Re: Prelude Of Showdown [Open/Noharu/Ranma]

Tue Aug 29, 2023 8:58 pm

11 - Prelude Of Showdown [Open/Noharu/Ranma] - Page 4 HEADER__panty_panty_stocking_with_garterbelt_drawn_by_kudou_90n__18e7ecb260f4e6d2745dbc0d1e4b7cf6

Noharu's expression shifted. Previously, there had simply been a bit of incredulity at what it was that Shura had been proposing as well as her general demeanor. IT wasn't the simple fact that this was being put forward, it was the sureness with which it was delivered.

And then she continued. Doubling down on the notion of Sidelining one of the most powerful Shinigami that Soul Society had ever known, and then branching into the idea that only Kido was a comparable match to Bankai. And it was in the throes of this explanation that Noharu's amused incredulity began to twist into true and sincere concern for the individual who was speaking before her. This woman had operated under Kenpachi. And no doubt any number of other incredibly capable shinigami who had operated without shikai. And that this member of the ORIGINAL Eleventh Division would ALSO tout Kido in such a way. It simply left Noharu a bit speechless.

Surely this could not be sincere. The idea that Shura was within her right mind was in question, and for just a moment, she furrowed her brows and seemed to consider just what it was she could even say to such a thing. Had she suffered a concussion? Was there some addle to this woman's mind as a result of fighting this hollow? She looked the woman over. As if to see the teltale stain of red that would indicate that this woman was bleeding excessively from her fight with Ranma, that might somehow explain what had just come from the woman's mouth. But there was nothing. Just Shura, and what she'd just said.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to get some rest with Second Division? when's the last time you had something to eat or drink?" She asked softly, earnest concern in her voice.

Tue Aug 29, 2023 9:12 pm

TAGS; - here NOTES; - here WORDS; - here MUSE; - Dancing Mad - FFXIV

Another like Elyss it seemed, one who was had not fought and suffered the defeat directly but instead secondarily. "I assure you, my health is fine. You can question my motives all you wish, Elyss certainly did however she came to ask the opinion of someone who had been on the front lines. However regardless of what she or you may think, I understand full well the might of our enemies as well as the might of my own Captain. If Nagoshi Kanae was drawn to a stalemate within her Bankai, the individuals who do not have it would be crushed."

Her demeanor didn't change as she responded except for her arm dropping back to her side and her eyes closing "Think what you will, I do not expect one to understand without access to the full reports and first hand knowledge against one of these elites of the enemy. We know not if they will recruit more of these monstrosities nor do we know if their entire force was even present at the crater. Should either of these two pieces of information be true then their next attack will likely be enough to cause potentially crippling damage to the Gotei and the Vandenreich. Without information on exactly what the Quincy's are doing to bolster their own forces, I am left only to try and reinforce our own troops in the fastest and strongest way available."

With that she turned to Noharu with only half opened eyes "Additionally I do not expect those outside of the The Fourth Division to understand what it means to face death as we do. So unless you wish to partake in training, I have other matters to attend to as it seems nobody here who is left has the drive or guts to test themselves like Ranma did."

made by RR of DD, steal and i will sentence you to the true death!

Tue Aug 29, 2023 9:38 pm

Noharu wasn't sure what she was expecting, but an escalation into condescending certainly was a little outside of her expectation. But then again she had half expected the woman to fall to the floor having seizures or something of the like. Perhaps some sign of a stroke. But no, Shura took her time calmly responding down her nose at Noharu. Talking about the things that Fourth Division had seen, and some small part of her wondered if the woman had even parsed that Noharu had just moments before affirmed that she had been on the ground as well during the incident.

But no, she had already mentioned the member of Seventh Division she'd fought alongside. Simply speaking, the woman just did not seem well. IF not by some physical wound, then it seemed that some psychological residue of whatever had reanspired on earth was affecting this woman's judgement.

But if nothing else, the Teacher in her couldn't just sit by and let this woman walk out of her division. At the very least, this woman seemed to have high value in Zanjutsu and Kido. A strange combination, but she wasn't going to try and attribute logic to this woman's decisions. A soft sigh escaping her as she gently rolled her shoulders and put on a calm smile.

