Infinity on High [Joint Training]

[Deleted]

Walking down the streets in Baltimore was never something Camila thought she'd ever have to do. After all, it was the murder capital of the United States. Surely there'd be some people not quite willing to move on, right? It gave both her and Celes the perfect opportunity to purify Pluses, which was their goal, after all. They were shinigami. Their job was there so that Pluses could be guided to Soul Society, and continuing of this job was effectively of the utmost importance. She smiled in thinking about it.

"Hey, Albin-" she began to say, before quickly stopping herself. A bit of a bleak look came over her. After that fight with the Espada, she hadn't been able to speak to Albin at all, let alone hear him. It was like he actually was... dead. She shook her head, doing what she could not to think about it. She didn't want to remember that fight. Camila wanted nothing more than to suppress those memories and never have to reflect on them again. It was in the past, and she was dead-set to keep it that way.

She turned to Celes. "So," she started, putting her hands in the pockets of the jacket her Gigai was currently wearing, "this is my first time out on a 'real' patrol. Every other one I've been on has quickly went to shit, so I apologize if it's the same for this one." She laughed softly to the girl. "Hopefully it won't! That wouldn't exactly add to my bad luck streak with these, y'know?" She looked ahead, watching the busy streets, the other people on sidewalks, and peered into corner-stores here and there. It was certainly an interesting city, no doubt.

[Celes Castellanos]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Celes Outfit}

It was not often that Celes actually decided to head into the Human World for purposes other than training. In earnest, it sometimes proved to be rather uninteristing. This was certainly true for some of the smaller cities. This time, however, Camila offered her a rather unique city to go to. After all, Baltimore was heralded in the US as a place of crime and misfortunate. It did not come without its beauty, however. In truth, Baltimore was actually rather pleasant. Nobody was given them any trouble for now and this could be a leisurely patrol.

Naturally it was her and Camila. Celes knew Camila from the time she had sparred the Shinigami. In fact, Celes remembers going pretty hard in that fight and while not willing to kill the Unseated Shinigami, Celes did hit her pretty hard a couple of times. She was rather impressed with Camila after all. She seemed to share a similiar enjoyment of fighting and honor. It was rare for Celes to find that outside of Squad 11. If she recalled correctly, Camila wa sa member of Squad 13 and as such dealt with transportation. Must be a dull and boring job.

This patrol was even more interesting because this was Celes' first experience with a Gigai. After all, she normally was in her spiritual body and had her Shihakusho on traditionally. It just felt more natural. Both her and Camila were in Gigai's which meant that they couldn't fool around because others who were not spirituall inclined could actually see the pair. Celes had tried a new clothing style for her. Heralding from Siberia, she used to live smack dab in the Eurasian region of Soviet Russia. Additionally, former relations with China made it rather unique. 

As the two Shinigami continued down the street, she heard a remark from Camila about her track record. "This is my first time out on a 'real' patrol. Every other one I've been on has quickly went to shit, so I apologize if it's the same for this one." This made Celes worried. Does this mean that she could not have faith in Camila's skills after all. She was going to give her the benefit of the doubt, but she would need to be cautious and keep her eye on this girl. Celes was never one to mind trouble and a good fight, but this was a little different given the situation.

As Celes continued on, she kept a close lookout. Naturally, still being spiritual beings, the two Shinigami could see Hollows and such. This was mainly what Celes was on the lookout for. After all, this was a patrol. While it did not mean that something needed to happen, Celes felt that it may actually spice up the patrol. They tended to be boring because nothing showed up and it overall just felt like time waisted. It seemed that Camila was having a far more interesting time than her. She was actually looking around and having fun. Celes would continue to look out for anything that seemed out of the ordinary.

[Deleted]

Given how much Celes wasn't inherently responding to her, Camila continued to lose herself in the various stores and shopping plazas around the inner city. It was all so lively! It was hard to believe a place like this was an apparent murder capital, where she expected it all to be incredibly run-down and boring. It seemed to be quite the opposite, in fact. She quite liked the area, and wanted to check out a few shops, should she be given the chance. She wasn't sure how Celes might've reacted to that, but who knows? She might be receptive to checking places out.

As if on queue after this thought, out of the corner of her eye she spotted a small boutique along a line of shops, and her face immediately lit up. "Celes!" she exclaimed, with quite the amount of apparent excitement behind her voice, "I'll be right back! I wanna quickly go check out that shop over there!" She pointed to the small building, and after a few seconds to let Celes know where she was going to be headed, she crossed the street and ran inside of the building.

The boutique itself wasn't anything special. It was a small, somewhat run-down corner store that seemed more like a passion project than a business. Though, while that was the case, everything in the shop was of a surprising quality. The dresses were absolutely stunning, sitting on display from the windows, the bags inside weren't anything name-brand that she'd immediately recognize, but they all looked so nice! She wanted all of it. After reaching into her pockets, even with the amount of Ryo she had brought with her, she sighed.

