A Friendly Spar, Shinrei vs Kaen (Pg-13, NDE)

[Shinrei Gokenru]

This fight will take place in the training grounds of squad 6. It is a pg-13, non-death enabled fight and is Shinrei's first on this site
This is also a training that is for General TP.

[Shinrei Gokenru]

Shinrei had been in the archives of his squad, doing some research seeing as how he was the most newly appointed member to the prestigious Squad 6. Shinrei soon realized the time by looking at a nearby clock and put the book that he was holding down on a table. He walked out the room at a regular pace, not slow nor fast, as it seemed he was clearly not in a rush... As he went through the second set of doors that he went through, a burst of sunlight would splash upon his face, forcing his eyes to squint. His eyes soon readjusted and he was able to see wooden training dummies in front of him. He had reached his destination; his squads training grounds.

Shinrei was wearing the usual black shinigami uniform. His clothing was actually quite open as opposed to closed like traditional robes. They were definitely loose on him but it was a good look for him. Speaking of looks, Shinrei was quite the beautiful specimen. His black hair was long and filled with luster and reached just past his ears. His eyes had a natural squint to them, making Shinrei look naturally intimidating as well as having a glare. They held a crystal-like blue to them and were truly hard to look at directly for more than a few seconds. His nose was thin and his jaw and cheekbones are well-defined. His lips were also quite thin. Shinrei's body was not bulky or had any "meat" on it and was actually quite lean.

Shinrei walked forward, touching the grass of the training grounds with his sandals. One could see a hilt sticking out from behind Shinrei's right shoulder. He walked to random area of the training grounds and sat down Indian-style. He then randomly began meditating- his favorite hobby- as he waited for his opponent. This was indeed going to be a friendly duel and it was one that was definitely going to test Shinrei's power.

SPOILER: Click to show

Type: Clown

Strength - [150] Points

Speed - [250] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [230]-->[288] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [250]-->[313] Points

Light Aura - [80] Points

Dark Aura - [20] Points

Instinct - [150]-->[124] Points

Senses [70]-->[49] Points

Energy sensory - [0] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points


Total SP: [1100] Points

[Kaen Youji]

This was the moment that footsteps could be heard as Shinrei's sparring partner arrived. His hair was unkempt and wild. Also a bizarre color. At a glance it looked black, but as the sun reflected off it, one could see it was merely an incredibly dark red. A cross shaped scar could be seen on his cheek beside his sky blue eyes. Eyes that seemed almost inncoent at a glance. His shinigami uniform had been modified somewhat, with the pants not longer flowing, but tightly bound, though still loose fitting. The sleeves of his Kimono had been removed entirely, leaving him with more of a sleeveless Gi. He wore his sword across his back, unlike most shinigami. Almost like the memebers of squad two. As far as length was concerned it looked like a typical Katana.

He glanced at Shinrei as he approached, lifting a hand up in greeting. "Hiya. You're the guy that called me out today, right?" Kaen commented, settling in and seating himself in front of Shinrei in the same cross legged position as the other shinigami. "Shichiban Sanseki, Kaen Youji. Nice to meet you. But I guess you already knew that if you called me here, didn't you?" He commented. He was coming off as just being genuinely friendly. No malice or mocking in his voice really. Just a nice guy it seemed.

"So, I heard you wanted a sparring partner, huh? Well, you got one!" Kaen said with a grin, performing a backwards roll back up to his feet from his seated position and took a few steps back. "Normally I like to be a little more sociable, but to be honest, I get excited at the prospect of a fight, so it might be best to leave the small-talk until after, right?" He commented, hopping lightly from one foot to the other, as though warming up a bit.

SPOILER: Click to show

Strength - 250 Points (400)
Speed - 250 Points (400)
Spiritual Pressure - 200 Points (150)
Reiatsu Strength - 200 Points
Light Aura - 45 Points
Dark Aura - 55 Points
Instinct- 100 Points
Senses- 100 Points
Energy sensory - 30 Points
Healing Expertise - 0 Points
Total: 1130 SP

SPOILER: Click to show

[Martial Art- Karate] {4}

[Pain Tolerance] {3}

[Martial Art-Jiujitsu] {3}

[Analyzing] {1}

[Special Skill- Bare handed blade catch] {3}

[Shinrei Gokenru]

Shinrei's eyes opened as he felt another presence enter the training grounds. He then heard a voice; "Hiya. You're the guy that called me out today, right?" said the voice. Shinrei then opened his eyes to find his sparring partner sitting in the same position he was. Kaen Youji then introduced himself and he was indeed a friendly person. "Indeed, I did know that. I am Shinrei Gokenru, 4th seated officer of Squad 6. 'Tis a pleasure." Shinrei said as he slightly dipped his head whilst still sitting. "So, I heard you wanted a sparring partner, huh? Well, you got one!" Kaen stated in excitement. "Yes, I do request a sparring partner and I thank you for accepting...

