Battle of the Titans

It was a colourful afternoon in Hama Town. The sun was shining; birds were chirping- hell, at least it wasn't gonna go all apocolypse. Yet. Finally, this person could have a day off. For once. The rest of his days were full of all sorts of crazy crap. Seriously, could he not go ten minutes without spotting somebody in trouble? "...Tch." He clicked his tongue in exasperation. The streets were bustling; surprisingly, nearly as much as the place which he called "home", the Rukon District.

His brunette hair was splayed out in all directions at the ends, reaching down to his waist. Several large clumps of hair stuck out, some curling away horizontally. His bangs framed his face, though they had two 'layers', with the behind layers falling to rest upon his chest. There were a few locks of hair kept in the middle of his forehead; there was a slim curled forelock of hair at the top of his head. Small hips, white long legs and thighs, and a nice curved rear. There were several impossibly attractive women in Earth, Soul Society, and Hell, though his body was far more beautiful than all of those, from past, present, and future, even though he was a guy. It could be classified as art; a body with perfect shape. It looked like a nude body painting or statute on display at the museum. His azure within magenta eyes sparkled in a similar manner to a stream.

"Dammit. The one day I get a break, there's absolutely nothing to do?" Gai Nagareboshi thought to himself in annoyance, as he wandered through the streets. It was as if when he wasn't fighting for his life or getting the crap kicked out of him, he was bored crapless.

Sitting in a tree at the local park, Van Satonaka, was fresh and well rested after his encounter with his old friend Loran. Smiling to himself, he allowed the wind to blow through his blonde locks and sway in front of his face over his dark sunglasses. He dropped his blue cape over a nearby branch as he reclined in the embrace of the trunk facing the vast expanse of Hama Town. Enjoying the wide expanse of land that he lived in, Van took in a large breath of air and then began smiling. "Its days like this that I can see why felines just want to stretch out, relax and not do anything at all."

Looking down at a nearby road, Van spotted a feminine looking charcater and questioned his own memory as he did not recognize the figure walking down he road. The stranger's presence sparking a sense of inquiry, Van grabbed his cape and jumped down from the tree as he began trailing his new muse. "Who in the world is this gu--er....girl?"

Gai wouldn't have any of this. Closing his eyes, he continued upon his path, declaring, "You know, I can see you, right?" Well, not sense. It was more of sensing his presence via his spiritual energy. "So...why don't you show yourself? It'll be easier on you." His words were full of biting sarcasm, as he quickly spun around. His eyes sharpened; they were focused, staring in a straight line. A faint trace of spiritual energy hugged his body, as if it were about to erupt at any second and attempt to subjugate his foe with its might.

He was certain; he wouldn't actively search for this person- he wasn't that type. "Well, I don't have all day. Get on with it." Gai clicked his tongue in exasperation, tapping his foot against the pavement.

Suddenly appearing at Gai's side, Van tapped the man on the shoulder and leaned in to be face-to face with the stranger. "Hmmm........I would calm that down if I were you." Van smiled as he noted the stranger's spiritual energy level. "That's not enough to intimidate anyone around here. I would be careful that you don't attract any unwanted attention." Standing back up and taking a few steps back, Van looked over the stranger once more.

"Most definitely a guy, but in any case I wasn't hiding. It seems to me that you're just too oblivious to your surroundings to not realize someone is throwing their energy around to confuse you." Van's voice was laced with a hint of boredom and a slight nod of confusion still. "So what's your name mate?"

Gai crossed his arms, as he scowled. Truthfully, it was a rare occurance that the Mototsu-Seishin hybrid actually smiled. "Don't tell me to calm down, got it?" He snapped; he wasn't pissed off- it was just Gai Nagareboshi being Gai Nagareboshi. Letting out a deep sigh, the Mototsu-Seishin hybrid growled, "...Gai Nagareboshi. Don't bother remembering my name; because I won't remember yours." He turned away, questioning, "What, do you want, exactly?"

Gai never possessed patience- which was a virtue, often in a man, never in a woman, as his older brother often repeated ad nauseum. Of course, with his gender really unclear, so it was probably leaning towards the latter.

Sneering, Van turned away from the man. "Remember your name? I'm not interested enough to do something like that. I was only curious as to find out your name so that I could give it to the town guard in order to force you out of my town as I don't remember giving you permission to enter." Yawning as he stretched, Van prepared to walk away before turning back and lowering his shades to speak to Gai. "So if you don't mind, could you kindly get the f*** out of my town before you're forced out?"

"Geez, calm down will ya?!" Gai snapped, hypocrticially. Easy to anger others, easy to anger himself, he always was. "You don't own a town. It's like, if you tried to own someone's soul. It's impossible, man. 'Tis a free country." A wily smirk formed upon his face, as he growled, "If there's one thing I've learned, it's to respect other people's opinions, no matter how annoying they are." Heh. How ironic- if he didn't act so rude, he wouldn't have as many enemies as is.

