Rematch! Flame vs. Fists, Battle of the Ages!

[Deleted]

OOC: This is a rematch between Kaen Youji, Third Seat of Squad 7, and Kubi Tsuru, newly-appointed Vice Captain of Squad 2. Kubi had used his capabilities in stealth to place a letter detailing the rematch on top of Sokyoku Hill. No special conditions. Begin!

Kubi was waiting for Kaen, his muscular frame leaning against the frame of the Sokyoku. He had his eyes closed, his hands deep in the pockets of his Hakama, his hair falling over his right eye lazily. For all intents and purposes, it looked as if he was asleep. However, that was not the case.

Though only the most astute of observers would notice it, Kubi's body was slightly too tense to be asleep; the fact of the matter was, he had his senses peeled for the signs of an approach, that would signal his opponent arriving. Strictly speaking, they weren't supposed to be here; however, as high-ranking members of the Gotei 13, some rules were lenient. Still, it would be best to not be caught.

Suddenly, Kubi's eyes snapped open as he heard footsteps coming up the path. With precise, incredibly quick movements, he disappeared ... but not quite. He had slipped into the shadow of the Sokyoku, his skill in stealth blending him in even when in broad daylight. Only sensors could detect him now. Kubi's dark brown eyes - so dark, they were almost black - watched as Kaen approached.

SPOILER: Click to show

Strength - 100 (50)

Speed - 350 (700)

Spiritual Pressure - 300 (120) {1,200 Reaitsu}

Reiatsu Strength - 200 (300)

Light Aura - [60] Points [20 in Shikai] [0 in Bankai]

Dark Aura - [40] Points [80 in Shikai. 100 in Bankai.]

Instinct - 50 (75)

Senses - 100 (75)

Energy sensory - 0

Healing Expertise - 0

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Street Fighting IIII

Special Skill: Stealth III

Special Skill: Hoho II

Martial Art: Shaolin Kung Fu I

Special Skill: Hakuda I

Martial Art: Karate I

Battle Learning I

Misc Abilities: Other: Condensed Aura I

[Kaen Youji]

Oh right. That Kubi guy. Kaen remembered him from the brief match in the Academy. He had seemed like a bit of a bully, but the third seat wouldn't deny that he had good work ethic. Furthermore he'd shown some promise in hand to hand, albeit a very rough and undefined form of combat. Kaen had heard talk that he'd made his way to the rank of Vice Captain. Pretty fast scaling through the ranks indeed. Well. It was time to test the measure of Squad 2's Vice Captain. Kaen had squared off against the former Captain of Squad 2, Alkaid once. He hadn't been impressed. At all.

But Squad 2 had a new captain now, and a new lease on life as far as Kaen was concerned. He'd test Kubi's mettle as a Vice Captain now. ...Assuming he got to the battlefield sometime soon. Kaen's senses were only that of a trained human and he hadn't noticed Kubi yet. But he didn't sit or screw around like he used to. He had an image to uphold now. This was a formal match between the third seat of squad seven and the Vice Captain of squad 2. In other words, Kaen now had a requirement to uphold the reputation of Soul Society's strongest squad.


Hachiryuu remained sheathed on his back. Kaen hadn't drawn the blade during his last round with Kubi, and it was very likely Kubi didn't yet realize, that despite the length of the sheath, which suggested a katana-sized sword, Kaen actually used a Kodachi. He used the length of his sheath to deceive opponents. Kaen had studied the art of Iaido for a brief time, and understood the concept of timing. If he utilized a battojutsu technique against a foe, the length of the sword he drew would disrupt an opponent's timing, giving Kaen the upper hand, in most situations, and possibly a free strike.

For now though, the sword rested harmlessly within its sheath as Kaen waited for his opponent to arrive, unaware that Kubi was already there. "....Huh. He didn't seem the type to be late." Kaen remarked after several minutes. "I misjudged him." Then again, Kubi was a member of squad 2. Would he meet Kaen with an ambush? It seemed uncharacteristic for a match, but then, squad 2 did fight dirty. Kaen would have to see, it appeared.

