash nor change it's direction, he needed to be precise and perform what he intended flawlessly, or this test would end before it properly began. His hand-eye coordination was flawless, as usual, and his speed was greater, so he would succeed in what he planned. He caught her sword with his thumb and his index fingers just as if he would caught it with a pliers, for example, holding it carefully and pressing on sides, not allowing the cutting edge to touch his hand at all. It would be bad for Hotaru if that happened. He exerted a force equal to 300 Strength to hold her sword locked between her fingers, while it was merely a fraction of his strength, he figured it would be enough for this.

With such actions, Alexander protected Hotaru from herself. He held himself back somewhat in order to not subject her to gravitational pressure caused by his Reiatsu, but it was a simple fact that if he let her complete her slash she would just injure herself seriously because of cutback effect. Alexander was certain of that even though he couldn't exactly gauge her Spiritual Pressure because of his energy sensory being crushed by his own Reiatsu and therefore being nonexistent. He got the conclusion he needed from simple logic. If not even all other Captains could cut him without releasing, then it was almost certain that a Third Seat couldn't cut him without releasing either. There was of course slight chance that he was wrong, but he didn't explore that possibility in his mind, solution for preventing Hotaru from injuring herself would also deal with that slight possibility. Alexander has thus prevented her injuries in an effective way, but that was not enough. He was a bit disappointed, more with fact that she would have to lecture her as well than with her effort. But his intellect was sharp, and his mind swift, he held her sword locked for a mere moment before he formulated a plan on how to lecture lecture her and then moved onto execution.

His right hand was committed to keeping her sword locked, but his left was free, and now it acted. He moved it really fast, at 400 Speed, but incredibly gently, and pressed his index finger against the center of her chest. He held back Kageno'O, suppressed it, as to not cut her. Then, he simultaneously did two things. At the exact same moment, he released her sword from his grip, and pushed with his left hand, extending his arm entirely. He utilized merely 300 Strength, but that was enough. She would be pushed back good twenty yards, sliding backwards on her feet, if she could hold her balance, that is. After roughly twenty yards she would stop. But Alexander didn't wait for that to happen. He started his own thing immediately. A short lecture. "Answer was good. But everything other than it wasn't. You recklessly charged head on, leaving dozens of openings to be exploited. Not one. Not two. Not few. Dozens. And on top of that, if I hadn't stopped your attack, you would have injured yourself. Think of that for a bit. And while you are thinking, answer me another question. What is it that separates us, Shinigami, from all other races? Now come at me again, this time with something that actually might work." It sounded arrogant and harsh, Alexander's lecture, but he knew that it was easiest and fastest way to be sure that message was received. Again, he was ready to meet her attacks.

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru ran into the captain first, without thinking of any of the consequences. She knew it was a mistake when she did it, but it was too late for her to stop her attack now. But, right before the blade struck the captain, he stopped the blade between his thumb and index finger. It showed to her just how much strength the captain had and how stupid she was for just rushing into the fight head first without thinking it through. She needed to change that.

While the captain's right hand was holding her blade, he used his left arm to push her back at the same time that he released her zanpaktou. The force he used was massive and it looked like to her that he barely even put any effort towards the movement. She tried to brace herself and barely kept her balance while she got pushed back about twenty feet. When she stopped, she drove her zanpaktou into the dirt so she could keep her balance.

She looked back up at the captain and knew that she had been foolish. If he could easily do that, there was no telling what him at full power can do. She knew that she needed to change her tactics dramatically to try to get the captain to take this fight seriously. While she was thinking on this, she listened to the captain's lecture. He mentioned what she had already figured about the fight, that she was reckless and left too many openings for someone to exploit.

He then said that if he hadn't stopped her attack, she would've injured herself. It was another thing that she hadn't even thought about. She really needed to get her head on straight while fighting the captain. One good thing about the lecture was that her answer was good. He then gave her another question, which was what separates the Shinigami from the rest of the races. With that question she really needed to think on it.

In all honesty, she had never really thought about what really separates them. The most obvious one is that they live in Soul Society and take care of all the souls within it. She knew that Quincies were unique by using bows as their weapons of choice. Arrancars kept part of their hollow masks and also wield zanpaktou. She thought that she might be thinking too deep into it, but she was getting a good idea of what makes shinigami unique.

Now for the fight, she definitely knew that she couldn't hold anything back against this captain. She held her zanpaktou in her right hand and pulled her sheathe out of her waistband, holding it in her left hand. She took a deep breath and said, "Burn, Rivu~aiasan!" She let the change wash over her while she was thinking of how to handle the powerful captain. She watched as her sword turned into a burning scimitar.

