Shadows of the Soul

[Aramis Tezuka]

Participants: Aramis, Taien
World: Soul Society
Thread Setting: Death Enabled
Rating: G
Location:

An abandoned district of Rukongai, with a number of empty homes lining the streets. Empty roads, plus a handful of abandoned carts, gathering dust.

Special Conditions:

None

Circumstances:

Aramis has decided to test his mettle against a Vice Captain yet again. It's been some time since his match with Raygin and Kyomei, so now he seeks to test his growing skills against Taien.

[Aramis Tezuka]

"Tick tock. Tick tock." Aramis mused in his usual monotone, staring into the boundless sky. Upon his lap was a thick tome of poems. He frisked through the pages, seemingly aimlessly. "Once upon a midnight dreary, whilst I pondered weak and weary..." He began, then stopped again, returning his gaze to the sky. "That cloud is rather backed like a weasel." He remarked. "How strange." He resumed his reading of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" as he awaited Taien's arrival.

And as he read, Aramis's mind pondered all the mysteries of the universe. And as he pondered, he thought deeply, reflecting on himself. Such mysteries would not be answered from the confines of Squad 6. If only Sayuri remained. If only. Aramis beheld the dusty cart he had seated himself in. "Other friends have flown before... On the morrow he will leave me..." A frown creased his features. Aramis lifted his right hand and adjusted his glasses.

Indeed. Sayuri, a man that Aramis considered in many respects to be more of a father, than his biological father.... if it could be called that. He admired the man for the lengths he would go. But he had left the captaincy of Squad 12, and the squad had stagnated. It had fallen from the graces of the greatest of Soul Society's squad. Replaced by Squad 7, 10 and 6 as the greatest squads in Soul Society.

Though Aramis was a part of Squad 6, he felt no pride in it. It was a squad of nobility. Though he had become an honorary family member, he felt no kinship with the squad. It was his arm. This accursed arm, of which Aramis desperately wished to be rid of. "Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful disaster, followed fast and followed faster..." Squad 12. If any squad had the answers, it would be that one. But without Sayuri, the information Aramis himself had given them sat gathering dust. It wouldn't do. Not. At. All.

Aramis closed his eyes. A rare smile crept across the Nakabakki's face. And it was a strange smile, like everything else about him. A strange combination of satisfaction, wonder, sorrow and cruel amusement. "This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing..." Could it be possible? Could someone of his nature claim such a triumph? It would certainly be unprecedented. Risky even. Quite unlike him to make such a grandiose attempt.

Aramis's eyes continued scanning the poem, but his mind was elsewhere. Venturing down roads he knew would be dangerous to tread. But should he tread them.... should he tread them.... oh, there were wonders to be found. Boundless treasures should be at the end, if he were to succeed. And if you fail?[/color] The voice nagged at his mind. If he failed.... But another voice urged him onwards. But not a voice of hope, and confidence. A darker, more primal voice. An urge. A vision of hellfire, and darkness. That empty darkness that curled and twisted within him.

That darkness.... "Take thy beak from out my heart...." Aramis mused in a whisper that was practically a hiss. He would embark upon this. Set his mind to it. He would require strength. Strength far greater than he had. Oh yes. But he could do it. He would have to. What Sayuri could no longer continue, Aramis would resume. For his own selfish purposes, he would resume. But he would repay to Soul Society the gifts they had given him. It had given him a purpose, and he could use this to reward it. Aramis sighed, as he placed his hands on each side of the tome, and clapped it together.

[color=And my soul from out that shadow, that lies floating on the floor., shall be lifted, Nevermore."[/color] This caused him a smirk. A poem that spoke of sorrows, and depression, had actually instilled in him a purpose. A hope. "Shall we begin, Taien-dono?" Aramis asked, sensing the approach of another.

SPOILER: Click to show

Strength: 100 (70)
Speed: 200 (140)
Reiatsu Strength: 170
Spirit Pressure: 100
Light Aura: 100
Dark Aura: 0
Senses: 70 (105)
Instinct: 120 (180)
Energy Sensory: 70 (105)
Healing Expertise: 0
Total: 830

SPOILER: Click to show

New Powers:
• Martial Arts: Fencing—3

• Martial Arts: Joint Locks—2

• Analyzing—3

• Disguise—3

• Illusion Resist—2

• Lack of Fear—2

[Taien Hadohou]

"Hoho! First challenge as my tenure as a Vice-Commander! This should be interesting. . Oh? Sozen-Taichou's Division? Excellent! Let's see what kind of a person he's produced!"

Taien was simply ecstatic. This was his first fight against another Shinigami, an actual factual fight, and he was from the Sixth Division! Taien would get to see the power of Division Six. Taien hadn't gotten around to visiting them yet, mostly because they were lacking a Vice-Captain, but this could be what he needed! He wasn't quite sure about what kind of skills and powers this person, this Aramis Tezuka had, so he geared up a bit. He left behind his Reiatsu Orb Belt and the orbs attatched to them, he probably wouldn't need those. He did put the twin gauntlets that were the Secret Blades on his hands and forearms though. He probably wouldn't need them, but it was best to be prepared.

Into two customized holsters went his Ice Guns. Inside his left hand pocket, his metallic orb that was his Convert-A-Weapon went. On his right wrist were two watches, his Soul Gauge and his Overwatch Prototype. The last piece of Taien's gear went on his head; it was his Cool Hat! The icy blue fedora fit snugly atop his head as he pressed it down a bit, covering his eyes. He grinned. This was going to be fun! Now, where did this note say to meet him? Taien's eyes danced across the letter, going over each detail. Ah, good. It was abandoned. Taien didn't have to worry about letting loose then! Well, he did, but not as much. Either way, he was gonna test this guy's skill. . .

------

Taien was walking down the pathway that would lead to the battleground of his opponent's choosing. He didn't bother to hide his pressence, there was no one else around anyway. Taien's spiritual prescience was quite huge, especially when he was letting it out like he was. He wasn't exherting his gravitation though, he didn't really use that. He regular Reiatsu prescience though wasn't harmful. It was just. . . big. It was bothersome to try and conceal it, and it was too massive to contain all of it at one time. That was the downside of it. On the other hand, it also drew people right to him! That wasn't so bad!

All right. He was nearing the destination. His hat was shielding his eyes a bit from the sun, making it easier to see for him. His ever present grin was present on his face, as his two sky blue eyes danced with light. He didn't know what his opponent would be like, so he had to be ready for anything and everything. Or, barring that, ready to explodify him at a moments notice! But not too much. Not enough that it would require severe medical attention. Taien didn't have the means to heal someone on his person, sadly. He probably should start carrying some though.

