Struggle Between The Police

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen was getting frustrated with Kimiko's evasiveness. Not her literal evasiveness but her refusal to engage him head on, and fairly, was aggravating him. But he was slowly getting his temper under control the longer they went without a protracted exchange. The longer he didn't have to look at her. Regardless of what Kimiko had intended, Kaen had only ever accepted this match to get a feel for the person that was claiming Captaincy of Squad 7. To determine her abilities and if they were at the requisite level for the position, and ultimately, Kimiko had been found wanting. The battle was suitably ruined for both of them. Kimiko lacked the attitude Kaen saw necessary for Squad 7 Shinigami. The fact that she was hiding herself away now was further proof of that. Kaen did recall that Rin had always disdained the sneaky, cheating ways of the Onmitsukido, so seeing them attempted to be employed against him by someone claiming to be a Captain of Rin's division angered Kaen even more. But not blindly. Not this time. Kaen was realizing that revenge was a dish best served cold, and he would sabotage his own chances if he was too hasty. He had to keep his anger in check. Defeating Kimiko here would be the ultimate revenge. The ultimate display that she was not worthy of Captaincy.

He noticed as her Zanpakuto disappeared. So, you're underground are you? Fine. Kaen sprang up off the ground, and landed lightlyon the barrier between the stadium and the sandy battlefield. On this point, Kimiko wouldn't be able to attack him from directly below. She'd have to emerge from the sand on either side, or else find a way to tunnel into the stadium itself to attack him from behind. Either way, it would be a noisy and noticeable affair regardless of her stealth abilities. Kaen would be almost certain to be able to see it coming. Come on out, or I'll have to start smoking you out, Kimiko. Sand was quite susceptible to heat, and if Kimiko wasn't going to come out at Kaen, Kaen could easily start razing the battlefield itself, turning the tunnels Kimiko was digging under them into an oven, and cooking her alive in her own tunnels. And indeed, Kaen was just about to do that when he noticed something digging its way out. Kaen readied the nodachi in his hands, while angling his zanpakuto towards it. A fireball began to form above his Zanpakuto, almost like a loaded crossbow bolt, ready to fire. Seeing Haunzu emerge from the ground caused Kaen's eyes to narrow. Seeing how it was only a puppy, Kaen held his fire for a moment.

As Haunzu approached, however, the fireball attached to his arm brace flared brightly. "Keep a distance back." He ordered the wolf. "I don't know what your master has ordered you to do or why, but I do know you have no long ranged capabilities on your own, so you will stay well back, or you'll be turned to ash." He warned. He didn't want to hurt the Haunzu puppy. Rin had loved dogs, and especially puppies, and Kaen had developed a soft spot for them himself. But he was angry, and if Kimiko thought she could use that against him, she was sorely mistaken. The fireball flickered in his hands in accordance with Kaen's anger and frustration.

As the Haunzu tried to convince Kaen, he gave it a look. "Your Queen has done something incredibly wrong." He replied. "She's trying to take something that is not hers, and that she has not earned." He answered. "I am fine with people, I take issue with usurpers. If you call her "Your Queen", then imagine one day, your Queen went away. That by some strange means, she separated from you and your pack, and left you behind. Imagine then someone else came along-- someone inferior to "Your Queen" in every possible way, and simply told you and your pack "I'm in charge now, you have to accept that and do as I say" right before they proceeded to slowly but surely prove their inability to control or lead your pack-- watching your pack deteriorate and become little more than a shadow of what it once was. That is what your Queen is doing to this division, that my predecessor loved so much. And while I cannot tell you what your answer would be to an unworthy person trying to do that, I don't intend to sit idly by and watch her bring down this division that was known as the strongest in Soul Society." He responded.

"But if she's so desperate to end this fight, she can flee it if she wants. She can admit her defeat and run away with her tail tucked between her legs. It's her call. Either way. With how much she's struggled with me-- someone who, under the glory days of this division only possessed strength sufficient to stand as its third seat, it's been made clear she doesn't have what it takes to lead Squad 7. Kimiko Shihoin, even if she defeats me now, will only ever have proven that with all her strength, she was only able to barely overcome this division's third seat, while he was holding back." Kaen stated angrily. "If Your Queen wants to make friends, then she should start by not taking things that aren't hers and expecting people to be okay with that." The Vice Captain concluded. "Now, would you kindly tell your Queen to get her ass back up here, and face me head on, so I can put this sword through her undeserving chest and end this farce?" Kaen demanded of Haunzu, his anger flaring up again.