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

[Martial Art- Karate] {4}

[Pain Tolerance] {3}

[Martial Art-Jiujitsu] {3}

[Analyzing] {1}

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

[Deleted]

Kubi suppressed a smile at his opponent's confusion. It seems he lacked the skills necessary to sense him. Which was to be expected, as it were. Kubi's dark eyes glinted with a hint of mischief; he could have some serious fun. Silently, Kubi rose from his hidden position behind Kaen and approached him silently from behind. When he was mere feet away, he spoke.

"You are quite right. I am not the kind of man to be late." His voice was refined, cultured, but rough and course from disuse. He had his hands deep into his pockets as he surveyed Kaen, a hint of a smirk on his lips. "I hope you remember me. It is because of you I gained the power I have." He nodded his head slightly in his direction.

"But I doubt you came to exchange pleasantries. I have changed, Kaen Youji, San-seki of Squad 7. Let's hope you see that as well."[/b] Kubi made no visible change, but instead slowly started to walk in a circle. Kaen would notice one very important factor: his zanpakutou, slung horizontally over his crotch, was taped shut, not able to be used. It was surrounded by Kunai, hung from specialized sheaths on his belt.

[Kaen Youji]

"YAH!" As Kubi spoke from behind Kaen, the third seat whirled around with a kick that would sweep through the air in front of the Vice Captain. Had he been about a foot or two closer, he may well have been kicked off the Soukyoku platform entirely. Hell. That had probably happened to some unfortunate 7th division members. "Don't sneak up on people like that. It's impolite!"

Kubi continued on explaining that he'd changed, and Kaen smirked. "Let's hope that power isn't the only thing that's changed then." He replied. Kaen noted the zanpakuto but didn't pay too much attention to it. Intent on getting the match started, and witnessing his opponent's fighting capabilities, Kaen shifted a back a leg into a fighting position. But it wasn't a standard one. Most hand to hand fighting stances involved keeping your hands up, to protect one's face. Kaen's hands were hung low instead. Why was that? Was he offering Kubi the first hit or something? Well. The Vice Captain would soon find out.

"Since you're the challenger, I suppose it's only best for you to take the first crack at me." Kaen remarked with a smirk. "Come at me whenever you're ready." He informed Kubi, seemingly prepared for battle.

[Deleted]

"Yah!" The San-seki seemed surprised by his sudden appearance. A smirk grew on Kubi's face as Kaen spun, his foot swinging through the air barely a foot from his face. A slight eyebrow raised. He was faster than expected, one of the fastest opponent's Kubi faced to date. "Don't sneak up on people like that. It's impolite!" The eyebrow raised further. "In my line of work, Kaen Youji, I cannot afford politeness." His voice was rough and gravelly, yet powerful and formal.

A smirk grew on Kaen's face to rival Kubi's own. The eyebrow rose even higher. "Let's hope that power isn't the only thing that's changed then." Kubi's smirk grew wider as Kaen adopted a stance, reminiscent of both a Karate and a Tae Kwan Do stance. That was ... unusual. Kubi knew from experience and reputation that Kaen knew what he doing, and this proves it. Now, to put it to the test.

Kubi's dark brown eyes stared at Kaen, devoid of emotion and warmth. They weren't cold, but rather solid. They were the eyes of a man who would do anything to finish his goal. His whole body was still, the only motion the slight inhale and exhale of breath. His mouth was twisted into a smirk. Then, suddenly ... he disappeared, a Shunpo accelerating him at speeds almost reaching Mach 2. A shock wave exploded out of his position, sending a large cloud of dirt high in the air from the force. A wind would blast into Kaen, sending dirt flying at him.

Kubi reappeared behind Kaen, a foot behind his back. He had turned mid-shunpo, so that he was facing him. Using his full speed, he swung his foot across the ground, gouging a trail in it leading to his foot. He arced it up, aiming for the back of his knees. The sheer speed at which he was kicking would be enough to knock him off his feet, the force behind it holding a decent amount of wind sheer.

However, Kubi was also doing something else: while he was sweeping at his legs from the right, his left arm was coming at his head from the left. If it hit him, it would carry enough force behind it to knocked him sideways, right into Kubi's legs. All this happened at the fastest possible speeds, Kubi moving at speeds almost double that of a Cheetah.

