Snatching at what Shines [Tala/Kane, NDE]

[Kane Coo]

Thread Title: Snatching at what Shines
Participants: Tala, Kane
World: Human World
Death Setting: Non Death Enabled
Rating: PG-13
Location: In the sleepy streets of a Norwegian village around midday. It's Market day in the village, so the main road through town is busier than normal with fisherman, farmers, and other merchants gathering to sell their wares.
Special Conditions: None
Circumstances: Kane, a Rogue with an illegal Bakkoto parasite, is wandering in a depressed state after losing all of his memories, among other things. He sees something shiny and steals it. That shiny thing happens to belong to a Shinigami who wants it back. They fight over the shiny thing.

[Kane Coo]

"Kane Coo... Unloved... Worthless..."

The birdman knew only four other words, the rest of them nearly as negative; neutral at best. In a state of fugue and listlessness Kane wandered aimlessly having lost his sense of direction, sense of dignity, sense of self... Basically all that could snap him out of his state was when he heard music on the wind, or saw something shiny. Music was comforting and relaxing, giving him peace in his troubled state. But something shiny... oh, those shiny things were too tempting to pass up. Anytime he caught a glimpse of something that reflected the sun just right it was in his hands before he knew what he was doing.

Norway had been good to him so far. His clawed fingers tapped on the most recent shiny thing he had acquired for his hoard, a belt buckle that had been well cared for. Someone's pants were going to fall down randomly without them understanding why their belt was suddenly not working, especially since Kane was deft of hand, stealthy, and also invisible to the common human. He had found this buckle still attached to the human, a man large enough that his shirt bulged away from his waist revealing his belt buckle to the Rogue. It hadn't taken long to snatch the belt off the sleeping figure and carry it away.

On a hill overlooking the village he had mostly taken up as his residence for now, the former Avian Beast Clansman touched each of his shiny treasures. There was more than one belt buckle, a chunk of glass that he had smoothed the edges of after being cut one too many times, a locket he couldn't figure out how to open, and a large amount of coins scoured clean of dirt and grime. He placed his newest shiny thing, the buckle, into the pile he had kept hidden in a small crevice underneath a rock and just closed his eyes for a moment.

"Worthless..."

He truly didn't know how to form any positive words after the torture by the Kasumi'Oji that had left his brain scarred. He only knew eight words (Kane Coo... You are unloved, worthless. Be Gone) and only knew them because of the recording on his iPod. The iPod that was linked to the hungry aching in his shoulder somehow. He felt like the black tumor-like mass was something important, but he couldn't remember what it was, why it was there, or how it was connected to the device that only played that same depressing message. But it was all that Kane had to hold onto, so he continued playing it every so often. So he'd remember.

With earbuds equipped with just white noise playing on the mostly broken device, Kane set his treasures down and started wandering towards the bustle of Market day in the village. He hadn't been able to focus enough on any specific conversation to catch any words to use, and even if he did they weren't in a language his brain could even process. Yet, at least? He was trying, but it was slow work. It didn't help that no one in this town was spiritually aware enough to be able to see him, or if they could they said nothing about the just over five foot tall bird man in a brown cloak wandering the streets just taking in all the sights...

Sights that led him to see something shiny that he immediately just had to have. He did his best to quietly and deftly remove the shiny thing from the wrist of who wore it and slink back, but Fate had other consequences in mind...

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats/Skills}
Strength - [50] (x1.25) {63} Points

Speed - [50] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [50] (x1.5) {75} Points

Reiatsu Strength - [50] (x.7) {35} Points

Light Aura - [50] Points

Dark Aura - [50] Points

Instinct - [50] Points

Senses - [100] (x.75) {75} Points

Energy sensory - [0] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points


Total SP: [350] Points




Abilities


[Mental: Imitation] {1}


[Utility: Stealing] {1}


[Battle: Weapons: Axe] {1}


[Utility: Other: Guitar] {1}


[Body: Acrobatics] {1}


[Body: Stealth] {1}

[Tala Selao]

Tala was surprised he'd been allowed to come here but with a quite place like this it was a nice reprieve from his usual duties. He'd decided to come out this far from their usual jurisdiction just to see what it was like as he was, after all, born in the Soul Society so he'd only ever known what the world of the living was like from stories he read in books and second hand accounts from his fellow Shinigami. He'd heard about this quaint little place from the former, although it didn't speak of this specific village but of the territory that the village was within known as Norway.

To say Tala wasn't a fan of the cold was an understatement and with him only having his shihakusho to keep him warm, he was seriously beginning to have second thoughts on coming to this place. However he decided to stay, as he did find the small village pleasing in a way although he was surprised how busy the streets were. No doubt there were bound to be pickpockets about and it was fortunate that they were unable to interact with him lest he lose something important or precious.

