Crows x Souls

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Seeing how the two crossed blades against each other, Soi Fon was once again reminded of her helplessness and just how easy the man her Captain was facing was close to killing him.

It was obvious that Yoruichi was not trying to kill him but instead incapacitate him but that was a technicality that Itachi could care less about.

He wasn't keen on exchanging blades with her and the two times he tried retreating, her speed skyrocketed and so did the force behind her attacks.

'Then again, she's a Captain.' He had wanted to keep the Sharingan under wraps for as long as he could but he knew trying to fight off Yoruichi without it was a tall order as he was having problems keeping up with her, more so after her recent increase in speed.

'Thankfully my eyes are not the only thing I have.'

"Let's kick this up, shall we?" She said, not looking the least bit wound up. "Hadō #12: Fushibi."

At her intonation, orange energy binding shot from her hands and stuck their numerous ends on all parts of Itachi's body and his sword. With how close they were to the other, he had almost no time to quickly react.

Seeing him in her binds, she intoned. "Hadō #21: Shakkahō."

The energy binds of the first intonation, Fushibi, glowed and exploded with a great force, reducing a sizable part of the forest to ruins.

Yoruichi almost frowned since she knew he didn't escape that, 'Is that it?'… almost frowned.

-!!

"Lady Yoruichi!"

Almost as if a mirage, Itachi appeared behind her with his blade at her throat, no sign on his body that he had been in an explosion.

"Hoh? Mind telling me how you did that because I know I definitely hit you." Even when having a weapon laid intimately across her neck, the amusing grin on her face never faltered.

Itachi didn't answer her, thinking how he could escape her. Unfortunately he still didn't have his Mangekyō or else he would have knocked out her subordinate and put her in a Tsukuyomi. Given how perfectly controlled her Reiatsu was, he doubt she'd easily succumb to a normal genjutsu.

His thought came to a grinding halt as he felt how her Reiatsu slipped for a moment and that was enough for him to shift away as her body disappeared from his hold.

His eyes danced around the forest but he couldn't even get a whiff of her, let alone her Reiat-

"Hadō #4: Byakurai." Right there in front of him, with a finger touching his head, Yoruichi chanted and a beam of lightning obliterated Itachi and everything behind him.

"I have to say, you sure do have a few tricks up your sleeve." She spoke with unveiled interest as she looked at the remains of a log that had replaced where Itachi had stood. "Looks like I'll have to be a little bit serious with you."

"Soi Fon, watch closely." She called to Soi Fon who had her mouth wide open, dumbly nodding, as she watched a fight didn't understand.

Yoruichi turned and saw Itachi standing a few meters from her with a few scratches but mostly fine all things considered. She was intrigued by his bizarre abilities and a part of her mind told her that with abilities like those, there was no way he was a new soul.

"Is it illusions?" She asked. "Is that how you slip out of tight spots? Or is it some kind of spatial technique?"

Itachi remained quiet as he held his sword in his hand. 'She's increasing her momentum.' He noted, responding in kind.

Holding his sword forward, he recalled the words Tsukuyomi had said at the end of their first meeting.

"Illuminate, Tsukuyomi. (Terase, Tsukuyomi)"

[A/N: If you have a better Shikai release for Tsukuyomi that follows the same theme, feel free to drop your suggestions.]

What followed Itachi's chant was an upsurge explosion of Reiatsu that not only took Soi Fon by surprise, but also Yoruichi who was closest to him.

The only question in her mind was, "How?"

How had he gotten his Shikai? Did he gain it without any input from a Shinigami? Or was there a second reason that she was missing.

'None of that matters. He somehow unlocked his Shikai on his own.'

"You're really something, Itachi." She said, further increasing the limit of strength she had wanted to use prior to his Shikai.

It wasn't just the Shikai, though it was a defining factor, but also his exoteric techniques and most notably his chant. 'So it really is illusion based.'

This time around, Itachi made the first move that made Yoruichi's eyes widen as he burst into crows and the next instant he was in her face, swinging the shortened blade of his Shikai.

