To Protect the Future, Sacrifice The Past{Closed}

It was a beautiful day at the Shinigami today, the sun was shining and the breeze was only slightly cool. All in all, it was a perfect day for the Shinigami students to go outside and have a little training in more in-depth combat. Things such as combat with obstacles, team battles, and plain swordsmanship. Kuroda, a beautiful and deadly woman, sat upon the roof of one of several buildings that circled the courtyard, imprisoning its inhabitants in a ring of achromatic walls and vermilion roofs. The young souls seemed not to mind, or maybe they were just oblivious to the menacing prospect of such an enclosed space. Either way, they seemed to not be bothered, so Kuroda didn't bother herself with it. The woman had pale skin, and violet hair that was pulled into a ponytail at the top of her head. The ponytail trailed down her back, reaching the base of her spine, where it brushed against the soft-leather case that held part of her soul. This chunk of her soul was also known as "Shoukyaku", or to anyone who had seen the release she used "Kyaku". A humming purr was constantly in the back of her head, the side-effects of being so close to ones zanpakuto spirit, more so a lazy one. She sighed, shaking her head and closing her eyelids over the violet eyes that had been scanning the emerald fields of grass dotted with the figures of children. Today she wore no captain's cloak, only the tight-fitting black outfit that barely contained her abnormally large bust. The shirt ran around her neck, but did not cover her arms, shoulder, or back. On her hands were long, sleeved black gloves, and on her legs were baggy white pants. Her feet were comfortably outfitted with a pair of black slippers.

Suddenly, the reishi in the area spiked, brining Kuroda back into focus. Her head snapped to her right where she sensed the reishi. Suddenly disappearing, she reappeared just outside of the boundaries of the academy, where she felt a reiatsu she had only felt thrice before. It was the spiritual pressure of a shinigami, with a hollow inside. Being more shinigami than hollow, she figured it was something much more frightening than a mere arrancar. Bracing herself, she prepared to meet the Vaizard head on and take him down before he reached the academy. She didn't know why he was here, or if the students were his target, but she knew she couldn't risk it.

What a wonderful day in Soul Society. Nice and sunny, and nice breeze. It seemed that everyone would be happy. Expect for one man, Shinichi Kawazoe. He had been banished from the Vizard army, and was left alone. Kawazoe had decided he should check on how Soul Society was doing. Nothing had changed since he had last been there. Nothing at all. Which just added on to his anger. He was wearing his normal cloths. A blue jacket, and pants. The jacket undone, showing off a dark blue shirt. His hair was tied back in a long ponytail, and was wrapped in a brown cloth. Kawazoe had his hands stuffed in his pockets. He was just taking a walk around Soul Society, until he reached the Shinigami Academy. He wasn't hiding his presence so he knew someone would come and attack him. Kawazoe stopped in his tracks when he saw someone appear before him. A woman. And this woman wasn't wearing much. It only got his attention for a second, before he was brought back to where he was. Kawazoe stood up straight and smiled. "Let me guess you've come here to kill me. Just like all Shinigami would do to a Vizard." Kawazoe pulled his hands out of his pockets, and leaned down to his shoes. A pair of black boots, inside them were twin daggers. One dagger in each boot. He pulled the one of his right boot, and held it with his left hand. And the same with the other, expect left boot right hand. Kawazoe stood back up, and redyed himself. "Shinichi Kawazoe. Former 3rd Division Captain. And former High Court Vizard." Kawazoe always told his opponent his name and rank. Just to show his manners.

Kuroda grinned slightly, the man was no newcomer, he knew what was what. Shaking her head, her smile turned to a frown. Her massive ponytail swayed like a ribbon in the breeze as she jerked her head around, eventually coming to a halt exactly where it had started. Her face was stony and unrevealing, she wouldn't show this man pity or any form of emotion for that matter. Her left foot skidded against the rough soil, creating a trail of dust cloud as it spread out in front of her. Her left side now face him, the left hand lifted up in a powerful fist to protect her. Her right leg moved backward a bit, her right hand resting at her waist in a claw-like fist. She was prepared to strike. "Kuroda Mibae, Captain of the Second Division. Mistress of Stealth" She responded in a formal tone. Even in a fight against exiled ones it was important to keep honor in mind.

