Second of the Fives: Kuroi vs Rio [R, NDE]

[Zou ۞]

This is a battle between Segunda Espada Kuroi Naito and Quinta Espada Rio Demonliogalgo.

Put simply, Kuroi has called out Rio to do battle. The best explanation is just that he wishes to test Rio out. Ever since Rio first took his spot as the Sexta Espada, various circumstances have prevented Kuroi from testing him. Now, time has passed, and Rio is Quinta. Kuroi has found it is time to test his power and his merit. This is routine for Kuroi to do with every new Espada. This will be the second time Kuroi has tested a Quinta Espada's power.

This battle has no special wagers, conditions, handicaps, or terms. It's a regular fight. R-weapons/C-weapons are not allowed to be used in this fight, of course.

This takes place in some random place in Hueco Mundo, a borderline area of the white desert, where just about nothing exists, and therefore where no one can observe this fight. It's prudent for the Espada to hide their abilities, after all.

[Zou ۞]

SPOILER: Click to show

It was cold on that day, somber. The chills of the windless day and the cool air were enough to give anyone unprepared goosebumps. The sky, black as the night like it always was could be seen no matter where one was in Hueco Mundo. It always loomed in its eternal darkness, and stretched out infinitely across the land as a blanket. It was certainly depressing, as was the enormous crescent moon that also loomed in the sky. Huge, white, shining pale light onto the sand to make it appear white, Hueco Mundo was a terrifying place for many. Hollows who wandered had grown used to it, and they were even calmed sometimes by that moon. It was always quiet, and always eerie. This world could also be said to be rather boring. It wasn't bring in the meeting place, though. No, for reiatsu was approaching. A powerful reiatsu could be felt.

Of course, it should be obvious what was approaching now. It was a huge black line that started in the sky. The area designated for this battle was easy enough to find, marked as it was by a single dead tree, a rarity in Hueco Mundo. The black line in the sky was eerie, and shrieks could be heard, as if countless screaming children were trapped in an avalanche. It extended at least twenty meters across the sky, magnificent, and most certainly evil. At last, it tore open with a mighty tearing sound, as if a million pieces of paper at once had been torn to shreds instantly. The inside was filled with a moving blackness, as if it was a swirling black lake, currents dancing around in it. However, completely dry, since it wasn't actually a lake, a figure stepped out of that very opening, the Garganta.

Black dress shoes softly took note of the sandy floor, making no noise as casual steps were made, and the Garganta slammed shut behind the newcomer. The newcomer's black hair, short cut, blew calmly in the wind. His outfit was not one typical of an Arrancar, for it was black khaki pants, matched simply by a three button black blazer, buttoned up. A black tie was also visible, as was the purple polo dress shirt that the man wore underneath. This too was buttoned up. It was a rather clean outfit, and the hollow hole in the dead center of his chest was covered because of his clothing. The two black star tattoos next to it were also covered. The man's left arm upper bicep had his number on it, his Espada number. Then again, so did the back of the left hand. In the end, his number was on him twice, just to ensure that it was there for everyone to be aware of.

This man was the Segunda Espada, Kuroi Naito. As to why he'd arrived, it was obvious, really. This was the same place where he always tested new Espada. In this case, it was present Quinta, Rio Demonliogalgo. Kuroi remembered back many years ago, his first battle against Adalo De-Mona. At that time, Adalo had been the Quinta. Kuroi had of course defeated him, though Adalo had been lucky enough to get Kuroi to release. At that time, Kuroi had seen a lot of potential in what was otherwise a typical battle lover. Rio, according to rumor was also a lover of fighting and chaos. He was reckless and liked to yell, rumors said. This probably indicated that the Quinta spot might always be held by someone like this. However, whereas the previous Quinta was now the Primera, Kuroi was going to see what would become of this one here and now. Ready to battle, he was here at last.

SPOILER: Click to show

Strength - [200{1/2}(100)] Points

Speed - [400] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [300] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [350{x2}(700)] Points

Light Aura - [0] Points

Dark Aura - [100] Points

Instinct - [100] Points

Senses [100] Points

Energy sensory - [50] Points

Healing Expertise - [400] Points


Total SP: 1900 Points

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

Finally. Rio could gauge with his own eyes what the Espada's true strength was. He'd endured a little skirmish with the Septima, Magnus and had found the man's talent deplorable for the one who called himself the seventh strongest arrancar. Kuh. Even that little witch Miho had managed to put up a better fight than Magnus had. Cierro had put up a bit of a fight too, but his attitude was a disgrace to the Espada. Rio grit his teeth in anger as he approached the place to which he had been called. Were all of the Espada like that? Was Rio the only one among them who actually gave a flying fuck about what the name of "Espada" meant?

Well. He'd find out today wouldn't he. He was fighting the Segunda. Miho was his Fraccion wasn't she? Well, that was a start, Rio supposed. He had heard many things about Kuroi, and the things he had heard pleased him. From what he had heard, Kuroi was indeed worthy of the rank of "Espada." But it seemed Rio was to discover if he truly deserved his rank, firsthand. Perfect. The Quinta Espada wouldn't have it any other way.

Rio worked his way through the dunes, until he saw his mark. The Segunda Espada himself. In a bit of a contrast to Kuroi's appearance. Whereas Kuroi had gone for darks, Rio had not. Though his wavy black hair mirrored Kuroi's, his choice of apparel proved a stark contrast. Rio had opted to wear his uniform-- an inverted shinigami uniform as far as color was concerned, but far more customized than that. Rio's uniform was sleeveless, exposing his bare arms. They seemed deceptively slender at a first glance, contributing to an almost feminine appearance from Rio, deceiving foes as to his surprising physical strength. A red dragon tattoo adorned his shoulder, though apart from the alteration to his uniform his arrancar outfit was somewhat standard.

Rio stopped before Kuroi. He reached down to his side, silently while marking the Espada, drawing one of the two Sai he wore at his hip. If Kuroi was indeed as powerful as Rio had heard-- and as powerful as someone befitting the rank of Segunda should have been, then Rio could not waste time testing him out. But first, before their battle began, Rio needed to know something. It was of dire importance to the Quinta. Rio looked to make eye contact with the Segunda, before speaking.

"Kuroi. What do you think of the Espada?" He asked. A blunt question, and potentially an interesting one. Without giving the Segunda a chance to answer, Rio continued. "I think the current state of them is lamentable. None of the Espada I've faced so far could possibly deserve the title of "strongest arrancar." From what I've heard, your own Fraccion are more deserving of the title than many of those who current hold the title. I think it's disgusting." Rio spat at that. "When I was young and naive, I thought the Espada were of some importance. That to hold the rank of Espada was the highest honor an arrancar could hope for. But those who currently hold the rank disgrace that name." Rio hissed, his grip on his Sai tightening.

He hadn't lowered his defense once in that little speech. While he doubted Kuroi was the type to need to interrupt someone mid-speech with a surprise attack, he refused to be taken off guard if he did. Rio finally concluded his speech, implying his battle readiness with a final quote. "What about you? Are you like all the rest?" Rio asked darkly, his violet eyes awaiting the Espada's answer. It was clear that Rio wasn't going to accept a vocal answer to THAT particular question. Actions spoke louder than words, and when dealing with one's power, they were the only way to express your strength.

SPOILER: Click to show

Strength - 400 (700) Points

Speed - 300 Points (150) Points

Spiritual Pressure - 300 Points

Reiatsu Strength - 300 Points

Light Aura - 0 Points

Dark Aura - 100 Points

Instinct - 200 Points

Senses 150 Points

Energy sensory - 50 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points


Total SP: 1700 Points

[Zou ۞]

SPOILER: Click to show

Rio was asking what Kuroi thought of the Espada as a whole? Certainly, this would not be difficult to answer. Rio had the same doubts as Kuroi, it seemed. He couldn't be blamed. If one worked from bottom to top, then the Espada did indeed have their problems, though it could be said that it did get considerably better near the top. The Espada were however, indeed, in shambles, and lamentable as Rio claimed. The worst of the Espada were the weaker ones, but definitely there were others that were bad as well. Kuroi, who had been around the longest, was also privy to remember previous Espada. He remembered old ones, long past now, who had been weak as well. Perhaps it was not the Espada who were lamentable and who had fallen, but it was the Arrancar themselves who had grown so petty and weak, so decadent. It was a wonder how some had survived, for certain.

