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| - Kenji walked through a secluded area with the wind blowing through his hair, for once not really calming him as it once had. Margin Heart. The man he killed, lingered on in his memory. The final strike, his final words. "Kenji! Tell them I didn't become a complete idiot and become the beast they will fear..." They were like demons in his mind, but none of the stress showed on his face. His red bandanna billowed in the wind and brought a brief respite from his troublesome thoughts, but once it stopped moving, they returned again. "Enough!" A voice, sounding very much like a whip cracking, sounded in the depths of his mind. The voice of Kyoaku, the one Kenji shared a very soul with. "Do you intend to sulk all day?" He asked, somewhat annoyed. Smirking and shaking his head, Kenji sighed. No reply was needed, and Kenji's posture showed well his improved mood. "Thanks Kyo," The black-haired Shinigami remarked casually. "I needed that." Choosing a destination, Kenji sought off in a random direction, for once letting fate guide his footsteps. While the young Shiba clansman walked, deep in thought, a red-haired man suddenly felt his presence. "What a monstrous amount of spiritual energy. It feels like the spiritual energy of... Kenji Shiba!" he thought, saying Kenji's full name in his head. That was a name he hadn't heard since his departure from the Valhalla tournament. He had wanted to fight him during the tournament, but had lost interest and left. Now was the perfect time for him to request a fight, unknowing of Kenji's rather noncombatant mood at the moment. Without further thought, he released a bit of his spiritual energy, hoping it would catch his fellow Shinigami's attention. And that was exactly what happened. The black-haired man's head shot up and his eyes snapped open almost immediately; his eyes possessing their usual liveliness for a time. "No way..." He thought, dumbfounded. He recognized that energy, even though he'd only sensed it once. "Naishō... Kawahiru?" He reckoned he should be happy that he'd get a chance to meet him again, but his feelings regarding the tournament were still fresh in his mind and he simply couldn't bring himself to discard them so easily. "I never thought I'd have to do this..." Kyo remarked internally before he forced his will upon Kenji's body and moved him forcefully towards the source of that tremendous energy, Kenji's eyes wide with surprise for the second time in a matter of mere moments. "You'll thank me later for this," The spirit maintained as Kenji finally regained sovereignty over his limbs as he landed in a crouched posture a few feet from the red-haired Kawahiru clansmen, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his zanpakutō. "Its been a while," He said in friendly greeting. Naishō simply smiled. "Yes, it really has. I hope you've been well, since I never actually got to speak with you during the little tournament in Valhalla." he said with his smile still present. As he gazed at the powerful Shinigami before him, he noticed that his hand was holding his zanpakutō, ever so lightly as to not bring attention to it. If he hadn't been so observant, he might never have spotted it. "So, I see you're ready for a fight, eh?" His will to fight overriding his desire to back out, Kenji answered by sliding one of the two hooked swords from his waist, once again appearing like his old self for the smallest of moments. I could be doing better, he thought about saying, but instead he managed "Never better" with a challenging grin. The wind began blowing through the trees he noted, but it wasn't cold or anything like that. In fact, Kenji could've swore it was a wind that signaled change. Noticing the others smile, coupled with his spiritual energy, it wasn't difficult to say that Niashō was powerful. "You know, a fight may just be what I need..." Kenji remarked casually, though his usual confidence was still noticeably lacking. "Perfect!" Naishō replied, his smile quickly growing into a full-out grin. Without any gesture, the red-haired Kawahiru appeared several paces behind Kenji, waiting for him to make a move. While waiting, he contemplated his options. "Okay, so I have two options. One, go on the offensive and just attack him with all my might; or two, take the defense, not making any moves, so he's worn out. There is no way I can attack and defend myself against him. He is much too fast for me to try and multi-task. I guess I'll go on the defense..." Immediately, he turned to face Kenji, taking a defensive stance. Noting the movement to be quite fast and impressive, the black-haired man turned to regard Naishō with an expression that showed little of what he was thinking. "With speed like that, he could probably switch from one style to another in a heartbeat. And..." His gaze flickered to the gauntlet on his foes hand, curiosity