Game 3 - Chapter 3

Clive and Tomi carefully weaved their way through the crowds, though to be honest, Tomi was mostly the one that was dragging Clive around, who only focused on holding her hand and seeing the fight. It was an odd feeling to be here in the crowd this time after all the times he had been one in the arena, although it looked much different than this place. Still, Clive decided to scan the crowd to find their sister since he thought the ring only had one person in it.

Clive still hadn't spotted her when Tomi started to call out for her. Clive started to worry that she was actually on the other side of the arena, and they would have to fight all the way though the crowds to get there, until he heard a response back. "Clyde? Hitomi?"

Clive scanned the crowd again, he had been looking right where he heard the voice. It surely meant to say Clive if the voice got Tomi's full name right, yet he couldn't pick out his other sister. Tomi heard her name and pushed forward to where the voice came from, Clive holding on tight to her hand and following while still having difficulty finding his other sister.

Clive noticed they were drawing close to the edge of the stands and then noticed someone else moving towards the same spot, with short brown hair and... "Ma-nee!" Tomi was at the edge of the stands now, and looking right at the person who was moving toward them. She turned and cleared a little space so Tomi and Clive could both step forward. "Tomi! Cly-.. Clive! What are you doing here?"

Clive started to open his mouth to explain when Tomi held out the white box that brought them to the academy in the first place. Kasahara bade Tomi to hold on to it a while longer, and silently Clive agreed, figuring that she had yet to fight and had no place to keep ithe package safe. Kasahara then turned her attention to Clive and gave him an apologetic smile, while Clive shrugged, a silent way of saying 'It's ok you messed up my name, I couldn't even pick you out of the crowd.'.

However, her first question still hadn't been answered, so Clive felt like he should at least do that. "Greetings, Kasahara-sama. Tomi and I wanted to come see you in the homecoming tournament before we gave you your special gift from home." He gave her a light smile, hinting that he understood why they had to hold on to the package for longer.

Blow after blow landed on Takeshi, he combated it as best he could, he swung out, he struck, but he couldn't deal enough damage to this kid. Initially awestruck by his ability to turn invisible, Takeshi had almost instantly resolved to save any envious pondering for later, the fight would captivate him now. And so it had, but it hadn't done him any good, he focused and fought as well as he could, attempting to defend himself from the invisible boy's barrage of blows while combating him at the same time, but it had been of little use. He could barely strike him, and each blow Takeshi suffered drained him of blood and confidence, making sure that by the time he got a chance to catch his breath, he felt battered and beaten. The final blow, the one to his neck, if it had been any stronger he wouldn't even be breathing right now, it would have been a repeat of last week.

Takeshi groaned as he dragged himself upright, Igarashi's cry of support, although heard, was lost in the agonizing pain and defeat running rampant through his body. It hadn't mattered that Takeshi had tried to defend himself; this invisible kid had dodged through every attempt and wounded him again and again. Now Takeshi could feel how close he was to failure, he couldn't see his opponent and didn't have enough time to land any fatal wounds before this unseen threat finished him off. "Damn it", Takeshi swore under his breath, his eyes watched around him, but for what? He could see this foe, and even when he heard his movements, it was always too late to stop them, and it wasn't like he could take another hit so he could try grabbing to the blade again. Takeshi struggled for a method to win, his mind grabbing at threads in utter desperation, he clambered from poor ideas to poorer ideas before he finally gave in to a feeling of heavy failure. And that feeling stung him heavily, wounding his confidence, all hope for victory felt like it was pouring from his body with his blood.

'How...' Takeshi mentally struggled to understand what would happen next, no one of his Class had lost their fights so far, and he hadn't intended on being the first. What came next, and why him? We had he chosen the one who could destroy him? 'How come it has to be me? How come I have to be the one to lose? I don't want to lose, but I can't find any way to win!' Takeshi let out a mental cry as the anguish and lack of hope for victory overtook him, leaving him only craving any way to acquire it.

"How the hell can I win this!?" He sputtered aloud, his voice was as littered with desperation as his mind.
Seemingly in answer, Ryuunosuke's hilt heated to the point of nearly scalding even its wielder, a feeling of aggravation and determination began reverberating from it up unto Takeshi. He clenched the handle of the blade tightly, his knuckles whitened as he held Ryuunosuke, he could feel something in it, a force he hadn't felt there before. Takeshi could hear its rage at Takeshi for failing to avoid failure, but at the same time, an unnerving understanding of him. Ryuunosuke spoke with both the rage and understanding mixing into it's voice, combining into it's already strangely comforting and alien voice to create something that could never come from the throat of man, 'Fight!!' the sword howled.

The single word bled into the mind of Takeshi, and he took only the time to nod his agreement in response, the blade had instructed him, and he had agreed to its words.

"I'm not going to give up, I will fight!" Takeshi shouted both at his invisible foe, and in response to Igarashi, who’s cry of support was no longer lost in Takeshi’s mind.

"Engulf!" Satoko shouted. "Ryuunosuke!"

A wave of heat blasted through the arena as Satoko released his fiery zanpakutou. His reiatsu was almost visible, like heat rising from hot pavement, as his determination - and his killing intent - began to boil over. Ikurou paused and went back on the defensive. Even if that boy's blade was powerful... would it be able to hit?

The pain from his wounds fueled Satoko's rage. His eyes burned with the same intensity as his sword as he sliced his blade through the air, leaving a trail of light like a torch.

"I...

will...

not...

LOSE!"

With a mighty roar of desperate anger, a fiery inferno erupted, with Satoko at the center, his blade glowing white-hot. Igarashi and Maka, standing at ringside, were thrown to the ground from the power of the blast. Flames raged through every corner of the ring, spiraling and swirling like a hurricane of death, so intense that even the Captains seated high above the ring could feel the heat. The medics of 4th Division had to hurry and cast barrier spells to protect their patients.

As the yell died from Satoko's throat, the flames slowly started to clear. Tetsu, inside his barrier bubble, uncovered his face to view the aftermath of that incredible firestorm.

Ikurou Hyoushi was out cold, lying on his back just outside the ring, his face and hair singed black and his glasses cracked. Even with his invisibility, there was no place in the ring for him to hide.

"T... the winner!" Tetsu announced. "Satoko Takeshi!"

Satoko didn't hear the announcement or the resultant cheering. His mind was already unconscious, and his body soon followed, collapsing to his knees, and then onto his face, his hand slightly burnt, still clutched around Ryuunosuke's handle.

Turn 6:
Satoko released Ryuunosuke!
Ikurou made a DEFENSIVE ATTACK for 0 WOUNDS!

Turn 7:
Ryuunosuke dealt 46 WOUNDS to Ikurou!
Ikurou has fallen UNCONSCIOUS!

The medics came in, lifted Satoko and Ikurou, and carried them on stretchers over to the medical area. "What... an amazing fight, ladies and gentlemen!" Tetsu cheered. "I haven't seen a blast of fire like that since the last time the General fought! Or the last time that Lieutenant Ise gave me a chewing out!" The audience laughed at that, and Tetsu gave an 'I'm-just-kidding-please-don't-hurt-me' genial smile over toward his Lieutenant, sitting with the school faculty. "Alright, next up! Advanced Class 3-A's third-ranked student, Cardinal Ximenez versus 3-B's Akara Daichi!"

The man in the unusual uniform smiled quietly at his stunned subordinate and closed the leather portfolio in his lap.

"D... did... How did you know that boy possessed such a power?"

But the uniformed man said nothing, seeing Satoko and his opponent being taken from the ring by the medics, and watching his next object of interest climb into the ring, preparing to fight.

That blast of fire had been wonderful, Ximenez smiled to himself as he entered the ring. Almost nostalgic. The heat and the intensity... so refreshing. He cast a glance over to where Satoko was being treated for his wounds, hoping for a moment that he would get to face that sandy-haired boy in the proper tournament... although... as he was now, with most of his power sealed, it was in doubt whether he would be able to triumph in battle over such an opponent. Ximenez scowled for a moment. He'd need that bastard Mayuri to relinquish some of that seal... but how to convince him?

