Seaside Fight Night: Kanae vs Natasha

The worst thing about an organized tournament between the Gotei United and the Vandenreich? No murder, thought Nagoshi Kanae, recently-instated Captain of the Fourth Division. What kind of morons hold arena battles without the threat of death? What's even the point? Where's the fun?! In this matter Kanae and her Zanpakuto were of the same mind. Unfortunately the screams of terror they would have to settle for would only be coming from the crowd, which was already murmuring hushed rumors of the Captain upon her arrival.

As Kanae walked along the path leading up to a great stone pavilion, her cold eyes observed the visibly shaken audience situated safely behind a barrier erected by the arena organizers. She wondered silently what it would take to break those barriers, and if she could get away with killing some of the cretins in the stands. Oh well she thought, I'll just deal with whoever they put up against us first. Knowing she couldn't kill her opponent put a severe damper on her interests in the Seaside Fight Night, but Kanae wanted to get a better idea of what the Vandenreich has at it's disposal after meeting Liltotto. Besides, beating a Quincy to a pulp was always a good time. Now in the pavilion, Kanae waited for her foe's arrival.

Natasha was aching for any opportunity to grow stronger, improve on her current skill, and be of better use to her peers in the Vandenreich. To her, this tournament was an excellent little stepping stone toward working that fighting muscle. What better way to improve than a live-action setting, right? Of course, as she stepped through the hallway, walking out to meet the crowd, she found that she wasn't particularly fond of the way the crowd was reacting.

It wasn't nearly as entertaining as she thought it would be. Screams of terror? No, these should be screams of cheers. Requesting a microphone, Natasha sauntered along the clearing until she stepped into the pagoda. Pointing toward the crowd, the blonde-haired woman pointed toward the crowd. This was meant to be entertainment, and a way of solidifying bonds. If the crowd wasn't cheering, then it was kind of pointless. Time to hype them up.

"The hell type of crowd is this!? Is this really the best ya can do? All scared to death, screaming as if ya'll have seen a ghost or somethin! As the Queen of The Ring, I need to hear noise, I need to hear some goddamn' soul shinin' through! See me? Do I look terrified? Hell no! Because you see," she would point to Kanae, "As the Queen of the ring, I don't give a damn who ya' are. I'm fixin' to serve anyone who steps up a cold can of whoop-ass!"

Turning to the crowd once more, Natasha stepped forward, calling out to the crowd to rile them up even more, to raise their spirits up.

"Now, y'all can quiver and shake there in the crowds like a bunch of pussies or you can make some goddamn noise! And that's the bottom line, because Natasha Miller said so!"

Offering the best Stone Cold impression she could offer, Natasha threw the microphone off into the crowd, turning to face Kanae entirely, a wide grin crossing her face. Bold and braggadocious though she was, it wasn't as if she was expecting to pull some victory out of her behind'. According to public information, she was a newly appointed captain, a warrior from the past era of soul reapers. At best, she went in with the hope she could land a few good blows, and give it her all.

Forming Roxanne and Casanova within her hands, Natasha settled into an offensive stance. Forget any of that first move business. From the desert eagle and pistol in her hand, she loosed a volley of reishi bullets toward the woman with impeccable speed and clockwork accuracy, darting around her to distort her sense of balance. She wasn't going to wait to feel her out, or anything of the sort. It was pure aggression from beginning to end.

Kanae watched the performative entrance of her opponent and felt a mixture of repulsion and secondhand embarrassment. Not only was this woman putting on a loathsome show to get the crowd excited, but she was doing so loudly with a microphone. A single bead of sweat comically formed on one of Kanae's temples as she contemplated her own choices that had led her here. "Nauseating..."

Interestingly the Quincy wanted to put on a display for the audience, but allowed her opponent no time to introduce herself. Kanae wasn't bothered by this as it seemed everyone already knew her identity, and going for the first blood was smart by this Natasha Miller anyway. So far Kanae's spiritual sensing ability was reading this Quincy as being below what Gotei Vice Captains typically clock in at, though her experience in battle meant she knew that may not be entirely accurate. Some foes do their best to hide their true power, after all.