Shikai: 4/9

[Kimiko Shihoin]

The ground would break apart roughly two dozen feet from Haunzu and four dozen from Kaen revealing Kimiko as she pulled herself up from the tunnel. She could see the large fireball that Kaen has channeled with his zanpakuto ready to launch at her. If he did Kimiko was ready to swing her left arm creating a shockwave with enough force to clash against the flames and keep them away from her. The look of excited competition was long since gone from her.

This had just become a fight between two different opinions on her being appointed Captain of the Seventh. It was sad, but after what Kaen had just said Kimiko could see that he wouldn’t be persuaded. He didn’t see the immense effort nor all the pain that she had endured in order to obtain what she had so far. No to him all he saw was someone that was weaker than Enma. “Even after you leave yourself still aggravating me sensei.” Kimiko whispered for herself as she turned and began to walk away from Kaen while snapping her fingers.

Haunzu knowing the signal turned and ran off to Kimiko holding his head low expecting his Queen to scold him for acting independently during a bout. Kaen probably wouldn’t be surprised when several other Haunzu emerged from the sand of the sparring grounds and like the first ran to follow Kimiko. “There is no point in continuing this Youji Kaen. You’re not fighting me, you’re fighting against the decision of the Captain Commander and others to grant me my position."

"You’re fighting against the fact that both your former Captain and Vice Captain abandoned you and this division. A child attacking its new guardian out of love for the former. You may be much older than me, but it seems you have just as much to learn. I’m sorry that you see me in such a negative way. I truly wished for us to work perfectly together after I had heard so much about you.” Kimiko stopped and turned, looking Kaen directly in his eyes.

“You never stopped to consider why I chose to seek out the Captaincy of the Seventh did you? Enma wasn’t just someone you looked up to Youji. He was my sensei and when he vanished I worked harder than ever so I could continue what he had done. Instead of seeking me out and having a good conversation. Instead of enjoying a moderate spar between Hakuda specialists. You just assumed everything about me was wrong. A truly negative dark way to look at change that will one day leave you broken and alone with no one around to help you."

"I hope that eventually you’ll realize that even if I’m not as powerful as you prefer, I’m better than an empty seat or someone with an opposite view taking control. If you ever wish to continue this then I hope it’s between just the two of us and not the memories of Enma and Rin.” Kimiko hated how this had turned out, part of her really wanting to continue fighting Youji as he proved to be a very good opponent, yet her enthusiasm for battle had simply left her against him.

He wasn’t any fun and the purpose of this entire event had gone right out the window. She was near the exit now as all of the Haunzu broke off from her going in different directions. Kimiko didn’t know nor care at the moment, but perhaps Youji would see that she was still working sending Haunzu off to cover the surrounding area as a patrol. She could only hope that soon he would overcome his attachment to the past so they could forge forward together.

Haunzu: 2/7

[Kaen Youji]

Kimiko's personal thoughts were well off the mark. It was not that Kaen did not respect the struggles and trials she had endured to reach this point. It was not as though he didn't respect her skill. Rather, that he did not consider the result of those struggles and tribulations to be worthy of the position she was claiming ownership of. Hardship and difficulty were not the be-all-end-all. To claim the title of "Captain" of Squad 7, Kaen would not accept someone whose strength did not surpass his. In truth, he might not have accepted someone whose strength did surpass his either, but he would at least accept that he did not have the grounds to stand on to refute them. Kimiko had endured a lot, but so too had Kaen. His body had been broken, time and time again. He had bled for this division and in one instance, more or less died for the division (and it was only by thanks of a very helpful item from Shade Kawada that he had survived having his body quite literally blown to pieces). Kaen had endured the pain of that experience. He'd had his limbs blown off, he'd had holes punched through his chest. If Kimiko protested he did not respect her struggles, he would counter with his own.

