The Final Rung (Kidou Corps Commander Exam)

[Zou ۞]

The tendrils were blown away by the force of Kyomei's move. This may be cause for release, but suddenly they dissipated into thin air, like sand being blown away. The Zoushuwwai looked up at Kyomei, and held up its left hand as it grinned. The hand was beginning to turn a putrid, ugly black. A sinister aura had come upon the air. Kyomei would feel a tugging force on his heart, then. It was a powerful force, yanking him, urging him. Something made his body feel heavier. Something made him want to lean toward the Zoushuwwai. In spite of all of his dread and the horrible feeling of the Zoushuwwai, something was compelling Kyomei to go down and meet it. The Zoushuwwai was luring him to its grasp. Of course, resisting was no problem.

It was not a powerful enough force to actually make him go down. No, that was not its purpose. It was just strong enough to induce some kind of hesitance. Just that slight hesitation was all that it took, for all of a sudden the tendrils were out again. Longer than ever, they shot out, heading at great speed toward Kyomei. Once again, they were upon him. There were more this time. They were larger and wider than before as well. They were sharp, and as they approached him they threatened to impale him. They were fast. Once again, he needed to evade them. However, there was a new trick with them this time as well. They were wider for a reason beyond a more painful stab. Mouths began to erupt into existence, opening up wide on the tendrils.

The demented, ragged breathing of the Zoushuwwai could be heard. The inhale. And suddenly, Kyomei would begin to feel his memories drained away. Not all of his memories. His good memories. Where they had existed, there was a blackness in his mind. If he moved farther away, they would return, but for the moment his good memories were vanishing away. They were being taken from him, and in their place was blankness. And, in that case, his mind was filled only with his worst memories. Only with his absolute most horrible encounters, his views of death, everything of the sort. In that moment, the Zoushuwwai hoped to put him at such hesitance that it would be able to impale him with its tendrils. What would he do?

Posts survived: 5

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

The Kuchiki sharpened his reiatsu as the Zoushuwwai stretched out an arm that turned blacker than it already had been. Black not just of color, but of physical being. There was a gravitational pull not of physical force but of desire that was emerging from the creature, trying to get the Shinigami to enter its gaping mouths and be devoured. It wasn't a terribly awful plan... His suffering would be over, the simulation would end, and he'd just go back to being an underestimated fourth seat... Wait! What was he even thinking? The Zoushuwwai had been corrupting his thoughts, and for a moment he had stopped moving, giving the Hell Beast an opening. More tendrils came at him, even faster this time.

They started to draw out his energy, sapping him of all happy memories, getting not even a fleeting snippet of them as they were snuffed out of his brain. Again, like in the Mountain of the Ogatago, Kyomei was alone. He couldn't be saved, he couldn't be helped. He was not only alone in the physical sense that there was no one near him, but the emotional sense that he knew no friends, no calming words, no mother's cradling arms. He forgot what those words even meant. There was just himself, and the incoming attack that was sure to cause dread beyond belief if it struck him. The rope-like Bakudo Horin that had coiled around his waist moved slightly to get to his feet to execute a Shunpo, but it wasn't enough. There was little way that even a Shunpo could avoid the tendrils moving at the speed that they were.

Hopefully the Shinigami would be hit in a non-vital location. There was more to the test anyways and even getting struck in an organ free area would be painful and slightly debilitating. The Soul Reaper had the fortitude of a Shinigami, obviously, so he would be able to put up with a bit more damage than a mortal, but he wasn't immortal. He could be hurt, he could be cut, and he could die. Wherever the tendril did strike, Kyomei would probably feel a wave of dread similar but in greater intensity to the feeling caused by the brush of the destroyed cloak. There was no hope, no reason to try. But there was pain, and there was anger. And there was a fire burning inside the Kuchiki that would never go out until his heart was cut in two. Using any functioning body part, Kyomei would touch the Zoushuwwai tendril and force his way through the effects.

The proceeding Kidou was fast, focused, and hopefully effective. If the tendril had to be material to strike Kyomei, as the previous ones had been when they were blown into dust, then maybe there was a part of the Zoushuwwai that was material at this point too. If not, well at least the tendrils inside the Shinigami would be sliced and burnt. The fused Kidou looked like a Shakkaho, but much smaller. It had a strong piercing power and burnt everything it touched due to the firey aspect of the Shakkaho. The base was Maboroshi Dangan, and though the Spawn of Sheol obviously had the Energy Sensory ability to know it was there, the primary offensive abilities were much more relevant at this current moment. The fiery Shakkaho shell would burn away until just the Maboroshi Dangan base was left, right next to the main body of the Hell creature, where it would detonate in an eight yard radius burst of incredibly sharp shards that possessed a massive amount of reiatsu strength, 1470. Hopefully this was enough to free the Kuchiki temporarily.

Remaining Reiatsu: 9000/9300 (-150 Maboroshi Dangan, -100 Shakkaho)

[Zou ۞]

The instant that the tendril stuck into Kyomei, it was into his leg. His left leg. Directly into the upper part of the thigh. It embedded itself into there, and instantly the mouths opened up. He would find that he was not overcoming with despair as he had expected, but with something far worse. He was suddenly overcome with exhaustion. It was not an exhaustion of the physical body, though his stamina was certainly highly taxed as well. It was an exhaustion of the mind. An exhaustion of the soul. Suddenly, the whole world no longer seemed worth it. It was beyond despair. It was acceptance of futility. It was in that moment when his mind would question all things and realize death was the better alternative that he would begin to feel the tug. It was inside of his heart.

