Finding your Path (Clyde/Open Spar)

[Zakura Kessin]

It was a few hours after Kessin brought Clyde back to the Manga shop from his loss at the hands of the Visard named Drake. The human was pretty banged up and was resting in his room during this time. Kessin was down in the manga shop's training area, the vast expanse of artificial environments was the perfect place for him to meditate...a gentle breeze provided a soothing feeling.

In the middle of this area Kessin would be found sitting upon a large boulder in a zen meditation position.

(A crappily short start. Sorry )

[Clyde]

It took some time, but finally Clyde regained his consciousness. Awakening with in the small room that was called his own he sat himself up and surveyed the room. The young man was confused as to how he had gotten there. "How did I get back here, I was in that junkyard last I remember..." He thought as he remembered battling the Vizard and the fight reaching a high point when his enemy released his Bankai. The level of the Zanpakuto that Clyde had never even heard about until then. The transformation was incredible and it just proved how far the human to advance himself if he ever hoped to fight these enemies and retain his past. It made him more determined as well; he would become strong enough to defeat Drake if they were to fight again.

He checked his wounds, surprisingly most of them were closed and healed, and the ones that were not were properly bandaged and in the process of healing. for the most part his body seemed to be fixing itself at an incredibly speed; he felt a lot better than he should have for someone who just got out of an incredibly tough fight.

The boy rose to his feet with relative easy thanks to Kessin's healing and he left his room seeing if any of the others were around. Most of their doors were closed and the humans themselves were most like out doing other things, however Kessin's was open. Not only that but the passage to the training room was open as well. Carefully the boy climbed down the steps into the giant wasteland like area, the cool breeze soothing his injured body.

As he guessed, the Vizard sat at the center, meditating and collecting himself as he normally did. The human approached him casually, climbing atop the large boulder to meet him. "Kessin-Senpai." He greeted with a light bow of his head before sitting down at the rock as well taking in some of the surprisingly fresh air of the area. He was not sure if the Vizard had anything to do with how he got back here, but he figured the man would mention something about it if he was, until then the human could just take the moment to relax after all the fighting.

[Zakura Kessin]

"You became careless in that fight with the visard. Goading him into shikai was not a wise decision." Kessin spoke without opening his eyes or breaking his posture. "But you came out of it with much needed knowledge. All in all, your fight with him went well, considering you almost beat him. You also saw how alot of your stronger opponents fight...using their reitsu to bare down upon you. Be thankful Drake was weak...if it were a stronger opponent, that move can kill you." His tone of voice was stern.

He then opened his eyes and looked at Clyde. "You're abilities overall have improved as well as your mind for thinking tactics...but you have much learning to do. Be cautious when you fight an opponent you do not know anything about." Kessin paused a few moments before he began to speak again. "The same visard that you fought has challenged me in 3 days which is foolish of him to do but nonetheless it shall happen. Take note with that one Clyde...he is not under Viz Co's employ...you didn't fight the enemy but it was a good taste of things to come."

[Clyde]

Clyde did not turn his head to meet Zakura, but he nodded lightly as the man spoke to him. "If he's considered weak than that just tells me that I've got a lot of training left to do if I hope to win my future battles." The boy admitted more to himself than to Kessin. "I may be stronger than I was a few months ago, but my progress has been slow, I know no more than I did at the beginning." Clyde admitted, keeping his eyes forward. "It may have been reckless to push the fight so far but it was one of the few times I felt like I was accomplishing something because of it, like I was getting close to something locked away within me. There was no fear when I faced off against him, I can't have a fear of the unknown when my whole life exists around the unknown."

He boy looked at his right arm, closing his hand slowly, "I know the key to everything is in this arm, this power. Fighting these battles is the only way I know how to tap into it. Besides that, I'm not sure what other path I should follow." The boy looked over a bit surprised when Zakura mentioned the fight, though he did not say anything. Drake was a powerful opponent to Clyde, but Zakura was still on a whole other level than the human. The Vizard he had fought was a lot like Clyde in that regard, he was not afraid to face a powerful opponent. However, that battle was one between the Vizards, as far as Clyde knew he should not get involved. "Kessin-senpai, if you don't mind me asking why were you at our battle anyway?" The boy asked curiously, looking up towards the false sky.

