Firebolt

Tatsuya walked through the woods located around the Second division barracks. The soft impact thuds could be heard through the trees. Around the area he could find others training themselves. As always the Second squad members made time for themselves to train even while on duty. A small smile passed Tatsuya as he watched the others. Every now and then he would closely pass by training members and they stopped to pay respects. Tatsuya would simply raise his hand and spoke with a soft "Carry on" as he passed by. There was no need in his mind for them to stop training just to acknowledge his presence. He kept walking until he found a relatively secluded area. He looked around before drawing his zanpakuto. He held it out in front of him with both hands for a brief moment before swinging it through the air. He continued for sometime, getting lost in his training. Before long he felt a familiar presence, one he hadn't felt since before the incident with the Shihouin clan. He grinned as he put away his sword and stood still, enjoying the old feeling.

A coy smile darted across the girl's otherwise sweet expression; a bolt of energy jolting along her big blue eyes. Kaiyo hadn't intended to find her old friend here, in fact she'd gone for a walk with the purpose of being alone. Left alone with the coils of her endless thoughts, her more primal personality had begun pulsing through her; gnawing for some adrenaline to feed on. Still, by coincidence alone, she had wandered into a more secluded area. For as strict as the second squad had been on intruders in the past, it appeared that those determined enough to be training at midday, also held the sense to not try and stop a Captain out on a stroll. Without noticing, the small girl had been encircling a familiar reiatsu through the forest. Gating and tracking like an animal until she found her way into a clearing. The figure ahead seemed to quite quickly notice her presence; she'd expected no less.

Kaiyo stepped from the creeping shadows of the trees, allowing her haori to float along with importance behind her stride. 'Heh, long time no see' she called across to Tatsuya. It really had been a long time, more than a lifetime in fact. She bowed out of respect to the man, bobbing her head back up with a grin as her glistening blonde hair swayed gently around her head. Her left thumb rubbed up and down the handle of her Zanpakuto, her fingers tantalising the feel of the wrapping as she looked at the man. She had clearly intruded on his own practice. Perhaps it had been what led her to him; the seeping reiatsu of a swinging blade.

The girl stood with no aggression or violence in her demeanour. In fact, if one were to stroll past, they might never conclude how combat ready Kaiyo was. Always was. Still, her friend had grown in her absence, and she would have been lying to herself by not admitting that she'd like to find out just how much by. Afterall, kaiyo heard about almost everyone with such skill, and destructive power. Her pupils dilated as the silence between the pair grew thicker; allowing herself the vanity of a glance to his sheathed blade, she stepped in closer. 'How ya been Tatsuya?'

His grin broadened as the reborn captain spoke. "Indeed, Captain Saiyouko." He turned towards her voice and bowed graciously in her presence. He wasn't surprised that she bowed for him. They have always had a mutual respect for one another since their first meeting just outside the Shihouin Estate. Just the thought of that day sent a shiver of excitement through Tatsuya's body. Back when he was...a little more reckless. He took in her entire being with a glance: that deviously innocent grin that hid her true nature to search for conflict at any turn and then the slight thumbing of the cloth on the hilt of her zanpakuto. His own left hand still clung to his zanpakuto's sheath, lightly caressing the tsuba at the latch point. Tatsuya knew exactly what had brought her and he was thrilled. He remembered their last confrontation so long ago; so long ago in fact that he had yet to even learn the name of his Zanpakuto. Another delightful shiver ran through him. They merely looked at each other in comfortable yet reserved tension. The wind blew lightly threw the air creating a soft hum as it passed through the leaves on the trees and pushing a cloud in front of the sun, shading the pair. His eyes made perfect contact with hers and his pupils dilated. That intoxicating aroma of approaching battle filled his lungs, only surpassed by the scent of true battle. Truly, if Tatsuya did not have such a drive to be disciplined, he would have surely joined the Eleventh division just because of his affinity for battle and its chaos. Finally, it was Captain Saiyouko who broke through the blissfully silent tension. "Restless, Captain Saiyouko. My days are tied down by mountains of paperwork, too bad I signed up for it when I accepted the Vice-Captain position. If only there was someone who could help relieve me of this extra energy." He mischievously grinned. The light caressing of his zanpakuto and its tsuba with his thumb had changed into an impatient fondling

The threat of imminent violence and power, waiting for the other to make their move, lingered as thick and as hot as smoke rising from a fire. A palpable tension hung between the pair, calm and controlled. Her head swayed to the side with an un-containable smile that lifted her piercing gaze. Her mouth twitched with the varying responses that flickered through her mind. 'I never did really congratulate you on Vice Captain' she smiled coyly. Her right heel slid forwards as she rolled her foot down steadily. She ebbed closer to the man, her own shadows swaying in the breeze that tussled against her shinigami robes.

