Shinigami Tournament of Power Stadium

[Bloodedge]

"Lie all you want!" replied Kagura. His combination attack seemed well-organized enough to accomplish something against this woman, but still not to the extent that he could feel he had won this battle. Keeping this in mind, he pulled his sword back after completing his slashing movement, holding it in his left hand with its end pointed toward Litchi. "Ryuubakusen!" he exclaimed as his right hand touched the base of the blade. By sliding his hand along the side of the zweihander, Kagura collected the blade's dark energy and sent it forward in a swirling vortex. This maintained the power of his other attacks, bar the melee damage, while having the speed of his unhindered hand for its launch. If it reached Litchi, the woman would find herself quickly engulfed by the darkness and pummeled by its power until it naturally faded away.

[Apollymi]

Litchi held out against the initial attack but as Mutsuki gathered the darkness from his blade she knew she was in for even more of a barrage. This had to be timed perfectly or she would only suffer more. As such she looked up from her dust covered state and tossed the bo she used as a weapon into the sky. Just as the vortex of darkness would have reached her, she said a word which enveloped her in Reiatsu. "Bankai!" a pillar of purple Reiatsu escaped her practically nullifying any potential damage from the oncoming assault. When it cleared her weapon was nowhere in sight, "Daisharin Matenbo," she completed the clause and if one were to look up they'd see a mighty nine spoke wheel over the arena. One which was now gently spinning and at a downward movement of her hand would cause a gigantic version of her original bo to drop from above. The first of which would be aimed directly atop where the Captain was currently standing, aiming to knock him out with the sheer power of this Bankai. Of course, this was a rather risky maneuver as Litchi's Bankai would only be useful until the nine spokes were all used up, but it was one she had to take as she was currently backed into a corner.

[Bloodedge]

Kagura's most recent attack seemed to be right on track for furthering his goal of winning, but a sudden burst of Reiatsu from the other Captain nullified the effects of it. At the same time, Kagura heard the words which explained why this occurred; Litchi had chosen to unleash her Bankai against him. There was no immediate sign of its form for Kagura, but when Litchi moved her hand, it became obvious that something was coming his way. His immediate answer was to look up, which put the coming bo in his view. His eyes widened, but all he could do was bring his sword between himself and the weapon attacking him. Even with the strength of his Shikai, the zweihander Kagura wielded was shattered by this impact, letting the bo pass through and strike his chest, albeit with the brunt of its force reduced. With the wind being knocked from him, Kagura hurled blood as the pieces of his sword fell to the ground. "Guah... Fuck! That's... that's pretty rude. Can I call time-out?"

[Apollymi]

Litchi was happy that her attack seemed to have an immediate effect, dropping down upon the 7th Division Captain and shattering his blade. He seemed to take a reasonable amount of damage from it as well, though he didn't lose consciousness as she anticipated and thus left her in a very strenuous predicament. He then went on to call her rude, and claim the need for a time out, which caused confusion in the young woman. "I am not rude, Mutsuki-taichou, and while I a timeout would be nice right now. I really can't allow it," she said marking her words with the drop of another of these large bo, which also aimed to fall atop the man before her at the same speed and force, as the first and hopefully with the more fruitful effect of felling him as a result. She knew she was working on borrowed time, and as such would rather not push herself to the absolute limit allowed by her Bankai.

[Bloodedge]

"Y'know... I was hoping you'd say the exact opposite of..." He paused, needing an additional moment as he coughed blood once more. The 7th Division's Captain seemed to be having a few breathing troubles. "Ugh... that. I think there's a rib in my lung," he concluded. With that, he raised the remains of his weapons, gripping the hilt with both hands as the broken blade faced the next bo launched by Litchi. "Bankai." Kagura's Reiatsu spiked as a dark red glow consumed his weapon and body. The handle of his zweihander grew to the height of the man himself, and the blade took the form of a monstrous feline head with glowing red, round eyes, and ears which curved upward and slightly in. Litchi's second bo slammed into the feline face, and this time, was deflected by a strength which rivaled its own. "Douten Gekijintan!" By pointing the end of his new weapon's head toward Litchi, Kagura suddenly released a surge of Reiryoku which traveled toward her. It was horizontal, aiming to cut where it made impact, but its range would prove to be limited to about four times the length of Kagura's body before it returned to his weapon.