Her sheath transformed into a nice sized canon, fitting on her left arm perfect, giving her two weapons. She had a close to mid range weapon with her sword and a mid to long range weapon with her canon. She liked to think that she was the most versatile in this form, since her Shikai gave her a lot more range if she needed it. She was still contemplating on how she could attack the captain. But, she thought she figured out the answer to the captain's question.

"What makes shinigami different from the other races is that shinigami actively patrol the Human World and try to actively keep a balance within the world. From what I gather of the other races, hollow just consume, with very little regard to what they're doing. Arrancars are similar in that aspect. Quincies are concerned with making their race superior through the Vandenreich. We are the only ones that actively try to keep balance between the three planes, the Human World, Soul Society and Hueco Mundo. I know of no other race that does that."

She really hoped that the answer was satisfactory. Now, she started to make one of her grenades in the palm of her left hand using the canon. She was thinking if she could do any other attacks against him. She could try a slash again, but she didn't want to screw herself over. She then had a quick idea. She assumed that he had higher stats than her in everything, so she needed to think a little outside the box.

She threw her grenade towards the captain, saying "Kasai Shuryūdan!" She hoped that it might distract him enough while she Shunpo'ed near the captain and slashed. But the purpose of this slash was not to hit the captain. The point was to get the liquid on him. Her sword was pumping more of the liquid out so she would have a better chance of hitting him. She had Shunpo'ed about ten feet away from him. The slash went from left to right.

[Alexander Kuma-Hebi]

That answer would do. Alexander was satisfied with it as well with the previous one. He noticed Hotaru released her Shikai, which was a wise and in every possible way, required move. While she released, however, he quickly drew his swords. His twin Zanpakuto were two big katana, suited for his height and size. They were not especially extravagant blades, but they were deadly. So while she released, Alexander drew his Zanpakuto, and awaited while she talked with them drawn. He was ready and willing to put them to use. But why did Alexander unsheathe his Zanpakuto? Why was he wielding them both awaiting her actions? It was in order to test her swordplay. Alexander wanted to see how good was it, especially when she was put in inferior position both in terms of number of enemies and sheer power. Of course, Alexander was the only one here, but he would be simulating two enemies given the fact that he had two swords. It was a simulation of a situation quite common for Squad 3 expedition teams. Being overpowered and outnumbered was basically usual situation in combat for Squad 3 members, given that they were usually sent into unknown situations. Therefore, Alexander wanted to test how far could Hotaru make it in such situation. It would be her everyday routine, after all.

Yet he didn't make the first move. It was her who did that. She created a small ball, and tossed it at him like a grenade. Alexander was incredibly well versed in analyzing things as far as combat went. As she moved her muscles and her arm to throw it, Alexander already pre-analyzed direction and trajectory the said projectile would take. It was his incredibly skill in battle analysis coupled with his high senses and his incredibly quick mind and great instincts, that made this possible. Merely a fraction of second after she threw the projectile, Alexander answered. He slashed with his left sword, diagonally upwards, with a speed of 600. It was a short slash, but it what was needed. Because he used a technique along with that slash. He used a fairly simple one. It was Sakugen. A slash of Reiatsu that both did cut and slam into target with all Alexander's might. However, this one was in fact only a fraction of how large it usually was, due to the fact that Alexander held back. Yet it had a backing of 600 Strength, and it was pretty fast. It would hit the projectile thrown at Alexander, and destroy it, possibly even keeping going. Alexander wouldn't observe that collision.

He wasn't focused on that projectile. He did calculate it's possible trajectory and countered it immediately. But for the entire time he followed Hotaru. She performed a Shunpo after tossing the projectile at Alex. He followed that with his own action. He was a lot faster than she. With his senses, and better instincts, he used his extensive analytical abilities to predict where she would go, based on her acceleration and movement, and to counter that with turning himself simultaneously, spinning on his heel. She had a distance to cover, he only had to turn around. She would indeed appear about ten feet from him, behind, a moment before he finished turning around. But, Alexander was already on the offensive, in fact, while turning. He merged two moves into one. Not only did he spin on his heel, but he set his right hand and sword in it horizontally, turning the motion into one fluid slash. And once again, he used that to release Sakugen. He was aiming to use it to hit her with it, or at least to force her to dodge, but as he finished turning and launched Sakugen, he noticed and processed an incoming attack. It was an attack that would coincide with Sakugen, and two would most likely cancel each other out.

