The Fire Rises in the Moons Gaze [NDE / R]

[Deleted]

Thread Title: The Fire Rises in the Moons Gaze
Participants: Luke and Kaen
World: Soul Society
Death Setting: Non Death Enabled
Rating: R
Location:
Special Conditions:
Circumstances:

[Deleted]

”Hah...hah..” Deep breaths in, deep breaths out. Despite having taken down two of them, the other three still remained standing. Standing in the center of a ring of black robed and white outfitted corpses, the Bount stared straight ahead with those brown eyes glowing with righteous determination. In front of him stood the remaining three enemies. The two that stood behind their boss looked exactly like you’d expect goons to look like. Each of them were thickly built, wearing white trench coats that hid their bodies from inspection. Each wore a gas mask to hide their faces, the eyeholes glass darkened so that even less of their features could be made out. Each of them stood behind their asshole commander, a pompous fuck that made Luke’s blood boil each time he talked.

But let’s back up. Just what was happening? The night had started easily enough. The Bount had been picking up groceries to restock the stuff at his apartment when a Hollow alert had gone off. His cellphone, a gift from being hired by Uzaki Enterprise, was connected to the companies Hollow detection system. Putting his grocery shopping on hold, Luke intended to respond to the Hollow sighting six blocks away. But as he was enroute he was surprised to find that the alert was suddenly cut off. The only reason for that to happen was if the Hollow had been dealt with, it disappeared, or there was something wrong with the system.

Regardless, when Luke approached the location where the Hollow had been reported to be he didn’t find it. He did, however, find evidence of a fight. Nothing major. Just a damaged car and some knocked over garbage cans. As he searched the area, he ended up feeling reiatsu on the very edge of his Energy Sensing range. A more focused examination informed him that it was Shinigami. A couple of them. Were they the ones that dealt with the Hollow? He figured that’d be the end of it. But as he turned to leave and carry on with his night, the sound of the explosion drew his attention.

Turning back around he saw the red glow and ascending tower of smoke. The fuck just happened, Luke had wondered, as he immediately began making his way towards the scene. It would take him a few minutes to get there, having to rely on using the rooftops as a means of travel. Despite the fact it would cut down his travel time he still had to cross at least a mile of city to reach the hot zone. His mind ran wild with speculation about what was happening. Where the Shinigami causing trouble? Where they under attack? Did someone fuck up? Or was something completely unrelated going on? He blinked suddenly. As he got closer he became aware of other reiatsu sources. What’s more, the Shinigami sources were blipping out of existence one by one. The fuck was happening?

Leaping over the edge of the roof, Luke tumbled downwards through the air before using light airground to slow his descent. With confidence he came down atop the roof of a parked car, denting the roof in a little. Oops. But that wasn’t what was important. No. The sight of Shinigami corpses surrounded by white outfitted men was what he focused on. Eyes widening at the sight of them, Luke noticed the designs of the buttons and paraphernalia they wore. He recognized them for what they were. It wasn’t just there outfits, but their very reiatsu gave them away as well. Brown eyes narrowed at them as they turned to look at the newly arrived fighter as he hissed their named between barred teeth;”Vandenreich.”

That’s how we got to here. Two of them had tried rushing him, and were quickly cut down without any hassle by the Bount. They were fledglings. New recruits out on their first mission. Eager to serve their Majesty. But the Sternritter they accompanied didn’t weep a tear for them. He didn’t even seem to care. The two goons that stood behind him each had a Shinigami corpse in their arms, the one on Luke’s right had two of them. Why were they holding the corpses? And why did Luke still sense reiatsu from them? ”Tsk, tsk, tsk.” the Sternritter suddenly sounded, twisting his hand to point his thumb down to the ground then up to the air. ”Disappointing disappointing. Such high hopes dashed upon the shores of reality.I was really hoping that they’d perform better.” He complained with a dramatic sigh, resting his left hands fingers against his shaking heads forhead.

Narrowing his brown eyes, Luke remained silent. Was he talking about the two Quincy he had cut down? ”No shit Sherlock.” Jäger replied. Seemingly unsatisifed he hadn’t gotten a reaction out of this new arrival, the Quincy threw both his arms out to his side. ”How rude! I’ve yet to introduce myself to our newly arrived aquantice! Please, allow me to say the name I have so much pride in. Ezekiel! Sternritter E. E for Extinguisher.” he said rather extravagantly. Opening his eyes to give a smug smile to the Bount in front of him, he extended a hand forward to Luke. ”And you? What’s your name?”

Luke didn’t have any reason to answer him. He remained staring ahead at the Quincy, waiting for the chance to spring forward. Anger burned in his chest. He wanted to cut the prick down. The Vandenreich were evil. The Vandenreich brought ruin and destruction with them wherever they went. They were monsters. They were what Luke had sworn to fight against. He had sworn himself onto the path of a hero. To stop these people. To become a sword of light to cut through the darkness. To put a stop to them. The only way he could save people was to stop the monsters that went after them.

”Luke...Clyburn. A defender of this city.” Luke replied suddenly. He had to calm down. The anger inside him was building to an explosive point. Anymore and he would have moved without thinking. ”Oh my. A defender of this city. Of this fair and grand...shithole.” Ezekiel laughed, suddenly switching to a more crass tone as he began to laugh. Luke narrowed his eyes further. Preparing to step forward he suddenly stopped when the Sternritter sighed. ”Ah well. That’s all well and good...but unfortunately I’m just not interested in playing with you mister. I’m interested in much bigger prey.” He explained with a lick of his lips.

With that, Luke rushed forward. Sword kept low, Luke aimed to land a slash right into the Quincies stomach, but before he could get close enough one of the two goons suddenly appeared in front of him. His right fist was thrown at Luke, who quickly raised his sword to block the incoming blow. Surprise surprise. Sharp metal touching bare flesh didn’t do shit. His fists were reinforced with reiatsu. ”Tch.” Luke snapped his tongue, quickly backtracking and becoming entangled in a dance of blows and blocks with the Quincy. As the two tussled, the second goon was now holding all of the Shinigami bodies turned his head away from the fight as if he picked up on something. He leaned forward and whispered something into his commanding Sternritters ear. ”Oh...he’s arrived? Damn. I was hoping to deal with this one before he arrived. But...I’d rather not have to fight both. We’ll retreat for now.” Ezekiel replied, snapping his fingers.

Luke’s horizontal swing cut through empty space as the goon he was fighting suddenly leapt away, landing by the two Vandenreich corpses and picked them up. ”Hey! Get back here!” Luke shouted as he rushed forward, aiming to keep the fight going. ”We had heard that that man would be in this city tonight, and so went to the trouble of appearing here in this decrepit city. But you’ve gone and ruined our plans. Ah well. There’s always next time. Ciao, Mr. Clyburn.” Ezekiel said with a wave as the very shadows beneath their feet rose up. The shadows surrounded and consumed them before flattening out as normal, just as Luke was close enough to slash his sword at empty space yet again.

Looking at where the Vandenreich entered the shadows, Luke clicked his tongue again. So many questions bounced around in his head. Why were the Vandenreich here? Why did they take the Shinigami bodies? Who had they been here looking for? So many questions were bouncing around in his head. Frowning, Luke turned to look at the corpses of the Shinigami left behind. What was he going to do with them? It wasn’t right to just...leave them out in the streets. Could you bury them? He bent down on one knee, touching the neck of one of the fallen to make sure that he was dead. ”Damn it…” Luke murmured to himself.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and Skills}

• [Weapon: Swords] {2}
  
  
• [Battle Analysis] {3}
  
  
• [Strength of Will] {3}
  
  
• [Pain Tolerance] {2}
  
  
• [Anti-Stealth] {2}
  
  
• [Charisma/Leadership] {1}
  
  
• [Battle Focus] {3}
  
  

Luke | Soldier

Strength - 200 Points

Speed - 300 Points

Spiritual Pressure - 400 - 700 Points

Reiatsu Strength - 100 - 60 Points

Light Aura - 90 Points

Dark Aura - 10 Points

Instinct - 150 Points

Senses - 150 Points

Energy sensory - 100 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points

Total SP: 1400 Points

[Kaen Youji]

Vandenreich attack on Shinigami officers in the Human World. That had been the only thing Kaen had been notified. Numbers? Unknown. Strength? Unknown. Abilities? Unknown. Everything unknown, even that they were Vandenreich was purely based on the blitzkrieg attack patterns. Kaen had made full haste to arrive, knowing that a Vandenreich attack was usually a short affair. If they could not overwhelm with the opening assault, they'd retreat in an instant. It was difficult to lock down or trap the Vandenreich for this reason. They weren't like the arrancar. They didn't stand and fight to the bitter end, they got the hell out of Dodge. So Kaen knew his time to get there was short. ...Too short. Even with his limited skills at sensing other spiritual entities he could not detect signs of Shinigami as he exited. Damnit! If only.... His mind flashed back to the attack on Soul Society. Seeing all of his dead subordinates. If only he'd gotten there faster, he might have arrived in time. If only he'd trained them better they might have held out long enough to get there. If only, if only... More reminders of the Vice Captain's failings. Kaen's eyes burned with anger, as he hurtled towards his destination. "Let... at least one of them still be alive..." He groaned out just as he arrived at the scene of the crime. There was smoke and burning. A distinct lack of bodies. But there was one remaining person there. Kaen didn't know his race at a glance. Didn't know if he was mercenary, Vandenreich or what the deal was. Didn't know if he was human, Bount or Quincy. Only a few short months ago, Kaen would likely have investigated first. Asked, to confirm this wasn't a misunderstanding, or a potential ally. That was what Squad Seven did after all. Investigated things. Covered all angles. Even in the wake of this, Kaen would have been able to keep his cool. Keep his fury in check until he confirmed the parties responsible.

