Looks Can Be Deceiving | NDE / R |

[Garret]

[smear:810541]Not until they're all dead. Not until I've destroyed them all! Bring me pain, take my life, just give me the power to kill them![/smear:F62817]

The Bakkoto was a release unlike any other. The Shinigamis Zanpakuto was a weapon of cooperation, the bonding of two spirits who worked together to bring out the best of their wielder. The Arrancars Resurrection was a return to their former glory, a reemergence of the power they once held as a Hollow. The Fullbring was a Humans bond with an items soul, so closely wound together that the human imprinted on that objects soul. The Bakkoto was none of these things. It did not work together with its host. It did not bond. It did not feel. It did not experience compassion, it did not show concern over its hosts well being. It was a parasite. It existed only to feed.

In exchange for its meals it would grant power, a double edged sword that granted its hosts incredible levels of power. But in exchange they would lose themselves to it, the Bakkoto sucking on their Life Force in an unending hunger. They were dangerous, rightly outlawed by the Gotei Thirteen, but the Kasumi'Oji continued to produce them with whatever secret techniques they had used. For most Rogues, control over their Bakkoto came from experience. They were used to fighting with a released weapon, their training with their Zanpakutos able to force out the presence of the Bakkotos hunger.

Garret, however, had none of that. His Bakkoto did not actually over right his personality, it was his own inexperience with the thing that enabled it to possess him so. The Bakkoto amplified his most negative of emotions; anger, hatred, fear, and using them would enable it to cause Garret to lose control. It was fitting, quite honestly, that the man who donned a monstrous armor became a monster himself. Shinzui, on the other hand, was quite displeased with the release of the parasite.

His mind was under constant assault, the Bakkoto sinking its teeth into his identity and threatening to rip it apart. He somehow managed to hold himself together, perhaps attributed to his incredible Strength of Will. To say that he saw red would not be correct. Everything had shifted for him. The beautiful Kistune had been warped into a hideous entity with gnashing teeth, something that Garrets brain could only interpret as a threat and a target for his wrath. It was weird, to be both aware of the battle and yet truly unaware of what he was seeing. The Bakkoto was toying with his mind, pushing him to force past his limits.

His initial attack had failed, the Kitsune predicted how he was going to attack was correct. His arsenal of techniques was rather limited, so Garret was forced to rely on the same tactics quite a bit in fights like this. But now his small arsenal was backfiring, as the Kitsune could tell what Garret would do after each Shunpo. His sword slicing through the air, slamming into the earth at the end of its flight, sending up a tower of dirt and debris. However, perhaps the Kitsune would notice something. The armor seemed to turn, just slightly, with her Sonido, as if it was following her somehow.

But a fluffy tail around his throat stopped whatever Garret was doing, ensnaring him and launching the armored male into the air. Her strength would be able to lift him, but no doubt would not have been easy. But on the trip back down, Shinzui would find that he wasn't complying like she wanted to. She would hear a slam above her, and by looking up she would see the Rogue actually pushing against the air, trying to keep himself from being pulled back down to the earth.

A sudden roar from the armor released a cloud of steam from within. How exactly was he pushing against Shinzui like this? It wasn't normal airground, rather it was Advanced Air Ground. It allowed its casters to create more complex surfaces in the air, such as walls, ceilings, and even perform air jumps. He was using it, in this case, to create a floor that would let him push back against Shinzui. His roars of protest as, slowly, the Kitsune was winning this little game of tug-o-war. He was slowly being pulled lower and lower, threatening to be yanked right off of that air flooring he made.

With his free left arm he suddenly grasped that white tail, not fearing the effects of the poison from a combination of the armors protection and his own unstable mind. He pulled back against Shinzui, before the Kistune would, for a moment, feel him suddenly tighten his fingers around her tail. Within that same moment, that beautiful white fur would become consumed within black flames! Soul Burn could be cast in more ways than with just a weapon, and since Garret was a Master of this technique it was childs play for him to cast it through his limbs. He could even ignite his entire body if need be.

Those black flames would immediately begin to eat away at her fur and skin, causing first degree burns as they grew. It was up to Shinzui now, to either release the Rogue or suffer the continuing damage. Whatever painful side effects Soul Burn was causing where being ignored by the Rogue. Those flames would begin to creep down her tail, expanding the range of the damage. The armor protecting him from being strangled, it was now a game of who would give first. The Arrancar would either release the Rogue, or the Rogue would became ensnared by her tails.

