File: Squad_0.jpg (125 KB, 1200x479)

125 KB JPG

>>1368228
“So where do we take this?”

The Monk frowns at you from behind bushy eyebrows. “Take this?”

“I thought you were starting to get what makes me tick,” you sigh. “I'm already bending my own rules a little to fight you at all, so if a single member of the Gotei 13 is injured because of it that's a dealbreaker.”

“If you believe that you cannot adequately control yourself,” Ichibē replies calmly, “then how is this for a suitable arrangement?”

In the blink of an eye your surroundings are obscured behind a rapidly-spinning half-dome of trailing cloth, which gradually reveals that you've moved. And quite far if what you're feeling is any indication, well out into a vast empty district of the Rukongai. Bare-sided hills of varying heights with flat tops, some of which have trees atop them, like some kind of old quarry where the topsoil has all been stripped away for some reason long ago and never regenerated.

“This will do,” you nod sternly. “Out here, no matter what sort of horseshit conceptual powers you have to pull out nobody else will be in the line of fire.”

“Oh, so you know something of my abilities then?”

“A little,” you admit, “something about names. Not terribly helpful in terms of guessing the possible collateral damage if I'm forced to try and respond to such an attack with brute strength.”

At this pronouncement the old Monk chuckles. “And you believe brute strength will work against this Ichimonji of mine?”

“So that's its name,” you muse, eyeing the brush carefully. A brush... it stands to reason its power involves ink in some fashion, though whether it works by forming characters or merely by getting onto something you can't be sure until you've seen him try and use it. Trouble is that you can already see yourself ]stepping on it by mistake if you're not careful, and if all it requires is contact that would be a problem.

“Yes, I believe it's possible,” you conclude, locking eyes with the brush's wielder once more. “Though 'will it happen' is always a different question.”

“Fascinating,” the Monk muses. “I suppose then you must also realize what my strategy must entail, then?”

“Weakening me with conventional attacks until I'm in a position for you to ink me,” you grumble. “Yeah, pretty obvious stuff.”
>2/3

File: SSQsPlotinaNutshell.png (283 KB, 500x678)

283 KB PNG

>>1368232
“Then let's get started immediately,” Ichibē suggests, raising his brush. You draw Tenkotsuki in response, holding her low in both hands as you try to assess the Monk's stance. Two hands firmly on his weapon, brush head extended outwards towards you on his strong side... not quite like a spear or a naginata, but rather more like a Guan Dao.

He'll probably focus mostly on that end for delivering the final blow, though he also probably wants you to focus your attention on watching for that blow, allowing for kicks and blows from the opposite end of its shaft to connect more easily which in turn would leave you more open to the real blow when it comes.

Probably an effective style, assuming he's at least as good as you are at hakuda. Which just gauging on his reiatsu and his age alone probably is a conservative estimate... this is a man whose existence may well predate that of the Gotei 13 as you know it. Even if he acknowledges you as a talented rookie, compared to such an individual you have to consider yourself the upstart.

>Draw Kobara no Tachi, fight defensively until you can assess his skill more clearly.
>Release Kobara no Tachi, hit hard and aggressively right out of the gate.
>Release Kobara no Tachi, but focus Rosa on regenerative Blut rather than power.
>Use your ice-aligned shunkō early to erode his coordination for later.
>Other?

File: NO.gif (2.78 MB, 400x300)

2.78 MB GIF

>>1368234
>Release Kobara no Tachi, hit hard and aggressively right out of the gate.

Rolled 38 (1d100)

>>1368234
>>Draw Kobara no Tachi, fight defensively until you can assess his skill more clearly.

>>1368234

>Draw Kobara no Tachi, fight defensively until you can assess his skill more clearly.

>>1368234
>Use your ice-aligned shunkō early to erode his coordination for later.
>Cast any spells non-verbally

Defensive fighting engaged:
>3d10, DC 18, Crit 22
>Best of Three

Rolled 2, 2, 5 = 9 (3d10)

>>1368261

Rolled 8, 5, 1 = 14 (3d10)

>>1368261

Rolled 4, 4, 8 = 16 (3d10)

>>1368261

>>1368265
>>1368264
>>1368262
God dammit, those crits in those previous threads have abandoned us.

Rolled 9, 3, 7 = 19 (3d10)

Testing my dice

Rolled 8, 9, 9 = 26 (3d10)

>>1368311
might as well test my dice too.
We're off to a rough start.

File: Fall_of_the_Seireitei.jpg (206 KB, 792x613)

206 KB JPG

“Blacken, Ichimonji!” Ichibē calls out, and his weapon's brushy head is immediately replaced by a stout, short blade with what looks like a thin sheen of oil across its surface. Just as you'd expected he leads with the blunt end of his weapon, which you meet with Tenkotsuki's blade in a loud crash of wood against steel. In an instant the Monk steps in, pushing Tenkotsuki away while striking down with the blade.

Too soon! You grasp Ichimonji by the shaft, just under the end of its blade, and rotate it out of the way so that an arc of ink slashes over your left shoulder and onto the ground. The same motion lets you strike at his ribs with your knee, which he meets with the haft of his zanpakuto in a blow that slides him back on his feet.

Instead of worrying, Ichibē can only grin.

“Don't think you've won, Captain!” he insists, bringing his palm down to meet the ground... and in an instant your world seems a lot flatter.

You managed to notice the giant spectral hand manifesting above you and take action, relying on blut and Tenkotsuki's blade and sheath in your hands to withstand the titanic force of the blow as it shatters the very earth beneath your feet.

“You've miscalculated,” he chides you as you stagger to your feet, feeling strained muscles and cracked bones throughout your body. “You seem to believe you have the advantage in raw power.”

“And you've miscalculated if you think something weaker than Tenken is going to even slow me down,” you growl back, glaring at him as you wipe a trickle of blood from your lips. “I barely felt that... whatever the hell it was.”

“That was the pinnacle of hakuda technique,” Ichibē insists, “using one's manifested reiatsu as though it were an extension of one's body.”

“You are a fool if you believe this “shunkō” technique is its equal.”

He's deliberately provoking you by not just insulting your pride, but by insulting the skill of your wife and one-time instructor... maybe he does understand you just a little bit, at least in so far as he knows where your proverbial “belt” is and how best to hit below it.

>Oblige him, demonstrate what shunkō is capable of.
>Find another way to counter this technique, perhaps using kidō.
>If it's a reiatsu construct, Rosa can incinerate it.
>Other?

>>1368315
>If it's a reiatsu construct, Rosa can incinerate it.

>>1368315
>>If it's a reiatsu construct, Rosa can incinerate it.
The reiatsu needs to be directly connected to him to deal damage though, right? Gotta figure out something for that to get the most mileage.

>>1368315
>If it's a reiatsu construct, Rosa can incinerate it.
>Other: Manifest Rosa
Time for a Stand fight!
>Toss away that pride, fair's fair in a fight, if he can hit below our proverbial belt, then we can hit below the belt too.

>>1368315
I think this vote is pretty decided, but still

>If it's a reiatsu construct, Rosa can incinerate it.

So what are the odds of us winning this?

>>1368315
>If it's a reiatsu construct, Rosa can incinerate it

>>1368328
In the words of the immortal Han Solo, never tell me the odds.

