A Cautious Duel (Spar/open)

[drakeb]

Drake didn't answer the body's comments and kept his awareness onto the new comer of the battle as he moved in for his strike. He showed no emotion as it was effectively countered, and as the blade came down up on him, Drake released his grip of the blade and stepped backwards avoiding the slash and the follow up kick. As Clyde backed away he grabbed his hilt and nodded his head knowing what he had to do.

"Let The Rains reach them, Kiri-Senshi Doragon.."

His blade extended 6 inches and his hilt became encased in a royal blue ceramic wrap. It was also lighter giving him better fluid motion with his blade. This is what Clyde wanted and this is what he would receive. He instantly began to flare his reiatsu to make Clyde feel uncomfortable and to slow his movements.

Reiatsu: 160
Attack: 195
Speed: 145
Weapon Skill: 145

[Zakura Kessin]

Kessin stood up from his squatting position upon the arm of the crane as he watched on, somewhat entertained that Clyde had managed to keep up with a visard. He showed much promise but also some carelessness as was evident when the human proclaimed his strong desire to fight Drake in his shikai form. "Becareful what you wish for Clyde..." Kessin said, mostly to himself.

Shortly after speaking, he watched as the visard released into his shikai and began flaring his reitsu to try and suppress Clyde down as best as he could. This made Kessin chuckle aloud. "We'll see what he can do now..." He said to himself after he was done laughing.

[Clyde]

Clyde focused himself as Drake began to release his Shikai. Now the fight would truly begin, and it certainly was not in the human's favor. He held the spear with both hands as a wave of reiatsu pushed past Clyde, a result of the sudden increase in his opponents power. The boy took a step back to reposition himself from the increase in pressure, but for the most part he seemed to be able to handle it.

"So then, this is a shikai, it looks pretty similar to his original blade...this is the first one I've actually seen, but Ryo-sensei and Kessin-senpai have mentioned them before, I'll need to think on my feet for this part of the fight. I'll need to adjust to the additional length of his blade as well as his increase in strength." He thought as he held is position, examining the change in his enemy's power and posture. Being so focused on the battle, the idea that anyone was watching never even crossed his mind.

The human would dash to his right, aiming to climb up a large pile of mostly crushed or damaged cars. With several leaps he would scale the pile while simultaneously gathering reiatsu into his spear, it would appear he was forming some sort of strategy already. "What power does it carry with it? The key to winning this battle is to figure that out first." The human thought to himself as he readied for Drake's advance.

[drakeb]

Drake vanished and appeared right beside Clyde after he made it to his destination barely giving him time to position himself. He had a slight speed advantage now, but Clyde would still be able to follow him and his movements though it would be slightly more difficult than before. Rain drops began falling as Drake stayed in his Shikai form. He shunpo'd away from Clyde and stood a few meters adjacent to him.

"My Shikai is not overly impressive probably, but it allows me to gain a slight edge. Its also has healed my wounds, and it allows me to fight long distance as well. Hope you still want this. Taifuu Bomu."

He twisted his sword and passed his hand over th eblade of his sword as a funnel of pressurized water compacted with a sharp gust of wind was sent flying towards Clyde's position. Without seeing what Clyde did, Drake saw as the cars exploded and some were crushed by the attack.

[Clyde]

The cars did explode, but not from Drake's own attack. Clyde, upon Drake shunpo'ing away from him, stabbed the his spear into the pile of cars and released the energy he had been gathering. The explosion of energy launched the cars in every which direction. The human had used the momentum of his attack to send him high in the air above Drake's slash. In the confusion it certainly would have appeared that Drake's own attack had caused the damage.

"I wouldn't have this fight go any other way!" He declared his answer to Drake as he swung his weapon horizontally, causing his weapon to lash out like a whip at several airborne cars, which would go hurdling towards the Vizard. Clyde surfed atop another car as it descended back down to the ground, jumping off before it made it's impact he would release another Crescent Slash at his enemy, which would reach him right after the cars would.

[drakeb]

"Pretty.."

Drake only muttered these words as he prepared himself as he watched the onslaught of cars coming his way. He spun around quickly with his blade in hand and with every turn he slashed towards the cars, sending a cutting gust of air combined with ice shards towards the each, effectively slicing though each, or knocking each car off its path. With the cars destroyed, he had more time to reach to Clyde's attack. He shunpo'd evading the blast, and then shunpo'd above Clyde before he made it to the ground. Would he be able to control his body in mid-air? Drake would find out. He spun around again and launched another gust of wind and ice towards Clyde as gravity began to pull him down and his attacks neared the human.