She didn't have enough for all of it, but perhaps a dress or two would suffice. She walked over to the counter with a smile on her face. "Hello!" she said, a look of pure joy on her face, "how expensive are your dresses?" A look of shock rose to her face when she realized that each dress was only about 40 or so Ryo. She couldn't believe what she was hearing! She quickly ran over to one, and asked to try it on. It was a smaller pink sundress, and seemed to be just her size. Upon receiving approval to change into it, she did so and fell in love. Paying in full, with a 200 Ryo tip, she continued to look around inside of the store for various different bags, to find one she might like.

[Celes Castellanos]

It seemed that Camila was also losing herself in thought much like Celes. The difference was their individual train of thoughts. Camila seemed to be looking around and viewing all the shops, people and the city itself. Celes meanwhile was trying to concentrate on the job. Admittedly, Celes could try to loosen up a bit, but there was nothing that really interested her. It seemed as though there were plenty of shops around that sold all kinds of antiques, malls with multiple stories and so on. Maybe she could find something interesting there, but she was gonna finish up this patrol if anything.

It was then that Celes found Camila to be suddenly jubilant. She was not sure about what had Camila like this until she exclaimed, "I'll be right back! I wanna quickly go check out that shop over there!" Celes just looked over to where Camila was pointing, indicating where she was headed to. The 3rd Seat would just smile and chuckle. "Well. I will just hold down the fort. Have fun~" With that, Celes would leave Camila to her own devices. Even then, she did not mind a little bit of fun among friends plus it was turning out to be a pretty quiet day anyway.

As Camila ran off, Celes would sit down and relax on a nearby bench. It was rather nice that the place they were at bordered the pier. It was oddly relaxing to watch the waves roll on the water as ships went by with passengers who were doing all manner of activity. Celes, having grown up in a rather landlocked area did not have the luxury atleast in her childhood to watch the gentle sea. There was something she admired about it. Much like her it could be calm and tranquil, but in an instant it could become a lethal force to be reckoned with. As she reasoned this in her head, she chuckled. 

As she continued watching, she began to reflect on the Gigai they were in. They just seemed like these odd skin suits and Celes always had a little bit of trouble getting out of them. Granted, she had not been in too many as she does not make it a habit to be seen by others. As she continued to relax and sink back into the bench, she noted something interesting. There seemed to be a girl walking by her bench. At first Celes did not make much of it as she closed her eyes and relaxed further for a split second, but it then hit her.

This girl had a chain of fate hanging from her chest. This was the first indication of a plus, or a spirit that was still among the living waiting to pass on. Celes just looked at this girl surprised and then called over to her. "Hey girl! Come over here for a moment." The girl stopped in her footsteps and looked over at Celes, her eyes wide. Someone could actually see her? This seemed like a new concept to this girl. Celes just smiled as she walked over and patted the seat of the bench next to her. Celes always did like to talk to spirits before performing the Konso. Otherwise, she may never get a chance to talk to them.

This girl just sighed as she sat down and said hesitantly. "You can actually see Ma'am?" This girl was rather polite and Celes chuckled. "Oh please. Just call me Celes and of course I can see you. I'm a Shinigami. What's your name hun?~" The Shinigami would smile as the plus just piped up. "O..oh it's Marin." Celes just nodded and listened. Was it just that there were little spiritual beings in Baltimore? If so it could be that this girl was without a companion for a long time. Celes would provide her that company even if Camila came back before Celes would even do the Konso.

[Deleted]

After a few moments, Camila came running out of the Boutique wearing a new dress, and with two full bags of clothes. Going over the purchases in her head, she was more than glad with the ones she made, with no real regret to any of it. She smiled quite a large smile, and couldn't really stop doing so. She made haste back to Celes, who was talking with what looked like a Plus. Cool! It was one of few times she actually had the chance to interact with a Plus without the situation turning violent. She was glad.

"I'm back~!" she sang, a very large smile on her face, "and I even got you something too, Celes! I wasn't sure about your sizes, but I'd like to think I'm pretty good at predicting that kinda stuff, so it should fit!" She smiled, holding a bag out a bit, not quite to tell Celes to pick it up, as she seemed a bit busy at the moment, but just to let her know that the bag was hers. Buying clothes and other products like this for other people was a sort of bonding ritual for Camila. Having a plan to go into fashion design back when she was, well, alive, she tended to get pretty good at guessing sizes.

She turned to the Plus, and smiled. "Hiya! Had I known you were here and that I'd be meeting you, I would've picked up something for you as well!" She giggled. When it came to being able to use her fashion sense, she turned into a completely different person. She absolutely adored the ability to pick out clothes like this for other people, and took every chance she got in order to actually do so for other people. It was a passion of hers, and she'd be damned if she was gonna let anyone rob her of that.

After a few moments, she quickly realized what was going on; she saw the large chain hanging from the girl, and quickly remembered the fact that she was a Plus. Celes was interacting with the girl in order to purify her. That, and she was generally just a friendly girl. It was one of the many, many traits she absolutely admired about Celes. She smiled just thinking about it! She really liked the girl, having been her first real friend since joining the Soul Society. She was very glad to know her.