Though Taien didn't have the best Energy Sensory or regular Senses, he did have enough to know where someone was. It didn't take much longer for his feet to bring him to the person he was meeting. He was greeted by both a sight and a saying. Taien's grin shifted into a slight smile. Ho, this one was polite, wasn't he? A refreshing change of pace from Grin-San, it was.

"Yes we shall!"

Taien gave a small bow before they really began though. They were two Shinigami after all, even though they were different ranks, they both deserved a messure of respect, if for nothing else than surviving thus far. He still had his guard up, but he decided a bit of sportsmanship wouldn't hurt. After all, they weren't trying to kill each other. Well. They sort of were. But they weren't trying to completely kill each other! Yeah, that's it. Either way, it looked like Aramis was given the first strike. After all, he was the challenger.

SPOILER: Click to show

Strength - [50] Points

Speed - [350] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [200] (600) Points

Reiatsu Strength - [400] (1200) Points

Light Aura - [100] Points

Dark Aura - [0] Points

Instinct - [70] Points

Senses [70] Points

Energy sensory - [60] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points


Total SP: [1200] Points

Abilities

• [Reiatsu Control Mastery] {2}
  
  
• [Spellweaving (Kidou Fusion)] {2}
  
  
• [Charisma/Leadership] {2}
  
  
• [Learning] {2}
  
  
• [Analyzing] {2}
  
  
• [Battle Analysis] {2}
  
  
• [Mental Incantation] {1}
  
  
• [Strength of Will] {2}
  
  
• [Pain Tolerance] {1}
  

SKP Used/Unused: 16/16

SPOILER: Click to show

Item Name: F.O.R.M Prototype: Overwatch

Item Type: Time Piece/Defensive Instrament

Item Description: A fairly nice looking watch at first glance. Its completely black, save for the hands and the numbers. The hands and numbers are crimson red on the right half while the other half is sky blue. Normally all it does is tell time. However, with a press of a button, the watch takes creates a four foot purple circle of energy a foot from the surface of the watch. The circle of Reiatsu has a strength of 400, and deflects anything with lower Reiatsu strength than 400. The watch has four uses, and takes five posts to "reset". A second button on the other side of the clock face allows the strength to go up to eight hundred for one use, but it burns the energy in the watch out for a while, taking twice as long to recharge. As this is a prototype, there are some things wrong with it. While the watch could be used in succession, it overheats the circutry, causing it to burn out. As such, there is a two post gap between uses, otherwise the watch really will break. More advanced models will have it corrected, but until then, it breaks even once overused. It takes a Class 3 person to actually be able to use this watch's battle function.

Price: 1.2 Million Ryo

Ice Gun x 2

Cold Hat

C.O.L.D

Convert-A-Weapon

Soul Gauge

Secret Blade - Model Glove x2

[Aramis Tezuka]

Aramis hopped off the cart, leaving his book there, and turned about, to confront Taien. By Taien's stance, it seemed quite clear his intentions. Aramis would have the first move. The first thrust, as it were. Aramis drew his blade from its sheath. A long, slender rapier, with an iron blade, and a thin, dark colored blade, tapering to a fine point. The guard was somewhat ornate, but nothing particularly special. "I will release." He stated, in a tone that suggested to say so was little more than a formality.

"Erase, Revenant." Aramis stated, calmly lifting his zanpakuto into a fencing pose. Unlike some shinigami, who's releases were vibrant and impressive displays of power, even in shikai, Aramis's sword barely so much as glowed, when he released its power. A slight shimmer in the blade, and a slight shifting. It had not changed form much. Aramis still bore a rapier. The blade length had not changed, though rather than the dull, ironlike gray it had been before, it now shone a lustrous silver. The guard had straightened, a hand guard slipping down in front of Aramis's fingers, and was the finest sheen of gold. It was a prince's sword now, not a mere soldier's weapon.

Aramis did not seem much one for talking. A slight shuffle step brought him closer to Taien, and then he suddenly lunged forwards at him, his blade snapping forwards, at Taien's shoulder. Aramis's sword had shifted. He had previously used a katana-- a weapon intended for two hands, and awkward in use for the fencing form. With the proper sword for his fencing, his speed had improved, and his reactions were greater. He could easily maneuver his rapier about with a flick of his wrist, and had far superior control of the blade. If Taien attempted to dodge his blow to either side, Aramis could easily adjust the quick snap-cut. This release was necessary. Without it, Aramis knew he would never slice through a Vice Captain's cutback. However, there were other reasons as well. Naturally, it was Revenant's ability that Taien would find most formidable, if the Nakabakki could land a blow.

Reiatsu Remaining: 800/1000
Shikai: 1/10

[Taien Hadohou]

"I will release."

Declared his opponent for the day. The fight was just starting and he was releasing, but that was an understandable thing. It would be impossible to damage Taien without any sort of Reiatsu related technique otherwise. Taien knew this because he had pressed the button on his soul gauge while Aramis was speaking. The disparity between the amount Taien had and the amount Aramis had in terms of both Strength of Reiatsu was pretty huge. Taien wasn't sure what kind of abilities Aramis had, but he was going to find out. He briefly wondered if he was like Kaen-San, and lacked the ability to use Kidou or something.

Speaking of Aramis's Release it was very. . . plain. It wasn't at all flashy or grand like another Shinigami's release might have been. Still, flashiness did not a deadly weapon make. Even if it looked plain, it's ability might be devastating. Never underestimate your opponent, and all that. His released weapon was that of a gleaming silver Rapier. It wasn't much of a change, but it did look a lot more vibrant than before. What that meant for Taien wasn't known yet. All he did know was that it probably wasn't a good idea to let that thing near him, let alone touch him. Who knew what kind of secret ability it was hiding? Aside from its wielder, of course.

Either way, after the quick check and his opponents releasing, the battle was on! Aramis didn't seem to be of the chatty type, and went straight to work. He shuffled forwards at him and then lunged, aiming to stab him somewhere. Well that wasn't acceptable was it? Taien had to do something about that, and quick! Taien had a number of useful things at his disposal. His Kidou, his bevy of items, his powers. . . Or he could just do something simple and outspeed him. Aramis seemed to be a lot slower than Taien. He was going to take advantage of that.

Quickly, Taien raced backwards while keeping his balance to prevent falling flat on his back. He put a good measure of distance between them as he avoided the strike. However, as he did this, he cast a Kidou. It was Bakudo #9: Horin. An orange tendral of Reiatsu burst from Taien's hand, and snaked towards Aramis. Specifically, it snaked towards his legs, and attempted to grab one. It was a pretty fast technique, and Taien had moved far back quickly enough to avoid the point of Revenant. The best defense was not being there in the first place, after all.

Taien wasn't done though. In the event that his attack failed, Taien followed it up with another one. A Byakurai ripped out of his finger, which was pointed at Aramis. The large, solid beam of Lightning Reiatsu sped out at Aramis, and threatened to hit him if he didn't avoid it. If he moved to avoid the Horin, he would be shot at. If he didn't avoid it, he would be snared by the Horin. This was a basic setup, and wasn't all that hard to avoid. This was a test after all, no use in ending it early.

