Tsubaki & Hashi ; Fragrance of Death, Soldier of the Mask

Mission debrief, Long time coming
"Sit down, Tsubaki," said a terse, indifferent voice with a cold monotone that would intimidate any lesser subordinate. Jōshōtsu looked evenly at Tsubaki across from his dimly, blue tinted lamp-lit desk as he wore his usual blue and black uniform, with ornate devilish horn pauldrons on either shoulder, his hands were clasped together in a fist, wrapped by white cloth gloves.

The chair across from him was a mere wood stool, with the superior feeling that no subordinate should feel comfortable when going out on assignment, as they are illusions of a luxury they cannot afford. His own seat was a fold-up, metal chair with no comfortable rests on either the seat or the back, the desk itself was comprised of metal and few wooden parts, showing a near spartan resourced office he held in the dark office he held himself apart from the rest of his command of the Shadow Squad.

As Captain, if one could say he had a real emotional attachment to anything which was impossible for such a cold-hearted man, he would say that he had a certain fondness for the competance that Tsubaki brought with her in every job, and as such, his usual tone was no more than his usual greeting. The files below his gloves contained her next mission, though he awaited her to take her seated position before going it over, allowing her that much couretousy.

" Yes sir." Tsubaki said sliently, taking her seat on the wooden stool in front of her. Tsubaki was a toned and slender woman who had long black hair and black eyes. Her attire was completely formal and combat-oriented, and her zanpakuto, as a bokuto, was strapped to her waist, prepared for combat at any given moment, she asked her captain." Is there something I must do today?"

Tsubaki inner thoughts echoes something similar to excitement and anxiousness." Wow, is this truly the Shadow Squad? A squad that follows discipline and order, after much trial, I have been accepted. My first mission, will it be dangerous? Will I be up to the task?" Tsubaki began to chew on her nails without realising it, and momentarily even forgot that her captain was right before her.

"I have a high-risk assignment for you. You have a target, albeit a bit more unique than the others you've dealt with in the past," Jōshōtsu continued, handing her a copy of the target's bio while keeping a straight, detached expression.

"His name is Hashi Mokushi, formerly a Lieutenant of the 7th Division. He was a respectable, if not completely socially acceptable member of the Soul Society as well as a competant Soul Reaper of the Gotei 13, preforming his duties as a Lieutenant admirably if not occasionally tardy or behind schedule. However," Jōshōtsu looked up, raising a brow momentarily as he saw Tsubaki, strangely enough, biting her nails but continued as he saw she caught her own mistake, "that's where his good reputation ends..."

" Oh! Very sorry sir!" Tsubaki immediately looked up towards her captain, stopping the biting of her nails, as she began to stutter." S-so, u-um, high risk assignment, Hashi Mokushi...." Tsubaki began to ramble on unnecessarily in her nervous tone, and as if an inner voice began to shout at her." CALM DOWN TSUBAKI!" Immediately, Tsubaki took deep breaths as she finally began to calm down and asked her captain." Um...Captain Jōshōtsu, could you repeat the briefing once more? I was just panicking..."

Tsubaki told her captain, as she looked into his eyes." But do not worry sir! This won't happen again! I promise." Tsubaki gave a salute to her captain before placing her hands on her lap, attentively listening to her captain but before that, she gave a quick look to her surroundings, this was truly the ideal area for her.

Jōshōtsu looked at her dispassionately, asking her tersely, "Should I hand you an assignment I don't need to explain to you, or do you think you're composed enough to take this one? I'm sure a more vulgar, low-level assignment is more than enough for someone three ranks lower than your caliber, Tsubaki. Pay attention, or you may lose your life in this mission. Understand?"

" Yes sir!" Tsubaki said, with a surprisingly composed tone before adding." Actually Captain, I have been on another, very dangerous assignment before, in order to capture a man by the name of Zenchō Maebure. Although it was...regrettably, a failure, I am confident that I have learn't more from my struggle and will succeed on this one." Tsubaki, now as composed as even her captain, took in every detail of this assignment with careful care.

