The tournament was off to an amazing start - crowd was pumped up by the opening match, that much was evident. And although it seemed as if the few matches that followed it served as a bathroom break, that was about to come to an end. The man stepping out onto the field was the star of the show. The destined finalist that brought the crowd to its feet once again. Cheers coming from the ladies. Boos coming from the men.
Shota grinned as he walked towards the center, basking in the attention. He did some shadow boxing, partially to warm up his muscles, but more to make the crowd happy. After sending kisses in the direction of a few lucky ladies, Shota turned to the other side of the field. For some reason, he wasn't informed about his opponent, something about a guy that was among the last ones to sign up. That fact brought a smirk on his face; if someone was almost late to sign up for the tournament, it was surely someone whom Shota could easily beat.
He brought his fist into the air victoriously as he awaited his foe.
Unaware, but undaunted by whomever his opponent might be, Zume finished his stretches out of sight of any other contestants. He was lucky, no one else from the 12th division had signed up, and so he was alone in his waiting room. Thus he'd already done his physical, mental, and spiritual exercises before it was time for his match. Now prepared for his opponent, Zume briefly closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath before releasing it slowly and allowing several mental gears to fall into place. On the surface nothing appeared to change, but beneath it within the unique structure of the captain's mind much was altered. His Archetype had not switched, but the persona below it had swapped somewhat so as to best utilize the research he'd done the two previous days.
With this in place, and his plan in mind, he opened his eyes and exited the division, walking towards the platform upon, which his debut in the tournament would be witnessed. The crowd, having gone wild from his opponent's entrance, now began to realize who that man's adversary would be. There was an almost gentle smile on his features as he walked calmly towards the platform. There was a murmur that began to rush through and he too saw a number of females covers their mouths, or put a hand to their chests when they realized it was him. He had always been rather well liked, but unlike Shota, he was not booed by anyone in particular. Rather, instead of an uproar, the arena began to quiet down somewhat. With each step the crowd's anticipation built.
By now, Zume had identified Shota as his opponent, at which he smiled, for the lieutenant was a skilled practitioner. This would make his test all the more intriguing. His potentially tremendous spiritual pressure narrowed down to the pressure of a low seated officer, Zume stepped onto the platform and respectfully bowed his head to Shota, before raising it, and removing his haori. He handed it to one of the division members near the platoform and then rolled his neck a bit to appear as if he still need to loosen up --he didn't. "Hello Shota," Zume's smooth, fluid voice said, it was like a warm soothing liquid was being poured over the skin. Wonderfully refreshing, and causing a relaxing sensation to those who heard it. At the same time it was alluring, regardless of gender, which was likely due to the man's incredible charisma. Though of course he was dealing with Shota, who was charismatic in his own way. "I hope there will be no enmity between us, regardless of who walks out of here victorious," his eyes danced with amusement, as if he hardly perceived the lieutenant as a threat.
Oddly, Zume was known to not practice hakuda in the least, even to be disinterested in it, so the very fact that he was participating was strange in and of itself. Still, Zume was not known for defying rules where they needed to be upheld, so there was no reason to doubt his methods. Still, it was strange. The captain wondered what the others would think...and specifically he wondered what Shota would think. He would know soon enough.
Out of all opponents waiting in the shadows for their turn, Captain of the Twelfth Division would have never been Shota's guess for his first adversary. Or his adversary at any stage of the competition, for that matter. He had a slight reservation towards facing a Captain so early on, but luckily for him, that Captain ended up being Zume. Sure - he was a highly intelligent, dangerous, charismatic individual. A powerful competition, without a doubt; but it was known around Soul Society that the Twelfth Division wasn't exactly the best in Hakuda. Which in turn meant that being paired with Zume might even be a better turn of events for him that he had hoped for.
The thing that bothered Shota the most was the sudden decrease in crowd volume. Everyone anticipated something special the moment they set their eyes on Zume and, to be quite honest, Shota was interested as well. Why would a Captain that wasn't skilled in hand to hand combat enter the competition? Shota may not be as intelligent as Zume, but even he knew there was some higher goal behind it. Zume's reason for participating was surely not something as meager as mere fighting. But the answer was out of Shota's grasp.
Not like it mattered.
"My greetings, Captain." Shota said, bowing down to express the same amount of respect Zume did. "You speak as if there is a chance you will walk out victrious," he continued with a smirk as he looked Zume straight in his eyes. If Zume was here to prove anything, Shota will not be the one on whose expense it will be proven. If anything, Shota will prove he can beat a Captain. And he will prove that he is more charismatic than him, while he is at it. There is no excuse for someone coming in and stealing hearts of the ladies that Shota worked so hard to melt.
Turning his gaze to the side-lines, Shota looked at the Captain Commander, nodding in his direction before turning his focus back to Zume. He wondered for whom would Goken cheer. Him and Shota were like best of friends lately, but it was known that Zume had a history with Goken. Scratching the back of his head, he pushed those thoughts out of his head - he will make everyone cheer for him.
The man that stood in front of him was an amazing analyst, so attacking first would only prove to be disadvantageous for Shota. Which is the main reason for him extending his hands towards Zume, all whilst waiting for the sign to start. "As a sign of respect, you can make the first move. I wouldn't want to knock you out with one... shot."
A smart move, Zume thought, chuckling lightly at the younger shinigami's words. However, rather than rush towards his adversary, Zume calmly walked towards him, but only after they had been given the go ahead. "You seem to think me a pushover just because of what you've heard," his smile persisted as he made the statement, no real alteration in his expression occurring.
As he came within two meters of Shota, he turned and began circling him, eyes ceasing to follow his form as he appeared to glance at the crowd, relaxed. He wanted to see what would win, Shota's youthful enthusiasm, or his common sense. Zume noted some of the captains who had showed up, as well as several others, including Hanayaka and a certain Majime, two individuals who interested him somewhat. This would prove to serve more of a purpose than his primary goal, it seemed. Wonderful, his eyes shifted back to Shota, not that he had stopped paying the boy mind at any point. by now he was about to start walking behind the shinigami. If Shota attacked before his gaze looked at him again, Zume's reactions would alter, he planned for such, but for now he would wait and test the boy's resolve to not attack first.