This wasn't the Kaen from a few months ago. His heart had been wounded, and scarred, and he was filled with an anger that needed to be taken out on the first available target. And unfortunately for Luke... He fit that bill. "You." Kaen said, audibly, and in a furious hiss of speech. The Vice Captain's body became a blur of motion, as he launched himself at Luke at a staggeringly fast speed, and his arm surged forward, striking Luke's chest with an incredibly fast, and incredibly heavy punch. Kaen was fast and he was strong. Luke was no weakling himself. His physical strength and speed were both far beyond that of normal humans. But they paled in comparison to Kaen's, and Kaen was hitting Luke with so much force that a hit like this would have been suitable to put a hole right through the man's chest and out the other side. With raw physical strength, Kaen could easily remove limbs as easily as snapping a toothpick. Punch a hole in a human torso like it was made of thin plywood. Another change from the old Kaen. The old Kaen would have tested Luke out. Checked his defenses, before committing to an offense. Ironically, despite Kaen's earlier disdain of Vandenreich blitzkrieg strategies, as of late he'd been adopting similar. Defeating an opponent as quickly as possible. Crushing them before they had a chance to resist. And if they had some special defensive technique that protected them? He was willing to take on injury and damage. A frighteningly risky new style, compared to his previous composed chess-game of a fighting style, and one that was as likely to leave Kaen as bloody as his opponent. But with one caveat. It was this kind of style that made him much more dangerous to fight. With a greater focus on destroying the opponent this new aggression meant that it would be much harder to escape battle with the Squad Seven Vice Captain unscathed. Luke was in for a very bad day.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and Abilities}
• [Martial Art- Karate] {4}
• [Pain Tolerance] {3}
• [Martial Art-Jiujitsu] {3}
• [Analyzing] {2}
• Hakuda {3}
• Zanjutsu {1}
• Iaido {1}
Total: 18

[[Strength - 300 Points (600)
Speed - 375 Points (750)
Spiritual Pressure - 200 Points (150)
Reiatsu Strength - 400 Points
Light Aura - 45 Points
Dark Aura - 55 Points
Instinct- 175 Points
Senses- 100 Points
Energy sensory - 50 Points
Healing Expertise - 0 Points
Total: 1600 SP]

[Deleted]

If only he had gotten here sooner. If Luke had been faster than these men might still be alive. He felt his jaws pressing together from the building anger of his incompetence. If he had been faster...if he could sense energy further...there was a lot of things he could have done. But they were things he couldn't do. He wasn't strong enough to beat that Quincy goon. He wasn't fast enough to stop these Shinigami from dying. He was still too weak. He was still too weak to beat them. Why though? "Because you-" No. Luke knew the answer. He was being difficult and stubborn. He knew why he failed to beat those Quincy. It was an easy answer to a stupid question. He felt himself frowning as he pushed himself to his feet.

But he was sudden pulled from his self pity when he felt a new signature of energy. His brown eyes widened themselves suddenly when he felt that energy. It was recognizable. It didn't take him even a second to recognize that it was a Shinigamis. Having been around them enough, even trained by one, he was able to quickly pick them out from any other kind of energy feel. But, even so, the man's who trained him reiatsu still felt different from every other Shinigami. But this source was unique itself. What stood out about it was how...powerful it was. Not in the sense that it was overwhelmingly powerful such as that red haired Quincies...but the power source carried with it a feeling of experience and strength of will. What's more...Luke could feel anger.

"You." "Oh shit." Luke suddenly heard behind him. Without him even realizing, that source of power was already here. Eyes widening he spun around, stealing a look at the Shinigami standing behind him. A young man, maybe around Luke's own physical age, stood there. Black spiky hair rested on a head with eyes just shimmering with anger. That single word the man spat at the Bount dripped with malice. Wait...why was he...Luke suddenly realized it. This looked bad. This looked really fucking bad. "Wait...hold o-" Luke began to say, to try and explain the situation, but was cut off when Kaen made his opening move.

This was the first time Luke faced someone so physically strong. This was the first time he'd faced someone so fast. Normally, Luke could have reacted to such speed and the attack. It wasn't that hard to, honestly. Sure, Kaen was fast, but there were ways to deal with someone using high speed. But the reason that it happened was because Luke hadn't shifted to fighting mode. He had been entirely focused on trying to reason with Kaen. He wasn't expecting an attack. A foolish, and stupid, mistake. But Luke wasn't in the wrong here. He wasn't expecting a Shinigami to attack first and ask questions later. And because of his foolishness he was sent flying...but things didn't turn out quite like Kaen had intended.

The sheer physical force behind the punch still sent Luke flying through the air like a damn ragdoll. But the damage that Kaen had intended to inflict on Luke was nowhere to be seen. Rather, it was Kaen who had gotten hurt. The Vice Captains attacking arm would be affected by the Bounts Cutback. From his hand to his elbow, Kaens arm would become swollen and purple as half the limb essentially became one massive bruise. There was the possibility that the finger bones would crack and fracture from the ridiculous difference in their Spiritual Pressure levels. A couple tears in his skin would leak blood. A price for Kaens sudden rash action. Both he and Luke made stupid moves.

Luke hit the street once and rolled, and his sword clanged its way further down the street. "Gah!" He gasped, coming to a stop on his shoulder and getting to his feet. Putting a hand to his chest, he was shocking to discover the fabric of his shirt had been ripped through. Jesus. Even though cutback had absorbed the damage from the attack, his punch still carried enough force to send the Bount flying. That had never happened before. Cutback had always completely absorbed the power behind a physical attack before now, as if Luke was some kind of unmoving statue. But...this was new...and honestly kind of shocking. Just how...strong is this guy? Luke wondered, focusing his brown eyes on Kaen and noticing what his Cutback had done to the man.

"Haha his arm looks like a grape." Jäger decided to laugh, unsurprisingly not taking the situation seriously while safe inside Luke. Regaining his footing, Luke took a second to consider the situation. "You're not seriously considering running, are you?" Springflut suddenly asked, his loud voice booming inside the Bounts head. "Hey hey hey. He didn't go asking for this fight. Let this shounen trash looking grapefuit fucker find the right people to fight." Jäger decided to comment. "Fight or flee. Whatever your choice make it quick. He's coming." Windstarke decided to comment, not choosing to side with either of the other two Dolls.

He's mad. If he's willing to attack without considering his opponents strength...then running isn't a option. I don't know what he can do or what he'll do in that state. I'm not going to risk innocent people getting caught up in this by running. I'll beat him down or knock him out then explain everything that happened when he calms down. Luke decided, narrowing his eyes. All of this only took a few seconds to decide, as the mental conversations were rather fast. But Luke was still going to give Kaen a chance. "Stand down or get taken out." Luke threatened, as he opened his fingers and activated Advanced Air Arsenal.

Made from reiatsu and the very air itself, a pair of twin curved swords appeared in both of the Bounts hands. The sword in his left pointed forward, while the sword in his right pointed backwards. Stepping forward with his right foot and lifting his right arm up defensively, and keeping his left sword around waist level, Luke stared ahead at Kaen hoping the Shinigami chose to stand down. The guy was too angry to listen to reason...so violence was going to be the only way to get through to him. But Luke couldn't deny the building excitement inside him. There was the possibility that this was going to be a good test for him, and that he'd acquire something from this fight. His human heart couldn't suppress the natural fighting instincts bubbling to the surface from his Bount blood.

Remaining Reiatsu: 6600 / 7000
-400 for x2 Class 4 AAA swords

[Kaen Youji]

The target attempted to ask Kaen to hold on for just a moment, but Kaen was in no state of mind to be listening. His attack was fast, and vicious and it was a direct hit, sending Luke flying. But Kaen felt pain surge through his arm, and his skin ruptured as the force of his own attack was reflected back at his attacking limb. "....Ow." Kaen growled out, shaking the limb. Was that enough to fracture his limb? He wasn't sure. Probably right on the borderline. Another hit like that would break his forearm easily, and too many more hits to the arm would probably cause definite fractures, but while his arm was definitely damaged, it was still usable. "Cutback, huh?" He commented. "Don't think that will save you." Kaen seemed to be shaking his hand, but was also testing to see if it was still usable. The damage was pretty bad... but.... He was able to still curl his fingers, albeit awkwardly and painfully. Definitely some tendon and ligament damage. But his hand could still grasp. That was all he needed. Kaen brought his arm up, across his body to draw his Zanpakuto, slicing the air in front of him with a direct, crescent cut. There was no attack in this. That was pointless. Even if Kaen did launch an air slash, Luke's cutback would stop it. When faced with cutback, Kaen would normally opt for grappling techniques to break down the opponent. But that was only if Kaen intended to gradually scale up as his opponent did. If he intended to match the opponent's escalation with his own. Today, the Vice Captain wasn't interested in matching escalation with escalation. He was out for blood. He wasn't fighting to defend anything today. Today he was fighting to avenge his fallen comrades. So when Luke warned Kaen to stand down or get taken out, the shinigami's answer was already set to go.

"That's my line." He countered, using his free hand to help turn his zanpakuto into a reverse grip. "Burn Hachiryuu." A red/orange reiatsu flared and burned around Kaen, and the Shinigami emitted an intense heat. The air itself seemed to grow choking, and it became difficult to breathe around him, as though some invisible flame was consuming all the oxygen in the area. His sword glowed white hot, as though it were in the midst of a furnace, and that glow extended to surround his injured arm. And then as soon as it had come, the blazing aura around Kaen suddenly, and anti-climactically dissipated. Now the Squad Seven Vice Captain had an arm brace around his injured arm in place of a sword. "There. That should resolve my issues with your cutback." He warned, lifting his arm with greater ease than before. The metal brace appeared to be acting as a splint for his arm. It wasn't the first time Kaen had done this, but in situations where his arm had sustained considerable damage, he found Hachiryuu was very good at keeping it together. The shinigami saw Luke procure a pair of swords, bringing them to bear against him. Kaen answered with a dark, and dangerous smirk. "Let's try that again shall we?" Kaen burst at Luke again, slightly slower than before, but still with frightening speed. Arm chambered as if to strike him again, and this time, his limb had the arm brace to ward off any defensive cuts Luke might attempt. He darted into range and then threw his fist forwards.....

