The Rampant Ones { JT / Rio }

[Torre Vulci]

What a pain the last few days have been. Was it even days? Or was it weeks? Torre could hardly tell at this point, losing track of time was the easiest thing to do. He hasn't even tried to locate that shinigami girl, Celes, to see if she even kept her end of the bargain. The female beast clan, Arjaka was a... Strange yet interesting encounter one he didn't know if he wanted more of. Yet something still lingered on in his head, those damn memories. Once they revealed themselves back on that beach, he just couldn't get them out of his head. Every waking moment he wasn't keeping himself somewhat busy they would pop up. It was if they were trying to get him to do something, but he was more annoyed than curious. 

Leticia.... That name wrung through his skull and wrecked every ounce of him. Every time it reappeared in his head he could hear the hallucinations voice. It sent shivers down his spine and made a warm feeling in his chest, but only confusion would fill his head. Every part of him that was once in perfect alignment, had been thrown out of it. If Torre was gonna be honest, it pissed him off to no end. Accidentally breaking whatever he was holding or near when it happened. Still there was some form of pull, some form of tug that kept him from wanting to abandon that search.

"..... Just what the hell was i before?... A Destroyer?... Or a ... Protector?... " 

Then of course you had the fact that his current master, his Espada, was no where in sight. In fact no where to be even found as far as he was aware. He knew Lady Asuka had a home in the World of the Living, but she never mentioned bloody where it was. Her lack of being was also troubling him greatly. While it was a selfish thing of him, he mostly stuck with her because he never felt angry around her. Yet now? Now he can't go a day without at least breaking something in a fit of rage. Without that strange comforting aura she had, he could feel himself lose to his rage at even the slightest provocation. 

"....Just where the hell did you go... Lady Asuka. " 

His words silently flowing in the wind as he stared up at the neverending darkness of Hueco Mundo's sky. Yet despite all this he smacked himself to refocus on what he knew was a smarter use of time. " ..... No doubt that shinigami girl is getting stronger. If i want to enjoy a proper fight with her... i must get stronger. " His warrior drive and instincts once again kicking himself back into focus on the end goal. Power. The only thing that really matters in Las Noches or Hueco Mundo in general. This also served a double purpose, as at least for now he was the only arrancar that has any home in the Segunda Tower. The only issue was now he needed someone or something to train against in order to grow stronger. 

Not knowing any specific arrancar for that, and refusing to go to Shiki, He decided to just go out and train to just keep himself in shape. Taking up a specific spot out in the wastes where can look for strong hollows to combat. Of course every one he found, was dying too soon. Each punch and kick seemingly killing most of the hollows that got brave in one to three hits. Out of frustration for not even feeling like a decent warm up was done, punching a near by crystalline tree. ".....This is annoying.... i need to fight to get stronger. But nothing is even remotely good for a warm up. " Staring at the amount of hollows keeping their distance from him. " OH FUCK OFF IF YOU AREN'T GONNA FIGHT ME!" Picking up near by boulders and throwing them at the said hollows, crushing a few of them and scaring off the rest. 

" Fucking..... Useless. " 

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

It wasn’t particularly common for Rio to roam the sands of Hueco Mundo. There was never anything out there for him. He had never felt a particular sense of comradery with the Hollows that swelled in numbers out in the sands, and arrancar were so rare and uncommon that they were scarce worth the effort of wandering to look out there. Still. She had gone out on a journey into these wastes. What she’d expected to find out here, Rio had no idea. Fucking bitch probably died out there, or got lost. The surly Quinta thought as he walked out in the sands. He wasn’t sure why he’d come out today. But something had drawn him out. An inner compulsion of sorts. Rio couldn’t explain it, he’d just run with it. Afterall. A perk of being an Espada was that you could do whatever you wanted, wasn’t it?

Not that he’d ever admit it, but Rio missed the only person in Las Noches he might have actually called a friend. And now another Espada, Asuka, had gone and vanished again. Maybe I should think about taking a trip myself. Rio thought, gazing out at the endless white expanse. Asuka came back strong enough to be the fucking Segunda. Guess there’s some worthwhile shit out here afterall. What, she gonna come back as the Primera? Rio wondered with a shake of his head and a short, barking laugh at his own idea.

Rio was so lost in his own head that he didn’t even notice when he just outright walked into a swarm of Hollows. They were battling something. One of the Hollows actually tried to attack Rio, biting the Espada’s shoulder, but couldn’t even break Rio’s Hierro. ”Hm?” Rio pondered, suddenly taking notice of his surroundings. He gazed into the Hollow’s masked face and then smiled. ”You made a fucking huge mistake today, you worthless waste of space.” He seized the Hollow’s head and crushed it like an empty tin can, the creature barely having a moment to shriek in agony.

