[BSD-RP] The Valley of Screams

[Shinigami]

Katsuo knew what was shown so far wouldn't impress a captain like Kyomu Murkuro, but still, the snake followed and lashed out like Katsuo anticipated he would. The duplicates did their job and antagonized Kyomu into following him… and with bared fangs, the snake attacks. Katsuo leaped upward while running, and in midair he turned to face Kyomu, giving himself a bit of an advantage. Katsuo was showing the fruits of his martial arts training now; the flexibility in his movement was practically unheard of in Shinigami, it should be; Katsuo spends time in the living world, learning much from humans. These moves he learned from street runners; human beings with similar backstories to Katsuo.
His two zanpakuto are now in the direct path of the three blades that were flung at him with great precision. They were about to meet, and… Kyomu will be re-educated as to what happens when steel is heated and cooled. The blade aimed for his leg was met by a clang, before the supreme cold of the blade that hit it made it turn into shrapnel that spurted out back at the attacker. The cold blade continued on its path upward and flung the blade meant for Katsuo's abdomen upward toward the one meant for his arm… both blades hit with one another. As they do, Katsuo's second blade, the heated one, comes down. The opposite direction of the first blade. It cuts through the two other blades Kyomu threw; however, this counter was also an attack. Kyomu fell for it, hook line and sinker.
Both Katsuo's blades combine all of a sudden once again causing the same blast from before, one half of Kyomu's body would be frostbitten badly the other half burned. Now on top of the shrapnel from his own blade Kyomu had another fox cannon flying toward him.
Katsuo wasn't done. Once the blast went off from the blade he moved again. He backflipped, and while in mid-air he rotated his body to face ahead, before climbing reishi platforms to gain a height advantage. Should Kyomu follow this time he should pay close attention to the formation of the blades Katsuo holds.
"Ōame no kitsunebi."
Should Kyomu keep this mere ten-foot distance, he would find himself burning and freezing to death, simultaneously, as it started to rain, within the Valley of Screams. The rain was Eikogitsune's power. Immediately, Kyomu would feel the sudden pressure rise, and it wasn't from Katsuo's reiatsu. It was from his Zanpakuto. The collision of temperature was causing spouts of weather-like air pressure, however, weather phenomena are found nowhere within the Valley of Screams. Katsuo's movement, anticipation, and speed were merely a boost to an otherwise deadly Zanpakuto.
Katsuo was showing just how much he can control his reiatsu, and his zanpakuto by selecting the target, or targets, within the area who get affected by the burning rain of death. Kyomu was the target, anything else Kyomu threw at Katsuo would be met with the same rain, and melt away before it got close to hitting Katsuo.
Katsuo would turn his zanpakuto to his arms and legs temporarily as if cutting off his limbs, but all that fell were arm and leg guards, with weights in them. Not since Tenzen has Katsuo cut the training weights off his limbs, he feels as though Kyomu would enjoy the fight more if he suddenly had a major boost in speed. This time it was Katsuo doing the attacking. He crossed his Zanpakuto to prepare to counter Kyomu again, all while this time, headed straight for him. Katsuo released spiritual pressure from his feet jumping from his reishi platform. If Kyomu didn't run away from Katsuo with this rain activated, his clothes, and skin would start to melt. Then again Katsuo didn't want the captain to have that opportunity, as he activated his clones, this time they phased in and out at a much quicker rate… and Katsuo danced within them. It would be hard to tell where he was this time. No mercy? It was fine by the Oda. Kyomu would soon learn as well, no matter how kind an Oda is perceived to be, stand in the way of their goals… they will kill you.

 

[Shinigami]