"It doesn't seem like we're going to agree just by talking. So how about I take your test? and then we can go from there?" She ventured resting her hand n her hip as she waited. After all, despite all of this talk and such, she felt that deep down, Shura really just wanted to fight other seated officers. But whatever. If this woman wanted to test people, she'd play along.

Shura would be paying a visit to Second Division, one way or another.

Tue Aug 29, 2023 10:14 pm

TAGS; - here NOTES; - here WORDS; - here MUSE; - Prelude of Showdown

Ah, there it was... That was what Shura was fishing for. It was the only thing that Elyss hadn't done, challenge her. "Whilst I did use quite a bit of my Reiatsu at the end of the fight against Ranma, I must admit to being only slightly surprised at your acceptance rather than simply letting me leave." Despite her words however, Shura had that telltale smirk forming back on her lips "If you are at least half the fighter that Ranma was this should at least give me enough of an idea as to whether you would warrant a fresh fight tomorrow when I have had time to rest."

With that she slowly pulled her Zanpakuto once more from its sheath "As such I must apologize in advance for not being able to give you the full treatment as I gave to Ranma, I shan't be capable of utilizing Jouki again in such a short time span. However fear not, for I still have enough to provide what I hope to be a suitable match against you however short it may be." It could of course, be taken that her words were her making excuses for herself. However in truth that couldn't be farther from the truth, Shura was more disappointed that she couldn't give this woman her full capabilities immediately and wished to express such disappointment first and foremost.

As Shura brought the Zanpakuto down to rest at her side she spoke once more "I assume yourself more capable than Ranma, elsewise you wouldn't have accepted. Shall I make the first strike or do you wish too?"

made by RR of DD, steal and i will sentence you to the true death!

Tue Aug 29, 2023 10:34 pm

Well, that answered that question. The expression on Shura's face certainly laid to rest a few notions she'd been considering about the woman. Even more that they STILL seemed to have no intention of healing themselves for this little fight of theirs. It seemed that more than that, Shura didn't seem to have any intention of releasing again? Now THAT was certainly a bit of a surprise. Even so, watching as Shura peeled her zanpaku'to from it's sheath, Noharu made a soft noise, sucking air through her teeth as she took a moment to watch them closely. She'd seen the match, and she had a fair assessment of the woman's capabilities. But that she didn't plan on releasing further made her wonder just what Shura expected of her. Well, that wasn't a problem for the time being.

"As I said, we do have healers on standby, but if you want to fight me as you are that's fine as well. As for the first move, I'll let you go ahead and take the first swing of things." She noted calmly, reaching into her pocket and peeling out her leather gles, slipping them on and then giving a gentle roll of her shoulder as she eyed the Third Seat, making no attempt at drawing her Zanpaku'to. There wasn't really any reason to get overeager. She'd let the woman make her moves, and get a feel for what it was she'd be dealing with.

Thu Aug 31, 2023 9:10 am

TAGS; - here NOTES; - here WORDS; - here MUSE; - Prelude of Showdown

The fact she made no grasp towards her own Zanpakuto said more about Noharu than she might've thought, at least for Shura anyway. While it wasn't an indicator of her fighting style or anything like that, Rio had done much the same in her refusal to draw her Zanpakuto when challenged. It made Shura wonder if Noharu thought herself above such a requirement.

Well whatever, if she thought of herself in such a manner than she would simply prove her to be wrong just as she did Rio. She gave a nod at her words that she may have the first strike, however made no movement at first. Instead sizing up her opponent to see if she'd begin to grow cautious or nervous over Shura's lack of movement. However this would not happen for more than about ten seconds or so before her form flickered out of view, the telltale roar that had emitted at the start of her fight with Ranma erupting outwards as her form vanished. When next she appeared it was in front of Noharu, utilizing the same technique she'd used now twice on Ranma. However unlike Ranma she wasn't coming at Noharu from entirely different angles each time, instead each odd strike came from in front of her with each even strike coming from behind. The intent was not to simply stop moving if or when the attack hit or miss, but rather to maintain momentum after each strike.

