The Dark of the Jungle: Part 1 [Easy, NDE]

[Souza Kuchiki]

OOC: As a result of the Kasumi'Oji Rebellion from filler arcs, which is canonized here as well, most Soul Reapers would have at least a fair degree of knowledge about Bakkoto. But, Souza knows even more than that, because Squad 6 is the Information Dissemination Squad, which is responsible directly for obtaining and storing information on all things. Therefore, any member of the Kuchiki Family, which runs this division, would be able to access such information. It also helps to be the HEIR to this family, because the Kuchikis are the oldest noble family in the Soul Society, and maintain a huge library which also details events, weapons, spells, etc. So Souza is easily able to study and learn things. In fact, such studies are a requirement in his training to one day succeed Sozen.

IC:

SPOILER: Click to show

{Play this song}

The knight had done exactly as Souza had calculated. Perfect. Not only had he calculated correctly that the knight's helmet was therefore something that should not be hit (unless it was faking, in which case he had a back-up plan for that as well), but he had correctly calculated that his speed exceeded the knight's, making any form of counters completely implausible. There was a reason that the Byakurai had been fired, and while it had had a secondary purpose of attempting to dismantle the light, that was not the primary objective.

The primary objective of that Byakurai had been to test the waters of the knight's defense, because the Byakurai could not have been avoided. Actually, destruction of the holy light had been a tertiary goal anyway. That wasn't even secondary. The secondary goal was set-up for the strategy that Souza had in mind. He could tell by Iwa's seemingly random, isolated motions, in other words those lacking supportive value, that she doubted him. How annoying, to have a lowly Rogue doubt him.

Immediately, the Byakurai, which had been flying across the knight's fingertips to no avail, twisted around and struck directly into that red spot in the knight's helmet. It penetrated directly inside, and should destroy the internal core, immediately defeating the knight. The knight had even made it impossible to guard. It had turned its own head, so it faced closer to the Byakurai, making it easier to just turn and smack into the knight's helmet and kill it if that was what would happen.

Moreover, it had focused on two other actions, making it impossible for it to divert away and focus on any sort of dodging or countering to that Byakurai, which was too fast and would have been impossible under the circumstances anyway, especially given that it was so unexpected for the Byakurai to turn around and suddenly retract. Byakurai didn't averagely do that. It was impossible. Not even masters of Kido control were typically able to do that. Now, because the knight had to focus on that blast, there would be several consequences.

First, because it had to focus, the sword strike would be sloppier than normal anyway. Second, because it had to focus, and also do a sword strike, it couldn't respond to the unexpected Byakurai maneuver, and this was therefore a guaranteed hit. Third, because it had to build up energy to focus, the Byakurai, which hit first, would disrupt that focus and build-up, even if it didn't kill the knight, causing the blast, instead of firing at Iwa, to explode from destabilization due to lack of focus. This blast would damage the knight since it was its own reiatsu and attack, and might even blow off that entire arm if it was a strong enough attack.

Also, in the event that the Byakurai killed the knight, the sword strike would be stopped, but Souza didn't stop to find out. He moved quickly, disappearing from sight using tremendous speed, and so by the time the sword was even halfway there, Souza himself would be gone. In fact, he was taking advantage of Iwa's attack. By this point, Iwa might notice that Souza's attacks had all been part of a complex strategy, and that he was a far more effective combatant than she had initially mis-evaluated.

Moving, Souza used the sudden rising earth to fuel even more momentum as he jumped away, gaining more air and distance more quickly. He landed with a skid next to Iwa, who momentarily would be able to enjoy a view of his left eye as a result of his moving nearer to her. That was when she would see it. His cornea (eye white) was black, and his iris was a pale white color. It was demonic, and almost eerie. It more resembled the eye of her Bakkoto than anything else.

This was a unique technique she wouldn't know, nor immediately be able to analyze the abilities of, due to a poor vision of what had transpired moments earlier, and only one demonstration. This technique, The Eye, allowed Souza to fully command any electricity he witnessed in the vicinity. Because of this control, he had instantly, without even a motion, been able to send the Byakurai back into the knight. And all of that was on one set of moves. He had more coming, to be sure.

At any rate, with Souza's current strikes, the knight should be completely defeated already. It was almost impossible for it to still be alive. If it was, then Souza would inform Iwa that she was to be main attacker. He motioned with his head at her Bakkoto, and looked her in the eyes, indicating that not only did he know what it was, but that he believed she should use it now. A Bakkoto's ability to increase its cutting power would be useful here. It would be efficient.

