Everything was silent. There was no sound of animals, insects or even the wind. It was as if time was frozen in that instant. The vast fields of gold stretched on for miles and miles, as the only signs of life were the white flowers blooming and a lone figure sitting on a large rock in the middle of the scene. The golden grains rose high reaching waist length as they gave the eerie feeling that there was things hiding within them, there was nothing to indicate such a thing existed. A sweet scent filled the air whether it came from the flowers or the lone figure sitting upon the boulder was as mysterious as who the person was.
Faced away from the newcomer, the mysterious person sat there forgoing acknowledgement of their presence. A large blade was dug deep into the ground next to the boulder; if not for that blade there would be no signs that this figure was a fighter at all. After several moments of peaceful tranquility, there was movement. The figure upon the rock rose to their feet and turned to face the newcomer.
Into the field did Gorou tumble, still affected by the momentum that the mysterious kidou. Luckily for him his precious cigarette remained miraculously intact, and perhaps for that reason alone he didn’t turn around and hunt down the assailant.
Up and on his feet, he surveyed the area and caught sight of its other occupant standing upon a large rock. Slow as ever he approached the figure, unable to recognize its signature, though he could plainly see the sword planted in the ground nearby. Alarms went off in the soldier’s mind but to no avail. Smoke trailed from the cigarette as he came to a stop close enough to get a better look at the stranger on the rock.
As he approached the figure, the newcomer could tell that he was facing off against a woman, a young woman in fact. Her dark brown hair was unkempt and growing out of control, almost like a lion's mane. Just above her green eyes a part of her hair was dyed a deep red color. Her eyes glared into Gorou as she took notice of his cigarette. This was a place of peace and tranquility, a place where nature was free to roam and here stood an uncivilized brute smoking and polluting the air. Her anger knew no bounds.
Stretching out her hand, the massive blade nearby wiggled free from its spot and flew into her hand. With a quick swipe of her blade she severed the cigarette in half putting out the smoldering cherry. No words were spoken, she just stood there glaring at the man.
By the time Gorou had managed to pop his zanpakutou from its lock, the abrasive woman had already destroyed his cigarette. Violence pointlessly centered on good tobacco did nobody any good, although it wasn’t quite enough for him to do anything as brash as begin battle just yet. However, he had no intention of letting the assault go unanswered.
“There was no need for that,” he said after spitting out the cleaved nub, “put the sword down.” A breath followed his stern demand. He calmed himself and slid the blade back into its scabbard. The alarms that had gone off earlier still rung, but he didn’t want to buckle to them over a cigarette. There was still room for civility, or so he hoped. Gunshin rumbled in its sheath, but said nothing.
"There was no need for you bring such garbage into my home. You threw the gauntlet when you chose to smoke." She glared at him once more, her hand tightening around her blade. She was not going to bow down to any of his orders, he was a trespasser and he was going to pay for disgracing her home, or he was going to bow down and apologize.
Looking him over she knew he was never going to apologize and so the only course of action would be fight and destroy him.
Words, no matter how full of fury or anger, weren’t enough to warrant Gorou focusing too much on the woman’s increasing clutch on her weapon. An exasperated sigh preceded his taking a few steps back and turning slightly.
“I don’t have time for this. The man I seek won’t wait for me to sit and argue over cigarettes and plants,” he spoke bitterly, perhaps more than he needed to. Without another word he turned and began walking away, convincing himself that the exit would just provide itself and the look he saw in the woman’s eyes wasn’t filled with violence that wouldn’t just yield to egress.
He was walking away from her? Clearly he thought he was far more important than she was and that only infuriated her. Gripping her blade even tight, her reiatsu flared up as she jumped into the air. Waving the giant blade around in the air she quickly grabbed it with both hands and was intent on bring it crashing down on top of the fools head.
The sound of steel swinging through the air was unmistakable to Gorou’s ears. Trying to be peaceful had obviously failed, but he was still too stubborn to give up completely. One quick motion unlocked Gunshin from its sheath, and another spun him one-hundred-eighty degrees in his spot.
