Star of the Morning and Star of the Evening [R, NDE]

[Akira Hinosai]

Thread Title: Star of the Morning and Star of the Evening
Participants: Luca Castabella, Ken'ichi Shihoin
World: Soul Society
Death Setting: Non Death Enabled
Rating: R
Location: Ken'ichi's lab
Special Conditions: Luca is under the effects of a "hollow infusion" serum, which may have side effects. The serum will activate when Luca is pushed to his limits, at which point his powerset shifts to that described in the ciu. Until then he has his pre-ciu powers.
Circumstances:

[Akira Hinosai]

Luca flexed his right hand, feeling his nails dig in to his palm. He didn't feel any different, no matter how hard he tried to focus on any minute sensation he felt. He tried to reach out with his spirit energy...still nothing. Luca had expected more from whatever hollow serum Ken'ichi was testing on him. Side effects were mentioned, but it wasn't like Luca cared. Side effects, in this context, had a good chance of making him stronger. Besides, he could at least trust Ken'ichi not to kill him. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, being the first fullbringer to have their potential awakened. He'd be stupid not to take that chance. Right?

Luca paced around the lab. He had arrived well before the agreed upon meeting time. It wasn't like he had much else to do. In the day or so that followed his capture, he existed in a sort of grey area of being allowed to stay...kind of. Stuff happened, and here he was, waiting to fight a vice captain...all for science of course. The whole expidention was so far off course, Luca tried not to question it anymore. He'd seen more of the seireitei than anyone. If he really did get hollow powers, that would be another point in his favor. Then he definitely wouldn't return to UE a failure.

Hollow powers...That part stuck with Luca. It was a silent hope he'd held since Ken'ichi pitched the idea to him. What if it somehow turned him into an arrancar? It was stupid. Luca knew that, but he still hoped it would. In the privacy of the empty training hall, Luca touched his face every few minutes to see if any mask fragments had formed, but none had. No hole had formed in his chest either, no matter how many times he looked down his kimono-thing. I wonder what Ailene would say if I became an arrancar?

When Ken'ichi finally entered, Luca had a response ready:

"What took you so long?" Luca would say, regardless of if Ken'ichi was late or not.

"Whatever. So we gonna start fighting or what? " Luca smirked. Though he tried to hide his excitement, he was failing badly. It had been too long since he'd had a proper fight. He had a good feeling about this one. He was a lot stronger now, and he wanted, he needed to show it off.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats}
Strength: 200 (250)
Speed: 300
Reiatsu Strength: 200 (120)
Spiritual Pressure: 400 (700)
Instinct: 175
Senses: 75 (56)
Energy Sensory: 50
Healing Factor: 0
Light Aura: 70
Dark Aura: 30


Analyzing: 1
Strength of Will: 2
Weapon(War Knives):2
Poison Resist: 2
Battle Analysis: 1
Stealth: 2
Acting: 2

[Deleted]

Luca did not have to wait long before Ken'ichi walked in, clipboard in hand. He was wearing his usual shinigami attire. Attire that Luca had yet to get used to, thanks to the clashing array of colors from his orange and brown mantle, to his yellow-pink irridescent labcoat worn over a more traditional shihakusho. Ken'ichi didn't waste any time, barely even acknowledging Luca's snide remark as being more than nerves.

"Alright. Three days should be enough time for the serum to have worked. Assuming it worked at all. If This One's calculations were correct, the serum should have unlocked your true potential as a Fullbringer. That is not to say that it would dramatically alter your powers, or have you grow a third head - although if it did, that would have been an interesting side effect!

"More likely, it has simply refined and focused your abilities to reach their full potential, by allowing you to tap into the hollow influence within you. Please inform Ken'ichi if you happen to notice a broken Soul Chain to suddenly appear on your person, or a terrible tearing sensation in your chest. The goal of this experiment was not to Hollowify you. Heavens no."

Ken'ichi continued for several minutes, waxing about the expected and possible side effects for the third time in as many days, and occasionally going off on tangents. Once he was satisfied that Luca understood the most likely outcome of this experiment Ken'ichi suddenly changed gears.

"The best way in This One's experience to bring out the latent power trapped within you now that the serum has taken effect, is to activate it in a life-or-death simulation. That is to say, to engage in rigorous combat wherein we can trick your body into thinking that your very life is on the line, and cause it to awaken the powers that the serum has activated.

"To that end, it appears you are ready for the physical part of the experiment. Having tested your original powers as a baseline prior to giving you the serum, Ken'ichi is most interested to see how your powers have grown or changed as a result of our little experiment. This One hopes for a complete success, and that you too are satisfied with the results.

"Shall we begin?"

Walking to the center of the dojo, Ken'ichi took up a ready stance at one end of the large tatami mat. He had not yet drawn his zanpakutou however, but stood lightly on the balls of his feet, with his left foot placed forward as his lead, and his hands holding both the hilt of his zanpakutou and the saya it was sheathed in in preparation for combat.

"This One shall let you make the opening gambit."

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats & Skills}

[150]      (250 SP)      Strength
[400]      (400 SP)      Speed
[150]      (250 SP)      Reiatsu Strength
[700]      (400 SP)      Spiritual Pressure
[350]      (200 SP)      Instinct
[50]        (50 SP)        Senses
[50]        (50 SP)        Energy Sensory
[ 0]         (0 SP)          Healing Expertise


[4]         Weapons (Sword)
[3]         Battle Analysis
[3]         Science (Physics)
[2]         Analyzing
[2]         Calm Mind
[1]         Hakuda

[Akira Hinosai]

"Let's kick some ass!"

Luca really shouldn't have been surprised by Ken'ichi being Ken'ichi. Still, he felt like he'd need a lifetime to be ok with his sense of style...and way of explaining things. Everything really. Ken'ichi seemed to defy all sense. I've seen arcade floors with subtler coloration... Still, Ken'ichi was helping Luca out, so Luca didn't comment on it, just this once. Ken'ichi spoke at length about the serum's side effects, intended purpose, blah blah blah. Luca had heard it all before, and it hadn't gotten any more interesting to listen to. Well, the talk of hollowfication was interesting. When Ken'ichi mentioned it, Luca touched the area his soul chain would be, and found no trace of it.