"You can't force me to leave, seriously. After all, if you do, who's to say that I can't pull some strings? It'd be an awful shame if something happened, wouldn't it?" He sneered. Of course, the Mototsu-Seishin hybrid was lying through his teeth; he'd never do such a thing- he had a strict 'harm no innocents' policy. He was well aware that Van Satonaka was the protector of Hama Town- as well as a sort of mayor. Of course, Gai being Gai, he had no intention of letting this slip. Seeing as the man before him seemingly took his extreme 'hot and cold' behaviour the wrong way; Gai saw this as the perfect chance to test his mettle against somebody he didn't know.

"I can't force you to leave? Do YOU even know where you are right now? This is Hama Town, this is my town." Van had his arms outstretched as if he were embracing an invisible family. "I would enjoy if you attempted to 'pull some strings' as you put it, as it would be the last thing you do with working arms ever again." Crossing his arms, Van smirked dryly and arched an eyebrow. "Now, as I said before, kindly leave before you are forced out of town. Today is a lazy day and you really don't want to make do something on one of the few days that I don't have to do anything or..." Surging his spiritual energy, a part of the ground below him began to crystalize over. "You'll awaken a slumbering demon."

"Heh. Of course, I know it's your town." Gai responded with a smirk. Seems he wasn't the only smirk-spammer in here. Seriously? He couldn't tell that Gai was joking? ...Huh. Ah, well. At least it gave him a good excuse to cut loose. "Heheh." A wicked smile cross his face, as the Mototsu-Seishin hybrid responded, "Well, there's always a demon stronger than all others. Wouldn't it be a shame if you happened to cross paths..." Gai's eyes flashed an ominous golden, as his pupils contracted and his scelera turned a haunting crimson. "...With that one foe?"

Light amassed and converged upon the back of his left hand for the briefest of moments, as the phoenix-wing shaped core embedded in his crimson, scaly and deformed left arm lit up. "Talk's useless." Gai snarled. This was a perfect chance to test his skills. If he managed to get a win, no matter the margin out of this guy, then it would be even more proof that he could be able to protect that person. He remained unimpressed at the crystalline substance running across the ground, sneering, "If you're so sure that you want to make a critical mistake, then by all means, make the first move. I'm warning you; I won't lose. Because I want to protect the one who's dearest to me, I'll never lose. Whenever you're ready, unless you're scared." Still, that light radiated from the Infernox Core situated upon the back of his hand; he wouldn't hesitate to attack if this man followed through.

Appearing at the man's back in what seemed like an instant, Van was already on the move before the man finished talking. Twisting his body, he aimed his fist at the man's back from the left and brought his foot towards the man's legs from the right. "Oh? You weren't done showing off yet? Oh well..." Eyeing the man's body over, Van had a smile on his face as he knew that he would finally be able to test his skills and go all out since discovering his new powers.

"Heh. Too slow." Giving his foe an brief, aside glance, Gai wasn't unprepared. Well, he didn't anticipate it, but thanks to his latent powers, he knew exactly how to counter. Spiritual energy pulsed from his body, releasing a wave of energy that gave the Mototsu-Seishin hybrid a chance to escape the inevitable hit, as he raced away with extreme speed, before flipping into the air. His eyes focused upon his foe; full of determination. Gai flashed a mouth-splitting smile right in front of his foe. He, fighting purely by instinct, revealed a horrifying expression of an extremely primitive, exhilarating feeling. "Tell me...Do you have valid reasons for going up against your enemies?" Oh, great. Philosophy time.

In an instant, Gai thrust his left hand as fast as a bullet at Van's gut. A left hand with all fingers extended. A demonic hand; only mere skin contact would be able to tear through his organs. Gai violently thrust his hand, aiming for Van's face from below. His eyes were full of- or rather, lacking emotion as he aimed to get a rise out of his opponent.

"Enemies? Reasons? Heh. Don't flatter yourself. I don't consider you enough of a threat yet to be considered an 'enemy'. After all, you're just a trepasser who needs to be taught a lesson." Van's eyes flashed a brilliant rainbow hue as he watched all of Gai's maneuvers, thrusting his own hands out to intercept Gai's, Van caught the man's fist as if they were standing still in front of him. "Compared to him, you're not moving at all against these eyes." Holding the man's hand's with his incredible strength, Van headbutted the intruder with tremendous force before throwing him away from his posistion.

"O-Oi, no fair..." Gai scowled. He didn't have any time to dodge such blows. It seemed as if he didn't have a chance to react; a somewhat dishonourable tactic. Flailing across the ground for the briefest of moments, the Mototsu-Seishin hybrid plunged his left hand into the ground, tearing up the earth while allowing himself to leap to his feet once again. Still, such blows barely fazed him; despite his doll-like stature, he took the headbutt with the sense of consuming candy. "Heh. I wasn't talking about me. I was referring to how you deal with your actual enemies, boy." Despite for all intents and purposes being twenty-one, Gai Nagareboshi was even more ancient than the former Head-Captain Yamamoto.

