The Birth of the Gotei 13's MABSG?

[Jukuma]

Among the mass of black-robed Shinigami coming and going in different directions through the narrow streets of the Sereitei, there was one that was prominent from the crowd, not for being special in any sense, but simply because he stood on top of one of the walls that served as a separator of the different streets and next to a tremendous, thin, rectangular figure covered in a huge mantle that completely covered it and even went down far enough to touch the ground. The man, resembling what could vaguely be described as a pirate due to his very old bandana and a wild scar that extended half-way through his left cheek, was doing nothing but remain still with his eyes closed, his head slightly inclined downward and both of his exposed arms crossed at the height of his chest. Even to the most innocent and gullible eye, it was evident that he was trying too hard to maintain something that resembled an imposing position.

Some of the people coming and going would stop for a while to look at the statue-man and his tremendous rectangular possession four times his height next to him with curiosity. Those who recognized the man as the Vice-Captain of the 5th Division gave mixed reactions depending on how well they knew him: those who were already familiar with him would ignore his presence, while the innocent ones who were still not aware he could be up to no good remained in place, interested in the huge figure next to the pirate-like individual. People who were busy simply passed by without making any kind of remarks of the situation. It didnft seem like it, but the man was actually aware of how many people were rounding up next to his presence, as he would slightly open his eyes from time to time in less subtle way than he thought, all to not crumble his not very successful eimposing statue stancef. He needed a big crowd to witness what he was about to reveal, as it would suppose a huge change in Sereitei (or so he thought) and make him be marked down in the history of Soul Society as the great Shinigami he was (or so he thought). The crowd, however, was at that moment slightly over a dozen of people, which was just a few hundreds less than what he was expecting initially. On second thought, he probably should have announced all this in advance; even in a Vice-Captain meeting, he probably would have had a bigger audience, but it was a bit too late to be changing plans. It was time to unleash plan B.

Without a previous notice, the Vice-Captainfs eyes suddenly opened widely as he moved his head upwards again in a dramatic way. "Shinigami of the Sereitei, me thanks for lendin' me a few minutes of yer time!" he screamed loudly with a cheerful tone and expression as, in contrast to his previously static stance, he moved his limbs energetically at the rhythm of his speech. Plan B seemed to be effective, since as soon as he began his vigorous speech, many more would stop on their tracks to see what the mono-commotion was about. The Vice-Captain either didn't care of how everyone would look at him or did not notice, although the second seemed to be the most likely. The fact that he was speaking like a pirate, as was the case every time he talked to an audience, wasnft helping either. gGood efening, Ifm Yasuo Funanori of the 5th Division and I hafe one grand, eery important announcement to make!h

"I trust ye lot remember the invasion of the Espada not eery long ago, and if ye donft, then just let me sum it up as somethinf not nice to recall. And now I ask ye lot, do ye think yefll surfive a second assault?! I think not! I think if it happened again, yefd be dead right now!h Yasuo pointed with his right hand at a random man who just arrived and didnft know what the subject of the announcement even was and simply responded by looking puzzled. gAnd ye! And ye, too! And ye three as well!" He pointed at other three random Shinigami, who responded similarly. gAlso, know that many great, brafe Shinigami fight to maintain the peace in Sereitei while ye all lay in wait, drinkinf grog! Aye, I understand tis not yer fault, but times are complicated and difficult and we shall react accordingly! And I hafe the solution for ye all!h Again with overdramatic gestures, Yasuo pulled on the mantle that had been covering the huge object next to him and revealed what had pretty obviously been a sign.

The sign showed a group of huge letters reading eThe Gotei 13fs Menfs Association Bankai Study Groupf in red and blue colors and poor calligraphy, this however, enhanced its artistic presentation (or so he thought). Once again, reactions were mixed between those of instant commenting and whispering to those of complete and utter silence.

"I, Yasuo Funanori, hafe formed a group with the sole, unique purpose of helpinf Shinigami achiefe the maximum stage of power: Bankai!h Yasuo announced with pride. "We be a small, petty organization with only one member now, but we foresee immediate progress. Ye choose to be a man and not a scoundrel and join!h

He still had many things to explain, including the rules he had already set for the group, but he took a minute to see the reactions of the public and save the rest for a meeting if it ever came to be.
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((OOC: The Gotei 13fs Menfs Association Bankai Training was Zhielfs idea, so praise him. Also, may God let me not have to imitate pirate talk ever again.))

[kensei]

Among the sea of shingami, one stood out if for the sole reason of his bright, crimson, red hair. Most people didn’t know him, but for those who did this man was Sagara Zurui, Six’s Division’s Fourth Seat. His pale complexion offset by the golden jewels called his eyes. The X like scar on his left cheek was long as his cheek. But today he was just another one in a sea of black robes, but the one that did catch attention was a Pirate like Shingami.

The strange man caught Sagara’s eye simply because he was indeed a Vice Captain. While he didn’t really know him, Sagara made it a point to know everyone in position of power, and Vice Captain was a position of power.. He watched the man, wondering what he was doing. He had heard rumors that fifth division’s VC was a bit eccentric but he hadn’t expected this..

However, this was a bit more then he had expected, he truly thought it was over exaggerated. He really was a pirate.. Sagara’s mouth dropped a bit as he listened to him. Could they really let someone like that be the second most important person in the Fifth division? Was he really so strong no one else could do his job? Sagara kept himself and his underlings to a code, they followed it, sixth division was a military unit.. The VC and Captain agreed with him that they should hold there Division to high standards, a rigorous, yet caring family. Was there such a difference between all the divisions that VCs could be like that?!

But this line of thought was cut off as the Pirate VC reviled a sign. ”Bankai Study Group..” He said to himself as he looked at the sing before listening to the Vice. Ok so the VC was a bit crazy, eccentric, but he was doing good and trying to help the Shingami. Sagara smiled slightly before jumping onto the building and kneeled, before the Vice Captain. ”Zurui, Sagara, Six Division, Forth Seat. I would like to join your group, Sir!” He said before standing up and looking Yasuo in the eyes.

[Jukuma]

The overall reaction of the public was not exactly what Yasuo was hoping for. He knew from the beginning that having an entire street of Shinigami join the Bankai Study Group on his first public display of the idea would be unrealistic, but he expected at least a dozen to join. However, nobody seemed enthusiastic about what he thought would be a great idea and that was beginning to annoy him. He sighed in disappointment at the public, but before he could do or say anything else, a red-haired Shinigami jumped on the same ceiling he was standing on and knelled before him to show respect. When the Shinigami introduced himself as the 4th Seat of the 6th Division, Yasuo's face instantly recovered a wide and somewhat malicious grin. If a seated officer joined the Study Group, many more were sure to join to follow his example. When the Sagara stood up again and looked at Yasuo in the eyes, the Vice.Captain tapped his shoulder with excessive strength in a friendly manner.