Rio started to walk now, through the swarm of Hollows, casually shouldering a few out of the way, like they weren’t even there. He wondered what had them so riled up. He could hear someone screaming angrily. Then a boulder came flying straight at Rio’s face.

That particular boulder that Torre threw stopped dead in its tracks, its momentum halted instantly. It hid Rio’s features as he slowly walked in the direction the boulder had been thrown. He could smell someone. It smelled like Las Noches. It smelled like an arrancar. ”What’d you just say?” The Espada asked, as he finally set the boulder aside, and looked up into Torre’s face. Rio wasn’t a small man. He was six foot four, and built like a brick. But Torre was a good half-foot taller than even Rio. This was the second person he’d run into recently that had been so ludicrously tall.

Ah well. Size wasn’t everything. ”Fuck off if you aren’t going to fight me? Eh, Fraccion?” Rio asked, with a snarling, mocking grin. The sort of look that should have sent a message to Torre. The message being: “You fucked up son”. ”Careful what you wish for.” Rio commented, lightly placing a hand on the boulder he had just set down.

The only warning that Torre would receive would be the sound of cracking rock, as Rio’s fingers broke a handhold into the boulder an instant before swinging it like a club into Torre’s side with his full, 800 strength. This was about as close to a warning shot as Rio got, as the boulder would not carry quite as much force as his actual fist and some of the force would not be fully carried over, the massive stone shattering as it struck Torre. Even so, the force Rio brought to bear to hit Torre with his improvised weapon far exceeded Torre’s formidable strength, and if Torre was caught offguard by this, he’d be in for a world of hurt. ‘
Rio had a reputation as one of the more violent Espada, an Espada who did not often take Fraccion. Not out of any desire not to have them, but because the few Fraccion he had taken had gotten killed by their master in record time, during Rio’s fits of rage. This was the Espada who had the Destruction aspect of death. Brutal, savage, primal and violent. This was Rio Demoniogalgo. A thoroughly unpleasant character, as Torre was about to find out, firsthand.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Stats and Skills}
Strength - 400 (800) Points
Speed - 300 Points
Spiritual Pressure - 400 (200)Points
Reiatsu Strength - 400 Points
Light Aura - 0 Points
Dark Aura - 100 Points
Instinct - 200 Points
Senses 150 Points
Energy sensory - 50 Points
Healing Expertise - 0 Points
Total: 1900 SP


Abilities

[Martial Arts: Pankration] 4

[Pain Tolerance] 3

[Unique Skill: Shockwaves] 3

Lack of Fear [2]

[Battle Learning] [2]

[Battle Analysis] [1]

[Torre Vulci]

Just as things were starting to take a turn for the boring, Torre blinked when he only now sensed the presence of a being. Of course his boulder throw was meant for the cowardly hollows backing away from him. Yet it seemed to get stopped in place, of course Torre would notice it. The lack of screams of pain, the lack of death gurgles, the lack of the sound of impact upon the sands. Torre stood and turned his attention towards the seemingly moving boulder only to slightly grin. The being he sensed before being non other than the Quinta Espada, one that many a rumor has been said about. 

" If i knew i was gonna be graced with your appearance, i would of prepped a more fitting battlefield Lord Rio. " 

Even in this slightly agitated state, Torre's hair was still mostly ashen black with just the tips glowing red. His veins very faintly glowing white, with a soft red hue in his otherwise ashen eye. This was good, and very much bad at the same time. Torre wanted a strong opponent to go up against, but Rio was rumored to be more reckless and destructive than Torre was. None the less he looked at the shorter arrancar and bowed his head with a respectful intention. If he remembered correctly there was a tale from Asuka about how Rio terrified her, but then again he was probably mixing rumors at this point. 

When Rio said for him to be careful what he wished for, Torre only grinned deeper. " If you would have me, then lets go! " The sound of breaking rock was the first warning sign that Rio was making a move. So When he swung the huge boulder like a weapon Torre was instinctually ready. With a blur of movement Torre had jumped just high enough to be above the swinging boulder, his foot raised high into the air. His movements were slower than Cierro's if Rio bothered to remember him, but the fact that he was 7 feet tall and still this fast should be somewhat impressive. 

He slammed his foot into the top of the improvised weapon of a boulder, and if Rio didn't bother to react fast enough it would shatter the boulder into many little rocks. With another blur of movement Torre would attempt to put some distance between the two arrancar, at best being twenty or so feet. "...Your Reputation proceeds you. So. Lord Rio. " Undoing the chain of his jacket he threw it onto a dead hollow nearby and took a stance fitting for a boxer. " I would of requested Lady Asuka for this... But she isn't here and i don't want to train under Lord Shiki. " The way Torre looked at Rio, it would look like a flame was lit in his eye.  

