Human no more.[JT Uso & Cabalerro]

[usoukete]

Name:[/u] Human no more

Participants:[/u] Uso and Caballero

Location:[/u] Karakura Town

Difficulty Level[/u] Easy

Threat Level:[/u] NDE

Plotline:[/u] Uso is told to patrol Kurakara town and she meets a small hallow named Caballero, after initial tension between them.

Estimated Enemy Strength:[/u] Class rankk 8-7

Estimated Time Until Completion:[/u] 1-2 pages

Starts:[/u] Now

Special Conditions:[/u]N/A

[usoukete]

“Mmm, this candy is sour and sweet..its a odd flavor.” A women of particularly short stature said to herself, as she walked down a well lit hallway adorned with some sort of electrical lights that reminded her of those on ea- the human world. Walking through the hall her dark blue hair subtly moved side to side with each step she took as she approached some other bodies that had been in the hall, the strangers looking directly towards her as she walked past, the two murmuring about who she was.

Suckling on the odd tasting candy Uso could not help but wonder who designed the universe in such a way? All her life she knew only one word but know she knew the existence of an afterlife, she was dead but alive at the same time, twenty whole years since she did and the reality of it was hard to swallow. Right hand reaching, Uso reached for her blank zanpakto blade, she supposed today’s agenda was bringing back old memories.

Refocusing, Uso hands moved back to their sides as she continued her walk through the halls reaching a particularly red colored mahogany door, using her right hands index knuckle she flexed her finger so the hard bone hit the door with three consecutive knocks that rang through the empty hallway. The door opening itself to reveal a small room with a singuar body stamping away at paperwork, the worker subtly looking up, “Uso Ukete, unseated shinigami of the Kido corps, you have your first assignment, in the human world no less, lucky you~” The member said as he kept stamping away, “The squads are a bit short-handed right now so you are to go to Karakura town and investigate the town area, there have been sightings of hollows recently, so if you find some only engage if you think you can handle it, understood?”

“Yes sir, Karakura town, hollow investigation.” The worker gave a soft quick smile, “Good, now be on your way, and hey, welcome to Kido corps young one.” Uso looked back and nodded, appreciating the welcome although it was hard. Karakura town was her home, where she both lived and died. Going back was in her mind, a confirmation she was simply no longer human but a shinigami and surprisingly, she felt peace in that despite the confusion underneath.

---

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On a shielded roof, a gate appeared out of the ethereal, walking through the portal from Rukongai to the human world was surreal as the heavy patter of rain falling on the metal roof assaulted her ears, it was a mild rain but it was consistently pouring as the Senikaimon gate disappeared. Uso Shinigami robes were modified in a way that her back was predominantly exposed along with her sides allowing greater mobility that still hung tight to her smaller frame. Taking a deep breath it was the moment of truth she had been practicing at the academy for, waking to the edge of the roof the rain began to fall around her as she closed her eyes and attempted to sense the Reiatsu in the area to confirm a possible hollow before moving to a different area to search.

[Deleted]

Rain. Why, why, Soul King? Of all the curses it could put on the land, of all the scourges available, why did it have to be rain? The streets of Karakura town became a slippery mess as the clouds overhead dropped a downpour on the city. If there was any lightning, it was far away and could barely be heard, because otherwise it would have startled a young Hollow that skittered atop the rooftops of the city, their little footsteps muffled by the rain. They were surprisingly deft at moving there, although they were used to the semi-darkness due to having first appeared in Hueco Mundo.

Caballero was in a hurry for one reason, and one reason only that day. Was it the never-ending, incessant hunger that drove the Hollows crazy? Was it the search for prey before they went crazy? Was it that they were running away from a threat endangering their lives? But of course not! Caballero was not a Hollow, they were a Shinigami! And this emergency was nothing short of the highest caliber for one. Their uniform--their beloved Shihakusho--would be getting damaged if they stood too long out under the rain!