Release Duration: 2 / 3

Remaining Reiatsu: 3200 / 3900
-50 for AAG
+300 for Bakkoto Level 5 ability

Life Force: 3100 / 3900
-200 for Class 4 Soul Burn

SPOILER: Click to show

{Advanced Air-Ground}
Technique Name: Advanced Air Ground

Class: 7

Technique Type: Spiritual Technique

Technique Description and Effects:
This is a technique designed especially for breakdancing and parkour, utilizing a more advanced version of air ground. While in a terrain where air ground exists, the user can create more complex surfaces like air walls, air ceilings, air ledges and even an air push. This allows the user to perform handstands and windmills on air as if it were normal ground or even stand upside-down on air as if gravity was reversed. The air push makes the air ground very elastic so that the user can jump higher and allows for slight movement even when restrained by a bakudou.

For a reiatsu cost of 25, the user will be able to momentarily cast an "air ground" on areas such as soul society and heuco mundo, allowing the user to "double jump" or cast shunpo in midair. If this technique is mastered, the user will be able to create air grounds that last for as long as a post. This can be used in creative ways to improve acrobatics and visual impressiveness.

Drawback: No drawback.

Created By: Shiki Kanzaki

Reserved: No

[Noriko 'Asuka"]

It was hot. The black flame that the Rogue used before early on emerged once more in the palm of his free hand. He latched onto a single tail while he maintained his footing over a foundation which that wasn't in sight. He took a firm footing in the air nearly reeling in her form closer towards himself. It wouldn't work as her own talons were dug into the floor. But that wasn't the case as he kept her tail firmly in his grips in an attempt to have his technique expand down the length of her tail. It burned. Shinzui's fangs grind and were bore towards the raging beast that was once a man, nearly a sneer at the being that dared to do harm onto someone who was one of the Chosen People.

Though her rage would not consume her rational thought she couldn't deny the constant lingering of the black flame that sought to consume one of her precious tails. Something had to be done and quickly. And that is when her sly foxy smile came back into view. Something came into mind. That remarkable flame continued to kiss the pale moon tail as it ran down its length, Shinzui began to take action almost immediately. It may be to Garret's surprise that the Kyuubi didn't pull away but rather than pulling away from the man she remained to grip the man's armored throat with the same strength as before. Her pain tolerance although low still kept the Arrancar from releasing the man, including with her will focused onto lessening the scorch that was coming.

Whilst her will and tolerance handled the single source of pain, her own focus retained what she knew she had to do. Her previous assault allowed contact by wrapping around the man's neck, but ceased to continue it further. However, the Rogue went on to may his hand onto her tail, furthering her power's potency to take effect over him. Not that it wasn't something that she needed to happen but rather welcomed it with opened arms. As for now a single flick of a rear tail snapped a single red flare, Bala, toward the man as her tail continued to restrain his neck. More than not she suspected him to either guard against her attack by intercepting it, or allow the Bala to smash against his face that would cause the sudden impact to distract him.

That wasn't all. One way or the other her burning tail would attempt to slip past his grip. Her strength alone would be more than enough to pry away from the man. For the Rogue though he would find himself being suddenly pulled down against his will. More like his body was being forced down toward the ground without a single thread of reiatsu or tail from the Arrancar. Each muscle within the armor, if not the armor itself, were to be pulled toward Shinzui. Bewildered or curious as to how his own body would turn against him only Shinzui would know that it was thanks to the infectious reiatsu that loomed in his system was the culprit.

A single finger commanded if not willed Garret's body to thrust itself toward the ground with the same physical strength that the Arrancar possessed. Yuragu, a technique that required her reiatsu to be present within her victim's body to allow her control for a moment. One moment to thrust his entire body downward with the strength of 600 to smash into directly into the ground. At the speed of 300 from her own capable to act working in tangent with his own weight to crash down to the Earth below him. Even then it wasn't it. No, even before being torn down from the sky six of the nine tails darted up to meet him.

The level of control she had over his body was so pleasing at this time. She didn't really care if her tail was burnt by his earlier technique, Soul Burn. Even as all of this was happening her damaged fur met with its master to be coursed and cared for as an injured child. Fingers ran through the blackened fur. She felt some measure of grief for the poor thing. At lass her smile remained knowing that the man's brief movement of plummeting her own tails were on their way to puncture his armor case. If successful, six tails would have met his body. Two would pierce through the shoulders, another two targeting his hip and right knee cap, and wrapping up with the last two tails to puncture the palms of his hands.