In the place of Noveno, there was Asuka Hitotoki. She had been personally trained by Kuroi. Statistically, she had a strong body and reiatsu. Kuroi had honed her well, and given her powerful techniques. Of the Espada, she was one of the less disgraceful. She had exotic whip-like weapons, and her release was devastating. Kuroi of course was aware that Asuka's personality was what held her back. She wasn't able to use either her release or her powers to their full potential, simply because of her kind nature. If she was ruthless, merciless, she would easily take the Sexta spot, which was her goal. However, her kind, caring, and naive, nice nature allowed her to be taken advantage of, and beaten on constantly. She was shredded of her clothes many times, beaten to the point of death by enemies that she should obliterate, and afraid even of a petty drink such as wine.

The one that had held Asuka's place before her, Faust Zsalamel, had been the same. Though he was strong in his stats, and though his release was devastating, he'd been held back by his personality, which had brought him to question and fear women. He'd been a man afraid even of the breasts of women! On the other hand, perhaps that was better than the present Octava, Cierro Muerte, who thought only with perverted beliefs. Cierro was someone that thought with what was between his legs, which Kuroi suspected to be almost nothing, hence why he did it. He was weak to begin with, barely possessing of any battle ability. His only aspect was infiltration, which was easily dealt with because of the way he approached women. He had no understanding at all. The one that had previously held his spot, Izuki Kiroki, had simply been weak. That was all there is to it. In stats, and in powers, he'd been weak. Nothing but a stat user.

The Septima, Magnus, was just pathetic. His powers were pathetic, and even then he didn't even know how to use them! He used games that were effective only if skill was involved. Skill was something he lacked. He even wanted to overthrow the Espada with that weakness! He couldn't maintain control of his own emotions or mental stability! Pitiful, really. The previous holder of the spot, Drago Umaga, had been the same. Weak, arrogant, and flaunting of authority that he did not have. His release had been nothing but an imitation of a dragon, and he had been worthless when it came to using it. In battle, he'd fallen easily to a trap set by Bount. Not even an enemy, but a low level sentinel enemy! Izuki of course had fallen to the same thing. Despicable, really. This was every bit similar to the present Sexta, and the previous one as well.

Andrea Follia had decent powers, but he wasn't particularly skilled. His ability to use these was obviously very limited. At the same time, there was the one before him. Adelle Cabalerro hadn't been half bad. A woman with a bee's release, she'd been strong. She had been fitting of her role! However, she'd disappeared. During the war with the Ogatago, she'd been lost during the attack of the Sanction Armada, the Ogatago army's warships, a fleet that had threatened to invade all the worlds. It was assumed that she was dead, or worse yet, taken in by the black hole generated by Kassen or Shiga's "Form Six" power. The previous Quinta, Adalo De-Mona, had no issues at all. He was a bit arrogant, he was insane and not too bright, but he was strong. He was the Primera now. There was nothing to say about him. Rio of course was the one being tested today.

Shinda Crusinik and Sesshomaru Hakai were Cuarta. Shinda was still Cuarta, Sesshomaru was former of the rank. Shinda did not have the skill to use his own powers, and at the same time, he was unfortunately unable to assert his authority properly. He did make good attempts, however, and Kuroi was fine with him staying in that rank. Sesshomaru had been a disgrace, and therefore Kuroi had chosen to kill him. Yuki Ayumu, the present Tercera, was nothing but a drunk. She was an alcoholic that stayed in her room all day. Kouhai didn't even bother sending her on missions because of her decadence. During the Escudo battles, she'd been able to defeat her Escudo counterpart, but barely. She was too arrogant for her own good, as well. That should sum up all the Espada in Kuroi's mind. He could make a response to Rio.

With both hands in his pockets, Kuroi spoke, talking to Rio about this. "The Espada? We are the ultimate Arrancar, the strongest. We are the swords that are used by Sonken Kouhai to destroy the Shinigami, and that is our sole purpose. We are his best soldiers, his elite generals one could say. I am aware that several of the Espada are weak, and that the state of things could certainly be far better. However...if you refer to either Cierro Muerte or Magnus Wonderwizz, speak no more of them. Rio Demonliogalgo, Quinta, you've simply faced the wrong Espada if you are so disappointed. I said something similar to your predecessor Adalo when he held your rank. As the longest lasting Espada, I am the strongest. If you attack now, I will show you that not all of the Espada are decadent fools. I will put you in a state of agony and Despair which will fill you with hope for the Espada, despite the pain at your defeat. . ."

That was Kuroi's reassurance. Indeed, he didn't intend to attack during any of Rio's speaking. In fact, he didn't intend to attack even after that. The first attack should belong to Rio, rather than to Kuroi. Kuroi, the stronger of the two, the Segunda Espada, was going to wait. Rio probably assumed as Magnus had, that testing Kuroi out was a waste of time. However, this was folly. Adalo De-Mona had been most successful against Kuroi out of the Espada, and he'd tested Kuroi in a preliminary set of attacks. In this case, Kuroi would see what happened. He wouldn't attack because it was Rio who was being tested. Perhaps Rio believed he was testing Kuroi, but this was also untrue. In the course of this battle, it would be Rio who had to show what it was that he had. Kuroi would hardly be pressed at all for someone that was three numbers below him. "Come. Meet the true face of the Espada."

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

Rio noted that Kuroi seemed to have contemplated his answer. And it was a good answer too. Rio's face turned into a snarl of glee at his superior's answer to his question. Excellent. At least he sees the Espada for what they are. Which means he's probably stronger than they are. Rio thought. And that sat just fine with him. Hell. He would HOPE that someone of Kuroi's rank would be stronger than the trash he'd fought. Else he wouldn't deserve his rank at all.

"If you attack now, I will show you that not all of the Espada are decadent fools. I will put you in a state of agony and Despair which will fill you with hope for the Espada, despite the pain at your defeat. . ." Excellent. Rio smirked. "Good. I would expect nothing less of the man who holds the rank of Segunda." Kuroi may have thought he would be the one testing Rio. It was certainly true. But Rio would still be doing his own testing. Someday Rio desired to hold the rank of Primera Espada. Undisputed strength. He understood that Adalo and Kuroi were roughly upon the same tier of power, and so Rio would indeed be performing his own test.

He wanted to see the gap between them. The gap of power he would someday have to close if he ever wanted his dreams to come to fruition. Now, with his own eyes, he would see the power he needed to surpass. And he'd feel it with his own body. There could be no greater test than this. "Come. Meet the true face of the Espada."[/b] As if on cue, Rio attacked. It was clear Kuroi wasn't going to make the first move now. So be it. Rio would have to start things off. That was just his style anyways!

Rio slashed his Sai at the air as he entered a combat stance, the Sai flipped into a reverse grip, his legs shoulder width apart. As Rio slashed his Sai at the air, however, what may have initially been perceived as a theatrical effect was actually Rio's attack! Rio had launched one of his focused shockwaves-- a decent sized one too. This shockwave was about three times the size of Rio's fist. When facing a foe for the first time it was one of his favorite openings. To use a seemingly inane movement to launch a deadly shockwave hurtling at a foe at the speed of a bala, and with the force of one of Rio's own punches! And to most foes, Kuroi included, they were completely invisible-- unnoticeable until the moment they impacted.

But fast as they were, Kuroi would likely get suspicious if Rio didn't do something. So to occupy Kuroi's attention, Rio started dashing off towards Kuroi's left, intending to keep the Segunda's eyes on him. Rio kicked off towards him suddenly-- an instant after his shockwave should have hit, lashing out, intending to slam the butt of his Sai into the Segunda's ribs, and concluding with a powerful leg kick-- courtesy of Rio's training in Muay Boran. If the shockwave had hit, no doubt Kuroi would be sent reeling-- afterall as powerful as the Segunda was, his strength was far inferior to Rio's. And that would make defending against Rio's follow up attacks very difficult.