[Zakura Kessin]

"Why was I there?" Kessin thought for a second. "Besides watching a prospect in the middle of a heated fight....I suppose for the feeling of nostalgia..." He trailed off for a moment, zoning out in reflection. After a few moments Kessin sighed and stood up. "You now know the power a shinigami and Visard can wield in general, having witnessed both a shikai and bankai first hand. You must always tread carefully when facing an opponent that wields a zanpakuto...there are those who's powers are bizarre and devastating. Even one with half of your strength can have the potential to kill you if they understand and can use their unique powers effectively. Even with this knowledge...do you understand it?"

He kept looking at Clyde. "Fear...fear is nothing you should shun...it is an effective tool that can keep you alive so long as you do not let it overwhelm your judgement. Always keep that in mind..." He unsheathed his zanpakuto and held it in his hand, looking it up and down from the tip of its blade to the thorn at the end of its chain. "I suppose you have questions...now would be the time to ask."

[Clyde]

"As I understand it, that same principle can be applied to someone like me. If they aren't careful then my power will overwhelm them as well." The human was direct and serious in the answer of Zakura's question; he rose his clenched hand as he spoke.

As Kessin spoke he returned to the idea of fear. Clyde listened intently with the man's words before answering him, "...It's hard for me to understand things like fear, my mind is without many memories and experiences, emotions are hard for me to understand completely when I have no experiences with them. I have felt fear before, like when I first gained consciousness all those months ago...but most of the time regardless of how I appear I just feel..." He trailed off, refusing to say what exactly he felt in those situations, the feeling of "emptiness."

After pausing for a moment he continued, "...I push myself in these fights because the adrenaline can remove any doubt I have, I can feel like I'm real, alive, in battle." The boy lowered his head, looking to the ground. It was hard to really grasp what Clyde meant, as he clearly emoted regularly, however in his own mind he did not understand what his own emotions were telling him, He worked only with his instinct and nothing else. "However, I shall keep what you have said in mind."

"Questions? The most important one I won't be able to get an answer for... What I was before all this, my identity. Sometimes I wonder if Ryo-sensei can truly help me with such a task." Clyde stopped himself as he said that, shaking his head quickly and adding, "No...no, I don't mean that. I have to believe he can guide me to the truth." He cleared his throat and looked at Zakura, asking, "I do have a question for you though. You know what I'm after...but what are you after Kessin-Senpai? Are you doing this for the same reason Ryo does, for justice?" The boy asked, raising up on both his feet to meet the Vizard's stance. "And while we're on the topic just what are our enemies after as well, what do they want to accomplish that make them oppose to do harm?"

[Zakura Kessin]

"Fear is something you don't understand...fear is something that comes naturally...its an instinct, not a lesson to be learned." Kessin sighed before he continued, taking a long breath. "Do you really want to know what happened to you? Has it crossed your mind that you may have lost your memories for a good reason? What happens if you reclaim your memories...and do not like what you have discovered...?"

He took a few steps away from Clyde and spoke more with his back turned. "Shikai and Bankai.....unique transformations that increase the power of the wielder and his or her's zanpakuto...but it is much more than a simple power boost....Shikai is one step towards one's true self...Bankai IS one's true self... if you were to witness my bankai, you would most likely fear me greatly..." He turned towards Clyde. "That is why you have not seen it...nor has anyone outside of my old circle of captains, which there are only one or two left. The only exception is Ryo who wasn't even a lieutenant at the time...he managed to sneak into my captain's test during one of two times I've released it in over 800 years...."

"...As for my intentions...let's just say I have an old flame I wish to extinguish..." He again trailed off for a moment. "So...are you ready to face another shikai?"

[Clyde]

"...Maybe it's not my memories that I want exactly," He corrected himself in an attempt to explain. "...but the truth of my existence. Without it I was born naked, without meaning or a purpose, that is one fear I always feel. It doesn't really matter who I was, I just have to learn that I "was," in the first place." The boy sighed himself, rubbing his forehead with his left hand. It was all rather confusing to him and he was the one doing it.

"If a Shinigami's shikai and bankai are a reflection of their true selves...what does my power say of my true self?" Clyde thought to himself calmly, stoically almost as he stared down at his right arm which shimmered with his power. "-That I am formless, undefinable? ...Perhaps it's best not to think about that." Clyde nodded to Zakura's explanation of Shikai and Bankai, getting intrigued as Kessin mentioned his own Bankai and and motivations, but decided it was probably too soon to even talk of that.

