A Nice Little Outing (JT Lagos and Shikihitsuko)

[Lagos Oscuras]

SPOILER: Click to show

Training for SP

Lagos Oscuras had opened a Garganta into the wilderness of Rukongai followed by two underlings (Class 6 Arrancar). She was here on a small scouting mission sent from her Espada Isayama Shikihitsuko. She was the Fraccion of the Cuatro Espada and so held great pride in her position. The hollow ran rampant in these areas now that the Soul Reaper count had dropped dramatically ever since the invasions of Kuroi and those pathetic Quincy. Her mission was not to scout the territory but to find and capture any Hollow which may be fed to become future Arrancar for Sonken’s cause.

“You two. Draw your swords and stay close to me.” She was a woman who wore a large utility coat version of Hueco Mundo’s black and white outfits and wore her sword on the right side of her body. One could easily identify her as a Arrancar not only from her appearance but from the mask on her head. It was the skull of a fox with a crooked smile as its face was adorned with dots of blue. She was slim, busty, curvaceous, and held no fear to anything this world had to offer. Her hair was silver and her skin was white as snow. She was by all standards beautiful although this beauty was dangerous and thirsting for the blood of her enemies.

As the three began their travel, soon the sound of Hollows cries were heard. They were not of hunger but distress. They were being hunted down by Shinigami forces no doubt. Using her impressive speed, she had approached the sound as it was leaving the denser parts of the forestry. This made Lagos assume that the Hollow were hunting for souls to devour in a pack but had found trouble. She would take her time getting there seeing only the strong Hollow would be the ones worthy of evolution. She was getting closer and closer she knew it. Although she did wonder if there were any strong Shinigami there for her to torture. Ah yes, it was a pastime of hers.

“Lagos-Sama. What will you have us do?” The voluptuous woman had smirked with a cruel look in her eye before looking out to the trees. “Make our presence known and make those Shinigami realize that the Arrancar have returned to plague them once again.” As she stepped out from the forestry, she was sorely disappointed to see that all the Hollow had been slain by a small group of eight Shinigami. “Paralyze Veneno Guerrero.” The Arrancar underling on her right had released as his arms had become elongated with two gaping mouths with snapping teeth.

The other Arrancar to her left had scoffed. “That show off is going to get himself tired out. Oh well, if he dies not my loss.” The released Arrancar had swung his arms out to the Shinigami as a toxic nerve poison was released into the air towards the Shinigami. Five out of the eight had reacted in time to Shunpo out of the way as the other three were halfway drawing their swords at the time. The black robed reapers were paralyzed as they couldn't move a muscle. Interesting, it was certainly an interesting ability. Although it was simplistic it's results were effective on those it entrapped. One of the Shinigami had engaged her other subordinate in a sword fight as two had engaged her released comrade. It was entertaining and fascinating to watch these pawns fight each other.

She however was bored with the Shinigami here on the most part. Two of the reapers flashed in front of her in an attempt to slash the powerful Arrancar from shoulder to thigh on opposite ends. There was a clang sound as the blades bounced off of her Hierro. “Hahahaha. Ahahaha. That's funny.” Grasping one of the blades with her right hand, she slowly lifted it up before slamming a fist of steel into the male Shinigami’s throat sending him flying backwards. She now wielded a blank Asauchi as she began to twirl it around in her sword hand. “You Shinigami are so weak that you don't deserve to die from my sword. I'll kill you with your own weapon. This is going to be so much fun.” She needed a distraction as she was busy waiting for her her time out with her master. While it was in the guise of a mission, it was more of an outing for the two.

Shame master Shikitsuhiko won't be here until later. I suppose the rest of you will help me bide my time won't you?” The Shinigami facing these underlings were dispatched with little to no difficulty by the Arrancar. Of course she didn't get any replies but the one reaper whom was left ran whilst using the Shunpo. She let him run, for when a Shinigami escapes surely the superior will be informed. Lagos now had three paralyzed Shinigami and four corpses lying before her. Out of the three, one female and two males were amongst them. Her sadistic side was calling but yet when looking at the female she stopped. “Hello there beautiful. You’ve caught my eye and so it’s your lucky day. I’m going to “purify” you.” The woman in front of her looked confused in those orbs before suddenly they went dull in an instant. Slashed in the juggular, Lagos flicked the blank Asauchi flicking blood onto the ground as her throat sprayed. “Come back to me after you die next time as an Arrancar.”

The body now slumped as it soon fell to the ground. Kicking the corpse to the side, Lagos took the liberty to toss the blade into the air and catch it by the handle over and over. “You know. You Shinigami had made my master and savior go blind. Why don’t I return the favor...slowly just like how you pieces of trash had done it. Let’s see if you have high speed regeneration.” A chilling laugh filled the air as step by step the Arrancar walked to her soon to be victims slowly raising the blank Asauchi to one of the Shinigami’s eyes. One would see the reaper in front of her was scared for dear life as her fellow Arrancar looked with neutrality. They each had their personal opinions but wouldn’t voice them down to her.

Nearly an hour later, two corpses laid with their eyes gouged out from their skulls. Their fingers had been removed as were their tongues. She slowly removed all of their senses as to insult them for taking Shikitsuhiko’s sight. The noses had been sliced off with precision before they were beheaded. She wanted to send a message to the other death gods and so she took the liberty to slice off each of the heads of the Shinigami. Stabbing their blades into the ground she placed their heads firmly on top with gaping jaws as faces were frozen in fear. Lagos sighed content as her lust for blood was temporarily sated. However, there was one body that Lagos did not violate. The female whom was sliced with the least painful death from her had been laid out to be buried. Slowly Lagos opened a Garganta back to Hueco Mundo. “You have been useful to me but I think I won’t be needing you two anymore. Head back and leave me be. Shikihitsuko-Sama and I shall continue once he returns.”

Sitting herself down on a pile of Shinigami corpses, she sighed contently as her subordinates had left for the time being. Life could only be better at this moment if Shikitsuhiko-Sama himself were here to enjoy life with her. She shivered at the thought of getting his praise and yet she lusted for more destruction. She would purify all these Shinigami and perhaps one day she would meet the perfect bride amongst them. By her estimation, Shikitsuhiko would be with Lagos by the time the unseated Shinigami would return with more help. It might prevent them from their goal of finding powerful Hollow to bring back to Hueco Mundo, but with the number of corpses they would gather they would most likely have enough to help a Hollow evolve. The smell of her blood was familiar to her and she relished it, lived with it. She hummed a light melody as her foot tapped the ground rhythmically, she was growing impatient. 

[Shikitsuhiko Isayama]

OOC: Training for SP

A garganta abruptly rips through the sky, shattering the stillness of the moment. A shadowy figure slowly approaches the entrance. The towering, slender figure entered the light, his gait was deliberate and stiff. Stepping out into the Soul Society, Shikitsuhiko could immediately sense all things around him. He turned his head, directing it at Lagos, who was perched atop multiple deceased shinigami. "When I agreed to allow you to venture ahead, that did not imply that you could behave carelessly in my absence." He walked forward and knelt beside the pile of bodies. He reached his hand out and scooped some blood off the ground with his fingers. 

"The blood is fresh, meaning they haven't been dead long. In fact, not all of these shinigami are dead." Shikitsuhiko grips one of the Shinigami by the throat and drags him out from beneath his comrades. He holds him up and examines him. "You're frightened, aren't you? Indeed you should be. Lagos isn't one for errors, and is eager to correct mistakes if they have been made." He turned his head toward Lagos. "I suspect you're eager to deal with this shinigami, am I right? You know, you'll need to deal with a few others." He leans in so his face is close to the shinigami. "I can hear their hearts beating. They're becoming louder and louder as they listen to me speaking. They know I know they are still alive, but there situation proves cumbersome. They don't have the strength or mobility to escape, especially if Lagos is the one chasing them down."

Shikitsuhiko threw the shinigami on the ground and passed him, making sure not to step on him. "I will allow my subordinate to deal with you. I shant soil my hands with such lowly creatures." Shikitsuhiko's laconic style of speech was absent in this moment, but his patience and seemingly gentle nature remain static. Surely, over time, they would ebb and flow, but in this moment he was disinterested in the antics of Lagos. He would allow her to engage in the atrocious proclivities she was better know for without judgement, but felt disengaged from the bloody art of torture. 

While he was disinterested in slaughtering the shinigami, it did not greatly affect his opinion of Lagos. To him, she was a faithful and thoughtful companion. She, indeed, has a few traits that remained impractical and unbecoming to Shikitsuhiko. Nevertheless, she was unwavering in her loyalty, something he greatly valued. Due to her loyalty and transparency, he felt comfortable allowing leniency on the few aforementioned proclivities. His passion lied elsewhere. While his disdain for Shinigami ran deep, he seldom acted on it in the way one might expect. He was here not to maim, but to protect and recruit. The stronger Sonkon's forces, the better.

