The Natural Order - [Zeich v. Alchemist, NDE]

Alchemist was having a field day pursuing the spirit of a young woman through the Charlotte streets. He had to have watched her dart through nine or ten alleyways at this point, only to run right into him waiting on the other side. On one hand it was endlessly amusing, but on the other it just went to show how pathetic humans were. They could be herded like sheep; they could be flushed like geese and rounded up for the harvest. And to think, he didn't even have to use his underlings for such a matter.

"Heh, gettin' tired, miss? All that runnin' around you been doin' with a broken Chain's gonna wear you out sooner or later. I'm guessin' it's the former..." he teased with a dark chuckle as the woman tripped and fell as she continued trying to run from him. She was obviously exhausted, and wouldn't last much longer against such a large Hollow with the ability to fly. Alchemist lowered himself to just above the ground to sneer at the woman, running his tongue across the pointed teeth of his lower jaw. "Wonder what you taste like...?"

Almost before he could finish his musing, the sound of fluttering cloth behind him caught his attention. He narrowed his eyes, but almost before he could turn to face the sound he was cut once--nay, twice--in the side, roughly where his torso met his rear left thigh. The initial, unexpected pain was enough to send a shock through his body, stilling his wings for enough of a split second to land him sprawled out upon the ground. His goldenrod eyes flicked to his surroundings, not even acknowledging his opponent before locating anything he could use as a source of materials. There were trees nearby, but that was pretty much the only thing he could try at the moment. His eyes then trailed to the one that attacked him before narrowing.

"Well... that wasn't nice..." her growled, using his wings to pull himself from the ground and back into a hovering state. He flew over to a nearby tree, pressing on a large branch with his front legs and using his weight to snap it from its place. He quickly proceeded to consume it; it traveled quickly through his body and into his abdomen, where his reiatsu began to shape it using pieces of his flesh and blood. The moment he began to feel his consciousness split between two entities, he expelled his spawn toward his opponent, then prepared to repeat the process as he hovered toward another suitable branch. His opponent had already proven he was fast. Likely, he was faster than any spawn he could create. Thus, the Hollow's idea was to outnumber him.

The humanoid creature produced by the insect Hollow flew at the shinigami, using its wings for a propelled leap into the air and extending its leg as it dropped itself toward the man. The full-force strike aimed to connect at the man's head, causing some minor disorientation at the very least. If the strike did connect, then the creature was prepared to launch another kick directly to the man's face, hopefully causing the man to stumble backwards and briefly leave himself open for a second strike.

Reiatsu: 475/500

Alchemist narrowed his eyes as the man aptly dodged his spawn's attack. Without even waiting to see the remainder of the motion, he snapped the branch he had moved on to, letting it hang by a strip of bark before tearing it off with his jaw. The exact moment his momentum shifted upward to dart away from the tree and gain even more distance, he heard it again. The sound of fluttering cloth that had announced his enemy's arrival. Before he could glance down to see where his opponent was, he was cut, just like before. He gave a bestial roar of pain, the branch that rested precariously between his teeth falling out onto the ground below. The upward slash dug into his chest, bypassing most of his fur. The wound was long, but shallower than it appeared externally; still the blue blood still moistened the area. The second cut came soon after, almost creating an inverted cross on the Hollow's chest when compared to the first strike. Unfortunately for him, the hole that so proclaimed his species was not in the direct center of his chest as it usually was; it likely would have saved him some pain.

The spawn that had been--quite literally--disarmed didn't seem to mind the fact that it was now short a limb. Upon feeling the first strike connect, Alchemist commanded it to return to him; he needed it to protect him from further harm. The insect Hollow continued what he was doing initially as his opponent gave him an opening, snatching up the branch he had dropped and darting higher into the sky. He needed to find a more reliable source of material, and quickly. It didn't seem as if wood was going to be much of a problem for this shinigami, and soil was likely not an option either from the way the thinner sword left thin, stinging cuts. His leg still burned from the first strike, and now his chest sent a buzzing pain through his form at every breath. It was almost like... He shunned the thought from his mind. He was not going to die by the hand of a shinigami that was so close to his level. He left openings. He was a melee fighter that fought from a distance. He made himself easy to hear coming.

'This doesn't make sense! I shoulda been able to do somethin' by now...' he thought to himself with a snort of dissatisfaction; the only thing saving this kid was the fact that he kept finding easy ways to sneak around, or so the insect Hollow wanted to believe. He knew the man was fast--much faster than he--and that was why he kept getting cut. He would close distance with... whatever that technique was he'd just used, and strike before he could make a whole movement. Thus, he needed to learn what he could do in that partial movement that he had before the man struck.

