Sometimes, things simply do not go one's way. This was exactly the situation Shuuhei seemed to be finding himself in today. Though the difference in power between himself and his opponent appeared to be relatively small, at least from what the former First Division seated officer turned exiled Vizard could tell using his sense of Reiatsu, it appeared that the vast majority of this difference could be found in an area that was quite crucial when it came to combat: speed. Shuuhei, after all, had never been particularly proficient in Shunpo or other Hoho techniques, neither was he noticeably fast. In fact, his speed and Hoho proficiency were below average for his current level of strength. He preferred to rely on Zanjutsu when at close range, though it was of course most advantageous for him to place his trust in his ability with Kido and fight at a distance when possible. He had taken a great risk by attempting to engage Vulcan at close range, and now he was about to pay the price for having taken such a risky action. Of course, this would have happened sooner or later against a faster opponent, as a usually calm and calculating Shuuhei needed more time to analyze situations and decide on his next action, and time was something he was certainly not getting here.

At first, there was no indication to Shuuhei that his plan had once again gone awry. The burst of flame, shortly followed by a cloud of dust kicked up by the force of the explosion, which was quite significant given that it was caused by a mid-50's level Hado cast by someone the level of an advanced Lieutenant, that Shuuhei observed in his peripheral vision after casting Haien led him to believe that the Hado attack had connected, and of course he segued immediately into casting Bakudo number sixty-one as his plan called for. What he had yet to realize, is that unknown to him and partially obscured by the dust cloud his attack had produced, was that his opponent was no longer down-range of his attempted attack. The beams of glowing, yellow energy only slammed into each other, shattering and then dissipating as they did so, indicating the failure of his Kido. Though he was by no means weak, the use of two middle-upper-level Kido was quite draining even for someone as proficient in Kido as Shuuhei, and the Vizard was now gasping for breath. The first seeds of genuine worry began to emerge within his chest as he registered the seriousness of the situation. "Where is he?!" Shuuhei wondered, his eyes darting around frantically.

The location of his opponent, Vulcan, would be revealed by a sudden spike in the other Vizard's Reiatsu, shortly followed by a short sentence, the first time his opponent had spoken since the initiation of combat. "Blaze, Moeru Hanaken," Shuuhei heard the other Vizard say. This, as anyone who knew anything about the combat abilities of the Shinigami would know, was the release of Shikai, the first and most basic phase of release for a Shinigami's Zanpakuto. Most Academy graduates could use it, so it was to be expected that someone as strong as Vulcan could perform this first release, done by simply calling the name of the spirit residing within the depths of his soul from which the Zanpakuto's power originates. In this case, his opponent's weapon, which had previously been a katana-style weapon as most sealed Zanpakuto were for whatever reason, transformed into what was actually a rather beautiful, scarlet-colored broadsword. Its hilt appeared to be wrapped in a bouquet of red roses, the thorns clearly apparent. To Shuuhei, who had of course been raised speaking Japanese, it certainly lived up to its name, which translated to "blazing flower sword."

Of course, there was little time to analyze all of this, as a fraction of a second later, the scarlet blade separated into a very large number of what appeared to be rose petals. Though they took the appearance of beautiful flower petals, Shuuhei knew, they most likely were anything but and definitely served a combat purpose. And... they were fast. The next thing he knew, the cloud of scarlet petals had separated into three segments: one large and two smaller but equal in size. The large one appeared as if it were surrounding Vulcan protectively, but the two smaller ones were rushing at Shuuhei far too fast to avoid, and it did not take a tactical genius to figure out that these petals would most certainly not be protecting him. "Not good," he realized. Tired from his back-to-back usage of 50's and 60's level Kido, and clearly slower than his foe, there was little he could do. If he had more energy, there was just maybe just barely enough time to cast a protective Bakudo, such as Danku, which would have saved him here but... he had no energy and it was quite possible that there was simply no time anyways.