Charging in, a loud bang echoed through the atmosphere, as Gai Nagareboshi shot forward like a bullet, twirling towards his foe, ready to unleash a tremendously powerful corkscrew kick at Van's gut. It seemed as if his foe would be struck- a devastating blow indeed. This was the blow that defeated Yuurei- though admittedly, Yuurei would be considered weak by today's standards. Still...

"Boy? Don't make me laugh. You're still lightyears away from me." Taking a more defensive stance, Van began employing Yuengiri technique and as such thrusted his hand forward to meet Gai's powerful kick with a powerful punch of his own, twist his palm in the process and utilizing the force to puch both combatants back. Smirking as he was finally able to cut loose, Van's warrior spirit began to erupt form his body, giving his battle aura the appearance of a large demon.

Tapping his foot along the ground toward Gai, Van produced a series of fast moving crystal spires that aimed to run through his opponent's body. Running along side his crystals, Van directed one hand toward the sky causing several crystal spears to form above Gai and rain down from above as well. Smirking, Van readied for his opponent to maneuver his away out and try to escape, awaiting the chance to pounce on him the process.

Gai sneered. "Kokugenei." Quickly, the Mototsu-Seishin hybrid leapt up and down, dragging out the noise so that the sound of his feet tapping on the ground wasn't heard until after his feet had left the floor again. Once the sound lag is at its fullest, Gai leapt forward like a bullet train, producing a sonic boom that destroyed everything in front of and behind himself. Of course, crystals were weak against sound, so this was the logical conclusion; however, a single shard managed to impale him in the shoulder before the ability activated- something he didn't pay attention to. As crystalline shards scattered to the winds like cherry blossoms in a serene breeze, Gai propelled himself at Van at inconcievable speeds; similar to a supersonic bullet.

He wasn't just gonna let himself shoot forward into an obvious trap. Gai's spiritual pressure, in a word his very own "warrior spirit" released itself, manifesting in the form of the majestic king of birds, a golden phoenix with azure eyes. "Oh, you're so sure about me being weaker than you, huh? Now, I'm lying when I say I've been toying with you, but to break the ice a bit, I'd really like to know. How you deal with your foes? It's like, I don't care anymore; all I wanna do is kill 'em and get it over with." He clenched his fist. The Mototsu-Seishin hybrid's fist carried the entire speed and force of his body, slamming towards his foe's face.

Watching the incoming warrior, Van smiled devilishly as he outstretched his hands toward the incoming boy. Unmoving, Van opened a rift in front of his body that took in the flying mototsu warrior and then directing his hand toward a different location, Van opened yet another rift that pointed to the ground, hoping to use the man's own momentum against him. "Still trying to use speed? Against these eyes, its useless. Its like you aren't moving at all. I would be lying if I told you that I've begun to take you seriously yet." Van's voice was laced with slight hint of arrogance, yet he was still on his guard in case the young warrior would try to pull something out of his sleeve. "As for how I deal with my foes....I just beat them. I beat the will out of them to fight any longer." Forming a crystal lance in his hands, Van began charging at his opponent, vanishing into various rifts in appearing in different locations in the process in attempt to confuse the man in case he didn't impact the ground.

"...!!" Gai's eyes widened in shock. Speed and a nasty left hook was all he had, along with mediocre sword skills. In any case...He'd have to adapt to fit the circumstances. Sweat trailed down his forehead. The only thing to do was, to accept the inevitability that he would be impaled with one fowl swoop. Still...his foe made so many movements that was hard to keep up with. If only he had his old weapon, the risin phoenix...he would move at the speed at light to overwhelm his foe in a matter of seconds. As he plumetted to the ground with a *THUD!*, the Mototsu-Seishin hybrid landed on his face. Slowly scrambling to his feet, Gai gritted his teeth. He fully prepared for this strike; ready to strike the moment that Van impaled him. But first, he began running towards the skewering path of Van's lance, aiming to clock him in the face the moment he was stabbed.

...Or not. "Meikyō!" Stabilizing his reiatsu, the Mototsu-Seishin unleashed a brief flash of light; bi-location to be exact, creating an after-image of himself, to which one of them disappeared in a flash of light and manoeuvred behind Van, shifting towards his foe's blind spot. Of course, while it was possible that his foe didn't notice, he couldn't help himself. "How do you react, when your foes threaten those you care about and you cannot do a thing about it? Answer me that." He was sure as hell that Van wasn't enjoying this little debate as much as he was. Without hesitation, he performed a spinning heel kick towards his opponent which aimed to clock him over the back of the head and knock him down. Not yet, he wasn't sure he could release his Zanpakutō as of yet.

