Freaks on a Train [Grodd vs Jacob, R, NDE]

[Beast]

Thread Title: Freaks on a Train [Grodd vs Jacob, R, NDE]
Participants: Grodd, Jacob Thorne
World: Human World
Death Setting: Non Death Enabled
Rating: R
Location: Karakura Town. One of the areas of the world with the highest spiritual density. Events are constantly happening here. This fight happens to occur on a subway train that goes underneath the city. It's late at night, and the train is automated, so there's not any other people on it to get in the way.
Special Conditions: None
Circumstances: Jacob Thorne and Grodd, both Class 8, happen to meet on a Train. Jacob is headed home after a long night of searching for potential feeding places for his parents, and Grodd is on a mission, scouting out the subway system that has had multiple attacks lately. He's searching for a Hollow nest, but finds a whole lot more than he bargained for.

[Beast]

It was starting to get late at night in the Soul Society, so Shinigami were starting to head to bed. Grodd was on his way to the Wilderness, to go sleep in a tree as he was want to do frequently, but he was stopped before he could leave the Squad 3 barracks. "Ah good, someone who's still up. Lucky you, report to the Vice Captain's office." With a couple frustrated signs, Grodd reluctantly followed the orders of his superior officer and lumbered over to the Vice Captain's office. The other Shinigami just shrugged, sighed, and went on with his late night work, himself headed towards bed. The bed that Grodd wouldn't be able to go to for awhile, seeing as these late night scouting missions tended to take all night.

Grodd didn't knock on the door, just let himself in. It wasn't that he was being purposefully rude, or even spiteful, he just never had understood the need for knocking. People tried to tell him, he just never had really gotten it ingrained in his head. So, he let him in and gave a curt little wave to the woman behind the desk. The Vice Captain of the month was a woman who really terrified Grodd. She was impeccably stealthy, so whenever he tried to break a rule she was right behind him with a scolding. Not to mention, she was incredibly serious. So he just waved and waited for his assignment. She noticed him, raised an eyebrow as to say "they sent him?", then shrugged and gave Grodd his mission.

"Alright, Grodd. Listen closely, since I'm only going to say this once. You apparently are the only one they could scrounge up for this mission, which pains me, but it's what I have to work with. Nod once if you understand." Grodd nodded once. Despite how much she apparently disliked him, she was one of the people starting to come to terms with his disability and stubbornness. Rather than force him to write down his understanding, she was willing to work with him and use more creative methods to judge his willingness to work, ability to comprehend, etc. Once he had nodded, she continued. "You're going to Karakura Town today. We've been getting reports of attacks in the underground subway system, and Squad 12 can't pinpoint the location of the Hollows because of interference or some crap like that. So we're sending you into the field to look out for a nest so we can send in Squad 11."

"Nod twice if you understand that you are not to engage the nest, simply report its existence and take down any Hollows that spot you. We don't want too many of them to be alert that we know where they are." Grodd nodded twice. With nothing else to say, the Vice Captain ushered him out of her office with a "get out of here" wave, and he made his way to the Senkaimon. The Squad 13 guys on duty did not look happy to be up all night, so they let him through without the usual rigmarole of "Haha, for real, tell us where you're going. Oh, you can't talk? We better check with our superiors if you're allowed out. Make sure you're not a runaway pet or something." That pissed him off when they did that, but he dealt with it. They were too tired and bored to play that game today, so they just let him out.

The trip to Karakura Town was uneventful, but once there, the sounds and the noises hit him full force. While the noise was not something he enjoyed, preferring the relative quiet of the forest, he wasn't completely unhappy. The fresh air smelled so clean, felt so good as it caressed Grodd's mostly bare skin. He was on mission, so he left his loincloth on, though he'd rather go nude, but he'd had more than one time where a spiritually aware human had freaked out because of his nudity. Just because they didn't know that he was a ghost didn't mean that they were comfortable with him walking around naked. So, he left the strip of cloth around his waist on. Heading towards the subway, Grodd decided to go straight to work so he could go to bed sooner.

