Tiger-Crane Strike [Shishiyuki, 4th Division Open]

Hm, it seemed like the Raiton Kaigeki could still use some refinement. The premise of a more deadly Raitonsui was certainly one with potential, but she supposed something of that complexity wasn't easily applied in the spur of the moment.

Allowing her reiryoku to flare out more, Shishiyuki's hand shot out as the first of the six golden rods flew toward her, grabbing it tightly in her hand as if it were nothing more than a branch off the ground. A difference of power, and a difference of mastery, made such a thing relatively inconsequential. The other five pillars, as they came toward her, were simply swatted down in a single fluid motion, a circle made around her like a blade on a chain before she released the impromptu weapon.

"Growth is only accomplished by learning from one's betters. Now, pay attention."

As the Soren Sokatsui flew toward her, Shishiyuki tensed her body, reiryoku reinforcing her as she prepared for a hakuda technique few were capable of reproducing. Both hands shot forward, cracking through the sound barrier as the snap echoed through the 4th division's grounds. A Sōkotsu, a technique that could have turned most targets into mere dust, crashed into the incoming spell, but Shishiyuki was not intent on only destroying it. Instead, she gripped the spell in both hands, before throwing it back toward Shura with all of her might.

Would there be collateral damage from such a spell's impact? Likely. But Shishiyuki was not the one who had first decided to use it, so she felt no pity for anyone caught in that crossfire.

The moment the redirected kido was met with visible resistance, the destruction spilling out and toward the sidelines, Shishiyuki stepped forward, shunpo carrying her toward her opponent as her fist clenched tighter. It had been easy to gauge where the barrier was by the spilloff of the Soren Sokatsui, and another Ikkotsu struck out, utilized for the sole intent of shattering the bakudo before her.

Even after that, however, she had no intention of letting up, and the momentum of the Ikkotsu simply transferred into another flash step. Shishiyuki's reiryoku further reinforced her arm as she bore down on Shura like a bird of prey, and her fist now shot forward multiple times in rapid succession. Each blow was intent not only on striking the point of impact itself, but rippling through the foe to grind down at the body, like waves crashing against stone. There was no doubt, no hesitation in any of them, and she would not dare allow her foe to stay out of reach.

A challenge issued by the 7th's vice-captain was unexpected. Most of the combat division's battles, by nature, were usually held against each other, after all. Interdivision combat was a rare sight, to be certain, but Rio approached the events with a decisive air of calm the moment she entered the barracks. There was undeniable intent to initiate the battle first, to send a decisive message despite the fact she had no inkling whatsoever about this so-called assessment. Yet it was her peers who had set into action first. Moe confidently leaped into the lion's den first, and naturally, to no one's surprise, she was the first to fall. Even in defeat, though, Rio internally expressed her pride at the resilience she displayed despite her body telling another tale entirely. Then, there was Shura.

To be certain, it was clear to tell that there was something decidedly uncharacteristic about her behavior. There was none of the typical bravado on display, none of the iconic pride she proclaimed as a member of their division. In a word, it was abnormal. Even watching her feebly retreating away had been enough for her to turn her head elsewhere. It wasn't as if there was any lack of sympathy there, but it was far from the woman she had fought months ago, one who would've stood tall, from her perspective at least, until the very end. Golden eyes swept along the crowd of hesitant soldiers, observing the look of undeniable trepidation on their faces. Knowing her captain, she would have undoubtedly looked on with disgust at this sight. Since she wasn't present, it was inevitably written in stone that two vice-captains would clash. Rio held no interest in whatever this assessment entailed.

By all accounts, this was a battle to defend her division's honor, and she would respond in kind. As she stepped through the crowd of her peers, the ember of competition colored her soul in a blaze of crimson. To her, such a bold challenge deserved a bold answer. There was nothing else left but to meet this woman with equal determination. Rio walked past Shura as she retreated away from the battle, regarding Shishiyuki with a firm gaze as she offered a warrior's bow, a sign of respect for her technique. From what she observed during the prior engagements, the Koizumi noble was exceedingly remarkable with her technique in Hakuda. As such, she would be no easy foe. Of course, the difficulty matters little here. Cracking her knuckles with a pleasant smile adorning her lips, Rio settles into an offensive stance.