caught; though the motion was quick and so well hidden that Kenji doubted his foe would pick up on it, and probably take it for a simple attempt to unnerve him. Or at least thats what he hoped. Shifting his foot so the grass beneath him shifted, the wind caught a nearby tree and brought a leaf from one of its many branches that floated on the far side of his vision. When it brushed the ground after mere heartbeats, Kenji took it as the signal to start and flashed into the air above Naishō's head, both hands gripping his hooked sword in a Kendō style that was threatening to cleave his foe in two, but Naishō would no doubt notice his movements were somewhat sluggish. Almost as if his heart wasn't in it at present. Expecting such a brash attack, Naishō quickly, as it appeared, fizzled away, appearing mere inches from his original spot. "You seem... unlike yourself. Sorry that I don't know how else to describe it..." Naishō said as he phased away towards the tree that had lost it's decision-making leaf. In his head, he whispered the sacred words, "In my hand I hold the light, the light that shines on the darkness and exposes the evils within. As I throw the light may it fly into the darkness and highlight every evil in it. Separate now under the law of the stone fourteen and travel into the dark; Bakudō #62 - Hyapporankan!" Instantly, a long rod formed out of Naishō's spiritual energy appeared in his right palm. No giving his adversary any time to react, the Kawahiru clansman throw the large rod towards Kenji. As it soared through the air, they quickly separated into dozens of smaller rods, all aimed towards young Kenji's limbs. Fleeing the rods as they struck the ground in a line behind him, the final one impacted him through the chest and brought him down to his knees as another caught him in the back of his thigh. Slumping down at the base of a tree, face almost brushing the bark and a small beetle, he noticed, Kenji slowly threaded the first rod free of his body rather gingerly. "Damn it, Kenji!" The voice of Kyo sounded again. "Get your head in the fight!" Shattering the second rod with a backward strike, the young Shiba got to his feet with a far off look. "I killed... a friend, recently. At the tournament, in fact. His name was Margin Heart." He said finally, and as the words left his mouth, he somehow felt a little lighter, but still not quite the confident person Naishō had seen at the tournament. Drawing his arm back, lightning forming on his palm and creating a javelin-like projectile, Kenji launched it towards Naishō, the javelin beginning to spin like a drill as it flew! "Heh," Naishō said as he used Bakudō #40 - Mukō without it's incantation. As he spoke the name of the useful Kidō spell, a large barrier was erected in front of Naishō, stopping the powerful javelin of lightning in it's tracks. After the barrier was released, Naishō's smile faded to a grimace. "I'm sorry to hear that. But, you can't let that stop you from living... or dying; whatever we Shinigami are doing." he laughed, hoping Kenji would join in on his poorly executed joke. Naishō's last action really served to hit home for Kenji just how down in the dumps he was. That technique was called Amatsusashijou and usually had more than enough piercing power alone to punch through fortified Hierro and high-level Kidō. Stopping it so easily was an impressive feat, he noted with a quickening of his heart. The surprise - and admiration, showed clearly on Kenji's face, though it soon gave way to a grin that split his face in two. "That was... pretty good." His eyes narrowed, his posture more lazy but obviously prepared; a sign of his growing interest and improving mood. His fingers flexed on the hilt of his zanpakutō and his spiritual energy began a slow climb, as though it had recently been woken from a nap and was only now shaking drowsiness away. "Naishō... you wanna know something? Your right." When his aura vanished from sight, a wave shot out from his body that kicked up a strong wind that caused several nesting birds to fly away as quickly as their little wings could carry them. His eyes shone with a crimson light, almost demonic-like in their appearance. "Okay, now its time to start this thing off for real!" He stood ready with an inviting stance. While his opponent seemed to regain his usual confidence, Naishō moved his foot ever so slightly as to not bring attention to the movement. With that measly action, Naishō would be able to counter any attack that was thrown at him... at least that's what he thought. Kenji was a different story. "C'mon, Naishō! Don't let your guard down for any reason. Even if a tree falls behind you, stay focused on the enemy in front of you." he thought as he prepared himself for the upcoming battle. A respectful silence - with the exception of the wind howling through the nearby trees and whistling over grass - passed