Without any refined Energy Sensory, Grodd couldn't find any Nest by just riding the trains and sensing, so he decided to start his search by sitting in a lobby area, watching for any Hollow activity while also being a minor source of bait. He wouldn't be mobbed by Hollows for just sitting in a train station, reiatsu kept under wraps but not actively suppressed. Though, any spiritually aware and attentive people would be definitely weirded out by the man who was sitting crossed legged right next to the unloading/loading zone, crossed legged over the yellow "Do not cross" line. Those humans who saw him might be curious, but at this time of night, there wasn't a lot of traffic in and out of the subway. Grodd was mostly sitting in peace. Hopefully for not too long. He wanted to get to bed.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats/Skills}

Strength - [100 x1.25 (125)] Points

Speed - [100] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [80 x.75 (60)] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [50 x1.25 (63)] Points

Light Aura - [35] Points

Dark Aura - [65] Points

Instinct - [100 x.75 (75)] Points

Senses - [50] Points

Energy sensory - [0 x1.25 (0)] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points


Total SP: [480] Points


Abilities



[Boxing] {1}

[Hakuda] {1}

[Pain Tolerance] {1}

[Strength of Will] {1}

[Cold Tolerance] {1}

Damage Recovery] {1}

[Mental Incantation] {1}

[Jacob Thorne, Hollowborn]

Supporting your parents was a bloody business. Or at least it was for Jacob, given that his job involved murder and butchering people to be served as food for two Hollows. His job took him a lot of interesting places, all over Karakura, and also required that he interact with a large number of people from all walks of life. Which was sometimes a good thing, and sometimes a bad thing. He'd met Mod Souls, Bounts, and Fullbringers. And, unfortunately, he'd met Shinigami.

Jacob hated Shinigami. They hunted Hollows and had hurt his parents quite badly in the past, which he was not okay with. That, and the way his reiatsu worked, quite a few of them assumed he was a Hollow. Or at least acted as if he was corrupted by one. And if they didn't, they underestimated him or dismissed him off hand, which had a tendency to frustrate him greatly. And Karakura Town was crawling with them! Jacob never understood why the city was such a spiritual hub.

But it was good hunting, and his parents appreciated all the souls to eat. So he couldn't truly complain. Especially as they started to grow and get restless, having a steady supply of food that was comparable to himself in quality allowed them to keep their sanity and avoid eating their only son. Which he appreciated. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure if that would continue for too much longer. He needed a way to control them, and he needed it fast.

He'd have to develope a new form of reiatsu technique to tame Hollows. But to do so meant he needed to interact with more Hollows, since a single failure on his parents could cause everything to fall apart. And so in addition to hunting spiritually aware Fullbringers and humans, he needed to hunt Hollows now to. Which was unfortunate, because he knew his parents could smell the others on him, and they were growing suspicious with each passing day.

For the present moment at least, Jacob sat on a train, headed back towards their current apartment on the outskirts of Karakura Town. The train was empty, or the car he had selected was at least. It was late at night, and on a line that not many people needed or used. sitting alone meant that Jacob didn't need to maintain his guise as much, and he allows his face to naturally become his default state: a terrifying grin, that was usually hidden to allow people to be comfortable.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Jacobs Stats}
Stats
Strength: 100 (125)
Speed: 100
Spiritual Pressure: 40 (30)
Reiatsu Strength: 45 (56)
Energy Sensory: 135 (169)
Healing Expertise: 0
Senses: 45
Instinct: 100 (75)
Dark Aura: 100
Light Aura: 0

Skills
Battle Analysis: 1
Acting: 1
Charisma: 1
Knives: 1
Strength of Will: 1
Focused Eye: 1

[Beast]

Another subway car entered the station, but this one was different. Instead of being empty, there was a young boy sitting on the train alone. Grodd opened his eyes as the train doors opened up to reveal a human with the most terrifying of smiles. His face looked like it was going to get stuck that way, or something, the smile was so twisted and hideous. But Grodd wasn't anyone to judge the habits of others. He too must look pretty strange, a man sitting crossed legged in front of the train door, wearing nothing but a loincloth. However, there was always the chance that this boy couldn't see him. Grodd cocked his head to the side, in an attempt to gauge whether or not Jacob did have the ability to see spiritual beings.

