First steps (Training, Shade vs Kaen)

[Shade Kawada]

Shade continued his barrage of strikes, each one seemed to miss its mark by mere fractions of an inch. Shade didn’t expect Kaen to let him keep this pattern up and was in between lunges when the san-seki made his counter. Without skipping a beat the third seat aimed his gauntlet-bearing hand past Shade’s blade and at his face. For a brief moment the san-seki had thoughts of blocking whatever was heading his direction with his zweihander, but he instantly realized it would take too long. Shade could feel the reiatsu and heat collecting on the palm of Kaen’s hand and knew that something was heading his way.

With no time to dodge, Shade brought his left arm up between his face and the other shinigami’s gauntlet. In an instant a hot flame burst out of the other san-seki’s shikai and burned Shade’s left forearm. He had successfully saved his face from harm by sacrificing an arm. But that is not all Shade sacrificed. As the san-seki shielded his face from the blast he also lost visual of Kaen. Little did Shade know that the lieutenant had quickly placed himself in close quarters with him and he expected Kaen to resort to a groin kick even less. However as Shade dropped his left arm he instantly realized his valuables were in danger, as any man can do in a fraction of a second. Shade was forced to use a shunpo to escape from Kaen’s swift and powerful kick.

Shade escaped sure infertility by mere fractions of a second as he disappeared from the san-seki’s view. Shade had predicted that he would take damage immediately after Kaen released his zanpakutou, but it was all worth it to the calculating san-seki. He had learned some important things regarding Kaen’s zanpakutou. The first of which was fairly obvious to Shade ever since he’d released the damn thing. It was certainly a fire type zanpakutou. The second thing Shade learned at the cost of burning his left arm was that Kaen’s shikai most likely flourished in long-range combat. Shade came to this assumption based off of the small demonstration he’d just been shown and the fact that Hachiryuu took the form of a gauntlet. The solid portion of the shikai was intended for defense in case the opponent got too close.

So the san-seki made it his priority to remain close to Kaen. Shade reappeared right behind Kaen as he was in mid-kick. Only one of Kaen’s feet kept him standing as his other leg was recovering from the missed kick. This was the perfect opening for Shade. The san-seki crouched before Kaen could recover his balance and sent his shikai practically gliding across the ground heading straight for Kaen’s only foot remaining on the ground. Again, Shade had given up on power for the time being and was focusing his strikes on speed.

BLOOD!screamed Buraindo Kira as he tore up the ground in his pursuit of Kaen’s leg, LET ME PIERCE YOUR DELICIOUS FUCKING SKIN!!! Buraindo Kira had always been in the habit of yelling at Shade’s opponents as if they were his own victims. Even the fact that they couldn’t hear him didn’t stop the sword’s insane battle cries and constant profanity. To Buraindo Kira these were HIS victims, Shade was simply a tool to acquire them since he couldn’t do it himself. He felt that he was the hunter and that Shade was his tool. Truly the line between master and weapon was a fuzzy one with much fluctuation.

Reiatsu Remaining: 1,200
Shikai: 4/10
Reiatsu Buraindo Kira Absorbed: 100

[Kaen Youji]

Although Kaen's flame had been moderately successful, it had not produced the desired effect, merely scorching Shade's arm. Still, that might be helpful to Kaen as an injured arm would possibly begin to affect his opponent's swordwork. But his groin kick saw less success as Shade moved out of the way with a second Shunpo. Kaen grit his teeth. Where would he have gone? Behind him again? Using that guess, Kaen glanced back, and indeed, saw Shade emerging behind him in midswing. It seemed he was going to take advantage of Kaen's kick to score another hit!

Shit! I can't dodge this one!Kaen thought. However, that didn't mean other options weren't available. Kaen quickly fired his leg back from the kick. But not at Shade. Kaen was aiming his leg at the sword travelling towards his foot, intending to stop its assault by stamping it down to the ground. He felt his leg connect, and only barely in time, as he felt the blade graze his ankle, opening another cut. However he'd managed to stomp down on the blade, which meant that Shade would have a difficult time recovering from his sword this time! Kaen made sure to keep his weight down on the blade so that Shade couldn't simply flick it back up to throw Kaen off balance.

For offense, Kaen could see that a regular flame wasn't going to stop Shade. Try and block this! He thought, snapping his arm out at Shade. "Tou!" Kaen exclaimed, this time preparing a shaped flame-- a longsword. He intended the blade to procure itself from between the two pincers on his zanpakuto and extend out in a thrust at Shade's torso. Rather than use his arm for the thrust, Kaen was intending to use his shaping to do it for him, launching the blade forwards as he created it! At a total of four feet in length, as well as his stepback onto Shade's sword, Kaen was expecting it to reach him.