[Kaen Youji]

Shunpo already? He was squad two, so his target was obvious. Barely even glancing behind him as he did so, Kaen's back leg shot up, aimed directly at Kubi's abdominals, the rest of his body leaning forwards. Kubi was very fast, almost double Kaen's speed. But that didn't mean that Kaen wasn't fast enough to react to him, nor did it mean he couldn't keep up with him. He had faced off with Emerich who was even faster than Kubi was, he could do the same here. Furthermore, a roundhouse kick would be slower than Kaen's back kick, and the sweeping across the ground would slow it further. The result was that Kaen's abandonment of defense would see both of their attacks connect. Kubi could hardly dodge mid-kick, but neither could Kaen.

At the same instant that Kaen's kick would connect with Kubi's abdominals, Kubi's kick would sweep Kaen's own leg out from under him, knocking Kaen to the ground and sending Kubi flying. Kaen spun as he fell, however and slammed his hand against the ground, negating the fall itself. Utsusemi, the breakfall utilized in every single grappling style ever developed, and Jiujitsu was no exception. And Kaen had been a little bit creative with this one. He actually used the force of his breakfall, coupled with his superhuman strength to knock him back up off the ground onto his feet!

Hopefully Kubi would be alright though, as the power in Kaen's back kick would have been far greater. Kubi's acceleration would have increased his damage somewhat, but not to the degree of Kaen's strength, which was a whole eight times greater than Kubi's. No amount of acceleration would compensate for that level of difference, so it was likely that Kubi would be worse for wear than Kaen. The dirt that had been kicked up hit Kaen, but did not seem to affect him. It was just dirt afterall.

Kaen smirked. "You got faster, that's for sure. But don't tell me that's it." He commented, assuming his fighting stance again. "In fact, this might be a perfect time to test out a move I've been working on." He added before dashing towards Kubi with a punch. If Kubi had been knocked down by the kick, obviously the punch would go downwards, but if he'd managed to get back up, as Kaen had then it would be aimed at his solarplexis.

[Deleted]

Kubi's attack had worked; however, not to the full extent that he had wanted. Due to his flair for the dramatics, his kick wasn't as fast as it should have been. Kaen had managed to react in time, throwing a kick out; this, of course, spelled trouble for Kubi. Kubi would never win in a straight out muscle match; Kaen had the strength equal to that of a superhuman. So damage was guaranteed here. However, there were various ways to minimize the damage.

When the kick connected with Kubi's chest, his muscles relaxed, allowing the blow to disperse across his chest muscles more. Additionally, he stopped gripping with his feet, allowing the kick to send him flying. Which it did; quite far, actually, about 25 feet. Kubi knew immediately that he had fractured ribs; however, the damage could have been far greater, even life-threatening. This he was glad of.

As Kubi neared his descent, he caught his breath and flipped in midair, cutting his momentum and allowing him to land on his feet. With a pained gasp, he pressed a hand against his chest. "This will make fighting much more difficult ..." he thought with a frown. "Bwahahah! You idiot! Of course he was going to attack!" With a roll of his eyes, he ignored his arrogant zanpakutou spirit.

Kubi straightened up, ignoring the pain. "That is, of course, not it. I was, as they say, 'testing the waters.'" he said with a small smirk, watching Kaen approach. Kubi deftly grabbed two Kunai from their locations on his belt, waiting until Kaen approached. Then ... he flipped. Using his powerful leg muscles, he flipped himself sideways over Kaen. Kaen would feel a sharp sting in his shoulder as the Kunai in his right hand bit into it; it would be a shallow wound, but one nonetheless.

As Kubi skid to a stop, he braced his back leg. Using the momentum from his flip, he launched a wicked punch at Kaen, aimed at his solar plexus. He followed with three strikes; one on each arm and one in his stomach. If they hit, Kaen would be in quite a bit of pain. Then, Kubi backed off, using his massive speed to put some distance. Kubi worked much better as a counter-acter than an initiator. His breath was quickening as the pain took a toll on his stamina. A line of sweat beaded his forehead.

OOC: Combat Posts: 2/8
I know, long delay. I'm sorry. Sorry about the crappy post as well.

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen was moving before Kubi had even touched the ground, which gave Kubi less reaction time then he might have thought. Still, Kaen wasn't using Shunpo, so there would definitely be time for Kubi to touch down on the ground before Kaen reached him. The sanseki's punch was evaded by a sideways flip, and Kubi's counterattack slashed a shallow wound in his shoulder. Nothing that would dissuade Kaen to any particular degree. The moment Kubi, landed he launched his combination of punches. Kaen's arms were already up in a karate guard to defend himself.

