Showcase Match: Storm of Embers [R, NDE] (COMPLETE)

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru was watching everything that was happening around her. She finally got to throw her grenade at Himitsu, trying to aim it at his lower body so it would be a lot harder for him to avoid it or even try to throw it back at her. She smiled while the grenade sailed in the air and Hotaru finally landed back on the ground. She slightly pounded the ground with her bare feet, thankful that she was back on solid ground. It wasn't the fact that she was afraid of heights, she had just never been in the air so long before in a free fall like that.

She watched the grenade and smiled when she saw it explode. She had assumed, like anyone would, that the grenade had hit her target and that Himitsu was now writhing around in agony from her fire. When the fire subsided, her smile immediately turned into a frown when she saw him. He was completely unscathed and it seemed like her attack had hit some kind of invisible wall. She got a little angry at that. She really needed to study up on Kido and learn what the hell it all could do. She was really starting to hate it right now.

It broke up the fight enough to where she couldn't move on the offensive and gave him time to recover and think of his next move. It seemed that he had decided rather quickly on what he was going to do, Shunpo-ing from behind this invisible wall to give them more space. She was trying to quickly think of something that she could do against him as well. She had a few techniques that she could use that she hadn't used in awhile. The distance wasn't so big that she couldn't get closer to him with her own Shunpo.

She was quickly thinking through scenarios that she could use against him when she saw him say something out loud, and from what he was saying, she could only conclude one thing. He was releasing his own zanpaktou. Well, it was about time. While thinking, she saw that his released zanpaktou was a shield. She shouldn't underestimate it, especially if it looked weak. Hotaru herself never really found a value in a shield, she had never used one. If you were a good enough swordsman, your blade could block enough attacks to give her the space to attack.

She knew that he would more than likely keep using the dreaded Kido against her, so she needed to take this battle back to being up close and personal. She started to swirl her sword in front of her. She started slowly at first, and noticed that his right arm was starting to move. She could only assume that it would be moving in her direction with Kido shooting out of it. So, she Shunpo'ed over to his left side, curious as to what this shield could do. Moving to the right would've made it easy for him to move his attack. She hoped this would make it a little more difficult.

She then using her speed, she spins her sword quickly, building up the liquid in a cone shape while adding liquid from her cannon. Once the technique was set and it was ready to be used, she activated Speed Hana #3, Dekata to speed up the slash she would send the attack out at by 3. So, once she sent the attack, it would be travelling at 1575 speed from the technique she used before it. While sending it, she yelled out, "Doragonburesu!" She would ignite it while it was flying towards him. She was curious if he was fast enough to avoid this attack.

OOC: Remaining Reiatsu: 2175/3000 -150 for Speed Hana #3: Dekata, -50 for Shunpo, -100 for Doragonburesu, Shikai 5/9.

[Himitsu Kasumi'Oji]

Himitsu’s plan had worked just the way he needed it to. The third seat was able to disengage long enough to activate his release. However, Himitsu knew that Hotaru wouldn’t sit still while he prepared to initiate another offensive. She was fast and based on what Himitsu could tell from her fighting style, she worked to pressure her opponent into making a mistake with short bursts of speed and relentless attacks. It was easy for him to predict that she rushed him when she noticed that he was getting ready to send another blast of malicious kido.

Hotaru’s shunpo closed the majority of the distance between the seated officers, but Himitsu had been baiting for such a move. He wasn’t sure where she was going to appear exactly, but he knew she was going to be close by, so he let his energy sensory pin point her location. Himitsu knew she would try to shoot more liquid at him, so just after Hotaru appeared, she would find that the blast of lightning that had just left Himitsu’s palm would change direction to target her. Raikoho could be manipulated by Himitsu thanks to the control his Zanpakuto gave him over lightning. Hotaru would most likely be surprised to find a blast of lightning rushing toward her just after her step technique ended.