Something was tugging. Something was stretching through his body, and it scorched hot like fire. No pain was comparable to the feeling of the soul being on fire. Kyomei would find all of a sudden his mouth forced open. Some sort of blue gaseous fluid had begun to leak out. Before much could get out, however, the tendril that had entered his leg (and left a rather painful hole in it) dissolved away instantly because of his Kido combination. The tendril turned to ash, and he was able to escape the others through movement. However there was blood, and there was pain to the movement. His leg had taken that injury and he would have to live with it. The feelings of negativity had left him, as he left more range of the Zoushuwwai, as did the fiery pain.

The Zoushuwwai, though enveloped by the same power and explosion that had taken its tendril, remained unharmed when the debris cleared. It stood there perfectly unscathed, focusing on Kyomei, turned towards him. The blue gas had floated back into his mouth after the tendril was destroyed. Something horrible had been about to happen to him. He had been on the verge of something so horrifying as to potentially be very much unspeakable. Regardless, he had managed to survive it. He did not have much longer to survive, hopefully enough. That had been probably the most difficult of the hurtles. He was certainly ready to advance. But Kenban's plan, of course, had been seen through. Taxing Kyomei was the goal, and it succeeded.

The Zoushuwwai this time did nothing. Nothing at all. It stood there. It stood watching him. There was no movement whatsoever. So then what was happening? This remained uncertain. But Kenban's voice spoke. "Alright, ya've done well enough! Yer' gonna get ta' finish this off early. I'd like to see ya fighting now. Tell me something first, though, before I let ya' do the last part of this exam. What's been the toughest part of yer' journey? What's challenged you the most going from square one to getting here?"

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Despair was the least of Kyomei's worries. As the tendril pierced his leg, the mouths started to draw upon his soul, sucking out his will to live. All at once, suicide seemed like the best option against the Demon who started to devour his very sense of self. The Zoushuwwai had taken away his companions and camaraderie by making him feel alone. It had taken away his sanity by making him feel afraid, discouraged, and more with the big bloody moon and the sweep of his cloak. It had even taken away his hope for victory as it sent an overwhelming attack of great magnitude and at impossible speeds. And now it had taken away his will to live. Not only that, but a burning sensation ran through his body similar to the fires of Hell that had been forced upon the Kuhciki in the Ogatago base. The Shinigami gritted his teeth through the pain, and might be able to withstand it if he wasn't also feeling suicidal.

He tried to let out a scream of pure pain and agony, but instead a blue fluid just seeped out of his mouth, appearing like a colored dry ice cloud. It was then that Kyomei forced the burning explosive down the length of the tendril, causing it to be destroyed completely. The desire to commit suicide regressed, the pain retreated, and the blue stuff went back into the Soul Reaper's mouth. The monster from Hell seemed unfazed by the attack, but it also didn't do anything, just waited there as if it was deactivated somehow. Kyomei's hands immediately went to his leg, gripping the wounded and bleeding member. Ack! There's just... nothing I can... do about this... pain. I can't even... begin to know where to start..." As Kyomei just grabbed at his leg, he heard Kenban speaking into the simulation again.

"Alright, ya've done well enough! Yer' gonna get ta' finish this off early. I'd like to see ya fighting now. Tell me something first, though, before I let ya' do the last part of this exam. What's been the toughest part of yer' journey? What's challenged you the most going from square one to getting here?" It was a serious question, needing a serious answer, so Kyomei paused for a moment to rest and reflect on his journey, from Rukongai to now. There was one central theme that stood out to him the most, and that formed the basis for his answer. "Being alone. When I first arrived to the Rukongai, not knowing anything about myself save a name, I was alone. I walk without a Zanpakutou Spirit to guide me, making me alone. Both here and in the Ogatago base, the powers of Sheol have made me feel more alone than seemingly possible. I am a Shinigami, a member of an army and of a team. To be alone and without an ally is the hardest challenge to ever face." The Kuchiki spoke his mind, with as much conviction as he could. To be alone truly was the most difficult challenge that he had to face both in his life and in this Exam.

[Zou ۞]

"I'll admit, that's a pretty original answer ya gave me," Kenban said, materializing in front of Kyomei, though ten meters away. He was standing, and observing the potential new Captain of the Kido Corps. He cracked his neck and the rest of his joints. It looked as if he might just be Kyomei's next opponent for the last part of this test. This could potentially be terrifying. After all, he had shown earlier tremendous power. "Yer' not unlike tha' last guy to come through here, though he said something poetic like tha' death of common decency, er' somethin'. Somethin' like that. Well, yer' gonna find out shortly enough anyways. When he tested for it, I got to see everything he could do. We kept in touch afterwards too. I have a full power simulation of him here. He's your opponent."

SPOILER: Click to show

Kenban vanished away, digitizing out, and suddenly the graphics and the code and the tiny pixels began to form into someone new. The first thing that would happen was that the forest area started to clear away, leaving them in an enormous sort of plains location with nothing but desolate and flat ground. No tactical or territorial advantages. Only a straight up battle. The sun was high in the sky, but immediately it was blotted out as Kyomei's opponent formed, and a huge shadow began to loom over him. The shadow that began to loom over him belonged to a man of six feet and nine inches. A huge man with massive, powerful, rippling muscles larger than Kyomei's head twice over. A behemoth with huge muscles, a furrowed brow, and short, slicked back hair like a boxer. He had a crooked nose and misshapen ears, showing he was a fighter. He wore only common cloth shorts, and even his fists were enormous.

