Testing Dummies

[Gaz]

Shiro #8

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Shiro nodded along with what Ken was saying, his mind flicking through different potential uses of what he just discovered he could do with the clouds. If these clouds could be remotely ignited to attack with lightning that would make for some serious potential for tactical outplaying later on.

“You don’t need a shikai to be seated. Most squads seat people based on skill and leadership abilities.” Shiro replied, giving Ken all of his attention for that moment. “The only seats that require having a person to have their Shikai are fifth and up.” Explaining how a typical squad’s hierarchy is laid out, he was only taking the first step in the upper echelons of a squad but that step was still relatively small.

“Some Shinigami get their shikai and never use it.” He added, knowing how a few of the members in his own squad actively avoided their shikai, be it either for their destructive capability or incompatibility with their base fighting style. He gave the young man a smile as one of the others passed by to note down their results and handed Shiro his read out device.

“Oh, that’s almost the last of them…” He mused having not realised how much time had passed as he and Ken were discussing. “I thought Squad Eleven was going to gobble me up before my selection exam, but when Captain Saeki offered me a seated position I jumped into it… She wanted to spite Captain Yorutatsu anyway.”

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Shiro: 7319e6

[Ken Shirogane]

"You might not need a Shikai to be seated, but I do think it's more common than not to have ones shikai unlocked while holding a seat that not." He noted with a light shrug.

"Having a Shikai and never using it..." He pondered the idea, but really could not get past how much of a waste that sounded like to him. Like hoarding wealth, albeit not being something you could spend in the commercial sense generally.

"I have a hard time imagining that whatever my Shikai will be, it could be something I would not want to use." He noted with a chuckle. "But I also imagine whatever I get should work well for me in the squad I have. Even if I were not in squad 11 I would certainly be in a squad where combat is expected."

"Hah, you in squad 11 huh? You must have some good blade skills then. We should have a spar sometime." He suggested immediately with obvious interest. Ken might not believe he was the most suited to squad 11 based on his personality at times, but at the very least he always believed that he had half the personality that others in his squad did. He did enjoy a good fight, even if he only enjoys spars more occasionally than others in his squad might.

"It's also a little hard to imagine you in squad 11. I mean, it's not like I know you that deeply yet or anything, but from what I've seen so far, I kind of view you as a loyal hound rather than a ferocious wolf." He noted, certainly not meaning any offense, and doubting Shiro would take any. There was nothing wrong with being someone who could be described as loyal, and not all wolves were ferocious. But it was a matter of temperance.

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Post Count: 9

[Gaz]

Shiro #9

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The young officer looked at Ken with a dangerous smirk as he shifted his position from casually standing with his Zanpakuto in one hand to a practiced stance. His left foot was back his right foot forward, the spacing between them was a shoulders width which gave him a good centre of mass. He brought his left hand down and push it forward with the readout device facing towards the sky, his sword hand was up and held close to his face as if he were a poised snake ready to strike out in attack or to intercept.

“Rairyu, what’s the name of that technique I used earlier?” He asked aloud, if his zanpakuto spirit was as loud and impulsive as Shiro was it would answer him right now.

“Ten o terasu ichigeki, A strike that lights up the heavens.” A booming voice spoke in his head, powerful and on the edge. Each word rumbled like thunder and rattled around like electricity ready to just strike.

That dangerous smirk turned into a grin as the billow of clouds that came from his dragon mouth guard lit up with a massive surge of spiritual energy being poured into it by Shiro. “Ten o terasu ichigeki!” He called as he struck forward to release the piercing bolt of lightning that arced out from the metal of his blade and impacted the first target dummy but then leaped to the second in the same heartbeat. The bolt was bright enough to make the blue sky seem dark and the sun seem like a dim and withering flame, but only for that moment.

As the passing moment faded both of the dummies exploded into a rain of smouldering heaps of metal and scattered limbs that were raining down all over the field. He let the Zanpakuto revert to a sealed state as he bellowed a laugh. The readout devices were both flashing a red error message. “I’m open to actually showing you my sword skills Ken… maybe after I get this cleaned up though.”

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Shiro: 7319e6

[Ken Shirogane]

He blinked when Shiro talked out loud to his sword before performing a rather brilliant move that destroyed a pair of the dummies spectacularly.

"Jeez, I guess these dummies are not quite ready for live use after all." He noted with a little sigh at the sight of the smoking remains. "If they can't handle a strong Shikai, I suppose that means that they need more work. Amusing that you are the one setting the bar for what these dummies can handle though, at least in regards to Shikai. I imagine that Bankai would make even shorter work of them." He mused with interest.