" I want.... No. I NEED to get stronger. So... Break my body, so that i can get even stronger. " Even though the words were probably worthless to Rio. The motive was clear, Torre wanted this to happen. The passion for wanting to get more powerful deep in his voice, but then again was it even mattering? He doubt Rio would give a shit about someone he probably doesn't even know the name of. Yet if Rio's rumors and reputation really would show besides this surprise attack, he doubt he needed much of a reason to fight anyone or anything. Yet Torre couldn't ask for a better opponent for this. 

SPOILER: Click to show

Strength: 330 + 50% { 495 }
Speed: 300 +50% { 450 }
Instinct: 150
Reiatsu Strength: 100
Spiritual Pressure: 200 -25% {150 } { 1,500 }
Energy Sensory: 50
Senses: 100
Light Aura:10
Dark Aura: 90
Healing Expertise: 0

Skills-
Weapon: Sword 2
Martial Arts: Boxing 2
Martial Arts: Kick Boxing 2
Pain Tolerance 2
Lack of Fear 2
Battle Analysis 2
Damage Recovery 2

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

Rio scoffed. "Spare me that bullshit, Fraccion." Rio replied. "A battlefield is a battlefield. Not that this is going to be a battle..." He began, before swinging the boulder. Torre cleared the boulder with a leap and Rio took note of his higher than average speed. Not that it phased Rio. Rio's speed was fairly unspectacular for an Espada. To say he was slow wouldn't quite be accurate, but his speed was below average at least. Torre's kick did indeed crush the boulder in Rio's hand, reducing it to rubble. A few stones bounced off of Rio's Hierro but the Espada barely seemed to even register this. "Don't waste your breath on needless compliments. So you're one of Asuka's are you?" Rio inquired. Then laughed as Torre made some distance. Not at Torre, but it seemed Rio found something incredibly amusing about his being Asuka's Fraccion. "Well that's fuckin' great." Rio said. "This is the second time I've found the Fraccion of a Segunda. The last one was one of Kuroi's and she was a damn good fight. Actually worth my time. You've got a bit to live up to Fraccion!" Rio snarled as he started to advance towards him.

Rio's inclination towards battle was that of a juggernaut. He didn't waste time with little movements. He committed, wholeheartedly to everything he did. He didn't usually come at his opponents fast and furious (okay, so maybe furious), but his approach was always steady and deliberate. Like an oncoming steam roller. Sure you could try running away, but if you stayed in its path, you were going to be run over. Shiki asked Rio to break his body? Rio found it in him to laugh again. "I'm not going to break your body, Fraccion." Rio warned Torre. "I am going to destroy it." Rio's steadfast approach would eventually bring him into arms reach of Torre, and the Espada didn't hesitate for an instant. He surged forwards and threw a feral right hook into Torre's ribs. With Torre's formidable strength, this wouldn't necessarily have the usual reaction to Rio throwing this punch (that is to say-- most who were hit by this move would have lost the entire left side of their body), but it would very likely break and shatter Torre's bones if it connected. A second hook came in from the left with the same monstrous destructive force, followed by a right uppercut into Torre's midsection. With Torre's size it was a waste of time and effort to go for the head. Punches would take longer to reach the head of his taller opponent, so Rio was going to break down his body and bring Torre's head within reach so he could crush it.

Despite his feral and violent demeanor, Rio demonstrated a surprising level of skill and technique with his punches. Technically there was nothing wrong with them. Many misread Rio as a mindless, violent thug and nothing more. And while he was definitely a violent thug, he was not a mindless one. Behind that snarling visage was over four millenia of fighting experience, that still remembered his life as a Spartan. Rio was a professional soldier in life. He could choose to be disciplined if he wanted to. He just usually didn't care to. With each punch, Rio pressed in closer and closer to Torre, to keep the fight at extreme close range, where he would have the advantage. Torre's greater size was useful if he could keep Rio at a distance, but if Rio closed in such that he was chest to.... Okay, not quite chest to chest with Torre, but close enough... anyways. If Rio could get that close to Torre, Torre would likely find it harder to throw blows with any real technique at Rio. He'd also be vulnerable to grappling attacks, of which Rio was a master. Being an expert at Pankration had its perks, after-all.