Yet however, Alexander wouldn't stay and observe. He launched his own offensive. He calculated her distance. While she was in the range where he could reach her with Shukuchi-Ho, Alexander opted to use a more traditional approach, and use Shunpo. He used a single step, but he restricted his base speed to 600, meaning that Shunpo speed was 6000, more than enough to disappear completely from Hotaru's sight. He swerved a bit with the step, slightly to the right, as to avoid the collision of two attacks as he blitzed past them. His left hand was already raised up from his previous upwards slash with it. As he appeared out of Shunpo, on Hotaru's left, he was really close and, as some would say, personal, as he loWered his sword in a slash. He was restraining himself however, limiting the speed of his slash to 400 and it's strength to 300, as to not overly damage Hotaru. If it hit as it was intended, it would cut straight into her shoulder and upper arm, doing a considerable damage, severing muscles, tendons and bones, leaving her left arm to hang on a bit of skin. Yet however, Alexander also anticipated that Hotaru would somehow counter this. Yet, however, he was prepared to respond to any of her possible counter attacks because he had his right hand and the sword in it free to act. Hotaru was in tight spot right now, while Alexander was completely silent. What was exactly brewing in his head?


Remaining Reiatsu: 8400/8500 (-50 for 2x Sakugen, -50 for Shunpo)


OOC: Edit made due to typo being discovered by Pie. I meant to say feet, not yards.

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru watched with curiosity, wondering how this attack would actually work. She had never fought someone like Alexander before, so she was pretty much flying by the seat of her pants on this one. She was able to feel his spiritual pressure and it was immense. It was the strongest in terms of just size that she had ever felt before. She knew that he could pretty much have an infinite pool of reiatsu that he can use while hers was fairly finite. She needed to keep her guard up and try to keep up with him using the least amount of moves if possible.

Though, with the way that he defended against her first attack, she doubted that that would be possible. She watched in amazement as he unsheathed two swords. First, she didn't even know he had two swords or knew of any shinigami that dual wielded swords in their sealed state. Second, she was barely able to tell the movement that he used, she just saw her grenade explode. The only thing that made sense was that he was able to slash the grenade in half and it exploded after he slashed it in half.

She did Shunpo to get closer to at least try to have some of her fire liquid land on the man. Even if the fire didn't actually burn him, it would be a feather in her cap if the liquid at least landed on him. Sadly, this was not the case. It seemed that the captain had a keen mind and was already able to tell how she was going to react and attack him. When she appeared, he was in the middle of a spin to catch her while she was coming in to try to attack him. She knew he was strong and she didn't need to get hit.

So, right when she appeared, she could tell that he was holding back to fight her. Still, his speed was far greater than her own so a regular dodge wouldn't work against him. She was forced to Shunpo away from him, moving backwards to give them space and for her to get a minute to think about how to attack him. She wouldn't get that chance. Once she appeared from her dodge to get away from him, he completely blurred from her line of sight, she assumed he was Shunpo-ing.

She wasn't able to tell where he had actually gone, but she figured that he was trying to get close to her and use his massive strength to his advantage against her. When he reappeared, she only had a few seconds to actually respond to what he was doing. He had appeared on her left, with his arm still up from the slash he had done to destroy her grenade. He was going to make it so he could cut off her left arm. She definitely didn't want to see that happen.

She could just easily Shunpo away again. Since he was dual wielding, it would be an issue with the extra weapon. Or, she could try her best to block the more important attack, which was the slash coming in on her left shoulder. She also had her cannon free, which she could use to try to counterattack whatever he might try to do as a counter. She didn't want to just run and hit against the man she was going to be the Vice Captain for. She wasn't a coward.

So, against her better judgement, she had decided to try her best to block his incoming slash. Since her zanpaktou was still being held in a horizontal position due to her Shunpo-ing away before actually completely following through with her slash, all she had to do was quickly move her sword up. This would ensure that her released zanpaktou blade would catch his attack. Once the sword hit, she felt the energy through her right arm and immediately felt pain. 

She clenched her teeth together to endure the pain. While she was blocking the strike, she held her left arm out and pointed towards the captain. Right when the strike would hit her zanpaktou, she would point blank shoot out her liquid to start her fire. Since she had never fought an opponent like him before, she didn't know due to his strength what would happen. But, if all else failed, she was at least, hopefully able to get a close shot on the captain.

