WAKE to DREAM

**Date Started:** 3 December 2021
**Date Completed:** Ongoing
**Next Role-Play**: Completed 11 December 2021
**Users Involved:** User:Sir Ice Man, User:AbysmalShadows
**Setting:** Delhi, India (Human World)
**Characters Involved**:
Sakata, Minamoto Kuchiki

*On the grand wheel that turns in endless silence.*

*Souls strewn across epochs of time reach out.*

*Raging hearts, blinded by hubris fall to slumber.*

*Shadows of dreams and nightmares lived, wake O dreamer, wake.*

## Asleep

There was a wide open ground in the wilderness, one of the very, *very* few left in Delhi. The air was clear (another rarity for Delhi), and for a reason or two, Sakata was there. She checked her mobile device. One minute to noon. If there were a couple of things one could expect from nobility, they were discipline and punctuality. Then again, when she first met Minamoto Kuchiki, she did feel that he seemed odd. Sakata had a rough life in a poor, violent province and never had much of an opinion for nobility, but after her recent interactions with Kurome, Sasaki and Minamoto, she had gotten fond of the Kuchiki clan. Except Seikyoku. *That prick.*

Anyway, she looked forward to her training with Minamoto and Lieutenant Soichiro Tenma of the Fifth Division. Aside from being Shinigami serving the Gotei 13, another thing that was common among the three was that all three of them, gunning for immense power, had trained with Kurome Kuchiki of the Sixth Division, and had learned a lot. Still gunning for great power, the three decided to train together, and chose the Human world as a location for Sakata had a mission there, but that is another story. Waiting for a Senkaimon to open any second, Sakata took out a cigar and, clenching it between her teeth, lit it up.

The air shifted subtlety, the smell of ozone thickened and the pressure in the air rose sharply. There were heavy clouds at first but now the sky had cleared away revealing the majesty of the blazing sun. Yet to Sakata's trained senses she felt the pinprick sensation of demon magic settling into the area around them. Off in the distance the air glistened faintly like waves of heat or oil on a canvas.

It was at that moment that Minamoto appeared. No Senkaimon, no indication that he hadn't been there before. As if her eyes had swept across the horizon, seeing nothing and on the return he was suddenly there. It was a bit jarring to experience, but given the pleased expression on Minamoto's face one could assume he had planned it somehow.

He pointed a finger upwards. "This spell should prevent any..., " He paused for dramatic effect, "-leakage from our little training. It will also block any wayward attacks that manage to slip by us. Now I've a question for you Sakata. Are you here to unlock your Bankai? Or to return your Bankai?"

“That is *two* questions,” spoke Sakata, before she prepared to speak again. For a woman who prided herself on being laconic, she was quite the chatterbox. “I have got few things to say. First of all, Minamino, brilliant casting of Kyokkō. Believe in me when I say that I know when a master casts my favorite spell and you just did it. Secondly, did ya like your training with Kuchiki-zan? I hope you did. Thirdly, where is Tenma? Fourth of all, what should I call you? Kuchiki-zan and Kuchiki-kun were insistent on proper courtesies. They did not say it but I knew they were.” Her smile vanished. Her eyes narrowed, “Last but not the least, elaborate on your question, because I do not like vague crap.”

Minamoto was a taken aback by the flurry of questions. It was rare for him to be stumped so promptly into silence, and even rarer that someone had the privileage of seeing it face to face. Nevertheless he recovered quickly and answered rather pointedly in turn. "You're welcome. Kurome did herself proud, and it was a pleasure to see her come into her own. Running late. Minamoto is fine. Lastly, you know *precisely* what I'm talking about."

