Break a Blade, Cut a God [Yuuto, Byakuya]

The thundering echo was much more familiar these days, since this training had become partly routine. It was where the insane natural speed of the Stealth Captain met the perfection of the Former Captain of the Sixth Division’s shunpo. Byakuya rarely stood in a single place for more than a fraction of a second before he was forced to move again. His eyes were hyper focused, as his mind reached out to the surrounding area, his reikaku scanning for the precise, lighting-fast movements of his sparring partner. It was proving slightly difficult to keep up with Yuuto, but Byakuya’s goal here was the increase of his sensory abilities and reaction times.

And so they fought…

With his shikai active, Byakuya moved and tracked Yuuto’s movements to the best of his abilities. Neither of these men had any plan of holding back against each other. Byakuya's reiatsu washed over the land no differently than Yuuto's, both energies clashing over the battlefield. They likely were sensed into the Rukongai, even though they had put much distance between themselves and the city.

There was a sound, a low roar that proved difficult to track the path of, but Byakuya noted that its path followed where his reikaku sensed his opponent. That groan was something to keep in mind with each movement that Yuuto made.

The smoke bombs had been used before, a great tool for obscuring oneself. As Yuuto’s shikai was sealed, that shift in energy could not be ignored; it lessened. Byakuya immediately followed suit, the scattered blades of his Senbonzakura returning to their original form. His eyes traced the path of the original Yuuto through the afterimages, but were always behind him. The natural speed of the stealth Captain was constantly beyond his general reaction times: ‘… Fix that.’

Considering Yuuto’s words, he understood what the Captain meant, but when your general opponent utilized any form beyond normal, it was exceedingly difficult to hide energy while it was in use. ‘He sealed shikai to render reikaku useless… Good.’

‘Precision.’ Byakuya was careful with his own footwork as a barrage of needles came flying from the afterimages. In previous matches, Byakuya had been given hints of what to listen to. When someone was this fast, sound was a giveaway. The fluttering of Yuuto’s clothing, the sound of his footsteps… The stealth Captain was giving him hints. A small twitch formed at the side of Byakuya’s lips.

Byakuya darted forward along the thrown path of the needles, staying in front of them by only a few inches. It was similar to those movies where something was being shot at, but barely missed because they aimed where the person was, not where they would be… He utilized a single shunpo to keep in front of the needles as well. This kept on until there was a sudden shift, a new sound. A sword, not needle.

Byakuya’s stoic face broke for a moment, a look of surprise was proof of a mental acknowledgment of Yuuto’s prowess. ‘Precision. Moving mostly only his head, Byakuya swung his head down and around in a low arch, the blade missing by too little for the nobleman’s personal standards. Byakuya shunpo’d. He appeared at a lower angle and at Yuuto’s side. With the blunt edge of Senbonzakura, Byakuya swung up and around toward Yuuto’s gut, utilizing the higher end of his own speed in this strike. Byakuya knew to keep up with Yuuto, shunpo was his best bet.

Combining the momentum of Byakuya’s attack and the speed at which Yuuto had the capability of moving, dodging the sudden rib-strike was too difficult. Since both men agreed to give it their all, Byakuya’s attempted dodge was only a partial success. He was struck, but Yuuto made contact right as Byakuya shunpo’d backwards, lessening the blow just enough for Byakuya to more quickly catch his breath. The shunpo landed him about fifty feet backward, his hand on the spot he had been hit. ‘That speed is impressive…’ A calm breath, and he was ready again.

Byakuya took his stance as a sign he was ready to continue. The nobleman took a step forward and disappeared in a flash, pushing himself to move as quickly as his speed could carry him with shunpo. While he did not use them often, this was a perfect time to attempt to utilize the after images Yuuto was just doing a moment ago. As if they had switched spots, Byakuya darted so quickly around the area that images of himself remained while he had already moved on. Unlike Yuuto, however, Byakuya’s stealth capabilities were lacking, so he chose a more direct approach.

Occasionally, Byakuya shunpo’d in toward Yuuto to make an attack, aiming for his arms, sides, hands, and even head, but never attacked the legs. If by some stroke of luck and learned skill Byakuya struck Yuuto in the legs, that would halt their sparring session, so why take the chance? Coming in for another attack after the barrage, Byakuya appeared at Yuuto’s side, but at a higher angle, as if he had jumped. Utilizing reiryoku platforms, Byakuya pushed himself downward toward Yuuto for extra speed, his blade swinging swiftly at the Stealth Captain’s shoulder.

Grabbing another’s weapon was always a risky move; it was even riskier when your opponents sword was capable of turning into thousands of tiny blades at a single command. Luckily for Yuuto, Byakuya was not fast enough to release his shikai in such an intense moment, and against who Byakuya was sure was the fastest man in the Gotei United. So, the sudden shift brought Byakuya’s pommel toward his head. The nobleman leaned his head back and to the side and dodged the counter.

In that moment, Yuuto was gone. Byakuya’s senses instinctively reached out to find the man, even though he had just been told he shouldn’t rely on it. He saw the sword in the ground and before he could even start raising his head toward the fluttering of cloth, he felt the heavy strike of a foot hit his chest. Still, upon impact, Byakuya braced himself and was forced back along the ground, feet digging into the dirt beneath and creating two long indents before he finally slid to a stop.

Byakuya put up a hand, a signal to halt their current spar. The strike to the chest hurt, and he’d be foolish to lie to himself about it. The man stood silent for a few moments, taking a couple of deep breaths. “Your speed on the battlefield is more impressive than I initially thought.” Even though this had been a routine for them in the last few months, it wasn't often that Byakuya gave a compliment.

The fire in Yuuto’s eyes was evidence that their spar had really sparked something in the Stealth Captain. Byakuya was curious what caused such an expression. Was it something about the intensity of their spar? When Yuuto’s fire dwindled, Byakuya’s curiosity was only raised at the return of the man he occasionally shared tea with. ‘Interesting.’ He said nothing, of course, and only wanted to press that matter through another round between them. Could he inspire that change again?

“One has no choice but to improve in this circumstance,” Byakuya said, yet another compliment toward Yuuto’s skill, but this time vaguely hidden behind the challenge Byakuya put on himself in their spars. Byakuya took another breath and then raised his sword out in front of him, the tip pointed to the ground. Yuuto had seen this before, in previous spars. They were easily far enough away that it wouldn't be a problem; that was the entire reason they chose this spot. It was time to get serious.

"Bankai," Byakuya let loose the sword and it sunk into the ground. What seemed like two endless lines of blades formed around him, rising from the ground before shattering, releasing millions upon millions of blades, truly innumerable. The release of reitatsu was immense, but wouldn't likely be sensed in the Rukongai, which stood over a hundred few miles away, completely out of their reach. 'I will see that expression again,' Byakuya thought as he watched Yuuto. Without moving, the blades followed his eyes and millions of sakura petals rushed the Stealth Captain.