Prelude Of Showdown [Open/Noharu/Ranma]

"Nothing to that, Paul Bunyan? Well alright then." A little disappointed that Shura wasn't getting into the banter, but well, she had the attack to deal with. Alas , unlike before, there wouldn't be much moves to adjust to this time. As Shura lunged forward, and used that same High speed Hoho move AGAIN, Noharu's motions became aggressively less and less strained to react to them. Those dizzying bursts of shunpo smoothed into sharp, quick little half-steps, slipping between those big heavy strikes.

Certainly, Shura's weapons lent themselves to big, unusual, odd-angle attacks. But the size and manner with which she swung them also meant that the attacks were easier to read. And Noharu soon caught onto the way Shura had to move in order to get those big axes to move the way she wanted to. And as Shura seemed to herd her to the spot she wanted, Noharu's brows rose ever so slightly

"Jinsai"

It was a simple motion, a sudden spike of spiritual energy that crackled through her body, pumping reiryoku through every inch of her frame, as she stood perfectly still for just an instant, before she shot toward Shura. Promptly closing the gap between them once again. Those crossed waves of reiryoku tearing into the wall of the barrier behind her as Noharu thrust her palm into Shura's shoulder and then chopped downward, a hardened blade of reiryoku coating her palm aimed to slice clean from shoulder to hip, intent on carving down that sturdy frame of Shura's, and then carve a clean line through the ground beneath.

"You know, getting a bit ahead of yourself can be dangerous. You already knew that I'm the adaptive and perceptive type. Of course I'd notice an attack aimed for where I'd dodge instead of where I am. You may have caught up with me with speed. But you're underestimating my Hoho and Hakuda. And combined, they rob you of the ground you claimed by releasing. Your Zanpaku'to is certainly a nice tool. But your other skills? They're ass. Between Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hoho, and Kido. You've only managed to perform well above your average seated officer in one." She lectured the woman, that teacher in her coming to the surface.

She raised a hand, and pointed calmly at the center of Shura's chest.

"Against one fourth of a shinigami, why should I even bother using Shikai?"

Noharu continued to smile as Shura backed off, at the very least managing to evade that cutting strike of hers, and of course, she watched as that mask of focus shifted in response to her words, but ultimately, she didn't notice that anything she said seemed to stick. She really didn't seem to get it, which was a little unfortunate but not unexpected. Though she did feel a slight twitch in her jaw as Shura went so far as to promptly translate 'Hoho and Hakuda' to 'Speed and Hakuda'. As someone who put a lot of effort into the art, that...ooh boy that one irritated her just a little. But she wasn't going to allow that to bother her.

"Oh I'm sure that there's plenty of skill you have that I haven't seen. But I was specifically referring to your performance. THAT is what's lacking. You've been using nothing but your Bankai and some iterations of the same move this entire fight. That dodge just now is one of the few normal shunpo you've used outside of that fancy attack of yours. But your Hakuda? Nonexistent. Kido? Not a spell. Your Hoho? Fancy, but not especially impressive. Youve got a nice trick, but there's a lot of basic things that you aren't doing that even a beginner with Hoho should be doing. I've no doubt that when you're actually being tested on them, that you'd perform well above a seated officer in at least a couple of those categories. But so what? What good is any of that skill doing you?"

She started to walk toward Shura, closing the distance between them as a sly smile crossed her lips. "Hm, don't think I ever went around calling myself grand. Preeeetty sure I just said you suck. If you disagree then you're welcome to prove it." She chimed, smiling as a Fist would promptly slam into Shura's chest dead and Center, seemingly without Noharu having actually made any moves. The Real Noharu only seeming to flicker into view the instant that she executed that strike to the Center of Shura's chest, an attack that was no longer half-assed. A strike executed with such ferocious speed and force amplified by her own reiryoku that even in Shura's Bankai state, Noharu had every intention of cracking Shura's ribs and sending her bodily into the nearest wall without any air in her lungs. All whilst the afterimage Shura had been talking to would stick her tongue out impishly.

After all, it wasn't a normal after image. It was still moving and speaking. A technique that not even many advanced Hoho users would be able to recognize. Something of her own design. Her very own Jester's step. One designed to make it unclear which of her was the real Noharu, even after the step was executed.

"Anywho, let's get back to it shall we?~ The Spar isn't over yet. Unless you'd like to concede." The afterimage chimed, stretching it's arms as the Real Noharu rolled her shoulder.