He felt a personal responsibility to find and nurture new recruits. He hadn't always trained them himself, as an Espada cannot bother himself with such tasks. Instead, he uses his gifts to discover talent. He can sense it. He might be blind, but he can see beyond those who merely use their eyes. Initially, his blindness felt like a curse, but he soon realized just how empowering it could be. He can see past the visages and facades that people constructed to mislead others from their true intentions. In many ways, his loss of vision awarded him a sight beyond sight. He could practically peer into the souls of others, as he was attune to much more than their faces and mannerism. 

He could feel it all. He experienced it all. "Lagos." He said sternly. "Dispose of the this man and the three that remain in the pile. Each of them lie on top of the pile. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were careless in your assault." Shikitushiko's tone remained steady, though Lagos would not interpret his words as barbs. No, they were in jest despite the more humorous tone that would normally accompany such things. Shikitsuhiko remained silent for a moment, concentrating on the world around him. He turned his head, having heard something in the distance. "I cannot only hear you, but I can smell you, too. Such a fowl odor. A beast, but not in name alone." He began walking toward the disturbance. 

He was unafraid of what lurked in the distance. "Come now. Your reaction leads me to believe you, too, can sense me. You likely sense that I know your precise location. It would explain the uptick in your heartbeat." He suddenly vanished, reappearing with a small wolfish creature. This would likely draw Lago's attention from her murderous activities. "Stories are told of creatures that live in the Soul Society. They are beasts of many shape and they often travel in packs. This one was spying on us, planning to return to its pack. Such messy business, espionage." He said plainly. "Ultimately, you must venture dangerously close if you want valuable information. Under most circumstances, someone of my skill would not be present and you would go unnoticed." He suddenly snapped the creatures neck, tossing its body to the side. "How unfortunate for you." He stated indifferently. 

"Tell me, Lagos, have we discovered any powerful hollows?" Shikitsuhiko turned his head in her direction. "I suspect that many are hiding, but we need to find them and take them back to Hueco Mundo. This place might seem enticing, but it is dangerous for them. Those of considerable strength will be nurtured. They will be added to our Lord's army. None, I suspect, will possess might enough to be high-ranking Arrancar. Such a disspaointment." He was truly displeased by this sobering reality, as arrancar of extreme caliber were rare. He walked over and placed his hand on Lagos' shoulder. "Shall we proceed?"

[Lagos Oscuras]

Finally, Lord Shikihitsuko had arrived to aid her in her mission. The Garganta cued his presence and immediately she stood from the pile to greet him. How long had it been since they last traveled together? The man turned his head to her before expressing that while he allowed her to go ahead, he didn't mean she could be so reckless. With a bright and cheerful smile, the female Arrancar had bowed as lowly as possible before speaking. “Forgive me master Shikihitsuko for my recklessness. A thousand apologies.” Lagos looked at him with utter happiness and adoration. Anything he were to ask of her she would devote herself to until the task was completed. Well, that was a given. She was his Fraccion for a reason.

The powerful Arrancar had kneeled for a moment to collect blood on his fingers. She knew it was fresh but she most certainly didn't know that any of the Shinigami were alive. Her eyes widened as one of those Shinigami were alive but then she smiled with killing intent. “Why thank you so much master for revealing this to me. You know me so well, but I think I'll break these toys faster. We have more important things to do than kill these weaklings. You spoil me with your praise my lord.” She witnessed him disgusted with the trash he held and boy was she eager to take it out. Grasping a bloody Asauchi from the pile of corpses, she quickly walked forward before stabbing the blade through the chest of the reaper. He gasped and then slumped before she pierced him twice more just to make sure he was dead this time. Now as for the rest, she looked to the pile before quickly pulling out and stabbing each soul reaper through their body before she decided to keep the blood stained blade with her.

Flicking it once more it was nearly clean and able for use again. She enjoyed killing Shinigami not only as a means of revenge but also as a relief of stress. She killed them because it made her feel powerful and that was euphoria for this woman. She also often killed them for vendetta and to protect Hollow. She too had enjoyed nurturing but only for the most part Arrancar. Occasionally she fed Hollow as to cause enhancements in their evolution but that was sorely it. The corpses could be left here to rot as far as she cared now seeing her fun was completed. Shikihitsuko truly was generous and had an excellent senses. He proved this as he began to speak to someone Lagos herself could not identify. She sharpened her own senses but still sensed nothing as he then flashed off from sight before returning with a struggling wolf being.

How interesting this being was. She didn't know there were any other beings living inside of Soul Society. The small thing was spying on them to inform it's kin of their activities? It was of no concern to Lagos. To all races other than the Shinigami and Quincy she felt a neutrality for. They slaughtered Hollow like second nature and “purified” them. It was a disgusting thought and she almost vomited at the thought of ever being sliced by a Shinigami and taken in their form. As her master just snapped it's neck before throwing it away, Lagos awaited his orders. She was then asked a question on if she had discovered any powerful Hollows. “No my lord. Ever since coming to the Soul Society I had discovered that the Shinigami only now seem to beginning to try and cleanse the Hollow from the area. However with their overwhelming numbers they attack but are repelled by quality I suppose. There had been a group of Hollow attacked by these Shinigami but when I had come they were all vanquished showing they lacked...potential.”

Lagos had looked solemn and now completely calm before looking to the pile of corpses. “Let's hope that one of the so called powerful Hollows are enticed by the large number of corpses here for them to eat. Yes my lord I am ready to set off to continue the mission although it may be important to mention something. Of the Shinigami I had found one had escaped most likely to inform his superiors. Although I allowed this of my own volition. I believe we need to lower the Shinigami count as much as possible to guarantee the strengthening of our cousin Hollow. In fact, they should be coming soon.” Lagos looked around the surroundings before turning back to Shikihitsuko. There was a disturbance of reiatsu in the area most certainly. A large Hollow’s howl had been sounded loud enough to cause the trees to shake. This was soon followed by the sound of a blast wrapping around the trees knocking several over.

Lagos raised her right eyebrow as she had discerned that a Cero had just been fired of impressive quality. It had at least been of the hulking Gillian quality or perhaps even more so. “It seems though that a Adjuchas might have made its way to us perhaps. Shall we my lord?” She had used the Sonido to travel deep into the forestry before discovering an amusing sight. There had been a Hollow of an odd variety. It's body was completely fluid like as it had been sliced and diced at by several reapers only for their blades to sink halfway and begin to melt. So this was a Hollow that was immune to certain types of physical attacks and it's body was made of a corrosive goop? She concluded with her analysis and learning that the only way for vanquish this beast would be to go for the head. The mask was the most vulnerable and surefire way to kill a Hollow after all.

“Get away from me Shinigami! You're wasting all my time!” Several tentacle like arms had formed along its body as it had stabbed into two Shinigami right off the bat, drawing them closer and sucking them into its body before it turned a reddish black. “I'll take care of this one. Stand back everybody. Murder of Crows, Kuro Kurosu.” A Shinigami had stepped forward as his blade seemed to melt down into crows that flew around the area. A Shinigami Shikai? She always found that a fun venture to take out and destroy, but she looked to her master before causing any confrontations. “What do you suppose we should do lord Shikihitsuko? Do you believe this Hollow has potential for us?” She waited to see how he would feel about this situation as the birds circled around the worried Hollow.

Lagos personally felt that this Hollow would be too weak to be of much use other than someone's Fraccion at best. It's power lacked complexity in exchange for enhanced damage. However she would wait to see seeing if the creature was killed by a Shinigami with a Shikai, then that means it might not be strong enough to be worthy of becoming an Arrancar. Of course she was being hypocritical as she was sure she couldn't face a Shinigami with a Shikai at her time either. Even some Arrancar die to Shinigami with Shikai despite having their own powerful releases. Perhaps she had judged the Hollow too soon as she saw it begin to bubble? It was growing larger and expanding its body by the look of it.

The Shinigami had swung his blade at the Hollow as the birds had pelted all over its body. As the ones that flew for the mask, they were blasted apart by a Cero also taking the lives of two more Shinigami. There were still ten or so left. The birds that fell into the Hollows growing body had caused it to grow larger and Lagos understood. It was a monster that grew larger the more it ate. The Shinigami had all stepped backwards as one had finished some sort of incantation. “Hado#4:Byakurai!” A bolt of lightning had struck the large body causing the Hollow to scream in pain as it had a hole through its stomach causing it to begin to just escape at this point. So now was the question on if the two Arrancar would be assisting the Hollow in need or leaving it to die. The weakness to the Hollow based on what she saw was not only the mask but Kido was extremely effective.

