Shinigami
Administrator
For the most minimalistic of moments, it seemed as though there was success in his actions. The Captain was a slippery one, his speed was far beyond Nibui’s own and such a success would have been immense in his eyes. A glint of hope kindled and extinguished within the very same moment, regardless, it would not put a damper on his state. If not for Nibui’s comfort and knowledge with wielding his blade, he may have been fooled and a momentary pause to live in the confidence instilled by that victory could have spelled the end of the line for him. The sensation of a blade carving through flesh, it was unique, a feeling one would not mistake so easily. This supposed cut, it lacked that distinct feel he had searched for, not only that but the lack of even a drop of blood that was not his own. Much like Nibui had replicated Kyomu’s prior motions, the Captain had replicated exactly what he himself had just done in order to get in so close to begin with.
Luckily, he was not without success, something came of his efforts. As his Reiatsu expressed an authority and power unmatched, Kyomu would not be spared from it’s expansive reach. Making his position known unwillingly. Though he had managed to get something from the Captain, it was still not even close to enough. The Captain’s own resilience and efforts against the overbearing pressure being exerted was definitely an impressive feat and something that would be noted for future reference. Without any visual queues to gauge from, Nibui could only hope that his efforts were in the very least, a restriction on the Captain’s full potential of movement. As was evident, this restriction was not enough, Kyomu had clearly evaded the strike and with enough remaining mobility to be able to make his way behind Nibui completely. It was likely that Nibui, even in this moment was still far outmatched for mobility.
With naught for delay, the combination of indications had prompted Nibui to react within that very moment and to the best of his abilities. He had been given a direction and confirmation that the real Kyomu was not where he had hoped. At the very instant in which he had taken note of these signs, he would pivot on the spot toward his 9 o’clock to catch the momentary glimpse of Kyomu that he had required. Just as with every other moment he had Captain within his vision, he studied and noted what he could catch of importance, this time around, something was wrong. A change had occurred a minor but important one. As if the Captain’s blade had simultaneously become non-existent as well as continuing to exist, it lacked a shadow. The blade was visible, seeming as though it blocked no light, this made it appear as if it were an illusion. For the moment, Nibui was unaware of what was to come from this change, though he was not eager to experience what could come from this but he was certain he would need to deal with it, in some way, shape or form.
Two minimalistic motions of Kyomu’s right hand, the blade’s subtle motions accompanied by something. Something both devastating and silent. Cleaving as easily through the scarred landscape as though there were nothing to impede it. Not only did it cleave through the landmass beneath the two, it just as easily seemed to ignore or perhaps even eviscerate the Reiatsu that originally plagued both Kyomu and the surroundings. So the Captain had found away to deal with this pressure so quickly? Not unexpected but regardless, it was still impressive. The reveal of such an ability in combination with the seemingly reasonless disappearance of the shadow that belonged to Kyomu’s Zanpakuto, they pointed towards not simply techniques, but an evolution of a Zanpakuto. The Shikai. While he had expected to put his Shikai to use before the Captain, this was a pleasant surprise, though it was also another factor for which Nibui would need to account for. He had no in depth knowledge of his opponent’s full capabilities with his Shikai and would have to tread lightly while maintaining a respectable amount of pressure on his opponent, not in form of his Reiatsu but constant and different methods of getting the Captain within his range.
At the very moment in which his Reiatsu had been shredded and he had taken notice of the two impossibly thin, nigh invisible wires, Kyomu’s presence was gone on all fronts. The resistance offered by his own Reiatsu had forced Kyomu to show his presence for once but in it’s absences, Kyomu would be free to hide himself once more. In perhaps an immeasurable moment, there he was again blade prepared and well on it’s way towards Nibui’s body in an attempt to rend his body in two. Accompanied by the threat that had just momentarily been introduced, Nibui had quite literally no time to think, there was only time to act.
Stepping back, that would only give Kyomu more space to advance and continue forward in his assault. A constant rhythm of retreating would only put Nibui on the back foot. Forward? Why would he, he had been stubborn before and as such lost the function of an arm completely. Neither left nor right would be directions he could utilize either, to avoid the horizontal wire and Kyomu in a singular motion would be more than risky, a slight alteration of the angle of the blade and he was done for. This was only accounting for one of three he was aware of, regardless he had to dispatch of the situation without a delay of any form.
Making use of that same technique the both of them had already used once in this fight, he was gone. Leaving nothing but an afterimage in his wake, one that seemed to be cleaved from three separate directions with not a drop of blood ever leaving this image. Where had Nibui disappeared off to? Somewhere he could get a full grasp of that exact moment, a full visual perspective. Above. Simultaneously to the intangible copy of himself being butchered, Nibui had emerged directly above where he had just been, a full 35 meters from the floor. Had he not witnessed and experienced his Reiatsu being split and dispersed with such ease, he would have been confident that he could have quite literally taken the full brunt of the Captain’s swing, with the aid of his Reiatsu ludicrously increasing his defences. Although, as with every living being, the instincts of fight or flight had taken control and he had enough information to instantaneously pick an action without thought. Had he not been a Shinigami, he would likely have been in a much worse spot at this moment in time, luckily, he was in fact such a thing. Moulding and adhering the Reishi in the air and from the stone, to the bottom of his feet, he would appear to float as though using a platform momentarily.