And then Kaen abruptly vanished. This was Shunpo! Of course Kaen wasn't going to try the same strategy twice! At least not immediately following it the first time. Not that Luke would have much time to process this, before an equally heavy impact slammed into his right arm from the side. Kaen hadn't gone far with his Shunpo. Unless evading an opponent, and desperately requiring space, with Kaen's speed, short range Shunpos were much more effective, as they left a slower opponent with virtually no time to react. And Kaen, in this case, had only used his Shunpo to move directly behind Luke, already spinning and using his momentum to fuel a powerful attack. From one side of Luke to the other, Kaen couldn't have crossed more than two meters. And two meters at Shunpo speed? Kaen could cross it in less time than it took to blink. Which was bad for Luke, because that also meant, for fighters of middling combat instincts, the time it took for him to realize Kaen had used Shunpo, would coincide with the exact instant Kaen's roundhouse kick hit him in the side, with just as much force as his first strike. Even if Luke realized the Shunpo, and predicted Kaen had moved behind him-- well. That was why Kaen had picked the roundhouse kick to hit Luke from the side. There were an uncanny number of facts for Luke to realize in the infinitesimally small window of time between Kaen using Shunpo and his kick connecting, if any hope of a successful defense, let alone a counter, was viable. And uUnfortunately for Luke, with his Zanpakuto released, Kaen's own spiritual power had sharpened enough to bypass cutback. Luke would, unfortunately, be experiencing this hit at full power.

Fortunately (or as fortunately as getting kicked in the arm/side by someone like Kaen could get), this would also send Luke flying, preventing Kaen from delivering any further combination strikes, and Luke's arm would absorb most of the damage from the kick. Small comforts, but no doubt the results would have been much worse, had Kaen managed to land a hit on Luke's neck or spine. Kaen was forced to inhale deeply. While he was used to moving in bursts of speed, in combat, to do them consecutively would wear away at his stamina quickly. He knew that unless he could guarantee victory quickly, fighting at top speed would burn him out and hand the advantage back to his opponent. He'd have to reign in his speed now, lest he start tiring himself pre-emptively. That was more good news for Luke. However, Kaen had still used that speed to devastating effect in the short timeframe available to him, and unless Luke had somehow defended Kaen's high-speed kick in these circumstances, he'd probably paid for it with considerable, if not crippling damage to his right arm. Besides. Even if Kaen did slow down now, Luke had seen a quick glimpse of the hell that was awaiting him, and even if Kaen slowed down, Luke would have to battle the paranoia of what would happen if Kaen resumed using it at any given moment....

This was really going to prove to be a bad day for Luke.

Shikai: 1/10
Reiatsu Remaining: 1300 (-150 for Shikai, -50 for Shunpo)

[Deleted]

Despite the damage done to his arm by the Cutback rebound, the nameless Shinigami still wanted to fight. He replied to Luke's own cease and desist with his own one liner, but what Luke was focusing one was the fact that he was still able to draw his sword despite the injury. He's tough. Luke mentally commented, as he realized that this guy must be no stranger to being hurt. Luke knew that despite his own resilience if he had an injury like that he'd probably be grunting and complaining. "Bitch." But even so, it gave Luke a little clue about Kaen and his fighting style. Drawing his sword, the Shinigami looked ready to take the fight to the next level. He tightened his own grip on his twin swords, readying himself for whatever move Kaen tried to throw his way next.

The sudden release command wasn't expected though. Brown eyes widened when Luke realized what Kaen had just said, prompting him to instinctively leap back a few more feet to gain some more safe distance from Kaen and his release. Fire like reiatsu burst into existence around the man producing a substantial heat that Luke could feel even from where he was. The sword in his hand began to glow white, like it was being subjected to intense heat, before it shaped and morphed itself into a bracer on the man's injured arm. With the release complete, the heat and reiatsu surrounding Kaen vanished suddenly. Narrowing his eyes, Luke had an idea what sort of power Kaen might have from that release command and that display of reiatsu. He couldn't be sure...but he had an idea at least.

Kaen suddenly burst forwards, heading directly towards Luke. Yup. This guy was a physical fighter. No mistakes about it at this point. The Bount lifted his swords, preparing to respond with a defensive procedure to Kaen's attack when the Shinigami would suddenly shift his strategy. But as Kaen approached Luke suddenly felt reiatsu. Though it was only a small amount of reiatsu Luke could feel it kicking to life within the man's legs. That alerted Luke to what Kaen was getting ready to do. There was no mistaking it. He'd trained alongside enough Shinigami to recognize Shunpo when it was about to be activated. Especially true when the one who taught him how to fight was a real Step spammer.

As Luke expected Kaen vanished when he had gotten close. Just like any physical fighter, Kaen relocated himself behind Luke to throw a blow at him inside the Bounts blind spot. But what Kaen wasn't expecting was that this wasn't a surprise to Luke. This was how the Bount fought as well. Luke had been trained to attack from his opponents blind spots because his own offensive capabilities were limited due to his absurdly high Spiritual Pressure. He had already decided how to deal with Kaen if the Shinigami chose to continue using physical attacks out of concern over what the man's release could be. So when Kaen's blow came slamming itself into Luke's arm, the Shinigami would be in for quite the surprise.

Luke suddenly exploded into a thick cloud of mist, blanketing the street and consuming Kaen like the Shinigami had just stumbled into Silent Hill itself. A fog so thick that even a knife couldn't cut through it blasted itself into Kaen's face and filled the street they fought on. Luke's reiatsu filled the fog, surrounding the Shinigami on all sides, making it impossible to pinpoint where Luke exactly was. Luke had used Nebel, a technique only the Bount could use. When hit by a physical attack he could dissipate into mist avoiding the damage from the attack completely. If he so chose he could also make the mist he became spread out like a fog, like he did now. Originally this was how Luke always used this technique. It was, honestly, because he didn't know he could use the technique any other way. After mastering Nebel, however, Luke had learned some new ways to use the technique. But, right now, he felt creating the entire fog was a good strategy.

And so, once that fog had been created and perhaps leaving Kaen a little stunned, Luke decided to attack. He figured Kaen would be surprised and trying to figure out just what had happened and be unable to properly respond to his attack. Luke reappeared, portions of the mist coming together and forming into his shape, behind Kaen with both of his arms in motion. He swung both arms from the right at Kaen's back, aiming to slash his back with those twin swords of air. He needed to make some use out of them before they dissipated. Air Arsenal weapons didn't last long by any means. Luke wished he had a actual, signature, weapon. He'd need to grab his real sword if he had the moment.

Nebel Duration: 1 / 6

Remaining Reiatsu: 6350 / 7000
-100 for Nebel
-150 for reform

[Kaen Youji]

What.... was this? As Kaen had thrown his kick... his opponent had dissolved into fog!? That was new. What kind of ability was this? Release? Racial? About now Kaen wished he'd picked up one of Squad 12's new personal scanner devices guaranteed to identify the nature of a technique, whether racial or release and available for the low, low price of only 15,000 Ryo! that would have helped him work that out. Hell, might have even avoided damage to his arm with one of those if he'd realized his opponent's cutback. But that didn't mater now. It had happened. It was in the past. Now Kaen had to decide how to deal with the present with the hand he'd been dealt. His opponent had dissolved into fog and avoided his kick. He'd also read his kick. That told Kaen some things. Firstly-- his opponent was competent at reading moves. Kaen wasn't sure if he'd read the reiatsu flow, or if he simply had been predicted, but he had, somehow, been read. Kaen was willing to bet on the former, however. There were a myriad of more efficient responses that could have been taken if the exact notion of his attack had been predicted, beyond simply using Shunpo, even with the speed gap. Besides that, was the nature of the fog technique. It was a blinding fog, and Kaen didn't know if his opponent had BECOME the fog, or was merely hiding in it. Either way, his answer was the same. Kaen breathed deeply, and cleared his mind, spread his arms into a loose fighting stance, and activated his barrier stance, creating an approximately two meter, invisible and imperceptible sphere around him with his mind, and making that sphere his world. It didn't matter what was going on beyond that sphere. Kaen wasn't paying attention. What was important was what was in that sphere, and all of Kaen's focus and attention was given solely to every minute detail of what was going on inside that imaginary boundary.

So with his focus entirely on the sphere, it was not hard to notice an otherwise unnoticeable and subtle shift in the air currents, behind him. An attack from behind! Kaen's answer was swift, and possibly terrifying for Luke. He shifted, as if trying to turn to face the attack, but didn't bother getting that far. He only shifted enough that his zanpakuto around his forearm had a clear line drawn between it and Luke's attack. It wasn't in the way or anything. It just had a clear line drawn. And then a huge jet of fire exploded out of his Zanpakuto at point blank range, engulfing the space Luke was attacking from. Hachiryuu wasn't limited in any direction a flame could be generated. Technically speaking Kaen could probably even fire a flame backwards through himself if he wanted, though that would also probably not be the best idea. As long as Hachiryuu could draw a line between any part of it (or its six inch creation space), it could create a flame launched at any given trajectory. Kaen didn't even bother dodging, which meant that if Luke was REALLY focused on hitting Kaen despite being hit directly by Hachiryuu's flames, he could probably land his slashes across Kaen's back. But it would come at a heavy cost. Kaen wasn't holding back, which meant that Luke would be hit by the equivalent heat of a napalm bomb-- a 5100 degree firestorm, that could melt steel into a puddle in moments. This wasn't a focused flame, but it WAS still quite large and if Luke didn't dissolve back into fog immediately, he'd be consumed by the flame and suffer severe burns across his entire body.

