The Elemental Showdown: Yoshiro vs. Lyon

The Final Clash: The Elemental Showdown!
Yoshiro and Lyon's fierce strike echoed throughout the room! Stepping backwards to avoid a pillar of ice, Yoshiro crushed it using the energy wave of his Bakkōtō before following up with a wave of rigid ice that flowed from his hand! Twisting his body to avoid it, Lyon ducked before moving into a series of stabbing motions that Yoshiro began to avoid.

He leapt back, but Lyon kept pressing forward, Yoshiro avoiding what seemed like several blades! "Keep calm and look." Images of his friend and mentor, Ryouta performing this same technique filled his mind. He actually saw Ryouta's outline in Lyon's movements. "Focus. It's not as if I can't see him. It's not as if I can't react to it all. Focus...look for a weakness..."

Lyon's arm was brought back, and just as he brought it forward, Yoshiro widened his eyes. "There!" He side-stepped and grasped Lyon's wrist firmly. "Got you." With a battle cry that echoed several times, Yoshiro released a point-blank energy blast that forced the Arrancar back before detonating! The roof began to shake, rocks dislodging as the roof caved in.

The rocks feel against his ice barrier, and he slowly forced his way to the surface. Finding his Commander's cloak in a heap on the floor, Yoshiro put it on again and dusted himself off. "Hmmm...? That other force I sensed earlier has vanished. Seems Shigeru and Teruo pulled it off. Those two are stronger than I thought..."

Lyon suddenly formed before him, seemingly recreated from the ice itself. "I'll applaud you for forcing me to use my trump card, but your victories over me so far end here, Shinigami. If you think Ice is the only think my zanpakuto controls, then you are mistaken!" A torrent of water roared forth from Lyon's blade, it's destination; Yoshiro!

He managed to part those waves with a Bakkōtō wave attack, but the cascading torrent simply fell around him and surrounded him from all sides. "Water...? I was right. Our zanpakuto are almost identical. Guess I've gotta use it after all...! Water awoke on Yoshiro's blade and crashed into Lyon's torrent, re-diverting it to fill the crater caused when the roof collapsed. "There's a common misconception about my zanpakuto that people make. They seem to think it's solely an ice-type, but isn't Ice just frozen water? I learned this myself not long ago actually. My Aisumēkā is, in fact, a dual-type."

Lyon's broken mask showed well his surprise, but that emotion was visible only briefly before a calm, collected smirk showed instead. "Indeed, you are an interesting Shinigami to have powers that mirror my own. But that doesn't mean this fight is over...Kazuki Yoshiro."

"You better believe it doesn't....Ryuu Lyon. But, I have questions. Too many questions; Why are your powers similar to my own bein' just one. But all that can wait...so draw! It's high time we brought this brawl to a close, don'tcha think?"

Lyon replied with two attacks, a cascading torrent of highly pressurized water and a pillar of ice running up the center of that raging torrent! Yoshiro acted quickly by rolling to the right and then flashing above the moving liquid. Energy swirled around the gauntlet. "I wonder..." Without releasing the energy, Yoshiro fell down and punched the water, releasing as soon as his fist made contact!

The attack split apart, but Yoshiro turned to see Lyon thrusting his sword forward! The blade caught him in the gut. "Huhu, looks like ya got me...not!" Yoshiro suddenly ran his blade down Lyon's back, before kicking him forward with a powerful thrust kick. Images of the Goddess of Flash coursed through Yoshiro's head...


 * Flashback

Yoshiro's heart was in his throat. He'd found this wide-open training ground by complete accident when Patrolling around the Sōkyoku Hill. Now, he could hear voices, and he recognized one of them from because he often handed his report into the 2nd Division, and the last time he'd done that the Captain herself, Yoruichi Shihōin had been there. Her footfalls came closer and closer until they simply vanished.

With a sigh, Yoshiro turned around to find her looking at him inquisitively. "I'm not supposed to be here, am I?" The meeting, from there, went well. It wasn't long before the two were sparring, Yoruichi easily knocking him down using just Hakuda. From then, she'd been like an unofficial teacher, teaching him and embarrassing him whenever the two met from there on.