However, Hotaru had plans of her own to launch flames at Himtisu. Because of the fact that Himitsu had anticipated such an action, he was ready with an appropriate defensive response. Rather than hiding behind his large shield, where his lower body would still be exposed to the lightning, Himitsu instead created a barrier of rapidly vibrating air around him. All he had to do was charge the air particles with a strong surge of lightning from his body, causing them to sustain incredible movement around him and repel both physical and reiatsu attacks that came his way. The liquid flames that made contact with the shield would be thrown back by the invisible force, and the only hint that Hotaru had about the shield was the booming thunder that emanated from Himitsu upon casting the Zanpakuto technique.

Hotaru would easily be off balance if she managed to avoid the Raikoho, so Himitsu would take advantage of such a fact. Wherever she decided to go to evade the technique if she got the chance managed to still follow through with her attack, Himitsu would follow her with a simple shunpo. He would appear directly in front of her, leaving only a two-meter gap between them. From that point on, Himitsu would instantly activate his Zanpakuto technique Jinsie [Magnetism] upon exiting the step technique, leaving Hotaru no time to react as her sword and cannon, both of which were connected to her arms, were pulled toward Himitsu with a sudden jerking motion. She’d be knocked off balance and dragged toward him, all as Himitsu silently activated Hado #63: Raikoho from point blank range with his free right hand. If this maneuver succeeds, Hotaru would be unable to continue fighting. Himitsu would have won a pointless battle between allies. The victory would mean nothing to him.

Reiatsu Remaining: 850/3000 (-50 for redirecting Raikoho, -100 for Thunder Barrier, -100 for Magnetism, -150 for Raikoho)

Shikai: 2/9

Posts before Thunder Barrier May be Used Again: 3/3

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru followed her attack with her eyes, trying to see if she would be able to hit him. Once, she let it go, however, she noticed that the lightning Kido got redirected back towards her. It was at times like this that she really wanted to kill whoever invented Kido. It was getting to the point of being an annoyance to her. Though, since the lightning got redirected at the time she sent out her technique, the techniques clashed. She watched as the lightning hit her fire breath attack and the techniques defeated each other.

In the smoke that was created from the clash, she Shunpo'ed away from him. She saw something almost shimmer around him. She assumed it had to be some kind of release technique, so she kept that in her mind, in case he could use it however he wanted and whenever he wanted. It was a good thing that he brought up this shimmer shield or whatever it was called, because she saw some of her fire fly off in his direction from the clash from the lightning. She had no idea how big this shimmer was, but if it didn't cover his entire body, she was sure at least a few of the flames would've hit him.

Since she was facing Himitsu and saw the shimmer happen, she was keeping an eye on him. Because of that, she saw when he started to fade and disappear. From her experience, she knew that there was only one move that he could be possibly doing, unless it was a release technique. Though, she was going to take her chances with it being the move she expected, a Shunpo. Right when he started to disappear, she Shunpo'ed away. When he would appear, it would be where she was standing a moment before.

Since he was in mid-Shunpo when she left and had already picked out his destination spot, there was no way for him to actually adjust the Shunpo step while in the step motion. So, he appeared two meters away from her old location and she appeared three meters away from that one. The moment that she appeared, she pointed her cannon up and started to spray her liquid in his direction, with as much force as she could muster from the cannon. She put her right hand on top of the cannon to steady it while she aimed and shot at him. She was getting tired of his overuse of Kido and was ready to actually fight the man with swords.

OOC: Remaining Reiatsu: 2075/3000 -100 for Shunpo x2, Shikai 6/9

[Himitsu Kasumi'Oji]

Himitsu was close. He was always so close. The way that he had arranged his assault was almost perfect. The only thing that he miscalculated was the difference in their speed. Hotaru was fast enough to evade Himitsu after seeing him vanish after activating Shunpo. If only that smoke had been thicker so he was hidden better. If only he hadn’t accidentally cleared the smoke by wasting a use of Thunder Barrier, for his Raikoho had already protected him from the flames. He made too many mistakes.