[Celes Castellanos]

Celes always did have a soft spot for the pluses of the world. After all, they were simply targets, pawns in a greater struggle. Prey to Hollow and looking to be sought out by a Shinigami hopefully to spare them an existence of hatred. That is what it meant to be a Hollow. It was a miserable existence of bloodshed and violence, hate and anger. Celes could not think of one redeeming quality to being a Hollow. It was something that disliked so much that any Hollow in her way would need to be purified to save a corrupted soul from this.

This was not, now however. Right now there was a vulnerable girl who had died at an indeterminate amount of time. Her Soul Chain was for the most part intact and as such, Celes could ascertain that she had not been a plus for too too long. It was once that chain corroded and broke that the hollow within would be unleashed. Despite this, however, Celes would offer her a few short minutes of company. Once they performed the konso and would send her to the Soul Society, she would be surrounded with others who would guide her.

As the Shinigami continued smiling at the plus, Celes noted that she smiled back. This warmed her heart. Suddenly, Celes began to hear Camila as she called out from a distance. "I'm back~!" Celes would just nod at her comrade and listen further. "and I even got you something too, Celes! I wasn't sure about your sizes, but I'd like to think I'm pretty good at predicting that kinda stuff, so it should fit!" Celes thought about it and never found herself to be the fashionable type. What she was wearing today was simply for flair, but it would be rude to turn her down.

Celes just nodded, smiling as she spoke. "Ah. Thank you Camila. I will make sure to look at it when we get back." It seemed that Camila would continue, but this time address the plus. "Hiya! Had I known you were here and that I'd be meeting you, I would've picked up something for you as well!" Celes could not help, but chuckle. She sighed and relaxed a little as Marin smiled at Camila, initially fearful, but her cheery attitude made her acclimate to her as well as Camila seeming to know Celes. It was then that Celes' ears perked up when she noted an all too familiar wail.

The Shinigami would begin to stand reflexively, but she rose nonetheless in an almost nonchalant manner. She would look at Camila. "Seems there is no rest for the wicked. Let's get Marin here to the Soul Society. I'll let you do it as I imagine you've not performed a Konso yet?" Celes cleared her throat and then just chuckled. "After that...we will clean up the mess. I imagine you heard that wail?" The roar of a Hollow was something that always got Celes pumped. After all, fighting was in her blood and hollows were almost like their natural enemies.

Should they finish the Konso which Celes allowed Camila to perform, the 3rd Seat would already be heading towards the roar with Camila in tow. They had to run a bit, but as they did, the roars grew louder and louder. They would end up in one of the other plaza's in Baltimore. It was a rather nice place, but what was out of place was the large black form and the white mask. As it walked across the streets, it did so indiscriminately as it began to crush cars and hell, people alike. They did not even know what was coming until it was too late.

If Celes and Camila paid attention, they would note that this Hollow looked similar to a beetle. It was not like any beetle though as it seemed to be rolling something. It appeared like a large ball of reiatsu akin to how a Dung Beetle rolls a ball of feces. Celes sighed and immediately took a little pill that she had and slipped it under her tongue. Almost immediately, the Shinigami would appear from the Gigai as the actual Gigai itself burned away with the dress included. This may have made Camila sad, but it was necessary. Taking a fighting stance, it seemed the Hollow finally noticed them as it began stomping on the ball of reaitsu. It then seemed to implode as a violent wave of reiatsu radiated around the Hollow in a good half a mile radius and would be careening towards the two Shinigami.

This left Celes with very little choice as it was a good bit taller than her. With impressive physical ability, the Shinigami would kneel down and jump up, careening above the shockwave as it tore through the streets, destroying cars, windows and harming civilians. They would not die from this, but they would suffer pretty mild injuries. Celes sighed as she landed. It seemed this Hollow had a good trick up its sleeve. This would actually be a good opportunity to see how Camila operated out in the field and Celes would not at the other Shinigami, indicating for her to purify it.

[Deleted]

Camila couldn't really do much other than smile upon hearing Celes' kind words. Nothing pleased her more that the 3rd seat was appreciative, it made her feel glad to have spent her money; like no cent was left wasted. Her thoughts, though, were quickly cut off by some sort of wail. She couldn't quite tell what it was, with all the patrols that she's actually been on having not actually encountered a generic hollow. Whether she realized it or not, this was certainly going to be a new experience for her, and began with the moment at hand; Konso.

She sighed, setting down her bags. Pulling out a small pill, she hesitated to take it. The dress she just bought would be burnt to a crisp! She took a quick second to contemplate her decision, before taking the pill, and being forcefully ejected from her Gigai, with everything pertaining to it - including the incredibly cute sundress she was wearing - were singed into nothingness. Not wanting to think about it, she forced a smile upon her face, and pulled out her blade. After a quick second, the pommel of her sword began to glow a bright blue, and she pressed it against the Plus' forehead. She continued her smile toward the plus. "Hope you have fun in Soul Society~!"