The man had intense eyes which bore down into Kyomei and intimidated him right off the bat. The huge man was shirtless, and his shirtless attire revealed an impressively large and wide set of shoulders, a chest of inconceivable iron build, and a stomach that looked like it had been receiving and breaking the hardest hits for hundreds of years. This man appeared to be nearing his middle age, physically about thirty two in body. His face appeared to be in its early 40s, though the body disagreed and said otherwise. It was a huge conflict in age, but regardless the man was intense. Small pixels were still at work trying to fully and best replicate the intricate details of the shirtless behemoth's muscular body. The huge man was not to be taken lightly. "Allow me," Kenban said, "Ta' introduce you to the former Captain of the Kido Corps, and the man that yer' replacin'! Niaga Hinsshi."

At that moment, the final pixels settled into place, and Kyomei's predecessor was completed. His predecessor was staring down at him with intensive eyes, and looked aggressive, ready for battle. Then, there was some kind of sound like a bell, and the eyes softened, becoming lazier. Kenban had known this man well, to make the simulation lifelike. It was not merely an aggressive automaton. It was a lifelike replica, going even so far as to mimic personality, probably fighting style. "You're ganna have to speak up a little bit, yeah? I think I might be aging just a little bit, so my hearing might start to falter at any minute...This fight won't help that at all, neh? Lots of explosions and the like...This'll be interesting..."

He started to crackle his knuckles. He was not so dramatic as to do it one at a time, but instead condensed it into long, drawn out cracking. All knuckles at once, but in a long way, lengthening the sound of cracking. This might even be intimidation. After all, based on his physique, which revealed him as being an enormous man, far larger than Kyomei, he looked as if he could crush Kyomei in an instant. He was going to be a difficult battle, especially given that Kyomei was nowhere near full power. He'd used a lot of reiatsu to get this far, and would have to use a lot more to end it. It looked as if he might be completely depleted when the battle ended because of the strength of his opponent. An opponent that, it had been reported years previously, had even pressured and challenged the famed Segunda Espada. Hinsshi was no joke. He might even be a more difficult test than that Zoushuwwai had been.

SPOILER: Click to show

Current Class: 2

Strength: 150 Points
Speed: 400 Points
Spiritual Pressure: 250 Points (x4= 1000)
Reitsu Strength: 250 Points (x4= 1000)
Light Aura: 70 Points
Dark Aura: 30 Points
Instinct: 50 Points
Senses: 50 Points
Energy Sensory: 50 Points

TOTAL SP: 1200

SPOILER: Click to show

[Martial Arts - Hakuda] {4}

[Battle Analysis] {2}

[Romance Knowledge] {1}

[Writing] {2}

[Pain Tolerance] {3}

[Aura] {3}

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

OOC: Reposting stats for easier access

SPOILER: Click to show

Stats:

[/b][/center]

Strength – [50] Points

Speed - [400] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [310 (x3)] 930 Points

Reiatsu Strength - [490 (x3)] 1470 Points

Light Aura - 75 Points

Dark Aura - 25 Points

Instinct - [175] Points

Senses [100] Points

Energy sensory - [75] Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points

Total SP: 1600 Points

Abilities

• [Special Skill: Kidou] {3}
  
  
• [Special Skill: Kidou Combination] {3}
  
  
• [Calm mind] {3}
  
  
• [Battle analysis] {2}
  
  
• [Battle Skill: Other: Acrobatics] {2}
  
  
• [Street Fighting] {2}
  

[/spoiler]

Kenban had resuscitated, in Spirit, the great Niaga Hinnshi. The great Shinigami towered over the plain field that had came about as the trees shrunk and disappeared. His muscles were truly the size of tree trunks as the rumors had said, and his face really did appear to be older than the rest of his body. Hinnshi had looked angry, but then suddenly looked calm and collected. It was probably not a fault in the programming, rather just the initiation of the personality file. "You're ganna have to speak up a little bit, yeah? I think I might be aging just a little bit, so my hearing might start to falter at any minute...This fight won't help that at all, neh? Lots of explosions and the like...This'll be interesting..." Kyomei didn't have a lot of time. He was bleeding from his arms and one of his legs, and he was quickly going to run out of both stamina, reiatsu, and consciousness if he didn't act fast. So he acted in the manner of a Captain, working to execute the simulation.

"An honor to meet you, Commander. I'll follow in your footsteps, and like the Kidou Corps to Glory." A truly massive blast would follow Kyomei's short speech. Kyomei had sharpened his reiatsu earlier, giving him more natural reiatsu strength than most anyone in the Soul Society at present. Nearly hitting 1500, the Hado 88 that would pour from Kyomei's mouth upon the finishing of the word "Glory" would result in a massive explosion. This Hado was wrapped in Kyakko, the Bakudo of the Trickster. In order to sense the Hado 88 coming out of Kyomei's mouth instantaneously, Hinnshi would need either 147 Energy Sensory or he would need almost 4500 Reiatsu Strength to know that there was anything even going on. Kyakko had perfectly hidden Hado 88 so that it would be very possible that the simulation wouldn't have any way of reacting to the incredibly fast, incredibly potent Kidou. Kyomei just watched without emotion, waiting for Hinnshi to get out of it, planning for if he could.