Of course, if Kuroi evaded the initial by some chance of luck, as he shouldn't have been able to sense it, then there was no reason for Rio NOT to go in and attack. Despite Kuroi's Hierro, Rio's blows would likely shake the Espada considerably. This was Rio's failsafe. Even against powerful defenses like Hierro even of Kuroi's calibur, tanking the Quinta's blows was very rarely a good idea. And from what Rio had heard, trying to take on Kuroi in a long ranged battle was not in his best interests.

[Zou ۞]

Rio's mundane movement was caught by Kuroi right off the bat. This guy was very much like Adalo De-Mona. He liked to battle from what Kuroi had heard, and he heard that this guy possessed tremendous physical strength. Kuroi had in fact recently battled this same Espada, Adalo De-Mona. The similarities between the two were numerous. Insane, liked to fight, rather reckless sometimes, and described with great physical strength. Both were also holders of the Quinta rank, even if Adalo was now Primera. Having fought against Adalo, Kuroi was aware that mundane theatrics from a brutish type of opponent such as this was possibly an attack in itself. Strong types often liked to take advantage of their physical strength. Kuroi also remembered his battle against the Squad 10 Captain, Okusa Shogen, who had done the same thing with his physical strength.

Kuroi was anticipating some sort of air blast or shockwave from just a movement such as that. He moved with immense speed, leaping high into the air, soaring over where the shockwave would be. He landed after the shockwave passed his original location, keeping his eyes locked on Rio. What Rio was doing of course was closing a gap and trying to overwhelm with his power. Kuroi had had another reason for moving as well. They were on sand. Unlike Adalo's air blasts, which focused more and in smaller size, shockwaves were larger. He'd seen the shifting of the sand, having paid attention to it because of what he'd heard. This had been Kuroi's method of discovering Rio's physical strength. While Hierro would in fact counter normal blows, there would be more openings if Kuroi dodged. At Kuroi's level of Hierro, Rio's physical strength from a normal attack would be useless.

It would be like a regular human trying to punch a steel girder. Either way, Kuroi dodged the first attack, the sai strike, simply by side stepping. At close quarters, it was actually Kuroi's game. Kuroi did indeed have the long range advantage because of all his Cero attacks, but in fact he had the close range advantage too. Kuroi's release, which had to date been seen by only one or two within Las Noches, was a physical base, a melee attacking one. He was used to close range, and it was his battlefield. His advantage over Rio in speed was tremendous. A side step of the sai was child's play, as was a following jump to evade the kick. Kuroi landed on Rio's outstretched leg. Despite Kuroi's size, the strength of Rio would be able to support him on the leg. Unfortunately for Rio, Kuroi was at dead close range. He was already on top of things by this point, completely in Rio's face.

Though Kuroi would easily have been able to attack earlier and even in that moment, that would be too simple. At the side step, he could easily have cut off Rio's hand. His speed would allow him to do this without Rio being able to counter. When the kick came, he could have stopped it by severing it. Kuroi's blade was not drawn, but nothing was stopping him from drawing it and then severing Rio's limbs. However, that would be all too easy. Kuroi was going to prolong this more. He kept his eyes wide open, waiting to see any further movements which could attempt a shockwave. The sand was on his side. He'd see incoming shockwaves just because there was sand. Kuroi's speed was quite high, enough to dodge once he saw it coming, or at least was aware that something would be coming. Judging from the disturbance he'd seen in the sand, Kuroi surmised that Rio's physical strength was slightly higher than Adalo's.

Therefore, with a machine-like efficiency to the mind, Kuroi could determine roughly what kind of shockwave would be produced by this Espada. The size and everything could be figured out in a method such as this. However, before going to that kind of thought, Kuroi backflipped off of Rio's leg, landing several meters away from Rio, and continuing to back up to gain more space. By the end, around twenty meters lay between Kuroi and Rio. Kuroi thus far was unfortunately not impressed. Though the shockwave and then attack combo had been decent, it had not been able to do anything. He'd underestimated Kuroi's abilities by opening with such simplicity. It was a good way to gauge things, except that Kuroi had not attacked. The only thing that was revealed was his speed advantage, which was one of the lesser of his advantages.

At that range, Kuroi was easily going to be able to shoot off an attack, as well. He flicked his left wrist calmly, blasting an enormous Bala towards Rio. With that level of reiatsu strength, Kuroi's Bala was a force to be reckoned with. It was tremendously big, gigantic. It was an enormous attack that was moving with insane speed. The power behind it, not to mention Kuroi's mastery, allowed it to maintain a size and power that could probably decimate Rio's upper body and blast his remnants apart. At a point blank range was the only time it would be small. Given the time to travel, its size was large enough to do such a thing. It was also so strong that any average Cero would be nothing against it. Kuroi didn't intend to kill with this. Rio, unlike Kuroi, was rather slow. He wasn't able to dodge even at that distance. If he blocked, he would still take insane damage. This was to test Rio under pressure. Kuroi was very much aware that the most common defense to this was to use Sonido.

"Careful." Kuroi therefore warned with a small, calm, confident smile. It might even be a mocking one, with mocking eyes. This could even infuriate Rio as to what Kuroi's expression was. "Sonido will certainly cost you a limb." He spoke while flicking the Bala out. By the time he finished, the Bala would either have hit, or have been defended against in some way. Any defense however would be hardpressed, for the reiatsu strength put into that attack was much stronger than anything Rio would be used to dealing with.

Kuroi's Remaining Reiatsu: 2950 Reiatsu

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

Whoa. He'd jumped over the shockwave!? That had been unexpected, for sure. Rio had underestimated Kuroi. That much was certain. As such, as he drove in with his hand to hand attacks he had no expectations. Though, Rio was far more skilled at hand to hand combat than he was at shooting Ceros back and forth. Not to say he couldn't do that though.... still Kuroi's speed surprised him. Well. No. No it hadn't. Miho had been fast too, so it only made sense that her commanding Espada would be lightning fast as well. How annoying. That would indeed be something to contend with.

But when Kuroi vaulted off his leg, Rio already had a good idea of what was coming. You didn't create that much space between yourself and your opponent if you were planning on dicing it up close. And given Kuroi's proficiency at long range attacks, Rio had a damn good idea what was coming! He made preparations immediately, charging a Cero in his right hand. As he saw Kuroi's hand twitch he stomped at the ground. It was true Rio himself wasn't fast enough to avoid one of Kuroi's bala without Sonido. Under normal circumstances.

With his free hand-- the one holding his Sai, Rio directed his focused shockwave straight downwards, creating a massive eruption of sand around him. Rio's shockwaves moved at Bala speed as well, and since his target was considerably closer than Kuroi's was it was only natural his shockwave would land first. His aim? To use the shockwave to blast the ground out from underneath him, creating a pit of moderate depth. Being right underneath him, of course, Rio fell into the depression that his Shockwave had caused, ducking low, and he saw Kuroi's attack fly right over his head-- a narrow miss.

Rio suddenly kicked out of the depression to the right of it, so as not to make himself too obvious a target as he rose, and thrust his hand forwards, sending his own green Cero blazing towards at Kuroi. Now, granted it likely wouldn't do much, if anything due to the difference in their reiatsu strength, but Rio didn't know that yet. He figured that even the Segunda wouldn't enjoy tanking a Cero too much. Oh. And it was a distraction. That too. That was the important bit that really bears mentioning.

Rio used a Sonido, following his Cero to come in on Kuroi's flank, while the Espada's attention was hopefully on his Cero. Rio moved pretty damn fast in Sonido. Not as fast as some Espada, but definately fast enough to cover the short distance between himself and Kuroi before the Segunda would react. He'd timed his Cero and Sonido so that he'd appear just as his Sonido was ending, stepping in and launching a powerful blow at Kuroi's temple, with the butt of his Sai. Due to the Sai's "blade" extending down his arm, it would act as a defense if Kuroi actually decided to draw his blade to attack. Rio was adding in another surprise as well.

