Dancing Flames [Kasha, Kyo]

This stalemate between the two of them had paid off for Kyo, a gonging sound echoing through the air as he finished spinning his spear, taking up a more combative stance now, though still keeping the spear held in one hand. This evasive nature was certainly going to make life harder for Kyo, though at the same time, he wasn't intent on simply letting something as inconsequential as a distortion in his view get in the way. Even as he stepped forward, a flurry of stabs shooting forward effortlessly with only one hand, Kyo began to speak.

"Scattered on the corpse of beasts. Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring."

He was pushing himself, that much he knew. Perhaps more than he ought to have. Even so, he would rather push himself too far than know he had not given his all to this match. Yellow reiryoku crackled around his free hand, but he didn't dare let up the assault with his spear.

"Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm."

If he were more skilled, he could have cast this faster, but that was simply not practical. Casting it at all, while he was maintaining the offensive, was difficult enough. He simply had to maintain his focus for now.

Kasha continued to impress, in ways Kyo knew would have disheartened lesser men. However, one such as he could only be impressed by the sheer competence on display by his best friend, by the man he was more certain than ever was qualified to be his future vice captain. He had two options here; either eat the spell, and likely keep his position, or step back and maintain it to lessen the weight of the spell. It was the Sawachika way to stand one's ground, after all, to remain solid in the force of all obstacles.

That was why Kyo allowed his footing to shift, moving with the impact of the spell and giving up his position. It was not a typical approach to combat for him, but he was demonstrating his own growth, the fruits of his own training.

"The sound of warring spears...fills the empty castle! Hadō 63: Raikōhō!"

Despite his incantation, Kyo's focus had still wavered, and he was still far from a master of kido application. The spell crackled and sparked across his arm, and though it shot forward, it was radically weaker than such a spell should have been, even at his own level. He would have like to follow up, but he couldn't afford that. Instead, he simply brought both hands to his zanpakuto and watched for whatever offense inevitably came.

A lesser man would have simply made an effort to evade that double kick, to avoid injury to himself in such a heated battle. But Kyo was a man who knew that injury always came in a true bout with a worthy foe, so such thoughts failed to cross his mind for more than the most fleeting moments. Kasha's strike made impact, and left no small mark upon Kyo's chest.

However, commitment to such a strike was its own risk. Kasha had leveraged himself against that spear, and as such, it meant there was ample opportunity to whip his friend toward the jet black stone floor. Kyo's zanpakuto moved far less like a spear in that moment, and far more like a hammer. If Kasha did not make an effort to move, it was wholly possible that Kyo might simply shatter him with this strike.

So be it. This was the nature of a true battle.

They were quite evenly matched, and Kyo could tell that without needing to think about it for even a moment. That thought brought a smile to his face, despite the severity of the battle and the pain that radiated through his whole body from the intensity of Kasha's offense. He wondered if it was within his capabilities to win this match, knowing that there was possibly no opponent who was more familiar with his abilities. He could not match Kasha in speed, or in technique, that much was certain.

He could only rely on his most fundamental abilities, then, the physicality that he had honed rigidly since he declared that he would one day reach captaincy. With one step, he moves as if he meant to stab at Kasha yet again; yet the moment his foot struck the ground, every muscle in Kyo's body tensed, flexed, and all at once shot his zanpakuto toward Kasha like a javelin, the spear careening toward him. Yet Kyo did not stop moving, following behind it intent on slamming into Kasha with his shoulder like a rolling boulder.

Fast as the wind, tranquil as the forest, hot as flames, sturdy as the mountain. All brought to bare in one straightforward offensive, the nature of a man put into this final effort.

What an impact--and one profoundly unlike what Kyo had come to expect from his best friend. He might simply have been impressed, but he knew waht a prideful man Kasha was. If he'd held something like this away for so long in a serious bout, it wasn't something he would have wanted to use.

Wincing as he caught himself, eyes studying Kasha, his thrown zanpakuto, and the arena, Kyo took in everything about the situation. He was an analytical man, and he understood the whole of a battlefield with little difficulty. His severe expression softened, after a moment, and a laugh escaped him, loud and full of joy.

"It looks like I lose this one, Kasha! You've really got a leg up on me."

All at once, Kyo fell to the floor, sitting down and looking up at the roof above. Damn. He'd have liked to perform better, but it was just a sign he needed to improve even more.