The Shinigami of course gave pursuit and were now firing incantation spells at the beast. If Shikihitsuko and Lagos were to do nothing it would surely die. “Oh it must be my blessing this day to be able to kill so many Shinigami. I also get to kill one with a Shikai, how wonderful. Although I should do it quickly as to not waste time. We have higher priorities. She would still find a way to relish the murder and destruction she was to do. Although she herself was interested in discovering powers of all the different Hollows. It truly was a shame that most likely none of these Hollow would ever become Espada or very powerful fighters simply seeing they have not climbed up high enough on their evolutionary standpoints. However, Adjuchas were not bad to recruit depending on their strengths.

[Shikitsuhiko Isayama]

Shikitsuhiko observed the situation closely, examining the shinigami and Adjuchas closely. The moment the shinigami releases his zanpakuto, he could sense the shift in spiritual pressure. Indeed, a Shinigami's release was impressive, but it reliant on their level of discipline and latent power. There was little about this shinigami that felt threatening. The others seemed capable of shikai, but they had not yet released. One meager shikai was nothing to worry about, but multiple could become cumbersome. This situation needed to be handled, and he felt Lagos' brash nature would simply exacerbate the problem.

Despite these concerns, he felt confident that she could manage her own against a release of this quality. He turned his head, as if he were staring directly at the soul reaper who had released. "Such a juvenile shikai. It barely registers by comparison to those I have witnessed in the past." He stated calmly. Shikitsuhiko wasn't one to trade insults, but his opinion of soul reapers often colored his phrasing and tone with a tinge of condescension. Despite this, he wasn't one for hubris. He had no reason to pretend to be anything he wasn't, and saw it equally as foolish not to recognize power when he saw it. This wasn't one of those moments, however.

"Kido? How rare." There was but a tinge of amusement in his tone as he observed the shinigami hurl their spiritual arts. It had been quite a while since Shikitsuhiko was face-to-face with a kido user. While most shinigami have rudimentary knowledge of such techniques, he has found they seldom rely on them, focusing more of their energy on developing their Zanpakuto. He could not relate to such a strategy. He focused his time equally across all domains, developing each to a level that aided him in achieving his current position as the cuarto espada. Yet another instance where he felt shinigami were inferior and misguided. They were such awful specimens.

He placed his arm across her body, directing her to remain still. He sensed her restlessness even before she spoke. "Don't allow your blood lust to cloud your better judgement. This pugnacious quality of yours has dangerous consequences." He baritone voice was stern, but gentle. His voice held a particular presence, but it did not overwhelm or incite panic. His words were always deliberate and processed. His affection for Lagos would not prevent him from highlighting areas he felt needed improving. "Each of those shinigami, especially the one who released, are recovering from previous battles. I can see it so clearly. The man who released is compensating for an injuring he sustained in his right ankle. His gait is off, suggesting he places less weight on it. This might explain why he was so eager to release his shikai." 

This was the nature of Lagos and Shikitsuhiko's relationship. They were close and trusted one another implicitly. While that was so, he treated her like a student. Someone he would continue to nurture and instruct in many things, not just battle. He wanted Lagos to develop the same keen sense of observation as he, though he understood that her senses were not as sharp as his. Regardless, he felt she was not tapping into her full potential, so his responsibility was to reign her in. "If you charge into battle, regardless of whether you can defeat them all, you'll find that they will instantly release. You'll be facing seven shinigami. That is unwise. Taking them by surprise, however, lends itself well to both of us and the Adjuchas." 

Shikitsuhiko raised his hand and began to charge a cero. The cero, which was a deep cyan color, sped through the air. It struck the shinigami who had released his Shikai in the back. It bore through his body and burned his flesh away. The shock of the attack allows the Adjuchas to take down one of the shingiami that was assailing him. "Capitalize on this moment, Lagos. These men all have shoulder injuries, so swinging their zanpakuto will be slower than if they had fully recovered." He nodded in the direction of the Shinigami. This was silence approval for Lagos to launch and attack the shinigami, using the knowledge Shikitsuhiko had provided. 

While she was doing that, he would be handling the greater threat that ventured their way. He activated pesquis, allowing his energy sensory abilities to be enhanced by this technique unique to hollows. It gave him precise information on the opponent who was swiftly approaching. He deeply inhaled before unsheathing the wakizashi that lie horizontally across his back. Judging by the power-level of this opponent, it was a moderately ranked seated officer. Oddly, the mysterious officer had already released his or her shikai. Such circumstances were odd, warranting considerable caution. He was confident that no seated officer could ever pose a considerable threat to him, but the rarity of such a situation made it more concerning. 

Shikitsuhiko raised his arm, extending his blade in the air. It was enveloped by the same deep cyan energy of his cero. He lowered it to his right and swiftly made a horizonal swipe. "Cero..." He muttered softly. The swipe of his blade caused an arced cero to burst from his blade. It traveled forward and sliced through dozens of trees before striking an object. He could see it move through the air, parting the air and slicing through the wood of the trees. He immediately fended off a strike from his right, but this was merely a projectile. Three more kunai soared through the air, only for him to knock them away with his blade. His internal sight allowed him to watch as the cloaked figure passed through the woods, rushing from tree to tree.

"Come now. Such tactics won't prove effective. It is wise if you simply come out. Things will get messier if I have to come in after you." Those words must have provoked the opponent as the mysterious person shot a flaming projectile. He effortlessly cleaved it in two with his wakizashi, causing the two halves to explode behind him. "Hm." He uttered curiously as he lifted his blade in the air. "Your attacks left residue on my blade. Yet another aspect of your release, no doubt." He examined the residue left on his blade. His lips drooped as an unpleasant expression lined his face. "This isn't merely a product of your Shikai. You modified it somehow. The properties don't coincide with that which you used to stop my cero." 

His began to steadily drop as he vocally examined the residue, using all his sensory abilities to evaluate the situation. He did not simply view the world with his extraordinary senses, he channeled that information and carefully teased it apart. "I should have trusted my initial instincts." He said regrettably before firing two balas toward Lagos. They struck the heads of two shinigami she was fighting, leaving her with three opponents. "Move away from their bodies, Lagos. Now!" Shikitsuhiko seldom raised his voice, but in this instance it was warranted. If she were to move in time, the two shinigami would explode in a bloody mess. This would likely shock Lagos, but she still had three other shinigami to deal with. 

"Don't bother with the Adjuchas, he has mere seconds before he is terminated." As he said that, a female shinigami walked out from the shadows of the trees and smiled brightly at Shikitsuhiko and Lagos. "Damn straight, asshole!" As the confident shinigami responded, the gelatinous hollow exploded. Shikitsuhiko was onto this mysterious shinigami. He knew what squad she was a member of. Squad 12. Only someone affiliated with that squad could render their fellow ally as explosives should they be killed. "How'd you figure it out?" The female shinigami said with a faint grin. 

"When the hollow swallowed the first shinigami, I sensed a peculiar substance leak from its body. At first, I couldn't discern whether it was a result of being eaten by a hollow or a byproduct of the hollow's ability to enhance its size upon consuming a spiritual being. When you fired that flaming projectile, it left the same substance on my blade, which meant that you somehow injected some of your fellow soul reapers with the substance produced by your shikai. No doubt you enhanced it with your knowledge of science." The young shinigami female showed her teeth with a smile. "Yeah, but that doesn't explain how you knew those two over there were also infected with the same substance."

"They had been wounded, so I could sense it from within their wounds." Shikitsuhiko said indifferently. "Good to know...I can produce a better batch next time. It is a little experiment I am cooking up. Originally, it was planned just to capture the hollow back there. It has been wreaking havoc. But it has proven so effective, I may make it into something more usable." She smiled at Shikitsuhiko before firing more projectiles from her blade. They seemed to hang on her blade like grapes on a vine before firing. Shikitsuhiko merely dodged the blades before launching himself at her. She was quick, though. She could fire those projectiles quickly, even while moving. He quickly lunged from side to side, dodging each of her blasts, before enveloping his blade with his cero. He slid his leg across the ground and crouched while twisting his body. With a swift motion, he slashed his blade creating a huge, arching blast. It overwhelmed the young shinigami, as it appeared to be much stronger than before.

She stumbled to recollect herself, though she had incurred a wound on her hand from the heat of the cero. Her smile dissolved as he launched at her relentlessly. He twisted his body. Their blades collided, but he quickly released the pressure from her blade and angled his blade. He dove at her, giving her no time to react. His blade slid down the neck of hers, causing sparks. He was aiming for her neck, though she was able to lean back and avoid the swipe. Despite avoiding it, it managed to slice into her forward, lopping off a slab of skin and hair. Blood poured down her face as he flicked the blood from his wakizashi. "You're incapable of defeating me. You clearly have no idea what I am, but I am well-aware of what you are." His words carried a heavy darkness as his more gentle nature melted away. He was face-to-face with the epitome of everything he hated in Shinigami.