A captain showed up. This surprised Kawazoe. He had expected some weak Shinigami to show, and try to fight him. But not a Captain. This battle could change with that. Kawazoe took a breath in, he had his daggers facing upside down. His hands were at his sides, not in any stance to block. He held them both of around his chest. They were a couple inches away from his chest, so they wouldn't be cutting him. Kawazoe smiled at the captain. The Mistress of Stealth caught his ear. The woman would be a tough opponent for Kawazoe if she was as stealthy as she said. "Well it's not like a man to attack a woman. So I'll let you have the first move." Kawazoe squatted down a little. He sent his right leg up a little. He was in a lunging position. Ready to block a blade, or a fist. He took another deep breath in. Calming his nerves. He didn't want his anger to cloud his thoughts. Once that happened, he would be the one ending up dead. Kawazoe smiled. "So go head. Attack me." And so the battle would being with those words. And those words could cost a man his life.

Kuroda smiled once again at the vaizard before her. His zanpakuto had taken the form of two daggers, both of which were small and slim enough to fit into his boots. She knew he was a close-combat fighter purely because of this, and maybe even a fighter who worked with speed and stealth as much as she did. She also knew that her title was a tad misleading. While she was very stealthy, the title led many to believe that she relied solely on skill, stealth, and speed. However, this wasn't true at all. In fact, she hardly even sunk so low as to use her stealth and speed to kill someone quickly without giving them a chance to defend themselves. She relied on power just as much as she did speed.

Suddenly, as if she needed to demonstrate this, she disappeared and flickered into view just above and to the right of her opponent. The heel of her right foot slammed into the ground, creating a crater in the ground and causing chunks of stone and soil to fly upward. Spinning on her right foot, she launched her left one in a powerful kick toward one of the larger chunks of stone. The kick hit the rock, sending it hurtling toward her opponent's head. Jumping back a bit, she took up a stance identical to her previous one, and waited for her opponent's reaction.

It was a strange move. Kawazoe had been expecting the kick to be aimed at him, but was wrong. Instead a rock replaced a leg. Kawazoe held his arms up, protecting him head. The rock hit his arms, knocking him down on the ground. It would leave a bruise where it head, nothing more. Kawazoe got back on his feet. "Got me off guard." Kawazoe smiled, and took a deep breath in. He flash stepped behind the woman. He sent the dagger in his right hand aimed at her left shoulder. It was aimed to rip into the skin, and lodge itself in her. "But that won't happen again." He needed to keep his other dagger, just in case this plan actually worked. He was fighting a captain, so she would probably dodge, and end up wounding Kawazoe again. If a rock trick could get him, then god knows what else would be up this woman's sleeve.

[So very Short]

The man disappeared, reappearing behind her. A trick that most anyone who was skilled at shunpo did, as the back was the easiest part of the body to hit. As a result she had been on guard the entire time, and was able to drop down as the blade charged its way toward her shoulder. It would cut into her shoulder as it passed, not lodging itself in, but instead just grazing her flesh. Blood trickled from the wound, sliding down her bare skin and creating a maroon trail down her arm. Suddenly, her elbow snapped backward, aiming for the man's throat. As it moved so did her other hand, aiming a chop toward his left elbow, aiming to break the joint, making the limb useless.

[[So is mine..I'm sorry]]

It seemed that Kawazoe had forgotten who he was fighting. The 2nd Division Captain. Someone who would be trained with close combat. His blade skimmed her shoulder, not doing a lot of damage. Kawazoe had lost his grip on the blade when it skimmed her, so it fell to the ground. Yet the woman still had her back to Kawazoe. He had little time to think, with only one dagger he was in trouble. But as if losing a dagger wasn't enough, a elbow came up to his neck. With his new free hand Kawazoe grabbed it. His hand taking the blow. He wrapped his hand around the end of the elbow, grabbing onto it with a firm grip. He was caught off guard by the second blow. Not trying to move at all. His entire left arm becoming useless. The dagger falling out of his hands. Pain rushed throughout his body making him want to scream. But he didn't. He kept his mouth close. Anger followed the pain. "Seems like I was wrong. That's twice now. Guess you have a lot of tricks." Kawazoe had struggled to get the words out. Since the two were very close together hand-to-hand combat was needed. Kawazoe using his left leg sent a kick at her legs. He made the kick into a sweeping motion aimed to knock her over. His hand was still holding her elbow, but it wouldn't be hard breaking his grasp. Not at all.

