Dangerous Women

Crimson eyes lurking in the shadow of a black helm. This image had pushed aside all other thoughts in Nagoshi Kanae's mind. It invades her dreams and consumes her days. She felt no fear when gazing into its abyssal visage; no sorrow or regret either. Only wrath. This creature had pushed her and her limits, and somehow still walked away. A Hollow did this. An animal from a hole in the ground.

The image ceaselessly haunting Kanae's mind wasn't static. Ever since that day, every waking and sleeping moment of her life was spent imagining the horrific nightmares she would inflict upon Asher. One of her favorite scenarios involved sanding its hands and feet down to nubs and placing them in containers of Tosatsusha's acid, creating a never-ending loop of regenerating and melting. A smile lit up her face as she pictured it again. And again. And again.

The one thing preventing Kanae from hunting the beast down and flaying it is something she discovered it could do on the field of battle, something that could make Asher a more dangerous quarry: the ability to absorb other Hollows and gain their powers. If it somehow absorbed something resistant to her acid, Kanae believed it would prove too much of a wildcard to deal with outright. She needed an alternative method for butchering Asher.

And so, Kanae sent a message to the Captain Commander requesting a sparring session. Under normal circumstances she would do this solely to ascertain more of the woman's capabilities, but now she had other ideas in mind. Against no better foe in all of Soul Society could she test not just herself, but a little something she had in her back pocket since sparring with Tentō and later Igendai. The time of the spar was set: today, and now. The location was set as well: here in the Second Division, within a many-layered barrier even some of the squad members seemed nervous wouldn't be enough given the two women involved. All Kanae could do is wait for her esteemed leader.

It had been quite a while since Murasaki was put into a position where she'd be seeing combat. She wasn't the sort who relished battle or anything like that, so that wasn't much of a problem in her eyes, but as a sword, she still enjoyed the opportunity to face anyone. This, however, wasn't entirely the same as a typical request. Nagoshi Kanae was a captain, yes, and that meant Murasaki put some degree of trust in her. But that trust extended only to doing her job, and her job was that of combat captain. Anything further than that, and Murasaki had zero faith in the woman.

But, maybe a match like this could change that. Or, maybe it wouldn't. If it didn't, though, then it would give her a better idea of what the woman was really like when all the cards were on the table. After all, Murasaki wasn't the kind of person who would take it easy on her opponent. If they were requesting a spar with the captain commander, then they should naturally expect something more severe than they'd find anywhere else. Hand on the hilt of her zanpakuto as she entered the well-reinforced arena, Murasaki greeted the other captain with a smile, cheerful though not overly so.

"Let's get right to it, then. Unless you had anything you wanted to talk about first?"

Murasaki drew her sword confidently, taking up an orthodox stance as her eyes studied Kanae. The radical developments in her zanpakuto were still unknown to nearly everyone, not that she necessarily minded that changing in the course of this bout. After all, the captain commander's job wasn't just to be a trump card. She had to be a deterrent, too.

Yet another way this woman differed from the Captain Commander Kanae knew. She couldn't recall a single time that Genryusai's mouth ever tilted into a smile, fake or no. A cheery introduction or greeting wasn't ever in his wheelhouse. Kanae recalled the brutality with which he dealt with his enemies and the stone-cold strictness his subordinates came to know him for. He was a monster, like herself. But he was still the enemy. And so was this Murasaki.

"Nothing that can't be said during battle." said Kanae, her voice cold as usual. She placed her right hand upon the hilt of her own weapon as she stared her commander down. She was reading the other woman, probing outward spiritually and observing Murasaki's stance simultaneously. Looking for weakness, of any kind. She's dangerous, Kanae. Kanae was in agreement with her Zanpakuto. This would be difficult, even as just a spar.

Without warning Kanae broken into a sprint and ran at Murasaki head-on, no mystery evident in her approach. At the last second she came to an immediate stop, crouched low, and drew her weapon in a simple, though precise, horizontal swing. Perhaps Kanae was simply testing her commander, or perhaps she already knew any kind of trickery would be seen through immediately.

Murasaki watched her opponent with sharp eyes, aware of the battlefield at a level beyond what her chipper way of speaking implied. This was a spar between Commander and Captain, a far cry from a real fight, and so Murasaki kept that smile up even as she watched Kanae come toward her. She knew, of course, that Kanae wasn't really the type to enjoy a friendly bout, that she wasn't especially friendly at all. That was fine though, and Murasaki wasn't looking to invite her over for tea. Just to keep her in line if she had to.

