[Center][H2]Hiroshi Masumata[/h2]
[B]Soul Society - Seventh Division Barracks[/b]
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"- that is what it means to have 'strength'."

Miyako Kita's eyes darted over the many faces that stood around her. Some were bored, either because they were forced to come here or because they were more eager in fighting themselves, but the majority of the collected Shinigami listened to Lieutenant Masumata's words intently. Fortunately, Masuamata was a man of action and not one of words, and he soon declared the first match. Anxiously, she watched him stretch a bit before arriving at the arena. A smile lined her lips -for a moment- and then she flash stepped into the arena herself. Unbinding her scarf before she tossed it to the side.

Hence she stood in front of Masumata, her face stern and concentrated, not betraying any of the headache-inducing, organisational stuff flying through her mind. Yet, a self directed 'no' served to refocus her mind.

The shinigami put her hands together and bowed.

With his eyes trained upon the blonde, Hiroshi studiously raised a brow. It was only after he had returned Kita's bow, that he spread his legs to shoulder length, adapting a deep squat as he shifted his upper body slightly to his left. Keeping his feet squarely facing Kita as he curled his left palm into an lose upwards facing fist. As he pulled the hand towards him, tucking it against his side at waist height, Hiro also let his right arm fall limp before him. Letting it dangle between his knees as he stood on the balls of his feet and eyed his subordinate with an lax yet studious gaze. The result being an low stance which left him poised to strike, whilst sturdy enough to easily defend. 

He exhaled as he stood in wait.

With just a few meters distance between them, Kita remained at his from. She decided to adopt a front stance. Her left leg went forward, and it was bent slightly at the knee, while the right leg went behind her, creating a small distance of one and a half shoulder's width. She balled her hands into fist, and raised them before her torso, making sure that every inch of her body was in the correct position. 

She inhaled. She exhaled. She inhaled. And she lunged.

As she lunged forward, Hiroshi took a breath. Resting his eyes upon hers as she approached him. It was only after she had closed the gap and made her attempt to strike him, that the man shifted his weight. Letting his left knee slam into the floor. Causing her fist, which was meant to impact his right collar bone, to sail just past the area between his shoulder and neck.

There was no hesitation. The instant his knee had hit the floor, Hiro had shot his left fist towards the girl's ribs. Attempting to deliver an uppercut into them at the same moment that her strike would have just missed him. Though he did not throw all his force into it, hoping to avoid breaking her ribs, the speed of his attack combined with her own moment, would easily leave her side bruised if it were to hit.

In the heat of battle, one must realize that knowing is futile, and sensing is bliss.

 The fraction of the second in which Hiro moved just a few milimeters to the side was enough for Kita to realize that she wouldn't hit. What she had to sense now was what Hiro would do next.

His left fist. The automatisms of instinct kicked in and Kita's steady right arm dashed to block his attack on her ribs. Her hand made contact with his wrist, yet it still hurt somewhat. Regardless, controlled pain – or rather, a bit of aching in the hand – was preferable to whatever that blow would have done to her ribs.

In what appeated to be a moment of panic, she flash stepped two meters away. That attack failed, and thus distance had to be created, or she'd risk getting trapped by her Lieutenant. Her chest heavy yet slim frame ressumed the aforementioned stance.

Satisfied with the fact that Kita had managed to block his attack, Hiro quickly bounced back to his feet when the shinigami flash stepped away. Instantly, he began to sway his entire body back and forth rhythmically. Maneuvering his feet pseudo triangularly as his arms alternated between a high guard before his face, and a mid guard before his torso as he moved from side to side. Moving in a manner similar to that of a Capoeira Ginga.

He repeated this twice before skillfully launching himself into a shunpo. Seemlessly closing the gap between Kita and himself before he begun to strike. Remaining low to the ground, Hiro immediately attempted a forward leg sweep as he exited his flash step. Hoping to sweep her legs out from under her, leaving her off balance long enough for him to follow up with an additional strike.

 Having sparred with him before, the girl observed her lieutenant's footwork. Feeling  as if she was aware of what he was planning, despite the fact the she obviously could not be sure. Yet when the flash step came, she managed to jump into the air just in time. 

In her mind, this was an excellent moment. A moment to show her progress in both Hakuda and Hoho. She bent her legs, turned mid-air so that she positioned horizontally to the ground. Then she unbent her legs again, intent on kicking Hiroshi in the face.

However, when Kita had jumped up, Hiro smirked. Sure, going airborne was usually a solid way of avoiding an attack, but it was also the best way to become vulnerable. Keeping his momentum, the brunette continued through the motion of the sweep. Using the force he had put behind it as a propellant, Hiro then pushed off of the ground with one hand and swung himself onto the same foot he had previously used to attack with.

Spinning about to face Kita just as she begun to unbend her legs, Hiro proceeded to swing his left foot up towards Kita's own feet. Using his foot to intercept her strike as he executed an axe kick. If the counter went as planned, she be knocked of balance by his kick's follow through. Allowing Hiro to leap of off his right leg and deliver a right flying knee towards the woman's abdomen. She grew verbal.

“Shit.”

The mistake wasn't that her leg was blocked, but rather, that in that instance, her body wasn't sure how to react. Hestitating means losing control. Thus, Kita let out a grunt when his knee connected with her abdomen. Yet conversely, the blow was enough for her to regain control of her own body.  

This time Kita decided she would not wait after creating distance, and so flash stepped to the side of the room - four meters away from the her opponent. Then  at the moment a single foot made the slightlest contact with the ground, she flash stepped again. Behind him, she attempted a leg swipe.


When she vanished, Hiroshi readied himself. Quickly raising his arms infront of him readily in a loose and attentive stance. With his eyes, he followed her movements as she reappeared only to vanish again. However, just as he sensed her reiatsu behind him, something within his mind clicked - causing him to experience a sudden sensation of familiarity. 

Ai.

For a moment, Hiro's body weakened. In that same instance, the world grew dull to him as his mind threw itself back in time. Remembering the first time he had sparred with his deceased fiancé. Almost everything in the way she moved on that day was now  mirrored in Kita's movements. The shinigami felt his heart ache at the thought of his lost. Then his mind clicked once more.

Kita.

By the time he realized his error, it was too late. He could feel himself fall off balanced as his feet fell out from under him. A painful smack resounding from beneath him as he collapsed to the floor. Hitting the back of his head in the progress. He groaned. 

"Shit."

While she had clearly both seen and heard his body hitting the floor, for a moment she was surprised. Genuinely surprised. It wasn't that she didn't try, but she felt that she wasn't supposed, and couldn't win. The crowd stayed in silence for a moment until the designated referee raised the signal that this battle was, indeed, over.

Recomposing hersrlf, she stretched out her hand towards Masumata. Her mind still pining over her success. 

Perhaps this was just an odditiy, something that just happened due to the pure factor of chance and forutne. The girl refused to believe he could ever do this on purpose. Infact, she was sure. There had to be something else, but... 

“Are you alright?”


Despite his loss, Hiro sat up. While he was internally disappointed with himself, when Kita offered him a hand, he accepted. Returning to his feet before reassuring her of his state. He moved as to summon one of the many Jugokucho which actively fluttred about the gardens surrounding the barracks.

"I'm alright." He lied.