Talking about gaining power was one thing, they still had to fight to make the whole thing work. Luca had waited entirely too long for this. He looked at Ken'ichi as he drew his lighter, and activated his fullbring. Luca didn't have to look at it to know it was still a spear. Same as it ever was. It didn't matter. He'd still supercharge his powers. For a brief moment, Luca thought of his opening move. He didn't know what to expect with Ken'ichi. Charging him was out of the question, unless...

Luca remembered there was a sword rack against the wall, and with some soul command, it was a straight shot from Ken'ichi. Luca took an opening stance, holding the spear in a way that minimized air resistance. While it may have looked like he was going to charge, it was only a trick. With Soul Dominance Luca lifted the sword rack, and sent it barreling towards Ken'ichi. Whether he dodged or blocked, Luca would follow up his initial move with Bringer Light to bring himself 6 feet away from Ken'ichi's side, where he would try and land a quick thrust. "Word of warning, Kimchi: things tend to break around me!" Luca smirked.

Techniques used:

Soul Dominance: 150

Bringer light: 50 (effective speed of 3000 during the step)

Fullbring activation: 200

6600/7000 reiatsu remaining

[Deleted]

Ken'ichi studied Luca's stance and the subtle movements of his tensed muscles. It appeared that Luca was planning to charge directly at Ken'ichi and straight into Ken'ichi's readied attack. Ken'ichi gave Luca more credit for such a telegraphed attack, and within seconds determined that it was almost certainly a ruse. One that Ken'ichi had both witnessed, and used many times in the past.

A flicker of an eye was all it took to betray Luca's true intentions. That momentary eye-contact with the true focus of his opening move. With his 3 in Battle Analysis, Ken'ichi was very familiar with the general powers that Fullbringers had access to, in particular their ability to imbue the souls of objects with a sliver of their power, and command them to do their bidding. With that thought fresh in his mind, that momentary glance at the weapon wrack behind Ken'ichi betrayed Luca's intentions.

So he intends to command the weapons behind Ken'ichi, and send them hurtling toward This One. Predictable, but effective.

Were he facing any other opponent, Luca's ruse may have worked, however Ken'ichi was no ordinary opponent. With a shrewd, calculating mind, Ken'ichi waited until he saw the flicker of movement when Luca flexed his power to take command of the weapons. With weapons flying directly toward Ken'ichi and, in the event Ken'ichi dodged - straight toward Luca as well, it was simple deduction that Luca would step to the left or right, most likely with the intention of attacking Ken'ichi from either side simultaneously as the weapon wrack hurtled toward him. A slight favoring of his weight to one foot, and an asymmetrical tensing of the muscles in Luca's upper body betrayed Luca's intentions as to which direction he intended to strike from.

Ken'ichi was only the slightest bit surprised when instead of one or more weapons flying from the wrack toward him, he heard the tell-tale sounds of the entire weapon wrack itself lifting away from the wall. Waiting a heartbeat for Luca to react, Ken'ichi suddenly stepped to the opposite side from which Luca would launch his attack using Shunpō. Landing so that he would face Luca directly, Ken'chi activated Shunpō Karin. As he did, he released his grip on his saya with his right hand, and with a blisteringly fast 4000 Speed movement, raised his right hand palm fowrard and uttered the words to the most simple of spells.

"Shō."

As predicted, Luca stepped to the "side" using his bringer light, sword raised with the intent of delivering a quick thrust. He might be surprised to instead see Ken'ichi facing him directly with his palm drawn. Unfortunately for Luca, he would not have time to contemplate the error of his actions, for Luca was not the target of his Kidō. No, the target of his spell was the weapon wrack that Luca had so graciously provided as the target.

In the span of a heartbeat, the force of Ken'ichi's spell smashed into the weapon wrack and caused it to change directions mid-flight, and straight at Luca! Given the intended distance between Luca and Ken'ichi at the end of Luca's step, and given the perfectly timed counter - Luca would have less than 1 second to react to the swiftly moving object before it collided with him.

Ken'ichi was not finished however. Rather than waiting to see the outcome of his attack, Ken'ichi raised both hands outstretched to either side, and in a sweeping motion that Luca would be unable to see, cast two spells in rapid succession. While Luca would not be able to hear the spells being cast, he would certainly hear them.

"Sо̄katsui! Sо̄katsui!"

Two gouts of radiant blue fire erupted from Ken'ichi's hands. Spinning in a half-circle as he cast the spell, Ken'ichi caused both flames to curve in two identical but opposite arcs of horizontal flame creating a "ring-like" effect of fire around himself, in the event that Luca was rash enough to rush him again before properly assessing the situation. If Luca was foolish enough to close to melee range with another well-timed bringer light, he would find himself colliding face-first into a gout of blue incandescent fire.

"You will have to try harder than that. Ken'ichi is not a simple Street brawler, but a highly trained Shinigami with centuries of experience. If we truly wish to tap into your latent powers and force them to awaken, you will need to step up your strategy considerably."

SPOILER: Click to show

{Techniques Activated}

Shunpо̄: Cost 50; Speed (4000).
Shunpо̄ Karin assisted Shо̄ Cost 25 (Shо̄) + 100 (Shunpо̄ Karin); Speed (4000)
Sо̄katsui Cost 100 ea

Total Cost: 375 Reiatsu

Reiatsu Remaining: 6625 / 7000

[Akira Hinosai]

W-what?!? Luca's opening move was disassembled right before his eyes. Ken'ichi moved so fast that Luca couldn't comprehend what he was doing until the weapon rack was flying straight towards Luca. His reflexes kicked in as he tried to move out of the way. He could feel the air displaced behind him. He didn't realize until he heard the wood crash against the floor that he'd used movement to escape. Luca turned back around, quickly realizing he'd left his back to Ken'ichi. Now that he'd dodged, his mood shifted from fear to a simmering rage.

