Emperor's New Clothes [PvP / R / DE]

[Deleted]

Luke’s attack had been simple. He hadn’t felt the need to unleash an overly complicated and intricate attack. Not that he didn’t think he’d have needed one, it was just simply the fact that the current situation didn’t warrant one. But the way Shizuka countered his attack was...unexpected. So much to the point that he was completely thrown by surprise. Shizuka used her step technique, Bringer Light, to escape the reach of Windstärke’s freezing winds. Where she went with that step, though, was what caught Luke off guard. The Bount’s eyes widened when he realized where she was. The girl had used her Step Technique to move towards him at ridiculously high speeds.

She positioned her grip on her gun in such a way that his blade actually slipped through the trigger guard and, caused by her turning her body to the left, was ripped violently from his hand. Shit! He shouted, mentally, as his eyes darted from where his now empty hand to where Shizuka was. Stopping about a foot away from him she unleashed electrical hell on him by using her own Electrocution, although she chose to use a much stronger version of the technique than he had when this fight started. Well, being hit by this level of the technique was something that could only be described as being the furthest from being enjoyable.

Did Luke scream out? Or did his body tense so tightly that he wasn’t able to get a sound out? He wasn’t really sure. The only sensation he was aware of was unimaginable pain coursing through his body. He couldn’t move. The electricity zapping its way through him had, essentially, paralyzed him for the duration of this technique. All Luke could do was convulse on the ground, only remaining conscious thanks to his Pain Tolerance training and his inhuman, indomitable, Strength of Will. While it was only a few seconds it felt like minutes before the lightning storm subsided. He coughed, convulsing and gasping for a minute, trying to push himself back up despite his bodies insistence on not wanting to work properly.

He could smell burnt fabric, leather, and skin. Wincing, Luke looked at where Shizuka had hit him with her attack. His clothing around that area was, more or less, gone. His skin was now also covered in second degree burns. Wincing in pain, Luke opened his eyes back up to see the air light up suddenly where Windstärke had been. Luke blinked in surprise as the picture became clear. The field of energy surrounding Shizuka had been an activatable attack. Some sort of remote detonatable reiatsu attack. Looking over at where the explosion happened, Luke saw the devastation done to the audience section caused by the chain reaction of Minefield and the fluid that Shizuka had coated Windstärke in.

Windstärke only survived thanks to the Dunkelrüstung. However, that didn’t mean he didn’t take a beating. He didn’t expect to suddenly be overwhelmed with explosions from all directions as well as the detonation of whatever fluid Shizuka had splashed on him. Windstärke cried out as he was blasted back and forth before being smashed into the ground with debris piled on top of him. Even though he was covered in armor, he couldn’t just shake off those explosions. Actually, that wasn’t entirely true. The class difference between himself and Minefield was different enough that it shouldn’t have bothered him. What got him, though, was the ANNM on his back.

Looking at his Doll and the back to Shizuka, Luke winced as he pushed himself to his knees. Putting a hand over his injury caused his face to scrunch up in even more pain. Panting heavily, Luke looked at his woman as she pleaded for him to stop. She didn’t want to shoot him? He was confused. What just changed? Did something happen when he was being electrocuted? Shizuka seemed fine blasting him earlier. Narrowing his eyes a little bit he had to wonder what she was talking about. Looking at the fight from a different situation, though, he had to realize how bad of a spot he was in. He was disarmed. Windstärke seemed dazed. Luke could summon Jäger...but the Doll wouldn’t be able to do anything. Jäger needed time to set up and Luke wouldn’t be able to buy him what time he needed. At least, so Luke thought. He shifted his hand a little and suddenly felt something in his jacket.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Luke couldn’t keep a small smile from painting itself on his face. I’m happy you’re so strong. He suddenly said, pulling words out from the very bottom of his heart as he gave Shizuka a warm look and smile. ”Sorry doll, but this isn’t the first...or the last time...I’m gonna have someone threaten to shoot me. Being at your mercy isn’t such a bad thing though.” Luke commented as he got to his feet and reached behind him with his free arm. First time he’d ever use one of these. Grasping one of the three small containers he kept hidden in the back of his jacket, Luke revealed the same grenade he was keeping hidden and pull the pin. ”And I don’t give up so easily!” Luke would announce before suddenly throwing the grenade behind his head.

The reason he did that was because it wasn’t a normal, exploding, grenade. It was a flash bang. Luke’s reiatsu began to flare up once again. ”Ziege Dich!” Shizuka would hear Luke say, just as the grenade behind him would explode into a bright flash of light. The light was blinding and, if Shizuka saw the flash, would blind her for a time (2 posts and one post for every 100 in Senses she has). But that wasn’t what was dangerous about it. No no no. Luke had said the words Ziege Dich. Despite his earlier apprehensiveness towards it, Luke had decided to summon Jäger. That Flashbang did much more than just potentially blind Shizuka. The light that was created behind Luke, in that moment, threw the Bounts shadow at Shizuka. His shadow would cross over hers. And that was how the fun started.

Of course Shizuka wouldn’t sense the new Doll. Jäger always entered battle with his Ungesehen technique active. Without any Energy Sensory, Shizuka would never be able to sense the shadow dwelling Doll. ”Didn’t want to let him out but you’ve forced my hand again. Shizuka, meet Jäger.” Luke commented as he got to his feet, keeping his burns covered up by his hand. As he said that, the Doll would appear from the Fullbringers shadow and reveal himself entirely. Jäger was roughly humanoid in shape. He was completely black, save for parts of his face and hands, as if he was made completely out of darkness. His face had a large white X designed into it and two, almost comically, large white eyes with little x shaped pupils. His hands, though ending in sharp claws, were gloved. A row of spikes ran down his spine. Jäger was also ripped. His arms, chest, and abdomen were ripped with muscle.

As the Doll emerged from Shizuka’s shadow with a loud ”YAHOOOOOOOO!!”, arms outstretched, he would reach to clutch Shizuka’s left arm and grab Luke’s sword that she had slipped through the back of her pants. If his move was successful he’d grab the uchigatana and slip it free and throw it back to Luke. ”Catch!” he’d shout, not actually noticing that the sword clanged against the ground when Luke made no move to go for it. With his retrieval of Luke’s weapon complete, the Doll would hopefully be able to restrain her long enough for-”WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!” Luke would suddenly and, surprisingly, shout.

Jäger blinked and let go of Shizuka to look at Luke. He blinked again before pointing at himself. ”Eh-uh-me?” he asked. Luke would suddenly point at Jäger. ”Yes you! What the hell happened to you?! Why do you look like that now??” Jäger didn’t look like that the last time Luke saw him. He was...a simple shadow monster! Yeah, his body type looked the same...but Jäger didn’t use to have a face! Rubble in the audience shifted and shook as Windstärke freed himself. ”What are you yelling about-” Windstärke commented before noticing Jäger and...well, you could immediately tell the other Doll was annoyed. ”What are you doing out?” he’d ask.

”Daddy asked me to come out to play with Mommy! She took Daddies sword but ohohoho she took the wrong one. Daddy wants to put his little sword in Mommy's sheath.” Jäger replied, his voice suddenly becoming very kid like and immature. Windstärke’s eye twitched. Luke’s eye twitched. Jäger was just shaking his waist back and forth. Despite this being...a fight...there was a very awkward air between the three of them. ”ANSWER THE QUESTION!!” He’d shout again, though. ”I WANTED A FACE OKAY!! EVERYONE ELSE GETS FACES! AND LEGS! I WANT LEGS BUT I SETTLED FOR A FACE! AREN'T I PRETTY NOW? WILL YOU TAKE ME TO CHUCKIE CHEESES NOW!!” Jäger screamed back. ”WHY DID YOU LET HIM OUT??” Windstärke shouted at Luke.

Luke's Remaining Reiatsu: 2,275 / 4,000
-600 for Doll release

Jager's Remaining Reiatsu: 1,660 / 2,010
-250 for Ungesehen

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats}
Jager | Freak

Strength - 150 - 300 Points

Speed - 300 Points

Spiritual Pressure - 300 - 201 Points

Reiatsu Strength - 400 - 900 Points

Light Aura - 50 Points

Dark Aura - 50 Points

Instinct - 225 - 151 Points

Senses - 150 Points

Energy sensory - 75 - 131 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points

Total SP: 1600 Points

Windstarke's Remaining Reiatsu: 6,975 / 7,000

Windstarke's Stamina: 3 / 12

Dunkelrüstung Duration: 2 / 3

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

So she had gotten him. Shizuka was moving so quickly that she didn't notice if she had succeeded or not. She was somewhat half expecting him to be able to dodge, but she realized that what she had done made that very difficult. This was the power of an assassin. The ability to dehumanize her victims and make them scream out in terror as she tortured them to death. Not every attack was so simple, though. Not every event was this easy. Sometimes she had to make it more complicated just to avoid anyone knowing it was her. But in this fight, in this instant, she was in control of him.

But Luke wasn't done. He was focusing on something for a moment as Shizuka watched. She positioned her guns in such a way underneath her arms so that she could still hold them while she wiped under her eyes. She had been sweating so her mascara was running. After a wipe or two, she inspected her fingers and saw that they were a little black. So, in such an un-lady-like way, she rubbed the mess off of her fingers and on to her denim shorts. It wouldn't really show much at all, but that way she could continue to fix her eyes a little. The sweat mixed with tears from quick movements was not favorable. But then she stopped when she noticed Luke looking up at her.

”Sorry doll, but this isn’t the first...or the last time...I’m gonna have someone threaten to shoot me. Being at your mercy isn’t such a bad thing though.”

Was it truly not? Did he not mind being cornered by her? Was he some kind of masochist? Shizuka thought for a moment as she repositioned her guns in her hands. He was so interesting. She didn't see this side of him very often. And the burned clothes on his body made him look even more rugged. She was trying to hide her emotions as well as she could because she was trained to do so, but she couldn't stop herself from thinking about what he looked like underneath all of those torn shreds. But she snapped back into focus when he reached behind himself and pulled out grenades. Was he serious? She could just control the souls of those things and avoid getting hurt. The explosions wouldn't bother her at all.

”And I don’t give up so easily!”

And then he threw the grenade behind himself after he pulled the pin. Shizuka's eyes widened when she realized what was happening, but it was too late. The bright light blinded Shizuka even before she reflexively hid her eyes behind her arms in defense. Pain shot through her eyes as she groaned and staggered back a bit. She had heard Luke call out his Release summon, so she hated that she had been caught off guard. How could she let this happen? Wasn't that a normal grenade? She'd never seen one like that before! And now she wasn't able to see at all! She growled audibly in frustration. Even after the flash had subsided, she realized she was still unable to see. Her eyes would open once again after having been shut, but her pupils were now impossibly small.

Luke had summoned another Doll and Shizuka was left defenseless. She didn't have Energy Sensory like so many others. She relied on her other five senses, training, wit, and plenty of other more natural things. But this time, only Energy Sensory would have helped her. She didn't know where anything was aside from the image she had burned inside her mind of everyone else's general location. The problem with that, though, was that they could move. Easily. This was tough. She could only react to anything she felt, heard, smelled, and tasted. Only three of those were going to be useful.

”Didn’t want to let him out but you’ve forced my hand again. Shizuka, meet Jäger.”

"Jäger?" Shizuka asked, blindly staring into space. Her eyes were relatively wide so that she could attempt to see anything at all, but her pupils were still extremely constricted.

”YAHOOOOOOOO!!”

"No, no, no, no, no! I wanted to really meet Jäger! I wanted to be able to see him! I wanted to be able to touch him! Now I can barely do either of these because I'm blind and don't know where he is!"

She suddenly felt Jäger grab on to her left arm and she jumped a little with surprise. She didn't expect him to be right next to her. Her head quickly turned to the left, praying that she would even be able to see so much as an outline, but nothing. The world around her was black. She blinked quite a few times and even attempted to squint, but nothing worked. Then she felt something slide against her butt. An embarrassed squeak was all that could be heard as it left her lips. She felt her face grow hot as she realized she was blushing nervously. Something touched her! And by the sound of metal hitting the ground after Jäger told Luke to catch whatever it was, she soon found out that the thing that touched her had been the sword sliding out from her belt.

After a brief pause, Shizuka heard Luke screaming with confusion as he asked who the Doll was. That didn't make sense. He was Luke's Doll, wasn't he? How could he not know who his own Doll was? Had he never used Jäger before? No, he probably has. Especially with Windstärke's reaction. They both seemed rather displeased with how this other Doll acted, but Shizuka couldn't possibly understand why. It didn't make sense. Was he just annoying or something? She recalled a word they used. Pervert? That didn't make sense, either. But Shizuka soon felt her arm become freed once again as the two spoke.