She felt her elbow hit his hand, his fingers wrapping around the edge of her bowed arm, holding tight. Then, she felt the satisfying crack of bone as her hand severed the joint and made his arm useless. Suddenly, she burst forward, just as he swept at her legs. She hadn't planned this dodge, but it worked none-the-less. Tearing her elbow from his grasp, she spun on her heel and stopped. Facing him, only a few meters away from him, she brought up her fists in a fighting stance. Her body was turned away from him, one fist raised up to her face to protect her there, the other at her waist to protect her kidneys and other soft spots. Both legs were poised to strike, she was preparing to crush him without even drawing her blade. "I've hit you twice, now lets see if you can hit me another time to even things out." She challenged him, smirking ever so slightly.

[[Probably short]]

Kawazoe smiled at her words. His plan hadn't landed a blow, and he was left with nothing. But there was still a chance he could win, that chance was still in sight. But both his opponent and Kawazoe could see it. Kawazoe lifted his right hand to his mouth. Sticking the dagger in there and biting down hard. He leaned down and picked up his other dagger. "Do you think just because I lost my arm that it means I'm as good as dead? Well let's remember one thing. My blades are in their sealed state." The words would sound strange due to the dagger being in his mouth. But the words could be understood. "Shape the world into something beautiful Fujiko!" The blade in his mouth disappeared. And in his right hand was no longer a dagger. In its place was a whip. Kawazoe smiled. He wasn't going to waste any time with his new blade. He whipped it, and 3 metal clones started to form. The clones looked exactly like Kawazoe, expect for the blade. A regular Katana, instead of a whip. The clones set out in a dash towards the woman. She wasn't far from Kawazoe, so it wouldn't take long for them to reach her. One clone was facing her face, the other two at her left and right. Her only escape was behind her, but from seeing what she had already done. She would probably think of something else. "I think I'll even it out now." Kawazoe smiled at her and made the clone facing her front attack. It held its blade in both hands, and it sent its blade across her chest. Easy to dodge. But there was more in store for this Captain.

"Interesting..." She mumbled to herself, as she hopped backward to give them more of a distance to run. Suddenly, as they closed in around her, she launched herself into the air. Her powerful legs stomped down on the heads of the two to either side of her, launching her forward. She wasn't going to waste her time with clones, she was going straight for her opponent. As soon as she was within six inches of him, she raised her hand. It was glowing blue, an orb forming in front of her. The kidou would be far less powerful than a regular one, as she had no time for incantations. "Hado number thirty-three, Sōkatsui!" She cried out, releasing the blast of flaming energy. It seared the air as it arched forward, aiming at the chest of the opponent just six inches in front of her.

"Damn-" Was the first thing that came out of his mouth. Kawazoe saw this woman jump away from his clones and rush to him. She appeared in front of him. Not wasting any time she fired a Kido at him. Kawazoe had little time to move. Kawazoe tired jumping to the right, but got hit. The kido left his left shoulder in serious pain. His arm was already broken but now his shoulder was bleeding. The blast had ripped through his skin, and left a nasty wound. Yet Kawazoe never screamed out in pain. As much as he wanted to, he didn't. He made his three clones come back to where he was standing. The pain in his body starting to become too much. Yet he still stood. The clones ran over to where Kawazoe was standing. They were all facing the woman's back. The clones were in a row, the one in the center right behind the Captain. He smiled at made the one in the center explode. But it wasn't a blast. Needles were headed towards his opponents back. The needles were razor and could rip through the Captain's flesh with ease. The other two clones just stood. If they hit it would cause serious damage. Maybe changing the battle. Just maybe.

Her kido had been a success; well, more or less. She had torn into his left shoulder with the kido, which was damage even though it was nearly pointless. His left arm was already useless and waiting for the wound to cause him to bleed until he passed out would take too long in a real combat situation. On top of that, the clones were still coming at her. Realizing that this man was no amateur, she decided to show him a bit of respect. Suddenly, she grabbed the handle of her blade and began to pull it out of its sheath. As soon as it had come halfway out it exploded in a torrent of wind. This wind would cover her body, as two massive daggers- nearly the length of shortswords- appeared in her hands. The blades were curved along their edge, thicker than most daggers, and seemed to be shaped almost like battle-ax blades. The blade was curved at both ends, but in the center on the side that wasn't edged it was completely flat. The shaping was odd, but somehow it must work as this was her initial release.