After watching the girl slowly descend into the ground, the flash of light dissipate, and the jigokucho fly off, she turned to Celes, her cheerful disposition fading into something more akin to an upset groan. "And after I just spent all that money, too..." She sighed once again, shrugging it off. No use crying over spilt milk, right? Watching Celes bolt toward the direction of the noise, Camila quickly followed in suit. Hopefully this fight was going to be normal, as opposed to the last few attacks she's had to deal with, being that large bat and the Espada. Hopefully this time would be different. Hopefully she'd actually be able to just have a normal hollow fight.

Upon arriving at the scene, Camila shuddered. She was not a fan of bugs, and seeing this beetle-looking hollow freaked her out just a bit. Adding on the fact that that is was creating a ball of reiatsu like it was shit? And she was honestly hesitating to fight because that's just how nasty it really was. Sure, it might not have been an actual ball of feces, but just the implication quickly got to her. Upon seeing Celes act, though, she knew she needed to act.

Taking to the air via a Shunpo, due to not having the physical strength to take her into the sky normally, she somewhat effortlessly jumped the shockwave. She wasn't the happiest about needing to do so, as an aerial view of the hollow only seemed to freak her out even more. One thing was for certain, she was NOT getting in close to that thing. As such, she decided that she'd just rely on her fairly small selection of Kido in order to put the beast under suppressing fire while Celes took to melee.

Pulling two fingers back behind her, Camila quickly began to charge up a bit of electricity using her own reiatsu as fuel, dumping not only the base cost but a massive chunk of her own spiritual pressure into the technique, much like she did when she originally fought against Celes. "Arise god of thunder! Awake mother of storms! Unleash the lightning on the sinners!" The lightning against her fingertips began to charge much faster, before she swung her hand in front of the hollow, while still in the air, and pointed to the beast's back, "Hado #4: Byakurai!"

A quick stream of white lightning shot from her fingertips, and pierced into the beast's massive back, leaving it somewhat stunned. It was by no means enough to put it out of commission - she wasn't strong enough for that yet - but it was certainly enough to give Celes the time she needed in order to try to purify the beast. She eventually landed along with Celes, and readied her blade as quickly as she could, assuming she'd need to use it in order to defend herself after an attack like that.

[Celes Castellanos]

While Celes was in the air and beginning to descend, the airborne Shinigami could get a good look at what this shockwave had caused. Leaving destruction and chaos in its wake, Celes was relieved to see that within the immediate area, nobody was inherently severely injured. On the flip end though, cars' horns were honking if they were not outright destroyed, windows were blown out and hell, even some roofs had collapsed from the impressive amount of reiatsu that the Hollow had amased and released just to try and eliminate the two of them. 

Celes sighed peacefully as she noticed that Camila had ended up safely in the air. Celes looked at Camila like a companion of sorts. Camila seemed to be around Celes for lengthy amount of times. There was the little skirmish the had when they spared, that time they went on a lengthier mission in that lab around France. Celes had helped the Unseated Shinigami out of the cacoon she was in and now here was this patron in which they were trying to take out a Hollow who was most certainly causing trouble. It was then that Camila was beginning her own assault.

Celes knew that Camila was a far more spiritually-inclined indivual and that was not necesarrily a bad thing. Celes just found it amusing as the Shinigami seemed to use a technique that Celes was all too familiar with. It wasn't an audible due to distance, but the few keywords that Celes heard made it almost instantly recognizable. With impressive speed and power, a lightning bolt streaked outward from the fingers of Camila. It seemed to have alot more power to it as the traditionally yellow bolt was alot paler and white in coloration.

It seemed that the motion to go ahead and purify this Hollow fell on deaf ears as it seemed that Camila was waiting on Celes. Was Camila worried about its form or something? Oh well, it didn't matter too much as the Shinigami suddenly dissapeared as soon as Camila landed. With outright impressive speed, Celes would Shunpo towards the Hollows mask and with a mighty sword strike, she slashed downward on the Hollow's mask. When Celes landed neither her or the Hollow moved, but suddenly the mask began to crack as it split. 

It was then that Celes looked up. As she did, the hulking size of the Hollow just fell over and Celes sighed, sheathing her Zanpakautou. It began to slowly fade away into obscurity. As it did so, Celes began to reminisce about the Hollow that attacked her just shortly after she had become a plus. That Hollow was promptly killed by a Soul Reaper who had showed up just in the nick of time. Sighing a little, Celes shook her head. She realized that this could have been anyone. This could have been her if nobody ever interjected.

It left her lost in thought as she turned around. Most of the Hollow was now fading with the wind, the purification process being a little longer simply due to its size. As she returned back to Camila, the Shinigami had a look of rumination on her face. Just all manner of thoughts and things on her mind, but she snapped herself out of it and chuckled. She then proceeded to offer Camila her congratulations. "There we go! A konso and Hollow purification. All in the same day. What a patrol this is turning out to be." Celes just had a smile on her face.

While she smiled, her eyes were betraying as those inclined to sensing emotions in others would most likely be able to tell that something was on Celes' mind. Even just her demeanor spoke volumes about it. Ultimately, Celes was unsure if Camila was this type of person who could peer into your soul through your eyes and not only know the tiniest detail about you, but also understand your plight and sorrows. Celes doing her best to hide it, just giggled and carried on. "So what do you propose we do now, Camilla?" Celes eagerly waited.