"That's the spirit I was hoping to see! I can see the strength in yer eyes and the passion in your heart, mate!" Yasuo exclaimed in high spirits. Some people among the crowd recognized Yasuo's line as exactly the same one he said to newbie officers in his division whenever he wanted a favor out of them, but chose to remain silent about it. "Behold the presence of a true warrior of Soul Society!" Yasuo added as he pushed Sagara's shoulder so that he faced the crowd, as if showing him to them. He then put his other hand on Sagara's free shoulder, again with excessive strength. "I see the enormous potential in you, mate. It has not awakened yet, but I recognize it's great existence! Welcome to The Gotei 13's MABSG! I am sure that with a reliable member like you, our numbers shall grow, isn't that right?"

That last 'isn't that right?' directed to the crowd almost sounded like a threat to everyone else. Nonetheless, even if the man did indeed have a few screws loose, he was still a high-ranking officer willing to help others in their training, and nobody could question his strength, since it was known by many he had achieved his rank not with leadership skills nor with intellect. Those were still not reasons to fully trust the project, since Yasuo wasn't really known for being a good mentor, but when Sagara proclaimed his intention to join the group, those who knew him decided to give the group a try. After all, even if Yasuo's judgement wasn't trustworthy, Sagara was a more cool-headed person and he was still a high-ranking officer, so he was an individual they could benefit from having around when training.

"I'll join!" one Shinigami proclaimed, stepping to the front of the crowd while raising his fist as if to show his determination (probably he was sucked in by Yasuo's excessive display of excitement). He didn't do as Sagara and remained on the ground rather than the ceiling but still lowered hsi head in respect.

"I guess I'll join as well" another Shinigami announced, imitating the first one, albeit with less excitement.

Other eight followed the first two and Yasuo observed with satisfaction that he had obtained the dozen he had been hoping for initially.

"Excellent!" Yasuo exclaimed, showing he was pleased with the result. He punched the giant sign on his side with his fist and made it flip around, showing the back of it, which displayed a decorated arrow pointing to the opposite side Yasuo was on. "Those who want to join follow me to the 5th Division's training grounds to enlist and we will start right away!"

Yasuo faced lead the way with a smile while the group followed him. The rest remained silent, pitying the others for the hell they were about to go through.

[kensei]

Sagara wasn’t to happy as Yasuo started to parade him in front of the other Shingami. That just wasn’t his style, he liked to keep a slightly lower profile, or at least not be shown off as some kind of doll. If he had any problems with this whole idea it was this right here, sure he wanted other people to join, but not at the expense of his dignity. He grumbled slightly as Yasuo kept on with the pushing and shoving, it was over dramatic and excessive, and those who knew Sagara knew he had a very short temper.

He started to glare at Yasuo as he couldn’t help but place his pointer finger onto the hilt of his Zanpakuto. However right as he had just about had the last straw, another Shingami signed up. He looked at the man slightly stunned, he didn’t recognize him, but the next one was Squad Six’s Seventh Seat, another member of Squad Six joined soon after, there Sixth Seat. “Good to have you two with us. Matsu, don’t slack off you lazy son of a bitch.” He said with a slight laugh as a man the Sixfth seat rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously. He had long black hair, though not near the length of Sagara’s ponytail. He was a young man, lazy for the most part, but when he needed to be, he could be an unstoppable force of determination. But actually brining that out was a very difficult task, hopefully Yasuo was up to the task of motivating these soldiers.

Sagara fell into line as Yasuo lead the way to the Fifth Squad’s headquarters. “So Yasuo, is there going to be anyone here that actually has Bankai? If we could get a Captain to help teach us how to bring out or Zanpakuto’s inner spirit, then I think we would have a really high chance of making this work. Even if he isn’t a permanent member, we should approach the Captains and ask them to take rotations. If you want I can bring it up at the next Captain’s meeting.” He said with a slightly nervous laugh. He didn’t want to overstep his boundaries, or try and appear like he had more connections then Yasuo, but he was representing the Sixth Squad at Captain meetings. Most people knew who he was simply because he was the Fourth Seat in charge of the most broken squad in Soul Society. They had been hit like no one else, and he was proof of that.

[Jukuma]

Yasuo was completely unaware that his behavior was angering Sagara, in fact, even though some of the rest of Shinigami had already even noticed how dangerously close the 4th Seat's hand was getting to the hilt of his Zanpakuto, the pirate was completely unaware even though he had it in front of him. It was impressive how Yasuo seemed to work with a battle switch all the time; if he wasn't mentally ready for fighting then it just wouldn't even cross his mind that someone could be holding a sword against him, let alone hold any kind of negative emotions towards him. Hell, he was even failing to notice Sagara was glaring at him, although that was probably due to him being to busy talking to the crowd. Needless to say, said battle switch seemed to be completely off at that moment.

He was once again happy to see that everyone did as he asked and followed him as he lead the way to the 5th Division's training grounds. As they marched, Sagara approached him, apparently to ask something.

"...!!!" Yasuo's eyes widened for a second as Sagara referred to him for his first name and the urge to speak up and give one of his very famous speeches of what true respect meant to the 4th Seat, who apparently hand't heard one yet. It wasn't the first time that, be it because he wasn't taken serious or maybe because the other person wasn't the respectful kind, someone with a rank inferior to his addressed him without any kind of honorifics or by his first name and the usual reaction was always that the sense of reverie would be carved through violence in their minds forever. He acted that way towards his superiors, so he expected everyone to do the same when addressing him or other Vice-Captains and Captains. However, this wasn't the time nor the place to drop a speech like that and he couldn't pick a fight with the man who had attracted so many members to the MABSG. "Don't mind that..." he answered when Sagara posed the question to him while he directed him a smile that, no matter how you looked at it, looked like it was taking a lot of mental effort to maintain. "I have already asked for a Captain to give us a hand in our training from time to time and I have already received some theory instructions from him, so that much is covered for now. And I appreciate the thought, but I can bring up the subject myself; after all, I'm already attending Captain meetings."

Apparently Sagara wasn't aware, but the 5th Division was also missing their Captain, so they found themselves in a similar situation to that of the 6th Division. Nonetheless, it was hard for Yasuo not to feel some sympathy towards Sagara; he was already going through a lot of trouble simply with having to fill in the position of Captain in certain areas to the point where many had at first opposed the creation of the Bankai Training Association, so it was hard for him to imagine how a 4th Seat had to cope with the enormous void in power that was left in his Division. That was probably the reason why he was now speaking in a more careful manner.

"Either way, we won't be needing a Captain for today's exercise", Yasuo finished explaining with a lot calmer expression in anticipation to what he had prepared.

