Sparring with the captain

Asuma waited patiently in the courtyard of the squad thirteen barracks, his nodachi held in his hands, one hand on the handle, the other wrapped around the sheathe encased blade. His kimono was pulled down off of his chest, leaveing him bare from the waist up, his head bowed as he patiently, and quietly sought inner peace. He had a habit of losing himself in battle, and such tactics could prove most detrimental when facing the captain in a sparring match. Still, he couldnt help but look foward to this. He enjoyed battle, and this one promised to be a very entertaining fight, and he would hold nothing back......

Captain Jensen Reinhart of the 13th devision stepped out on into to sparring area of the 13th devisions barracks. Jensen was 5'11 with long brown hair bound back by a red bandana, he was muscled and had the look of a fierce warrior about him. He wore his captains haori and black trouser with no shirt, showing off his scarred chest. Not to be intimidating, just because it was so damn hot out and he was sick of it. Scratching his stubble he yawned, glad to be away from his office, its heat and all the paper work.

Looking at the beast of a man before him he tried to recall the man's face. He knew it was Azuma Tyrranus, who'd asked for a personal sparring match, but he couldn't recall where they'd met before. There were allot of soldiers in the 13th, and while Jensen cared greatly for the lives of his men it was impossible to keep put faces to every name. Well, this was a perfect chance to do that, and Jensen never turned down a spar, if it ment getting away from paperwork.

Jensen cleared his throat to alert the man to his presence then said, "Do you plan on sitting there all day, or are you going to intoduce yourself properly?"

Asuma raised his head and looked at his captain with his sharp blue eyes. He let go of the sheathe and turned the sword up, resting it against his shoulder and bowing to the captain. "Greetings captain Jensen. I am Asuma Tyrranus, of your squad, squad thirteen. It is a pleasure to spar with you today sir." he said, pulling his sword from his shoulder, grabbing the sheathe of his nodachi and slowly removing it, allowing the polished, sharpened, oiled blade of his zanpaktou. He held it before his eyes, staring at it reverantly as he tossed the sheathe aside. "I ask for your forgiveness, and patience a little longer captain. I must prepare my mind for battle." he said, taking the handle of his nodachi in both hands before lowering the hilt to his left hip and drawing his right foot back, bending his left leg at the knee. He hung his head a little again and closed his eyes taking several deep breaths.

After several moments of this he opened his eyes and looked back up at Jensen. The look in his eyes had changed, as had the set of his jaw. He slowly drew his blade back further, the blade now paralell with the ground, even with his hip, and pointed at the captain. "I thank you for your patience captain." he said softly. "But I am now prepared, if you are."

After the man had spoken Jensen remembered who he was. A courageous, hot headed man who had no love for hollows. Jensen had seen him around a few times and he took his training allot more seriously than most. "Forgivness is not needed. Take your time." Jensen said.

He placed a hand on the hilt of his Ninjato, a straight bladed japanese weapon with a wooden handle and scabbard, with a cross hilt in the european style. He Waited patiently with a half smile on his face for his sparring partner to become fully prepared. When he was, Jensen smile widened and he said, "If your ready, come at me." he gestured for the man to attack.

Asuma held his ground for a moment, looking the captain up and down slowly, assesing his stance before taking action. "Awaken, Kurai Honoo Onii!" he said, deciding to go in full power from the start. His sword erupted in black flame which swirled and roared around his blade before being drawn into the open skull mouths near the hilt. After the transformation he brought his sword up above his right shoulder and lunged at Jensen, slashing downwards halfway towards him. "Black fire wind!" he shouted, sending a wave of black flame at Jensen before using flash step to get to the left of Jensen, the wave of fre still coming from the front. He had pulled his sword back into his right hand, level with the ground and held at hip level again, and he thrust his free left hand at the captain. "Bakudo number four, hainawa!" he sai through gritted teeth, thrusting his sword at Jensens leg at the same time as the energy rope snapped at the captains arms.