As the kick connected, Van's neck began snap and then suddenly began to crack and contort as if his spine had been broken in several places. "AAARRRRUUUGGHH!" Crying out pain, Van began to twist and tremble, spewing blood from his mouth in the process. Looking as if he died, Van fell to the ground before shattering into crystal particles that scattered all over Gai's body. "Foes who threaten those I care about? What do I do? Heh. Absolutely nothing. If the foe is foolish enough to come after my family and friends, they must not know who they are and have to be seeking out their own death wish." Van's voiced would come to Gai's ear from behind him as 'another' Van could be seen standing behind the brown-haired fighter.

"Why do you fight a losing battle? Is this all that you have? If so...then I will settle this here and now." A third Van could be seen atop a nearby tree looking down toward Gai. As both Van's eyed down their opponent, they retreived an orb from their respective kimono. "Dance in the River Styx, Ryoiki!"' The orb suddenly glowed with a brilliant light before setting forth a veil of golden fire that encircled both blonde figures before revealing a golden spear in their hands. Speaking in unison after they both smirked, they had a slight charm to their voice. "Now, I will show you how a true warrior fights." Charging at Gai, the Van behind him thrusted the spear at his back in such a way that he would have to move upward or to his left or right in order to avoid being skewered, while the third Van took to the sky in preparation.

Seriously, why did he move about so much? It was barely enough to even register how to react. This guy had so many abilities, but as Bruce Lee once said, "I fear not the man who has practised 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times." This was Gai's philosophy. At least, for now. Hehe. There was only one solution. Utilizing his incredible speed, which was enough to be compared to even masters or even beyond, Gai dissipated from sight entirely. Now, he could've been skewered any moment, but in a fraction of a second, he was skewered, or so it seemed.

"Meikyō!" In an instant, Gai activated bi-location by stabilizing his reiatsu, revealing that the Gai which was impaled was naught but an afterimage- translocating behind his foe who was high in the skies. "Ready yourself. I'm about to kick this up a notch." He whispered, as he merely allowed himself to drop to the ground, gathering momentum. As the Mototsu-Seishin hybrid touched upon the ground, he let out a war cry, before slamming his fist into the ground at tremendous speeds with over one hundred tonnes behind his blow. *WHAM!* A loud and extremely powerful tremor roared throughout the ground, shaking the ground itself to the very core- such a powerful force would shake the battlefield for the remainder of the clash.

The force of this strike crushed the very earth, leaving an array of cracks and craters in the ground; from which birthed an array of earthen spires which threatened to skewer his foe in completely random places. It seemed as if Gai Nagareboshi had messed with the tectonic plates of Soul Society- again. These shockwaves tore apart the surroundings, as fissures erupted from the ground which lead deep into the darkest of oceans. The water couldn't help itself. In an instant, an entire mass of water erupted from the ground like a horribly malfunctioning fountain- this was the strength that defeated a previous Captain of the Royal Guard, that was for sure. The water continued to ascend to the heavens, mimicking a rainstorm as it refused to cease. In such a situation, complete zen was a benefit- the Mototsu-Seishin hybrid leapt into the air, ready to clock Van over the head admist the confusion.

"Was that it?" Van's voice echoed through the area as the cracked landmass and the showering waters all began to crystallize in what seemed like seconds causing the area the two were in to become a pristine crystalline forest. "This same technique won't work on me. You still have the same approach as usual." Van's eyes continued to glow as he formed a crystal spear in his free hand to weild in tandem with Ryoiki. matching Gai's speed, Van propelled himself foward aiming to skewer his foe, or so it would seem. "I told you, no matter how fast you move. Its meaningless in front of me. I can see all of your movements clearly as if you were reading a book to me." Throwing the crystal spear to the ground, Van caused the crystallized elements to shatter into a storm of sparkling shards that rained over the area.

"Impale." Van's voice rang out from both clones as tthe crystal rain covering the entire area seemed to freeze in place before each individual piece reformed into a different spear and flew about the area aiming to shred anything located near the battlefield. As the crystal skewers demolished the area, the clones were both run through, shattering in the process before the shards transformed as well and began shooting about. There was little hope that anything in this area would be left standing for too long, almost as if Van had grew bored with his opponent's simple tactics and wanted to obliterate him.

Easily, the Mototsu-Seishin hybrid evaded this crystal spears and stuff in an athletic manner. That shouldn't have happened- his foe didn't possess the ability to halt such an attack, even though he just did. Nimbly dodging the spears, Gai had managed to shatter several crystals with his bare hands. There was one rule in battle which Gai had always abided by- respect. Here and now, he wasn't recieving this in return. It was a common fact that Gai Nagareboshi was far faster and stronger than his size and build showed- enough to shatter a tower made of sekki-seki as if it were a thin stick with the swing of his arm. In addition, he could move at near supersonic speeds. If that was so, then how was it possible that- no, it wasn't possible.

"You're a waste of my time if you're not going to play fair." Gai gritted his teeth, snapping. His already thin patience was beginning to wear, and at any second, he felt as if he could just leave. As the crystal spears continued to dart around the area, Gai utilized several of them as stepping stones, before focusing his vision to search for his foe, deftly evading the constructs.