Torre would quickly come to realize he'd need more than just his speed to fight Rio. If Torre tried to weave out of range or around Rio's punches, the Espada would suddenly open his mouth and a Bala would explode outwards at Torre at point blank range, with virtually no time to evade. Normally Bala were just the arrancar equivalents of jabs, but Rio's formidable Reiatsu strength would mean that his Bala would deal serious damage to Torre if it connected. If Torre wanted to be broken down by Rio, he needed to be careful. There was a high chance that he wouldn't simply be broken down if he was careless. Just broken.

Reiatsu Remaining: 1950/2000 (-50 for Bala)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and Skills}Strength - 400 (800) Points
Speed - 300 Points
Spiritual Pressure - 400 (200)Points
Reiatsu Strength - 400 Points
Light Aura - 0 Points
Dark Aura - 100 Points
Instinct - 200 Points
Senses 150 Points
Energy sensory - 50 Points
Healing Expertise - 0 Points
Total: 1900 SP


Abilities

[Martial Arts: Pankration] 4
[Pain Tolerance] 3
[Unique Skill: Shockwaves] 3
Lack of Fear [2]
[Battle Learning] [2]
[Battle Analysis] [1]

[Torre Vulci]

Well this was gonna be fun time, already he could tell it was gonna leave him sore for a long while. Torre smirked when Rio basically told him to hold up on any talking, which only amused him. " More of a old fashioned type then?... Fine. Lets talk the only way warriors can. " It wasn't to much later that Rio pressed his attack against him. It was rougher for Torre, seeing as boxing was designed for like sized people. Yet again it didn't mean he wasn't flexible enough to use boxing against Rio, it was just gonna be tricky. When Rio threw his first punch, it was easy to tell just how experienced and skilled he was. 

None the less, it didn't mean he didn't leave any blindspots.

With another blur of motion he actually pushed towards Rio's punch, using his superior speed to duck under it. It was gonna be a tight fit, but then again they aren't in a ring now were they? He paid attention to the way the muscles moved in Rio's arm, deducting that if he got hit with any of those it would leave a serious wound. Following up to Rio's first punch, Torre launched his own. A blurry right hook just under Rio's ribcage aimed more for his stomach in a attempt to knock the wind right out of him. He wasn't sure what form of martial arts Rio had, but boxing was built around abusing blindspots made during punches or while guarding. If he could knock the wind out of Rio, it would open him up for further abuse. 

Then the second punch from Rio came and that's where the issue came. With the stretched out and ducking position Torre was in to even get that first hit, it would make it hard to try and duck again. Instead he had to rely on his superior speed again and shifted his feet a little to bend his back towards the ground. Barely managing to dodge the second punch, but at the cost of not being able to dish out a second punch himself. Taking note that Rio's punches all seem to have the same destructive force behind them, which was both impressive and highly terrifying. Finally the third punch came to be more of a uppercut than the last two and with uppercuts come a exposed liver to abuse. 

Only issue was getting to the liver and not getting punched. If he wasn't careful, even in his current position the uppercut would easily ruin the momento that he has. The best course of action was to unfortunately abandon the attempt at his liver and instead aim for the head, more specifically his jaw. Letting himself fall flat in order to dodge the upper cut, he put his hands next to his hand and pushed up, attempting to reverse axe kick Rio in the jaw. If any of the two attacks would land, it would probably not hurt much if at all for Rio yet the force would still carry its weight. 

In any sort of the way using the momentum from his kick attempt, he would use it to get himself back on his feet about five feet from Rio. Only to blink when he saw the bala charge. " Ah... Shit! " Putting his arms together to guard against it, the Bala's force was surprising. Enough to actually push Torre back another ten feet. " Alright..... so hes got a strong body and hasn't slouched on the spiritual side... Fuck. " Torre could feel his arm pulsate with pain from the Bala blast. it wasn't quite as much as Rio would hope, but it certainly left his arms feeling the pain at least until the pain started to fade. 

Still, something felt wrong. Something wasn't right. From all the rumors he heard about Rio, it felt as if Rio wasn't entirely going all out just yet. Was he testing his capabilities first? Was he underestimating him? What was the point of not going all out if he was gonna in quote, Destroy his body? None the less he would have to take this a lot more carefully, something in his gut was saying that this is only the calm before the storm. He recently just remembered, Rio saying something about fighting the fraccion of a different Segunda. Mentioning the name Kuroi which sparked a memory. 

"...Lady Asuka mention a Kuroi before... " Just how fucking long has Rio been a Espada? It was frustrating to think that he would have to rely on his ressureccion once again to even land a decent blow. It annoyed him to have to flood his mind with rage just to fight at full power, but for now he kept the idea at bay. Deciding to take this by ear and see what Rio does next before he makes any specific call. Once he uses his Res... He knows the fight will be decided if he has to and frankly? It wasn't looking good for Torre in the long run of things, But this was what he asked for. . 