Remaining Reiatsu: 8350/9300 (-600 Hado 88, -50 Kyakko)

[Zou ۞]

SPOILER: Click to show

The Kido Corp's famous predecessor Captain did not disappoint. Immediately, there was an enormous blast coming from him. Huge, larger than Kyomei's Kido, and red. It was a gigantic blast that enveloped and annihilated the entirety of Kyomei's Hado, wiping it away, and then continued toward him. The huge red blast of reiatsu roared towards Kyomei, threatening to completely and utterly annihilate him. If it hit, he would be turned to less than ash. Less than molecules. Kyomei was not in a favorable situation, really, to have such a huge Kido firing at him at close range. It was indeed several times the size of his, and it was far more powerful. "Hado #91..." Hinsshi muttered. "Senjyu Kouten Taihou..." He hadn't even moved in order to produce the Kido.

"Limit of the thousands, Respectable hand, unable to touch the darkness, Shooting hand, unable to reflect the blue sky, The road that basks in light, the wind that ignites the embers, time that gathers when both are together, there is no need to be hesitant, obey my order. Light bullet - Eight bodies - nine items - book of heavens - diseased treasure - great wheel - gray fortress tower, aim far away scatter brightly and clearly when fired." He spoke the incantation after the Kido was released. It was the size of a skyscraper from New York City, if not even larger, and it seemed highly unlikely that Kyomei could dodge it at that range given the size. However, he would find that his power had been dwarfed here. Defending would be difficult. The required reiatsu strength in numerical value? 3000. The technique was always worth three times the user's reiatsu strength.

"Yare yare...You're too hasty..." Hinsshi chastised. "Can't we just hold back a little and show some restraint...? We've only just started, neh?" There was steam pouring out from around him. He had wasted no time in dishing out a powerful attack. The technique had not even generated from his body, but from in front of him without any movement or warning. That was a dangerous skill that he had there. Certainly, Kyomei would find himself at odds with the power of Niaga Hinsshi. His reiatsu started to pour out of him for further intimidation. Vines made of green reiatsu poured out of the ground and wrapped around Hinsshi, before disappearing into a gaseous state and vanishing altogether. This fight would not be so easy as all that.

"It was smart to hide your Kido, but you were too obvious...Ya've got to work harder, you know? My energy sensory's not that great n' all, but if I'd paid more attention I'd've noticed the sudden spike from such a huge technique, even if you hide the physical form. You also can't expect the air not to shift or the ground not to burn up and give me sign if you're using something so big. You would have been more successful with a Byakurai. I wager ya'd hit me with that. But it's not ganna work now. I know that trick. Now it's my turn." Hinsshi did not give Kyomei any time to react or prepare himself at all. All of his speaking would be done while Kyomei was guarding against and then recovering wind from the giant Hado that had been fired his way. It would take his breath away to defend against it, naturally. It was a natural assumption that Kyomei would survive it. A single Kido would not take him out. He was not so weak as that.

Instantly, Hinsshi was in front of him. He'd taken two steps and materialized there with incredible speed. 1200. He had been faster than normal. It was using the Hakuda technique, Shukuchi-Ho, which magnified his speed and tripled it during those two steps. It was not unlike a step technique, but it was designed to beeline directly into an enemy's guard with incredible focus on Hakuda skills. This technique allowed Hinsshi into Kyomei's inner guard, making it difficult if not impossible to create a Kido off the bat to attack with at such close range. Not with Kyomei's power, anyways. Following this was a very swift attack from the muscular man. It was an attack which would leave Kyomei in a very poor situation, indeed.

Hinsshi planted his dominant right foot forwards, shoving both fists towards Kyomei's midsection, at the solar plexus level. A hit from that would badly wind Kyomei and hurt him tremendously. Hinsshi was also well practiced in Hakuda, and knew how to deliver a skilled hit that would incapacitate Kyomei. What made things worse was when, given Kyomei was within ten meters of Hinsshi, it became clear that Kyomei was in a death zone. Inconspicuously, a small marble sized orb of blue reiatsu materialized floating inside of Kyomei's sleeve, in between the sleeve and arm, so as not to be touching either. Three more marbles of equal size formed behind Kyomei, at his mid back level. Of the four marbles, none would be visible because of placement. Unfortunately for Kyomei, all four were delayed Byakurai bombs.

Hinsshi's Remaining Reiatsu: 9300 Reiatsu

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Hinnshi let out a technique that was so massive and destructive that Kyomei's Hado 88 was just vaporized. It was too fast to dodge, and too strong to be able to block it normally. There was only one solution to it and it was going to hurt quite a bit. As the Tower of Fire got next to the Kuchiki, he pushed his hand forwards and activated one of the Magic Hana, Hen'Iki. It cost a massive amount of reiatsu to do this because of the superior reiatsu strength of the technique, but Kyomei was determined to get through this final obstacle that had been set before him. He hit the technique with his palm, which caused it to switch directions and actually increase in reiatsu strength, to 4410. It increased in size and was headed back for Hinnshi while he was saying the long incantation, so he would have to act faster than Kyomei had to in order to dodge it. With his human instincts in comparison to Kyomei's feral instincts, he might have trouble avoiding it. The reiatsu strength of it now was too much for the former Kidou Corps Commander to handle.