But now, Himitsu found himself with a second chance. Just a second or two ago, his lightning had clashed head on with Hotaru’s flames, creating a field of smoke. And now, with even less distance between himself and the other Third Seat, they were back in the same situation. It was like déjà vu. Himitsu’s hand was extended after he exited his shunpo and found that Hotaru had moved two meters. He already planned on using Raikoho once again, so it was easy for him to silently cast the technique to counter the flames she shot out at him once again. And, just like that, they were in the same exact situation as before. And Himitsu wasn’t going to make the same mistakes again.

As soon as the techniques clashed and canceled each other out, Himitsu made a short but quick shunpo while the smoke hid him. Mangetism would remain active, so the second he appeared, Hotaru would be dragged toward him with both arms. This time, she wouldn’t see him disappear and react. This time, he could use the smoke as cover. This time, he would win. As Hotaru was dragged toward him, with his arm already extended and her body helplessly pulled toward him by her weapons, Himitsu would be able to cast a silent Raikoho once again at point blank range, hopefully ending the long fight once and for all.

Reiatsu Remaining: 550/3000 (-100 for Magnetism, -50 for Shunpo, -150 for Raikoho)

Shikai: 3/9

Posts before Thunder Barrier May be Used Again: 2/3

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru watched with a smile on her face as she was able to avoid his well laid plans. Thanks to her speed, she was able to stay a few steps ahead of him. He was a worthy opponent, one of the closest fights that she had ever been involved in. If he walked away with less severe injuries, she would definitely need to fight this Third Seat again. She liked to test herself against him. Her Shunpo had worked and saw that her flames were able to take care of the lightning Kido the same as it had before. So, it seemed like they were in a stalemate.

Though, when the techniques clashed again, there was more smoke. With this more smoke, there was nothing to thin it this time. Last time, thankfully, he had used a technique that had caused the air to move around the area that the smoke was created, so it thinned enough for her to see him move and move in time to avoid getting hit. This time, however, she didn't have that advantage. She was thinking about what else his lightning release could do and there was really only a few things that came to mind and one of them was magnetism.

So, while she was standing there blind, trying to figure out where he was, he appeared right in front of the smoke. He was still about two meters away, so she had some room to work with. Though, when he appeared, she felt herself get dragged by her left arm and right hand towards him. It was at a steady speed and she quickly tried to fight the pull, but she couldn't. She wasn't strong enough to fight it off and that's when she knew one of her assumptions was right. He had power of magnetism. So, her own zanpaktou was causing this to happen.

She felt the warmth from Rivu~aiasan and he knew what she was thinking. He agreed and she knew that there was really only one more thing that she could do. Release her zanpaktou to be free to defeat her enemy. She noticed his hand was already out and she was pretty sure that he was going to cast that lightning Kido again. She kept an eye on the distance and the hand and when she was three feet away, she figured that he would soon launch his attack. So, when she saw light in his hand, she released her Shikai, allowing her sword to seal again.

When she gave the mental command, she was immediately freed from the pull of the magnet, now only her zanpaktou flying towards the shield. When she was released, she immediately Shunpo-ed to the right, curving it a little to end up right behind him. Since he had angled his arm to hit her at such close a range, she was able to avoid the technique with the Shunpo. She kept her arms out and the instant she appeared, she used Tsuba. Tsuba allowed her to create a blade out of both of her hands the instant she appeared, giving him no room to avoid.

When she appeared from Shunpo, she ended up about two feet away from him and then summoned two blades that were three feet long, making sure that she would be able to hit him in the same distance. She would aim the blades to hit him right under his shoulder blades and at the furthest point they could be before they would've missed his body. When they hit, she turned her hands to face each other and then moved them quickly towards each other, slicing through his body and only stopping when her hands touched.