Luca heard the flames around Ken'ichi as he spoke. Luca grew angrier still. "Don't go acting high and mighty! I'm just getting started!" Luca wanted to show him what he could really do. He was just getting started. Though as he prepared to charge, he realized Ken'ichi was probably up to something. Luca didn't know what, but it was something. If Ken'ichi wanted Luca to step up his strategy, he would. You're about to see what I'm capable of. Luca reached out to the reishi in the room, focusing on it as he breathed in. Drawing it into himself, he held it in, allowing it to mix with his own energy signature.  With another bringer light he was beside Ken'ichi again,outside the ring of fire that surrounded him, though close enough to feasibly stab him with his spear. Though Luca did not linger there for more than a second, staying only so long as to expend a use of air veil to place a replica between him and Ken'ichi.

Then, with a use of bringer stealth, Luca would attempt to quickly step behind Ken'ichi and well away from the pale flames. Assuming his ruse had worked, Luca would fire a beam of coherent energy from the tip of his spear right into Ken'ichi's back.

Ken'ichi would see Luca step beside him again, with the tell tale sound and of bringer light. Assuming Luca was successfully able to plant the air veil decoy, Ken'ichi would see Luca standing beside him, ready to attack. It would look and even give off the same aura as Luca, though it would not move and would collapse if attacked. Luca's bringer stealth would give no sound or light as he used it, allowing him to appear behind Ken'ichi, and deliver his attack. Though with sufficient instinct, Ken'ichi could track Luca's movement if he saw through the ruse completely. The attack, if a hit would burn Kenichi an inch around where the thin beam made contact. Ken'ichi would begin to feel nausea and fatigue, almost as if he'd been given radiation sickness.

Techniques:

Movement: -25, effective speed of 900

Air Veil (class 5, 3/4 copies remain, requires 300 es or senses to notice it is a copy after an attack is landed on it) -100 reiatsu

Bringer Light: -50 reiatsu, effective speed of 3000

Bringer Stealth: -150 reiatsu, effective speed of 3000

Beam attack: -100 reiatsu

6175/7000 reiatsu

[Deleted]

The weapon wrack crashed into the partition separating Ken'ichi's private quarters from his labatory proper, landing on the ground with a powerful THUNK and spraying jostled weapons everywhere. Ken'ichi watched Luca activate some kind of flash step in order to avoid impacting with the dangerous projectile. Stepping to the side of Ken'ichi Luca paused, barely moving a muscle as he left himself wide open to Ken'ichi.

Curious? Why does Luca leave himself open? Something is not right here. The momentary flames from his twin Sōkatsui fading almost as rapidly as they appeared, Ken'ichi considered his actions.

Unbeknownst to Ken'ichi however, Luca had not in fact left himself wide open to a counter-attack, and had activated Air Veil. While Ken'ichi failed to hear Luca's activation of Bringer Stealth however, his superior Instinct (350) let him easily track the fullbringer as he attempted to circle behind Ken'ichi.

Now there's two of him? How intriguing!

With both of the 'Luca' poised to attack, Ken'ichi raised both his hands, and cried out an even more powerful version of the technique he had used earlier.

"Surasorutoiera!"

While lacking sufficient Reiatsu Strength to completely deflect Luca's attack, the repulsive force would propel Ken'ichi skyward at a speed double that of Ken'ichi's RS (300). This attack is omni-directional, and Luca himself would feel a repulsive force of 150 RS in strength attempt to push him backwards at 300 speed himself. The fake Luca on the other hand would have no such defense against the attack, and would be sent hurtling backward into the far wall causing it to collapse in an immobile heap on the floor.

Now airborne, Ken'ichi activated the Shihoin stealth techniques of "Sairento Satsugai" and "Kage no Kurōku". Combined, these two techniques would not only make all of Ken'ichi's movements completely silent (requiring 250+ Senses to hear), but would also cloak him in a veil of shadows that blurred his movements, requiring 200+ Senses in order to track his position, and the movement of his limbs, weapons, and body. As he flew upwards, Ken'ichi bent his knees slightly behind himself and leaned foward. Then, with a moment's thought he conjured a platform of Advanced Air ground beneath his feet and springing off the platform with Shunpō, Ken'ichi counteracted his upward movement, and lept toward Luca at a speed of 4000.

All Luca would see would be a blur of shadows hurtling toward him at impossible speed. Just as he neared Luca's position, Ken'ichi would suddenly draw his zanpakutō with lightning speed, and slash at Luca's weapon arm. Even without the benefit of his Shadow Cloak, Luca would be unable to react to the devastating 1200 speed of his Iaijutsu technique, as he lacked sufficient Instinct or Senses to react.

Assuming Luca did not do something radical prior to Ken'ichi coming within striking distance, the attack would almost certainly cut Luca deeply with a diagonal cut just below the wrist of his weapon arm. It was not Ken'ichi's intention to sever his arm completely however, and with his supreme mastery of the sword (Weapon 4), Ken'ichi knew exactly how to aim his attack so as to only cut deep enough to sever tendons, without cutting bone. Should the attack land, Luca would no longer be able to hold his spear with his primary weapon hand, and would be forced to use his off-hand for further attacks.

Landing gracefully as his sword connects (or not), Ken'ichi would then jump backward several steps to create some room between himself and his opponent, his Zanpakutō already sheathed before he landed thanks to his mastery of Iaijutsu.

The silent efficiency of Ken'ichi's attacks would be unnerving to say the least, but Ken'ichi's voice calling out from the nebulous shadows that cloaked him would be more unnerving still. If the attack connected as intended, Ken'ichi would call out to Luca and say the following:

"This One will give you a moment to stem the bleeding. Let Ken'ichi know when we should resume. What you have experienced is the deadly effects of Iaijutsu. Had Ken'ichi intended to kill you, my attack would have decapitated you, or cleaved you in half from shoulder to hip. Fear not, This One will not use such a technique again. Ken'ichi merely used it in an attempt to activate the serum and awaken your latent power."

Should the attack miss, Ken'ichi would instead say:

"Well done! Your preemptive strategy just saved your weapon arm from having its tendons severed, and rendering you unable to wield a weapon till we can get you to a medic and heal the injury. Had you delayed but a moment longer, you would have been unable to avoid my devastating 'Iaijutsu' technique. The bane of many unprepared an opponent. Fear not, I shall not use it against you again."

Glancing about the room, Ken'ichi would then spy the unmoving form of Luca's duplicate.

"Air Veil if I am not mistaken. You had Ken'ichi fooled for a moment."