Grodd raised his hands from their position at his side and started to sign. It was a lousy form of communication, as to anyone who actually knew sign language would just see gibberish words (if you could call them that) being formed. Using his right hand, the Shinigami made a flat hand, palm outwards, and pushed it away from his body. He then pointed his left index finger towards the ground and finished his "sentence" by pinching his right pinky with his left hand. All in all, gibberish, but it all had meaning to the nearly naked Shinigami. When he was done "talking", he waited for a reaction from Jacob. If there was none, he'd just keep sitting there, understanding that the boy couldn't actually see him.

[Jacob Thorne, Hollowborn]

As Jacob's subway pulled to a stop, even before the doors opened, he could feel the reiatsu of a shinigami. Any other day, he'd be ready to lure the Soul Reaper in, and kill it, but right now, he was tired. Tired, and uninterested in killing. But something about the Shinigami's reiatsu was off. He couldn't tell what it was, but it felt familiar in some way. Not like he'd encountered the shinigami before, but like something primal about the Shinigami stirred something within him.

As the doors opened, Jacob finally got a sight of the Shinigami. The man sat cross legged on the ground, wearing nothing more than a loin cloth which was...unusual. Shinigami typically stuck to wearing those tasteless black uniforms of theirs, so this one was clearly different. Jacob dropped the smile, his face becoming more measured, and he willingly gave up the element of surprise. He made the conscious decision to allow the Shinigami to know that he could see him.

Unfortunately, the Shinigami seemed to either be mute or deaf, or both, given his use of sign language. And although Jacob knew ASL, the Shinigami's signs weren't recognizable by that standard. Perhaps they had a unique brand of sign language in Soul Society? Jacob refused to let a language barrier stop him, however. He raised his right hand, palm held up, and beckoned in a come hither fashion, then twisted his hand into a c shape, extending his index finger, and pointed to the seat right next to the open train doors.

[Beast]

It became obvious to Grodd that the boy could see him, as he responded to the signing with more signing. While most of Jacob's signs meant nothing to Grodd, anyone could interpret "Come Here" and "Go There" with beckoning and pointing. The other signs didn't mean anything to the Shinigami, but he decided to get on the train, seeing as this was his only lead so far. A spiritually aware human could not only see Shinigami but also Hollows. With Grodd's inability to sense reiatsu that wasn't aggressively released, maybe he could get this boy to track down the hollow nest for him. Little did the Shinigami know that Jacob was very involved in the spiritual world, and would potentially resist his efforts to find this nest, especially if Jacob's parents were there.

Grodd sat on a seat on the opposite side of the train that Jacob was sitting on, folding his legs up underneath him again. Sitting cross legged on that thin lump of plastic wouldn't be considered comfortable by normal standards, but Grodd didn't mind it. He was used to sleeping in trees, lying on rocks, rolling around in dirt, etc. A little smooth plastic was more than comfortable for him. However... it became painfully obvious for Jacob, most likely, that inviting Grodd on this train was not the most perfect of plans. As the door shut, it would become unfortunately obvious of a stench that had not been present before the Shinigami arrived. The scent of dirt and grime started to fill the area, and the vents could only do so much.

Oblivious to this fact, Grodd began to sign to Jacob about his plans and request. He started with both palms out at his sides, pointed downwards at the floor. He then took his right hand and curled his hand so that only his ring finger was extended and circled it around his left hand that was still pointed downwards. He then returned his hands to a neutral position before making more signs. He clenched his right hand, bending all the fingers in a claw shape. His left hand pressed a palm to his own chest before pointing in thin air twice, once in the air to the right, once toward the ground to the left. His last sign was his left hand palm towards Jacob, then the same two pointing motions. Throughout the pointing motions, Grodd's right hand stayed in that claw shape, but both of his hands relaxed as he finished his topic of conversation.