If Hinnshi did manage to avoid it and did follow through with the plan to use Shukuchi-Ho, then when he struck out at Kyomei he wouldn't do any damage. The Kuchiki was proficient at the Art of the Floating Rose, which was a graceful adaptation of Drunken Fist. All Kyomei had to do was go limp and allow Hinnshi to move him rather than cause an impact and he'd be spared the bone breaking damage. The momentum that would have knocked the wind out of the fourth seat instead caused him to slide backwards a few feet. The Kuchiki technique had drained him of much of his strength, having lost control of ten percent of his reiatsu strength, and his body was feeling the strain of forcing back a technique of that magnitude. To give himself a little room away from the object that he could sense behind him, though not pinpoint what it was, Kyomei let off another Kidou that would send the Byakurai flying, as well as him.

Surasutoeria was unforgiving on the user, sending them up even as the rest of the area is pushed away. The Soul Reaper would be carried up and away from the former Kidou Corps Commander, where he'd roughly land on the ground. He had absorbed the Aura from it, so there was two feet of wind in every direction off of his body slowing his descent to the ground. However, the Kuchiki would hit the ground with a thud. Bleeding, torn, bruised, and in pain, there was only one thing left for the Shinigami to do. His ultimate technique. The aura that was around him sucked into his body, which then synthesized with his soul and his body, creating a large quantity of light. When it faded, Kyomei no longer looked like a Shinigami, nor like anything normal.

His skin was pale, and he looked as though he was robed in a tablecloth. He had been on the ground, though he was slightly floating now. At the moment, Kyomei didn't have the energy to pick himself up off the ground, so he just sat there and waited for a response from Hinnshi. The former Kidou Corps Commander would have needed to avoid or destroy the Hado 91 that had been considered Kyomei's technique, and then recover from being pushed away at a stat speed of 2646 (Kyomei's new RS = 1323 due to Hen'iki) and then would be able to proceed to attack Kyomei again while he was grounded. And for a moment, the Kuchiki just rested, hoping that he would have a mere few seconds of rest in this form. His speed had been halved to go into Spiritual pressure as all of his strength but 1 had been funneled into the same stat.

Remaining Reiatsu: 5000/16770 (-1200 Hen'iki, -150 Surasutoeria, -2000 Aspect of Wind)
Aspect of Wind: 1/10
Hen'iki RS reduction: 1/5

New Stats:
Strength: 1
Speed: 200
Spiritual Pressure: 559 (x3) 1677
Reiatsu Strength: 1323

No other stats affected

[Zou ۞]

No time was wasted at all by Niaga Hinsshi, who lived up to his name and to his legend. A flaw in his fighting style, or perhaps merely boldness, was how easily and readily he was willing to put his own body in harm's way simply to destroy the opponent. His incoming Kido that had been turned on him was suddenly split in half by a gigantic red flame in the shape of a katana's point. It erupted into fiery existence. It was even larger than Senjyu Kouten Taihou. Marginally larger. It split and destroyed the Kido completely. It would have hit and instantly killed Kyomei if not for one lucky bit on his end, in that Hinsshi had only been able to create it with the flat facing him, and not the edge. This meant that its size went out to the sides, and not towards Kyomei. The heat, however, would be palpable even to him. He might even get a tan from being near the Kido.

Regardless, Hinsshi had successfully guarded himself, and also masked himself in a huge cloud of steam. His arrival with his steps in front of Kyomei came with an attack which Kyomei shirked. The double palm strike was the land strike to come from Hinsshi's left arm, as everything below the elbow dissolved into ash after the hit was stopped. This was the flesh cost of the sacrificial Kido which had been used to annihilate the incoming Hado, Senjyu Kouten Taihou. Hinsshi had instantly used Hado #96: Itto Kaso. It was a bold move, and close to no Captains would ever have attempted such a thing. However, it was the sacrificial Hado because of its nature of being able to destroy other techniques and enemies so easily.

Kyomei had only made one miscalculation in that case, and had guarded effectively. His sole miscalculation had been when he blasted himself away. Hinsshi was knocked back, and the marbles behind him were as well. However, the marble inside of Kyomei's sleeve was not, for the force that shot him upward was an upward force, given that he was moving up. Lodged in his clothing like an accessory would be, the marble was lodged up even further by the force Kyomei created. Before he was anywhere near his goal in the air, it detonated. The explosion was of a low level Kido. With Hinsshi's reiatsu strength, it was a large explosion that could cause great damage. With the low level of the Kido, it would ensure Kyomei did not die, but was severely burned by the technique. At the very least, his shirt would be destroyed so that such a trick would no longer be possible.

Kyomei landed then, beaten, bruised, and wounded. He was burned among other things. "That'll leave a mark, neh?" Hinsshi commented to Kyomei's misfortune against the marble. However, Hinsshi had also had his own misfortune, though he made no mention of it. He was missing an entire half of his left arm, leaving only a cauterized stump that was most likely impossible for Hinsshi to use. At that moment, Kyomei began to glow and utilize what would be considered, more or less, his final and greatest power. Hinsshi spoke once more. "Going all out so soon? That's not ganna do ya well...We've only just started. Relax...There ain't no hurry for either of us..." He was a far more laid back combatant than most Captains tended to be.

He had indeed been winded when pushed back by Kyomei, and this was evident by a light mark on his chest which indicated that it would probably bruise later, and a moment where he had to catch his breath. He gave Kyomei that few seconds of rest, as Hinsshi needed them as well. "I'm getting too old for this..." Hinsshi admitted. He moved his body into position. He disappeared in a second, appearing in front of Kyomei. He had used Shukuchi Ko again, moving in at three times his normal speed. With Kyomei's reduced speed, Hinsshi getting into his guard would be tricky to fight. And, with Kyomei within Hinsshi's radius of attack, things became more complicated. Hinsshi was shoving his fist toward Kyomei's face with clear intention of causing serious damage.

