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

As Yuuto saw Byakuya turn his blade over, he was quick to create distance, tearing his own sword from the sheath. The storm generated from his Shikai still rumbled and groaned overhead, a bolt of lightning crashing down in accordance with his step. He had seen this before, and instinct roared louder than anything else.

"Bankai."

Even if he wasn't in his Shikai, and the storm wasn't at its full might, that wouldn't stop him. Such an action prompted an equal response. Despite the restriction of his Zanpakuto, Yuuto knew that his will was stronger, greater than his own Zanpakuto's desire to have him slow down and focus. In response to the nobleman, he forced his Zanpakuto to immediately activate Bankai.

The black shihakusho he usually wore quickly switched, drowned in a purifying white, and eight rings manifested around him, doubled from what he usually possessed in his Shikai. With the briefest of motions, Yuuto suddenly charged forward, the sound of his foot leaving the ground, the dirt beneath being uplifted, and even the wind itself, anything and everything was slower than the instant it took him to move forward.

He burst through the seemingly endless petal-shaped blades, his entire body covered in lacerations, though the power of the creature inside him worked quick to have his wounds mend themselves. Lifting his sword above his head, lightning crackled along the blade as he slammed down, electricity erupting in all directions like a current. Those eyes of his burned with determination -- but not the level of insanity that the nobleman saw before.

Despite all his usual humility, Byakuya's challenge had been accepted, and Yuuto intended to meet it in full.

The amount of focus required of Byakuya while fighting Yuuto was more than he normally had to keep up with. Byakuya knew that one misstep, one moment of hesitation, one tiny mistake against this man’s speed would cost him. So, as the man slammed his blade down at Byakuya, a swift wave of Byakuya’s left arm brought a stream of his blossoms between Yuuto’s blade and himself. The electricity cracked like a dangerous web in all directions, the petals of Senbonzakura forced to follow and scatter along the lines of Yuuto’s lightning.

An immediate counter-attack followed the swing of Byakuya’s hand, rigid like a knife, as he sent another stream of sakura blades rushing at Yuuto. Together, the uncountable number of petals formed a blade themselves, threatening to cut open the man’s chest. However, the flow of movement did not stop. Byakuya continued a circling motion of both arms coming together in front of him, causing the petals to collect closer to him. Following the technique of a simple, but strong punch, the petals followed and fired out at Yuuto once more in a larger stream of blades.

Yuuto's eyes, despite holding a fierce determination, still took in and analyzed everything that he could see. The motions of Byakuya's arm, the noted increase in speed compared to when he seemed to command them telekinetically, and their ability to push and resist his own power. The lightning deflected arced and crackled as it seared and broke apart the terrain around them, and Yuuto was quick to form a platform under his feet to allow him better control of himself.

Kicking off just as the petals condensed, the blade narrowly avoided his chest, instead piercing his stomach. As he did, four of the rings that followed the Captain suddenly dispersed, shadowy storm clouds spreading through the area, obscuring Yuuto's form as he was pushed backward from the focused barrage.

But, he noticed something as the clouds overtook his own vision -- the continued flow of movement.

'Good. Have a backup for every attack you make.'

As he soundlessly landed on the ground, a hand went to his stomach as the skin and muscle knitted itself together, vessels clotting in short order. Yet, the moment he heard the whistling wind of the petals moving, his body snapped into action, disappearing in a flash and slipping out of the way. Despite their prior bout having finished, Yuuto still intended on driving Byakuya to improve, to shatter the heavens, and these dark clouds intended to do so, with them being made of his own energy, obscuring not just his form, but his own presence in a unique way.

Rather than silence it entirely, it sought to do so through overwhelming. The nobleman would be forced to utilize everything in order to predict his next action.

With steps so precise and powerful that each movement sounded akin to thunder, Yuuto would dash around Byakuya dozens, hundreds of times, afterimages briefly appearing through the blackened smog, before his blade tore through the air, providing an ample threat, even with only using the blunt end.

The thunderous sound made by Captain Hisakawa’s steps were always an entertaining irony to Byakuya. The man dedicated to stealth, speed, and the shadows concealed himself through booming sounds that echoed so loudly, so quickly, that they could overwhelm a person easily. It was like he was repeatedly breaking the sound barrier each time he made a move. Intriguing, and annoying.

A test of this man’s regenerative abilities was being implemented as Byakuya took a large portion of his petals and spread them out over the battlefields, each moving at a slow speed and almost just hovering around. With Yuuto’s speed, this would create a different problem as each of his movements would run him through the blades of his bankai, likely shredding his skin and challenging his body to keep up.