Jensen smiled as the man hastily released his zanpakuto. Jensen left his sheathed and waited for Asuma to attack. The man charged and half way between them launched a wave of black fire. Azuma apeared to his left and lunged at him. In one quick motion Jensen drew his sword and slashed trough the black flame, the force of the swing dispersing the attack around him.

Azuma continued his assault with a bakudo 4 and a stab to the leg. Jensen tapped the blade off course with the side of his weapon and threw it up into the air before he let the Bakudo 4 hit and tangled his arms behind his back. The sword came back down and stabbed into the ground between himself and Azuma.

"Your to used to fighting in your own weight class, you'll have to try allot harder if you want to come up against a captain of my level." Jensen said. He wasn't gloating or mocking the man, but rather encouraging him to fight harder. After he spoke he kicked the handle of his sword, sending the weapon cartwheeling towards Azume, coated in a sheath of reiatsu so that if it hit, it wouldn't cut, it would still leave one hell of a bruise though.

Jensen followed up his initial attack by rushing in and sweeping a foot low to the ground to trip asuma. If he did manage to trip Azuma, he'd raise one leg to stomp, stopping the attack inches from Azuma's chest, before letting him back up.

Asuma was hardly going to sit still for the attack. He snapped his sword up from the right and slapped the sword away and down. At the same time he did a spin towards the right out of the path of the sliding captain, using the spin to enhance the momentum of his strike on the blade. He continued the spin fully, bringing the sword down as he did, and then swinging it back at Jensen's ribs as he slid by, in a way that would be painful but nonlethal. He was playing for keeps after all.


However, Asuma highly doubted his sword would connect. Jensen was smart and fast and he would not put himself in such a vunerable spot, like sliding along the ground, without it either being a trap, or having a way out. So as he began the spin, he began a very quick chant. "Walls of ironsand, a priestly pagoda, glowing ironclad fireflies. Standing upright, silent to the end." he said, finishing after the sword came at Jensen's chest. The pillars were not aimed at the captain though, but instead where he would be, five massive iron pillars falling to try and pin him.

Jensen's trip attempted failed and Azuma attacked with a slash towards his hip. He took it and rolled aside as Azuma cast a bakuda to try and trap jensen. Jensen dodged aside and snapped his arms free of the bakuda 4 and grabbed his Zanpakuto.

Smiling he put a hand on the blade, "I dont want this to get dull for you." He said, "Pulse, Celestia!" He said and the blade transformed into a black longsword with a broad blade and wide cross guard. On his opposite hand a clawed gauntlet of black steel formed.

Jensen shunpo'd forward faster than Asuma would be able to follow and appeared on his left. He swipped the gauntlet through the air unleashing a dense wave of blue/green reiatsu, an attack designed to push opponants black and break their guard. Hit or miss Jensen followed up with a three slash combo, left to right and back, followed by an upper cut. He put as little force as possible behind the attacks, and used the Reiatsu sheath. He was pysically very strong and didn't want to accidentally knock Azuma out in one hit.

Asuma wasnt going to even try taking on the captain in a head on fight with his shikai in use. Not like this anyway. As the captain shunpo'd at him with his attack, Asuma did nottry to block it, or counter. On instinct, he also used shunpo. He dissappeared, out of the way of the captains attack, appearing ten feet to the left of him instead, down low in a crouch, his right leg foward and bent low, and his left leg far back and straight behind him, his sword in his left hand and pulled back behind his head, point aimed at the captain, his left arm held straight foward, palm towards Jensen.

The captain was leagues above him and Asuma knew it. But there was always a way to win, always. He just had to figure it out. He studied the captain, watching his motions and attacks carefully. He was holding back, by alot. Asuma stopped for a second as two thoughts came to mind. One, the captain was way above him while holding back, a frightening thought, and two, maybe he could use that. Somehow.

He eyed the captain and began to charge up energy in his sword, preparing it for a dark flame shot, while at the same time he began to quietly mutter to himself. "Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle!"

jensen was surprised Azuma managed to dodge that attack. Smiling he turned to his combat partner and watched him. He could see his lips moving, and decided the man was planning something. Jensen knelt and placed the claws of his gauntlet on the ground, digging them slightly into the dirt, bringing Reiatsu to his finger tips. Placing the sword at an angle behind him, he charged the blade with energy too, and waited for Azuma to attack first.

