Big Cat Hunting [Kanae, Igendai]

CAPTAIN NAGOSHI KANAE

What's his problem? Kanae wasn't sure the cause of Igendai's peculiar reaction, and tilted her head ever so slightly out of impatient confusion. She watched in silence as he moved on and began gathering and condensing energy in his hands. The reason Kanae just stood there, not interrupting what could prove a dangerous attack, was because in her mind there was nothing this little man could do to threaten her. Not with a thousand more years of training, certainly not today. So completely was Kanae confident in the gap between them she turned her head and covered her mouth in a fake, mocking yawn, as if to say This is putting me to sleep.

What finally captured Kanae's attention was Igen choosing to eat the energy as part of a healing spell, something she recognized when he called out the word "Kaido". She was reminded of her own use of Kaido to deal with injuries she sustains in battle. Kanae was actually proud of the fact she had never, not once used Kaido on another person; only herself. It appeared Igen also uses healing magic in that way, though she doubted he was smart enough to keep it for himself if push comes to shove.

Sparks flew between them as Kanae swung her weapon to meet Igen's drill-shaped carapace covering his arm and fist. She was surprised by the renewed vigor and strength with which the Third Seat lunged at her. Typically Kaido can only recover a person to their normal combat strength, but she was able to discern the function of his spell as condensing energy to use in a shorter period of time, like chugging a glass of water instead of sipping. "Hmph. So, you're not entirely out of tricks Igendai Gyakusuma."

Now knowing he is plenty capable of keeping himself healed from otherwise significant injuries, it was time to ramp things up further in her eyes. Kanae stepped backward once and put her sword away, then stepped forward again and turned her hips as she drew and swung her Zanpakuto, using skill and power to swipe at Igen with tremendous precision and force. Accompanying the slash were droplets of acid aimed at his frozen wings, caustic enough to immediately begin eating through the ice and energy. Her goal was not to seriously harm Igen with this burning liquid though, no her acid was merely meant to distract as she rapidly twisted her body in a reverse cartwheel and extended her foot to strike his chin with bone- and tooth-shattering strength.

MURDER QUEEN | END POST

That explosive connect caused a loud crackle of air between the two as Igen's body slammed into Kanae's, that blade sparking as ythey Connected, and in the very same instant, those black stripes spilled between the two of them, coiling around that blocking blade to stab into the woman's chest and wrists, followed by that wave of Cold Reiryoku exploding outward, gushing ice out across the length of Kanae's blade. So that when Kanae stepped back between the two of them, Igen's brows raised, and he braced himself. That icy aura coiling around himself along with those stripes.

The solid connect of the slash against his defenses shook his whole body, his expression twisting into a grimace as thin lines burned through those stripes, that absolute defense chewed up by the potency of that acid, making him wince slightly as that sprinkling of droplets ate into his Shikai, His Shunko hissing as the acid connected with the energy, only to be flung to the ground as Igen skidded back. Honestly the distraction was unnecessary. Reeling from that strike, that sudden cartwheel was executed with such sudden speed and potency that he wasn't even able to follow it. Her foot connecting violently with his chin, gritting his teeth and HISSING, what would have fractured his jaw instead was endured as that healing energy pumped through his body, immediately mending the lines that threatened to lance across his bone structure, but of course it didn't spare him the force making his head snap back, and had he not chowed down on that condensed Reiryoku, he probably would have been sent spiraling into the ground to be knocked out.
BE wasn't quite sure if that was a blessing or a curse!

All the same, skidding back from the blow, those stripes trailed the attack and lanced out, attempting to stab out in some parting strikes as he staggered back. As much progress as he'd made? The release of her zanpaku'to had erased any hope he had of matching her. She was too fast for him to properly react to. She was strong enough that even these simple strikes were grueling. HE was fighting with everything he had just to keep up with her leisurely Shikai. And not only that? But he was gassing himself to do so. He was feeling a buzz of energy thanks to the Kaido, but he knew he didn't have much energy left.