As well as launching his punch, augmented by his Sai, Rio was launching another shockwave. This time it would be an unfocused one rather than a focused one, so that he could get maximum coverage. Even if Kuroi slipped the attack or leaned away from it, he'd likely be hit by the unfocused shockwave and blasted backwards by it-- offbalanced and potentially open to a second blow from Rio.

Reiatsu remaining: 2700

[Zou ۞]

SPOILER: Click to show

Though it was resourceful to create a hole, Rio was still in need of showing more power. Kuroi didn't do anything, simply keeping his hands pocketed as he watched Rio drop into the hole. In the meantime, he figured he may as well give Rio one thing he'd earned. He'd give him the blade, since the thing with the hole was better than what others would have done. Kuroi was pretty much certain that any other Espada in that situation would have reacted differently, and most would have taken some damage from it. This was going to get Rio a slightly higher level of difficulty, though he wouldn't be receiving Kuroi's full skill in attacks and movements. Kuroi had no need for something like that. Thus far, this fight was rather effortless to him. While Rio did these things, Kuroi simply grabbed at his blade, drawing out the Zanpakuto in a quick flourish.

Sand came down into the hole because of the overhead Bala when it passed over, covering Rio in sand as he jumped out. Kuroi saw the sand blasting out, and saw the green flash. It was an attack. Thus far though, Kuroi could at least sense a basic estimate of Rio's reiatsu strength. It was something far inferior to his. Getting hit by a Cero wasn't an inconvenience at all. However, from what Kuroi had noted thus far, the attacks had included distractions and hidden strikes. He was certain that Rio would include more of those later. On top of that, most people followed up Cero with an attack. Kuroi had experienced it many times before. Asuka, Miho, Adalo. He'd observed use of such in people like Izuki, Drago, or Yuki. He was expecting an attack. At that speed, the only bet that Rio would get for him to approach Kuroi and cover that distance, or keep up with his Cero and combo with it had to be Sonido.

Kuroi simply kept his eyes on Rio, waiting. Rio materialized, and Kuroi reacted instantly. He turned to Rio's direction as Rio appeared, moving like a liquid in smooth motions. Kuroi saw it. There were numerous distractions all over here. From what he'd seen, this wasn't like Adalo, who gave himself away with the two handed strikes. Earlier, Kuroi had noted a one handed shockwave attack. Kuroi's free hand slammed into the Cero effortlessly, shattering it just with the power of his reiatsu strength. More than double was the advantage of Kuroi over Rio. In that case, it was child's play. A Cero of that magnitude wouldn't leave even a small mark. It shattered, impeding Kuroi not at all. He even flicked his hand into it so that he could shoot off a Bala as the Cero shattered purely from the hand. The Bala had nothing to do with the Cero, firing through it as if it didn't exist, simply because Kuroi's hand destroyed it.

The Bala was at near point blank range now. However, with the meter to travel, even if it was only a meter, it was enough to grow. The shockwave shot out, but that was the instant Rio got there and began. Kuroi had struck into the Cero and attacked at the exact same instant, his Bala clearing the shockwave, blowing into it. Shockwaves weren't half bad, but it was just a weak shockwave. Something like that couldn't stand up to a powerful attack like Kuroi's. Effortlessly, the power behind the Bala broke the shockwave, obliterating it and keeping it away from Kuroi. Rio was in the middle of his attack. Even if he hadn't been, he wasn't fast enough then even with a Sonido. Nothing he pulled out would actually be able to move on time after the shockwave was beaten. It was a guaranteed hit this time. However, since Rio was in the middle of an attack, he was open for more.

The Bala washed over him, blowing up across his body and splattering it with high level burns. The only reason it did not kill him was because it was reflected and minorly weakened by the shockwave. It had enough power to induce third and fourth degree burns across the torso and arms, the face as well. This didn't mark the end of the attacking simply because Kuroi spun to the side in similar timing. With a far superior speed, he was easily able to do this in time to evade that sai. Kuroi carved down with his blade, aiming to sever Rio's outstretched arm then and there. Sonido in the middle of an attack was impossible, as was another shockwave mere instants after the other one had been beaten, and even less time after a powerful Bala had washed over him, was still washing over him when Kuroi started this maneuver. By the time the Bala was over of course, Kuroi's attack was more than halfway completed.

Rio himself would be totally blinded to this because of the dark red reiatsu burning him and obscuring everything in a storm of pain. Rio did not possess sufficient speed for the matter either, meaning that there weren't any ways he could move his body to defend against the incoming strike. The only things he had were reiatsu and physical ability for a defense, since the shockwaves were impossible for those mere instances. Rio wasn't fast enough to do anything physically, and reiatsu based attacks took too much time to charge. Kuroi's blade had many reasons behind the attack, allowing it to cut into the arm, severing everything below the upper bicep. This meant the blade cut an area even above the elbow, taking a lot more than just half the arm, like most enemies would have done. Kuroi's attack hit a more important area of the arm, and left less room for blood circulation, meaning Rio would bleed a lot more than if he'd attacked anywhere else on the arm.

The reason that Kuroi was attacking so mercilessly in this exchange was that he'd quickly completed his preliminary evaluation of Rio's skills. While certainly more resourceful and skilled than all of the other Low Tier Espada, Rio's reliance on his strength was evident. If Kuroi had been using his true skill with those blades, Rio would have been killed in this exchange, or in the first exchange. Rio's attempts at using strength to bypass a vastly superior reiatsu to his own also took a few points off. What made it a bad choice was that at the level of difference between the Segunda and Quinta, regular blows of physical strength, like what Rio used, would have no effect at all. Kuroi could easily have taken that hit with the Sai, and nothing would have changed, other than his clothes wrinkling. "You have permission to release now." Kuroi said, granting Rio permission, as if Kuroi was the absolute superior. He was telling him that he was allowed to go all out, that preliminary examination was complete. Kuroi of course returned to an ordinary position after severing the arm, holding his blade at the ready, clenched tightly in his right hand. He was waiting for Rio's next move after that one. A few steps created around five meters of space between them.

Kuroi's Remaining Reiatsu: 2900 Reiatsu

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

Not bad! The Segunda had deflected the Cero with such ease. So, looks like Rio wasn't gonna have luck there unless he released. But any planning Rio was gonna make had to be short term in quick exchanges like this. There was no way he could afford not to stay focused on the immediate present at the moment. Perhaps he could allow himself to plan one or two moves ahead, but to take his mind off of what Kuroi was doing now would be too dangerous for him. He understood that much.

But Kuroi's bala wouldn't have the effect he was looking for, for two reasons, the most prominent being that it was because Rio was anticipating it. The instant Kuroi turned to him, Rio was already expecting a counterattack. Kuroi seemed smart enough to know physical blows wouldn't be as effective against Rio as reiatsu attacks would be. Ceros took too long. So that left bala. As Kuroi's hand moved, Rio used some quick footwork to slide himself out of the line of Kuroi's bala as he threw his punch, moving out of the line of attack just as the bala was released. This would mean that Rio's full weight was no longer behind the punch due to this, but fortunately for him, he was strong enough for this not to matter too much. Even if it wouldn't break Kuroi's Hierro a solid blow would still likely knock the Segunda off his feet. As for the bala, although it would grow considerably in only a meter, Rio was already off to the side and at point blank range, so it would miss him-- albeit by a hair.

Kuroi had made another miscalculation though. Assuming his Bala would affect Rio's shockwaves. Rio's shockwaves were not affected by reiatsu. The tradeoff was that they didn't affect reiatsu either. Reiatsu based attacks would pass right through his shockwaves unimpeded, but the inverse was also true. As such, Kuroi would likely be pushed back by the shockwave. Even if he didn't though, Rio's defense to Kuroi's slash would still be effective.