"Touketsu Kaze.."

[Clyde]

Clyde sensed Drake as he once again used his shunpo to appear above the boy. Clyde was close to the ground, and Drake's attack would close in fast, thinking quickly he would stab his spear into the ground and use it to pole-vault himself forward, twisting his body to try and maneuver from the attack.

The human had good reflex's, even in the air, but Drake's increase in speed and power was enough to still catch the human, as the sharpened ice and wind made a diagonal cut across his chest and sent him to the ground. The wound was less severe than it could have been, but was still a damaging blow none the less. For a moment he would clench his teeth in pain, but only for the moment.

Drake would notice that when the human had released his spear, the reiatsu it was composed of seemed to leave it. The weapon's shape returned to that of a iron pole and the gray reiatsu looked as if it had retreated back into the boy's body. Clyde would step back up to his feet, fighting through any pain he had. his hands were clenched tight as he looked forward towards his opponent, determination still burning in his eyes. "Looks like I'm gonna have step it up." He admitted, preparing himself for the next attack, his words seemed to hint at something however.

[drakeb]

Drake looked towards Clyde, with a pondering look. Finally Drake had landed a solid blow on the boy, but it was obvious he was in some pain. He wondered, how much longer he could deal with the wounds, but he remembered that his were only minor. He could've ended the battle with one move, but decided against it. He flared his reiatsu once again, making the pain the human was already feeling even worse with the blistering cold, and moistness in the air.

He began walking slowly towards the human, giving Clyde the chance to take the offensive. There was a reason the human wanted him to release his blade, he had to be hiding some sort of power or special weapon. He wanted to see it, because at this rate even though his advatanges weren't major Drake would slowly land blow after blow.

[Clyde]

Clyde inhaled and exhaled slowly and calmly as Drake made a slow approach to his opponent. Raising his right arm and hand, he pointed the clenched fist at the vizard, and did not move for some time. "Humans don't seem to get enough credit for their strength, though many humans never get the opportunity to allow their strength to grow. In that regard, I suppose I'm a lucky individual, though in my circumstances luck doesn't seem to have anything to do with it." Clyde said aloud; Drake had come to be within a few feet him now. "You look like you're expecting something...I don't blame you, I didn't lie when I said I fight every battle like it's my last, because it's only when a battle gets truly tough that I can tap into this power." As he talked energy began to build up all around him.

With that, he released the tight grip on his hand, as a large group of pebble's were released from it, the boy had grabbed them when he fell to the ground. As the flew from his hand towards Drake however, each one shimmered with the gray reiatsu within Clyde. In that moment, the pile of rocks suddenly exploded with a powerful and distracting light, apparently enhanced by Clyde's own power. At that moment the power building within Clyde would release, his reiatsu suddenly spiking to that of Drake's.

While the explosive attack went off Clyde would charge through the light and tackle right into Drake's chest, with his right hand pressed against him Clyde yelled "Crescent Slash!" As a far stronger and faster version of his iconic ability exploded from his hand right on top of his enemy.

SPOILER: Click to show

140 +20 = 160
130 + 20 = 150
130 + 20 = 150
130 + 20 = 150

Turns= 6

[drakeb]

Drake smiled and since they were uneviling both of their full power Drake decided to do the same. He didn't much time to use this, as it still wasn't perfected, but it would give him enough to keep the edge, and possibly end this battle before he had to use his Bankai. He placed his hand by his face and moved it in a scratching motion and as the attack came towards Drake, he slashed towards the attack with a new burst of black light reiatsu causing a massive explosion that sent shockwaves across the battlefield and nearby buildings.

Once the smoke cleared Drake stood standing still, his face still hidden by the dust until finally he raised his head up and showed Clyde his hollow mask with its blue markings and two horns. He began flaring his reiatsu, to compliment his now wild yell. This was a great power, and Drake was nearly angered he would only be able to use this for one major attack.

"You're making this fun Clyde..Prepare yourself."

He prepared for a special attack on Clyde to hopefully disable him, and to win this now heated spar.

Reiatsu: 185
Attack: 220
Speed: 170
Weapon Skill: 170
(1 Turn)

[Clyde]

"Just what I was waiting for, Vizard!" Clyde never stopped his charge towards his enemy even when Drake had released his power, Clyde pushed past it at him, causing a several cuts to hit the young man and even opening some of his other wounds further, but it did not stop him. It was like he was ignoring any pain in his body at that moment, he was focused, tough, and deadly. By the time Drake had raised his masked head to meet Clyde, Clyde's right hand slammed right into the mask, clenching it tightly.

