[BitP:R] Soul Society 4

[KnightDisciple]

Though not exactly quick on his feet, Ryouichi was no slouch when it came to defensive positioning. Taking a step back with his left foot and bringing his blade up, Ryouichi applies his strength to not only try and deflect the blow, but to attack Masaru's muscles with a jarring counterblow.

Such was nothing new to Masaru. Ryouichi's, and the path of the Bear as a whole, centered on fatiguing opponents through an airtight defense and wearing their foe down like a stone against the tide. Who would break first?

For most swordsmen, the counter-blow from Ryouichi would have left their muscles quivering, sore, and suddenly stiff.

Masaru saw the twitch in Ryouichi's shoulders, and instinctively made his swords move. To Kazuma's eyes, they may as well have been dancing. The end result was that the force of Ryoichi's counter-attack was spent in a thousand tiny vibrations in the two swords, vibrations Masaru's calloused hands didn't even notice.

Masaru quickly shuffled back, facing his friend the whole time. He dropped both his swords to a guarded position in front of his body; from there, he could, and would, attack and defend as he pleased.

[Kuroimaken]

There was no waste of movement in that counter... no excessive force. Yet... a shockwave? Kazuma could scarcely believe his eyes. This display was as good a lesson as any; the 11th divisioner's vision had long become accustomed to taking in the slightest details. He didn't know the name of the style, nor did he know what other surprises it had in store, but one thing was certain - its fluidity, its elegance, its efficiency. This was an artform passed down for years, which surpassed his meager instincts. It comes to mind that nothing can really surpass the wisdom of a teacher, after all.

[strawberryman]

Ryouichi was never much one for an offensive.

...However, in this such case, he took the chance to display his knowledge of the other forms, as rusty as they may have been. Stepping forward, the Commander brings his sword for an upward slash from Masaru's left hip to his right shoulder, an almost trivially blocked blow...

However, that grin suggests more than can be determined from the eyes.

[MageSparrowhawk]

Alysha holds back a chuckle. This is Jiro. He's been here for a little bit.

Um, were you going to suggest something?

Koujin blinks, glancing between Alysha and Jiro. "...Alright. I apologize, Jiro-san. I must have been a bit too deep in thought." He scratches the back of his head and looks away.

The chick asked you a question, idiot.

"Oh, right. Suggestions." Koujin collects his thoughts with a deep breath, then falls back into 'teaching mode'.

"While you were blocking Hachirou's strikes, you were doing two things that I suspect was making it harder for you. First, you were using your shikai to directly oppose his strikes. Once you got into the rhythm of the punches, your placed your shield to exactly counter the force of impact. The required effort to protect yourself would dramatically decrease if instead you diverted incoming attacks. Imagine you're striking at the side of the attack, and knock it away. If you're lucky, you may even trip up your opponent and prompt an opening you can take advantage of."

Koujin walks closer as he speaks, stopping half a dozen feet from Alysha. "The second thing is that, as far as I could tell, you were completely withdrawing your reiryoku from your zanpakoutou. While that may reduce the overall drain on your reserves, I suspect that it dramatically slows the rate at which you can ready for another blow. Continuously leaving a bit of your energy in should ease and quicken the speed in which you can funnel more back in. Besides, constantly draining yourself a little bit will help you build up more reserves. Think of it like weight training for your spiritual energy."

With a short sigh, Koujin's posture loses much of its force. "So...yeah. That's all I can think of right now. Maybe it'll help?"

[KerfuffleMach2]

Training Grounds

Alysha takes a few moments to process Koujin's suggestions.

So...deflecting instead of outright blocking...and leaving some reiryoku in Tetsu no Ishi in between hits... She smiles and nods. Yeah, that could work! Thanks!

That may take some time to practice.

Alysha looks to the buckler. Well, yeah. I kinda figured that. But that's okay.

[KnightDisciple]

Ryouichi was never much one for an offensive.

...However, in this such case, he took the chance to display his knowledge of the other forms, as rusty as they may have been. Stepping forward, the Commander brings his sword for an upward slash from Masaru's left hip to his right shoulder, an almost trivially blocked blow...

However, that grin suggests more than can be determined from the eyes.

