(OOC: first post is for fighting skill.)

Kuro was waiting for the elder in the middle of his training spot. He saw the old man emerging from his tent in the middle of the camp. He immediately began walking towards Kuro with a smile on his face. He walked over to the training site and began to explain the next training session.

"Today, we would like to let you put to use all that we have helped you improve through your training. That is why you will be participating in a plain sparring match today. The opponent will be -"

"Me!"

Accompanying the sudden shout, a needle of white spirit energy came sailing into the camp aiming for Kuro and the elder. Kuro acted quickly, grabbing the elder and jumping out of the way. The needle smashed into the ground where they had previously been standing and sent up a spray of dirt and pebbles. The camp grew silent as all the villagers froze and turned to face the attacker. Kuro followed their gaze and spotted a young woman dressed in shinigami robes on the opposite side of the camp. She had a gentle looking face that was wearing an unnerving, confident smile. Her eyes were a deep shade of purple and matched her hair which hung like a violet veil down past her shoulders. Despite the air of tension being felt through the whole camp, Kuro could not help noticing that she was very attractive. But at the same time, he felt like he had seen her before. He tried to figure out where.

The girl's face brightened into a small fit of giggles as she saw Kuro's dumbfounded look. "Don't bother trying to remember me Kuro-kun. We only met face-to-face once. But maybe you'll remember easier with this hint."

With no further warning, the girl let her reiatsu surge all across the camp. It pressured many of the villagers onto their knees and even made Kuro bend forward before he adjusted to the sudden force. He knew he'd felt this reiatsu before. It was just like that time in...

"Wait!" he shouted as the realization dawned on him. "You're that shy girl from that reiatsu exercise in the academy!"

The girl smiled again, apparently pleased that Kuro had pieced together her identity. "That's correct. I am the shy little girl from your class in the shinigami academy, Hikari Getsuai. I hope you'll be able to keep me entertained today."

Kuro then noticed that since the moment he'd first saw her, she'd been keeping one hand stiffly behind her back. She brought it to the front, clutching her zanpakuto. Kuro's eyes grew wide as he caught sight of the weapon. It was an extremely long katana that was about as tall as Hikari herself. She unsheathed the sword and tossed its sheathe to the side. She then raised its blade over her right shoulder and let it rest behind her back.

"That kidou shot earlier was my greeting. Don't begin to think that it's the full extent of my power."

Kuro was confused by her attitude. He had done nothing to earn this attack. But he was not happy about her strolling into his training camp and terrifying all of his friends. He drew his own sword out from his robes and prepared for her attack.

Hikari wasted no time seeing as Kuro was now ready to fight. She sprinted across the camp and into the training spot where Kuro stood waiting. When she got close enough, she swung her sword in a giant horizontal arc that forced Kuro to jump back away from her. Dammit! She's fast with that huge sword. It'll be hard to get close to her for now. Kuro feinted a shift to the right. Hikari saw and swung her blade down towards him. He stopped the feint and dashed the other way, closing the distance between them. She tried to swing her katana back into his side, but he used his own zanpakuto to parry the blow and stop her sword in its tracks. Using his free hand, he launched a punch towards her face that she flipped back away from. After she regained her footing, they stood ready, standing just beyond her attack range from each other. Kuro tried to find out more about her.

"Why did you attack me like this? What did I do to you?"

Hikari didn't let her guard drop a fraction as she answered. "Many of us academy students had rough lives before choosing to become shinigami, but you always attracted the most attention in our class. You were the rebelious ruffian who came from a life of thieving in the Zaraki district. I heard the gossip about you and decided that one day, I'd beat you and show you my strength that the Rukongai life gave me."

Kuro couldn't believe it. "Is that the only reason? You want to fight me to belittle me? I don't even care what people think I am or was. My life was hard, but I'm positive that others have had worse."

"Yes, I know that this seems foolish and petty, but it has been my goal for a long time. You are my chosen target that will prove how strong I am."

Saying this, Hikari charged forward again. She swung her sword with an amazing amount of speed and launched three consecutive slashes towards Kuro. He managed to block the first two, but was caught unprepared by the third which left a shallow gash across his chest. He skipped back away again and observed her behavior. Somehow, he was going to have to find a way to slow her down so he could land a decisive blow.

+ 1 Fighting Skill

Hikari's attacks were brutal. Even though she was wielding such a large weapon, her attacks came at a pace that forced Kuro to keep an evasive strategy. As he dodged two quick thrusts from her katana, Kuro stepped onto her blade and jumped further away again. Something seemed off. Her eyes were full of fighting spirit, but her face did not seem like someone who was stubbornly fighting a rival. She was enjoying this fight for some reason. Kuro smiled as he realized this fact and decided that he would treat it as a friendly fight now.