Simultaneously, Rikujokoro formed around Kyomei. The rods immediately formed to encase him and hold him. It was a very powerful Bakudo for one reason. Hinsshi used incantation. Now, Hado #91 had had only a double in its power increase because the incantation was required regardless and its power by default was doubled. However, with most techniques, Hinsshi had the innate ability of tripling their power by stating incantation afterward, and then having a delay. He arrived in front of Kyomei, his punch moving closely inward. Before his punch made it, and was a mere centimeter or two away, Rikujokoro formed, and Hinsshi began on the incantation. This may be a little bit slower, but strategically it tripled the power behind Rikujokoro, so as to lock Kyomei down. "Carriage of Thunder. Bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six! Bakudo #61: Rikujokoro!"

Hinsshi's Remaining Reiatsu: 8550 Reiatsu

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

A massive flame lit the simulated sky as Itto Kaso tore through the deflected attack of Senjyu Kouten Taihou. Having burned off one of his arms, Hinsshi attacked the Kuchiki with one hand, ignoring any pain of having turned an entire limb to ash. Damn, he's as resilient as that Arrancar Aimo! As the Soul Reaper allowed himself to be pushed backwards, only to fling the Commander far away, he felt a bit of satisfaction at how his attack had worked. However, there was a bit of a problem. An explosion of reiatsu tore the shirt off of Kyomei's back and caused burns all the way up the affected arm. His pride had cost him use of another arm, one of them bleeding and the other burned. When he performed his physical transformation, there'd be a small mitigation of some of the wound, as there was new "flesh" in its place, but that didn't prevent the pain and mental effect from still being present.

Any tan that might have been caused by Hado 96 was drained by the lack of pigment to the now ghastly Death God's face. It was as if he was covered with a tablecloth and just hovered off of the ground. Simply lying there to catch his breath, Kyomei realized that the simulated Kidou Corps Commander was not attacking just yet. When he was rested, the ghostly figure rose up off the ground, simply bending forwards until he was upright. The older Shinigami was resting as well. "I'm getting too old for this..." Panting, and pausing in between a few of the words as to not over exert himself, Kyomei responded. "I defer to your experience and expertise, Commander. However, we both know that it is for the young to head out recklessly to battle, and for the old to be the voice of Reason and Strength behind the lines. You are neither young nor old, and could do whichever you choose, however I am too young to have the experience to stay back and command. I am, of yet, no great Leader. This will be fixed in the coming times."

Hinsshi once again used the fast steps to get in close to Kyomei, whom now could do nothing to avoid. He was, at base speed, only half as fast as the other Technique Master, and the Shukuchi Ko made him almost as fast as the fourth seat's new shunpo speed. His hand was coming out to deliver a large blow to the newly transformed Shinigami, which would have been ineffective had he not been feinting with his punch. The bars of Rikujokoro formed, however remained floating in the air. That defeated the purpose of Bakudo, and Kidou in general. To announce to your opponent what you will do, remove the element of surprise and unpredictability, that was what created a lot of problems most often in Kidou users. And right on cue, Hinsshi began to speak the incantation for Bakudo 61: Rikujokoro. Kyomei had mastered this technique, so obviously he would recognize the words as that particular Kidou's incantation. "Carriage of Thunder. Bridge of a spinning wheel..."

Acting as fast as he could, Kyomei shifted his body into the winds, becoming intangible to all but very powerful reiatsu strength. There was no reason to stick around where he was, so while the floating bars of Rikujokoro remained lower than his own power, he used Shunpo to go through Hinsshi. Not around, not away from, but through. The Shunpo was faster than the Shukuchi Ho, but not faster than the Commander's Shunpo speed obviously. Before Niaga could react with his only human senses and instincts, the fourth seat used a Kidou to try and weaken him a little. By now, Kyomei had understood that trying to finish off the powerful Soul Reaper in a single blow was a waste of time and effort. Instead, hitting him bit by bit would wear him down to the point where he couldn't fight back any more. Already he was missing an arm, causing his efficiency to lower.

Kyomei fused Surasutoeria and Tsuzuri Raiden, creating a pulse-like wave of electricity. With Surasutoeria at the base, the electricity would be quite powerful, somewhere close to a Raikoho, but a little bit less potent and without the explosive effects. The former drawback to the perfect area attack, that it would effect the user, Kyomei, would be ignored at the current moment as it would simply phase through the wind-like body of the Soul Reaper. His own technique did not possess more than 150% of his own strength, and thus the electricity phased through him without issue. Hinsshi, however, wouldn't be so immune. It would hit him at point blank range in the back if he didn't move, and even if he was able to step off with a Shunpo in time, which was unlikely due to his poor instincts and senses and his preoccupation with his incantation, he still would have to go a far distance away before he would completely escape the Kidou that stretched like a bubble to overwhelm him and weaken him with a large amount of electricity.