However, if Shota did not make any move to strike, Zume would get at an angle to Shota's left arm, and then swivel on his heels, once towards Shota. This motion would make it appear as if he were going for some form of spin kick, but instead he would retreat with the second swiveling turn. If interrupted, he would adapt as he planned. One could never allow their opponent to regain their composure once it was lost, this was essential.
"Oh, c'mon. Show some life," Shota said loud and clear, as his eyes followed Zume. He was walking towards him, calm as ever. It seemed that he didn't perceive Shota as a viable threat. That wasn't charismatic, nor smart. That was just plain arrogant, and it bothered Shota.
Because Shota was never, ever arrogant.
He wanted to give Zume the opportunity to attack first, so he could prosper in the end. It wasn't an act of kindness, nor a resolve of some sort. And if Zume wanted to circle around him to test the boy and his patience, he found the wrong target for that. Shota hated tests. He gave him a chance and Zume wasted it - Shota wasn't keen on giving him another one. He who attacks first, wins. Once he gets worked up, there was no way for Zume to stop him and Shota firmly believed that. He watched Zume make another step, grin resting on the red-haired boy's face. At the moment Zume's foot stepped firmly on the ground, Shota shifted his weight to his left foot. "My turn."
As he quietly uttered out those words, his right leg was launched full force towards Zume's left ribcage. But that wasn't his entire plan - unlike Zume, he probably wasn't able to plan the whole fight out, but he was able to think two - sometimes three - moves ahead. And this was one of those times. Shota decided that Zume was going to use common knowledge for most of his blocks and counters. And this was fast enough to give Zume little time to move away - leaving him with only a few common sense moves. One of them being that he catches Shota's leg and forces him to the ground, in which case Shota would turn his body around to deliver a roundhouse kick straight to the face of this old-timer.
Irritability, no one liked being underestimated, and it seemed that those confident in their abilities, but still held by the sway of youth, were foolish enough to let that direct their actions. Shota kicked at his ribs, but it was not his eyes which noted the movement, it was his sensory capabilities. His grasp of reiryoku and reiatsu allowed him to visualize someone's entire body by sensing the flow of reiryoku inside it. So as Shota struck out, Zume spun so his back was parallel to the leg and caught it, grasping Shota's knee with his hand, grip locking onto it with a grip forged from years of practice with a zanpakuto. He displayed the same smile as he gazed at Shota, but he was not foolish enough to remain in this position, in fact he was only in it for 1/4th of a second before Shota would feel him push at his leg and then for it to fly back, likely sending him wildly off-balance. If this were to be a success, Zume would vanish, reappearing where Shota's leg moved upon the attack, catching it again and reversing its trajectory completely.
If both movements were successful, Shota would likely find himself upon the ground. Regardless, the shinigami's leg would receive blunt trauma and internal damage as if some kind of pulse had traveled through it. If both maneuvers were successful he'd find that two such attacks would have hit him, causing him twice the damage. He would remain with one and a half meters if Shota fell, but if he did not, the captain would retreat back to two. His words if his entire maneuver met with success would be these, "You vastly underestimate me, Shota, and thus overestimate yourself."
"Calm down," Shota thought to himself moments before his leg was caught, just as he predicted. What he didn't predict, though, was Zume pushing his leg back, fast enough not to give Shota a chance to proceed with his maneuver. It was a simple, but an effective move. It made Shota spin, perhaps with the intention of making him lose his balance. "No way that's going to put me off," He had little time to think, but he did notice that Zume vanished. It was his instinct that told him Zume would appear behind him, trying to catch his leg. He didn't want to think further than that, really, as the thought of what would become of his leg wasn't a nice one.
At that point, his head was hurting - only a bit, though. He really hated multitasking.
There was only one way to stop Zume's intentions - but it was going to hurt. Biting on his lower lip, Shota forcefully brought his leg down to the ground, a move that made his stance balanced again and made him escape Zume's grip. It was also a move that brought pain to his calf; as it wasn't natural, nor easy, to bring his leg down at that speed. Fortunately, the adrenaline already kicked in and he was able to move despite the cramp - right into his next offensive move. He repeated the same move with his left leg, which was perfectly positioned for that full-force kick, but changed the trajectory mere moments before it collided with Zume's hands. He was lucky enough to have studied Muay Thai along other martial arts, so he was able to quickly adapt from one stance to the other. As well as change his offensive style in the middle of a move.
Nice explanation, Shota remarked as he bent his leg back, sharpening the knee - it gave him just enough room to move past the defense and launch a knee strike straight to Zume's chin. It was an unorthodox combination, but one that could very well work.
Shota adapted, well done, as Zume reappeared he smiled and rather than catch the oncoming leg, he ducked beneath it. He noticed the change in trajectory, but by then it didn't matter. He let it continue to swing and instead swept his Shota's other leg from beneath him with a swift kick. However behind the kick was far more power than there should have been. The pain would ripple up his leg, the same leg Zume had struck before, and make the cramp even worse. The flow of his reiryoku is blocked there, perfect, He did not stay long, In fact he then dashed behind Shota as he likely lost his balance. There was little for the poor boy, he had no idea what exactly he was dealing with, after all no one had ever seen Zume display any skill in Hakuda, and in truth he still wasn't.
Yet the method behind the power of his strikes and the skill of his movements was not in the essence of hakuda, not really. Still, no one was to know that just yet, otherwise they might gain an advantage that he could not allow at the moment. Perhaps later though.