But Kaen's struggles did not entitle him to claim ownership of the division. Even with all that Kaen had been through he was still the lesser of the true Vice Captain of Squad 7. The leader he believed that Soul Society's 7th division actually needed. His trials and struggles had only afforded him the rank of Third Seat in the division, and he would challenge Kimiko that her own struggles would have afforded her no more than that. Yes, Kaen was currently Vice Captain, but that had been a promotion by the hand of Enma, and even then-- only because Kaen was safeguarding the position from someone less worthy than him.

The light of excited competition may have died from Kimiko's eyes, but Kaen's anger still blazed fiercely. He was as disappointed in this battle as Kimiko, for entirely different reasons. He allowed Kimiko a moment to gather her bearings, as it would not serve his purpose to blast her down as she emerged. He wanted to defeat her in head on combat. And in his mind, "defeat" was quickly being replaced by another word that shouldn't have had any place in a sparring match. One that started with "K" and rhymed with "Hill".

The other Haunzu that emerged from the sand were not a threat. He hadn't sensed that Kimiko's Shikai was fully released, which meant that those Haunzu were effectively just for show. Kimiko was still the only target he had. Kimiko attempted to sway him with words, long after that could have been possible. "I am doing what I was tasked to do." Kaen replied. "I am protecting this division's honor and respect from usurpers like yourself. The Empress would not have accepted you as Captain, with meager skills as yours." He replied. "You lack the strength to protect this division's honor, and more importantly, you lack the conviction. If you had either you wouldn't be trying to talk me down." Kaen snapped at her. "If you had the strength, you would have already struck me down and either left me unconscious on the sand here-- your power proven. If you had the conviction you wouldn't be trying to stop me with words, you would be stopping me with your power." He continued. "Your lack of both prove nothing more than that you're just an upjumped noble who has still yet to earn anything for herself. The Shihoins might give you everything you want on a silver platter, but I will not." He growled at Kimiko, taking a more personal shot at her than before.

Kimiko tried to justify her stance by talking about how Enma had been her instructor as well. Kaen brushed it off carelessly. "You talk like Enma's always been some public figure. He's always been a recluse." Kaen countered. "As for this division's proper Vice Captain. She will return. I have faith in her. And when she comes back this division will be as she remembered it! I will make sure of that!" Kaen argued.

Kimiko tried to talk as if she understood where Kaen was coming from and Kaen cut her off. "You assume wrong. I was content to allow this battle to play out, up until you proved yourself unworthy with your actions. I told you. You should have laid me out the moment you were finished with our battle. And even if you had only intended this to be some lighthearted spar, then you should have struck me down the moment I denied your right. You did neither. You proved your lack of conviction. And then you proved your lack of strength." Kaen told her.

Kimiko tried to protest that she was better than an empty seat and Kaen gave a short and mocking laugh at her. "No. You're not. An empty throne means that none are worthy to take up residence. But any fool sitting on that throne only means that mantle is not worth respecting in the first place. Someone like you daring to claim that mantle as yours mocks that throne." Kaen replied. The nodachi continued to burn in his hands a scarlet red flame blazing brighter and brighter.

"So I'm going to ask you again, Kimiko Shihoin, even though I already know the answer. You clearly lack the strength, but do you at least have the conviction?" Kaen growled at her. "Or are you going to run away with your tail tucked between your legs." Kaen was advancing on Kimiko now, his blazing sword readied and held in a reverse grip. Kaen's ability to sense reiatsu was not great, but he could guess that Kimiko's reserves were probably lower than his, by the state of her release. The pitifully weak Haunzu's that had emerged were an indicator that Kimiko likely no longer had the power to fully release her Zanpakuto anymore. Kaen expected that if Kimiko did not flee now.... If the battle continued, it would end in his favor. She'd given him a lot of time to recover his physical stamina while she'd been hiding underground, but her spiritual reserves would not replenish so quickly.