Lets butcher this little rat, Kanae! Alas, she knew she must fight her and Tosatsusha's first instinct to tear Natasha limb from limb. Instead Kanae read the woman's movements and spiritual presence and used Flash Step to deftly dodge her projectile attacks. She refrained even from drawing her own weapon and just kept swerving and sidestepping the barrage of energy blasts coming from Natasha. All the while she followed the Quincy's movements like a predator, slowly making her way closer to her intended prey. Then, in a flash Kanae relocated to about ten feet behind Natasha and stood facing perpendicular from her, facing the crowd instead of her opponent.

Kanae addressed her foe for the first time, speaking too quietly for anyone in the stands but loud enough for Natasha hear "It is at this moment I deeply regret we did not do enough to ensure your kind's extinction"

Consecutive Heilig Pfiel bullets missed the mark entirely as Kanae danced between each of them with relative ease. As expected, her initial attack was unsuccessful. She avoided that field of fire like it was nothing. The high-speed movement was impressive. She certainly was a captain through and through. However, she hadn't received a single counter - no, to be more appropriate the woman hadn't even engaged her in an exchange yet. She was standing ten meters away, her back faced towards the woman. A power move, huh? Well, she would've viewed the act as flexing until she casually uttered that callous comment.

The execution of their kind, huh? She was going on about that Quincy spiel in the past some of the ancient soul reapers liked to go on about, or perhaps to put it more accurately, the specific kind of men and women who despised the Quincy in their world. Phew, this was supposed to be a ceremony for Shinigami and Quincy to get along, and this is the first opponent she gets? Scary... Oh well. Battle was a battle. After hyping up the crowd, she'd be a hypocrite to be perturbed by ominous words. If she was aiming for a rise, it wasn't working. Natasha whistled as she deftly placed one of Star and Stripe's seven bullets within her chamber.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, honey, but all that genocide mumbo jumbo ain't gonna work on me'."

Without hesitation, she fired the bullet in a particularly meticulous trajectory, firing off another wave of bullets to follow along its path.

"But, if ya' wanna stop mid-match, that's just a free hit' or two for me."

"Interesting. It sure worked on your ancestors, little Quincy~." taunted Kanae as she broke into Flash Stepping again. This time instead of just dodging as well as she could, Kanae allowed Natasha's projectiles to get nice and close to her body before deftly side-stepping, like a slap in the face to the Quincy. With an entire war's experience of dodging Quincy attacks, she found this fight so far to be a pleasant reminder of the first genocide of their kind.

As the wave of energy attacks continued Kanae launched herself into the air acrobatically. She leaped over Natasha and landed behind her again, continuing her cycle of dodging and taunting "Little Quincy, you're just going to tire yourself out like that. Are you sure you want to lose without managing to land a single hit on me? Oh, that won't make for a very good show at all!" Her words seemed accurate enough as the crowd remained a library, though whether they were in awe at the display or unimpressed would be difficult to tell this far away. "Surely the Vandenreich can offer up more than...this? spat Kanae, disdain dripping from her voice venomously.

"Nah, don't worry. I haven't even shown my full hand yet. Kinda' hard to justify it when all my opponent does is mock me thinkin' I'll let it get under my skin. As far as I'm concerned, yer not' even worth a drop o' piss in a bucket."

This lady was really trying to get a rise out of her, huh? The initial wave welcomed the same result as before, but Natasha was by no means a one-trick pony. She knew the woman was particularly fast on her feet, and as far as she was concerned, only capable of running off at the mouth with insults. This, too, suited her just fine. One particular beauty of Star & Stripe's function was that each of the seven bullets were the equivalent of a spirit weapon to her, capable of using the ambient reishi in the air to replenish and change course on the fly. Natasha's voice was vibrantly playful, a stark contrast to Kanae's venomous tone.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words from a looney won't ever hurt me."

