The sun continued its slow descent, casting orange light onto the vastness of the Seireitei and the soon to be battlefield in which blood had already been spilled. The streaks of crimson stood in sharp contrast to the surrounding white, and the spilled blood foretold of a storm which was about to descend.
Staring down the shaft of an arrow once more, Arihito paused. The intruder had put his massive blade between himself and the archer, thusly protecting himself from any further attacks from the bow, just as Arihito had predicted. What the old man hadn't seen earlier, was the gap within the blade itself. A small opening, a tough shot for all but the most masterful archer, but an opening nonetheless.
I'm not ready to leave my perch quite yet... thought Arihito to himself with a grim smile before taking aim at the small gap in the shikai of his foe, Let's leave the first response up to our foe below...
The Ya arrow flew forward as Arihito released it, again accelerating as it covered the distance between the two combatants. The gray-haired old man's hand went back to his quiver again, but his mind and eyes concentrated upon his foe for any movement or possible retaliation.
Huddled behind the steel wall, the Ryoka had steadied his labored breathing enough to regain his composure, and as he consciously pressed the searing pain coursing through his veins into the recesses of his mind, he calmed his nerves, shaking violently in the wake of the attack.
"You possess a cool demeanor, Leon...know that it should always be your state of mind, your external appearance. Even if you feel as if you must transparently fake it, show it nonetheless. It is how a dastardly, half-rate swordsman such as yourself can fight against genuine warriors, genuine fear, or both."
He was a natural at this regression...after all, he had been doing it all of his life: long before he realized it, he had discerned what was the best method of attacking his fears...
indifference.
And now, here, with an arrow lodged into his leg and blood beginning to overflow the crevices between the surrounding tiles, the Ryoka found that he didn't really
care about the pain...that, like the fear that had stricken him earlier, was an obstacle to overcome.
With his mind beginning to clear, the cacophonous reverberation was easy enough to detect over the quiet silence that had settled over the battlefield.
Thwum~
An alabaster tempest erupted forth, conjured by the upward stroke of a silver mountain, and producing a bombardment of pallid rocks that tore the arrow to shreds like paper, and hurtled towards its firer. Still kneeling from his vantage point, Leon surveyed the accuracy of his retaliation with an unruffled temperament, slowly lowering Seikan from its position overhead: the back spikes had been ripped free of the floor with such violent force as to propel the clinging debris directly towards the Ryoka's antagonist.
The debris hurtled forth with frightening ferocity, and ripped the silver arrow aimed to end the battle quickly to shreds. A sound equivalent to a roar of thunder reverberated off the nearby buildings, the sound assaulting the ears of the watcher, bow still in hand.
High above the scene, Ari's focused eyes watched the behemoth blade rip out of the earth, and silently observed the oncoming rush of death. His hands drew back the bow string one last time, with practiced calm, and fired through the maelstrom, aiming for the very center of the Ryoka's form. His shot away, Arihito lept forward and down, diving towards the earth. The hurled earth ravaged the point on which he had stood, but the old warrior streaked downwards, his form blurring with the speed he was attaining.
He was not far from the wall of the building he was rapidly descending, and his right hand went to his side to retrieve the hidden object from earlier. The object flashed out and struck the wall, biting in and slowing down the Shinigami as he continued to descend. Arihito then moved his right foot towards the wall as well, and with gentle movements slowed his descent even more. Finally, the object dug home completely and Arihito was left hanging precariously halfway up the tower on which he had been perched.
Laughing, the old man shrunk his Ushin Enpa which was in his left hand and replaced it on his back before calling out to the emptiness, "Why did you come here Ryoka? And most of all, why did you come to me?"
No immediate reply came, and instead, a dull, fragile peace blanketed the distance between the two figures, until the one on the ground stirred.
The last arrow that had been fired was held strongly in the Ryoka's fingers, caught only a foot or so away from his calm visage, and as his opponent watched, he crushed it like a frail tree branch, then tossed the pieces over his shoulder and into the wind. With the same coolness, Leon reached down and, subsequently causing another spurt of blood, ripped the arrow free of his mutilated knee, snapping this one in much the same manner as the previous.
His head could be seen tilting back up towards his foe, and his chest expanded in the subtle taking of breath, signifying his imminent vociferation.
"
Get lost."
