Seaside Fight Night: Rio vs. Alastair

This is a no-holds-barred match to knock out, concession, or disqualification. The arena is assumed to be sufficiently sized for combat, a 25m square raised pavilion inside of a larger 100m square field. Outside of this 100m square field is a 10m buffer zone for the purposes of ring-out. Beyond this buffer zone is a barrier erected by the Gotei Captains Kuchiki and Urahara, so assume it can withstand all but the most absolutely extreme destruction. Combatants will begin the match each on one corner of the raised pavilion.

A reminder that breaking any of these rules is grounds for immediate disqualification:
1. Anyone who leaves the boundaries of the ring is disqualified.
2. Injuring or involving spectators in the match is grounds for immediate disqualification.
3. Killing blows are strictly forbidden.

Breaking these rules will result in a combatant being immediately rendered unconscious by way of Binding Contract with Albedochiffren Director Kishar.

In the left corner: Scion of the Shihoin Family, Rio Shihoin.

In the right corner: Administrator of the Vandenreich's Sternritter, Alastair Eisfluch.

In spite of occupying no official position in the Gotei quite yet, Rio was exceedingly grateful to be granted the opportunity to participate in this event. As she made her way through the entryway leading into the arena, the Shihoin could hear the roaring applause from a distance. Come to think of it, this would truly be her first time fighting with so many eyes watching her. Compared to trying to prove herself in the eyes of her family, this felt far more exciting. It seemed to come with less pressure, too. As a whole, Rio wasn't really aiming to prove anything.

Her Shihoin pride would tell you she had proved herself several times over, but where was the fun in that? She would be cheating the crowd out of a good show if she simply chose to go at the affair with half-hearted intentions. No, her approach was to go in as if she wanted to win. As a form of respect to those who attended and the opponent, she is destined to face in the next moment. Stepping into the pavilion, an expression of awe would paint the woman's ebony features as she gazed at the raucously cheering crowd. Some were cheering for the Vandenreich, others the Gotei. What a sight to behold. The bright and colorful lights were equally captivating.

Once she stepped into the pagoda fully, Rio approached the crimson-haired administrator of the Vandenreich, bowing before him with all the class of a proud noble. Creating a bit of distance as she held her zanpakuto at her side, Rio smiled softly.

"Rio Shihoin. Scion of the Shihoin Family. It is a pleasure to meet you, Alastair. Let us put on a show for the crowd, shall we? If you don't mind, I'd like to make the first move."

Rio could hardly contain herself, and under normal circumstances, she would have certainly allowed the crimson-haired male to act first. But, the moment he prepares himself is the moment she will strike.

Alastair did not enjoy all the fanfare that came with this tournament. He was not one to put on displays of his martial prowess for strangers, nor did he thrive on stage or crave the validation of public admiration. But this was a means to an end, all of it, so he had offered to participate for the sake of furthering the goals of the Vandenreich. That was all the motivation he ever needed. There was nothing he had to prove to anyone, not in the arena anyway.

Yet his walk out into the stadium was met with the loudest of cheers that he could have imagined. The man who had once been a faceless cog in a much greater machine was a little less so, perhaps. They cheered for his opponent too - Rio Shihoin if the sheet had been correct. He had worked with her family before, in a limited capacity. That was hardly an advantage, given that his interactions with Yugiri had been notably brief, but it gave him a little insight into what to potentially expect from his opponent.

"Alastair Eisfluch, Sternritter Administrator of the Vandenreich. The pleasure is mine, Ms Shihoin."

He bowed too, taking his position across the platform for her, though a smile did not grace his features quite yet. After all, one should not be smiling when there were lives on the line. That was not very heroic of him though, and the thought did linger in his mind as the bow of Falke formed in his free hand.

"You may begin whenever you are ready. Though I will likely strike the first blow."

"Oho? Well, then, I do enjoy the confidence, Alastair. Let's see what you're made of."

Rio was overwhelmingly excited, even though her current state of composure told a different tale. She had never engaged in combat with a quincy before. She certainly knew of their history and the way they operated in battle, but no more than that. Was he a ranged fighter? Did he thrive in close-combat? Or was it, perhaps, a mixture of both? Excitement pulsed, a grin lined her lips, and Rio submerged herself within the loud cheers of the crowd, allowing it to resonate through her spirits. To start, she would test Alastair's reflexes by vanishing and reappearing in his direct atmosphere, swinging her first towards his chest. It was an elementary strike at best, and she didn't doubt for a moment that this administrator could evade. Quite simply, the shihoin woman wanted to feel things out.

The speed at which his opponent crossed the distance between them was indeed quite frightening. The amount of ground covered was certainly impressive in its own right, but the boldness of the action spoke loudly too. Still, it was a direct attack and one that was all too predictable. As soon as she vanished, Alastair was already moving of his own volition and trusting in his instincts. He sidestepped neatly, a single pace stretching out over a distance of several meters as he employed a Hirenkyaku to keep himself mobile, and then he brought Falke to bear.

Styled as a shortbow, this incarnation of his weapon allowed for easier handling in close-range encounters compared to the larger and more devastating bows favoured for engagements at range. Three arrows were loosed back at his opponent, none trying to do anything fancy but staggered enough that they might intercept her should she choose to dash straight up to him again.

They were both testing the waters for now, nothing outlandish being thrown out, but it was only a matter of time before they would need to up the intensity. Alastair could tell that much already. This was going to be a good fight, so perhaps he should allow himself to loosen up a bit.

