Raise Your Spirits [Murasaki, Erika]

Oh, wow. Murasaki had definitely been ready for an attack from Erika, but that'd been more than she expected. Looked like she was definitely spot on about her getting stronger. Murasaki was able to mitigate most of the impact simply by moving with it, her natural speed carrying her along, but it was still quite impressive as she skidded along the ground and stabilized herself on both feet.

"Well, ya definitely picked up a few tricks, hmmmm?"

Shaking her hair out, Murasaki maintained her chipper smile, quite excited to see what else Erika had in store for her when she arrived once more. Of course, she had more than a few tricks up her own sleeve, and she spoke quickly and confidently, no hesitation at all as she called out to her zanpakuto.

"Trace n' Flash, Keifu and Hakusenkō!"

A dual release of both shikai, made so quickly and easily that it hardly seemed any different from a single release. Of course, that was simply a sign of her mastery, that she was well beyond what most shinigami were capable of. Her whole body vibrated with the energy of her father's shikai, while Keifu's released blade sat in wait, ready for the first strike it made against Erika.

"Have I?"

She didn't think that she'd got any stronger since she left, there was no purpose to getting stronger and only to use her abilities in new ways. Erika's eyebrow moved just a little bit at the release of two zanpakuto. It was a little surprising for her to watch, how many shinigami could wield two unique zanpakuto?

"Nice trick, but can you do this?"

Erika tapped her foot. A total of ten different katana with distinct designs circling her. Had she not just compared Murasaki's Gotei to her Gotei? Then she'd make this a little more symbolic for her. She'd make the blade maiden fight against every single zanpakuto that she'd witnessed of the Captain's that she'd known four-hundred years ago to the best of her ability.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura. Reduce All of Creation to Ashes, Ryujin Jakka. Shoot To Kill, Shinso."

Three of the ten blades changing to reflect their purpose "one-thousand flower petals", "fire" and "striking snake". Poor imitations really except for the fact that Erika was trying to overwhelm Murasaki with a lot of hollow projections rather than the genuine article. The air around her had become surrounded in the cherry blossom blades, ablaze due to being coated in the fire of the blazing sword to her left. The last one was the choice of Erika picking up her attempt at Shinso, the wakizashi for her katana in the other hand.

"Beat my Gokkotōryū and I'll become your Vice-Captain."

Now this was something she definitely hadn't expected, even from someone as skilled as Erika. It was one thing to replicate a zanpakuto, but one as powerful as Ryujin Jakka? Murasaki smiled all the wider, cracking her neck and studying the blades Erika had called to aid her.

"Alrighty. The least I can do is try 'n match 'em. Manmaioroshi."

Each of the ten Murasaki that existed on account of Hakusenko's release readied and slashed with their blades at much the same time, performing ten simultaneous Senmaioroshi with the finesse to meet every individual flower petal around her. Could she have simply flexed her spiritual pressure, or ignored them altogether? Maybe, but this wasn't about raw power. She wasn't here to beat Erika, she was here to beat her technique, and she was here to send a message.

If she had to compete with the old Gotei, she would do everything she could to be better.

To deflect a thousand flaming petal-blades with nothing but a zanjutsu technqiue? That did make her imagine how such a move would compete with Byakuya Kuchiki himself. No, it was just impressive. Few could be able to achieve that level of ability to compete with the raw utility of Byakuya's absolute offence and defence that Senbonzakura provided but this was not simply Sebonzakura.

"Fall. O' Flaming Flower Petals."

She called out, the blade next to her burning harder until it became so hot that it extinguished itself and nothing but a useless scorched thing remained buried in the ground. The petal-like blades burned harder as they fell out of the air and Erika took two of the most powerful swords that she had conjured to be used in a final combination of her Gokkotōryū techniques.

These flaming flowers turned the whole area around them so hot that it would cause some sweating, the air became dry and the very grass that they were standing on caught fire to become a raging blaze.

Two down but she had plenty more swords to use and answer this woman.

Her wakizashi - Shinso - came up and extended at absurd speeds that made it seem almost instantaneous to the furthest Murasaki, attempting to impale her and swing the sword in an arc in front of her to sweep up every other one in the fiery haze. Were they afterimages, clones or all the same? She considered for a moment if hurting one would hurt every Murasaki or if they could take damage and die without the true one being hurt.