Technique used:

Noharu smirked slightly as she noticed the shift in Shura's reiryoku before that Bakudo was promptly executed, snorting softly and smiling just a bit wider as she snapped her fingers, energy promptly crackling along her frame as the kosode to her shihakusho promptly vanished, unraveling into a mess of string, slowly turning red. Eyes darting around for a moment before that sudden explosive burst of Reiryoku blared out and swallowed Noharu and the training area, slamming into the barrier that had been erected around them and flooding the spot with energy, leaving only a crater... as well as Noharu, brushing herself off, and seeming entirely unharmed, before cracking her neck and sticking her tongue out.

"Damn, Fancy stuff you're putting in there. Not a bad combination either." The visage hummed, sticking her tongue out .

Of course another Noharu was settled a short distance away, her spiritual pressure suppressed as she eyed Shura as her afterimage taunted the woman.That red thread she'd produced finally turning completely red as she watched Shura closely. The moment that Shura had vanished, she'd promptly dipped and left behind an afterimage. And so she had avoided the attack entirely, and since the afterimage wasn't tangible, it didn't need to worry about dodging either. Still, she did silently make note that the woman was puttin in an effort. Mayhaps by abandoning the continued use of her bankai. But well, she was beginning to see why Shura struggled so much. Perhaps she simply had trouble mentally focusing on too much at once. She'd be sure to make a snide remark about it in a moment.

A smile flashed across Noharu's features. "Attagirl! Look at you go! HAHA! " She barked out in laughter, her body blurring as she waited for that slim chain of energy to start lunging toward her, rapidly bursting past it, zig-zagging to muddy the Kido's ability to track before simply shooting past it, dodging the Bakudo as the smile widened across her features. A sweat having finally developed on her brow as she noted that spike in energy. " Much better! Better tactics, better positioning! Now lets bring the house down" She called out, encouraging Shura as she watched the startup for that Byakurai.

And as Shura fired that bright beam of energy her way, her body swiveled, a blur of Shunpo jarring her out of that speedy path, a bright hissing burn searing it's way across her hip, marking a solid impact and injury. Noharu's brows perking as she felt pain tear along her frame, a sensation that was subdued, but that was no less exhilarating.

Shura had managed to hit her.

And the very next thing Shura saw would be the bright glow of reiryoku in Noharu's eyes as she promptly seemed to appear in in Shura's personal space.

Taki: Mizore. _{(Waterfall: Sleet)}

A sudden and explosive burst of strength burned along Noharu's frame as for just an instant, her speed and strength was amplified well beyond normal with Hakuda, beyond the level that had been keeping pace with Shura in bankai. And then her frame vanished, and Shura would get to suddenly see two of Noharu blitzing at her from the front, executing a sudden and dizzying flurry of vicious strikes, pummeling Sura's throat, knees, and wrists. A flurry meant not only to overwhelm the woman with strikes, but to aggressively shut down Shura's ability to respond. Targeting her throat to prevent her from uttering Kido. Wearing down the wrists to hamper the use of that bankai, and slicing at those knees to bear down and whittle down Shura's ability to move or use Hoho.

What Shura likely WOULDN'T see was the real Noharu. While two tangible speed clones, slow enough compared to the real Noharu for Shura to track charged her from the front, the real Noharu executed three vicious strikes from behind, one aimed to each side of Shura's head, before a final whip-kick aimed between the woman's shoulder blades. Aiming to stun the woman into that flurry of attacks from her clones. And whilst her clones promptly would follow up with that cascade of strikes, that red thread that had once been her kosode finally congealed into a blade at the real Noharu's hip.

"Pull at the Seams. Kamiito Konton."

And with that muttered release phrase, Noharu executed a swift diagonal slash aimed straight down Shura's back. Nothing lethal, but instead targeting core muscles that would rob the woman of the ability to stand or use her arms.

Abilities used:

She'd hit. Seeing Shura's head being thwacked around certainly had it's own sense of satisfaction. And the final strike slashing down the woman's back was more or less an intended finisher. Stubbornness and perhaps a few other things might come into play to allow her to keep fighting, but Noharu had intended the strike to more or less end the fight.

And so, when that chain lashed out, she was surprised to see that weapon slipping around her Clones. The visages of Noharu letting out startled swears and curses as they were slammed together, only for that electrical energy to blitz through them and promptly cause them to shatter, dissolving on the spot as Shura promptly took down the duo, leaving the real Noharu to flash a lopsided smile at the woman.

"Well look at that. Now that was an actual fight. Once you stopped relying on your Bankai for anything you were quite the handful. You could still do with some practice using other stuff as well. Maybe a bit of Hakuda. Kido is nice and all, but Hakuda is a lot more useful to use on demand when you really need it without opening yourself up for an attack or giving your enemy too much notice." She noted calmly enough, glancing down at the burn that Byakurai had put on her and letting out a light hum.

"Alright. Time for a trip to Second Division. And I won't be taking lip this time." She insisted, holding out her hand for Shura to take.