Kaen, conversely, had only burned through about half of his reiatsu reserves. Maybe a little more than that. He still had strength to use even Bankai if he needed to. In my current state... I could probably release Shikai at least three more times if I had to. Or Bankai at least once. Kaen was still planning out the next steps of the battle. With Kimiko's heightened instincts, she'd probably pick up on it in Kaen's eyes, his body language. The clear blue eyes befouled by intense anger. But more than that, what was radiating off of Kaen was killing intent. It seemed as though Kaen was developing a legitimate intent to cut short Kimiko's life for the perceived insult she had thrown his way. Either way, Kimiko had only a short moment to decide if she was leaving or staying to fight before Kaen was going to launch his attack. Kaen had already been advancing on her, and was no more than fifteen meters away. A distance they both knew he could cover in an instant if he saw fit. In addition, throughout the entire discussion he had not stopped charging his flame. At such close range now, Kimiko would only have once shot to deflect it, and that attack could well leave her vulnerable to a followup attack from Kaen. Kaen didn't expect the fireball itself to do Kimiko in, but he was indeed counting on it creating an opening to finish her.

The moment was in Kimiko's hands. If she chose to walk away now, Kaen would let her leave. He wasn't the type to strike someone if they backed down. Kaen was angry, and had a lot of pride, but he wasn't a bully. He took no satisfaction in taking down someone who had no will to fight. No matter how angry he was. A trait, the absence of which would be proof of how far Kaen would fall in the days to come.

But if she chose to remain and fight. If she made clear her determination to see this fight through to the end, Kaen would actually stop his insults and simply solemnly nod, as though acknowledging her will. And then he'd attack. The fireball he had been charging would hurtle at Kimiko's torso, though by this time it had been shaped to such an extent that the fireball was larger than said torso. But this was no Daihou, and the attack could be dispelled by a Shockwave. ....Sort of. Kaen had well adjusted to Kimiko's shockwaves by now, and his fireball had a surprise for her. He'd given this fireball an explosive property, and if Kimiko attempted to defeat it with a shockwave, or if it connected with her, in addition to the burns, it would produce a brilliant, crimson explosion, briefly masking Kaen from view for only a moment.

At that instant, Kaen would explode out of the flames on Kimiko's right, engaging with a sweeping uppercut of the nodachi, keeping Kimiko beyond arm or leg's reach. Just as the Empress had once utilized against Kaen, Kaen tried to mimic her technique. Rin had been a master of controlling distance with her nodachi. When they'd fought Kaen had found it almost impossible to close to close quarter fighting distance. And though he could never hope to replicate Rin's skill and grace, he did believe he had become a skilled enough swordsman to replicate some basics of her fighting technique and tactics. But more than that, he believed he was uniquely well suited to using this technique against Kimiko. As a Hakuda user himself, Kaen could get inside Kimiko's head. He knew the conventional techniques and tactics used to fight blade-wielding opponents. He could use that knowledge, and plan defenses for Kimiko's counters before even she knew them.

To defend against a diagonal, upwards slash like this, Kaen would normally have retreated to avoid the attack entirely, or attempted to duck towards the target's left, closing the distance simultaneously-- the one quadrant the blade wouldn't cover. If Kimiko attempted the former, Kaen would immediately follow up with a swerving horizontal cut at her midsection, stepping in after her, to keep her driven on the defensive. If she attempted the latter, Kaen would immediately step diagonally away from Kimiko in the direction opposite of what she was, and slice straight downwards across, what would be expected to be her upper back.

If Kimiko took a third option... Well. Kaen was all for learning opportunities. He respected Kimiko's skill with her fists and feet. Though he felt he was still technically the superior hand to hand fighter between them, Kimiko employed a far more unorthodox style than Kaen's extremely basics-focused hand to hand technique, employing more acrobatics. He didn't discount that she might come up with some new way of avoiding his attack. If she did, he vowed that he would at least not be caught off guard. Not while using this weapon. The Empress had managed to stymie her surprise to some of Kaen's more unusual attack patterns, even if he had surprised her once or twice. She'd controlled that surprise. She'd adapted. Kaen promised he would do the same.

Shikai: 5/9

[Kimiko Shihoin]

For the most part Kimiko didn’t stop to listen to what Kaen had to say, so much of this conflict had been filled with opposing opinions and there was no reason to believe that Kaen wasn’t going to simply say the exact opposite of what she believed and had just said. Sure enough it was almost like every point that she had tried to make Kaen saw in an opposing light. Just more of the same excuses for Enma and Rin while blaming her for everything for simply looking to help Soul Society. It was blind loyalty that Kimiko really wished even Haunzu would never have for her. A ruler that could never be anything other than the greatest, in the eyes of followers could surely become the worst sort of corrupt.