Nothing left to do but wrap it up with a bang!

A flashed grin coursed along his lips as he raised his hand up, his hand clasping around an unseen collection of reiryoku, reaching toward the sky.

"Art of Binding Level Sixty Two." HE croaked out, his voice strained from the kick he'd taken to his face moments before, a slim staff of energy forming in his hand, in the very same moment that his Shikai unwound from his body. Abandoning protecting his body as they extended, like dozens of tails from his lower back and spine, coiling into the air, before the air suddenly buzzed. That Bar of Bakudao multiplying in an instant, Filling the Air. Under normal circumstances, the Bakudo would fill the air with binding staves which would then fly in a barrage toward the target. But their target was directly infront of Igen, and so instead, Kanae was simpyl surrounded by seemindly hundreds of spears of energy, all pointed in her direction. . "Hyapporankan!"


And with the very last of that high density energy, and as much of his own reiryoku as he could muster, he lunged toward the woman. Those dozens of bakudo spears pummeling in from her back and sides as well as those dozens of black bladed tails lancing toward her from the front, and at the very front of that assault, Shunko coiled around his fist, ice creeping a,long his knuckles into a sharp point, aiming to punch straight into the center of the woman as the rest of those attacks pummeled her from all sides. One last gambit intended to try and make some sort of mark on the woman before this spar ended.

CAPTAIN NAGOSHI KANAE

Kanae was robbed of a swift victory as Igendai was not left as a heap on the ground from her thunderous kick to his chin. Even as he was sent reeling, he managed to strike out at her with those dastardly black stripes, leading Kanae to flick her wrist repeatedly to parry the blows with her drawn Zanpakuto. The creeping ice Igen had intended to cover her weapon with was rapidly burned through by the acid still lining its blade, and though the Third Seat had managed to open cuts on the backs of her hands, Kanae left their latest collision with minimal injuries.

As Igen made clear his intention to use a Kido spell, Kanae tucked her weapon back into its holder and kept her hand hovering barely a centimeter off its hilt. She stood stock-still as her challenger prepared his spell, along with what Kanae figured would be another assault by his strange stripe weapons. She watched in almost slow motion as first a few, then dozens, then a hundred Hyapporankan pillars formed around her, black stripes shot forward to strike at her, and then Igen himself lunged forward with an energy-enhanced punch. A small grin appeared on Kanae's face as her fingers closed around Tosatsusha's hilt.

Dantōdai Koroshi - Sazaeta (断頭台殺し 刻餌食, Guillotine Beheading - Minced Feed)

In a blink of an eye, Kanae rapidly drew and slashed with her acid-laced Zanpakuto myriad times, and in every direction around her. Arcs of caustic green acid were flung through the air at not only the many Bakudo pillars surrounding her, but the strikes as well. Within range of her Zanpakuto, all would be diced and consumed by her acid. So many were her slashes that a sphere of green liquid seemed to be formed around her, a caustic shell against Igen's attacks that would struggle to find purchase through it.

Kanae would never be satisfied with merely repelling this upstart's assault. She pivoted mid-swing of her weapon by putting it away and stepping forward with her right foot. She used this step to catapult herself forward with a blisteringly quick Flash Step to and past Igendai. In the course of sling-shotting past him, Kanae drew and slashed with her Zanpakuto one final time, it's acid-covered edge aimed to cleave through the Third Seat's side between two of his ribs. Against another foe this may prove a step beyond what's suitable for a spar; but Igen had proven his resilience to Kanae time and time again.

A pained expression contorted Kanae's face as she remained facing away from Igen, sword still drawn and extended from her as if she were in the middle of slashing the air. She had committed to the same maneuver she'd used against that bastard Arkin, and the chunk of ice covering her shoulder stood as proof. In the process of striking at Igen, she had sustained a considerable blow to her own body. Pain consumed her frozen shoulder, which was certainly dislocated, which was only elevated when Kanae put her Zanpakuto away, crushed the ice with her now-free hand, and forced the joint back into its socket through gritted teeth.