She dodged to the side but noticed cut strands of her hair.

Wanting to press on the attack to reduce Itachi's momentum, she made to move but found out that her legs were stuck inside the ground. "Huh?"

Her surprise became even more apparent as she saw Itachi weave some signs with his hands and sucked in a little air, but the way his Reiatsu bubbled told her that whatever was coming was not little in any way.

"Fire style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Her first thought was if this was an illusion, but the bludgeoning heat and the way her instincts screamed told her otherwise.

"Hadō #63: Raikōhō."

The two attacks, a great ball of fire and charging orb of yellow lightning, crashed into each other and exploded, resulting in a camouflage of dust and an intense heat wave that engulfed both Yoruichi and Itachi.

Itachi briefly wondered why she wasn't using her Zanpakutō but quickly disregarded it, only keeping an eye out for its appearance.

Flickering to Yoruichi's side, his sword slashed an arc that she nimbly dodged but not completely as she found a cut on her sleeves. One too close for comfort.

Being the first time Itachi was using Tsukuyomi in combat in death, he was naturally curious in seeing how well the abilities worked against an equal or stronger opponent, and a Captain just so happens to be the best litmus test.

Just like Yoruichi theorized, Itachi's blade, Tsukuyomi, was more of a subterfuge Zanpakutō than an attack-type Zanpakutō as it dealt with illusions around the both of them and also acted as a focus for Itachi's Illusions, whether cast by Itachi or Tsukuyomi itself.

Basically, it was a selective buff-type Zanpakutō.

Knowing she could no longer afford to recklessly play with the fight, Yoruichi rushed at Itachi and punched at him only for his form to fizzle out and a wave of dizziness to hit her that caused her to stumble for a bit but she quickly got her balance in time and parried the kick that came from nowhere.

With the activation of Itachi's Shikai, even if it didn't increase his explosive power all that much, his manipulation over his genjutsus grew to a new milestone.

Is this real… Or is it an illusion?

Just like Tsukuyomi asked him of his inner world, his blade brought a real effect to his illusions and even how it affected people.

And that was what Yoruichi quickly noticed.

'The length, edge, and even the trajectory of his sword are all inconsistent.'

Itachi's illusion over the blade could make it increase its reach and compensate for distance. The sharp edge of the blade could be on any side without the enemy knowing and its travel path could be hidden from the opponent's perception by making them see another attack pattern.

Still wielding her blade, Yoruichi proved a very difficult opponent as she covered herself with her Reiatsu and with an insane level of reactionary speed, she deflected most of Itachi's attack the moment they came an hair's breadth to her skin or clothes.

Itachi had a very hard time reacting to her reaction speed so he changed his tactics. Going in for a blind stab, he had wanted her to retreat given how close they were but Yoruichi surprised him by catching his blade on its flat sides between her elbow and the back of her palms.

Just as she did that, Itachi swelled up and Yoruichi quickly released his blade and reacted with a Kidō spell. "Bakudō #44: Enkōsen."

A spinning shield of condensed Reiatsu formed instantly in front and shielded her from the exploding clone Itachi had substituted with.

"I implore we stop here, Lady Yoruichi." Itachi spoke as the smoke cleared. Anyone could see where the battle was going with how Yoruichi had responded and quickly adapted to Itachi's attacks. "Isn't going this far for someone you have no enmity with a bit tasteless?"

Yoruichi cocked up one of her brows. "Who said we didn't have enmity? I did say I wanted to avenge my subordinate that you scared, right?"

Cracking her neck and a couple of her joints, Yoruichi sighed in content. The only one she could fight against without any regards was Kisuke and his unconventional way of fighting.

The same could be said for Itachi but his was more obscure, making you have a hard time identifying his presence or predicting his next move.

"Trust me, I'm having fun."

Itachi wasn't one to entertain a battle maniac's thirst and from the beginning his objective to retreat has never changed.

The only problem was that Yoruichi gave no respite and if she perceived he was retreating, she would push her offense more until he responded the same.