Breaking apart the spears would soon show to be fruitless as the shattered shards regained form as spears all on their own and began darting about the area as well. "Play fair? I am. Is it my fault that you can't seem to realize your own faults? I am simple explointing them to my advantage. It was a fight you wanted, don't whine like a child if you can understand your own shortcomings. Feel free to leave at anytime. I will have no problem erasing your image from my mind." Van's voice seemed to echo from each crystal spear before a hand emerged from the spear Gai perched on, pulling the brown-haired warrior into the tiny weapon in an attempt to crystallize him as well. Suddenly, hands began appearing from each of the crystal spears flying about the area forming crystalline weapons in their palms that added to the increasing storm of flying weapons.

"D-Don't call me a child, you son of a-" As Van attempted to pull Gai down, he declared, "Kokugenei!" Quickly, the Mototsu-Seishin hybrid leapt up and down, dragging out the noise so that the sound of his feet tapping on the crystal spear wasn't heard until after his feet had left the spear again. Once the sound lag is at its fullest, Gai produced a sonic boom that destroyed everything in front of and behind himself. Well, it wasn't so much of a sonic boom that it was a destructive wave of pure energy. At least now, he could get a breather. Still, he'd tried all of the tricks in the book- well, his book, which was about two pages long. "Illusion", "Sonic Boom", "Sword Beam", "Psychic Powers", and "Do it Fist of the North Star style" were the only options he had. However, few spears remained.

It was time to shake things up a bit. "Meikyō!" In an instant, Gai activated bi-location by stabilizing his reiatsu, forming not two, but three complete replicas of the real deal. "Hadō No. 4, Byakurai!" Yes, really! Mototsu weren't designed to utilize Kidō. Charging up lightning in his fingertips, Gai unleashed a powerful bolt of lightning from his fingertips. A deafening crack like thunder resounded throughout the air as the lightning left his fingertips; and the temperature suddenly rose from the air becoming superheated by such a spell. Somewhere, he knew that the bright flash of light distracted Van, hopefully even though he wasn't physically present, so to speak. As a shōnen rule, he'd be pissed if his foe suddenly appeared behind him.

Roaring with a crackling sound as it streaked throughout the atmosphere, the Byakurai locked onto the crystal spear which Van's hand was protruding from at high speeds. Gai had a sudden feeling, that Van would dodge such a strike. Just to be sure, two of him disappeared, leaving only a single Gai Nagareboshi to combat this foe. "My faults, you say? Well, why don't you tell me what they are if you're so sure. In other words, get off your arse and fight me for real; man-to-man without any chickening out by disappearing into your crystals. Maybe then it'll be a real battle!" A confident smirk was plastered upon his face which erupted into a psychotic smile which showed no emotion, just teeth; oh dear, Gai Nagareboshi had completely lost it.

His feet plastered on the bottom of Gai's, an stood as if he were his opponent's shadow. "Come out and fight? you're gonna wish that I had stayed 'hidden' as you put it." Smirking, Van laughed a hearty laugh, almost bellowing like a robust pirate. "I certainly hope this lightning was not your attempt to defeat me. If it were..." Moving his hand like a mouth enclosing on a target, Van directed the crystal to 'engulf' the lightning Kido, crystallizing it and forming into a sword with the spell locked inside. "...Then you need face a man named Kenji. This lightning is only at 1/125 percent of his power." Pulling the sword to his location, Van noticed a bead of sweat drop from Gai's chin. "Tired from one spell? What in the world is he?"

Pushing off of the young warrior, Van smiled as he threw the sword at his foe before forming a kido spell of his own. "Tentai Hi!" A surge of blue fire formed around Van's location before reforming into a series of fireballs that were aimed at Gai. "Ah....my personal spell. I must admit I hadn't used in sometime, but I'm still not that bad with it." Van chuckled as he hadn't enjoyed himself like this in some time.

"Ah, yes. Kenji Hiroshi, you mean? I do believe I'd encountered an ally of his once." He placed his hand behind his head, rubbing it goofily. "Good times, good times." In an instant, Gai showed no emotion on having such a weak spell prevented. Damn guy, he was like a ghost-thingamijig. Of course, with Tentai Hi reaching closer, there was only one thing to do. A smile erupted from his face; for once, he was actually enjoying himself in a fight where he wasn't brutally murdering his foe.

"Senshōha!" The Mototsu-Seishin hybrid declared, as he accelerated the azure spheres rapidly until they became mere points. Guiding the spheres to form a 'ring' of sorts around him with his psychic powers, grabbing all of them in a small cluster before spinning around at high speeds; the speed and force of which allowed him to throw these spheres as a drill towards Van with twice and speed and force; to which they closed in with incredible speed. Of course, the thunder imbued sword managed to strike Gai in the shoulder, causing him to inch back slightly. All this time, he realized that those clones of his were planning something; not to mention, he could hear a booming cackle in the distance.

