Re: Prelude Of Showdown [Open/Noharu/Ranma]

Mon Aug 28, 2023 4:51 pm

TAGS; - here NOTES; - here WORDS; - here MUSE; - Dancing Mad - FFXIV

Given the type of wounds she'd suffered, Shura didn't pass up on the healing offered to herself. A blade through the stomach and a gash on her shoulder weren't the typical wounds one expected to have after a simple training session, however when it came to training sessions with Shura those were things that most who had previously trained with her had come to expect.

Her attention had turned to the newcomer who offered praise towards Ranma as she was approached and was asked a rather simple question. "My reasoning?" She asked, turning her attention for a brief moment towards Ranma "To put simply; because we are not yet prepared for the threats that now face us." She said, the previous smirk she had when she was battling having now faded to a more neutral expression.

"Ranma shows potential, however..." She closed her eyes and shook her head "Potential alone is wasted on the majority of Shinigami for they are not trained and shown how to reach it. So to answer your question in full; I am here to gauge whether or not this squad has the capabilities to be of assistance in the next fight... or if they will merely get in the way and need to remain on the sidelines."

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

Tue Aug 29, 2023 5:34 am

Prelude Of Showdown [Open/Noharu/Ranma] - Page 3 DyxMvAe

RANMA GEKIRETSU

… Holy shit, she actually withdrew her Shikai. Ranma was slightly flabbergasted – then again, he didn’t even know that much about Shura, so… had he tired her out? No, that couldn’t be it – she didn’t look like someone who just tired out.

Speaking of… he was on the ground, wasn’t he? When did he fall? Was it a moment ago, after asking her for that beer break? Shit was wilding.

He was very grateful for her hand and helped himself back up, stumbling on his feet a bit even as he let go again. According to Shura, he did some damage to her – and him not being fully asleep right now was impressive as well. He could still stand, though… almost-

Ah, what would he do without his Squad fellows? He loved this place. He deeply thanked them all for the support, for his body craved a helping hand and all the strong drinks he could get to numb the pain. That was when the 3rd Seat of Squad 8 came to congratulate him, prompting him to move his sore neck and turn his half-burned face at her direction, with several of his mouth’s bandages flaking down. “Noharu… d-damn, I must’ve put on quite a show. Is getting my ass beat around that entertaining, ‘cause… it’s kinda becoming a habit, and I don’t like it,” he admitted with a dry giggle.

“S-Shit, if Squad 2 sees me right after yesterday-“ Oh, thank the heavens that Squad 8 had a Kaida practitioner too, which saved Ranma the embarrassment of frequenting Squad 2’s place less than 24 hours after last time. “… Ay, Noharu, I fucking love this Squad. We should totally toast to this later!”

Shura brought out a more serious matter… stating that he had potential, but that it was likely to be wasted akin to a majority of Shinigamis around – at least, according to her. She also brought up a ‘next fight’, which Ranma had… confusing thoughts about. It must’ve been connected to why he hadn’t visited Earth recently.

But he had potential, huh? It wouldn’t hurt to make a powerful Shinigami out of it – he could already imagine plenty of valor and inspirational strength born from his ability to survive lethal wounds due to earth-shattering recklessness… oh, and Hōkamaru too.

But now, he withdrew along with his supportive Squad members, mumbling about where the hell his gourd was.

END POST | EXIT

[/quote

Tue Aug 29, 2023 6:07 am

Prelude Of Showdown [Open/Noharu/Ranma] - Page 3 HEADER__panty_panty_stocking_with_garterbelt_drawn_by_kudou_90n__18e7ecb260f4e6d2745dbc0d1e4b7cf6

Noharu cast a glance back toward Ranma and canted her head to the side, a smile flashing across her face as she let her hands rest on her hips. "Hell yea, Bro you got your shit FUCKED. Was awesome! Did a little shit fuckin yourself too from what I saw. Good hustle. And you can Bet your Bandages we're gonna have a toast. A non-alcoholic one for you till your wounds heal up, buster." her manner of speaking shifted wildly. The moment she shifted from professional demeanor to something... Else. To Shura it might be Jarring, but Ranma had probably at least heard of it, if not witnessed it himself. That when it came to things outside of her duties? Noharu had a pretty filthy mouth and a very relaxed mannerism about her, and was prone to phrase things in a bit of an outlandish way. Which made her a bit of a pariah to some of the more reserved types, but an enormous hit with a lot of those from the outter districts of the Rukongai. She definitely had that Area 50+ mannerism about her sometimes.