Another missed chance, yet it seemed that every missed chance made Shota pay more and more. This time, he was swept up by a might force, as Zume ducked underneath his strike. It was a smart move, and it was even smarter dashing aways, as Shota would most likely fall on Zume otherwise. This way, he fell down to the earth, suspending himself only with his right hand from not touching the ground completely. Whether that counted for Zume or not didn't matter at this point. He pushed himself off the ground, doing one push-up strong enough to get himself back on his feet. It was not the greatest of starts for Shota, as he had to bite through even more pain in his right calf.
"Whose side are you on?" Shota muttered out as he brought his hands up.
He was better off using hands anyways, so at least he had that going for him.
"Yeah, exactly." His voice was muffled by his arms as he took the headband off, throwing it to the side. "Alright, round two," he addressed Zume, launching a fist in the direction of his face. However, he vanished and reappeared behind Zume, before his fist had a chance of colliding with him. He had to position his body so his leg wouldn't be exposed, at least not for a few moments. But he also had to position himself in a way that he would be capable of dishing out enough damage. He knew a handful of submission moves though, so if the straightforward kicking and punching wasn't going to work - he would have to turn to other methods.
He brought his hand up, moving it forward in order to clutch Zume's neck. His knee went forward, focusing on Zume's legs, in order to bring him down to his knees. Should he move to the side, Shota would have enough time to react to his counterattacks. Should he duck down, his knee would hit Zume in the ribs. And should he stay put, well - that bit was self-explanatory. There was still a lot of fight left in the SHOwstopper.
A frontal assault, unlikely. The movement didn't even look Shota had put his all behind it, which wasn't something he'd known the boy for: restraint. He smirked and took a half-step forwards. Shota was forced to move closer to grab and as he did, Zume waited for the second before his fingers clamped down. He felt them graze the hairs on his skin, then he ducked, and slammed his foot backwards into Shota's stomach. As he did the actual force of the powerful blow was seemingly multiplied, as if a shockwave was released upon contact, directly into the shinigami's body. Zume followed this motion, pressing a single hand onto the ground and then his body whirling until he was facing Shota and back on his feet again. "Your technique is top notch, but your situational awareness is lacking," he said as if simply making an observation. His expression was serious, but it looked more like he was considering Shota a student, and him a teacher.
Internally Zume was however, quite amused. The whole situation was playing out quite well, but he hadn't won yet. He'd need to get a total of 20 points first. Making Shota fall twice would be the best way to do this, but he'd do what he could rather than blindly hope for the most optimal situation.
As the foot slammed into Shota, he stumbled back - once again away from Zume. The Captain managed to create separation yet again. And he was even boasting about it. Well, he did give him a compliment, that was something at least. But the thing that bothered him was that the hit was much more powerful than it should have been. Zume was a Captain, but he wasn't that strong - not psychically - he shouldn't be that strong to land hits of that magnitude. There was something off about it.
Of course - he was not using any powerful moves, all he did most of the time was block, counter and create separation. That alone should not have made such an impact on Shota's body. Yet, Zume seemed to be on top - something that also shouldn't have happened. There was certainly something about his moves that did the trick. Was it in the technique? Did he make the remark about situational awareness on purpose? Or to throw Shota off track? He had many questions and Zume's expression was giving out no answer. "What is it so special about your technique?" Shota asked, as he moved back into the stance. He would have to be much more careful from now on, it wasn't about searching an opening - or creating one, for that matter. It was about searching an answer, because that in itself would give him enough of an opening.
Situational awareness, Shota repeated in himself. Eyes open, ears open. Check your surroundings, inspect each stance. Thank you for reminding me, Captain, Maybe that would work. Taking a step forward, Shota positioned his left foot in front of him, shifting the weight on it - making it even easier for his right foot. This stance would allow him to move quickly, whilst keeping both his balance and his right foot in check. It was a standard Jeet Kune Do stance. But, more importantly, it would allow Shota to be more fluid and improvise easier than before, which seemed to be the key to winning this thing. Out of all the styles he picked up on in the real world, he was most skilled with this - and that would give Shota the biggest chance of figuring out Zume's weakness. Which he had to have - everyone has a weakness.
There was some distance between the two of them and it gave enough time for Shota to regroup. Next point was going to be his. He pointed his left fist towards Zume, motioning for him to move first. If only he could get him to the ground, he would have this thing in the bag.
Damage to his right leg is likely sufficient now, several more strikes to that and it won't be able to support weight, he surmised as the boy took a stance, his left foot taking up the majority of his weight. Zume took a few steps towards Shota, putting the distance at two meters again. "Technique?" Zume Smiled, a certain dark amusement in his eyes. It was apparent that he found it quite enjoyable that only he knew how he was pulling this off at all. He was sure Shota was quite confused at how someone with no Hakuda talent whatsoever was taking on a combatant such as himself. "Now, it wouldn't be any fun if I told you would it?" Taking in a deep breath, Zume increased his reiatsu output somewhat, it was time to start wearing Shota down.
Then, for the first time, Zume took two running steps towards Shota, the energy building up, before he readied his feet for a slide. His foot found its traction, he spun, as if into a kick, and vanished. Shota would almost immediately feel Zume's presence behind him, delivering an attack towards the same right leg.
"I didn't know that kind of fun gets you off," Shota retorted as he felt Zume increase his reiatsu output. That could only mean he was finally getting serious. If so - he would have finally come into Shota's territory. It seemed that he wasn't giving the roots of Shota's technique much attention, but one could never know with Zume. Especially since every Hakuda user and their grandmothers knew that defense was Shota's weak point. This stance, however, allowed him to use that to his advantage - although it seemed Zume was enjoying himself too much to give that some thought. Why would he? Since Shota wasn't able to score a single point so far, Zume had no need to consider him a worthy opponent. But Shota was wary of Zume - and for a good reason. For all Shota knew, he would turn on the offensive and probably start attacking his right leg more and more, until he wore it out completely.
