The winds swept valiantly across the training grounds within the Seireitei, belonging to that of the second division. This particular noon seemed to be partly cloudy whilst burrowing the dust and grass alike beneath the feet of the many sparring carelessly across the fields and arena. Hitsuyona found himself walking into the courtyards with a peculiar look of boredom, as his billowing white scarf flow seamlessly with the winds as he surveyed the surroundings. He would of course have found himself to stick out like a sore thumb among his colleagues, that being his teal hair and unique outfit being beyond that of the typical shuhakusho.

The young shinigami couldn't help but come to a stand still shortly after approaching the barracks training grounds, rubbing the back of his head as a handful of spectators caught their glance radiating towards him. It was his official day starting as the 3rd seat of the Second division, following the transfer from Vice-Head of the Special Detention Unit. He'd been sent to formerly introduce himself, or at the least make an appearance to his new home barracks. Hitsu had never really been the one for formalities though, especially if they weren't made mandatory. Instead of addressing his squad as a whole, he would simply let his hand come to rest upon his zanpaktou. The scarf would seemingly stop flowing amongst the will of the wind, instead finding itself to slowly bevel lightly above the shoulders of the 3rd seat officer. "Might as well have some fun."

His head turned slight as the shinigami surveyed the people that stood before him, then suddenly stops to fixate on a particular individual that matched the description of a man that had peaked his interests in the files he most recently read before transferring. Hitsuyona's pupils appeared to glow a light teal as he let out a smirk addressing the man his sight was locked onto. "Shuya, how about we officially meet over a spar, and skip over the tedious formalities?" His request was quickly met with a shunpo that landed the man just beyond the center of a nearby vacant arena while he awaited a response.

Shuya followed him to the chosen arena. He didn't shunpo, instead preferring to walk. The wind carried his black-ash ponytail, making it wave as he stepped toward Hitsuyona. Shuya had heard about the incoming Third Seat assignment, and since then, he'd wondered who it would be. He was eager to get to know his new comrade, and it seemed like they were on a similar wavelength, that here, for now, their blades could do the talking.

Once he arrived before Hitsuyona, Shuya bowed. "Welcome to Squad 2, Third-Seat Hitsuyona. It's my honor to spar with you today. Thank you for this match." It seemed that, unlike Hitsuyona, Shuya was quite used to pleasantries. He drew his zanpakuto, holding it in a typical gri before him, entering a fighting stance and waiting for the beginning of the fight.

The breeze was cool and consistent, but things were about to begin heating up. A one-on-one duel amongst those in the second division was somewhat atypical. Many were used to striking from the shadows. But this essential skill had to be proven, every now and again, in the sparring ring. Shuya was confident that he wouldn't embarrass himself here, at least.

Hitsuyona stood valiantly as his comrade slowly took the stage, only to increasingly fuel his anticipation for a match worth his vigor. The naïve Shinigami couldn't help but smirk seemingly from ear to ear as his sparring partner drew their blade, so caught up in the momentum that his own posture would instinctively take that of a hakuda stance; interestingly so, as if he were still within the maggot's nest. "Don't hold back, ya hear?" His fighting style had been so increasingly honed towards fighting without his weapons that Shizukesa had started the battle at an unintentional disadvantage in lieu of his own conditioning.

The blade remained within its sheath as the battle crazed ronin bursts forwards in a dash towards his opposition. Just as he found himself within a few meters of the opponent, Hitsuyona veered slightly left. The bandages wrapped around his forearms began to unravel and shoot around his target at remarkable speeds; simultaneously however, the Shinigami would jump upwards before allowing an incantation to come forth. "Sajo Sabuku [Bakudo 63, Winding Binding Chains]." The threads releasing from his forearms suddenly begin to glow as they attempt to envelop around its target. The third seat would suddenly follow up his attempted bakudo with an assault, almost as if he were acting off of his battle instincts within the prison, defending himself solely without any form of weaponry. "Tsuzuri Raiden [Hadou 11, Bound Lightning]."

Shuya drew his sword and made ready to attack, just as the chains of the binding art rushed towards him. The chains appeared to pierce the young fourth seat's body binding him in place -- before the afterimage shimmered away¹. The chains then fell to the ground uselessly.

"Don't underestimate me, Hitsuyona-san. We in the Second go where we please and we won't be bound so easily." The real Shuya appeared to Hitsuyona's four-o-clock, displaying masterful agility in sliding around the next Kido aimed his way. In a spar, releasing one's zanpakuto was usually over the top, and while Shuya wasn't as proficient in Kido as experts were, he was able to recognize attacks coming his way, at the very least, and make use of a select few of his own.

For now though, he would close the gap, intending to force a melee fight, where his odds would be best. He approached quickly and directly, with a low slash. He would press his assault with several more slashes, as appropriate.