SPOILER: Click to show

{Techniques Activated}

Surasorutoiera: Cost 150; Propulsion speed 300.
Sairento Satsugai: Cost 100; Requires 250+ Senses to hear movement; 1/10 posts
Kage no Kurōku: Cost 150; Requires 200+ Senses to track blurred movement; 1/7 posts
Advanced Air Ground: Cost 25
Shunpō: Cost 50
Iaijutsu: Cost 50; Speed x3 (1200); Draw, strike and Sheathe weapon in a single shunpō assisted attack.

Total Cost: 525 Reiatsu
Reiatsu Remaining: 6100 / 7000

[Akira Hinosai]

Luca felt his wooden sandals scrape against the floor as he was pushed back. He heard his decoy slam into the wall with a thud, and then collapse. Luca's attack had been perfect. There were so many deceptions at work, and Ken'ichi saw through them all. This was really starting to piss him off. He didn't care if "winning" wasn't the objective. He was going to make Ken'ichi beg for mercy! If he could see around any tactical assault, Luca would just brute force him. Though before he could do anything towards that goal, Ken'ichi vanished from sight. "Oh shit." Luca muttered. He didn't need centuries of experience to tell what this meant.

Luca scanned the room for any sign of the stupid dork, but there was none. This was a sneak attack. Some next level Shihoin shit. Luca had to think fast. He tried to think of anything he could do to protect himself, but found no easy answers. Air strings? Maybe, but what if-

Luca howled in pain. In a flash of motion he didn't remember, he'd dropped his spear, grabbed his arm, and began cradling it in front of his chest. Ken'ichi spoke without deactivating what had made him invisible. He was like some dark spirit, staring down at Luca. With the fight paused, Luca fell to his knees as he struggled to keep pressure on the wound. It felt like Kenichi had jammed a sword through his arm lengthwise. From how it felt, Ken'ichi wasn't lying when he said the tendons were severed. Luca had witnessed the technique before, back at the gate. Ken'ichi could have killed him there, too, but didn't. Luca had known going into the fight that Ken'ichi had that kind of power, but still. It was embarrassing to go down like this.

"Hey, inner hollow! If you can hear me, now would be a good time to come out!" There was only silence. It was a dumb thought to believe it would be so easy. Things never were. If the serum wasn't activating, there was one way to fix that."I don't think my body's been pushed hard enough." If Luca wasn't strong enough to take Ken'ichi, that didn't mean he had to give up. Maybe all he could do was keep fighting until his body refused to move. At least then, the serum might work, and if it didn't...Luca would at least prove himself, at least a little bit by sheer perseverance. I'll show you, I'll show everyone! Luca released the grip of his bleeding arm and ripped off a sleeve from his shihakusho. As he wrapped it tightly around the wound, he stood up once again. "Hey, Kimchi, you ready for round two?" Luca smiled as if pain and fear were foreign concepts to him.

With soul command, he drew his spear to his off-hand. Reaching out he pulled the reishi from the air into razor sharp strings. Around Ken'ichi's position, Luca tried to form a cage, of sorts. Strings above him and below him, to his left and to his right. Vertical and horizontal. Parallel and diagonal. Though whether Ken'ichi was caught in the web or managed to dodge, Luca would begin pelting his position with lasers from his release.

Techniques:

Air strings (class 3): Cutting power: 425, Durability: 500, Cost: 400

Beam attack: -100
5675/7000 reiatsu

[Deleted]

Ken'ichi was good to his word, and allowed Luca the opportunity to bind his wounds. The look of fury that crossed Luca's face however, gave Ken'ichi a moment for concern. Luca really needs to learn how best to control his temper, else he make clumsy mistakes due to his lack of focus.

Frowning, Ken'ichi shook his head sadly as Luca reached for his weapon with his off-hand, willing the weapon to levitate into his grip using that most simple of Fullbringer powers. Luca was obviously rattled, and infuriated and Ken'ichi was prepared for anything. Moments later, Luca's eyes narrowed in concentration as he began motioning with his hand, drawing what appeared to be the beginnings of a box in the air before him. First the outline of a horizontal square, and then some connecting lines to begin the formation of a cube.

Ken'ichi could not tell exactly what Luca was attempting to do at this time, but it was obvious that he was creating some kind of prison, box, or other construct - most likely with the intent to entrap Ken'ichi in order to follow up with an attack. Stepping slightly to his left, Ken'ichi's cheek brushed up against some unseen filament that bit into his flesh and drew a thin, horizontal line of crimson.

Air Strings. I should have known. An unorthodox and time-consuming use of the technique, and one all to easy to avoid.

Before Luca had an opportunity to complete even the shell of his Air-String prison, Ken'ichi channeled his Spiritual Pressure through his arms, strengthening them considerably before lashing out and severing the strings on his left side with a powerful downward chop. Not knowing how powerful the construct Luca was creating was, Ken'ichi felt it best to channel sufficient reiatsu into his physical strength in order to cut through the Air Strings regardless of how powerful they were.

With his Strength boosted to 650, Ken'ichi easily cut through the air strings and extricated himself from the prison, long before Luca could even complete it. Gathering reiatsu beneath his feet, Ken'ichi activated Shunpо̄ directly toward Luca. Occupied as he was creating the prison of complex air strings, Luca would likely have little time to react to the 4000 Speed step. Stepping directly in front of Luca, Ken'ichi shifted his weight, side-stepping any frontal assault Luca might attempt. As he did, he activated Shunpо̄ Karin, gathering the energy into his right hand and with a lightning fast 4000 speed movement of his arm, reached out to grab Luca's spear before he knew what was happening, confident that his Kage no Kurōku technique would obscure his movements.

If successful, he would pull the spear from Luca's grip with his enhanced 650 Strength, while simultaneously peeling back a small portion of the shadowy veil so that Luca could clearly see Ken'ichi's sheathed zanpakutо̄ and left hand. With his left hand clearly visible, Ken'ichi would then draw his sword and with a well practiced and fluid maneuver, would aim a horizontal slice at Luca's midsection.