“Or do I?” spoke Sakata, with a brow raised. “No. I do not. Actually, I do. I am here to unlock my Bankai. I do not even know what the other thing means. Of course, to unlock my Bankai, I need to unlock my Shikai. How do you even do it? How did *you* do it? You know, I have often talk to my sword. I have been doing it for over a hundred years, but I never bothered to learn his name. When I was in Akatani, I told him, ‘I need to know your name, man.’ Few days later, on my last day in Soul Society, I sat down to talk to him, and he told me his name is Black. I got so excited! He was lying, of course, but it was very funny. I mean, he has never lied before but whatever. What kind of mother names her child Black?” A sudden wave of realization hit her, and then a stunned Sakata spoke, “His name is Black, is it not?!”

Minamoto shook his head. "No. When you learn their name. You *know*. It's like a revelation, once its revealed to you, nothing is ever the same. You look at the world differently." Minamoto's eyes drift towards the sword at her hip. "I can only imagine the pain of your spirit companion. A master unable,  or unwilling to hear their name, clinging to some trauma they refuse to move beyond, or see a truth about themselves that only stagnates their growth." His form blurred and he instantly invaded her personal space. His scrutiny of her was unbearably intense. As if being judged yet judgement was still undetermined.

There was hope.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to restort to drastic measures. In over a century you've yet to progress to a sufficient degree. The Thousand Year Blood War taught us all a lesson. Complacency is death. We do not have the luxury to slowly cultivate power as we once did. It must be amassed and mastered in short order. The world will no longer wait. Prepare yourself." His form became hazy and indistinct until it disappeared altogether. The pressure around her only seemed to increase. A weight settled on her shoulders and the air became thick and dense.

A voice seemed to echo all around Sakata, subvocalized into her consciousness as if he was standing right next to her speaking. "We are going to rouse your spirit companion out of idle. Which means, that I will have come at you with the intention to kill. From one spirit to another, we will teach you despair, so that in your weakness you will face the undeniable truth."

Minamoto's spiritual power skyrocketed becoming an overwhelming presence and his voice rang out, echoed by his and an unknown woman.

"**Turn and Dispel! Kanzadatō!**"

The illusion hiding his form shattered like glass revealing the Kuchiki wreathed in swirling tidal wave of raging waters that swirled and flowed around his blade and himself.

Sakata drew her sword. “Bring it on,” she said.

However, she was clearly not ready to face her new preceptor, despite the fact that she told him to bring it on. There was something, an idea, clawing on her mind. She remembered the day in Akatani when she felt incomprehensibly weak. She remembered the moment she asked het sword his name but got no answer. She remembered the day in the Sixth Division barracks when her sword told her to say his name among other things that would seem vague, but somehow felt concise, concrete and direct. Finally, she remembered the day it seemed that her Zanpakutō finally told her his name. *My sword never lies. He never does! If he told me his name, then that has to be his name. But I just could not feel that to be true. Minamoto said that I will know, then why do I not? Did Minamoto lie? Did Black lie? Or is there something wrong with me? A crisis of faith! Why can I not trust what is part of my own soul?!*

Sakata closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then, she opened her eyes and exhaled. Now was not the time to reminisce. Now was the time to act. She raised her spiritual pressure, having grown considerably since the day at Akatani, but still dwarfed by her best, for a peek at her peak would be over a hundred years ago. Compared to that power, her current was akin to a lone tree in a forest. As the Kuchiki released his Shikai, Sakata slouched slightly, ready for anything.

"***Rejoice, child! You face the might of Kanzadatō herself! Stand against my unyielding strength! We shall cut through the despair that has embraced you, and reawaken the dormant power within***!"

That voice was not Minamoto. It was a woman's tone, filled with a fierce compassion, and strength of will that was quite frankly bewildering given who her supposed master was. They say that the spirit of Zanpakuto is a reflection of the one who wields it, how is it possible that this woman is the spirit of Minamoto?

Whatever the answer it didn't matter, Minamoto walked forward slowly closing the distance. "Kanzadatō is far more kind than I am. You know, the reason I prefer the allure of magic to the steel of the sword is simple. With Kido I can subdue my adversary at my leisure. But by drawing my blade? It is a promise that I will fight you with everything I have."

Minamoto shrugged abashedly. "I am also ashamed to admit, that I will very much enjoy what I will do to you. I say this so that you understand what is about happen." He leveled his blade at Sakata.