Techniques:

made by RR of DD, steal and i will sentence you to the true death!

Thu Aug 31, 2023 6:31 pm

Noharu certainly had been paying attention during the fight between Ranma and Shura. The woman certainly a had a lot of ferocity about her. She'd certainly seen her share of kids in the past with mindsets like hers. But the Third Seat hadn't been a professor at the Academy for nothing, and when Shura eventually caught on that Noharu wasn't going to flinch and came in with that roaring strike, she raised a brow slightly, eyes calmly staring Shura in the face.

And as the woman suddenly blitzed toward her with that aggressive flurry of strikes, Noharu's own frame melted from existence. Her own blistering Shunpo slipping past Shura as she executed those strikes, promptly stepping to Shura's side opposite of her sword hand in her own matching flurry, winding up exactly beside Shura in the midst of that blurred attack. And at the very end of that string of strikes, Lerna's body twisted into a high speed blur, aiming to propel her ankle straight into Shura's face, aiming to strike her square between the eyes in the midst of that final strike. Aiming to break the woman's poise and knock her flat onto her ass in the process.

That calm smile of hers widening just a little following the exchange, whether she'd managed to knock Shura down or not, she'd still chime in.
"Sorry but I've always been a fast learner. You'll need to use something I haven't seen if you wanna catch me off guard. But nice try. A nice little spin from when you used it the first time. Good instincts." She complimented the woman, as if they were in a classroom rather than a sparring ring.

Thu Aug 31, 2023 6:59 pm

TAGS; - here NOTES; - here WORDS; - here MUSE; - Prelude of Showdown & This is it

Considering who she had previously fought it came only as a slight surprise that Noharu could keep up with her flurry. Any warrior worth their salt would've learned from prior engagements, even if they weren't apart of them. But to keep up with all five strikes was a bit more of a surprise. A counterattack however was expected, even in the brief exchange Noharu had shown herself to be a more capable warrior than her prior opponent, and besides that she seemed to prioritize her Hakuda over her Zanjutsu much like Rio had.

That being said the particular way she counterattacked wasn't so easily predicted and required a more reactionary approach. While the main intent of the attack was to land squarely in Shura's face, the positions of both meant it wouldn't land precisely where it was meant too. However this did not mean Shura avoided it entirely, as she made moves to position herself for the next strike she couldn't properly bring her blade up to defend herself, instead choosing to turn away from the attack and cause it to instead slam against the side of her head.

While deflected from its intended target, it still ended up causing Shura to be knocked quite a distance away. First bouncing against the already broken arena before her hand bounced her back into a more tight and controlled descent. A single line of blood visible down the side of her head where the foot had managed to make contact, Shura rubbing the side of her face for a moment as Noharu spoke once more.

While she did compliment Shura, it was another part of the statement that caught her attention the most. "Something you haven't seen?" She responded for a moment, staring at the bit of blood on her hand from where she'd wiped it away on her head before smirking... she never was one for particulars. She had two options to use as a response to that, far stronger Kido and.... A single, heavy step forward was followed by a single phrase

11 - Prelude Of Showdown [Open/Noharu/Ranma] - Page 4 GhbzsBu

As her Reiatsu erupted from inside her, the standard yellow that her Reiatsu emitted was turned to a dark purple, encapsulating her form for but a brief moment before two axes cleaved through the eruption to reveal Shura's Bankai. There weren't many that could earnestly draw blood without Shura allowing it, but those that could weren't necessarily worthy of seeing her Bankai... But at the very least warranted Shura not holding back, besides... She said Shura would have to use something she hadn't seen before so if anything she kind of asked for it.

11 - Prelude Of Showdown [Open/Noharu/Ranma] - Page 4 IUwkv3b

With nary a second to spare she spun the axes upon their chains next to her before charging forward, this time however when her form flickered away her attacks came from two directions at once, when she attacked from the front a second axe would attack from the side. With five total strikes like this, each axe came from differing angles each time only adding to the difficulty that came with the unpredictability of her Raijin no Senko being combined with her Raijin no Tsume.