Kaen then rolled backwards and onto his feet as Shinrei utilized his strong thigh muscles and got to his feet without using his hands to the ground. It was all one fluid movement. "...I get excited at the prospect of a fight, so it might be best to leave the small-talk until after, right?" Kaen stated with jubilance as he was clearly ready to fight. Shinrei smirked just enough so one saw the white of his teeth. "I prefer to get right to the action myself, Kaen-kun..." Kaen was hopping around from foot to foot as Shinrei finally readied himself. He closed up his fists and put his right arm more infront of him while place his left fist near his mouth. "Let's go!"

Shinrei was suddenly excited as he rushed forth head on for Kaen. Was this smart? Probably not, but Shinrei wanted to feel out Kaen's strength before getting serious. Shinrei was masterful at analyzing a battle whilst he was fighting and he was going to intend to do just that. Just before crashing into Kaen, Shinrei would cock back his left fist and thrust it straight of Kaen's face, using all the momentum from his rush forward to apply more power. If hit, the blow would definitely fracture his nose at least, which would be a hefty blow to start out the battle. Shinrei always kept his eyes on Kaen, even whilst punching, as to make sure he could pay attention and react accordingly.

Reiatsu: 2880/2880

[Kaen Youji]

Shinrei seemed as intent on getting the fight started as Kaen was. Good. No sooner had the two of them gotten to their feet, but Shinrei was charging right at Kaen in a fighting stance Kaen knew well. "Oh? Karate is it?" Kaen commented as Shinrei lashed out at him. He was using the momentum of his charge to power up his punch! That'd leave a nasty mark if it hit. If. But momentum worked both ways, as Kaen as about to abuse.

As Shinrei struck at Kaen's face, Kaen shifted his body, and head, to the side, taking a step towards Shinrei, along the outside of his arm, inhibiting a follow-up strike. A technique that Shinrei would recognize as Tai Sabaki. An incredibly basic, but fundamental Karate concept. He had used this step to bring himself into a fighting stance, and counterattacked immediately. Kaen opened his hand, thumb folded inwards towards the palm, and his four fingers extended. A form that Shinrei would recognize as spear hand. Kaen counterattacked Shinrei now, striking with his right hand to hit Shinrei just below the ribs in the fleshier part of the abdomen. It wouldn't cause serious damage but it would hurt a lot.

Kaen then took a second step with his left leg, past Shinrei, as though attempting to get around to the other shinigami's back while he was dealing with the spear hand. That wasn't the case however, as, the moment Kaen had taken that step, his left leg whipped backwards to catch the back of Shinrei's ankle and sweep his leg out from under him. If successful, it would doubtlessly off-balance his opponent, and leave him vulnerable to further attacks, or even throws. As well as one of the best, if not the best Karate practitioner in Soul Society, Kaen was a master level Jiujitsu practitioner as well, giving him the best of both worlds, and giving him a myriad of hand to hand attacks with which to fight his opponents.

Of course, Shinrei likely wasn't stupid and would see that he was fighting a practitioner of the same styles he practiced within moments. If he hadn't already identified Kaen's Karate style, he would soon, and would likely see Kaen's Jiujitsu as well in short order. Two practitioners of an identical style. This was a rare opportunity for Kaen, and he wanted to enjoy it. It had been too long since he'd fought a competent Karateka.

[Shinrei Gokenru]

Indeed, Shinrei had left himself vulnerable after such an attack, or so it seemed. Kaen had used Shinrei's momentum against him to thrust his hand towards Shinre's abdomen for a seemingly unavoidable attack. Kaen would have to think again though... " Bakudo 8. Seki." Shinrei stated with a calm demeanor as his punch obviously missed. Kaen had dodged Shinrei's punch and then thrusted a familiar-looking spear hand for Shinrei's abdomen. This spear hand though, was met by a round and transparent ball of reiatsu which repelled Kaen's hand just before it could reach Shinrei's abdomen, sending Kaen's arm backwards just a bit.

The 3rd seat shinigami then stepped past Shinrei, trying to get his flank, but Shinrei was well on-guard. He jumped, propelling his legs vertically as Kaen's leg sweep went right under where Shinrei's feet would have been. Shinrei quickly landed as he turned around to face Kaen, in the same stance before. His left fist was close to his mouth and his right arm was extended. He began circling Kaen, as Kaen would most likely do the same and the two would be moving side to side in unison, not one able to circle around the other. Shinrei was thinking during this time. He had now seen that Kaen was a karate practitioner, just like Shinrei himself, so this would surely be interesting.