Now - look who is now underestimating his adversary, Shota thought as Zume spun before vanishing. The movement didn't make Shota flinch, as he was familiar with it. Simple misdirection. Of course, one would think that was enough to put Shota off guard, and quite frankly - it was. But the more time he spent in a fight, that much more did his body got accustomed to his opponent. And that was all he needed, to learn and to adapt.
If Zume was just a split second faster, he would have surely hit Shota again, but it seemed that Shota was able to keep up with his speed - he vanished just a moment before Zume managed to inflict more damage to his right leg. Shota knew that he had only have a moment before Zume regained complete balance. This time he was the one to appear behind, his speed on par with Zume's; and his body in the same balanced stance as before. This allowed him to plant his right foot near his left and launch a progressive kick with his left leg. It was both fast and powerful - and coming from up close. Even if Zume was able to counter it somehow, Shota kept his hands in the protective stance, so he would be able to counter whatever counter the Captain came up with.
It had merely been Zume's presence that Shota had felt, so as he appeared to attack he was struck square in the side by the actual Zume, who had merely used his near godly manipulation of reiryoku and reiatsu to make it feel as if he had moved behind Shota. The kick was to Shota's right hip and abdomen, worsening the damage and pain from the cramp and likely causing it to spread, and then it happened.
Rather than a simple pulsation of pain and force, an actual shockwave erupted into, and from, Zume's foot likely sending Shota flying into the ground much faster than what he had thought. If this occurred Zume would shunpo again, his presence appearing near Shota and kicking at his head as well as another at his side. Neither existed, instead Zume would appear above Shota's back and slam his foot down onto the shinigami's spine. The attack hurt, and then the pulse hit, a blast being sent directly into the boy's body through the spine so he'd feel the pain throughout his entire form. After this, presuming Shota had gotten to this point and not properly responded, Zume would shunpo a mere 2 meters away and wait. If this was to occur his expression was no longer a smirk, but rather one of dead seriousness. The smallest amount of misdirection can be the undoing of your adversary, Observation stated within Zume's deepest mind. Meanwhile Amusement smirked, but only within so as not to make it seem as if Zume were happy with the damage he was delivering. This was all going very well, this was for sure.
Zume was full of tricks, he had a bag infinitely full, if Shota was to judge from his own perspective. It seemed as if whatever Shota was doing, Zume knew exactly how to counter, but even that couldn't last forever. Shota had a plan. He had a goddamn plan. "And it better work, he thought to himself as his kick went straight through and his right side of the abdomen erupted in pain.
That in itself would have been bad enough, but a tremendous force sent him flying to the floor, although he managed to shift enough to hit the hard ground back first. This time, Zume appeared next to Shota, sending a kick towards his head, one which Shota tried to block, but it seemed as if it was another reiatsu manipulation. Then another one appeared, but this time accompanied by a smirk on Shota's face. He had gotten a hang of another trick. Seeing through the misdirection, Shota grabbed the foot that was about to slam down on his abdomen, forcing his hands around it in an ankle lock.
He had a goddamn plan.
And if it meant getting hit to pull it through, then so be it. An ankle lock was a simple submission maneuver and it usually meant that the holder would get up to his feet in order to fully apply it. If Zume knew anything about it, that would be the information. Instead, Shota moved his left hand around Zume's calf, locking the hand with his right and pulling the entire leg towards Zume's abdomen. It was impossible for Zume to shunpo away, as long as Shota held a firm grip on him. And instead of letting up, he was so pissed that he aimed at breaking Zume's leg. It was a modified Kimura lock, one that he knew how to execute perfectly.
Zume's hands were not long enough to hit him and even if he started frantically waving his other leg around to hit Shota, his hands were locked in tight and he wouldn't let go. Instead, he would apply even more pressure by shifting his entire body weight over Zume's contorted leg.
Nobody was going to mess with Shota's chances of recording an album.
With his heel behind him and near his waist, Zume at first smiled down at Shota, even as the pressure increased. His internal gears shifted, and then his hazel eyes began altering their color slightly. They became a darker brown, with flecks of gold and piercing blue...and his smile vanished. An almost dead look very briefly came into his eyes, and then was lifted as annoyance was displayed. "Troublesome, I'll have to look out for locks in the future. The Kimura then? Interesting choice," His cold analytical eyes gazed down into Shota's. This look was one the lieutenant had never seen, for it was reserved for those who Zume fought to kill, and for those who drove him to true annoyance. "However..." Zume pulled, taking in a deep breath and channeling reiryoku through both his legs. His knee lifted half an inch, then a whole inch, and then an inch and a half from Shota's abdomen, and then his smile returned, "...your organs are in far more trouble than my leg," all his weight, focused into that knee, slammed into Shota's gut, punching his diaphragm with the sharp point of his knee, and moving innards painfully around before the shockwave rippled through the same area, amplifying the pain. However this time the effect did not stop, it reverberated through Shota continuously, apparently all that had been necessary was a small amount of momentum to initiate the effect. It was a rolling wave of reverberating dissonance that would likely make Shota feel like he needed to wretch.
The ploy was meant to force Shota to loosen his hold on Zume's leg due to the air being knocked out of him, the sheer pain of the reverberating blow, and then.... Zume leaned down, angling his body so his left arm was in reach, and then slammed his fist into Shota's shoulder, causing another wave of pain to roll through the shinigami. It would likely cause a cramp in Shota's arm, just as the captain's first strike had. His cold gaze cut and burned through Shota, as if it could see into his childish mind and hit every weak point.
If Shota's hold weakened from the cramp in his arm and the intense pain in his abdomen region, Zume would kick off the ground and into the air, reappearing two meters away where he would exhale sharply and then breath in deeply, taking in another breath. He knew how to handle hold's now, avoid them completely or move in such a way so as to weaken the hold before it was allowed to fully lock into place. His eyes narrowed and his annoyance earned, the shinigami's reiatsu rose again, now hitting lieutenant level. Those in the stands would feel it only vaguely for Zume was forcing it to remain int he condensed location of the tournament's platform, where he and his adversary, Shota, now fought. He was getting more serious, and less forgiving...and that was dangerous for Shota. Very dangerous.