Jōshōtsu looked at her expectantly, tapping a finger against his desk causing rythmitic rings that permeated the air and making it intoxicatingly loud, "Tsubaki, please concentrate on this mission. I've read the report on the Zenchō Maebure report and I understand the mission's outcome was a failure. What's in question isn't in experience, Tsubaki," he then narrowed his eyes to a near predatorial stare, right into her eyes, "its the ability to understand the parameters of each mission and take necessary measures to assure your success in the mission. Am I clear?"

" Yes sir. I will keep that in mind." Tsubaki replied, hoping to calm her captain down somewhat, she then asked." Could I have the mission briefing once again?" Tsubaki needed this mission, her first mission as a Shadow operative, and probably her most difficult yet, she had to plan immediately.

Jōshōtsu looked at her, eerily staring at her for a good full minute. Before any time passed afterwards, he resumed the debriefing, as nothing had happened, "...Hashi Mokushi is a extremely capable fighter, always known to have been able to overcome obstacles and extremely high risk scenarios with a keen eye and high level of intellect. However, he acquired the illegal abilities that stem from our one, certain enemy," he then stared at Tsubaki, before speaking grimly, "Hollows."

Tsubaki's expression also went grim, she didn't like the way things were currently going, and this man seemed exceedingly dangerous to the very foundation of Soul Society. Tsubaki then began to think out a plan in her head, without revealing it in any manner, she asked her captain." Would you know his current whereabouts and perhaps any objective that he could have?" Tsubaki asked with absolute care that she didn't seem in a rush, after all, she wasn't rushing, but planning ahead.

"If you refer to him in mannerisms as if he's a normal Soul Reaper fugitive, he'd be running to the nearest haven and try to seek allies and refuge, hoping to wait out any attempts to search for him and let go of his hunt. But that won't be the case for us," he clasped his hands as he continued, speaking evenly and without hesitation, "he's been last seen outside Hama Town, having fought the resident clansman Anna Satonaka. Unconfirmed reports and vague details has left us in the dark of the status of that battle, but beforehand, he had left nearly a dozen Punishment Forces wounded and unconscious, thus causing the conflice with the said Satonaka clansman. He left the area before some of the Whisper Squad could catch him, but from what little residual Spiritual Pressure he left he's heading west from the World of the Living village, into the woodlands. Its been over 24 hours since his battle, but you should be able to catch him unawares if you leave now."

" I understand. Thank you for the information Captain, I shall take my leave." Tsubaki, standing up from her chair and immediately taking her leave, simply told her captain." Give me one week. I shall be back in one week, if not, then it's a failed mission." Tsubaki opened and exited from the door, and immediately began to use her great bodily speeds to get out of the building and begin planning on her mission, to take down Hashi Mokushi!

"That you will," Jōshōtsu said in a low tone, before looking over at the calendar, a specially crafted one set for a 15 day delay. With the 14 pages torn off and put in a neat pile next to the calendar, only today remained, meaning 15 days was about up.

"I am coming for you," he whispered, closing his eyes before turning off the lights to his office, "my prey."

Predator meets prey, the clash of Masks and Cloaks
Tsubaki, already completed the formalities of heading outside the Soul Society and had immediately arrived in unusual Woodlands. She calmed herself down and attempted to scan the area first." This would be a great place to plant a myriad of traps." She thought to herself. However, she primarily searched for a spiritual signature, closing her eyes and scanning the area, she seemed to have found a particularly large source of energy coming from her south." The south! Although...he seems slightly weakened, probably injured. Good, I'll use it to my advantage. My first objective however, is to lay down some traps. I must do that immediately, but before that, I'll conceal my spiritual energy." Tsubaki thought to herself, as she began to close off all of her spiritual energy, she began to bring out her tools, and started making traps in all four directions of the forest, closing him off from every direction in one manner or the other.

Hashi groaned, hearing the joints popped and crackle, emanating the air with both sounds of pain and relief, "Shouldn't fight a woman like that....again! In fact, why am I always stuck fighting women?! Not only does it make it awkward," he continued his solo dialougue, kicking the dirt around his meager campsite, the fire long has been out and his rag-tag tent looked soiled from the previous night's storm, "but its hard to actually go all out when they have murder in their eyes that looks so...sensual. It would be easier if they decided to go dress in drag and I wouldn't tell the difference till AFTER the fight."