"Prepare yourself."

Minamoto was suddenly right next to her. There had been no flicker, no tell-tale sign that he had even begun his movement, one moment he was standing a distance aways, and in the next he was right there in front of her. It was just that fast. He was crouched low, his arm coiled across his body, torrents of tidal waves bursting out of the tip of the blade, poised and ready to strike.

"**Agitowari.**" His sword blurred, though it was evident from her experience that it could go much faster. In the end it didn't matter, the sheer power and velocity of his blade had released a pressure wave beneath them causing the earth to crack and buckle disrupting her footing. Meanwhile his sword raced upward in a ferocious upward slash, it was barely visible to her eyes, the strength behind the stroke would bisect her whole!

Sakata did not even need a sound to intercept the blow approaching her. With barely a movement on her part, using motion as minimally as she possibly could to inflict a force with power as great as she could manage, she swung her blade against the upward slash of her attacker. If the blades were to connect, the latter one should most likely be pinned to the ground, with the force striking the ground mostly finding its source from Minamoto himself. Even with spiritual pressure as massive as the one that flowed in Sakata's sword, the blade would have chipped. As for Kanzadatō, depending upon the pressure flowing within the blade, it would have remained scratchless, or been chipped itself or worse, but cut entirely.

The fact of the matter was that Sakata was all too ready to swing her blade, even before Minamoto vanished from her vision. In fact, she was prepared for it, anything before the blade of her preceptor — now her foe — even uttered a word.

Sakata knew exactly where the Kuchiki was. Not from her eyes, and not even from her spiritual senses, but from the shift in the wind, to the rumbling of the ground beneath her feet, it was all too clear where the man was. The change in her footing barely affect her, with with a shuffle of her feet, she was in position to make her move.

*Oh, ‘child’, eh? Is your sword bloody patronizing me? I should not even bother to ask you, Minamoto, for I am almost entirely sure that I am not entire sure what patronizing even bloody means.*

It was only after their blades made contact would Sakata learn to understand why Minamoto chose to release his Zanpakuto to make her fall into despair. As the waters released by Kanzadatō made contact with her blade, a strange phenomena happened. All the downward force she had put into her blade was suddenly and irrevocably rebounded into the opposite direction, as if she had always been swinging upward. The sudden shock would undoubatly throw off her balance and force her to reorient herself to adjust to the sudden change in vector.

"Surprised?" He asked confidently. "I've always been fond of the classic villian explaining away their abilities to the enemy. So I shall indulge myself in this hallowed pasttime. You see, anything hit by Kanzadatō's water will have its position and momentum changed into any other direction of my choosing. Fighting me in melee is, unfortunately for you a dead end strategy."

Minamoto having clearly anticipated the result of their clash was already moving his body to his next move. He pivoted on his foot, shifting himself into a wider stance, his sword arm coiling tighter across his chest than before. Spinning on his foot he launched himself upward in a dervish of raging tidal waves and steel, a whirling cyclone that would hammer at her defenses until they crumbled before his flurry. Worst of all Sakata must be mindful that any connection she or her blade makes with Minamoto could result in a disastrous shift in her own body creating an opponent. Let alone what would happen if she thought of counterattacking.

Sakata was shocked to see what had happened, but not all to much. It took her less than a moment to recompose herself. She realized something that sje should have realized even before the fight began. Mosr obviously, the Shikai of a Kidō master would not be a simple melee ability. No, it had to be some strange ability that she was in no way prepared beforehand. She was thrown off her feet by the ability of Minamoto's Shikai. By the time she reoriented herself, she was already in position to be struck by her preceptor's next attack.

Sakata's next move was wholly contradictory in and of itself. Her spiritual pressure was raised, as if poised to fight back, yet she seemed all too ready to not do anything at all, as if wishing to take the attack head on, despite knowing full well that it would be disastrous.