As Zume managed to counter his hold, all Shota was able to think about was how Zume wasn't showing any pain. He held a great poker face, although Shota was sure that he was inflicting pain. He didn't pay his adversary's words any heed as he got kneed in the diaphragm. A fair amount of saliva escaped his mouth as he gasped for air - landing directy on Zume's face. Ironically, all that was he able to think about was whether that would count as a point or not.
Probably not.
As nausea occupied his whole being, he put even more pressure on Zume's leg, although it was sheer luck, as he simply leaned on it with more weight as a pathetic way of trying to rid himself of sickness. He was inches away from hurling all over Zume, but at least he inflicted more damage to his leg. He'd surely have trouble standing on it for a while.
But then it hit him - the strongest the reiatsu output was, the stronger the shocks got. And Shota here wasn't even using his reiatsu in ways that he could. He thought that was against the rules - then again, maybe the officials were biased towards Captains. "Screw that," he barely muttered out, dripping more saliva (and possibly some of his breakfast) on Zume.
As Shota anticipated another strike incoming, he instinctively channeled his Reiatsu - but not to stop the strike, as he knew the greater Reiatsu would simply cancel his. Instead he channeled it towards the parts of his body that still held the grip on Zume, pushing with all his might before getting hit again and letting go of the hold. He was back on square one, as Zume vanished away from him - but at least he managed to inflict some damage to the leg. Good damage. It was worth it - and he was starting to get the hang of Zume's best trick.
As he pierced Zume's gaze; collecting his composure (and breath) at the same time. "I don't know why the officials aren't saying anything, you using Reiatsu to win - but if that's how you want to play, let's play. I don't care about the rules anymore." Shota spoke, as loudly and clearly as he could. He let out his Reiatsu, enough to match Zume's current level and then amplified it a bit more. Two neon green lights enveloping his fists. Of course Zume was superior in that area, but that sort of Captain-esque advantage wasn't fair play.
Vanishing from sight, Shota appeared in front of Zume, punching his fists together - a move that released dust-like Reiatsu directly at Zume's face. A mere second after, he jumped up - emitting his Reiatsu so that it would seem he was doing a front flip and then a progressive kick to the ribs. Zume had the ability to visualize entire body movement by sensing Reiatsu, something that Shota picked up on. And thus, Shota gave him something to visualize. When in reality, after manipulating his Reiatsu, Shota brought his Reiatsu all the way down - completely shutting it out, and remained in front of Zume, doing a swift leg sweep that would bring Zume down to the ground.
He was faster than before, despite being worn out. His Reiatsu shed some fresh strength into him. And the leg sweep was perfect, considering the state Zume's leg was in. Not to mention that it was so unorthodox and ridiculous that Zume had no chance of predicting it, no matter how intelligent he was.
If he succeeded in taking him down, he would pump up his Reiatsu yet again, stomping down towards his neck, utilizing the same method Zume used when he manipulated Shota in thinking the fake Zumes were real. Although, he would change it up a bit. Acting like a copycat would mean the first two strikes were fake, but he would stomp down full force with his first attack.
All the while, though, he kept his senses sharp and arms in a defensive pose. Should Zume try anything, Shota would be able to move away or block if necessary.
Twitching as Shota spit in his face...twice, Zume growled a bit till finally he managed to escape Shota's hold, though not without a measure of damage to his leg muscles. He could feel the pain, but he had no intention of letting it hinder him. He could simply heal it later. As such, he sent reiryoku to that portion of his body and let it redistribute, nullifying the pain for a moment by overriding the receptors for such. The damage was there, and he was aware of it, but it would not stop him from taking action, though those actions would likely damage his muscles further.
Then Shota did something exceptionally foolish, he tried to beat a master at his own game.
Trying to fool Zume with his reiatsu screen, the captain closed his eyes and visualized the reiryoku again. Noted the potency in front of him and smiled, his expression appearing mildly surprised. He moved to defend against the attack above him, fooling Shota into doing his leg sweep. He again allowed the attack to hit, causing his legs to look as if they buckle. However, he fell forwards towards Shota, rather than back, due to the distrubution of his weight, and thus, his knee touched the ground, intentionally, stopping his fall as Zume rammed his head into Shota's injured abdomen, then punched both his legs, even larger shockwaves releasing to buckle both legs before Zume used his other leg to push off and charge Shota, wrapping his arms around his waist and barrelling him into the ground before pushing off and away from him and shunpoing out of reach. If Shota tried to touch him, he would be impeded.
If this worked, Shota would have taken 18 hits. If his back hit the ground, he'd have taken 28, and if the grab around his waist counted, he'd have received 29. Making him lose by a rather wide margin.
If Shota interrupted his headbutt, Zume would shunpo away. If he interrupted the punches to either leg he would swivel around to his side to attack, or retreat as needed. The grab was however unavoidable if the aforementioned three moves were successful, and thus there was no need for Zume to worry on that front.
Shota smirked as Zume pretended to fall for his trick. He was a genius indeed, and even though his body language was near perfect, Shota was an actor himself. There was no way Shota would be able to beat Zume at his game - but it seemed as if Zume was forgetting that they were still in Shota's playground. The entire scheme was actually targeting another part of Zume's body, instead of his legs. When it came down to body language, Shota was confident he was the superior one. As Zume crumbled towards Shota, instead away from him - Shota stepped slightly to the side, grabbing a hold of his neck between his abdomen and left arm; right into a modified sleeper hold. Even if he planned on moving away should his plan fail, Shota held such a firm grip on his neck that he was unable to move away. Not while the two were at the same level of Hoho.