It didn't take long before the group made it to the training grounds, where Yasuo went straight to a small stand which already had two large columns of papers arranged on top. Yasuo checked that everyone was still following him and paying attention and then jumped on top of the stand with his usual energy, careful not to step on the papers. He pulled on a rope attached to the wall behind the stand and another sign fell behind Yasuo. This one had the word 'Rules' written on top with and apparently listed them all underneath.

"Gentlemen, I give you the rules of the MABSG!" Yasuo announced as he got out of the way to let everyone read the sign. "I trust you will read and accept them before joining." Everyone bagan reading the rules when Yasuo was finished talking.
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1- Applicants must have already learned to summon their Shikai before joining.

2- At the moment, we can only provide our services to male applicants.

3- Any member who does not attend a minimum of training sessions depending on their particular situation will be expelled.

4- Once a member has finished his Bankai training, he is not obligated to leave the association.
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There were only a few rules, and it was clear that some of them were simply meant to keep the number of members to a quantity that could be handled. If it was up to Yasuo, anyone would be able to join, but it was clear to the Captain's who had approved of this idea that he would not be able to handle many members, and since it was now on testing grounds still, neither had they properly supervised the rules. Hence why the group had such few limitations.

Either way, none of the members left when they were done reading the rules and once Yasuo confirmed no one had lost interest yet, he handed down the papers to everyone. They were applications to joining the association which asked for the name, Division, rank and other contact and personal information to be filled.

"Once you are all done and if everyone is ready, we shall commence our first session!" Yasuo announced with a confident smile as he sat on top of teh stand and waited for everyone to finish.

[kensei]

Sagar backed away as Yasuo became wide eyed and he gulped slightly. He realized he had slipped up when he didn’t address him with any honorifics, or show any signs of respect to him, but honestly he had a hard time taking him seriously much less believing he was the type to take such things seriously, but he had obviously misjudged him. But instead of stuttering and trying to fix his mistake he simply continued on, not wanting to appear too be intimidated by Yasuo. If there was one thing he had learned in these last few months, it was to not appear weak or intimidated in front of the higher ranking members of the other divisions, otherwise they would eat you alive.

“Ah, I see. Well that’s good, I am glad you have it all under control Funanori-Senpai.” He said and bowed his head slightly, showing he did have respect in him. He had gotten out of the habit of actually having to have honorifics being the highest member left in Sixth division. He had to mentally remind himself that being acting Captain was different then being the actual Captain, even if he carried all of the burdens of command.

He smiled slightly as Yasuo started to act a lot calmer, the last thing this new group needed was for a fight to break out between the two of them on its first day after all. He was glad when they made it to the fifth division’s headquarters; he was almost shaking in anticipation. He couldn’t wait to show that smug bastard Kasai who was boss. This day had been a long time coming, and the day he finally got to pound his face in and beat him into submission had been something he dreamed about since he met the annoying bastard. Kasai always had comments to make, always had to tell him what he was doing wrong and how pathetic he was. And now with his new stress, it was just getting to be too much to deal with. At the very least this activity gave him a good excuse to get out of the office and work off some steam. He had the benefit of being good friends with the Vice Captain, and trying to learn as much about leading the division as he could from him before him and the Captain passed on, but his fifth seat had no idea what to do as a Vice Captain, and he had been having to pick up the slack for him, even the Sixth seat was having to help with command right now. It was a juggling act and he felt like it was all about to come down around him, he needed some way to vent during the day.

He couldn’t help but grin as they walked inside, and Yasuo went about explaining everything in his own eccentric way. He quickly went about filling the application out. Zuri, Sagara, Fourth Seat, Sixth Divison, hellbutterfly to Squad Sixth Headquarters. He jotted down quickly before cracking his knuckles and stared at Yasuo. It was time to get this show on the road!

[Jukuma]

It didn't take long before all of the applicant had finished filling all of the papers they been given and put them back in a pile where they were before.

"Good, we got this out of the way quickly" Yasuo commented with a smile as he grabbed the pile and addressed the rest of the Shinigami. "Then follow me deeper in the training grounds."

The Vice-Captain leaded the way for the rest of the group deeper in the training grounds. The area was kind of similar to a forest, in fact, they were now crossing a large group of trees that, rather than being similar to one, looked exactly the same as an actual forest. It was incredible how spacious 5th Division's area was for a single division, including their reserved space for training; many of the Shinigami following Yasuo commented on that and some seemed to be quite excited to be inside after having heard about it before. Since the 5th Division was in charge of the Inner Defense, it was rare for any of its members to ever leave Soul Society, and so it was decided a long time ago that if a system of shared training grounds for all division was maintained, it would practically be owned by them, which proved right when put into practice. That's why they were eventually given their own grounds and, while they still shared it when necessary not everyone had seen it yet.

Not before long, the group made it to a clear area in the woods that could have a radius of 20 meters approximately (though it wasn't really a perfect circle), there were absolutely no obstacles present in the space except for a few rocks quite out of place and clearly put there by someone near the limits where trees appeared again. The ground was covered by grass that seemed to receive good care. While it seemed to be a good place for any kind of training, including sparring or meditation, it was hard to believe anyone had done any training there since it was in perfect state. Surely someone with supernatural powers (either literally or figuratively) was taking care of it daily. Yasuo made it to the center of the clear, but he did not stop walking; he seemed to be directed towards the rocks on the opposite end from where they had entered the clear.

"Alright, you can all sit on the rocks or grass if you want" he said as he kept walking, although he stopped for a second and took out a random paper from the stack of files he had gotten from the applicants earlier. "All except for Oomori Sato, you stand on the center".

Yasuo kept walking while a slim but fast looking man stood up and walked towards the center as he was commanded with a confident look. Once the Vice-Captain made it to his destination, he left all of the files on top of a rock and turned around once again to walk towards the Shinigami he had called out, although he stopped when he was three meters away from him. It was odd that one of them was called to the center so soon, they probably expected a demonstration first, but from Yasuo, not from someone who was there to learn something. Then again, maybe he was trying to make them show everyone what they knew so far? No.

"Try to cut me", he ordered the Shinigami with a smile on his face. The man named Sato seemed confused by what Yasuo said and didn't respond in any way. "Ah, you are right, your file says you are a 6th Seat, so I should kinda give you a handicap, right?" Sato looked at him with an even more confused expression. Yasuo, however, still didn't seem to realize anything and instead raised three fingers "I'll call out which part of your body I'll hit you on three seconds before I actually do. That should do it."

"Ummm..." Sato seemed to be looking for the right words to say. "I thought we would receive spiritual training."

"Yep, this comes first though." Yasuo claimed, as if an explanation wasn't necessary. "Now c'mon, try to cut or hit me!"