Even though the Fullbringer was mildly entertained, she had no idea what was going on. She heard some rocks move around in the audience sitting area and assumed Windstärke was waking up again, which was later confirmed when she heard his voice. Wonderful. She was completely useless and now there were three opponents for her to deal with. Jäger was within close enough range for her explosions to work, but she was also near him. She didn't want to get hurt in the cross-fire. So she was practically a sitting duck here! She couldn't do anything unless she could see, and she was practically defenseless--

”Daddy asked me to come out to play with Mommy! She took Daddies sword but ohohoho she took the wrong one. Daddy wants to put his little sword in Mommy's sheath.”

"Oh, my."

So THAT'S what they meant! Oh, man! It all made perfect sense now! She understood completely! He was just a weirdo! Okay, yes. Their complaints were pretty much entirely valid. But something about him was just too funny. Even though Shizuka was blushing wildly at the thought of her and Luke having... well, anyway, she was blushing. Despite that, she also thought Jäger was absolutely hilarious. She was a little jealous that Luke had access to this comedy show at all times of the day and she couldn't be a part of it. He probably hated it, but he was much more serious. Sometimes.

Shizuka decided to take this opportunity of freedom and escape so that she could recover on her own. She wasn't going to be able to hold her own in battle properly if she couldn't see. Luke was able to take away the one thing that was most useful to her. So with a step of Movement, Shizuka abused her now 900 Speed and got out of that area as quickly as she could with such a technique. She was going to try her best to distance herself as much as possible so that she could heal, but she would have to listen seriously carefully for any sudden attacks. So this was good. Yes. She could get away! She was going to get some space between herself and the scene that was going on. This was perfect! So Shizuka was able to use her Movement and...

Slam herself straight into a wall. Shizuka fell over and curled up in a small ball as she rubbed her forehead a bit. This was humiliating. She would have to remember this moment in the future. She was going to make Luke pay for what he did to her. She didn't care how she was going to do it, either. She already had some ideas. The Fullbringer was already thinking about yanking him by the ear up into her apartment and forcing him to drink blood or something. He didn't like that, right? Or maybe he'd prefer she tied him up and threw him on the bed. Yeah, that could work. She'd tie him up so he couldn't move and straddle herself on top of him, and...

Ugh, stop it! You may be blind, but you need to focus! Focusing was harder than it seemed. But her brain was right. She needed to get her head back in the game. Shizuka stood herself up and balanced her body back to where it needed to be for proper defense. She needed to think of something. All she would be able to do was feel once someone was back within her range of Reiatsu and blow up a portion of her guarded area, but that wasn't going to work forever. It was also horrendously annoying to continue to use this ability. It was draining her. She was down to just a fraction of her Reiatsu reserves. She needed to think of something else.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Movement (Mastered: - 80 TTP)}

Technique Name: Movement

Class: 4

Technique Type: Other

Technique Element: None

Technique Description and Effects:
This is a movement technique. It's to keep up with things like Shunpo or Sonido. While all races using this have their own variant of a step technique already, this one is pretty much an in-general type of move. It attunes the physical body to the reiatsu in the air, rather than spiritual to spiritual. It is now physical to spiritual. This allows the user to step at 3x speed for the cost of only 25 Reiatsu. This technique does not take up a technique slot.

How to use technique: Focus the body’s energy and release during a step. This technique can be broken off in the middle of its use. Unlike other step techniques, this one can be repeated while in the middle of the previous one, allowing someone to change their movement course in mid movement.

Drawback: None

SPOILER: Click to show

{Energy Generate: Minefield (Mastered: - 160 TTP)}

Technique Name: Energy Generate: Minefield

Class: 3

Technique Type: Other

Technique Element: None

Technique Description and Effects:
An advanced version of the lesser Firecracker technique, this one is actually meant to maim and kill, whereas its weaker version is meant to distract and slow. When this technique is used, the user can create a field of Reiatsu over a fifty square foot radius. Within this field, at any time, the user can detonate a section with the force of a large mine for the cost of 50 Reiatsu. An explosion does not use up an area of the minefield; the section is instantly replenished and can be detonated again.

How to use technique: Build up Reiatsu and spread it over an area, holding it in a steady wave beneath the ground before detonating it through simple focusing.

Drawback: This technique gets expensive; besides the initial cost of the technique, it also costs 50 Reiatsu per explosion, and atop that it costs an additional 100 Reiatsu per post to maintain the field. Atop that, it is tiring to maintain the field for long periods of time; after three posts, the pressure of holding it starts to wear on the user, and only gets worse after that.

Made By: Z-Wolf

Reserved?: No

Shizuka's Remaining Reiatsu: 1875 (-25 for Movement, -100 for Minefield)
Fullbring Stage 2 (Class 1): 3/12
Liquid Types: Liquid nitrogen, ANNM
Cartridge Gallons Remaining: 28/30 (Liquid nitrogen)
Bucket Gallons Remaining: 98/100 (ANNM)

[Deleted]

Luke actually felt...bad. He didn’t do anything, nor did his Dolls do anything, when Shizuka used a Step Technique to buy herself from distance between them. Luckily for her Jäger had sunk into her shadow and reappeared by Luke before she had moved otherwise she’d just have brought Jäger with her due to his attachment to her shadow. When shadows were infected by the Doll they would preserve, no matter how strong the light hitting them was, and grow ever so steadily in all directions like a pool of water. But, Luke felt bad. Watching Shizuka hit the wall made him wince and feel really awful about the position he had put her in. Not only was she blinded for however long the flashbang lasted, but he had essentially turned this fight into a three versus one.

Despite the fact that Luke had grown up a punk, he still understood and preferred having a fair fight against someone. It wasn’t his fault that his powers were literally other living beings. In fights like this, that weren’t meant to be life and death, throwing more numbers at someone just felt unfair. It made Luke uncomfortable. It made him wish that he, himself, could be as strong as his Dolls. He should only be required to bring them out in situations were he was outnumbered or was really trying to defeat or kill someone. His eyes glanced over to Jäger, who was snickering at Shizuka’s embarrassing moment, then to Windstärke who was simply watching. He was well mannered enough to not be doing what the other Doll was doing. But Luke also knew the Doll was resting.

Looking back at Shizuka, who was now on her feet, his eyes narrowed a little as he decided to end this fight. ”Jäger, on my command.” Luke commented softly, earning the Dolls attention as he began to walk in Shizuka’s direction. Collecting his uchigatana from off the ground, Luke flourished it in a circle for a moment before holding it in a relaxed grip. ”Sorry babe. I honestly didn’t think that grenade would work as well as it did. I was just trying to get my shadow over to yours. But, it pays to have your own little arsenal of toys.” Luke commented, being careful to keep out of range of Shizuka’s range. He didn’t want Minefield to go off on him.

His eyes shot to Jäger before nodding to the Doll. He grew serious, knowing what Luke’s plan was, and immediately went to work. Without any warning, the Doll was suddenly gone. ”Rückzug” Shizuka would hear from behind her before, without any wasted time, she’d feel a thick, muscular, arm wrap itself around her throat in a headlock. Rückzug was the name of Jäger’s own, unique, step Technique. When the technique was activated Jäger would immediately dissolve into the shadow he was currently occupying and then instantly appear from another shadow. Because Shizuka’s own, personal, shadow was infected by Jäger he was able to go from Luke’s to hers using this technique. It was closer to a teleport than a Step Technique, really.

But once behind her, the Doll wrapped his right arm around Shizuka’s throat and pressed her into his body. His left hand would reach out and clutch her left arms wrist, pulling it from her body and squeezing. With a 300 in Strength, pulling Shizuka like a toy was essentially effortless for him. He intended to pull her arm as far as it would go and squeeze her wrist tightly and force her to drop the Beach Queen she had in her hand. But, really, that was a distraction. Just holding and restricting her was his goal. The real attack came from Luke. While Shizuka wouldn’t see it, Luke vanished just as Jäger did. But instead of just evaporating, it would seem as though he exploded into a cloud of smoke again. The cloud rushed towards her at high speeds, as though he had used Nebel again, but before the cloud could reach her Luke would reappear in front of her several feet ahead of the cloud. This was Rauch. The fastest Step Technique Luke had. A 10x boost to his speed, and a distracting cloud of smoke that followed him at a slower pace.

When he reappeared his hand was placed firmly on the center of Shizuka’s chest, right between her breasts, and held there for only a moment. Instead of an attack coming right away, Shizuka would feel something she probably wasn't expecting. The feeling of his lips pressed against hers. A kiss in the middle of the battle. Pleasure before pain. The nerve endings in his lips exploded as they became reintroduced to Shizuka's much softer, lovelier, lips. ”This is going to hurt so...I’m sorry.” he whispered as he pulled his lips away, before activating Electrocution once again. Just like he did prior, he only used the Class 4 version of the technique to inflict electrical pain on her. Since it was just the Class 4 version, the electricity was restricted to only Shizuka and kept from leaping to Jäger kept a tight hold on Shizuka’s arm and neck. He didn’t really feel good about this, but he wanted to win. He wanted to win and show Shizuka just how much stronger he had become. With this, though, he was certain he had won. How could she come back from this?

Luke's Remaining Reiatsu: 2,075 / 4,000
-50 for Rauch
-150 for Class 4 Electrocution

Jager's Remaining Reiatsu: 1,510 / 2,010
-150 for Ruckzug

Windstarke's Remaining Reiatsu: 6,975 / 7,000

Windstarke's Stamina: 3 / 12
+1 Rest Post

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

”Jäger, on my command.”

Oh, no... Shizuka's eyes shot up in the direction that she heard Luke's voice, though it's not like that would have helped her. They were still exceptionally wide and her pupils were very small. She tried blinking a bunch one more time just to see if it would help, but it didn't. She was a sitting duck. She started to panic just a bit because she realized how vulnerable she truly was. If someone took away her sight, was she seriously this weak? Was she a joke? For all of her years of training, did she honestly fail this much? To fall into Luke's clutches this way was definitely disappointing. She wanted to give him a real fight. But she was nothing compared to him.

”Sorry babe. I honestly didn’t think that grenade would work as well as it did. I was just trying to get my shadow over to yours. But, it pays to have your own little arsenal of toys.”

Footsteps. She heard footsteps. Luke was walking closer to her. Oh, if only it was a little bit more! She would be able to blast him. But he was so far out of her reach. She didn't feel any trigger in her field of Reiatsu. Angry that he must have figured it out, Shizuka dropped her Minefield. She couldn't stand to keep it active anymore, especially not now that he realized what she was doing. She had a small chance and squandered it. The tapping of his feet were met by the sound of metal scraping against the ground. He picked his sword up. Where was he, then? She didn't know where the sword had fallen after the Doll threw it. She was already blind by then.

”Rückzug”

Shizuka jumped and winced audibly when she felt the arm wrap around her neck. It was hard to breathe. Her eyes were squeezed shut out of reflex, but it wouldn't help her much at all. She wanted to try to defend herself, maybe punch or kick or do literally anything to get out of that hold, but she couldn't. This Doll was stronger than she was. Jäger was stronger than she was. He was crushing her. She was being held against his body, unable to retaliate, just acting as a sitting duck to whatever attack came at her. And when his grip was wrapped tightly around her wrist as he pulled on her arm, she couldn't do anything else but let out a pained cry. She dropped her gun and felt tears form in her eyes.

Just moments later, Shizuka felt another hand brace itself between her breasts. In panic, she gasped and winced again, but slowly opened her eyes to see nothing more than a vague outline. She knew it was Luke just because she could smell him. She recognized the scent that he gave off. He smelled like sweat and cologne and burned clothing. If she wasn't in so much pain from Jäger's hold, she would have let out a rather pleased sigh. But she couldn't think about that right now. All she could focus on was trying not to move so that it wouldn't hurt so bad. But just when she thought she was going to call the whole thing off, she felt something familiar touch her lips.

He kissed her. Shizuka's eyes were wide now despite being unable to see, but it was purely out of shock. They closed again, albeit slowly, as she felt her body relax. It was probably good that Jäger's arm was around her neck because she had become a little weak in the knees and could tell that all she wanted to do was fall into Luke's arms and embrace him. She missed this feeling. She loved every second of it. She wanted it to last forever somehow if it could be possible to pack it up and take it with her. But even through the clouds in her mind and the discomfort she felt from being stuck there, she found the strength to kiss him back.