Since Kuroi would have had to wait for the shockwave to complete before slashing (else his swing would have simply been deflected), as well as evading it, Rio wouldn't be blinded by the red glow of the Segunda's bala as Kuroi slashed downwards. Kuroi may have been faster, but that wasn't to say Rio wasn't fast himself. The Quinta simply turned his wrist as the slash came down, so that his Sai blade faced upwards and bent his arm slightly. The movements were slight, and that was why Rio would be able to accomplish them between the initation of Kuroi's slash and the conclusion, when his blade struck Rio's arm. Naturally, instead of hitting the flesh he was expecting, Kuroi's blade would clash against the blade of the Sai.

In a quick movement, Rio moved to step back, as though to set up a second attack. However-- that wasn't the only thing he was doing. As he pulled the Sai back, he turned his wrist so that Kuroi's blade would be trapped between the Sai's "blade" and one of its prongs, rendering the weapon temporarily useless. At that instant, Rio gave a powerful twist on his Sai, to rip the sword right out of Kuroi's hand. With the difference in physical strength, there was little chance that Kuroi would be able to maintain his grip on the blade's hilt. In fact, most blades would likely have shattered completely, though it seemed presumptuous to assume that the Segunda Espada's blade would snap. Still, being disarmed of his weapon was a very likely possibility, if Rio successfully trapped the blade. With only 100 instinct, would Kuroi realize the danger in time?

However, it seemed the Segunda was giving Rio permission to release? The Quinta smirked. "Aren't we high and mighty, giving "permission" for your opponent to release." Rio scoffed. "Normally, I'd say "earn it" but I suppose you're certainly a cut above the rest. I suppose you've restored my faith in the Espada. Fine. If you want to see my release, then sit back and enjoy the show, Kuroi!" If Rio had managed to take the Segunda's blade in the exchange he would then hurl it full force back at Kuroi-- blade first. With Rio's strength that blade would be going extremely fast, and given it was Kuroi's own zanpakuto, would his Hierro be able to block it? Sure the blade wasn't flying as fast as Yamato could have chucked a football, but still, getting thrown at 700 strength would still be pretty damn fast, and probably faster than Kuroi would be able to react in the short range between them. If Rio had managed to take the Segunda's sword anyways. Disregard the above if he hadn't.

SPOILER: Click to show

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtvI57_Js6c&feature=related
[/youtube]

Anyways! Rio said he was going to release, and that's exactly what he intended to do. Drawing his second Sai, Rio proceeded to flip them into a reverse grip, driving them into his chest. "Attack Cerberus!" Rio declared, and his body was covered in a vibrant green reiatsu. It cloaked his physical form entirely, his body now nothing more than a shadow in the waves of green energy. And abruptly that shadow began to grow, expanding itself larger and larger. It seemed to keel over, planting its arms upon the ground, as it grew within the reiatsu, until finally the reiatsu vanished entirely, revealing Rio's released form. Standing forty feet tall at the shoulder, and covered in a reddish fur stood the guardian of the underworld-- Cerberus. Three snarling canine heads emerged from the shoulders, with blazing green eyes that seemed to glow with a literal fire. At Rio's back, in place of a tail, a massive cobra emerged, leering down at Kuroi, a forked tongue flicking out from its mouth. A drop of saliva fell from the tongue onto the sand, where it sizzled and burnt a hole right through the sand.

One of Rio's canine heads opened its mouth, revealing an ethereal green mist emerging from his throat and seeping out between his teeth. The head gave a forceful howl, that sent the sand around Rio scattering, as the massive creature slammed a paw down onto the sand, in challenge to Kuroi. This time, even with his limited senses, even Kuroi would be able to see the shockwave produced. Not because of it being fundamentally different or anything, but because of the increased size. This shockwave kicked up debris into the air, and its path would be easily traceable by the amount of sand it was hurling all over the place! Hey, maybe some would get in the Segunda's eyes! That would suck, but not nearly as much as getting hit by this shockwave, which was close to twenty feet high, and moving out in a circular radius. Although just as fast as Rio's sealed shockwaves, the power difference was incomparable to before. Rio's strength had more than doubled from his sealed form, and his shockwave's strength had increased by a comparable amount. Even if Kuroi could have taken a shot from Rio in his sealed state, could he do so now, when Rio's physical strength exceeded the strength of his Hierro by more than double? To make things more difficult for the Segunda was his lower strength. You'd be hard pressed to find an athlete that could jump twenty feet into the air, and Rio's shockwaves weren't affected by attacks like Ceros. How was Kuroi going to avoid this one?

SPOILER: Click to show

Strength: 1600
Senses: 300

Remaining Reiatsu: 2300

[Zou ۞]

OOC: Sorry, your defense won't work in this case. My post explained why, but this one will further explain.

IC:

Rio's miscalculations. He was too slow. Rio was fast only by a human standard. Compared to Kuroi, who was more than double Rio's speed, in a numerical value kept by some places, a full 250 advantage over Rio, the Quinta was nothing. He was like a rag doll against an efficient machine. For a movement from Kuroi, and especially considering not just Kuroi's speed, but the closeness of a Bala, "quick footwork" would never cut it. It was impossible. Not at that speed difference, especially considering that Bala itself was much much faster than that. On top of that, the distance between them allowed it to be something that wasn't point blank range. It would be point blank only if it were inches that separated the two, not a meter. That was enough time for the Bala to grow to an enormous size. And again, Rio completely lacked the speed.

His instinct and senses weren't bad, but his physical body just didn't have what it would take to react on time to something so mundane as a flick from someone as fast as Kuroi. Even if he moved at the exact same time as Kuroi, Kuroi's would finish not only first, but so far ahead that the Bala would be there before Rio was finished as well! This meant that of course, Rio was washed over by the Bala. He was doomed to be hit by this attack. It had been impossible to evade it from the very start, since he had tried to focus on so many things at once. A distraction, shockwaves, expectations, an attack. All of these in his mind at once, plus in addition to his massive speed disadvantage, it basically did indeed make it utterly impossible to even consider dodging the Bala, which directly impacted without any fail, causing those burns.

At the same time, the shockwave itself, though passing through a Bala, was unfocused. Though considerably faster, generating with a thought, it was weak. The point of it was not to attack, or anything like that. It was to deflect attacks, not to offensively push back enemies. This meant that even with his strength, Kuroi's steel skin defense, his Hierro, had so much power that it was like a wind hitting a column of metal. It did not budge. Kuroi was able to simply ignore being hit. While perhaps his skin would feel like skin when touched by another, the durability was high. Essentially, if one punched Kuroi for example, it would be the exact same effect. He'd dodged only because it was the best move for him. However, Kuroi did indeed have to wait for the shockwave to end, giving the massively slower enemy, Rio, a chance to slightly angle his wrist.

However, he'd made another mistake. Trying to defend with that Sai was a useless effort. Kuroi's reiatsu strength more than doubled his opponent's. In fact, in a numerical value used by some, it was a total of 400 in difference. That staggering amount was so massive that even with the metal there, it was completely useless. Kuroi had wanted to sever the arm, but as he saw the weapon coming into the way, it didn't matter. He simply allowed his blade to hit it. That was unfortunate, for the impact sliced straight through the sai. The difference in strength was far too much. It was as if a rusty, cheap quality iron blade tried to fend off a well made and brand new steel blade. There was nothing for it but for the sai to be broken. The blade, which was long enough to hit the prongs and "blade" of the sai, simply cut through all three, continuing through the arm to sever it completely.

Unlike Kuroi, Rio's hierro was nothing at all. It was Kuroi who had to be dodged, and Rio who would be unable to block this type of thing. With a blade being cut, and with the arm being severed from just above the elbow and down, Rio was left with a spraying blood wound. Kuroi in the meantime simply backed away after making this wound. The shockwaves, he'd felt them earlier. They'd been too weak to do anything to his Hierro. They'd bounced off of him as he was like heavy steel. He had weight and durability on his side. A weak defensive shockwave like that could do nothing at all to offbalance someone if it just bounced off of them. Rio had sacrificed a huge amount of power in that for the ability to summon it so quickly and willingly. However, with Kuroi and Rio both gaining distance, Kuroi got a chance to respond to Rio's speaking.