Sato finally seemed to understand the Vice-Captain was serious and drew out his Zanpakuto. He first gave a warning and then closed the distance between the two quickly with his Zanpakuto readied in a position for stabbing. He seemed to know how to use a sword to some extent and the tip of the sword was well aimed, but Yasuo quickly moved his body out of the way and the attack missed its target by a few centimeters. To an unlearned fighter, that would seem like a narrow escape, but anyone who had some experience at using a weapon could realize that it was the exact opposite and the pirate-like Shinigami had dodged moving at least as possible to avoid building too much distance and maintain his body in equilibrium. That single move had made it obvious that there was a gap between the two fighter, and Sato hadn't failed to notice it. The attack didn't end there and a barrage of slashes followed up, trying to catch Yasuo off-guard during one of his narrow dodges. All of those, however, were dodged in the exact same way and Yasuo was barely even moving backwards. It was amazing to see such a large man move with so much flexibility and ease, and even though he was walking backwards, he was clearly leading the direction and it was as if he was going for a walk... only backwards. So far it was clear that Sato was not giving it his all having in mind that there was no way he was genuinely trying to cut down a fellow Shinigami, and a superior at that. However, he wasn't expected to be humiliated to this extent, and it was obvious his attacks were becoming more aggressive and vicious as they missed. What bothered him the most was that Yasuo still hadn't unsheathed his Zanpakuto.

"Chest." Yasuo finally muttered in a loud enough voice for his opponent to hear. Sato was thrown off by how the Vice-Captain was doing as promised and ceased his attacks to build some distance and switch to defense. However, his stance fell apart when the pirate approached him with quick zig-zag moves and lost sight of his arms. He concentrated on the handle of his Zanpakuto, however, his hand never drew out the sword, and the attack came from his right hand, which was on the opposite side. Even though Sato managed to put his arm in a defensive position to deviate Yasuo's attack, he was overwhelmed by the Vice-Captain's overwhelming strength and the fist landed cleanly on his chest without changing it's trajectory. Sato's Zanpakuto escaped his grasp and he flew in the air two meters and rolled another three on the ground before he stopped and began to cough strongly, trying to catch his breath again.

"W-*cough*What the hell?!?!*cough*" Sato said, somehow managing to sit down on the ground while still trying to grasp for air. He seemed to be angered by Yasuo's actions and had lost his temper completely by now "I thought this was aimed to training Bankai! How is this going to help us get closer to it?! This is just you showing off in front of us!!"

"*Sigh*..." Yasuo had stopped smiling a while ago and he looked very serious now. "And you want to learn Bankai? You are thousands of years away from it. Now stand up, we're not done."

The audience seemed to be thrown off by Yasuo's behavior, rather denying what Sato was claiming, it looked a lot more like the opposite and, as they spoke to each other, most seemed to agree with what the 6th Seat had said. The Shinigami on the ground was trembling with anger and after looking at Yasuo with resentful eyes for a few seconds, he suddenly stood up quickly, grabbed his sword while running towards his opponent and began once again his vicious attacks. Unlike before, the attacks seemed to have lost all control; however, while they were less organized, the addition of kicks and punches made the man more dangerous than before. Nonetheless, his attempts were still useless and other than Yasuo blocking some attacks and refusing to give ground, it was the same as before.

"Jaw." Yasuo muttered, repeating his previous action and calling out his next target. Sato retreated the same as before, but this time he focused his attention on the spot he knew was going to receive the hit. As promised, Yasuo moved in and directed his right elbow at his chin, but the attack didn't have much force behind it and Sato was able to block it completely. Had the 6th Seat realized that only two seconds had passed at that moment, he might have been able to prepare better for what followed. The pirate got hold of his Zanpakuto's with his other hand and, drawing out the sword, pulled it up until he hit his opponent in the jaw with the hilt of the weapon with incredible; and all this before the weapon wasn't completely out of the scabbard. Sato once again let go of his Zanpakuto and lost balance; he was forced to jump backwards half a meter and, after walking awkwardly a few steps, finally collapsed on the ground, putting both of his hands on his mouth and rolling on the floor in pain. Yasuo remained motionless, he had been moving flexibly a while ago, but now he seemed to be made of stone. Once he confirmed Sato wasn't going to stand up to challenge him again, he sheathed his sword again and stood normally. Most of the Shinigami began to talk to each other actively, some criticizing Yasuo's excessively rough and unnecessary behavior; it was clear this was not the method to obtain Bankai.

"I'm right-handed." the vice-Captain commented to Sato while showing him that the arm he had used to hit him this second time was the left. Sato forgot about the pain and was about to respond to Yasuo once again, but was interrupted. "Don't be such a fool! Bankai is not something that you just decide to learn and move on to same as Shikai!" the pirate raised his voice and directed his words towards the audience and not his opponent anymore."Did you think Captains have the power they do because they suddenly learned Bankai and that raised their overall strength all of a sudden?! The reason why people who train fail to obtain that power is not because they lack potential, but because they don't have the power to control it!" Yasuo began to move towards the stack of papers, but he didn't interrupt his speech. "I myself still lack the power to use Bankai and you mean to tell me that you plan to learn your second release when you can't even put a scratch on me?! As you are now, learning such a thing would cause you more burden than to your opponent." Once he had the stack of papers once again in his hands, he went back to the center. "I might have not learned Bankai yet, but I've met people who have and also people who have died failing to get it. So if you want to prove that you have the power necessary to learn and control your second release, give me another one of these!" he exclaimed as he ran his thumb across the scar on his left cheek. There was a pause during which he breathed in some air to calm himself down a bit.

"I was serious when I said some of us are years away from learning Bankai, no matter how much we support each other, even if the wait will be shorter, that won't change. I've seen it before." He looked for a file among the papers. "Nonetheless, I also believe one should do what he thinks right, so if you disagree, you can follow your own path, I won't mind. For all of you, this is a chance to quit" he finished once and for all, and gave Sato his subscription file.

There was talk among some of the Shinigami, but this time most remained quiet, Sato included. The 6th Seat looked at the file and then at Yasuo. His expression revealed there was a conflict in his mind, but in the end, he pushed the Vice-Captain's hand away and sat down with the rest. No one else was standing up to take his file back, which relieved Yasuo, even if this time he didn't show it.

"Alright then," he said, taking out another random file and leaving the rest on the same place as before. "Zurui Sagara, you are next, don't be afraid to go all out."

He talked as if he didn't care who it was, but the truth was he already had an eye on this one. he remembered Sagara was the red-haired 4th Seat, it wasn't that hard to miss since his hair color wasn't that regular around there and he also had a scar on his face. This man was the highest ranking of the group so far except for him and the only one who had inquired on his plans for the group and offered aid, so he was ready to be surprised.