between the two combatants as they got a feel for one another's power. "I'm only scratching the surface of his power," Kenji though with a slight movement that turned his right side to face Naishō, the movement effectively hiding his left side as he began forming the beginnings of a Kongōbaku spell without name or incantation in the palm of his free hand. The grass beneath his feet was sliced as he moved to Naishō's back, the crook of his hooked sword threatening to decapitate his foe. His left side, though, was still hidden mostly from view; the surprise held there hidden also to be kept for later. As the Shiba clansman appeared behind him, Naishō simply grabbed onto Sanmīttai with enough force to shatter bone, but Sanmīttai was too strong a blade for such a petty move. Naishō slowly turned to face Kenji, his opponent's zanpakutō still within his grasp. "Is this the extent of your abilities? 'Cause, if it is, you're not as strong as I thought you were. By the way, what are you attempting to hide from me? I see a slight glow on that left side of you, but I can't make out what sort of technique it is. Mind enlightening me?" Naishō said, his usual smirk returning to his face. "It takes a gutsy person to hold Sanmiittai like that," Kenji said in an almost lecturing tone, though he was clearly enjoying things already. Naishō's grip joined with Kenji's own shunpo allowed the black-haired Shinigami to seemingly float in the air, but his body twisted to kick Naishō's hand and release his grip. Landing lightly, Kenji raised his head with a slight grin and released the Kongōbaku he was attempting to hide. As the searing ball of red flame approached, his voice rang out "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Rage and Compassion, spinning wheel, the eye that looks far, the wind which howls, converge, compel and unhinge the shackles of yer undying fury!" As a precaution, he also began muttering another incantation beneath his breath in preparation for a counter attack he knew would come. As Naishō let go of Sanmīttai, he prepared for the ensuing impact of Kongōbaku. As the flaming Kidō spell moved towards Naishō at extreme speeds, he put out his right hand, the eye perched on his gauntlet open wide. When the circle of fire connected with his gauntlet, the low-level spell immediately turned to stone, having stopped in it's tracks. Without any sign of effort, Naishō picked up the large ring of stone and threw it at Kenji, waiting for Kenji's next plan of attack. "Kenji Shiba, or should I say Kenji Hiroshi? Either way, show me your true power. This little squabble is starting to bore me." He stopped chanting. "I knew there was something special about that gauntlet. Petrification... Now that is gonna be a pain." Drawing his arm back, Kenji put his weight behind his next strike and reduced the hurled stone to millions of tiny pieces with a single punch; the shards falling around him and in front. "Hiroshi, Shiba, it doesn't matter either way." He said with a shrug of his shoulders, but almost immediately after he wore a serious expression with slightly narrowed eyes. "My true power?" He mused, finally sighing as he removed his second hooked sword. "I can't have you getting bored. I've got a reputation to think of, so... Let the God's Run Free, Sanmiittai!" His hooked swords melded together, his spiritual energy intensified as it began to climb and water began to flow around him in waves. A trident with an aqua-marine shaft and the word Yousha inscribed beneath the tridents three prongs appeared in his right hand as he leveled it at Naishō's skull from a distance. "Don't misjudge my zanpakutō's power," He warned as he began to spin his wrist, a ring of water beginning to form around him. "Oh, I promise I don't judge. I've been waiting months to see what Sanmīttai can do." Naishō replied, his smirk increasing in size. As he waited for some form of attack from Kenji, he reminded himself to not use his zanpakutō... at least not now. He needed to keep it's power a secret for as long as possible. "Kenji, I trust that you won't disappoint me," he said, once again, taking a defensive stance. But this time, his stance was more free, as if he anticipated a moment where he could attack... With the ring of liquid in place and acting somewhat as a last-ditch defense, Kenji arched an eyebrow. "Judging by that, you've heard rumors about me, eh? Don't worry, I only burp fire when the alcohols flowing and Tyrell Nishiki's around to give me a light." He chuckled a little at his own joke before his eyes narrowed and a blast of pressurized water shot forth from his body as he stated "Kokunagare". Its speed was quite impressive, but at the last second a current of electricity flowed through it, Kenji intent on giving his opponent quite the nasty shock and surprise. "Shit!" the young Kawahiru thought as the electrified bullet of water soared straight