Remaining Reiatsu: 5950/6000 (-50 for Class 7 Technique x 2)

[Aramis Tezuka]

"C+" Aramis stated as Taien dodged back. It was an acceptable defense against the thrust. Taien was indeed faster than Aramis was. It wasn't unexpected. Even amongst his own level, Aramis wasn't the strongest or fastest. There was no surprise that Taien was a bit beyond him in speed. Hmmm. Perhaps a bit more than twice his speed. Still, this response was not unexpected, nor was it spectacular. Thus, Aramis graded it as only C+. Predictable, but correct in the essentials.

It did not occur to Aramis, the ridiculousness of grading a Vice Captain's performance, when he would likely lose this match. Still, it was good to understand the level of a Vice Captain. Perhaps... just perhaps... if Aramis could score consistant "A's" or at least "B+" answers, and Taien continued to fight at this level, he may have a chance! No further time to consider, Taien was launching his counterattack.

It was Horin. Aramis remembered this from when he had fought Kyomei. This time, however, he had an answer to it. As Taien's hand swept up to launch the kido, Aramis identified the target. His legs, huh? ....No, there was more! But Horin was more important to deal with first! As the binding kido shot towards Aramis's legs, the Nakabakki dropped the blade of Revenant, as though to parry the kido. And, as the blade touched Horin, the Bakudo simply vanished. Gone, without a trace. No doubt this would be surprising to Taien, to see his kido just disappear like that. It probably didn't happen often, let alone against an opponent with such inferior reiatsu strength. But his eyes wouldn't lie to him. Horin seemed to have just disappeared!

Next was the Byakurai. Aramis saw Taien's hand raise, and reacted instantly. Taien was faster than Aramis, but Aramis was fast enough to read the path of the kido. The wordless Byakurai tore through the space Aramis had only just occupied, as Aramis stepped off to one side of the Byakurai, opposite the side that Horin had coiled towards him. A largely unimportant detail to most. "C+." Aramis repeated, for Taien's combination had, while meeting Aramis's expectations, failed to impress.

While Taien launched his Byakurai, Aramis attempted to simultaneously sidestep the lightning and and lunge at Taien again, bringing his rapier slashing across, aiming for Taien's outstretched hand. Even the finger would do, if it connected. Anticipating Taien evading yet again, Aramis moved with surprising grave and fluidity. His rapier tip dropped, and the Nakabakki used Shunpo. With no training in Senka, Aramis could hardly deliver a significant blow to Taien. However, as the Nakabakki passed Taien, his rapier would try to skip across Taien's leg. As with the kido, if this occurred, Taien's leg would disappear. Erased, like his Horin spell.

Aramis left his Shunpo, about five feet behind Taien's starting position. "B-." He stated, with some irritation in his tone. While his performance was better than satisfactory, and would likely have scored on a lesser foe, Taien would likely be much harder to strike in such a manner. Still, for his level, it wasn't a bad attack. Aramis turned his head to face Taien, using his free hand to adjust his glasses.

"As you no doubt have noticed, Revenant's special ability is the ability to erase. Whatever it touches, no matter how strong. Whether it be kido, a wooden board, a zanpakuto, or a person. Whatever Revenant touches fades from existence." He warned Taien. "I wouldn't worry too much about it though. If done within a short period of time, I can also restore what has been erased. Even if you misstep, you won't have to worry about dying. I will not kill a Vice Captain, even by accident." Aramis stated to Taien, turning fully to face him, and assuming his fencing stance again free hand lifted into the air behind him.

"En garde."

Reiatsu remaining: 750/1000
Shikai: 2/10

[Taien Hadohou]

Well, that was new. Taien blinked a moment as he realized his Horin was gone! He couldn't feel it at all! What was his power, Reiatsu destruction? It didn't feel like it was destroyed. It just felt like it was. . . erased or something. One moment there, the next moment it wasn't! Taien didn't let himself be startled for too long however. A fight was still going on! He couldn't afford to be distracted. His Byakurai went off without a hitch, thankfully, but Aramis dodged it. However, it was the way he had dodged it. He had dodged to the opposite side of where he "erased" his Horin. Normally this wouldn't be a noticible detail, and indeed, it wasn't very important looking. However, Taien was not an ordinary person. So he questioned why.

Why did he do that? Was his Kido still there or something? Was it invisible, hidden from his senses? Or did he just dodge that way because he felt like it? Taien didn't have enough data, but he did realize he hadn't dispelled his Horin. At least, before it was vanished. Was it still there? Not enough time to test though, Taien had to act fast if he wanted to avoid the fate of his Horin! So Taien fused two spells together, and fired them out. He had fused Gouzen Demizu, Roaring Flood, and Surasorutoiera, Area Thrust. On top of that, he used on of his special skills, Density Reformating, to increase the spiritual density of the attack. The water was denser now, but started out smaller. However, it's effect's size was increased as well. The resulting combination fired off a huge high-pressurized blast of water around Taien, blasting everywhere around him. This included Aramis's Shikai. In fact, it was the first thing it hit, other than the ground. Which caused it to vanish. However, the sword was still blasted back. Aramis would also be blasted back by the attack, seeing as the attack was practically point blank. The force of the blast was still there. It was likely the enitre Kidou was still there as well, just invisible!

Taien was invisibly soaked as well. He couldn't feel it, but Hadou #53 would have hit him as well. Because it was water now, he wouldn't be blasted upwards, but he would still be soaked. He couldn't feel it however. Did it completely erase it from his senses? Was that what his Shikai did? If so, that was a scary power! He really didn't want to be hit by that power! It would "erase" him, from his senses at least. What would happen if it hit his chest, or even his heart? That was scary! Despite that though, Taien grinned.

"Now I get it. The shape of your power! Quite terrifying, Aramis-San."

Taien's analytical mind coupled with his skill for analysis in battle was able to deduce all of this without all that much complex figuring out. Well, it was still a bit complex, but it wasn't all that hard to figure out. Taien had observed two instances of Aramis's power, once with the Horin, once with the fused Kidou, and the later was much more informational. The water was still there, all around him, and presumably soaking his lower half. Or maybe it was soaking all of him! Aramis was probably soaked as well. He also would have been sent a good way from Taien, engulfed in the invisible surf. There was quite a lot of water packed into that, after all.

However, he wouldn't be down for long, unless he was slamed against a building or something. Taien acted quickly.

"Rikujukoro, Amimono Shimokumo + Tenran - Touketsu Boufuu (Frozen Gale)!"