Masaru hadn't sparred with Ryouichi in approximately 5 months, 2 weeks, and 3 days. So, for a space of time somewhere between "blink of an eye" and "a second", he didn't think about the follow-up that his opponent was likely about to do. By that point, his muscle memory already had him moving his own katana to block his opponent's. While not quite the wall of stone that Ryouichi's defense was, Masaru's unique blending of styles meant that his block was a flowing thing, designed to try redirecting the blow.

Of course, the Commander-General was utterly familiar with that particular fact. Masaru knew that Ryouichi knew. Both of them knew the other knew...and so on. A battle of swords is as much a battle of minds as anything, and there were few alive or dead who could casually dismiss the minds of these two men.

So it was that Masaru continued with his redirecting blow, but he kept his short sword in reserve, clearly waiting for the proverbial "other shoe to drop".

[CMOTDibbler]

As Myojin drops to one knee, he could swear that he felt a very subtle force acting on the flat of his blade which he used to block Aya's kick. And as he swings that same blade towards Aya's other leg, he realizes that Aya's kicking feet remained on that blade, as if her reiryoku allowed her feet to remain 'stuck' on the weapon.

Spinning on that contact point, Aya brings her other leg up and drops it down on Myojin like a falling hammer.

Myojin's eyes widen in surprise as he notices Aya is standing on his sword. In an attempt to stop her falling leg, he spins the sword 180 degrees, so that the side Aya is standing on is now facing downward.

[strawberryman]

Knowing that very few could compete in the raw physical strength the Commander possessed, and that Masaru was not one of the few, Ryouichi could predict the redirect to one of many moves on the proverbial chessboard they were on. Flexibly moving Jisei in one hand, he flips the blade to its flat against the surface of Masaru's katana, and uses his right to push with a powerful jarring blow against his sparring partner. He knew his advantage was in strength, so he would turn this into a battle of physique, even if he had to force his foe's hand. Brutish, but effective.

[KnightDisciple]

Knowing that very few could compete in the raw physical strength the Commander possessed, and that Masaru was not one of the few, Ryouichi could predict the redirect to one of many moves on the proverbial chessboard they were on. Flexibly moving Jisei in one hand, he flips the blade to its flat against the surface of Masaru's katana, and uses his right to push with a powerful jarring blow against his sparring partner. He knew his advantage was in strength, so he would turn this into a battle of physique, even if he had to force his foe's hand. Brutish, but effective.

Masaru's eyes widened fractionally at Ryouichi's unorthodox move. He'd seen this one before, but not very often.

"Clever."

His wakizashi whipped around, and suddenly he was holding off his opponent's sword at two points, using both of his arms. He still would lose a battle of sheer muscle, but now he had better options for leverage.

In this case, he slid his swords a bit closer together, before suddenly forming an angled "V" with them, with Ryouichi's sword in the middle. Before his opponent could react, he jogged backwards, sliding back the length of the sword. When he neared the end of the blade, he shoved his arms to one side, stepping his body the opposite direction. His goal was to send his friend's sword point into the dirt as he continued the side step, gaining about 5 feet of distance on the other Captain, and putting him behind and to the left of the other sword-master.

There he moved his shorter sword into a defensive posture, and lowered his longer sword to a ready stance that would let him quickly strike from low to high.

[KnightDisciple]

Spoiler

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OOC: Totally thought I'd replied to this. Sorry about that, Terry.

HECATE tilts her head to the side. "The only current enemies of the Soul Society are:"

numbers run through her eyes, and her mouth begins to move of its own accord.

"Kujo: Deceased; Organization Still Active.
The Ghost King: Active; Located in Hueco Mundo; Free of Suspicion Until Further Evidence Is Presented."

The numbers vanish, and she turns her head straight once more. "Presumably the only enemies of Soul Society with access to such things are in custody, or obtained these items during a distraction."

"And yet, the project is missing. Whoever did it was smart enough to find and disable the tracker."

He points to a wrecked piece of electronics, about the size of an American quarter.

"Kujo's group would be suspect, but they're too crazy to pull off an operation this clean. Plus, we've bagged and tagged some of their better operatives since the raid.

The Hollows...are a possibility, but a slim one. I'd wager they'd have tried more violent operations if they had been able to slip this far in.