>>1368334
Well, now let me tell you the odds.
>3d10, DC 18, Crit 21
>Best of Three

Rolled 1, 6, 3 = 10 (3d10)

>>1368345

Rolled 8, 8, 1 = 17 (3d10)

>>1368345

Rolled 7, 10, 10 = 27 (3d10)

>>1368345

>>1368346
I should leave for to night I think

>>1368349
>>1368345
It begins.

File: 1393372439318.jpg (34 KB, 452x478)

34 KB JPG

>>1368349

>>1368349
You did it man. You win the Internet.

File: 1490466684797.jpg (76 KB, 236x176)

76 KB JPG

>>1368345
THANKS C-QUEEN-PO
>>1368349
Jesus. Right at the clutch as well.

>>1368312
Fuck you

“That's good to hear,” you snarl at Ichibē, “if it's manifested as a solid object... then it can burn just like anything else!”

“Raze, Kobara no Tachi!”

White reiatsu swirls around your body in a powerful vortex as you release your second zanpakuto, and you can't help but smile. “Let's try that again, shall we?”

The Monk attacks again with amazing speed, stabbing at you with Ichimonji's blade seemingly without pattern. Each attack is hard to predict, but you're quick enough now to adjust at the last second each time to engage the weapon's shaft. Each release of ink you sidestep, carefully stepping around and between the splatter marks as you go.

Then with a stomp, Ichibē brings down a massive, manifested foot that you slash through with Tenkotsuki and Rosa's single fused blade. The talon-liked weapon slices into the reiatsu, impossibly sharp, igniting the reiatsu as it passes through and allowing the rest of the spectral appendage to pass around you. The ease with which you do so seems to catch Ichibē by surprise, since he clearly expected you to have been at least sort of crushed by his attack. Instead he finds his spear-thrust arrested as you grab Ichimonji a second time and pull it past you on the left side.

“Shunkō!” you roar, slamming your right fist into his chin with a reiatsu-empowered blow. Between that and the leverage you have on Ichimonji, you follow through and slam his head into the ground... like being caught between a hammer and an anvil.

To your dismay however he manages to kick off the ground and place some distance between you with shunpō, but the damage is evident. And unlike with his own nameless Tenken-ripoff your own shunkō is still active, dancing and flickering across your arms and shoulders as the force nearly tears off your own haori.

“Shutara does good work,” you muse before rising to face Ichibē. “Shunkō has its own benefits you know... as it stands, it's a more... balanced technique than simply battering someone with your reiatsu.”

“Yoruichi'd call it 'sophisticated', I just call it clever. Either way, it was a mistake to discount it so quickly.”

“I have felt worse,” Ichibē grunts, taking a moment to spit out a little blood. “Leave it to a child to get excited from landing a single punch.”

He's talking big, but you simply sliced through his hakuda technique while your own damn near broke his nose. It should be clear to him that the situation has changed in an instant. The young Captain's not merely overrated after all.

>Get in close and keep the pressure up, wear him down the way he planned to do to you.
>Step this up, use the numbing trick to make it easier to land hits later.
>Use kidō to create an opening to try and land a devastating hit.
>Other?

>>1368418
>Step this up, use the numbing trick to make it easier to land hits later.

Soften im up. tenderize his ass;

>>1368418
>Step this up, use the numbing trick to make it easier to land hits later.

>>1368418
>>Use kidō to create an opening to try and land a devastating hit.

>>1368418
>Ice aligned Shunko into Shunpo and Hirenkyaku combo and transfer all of that numbness into his big belly.
He'll never see it coming.

>>1368418
>Step this up, use the numbing trick to make it easier to land hits later.

>>1368418
>Use kidō to create an opening to try and land a devastating hit.

He'll expect Rosa. Keep him I'm his toes by shifting gears.

>UNCOMFORTABLY NUMB
3d10, DC 18, Crit 20, best of three

Rolled 9, 8, 7 = 24 (3d10)

>>1368464
FUCK YOUUUUUUU

Rolled 2, 8, 4 = 14 (3d10)

>>1368464

Rolled 7, 7, 8 = 22 (3d10)

>>1368465
DAYUM.
>>1368464

Rolled 1, 3, 5 = 9 (3d10)

>>1368464

>>1368465
>>1368471
Get fucked monko.

Rolled 10, 9, 1 = 20 (3d10)

>>1368464

File: 1430001827095.png (86 KB, 337x268)

86 KB PNG

>>1368465
Well then.

>>1368474
Oh god why are my rolls so bad today

Get dunked on you fucking monk!

File: you bet jurassican.jpg (40 KB, 480x520)

40 KB JPG

>>1368477
Monks Face When

File: Screen_shot_2012-02-19_at(...).png (257 KB, 480x360)

257 KB PNG

>mfw Riku does the Monk Dunk

File: ichibei-hyosube-to-crush-(...).jpg (133 KB, 780x852)

133 KB JPG

>>1368477
“One punch, is that it?” you muse, locking eyes with the Monk. “Let's see what you make of it when I hit you a second time.”

“Shunkō: Yoru no Shimo!”

Ichibē's eyes narrow to slits as he watches your reiatsu soften and billow, rolling off your exposed skin like fog rolling in off a great ocean... beneath that your body has gone cold and numb.

“That isn't what I named that technique,” Ichibē scowls at you.

You shrug. “Too bad... but it's not your technique to name.”

>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3B6igKK_vg

Hirenkyaku lets you close the distance in a flash, your left fist slamming against Ichimonji's shaft even as you follow through with a roundhouse kick, then a flat thrust with Tenkotsuki's cruelly-shaped blade, and after that a right hook. It never stops, one strike after the next without mercy or any thought to your own well-being. You can tell that Ichibē gets in his licks too, a powerful blow to your ribs that clearly breaks one as the sensation begins to return to your body. It's only by the time that the pain from that injury is sharp and stabbing when you notice it, a perceptible sluggishness to the Monk's movements. He's still well-coordinated, amazing when all things are considered, but you'd also gather he's trained as hard as you have for at least five times as long.

He's used to his body doing exactly as he commands, but he's also clearly used to being able to tell what it's doing at any point and adjust as he goes.

“I see,” he grumbles, flexing the fingers of his left hand to test them. “You've robbed me of almost any tactile feedback. Quite clever, I must admit... but likely not as useful against me as you'd hope.”

“Every little bit,” you reply, raising your sword to eye-level in front of you, as if imagining yourself already stabbing him in the face.

“Even a sound strategy must be followed with tactical achievements,” Ichibē sighs, raising his weapon. “Too early in the fight for such a lecture, don't you think?”

“You're the only one of us who's lecturing anyone,” you frown. “Hell, it almost sounded like you were lecturing yourself.”

“Maybe I needed it,” he grunts in response. “Enough fooling around, I've just about prepared it.”
>1/2

>>1368524
>The background of that pic. Pitch black. Explains why he's so powerful. He eats the background.

>>1368528
Oh, that's why there are so many blank backgrounds in Bleach fight scenes. It's not Kubo being lazy, it's the combatants absorbing their surroundings.

>>1368524
>“Maybe I needed it,” he grunts in response. “Enough fooling around, I've just about prepared it.”
Oh fuck. we didn't roll for situational awareness.

>>1368528
>>1368530
Wasn't it because Kubo spilled ink on the page?

>>1368539

Since when we're you under impression that the ink was spilled and not purposely placed like that?

>>1368547
Since when were you under the impression that I was under the impression?

>>1368530
No. The time demands of manga expose the weakness of every author as they sacrifice more and more to the altar of the due date.