Confident that Luca would see the deliberately telegraphed attack, Ken'ichi allowed the shadowy veil to recloak his sword and left hand, obscuring his movements once more. If Luca reacted as predicted, he would no doubt attempt to dodge the attack aimed at his stomach, and in doing so make it that much harder to maintain his grip on his weapon.

All of this would occur within the span of 2-3 seconds, approximately twice as fast as it would take Luca to complete his complex prison of Air Strings. As such, Luca would not have sufficient time to unleash his intended volley of laser blasts at Ken'ichi prior to Ken'ichi stepping in front of him and attempting to simultaneously disarm Luca, and deliver a wicked slicing blow across his stomach.

Ken'ichi sincerely hoped Luca was not foolish enough to allow this attack to hit, especially with his enhanced Strength boosting the kinetic force behind his lethal sword swing. With both his movements silenced, and his position obscured by his shadowy cloak, Luca would find it next to impossible to determine Ken'ichi's intentions, save for the deliberately telegraphed attack.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Techniques Activated}

Combat Cutback: Cost 475; Class 4; Enhanced Strength (both arms): +500 (650 total).
Shunpо̄: Cost 50; Speed 4000
Shunpо̄ Karin: Cost 100; Speed 4000

Total Cost: 675 Reiatsu
Reiatsu Remaining: 5425 / 7000

SPOILER: Click to show

{Active Techniques}

Sairento Satsugai: 2/10 posts
Kage no Kurōku: 2/7 posts
Combat Cutback: Arm Strength +500 (650 total)

[Akira Hinosai]

Luca thought for some fraction of a second that he finally had Ken'ichi. He was bleeding. If he bled, he could be beaten. As if on cue to dissuade Luca of such a notion, Ken'ichi broke out. Luca knew the technique. It was the one he used to escape the gate guardian. Then, all of a sudden, Ken'ichi was in front of Luca. They were fighting at such a level that moves took place in nanoseconds, and Luca was quickly realizing how outmatched he was. Luca tried a forward thrust with his spear, but Ken'ichi evaded. He always evaded.

In the instant that followed, Luca did not think. Conscious thought had left him, and instinct had taken over. The spear was slipping from his grasp. There was a blade coming for his midsection. Luca's body spoke to him. It did not speak in a language in words, but of sensations. Muscles clinched, blood rushed, and neurons fired to tell him one thing. "RUN!"  Luca jumped back with everything he had. Free of the immediate danger of the attack, Luca actually began to process the situation. His fullbring was gone. Ken'ichi had wrestled it from him. Luca looked at his opponent, not even bothering to hide the shock on his face.

Luca wanted to scream. This was proof of how inferior fullbringers were. The serum was just a placebo. It was all such bullshit! Luca's fullbring was his and his alone! How dare Ken'ichi take it from him! How dare that purple haired bitch act all superior! It felt like a betrayal. Thoughts swirled in Luca's head, but instead of expressing any of them, he let out a scream of utter rage. With soul dominance, Luca exhaled a 15 foot cone of fire. He didn't care if Ken'ichi's stuff got burned. He wanted him to suffer. Luca would not be satisfied with it, even if it hurt Ken'ichi. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHG!!" Luca used the very technique Ken'ichi had used to cut through the air strings. Just like the last time he'd used it, he felt power course through him. It was almost intoxicating.

Then, Luca closed the distance with bringer light. Though unlike previous attempts, Luca had a different plan in mind. Luca would continuously step around Ken'ichi. He had never used Bringer Light to build up speed before, so there was a chance Ken'ichi would be caught off guard. Even if he wasn't the vastly superior speed Luca would gain would surely be too much even for Ken'ichi to counter. Luca would step all around him, until it seemed Luca was just a ring-shaped blur who moved without the green light associated with the technique, and then, Luca would stop in front of Ken'ichi, and  Willpower, pump even more reiatsu into his good arm. Luca felt the blisters form as his skin reddened, and he lunged at Ken'ichi, hoping to choke slam in him into the wall or floor, whichever was closer.

Techniques:

Soul Dominance: -150

Combat Cutback: -375 (effective strength of 700)

Bringer Light: -50, -100, -200 (effective speed of 3000, 3900, 4500)

Willpower (Pulley): -400 (Effective speed of 600)

+100, as the beam atttack didn't happen.

4500/7000

[Deleted]

Preempting Luca's forward thrust with his spear, Ken'ichi sidestepped the expected attack and grabbed hold of the weapon's haft with a vicelike grip. Having telegraphed his attack with his zanpakutо̄, Ken'ichi was not disappointed when Luca dodged backward, allowing Ken'ichi more than sufficient leverage to yank the weapon from his grasp.

Luca roared in frustration, and with a sharply indrawn breath exhaled a blast of rage-fueled flame to engulf the area immediately in front of him. Seeing Luca inhale deeply, Ken'ichi reacted on pure instinct and dived to the right, curling himself into a combat roll as he did, and springing to his feet almost as swiftly. A blast of intense heat washed over Ken'ichi as a cone of billowing flames erupted from Luca's mouth, setting fire to the tatami mat of his dojo, and causing scorch marks to the weapon wrack Luca had hurled at Ken'ichi previously.

Pivoting on the spot, Ken'ichi held Luca's spear in a reverse grip behind himself, and raised his katana defensively in front of himself; it's blade positioned horizontally parallel to the ground in a reverse grip. Kneeling low to the ground with his left foot placed flat on the ground, knee bent, and his right leg lying parallel with the floor but raised an inch from the ground on the toes of his flexed right foot, Ken'ichi prepared himself for Luca's next assault.

This One finds it increasingly necessary to postpone this testing until Luca has recovered his equilibrium. The man is losing it. Ken'ichi thought to himself.

He didn't have time to ponder how quickly Luca was descending into a berserker rage however, as Luca turned and stepped toward Ken'ichi using Bringer Light. Expecting yet another frontal assault, Ken'ichi was somewhat impressed when Luca instead began to encircle Ken'ichi.

No doubt looking for an opening from which to strike.

As Luca completed his first circuit of Ken'ichi, Ken'ich pivoted the blade of his weapon forward and thrust outward. With the blade of his weapon positioned horizontally, and facing in the opposite direction of Luca's movement, Ken'ichi intended to widen the distance between the shinigami and the berserk fullbringer. Activating Shunpо̄ Karin Ken'ichi swept his zanpakutо̄ in a wide, circular motion with the intent of completing a full 360 degree revolution in order to force Luca to dodge, or risk being bifucated by the 4000 speed attack.