He nodded with a grin in reply to seeing the kinds of blade skills Shiro had, glad that the other man had accepted. "Wonderful. Well, then do you want any help cleaning this mess up? I don't mind sparing a bit of time helping." He offered, figuring they could have it done faster together and then go off to enjoy a moment of free time clashing blades. Perhaps Ken would even learn a thing or two. Ken hadn't done a lot of sparring with people unlike most people in Squad 11 who would fight just about anyone. Ken preferred to pick his battles rather than take on just anyone.

"Maybe you can give me some tips on unlocking Shikai too. I'm not sure if I am doing it right or not, but then again I suppose there might not be one best way to do it?" He mused.

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Post Count: 10

[Gaz]

Shiro #10

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“I was told to test them… and when I test anything for squad twelve, I will always put it through its paces.” He explained, a cocky smile on his face as the Zanpakuto was sheaved and he kneeled down to pick up the arm of one of the mannequin dummies. With a healthy use of his natural strength he tossed it across the field to make it land in the cart that he had used to get it here.

“If you want to help then please do! We can clash blades once all the pieces are in the cart.” Shiro said as he moved past Ken with a subtle smile, one hand patting the man on the shoulder as he did. “Every Shikai is different. Your Zanpakuto’s spirit will respond to you when you know yourself better.” With his wise words spoken Shiro moved on to get started cleaning up the mess he had made in his moment of impromptu showing off.

The people who had gathered either watched Shiro do his clean up with a smile on their face or gathered the parts that landed near to them and made a pile for the Squad Twelve nerd to pick up and put in his cart. That was nice of them at least and it was a form of help. There were compliments on his shikai and a few scoffs at the fact someone so new to the world of the Shinigami could do it.

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Shiro: 7319e6

[Ken Shirogane]

Well, it certainly could not be said that Shiro didn't take his position seriously. He'd blown the dummies to pieces with one strong attack in the end giving it all he had it seemed. Ken could only assume that he would be fried if he were hit by something like that because he wasn't sure what he could do to defend against a lightning bolt. His reaction speed was good, he could cut arrows aimed his way. But he could not cut bullets, and a lightning bolt was even faster than a bullet, not to mention vastly more destructive.

He nodded when Shiro agreed that he could help and so started to walk around to help pick up the shredded remains of the dolls that had been blown to pieces. He wondered just how strong that last lightning bolt was, and how much he would need to improve to be able to emulate that level of destruction through Hado. The practice would always do him some good, and he did intend to come back for more regularly.

"You'd think after being around about two-hundred years I would have a pretty good idea about myself. Just how well do I need to know myself?" He also wondered if he might be able to talk with his sword before actually getting to know its name. "The soul of the sword is supposed to represent me to a degree right? So I should approach it in ways that I would like to be approached myself?"

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Post Count: 11

[Gaz]

Shiro #11

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As Shiro was picking up more chunks of the dummies he looked over to Ken and shrugged. Sometimes it was hard to know yourself, believing a lie someone else had told you so long that you believed it yourself as if it were the truth. It was one of the few research studies he had read and retained in his first few weeks as a member of Squad twelve. Some humans upon their death their souls, the plus, changes gender and appearance to reflect who they feel they really are. It was fascinating that was possible for souls to be born into bodies that didn’t suit them.

“The soul of your sword is a part of your soul, manifested and shaped into form… don’t you remember that from the academy?” He asked, chucking a whole arm he had found into the cart form a distance. The whole ordeal of using his shikai as he had after pulled the cart around, his day of work and now the clean up was wearing him thin. He’d be able to have a quick spar but it wouldn’t be his best form.

“What do you really want to do as a Shinigami?” He asked, stopping to stand by the cart having finished the work. “Do you really want to just be some swordsman brute of Squad Eleven? Or do you want to branch out and find your niche? Something no one else can really do?”

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Shiro: 7319e6

[Ken Shirogane]

"Right, I know that, but how much of what I put into the sword reflects me is what I am asking. From what I heard the spirits of swords can get pretty odd. And I suppose that's down to the user, but if my sword is like me, then it's likely it wants to speak to me as much as I want to speak to it." He said crossing his arms and nodding. "I want to bond with it, I want it to be my partner so that together we can grow and reach even greater heights, I want to shine like the sun with sword in hand!" He said rather energetically, clearly becoming passionate about it.

But when it came to the question Shiro asked Ken calmed instantly, like a fire doused. "Hm... I want a lot of things. I'd like to become a captain someday, but I'll admit I don't wish to become a captain of Squad 11. I admire the captain and personally see it as a waste to replace her even if I were stronger than her... More over in spite of being in Squad 11, as time goes on it becomes increasingly apparent to me that I am becoming more than I was when I came out of the academy. At first, I was excited to be put in Squad 11, it is where my skills would be put to best use... Or so I thought anyway." He sighed.