Needless to say, the rags enveloping Caballero's body had nothing to do with a real Soul Reaper's clothing. If anything, it was the accumulated dirt and grime that gave them a similar tint to them. However, this Hollow was a particularly deluded one, wholeheartedly believing themselves to be a Shinigami fighting for righteousness. They wanted to do good, to save humans and Pluses, and they would only be bringing shame to the Gotei 13 if they did so completely naked, right? Not that there was much to see, given their strange physiology: a dense body of pure, black Reiatsu, kept in shape only through the tiny being's stubbornness and strength of will. As they continued their retreat, attempting to find someplace they would be able to rest, Caballero picked up on a particular scene under the postlight in an empty street. Not that many streets would have people at that hour and with that storm, of course.

A human soul, with a severed chain connected to their bodies, was cowering from something under the rain. They immediately recognized the human soul on pure instinct, belonging to a woman. Her chain of fate had been severed, meaning she'd need to be sent to Soul Society or else it would encroach and turn her into a Hollow. Since Caballero had yet to learn how to perform Konso, there was not much they could have done other than coming closer and attempting to keep them company. They would've done that, in fact, had it not been for the rain.

Said human soul was not alone, however: there was a second part to that scene. A bipedal monster that towered over her at about eight feet of height, with a humanoid body that had a hole on the stomach. If that was not enough of a giveaway, its white mask finished painting the picture. A Hollow, looking for an easy morsel before returning to hiding. This was enough to immediately cause Caballero to change directions without even thinking about it twice, as if the action had been engraved in their muscle memory all along.

The tiny critter used Tendón to grapple onto nearby antenna and postlights, allowing them to swing toward that street. They then let go when they were close to the ground, and created a Filo from their body. The black blade coalesced and gleamed under the artificial light, enough that the glare would draw the attention of the monster cornering the human, turning toward Caballero. The Hollow roared toward them, as if advising the little pest to stay away from its meal, but it would take more than that to face them. They rushed toward the monster, brandishing Filo. Unused to fighting an opponent of such size, the monster swung wildly and clumsily--it also did not appear to have much combat experience, nor much of a mind to put proper technique to good use. This allowed Caballero to skitter by its attacks unscathed, reaching the monster's legs. Mercilessly, Caballero swung Filo. The Reiatsu Strength powered blade cut almost effortlessly through the Hollow's defenses, as the muscular body was far from strong enough to resist the black Reiatsu in the blade.

The first leg was cleanly severed just above the ankle, toppling the humongous Hollow and causing them to cry out in pain and frustration. However, Caballero was far from done. The tiny being got to work, quickly shifting their body to remove the other leg as well. With its mobility completely cut, the little critter was now free to decapitate the monster, ensuring it would not be able to consume anything or anyone else again. Again, Filo met little to no resistance, and soon that Hollow had been snuffed out. Before the body faded, Caballero's instincts led them to feed on it using their strange body, since they had no mouth to speak. If anything, they did this to stave off the hunger that was becoming a bit more nagging lately--although it still hadn't pushed them to take any human lives.

When they were done, the tiny being turned to the Plus, who had remained on the natural freeze response upon witnessing what had just happened. Unfortunately, the woman had been far too traumatized by the entire situation. Her sudden death, her realizing that concepts such as the immortal soul and the like were not part of a religion but actually real, and most importantly, the fact that a monster with a white mask had just attacked and nearly killed her. And now, another one had crashed into the scene, chopped that into tiny pieces, and outright made it disappear. Before, Caballero had always presented themselves to the Pluses as friendly as ever, but the first thing she had seen from them was how they mercilessly dispatched the other, larger Hollow.

Thus, the Plus screamed.

Nobody in the living world would be able to hear her panicked wails, but those with spiritual awareness definitely would. She screamed so loud, in fact, that it rattled Caballero, who had always hated loud noises. The tiny Hollow put their free tiny hand on the side of their mask and took a few steps forward, wanting to ask her to stop, but this only led the Plus to back off and yell at them even louder, making Caballero flinch.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Of course, this was also justified. Not being the most adept at picking up social cues, given their child-like, clueless mind, Caballero hadn't figured out that approaching someone with a bloodied Filo in hand would not make for a proper first impression, for her or for mostly anyone who came close. Not even their overwhelmingly positive aura could do much against the image they were projecting, despite their good intentions.