[Jacob Thorne, Hollowborn]

Well, okay. His attempts to understand the Shinigami's strange sign language were now beginning to fall apart as the Shinigami started to use signs that not only Jacob didn't recognize, but couldn't puzzle out using context clues. He simply didn't have the analysis to piece it together. So, unfortunately, Jacob didn't understand Grodd's attempts to communicate. Or, at the very least, he couldn't understand it purely through the sign language that Grodd used.

However, Jacob did posses a rather potent energy sensory. While it wasn't at mind reading levels, or anywhere close, it gave him the ability to figure out some very basic emotions that were coming off of Grodd. Less of emotions, and more of intentions, actually. He could tell that Grodd was searching for something, and was asking for something. Advice maybe? Assistance? Maybe something more specific than that, but Jacob couldn't truly tell. All he could pick up on was the basic intentions.

However, Grodd looking for something, and needing assistance got Jacob thinking. Thinking, and fearing. Because Grodd was a Shinigami, and Shinigami killed Hollows. Grodd was hunting for Hollows in Karakura Town, meaning that Jacob's parents were at risk. And for a moment, that fear, that hatred, showed. Only for a moment. If Grodd was paying attention, he'd pick up on it, otherwise, he might miss it. Jacob shook his head vigorously, showing that he couldn't help, wouldn't help. And if Grodd pushed the issue, he'd regret the decision. 

[Beast]

While he might not appear to be so, Grodd was an attentive man. He had to be in order to communicate without words. As he finished his signs, some sort of recognition passed over the boys face, and his expression took on one of fear and hatred. What had the boy understood by Grodd's gestures? No one had ever seemed to really understand him before, but this boy must be misunderstanding the Shinigami. Grodd was here to do his job, and from what he had been told his whole career, this job saved lives. People enjoyed living in relative security, unaware of these going ons. And even spiritual beings enjoyed the break from being hunted, he had been told.

But this boy, he hated Grodd for some reason, was afraid of him. What was he afraid of, what did he hate? Was it Grodd's nakedness, no it couldn't be that, for he had welcomed the Shinigami onto the train, had gestured to a seat for him to sit in. That couldn't be it. Was it something Grodd "said"? How could that be? The scout from Squad 3 was here to save the boy from threats, or at least assist. He wasn't even supposed to get involved either! Just eliminate any witnesses, if they happen to spot him. Well... this was probably a witness... Whatever the boy was, he wasn't pleased about Grodd's presence, and in fact hated him for being there.

So Grodd started to sign. He raised up a palm, pointed towards his own chest, then raised up a second palm towards Jacob. That's when a shot of wind would shoot out of his hand, aimed to strike the boy in the head and knock him out so that he would wake up thinking Grodd was just a dream. Or something. However, combat rarely happened so easily. Following Grodd's attack with Sho, he jumped up to his feet and dashed to the other end of the train, disappearing for a moment with a quick Shunpo. From there, he set himself up in a defensive stance, feet firmly planted into the metal. If Jacob had dodged, which was more than possible given his Energy Sensory, there would be a small dent in the train as if someone had punched it, but not more damage than that, given Grodd's untrained reiatsu strength.

Remaining Reiatsu: 525/600 (-25 Sho, -50 Shunpo)

[Jacob Thorne, Hollowborn]

And now, it was battle time. Time to engage the Shinigami in combat, kill him, and move on. Jacob sensed Grodd's emotions shifting, becoming suspicious, even before the Shinigami decided to take action, and so he was prepared for a fight. The surge of reiatsu that accompanied Grodd's hand motion was just another tip, and as Sho fired, Jacob could see it in the air. Such was the advantage of having an Energy Sensory such as his. It was potent, although he still had room to grow.