"Ally? Kusaka?" Van questioned as he looked upon the incoming azure drills. "Hm? What kind of technique is this?" A smile crept across Van's face as he took a stance as if he were opening his arms for an embrace. "I'll take it head on!" Turning his back, he looked over his shoulder with a hint of spite. "Just kidding!" Clasping his hands together, then opening them both as if hewere opening a lion's jaw, Van shouted "Eien!" A series of small rifts appeared in front of these drill-like objects taking each one inside of the empty voids. Directing his fists in a thrusting motion toward Gai, Van caused another series of rifts to open near Gai's proximity, releasing the drills back towardthe sender. While thiswas going on, Van charged at Gai with Ryoiki in hand "Tejina!" As he shouted this command, a surge of blue flames came spiraling forth from the golden tipped blade.

"Hehe. That was a Kidō nullifying technique, if you must know." Gai smirked as the foe travelled towards him. "Meikyō!" In an instant, Gai caused bi-location, causing "him" to be impaled and struck at the same time. Of course, this wasn't really the Mototsu-Seishin hybrid. Now, there were three of Gaillardia Nagareboshi running around- eh, could be worse. It could be Nika clones. Retreating a fair distance away, the Mototsu-Seishin hybrid hoisted the nearest boulder with a single hand into the air, before launching it at Van with tremendous force and impeccable speed. However, 'twas all a distraction; Gai Nagareboshi clapped his hands together, releasing a massive shockwave, a massive blast of pure concussive force that possessed the same power as his strongest punch. This force travelled forwards, obliterating the boulder to smithereens, uncountable stone fragments shot towards Van at once.

This wasn't all; with Gai's earlier punch that screwed with the tectonic plates, he had a vast amount of ammunition at his disposal; such a blow dislodged a fair amount of stone. Shooting forward in a similar manner to a bullet, Gai analysed the area; multitudes of debris were still descending to the ground. In a serial of swift movements and quick footwork, the Mototsu-Seishin hybrid leapt from stone to stone while they were still descending- before he departed from every stone, Gai lobbed them at his foe with great force. With upto several hundred stones in the air, it was certain that this was one helluva onslaught. Gai continued to leap atop a single stone, grabbed another stone and used the tremendous momentum gathered to swing it back towards Van at great force. At the end of his assault, the Mototsu-Seishin hybrid punched the stone he was standing on all the time back towards Van with tremendous force.

"Mikado" Van twirled Ryoiki in his hands as he chanted the command creating a sphere of white energy to emerge from his person. "Come forth GAI!" Van's voice resounded through the area as the stone assault came towards him and seemed to vanish after coming into contact with the energy sphere. "These tactics won't work on me. Heh. But now you got me all fired up and ready for battle! Its about time I quit with the warm up. Let's start off slow though." Van's stance changed to a more offensive one as he held his spear low and began exuding spiritual energy from his body.

Charging directly into the remaining onslaught of stone, Van dissolved some as he jumped on others as platforms to move closer and closer to Gai. As he moved, crystal particles could be seen trailing from his body and falling throughout the area. "No more running." Van looked over the 'Gai' in front of him and could not see any of the loops circulating through his body that would signify that he took damage. "Ah, so this is a clone. No need to hold back then." Holding the shaft of the spear with one hand, he began to spin transforming his whole body into a drill that aimed to pierce this copy straight through the core.

"Warm up? From the beginning second to now, I've always been at a finish." Wait, what? He should've really followed the advice to not say things that he thought were cool and didn't know what they meant. As Van's spear, well...speared through the Gaillardia Nagareboshi in front of him, the 'copy' spluttered, "Dammit, you idiot...I'm the real deal!" Yes, really. Of course, this was all a prelude to a much bigger threat. 'Gai' clenched his teeth, as a psychotic grin formed upon his face. Without hesitation, his fist shot forward like a bullet, aiming to knock his foe's block off, for a lack of a better phrase.

In an instant, two more Meikyō duplicates flanked Van's sides; it was clear now that Gai Nagareboshi was playing mind games...A forte in which he excelled. Not the 'Am I a pretty lady or not?' type of mind games which boggled the mind without Gai having to do anything, but the more serious type of psychological warfare. While next to his foe, the duplicates clapped their hands together, releasing a massive shockwave, a massive blast of pure concussive force that possessed the same power as Gai's strongest punch. These shockwaves were in such close proximity to his foe that was assured (or not) that he would have little time to react properly!

"Hahaha clones? You're 10,000 years too early to even come close to Kei Yume's profiency." Not even batting an eye, Van held onto his spear with a smirk. "Fool." As the 'Gai' in front of him and the shockwaves of the clones neared him, they were rejected away and nearly dissapated by the energy field put up by Mikado. "This sphere is my dominion. You're going to have to think better than that to beat me." Van's voice was laced with confidence as he talked down to his opponent before spinning about in a circle, creating a whirlwind around his body. Stopping, he launched a shockwave of his own from his spear in every direction, intending to draw out the real Gai, even if he werr to break a few buildings in his town.