Immediately upon catching his neck, Shota grabbed Zume's left hand, trapping it from further attacks. His right hand was out of reach for a punch. The pressure on his neck was building, as Shota kicked his right knee with his left foot. The action made both of them fall down, with Zume's head hitting full force the hard ground - a DDT maneuver. And the land would give him the opportunity to shunpo away to a safe distance.
If his entire sequence went through, Shota would have 14 points and would be a step closer to winning. His both hands were imobillized and if Zume tried landing a kick with either of his legs, Shota would simply move faster due to the position advantage and reverse the hold so that he would be out of reach for Zume's legs. DDT, however, would happen in a matter of moments if Zume happens not to find a way out of his predicament.
Shota moved, Zume detected it, and bailed. The arm and knee began their movement, but Zume's head reversed its direction entirely, slipping from Shota's grasp. This revealed that Zume could use his pulses for more than just attacking, which was unfortunate, but he could only do so much when his skills in an area were effectively non-existent. Thus Shota's hold never graced Zume's neck, instead, Zume dashed back, making sure to use excessive amounts of steps so that he could not be caught entirely airborne. When he got to three meters, he stopped and took measure of the situation once more. Well, even with this new style I can only cover my lack of muscle memory so much, he sighed, smiling almost ruefully at Shota, who had seen through his ploy, something very few could do.
Still, Shota could only see through one which was badly constructed to begin with. He had made a mistake, so he supposed that was one mark in Nasuri's favor--though she hated being right. "You have done well withstanding the pain of those blows, and even better to have hit me as many times as you have," the captain's smile had returned, for his irritation had melted away after narrowly escaping that hold. While he had researched some holds, most of his studies had been into various types of martial arts and the characteristics of their movements and forms as well as more rudimentary, or basic, moves.
This knowledge had served him well, but he wasn't sure how much longer he'd last at this rate. Perhaps it was time to take a slightly different approach. Taking in a deep breath, Zume mimicked Shota's earlier stance, but in reverse. Right foot forwards, weight on his undamaged left leg which was behind. He altered it slightly, turning sideways somewhat to make himself a smaller target, and then held his right arm out in a relaxed position, left arm in front of his stomach. His reiatsu rose and then plummeted, all but vanishing completely. If one closed their eyes, it would be like he wasn't there at all.
However, for the few who had similar levels of control, such as Goken and Majime, they would note a distinct build up under the surface. One that, in the hands of an inexperienced individual, could have killed them. Luckily, Zume was not inexperienced in the least. "I hope you have taken no offense, Shota. I respect your skills, I have since before we started." There was honesty in his eyes and in his voice. He wasn't lying. It was true, Shota was skilled in this area, though the lieutenant would have surely died had he attempted to face Zume in a fight unrestrained, as would essentially any lieutenant against a captain.
As such he would honor Shota with the last few trump cards he had, if the boy could coax them out.
Out of all the troublesome opponents Shota had faced and could have faced in the tournament - he had to end up with Zume. Well, at first, he considered that a gift from lady luck. But now it seemed more as if lady luck decided to screw him over and play a little joke. Shota sighed out as Zume managed to escape the hold, possibly with the use of the same pulsating trick he used before. If that was correct, Shota would have a lot of trouble landing a single hit. But he was still standing, so he had that going for him. Albeit in a worse state than the Captain. Or at least, that's how it seemed - unfortunately, Shota did not have good enough control of Reiatsu to help bite through his wounds. He relied solely on adrenaline and that in itself wouldn't last long - not if he keeps getting hit and losing momentum.
His mind was moments from tossing his hands in the air and walking out of the arena - proclaiming it was not worth the trouble and to "screw this". His youthful pride, however, was not keen on that idea and thus Shota was going to end up beaten up even more probably. An idea that neither Shota's heart, nor face, was not keen on. He was able to catch his breath as he watched Zume take up a completely different stance. There was really no end to his tricks. "Is it going to be a condensed technique?" Shota considered as he felt Zume's Reiatsu soaring, before quickly fading out. A condensed blast was a feared technique in its own right and if he decided to combine it with one of his pulsating moves - Shota would be taken down in a single move, and probably seriously hurt while he was at it.
"Think, Shota managed to bring a smile on his face as he went over everything he learned about Zume so far. If he loses - no one else would be able to beat Zume either. That was some kind of a pathetic excuse for even considering losing. "Like I'll settle for that," his heart cried out. Reiatsu illusions, enhanced strikes that resulted in a bad time for one receiving them, excellent mobility, yet average speed - one that Shota would maybe even have the chance to surpass, should he push himself a bit more. Basic knowledge of various martial arts, basic principles, but lacking in the area of holds. However, he was agile enough to escape his holds, so Shota was better off trying out another strategy, instead of hoping Zume would make a mistake.
Because he wouldn't.
But, Shota was able to move on instinct - pure muscle memory, whilst Zume seemed to be lacking that. Although his mind was more than enough to compensate for it, it was just a matter of time until Shota broke through. If he was able to stand that long, that is. "You have my respect too, Captain. I'll be honest - I thought you were going to be a piece of cake, when I saw you were my opponent. For that, you have my sincere apologies. Still..."
Still - Shota took extra care to learn how to avoid and counter the most lethal of martial arts techniques. It was only logical, even if he didn't perfect avoiding basic maneuvers - he wasn't going to die by getting hit by them. Lethal strikes, on the other hand, were ones that he wasn't fond of getting hit by - thus he learned well how to handle them. There was no question that he was able to avoid, in theory - the real question was would his body hold out that kind of strain?
Karate, Taekwondo, Kickboxing, Judo - those were all popular martial arts that Zume had probably looked into. Capoeira - effective and lethal, but Shota wasn't as skilled in it. And now was not the time to try out things. He had to be lethal, fast and unorthodox enough for his moves to break through Zume's analytic defense. And to top it all off, he had to evade every move possible - because just one well placed condensed shot could finish him. There was only one thing that could save the day here. And he had to stay calm, focused and not attack first.