She then recalled the blades and saw the two huge slash marks in his body, from side to the middle of his body. Since the technique was instant, there was no way for him to avoid. After she had caused the damage and retracted the blades, she rubbed her hands slightly. It was pretty painful to use, but it was worth it. When the magnetism ended, she would walk up and take her zanpaktou back, sheathing it and tying it back to her belt. "You were a worthy opponent, Third Seat Himitsu. If you make it, come find me again and we'll have to go another round."

OOC: Remaining Reiatsu: 1975/3000 -100 for Tsuba x2

[Deleted]

56 paras for Hotaru. That means 560TP + 100 more for wining, so 660TP total.
46 paras for Himitsu. That means 460TP.

[Amagai Kuchiki]

Item Name: Hell Monster’s Watch

Item Type: Pocketwatch

Item Description:

This item is a particularly devious one, and one with a long history. It’s a golden pocket watch, with a black X scratched into it’s lid. When opened, the pocket watch clearly doesn’t run on time: sometimes it’ll tick forward a second only once a minute, or maybe whizz through an entire hour in a few moments. Sometimes it’ll even go backwards. It’s useless for time telling purposes, and is also nigh useless for status purposes: it’s covered in blood, making the gold significantly less appealing.

The special property of the Watch can only be used in very certain circumstances. If the pocket watch is put on a door handle, on the outside of a contained room, then it’ll influence the way that time moves inside of that room. However, it can only be used if there are exactly two, three, or five people inside of that room, as part of the enchantment placed on it. If any number of people other than those listed numbers is present, the watch will not work. If the watch is removed from the handle, the effect will end instantly. If the room is not a contained room (there are doors leading to other rooms other than the one that the watch is on, or open windows), then it will not work.

Hell Monster’s Watch is an artifact, retrieved from Hell, that controls the perception of time, and was used by lesser demons to torture sinners. When someone is inside of a room that has the Watch on the outer door handle, and the rest of the other conditions have been met, that room is effectively removed from the outside world. Attacks targeting the door, or where the room used to be, do not destroy anything (although if they cause the watch to be removed from the handle, they cause this effect to end). Inside of the room, all of the windows go utterly black, and the door cannot be opened except by the person who put the watch on it.

While removed from reality, time moves differently for those within the room, although no one can age, die of hunger, or succumb to other such bodily concerns (although they can feel like they are suffering from them). When the watch is first placed on the handle, the owner chooses “Slow” or “Fast”. If Slow is chosen, to everyone and feels like they’ve been in the room much longer than they actually have been. To be specific, they’ll feel like for every minute of real time they’ve been in the room, they were actually in there for a day. If they have 3 in Illusion Resist, or 3 in Memory, they are immune to this effect. The owner is resistant to this effect, meaning that they require less skills to be immune to it. If they have a 2 in Illusion Resist, or Memory, or any Focus skill, or Strength of Will, they can accurately track the passage of time, although they do not move faster or react faster than the others in the room, because they were prepared for the shift in time flow.

If Fast is chosen, everyone but the owner loses track of time, and feels like they’ve been in the room for much less time than they have been. Every minute that passes of real time will feel like a second to them. Anyone with 3 in Illusion Resist or 3 in Analysis, is immune to this effect and can accurately track the passage of time. The owner is resistant to this effect, meaning that they require less skills to be immune to it. If they have a 2 in Illusion Resist, or Memory, or any Focus skill, or Strength of Will, they can accurately track the passage of time, because they were prepared for the shift in time flow.

If someone wanted to break out of the room, they’d have to be capable of attacking the door with an attack that has at least 600 attack stat, regardless of the durability of the door. If they can’t, the only ways they can leave the room is if the owner dies, if the owner choses to end this effect, or if someone from the outside removes the watch from the handle, or two weeks of real time elapses.

Price: Cannot be sold or bought

Donatedtoshop?(Yes or No?): No, Prize for Showcase Match: Storm of Embers


I can PM Dancer the Code for her own personal use, I'm sure she'll find a situation where this should come in handy.

Thank you all for participating in another round of showcase matches, I'm gonna set up a third round in the near future. Stay tuned!