[Lagos Oscuras]

Lagos upon witnessing the Shinigami release, was not impressed whatsoever. It wasn't very flashy and it lacked finesse. The only thing she could see it being useful for was being a nuisance. Lagos simply observed before she did anything brash however. Perhaps those birds might have more to them than what she was thinking. When Shikihitsuko claimed that the Shikai was juvenile, Lagos couldn't help but nod in agreement. “I do wonder if the other Shinigami are holding anything more unique. If not, I will be most bored when killing them all. I want a challenge in a battle, don't you Shikihitsuko-Sama?” Lagos was a warrior but of course she had no honor. She was a brawler and simply saw the victor as the one who got all the spoils. She would do anything in a battle to gain the advantage but yet enjoyed fighting in general.

She was warned not to rush in due to her thirst for blood, and so she raised her eyebrow in curiosity. Her Espada had explained that the man who released and in fact all of these men were injured. They were recovering from their injuries and that made Lagos’ mood sour. If these men were not at their peak, they would not be much fun to break even through torture. It was child's play to defeat enemies like those. Perhaps the Hollow she was witnessing would kill them easily enough. It had already killed four of the beings with not too much trouble. Lagos was thinking of the situation but not truly observing it as well as Shikihitsuko was. She wasn't as observant as he was seeing she felt confident in her spiritual abilities as well as her ability to fight. She was a bit cocky seeing she hasn’t met many opponents that could face her equally in power and strength.

Her lord had then explained that rushing into battle headfirst would be a rather unwise thing to do. She wouldn't argue although she typically enjoyed challenges in her life. “I can see what you mean my lord and I'll respect your opinion and keep it in mind. Although I wouldn't find myself...hmm pugnacious. I find myself vengeful and perhaps a bit bored.” The man had then charged a cyan cero before shooting it into the back of the Shinigami who released before burning his flesh into oblivion. What a charming display of contained destruction it was. On the other hand, the Hollow had taken out yet another Shinigami whilst they were in confusion. Her masters methods may not be the best to her, but she could not doubt their effectiveness and she wanted to be the best tool to him as possible.

It was then Lagos was given the permission to engage the foes. “As you wish Shikihitsuko-Sama.” Using the technique known as Sonido, Lagos had vanished at a fast speed to appear behind one of the Shinigami. Grasping the scruff of his shirt, she quickly hurled him over her shoulder with her full strength to slam him into a close tree. The Shinigami yelled in pain before Lagos aimed a finger gun to the Shinigami closest to her. “Bala.” A quick yellow ball of reiatsu had formed before blasting a hole into the poor reaper in her way. It also sent him flying backwards breaking through a few trees. “Greetings Shinigami. My name is Lagos Oscuras, Fraccion of the Cuarto Espada. Prepare to die.” However, it seemed there was a nuisance elsewhere as everyone turned their eyes to Shikihitsuko as he charged a powerful Cero that would a gillian’s to shame.

Slicing through dozens of trees, it then seemed to divert away from some sort of object in it’s flight path before slicing through several more trees. This was unseen by Lagos and an interesting venture. No Shinigami Lagos had ever seen was powerful enough to divert the power of her lord’s cero. This was what Lagos was looking for, and now she wanted to kill this reaper. She wanted to kill the reaper even more so seeing they were a coward, running from tree to tree in an attempt to hide themselves yet again. A flaming projectile was shot at her lord before it was cleaved in two and it exploded behind him. The battle for Lagos had continued as the Shinigami had charged her with battle calls, how annoying. She was too distracted to listen to Shikihitsuko’s analyzations at the moment. The Shinigami were weakened severely and were worried of taking more damage, how pathetic. Blocking a sword strike, she had kicked a man away before hearing the order to move away from the Shinigami immediately. She did not question this task as she simply performed Sonido as her two deceased foes had their heads exploded. The Fraccion appeared by Shikitsuhiko’s side with a light smile on her face. How invigorating it was to be going on a nice outing with her master.

However, when the two Shinigami corpses exploded in a blast, that made Lagos concerned. The look could be seen on her face. She was told not to worry about the well being of the Hollow as it too would be dead in a few moments. Just like predicted, the Hollow had exploded in a rain of gelatin. Then, Lagos realized it. The three beings had been infused with some sort of explosive fluid which caused their detonations. Someone had turned these beings into humanoid bombs. However, how was this done and who? She knew Shinigami were lowly prideful beings, but it took a special kind of low to do this to one's own comrades. That showed they truly had no loyalty to one another. It was something that would make Lagos disgusted and fairly peeved. However, she could not deny that without the rational realization of Shikihitsuko, she would have taken a good bit of damage...perhaps even received a fatal wound. She was grateful for his presence.

As he attacked the monologuing Shinigami, Lagos was left with the remaining Shinigami trash...three of them. “S-She turned us into bombs?! Shit!” The other Shinigami had gulped and touched at their bodies, wondering if they too would explode upon incurring wounds. “Shinigami. I wouldn’t worry so much about blowing up as much as worrying about my presence.” Lagos had formed a bala within her hands, but instead of firing out a single projectile she planned something far more sinister. Keeping the hot energy within her hands, she flicked her nails against her fingers to shoot into a Shinigami much like a machine gun. The man had gagged and yelled out before exploding also as a bomb. “Come on Shinigami! Impress me!” She formed another Bala within her hands as she had full intention of making those puppets dance and run as she wanted. They could die so easily right now, she could take them down with one swing. It was annoying she had to keep her distance however seeing she preferred close range combat.

“We have to run! We can’t take her on in these conditions!” The other Shinigami nodded and they both attempted to escape using the Shunpo...only to soon explode. Was there a certain range the things infected with this liquid could travel before exploding? Or perhaps the woman blew them up as to prevent having her little secret found out. It was a shame that the fun was over. However...something was off. Lagos could swear she was forgetting something important. What was it that she could possibly be forgetting though? Ah yes, there was a Shinigami she let go who would be coming with reinforcements soon. Maybe she should have told her Espada about that as to let him be aware of that. Lagos hadn’t heard it, but there was someone...no a group watching this going on. “Wrap...Hogeki.” Suddenly there was a rise of spiritual pressure as a being had leapt from the trees stabbing their blade into the ground.

A mark would appear right where Shikihitsuko was standing before a coffin had formed and attempted to lock Shikihitsuko in darkness before several reiatsu chains would wrap around securely with a gigantic lock appearing in the middle of his prison. This was a Shinigami who had the look that they had come from Squad 2 or perhaps the Onmitsukido. Several more assassinesque Shinigami had come from the area to surround Lagos. Lagos was not shocked, no worried for the well being of her Espada. She knew he could break out of there with ease. No, she was more concerned for the well being of the Shinigami here seeing she knew they were going to die in extremely painful ways soon enough. Lagos however was fascinated by the ability of that Shinigami who creates coffins. What did that ability hold she wondered? Was there more to it than what she knew?

Sensing a presence behind her, Lagos had thrown the blank Asauchi of the dead Shinigami behind her with a quick toss to impale the man in the stomach. Slowly drawing her own blade, Lagos stood with a neutral expression. However, that slowly grew into a cruel smile. “I count twenty four of you here seeing I just killed one of you. Tell me, do you all have Shikai? If so, I think I’ve found myself quite the treat. Although I want permission from master Shikihitsuko to see if I can kill you all or not. You see, we are quite busy and have a schedule you see. Although I suppose by killing you all, we are doing Hollow everywhere a good service. Master Shikihitsuko, would you like for me to kill them all for you?” She spoke without worry as all the assassins around them had held their blades ready for combat. It seems their presence was noted by the Shinigami of Seireitei seeing a Garganta opening in Seireitei was incredibly uncommon. Oh well, more the merrier. 

[Shikitsuhiko Isayama]

A muffled Shikitsuhiko could be heard from within the coffin. "I'm gracious enough to allow my capture, but for your power to be so weak and fragile..." Suddenly his energy surged and he was able to place large fractures in the coffin's exterior as the chains began breaking. "...is of great insult." With those words the coffin exploded as his energy poured out. He focused on those around him, identifying where everyone was standing. He felt many more people were present than before.

"I see we have members of the stealth force here. Undoubtedly drawn to our location from the many flares of reiatsu." He turned his attention to the shinigami who tried to conceal him, now standing near the wounded female shinigami. "Lagos, kill to your hearts content. I see no reason to restrain yourself considering how insistent they are on fighting us. However, I must remind you, make decisions with care." Shikitsuhiko had just given his subordinate the directive she was likely seeking. The free spirit of his fraccion would certainly relish this opportunity. Even in situations where he gives her full mobility, he warns her not to be brash.

As much as he cares for Lagos, he doesn't feel his affection warrants constant attention. He needed to focus on his opponents, both of which were using shikai. He quietly observed them before. "Looks like I have some help. I can't wait to take you back and dissect you." "Your experiments have done quite enough." The other shinigami stated firmly. While they conversed, Shikitsuhiko remained still and silent. They both glared at him, showing a modicum of unrest by his silence. "You're a peculiar one, huh?" Shikitsuhiko ignored the woman's taunts and placed his blade in front of his chest. "Beset...Enjambre." He slammed the blade into his chest causing a massive explosion of reiatsu to envelop his body. His energy was like a pillar of light, illuminating the area. 