His armor would have been tough to punch through, but not much to it when her strength trumped his, following with her steeled fur tips thanks to Hierro. Her own reiatsu strength was no where near strong enough to punch through his solid mass, at least without a superior offensive stat. As for the human himself he would find it difficult to move around if her tails were wiggling around inside him, let alone impaling him to be thrown into the ground for the woman to have a one on one talk with what remained of the human. Or at least what was left of him. "Tell me human, does becoming a monster make you happy? Does it allow you to erase what you have done or what you are trying to accomplish?"

She smiled and chuckled at how far the human was willing to go in order to destroy -monsters- such as her. His strength alone would be futile to rip away from the tails that would pin his body to the Earth, unless he decided to rip through the armor and flesh to lash out at her. Only one way he will have to escape potentially bleeding to death. "I want to speak with you. The human part of you, monster. So, why don't you rid yourself of your shadow and I'll tell you how you can defeat a monster." she chuckled beneath the black bangs that concealed those eyes of her.


Remaining Reiatsu: 400/2000 : -50 Bala x1, -200 Yuragu x1

Resurrection: 5/6

Contact Made: 2

Contacts Made Possible : 6

SPOILER: Click to show

{Yuragu}

Yuragu : Sway - (Usable during all Levels (1-3))

A powerful spasm that forcefully pulls the infected host in a direction of Shinzui's choosing. Using the infected reiatsu within the hosts body, Shinzui is able to use the influence of the infected reiatsu to pull the hosts body into any direction. Although the technique is not lethal, but can be used to pull the body into objects, people, or position them into a situation that offers a better leverage. A hand or physical gesture must be made at the infected host at any direction while calling out the name for the technique to activate. The technique only lasts but a moment but can be used repeatedly. Similar to Disperse, Shinzui's physical strength must be equal or higher than the hosts spiritual pressure stats.

Reiatsu Cost : 200 per each

Resistance Cost : 100 per each


Drawbacks

*Nonlethal Technique

*Can be Taxing on Reiatsu if used continuously

*Can be used on allies too

*Physical Strength Stat must be equal or higher than Spiritual pressure stat

*Physical gesture must be made while stating the technique name.

[Garret]

Rage. Hatred. Fear. All of these emotions and more were amplified, manipulated, and used by the Bakkoto to get what it wanted. To it Garrets struggle was nothing, it did not care for his personal well being, it did not care for his future, it simply wanted to feed. It would push him, forcing his body past its normal and natural limits to get what it wanted. The longer Garret fought the more it would feed, the more he got hurt the more it would feed, eventually leaving Garret little more than a corpse, moving on to find a new host once finished with this one.

[smear:810541]Rip her apart! Tear her to shreds! Kill her, no, devour her![/smear:F62817]

Garrets will was succumbing to the parasites influence, losing his ability to maintain a steady hold over his own identity as it ripped and tore at it, aiming to turn Garret into the mindless monster it so desperately wanted. Its goal was to remove Garrets identity as a whole, replacing it with the Beast that would race with ecstasy, cutting down anything and everything in its path. It had no need for what remained of Garrets humanity, needing only his body and power to get what it wanted.

A red sphere collided itself against the armors helmet, distracting the mindless fighter for a moment. That single moment though was all the Kitsune needed to pull her burning tail away from Garret, the man swordsman trying to grasp at it again as it was pulled away from him. A roar from within the armor voiced his displeasure, before something new happened. He really wasn't sure why, or how it happened, but Garret suddenly found himself plummeting down towards the earth at quite the force. He was unable to stop himself, even using Advanced Air Ground, before his body met with the earth.

Perhaps Shinzui thought that that would mean Garret was down, but perhaps to her displeasure she would see the armored swordsman getting right back up the instant he hit the earth. That armor, the Bakkoto, moved him just as much as he moved it. Its ability to completely remove pain from Garrets body, to hold him together, allowed him to fight until every bone in his body was shattered, and the very last drop of his blood had been spilt. She was dealing with a release designed entirely around not only fighting for extended periods of time, but against large numbers of enemies.