Even if Luke continued his attack, Kaen's sideways and barrier stance would allow him to track the attack. If a blow was landed, Kaen would jerk away from it, minimizing the damage. He'd still likely suffer a pair of deep wounds in his back from Luke's cuts, but he'd avoid any serious damage to his muscles or bones or vital organs. But it'd be a success. He'd be bleeding, badly from his back. But this attack wasn't useful to Kaen. Ironically, despite Barrier Stance allowing him to detect the attack, its limited range prevented Kaen from noticing Luke forming in the mist. Thus, Kaen still didn't know if Luke was materializing from it, or hiding in it. But it did still prove one thing to Kaen. This mist was absolutely a smoke screen. And the Bount was not impeded by it in any way, shape or form. He could freely attack. Kaen's defense may have caused the Bount momentary dissuasion but it wouldn't last. Kaen couldn't maintain Barrier Stance for very long. Not consecutively at least. And while he could try transitioning into Flowing Water Stance and back to Barrier Stance, that would still tax his focus heavily. He estimated he could only maintain Barrier Stance for one more attack. And if the Bount didn't attack, then that was a problem. But, Kaen could at least try to bluff the Bount. Maybe if he repelled this next attack the Bount would be more cautious or more overt, realizing sneak attacks in the fog weren't working? It might give Kaen the time needed to "recharge" his focus and attempt Barrier Stance again. Or maybe he could settle the fight on the Bount's next attack? He wasn't sure. But he'd have to try.

Assuming of course, Luke wasn't writhing on the ground and burning up.

Shikai: 2/10
Reiatsu Remaining: 1300

Barrier Stance:
Post 1
Senses: 200
Instincts: 350

[Deleted]

WHAT?! "Idiot!" "Ouchie!" "Get back!" They each seemed to say in unison with Kaen revealed what his Zanpakuto was capable of. As the Bount made his move to land a double sword attack against Kaen's back, he became aware that the Shinigami was beginning to move. Somehow the Shinigami had become aware of where Luke was, even with the sudden use of Nebel surprising him and clouding his vision. Luke's eyes had begun to widen by the time that Kaen had lined up Hachiryuu's arm brace with the Bount behind him.

The reason all four of them yelled though was because Luke was suddenly blasted by flames. Out of the Zanpakuto itself came that stream of flames that engulfed Luke's extended arms. More of the Bount would have been consumed by those tongues had he not suddenly turned into mist. A collection of fog fled backwards, fleeing away from Kaen, and reforming into the Bount as he slid backwards across the street. The reason he had turned into mist so quickly was because it was what he was intending to do when he saw Kaen suddenly turning towards him. His instincts had been screaming to cease the attack to Kaens back and to instead reform at a different position to attack Kaen from.

But, despite turning into fog, Luke did not escape unscathed at all. He was wincing pretty heavily. The swords made from air and reiatsu were gone, thankfully, as he let his arms hang loosely in front of him. His barred teeth separated into a heavy gasp as he began to breathe rapidly. Beads of sweat began to trickle down the Bounts furrowed forehead and past his trembling features. Nebel was a technique to be used to completely counter a physical fighter. Punches and kicks were rendered useless against the technique, since turning into fog meant there was nothing for the enemy to hit. But. Nebel didn't protect against everything. It didn't protect against nonphysical forces.

The sizzling sound of burnt flesh filled his ears. An annoying, sickening, sound. The stench threatened to make Luke heave. The reason he had his arms handing loosely at his side were because they were what took the brunt of Kaens attack. His arms, about up to their respective shoulders, had been cooked raw. Covered in second degree burns that, essentially, made them useless. Honestly the only reason Luke wasn't screaming was thanks to a combination of his Pain Tolerance and sheer Strength of Will to keep himself together. This wasn't the first time Luke had been burnt either.

It happened that night he was training with his friend, and landlord, Taka. She was wanting to test the strength of her newfound abilities with him. He remembered her abilities involving the production of heat. He could clearly recall the lance made of raw heat she threw at him, and the feeling of that net burning its way into his skin. Maybe that experience was helping him keep himself together. "Those flames were practically instantaneous." Springflut commented from the depths of Luke's consciousness. The Bount stared ahead at Kaen, taking deep breaths and trying to remain on his feet. "Oh man up already." Jäger decided to bark. Clenching his jaws together, Luke decided to do that.

The fog would suddenly pull itself away from Kaen and come back towards Luke before seemingly being pulled inside of him. While the thick fog was gone now, a misty aura still surrounded Luke signifying that he still had that power active. But that misty white aura would vanish when a green light outlined the man. Kaen would get the pleasure of watching as particles of light appeared from nowhere, ranging in distance around Luke, and being pulled towards him until they met that glowing outline around him. Kaen was bright. He'd realize that the light was reishi. But what was happening? he might ask himself. Absorbing reishi like this was something only a Quincy did, right? But instead of a weapon forming in Luke's hands, those horrendously burned arms would begin to glow with that same light. Within a matter of moments, Luke stood himself up straight and lifted his arms up. The coating of light peeled off as he lifted them, shedding away to reveal that his arms were completely healed.

Whether or not Kaen would realize what Luke was was entirely dependent on his knowledge of the other races occupying the spiritual world. But even if he didn't realize what Luke was at this point he wasn't going to have to wait long to find out. Kaen had Luke beat in, of all things, a battle of range. Luke, currently, couldn't risk getting close to Kaen. He wasn't sure how far his fire generation could reach. For all Luke knew Kaen could create branching ropes of fire that could reach for blocks, or throw fireballs across the city. Hell, the extent of what Kaen could do was unknown to Luke. He was just assuming Kaen could make shapes with his fire since, well, it just seemed like a obvious thing he'd be able to do. Luke watched a lot of cartoons and anime growing up.

With his hands healed, Luke shot a glare at Kaen. He realized just how far things were beginning to go. The Shinigami would kill him if he held back. Reaching into his jackets pocket, Luke pulled out a silver wristwatch that he, oddly, wasn't wearing. "If you intend to go all out then so will I!" Luke announced, flicking the wristwatch into the air in front of him with his right hand before grabbing the arm with his left. His right hand was open, and perfectly aligned with the wristwatch, before his reiatsu would suddenly spike like Kaens did when he released.

"Ziege Dich! Windstarke!!"

A bright light would escape from the wristwatch alongside a sudden powerful gale. Luke would be consumed in a vortex as the gale winds pushed themselves through the street, buffering Kaen and causing anything not nailed down in the street to be pushed. That glowing blue vortex heaved for a moment, before it was suddenly split apart and pushed away like a breaking egg revealing what Luke had unleashed. Hanging in the air behind the Bount was something best described as a bird. It was about six feet in height with a wingspan of thirteen feet. While it was clearly in the shape of a bird it possessed no flesh or feathers. It's body seemed comprised entirely of ice except for what looked to be a metallic skeleton from which that ice grew. But its appearance was deceitful. That metallic looking structure was ice as well. A single horn of ice extended from its beak, and two glowing blue eyes focused themselves intensely on the Shinigami before it.

"Hmph. What a pointless battle." the Doll would say, despite its unmoving beak. It stood on airground above Luke. It was hard to tell just who the Doll was talking to. But, without missing a beat, the bird began to spread its wings. As it did so, a single feather of ice fell from its wings and landed in Luke's hand. "This Shinigami goes after the wrong person while the real culprits get away." the Doll would suddenly comment. Luke would blink and cast a backwards glance at his Doll. "Even so. Someone who can manipulate flames is a test that I refuse to pass up." He concluded, before it happened.

Once his wings had been fully extended, Kaen would be blasted with wind. Originating from the Doll itself, winds with the force of the Dolls Reiatsu Strength would blast the man. With Kaens Strength even with Windstarkes Reiatsu Strength, Kaen wouldn't be blown away or anything. It would be a standstill of strength between them. But what was dangerous about that wind, however, was its ability. Anything those winds touched would have its temperature drop by one hundred and fifty degrees celsius. This made being exposed to these winds incredibly dangerous to anything living, as there was a number of negative conditions that could occur from having their core temperature drop normally...but by 150 degrees? Kaen would need to get out of those winds and fast. But could he? And what other powers did this Doll possess?

Remaining Reiatsu: 5300 / 7000
-100 for Nebel
-150 for reform
-400 for Class 3 Immortality Drink healing
-400 for Release

Nebel Duration: 2 / 6

Windstarke Duration: ∞

SPOILER: Click to show

{Windstarke Stats}
Windstärke | Spirited


Strength - 100 Points

Speed - 300 Points

Spiritual Pressure - 200 - 300 Points

Reiatsu Strength - 400 - 600 Points

Light Aura - 50 Points

Dark Aura - 50 Points

Instinct - 200 - 100 Points

Senses - 200 - 100 Points

Energy sensory - 0 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points


Total SP: 1400 Points

[Kaen Youji]

Hmm. So his attack was successful then? His opponent hid his pain well, with nary a gasp or grunt of shock or agony,but Kaen could tell his counterstrike was a success by the jerking retreat from his sphere of perception. His opponent had been shocked, and hurt by the attack, further proven by the fact that the fog seemed to be receding. It seemed Barrier Stance was no longer required then? Good. Kaen's focus relaxed and Barrier Stance dissolved as the fog retreated from him. Kaen turned around properly to face his opponent, his dark and angered blue eyes boring into Luke. But the dissolving of barrier stance bought Luke enough time to properly disengage, and Kaen saw Luke surrounded by an aura of mist. No doubt if Kaen tried to hit him again, he'd dissolve into mist. So I can only hit him during his attack? That's annoying. Kaen thought irritably. But he saw something else-- a green glow surrounding the man-- he was drawing in reishi, like a Quincy. And within moments, his wounds were healed.

"Yare yare daze." Kaen muttered. So he couldn't defeat his opponent in a battle of attrition, wearing him down with broken-up attacks. Hit-and-run tactics were just a waste of time and effort. Not that it mattered too much. This revelation left Kaen with two options then. Defeat his opponent in a single attack, or give him no time to recover at all. Pounce on him and repeatedly hammer him with attacks so that he could not generate the focus to heal his wounds, or, even if he could-- could not heal faster than Kaen was hurting him. But with his fog defense, that was a real pest of a problem. The one-shot deal, however, less so. He just had to get the right timing for it. But his opponent was making his next move, procuring a silver wrist watch and it seemed he was about to release. "Good. I'd hate to let you die while you could make excuses for your defeat." Kaen answered Luke's declaration.