The response did not carry any belligerence nor anger, but merely an authoritative sense of understanding, and though his eyes could not be seen from behind the dark lenses, truly, they must have shone to match the disgust in his statement.
Not waiting to see whether his opponent would obey, the crippled Leon used his gargantuan sword to act as a balance while he turned, and then began to limp away, leaving a scarlet trail in his wake.
The aged Shinigami leapt down the remaining distance between him and the earth, landing with a thud despite his best efforts. Muttering something about old bones, Arihito once again hid the object he had withdrawn from his right side, replacing it instead by his bow once more.
"I'll make you a deal!!!" shouted Arihito after the retreating form of the wounded Ryoka.
Without finishing the old Shinigami fired another arrow, aiming just over the intruder's right shoulder. A warning shot.
"If you turn around and leave the Seireitei and forget any dreams of revenge or grandeur or what ever... the next shot I fire won't be aimed at your heart!!!"
The words were not said mockingly, but merely as a statement of a fact. Arihito was not so boastful of his own abilities to say he would hit his target, but he would try. And Muramatsu did not lie more than he had to...
The Ryoka stopped at this remark, and then burst into a hearty round of laughter. His euphonious chortling reverberated off the many ivory walls encompassing the moderately-sized plaza they had squared off upon, and was followed by the scraping of Seikan against the fragmented tiling...he had turned, and was once again facing his adversary. The aura of complete control had not departed, but was now augmented by an amused smile along his countenance.
"Whatever the hell I saw just a moment ago, you saw it too. Now...because I can see in those eyes of yours a quiet resignation, a soft acknowledgement of your wisdom in the world, I'm going to ask you something, archer-guy: if I could summon up the
cojones to not piss myself in front of that thing, what in God's name makes you think I'll be frightened of you?"
Leon brandished the huge Seikan formidably, tilting it in such a manner that the spikes would coruscate in the moonlight that had begun to wash over the Court.
"Look at this blade...
Fearless. About four days ago, I defeated two Shinigami by the 13th Division...I wasn't afraid of them, but I fought with them because their pride made it a necessity. I hate fighting for no reason...if I'm not afraid of something, I see little point in challenging it."
He lifted the portentous weapon until its last tip pointed directly at his would-be antagonist.
"Your eyes don't gleam with pride, and if they do, it's only a pansy, negligible spark at their rims, most likely from your position in the ranks rather than because of your actions. You have, both, questioned the world around you and questioned yourself, more times than you can count. You have no pride. You don't frighten me. Point? I have no reason to waste my time fighting you," Leon concluded profoundly.
"So be it." said Arihito simply, saddened, but not surprised. "I do not fight needless battles either, dear Ryoka. But you are exactly that, an intruder in the Court of Pure Souls with unclear intentions. We have been warned that you are dangerous, and as such must take every precaution. How do I know that my leaving you unhampered today will not lead directly to the destruction of the City? I don't, and so you and I will fight, even if you don't wish to, even if you don't fear me, even if you think I have no pride. There is no escaping duty."
Aiming at the heart of the man who refused to fight or retreat, the old Shinigami fired.
This time, there was an obvious sluggishness in his reaction: the giant blade managed to fend off the arrow, but it did not move with the ferocity shown earlier...the loss of blood was beginning to show its effects.
Despite this increasingly apparent weakness, Leon's smile widened into a grin.
"That's funny. You're the first fella who hasn't denounced my feelings of fear as stupid for as long as I can remember. Your experience in the workings of the human heart is interesting...but your false monologue on duty shows its untrue quality even at the start. You may think I have unclear intentions, but I think it's clear that you care little for duty, soldier. What's your name?"
Arihito's hand was on its path towards his quiver when it halted, and slowly went down to his hip. He didn't know why, but he began to speak...
"My name is one that is rarely spoken these days, even when asked. But for reasons that I don't fully understand yet, I shall make some exceptions. I am Arihito Muramatsu of the First Division."
The position where the aged Shinigami had halted was the location where the first arrow had struck home in the knee of the Spaniard. The bottoms of Arihito's bare feet were coated in a layer of blood, but he paid it no mind, his steel eyes watching the warrior before him with rising interest.
The reaction was slightly dynamic: Leon's face first scrunched up in a perturbed manner, and then broke out into another round of chuckling. After a moment of his observing the irony, the Ryoka pointed at his opponent, only this time, with his hand.