*Why am I here?* She wondered. *What am I fighting for.*

*You know why you are here.* She heard the astringent voice all too familiar to her echo in her mind. *You know exactly what you are fighting for.*

*Power.* She clenched her teeth. *I do not understand! Why do I desire power when I know all too well and better than anyone else that it is absolutely meaningless when you need it the most?!*

Struck by the monumental force of Minamoto's Shikai, Sakata was cut up severely in her arms and stomach. She was sent crashing into a stone wall. The impact not only shattered the wall, but inflicted a wound on her head as well.

“Looks like your old pal is in a sticky wicket,” Sakata looked at her sword, “Whatever shall she do?!”

*Rise, darling.* The astringent voice echoed again.

“Oh, please be quiet, darling. My head hurts. I do not know if it is a headache or the profusely bleeding wound.”

Sakata was now perfectly prepared. Prepared to yield. Just a moment before she would have declared her own defeat, she halted.

She then used her favorite Kidō spell, Kyokkō, to disappear.

Minamoto landed lightly on his feet, flicking the blood of his Zanpakuto using chiburi. He gazed neutrally towards the form of Sakata who seemed to be having some sort of internal crisis. A plethora of emotions crossed over her face; surprise giving way to confusion, from there frustration to despair and finally fear. He watched motionlessly as she wrapped herself in an illusion to hide her presence.

"Foolish little girl." He said mockingly. "Under pressure, we show to the world our true selves. Is this cowardice who you truly are?" Chuckling, he reached out with a hand and seemingly gripped the air itself before rending it forward.

Noren Mekuri. A very potent anti-illusion spell, almost specifically designed to render Kyokko impotent. The illusion Sakata had woven around herself was ripped apart as a rainbow curtain of scintillating colors was rendered exposed and naked from Minamoto's Kido. There Sakata's form was revealed to all.

Once the illusion was unveiled, so was a leaping Sakata, already swinging her blade at Minamoto's head. Wishing not to chop his scalp clean off, she swung with a reverse grip, with the blunt side towards her preceptor's head. Though she was in great pain from the wounds already inflicted on her, she did not utter a sound, and in her eyes was the same sheen of cold iron as against Kurome Kuchiki.

A melodious laughter echoed out, as a surging tide intercepted Sakata's attack and the magical nature of Kanzadato immediately went into effect. As her blade crashed into the wall of water her sword and indeed her entire body was instantly and suddenly turned to the side. This caused her sword stroke to go wide and her momentum carried her off away from Minamoto.

This was the terrifying power of Kanzadato. Her mirth was clear as day as she continued laughing in the face of Sakata's efforts. An ability like this was something like an absolute defense. How with her current level of skill could she hope to best such a strange ability? Would long attacks even work against something like Kanzadato's ability? She had been previously rebuffed earlier, rebounding away. It stands to reason that any long range attack would simply be reflected back towards the attacker as well.

So *what* could she do!?

"***Yes little child. I'm sure you've noticed by now. With those paltry skills of yours, nothing you have will ever overcome my power. Maybe if you had the aid of your spirit companion, then you might stand something of a chance. But as you are now? You are an ant trying to fight against the boot***."

Minamoto's piercing gaze was leveled at her as Sakata's frustration began to mount. His face broke out into a twisted smile, amused at her suffering. "In your fear, you must have forgotten." He gestured lazily to the sky above them.

"I cast a barrier technique before the fight even began. And the Kido Corps control the Senkaimon, as the senior representative here, no gate will open for you." Minamoto raised his sword towards Sakata. "You are trapped. There is no escape from here. Now draw steel or surrender your blade. Those are your only choices here."

Sakata crashed once again, and once again without uttering a sound of pain. The only thing she let out was a sigh, one of relief. *I have figured it out! This whole exercise has no purpose.*

The blade spoke to her again. *Do not say that, my dearest.*

Sakata sat down, crossed her legs, and pulled out a cigar. With a snap of her fingers, she lit it, and took a long puff. As she smoked in piece, she turned to the Kuchiki, “You are right, Minamoto. Those really are my only two options, and my choice is, frankly, very easy. I yield. Let us call it a day, now. Not a very nice one, of course.”