[kensei]

Sagara had never actually been inside the Fifth Division training grounds. He had heard wondrous things about it, it was said to be several times larger then most other divisions, and when he got there he had to agree. However he was a bit disheartened as he looked around; the whole training ground seemed to be covered in trees, not the best environment for someone like him who’s Zanpakuto was fire based. Sixth Division’s own training grounds where practically just a large area of scorched earth from his actions alone. With all of this greenery, it would be a wonder if he didn’t burn down the whole division once the training got started.

It didn’t take long for the group to reach a small clearing, fitted with several rocks near the border of the forest. Sagara knelt down slowly and ran his finger across the top of the perfectly cut grass. He inhaled the aroma, a truly relaxing area a place perfect for meditating. He made a mental note of it, thinking of adding a meditation area to Sixth’s training area. He kneeled down, before sitting in the traditional Japanese style, watching as Yasuo-senpai called forth a sixth seat. He smirked slightly as he the rules of the match where laid out, and Yasuo acted with the skill and speed one would expect to find from a man in his position. His movements where quick and graceful, showing a level of skill far beyond anything the Sixth seat could have hoped to counter. Some might think Yasuo was simply humiliating the boy, showing off the distance between them. But that wasn’t the case, he was judging him, sizing him as it where. And when Sato was tried, he was found lacking.

Sato had gone on the defensive, but he hadn’t trusted the Vice Captain to keep to his word and didn’t watch his chest the way he should have. The strike came quicker then the Sixth seat could have hoped to dodge or block, at least with the way he had prepared himself. The young shingami was sent flying, and Sagara simply shook his head. The training ground was a buzz with whispers about the Vice Captain’s training methods. But Sagara understood why he had done what he did. Maybe it was something you had to be around the Captain’s to understand, but to obtain Bankai one had to be strong beyond imagination. Strong enough to stop depending on your Zanpakuto, and able to rely on yourself. Sato had gotten up, and attacked the Vice Captain with a divine fury. His punches and slashes lacked the organization and skill he had before, it was a blind fighting style, the kind that would only get you killed against a cool headed opponent. The first counter attack Sato had managed to block, but in his excitement he hadn’t noticed the second one coming. The blow was possibly to rough, though Sagara couldn’t hear a crack which was a comforting thing. So long as his jaw wasn’t broken then no harm was really done to the lad.

Sagara eyed Yasuo as he started to explain his reasoning behind this method of training. Sagara gave a slight nod of approval as he listened. Yasuo was exactly right, this was the only way to truly prepare everyone for the difficult road of mastering Bankai. He looked into the Vice Captain’s eyes as he called him next. ”If you would permit me a small indulgence sir, I would like to expand on your lecture.” He waited for Yasuo to give him approval before taking his time to look each and every one of them in the eye. ”Do you know what separates us from those who have Bankai? It’s not just the power difference between us, but the way we view our Zanpakutos. We have all grown accustom to relying on our Shikai whenever we fight. From the first time we felt the added power it gave us we have become addicted to it. We do not measure our abilities without adding what it does for us. For this reason, none of us are capable of learning Bankai. Tell me, how could we possibly hope to defeat something which we draw strength from every time we fight? How can we hope to defeat the very source of our power? We have to learn to stop being dependent on our Zanpakutos, and be dependent on our own power!” He nodded to them as they thought about what he said before turning to Yasuo.

He slowly drew his blade from his hilt, staring Yasuo down with those crisp golden eyes of his. Nearly instantly he was in front of Yasuo, swinging from his shoulder down to his hip if he had his way with the attack. Most of the shingami would have instantly recognized he had used Shunpo to close the distance, a move he was still in the process of fully mastering in combat. As soon as he had either come into contact with something, or had been dodged, he started a follow up swing, slashing across his abdomen and putting his weight behind the blow. He turned with the slash, giving a small opening in his front. But taking the attack was defiantly a risky move as it may have left Yasuo open to the slash. Regardless, unless Yasuo had managed to strike him, as soon as he had come in contact with flesh or steel Sagara shunpoed a few feet away from him. Readying himself for any attack the Vice Captain might try against him.

[Jukuma]

Yasuo's expression went back to that of a smile, but this one was different from the one he had been showing before. Together with his eyes, it was a defiant and intimidating smile, as if he had aknowledged Sagara as someone above the rest and was now intending to challenge him.

"Aren't ya good at talking" the pirate commented as Sagara finished his speech. "If you have the skill to back up your preaching then maybe I don't need to give ya any handicaps." With that said, Yasuo lowered his stance and slightly spread his arms, as if preparing for what was coming, although not with a particular stance. He had said he wouldn't put any handicaps for Sagara, but he still had enough confidence to not draw out his Zanpakuto; he was damn good even without a weapon and he wouldn't hesitate to show it. His only response to Sagara's stare was a confident and anxious smile. "Let's go."

The first to attack was Sagara, and Yasuo didn't expect the battle to start the way it did. Sagara used Shunpo to cover the distance separating the two and, as soon as he had Yasuo in range, performed a diagonal slash. Had Yasuo been more prepared he wouldn't have had an excessive amount of trouble to at least block the attack, but he hadn't expected a 4th Seat to attack him with such a technique. Sure, it was an amateurish Shunpo, but it was still a fast one, at least enough to take the Vice-Captain by surprise. Yasuo's smile disappeared as he hurriedly stepped backwards to avoid the strike, which grazed a portion of his hakama, but didn't manage to cut his skin by a hair's-breadth. Nonetheless, even though he had managed to dodge the strike, his move had been too brusque due to the surprise and he hadn't recovered his balance in time to take advantage of the opening he had managed to see as Sagara performed his next slash. He hadn't managed to gain a firm stance, but when Sagara's Zanpakuto closed in at an alarming speed, he finally unsheathed partially his own and managed to barely block the attack with revealed steel at the cost of bending one of his knees in front of the weight behind the strike. Sagara the retreated with another Zanpakuto before Yasuo had the chance to counterattack.

Yasuo breathed out when he confirmed the distance that once again separated them; had Sagara's first Shunpo been a more advanced and complete one, he would have received at least one cut. He was used to fighting others with Shunpo, and his reflexes were top-notch even among other Shinigami, but he had believed that technique to be too advanced for a 4th Seat and didn't expect it. Even though he wouldn't be taken by surprise again, he realized the fight would be tougher than he expected. A more vivid grin that before appeared on his face as he stood up straight once again and fully drew out his Zanpakuto, pointing the tip at Sagara. He hadn't planned to take the fight to the point he was about to, but he thought it would be interesting to see how the 4th Seat would react to this. He wasn't a person to talk much when a fight had started, and this one had just begun, so he remained silent and let his eyes do the warning.