Shinrei wondered if he should keep up this game of karate or pull out his sword, in which he was equally proficient. But nah, Shinrei wanted to learn more about Kaen first. "Indeed, I am a karate user." Shinrei stated, finally answering Kaen's question. "And i recognized that Tai Sabaki. You thought you had me, didn't you?" Shinrei stated rhetorically and with a smirk. He continued moving in a circular motion with Kaen, not ever taking his eyes off of him. The distance between them had to be no more than 10 to 15 feet.

Shinrei observed this as he thought out his next attack. Shinrei had wanted to see just how well of a karate-practicioner Kaen had been, so he wanted to get in closer range. Shinrei inched closer to Kaen, step by step before suddenly breaking off in a full on sprint which consisted of no more than 6 steps, considering the distance between them. Shinrei vanished, after just 6 steps, reappearing behind Kaen after utilizing his shunpo technique to attempt to catch the 3rd seat offguard. Without hesitation, Shinrei aimed a right thrusted elbow, whilst crouched, for the center of Kaen's back. When he reappeared behind Kaen, Shinrei's body was turned to the right, being perpendicular with Kaen's body. This allowed for Shinrei to crouch down and simply extend his right elbow with sufficient force, to enact his attack.

Reiatsu:2805/2880

-25 for bakudo 8.
-50 for shunpo

[Kaen Youji]

Aww man. Kaen hated kido. He personally had never had the aptitude for the stuff, and found that as a melee type fighter it got in the way a lot when sparring people like Akeru. It irritated him a little, but he didn't let it show adopting a similar stance to Shinrei. However, Kaen didn't circle as well. All he did was step, turning his body to face Shinrei as her moved. Shinrei confirmed that he had indeed recognized the forms Kaen was using. Good. Definitely a fellow karate practitoner then. Maybe he could overcome the problems he had with Kido and really enjoy himself then!

Shinrei began to charge Kaen again and Kaen's eyes narrowed. Too obvious. And then Shinrei Shunpo'd. Kaen smirked. Kaen didn't know exactly where Shinrei was going to pop out though he had a feeling he'd likely come at him from the sides, or from behind. So, Kaen was going to muck up a plan like that. He launched himself forwards into a forward roll, Shinrei's elbow strike slicing through the space Kaen had been only a moment prior, the third seat rolling back up to his feet, now facing Shinrei again with a grin. "Arara. Close. Close." He replied, before shooting back up to his feet.

It was Kaen's turn to take the offensive. Kaen shot forwards two steps. He was quick! At present he wasn't using his full speed, but to Shinrei it would be easy to mistake his present speed for his maximum, as he was still much quicker than he was. To put it in statistics, Kaen was presently moving as though he had a speed stat of 300. Kaen moved as if he were about to lash out with a front punch technique, striking with his forehand, but pulled the punch, intending to use a feint to force Shinrei to move pre-emptively.

Regardless of whether or not this was the case, Kaen followed up his fake-out with a reverse punch directed towards Shinrei's solarplexus, intending to wind him with the blow. Following this blow, the third seat seemed to try and retreat away, his arms back up defensively. Keep Shinrei's focus on his upper body, to hide his next strike inside Shinrei's range of perception. In short, while Shinrei's focus was on Kaen's upper body, Kaen's lower body was going to attack. And the mode of attack was a low kick. Quick, and easy to miss if his eyes weren't looking in the right places.

Kaen launched the low kick towards Shinrei's thigh. As with the earlier spear hand attack, this wasn't going to cause significant damage, but would still result in considerable pain. Kaen was trying to draw out the fight, and wear Shinrei down bit by bit, rather than try and end it in one blow. Following the low kick, however, Kaen backed off again, this time his retreat being seemingly genuine. However, he kept his guard up in case of a counterattack from his opponent.

[Shinrei Gokenru]

It seemed Shinrei's attack narrowly missed its mark as his elbow hit nothing but air. Kaen had rolled forward skillfuly and evaded Shinrei's elbow. Shinrei got up from his crouched position, looking into Kaen's eyes and waiting to see what he would do next. Immediately when he stood though, Shinrei got back into his stance in which most of his weight was on his back leg, his right leg, and his right arm was extended in front of his body. He kept his left fist once again close to his face and was now ready to take the defensive. And indeed Shinrei would need to.

With blinding speed, Kaen charged forward, closing the distance between the two combatants in just two steps! Indeed, this karate practicioner was quick, deceptively quick, as this speed seemed to come out of nowhere to Shinrei. Shinrei would not be so easily decieved though, as he kept his eyes on Kaen the entire time, watching KAen's eyes. This allowed for Shinrei to see what Kaen was doing with his hands in Shinrei's perepheral vision. Kaen had made toward Shinrei with a forehanded-punch but pulled it back and Shinrei simply extended his left fist, waiting to block the punch but indeed it was a feint. Shinrei then saw Kaen's other fist, aiming for Shinrei's sternum. This punch was met with a clasp as Shinrei's open palm met Kaen's fist.