Often deemed a pacifist above all else, shy, quiet and uncertain, it is in this match that Katsuo has chosen to forsake such thoughts. The young Oda shelves his fears, his doubts and dons a crown of confidence, of strength...a crown of arrogance that blinds him. Katsuo leaps, and bounces about while traversing the valley arrogantly believing to have gained some manner of advantage over the Captain. He perceives Kyomu having appeared, and arrogantly believes he has baited the Phantom, believes he has forced the young Captain to follow his lead.
Kyomu says nothing, he watches, studies, observes carefully as Katsuo’s arms swing as if to parry the projectiles launched his way. During the course of their swing, the vibrantly glowing blades connect as they had done earlier in the battle. Again a blast of torrential energy is fired, hot and cold spiraling towards their target, Kyomu. Katsuo believes that the blast along with the shrapnel from the projectiles would be more than enough to catch his silent proctor by surprise, that his actions were beyond the Captain’s perception and thus his ability to react. It is a train of thought that once more speaks of the Oda’s arrogance...and ignorance.
Like before, the young Oda does not bother to investigate or verify the fruits of his labor, he does not bother to assess his surroundings, and because of this the sight of the blast and shrapnel passing harmlessly through Kyomu's fading image is lost to him. In a needless display of acrobatics, he flips and propels himself higher and higher into the air, jumping from reishi plate to reishi plate.
"Ōame no kitsunebi."
Katsuo calls out, while uncertain to the state of Kyomu after what he believed to be a surprise attack, and equally uncertain to the actual movements or location of the Phantom — Katsuo readies himself for what he expects to be Kyomu’s counter attack. The barren valley, for perhaps the first time, is met with a change in weather. What appears to be rain begins pelting down on the valley floor, a downpour that is foreign to this place, and is anything but normal. As Katsuo’s eyes scan for his opponent during the rain’s inception, they are briefly bombarded with a sudden flash of white light. It comes without warning almost directly within the Oda’s face, bathing the surrounding space within his perception in its spherical luminance. It was as if a flashbang had been simultaneously tossed and detonated, undoubtedly another of the Captain’s tricks. The intensity of the light is short lived, dimming quickly enough for Katsuo to perceive the Phantom’s blurred image. Perhaps distorted by the stunning light it does nothing to disguise what Katsuo can easily make out — an attack from the Phantom. The Oda is able to perceive the phantom’s sheathless form swinging his zanpakuto, sending his blade arching down as if to cleave the gutsy fox in two from his left shoulder down to the right side of his waist.
With mere meters of space seemingly separating them this time, it was necessary for Katsuo to respond and react accordingly, ridding himself of his cumbersome restraints would have to be delayed for now. Though Kyomu knew nothing of the rain, the Captain might have thought it safer to rush Katsuo and get in an attack before becoming completely overwhelmed by this mysterious attack. It was reasonable thinking, Captain Mukuro and Captain Nakamoto were perhaps the only two souls who could attack, react and navigate through such a downpour.
Throughout this test Kyomu has not uttered a word, has not lost his composure, has shown no surprise or disappointment in the Oda’s performance. His thoughts remained a mystery, like his reiatsu, not an inkling of emotion seemed to escape the Captain. With this mysterious rain birthed from Katsuo’s zanpakuto, and depending on his ability to react to this perceived attack, perhaps that would soon change...

 

[Shinigami]

A crown of confidence he had not, Kyomu mistakes Arrogance for skill. Katsuo was a master at Zanjutsu and Reiatsu control. Seeing as Kyomu was a Shunpo master he felt it was only right he'd be slightly faster. A snake has fangs, but a fox has claws and teeth.
Katsuo was blinded for a few seconds, but he did have his blades crossed when Kyomu attacked. Katsuo and Kyomu's Zanpakuto's clashed, the cold blade blocked the Zanpakuto of Kyomu's from going down his shoulder when Katsuo lifted it to block and pulled back his head; it cut flesh at the shoulder, if only two inches deep, but it was all the blood Kyomu's blade got to touch… for now. Katsuo wanted to keep it that way. Kyomu would be feeling the effects of the rain since he entered Katsuo's radius, soon he would feel the burning of his flesh, the numbness of his skin. Katsuo blocked the blade he felt pierce his shoulder, and still had a free hand, with a blade attached to it. The heated blade was facing Kyomu. He would soon feel the frigid effects of the cold blade that was turning his zanpakuto into a piece of frozen metal. His hands would soon freeze to the hilt. Yellow crystals… they started forming at the connection of both blades, keeping Kyomu's Zanpakuto locked in place. Break free from the crystallization, and lose your Zanpakuto; or be skewered by a superheated blade, as it grew longer the more Reiatsu Katsuo unleashed. It grew long enough to meet Kyomu's chin.
With all the spiritual pressure Katsuo unleashed, the raining energy that feels like radiation would increase to a full downpour. Only Katsuo could let it up… If Kyomu backed up and away he would be fine, but if he kept this distance and force up Katsuo would have a blackened corpse to bring back. Kyomu wanted him to go at it like he wanted to kill him, and he will if he stays in the rain of radiation any longer, or pushes forward with his assault. The heated blade would go through his skull, just as Kyomu's blade would finish going through Katsuo's shoulder if Katsuo lets off on the frozen blade. It was a stalemate of sorts.
Katsuo waited and stared back at Kyomu just as emotionless as the Second Division captain himself. He had another trick up his sleeve but wasn't ready to reveal it just yet. Tenzen would rather expel one kido spell and be done with the enemy… Katsuo's combat style was exhausting his enemy then going in for the kill. He was learning much already with the captain, one so much as the strength and speed of one's shunpo.
Katsuo decided not to let Kyomu wait any longer, and he was close enough. He did say not to have mercy… Katsuo had learned from his mistakes from fighting Arashi regarding showing compassion to an enemy. The rain showered down harder, almost like hail coming down so hard and fast. As it did, both Zanpakuto of his started glowing brighter, and brighter.
"Kōtō Eikōgitsune."
( 高騰栄光狐) Lit. "Soaring Glorious Fox"
The resulting blast of Reiatsu would spark a flash bomb effect back onto Kyomu; from the smoke and light, he would suddenly feel a burst of wind. However, This wind wasn't wind at all; Kyomu would find himself suddenly pushed back violently by a blast of pure radiation-like temperature that expanded into a tornado that wrapped around Katsuo. Kyomu would find his flesh melting down to the bone should exposure to this energy continue.
In the center of the tornado was Katsuo, Adorning his Bankai; Two of the most gorgeous and elegant fans one could ever see, both temperatures working in unison instead of colliding, and combining to create a vortex of reiatsu that will melt flesh and turn bone to ash if touched, Kyomu didn't take the first warning shot seriously. Perhaps now he'll take Eikogitsune's power, and etch it into his memory…