Abilities Used:

(1) - Utsusemi/Cicada (4 post cd)

Hitsuyona's grin would seemingly expand ear to ear as he watched his very own kidou advancements tether through the after-image his opponent had left behind. Perhaps his excitement allowed him to momentarily fall for the lies his eyes told, but the Shinigami quickly allowed his other senses to pick up the slack. Albeit his attempts were found in vain as he watched his oppressor narrowly slide from his following assaults; however, this did little to stray the arrogant warriors spirits as Shuya responded soundly with his own taunts. The young man would merely allow his threads to return towards his person as the enemy closes the gap between them swiftly.

"Quite the contrary Shuya-San, it would be disappointing if my chains had bound you, I am rather rusty in the kidou arts after all." Hitsuyona would snap his left wrist as Shuya approached ever so closely, causing the bandages to snap forwards much like a whip in motion that would carry his blade along with it yanking from its sheathe. "I'm just excited that I'm no longer crippled to using my mere hands." It had been quite some time since Hitsuyona used much of anything other than Hakuda, but surely he hoped not to be forced into a situation to lean on that strength. The snap of his whip like maneuver brought his blade from scraping the ground to an upwards motion that would meet the blade of his opponent. During this motion Hitsu would keep a tight grip on the bandages with his left as a way to hopefully keep Shuya believing the motions to be physically controlled, likewise, his right palm kept a steady aim on the midsection of the shinigami as a means of preparing to cast another Hado if necessary depending on his reaction.

Hitsuyona was many things, but he wasn't a fool that slashed endlessly at his opponent with no thoughts of the consequences. It was fairly obvious that Shuya had the upper hands of speed and likely Zanjutsu given his time in the nest, but his plan was to take advantage of any weaknesses in his opponents defenses with a reactionary defense and offense.

"Is that so?" Shuya remarked. He knew precious little about his sparring partner here and was looking forward to learning through battle. And indeed, he was surprised by the maneuver with which he unsheathed his zanpakuto -- the flowing motion of the bandages, akin to a whip, was unnatural, and so Shuya found himself dedicating extra focus to where that blade would go -- after it nicked his shihakusho's sleeve.

"Interesting zanjutsu. That must have taken practice." He clashed with Hitsu for a bit, rapidly thinking of a way to imbalance their positions. Though it would solve the problem, Shuya figured that using his shikai would be an unnecessary escalation. He had his eyes on Hitsu's free hand - as much as he could - aware that he was using two hands to Hitsu's one here. He needed more leverage.

So, Shuya lifted two fingers off of his blade, pointing them at Hitsuyona's torso and cast the simplest of spells - Hado 1: Sho - just to force an imbalance, which Shuya, if able to capitalize, would follow up with by stepping forward and thrusting his sword at Hitsu. If the whip was strong enough to parry a two-handed thrust then that was that, but otherwise, he would be able to score a dodge, or perhaps, end the spar then and there (albeit in a disappointing fashion).

Abilities Used:

Hado 1: Sho

Hitsuyona truly wanted to be surprised by his comrades response to his earlier suggestions; however, he'd never been one to follow the transgressions of those who didn't necessarily peak his interest whether a new recruit or closely ranked colleague alike. He hadn't the the time or necessity to think of it further as they met clashes, and he quickly made it a point to step back as his opponent spoke once more. The word practice might've been more than was afforded for this particular instance, but it most certainly took a rather large amount of time to hone this skill. The act of attacking others or defending himself with his blade was almost second nature, but he'd spent a countless amount of time communicating with his zanpaktou through third party communication while within the nest. After all, meditation and concentration was the majority of what he could do while within a place that prohibited the physical presence of his blade itself.

It was at that moment that the conformalities of his time with prisoner's had become imminent, as his concentration became suddenly interrupted with the thrust of Shuya's kidou. The spell was rather simple yet effect, as it found itself shoving the shinigami backwards mere inches before finding his footing to be met with a two handed slash. "Enkosen." The reaction was both instant and to an extent panic driven as he jumped backwards slightly, allowing his blade to spring forward as it spun violently to meet the onslaught in a timely fashion. No sooner than it attempted to deflect the attack did it turn sideways in a violent onslaught towards to attacker in a saw like fashion as Hitsuyona attempted to make a distance towards the left flank of his sparring partner.

At this point Hitsuyona would let out a slight smirk once again as his hand seemed to make a simple hand movement simultaneous to his movement. "Hadō # 15. Kazakama (風鎌, Wind Sickle)" A wind like strike would seamlessly emanate from the spinning defensive blade towards his opponent; likewise, whilst this occurred Hitsuyona allowed his blade to create a yellow as it began to turn horizontal towards Shuya. "Hadō # 32. Ōkasen" A yellow arced slash would shoot forth diagonally immediately following his previous onslaught to pressure his opponent to create a distance. The young shinigami was purposefully attempting to create an environment outside of melee range, not only to disadvantage his opponent, but to allow for a new and exciting style that he wasn't so religiously used to taking advantage of on a daily basis.