She did not know but Erika wasn't going to hold back. She was the Captain-Commander and she'd prove right here if she earned the right to be called as such by her.

Murasaki knew this was an impressive technique, and her expression was one that made such an opinion very clear. After all, she did respect Erika a whole lot, and even if she lost here, this was something she was perfectly glad to see. The sweltering heat, the flames covering the earth around them, all of it was astounding as an expression of Erika's skill.

Of course, in a way, none of it was half as impressive as the sheer speed that Shinso displayed as its blade shot forward. Even to Murasaki, a woman who had refined her propensity for speed to one of the peaks in Soul Society, Shinso was quick enough to still cut through her arm as it passed, and at the very same moment every Murasaki's arm was cut in the same way. After all, she was simply moving fast, not manifesting any more of herself. But she wasn't nearly slow enough to be hit by the swing that followed the stab, and she avoided it quite effortlessly before all ten of her selves moved with the full potential of their speed toward Erika.

Right left, front, back, even above. At this level of speed, every angle of approach could be covered simultaneously, and Murasaki was fully prepared. She'd learned far more than just ways to release her zanpakuto, after all.

"Ikkyou Issen."

It was a technique that, even with all of Murasaki's mastery, was still something she had been aiming to refine, to perfect. But if she wanted to show Erika that she would give her all, that she would strive to surpass everything before her, then she had no choice but to utilize it all. Ten flash steps, all crossing past Erika in the blink of an eye. Ten simultaneous Senmaioroshi, all executed in the single moment of those steps.

Erika smirked at the proof that Shinso gave her, they were just afterimages after all which made it much easier for her. Still, there was no time to bask in triumph. Her hand didn't even need to grab one of the swords next to her since it was the one that she was holding from the get-go but there was no way to do the flashy release phrase like she could for the others. It was all just done to make Murasaki aware of what she was fighting.

"Irooni... Murasaki."

The spell that was on her katana that she had started with shed away to reveal that it appeared as one of Katen Kyokotsu's blades and frankly it was going to be her trump card by hiding it, especially because someone like Kyoraku's zanpakuto was simply too versatile and flexible to properly imitate. Sure, it was easy to make a sword based around "child games" but the specifics were so hard given his own unpreditable nature.

Murasaki's choice of attire and her own consisted of no purple but it was the only way that she could feasibly imagine surviving this attack in hindsight. The sword was thrown away while she turned around to look at Murasaki with cuts and wounds all over her body, not as deep as they should be but a testament to what would likely have been total eviseration from Murasaki had it not been weakened so drastically by emulating Irooni.

"Well, there goes that. I had hoped to use Katen Kyokotsu to beat you."

She reached down to pick up the next sword and wield it alongside Shinso.

"Cry, Suzumushi."

Erika knew next to nothing about this besides what she'd heard about it, all she had heard from rumours is that it created a vibration to induce unconsciousness through the vibrating blade and so that's the extent of what this one was. A single use attack to try and overwhelm Murasaki's senses and make her pass out.

"Woah. Now that's somethin' special, Erika."

She meant that, very genuinely. To her, being able to emulate such an ability was a testament to Erika's skill, at a level that Murasaki wasn't sure she'd ever really be able to express in a way Erika might believe. Well, that was okay. As long as she told her, right? But if Erika wanted to show her this much, Murasaki knew she ought to not hold back, either, and as Suzumushi's dreadful vibration cried through the air, Murasaki took a deep breath, focusing on her father and her own stability. His shikai wasn't that useful, and this ability from Erika had only made it that much less worthwhile, but that was fine.

"Bankai. Keifu Bunki. Hakusenkō Jitsumyōbai."

It had been one thing to release two shikai at the same time. But Murasaki didn't consider that something in and of itself remarkable, at least not when she was so known for her mastery of zanjutsu. What she'd never dared to even mention, however, was her effort in pursuing the simultaneous release of two bankai. Bringing Keifu's blade upward, she tapped it against Hakusenkō, the blade beginning to vibrate at a speed well beyond what Murasaki herself had been not a moment before. The whole of the area filled with its own unworldly, eerie hum, the very reishi in the air shaking alongside the blade as it thrummed and shook until it couldn't even be seen in her hand. If that was what Erika wished to bring forward, Murasaki would certainly match her.