"My power to manipulate objects isn't just for that pole!" He admitted as a surge of his own reiatsu would enter the hollow mask. Anything that touched the human's right arm was susceptible to his power, as Drake would witness first hand; This had been the boy's plan. The Mask would immediately glow brightly, Clyde using his power to turn the mask into it's own make shift bomb. "This is the power...of Hou-renkinjutsu!" He yelled the name of his power with fervor, as his fist closed around the mask, causing it to explode with Clyde's own reiatsu with enough force to send even Clyde himself hurdling away from it, after skidding across the ground for several feet he would final crash into a pile of debris.

((5 turns))

[drakeb]

Both of the combatants were caught in the explosion and sent backwards. Drake crashed into a pile of cars. He was angered now by the human and would not let this slide. He stood up and as the smoke cleared, and his mask reappeared. He still had some seconds and enough will left to make a big enough attack to win this battle.

"Impressive, but my mask works on my time. If you would've waited a little while longer I wouldn't have had any more energy to use it, but now I have just enough."

He vanished and shunpo'd close to Clyde and aimed his blade directly at Clyde's heart. His blade glowed a bright blue as he passed his hand over the blade sending out a tougher and more powerful version of his Taifu Bomu attack. This time some of his reiatsu was worked into the water and wind and it would explode on impact with the boy. He shunpo'd away before another attack could be made, just as his mask finally cracked and fell apart for good. He was breathing hard now, and wondered what would happen to the boy. Recreating the mask with the few seconds he had, along with the impact of the explosion, and other injures were the reason Drake was having a hard time catching his breath.

[Clyde]

Clyde's own attack put him at a disadvantage when compared to the vizard's impressive speed while wearing the mask. The boy had never faced a true battle with a vizard before, and was under the assumption that the masks own physical destruction would be enough to ward away it's powers. If it managed to do anything, it at least greatly fatigued his opponent.

However, the mask effects gave him the jump on the human, allowing him to deal a powerful blow on him. He had the opportunity to kill Clyde in that moment, though perhaps the same could have been said for the human just seconds earlier while he held his enemies head. The young man winced from the powerful blow his enemy had landed, taking steps forward and slowly losing his footing. He began falling to the ground from the attack but suddenly stopped himself. He forced his legs to keep him standing, blood crawled down them from his wounds, but he lived. "I'm not falling...not yet!" He strained himself to stand up straight, breathing just as heavily as his opponent. He continued to fight through his wounds, no doubt thanks to the help of his focused reiatsu at the moment.

Without saying anything, he returned to a fighting stance and began to dash at his enemy and attempted to deliver a few more punches, but they were heavier now, much slower than before. Even with his increase in power his wounds were beginning to take hold of him. But this only showed just how far he could fall and still put up a fight, still not giving a moment of rest for Drake.

[drakeb]

As Clyde charged, Drake held his position still a little tired. Both of their injuries were great now. As the punches came Drake was able to absorb the blows and block them, but some of them landed. He took a a few steps back giving them him some much needed room. Clyde had the edge again now, but the injuries would help Drake out immensely though his own were hard to deal with now.

He span around and launched another Touketsu Kaze towards Clyde before shunpo'ing towards the top of an abandoned building. The rain was picking up now, but Drake's condition was it. Should he end the battle with his Bankai? He was pondering the idea as he waited for Clyde to respond to his attack.

[Clyde]

Clyde rolled forward, barely passing over Touketsu Kaze, which destroyed more debris behind the boy. The human watched as Drake retreated back towards a nearby demolished building and prepared to give chase, but first he grabbed a slab of metal that crashed near his feet.

The rain was falling hard now and the battle would be reaching it's final moments soon, with those thoughts in mind Clyde released his power once more, turning the piece of metal into a sword made from his energy. As he stood there, he felt the presence of another, but the fight had taken his toll, he could not tell who or where the person was...but he knew he was being watched. There was no time to worry about that, however, his inner strength could not hold out for much longer. With that, he would pursue the Vizard.

The human entered the building from the bottom, launching several Crescent Slashes upward towards the half-demolished rooftop as he leapt higher and higher upward before finally reaching the top, where he would move to meet his played with the Vizard's in a vertical slash, if he connected he would release another burst of energy to nail him with point blank.