Or at least he thought he was fortunate as he went to rubs his hands together and bring them to his lips so he could warm them up when he realized that a certain item was missing from his wrist. The bracelet that his wife had gifted him with was nothing particularly valuable save for maybe the shiny rocks that were used to decorate it but it was one of the most valuable items that Tala owned and losing it was something he wouldn't be able to live with and having it stolen wasn't something he was going to forgive easily.

He quickly spins about, seeing if he could spot the thief in question. The identity of the culprit was a very narrow few as it must have been a spirit of some sort, a lost soul that was trapped here in this village as that was the only way it could have been taken from him unless one of these villagers were spiritually more aware than he'd suspected. It also couldn't have been a Hollow or else he'd have just been attacked or outright killed on the spot instead of having something as small as his trinket stolen from. No, the only reasonable explanation was that the thief was a spirit of some kind and a very quiet one at that.

Tala frowned as he couldn't immediately spot anyone amongst the crowd and then began pushing his way through it as he started to search for the thief, looking down every back alley and street he could find which wasn't very many but it did take him a few minutes before he found the culprit. At least he had to assume it was the culprit as he had never seen a creature like it before. He cautiously approached and when he was a few feet away he cleared his throat, "Excuse me but I believe you have something that belongs to me. If you could be so kind as to give it back, I'd appreciate that."

Tala held out one hand while keeping his other one steady on his Zanpakuto in case things took a turn for the worse, which he hoped they wouldn't but you could never be too careful in these circumstances.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats & Skills}Strength: 25
Speed: 25
Spiritual Pressure: 70 (50% Increase) 105
Reiatsu Strength: 55
Light Aura: 50
Dark Aura: 50
Healing Expertise: 0
Instinct: 50
Senses: 50
Energy Sensory: 0
------------------
Analyzing: 1
Battle Analysis: 1
Weapons (Pole Weapons): 1
Acrobatics: 1
Heat Tolerance: 1
Charisma: 1

[Kane Coo]

Kane didn't travel far away from the Shinigami, admiring the shiny bracelet that he had slipped off of the wrist of the former owner. He hadn't guessed that the victim would be able to see him, much less go looking for him. When he was found by Tala and addressed so... politely, Kane still got defensive and started to clutch the bracelet towards his chest. He saw the hand on the hilt of the sword, which scared him and made him aggressive as well as defensive. When the birdman opened his mouth to speak, Tala's own voice was mimicked back at him as well as a deeper mysterious voice. It belongs to me, Kane Coo you are worthless. Be gone."

Slipping the bracelet over his own wrist, Kane feared that he had bitten off more than he could chew. Not only was he without a good weapon, he was without any sort of power or techniques that could be used to defend himself from the Shinigami's sword. Using acrobatic skill, the rogue cartwheeled backwards and grabbed a rock from the ground. A good sized rock, something that could easily bash a skull in, he imagined. He opened his mouth again and echoed out "Be gone!" Brandishing the rock threateningly, Kane prepared for a fight to keep his shiny new thing. Nothing else really stood out to him as making a good weapon, as he didn't see any axes just conveniently lying around (he loved axes for reasons he couldn't remember) so he stuck with his rock and pointed it threateningly towards Tala.

[Tala Selao]

Tala was confused on more levels than one and was especially taken back by hearing his own voice come out of the mouth of this creature. Watching it backflip away and brandish a rather large rock as threateningly as it could was also an odd sight. He noted that it didn't have neither a Hollow hole or the Chains of Fate that would suggest this was a wandering Plus or a Hollow and Tala has yet to have meet any of the Beast-Clansmen. He'd have to worry about figuring out what this creature was later as he was determined on getting his bracelet back.

So he let out a sigh and began to chant, "Man, shaped by Divine hands, revert to the form before limbs, clutch at your own throat and be afraid." He then took a step forward and propelled himself towards the birdman with Shunpo, appearing in front of him with his hand outstretched and intending to place it upon the Kane as he finished the chant, calling the name of the spell he was casting, "Bakudō number one, Sai." If Tala was able to successfully place his hand on Kane then the bird man would find his hands being locked in place behind his back.

Tala would then quickly attempt to sweep Kane's foot out from under him and push him to the ground, following him down and placing a knee on his back to pin him down as he then tried to take his bracelet back, apologizing to Kane as he did, "I don't wish to cause you harm, I just want this bracelet back. It means a lot to me so I can't simply let you have it."