Swallowing the branch, he ordered his initial spawn to cause a distraction by charging at the man once more. This time, however, it had a bit more tact. It performed a quick spin to the man's right, which phased into a spinning kick aimed at the man's back. The creature's insect-like mandible flexed and relaxed, preparing to launch its net-like webbing once the man reacted--or did not react--to its first attack. Initially, Alchemist would've saved such a surprise ability for much later on in a fight, but this man's speed made him much more nervous than he would've liked to admit. He was convinced that the lack of materials in the area and the fact that this shinigami was fast were the only factors against him in his current situation. One of those factors could be fixed.

He aimed his abdomen at the man once again, formulating another spawn which he shot toward the shinigami. It held its arms against its sides and stilled its wings, letting gravity and the force with which it was expelled carry it with greater speed toward the man. It would change position once it got within ten feet of the man, shifting and preparing for a drop kick to the man's head or back. Provided the man did not dodge one or both of the kicks aimed at him. Alchemist deemed that enough of a distraction to make his getaway, and thus began to search for a park or atrium; he needed anything that would provide materials and even the playing field. It was one thing when your opponent was beating you when you had the advantage--that was humiliating--but if you were disadvantaged from the start... Well, the best strategists like him were supposed to be able to work with such a situation.

Reiatsu: 450/500 (-25 for Desovar)

The pair of spawn that were sent to defend their master hissed as they were brutally dismembered; they did not feel the pain of their limbs being so violently removed, but they were now less able to carry out their orders due to their handicaps. Still, however, they had their eyes, and shared their awareness with their master. That in itself was enough. Since the spawn were able to see the shinigami before he effectively vanished, they were able to give Alchemist just the sort of premonition he needed to expect an incoming attack. The problem was, he was unsure of where.

But then he heard it again. The fluttering sound of cloth that proclaimed the split second he had to defend himself. The sound seemed to come from above him, and thus he stilled his wings, letting gravity and momentum move his three-hundred pound form. He fell much faster than the shinigami, which gave him more time to react. He quickly recovered from the fall as he'd landed on his feet, and used all four legs in tandem with his wings to push himself forward for a low takeoff. He was running out of options, and running in itself didn't look to be one that would work either.

"Hey, kid!" he called once he was a fair distance away--he'd already determined there was no such thing as a safe distance from this man--and able to turn and truly look at his opponent. "You're tryin' to kill me, right? Can I at least get a name from you?" he asked, fully anticipating another incoming attack. After all, most shinigami probably believed that Hollows didn't any sense of honor. He wanted this man's name, though; he needed to know who he needed to best if he were to survive this encounter. If. That still didn't sit well with him.

'There's got to be some way... Something I'm overlooking...'

The phrase repeated itself in his mind. There was always a way to escape. Always. It simply took a sharpened mind to find it. That said, was he not sharp enough? Was his fear... was he afraid of this man? That couldn't have been it. Yes, the shinigami was fast and had power to his strike, but he was still within Alchemist's range. It was the disadvantageous situation that made all the difference.

Yes, that was it. The guy was just lucky. Everyone else was always the lucky one... At this point, he knew that there was little he could do but continue to avoid strikes--however narrowly--and tire the man out. Flying around with two--technically four--bleeding wounds wasn't the easiest either; fortunately for Alchemist, though, his body was accustomed to losing blood when he created his spawn. That said, how well would he be able to fare if he produced more at this point? He wasn't sure how much he wanted to find out.

Though the Hollow waited for a response to his question, he knew that it would not come. There was only enough time for him to close his eyes and attempt to cope with the idea that he had, in fact, been outdone in battle before he heard the sound that so proclaimed his agony. The sound that preceeded his opponent's strike surged through his senses once more, though this time Alchemist had no intention on attempting to avoid it. He had a split second to accept his defeat and calm his mind before he felt the blade through his mask--and the face beneath it. The initial strike was merciful; the shinigami's second strike effectively gutting him as he began to fade away.

This was, what, the second time that he had perished due to his own weakness...? Was he cursed to be nothing more than mediocrity? A terrible joke? He couldn't survive while protecting anyone else... and he couldn't survive while taking care of himself. He'd heard that Hollows killed by shinigami were purified and sent... somewhere. He only hoped that wherever his poor soul was going, he could be... something. Anything more than average.

(OOC: Apologies for how short this is, but I don't feel there was much I could write in this situation. Good game, though; t'was fun. ^^)