"Impressive..."

As she expected, Alastair evaded her rudimentary strike by shifting his body several meters away from the position she had desired to occupy. His swift evasion was followed up with three arrows that peppered her skin, intercepting the route she contemplating taking in a follow-up. The arrows weren't particularly staggering, but they singed her skin a bit. A soft grin lined the ebony woman's lips as she shifted her feet forward, kicking off with her right to catch Alastair at unawares, foregoing the use of shunpo altogether. Like a bullet loosed from the chamber of a gun, Rio roared towards Alastair again, executing a multidirectional array of strikes. A
right fist towards his solar plexus, a left fist towards his face, and a leg sweeping in to distort his balance. There was little elementary action this time. He was an administrator, after all. There was no need to feel him out anymore. She couldn't discern whether he was more archer than hand-to-hand combatant, but she'd certainly test the waters and press the offensive until he convinced her otherwise.

Once more Rio was on top of Alastair, launching herself into close range without a care for the volley that had come her way. Powering through his attacks was brazen, but it appeared his opponent was tough enough that a few minor blows would not fell her. A myriad of blows followed in the blink of an eye, but this time the Administrator did not evade. Standing his ground, his form shifted only in that he turned slightly to present her with more of his profile than remaining head-on, whilst his bow rose to block the first of the fists.

The top half of the frame dissipated on the impact, seeming to absorb the force of the blow before finally giving way, whilst the lower half slowly began to reform into that of a blade. Rio's second strike found no such opposition, though, and sailed past Alastair's guard to strike him as intended. Her skill and speed were quite ferocious, and his skull rung at the force of the impact, so it was likely the Blut Vene pumping through him that kept him conscious. Then the kick came in last and connected with his front leg too, though his stance did not falter yet.

There was a momentary flinch from the impacts before Alastair rocked forwards to respond, his downward pointed sword thrusting towards Rio's outstretched leg as it retreated from the attack on his legs. Springing into action, the rest of his body turned using his front leg as an axis and a wild haymaker came soaring toward Rio's gut with his free hand.

Alastair proved ably efficient in deflecting her flurry of strikes, matching the Shihoin pace for pace with his bow. From her point of view, he certainly seemed to share a likewise resilience for battle as her leg sweep was met with resistance, his body remaining upright as he executed a downward strike with his former bow, now fashioned into a sword, towards her outstretched leg, though that hardly signified the end of the counter as he shifted his body forward in one fierce stride, springing in with a well-timed haymaker towards her gut.

"Guh!?"

What an impressive sequence of movements, and from an archer no less! Evidenced by the grin lining her lips, Rio was impressed with his approach so far. He wasn't afraid of engaging her in direct confrontation, earning the Shihoin's approval without confirming it through words. Shooting a hand forward, Rio would attempt to grab Alastair by his arm, swinging her free leg towards him in preparation for fierce roundhouse kick. Rather than trying to go for successive blows, Rio decided to approach the battle with more decisive blows. Whether Blut Vene or a natural durability cultivated over his entire life, Rio was going to offer her best to push him to his limit!

That Rio did not even attempt to deflect was certainly daring of her, Alastair mused as his blade sliced downwards before he swung in to connect with his punch. That surprised him too, but the woman was not all too fazed beyond her gasp of exasperation. The fight continued as Rio looked to return with more blows, and so he had to wager who would give up first. Confidence weighed against practicality as she latched onto his outstretched arm and went for a wild kick, and so he resisted the urge to flee. He was not the type who ran from confrontation.

Letting go of his weapon, the blade remaining in place for now, his newly freed arm went across his body to block her leg and try to hold her in place. The power of the kick was enough to still push through and connect, though the opposing force made it more like a blunted blow than a decisive one, and then Alastair simply shoved back in an attempt to bowl them both other and take the match to the ground. His grappling game was hardly exquisite, but if he could shake her free then that might give him a fresh avenue to attack.

His strength alone might have been lacklustre in delivering upon this objective, and so Rio would soon notice that the Quincy was beginning to heat up. Not in the sense that he was working hard, but rather that his skin was quite literally becoming hot to touch. For a woman of her impressive toughness, it would hardly be prohibitive to their current brawl, but there was a definitive burst of power from Alastair as orange wings seemed to burst from his back and now bathed them both in a luminous glow.

For a Quincy, Alastair certainly knew how to hold his own close-quarter combat. Each counter seemed as though he was well-equipped, prepared even, for each of her strikes. Of course, by her own admission, these weren't precise or pinpointed strikes. They weren't even Hakuda by most standards, but that mattered little. He handled all of them pretty well. Even now, after her kick was deflected, he was attempting to bowl the two of them over, but such a tactic was met with some level of resistance as a graceful smile caressed the woman's lips.

She wasn't what one would often consider a battle maniac or anything close to it, but this was developing into something exciting. Of course, in the same sequence, she felt a burning sensation in her hands as she maintained her grip on the crimson-haired quincy. His skin was, quite literally, heating up. Orange wings spread forth as the two warriors were cast in that radiant glow.

To be sure, nothing about their current engagement was quite flashy, but Rio quite enjoyed the idea of testing a warrior's mettle, and Alastair was of no exception. So far, he was certainly proving that he was up to task. She aimed to push him back with her own physical strength even as she felt the heat burning the palms of her hand. He wasn't going to peel her off that easy. She was playing with fire, to be certain, but if Alastair wanted to earn that avenue of attack, he was going to have to turn up the heat.