The force behind Grodd's Kido was strong, certainly, stronger than the average human adult, but Jacob's strength was comparable to a professional body builder, and he slapped the Sho away with the back of his hand. It stung, certainly, but not much more than a punch from the average human would. And his actions thus would assert dominance in the fight, and intimidate Grodd, ideally. It would show Jacob's capacity as an apex predator, and allow him to begin the process of forcing Grodd to evolve.

A knife was in Jacob's hand within the next second, as Grodd was jumping to his feet, and Jacob realized, based on the movement of reiatsu towards Grodd's feet, that the Shinigami was planning to use a step technique. Jacob took a step to the side, before swinging his knife right where Grodd's throat would appear. But instead of appearing there, Grodd used Shunpo to back away, establishing distance between the two. Jacob's face contorted into a snarl, and he opened his mouth to chastise the Shinigami.

But the Shinigami couldn't speak. He relied on sign language. Talking likely wouldn't work. So Jacob flipped the Shinigami off instead, figuring that would convey the message well enough. Then, he threw a knife at Grodd, aligning it so that it would strike the Shinigami in the heart if he wasn't careful. Jacob reached out to the souls of the air, and Soul Commanded them, changing the air patterns so that they wouldn't interfere with the knife at all. This wouldn't guarantee that he hit, but it'd remove variables, and cause the knife to move in a way that would defy normal logic, so that the Shinigami wouldn't expect it.

[Beast]

As Grodd backed away, he could see Jacob slap his Hado out of the air. It ricocheted off of his hand and into a plastic seat of the train where it left a small dent. The fullbringer didn't look any worse off from attacking Grodd's kidou, so that obviously wasn't going to work, even if the Shinigami repeatedly used the same spell over and over again. All he could do was rely on his hand to hand combat to get the upper hand, if that was possible. Jacob didn't seem very interested in coming to Grodd.

The boy flipped off Grodd, which prompted an identical response. They were starting to communicate! That sign was something that Grodd was completely familiar with, as he was on the receiving end of it frequently. It was a big part of his vocabulary as well because of the frustrations that he had with so many of his coworkers. Following the bird flipping, Jacob flung a knife at the Shinigami. It flew in an... unexpected manner as it didn't start to flip or even wobble as it flew straight through the air.

Mentally activating another Kidou, this time the only Bakudo that Grodd knew, the Shinigami reacted to the attack defensively, an orange tendril of Horin coming out of his palm to ensnare the blade before it could reach him. When successful, Grodd would have 3 options. Take the knife for himself and use it with his hands, which was less than effective because of his lack of skill with the weapon, use it against his opponent while still under the control of the Bakudo, which was less than effective because of Jacob's energy sensory (which Grodd is not yet aware of fully), or just throw it away and keep either of them from using it.

Not knowing of Jacob's heightened energy sensory to its full extent yet, Grodd opted for one of the less effective options, remotely thrusting the knife towards the fullbringer while still holding it in the Horin Bakudo. It was a simple stab towards Jacob's chest, aimed to end the fight in the same manner that Jacob tried to hurt him. All the while, he maintained his defensive position, though his arms were moving around to direct the Bakudo.

Remaining Reiatsu: 500/600 (-25 Horin)

[Jacob Thorne, Hollowborn]

The Shinigami flipped Jacob off in response, which actually prompted Jacob to smile. Something about the mechanical, automatic way that Grodd responded in contrast with the deeply personal meaning behind flipping someone off, was utterly absurd. A grin spread across Jacob's face, and he let himself start getting absorbed into the fight, putting his cares aside, and just focusing on the primary objective: hurt his foe, force him to adapt, and see if anything worthwhile came out of it.

The knife flew through the air, and Jacob fully expected that it would hit Grodd, and so, in an attempt to follow it up, he began to move towards Grodd, another knife twirling into his hand from his left sleeve. He would eviscerate the shinigami, without a hint of mercy or sorrow. However, as the knife arced through the air, an orange tendril was emitted from Grodd's hand, and rapidly approached the knife. A spell of some sort? Jacob didn't know Shinigami Kido particularly well, all he knew is that it did exist.