Behind the shockwaves, Van sent out three clones to meet head-on with the three Gai's stationed on the battlefield. "Heh." The three voices chimed in unison, "Looks like we havea brawl on our hand. Oh well, not that it matters to me. I'll be sure to teach you a swift lesson."

"...Tch. To each his own, I guess." To tell the truth, Gai was completely assured that he was at least as good as that person in clones. And to be frank, he was much older than anyone he knew...except Kazuma Nagareboshi, Nanaya Wanijima, and that devil woman. Age implied skill, and holy christ on a corn cracker those guys were people who could never be beaten. Gai really wished that he'd trained more before picking a fight with this guy- on a scale from Nova to Masato, Van Satonaka ranked a Chira, which was nine, and to be honest, Chira Tendou was the one person who gave him one hell of a fight back then. Buuuuuuut, that wasn't the case here.

'Gai' analyzed his problem, and his brain began to turn like clockwork, hoping to find a solution. Hm...Several multiples of the Mototsu-Seishin hybrid darted around the field, as the triad of Gai clones swirled around, each launching several blasts of concussive force at their foes, speaking in unison, "Alright. Now I'm getting revved up." Yes, really. How uncharistically hot-blooded. At least declaring it in such a deadpan tone diminished such an effect. Almost immediately after, the three clones tapped their feet on the ground, declaring, "Kokugenei." The clones leapt up and down, dragging out the noise so that the sound of their feet tapping on the ground wasn't heard until after their feet had left the floor again. Once the sound lag was at its fullest, they leapt forward like a bullet train, producing a sonic boom that destroyed everything in front of and behind themselves sans their others, hoping to drive at their foes point-blank.

Meanwhile, as the shockwaves travelled towards the buildings, Gai came to a realization. If they were to strike, innocent people would be possibly killed. There was no other choice. He had to release it- his Zanpakutō. Appearing in front of Van with a flash of light, Gai growled, "You do realize, that if they hit, then innocent people would be in danger? Hmph. How foolish- and I thought you were the mayor. Listen up. First class villains don't target innocent lives. Now..." A howling torrent of unique energy surrounded Gai, swirling around him in a similar manner to a tornado, before light amassed and converged, before the light broke down into spiritual particles, leaving Gai grasping naught but a cluster of spiritual atoms. As if instinctually, the spiritual energy converged upon his left arm once again, rejoining with the mass of atoms. In an instant, that spiritual energy coated his entire hand, before trailing up his arm in a spiraling pattern.

This spiritual energy solidified and synchronized with his psychic energy, as his arm underwent a mutation. Gone was the uncanny presence of such a deformity, which gave birth to a sleek, thin jet-black arm which was clad in armour and possessed razor-sharp claws. At his scapula-joint, it possessed a cyan, supernatural glow which fashioned itself into a large phoenix-like flaming wing. Upon the back of his hand, there was the kanji for "light" (光). It seemed that this was the true form of Gaikaōtori. "Yatte yaruze, Gaikaōtori." In an instant, he released a burst of psychic energy, which drew such shockwaves to the Mototsu-Seishin hybrid, allowing him to absorb them and add their power to his own through his psychic powers. In addition, his clones gained their full power. Gai Nagareboshi thought, "Hmph...Sphere of influence, you say? Seems that hitting with Shining Onslaught won't solve this problem. Time to think." An audacious grin formed upon his face as he vanished once again, apologizing sarcastically, "Forgive me. If I may brainstorm. Do not fret. I shall be close-by." Or maybe he wasn't leaving at all.

Not trying to sense the now absent Gai, Van sealed Ryoiki back into her orb form. "Take a rest. Maybe its time I use my own power. As I can't use him for a battle like this. I still have to see what he is capable of." Van said aloud as he tapped on his second sword. "Hmm...this guy is powerful, but he has been using basic tactics to fight against me. If this is as far as his mind works, then I will have nothing to worry about." Taking a new stance, Van lowered himself to the ground, kneeled, as though he were preparing for a traditional tea ceremony. Slowing his breathing, Van's senses began extending to read across the entire area as he closed his eyes. "Now....we wait."

All while this was occuring, the Mototsu-Seishin hybrid rested against a tree. Pressing his pointer finger and thumb to his chin, Gaillardia Nagareboshi thought to himself, "G-Goddammit. I can't up my tactics since I have no freaking idea how to do so. Alright, alright..." He wrung his wrists as a certain familiar figure appeared before him. She had long, blonde hair. Her bangs framed her face, trailing down to her chest in a behind layer of hair. Several clumps of hair were in the middle of her forehead, and the rest of her hair was tied into a long ponytail which draped down to her ankles in a dark vermillion ribbon. She had fine features, azure eyes and large breasts. She wore a snow-white turtle-neck sweater and a long, purple skirt which reached down to her ankles.