Katsuo's movement became a lot like dance, as out of the vortex of power came blast, after relentless blast of the power unleashed by the fan. Kyomu would look like Shijitsu did in Karakura if he continued exposing himself to this level of energy from Katsuo. Kyomu also would be the first person to see Katsuo's Bankai, for he hadn't revealed it to anyone… not even Tenzen.

 

[Shinigami]

The eager young Oda may share his brother’s name, and like his brother he too wishes to lead his division, aspiring to take the helm and better the Thirteenth squad of the Gotei 13. It is unfortunate that it's there where their similarities meet its end. It is evident that Katsuo is only able to perceive what lies before him, and what he is allowed to perceive. The young Oda is betrayed by his own eyes, as well as his ignorance. Further training with his elder brother, a savant in the art of Kido, would have better prepared the would be Captain. Katsuo, unable to recognize the signature tell tale signs of Shibireyubi, namely the spherical flash of white light is simultaneously left unprepared in defending against it. He misasseses Kyomu’s speed, believing the Phantom to be only slightly faster than himself, causing him to misasses the source of the light.
Throughout the match, Kyomu has remained idle, on the defensive observing Katsuo’s every action. Though unspoken, he holds Captain Tenzen in high regard, and so he had chosen to be reactionary in all his actions. Kyomu had faced off against the Oda with rather high expectations, and so he watched and waited until he was satisfied or rather...dissatisfied.
Katsuo had done nothing to obstruct the Captain’s speed, choosing instead to engage in a game of hit and run with the fastest soul within the Soul Society while doing little to plan ahead. There exists no depth, no traps, no forethought or planning. Having grown tired of indulging in Katsuo’s childish games Kyomu makes his move.
While Katsuo stands elevated high above the valley, Kyomu unsheaths his zanpakuto, gripping his sword’s scabbard in his free hand, an act that goes unnoticed from Katsuo who had chosen to take his eyes off of his opponent. Closing the gap between him and Katsuo in a single step while creating a safe space from the acidic like rain using the scabbard, the speed of his movements render him virtually invisible and imperceptible to Katsuo. Unable to perceive anything other than the flash of white light he is blind to the fingers gripping the scabbard from which the light is born, fingers that had been thrust into his face at the last moment. Katsuo further is unable to perceive the peerless blade of Kyomu’s zanpakuto cleaving painlessly through the Oda’s body from his shoulder down to his hip in one fluid motion.
The entire act, every transition is lost to the warrior. With the flash of light, comes the incapacitation of the Oda’s body. He perceives the image of Kyomu approaching him, little more than an echo of what has already transpired as the Phantom’s very image seems to move as if in hope of catching up with his body’s every act. Planning to defend against the shadow of Kyomu’s form, Katsuo instead finds himself unable to move an inch as his body begins to collapse. Fully conscious and cognizant of his surroundings and his predicament, but powerless to act Katsuo can only watch on in horror. The blade passes harmlessly through Katsuo’s body before it and the body completely fades from view.
Katsuo is left to linger there, helpless and ignorant—that is, until the upper half of his body begins to slide away from the bottom half in a slow descent. The time from Kyomu’s actual attack to Katsuo’s body recognizing the cut having finally come aligned. The Captain having moved, attacked and moved again, watching from afar remains uncertain to the reasoning behind his opponent’s actions. Even had the image Katsuo faced been the real him, did he not know of his Zanpakuto’s power? If Kyomu sought to cut someone or something, there existed no blade, no shield, no construct which could stop his sword from passing. Attempting to block his sword was a pointless act.
The two halves of Katsuo plummet back down towards the valley’s floor, Kyomu making his own descent shortly after. Despite the wound, Katsuo would live but would he be foolish enough to still try and bare his fangs towards the Captain whom he had underestimated since the start of this farce of a bout? With a dozen feet between them, the Phantom slowly makes his approach with blade still in hand. As he walked, should the acidic rain continue to fall despite Katsuo’s current state it was of little importance—his reiatsu encapsulating his form would find itself acting as a temporary umbrella to the fallen fox’s temperamental deluge. The only question now was, would the Oda yield and recognize his shortcomings...or would Kyomu have to further punish the fighter for his foolishness?