Tsubaki, finishing off the last trap after about 15 minutes, she tied up the last knot with her wire string, and used shunpo to get onto a branch of a tree." Well, that's all of the traps done. Now....I have to somehow lure the man to all four of these traps, or at the least, one of them. But how...." Tsubaki thought to herself, mentally noting to herself what her captain had told her to do in the base." Calm..I must stay calm and composed."

"I mean, would it kill me to have a girlfriend FROM the chick that tries to kill me? That would be pretty sweet, if I do say so myself," Hashi grinned dreamily as he leaned against a tree, putting his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the cool, rough covered bark, looking upwards.

"Its not like I can go back to her after what happened," he said solemnly, closing his eyes but kept smiling, despite the lone tear that escaped his right closed eye and down slowly his cheek.

Tsubaki, currently prepared for battle, transformed her attire. Now clad in a simple white and floral kimono with blood stains on it from a certain battle, Tsubaki purposely cut herself lightly on the face, adding to the "Damsel in Distress" notion that she had created. Finally, she thought to herself." I am getting far too used to this..." Jumping off the tree, and silently landing on the ground, she began to run towards Hashi's direction. She exclaimed." SAVE ME!!! SAVE ME!!" In the woods her voice echoes, as nobody could escape it's call, her figure, running and panting headed towards Hashi by "coincidence", she tripped onto the ground, near Hashi's camp, and her tears fell off her cheeks and soaked into the ground.

As Hashi heard the cries for help, he wiped his eye and looked around in high awareness, alerted that someone would be this far out.

When he saw a young girl covered in blood in a beautiful kimono, he rushed over quickly bending down with a sincere concern in his voice as he reached down and helped her to a sitting posture, "Maam! Are you alright?! What's happened to you?!"

Tsubaki, weakly attempting to stand, and then trying to talk, simply said." B-bandits...I-I just got away." Tsubaki, seemingly fainting from exhaustion, slept in the man's hand, much to her chagrin, she simply lay still, with a seemingly distraught expression on her face, as she thought." This is far too easy."

"I'll get you someplace safe," Hashi said as he picked her up bridal style and took her over to his somewhat messy bedroll, wrapping her up in covers and ripped part of her kimono to check her for wounds. With a knowing look in his eyes as he examined her more, he resumed his worried expression as he checked her forehead, looking at her and saying faintly, "weird choice for clothes, maam. What's a soul like you doing out here?"

" U-um, I was actually kidnapped by some rogue shinigami....I think they were...and they attempted to actually...do horrible things. I barely escaped somehow and since this was the most easiest place to find...I-I came here." Tsubaki told the man, and then, with an expression of horror on her face, shivering, she pointed to the north, where many shinigami came to "hunt" Tsubaki down." T-T-They're here!"

"Damn," Hashi didn't like this. He had only fought Punishment Forces and more recently a devil-woman Soul Reaper who gave him quite the beating nearly a day or so ago. He didn't like having to fight again so soon and he could definitely feel Spiritual Pressures. However most of the blood on her wasn't her own, and her wounds were old aside the one on her cheek. They must be recent but not too recent enough. It sounded suspicious but he couldn't leave the girl alone.

"Stay here," Hashi said before getting up and checking his Zanpakuto, unsheathing it and reasheathing it after he found it was intact and ready, "I'll head up north and deal with the scum who dared to defile you."

As Hashi began to to run towards the north, attempting to intercept the rogue shinigami that headed towards him, Tsubaki merely grinned at the happenings. Hashi's feet met with a strange wire. Looking up in awe, the trees that surrounded him began to fall onto him. While this was happening, Tsubaki merely stood up, in her kimono, she took out her black bokuto, and merely told to herself." First objective, complete." Grinning at the results obtained, she didn't seem overconfident in any way, but rather, she was planning ahead. How to use this man's emotions against him. It was all a battle of minds, no more, no less.

As Hashi saw the descending trees fall towards him, he acted out of alarm and instinct, holding up his right palm up towards the mass of the trees that would surely crush him, gathering a number of blue particles of spiritual energy before forming an orb, briefly declaring audibly,

"Hado #33, SOKATSUI!"

and with a bright blazing blast comparable to blue fire, the energy stream shot upwards and demolished the trees in a vibrant, blazing explosion, causing the rest of the trees that weren't blown to splinters to crack and fly haphazardly away from his direction, allowing him to keep himself from being harmed, more or less, as dirt and branches landed near him and dirtied his attire.