"Vice Captain Koizumi. I didn't expect your presence here today. I overheard the conversation so there is no need for words. As Vice Captain of the Fourth Division, I will be your opponent now. Let us begin, shall we?"

Offering nothing but the shift of her feet as a signal, Rio shunpo'd forth as her body swept through the air and she reappeared in front of Shishiyuki, shooting a resounding fist toward her chest. A fairly rudimentary blow, to be certain, but she is already preparing to spin or redirect her body to avoid the expected counter.

For a very brief moment, Shishiyuki's senses remained on high alert, as movement yet again occurred before her. Yet, she quickly realized what had happened as energy simply departed the 4th division grounds, and as her stance slowly lowered, the 7th division vice captain began to laugh. It wasn't simply a quiet chuckle, but a loud, genuine laugh. Only when the 4th's own vice captain arrived did she refocus her attention again, though she was still quite visibly smiling.

"Of course, Vice Captain Shihoin."

As opposed to Machihara, who had been an unknown, or Kurata, who Shishiyuki had known from the beginning was of no particular consequence, Shihoin was someone that Shishiyuki had a more developed opinion on. After all, Yushiro Shihoin alone had spoken out against the idea of her sister's execution, a century ago, and Shishiyuki had held him and his children in higher regard than the rest of the nobility because of that gesture. Still, at this moment, it was not a matter of Shihoin and Koizumi. Rather, this was a bout only between the vice captains of the 4th and 7th divisions.

Rio was certainly faster than Shishiyuki's previous opponents had been. Was she faster than Shishiyuki herself, however? That remained to be seen, but it was certainly a possibility given the Shihoin family's reputation for step techniques. Even so, Shishiyuki had more respect for this foe, and by extension, higher expectations. Her elbow shot out to meet Rio's fist head-on, utilizing a technique only before handled by her own captain, the Shousei Rekkou. Reiryoku spun around the strike at unthinkable speeds, intent on not only shearing through the flesh and bone of the incoming strike, but on redirecting the momentum of Rio's own blow back toward its user.

This, after all, was an opponent she was willing to face with her best.

Fist met elbow in an explosive clash. As expected, Shishiyuki's martial prowess was nothing to scoff at. The sheer force of reiryoku rotating at such an inconceivable rate would have been enough to leave the average opponent speechless. Amidst such fury, Rio would not yield. Defending her division's honor after that poor display was absolutely imperative. It would be a useless endeavor, a foolish gamble with little to gain in the way of merit, but that was merely a secondary worry in her mind. It was hardly refined to a degree that matched Shishiyuki's, but Rio focused a devoted portion of her reiryoku onto her fist, using the energy to harden her fist enough to prevent her from being overpowered to a substantial degree.

By filling her internal and external extremities with spirit power, the intent was to prevent any strike she executed from completely robbing her of the defensive advantage. Shaoling had certainly reminded her of how dangerous Hakuda could truly be at its absolute peak, and Shishiyuki was merely further proof of that. In the resulting clash, the predominantly stronger force won out, and Rio's fist was indeed shot backward, forcing her arm to follow suit as she grits her teeth. The only success that could be found in the immediate moment was that her fist hadn't been damaged beyond repair, but there was a clearly noticeable tear of flesh and bone in her knuckles alone. The pain was overwhelmingly immense, but she didn't care. None of that mattered right now.

Even in the midst of pain, she had to act. Since she undoubtedly expected that she would follow up with another technique, Rio would close the short distance between them, winding her arms back, her system filling with spirit power, as she executed a devastating two-fisted strike at her midsection. There was no guarantee this would land, and even if it connected, Rio would feel the pain of her injured hand clashing hardened bone and spiritual layers. But her pride as a Shihoin and the vice captain of this division would not allow her to falter no matter what Shishiyuki threw at her.

Shishiyuki's eyes never faltered from her opponent even as their blows clashed, the mastery and power behind Rio's blow impressive enough that she could feel her own body respond poorly to it. She might have typically taken a moment of her time to analyze the blow, think of what praise it was worth, but in a bout such as this, she would do nothing except fight, allowing her instinct to take the forefront.