Had this attack been used on anyone other than Shuuhei, it most likely would have killed them. As it was, he was going to be hurt quite seriously. It was only pure instinct, gained over his five centuries as a warrior, first a human samurai and then a Shinigami, that quite literally saved his life in this case. There is something about a warrior that simply knows when an attack is coming. He had less than a second now, but instinctively, he began to jump in the general direction of safety, moving just a few millimeters before the first of the petals reached him. The two clouds of petals slammed into his sides with more force than even Shuuhei could have expected, at least two hundred of them raking across his rib cage on either side. He had expected to be cut, but what he had not quite expected was the force behind the petal clouds, which punched into him like two massive fists, knocking the wind out of him. Audible crunches accompanied by bursts of the very specific type of pain caused by broken bones made it clear that he had suffered multiple cracked ribs. The pain from the cuts, too, was quite intense; a searing, visceral pain that the seasoned fighter knew all too well indicated deep cuts. Hundreds of slashes had separated his skin and subcutaneous fat layers, tearing into the thin sheets of muscle and connective tissues surrounding his ribs. Warm blood flowed down both sides of his body, some of it seeping through hundreds of new slits in his Shihakusho, some of it soaking into the fabric, and some of it dripping down to fertilize the dark jungle soil.

Shuuhei staggered back a few steps, coughing as he caught his breath. Still, he was determined to stay on his feet, though his legs were shaky and his focus was already beginning to waver due to blood loss. There were no major arteries in the area that had been hit, so the bleeding was not going to be fatal and would stop on its own within the hour, but it would doubtless take its toll on him, as it would on anyone. "Pain is nothing new to you, Shuuhei," he told himself. "Show them you belong," he thought. Despite the severe, almost debilitating pain, Shuuhei kept a straight face as soon as he had regained his breath. For now, at least, he needed to impress his new allies. There would be plenty of time to worry about a bit of pain later. In any case, Shuuhei knew he had only two or three good attacks left in him before the spar was as good as over. It was obvious that he was outmatched here, and his foe was already in Shikai. There was little energy left in his body, but unless he released as well, he had zero chance of landing even a single hit.

"I can rip him to shreds... Switch with me, you useless fuck!" came an angry female voice in Shuuhei's mind. Shirokage, his Inner Hollow, just did not seem to get it... "NO," responded Shuuhei firmly and far more sternly than before. "This is just a spar... your life isn't even in danger so leave me alone!' he said to Shirokage mentally.

Dark blue Reiatsu flared up, crackling angrily around Shuuhei's body. On closer inspection, small flecks of black could be seen in the Reiatsu as well as the Vizard crossed the blades of his katana and wakizashi in front of him. A smell of ozone and a feeling of static electricity began to fill the air. As he calmed down and prepared to release his own Shikai, the black specks disappeared. Hoping against all hope that Vulcan, seeing the extent of his injuries, would not attack him immediately, he said "Strike, Kogane Raikō!" In a flare of more crackling, dark blue Reiatsu, his dual Zanpakuto transformed into two equally-sized and very menacing curved blades, four feet in length, each with no tsuba or tsuka. The edges of one shone a bright golden color, while those of the other shimmered in a cold, icy blue hue. Shuuhei gripped the cloth-wrapped tangs of the swords tightly as he poured his remaining Reiatsu into the gold-edged blade in his right hand. His movement might not be fast, but his attacks were quite literally lightning fast. Now, he half-pointed, half-swung the golden blade at Vulcan, discharging a single, long, powerful burst of golden lightning at his opponent's chest area. "Kaminari..." Shuuhei gasped with the last of his strength.

The now=exhausted Vizard had clearly over-extended himself. His vision blurred over, making it impossible to tell if his attack had even had any effect. Spots flashed in front of the Vizard's eyes as he staggered forward, his legs suddenly giving out under him. "Can't go down..." he thought desperately, stabbing both blades into the ground and using them as support, without which he would have likely fallen onto his face. Shuuhei knew he would be a sitting duck for the next attack from Vulcan, but he was a samurai by nature, meaning there was no such thing as surrender. He was in this until the end.

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