Unbeknownst to Ken'ichi however, Luca was largely oblivious to this fact, and was intent on building up speed and transforming himself into a blur of movement. Ken'ichi's eyes widened in horror at the realization that Luca showed no awareness of Ken'ichi's intent. In the heat of the moment, Ken'ichi had forgotten to account for the fact that his Kage no Kurōku shielded his movements from Luca's sight. In his haste to put an end to this battle before it resulted in Luca suffering mortal harm, Ken'ichi had but the briefest moment in which he lost concentration. His concern for Luca overriding his cool, combat instincts, and causing him to make the gravest of mistakes.

There was nothing he could do however. Having used Shunpō Karin, Ken'ichi was committed to his course of action until the maneuver had been completed. He cried out in horror at the prospect that he might accidentally kill his test subject due to a moment's loss of concentration. All that wasted data. All that lost potential to further his thesis. Oh, and the loss of Luca as well could not be overlooked.

Crying out, he hoped Luca would react in time to avoid the worst of what would surely be a mortal blow.

"LUCA! WATCH OUT!" Ken'ichi yelled.

He hoped it would be enough, but he was not certain it would be.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Techniques Activated}

Shunpо̄ Karin: Cost 100; Speed 4000
Combat Cutback: Upkeep Cost 125

Total Cost: 225 Reiatsu
Reiatsu Remaining: 5200 / 7000

SPOILER: Click to show

{Active Techniques}

Sairento Satsugai: 3/10 posts
Kage no Kurōku: 3/7 posts
Combat Cutback: Arm Strength +500 (650 total)

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC- Cinematic (Please Read)}
Both Amphie and myself have agreed this would be a perfect opportunity to trigger Luca's transformation, so that he can make full use of his CiU powers. As such, Luca's next post will result in him suffering a grievous mortal wound that would otherwise be fatal. However, instead of killing him, we have agreed that his next post will be cinematic, during which he will undergo a temporary hollowfication as he battles with the fully activated serum. For the duration of this cinematic post, Luca will have High Speed Regeneration for the purpose of healing the near-fatal injury, as he wrestles to regain control.

At the end of Luca's cinematic post, he will be fully recovered from all injuries, and will have access to his new CiU powerset (instead of his previous powers). His reiatsu, and release duration will not be refreshed however.

[Akira Hinosai]

OOC: Cinematic. I am vague with technique costs and how many times they're used. Regardless it's safe to say Luca is done after this post.

Luca didn't understand what had happened. He laid on the floor in some kind of heap. He tried to think back. He remembered running, Ken'ichi yelling, colliding with something...then here he was. Did he really hold his leg out to trip me? Luca had felt his legs slip from under him... He really believed that, until he saw the blood. He was bleeding. He was bleeding a lot. What? He didn't know what happened, but it was bad. Worse than bad. This was death.

Luca's vision began to fade. No one was supposed to lose this much blood. Was this really how it was going to end? Luca didn't think he feared death. After all, death would be better than living a life where he's worthless. Yet now, as it was happening he was scared. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. He'd come so far, trained so hard, done so much...and it all lead to this. Luca realized, in some half-dead moment of clarity that his journey to evolution began and ended with him lying in a pool of his own blood. It was funny in a sad, sick sort of way. It cut through the fear, or maybe it melded with it. Luca used what breath remained to him and laughed. He laughed in a paper-thin voice as hard as he dared. He laughed until his vision became blurry and he began to cry.

I wanted so much more... He thought, as if speaking to whatever cold uncaring creator had shaped him this way. If you desire it that much, then take it! But that was stupid. It wasn't like Luca could. He couldn't move! He was on the verge of death! He just had to fade a little more, and then all the suffering would end.  Even so, Luca sat up, in spite of himself. Though it wasn't like the impotent struggles of a dead man. He sat up. It was with some difficulty, but he managed it. Luca stood up, moving as if he was in a dream. His body vaguely moved in sync with his desires, but through the thick haze of dream that Luca had fallen under, it was hard to tell. He turned to face Ken'ichi.

By this point, Ken'ichi would surely notice the wounds Luca suffered were closing, and perhaps more distressingly, a white particles seemed to appear from the air, and affixed themselves on Luca's face. Each of them seemed to solidify to form a stark white mask of some kind. It grew by the second, until the lower half of Luca's face was overtaken by a monstrous gas mask. "Oh, don't tell me you didn't foresee this as a possibility. What did you think was going to happen? By helping this one you would atone for your sins?" If they smiled, it did not reach their eyes. "Are you prepared to kill another child because your duty demands it?"

"Luca" flexed their energy, almost appearing to glow for a moment before forming a solid piece of reiatsu in front of them. Without hesitation they grabbed the object. Compelled by their touch, the imperfections blew away, leaving only a sword. Broad, sharp, almost unreal in its brutal design. It was a killer's weapon. As soon as the sword was grabbed, the spear would begin to rust and corrode, until it was so brittle there mere act of existence was enough to break it, as it faded into dross in the air from the tip down, till there was nothing.

Whatever weapon that had formed was Luca's only weapon now. Dipping it into the ground, it seemed as if  it vaporized a square chunk of the floor. The blade began to glow a sickly green. From there, "Luca" launched themself at Ken'ichi for a final round, determined to kill him. What? Luca seemed to shout inside his mind. He didn't want this! He was mad at Ken'ichi sure...but it wasn't supposed to end up like this! Luca screamed for his body to stop moving, only for it to continue attacking.

After testing Ken'ichi with a flurry of blows far quicker and more precise than Luca was ever able to do, the hollow blasted Ken'ichi with a laser. Not only was it larger, but if he failed to dodge, he would be burned around area of contact, but also he would feel his body begin to heat up. A scientist like Ken'ichi might even be able to tell his body temperature had been raised by 3 degrees Celsius.

"You might want to hold back. That is unless you really want to kill Luca. His body is only alive because I want it too. For all you know I could quit, and your next fatal strike could kill the poor boy."