Natasha casually remained in her position, deftly sliding another Star-Stripe bullet into Casanova's chamber, the act appearing so swift one might as well consider it another reishi bullet. Appearing to wave her hand dismissively, an onlooker may have assumed it was merely a way of playing up her taunt, but--- a bullet came roaring back toward her from earlier, aiming right for her neck.

"Ya' really should be payin' attention, sweetheart."

You've had your fun Kanae, now butcher this little ant. Coat me in her blood~. The thought was incredibly tempting to Kanae, but from what she understood going for a kill could spell consequences due to complex magic woven into the arena. Not to mention it probably would not reflect well on her as a Captain. Just thinking about the restrictions she lived with began to anger Kanae. For a woman who sought the freedom to live and kill as she pleases, current circumstances were a prison.

Kanae was well aware one of Natasha's projectiles was changing direction and following her. So the one she puts into that strange weapon has unique properties she surmised. Though not familiar with whatever those odd miniature bows are Natasha is using, their shape and mechanics perplexing to a woman who was imprisoned long before the invention of firearms, she knew what Quincies do and that would be enough.

Using her spiritual energy sensing ability, Kanae was able to track the unique bullet and decided it was time to stop playing with her prey. The instant it came within her reach Kanae rapidly drew her Zanpakuto and slashed through it. In the same motion she replaced her weapon back in its holder, denoting one of her signature iaido attacks. "Does your arrogance know no bounds, little Quincy?"

"Me? Arrogant? Ya' got me pegged all wrong, Miss Nagoshi. I'm just trying to put on a show for the crowd. Yer' the one who keeps duckin' and weavin' about. If anything, I'd say yer the one stiflin' my flow'. Impressive swordsmanship there, though. The good ol' draw and slash is pretty cool."

For her part, Natasha wasn't particularly fazed that her S&S and bullet had been sliced in half. Judging from the way she cut it down, she probably developed an idea of how her her spirit weapon's mechanics were. Of course, part of a good strategy was not revealing one's hand entirely. The bullet chopped cleanly and half began to replenish reishi instantaneously, rapidly returning to its original shape. At that moment, Natasha decided to get serious on her end.

She was realistically going to lose her. As much as she detested it, she wasn't anywhere within the realm of a warrior who could defeat a captain, not without some form of assistance on her end. She would have to grow stronger, keep on improving, tapping into her skills until her efforts bore fruit. For now, that was fine. She simply wanted to get under this woman's skin, and land a few good hits in. She's a fossil from the old age, so she probably won't expect her next salvo.

Quincy were no longer simply archers, and Natasha wanted to land a good haymaker on that ugly mug of hers'! Propelling herself forward through the high-speed moment afforded by Hirenkyaku, Natasha bolted forward swinging her arm toward her in preparation for uppercut, dropping one one of the guns in her hand, allowing it to dissipate into reishi. At the same time, she fired another Star-Stripe Bullet, using her arm as a guide for the weapon to race toward the woman in hot pursuit. And, of course, that also meant...

The bullet once felled now rose up to answer its masters call as she dropped the other gun, swinging at her neck from the left. Subsequently, the bullet from before came racing in from her Kanae's left. Two strikes, two bullets. It was time to put the pedal to the medal.

It seems this woman was bent on continuing on with the same tricks. Maybe she just doesn't have anything else up her sleeves pondered Kanae as she observed Natasha chamber and fire another one of those odd projectiles. In addition, she could sense the first one gathering power once again. Flies buzzing around me...

With a bullet racing towards her on either side and a Quincy's fist coming head on, Kanae calmly deconstructed the situation in her head. Even if one of the energy shots managed to hit her, she figured, it probably wouldn't do much damage given the gap in their power. However, being hit by anything at this point would be considered a minor victory for this Quincy, and Kanae just could not allow that. "I'll show you the difference between us, little Quincy."