One would think, with Kaen being much stronger than Shinrei, the punch would drive through him, but this was not the case. Basic Karate principles had been applied here as Shinrei performed a perfect "karate block". Karate blocks were usually done with an open hand or a closed fist and were more focused on timing rather than speed. If the timing of a karate block was perfect, then it would not matter how strong or powerful the attack being blocked was. And, indeed, Shinrei had perfectly timed just before the wind would have been knocked out of him, stopping the punch dead in it's tracks. Indeed, it seemed like Shinrei had all the answers with this attack, but alas, he did not.

Kaen had put his hands up defensively after Shinrei blocked his strikes. He unexpectedly then committed a swift quick to Shinrei's thigh. Upon impact, Shinrei felt a stinging sensation, but would not let the pain dull his brain so much. He immediately, upon impact of the strike, swung his right arm down and wrapped it against Kaen's leg before he could pull it away. Shinrei, without hesitation, then quickly threw his left leg over Kaen's leg, -(OOC: Assuming your kick was for my right thing with your left leg)- and, all in one motion, swung the back of his right foot's heel for the side of Kaen's head. Indeed this was a graceful and powerful counterattack that Kaen might not see coming, but was surely avoidable/blockable. If the attack hit, Shinrei would quickly get to his feet, and get back into his stance, awaiting for Kaen.

Reiatsu: 2805/2880

[Kaen Youji]

Shinrei met Kaen's feint well, barely blocking the third seat's punch. Kaen smirked, his fist already retracted before Shinrei would have a chance to close his hand around his fist or something like that. As he backed away, Shinrei, as Kaen had expected slipped up, caught off guard by Kaen's low kick, as it connected. However, his reaction time to the kick was surprisingly quick, grabbing hold of the shinigami's leg before he could pull it back. Huh. He's a little quicker than I thought.[/color] Kaen thought to himself, observing Shinrei attempt what appeared to be a hook kick.

The delay needed to lift Shinrei's leg above Kaen's though was all the opening Kaen needed. As Shinrei whipped his leg up, Kaen kicked out his standing leg, and falling backwards. Although one of his legs was still bound, he still had a free leg, and hanging onto Kaen's leg would actually work against Shinrei in this instance. Kaen turned his body to drive his caught leg into Shinrei's thigh. At the same time, his other leg cut across, like a pair of scissors to catch Shinrei's own leg just below the knee. A variant of the sacrifice throw, Kaen had selected this technique in particular because the act of him falling back, causing Shinrei's hook kick to slice through air once again, Kaen's head being considerably lower now than it had been prior. As for the effects? If it connected properly, Shinrei would almost certainly be knocked down. While defendable by someone who had both legs on the ground, Shinrei only had one, making this technique very difficult to avoid, or block. The leg kick Kaen had just landed would make it even more difficult.

Ordinarily, one would require a handhold on a Gi or sleeve, for what Kaen was about to try, but Shinrei being now in mid-kick made the usual reasoning for it-- the idea of backing away, impossible. Although there was another reason for it, which was to reduce the impact of one landing on the ground, but Kaen dealt with that issue with a two handed breakfall, striking the ground as he landed. In short, Kaen had seemlessly transitioned from his Karate into his Jiujitsu in an instant, and, if Shinrei didn't find some way to stop him, was already rolling back, away from Shinrei, and up to his feet.

If he managed to get that far, Kaen would once again assume a Karate fighting stance again. It seemed that although he used his Jiujitsu to complement his Karate fighting style, using the grappling techniques and throws to counteract an opponent's strikes, he preferred to use striking. It would be good information for Shinrei to tuck away, to see if he could do something about it.

[Shinrei Gokenru]

It seemed Shinrei's sacrifice in taking the kick and counterattacking worked to no avail. As he attempted to whip his leg up and over Kaen's held leg, Kaen used his other free leg to stop Shinrei's leg in its tracks. The result was a moments hesitation and, since Kaen had now fallen back, Shinrei's attack once again hit only air. Shinrei would have felt the caught leg of Kaen's drive into his thigh, one that did not hurt as it was aggravating. Shinrei let go of Kaen's leg finally, and as Kaen rolled back onto his feet, Shinrei did the same.

Shinrei stared into Kaen's eyes as he resumed his stance, a smirk on Shinrei's face. "So, Kaen-kun, you're obviously a karate practicioner, this is clear to see, but I had not known you were well-versed in jiujitsu. This intrigues me, as I too practice that martial art... Shinrei then stood fully straight, abondaning his stance as his right hand went to reach for his right shoulder. A clasp was heard when Shinrei's hand smacked upon his sword's hilt. Shinrei then gripped his hilt tightly before speaking again; "I would show you my jiujitsu but, maybe another time. Let us change the pace of this battle." And indeed, Shinrei would attempt to do just that. The sound of sword scraping against scabbard could be heard as Shinrei finally drew his zanpaktou.