”This is going to hurt so...I’m sorry.”

Don't stop.. Shizuka found herself lost in not-so-safe-for-work thoughts for long enough that she didn't quite register what he had said before it was too late. She soon realized why he placed his hand where he did when he stunned her yet again with his Electrocution. For a brief moment, she thought it was strange how they both knew the same technique. They could both use it, yet he didn't do any more than the weakest attack. She had gone at him with the next step up. Wouldn't he want to do the same? But that thought was very quickly shoved out of her mind as she cried out in screams of pain. Her body tensed up once again before going limp in Jäger's grasp.

Her breathing was staggered. Even being hit by this weaker version twice took a lot out of her. Her head was feeling weak and was left slumped over towards the front of her body. Shizuka's mind went blank aside from a few racing thoughts. He thinks you're powerless. Her eyes squeezed shut once again as tears fell to the ground. He doesn't care about you. The couldn't be true! He had to care! He had the perfect chance to kill her! You're weak. You're stupid. You're fragile. You're human. Ugh, no! No, no, no, no, no! She was better than that. She had to be.

You're pathetic.

"I'm not..." Shizuka whispered her words.

You're a waste of time.

"Stop it..."

You're better off dead.

"NO!"

Shizuka screamed as power surged from all around her. It would be strong enough to shove both Luke and Jäger back and release the Doll's hold from around her neck. Bright and intense blue streams of what looked to be electricity encompassed Shizuka's entire being. These bolts molded themselves together to form what appeared to be a large, thirty-foot-tall cat that outlined the Fullbringer's presence. Though it looked like a kitten, it would still release an intimidation factor so large towards Luke and his Dolls that they would no doubt be stunned.

Keeping her eyes closed, Shizuka slowly and carefully picked up her dropped weapon and walked herself along Air Ground until she reached the fighting ring once again. She recalled its approximate location from where she was and estimated based on that knowledge, but then allowed her feet to touch solid ground. As she slowly opened her eyes, they would reveal a minor change in appearance. Both of her pupils, though not restored back to normal, were instead altered to look like a cat's constricted versions. They were slitted and highly feline. She took a moment to hold out her arms, now taking on the blue tint from the beast that towered over her. She inspected them carefully and delicately before moving on to the rest of her body.

So this is what it is to be truly powerful, she thought to herself. She felt so strange. Her pain didn't go away, but it was lessened somehow. She felt like she could go on and that everything Luke had done didn't matter anymore. Her exhaustion was a faint memory. Everything she thought she had lost, all those abusive thoughts her brain forced her to have, all of that was out of the picture now. She felt absolutely amazing. She paused from looking at herself with her head tilted downwards. Only her eyes darted up to meet with Luke's. Nothing else moved. She smiled.

"I can see."

Though not because of Inner Power, her sight had been restored. She no longer felt like a trapped bird. She felt like she could actually hold her own again. With this wave of energy washing over her through every passing moment, her confidence rose. The beast that her Inner Power had made roared loudly and arched its back. A chain of beads slowly appeared like sparks of lightning right around its neck. Hissing and growling could be heard coming from its mouth as Shizuka laughed. She stood up straight and held her arms out as if she was inviting him -- no, daring him to come closer as this power within her took full possession. She locked her gaze with his and ceased her excitement for a moment to speak.

"And you're dead."

SPOILER: Click to show

{Energy Generate: Inner Power (Mastered: - 750 TTP)}

Technique Name: Energy Generate: Inner Power

Class: 1

Technique Type: Energy Generate

Usable By: Human World Dwellers

Technique Element: None

Technique Description and Effects:
Although Inner Power falls under the category of an Energy Generate technique, it is more than that. This technique relies on amplifying the very power of Martial Discipline: Ken. For this reason, the user must know Ken in order to learn Energy Generate: Inner Power. This technique is only to be called upon at the end of a battle if the user has no other options. It is a last resort technique that will leave the user completely drained, but in exchange, they are briefly granted immense power.

This technique appears much like Ken. The user flexes their spiritual power to release a layer of reiatsu from their body, extending outward in every direction. However, that extension does not end. It will continue until it forms a 30 foot creature similar to the Susanoo of the Uchiha from Naruto. The appearance of this creature differs from individual to individual. However, it will retain the intimidation effects of Ken. Furthermore, its durability will be determined by the sum of the user’s reiatsu strength, spiritual pressure, and strength, much like Ken but more powerful. It is important to note that Willpower and other abilities that increase stats cannot combo with Inner Power.

While Inner Power is active, the user may no longer activate any more non-release techniques other than step-techniques, which come free of cost. However, they are limited to two step techniques per post. While they cannot cast any more non-release techniques, those that are already active may be renewed by repaying the reiatsu cost. The user’s release is still available to them.

Instead of relying on other abilities, the user may take advantage of Inner Power’s properties. Firstly, the reiatsu armor around them has a similar property to Ken. If the user takes the offensive, their physical attacks will strike with a force equal to the sum of all their offensive stats. Furthermore, by paying 100 reiatsu, the user can release a projectile from Inner Power. This projectile may take the form of a shakkah-sized arrow or a ball, and it is fired from Inner Power’s hand. It will also hit with an impact or piercing power equal to the sum of the user’s offensive stats.

How to use technique: Same as Ken except more energy is channeled for a longer time to extend the size of the Ken and shape it into a powerful spiritual form.

Drawback: The user must pay 600 reiatsu to activate Inner Power. Once activated, it will last for four posts before the user exhausts and loses consciousness. For this reason, Inner Power may not be refreshed. When it ends, the user’s remaining reiatsu will automatically fade. Because stamina cost is not lifted while Inner Power is active, the user may extend the duration of Inner Power by one post for each point in Strength of Will the user possesses.

Made By: Marcus Cole

Reserved?: No

Shizuka's Remaining Reiatsu: 1275 (-600 for Inner Power)
Fullbring Stage 2 (Class 1): 4/12
Liquid Types: Liquid nitrogen, ANNM
Cartridge Gallons Remaining: 28/30 (Liquid nitrogen)
Bucket Gallons Remaining: 98/100 (ANNM)
Inner Power Duration: 1/7

[Deleted]

A light show of electricity was born from his hand that had been placed between Shizuka’s pressed. His hand had, essentially, become a stun gun thanks to his use of the Electrocution technique but he had to wonder if this was going to be enough to stop her. His side that had been struck by her stronger variant of Electrocution still stung, burned, and mentally screamed in agony as he left the second degree burns untreated. In truth, the pain in his side was why he didn’t use the higher levels of Electrocution. This technique was strong. Very strong and came in three levels of power. The first, and Luke’s favorite, was the one that he was using now. The second would leave someone stunned and leave second degree burns, and the final could just outright kill someone if hit.

The injury she had dealt him had left him with raw, exposed, flesh that in some parts had begun to blister. It hurt. It really hurt. In no way, shape or form, did Luke want to invoke this misery on his girlfriend. He loved her. Despite the fact they were fighting he couldn’t get past the limitations his love put on him. He didn’t want to hurt her. He didn’t want to leave her with a scar. He knew how much Shizuka valued her appearance. A scar left behind from a second, or worse, degree burn? He had no idea how much that would damage her confidence. Besides, the Class 3 version of this technique was just fine.

Noticing her head go limp Luke removed his hand from her chest, cutting the current and ending the technique. Was it over? Had he won the fight? Looking at Shizuka he knew that, when she woke up, he was going to have to do a lot to make this up to her. While, granted, this was a fight that they both agreed to what sort of boyfriend enjoyed hurting his girlfriend? He certainly didn’t enjoy that, looking back on it, but he had certainly enjoyed the fight. Both of them were superpowered humans who had the power to level cities. They were both trained fighters who put themselves on the precipice of life and death everyday. It only made sense for them to do this. This was how they met, after all.

"I'm not..."

Hmm? Did she just say something? Luke blinked in surprise, his lips parting a little, as he stopped his own thoughts to think about if he had actually just heard her. Was she conscious? She said something again, this time saying “No”, confirming for Luke that she WAS in fact awake. But what was she talking about? Who was she talking to? Gingerly, Luke began to reach out to touch Shizuka’s shoulder just before she would suddenly scream and...then everything exploded. It was like a bomb just went off right in his face. Power surged out from Shizuka like someone had just opened the damn flood gates! ”Agh!” Luke shouted out in pain when he was thrown backwards, his burns scraping against the arena floor, and forced to go rolling.

”What the-!?”

Jäger, on the other hand, seemed to practically disintegrate. Whatever power, whatever light, Shizuka just produced caused her shadow to vanish, leaving Jäger without a hole to emerge from. The Doll was forced away, forced back into the other shadows he had infected...which was only Luke’s in this case. Wincing as he pushed himself to his knees, Luke placed his free hand on his second degree burns. If they hurt before it wasn’t anything compared to now. But right now wasn’t the time to even be thinking about the pain. He forced it down. He wouldn’t let this agony bring him down. But when he turned his attention to Shizuka all of that pain went away anyways. It was gone, ignored, due to the sheer shock he experienced seeing what she had called forth.

Surrounding his girlfriend was something. A construct. A entity. Some sort of power had been called out from inside her and now stood above her. Bright, blue, lights that danced with intense bolts of electricity were what constructed the feline shaped entity that surrounded her. While it’s design was like that of a kitten...it was in no way less intimidating. Luke was frozen. He simply crouched there, staring at what had been summoned with wide eyes, incapable of thought or action. He was paralyzed. Beads of heavy sweat formed on his forehead before falling down his face and dripping from the tip of his chin. What- Power. That’s all...Luke could describe it as. Power. This thing was power.

What is that.. The power this entity possessed...he could sense it. His Energy Sensory had no trouble telling him just how strong this thing was. It dwarfed him. It made him look, and feel, small...insignificant...weak. This wasn’t a Fullbring, Luke realized, it couldn’t be. This was something else. Was this the real strength Shizuka possessed? Was this HER real power? His arms were sweaty now as well. Luke stared at Shizuka, he stared at her, watching her as she seemed to be inspecting her body after releasing this ability. Was this new to her too? His eyes widened further with surprise when he noticed the transformation of her own eyes, resembling those of a cat looking at its prey.

"I can see." That wasn't a surprise. The flashbang didn’t last that long to begin with. Luke wouldn’t have been surprised if this had anything to do with her returned sight. Suddenly the entity roared, causing Luke to instinctively raise his sword up in defense as the very air shook and distorted. It was almost like he couldn’t breath. "And you're dead." She said, when his eyes locked with hers again, and in that moment Luke finally understood. Seeing Shizuka in her assassin mindset, earlier, hadn’t bothered him. He had still been confident. He had been assured that he was not only still in control of the fight, but had been stronger than her, so it hadn’t frightened him. His libido had a hand in that as well. But now...well all of that was gone. When she said those words...the fear finally had a way to worm itself out. Dread filled Luke as cold sweat formed across his body. In that moment, Shizuka ceased being his girlfriend. In that moment she was no different than that red haired Quincy. She was death and he could hear the bells tolling.

But, suddenly, without any warning the face of that feline entity would suddenly explode. The sudden explosion snapped Luke back to reality a little, confusion sprouting like a flower, before he saw five more, dark, shapes suddenly hurl themselves into the feline entity. The explosions were powerful but cold, spreading frozen vapor around like dust and hiding the entity from sight aside from its light. ”GET BACK, NOW!!” He heard Windstärke shout, turning his head to look behind him as a response. The avian Doll had launched himself from where he had been perched in the audience section. Wings tucked against his body the Doll barrel rolled through the air before spreading his wings as though they were breaks, stopping him in mid air. Concentrations of reiatsu suddenly appeared around him, connected by lightning shaped energy from the area around his neck, before quickly forming into car sized sharp tipped chunks of dark ice. Luke recognized what he was doing!

”Rakete!!” Windstärke would shout before launching the second volley of six missiles of ice. Luke dive bombed to his left as the missiles passed overhead, colliding with the vapor clouded area where Shizuka and her overpowering entity had been moments prior. The area exploded, once again, as the missiles exploded with force equalizing Windstärke’s tremendous Reiatsu Strength. The entire arena shook. The ground cracked and busted apart from the deteonative force of the missiles. Rakete was Windstärke’s answer to those who wanted to hide behind cover and defenses. It wasn’t as accurate as his gusts of wind, but the destructive potential was on a much higher level.