Her senses sharpened around her small frame as the world seemed to brighten with clarity. The distant sound of blades slicing through air sent a shiver up her spine. She made no visible glances towards his own Zanpakuto but with the anticipation that crawled across her skin she didn't have to. Kaiyo was dragging out the silence, enjoying the build-up as much as possible. The warmth of the day was shrouded within the cloak of the trees, tendrils of light splashed through the clearing as the already humid air seemed to heat up. Lightning and fire; things were going to get interesting indeed.

The wind stalled against the warmth of their established arena; whipping more violently around the clearing with suppressed howls. 'Come on then' Her eyebrows twitched upwards with the invitation; her smile growing wider and wider as she held her stance for a moment. Kaiyo exhaled steadily, calming her excitable nerves as she dropped her shoulders with a relaxing sigh. Her left hand thumbed the engraved tsuba of her Zanpakuto, taking a firm grip as she tilted it forwards to accompany the shift in her body weight. In a fluid motion, Kaiyo's right hand swept across her torso and unsheathed her blade. Her senses revelled in the sliding sound the metal made; her Zanpakuto spirit practically screaming for a fight. Kaiyo was only too happy to oblige.

Her eyes remained fixed on Tatsuya; challenging even the smallest movements he made. With an easy flourish of her wrist, she spun her blade loosely around her. A quick rouse to familiarise herself once more with the precise weight of her blade. Kaiyo was formidable with such a weapon; she didn't just stumble across the title of Kenpachi. The shimmering metal reflected the pure blood-lust in her eyes. Not even released yet, she could hear her Zanpakuto buzzing with energy; tendrils of golden sparks cascading from the steel. 'After you' she nodded lightly, almost unable to contain her excitement.

"We'll if I recall correctly, you were a little indisposed at the time. So its easily forgivable." He returned with a similar smile. He stood by patiently, letting Captain Saiyouko move in closer. At just a glance one would think she was the aggressor, but both were equally aggressive, it was Tatsuya's discipline that held him at bay. Everything around Tatsuya became so much clearer as his senses absorbed all. Along with the sounds of blades cutting the air, he could hear the patter of small wildlife in the trees. At Captain Saiyouko's request he quickly unlatched and drew his zanpakuto with his left hand in one swift and fluid motion, holding it in a reverse grip as his right leg slid back. He watched as Captain Saiyouko drew her own zanpakuto and loosely swung the blade. Wisps of fire emitted from Tatsuya's zanpakuto as the two blades called to each other, just as ready to clash as their masters. "With pleasure." He answered and quickly dropped the sword from his left hand. He crouched on his legs and quickly grabbed the sword from the air with his right hand before pushing off the ground with immense force, shattering the ground beneath him in a loud quake as he charged forward. He swung his right arm over his head as fast and as hard as he could, bringing down his sword over the captain's head.

A terse energy emanated from her Zanpakuto. For precaution, Kaiyo had kept both hands on her Zanpakuto; she didn't want to be caught unaware if Tatsuya had grown so vastly in physical power. Though often trying to knock Kaiyo's blade aside was not dissimilar from trying to stop a freight train; but she'd grown more cautious in her old age. Sharp energy spread through her body with a warmth; a settling power. She leant forwards over her knee's ever so slightly, holding her stance until the right moment.

Despite showing only a manic smile; there was a small twinge of surprise to the Captain. Tatsuya had gotten fast. She bounced on her knee's as the ground broke beneath him, holding her position firm as he came crashing down against her. In perfect unison, her blade swung up horizontally to stop the attack dead on. She twisted her pelvis as she blocked, lifting her right leg as she aimed a kick at his hopefully still open torso. The sparks collided with the flames around their swords, flustering and intense as expected.


Her mind kicked in to over-drive. For as much as Kaiyo did fight on instinct alone; her battle-mind was fairly ready to take on challenges: usually with brute force, but that was just a personal preference. Slowly, she was starting to loosen herself into combat. As sad a fact as it was, Kaiyo held a fairly permanent ban on the majority of her power; not wanting to kill innocent people and what not. The bonus of the day would be her ability to go all out; she figured the Vice Captain ahead of her could held with that. A resurgence of energy flowed through her, spiking against her nerve endings with jolts of golden energy. Kaiyo had heard rumours of course, but her own finely tuned radar for such things was now certain; she wanted to see his Bankai.