The Rikujukoro was fired off really really fast, and maybe in his stunned state, Aramis would be hit! However, the second one was really cool. Pun not intended. Amimono Shimokumo flash froze all the water it came in contact with. Fused with Tenran, it created a massive wave of freezing wind that would both batter and freeze any water it hit. If the Rikujukoro hit, Taien would aim it right at Aramis. However, if it missed or if he dodged, Taien would aim it at the ground around Aramis. It was partially aimed at Aramis, but it was mostly aimed at the ground. The gigantic water explosion would have left a lot of water lying around. This would freeze it. Invisible ice, quite a scary enviromental hazard, assuming Aramis couldn't see through his own technique.

Remaining Reiatsu: 5075/6000 (-250 Class 5+4 Fusion, -375 for Class 4+5 Fusion and Density Reformat, and -150 for Rikujukoro)

Gouzen Demizu + Surasorutoiera Fusion - 1800 RS, 3/4th Originial Size, 5/4th Explosion Size.

[Aramis Tezuka]

Aramis was sent sprawling by the forceful burst of kido, before his strike could land. That was annoying! He'd been so close to landing a hit. His standard fencing would be of little use against a kido user like Taien. He'd have to devise a new strategy. "....A+" He conceded grudgingly, to Taien. It had been an excellent response, simultaneously repelling Aramis's attack, AND discovering the nature of his abilities in one strike. "Correct. I exaggerated. Revenant cannot remove something from existence. Only remove it from being able to be detected by any senses. Even touch." Aramis remarked, climbing back to his feet.

"Now that you know, it must seem less frightening." He stated, as Taien lifted a hand to cast a kido. Aramis vanished in a sudden burst of speed. Taien was no longer aiming at him. Aramis's instincts were above average, and had anticipated Taien attempting a second attack. He was not quite at Taien's level yet, but he was at a level he could at least anticipate an attack like that. His Shunpo would carry him from Taien's point of aiming. Taien would have to re-orient himself if he wished to target Aramis again. By then it might be too late.

Aramis had adjusted his original plan, but it was the same in the essentials. He was Shunpoing right behind the Vice Captain, and as he did so, would allow Revenant to tag Taien on the left bicep as he passed the Vice Captain. While Aramis was slower than Taien, his Shunpo would still be swift enough to enable this. And also allow Taien to experience Revenant's power firsthand. As he emerged from the Shunpo, he would quickly spin to face Taien.

This was Aramis's second attack. As he spun about, he would allow Revenant to whip low in a half-disguised attack. If Taien did not react correctly, it would result in both of his shins being struck by Revenant's tip. An insignificant wound, but it would be enough to enact Revenant's effect upon Taien. If this was fully successful, Taien would be in an unfortunate scenario, missing his shins and feet, and his left arm. Aramis flicked the blade of Revenant up, feinting an attack, to see how Taien reacted to that. After this, Taien would quickly realize that Aramis didn't necessarily need to attack with Revenant to inflict its devastating ability.

"C." Aramis stated, dissatisfied with his performance. It was only satisfactory. Taien was proving his mettle, and Aramis would need to perform much better than this to prove victorious, or even match his own expectations for this battle. Thankfully, he had not yet executed a move deserving of an "F" or a "D" but he expected that was the reason he had not yet lost. He believed Taien could deal with most, if not all, of his attack. Attacking from behind was useful at his level, but surely a fighter of Taien's caliber would have had people try this before. If merely attacking from behind would be enough, Aramis doubted Taien would be here before him today.

Reiatsu Remaining: 750/1000
Shikai: 3/10

[Taien Hadohou]

Ah, Aramis had Shunpoed. He had done so to avoid the Rikujukoro, which otherwise would have binned him. Ah well, at least Taien was aware of what he was going to do. It was the oldest trick in the Shinigami Handbook, section two, subsection three, paragraph two; "Shunpoing behind your opponent is a good way of sneaking up on them.". However, it failed to mention just how used this tactic was. Taien had had it done to him a number of times, and had learned to guard his rear from such attacks. As such, he was perfectly ready, able, and willing to meet Aramis's counterattack. This also had the effect of canceling out his other attack.

Now, Taien was a skilled practitioner of Kidou. While he wasn't quite as good at it as Kyomei-San yet, he still was very skillful in how he used his Reiatsu and Kidou. Taien was actually able to use three alternate spots to cast Kidou as of his current training; the Knees, the Feet, and the Elbows. In addition to his hands, this meant that Taien could fire off Kidou from four different places. It was quite scary for someone who had to fight him, and that someone was Aramis-San right at the moment. On top of that, Taien had his Kidou Fusion, which he had already demonstrated. It meant that getting anywhere close to Taien was probably not a good idea.

Tzuri Raiden + Enkosen, Kahen Tate (Changeable Shield)!

On top of all of that was his skill in mental casting, also demonstrated before hand. As well as right here. Taien's elbow came back a hair, which was all that was necessary to cast the Kidou. Even before Aramis's strike would hit Taien, a liquid-like yellow Reiatsu sprang up around Taien in a dome shape. It was a complete defense on all sides, and would stop practically all of Aramis's attacks, should he attack it. This was done in tandem with Aramis's disappearance, so he would block the first attack Aramis shot out at him. Though Taien wasn't expecting it, he did know it was possible to attack while Shunpoing about. With Revenant's abilities, it seemed like a method of attack Aramis would utilize.

However, even though it would block it, his shield would be placed under the effects of Revenant's powers no matter what he did. As the rapier hit the shield, it blanked out of Taien's senses entirely. While not expected, it told Taien what had happened. Even if he didn't know Revenant's true abilities by now, he probably would have done the same thing. Aramis had alerted Taien of his attack with his Shunpo, which had caused Taien to defend himself against that, which inadvertently caused his first attack to fail.

Taien blinked at that. He couldn't feel the shield at all, but he had put enough Reiatsu in it to last for a bit. Effectively, he had an invisible shield for a while. This would give both him and Aramis a break in the combat for a moment, and time to analyze their opponent and figure stuff out about them. The shield had enough Reiatsu in it to last for a while independantly of what Taien did, so it wasn't affected by suddenly being severed off. Taien was essentially stuck in place for a bit, and Aramis was free to move about.

"Clever of you, Aramis-San, to disguise your ability as something else. Battle is about misinformation after all."

Taien said with a grin to his erstwhile opponent. It really was interesting what Revenant could do, and Taien hadn't really seen any weaknesses in it's ability. It probably had them, but Taien couldn't see any at all at the moment. Even a close-up observation really did nothing to solve the problem, he couldn't see or feel anything at all! He pushed his hand up against the invisible barrier, and marveled at the novel sensation of being held back by absolutely nothing. Taien was also observing Aramis while he was doing this. The age old adage of "Know both your enemy, and yourself, and you need not fear the result of a hundred battles." thing he had read in a book once.