Luke's reiatsu surged, and in another time, Kaen would have felt a sense of admiration at the icy flow of power from him. A gust of wind blew back Kaen's hair, but he maintained vigil. Resolute in his convictions. Watching as Luke was enveloped in the winds generated by his release, only for it to break away in a dazzling display, and revealing a magnificent form behind it. A great phoenix entirely comprised of metal and ice. It was a striking and magnificent looking release. Kaen gave a small bow of his head. "Good. Now then.... Show me your strength. Fight with everything you have, if you don't want to die." He warned Luke. The doll's words flowed over Kaen, causing a furrow in his brow, a look of consternation, but one Kaen quickly dispelled. Now was not the time to lose focus. His enemy was dangerous. Though outmatched in speed and strength, and with his Cutback disabled, he was still a formidable enemy, with a myriad of tricks up his sleeve.

Bount. That was the only thing this foe could be. He was no shinigami. Arrancar releases only affected themselves. Quincy did not generate entities to fight, let alone ones with defined personalities. That left Fullbringers and Bounts. But a Fullbringer could not heal as he could without a release, nor dissolve into fog. That left, Bount-- the one race Kaen admittedly knew little of. He had fought a Bount once, several years ago. Jin, the self-proclaimed leader of the bounts. Kaen had only been a third seat back then-- no. Kaen dissuaded thoughts from his mind. He had learned little of value from his fight with Jin. And dwelling on that time, would risk emotions rising. Emotions that Kaen could not control and would be a detriment to his fighting abilities. This was a new enemy, and Kaen would have to fight it as best he could, on the fly. He'd win regardless. He had to. There was no choice. The past was the past. This was the painful present, and if Kaen wanted to step into the future, he had to triumph here!

The Bount made his move. His Doll unleashed a flap of its wings to hurl a blast of wind at Kaen. Kaen leaped aside, keeping a balanced pace this time. From its appearance, Kaen had expected an ice-based attack, but a flap of its wings.... Too many things that could happen like that. Kaen did not want to be caught out in the open. He'd seen a car earlier, nearby and with his springing leap, Kaen moved behind it, and, with a single motion, and a single hand, flipped the car up on its side, lengthwise, and used it as a barrier against Windstarke's air blast. Though he was not moving at top speed, even at a moderate pace, it was not difficult for Kaen to clear the distance between himself and the car, before the wind blast hit him. Even so, the car was only barely in position before Kaen felt gale force winds slam against it and he was forced to brace himself. The car would offer a temporary barrier against it, but it wouldn't last long. Kaen could see frost forming on the pavement around him. So it was an ice-based attack. But not in the conventional sense. Ice and wind combination was troublesome. In a gale like this, Kaen wasn't sure if his flames would be snuffed out even as he generated them. But the car, would give a moment or two of shelter. But only a moment. Already Kaen could feel the metal growing cold to the touch. But from behind the vehicle, he would be shielded from the chill.

Of all of Kaen's flames there was one that could avail him here. One he could be sure that would not be snuffed out. Kaen drew in his concentration and put all his focus into his hand. Bracing the car with his shoulder, he began to generate and shape a flame. Using the car as a wind shield, to create his flame, at its maximum heat of 5100 degrees Fahrenheight, the flame was shaped into a fairly large shape, approximately one meter in diameter, and slowly growing outwards. Kaen was being careful with this, not wanting to expose the flame to the wind, and risk it being snuffed out. Normally this application of Daihou didn't grow, as Kaen was focused on intensifying the magnitude of the flame rather than the size, but as Daihou had a baseline size of two meters, Kaen could allow it to grow out to that extent. It wasn't anything fancy or special. A simple fireball, forming in Kaen's hand. But in that flame, Kaen was constantly resculpting the flame. In the forging of the katana, steel was folded and hammered many times over, strengthening the metal. That was a similar analogy to what Kaen was doing within this flame. Constantly resculpting it, focusing his strength, pouring all of his strength and focus into making this the ultimate flame. A flame that would overwhelm any and all opposition.

This had a beneficial side effect however. As the flame's temperature soared, it would act as a soft negation of Windstarke's freezing chill. This flame was now nearly 6000 degrees-- capable of cancelling out the -150 degree chill of Luke's doll. But it was clear that Kaen was doing something behind his makeshift shield, as well. Even before Daihou would become visible to Luke and his doll, the bright glow of flame, not to mention the fact, that even in the face of Windstarke's icy blast, that the ice near the car was melting indicated that Kaen was definitely up to something. This was going to be big. That was for sure.


Reiatsu Remaining: 1100/1500 (-200 for Daihou charge)
Shikai: 3/10
Barrier Stance: Ended

Daihou Temperature: 5900 degrees Fahrenheit
Daihou RS: 720 (Shaped flame=120% of RS, Power-focused Daihou gains 50% RS increase per post spent charging it).

[Deleted]

Crossing his arms across his chest, Luke stood back and watched rather than get involved. He needed to keep himself aware and focused in order to execute effective offensive and defensive counter measures when the need would arise. Besides, as he saw, getting close to this Shinigami was like a death sentence. With those practically instantaneous bursts of flame Luke would be idiotic to get close. If he hadn't already been intending to use Nebel to get away from Kaen then the damage done to him might have been far worse than it had been. It was best to stand back and let Windstarke assault Kaen with his winds instead of needlessly risking himself by going in. It was the smart option. But, even so, Luke felt weird about it. He couldn't shake the twitch he felt. He was so used to doing the fighting and being head first in the action that standing back like this felt wrong. It was certainly different.

"Hmph." Windstarke grunted, narrowing those glowing blue eyes when he noticed Kaen taking cover behind the overturned vehicle. Focusing his winds against the car, Windstarke became aware that Kaen must have been keeping the car in place. With the force behind his winds he could easily send a car like that flying through the air. Kaen being equally strong physically to Windstarkes winds meant he could keep that car from flying away, making it a successful barrier...for the most part. As Kaen realized the temperature absorption was still affecting the vehicle which was what caused the frost to appear across the surface. But Kaen would notice something about the frost. He would notice the special properties of the ice produced by Windstarke.

The ice produced by Windstarke was called Black Ice because it absorbed light. The ice was just spots of darkness crawling across whatever surface they grew on, masking whatever they grew on as they absorbed the light that gave people sight. Windstarkes ice created darkness. But that wouldn't really come into play right now. The light absorbing carpet of frost wasn't going to affect much at this moment. But Luke took note of it regardless. Windstarke, though, had his attention focused on that car. Kaen hiding himself behind it was certainly a good idea. It meant he wasn't exposed to the winds and therefore wasn't having the heat of his body absorbed. Windstarke's temperature drop was also weakened now.

It only drained by 150 degrees on the first few seconds (first post) of the wind blast and after that it would only drain by 75 degrees Celsius (each post). But it was fine. That was still a ridiculous temperature drop, just not instantly lethal to living beings. Windstarke, intimately aware of his own powers, knew this. He narrowed those blue eyes, before he let out a small chuckle. Kaen hiding behind the car really was a good idea. He was a quick thinker. Luke blinked, suddenly becoming aware of something thanks to his Energy Sensory from behind the car. It felt like...reiatsu was collecting itself? "But pointless." Luke suddenly heard Windstarke say, following by an audibly crackling sounds.

Six cords of ice cold blue reiatsu suddenly projected itself from Windstarke's neck into the air infront of him. At the tips of these cords were concentrations of reiatsu that thick shards of ice began to grow from. It was obvious it was ice from the cracking sound as well as the fact that it was more of Windstarke's Black Ice, thus absorbing the light around them and becoming shapes of darkness. Luke, looking back at Windstarke, blinked at this. He hadn't seen this before. Only a few moments later and suddenly those six chunks of ice were fired! Fired like missiles they shot through the air, propelled by their own force and the gales made by the Doll.

The missiles of ice flew at 700 speed, speeding towards the car that Kaen hid himself behind as he prepared his attack. When those Black Ice chunks came into contact with the vehicle, their penetrative strength allowed them to easily puncture right through the vehicle and out the other side. It was true that Kaen was preparing that superheated fireball that could easily melt ice, the speed at which those ice missiles came at him would enable them to do their damage before they would melt, especially since they came at him while he was only beginning to prepare it. Puncturing through the car as if it were paper, there was a incredibly likely chance that Kaen would be slashed by a few of them. Pinpoint accuracy was difficult with this technique. Windstarke could make them go somewhere, but perfect accuracy was generally asking too much.

No doubt one or two would cut him, or one might even stab right into him, but when they came into contact with the road, or him, the next part happened. The car wasn't solid, or durable, enough to withstand their impact, it was why it was punctured through like a target board. But Kaen, and the road, were durable enough for them. So when those missiles collided with those two things, they would suddenly and violently explode with a force equal to 600. Six explosions, at point blank range to Kaen, would do serious damage to the Shinigami if not outright incapacitate him. These weren't small explosions too. Luke was actually surprised by the force and size of that cluster of explosions.

"I call it Rakete." Luke suddenly heard Windstarke comment, the Doll maintaining its powerful gusts of winds at the location where the destroyed car and Kaen had been. "Assuming I don't have a method to break through a defense is foolish and costly. I made sure to focus them to minimize the collateral damage." Luke suddenly heard in his head. Windstarke had actually made an attempt to appease Luke's desire to do as little damage to what wasn't Kaen as possible? That...surprised him. But Luke also took note of something. Those weren't small explosions. Those were destructive. The car had already been punched through easily, and was now nothing more than spare parts and frozen oil. The road itself had also been completely torn apart where those missiles had hit. But what about Kaen?