"Okidoke!"

Kanae was obviously fast, but Murasaki was unquestionably one of the fastest people in Soul Society. She stepped back as her opponent's blade flashed throught the air, only to take advantage of the window of opportunity after an attack. Murasaki's body seemed to have already been ready to make this strike without even needing to adjust, as if she'd been prepared for this exact circumstance. She took one step forward now, but rather than simply returning to her starting point, she flash stepped past Kanae, her zanpakuto moving in her first strike of this spar.

Senzai Issen (千載一遇, Once in a Lifetime Killing Stroke).

Countless slashes of the zanpakuto whistled through the air in the blink of an eye, cutting toward Kanae in that briefest moment where Murasaki had moved past her in the course of her flash step. Such a technique had once been her pride and joy, something she'd gone so far as to consider a "signature technique," but she'd still been naive then, immature in her pursuit. Still, it was a good way to open a match, and it had plenty of use to put anyone to the test. After all, it might have been child's play to Murasaki, but she knew plenty well that most people couldn't have replicated it.

Watching Murasaki, Kanae felt like she was moving in slow motion as the other woman casually glided backwards a step to wholly dodge her strike. This woman is fast, she thought. When Murasaki stepped forward, Kanae replaced her sword in its sheath, but before she could formulate a plan her eyes went wide- Murasaki had perfectly transitioned from defense to offense! With every muscle and fiber of her being, Kanae drew her Zanpakuto and fought to keep up with her foe.

Sazaeta (刻餌食, Minced Feed)

Like a salmon swimming against the current, Kanae was fighting just to stay afloat. She struck out with myriad slashes as she, too, Flash Stepped a dozen or so feet past Murasaki. A sense of anger and annoyance consumed Kanae as she realized, perhaps for the first time ever, she had used Sazaeta not to split a victim into chunks, but to protect herself. Though her technique practically mirrored Murasaki's in function, in practice what occurred is each of her many strikes had been used to parry Murasaki's own attacks, and due to the gap in speed in that fraction of a second any observer would no doubt have no clue even happened, Kanae found herself bleeding from her left shoulder and the back of her right hand. None of her own attacks had even been aimed for this frustratingly quick woman.

Kanae turned in place to face her commanding officer and complimented her on her technique "I finally see you for what you are, Kagayaku no Murasaki. I wondered how someone your age could become Captain Commander. I figured it would still be Genryusai, or one of the other Founders, or even one of those children he doted on. Instead, it is you. I'm sure your predecessors would be...proud."

Bursting forward in a dead sprint, Kanae gripped her Zanpakuto tightly in its sheath, violet gaze set on Murasaki's own green orbs. Upon approaching the woman, Kanae kicked off the ground and used her momentum to carry herself through the air, seemingly aiming to strike at Murasaki's front in another straightforward attack. At the last moment she kicked the air and somersaulted over her head, whereupon she drew Tosatsusha and rapidly slashed at her back before landing.

"Hmmm? Ya think so?"

Murasaki's countenance was far from that of the stern captain commander, or even a warrior fighting with all they had. She was still casual, calm, the intensity of her battlefield awareness was wildly at odds with the sense of ease she exuded. She studied Kanae's every movement as the 4th Captain came toward her, and as the attack came, Murasaki's own reaction came as easily and as naturally as breathing. Her foot moved barely, her legs tensing as she immediately utilized a hoho technique of her own creation.

Manbai Ochiba (万枚落葉, 10,000 Falling Leaves)

Attacks from above were something any shinigami at a high level ought to be ready for. Many of her peers and predecessors seemed to forget that, and she'd heard of more than one fight that someone lost becuase they just didn't think about their opponent being able to get the high ground so easily. Manbai Ochiba was designed to mitigate that inevitability, a series of steps in tight, but unpredictable, formation, and she continued to speak even as she evaded each of Kanae's strikes from above, knowing at least that the woman would likely maintain a consistent trajectory.

"I'm not so sure about that one. I think they handled things pretty bad, and I never really saw eye to eye with the old way of runnin' the place. Don't really care one way or another if Yamamoto'd be proud. I'll be better than he ever was anyway."