”Hey, we need to move!!” Luke suddenly heard, watching Jäger emerge from his own shadow. So he was okay. Agreeing with Jäger Luke got to his feet and leapt backwards, wanting to gain some distance between himself and Shizuka. He didn’t know what the fuck this power was. He didn’t know what it could do. Luke retreated until he was behind Windstärke, who was high up in the air and staring directly at the cloud of dust and vapor. Cold, blue, eyes were narrowed with an inhuman level of intensity. Windstärke had recognized it earlier. Luke didn’t. Windstärke recognized how dangerous Shizuka was. And now, Luke had pulled the tiger's tail. It was entirely possible that Shizuka would kill Luke now. Death was a possibility. Windstärke knew this. He knew he was going to have to attack Shizuka with the intent to kill her. Luke’s love be damned. He wasn’t going to let her kill that fool.

Luke's Remaining Reiatsu: 2,075 / 4,000

Jager's Remaining Reiatsu: 1,510 / 2,010

Windstarke's Remaining Reiatsu: 6,525 / 7,000
-450 for Rakete x2

Windstarke's Stamina: 4 / 12

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

Shizuka blinked as she looked above at the beast towering over her. She growled audibly, a sound that was somewhat comparable to the roar heard earlier, though smaller since it was coming from her own being. Her brows furrowed together in anger and her attention quickly darted back towards the man. She willed the cat to swat away at the missiles of ice as if they were nothing, protecting both it and herself. She crouched down just a bit before launching herself towards Windstärke with Bringer Light. She appeared above him and grinned a sinister grin. She raised her right hand, gun still within her grip, and the cat that enveloped her body did the same with its paw.

"Hey, little birdie!"

The Fullbringer slammed her gun into the back of the Doll, an act that would likely send him shooting down towards the ground with hastened force if he didn't defend. With a striking power of now 1600, that was sure to hurt him. With Windstärke out of the way, Shizuka's next target was Luke. She looked up from her focus on the Doll and spotted him since he had gone to hide behind the one thing that was now out of the way. She took only a brief moment to touch the bottoms of her guns' grips together and reform them into a single Tornado Blaster. It was aimed right at Luke. She pulled the trigger and shot five gallons of ANNM at the Bount.

With the ability to switch between that fluid and her liquid nitrogen, Shizuka was on a roll. The effects of the ANNM would be meaningless to both her and Luke, though, unless she ignited it. It was harmless on its own. The liquid nitrogen, however, was very harmful. It was famous for its instant freezing effects, but that wasn't what Shizuka wanted to do. No, she wanted to trap him. She wanted to make it so that he felt like he was cornered. Luke was nothing more to her than a play thing and she was now his predator. She had no normal thoughts. She didn't see him as anything other than a toy. Her brain was completely possessed by what her Inner Power had become.

And she laughed. But within her mind was something else entirely. She wasn't viewing Luke as Luke anymore because she couldn't. What she saw was a scene that was entirely different from the reality she was a part of just moments ago. Through this Fullbringer's eyes, she saw Taiho Kasumi'Oji. She was reminded of what Douma had shown her when she fought with him in the past. Despite being allies now, their first encounter was nothing short of traumatizing. Flashes of depictions of Kento's gruesome death made their way to Shizuka's conscious mind. She recalled what she had been shown and how bloody the whole event was. She was reminded of what it was like to lose him.

She continuously lost everyone important to her. They left her or were killed or felt she wasn't good enough for them. But this was how Shizuka could get back at all of them. And to actually find Taiho here? What a lucky day! She couldn't let this opportunity slide. But Taiho's powers were odd. For a Shinigami, these abilities were certainly different. Why was she using a bird spirit to fight? Shizuka didn't understand. And all of the voices had to be some strange ability those disgusting creatures possessed. She thought she was going to be able to fool the blonde into surrendering, huh? Not even close. Shizuka was much more powerful than that.

But Luke didn't know any of this. To him, his girlfriend was now a danger. To him, she could be what comes between life and death. She was no longer joking around. Luke had experienced every single level of Shizuka's complex personality. She started off friendly, just wanting to have fun, and eventually managed to turn off most of her emotions. The downside was that she couldn't bring herself to genuinely hurt him. She loved him. She very much loved him. But now, under the spell that she had put on herself, the curse that she was seduced by, Luke was up against a monster. One small move could end him, and one small move was going to happen.

The cat roared again as the chain of beads around its neck began to light up. Together, they formed a ball of spiritual energy that manifested towards the center. The cat raised its massive right paw and swatted at it, as well, as if it were simply a ball of yarn that the kitty wanted to play with. Along with that motion, the ball was sent hurdling towards Luke. Despite the fact that Shizuka could see, she was still blinded. She was fighting a hallucination of her own creation that only occurred because of her immense exhaustion. She couldn't fight back the negative thoughts anymore. She couldn't stop herself from falling victim to her traumatic past.

"Kitty's got you cornered, Taiho!" Shizuka cried out as she used Bringer Light to put herself back on the ground. "You're not going anywhere."



Shizuka's Remaining Reiatsu: 1175 (-100 for Spirit Ball)
Fullbring Stage 2 (Class 1): 5/12
Liquid Types: Liquid nitrogen, ANNM
Cartridge Gallons Remaining: 28/30 (Liquid nitrogen)
Bucket Gallons Remaining: 93/100 (ANNM, -5 gallons for single shot)
Inner Power Duration: 2/7

[Deleted]

There was more to this thing than just defensive power. Luke watched as that first barrage of missiles had struck the construct of reiatsu that was now surrounding Shizuka. Despite the power behind them, the feline entity shrugged them off as though they nothing. It was like trying to blow up a tornado by shooting spitballs at it. The second wave of missiles did even less than the first. As though they were paper airplanes, the feline-shaped power swatted them out of the air with next to no trouble. Windstärke, watching his powerful missiles attain literally nothing, sneered as best a bird could do and narrowed his sharp eyes further in frustration. This...will not be good.. the Doll confessed to himself mentally, keeping the thought to himself and not letting them leak to Luke or Jäger. Further concerning them was the last thing he wanted to do.

”Windstärke!!” Luke suddenly shouted when Shizuka vanished. While he wasn’t able to sense any reiatsu from her Step, following her path was easy enough. The Bount threw his gaze upwards to his Doll who fired back a ”I kn-” before his words were cut off by Shizuka’s reappearance. Windstärke turned his head, just enough, to spot Shizuka behind him. Not like it was hard. She was being illuminated by that gigantic entity after all. But, the problem was that construct. Shizuka had lifted her hand up and, only a moment later, swung it downwards. The summoned entity did the same thing, mirroring her motions, causing Windstärke to panic a little.

Before the gun could slam into his back the Doll went to work. In that moment, where physical movement would take too much time, all the Doll could do was reactivate his Dunkelrüstung. Ice that absorbed all light grew across his back just as Shizuka’s empowered strike struck his back. Dunkelrüstung was a technique that granted Windstärke a Dark Ice armor that had a durability value of his Reiatsu Strength plus half of his Spiritual Pressure. This gave him an armor equaling 1,375. However, it was obvious that this wasn’t enough. The impact caused the air to explode. Windstärke shot like a missile towards the ground with such speed and force that it actually caused a small sonic boom. The floor of the stadium exploded from the impact and bits of concrete and shards of dark ice rained down around Luke.

When the dust cleared both Luke and Shizuka could see Windstärke’s condition. The dark ice he had covered himself in was cracked and shattered in some places. His own body, which was likewise made of ice, had cracks as well coming from his back. His eyelids, though closed, twitched in pain as he grunted while trying to get back up. Even though Dunkelrüstung had absorbed most of Shizuka’s Inner Power enhanced attack, it hadn’t been able to absorb all of it. 225 points of power still managed to get through and, at those levels, that was enough to cause serious damage. Luke didn’t have time to check on his Doll. Before he could make a move out of concern, he became aware that Shizuka’s focus was back on him. Looking up at her he watched as her two Fullbring guns become one bigger gun. It could do that too??

His eyes widened when he saw her pull the trigger and fire some kind of liquid at him. ”Move! Jäger said within Luke’s head, prompting the Bount to activate another Step Technique to get out of the way. As if Nebel had been activated again, Luke would suddenly vanish as a cloud of smoke veered off to his left. He used Rauch again, this time to get the fuck away from Shizuka and try to buy himself a few more seconds to think this out. Reappearing about seventeen yards away, with the cloud of smoke taking a few seconds to reach him, Luke could only stare at Shizuka with beads of sweat dripping down his face.

”What are we going to do?” Jäger asked the panting Luke, emerging from his shadow, and looking from Luke to Shizuka. The Bount didn’t have an answer for him. This irritated Jäger. ”Earth to Luke! Are you listening?? Let’s just...get out of here!” the Doll recommended. Luke’s gaze shot to the Doll beside him for a moment. There was no way in hell he was doing that. Something about the way Shizuka was acting didn’t seem...right. If he left now, ran away, then there was a possibility that his relationship with her would end. There was the threat that she’d turn her attention on the club only a few floors above their heads. He wouldn’t run from Shizuka. ”Can you get to her?” Luke asked, his tone hushed. Jäger, stressed, trembled and clenched his fingers for a moment. ”Nnghk...no! That power of hers is too strong! It blew away the shadows I had infected.” the Doll confessed.

Before Luke could say any more, the cat suddenly roared. Returning his attention to Shizuka he’d watch as the beads of light that hung around the cat's neck suddenly began to glow. ”I...I don’t like this..” the shadow Doll said with worry. Watching as those beads suddenly came together into one large, highly pressurized, ball of energy suddenly filled Luke with dread and worry. This wasn’t a game anymore. ”Jäger hide!” Luke shouted before rushing forwards. If he didn’t do something, if he didn’t stop that, then everyone in this club was in danger. Not just himself. As if it were just a toy the cat slapped it at him. Shizuka fired what was, basically, a Spirit Bomb at him. At least, that’s what Luke saw it as. He felt like Frieza looking up at the Spirit Bomb.

Letting out a defiant shout, Luke suddenly slammed his right arm into the ball. One might expect it to suddenly explode. But it didn’t. Instead the ball stopped. Hurricane force winds blew throughout the arena as both Luke and the Spirit Ball clashed. Grunting, growling, hissing, groaning, Luke tried to maintain his ground against the ball as what felt like the very weight of the planet was pushed against his arm. It felt like his bones were going to be turned into jelly. What was Luke doing anyways? The answer was simple. He was using a technique that only those with high Reiatsu Strength who often fought other high Reiatsu Strength havers would have. Pressing back with all his physical and spiritual might, Luke managed to stop himself from being pushed backward. His heels, his feet, dug into the concrete.

"Kitty's got you cornered, Taiho!" He suddenly heard Shizuka say. Taiho? Who the hell was Taiho? I knew it. Something wasn’t right. Grinding his jaws together and forcing himself past the agony in his arm, even as the skin of his hands dissolved and evaporated, Luke shouted something back at her. ”You’re right...Shizuka! I’m not going...ANYWHERE!!” he roared as the pressure in the room suddenly changed. Shizuka’s attack no longer felt like Shizuka’s. Yelling out yet again as the pain of that energy circulated through his body, Shizuka would watch as her Spirit Ball was suddenly pulled by Luke into a spin. He was holding onto her attack! Luke knew this club. He knew the layout of the old prison. If his perspective of space and direction were accurate...then where he was aiming was just empty space.

Yelling out yet again, Luke layered his own reiatsu strength on top of the Spirit Ball and threw the fucking thing. The orb slammed into, shattered, and destroyed every obstacle in its way as it punched through the audience section and through the corner of the arena’s roof before flying, outwards, into the night sky. The sky illuminated with light as it detonated, safely, outside of the club and its arena. What Luke had done was used Redirection. He had used the strongest version of Redirection to redirect her Inner Powers attack. However it...didn’t come cheaply. The splashes of blood hitting the floor were rather loud. Thick streams escaped from the wounds in his arm. His worries had come true. He may not have been a doctor but he was experienced with being hurt enough to know when a limb was disabled. Wincing in pain, Luke would turn to face Shizuka again even as that pool of blood widened beneath his feet.

His top had been practically blown off. His muscle ripped body was covered in dirt, filthy sweat, blood, and cuts. But he didn’t run. He still stood there, defiantly, staring off at her. ”I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leaving you here. I’m not leaving you like this!” Luke shouted, stepping towards Shizuka and her monstrous power. ”Break my sword and I’ll just punch some sense into you. Take my arms and I’ll just kick you! Rip my legs off and leave me nothing but a head...and I’ll just bite you!” Luke shouted, clenching his left hand into a fist. ”I’ll save you from whatever nightmare you’re seeing, Shizuka!!” He announced, despite having no logical way of actually accomplishing that. However, while Luke was delivering his speech...someone was moving. No doubt Shizuka’s attention was completely locked onto Luke and his feat. Would she notice that the crater was empty? Would she notice that Windstärke was gone?