Kubo's weakness is backgrounds and panel management. He doesn't have an instinctive sense of space.

File: 6590.jpg (92 KB, 395x504)

92 KB JPG

>>1368524
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5YyMEfinH4
Ichibē spins Ichimonji once in his hands before thrusting the blade of his zanpakuto into the ground. Immediately the ink he spilled all across the landscape with each missed thrust and slash quivers, as if in anticipation of some powerful technique. Even as you realize what may be about to happen, the Monk sits as if in meditation.

“Yakushi no Korosu.”

To your own credit you do make an attempt to attack, but the ink spattered all across the battlefield prevents you from doing that, leaping into the air in wildly twisting geysers and showering through the air in clouds of suspended, nearly atomized blackness. You have to take a gamble, slicing through one such cloud in order to escape only to find the droplets bursting into flame in a small explosion... like some sort of fuel-air explosion.

“You set it off like oil?” you feel Rosa muse within your mind. “That ink is loaded with a dense reiatsu... I can incinerate it.”

Good... with his vision so obscured by the same drifting clouds of ink that are keeping him safe from counterattack he may not have seen what you learned just now.

When the clouds finally settle, Ichibē is transformed. Not just in the reiatsu you sense from him, but physically as well. It's as if you've caught him halfway through a self-immolation: his body seems emaciated and gaunt, as if his very flesh is in the process of cracking and warping in a pyre of his own making, though the “flames” set in him are anything but.

“That infernal ink again?” Tenkotsuki grumbles, watching with you as the ink dances and flickers across Ichibē's skin like an open flame. Only the flame is black... not like black ink at all to your eyes, more like a hungry void empty even of light itself.

“Is he half-octopus or something?” Rosa asks. “Can we eat him?”

“No,” Tenkotsuki replies cautiously. “This is something strange... is that even ink we are seeing?”

>Only one way to find out. Time to roast us a Monk, Rosa.
>I don't like it. We should stay out of his reach until we know what those “flames” are.
>I don't want to know what that is. We need to end him in one shot.
>Other?

>>1368558
>I don't want to know what that is. We need to end him in one shot.

>>1368558
>>Only one way to find out. Time to roast us a Monk, Rosa.

>>1368558
>>I don't want to know what that is. We need to end him in one shot.

>>1368558
>I don't want to know what that is. We need to end him in one shot.

>>1368558
>Other: seal Rosa first before using Bankai: Akirashi Shunkō

>>1368558
>I don't want to know what that is. We need to end him in one shot

>>1368558
>>I don't like it. We should stay out of his reach until we know what those “flames” are.

Going for the One Shot.
>dice+3d10, DC 20, Crit 21
>Best of Four

Rolled 9, 8, 1 = 18 (3d10)

>>1368602

Rolled 3, 6, 2 = 11 (3d10)

>>1368602
Oh boy.... This is gonna suck...

Rolled 8, 3, 1 = 12 (3d10)

>>1368602

Rolled 1, 10, 5 = 16 (3d10)

>>1368602

>>1368603
>>1368604
>>1368607
>>1368608
RIP

Rolled 10, 10, 2 = 22 (3d10)

>>1368602

File: AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH.gif (433 KB, 320x240)

433 KB GIF

>>1368608
>>1368607
>>1368604
>>1368603
why the fuck did we even choose that option?
>>1368614
you're 1 roll late

>>1368616
>you're 1 roll late
Nah, it arrived at the perfect time.

>>1368616
It was clearly a terrible option

How bad is this gonna hurt?

>>1368644
we're dealing with a guy that hunts Rogue Deities for a living. It's gonna hurt.

>>1368616
Anons probably got spooked by Ichibei doing something weird, and thought "it worked for Reigai Unohana".

>>1368644
Inkredibly

>>1368602
Whatever technique he's using now, it can't possibly be good for you. The time to act is now, before he turns back to the offensive.

“Bakudō Seventy-Nine: Kuyō Shibari!” you roar, watching the orbs burst into existence and pin Ichibē where he stands. You can hear Tenkotsuki chanting the incantation in your head even as you prepare for the next step.

“Rosa! Everything into Blut!”

As your inner hollow fortifies your body to the limit of her abilities you can feel your accrued injuries starting to heal. One of your ribs knits itself back into place, your torn ligaments reattach and your muscleaches subside. But it'll only just be enough.

“Yugure Kasō!” you declare, reaching our with your left arm and making a fist. The resulting explosion is tremendous, simply evaporating whatever ink remained in the area even as entire hills and plateaus are uprooted and shattered into nothingness... if it were damn near anyone else you were sparring with you'd expect that move would have killed them and burned away the body, and so you wouldn't have used it in the first place. But he can just reconstitute himself anyway according to Shutara, so...

“No,” you mutter flatly as the blast clears, revealing Ichibē entirely unharmed. In fact, it seems that his condition has improved. No longer is he withered and charred, but now he stands revitalized, still enveloped with the “flames” same as before.

That grin on his face tells you that what you did just backfired... probably a lot.

“Ichimonji's power isn't just ink and names,” he explains, “but rather those are just side effects of its power. Things that it produces and affects. Ichimonji's power is over blackness itself... all the blackness in the world is my weapon.”

“There was a lot of blackness in that pyre you intended to burn me away in. Enough to rejuvenate myself from the immolation I inflected on myself to pull out my own inner 'darkness' for a weapon. I should thank you.”

“So that boastful name you gave it about the Medicine Kine wasn't totally undeserved,” you grumble. “Great. So now you're going to use this darkness to kill me, is that it?”

“Only if you fail to stop it,” he nods. “Or you could always just give up, see what happens.”

>Sure, I give up.
>Regular Bankai, deny him this manifested darkness and force a draw.
>Akirashi Shunkō: if it works you'll beat him senseless for his boasts.
>Other?

>>1368650
>Akirashi Shunkō: if it works you'll beat him senseless for his boasts.
THIS IS WHY WE DEVELOPED THIS TECHNIQUE.

>>1368650
>Akirashi Shunkō: if it works you'll beat him senseless for his boasts.

>>1368650
>Regular Bankai, deny him this manifested darkness and force a draw.
Save our trump we'll need to catch him by surprise with it later.

>>1368664
pro tip, he expects regular bankai.

>>1368650
>Akirashi Shunkō: if it works you'll beat him

>>1368650
>>Akirashi Shunkō: if it works you'll beat him senseless for his boasts.

>>1368650
>>Akirashi Shunkō: if it works you'll beat him senseless for his boasts.
fuck you and your asspulls you shit monk.

>>1368667
So we waste our shot to beat him later for now when it won't stick.

>>1368650
>Regular Bankai, deny him this manifested darkness and force a draw.
Eh, I'm a bit wary of another big risk option.

>>1368650
>Regular Bankai, deny him this manifested darkness and force a draw.

>>1368674
No, we plant the fear of god in him, literally.

>>1368677
When you fail a bet, you gotta double down

File: More_e6bcf8_6202116.jpg (109 KB, 842x568)

109 KB JPG

>>1368650
>Akirashi Shunkō: if it works you'll beat him senseless for his boasts.

>>1368681
Or more sensibly he makes a counter for it when we fight again. He's not stupid and nearly incapable of fear because of the nature of his powers.

>>1368650
>Regular Bankai, deny him this manifested darkness and force a draw.