He had more attacks coming, but not yet. He had planned ahead. In his peripherals, he kept the knight, and thus the Byakurai, even after hitting the inside of the knight's helmet, continued to travel, going from the helmet to everywhere in the suit of armor, darting around and striking any and all insides, in case there were other things, such as markings, a heart, extra centers, or anything, which would be fried by the Byakurai. Also, the armor, a good conductor because of being metal, would take the heat of the large bolt of lightning, and begin to heat up, and become softer as a result.

It was high temperature because of the fact that it was lightning. Would the armor be hotter to the touch? Yes. But would it lose defensive value? Also yes. Souza had planned well ahead. He considered then using his Zanpakuto, but figured he would save it. He could end the fight in one attack with it, but revealing all their cards now was a bad idea, of course.

Souza's Remaining Reiatsu: 1462/1500 Reiatsu

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

As the byakurai diverted in movement, headed for the face, the Knight went to take a step back with his Celestial Step, only to trip over the rock that Iwa was rising up to grab him. Tripping and crashing down, the Knight was accosted by the lightning, the inside of it's helm being subject to a great amount of attacks in quick succession. This did not outright kill the Doll, but it did cause enough pain to the creature to reveal its true weak spot. As the energy behind its mask was attacked, the metal plates that made up its body started to strain, revealing the core at the heart of the Doll.

Either one of the two would see and go for the heart, most likely, especially Souza who was paying attention to the creature and continuing to hit it with his lightning and The Eye. As soon as the Messenger realized that his Knight in Shining Armor was going down, he began to fume. "Nononononononononono! You filthy scum! You'll pay for that! He was all that was good in me!" As soon as the Knight died, the boy would feel a searing pain and the Celestial Gate would go down. A dark, sickening reiatsu filled the cavern as the chains wrapped around his twisted arm shone bright and disappeared.

This was Saisei Oni. It was a release that had been rarely, if ever, used on the Soul Society. The young boy had become a large, demonic, and twisted figure. His head was made up of black flames with red glowing orbs that seemed to be eyes, and his entire body was covered in gray scaly skin. The Nakabakki was angry, and had released his full potential. With the Gate down, and his body fully exposed to whatever attacks Souza and Iwamichi had for him, the Messenger decided to attack first.

Black flames poured out of his hands like a fire hose, spewing large amounts of energy in the direction of the two. These flames shifted between no definite shape, like a wave, and the form of a dark winged creature. The gallons of flames were big enough to fill the mouth of the tunnel that the boy hid from and keep on moving, creating a giant attack that was relentlessly coming straight for the Shinigami and the Rogue. "You'll pay! Surely you'll pay!"

Remaining Reiatsu: 500/1500 (-400 Knight's Death, -300 Primera Etapa)
Primera Etapa: 1/4

?: 10

[Iwamichi Saeke]

Iwa thought that Souza's byakurai had missed completely, but then, why did it suddenly turn back. She didn't have that great of view, but she could tell that the knight was being hit by something. That something, she could deduce was the byakurai earlier released by Souza. 1) It flashed inside the knight's helmet and gave off light. A byakurai was a lightning based attack, so that would support the light coming from it striking against the helm. 2) She could feel heat come off from each attack. She was close enough to the thing and the helmet itself looked as one that was being heated and burned by each strike of the attack. That supported a lighting or fire attack.

The number of times it bounced inside his head was a little strange. From what she knew of a byakurai, it only went one direction and once it hit something, it vanished. Maybe the shinigami's power involved manipulation of some kind - like of electricity. That would makes sense in this current situation. As she was watching all this, the knight tripped on her own attack and fell to the ground, revealing its core. Well, it was good to know it had a weakness. It looked like a heart; of course that would be its weakness. Whatever. She knew that the shinigami would see it and no doubt destroy it. It wouldn't be a problem considering his control over the byakurai. But, it was frustrating to know that he basically took down the thing by himself. She hated the thought of being useless.

Just moments ago, she thought he was useless. And now he would probably give her some smirk or something to gloat over his success. No, that wasn't in his character. He would simply look on her as vermin - useless and annoying. Something that said he was better than her and he didn't need her. She hated such arrogant shinigami. Iwa had a lot of pride herself, and she didn't like people trampling on that. She disliked arrogant people, yet she was definitely prideful herself. People would say that was hypocritical, but whatever. Because of her pride, she couldn't stand other people looking down on her. She thought that maybe Souza was similar. If so, then it was a miracle that they were getting along. It must be because they couldn't say anything to each other.