He observed how he moved, how he held his sword, how he held his head. He looked over him and observed what he saw. He now realized his opponent had hair of similar color to him, which was quite odd. There weren't that many green-haired people running around the Seireitei, though there were a smattering of other odd colors. Taien wondered at that time exactly why that was, though he stopped after a while because he had the nagging sensation that doing so would drive him to the brink of insanity and back.

While Taien was trapped for the moment (as he had no intention of dropping his defense), it did not mean he was helpless. As he stood within the invisible defense, he mentally went over all the Kidou he knew, and which ones would be good for more defending. He needed something he could activate right after the shield dropped, or better yet, was already in effect. So it was Tzuri Raiden and something else again. It was a bit expensive, but worth it in Taien's opinion. Taien's hand glowed as he fused Tzuri Raiden and Seki, and he touched his torso. A thin, ethreal orange light appeared around Taien. He experimentally moved around a bit to make sure it worked like it should, and then stopped. Like the shield, he had payed extra Reiatsu to make it last longer. Otherwise it wouldn't last more than ten, five seconds. With the effect of the fused Tzuri Raiden though, made it last longer.

Taien was ready for the shield coming down now.

Reiatsu Remaining: 4975/6000 (250 gained for unused tech, -250 for Shield and extended length, -100 for second extend)

[Aramis Tezuka]

As expected, Aramis's attack had been warded off by a shield of kido. The speed at which Taien had created it was astonishing indeed. To even defend against the blow in mid-Shunpo. Though it hadn't been so much a blow, as a light tap. Still. It was remarkable to Aramis that Taien had defended it so completely. He held his blade aloft, and his eyes scanned Taien for a response. "B." He stated. Perhaps Taien would get curious about this soon. This tendency of saying spontaneous letters. Perhaps he's already figured out what Aramis was doing. Hm.

But it was clear to Aramis that his powers were a poor match for Taien. Revenant, which relied on landing hits, was going to struggle greatly against this opponent, especially now that he had unveiled Revenant's true ability. Long Range combat was a no-go against Taien, especially as Aramis lacked a long range attack to retaliate with. Close Range was his best bet. But, how could he land his blow. Aramis was uncertain when Taien's barrier would fall. However, there was a hint Taien might give him.

Taien, Aramis mused, would be unable to attack while his kido shield was up. One-way Kido weren't common, so he doubted this would be one such kido. That meant that, as long as he was surrounded by the shield, he would be unable to attack. Conversely, that also meant that when Taien attempted to attack again, Aramis would be able to strike as well. The Nakabakki's eyes settled on Taien's. He was trying to read his opponent's expression. Taien was about two and a half times faster than Aramis. That was quite a speed gap. Aramis could not hope to easy land a blow, without using Shunpo.

But he could not afford to carelessly spam the step technique either. No doubt Taien's reserves of energy would outlast Aramis's. He had to use Shunpo judicially. With the element of surprise. Constantly using it would only give Taien leave to expect it at all times. But there was a final problem. Because of Taien's speed, attempting a mutual exchange would end badly, unless Taien attempted multiple attacks. And Aramis suspected Taien was too intelligent for that.

Aramis had to come up with a plan. He had to discover a new way to use Revenant. An idea had been formulating for awhile, in his head, of a new way to use it. But Aramis had been hesitant to use it. For a number of reasons, the main one, being that it involved the use of his devil arm. Something he'd preferred to have avoided. But there was no time for that. Taien seemed to be doing something now! Aramis noticed an orange glow about him. No doubt another shield. So, another strike would be futile.

But this meant that the time to attack was at hand. This stalemate would end. Aramis raced through plans in his head. This shield would undoubtedly repulse his attack. He had to discern a better way to get at Taien. These full-body shields were likely taxing to his stamina, but Aramis had no doubt that Taien had the reserves to sustain them, and still succeed in outlasting Aramis. He needed a plan of some kind. But what could he do. Aramis pointed the tip of his blade at Taien's face, as the undetectable shield dissolved. Once more...[/color]

Reiatsu Remaining: 750
Shikai: 4/10

[Taien Hadohou]

All right, it was almost time now. The Reiatsu Taien had put into the shield would have given it enough life for this long at least, and not much more. It would drop soon and fairly quickly as well. Aramis now had his sword pointed at Taien's face. The shield would be down any moment now, and Taien would have to move quickly. Thankfully though, Taien's other shield would take the hit for him first, and would have the nice little effect of both pushing Aramis away a bit and also paralyzing him for a moment. Taien had a plan though. Inside, he was already grinning like a maniac at it.

By Taien's estimates, the shield was down now. The amount of Reiatsu he had put inside of it only would have gotten it to last this far, and not really much else. Time to put his plan into action. Thankfully the repulsing shield would ward off any attempts by Aramis to strike him, so this wouldn't be particularly hard to pull off. Simply put, Taien Shunpoed. However, he didn't go forwards, backwards, sideways, or even downways! No, Taien went the road less traveled, and promptly Shunpoed straight up. With Taien's Shunpo speed, even Aramis would be hard pressed to see where Taien went.

Taien however was chilling on a nice little piece of Air Ground about fourty feet up. Taien had created an artifical platform of Air Ground to take advantage Aramis's release. Taien was exploiting the one weakness that Aramis's sword seemed to have. It had to hit him to affect him in any way. Since he was fourty or so feet straight up, falling down from that height definitely would not be a good idea for Aramis. It was unlikely to kill him or something, but he would sustain quite a bit of damage. Additionally, Aramis didn't have the luxury of being able to create Air Ground like Taien was.

So, Taien was going to exploit this for all it was worth. The Air Ground he could make was relatively cost efficient, and they lasted a good bit as well, meaning he didn't have to constantly recast it every few seconds for fear of falling off of it. With his current reserves, he could definitely wait out the fight up here. However, that wouldn't be very sportsmanlike. This was still a fight technically though, and everything was fair in battle. Taien wasn't aiming to kill Aramis though, this was more like a test at this point. How would Aramis hit him up here?

Oh, Taien wasn't going to be idle while he was up there. Taien was already on the offensive again!

"Sokkatsui!"

The brilliant bright blue ball of blasting flew forth from Taien's palm like a bolt of lightning from an angry Zues who just found out togas were very silly looking. The attack was aimed at Aramis, but the difference in distance would allow him to react to it with relative ease. However, the explosion was something else. Upon impact with the ground, a gigantic blast of bright blue light and fire simply roared into existence, a veritable conflagration of fire and power. Those were Taien's normal Sokkatsui, he hadn't even bothered to enhance it's power!

How Aramis would react to this though, Taien wouldn't know. Because he launched a second one after the first! While it was a bit repetitive, he wanted to know how Aramis would react to attacks of such high magnitude. More importantly though, he wanted to know if Aramis had a counter for long ranged attackers like himself. He was going to need to learn how to do so at some point, so why not right now? It would give Taien more experience with his aim anyway. Dodging practice was also good!