"'Sprinkled on the bones of the beast. Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring.'" Yasuo muttered as he made his way towards Sagara, his sword already full drawn and ready to attack. It wasn't Shunpo, it was a simple run, but the speed he moved at was still interesting. He brought the Zanpakuto downward in a vertical slash and as soon as it came in contact with something he pulled himself with his arm to give strength to a knee kick, of course trying to avoid hitting the the edged side of the sword. "'Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle!'" Yasuo's chanting continued and so did his attacks. Before a second passed after his knee attack, he was already taking strong hold of his sword and lunged forward in a horizontal slash aimed at pinning Sagara down rather than inflicting severe damage. His left hand, which he separated from the sword and pointed at Sagara's chest, was emitting a powerful yellow light and that's when everyone realized what kind of Kido he was using. All of the spectators turned pale as soon as they realized that if Sagara dodged the strike, they would be hit by the spell. "Hado NO.63, Raikoho!"

The gleaming light in Yasuo's hand became more intense and a huge sphere of yellow energy emerged from it, firing itself at incredible speed, like a cannonball. Yasuo's specialty was definitely not Kido; that was the only advanced Hado he knew how to use and, likethe rest of the spells he could use, it would definitely miss the target if it was at least a meter and a half away. Nonetheless, the power behind it was still that of a Vice-Captain (even if not an specialist) and Yasuo had used the entire chanting, so the power it carried was enough to deal some damage and even if it was dodged, if Sagara was close to it, it would at least send a strong shock-wave his way.

Thankfully, the other members of the MABSG were at least 5 meters away and the spell only managed to send some wind their way. It did, however, destroy a great portion of the trees that stood in its way and didn't stop until it had covered around 20 meters. Being distracted with the trajectory of the attack and the blinding light it produced, Yasuo remained still for a few seconds right after he used Raikoho, creating an opening for an attack he could at best block, assuming Sagara had been able to completely dodge the attacks and hadn't been hindered by them.

[kensei]

Sagara grunted slightly as Yasuo started running at him. He was thankful the Vice Captain had decided to take him seriously, but that stare he had just given him sent a chill down his spine. He knew Yasuo had something planned for this assault, and it wasn’t going to end well for him. He raised his blade as Yasuo struck towards him, blocking the blow, but the force put behind it caused him to bend his knees as he pushed the blade back. A look of shock plastered across Sagara’s face as he felt like a car had just slammed into his abdomen. He gasped for air, while he swung wildly with his blade towards Yasuo. The slash went straight over the Vice Captain’s head but it seemed to be enough to give him some pause as Sagara managed to put a few inches of distance between the two before Yasuo pushed him again.

He cursed his luck as he heard Yasuo’s chanting. It he was planning on using a Kido then Sagara really was in trouble. It was stupid of him to have neglected the realm so badly during his early years of training, and throughout his life those bad habits followed him, and now he hardly knew all but the most basic Kidos. His lack of experience had proven a far bigger hurtle when he was learning Shunpo then he ever thought it would be, and even now it caused his Shunpos to appear sloppy and slower then average. However, right now in the heat of battle with such a strong opponent wasn’t the time to reflect on his poor training, he had to keep his mind on the fight and deal with the Kido attack when it came his way..

There blades met again, and the force behind Yasuo’s attack was even greater then before. But Sagara had already planned for this, and so when the strike came he was crouched slightly, he pushed against it with his entire body, equaling out the Vice Captain’s strike. But Yasuo didn’t pull away and attempt another as one normally would in a duel of blades, and instead applied more pressure in an obvious attempt to hold Sagara in position. Damn it! Now?! He thought as Yasuo let go of the blade with one hand and shoved his palm forward. Sagara didn’t have a whole lot of options open to him in order to avoid this one, he was going to have to play it a bit dirty.. He slide his blade down to Yasuo’s hand guard before angling the blade so it was as close as he could get it to Yasuo’s hand. He needed to free his blade from his grip if he was going to block this attack, and for that he had to activate his Shikai. ”Burn Kasai!”. Sagara’s Zanpakuto quickly became engulfed in flame as it transformed underneath the fire. But it was that initial flame he needed, as it lightly licked Yasuo’s hand causing him to jerk the blade back, freeing him from the power of the attack. At this point Yasuo had nearly finished the summoning, Sagara pushed backwards as the ball formed in front of Yasuo. He let out a slight yell as the attack launched forward, and with all of his might he swung downwards at the Kido. The explosion of the attack was a beautiful display of bright light that seemed to swallow Sagara’s body, or at least so it would seem from Yasuo’s perspective.

As the light dimmed into nothingness, all that seemed to remain was a large cloud of dust and some debris that was still falling from the trees that had been caught in the blast radius. As the dust started to settle, Sagara’s frame started to become visible. His breathing was heavy, his neat pony tail was replaced with long wild hair that went down his back and covered his face as he looked towards the ground. His clothes where ripped in several places along with some shallow blood from his arms and torso. But one of the biggest shocks came from his Zanpakuto. It was a long, pitch black blade with large wicked serrations for blades. That was, except for the middle of the blade.. The explosion had destroyed roughly five serrations, or about six inches of blade on his sword. It had to make one wonder just what would have come of the Fourth Seat had he not been able to block the blow..

So Sagara.. Despite all that preaching as soon as you came into a tough spot you drew my power. What a fucking hypocrite. You truly are the lowest of the low Sagara, the weakest most pathetic warrior they could have gotten to fulfill the command of your sorry division. You should have just taken the blow and hoped it ended your miserable life. Sagara gritted his teeth as his eyes filled with anger and disappointment at himself. Yah you’re right Kasai.. I needed you.. But like I said, I am guilty of relying on you more then I should. Oh, well so long as you know you can never conquer me then I suppose its all good. So might as well quit hm?

Sagara started to growl lowly, before letting out a roar as he threw his blade to the side. The blade slammed into a nearby tree, firmly planting itself in its trunk. ”You annoying little fuck! I’ll show you I don’t need you in order to fight!” He yelled as he stared at his Zanpakuto before pulling the sash around his waist off and using it as a make shift hair band to tie his long hair into a ponytail once more. He pulled off his Kosode, exposing the top of his body as he took a stance and stared Yasuo in the eyes. ”Ready for round two Funanori-san.. His voice was filled with determination also well as excitement as he anxiously awaited the Vice Captain’s attack. This time, this time he wasn’t going to even have Kasai as a fall back. He was going to push himself to his own limits, and see where he stood against such a strong Vice Captain. Here and now is where his real Bankai training began, it was time to show everyone the pride and power of Sixth Division!