The Doll, having had enough time to recover from the attack, had acted whilst Luke was struggling with the Inner Power Ball. High in the air, at the very limit of the roof of the arena, he hovered. His wings were outstretched, but he didn’t fire any winds. His eyes were closed in focus. He was concentrating. Preparing. Readying something.

Luke's Remaining Reiatsu: 1,825 / 4,000
-50 for Rauch
-200 for Spirit Ball Redirection

Jager's Remaining Reiatsu: 1,510 / 2,010

Windstarke's Remaining Reiatsu: 6,525 / 7,000
-300 for Dark Armor

Windstarke's Stamina: 5 / 12

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

This was it. This was totally it. Shizuka had her now. Taiho wasn't going to escape and there was no damn way that she could survive such an intense attack. Everything was over now. Shizuka, surrounded by her Inner Power, watched as the Spirit Ball was hurled towards the Shinigami. It would hit. It would hit! Everything would end. Shizuka's entire reason for carrying on, the grudge she harbored for years, all of that was going to end. She'd be able to watch as Taiho spat blood and was torn apart before her very eyes. This was what the Fullbringer wanted. She desired it. She wanted to see this monster suffer for her crimes.

And yet, that wasn't what she actually got. What the blonde saw instead was Taiho slamming her arm into the ball to make it stop moving. The force of the impact was still enough to shift the Shinigami's body back despite her feet still touching the ground. She was pushed. That was it. This was enough to enrage Shizuka. Did Taiho think this was some kind of a joke? Did she seriously think that this was going to be it? Shizuka wasn't happy. Winds blew around her in response to the force behind stopping such an attack. Shizuka was furious. Her make up was already running and now she was risking ruining her hair.

Well, then she was just going to have to try harder. If Taiho seriously thought she was going to get away, she had another thing coming. Even after Shizuka announced her threat, the woman didn't stand down. This was nothing more than a nuisance. Taiho was a nuisance. Shizuka had heard stories of the Shinigami in the past and finally understood them. She was strong, but the Fullbringer was stronger. She wasn't about to back down either. And with the power she had surging through her body, there was no way she was going to lose. That much was certain. But what wasn't certain was what was going on in her mind.

”You’re right...Shizuka! I’m not going...ANYWHERE!!”

"Luke..."

Huh? Did she just say something? Shizuka blinked in response to her own words. Though barely anything more than a whisper, she could have sworn she heard something come out of her mouth. Did she mention Luke's name? Why? It didn't make sense. Luke wasn't there. It was just Taiho and her bird and her shadow. It had been a while since Shizuka had been around the Bount. Hadn't it? Floods of memories started making their way into the blonde's conscious mind. It was causing her to have an agonizing headache. She lifted her hands to her head and the cat did the same. She didn't recognize where she was or how much time had passed.

But what she did recognize was pain. Taiho was in pain. Good. At least that much was certain. Whatever she just did had caused her such discomfort that it was obvious how weak she had become. Shizuka smirked. It was a face that would normally be something someone like Luke would enjoy, but in this situation, there wasn't much time for it. Shizuka was confident in herself now. Taiho had every opportunity to send that thing flying towards her opponent but instead redirected it out towards the sky and away from either of them. What a silly mistake. Was she underestimating Shizuka? If that was the case, then she was about to get a beating. The more she thought about it, the angrier Shizuka got.

"Ugh! Stop fucking with me!"

The pool of blood beneath Taiho's feet was enough to tell the Fullbringer that what she was doing was working. This fight wasn't going to last too much longer if it continued the way it was. Shizuka was going to come out of it victorious. Taiho was going to suffer. She was going to make sure she tore the Shinigami apart and burned each separated limb. She'd feed the rest of her body to wild animals if she had to. Nothing would be left. None. And no one was going to save her. She was going to fully experience the pain Kento was put through. She was going to die. Shizuka was going to destroy her.

She ignored the words Taiho was saying. They were all lies. Was this Shinigami seriously trying to fool her? Absolutely not. No way. Shizuka crouched down on the ground once again and launched herself towards Taiho with Bringer Light, her right hand balled into a fist as her gun rested in her left. She aimed the hit straight for Taiho's left cheek. She was quick on her feet and her hitting strength was significantly worse now. Taiho was going to feel that. It was going to hurt her. That's all Shizuka wanted. She didn't have anything she could decapitate this woman with, but that didn't matter.

Shizuka shot twice at her with liquid nitrogen, as well, firing ten gallons of the fluid in her direction. Taiho didn't look too good. Shizuka didn't think this Shinigami scum was going to be able to move very well from here. Liquid nitrogen was also a really good substance to prevent her from moving further. Once she was stuck, Shizuka was going to stomp on her. Literally stomp on her. Shizuka was going to punch and kick as hard as she could until there was nothing left of Taiho except for a puddle of blood and broken bones. She wanted to obliterate her. This was going to be Shizuka's ultimate power play.

Inner Power was also still pulsing with such intimidation. Shizuka didn't recognize how Windstärke had moved, but her focus was too stuck on the Shinigami. Shizuka stood tall before her. The blonde's shoulders were rolled back with confidence. Her eyes were piercing. She was being fearsome. She was fearsome. Her eyes narrowed as she looked down her nose at the person before her. There was nothing in her gaze but hatred and murderous intent. She could hold Taiho down. She could restrain her so easily. It wouldn't take much effort at all. But she wanted to torture her first. Shizuka wanted to make her beg for her death.

Shizuka smiled as shadows covered her sinister face. "It's not my nightmare, Taiho. It's yours."



Shizuka's Remaining Reiatsu: 1175
Fullbring Stage 2 (Class 1): 6/12
Liquid Types: Liquid nitrogen, ANNM
Cartridge Gallons Remaining: 18/30 (Liquid nitrogen, -10 gallons for two shots)
Bucket Gallons Remaining: 93/100 (ANNM)
Inner Power Duration: 3/7

[Deleted]

After announcing his intentions to her he watched as both Shizuka and that feline construct lifted their hands to their heads as if in pain. Did his words have an effect? He heard her say his name and, for a moment, hope and optimism filled him. But it was only for a moment. It all shattered when he saw that Shizuka was pulled back into her delusions. But Luke remained hopeful. He had managed to push the door open just enough to get his foot. He needed to push harder. ”Shizuka..” he murmured to himself, his gaze softening with concern as he looked at the woman he loved. She had lost control of her powers. He was the one who pushed this power out of her and she had no control over it. This was as new to her as it was to him.

He was still shaking. The intimidation effects of Inner Power were still affecting the Bount. He wanted to just run away. He wanted to find some dark corner, hide, and beg and cry for Shizuka to go away. But he remained there. He remained defiant. It was more than just his Strength of Will. It was because it was her. His girlfriend, his woman, was suffering something. She was seeing something that he didn’t understand. Whatever this power was it was possessing her or, at the very least, influencing her. Luke couldn’t leave her like this. Not because he wanted to protect other people from her. Not because he wanted to win the fight. No. Because he was her man. He would not leave his woman to suffer. He would bring her back to her senses one way or another.

”She’s coming!” Jäger would shout from Luke’s shadow, the Doll noticing Shizuka suddenly crouching. Luke already knew. His brown eyes narrowed as he watched her crouch, telegraphing her move perfectly for him. The reiatsu inside his spirit was already shifting and moving, focusing in his legs and giving him the sudden burst of speed he needed just as Shizuka launched herself at him with her own Step. The Fullbringer would be disappointed to see that she had, essentially, just punched a cloud of smoke. Using Rauch, again, Luke soared upwards above Shizuka and the thirty-foot feline. He’d kick off Airground, propelling himself away from Shizuka as he hurtled through the air. ”Do you even have a plan?” Jäger asked, his voice coming from, of all places, the pocket of Luke’s pants. Well, to be more specific, the shadow of his pants pocket. ”Shut up!” Luke barked as he came back down to the ground, sliding across the ground.

A plan would be nice though. His eyes darted to the uchigatana he held in his hand before moving back to Shizuka. His sword might as well have been a wooden stick. He thought back to the Rakete missiles that Windstärke had fired before and how effective they’d been. For the missiles to do absolutely nothing meant that the entity surrounding Shizuka had to have outstanding defensive capabilities. Luke had to wonder if Jäger would even be able to get close. Could he infect Shizuka’s shadow again? Did she even have a shadow inside that thing? ”Oy...oy oy…” Luke heard from around his feet now. ”You still have two grenades...why not use them?” the Doll suggested.

Like an idiot, Luke blinked. His remaining two flashbangs! He’d forgotten about them. His eyes drifted over his shoulder to the back of his pants where the two little canisters dangled. They could work. But he’d have to be smart about them. Smarter than he had been before. Shizuka wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice. Blinding her could buy him some time. A power like this...there was no way it could last that long. Standing up straight, Luke would suddenly wince as the pain in his arm exploded. Blood loss was an actual worry right now. Thankfully, the pain wasn’t too bad. Well, it was bad, but he was able to power through it like a champ. He could only be thankful that Windstärke’s demise didn’t bring him...down. Wait.

Wait. I didn’t experience any pain when Windstärke..

It was something he had experienced before. Dolls were intimately linked with the very soul of their Bount. They were one and the same. I am thou, thou are’t I sort of shit. When a Doll died it was a piece of the Bounts soul dying as well. It was an indescribable pain that would bring even Luke down and debilitate him, his other Dolls included. Why didn’t he feel anything when Windstärke...wait...was Windstärke not dead? His attention had been so focused on Redirecting Shizuka’s attack and on surviving that he had completely failed to realize that his Doll was still alive! But where was he?? He didn’t have a stealth ability like Jäger did so where was-”Run.” He heard, suddenly, within his head.

”Run, so that you are not caught up in this.”

Luke’s head shot upwards as he realized what was going on. He hadn’t felt it until now. He hadn’t felt the reiatsu within Windstärke concentrating, building, and strengthening. Above him and Shizuka, at the highest point of the stadium, the Doll hovered in the air. His wings fully outstretched. An outline of powder blue light surrounded the Doll, showing that his reiatsu had become visual. Specks of blue light were appearing around the Doll and pulling into him, like how it would act when Luke used Immortality Drink to heal. Luke recognized this. He recognized what was happening. He didn’t need to see the weather effects to know what Windstärke was doing. ”LUKE, RUN!!” Jäger shouted. He didn’t have a choice. The Bount quickly turned and began to sprint away from Shizuka.

Months prior to this battle…

Luke lowered his arm, looking at the frost that had built up on the sleeve of his sweater. The dark frost didn’t just grow on his arm, but on the grass and trees around him as well. Grunting with effort, Luke pulled himself free of the chilled foliage that held him fast to the ground. He hadn’t been expecting what he had been shown. ”Wow. I’m calling bullshit on this one. Why do YOU get to have such a cool ultimate? All I get is a Spanish doppelganger!” Jäger complained, emerging from a tree trunk. The Dolls featureless, pure black, body looked ahead at what Luke was looking at as well. ”Well….mine’s not so bad. More Jäger the better for the world if you ask me.” the Doll snickered.

Stepping forward, Luke approached what had him in awe so much. His steps stopped when he reached the first solid portion of Black Ice for fear of slipping and sliding across it and breaking his ass. ”The entire lake...in an instant…” he said softly, to himself, as he stared out at what he could even see. It was like looking into the maw of some horrific beast. Twisting and turning sharp pointed spikes jutted out across the landscape in no particular or discernable order. Of course Luke couldn’t get a good look at any of this. Everything he was looking at was Black Ice, ice that absorbed light to create voids of darkness. What he could see, though, was the illuminated avian that hovered in the center of everything.

Windstärke, letting out a deep sigh, gingerly placed his talons down on the surface of the frozen lake. Raising his head to look at Luke, he folded his wings against his body and took a moment to recollect himself. ”This is the full extent of my power.” the Doll stated, looking out at the frozen lake. ”It requires time to prepare. I cannot use this power as easily as Rakete or my winds. When the need arises for this power to be necessary, I will have to trust you or Jäger to keep our opponents attention on you..” Windstärke explained to a still in awe Luke. This power, Luke realized, was something that he wouldn’t be able to use in Karakura Town. It was...too strong. How many people could it kill?