Luke's Remaining Reiatsu: 5300 / 7000

Nebel Duration: 3 / 6

Windstarke Duration: 2 / ∞

Windstarke's Remaining Reiatsu: 2775 / 3000
-225 for Rakete

[Kaen Youji]

Well, it wasn't like Kaen expected the car to do more than buy him a few seconds anyways. Even as he'd dove towards the car to use it as cover, Kaen had already devised several ways at which Luke could negate it. Firstly-- despite not knowing the specifics of Bount, Kaen had seen Luke use swords. Depending on his level of skill, it was not impossible that Luke could rush the car, and slice through it and Kaen in a single motion. Alternatively he could simply strafe around the car and attack from a different angle. Or he could use some manner of ranged attack to pierce through it from a distance. True, the latter two were pretty vague, but they were guidelines to avoid being surprised. As for the former... well. Under normal circumstances, Kaen could have set up Barrier Stance again to try and feel the vehicle itself for the moment the sword struck it and pierced through. That wasn't going to work this time. It wasn't going to work, because Barrier stance was a technique that required intense focus. And so was Daihou. Splitting his focus between the two focus-intensive techniques was not something that was viable. Not even if he was the best at multitasking in all the worlds. So, there was really only one thing Kaen could do. And that one thing was use his ears. His attention was primarily on the blazing orb he was generating, only able to use his peripheral vision to check for attacks on an angle. But his ears were pricked and attentive to any sounds at all. Not just to check for attacks either. He was also focusing on figuring out his opponent's position. The car was blocking his sight and although he hadn't seen the opponents move before he'd dove for cover, there was no guarantee that would stay the case. So, he had to keep mindful of where they were attacking. Charging Daihou locked Kaen down entirely, so he couldn't move while he charged the attack.

Right about.... there! Right then, Kaen heard an audible crackling sound. As expected. His opponent was making a move. Kaen's hearing was not perfect. They were about the level of a trained human ear. Nothing superhuman or anything, just very good hearing for a human. As such, while he could easily hear the attack over the wind and articulate an approximate position, it was only general at best. Fortunately, it seemed like it was from the area that Luke had previously been standing. He hadn't moved yet. And Kaen had seen exactly the location of Luke and his doll, prior to diving behind the car. Not that Kaen actually took the time to gradually work his way through that in the split second that the crackling sound which signalled Windstarke's attack was heard. The moment he heard that, he lined up the location of the sound, and where he had seen Windstarke previously, and let his attack fly.

The moment Windstarke's ice shards went flying, Kaen unleashed his own attack, using the sound of Windstarke's attack as well as his own memory as his target board. The vehicle was engulfed in a 6500 degree Fahrenheit blast of fire that lanced out at an incredibly fast speed, directly at Windstarke. No. Not even a blast. It was a beam. A beam of solid fire, two meters in diameter-- enough to completely engulf even the tallest of humans and not even leave ashes behind. It wasn't the result of two full charges on Daihou, but it was pretty close. Daihou was the ultimate shaped flame in Kaen's arsenal, in terms of power, heat and speed. Just as Kaen had been increasing and concentrating the power of the attack, he had also been bolstering its speed, so that, to the average human-- heck even a trained one, the beam would have seemingly materialized between Kaen and its destination near instantaneously. Fortunately, Luke and Windstarke had better senses, and a better perception of speed than the average human. But still. It was fast-- faster than Windstarke's Rakete attack, and what was more, the shot blew apart the car as well, sending flaming wreckage in the direction of Luke and Windstarke as well, albeit in a wide scattered pattern that was as likely to hit the street ten meters away from them as to come anywhere near hitting them directly. However, the flame that was about to blast into Windstarke would cause the cryophoenix immense damage, if not take the doll out of the fight entirely. That was the threat.

Kaen hadn't bothered to try and work out Luke's position for the shot. He hadn't actually yet realized that Nebel did not render him invulnerable to reiatsu attacks. So taking down his dolls was the next best thing. Could Bount regenerate dolls? Kaen wondered. But even if they could, it would remove Windstarke from the equation for the moment. Teach him more about his opponent. The flame was targeting just below Windstark's chest, though was large enough that even a grazing shot would cause significant damage as well. Though it was difficult to use, Daihou was unquestionably a powerful attack, when Kaen could actually fire it off. But enough on Kaen's attack, because he hadn't been the only one firing an attack. In fact he'd been so focused on firing off his own attack properly, that he'd largely neglected his defense against Windstarke's.

So it was very fortunate for Kaen that Windstarke's Rakete attack was imprecise, because had he used perfect accuracy, Kaen would have likely resembled a piece of swiss cheese. The first ice shard glanced across Kaen's right shoulder, spraying blood up in the air like a fountain. Not a direct hit-- not enough to make the shard explode, but sufficient to cause a decent cut on the Vice Captain. The second shot grazed Kaen's left flank, shredding his uniform, but not wounding him. Instead, there was a ringing sound as the shot was deflected by the hidden chainmail vest Kaen wore under the armor. However, that was the last time that piece of armor would be stopping a shot, as even a grazing hit from Windstarke caused it to break apart, steel rings flying everywhere, and leaving a nasty looking welt underneath. Had it been a direct hit, the chainmail would clearly have been of no use, whatsoever. Speaking of a direct hit, third shard stabbed into Kaen's right shoulder-- the shinigami's uninjured arm, striking right down to the bone-- though the hit ITSELF was not enough to cause a fracture, merely wound him down to the bone. The force of the hit actually caused Kaen to spin slightly, right before the shard exploded.

"Graaah!" Kaen was hurled flying, his abrupt turn on impact, adjusting his trajectory, so that he hadn't flown right back, but instead hurled to the left by the explosion. And that was fortunate, because as a direct result, he avoided the worst of the explosions. He had been the first line of contact for Windstarke's attack, so it was the shard that scored a direct hit that would explode first-- before the other shards would have a chance to hit the ground behind Kaen. At 700 speed, this time gap would be measured in milliseconds, but it was important nonetheless for the shard that blew up in Kaen's shoulder meant that Kaen was sent flying, before the others would have a chance to explode. As a result, Kaen was only hit by the outskirts of one of the additional blasts, buffeted by the two explosions. Between the two, Kaen was actually thrown in the direction of Windstarke and Luke, albeit to their far right.

And yet even in this situation, Kaen still had it in him, with his mad fury and ferocity to mount an attack. As he was bodily thrown through the air, unable to concentrate hard, Kaen's hand snapped out and unleashed a blast of unshaped flames at Luke. Whether an attack of spite, or a warding blow to inhibit Luke's ability to follow up his doll's attack, it would at least be a threat. It would also indicate that Kaen wasn't down for the count yet. But, he was wounded. Badly. Kaen's abrupt trip through the air was broken by the building beside Luke, which he struck with enough force to smash a crater in it, though not go all the way through. The wall buckled under the force of Kaen's impact, but some small part of Kaen still managed to use a breakfall with his leg and left arm, sending jolts of pain surging through the injured arm. He thought he even might have heard a small crik from his arm as some part of his forearm began to fracture. Come on, hold together dammit! Kaen cursed his body, wincing as he managed to find his footing. Indeed, without Kaen's own immense pain tolerance, he likely would have been a helpless wreck on the ground after that.

The explosion may not have taken his arm off. But it had clearly left its mark. The shoulder that had been hit by the icicle was a bloody, ruined mess, hanging limply at Kaen's side. It could probably be fixed up with medical attention, but that was the sole redeeming quality of the situation. Kaen's right arm was unquestionably dead. His face had been bloodied quite a bit too, and a laceration in his forehead caused blood to flow freely. The shinigami lifted his left arm to his face, pressing his hand to the cut. There was a sizzling sound, and he winced. When he pulled his hand away, however, the blood had stopped. Kaen had just burned his wound closed!? That was an agonizingly painful procedure, but Kaen's anger was burning hotter than any fire. His arm didn't even hurt anymore. It probably should have, but the truth was, Windstarke's blast had killed the nerves in the arm. Kaen could barely feel anything at all in that limb. His uniform was a ruin, torn to shreds by the blast. Even the chainmail vest he'd been wearing, while it had absorbed some of the impact of Luke's assault, had been largely broken apart, and was hanging from Kaen's body in tatters. The shinigami grabbed it, and the tattered remains of his uniform with his working arm and in a single motion, he ripped it from his body, and cast it aside.

Now shirtless and armourless, Luke might have gotten an idea of how Kaen was able to stay standing after taking an attack like that. The shinigami's torso was a vast network of savage wounds and scars. Several sword wounds marked his chest and abdomen, puncture wounds and old burns, still healing. Kaen had taken savage, and brutal punishment. Though he was badly hurt by Windstarke's Rakete attack-- and it had indeed been a good hit, it was nowhere near enough to put Kaen down. Even with a busted arm, Kaen would continue fighting. The arm on which his Zanpakuto was attached was still fully capable of fighting. And Kaen wouldn't be caught off guard like that again. The next round was about to begin, but first Luke would have to contend with the two shots Kaen had initiated back against him.

Shikai: 4/10
Reiatsu Remaining: 900/1500 (-200 for second post of Daihou)

Daihou Reiatsu Strength/Speed: 1000
Daihou Temperature: 6500

[Deleted]

Something didn't feel right when I was writing this, so message me if anything is wrong.

Luke knew something was coming. He had felt it just earlier with his Energy Sensory. The collection of reiatsu that was steadily building and building was finally released. Really, it was thanks to Luke’s Energy Sensory that things didn’t turn out as badly as they could have. The sudden shift of that reiatsu was the first clue Luke got right before the overturned car was consumed with flames. Hurtling towards Windstarke was, well, a literal beam of fire. So that’s what Kaen was preparing. Both attacks had been fired at the same time, Kaens Daihou and Windstarkes Rakete, but the beam was faster. Dodge! Luke mentally screamed when he realized that the beam was heading right for Windstarke.

Those blue eyes widened when he heard that command scream in his head. It was that command itself that sparked Windstarke to act, rather than realizing that the attack was coming at all. Windstarke had, unfortunately, slower reflexes and senses than Luke had. A sad fact that was due to the fact that Windstarke was only recently born and still had very little combat experience. As a Doll he had natural fighting instincts that were also bolstered by Luke’s, but instincts did not make up where experience lacked.

Regardless, Windstarke acted. He did the only thing he could in this situation. When that beam neared him he would vanish from sight right as it would strike him. Dashing to his right to avoid the beam, Luke winced a little and raised his arm defensively as he could feel the radiating heat from that beam. But didn’t Luke didn’t have time to just stand around. Despite being blasted through the air, Kaen still decided to use that opportunity to mount his own attack. A burst of unshaped flames fired right at Luke. Quickly using Movement, Luke retreated upwards from the flames.