She wasn’t the only one putting distance away from Kaen. There were four separate Haunzu now one of which was walking alongside Kimiko herself while the other three spread across the area listening to their Queen, as she had instructed them to begin patrols around the next few miles relying on their incredible senses to locate any issue in proper law abiding by the Shinigami in the area. Perhaps this was how her father had felt when she had spoken to him in defiance.

They were on better terms now thankfully, but all the same Kimiko just had no enthusiasm left. She had planned for today to be a simple sparring session that could show her Vice Captain and some of the other division members that the new Captain didn’t simply get her position for her last name. Apparently though she had been too kind as Kaen only saw that she hadn’t defeated him outright. That was never the intention and although Kimiko had voiced such that didn’t seem to matter.

Just more and more of the same. This had gone on far longer than she ever thought imaginable. It hurt her enthusiasm not just for this exchange, but as a martial artist. Kaen was rumored to be one of the best Hakuda practitioners in Soil Society, a fact that in Kimiko’s eyes he had proven. For someone as skilled as he was to believe the way he was, just hurt her as someone who fell into the same category as him. How could he believe that staying in the past was the best option?

A martial artist should always be improving, seeking new methods, techniques, styles, anything and everything to reach the next level until eventually they reach a degree no one else has obtained. At least that’s what Kimiko believed so how could someone that practiced the same in the opposite direction. Perhaps he was just naturally gifted with no emotional or mortal connection to the martial arts? No, she had seen how he employed his body. This was just something else she didn’t get about him.

A year or so ago Kimiko would have lashed out immediately at the insult sent her way. Her father may have been shocked to see his little girl had started to mature, taking her position seriously and remembering to let such words fall from her shoulders like water off the back of a leaf. Kaen could spout whatever he wished. She had been appointed Captain, if he wished to challenge her for the position he was welcome. He’d learn quickly that she hadn’t lied and had indeed been holding back throughout the fight. Of course he had been holding back as well all the same though. Kimiko was confident especially given that Kaen didn’t seem to like the sneaky tactics that she could employ if she so chooses.

“This isn’t over, maneuver mirror.” Kimiko communicated telepathically to the Haunzu that were now set in various locations across the fighting area most on the edges. One to the back left of Kaen while another was on his right, one still beside Kimiko only a few feet away, then two more to her sides yet just like those near Kaen were roughly a dozen meters away now. She turned starring Kaen down as she could feel his killing intent.

This truly had turned from a day that she had dreamed of as a little girl to the biggest disappointment in her life. She finally managed to obtain Captain rank after nearly killing herself more than half a dozen times in training, yet still she only received further issues from someone else. She was always willing to just fight her father again, that bulking monster of muscle that made even her strength pale in comparison.

Kaen moved towards her, flinging the large pyro ball towards her. She no longer wished to test Kaen nor continue this so it was time to stop holding back and simply harm him. She hoped eventually they could work this out, but he had just crushed her dream like her father had so many years ago. Ruined the day she had been looking forward to for decades. A simple straight shockwave to meet the pyro ball caused it to burst apart yet not without serving a purpose. Kimiko could see the flash of light begin closing her eyes as swiftly as possible and listening to everything around her.

Although her eyes closed, she was not blind. Through the noise of the fire burning the air, she could still hear. The strength of odor that Kaen gave off from his sweat grew thicker in her nostrils as he approached. The sound of his uniform brushing against his skin as he grew closer to her. All this and more accompanied by the sound, smell and feeling of heat that the nodachi he crafted telling her exactly what was going on. The uppercut slash would hit nothing, but air as Kimiko vanished for a moment, her speed jumping above its base for a moment as she invaded Kaen’s personal space almost hugging him with how close they touched now.

Immediately her fingers squeezed and Kaen would feel intense pain from his shoulder yet his neck as well. Kimiko was finished speaking or else this would have been the perfect time for a good one liner. Her fingers had dug into Kaen’s flesh around his collar bone, her four fingers above and her thumb below now grabbing onto the bone itself and snapping it easily in her grip. Wasting no time Kimiko kicked the inside of Kaen’s left leg. Set to mess with his balance for a moment while harming his support enough, the follow up was a powerful slap carrying Kimiko’s full strength behind her small hand now drenched in Kaen’s own blood set to hit right across his eyes no doubt delivering enough damage to blacked both eyes easily, but also blind them with his own blood as well. If Kaen managed to dodge that was alright Kimiko was ready to pull Kaen with her other arm which now had her left hand fingers dug right into his bicep and throw him right across the arena straight into the cement stands with her full strength.

