I shivered a bit, thinking about the prospect of bloodshed, even broken bones. From the time I joined the Shinigami Academy until this point, I'd never had any serious injuries or mishaps. The closest I got to being hurt was the training I recieved in the Academy. I listened intently to another announcement, this time by the vice captain of the 11th division, Yachiru. The tiny pink-haired girl said that all of the divisions would fight against Division 11.
"Just another chance to keep the kids company, huh?" Myoto quipped, leaning back in his seat.
"All right, the first match will be ... Shoukou Kiyasui of the 8th Division against 5th seated officer Yori Daisuke of the 11th Division. The match ends at the discretion of the captains, or if another fighter gives up."
"All right guys, if I'm not back in one piece, good luck in your battles too." she said, leaping down to the arena floor. She faced a gaunt young man with long green hair and closed eyes, much like Ichimaru Gin's. He was a little taller than Shoukou, and wore a serious, almost grim expression on his thin face.
"Um, you can begin whenever you want," Kenpachi said, standing at his balcony with Yachiru and Ikkaku.
"Matowaritsutu, Daaku Mamushi," Yori said, slinging his zanpakuto around until began to lengthen and loosen. Eventually, it became a black colored whip with a metal handle. He stood with his shikai at his side, possibly waiting for his opponent to release her form. Instead, Shoukou unsheathed her katana, and held it at the ready.
"Ready when you are," she said, smiling. Yori frowned a bit, but made his move anyway. He whipped his weapon around, aiming for her ankles. Shoukou leapt a bit before spinning around - and throwing her zanpakuto at Yori. He ducked, allowing the weapon to harmlessly pass. Shoukou landed, then ran at Yori, her focus somewhere else. Yori, a bit confused, turned to get the lonely katana instead of attack.
He felt a light tap on his back as he bent down. He looked up to see Shoukou - with another zanpakuto? He didn't have much time to react as the katana swung at his face.
"Not much time to dodge," Myoto leaned forward. One successful slash later, Yori was down, holding his face. Kenpachi had a worried look in his eye, and Yachiru decided to inquire, waiting for her fellow division member to make his move.
"Ken-chan, is Snake Guy OK?" she asked, standing on the balcony. Kenpachi smirked a bit, thinking of the scar on his eye. A battle scar to be sure, he thought. If something like that were to stop you, then there was no need to fight anyway.
Yori lifted himself, letting go of his right eye, blood still spilling. He gave a faint smile, wiping the blood on his uniform, elicting cheers from Division 11.
"That a boy! Now show her what you've got!" Kenpachi shouted. I felt a little numb, watching the bloodied Yori swing his whip again, then watched as Shoukou efforlessly moved out of the way. She now held two katana, eying Yori as he prepared another strike. I began to look around the arena, speciafically at where Division Four was located. Rora was helping carry out a cot. Captain Unohana and Isane were both sitting at another balcony, probably relaxing. It looked like there were enough officers to handle whatever happened.
Yori swung the whip over his head, faster and faster, until it disappeared. Shoukou slipped one katana under the sash she wore, then unsheathed another.
"Hiraku, Katsugan..." she said. The katana glowed a soft blue, but didn't change other than that. She held it with both hands, high on her right side.
Yori swung his arm down, and to everyone's surprise, Shoukou dodged it.
"What?" I said involuntarily. Myoto shook his head.
"Her shi kai has the ability to discern the qualities of certain objects. One of those being invisible objects. It can also locate the weak points as well," he informed.
Yori found himself on the defensive, Shoukou, relaxed as ever, swung in a rythym.
"Captain, she's pretty good. You really can't tell whether she's starting or stopping." Isane commented. Unohana simply gave an agreeing smile.
Shoukou landed on her knee, then froze. Yori stumbled back a bit, breathing hard. His whip began to materialize back into view, and he was getting weaker by the second, the strike to the eye taking more out of him than he thought. He knelt a bit, not taking his eye off of Shoukou.
"Strike One, Disarm." she said, running at Yori. Yori stood up quickly, then swung his whip again. With a deft move, Shoukou glided past, swinging her weapon, causing the whip to split into may threads.