There was obvious evidence of martial training in Kubi's punches, and he was fast, but in terms of skill, there was a massive gulf between them. Kaen's mastery of Karate and Jiujitsu far surpassed Kubi's. It was on a level that most people in the entirety of Soul Society, Earth, Hueco Mundo and Hell couldn't touch. Kubi with his limited training couldn't expect to either. Despite the difference in speed, Kaen deflected Kubi's first two punches with an inside chest block, deflecting the blow aimed at his solarplexis and at his left arm. As Kubi's third punch came in at Kaen's right arm, however, Kaen's arm lowered, and caught Kubi's fist dead on, trapping it.


As Kubi launched his final punch, Kaen's left arm swept across in a second inside chest block, deflecting it. Kaen used the movement from his block to transfer his left hand over to Kubi's trapped hand, and grabbed onto his fist, in a grip of iron. Kaen hardly expected Kubi to do nothing, so hi next movement was quick. Kaen turned Kubi's fist rapidly upwards and twisted it in the direction of his thumb. Kaen was applying a wristlock, countering Kubi's punch by trying to break his wrist! This same technique could also double as a throw, as it would only break Kubi's wrist if he tried to fight it. If Kubi went along with the movement of his thumb, he would save his wrist from being broken, and get away with nothing more than a minor sprain, but be slammed to the ground instead.

Among the styles Kubi had practiced, none were explicitly grappling styles, so whether or not he'd recognize the danger was unknown. Kaen estimated he probably had a 50/50 chance of guessing the correct way to flow with this technique, but whether throw or successful wristlock, Kaen would benefit either way. His eyes were fired up. Whether for better or worse, Kubi had made the mistake of trying to match Kaen in martial skill. Nobody had possessed the guts to do something like that in awhile, not since Kaen had fought Alkaid, and it was exciting Kaen to get to dust off his skills in a direct hand to hand matchup. Testing the waters huh? Well, you'll find these waters are pretty deep, and pretty violent! Kaen thought with a small grin on his face.

[Deleted]

Kaen underestimated Kubi; while even Kubi, arrogant that he is, will admit that Kaen has skills, and prodigious ones at that, when it comes to straight up street fighting, none can best Kubi. He has spent over 1,000 years perfecting his art. His style is one of the most versatile and adaptable out of all of the Soul Reapers; Street Fighting itself is a minute-by-minute fighting style.

As Kubi threw his first punch, Kaen's trapped that hand; however, Kubi was not an idiot, nor was he inexperienced. Do to his Special Mastery in Street Fighting, and the rigid discipline gained from years of fighting and training, he was able to not punch. Instead, he turned his attention to the hand trapping him. He didn't recognize the stance; yet Kubi's knowledge was enough to recognize that his arm was in danger of being broken.

With his free hand, he placed a single finger, crackling with the tell-tale signs of Hado #4: Byakurai, on the wrist of the offending hand. His reaistu strength was significantly higher; by 100 points, in fact. Due to this, if he didn't move his hand, a large hole would be blasted in his wrist, tearing the artery in his wrist and just about sealing the fight for Kubi there. However, he purposely delayed the Hado - due to his mastery of it - so that he would have a chance to move his hand. Regardless of whether or not his hand would be moved, the Byakurai was fired, blasting through any obstacles in it's path.

Once Kaen's hand was moved - should he deign to move it - Kubi would skip backwards, distancing himself from him. A grimace crossed his face. "I do not have much time, Kaen Youji. Let's end this soon, shall we?" With no warning, using his skill in Hoho, he disappeared, leaving nothing behind but a whirling dervish to indicate his use of Shunpo. He appeared in front of Kaen once again, his fist aiming for his face; at the same time, his left knee was coming up, aiming for his stomach.

Remaining Reaitsu: 1,125/1200
Remaining Combat Posts 3/8

[Kaen Youji]

Tch. Kubi was answering with kido. Kaen really didn't like kido at all. He did a quick number run in his head. By the look of the crackling reiatsu, Kubi had already prepared the technique-- instantaneous, wordless kido. It would take a fraction of a second for Kubi to fire the Byakurai. It would take about that long for Kaen to break Kubi's wrist. Trading a wrist for a wrist? However, both of Kaen's hands were on Kubi's, meaning that this would prove very likely to damage both of Kaen's hands. The option was obvious, but Kaen still wasn't about to forgo his advantage.