The middle clone exploded before she noticed they had advanced upon her, causing her to have no time to shunpo out of the way. So, the needles impacted with her wind pelt. They were powerful enough to pierce through her easily, but piercing through a raging coat of wind was a different stories. The needles pierced through the wind however, scratching at her exposed back before they were tossed away by the shell of wind around her. She grimaced at the pain, but kept her head and didn't cry out. Turning to the man that was her target, she ignored the pain and the last two clones. She would disappear from view, flickering behind her opponent as she slashed at the back of his neck and the base of his spine. There was no more fooling around, every strike would be deadly.

Kawazoe hadn't been expecting what he got. His opponent hadn't been using her sword, so he was expecting it to be much. His needles got her in her back, but they didn't get what he intended. It seemed she had wind around her body. That could be a problem for Kawazoe, but that wasn't it. Just to be safe Kawazoe activated his mask. It glued to his face, and his skin color change. It was a pale white, but once his mask came it was a dark grey. Once he had put his mask on he realized his opponent had disappeared. Kawazoe knew better, and he knew what she was going to do. When he had his mask on he had a Heirro. So when the blades hit it did nothing to Kawazoe. But what surprised him was the fact that his Heirro shattered. But not in one place but two. Now he had two weak points while his mask was on. Kawazoe spun around and smiled at her. The smile couldn't be seen through his mask though. The clones behind Kawazoe disappeared. His time with them was up. Kawazoe wasn't far from his opponent. Just 5 inches. "I gotta hand it to you. Takes a lot to destory my Hierro, and to do it in one hit." Kawazoe stuck his whip in his mouth, biting down on it. He flash stepped behind her, and with his free hand sent a fist at her lower back. When he had his mask on he had a new strength, and speed. It would be a challenge now keeping up with where Kawazoe would be. Plus with his new power. This battle was starting to become more of a challenge.

The man was much stronger than she had expected, and he had resorted to the use of his mask so soon. This was going to get far too tricky for her liking, she would have to think fast. Suddenly, her blades met the now gray flesh of her opponent, and she felt something like a cracking beneath her blades. She had expected- possibly even craved- the feeling of blades tearing through flesh and tendons, the smell of coppery blood in the air, the possible feeling of the warm and sticky life-liquid of her opponent trickling onto her fingers. It was at times like these that she disturbed herself the most.

Shaking this thought from her head, she caused her purple hair to swirl around in the air once again. She saw her opponent disappear, and felt an eerie tingling upon her spine. As she twisted mid air, he appeared behind her. His whip was in his mouth, and his fist was coming down upon her. With his gray skin, flesh-like mask, and bestial figure, the man was a site to be seen. She kicked off of the soil beneath her, launching herself away from him as his fist came down hard upon her pelvic bone. She felt a slight crack, but it had only been a grazing blow. She could only imagine what the man's attacks were like taken head on. Even with the protection of the wind he had done enough damage to send a sharp signal to her head that caused her to nearly cry out from pain.

Biting down the urge to cry out, she steeled herself. Her opponent was strong, but she still had three tricks up her sleeve while he seemed to only have one left. Smiling confidentially, she flipped both daggers in hand. Catching them once again, she now held them with their tips facing the earth. The wind began to pick up around her, tearing her hair from the constraints of the tight, knotted, ribbon that held it so neatly on top of her head. Her bust shook, her hair a flurry of violet around her pale face.

"What I am about to show you, you must never tell anyone about. If you win this fight you must swear to not inform anyone of what you have seen today." She barked authoritatively. Suddenly the blades began to glow a brilliant purple color. The purple was deeper than even her hair, though it seemed to glitter with brighter shades that were mixed in. In a burst of this light, the area was enveloped in purple light. When the flash dispersed, Kuroda would no longer be holding daggers.

Her body was no longer covered in wind, in fact that area around her seemed very placid compared to the dramatic presentation of this newest form. Attached to her sash was a metal band, thick and heavy. Attached to the base of her spine through this metal band were two massive pipes of steel, which were connected to other pipes with steel orbs that allowed for full maneuverability to the massive blades attached to the ends of either pole. The blades were like massive versions of the dagger blades, shaped like either blade of a battle axe.