He would need to adjust his strategy accordingly though. Or whatever plan he had concocted. Taien wasn't going to stay in the same place though, oh no. He used Shunpo a second time, bringining him forty feet to the left of where he previously was, also on an Air Ground platform. This one would last him for a bit, so he didn't need to move. Right now he was intent on spoting Aramis, and perhaps taking a few potshots at him along the way. He was interested in seeing how Aramis dealt with this latest change in the game. Adaptability and split second descision making were both extremely useful tools in battle.

How would he respond then. . .? Taien was ready and willing to recieve whatever he threw at him!

Reiatsu Remaining: 4625/6000 (-50 for two Advanced Air Grounds, -100 for two Shunpo, -200 for two Sokkatsui)

[Aramis Tezuka]

Taien had launched himself into the air. How annoying. But now Aramis could test Taien's defenses! Slipping aside, Aramis struck two nearby rocks with Revenant and they vanished. He bent briefly to scoop them into his sleeve, keeping his eyes on Taien. Of course, he could not detect the rocks. And amazingly, a further aspect of his zanpakuto would be revealed. If Taien noticed the rock scoop, he'd notice that Aramis's sleeve didn't seem to sag at all. This was a minor illusion. His sleeve was sagging, but Revenant's power was actually causing Taien's eyes to misinterpret what they were seeing, and convince Taien that the sleeve was hanging normally from the Nakabakki's arm.

Then Taien shot Sokatsui. Aramis reacted immediately, bolting away. Taien was correct in his assumption that the distance, plus the incantation would give him the time required to avoid Taien. However, his eyes were fixed on Taien closely. Calculatingly. That was a good word for it, because Aramis was calculating Taien's position in the air. Aramis was quick enough that despite the destructive power of his Sokatsui, Aramis was able to clear the vicinity of the blast, the building struck by it absorbing much of the force. But then a second Sokatsui fired at him, and Aramis was forced to Shunpo away, having marked Taien's position in the air mentally.

The Nakabakki's Shunpo carried him down an alley, away from the Sokatsui. He was out of sight now. Neither of them could see the other. But, that was why Aramis had fixed Taien's position in his mind. Like a computer, his mind spun, making calculations. Calculating the trajectory he needed.

With a heave of his arm, Aramis hurled the first rock over the alley, and the second rock followed. He didn't believe Taien's cutback would completely protect him from it. But the great thing was, that Taien wouldn't notice them. The stones, due to being struck by Revenant, were completely undetectable. Neither was particularly heavy, each less than two pounds. Not enough to cause significant damage, but ample to split the skin, if they hit, and cause bleeding. Enough for Taien to know he'd been tagged.

So why two stones? Because of that golden aura that had surrounded him. Aramis had no doubt that Taien had set up a kido shield. The first was to force the shield to activate. The second would hopefully break through the then depleted shield. As for Taien, he was intelligent. Aramis conceded that much. If his shield suddenly flared up and vanished, he'd likely figure out what was going on. But in that space of time, the second stone was primed to hit him, likely before he would be able to actually react.

There was, of course, a problem with this strategy. Once Taien discerned what was going on, he was going to move. That much was obvious. And without knowing where he was, Aramis wouldn't be able to discern where to throw his stones. So, he was moving onto stage two already. Taien would doubtlessly come to a point he could see into the alley. So Aramis was setting up a surprise for the Vice Captain. His disguised claws bit into the side of the building to the left of the alley, and he used it to scale the side as quickly as he could. The building had fallen into disrepair, and so it was easy to find handholds to quickly climb, while the talon'd fingers of his left hand pierced through it as easily as a pickaxe. Aramis was climbing towards the roof, Revenant held by the hilt in his mouth. His eyes and head turned frequently to check the sides and sky above the alley, so as to anticipate Taien's next attack.

Reiatsu Remaining: 750
Shikai: 5/10

[Taien Hadohou]

Unfortunately for Aramis, while his plan was good, and probably would have worked, Taien took the time to Shunpo away after the second Sokkatsui. He had vanished from his current position to a place forty feet to the left, right after he vanished with his Shunpo. Which happened to be right as Aramis threw his rocks. If he hadn't done that, both of the stones would have hit him, seeing as his shield vanished a minute ago. However, seeing as he did move, the stones sailed through empty space, not that Taien noticed them anyway. It was hard to notice something that didn't exist to your senses.

Having narrowly avoiding being smacked by invisible stones, Taien contemplated his next move. True, he could simply stay up in the air for a goodly long while, but that was going to be draining on his Reiatsu to keep it up for the remainder of the fight. He had to come down at some point during the fight. He didn't necessarily have to come down right at the moment though, so there was that thought as well added to the mix. Sitting around in the middle of a battle wasn't very tactically sound though.

That said, Taien had located where his opponent had gone. Taien had been tracking his position when he shot off the two Sokkatsui, and it looked like, from what he could tell, he had Shunpoed. That had got him out of his line of sight. However, Taien could still feel his Release. Release was more or less a solid chunk of power, being a release of the user's own soul. Which meant that Aramis was sort of radiating power for anyone with the skill to sense it. Taien had a bit above the average amount for that particular skill, so he could sense it.

Now, this was a bit of a predicament. Why that was, was because Aramis technically 'controlled' that territory. He controlled the Alleyway, and had probably tampered with it in some way or another. Especially with how his Zanpakuto worked. He could run into a beam or poll or something and he wouldn't even notice it was there! A scary thought. It was a good thing Aramis was on their side, he could probably be a tricky chess-master if he needed to be, making things invisible at whim and other such nasty little surprises.

Which left Taien a moment to think about how to deal with it. There were several things Taien could do, but few of them were viable. That was the tricky thing about battle. You always had a lot of options, but picking the right ones that led to victory was the real test. As it was, Taien did have something he could do. It was something he was still mastering, but he did have some powers of his own, aside from his techniques anyway. Grinning, Taien calmly aimed his palm at the alleyway. It was a good thing he was a ways away, or he might have gotten caught in this!

"Raikohou!"

Indeed, one of the stronger Mid-Tier Kidou Taien possessed, a blast of lightning erupted from his palm. Due to the mastery of the spell, along with his skill at Manipulating Reiatsu, Taien was able to fire the spell with very little delay time at all. It was near instantaneous. However, the spell was differently shaped than it normally was. Instead of a bolt of lightning, it had a new form, one granted to it by Taien with his Reformatting skill. In place of a lightning bolt was a hawk.

'Screeching' as it flew, the thunderhawk darted into the alleyway. It's crackling wings cleaved through beams and bars and the like that were in it's way, screeching all the way. It was also of note that Taien had increased the power of this technique as well. He had added the Elemental Thread of Lightning to it. While it seemed redundant, it was already lightning after all, doing this solidified and reinforced the element. Essentially it made the lightning more lightning-er.