He shook his head. Now wasn't the time to worry about that. His opponent now was the salmon-haired boy he'd seen a week earlier.

"Good evening. Please, do put up a good fight," he grinned at Akara, unsheathing his zanpakutou. "And do show me... just what that wonderful blood of yours can really do."

Igarashi watched intently after he had shouted at Satoko, at first, his friend looked afraid, almost defeated, as if he hadn't even heard Igarashi's words. But a few seconds after something changed.

Quote :

"I'm not going to give up, I will fight!"

Igarashi smiled as he heard that, Now that's the spirit! a fight is not over until you can't stay conscious or hold onto your blade. Igarashi's smile then grew wider as he witnessed Satoko release his shikai. He had glanced at it once, but back in that time he hadn't paid enough attention to it. Now that he watched it again, he couldn't help to feel somewhat astounded by it. Being so close to the ring, Igarashi could clearly feel the heat from the shikai. Ack! Hot! if I didn't knew better, I would think that he's trying to cook the entire aren-WHOAH!!

For just a split second, Igarashi was only able to witness the incandescent white blade from Satoko's hand before he was blasted to the ground by the erupting flames. As he fell to the ground, Igarashi closed his eyes to protect them from the flames and the heat. For the few seconds that it lasted, Igarashi was more surprised by the sheer power that Satoko had been able to unleash rather than the burning sensation that spread trough his skin. Of all the Shikais that he had seen released so far, none seemed as powerful as that one.

When it finally ended. Igarashi opened his eyes slowly, only to see that one thread of hair in front of him had caught itself on fire. Startled, Igarashi quickly flailed and swiped with his hands the area around the hair to put it off, accidentally smacking himself in the face once.

"Ow! ... grr, stupid..." Getting up, Igarashi then hoped that everyone else were busy recovering themselves from the blast to pay any attention to his rather embarrassing display. He then scanned the ring, looking for Satoko, only to see that he had fainted, and that he was being carried away from the ring. Igarashi chuckled, apparently that guy had a penchant of fainting after a fight. Didn't surprise him though, a blast like that no doubt had to be quite draining.

After dusting himself off from any possible traces of dirt or soot in his robes, Igarashi then decided to head towards the medical area, next to where Satoko was being attended. He could watch the next fight from there, and learning from past mistakes. He would rather stand alongside his friend this time around while he recovered, than leave him to his own luck like Igarashi had foolishly done a week ago.

Akara had been sitting intently watching the match’s, so far the only ting that interesting him was the giant wave of fire that made him nearly fall out of his seat. Akara would have left if he hadn’t to fight some one, 'Who was that again, his name was a bird of some sort.' Daichi fought about for a few more seconds before deciding he didn't care.

Akara started sitting back, hoping his match wasn't next. But to soon his oppent came walking up to him. "Good evening. Please, do put up a good fight," he grinned at Akara, unsheathing his Zanpakutou. "And do show me... just what that wonderful blood of yours can really do." Akara could not help but think about a man commenting on his blood, it was just creepy. Akara felt the need to say something back, but he did not know what. Akara responded "And I hope I don't die horribly!" Akara thought about that response, what the hell kind of response is that?

"I uhh.. I appreciate you two coming here and visiting, Clive." Kasahara responded in a uncertain tone, trying to be polite; it sounded strained, coming from the brunette. Both her and Clive always had a distant relationship to each other under the same roof. Neither of them felt inclined to get to know one another before she left for the academy.

Not a moment later, the crowd roared loudly at the spectacle in the ring. Even little Tomi pointed and exlaimed! "Whoa~! Ma-nee! Look!"

Kasahara could barely hear the girl in front of her over the sea of spectators. If it wasn't for the gesture, she wouldn't have known what the child wanted to say. She turned to see what was happening behind her and was nearly blinded by the sight of a bright blazing fire coming from the center of the ring. The explosion caused a strong burst of energy to crash down upon the people around him. Without time to brace for impact, Kasahara was knocked backwards into the crowd; little Tomi found herself sandwiched between Kasahara's backside and Clive's front, hugging the white package closely to prevent damage to it. When Kasahara found her balanace, she apologized hastely and looked into the ring again. There stood Takeshi, his zanpakutou released and set ablaze. The blond shinigami gave a single swipe to his opponent that ended the fight; unfortunately, both fighters fell and was carried off by the medics. Kasahara's eyes were set on Takeshi's sword and the hand that was heavily burnt by it's fire. Was winning a preliminary fight worth damaging himself?

It must of been the worried look upon Kasahara's face that made Tomi inquire about the fallen blond. "Hey, nee-chan?" The shorter of the three siblings started once the crowd died down. "Is that him? Is that the guy you came here for?" Why else would the older sister look so concerned?

The brunette quickly turned her head and gave a her a look of surprise. "Takeshi? He's..."

How does Kasahara explain to her 'family' what Takeshi meant to her when she isn't exactly sure herself. She couldn't tell them that she found herself in the same bed earlier this morning. It would've brought shame upon her if they knew and Tomi probably would've inquired further. " He's in my class. A very close .." It felt like it would've been insulting to just call Takeshi a friend, wouldn't it? Calling Takeshi her lover would've sounded indecent and Kasahara was pretty sure he showed no intention on becoming her boyfriend. Kasahara was a loss of words and let that last sentence linger.

Tomi still had a curious expression on her face, knowing that her older sister wouldn't normally stumble with her words; Kasahara had to change the subject abruptly to lose the uneasiness she felt when trying to describe the relationship. "Takeshi isn't the guy, anyways. He's still a student. Who ever it was, they were a shinigami before I was.." Who ever it was? Tomi still held the curious look; it was obvious that she was going to ask another question.

"So you haven't found him, yet?"

"So you haven't found him, yet?"

Kasahara stared at the little girl for a few moments before finally admitting dejectedly to her siblings. "No. Haven't seen a trace of him since I've been here."

She wanted to tell them that not seeing or hearing for that certain shinigami wasn't entirely bad. In recent days, the brunette thought less and less of him and more of Takeshi for some reason. Like a wrench thrown into a piece of machinery, Takehi stirred up thoughts and emotions that were unusual for Kasahara. Again, she couldn't tell her 'family' that. Besides, it would make a nice fairytale story for later generations if they said that Kasahara came to this academy in search of a prince charming.

Kasahara looked from Tomi to Clive, silently begging him to pry the inquiring Tomi from her so that she could return to her place in front of the ring. It was bad enough she that her attention on Takeshi's fight was diverted to them; what would the nobles think if they saw her lingering away from the ring and her classmates for too long.

Anshou stared in disbelief at all the power that Satoko had just let out of his sword. The heat left him sweating, or maybe that was the fear, either way he stared with his eyes open wide. "How could he have done that?" Anshou thought.

When the fires died down and Satoko fell to the ground, Anshou looked down and thought hard. Did he always have that much power? Did he have that much power back when we were fighting a couple weeks ago? "Was he... just toying with me?" A blast like that would have fried Anshou to a crisp and he really didn't like not being the strongest in the class. "No," he said to himself. "That was just a fluke and a blast of rage. He won't be able to do that again."

"I'm the strongest in the class," he thought, looking over at Igarashi and Matsuura arguing. "I'll show everybody, come on Satoko," he then thought, looking to where the medics were healing him, "I'll face you again with your zanpakuto against mine and this time it won't be a tie."

Quote :

Slowly, line by line, her eyes got wider and wider. And the smile on her face grew larger and larger. Was... was this all true?! Oh, this was rich. This was perfect. This alone was worth everything she'd done tonight, all the blood, all the pain. Cackling to herself, she slid the second notebook and the camera into her robe as well and shut the drawer carefully.

A plan was formulating in Rumiko's mind now. A plan involving both 12th Division and her dear friend Sachi

Meanwhile in the auditorium Sachi shuddered involuntarily.

If Sachi was the type to be believe in omens she might have took the sudden feeling of, for lack of a better word, doom, as a sign. Instead she shrugged it off in favor of thinking about the tournament thus far.

