[Event] Gotei Games, First Round Duel [Hana vs Norosuke]

Hana Ishikawa was invited to the first round of the Gotei Games to duel against Norosuke Uramura. There was a single limiting factor by which they cannot activate their Shikai. She wasn't too fussed by the restriction since Hana is the 3rd Seat of the 4th Division, and it is to build up publicity. Hana was wearing her soul reaper garb with her multicolored hairband with her usual smile on her face in the dueling area. There will be a spectacle involved with this duel, but thankfully it won't involve her more powerful abilities. "I am going to enjoy this duel to my best ability! Let's have a good duel, Norosuke, my friend!" Hana exclaimed to the crowd and her opponent.

Hana was heavily stuck in a mentality of being enthralled in the battle while being part of one. She was happy that she was in the Gotei Games since it happened; she wasn't a part of it. Therefore, as a part of the 4th Division, she's going to hype up the crowd as much as possible. It was always good to encourage crowds of people instead of disappointing them. 'I will try not to get too serious in this duel since that would be bad for me.' Hana thought with readjusting her hairband slightly. She kept her smile on her face intending to take it not as seriously since all the times she does, and she gets in trouble with how much serious she has been.

Norosuke did not expect to fight Hana again so soon. He wasn't sure what this bread and circus was about at all, since he had a mission to go to and he had to go to it fairly soon. Expending his energy on a surprise tournament would only tire him out and yet, he didn't want to lose. Though he had foolishly allowed his skills to dull and stagnate in the past, Norosuke's goal was always to be the best swordsman, and this looked like a good way to prove it. His first opponent was one he had beat in the past, and not very long ago at that.

"I hope you've improved since last we met." Norosuke said. When he took his position, Norosuke didn't even draw his zanpakuto. The fighting position he took was a hakuda position with his legs bent slightly forward and spaced shoulder's length apart with his left foot forward and right foot back. A standard foot placement. He led with his left hand halfway balled into a fist while his right hand guarded the front of his body.

Hakuda was not one of Norosuke's strong points, but this looked like a good way to challenge himself against an opponent he already knew he was better at in swordplay.

Hana had to place more care on her strategy than previously since she did lose to Norosuke in the past. She mustn't get herself worked up on dueling Norosuke this time around. Hana did hope to show better what she did than previously in the back of her mind. There was a problem with her getting overly excitable and taking things too seriously. 'I wonder what Norosuke will do in this duel than how he defeated me previously.' Hana thought slightly about what he would do.

"I have gotten better, Norosuke." Hana said with confidence to back up her claim. She pulled the Shimmering Atasi out of her sheath since the spirit is a woman. It caught her off guard that Norosuke went with a hand-to-hand combat stance over Zanpakuto vs. Zanpakuto. She put her Zanpakuto in an angled position, which caused her to switch to her more competitive personality, but it would take things differently from the previous defeat. Many factors caused her to take her friend a bit more seriously than previously.

"Here I come, Norosuke!" Hana exclaimed with a slightly different tone in her voice. This tone of voice was simply like her switch personality's more competitive tone with some subtleties trying something different. She ran at Norosuke with her zanpakuto held primarily by her left hand first and her right hand second. Therefore, she swung at Norosuke in a downward motion with her blade.

What separates Hana's personalities, if she had a split personality in the first place? Was it her tone of voice? Sure. Was it her nature? Her competitiveness? If such was the case, then what made this part of her more competitive than she was normally? What made her a different person and not simply a different aspect of the same person? Her animus, perhaps?

These were not questions that Norosuke pondered often. They didn't matter to him in the slightest. What mattered was the blade coming down over him and his quick reaction to it. His leading arm blocked with the wrist against the flat of the blade. Norosuke and Hana were supposed to be equal in terms of zanjutsu, but there were things that Norosuke noticed that Hana did not. He was supposed to be the best, after all. For instance, the edge and the curve of Hana's zanpakuto. A zanpakuto with a curve like hers naturally lined itself up to assist in cutting, however, Norosuke could use this to his advantage. By adjusting the position of his arm, the zanpakuto's blade slid harmlessly along his forearm, allowing him the opportunity to close the distance.

Norosuke was a male, and Hana was a female. This was a fact that did not bother Norosuke in the slightest when their faces were barely inches away from one another. Norosuke stepped forward with his right foot and in the same motion, pushed with a close palm strike aimed at Hana's ribs on her left side. He anticipated her moving backward, but there was only so far back she could go before getting out of sight of the audience- not to mention simply moving out of bounds- Norosuke's win condition.

There was a simple thing that Hana shouldn't have forgotten since Norosuke did so readily remind her. Her Zanpukto is curved over the more straight-edged blade that Norosuke has. Hana watched as her blade slid harmlessly along Norosuke's forearm, meaning he would try to close the distance. 'I don't want to lose by being ringed out since that's not a fun match. Hmm, what to do?' Hana thought before Norosuke would take a swing at her.

Hana had a deep feeling that Norosuke was trying to strike her ribs on her left side. Therefore, of trying to move backward, Hana went for dodging to right of Norosuke instead. It didn't help that Hana foolishly let go of her Zanpakuto when doing that maneuver. Norosuke grazed her in her ribs instead of a direct hit, but it slightly hurt as she gritted her teeth. She did stop herself from rolling off the arena and out of the view of the crowd.