The atmosphere of the room would suddenly change. Light, powder blue in color, would emit from Windstärke with such intensity that it completely dwarfed the illumination of Shizuka’s Inner Power. It was though a blue sun was suddenly in the arena. No doubt it would catch the Fullbringers attention. The intense pressure that the bird had built up was finally ready to be released. Flapping his wings, yet remaining stationary in the air, the wind would suddenly begin to kick up at an unnaturally high speed all around Shizuka. From being pulled towards Windstärke to being pushed away and, finally, becoming a swirling vortex all around her. But then came the real effect. Opening his wings fully, Windstärke announced the name of his attack before releasing it.

”Schneesturm!!

The fury of winter was released. From the Doll came winds unlike anything that came before. A blizzard was birthed into existence as if from nothing, surrounding and consuming Shizuka and her Inner Power. Black Ice snow would cloud her vision as it swirled and circled around her absorbing all the light and casting her into darkness. It was almost like a tornado of darkness had been birthed in the arena. Intense and powerful winds buffered and blew across the arena, causing Luke to be thrown back and to the nearest wall. Crossing his arms across each other and over his face, Luke tried to sneak a peek at what was going on.

I know what you’re going to say. You’ll ask how could I do this. You’ll be angry, upset, and sad. You’ll be filled with grief. You might not be ready to say it, but I know as well as you do that you love this woman. Even if you hate me, Luke, I will protect you. Cast me to the bottom of your soul and the depths of your heart and bury me beneath resentment, as you did Springflut, if you must...if it makes the pain easier. But no matter who they are...I won’t let anyone hurt you. I won’t let you die. It’s why I was born. It’s why I was given to you.

Words that were kept from Luke. Thoughts that were secluded within Windstärke’s own mind. Schneesturm was Windstärke’s ultimate attack. A thirty-meter blizzard of Black Ice that completely obliterated whatever was inside it. Within the confines of that wall of wind, the temperature was dropping fast. One hundred degrees Celsius a second. This meant that in only three seconds the snowstorm would reach the temperature of Absolute Zero. The Doll had every intention of killing the Fullbringer. Schneesturm had a second effect as well. Anyone inside of the snowstorm would find that their Speed was reduced by 75% and their Step Techniques were only half as effective.

The arena shook and rocked as the very power of the blizzard damaged the very foundation. The ground chipped and cracked before chunks of cement were pulled up into the swirling storm. You couldn’t even see the storm though. Because it was made up of Black Ice it carried the same light absorbing properties. This meant that the storm was a shifting and swirling black void. Black Ice was being created all along the floor and spreading out across the arena and its ceiling. Luke, being forced to retreat to the audience section, tried to withstand the winds from outside the blizzard. ”S-Shizuka!” He called out in vain, his words not ever going to be able to be louder than the blizzard. ”Stay back! If you get caught in that we’re both dead!” Jäger shouted from Luke’s shadow, realizing what his Master might have been thinking.

Floating downwards, Windstärke did everything he could to keep from passing out. If the Doll could sweat he’d be drenched. However, it was incredibly apparent just how tired the Doll was. He couldn’t even keep his wings folded against his body. They were left dangling, touching the arena floor, as he stood there panting with his head held low. The fight had gone on so long now that Windstärke’s less than spectacular Stamina had caught up with him. His blue eyes lifted to look at the blizzard, regret being apparent in those sharp orbs. Shizuka Sanamizu...why did you make me do this? You made him happy. You could have helped him get over his guilt. Windstärke thought to himself, unwilling to turn and look at Luke. He knew what the man's eyes would say. The Doll would remain, outside the blizzard, to watch and see what the results of his attack yielded. Shizuka had, at least, earned his respect. He approved of her, after all.

Luke's Remaining Reiatsu: 1,775 / 4,000
-50 for Rauch

Jager's Remaining Reiatsu: 1,510 / 2,010

Windstarke's Remaining Reiatsu: 2,512 / 3,500
-50% Spiritual Pressure & Reiatsu for Genius Drawback
-750 for Schneesturm

Windstärke's Remaining Stamina: 6 / 12

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

Taiho managed to avoid her attack. What a pain. She must have thought she was just so much better than Shizuka that all of this was nothing more than some game. She was wrong. She was wrong! Shizuka was going to show her just how much of a mistake she made. How dare she underestimate this Fullbringer?! Shizuka growled in anger as she frantically looked in every direction she could. She was looking for the Shinigami. She was searching. Her ears twitched a bit, somewhat similar to an animal, as if she were listening for any hint of location. But then her smarts caught up with her and she lifted her gaze upwards.

"There you are..."

But Taiho didn't pay attention to Shizuka at all. She looked in a completely different direction, as if her attention was too focused elsewhere to pay attention to her own opponent. That was a mistake. Shizuka was about to get ready to pounce one more time and use the full strength of her power when she followed the Shinigami's gaze. Something about her seemed concerned, so the assassin knew to use her brain this time and try to observe what was wrong. Were they not alone? That wasn't possible. Aside from them and whatever strange Zanpakuto Taiho seemed to use, they were the only people there.

But it wasn't that anyone had randomly joined. It was someone Shizuka had overlooked before. Taiho's bird was hovering at the highest point of the stadium, glowing some strange shade of blue. Shizuka cursed herself for her lack of Energy Sensory. She would have never known about that if she didn't see why Taiho looked uneasy before. Experience aside, if her mind stayed as cloudy as it had been, she wasn't going to have a chance. She was going to be taken out simply because someone was sneakier than she was. That was unacceptable. Shizuka wasn't about to let that happen.

”LUKE, RUN!!”

"What?!"

Shizuka snapped back at Taiho when she heard those words. Her head was starting to hurt again, but she pushed it aside. She didn't know why she was getting a headache, but she threw it in along with any other side effects that Inner Power had. It was strong, right? No doubt it was going to have some negative things associated with it. She shook her head to try to get the pain out, but when she opened her eyes again to look at the ice bird, it no longer appeared to be a normal power. Something about it was so different, so bright, so powerful, that Shizuka felt dwarfed by it. She, using her own Inner Power, felt dwarfed by whatever that bird was doing.

The winds around her started picking up. It was as if she was suck inside of a storm as the air rushed around her body, tangling up her hair and making her feel anxious. The bird's wings moved through the space it was in so intensely that Shizuka felt her heart drop. She knew what this meant. That thing was trying to protect Taiho. Why would anyone want to protect a demon like her?! She didn't deserve it! Shizuka didn't care if this was her Zanpakuto. She didn't care! This was stupid! Why would anyone try to save the life of someone who took so many? The Fullbringer's brows furrowed with disgust.

”Schneesturm!!

"No!"

The blonde crouched down into a ball of defense and hid her face as the feline she created curled up around her, encasing the Fullbringer's body in its blue aura. Harsh winds and dangerous snow encompassed the two beings as the cat desperately protected its owner. Though it had no real feelings of its own and was made only to boost Shizuka's power, it came from her. She wished for protection, so Inner Power granted her protection. What it didn't do for her, on the other hand, was save her ears from hearing what was around. She didn't want to look, so she hid her face within her arms as she stayed curled up. But she heard what was happening. She was scared.

The foundation of the arena was being destroyed. She knew if she were caught in that, it would mean death. A brief memory flashed through her mind from a time not too long ago when she felt cold winds blow by her. She wasn't sure when this happened and didn't understand where the memory came from, but it was there. And as she listened to the pieces of cement break away and fly up into the storm, she was reminded just how screwed she actually was. Yet despite all of that, she felt nothing. Physically. She physically felt nothing. Shizuka opened her eyes but did not remove her face from within her arms. She wanted to look, but she wasn't sure if she should.

But she did. She stood up and soon realized that the ground had been torn away, but she was safe on her island of defense. The cat's aura surrounded her body and blasted the blizzard away with a loud roar. Shizuka inspected her hands and the rest of her body, noticing the blue tint it carried from being inside Inner Power. She soon realized that she was safe so long as she was inside the beast. That was simple enough. Her eyes scanned the arena and soon realized she couldn't actually see much else. Everything outside of her safe zone was black. There was nothing. Was she blind again? No, that wasn't it. That couldn't be it. She could see the ground where she was standing. It had to be his ability.

But every ability had a range. Shizuka didn't care where she ended up, but she had to get out of this blizzard. She looked around and tried to find an opening to no avail, but she didn't need one. If she was okay so far, maybe she'd make it out if she tried to escape. The cat began pulsating as Shizuka moved with Bringer Light. She kept her eyes open to see where she was going but noticed that she was moving quite a bit slower. Still quick, but slower. She scowled. So this thing wasn't just an attack that froze its victims to death and destroyed them in a matter of moments. It also slowed them down tremendously.

But even despite that, Shizuka's Inner Power blasted the attack away and allowed the Fullbringer to escape the storm as she approached the wall of the arena. She stopped herself just shy of the wall, making note not to slam herself into it again. That wasn't very fun the first time and she certainly wasn't about to repeat it. Her eyes scanned over the black void that was the storm she had been a part of seconds before and she silently cursed. She really would have been dead. There wouldn't have been a chance. She would have died. But what caught her eyes through her scan was the exhausted bird. So that was her target now.

Shizuka crouched once again and kicked off a bit quicker than she had in the past. She didn't want to waste any time. She threw her entire body at the bird as quickly as Bringer Light would allow and stopped herself just above him. Shizuka used the new impact force she had as the gravity pulled her down towards the bird. Her leg was extended right before she slammed it down into the back of the bird. From that hit, she used the momentum to lift herself up as she extended her other leg and brought it crashing down onto the bird's back, as well. Even if the being tried to escape, she'd just grab it and throw it agains the ground to repeat the same attack. She would not let it escape.

Shizuka raised her hands up to her head once she took a few steps back on Air Ground. She did her best to smooth out her hair and wipe away at her running mascara. Wearing makeup during a fight like this was such a mistake, but she didn't expect to see Taiho here. She couldn't let the opportunity get by. She shook her hair out just a bit as she closed her eyes and cracked her neck. She was feeling a bit tired for some reason. Didn't the fight just start? Feeling tired didn't make sense to her. Shizuka's eyes opened slowly, looking around the room for her original target. Even that focus was hard, though. What was going on?

"Damn..." Shizuka groaned. "What is happening to me..?"



Shizuka's Remaining Reiatsu: 1175
Fullbring Stage 2 (Class 1): 7/12
Liquid Types: Liquid nitrogen, ANNM
Cartridge Gallons Remaining: 18/30 (Liquid nitrogen)
Bucket Gallons Remaining: 93/100 (ANNM)
Inner Power Duration: 4/7

[Deleted]

Luke noticed that Windstärke wasn’t looking at him. He noticed that his Doll had put a mental block between their minds. He was keeping himself separated from Luke and the Bount knew why. His eyes had widened in panic and grief. What he yelled wasn’t any sort of word. It was a scream of grief. His Doll had killed Shizuka. Schneesturm was the Dolls ultimate attack. A light absorbing blizzard that froze anything and everything within its cyclone. An attack that caused everything to drop down to Absolute Zero. It was impossible for Shizuka to survive. Just straight impossible. The cyclones reiatsu completely masked everything inside it, at least for Luke, leading him to believe that Shizuka was, in fact, dead.

Windstärke, however, wasn’t fooled. His eyes widened in shock and surprise when he realized that Shizuka’s reiatsu wasn’t faltering. It wasn’t decreasing at all. It was still there. And then, suddenly, she was out. That giant, illuminated, feline apparition was the first thing he saw when he realized that Shizuka was heading straight for him. So...that’s it.. the Doll realized, understanding now how she had survived the blizzard. This ability, this apparition, had been a barrier between Shizuka and the Blizzard. She wouldn’t freeze if the winds couldn’t reach her. Still, Windstärke couldn’t shake the disbelief he held at seeing Shizuka completely fine. Such a thing should be impossible!

The Doll couldn’t react fast enough. Not only was Shizuka using a Step Technique, but he was far too exhausted to move at his normal speed. Not only had he blown through over half his stamina but using Schneesturm had pushed him past his limits. Honestly, the fact Windstärke could even move at all was a miracle. He possessed the same hard headed stubborness as his Master. The woman reappeared above him just before her leg, enhanced by Inner Power, slammed into his back causing the ice that constructed him to crack and shatter. The Doll screamed out, a mixture of a human cry and a eagles scream, before he was forced to plummet to the ground. But Shizuka wasn’t done. The second kick did even more damage, breaking his body even further and seperated the Doll into two seperate pieces.