[Jukuma]

"Tch..." Yasuo held his hand with the other one. He didn't get heavily burned, but the flames did reach his hand, even if only slightly. However, there wasn't really a point of comparison between the small burn he had gotten and the enormous explosion of yellow light Sagara was caught up in. "Shit, maybe I overdid it." Yasuo's trance-like state when he got fired up a moment ago disappeared and was replaced with an expression of concern. He covered his face with his arm as strong wind gushed out of the explosion and tried to make out Sagara's silhouette inside the light, but failed. The rest of the members saw themselves unable to move anymore and just looked in awe at the spectacle before them.

There was no way that Sagara could be dead from an attack like that. Even with all factors considered, Yasuo's Raikoho had only been able to kill minor Hollow and Gillian-class Menos Grande to this date, but when he tried it against regular Arrancar, it proved insufficient; hence, it was impossible that a 4th Seat who had been able to defend himself to some extent would die from it. Nonetheless, it was very plausible that the man would have received enough damage to be incapacitated for several days. If something like that happened, he really could get into trouble for injuring an official and the association would most likely be disbanded; after all. he had received absolutely no support when proposing the idea to the higher-ups and had only barely managed to make it come to existence, while only in a testing period. There were results that had to be shown, and having a 4th Seat unable to take action was probably not what they were looking forward to. As the Hado disappeared, the dust that had risen began to dissipate and the many trees that had been sent flying fell down strongly against the ground. When the sight of the area was finally able, a completely massacred Sagara was revealed; his surroundings were devastated, the upper area of his uniform was torn, his hair had become a wild mess, blood covered parts of his body, his breathing was hard and even his released Zanpakuto had been cracked. Clearly, the man was in no condition to keep fighting, Yasuo didn't even understand how the hell he was still standing.

He was about to tell Sagara to give up and sit down, but he was interrupted by the redhead's sudden scream while throwing his own sword against a nearby tree that had been lucky enough to be far away to avoid getting caught up in the Raikoho explosion. After staring down at the Zanpakuto stabbing the tree, he took a stance and asked for (though judging by his eyes it could be said he was demanding it) a second round. Even though Sagara was a bloody mess that could barely stand while Yasuo remained completely unscathed, he still had the nerve courage (or stupidity) to seek more battle and look at his opponent in the eyes with eagerness. The pirate couldn't help but widen his eyes in awe at the spectacle; nonetheless, there was no way he could really continue fighting him, at this rate, he really would get injured to the point he wouldn't be able to move for a long while. Before he could explain that to Sagara, he felt something cold landing on his shoulder, stabbing small nails in it. He recognized the sensation instantly; Shirogarasu had manifested itself in front of him. It was very odd for Yasuo's Zanpakuto to show itself to its owner, normally it would only do so when it was completely necessary or when he was concerned with Yasuo's development as a Shinigami. That and the fact that it hadn't supported the idea of creating the Men's Association Bankai Study Group made its appearance something the pirate could have never seen coming.

"Did you hear it, Yasuo?" The bird made of white flames asked his partner. "His Zanpakuto doesn't accept him nor his power. Because of that, he can't accept his own Zanpakuto, either. Their bond is weak because they desire power, and yet he won't attain it until he is able to face it on equal ground. Right now, he is missing a different kind of strength right now".

"You know I suck at sensing reiatsu or hearing things. To me it just sounded like some incomprehensible babbling. But..." Yasuo stopped for a second before continuing, it was mostly just his own intuition, but it was true this hadn't failed him when it came to fighting. "I can feel it."

"This boy... he's probably thinking that if he can't stand against you now, he definitely won't be able to do so against his own Zanpakuto" Shirogarasu explained. As always, the flaming bird was good at seeing through people (or at least sounding like he could). "This is no longer an introduction, Yasuo."

"No" Yasuo smiled weakly as he understood what his Zanpakuto was telling him. "This has become his first lesson." Silence remained for a while between the two until the Shinigami decided to break it one more time. "You are a good partner, Shirogarasu." More silence followed.

Shirogarasu didn't need any words or actions from his partner to understand what he was thinking about now. "Go easy on him." he said simply.

"It's kinda late for that. Besides..." Yasuo recovered his challenging grin from before. "I don't think he would appreciate it if I did that."

Outside of his thoughts, about half a minute had passed during which Yasuo hadn't responded to Sagara's display of determination. When he finally moved, the first thing he did was sheathe his sword and threw it at one of the other new members, who clumsily caught while putting on a puzzled expression. He then passed his arms inside the hakama through the chest area so that the upper part of the uniform came down and rested on the himo, revealing the man's torso in the process as a sign that he accepted the challenge. It wasn't hard to tell before that Yasuo had a strong body since his uniform had no sleeves and part of his chest wasn't covered either, but even then it was still surprising to see the man's musculature directly now. Practically all of his torso was muscle, and it was obvious he had spent several daily hours training; while the mass was surprising but not to the point it seemed utterly otherworldly, it was the kind of body that seemed to be made of steel. The reason why this man was considered one of the strongest Vice-Captains in close combat (if not the strongest), wasn't just because his Zanpakuto was specialized in that area, but also because he had made himself a specialist on it.

"Those are the right eyes, Zurui Sagara. That's the kind of spirit that is needed to go achieve your goals." Yasuo said as he adopted a fighting stance. There wasn't anything that could be called impeachable technique behind it, but as he had shown before, he didn't tend to rely on such a thing. "But you need much more than that to succeed. Show me that you have that something!"

With that said, Yasuo disappeared from everyone's sight just for a split second, only to reappear again about two meters over Sagara's head. His Shunpo was not very accurate, he had actually intended to be closer to him in order to allow him less space to evade. He raised his leg and, as he fell closer to the 4th Seat, he lowered it in a potent downward kick aimed at his shoulder. Regardless of whether the blow landed on its objective or not, as soon as his feet touched solid ground, he moved forward one more time while standing up to perform a powerful punch. While this attack was incredibly strong, Yasuo had been thrown off by his inaccurate Shunpo earlier and, while his kick had been ok, the landing wasn't perfect, which slightly threw him off when using his fist to attack Sagara. Hence, it was slower than planned, and if Sagara hadn't been too thrown back by his kick, this was a good chance for a counterattack, albeit facing the risk of getting hit if not dodged properly.

[kensei]

OOC: REALLLLY sorry it took me so damn long to get this up.. Forgive me D:

Sagara slowly started to grit his teeth as Yasuo stood there without any movement. His eyes never lost any of there battle lust, but it was clear he was debating if he would even fight with Sagara right now. He understood why, he had been hurt in that attack, but it looked worse then it really was, or at least that was what he was saying to himself as he kept on his feet. Yasuo had to accept his challenge he simply had to.. Sagara needed this more then anything right now, he had to prove not only to Kasai what he was made of, but also himself. His mind was riddled with self doubt ever since he had taken command. For the first time in his life he didn’t know if he was truly worthy of the position he held, and if he could actually perform his duties. He had always known himself to be capable of the position he held, and knew that he was the right one for that job. But now? Now he was filling in a position he was quite possibly a hundred years to young to have, maybe even more. His “peers” outmatched him in every way, and he was down to joining a group help group to help him reach his ultimate goal of Bankai. What was he going to try next? A self help group?