"
You're Vice Captain of the 1st Division? Does that mean Amagawa Sougen knows that more should be left for those with experience rather than power? With wisdom rather than strength? If so, he must be cooler than they made him out to be" he asked.
"I do not know what Sougen knows. But you're right on several counts. I am not the most powerful Vice-Captain in the Gotei, nor am I even the most powerful direct underling in the elite First Division. But experience is something that can't be given an evaluation, and of it I possess more than even I know of... Is it an asset? A resounding yes. Experience is something that everyone wants, that everyone needs, and wisdom is far more impressive than all the knowledge in the world."
Arihito paused and balled his hand into a fist for a moment, but just as quickly relaxed. The reason behind the glimpse of frustration was invisible, and Arihito continued on as if nothing had happened.
"You. You say I do not fight because it is my duty, nor do I fight for my broken or insulted pride, and as I've certainly demonstrated I do not fight out of absolute necessity. So why do I fight? Why am I still standing before you at all?"
The dark sunglasses, reflecting Ari's figure, scintillated as Leon tilted his chin ever so slightly upwards. His smile was gone, and the collected countenance had reclaimed his features in full.
"...isn't it obvious? You're fighting me so that you can find out
why you're fighting."
The Ryoka was distracted by a series of small, rapid convulsions from his leg, but after the fit had subsided, he returned his attention to his foe, and he spun Seikan with an elegant twirl of his wrist.
"Want me to help? I'm more than interested now...because you don't scare me, but you're sense of disconcertion does. Someone with so many years spent reflecting...and yet, still so lost. The thought of it disturbs me," Leon finished with a narrowed brow.
Such an accurate dissertation... who is he?
"Yes, my path has always been shrouded in gray. I have no family, few friends, and the protection of Soul Society only ignites a small spark of vigor in my heart. I don't know why I fight, but every time I do, I hope that in some way my path will be illuminated. What I seek is knowledge, not of worldly things, but of myself. And so, despite your generous offer, I must ask you once more. Please turn around and leave the Seireitei, forget you ever came here."
His eyes flickered with emotion during his speech, but had regained their metallic sheen as he uttered his last words.
Leon gazed at his opponent from behind the shades with a keen light...and then, ever so slightly, the hand gripping Seikan could be seen trembling.
"...like a lone man treading through marshes, or the sole explorer in the arid desert...I can't seem to understand the will that's kept you strung together, Arihito. A dread fills me at the thought of facing the world as you have...I don't know if I could."
The sound of silver biting the wind, and the gargantuan zanpakutou fell into a menacing angle.
"Frankly, it's frightening."
The Ryoka lifted his reiatsu directly to his maximum, knowing full well that it still was just over half as strong as his opponent given the loss of blood, but no longer caring.
"So I say take that offer and shove it up your ***, Vice Captain of the 1st Division...because I already decided a long time ago that I wouldn't flee from my fears."
Slowly, deliberately, Arihito replaced the Ushin Enpa in its place on his back. The time for ranged battle and hampering his foe was over. Truly, the old man felt regret at having wounded the Spaniard in such a way, but it had been his plan all along. To catch the Ryoka unawares and hopefully subdue him with little resistance. Arihito saw now that that would never happen.
"If I may ask," began Arihito, raising his reiatsu to match his foe's easily, "What is your name?"
While waiting for the answer his hand went to his right side, retrieving the beautiful silver war axe from its place. The rose colored wrappings felt soft on Arihito's calloused hands, and an inaudible grunt escaped him as he brought the Renjin Enkatsu up to his shoulder.
"Leon Valiente Simeon," the Ryoka replied coolly, as if it were a trivial issue, before pointing the coruscating Seikan at his opponent's own weapon, and adding, "Now, judging from your large reiatsu, I'd say you have the precursor Bankai. Release it. Don't hide it like a secret weapon either...the strength it unleashes is a necessity in this battle."
Big words, coming from someone with measly reiatsu compared to his opponent's, but then again, it most likely had been clear to Arihito Muramatsu all along that Leon possessed a great deal more power than he currently displayed.
Nodding as if he understood Leon's words perfectly, the bare-footed man slowly began to step backwards, his left hand drawing the shamshir-like blade at his side. His face was smooth and featureless except for the smallest beginnings of a smile as he uttered the simple words.