She looked upon him with cold, deadly calm eyes. Her smile was gone, she was serious now. Her thin, solemn, pink lips moved smoothly as she spoke. "This is the true shikai form of my zanpakuto. Shoukyaku is it's full name. You see, as the captain of the Second Division it is expected of me to have a zanpakuto that is as stealthy as I am. These two massive, barbaric, blades are the least stealthy weapons I have seen besides the Captain Commander's shikai. So, I hide its powers in the form of two daggers, the most common weapon associated with assassination and stealth." She explained calmly as she poised herself to strike. All of her muscles were bunched, her hands were brought up in fists, and her body was leaned forward. What was more menacing was the fact that both blades were hovering over her head, spinning on the orb that attacked them to the line of pipes.

This first feeling Kawazoe felt was fear. His eyes widened as he saw her true blade. Who knows what that blade could do. The fear was quickly put away, and it could no longer be seen in his eyes. Seemed his opponent was done playing around. It made Kawazoe feel small compared to the Captain. The feeling seemed to last longer than he wanted it to, and it wasn't going away. Kawazoe could do two things. Get on his knees and beg for life, or use Ban Kai. Both of which wouldn't be happening any time soon. "Well it seems that I only have one more trick up my sleeve. While you have tons of them." Kawazoe sighed, this was starting to become such a challenge to him. He would have to do something he had never done before. Something that would he would probably regret, but it had to be done. "Seems like I'm going to be a fool to do this, but it's a last resort." Kawazoe bit down on his whip, and took a deep breath in. "Ban Kai." The words were plan and boring, like Kawazoe would rather die than use it. In place of the whip was a long sword. In his right hand was another sword that looked exactly like the one in his mouth. "I must tell you that things just got a lot harder." Kawazoe flash stepped in front of his opponent. Anger filled his eyes. With the blade in his right hand he aimed it to slash across his opponents chest. He knew good and well that she would dodge, and attack Kawazoe. Which would probably leave Kawazoe in some serious pain.

[[Not my best...]]

Kuroda didn't smile when she saw fear in her opponents eyes, it was no longer pleasing to her. Now she was going to kill him, what he felt and said didn't matter. What he did had no meaning or consequence, he was already just a walking corpse. Her determined gaze followed the movement of his lips as he mouthed out words her ears didn't catch. She was focusing on something much more important at the moment. His lips formed two syllables that would prove most annoying to her. "Ban Kai", he said, as if something like that would change anything. He was nothing more than a slightly more powerful bug with something like a Ban Kai. She had at first been a bit worried when he released the clones with the needles, a bit more anxious at the release of his hierro-granting mask, but such a tiny and pathetic Ban Kai only proved what she now thought of her opponent. He was six feet under and digging deeper, and it seemed she would be the one to fill the hole.

Suddenly, the beastly man was upon her, with one hook sword in his mouth and the other in his uninjured hand. She smiled as her head moved to the side, her body carrying with it. Her body moved in a blur as the blade passed by her, and suddenly she was several feet away. Her blade was back in its sheath and her shikai had been sealed. It seemed she had thought that she wouldn't need anything to beat him at Ban Kai level, even with his mask, but this was misleading. Suddenly, wind carried itself to her body, and a white light began to glow around the area of her back and shoulders. Her bare flesh glistened in the light, her violet hair being tossed this way and that. Wind burst forth from her back and shoulders, spiralling around her body.

"Shunko." She mumbled, as she disappeared. Suddenly appearing above her opponent, she released a massive blast of kidou energy in the form of a palm thrust down upon him. The spiralling light crashed down upon the area where he stood, with enough power to turn his pathetic hierro to dust. She wasn't going to mess around, or wait for his Ban Kai to show its true abilities. Things were going to end fast, and if they didn't end with that attack he would be extremely sorry.

Life was over for Kawazoe. Death never scared him when he was a Shinigami. It never scared him when he became a Vizard. And death would never scare Kawazoe. His mask fell to the ground, pointless. His Ban Kai was gone as well. The two daggers fell to the ground. He had let everything go shortly after she had lunged back. The battle was pointless, Kawazoe knew from the start it would end with his death. And as the blast blasted him to hell he had so many regrets. All the regrets seemed to crush his body. And they would always even in the darkest pits of hell

[SHORT!]