Closing to melee again, the hollow had taken to using wide, sweeping attacks that often resulted in hitting the floor or wall, or some other object. When this happened, more and more things would be  disintegrated until finally, the hollow struck the ground, creating a field of radioactive dust. With this, The hollow would take an opportunity for a sneak attack. With bringer flash, they hoped to score a good hit to Ken'ichi's back.

Regardless of if that worked or not, they would keep hammering at Ken'ichi, hoping to unnerve him until finally releasing attacks with their stored power With willpower, they hoped to use an empowered Exposed Core Strike to begin inflicting radiation poisoning, and more burns around area of contact.

Still relying on their regeneration, they kept fighting, not caring how many veiled attacks Ken'ichi leveled to try and sever tendons. "I truly want to know. Are you fond of Luca? Is that why you persist in this petty game of heroism? Luca is a fool. He has nothing to offer you, or anyone for that matter. Or were you really fooled by that puckish rogue routine of his?" The hollow asked in half amusement and half disdain. Regardless of if Ken'ichi answered or not, the hope was to unnerve him.

Continuing the dance of flowing in and out of combat, with elegance and deadly efficiency, the hollow would hope to wear Ken'ichi down, regardless of if he chose to release or not. As the fight progressed, they would begin to conserve radiation counters for a truly devastating attack. A version of the fire breathing trick Luca tried before, though far superior. A massive orb of combusted air, large enough to make dodging difficult. More importantly, it was large enough to draw attention. This was it!

NO! Luca wanted to stop the hollow-essence that had seized his body. He wanted to control it, maybe domesticate it. He wanted to save Ken'ichi...but the more he tried the more it became clear he would have to pick one or the other. Luca focused like he never had... And the ball of fire dissipated into sparks. Every muscle fought him for control until... Luca stared at the mask in his hand. He'd torn it off. He stared at it in fascination before remembering Ken'ichi. "I'm...sorry, Kimchi." was all he could manage before collapsing.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Sword appearance}

SPOILER: Click to show

{mask appearance}

[Deleted]

Ken'ichi felt Luca's flesh part beneath his blade as he collided with the weapon. Whether he altered his trajectory slightly in order to avoid the worst of the impact, or whether it as pure happenstance, Ken'ichi breathed a sigh of relief to see that his attack didn't slay Luca instantaneously. Not that it would have made much difference, as Luca lay crumpled in a heap on the floor, intestines and other viscera spilling out from the wound that nearly cleaved him in two. A flood of crimson blood pooled swiftly beneath Luca's body as arterial blood from his severed descending aorta clearly spelled his imminent demise.

What has Ken'ichi done? It was not supposed to be this way. This One only meant to draw forth his latent potential. Not slay him. Whatever shall Ken'ichi say to Raph?

All the fight left Ken'ichi's body and he slumped to his knees, letting his sword clatter to the ground in front of him, leaning heavily on the haft of Luca's fullbring, whose point was dug gently into the ground as a makeshift support cane.

"Ken'ichi is so sorry....." he whispered.

Tears welled in Luca's eyes as the felled warrior attempted to comprehend what had happened to him. Despite all reason, Luca exerted the last of his fading strength to sit up. Something that should have been an impossibility given his condition, but manage it still he did. Ken'ichi's brow furrowed in amazement and confusion, as Luca not only sat, but managed to rise to his feet.

How was this possible? Ken'ichi wondered.

He did not have to wait long to find out, as he could clearly see the flesh beginning to knit together deep within Luca's body, as he began to regenerate. The bleeding slowed to a trickle, as intestines, muscle, and sinew stitched themselves together.

High Speed Regeneration? That shouldn't be possible. Unless.....

Retrieving his zanpakutо̄, Ken'ichi rose swiftly to his feet and assumed a ready stance. His blade held in his favored reverse grip, raised defensively before him, blade held perfectly horizontal at a height of about mid-chest. In his other hand, Ken'ichi raised Luca's fullbring high above his head, point facing forward toward Luca, as Ken'ichi feared the worst.

---

Globules of white viscous fluid began accumulating above Luca's head, and swiftly flowed to cover his face. The sclera of his eyes turned black, and his irises changed a deep yellow color as the tell-tale mask of a Hollow began to form on the Fullbringer's face, shaping itself into a monstrous caricature of a gas mask.

"Oh, don't tell me you didn't forsee this as a possibility....." the Hollowfied Luca spoke mockingly.

Steeling himself in preparation for an attack, Ken'ichi cursed his luck that the worst possible side effect of his serum had manifested itself.

...."What did you think was going to happen? By helping this one you would atone for your sins?"

An intense flash of light and an almost equally intense pulse of reiatsu coalesced into a fearsome blade which the newly hollowfied Luca grabbed hold of without hesitation. As he did, Luca's fullbring which Ken'ichi held reading to strike began to lose cohesion. Flecks of corroded metal tore away from the weapon, dissipating into nothingness as the weapon began to dissolve, leaving Ken'ichi holding nothing but his zanpakutо̄.

Letting his arm fall to his side, Ken'ichi surreptitiously retrieved a small round object from one of the many hidden pockets within his garish, pink and lemon labcoat. Ken'ichi was confident that his shadow veil would obscure his actions, but not one to take any chances with an unknown opponent, he made sure to conceal his movements and not draw undue attention to himself as he did. With the item held firmly in his grasp, Ken'ichi folded his right arm behind his back, and adopted a fencing stance. His zanpakutо̄ still held in the same horizontal grip as before, but his footwork changing his profile so that he stood facing Luca side-on, with his left foot leading.

Seeming to test his new weapon, the hollow that was formerly Luca slashed the ground before himself, vaporizing a section of Ken'ichi's floor. That would be an expensive fix, but one Ken'ichi had little time to worry over as the blade began to glow a sickly green.

Well. This One knew Luca was capable of emitting strong ionizing radiation prior to this experiment. This One can only assume the intensity of said radiation is that much stronger in his current form.

Without warning, the battle commenced anew, with the hollowfied Luca springing forward to impale Ken'ichi upon the blade of that glowing luminescent sword. Whereas Luca's attacks were predictable, and reckless, in his hollowfied state, Luca showed far greater skill with the blade than before, and Ken'ichi was forced to parry, riposte, and dodge a steady stream of attacks, as he studied Luca's capabilities.