The knight vanished, unleashing its master's fury. Iwa knew this creature was from Hell the whole time; it just didn't completely show until now. Chains wrapped around his body and he turned into a hideous demonic beast. Fortunately, it couldn't be uglier than the gigantic ugly hounds they had encountered before. But, it was angry and determined to kill them. Now that the knight's shield was down, they could attack the Hell creature without hesitation. There was one thing to deal with first, however: the black flames coming for them. They seemed similar to the flames that had engulfed the hounds as they died, but maybe she was over-thinking it. These flames would be deadly, whereas the other flames only served to consume the Hell-hound as they died.

Iwa coated her body in a thicker armor: a layer of earth. Hopefully her defense was enough to keep the black flames from scarring her. It shouldn't slow her down too much either. Even if it did, it was necessary to give herself some defense. She jumped away from the flames closest to her just to give herself some space. If the knight had a simple weakness - such as that heart - then maybe this other creature did as well. They were going to have to expose it. Together, she believed that to be possible. Iwa's next move was to create a large block, so to speak, of dense air above the creature's head. There, she believed that he would not be able to see it. It would be large, heavy, and have lots of force. Then, she would send that crashing down upon its head. Its head was a good place to start, right?

Maybe it would be enough of a distraction for Souza to follow up with his own attack. Even if it didn't do much damage, it should be good enough for that. Iwa had to prove that she could do this, that she wasn't useless. If she could take this beast down on her own, then she would really feel secure. She remembered, too, that the voice had said he (or she) was sending two messengers. That meant they had another battle to look forward to. Would that messenger be stronger? If she couldn't beat this one, maybe she could the next. That would show her strength. Ugh, why was she concerned about her appearance again? It didn't really matter what that shinigami thought of her, right? She was too absorbed in this. All that really mattered was defeating the enemies and getting the job done.

In any case, it was rime to recharge the Bakkoto. The eye longed for more reiatsu. She could hear its voice: "FEED ME. GIVE ME YOUR LIFE AND I SHALL GIVE YOU POWER. FEED ME..." That thing was really annoying. It really needed to shut up and let her concentrate. Even still, she had to give it more to avoid losing her release. Iwa needed the armor of earth that she created to avoid those black flames. It would only weaken her to let the Bakkoto sheathe itself again. Looks like the eye would get its way again. She wondered how long until it tried to devour her completely. Of course, she would do everything in her power to keep that from happening. She was not going to anyone, least of all that thing. Iwa would show the parasite and the boy that she was stronger than that.

Remaining reiatsu: -200 for bakkoto re-release: 2480 / 2930
Bakkoto Stage 4: 1/3
Life force: 2930 / 2930

[Souza Kuchiki]

SPOILER: Click to show

{More anime basketball music for anime fighting}

To his satisfaction, Souza noticed what might just be a fraction of a second of a longer gaze left on him by the rogue girl. Ha, good. She might just be envious of what had just happened. She might feel a bit slighted, and she might feel just there as if Souza had outdone her. Well, that was expected. He was the Esteemed Heir of the Noble Kuchiki family. Okay, well, not that she knew that. If they could talk, he would have told her. But they couldn't. Perhaps that lack of dialogue was why they hadn't gotten into their own fight with one another.

Even more to Souza's satisfaction (though the previous reason hadn't made any difference in his facial demeanor), that stupid boy lost his cool. Finally. He had been so stupid and arrogant sitting behind that barrier of a joke of what presumably was a doll perhaps. Souza anyway was very pleased. Finally...Something more worth my time, he decided to himself. He couldn't say it out loud, but it showed on his face in the form of a calm smirk. It was calculating and deceitful, and showed he was planning ahead.

He played this game the way he played shogi. Examine the opponent's strength, their greatest most focused assets, and all of their openings and weaknesses. Find the best route to their king, and then manipulate all pieces to hide that route from the eyes of even the enemy, who had allowed that route to appear in the first place. It was Souza's greatest ability. Analyzing his opponent's attacks, especially when they were simple, had led him to many victories before. Complex attacks might be troubling, but this opponent was angry and straightforward.

As the flames were incoming, Souza glanced briefly at the rogue girl to see if she was going to protect them both. When armor started to form around her, he smirked again and his body adopted the necessary precautions for springing into action. Every man for himself. Ha, of course, Souza thought. Iwa could just go through the black flames with that earth armor. Souza didn't have earth armor, so he had to dodge them. If he wanted to block them, he had to overpower them, and that was a waste of reiatsu.