MURDER QUEEN | END POST

Well there was nothing he could do about that. He could barely even see that pure blur of motion happening before his eyes as each and every one of those spears was all but obliterated, shattering those lengths of Reiryoku before suddenly the Captain sped past him.

truth be told, he might have been in awe if he had actually been able to track what was happening. He had a brief semblance of what was happening, that she had somehow repelled his attack, and suddenly she was gone. The sensation of heat across his chest as that blade slid clean through his ribs, a sudden spurt of blood in that fraction of an instant, filling his lung with blood as he collapsed onto one kneed, coughing up a hot mouthful of blood before clamping his hand over his chest! He didn't have the energy to do much. It was only the residual energy of Shinju Kyōen that bled into that wound, sealing the internal damage and stopping the bleeding. But even so, he nearly collapsed on the spot from the pain of getting his chest sliced open, spitting out blood and putting on a shaky smile as he hissed, remnants of acid burning. The only benefit he had was that the move was so fast that there was almost no acid left behind in the strike, that dull ember of energy closing the wound up, barely, as Igen gasped for air, a soft whistle as air wheezed through the cut in his chest. Having had enough energy to seal the bleeding, but not to close the wound completely.

It was horrifically painful, but he was still alive. And slowly, he managed to shakily get up to his feet, coughing up blood and putting on a lopsided smile, hand clutching at his side before his Zanpaku'to's stripes suddenly wove over his wound, sealing it up until finally his breathing became regular.

"Okay....whew....went a little ....far there. Sorry I wasn't much of a challenge Captain. I think ..I need a trip to Second Division." He chuckled sheepishly.

CAPTAIN NAGOSHI KANAE

The pressure weighing down on the Fourth Division's training grounds like a lake of malice suddenly dispersed as Kanae sealed and put away her Zanpakuto. This bout was over. Her final attack had put Igendai to the coals, rendering him visibly shaken and unable to continue, which became apparent when she turned to face him again. Perhaps she had gone too far, she considered for only a moment before deciding she didn't actually care either way. Especially not now, with pain still coursing through her shoulder and arm.

What was evident to Kanae was despite the clear and vast canyon between their abilities, the First Division had a capable soldier as its Third Seat. Comparing Igen to her own Third Seat, Shura, he was likely inferior in her estimation; but capable nonetheless. Especially with that strange energy freezing technique of his. Kanae briefly considering prying the details of it out every ragged breath he gasped, but believed such an investigation beneath her.

In typical fashion, Kanae was as ice cold as Igen's Shunkō in responding to him "If someone like you provided a challenge to someone like me, I wouldn't be worth the Haori upon my shoulders." After a moment of silence Kanae waved off Igen and continued on "Go, away with you. Recover and grow stronger. See if you will provide a challenge then, Igendai Gyakusuma."

MURDER QUEEN | END POST

That icy reception thawed on Igen's smile, as if he simply didn't even hear that cold, calllous response to his apology. And even so, he stood up, shakily as it were, and tose to his full height to give a soft chuckle. "OF course! Thank you very much for this bout Captain. And I will! I admit, I knew you were strong, but it was still pretty wild seeing just by how much. Actually, that was my first time using Shunko in battle, so I did a lot better than I figured. I couldn't have asked for a better opponent to get a feel for it." He noted softly, offering a gentle smile, and no doubt a rather interesting tidbit:

Namely that that Icy attack he'd shown her? Was beyond new for him. And that what she had faced was that technique in it's most weak, new, and unrefined form. And of course, name fropping the ability itself. But all the same, Igen winced and clutched a bit at his ribs, still being cheld closed by his Shikai. And with a soft bow of his head, offering his respects to his opponent, he promptly turned and began to head off to the nearest Second Division station. Yea, as soon as he was able to, he was going to pass the fuck out.