That plummet had damaged him, as Shinzui would notice immediately how one of his arms was bent back incorrectly, clearly meaning it would be impossible for it to use. She might even feel a tad bit of confidence, rending one of Garrets arms useless. But she would then watch as that broken arm spun, the sound of ripping clearly heard, putting itself back into its proper place before the sound of stabbing was heard, blood escaping from the armor and into the puddle forming beneath him. The armor let out another scream as it moved the arm around, before beginning to make its way over to the Kitsune.

[smear:810541]All of it. I'll destroy it all. I'll destroy this entire world!![/smear:F62817]

As he was now, injury meant nothing. It mattered not how badly he was hurt, nor if he died, so long as he got what he wanted. His mind unstable, a hurricane of negative emotions, Garret threatening to be entirely swallowed by the Bakkoto, his identity forever lost. He wasn't even truly aware of his surroundings, the Bakkoto warping everything to further drive Garret into a berserker rage. His body broken and torn, a trail of blood following after him, the Bakkoto was getting exactly what he wanted. And, in a way, so was Garret. As he was he didn't need to worry about what was right or wrong, his heavy heart not getting in his way. As the Beast he was free.

You know that's not true

Another voice? One that caused the armor to stop. Shinzui wouldn't hear it, of course, being something within Garrets head. A voice that he tried so hard to never forget about. But he knew she was dead, what he was hearing had to have been a memory, or perhaps another identity that his broken mind was created for...something. If you despise your humanity, who you are, so much then why are you trying so hard to maintain it? It asked him. Garret grit his teeth before answering with Someone unwilling to sacrifice anything cannot hope to change anything...

He heard her chuckle in his head. Is that so? Garret, do you remember what it was I said to you? On the night you got into that fight. He remembered the night she spoke of. Many years ago, when Garret was still a spirit of the Rukongai. Before being cursed, before the Bakkoto, before it all, there had been a night he had gotten into a fight with two drunken spirits. He remembered it, the feeling of their skin against his knuckles, the stinging sensation of his injuries, and the raw anger that had began burning within him. He had gone too far against them, leaving them little more than bloody piles of flesh than people. The grief he felt over it had been eating at him, but something Cassandra had said helped him move past it.

Even if you make the entire world your enemy, and ever have to return to the battlefield, please remember I will always be on your side. Please remember that you're not alone. I'll always be here Why was he feeling the sensation of hands over his heart? So look with your eye, and awaken yourself from this madness. Remember who you are. You are Garret.

Music for the mood

Within himself he latched onto the entity gnawing at his identity, sinking his hands into the dark hounds flesh and pulling at it. He roared, pulling on the Bakkoto and trying to free himself of it. It fought back, trying to sink its teeth deeper within him, unwilling to release its hold over him. This is mine...this is my body! My fight! My war! You're nothing more than a weapon, and a weapon...will...obey its master!!" Garret roared as he pulled the blood covered teeth from himself, freeing his mind of the Bakkotos influence.

Sure enough, in the world outside, things became clear. The red glow within the armor stopped, just as the Kitsune launched her own attack at Garret. Those tails were heading for him, aiming to impale him through the armor. He knew what he needed to do, his mind and vision now clear of the parasites influence. If it was anything like last time, when he fought them separately, then it should work again now. The armor would see it happen. So he began to run towards the Kitsune, and she would immediately notice that he was different from before. He didn't move like a mindless monster now, he moved like a human.

When those tails collided with his armor, in the hopes of penetrating through them, there was a moment of held breath. Garret was confident, but even then he knew he was being reckless. And then, without warning, all of the Kitsunes tails that tried to impale Garret exploded, the skin torn open with fresh wounds along their lengths, releasing a rain of blood down onto Garret. The shock and pain would distract the fox, as Garret continued to move forward. What had just happened? It was simple, really, he had struck against her with cutback. But the question was how, how did cutback affect a release? Garrets armor, Kaosuama, at its current highest level brought cutback back into play.

Against a Resurrection he needed an increased amount of difference between his Spiritual Pressure and her Reiatsu Strength, but unfortunately for the Kistune she was within that area of difference, just enough to be hit by his cutback. Amidst the distraction, Garret pointed his sword forward, aiming to end this now and in one attack. So while she was distracted with the pain he vanished, before she would feel something enter her. His sword slid through her, in her torso and out her back, using the high speed of his Shunpo to move in and impale her. The force would send them both to the floor, with Garret ontop, pulling his sword free and getting to his feet as quickly as he could.