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

Torre had to duck impressively low to bring himself completely under Rio's hook to the ribs. From that position it would be extremely difficult for Torre to respond or dodge, and in fact, the low duck did change Rio's follow-up to an extent. While Rio would still throw off the full-combination attack he had planned he was interjecting something new as Torre had brought his head to the perfect level for this next move. As Torre threw his punch, Rio interrupted his own combo by throwing an aggressive and vicious knee strike at Torre's face. Although Torre was certainly faster than Rio he was not quite so fast that his punch would land before Rio could even start up the knee, and said attack was traveling along the same line as Torre's punch. The results from Torre's punch colliding with Rio's knee would-- although spare his face from the force of the Quinta's strike, be less than positive for the Fraccion's hand. In all likelihood, Rio's knee strike would completely shatter the bones in Torre's fist, leaving the opposing arrancar with a largely useless, mangled and bloody wreck of a hand.

If Torre did manage to avoid both his hand and his face being struck by Rio's knee however, Rio would still push to finish his combo, his fist missing his target by little more than a hair as Torre leaned away from it. "Heh. Not good enough, trash." Rio snarled, and as his fist passed in front of Torre's face and his forearm followed suit, Rio flexed the muscles in the striking arm, and flicked it at Torre, breaking off the punch. Normally this wouldn't even be much of an annoyance to Torre even with Rio's strength. Rio's forearm wouldn't even collide with his opponent. What would however, was the sudden repulsing shockwave that exploded out of Rio's arm at what was basically centimeters from Torre's body. There was going to be no avoiding this one, as between Torre's crouched position and him leaning back to boot, the Fraccion would be in an extremely unstable position and in a poor way to dodge it. The one saving grace Torre faced was that the motion prevented Rio's shockwave from being as strong as it could have been. It was a testament to Rio's talent with shockwaves that he could even generate one from such a minor movement. As such the shockwave would only carry about half of Rio's strength-- approximately 400. While weaker than Torre's, in Torre's compromised position it was very likely it would at least knock the arrancar down, and probably hurt a fair bit, as, although weaker, the blow would still have nearly as much force as one of Torre's own punches.

Conveniently though this seemed to fall into Torre's own plans as his axe kick would sail up towards Rio's jaw. Rio shifted his arm between his jaw and Torre's kick-- as any competent martial artist knew, once you were done with a punch, you brought it back to guard. As such, at least one of Rio's hands was already in a good position that a slight shift brought it to intercept Torre's blow and his kick crashed against Rio's arm with tremendous force. The force of Torre's blow could be seen as it exploded into the air. And yet... Rio's arm didn't even budge. "Is that all you've got Fraccion!? You won't do the Segunda proud like that." Rio snapped, as he unleashed his Bala.

Torre's makeshift defense would leave him with burned arms, but the damage wouldn't be crippling, unlike the previous knee strike. But that was the only good thing about his situation, because Rio wasn't stopping. Torre backing off only meant that Rio was pushing his attack, immediately closing in again with full aggression. Rio struck high again, this time with something Torre would be very familiar with as a boxer. A sudden jab from the left, followed by a right straight. A classic boxing one-two. Of course, with Rio's strength, even his jab could potentially break a bone, even if Torre blocked it. And if Torre tried to slip or duck this attack he'd get a very nasty surprise. If Torre did not back off from this attack, Rio was going to throw a hard leg kick, to break the other arrancar's leg, and destroy his mobility. Which leg, would depend on a few things. Although Rio would have preferred to attack with his left leg, and break Torre's right, if Torre attempted to strafe the punch and circle to Rio's right then Rio would instead kick with his right leg into Torre's left-- attacking at an intercepting angle whichever way Torre went.

But this was something of a two-faced trap, because if Torre backed off instead of trying to slip the punches, Rio instead would launch a shockwave from his fist, about the size of a basketball. Focused and strong, being hit by these would be no different than being hit by Rio himself, each shockwave carrying the full strength of Rio's fist. "As well she should have. Kuroi was the one who taught her. The former Segunda Espada before Asuka." Rio had fought Kuroi once himself-- it.... had gone poorly for the Quinta Espada-- at that time, the Sexta. But it had been an enlightening experience for Rio. Rio was disappointed he'd never had a chance to battle Asuka. Ah well. He could vent out his stress on her Fraccion instead!

Reiatsu Remaining: 1950

[Ludwig Verrlicht]

Alright rewards time for ya'll.

Total paragraphs between ya'll is 34. Cut in half that's 170 TP for both Rio and Torre.