Had Ryozan thrusted full force with the intent of dealing lethal damage, the parry would have been the perfect counter. However, this was a strike of reconnaissance, not aggression. His primary objective had been to discover whether or not his opponent was safe to strike, and it was intention to draw the blade away quickly to begin with. Indeed, he felt the electric charge and it caused his hands to quiver in response, but only briefly. It was the tentative nature of the strike that saved his balance and allowed him to maintain a grip on his blade.  As Mr. Sunshine rose his blade in the parry, Shirogami slid along the flat of the crystal saber and returned to Ryozan. The parry was not completely ineffective, for in the time it would take Mr. Sunshine to recover from the excess force of his slipped parry Ryozan would need to adjust the degree of deflection the strike had caused. He was not prone from the maneuver, but not fit for an effective counter. 

Ki coursed through Ryozan's body, building from deep within his core and flaring through his body. The blade was already in a high position from the stance he had chosen, so to strike he simply needed to bring it down. The blade curved through the air in a downward diagonal motion, just as forceful as it was elegant... and then struck nothing. The blade halted in front of Ryozan, now locked into a defensive kendo stance. The flare of ki, the aggression in his eyes, even the snarl he gave as he moved, all existed solely to give credence to the feint. And, if the feint caused his opponent to doubt his safety for even a fraction of a second, then that was the only opening Ryozan needed to switch stances. Rather than give the kitsune a psychological shock, this brief exchange gave him a very valuable piece of information: it was not safe to touch Mr. Sunshine with his blade.

Now was the time for him to prepare for a mode of attack that would be far more effective. As he took his defensive stance, a brisk wind swirled about his arms. They seemed only to sparkle at first, but then a layer of ice emerged, taking the form of a gauntlet with a short blade protruding from it. These would be the first of many weapons that would be able to safely damage his opponent, but for now he waited to see Mr. Sunshine's response to the feint and prepared to defend himself with the ice gauntlets.