>>1368688
This is a fight for asserting superiority, we can't back down, next time he tries to pulls this shit we swarm him with politics and countermeasures we also develop, riku is not a static doll.

>>1368551
He was pretty good at panel management early on if I remember correctly. I think he got worn down as you said, but more than people think.

>>1368650
>Akirashi Shunkō: if it works you'll beat him senseless for his boasts.

>>1368650
Caution to the wind, DC 19 crit 22

Rolled 6, 9, 1 = 16 (3d10)

Witness me senpai

Rolled 4, 10, 10 = 24 (3d10)

>>1368706

>>1368710
YES

Rolled 7, 4, 2 = 13 (3d10)

>>1368706

Rolled 6, 6, 8 = 20 (3d10)

>>1368706

File: Exterminatus_Retribution.jpg (64 KB, 900x506)

64 KB JPG

>>1368710

File: 1487884412441.jpg (17 KB, 376x383)

17 KB JPG

>>1368710

>>1368710
Finally things are looking up

File: Kaminarox.jpg (91 KB, 1280x720)

91 KB JPG

>>1368710
FUCK YEAH

>>1368719
Also I need to go get food, it's getting on towards 10pm and the last time I ate was breakfast.

So does qst just not really know how to weigh 3d10 properly?

File: 1468113519584.jpg (168 KB, 1033x679)

168 KB JPG

>>1368710
You are absolutely glorious mah niggah

File: More_5bf9eb_6202116.jpg (86 KB, 568x842)

86 KB JPG

>>1368710
>>1368719
I think im just gonna post reaction birbs all thread at this rate.

>>1368744
Do that please, I wanna hug all of you guys, i'm just so happy with that last crit.
Smug monk would have made me mad.

>>1368730
I fail to understand your precise meaning, anon.
>food achieved writing in progress

Monk is in his hell
God is in his heaven
And all is right with the world

I feel like I'm missing something here, when did we develop akirashi shunko? What is it?

>>1368787
Thread # 84

>>1368787
Bankai: Akirashi Shunkō, which cycles the shinreiryoku released by Higeki no Ōjo in the same way Shunkō does. This releases Bankai quicker and more violently, and negates incoming reiatsu as it reaches Riku's skin rather than working in an area. The downside is that this technique carries a risk of backlash damage.

>>1368787
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/924018/

>>1368710
Ohhhh I hope that crit means we've learned how to use this technique without the risk of backlash.

Also, shunko continues to kick ridiculous amounts of ass. After the Monk bad mouthed it too.

Hope he likes the taste of crow.

File: Ep294Ikkotsu.png (336 KB, 540x350)

336 KB PNG

>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSUwtBaie9A

Your first attempt may have backfired, but it only serves to reinforce the point: if you're going to beat the Monk at all, you had better do it sooner rather than later. The “safer” option hasn't worked, leaving the next choice as something of a gamble.

“Bankai: Akirashi Shunkō.”

The power of your Bankai rips through your body, feeding into the shunkō you're already using and straining Rosa's ability to keep up with her regenerative abilities, healing you through your own blood from the inside even as the technique you've used rages through those same vessels. The aura of reiatsu surrounding your body goes so wild as to almost lose any noticeable cohesion, though along your skin the white energy is dense enough to be visible as a shimmering layer which lies just over your skin.

The Monk raises his zanpakuto, his face an emotionless mask. “That's not what your Bankai is called. This is the second time you've made up a name for one of your techniques.”

“And for the second time it isn't yours to name,” you remind him calmly, your voice echoing powerfully as you stare him down. “Even if your boast has some merit to it because of your power, you are a Monk. Monks should not be boasting at all, a monk should be humble.”

“Your powers include the ability to reconstitute yourself, correct?”

“Indeed. And actually,” Ichibē begins to admit, “I'm not a real...”

His eyes widen as he's forced to dodge a flat thrust mid-step, sliding into the gap to your left with an immense speed and practiced precision... almost. His body is still somewhat numb, and his movement throws him ever so slightly off his balance. He can't position Ichimonji fast enough to parry what you do next. He simply doesn't have the time.

In his eyes, you can see the moment where he resigns himself.

“Ikkotsu!”

The Monk isn't sent reeling. In fact at first you're not even sure you hit him. But as the blood trickles from the corners of his mouth, it becomes obvious.

“So this is the power of a shintai,” he gasps, nearly choking on his own blood. “No... that zanpakuto isn't a shintai at all, is it? The shintai is...”

With a cough Ichibē falls, and you see the extent of his wounds: half his chest is simply gone. After a few seconds of gurgling he's eerily silent.

>Say his name.
>Don't say his name. Not your problem.

>tfw we can't kill him since someone will just say his name and revive him.

>>1368826
>Don't say his name. Not your problem.
>Completely destroy what's left of his body.

>>1368826
>Say his name.
bureaucracy won't let you die, old scum.

>>1368826
>Say his name.
Reviving him and sparing him will serve as the ultimate lesson in Humility.

>>1368826
>Say his name.
>Purposely botch saying it a few times tho.

>>1368826
Oh YES. Oh that was a glorious reversal, as he powered up and then we crushed him with a trump he didn't predict out of nowhere.

Ohhhhhh that feels good. Obscenely so.

Alright, alright, enough jokes. We can be a magnanimous winner.

>>1368837
...This is pretty tempting though.

>Say his name.
>Purposely botch saying it a few times tho.

>>1368826
>Say his name

Now now, we did just beat him. Let's not be petty.

>>1368826
>Say his name.

Honestly, one of his colleagues would just come along and do it, let's not be petty.

>>1368826
>tfw we can't kill him since someone will just say his name and revive him.

You die on my command! Not before!

Can we nom his now dead body for divine particles?

>>1368826
>>Say his name.
Hey, remember Easter?

>>1368845
Nah, he's so petty and mundane, a mere mortal, nothing of use there.

>>1368826
>Don't say his name. Not your problem.

>>1368826
Can we at least say his name wrong ir in an insulting way?

>>1368826
>Say his name.

>>1368826
>>Say his name.

>>1368845
Ooh. If we eat his Oken, does he come back with a fresh one?

Man be worth ripping his off, just to see if he does or doesn't.

>>1368826
>>Say his name.

>>1368826
>Don't say his name. Not your problem.

>writing
Honestly can't say I expected you to win with a series of crits, especially not after failing the first roll. There are some times with 4chan dice I feel like you'd lose 90% of the time on even odds.

>>1368897
4chan dice are insane.

>>1368897
These dice can sense drama

>>1368897
Which is why you go way too easy on those crit DCs desu

>>1368913
Unless Aizen is involved in the fight, it seems.

>>1368913
Yeah, it's amazing how dice consistently pulls off a crit after failure immediately OUTSIDE the roll range. It's just hilarious at this point.

>>1368924
To be fair, the dice are kind of bullshit, we can fail even the easiest dc sometimes.

I'm looking forward to showing our innovations to Yoruichi. I'll bet she'll have some new blasphemous innovations to rub in the Monk's face.

>>1368924
4chan dice aren't truly random, and they do tend to cluster. That, and I'm more comfortable controlling the degree of success than I am with running the risk that several rolls will just go to shit and my players will feel like they're not making progress because of it.

And the crit DCs were lowered intentionally throughout this engagement.

The dices these last three threads has been absolutely crazy. I guess Riku is done dicking about :V

Dont worry, they'll kick us in the nuts later.