His muscles tensed in joyous fashion as their blades collided with the preliminary strike. Of course the powerful Captian Saiyouko would be able to stop his attack with ease, and counter with such finesse that befitted her body type. Tatsuya dropped his left arm, blocking the well placed kick, but even with as much improvement as he had achieved, he still couldn't keep himself from being sent flying in the direction of the kick. He figured as much, and it was only because of his body structure, that he could endure her power hits. Luckily he was well aware of his surroundings. His feet skidded along the ground for a brief second, before he pushed off and flipped & twisted in the air with a low jump as to not collided with the dense overhead foliage. Mid-twist he threw his zanpakuto horizontally at Captain Saiyouko, sending it slicing through the air like a buzz saw. Not a second after throwing it, his feet collided with a large tree trunk, cratering the impact point. His legs bent and his left hand braced against the tree to absorb the shock as he was forced to kneel on it, head bowed. For a micro second it appeared as if he was actually defying gravity as he stayed kneeling, parallel to the ground. His smile was wide as he looked up and quickly pushed off, destroying the tree as flashed stepped out of sight. He was sure that Captain Saiyouko would be surprised long enough by him throwing his zanpakuto that he would be able to catch her off guard. He appeared to her left side with his left leg flying at her chest, intending to kick her into oblivion. If not, his sword was just close enough that she would get impaled if she decided to try and block.

Kaiyo was unable to surpress the small chuckle that toyed at the edges of her lips; it had been no surprise to her that Tatsuya was lithe enough to dissipate the full power of her strike. She felt a cold shiver twinge through her muscles as he contorted and twisted through the air. At the peak of his blade a slither of light sprawled along the metal as it edged above the shade of their arena. Kaiyo withdrew her left hand to her side, as the blade skimmed the air inches from her cheek; close enough to whip a breeze across her skin. A narrow miss avoided only by a nimble leap to her side. She rolled along her shoulders, pouncing back up to her feet like a cat as her senses surged with excitement. So rarely was she even on the defensive. It shuddered sparks of energy around her body with a nostalgia she’d not even realised she’d missed so much.

Her senses prickled with tension as Tatsuya appeared; as expected, he was taking full advantage of his speed. Her eyes dilated in panic; her mind whirling through her options in the milliseconds she had to react. He was faster than her, most likely too fast for her to avoid the strike fully, but she had strength on her side. Dodging seemed useless, but if was already committed to his strike then she may have a chance. Kaiyo was no stranger to pain, and her body was used to taking a beating so she was willing to take a strong kick head on. Her muscles moved with a fluid parity as she twisted to face his strike. Her blade swung in unison with his foot as she slashed horizontally at his torso; just able to curl her elbow against her chest as the strike hit.

Her small frame was blasted backwards. A vortex of air swirled around the girl as she broke clean through a tree before she was able to gain control. She flipped her body, able to take the first bounce from the ground off her hand as she turned in the air once more; skidding through the ground that tore up until she came to a halt. The towering tree that she’d been shot straight through fell beside her. Kaiyo exhaled slowly, rolling her shoulders slightly to remove the ache from the impact. The transformation was erring on the side of dangerous now; the pure impulses of the Captain sparring against her reservations as she nodded across to her opponent. It would take more than a kick through a tree to knock the wind from her; but she had to admit; he’d been close. Kaiyo drew back up her blade with a manic laugh.

‘Let’s start having some more fun then!’ she cheered; the edge of combat adding a harsh clarity to her usually bubbly tone. The torn mud and debris from the forest began to skeet around the girl’s feet, picking up into the air as her reiatsu carried the breeze around her. She switched her right hand to a reverse grip, leaning backwards as she lunged forwards. The earth curled and folded behind her foot as she shot through the air. Golden light began to intersect her wide eyes.

She came down diagonally at Tatsuya, slicing her blade across his body as she twirled back up, bringing her blade back into a normal grip as she swung upwards the opposite way. Her blade danced around her body like a true extension of her own soul as she jabbed and lunged at Tatsuya; throwing in hand-to-hand jabs between the strikes. It was a true torrent of attack and with each movement, Kaiyo only built up her enjoyment.