"Ban Kai."
At first there was nothing except an explosion of reiatsu from the old man, but the very earth around the combatants began to quake. A dull hum rapidly grew to a deafening roar before the tiles beneath the warrior's feet bore their fruit. Massive trees began to emerge, as far as 200 feet away from Arihito, all spreading their limbs and stretching ever skyward. Moments later, all was quiet as the growth of the forest peaked, only the quiet rustle of undergrowth providing the music for battle. The old shinigami had disappeared in his own forest as it had first emerged, using the darkness and cover the trees provided to begin his stalk of his quarry.
"This. This is my Bankai." shouted Arihito from the depths of darkness, his voice echoing through the forest, seemingly coming from everywhere at once. "Be mindful not to touch anything, the undergrowth and moss contain an annoying poison, and we wouldn't want you to be affected. This isn't that kind of fight."
There was no sarcasm in the Shinigami's voice, he really meant what he said. As if on cue, the canopy above parted, sending a single beam of light downwards to illuminate the Ryoka, but as for the axe-wielding warrior, there was no sign.
It was just as well, however...Leon didn't move from his position, because he didn't want to run the risk of damaging his leg any more than it already had. Instead, he mused over the artificial environment that sprouted around him.
"Is this appropriate or what? You have some issues dealing with the things you've seen, and you also have a Bankai that lets you hide from the world. And now you're telling me that you don't want a battle where I may be poisoned? After striking me with an arrow after I was distracted by that creature? You change your mind too much, Ari...I'd call you a flip-flopper, but that's a label for politicians, not warriors. Think you can show me you have more edge than one of those bureaucratic *******s, and stick on one side of the fence?" the Ryoka called out to the lush vegetation.
Unabated laughter filled the darkness in response.
"I didn't know who you were when I struck you," he called, still laughing, "I thought you would've tried to run, or fight me with the bloodlust of a berserker. And I couldn't very well have that, could I? For what it's worth, I'm sorry."
Silence filled the darkness once more.
From out of the dim lighting to the right of the Spaniard, the Renjin Enkatsu appeared, it's shape blurred and appearing to be a solid disc to human eyes. The thrown axe raced towards the Ryoka, the hum of its flight fighting the deafening silence of Arihito's forest.
He throws his zanpakutou faster than he shoots those arrows, if that makes any sense...
The Vice-Captain's aim was true: there were no viable evasion options, due to the speed of his foe's projectile, and blocking it was nearly out of the question since a hurled zanpakutou never is hurled without good reason...the Ryoka had no desire to bear any side-effects.
Grinding his teeth together, Leon pressed his weight down on the injured knee...snapping it in full, and causing himself to hit the dirt just before the axe flew overhead. Not pausing for the excruciating amount of pain that was coursing through his body (he assured himself that he had felt far worse during his training), the Ryoka compressed a good deal of his vitality into an incantation bypass, intending to scorch up the area where his adversary's weapon had been thrown from.
"
Bakudou 55, Diamond Dust."
Instantaneously, the atmosphere surrounding the target area froze over, and Leon began to drag himself over towards the icy foliage, chanting another spell that would put him at his limit under his breath.
As soon as Arihito had set the axe in his hand on the path of its whirling attack towards the foe, he had left his redwood perch in a quick shyunpo of 30 steps knowing full well he had revealed his own position. Despite his quickness in finding a new hiding place, this time behind a particularly handsome Douglas fir, he had underestimated the speed and ferocity of Leon's counterattack. His new hiding place had been just on the edge of the area affected by the chilling kidou, and now he could hardly feel the right side of his body at all. But he was free, and warmth would return, albeit with time.
If at first you don't succeed... thought the old man to himself as the Renjin Enkatsu returned to his right hand. Stepping out of cover he hurled the axe once more, raising his other axe, his zanpakutou in both hands as he followed up the attack with a charge.
The gears in Muramatsu's head turned, and he quickly made up his plan of attack after the charge...
This axe, thankfully, flew far overhead: Leon's first evasion had not been seen by his opponent, and consequently, Ari was still throwing the Renjin Enkatsus at the normal height level.