File: Birbs_4f56ac_6202928.jpg (94 KB, 847x562)

94 KB JPG

>>1368826
>>1368837
>>1368839
>Riku's thoughts?

>>1368929
Yes, that what dice are for.

>>1368937
Probably when we're trying Hado 99 on Aizen and don't get a one above 5.

Also my phone keeps autocorrecting Aizen to Sizemore.

>>1368946
It's his true name

>>1368944
Failing even the simplest things is not progress, life is already too full of failure, let entertainment be entertainment dear anon.

>>1368946
Aizen should be honored to be associated with the best Dirtamancer!

>>1368826
“I wonder if I ate his Ōken.. would he come back with it?” your voice echoes gently as you muse.

“No. It would not, and I would be very cross.”

Startled, you practically leap away from his corpse with your kodachi held straight out in defense, pointing straight at the monk where he lies still.

You blink once, wondering if you were just hearing things, then sigh and lower your sword.

“You weren't imagining it.”

The sword comes right back up again. “How the hell are you still speaking!? What manner of sorcery is this?”

“Are you familiar with the concept of damnatio memoriae?”

“Vaguely,” you reply. “It has to do with erasing the memory of a person utterly, so that they are forgotten. A fate sometimes considered worse than simple death.”

“Your name has power, as does my own. So long as my name is remembered some part of my power still remains dispersed between everyone who knows it. This allows me to speak.”

“Disconcerting,” you grumble, not really comfortable with the knowledge that at least some part of Ichibē's power will always remain planted in your memory, like a seed waiting to germinate. “So if I say your name you will reconstitute?”

“Indeed, that is how it works. I will be able to begin drawing on that power using my name magic, eventually returning as I was before you rather brutally killed me.”

“And if I choose not to revive you?”

“Then I will get Shutara to do it... unlike my other colleagues I doubt she would be in the mood to joke about it. And then I will find you, and be very cross.”

After considering for a moment if you should just destroy Ichibē's remains in the hope that he stays dead, you relent and stare into your reflection in the blade of your kodachi. “Hyōsube Ichibē, Hyōsube Ichibē, Hyōsube Ichibē!”
>1/2

>>1368961
>dat use of "bloody mary in a mirror" trick.

>>1368961
>Ichibei confirmed to be bloody Mary.

File: Birbs_51f275_6201572.jpg (81 KB, 406x600)

81 KB JPG

>>1368961

>>1368961
Thank god there is only one of him, fucking nightmare cockroach.

>>1368979
>Next time we just seal him away.

>>1368983
He'd probably just do another gigantic asspull, we can't seal him if we aren't certain about the nature of his asspulls, it's too esoteric.

>>1368961
After lowering your blade, you watch Ichibē carefully. Then, suddenly, his arm shoots up with a “thumbs-up” gesture aimed straight for the sky. A few moments later he sits up, the large section of his missing chest having begun to fill in as his savagely-beaten body repairs itself.

“Creepy,” you grumble, grasping your hilt lightly with both hands and holding it low in front of you. You're still not totally certain that the Monk won't simply attack you again the moment he finishes recovering.

“No need for such a guarded attitude,” the Monk insists. “I am quite satisfied with the results of that battle. I feel no further need to fight at the moment.”

"Though I must admit, I don't understand why you had to say my name three times when once would suffice."

"Shutara, Kirio, and especially Oetsu will appreciate it," you shake your head."

"If the Sword God would enjoy hearing it I'm not sure I want to share it."

>At the moment? Do not oblige me to start learning how to seal properly.
>What were you saying just before you died, about shintai?
>You did not use your Bankai. Explain that to me.
>Other?

>>1368990
Such is the nature of the Kubo.

>>1368990

>If the seal is atring enough it can seal away Gods, that seems pretty consistent in Bleach canon. The problem is that seals do not last forever.

>>1368994
>What were you saying just before you died, about shintai?
>You did not use your Bankai. Explain that to me.

>>1368994
>What were you saying just before you died, about shintai?
>You did not use your Bankai. Explain that to me.

>>1368994
>What were you saying just before you died, about shintai?
>You did not use your Bankai. Explain that to me.

>>1368994
>>What were you saying just before you died, about shintai?

>>1368961
If the Oken doesn't come back with him, then we can at least help lock him out of the Royal Palace. Stick him with consequences.

It wouldn't, but it's a handy fact to know.

Foriegn objects and influences can remain on Ichibe's person, but are not brought back by his name magic. So if theory if we curse him, we MIGHT be able to make it stick.

He probably has some ways for slipping those bonds, being able to suicide and revive is very helpful, but this is valuable knowledge.

>>1368994
>What were you saying just before you died, about shintai?
>You did not use your Bankai. Explain that to me.

>>1369010
Hell, just curse his sword then, can't get any weirder.

>>1368994
>At the moment? Do not oblige me to start learning how to seal properly.

>>1368990
His ass requires further investigation.

>>1368994
>After lowering your blade, you watch Ichibē carefully. Then, suddenly, his arm shoots up with a “thumbs-up” gesture aimed straight for the sky.
Really Ichibe?
>"Though I must admit, I don't understand why you had to say my name three times when once would suffice."
Get with the times Monk. Have you heard of Queen "Bloody" Mary?
>What were you saying just before you died, about shintai?
>Other: So what did you hope to learn from fighting me?

>>1369015
He's an old school sports manga fan.

>>1368994
>>What were you saying just before you died, about shintai?

>writing

>>1369043
“You did not use your Bankai... why?” you demand quietly, your voice having lost some of the booming quality it would otherwise have as your reiatsu grows calmer. Gradually, Akirashi Shunkō's power fades away.

“For one thing I have no Bankai, for my technique predates the term,” Ichibē explains. “Ichimonji possesses what is called Shinuchi, and using that would have likely weakened you significantly without killing you. The worst possible situation, really... neither dead nor useful.”

So his ultimate technique is somehow nastier than the one he was just using... not a pleasant thought. You also have to wonder what else his shikai can do, and what that actual attack would have done were it to make contact. Rosa's cero-based technique really turned the whole thing in your favor, from start to finish.

“And what was it you were saying about shintai?” you press. “And what does it have to do with me?”

“I was commenting that your zanpakuto was not a shintai,” Ichibē clarifies, completing his unfinished thought from before he spent a few minutes being dead... like an extreme form of time-out. “I was mistaken in that regard... it is you personally whose soul is unusually receptive to the presence of a god. This is a rare trait, poorly understood even to many deities.”

“Tenkotsuki is aware of the concept, though she has no direct experience with them that would suggest how they come to be,” you reply, drawing on the fox-goddess' memories as your minds begin to slip apart. “It's strange, seems like one of those things that just is. Something that shouldn't be questioned.”

“The fact that your body is the shintai and not the zanpakuto comes as something of a relief,” Ichibē admits, seemingly genuine in that sentiment. “Were it a problem with a batch of asauchi, then the Royal Special Task Force may have had far more beings like you to handle.”

>Hang on... I'm not the only shintai, am I?”
>What DO you know? I'll compare with Tenkotsuki's experience.
>If you'd be so kind as to teleport us back, I have work to do.
>Other?

>>1369088
>Hang on... I'm not the only shintai, am I?”
>What DO you know? I'll compare with Tenkotsuki's experience.

>>1369088
>>Hang on... I'm not the only shintai, am I?”

