A Deeper Perspective [Open]

TAGS; - here NOTES; - Sekai no Hametsu Uses - 1/2 WORDS; - here MUSE; - Feel Invincible

Damned if you do and damned if you don't... That was the only way Shura could think of her situation. Attacking into the wall would undoubtedly at least cause damage to it... but she would also be injured from it as well. However Shura had little idea of how difficult it'd be to get through the wall and, without any idea of how Mizu's Shikai worked in whole it'd be a fools errand to attack entirely recklessly. So rather than waste energy and potentially become injured for naught, and against what she might consider a better decision, she halted her attack inches from the spikes before swiftly using her Shunpo to move backwards.

Now... Shura was in a difficult spot. She had two options to deal with these barriers of Mizu's, the much more unlikely option of Kido, or use her Bankai, which had not only abilities that would allow her to get around these barriers, but more importantly the strength to shatter them. Most everyone within her squad knew her stance on kido, but that wasn't to say it wasn't known she knew some basic kido at least, she had passed the Kido exams in the Academy after all. While that meant she wasn't known for particularly high level kido, she did know some kido.

So with few choices Shura lowered her axe in one hand, her other hand extended palm out her thumb cupped over her palm. "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hadō no Sanjyuichi, Shakkahō " Shura wondered if Mizu would allow for the full Shakkaho to be chanted and cast, as a practitioner of such arts she had hoped she would. However, there was little stopping her from dropping her wall and going on the offensive while Shura chanted... Or perhaps Mizu would retaliate in kind with her own Kido, to see whose Kido would win.

Techniques:

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

TAGS; - here NOTES; - Sekai no Hametsu Uses - 1/2 WORDS; - here MUSE; - Dancing Mad

Admittedly... Her Kido was more a bluff than anything, if she was wanting to do a serious attempt at it, that'd require doing something she wasn't about to do in the middle of Soul Society. However the call that Mizu put towards her bluff wasn't exactly what she had been expecting. Of course her incantation had given Mizu time to set herself up, and the fact the shards that had been sent towards her dropped suddenly was yet further indication that Mizu was setting up for something... powerful.

She knew by now that Mizu was exceptionally skilled at Kido, yet she did not expect a level of Kido that was almost exclusively reserved for those of her calibur... Sōren Sōkatsui. When it began to form Shura had almost immediately dropped her own incantation and Hadō, forfeiting it entirely. As it roared outwards and surged towards her, she was left with one of two options... with only one being the preferred choice. She could rather swiftly erect a defense that would be more than strong enough to defend against the Hadō, yet such a tactic would risk what she was so adamantly trying to conceal. The other?


In an almost instinctual reaction from Shura, her swelling Reiatsu was soon the only indication of what she had just done. She would not challenge Mizu's Hadō with her own Kido, rather she'd challenge it with the same strength that had served her so well in the past. Holding both of her axes now in front of her she aimed to split the incoming Hadō, and while this did mean she wouldn't take the entire brunt of the attack it did not mean she would escape unscathed.

The sides of her arms were not just singed, but covered in scorch marks of the lightning that sizzled past her form. Shura may have had a rather exceptional understanding of Kido, but the way Mizu employed it was entirely foreign to her and by the time she ripped the axes sideways to cut through the Hadō and free herself from it the damage to her body was as clear as day. Alongside the scorch marks on her arms, her Shihakasho was ripped and jagged lines where the electricity coursed through her were evidence enough of the damage she'd sustained. However even if that wasn't enough, the heavy breathing of Shura showed how much the Hadō had done to her.

Electricity still sparked across her form even now as she stared up at Mizu, a bloodthirst in her eyes that wasn't there previously. "Excellent... This is what I needed..." She muttered to herself, before pulling one arm back shortly before throwing it towards Mizu. Shura would wait until it was within about 5 meters of Mizu before her entire form vanished, reappearing behind Mizu, the other axe raised in the air for only a brief moment before it was dragged down in a rapid descent with but a single word uttered.


If Mizu was to use one of the strongest Kido available, then Shura would return the power in kind.

Techniques:

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

TAGS; - here NOTES; - Sekai no Hametsu Uses - 1/2 WORDS; - here MUSE; - Dancing Mad

Her attack did in fact make landfall, just not where she had wanted it too. However it wasn't entirely unexpected, and the cracks that formed were evidence enough for Shura that it wasn't a full-proof defense. As Shura readied herself for another strike however the cracks continued to spread, and not wanting to take any chances given what she'd already shown herself to be capable of Shura made a swift exit away from Mizu.

Turns out it was a good decision, as the shell shattered and sent sharp tiny projectiles flying in almost every direction. While each were small in nature, they were numerous as well, and even with her Shunpo the number of them did ensure they would strike Shura in some capacity. However that was not the main intent of the shards, and though numerous the cuts they inflicted were hardly severe or life threatening on their own. Most of her Shihakashou had been sliced quite heavily, and the numerous cuts that lined her body were telltale signs of where she was struck which... admittedly was everywhere at this point.

However as Mizu spoke Shura's attention was not on her, but rather on her Zanpakuto and its movements... It would seem the intent of the previous assault was not in fact to actually hit Shura but rather to setup for the real attack. Feints were nothing new to Shura, however at the same time each feint was different in nature. At the flick of Mizu's Zanpakuto, each shard would shatter until the already numerous amounts of tiny blades were yet more numerous. The only sign they were still visible being the light that reflected off of them, however this was enough to tell Shura most of what she needed to know... Being hit would be a very poor idea.