So far nothing about the tournament had been even vaguely like she expected. First Byouko, just Byouko. I mean who knew she had a badass side? Sachi, who shared a room with her had only seen the cat-eared student in to modes; Reading and introspective. Byouko had come close to winning too, it was a bit intimidating how much she had underestimated her roommate.On the other hand poor Sarahs fight had been rather anti climatic. It might have gotten interesting if Sarah could stay unbound long enough to start blasting (she had said she was a kidou type when they first met, right?) but Yamanoto himself had ruled in the other girls favor which as far as Sachi was concerned was ridiculous. The was still a good chance that Sarah could have turned in around, Sachi frowned, this whole thing was set up in the other class's favor.

Of course that surprise paled in comparison to what happened next. Sachi hadn't even been looking at the ring, she had been leaning back trying to make eye contact so with Sarah she could shout her opinion that her loss totally unfair when she heard what sounded like a splat.

Splat?

She looked at the ground first assuming, thinking vaguely of the cafeteria, that someone had spilled something. Which technically they had, Sachi just hadn't expected it to be her rival's blood. Hang on, Dang it, she wasn't ready! What? When? But it hadn't begun, had it? Sachi blinked a few times hardly believing her eyes but there it was, the representative of 3-A with his sword skewered threw Rumiko's chest. No matter how much she looked at the scene it didn't make sense? Didn't Adachi have any self-preservation instincts at all? She didn't appear to have even raised her sword.

Quote :

Rumiko smiled. "Your shoe's untied."

"Nice try, I'm wearing san--" A sudden shift in reiatsu cut Matsuura off in the middle of his snappy comeback. It was only for a split second, but Rumiko's reiatsu was suddenly behind him while her image was still in front of him. Her sword slashed down for his midsection

She frowned at the memory. Either her rival was much more treacherous, or much more lame that Sachi had originally thought. It was hard to decide which was worse. At least after that, nothing in this tournament would surprise her.

Which is when the ring seemingly burst into flames.

The smells of smoke and drying blood in tandem was kinda nasty, and she had half a mind just to skip watching the next fight, and see how Sarah and Byouko were doing. On the other hand the inferno spelled the end of another match, which brought hers ever closer. She was pretty sure she wouldn't do anything in the fight that could top this. At least the troubled look on her opponent's face seem to indicate he was having doubts as well. Hopefully.

Matsuura watched the fight with a blank expression, none of it registered to him, after all, there was only one thing on his mind. So it should be to no surprise that he did not even flinch when the explosion occured, his glasses shielding his eyes as the rush of air blowing past him ruffled his robes and his hair. He brushed away the strands that had fallen across his face and crossed one leg over the other, placing his hands neatly on his lap as he waited. After all, he had waited so many years, a few more minutes would not bother him. Everything would come to fruition soon, and he would have justice.

A justice you have been denied no less.

....

Enjoy and savor every moment of it, it is yours and no one can rob you of it. Even he, as tempting as it is to destroy him, must wait. Everything will fall into place for us, our hand has been dealt and nothing can beat it.

Matsuura watched with cold and calm eyes as Akara and Ximinez got into the ring. Ikiwazaru was right, as interesting as a fight with Ximinez would be, it could wait. His reiatsu had settled, his rage found a focus, a focus that would make his blade much more deadly.

"I uhh.. I appreciate you two coming here and visiting, Clive."
Clive could hear her strain for politeness and understood. They both felt the same way towards each other, though Clive was a little better at feigning politeness than she was.

Then suddenly, the arena was engulfed in a massive burst of flame. The spontaneous burst made Clive take a step backwards to catch his balance, but that was mostly because Maka was blasted backwards with the force, squishing Tomi between the two.
She quickly worked her way out and apologized before looking worriedly to the ring. Clive didn't know her well enough to be able to read into it right off of that, but when she was hesitating about describing him being a classmate, he could read that they had some sort of relationship. Clive didn't know enough about Maka to tell if it was a close friend relationship or more like a boyfriend relationship, but when she completely switched subjects he could tell it was more likely the second.

Then the subject was on the person Maka came to the academy to look for. Clive remembered back to the conversation they had before she left for the academy, though it wasn't easy to remember since he was so indifferent towards her.
"So, you're going then?" Clive asked, already heard the answer before but he figured he should say something to her though nothing besides the obvious came to mind. "Yes," Maka nodded, "I need to find him and thank him for what he did." "Well, good luck then." Clive couldn't remember what it was the 'he' did for her, but he could remember how indifferent the good luck comment was, like wishing a total stranger luck they achieve whatever it is they tell you about.

Then, Clive caught the look Maka gave him and understood. He knew many looks and that was the 'well, I really must be going so kindly get out of my hair' look, one he had used a few times before. He grabbed Tomi by the hand. "Come on Tomi, we'd better let Kasahara-sama get back to her seat, we'll talk to her later after the tournament is over, okay?" He looked back at Maka with a look of his own, one of indifference that said 'well, there you go'.

As soon as the squad escorting him had cleared Kyouraku Hall, a black bag was secured over Ryouichi's head, as he was bodily dragged, carried, and maybe even flown through a maddeningly complex route. Incredibly curious as to what location they were taking him to, he attempted to puzzle out his destination. Asking any of his captors was out of the question, of course, especially with the bag covering his face, but he could always try to pick out his path of travel using his other senses. Unfortunately, this was far too much for even Ryouichi's sense of direction.

Suddenly, he noticed a distinct change in the air and the ground that his feet were (occasionally) touching. Hm. A building, then. Thankfully, Ryouichi was able to memorize the route this time. Although the complex itself was obviously designed to be confusing and maze-like, he at least knew he wasn't being flown in any bizarre directions. Of course, being employed here, they probably know much shorter and less convoluted routes than these to get to the entrance. Still, it was nice to know exactly where he was, even if escape by force was impossible.

Finally, they appeared to have stopped. With an annoying squeaking sound, what was obviously a metallic door opened, and Ryouichi was pushed roughly over the threshold. In short order, the 2nd division had him sitting and in chains, whereupon the bag was finally ripped off of his head. Completely ignoring him, the unit filed out of the door, shutting it behind them with a loud clang.

Taking stock of his surroundings, Ryouichi sighed. A sliver of light shone through the slot in the iron door opposite him, providing the room's only illumination. The only other items in the otherwise bare room besides the chair he was bound to were a small table in front of him and the bag that lay discarded on the ground to his side. The questioning room was also uncomfortably warm and small. Anyone with claustrophobia would have a field day in here. A few experimental tugs at his chains indicated that he wouldn't be getting out of them any time soon.

"Well, at least they're good at their job." Ryouichi smiled. "Even if this is overkill..." he muttered irritably, glancing back at the bag on the floor.

Ryouichi's face took on an expression of deep thought as he bowed his head and closed his eyes. His effort to enter a trance was helped along by the fact that the entire chamber was apparently soundproof. Now that I'm here, there's nothing to do but answer their questions... meaning I need to figure out what in the world happened back there. The 3A Representative already had a gut feeling, but he needed confirmation...

...

......

.........

......

...

On the way down to his subconscious, Ryouichi passed by a number of memories, floating like so many bubbles in a tube of flowing light. Some of them he was very familiar with...


"You say you are here to, as you say, 'surpass your limits?' If this is what you say, I would like to ask you...why? For what reason are you surpassing your natural limits? Do you have something you'd like to protect? Is it something or someone precious to you? Or is it yourself? Or are you simply desiring power for the sake of power?"


It had hardly been Daisuke's place to question his intentions, he mused, but even so, it was a good question. Ryouichi began smiling in earnest again. He was glad he had been able to keep his motivations hidden for so long. After all, if anyone actually had any idea what he was planning and why, they might try to stop him. That couldn't be allowed to happen.

With a sigh of relief, Ryouichi gripped the familiar leather of his study's chair. "Good, I wasn't interrupted." After a moment he glanced upward at the embodiment of his Zankakutou, raising an eyebrow in query. Wordlessly, Mugenji strode forward and laid the relevant files upon his desk. The desk itself was still the same as always. In fact, the entire room remained unchanged, thankfully. The folders were labeled "ADACHI, RUMIKO" and "HOMECOMING PRELIMINARIES".