Though she had certainly made that assertion before to those close to her, Murasaki didn't always speak so openly about that ambition. However, she saw no reason to hide it, and if anything, she felt it was something that ought to be made more widely known. She'd never dream of trying to live up to the Gotei of the past, when she could simply be better than they ever had been instead.

As she evaded the overhead strikes, the final step turned her around, a faint bit of more serious effort now in her expression, like the glint of a slightly drawn sword. Murasaki's blade had already begun to move even as Kanae was still landing, a cut more practiced and with more intention behind it than her almost casual Senzai Issen had been. It was only a single strike, but one refined by Murasaki for the sake of speed above all else, to be finished before most opponents could even fathom the attack had been made.

Daisetsuzan: Oroshi (諦切斬・疎思, "Truth Cutting Slash: Unfinished Thought")

Kanae was a Captain, after all, and one of those lauded Captains from the first generation. She ought to be able to handle a cut at that speed, even if she couldn't match it outright.

I'll be better than he ever was anyways. In another world they may have bonded over their shared distaste for that old codger. In this world however, Kanae knew their reasons for feeling how they do about him differ. Whereas Murasaki appears to dislike how he ran things as Captain Commander, in Kanae's eyes she had been enslaved by the man. Her freedom stripped away as she was pressed into service at threat of death. Everything bad in her life could be blamed on that horrible man.

Alas, Yamamoto was dead and in his place stood this woman who could not be more different from him. Kanae couldn't take her words seriously, not after what she had witnessed the Gotei's founder do in battle. He had been a force of nature, an insurmountable titan who's very existence could enforce peace. In Kanae's eyes the only reason the Gotei was ever even necessary was because he couldn't be everywhere at once. There had been no foe Yamamoto couldn't destroy in her time; she had nearly been a victim of his infernal blade, but instead she lived long enough to witness him totally and utterly annihilate the mightiest of Quincies while she and the other Captains fought lesser foes. To think this girl could surpass that Demon of Soul Society was laughable.

What was less laughable to Kanae was her apparent inability to land a blow on her opponent. Having only endured her opening salvo thus far, Kanae had lathered Murasaki in hollow praise. Unfortunately, it seemed such praise was warranted; at least, from someone else. The speed and fluidity with with Murasaki moved was proving an annoyance for the Fourth Squad's leader. Kanae was sizing the woman up at every opportunity, evaluating her abilities while searching for vulnerabilities to take advantage of. Though still early, it was apparent she was quicker on her feet, but not significantly more skilled, at least in Kanae's estimation. And so when she unleashed a blisteringly quick strike, a flash of steel barely perceptible to Kanae's refined senses, it was with great effort she responded with an act of her own.

Waikyōgai Hontō (歪曲妨害本当, Hindrance of Distorted Truth)

Sparks flew in a light show of steel as two swords met in a flash. Kanae had used the momentum of her falling body to drop low to the ground, almost to a kneeling position, in order to gain a necessary fraction of a fraction of a second to maneuver her Zanpakuto in front of her, leaving Murasaki's weapon but a hair's breadth from her forehead. It was Kanae's turn to speak as she acted, the words "A Captain Commander without lofty aspirations is useless!" leaving her mouth as her left arm shot to the ground, acting as an anchor as she kicked her legs out in a sweeping motion to knock Murasaki off her feet. All the while, Kanae aimed to knock away the woman's Zanpakuto with her own before twisting her body and returning to a standing position, where she could finish her acrobatic movements with a vertical slash of air-splitting speed power.

Oh, that had been impressive. Considering Murasaki's skill with the zanpakuto, it took a lot for a technique to catch her attention. She was a master of the blade, but she was (relatively) less skilled with other forms of combat, and so Kanae's hime kick was enough to force Murasaki to move to defense, stepping back in a flash and readying for Kanae's strike. She was aiming to knock away her sword, she could tell that much, so Murasaki naturally went with the flow of combat. Their blades met, and all at once the zanpakuto flew from Murasaki's hand, even as its wielder seemed to move without any concern for the loss.

"That's good, then. I don't think many people could go from an outcast to Captain Commander, so call me pretty ambitious."