With both hands on the hilt he met the massive blade with the blunt end of his own. Still, his eyes were calm in spite of what wished to be unleashed behind them, and he leveled his eyes with the woman’s.
“You don’t want to do this,” his voice was tempered by the wavering desire to avoid unnecessary violence, “I will not have mercy,” he spoke gravely, still forcing his blade up against the large weapon.
She felt him blocked her attack but she could care less; he was falling right into her trap. Jumping back from her attack she began to swing her blade around as the tip just barely graved the ground. The foliage around her began to bend away as she kicked up the wind.
"There is no escape, bow down to me and I will let you live." She was bluffing; he had already proved to her that he was a man who did not deserve the luxury of life. Without giving the man a chance to answer she took off into a flash step keeping herself low to the ground as she swung the giant blade once more, this time determined to slice the man in half.
All that Gorou needed to see was that the woman did not back down or put the weapon away. A violent storm struggled to be heard beneath his eyes. Any sign of calmness on his face melted away in an instant. No amount of wind or movement confused or distracted him, all he needed to see was the woman’s next attack.
In retaliation the old samurai spun to face his attacker, and turned the blade upside-down in his hands. He slammed Gunshin into the ground directly in the path of the incoming sword, clutching it there with the attention of stopping the strike dead in its tracks. Despite the fact that battle had begun, the warmongering spirit rumbled wordlessly within its steely cage once again.
She saw the maneuver the man was using to try and stop her attack, and she could only smile to herself. He was under estimating her, and if he did not get his head into the game she was going to butcher him. A part of her wanted a nice fight, but she also wanted a n easy kill. When it came to pollution of her home, nature demanded blood.
Letting her blade touch his for a brief moment she spun around the blade as she reached below and pulled out a small knife. Keeping low to the ground she pulled her hand back and was intent on hamstringing the man.
It took Gorou too long to anticipate the incoming attack, and to a lesser degree retrieve his blade from the dirt to avoid being stabbed. It seemed as if he’d been numb for a very long time, for as the wound burned in the back of his leg his senses seemed to pick up. The field seemed to gain focus, and he could more sharply smell the air and feel the wind against his back. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, and finally, he was awake.
A low rumble began in the pit of the old ronin’s throat, eventually turning into a bellowing laugh. He then turned to face the woman and he brought his blade back up. A wild, battle-crazed look had infected his gaze. In recognition of its wielder’s change of perspective, the war god ceased to rumble in place.
“KOUHI, GUNSHIN!” His grizzled shout boom outward as his katana twisted and morphed into a red naginata. The lethal tip swung along an arc with the intention of burying itself in the knife-wielder’s right shoulder.
She dug the knife in deeper into his leg as his pole arm pierced her skin. Pain rushed through her body as she winced and bit her lip. Spinning on her heel she moved behind him to avoid the blade. This was a little more of a problem than she had wished. He had a reach advantage on her, at least for now.
Back flipping and gaining some more distance she held her blade out to him as the wind began to pick up again. With a smile on her face her blade morphed and transformed into a vortex of wind, a writhing and twisting twister. Whipping her blade around marks marred the ground around her. Looking at the heretic it was now time to silence him. Rolling her shoulder of the pain she took a swipe at him and while the blade could not reach physically a wave of wind erupted out threatening to slice into the foolish man.
When the blade was torn out of its deep home Gorou bellowed in pain, nearly falling to his knees from the shock. Just one little knife wasn’t going to be enough, he thought as he bore the pain and faced his retreating enemy. It wasn’t beyond his scope of understanding to assume that the change in his opponent’s blade probably indicated shikai, but he wasn’t about to get caught up in trying to analyze her flashy tricks.
Unadvisable as it might have been the warrior took a step forward with his good leg and solidified his stance. The deadly cutting wave would meet with Gunshin’s sharpened edge and be cleaved in two, left to travel through the air in halves. Not wasting a moment, he bore the pain from his injury with all the focus he could muster and pushed himself off the ground just before taking off into a flash-step. He stopped just short of the wind-bender and with the momentum of the shunpo guiding him, rapidly charged towards her with the deadly blade swinging down towards her neck.