Shunpo Speed - 250

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reiatsu Pool - 975/1,050}-50 Shunpo
-25 Bakudō #1: Sai

SPOILER: Click to show

{Bakudō #1: Sai - 60.5 OS}Class: 7

Technique Type: Kido

Technique Element: [None]

Technique Description and Effects: Causes the target's arms to lock in place behind their back.

How to use technique: Physical contact is required from the hand of the caster to any part of the body of the target.

Incantation and Effect: Incantation increases the strength behind the technique by 10%. (I.E. A reiatsu strength of 100 would instead be valued at 110 for this technique.) "Man, shaped by Divine hands, revert to the form before limbs, clutch at your own throat and be afraid."

[Kane Coo]

In a flash, the shinigami started an incantation that Kane of course did not recognize, so it sounded like odd gibberish. Once Tala used Shunpo to dash forwards, Kane was lost. He had enough eyesight to be able to see where the Shinigami was headed, but the Rogue did not have the mental processing speed to react to such physical speed. He was tagged by Tala and his arms were pulled spiritually by forces he did not understand. Kidou was something that Kane could technically learn, but he'd have to be able to hold onto the incantation long enough to practice it to be able to skip it... Overall, unless he had a really patient tutor that could use Kidou (which is hard for a Rogue), he'd never learn a single Kidou.

As his arms got pinned behind his back, Kane instinctively moved his right foot and planted it to ground himself. In pain he struggled with a force beyond his ken that was nearly as strong as he was, barely different and not different enough to be noticeable. As he struggled, he pushed his foot further and further into the ground. Tala wasn't particularly fast without his Shunpo, but Kane was distracted. The Shinigami tried to sweep the Rogue's leg and push him to the ground. Splitting his lackluster physical force between his leg and arm would make it harder for Kane to lose his balance.

As the Shinigami tried to push Kane over, he'd find that the Rogue was stubbornly strong in comparison. He resisted being tripped, and resisted being pushed over. With superior strength than that of an average human, versus very little physical strength, Kane would resist and halt the attempt to trap him on the ground. However, he had been kicked with enough force to count as an aggressive, offensive, damaging hit. His shoulder started to ache as his parasite embedded inside started consuming his life force because of the hit.

Kane groaned as his life force was drained, then tried to counter attack. The rock that he had been holding was still firmly clutched in his hand, but without ability to use his arms it was useless weight to him. He still couldn't drop it though, so that improvised "weapon" was not going to help him. Instead, he had to lash out with his legs. Stopping struggling so much with the Sai and just accepting it as something he'd have to live with for now, Kane raised his clawed foot and "Sparta kicked" at Tala.

If successful, Tala would be forced back with above average force and probably knocked over onto the ground. Kane wouldn't know how to capitalize on this though if it did happen and would instead start backing up. The sword on Tala's hip still unnerved him, and he really wanted the shiny thing, but now he couldn't give it back even if he wanted to with his arms unusable. "Be afraid, Man" There wasn't full confidence in the threat, but there was enough. Planting his feet and preparing for Tala to get up and come back at him, he didn't yet know how this was going to go...

Remaining Reiatsu: 750/750
Remaining Life Force: 650/750 (-100 for being hit)

[Tala Selao]

Tala was surprised that the birdman was so strong. He wouldn't have really guessed that considering they were about the same in height and the avian didn't look like he weighted too much to begin with and not to mention that Tala himself wasn't all that physically capable himself, much to his own dismay. So when he found that he couldn't trip the birdman he ended up panicking for a moment and pausing in his action as he tried to figure out what to do next.

Unfortunately, this gave Kane ample time to raise his leg and plant his clawed feet into Tala's torso, sending him stumbling back onto the ground, landing on his rear with a grunt of pain. He looks up at Kane with a very displeased look and sighs as they threatened him. He still didn't quite have a clue of what this creature was nor why it took his bracelet, but right now his primary concern was getting it back and then he could figure out the other details later.

As he gets up, he leaves his Zanpakutō in it's sheathe since it wouldn't be a fair fight to use it against this creature that was mostly defenseless aside from it's above average strength, which it could only do so much with while it's arms were bound behind it's back. So he simply crosses his arms and stares down the birdman with a confident look, even if he felt anything but that at the moment, "I'm not going anywhere until I get that bracelet back and you aren't really in any position to fight back now are you?"

While he may not have any intention on drawing his Zanpakutō, he wasn't going to leave himself completely open to an attack here just in case the birdman decided that his words weren't true or even if he decided that he'd rather try his chance at fleeing. So Tala readied himself to either dodge an incoming attack or try and block off the birdman's escape, utilizing Shunpo to execute either.