[drakeb]

The building soon began crumbling, as the massive amounts of energy kept crushing the weak and old building's support structures. He shunpo'd off the building avoiding the energy and on going attacks including Clyde's next attack. He was now in mid-air still avoiding direct combat. He wasn't scared, but he needed time to recuperate, and the longer Clyde stayed on the offensive, the longer his wounds would hurt him.

He landed on the ground and was breathing hard again, his plan was back firing now. He awaited Clyde's next move as he was now out of places to hide and would have to take his attack head on.

[Clyde]

As the building's roof crumbled beneath the human he once again charged after his opponent, refusing to let up his offensive. Boldly he leapt from the roof as it finally collapsed into the air, releasing the "Soaring Bird" technique. As opposed to last time, however, where the wings of reiatsu grew from his back the wings grew from where the hilt would be on his sword of energy.

Just then, Drake had appeared from his shunpo, still attempting to recuperate, but Clyde would not allow it. With a powerful flap of the wings he soared towards his opponent before tossing the weapon past Drake, causing it to land directly behind him while Clyde himself would land directly in front of him. With the weapon out of his hand, the reiatsu that composed the blade removed itself from the metal and shot itself back towards Clyde, causing it to directly blast through Drake due to their positioning, it would harm him like most of the human's attacks.

At this same time, the young man closed in the distance, reabsorbing the energy of the blade and going in for a hay maker on his opponent.

((2))

[drakeb]

Drake barrel rolled out of the way of the flying weapon out of instinct more than knowledge as he barely avoided the reiatsu that flowed back to Clyde. He stood back up and the blood began dripping more now and his breathing wasn't any better. He didn't want to have to use this, but he needed this battle to end and he wasn't about to surrender, even though Clyde was a fine opponent.

"This has been a hard battle, but unfortunately you're pushing me to my limits with your increased power and determination. Bankai..."

A large explosion of reiatsu shot outwards, most likely blowing Clyde away as Drake underwent his transformation. The torrent of water that had been covering the battle field became an all out thunderstorm as the rain picked up to its worst level and the sound of thunder increased and the lightning became more vibrant. His blade shrunk to normal size, but took on a different color. A jet black blade with a shining silver tip at the end. On Drake's forearms, two metallic silver claws appered, the claws matched that of Kiri Senshin. His hazel eyes now became an icy blue, and his jacket became thicker and lined with white fur. The size of Drake and his muscles also increased substantially. He looked towards Clyde, with a new determination and appreciation for pushing him to his limits.

Reiatsu: 210
Attack: 245
Speed: 195
Weapon Skill: 195

[Clyde]

The explosion of Drake's transformation was more than enough to send Clyde off his feet across the now muddy path of the remains of the junkyard. Their fight at easily obliterated a huge portion of the junk that had been left here to rot, and even now more of it would be destroyed. The human was face first in the dirt, his body battered and the huge increase in reiatsu taking it's toll on him. Slowly he lifted to all four's trying to push through the reiatsu, but it seemed to be too much for him now.

He raised his head to look at this transformation, "Ban...kai? Another form to his weapon? ...And his pressure has increased again, It's taken all I have to just get this far. I didn't think their swords had such a state...it's an incredible sight to say the least..." The boy thought to himself in astonishment as the rain hit hard on his back, not only was this the first shikai he had battled, but now he saw that they had a stage above even that. "I think I have enough strength to stand...one more time...it'll have to be enough." The young man yelled in pain as he rose to two feet one last time.

"Let's...let's end this then...with one final attack." Clyde recommended through his breaths for air to his opponent gathering any bit of his energy that was left and bringing it to his right fist. "...I'm ready for you." He said raising his closed fist up, aiming it at Drake.

[drakeb]

Drake was still overly impressed with the way Clyde refused to give up. He could've walked away with valuable lessons, and knowing he took on a Visard and nearly won, but he didn't let that stop him. His determination was the perfect compliment for his skill with his weapons. If their people were really foes, then Drake didn't look forward to his upcoming battles then. He flared his reiatsu as he began grinning, slowing down Clyde's final charge, slowing his pace down to no more than a difficult walk.

Clyde was impressive, a fair impressive opponent and hopefully they would meet up down the road. Drake raised his blade towards Clyde and powered up just enough energy to effectively knock him out of comission, but not kill him. The raindrops falling around him soon began collecting onto his blade, as it began glowing a bright blue. He nodded his head indicating that even though their kinds were different, Drake and Clyde were equals on the battlefield.

"Ryuushi Heki."

After saying his attack aloud, a beam of water molecules, wind, and drake's reiatsu was sent towards Clyde. He expected this to be the final blow in the fight.