[Deleted]

Watching Celes blitz forward at a nigh incomprehensible speed made her smile. Quite inversely to what the 3rd seat was thinking, Camila began to reminisce on the fact that her friend was a much more physically-focused fighter, compared to what she was. Truth be told, she used to really enjoy physical combat! Back when she first became a Shinigami, she used to want to resolve all of her conflicts through tactical use of her sword. Now, not so much.

She enjoyed casting spells much, much more than she enjoyed swinging a sword. After all, it was something she couldn't do while she was alive. It was a whole new experience; a whole new possibility that she wanted to, and was going to tackle. All in due time, she'd become a Kido expert. That much was a fact. It'd take some time, dedication, and a whole lot of work, but she'd make it happen, one step at a time. She wanted to learn as much as she possibly could!

Back to the topic at hand, though. While she was lost in her thoughts, Celes had already slashed open the hollow's mask, and left it on the ground to be purified. She began to cheer. "Woohoo! Go Celes!" She ran over to the girl out of excitement, and smiled happily toward her. "That was incredible! Honestly, watching you fight like that is so entertaining! I love seeing what you're capable of doing in combat, it's just so exhilarating!" She began to smile wide, a faint rosy red rising to her cheeks from excitement. 

"There we go! A konso and Hollow purification. All in the same day. What a patrol this is turning out to be." "Very true! I'm glad to hear that for once, I'm in an actual patrol!" She continued to smile, until she noticed something was... off. She was fairly good at being able to pick these things out, due to her natural charismatic skill. As such, her look turned one that seemed much more concerned. "Celes... What's wrong? Is everything alright?" She stepped a bit closer, still displaying that concerned look. She was a genuine friend, and Camila was genuinely worried. Surely it wasn't wrong of her to be a bit concerned for a friend in need, right?

"Well, what I want to do is make sure you're okay, Celes. You don't have to confide in me if you'd like to avoid that, but please do acknowledge the fact that I'm certainly here for you, should you need a shoulder to lean on. We're friends now, right? And friends definitely have each others' backs. So, your problem is my problem, Celes!" She did what she could to return to a smile, trying to do what she could in order to cheer the poor girl up, even slightly.

[Celes Castellanos]

Celes bounced up and down on the tip of her toes as she waited. While this was a standard patrol, this Hollow was not entirely impressive. She really wanted a challenge out of these Hollows. Admittedly, she knew from past experiences that Hollows of all shapes and sizes can have wacky and crazy abilities that can seem devistating when not paid attention to. That was the thing though. Normally, they were crushed without so much of a second thought. That's something else that Celes pitted about the Hollows. How quickly they could be dispatched. Made their job easier, but never satiated her enjoyment for fighting.

As Camila had approached her, her gleeful voice lit up. "That was incredible! Honestly, watching you fight like that is so entertaining! I love seeing what you're capable of doing in combat, it's just so exhilarating!" That was the charming thing about Camila to Celes. It seemed that the Shinigami always sought to compliment her for her work. Then again, the two were much different fighters. While Camila preferred to stay back and sling Kido at the opponent, Celes loved nothing more than getting up close and personal with her opponent.

In a way it was exhilirating really. The rush of combat that came with knowing the today may be your last day. It's what really made fighting so great for Celes. It was not that she wanted to die, but the concept of mortality was something that the Shinigami absolutely adored. To watch the blood drip from your wounds and fall onto the battlefield as you stood above the broken body of your opponent. If they deserved it atleast. Celes did not go out of her way to cripple or hell even beat someone to the brink of death. It was dishonerable in her eyes to do so.

Seems that Celes thoughts betrayed her as she was ripped from her trance and looked up at Camila who was speaking. "Celes... What's wrong? Is everything alright?" The Shinigami would just perk up and listen to Camila speak. "Well, what I want to do is make sure you're okay, Celes. You don't have to confide in me if you'd like to avoid that, but please do acknowledge the fact that I'm certainly here for you, should you need a shoulder to lean on. We're friends now, right? And friends definitely have each others' backs. So, your problem is my problem, Celes!"

Cele just sighed and chuckled. This girl was really something else. Such a charismatic personality and she seemed rather intuitive. That was admittedly something that Celes admired about Camila. Celes was a nice girl and all, but she was always so caught up in her training and her love of fighting that she sometimes forgot how nice it is to lay down arms and just talk to people. Then again, talking to people through bladework was always something that Celes felt told more about someone than any string of words ever could.

As she chuckled, Celes was about to turn around to continue on, but suddenly there was a loud sound. Almost in an instant, Celes actually felt something impact against her back. It was spiritual as it didn't have the same feeling as sword or even a blunt object. No it was something else. Almost as quickly as she was hit, Celes fell over, gasping on the floor as she held onto her stomach. The feeling seemed to radiate through her body as smoke arose from her back along with a nasty impact wound which showed the point at which she got hit.

