A Gaze That Invited Disaster (Shura/Yuuto)

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She certainly knew the rudimentary basics of Shuradō, the fact her name was apart of it honestly was what had brought her to the style in the first place. That being said, she never truly looked into it, especially once she'd abandoned it during her academy days. So it was somewhat refreshing to hear more about it now that she was long out of the academy, and more importantly in far more control of her aggression.

That being said, it wasn't that Shura wasn't paying attention to what Yuuto was saying or doing... Far from it in fact. Her eyes had never left the man's form, never dropping ones guard was something she learned very quickly working for her Father as the Head of Security. Rather, the mere speed at which Yuuto moved was what ultimately led to her rather late and comparatively slow response. By the time Yuuto's sword had stopped, Shura's arm had barely come half way up her torso in a failed attempt to block.

She wasn't surprised by his speed, she knew he was exceedingly fast... yet despite keeping a trained and honed eye on his every movement, her reaction speed was barely fast enough to even be considered close to acceptable when compared. To say that her shock was written on her face would be quite an apt thing, yet... there was something else there too, something she didn't know how to name, something that she hadn't felt in an extremely long time... fear. True Fear. With his speed, Yuuto could've easily cut someone even as strong as she was down before they would even realize he had moved.

But such was the power of the Gotei's nuke, it wasn't just his strength or Zanpakuto that made him such... it was his speed above all else. But even if she didn't know what that feeling was, it hardly mattered to Shura if she couldn't name what it was. No she instead refocused herself as the sword was returned to his side and he continued speaking.

Admittedly, she couldn't exactly say that she hadn't been on that very path for power, throwing everything away just to have it, and while his speed hadn't surprised her, what did surprise her was his final words. "Teach me? Shuradō?" Sure it had nearly gotten her expelled... But who was going to do that now? Truth be told those teaching the Academy at this point were unlikely to even compare against her full might, and with her very name within the style. For awhile now she had been feeling like something was missing, like her power was being held back by something yet she couldn't place what.

She'd had her Bankai for a very long time now, yet despite having attained it, it hadn't grown an ounce in power despite her growing in strength quite considerably since. But this? This felt... right, this felt exhilarating. "Yeah... Yeah I think I'd like that quite a lot actually, I'd say everything about me has grown quite a bit since my days at the academy, control most of all."

Techniques in Use:

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

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He wanted to see if she still knew the basics of Shurado, of which she did though it was mostly a vague haze by now. Even so, she'd seen the stance he took so she knew she could copy it at least, though beyond that he had moved so quickly that she hadn't even seen his strike coming, let alone how it was performed. Even so she nodded to him, taking a few steps back before taking in a deep breath and clearing her mind. Upon opening her eyes, she brought her Zanpakuto up and gripped the hilt with both hands in a firm but not tense grasp.

It was a basic premise of kendo to use both hands, striking with both meant your attack would be significantly stronger and was partially, she believed, why her Shikai was such a large Battle Axe. Such a weapon required both hands to wield properly, using only one would make it more ineffective than just using her sealed Zanpakuto. Shura moved her left and right foot appropriately, placing the left in front of the right before locking her eyes on Yuuto once more.

Admittedly the last time she'd put this much effort and thought into the particulars of her stance were back in the academy, doing so afterwards was such an after-thought when fighting in the 11th Division that she'd barely practiced it even then.

Techniques in Use:

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

TAGS; - here NOTES; - here WORDS; - here MUSE; - here

Admittedly? Part of her felt very foolish for this whole thing taking place, however it wasn't enough foolishness to make her feel like she couldn't at least maintain her pride and/or dignity. That being said, it did feel awfully familiar... especially as Yuuto began to instruct her, almost like she was back in the academy first learning to 'properly' wield a sword.