She laid her back against the shambles of shattered stone wall, took another puff and exhaled. With a slight smile on her face, she spoke again, “I honestly do not know what I am doing and what is going on. Why did I go to train with Kuchiki-zan? Why am I here training with you? It is nonsense. Utter nonsense. A wild craving from my younger days. You see, I am a Zaraki woman. I crave to fight. I crave to rise. Even though I know that it is absolutely meaningless. Power is absolutely meaningless. I often like to laugh at those who chase power. Like a vile rich man who tosses a bunch of coins in a crowd of the poor, and laughs at how they react. The only sad part is… I often have to laugh at myself, for there are moments when I…” Her eyes welled up. Her jaw clenched. With venom in every word, she spoke through her teeth, “…crave power and chase it…”

“Like a fool!” She yelled out, and then exhaled again, letting her tears flow freely. Gently, she spoke again, “A fool… who knows she is a fool for craving power, chasing power… knowing… all too well… and better than anyone else… that it is utterly, incomprehensibly…” She was sobbing now. Clutching her face in her hands, she growled, “…so brutally meaningless!”

Minamoto sheathed his blade, though the pressure of his Zanpakuto's release did not diminish in the least. He walked over towards Sakata and as if tapping the air he cast a spell. From there reishi began to coalasce and form as the earth rose transforming into a luxurious chair, which he then sat in. He let out an audible breath and regarded Sakata with something approaching exasaparation. But it was not he who spoke first, rather it was his Zanpakuto. Her voice was like the pounding of drums, the churning of the sea, the stalwart eternity that was the heavens themselves. Beautiful, terrifying, and so otherworldly.

"***You are naive***." Her voice cut through her thoughts like a blade. "***Those thoughts have no place in a world like this. Strength matters. All the conviction in the world is meaningless if you do not have the strength to see them through. What you speak of is power. But power and strength are two very different things. Strength is what comes from the heart. It is the passion, the drive, the utter relentless willpower to forge ahead no matter the obstacle in their path.***"

It is only hearing her speak again that Sakata realizes that she's not actually hearing her at all. This voice comes from everywhere, like the pressure she's surrounded by pulsates in a kind of rhythm that translates to speech. She can feel the words and their meaning reverberate in her bones, each utterance sending shockwaves throughout her mind and body.

"***Power can only be measured as a force for change. Power is what is born from strength. Good or evil, strength is all that matters. What you lack is not power, but strength of will***."

Minamoto nodded in affirmation. "What ***Kanzadato*** says is true." There, she could feel it. Feel it so deep in her soul she knows without a doubt that the name he uttered, that the utterance of that name carried with it actual weight. She could sense it in his speech. Discern its meaning without even trying. *Overthrow of the Exiled God's Seat*. What a fitting name, a power fit for deposing of others, an undefeatable spirit, capable of contending against the very notion of god. This is what he meant by *knowing* the name. There's no way she wouldn't grasp the weight behind such an existence|declaration if she had actually heard her spirits real name.

"To seek strength is a noble goal. But those who seek power while lacking strength, well, those are people destined to fail. That is why you continue to fail, because you confuse strength with power. You must find your inner strength if you ever wish to move beyond. What are you willing to fight for? What are you willing to die for? You claim to love the fight but only moments ago you yielded to a superior foe. Clearly that is not the case. What you enjoy is the power a fight gives you when you fight one inferior to you. That is why you lack strength. And without strength, you have no power."

Sakata sighed, and wiped her tears. With her eyes closed, she spoke, “I am naive? No, baby, you are. Just like your pansy of a master.” She opened her eyes and looked at Minamoto, “Hey, weird lady's master. If you are no pansy, lop me head off right now. I am telling you. You heard me.”

