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(Part two here)
But first...
...they must do...
...the Luck-Luck Dance...
...a ritual that didn't bring Ikkaku any visible luck in his fight with Ichigo.
Ichigo and Gegetsuburi are completely unimpressed by the display, however.
And Ikkaku is annoyed that Ichigo managed to forget all about his previous use of the Dance.
Houzukimaru dwarfs Ikkaku.
Has Ikkaku forgotten who he's meant to be fighting?
Gegetsuburi hasn't though...
...nor does he fight fair!
Ikkaku's finally ready to fight!
Ikkaku attacks in his usual style, fast paced blows with both sword and sheath, cutting Houzukimaru several times. He's moving too fast for my reflexes to catch anything more than blurs when pausing though. Damn him.
This technique from Houzukimaru looks familiar though...
Ikkaku's fast and he dodges every single attack though. I wish my reflexes were good enough to get caps of this fight, but I keep getting them blurred.
Uh... Oh...
Definitely bad...
Ikkaku's screwed now...
Gegetsuburi still isn't playing fair!
And Ichigo loses his patience with him.
Yeah... really loses his patience.
Another job well done!
Ikkaku, on the other hand...
...isn't doing so well...
...but isn't out for the count yet.
It isn't to be though...
...as this fight hasn't gone unnoticed.
Houzukimaru has no intention of getting caught though.
So he escapes.
Gegetsuburi wasn't so lucky.
Houzukimaru's exit wasn't completely clean though...
...and his pursuer is pretty determined.
He may yet escape though...
...with his help.
I don't want this to be true! Damnit, why would a character who is so law-abiding do something like THAT! Damn, damn, damn...
But first...
...they must do...
...the Luck-Luck Dance...
...a ritual that didn't bring Ikkaku any visible luck in his fight with Ichigo.
Ichigo and Gegetsuburi are completely unimpressed by the display, however.
And Ikkaku is annoyed that Ichigo managed to forget all about his previous use of the Dance.
Houzukimaru dwarfs Ikkaku.
Has Ikkaku forgotten who he's meant to be fighting?
Gegetsuburi hasn't though...
...nor does he fight fair!
Ikkaku's finally ready to fight!
Ikkaku attacks in his usual style, fast paced blows with both sword and sheath, cutting Houzukimaru several times. He's moving too fast for my reflexes to catch anything more than blurs when pausing though. Damn him.
This technique from Houzukimaru looks familiar though...
Ikkaku's fast and he dodges every single attack though. I wish my reflexes were good enough to get caps of this fight, but I keep getting them blurred.
Uh... Oh...
Definitely bad...
Ikkaku's screwed now...
Gegetsuburi still isn't playing fair!
And Ichigo loses his patience with him.
Yeah... really loses his patience.
Another job well done!
Ikkaku, on the other hand...
...isn't doing so well...
...but isn't out for the count yet.
It isn't to be though...
...as this fight hasn't gone unnoticed.
Houzukimaru has no intention of getting caught though.
So he escapes.
Gegetsuburi wasn't so lucky.
Houzukimaru's exit wasn't completely clean though...
...and his pursuer is pretty determined.
He may yet escape though...
...with his help.
I don't want this to be true! Damnit, why would a character who is so law-abiding do something like THAT! Damn, damn, damn...
no subject
We don't know what Senbonzakura looked like under that mask, after all...
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Either way, there's something hinky going on with him and/or Senbonzakura. I don't think the bit where Senbonzakura was shown ignoring Hoozukimaru and Ru'rirokujako (apologies for the spellings) was entirely random.
no subject
Eh, at first I interpreted that scene as showing that Senbonzakura is as an aloof a bastard as his master. Recent discussions with a friend have made me think that not just Senbonzakura, but also Katen Kyoukotsu, Sougyo no Kotowari and Minazuki are playing Muramasa's little game only as far as they wish to, perhaps with Byakuya's knowledge and assistance in Senbonzakura's case.
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Ooh, nice theory. But if Muramasa can control someone as strong willed as Byakuya, why not every other Shinigami as well?
Part of achieving bankai is materialisation, right? And Ichigo had no problem seeing Zabimaru back when he and Renji were doing their training way back when. So maybe this change to Zabimaru is permanent. (I hope so. I prefer Chimpette and Snakey to what Zabimaru was before.)
(DB subs watcher, huh?)
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Well, I figure that even though the zanpakatou appear to be individual entities, they're still connected to the shinigami-- I think Ichigo's and Renji's fights prove that, so control goes to whoever wins the fight-- okay, it's hurting my brain to imagine Kuchiki Byakuya losing his fight, but.... So it's business as usual for Ichigo and Renji, but we don't know about Byakuya yet. A kind of Hichigo becomes king scenario? On the other hand, Byakuya doesn't always explain his reasons, so... I'll just watch the story unfold!
Well, my question is why Zabimaru wanted to manifest to everyone, not that s/he could. But the dubs might give us the reason! I'm torn between baboon and babe- I kind of like the surly baboon, but wild babe sort of like the female version of Renji... My brain has this crack idea of Renji asking Zabimaru, "Why Chimpette? Last time I checked, you had balls."
no subject
1- I'm even more convinced now that Byakuya was trying to protect Ichigo. The zanpakutou seem to have agreed to concoct some sort of plan to capture Ichigo, and I think this is precisely where Houzukimaru was leading Ichigo: right into a trap. And Byakuya stopped him.
2- Not only do we get only one teeny shot of Kujaku, but he's not even saying anything interesting! He was just translating Wabisuke's grunt ("He says he's in"), gah D: Interestingly enough, though, he didn't mention whether HE was in... I'm pretty sure it's just the fangirl in me speaking, but I can't help wondering whether Kujaku is really interested in any of this: he doesn't participate in discussions, he never shares his opinion, and it's almost like he's never there anyway. Mind you, he would be very much like his owner in this respect, since Yumichika is pretty much "You guys make the plans and then you tell me what I'm supposed to do"...
3- Some characters are suspiciously missing: Yumichika of course, but also Hitsugaya and Matsumoto, and of course the Minazuki/Sougyo No Kotowari/Katen Kyoukotsu trio. Is it just because not everybody can get screentime, or is there something else going on? We just discovered that the shinigami, under Soifon's command, have been making their own plans to capture some zanpakutou, so could it be that there are other plans going on in the background as well? Has Yumichika been sent to retrieve Zaraki and Yachiru for example?
4- Someone's showing some intelligence somewhere, since Oomaeda's mission was to consult the records and see if there is any mention of a zanpakutou called Muramasa. I hope this little detail won't be forgotten. It does make one wonder, though, how come Ukitake, Unohana and Kyouraku have never heard of Muramasa: who could have been Muramasa's master, that three of the four oldest shinigami captains never heard of him? And is this the real reason why Yamamoto was captured right at the beginning of the rebellion: not (just) because Ryuujin Jakka would not join the rebellion, but because Yamamoto knows about Muramasa, and maybe knows his weaknesses?
5- What was this building that the guards Byakuya disabled were guarding?
I think that's it for now. I really like how this is going, in particular because it really looks like there is a solid plot behind all this. It's not just a series of fights vaguely connected by a few threads here and there. And the sheer amount of characterisation accomplished in quick, short scenes is absolutely delightful :)