"Lets just agree that this is a friendly match. I'd hate for any bad feelings to be between myself and such a cute girl."

Kuro's words seemed to have an impact on Hikari, particularly his later comment. Her focus slipped for one moment and Kuro took the chance to shunpo up close to her and land a palm thrust into her stomach that knocked her to the ground. She jumped back to her feet looking very cross, though still slightly pink in the face.

"That was low! Since when did you learn how to shunpo? And using such words to trick me. Now you've made me serious!" She held her zanpakuto parallel to the ground and shouted, "Engulf! Kagehime!"

As Kuro watched, Hikari's zanpakuto glowed bright violet for a second before changing into a deadly looking scythe equal in length to her sword. It had a pure black handle that was topped by a vicious crimson blade. She gripped the new weapon in both her hands and held a ready stance waiting for Kuro to stike. He did not keep her waiting. Figuring that the scythe would make her even clumsier than the long katana had, he darted in forward, shifting back and forth continuously to confuse her. She swung her scythe at him repeatedly, but her strikes met nothing but thin air. Next, she sent a crimson strike hado at him that he nimbly leapt over, sending it flying into a tree in the distance. When he had closed the distance between them, he struck out with a volley of three punches at quick speed. Hikari had no time to react and took all three blows, two in her stomach and one just beneath her neck. Kuro shunpoed back away from her again and let her catch her breath.

Hikari took a few seconds to regain her composure, but when she glanced up again, Kuro saw a light of minor fury behind her eyes. She may be enjoying the fight, but at the same time, she wanted to win. Kuro stood tensed, waiting for whatever she might try next.

(ooc: speed post)

+1 speed

Kuro was cautious now. He had no idea what kind of powers Hikari's scythe had. He stood with his knees bent, ready to spring at a moment's notice. Her eyes were watching him closely, and he figured that it would be better to let her make the next move. She raised her scythe and suddenly, Kuro felt a rise in her reiatsu. Before his very eyes, Hikari's shadow condensed itself and split into 4 black lines in front of her. These lines then rose out of the ground looking like 4 thin black tendrils. Hikari swung her scythe in Kuro's direction and these new weapons stretched towards him. He leapt into the air and began to fend them off.

One tendril came straight at his chest. He tried to cut it with his zanpakuto, but as he sliced it, the end he'd cut off just faded away. The remainder of the tendril wrapped around his torso and slammed him into the ground. It kept hold of him as the other three came in from above. Kuro thrust his weight and managed to throw himself and the restraining tendril to the right as one smashed into the spot where he'd previously been laying. His arm was still free, so he quickly cut the tendril that held him, making it disappear. As it faded, a pool of shadow reappeared underneath Hikari. Turning his attention back to the three remaining tendrils, Kuro dashed among them and cut the one furthest from Hikari. The other two tried to circle around him and attack him separately, but Kuro spun in a 360 motion as they coordinated their attack and sliced both of them repeatedly. He turned back to Hikari with his breath starting to get uneven.

"Hehe...do you like my zanpakuto's first ability? It lets me make those tendrils out of my own shadow which can attack the opponent without me having to move. Also useful for distractions while I go in for the kill."

Kuro got his breath under control and tensed himself. Hikari had said her scythe's first ability. He dreaded what other powers it could have.

(OOC: Fighting Skill post)

+1 Fighting to Kuro...

The villagers were watching the fight from a distance. Some where cheering Kuro on, but most were stunned into silence by the awe of a fight of this level. Kuro was sure that Hikari was stronger than this. She was holding back and toying with him. Well she wasn't the only one with shikai. Kuro focused his energy and concentrated on his zanpakuto clenched tightly in his left hand.

"Concentrate, Seishou Sejin!" At Kuro's command, his short blade glowed brilliantly with a light that engulfed his hand. His spirit power surged as the energy was released, but quickly was suppressed again as his shikai gauntlet appeared on his hand and began to compress the power. Kuro's face changed into its dangerous battle glare as he met the firey gaze of Hikari standing poised with her scythe. If she wanted this to be a fight between children of the Rukongai, he would abide by her wishes. The viewing audience held their breath as the standoff continued for a few more moments. Then Kuro made his move.