180[961]
Technique Used
[ Ittouryoudan ] - "Cutting In Two With One Stroke"
A skilled swordsman holds no fear in the face of his enemy's attacks and may stand his ground against them. In this way, the swordsman can channel his spirit into his sword and slice straight through flames, water, or even raw energy. This splits the attack around the user.
Only possible against attacks up to twice the cost of Ittouryoudan, this technique costs 250 reiatsu to use.
I'll edit in a higher tech and alter the turn accordingly if the ability I'm trying to parry is that much stronger.
Bob asked me to take over his NPC. Hope it's okay with the GMs and all. And Doc, after Bob and I discussed the NPC, Ittouryoudan is fine.
Panic and anger filled the girl. How dare he destroy her attack like that? Wind was one of the most beautiful parts of nature, invisible, yet tangible, causing the grass to bend and sway. And he tore through it like a piece of paper. With his crimes against nature increasing by the minute, she only more determined to end his meaningless life.
Her grip on the wind sword tightened, and the wind suddenly kicked up, violently whipping around her in every direction. She didn't have enough time to strengthen the wind to the point it would carry her opponent away, but it was enough to slow his attack. In the split second between Gorou's blade striking the wind and the moment she dismissed the ability, she had flash stepped ten feet back. She didn't counterattack, however. She needed just a slight moment to catch her breath. That heathen's blade had come too close to ending her own life. It had rattled her a bit, but it was nothing a deep breath couldn't handle.
With her anger refocused on her target, she swung her sword, the swirling winds that formed the blade extending out far enough to reach Gorou. In the name of Mother Nature, she would have justice, starting with the man's left arm.
Adrenaline continued to pump through Gorou’s veins, dulling the pain further even though it wasn’t enough to heal the wound altogether. It allowed his mind to be freed from things as insignificant as wind, or the sound of the grass as it was whipped about. As they had once known to do at a moment’s notice, his instincts were turning his environment into a blank void that only housed himself and his enemy.
All that the battle-crazed death god saw—all that he needed to see was the extended blade trying to assault his arm. To create more distance between the blade and his weapon, the weapon was brought down somewhat and swung up at the wind-formed blade with all the force that could be placed behind it. Rather than allow the blade to be pushed upward, he locked his hilt against the whirling edge and grit his teeth for what he had to do next.
Partial use of a flash step helped move him towards his target, but he couldn’t avoid having to make some of the trip on foot. He slid his blade along the windy edge as he moved, using the friction-born resistance to put more force behind his naginata’s upcoming strike. The very instant that he came within the weapon’s reach, he took the momentum that the trip had gathered up and swung its outer edge squarely towards the nameless woman’s midsection with the express intention of cutting her in half at the waist.
The girl stared in disbelief as the man not only blocked her attack, but used it to power his own attack in return. How? How could he possibly turn her beautiful wind into such a barbaric attack? She would make him...
But then he was gone, only for a moment. And when he reappeared, he was close. Too close. With the wind blade still extended, she had no way to defend. Her only hope was to dodge, and she wasn't sure she could even manage that. Summoning every ounce of energy she could, the girl flash stepped backwards as the naginata sliced towards her.
"Ha!" she called out when she reappeared. "Like a heathen like you could hit me with an attack like that! Nature itself is on my side! Justice will be ser..." She stopped mid-sentence, noticing a strange, wet feeling on her left hand. She held it up, surprised to find a strange, red liquid on it. The strange girl looked down to find the source. She was surprised to find it was coming from her. The polluter hadn't managed to slice her in half, but at the same time, she hadn't managed to dodge it like she thought.
A deep gash ran across her lower abdomen, blood spurting out all along her clothes and the golden grass and wheat below her. It was an odd sensation, seeing the whole in her own body, the golden field stained crimson. The girl dropped to a knee as the pain finally hit her. Her wound was pretty serious, but if she could just kill this man now, it wouldn't be lethal. But she had to move fast, while she still could.