The sword was a tachi-type. The blade was 28 inches in length and the hilt was 10. The full black hilt had a circular and tiny guard, 5 inches in circumference, that formed right where the hilt and blade met. It was truly a simple looking sword, but a sword nonetheless. Shinrei, by drawing his sword, was going to try and make Kaen draw his sword. This would allow swordplay between the two and let which one know who was the better with a blade.

Shinrei had not drawn his sword for no reason though. He had been analyzing the battle the whole time between himself and Kaen and he had come to the conclusion that Kaen was the better martial artist than he was. This was respectable and to be expected, seeing as how he was a rank above Shinrei and most likely had more experience than him. Shinrei though to himself, hmm, maybe if he is so well-versed at karate, he would not have put that much time into his swordsmanship. I may have the advantage, for I am as good if not better with a blade, as I am with my hands. Let us see what happens... Shinrei then spoke aloud, "I do hope you draw your blade, for I do not wish to attack a weaponless foe as I wield one. Also, no longer will I be holding back..." Shinrei stated this with quite confidence. One could sense a shift in his motives and demeanor yet he was still not completely serious which was evident by the smile on his face.

Shinrei quickly broke into a full sprint, right for Kaen. Quickly though, Shinrei once again spoke, "Bakudo 26. Kyakko!" The pounding footsteps that could be heard from Shinrei's sprint immediately ceased. Shinrei suddenly turned invisble and his reiatsu was also masked. This was a bad spot for Kaen, if he had not a high level of energy sensory, and Shinrei predicted he did not, which was why he used the technique. Shinrei, still being invisible from the bakudo's bending of light, began to move in tiny, tiny steps, holding in his breath as well as he could as to not make any noise. He moved in a circle around Kaen until he was 10 feet away from Kaen's left side. Shinrei then pointed with his left index finger towards Kaen's left side.

"Hado 4. Byakurai," Shinrei whispered to himself in his quietest tone. A bolt of white lightning then shot out Shinrei's finger right for Kaen's left arm. Shinrei was not done as immediately, after firing his attack he shunpo'd, disappearing in a swoosh of a sound and reappearing infront of Kaen. Kaen might think Shinrei was behind him again, so Shinrei wanted to try and fool him. He slashed with his blade diagonally, from Kaen's right hip to his left shoulder, aiming to get a large wound on his chest. The slash would come at the exact moment the lightning bolt would hit Kaen. This put Kaen in quite the predicament, seeing as how there would be no way he would have known where Shinrei was. After the attack, Shinrei broke his bakudo spell, making himself once again visible and awaited for Kaen's next move.

Reiatsu: 2680/2880
-50 for shunpo
-25 for hado 4.
-50 for bakudo 26.

[Kaen Youji]

Swords huh? Shinrei was switching to his blade. That suited Kaen fine. He wasn't planning on drawing his own weapon. Not just yet. Kaen was a hand to hand fighter first, and a swordsman somewhere at the bottom. Kaen's goal had been to train himself in hand to hand combat to the degree that swordsmanship would be unnecessary. That was why Kaen had trained in Karate and Jiujitsu. Two styles intended to take on armed assailants while being unarmed yourself. One with striking blows, the other with grappling techniques. In other words, Kaen was a walking prodigy on taking down weapon users with his bare hands.

Shinrei started to charge at Kaen and began to speak the name of a Bakudo. Kyokko? Really? That spell again? Kaen had dealt with it while facing Brock, and while facing Akeru. That spell especially, was starting to get on his nerves. But Shinrei's footsteps, pounding on the ground, had stopped. Huh. So he was trying to be sneaky about it then? Kaen smirked a little. Taking it slow was well and good, but only if your opponent couldn't find ways to locate you regardless. Kaen lifted on leg off the ground. And then slammed it down with a thunderous 'BOOM.'

As a quick note on strength, one needed to have only three quarters of Kaen's physical strength to send debris hurling into the air with a heavy stomp. Kaen was stronger than that, and that just made things a little trickier for Shinrei. There wasn't a whole lot of debris around, but there was still something that was hurled up into the air. A massive cloud of dirt and dust erupted into the air, around Kaen, just as he heard Shinrei's voice from his left. "Hado 4. Byakurai." Kaen saw the glow of white lightning and stepped backwards, the bolt of lightning sizzling through the air in front of him. Kaen could attack Shinrei now, but to do so he'd be forced to leave the protective dust cloud that was now beginning to settle again.

Kaen heard the sound of Shunpo, but it was his eyes that tracked Shinrei's location now. Rather, the displacement of the dust in the air. As Shinrei launched himself in front of Kaen, he made a violent disturbance that Kaen couldn't miss. Nice try Shinrei. Nice try.[/color] Kaen thought, as he leapt back again, seeing the displacement of dust as Shinrei's sword clove through it, missing Kaen by a hair. Kaen smirked as Shinrei shimmered into existence again.