Reiatsu remaining: 350/800
Shikai: 3/10

[Shade Kawada]

Shade gained another surge of power as his zweihander grazed Kaen’s leg. Shade had taken quite a beating in his fight with Kaen. His face was sore and bleeding, his shoulder still bled from the cut across his shoulder, and his arm had been burnt and was weak and tender. It was already too late to come away from this battle unscathed. However, this was simply training for the san-seki, and he cared not that he got hurt. He was willing to do anything if it meant he gained more power. But it appeared that this fight was entering its final stages as Shade landed a second hit with Buraindo Kira.

However, Kaen wasn’t going down without a fight. The foot that had previously been aimed at Shade’s groin came down on top of his shikai and pinned it to the ground as he countered the san-seki’s strike. This was bad, and Shade knew he was in trouble as soon as he saw the other san-seki’s gauntlet being aimed at him. He needed to get out of there fast. “Tou!” he yelled, causing an intense sword of flame to sprout from the shikai. It grew towards Shade at an impressive speed threatening to impale him. Shade felt a sharp pain in his side as the sword entered his side. However, only an inch or two actually pierced Shade’s flesh since he abandoned his sword under the san-seki’s foot and leapt back, out of range of Kaen’s flame sword.

Unarmed, Shade stood glaring at Kaen. Surprisingly the san-seki’s wound wasn’t bleeding all that much. It seemed that Kaen’s shikai burned the wound closed at the same time as it cut him. But the wound still hurt like hell, and on top of that, he was unarmed. Shade took a defensive stance, his eyes staring daggers into his opponent’s own. He wasn’t sure who had the advantage of this fight now, but his mind began to calculate. Number crunching, trial and error, and other factors came into Shade’s thought process as he planned his next move, but to truly make his next move a deciding one, he’d need Buraindo Kira.

Reiatsu Remaining: 1,200
Shikai:5/10
Reiatsu Buraindo Kira Absorbed: 200

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen managed a wry smirk as Shade was forced to abandon his blade. Kaen couldn't have asked for better circumstances now. Unless Shade could retrieve his zanpakuto, Kaen would have a decisive advantage in this battle. Kaen was also calculating, of course. He was anticipating what Shade might do. He wasn't ignoring the possibility of a Shunpo-- Shade already had used them to great effect in this battle. However, Kaen kept himself aware to the possibility of him using another one. He was determined that Shade would not catch him off guard with another one.

By this point, Kaen became aware of the draw on his reiatsu that he was suffering as a result of Buraindo Kira's ability. He knew this battle would need a decisive end, and soon. Kaen needed to catch him somehow, and finish the battle. What could he use to do that. There was the Daihou technique of course, but that wouldn't be applicable here. Shade wouldn't let himself be caught by that attack, Kaen was sure. He needed to stop Shade's movement and so he came up with a possible solution.

"Chire..." Kaen murmured and his sword dissapated. A second flame began to emerge, twisting and turning. This was Hachiryuu's real power. Not the meagre creation of flame-- no, any third rate zanpakuto could do that. Hachiryuu's power was that Kaen could bind his flames into specific forms. The flames would then take on the properties of those forms, while still retaining the properties of being a flame. A sword could cut, thrust and parry. An axe could cleave a foe in half. A javelin could be launched flying at a target. But what Kaen was creating now, was something somewhat different.

Kaen went with a fairly basic design for this flame, as he often did when using this technique. Chire was a shotgun-like technique, overwhelming the foe with enough projectiles that they would not be able to dodge. That was the principle anyways. And as shaped flames, they carried considerable concussive force, while being hotter and more intense than the unshaped one that Shade had been blasted with earlier. Kaen's arm suddenly launched out, sending about half a dozen fireballs, each roughly the size of a baseball, flying at Shade. They started clustered but spread out, to make dodging all of them extremely difficult.

Reiatsu remaining: 250/800
Shikai: 4/10

[Shade Kawada]

Shade stood, squaring off with his opponent, observing his every move. Surely he would go on the offensive shortly. Shade was certain that he had noticed the drain on his reiatsu by now and he would be feeling the pressure to end the fight quickly. The san-seki was sure that he’d be pulling out all the stops for this next attack, and possessing little ability to defend, Shade was at a disadvantage. But there was one advantage the squad 11 shinigami still held. He had not revealed all of his shikai’s abilities, however he couldn’t be sure that Kaen showed him everything either. If the other san-seki had another ability, he would most likely use it now in an attempt to end this while Shade was unarmed. All this Shade realized, but he couldn’t do much about it. Kaen’s foot was still pinning Buraindo Kira to the ground.