Perhaps the Hollow would find a way to calm her down, but for the time being they were busy weathering her yells... and the rain, which was still going to damage their Shihakusho.

OOC: Consumed x1 Class 8 Hollow.

[usoukete]

Taking a deep breath and focusing, Uso entered a sort of hyper focus she would suppose as she focused her senses on the Reiatsu in the area she was feeling, feeing something close by Uso while her eyes were closed pushed her body up as her hand slide onto the rail in front of her, Uso lifting her body up and over the rail to fall to the ground floor while her eyes were still closed, falling she waited until she was about even with the Reiatsu she was feeling and then opened her eyes, moving swiftly through several alleyways as she used Shunpo to move about swiftly.

Approaching she could see in the distance a tall black figure, it’s pitch black skin that contrasted its white skull mask as it stood around five six feet crouching low enough to resemble an animal on four legs, “Hollow..” Uso uttered to herself, hands reaching she pulled out both her zanpakuto blades brandishing them in a reverse grip style. Before she could get closer however the bipedal creature turned towards her and roared, skidding to a stop Uso remembered her lessons in the academy. For a moment she hesitated as she recalled that hollows were humans that could not find peace and became corrupted souls, she could not help wonder if she could still save the soul lost.

Thoughts would have to wait as the hollow dropped on all four of it’s limbs, it’s mask similar to a lion in design was something she noticed as it closed in, little time left to act Uso spun out of the way of it’s charge but then it switched to being on two legs and swatted her, Uso putting up her two blades in a X-formation as she was shoved back, “Minor intelligence, reactive..” Uso noted about the Hollow realizing she was going to have to purify it before it hurt living or deceased.

Wanting to dispatch it quickly, Uso dashed straight towards it, the creature attempting another wild swing. Slowing herself down and a side step to the right the arm would land right in front of her hitting the ground, Uso angling her blade to take the creature’s arm causing it to roar in pain as it stumbled back. Kicking its arm right at it’s face Uso used the temporary blind to leap into the air and swing both her blades down splitting the hollows mask in two. A small pause of the moment happened before a soul popped from the deceased hollow, “Go now, to soul society.” Uso said to the soul as it floated away until it was out of sight.

“I guess ill go bac-!” Turning her head she could feel the presence of a particularly strong Reiatsu, it stood out as stronger than the Hollow she just purified which was even more cause for concern! Moving along Uso rushed head first towards the location running through the streets at night. Turning the corner Uso saw a scene she didn’t know how to really describe, two hollows one was way smaller than the other but watching the scene unfold from her location the smaller one was more dangerous as it mercilessly dispatched of the larger hollow.

A third party, a plus with a severed chain, would turn into a hollow too if she didn’t purify it with Konso. Approaching the plus she thought the hollow might attack her but it didn’t and even seemed to step back showing even more intelligence than the one she just took care of. “Stop right there.” Uso said, making her presence known by flexing a bit of her Reiatsu as a warning, eyes narrowing judging whether or not the hollow would listen. Facing the plus, Uso smiled, “I’m going to help you pass on, it will only take a moment if you’re ready.” Upon any type of confirmation Uso would do as she was taught in the academy softly placing the back of her zanpakto onto the pluses head, a white glow appearing from the spot as they sunk into the ground beginning their journey to Soul Society.

“Now..” Uso said facing the small sized hollow, “What to do about you..” Uso said puzzled as the rain fell around them soaking her uniform with each passing second as well as the small hollow“I think you can understand me right? How about we change locations to a drier spot.”

Reiatsu: 950/1000
Shunpo usage

[Deleted]

Caballero's two braincells were working in overdrive attempting to figure out how to best deal with the screaming human soul; performing Konso was the way to go, but they had somehow forgotten how to do that. Of course, the deluded little Hollow believed themselves to have forgotten the proper way to utilize the technique, when in reality it was the fact that they were far from a member of the Thirteen Squadrons. Still covering their non-existent ears, Caballero decided that they would try anyway, since they really were not appreciative of being screamed at after they had worked so hard to save the Plus. The Hollow was completely unaware of the fact that they were no longer the only Gotei representative in the scene.