OOC: 1580/2030 -50 for Shunpo from previous post, -50 for Shunpo, -50 for Kasai for previous post, -350 for Class 3 release in previous post, Shikai 2/9

[Alexander Kuma-Hebi]

Alexander was extremely pleased. it was a good sensation. He was pleased, and he was actually very proud. He was proud of himself and his choices. But above all that. He was pleased with Hotaru, and was very proud of her. Because she did not run away. She did not dodge. She stood. And Alexander appreciated that as he sipped his tea later that day, and contemplated on the events of their spar. He was in fact really proud that he has chosen her for his Vice Captain, despite all the rumors he heard. He did not care about rumors. He knew she would do her duty right, should it come to that. He knew that she was capable of doing that. He knew that she was a good Shinigami. He was already thinking about next step for her, which was getting her to next level, obtaining the ultimate Shinigami power, Bankai. He would aid her with that as much as he could, for he needed a Vice Captain who could stand beside him and fight when it was truly required. And he was determined to make her improve and become just that. But what did actually happen back there, when the Alexander attacked her, for once, changing the course of events not only of that day, but perhaps the fate of Squad 3 as well?

As Alexander came out of Shunpo and slashed at Hotaru, his mind was still observing, and it was still put on alert. And he had enough of abilities, skills and experience to note what she was doing. She was actually going to remain and not to dodge, and would as well even try a counter attack. As his slash came downwards, he had seen her position his sword to meet his. And he has seen her other, left arm. It was readying itself from the moment he came out of Shunpo. He saw the muscles tense. He saw the beginning of that movement, and he immediately knew what she was going to do. She was bold. She was brave. She was gutsy. She had balls. She was willing to potentially die, in order to land a hit on Alexander. His mind was fast enough to think as fast as he moved, and even faster. His analytical abilities were beyond mastery, and he could predict what she would do. And, he knew her abilities. After all, he did a check up on her before approaching her for this test. And he was pretty sure he knew what she was going to do now. And he even had time, for his brain was so fast, to think. Oh Hell no, that ain't hitting my suit. And he sprung into action. He had to save his suit after all, and would go any length to do that. Without hesitation.

His slash was still in motion, going downwards, when he sprung into action. He let go of the Zanpakuto he held in his right hand. It would start to fall down, and would stab into the ground. But by the time it would do so, it would be already over. For Alexander was going to use his entire might to save his suit. That hand that he has freed, his right hand, blurred, and partially disappeared from sight, moving towards Hotaru's left arm. And it did so at Alexander's full speed, incredible 1200 speed. He would catch it by the wrist, and turn it away from himself and his suit. Yeah, he could multitask. And he could do this easily. A mere moment before the blades met, Alexander caught her arm, by the wrist, and turned it away from him. And he also did one more thing. He eased the force of his slash, as to not cleave straight through Hotaru's Zanpakuto. And then blades met, and two things happened at the same time. Blades met with a loud sound that swords made when they clashed, the song of swords, and Hotaru's arm cannon fired, however, safely, though forcibly, aimed away from Alexander and his precious suit. The were in something that appeared as lockdown. And then, the blade he let go of, a second afterwards, stabbed into the ground with a dull sound.

Alexander smiled, and then let go of Hotaru's arm, and also pulled back his sword from the clash. It was obvious, and should be obvious to her, that the test was over pretty much. She would hurt a bit, especially her right arm that held the sword, but nothing much. She was not by any chance hurt nor anything, for Alexander was pretty much gentle. "Good job. Damn good job, Hotaru.", he said while also stepping back and picking up his other Zanpakuto from the ground where it was stabbed. As he sheathed them back, he spoke to her more. "That move really took some balls. You know, that's the closest that somebody came to ruining my suit in a long while. And it is also why you absolutely pass." He smiled at her, while reaching into inner pocket of his suit, from where he pulled out a Vice Captain's badge. He handed it to her, and then addressed her again. "Hotaru Kuchiki, from this moment onward, you are promoted and shall serve as Vice Captain of Squad 3. I hope you will do your duties properly, work hard, and live up to expectations. Right now, I suspect you will go and celebrate with friends, as you should do. Take rest of the day off, and use it well, it will probably be your last day off duty for quite a long period to come. However, report to my office first thing in the morning. I have something in mind that will be of use to both of us. Now I must return with haste to my office as I have important affairs to attend to. Congratulations, Hotaru. For now, dismissed!" And after saying that, he vanished. He took off with Shunpo at his top speed. Hotaru would immediately lose even track of him with her energy Seonsory for he straight away went out of her radius. As expect of a man known to be able to go the farthest distance with a single Shunpo in all of Soul Society. But right now, Hotaru was free to celebrate and enjoy, for she became the Vice Captain of Squad 3...