With his sword out, Kaen did acknowledge he'd have to be more careful and could not just blindly charge in. Or, maybe he thought he could, because that's exactly what Kaen did next, launching himself towards Shinrei. Yeesh. What was Kaen doing? He was baiting Shinrei. He wanted Shinrei to launch an attack at him. When attacking someone with a sword, taking the initiative without good reason was dangerous. Or at least, insurance that you wouldn't lose your arm. However, by charging Shinrei, Kaen was hoping to force the other shinigami into attacking him first, so he could counter.

Kaen was now forcing this fight to a light psychological level. He anticipated Shinrei gaining confidence, due to the fact that he had a weapon and Kaen did not. He'd expect Shinrei to also feel confident due to having found both of Kaen's styles. He'd look for the common sword defenses utilized in both Karate and Jiujitsu. These were all fine for bolstering his confidence. Because what Kaen had planned wasn't going to be so easily predicted, nor could it simply be looked up in the movelist of Karate or Jiujitsu. What Kaen was going to try was 100% him.

[Shinrei Gokenru]

Kaen had intelligently slammed his foot against the dirt-filled ground and caused debris to hover infront of him. The debris allowed him to see Shinrei in his invisible state, whence Shinrei became in close range. Kaen just avoided Shinrei's hado spell, then, with the use of the debris, narrowly escaped Shinrei's sword attack. Kaen was indeed a smart fighter indeed and Shinrei was going to need to take that into account, if he wanted to win on this day. Hmph. It seems this battle is going to get indeed troublesome with this man's tactics. I may not land a hit on him at this rate. I need to switch things up. Thought Shinrei as he smirked ever so lightly.

It seemed right on time as the change Shinrei was looking for came to him. For the first time all battle, Kaen was actually charging Shinrei. Shinrei's smirk grew into a wide grin, knowing this is what he had been hoping for. Shinrei had been on the defensive this whole time, but his greatest strength, was his defense. He was definitely more of a defensive fighter than an offensive fighter, even if this fight had yet to show it. This was mostly because, it was apparent that Kaen was also a defensive fighter. Kaen had let Shinrei come to him so that he may counter accordingly, but now, it was Shinrei's turn.

Shinrei, with his superior battle-analytic skills, had realized Kaen-kun to be a very smart fighter. If Kaen was so smart though, why would he charge in unarmed on Shinrei, who wield his zanpaktou. Not only did this leave Kaen extremely vulnerable, but Kaen also had no reason of knowing how well-versed Shinrei was with a sword. For all Kaen knew, Shinrei could be the best sword wielder in Soul Society, obviously this was not true, but still, Kaen did not know. Shinrei rellished his oppurtunity as he was now finally able to -he hoped- gain the upperhand.

Shinrei knew Kaen was not coming in without a plan though. He had been a smart fighter throughout this battle, so, why wouldn't he have a plan rushing in unarmed. All Shinrei did was wait for his chance. He crouched down and turned his right side, the arm of which held his sword, towards the rushing Kaen. Shinrei just stood there, right arm outstretched, as he waited to see what Kaen was going to do. This could be a pivotal moment in the battle, if Shinrei could actually do something of importance here. Come on. Just a bit more, come on! Shinrei thought to himself as Kaen rushed closer.

[Kaen Youji]

Hmph. Shinrei wasn't taking the bait. That was unfortunate. Kaen was definitely faster than Shinrei, but Shinrei had enough reach on him, that he would still likely be able to possibly trade blows with Kaen. And in a contest of punching vs slashing, the guy with the sword usually won. Kaen would have to improvise. As Kaen entered the range of his sword, he modified his course, using the principles of Tai Sabaki again to turn his body to avoid the blade and move past it into striking range.

That was what it appeared to be anyways.

However, Kaen did a few other things simultaneously. The first, was that as he moved to avoid the blade, his nearest hand dropped, striking the side of the of the blade, nearer the blunt back edge, swiftly to knock it aside. A simple swordfighting concept, often designed to open an opponent up to a follow up strike, also employed in several striking martial arts, Karate being one such style. And then, Kaen simply vanished. Was it Shunpo Kaen was using? If so, Shinrei would likely expect an attack from the sides or behind, or even above.

However, before Shinrei would even have a chance to consider these possibilities, he'd feel a brutal impact collide with the center of his chest as Kaen slammed his palm into it, to send Shinrei flying. Kaen was a master of most stepping techniques in Soul Society, Senka being one of them. Kaen had developed Senka to such an extent that he could apply its principles barehanded, using punches instead of swords to deliver the blow. Fortunately for Shinrei, this was just a sparring match, so Kaen wasn't about to remove his shinigami powers, and instead, his blow was just a heavy hit, and a fast one.