It was halfway down the alleyway before it abruptly changed it's course and slammed into the middle of the road. It detonated with one final massive screech, blowing apart its form to release the energy trapped inside. There was a lot of energy trapped inside. The resulting explosion carried with it a Reiatsu Strength of eighteen-hundred, decimating everything around and near the alleyway. It was a good thing that this was abandoned, because there would be a sizable crater where the alleyway used to be.

Taien was fairly confident that Aramis would dodge it somehow, which meant that he would either use Shunpo again or something else. In fact, he'd need to use it to dodge it. Taien hadn't known the exact position of where Aramis would be, so he went straight for the middle. The blast-wave of lightning and power ripped through all the surrounding buildings, blasting them apart, catching them on fire, and basically eradicating all of the area around it. Depending on Aramis's position, he'd either be in immediate danger, or would have time to avoid this as well.

Taien, even being as far away as he was, felt the wave of air pressure roll over him from the blast-wave. It was pretty strong, but he held on. He had to hop to the surface of a building with a sturdier structure though, so it didn't get flattened outright by the blast. That out of the way, Taien set his senses to look for Aramis again. Of course this wasn't really hard. He was still (hopefully) radiating Reiatsu. If he wasn't, either he had somehow cloaked himself, assuming he was immune to the negative parts of his ability, or. . . he was badly injured or dead.

If he did sense his spiritual presence, which was the most likely outcome anyway, Taien cast a second Kidou. It seemed to be a regular Horin again. However, this one was far different. Taien had used another of his special Kidou alteration skills. This one was known as Structuring, which let him fuse the effects of two Kidou. Essentially it let him do something like make a Byakurai explode after it pierced something if he Structured the effect of a Sokkatsui or a Shakkahou into it. This one had a Sokkatsui structured into it as well, which meant, upon contact with something, it would both bind and explode! The explosion would be weaker though, seeing as how Horin was only a move classed at a ranking of Seven.

With that done, Taien sent it out towards Aramis's Reiatsu Signature. There litterally wasn't anything to distinguish it from a regular Horin, it was only the effects that had been changed, not the apperance. Wheras Shape Reformatting changed the outside, Structure Reformatting changed the inside workings of the Kidou. Aramis might be wary of it though. Taien had already tried this before, and he might be able to deduce it was different, somehow. If he didn't though, and hit it with his sword, he'd be in for a bit of a surprise.

Thunderhawk RS: 1800

Remaining Reiatsu: 4175/6000 (-262.5 for Enhanced/Reformated Raikohou, -187.5 for Structured Horin/Sokkatsui)

[Aramis Tezuka]

Aramis was unaware that his stones had not hit their mark, as he could no longer see Taien. However, he could easily assume that Taien would move after realizing he was bleeding. That much was certain. The question was where and when. Aramis had to be ready for anything. Aramis looked at his arm for a moment. He had to be ready for anything, and Taien was likely expecting a plethora of surprises, but.... would he expect that? The Nakabakki glanced at the sky above the alley and couldn't see Taien. So, he was planning something else? That immense destructive force... plus he was in the air. Aramis had to figure out a way to get up there, or it would be pointless. His gaze flickered back to his arm again. ....So be it.

Taien's Raikoho rocketed through the air towards the alleys in which Aramis had taken refuge. It tore through the alleyway, obliterating all stone pillars, and exploding in a tremendous detonation.The buildings were blasted aside like cardboard. Nothing was left within the alleyway but dust, and crumbling ruins. Nothing inside could have withstood that. Of course, however, Taien was correct in Aramis's survival, and it seemed the Vice Captain used his energy sensory to pinpoint the 6th squader's location, sending a tendril of Horin lashing out towards him....

But Taien had been just SLIGHTLY too trigger happy. A large object collided with Horin, and the kido detonated against it, sending pieces of tatami flying in every direction, revealing Aramis behind it, his eyes sharp and focused. If Taien's eyes were especially good, he might notice the look in Aramis's eyes, before he'd feel a sudden pain from his left shoulder. Something very hard, and dense had impacted his left shoulder with enough force to severely bruise it, and split the skin. Of course, Taien would understand what was happening. Aramis had used his zanpakuto to create an invisible projectile, and had thrown it at the instant his exploding horin had collided with the door, that Aramis had employed as a shield. But it was doubtful Taien would understand the true nature of what was happening.

A golden light was filling the sky. Taien was on the offense again. Having seen his power firsthand, there was no way Aramis would be able to stop it, nor would taking cover provide any advantage. But he could use Taien's own power against him. A tatami-door attracted Aramis's attention. It had fallen into disrepair but was still usable. Yes. It would serve his purposes nicely. Aramis darted to the doorframe, and used one hand to tear the frame from its failing hinges. Had the hinges still been in perfect condition, Aramis's meager strength would have failed him, but the ancient hinges gave way easily. Only one more thing to do. Aramis pulled loose the chain normally tucked into his shackle on his sealed arm. Nobody would have ever seen it normally, due to being tightly wound around his arm, and hidden by the shackle. This time though, it became visible for the first time. And then promptly vanished again, as Aramis dragged his sword across its length, causing the chain to vanish.

There it was. The bird had swept into the alleyway, and was searing through space towards Aramis. No time like now. Talon'd fingers sinking through the material of the door, Aramis used Shunpo to launch himself airborne, and swept the lightweight doorframe beneath him. Then the bird exploded. Aramis had Shunpo'd clear of the explosion, and the radiating blast wave combined with the door frame, sent Aramis flying, high into the air. From such an altitude it was easy to pinpoint Taien's location on the roof, and he used the door to glide-- to direct his fall, in Taien's direction.

Already he could see Taien's eyes snapping up to his position. He could see the orange light of Horin flashing towards him. This was it. He would need perfect timing for this.

NOW

Aramis released his grip from the door. With its more aerodynamic shape, the door shot ahead of him, impacting the Horin, and causing it to explode. Through endless demonstration of the complex, one comes to expect the complex. Aramis mused. Taien's advanced and complex kido were amazing, but Aramis was quickly coming to expect just advanced combinations from Taien now. And if it could be predicted, it could be answered. It could be dealt with.

Aramis had marked the speed of the Horin, and his timing had been spot on. His aim, however, was not quite as perfect. Obscured by Horin's explosion for a brief instant, Aramis cast his arm forwards, and his chain, rendered undetectable to the physical senses, snapped forwards, its weighted end smashing towards Taien's shoulder. In truth, Aramis had been aiming for Taien's right eye, but throwing from the air, and the split-second timing he'd needed to stop the Horin had thrown his aim off. Still, striking the shoulder was better than nothing!