Hana looked at the ground and noticed her Zanpakuto there instead of still in her hands. She had a nervous look on her face, even with her switch personality in effect. "I'm so sorry, Shimmering Atasi, for dropping you. I hope you can forgive this foolish woman." Hana said. However, she was now at an enormous disadvantage since she doesn't understand hand-to-hand fighting.

Hana did the best thing she could do, and that would be to get back her Zanpakuto, but Norosuke was in the way. She sighs at the whole situation since now he could easily win by probably tossing her out of the ring without much effort. All because even though he wasn't that good in hand-to-hand combat, he picked the perfect counter to her Zanpakuto's curvature. She does the best thing she could do, and that was trying to kick Norosuke in the face, even though her stance without her weapon was worse compared to having it. 'Uhh, I hope Shimmering Atasi isn't too mad for dropping her.' Hana thought to herself. She slightly sighs in frustration in making a mistake like that since other shinigami can deal with complicated maneuvers with their Zanpakuto.

Did his opponent throw the fight? It didn't matter. Norosuke wanted to conserve his energy both for the next round and for his mission. He had the opportunity to end the fight quickly and he was going to take it. Without her weapon, Hana threw a sloppy kick at Norosuke. No setup. No plan. Just desperation. Norosuke easily stepped back and away from the kick. He sighed, then drew his own zanpakuto with his right hand.

While she recovered from her kick, Norosuke grabbed Hana by her leg, the same leg that had just kicked. Then, he flicked his zanpakuto aiming for Hana's inner thigh. Much like their last fight, he stopped short of actually cutting her.

"Throw the match. You aren't going to beat me."

Overall, Hana didn't like using desperation tactics to return her Zanpakuto to her, but Norosuke was in the way. It didn't take much for Norosuke to dodge her sloppy kick that was unprepared for this situation. There was a slight look going over her face, and it was oh shit as Norosuke brought his Zanpakuto out of its sheath.

Hana recovered from kicking, but she felt her leg get grabbed by Norosuke, and it's happening again. She felt Norosuke's Zanpakuto touch her inner thigh, and she was like a cat in a bag. Thankfully, he didn't cut her like last time either, but it was frustrating. 'Losing to Norosuke, twice. Ugh, I should stop and seriously train for once in my life. Even Shimmering Atasi has been telling me that. I did get better, yes, but I need much more practice than I put in.' Hana thought to herself seriously.

Hana took a few seconds to think over what she was going to say, but it makes sense of what Norosuke said to do. Her serious switch deactivated, and her friendly teasing one activated. "A-Alright, Norosuke, you win. Would you mind letting go of my leg so I can get Shimmering Atasi back in her sheath? I am sorry to everyone for my poor performance at the games." Hana said to Norosuke and everyone else watching. When Norosuke does let go of her leg and puts away his Zanpakuto, she walks to her Zanpakuto that's on the floor and picks Shimmering Atasi up and puts it into its sheath. Afterward, Hana does leave the arena; since she did forfeit the match, it was a bit frustrating in the back of her mind.

'I forgive you, Hana, for dropping me, but be careful next time. The next time, you might not be so lucky with a friend taking it easy on you again.' Shimmering Atasi said in Hana's mind with a motherly tone to her voice. Hana brightens up with hearing Shimmering Atasi's words, and her smile is happily placed on her face again. Her Zanpakuto's spirit is correct since the Gotei's enemies would take these mistakes and kill her.

"Don't apologize." Norosuke said, then let go of Hana's leg. After having only drawn his zanpakuto for less than a minute, Norosuke sheathed it. He had a new strategy he wanted to try out and his hakuda was just the beginning stages of it. He supposed that would have to wait for later rounds. He had a disdained look on his face as he walked toward the edge of the ring, but still gave a respectful bow, as if wanting to preserve the semblance of a show that was still going. As he recovered from his bow, he had a look of pity for Hana.

"Your weakness comes from your weak mindset. You always say you have two personalities. It's about time you integrated them into one another." Norosuke advised. "If you can do that, then maybe you'll have a shot at beating me the next time we meet."

It seems as if Hana has much to learn about doing something about these failures of late. Hana did hear Norosuke speak about what she shouldn't have done, but the poor performance needed to be addressed with one. Hana slightly sighed, no longer in the arena because of the rush to get around how that happened a second time, losing to Norosuke.  There was a hint of pity in the air Hana could feel, which she looked back to see Norosuke.

His words wounded her more than how she felt about everything, but it made sense in what he was saying. Her split personalities should come together instead of staying separated, but she has no idea how to integrate them. "I must say, that's terrific advice, but how does one integrate two separate personalities? I didn't have that type of training before." Hana said, a bit unsure of herself. She was putting her hand on her cheek because of the uncertainty about it.

After that, he said if she does specifically integrate her two personalities, Hana might have a chance to beat him. Hana gave a smile and nods with that. "I will keep that in mind, Norosuke. I do hope you do well in the Gotei Games later rounds. Good luck to you." Hana said with a smile. She then turns back around to leave the Gotei Games, but she had gathered some great advice by this defeat like the last time.

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