>>1369088
>>What DO you know? I'll compare with Tenkotsuki's experience.
>>Hang on... I'm not the only shintai, am I?”

>>1369088
>>Hang on... I'm not the only shintai, am I?”

>>1369088
>Hang on... I'm not the only shintai, am I?”
>What DO you know? I'll compare with Tenkotsuki's experience.
>Aizen is going to try and eat them.

>>1369088
>Hang on... I'm not the only shintai, am I?
>Other: That just makes things worse in retrospect. The fact that there are foreign afterlives, means there are foreign shintai, which means more fodder for Aizen to hunt and steal shinreiryoku from.

>>1369088
What's the difference between a bankai and a shinuchi?

>>1369088

>Hang on... I'm not the only shintai, am I?”

-----
Random musings:

Do you think its possible to go one step further on the hollow part of our sword?
If we emulate how we are teaching the hollows to find their version of bankai, does that mean we have a varient somewhere?

Most of the time it seems to be about condensing reitsu. What if we took the melee technique and spin it around our blade instead of the body? Can we incorporate kidō into this? The spells are all about taking reitsu and shaping it to your will, spinning spell reitsu to incorporate other elements.

Probably spitball more ideas at thread end.

>>1369126
> Nothing the monk is just a fucking hipster

Other thoughts: Maybe try doing something to save the vizads from perpetual stasis with their hollows.

>>1369137
>That's it, as soon as Aizen is dealt with we are learning sealing.

>>1369128
That sounds like spellblade talk. You'd have to get your reiryoku to extend to your sword. Not sure it's possible to extend your internal reserves outside your body like that, but I guess it might be possible with your zanpakuto, especially during bankai.

>>1369126
Whoops, forgot to greentext it but that's meant to be a question for Ichibei.

File: 11094500_1087046054655465(...).jpg (9 KB, 306x306)

9 KB JPG

“Hang on,” you frown. “If being a living shintai means I'm compatible with Tenkotsuki, then what does that mean about Jūshirō?”

“He, too, is a living shintai,” Ichibē nods sternly. “You are correct in that assumption, which should serve to illustrate the rarity of such an occurrence.”

“Actually, you are an artificial shintai,” Tenkotsuki tells you, her voice weak and exhausted from the exertion. “I will be fine in a short time, but that fight drained much of my stamina... Rosa is in similar shape after having to maintain your body in fighting condition for so long.”

“Thank you for your effort,” you tell her.

“You are most welcome, Lady Riku,” she chuckles. “After all we did get to kill that pesky monk... I feel somewhat satisfied by this.”

“Now you most certainly realize that the Sōkyoku is also a shintai, albeit one specially made by Ōetsu,” Ichibē drones on, continuing to explain well after you got the answer you were looking for. “Which also raises the problem that such feats may have been duplicated by others as well. The concept has been proven, just not the only or even the ideal way of doing so.”

“Fine, good to know,” you shrug. “Anything we Captains should be on the lookout for?”

“Not that we can tell.”

“Then please return me to my Division,” you request, “I have work to do.”

When you reappear in the Ninth Division's training yard, the Lieutenants are mostly taken aback by your respective appearances... the Monk may have come back from the dead but his clothing is still rather bloody.

Yoruichi glares at Ichibē angrily. “You kidnapped Captain Kusajishi.”

“Only a little bit.”

Your wife shakes her head. “Only I'm allowed to do that.”

“I will try to remember that in the future.”

>Return to training the Lieutenants in Kidō.
>Lecture them on the value of teamwork.
>Have them perform menial labor, teach them patience.
>Other?

>>1369203
>>Lecture them on the value of teamwork.

>>1369203
>>Lecture them on the value of teamwork.
>>In fact see if you can find a way to give them a practical demonstration.
In the short term it's the most likely thing to keep them alive.

>>1369203
>>Return to training the Lieutenants in Kidō.

>>1369203
>Have them perform menial labor, teach them patience.

>>1369203
>>Lecture them on the value of teamwork.

I wonder what these guys are thinking seeing a bloodied monk and riku

>>1369250
>maybe if we stand perfectly still they won't see us
Roll me a 3d10, DC is a modest 18, critical is a 23. Best of three.

And since it's getting on towards 1am here and I still need to walk home I need to end it here. I'll pick it up tomorrow after SoZ. Thanks for playing, and see you tomorrow!

I'll also answer questions and address comments when I'm conscious again.

Rolled 10, 5, 4 = 19 (3d10)

>>1369261

>>1369261
Have a safe trip.

Rolled 6, 5, 8 = 19 (3d10)

>>1369261
let's goooo

Rolled 9, 8, 10 = 27 (3d10)

>>1369261

Rolled 4, 5, 1 = 10 (3d10)

>>1369261

>>1369274
Top kek.

>>1369250
Is Ichibei still bloodied, or does he just look completely unruffled?

Rolled 41 (1d100)

And before I head off, this thing.

>>1369274
You gonna learn alright

>>1369279
well, it's 3 off from the worst number we could get...

>>1369284
One off from the most interesting number we could get too.

>>1368826
>“Indeed. And actually,” Ichibē begins to admit, “I'm not a real...”
The fact that he was about to clarify that in the middle of a fight actually raised my opinion of him.

>>1369288
It's a lucky number in my book, so here's hoping for something interesting.

...Aizen still hasn't seen our bankai, has he? And that's something he can't actually spy on, since it'd just fuck with any hidden cameras

>>1369261
To Ichibe:
>How many times have you "died" throughout your life?
>A question from the more morbid readers: what's the most gruesome death you
>Have you tried other ink colors instead of jet black?
>If you're not a monk, why do you dress like one and have a principle/power similar to the teachings in a Buddhist monk's scriptures?
Riku:
>Rate the Jumpscare out of ten when Ichibe spoke to you through his brush even when you "killed" him
>You sound like you're terrified of zombies when it comes to the Monk rezzing from the dead using the same corpse like that.
Tenkotsuki/Rosa:
>Rate your satisfaction out of ten for killing the monk, even though he didn't die even when you killed him.
Oetsu, Shutara, Kirio:
>Riku got to resurrect Ichibe by reciting "Bloody Mary". You'll understand when you see him.
Shutara:
>how hard is it to clean off the Monk's ink?

>>1369533
I figured it was Beetlejuice thing, but this is fine too

>>1369499

He might have spies. A Mad Doc joined him so he can have spy bullshit.

>>1368228
OH FUCK I FORGOT AND MISSED THE FIGHT WITH ICHIBE BECAUSE I WENT OUTSIDE ALL DAY WITH WOMEN LIKE A NORMIE

Oh god i hope to fuck it went well, reading now...

File: 7ba2f364aee08442e5ff168d0(...).jpg (48 KB, 396x353)

48 KB JPG

>>1368265
>>1368264
>>1368262
oh god no, this isn't what i wanted at all

>>1369988
bit late there anon

>>1369999
i know, i just got home, i'm reading everything now

>>1369261
Omake idea:
>School and Spirits Part 2: Ichigo, Uryu, Tatsuki, and co. deal with the ramifications of Riku letting Ochi-sensei in on the ghost business and sending them homework while in the middle of training... Leading to awkward moments from Ichigo accidentally slicing up his homework with an errant swing, to Orihime asking a ghost some help on homework, to Tatsuki attempting to do her homework with a calligraphy brush and ink in Seireitei, to Bambietta bombarding Uryu with Reishi bombs and quiz questions related to physics with Uryu answering them inadvertently giving away his position letting Bambi blow him up.
>School and Spirits Part 3: Tia, Apacci, Mila Rose, and Sun-Sung get a taste of muggle life with all the trappings of typical Japanese high school shenanigans. Delinquents will be beaten, Clubs will be made, and some Arrancar instincts/habits are hard to break while in School.