The moment the Ryoka lumbered through the vegetation into plain sight of his half-frosted antagonist, however, it became clear what had happened. He had snuck around so that he came out of the trees on Ari's thawing side, and so it was that he heaves the enormous Seikan at his opponent from nearly point blank range with the intention of at least slightly skewering the worthy opponent on the end of the formidable zanpakutou.
Charging forward Arhito realized that, to his chagrin, his foe was not where he had been. Listening with his acute senses, he heard rather than saw the crippled Leon sneaking around to his side, but the great hearing Arihito's Bankai provided him was hardly needed to pick up the shuffle of his foe.
Taking Kaketsukeruin his right hand, his frozen arm, Arihito turned to meet the attack his foe was putting forth. The parry was clumsy, but the skewer was still knocked aside. Even as Arihito defended, however, the magical axe of Renjin Enkatsu reappeared once more in his left hand, of his good arm. While the crash between the behemoth blade and Arihito's zanpakutou still reverberated, the throwing axe was sent on its path towards the center of Leon's frame...
...where it plunged directly into the awkwardly diving Ryoka's chest cage, eliciting a crimson carnation to bloom forth from Leon's pectorals and promptly shed its many petals upon the forest floor.
Although he immediately fell to his good knee, sputtering more of the red rose's blossoms out of his facial orifices, the immediate purpose was easily seen: he had never attempted to dive with the intention of dodging the blow, for his left hand now was clasped on the scintillating Kaketsukeru and his right held his foe's spare elbow.
Astonishingly, the Ryoka's scarlet mouth was twisting in the same, calm smile he had been displaying from the get-go.
"That's more like it...
Bougyoudo 11, Yobiyoseru."
With frightening speed, the enormous blade tore itself free of its wooden prison and raced at breakneck speeds towards its master...who had conveniently placed his enemy in the direct path of the summoned zanpakutou.
As Leon uttered the words of his kidou Arihito heard the cracking of timber as the huge blade freed itself from the tree to the rear. Thinking quickly, Arihito engaged the plan he had intended to do on his last strike with the Renjin Enkatsu and that was to, simply put, switch places. Feeling the energy seep out of him into the blade, the two warriors instantaneously reversed positions. The magical axe returned to Ari's right hand, but was promptly dropped as he needed his hand to be free. Because he had also already begun chanting a kidou spell in the event that the reversal of positions had not gone exactly as planned.
"Chiyudo #26, Hanshakyou!" shouted Arihito. The bluish shield erected itself behind the Spaniard, protecting the two combatants from certain impalement.
The Ryoka's steel crashed against the shield with a bang, but the shield held. Not waiting for the Ryoka to think of another idea the old man struggled against the grip placed on Kaketsukeru while reversing the grip placed on elbow, holding the Ryoka's elbow in its stead. After getting the grip, the head of the bearded man shot forward in a vicious head butt aimed at the bridge of his foe's nose.
Well ****...I didn't think he could make that axe just reappear in his hand like that...I guess he won't see my counter in time to understand anyway...
The Vice Captain's attack ferocity was dealt a sore retaliation: instead of crashing into Leon's exposed skull, its path was immediately intercepted by a large, hovering chunk of sharpened steel, pointed so that he would inevitably smash his forehead directly into its point.
Not bothering to waste anymore sentimentalities, the Ryoka used the last threads tying his fingers to the deflected Seikan and tugged the behemoth blade back towards his foe's back.
Staggering backwards, Arihito was rendered nearly blind. The metal...whatever it was, had impaled his forehead before he could stop and, though Arihito did not know this, the sharp metal had nearly pierced his cranium, ending his life there and then.
But he was still alive, blinded with pain and blood, fumbling around like a chicken with its head cut off. Falling to his knees on the earth he fumbled around for his magical axe, Kaketsukeru having been left in the grip of the Ryoka. Finding it, he searched for the blurred outline of the Ryoka's shape and brought back his arm to let the imbued axe fly, hopefully buying himself some time to recover and to use the final attack of his Ban Kai...
And down, down came the executioner's guillotine, casting a foreboding shadow upon the Vice Captain as it lashed towards his lower back.
Arihito stood there for a moment, blood dripping from the open wound on his head, painting his braided beard a sickly crimson. Falling to his knees he looked up at the Ryoka, seeing his own reflection in his sunglasses. Coughing up blood he knelt there, not dead, but not capable of continuing the fight in any way shape or manner.