From above he had the perfect view to gauge what had just happened. Four figured below, one of himself, and three of Kyomu with a clear victor between the two groups. Along side taking in the situation below, at the very moment in which he had escaped almost certain death, he would take to his next phase, attack. For the smallest fraction of time he was in the air and had understood what exactly was happening in regards to the attack he had just avoided, he seemed to be almost squatting upside down, his feet pushed against the invisible Reishi platform above him. His limp arm hung downward like a sad branch as the blood dripped from the fingertips. His functional left arm held his blade parallel to his entire body, the tip of his Zanpakuto pointed toward his opponent below, or rather in the general direction of all 3 of him.
Quite a lot would have happened within such a short window of time, an attack from Kyomu on multiple fronts and an evasion of this attempt on his life by Nibui. An instant study and understanding of what had just occurred, despite have originally been unaware of the extra two images of Kyomu. And finally, the counter attack. Alongside his immediate study, Nibui’s Reiatsu would, uncommonly for himself, be focused on himself. Seeming as if the crimson ichor that poured from his wound had decided to envelop his entire body, his crimson Reiatsu would cloak and elevate his physical capabilities beyond belief. Despite having currently been unable to display his natural physical prowess, while he himself was not confident, his physical strength was something beyond that of any other within Seireitei, perhaps only those who had focused their entire practice on enhancing their strength alone through the use of their Reiatsu could compete, perhaps. With the benefits of his monstrous and dominating Reiatsu completely encapsulating and empowering, this strength would increase in absurd amounts. There was no climb in amounts in this case but a single boost. Not a fifty fold increase, not a hundred or two hundred but a three hundred fold increase of his physical capabilities. Abandoning the attempt to control Kyomu’s speed with his Reiatsu, every possible effort of his Reiatsu was instead funneled into himself.
Once again, the already mangled battleground would come under further destruction, not of a weapon, not of Reiatsu or a Shikai. A combination of his Shunpo and currently steroided speed would bring Nibui back down to Kyomu’s level, placing himself but a meter from the two images of Kyomu which had previously been at his 9 O’Clock and 3 O’Clock, forming a triangle with the two figures, the third image of Kyomu being the furthest from Nibui at that moment, roughly three meters. The speed at which he could move due to the senseless force he was capable of exerting was now far greater than before, on natural speed alone, it was possible for him to match his prior feats in this bout. Enhanced by his Shunpo, he would hope to at least keep up with Kyomu’s current state. This being said, despite being unable to actively use create speed clones of himself with the sole use of his Shunpo, as Kyomu had just shown, in this state, it seemed he too was capable of such a feat surprising even himself. Above, he an exact copy of Nibui had remained, a drop of blood supposedly dripping from the afterimage. As his feet made contact with the ground, once again, as if he had been actively attempting to dig his way to the absolute bottom of this Valley of Screams, another crater, greater to the original created by his initial display of Reiatsu, a 2 meter drop in height, along a roughly 15 meter radius. If not for his inability to do such a thing, it would have appeared as if Nibui had simply removed that section of the ground beneath them the moment his feet were introduced to the floor. The moment he appeared, he had quite clearly taken a stance, although it seemed off. A stance similar to those who have taken to practicing Kendo. His feet only split apart by perhaps a foot, the left foot positioned further ahead of the right, all the while, his left hand and only operable one, continued it’s firm yet oddly relaxed hold on the handle of Jubokko, keeping the blade mostly central to his body, the tip of the blade itself pointed outward toward Kyomu in an upward angle. The crimson clad Nibui had begun his motion with his Zanpakuto the moment his feet had made contact with solid ground. The over a meter long blade of his Zanpakuto had begun to move, 1, 2, 3, 27, 51, all the way up to 100 of equally deadly passes of his blade, covering an entire 180 degree area in front of him of which his blade could cover. Seemingly without a care in the world for limitations, these slashes would all take place within the same time frame as the cratering of the earth below him.
The moment of which his blade had stopped moving, the ground had just set into its new form and Nibui as illogical as it seemed, seeming never to have moved from that stance, arms included as this sequence of slashes was laid out before him. Behind the exhausted expression that permanently tainted his face, there was a calm serenity that encompassed a certain immortal ember of passion and excitement. His doubts in himself, while they would forever exist, had been pushed aside, his adoration for combat and the blade taking their place.