Instead of destroying the knife, the tendril merely caught it, causing it to stop in mid air, and remained attached to Grodd's hand. What was the Shinigami planing? Given that he hadn't instnatly chucked it away, he would likely try to use the weapon, either by hand, or with the tendril. Maybe defensively? No, Grodd seemed like the type to go offensive before defensive. And Jacob had been proven to be right, as Grodd thrust the knife forward with the tendril, going for a stab at Jacob's chest.

But unfortunately for Grodd, that move didn't work. As Grodd stabbed forward, as he focused on Jacob, Jacob disappeared, exploding into a pillar of light. Bringer Light, the Fullbringer step technique, allowed Jacob to move at very high speeds, 1000, in order to close the distance between him and Grodd. And in the process, the light that burst out would blind Grodd, at least for a split second. And that split second was all that Jacob needed. The step technique brought Jacob right next to Grodd, in his right blind spot.

Jacob wouldn't waste a second, his knife in his right hand lashing out, stabbing brutally into Grodd's right shoulder, aiming towards the socket. As the knife pierced Grodd's flesh, Jacob twisted the handle, causing the blade to rip aggressively into Grodd's shoulder. The initial stab wound would've been bad, but now the damage was a tear in nature, and so any additional usage of that shoulder would heavily increase the damage inflicted. Jacob ripped the knife out, ensuring that Grodd would also start to bleed profusely.

He was going to tear the Shinigami to bits.

Remaining Reiatsu: 250/300 (-50 Bringer Light)

[Beast]

The way Jacob smiled at Grodd's response of flipping him of was... odd. Grodd had grown to learn to expect consistent results to specific signs. Nearly all of his signs resulted in confusion or an angry "just write it down for me". That one in particular resulted in anger nearly all of the time. People were offended by the sign of the middle finger being raised while all others kept furled in ones hand. It was true, he didn't particularly know what it meant, but he knew that it was meant to get a rise out of people and to offend them. So why was Jacob smiling so big?

The knife was caught without a hitch, which the Shinigami quickly turned around and stabbed at the Fullbringer. Before he could hit his target, though, there was a flash of light and the boy was no longer there. Grodd blinked his eyes a few times, trying to process where his foe had gone. He barely had enough time to react to the flash of light before there was the feeling of a weapon being plunged into his shoulder. The weapon was being twisted as it was thrust inwards, tearing at the important muscles and even damaging the bone. It was incredibly painful, beyond even Grodd's pain threshold.

However, before Jacob could rip the blade out, Grodd was reacting to the pain. Reiatsu pooled in his feet and he used Shunpo, hurtling his body at the same speed of 1,000 that Jacob had been travelling with his Bringer Light. But it wasn't away from Jacob to get away from the pain, rather it was to slam the Fullbringer into the wall of the train. If successful with his foolish reaction, Grodd would find the knife pushed deeper into his shoulder socket, but his opponent slammed into the side of the car alongside him.

The glass would shatter and the force of the two strong men would bend the wall of the train car. Broken edges of the metal would be scraping along the brick walls of the tunnel sending sparks everywhere. It was here, with Grodd still attached to Jacob by the shoulder, that the Shinigami attempted to grab the boy by the neck and thrust his head into the wall. It was a barbaric attempt, fueled by rage. The blood that was spattered over Grodd's arm and over the Fullbringer too was starting a... violent process.

The Shinigami was entering his bloodlust mode. It was violent, characterized by little reason and extreme brutality. His own blood was the catalyst for this mode, allowing his darker side to start to take over. He began to hear a familiar, and unnerving voice whisper in the back of his mind. Kill him... Kill him then eat him... If Grodd had his sense of reason, he would fear the voice of the Beast Within, but he was fully focused on destroying his opponent, then looking for another victim. He was on a rampage, brought on about by seeing his own blood shed in front of him.

Remaining Reiatsu: 450/600 (-50 Shunpo)

[✠Asmoskon Masurao✠]

Grodd: 23 Paragraphs = 230 TP

Jacob: 20 Paragraphs = 200 TP