Planting one foot on her arm, he held the tip to her neck, aiming to slice her head clean off. This had a high chance of working, as a number of factors were in play here. Firstly, Shinzui would have been distracted by the pain and confusion caused by the sudden cutback on her tails, as her Pain Tolerance of 1 was only most useful against a single source of pain, this was all her tails exploding at once. Secondly, like before his Shunpo would have been hard to pick up amidst the mountain of reiatsu that was his armor. For an Arrancar, a injury like that would not kill her unless left untreated, their survivability being annoyingly high. So why didn't Garret simply end her? His single eye looked down on her from within his helmet, pondering something.

"Garret." He suddenly said, giving the Arrancar his name. "I am me. Man or monster, none of that matters. I am who I am, and nothing in this world, no matter what chases me, is going to change that." He explained, actually satisfied with that explanation. But why wasn't he ending her? Something she said earlier caught his attention. She wanted to talk with the man, well here he was. "You wanted to talk? Fine. How do you kill a monster, Arrancar?" He wasn't letting his guard down, not for an instant. He was still using the armor, paying attention to both the Bakkoto and the woman beneath him. His expanded awareness allowed him to pick up on each of her tails, ready to use a Shunpo Karin the instant one of them did something he didn't like.

Release Duration: 3 / 3

Remaining Reiatsu: 3450 / 3900
+300 for Bakkoto Level 5 ability
-50 for Shunpo

Life Force: 3100 / 3900

[Noriko 'Asuka"]

"W-what?" she muttered ever so softly when her six tails burst with splatters of crimson blood. How did such a thing occur when her power went beyond his own? Shock and awe what it was. Not in the sense that she was amazed but in the sense which she found herself surprised that the cutback effect went on once more. Splinters of pain surged through the tips of her once beautiful formed tails making each of them numb and dreadfully tender. The cringe was powerful and overwrote the previous expression of pleasure from her face.

Each of those tails are an extension of herself. Each one was a muscle, much like any other in her body, to feel them hurt as they were definitely caused Shinzui to turn her attention towards them. In the same manner her two remaining tails withdrew to guard her surroundings. Her scorched tail was more than out of the question to react quickly compared to the other two. Her remaining tails slumped their way back to their mistress, but from what would occur next wouldn't matter if they couldn't reach her in time. The Arrancar's focus re-emerged from its lingering slump to find that the armored creature rose from her earlier ploy and was charging at her.

But he vanished. Her mind was still disoriented from the pain but not enough to form a sphere of red in the dead center of her form. Her remaining two tails curled around her with a forming Bala behind. However, it was all in vain. Her tails strength were not enough as she found herself pinned to the floor. A gasp of air ripped from the depths of her lungs and out through her lips. Nothing could have been seen from her perspective at least. Dust and dirt filled the air and shrouded her vision. What transpired? Wait. She remembered. The conjuring reiatsu that was gathered for her defense ignited from what the Rogue had done.

A single moment that the man vanished while setting her defense the next was a blade rupturing through the muscles of her pair of tails. Another Shunpo? It must've been. The armor was masking the usage of his other reiatsu techniques and with the little ability in her Energy Sensory she couldn't pick it up. Not only that but the pain that surged throughout her six tails broke her focus and analysis capabilities to prepare her for a more appropriate defense. Her will alone was the only thing that allowed her to react on instinct despite the pain. Nonetheless she didn't take favor to the sight or the predicament she was in.

Pined to the floor, a hulking sword pierced through two of her flexing tails, her Bala blowing in her face, and the tip of the blade inching into her chest. She could feel the tip slowly being shoved near her chest cavity before being ripped out and leveled to her throat. The monster dared to bare its blade at her. A rugged edge blade nearly kissing the nap of her pale white neck. But what came next drew her attention at the non-lit helm. It spoke. Or rather -he- spoke. He told her his name. She was actually baffled. So the human would see her chuckle beneath the black bangs.

Was she insane or having a momentary void of a conscious? No. Just found the scenario to be humorous. She found him to be humorous. At least until he referred to her as a mere -Arrancar-. "Shinzui." she responds to his own name. He seemed to be quite comfortable with his position on top of her. Safe even. But that was the illusion wasn't it? The illusion of being safe or in a position of power when seeing that he held all of the cards in his hand. His focus keen on her tails, but something else. Beneath the shadows of his helm she saw it. The darkened eyes looming over the armor that completely encased his body. "So, that what it was."