"G-Goddammit, Nika." Gai sighed, as Nika suggested, "Hihihihihi~ Gaillardia Nagareboshi, never fear~ I have some ideas~ Do a barrel roll~" Gai's eyes widened in shock, snapping, "...I have a feeling that you don't smoke crack, but crack smokes you." In the meantime, it was wise to deploy two more clones in an attempt to find Van.

Sitting still, Van focused his senses taking in the appearance of a new spiritual signature. "Oh? Is this someone here to help Gai?" Thinking to himself, he smiled a bit before realizing that there were two new similar Gai's approaching him. "Tch. It looks like I will have to use my hands on him after all. Very well, let him come at me."

In an instant, the clones dissipated, breaking down into spiritual particles and scattering to the winds. "You see~ You're at such a disadvantage, you should give up~" Nika chimed, as Gai spat, "...Tch! Damn devil woman, shut up! I can handle this-" Nika smirked, "...But you're lying~ You, Gaillardia Nagareboshi, are a lying liar who lies~" Gai sighed, responding, "...Know what? Come two years time, I'mma come back and roundhouse this guy's arse into the freaking sun."

Gai stood up, before utilizing his psychic powers to inform Van, "...Alright, I give up."

Pausing for a moment, Van sighed. "Really now? I don't accept it." Letting down his guard, he began to walk toward a neaby tree and sit. "If you want to go, feel free. I won't keep you."

Gai growled, "...Tch. Just you watch. Next time, I'll shatter you in an instant." before seemingly running off, leaving no trace of his very being behind, for what others could tell.

Only Nika Kazoraem remained, who smirked, "Ohoho~ Well, I would say you've at least beat an important lesson into Gaillardia Nagareboshi's head, Van Satonaka~ Oh yeah, did you know that before 'Hama Town' existed, I used to come here and buy the greatest melon bread~" She took out a plastic bag of melon bread, before unraveling it and sinking her teeth into it in glee. Nika offered another roll to Van, inquiring, "Oho~ They're good~ Have one~!"

Trying to not stare at Nika's own "melons", Van took the roll and bit into it. "Oh? Where from? Before Hama Town existed, this was a simple clearing of trees and nature. There wasn't anything here. That's the reason this location was chosen." Taking another bite and swallowing it down, Vans smiled. "But you mentioned a lesson. What lesson would that be?"

Nika belched slightly with a smile affixed upon her delicate face. "...You see, it's not to be so arrogant~ He's always been like that~ Have you ever met somebody so stubborn and bull-headed that you can't beat sense into them, except from the intervention of an outside source~? Gaillardia Nagareboshi just learnt a valuable lession~" Nika continued to munch on melon bread. "...And this place," she stretched her arms out, "...was once the living place of an ancient race called the Ensura, good friends of mine~ Over several millenia ago, they governed Soul Society, or so they told me, though due to...unfortunate circumstances, their civilization was obliterated by the event called Meteorfall and naught was left, though it eventually returned to trees...and nature~"

"Have I ever met anyone like that?" Van proceeded to think of his entire male side of his family before shaking his head. "So these Ensura....were they as attractive as you? I think we should bring them back to life and even have all of us create one large family together." Van chuckled as he scarffed down the rest of his bread. "Wait. Wait. Meteorfal? So you're telling me that they're large chunks of meterite scattered around here? Hmm...seems to me that I can use that to build new weapons. Wait a moment..." Van paused before silently nodding. "How would you like to become my aide? Provide me with entertainment and I won't proceed to kill you." Van finished his sentence with a friendly smile that showcased his shiny teeth.

Nika clasped her hands gently, responding, "No, no...The Ensura, they were elusive~ There's only one left in this world; if I can remember correctly, they were all eliminated by Kazuma eons ago as retribution for their crimes of surpressing the other races~ However, by sheer chance, their genocide served as a catalyst for the Dragon Tenjougekido to materialize in this plane of existence~" She paused. "...Yes, that does sound insane, I know~" Placing her fingers to her soft lips, the devil woman responded, "My, my~ While that's interesting, I'm afraid I'd have to refuse~ Hihihihi~ I'm not a blacksmith- I'm a warrior, a god in physical form, the Kitsune Tenjougekido, Arazomekanki~" Nika sighed, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be hittin' the ol' dusty trail-eo~"

"Hm? A God in human form? Are there more of you Tenju--errr whatever you call yourself, out there? If so, when you leave and see any of them, I want you to send them all a message. I will be starting a hunt for power sometime soon. If they value their lives they may want to go into hiding as I will not stop until I have fufilled my ambition of creating a new force to oppose the Spiritual Government." Van smiled as he waved Nika off. "Aside from that, I suppose you're free to go."

Nika clasped her hands. "You really have no idea how powerful we are, don'tcha~?" With a smile, she continued, "If you met even the weakest one of us, you would be obliterated in an instant~ But we're all not connected; though, if I meet one, I'll be sure to tell them~ Cheerio~" With that, the devil woman departed in an instant, dissapearing out of sight, out of mind. It seemed as if the dusk was dawning upon Hama Town at this moment.