As she fell onto one knee, still holding onto consciousness, she could not really see what hit her. After all, she'd have to twist her entire body and orient herself, but it hurt far too much to move. This was Celes' first encounter with a bala. The compact bullet-like sphere of energy that rammed into her back and knocked the wind out of her. Celes' breath was becoming ragged. She was not going to lose consciousness, but this impact obviously hurt like a bitch. It was then that atop one of the buildings was yet another Hollow.

This Hollow was different, however. A mixture of humanoid and bestial apperance, but not quite like an Arrancar. A chuckle could be heard as the Hollow simply appeared from what appeared to be a camoflauge. Much like how a chameleon would. It continued to chuckle and it actually began to speak. "Oh how easy it can be to get rid of you Soul Reapers. Always such a plague to Hueco Mundo. Don't worry. I will feast on your remains when I am done with you." Celes just spat out a little bit of blood in response, still somewhat incapacitated.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Class 5 Chameleon Hollow}
Strength: 50
Speed: 150
Reiatsu Strength: 250
Spiritual Pressure: 250
Instinct: 37
Senses: 37
Energy Sensory: 33
Healing Expertiese: 0

[Deleted]

Camila watched in horror as Celes took a bala as hard as she did. She started to panic. She’d already lost one friend to these damned hollows, she was NOT about to lose another. She wasn’t going to let that happen, no matter what. Unsheathing her blade, she made haste over to where Celes was, positioning herself so that she’d fit between both the Hollow and Celes, and eyed down the hollow, a look of hatred in her eyes. Her Reiatsu flared, as it spread throughout the length of her blade, and her spiritual pressure began to feel a bit... small. She’d distributed it throughout the length of her sword, yes, but she had another trick up her sleeve. It was simply a matter of getting within melee range, and she’d have this hollow locked down.

”Who the hell do you think you are?” she shouted aggressively, ”you think you’re just going to get away with doing that shit to my friend? Well, think again.” The very second she finished speaking, she immediately went for a Shunpo, but tried the same tactic she had originally pulled against her friend; she appeared behind the hollow, and jammed her palm into the hollow’s back. Not even needing to say the incantation to the simple, simple Bakudo she cast, she took a step back and watched as the hollow’s limbs were forced as behind their back as they were going to get, and the beast dropped to the ground. Her now-immense Reiatsu Strength was not nearly close to something this hollow could hope to overpower..

Upon watching him fall, she walked around front to see his face. Realizing the whole ‘chameleon’ theme going on here, she’d be ready in case he tried anything with that tongue of his. ”A monster like you doesn’t belong back in the soul cycle.” She knew saying something like that could easily be considered treason, and being in front of a shinigami while doing so was essentially securing her fate, but that was the last of what was on her mind right now. She didn’t care about anything but protecting her currently downed friend. As such, she pointed two fingers - her index and her middle - toward the beast’s head, and pale lightning quickly began to dance around her fingertips. It was more or less her signature Kido at this point, with how often she chose to use it.

Every waking moment that passed, this lightning began to jump further and further away from her fingers. It wasn’t anything crazy, but it was quite enough to realize the storm to come. She made sure her fingers were pointed at the dead-center of the hollow’s head, and prepared herself. “Arise, god of thunder. Awake, mother of storms. Unleash lightning upon the sinners. Hado #4: Byakurai.” To any that were familiar with shinigami kido, the monotonous tone that Camila took up would likely be... off-putting. She was clearly acting out of her own anger, whether or not that was a good thing she didn’t think to care about at the moment. Her mind was set toward achieving one, singular goal; protecting Celes.

Not even a second after she finished speaking those words, pale lightning erupted from her fingers, crashing straight into the hollow’s mask. The hollow jumped, and then slumped over without so much as a sound after the impact. It was, in fact, taken down. She turned away from the hollow, not paying attention to whether or not the beast’s body stayed there or whether it started to dissolve. That wasn’t her focus. She quickly ran over to Celes, and helped her however she could. [font color=“Are you alright? Is there anything at all I could possibly help with?”[/font] Her original aggressive demeanor seemed to shed, as she turned on the worry toward Celes. She immediately started to look where she could to bandage any wounds the girl might of had, as well as helping her up if she was still kneeling on the ground.

[Celes Castellanos]

There were few things that Celes disliked. She was not necessarily the super judgmental type, however the one thing she disliked above all was killing without meaning. It was a foreign concept to her as the Shinigami loved to fight, but she also loved to see others develop. To rise to a level above their current. It was her philosophy and it was how she maneuvered around the world. Despite being a Hollow, they were Shinigami and at the end of the day, their job was simply to protect the realms. This did include purifying Hollows and here came the one thing that Celes could not believe. 

Celes could overhear Camila and before it happened, the wounded Shinigami coughed up, "Camilla! Don't do it!" It seems that her words did not reach in time as the last thing she heard Camila saw sent a shiver down her spine. ”A monster like you doesn’t belong back in the soul cycle.” Just like that, the electricity began discharging and with a swift resonating sound, the lightning discharged from her finger and struck the Hollow in its mask. It seemed that the Hollow was dead. It did not fade away unlike most Hollows who were purified. Celes was shocked as she realized what Camila had just done.