"Crap! They must've set traps already...I better be careful," but as soon as he tried to feel for their presence, they were gone, "must've ran in hopes the trap killed me...or are after...oh hell!"

With that in his mind, he used Flash Step, rushing back within less than a minute, sporting only a cut or two on his coat and clothes, coming over to see that the girl he had seen more ore less helpless sporting a Bokuto.

"Maam...what's going on here? The Soul Reapers are gone and I don't feel their presence...only a trap left in their wake. What do you know about this?!" He asked as he narrowed his eyes at her in a almost demanding way, finding it suspicious she should now bring out a weapon to defend herself or had been on her feet with almost no stagger to her step. At least as far as he knew anyways...

Tsubaki did not know that men could be so ridiculously stupid. However, she finished her act of the damsel in distress, and told the man." Oh? Those shinigami there, were hired by me." Tsubaki used flash steps, moving towards a tree to the south, she stood upon it effortlessly. Taking off her damned kimono, she threw it at Hashi. Revealing a slender and curved figure, which was supported with a simple black tank-top and knee-high cargo shorts, along with a simple black belt, and shoes. She simply told the man." Catch me..if you can." Speeding off to the north, she smirked, planning her next steps, carefully.

''An assassin, eh? My luck with women continues to dwindle by the day I swear'', Hashi thought grimly, but couldn't help but smile as she threw the kimono down and revealed a lithe, black matte attire that was actually more to his liking than her kimono, blood stains or no.

"Chasing you would likely mean encountering the Soul Reapers and springing another trap or two, right?! Sounds like fun!" Hashi said in a cheery tone, propelling himself off the ground in a burst of spiritual power, leaving a blast of wind in his wake as he Flash Stepped with precision and speed as he moved back north, hoping to catch the visibly black matte assassin before he got lured into an ambush. Though hoping has never gotten him anywhere in the past...

Tsubaki, stopping at that same area that the traps were set off, simply smirked as she simply sped off to the west, flipping up and through the trees, chanting, " Sekienton." Her hands, covered with red energy, building up a large amount of energy, her palms smashed onto the ground, creating a veil of red smoke, directing it and veiling a particular area of 20 meters surrounding a group of trees. Tsubaki headed into the smoke, her black figure leaping into the blood-stained battlefield that was near eruption.

"Whoa there!" Hashi stopped at just the edge of the barrier of red smoke, a good 10 meters away to be precise.

"She must think low of my intelligence if I am going to fall for the same trick twice," he said lowly, his eyes sparked and a uncanny toothy grin donned on his face. He reached for his Zanpakuto and held it before himself, uttering lowly, "Hado #13, Ketsugō Shita Shōbō (結合した消防, Lit Translation, "Bound Fire,")!" As soon as he uttered the words and said the name of his Kido, a bright flame crawled over his Zanpakuto's edge, blazing heavily.

"I don't exactly favor this type of strategem, so forgive me if this takes too long," Hashi apologized unnecessarily, he then propped his sword's edge to his left before letting go of the hilt, then tapping it so that it would spin in a clockwise fashion, causing a spinning halo of fire to appear, "Hado #58, Tenran!"

As he finished shouting out the second Kido, a giant gust of wind bore onto the smokescreen, enveloping the area with a wide gust of fire in the process, causing blast of fire to totally envelop the area in a devestatingly powerful blast of fire. "Hado #79, Moeru Kaze (燃えるの風, Lit Translation, "Blazing Wind,") is a special technique of combining two Kidos and causing a devestating twister of flame to envelop a large area into a maelstrom of flames. If there are any traps or men you have hidden there with you, you'll be burnt crisp right about now."

Tsubaki, nearly engulfed in the flames, used her renown flash step prowess to place herself on a branch, briefly before using shunpo again to escape the range of the flames. In her hand she held her bokuto, and simply told the man." I don't use the same tricks twice...anymore at least." Tsubaki began to exert very slight amounts of spiritual energy, as she chanted." Sixty four stone tablets, the rising sun. The rush of wind through an open valley echoes before the ten horses." While doing this, the earth below split apart into smaller, but sharpened stones." The earth below my feet is my servant so may the strings of life bend to my will, Kaku'seigi!" Finally, with a wave of her hand, the stones attempted to engulf Hashi with a volley of piercing stones.