Ryouichi started with Rumiko's file. Scanning the first few pages, he found nothing new. "...cent observations have marked her as high-priority on the list of poten..." "...clude that she is an extremely dangerous individual who is not to be underestimated. A much more careful gathering of intelligence will be requ..." "...must ensure that the Plan is not disrupted by unpredictable variables. The coercion required for questioning will be provided thr..." "...ighting style appears to be detached. More data is needed for a more detai..." Ryouichi discarded the folder to the side, where Mugenji dutifully picked it up again. No, there was nothing new there. It seemed an actual update to the file would require a conclusion about how and why the events had transpired.

Humming thoughtfully, he picked up the remaining "HOMECOMING PRELIMINARIES" folder. Interested in what his subconscious may have picked up about the implications of his peers' fighting styles, he skipped past the overviews of the first few fights and read the "Combatant Analysis" sections beneath each of them. "...ken is faring better than expected. Extreme danger appears to trigger the release of a second, primal personality, possibly resulting from hi..." "...so a very unusual individual. A large, as of yet unnamed tiger-like man is most likely her father, which would make her a human/cat hybrid. Interestingly, 'encouragement' from this man seems to elicit a reaction of..." "...asahara is proficient in defensive combat, as expected." "...azu appears ill-suited for duty in any division save 4th, although..." "...kiki is still very proficient in the Kidou Arts. She has not worked much on her endurance, however. Remember to remind her of this. Initially, it appeared as though Uzu..." "...oumaru is obviously related to the disgraced Lisa Yadoumaru. Must explore whether or not..." Before turning the page to review the information he really needed to know, Ryouichi took a few seconds to smirk at one of the few lines written under "Inter-fight Observations". "Matsuura Ryou is extremely proficient in riling up Igarashi."

At last, he turned to the page on his fight with Rumiko, a frown replacing his smile as he carefully reviewed his emotional buildup and subsequent calm before the match began. Then he read further, "At the sound of the referee's signal, I immediately attacked with a horizontal thrust aimed for her left arm. As the strike was in progress, Rumiko moved to the ri..." He froze, suppressed a violent twitch, and then read the line again. "Rumiko moved to the right, directly into the path of the attack." Ryouichi gripped the arms of his chair hard enough that he thought they might break. Suddenly, he was very glad that anything he did in this world would have no impact on his expression on the outside. "How dare she...?" he hissed. His eyes were alight with a deep anger, an anger that he hadn't felt in a very long time. "How dare she?!"

Shuddering, Ryouichi took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. His lips were pulled into a frown, his fingers laced, and his eyes still smoldered, but he was silent. Mugenji stood silently by his side as he thought. It was his duty as the keeper of the boy's subconscious to record all of his thoughts, observations, and intentions. No verbal communication was required. After some time, he began to write on a new page in the file labeled "ADACHI, RUMIKO".

"Rumiko is out of consideration for execution of the Plan unless her loyalty has been assured beyond doubt. Her unknowing role in the original phase concerning the Dance will proceed as previously enacted, with the possible exception of dancing and questioning. It is possible that she has acquired the notebooks. To allow for contingencies, certain involved parties should be notified as soon as possible, pending release from the unnamed Detention Facility. Also to provide for contingencies, the manner in which questions from the interrogator should be..."

This continued on for some time, and when he was finally finished with the modifications, Ryouichi found himself calm and at ease once again. "Even if the actors botch the first Act, the show will continue, just as planned." In a few moments, he found himself back in the interrogation room, alone, though he had hopes that his solitude would be broken soon. Yes, soon. Ryouichi smiled, his mask back in place, just as it needed to be.

"And do show me... just what that wonderful blood of yours can really do."

"And I hope I don't die horribly!"

This brought a smirk to Ximenez's face. "No guarantees."

Tetsu made sure his shield bubble was at full strength, prayed that he wouldn't get caught off guard by another blast of fire, and raised his hand. "Fighters ready?"

Another moment of silent tension.

"Fight!"

Ximenez lazily put his sword up as Akara rushed at him. "Now, now," he chided. "That's no way to--"

Akara suddenly ducked and rolled, surprising Ximenez, and dealing a fierce gash to the red-hatted man's midsection as he sprang to his feet on the other side. Quickly, he turned around and prepared for another attack. But then... "Argh!" Akara clutched his arm as a spray of blood suddenly erupted from under his skin. But... when did he cut me? There's no way he could have done this much damage!

"Heh heh heh...," Ximenez turned to face Akara, blood pouring from the wound in his side. "Didn't think I'd have to use that this early in the tournament. I have to say, you impress--"

Not one to be taken in by idle chatter, Akara leapt into the air, somersaulting over Ximenez perfectly before dropping to the ground and delivering a spinning strike to Ximenez's leg. Out of the corner of his eye, Ximenez noticed that the wound he'd dealt to Akara's arm was already gone. Not good enough, he thought. I've got to do more damage. He went on the offensive, clashing swords with Akara, attempting to bait the boy into lowering his guard. Akara retaliated with a flesh wound to Ximenez's shoulder, and Ximenez responded in kind with a similar wound to Akara's side. Akara lifted his sword overhead, readying another strike, when the small wound burst painfully, just like the scratch Ximenez had put on his arm. Blood spilled from the wound, and Ximenez grinned. "Come on," he said. "We're not done yet."

With teeth clenched, Akara dove at Ximenez, sword out in a thrusting strike. Ximenez put his sword out to parry, then grinned and dropped his guard completely, inviting the hit. Akara drove Chigokoro deep into Ximenez's chest, spilling more of the red-hatted man's blood on the floor of the arena.

But this did not faze Ximenez in the least. Grinning, he raised his own sword and drove a massive slice diagonally across Akara's chest, sending a huge gusher of blood splattering. Akara stumbled back and fell to one knee, glaring up at the red-hatted man. "Here, show everyone," he smirked.

Sure enough, the puddle of blood around Akara's feet slowly began flowing up back into his body.

Turn 1:
Akara made an AGGRESSIVE ATTACK for 9 WOUNDS
Ximenez made a DEFENSIVE ATTACK for 5 WOUNDS

Turn 2:
Akara made an AGGRESSIVE ATTACK for 4 WOUNDS
Ximenez made a DEFENSIVE ATTACK for 0 WOUNDS
Akara healed 5 WOUNDS

Turn 3:
Akara made a DEFENSIVE ATTACK for 0 WOUNDS
Ximenez made a NORMAL ATTACK for 0 WOUNDS

Turn 4:
Akara made a NORMAL ATTACK for 2 WOUNDS
Ximenez made a DEFENSIVE ATTACK for 6 WOUNDS

Turn 5:
Akara made an AGGRESSIVE ATTACK for 5 WOUNDS
Ximenez made an AGGRESSIVE ATTACK for 14 WOUNDS
Akara healed 6 WOUNDS

Sarah had spent the last few fights in the medical area, getting her cuts treated. She'd lost her fight, fairly Sarah thought. She couldn't even break out of a simple binding spell long enough to launch her own attack, and that kind of thing would have gotten her killed in a real fight.

Not long after Sarah had left the ring, there was another scary incident and Rumiko got stabbed through the chest and almost died. "Rumiko!!" Sarah had yelled out loud when her class rep had gotten stabbed. It was a dirty trick, and the rep from class A had caught her off guard before the fight began, and that made Sarah mad. So she was sort of happy seeing him get arrested and dragged away. Served him right.

The next fight ended amazingly. It was a boy from her class that she couldn't remember seeing before, maybe because he could turn invisible. But the opponent from class A did something amazing with his zanpakutou, making a blast of fire that made Sarah's most powerful white lightning spell look like a static shock. Sarah was impressed. No wonder they're in the advanced class. Sarah sighed, wondering if Lisa could have done something like that. Probably. She was the most powerful Yadoumaru that the clan had produced in centuries. And Sarah always wondered how her father expected her to follow in her sister's footsteps, when Sarah wasn't nearly as strong as Lisa was.

Up next was Akara going up against... someone who really gave Sarah the creeps. The fight was mostly even, and Sarah was rooting strongly for her classmate, plus this guy he was fighting looked like the type that might kill Akara.