"You will discover that with me as your opponent, your deaths will achieve the pinnacle of despair." As the energy cleared, his body was transformed. The protrusions on his back hanged, moving slightly as he familiarized himself with his release. His body appeared to be moving, as if his flesh were alive. His person was surrounded by hundreds of small insects, scurrying around the ground. "I am known for my considerable patience and mild temperament, but if there is one thing I find intolerable, it is those who use their knowledge meddle with the bodies of others." It was clear who he was directing his fury at. The shinigami who attempted to trap him merely became collateral damage in his effort to destroy the female scientist. "You know, you remind me of someone from my past." "She sounds pretty impressive." The said, mocking him. "This person you speak of. Where is she?" "Dead. I tore her beating heart from her chest centuries ago. I feel the same urge to do the same to you, in fact."

His words were far more sinister than normal, which was a product of her identity and intentions. Shinigami were one thing, but scientists were another. Shikisuhiko loathed them and they brought out a darkness within him, one he seldom uncages. "Mudar." He stated softly. His body began to change, taking on a yellow, gelatinous appearance. The substance moved subtly across his body, like syrup dripping. "No weapon? Interesting arrancar." "I am the weapaon. And I am no mere arrancar. I am the cuarto espada, Shikitushiko Isayama." With those words, he used sonido to vanisha nd appear behind them. He clenched both of his fists and positioned his right foot in front of the other, tilting his left to the side. With a swift, powerful motion, he delivered a mid-level punch that possessed great power. 

The two realized he was behind them just as the punch collided with the male shinigami's back, sending him hurtling forward. He skid and rolled across the ground like a rock across a body of water. Shikitsuhiko looked down at the woman as she went to cleave him in half. Her blade struck his lower torso, but as it passed into his skin, he did not appear appear to bleed or be in any pain. She attempted to pull her zanpakuto from his waist, but was unable to pull it from his body. She pulled with the strength of her entire body, but was unsuccessful. "What is this shit?" She shouted loudly, anger filling her tone. 


He watched as she struggled before reach out to clutch her throat. She reluctantly released grip of her zanpauto and leaped back, avoiding his touch. She began to notice that some of gelatinous fluid had splashed on her clothes during her attack and it was eating away at her haori. She ripped off the piece and throw it on the ground. "You're worry is warranted." He stated calmly. "It doesn't seem you can produce the reishi bombs from your blade while it is immersed in my body's viscoso. How unfortunate for you." He pulled her blade from his side and tossed it behind him. He was clearly taunting her. He wanted her to try and retrieve her blade. She would need to wager whether her speed was enough to eclipse his own. Was her intelligence enough to calculate such a thing and was her body up to the task?

Shikitsuhiko abruptly moved to his left, avoiding a series of ribbons that erupted from the ground. The man in the distance was completely unaware that Shikitushiko was blind, but equally unaware of just how difficult it is to catch him off guard. You need to face him up close to pose a threat, and even then that was his specialty. He remained silent before dodging yet another attack from his distant foe. He could hear the female shinigami's heart beating faster. She was struggling. What should she do? Should she trust her instincts and go for her blade or rely on her intellect. What were they telling her? Shikitsuhiko didn't much care. He felt satisfied by her quiet anguish, much like he did the by the two that experimented on him. They were fearful of him even while he was caged. This was was right to be frightened. The horrors he could inflict were worth fearing. 

His insects crawled across the ground, moving past the woman and aiming toward the man. The scurried across the ground with great speed. The man was so focused on catching Shikitsuhiko in one of his traps we was unaware of what lurked beneath his feet. They crawled up his legs and then he noticed. "What the hell?" He brushed his body off, trying to rid himself of them. "Desposeer." He thought to himself. The insects below the man's feet began releasing a rather sweet-smelling concoction that was intended to completely disrupt his senses. It was a beautiful dusk blue color, which Lagos would instantly recognize as the nightfall fog, having been dubbed that due to its distinctive color. The man flexed his spiritual pressure and flash-stepped a few feet away. He was finally able to successfully rid himself of the insects, but the damage was done. Initially, he felt nothing. As most do not. He approached the female shinigami and relayed to his plan. "Let me distract him and you get your zanpakuto."

"You're not even holding yours!!!" He was completely dumbfounded. What had happened? His zanpakuto was lying behind him on the ground. He was holding, though. Shikitsuhiko's abilities were difficult to discern. The female shinigami made the decision to go for her zanpakuto. She flash-stepped and appeared before her zanpakuto, but was met with chop to the neck by shikitsuhiko. His hand slammed into her neck, causing her face to smash into the ground. Blood pooled around his nose and lips. "You simply weren't fast enough." He was taunting her, and it felt satisfying for him. He stepped onto her back with his foot as she reached for her blade. Suddenly a bakudo came hurtling at him. He narrowly dodged the fragments of kido as the man screamed from the distant. 

All could see that he was kneeling on the ground and was experiencing difficulty standing. "What is happening. I can't see a thing. I can barely stand." It was a pitiful sight, but precisely what he felt the shinigami deserved, especially the woman beneath his foot. He pressed his foot against her back. "It is just out of reach, isn't it?" His words mocked her current predicament, as she attempted to retrieve her zanpakuto but failed. The crab-like legs on his back rotated and stabbed into her body. One for each hand and leg. He leaned down as he deactivated his viscoso ability. "Don't worry. I don't plan on killing you now. Your fellow shinigami will be the first to die. He'll die a blind, helpless child, and I want you to watch." He he twisted his spear-like legs into her hands and feet, opening the wounds. 

He pulled his spears from her body and then grabbed her by the hair as she desperately reached for her zanpakuto. He began dragging her toward the other shinigami as he felt the ground, attempting to recover from blindness. "I'm generally a rather non-violent person, but shinigami like you bring out the worst in me. That, too, fills me with a sense of rage. And yet, I still maintain a modicum of composure." "I will kill you..." The man shouted, engaged by his condition. Unfortunately, he had dropped his blade and his senses were not nearly sharp enough to find it. Shikitsuhiko kicked it away and stared down at the man. Members of the swarm collected and forged his blade. "I have imagined that the cruelest way to die is when one is blanketed in absolute darkness. Fear and dread are at their peak when one cannot see what is coming next." As he finished his sentence, he took his blade and stabbed the man directly through the heart. He withdrew his blade and flicked off the blood. 

"What I find most remarkable is that people can go through life with perfect sight and still see absolutely nothing. They truly walk through life blind. And yet, I am quite literally blind and see everything. I can see just how vile of a creature you are, and that makes me want to terminate your existence." There was something incredibly dark about Shikitsuhiko in this moment. He wondered himself how such a being could elicit such potent fury from his person. Why hatred filled his every being at the mere mention of a shinigami who dabbled in science. It was more than science. It was about those who tamper with life by way of sacrificing life. It felt wrong.

Perhaps he would feel less compelled to rail against it if it had not affected him so profoundly. He would never truly now, but in this moment all he wanted to do was watch this shinigami suffer. "Perhaps...tragedy is the experience that most shapes our lives." He whispered to himself. He looked down at the woman before directing his attention toward Lagos. "I've read that when one embraces death blind they are left to wander the valleys of hell in total darkness, without sight." Without warning he leaned down and plucked both of the woman's eyes from her head and held them in his hand. She began screaming in agony and writhing on the ground. "I wonder what color your eyes are. I'd like to believe they are a stunning shade of green." He stated calmly to the music of blood curdling screams.

[Lagos Oscuras]

SPOILER: Click to show

Play this when Shikihitsuko Releases.

Shikihitsuko had given Lagos permission to kill to her heart’s content. Lagos had grinned as the men and women of the stealth corps had circled around her with their Zanpakutou drawn. One of the men had ran to the back of Lagos and another man from the front planning on assaulting her in two different directions. Lagos had finally found the motive to use her own blade. Swiftly drawing her Katana, she had made it seem as if she were to strike the man in front of her before deceptively stabbing backwards into a woman behind her before pushing downward on the blade. The Shinigami was caught off guard and impaled with the blade piercing cleanly through her stomach. However, the man in front of her took initiative to slash down at her. Holding onto her blade and using it as a support, she leaned backwards as the impaled Shinigami leaned also with her Katana impaling the ground to stop falling. The Shinigami in front of her had slashed his comrade again in the chest and Lagos giggled in pleasure. Unrolling herself, she had locked her legs around the Shinigami’s neck before stealing the second Shinigami’s fallen blade and stabbing the man’s kneecap through with the Asauchi. Then, quickly kicking the face of the Shinigami in front of her he fell.