Of course. Now Aramis had to worry about his landing. He had fallen from quite high up, and the building's roof would not serve him as a pleasant landing. His eyes scanned the building, for any soft spot, as he descended at terminal velocity. The building seemed made of wood, which would be both a blessing and a curse, as it would give way with relative ease, behind the impact of his landing, but would also splinter and risk piercing him. Though if he missed the building, and hit the ground, the unyielding earth would likely result in several broken bones. No matter how, or where he landed this was going to hurt.

Unless....

There was one soft spot. And only one. Aramis's fall was taking him straight towards Taien. A collision would undoubtedly hurt them both. And this was very dangerous, given Taien's destructive kido. However, it was quite possible that the blow Aramis had struck with his Sinner's chain would distract Taien. Disrupt his focus for the brief instant, it would take Aramis's fall to clear the rest of the distance and use Taien as a "cushion" for his fall. An instant. That's all it would take to determine the results.

Reiatsu Remaining: 700
Shikai: 6/10

[Taien Hadohou]

Aramis's plan was actually really quite good. Indeed, were it not for the abnormal power Taien possessed, it most likely would have gone off without a hitch. Unfortunately for Aramis though, there were two other things he forgot to factor in to his plan. Those things being the distance he was from the door when the Horin hit it, and the force of the explosion when it went off. Although the explosion was a fairly low class, the sheer power Taien had behind it was enormous. Aramis, even as far away as he was from it, would be buffeted and thrown away by the force. That said, that's more or less all it did to him. It wasn't quite powerful enough to do any significant amount of damage to him, save for what fragments of the door survived which could splinter on him.

All in all, it didn't really hurt him. Even if he was struck point blank by it, he had a bit more resistance than a wooden door. What the explosion did manage to do was twofold: it altered his course away from Taien, and caused the chain to miss Taien entirely. Now, he was falling in the opposite direction of Taien, having lost whatever means he had of altering his course mid flight. Essentially, neither party really ended up doing any damage to the other party. Taien Shunpoed backwards once as the explosion resounded, to give him some more room to think and plan. Aramis would be a bit of a distance away, but Shunpo would be able to cover that easily enough.

Hum. . . I still have a little more than two-thirds my maximum Reiatsu, and my stamina is holding out still. Wonder how much longer we'll go on like this? Oh well, think on that later. What's my next plan of attack. . .

Grinning in anticipation, Taien stretched out his arm, his palm open and pointing at nothing in particular. Using his spiritual senses, he confirmed the direction Aramis was in. Forming the necessary Reiatsu, water started to pool in front of him. Having a good amount of time to do so, Taien chanted quickly and softly.

"A drop of water ripples across the ocean surface, a leviathan rises from his slumber. Go forth, depths of the sea, rise from your slumber to drown the land in your magnificent expanse; turn earth to sea, air to liquid, bring forth your deep embrace! Hadou #40: Gouzen Demizu!"

Seemingly pushing the air, the water before him exploded outwards in a huge, surging rush, towards the area where Aramis would have landed. The thing was pretty massive as it was, Taien's massive power backing it would have produced a pretty large wave just by itself. The incantation Taien spoke doubled that size. Essentially, there was now a truly gigantic amount of water rushing towards Aramis. Taien had used this technique earlier in conjunction with Hadou #53, but now, he demonstrated his full proficiency with the technique. Having both exceptional skill in manipulating Reiatsu, along with having mastered the spell, the Kidou took mere seconds to fire off, the extra time having come from the incantation.

Truthfully though, the destructive and massive wave of water was simply a means of distracting Aramis. There was, likely, no way he would be able to prevent the technique from going off, or getting close to Taien, simply due to the fact that the previous exchange would have him at a bit of a distance from where Taien was, especially since Taien used a Shunpo to take himself further away from the last place he was. Which meant that there was a giant wave of crushing water tearing its way through the neglected houses of the abandoned district. This would probably have him preoccupied for a while. On top of being a huge visual draw, the whole thing was saturated with Taien's Reiatsu, further throwing off whatever sense Aramis would have of where Taien was. Even erasing the massive wave would do no good.

All right, while you're playing with that. . . I'll prepare the next playmate!

Grinning wider, Taien brought his left hand up with his right, readjusted his aim, and began to pool Reiatsu into the next spell. He chanted for this one as well, though this was a bit. . . different. . .

"God of Wind, hear my plea. Take from me my stubborn heart, take from me my weakness. / Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! / Through me form the winds of change and the winds of destruction. / Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. / Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. From the four corners of the world, come to me the Eastern, the Western, the Northern, and the Southern winds and let loose upon my enemies! / The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle! Tenran + Raikohou, Boukun Senpuu!"

A massive, lightning filled blast of spiraling air tore through the air, ripping towards where Taien sensed Aramis's energy was. Due to the incantations he poured into that technique, the spell naturally had around fifty percent more power than usual. That brough the total power up to about eighteen hundred. It was the same power as the thunderhawk from before, but this time, it was fused with Tenran. The spiralling, widening blast attack was pretty friggin huge as well. Also, very deadly.

Taien kept alert through all of this though. There was no guarantee that any of these attacks would achieve their goal. He was still open to the possibility that Aramis could have avoided the techniques altogether, and that he needed to be prepared for a counter-attack at all times. He did have a half formed spell in reserve if it came to that. If he needed to, he could stop concentrating on his spells and drop them altogether to finish the rest of the spell creation to launch it at his attacker.

However, the second spell stated above was in case Aramis somehow avoided the wave. Taien was well aware that a wave of that size would most likely crush and wash away Aramis. He wasn't aiming to maim or kill the young Shinigami, and thus, he had a way of stopping the attack dead in it's tracks. That was, however, if Aramis didn't avoid it.

If he didn't avoid it, which Taien counted as a few seconds after he cast it, he would get to work. The quickly Shunpoe'd close to the wave, and raised his hand. The Reiatsu he would have used for the second spell was recycled and remade into the moldings of a different spell, one to stop the wave in its tracks. Merging the spells together, Taien spoke and released the resulting fusion.

"Setsuna Fuyu (Instant Winter)."

A beam of white colored Reiatsu shot out and struck the wave, quickly freezing over the wave before it could do much damage to anything. Sure there were a few buildings washed away, and it would be really, really cold for a while around the area - and probably the Seireitei too -, but Aramis was never in any real danger. If Taien had really wanted to obliterate him, he could have done so a long time ago.

Executing two more Shunpo, he would hop over the wave and move to assist Aramis if needed.

Boukun Senpuu RS: 1800

Remaining Reiatsu - First Scenario: 3775/6000 (-100 for Gouzen Demizu, -300 for combined Tenran/Raikohou)

Remaining Reiatsu - Second Scenario: 3800/6000 (-100 for Gouzen Demizu, -125 for Byakurai and Hadou #42 Fusion, -150 for three Shunpo).