[Apollymi]

It seemed that there had been a great injury suffered by the man before her, and Litchi wasn't unsympathetic. "Sumimasen," she apologized, ever polite. Soon enough though there was another problem to deal with, though she'd tried to end things quickly, the unveiling of the 7th Division's Captain's Bankai would leave her secondary bo unable to make contact with his person. Litchi's eyes widened as the man used his bankai to deflect her own, as if it wasn't something she expected him to be capable of. She tsk'd knowing the effort was wasted and that she'd lost one of the limited number of these manifestations she had. There was also the problem of the coming wave as the second bo disappeared as the first had without any provocation after contact was made. This caused Litchi to have to jump back aiming to pull down another to block herself with, leaving her down three of these manifestations. But even with it coming down, it wasn't exactly made to be defensive, it was sliced clean through and kept going to her own person. She took the brunt of Kagura's attack and found herself tumbling away as the third manifestation disappeared into thin air, heavily bleeding from a wound across her midsection which stopped just shy of making her spill her guts in the most literal of ways. A cough came from the young woman also filled with blood, and her vision blurred, she tried to push herself up, but her body couldn't take the damage, and she ultimately collapsed.

At the end of this the announcer popped back up. "Wow, what a turn around folks. And a stunning conclusion for the last match of the day!! The winner of this round is the Seventh Division Captain, Mutsuki Kagura!" the announcement was made and medics would soon be found on the field ready to assist this pair who seemed to be a bit worse for wear than others who'd fought this day. "Remember to come back tomorrow for the next set of rounds!~"

[Bloodedge]

A day later...

The second phase of the Vice-Captains' bracket was underway. Following the defeat of the 8th Division's Vice-Captain, Koudama Youmu by the hands of the 11th Division's Kiryuin Satsuki, the crowd bore witness to a battle of the 1st Division's Yoshitsune Benkei versus the 10th Division's Kumori Raizen. The former stood battered and bruised with a nodachi in hand, its blade glowing brightly enough to nearly blind viewers. "Your ability is... disturbing to say the least, Kumori-fukutaichou," he said to the white-haired man, who seemed no worse for wear for the battle at hand. "I thought to be able to draw your Shikai out. I am remiss to say that even I may be no match for one such as yourself without taking things a step further."

"You flatter me, Yoshitsune-fukutaichou," Raizen replied. The expression he wore, while not one of disinterest, did not make him seem particularly thrilled for this battle. He had gone mostly untouched for the duration, but now, Benkei held his blade overhead. "BANKAI!" he said. At the same time, though, Raizen clasped his hands together with intricately intertwined fingers. What he did next would silence the audience immediately. "Bakudou no Kyuujuukyuu: Kin." From the ground around Benkei, black spiritual fabric emerged to quickly ensnare him by wrapping his arms and pinning them behind his back. This alone stripped him of his sword and halted the release of his Bankai, but iron shafts placing themselves along the four strips of fabric also brought the man to the ground immediately. He was left swordless and bound while Raizen exhaled deeply and stepped forward. "Ninety-nine!?" Benkei questioned. "Hmph. They were right about you, Kumori Raizen. You're cut from a different cloth than the rest of us." While the fallen Vice-Captain spoke, Raizen finally unsheathed his katana. For the first time since his days in the academy, his blade was revealed, and it glowed with a mysterious aura despite being in its sealed form. His path took him past his opponent, but his final words would serve to end the battle officially. "Hadou no Juuichi: Tsuzuri Raiden," he said prior to tapping the bindings of his own creation with the tip of his blade, causing a powerful surge of electricity to travel through the sword and binding spell. Benkei experienced electrocution in this moment, and it seemed to have been focused to the perfect amount that the veteran Vice-Captain of the 1st Division was left incapacitated.

[Apollymi]

The crowd watched stunned into silence as a Vice-Captain managed to perfectly execute a level 99 Kidou spell against what had to be a much more experienced opponent. Beyond this point, the man seemed to worse for wear after what had been a rather arduous battle for Yoshitsune. Soon enough that man was pinned and completely incapacitated. Medics moved forward as the announcer reappeared after it was obvious the other man wasn't going to get back up. "Alright ladies and gentleman it seems we have a winner. After a stunning match, the Vice-Captain of the 10th Division progresses to the Semi-final, congratulations, Kumori-fukutaichou~" the announcer seemed just as happy about ever outcome, but keeping the crowd in good spirits was her job. Soon enough though there was a bit of a surprise announcement.