Remaining Reiatsu: 8350/8500 (-50 for Shunpo)
Kenpachi Combat Counter 1/16

OOC: Hotaru activated counter, so she wins this and gets winning TP, as well as promotion.

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru was hoping that her counterattack would actually work. She pretty much doubted that it was going to actually hit him, but she wasn't going to run away from him. She needed to prove to her new captain that she was capable of taking the pressure and fighting, hopefully, on par with him. So, she really wasn't so surprised when she saw what happened next. The first thing that she noticed was what happened with her left hand.

She knew that she would be able to block the blade, but she was surprised that he dropped one of his zanpaktou. She had never seen an opponent of hers drop their sword before. He did still have one, but it was technically busy dealing with her own. Though, she thought this but didn't know the full extent of a Kenpachi's power. When she saw his actual hand disappear, her eyes got a little bigger.

It was then that she felt the pressure on her left hand and arm, from where he actually caught her and was pointing the cannon away from himself. So, when the left blade hit her zanpaktou, he had been fast enough to grab her arm and aim her cannon away from himself, so all of the liquid completely missed him. She was cursing herself that it didn't work, but the pain from blocking his attack was starting to come to the forefront of her mind.

He then smiled towards her and let go of her arm. He pulled his sword back and she brought her zanpaktou back down and took a breath, letting her sword melt back into its released state. She figured from his smile and letting her go that the test was pretty much over. Once her sheathe and zanpaktou returned to normal, she sheathed her sword and re-tied it back around her waist.

She then rubbed her shoulder while she heard the captain say she did a damn good job. She smiled at the praise. It was nice to hear someone outside her family recognize her skill and stubbornness. He said that her move took some balls and that it was the closest anybody ever came to ruining his suit. She had no idea why the suit had anything to do with it, but she nodded all the same. When he said absolutely pass, she grinned from ear to ear and tried to refrain from hugging the man.

He reached into his coat and pulled out a Vice Captain badge. She just stared at it, almost in awe. She knew that this meant she was one step closer to reaching Captaincy, which was her ultimate goal. She extended her hands and when she felt the weight of the badge, it also felt like she was getting more weight put on her shoulders. She took a deep breath and then tied the badge around her right arm. She knew she was ready.

He then said she was now promoted to Vice Captain of Squad 3 and to do her duties properly. She nodded in agreement to her new captain. He said that she should now go party with her friends, which she would more than likely do, and she was to take the rest of the day off. It would be her last for quite a long time, which she was expecting. She really didn't have anything to do in her free time much anyway.

She was to report to his office first thing in the morning, to which of course she nodded. He then told her congratulations and she was dismissed. She started a bow and before she said anything, he was already gone. She stood up straight and just marveled at his speed. She hoped to have that kind of speed while she got stronger. After a deep breath, she smiled and returned to the Eleventh Division barracks.

Once she got there, she walked through the barracks and immediately went to the seated officers' room. Once she walked in, the entire room was silent. It was obvious that they were all waiting to see what had happened with the test. They saw her right arm and they all started cheering, telling her that they knew she would make it. She smiled back and then they forced her to go out with them.

She didn't really refuse and they went to the closest bar to the barracks, which was in the first Rukongai district. They paid for her drinks, which she appreciated, and then they kept cheering her on all night. Thankfully, from her harder drinking days while she was in a rut about losing Asmoskon, she had drank so much that she was just feeling a buzz by the time all of her friends wanted to call it a night.

They knew that she stayed in the manor now, so they waved good-bye, with another congratulations. She sat in the bar for another drink, thinking on life. After her drink, she paid for that one and left the bar, walking back to the manor. She was contemplating everything that happened. Her career was on track, since she was now a Vice Captain. All that was left is to gain the final shinigami power and then she would be able to get herself a Captaincy.

But, her personal life was in shambles. Well, only one person really knew how bad she was hurting and he was going through his own issues. Asmoskon, she knew, would've been happy to hear the news, if she only knew where he was now. She looked up at the sky and thought to herself, look at me Asmoskon, I finally became a Vice Captain. I know you would be proud of me. She then fought back tears before making it to the manor. The servants congratulated her when they saw her, which she gave her thanks, but she ultimately walked back to her room. Now, more than ever, she needed to find Asmoskon, and she wasn't going to stop until he was with her again.

[Katekarin Mekatoku]

+180 Tp to Alex

+480 Tp to Hotaru + 100 = 580 TP to Hotaru