towards him. Acting on pure instincts, he layered a small amount, to Naishō that is, of spiritual energy on his person, hoping to protect himself a bit from the electrifying impact. When the glob of water made contact with the redhead, he flew back, having been thrown a few hundred meters into a rather large oak tree, which doubled over after Naishō hit it. After the smoke cleared, Naishō possessed a few minor cuts and bruises, but appeared un-fazed nonetheless. "Kenji, Kenji. Please tell me this isn't the extent of Sanmīttai's abilities. I've heard that just the spirit of your zanpakutō was hard to handle. I guess they raised my expectations just a bit too high..." the Kawahiru clansman's voice trailed off as his enjoyment of this battle was beginning to fade... "Sanmiittai's spirit can be a pain, true," Kenji agreed as he began a slow walk towards his foe. The wind caught his hair and swept it back, fully revealing the red bandanna wrapped tightly around his head. "But believe me when I say that there is more to my power than Sanmiittai. You left the tournament, right?" He let the question hang a little before continuing, his tone growing in confidence. "You never saw my battle with Margin Heart, so you naturally won't know the extent of my skills. Besides, what of you? I think its time you showed me a little of what you can do!" Bringing the trident a full 360 degree turn around him, the black-haired Shinigami finally slashed the air upwards vertically, releasing a wave of energy that tore up the ground as it approached Naishō! But the red-haired Kawahiru would no doubt see that Kenji was no longer in the same place, instead whizzing past as a ball of lightning faster than the actual wave attack before he emerged in his human form once again, now behind his foe near the toppled tree, to launch the same unnamed wave, attempting to crush Naishō between them! Naishō just closed his eyes and smirked. Without so much as a gesture, he unleashed a small of his spiritual energy, sending Kenji, along with the massive energy waves, back at least seven hundred feet away. "Heh, I love that you believe that I'm gonna show you any of my power this early in a battle. In any battle, I rarely have to use my blade, much less releasing my Shikai. My main goal in any form of squabble is to find out what my opponent can do, and then use my knowledge of their abilities to my advantage. Once you've proven to me that you can fight on par with me when I'm using Man'yōshū, then, and only then, will you see my true power..." As he spoke, he released a smaller amount of his reiatsu, keeping the young Shiba pinned to the ground, as if gravity had some sort of vendetta against him. From the ground where he lay a faint amount of laughter could be heard as the force that was exerted on Kenji's prone body seemingly began to be pushed back, as though the gravity-like hold on him no longer had any meaning. The Shiba clansmen got to his feet soon after, a smile clearly seen that only reached the right side of his face. "Is that so?" He answered in reply, his laughter increasing somewhat. The force being exerted on him no longer seemed to have any effect as Kenji's own spiritual energy rose in reply to Naishō's own, exemplified by the aqua-marine hue now reflected in Kenji's crimson eyes. "I hate planning in battle," He admitted. "But I'm actually not bad at it. I use my Shikai because I like it, not because I need to. My sealed state gives me greater flexibility, true. But as I see it, you were the one sent flying through a tree earlier, unless those cuts are merely for show? Its easier to bring out another's power when you use more yourself." His posture was confident and steady, ready and strong. "That may be true for some people, but not for me. It takes a rather large amount of power to bring myself to use my zanpakutō. But, I digress. Would you prefer I prolong this battle," Naishō asked as he appeared behind Kenji, the tip of his blade poking Kenji's lower back. "or finish it right now? Your choice." As he spoke, his smirk showed that he was enjoying the battle, but his eyes appeared as if he was ready to kill his jet-black-haired adversary. "Then I guess I'd better start and get more creative, eh?" As Naishō had moved previously, Kenji had taken the time to surround his fingertip in white-colored lightning. Piercing his own blue kimono, Kenji uttered the incantation for a Byakurai as the small lightning-based Kidō spell flew towards Naishō's chest, with Kenji holding his ground, the same confident expression plastered across his face. If you looked closely, you could see a small black hexagonal orb was placed between his middle and index fingers on the hand that held his trident that glowed with a faint blue light. It was obvious that this orb was the source of his confidence, in light of Naishō's blade pressed to his lower back. It shattered as he