Just then, Sarah noticed that Sachi had joined her in the medical area. "Oh, hi Sachi!" Sarah smiled. But Sachi just started ranting about how Sarah was robbed and that other girl cheated and the General was unfair and things like that. She seemed a lot more upset about Sarah's loss than Sarah was. And out of the corner of her eye, Sarah saw Byouko get up from her medical table and walk out of the arena with her hood over her face. "Wow, she looks upset," said Sarah. "You think it's because she lost? Or... because of... yesterday?" Sarah pointed at her hair, looking guilty. "Maybe we should go talk to her? And maybe we can go see Rumiko too and make sure she's alright too!"

The uniformed man's subordinate watched the battle closely. "That... Ximenez fellow. He seems like a strong fighter, but no stronger than others in the brigade. Besides, the man looks like he has some serious issues. Why are you interested in him again?"

The man simply folded his hands and smiled. "He's not the one I'm interested in."

"The... other one, then?" said the subordinate, furrowing his brow. "But... he doesn't seem like anything special either."

"Look very closely," said the uniformed man, handing his subordinate a pair of binoculars.

The subordinate peered through the lenses. "His swordplay is average, his agility is... slightly below average. His--" And then he noticed. "... ... By... by the gods!"

"You see?" the uniformed man smirked.

"His... wounds! Are... are his wounds flowing... backwards?!" The subordinate dropped the binoculars into his lap. "But... but how is that... ... Is that even possible?!"

"Tell me," the uniformed man smiled. "What do you know about spirit bodies?"

The subordinate looked confused, so the uniformed man continued. "You're aware... that, as beings of pure reiatsu, we don't require blood to live? In fact... what's flowing through your veins right now isn't even blood at all, but a concentrated form of reiatsu. Your lungs, your brain, your liver, your heart. Every organ, every tissue... Just a facsimile of a human body crafted out of spirit particles. That's how Shinigami can sustain such massive damage to their bodies and not only survive, but actually continue to fight when an ordinary human would be breathing his last."

"Then...,' The subordinate asked. "Why is it that spirit bodies exist at all?"

"Through nothing but sheer force of will," the uniformed man responded. "Each soul, each... consciousness. Attracting spirit particles to itself to form the body it knew in life. And holding that reiatsu together by one simple, overwhelming desire: The desire for continued existence. It's only natural that stronger souls can attract stronger spirit particles. That's how we live so long here in Soul Society. That's how people with strong souls seem to age even slower. That's how people like General Yamamoto live to be over three thousand."

"Oh, we can certainly die," the uniformed man continued. "We can still feel pain strong enough to override our desire to exist. And we can use up all our reiatsu in battle, through injury, or just simply by living. Once we no longer have the strength to hold together these bodies of ours... that's when we vanish, disintegrating into the blue haze of yet another death, becoming one with this plane of existence."

"That's fascinating," the subordinate said earnestly. "Where did you learn all this?"

"Around," the uniformed man smiled. "Now... let us watch this battle continue. This boy...," he nodded toward Akara. "...Is one with superior control over his life's reiatsu."

"Yes! YES! Show me more!" Ximenez cackled gleefully, beginning a relentless assault that dealt gash after gash to Akara's body, spreading the boy's mysterious blood in waves, splattering across the ring. Akara's blood flowed back into his wounds as normal, but slowly. Ximenez was cutting the boy up faster than he could heal himself. Akara did his best to retaliate, dealing some major damage to Ximenez as well, but Ximenez fought like a man possessed. Or like a man who felt no pain.

Akara drove his sword through Ximenez's chest, impaling him, but he only received a bloody cut to the neck as payment, and that wound exploded painfully a moment later, just like the rest of his wounds.

Ximenez grinned once, like a wolf in a hen house... or rather, more like a wolf that had cornered a single, poor, defenseless hen against a tree in the woods. Akara rushed forward and slashed through Ximenez's arm, but Ximenez was still unfazed. He took his sword and, playfully, pricked the top of the blade into Akara's arm, bringing forth a single drop of blood. And, a moment later, the explosion of blood mixed with bits of flesh and muscle. Akara cried out in pain, dropping his sword and clutching the wound with his other hand. Ximenez continued to advance on the boy, bleeding from his countless wounds like a red fountain.

He stopped.

And then he dropped to his knees and collapsed face down.

No, said Ximenez's mind. Why... why won't my body move? Blood? Have I... lost too much blood? Since when is blood loss even an issue for me? Blasted... blasted seal... Damn that Kurotsuchi...

Akara, sensing his opponent's unconsciousness, sheathed his sword and began to limp toward the medical area, his blood slowly flowing from the floor and up his legs and chest and arms, back into his wounds.

"The winner!" Tetsu announced. "Aka--"

"No..."

Tetsu stopped. Akara's opponent was stirring.

"I... won't lose. Not now. Not ever. Not to you. Not to anyone." Ximenez's reiatsu was... changing. Becoming more... serious. More frightening. Struggling, he pulled himself to one knee and pointed the blade of his zanpakutou at Akara.

"Grin... Onishita!"


Turn 6:
Akara made a DEFENSIVE ATTACK for 9 WOUNDS
Ximenez made an AGGRESSIVE ATTACK for 14 WOUNDS
Akara healed 6 WOUNDS

Turn 7:
Akara made a NORMAL ATTACK for 10 WOUNDS
Ximenez made an AGGRESSIVE ATTACK for 18 WOUNDS
Akara healed 6 WOUNDS

Turn 8:
Akara made an AGGRESSIVE ATTACK for 17 WOUNDS
Ximenez made an ALL-OUT ATTACK for 20 WOUNDS
Akara healed 6 WOUNDS

Turn 9:
Akara made an AGGRESSIVE ATTACK for 8 WOUNDS
Ximenez made a DEFENSIVE ATTACK for 5 WOUNDS
Akara healed 6 WOUNDS

Turn 10:
Akara made an ALL-OUT ATTACK for 10 WOUNDS
Ximenez released Onishita!
Akara healed 6 WOUNDS

Akara, looking injured but calm, stared across the arena at his opponent, now holding his released zanpakutou - that odd, double-bladed sword with the laughing demon engraved on the handle.

Ximenez glared back at the boy. This battle would be finishd in the next stroke, and he had to do it quickly, before that little brat could reabsorb any more of his blood.

Akara and Ximenez darted at each other, racing headlong toward the center of the ring, the young boy held his sword out to the side, the red-hatted man held his in front of him. Both of them left trails of blood flying behind them.

They got closer and closer, preparing to end the fight like a duel. Akara dashed left, Ximenez feinted to the right. "Now, you die!" the man in the red howled as he spun his dual-bladed zanpakutou in a circle.

The two combatants ended up about two meters past each other, both still dripping blood. The arena was silent. Who'd won the fight?

Akara was the first to stagger, falling to his knees, coughing up blood. Ximenez soon followed, crumbling to one knee, dropping his sword, using his hands for balance. "Y... you...," he growled. Just as Akara dropped, face first onto the ring, out completely cold.

Turn 11:
Akara made an AGGRESSIVE ATTACK for 4 WOUNDS
Ximenez made an AGGRESSIVE ATTACK for 21 WOUNDS
Akara has fallen UNCONSCIOUS!

"And the winner!" announced Tetsu. "In a spectacular come-from-behind victory, Cardinal Ximenez!"

Breathing heavily, too heavily, Ximenez struggled to his knees and sealed his zanpakutou as medics came in to treat Akara's life-threatening wounds and take him away. Two girls in 4th Division uniforms approached Ximenez as well, chattering away, preparing to cast Kidou spells on him.

"Way of Binding--"

"Piss off," Ximenez growled.

"But... Mr. Ximenez, you're very seriously injured, and--"

"I said PISS OFF!"

This sent the two girls scurrying away in terror, leaving Ximenez staggering slightly and limping noticibly, clutching his bleeding shoulder as he exited the ring and hobbled up the steps. This injured from fighting some brat kid with special blood? How low the great Cardinal Ximenez had fallen. It was ridiculous... humiliating. What the hell did that bastard expect him to do with 97% of his powers sealed away?

"Kurotsuchi...," Ximenez hissed through clenched teeth. "You... you will pay..."

"It's too bad he lost," said the subordinate.