During this, Tsubaki began to conceal her energy, forcibly lowering it until it was nothing more than an average Rukongai citizen's spiritual power. Suddenly, one of the many rising stones triggered a wire on the ground, causing a layer of fake grass to be blown away by four unusual missiles channeled with spiritual energy. They began to home in on Hashi, not focusing on anything else.

"Ah crap!" Hashi swore as he looked down, already alert when he heard her chant seeing the rising sharp rocks formed by her Spiritual Energy. With a deft leap, Hashi barely evaded the colliding rocks, hearing the minerals tear through the fiber with ease, cracking and smashing of stone could be heard in the result of the Kido.

Hashi then heard the faint twang of a trap being triggered as he felt his feet touch base in the air. When he did a double take, he looked down to see a quad of missiles of unknown make head towards him with an almost too precise aim.

"That's new," Hashi spoke lowly as he used Flash Step, shimmering away and appearing a good 15 meters, only to see the missiles as he thought curve around and arc towards him, "let's see how durable those things are," Hashi backpedaled, using Flash Step rapidly through the open air, careful not to crash into any trees as he headed east of the West located traps, once again spinning his Zanpakuto uttering lowly, "Hado # 58," once again he caught the hilt of his sword, the blade pointing down and both hands holding onto it as he yelled out, "TERNRAN!"

A large vortex of wind blew outwards, growing larger in gait as it moved into the interception of the missiles. As hard as the projectiles could muster, they couldn't stay on track and the tightly grouped warheads buckled and slammed into each other, causing surprisingly large explosions that covered a good span of 25 meters, stopping short of Hashi's rapid retreat.

"This isn't going to be easy," Hashi chuckled as he found himself near the center of the woodlands again, his camp nearby as well as her kimono that she apparently had dropped, "I wish she would call it a day...I'm starting to feel those injuries from my last fight," Hashi complained as he winced as he moved his left shoulder about, and felt some of his ribs ache with pain.

Tsubaki had already noted that Hashi was in pain, probably from another fight. And judging by his wounds, he wouldn't last for too long. Taking the chance opportunity, she used shunpo to regain the lost distance, and decided to try and finish this battle in a single slash. Evading Hashi's gaze and promptly landing behind him, Tsubaki's bokuto was channeled with a blue light, illuminated in a blue hue, Tsubaki, with a large single slash to the right side of Hashi's abdomen, wanted to end this, there and there.

"This sensation...," Hashi noted as he felt a presence of spiritual pressure right behind-, "oh hell!"

With a sharp twist on the balls of his feet, he met his opponent's Zanpakuto by a upside down counter with his own, a look of alarm on his face momentarily donned on his visage, slight beads of sweat came down his head as he chuckled.

"Almost had me there...however, if you're insistant on killing me," Hashi raised his left hand over his face, a gathering of dark blue energy washed over his face, his voice morphing along in the process, "I suggest you try harder!" When he removed his hand from his face, in place of his usual cheery visage was a alabaster mask with several blade portrusions pointing upwards in a set of three, showing a atlantean-like visage with baring teeth before a pair of diagonally parallel blades pointed in opposite directions if his chin-section. The most notable part, was the glowing violet eyes, and the guttural growl he made.

"Let's go!" He yelled out, shoving hard against his opponent's blade and aimed to knock her off her feet towards a nearby tree, across the meadow within the woodlands that he set up camp in, following her with his blade held upright and his movements faster than before. He aimed to deal with the assassin, and he was in no mood for tricks anymore.

Tsubaki, engulfed by the brief rise of spiritual power, was blown aback by the pressure, almost crashing into a tree, she regained her stature, using a single flip to regain her footing on the tree. She thought for a mere moment." Dammit. More power boosters!" Tsubaki immediately used the momentum to propel herself forward, her blade ready to strike Hashi's sword-arm.

Hashi saw the movement come, his adrenaline pouring into his system and his power flowed freely. He twirled his Zanpakuto in a arc as Tsubaki propelled towards him, speaking lowly in his hollowed voice,

"Declare majestically,"

A sudden dark blue glow extended along the sword as he spun it, around and around, followed by a burst of Spiritual Pressure and Power, a large volume of water cascaded everywhere for a good distance, covering the meadow in a deep layer of water. Hashi leaped at the top of the wave, as he used the water propel himself towards her, "Kaiō!"