>>1369999
Well, that went better than expected.
ONE PUNCH

>>1369261
To Ichibe:
>What did you think of the fight? You probably expected her "brute force" to be a little less effective, right? The amount of strain placed on her poor, skinny body to produce enough power to overwhelm you is incredible.

To King:
If our reiatsu feels scary when we're released and angry, did everyone feel it a little bit when we met up with the vizards and started getting pissed at "that son of a bitch" kensei?

To everyone else:
>What did the fight between probably the strongest royal guard and riku feel like?
>Who did you think would win?
>Did omaeda poo his pants? We forced ourselves to the very limits of our power this time, but we weren't quite as angry, i think.

Think we should report to central?
Let them know we're good with the royal guard now, no danger of an all out goddamn war between them and riku's faction any longer?
and also slip in the fact that we won

>>1370108
Probably shouldn't. Central 46 might not be happy knowing we beat their main way of keeping us in check

>>1370135
We won the fight.
If all was fair, that'd be it, but he can come back as many times as he likes, and we were winded.
We're still well "in check" even if it's just monk, nevermind the rest of the royal guard.

Oh, oh wait.
Can we call this "getting kenny'd"?

Every time we push someone's shit in with a single ikkotsu, they "got kenny'd"
It's great, because south park but also kenpachi zaraki.

>>1369261
>To the C46 rate your panic on a scale of 1 to 10 when you heard that Riku beat the captain of the Royal Guard.

>>1369278
He should be absolutely soaked in blood, particularly around and below the chest on the front and the entirety of his back where he was laying on the ground as literally all the blood in his body spilled out.
And he should have a giant hole clean through both sides of his clothing where half his torso was vaporized.

File: 129a5aa4de687ed264a9ff09a(...).png (345 KB, 544x416)

345 KB PNG

Aizen:
>Did you feel a disturbance in the force just now?

Unohana & Zaraki
>Did you feel a disturbance in the force just now?

Old Man Genocide (post-mortem):
>whose ikkotsu do you think is stronger, yours or riku's?
>what do you think would happen if you smashed your falcon pawnches together?

Royal Guard:
>Who did you expect to win? Reaction to the outcome?
>What do you think of riku's powers, from what ichibe told you?
>Are you glad this bullshit is settled and riku is confirmed to be firmly on your side?
>Are you still worried that she'll get out of hand somehow and you'll have to kill her?

Average Gotei 13 Shinigami:
>Riku managed to kill not the captain of the gotei 13, but the captain of the ROYAL GUARD in single combat. Do you think she's yamamoto-tier yet?
>Are you glad to have her at your side in this coming battle?
>How quickly did the rumors of her defeating ichibe spread after their battle?

>>1369533
Ichibe:
>A few. It's quite rare.
>Can't.
>Says the woman whose powers relate to her status as a shintai. In truth, though we are not literally gods, many shinigami have abilities with religious or spiritual significance. This is not a coincidence.
Riku:
>Like a 6 out of 10. More that I spooked myself expecting a dead body to attack... you can never tell with that kinda guy.
>It's not strange for a ghost to get freaked out by zombies...
Tenkotsuki:
>A seven perhaps? Satisfying, but it did not last long. I suppose revenge must always feel that way.
Rosa:
>Eh.
Oetsu
>Holy shit, I wish I was there!
Kirio:
>That sounds like something she'd do.
Shutara:
>I suppose it can't be helped.
>If it gets on something you own, burn it. Call it a loss.

>>1369973
Classic mistake, anon.

>>1370097
Ichibe:
>I was satisfied.
King:
>To a lesser degree, as Riku wasn't the one feeling the anger. When both Rosa AND Riku feel angry it's multiplicative.
Everyone else:
>It was too far away, but they were aware that something must have been happening if Ichibe ran off with Riku like that.

>>1370333
Aizen:
>Yes, I believe that I can account for it. Loly is late with my morning tea again. She will have to be disciplined.
Unohana:
>No, not particularly.
Zaraki:
>Like there was a fight to the death goin' on and I wasn't invited.
OMG:
>Mine, by a small margin.
>Calamity.
Royal Guard:
>Coin toss odds, though Kirinji expected the Monk to win.
>They haven't been told yet.
>Kirinji's on a war path.
>Oetsu, Kirio, and Shutara are hoping that the Monk's acceptance of the situation will settle matters for good.
Average shinigami:
>There haven't been any rumors, because nobody's really found out what happened.

>>1371098
Feh, anyone this side the planet should'a felt that!
I guess we can't brag if we don't want people scared anymore, but it's still disappointing.

>>1371121
If everyone did feel that, they would've been dead from the sheer power. And that's bad for the war on our side.

>half an hour

File: Seireitei Fog.jpg (42 KB, 400x300)

42 KB JPG

Once the Monk excuses himself, presumably to change out of his bloodstained haori before Shutara finds out, you turn to face the assembled Lieutenants.

“Now then,” you begin sternly, “teamwork. Can anyone tell me what it is?”

After needing a few moments to realize that was a serious question, Renji finally speaks up. “It's just... working as part of a team?”

“Correct,” you nod in agreement. “As part of a team. Not as a leader, which is what a Lieutenant is normally expected to be. Most seated officers as well... and many shinigami below that rank seek to distinguish themselves as well through individual acts of valor.”

“Teamwork, quite frankly, is something that's painfully uncommon in the Gotei 13.”

“Because the example of Captains and Lieutenants encourages people to fight solo?” Kira muses.

Hinamori is quick to disagree. “It sounds like something more than just following an example. It's reinforced by that, but it's also the result of shinigami culture in general.”

“Actually, there's an even simpler reason,” you admit, although you do feel that Hinamori hit the nail on the head in one aspect. “Not only is there a deep-seated notion of the 'ideal fight' being single combat, but with so many shinigami whose basic technical skill, raw power, and unique abilities vary drastically...”

“Take the example of a battleship division,” you continue, drawing on your experiences watching the battle at Jutland something like eighty or ninety years ago now. “When you have... let's say four ships, each with the same guns, speed, armor, and turning radius, which have all practiced maneuvers together, the result is a battle division that works seamlessly as a unit.”

“But shinigami move at different speeds, focus on different powers...” Hinamori frowns, quickly seizing on the implications. “And we hardly ever train together like this, or at least not as often as we should perhaps.”

You nod. “Exactly. It's like trying to form a battle line with a dreadnought, a fast carrier, a light cruiser, and a submarine. Those ships can be deployed in sensible ways, even side by side in some cases, but it takes a much greater awareness of and experience with the capabilities and vulnerabilities of each.”

“So take Captain Shihōin over here as another example,” you continue, gesturing to your wife as she sits listening to your lecture. “I was her Lieutenant for decades before becoming a Captain, and we trained together even after that. We've gotten to the point where we sometimes coordinate without realizing it.”
>1/2

>>1371359
“And so you want us to somehow do that?” Renji asks.

Omaeda can't contain his disdain. “It doesn't sound like you have much faith in our abilities, Captain.”