Asuma finished his chant and swung his hand in Jensens direction, sending a blast of yellow energy in an arc towards him. At the same time he used shunpo to appear above the captain, thrusting his sword down towards him. "Black flame shot!" he announced, launching a wide, powerful blast of black flame with the concussive force of a shakkaho, but alot more burning damage going along with it. He had to bring the captain down, and fast.

Asuma unsleahed a hado and Junsen ripped his hand from the ground, upwards, sending out a pulse wave towards the hado. The hado would win but the pulse wave was dense enough energy that it would hold it back long enough for Jensen to figure out Azuma's next move.

Azuma shunpo'd above him and launched a fireball attack straight down on him. As it was, jensen would be pincered by both attacks, but he seen a good chance for a counter and launched himself up, gauntlet first to disperse some of the force of the attack and fly up beside it. The Fire attack passed down his right side leaving scorch marks along his right arm and sides, not including under the thick gauntlet.

The hado beat his pulse wave and flew off harmlessly. Now directly below Asuma, Jensen grabbed him by the ankle with his gauntlet. With a great heave of strength he launched the big man towards the earth and shunpo'd after him. The top of his weapon broke into a few peices linked by a chain, and he whipped it towards the ground next to Azuma, unleashing his Star burst attack, a semi powerful explosion, if Azuma was caught with it, he would be sent flying and take moderate damage because it wasn't a direct him.

Asuma hit the ground hard, growling to himself. His attack had done so little damage to the captain! But he wasnt done, not yet, not by a long shot! As Jensens attack came at him, he rolled away from it. As he rolled however, he placed his blade under him, so that when he rolled over, his blade would come around and send a black flame wind attack at Jensen, a slash of black fire similiar to ichigos getsuga tensho, but smaller. Asuma couldnt roll far enough away to avoid all the blast though and was thrown by it, hitting the ground hard again and rolling before coming up on his hands and knees, panting hard as he eyed the captain. His multiple, long cornrows hanging down around his face. The captain had to have a weakness. Everyone did. But could he figure it out in time? All it would take was the captain getting serious after all for this to be over......

Jensen smiled as the man picked himself up off the dirt. "Good to see you can get up after that." Jensen said walking forward, the blade of his sword snapping back into a solid condition. "Well, dont stop now, the funs just starting."

Jensen charged forward and threw a blade of reiatsu at his opponant to distract him, while he sweept his blade low, the side of the blade aimed to slap Asuma's calf, then pulled the blade back and swung high, the blade breaking into pieces again to hit like a whip.

Asuma countered the rietsu blade by throwing his hand out before him. "Bakudo number 39, enkosen!" he shouted, a very solid shield forming for the rieatsu blade to shatter against. As the sword came if for his calf he swung his sword in, down from the inside, slapping the weapon away and using its own momentum to reverse his swords own swing, coming back in to block the swing of the now chainlike sword. But instead of just forcing it back, as soon as his sword met Jensens, he yanked downwards, using his Swords teeth to catch Jensens sword in the gaps where it had seperated. He quickly snapped his left hand up, placing it on the back of his own blade to force it downwards, taking jensens sword with it, and at the same time throwing his entire body over the blades, and towards Jensen, trying to knock him off balance, and possibly, force him to let go of the blades hilt.

Azuma quickly blocked Jensen's attacks and trapped his blade, even tried slamming into jensen at the same time as attempting to disarm him. Jensen smiled and let go of his weapon and caugt azuma buy the scruff and a handfull of clothing around the waist, easily holding him with his immense pysical strength before tossing the man over his head towards the ground. He turned on his heel as his longsword broke free of Azuma's sword and returned to its solid state, sticking in the ground to Azuma's left.

Jensen half smiled. "Had enough yet or do you want to keep going?" Jensen asked as he flexed his gauntlet. In his other hand another Reiatsu dagger appeared, ready to replace his Zanpakuto for a brief time.