"High and mighty? Of course. I'm the strongest of the Espada." There was one more thing that Rio was doing as a mistake, which Kuroi noted. He was attempting to evade Kuroi's hits. While taking a hit from Kuroi probably wasn't a good idea, trying to evade every single hit was what allowed Kuroi to hit him in the first place. By trying to completely avoid damage, Rio also made it impossible for himself to inflict anything to Kuroi. Trying to evade all damage when the foe was equal or superior was foolish, as Rio had probably learned by that time. By taking a hit, opportunities were presented to land a hit while being hit. Mutual strikes, assuming one used them correctly, could be advantageous. Kuroi was a master of this strategic notion. Now, and only now, would Rio see the might of the Segunda Espada. When the sealed state Kuroi brought the released one to his knees.

However, Kuroi's eyes narrowed in disbelief, a massive glare. When he saw Rio's release, instantly, everything disappointed him. The man was growing larger, and the man was probably gaining more physical strength too. By the end of things, it was nothing but an enormous animal. Another one? How disappointing... This was the same as two others Kuroi had faced. Drago Umaga, former Septima Espada, had become a gigantic dragon, a beast that could release huge blast attacks, just like Rio. However, even closer to Rio was Sesshomaru Hakai, the former Cuarta Espada. That one had turned into a gigantic wolf with the power to shoot shockwaves as well as gigantic Cero. Though it had only had one head, it had been around the same size as Rio, maybe even slightly bigger. Both Drago and Sesshomaru had been weak. Kuroi had been disappointed by them.

He was instantly disappointed when he saw that Rio had such similarities to them. "A giant beast? This is disappointing." Kuroi declared. "I've seen others with a very similar release to yours. They were weak." Kuroi disappeared instantly as the shockwave approached. It was fast, and it was powerful, but it wasn't on par with Kuroi when it came to speed. A single Sonido brought him high into the air above Rio, looking down at him. He landed out of physical attack range, quite a few meters away. The contempt in Kuroi's eyes was now obvious. He didn't like the giant wolf release. The release had even restored Rio's arm! This was nostalgic! Kuroi had severed Sesshomaru's as well, he vaguely recalled. However, even at this distance, Kuroi was going to attack now. He aimed his left palm at Rio. Black stars appeared on Kuroi's palm, glowing in black light. Then, on each star, twin black orbs began to spin, both made of reiatsu, and merged.

All of this happened in the regular charge time of a Cero. In an instant, a huge dragon of black reiatsu, easily the size of a skyscraper, with glowing red eyes, shot out of Kuroi's hand, straight towards Rio. The large target wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time. Especially considering that this Muerte Rey Cero outranked him in terms of size. Kuroi's arm quickly began to dissolve noticeably on the outside, and unnoticeably on the inside, since, well, it was on the inside as well. Basically, that arm took huge burning damage, far worse than what the Bala earlier had inflicted to Rio. However, the technique seemed to be worth it. Even Sonido wouldn't get Rio out of the way of something so large. In truth, this was probably guaranteed to hit, and to detonate instantly. If it hit full on, it would be enough to annihilate Rio and turn him to dust.

Kuroi's Remaining Reiatsu: 2000 Reiatsu

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

Dammit. Kuroi was clearly stronger than Rio thought. Taking off the Quinta's arm... that was a first for Rio. A first in a long time. But interestingly enough, he didn't look angry at this fact. "He....heheheheh....heheheheh.....heheheh..." Was Rio snickering? "HYAHYAHYAHYAHYAHYAHYA!!!" Rio was howling with laughter at the loss of his arm!? He continued to laugh hysterically even as he released, and the reason why was revealed as he finally unleashed his shockwave in his released state. "That's it! That's excellent!" Rio exclaimed in glee as his shockwave launched towards Kuroi. As Kuroi dodged above Rio, Rio started charging his attack.

A glowing green Cero formed in each of the Espada's canine mouths. While they charged his serpent head spoke for him. "I'm glad! Sssssso glad, that the Essssspada aren't truly as worthlessss as I thought!" He hissed at Kuroi. As Kuroi launched his own devastating Cero, Rio blasted his Treinta technique up at him. Three Ceros, combining together, becoming more powerful than the sum of their parts! Of course, with Kuroi's higher reiatsu strength, even though the Treinta was around three times as powerful than Rio's normal Cero, so too was Kuroi's attack much stronger than an ordinary Cero. The Treinta impacted it, trying to hold it back. Instead it simply exploded, being dispelled by the much stronger attack. However, it had hopefully reduced the damage enough for Rio to survive it. He would be critically injured of course-- no attack that cost its user the use of his arm could be considered weak. But the Treinta should have reduced the damage enough that Rio wouldn't be killed by it.

The three heads growled savagely. Now Rio was just going through the motions. He couldn't best Kuroi, he recognized that. Hell, he'd realized it from the instant Kuroi stopped his Cero, that the man was in a different league. But Rio wasn't house broken, to use a pun here and there. Canine or not, he wasn't going to roll over and beg for his life. He'd continue fighting now, until Kuroi saw fit to end their little duel. Hell, maybe he'd make a mistake. Miracles happen from time to time. Regardless, Rio wasn't giving up (unless he would have been incapacitated by his wounds even with the reduced damage. I'm not 100% on the damage output that Rio would have taken here, so go ahead and ignore the rest of this post if its beyond what he could have done).

Kuroi would be falling towards the ground now, after his attack. Rio began to exhale deeply. At a first glance it would seem like Kuroi's attack had caused serious injury. Which it had. Rio would have a tough time avoiding attacks now! Fast movement was a problem. He might be able to manage a Sonido, but ordinary fast movement was right out. However, his exhaling wasn't an act of catching his breath. The green mist that had been held in his jaws was now spilling out from between his fangs, across the sands of Hueco Mundo. Kuroi wouldn't have noticed any serious effects that it might have been causing. The sand it passed over wouldn't vaporize or anything. Rocks would be unaffected. But if he landed in it, he'd realize its effects, as it would promptly begin dissolving any organic matter that made contact with it. Not unlike his own Fraccion's Orcus Bane-- but much, MUCH faster acting. What it took Miho's Orcus Bane several minutes to do, Rio's Plague Winds could accomplish in a matter of seconds.

And the Espada was setting it up so that as Kuroi would fall back towards the ground, he'd be falling directly into the mist. Even if he was in it only for a moment, and Sonido'd out pronto, he wouldn't make it out unscathed. Unfortunately for Kuroi there was no way to figure this out unless he either experienced it firsthand, or saw someone else experience it firsthand. Though he could probably reason that it wasn't a good idea to touch it. The question was, how would he avoid it. With no airground, he wouldn't be able to use Sonido-- he had nothing to kick off of. And Rio was beginning to stride towards him. His blows were slower now, because of his injures from Kuroi's attack, but the Quinta could still attack. One paw rose up and crashed downwards to slam Kuroi into the ground with tremendous force. Right into the Plague Winds. Additionally, if Kuroi evaded the paw swipe it would create a shockwave, which-- while it would dispel the Plague Winds would give Kuroi a whole new problem to deal with. Likewise though, if it, by some miracle connected there wouldn't be a shockwave. Why would there be? Rio would be pinning Kuroi down inside of the Plague Winds technique. That was outright lethal if that happened.


Reiatsu: 1700

Current senses: 50 (Due to Plague Winds' drawback)

[Zou ۞]

When Kuroi's eyes observed a mist coming out of those mouths, exhaling into a thick fog in the ground, his mind went into an instant flashback. He remembered the droplets of drool that had been falling from Rio's mouths, and he remembered that they'd created a sizzling, burning sound as they touched down. He'd seen some holes beginning to form in those areas too, signifying some kind of corrosive or disintegration based ability. Therefore, it should be easy to conclude that the mist was dangerous. This was more than just random drool, for it extended out into a large field. It was probably stronger than the drool. Even with Hierro, Kuroi didn't want to bother trying to land in it. He remembered Jin Yamada, the Bount Leader, whom he had fought three times. That same Bount Leader had a similar attack, an orange wave of fog that created immense heat, and a dome of similar makings.