Remaining Reiatsu: 4775/9300 (-50 Shunpo, -150 Surasutoeria, -25 Tsuzuri Raiden)
Aspect of Wind: 2/10
Hen'Iki RS reduction: 2/5
Intangibility: 1/2

[Zou ۞]

SPOILER: Click to show

Kyomei was successful in moving through Hinsshi, but suddenly his attack was blocked. All of the lightning met a dead end against a sudden armor that formed around the former Kido Corps Commander. This armor was comprised of a dark red reiatsu which was opaque instead of transparent, and took the form of a rib cage about as large as Hinsshi's entire body, surrounding him in an instant. His incantation suddenly stopped as he noticed it having no effects, and instead he took to standing there and letting Rikujokoro fail. His armor was used instead to block Kyomei's Kido. All of it failed very simply to penetrate his armor, which hovered around him with an immensely sinister aura. This malevolence was something Hinsshi had not been known for in life. It must have been a recent development before his untimely disappearance.

Hinsshi was defended perfectly while he was standing there. His technique for defense had the equivalent strength of Danku several times over, and with additional 400 reiatsu strength added to his own when measured in certain numerical values. Aura Dello Spirito: Partial, was a technique that he had never been known to use before. Other Shinigami simply had not witnessed it. Kyomei could consider himself lucky, as he was in fact the first to see such a thing. The aura that presented itself to him at that moment came with enough power that Kyomei would be pressured by Hinsshi even in that intangible state. What was coming for him was the power of a Shinigami that had even challenged the mighty Espada.

"You've done well ta' get this far..." Hinsshi complimented Kyomei. "But this ain't ganna' go down well if you think bein' untouchable will be enough to defeat me." It was all he said before things started to shake. His reiatsu was getting more and more powerful. It began to build up around him, forging a column into the air. Hinsshi was preparing for some sort of an all out assault on Kyomei. Whatever was about to come, Kyomei had best be worried. He had best watch himself. Whatever was about to come, it was far more powerful than what he had seen thus far at the hands of Niaga Hinsshi. The former Kido Corps Commander was finally ready to take him seriously. Their fight, albeit short, was coming to a close.

"I guess this is what happens when ya got two guys with such strong reiatsu. They just burn each other out very quickly, neh?" Hinsshi's reiatsu continued to build. He was preparing for something big. Something enormous. But whatever it was, he was not yet ready to unveil it. And so his reiatsu would continue building, leaving Kyomei to guess and wonder about it. Whatever was coming, Hinsshi seemed confident that he could hit and destroy Kyomei with it. He also seemed confident that Kyomei would not be able to guard against it. Did so ferocious of an attack truly exist? If so, what would Kyomei do about it? What could he do about it? If so ferocious an attack existed, surely he was in trouble.

Hinsshi's Remaining Reiatsu: 8150 Reiatsu

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

The lightning dissipated harmlessly when it hit the Soul Reaper's new armor. He was clad in a defensive barrier of crimson, that appeared as a rib cage closing in around his body, shielding him from harm. No damage was done to Hinsshi, and he wasn't even pushed back because Kyomei had swapped out the pushing ability of the Surasutoeria for a more damaging element. It did look cool though, the red of the rib cage surrounded by a yellow glow as some of the electricity traveled off into the distance, fading away in time. Hinsshi just stood there, complimenting the fourth seat while also hinting that the battle may be over in a single blow that he would create. All the while, Kyomei was floating backwards away from the impenetrable force that he was near to. However, to Hinsshi, he would be remaining still in a standoff of power as the Commander's reiatsu strength increased.

It was an advanced application of Kyakko, that Kyomei had used on more than one occasion, to bend light in such a way that the user was not hidden from sight and energy sensory, but that their image and reiatsu signature were moved to a different location. Manabu Brock, one of the foremost leaders of the Shino Academy had first developed this variation use of the Bakudo, and the Kuchiki had mastered the technique and would have no issue in accomplishing it. As he gained much distance from the rising power of Hinsshi, his image and reiatsu signature would still appear as though it was standing just behind the Commander, still incorporeal and focusing his reiatsu for the last showdown of power. They both seemed to be focusing their reiatsu, however Kyomei had a much greater Spiritual Pressure to focus into pure strength. By the time he was finished focusing his reiatsu, the Kyakko would need an obscene Reiatsu strength, over 8000, to see through, greater than Hinsshi's body would be capable of producing, probably.

Remaining Reiatsu: 1500/1500 (-50 Kyakko, -300 Spiritual Pressure conversion, extra reiatsu then lost)
Aspect of Wind: 3/10
Hen'Iki RS Reduction: 3/5
Intangibility: 2/2

Converting 509 SpPr to 509 RS
New SpPr: 50 (x3) 150
New RS: 999 (x3) 2997 (x.9 Hen'iki) 2697

[Zou ۞]

The pressure that was being exerted by Hinsshi as his reiatsu bolstered started to crush down on the area. His incredible power could be felt draining the environment around him of life in comparison to his own bright spark. He was amassing his reiatsu for a truly devastating final attack. His armor defense disappeared as he compounded all of his reiatsu and prepared himself for a final attack on Kyomei. Hinsshi turned around and backed away from the image of Kyomei. He began to generate his reiatsu in preparation for attacking it. His skin started to glow a bright blue, so bright and with light stretching so far that even the real Kyomei would be blinded from where he was. Hinsshi's power was becoming an incredible feat to behold.

What appeared to be electricity started to dance around the field. It was a challenge worth meeting. Hinsshi was preparing for some kind of final attack that looked as if it could wipe out the entire battlefield. From the looks and feel of his powerful reiatsu, it seemed as if he was an atomic bomb, readying himself to destroy everything in sight. Everything that was a part of that battlefield, reasonably, might very well be totally annihilated by Hinsshi's absolute might. This made his next words very important. "Going to build yourself to my level?" Hinsshi asked. "If not, this's ganna hurt a lot...and you're not comin' out of this one alive either..." Kyomei's illusion was building reiatsu, but Hinsshi's levels were about to break the levels the illusion had reached, and then go even higher.