"I still like Squad 11 a lot, and I don't intend to leave it anytime soon if I don't have to. But I do enjoy learning Kido, and that alone makes me an anomaly among my squad. As far as I am concerned that basically disqualifies me from becoming a captain of Squad 11 as I would be someone who doesn't represent the spirit of the squad by that point. My beliefs are too different and it would break the cohesion of the squad if I ever gained the power to take that position. Even now my desire causes some level of friction." He shrugged. "But that's also part of the appeal for me. I like sticking out. I enjoy being a nail that refuses to be hammered down." He grinned at the thought.

"So I want both. At least for now. I want to be in Squad 11, and I want to branch out. If my captain were to demand I transfer out, I would consider it. But from what I understand transferring out without her blessing is almost a death wish, and a betrayal of the Squad even greater than having a desire to learn Kido." He chuckled.

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Post Count: 12

[Gaz]

Shiro #12

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Now Shiro was finished cleaning up his own mess he stretched out his arms, twisting his back and popping a few joints as he did. Ken he was a loyal man to the people that had been good to him, and squad eleven had been very good to him. But he wanted to grow in ways that the members of that squad often looked down on him from. It somewhat stopped him reaching his own potential because he was being considerate of how he looked in their eyes with the worry he’ll be asked to leave the squad for what he is doing.

Shiro let his arms drop as he reached for his Zanpakuto. “So… deep down you think you aren’t being put to your best use?” He asked, drawing Rairyu from its scabbard and shifting to get into a stance for the sparring session. Despite his composure he was beat, tired from all the work of the day and the use of his Shikai. He still bore a kind smile though.

“Maybe your Zanpakuto wants you to push yourself more, get out of this comfort zone you’re in?” He said, posing it as a question to get Ken thinking, to approach his own situation from a fresh perspective. “Maybe it thinks you’re ready but somewhere deep down you don’t think you are so you can’t hear it calling out to you.”

Shiro raised his Zanpakuto to the same stance he used to launch his lightning strike earlier and dashed in, extending his sword arm in an aggressive thrust but was not aiming for anywhere vital. The move was quick and accurate like a true lightning strike

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Shiro: 7319e6

[Ken Shirogane]

Ken helped where he could, moving around to pick up pieces of shrapnel from the dummies and cleaning things up as best he could until they were finished. He'd only gotten to practice his Hado a little bit, so he wasn't that exhausted himself. Only slightly fatigued by the time they finished cleaning up the yard.

He pondered Shiro's comments once they were done and drew his katana from the sash, sheath and all held in his left hand.

"My best use? I don't even know what that would look like." He chuckled. "I guess in some ways I don't feel like I am doing enough. But I don't even know what else I could be doing." He mused.

"Hm... That second idea." He paused to consider it. "Something about that feels right to me. I want it, but maybe I don't feel ready... I want to improve even more on my own. I want a great Shikai, but I want to be a force of nature even before I unlock it." It truly felt right to him, like a small revelation sitting on the edge of his mind waiting to be realized.

"If that's truly the case then I need not fear. I need only meet the potential I seek for myself and then when the time is right I will hear the soul of my sword speak to me."

And then when Shiro charged into thrust at him, Ken lifted his still-sheathed sword, pushing the tip aside with the top of the sheath and gripping the handle of his sword before drawing it to bring the pommel of his blade towards the side of Shiro's head.

Ken intended to combine three techniques that he had recently meditated on.

Two heads of Orochi, Kashira's Draw, and Reverse Fang.

The first was a defense that opened things up for a counter, usually a slash, but in this case, he decided to move in close from the start in order to make use of the Kashira of his sword, the pommel for an attack aimed to catch Shiro in the side of the head. If that attack hit he could smoothly transition into a Reverse Fang strike aimed to take Shiro diagonally from his right shoulder to his left hip in one quick reverse drawing cut. Ken was also focused on his speed rather than power, simply trying to land blows rather than severely injure Shiro.

And on a smaller note, Ken's sheath was decorated with chains extending a few inches from where he currently gripped the sheath on both sides of his hand. It wasn't much more than a decoration for the most part, but could prevent Shiro from simply sliding the blade down to cut at his hand thanks to the little notches where the two ends of the chains were attached to offer Ken's sheath hand some small amount of defense from such simple tactics. Which he'd used against others in the past.