It was then that she noticed Camila coming over. Celes looked at her with mixed emotions. On one hand she was flattered that Camila placed so much value on their friendship. It was really something that needed to be commended. On the other hand...she had just committed a taboo and Celes was conflicted. How could she turn her back on this Shinigami who had just proven to her that she cared for her? But then again, this could result in repercussions if she kept quiet? Would anyone find out? Was it possible to just sweep this under the rug? Celes was not sure.  

Celes sighed as Camila was showing care and concern for the Third Seat. She would not report her, but she did need to put her foot down. It was her duty to reprimand Camila. As a seated Officer she could not play favorites. Additionally, she could not just overlook this. It was with a heavy heart that Celes stood with difficulty, still affected by the pain of the Bala colliding with her. She turned around, looking away from Camila. The Shinigami would just shake her head. She did not enjoy the coming storm one bit, but she did have to tell Camila why this was wrong.

As she began to mull it over, she turned back to face Camila. Her eyes sorrowful, her mind racing with endless questions, her voice resonated with an authoritative tone. "Camila. We are Shinigami. We are protectors of the realm and while I appreciate the care you place into me as your friend, I simply cannot condone your behavior. What you did was reckless. It was unprofessional. It was not the way we should act and I am ashamed to say that I had to see this. To see you give yourself to something so vile. To come down to their level. To a Hollow's level, Camila!?!"

She was obviously angry. Her tone, normally caring and friendly simply, simply became that of a superior officer scolding a lower ranking member. It was not something she relished, but she felt it was necessary. There was a certain way for the two of them to behave and the way she behaved was not at all representative of how a Shinigami should react. They had their duties and it was to be carried out. Anything else simply meant death. Celes sighed. Camila was a sweet girl, but she clearly seemed to be affected by her emotions rather quickly. This was more about Celes as a superior officer, however.

This was a personal stake for Celes. As a warrior, she held honor above many other virtues. It made up the core of her philosophy, her life as a Shinigami and it was the central part of her being. Without that, she was next to nothing outside of a happy girl, encouraging and pushing others to betterment. Admittedly, this display was completely unlike Celes' normal demeanor and she had a thought that Camila knew this. It was not often that the Shinigami would have an outburst like this, but if it meant that she could prevent Camila from future transgressions like this, it needed to happen.

Celes continued, a little less angry now, but still annoyed. "The way of the warrior spells out temperance and bushido or honor as important virtues of any fighter. The temperance to remain calm if thing seem bleak. Camila. I will not report this to the Soul Society as it could very well be seen as potential treason and a mockery of all we stand for. Remember this well though. I am doing this for your benefit. Please don't force my hand in the future." She hoped that Camila would take it too hard. It was then that in the distance, a minor twitching could be seen from the Hollow. It was so miniscule that neither of them would notice.

[Deleted]

She tried to bottle up her feelings. She really did. She tried to stop herself from blowing up in return at the girl, but she felt she was quickly losing control of the situation, and she did not like that. At the very least, she did wait until Celes was finished speaking. An irritated look rose on her face, though, one that was quite visible. She didn't like being reprimanded for something she felt was very just, and very much something that should've been done.

As soon as Celes finished speaking, Camila began. "You do realize I practically just saved your life... right? You do realize that you weren't doing well after that hit, and that something like that could've ended up potentially even worse for you, should I not have acted in retaliation? Does that mean anything?!" As she continued to speak, a tear began to roll down her cheek, as she began shaking ever so slightly. "I'm out here, risking my life, doing what I can to protect a friend, and that's how I'm treated!? I CANNOT believe this!" Her voice began to grow shaky as tears began to steadily stream down her cheek. She turned away from Celes.

Wow. That... That just happened. She forced herself to take deep breaths in order to calm herself down. It wasn't long, but she did blow up on the girl. Unfortunately so. Celes was right; the two of them did have a job to do, and letting personal feelings get in the way was far from ideal. It'd quite obviously interfere with their work, as proven that it just did. That was far from ideal, and quite evidently needed to change, else she'd end up kicked out of Soul Society or worse.

After a few moments, she turned around. "I... I'm sorry, Celes. I didn't mean to explode like that, it's just... That hurt. I get where it was coming from, but it still hurt." She wiped her cheeks with the bottom of her thumb, and smiled softly toward the girl. That had to have been the first time she made herself vulnerable since dying; not physically vulnerable, as that happened somewhat often, but emotionally vulnerable. She wasn't proud of it, but there was no sense in harping on the past.

"How're you holding up, though?" Camila asked, looking to change the topic to the best of her ability, "How are you physically at the moment? You can walk, correct? Nothing broken?" She wanted to go in closer to make sure the girl was all right, but she didn't want to invade on personal space. Taking a hit like that worried her, and she wanted to make sure that she'd be all right to continue with the mission itself, and not have to turn around at any point.