Turning her attention back to Shura, Noharu raised her brows a little and folded her arms as she considered the statement. "Ah right. Shura Kurata. Third seat of Fourth Division. I remember seeing you during the Africa Ambush. You and some girl from Seventh made quite a showing. And you showed off some rather fancy and interesting moves if I recall"

Of course Noharu had been present during the battle. And while she herself had been occupied with a number of opponents and working throughout the battlefield, she, and MANY others, no doubt, had certainly taken notice of Shura and Lerna's opponent. As well as the means with which Shura had managed to contend with such a monster. Though mostly in bits and pieces. After all, there had been a LOT of fights that drew attention. So at the very least, shura might rest easy knowing that there were probably very few who had had their FULL attention on her fight the whole time.

"Still. Potential is a tricky subject. Some of the strongest Shinigami I know took quite a while to get where they were. And some rising stars cerainly have gotten to where they were in a pretty short time. If I remember correctly, you yourself have been around quite a while Shura. Ranma here has only popped up ..pfff say in the last hundred years? And Captain Kishimoto only barely graduated from the Academy in the last year or so Potential takes all kinds of different paces when it comes to reaching it."

A pause as she folded her arms and tilted her head just ever so slightly. "So. You satisfied with our Boy here Ranma, or you still lookin to test some more people?" She ventured with a calm smile.

Tue Aug 29, 2023 9:02 am

TAGS; - here NOTES; - here WORDS; - here MUSE; - Dancing Mad - FFXIV

It was unsurprising that Noharu knew both her name and 'rank' within her Squad, nor unsurprising that she was known during the fighting within Africa. "My Bankai is hardly interesting, of all Bankai's mine is one of the most uninteresting and straightforward that exist. Even Lerna's Shikai is more interesting and impressive than my Bankai." She had a feeling she knew what Noharu was speaking about, however refused to acknowledge what it was she was likely referring too.

Noharu then went on to make a comment on the potential that Shura had spoken of previously, and she wasn't entirely wrong either. Of all the time she'd spent within the Gotei she saw the potential of many and she saw how quickly or slowly many Shinigami reached their potential... and many Shinigami who never did. "I have indeed been around for a long time, since the Gotei 13 in fact. First hand have I seen the rise and fall of many-a-shinigami, with potential and without. Hitsuguya Toshiro is the fastest known Shinigami to reach his potential. As for Kishimoto Elyss, she has never reached her potential and given her track record never will."

Her first and so far only true interaction with Elyss didn't exactly go pleasantly, and Shura's thoughts about her weren't exactly sparkling with adoration. "If we're speaking in earnest, based off what I have seen of Ranma, if we are attacked tomorrow Squad 8 would only be a hindrance to the cause. However judging the performance and training of a squad on a single unseated officer would be naught but a fools choice, so unless more of the 8ths unseated officers wish to fight me I would need to fight someone of a significantly higher stature."

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

Tue Aug 29, 2023 4:03 pm

Noharu quirked a brow slightly at that, but didn't really push the issue. Especially not with the rest of the stuff that Shura was talking about. She honestly only sortof knew Elyss, and frankly she had no particular feelings about the woman. She was .....certainly a unique student. But she had no real interaction with the woman more recently, so she had no feelings one way or the other. Though it was certainly an interesting assertion to make.

"Well I certainly wish you luck. But if you don't mind me asking, is all of this hooplah you're talking about actually something you're interested in? Or do you just wanna have people to fight?" She ventured calmly enough. After all, why else go making a claim that Eighth Division wouldn't be any use in an attack? Especially with Shura even admitting that she had a pretty poor sample of having only rumbled with an unseated member. The woman was clearly trying to egg them on, which had Noharu a little curious.

Tue Aug 29, 2023 4:46 pm

TAGS; - here NOTES; - here WORDS; - here MUSE; - Dancing Mad - FFXIV

"If my aim was simply to have someone to fight, I have an entire squad already of eager combatants at my disposal within the Fourth." She said simply and rather bluntly, turning her gaze to fully meet Noharu now "The Eighth is not the only Division I have sent a message too, I have sent one to every division including the First. Each exactly identical with the only exception being the division to be addressed."

She gave a slight pause before continuing "My aim is the same for each division, Our Captain's are all powerful in their own right I would never discount them, as are our Vice Captains. However as one who has experienced first hand the strength of the elites of our enemies, should we leave this enemy to just our Captains and Vice Captains, the Gotei will fail in keeping them out of Soul Society, and though I am sure our 'illustrious' Captain-Commander could fend off the entire onslaught of our enemy single handedly, you'll have to forgive me if I don't exactly trust her to come to the Gotei's aid until most of our forces are decimated. She certainly seemed not too when we were being beaten back on the actual battlefield."

Admittedly... her recent battle had quite soured her view of their Captain-Commander Murasaki, and such venom was evident in her tone when she referred to her as 'illustrious' for sure. Shura was by no means trying to insult Murasaki, however it was rather evident just from her tone that she didn't exactly have much love for the woman.