His mouth opened and closed several times as if he had something to say, but couldn't quite find the words to say it. And so Arihito knelt in silence, his lifeblood slowly ebbing away.
His opponent too, knelt, so that the two men were almost at eye level...both had taken hits to their vital organs, but it was the Ryoka who had almost no reiatsu left, and surely would die within the next few minutes.
"You...see so much...no one...who sees so much...should ever...have to walk...blind," Leon sputtered between gasps, before promptly collapsing. His head smashed against the dry shrubbery dotting the fading Bankai, and, with his eyelids beginning to tremble and his leg going into violent convulsions, he used the strength in his index finger to gently pull the hilt of his sword closer.
Still latched into the Vice Captain of the 1st, Seikan groaned as its pommel fell just within reach of the dying warrior. Rubbing the end of his blood-crusted fingernail against its sheen produced a soft hum that resonated euphoniously through the air, quickly followed by a solemn intake of breath.
"Let me...show you...how to...use your eyes."
A pulsating thump, throbbing tumultuously in the quiet of the decaying forest...it was as if a strong thunder had pierced the silent eyes of Death, and averted them away for another day. The air became brimming with brilliant incandescence, emanating from Leon's wrists, which had been enshrouded in light blue rings. These halos of iridescence gradually expanded like a fragile bubble, until fractures in their surface could be discerned, accompanied by a crackling noise that reverberated off the titanic tree trunks surrounding them.
As the light began to broil forth from the cuffs, it washed over the dying Ryoka, and as his scarred flesh bathed in its radiance, his wounds began to retract, and, ultimately, cease to exist. Beams began to sporadically rain outwards, illuminating their nearly motionless forms, and occasionally lighting his face such that one could see the cool determination burning in his eyes beneath the black lenses. Steadily, a grumbling began to grow in his throat, one that exponentially rose into a powerful roar.
At the zenith of his passionate cry, the bands encircling his wrists snapped, turning into miniscule discus that shot in all directions, perforating a few tree limbs, but mostly rocketing up towards the firmament.
Two rejuvenated fingers slid their way up from the pommel of the humongous zanpaku to its handle, and with a great sweep of ardent silver, the resuscitated Leon Valiente Simeon hoisted Seikan over his shoulder, once again taking care to not drive one of the spikes running its backside into his own flesh. He stood tall and resolute over his enemy, and then scuffled about in his pocket, before producing a small capsule.
Nonchalantly, he tossed the pill so that it rolled to a halt at Ari's knees.
"Yeah...I'll show you. Like I said earlier, I can't stand the idea of someone like you being so lost, Arihito Muramatsu. If you, a fellow who sees so much around him, can be so **** unsure of your morality, then I fear for what could happen to me. Take that pill...we each only received one, but I'd say the full revitalization I just had does more than enough in comparison. You won't get your Reiatsu back, but your injuries will be healed sufficiently, and we can continue this battle. I have to see if someone can save themselves. Besides..."
The Ryoka let a blistering burst of his new reiatsu flood forth, revealing a Vice-Captain level of strength.
"...I don't like ending anything in a draw."
Eating the proffered pill Arihito felt his wounds close and heal, warmth returning to his right side, and the vigor returning to his soul. Before returning to his full height the old man retrieved the two axes which lay at his feet, twirling both as he rose.
"Dear Ryoka," began Arihito, his voice burning with new vigor, "I have no words to describe this. Show me."
Casting aside the Renjin Enkatsu, the large blade of Kaketsukeru found itself gripped in both of Arihito's quivering hands. Slowly, he began to back away, and as he did so the very forest around the two warriors began to shift. Around the two a tunnel was formed...a dark, foreboding tunnel. Stopped at one end, some fifty feet away, Arihito smiled.
"Show me how to see... Sonarematsu."
A mighty swing from his zanpakutou expelled a blue wave of energy racing towards the foe, picking up debris on its path. The eerie blue light from the advancing wave illuminated the Shinigami's visage, and every wrinkle, every line, every scar was clear. The old man had swung with every last ounce of strength he had, but the small smile refused to give way...
...as did the ever collected, ever calm Leon, who had not wasted a single moment in dashing towards the approaching zangeki.