When his weapon came into his hands, it wasn't a sword that clashed against hers, but a halberd, its long handle held a curved pair of blades on either end of the magnificent weapon. Using both the tide of the water her created as well as his augmented hollowified strength, he moved with great power and purpose as he aimed to send her ajar back towards the tree she propelled herself from.

Tsubaki felt an enormous amount of spiritual energy. As fierce and as wide as the ocean, it lept upon her, she immediately realised that this was her opponent's zanpakuto, and new she couldn't hold back, not that she ever was. But now, she had to take even further measures for victory!" Alter your very soul, Sujōkuchi!" Her eyes radiated the flames that burned to simply...win, her bokuto, previously coated in a blue sheen fell apart? Turning into a black blob, Tsubaki merely muttered."Collide". This energy, transforming into twin katana, immediately clashed with Hashi's weapon. However, Tsubaki still suffered from Hashi's enormous energy, and knew, that she couldn't drag this battle for long, in close range.

Hashi's halberd met the dual blades of Tsubaki, his dark blue eyes met Tsubaki's as he said in a guttural, more hungry tone, "So, this is your Zanpakuto's true form, huh? I think you're personal spiritual power changed, but it won't win you this battle, assassin! Nothing will!"

With a mighty heave, he pushed her back as he preformed a acrobatic flip while twirling his halberd with one hand, causing the waters to rapidly swirl and surge upwards. As he landed atop the water a few meters away, the tendrils of water moved at high intense speeds to wrap pressure her with incredible force, miniature needle protrusions jutted out like blades simultaneously to inflict cutting damage as the eight tendrils came towards her.

Swift and precise, Tsubaki immediately calculated a way to dodge these tendrils. Immediately, she used her enhanced skill in Flash Step to gain some distance, although it wasn't enough to stop the tendrils, she immediately chanted." Oh Mother Earth, who's sweet embrace we all must one day return, endow me with your power so I can defeat those who do evil!, Tsurukusa" While chanting, the spiritual energy of the earth surrounding her created multiple vines, each with formidable power, and with a single hand motion the vines began to ascend towards Hashi's tendrils. They enveloped them in circular motions, until they grappled them completely, and began to absorb their moisture, growing while doing so. However, Tsubaki began to pant, her energy was continually being used on Kido, but, she had to win this!

"Absorbing the water into another substance? She's good," Hashi spoke to himself as he leapt up the vines, slashing through it with deft ease, the water immediately leaking out but now turning into a thick amount of mist, surging upwards with him, "but I'm better!"

After surging upwards, he briefly slashed in a vertical fashion with his halberd towards her body, before backflipping out of the envelopign mist that surrounded her. As he pointed his Halberd towards it, a faint hissing sound could be heard within the mist.

"Say your prayers!" With a snap of his left hand's forefingers, a crackling of blue energy ran up the mist before it promptly detonated in a hydrogen bomb, causing an incredible blast to surge into a column of fire and rippled outwards, ripping apart several trees in its wake while causing the waters below to stir and wave in the excess of the force involved.

Before Hashi was able to make contact with Tsubaki, Tsubaki moved her head backwards, her arms making contact with the ground, and her legs rising, she used a single kick to repel Hashi's assault, and the kick landed directly in the chest, before her momentum caused her to leap in the air. Using shunpo, and landing on a tree, Tsubaki panted slightly, before she saw the immense hydrogen bomb created by Hashi, and immediately chanted." Heart of the south, eye of the north, finger of the west, foot of the east, rise now and become my shield!, Mukō" A transparent wall of energy surged to protect Tsubaki from the flames as it confronted them immediately.

Flames surged and the barrier cracked, Tsubaki was slightly burned, and immediately made a contingency plan. Calming herself and chanting, " Ryuusui" A stream of water erupted from her hand to the recently burned trees. The heat and water colliding created an immense layer of mist which rose to surround Hashi. Tsubaki suppressed her energy before moving towards Hashi, and using the trees as support, lost the distance she had created between them. Using the tree branch as momentum from behind him, her movements were completely silent, and her spiritual energy, was almost vanished, her twin katanas, reforged into a single katana were in a fencing position, ready to pierce through Hashi's abdomen as she leaped towards his back, ready to kill!