Tatsuya could hear as well as feel the connecting thud of his kick against Captain Saiyouku. Sending her flying back, but not with taking a slash across his abdomen. He quickly examined the cut as she went crashing through the trees. "Only a scratch." He thought out loud his body was built to withstand a lot of damage, but its greatest attribute was its size. Against smaller opponents he could keep damage to a minimum if he fought just out of there reach. Tatsuya quickly disappeared with shunpo and reappeared next a tree where his zanpakuto stuck out from. He heard her call out to him. "Fun?! I'm barely warming up." He let out a laugh as she charged. He raised his sword and his reiatsu as the distance closed between them. He parried the first of the sword strikes causing sparks to emit from the clashing blades. He didn't want to try and stop the sword head on, he knew his own strength and remembered Captain Saiyouku's. He blocked her hand strikes as best he could, but they were still painful. He parried another strike and quickly through his sword spinning into the air. He quickly stepped in as Captain Saiyouku swung the sword again and reached out to her wrist, intending to stop the attack and pull her into a vicious knee then continue with a hay-maker and then slam her to the ground. He visualized all this and would quickly end with Tatsuya grabbing his sword from the air and swinging it down at the captain.

Close range combat; it was like adding syrup to already sweet pancakes. Kaiyo shifted her weight as Tatsuya grabbed her wrist, twisting her neck and shoulders around to avoid the knee. Recognition sparked into her mind as her opponent opened up his posture, drawing back for a big hit. Her lithe body sprang back up on her feet, spearing around his neck as she clung tightly to him. Time was of the essence. Switched her blade to reverse grip she lead with an elbow towards the man's jaw. Releasing her grip of his as she twisted back to the ground, remaining close to him as she brought her foot up around with her turn. Booting it against his torso as she dropped back into her stance in a fluid motion. She shook her head lightly, unaware that he'd managed to hit it with his knee. Kaiyo blinked hard to banish to immediate swaying of the forest around her. Concussion was the last thing she needed right now. Thankfully, she was made of sturdier stuff; but already she could feel the bruise forming around her cheek.

She cheered with laughter. Pushing off from the ground as the earth cracked beneath her sheer power. She lead this time with a back-leg roundhouse. Dummying with a left jab first the stepping in to her real attack. Slicing around with her blade to follow. It hummed in anticipation, pulsing in her grasp to release. Her blonde hair fanned around her body as she moved. kaiyo's heart continued to pound as she pressed forwards with their match, eager to unlock a better fight with her opponent and urging him to fight harder. Had it really been so long since she'd been able to just release herself? It didn't matter to her really, at the moment, she was enjoying herself; she planned to sustain that feeling.

Tatsuya's knee connected a micro second before Captain Saiyouku's foot caved in his gut. Tatsuya had tightened his gut as best he could when he noticed the blow heading towards him, but the fact that he was mid attack as well did little to soften the blow. He skidded back through a ways in the forest covering his newly injured gut, his feet scarring the ground beneath them before coming to a stop. His sword had fallen to the ground, piercing the earth with it's sharp tip and standing straight up. "Not what I had in mind." A smile crossed his face and blood dripped from the corner of his lip as he spoke. A hint of sunlight pierced through the forest foliage and reflected off his grounded zanpakuto. He dashed forward as Captain Saiyouku shook off the blow to her head and grabbed his sword with his right hand. She recovered fast. He reacted just as fast when the ground shattered beneath her and dashed back as a kick headed his direction. He swung out his sword when the captain punched at him, but she reacted by swinging her sword at him. Their swords clashed with a brilliant display of sparks as they grinded together, but Tatsuya had been right do avoid going head-to-head against Captain Saiyouku. He stumbled back from the force of her swing, but managed to stay on his feet. He stared back with a look of indifference on his face, betrayed only by the humming and bright red glow of his zanpakuto. He figured now was a good a time as any to up the ante. "Rise from the ashes, Suzaku." He said calmly, dragging his left hand slowly along the length of the blade. Fire billowed from the sword as it disappeared and engulfed his hands and forearms. Once the initial flame burst dissipated, what remained were a pair of silver toned form-fitting bladed gauntlets lit with wisps of fire. Tatsuya cracked his neck and spoke out loud. "I think the warm up is over. So to speak." He smiled, and threw his right hand forward without warning, letting a torrent of flame shoot towards Captain Saiyouku.

The sparks imposed around her vision framed her enjoyment, highlighting her desire as the flecks of golden light dispersed. Tatsuya was strong, she was glad of that fact and she had nothing but respect for the shinigami but as the fight began to gain momentum her complete control was wavering. It was a problem Kaiyo had encountered for a while; her conflicting personalities. Social constraints forced the Captain to be less 'playful' in combat than she preferred, but every once in a while, her true nature seemed to break its way out. 