So she did as instructed, tilting the sword slightly higher and refocusing her feet, letting her body lean ever-so-slightly more forward than previously. Her eyes focusing in on Yuuto as he retook his own stance and replicated the previous motion he had done, though this time completing the motion before her. She shifted ever-so-slightly on her feet, to maintain their positioning mostly as she listened to his instructions. When she was told to try it for herself, she gave a single nod.

The easiest way to add more force to a strike was a downwards strike, allowing the natural force of gravity to aid in momentum. Normally air resistance would act as something of a stop-gap, to reduce the amount of force one could attain, however this was thankfully a non-existent problem for the Kurata. So with another moments preparation she moved, bringing the blade upwards as she advanced before bringing it down in one single swift strike.

However she anticipated Yuuto moving to block, and in that instance prepared to use that same force to lift herself off the ground and translate that momentum to the rest of her body, to swing herself above Yuuto and behind him for a swift kick to the back.

Techniques in Use:

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

TAGS; - here NOTES; - here WORDS; - here MUSE; - here

Just as she expected, his block was lightning fast and last moment. But her predictions didn't go beyond that, which... hindsights 20/20. Like a slow motion moment in a movie, his body did another lightning fast movement, twisting itself to both dodge and deflect the kick. But more than that, push her forward in that same direction. Even had she attempted to correct course and swing for another strike, thoughts of such nature were silenced when she felt the sudden and sharp blow to her stomach that sent her flying.

That was when he spoke up again, but such words were already in the process of being thought out by Shura. The force at which she was thrown away was unfortunately too much for a proper turnabout like she might've wanted too, however digging her sword and feet into the ground let her slow to a stop before she'd of otherwise been able too. It was naught but the blink of an eye that she remained still however, the brief stance she'd taken was one that was hunched over much like an Olympic runner might moments before they took off, and in the same vein when she took off it was a burst of speed that she brought with her, carving through the ground beneath her with her blade as she swung it upwards.

Her tensed muscles bringing forth all the strength she could bring to bear, each foot only touching the ground for but a fraction of a second and her body kept low to the ground to reduce the drag that was placed upon her from the air resistance around her. To help aid in her momentum, her body began to twirl itself about but always ensuring to be kept as small and straight as possible to reduce as much air resistance as she could. Her first set of spins finishing just as she got to Yuuto and brought her blade upwards. Her intent was to strike at such an angle and speed that bringing a blade to block would be difficult, wanting to force Yuuto to dodge away and let her carry that momentum forward into the next four assaults of her Raijin no Senko, each strike coming at a different angle yet each following after a brief spin to build more and more momentum.

Techniques in Use:

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

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Each of his movements was calculated, just as she'd expected. Never did he move more nor less than what was needed to dodge or parry with the precise amount of energy and movement required to do such. This was the level of skill one could... nay, should expect of a Captain. To expect anything less than that was to underestimate them, even if you were among the Gotei yourself. It was a level of skill and technique that Shura strived for... no not strived for, what she strived to overwhelm. She didn't simply want to be among the best in the Gotei, she wanted to BE the best. She wanted to stand at a level with no equal, to stand as the one above all creation.

However as he offered the final parry to break her stance, it would not simply mean the end of her assault, only a brief pause in it. It was unlikely that Yuuto wouldn't realize what was about to happen from the almost immediate build-up of Reiatsu that was released almost at the same moment it was built up, there was no time for words if she wanted to win, and with a single, swift swipe upwards of her blade she aimed to not only clash against the blade that was pointed towards her chest, but knock it away as she spoke.


With her release, there was almost no time wasted before her follow-up came with her released Zanpakuto coming crashing down.


Whether she could read his mind and knew what he was about to say, or if she was simply following previously mentioned instructions, could be anyone's guess. However, she was intent on not allowing Yuuto time to do anything except respond to her. If he wished to keep talking while he did so or if he wished to skip the talk was of no importance to her, only to keep pushing until she was forced to stop. To that end, whether he dodged or parried the Girochin, she'd push forward with another spinning upwards slash.

Techniques in Use:

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