No, I'm afraid this may well be a third party. A "wild card", if you will. As for the distraction, my guess would be it was during Kujo's attack and the chaos that surrounded it."

He sighs and walks over to a wall display, pressing a few virtual keys on the LCD keyboard. Information flows into the 12th Division systems, and the audible alarm ceases, though the Blue Alert lights continue to flash slowly, and the increased state of alarm and readiness hasn't been dropped. A few more keystrokes bring up the display for a device that seems intended to wear around the arm...

"I'd been working on a side project to this one, intended for my personal use. The concepts are only somewhat similar and compatible, but these bits of my research should help the lab not have to start from total scratch. That's the worst part; this thing works, and I think it would have had incredible applications for us."

[strawberryman]

Spoiler

Show

Masaru's eyes widened fractionally at Ryouichi's unorthodox move. He'd seen this one before, but not very often.

"Clever."

His wakizashi whipped around, and suddenly he was holding off his opponent's sword at two points, using both of his arms. He still would lose a battle of sheer muscle, but now he had better options for leverage.

In this case, he slid his swords a bit closer together, before suddenly forming an angled "V" with them, with Ryouichi's sword in the middle. Before his opponent could react, he jogged backwards, sliding back the length of the sword. When he neared the end of the blade, he shoved his arms to one side, stepping his body the opposite direction. His goal was to send his friend's sword point into the dirt as he continued the side step, gaining about 5 feet of distance on the other Captain, and putting him behind and to the left of the other sword-master.

There he moved his shorter sword into a defensive posture, and lowered his longer sword to a ready stance that would let him quickly strike from low to high.

Always two steps ahead, that Ryouichi. Unfortunately for him, his comrade was equally tactically skilled. For a moment, it looks like his guard is down as he stumbles forward... not quite enough to lodge his sword into the ground, but enough to throw his balance off for an opportune strike.

[KnightDisciple]

Always two steps ahead, that Ryouichi. Unfortunately for him, his comrade was equally tactically skilled. For a moment, it looks like his guard is down as he stumbles forward... not quite enough to lodge his sword into the ground, but enough to throw his balance off for an opportune strike.

Masaru's eyes narrowed a bit at the stumble.

'Too easy.'

Still, he couldn't not exploit it. So instead, he did something crazy; he threw one of his swords, and not even at his opponent. Masaru's wakizashi went sailing up in an almost absurdly straight line, a light spin imparted to it. Perhaps it would distract his opponent.

Masaru himself disappeared in a blur of shunpo, and reappeared right next to Ryouichi. Both hands gripped his katana, and he brought it up in a cross-body slash that, in the worst case, should let him still defend himself.

[AnimeKid]

Jiro

Jiro rubs his chin as Koujin speaks and Tachi-chan speaks in his head, "Hmmm, that's actually a good defensive strategy. Diverting attacks allows you use less energy to avoid getting hurt and opens up a chance for you to counter attack. Jiro this is what you need to think about." Jiro responds to her mentally, 'Eh, I'll think about it.For now though why fix what is not broken.' He continues to watch as Alysha continues training with her Shikai.


(I'm having this be before Jiro's battle with Kazuma. After all he just left the field where Kazuma was being trained by Masaru a few hours ago.)

[MageSparrowhawk]

"Was there anything else you wanted help with? I mean, Just defending isn't going to win you any fights on your own...but then again..."

Huh. You actually had a decent idea there...

"Maybe...you could practice fighting along with other people. You don't have much offensive strength, but your potential for defense is dramatic. If you learned to make your movements supplement who you're fighting with and protect him or her; use your kido to supplement his or her stamina and health... "
You're rambling...
Koujin blinks and reigns in his five-mile stare.

"Oh, sorry about that. My mind got caught up in the potentials of a strategy like that..." He shrugs and glances away. "But...yeah. It probably would work quite well."

[KerfuffleMach2]

"Was there anything else you wanted help with? I mean, Just defending isn't going to win you any fights on your own...but then again..."

Huh. You actually had a decent idea there...

"Maybe...you could practice fighting along with other people. You don't have much offensive strength, but your potential for defense is dramatic. If you learned to make your movements supplement who you're fighting with and protect him or her; use your kido to supplement his or her stamina and health... "
You're rambling...
Koujin blinks and reigns in his five-mile stare.