”Windstärke!!” Luke shouted as he witnessed what happened to his Doll, time seemingly slowing down for the Bount as he watched his Doll be broken into two. Glowing cracks spread across the ice birds body, before finally the avian shattered completely and totally and became nothing but glowing particles. In that moment, Luke felt something he never wanted to experience again. It was impossible to describe. What words could be used to describe the feeling of a part of your soul dying? Luke was brought down to his knees, screaming in undescribable agony as he clutched as his abdomen. Even with his Pain Tolerance and Strength of Will, it was impossible for him to remain standing and strong after being hit with the side effects of a Doll’s death.

Even Jäger, who had been hiding in the shadows, was negatively affected. His screams echoed through the arena, from every shadow that was infected by him. Pressing his forehead into the floor, Luke struggled to even move. The pain was too great. He was literally paralyzed by the pain. Get up… he told himself, managing to pull his eyelids apart so he could see again. Clenching his fingers into a fist he began to push himself to his knees, despite the waves of pain shooting out from his soul. Get up. She...she.. lifting his head he locked his eyes on Shizuka, who seemed distracted with herself. At least it seemed that way.

She needs you...get on your feet! Luke told himself again, clenching his teeth tightly together as he pushed himself up. He had to save her. He had to save her. He wouldn’t fail. Somehow he’d pull her back. ”Haha...quite the situation you’ve gotten yourself into, boy.” Luke suddenly heard, and immediately felt cold sweat on the back of his neck. He froze up when he heard that voice. ”What will you do? She’s lost control of herself. Drunk on her own overwhelming power. She’ll kill you when she gets her hands on you.” the voice questioned, a sinister entertainment in its voice. ”If you let me out I’ll handle it for you. I’ll even let my plans to kill you slide this time. You just need to ask yourself what’s more important...your survival so you can fulfill that foolish little promise of yours, or saving your cumdump?” the Doll asked.

It had a point. If Luke let him out...then maybe he could survive. But the aftereffects of that decision...were they something Luke could live with? If Luke let him out then Shizuka, and the club, would be gone. Fuck off. Go back to skulking in the shadows you bastard. Luke replied, waving the shadowy, oppressive, presence away as he returned his focus to Shizuka. ”L-Luke..” the Bount heard from his shadow. Jäger seemed to be recovering. Good. But that didn’t mean much right now. Staring up at Shizuka, Luke would wince as another wave of pain shot through his body. His legs were getting weak. More and more blood was dripping from the wounds in his Redirection arm, and he was beginning to feel it. ”Do you have a plan?” Jäger asked.

”For right now..” Luke murmured to himself as the shadows at his feet suddenly began to rise and converge around him like they were a liquid. Across his body they spread until they became a pure black skinsuit, an outfit of umbra. I’ll use Black Mantle to protect myself...at least a little bit. Luke told himself, giving himself a Reiatsu Strength armor for just that little more protection. Flipping the grip of his sword in his free hand so that the blade pointed behind him, Luke crouched before he would vanish from sight. A rail of invisible reiatsu shot from his position to Shizuka, and Luke grinded atop it at 7x his normal speed. Reappearing from Schiene Luke held his sword up like it was a large knife, with his injured hand pressing against the butt of the grip, and tried to stab at Inner Power. He needed to test this.

The uchigatana’s blade struck the feline as though it were a wall, creating sparks and a screaming sound right before the blade snapped. Over half of the sword broke off and hurtled itself through the air past Luke’s face. Shit! he thought to himself, his mind racing as he tried to figure out a way to get past Shizuka’s Inner Power.

Luke's Remaining Reiatsu: 1175 / 4000
-400 for Doll death
-50 for Schiene
-150 for Black Mantle

Jäger's Remaining Reiatsu: 1,510 / 2,010

Black Mantle Duration: 1 / 5

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

The woman's ears twitched. She heard screaming, which meant she'd be able to locate the one she was trying to fight in the first place. That sound was enough to help her focus, but she found herself blinking profusely anyway in an attempt to keep her eyes open. They were feeling pretty dry for some reason. She raised her right hand to wipe away at the corresponding eye, hoping to create enough saline to help calm whatever irritation was happening. Shizuka took a couple of seconds to blink more slowly afterwards, realizing very soon how difficult it was to open her eyelids back up. She was becoming exhausted.

But she had to continue. She was still able to move. Whatever power was assisting her was making it more possible, though she could somehow feel that she was reaching her limit. Shizuka was more aware now of her labored breathing, as well, cursing herself for doing whatever it was that made any of this happen. Taiho wasn't even close to dead. Taking out one of her stupid powers wouldn't be enough. Not for someone like her. Shizuka needed to do more. She needed to tear this other woman apart. Her goal was to make Taiho feel the same pain she did those years ago. It was the identical pain she was reminded of when Douma showed her all of those images. Taiho was a monster.

A monster who must have also been suffering. As she was reminded of the screaming, Shizuka's eyes quickly locked on to the Shinigami. She squinted, though not as a means to focus harder. She was angry. She had been doing everything she could up until this moment, and the fact that it still wasn't enough enraged her. But she was able to get Taiho to fall to the ground out of what Shizuka could only assume was distress. Well, at least there was that. The Fullbringer could count herself lucky for the small wins when she got them. But, unfortunately for her, her enemy wasn't done quite yet. She rose to her feet once more. Shizuka groaned.

Taiho appeared to be dealing with something - perhaps pain, perhaps something else - within the walls of her own being. This behavior was met with a quick, curious tilt of Shizuka's head. Though she did not move, she saw Taiho's body become shrouded in some sort of black outfit. Armor, maybe? That was the strongest possibility. But armor would be useless against the giant feline construct that Shizuka had created. Almost anything the Shinigami prepared to throw at her was going to be. Well, okay, that was a lot of confidence talking. But it had definitely been the case so far, and some strong attacks had certainly been used.

A fast dash was made by her opponent as Shizuka stood still. Her brows furrowed together suspiciously as she crossed her arms. Though the Fullbringer, at her current stance, was unable to follow any of Taiho's movements during her Step, the sudden reappearance wasn't very surprising. The blade she had prepared to fight Shizuka with was soon destroyed as half of the blade was sent hurdling back. So nothing was able to penetrate, huh? Though this was still relatively inconvenient. Shizuka was safe inside of her ability. It was like a protective shield that repelled anything and everything. But she couldn't stay hidden forever. She needed to be able to reach her enemy.

She was a bit calmer now, too. The endless fury that had overshadowed Shizuka even moments before was mostly gone, and instead was replaced by an eerie tranquility. It was as if she was at peace with herself because she was confident in her victory. Seeing Taiho struggle against Inner Power was enough to satisfy any positive suspicions she had about this fight. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath for a moment, preparing her body for what she was about to do. She'd had a moment to rest now, so she was ready to move once again. Releasing herself from the safe barriers of her construct, Shizuka separated her body from the cat in one swift movement.

This movement, however, was Bringer Light. The blonde quickly approached Taiho, grabbed a hold of her bad arm that she had used that attack with earlier, and tugged it behind her torso. Shizuka was not yet using her full strength, but she was gripping with enough of it that she did not expect Taiho to be able to escape. She ended up being positioned behind the Shinigami, close enough to be able to whisper in her ear. The cat followed suit soon after, though they did not merge. She was feeling quite good about herself. Normally, this would be somewhat dangerous. But not this time. Shizuka could literally rip limbs off this creature's body.

"Is this some kind of a joke to you?" Shizuka began, a tone of anger escaping into the whispers. "You ruined my life. You destroyed someone important to me, someone who didn't deserve to die, and yet you parade around here as if nothing you did was wrong."

Shizuka's eyes were harshly squinted out of frustration. She did her best to fight back tears, but a few made their ways down her cheeks. For years, she had felt tormented by the nightmares she had almost every night. Ever since she heard about Kento's murder, the fact that he was practically played with like some toy before he was beheaded, plagued her to this very day. She could have fought with him. She could have saved him. But all she could do was push the memories away as much as possible and repress them so that she never had to deal with it again. But here she was. Suffering. All because of Taiho.

"Well, this is my world now. I couldn't be there before, but what kind of chance encounter is this? I found you. And I'm going to play with you until you scream out in pain and beg for death. I'm going to make sure you feel the same horror you forced Kento to feel when you tortured him. And, when you finally do look up at me with sorrow-filled eyes, crying over how you wish I would just kill you already, I'll simply oblige. And I'll behead you. Not with a sword, but with my own hands."

Shizuka pulled hard and fast against Taiho's arm. For anyone else, an action like this would break it. That was the goal. She wanted to not just dislocate the arm from the shoulder, but completely tear it out and leave it uselessly hanging in its place. At the very least, she expected her grip and the unnatural position that Taiho's arm was in to hurt. A lot. But that wasn't all she was going to do. Small pains weren't enough. She was going to do everything in her ability to make sure Taiho knew not to mess with this Fullbringer. She had been waiting for this opportunity for years, and now that she finally had it, she wasn't going to let go.



Shizuka's Remaining Reiatsu: 1175
Fullbring Stage 2 (Class 1): 7/12
Liquid Types: Liquid nitrogen, ANNM
Cartridge Gallons Remaining: 18/30 (Liquid nitrogen)
Bucket Gallons Remaining: 93/100 (ANNM)
Inner Power Duration: 5/7

[Deleted]

The sight of the end half of his own sword flying past his head filled the Bount with a cocktail of despair and frustration. His eyes widened with shock when he saw the blade snap when he tried to dig into the spiritual entity that was surrounding Shizuka. Despite having witnessed all of the attacks Windstärke throw at this thing completely fail to penetrate it, or slow it down, Luke was still trying to break through. He was doing it out of desperation, really. He didn’t know just how long Shizuka could maintain this power. So far it seemed...endlessly. Her reiatsu was deducting. He couldn’t sense anything out of her that would give him some kind of hint or clue to defeating this power.

Grinding his teeth together in that split moment, Luke’s gaze shifted to Shizuka. The Fullbringer was looking directly at him now. A pained look flashed in Luke’s eye when he saw her. How was he supposed to get to her? This impenetrable force separated them. How was he going to get to her? How was he going to save her? Suddenly, however, Luke’s vision blurred. His head felt woozy. He felt dizzy. Damn it...I’ve lost too much blood. he realized. Despite the Black Mantle that covered his arms, blood was still leaking out from beneath the shadows from his open wounds. In that simple moment though, Luke noticed that Shizuka was gone. His brief slip in concentration resulted in him losing track of her.

Without warning he felt her grab his damaged arm. Thanks to Black Mantle, the Fullbringer wasn’t able to sink her fingernails into his burnt skin and open wounds. But it didn’t stop her grip. His arm was forcefully tugged behind his torso into a rear wrist lock. Luke winced, almost crying out in pain. Normally something like this wouldn’t do that. He was tough after all. But this, combined with the already existent pain in his arm and the throbbing agony that was coming out of his soul...yeah if Luke started crying nobody could blame him. "Is this some kind of a joke to you?" He heard in his ear, whispered with such venom. He opened his eye to look back at her.

"You ruined my life. You destroyed someone important to me, someone who didn't deserve to die, and yet you parade around here as if nothing you did was wrong."

Wake up. I’m not whoever you think I am..

Luke thought to himself, wincing from the pressure and closing his eyes again. Was this how he was going to die? Was he going to be torn apart by his girlfriend? Was this how his story ended? Killed and defiled by the first woman, the first person, to never care or be concerned about what he was. The only bit of happiness that Luke ever found in this god damned city? He had to do something! He had to do something to snap Shizuka out of this nightmare. Seeing her tears, seeing her crying, awoke an anger within Luke. Whatever happened to her to make her cry, whoever it was that made her cry, wasn’t something or someone Luke could forgive.

Words...won’t reach her...it has to be something only between us..

Kiss her? No. No, that wouldn’t work. He doubted that was strong enough. He thought back, quickly, to everything they had been through together. If he didn’t figure something out soon then she was going to rip his head off. Opening his eyes once again he noticed something. Shizuka was...separated from Inner Power. Why? Why did she separate herself from it? ”No, sweetie. I'm not. If I wasn't afraid of you before when I thought you were a Fullbringer, why should I be now that I know you're a Bount?” He suddenly thought back to. He thought about the words she said to him that made him fall in love with her. Someone who didn’t look at him like a freak, a monster, a vampire. Someone who saw him as a person.

”What happened in your past and what you are do not determine the kind of person you can be. It just gives you an opportunity to learn and grow. Don't think of who you are as a bad thing."