"Ladies and Gentleman don't move from your seats just yet," she mentioned as medics moved the fallen First Division Vice-Captain out of the way and the stage was clear. "It seems the first round of the Semi-final is about to start right now, in a wild card match which includes the winner of the Seated Officers' Challenge!~" the announcement caused a bit of a stir. The crowd hadn't expected this, but the Captain of the 12th Division sat in her section with her legs crossed looking rather pleased with herself as she enjoyed a lollipop. "Niwatoko Benihime the Fifth Seat of the 12th Division... has chosen, Vice-Captain Kumori Raizen as her opponent~" the woman said as people stared. The way this tournament was set up, each of the semifinal rounds would need to have an additional person in them in order for the final match not to be a three-way free for all battle. The free-for-all was something to be avoided as that much power would be something most were incapable of staying to watch. This way also got to give the winners of their brackets a way to gauge themselves against what should likely be their peers. In the case of the Seated Officers' winner, they'd be able choose a match against an already exhausted opponent and likely pull a win if they were tactical. The same would also take place in the Captains' Bracket around the Semi-Finals match, not that anyone needed that information immediately.

From the opposite end that Yoshitsune Benkei has been carried off in, a red haired young woman made her way forward. Her hair held up in a ponytail with fringe in front of her face and over her left eye. More over, instead of the standard Shihakusho, the young woman wore a set of well wrapped white bandages around her chest, and on her feet instead of shoes. Her ensemble however did include the normal hakuma given to Shinigami, albeit a bit larger than what was necessary for her small frame, so they hung off her hips just a bit. Along the small of her back, with the hilt facing outward the ebony-bladed Zanpakuto she carried with her at all times. The young woman soon enough was standing before Kumori Raizen with a smile on her face. "You can use Bakudo 99?! I'm so jealous, it was awesome though!~" the young woman chimed seeming to be really excited about the match she'd just witnessed. She seemed to think about it a bit and calmed down just a tad. "Congratulations on your win, Kumori-fukutaichou, yoroshiku~"

[Bloodedge]

Raizen had barely gotten a chance to sheathe his sword before the tournament's announcer declared a wild-card match that was to include himself and the winner of the seated officers' tournament. He turned around to find out that his opponent would be one Niwatoko Benihime, whose name he recalled from somewhere he could not quite place. Soon enough, though, the young woman herself was joining him in the tournament ring. While he had seen a few examples of customization to the standard Shihakushou, Raizen's first thought about this one's appearance was that it took things to a new level, so to speak. Raizen was eventually greeted by his to-be opponent in a strange way: one which praised his Kidou prowess. "Oh. Arigatou gozaimasu, Niwatoko-chan. You're the one from this year's first class, right? Congratulations on the early graduation," he said. With that out of the way, he stood with his left hand atop the hilt of his sword in a resting position. "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."

[Apollymi]

Soon enough Benihime's greeting to the Vice-Captain of the 10th Division was acknowledged, and he went on to apparently recognize her. She seemed to think about it oddly but she supposed her current claim to fame was her early graduation. "Hai, that's me, arigatou gozaimasu~" she said accepting the congratulatory statement about her early graduation. Though she supposed it was quite a feat, it didn't really feel like anything. Then again, nothing really felt the same anymore. That thought made a slight dimness appear in the young woman's eyes, like a bit of the excitement had left her feeling a bit emptier than when she'd started this conversation. One that was always present just below the surface. Regardless of this fact she studied Raizen's stance and found it amusing, as she stood with both hands on her hips waiting for the end of the announcement of the match. "Alright ladies and gentlemen, our combatants are ready and the stage is set. The 12th Division's Dexterous 5th Seat, against the Prodigal Vice-Captain of the Tenth Division!~" she announced seeming to feed into the crowd and making Benihime wonder where she got the list of words she decided to apply to people. "Combatants know the rules..." she stated holding both hands in the air and right before she disappeared one word left her mouth. "BATTLE!~" this caused Benihime's left hand to begin resting on the hilt of her Zanpakuto, but she didn't attack immediately.