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

Tue Aug 29, 2023 6:14 pm

"So, you want to test the gotei's ability to function without their Captains and Vice Captains?" A pause as she let a hand rest on her hip as she tried to parse what i was that the woman wanted. So she had an issue with not enough Captains beign involved with the ambush? It was more or less an ambush at the time, hardly a planned operation. But even so perhaps that was giving this woman a bit too much credit as to how she was thinking this through. If this was a concern on that level, she'd just bring the concern up with her Captain or the Commander herself. Instead she was out here on the ground testing the lower ranks, as if to presume that her argument would not be heard. Which, fair. Still.

"I certainly appreciate your moxy, don't get me wrong. But I suppose I'm just trying to follow the logic on your methods. So let's say that you go ahead and identify which squads wouldn't be a help in the coming conflict. What exactly will you be doing with that information?"

Tue Aug 29, 2023 7:56 pm

TAGS; - here NOTES; - here WORDS; - here MUSE; - Dancing Mad - FFXIV

"What would I do?" A good question to be sure, one that very few had bothered to actually even consider, and fewer still bothered to actually ask. "Those that show promise in their potential to be of assistance would be shown a proper way to train in a short amount of time to attain as many Bankai's as possible, and those with Bankai and those who achieve it quickly would then be taught how to train said Bankai to a point of viability within a fight. The rest..."

She paused for what might seem to be a suitably dramatic time before speaking again "Would be referred to their Captain's and the Captain-Commander to be placed on supportive duties, such as pulling the injured out of battle and defeating the grunts that the enemy sends at us, with those of a suitable strength, such as ones who've fully mastered their Shikai, to the command of such units. Whether this advice would be heeded I cannot say nor do I earnestly care. When the time comes for the true battle against our foe, The fourth will stop at absolutely nothing to crush them in one fell swoop. Regardless of who gets in our way."

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

Tue Aug 29, 2023 8:18 pm

Noharu paid very close attention to what Shura was saying. Her brows knitting together for a moment, and she even began to lean in just a little, as if to ensure she was hearing the woman correctly as they laid out their plans. Which, started out a bit rough. she had to say. However, as the explanation continued on, she leaned back and folded her arms over her chest as she took a moment to digest everything that had been said to her.

"So you think that we should pour resources into trying to incite Bankai in individuals with the most potential. And that anyone who is not bankai capable be given support duties, headed by individuals with the most potency with Shikai." She murmured, lightly scratching the back of her head before furrowing her brows.

"Miss Kurata, that's Cross-eyed retarded. Didn't you just say you were around for the Original Gotei Thirteen? And I'm going to take a wild guess and say you were still in the combat division. Which means you served under kenpachi, whom by this little system of yours, would have been delegated to support duties. Even Academy students are instructed that Zanjutsu is merely one of the four pillars of a competent shinigami. Not only that, but a Zanpaku'to isn't just something you can incite by putting more effort and resources into it. I mean, surely you can't be under the impression that Zanjutsu is the sole deciding factor of someone's worth?"

Tue Aug 29, 2023 8:30 pm

TAGS; - here NOTES; - here WORDS; - here MUSE; - Dancing Mad - FFXIV

Shura didn't so much as flinch at the response, waiting for the woman to finish her entire statement in full before responding in kind "Correct, Zaraki Kenpachi would be one whom I'd recommend be relegated to supportive duties. Outside of select cases within Kido none save for those capable of Bankai can hope to match the strength of our enemies. As far as Kido is concerned, none save those capable of replicating at least 60s and above level kido on a consistent and regular basis should be allowed on the front lines. While I will admit that had this event occurred within my tenure within Zaraki Kenpachi's Division I would cast aside the very notion of Bankai being useful in this battle let alone relegating one such as my former Captain to the sidelines, my time within the 4th of the Gotei United as well as achieving my own Bankai has changed my perspective quite drastically."

As she said that she held up a her index finger "The enemy I faced with Lerna was capable of not just surviving my Bankai, one whose sole focus is utter destruction, but blocked it with such ease you would think I had only just achieved it and had no prior training in it. As if I knew nothing about its capabilities." Shura then lifted her middle finger "It simultaneously took on both myself and Lerna who is, in her own right, a very competent and powerful warrior, however lacked a Bankai or at the very least refused to utilize it during the fight thereby making it pointless." With that, she raised a third finger "The enemy I fought was merely an elite of their army, not their leader. My Captain, Nagoshi Kanae, fought the leader and brought him to a stalemate whilst utilizing what I can only assume to be her Bankai given the amount of Reiatsu she was releasing."

After that she raised a fourth finger "I was able to barely retreat, having to carry Lerna out due to the damage she had suffered." With that she extended her fifth and final appendage, her thumb. "With all of that being said, it leads me to conclude that should the enemy attack now while we are where we are, our forces would be decimated without the Captain-Commander herself stepping onto the battlefield immediately. Thus to avoid having to rely on a sole combatant who may or may not choose to take to the battlefield in a timely manner, those with the potential to ascend to greater heights must be pushed until they reach those heights. Without exception."

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