Still, Yuuto was hard to pinpoint. The combined speed, afters images, and that thunderous boom seeming to strike before the last three even stopped was rattling. It took all of Byakuya’s focus to realize the pattern in Captain Hisakawa’s steps. He predicted a side attack and was right as Yuuto’s blade suddenly tore through the air and aimed at his head. Byakuya was surprised for a moment before vanishing.

Utilizing Utsusemi, Byakuya left the outer haori behind for Yuuto to cut and reappeared behind the man, already in mid-swing. His arm came down like an axe, thousands of petals following his movements and rushing down from above at the middle of Captain Hisakawa’s back. Byakuya was feeling the tension, a bead of sweat dropping from his forehead, though he did not dare take time to wipe it.

No matter how many blades Byakuya set as traps for him to try and counteract his speed, it wouldn't stop him. Unflinching, unmoving, Yuuto would charge through them, tearing his flesh asunder, only for it to mend itself in short time. He didn't care if his body was torn and broken beyond recognition -- the blaze that carried him ever-forward never stopped burning, no matter how damaged he became.

Yet, as he went to attack the nobleman's head, he found his sword not meeting the weight of a body, but as if it was cutting through paper. Byakuya was gone, his outer haori left in place. Just then, the weight of thousands of petals crashed into his back, tearing his body asunder. While his eyes widened in surprise, he neither flinched nor made a sound as he he forced his body to turn and resist the weight of Senbonzakura's endless barrage of petal blades.

One of the rings moved in to defend him, a film of energy manifesting to act as a more proper shield, and, out of nowhere, a burst of concussive force erupted from the object toward Byakuya, with sound reminiscent of a thundercrack intending to force the nobleman, as well as his petals, back from him.

Lightning crackled along his sword as the ring repositioned itself, and Yuuto fired himself through it, causing all aspects of himself to suddenly increase as he launched forward toward the nobleman.


The two had been sparring for hours. Yuuto's haori and shihakusho retained damage in several places, both big and small, and the reckless abandon he attacked with had caused him to rapidly drain himself of energy. Cuts littered his body, considerably slower to heal than they had before, and the Stealth Force Captain showed visible signs of fatigue. Yet, even still, his eyes were wide and alert, and even though his energy waned, he still appeared ready to move and respond at any moment.

Even Byakuya held a moment of surprised when he realized his attack struck it’s target. The torrent of petals would continue to test the regenerative capabilities of his opponent until a concussive blast pushed Byakauya from his feet and sent him careening yards backwards. His shoulder hit the ground first, he rolled, and then came to his feet to slide back even further. He had little time from then to recover as this speed demon utilized even more to rush him… The nobleman smirked…


Truth be told, Byakuya lost track of time. His focus was on this fight. It became something new today... something that he wouldn’t just call a spar. Byakuya’s clothing was torn all over, mostly shredded. Blood dripped from his shoulder, neck, arm, and back. His legs felt like lead and the amount of energy he had used forced him to close his bankai some time ago. His shoulders raised and fell with heavy breaths, and with all of that, he was still as alert and ready to move again.

However, neither did. Not himself or Yuuto took the next step to fight. Byakuya moved out of his fighting stance and let his hilt hang in a loose grip. A moment later, the petals of his shikai collected to reform the blade of his zanpakuto.

“Well fought.”

As Byakuya returned to a natural posture, Yuuto would as well, the garish white having since dimmed back to the typical black of his shihakusho, contrasted with what remained of his haori. He took a deep breath in, before finally sheathing his sword, the bright white returning to its sylvan and gold combination, exhaling as the tsuba silently tapped against the scabbard.

"Likewise."

That fire that burned so bright did not dim so easily, however. Rather, as the Captain calmed himself down and returned to a neutral pose, that flame was merely hidden, masterfully so. His legs burned from how far he had ended up pushing himself, and despite his control over his own body, he could feel his lungs screaming for air no matter how much each heavy breath gave them.

Eventually, though, he took a moment to examine himself, a light chuckle coming from him as he looked at the tattered remains of his haori, shihakusho, and the cuts that still were slow to heal. If Yamamoto could see the state of his haori right now, Yuuto was certain that he would be furious.

"Your reaction time has greatly improved, as has your ability to think on your feet. Excellent progress, Lord Kuchiki."

There was something these two forgot about this entire day. They were very, very far from home. As Yuuto gave him an appreciated compliment, Byakuya looked back toward the Seireitei. The thought of every mile they were required to travel in order to get home made them seem so much heavier. Turning back to Captain Hisakawa, Byakuya gave a curt nod of respect as thanks. Then he noticed the mans haori, reminded of an old… conversation… Well, it was more a scolding…

The smallest of smirks grew on Byakuya’s lips, “I’ve been told those aren't cheap.”