Kicking off of air ground once high enough, the Bount landed atop the roof of the building that had been behind him. ”That was close..” Luke murmured to himself as he set his gaze back on Kaen, who had gone and ripped his top off by this point. Eyes suddenly widening, Luke was able to use that moment to not only see the damage that his Dolls attack had on the man but to also see just what Kaen’s life experiences had done to his body. What the hell has this guy...been through? Luke wondered with shock as he stared at the multitude of scars covering his body.

”Take a good, long, look at him. That will be what you look like at some point.”

”Deep down, anyways. He doesn’t scar, remember?”

Jäger was right. Luke didn’t scar. It didn’t matter the battle he came back from, there would never be a single mark on his body. It wasn’t due to victory, to a clever fighting style, or never getting hit. It was because he was Bount. Unlike others he had a healing factor. If he didn’t use Immortality Drink to heal his wounds immediately, then simply sleeping would have him perfectly restored when he awoke thanks to Schlafen. The only scars Luke came back with were emotional. But, this fight wasn’t through. Kaen was still able to throw attacks out and had gotten back up, regardless of the damage to his arm. Kaen was still raring for a fight...but what about Windstarke.

”Hmph.” From above him came the wind, aiming to bear down on him fully and keep him pressed into one spot. From directly above him came those freezing winds to steal away his body's temperature. Since the winds had been stopped and now began again, this meant that the full strength of the heat absorption was present. One hundred and fifty degrees celsius would be stolen from him if he remained in those winds.The Doll, Windstarke, hung in the air above Kaen...but something was obviously missing from him. He did not fully dodge Kaen’s Daihou attack, as was evident by the fact that Windstarke was missing most of his left leg and a chunk of his tail feathers.

When Kaen had fired his Daihou and Luke had ordered Windstarke to dodge, the Doll would not have been able to avoid Kaen’s attack using his normal speed. That there was the key. His normal speed. Luke’s Dolls were some of the rare few that possessed their own unique Step Techniques. When Luke had ordered Windstarke to dodge, the Doll activated Streifen. The technique boosted Windstarke’s speed to 4x its normal amount, a small multiplier when compared to most Steps, but had just been enough to outspeed that beam. But, what’s more, was Sreifens unique ability.

It had turned Windstarke into the very chilling winds he possessed. This would, normally, make Windstarke immune to most attacks since he lacked a physical body to hit...but Daihou wasn’t physical. It meant the requirements for a spiritual attack to hit him, which was why he was missing his left leg from below the knee. ”My leg and your arm. I think that’s a fair trade, don’t you?” Windstarke asked Kaen as he hovered about fifteen feet in the air, wings expanded and blasting Kaen with those winds. The Doll had repositioned himself above the Shinigami when he had come out of his step. Now both he and Luke had the altitude advantage over Kaen.

”Your attack was strong but it seems to be the type that needs time to set up. Now that I’ve seen it I’m not going to give you the time to prepare it again!” The Doll called down to Kaen as, once again, concentrations of reiatsu appeared around the bird that then formed into thick spikes of Black Ice. Windstarke was using Rakete again! Once fully formed he wasted no time in firing those six missiles of ice straight at Kaen, the Shinigami not having neither his charged flame or a car to protect him this time. This time they were fired with increased accuracy, the Doll not needing to take a guess where Kaen was since he could see him.

Luke's Remaining Reiatsu: 5275 / 7000
-25 for Movement

Windstarke's Remaining Reiatsu: 2250 / 3000
-225 for Rakete
-300 for Streifen

[Kaen Youji]

(ooc: Taking some liberties with the timing of statements for the sake of appropriate one-liner's. If that's an issue, let me know and I'll make some edits).

The Bount's doll had avoided with only the loss of a leg. Unsurprising, but still disappointing. But that was alright. Kaen hadn't expected to actually defeat it with Daihou. That would have just been a pleasant bonus. He'd take the leg. Daihou was fast, to be sure. It was strong. But the charge time was so long, that it was predictable. And his fire bolt had failed as well, although... There was something about it. Kaen's eyes glared ahead, but he was processing something. That was close he said? Kaen glanced at Luke briefly. He still has that unusual ability active though. But he dodged anyways. So... that must mean... A thought crossed Kaen's mind. A theory. One that he'd be testing out promptly. But first things first-- he had to use the opening Daihou had given him.

That devastating attack had, afterall. Only been a diversion. A move to create an opening for another. Kaen had initially been taken off guard by Luke dissolving into mist, and then had been delayed in putting down his barrier stance to prevent Windstarke's attack before. Ideally, he'd have been hounding his opponent. Neglecting to offer him an opening for a counterattack. Didn't happen, and with Windstarke's wind attack pinning Kaen down it had made further options even smaller. But. Daihou had given Kaen a window. Even if he'd taken damage, for a moment, Windstarke had been forced to break off his attack. Now it was Kaen's turn. Windstark had shown Kaen his wind and ice. Kaen had answered with fire. Now it was time for Windstarke to have a taste of Kaen's other great asset. His physical abilities.

Kaen had no sooner tossed his shirt and chainmail aside, that he vanished. Shunpo, like before. But this time.... This time, it wasn't some simple placement technique. Before Windstarke would have a chance to cast out his freezing winds again, Kaen's Shunpo smashed him through the upper half of the bird's right wing, his left arm extended in a vicious lariat, driving his armored forearm into, and possibly through Windstarke's neck. Windstarke possessed a formidable reiatsu strength, and he was decently fast. But Kaen was faster. And when it came to strength there was no question. If Windstarke possessed comparable durability to a human, or even a Shinigami or Arrancar, Kaen's attack would go right through him. Unfortunately, very literally, ripping a chunk from his wing, and possibly decapitating the bird, or at least crushing its throat and chest. "That's fine. I don't need to use it again." Kaen snapped in answer to Windstarke's boast, that he wouldn't have an opening to use Daihou. "It did what it was supposed to do." He snapped cryptically. "Your dolls can use step techniques. I didn't expect that. But it's nowhere near enough against me!"

And in this, it would be difficult to argue with Kaen. Even with a four times increase in speed, Windstarke's speed didn't even double Kaen's. However, in mid-Shunpo, Kaen's speed almost seven times greater than Windstarke's movement technique. Perhaps if it had been predicted, it would have been possible to anticipate the course of the Shunpo and evade... But Windstarke had been right about to launch his attack at Kaen. To transition from the mentality of attacking to defending in less than an instant-- the instant between Kaen disappearing and his collision.... It would require exceptional combat experience and peerless combative instincts. Not impossible... But would Windstarke possess the combative instincts and experience to read such a tactic from the Vice Captain?

Unfortunately, Kaen wasn't finished either. Whether his assault smashed through Windstarke, merely broke him up a bit, or, in the rare but not impossible occurrence, merely caused the bird heavy impacts to its wings and throat, Kaen would vault over Windstarke (or, in a best case scenario, smash through Windstarke, and plants a devastating back kick into the cryophoenix's back. Kaen didn't know if dolls had bones or not, but on a human this would have been a kick that would have broken Windstarke's spine. But even if it didn't produce the paralyzing effect, it didn't matter, because Kaen's kick served a secondary purpose. His kick was meant to send Windstarke hurtling towards the ground, and get the doll out of the way. Ideally he'd have wanted to kick the bird at Luke, but Luke's escape to the top of the building made such an angle almost impossible. No, Kaen had something else in store for Luke.

"I noticed you dodged that flame of mine." Kaen hissed, and snapped his arm about. "Despite the protection of that fog technique of yours. I wonder why." He hissed, although both Luke himself would likely realize Kaen already knew the answer to that. Even if it was just a guess. With Windstarke temporarily (or possibly indefinitely) dealt with, a fireball formed in Kaen's hand, taking a moment to form, before it was fired at Luke. "I wonder what you'll do about this one?" This was a fairly basic, and simple fireball attack. Not difficult for Luke to dodge at this range. The only real surprise at all would be that the fireball would explode on contact with the surface of the building, but that was a pretty common trait of a fireball. The fireball was nothing. Not even a distraction. It was an experiment.

And it was likely that Luke would know that as well. How Luke reacted to this fireball-- that was the question. If he evaded it or blocked it here, it would confirm to Kaen that Luke was vulnerable to his fire attacks, even in fog form. Nebel had done well to keep Kaen at bay for several exchanges now, the Shinigami uncertain what would work, and what would be wasted effort. If he found a weakness in that technique, it could shape the course of the remainder of the battle. So what would Luke do now? Kaen likely did not have to worry about dodging Rakete or Streifen, unless Windstarke had somehow withstood his attack. For the moment, it was just Luke and Kaen. Luke was locked in a cage with a wounded tiger, and the tiger was pissed.

Reiatsu Remaining: 850 (-50 for Shunpo)
Shikai: 5/10

[Deleted]

Things got bad really fast. As Windstarke had begun to prepare his reiatsu to unleash Rakete once more, the Shinigami that was playing victim to the Doll's wind decided to not give the Doll the opportunity to attack. Instead he launched his own attack. One too fast for either Luke or Windstarke to properly react to. That wasn't entirely true though. Luke had suddenly felt the reiatsu within Kaen's legs activate and had recognized it was a step, but by the time he began to warn Windstarke about what was about to happen Kaen had already attacked. It was faster than the fire attack from before. Of that there was no doubt.

"Gaahcck--gah!" Windstarke let out that audibly sound of pain as Kaen performed his lariat directly into the bird. As Kaen had hoped, his attack did indeed do devastating damage to the Doll. A sizable chunk of his right wing was torn off by Kaen's attack and he received ridiculous damage to his throat and chest area. The only reason he wasn't straight decapitated was due to being neither a human or a Shinigami, but instead being a Doll. Being a release granted him far more durability than something that was truly alive. Regardless, didn't mean he didn't feel pain. Suddenly being kicked in the back hard enough to further crack and damage the birds body, Windstarke was flung downwards before crashing down, hard, onto the pavement of the road. "G-g-guh.." he grunted.

