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Alder leaped backwards as Soujirou lunged forward, keeping the gap between them as Soujirou attempted to attack, meeting no avail as he swung at empty air. When he finished, Alder lunged in, and made it seem like he was going to swing directly at the substitute Shinigami's chest. He feinted to the right, however, and aimed a powerful roundhouse kick straight at Soujirou's shoulderblades, intending to make his back sore from the impact, in an attempt to limit movement.

"Of course, I could use my Shikai....but, it wouldn't be fair at all. The only thing I'd be testing you with is your ability to block from multiple sides." Alder said with a chuckle, hinting a bit at his Shikai.

Soujirou sidestepped to the left, managing to dodge the incoming rapier strike. He didn't manage to see the kick, though. Luckily for him, when he sidestepped, the kick missed its intended mark, too. Just managing to graze his upper arm. "Whoa, that was real close!" He exclaimed. He grinned, and went back into his fighting stance. "Well....I guess I'll have to make slow, strong strikes." He mumbled to himself. He grabbed the hilt with both hands. He rushed forward, while planning his next attack.

He changed the way he grabbed it so that he was just using it with his left hand. He swung diagonally, from top left to bottom right. Just before he was about to swing down, he dropped his sword. He let his right hand catch it, since his right hand was at waist level. He used that brief moment where his opponent may have been surprised to his advantage. As soon as he grabbed the sword with his right hand, he swung up diagonally, from the right to the left.

"Hmph." Soujirou frowned as he saw Alder smack his sword. Since he had just let go of the sword when the rapier hit, the sword went flying to his left. There was no time to get it either, for Alder was already starting his next move. "A bakudou?" He questioned. He didn't have time to ponder what that meant though. A red light was moving towards him, and fast. It was also coming down toward him, so there wasn't really a way to dodge it by going back. So, he tried a different approach.

He dived to his left, letting the light soar over his legs. He grabbed his zanpakuto as he landed on the ground, then rolled into a crouched position, all in one fluid motion. He lifted himself up and swiftly twisted into a defensive stance, to block any more attacks that may have came.

Soujirou shut his eyes closed for about half a second. He was starting to get a headache because he was overanalyzing all of his and his opponent's moves. He breathed in and out a few times to steady himself.

His eyes shot back open, and he smiled slightly. He switched into his fighting stance. He ran smoothly across the gap between him and his enemy, almost as if he was gliding. He then proceeded to lunge forward, toward Alder's stomach. At the last second, he let go of the sword so that it would keep flying forward. Then with the leg that was behind him when he lunged, which was his left, he swung it and performed a roundhouse kick to Alder's side. It wasn't just any kick, though. He had concentrated his reiryoku so that he would get a nice strength boost. It wouldn't be much, but it woiuld be enough to hurt if it hit.

"Crap!" Soujirou exclaimed as his leg "bounced" off of the sphere that Alder had just created. He staggered backward, trying to recover from the kickback. Or whatever. As he was trying to recover, Alder formed another bakudo. "Oh boy. What is it now?" He thought in his head as he managed to gain a footing.

His sword was on the ground, near Alder. He was still disoriented from the amount of force that had come back at him with his kick. This situation was not good at all. As he tried to wobble backwards, the other bakudo hit him. The rope immediately tied around him, and he tipped over sideways. He tried to move his arms around to loosen the ropes. It wasn't going to happen.

"Hm..." Soujirou pondered with Alder as he received his zanpakuto. "You have shikai, correct?" He asked. "Well then you may want to check that out. I know I can't. I'm not strong enough. But...you have something to defend yourself with." He sat down on the bench near Alder and looked up at the screen. "It may be an exciting adventure, and it'll be better than just sitting here, talking to me." He grinned.


"You know what? I'm going to go help out, too. It was nice meeting you! I guess I'll see you again soon." Soujirou got up from the bench and started to run. "Wait. That dude said that it was in the desert, didn't he?"

(Exit)