"Stop right there."

Caballero's senses were just about average, so it was awfully difficult for him to hear the words since they were still covering their ears. However, Uso's timely arrival did seem to keep the Plus from tearing her own throat with her shrill voice, something the little creature appreciated. Finally able to lower their hands, the Hollow was confused for a moment, but then they felt the sudden spike in Reiatsu. That was weird... and potentially dangerous. Caballero had almost never felt energy before, they only did when it was pointed straight at them. They quickly turned back as if to assess the possible threat, but they soon resolved it would not be necessary.

The new arrival was a Shinigami. She was carrying her Zanpakuto, and the uniform was also unmistakeable, despite the cosmetic modifications. Akira had something like that as well, but a Shihakusho was a Shihakusho. Immediately, Caballero's mood lit up with excitement, completely misunderstanding what was a warning meant to keep them at bay with an indicator that she was there and would take over. Now, the Plus would finally be safe!

The Shinigami walked toward the Plus, and with a rather simple movement, sent her to Soul Society. Upon seeing this, Caballero was left dumbfounded, only able to tilt their oversized head in confusion and fold their stubby little arms. That was Konso, right? They had seen the technique time and time again now. What exactly were they doing wrong? It was a matter of using the bottom part of the hilt to send innocent souls to Soul Society, right? Perhaps the trick was on an inflexion of Reiatsu? Whatever the case, they quickly were pulled out of that state as Uso spoke directly to them. Now that the two were alone, it was time for some Shinigami to Shinigami banter, huh? 'It's raining cats and Hollows tonight, isn't it?' or something to that effect. Unfortunately, since Caballero could not speak, this was obviously off the table for them.

"I think you can understand me right?", she asked them. But of course they could! Silly stranger Shinigami. All Shinigami understood each other! Caballero communicated by quickly bobbing their head up and down on a rather frantic nod, all while their big, void-like eyes focused on the person in front of them. Needless to say, they had to look up to do this, given the sheer difference in size. It would be reminiscent of a puppy looking up toward a person, waiting to see what would happen. A few drops got into their eyes, making them rub those away... somehow. It was a bit unsettling, seeing them reach for the two holes on the mask with their arms. As if reading their mind, Uso spoke again.

"How about we change locations to a drier spot."

To not blindly follow strangers was something that virtually every child was taught during the early stages of their development. However, that adage had a couple of holes at that moment. First, Caballero was no child, but a warrior. Second, the young woman before Caballero was in no means a stranger. After all, she was wearing the hallmark uniform of a Soul Reaper, which made her one of the tiny knight's sworn brothers and sisters in arms, fighting to defend humanity and Pluses from Hollows while keeping balance in the world. If an ally would ask Caballero to move alongside her, well, there really was no reason not to accept, was there? Specially now that the enemy Hollow had been taken care of, meaning the zone should be safe.

Furthermore, going someplace else that was not under that awful rain meant that their Shihakusho would not get wrecked by it, which was yet another win in the tiny Hollow's book. Thus, Caballero gave Uso a quick nod, all too happy to have met someone else from the Gotei 13 that night. Without a word, since they could not speak, the critter happily pranced toward the Kido Corps member, waiting side by side to her to see where she would want to go. Perhaps she already had a destination in mind!

Not forgetting their manners, the little being lowered their head to bow to the Shinigami for a single second before turning their attention to the concrete they were standing on. Using Filo, they nicked it, painting a very simple doodle that a toddler could've imitated. It was a stick figure with a big head, two horns and two big circles for eyes: Caballero themselves. The tiny Hollow pointed toward the drawing with an arm, then at themselves, while looking at Uso. Unfortunately, this was their best attempt at a formal introduction.

[Zeich Yajuu]

Thread has been reported for grading due to inactivity so:

By my count we have 28 completed paragraphs, so 140 TP to each participant.

Caba gets an additional 50 TP for consuming a Class 8 Hollow.