The man in the odd uniform smiled, then closed the portfolio in his lap, stood up, and began making his way down the row.

"Are... we leaving? The main tournament hasn't even started yet!"

The uniformed man nodded. "We've seen what we needed to see. Come. We must prepare for this evening's festivities."

"And if you thought that fight was amazing, we've still got the top two seeds from Advanced Class 3-A coming up this preliminary round!" Tetsu announced, stalling for time a little as 4th Division members hurriedly scrubbed the copious amounts of blood left by Ximenez and Akara out of the ring.

"And, without further delay, let's get our next fight started!" The crowd cheered loudly. "Class 3-A's Anshou Mizukin versus Class 3-B's Sachi Oyashio!"

Oyashio? Shimeisha Shiritori said in his head, standing in the shadows outside Kyouraku Hall, peering through the glass. That was her... though... no way to reach her now, not with all these people around. Hopefully she'd come outside soon. And hopefully alone. Then Shiritori would be able to complete his mission.

He ducked into the greenery around the edge of the building, and was gone.

From the infirmary area. Igarashi was impressed anout that last fight. Though he was also somewhat irritated. Ximenez had always rubbed him the wrong way, and it didn't make Igarashi happy to see that his previous boasting about being so powerful was baseless. That opponent he had was something else, another thing Igarashi had never seen, someone controlling their blood like that. And yet the cocky man with the red hat managed to win in the end. Though it also appeared as if he was pretty banged up as well.

As they left, the next fight was announced. And Igarashi perked his ears when he heard Anshou's name. He was another person Igarashi was interested in watching fight as well. The redhead had not forgotten that sparring match they had in the first days of school, despite they had not even used blades, that fight had been intense, and what was more, they both ended up unconscious in the ground. It was a great fight, and Igarashi was looking forward to fight with that guy again. But since he quite couldn't do that now, he just stayed alongside Satoko in the infirmary and payed attention. Watching him fight should be interesting enough.

Anshou heard his name called and took a deep breath. He'd seen the spotlight hit everyone else before him, but he still wasn't prepared to get that brightness shined in his own eyes.

Nervously unsure what else to do, he lifted one hand and gave the crowd a halfhearted wave. Immediately a high pitched squeal from the girls in the audience reached Anshou's ears, and he tried to ignore it, climbing into the ring.

His opponent was a tomboyish-looking girl who still looked very beautiful underneath her casual dress and attitude. Anshou got a sense that despite this, she was among the strongest opponents he could have picked from.

"Sorry, I'm kind of nervous. I've never had to fight in front of this many people before," Anshou said to her, smiling and scratching his head. He held out his hand in a friendly handshake. "My name's Anshou Mizukin. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Sarah seemed rather unconcerned about the results of her fight, and in turn Sachi anger deflated and she flopped onto the bed across from Sarah with a sigh. How could a person who seemed so mental over a dress, be so flipping reasonable about the results of an important fight. This seemed to be entirely backwards priority-wise, as far as Sachi was concerned. Still Sarah seemed so pleasantly indifferent about the whole thing that it had very much taken the fun out of Sachi's fussing.

Sachi peeked out of the corner of her eye at the fight. Living ones whole life in Soul Society, the term Shinigami was hard to relate to the act of dying itself, despite their intended purpose. Her teachers were impressive fighters, but hardly seemed fit a weird scary-sounding title like Reaper or Death God. One good look at Xinenez fighting had her quickly re-evaluating that thought. What a scary face. Definitely wasn't anyone she'd want messing around with her soul. He seemed to be having fun fighting, Akara whose blood was still happily defying logic and physics as it poured back into his wounds.

Sarah meanwhile was pointing at Byouko.

Quote :

"Wow, she looks upset," said Sarah. "You think it's because she lost? Or... because of... yesterday?" Sarah pointed at her hair, looking guilty. "Maybe we should go talk to her? And maybe we can go see Rumiko too and make sure she's alright too!"

"Bleh." Sachi replied, making a face. "Adachi is fine. I can't say the same for myself if I show up bugging her randomly. I bet near death put her in terrible mood, and I am kinda apathetic about going in there and startin' the Third Reckoning with her. -- And don't say I could be nice, because I can't."

Sachi paused, feeling the reiatsu of yet another shikai being released. Unsurprisingly the blade was as creepy as its owner. "Still-" looking up at Sarah again, "It's a bit wierd, isn't, Adachi getting stabbed? Don't you think that there might be somethi-"

Quote :

"And, without further delay, let's get our next fight started!"

"Oh crap! Already?" Sachi hissed, catapulting herself off the bed so fast she almost lost her balance. "Um, Right! Give Byouko my love, and congratulations on her awesome fight! Tell I am almost sorry about her head! Oh- and see what she thinks about Rumiko! Later! By the way, I still think you could have won"

By the time she had finished shouting all this, she was almost to the ring. Her opponent was approaching it as well, which had caused a cheer from the young female population of the room. Sachi was abruptly reminded that she was in front of a very large audience.

Don't slouch. Chin up. Her father's constant reminders instantly sprung to mind, We can not always be there to tidy up you bad first impressions Sachi.

Quote :

"Sorry, I'm kind of nervous. I've never had to fight in front of this many people before," Anshou said to her, smiling and scratching his head. He held out his hand in a friendly handshake. "My name's Anshou Mizukin. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Sachi smiled, and returned the handshake, "Pleased to meet you too, Mizukin-kun. I'm Sachi." Had any of the other fights started this formally? She felt like she was about to have a job interview, instead of a fight.

"Sorry, I'm kind of nervous. I've never had to fight in front of this many people before," Anshou said to her, smiling and scratching his head. He held out his hand in a friendly handshake. "My name's Anshou Mizukin. It's a pleasure to meet you."


Sachi smiled, and returned the handshake, "Pleased to meet you too, Mizukin-kun. I'm Sachi."

"Ready?" Tetsu said suddenly, leaving Sachi a little off guard. "Fight!"

"Alright!" she laughed out loud, turning her attention to her opponent, who had just unsheathed his sword. "It's time to put on a show these people will never forget! Knock 'em dead, Hakeikobanken!"



Sachi's zanpakutou reformed itself into a steel-plated gauntlet covering her right fist. "Yeah, let's do... this?"

She'd only taken her eyes off him for a moment, but Anshou was gone. And there was a sharp pain in her side as he tore past her with his blade out, cutting a wide gash between her ribs. Her reflexes were good enough that she managed to spin back and give him a kick to the leg as he rushed past, but she was hurt pretty bad. "You're... gonna pay for that," she stuttered a bit, regrouping herself. "Take this!" She rushed at Anshou again, dealing a flurry of swift kicks and fierce punches to his face and body, drawing blood from the spikes on her gauntlet, but Anshou took the blows without flinching and retaliated with a fierce dash to Sachi's blindside and another swipe to her midsection, sending a shower of blood and flesh through the ring. Sachi fell to her knees, despite countering with a quick blow to the ribs.

"I'm so sorry," Anshou said earnestly. "I really didn't mean to hurt you that badly. Hey, what do you say we call this off?"

"Go to hell," Sachi growled, leaping to her feet and rushing at Anshou again, this time stopping short right in front of him, leaping high into a somersault kick that caught the blond boy on the chin, knocking him into the air, and then following through with a gauntlet-powered haymaker that sent Anshou flying in a spray of his own blood, bouncing and rolling across the ring.

He barely came close to the edge, though, when he caught himself with one hand, spun down, landing on his feet, and used the momentum from Sachi's attack to propel himself back at her like a torpedo, sword stretched outward. Anshou's blade ran Sachi right through, sending a spray of blood from her shocked mouth. He pulled his sword out of her chest, did a somersault in the air, and landed with the blade at his side, carving a notch down Sachi's back. She collapsed again into a heap of blood, shaking on the floor of the arena from the extent of her injuries.

"Now, Oyashio-san, are you sure you want to go through with this? We can always signal Inada-sensei, and this will be over."

"N... n... n...," She tried with all her might to pull herself up and focus, but Anshou's blond hair and slight frame were getting blurry. "How the hell... are you... so strong...?" Blood was pouring out of her body in waves. How could she have gotten this hurt this quickly?