Haunzu: 3/7

Technique Name: Shukuchi-Ho (Reduced Earth Steps) 15
Class: 3
Technique Type: Hakuda
Technique Element: None

Technique Description and Effects: The user makes use of his innate speed to move flawlessly. From a standing stance, or from any resting position, the first step that the user does becomes an illusion, moving quickly than the eye can see. This technique gives the user a short burst of speed to move and invade an opponent's personal space, and engage in hand to hand combat, or to weave in and out of an opponent's attack. This move triples normal speed for each step, and uses no reiatsu.

How to use technique: The user simply channels reiatsu around his feet instead of gathering spirit particles as what Shunpo or Sonido does.

Technique Drawbacks: Shukuchi-Ho requires its user to have at least a base SPEED of 400 points, and is versed in Hakuda (meaning the character must be very knowledgeable in the Shinigami art of hand-to-hand fighting). Also, the technique can only be used if the opponent is within 10 meters of the user. If the opponent is too far, the technique cannot be used. A maximum of 2 steps per post can only be done using Shukuchi-Ho, nothing more, nothing less. Note that Shukuchi-Ho is by no means superior to Shunpo or Sonido.

[Kaen Youji]

(Spoke with Asmo, this will be the concluding post of the fight)

Perhaps if Kimiko and Kaen could have conversed, she'd have come to learn that Kaen was indeed passionate about his martial arts. "Gifted." "A natural prodigy." "Talented." Kaen hated such words. For Kaen, words like that underscored the hardships of training. Whatever natural talent he may have had for hand to hand combat, or fighting in general... he had fought hard for it. He had sweated for it. His muscles had torn, his bones had cracked, his blood had been shed. Bruised and battered. Day in and day out. Driving to be faster. Driving to be stronger. Driving to be tougher. If Kimiko was missing something in her analysis of Kaen, it was the very thing that was leading to his fervent defense of Squad 7 now. Well. One of the two things. The first, of course, was loyalty, but the second was pride.

Kaen was a proud fighter, and that pride blinded him, or often pushed him into taking the path less optimized for his goals. There were actions Kaen wouldn't take. There were avenues of advancement he would not pursue. He would not take these options because his pride would not allow him to. It was the same reason that Kaen had yet to use a single shockwave to answer Kimiko's own. Was he capable of them? Certainly. But he refused to use them, because to him, shockwaves undercut the pride and effort that had gone into his technical mastery of unarmed combat. It's why he would only draw his sword if driven to do so. Why he would only release if he absolutely must, and why his Bankai would only be employed if in defense of something truly important. To do anything less, without giving everything he had would undercut every skill that Kaen had worked so hard to acquire. His pride would not allow him to back down, and that was something he aimed to instill in Squad 7. Pride.

And it was for that pride that he wasn't going to stop against Kimiko now.

Kimiko responded to the blast of flame exactly as Kaen had expected, and he deftly sidestepped the shockwave, anticipating it from the first. So too, had he anticipated Kimiko's lightning-speed Shukuchi-Ho. At an earlier point, she'd probably have caught Kaen off-guard with the speed of her movement, but unfortunately for Kimiko that window had closed when she'd attacked him with Shunpo-Karin earlier on. Kaen was accustomed to Kimiko's lightning-speed step-boosted counterattacks by now.

And yet, despite that, it seemed for an instant like her attack had succeeded, as Kimiko's grip crushed Kaen's neck and shoulder in a violent display of strength. Kaen staggered limply, as his leg was simultaneously kicked out from under him, blood spurting up from his mouth. A broken neck-- if that had been what Kimiko was going for, was indeed, almost certain to finish the battle. Kaen could, of course, use his Bankai, but the internal injuries would be severe indeed, and could potentially kill him if he pushed the fight further. Of course given Kaen's tenacity, anger and determination, Kimiko likely would expect him to try and forge on regardless, and undoubtedly had a follow-up attack aimed to keep Kaen down.