The bodies of spiritual power collided when the Ryoka cleaved his massive sword in a simple, rudimentary slash down into the wave of energy, interlocking the two in a furious struggle for dominance. Though he was initially pushed back several feet on the impact (there was a meter long trail of upturned bedrock left in his wake), Leon gradually began to exert greater and greater amounts of force on the blast, and as discharges of white light and ripples of blue began to dance and weave through the air, his voice reverberated over the shrill howling of the clashing impetuses.
"See?! Your mentality scares the **** out of me, but I still charge you head on. There is no other way to go than straight. Haven't you been getting too caught up in admiring the view on your sides? Haven't you been getting distracted by the alternative pathways? Just ****ing push those out of your mind, because if you keep trying to take a different road, you'll end up at a different destination," he called out, and the final word culminated into a triumphant kiai as he cut through the wave, sending the split schisms in opposite directions. The sudden freedom of movement caused the warrior to bury his zanpakutou into the soil in front of him, but he quickly and easily removed it before pointing it at Arihito.
"Can you do that? Can you focus on what's in front of you? If you can, I have nothing to fear from your lost potential."
"Focus," said Arihito, "I read a quote in one of my readings that I think applies, 'When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I've never tried before.' I've lived an eventful life, but I fear that the only thing that keeps me going from day to day is the very weakness you speak of. Every day I wake up and decide what I will do on that day. There is no pattern. What I did the day before lends no weight to my decision in the slightest. I weigh the options, and choose. Do I lack focus? Yes. Is it a downfall of mine? A resounding yes. And yet would I have it any other way? The things I've seen and experienced... the lives I've led in my years. But you, you've convinced me. I will focus, and I shall focus on walking to the other side of this tunnel. Now it just so happens you are in the middle of my path, but it is my path, so I must push, no?"
A chuckle escaped him before he once more hefted his battle-axe and began to walk, quicker and quicker in a straight line towards his foe.
"Ahh..."
Seikan twirled back into a preparatory position by his side, beginning to glimmer with a darker blue aura.
"...so you are capable of commitment? Good...now I won't have to think of you like one of those loser friends of mine who can't stick with women in relationships," Leon answered with a grin of his own, and then dashed forward, already swinging the formidable sword towards his opponent's own.
There was no doubt: this would be the decisive blow between the two, and whose sword broke would determine the victor.
A grunt escaped the lips of Arihito as his own mighty retaliation met the Ryoka's devastating cut head-to-head. The moment in time seemed suspended as the blades crashed, but as if in slow-motion Arihito watched his own blade shatter under the sheer duress.
"And so it ends," he stated with a tone of finality as the fragments of his shattered blade littered the battlefield, and the forest around the two combatants began to fade into nothingness.
Dropping the haft of his axe Arihito stood defenseless.
"And so ends my commitment. I would push forward, but I can see it in your eyes that you have no wish to execute me."
"Yes well..."
The Ryoka's gargantuan sword slowly shrunk until it had regained the elegant, streamlined frame of a tachi again, and subsequently following a flurry of swordplay, Leon glided Seikan back into its scabbard before promptly readjusting his sunglasses.
"...there isn't any reason for me to want to kill something I'm not frightened of," he said with a grin, before performing a graceful back flip to an upper tier on the damaged plaza, which had been crushed to rubble in various sections.
He glanced to the north, where his gaze was greeted with a warm zephyr that tugged to and fro at his short bangs. After a moment of contemplation, he returned his eyes to the Vice Captain.
"When you make the report, don't forget to tell them how ****ing big my sword is. Especially if they're ladies there...let them know that I have a bigass package down below too. And...tell that thing...whatever the heck it was...it can fight me whenever," he called, offering a friendly salute before beginning to bound in the direction of the 5th Division, a miniscule speck in the night horizon.
Shaking his head Arihito couldn't help but smile.
"I'll be sure to tell them, Leon. You'll have women after you in droves, I'm sure."
Muttering to himself, Muramatsu turned and walked away, not knowing where he was going, but wondering how in the name off all that is good and holy he would explain what had just transpired. It wouldn't be easy...
Walking away the signs there had been a battle were clear and evident. The white earth was pockmarked with holes and tears, and stained with blood in certain places. It looked as though a war had been waged in that confined location, which was in fact not far from the truth. The sun had truly set now, and the lone Shinigami walked in near darkness, humming a song about a girl he used to know...
[6,256]
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Arihito Muramatsu has received 1 Feat Slot.