One step was all she needed to avoid the vertical slash, though it told her she ought to start taking this bout more seriously. It was still just a spar, but Murasaki was a woman with exceptional instinct, and she could feel it in her gut that she ought to send a message. Without further words, she once again dashed to face Kanae head-on, seemingly unconcerned with the fact that her blade had been lost and her hand was empty. She drew back her hand as if to swing--

And all at once, her zanpakuto was simply there once more, as if she had never lost it. She struck out without a moment of hesitation for Kanae's side, the speed of her blade only seeming to have increased yet again. A crack echoed through the battlefield as her blade moved well beyond the speed of sound, and the cut left a vacuum in its wake that immediately collapsed. Even that was still far from Murasaki's best, but she was definitely picking up the pace now.

It was evident to Kanae disarming this woman wasn't as it seemed. Murasaki's lack of reaction proved as much to her. Even as her sword flew through the air, Kanae readied herself for what may come next; after all, this woman is the Captain Commander. If a simple disarming was enough to bring her to her knees, she wouldn't have that insignia on her back.

Annoyingly, Murasaki managed to avoid Kanae's attack with a simple sidestep. Though this spar had not escalated to the point of either putting their one hundred percent into it, as evidenced by the simple back and forth in their sealed states they found themselves in, Kanae could not help but feel an amount of vitriol toward her foe. To act so casually in a serious bout would have gotten her killed millennia ago, or at least encouraged attempts on her life. But this was a new age, thought Kanae, one of flowers and sweets. She had yet to meet a single person in this Gotei United with the killing instinct found commonplace a thousand years ago. Not one.

With her opponent once again come face to face with her, Kanae readied to draw her sword once again. Like a magic show Murasaki's blade had reappeared within her grasp, and now it bore down upon the Combat Captain like the talons of a hawk, faster than ever. If she continues to increase her speed, I need only increase mine own faster! Nearing the maximum limits of her draw speed, Kanae pulled on Tosatsusha's handle and struck Murasaki's weapon in another dance of steel and sparks. The meteoric momentum behind Murasaki's swing sent a shock wave through Kanae's arms, but it would not deter her.

Knowing she needed to act quickly so as to not remain on the back foot, Kanae sought to bat away Murasaki's weapon before replacing her own in its holder. Then, she swiftly drew it once more and slashed viciously at the Captain Commander, all the speed and power she could muster put behind this stroke aimed to split her in twain. She was not done there, however; Kanae continued on with one rapid slash after another, repeating her performance of Sazaeta from earlier. Every bit of anger and contempt Kanae felt for the Gotei, for Murasaki's predecessors, for that damned Asher, was put into this deluge of death she sought to rain down upon and drown her foe with.

Murasaki was beginning to get a better sense of the bout, the longer it went. That was the kind of instinct you built up on the battlefield, the inherent understanding that only a sword could truly know. There wasn't simple desire to grow or practice behind Kanae's strikes; there was more there. Murasaki wasn't a mind reader, and so she couldn't make much of any claim as to what it was definitively. As her blade was once again thrown from her hand, allowing it to happen simply to throw the flow of battle away from what most would expect, she once again made her zanpakuto in her hand, and met each of Kanae's strikes with one of her own.

She could feel it in every clash of blades, even if she could never explain it to anyone else in words. It was the very same thing that filled her existence when she drew her blade with nothing else in mind, and so with a deep breath, she thought perhaps she ought to show Kanae the gap between them on that front, too. Stepping back, taking full advantage of her own speed, Murasaki's eyes narrowed, the smile falling from her face as all her thoughts cleared. She wouldn't need long. No, she didn't need this at all. It was about sending a message.


Her spiritual pressure, all exertion of what was undoubtedly a titanic pool of reiryoku, simply disappeared from the battlefield. There was no presence now but the Captain Commander herself, sword in hand, and a gaze that seemed to cut through one's being as easily as a sword through flesh. She stepped again toward her opponent, but there was no fanciful technique in it. Now, it was the simple speed of a body honed leagues past what most could ever dream of matching, and as she bore down on her opponent once again, Murasaki did not strike with the elegant bladework of the greatest zanjutsu master in the Gotei.

She simply cut.

As a surgical, merciless line was drawn by her sword, It was clear to anyone that, in that moment, the act of cutting through Kanae would be no different to Murasaki than if the blade simply moved through the air. Killing intent? There was no need for something like that. One needed only look at the name of what she was at her most fundamental level, after all:

A zanpakuto—a soul-killing blade.