He was faster than Zume. His muscle memory was still in place. And he had an idea. He made a half-step with his left leg, bringing both of his hands up to his chin. His stance was in place - and his adversary was on the move.
A kickboxing, or at least boxing, stance was taken by Shota. The boy had acknowledged him, which was a good sign in regards to the new technique he was testing. If he was able to do this much, it might be enough. Part of him wanted to show kindness and give up, allowing Shota to win and progress, but the rest of him was determined to test out this style against at least one more opponent. Then again, now they'd be expecting it in some facet, though in truth it was hard to notice unless you could see what exactly was causing it.
He was weighing things. If he allowed Shota his win, the boy might feel indebted to him, and while the lieutenant was not particularly intelligent, though certainly not a fool, he was still a lieutenant. This could make him useful. On the other hand if he won he could progress and attempt to utilize these techniques again on someone with a completely different style, thus allowing him to further prove its usefulness. Perhaps he could try this again in next year's competition, or perhaps he could set up some way to test it besides this. "Hmmm..." Zume's smooth voice said aloud as he watched Shota's movement. He was still roughly 2 meters away though, not much trouble. The pressure was building, that was for sure, and soon it'd become uncomfortable to withhold. "Let's finish this, shall we?" Zume stated with a small smile, a rather friendly one, as he too took a small step forwards, making sure to track Shota's every movement with mind and eyes both.
"You know," Shota spoke, as he carefully stepped forward. He was tracking every movement Zume made and knew that the Captain was doing the same to him. "This technique you're using - mind teaching it to me?" It wasn't a statement meant for mockery or sarcasm; Shota was genuinely interested in learning such a powerful hand-to-hand technique. If he was the one that knew how to fully utilize it, along with his Shikai abilities, he would become a true force to be reckoned with.
The two of them were approximately two meters apart, but the tension was unbelievable. Shota had the feeling everything would be decided with the next move - and thus the last of his adrenaline kicked in, drowning out the sounds of the crowd, allowing Shota to focus solely on his adversary. If the battle lasted any longer, his adrenaline in itself wouldn't be able to push back the pain and he would surely lose. And Zume - even if he was tired, he wasn't showing it, so Shota had no real reason to believe that he would be able to outlast him in a simple stamina game. If anything, Shota was more likely to slip up and allow Zume to take him down. He was a mental glacier, that man.
The only reply to Zume's question came in form of a short nod. At that point, the two were at a meter distance from each other and when Shota made his move, it was already too late for either of them to shunpo away. The fight was going to end now - and both of them probably realized it by now. Not a second passed before Shota made a low slide forward with his upper body - it was a standard kickboxing pattern, often followed by a knee strike. Instead, Shota faked a leg kick to the neck - releasing only a bit of Reiatsu so his fake would seem more dangerous, without him having to lift his leg up and thus losing balance. That sort of kick was known to knock even the toughest of opponents off balance. His real strike, however, came in form of a fast, forward jab aimed at Zume's chin with his left hand. The strike, although powerful, left a slight opening in Shota's abdomen area.
However, his stance was not meant to utilize kickboxing, but Krav Maga. A self-defense, reaction discipline that allowed no wasted movements and gave out no real opening. That fake opening was small enough not to give out an impression of a fake one - at least not to someone who was not experienced in hand to hand combat - but at the same time, big enough to be spotted by an analytic fighter. Should Zume utilize the opening, Shota's right hand was already prepared to catch the strike and pull Zume's body close enough to allow Shota's left hand to chop down full force on Zume's neck, knocking him out.
However, there was a chance of Zume's strike emitting a pulse before impact itself, which is why Shota channeled his Reiatsu (to the best of his abilities) throughout his whole body, not to stop it per se, but to stop his body from flying away - in case that chance became reality. That way, he would have enough time to still hit with his last strike, before the pain completely engulfed him. If that was the case, it would come down to who would fall down first. And Shota hoped he would be able to stand at least a few seconds longer, due to the position advantage and sheer will-power.
The lieutenant asked him a rather interesting question, he asked if he'd teach him this new technique of his. At this the 12th division's captain smiled and responded, "Perhaps we can arrange a meeting in a day or two. I'd like to have you see how it actually works before attempting to learn it". He then continued to follow Shota's example, almost mimicking his movements, but in a slightly warped mirror image. As such, when the shinigami kicked, Zume was prepared for it. He did not initially duck, instead his right hand moved to the left, and he allowed a portion of the stored power to be released, slowing the attack where he then caught it, he was not going to let Shota win.
Then came the second attack, but it too was predictable. It even created an opening in the gut, but Zume had already adapted. Any opening Shota created was likely manufactured. He had seen through his movement's once, but he wouldn't be able to do so twice. The punch was nearly there, but Zume raised his arm somewhat, letting his hand remain in its position, holding Shota's leg. This moved it into the trajectory of Shota's punch, allowing him to hit it, or so it would seem. This time there was nothing to set the movement apart from a legitimate one, for Shota's fist almost made contact, but then it simply didn't.
Zume had utilized the principals of shunpo as he bent his legs, ducking underneath the trajectory of both sides, while simultaneously leaning on his back leg. He would push off, and backwards, appearing to retreat and actually becoming slightly airborne when he did so.
Then Zume untapped his reiryoku, aimed the surfaces of his feet backwards at an angle to the ground, and blasted forwards. A moment before this he solidified the reishi in the air to step upon, as all shinigami could, so that he would shunpo and then pulse in roughly the same moment. The entire movement thus far had barely taken a single second so when Zume appeared past the point of being blocked for Shota with his right hand arm in an L shape to his right side, his forearm sliding against Shota's still extended attack it would come as a surprise. However, the true surprise came next as Zume's palm slammed into the space between Shota's lungs, and just below his heart. "Reiatsuhei," he whispered and then the rest of the pent up tension erupted from his hand, slamming into Shota's body, coursing through the entirety of its form, and then applying enough force to push Zume two meters away, where he slid to a stop, expression serious.