What did Shade have? He was unarmed and his opponent had both zanpakutou. It was times like this when the san-seki looked to his surroundings for help. Looking around the soul reaper noticed his trench coat lying in the dust only a few yards behind him. Shade took note of the clothing lying on the ground and developed a plan. However, he didn’t know what Kaen was planning, so he kept his mind active thinking of different options. However Shade’s thinking was cut off by the other san-seki. “Chire...” said Kaen as the flame sword disappeared. Immediately a half dozen fireballs were sent Shade’s direction. He was eliminating the san-seki’s ability to dodge by covering a wide range with his attack.

Immediately the third seat preformed a back flip, grabbing on to the corners of his trench coat as his hands touched the ground. As the third seat completed the backflip he brought the piece of cloth up between him and his opponent similar to how he’d begun the fight. However the purpose of shielding his opponents vision wasn’t to attack this time around. It was to escape. As soon as the san-seki had erected the trench coat between the two of them he disappeared using a flash step an instant before the fireballs incinerated his jacket. He’d have to acquire another later, but for now it had served its purpose.

Shade reappeared, crouching directly in front of the san-seki who was still standing on his zanpakutou. However, the third-seat had noticed multiple pieces of information that would make Shade’s counter-attack more effective. First of all, Buraindo Kira’s mouth was facing up in front of where Kaen had his foot. Secondly the shikai’s mouth just so happened to be in front of Kaen so that if he looked directly down he would get a clear view of it.

Using these facts to his advantage, Shade planned to use his zanpakutou’s last ability. Throwing his first punch of the fight, the bulky third seat drove a huge uppercut at Kaen’s chin. However, as Shade extended his legs and swung is arm to add momentum to the strike, Buraindo Kira’s mouth snapped open and revealed an incredibly bright light that would surely leave Kaen blinded for a few seconds if he looked down at Shade. Shade knew this light was coming and kept his eyes up towards his target as to not be affected by his own ability. The san-seki’s aim was to drive Kaen off of his shikai so that he could recover his weapon and take on a defensive fighting style for the rest of the fight.

Reiatsu Remaining: 1,150
Shikai: 6/10
Reiatsu Buraindo Kira Absorbed: 300

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen saw Shade leap backwards towards the ruined trenchcoat. Did he think that it would protect him from his fire attack? No, there was no way he'd have thought that. Which left one conclusion. He was trying to use it to cover something up. But what. Kaen braced himself for a strike, and then suddenly, Shade appeared in front of him, in a crouched position. Kaen reacted instantly, trying to take advantage of the crouch by firing his knee forwards towards Shade's head. And it was thankful he did this, in fact. Kaen's knee carried him slightly forwards, so as Shade initiated his uppercut, and his zanpakuto unleashed its blinding flash of light, Kaen was just ahead of it, reducing its effect.

It wasn't enough though. Reduction of its effects were not nearly the same as nullifying them, and Kaen was momentarily disoriented by the flash of light, though he felt his knee had still been properly executed. The next instant, however, Kaen felt a hard impact on his jaw, as Shade's punch connected. Kaen grit his teeth, his head snapping up into the air from the blow. He felt a strange warmth in his head, a dizziness, if you would as one who is on the verge of unconsciousness. His legs wobbled as though trying to remain steady for an instant, and then Kaen seemed to have lost his balance, beginning to stumble back, from the force of the blow.

However, the stumble was in fact a ruse! Although Kaen was indeed disoriented from the blow, it had not been enough. Kaen was used to taking punishment and a single blow from Shade, although powerful, would not have been enough to warrant such a reaction. Intending to use the stumble to catch Shade off guard, Kaen suddenly snapped back to attention in an instant, firing his leg off the ground with all the strength he could muster, intending to shoulder ram Shade, who he expected would have gone for his zanpakuto the moment Kaen's foot left it.

But that wasn't all Kaen was going for. He was intending to clinch with Shade to prevent him running away, and finish the 11th squader with a powerful Kao Loi technique-- a combination attack of pulling the opponent's head down sharply, and shooting one's knee directly upwards into their face. Kaen was putting all of his might into this last blow, because he knew after it, it would be unlikely that he would have the strength to finish the battle.