Hashi glared at the place he knew was Tsubaki's hiding place, the change in spiritual power decreased again knowing that she was pushing herself it was only a matter of time before he got the better of his attacker. However...as she sprayed mist of all things at him, only allowing him to actually tap in a sensory output to feel everything around him, rather than blinding him. Having dealt with assassins who've used tactics like this before, he had devised once before having practiced it once before and used it during a more recent fight that saved his life.

His body oozed a very subtle blue shimmer before dissipating as Tsubaki charged in for the kill, and stabbed towards his abdomen.

SHINK, SHRRRRK!

His chest seemed to be stabbed and his breath knocked in a hollowed manner, as his body spasmed and contorted under the stealth driven assault, taken totally by surprise...then oozed water from her blades. The body transformed into a transparent water mass, suddenly enwrapping around her hands and up towards her body, forming a solid spherical shell of water that increased density so thick, it made moving physically all but impossible.

While it seemed that Hashi was truly attacked and dimly awaiting her kill, he secretly assumed a switch with a manipulated mass of water he conjured and changed its appearance as his own, a watter doppleganger if you will, while the soles of his feet mirrored in a inverted fashion under the surface to maintain its shape and realistic form while his real form could not be seen due to Tsubaki's inavertant use of her mist, never predicting he would be directly under a copy of himself.

"So it worked, huh?" A hollowed voice spoke out from the water, as Hashi's body rose in a vertical manner, now covered in water, raising his halberd from its depths before resting it on his shoulder.

Water was immediately clutching onto Tsubaki's body, attempting to suffocate her from every angle, immediately, she released a small amount of spiritual power, into a potent aura around herself, using the intense speed of the reishi surrounding her body, the water began to heat up drastically and formed into a potent mist. Immediately, she used this mist to her advantage, once again, hiding herself behind a layer of trees, while keeping herself away from the moisture that surrounded her.

" A doppelganger? Dammit." Tsubaki thought, before immediately switching Sujokuchi's form into a potent whip of destruction, with a single, katana-like hilt, she simply chanted." Yūsetsu!" A swirl of flaming energy erupted in the whip, as Tsubaki calmed herself down and merely muttered." Offense, is the best defense." Tsubaki immediately began swirling the whip at all angles, extending it ever so slowly by converting the surrounding materials into the same material that her whip was formed of. While everything surrounding her turned and transmuted from a blob-like form, Tsubaki conspired, thinking of another plan to obliterate this enemy.

"She's stubborn," Hashi muttered to himself while using Flash Step, shimmering away before reappearing on a tree behind her. With his feet planted onto it using his Spiritual Energy while outstretching his Zanpakuto's edged towards her, a dark, coiling, blue sphere of spiritual energy began to take form. It finished to taking the size of a basketball, and then...discharged violently in a wide destructive arc towards her position.

"CERO!"

Tsubaki opened her eyes wildly. The destructive blast of energy headed towards her position at a frightening pace. Immediately, she began to move using Shunpo to hasten her steps. Upwards she soared into the sky, as the Cero destroyed the trees that were below, she paused, her body tilted forward, as she leaped off the air behind her, increasing her momentum as she sped forward towards Hashi before, in an instant, she disappeared! Without any warning, she transported herself behind Hashi, transforming her whip into a large scythe. With a single motion, she used her scythe and attempted to cleave through Hashi, in one, clean stroke.

Hashi's senses were attuned to her movements the moment the moisture had touched her. As the Cero caused a giant geyser uproar of water to follow in its wake of the explosion, a few trees propelled outwards as giant ballistic projectiles, knocking a great deal of forestland in its paths with horrendous crashes. As he saw her move like a blur, he readied his halberd for her attack. Seeing her disappear and knowing the nature of his assassin, he raised his halberd's handle to halt the incoming scythe's blade instinctively, while turning around on the soles of his feet while remaining perpindicular to the tree.

Outstretching his hand towards her within a swift motion, he uttered aloud in his hollowed voice, "Shakkaho!" discharging the enhanced powered sphere of condensed spiritual energy towards her chest, keeping her scythe's blade pinned with his Halberd's handle to restrict her options as he discharged his attack.