In the case that Kane tried to attack by coming straight at him, then Tala would Shunpo and sidestep to his left and then send a kick tot the back of his knees, hoping to cause the birdman to crumple this time. If it did, then he'd place his knee on the back of Kane's legs and try to get his bracelet off of Kane's wrist. However, if Kane decided to turn and flee, then Tala would use Shunpo to dart ahead of Kane and reappear in front of him with his arms still crossed, "Seriously, just let me have it back and I will leave you alone, I promise."

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reiatsu Pool - 925/1050}-25 Shunpo

[Kane Coo]

Tala resolved not to use his Zanpakutou at this current moment, which was an act of mercy but also a sign of meekness that Kane could potentially take advantage of. For now he was able to survive this fight by nature of having the thing that Tala wanted and Tala probably not wanting to be so aggressive towards the Rogue as to potentially damage the bracelet. That would probably be the worst case scenario in this combat. Kane lying bleeding on the ground with the bracelet cut in two by a sword slice gone amiss. But was Kane thinking about that? Not in the slightest, he just wanted the shiny thing more than he wanted life.

Tala's own words echoed back at him, taken completely out of context. I will fight you, Seriously. I promise." The birdman got into an aggressive stance, as best he could with his arms behind his back, he continued to struggle to break the Bakudo and managed to at least hold onto the big rock he had picked up earlier. It unfortunately was in the wrong hand, the hand that was not carrying the bracelet, so the Rogue performed an acrobatic trick to defend his hand from any attempts to remove the shiny object of his desires. He had already seen Tala move with incredible speed with Shunpo, so he figured the Shinigami would try and take it from him using that speed.

Kane bent his hand as much as he could, tossing the rock upwards slightly, then spinning around and catching it with the correct hand. He gripped that rock with as much force as he could muster, which was a decent amount of force compared to the average human. Now the bracelet would only be able to be removed if the rock was first removed from his hand. It was a big enough rock that the bracelet wouldn't be able to fit over it, especially with Kane's hand spread out and not clenched small enough to fit the band off the wrist.

Confident that he could take this Shinigami with the weak physical strength (even if that confidence was misplaced), Kane rushed at him with head bent to try and force his skull into Tala's chest. They were pretty even in height, so bending over just slightly wouldn't put the birdman off balance but also wouldn't be tall enough to rush into Tala's face for extra damage. Damage that wouldn't connect at all as the true owner of the shiny bracelet flash stepped behind the current holder of the shiny. Flash stepped behind him and kicked him hard behind the knee, sending the rogue sprawling while attempting to still hold onto the rock to prevent "stealing" of the bracelet.

"Don't! Back! Back! Be Gone!"

Remaining Reiatsu: 750/750
Remaining Life Force: 550/750 (-100)

[Tala Selao]

Tala let's out a sigh as he places his knee on the back of Kane's legs and sees that the little acrobatic stunt he'd pulled earlier was so that he could obstruct the bracelet from being pulled off. He rolls his eyes as the avian Beast-Clansman let's out his cries, which Tala ignores as he begins to untie the leather cord of the bracelet and slip it off Kane's wrist. Once he had his trinket back, he gets up and releases his hold on Kane, backing a few steps back to give him some room as he slipped the bracelet back on his own wrist which he secures as tightly as he could.

He then reaches up to his ear and undoes one of his earrings, holding it out in one hand for Kane to take, "Hear. You can have this if you really wanted something. Either way, I'm not fighting over this any more. So take this and walk away while you still can, okay?" He hoped the birdman would take his offering of peace and walk away as he really didn't want to continue this childish fight any longer than he had too.

[Kane Coo]

Kane struggled to his feet, still hyped up and ready to fight, but Tala's gesture of good faith with the earring pacified the rogue. He slowly brought his arms in front of him, rubbing the shoulders that had been stretched back for a little bit too long at this point. The birdman narrowed his eyes and timidly moved to take the earring, which he took as quickly as possible once close enough and then backed off. Not really having ears to ring, Kane instead pocketed the shiny trinket and heeded the Shinigami's warning. He took the earring and walked away while he still could. Hurrying off into the market, he was soon gone from sight, doing much better at hiding this time as he rushed off into the Norwegian town. A stolen pastry in his mouth from a nearby market stall, he admired the shiny object that he now held close to him. This was one item that he wasn't going to hoard in a pile somewhere. This, for some reason, was important enough to keep...

---

Thread End, Tala is the Victor

[Jeff Franklin]

I count 18 Paragraphs for Kane awarding him 180 TP

I count 15 Paragraphs for Tala + winning awards Tala 250 TP