"So...are you ready to face another shikai?" His senpai asked, to which Clyde answered without hesitation, "Yes." This conversation had left the human rather open to Zakura's guidance; the man spoke with experience. He was ready to train against his shikai, the first step to increasing his strength.

[Zakura Kessin]

A smirk smeared itself across Zakura's face. "Ahh...without hesitation...very well then...keep in mind, Ill be holding back much of my power during this time to keep from accidentally killing you." He straightened his right arm out to his right side, pointing his zanpakuto in that direction. "You've already seen a glimpse of Abaddon's power whilst it was sealed...now you shall see the first release of one of the most dangerous zanpakuto's in known existence...Keine Rose ohne Dornen, Abaddon".(OOC translation: No Rose without thorns, Abaddon)

Kessin spoke his release in a cold tone, staring at Clyde blankly as his power jumped suddenly, creating a whirlwind of dust and debris around him. The sword that was held in his hand turned into a blinding light that wrapped itself around his right forearm and stretched outward, zigzagging every which way around Kessin till it reached its length of 100 yards. It then formed itself into a chain with a large thorn at the far end of it. Once the light subsided, its true color was revealed...black that gradually faded to a dark crimson color at the blades of each link. Its look and even its presence, all of it gave off a purely evil feeling. It floated around Kessin, swaying slowly, keeping a slow motion to it.

"Now...what shall you do...Clyde?" Kessin spoke out to the human in a vicious tone but like he said he would, he kept much of his power supressed.

SPOILER: Click to show

Shikai stats
Reiatsu: 225
Attack: 210
Speed: 180
Weapon Skill: 160

[Clyde]

Clyde squatted down, holding himself on all four's in defense for Kessin's impressive looking transformation. The human did not seem all that phased by it's appearance, as the feelings it gave off were not very foreign to him. "What do you think I'm gonna do?" He said raising his head to look at Zakura's eyes, a grin crawling across his face. His mind was already beginning to focus on the coming battle and lose sight of his current doubts, it allowed him to fight under pressure rather well for the most part.

The human shifted his right hand across the dirt of the rock in a quick motion, sending a pulse of his power within it. His power of manipulation allowed him to cause the area right below Zakura to glow with his power before exploded outward at him. Hou-renkinjutsu, was an ability with vast uses and potential, most of which were still hidden to the young man. He then charged from his squat into a running sprint before leaping into diving kick with both his feet, he hoped his first attack would be enough of a diversion to proceed with his follow up.

[Zakura Kessin]

The first attack that Clyde sent, though clever, had one major flaw...Kessin saw the glow underneath him as well as Clyde rushing forward with a flying kick. Instead of doing what everyone else would do and dodge both, he immediately shunpo'ed forward, just a bit out of the explosions reach and closed the gap between him and his opponent faster than Clyde would have anticipated. He would then grab the leg Clyde was using to kick with by the ankle and simply wing him at one a portion of a chain with strength that would surpass Clyde's.

Clyde wasn't aimed directly at the chain, but aimed a little off so that he would only brush up against it as he slammed into the ground but even just a brush up against the chain would leave alot of cuts on whatever part of his body touched it. Once Clyde was on the ground again, Kessin would reset to his original stance, his chain curling around him at various distances. "That was a clever attempt...it probably would have worked on anyone else...however rush tactics will not work on me. To defeat me will require you to change how you view combat...to change your tactics. Other wise you shall quickly be dismantled." Kessin released a little more of his reitsu, putting a little bit of pressure upon Clyde. It wasnt enough to overwhelm him but it would make anything he tried to do slightly tougher...as if he had 15lb weights put on each of his limbs and body.

[Clyde]

Clyde hit the ground of the giant boulder with a thud, kicking up collected dirt as he did all around him. The chain's sharp edges had left several cuts across the left side of his rips as he landed on his stomach with his back to Kessin. Though hurt, it was nothing serious "He's fast, that's for sure, I need to figure out how to counter that high speed maneuver that both him and Drake have used on me' The boy thought as he went to raise to one knee before a slight pressure would be pushing back down on him. This caused him to pause as he tried to adjust to the extra weight.

He turned his head to look back at his opponent as he would close his right fist around a portion of the boulder, which he would infuse with his power. "I'll see what I can come up with." Quickly, he would whip his arm around and release his grip on the rock, manipulating it to temporarily turn into a spike of energy that extended itself towards his opponent after which it would decompose back into it's original components while the energy would return to the boy. He then would leap down from the rock and look for a smaller object to handle. He would need something easier to manipulate into a working weapon.