[Celes Castellanos]

Celes raised an eyebrow at Camila. Celes was never entirely great at reading people, but could certainly tell that something was on the mind of this Shinigami. She seemed to wait until Celes was finished with her little reprimand. It was then that Celes could hear the tear in her voice. "You do realize I practically just saved your life... right? You do realize that you weren't doing well after that hit, and that something like that could've ended up potentially even worse for you, should I not have acted in retaliation? Does that mean anything?!" Celes sighed and just let her tucker herself out.

The Third Seat was doing all of this for the others' benefit. After all, this could become very ugly if Celes actually had to take action and report this little instant. Camila could certainly be punished for sure. Celes was not going to let that happened. She cared about this girl, but sometimes that involved having conversations that were hard to have. It was normal, but Celes still at a distance listened to her. "I'm out here, risking my life, doing what I can to protect a friend, and that's how I'm treated!? I CANNOT believe this!" Her eyes narrowed on Camila as she ruminated on this.

It seemed that she was taking it hard. Then again, it was only natural for those that could be quick to anger or even those who simply felt betrayed. Camila seemed to be the latter. Her emotional state seemed to even out as Celes then heard the girl speak once more. "I... I'm sorry, Celes. I didn't mean to explode like that, it's just... That hurt. I get where it was coming from, but it still hurt." Celes shook her head and walked forward, a little easier now. Granted she placed a hand onto Camila's shoulder and just smiled. No facetious intent behind it. Just a regular smile.

Celes spoke once again in her calmer and motherly tone. After all, that was the way she normally talked with others she wished to console. "Camila...I understand you are upset, but understand that this is all simply to protect you. I do not wish harm to come to you because of this little incident so I am harsh on you now so you understand that while I will not report this or seriously reprimand you, this may not be the case for others. In fact others may take affirmative action and I want you to be ready for that. I want to teach you that this is something you just can't do..."

As she spoke, the Third Seat would continue smiling at Camila. She really did mean that and she chuckled as Camila spoke once more. "How are you physically at the moment? You can walk, correct? Nothing broken?" The Shinigami just chuckled with loud laughter and quickly jumped up and holding her thumb up. She spoke firmly and with confidence. "Of course. The bala hurt, but it's not anything that I can't shake off with time. Your little stunt did give me time to recuperate atleast no matter the ethics of your actions. For that, I thank you Camila." 

It was then that the former corpse of the Hollow would begin to twitch and twist. Celes blinked as she had admittedly never seen anything like this. With a quick pop, the corpse that was their just began to turn brown and black as it quickly began to crumble and fade away. This was certainly new and she had never seen anything like this before. Granted, the curiosity would not necessarily last for long as she heard a sound. It sounded like a chuckle. Like the one of the Hollow that Camila had supposedly killed. If this was the case, Celes couldn't help, but smile as Camila technique did nothing wrong except for the intent in her actions.

Without much of a warning, the two Shinigami would be met with an uncloaking Hollow once more. The Hollow that had just supposedly died. This was different though as it was already beginning to charge a Cero. Only one more second and this Cero would discharge at them with incredible force. Despite this predicament, there would be a distortion in the air. Suddenly, an arrow flew in from the side, being caught in Celes peripheral vision. Suddenly the Hollow did not move. It did not make a sound as its mask just split and it began to fade away. It seemed different though. Celes looked up and saw a figure with a bow atop a building smirking. 

[Deleted]

Camila smiled after hearing the reassurance from Celes. She was glad that she was okay. More importantly, she was given confirmation from Celes that she does look out for her. This made Camila smile. She felt appreciated, much like she was going for toward Celes with that, as the third seat put it, "stunt she pulled". Sure, it wasn't something that she should've done, but she was essentially acting on impulse. She couldn't really control herself if she was honest, and it was something that needed a lot of work on her part. She'd get there, but with time.

Upon hearing some form of movement from the hollow, Camila immediately turned around. The first thought running through her mind, watching everything that was happening to the hollow, was the fact that it wasn't actually dead. She hadn't fucked up, after all! She'd be able to make up for her past mistakes and purify the beast! She drew her blade, as the hollow continued to charge a Cero, and her eyes went wide. She wasn't keen on picking up energy as it was, but even she could feel the immense power coming from the beast. She winced, bracing for potential impact.

Then, nothing. The hollow seemed to stop, and slowly slump over once again, this time beginning to dissolve. From the side of the hollow's mask, was a bright blue arrow-like shape. She knew that better than anyone, and her head shot to her side. Atop a building, she saw that damned Quincy who had just fired off an arrow. Who the hell did he think he was!? She was absolutely outraged, and was far from where she wanted to be in terms of how calm she was trying to keep herself. It seemed like one thing after another looked to escalate the situation even further.

"FUCKING ELITIST PIECE OF SHIT," she began to shout, unable to control both her temper and language, "GO KILL-STEAL SOMEWHERE ELSE! ABSORB HOLLOW REIATSU AND DIE ASSHOLE!" She was practically fuming at this point, completely unable to control her temper. Were it not for the Quincy leaving, she likely would've went after him and went in for a kill. She took a few deep breaths, and turned to address Celes, laughing. "I promise you I'm not temperamental like this normally, today's just been... stressful, to say the least." She scratched the back of her head, apologizing once again for the outburst directed toward the Quincy.