Reiatsu Remaining: 150/800
Shikai: 5/10

[Shade Kawada]

Shade’s punch connected with the bottom of Kaen’s jaw, however the hit was stifled by the knee that slammed into Shade’s stomach as he leapt up to deliver the uppercut. In fact neither blow had been 100% perfect, but Shade accomplished what he aimed to do, and that was to get Kaen off of Buraindo Kira. The san-seki quickly went for his sword with the intention of taking a defensive stance. The third seat reasoned that if Kaen had any hope of winning he would resort to trickery and reckless moves. This was the curse of getting hit with Buraindo Kira, it put a definite time limit on how long someone could fight and allowed Shade to take it easy as he waited for his enemy to run out of energy and leisurely approach their body to deliver the finishing blow.

However, killing Kaen would do him nothing. He aimed to win, and that was it. As the san-seki grabbed his sword he looked up to see the other third-seat charging straight at him. Success! The san-seki grabbed the hilt of his zweihander right as Kaen’s charge hit the san-seki. The third seat was shoved back as the more powerful of the two hit him with a ferocious charge. But Kaen didn’t stop there. The squad 7 shinigami grappled with him before he could escape. Shade immediately recognized what Kaen was trying to do when his hand shoved his head down towards an incoming knee. “Kao Loi...” thought Shade recognizing the Muay Thai move instantly. Instead of struggling however, Shade accepted the blow, greeting it with his forehead instead of his face. Shade was sure he could use this to his advantage.

*THUD*

Shade felt the knee connect with his head and his vision went completely white for a second. It hurt a little more then he expected, but he could still continue as planned. Shade fell to the ground and allowed his face to smack against the dirt ground. Shade would lie there, pretending to be passed out as he listened for Kaen and remained ready to react. This suited Shade because he himself wasn’t eager to get up and fight after that crippling blow to the head. His plan was to lie on the ground until Kaen passed out from exhaustion or threatened him while he was lying on the ground. Yes, playing possum wasn’t typically the way Shade went about things, but it was a sure way to win, and ultimately that was what mattered. Kaen was running out of time.

Reiatsu Remaining: 1,150
Shikai: 7/10
Reiatsu Buraindo Kira Absorbed: 400

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen saw Shade go for his zanpakuto-- as expected. However his counterattack appeared to be successful! His shoulder ram drove Shade backwards and he was able to hook up his clinch. Even his Kao Loi went off perfectly! Kaen felt his knee collide with his opponent's forehead, and saw Shade slump to the ground, apparently unconscious from the blow. Was it over? Kaen watched Shade a moment, and seeing a lack of movement, seemed to relax slightly.

Kaen stumbled back, seemingly exhausted by his efforts in the fight. Shade had been a daunting foe, and his reiatsu drain effect was brutal-- Wait....[/i] Something just occurred to Kaen at that instant. That's not right at all. If he was unconscious, then his zanpakuto should have returned to its sealed state! But he took a perfect Kao Loi to the face in his state... how... Then it occurred to Kaen. He'd hit his forehead. Which meant Shade was almost deliberately playing a ruse on him. Likely hoping that his zanpakuto would drain the last of Kaen's energy while Kaen believed him defeated. A smirk crossed Kaen's face, but, being facedown, Shade was unlikely to see it.

Kaen's zanpakuto would allow Kaen to strike even from here. And Shade wouldn't be able to see it. Perhaps feel it, though by the time he'd be feeling the heat of the flame, Kaen expected it would be too late. The 3rd seat raised his hand, with short laboured breaths, and flexed his hand upwards. He began shaping his reiatsu into a lance, and then, in an instant, launched it towards the ground. Not Shade himself. No. Kaen launched the lance at the ground beside his head. Not even in the hopes he'd spring up into the lance-- Kaen certainly didn't want that. It was a concluding statement-- that his playing dead routine would have gotten him killed in a real battle. Of course, if the third seat sprang up at the beginning of the attack, then the gesture was ultimately futile-- but Kaen didn't see how Shade would have noticed that, being facedown in the dirt, and the distance between them.

Though Kaen was in no great shape either. Although he had the strength to shape a flame, extended combat he knew, was beyond him. Not even three seconds after he saw his lance strike the earth, his shikai wavered and vanished, returning to its sword form. Kaen's hand dropped, barely catching the blade by the hilt. A sign that he was concluding their match regardless of Shade's actions regarding the lance. Kaen resisted the urge to sit down. He could see that although calculating, Shade appeared to be something of a berserker. Kaen did not rule out the possibility that he may continue to attack him.