[Zakura Kessin]

"Come on!" Kessin scolded the human as he quickly shifted portions of chain nearest to the incoming spike into a barrier that was angled away from him, resulting in the spike glancing off to the left. "Stop trying to hit me and hit me!" The same portion of chain that was used to glance the spike away dropped and began to slither rapidly around the general area around Kessin, kicking up a large dust cloud. Within the dust cloud, the thorn was shot into the earth and traveled underground towards Clyde who was roughly 35 ft away.

It tunneled underneath Clyde and kept going another 2 feet and pointed itself to where the human was standing. "Simply throwing single attacks at me will prove pointless. You must do better than this...you are capable of so much more." He would proclaim as a 40 yard portion of chain that was surrounding Kessin made several large loops and began to chase after Clyde. At this time the thorn that was underground began to stealthily emerge from the ground behind Clyde and attempt to wrap itself around his ankles to trip him up.

[Clyde]

Landing on his feet the young man ran forward, he was heading for what looked like a old branch to a tree. Kessin seemed to be scolding him as his large weapon was sent after him, chasing him down in another attempt to injure the boy while another portion of the chain ran underneath him. Just as the chain underneath began to emerge the boy got his hand on the branch and placed it in the center of himself holding it with both hands.

The chain went to wrap around his legs stealthy, but the boy managed to catch sight of it's movement as he reached for the branch "Time to think fast!" The chain was soon barely repelled back as the branch instantaneously was covered in his gray reiatsu, changing it into his spear of energy and releasing a crescent slash into the ground, sending him upward high into the air out of it's grip.

With on chain avoided, Clyde needed to do something about the other. "Soaring Bird." Clyde spoke the name of his technique, causing a pair of wings to grow from under the spear head allowing him to stay in the air. The boy would then charge at the incoming chains with a flap of the wings, aiming to return to his opponent. As the chains and his spear were about to meet, he changed the actual spear-head's shape into more of a whip like shape and caused it to intertwine with the links of his enemies chain, entangling the two for at least a portion of it. "Now!" He would yell as he caused the entire section that was entangled to explode, throwing Zakura's weapon off balance. "Crescent Slash!" He yelled as his weapon returned to it's original spear shape as he sent another blast of energy towards Kessin, hoping his weapon's off balance would leave him open to attack.

[Zakura Kessin]

Clyde's attempt to throw Kessin's chain off balance had somewhat of an effect but not nearly as much as the human would have thought. Since he hadn't changed his angle of attack, the crescent slash was aimed to slip past the portion of chain he had detonated his weapon on through a gap between the two loops Kessin had made. As soon as it entered this gap, both of the loops closed up their holes. One of the now solid portions smacked the attack from the side, redirecting it towards the other solid portion. The second portion of the chain moved out of the slash's path and smacked its side again, redirecting it towards Clyde himself.

"You're improving much Clyde. But you forget one thing...my zanpakuto is controlled with my mind. With that plus the fact that its an enormous chain now makes throwing it off balance impossible...simply because it has no real center of gravity to throw off. It also didnt break apart because my reitsu flows through it...what you tried essentially was a battle of reitsu, which mine won. This is also how I managed to redirect your own incoming attack." Kessin explained to the human as his own attack was coming right for him.

Kessin repositioned his chain once more, pulling the thorned part from the ground and positioned the mass of chain around him again. "What shall you try next I wonder?" Kessin said aloud, waiting for the boy to strike.

[Clyde]

The human tried to guard himself from the attack, he caught completely off guard as the blast of his reiatsu was redirected at him, not having the time to move out of the way. However as the blast was just about to engulf him his right arm began to heavily react, glowing it's own gray color. "Augh, my arm! What's going on?" The boy thought as the arm felt like it was on fire; it was at that moment that the reiatsu that comprised the boy's crescent slash fell apart back into it's original components...and returned into the boy's arm.

Neither Clyde nor Zakura would see due to the long sleeve he wore around that arm, but the large scars in his arm reabsorbed his own attack, much like how it reabsorbs the reiatsu he uses to create his weapons when he lets go of them or "de-summons" them. The boy had to pause a moment and stared at his arm with quite a surprised look on his face. "How did I just do that...?" He thought, before returning his gaze to Zakura; he did not have time to think about it now and would just accept it as chance to avoid further injury.