Yet another chuckle was heard. His own sense of power and authority over her was indeed a joke. She'll play along for a bit longer while the times he touched her went along with the numerous times they traded blows already. The virus surging through his body and eating away at him, and even with the armor's madness running amok her own influence would be felt, and at its most darkest form, Level 3. It was at this level that Shinzui's own despair reached its pinnacle before death. That sense of dread continued along through the moments before death, even if she didn't remember them.

To her knowledge the man's own skin would have been pale, malformed from what it was suppose to be. The pulsation of his heart lessening with each second that went by. As for his human senses they too would have bee failing him. Desire dissipating, his anxiety heightening to levels which he should have been familiar to, the lights in his eyes fading away, and the torrent of despair swelling within his cold metal casing. Before long he would notice the staggering amount of reiatsu he will be losing regardless of what she does. His foot keeping her arm clinging to the ground only increased the amount of dread that he damned himself to. "Before I answer your question, I believe it would be suitable if your mind was cleansed of all foreign influence, wouldn't you agree?" she joked obviously.

Yet, her gesture was more keen on what plagued the man. The foreign reiatsu that surged now uncontrollably throughout his body. If it was not dealt with then it will surely eat away at his mind, including if it tagged along with his Bakkoto's influence. It would be through his foot that the Arrancar would remove her influence from his bowels. A moment later his condition portrayed that of a healthy Stallion. Her reiatsu gave no hesitation to return to its Master, to its mother as it fled from the man's person. Once that little matter was settled, regardless of how the human viewed it, she spoke once more to his earlier statement, "As for the answer you seek isn't it obvious? After all, your will being here now, rather than that creature, is the answer."

What did that mean exactly? She had no need to point it out since it was referring to the human will. A strong human will to be exact. The answer of which he sought. "If a monster destroyed another monster, all you would be left with is a monster. Quite counterproductive. Wouldn't you agree?" her smile remained. She was right. If all the monsters in the world were killed by one of their own, then it will only leave a single monster. Regardless, the existence of a monster will be present. Garret's goal to rid the world of monsters by becoming one would only result in creating more monsters. Only a human being can rid the world of monsters. A strong human being.

A shutter. No. More like break. A break within her own soul. Shinzui's soul was starting to tear itself apart once again. The man would see it as well. A fault in her status. Her uniqueness. Her body released a disgruntled moan. "N-no, n-not now." she whined with closed eyes. Her existence was being torn apart at the seams. Shinzui's mind ripping itself in half as her lips cried out in defiance. She panted.

The being that was once human had her own gripes, her own ailment. "You.. and I are the same, Garret. We both have our own ailments." This is true, both of them were wronged. Both of them had something taken from them. "What I plan to do, what I plan to create.. is a world that will no longer have to suffer that pain. A world that will know what it means to lose, and forever bask in the warmth of love." That world she desired. A world that will be fit for all who come. And for those that refused, they will still be loved. Oh yes. They will indeed.

There was no stopping it. Her time was up. Light engulfed the pale woman, and rid her of her form. And from that light emerged two girls, one that faced the two sides of the man. Both girls drowned the sea that was the void. The void that had them both while the true consciousness was able to run free. One there was, but now two. Which was real, which was false. How splendid it is, how splendid it was.


Remaining Reiatsu: 400/2000

Resurrection: 6/6

Contact Made: 8 (Now Reset to 0)

[Garret]

Did he miscalculate? Wasn't his armor keeping the toxins out of his system? Had he simply not noticed? It was entirely possible that under the effects of the armor, and during his time being controlled by the parasite, that his armors defensives had failed to keep out Shinzuis toxins. Why was this the case? He wasn't sure. Was it because of his armor that he couldn't feel the effects? The determination of his soul, the anger within him keeping him from succumbing to its emotional effects, and the armor sustaining his body? Garret didn't know, but soon he saw that he didn't need to worry that much. Because for one reason or another, Shinzui removed her toxins from him. He could feel the reiatsu moving from him into her, blinking down at her in confusion.

