One Plus Seven Equals Eight [Erika, Shishiyuki]

Shishiyuki was hardly surprised by the arrival of the 1st's vice captain, and was rather glad she had little other work that needed doing in the immediate. A fight would do her some good, she imagined.

"Of course, Vice Captain Masamune. Shall we go outside?"

But, then again, she could probably handle a fight even here inside the yurt. Maybe that would even be a more interesting test of her capabilities. Would Erika actually be willing to put one of the Gotei's offices at risk like that? Shishiyuki doubted it, but she was still fully prepared for the bout to begin here and now.

Of course. Tying your opponent down into such a small area was a remarkable way of limiting them, and Shishiyuki had to admit that no small amount of what she had demonstrated in recent days had been overwhelmingly destructive. But that was the sort of thing that stuck with onlookers, that pushed them to learn hakuda in greater depth and strive for more meaningful heights. In a bout such as this, she still had ample means to retaliate.

As Erika lept onto the desk, Shishiyuki quickly kicked the furniture away, controlling herself just enough to push it to the other side of the room and no further. She doubted this would do much to stop a swordmaster of Erika's skill, but even so, it would give them both further room to work with. As the blade cut toward her, the Koizumi head evaded with practiced ease, though the speed of Erika's sword still cut through the tips of her flowing hair. Very impressive, indeed.

"Understood, Vice Captain Masamune."

Taking up her proper stance, it took only a fraction of a second for Shishiyuki to follow up and begin her own offensive, footwork carrying her close enough to ideally lessen the value of the sword's length. She could have thrown countless feinting blows, a flurry of strikes that would overwhelm most defenses, but she knew just from the stories surrounding this opponent that it would be a waste of time. Instead, her fist jetted forward, arm wildly enhanced through the momentary infusion of spiritual power through her muscle. Realistically, she could have pierced small mountains with such a blow, but if Erika had no answer to such a strike, then she would have been profoundly disappointed.

How unexpected, for the swordsman to fight without the blade. It was certainly a failure on Shishiyuki's part to have not prepared for that, but she could manage nevertheless. Erika's blow was certainly well-practiced, above the capabilities of the average shinigami by no small margin.

Shishiyuki, however, was not the average shinigami. The movements of her foes, the flow of spiritual energy through the body, it was all something she understood as easily as breathing. As Erika's leg shot toward her shoulder, Shishiyuki's hand rocketed upward, an uppercut that sliced through the air with speed sufficient to crash through the sound barrier. No, she didn't intend to maintain that kind of otherworldly speeds for every blow, lest she exhaust herself too quickly. But a strike so confident needed to be met in kind, didn't it?

If Erika deigned to use her as a mere step, then Shishiyuki would strike back with the full weight of her pride, in herself and as head of the Koizumi. She had been trampled upon for far too long to allow it to happen again.

Running forward? Shishiyuki would do no such thing. Her body was covered in scars from head to toe, all earned in the very same manner; by fighting with all her might. She needed not turn to attack, nor would she dare to do so in such a blindingly fast moment. All her body tensed, every muscle in her back becoming so defined it was like staring at a cliff face, and all at once, her right foot slammed the ground hard enough to shake the earth

Shishiyuki's whole body whipped around on the axis of her foot, her back turning so that Erika's blade ran parallel rather than perpendicular. She had no time to properly strike out with her arm or anything similar, but she needed not do so. Instead, her shoulder simply barrelled toward her opponent with all the momentum of a freight train.

She had no doubt that she would still be cut, but she would not allow her opponent to create any major issue so soon in the bout.