Dancing Flames [Kasha, Kyo]

It had not been fruitful since he resolved to acquire his zanpakuto, it left him staring at the sword nearby in the Hoo Kanmuri Ken dojo. The barbarian had made herself scarce which allowed him a moment of tranquility in this place. Despite the time he had spent meditating the sword refused to give him its name. It left a sour taste in his mouth that the spirit had been uncooperative in all ways except declaring it would not give its name to a person that didn't know his own.

Of course he did not know his own name. He inherited it and whatever name he was assigned at birth, if any in the first place, was lost to history. Naturally the must be more to it than a name though and it had forced him to evaluate the kind of person he was. A faceless man that wore any face or any name. All of it was veiled under the umbrella of "beauty" but what lay beneath it?

That was a mystery. If beauty was in the eye of the beholder and the person he truly was could only be determined by an onlooker then he had to make himself vulnerable. To be laid bare and judged by someone.

There was only one person that he trusted to make that determination, so on the day that was assigned for rest (not altering his appearance) he had invited his closest friend to the dojo for a challenge. He had never truly showed the full extent of his hakuda to an outsider and it was unlikely that he ever would utilise it so earnestly given the way it would reflect the kind of person he was.

"Good afternoon, Kyo."

He said with a faint grin at seeing his friend and opponent enter into the archaic training area with its arena featuring polished stone that had been blackened through training with the usage of fire-aligned reiatsu over the many iterations of Kasha that had stood here before.

"I'm glad you came and I don't challenge you lightly. I will fight with everything I have earnestly and exposed. I will hide nothing, metaphorically or literally, and at the end of our fight I need you to tell me who I am."

Kasha explained to his closest friend and in this moment, his greatest advesary.

"Until I know the answer to that my sword will never give me its name and I cannot abide by that if I will keep my word to you."

While Kyo spoke he got ready. He shed the layers which weren't necessary and approached it like he would a proper fight. His clothes wouldn't survive the ordeal anyway if he utilised his fire reiatsu to its fullest, except the hakama and bandages which were specifically resilient to the heat.

"Thank you."

He thought he might offer a compliment back though he had already focused his mind to the task at hand with the zanpakuto resting among his possessions so that it would witness the match.

So he took his spot in the generously sized arena and bowed to his opponent. When he raised his head the demeaour of the gentle soul had been replaced entirely with a stranger whose energy leaked out until they took the form of flames. He did not have any bloodlust, aggression, or malice though. He might as well have been meditating without any kind of thought while he centred himself.

"Successor of the Hōō Kanmuri Ken, Jatouen no Kasha. Watch me closely."

Formalities were over and he took the lead. Eager to pressure Kyo in their bout and undermine any impressions that his pacifism might make him reluctant to take the offensive. With a flick of his hand some of the needles he kept in his hair had been retrieved to throw at Kyo in the same motion.

Nothing more than a distraction which he anticipated to be dealt with promptly. He would approach this duel like he would a game of shogi, to anticipate their actions and act accordingly.

He moved like a black smear of ink as came upon the giant like a living fireball. Graceful and gentle despite its forwardness. His was a style of beauty and subtlety rather than flashy moves that broke bones.

The path of his development was linear but the reality was he had not grown upwards since he entered into the Academy. He had simply expanded the range of his position to become more flexible, the strength of Kyo was not something he could underestimate or match so he would have to compensate by focusing on his friend's vulnerabilities.

His black form smeared to the side as some of his hair was clipped by the blade. Footwork fleet enough to ensure that he was behind the swing so that he could flick at Kyo's side with his fire aligned reiatsu serving as an amplifier. The motion would feel like he had just been tapped but his spiritual power would amplify that touch to make it feel like he had been punched.

Amplification was the basis of Jatouen, a subtle application of combustion which allowed him to turn a flick into the feeling of being stabbed or amplify his targets' spiritual power and body's natural healing.