While Ken'ichi was still clearly the superior swordsman, every attack that Ken'ichi managed to land on Luca was in vain, as no sooner had the attack cut deeply into the hollows flesh, that its High Speed Regeneration would close the wound, seemingly oblivious that it had been inflicted to begin with.

Stepping backward to gain some much needed breathing room with a well-timed Shunpо̄, the berserk Hollow followed up with a massive glowing blast of super-heated radiation, clearly unwilling to give Ken'ichi any breathing room to maneuver. Ken'ichi was however, waiting for such a maneuver, as Luca's radiation-based laser attacks were a signature hallmark of his fighting style, and he was waiting for such an attack in order to regain control of the battle.

With a fluid motion, Ken'ichi whipped his right arm from behind his back and placed a small brass orb in front of him. With a swift turn, Ken'ichi opened a portal to Hueco Mundo between himself and the massive blast of radioactive energy, which hit the portal square on, sending the lethal projectile hurtling through the darkened skies of Hueco Mundo to an unknown result.

"You might want to hold back. That is unless you really want to kill Luca. His body is only alive because I want it too. For all you know I could quit, and your next fatal strike could kill the poor boy."

Closing to melee again, "Luca" continued the assault, swinging his sword in wide, sweeping arcs to connect with the floor, and various objects of Ken'ichi's laboratory with reckless abandon. Ken'ichi was beginning to tire by this point, but managed to stay one move ahead of his opponent, before stepping behind the shinigami with Bringer Light.

Tired as he was, Ken'ichi was not swift enough to fully dodge this attack, which grazed across his right scapula. Wincing in pain, Ken'ichi felt his body temperature rise by several degrees from the radioactive energy that coursed through Luca's blade, leaving him feeling somewhat feverish.

It was clear to Ken'ichi that Luca was running on fumes, and that his hollowfied body was consuming his reiatsu at an incredible pace. One that it could not keep up indefinitely. Ken'ichi only needed to buy himself sufficient time for the Hollow's energy reserves to become sufficiently depleted that Ken'ichi might be able to launch a counter-offensive, and either restrain the Hollow, or if necessary - slay it outright.

---

With the Interdimensional Doorknob still held firmly in his right hand, Ken'ichi ran his hand along the spine of his weapon and called out his release. "Ooze and flow forth! Suigin Kawa! Suigin Ketai!"

Ken'ichi's weapon glowed with a pale white radiance as it's form shimmered and liquefied, merging with his body. As it did, Ken'ichi's body took on a glistening silvery sheen of it's own as his body liquefied through application of his most powerful shikai technique.

The hollowfied Luca barely paused in its assault, slashing furiously with blow after ineffective blow, as his weapon sliced cleanly through Ken'ichi without any noticeable effect.

"Two can play the regenerating game. Luca if you are still in there, Ken'ichi will assist you in regaining control of your body."

Extending both arms diagonally toward the ground, Ken'ichi activated his Ittо̄ Suigin technique, transforming his left arm into a long polaxe, and his right into a deadly, iron-headed flail. Raising his newly formed weapons, Ken'ichi deflected Luca's fullbring with his poleax, binding the weapon skillfully with his [4] in Polearms, preventing the Hollow from making use of the weapon for several moments, and preventing Luca from striking Ken'ichi with his deadly Exposed Core Strikes.

At the same time, Ken'ichi twirled his flail to gain momentum, before hurling it's deadly flanged head straight toward the side of Luca's skull, intent on concussing the hollow, and rendering it senseless. Tripping the hollow with his poleax, Ken'ichi reversed the weapon in order to bring the deadly spiked pick down upon Luca's shoulder with the assistance of Shunpо̄ Karin.

Pinned in place, at least for the moment, Ken'ichi brought his heavy flail down upon Luca's midsection in order to wind the Hollow and hopefully give Luca a chance to recover his senses. Assuming of course, that Luca was still present somewhere within the creature's mind, and that he was not completely gone.

Tearing its arm free from Ken'ichi's poleax in a spray of crimson, the hollowfied Luca rose once more to its feet, intent on consuming the man before him. The wound in its shoulder already healing swiftly from its regenerative properties. Before it could react however, the creature stumbled and roared in frustration, and Ken'ichi swore he heard Luca's voice cry out a single word.

"No!"

Whether this was Ken'ichi's imagination, or he truly heard Luca speak, Ken'ichi would ponder in the days and weeks that would follow, but in the moment, Ken'ichi was at a loss to explain his own senses.

Stumbling once more, the hollow reached up and tore the mask from its own face. Ken'ichi could see the black of Luca's sclera swiftly recede as the white of his eyes returned, and Luca regained control of himself. Looking down at the mask in his hands for several moments, Luca spoke briefly before collapsing into unconsciousness from the exertion.

"I'm.....sorry, Kimchi."

Sighing deeply, and allowing his release to expire, Ken'ichi looked down at the peacefully slumbering form of Luca and thought to himself.

It appears we were successful in awaking your latent powers. But at what cost, Ken'ichi cannot but help wonder. Sleep well. We can speak of this later when you awaken.

END THREAD - Ken'ichi victorious??

SPOILER: Click to show

{Shikai (1/9 posts, Class 3)}
Reiatsu Cost: 300

SPOILER: Click to show

{Techniques Activated}

Shunpо̄: Cost 50; Speed 4000
Suigin Ketai: Cost 300
Ittо̄ Suigin: Cost 100
Shunpо̄ Karin: Cost 100; Speed 4000

Shikai activation: Cost 300; Class 3 (9 posts)

Total Cost: 850 Reiatsu
Reiatsu Remaining: 4350 / 7000

SPOILER: Click to show

{Active Techniques}

Sairento Satsugai: 4/10 posts
Kage no Kurōku: 4/7 posts
Suigin Ketai: 1/4 posts
Ittō Suigin:

Combat Cutback: Ken'ichi allows this technique to expire without maintaining.

[Col Arana]

Luca: 31 Posts works out to 310 TP
Ken'ichi: 60 paragraphs (a number were just too brief to be counted as a full paragraph) + 100 TP for winning works out to 700 TP