Because Kaen had utilized Senka at near point-blank range, Shinrei wouldn't have any time to avoid the blow. By the time his mind would have finished processing that Kaen had used a stepping technique at all, he'd already have been hit. Again though, fortunately, Kaen was treating this match well.... as a sparring match, and wasn't hitting to kill. He was, however, hitting to impede. He expect that blow to have winded Shinrei, and he'd added a second little present to it. A test of a new technique he'd been developed.

Kaen called it Gokuinken. The sealing fist. As Kaen had launched his blow, he'd channeled some of his reiatsu into his blow, intent on using it to create a blockage in Shinrei's reiatsu flow. The blockage was purely temporary, and would only shut down a single technique, but one technique might be all the difference it would take. Shinrei likely wouldn't feel the blockage until he actually tried to use his reiatsu to do something.

Likely having knocked Shinrei back, and possibly even knocked the other shinigami down, Kaen lifted his sword from his back, the blade still sheathed and slung it out to the side, his hand right above the handle. Iaido. Kaen was far from a master of the style, but he wasn't too bad at it. The idea of drawing one's sword and attacking in a single motion, using the friction of the sheath to accelerate the slash. Kaen then moved towards Shinrei fairly rapidly. Shinrei would have precious little recovery time to deal with Kaen's incoming iaido strike.

Reiatsu remaining: 1390 (-100 for Senka, -10 for Gokuinken)

[Shinrei Gokenru]

It seemed Kaen would just continue rushing on head first as he clearly tried to bait Shinrei, but Shinrei wouldn't take it. He readied himself even more now, lowering his stance even more than what it was before. Shinrei smirked as Kaen maneuvered to avoid his blade. Shinrei's keen eyes would not fail him though as Kaen went to swiftly knock Shinrei's blade to the side which was far out in his outstretched hand, to clearly open Shinrei up, but Shinrei pulled the blade closer to himself. The flat side of the blade was basically on Shinrei's chest, held diagonally in Shinrei's right hand so that the tip reached just above Shinrei's left shoulder. Suddenly, Kaen vanished...

Shinrei had been able to not let himself get revealed by keeping his blade closer to his body, which was very fortunate, considering Kaen's next attack. Two swift and powerful blows to the flat side of Shinrei's blade could be felt upon Kaen's sudden disappearance. The blows were so powerful, especially being heightened in power by the reiatsu-infused fist of Kaen's, Shinrei was forced to slide back at least 10 feet, without the control of his body. Indeed, if Shinrei had gotten hit by that, the match would have been close to over.

Still onslaughting him with attacks though, Kaen wasn't done. Upon Shinrei finishing his sliding back, he would see Kaen in front of him, drawing his sword and attacking using a familiar laido-type technique in which the user attacks upon drawing his blade. Shinrei, whose arm was practically still vibrating from Kaen's strong attack, already had his sword close to his body and only needed to meet Kaen's sword upon the 3rd seat attacking. Sparks were created and a strong sound of metal upon metal could be heard. Shinrei pushed back while the shinigami's swords were locked, breaking the lock and flipping backwards to gain about 10 meters of separation from Kaen. Shinrei needed a breather.

"Quite the impressive onslaught, Kaen-kun... Is that all though?" Shinrei stated cockily and with a wide grin. He looked at his sword with new determination, almost a scary determination with the smile on his face making him nearly look insane. Shinrei looked at his sword for a moment longer and sheathed it suddenly. Was he giving up? No. It was anything but giving up for Shinrei as he was now clearly fired up. He randomly threw his now sheathed blade into the air. As it span several times on its way up, Shinrei voiced his command: "Womotarashimasu! (Bring Down), Utsukushii!!!! (Beautiful IronMaiden)" Whence the sword landed impressively back upright, hilt first, into Shinrei's right hand, it did not at all look like it did before. It was now an unnecesarily large buster sword, having a blade-width of one whole foot and the actual blade-length being 3 feet long. This was definitely bigger than the swords Kaen might have seen in the past...

"Impressive, isn't it? I bet you're dying to know what this baby can do, huh, Kaen-kun?..." Shinrei was playing off as if he was about to overtake Kaen, but for now, it was in Shinrei's best interest to not even attack. Kaen would have no way of knowing this but, upon initial release of Shinrei's blade, Shinrei is quickly deterred by his sword's passive effect. His speed right now, is temporarily decreased by 30% for ten minutes(2 posts), but his initial strength has increased by 30%. Kaen would not know this, but this was due to Utusukushii's "Spirit Weight", which was placed on Shinrei's sould upon releasing his blade. If Shinrei were to attack, Kaen would probably notice the difference immediately and take advantage, thus, Shinrei would be smart and lay low. Maybe he'd make small talk for ten minutes because once the ten minutes were up, Kaen would encounter and onslaught the likes he has never seen. Shinrei need only survive till then. "So whaddya say? You'll release now, only to be fair, right Kaen-kun?" Shinrei stated with fake interest, not really wanting to even up this battle at all but instead take his oppurtunity when the time came.