Although, if he did, Kaen did not have the strength to resist. The shinigami's reserves were depleted, and he was exhausted by their battle. Although he still held his Kodachi in hand, it was more in gesture than anything. Kaen felt that until a mutual end to their battle had been reached it would be discourteous and potentially dangerous, for him to sit down just yet. Nonetheless, he intended the deactivation of his shikai to mark the battle's end.

Reiatsu remaining: 50/800

[Shade Kawada]

Even with his face down in the ground Shade was able to tell what Kaen was doing. Whether Kaen realized it or not, his shikai techniques gave off the same amount of light as a fire and the san-seki could simply look at the ground and watch for the light given off by any techniques the other third seat was going to preform. However, this was not the only factor that aided Shade in realizing his surroundings. The squad 11 san-seki was a masterful thinker and would take everything into account. In addition to the light, Shade could sense Kaen’s reiatsu gather and felt the heat that it created. Even the minor rustling behind him indicated that something was up.

Then Shade realized why Kaen saw through his ruse. His shikai was still active. This is something he hadn’t take into account before hand. In the heat of battle it was hard to remember everything. Even so, Shade couldn’t have sealed his zanpakutou. That would have stopped the reiatsu drain on Kaen and defeated the purpose of his plan. However, Shade had more important things to worry about. Namely the flame attack aimed at him.

Kaen launched the attack, and as if on queue Shade spun over in hopes of using his immense shikai to defend against the incoming attack. But the battle had taken a toll on the third seat and he cringed in pain as he rolled over. He was unable to match the other san-seki’s attack’s speed and it lodged into the ground right above his head before he could spin around completely. Shade glared at his opponent with a bleeding, swollen face. This battle had not been kind to his facial area. Shade didn’t want to get up because of the pounding he still felt from the knee to his head, but he managed to stand.

He missed from such a close range? Shade couldn’t comprehend showing any mercy to your opponent so he missed the point Kaen was trying to get across. Shade witnessed Kaen’s shikai fading and concluded that Buraindo Kira had finally enough to take its toll. He knew the battle had come to a close, and with long elongated steps he approached his opponent. He’d left his opponent unable to fight back, and was now going to claim his reward. Shade reached Kaen and pointed his Buraindo Kira at the man’s face. Then with a quick jab, Shade made a 4 inch long cut on the san-seki’s cheek. It was a shallow cut, but it still drew blood. Shade kept the zweihander extended underneath his cheek and caught Kaen’s dripping blood with the blade of his shikai.

“Ah yes... Blood...” mused Buraindo Kira as he enjoyed the meal. “I’m done wasting time with you...” said Shade implying he had an easy time with the san-seki. However, Shade’s implication was a complete fabrication. He hadn’t wasted time with him. It was rare that he’d ever battled an opponent so on par with him. He’d definitely be willing to fight this man again. He was not only strong and fast, but possessed a fearsome shikai. So after a few drops of blood fell on Buraindo Kira, Shade sealed his blade and walked away without a word. Blood fell from his sealed zanpakutou, but at a slower rate then it had at the beginning of the fight. Buraindo Kira’s thirst was quenched for the day, and Shade knew he had bettered himself by training against this man. So the san-seki returned to his own barracks, riddled with injuries.

Reiatsu Remaining: 1,150
Reiatsu Buraindo Kira Absorbed: 450

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen saw Shade react to his blow, and frowned as he moved. Close. Close, close. Too close. He shook his head almost sadly. He couldn't count it. He couldn't prove a victory even to himself in this situation. It was too close to call a victory. He acknowledged that Shade may well have evaded the attack had it been aimed at him. Or he may not have. And that uncertainty prevented Kaen from calling this his own victory.

Shade rose up as he concluded the battle. It seemed the 11th squad member missed the purpose of Kaen's blow. Oh well. It didn't matter. As he approached, he brought his blade up, and watched him cut open his cheek. Was it some manner of mockery!? Kaen wondered, suddenly incensed. But it was useless, as it was all he could do simply to remain standing. Shade spun around with a last taunt and walked away. Cocky bastard... If there's ever a next time, I'll be sure to pay him back! Kaen thought, prepared to redouble his training efforts. Next time would be different, he was sure!

[[conclusion of thread]]

[Zou ۞]

In the future, when you first open a training thread, please state what you are aiming for in terms of points. In this case, I assumed you just aimed for CTP.

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