She closed her eyes again, “You speak of conviction? Conviction achieves one nothing. Absolutely nothing. You speak of strength? Worthless! Oh, there is no passion, and there is no drive that can forge through obstacles that cannot be hopped over, no matter how hard you try! Willpower! Shit! You know nothing, like your privileged little baby of a Kuchiki master.”

Sakata rose to her feet, and looked down at Minamoto, and shouted, “Do not dare to speak of power or strength to me. Not you! Not your sword! I was strong! I was stronger than you could possibly imagine! I was stronger than you could ever hope to be! Yet! All the power in the world! All the strength to walk forward no matter what! All of it! It did nothing! None of it! NONE OF IT SAVED MY BABY!!”

Sakata collapsed once again. “When I got pregnant, I was scared. I begged my foes to cease our conflicts just for a while, so I could bring this new life into the world. I never expected them to, but they agreed, and agreed with smiles, too! They even promised me that once they kill me after the baby is born, they will care for her. I was the happiest woman in Zaraki…

…And then the day came, when they handed me my daughter. Still as a rock. I cried. I screamed. I begged. For doctors. For sorcerers. And, yes, they came, and they administered their medicines, did their operations, casted their spells…

…And nothing happened. I was a Hollow, for like one, I had a hole in my heart, only I did not wear a mask. My face was naked, my pain bared, and whoever saw it, saw that I was nothing, not even something to be slain, for I was as dead as one could be…

…I turned to everything, to everyone! But nothing could give me anything. Even this sword of mine! The essence of my soul! Even it could do nothing…

…I had lost the only thing I ever loved before I even had her. I thought, maybe, another child will bring me peace. I was blessed with two! I looked into their eyes, trying to find my daughter, and I saw nothing. I was furious and I… and I… and… what I did was…

…Just lop me head off, weird lady's master.”

She let go of the hilt the sword, but realized she had not really let go, for she still held on to a hand.

She looked behind at her sword, and saw her dearest friend, the ghost of her sword.

“You dragged me into your world without even knowing, eh? I thought my only purpose was to clean dishes.” The spirit smiled, and with tears in his eyes, spoke warmly, “I am sorry, bitch.”

“Sorry for what? There was nothing you could do. Do not be sorry, mutt.”

“I am not going to apologize for something I could not help. No. I am sorry… for telling you to fight… for telling you to rise. I did not ask, like one does of one's master. I did not serve, like one does for one's master. I told you to do it, as if I was your master… as if I was commanding you… even though I have no position to do so. Bitch, please! I beg of you like a servant! Please! Let me to serve you like a servant!”

Sakata smiled, “I appreciate it, but I do not require your service.”

“You will.”

“Oh, really?” She asked sarcastically, almost laughing, almost shedding a tear.

“I will bring you hope.”

“Excuse you?” Sakata raised a brow.

“I said I will…”

“Bring me hope, yes, I heard you. That is not what ‘Excuse you’ means…

‘Excuse me’ means ‘Pardon, I did not hear you’…

‘Excuse you’ means…”

“‘I heard and you have less than a few seconds to explain yourself’, yes, I know,” spoke the ghost, nodding, “I will explain myself. You think you have lost the only thing that you have ever truly loved. I will give you another. Not to replace your daughter, no. I will give you another to love, and to make you see that you have the strength to love more than you even know.”

“That is impossible. You are part of my soul! You will find no answer if there is no answer in my soul. And there is no answer in my soul.”

“I know it is impossible. I will do the impossible, with insurmountable power and unflinching strength. I need to be powerful to do it, and for me to be powerful, you need to be strong. Stronger than ever before. Once you get there, I will do it. We will do it. Together.”

*You are a foolish fool.*

That was what she decided what she was going to say, only she could not say it. She wanted hope, no matter what. Like a baby looking at a father who could, in her eyes, accomplish anything, she spoke through her teeth, “Cross your heart, mutt?”

“Cross our heart, bitch,” the ghost answered.

Sakata tilted her neck, and whimpered.

“A lie?”

“A promise.”

The ghost answered, caressing his master's cheek.