Both of these had the potential to outweigh a Hierro due to the heat, which affected the body anyway even with skin in place. Kuroi had seen a disintegration or corrosive thing with Rio's drool, so it should be assumed that the fog did this as well. Of course, while this meant it wasn't a subtle through-the-skin maneuver like Jin, the memories of what Jin did were enough to bring Kuroi to realize that being touched by something like that would still be a horrible idea. Rio, of course, had to move to get in range of Kuroi. Being quite a good portion slower from such thick burning wounds across his entire body, which even with those movements would be rather strained, Rio would leave Kuroi enough time for what was coming. Kuroi aimed his hand down, charging a Cero. He wasn't aiming it particularly at Rio, or at anything, really. It was aimed at a diagonal angle. It charged on the fist, since he was holding a blade.

The Cero charged, and then proceeded to fire out. This powerful force, which came out when Kuroi had no support from an air ground or anything similar, allowed him to be blasted back by his own attack. Due to his reiatsu strength, naturally the Cero was enormous. It was a huge blood red reiatsu that shot at Rio, even though Kuroi had not aimed at him directly. It was so large that it could still make a scathing contact with Rio despite not being aimed there. It also blasted into the fog, dispersing it at the center because of the power behind it. A powerful blast of rubble, air, and debris flew about with the Cero hitting the ground (and possibly Rio), which caused this fog to simply be blown all around and away. The propulsion from the Cero allowed Kuroi to move not just upwards again, but backwards as well, due to the fact that it had been used at a diagonal angle.

Kuroi's body flew far because of the power of his Cero, and when at last he landed on the ground, he was out of range of any mist or fog that Rio generated, simply because of how strong that Cero was. It had taken him out of range of the claw swipe due to how slow Rio had been to get there, and due to moving upwards and backwards during the claw swipe, he'd been missed by the shockwave as well, which would not travel upwards from a downwards claw strike. He'd seen his Fraccion, Kouen, use a trick like that. That was where Kuroi had learned how to use his mastered Cero for a propulsion. However, it probably wasn't as effective as Kouen's was, seeing as Kouen's Cero were part of his Ressurection ability, making them not just stronger, but actually instantaneous as well. However, Kuroi had still managed to find a way to use that particular trick for himself. The problem then was finding where to hit Rio. Hitting a giant was difficult. It definitely wasn't easy figuring out where would be most effective to hit. Kuroi realized his Zanpakuto would be useless unless he released. Kuroi had no actual plans of releasing.

Kuroi looked down at his left arm. It was ravaged and destroyed by his earlier attack. It was painful and steaming, and it was probably impossible to use a blade with. Kuroi's high speed regeneration would have trouble with it too. He also didn't want to activate that, anyway. It was the same as rendering the arm useless. However, since Kuroi wore that suit, Rio would actually not see that Kuroi's arm was ravaged, unless of course he spotted the hand. The sleeve covered the whole arm, after all. Kuroi figured that since his arm was already in bad shape anyway, he could afford to push it to its limit and basically destroy it. He could always generate a new one later, after all. Kuroi aimed his left hand at Rio. "Gran Dos Bala." He declared. A large barrage of reiatsu bullets began flying out of his palm at a great speed. In total, 500 of these bullets were shooting out.

This was a stronger variation of Kuroi's "Dos Bala" techniqe. Whereas Bala was 20 times faster than a Cero, Dos Bala was 20 times faster than a Bala. Normally, Dos Bala was not particularly strong. It was used as an assassination technique, and it didn't leave much damage. Only a small hole would be left, and the wound would not be cauterized in the same way as Bala did it. However, while this made Dos Bala ineffective against enemies such as Rio, Gran Dos Bala released 500 of these bullets. With that speed in comparison with Rio's slowed speed, he was going to get hit by a lot of these. Due to his size, he was a generous target, making it possible for all 500 to actually hit him, or at least close to it. Normally, targets were small enough that not even half the number managed to hit them. It was ineffective in just one bullet, but since there were so many of them, it would obviously riddle Rio with holes.

Kuroi's arm of course took a beating as well. Blood spurted out of random holes that began forming in the arm. Since holes had to form in it to fire the bullets, there was one for each bullet. His arm was basically turned to Swiss cheese by the maneuver, leaving it hanging and dangling loosely and limply at the end of the technique, blood droplets dripping from it. Still, bullets were bullets. Since Rio was so big, they wouldn't go through him, either. Rather, they'd stay lodged in his body. This meant that even though he'd be riddled with holes just as Kuroi's arm was, he wouldn't bleed out from being shot so much, simply because he was being clogged in the holes by the bullets. Kuroi of course had one additional use for the bullets, though. "Are you aware now, new Quinta, of my power?" Kuroi asked. "Would you say that the Espada do indeed still prove their strength?"

Kuroi's Remaining Reiatsu: 1400 Reiatsu

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

Using a Cero to dodge!? That was surprising. Rio did his best to pull away from the attack, as soon as he saw Kuroi charging it. He hadn't seen any of Kuroi's Ceros thus far, but he could assume from the man's Bala that they were going to be devastating and massive. He was right. Had Rio not started moving away as soon as the attack had started charging it could have cost him a serious injury. As it was, the massive Cero seared Rio's flanks as he pulled away, and saw Kuroi catapult himself off. Hmm. Interesting idea of dodging. Rio would have to remember it for future reference.

Rio was already making his next move. Kuroi was out of range of any of Rio's staple attacks, namely his shockwaves, and melee attacks. Besides, in his current injured state, Rio was too slow to hit Kuroi. Sometimes Rio could use his sheer size to enhance his speed to catch faster foes. Many people associated giant targets with being slow and ponderous. Not true. When you reached a size like Rio was, you could be deceptively fast. Afterall, you covered more distance with your larger limbs, and because of your size, it made attacks that much harder to evade. However, Rio suspected Kuroi was already aware of these advantages. However, the Espada felt he might have one more trick up his sleeve.

Apocalypse was no good. It was incredibly powerful, but its charge time meant Kuroi would have ample time to intercept it. His Ceros were so powerful and fast that Rio could have been killed in the process. Which left Rio with his Treinta as his only cost efficient long ranged attack against Kuroi. But firing it from here? Too easy. Rio had to close the distance, and felt he knew how. As Kuroi began to land, Rio began charging another three Ceros in his jaws. As Kuroi launched his massive Gran Dos Bala attack, however, Rio used Sonido.

He was hoping that Kuroi would not expect him to still be able to use the hive speed movement of Sonido in his massive released form. Even if he did, the technique would probably still work. It even helped Rio to dodge a number of the Bala that Kuroi had fired, as Rio had used Sonido just prior to Kuroi launching it. Naturally, of course, he wasn't fast enough to evade ALL of the Bala, and a number hit their marks solidly, tearing through Rio's flesh. Fortunately, his size mitigated a lot of the injuries. They definately hurt, leaving ragged holes in Rio's body, but his sheer size allowed him to manage despite them.

Rio's target was to land his Sonido roughly twenty to thirty yards away from Kuroi, with his three Ceros fully charged. Instantly, upon landing he would launch his second Treinta attack at the Segunda, intending to blast him at as close to point blank range as his size would safely allow. Rio's Ceros had increased in size due to his Ressurection, and this one was slightly larger and more powerful than three separate Ceros. In short, it was a very big, and very powerful attack. But would it be powerful enough? That Rio was uncertain of. His ordinary Cero had failed to leave the smallest hint of injury upon Kuroi. In a sense, he was taking a gamble, in that three combined Cero would have some effect. But nonetheless, Rio was not one to surrender. He had been a Spartan in his life, and giving up was simply unacceptable!

After launching Treinta, however, he gave himself a moment to answer Kuroi's question. "Of course I'm not aware of your power." His replied. "I may be a savage animal in your eyes, Segunda, but even I have enough mind to realize you haven't shown me anything more than a taste of your real strength." He remarked. "But it does give me hope for the Espada. My only wonder is why you permit trash like the Septima to remain among our ranks." He growled in answer.

