Murderous Intent (Kanae, Armina)

In truth, to hear Captain Nagoshi speak of her own sword in such a way was actually somewhat of a relief for the 4th Seat. It was fairly similar to her own beliefs and Armina believed that she’d been right in her previous assumption that they did. She could understand that point of view all too well and it soothed her irritation up to a point. If the Captain could wield her sword in such a way and still find some semblance of control over herself then perhaps it was something that Armina could achieve.

There was a part of her that understood what she was being told. She needed to adapt in order to continue on her path to power although that would mean having to alter her philosophy, something that was not going to be an easy task for the stubborn blue haired woman to do. Would controlling her emotions and fuelling them truly grant her more power than continuing on her current path? Her rational and irrational sides were coming up against each other over that particular question and left her feeling rather frustrated again. She wasn’t a philosopher at heart and life had been so much simpler when she could just slaughter everything that she came across. Joining the Gotei had been as much of a pain in the bloody ass as it had been a benefit to her.

“Power is what I have craved for as long as I remember, since I was thrown into a cage and forced to fight for my life. I desire to become stronger than anyone and crush the heads of all those who find themselves in my path. In order to achieve that, I will do whatever is necessary. I understand the meaning behind your words, Captain but don’t expect me to suddenly take a liking to the rank and file scum. I will attempt to rein in my violent tendencies around them and instead channel such things into my training.”

She fell silent briefly, seeming to come to a decision and then added. “This wild beast would like to see what a true predator is capable of.”

“See for yourself.” Armina replied, taking a deep breath as she activated her Bankai. “Wander The Frozen Wastelands, Hyokage Ryoshi.”

No sooner had she uttered those words, the area around her would begin to drop in temperature, the ground turning to ice in moments. The 4th Seat’s Reiatsu would mirror this, becoming as cold and frigid as the icy earth, her spiritual power seeming to try and rob the heat of the woman standing before her. It was no technique, simply a sign of the blue haired woman’s desire to dominate, not that she expected her Captain to be affected by such a thing. Still, it mattered not. A sign of intent was what it was. The ice would soon enough start to snap off from the ground and dart towards Armina, clinging to her body and adorning her in a set of armour, covering her almost from head to toe, giving her the appearance of a Nordic God. Her Zanpakuto had naturally changed shape too, taking on the appearance of a six foot warhammer, which she held in both hands, the grip covered in markings referring to ice and death, which was all that her Bankai tended to bring to any confrontation.

Words seemed to be rather pointless at this stage and they were generally non-existent anyway once Armina had taken on her advanced form. She became a conduit of battle, desiring nothing more than to destroy everything in her path. It was so simple and yet caused the briefest of smiles to creep across the face of the armoured woman, yet, it wasn’t a smile meant to convey anything other than what she wished. To splatter her Captain’s skull with the head of her Zanpakuto.

Forgoing any techniques for now, Armina would simply begin the fight by charging towards her Captain and attempting to smash her weapon down upon her, attempting to fulfil her desire in a single blow.

There was the distinctive sound of metal against ice as the blade of the Captain clashed against Armina’s armour. It was a telling blow and a warning to the Fourth Seat as to just what she had gotten herself into. Her defence held for the time being although the tall warrior was uncertain as to just how many strikes her Bankai could withstand against such a powerful foe. Perhaps that was a part of what the spar was all about. To discover just how far she still had to climb in order to reach the pinnacle of her powers. She wasn’t afraid of the truth and knew that her training had only begun but that was only motivation for her. Third Seat, Second Seat, Captaincy and beyond. Such titles had never meant that much to the warrior, who’d sought simply raw power and nothing more but perhaps there was something to be said for them. A goal to focus on maybe? Perhaps.

Turning to face Captain Nagoshi, there wouldn’t be a single word uttered from the blue haired woman although that was just as much an effect of her Bankai as it was a personal choice. There was something that changed when she entered her most powerful state, a change in psyche that robbed her of…her humanity. She became what she claimed to be, a beast, hiding in the form of a Shinigami. It could be seen in the eyes of the Fourth Seat, a look that spoke more than her words ever could. At that moment, all she wished was to destroy the woman in front of her and revel in the blood that would be spilled. Nothing else mattered.

A swift enemy was irritating and so Armina would briefly spin the handle of her hammer, releasing ten sets of icy chains that would burst forth and home in towards the Captain, in an attempt to slow the woman down. Ensnaring her completely seemed unlikely but in the distorted mind of the Fourth Seat, it was an image that she could not shake. Captain Nagoshi was a fierce warrior and her spiritual pressure was immense but it was not fear that it was drawing out of the blue haired woman. It was something else but just as potent.

It was a frustrating situation to find herself in and the frown that was already on Armina’s face deepened as the Captain’s barrage of blade strikes battered against her armour, continuing to chip and break off parts of her defence. It wasn’t a good sign at all and the blue haired beast knew what the full breaking of her armour would bring about. It was the core of her Bankai and its destruction would mean the end of it. It was an irritating weakness but had honestly not been much of a concern until now. Her form truly was immature, a term that she despised but one that was apparently true. More training was required against stouter foes, that much was for certain. What was worse was that she had little else to back her up, as Kido has been an art that she’d never truly studied, despising the rituals that came with the art. Why waste time uttering an incantation when you can just take someone’s head off with a sword strike or punch to the face? Such a way of thinking seemed awfully stupid now.

Reluctantly, Armina was forced to use her fairly inadequate Shunpo to try to move behind the Captain and deliver a two handed blow with her freezing hammer, attempting to turn her opponent into a bloody stain. The advantage was obviously with her opponent but the 4th Seat had known that from the start. What she had wanted to see was the power of someone in the Gotei who understood the meaning of the word. Armina wished to dominate all those before her as the Captain did.

“You want to dominate her and not just on the battlefield either.” Her Zanpakuto murmured in the woman’s head, seemingly amused.

There was a rather loud crunch as foot met armour, the result being that the 4th Seat was knocked backwards a fair distance. She remained standing but there was another noticeable dent in her armour. It had felt like a mule kick and Armina was under no illusion as to just how physically strong that the Captain was. Even the simplest strike was filled with power and the 4th Seat could feel the rumblings of jealousy briefly overcome her. For all her training and years slaughtering all those in her way, it all came to nought against this woman. It was irritating, irritating beyond belief and had speech been available to her then she may have spoken of it. Yet, as it was, she was unable to, muted by the effect of her own Bankai, a disadvantage which up until now had never bothered her all that much. She released when the time for words were over so what did it matter if she was unable to? How ignorant.

Still, the fact that she was unable to respond didn’t mean that she hadn’t heard and there were words that she’d reflect on later. There was much for her to consider once the fight was done and Armina pondered about whether her entire story up until now had been nothing more than simply the prelude. As annoying a thought as it was, it also gave her a kick in the ass. If it took centuries more to achieve her full potential then so be it and nothing would prevent her from doing so, whether it be human, Shinigami or anything else. She wished to stand at the peak, not simply stare up at it, wishing it were her.

There was still pride within her, of course, resulting in Armina chugging forwards again and launching a horizontal attack with her hammer that was directed at Kanae’s upper body. She doubted that simply striking at the Captain with blows of this quality would do an awful lot, given the woman’s speed and strength but the 4th Seat still desired to see more. Raw power was a term that she’d heard of before but words could only explain so much. To feel it for herself was what she sought.