brought his fingers together, the barrier of Bakudō 94: Kurotoku Shiroseishin beginning to surround his body. Surprisingly caught off guard by the Kidō spell his opponent had used, Naishō took the lightning blast head-on, not seeing the point of dodging it. From impact, the Kawahiru clansman was thrown back quite a ways, but received minimal injuries. After brushing off the dust that had collected on his person from hitting the ground, he watched as the high-level Bakudō spell expanded around Kenji. "I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna waste my energy to destroy some barrier that I know I can't." he said, his smirk lessening by the minute. "No need to look so angry," Sustaining the spell so it surrounded him as a form of personal aura, Kenji turned and began running towards his foe, though just before he closed the gap his left foot impacted the ground which caused him to be propelled into the air above Naishō's head. His trident deconstructed in the air and in its place formed a hand-and-a-half-sword with black upper hilt wrapping and a metallic silver bottom, the blade possessing a deadly length of steel exactly four and a half feet. Using the Yuengiri technique Kaminari-nushi, Kenji used his shunpo to accelerate his body as he fell towards Naishō. However, as he stepped in a diagonal manner which took him to the edge of his foes vision, Kenji switched to his left hand and impacted the ground with Kōsetsu, finally releasing quite a powerful shockwave! "I guess I'll just do this to please you," Naishō said, unsheathing his zanpakutō, Man'yōshū, and whispering "I want to become," which caused a massive earthquake in the immediate area, sending the powerful shockwave, as well as Naishō's opponent away. As the dust cleared, the grassland that the two had been fighting had been torn to rubble. "Okay, are you ready?" Vaulting through the air and twisting, Kenji slowed himself with shunpo, skidding to a halt that succeeded in kicking up a small dust cloud around him that effectively hid his entire body from view. When the dust cloud finally did dissipate with the wind, the ground beneath Kenji appeared quite barren - perhaps more so that the majority of the landscape after Naishō's impressive release. "Whew! That's impressive," The once noble Shinigami said with a shake of his head and a grin that showed for all to see that he was thoroughly impressed by what he seen. "Shall we?" He said with a flourish. "It must have a powerful effect to go hand-in-hand with a release like that... Regardless, I've got some insurance." The black-haired Shinigami moved forward, firing a wave of lightning from Sanmiittai's cutting edge as a tester of sorts. After "releasing" his Shikai, the red-haired man's face became considerably less lively. Without so much as a word, he whipped his blade forward, with the tip meeting with the electrical wave flowing towards him. As they made contact, a large explosion occurred, with the focal point being Man'yōshū's tip. As the smoke cleared, several burn marks were scattered throughout Naishō's person. "Well, it appears you were able to injure me. I must congratulate you." he said, all the while contemplating his opponent's next move. "Thanks for that, but..." The only warning Naishō would have had would be a slight shaking of the ground beneath his feet, followed by a more violent tremor. Followed by a glowing light that appeared very much like lightning erupting from the earth as a crater formed, causing Naishō to float in the air where he had been standing previously with Kenji's clenched right upper-cut approaching the bottom of his chin! The other Kenji moved also, using a non-sustained version of Keikaisochi to give himself a massive boost to his speed, as he attempted to crush Naishō alongside his other halves upper-cut. As Kenji's fist connected with his chin, Naishō noticed the other Kenji above him. Acting on pure instinct, and with the help of the force from his opponent's uppercut, the red-haired Shinigami did a perfect back-flip, kicking the other Kenji squarely in the chest, sending him crashing down into the barren wasteland that had previous been a small grassland. Coming to a soft landing, the young Kawahiru stood before his black-haired adversary, Man'yōshū's tip mere centimeters from Kenji's throat. "C'mon, Kenji! I want to see you actually try! You're beginning to bore me..." The Kenji Naishō had struck firmly in the chest didn't disappear, instead flying through the air from the unexpected attack and smacking the ground with a large thud! The Kenji with a sword pointed at his throat vanished in a flash of sparks, leaving the real Kenji to climb to his feet with a somewhat pained expression, blood trickling from the right side of his mouth. "And here I thought I was doing all right." The Shiba clansmen replied casually. "Last time I used that trick was against my old man, only