"Kenpachi," Unohana said, standing. He nodded. Yori had promise, but at this point, he didn't have much training in kidou or hand-to-hand combat. Plus, it looked like the female shinigami had him outclassed from the get go.
"All right Yori, go to the Fourth so you can get cleaned up. Nice effort." he said. His division comrades clapped, saying in so many words that they'd avenge his loss. Shoukou calmly bounded up to where Myoto and I sat. She gave a smile before sitting down, wiping some dirt off of her uniform.
"Wow," I said. "You made that look really easy."
"Yeah, and you've made it a little tougher for everyone else," Myoto added.
"What do you mean?" Shoukou asked.
"Well, you've managed to make the other guys mad. In other words, the guys that people like Moren and I have to fight." he replied. Yep, good ole Myoto. Finding the dark clouds in the blue sky.
"Myoto, calm down. From the looks of it, the higher ranked officers of the 11th division won't be fighting. They're probably new cadets anyway." I assured him. Myoto shrugged off my attempt to calm him down, then began tapping his feet impatiently.
After three battles, I began to nod off. Shoukou and Myoto were feeling the same way, with Shoukou periodically lifting her eyelids and Myoto all but snoring.
"The next match: Myoto Kendo of the 8th Division versus Sekai Naimen, unseated officer of the 11th Division."
"See?" I said. He huffed a bit, nearly stumbling before making his way to the floor. He was face to face with a burly, gruff middle-aged man with black hair.
Maybe he doesn't know his shi kai, thought Myoto. Somehow, on cue, the burly man gave a grin, pointing his katana at Myoto.
"Torikowasu, Sekifu." the katana shoke a bit before turning to stone. The blade grew out all ways before forming into an axe head.
Great, juuuust great, Myoto thought.
"I really hope I wasn't imagining things when I had that dream last night..." he said to himself, reaching for his katana. The man swung his axe wildly without warning, shouting obscenties.
Moren, I'm going to kill you if I'm not killed! thought Myoto as he turned tail and began to run. The crowd began to laugh and point. Myoto was a guy who didn't have much pride, and the combination of being snapped out of his sleep and facing a wild man with a stone axe didn't make for a calming scenario.
Shoukou supressed a smirk and I began to feel a little for him.
"Does Myoto know his zanpakuto's name?" Shoukou asked. I shook my head.
"This may be a chance for him to find out," I replied.
Myoto rounded a corner, but Sekai ran in on him at an angle, cornering him.
"Oooh, this won't end pretty," Kenpachi smiled.
Myoto held out his katana in front of him trembling, then closed his eyes. He didn't want to see anything coming.
"Die!" Sekai shouted, holding the axe over his head. Myoto suddenly dropped his katana, then looked down. The sky was reflected in his katana. Suddnely, his eyes opened.
My dream! he thought. That's it!
"Hamon, Tonohamaru!" he shouted. His opponent however was not fazed, and swung down. His axe met Myoto's shoulder, causing a cascade of blood. Myoto was face down, but holding a green chakram with odd designs all over it. He wasn't moving, and Sekai motioned for the Fourth Division to come over.
"He can't kill him, can he?" Kenpachi said, disappointed. Ikkaku and Yachiru both shook their heads. "Shame."
As the healing unit ran over, they stopped halfway as Myoto struggled to move. He turned to see the healing unit halfway to him, staring with eyes wide with concern.
"What are you waiting for? I'm not trying to be a hero here!" he said, yelling as fresh blood escaped his gaping wound.
"Myoto..." Shoukou said, watching as the unit carried him off on a stretcher. "Taiki, I'll go check on him. I'll be sure to watch your match too, OK?"
"Sure." I said, feeling a little more nauceous. Myoto was a little bigger than me, standing six two with a heavier frame as well. If an attack like that could put him in his current state...
"Next match, Moren Shigen of the 8th Division against Rei Hanako, 4th seated officer of the 11th Division."
I didn't have much time to consider what could've happened as I made my way to the floor...