Shinzui would watch the top of the helmet begin to shift, rising up above his head and down the back of his neck, seemingly disappearing into the cloak flowing behind him. His condition was not good by any means. The skin across his face was torn, covered in his own blood. That snow white hair stained red, that one gray eye of his the same color from numerous popped blood vessels. Just looking at him showed her what it did to him, what it cost him to use this power. No doubt the rest of his body was even worse, the armor hurting him far more than the Arrancar ever did. He blinked down at her, that gray eye watching her, that sword of his not moving.

"If a monster destroyed another monster, all you would be left with is a monster.

He stared down at her, the answer being so painfully obvious he was an idiot for not seeing it to begin with. If Garrets goal was a success by trusting himself to the Beast within, then what would he have left? A world without monsters, ruled by a lone monster whose thirst would never end. If Garret was to win this war he would need to rule over the monster inside him, to tame the Beast, to bind it in chains and command it. This armor was his weapon, this sword was his weapon, and he was their master. He knew what he needed to do now. He wouldn't let himself be taken again, he would do this as a man.

But what was he to do with this Arrancar? He could feel his hands tightening around the hilt, that anger still burning within him. That hatred still demanding her blood. Do it! Kill her! For a second he almost obliged. She was an Arrancar, a Hollow that merely disguised itself as human. But throughout this encounter with her...she seemed different than the others. Sure, they were fighting, but it just felt...different. He was confused, conflicted, unable to deal the finishing blow nor able to pull his weapon away.

But then something happened. Something happened that triggered a response that even Garret didn't expect. She suddenly looked in pain, crying out for a moment, the swordsman noticing that something was not...right. But when she let out a pained sound, Garret suddenly caught himself reaching out, a look of worry on his face. What was he doing? He had to stop himself, leaving himself in a awkward little position as he froze, looking down at her with that concerned face. Why the hell was he making that face? He listened to her, drinking in those words as if they were her last, paying such attention to them he knew he wouldn't forget them. They were connected through their struggles, wronged by life in ways nobody could imagine

"What I plan to do, what I plan to create.. is a world that will no longer have to suffer that pain. A world that will know what it means to lose, and forever bask in the warmth of love."

Garret was silent, pulling his sword away suddenly, looking down at her with that same face of concern. Why was he so concerned? Did he actually care about this Arrancar? She had proven to be different than the ones who had come for him before, and as a result he had developed mixed feelings. But suddenly the Kitsune was engulfed in light and consumed, prompting the swordsman to back up and cover his face with his arm. When he removed the armored limb from his vision, he was greeted with the sight of the Twin Arrancars who he had faced before. He stared at them, a look of confusion on his face.

His gaze bounced between the two, the only sound on the rocky wasteland was the sound of his dripping blood, the wounds within the armor worse now than they were before. As he was know he didn't fear these two, he had no reason to. They weren't the one he was interested in. He frowned, before slowly raising that sword into the air for a moment, before sliding it onto the strap on his back. The swordsman turned away from the two, not releasing his armor, and began to walk away from them. This battle was over, he was the victor. The Twins could not hope to match him now, not with the armor active. He doubted they had the spirit to fight either, and honestly...he didn't have it now either.

You're letting them go? Are you letting it go, the anger, your reason for fighting? If you spare them now what will stop you from sparing more? The more you leave alive the more will come for you!

It will be me who chooses what my sword kills, not you.

That seemed to hush the presence up, the swordsman continuing his journey in the original direction he planned. He knew that leaving them alive could be a risk, that they could come back to kill him some other time. But for some reason...Garret didn't feel it would come to that. If he left them alive then he'd have a chance of seeing Shinzui again, but did he actually want to...he wasn't sure. Her goal, her idea, why was Garret still going over the words in his head? "A world that no longer suffers pain? Heh.." he mumbled to himself, smirking slightly. If he knew how bad he was going to hurt when he turned the Bakkoto off he wouldn't be smirking, or how bad it was going to be tonight as a result.

But now, at least, he had a reason for surviving this night. Perhaps he needed to find some new reason to fight. If he continued to rely solely on anger, and on revenge, he would become the very thing he fought against. His goal was to rid this world of monsters, but what was it he would sacrifice in return? He wasn't going to lose himself. But now that this battle was over, he needed to move forward. He had a lot of thinking to do, and a lot of care was going to needed to be put into his body. But he did have a new goal now; to master the Beast, to take the reins and acquire complete control over the Bakkoto, Kaosuama.

[Katekarin Mekatoku]

+1040+100 = 1,140 TP to GArret
+830 TP to Sinzui