"That's a forfeit, then?" Anshou smiled, starting to resheath his zanpakutou. "Alright, I'll tell--"

"NO!" Sachi used the last of her strength to leap to her feet and deliver one last desperate attack. Her gauntlet-covered fist made contact with Anshou's jaw.

And the boy's head didn't even move. He just shrugged. "Very well, Oyashio-san, have it your way."

With a flourish, he whipped his sword back out of its scabbard in a single slash across Sachi's chest. Another splash of blood, and Anshou resheathed his blade and began calmly walking away as the shocked and severely wounded Sachi crumbled to the ground for one last time.

"The winner!" Tetsu announced. "Anshou Mizukin!"

Turn 1:
Sachi released Hakeikobanken!
Anshou made a NORMAL ATTACK for 10 WOUNDS
Sachi COUNTERED for 2 WOUNDS

Turn 2:
Sachi made an AGGRESSIVE ATTACK for 9 WOUNDS
Anshou made an AGGRESSIVE ATTACK for 17 WOUNDS
Sachi COUNTERED for 2 WOUNDS

Turn 3:
Sachi made an AGGGRESSIVE ATTACK for 12 WOUNDS
Anshou made an AGGRESSIVE ATTACK for 20 WOUNDS

Turn 4:
Sachi made an AGGRESSIVE ATTACK for 5 WOUNDS
Anshou made a NORMAL ATTACK for 13 WOUNDS
Sachi has fallen UNCONSCIOUS!

As the medics hauled Sachi's shredded and unconscious body over to the medical ward, right next to her classmate, Sarah, and began treating her severe injuries, Tetsu made his next announcement. "This has already been a preliminary round to remember, folks! And we've got one more fight, and this one promises to be the most thrilling one yet!" A mighty roar from the crowd. "Let's hear it for Advanced Class 3-A's number one student, Igarashi Sakimoto! Facing off against 3-B's Matsuura Ryou!"

Matsuura rose slowly as his name was called, brushing the hair from his eyes. The Matsuura Fanclub had managed to make its presence known at that time, errupting into hoots, hollers and chants while waving supersized banners sporting various sayings, including "Matsuura-kun is #1!" "Matsuura-kun fight to victory!" and "Matsuura-kun have my child!". The last one of course was promptly taken and destroyed by Isane Kotetsu.

This is it. Finally. They will all pay, starting with him.

Matsuura glanced darkly over at his opponent for this fight, Igarashi Sakimoto as he strode forward to the ring. He hopped up, bowing briefly to Tetsu before moving to one side of the ring and drawing his zanptakutou, assuming a defensive stance. He made it clear he was here to fight.

Let us show them your pain.

In due time. They will be the witnesses.

Igarashi grinned at Anshou's fight. He certainly had not dissapointed, his fighting style was certainly fierce. This made Igarashi hope even more that they could be able to fight each other later. But he couldn't get ahead of himself yet, there was someone else he needed to care of first. Looking over at Matsuura, who had already stepped into the ring at that point, was also glancing at Igarashi in a rather odd way. Not with the smug and smiling demeanor he usually had, but in a more serious manner. Igarashi felt something off about that, but he shrugged, it didn't matter now.

Taking a few steps from his pace in the infirmary, Igarashi suddenly leaped towards the ring. Landing just a few meters away from Matsu and quickly turning around to face him. Cracking a smile, Igarashi didn't even try to hide it, he was looking forward to this. "Time to settle the score straight." He stated, leaning forward and grasping his zanptakutou firmly, but without unsheathing it just yet.

Well, so much for that.

Rikiki trudged back to the auditorium, looking disappointed. She had managed to successfully follow Kanue's reiatsu for a minute before the second divison team got so far from her that she lost him. Bugger, those guys were fast. Nothing left to do but turn back, and hope she didn't miss seeing Igarashi's fight.

As Rikiki got back to the auditorium, a stray sheet of paper fluttered past. Rikiki grabbed it, and gave it a look. The top read, 'Grand Champion", a had some sort of chart on it.! It looks the tournament roster... There was a tournament roster? Rikiki vaguely remembered hearing about it in one of her classes. Rikiki scanned the page, looking for her own name. She was first, against...

Rikiki dropped the paper. It had to be joking. Cheering erupted from the stadium, and from what she could hear, she was about to miss Iga's initial fight. Rikiki made for the auditorium. Days didn't get much worse than this.

Igarashi didn't let a moment pass, and as soon Tetsu started the fight, he was right at Matsuura's throat, aiming to smash his face in with his zanpakutou's hilt.

Matsuura raised an eyebrow at Igarashi's lunge, choosing to raise his hand up to block instead of move out of the way, lessening the blow dealt by Igarashi's zanpakutou hilt. He held onto the hilt end, turning it away, his eyes meeting Igarashi's briefly, an angry look in his own.

Pointing his blade at Matsuura, Igarashi taunted him. "Alright, smart mouth, why don't you show me that bite of yours? Go on, come at me!"

Matsuura kept his eyes focused on the ground, trying to suppress his rage enough to... he started chanting silently, his hands forming various symbols before he pointed at Igarashi.

"Way of Binding 9, Strike!"

“A kidou user? Shit!” Surprised, Igarashi did his best to act quickly and avoid the blast of kidou, but it was way too fast. And as a result, the energy wrapped around him, spinning him around a few times before locking his arms to their sides.

"Oops. Looks like you caught me." He grinned, expecting Matsuura to respond in kind, but the silver-haired boy was deadly serious.

Matsuura seized the opportunity given to him, flipping his zanpakutou to a reverse grip. His face growing a serious expression, his voice a somber tone.

"Blitz! Ikiwazura!"

Finally! Now I can have some fun.

The blade of his zanpakutou split in three, all three parts shrinking, the two extensions more than the middle, until his zanpakutou resembled a large sai.

Igarashi watched in surprise for a second. "A... shikai?" Igarashi shook his head and focused all his energy inward, just enough to break his way out of Matsuura's binding spell. Glaring at Matsuura, he quickly lunged forward again, this time driving his zanpakutou into his midsection.

Matsuura's entire body moved with the stab, as he seemingly doubled over. Any satisfaction Igarashi gleaned from it was lost however, when Matsuura looked up at him and held out his sai, turning it sideways before smashing his free hand into the tip, the sai literally disappearing as his hand moved until it reached the hilt. He then quickly extended it, a blood red blade of reiatsu following it to the original length of his zanpakutou.

Matsuura suddenly rushed Igarashi and delivered a decisive slash at his chest.

"What the-" Igarashi couldn’t help but stare in awe for a moment before Matsuura's blade tore through his chest. The pain he felt was unlike anything else he had felt so far. Gasping, Igarashi clutched his chest, worried that he would bleed to death now with such a large cut. Instead, he was surprised to see that there was actually no physical damage to his body. This didn't make him feel better, however, as the pain still lingered.

"No... I'm not done yet!" Igarashi then reacted quickly, planting one foot on Matsuura's body and pushing. He shot upwards, giving him enough distance to slash his blade directly at his opponent's head. Matsuura swung back, his blade of energy meeting Igarashi's sword, causing sparks to fly. Bolts of energy coursed down Matsuura's arms as he fueled his weapon with his own reiatsu... almost too much reiatsu. His weapon was taking a serious toll on his body.

You must hurry, we cannot maintain this much longer.

With a grunt, Matsuura turned Igarashi's blade aside, then sped forward again, a sinister grin on his face as he swung upwards, cutting through Igarashi's left arm. The sheer amount of pain Igarashi felt burned his very soul and mind, making him feel weaker and more tired.

"Tell me," said Matsuura, his voice sounding otherworldly. "Does it hurt....when I cut you? Do you feel my pain? My anger?" Matsuura laughed a sound that could drive fear into even the most battle hardened warriors.

Igarashi writhed in pain, this time he felt too tired to even scream from the pain he felt in his arm and his whole body. He tried to move, but he lacked strength... and that voice... was as if his opponent had turned into someone else entirely. He needed to move... He needed to attack... He needed to win...