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Post Count: 13

Techniques

Name of Technique: Two heads of Orochi
Description: A block is performed with the blade still sheathed. Catching the attack of the opponent on the sheath before performing a drawing cut from the improbable position in a counter cut, leaving the opponent with one less limb to react with.
Attribute/Skill Make Up: Zanjutsu (4)
Trait/Aspect Usage: N/A

Name of Technique: Kashira's Draw
Description: A starting draw resulting in the Kashira (Pommel) of the katana striking the opponent, generally a stunning strike leading into a cutting draw to slash the opponent while they are in the middle of recovering.
Attribute/Skill Make Up: Agility (2) + Zanjutsu (2)
Trait/Aspect Usage: Keen Perception + Steadfast

Name of Technique: Reverse Fang
Description: A reverse gripped draw aimed to strike the opponent across the belly, chest, or throat.
Attribute/Skill Make Up: Zanjutsu (4)
Trait/Aspect Usage: Keen Perception + Steadfast



Katana reference.

[Gaz]

Shiro #13

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Shiro’s charging thrust carried on, taking the momentum to slide forward. This made defending difficult, but with his lightning reflexes all he had to do was lean his head and torso away and the momentum he already had would carry him away from any major damage from a strange series of techniques. As he reached the peak of his slide he spun around and pointed his blade at Ken.

“Tricky attack!” He spoke, noting some tearing on his shihakusho. Ken was a swordsman that relied on speed and precision to land devastating blows. It was a very old school method of attack from what Shiro remembered.

“Thunderous Spear,” the officer muttered as he funnelled raw spiritual energy down the length of his blade and firing out at Ken in an invisible wave of concussive force that would be enough to knock anyone who was unprepared for it into a stumble. With a grin Shiro vanished into a flashstep to capitalise on his last technique and made a swiping attack with the back of his blade as to not cut Ken. He reappeared behind the man, spinning around to get an appropriate guard. A second past before a rumbling sound came from each point the Shinigami’s foot impacted during his flashstep, which gave this attack its name, Raimeizen, Thunderclap Slash.

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Shiro: 7319e6

SPOILER: Click to show

{Techniques Used}

• Technique Name: Raimeizan (Thunderclap Slash)
  
  Technique Description: Shiro flashsteps past the target and as he does he makes an upward slice against the target at insane speeds.
  
  
  
• Technique Name: Thunderous Spear
  
  Technique Description: Shiro strikes forward with a thrust attack as he channels some of his raw Reiatsu along the blade to impact the target at the point. This raw energy is concussive and flings his opponent away

[Ken Shirogane]

Ken had worked hard to develop his techniques, each one could be used individually of course or he could string many of them together for tricky assaults, like the one he just performed. But it seemed Shiro was no slouch, managing to evade his techniques albeit narrowly noting the tear to his uniform.

Ken was quite happy with his opening assault. But the game totally changed when Shiro started moving around using flash steps and unleashing energy-related techniques.

Ken only used a portion of that sort of technique himself. He'd occasionally surround his blade in a layer of Reiatsu to empower his strikes, but he didn't have the kind of energy reserves or mastery over them yet that allowed him to launch a raw Raiatsu slash as Shiro did.

And even more unfortunately Ken was not yet proficient in flash step, though he was training hard for it. But he had not prioritized it.

The result was that Ken tried desperately to dodge out of the way of the concussive blast, but as fast as he was to react to the attack he'd only managed to shift inches before being hit directly with the attack. Ken was perceptive and quick, their golden eyes were great for noticing things and tracking movements, but he hadn't been prepared for what Shiro had just done at all. That was probably mostly Ken's fault for assuming this would be a battle using raw blade techniques, but apparently, energy was on the table.

"Oh, Shit." Ken was sent flying back with but an utter to mark the place he had once been. Slamming into a wall behind him after being so thoroughly launched.

When he slid down the wall and got up, he coughed a little and stretched his back, giving Shiro a little glare as he stood up. "What the hell was that? You called it a "Thunderous Spear" but that just looked like a strong Shō!" He said referring to Hadō #1. After all, it basically did what Shiro just did, just not at the same level of destruction as what Shiro had done. A solid Shō only launched an enemy a few feet. But that "Thunderous Spear" had way more impact than that.

"Also, ow." He grimaced feeling pretty sore both back and front after getting hit in basically the chest and having his back slammed into a wall.