 

[Shinigami]

There was nothing, his blade nor his shield could protect him from Kyomu's Zanpakuto. By the time Eikogitsune realized this, her fear and concern for Katsuo had reached his core and the blades he pulled closer to himself. The only thing he could think of doing now was to put his own Zanpakuto against his body and let it do its work. Kyomu's blade cuts through, Katsuo falls, as he does he puts the heated blade to his shoulder and chest, and the cold blade crystalizes his blood and keeps the other cut parts from falling apart.
Katsuo's Shikai had managed to keep the body from falling apart by searing and freezing them together, but as for feeling in them, Katsuo felt none. He fell to the floor and pulled himself with his good arm to a wall to sit up against it. Despite feeling Eikogitsune's worry, Katsuo managed to spark a smile even if defeated. The blade truly was a ghost blade… of course, he never fought against or seen Kyomu fight up until this point. In a lot of pain, and couldn't feel some of his body, he had to concede.
"I guess I'm not an Oda Afterall.."
Still, he smiled. If only to hold back what he was truly feeling at that moment. He felt all the disappointment Kyomu had, like a blanket of grief and sadness… revealing itself through the tears that suddenly erupted from his eyes, but he used his good arm to quickly wipe them away so that the captain wouldn't see, and smiled again, nodding.
"That is quite the Zanpakuto captain. I've never heard of nor seen one quite like that before…"
Eikogitsune finished sealing the wounds, and slowly faded back into her normal steel color. She was reliable if anything strong… Katsuo felt as though he wasn't as strong as his Zanpakuto was, and he was bringing her down like he was everything else.
"and your speed… I thought I was fast without my weights but… I suppose it would be bold to ask you about shunpo… perhaps if I'm not being tested for my skill… which is nonexistent…"
He said the last bit to himself in secret, Eikogitsune could feel how he was beating himself up over this loss… he did take it hard. All of his training and his preparedness didn't prepare him for an invisible blade and a faster opponent. Well, at least he knew where he stood in the grand scheme of things, at least right now; and he was courageous enough to try and help save his division. Someone had to do something for division 13… they were dying out there.
"I didn't just do this for myself, captain… I wanted to give division 13 a voice, one that could be heard… We need help; we are dying out there… without a voice to guide us, without someone to teach us how to fight stronger enemies, and fight against potential threats like the growing Quincy numbers… we will all die. Captain I care about my division, my second family. I don't want to see any more of them dead. Captain… Kyomu-san… please bring up my concerns in the next captain's meeting… if you don't nobody else will know or hear the problems we face in Karakura and division 13… I know I'm not ready to guide them, but I care… Division 13 is your only defense in Karakura; yet we weren't strong enough to stop the Togabito alone… Sir, we will lose Karakura, and many many souls if Division 13 doesn't get stronger… Oyama and I can't carry it alone. I fear if this continues, we'll have a huge hole in our defenses that the enemy will see and… we'll all be destroyed."
He sighed and looked away, if only in disappointment. He was ready to go back and face the humiliation of his failure. He wondered what happens now… what would his family do? What would captain Kyomu do, upon hearing his concerns… Katsuo felt more insecure. Uncertainties racked his mind, but one thing remained the same… Eikogitsune was there with him. Whatever came next… well they'd face it together. They tried, and one day they will try again… if the Oda don't kill them first.