Not thinking of a strategy, Igarashi blindly rushed at Matsuura, sword in hand, with clear killing intent.

Matsuura laughed as he raised his arm to defend, and his sai caught Igarashi's attack. He'd deactivated the red blade on his zanpakutou, and his weapon had returned to normal.


Turn 1
Igarashi made an ALL OUT ATTACK for 4 WOUNDS
Matsuura cast STRIKE!
Igarashi is IMMOBILIZED for 6 turns!

Turn 2
Igarashi used TOTAL DEFENSE
Matsuura released Ikiwazura!
Igarashi broke out of STRIKE and is no longer IMMOBILIZED

Turn 3
Igarashi made an AGGRESSIVE ATTACK for 21 WOUNDS
Matsuura activated Ikiwazura!
Matsuura made an AGGRESSIVE ATTACK for 11 WOUNDS

Turn 4
Igarashi made an AGGRESSIVE ATTACK for 20 WOUNDS
Matsuura made an AGGRESSIVE ATTACK for 13 WOUNDS

Turn 5
Igarashi made a DEFENSIVE ATTACK for 0 WOUNDS
Matsuura deactivated Ikiwazura!
Matsuura made a DEFENSIVE ATTACK for 0 WOUNDS

Igarashi never expected that. Igarashi quickly regained his balance, getting flustered. He hated it, he hated feeling humiliated like that. "That's... it. I'm going to be mocked no more!"

Calm down, boy.

It was his blade speaking to him, in his mind.

Are you... sure you want to go through with this? Thirty years is an awful lot to unlock.

Igarashi nodded. I... don't have a choice. If I don't do this, I'll never be able to move forward.

Alright then... Call out my name!

Slowly opening his eyes, Igarashi firmly gripped his Zanpakutou's hilt with one hand while the other pulled the tip of the blade, slowly stretching the whole blade as if forming a metallic string. "Fragment... Sougenkotsu!!!"

Spiritual pressure suddenly enveloping him, his blade suddenly shifted its mass, forming a very long and thin metallic string while Igarashi's hands clutched what it looked like two metallic orbs that fitted perfectly in the grip of his hand. One being jet black and the other shining white in color.



A sudden pain seized Igarashi's head as his mind was forced open. All the repressed memories of the past thirty years came flooding back like a torrent, squeezing his eyes shut.

Somewhere in the distance, or perhaps it was only in Igarashi's mind, came the sound of a baby crying.

And Igarashi Sakimoto remembered everything.

He caught his breath and squeezed the stone orbs in both his hands. They quaked with power.

As welcome as the sudden burst of energy was, Igarashi was left completely open to Matsuura's reactivated red blade of reiatsu. Unable to dodge it in any way now, Igarashi only closed his eyes as the edge caught him in full force and actually sent him rolling across the ground.

Quickly, Igarashi rebounded and stretched the two halves of his weapon apart, preparing for another sword slash, but instead, the blood-red blade had vanished again and Matsuura was busy casting another kidou spell.

"Way of Binding 9: Strike!"

Igarashi's eyes widened as a flash of energy emerged from Matsuura's hand. His reflexes acting again, he quickly took a step out of the way, but the point-blank range of the spell still caught him, wrapping around his body tightly.

With his arms immobilized, Igarashi could only brace himself as Matsuura raced toward him with a crimson flash and drove his reiatsu blade deep into Igarashi's chest.

The pain was intense, like every neuron in his body had been lit aflame, and Igarashi's lungs convulsed, choking a scream from his throat. The reiatsu binding his arms faded away, and Igarashi swung the white stone in his right hand around to block Matsuura's next sword thrust.

With a foot to the chest, Igarashi countered Matsuura's attack by lifting him high into the air and tossing him backwards. In the air, and mostly defenseless, Igarashi took the initiative, swinging the black stone in his left hand in a circle and letting it go at top speed, straight for Matsuura's face. I won't be able to dodge that, Matsuura's analytical brain said to him. And his hand was out of position to block. A blow like that would probably be the end of the fight.

Only one chance.

Matsuura's red reiatsu blade vanished again, and he put his hand out.

"Way of Destruction 1: Thrust!"

A gust of reiatsu blew from Matsuura's hand, catching the oncoming stone orb, slowing it down and stopping it as it was just millimetres away from a knockout.

Matsuura landed on his feet a half metre from where Igarashi's black stone crashed to the ground. The two combatants faced each other, breathing heavily. This fight would be over soon.

Turn 6
Igarashi released Sougenkoutsu!
Matsuura activated Ikiwazura
Matsuura made an ALL OUT ATTACK for 9 WOUNDS

Turn 7
Igarashi used TOTAL DEFENSE!
Matsuura deactivated Ikiwazura
Matsuura cast STRIKE!
Igarashi is IMMOBILIZED for 1 turn!

Turn 8
Igarashi is no longer IMMOBILIZED
Matsuura activated Ikiwazura
Matsuura made an ALL OUT ATTACK for 10 WOUNDS

Turn 9
Igarashi used TOTAL DEFENSE!
Matsuura made an ALL OUT ATTACK for 0 WOUNDS

Turn 10
Matsuura deactivated Ikiwazura
Matsuura cast THRUST!
Igarashi's action is cancelled!

Igarashi landed kneeling into the ground, barely keeping himself from falling before his opponent. He couldn't believe it. He barely touched me, and I am one breath short of crumbling apart. No... This wasn't... Dammit... Pathetic.... I can't even move on my own now...

Putting a great deal of strength in his arm, Igarashi raised the white rock in his hand, but the orb itself seemed much heavier than before. As if by sheer willpower, Igarashi managed to lift the orb, preparing to deliver one last desperate strike before he fell to the ground.

He whirled the stone about his head and whirled it straight it Matsuura's chest. The rock caught Matsuura directly in the midsection, sending him bodily rolling across the arena along with Igarashi's weapon. He bounced twice and then was still for a moment.

I... did I...?

A sudden sound of laughter broke out from Matsuura's fallen form. He pulled himself to one knee, grinning and holding Igarashi's stone by the chain.

"I win," said Matsuura.

That's when Igarashi realized - He took the hit on purpose!

Matsuura started chanting silently, his hands forming various symbols.

"Way of Destruction 4: White Lightning!"

The bolt of electric reiatsu arced along the chain of Igarashi's zanpakutou, reaching his hand at light speed with an enormous bang. Igarashi's body jerked four metres in the air, blasted back by the jolt, rolling, bouncing, until he was halfway out of the ring, slumped over the edge of the arena.

Matsuura took his time waltzing over toward the fallen Igarashi. He seemed to be in a much better mood with his victory imminent, and the crowd was waiting with bated breath. Could this be the first win by a 3-B student in the entire history of the Homecoming Tournament? Smiling, Matsuura dropped to one knee next to the half-conscious Igarashi and placed a hand on his backside, squeezing gently. Igarashi raised an eyebrow.

"You know...," Matsuura whispered into Igarashi's ear. "Even after all these years... you've still got a nice ass."

Even through his quickly fading consciousness, Igarashi's brain jumped. There's... no way. It couldn't be... Struggling, he craned his head to look at Matsuura. It was. For the love of... it's him! Why... the hell didn't I notice before!? The voice... the attitude... the fighting style... It's... all... the... same... As Igarashi's mind grew stunned from the unexpected revelation that his battle with Matsuura had actually been a rematch, his eyes rolled back into his head and his face hit the arena floor. Matsuura stood up, stretched his arms a little, and then delivered a swift kick to Igarashi's rear end. Igarashi's body tumbled out of the ring unceremoniously to the ground.

The crowd sat in stunned silence. Even Tetsu couldn't believe his eyes. "Y... y... you've all just seen history, folks!" Tetsu finally managed to sputter into his microphone. "For the first time ever, a victory to Class 3-B, the winner... Matsuura Ryou!"

Wild cheers erupted from the audience, louder than any heard so far, as medics entered the ring to take care of Igarashi's and Matsuura's wounds.

Turn 11:
Igarashi made an AGGRESSIVE ATTACK for 4 WOUNDS
Matsuura cast WHITE LIGHTNING for 30 WOUNDS
Igarashi has fallen UNCONSCIOUS!