The boy still floating in the air due to the wings on his weapon, prepared himself for another attack. With all the chains around Kessin Clyde made a charge straight for the man, apparently just going for a regular strike.

[Zakura Kessin]

"He absorbed his own reitsu...he is an interesting one." Kessin thought to himself as he watched Clyde coming at him, pushing his defensive chain formation that surrounded him to about 30 feet from his position on all sides. "Lets see what he has up his sleeve..." Openings in the chain formation formed and closed every so often in front of him...openings that would allow one to slip through if timed correctly.

However, Kessin created an opening directly behind him, smaller than the ones in front, just big enough for him to shunpo out of. Its size would mean the hidden opening would be extremely hard to notice, especially from Clyde's position. This was the same trap Kessin used successfully against Ryo during the Visard/Quincy battle. Now Kessin waited to see what the human would do, a smile on his face as he stared at the fast approaching human.

[Clyde]

The human continued his charge while Kessin shaped his skikai into a more defensive stance leaving only small openings if Clyde intended on breaking through for a direct attack; He knew he'd be walking right into a trap if he entered that past the chains as he'd be completely surrounded by them if things went wrong, but it was risk he was gonna take. As he got close to chains the boy waited for the timed opening and launched his spear through it before he himself would slip through it, the energy the spear was made up separated itself from the branch and would block the chains for just enough time for the boy to slip through the hole.

In one fluid motion as the boy landed on the boulder he slammed his right fist into the rock, causing the space around where Kessin and Clyde cave inward and actually lower the two into the boulder, separating them from the chains and Zakura's quick exit. "Whatever I touch I can change..." The boy said to himself as spears made of his reiatsu would shoot out of the transformed rock from every direction at his opponent. The Entire boulder would be his weapon if need be.

With his hands still on the boulder he would channel more of his power into the spears that went to hit Zakura, causing all of them to begin to release the boy's familiar power. "Crescent Slash!" He yelled as each spear would send the boy's attack at him.

[Zakura Kessin]

Clyde's tactic was one that caught even Kessin off guard. His tactical thinking was developing more and more but every plan had one major flaw, one detail the human forgot to incorporate, this one included..and that was the fact that Kessin still had one end of the chain wrapped around his arm. With this he used the chain to hoist himself quickly through the top of the chain dome, an opening forming for him to slip through thus avoiding the many crescent slashes that obliterated the ground where he stood.

"You are learning more and more about your power...but unfortunately this is where an opponent would die...most have never managed to escape this trap...I'm curious to see if you can." The links of the chain filled with Kessin's black and white reitsu, causing it to glow. "Shoukyoku Rein." Kessin uttered as small blasts of pure energy began to rain down upon Clyde's position however Kessin was pulling alot of reitsu back in order to prevent Clyde's death. If one were to connect with Clyde, it would burn and leave a small burn mark but wouldn't do much actual damage. The danger here though was the sheer amount of blasts that were coming in at him although Kessin was doing Clyde another favor. Instead of filling the whole area Clyde was in with these blasts, he aimed at Clyde specifically so that he had a somewhat better chance of dodging most of the attack.

[Clyde]

Clyde called back the spears into the ground as he watched his opponent slip through a new opening, causing Clyde to be left alone within the surrounding cage of chain. The Vizard's reiatsu radiated within it, the shades of light and dark began to mix in front of the humans eyes and gave off a light in color similar to his own reiatsu. He knew what would happen now if he stayed in his position any longer.

"I'm not done yet." With his hands still placed on the boulder he completely submerged himself into the rock, the portion he laid upon became like water to him allowing him to disappear within it. The Shikai's attacks barraged the area the human once stood, the rock surrounding the boy acting as a shield. Surely he would have been at least knocked unconscious from such a severe move but as he said, he wasn't done yet.

As the attack continued to destroy most of the top layer of the boulder Clyde knew he needed to launch another attack now. Continued to use his power he created an exit for himself near the bottom of the boulder which he rolled out of and immediately jumped upward toward the top of the dome, where Zakura stood. "With his Shikai still preforming that attack, I have a chance now!" The human thought to himself as he closed the distance between him and his opponent. In his right hand he held a slab of rock, which he transformed into an incredibly long whip like shape, extending nearly 15 feet. He swung the weapon forward directly at the chains wrapped around Kessin's arm slashing at it and attempting to cling to his arm as well. Finally, the weapon would pull down on the chain and cause that section of the whip to explode with the boys own power, he was attempting to disarm his enemy as he closed the distance.