The unkeepable promise. There was no way that he could be possibly accomplish what he just promised. All he could do was to fool himself and his master that they will achieve what they set out to do and hope that one day, Sakata will have something. Something not to fill the hole in her heart, but to make her realize that a soul has more than enough strength to keep countless hearts beating. Sakata's pain was impossible to heal, but it was possible to feel joy with pain, to feel more joy and feel it more than pain, and to just keep living.

A hundred years of motivation did not achieve what a single promise of hope did.

The ghost vanished, and Sakata was once again holding the hilt of her sword. Smiling truly, freely, she pointed her blade at Minamoto and spoke, “Unsheathe, weird lady's master.”

## Awake

"So you found your answer then?" Sakata's resolve as plain as day to see. Perhaps she had. Smiling lightly Minamoto drew Kanzadato. "Very well then then let us move towards the climax."

His spiritual pressure bloomed, casting streams of azure light in the wake of his declaration. Raising a hand high demon magic surged and danced up his arm like lightning before coalascing into the palm of his hand.

"I hope you will be able to contend against this. At full chant, a spell of this level will destroy this entire area. Prepare yourself." Minamoto warned. He then held his open hand over the blade of his Zanpakuto, his voice intermingling with that of Kanzadato herself!

"***Demon Sword Evocation: Heaven Chant*** (魔剣の召喚:天国の聖歌, *Maken no Shōkan: Tengoku no Seika*): ***Sprinkled on the bones of the beast***!" Lightning cracked and cackled in luminous golden arcs before condensing and compressed into an orb.

"***Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm.***" Howling winds sliced through the air, the atmosphere was plunged into chaos as spirit became thunder and lightning itself, the formation of power beyond the ken of mortals held within the hand of a god a death!

"***The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle! Raikōhō***!" His and Kanzadato's voices reached a crescendo as they roared the final syllable, the spell completed he did the impossible! The entirety of the spell was channelled into the blade of Kanzadato, as his hand ran across the length of her blade infusing the spell within! The torrents of water becoming writhing streams of golden plasma as he reared his sword back and poised to strike like a spear.

"Once I strike, this demon magic will be unleashed upon you. I pray you and your spirit are ready!" One final warning was all Sakata recieved before Minamoto blasted forward, forgoing all grace and subtlety. The ground beneath his feet detonated in an explosion of force. His flash steps were a staccato of booming earthquakes, and then he was upon her.

Wreathed in a halo of light and lightning, Minamoto appeared before her as though a god of lightning from old, blade poised and then piercing forward intent on smiting anything that stood in its path!

As Minamoto's spiritual pressure soared, so did Sakata's, and far higher than Minamoto could have possibly anticipated. It was so high, that even if one of nobility were to approach her, they would indubitably be suffocated by its sheer volume. Her orange-and-purple spiritual pressure painted the sky pink.

Minamoto, shrouded in the aura of azure and wielding the immensely dense and shining golden rod of plasma, rushed towards straight into a very volatile choking hazard. While the spiritual pressure shrouded her, Sakata looked dead ahead with the Raikōhō approaching her. Pointing her blade directly towards the approaching attack, she yelled out, “Ready, mutt?!”

The astringent voice tore through the auras, “Ready, bitch!”

“**TEAR IT APART! KUROFUNE!**”

Five brilliant arrows of white spiritial pressure with a trail of pink and blue afterglows were let loose like a mighty cannon against the golden wave of thunder and lightning that leapt at him. The clash created a giant scar of innumerable colors, dispelling every cloud in sight and rendering the brightly painted sky jet black for the seemingly everlasting yet briefest of moments. The golden wave, torn apart by the arrows, uprooted all the trees and the stone walls around, creating a perfect storm of olive and silver.

In the middle of storm of oliver and silver, shining in the afterglow of a thousand rainbows and the shreds of golden sparks stood a rejoicing Sakata, smiling through the blood, sweat and tears as she looked towards the grandeur of her glorious arrows of platinum dashing across the black sky.