”Besides…

Everything stopped for Luke right there. Time seemed to stop as the realization came to him. He knew what he needed to do. He knew the answer. An answer that filled him with both disgust and hope. ”Jäger!!” Luke screamed, causing the Doll to immediately activate. From the Black Mantle itself came the Doll with one goal in mind. ”On it!” the Doll shouted, knowing exactly what Luke was planning thanks to their connection. Black Mantle was a technique that caused shadows to congregate on Luke’s body to form a reiatsu armor. But that wasn’t the purpose of the technique. When Luke made the technique he wasn’t strong spiritually. He already had plenty of defensive options. He could travel within shadows to sneak around and avoid fighting. He could become completely impervious to physical damage by turning into smoke. Hell, he could even use the raw force of his soul to repel attacks with Ken. He didn’t need more defense. Black Mantle was made for this purpose.

From the shadows Luke wore, Jäger emerged from the Bount’s back. Partly submerged, the Doll swung his arm and sliced through his target. Blood sprayed into the air as his sharpened claws sliced through, not Shizuka, Luke’s own arm. The arm that Shizuka was holding. The woman would suddenly lose her grip on Luke’s arm as it became an intangible Shadow Object. Luke quickly learned what having dry ice pressed into your skin felt like, as the pain of Jäger’s ability blasted into his arm. But it didn’t stop him. He quickly turned towards Shizuka, intending to use the element of surprise to get her. As he turned, driven by motivation and ignoring the pain, his eyes would burn with an intense, predatory, amber blaze. Jäger, fully emerging from his back, clutched onto and held tight to Shizuka’s arms as he leaned over Luke.

Grabbing Shizuka’s hair with his uninjured arm, Luke lunged forward and opened his mouth. His teeth, linked together with strings of saliva and blood, had sharpened to a point as he activated the Bount power known as Futter. He then bit down. His teeth sank into her as easily as slipping your hand into water. And within that moment Luke suddenly experienced euphoria. A sensation unlike any before. It felt as though he was unimaginable thirsty. It felt as though he was someone lost in a desert without anything to drink for days and suddenly finding a spring of clear water. The taste of Shizuka’s blood in his mouth, her reiatsu, and the connection he had to her soul...it was indescribable. Jäger would describe it as being akin to ejaculating a thousand times at once. It was something Luke’s body was unknowing craving, a hunger that he had been repressing. It delighted in this. It wanted more. His body, his soul, wanted more of Shizuka’s blood. He wanted to drink in her very soul. It sickened him. It disgusted him. It was revolting how...delicious...her blood was.

But he drank, regardless. He drank not just her blood but her very reiatsu itself. He felt Shizuka’s very essence, very lifeforce, going down his throat and into him. His hand dug into her hair, tightening his grip, as he pressed his face further into her skin. He wanted more. He had finally crossed that threshold into drinking from someone. He had finally become a true Bount. It was fantastic. It was amazing. The taste was incredibly. And then he pulled himself free. He retched himself away from Shizuka, strings of blood following after his mouth, as he let out a wet gasp. He quickly spat out what remained in his mouth, shaking and panting before looking at Shizuka. He had drank from her not to kill her...but to drink out her reiatsu. Suck out enough to cause her to pass out. That had been the plan. But he didn’t realize just how strong the taste would be. He didn’t realize how much he had wanted more. He was afraid. What if he drank too much of her blood?

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

It was rewarding. The sound of Taiho in pain was something Shizuka cherished every second of. She loved knowing that she was hurting this woman so much. She praised herself mentally for her efforts, thinking about how far she'd come from where she was at just sixteen. It was at that point that she discovered her powers as they were somewhat forced out of her, but she had been thankful for them ever since. Over time, she had just gotten stronger. This was her stage now. This was her way of displaying just how dangerous she could be and her victim was finally feeling every ounce of Shizuka's vengeful spirit.

But that wasn't enough. She wanted Taiho dead. She wanted her to be torn in half or anything even worse than that. She thought briefly. Shizuka had a few ideas, but none of them were good. They weren't perfect. Not for Taiho. Not for the Shinigami scum that she was. Each method of torture was more brutal than the previous but none of them felt right for whatever reason. It needed to be a death that was appropriate for her actions. She had mentioned beheading, but was that going to be what Shizuka wanted? Was that truly all she was going to do? It may work. Things like that tend to prove points.

”Jäger!!”

”On it!”

Shizuka's eyes grew wider. She had taken too much time. She cursed herself under her breath when she realized that Taiho and her strange power came to some sort of agreement on what to do next. They were quick, and Shizuka staggered for a moment as the shadow creature known as Jäger appeared and sliced his sharpened claw through his master's arm. The blood was disgusting. Knowing that the Fullbringer had Shinigami blood on her person was enough to make her gag and stagger even more. Her eyes snapped shut momentarily as she became distracted with the fact that she had been soiled. Though she had lost her grip on Taiho's arm, she never would have noticed. She was too focused on what just sprayed on her.

The shadow creature grabbed on to Shizuka's arms, restricting her movement. She cried out. Despite Inner Power, she wasn't thinking clearly. To her knowledge, only her striking power had been increased due to the technique, not her actual strength. Because of that, she felt trapped. She didn't think she would be able to escape. Her heart was beating so quickly that she could practically hear it drumming against her chest. Her breathing had also escalated. She was panicking. Shizuka didn't know what to do as her eyes darted back and forth, looking for anything to get her out. She could fire a projectile from the manifested cat but she'd risk hurting herself.

The blonde felt her hair get grabbed by Taiho and she winced in pain. Was she going to end up experiencing the same fate that Kento did? Was this how the disastrous woman destroyed Shizuka's old partner so many years ago? Involuntary tears escaped from the corners of Shizuka's eyes as she came to the horrendous realization that she wasn't going anywhere. But within only a matter of moments, everything seemed to stop for her. Things paused. The world quit making noise. Everything around her grew silent if only for a second, and the only thing that could be heard was the gasp that came out of her mouth the moment she felt Taiho's teeth sink into the skin of her neck.

She wanted to fight back and do anything she could to get this wretched woman off of her. She struggled as much as she could, tried moving her restrained arms to no avail. She felt this person, this enemy, literally drink the power from her body the longer that this went on. She was growing tired. Her screaming was becoming silent. Shizuka didn't even notice that her eyes were shut until she opened them. But the escalated breathing that she experienced before became different somehow. It was no longer caused by anxiety. She was still breathing heavily, but not out of fear.

The scared expression that was plastered on her face morphed into something more pleasured instead. Almost all of her thoughts became jumbled as she stood there, practically gladly accepting what was happening to her. She didn't realize what was going on because she hadn't been familiar with this kind of thing, but Shizuka was more than okay with it. She felt this person tighten their grip on her hair and apply more pressure to the area on her neck, and the blonde responded embarrassingly. She wasn't screaming out in pain anymore or crying out because she was frightened. The noises she made, instead, were moans. In fact, she loved this.

For the next few moments that the bite lasted, Shizuka found herself whispering someone's name. The whispers grew louder until she felt like she couldn't control herself anymore and tried again to break free of her hold with no success. She wasn't trying to escape, but she wanted to touch him. She wanted to hold him. Shizuka wanted Luke so badly in that moment because she knew that this was him. Pain was irrelevant. In fact, what he was doing was hardly painful at all. Not to her. She wanted him to keep going. Shizuka gasped and smirked in pleasure at Luke as he broke away from her.

"I didn't want you to stop."

Shizuka's voice was breathy, but the memories of what she had done came flooding back. She felt exhausted. She felt like she truly was drained. The creature she had manifested through Inner Power faded and disappeared as her eyes returned to their normal human appearance rather than the feline look she had been sporting shortly before. It was suddenly so clear to her what she had done because the things that had been clouding her mind, the hallucinations that were controlling her, completely left her brain as her power was taken from her. Tears of regret and sorrow began flowing down her cheeks. This was all her fault. Windstärke, Luke's arm, all of his pain.. This was because of her. She had lost control of herself. And now...

And now she could barely stand up. Shizuka's legs had already become somewhat limp from when Luke bit her, but this was different. She felt dizzy and couldn't hold herself up anymore. She wanted to say something, anything, maybe like an apology, but she couldn't. Nothing would come out. Instead, she desperately tried to ask what had happened to her, but only the first few words came out before the rest of her body failed, as well. Her vision had gone blurry and spotted as it faded to a strange black before she lost consciousness. The words she wanted to tell him would have to wait.

[Deleted]

Everything that happened after Luke sank his teeth into Shizuka’s neck was completely unexpected. While he was dealing with keeping control over his vampiric urges, trying to keep himself from drinking Shizuka completely dry, his girlfriend was suddenly having the time of her life. Hearing her sudden, ecstatic, moans in his ear caused him to suddenly blink with surprise. As what was finally happening between them ended, and Luke pulled away with strings of blood attached to his lips, he came to realize that Shizuka was having an entirely unexpected reaction. He failed to keep himself from smiling when he heard the comment that Shizuka had to say. He smiled for a multitude of reasons. He was smiling because she was okay, that he didn’t drink away her life, and that she was finally back to her senses.

”All I had to do was turn you on, huh?”

Luke joked, his eyes softening with relief as he thanked whatever was listening that she was okay. When her legs gave out she wouldn’t fall to the floor. Instead she would be directed into her boyfriend's chest, held against him by his one good arm. ”It’s okay. Everything is okay..” he whispered, gently moving his fingers back and forth against the back of her head as he held her. ”It’s going to be okay.” he said to comfort her and to stop those tears from falling.

---

There...it’s finished.

Luke thought to himself as he carried the plate into his lounge. Approaching his bed, where Shizuka lay, Luke sat down on the chair he had placed beside the mattress and put the hot meal onto the nightstand. Hamburger steak. It was all he had right now due to not having stocked up on groceries at his place here in awhile. They weren’t at his apartment. That was all the way in Karakura Town. Luke had taken Shizuka to his suite in Zaluu’s club. This had been his home for some time before he moved back to Karakura due to working at Uzaki’s. Well, it was still his home. He just didn’t get to come here very often anymore. But he had made Shizuka some food for whenever she woke up. He knew that she’d be hungry, since that was what happened anytime he had run out of reiatsu.

Luke had changed since the fight. He was wearing a dark blue tank top with tan cargo shorts. Matching didn’t really matter right now. But with the lack of sleeves it was clear as day to see that the injuries that Luke had sustained to his one arm in particular where...completely healed. There wasn’t a single scratch on him. Not even a bruise. This was one of the perks of being a Bount. With the reiatsu that he had taken from Shizuka when he used Futter to subdue her Luke had been able to utilized Immortality Drink to heal every single one of his injuries. However, while his injuries had been healed the same couldn’t be said for Shizuka.

Sitting beside her presented Luke a perfect view of what he had done to Shizuka’s neck. His eyes narrowed a little into a conflicted stare as he looked at the dark, bruised, bite he had left on her. He wasn’t thinking ”Oh I left her with a hickey” or anything. That would be stupid. It was the fact that he...he had to play the role of a vampire in order to win. He had finally crossed that line. Well, in truth, he had crossed the line before. In order to heal the debilitating injuries of his Dolls he had eaten the souls of Hollows. That was why some of his hair was now white. But now he had actually drank blood, and reiatsu, from a living, breathing, person. He was now, finally, a full Bount. Maybe that's why his eyes hadn’t changed back. His eyes were still those blazing ambers they became when he was in the heat of battle.

”This was the best possible solution though, you can’t deny that. You’re both alive.”

Ah right, Windstärke was back now. More than enough time had passed for the Doll to regenerate. ”How’re you feeling though, chicken wing?” Jäger rudely asked. ”Frustrated and agitated. But, either way, relieved that things turned out this way.” That was good, at least. Resting his elbows on his knees, Luke resumed his watch over Shizuka. He couldn’t keep himself from thinking about what he had done though. His mind kept drifting back to the moment that her blood touched his tongue. The explosive euphoria he experienced then was still hot on his mind. What’s more it did...something else to him.

Looking at Shizuka’s neck and thinking this way made Luke’s face feel hot and his abdomen to tighten up. His eyes trailed down from her neck to her collarbones, then further down to her chest. From there to her waist and further from there. It made him close his eyes and try to calm himself. Was it because he had fed on blood...or was it because it was her blood. ”Don’t tell me your into haematophilia.” Luke suddenly heard Jäger joke. ”It would be the most cliche vampire thing that was possible. Actually, no. Dating a doctor who specializes in bloodletting.” God, he still thought he was funny. But, all Luke could do right now was wait for his girlfriend to wake up and see that he was still here. He wanted her to see that he hadn’t left her.