As Shura flickered from her spot with a Shunpo she uttered but a few soft words "Bakudo no Nijyuroku, Kyokkō", Her form and Reiatsu would vanish from sight and sense, though this didn't mean she couldn't still be hit. Rather it was meant to be used to escape the trail of the amethyst-hued attack at least for the moment. However even if this succeeded against Mizu it wasn't as if she escaped unscathed, nor did she think it would fool the Kido-expert for long.

Shura knew she had to act fast, while the Bakudo hid her it was a relatively low-level Bakudo, and aside from the Kido that Mizu knew her Bankai could likely fill the area relatively quickly even if she decided not to use any counter-kido. The one thing Shura wasn't sure about was exactly how the movement of her blades were handled, and so in an effort to learn exactly how she would launch a second Kido from the left of Mizu.

"By the crackling force of mystic might, Inverted triangle of power, take flight. From three points of origin, converge and bind, In perfect union, our foe shall find, Imprisoned by this spell's command, Bakudo no Sanjyu; Shitotsu Sansen"

She was unsure of exactly how far she'd get within her incantation before the Kyokkō would vanish, however with any luck she'd be able to unleash the Bakudo before Mizu could formulate an appropriate response. Of course, this was mostly because she had a desire to see how Mizu's bankai worked... If her Bankai required her to move the Zanpakuto to command the shards, a binding Kido could work well in at least slowing her down.

Techniques:

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

NOTES; - Sekai no Hametsu Uses - 1/2; Tenbatsu Duration: 3 Posts MUSE; - Dancing Mad

Mental control... That was what she deduced to be the most likely method of control, which meant stopping their movement or disrupting it was going to be significantly more difficult than Shura had hoped. Additionally while the injuries weren't life threatening let alone crippling, their multitude proved to be more than enough to compensate for it. Sure she'd unleashed her Kido, but Shura's body was left with enough cuts as to be clearly visible and not only be more than simply superficial but painful as well... like thousands of tiny papercuts all over her body. It was a type of pain that wasn't like the norm for combat.

However, expert as always in the arts of Kido Mizu utilized it to block the binding kido, however when the shards moved to form what seemed like a tunnel towards her her eyes began to narrow. When she realized what was coming, her time to react was short... and admittedly she wasn't entirely sure if she could dodge without getting at least clipped by the Hadō. So rather than make the attempt to dodge, Shura waited... until she was sure that Mizu's vision of her was obscured by the release of her Kido. She knew if she didn't there was a chance that not only could those watching from beyond the barrier notice, but MIzu would likely notice as well. She had to be precise about her timing, the smallest delay would result in her still being clipped... while speaking it too quickly would give the chance for others to notice the casting. Either way she knew that Mizu would more than likely know something was up by the end of things. "Seal the Void, Bakudo no Hachijyuichi, Danku"

So as Shura spoke the words, the thin, almost transparent barrier rapidly formed in front of her, taking the blow and causing the two kido's to clash in a rather violent way. However before the smoke and dust would settle the Danku was dismissed, allowing Shura to be revealed with her left arm raised in front of her and clearly freshly charred. Shura was... delayed in her formation of the Danku. She hoped at the very least that the delay would make it more difficult to realize what she'd done given their distance, though her arm had taken quite the blow in the process. It was becoming increasingly more clear that, in a match up against Mizu's Kido... Shura would either have to expose herself... or resort to more... drastic measures. Strangely enough, Hakaishin was silent. He normally chimed in at this point, urging her forward... and yet he was quiet... no matter.

Shura stretched out her charred left arm to the side, gripping tightly one of the two battle axes, her right arm beginning to spin the other around its chain. For the first few moments there was a strange, almost eerie calm that resonated between the two before... an explosion of power.

Techniques:

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

NOTES; - Sekai no Hametsu Uses - 1/2; Tenbatsu Duration: 2 Posts MUSE; - Dancing Mad

Mizu confirmed what Shura had hoped happened, that she did not see what Shura had done... Good. The less that knew, the better. But as Shura spun the axe in her left hand by its chain, Mizu returned the display in kind with her own before filling the area with Byakurai's... interesting. She knew the strength of such kido, it wasn't so much its power that was to be feared but the speed at which it moved, and with the increasing speed and veritable light show that was on display it made movement difficult.

However Shura wasn't going to be deterred by this alone, and instead simply smirked at what was presented. In a way, it reminded her of the technique that Metatron had used at the end of their fight, filling the area with so many attacks as to be nearly unavoidable without extreme precision. So Shura would use this as a chance to practice avoiding such things while closing in on her target. So as she threw herself forward she didn't so much keep her eyes out for the bouncing Byakurai as she did her ears, following them at such speeds with her eyes would be next to impossible if not impossible itself, however listening for where they were headed could give her an inkling as to where they'd bounce. This did prove fruitful at least in some respects, however though she her Shunpo managed to avoid the first three it wasn't as if it was entirely on purpose... Rather where she moved too was simply lucky enough to not be in the immediate line of another, giving her the chance to use her Shunpo again.

However when her third Shunpo ended, she had gained some ground towards Mizu and rather than immediately initiating a fourth Shunpo to try and close the distance further, she flung the spinning axe in her hand towards Mizu. This proved to potentially be a bad idea however as a sharp pain surged through her right leg as one of the many Byakurai shot through her calf, causing her to let out a pained grunt and to clench her teeth together. But would her gamble pay off?

Techniques:

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