Kuro bent forward and charged straight at Hikari with a dash. She swung her scythe and formed more dark tendrils from her shadow. This time there were 5 of them, and they were thinner and more agile than before. Kuro didn't have a blade anymore to cut them, so he improvised. Concentrating his power into his gauntlet, he slammed his palm into the ground in front of the incomming tendrils with his Kibaku Hirate attack. The power from his gauntlet shattered a wave of dirt chunks and small rocks towards the dark tenticles. Kuro could tell that they were not that durable when attacked as they shrunk back from the wave of debris. Kuro made a leap over the leftover stubs and concentrated more power into his gauntlet as he landed right in front of Hikari. She saw his advance and held her scythe's blade out with both hands behind it to meet his attack. Kuro's blow to her weapon caused the scythe to let out a high pitched scream that rang in both of their ears. The explosion of concentrated power also knocked Hikari back off her feet. Kuro didn't wait this time for her to get back up. Both of them were now taking the fight seriously. He shunpoed after her and thrust his palm at her fallen figure.

Kuro's palm thrust met nothing but dirt and grass as Hikari nimbly flipped back out of his way. His attack shattered the ground where he hit it, sending up a spray of dirt that rained down on both of them. There was a glimmer of fear in Hikari's eyes now as she caught on to Kuro's change of attitude in this fight. But she seemed unwilling to back down. Before Kuro could concentrate the power to attack her again, she tapped her own shadow beneath her with the butt of her scythe handle. Nothing seemed to happen for a moment, but then Hikari's shadow rose out of the ground and stood beside her like a black copy of herself. Kuro could tell without being told that this was Hikari's scythe's second ability. The only distinguishing features on the shadow clone were various shades of gray that gave its appearance a deeper look than just a mass of black. It held a scythe as big as Hikari's that was also black like itself. Hikari sighed in relief, seeming to think that she had the advantage again.

Hikari and the clone separated, circling around Kuro in a pincer movement. He waited for them to strike while he stored away more power in his shikai. They were quick enough, but not fast enough to escape his sight. He watched as they circled around him continuously, trying to confuse him. He continued to store power, until his gauntlet's palm jewel was shining its brightest. This was what he had been waiting for. Now he had enough power stored to launch consecutive strikes. The clone took the first attack, charging at Kuro's side. He saw it out of the corner of his eye and spun to face it. "Bakudo #5: Guard!" Kuro had cast the kido in haste and the energy formed on his hands was weak since he had not used the incantation. He used both hands to catch the clone's blade as it swung its scythe down on him. His palms got light gashes in them from the blade and began to flow with blood, but he had managed to stop the blade. Taking his left hand, he unleashed a high powered explosive thrust at the clone's face with his gauntlet. The attack hit with such force that the clone's head snapped back with such vigor that Kuro was sure that if it had been a living person, their neck would have broken. The clone faded and reappeared as Hikari's shadow again.

Hikari tried to attack Kuro's back, just like he had figured she would. He heard her dashing through the grass and spun around to meet her charge. Noticing the blood flowing from his hands, he got a new idea to finish the fight. He whipped his right hand behind his left shoulder in a throwing stance and chanted, "By my hands, taste my blood as if falls from my open wounds. Hado #22: Blood Daggers!" Three dark red kunais were shaped from Kuro's blood in his right hand. Whipping his hand forward, he threw all three straight at Hikari's heart. She stopped her advance and skillfully swatted them aside with a nicely timed swing of her scythe. Kuro took that chance to exploit the opening caused by her swinging her weapon. Pointing his left index finger in her direction, he cast again. "Hado #5: Disarm!" Hikari's scythe was hit with a strong push of energy that sent it flying out of her hands. With an appropriately concentrated burst of energy, Kuro shunpoed right in front of her in a crouched position and punched her in the stomach with his right fist. His blow caused her to to double over so that her chest was right over top of him. He lashed out with an upward thrust of his left palm and released the rest of his power from his gauntlet. This time, the energy poured out of his gauntlet like a bala, slamming into Hikari's chest and forcing her up high into the air. Kuro stood up and caught her as she fell back to the ground in a daze.

Hikari shook her head to clear it and blushed deeply as she realized that Kuro had caught her. Still shy it seems, he thought to himself. He quickly set her down and retrieved her scythe from the ground. Holding it out to her he said, "I think we can both agree that I've won today. But if you'll be stubborn enough to continue, I won't object."

Hikari's blush grew even deeper in the face of Kuro's sudden return of politeness. She took her scythe back giving a few quiet words of thanks before bowing in submission. "I am not part of squad 11. I know when to quit. I have lost. I now see that you have the skill that everyone gave you credit for. Sorry for wasting your time with childish jealousy." She turned and began to walk out of the camp without another word. Kuro thought back on the match and grinned as he called out to her.

"I'd like to see you again sometime. I haven't had a duel that fun in a while."

Hikari turned back to him for a moment and smiled. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that. I've been assigned to the same squad as you. I'll see you at headquarters sometime."

Kuro watched her leave with a feeling of accomplishment, as well as happy that he had a powerful new rival and friend.

(OOC: My shikai deals with spirit power, so that's what the majority of this post aims for.)

+ 2 spirit power