And then, Murasaki simply lept forward once more, slashing downward against the woman who she knew was still testing her.

It was incredibly difficult to focus when she heard that awful hum fill the air, even against her own mental fortitude. If she hadn't spent so long of her life trying to achieve perfect focus with her swordsmanship then it would probably have her collapse and start vomitting with this dreadful sound but for the moment she was doing alright.

"How fitting that a traitor's blade would be useless."

She remarked while throwing away Suzumushi so that it landed a few metres away, blade in the dirt. She remembered where it was if she needed it later and was pushed over there but as nothing more than a sword to wield, it's abilities proved useless against Murasaki in particular.

"Hyorinmaru."

Much the same as Ryujin Jakka, one of the remaining blades next to her froze over nearby but as she tried to manipulate the water in the air that she froze it became more and more apparent that this woman's bankai and its vibrating nature made the ice form awkwardly - unstable and fragile as it couldn't form against Murasaki. Another useless sword it seemed and so she stopped trying to use it.

Her hand brought up the wakizashi to block, while grabbing a sword and jumping back to leave the ring that she'd stayed so fondly in this whole time. Erika needed distance from Murasaki while she planned but she knew the sword that she'd grabbed out of instinct was the worst possible choice and yet the best.

It was the one she could trust to be the best one to use in this situation, the sword of Aizen's successor since she refused to ever try and emulate that wretched man's zanpakuto, it was the sword of a woman who'd become Captain Commander and be one of Murasaki's predecessors. It was her mother's sword and that's why it was the worst choice. She knew this sword far better than any of the others, fought beside it and against it many times in training.

That was why she did not call the name of it, raising up her hand with Shinso to make it launch at Murasaki again from the distance. Push her away, regain her advantage and try and get access to the other swords again rather than be stuck out here with the last sword that she wanted to use against Murasaki.

As Erika did her best to keep her distance, Murasaki in turn maintained the offensive, her masterful speed and grace doing a great deal for her prowess without even factoring in her mastery of the zanpakuto itself. She was one of the greatest users of two blades, and she knew that the best approach when using two blades was to maintain offense at any cost--

Oh, man, but that was really good defense, and the usage of Shinso did indeed keep Murasaki more at bay than she'd have liked. It wasn't effortless to simply deflect every strike, especially not when they moved so quickly, and she had to rely on her footwork more than her mastery of the blade. The other sword in Erika's hand was an enigma, and that in itself made Murasaki keep an eye on it. If she didn't pay attention, it could easily be deadly.

"You're good on defense, ya know that? I don't think most people could handle me coming at them this quick."

Of course, Murasaki would be lying if she said she was going all out. After all, she was a woman whose true "all out" demanded a willngness to kill her opponent, to destroy them at the deepest possible level and leave nothing but a memory. She couldn't do that to Erika, but even ignoring Musonzai, she wasn't willing to go right to her final trump card. Not yet.

Instead, she simply dashed into the fray once more, willing to meet Erika on her terms, in the circle of swords that gave her such an edge up. After all, she was testing out a prospective Vice Captain. She shouldn't go easy. It was one thing to attack with a blade at Murasaki's speed, but another thing entirely to do it with Hakusenkō Jitsumyōbai. Could Erika handle a blade that she couldn't see? That was worth finding out.

"Tch."

She found it so much more difficult, Murasaki's speed was troublesome and she was achieving a higher state of power because of that bankai release. Erika grit her teeth while deciding to meet the clash, she launched forward and let out a sigh while dragging out the most of her power, Sayadoji. The Sakakai that pulled on the full extent of her soul to be torn and forced to put her into a higher state of power; her closest ability that might touch into the realm of bankai.

Feet left the ground while she flew towards Murasaki, she dropped Shinso while reaching up and grabbing the air in front of her, sizing up where Murasaki's blade should be rather than wasting time to try and block the invisible blade. She'd dealt with enough blades and used enough swords without visible blades to decide the best course of action was to just grab it and get it out of the way so that Erika could try and impale Murasaki's shoulder with Tsubaki's sealed katana and stop the hand wielding Keifu from retaliating.

It was a reckless move, the kind that earned her the nickname of Suicidal Devil. Erika wasn't afraid of putting her body at risk to win, even less so when her body was like metal. It was ironic how very similar Sayadoji was to Sōtsume Kōshin's bankai.