"Oh, sorry about that. My mind got caught up in the potentials of a strategy like that..." He shrugs and glances away. "But...yeah. It probably would work quite well."

Alysha thinks on that for a moment. You really think it could work? Hmmm... Then she smiles. Well, sure, we could try that then.

If you want. I mean, I don't want you to feel forced to do it.

[strawberryman]

Masaru's eyes narrowed a bit at the stumble.

'Too easy.'

Still, he couldn't not exploit it. So instead, he did something crazy; he threw one of his swords, and not even at his opponent. Masaru's wakizashi went sailing up in an almost absurdly straight line, a light spin imparted to it. Perhaps it would distract his opponent.

Masaru himself disappeared in a blur of shunpo, and reappeared right next to Ryouichi. Both hands gripped his katana, and he brought it up in a cross-body slash that, in the worst case, should let him still defend himself.

Unfortunately, Ryouichi saw through the ruse. Turning to the side he expected Masaru would exploit, the commander blocks the blow, his blade deflecting the blade downward as he brings his left hand to Jihi, aiming to clamp Masaru's zanpaktou between his own, and possibly even disarm him.

What? He has three blades. It'd be irresponsible of him to not practice some degree of ambidexterity.

[Kuroimaken]

It's like having a live performance of how a swordsman should be... Kazuma did his best to hide just how impressed he was. At least he had the decency not to let his jaw drop, but his eyes were open pretty wide behind the shades.

It SEEMS like they're evenly matched, but... I wonder, had they not trained together, would things be going like this? I can't shake the feeling Ryouichi-soutaichou is not entirely letting loose yet... But then again, some degree of that goes to Masaru-taichou too.

I'm watching all this, and yet... I can't get a sense of how strong these two are...

[MageSparrowhawk]

Koujin frowns, tilts his head, then stops doing both. "Ooh. Sorry, I wasn't clear. You should probably start out working with one person, but the eventual goal would be to train along with as many people as you can, so you could get used to all sorts of fighting styles." He shrugs and glances around. "I suppose eventually, you could fight along with anyone; even if he or she hadn't practiced with you before..."

...gonna get to a point?

"..."

"Oh, right. I wasn't suggesting to practice with me, mostly because my style would be very hard to support and move with. I actually wasn't thinking of anyone in particular when I suggested it...more of a concept than anything..." Koujin shrugs and gives a habitual look of uncertainty.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Oh. Well, okay then. I just thought you meant you. But that's okay.

Oh boy. We got a pair of ramblers here.

Alysha turns to Hachirou. Maybe you could? Since you're here already?

[Frozen_Feet]

"Train alongside you? I... suppose?", Hachirou shrugs. He gives both Jiro and Koujin a quizzical look. "What about you? Would you be our opponents then?"

[AnimeKid]

Jiro

Jiro shrugs his shoulders as a small grin comes over his face, "Why not? I was looking for something to do anyways. Just tell me how strong I should make my attacks and I'll do whatever you want." Jiro really did love physical activity. It got the blood pumping and at the end of the day it always gave you a sense of accomplishment.

[MageSparrowhawk]

"Only one opponent should be sufficient at this point, so Alysha-san can get used to moving around someone else...if that's alright?" Koujin shrugs, then gestures out to the training area as he walks in that direction. "I should probably show you what I mean at first, so Jiro-san can step in once the two of you are ready...if he doesn't mind waiting, of course..."

Unless they have any further concerns, Koujin will draw his right-hand blade and direct where the other two should stand. "Hachirou-san, you should fight as normal, but don't worry about defending yourself too much. Until she gets used to this, you should probably try and react normally to attacks from the side she's not currently protecting." He turns to the other trainee. "Once you do get accustomed to this of course, I have a feeling whoever you're fighting with won't need to defend at all. Until then, watch your opponent's movements and try to be in the way before the attack gets too close."

Koujin takes a few steps back and absently traces a circle in the air with his blade before pointing it at the two shinigami. "I'm going to go rather slowly at first, and call the directions of my attacks. Alysha-san, feel free to move normally, but try your best to predict where I'm going to attack from before I tell you. After a little while, I'm going to stop announcing where I'll be swinging from. At that point, I'd like you to say where you think I'm going to make my next attack. Once you seem to start getting the hang of it, I'll slowly speed up." He squints and glances away for a moment, before looking back to Alysha. "You'll probably want to move behind Hachirou-san when you switch sides, so as to avoid tripping up his attacks."

