Seijuro swings his blade towards the left side of Franks neck, to which he effortlessly responds by deflecting with his left arm, causing the sword to bounce back. Seijuro stumbles,
His arm is like stone! Trying to create an opening on his left side is going to be near impossible!
Seijuro performs a backflip to regain his balance, landing firmly on his feet. Frank is already in his face, swinging his blade towards the right side of his neck. He quickly deflects it and readies himself,
Dragon Stance: Ryu's Breath!
He swings his sword this time towards Franks right side,
He switched sides… he knows my left side is harder to breach… but he's not swinging on his dominant side, so his attacks will be significantly weaker.
Frank takes a step back, narrowly evading his swing. He lifts his sword over his head and swings it down on Seijuro. He quickly moves to the side and tries again,
Dragon Stance: Ryu's Breath!
Suddenly, Frank grabs Seijuros sword with his left hand, abruptly stopping the attack completely,
How in the world?!
Frank smiles, but his facial expression was one full of pride, not smugness. He throws Seijuro to the side, to which Seijuro quickly readjusts his positioning to land on his feet,
"Impressive, Young Seijuro, but I would like to see more." Frank lifts his sword over his head, the blade beginning to glow dark purple,
Devil Stance: Corruption.
He brings his sword down, forcing a projectile off his blade. The ground below it crumbling, as it moves towards Seijuro. Simultaneously, he raises his own weapon, blocking it, the projectile still forcing itself at Seijuro,
Damn it! It's.. too strong! He changed his stance!
He continues to grit his teeth and push against it, meanwhile Frank is behind him and lands a heavy kick on Seijuros side, knocking him several feet away and onto the floor. He coughs, before quickly standing up,
"Good. I thought that was it." Seijuros breathing becomes heavier and his side still stings from the aftermath of the blow,
"I ain't done.. that technique... what was that…?"
"Devil Stance, invented by Captain Kenji himself. The stance doesn't work like normal strength stances. It includes a section of element, mixed in with it, for example, what I just did, the force of my attack was pulling you closer to it, making it harder to resist. Being the second strongest Captain physically, after Captain Ivan and an element user, he decided to make use of both talents." Seijuro listens intently,
Captain Kenji… he must be something…
"But… enough chit chat. Let us continue." Frank returns into his stance, his enormous sword resting on his shoulder.
Seijuro nods and runs at him. Frank takes one step forward, lifting his sword off his shoulder and bringing it down, however Seijuro quickly side steps to Franks right, he holds his blade with one hand, bringing it back all the way,
Dragon Stance: Wrath Of Tatsu!
Franks eyes widen slightly, he lets go of his sword and turns his body to the left, blocking the attack with his left shoulder. He lifts his leg and lands a kick on Seijuros torso, sending him flying back. Before Seijuro could anything, he looks up to see Frank over him, his sword already in his hand, above to strike. He quickly rolls back and pushes himself onto his hands, landing on his feet,
He's getting better…
Seijuro begins swinging repeatedly, however his attacks are met with an effortless dodge, Franks shoulder or sword,
Dragon Stance: Kiyohime's Vengeance!
Unable to match Seijuros accelerated slashes, Frank slams his sword in the floor, the blade penetrating the ground like butter,
Dragon Stance: Azure's Protection.
Seijuros blade bounces off his barrier,
Damn it! He knows every move before I can do it! His left side is impenetrable… and his right side is protected by his sword… the only way I can breach his defence… is getting faster!
Seijuro continues his onslaught to no avail. Frank swings to his left, directly at the right side of Seijuros head. He quickly ducks,
Dragon Stance: Ryu's Breath!
Frank jumps back, evading his blade. He then lifts his sword, facing the tip toward the ground below them,
Wolf Stance: Celestial Howl.
His sword crashes down into the floor, creating a massive tremor, and the terrain around them exploding, forming spikes. One of them directly hits Seijuro, sending him several feet into the air. He lands on the floor with a thud, but as he looks up, he feels the coolness of Franks blade against his neck. With a heavy heart, he sighs,
"I yield." Frank smiles and lifts his sword up, resting it on his shoulder,
"You did well, Young Seijuro. A lot better than before." His statement of praise fills Seijuros heart with warmth and a hint of pride,
"But… you were still holding back." Frank states,
"You're anger… your thoughts of Lily… I can see it radiating off of you. You mustn't strain yourself with such thoughts as of now. Lily will be saved. Believe."
That single word… it fills Seijuros heart with doubt. He glances at his sword, memories of Ren filling his mind and tears threatening to spill, Frank places a hand on his shoulder, his head lifts to see his smile, which Seijuro returns,
"I won't let you down, Captain Frank."
"I know you won't, Young Seijuro."
With that, Seijuros eyes suddenly open, revealing himself to be on his knees, his sword placed into front of him and Frank slowly sitting back into his wheelchair, his left shoulder returning to normal. He looks around, seeing Captain Shin, perched on the same rock, with the same blue jay in his hand,
"I hope your training was fruitful. Please leave, without touching anything." He states, with the same emotionless yet calming voice,
He picks up his sword, and wraps it in a bandage, before placing it on his back,
"Thank you, Shin." Frank gestures to Seijuro to follow him and he does, slowly heading back towards the gate.