Kanae stood stoically as a statue as the bullets neared her. They would reach her shortly before Natasha, giving the Captain ample opportunity to deal with them first. In one motion she stepped to her right and drew her Zanpakuto again. Following that she flourished her blade and caught one of the projectiles and manipulated its trajectory by allowing it to run along the flat edge of the sword. By exerting her own spiritual power she could restrict it from moving away from her weapon until the very last second. Continuing in one smooth motion Kanae tilted her Zanpakuto and aimed the bullet directly for the other coming at her on her left side, causing them to collide midair.

Without waiting to see if there would be any kind of explosion or aftermath, Kanae rushed forward and viciously swung her Zanpakuto at Natasha's midsection. Much to Tosatsusha's chagrin, this would not result in Natasha being bisected as it was the weapon's dull side Kanae aimed at the Quincy. Perhaps not a clean cut, but she figured the internal bruising would be enough to keep the woman bedridden for a while if it landed. Afterward Kanae came to a halt a dozen feet or so behind her foe and replaced her Zanpakuto in its holder again. By striking at the woman while rushing past her, she could avoid the straightforward punch simultaneously. "Filthy Quincy. Learn your place."

"Bring it on."

She really was playing right into her hand so far. It wasn't an all-out assault by any stretch of the term, but Natasha wasn't aiming to fight her on that front. By and large, a victory here was wishful thinking. She already concluded that. A moral victory, though? Against a woman like this, she could allow herself the indulgence. She stood in place waiting for two of Star & Stripe bullets to race toward her, and that suited Natasha just fine. It meant that she would constantly avoid taking a hit just to prove her superiority over a filthy quincy.

Another spirit weapon bullet of a nature much like the first two formed within her hand. Far from perturbed that one of her little guys had been manipulated and thrown toward the next, Natasha controlled the trajectory of one of them by swinging her arm, allowing the bullet under her command to avoid the one Kanae had utilized to deflect it. So as long as Natasha was free to move her arms, she could ensure the two of them would never collide. That was the beauty of her spirit weapon. Meticulous deception.

Now that it was no longer under Kanae's momentary constriction, she motioned her other arm around, controlling the momentum of the first in tandem with the second, maintaining her focus as the woman rushed to meet her head-on. It was so imperceptibly fast that she almost caught her off guard, especially considering she had surrendered her fist toward its charge, but Natasha utilized blut vene to mitigate some of the damage as the blunt edge of that blade collided with her gut.

Her blut was rather porous, but she was simply going to have to push through. Grimacing softly, she maintained her charge as she formed a platform of reishi in the air, kicking off of it to keep her momentum in constant rotation. Don't stop. Take the pain. She can't win the way she wants, but she'll damn sure win the way she desires.

"For a disgustin' Quincy, I'd say I'm doin' pretty good keepin' you on yer' feet. Keep runnin!' Can't see why the crowd was intimidated by someone who won't face me head-on!"

During her flight through the air, she reposition herself from above, kicking off of another platform to soar in with an impeccable source of momentum on her side, flying toward the woman from her left. From above, those reoccurring star bullets roared through the air once again, their target not in doubt, though this time they came packaged with even more reishi than before, feeding off of every reishi that could be utilized in an environment like this.

Natasha swung her fist forward as though she were aiming to repeat the same technique from before, to feign predictability, only for her to release the star stripe bullet from her hand, utilizing it as a makeshift explosive at the last moment. If successful, this would force the woman to pick her poison. Two bullets from above, the other shooting right toward her, packaged with a lil' surprise.

She could keep on doing this for a while. Her reishi absorption was top-notch, and her spirit weapon manipulation while leaving something to be desired merited enough attention to be a small threat in tandem. Of course, she really wanted to get a good hit in or two on her, and make her regret simply not going for the source. Forming another spellcraft firearm, courtesy of Gunplay, an assault rifle materialized within Natasha's arms --- Starpacker. If she thought that was all she had to deal with, she was sorely mistaken. Battle was a gamble, and it was never a safe bet to reveal your entire hand.