 * Flashback Ended

"Utsusemi: Way of Onmitsu, 3rd of the Shihou." He stated plainly, Lyon looking shocked and confused as Yoshiro vanished before his eyes, the only thing left behind being his blue Commanders coat. "Lady Yoruichi taught me that...and Ryouta-Sensei taught me this! Limit of the thousands hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness."

Attempting to stop what he knew would be a powerful Kidō spell, Lyon began attacking, but Yoshiro began avoiding him again, with another use of the Utsusemi thrown in as well. "Shooting hands unable to reflect the blue sky. The road that basks in light, the wind that ignited the embers, time that gathers when both are together, there is no need to be hesitant, obey my orders." Again, Yoshiro flashed away, still reciting the incantation.

"I won't let you! Well...he won't" Shigeru's voice sounded, six rods of light suddenly slamming into Lyon's mid-section! "Thank us later!" Teruo called, looking drained and fatigued from another Kidō exertion. Shigeru was beside him, but his Kidō was as poor as Kusaka's was. "Light bullets, eight bodies, nine items, book of heaven, diseased treasure, great wheel, gray fortress tower. Aim far away, scatter brightly and cleanly when fired! Hado 91: Senjū Kōten Taihō!" Several spears formed and all flew towards the intended focal point, resulting in an explosion that Yoshiro himself had to flee from, grabbing both Shigeru and Teruo in the process.

"Are you two alright?" He asked worriedly. "I sensed some crazy power coming from where you were, then you two just vanished! What happened?"

Shigeru caught his brother and helped him keep his footing. "We'll explain later, Yosh. Right now, you've gotta make sure that Arrancar's been put down. The one we were facin' got away through one of them bloody black holes!" Teruo chuckled weakly. "They're called Garganta, moron." Shigeru's eye twitched. "Be thankful you're half dead, you beanpole, or I'd throttle you."

Flashing back, relieved that they were otherwise all right, Yoshiro scanned the smoke. Expecting a counter attack, he waved his sword, releasing a potent torrent of water that resembled a tsunami wave crashing against the shore! Sure that whatever was left of the Arrancar was washed away, he allowed his ice-forged zanpakuto to disappear, re-sealing it and sheathing it with a soft cling.

"Goodbye, Ryuu Lyon. You were one of the strongest people I've fought...and I won't-"

"Won't forget what...Kazuki Yoshiro?" Lyon's voice rang out to his back and when Yoshiro turned, a hand grasped his shoulder. "You won't move if I hold you, Shinigami!" Lyon's now ice-encrusted blade pierced Yoshiro's other side, and a trail of ice shot through his body! Falling forward, Lyon tore his sword to the side before raising it high with the intent of a finishing blow. "You were indeed a powerful opponent...but I was that little bit better."

"Hehe...You...think that I'm...just gonna...roll over!? No chance!" The Bakkōtō re-formed into its gauntlet form and with sheer willpower moving his body, Yoshiro caught Lyon's wrist and grinned with a smile only a maniac would look normal with. "You know...most battle's are won by the person who can...withstand the most. Let's see...if your endurance outlasts mine!"

Shigeru looked on with increased respect for this young Shinigami who commanded him. He once thought he should be leading, or perhaps Tadashi, and could never quite understand how Tadashi believed in his so much. But just after watching his determination was enough for Shigeru to change his mind. ''"Yoshiro Kazuki. There's only been one man I've sworn my unwavering loyalty to... and that was Koichi Hiroshi. Today, I swear to follow you, wherever that may lead."

Energy swirled around the gauntlet, as Yoshiro charged the maximum the gauntlet could hold before both he and Lyon were surrounded in a blinding flash of white light that remained focused around them. It wasn't a large explosion, but Shigeru and Teruo dared not touch it, or even look at it. In seconds the blast dissipated, revealing a still standing Yoshiro and downed Lyon, Yoshiro falling backwards only after witnessing that Lyon was indeed unconscious. "Heh, I win this one, pal." Darkness claimed him... but he remained alert enough to see another bloodied figure retrieve Lyon and vanish through a Garganta...

Next Story > Welcome Meeting and News