Ramming her sword into the ground, she whipped up a cloud of dirt and grass, using the cover to shunpo off to the man's left before rushing in for what she hoped would be the strike that severed his head.
The pain in Gorou’s leg made it clear that he wouldn’t be moving around so recklessly again, but the thought didn’t remain in his mind for very long. Feeling his weapon push through his foe’s flesh and muscle felt so foreign that it was as if he were experiencing it for the first time again. He had seen his enemy bleeding and desperate and fleeing before, and something in his mind opened as the wind-wielding woman made her rapid advance.
Tracking his opponent after she’d vanishing from within the cloud of dirt was impossible, leaving the old man just moments to plan for the incoming attack. A snap decision led him to spin the bladed staff around him defensively, remaining in his spot as he utilized the maneuver in the hopes that he’d be able to not only catch the attack but react to the pressure quickly enough to stop it before it cosuld harm him.
Fortune smiled on the samurai for just a moment, as the bottom section of his staff did make contact with the wind-bent blade. However, the thrust wasn’t repelled quickly enough. Even though the handle deterred the deadly edge somewhat, it still found its way into deep into his shoulder. More pain burned, but he quickly recognized his chance and readied himself for even more pain.
He’d use the tension built up by his admittedly fruitless defense to load his arms like springs, in a manner similar to his earlier attack. In one swift move, he spun the handle down and away from the blade and allowed it to cut further into his shoulder. At the same time he turned on his good heel.
One hand clutched Gunshin, while the other found the shoulder it was connected to brutally mangled by the shift, having recklessly torn itself out of the blade’s grasp. Still he moved and gritted his teeth through the pain, thrusting the spear forth with every intention of impaling his opponent through the chest.
For a split second, the girl was worried the resistance to her attack, but then it gave way, and she smiled in smug satisfaction. She couldn't see clearly through the cloud, but she knew where she had aimed. The swirling blade found purchase in the samurai's neck. She pushed harder, urging the blade to push clear through the man's neck and remove his head.
The sword dug deeper into the man. Almost there! she thought, excitedly. She was almost rid of this wretched man forever. A frown suddenly replaced her triumphant smile. Something was grievously wrong. She had sliced deep enough now, the man should be dead. But he wasn't! He was still moving at the end of her sword, struggling against her death strike.
Suddenly, Gorou burst from the cloud. The wind blade, embedded in his shoulder, not his neck, was slicing in deeper. But it wasn't enough to stop him. There was a sudden thud, and the girl felt herself pushed back a few feet. She was confused, the samurai wasn't close enough to touch her. Looking down, she discovered the end of his naginata plunged deep into her stomach. Her eyes widened and she began to cough, blood splashing out her mouth onto the weapon and ground below. "N... no... you can't... win..." she gurgled out. "You... de... filer..."
The girl dropped to her knees, choking in air as best she could, clinging desperately to life. "No..."
Blood spattered on Gorou’s face. It wasn’t his, it was hers. The warm feeling was so familiar. He’d been asleep for three centuries and there in that field, with his weapon plunged clear through an enemy who’d failed to overcome him, he was finally awake.
There was more that he wanted to see before he could complete his awakening, however. Slowly the samurai knelt down, and he grabbed the girl’s lower jaw while there was still life within her.
“Look at me...” he spoke through clenched teeth and breathed loudly through his nostrils, “look...at...me...”
Regardless of whether dying woman could obey his demand, he forced her head up so that she could do nothing else. Their gazes locked and he watched as the life left her eyes. That sight had been familiar once, and after so long he could finally see it again.
After freezing in his spot for nearly a minute, the injured soldier rose up and breathed in. The white void had given way to the field he recalled being in, and the immense pain from his wounds immediately reminded him that he wasn’t made out of steel after all. Much remained in his mind to be gone over, but he quickly remembered the purpose he’d chosen.
For the first few steps he used Gunshin’s elongated handle to steady himself, until eventually sealing and sheathing the weapon. Though he’d appear to be staring out into space in some kind of daze, all he could think about as he limped out into the expanse was seeking more combat and finding more targets against which he could pit his will.