Techniques:

made by RR of DD, steal and i will sentence you to the true death!

Thu Aug 31, 2023 7:33 pm

Noharu flashed a pleased little smile as she made note of Shura managing to catch that kick to the side of her head rather than her face, an appreciative whistle escaping her as she let her hands rest on her hips, watching as Shura rose back up and seemed to have a nice look of determination on her face. "Yessir. Cmon, think outside the box. You can't expect to progress if you stick to what you know." She pointed out candidly, though that sudden spike of spiritual pressure certainly caused her brows to raise ever so slightly. Her head canted a bit to the side before she waved her hand, and promptly, a number of her Squad promptly shifted into place. A few of the Higher up Seated officers crouched into place, and the area around them shimmered as a barrier was put in place. To make sure that this fight didn't get out of hand and destroy anything nearby.

And with that sudden burst of movement, she hummed quietly to herself as she watched Shura charge toward her. That sudden explosive burst of speed certainly was quite the improvement, and as those chained axes swung in, Noharu's form had to blur. Of course, in her Bankai, Shura would be much more able to follow Noharu's movements. A front row seat to her slipping between those Swings. Her frame was like lightning, weaving through that flurry of strikes. She had to admit, she couldn't just stay idle, those hands raised up from her hips, bracing herself as she shot through, her body blurring. seeming to multiply in brief moments as she rapidly scatter-shunpo'd about. Rapid, zig-zagging pathings of shunpo rather than straight lines, dizzying motions that even in her Bankai form Shura would find herself hard-pressed to keep track of the woman's motions.

Until that final flurry struck out, but this time she didn't wait for the strike to follow through. The instant that Shura committed to those swings, and those chained axes swung her way, she shot straight forward, dipping past those axes, and then jacknifing straight forward. Turning her shoulder to ram straight into the center of Shura's chest and throat with her shoulder, going for a straight body shot when Shura's axes were too far from her body to be pulled back in time for a defense.

An instant later, Noharu skidded back, even with that display, she knew better than to spend too much time close to Shura with those chains, lest the woman actually take her advice and think of another use for those chains.
"Still looking for something new, Bee Tee Dubs~"
She HAD made it clear earlier that she'd seen parts of Shura's fight in Africa.
Where she'd used bankai before.

Thu Aug 31, 2023 7:58 pm

TAGS; - here NOTES; - here WORDS; - here MUSE; - Prelude of Showdown & This is it

To most the difference between who Shura was before and who Shura was now was unnoticeable, even for Noharu the change might not be that easily noticed. But there wasn't naught a single move that Noharu made that went unnoticed by Shura. While that didn't mean Noharu was any less speedy it did mean that where Shura's attention was placed had changed.

However in spite of her quick nature the strength she put behind her own attack did little to budge Shura, causing her to only skid backwards a foot or two... Thankfully for her she hadn't stuck around long enough to find out what Shura had planned. This had two consequences. One was that she managed to avoid whatever Shura might've been planning, the second being that Shura had time to alter what she was planning. However Shura didn't simply wait around, before her body had even stopped being pushed back from the shove that Noharu had done she was already blitzing forward again.

Random movements, random attack patterns, or at least that was how it likely seemed. Even as she executed the same attack she had just previously it served a more important purpose, to study Noharu's movements. It was clear her speed advantage had been significantly lowered, assuming there even was one still remaining. It was evident to Shura that Noharu was paying more attention to how both of them moved, but how closely was she studying Shura's own movements as they changed. Rather than each axe being aimed to strike Noharu, they were instead acting with the intent to force Noharu into specific movements rather than aiming to truly strike her.

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The fifth and final attack this time was not aimed to have the blades themselves strike, rather if Noharu stayed perfectly still there was actually zero chance of them striking. However as the waves of energy erupted from the blades, the area she had to dodge was severely limited. One thing only a keen eyed observer, and more likely Noharu if she was truly paying attention to Shura's movements themselves, was to back Noharu not into a corner but close to a wall and limit the options she had to move.

Techniques:

made by RR of DD, steal and i will sentence you to the true death!