The third seat directed reiatsu to his fists and released Kubi's wrist, moving his hands away. The Byakurai crackled through the space that Kaen's own wrists had been only moments earlier, but due to releasing Kubi's hand, they were spared any damage. Then Kubi took the response Kaen had anticipated. Leaping away from him. It was a natural response. Kubi had found himself outmatched in a hand to hand fight, so he was probably going to resort to hit-and-run tactics, to take advantage of his high speed. Kaen wasn't about to let the Vice Captain off so easily, however.

In a sudden flurry of movement, Kaen disappeared, launching a barehanded variant of the stepping technique Senka. Briefly accelerating his speed to 4,000-- well beyond Kubi's, Kaen delivered two simultaneous blows to Kubi's Hakutsui and Saketsu-- the shinigami's equivalent of the chain of fate. When executed in a real fight, this could remove a shinigami's powers permanently. This bare handed variant would not be quite so destructive, but was instrumental in delivering Kaen's newest fighting style, the Sealing Fist. With both blows, he imparted some of his own reiatsu, undetectable to all but the best of reiatsu sensors, to block the flow of Kubi's reiatsu throughout his body. Naturally Kubi wouldn't notice these blocks at all. At least not right now.

He'd also find defense incredibly difficult, for Kaen had launched his assault while Kubi was in mid-air from leaping away from Kaen. Without airground, evasion by stepping technique was impossible, and despite his own impressive speed capabilities, Kubi wasn't anywhere near on par with Kaen in mid-Senka. Fortunately for Kubi this likely WOULDN'T be a fight ender, though it would likely restrict him, as well as wind him from the two successive blows.

But Kaen wasn't done. Not by a long shot. He rode his Senka attack, allowing him to keep up with Kubi. The two strikes would likely cause Kubi to slip-up on his landing and render him off-balance, even for just a single instance. And that instance was something Kaen wasn't about to miss. Kaen stuck to Kubi as his adversary landed, throwing a swift hook punch towards Kubi's jaw, in an attempt to stun the 2nd squad's Vice Captain. Drawing Kubi's focus up towards his face.

In a final concluding blow to his combo, Kaen pulled back slightly. Just enough to give himself space for his next blow-- a powerful low roundhouse kick to Kubi's leg. Having drawn Kubi's focus upwards with his hook punch, Kaen aimed to catch Kubi off guard with an immediate shift to a low-striking move, and an attempt to weaken Kubi's mobility. Senka into a hook punch and concluding with a leg kick. A swift and efficient combo, that if pulled off flawlessly, would leave Kubi dazed, his leg screaming in pain, and the flow of reiatsu through his body blocked. So. What's your next move then?[/color] Kaen pondered with a smirk. Needless to say, Kaen's follow-up attacks would have heavily impeded Kubi's attempted assault, making it very difficult to perform. There was nothing preventing him from trying it now, of course, but having just been forced to withstand Kaen brutal series of attacks, would he still want to?

Reiatsu remaining: 1380 (-100 for Senka, -20 for two Sealing Fist strikes)

[Deleted]

"Dammit ..." So thought Kubi as the fists struck him the chest, forcing the air out of his lungs. His eyes widened, and he fell to the ground, his jump interuppted mid-jump. He collapsed to all fours. "God ... dammit." He took a deep breath; then, some feeling, some instinct, screamed at him to move. With a shunpo, Kubi attempted to disappear; yet he could move. His eyes wide, he rolled to the side narrowly avoiding Kaen's attack. His eyes were narrowed as he focused on the pain, and then let it go.

He struggled up, his fists coming up. "You ... are impressive, Kaen Youji." He took one step forward ... and his Soul Phone. With a furrowed brow, he took it out of his pocket and flipped the matte black open. A sigh exploded from his lips. "I am afraid I must end the fight prematurely ... His eyes flicked up to Kaen. "But heed these words, Kaen Youji ... I will defeat you one of these days." With a quick movement, he slid down the side of Sokyoku hill and was gone.

Fight Ended.

[Zou ۞]

+110 TP to Kubi.

+180 TP to Kaen, +100 for winning. So +280 TP total to Kaen.