then I had some Kidō to dodge and my upper-cut didn't connect." Sanmiittai was close to hand thankfully, but when Kenji's hand touched its length it returned to its sealed state as he returned the weapons to their respective sheaths. "Time to mix things up a bit," As his voice sounded confidently, a column of white spiritual energy surged into the heavens as he spoke the words "Kyo, Lend me your Power". He emerged surrounded by a powerful white aura that appeared similar to Shunkō, and his crimson eyes were even more intense than previous. The wind in the immediate vicinity kicked up fiercely, carrying with it a great deal of strength and force that made Kenji think of a storm. "Can't have you getting bored, now. That would just be unfortunate, now that I'm finally back to my old self after that business at the Valhalla Tournament." Hefting Kyo's katana, Kenji prepared himself for round two. "Finally; now we're getting somewhere." Naishō said, his voice full of excitement. Believing he was going to need his zanpakutō, the red-haired man pointed Man'yōshū directly at Kyo/Kenji... or perhaps "Kyoji?" Without another word, Naishō gestured towards Kenji, implying he was ready to begin. While he waited for his red-eyed opponent to make his first move, he concentrated, focusing all his spiritual energy at his chest, signaling that he had a back-up plan if his first plan didn't work. Noticing the build-up of energy around his opponent’s chest, Kenji took a cautious step backwards before the ground cracked beneath his feet. The cracks soon exploded from the influx of energy as Kenji shimmered, momentarily moving almost instantaneously; all the signal of his movement being the crackling of lightning that signaled his lightning-enhanced speed in use. Moving towards Naishō’s right flank in order to avoid a frontal assault, Kenji made a last minute motion while moving, impacting the ground with his left hand, followed by a forceful kick aimed directly for Naishō’s neck! But the red-haired shinigami had been prepared for such an attack. Although he had not known that Kenji possessed such great speed, he did know that he preferred to charge his opponent, and then appear to their side. "Typi-" Naishō was interrupted by the swift kick, sending him a rather large distance, with him being stopped solely by a large oak to the back. From the impact, the originally huge tree had been blown to smithereens. As the Kawahiru clansman attempted to stand, he felt a shooting pain in his left wrist. "Fuck! My wrist feels broken." he thought as he appeared behind Kenji, his blade touching his throat. "I'm truly sorry, but I'm afraid I will need to take a break. You've gone and broke my wrist, the very wrist that I use to hold my zanpakutō. If you'd do me this favor, I promise to make it up to you at a later date. What do you say?" he asked, lowering his sword so he could support his wrist. Feeling the blade fall lower from his exposed neck, Kenji turned as the wind swept his hair aside to reveal a slight trickle of blood falling from where Naishō had been holding his sword, not to mention a few strands of cut hair. Noticing the plea to be genuine though, the black-haired Shinigami took a step back and nodded, feeling a momentary stab of guilt. "Go right ahead, Naishō. Its not as if this is a fight to kill one another, after all." But Naishō would probably pick up on Kenji's still ready posture, and although the Shiba clansmen was welcoming the break, he indeed radiated readiness as much as his white aura radiated power. "Sorry about my odd habits. I'm used to sparring with my brother Meian and Rosuto, and those two are tricky, to say the least. If you aren't ready and prepared, they'd destroy you in no time flat." "Hah, I bet. Well, I shall find you at another time. For the moment, I need to rest. So, I will see you later. Ciao." Naishō said before he entered a large senkaimon that had appeared behind him. As he parted with the equal, if not stronger, opponent, the Kawahiru boy thought to himself, "I do hope we meet again. This was a battle for the ages." Kenji's transformation broke, the intensity leaving his face as he exhaled slowly. Giving his signature two-finger salute almost immediately after, Kenji bowed his head afterward as a sign of respect before sheathing his katana quickly at his waist. "Look for me around Mount Rosa, Switzerland. There's a spiritual realm of sorts hidden there called Horiwari, if your interested. And thanks," He finished as his opponent - no, friend - stepped into the opening Senkaimon. "I'll keep an eye out for ya, 'cause this was too fun not to do it again." With the sun still pretty high in the sky, the Shiba clansmen turned his back and departed, wondering what future events would have in store for both himself and his new Kawahiru ally. Only time would tell... End
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