Now being able to stand on the floor, Lagos ripped her blade out from the female Shinigami. She was still alive as she coughed blood and was stumbling. With a quick horizontal slice, her head went rolling. “No! No!” Lagos stabbed her blade down into her second fallen foe before looking around her. 22 Shinigami remaining. Allow me to make this clear if I hadn’t the first time. To any of you that can release your Shikai, do so or you WILL without a doubt die to me. Or don’t release~ it’s fun to me either way. I just prefer a better fight.” Some of the reapers in front of her were nervous with sweat dripping down their foreheads at her crushing reiatsu. Suddenly, four more assailants had rushed to Lagos with each of their fingers raised to her. It was interesting as she wondered what else they would have to offer seeing they were eager not to release. Or perhaps there was an ulterior motive to not releasing?

Four consecutive calls of “Hainawa” were made before four golden ropes bound each of Lagos’ four limbs, one for each. Lagos had widened her eyes in surprise before suddenly a man with a halberd for a weapon had aimed to slice Lagos from shoulder to waist. “No! Let go of me you fools!” Before the halberd was to strike, Lagos broke out into a sinister grin. The weapon slammed against her body, but then just clanged off her chest. “Oh, now that’s just rich. You thought you all actually held a chance without releasing? You are all just insulting me at this point.” Lagos with her spiritual strength had yanked her arms snapping the ropes with ease before doing the same with her legs. The man in front of her with his halberd swung twice more only to clang off her Hierro. Grasping the pole of the weapon within the next swing, Lagos frowned. Torturing Shinigami was fun, but it would be boring if they didn’t do anything to spice it up. However, an event occurred that drew Lagos’ attention to Shikihitsuko.

He released his Resurreccion. This was something that Lagos rarely saw and was more a display of power at the moment than desperation for strength. Shikihitsuko was a man above men as he was not to be trifled with under any circumstances. Seeing he released, that meant for Lagos, it would be dangerous to release at the moment. He would be tired after this transformation, and so Lagos would be there to cover him in his weakened state. Turning her attention back to the Halberd wielder, she socked him straight in the face sending him flying backwards with a broken nose. The polearm was a weapon that Lagos was familiar with using and so she wanted to get a feel for it. Spinning it experimentally, she increased the speed with it in her left hand. Another man approached her with a sword for an aerial strike only for a tilted slice to rip his chest open. The Halberd at that moment appeared to be spinning again in Lagos’ left hand. She was liking this weapon rather well at the moment. She needed to start getting serious though or else they'd waste all their time just killed Shinigami.

“Cero.” A yellow beam had formed on her index and middle finger on her right hand before being fired in a sweeping motion at several Shinigami. Of course many of them had avoided this with Shunpo, but two combatants happened to be unlucky to be caught partially in the disintegrating wave. As a result of this, several trees in her path had also been destroyed. “Stab them through, Shoko no Shiki.” There was a release, finally she had drawn out a Shikai. With nineteen of their original numbers left, Lagos wasn't very intimidated. “Surrashufuū!” A wave of flying reiatsu and this time, Lagos was aware that lethal damage could be dealt to her. Raising her katana, she would block this ranged attack as she threw the Halberd away. There was a struggle for a moment with her having to resist the force, but then eventually sliced the oppressing wind in half as it dispersed as a strong gust.

There, she saw was a woman with two fans in either hand. She too hid her face but every part of her body was beautiful. Lagos found it a shame they were on opposite sides of battle at the moment, it was truly a tragedy. “I finally hard press you enough to release. What a pleasure it is. Why, that attack of yours would have almost been able to cut through my Hierro. Although...almost isn't quite good enough now is it?” There was no words exchanged as there was only a Shunpo with her foe greeting her in combat. She flashed a fan at her attempting to mislead Lagos’ senses to make her attack and then deliver her own vicious strike. Lagos almost swung but then caught on quickly that this was a battle where one mistake could cost someone their life. It was certainly thrilling as Lagos stayed her distance for now.

Upon one of the stealth officers being killed by Shikihitsuko, he would soon hear a yell of anger. A female officer had witnessed not only her superior, but lover fall to the Espada. The other Shinigami, the scientist was irrelevant. “Sink, Suirou no Kami! (Water Prison God)” It seemed to be that there was a sensation of water molecules gathered from the air, each bit of it a blade of its own as it floated. There was a Shunpo before the female Shinigami would appear behind the Arrancar Espada and attempt to swing into his body. Her blade upon striking would soon be followed by many water needles striking into his flesh like bullets. However, instead of it bouncing off his skin, it would stick and would begin to coat him before a swirling ball of water would encompass Shikihitsuko entirely from head to toe. However, something interesting was occurring with the sudden influx of all this reiatsu.

The ground would begin to rumble as from the earth, several howls would escape with the ground rupturing. Several worm like snake beings had burst from the ground before a stronger spiritual pressure had been sensed from a bit deeper within. It too was a Hollow spiritual pressure although that didn't quite matter at the moment. Lagos witnessed several Shinigami engage in a skirmish with their own Hollow as a masked being had emerged from the ground floor. “Finally my hibernation is complete. Eh? It seems there are plenty of food here to greet me already Haha!” The being was a Hollow with a reptilian mask with the edges pointing outward. His eyes were red and his body was a greenish black mix. The tail was also a matching color. “What an interesting situation. Two broken ones have come here? I think I'll go back under for a while longer as the battle plays out.” the Hollow descended as everything was a little chaotic.

Lagos had been interrupted from combat with her Shinigami as they both turned and sliced two worm Hollow to pieces that approached them before locking blade on fan. The Hollow worm replicas it seemed by analyzation were not unique souls but simply creations from Reiatsu. However they were all slightly unique as their reiatsu signatures were all slightly different. The Shinigami were faring well against the beasts on one on one combat, but it seemed they fought in groups. A Shinigami screamed as he was bit around the leg and was slammed into the ground repeatedly. The other Shinigami corpses had been dragged into the ground also by these worm creatures. Why these Hollow were subservient seemingly to the one hollow was awfully curious and Lagos wouldn't mind receiving an answer. It was incredibly odd and weird to see how the battle turned out but her opponent began to retreat?

"Where are you going you coward?!" The fan Shinigami did not say a word before using Shunpo to escape with her life along with a few other Shinigami. They had realized there was no way to win and so they retreated to fight another day. Lagos was now in one of her worst moods. She hated cowards and being cheated out of a good battle. However, it seemed they had been on the right track to find and locate a Hollow. Whether if it was worth recruiting or not was left to be seen. There was a hole in the ground leading to the Hollow most likely, but if they would travel it was up to lord Shikitsuhiko. Lagos was panting slightly from her physical combat exhaustions. She needed a light breather for a second.

[Shikitsuhiko Isayama]

Shikitsuhiko proclivities were in full display. Under normal circumstances, he would do so with great discretion, but he hid little from Lagos. She knew of his habits, many of which developed after losing his sight. He had a true fascination for texture. Tactile sensations of any kind were helpful for exploring the world he could not see, but he was drawn to certain types of textures. He could be seen feeling the tissue of the eye, as he rolled his fingers around each. He fancied plucking the eyes from his victims, but this bizarre proclivity manifested into a collection of sorts. It was unpredictable when he would decide to keep and store the eyes he store. Not even Lagos knew what prompted him to maintain possession of one set of eyes over another. It was yet another idiosyncrasy of his.

He gentle placed the stolen eyes onto the man's dead body, so not to damage them. The female shinigami slowly quieted her aggravated screaming as she cuffed her vacant sockets with her hands. "You bastard! You bastard!" She shouted loudly before she returned to her shallow breathing and whimpering. Shikitsuhiko didn't bother to address the woman's shouting. In fact, he completely ignored it. While typically quiet and restrained, he has been uncharacteristically vocal on this day. This bout of silence was much more his style of interacting. It wasn't intended to upset or insult. He simply didn't care to converse with her any longer. She had served her purpose and now he was in possession of a new pair of eyes.

Rumors circulated that the eyes he collected were later eaten, but that seemed too unrealistic. The more popular view was he had a vast collection stored somewhere in his chambers, which was vast considering he was an Espada. He always collected the eyes of shinigami who dabbled with nature. Always. There were exceptions. Some eyes he extracted were from other arrancar, quincy, and other human world dwellers. Lagos played a role on occasion. He always wanted to know the color possessed by those who occupied the field of science. He would ask her to identify the color. The others, however, he left it to his imagination. He most hoped for green, as this most resembled his own eye color. Alas, his time for admiration was undoubtedly set to be interrupted. 