“That's exactly the mindset that the Gotei 13 doesn't need,” you scowl back at the Lieutenant. “Arrancar are powerful, some of them incredibly so. If you can't win on your own, fight as a team. If your team can't win, call in a Captain.”

“Admitting you need help may not feel honorable, but dying because you were stubborn is a dereliction of duty. And that is dishonorable.”

Omaeda seems to visibly deflate, finding that he has no counterargument to your position on matters of honor.

“Now, if you've conceded the point that stubbornness and recklessness don't serve anyone,” you grumble...

>Split into two teams, we're playing a game of keep-away.
>Capture the flag, all of you versus myself and Yoruichi.
>Teams of two. Spar with each other, then against the other team. Then we rotate.
>Other?

>>1371387
>>Capture the flag, all of you versus myself and Yoruichi.
It was always going to be this way.

>>1371387
>>Capture the flag, all of you versus myself and Yoruichi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWJzENvAsZw

>>1371387
Capture the flag. Four teams: you all, me and Yoruichi, gin and rangiku (or Starrk, Mirai, and lilynette if we can't find gin), and the Tres Bestias+Harribel

>>1371387
>Capture the flag, all of you versus myself and Yoruichi.

>>1371387
>Capture the flag, all of you versus myself and Yoruichi.
We're going to be the enemy they have to team up to beat.

>>1371387
>Capture the flag, all of you versus myself and Yoruichi.

>3d10, DC 16, Crit 21, best of four.

Rolled 4, 3, 3 = 10 (3d10)

>>1371453

Rolled 8, 9, 10 = 27 (3d10)

>>1371453

Rolled 5, 5, 7 = 17 (3d10)

>>1371453

Rolled 7, 2, 3 = 12 (3d10)

SATAN

>>1371461
Behold, glorious escalating dice!

>>1371461
Riku plays for keeps

>>1371470
Nah we just finally beat sense into their heads.

File: __shihouin_yoruichi_bleac(...).jpg (43 KB, 610x666)

43 KB JPG

“Alright, so here's the exercise,” you explain. “We're playing a game of capture the flag with two teams. Captain Shihōin and I will be one team, and the five of you will be the other team. Each one of you will come take a turn coming up with a strategy to get our flag back across the center of the field without losing your own, starting with Omaeda.”

“Why do I have to go first?”Omaeda asks.

“Because in theory you have command experience,” you reply. “I'm aware that going first is a disadvantage, so that should be enough to offset. Sound good?”

“I take it we're not allowed to say no?” Renji sighs.

Yoruichi smiles right back at him. “Smart boy. Oh, and if you're knocked to the ground you're out. Same goes for us.”

Two fabric 'flags' are produced in short order, one in red and one in blue, tied to long bamboo shafts speared into the turf. A line is drawn across the practice field in white chalk dust, halfway between the flags which face each other along a more or less clear line of sight surrounded on either side by trees and small buildings.

The five Lieutenants gather on one side of the line, and Omaeda says something about “numerical superiority”.

“You'll know what to do,” Yoruichi shrugs, offering her own version of a plan.

“Probably,” you nod.

“GO!” Omaeda shouts, and his four peers rush forward. Their shunpō are fairly conservative and they try their best to stick to cover... all except Omaeda himself who hangs back. Eventually the advance slows as the others realize this.

“What're you doing!?” Renji shouts angrily over his shoulder.

“Tenran!” Yoruichi shouts, sending a powerful cyclone whipping right through the center of the field and forcing Omaeda to shunpō frantically for cover... and allowing you to reach out and snag the red flag after a single hirenkyaku.

With a smile on your face you kick off backwards, allowing Renji and Miyako to crack skulls as they move to try and catch you at the same time.
>1/2

>>1371494
In mere seconds you and Yoruichi have won practically uncontested, and you hand her the enemy flag with a bow.

“The token of victory, Lady Yoruichi.”

She bows as well, receiving the flag with a facetious ladylike poise and grace. “Well fought, Lady Riku. Well fought.”

“Aw, I thought for sure that was gonna work!” Omaeda groans, stepping out from behind a tree.

“You were gonna try and sacrifice us to get an opening to abuse your shunpō...” Miyako grumbles, rubbing her head where Renji's hit her.

“It was a good idea, just poorly executed,” Yoruichi admits thoughtfully. “Very much like an Onmitsu should be thinking... but in refusing to tell your allies the whole plan you lost their trust. They made poor diversions because they moved too cautiously to present a credible threat.”

“While all it took was one shot for Yoruichi to give me the same sort of opening,” you continue. “Because even Omaeda wasn't fully committed. He wanted to save his own skin just as much as the rest of you.”

“Yeah, that checks out,” Renji nods sagely. “Otherwise he'd have had me do the dash in for your flag.”

“What!?” Omaeda demands, more shocked than mad.

“You're slower than me,” Renji continues, “because I'm lighter, stronger, and my reiatsu is more powerful.”

Omaeda's jaw hangs as Yoruichi laughs raucously. “Boy, he sure has you pinned, Omaeda! Maybe now you'll start taking your hohō training more seriously again?”
>3d10, DC 17, Crit 22
>Best of four

Rolled 2, 8, 10 = 20 (3d10)

>>1371511

Rolled 6, 3, 1 = 10 (3d10)

>>1371511

Rolled 9, 9, 7 = 25 (3d10)

>>1371511

Rolled 10, 2, 10 = 22 (3d10)

>>1371519
>>1371521
What is better...a higher number, or another expression of our sacred number? A 10 10 2 no less.

>>1371524
It's practically the perfect roll.

>>1371529
And on a teamwork roll no less. The only thing maybe better with Yoruichi is a 2 2 2.

File: yoruichicominginhot.gif (374 KB, 496x280)

374 KB GIF

“Kira, your turn next!” you bark, and Yoruichi tosses the flag back at the other team. “Hope you come up with something a bit more creative than that.”

Sure enough Kira and the others talk it over for a while, and Kira seems to be arguing a point quite strenuously. Finally they seem to settle on an arrangement where Kira and Hinamori move towards the front with Omaeda and Renji behind them. Rather than committing totally it seems that they've elected to leave Miyako near the flag to prevent you from so easily grabbing it this time.

“Go!” Kira shouts, and the four Lieutenants charge much quicker this time.

“Enkosen!” Kira and Hinamori both shout as Yoruichi raises her hand again, raising barriers that cover Renji and Omaeda behind them.

“Sajō Sabaku!” Yoruichi shouts at the same time you do, sending a series of golden reishi chains wide around each pair of Lieutenants to bind them together and effectively hobble all four and giving Yoruichi an easy opportunity to charge past them.

As Hinamori quickly begins an incantation that starts to weaken her own bindings Kira and Omaeda simply roll over with the larger Lieutenant coming to rest directly on top of the blonde nobleman, and Yoruichi throws a few punches at Miyako.

“Too slow!” you shout, grabbing Renji by the wrist and shoulder and slamming him into Hinamori even as they break free of the bakudō, and Miyako finds herself pinned to a wall by Youichi's Shitotsu Sansen.

It's over mere moments after that.

“You bunched up,” you frown, “and leaving one person on defense was an improvement. But not by enough.”

>dice+3d10, DC 18, Crit 21

Rolled 7, 3, 4 = 14 (3d10)

>>1371577

Rolled 10, 8, 5 = 23 (3d10)

>>1371577