Then came the breaker. The moment of wonderment that always gave pause. Kaiyo exhaled slowly as the heat from Tatsuya's Zanpakuto trailed across to her skin. Energy prickled along her arm, instinctively combating the rogue reiatsu of the fire. Gauntlets, her eyes flickered around the  weapons new form; analysing, assessing and enjoying. She smirked back to him tearing away her eyes from the sun-bathed gauntlets. 'Definitely'. Her heartbeat drummed faster, she could feel it; the adrenaline coursing through her veins as her eyes dilated. Her smile grew, flashing her pearly smile as her fingers wrapped tighter around her blade.

Kaiyo was light on her feet and her battle intuition was finely tuned, so she reacted fast enough, but people never usually aimed to kill with their first strike. Like the animal inside of her, she leapt to the side, rolling along to one knee as she grinned to watch the flames erupt past where she'd been standing. Scorched earth was suddenly a more appealing policy. Kaiyo had always enjoyed fighting fire Zanpakuto, the explosion of fire and lighting created a beautiful storm. 

The girl rose slowly to her feet, swinging her blade with a flourish around her small frame before whipped the point towards Tatsuya as she spoke. 'Raikou Mato' A single bolt of lightning erupted from the suddenly transformed blade, hurtling towards her frenemie.

The beauty of Bankai, a silent shikai release; she never got to enjoy that benefit often, but it made her smile when she could. No sooner had the bolt left her sword did that familiar rush of energy sweep across her body. She inhaled sharply, enjoying the world around her that seemed so much brighter now. Her own blade had changed, humming with energy. She tilted her head to one side, her eyes fixated intensely on Tatsuya. Kaiyo flash stepped to his hide, blade in reverse grip as she sliced it across his torso, turning with the momentum as she brought the blade to her left hip, jabbing in behind herself to Tatsuya. Another flash step to his other side as she swept her leg at his feet, twisting as she pushed off her hand and spun around, fanning her blade across his body to drop in to a stance. Ready. So close to his body she could feel the flames licking around her. Of course her own shikai granted an added warmth, but she could feel the difference. She relished the difference.

Goosebumps formed as Tatsuya released the large torrent of fire at Captain Saiyouko. A quick shiver escaped his body as he relished in the escalation of the battle. As Captain Saiyouku rolled away from the encroaching flames Tatsuya was already preparing a basketball sized fireball from the fires of his left gauntlet. He held out his left arm towards Captain Saiyouku with his palm out as the ball of condensed fire floated in front of him. Just as he was about to release the fireball, Captain Saiyouku sent a blast of electricity barreling towards him with a sudden swipe of her blade. A lack of foresight on Tatsuya's part as he forgot about captains being able to release their zanpakuto without the need for an invocation. With a panicked twist of his outstretched hand the floating ball spread out into a wall of fire, shining brightly and almost mimicking the reflectiveness of a golden mirror. Tatsuya quickly jumped away from the impact zone, but not before the wall shattered under the power of Captain Saiyouku's attack. The wall of fire did little more then prevent a direct impact between Tatsuya and the lightning bolt as he tried to move away, connecting with his previously outstretched hand.

Tatsuya felt a surge of electricity travel up his left arm as all the muscles within contracted on their own and quickly went limp. Had his gloved hand not taken the brunt of the attack, he was sure his arm would have been in worse shape. His focus quickly returned to his flank, where Captain Saiyouku had appeared in during his brief moment of distraction, with her fisted blade aimed at his body. He reacted without thinking stepping and turning in the same direction as the incoming blade. The blade met its mark along his right side as he turned away, cutting just over an inch deep before escaping just out of range. No longer surprised by the initial attack, Tatsuya turned and swayed away from the captain's jab. His eyes followed Captain Saiyouku diligently as she appeared on his other side and swept for his leg, which he lifted out of the way. When he lifted his left arm to block her next attack, there was a sensation he felt, or lack thereof. He quickly reinforced his blocking arm with his right arm as the captain's blade made contact. He dug his heels into the ground with everything he had to keep from being catapulted through the woods and stared down at Captain Saiyouku. He's sure he would be feeling that block the next day, but her first attack numbed his arm. At least he hoped it was just numb.

"Heh. I can honestly say I didn't feel that last attack, Captain Saiyouku. I hope you are not holding back." Tatsuya stated with a mischievous smirk. In a swift motion he grabbed onto Captain Saiyouku's blade with his left hand swung her around, releasing after a quick 180. "Hinote Soujuu." He quickly punched with his right hand and blasted a massive torrent of fire towards the captain. He quickly jumped into the blasted fire fully believing Captain Saiyouku would either dodge or divert the attack away from her. He would jump out of the fire just as it would pass the captain and from behind, throw a hard knee. He'd capitalize the attack by grabbing her head with his flaming metal hand and slam her head first into the ground.