Without an utterance, he vanished. The female shinigami, desperately seeking revenge for her fallen lover, would go unsated. She had possibly missed her only opportunity. She swung her blade, but her target was no longer there. She swung her head from side-to-side with gritted teeth. "Where the hell did you go?" She asked angrily. He appeared 15 feet from her, his insects crawling across the ground and his body. He said nothing. She wasn't worth the words. What a foolish woman she was, thinking she could catch him off guard. He could sense everything that was going on in the distance. He saw it all. Flash-step might be a blind spot, but the vibrations of her movements prior to that informed him of everything. 

Rage was radiating from the woman's body as she wielded her delicate elemental zanpakuto. She swung her blade and release a flurry of water needles. These needles were not simply meant to pierce. They were more useful in that they coated anything they touched with water. And as they traveled, they collected water molecules from around them. They made a faint whistling sound as they moved through the air. She might not hear it, but he could. They were relatively quick, but certainly not unavoidable. The vibrations in the air were quite helpful in deciphering her ability. He could see the air molecules separating as it moved through the air and the water molecules rushing toward the water needles. 

One would likely miss this by simply looking, as molecules were small, but if they were observant they could see the side of the needles growing. He re-activated mudar, which transformed his body once more. This would surely be over quickly. Water-based techniques against this form were useless. The needles struck his body and slowly entered the gelatinous frame he now possessed. In this form, pain was all but neutralized, but he couldn't maintain it endlessly. Suddenly the needles acted like beacons and their water attraction power accelerated at a massive rate. What covered his entire body, no doubt an effort to drown him. The normal person would find it difficult to dispel the water as it has no form and therefore cannot be grasped, so the needles were impossible to remove. 

He slid his fingers across the water that coated his body, but it soon encased even his hands. It was like swimming in a tank of water, but you could not remove yourself from it. He did not anticipate that the water would hold you in place. It was much, much heavier than traditional water. In fact, it felt more like steel than water in weight. "How peculiar." He thought to himself. "I certainly underestimated this release, seeing as the water's properties did not change until after meeting my body." He had to do something relatively quickly otherwise he'd run out of oxygen and die. Even arrancar need to breathe. What to do now, though, considering the weight of the water was preventing him from moving. 

This was quite the predicament he had placed himself in. He would need to meditate on this lapse of judgement, showing more arrogance than he would like to admit. He liked to think of himself as a virtuous man, one that was not encumbered by the same crimes of personality that other espada and arrancar were guilt of. Many of them were far too confident and believed their power to be infinite and infallible. It appears he was guilt of this same crime in the moment. It was shameful and he wanted to repent the moment he had noticed. If he was able to move his body, he could easily just walk out of this as his gelatinous surface did not support the water adhering to his body. 

Despite this strength, the water had enough time to collect before rolling off his body and encase him. This was an unlucky situation and particularly fortunate for the woman. And yet, he knew she would die. Unfortunately for her, he didn't need to move his body to use this next technique. Within the water, at the tip of each of his crustacean like appendages formed a ball of energy. It burned through the water quickly. They expanded before the power was released. The six cero surged from within the water and tore massive holds in water-like coffin. These appendages reached out and slammed into the ground, pulling him from the water. His body was slowly pulled from the tomb of water.

He stepped out of the water and watched as it crashed into the ground. He used sonido to quickly move in her direction, slamming his own blade into her own. He assumed the water could coalesce once more and trap him, so he needed to steer clear of it. She could likely manipulate much of the water in the area. All she needed were those needles as a catalyst. They seemed to draw in and control the water and its properties. "Quite the intriguing shikai. I certainly wouldn't want to see a bankai with such abilities." He said casually. As his blade pressed against hers, members of the swarm began crawling from his and leapt onto her body. She frantically began shaking her body, in an effort to rid herself of the insects.

She had let her guard down, however. With a quick strike, he slashed her from her left shoulder to her right hip. Blood splashed from the gaping wound, landing on the ground, on him, and soaking her clothes. She stumbled back, surprised by her own stupidity. "For some reason, people are most distracted by the insects produced by my release. It's a helpful distraction." He jested with words alone, his tone lacking the inflection one would expect with humor. It truly was dry humor, but much more literal. She swung her blade and water rushed to where she had swiped. It created a thin later of water. He swung his blade, attempting to disrupt the protective layer of water. It was yet another unexpected treat.

The water collected on his blade and rushed up the neck of it, attempting to latch onto his body. He simply released the blade and it dissolved into members of the swarm. He welcomed her to have it. There were more members where that come from. This was no loss. She couldn't have anticipated that, however. "What a waste." His speech was incredibly monotone, as if he lost interest in this battle. Was he looking for excitement? That would be unlike him. And yet, he seemed more interested earlier. Perhaps he is merely eager to return to the eyes he stole from the woman lying on the ground behind them. He began approaching her as she swiped her blade again. He was beginning to lose his patience. This incessant use of her zanpakuto was preventing him from killing the female shinigami from earlier. 

He suddenly launched at her and slammed his hand through the water and grabbed her. The water quickly collected on his hand, but it was too late. Insects began pouring from underneath his skin and into her wounds. She shouted as they crawled into her flesh. With all her strength, in a last ditch effort, she slammed her blade through his chest, precisely where his heart would be. He remained silent, but she was certain she had struck his heart. "Sorry, but it isn't that simple." He grabbed her hand with his left hand and she howled in pain as the gelatinous substance seared her flesh. Its corrosive nature was nothing to trifle with. To make matters worse, while her plan seemed sensible, hist gelatinous body protected his organs and made room for foreign objects. He lept back, catching her off-guard.

He pulled her with him, as her blade was now stuck in her chest. She fell forward and landed on the ground. She did not let go of her zanpakuto, however. "You're persistent. I'll give you that." A blade formed in his hand from members of the swarm which he used to sever her hand. Her mouth gaped before she screamed in pain. She quickly controlled her reaction and stood to her feet. "You won't disgrace or discredit me. I'm not afraid of you!" He believed her. She did't seem as afraid as the others. She was determined to destroy him, which is what likely helped her rise among her peers. "It is true. You do not fear me nor what I can do in the same way as many others have. I find your fearlessness both inspiring and...ignorant." She glared at him with a shocked expression while she cuffed her hand. Was she more surprised by the acknowledgement of her fearlessness or the insult? 

Her hand fell to the ground and he subsequently pulled her blade from his body and looked at it carefully. "It is much heavier than I expected." The corrosive aspect of his body has considerably damaged the zanpakuto. Even his touch was continuing to apply the corrosive qualities to the normally robust blade. He then snapped it in half and tossed the hilt to the side. His success in doing so indicated to him just how much weaker she was from him, and yet her abilities were quite good. They were misleading, which likely aided her in battle.She certainly caught him off guard for a moment.

"Such an interesting shikai..." He said. He watched as she lept back and with her good hand began reciting an incantation. Energy began to flare in her hand. He was done with her, though. This effort of hers was meaningless. He tossed the tip of the blade in his hand and threw it at her head. It struck her straight in the forehead. Blood began dripping down her face, covering her fair skin. Her speech began to slur before her body slumped off to the side. The beam of energy blasted off the side and fizzled out quickly. It was definitely a miserable way to die. Now he could focus on the woman he wanted to kill all along. He approached her and stood towering over her body. She was alive, but without sight. She could likely tell her was there. "And then there was you." He said ominously.

[Lagos Oscuras]

The foolish woman who dared to engage Shikihitsuko stood no chance. “You think that just because my master has lost sight with his eyes that he would not be able to fight you? It seems you Shinigami are far more foolish than I had first realized.” As her Espada had appeared fifteen feet roughly away from the woman, Lagos giggled at the entertainment she was being shown. It truly was a treat to be watching her masters Resurreccion, even more so seeing that it reminded her of the good old days when he was a Vasto Lorde and she was his loyal Adjuchas follower. Lagos felt as if a Shinigami Shikai was pathetic compared to a Resurrection to the point where it was laughable. With a bright grin, the voluptuous Arrancar witnessed the Shinigami flying water needles to the superior being in front of her. She knew her leader was impervious to most everything in this form, and therefore he would be fine.

It seemed she was wrong...for soon she saw the water collected more particles and began to wrap around him making a prison! Lagos knew Shikihitsuko was strong, but instinctively felt a sense of alarm and duty to free her Espada. “Shinigami! How DARE you do this to my lord! I’ll kill you!” As she was rushing to the female, she stopped upon sensing a sudden rise in power coming from the water prison. The water was rapidly evaporating and immediately several Cero fired outwards blowing debris and dust in the area as there was massive destruction. “Shikihitsuko-Sama! Are you alright?!” She showed great concern to his well being based on the worried expression on her face. It seemed she didn't really need an answer when he used the Sonido to assault the Shinigami in a clash of blades.