No.. Something had to come of this, even if it was just some new sparing partners he had to get something from this group. He NEEDED this to work. He had to show he was working on improving every bit as much as those in his division where. He was representing everyone in the Sixth Division, each and every one of them where taking on tasks from seats above them, pulling more and more weight with each passing day. They where all trying so hard.. They needed a leader who could do as much for them as they do for the Division. He had to prove he was capable, for all there sakes.. And as if realizing just what this fight meant to Sagara, Yasuo started to finally make a move. Sagara was couldn’t help but be thrilled as he took a stance, showing he was indeed willing to accept his challenge. He could tell that it wasn’t something he had been taught, but instead one he had learned himself.

Yasuo probably had more combat experience then Sagara, however it seemed that despite that he still wasn’t a master of Shunpo. As with his Kido, it seemed the Vice Captain couldn’t manage to control it on the level one of his power should, and as such when he appeared high above Sagara it had given him all the time he had needed. His eyes had managed to trace the Vice Captain’s movements from all of his experience training with Fensake before he passed, and as such, while he had been moving behind him, Sagara had already turned around to face Yasuo. His experience against stronger opponents had taught him the value of being a minimalist in his movements, and with cautious grace Sagara stepped to Yasuo’s right. He brought his arm up, knocking the kick to his left, making it skim right by him. He kept close though, less then half a foot away by the time Yasuo had landed, and to his right at that. Yasuo started to turn in order to slam his fist into Sagara, however Sagara decided to use the opening against Yasuo, brining his left knee up towards his abdomen, hoping he got the blow in before Yasuo could either block or hit him.

But he wasn’t going to leave that punch coming his way, instead he moved his right hand to catch it. As soon as his knee had made contact he would bring it down, before going for a punch straight to Yasuo’s nose with his left arm, bringing it his right hand which still had Yasuo’s fist clutched inside it. Afterwards he would do a small jump back, trying to put a few feet of distance between them.

[Jukuma]

Only once he was in the air did Yasuo realize that using Shunpo hadn’t been as good an idea as he had thought at first. Of course, he wasn’t expecting to travel at a speed too high for Sagara to be able to respond (he was quite sure that he was far away from being able to outrun anyone with his Shunpo, hell, it wasn’t even complete) but he had expected the impulse from the falling from the air to allow him to deliver a devastating blow; however, it was quite logical that if he didn’t have the appropriate accuracy and speed that the technique required there wasn’t much point since his blow wouldn’t land anyways. He had hoped for a second that Sagara wouldn’t be able to dodge, let alone counter, his attack properly and that was maybe what had pushed towards such an inefficient attempt. Sagara had been able to counter him quite well, even after he had landed and tried one of his strongest punches, which was only able to meet his hand. He had managed to gain more than just an advantageous position.

Sagara’s knee managed to hit Yasuo’s abdomen before the Vice-Captain’s fist had traveled half of its trajectory and, even though the damage he took from it wasn’t very great, probably because it had been a hit mostly aimed at hitting him first rather than inflicting major injuries, it managed to completely throw him off. His arm lost a huge portion of its initial strength, which allowed Sagara to block it effectively and Yasuo was barely able to see the other hand coming straight towards his face. The Vice-Captain’s reflexes, however, were still fast enough to allow him to take action before the fist hit him straight in the nose. While most people would have tried to move the head to the sides, his reaction was something very different that not many would have even thought of: he pushed his body forward and met the fist with his forehead. He wouldn’t give the chance for Sagara to lightly change the trajectory a few millimeters and hit him anyway and the response was actually quite effective, as it didn’t allow his arm to stretch entirely and the blow wasn’t nearly as strong as it could have been. Throwing his weight forward one more time to push himself, Yasuo jumped backwards at the same time as Sagara so that there were quite some meters separating them. It was hard to say how much damage Yasuo had taken from that blow. They didn’t call him a knucklehead for nothing; even though a thin line of blood began to fall from underneath his bandana and stopped to the left side in between his eyes, it almost seemed like he wasn’t aware of it judging by his expression it seemed quite obvious that he was far from losing consciousness from the trauma. The pirate-like Shinigami didn’t even touch his forehead to confirm the presence of the red liquid; he knew the sensation of it all too well and was well aware of how much punishment his body could take to know that he was bleeding. However, this wasn’t enough. This definitely wasn’t enough. He did indeed have an open wound leaking blood on his face, but that wouldn’t leave a mark. When Yasuo claimed he wouldn’t be satisfied until they could give him a scar of the sort like the one he had on his face he was completely serious, and neither the fire from Sagara’s Zanpakuto that only grazed his hand nor the fist just now had been able to do that. There was still some way ahead.

Yasuo didn’t allow for much time to prepare and soon after both managed to build some distance between each other, he lightly bent his body forward. He was keeping his weight to the front in a quite clear attempt at building up strength for an impulse, however, the motion itself didn’t last very long so it could barely be said it was a predictable attack. When his head reached the lowest part during the positioning, a small drop of blood that had been threatening with falling for a while now was finally separated and dropped in a straight line towards the ground. Before it managed to make contact with the floor, Yasuo finally started moving, using all the strength he had been accumulating on his left foot and lifting a huge cloud of dust that reached at least two meters tall in the process. He moved in a straight line, but the speed and momentum of his movement was astonishing to say the least; each step he made marked clearly and deeply his footprint on the ground and, by the time he had made it right in front of Sagara, the drop of blood that had fallen from his forehead still hadn’t touched the ground.

The first hit he tried was a lariat by lifting his right arm and trying to get Sagara’s neck with it as he kept his ridiculously great speed going and employing it into it. Unlike the previous time when he used Shunpo, his attack during the rush was much more accurate than before and if the redhead Shinigami wasn’t able to dodge he would be in for a very painful hit that could very well knock him out. Without even checking whether his hit had landed or not, Yasuo stomped on the ground right after passing next to Sagara, lifting a great portion of the ground in the process but effectively coming to a stop and doing a full turn to do a spin kick at approximately his chest height. Once he had finished the kick and was again back to back with Sagara, he made another quarter spin and attempted to drive his elbow into the side of his chest, throwing a good portion of his weight into the attack to make sure that unless the 4th Seat had more endurance than he predicted, he would crush a rib or two if it hit.