The 4th's vice captain was redoubling her offense, avoiding any hesitation that might typically have come from an injury as severe as the one Shishiyuki had inflicted on her. Smart, and commendable in these circumstances. Yet Shishiyuki herself had no intention of lessening her efforts either, for she had long since abandoned the notion of holding back against a respectable opponent. The only way to see others grow to match her, to provide more meaningful opponents, was to give them her all. That was something she had learned from the combat division of old, and something that she would teach to this new division here and now.

Her fingers quickly straightened, reiryoku reinforcing them and forming another drill-like vortex of energy around both of her hands, and all at once Shishiyuki met both of Rio's blows with her own, a double Kantsujou, the Piercing Door Jam. Reiryoku bored into the joints of Rio's fists as if intent on simply cleaving both arms in two, but Shishiyuki did not make such an extreme effort. Even if she believed such a thing within her power, this was not a foe she intended to cripple. However, she was not willing to simply meet Rio's every blow with a defensive counter, either, and just as quickly as she'd made those strikes, she followed up with another of her well-practiced strikes, made all the more powerful now that they were in such close proximity.

Raitonsui (雷貪錐, Covetous Lightning Drill).

A single knee shattered the sound barrier as it whipped upward to meet Rio's midsection, energy violently overflowing from the blow. Such a blow could have easily turned the average shinigami to dust, but Shishiyuki already knew without any doubt that her foe was not the average shinigami. The question here, rather, was just how far from average the Shihoin was.

In a tumult of a collision, their respective fists met in a roaring wave of force and spiritual energy as spiderlike cracks formed against the tiles beneath. Since she was attacking with a more refined flow of energy, Shishiyuki maintained the superlative advantage in their clash. A competitive emotion dancing between awe and envy rose unbidden as a grin formed against her lips. Form and technique dance together in seamless precision, existing as a single unit. There was a purpose to every movement, to every attack, with each coming together to form something that could only be described as a divine display of martial prowess given physical form. Of course, as an active participant in their duel, Rio could only offer silent applause as exerted her spiritual energy yet again to hold up against her otherworldly offense.

Like a shockwave being injected directly into her veins, Rio felt the immensity of that reiryoku bearing down on her muscles. Even if Shishiyuki wasn't applying the full scope of her energy, it hardly lessened the test of resilience Rio was facing at this moment. Flesh was still being razed and bone was still being pressured, but her expression showed no sign of trepidation. As long as her body could still move, her muscles could still react, there was nothing to fear. No matter how superior the foe, her pride as a Shihoin and vice captain would never allow her to relent.

Though one of lesser mettle would have likely viewed Shishiyuki's utmost effort as a frightening hurdle to overcome, Rio simply welcomed it in stride. In the following sequence, a thunderous follow-up shot forth with titanic intensity. A withering knee, shattering the sound barrier itself, roared through the air to crash directly into her midsection. The knee flowed with such violent energy that it surely would have turned the average warrior's insides into a fine mesh.

Rio was no average warrior, certainly, but that didn't make her impervious to Shishiyuki's attacks by any means. There was a noticeable dent in her midsection, a telltale sign that her strike nearly pierced the Shihoin's flesh. Were it not for the steely reiryoku being applied - an attempt, no doubt, to nullify the force of these well-timed techniques, Rio's body would be crumpling to the ground at this very moment. Was it an exaggerated perception of her technique? No. Absolutely not. Shishiyuki was a cut above the rest in the art of Hakuda. There was no denying that. Even now, crimson spittle was threatening to fall from her lips, but Rio would persist until she could no longer stand.

"Haaaah!"

Demonstrating that indomitable will firsthand, Rio's arm shot downward to latch around that knee and hold it in place, in preparation for a follow-up in the form of a decisive sweep of the leg crashing against her seemingly stationary leg below. If it proved successful to any degree whatsoever, Rio would use the falling momentum against Shishiyuki to swing her elbow down like a ferocious hammer against the woman's chest. If not, Rio was contemplating the idea of transitioning into her Shikai next. Shishiyuki was proving that she was no simple foe, after all, and Rio was far from foolish to assume that her hakuda would be enough to match the overall refinement of the woman's technique.