The position of Zume's legs somewhat impeded Shota's still grounded leg from doing anything. Shota's other leg had no time to be drawn back and execute another kick, and his one free arm was not in the proper position to hit Zume,who was crouched down, but also not touching the ground at all as he struck. Zume's right arm also kept Shota's extended arm from bending around and making it impossible for him to retreat as he intended to. If Shota could not counter the first set of movements, then the rest would follow too swiftly for him to deal with.
Even if he forced his muscles down like he had before with his leg, then he would do himself enough damage that he'd be unable to contend with Zume's next assault anyways. It was rather futile at this point, enough so that Zume hoped it ended there, because if it did not, Zume would likely have to decrease the force of his pulses so as not to cause permanent internal damage...for that was too much for a tournament such as this, he thought.
Shota's plan seemed to be thrown out of the window yet again - but this time, somehow, it worked for him. Perhaps lady luck favored him after all. Instead of catching his "leg", Zume's hand passed through the Reiatsu screen, thus not catching Shota's leg - which remained on the ground the entire time. It threw Zume off-balance, his right arm in itself blocking his left arm and leg. A truly uncomfortable position. But even better - Zume's neck was right in front of Shota. While Zume blocked Shota's Reiatsu mirror, Shota positioned his left leg in between Zume's, locking his ankle with Zume's right ankle, preventing him from both using Shunpo and ducking his body further down to move his neck away from Shota.
By changing the trajectory of his fist and turning his jab into a chop - Shota brought his already near point blank hand, down on Zume's neck, not holding back a single ounce of his power. This is where their speed came into play, Shota was both faster and had position advantage. Zume was prevented to strike, by his own off-balanced body, and his hurt leg was locked in, not allowing him to Shunpo away.
If Zume felt suicidal and tried to attack by sending pulse to pass through his own and at Shota, the speed was still on Shota's side and his strike would connect first. It was near impossible to shift his neck around from this position, before first balancing the body out. And by the time Zume balanced his body out, he would already be done and out.
Even if Zume tried bending his body backwards, limbo-esque way, Shota' s chop would still land somewhere on Zume's head. And the faster one tried to pull his body down into a limbo hell, the more it would be unpleasant and, in this case, hurt Zume's already hurt leg.
There was only so much that someone who was not a Hakuda expert could do at this point. Even if not all trick were out of the bag - Shota neutralized all movement for longer than enough to land a single strike. And considering his offensive power, that one was going to be more than enough. Was this the mistake Shota was waiting on? It felt too good to be true.
But his strike was less than a second away from connecting - it was what it was. A game over.
Due to his stance, Zume had only had to move his arm several inches when catching the reiryoku released by Shota in the form of a false kick. He smiled and grasped it, mixing it with his own and then using it to form a pulse without releasing any of the pent up energy in his own body. This sent his elbow slamming right into Shota's wrist. However, Zume did not move his legs, allowing the shinigami to lock his by almost coiling his own around the older shinigami's. However,t he manuever would not stop him from moving forwards, only back, and as such, Zume decided to do something unorthodox, Bend his leg while leaning forwards, ducking down and grabbing Shota by the waist, something he could not dodge due to his own body position, nor could the lieutenant use his knee on Zume's abdomen for he'd lose his own balance while not winning the battle. As such, Zume used this new position and tapped Shota's entangled leg with the heel of the foot that he was locking in place. A shockwave happened, sending Shota's leg off balance and allowing Zume to lightly shove him forwards and away, creating separation. He smiled at him and held up an arm, "Your win, I have what I came for. However, you owe me a favor," Zume motioned towards the ref to call it Shota's win.
He then turned to walk off the mat, but before he did he came in close to Shota and lightly made contact with him, administering a healing kido directly inside the shinigami's body. There was no way anyone else could've seen it, and Shota would've only felt a slight change in his insides, as if bruises were healing on organs. "Wouldn't want you to die of organ trauma in the middle of your next match, would we?" He whispered, before walking off, smiling somewhat and bowing his head to the crowd, which seemed just a bit disappointed. The rest of which were cheering for Shota, happy that they'd get to see him fight in the next round. The healing kido used a fair amount of the pent up energy, the rest of which Zume simply released in a controlled manner as he walked away. If it was released all at once it might cause damage, but this way no one would even know exactly what he'd been doing. In fact, Shota still wouldn't even know till he told him later on...if he did.
Shota closed his eyes as Zume managed to create separation, anticipating a crushing blow. The one, however, never came. "My win?" Shota muttered out as he opened his eyes, clearly seeing Zume forfeit. "Hey!" He yelled out after Zume, a few moments after the Captain whispered to him and proceeded to depart. What are you doing, you hot-headed punk?
"What does it look like? We're not finished, not like this," Oh, so you want to "fight", and get beat up to a bloody pulp? You know what - go right ahead, but I'm not going through with that. Not a chance. "But I can't fight without a narrator!" Exactly.
Sensing common knowledge filling his mind, Shota bowed down to respectfully thank the Captain for the fight. "Hopefully, you'll get to teach me that. And as for that favor," Shota grinned, while grabbing his abdomen area, "I know a few good bars in Tokyo." Only then did the fact that he won reached his mind. Only when his adrenaline stopped coursing through his body and he felt the pain. Well, at least he heard the crowd chanting his name. He had that going for him.
Slipping back into his usual self, he shot out a few hearts to the ladies, thumbs up to the gentleman - he won!
He glanced towards Zume one last time before returning to appease the crowd. If the fight lasted any longer, Zume would have been the one victorious, that much was obvious to Shota. He released some of his Reiatsu as he sent thumbs up to Zume, this way the Captain would be able to see it, even whilst walking away.