"Alright, I guess I'll keep trying to fight a bit longer, but gotta say that if this was a death match, I'd probably be dead after this point. That one technique was very decisive... Also, just so you are aware, I have some skill with Hadō, but I do not have great skills in Hakuda or Hohō yet." Maybe he could dodge a "Thunderous Spear" if Shiro tried to use it a second time, but Ken wasn't very confidant in that. He'd have to move damn near the instant Shiro pointed his blade for what could easily appear to be a simple thrust before launching that technique again. If he got hit by that technique again Ken was certain he would be far too sore to continue. As it was the technique had been far from gentle. He could keep fighting, but probably not for very long now.

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Post Count: 14

[Gaz]

Shiro #14

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Shiro winced with the impact that Ken had in the wall. So much so in fact that he flash stepped over to the opponent and offered a hand to help him up. He had maybe gone a bit harder than he had intended to for a simple sparring match, though that was brought on by the vicious attack that Ken had retaliated with.

“If you were using that first counter to kill, I’d have taken far more than a torn uniform!” Shiro retorted with a blaring grin that seemed to amplify his voice. He was a fast man when it came to reactions but even he struggled to deal with a complex move that had come his way. Then as he backed up a few steps he sheathed his blade… he was basically spent after that short burst, especially after using his Shikai to use two massive blasts and all of the day’s prior activities.

“Yes, but now that you know that I have that move and I know you know and are skilled enough to react to it I can use it for feints. Or to control the fight to my benefit to no end.” He explained, having played encounters out in his head while he heard Ken’s response. It was fairly even, Ken’s raw skill in the blade was better than Shiro’s but it was Shiro’s ability to adapt and use his entire arsenal that evened them out. “That and I don’t want to hit you again with a move like that. I’m already in enough trouble with Captain Yorutatsu.”

As Shiro chuckled remembering the face of the captain in their last encounter he brought a hand up and scratched the back of his head. A few people had gathered to witness the bout, all of them looking somewhat disappointed in the fact it was over so quickly. They would have to deal with that because real fights were never long drawn out encounters, they were quick brutal bouts of skill and wit that ended with one or both combatants wounded or worse.

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Shiro: 7319e6

[Ken Shirogane]

"Ick. I really wasn't expecting a move like that. I guess I heard techniques like your Thunderous Spear were possible, but I wasn't sure how someone was supposed to do something like that... Still, it does give me future ideas for training. If you can make something like that big explosive shove then maybe I can create an even more subtle technique with less draining requirements." He mused, curious if he could create something like Shiro's Thunderous Spear but make it ultra compact with a piercing effect rather than smash someone against stuff with the force of the blow.

Then again, Ken was more of a slasher, so perhaps something more in line with something like a wind cut. He could use a thin line of Reiatsu ejected from his blade in a nearly invisible cutting motion that could extend the range of his blade cuts. It didn't even need to extend his range by much, even just a foot of extra cutting range could prove extremely effective in a battle where the opponent already had the measure of his sword in mind.

"It will also be nice when I learn to heal. It's really annoying to need to run all the way to the medics every time I get a wound." He was probably going to be a little bruised and sore for a while until the healers fixed that. He supposed it should be less bothersome than some deep bleeding wrist wound he'd taken the other day. On his cutting arm no less.

He sheathed his sword and nodded though. "Ah well. It's definately your win. If we are putting all our skills on the table then it's pretty obvious that in a straight fight, I don't yet have all the skills I need to compete. But I'm working on them. When I have a better chance at keeping up I'll come back to you for another match." He grinned.

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Post Count: 15

[Gaz]

Shiro #15

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Hearing how the other Shinigami took inspiration from Shiro’s slap dash technique filled him with a sense of pride, but it also tinged him with a feeling of awe at the man for that same reason. Ken was an accomplished swordsman with instincts similar to Shiro’s, he was going to be a true rival going forward if he learned to adapt the other Shinigami Skills into his swordplay. It stoked that raging storm that was inside of him, building that excitement to fight a tough opponent again in the future… that urge he inherited from his adoptive mother.

“If I was any good at fine Reishi control I’d have learned how to heal before any of the other arts.” Shiro joked, envying the other man in that respect. He had been so beat up and on the verge of death in recent events and that ability to heal his own wounds or the wounds of others would have change that massively.

“In the opening gambit if this was anyone else you would have knocked them clean out. In raw swordsmanship you have me beat, so take pride in that Ken.” Shiro spoke as he bowed in respect to the other Shinigami, a smile on his face. If Ken had a Shikai, this would have been an entirely different fight.

The young officer rose and looked to his kart of broken prototypes and the logbook that was next to them. “I should get this back and get shouted at by Captain Saeki for breaking her new toys.” He said with a soft chuckle, raising one of his hands to scratch the back of his head clearly showing his nervous tick when his nerves start to show.

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Shiro: 7319e6