Reiatsu remaining: 1100
Resurrection: 3/12

[Zou ۞]

Try as he might to move, there were five hundred projectiles. Rio would be hit by a minimum of one hundred in his injured state, even with Sonido. Sonido was in fact something that Kuroi had hoped to see Rio use. The injuries he'd sustained would simply stretch out and tear even further, making him even weaker. This was because Sonido was indeed a straining movement in a case of heavy injury. Essentially, Rio made things a whole lot worse by using the technique. Likewise, the maximum that Rio would be hit, depending on how well he maneuvered, was around three hundred. 100-300 was a good set of odds. While the minimum of those values wouldn't leave the Swiss cheese effect that 300 would, it would leave enough holes (and remaining bullets) for Kuroi's attack to pull itself off. He'd planned for Rio to launch another attempted attack.

Kuroi angled his fingers which held the blade, putting the thumb and index near each other. He slid them together, snapping his fingers as Rio approached, his attack generated and just firing. Whether it was one hundred, three hundred, or somewhere in between, Rio was in for a nasty surprise. The bullets that hit of course had gotten stuck in him. They were powerful and fast enough to penetrate, but he was too big for them to just go through. That was why when he'd created the technique, Kuroi had armed it with this capability. A small explosion detonated with each and every single bullet. Whether it be one hundred or three hundred, it was a lot of explosions all over Rio's body. In a regular Dos Bala, the explosion covered the same explosive power as being hit by a regular Bala, because it forced an extra activation cost.

However, Gran Dos Bala was indeed a finisher type move. The extra cost was not reiatsu, but the fact that when firing it originally, the arm was annihilated. This was a heavy cost, but since Rio had managed to be hit by so many, it didn't matter. The explosions here were larger than Kuroi's actual Bala, causing there to be over a hundred blasts that basically blew Rio apart. His whole body was covered in burns, flesh and fur dissolving away as all the bullets lodged in him exploded. His limbs were even blown off by so many explosions at once all over his body. Bones, muscle, tissue, and sinew could actually all be seen in various parts of his body, different layers destroyed completely in some parts. It was a grotesque and ugly form, an injury that would surely leave him screaming. His eardrums would be dulled by the sounds and the blasting, his eyes would go blurry and hazy.

Worst of all, the damage from his Treinta existed as well. The explosions had begun the moment Treinta just started to fire. This meant that, with it only a split second into existence, concentration and everything else was disrupted. Essentially, Rio's attack exploded right there, disrupted by the explosions. This would cause the damage to inflict itself on Rio in the blast. Kuroi used a quick Sonido to get behind Rio, around ten or fifteen meters away because of the Sonido. He wanted to be in a more vocal distance, for Kuroi was certain he'd basically cleaned the fight up with that Dos Bala maneuver. He'd expended a lot of reiatsu for this fight, but it didn't matter. All of Kuroi's attacks did something like that. It was a reiatsu cost strategy. Kuroi tended to use most of his techniques in Ressurection rather than in sealed state, after all.

Rio was basically a beaten, broken, and destroyed husk. In reality, there wasn't much left that he could do. Therefore, Kuroi had a chance to monologue. "You speak of the Septima, and ask why it is that I have allowed him to remain." Kuroi stated. "I believe the answer is obvious. I haven't." A cold, grim smile played on Kuroi's lips, just as his malicious aura made itself more clear. If Rio hadn't noticed it before, he'd notice Kuroi's murderous intent. It was on a whole other level from anyone else in Las Noches, save Kouhai himself. Kuroi's killing intent was the most real, and his aura was dark, evil, chilling, and terrifying. "Surely, you've heard of how I crushed him." Kuroi declared. "I could have simply killed him, but I let him live. You may ask why, and I will tell you. When I fought him, I broke him. Today I defeated you with techniques, no? Against Magnus Wonderwizz, I used none of my reiatsu, not a single technique against his Ressurection, and yet still annihilated him."

"The truth, Rio Demonliogalgo, is that I did not allow him to remain. I broke him. I have destroyed not just his body, but his spirit. I made him weak. You must have heard the gossip, the speaking about him. How he is weak to have lost in such a manner, how he is disgraced. You must have heard speaking of the plots to take him out, considering his humiliation. I have even so destroyed his spirit that he has trouble against Espada Cierro and Asuka, whom he outranks. Even Fraccion have defeated him before, and will continue to defeat him. Those weaker than him have become his absolute superiors. To others, Espada may be considered gods. Make a god bleed, and the people will cease to believe in him. I have broken him so that all beneath him have surpassed him, and will drag him down into Hell because of this. This is how I represent Despair, Quinta. Being an Espada means you also represent part of death. I did not directly take him out. Rather, I've set him on the path of ruin."

"One day, he will seek me again for revenge because of this. He may be dethroned by then, or he may simply be desperate. At that time, when he is at his most pitiful state, the people and the world will destroy him."

Kuroi's Remaining Reiatsu: 1400 Reiatsu

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

Damn. That.... had really, REALLY hurt. The devastation caused by the combination of the Bala exploding inside of him, as well as his Treinta backfiring, caused sufficient injury to Rio, that the Quinta couldn't even maintain his Ressurection any longer. As the beast collapsed to the ground it started shrinking down. The additional heads and tail were sucked back into his body. Giant paws became hands. Fangs became tee..... smaller fangs. His flaming green eyes became violet ones. Finally, the transformation and Rio's sealed form stood, on one knee, on the sands of Hueco Mundo. Kuh.... not.... going... He almost fell, but planted a hand on the ground shakily to support himself. Rio was bleeding heavily, his clothes quickly staining with his own blood. I don't fall... that easily... Rio thought to himself.

But he was beaten. He recognized that as a fact. The Espada could barely move. He could probably stand if he really, REALLY forced himself to, via sheer determination, but there was no point right now. Standing on its own was a futile action, as he wouldn't be able to throw a single punch if he exhausted his strength just doing that. All of his strength would end up being devoted just to staying on his feet. So there was really no point. Defeat.... it was an alien feeling to Rio. He hadn't lost since his battle with Aryuusai so long ago. It sucked! But.... in this case there was a very unusual feeling to it.

Rio was angered that he had lost so definitively. He hadn't managed to land a single blow. But at the same time that he was angered, he was relieved that at least SOME of the Espada were worthwhile as far as strength was concerned. Kuroi's strength was such that befitted his rank. Hmph. Well, Rio had hoped to get a glimpse of the Segunda's Resurrection, but what Kuroi had done here was no different than Rio's battles against Cierro or Magnus. He hadn't shown them his Resurrection either. At present Kuroi and Miho were the only arrancar whom had seen Rio in his release.

Kuroi began a monologue about what he had done to Magnus. Huh. So he'd bested Magnus without even using an ability? That would be a humiliating defeat to be sure. Set him on a path to ruin? Huh. A fitting end, Rio supposed, but it wasn't his style. And why should it? Rio's aspect of death was destruction. Despair? He enjoyed seeing his foes despair, but only at the futility in fighting him. But whatever. Kuroi had been the one to defeat Magnus and it was the victor that chose the punishment for the defeated. A simple principle.

Rio merely smirked at Kuroi as he concluded his speech. "So. Where does that leave me? Will you do the same to me as you did to him? Or will you simply kill me where I am now?" He asked with a scoff. Almost as if he didn't care to his fate. Not entirely true. Rio certainly didn't WANT to die. But this would be far from a death he would fear. Dying in battle wasn't ever the worst way to go. Rio could respect himself for dying in what he considered to be a battle. Even if Kuroi didn't see it as such, it wouldn't take Rio's mind from that.

The other reason that Rio showed such nonchalance to his potential fate was because he couldn't do anything about it. Many people would rage at that. Not Rio. Rio was of a very short temper and possessed an explosive rage, but that was only to matters to which he had some control. He had no control here. There was no point in being angry about losing to the Segunda Espada, when he was only Quinta. If Kuroi chose to kill him now, there was nothing Rio could do about it. All he could do would be to stand and die on his feet. That would be all he'd be capable of. Kuroi controlled what Rio's fate was now, and he understood that fact, and accepted it as that. A fact.

Reiatsu: 1100