Shinrei wield his giant blade, which would probably be heavy to most, as if it was no lighter than a feather. He turned it and it impaled into the grass with a thud. He then placed his right elbow on the end of his sword's long hilt, resting on it lacksidasically. "Am I leaving myself too open? Kaen-kun?" At this point Kaen must have been sick of Shinrei saying his name but it was clear Shinrei was baiting him. Hopefully this time, Kaen would not fall for it and would not attack Shinrei. Reverse psychology was clearly in effect here. Shinrei stared on at Kaen, waiting for him to make his move.

Current Reiatsu: 2480/2880
-200 Shikai Release

Spirit Weight Posts: 0/2
Shikai Posts: 0/10

New stats:

Strength - [150] Points--> [195]

Speed - [250] Points--> [175]

Spiritual Pressure - [230]-->[288] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [250]-->[313] Points

Light Aura - [80] Points

Dark Aura - [20] Points

Instinct - [150]-->[124] Points

Senses [70]-->[49] Points

Energy sensory - [0] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points

[Kaen Youji]

So, his opponent had released had he? That was gonna make this a bit more interesting. Kaen casually flipped his zanpakuto around in his hand. His Senka strike had failed. Unfortunate, but it was how it worked. The force of his blows, even blocked, would have jarred his opponent's arms. His attacks and counters would probably be a little stiff for the next minute or two. Kaen would have to take advantage of that. He wasn't going to release quite yet. Not QUITE yet.

Shinrei was packing a fairly large blade. And massive blades, while they tended to do lots of damage, had a number of weaknesses. The most notable was that they were slow. The second was that they were predictable. And the third, and most prominent was in their slow recovery time. Kaen, who used a relatively short blade, was used to exploiting these weaknesses often, as almost all of his potential opponents had a sword that out-ranged his own. Shinrei's giant beast of a sword just made it much easier.

"Leaving yourself too open? I was about to ask if you were compensating for something." Kaen joked, flipping his zanpakuto into an orthodox grip, not unlike the one utilized in Chambara. Kaen had quite taken to the swordstyle, as many of the blocks in the form were very similar to Karate's techniques, allowing him to excel with this sword form through the overlap in style. "Besides, my zanpakuto's not much for a sparring match. It'd be too messy." He taunted, with a smirk, trying to bait Shinrei into dropping his guard.

And then he attacked. Kaen vanished into thin air, using Shunpo to accelerate his attack, reappearing out of his step technique just behind Shinrei, on the side that his zanpakuto was on, with a powerful, airborne spinning back kick aimed at Shinrei's kidney. Shinrei wasn't going to be fast enough to get away with his Zanpakuto here. He'd not only driven the blade into the ground, but was actually resting his elbow on the blade. And Kaen was moving VERY fast right now, compared to Shinrei. More than double Shinrei's speed. Not knowing of Shinrei's zanpakuto's capabilities, and unwilling, for the moment, to release his own Zanpakuto, Kaen had compensated by unleashing his full speed.

At present, Shinrei had two options. Release his hold on his Zanpakuto and move away to minimize the damage the kick would cause, or to try and grab hold of his Zanpakuto again, in which case the kick would almost inevitably connect with Shinrei, and cause immense damage. The kidneys were a rather sensitive body part, and getting hit there by a kick delivered by someone like Kaen was going to cause immense pain.

Regardless of the choice Shinrei made, Kaen was following up his kick with two more strikes, the first being a horizontal cut aimed at chest height with his zanpakuto, immediately following his kick, strengthened and accelerated by the centifrugal force of Kaen whirling back to face Shinrei after his kick. This would likely be delivered and land and/or miss, before Kaen's feet touched the ground. If Shinrei had opted to try and draw his Zanpakuto, this blow would be near impossible to defend against, due to how close Kaen had ensured himself to be. Kaen was no more than three feet from Shinrei, and it was here that the final, and greatest flaw of large weapons came into play.

While a large weapon could keep a foe at bay, once someone got inside the range of one, a shorter blade proved a much better weapon, as it would become awkward to maneuver the giant blade, making both attacking and defending much harder. Using this to his advantage, Kaen attempted to dive in towards Shinrei, closing in to the point that, if Shinrei had remained by his zanpakuto, there would be only a foot between them, and lashed out with a whipping elbow strike to the back of the neck (or throat, if Shinrei had managed to turn around in time).

Ten minutes? Shinrei would be lucky if Kaen gave him five.

Reiatsu: 1340 (-50 for Shunpo)