"Windstarke!" Luke called out, concern and shock taking over him as he witnessed his Doll being dealt with so simply. He shouldn't have gotten that close to Kaen. But there was also the question regarding just how tough Kaen was to be able to endure those freezing temperatures. Without hesitation, Luke called Windstarke back. The Doll was reverted into beams of soft blue light that would dash back to Luke before collecting around his left wrist and forming back into the wristwatch that the Doll had originally been before being released. But Luke wasn't given much time to do much else.

"I noticed you dodged that flame of mine." Luke suddenly heard hissed his way. The Bount's attention snapped back to Kaen as the Shinigami snapped his arm in his direction. "Despite the protection of that fog technique of yours. I wonder why." The Shinigami said once more, cluing Luke in to the fact that Kaen had figured something out about Nebel. Kaen was on the right track. Nebel was the origin of the vampire's fabled ability to turn into mist. The technique was the perfect counter against physical attacks, next to Cutback, by turning the Bount into a cloud of mist that was impervious to physical harm. But it wasn't perfect. Attacks made out of reiatsu, or in this case fire, could still harm the Bount even in this state. Kaen must have realized that when Luke chose to dodge his beam.

What Kaen did next wasn't anything that was too difficult for Luke to deal with. The Shinigami created a fireball and lobbed it in Luke's direction. Expecting it to explode, since that was really what any fireball would do, Luke ended up playing right into Kaen's plan by using Movement. He wasn't really even dodging the fireball, just repositioning himself on the street three buildings down from Kaen instead of remaining on the roof. He noticed the ball of flames exploding when it made contact with the buildings surface. Skidding across the street on his feet till he came to a stop, the misty Bount locked his glare onto the Shinigami.

"I'm...sorry.." Luke heard from within his head. "Pathetic. You couldn't even at least take him out with you?" Springflut suddenly snapped, causing Luke to blink for a moment. "Haha. How about you share with the class your win loss ratio, buddy. What's it now? O and three?" if Luke wasn't in the middle of a fight he might have actually chuckled at that. It was certainly satisfying hearing Jäger put the prideful Springflut in his place, and the resulting roar of anger would be satisfying to hear. But Luke's attention had to remain focused on Kaen. Brown eyes narrowed themselves as he began working over his options.

Fighting up close against this guy wasn't going to be a smart move. That instantaneous generation of fire was going to do nothing but cause Luke trouble. What's more, the acrobatic martial arts that Kaen had displayed against Windstarke was worrisome as well. The guy was one hundred percent dangerous up close. Luke had no choice but to fight at a range. But how could he now? Windstarke was too badly damaged to fight. Luke was lucky that Kaen hadn't just killed him outright. Had he done that...no, Luke didn't need to remember that. Luke would need to keep fighting at a distance to beat the fire and Kaen's close ranged style but how could he do that when he had no long range attacks?

And then the idea hit him. Luke had that. "Wait, you don't mean...no...NO NO NO DON'T YOU EVEN TRY THAT!" Jäger shouted in panic and protest. Springflut let out a surprised grunt as well. "Try what?" Windstarke asked. Of course he wouldn't know. He wasn't around when Luke made that technique. I need some time to prepare it.. Luke came to realize, not having tried the technique in real combat yet. Reaching into his back pocket, Luke would pull out a small matchbox. "Wait hold on you're not-"

"Ziege dich, Jäger." Luke commanded before crushing the matchbox into his hand, reducing it to nothing more than black dust that vanished into the breeze. But, to Kaen, nothing would have happened. No new entity stood by Luke. There was no new presence to be sensed. It was like Luke had done nothing at all. Keep him busy for a few minutes. Luke ordered the released Jäger, who was hidden from Kaen thanks to his passive Ungesehen ability. Jäger wasn't like Windstarke. The Doll, being released, would infect Luke's shadow initially. But because it was night, and thus shadow was everything, Jäger had numerous surfaces to emerge from. Thanks to Jäger's ability, Kaen wouldn't even realize another Doll had taken Windstarke's place.

Luke decided to do something he was probably going to regret later, but he felt like doing it anyway. "The technique is called Nebel. As you've seen it lets me turn into mist and keeps me from being hurt by any sort of physical attack. And I guess you've figured out it doesn't offer that same protection to something like fire. That's why my arms were burnt earlier." Luke explained, giving Kaen the details and weaknesses of the technique. Why the fuck he was doing that was a good question, but he did it anyway. "You're fast and strong. Faster and stronger than I can match. So this trick has to really grind your gears, doesn't it? You may be strong enough to lift a car but that doesn't mean much when you can't put your hands on your opponent. You're right that I can't just mist through your flames, but so far they've not been difficult to dodge at all. Plus, Nebel isn't the only thing I can do."

Luke, then, would suddenly submerge into the shadows of the road he was standing on and melt away into the darkness. He was using Schatten, a unique technique to the Bount, to sink into the shadows. "Are you goading him?" Springflut asked. Luke didn't answer. Instead Luke would use Schatten to begin moving away from Kaen. No doubt Kaen, with what Energy Sensory he had, would feel Luke's reiatsu moving further away down the street and might even think Luke was trying to flee. But he would suddenly, from all around him, hear the snickering laughter of the hidden Doll. "Ke-ke-ke-ke. It's my turn to throw down, eh? Eh?" the voice wasn't coming from anywhere specific, instead seemingly coming from all around Kaen. It was actually coming from the shadows around him, but he probably wouldn't realize that.

Luke's Remaining Reiatsu: 4500 / 7000
-25 for Movement
-400(+200) for Doll Release
-150 for Schatten Class 4

Jäger's Remaining Reiatsu: 1150 / 1500
-350 for Ungesehen

SPOILER: Click to show

{Jäger's Stats and Skills}
Jager | Freak

Strength - 150 - 225 Points

Speed - 300 Points

Spiritual Pressure - 200 - 150 Points

Reiatsu Strength - 400 - 600 Points

Light Aura - 50 Points

Dark Aura - 50 Points

Instinct - 150 - 112 Points

Senses - 100 Points

Energy sensory - 100 - 150 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points

Total SP: 1400 Points

[Kaen Youji]

So I'm right then. Luke had indeed dodged clear of the flames. So. He wasn't invulnerable, and Kaen's flames could definitely hurt him. The doll had been recalled. That was.... probably fine? Kaen doubted a Bount could simply recall their doll and then send it back out at full strength again. If Kaen thought of this a bit like a Pokemon battle (yes, he was familiar with the franchise), Windstarke was in critical condition. If he was sent back out, he'd just get K.O'd immediately. And Kaen was willing to bet having their doll die would be bad news for a Bount indeed. The cryophoenix was out of commission. So... all that was left was the Bount right? Unless the Bount had a second doll-- son of a bitch. The Bount was pulling out a match box. Kaen shaped another flame in his hands. He wasn't about to let Luke get his summon out so easily this time!

"Napalm strike!" Kaen snapped, and hurled a large fireball, about the size of a basketball at Luke. This time, however, the fireball didn't explode on impact, but in midair, exploding into a dozen smaller flame pellets that showered the battlefield like a shotgun blast. Although they were small, what Luke would quickly realize (especially if he was caught by them), was that these flames had gained an adhesive quality, and would stick hard and fast to anything they struck, aggressively burning the target. Unlike his fight with Yetsuna, they were fighting in a human city, so Kaen couldn't allow the flames to burn out of control as he had against her. But even these minor flame pellets would cling and burn, unless the opponent could deal with them. Even if they weren't going to spread all over the target's body in moments, they could still sear through skin and muscle and render limbs unusable, or burn through to the target's internal organs. While not necessarily immediately debilitating, they were very dangerous. Burning alive wasn't exactly a fun experience after all.

But this wouldn't prevent Luke from releasing his second doll. "....Try again." Kaen snarked as he shot after Luke. Kaen was generating a new flame as he pursued his target. He wasn't stupid. Kaen figured that Luke's doll was probably hidden. Was it invisibility? Camouflage? Teleporting? Hiding in another dimension? There were so many possibilities, that Kaen resolved to keep his mind open to all of the possible ways Luke could attack him with his new doll. However, he sure as hell was going to act with a level of furious arrogance that suggested he believed that Luke had failed to summon his newest creation. Fortunately, Kaen had been generating a new flame as he charged after Luke. He'd intended to shape it into a weapon to test his next theory. His flames could hurt Luke. Could they do the same when shaped? This had a secondary bonus however. Flames created light. And while light could certainly create shadows as well, Kaen was in the middle of the air. There were no surfaces to catch a shadow that Luke's doll could use to immediately attack Kaen with the element of surprise. It would also limit the shadow's options near Kaen while his flames were generating intense light.

Luke explained his ability, Nebel, he called it. He turned it into a taunt at Kaen, and Kaen's eyes narrowed. "I'm sorry.... what was that?" Kaen asked, as he decided on a form for his new flame, and shaped it around his hand, into a gauntlet. "Why don't we put that to the test?" He challenged viciously. Kaen's arm surged forwards to strike Luke, but the Bount disappeared into the shadows on the street, and Kaen's fist slammed into the road. Chunks of concrete were hurled flying by this in all directions. Tch... He's fleeing? Kaen pondered a moment, checking Luke's path. Or as best as he could. He could still sense Luke's presence, even though he couldn't see the Bount. "You won't get away that easily you bastard." Kaen growled, catching sound of the new doll. I thought so... He did summon a hidden doll. Well then.... Kaen sprang into the air, using air ground to stay aloft to pursue Luke a literal flying beacon with his fiery gauntlet. This was less for avoiding the shadows and more for avoiding the ground. Kaen didn't know how the doll was concealing itself, although Luke's own vanishing act had given Kaen some ideas. Still. Perhaps the doll had hidden underground? Or perhaps it could merge with the very rock? At any rate, while moving in the air didn't inhibit EVERY possible angle of attack, it did seal off some of them. The only way Jager could attack Kaen now without being detected (in Kaen's mind at least), was if it was invisible or camoflaged.

And from up here he had an excellent vantage point to pursue Luke through the city street, tracking the feel of Luke's reiatsu. Ready for the moment the Bount emerged from hiding.

Shikai: 6/10