You forgot to mention something...

"...And Hachirou-san? If you'd slow your attacks to about how fast I'm going, I'd appreciate it."

[KerfuffleMach2]

Alysha takes a moment to process everything that Koujin said. Once she does, she gives a quick nod. Okay then. She'll move to where he indicated, adjust her grip on her buckler, and give another nod. I'm ready.

[Frozen_Feet]

"We'll see how the test run goes first, Jiro-san", Hachirou replies to the 11th divisioner. "I don't have anything against you training as hard as you can, but I'll have to see how ready our trainee is for that." He then turns to face Koujin and nods. "All right. I'm ready."

[MageSparrowhawk]

"Alright, sounds like a plan." Koujin snaps his sword back, then slowly slides his foot along the ground; his sword matches it's movement parallel to his waist. "Waist high-Your left!" He'll continue the strike, moving in perfect strike form but slow motion.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Alysha changes her grip slightly, so she can reach her left side easier. She brings the buckler around, channeling some reiatsu into as she goes.

She keeps it moving, looking to deflect instead of just block. When his sword hits, Koujin may be reminded of striking a wall. Given her motion, she's trying to push his strike completely away from her.

[MageSparrowhawk]

The blade taps the shield, then slides down and away. "Alright, next..." Koujin raises his sword, slowly rotating it above his head before bringing in another strike. "High to low-Your right!" This strike is a touch faster, but still nothing more than a mimed swing. This one was much more obviously aimed at Hachirou.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Alysha moves again. She didn't completely drop her reiatsu from the shield, as she would have done in the past. She just lowered it, so she can flare it again on the next hit.

This time, she doesn't try to push the strike away. She'll just angle her shield so Koujin's momentum will cause it to slide away on its own.

[KnightDisciple]

Unfortunately, Ryouichi saw through the ruse. Turning to the side he expected Masaru would exploit, the commander blocks the blow, his blade deflecting the blade downward as he brings his left hand to Jihi, aiming to clamp Masaru's zanpaktou between his own, and possibly even disarm him.

What? He has three blades. It'd be irresponsible of him to not practice some degree of ambidexterity.

Some newer shinigami might be forgiven for not consciously realizing Ryouichi has 3 swords. Oh, you can see them on his waist, but when he's almost never pulled more than one in a fight in a while, it turns into a background factoid.

Masaru knew better. That's why he had 2 swords of his own. Where was that short sword of his.

Oh, there it was, spinning down through the air. Faster than many eyes could see, it was suddenly in Masaru's left hand. That hand swung the blade through the air to block Jihi.

Of course, there was no way he could really keep these two blades at bay for long like this. Ryouichi had always been a bit more physically powerful. Then again, Masaru preferred not to rely on phyiscal power alone. That's why he took a moment to shift the web of blades between the two men enough to get himself free. That freedom allowed him to dance backwards about 15 feet, his eyes locked on his opponent.

He didn't even seem to be breathing heavily, and there were only a couple drops of sweat evident on his body.

"Wondered when you'd step up the game."

Then suddenly Masaru was in front of Ryouichi, an engine of destructive attack, both of his swords slashing forward in the arcs of Zenmetsugata as he tried to put his friend off-balance. While the Commander was at least somewhat ambidextrous, he had only just drawn his second blade, and since it was also a long sword, up close it might hinder him just a fraction...

[MageSparrowhawk]

Alysha moves again. She didn't completely drop her reiatsu from the shield, as she would have done in the past. She just lowered it, so she can flare it again on the next hit.

This time, she doesn't try to push the strike away. She'll just angle her shield so Koujin's momentum will cause it to slide away on its own.

Koujin smiles slightly as the strike scrapes down and away from both Hachirou and Alysha. "Hachirou-san, after one or two more feel free to start attacking. Alysha-san must learn to move around you as you do so. Next, straight up-Center!" Koujin has sped up a small amount yet again, but the attack is still distinctly a mimed attack.

(If it's alright, I'm going to include a couple attacks in my next post.)