Hinsshi's Remaining Reiatsu: 8150 Reiatsu

Next post: Build-up will actually manifest.

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Kyomei started to get nervous. He was at a disadvantage, backed into a corner at the moment. On the one hand, Hinsshi was pointed at his decoy, completely thinking that the image was his actual opponent. However, from where he was standing, the Kuchiki had some problems of his own. He had now ceased being incorporeal, and couldn't do so for a little while, far too long for this ultimate clash of power to stretch to. So without a defense like that, and with the Kidou Corps Commander growing to incredible levels of power, Kyomei himself could be caught up in the blast with no way to protect himself. And the very act of protecting himself would cause his own demise. To put up a defense would give away his true position, which would cause Hinsshi to home in on the fourth seat and obliterate him. As he started to calm himself down and focus on the battle at hand, Kyomei had a rogue thought creep into his mind. Can the simulation even withstand such immense pressure coming from the both of these two incredibly powerful Shinigami?

Who was Kenban that his creation could withstand two reiatsu signatures that surpassed the first seven Captains of the Gotei 13, -combined- (assuming total conversion of Hinsshi's Spiritual Pressure to Reiatsu Strength) A fourth seat and a single Commander together were reaching levels that would take eight Captains, including the Captain Commander, to reach. That was an immense strain on Kenban's simulation and it was running at, from what Kyomei could tell, 100% efficiency. Just who is this guy... Unable to do anything until Hinsshi attacked the mirage at full force, Kyomei simply dwelled on that thought while keeping alert. If the Commander were to drain all his energy on an attack that was not an explosive blast in nature, then Kyomei could be safe enough to deliver a finishing blow to the exhausted man. However, if he did execute a blast attack, more than likely it would stretch in a straight line, else he himself could be caught up in the explosion. Thus, as a precautionary measure, Kyomei drifted to the side while continuing to move backwards, so that Hinsshi would, at present, be pointed in a different direction. Then all that was left to do was wait.

Remaining Reiatsu: 1500/1500
Aspect of Wind: 4/10
Hen'Iki RS Reduction: 4/5

[Zou ۞]

SPOILER: Click to show

Hinsshi slammed his fists together, causing reiatsu to begin to pour out of them. "Hoooooohhhh, boyyyyyy...this is ganna' take a lot of reiatsu..." Light exploded in a column from his body, piercing the sky of the simulation and dissipating against the ceiling. The borders were difficult to destroy, Kyomei would find out. Regardless, this was irrelevant. Hinsshi's power was pulsating through his body with every last fiber of reiatsu available. What appeared to be electricity began to spark across the ground, in the air, and even right next to Kyomei's body. It was about to be huge. The sparks started to grow larger and larger, and Kyomei's position in this was about to be greatly jeopardized. Hinsshi was finally releasing the fullest extent of his most absolute and true power.

"Hado #88..." Large blue orbs started to appear in the air all around Hinsshi, and floated off to resonate and glow brightly all over the battlefield. There were dozens, skimpering off and moving around. Hinsshi's massive reiatsu was becoming too much to bear. Simultaneous to his pressure combining with his reiatsu to strengthen it, he released a multitude of attacks. First, there were ten orbs total, scattered across the battlefield. Second, one single white orb appeared high in the sky. "Hiryugekizokushintenraiho." Immediately, all of the orbs exploded. With Hinsshi's enhanced reiatsu strength, the might of the orbs was unimaginable. The orbs did not launch the dragons, but rather all detonated like mines simultaneously, covering the entirety of the battlefield in one large blanket of lightning.

That was only the beginning. The white orb also had a purpose. "Hado #99...Kaminari Ha." Immediately, the orb fell to the ground level, and from it emerged a huge dragon of white lightning, coiling around Hinsshi before exploding outward from everywhere surrounding him. His powerful, monstrosity of a creation added to the explosion, creating a second, blanketing layer. It was a two layer explosion consisting of ten Hado #88 and one Hado #99, creating such massive annihilation that nothing could ever even hope to survive it if hit directly. Hinsshi was the only safe point on the entire battlefield. His body alone occupied a tiny center which the explosion had avoided, and he alone was safe as burns from the use of these techniques coursed across his body to blacken it like an African's.

Hinsshi's eyes were fierce and intense. He fell to one knee, opening his mouth to pant. The explosions however had done their job. To defend against the mass Hado barrage, Kyomei would need something of great and terrible power. To defend against Kaminari Ha, the unblockable Hado, he would need a method of dodging. However, nearly the entire battlefield had been filled with that enormous dragon. The whole field had been nuked, and Hinsshi was left not even standing, barely even breathing. He could barely move from his one knee position, but Kyomei had been put in a tough position himself. Would he be able to survive the great power of Hinsshi's final massive onslaught?

Hinsshi's Remaining Reiatsu: 725 Reiatsu

-6000 for ten Hado #88

-1025 for one Hado #99

-300 for conversion

Reiatsu strength of techniques increased by converting pressure to reiatsu strength.

Final Spiritual Pressure: 26 (x4) = 104 (1040 possible reiatsu)

Final Reiatsu Strength: 474 (x4) = 1896 Reiatsu Strength