She slowly calmed herself when she realized her master was safe and sound. The Shinigami actually was faring well and that surprised Lagos quite a bit. However, good was not good enough as soon, Shikihitsuko landed a mortal blow on the female Shinigami in front of her. Lagos on the other hand had turned her attention to the scientist who was still in complete agony at the moment. “I hope you know now that Shikihitsuko-Sama and I are the greatest and that together, nobody may stop us.” She received no response at the moment as the scientist only growled in pain with both eyelids shut. Lagos giggled at the defiance she saw before turning her attention back to the battle to see it was already nearly over. The Shinigami now was screaming with insects crawling under her skin, and it made Lagos shiver with euphoria. Those screams were absolutely beautiful at the moment. She didn't look bad though. Perhaps she would come back in the next life to become an Arrancar. She needed more love interests at the moment.

However, when Shikihitsuko was stabbed through where his heart would be, Lagos was not surprised when nothing happened to him. There was no pain spreading through the man and now Lagos knew that the Shinigami he faced was dead for certain. One thing that was interesting was the courage displayed by the woman despite having loss of a hand. What did she think was possible with something like that? “That courage is admirable indeed. Shame that a beautiful woman like that has to go to waste. Shikihitsuko-Sama does by all means deserve to be feared.” Sheathing her own blade, Lagos had began to make her way to the scientist before sitting on her torso. “How is your body hmm? Perhaps I can keep you as my pet if Shikihitsuko would allow.” There was no reply other than a bite of the lip as now she was defenseless.

When the Shinigami had been killed by a piece of her own blade, Lagos had clapped in honest admiration. “Oh what a wonderful job you've done Shikihitsuko-Sama. Now...what shall we do with this woman here? The emerald green eyes you stole await you. I'd like to have some fun with her if you don't mind. Although, I am more than willing to hand her over if you are to order it.” She placed her hand onto the chin of the eyeless scientist before adjusting her sitting so that majority of her weight was placed on her front. Wrapping her legs around the enemy's neck, she looked her head to toe slowly. “You don't look half bad. Although you're more ugly on the inside than the inside of a Menos Grande. I wonder if you're worth it. Ah...how long has it been since I slept with another beauty?”

“Sleep? You sleep with other women?! Fuck no! There's no way I would sleep with a woman and especially not you!” Lagos looked to Shikihitsuko and began to make overdramatic crying noises, obviously fake. “Oh master, how she hurts my feelings so. My heart aches from the crushing rejection.” She removed herself before appearing near Shikihitsuko. “At least I always have your loving embrace to comfort me when sadness grips my heart. With a light sigh, the Fraccion turned to look at the large hole leading underground. Suddenly, two worms would appear and would grasp the scientist and drag her under as there was a loud scream. The dead Shinigami with the blade lodged in her head was soon also taken under. Doing some brief calculations, the Hollow has gotten over twelve corpses to eat in a short amount of time thanks to Shikihitsuko and Lagos. The Hollow was a bottom feeder, but surely it must be decently strong.

“Damn...how disappointing. It seems our friend hides in underground caverns. Let’s go shall we my lord?” She unceremoniously jumped down into one of the holes before walking down to see there was a complex array of tunnels and travel methods. Walking and making turns here and there, she found herself in a larger expansion of a tunnel system. It smelled horrible and rancid down here, it was a sewer. “U-Ugh...it smells down here. Let’s hurry and find this Hollow and leave. The filth here disgusts me.” It was also dark in this expanse, so she took the liberty to light up the environment by using a bala orb at her fingertips. Now she could clearly see the environment they were travelling through. It seems that this Hollow was leading them as she could soon hear a hiss noise followed by a howl.

Turning her hand out to the noise, there had been a worm like Hollow watching them before slowly inching backwards and turning a corner. “I believe we have found a path my lord.” Shikihitsuko with his sense of “sight” would be able to sense hundreds of reiatsu signatures in the tunnels of only slight variation. Lagos however was unable to sense any of these beings. She followed the path this creature was leading them on for quite some time before leading into a larger expanse of tunnel turned into a sort of Hollow sanctuary congregation. Several Hollow had silently crowded around one Hollow with the scientist nearby. She was scared, perhaps even terrified as a particularly weak Hollow was nearby her. How odd it was to see Hollow this docile.

It seemed that this particular Hollow was the one that had first appeared from his “hibernation.” “Come to me.” Suddenly, several Hollow had howled before dashing and becoming assimilated rapidly into this Hollow. It was not consumption, but it did lead to rapid assimilation of the beasts. Soon, the weak Hollow in front of them was not a weakling hollow but a powerful looking Adjuchas. All that was left now was the scientist, Lagos, Shikihitsuko, and this new Hollow. “I was referring to you too broken ones. What purpose have you come here for?” He at this moment had stabbed his right hand through the stomach of the Shinigami, ending her life with one stab before turning his attention to both Arrancar. He swallowed the carcass before suddenly, a dark essence had trailed off his body leaving a new Hollow. What was that power of his? Lagos looked interested, but stood behind Shikihitsuko respectfully.

“I apologize. I believe the correct terminology for you are Arrancar am I correct? I believe that you are an Espada and the wench behind you is a Fraccion.” He seemed curious as he took the liberty to sit against a series of metal pipes. “I welcome to you to my home that I have been hiding in for perhaps a few centuries? Well, no matter. It’s been quite some time since I have had company. Normally I would try to kill you, but I am not foolish as the Shinigami are. I know that you are stronger than my comprehension knows. Please share with me the reason for this visit however.” Lagos did not reply to the petty insult as she waited for Shikihitsuko to make their purpose clear.

[Shikitsuhiko Isayama]

"The emerald eyes you stole await you." Lagos cheerfully volunteered the information, as she has frequently done in the past. Shikitsuhiko was pleasantly surprised by this news. When he had taken the woman's eyes, he had hoped they'd resemble a color similar to his own. While he could no longer admire their color himself, he was left to rely on his imagination. Despite all the advantages he acquired by relying on his other abilities and not his sight, he was still left with some regret. He was in no way interested in restoring his sight, but he wondered how he appeared to others. He wondered how the world was changing around him. He could sense much of it the way he was now, but sight certainly would add something special.

Time changes everything, and that is the one thing he misses out on. Watching things change. He merely feels things change now. Perhaps this is why he finds himself captivated by the eyes of others. There was some truth to his parting words earlier. Death in total darkness was a frightening concept. To die without seeing your final moments was akin to total despair in his mind. So he liked to remove the eyes of those he believes deserve to die shrouded in darkness, which they will stay for eternity. The now identified emerald eyes will be added to his collection. He has amassed quite the assortment of eyes over the years. Some have come from interesting foes, but many have been plucked from the sockets of those much like the woman he battled with before.

She was interested in tampering with the laws of nature, much like his original captures. That was intolerable, and so he felt compeltely justified in killing her. Though, she was still alive. It seemed Lagos was intent on playing with her, which Shikitsuhiko didn't mind at all. They dragged her body down into the caverns below. There were many things present with them in the caverns. Oddly enough, they felt very similiar. He couldn't quite identify what it meant, but all the signatures felt similar, as if they were one, but occupied separate bodies. They traversed the caverns and stumbled upon the creature. Interesting nature, this hollow. This was the sensation he was experienced when the first entered. 

Interesting power this hollow possessed. It became increasingly apparent as he consumed the body of the shinigami. Shikitsuhiko merely watched patiently, feeling no impulse to comment. "Wench." Such an odd thing to say to someone who just fed you quite the meal. A shinigami of this caliber was like eating dozens of hollows. His lip drooped as he raised his head, disgusted with the creatures ill-mannered response. He began releasing his spiritual pressure on the hollow. "Indeed you are correct. We are both Arrancar. I am the cuarto espada, though I don't expect you to know much about Las Noches. It seems you've been living here for quite some time. And in doing so, have neglected your etiquette."

Shikitsuhiko was not easily provoked and seldom engage in the juvenile prattling of his fellow arrancar. He felt many of them were immature and lacked the sophistication of mind and soul. He found rudeness and a lack of humility unneccesary and unbecoming, especially considering Lagos was planning to offer this hollow a fairly lucrative deal. As a member of Las Noches you are awarded protection and prestige. You aren't merely some scavenger in the deserts of Hueco Mundo. The creature fell to the ground, struggling to breathe. "We would like for you to return to Las Noches with us. We've come a long way to find suitable hollows, and I find your abilities worth while, as does she."

Shikitsuhiko approached the hollow, observing his powers in action. He abruptly released his spiritual pressure and allowed the hollow to move. "I can better see how your abilities operate. Very interesting indeed. A rare sight. You will be a great asset to Las Noches with proper training, of course. You first need to learn your place, which means understanding authority. You can't simply insult those who are your superiors, otherwise...you could die." He turned and walked past Lagos. He tapped his finger in the air creating a garganta. "We're leaving. If you choose to come with us, I would praise that as a wise decision. Decide against it, and, well, remain here to die. The shinigami will discover you and kill you in your current state, no matter how resourceful your powers may be."

[Kento Waffles]

+580 TP that can be halved and converted toward SP if desired