What she probably didn't anticipate, was for Kaen to abruptly vanish then, before he even hit the ground, her blow across his eyes swiping through air, leaving behind nothing but Kaen's Shihakusho, which lazily fluttered down to the ground, shredded and torn by the battle. "....." Kaen was behind her now, his nodachi held in a reverse grip in one hand. The anger in his eyes actually seemed to have extinguished. It was sad. Melancholy even. The conclusion of this fight very clearly seemed to bring him no joy. "I'll admit that you did try to end me there. If you'd done that earlier.... It would probably have actually worked. But you waited too long, held back too long. This match is over." He ordained.

What Kimiko did next didn't matter. Whether she remained where she was, or whether she spun to attack Kaen, or leap to create distance? It ultimately would make little difference, because the moment Kimiko so much as twitched a muscle, several things would happen, all simultaneously. Both of the woman's hamstrings would erupt with blood from a deep cut that went through both of them. Her back would also open up as a pair of cuts tore through them, the first cutting across her lower back, the second, her upper back, and even slicing through the deltoid muscle in the arm she'd been used to grapple Kaen's bicep, which would render the arm extremely difficult to use, assuming the cuts didn't completely incapacitate her. They were certainly deep enough. How had Kaen done that? The answer was fairly simple. A combination of three techniques. The first, Kimiko likely could already have put together by the shihakusho on the sandy floor in front of her. The Utsusemi step-- a technique favored by the Onmitsukido themselves.

The second two parts would be slightly more difficult to discern, but Kaen had effectively blended in a Senka attack, with his Darting Swallow Cut, delivering three lightning fast slashes in mid-Utsusemi. This was Kaen's ultimate sword technique, and in the blazing inferno he had generated around himself, it would be difficult for any onlookers to have understood what had happened. A technique he had dubbed "Shuntensatsu". The Instant-Heaven Kill. An attack so quick he would down his opponent before they even realized he'd struck. It was truly a move that required a reasonable amount of both finesse and set-up however. The technique really only worked once. Once an opponent saw it, and was watching for it, the move would lose a lot of its effectiveness. The technique really only worked well as a counterattack, once Kaen had fully drawn out all of his opponent's options. But when all the pieces lined up as they had here-- against a Kimiko Shihoin that was almost as worn out as Kaen was, it was a devasating move that there was little defense against.

Of course, a move like this was taxing on Kaen as well. And not just in reiatsu. Kaen suddenly vomited from the exertion. Bile mixed with blood was coughed up from him to the sands, and his shoulder wound, cauterized closed, burst open anew. Kaen's arm was black, blue and purple with extreme bruising and hung limply at his side. Only some vague sense of determination, not to let this symbol of the Empress fall, kept the nodachi clutched in his fingers, the blade dipped and sizzling against the stadium sands-- the arm that wielded it, lacking the strength to lift it. Kaen's breathing was rough and jagged. His fighting spirit finally seemed to have been burnt out with the culmination of this final attack against Kimiko, and with it, there was nothing to shield him from the weight of what he'd done.

The battle was decided-- he thought. The Shuntensatsu would have robbed Kimiko of her legs. Though Kaen hadn't severed them, as he could have, with both hamstrings cut, Kimiko wouldn't be able to stand. One of her arms was likely out of commission, and with the two deep wounds in her back, the shock of the attack may very well have been enough to put her down, without any level of Pain Resistance. Even if it wasn't, the wounds were serious and she would be dealing with considerable blood-loss, having now been slashed badly by Kaen three times now.

But even if Kimiko held her ground, she wouldn't be able to stand. Haunzu would be her only chance at actually fighting Kaen, but with her Shikai released in a weakened state, her loyal attack dog would likely not be sufficient to stop Kaen's bolstered Shikai that was still active. Even if he was, Kaen was in a perfect position to bathe Kimiko in flames, before she'd be even able to turn around and defend herself. He didn't need to move his arm to unleash a flame attack after-all. The battle was decided, but it would not be hard to argue that while Kaen may have eeked out a narrow physical victory, both combatants had lost this fight.

Shikai: 6/9
Reiatsu Remaining: 50 (-600, 100 for Senka, 500 for Utsusemi)

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

+1650 TP +100 = 1750 TP to Kaen
+2010 TP to Kimiko