Actually, good opportunity. Souza rolled behind Iwa as the flames struck her armored body, and he used his advanced speed to blur into a crouching position behind her. Because of this, he was suddenly lost from view even momentarily because of being behind her, and he would be protected from the flames by her. He didn't actually need to be, because he was about to dodge anyway, but it was just in case. As he disappeared behind Iwa, already in the back of his mind a plan was forming.

Iwa would know by now that Souza's plans worked something like traps. Step by step. What may seem like a harmless or normal attack at first was going to be dangerous. Like playing shogi. Behind Iwa, Souza saw her, marching forwards, flames about to hit her, and forming some kind of attack above. It wasn't just that he saw it. It was air. You couldn't see that, save for the slight distortion as if there was heat. It was just that he could sense it. They were both still inexperienced, so her reiatsu was not subtle. Neither, he suspected, was that of the hungry, clearly aggressive blade she held.

Seeing that something anyway was forming over the enemy, Souza used his flash step to go over Iwa's head and way up toward the ceiling. The flames weren't going that high, since they were just straight streams at Iwa and Souza. Souza's blur up to the ceiling at tremendous speed was more than going straight. He jumped in an arc, going to the ceiling and then in a rainbow down toward his opponent. He had gone close to the ceiling because nearly the entire way down, he always had somewhere to gain leverage.

Sword out, and rainbowing down (that's a verb now), Souza was also taking advantage of not being seen. He had been fast and disappeared quickly. His opponent would have trouble seeing, especially with Souza's speed. And, the timing was such that Souza might even be attacking as Iwa brought her air cloud down. Souza's plan didn't necessarily include that, but it helped him nonetheless if it did sync up. Souza turned in mid air as he was on his way, ending up upside down and keeping his eyes focused on the enemy.

Tsuzuri Raiden formed on Souza's blade as he reached the opponent's side of the room, and suddenly he kicked off the ceiling since he was upside down, and mid air and rainbowing down. He was at the midway point of the rainbow, meaning the crux of it, and obviously it would be very difficult to see him. Not only was the enemy distracted by Iwa's attack, but his speed would make him a blur anyway, and also the opponent's gaze wasn't focused upward to start with, so he might not even see Souza if he hadn't seen the boy flash step up from behind Iwa.

Now, foot on ceiling, Souza used another flash step from his upside down maneuvering position to suddenly blast in a zig zagging diagonal arc downward past the enemy, who still had outstretched hands either from fire that he was still shooting or had just finished shooting. Either way, at the angle of entry, Souza was safe from it, and would with his superior speed dart past his enemy and end up diagonally behind the foe, and on the way his blade struck outward toward the opponent's outstretched hands.

It was basically a flash step speed attack, because Souza didn't use slashing momentum or anything. He just kept his sword out. He was still ready to move it because he figured there was going to be an anomaly to guard against, but for now his sword was basically going to chop that guy's hands off. And, Souza would move past his enemy and end up behind him anyway, and had he wanted he could have just advanced further past this guy and left him to Iwa anyway. But, Souza's pride told him to kill this opponent.

He readjusted to get back in grace when he was on his way down with the flash step, and so his feet would land on the ground as he passed the opponent and his sword strike was completed. This would take Souza skidding away as he landed behind his opponent, out of immediate attack range for both of them, at least physically, and perhaps getting the opponent's attention that someone might actually slip past him, and also that someone may have severed his hands.

So, recap. Souza hid behind Iwa to disappear from view, used a flash step to arc over her and toward the ceiling, touched off the ceiling in mid air and held out his sword to land behind the foe in a skid, AND cut the foe's hands off if possible. And all of this while he had Tsuzuri Raiden on his sword. It was a good attack, and meticulously executed, but it wasn't Souza's planned attack. It was only step one. He had more coming. If this part succeeded, his opponent had no hands and was in danger of worse, but it didn't need to succeed.

This was a game of shogi. The rest would guarantee something dangerous for the opponent. Souza had keen eyes, and a keener attack. What happened next would really be dangerous and show his skill off for the opponent. Use me... Atsureki No Koe Ga insisted to Souza, wanting desperately to be used. True, one hit with Souza's Zanpakuto and it would end. But...Silence, lizard. Know your place.... Souza warned. There was no need to use it yet. This guy was more interesting, but not the right level.

Souza's Remaining Reiatsu: 1337/1500 Reiatsu

[Kazura Uzaki]

OOC: Sorry for slow posting. Let's get this wrapped up soon for you guys so you can get the completion rewards.

Iwa's earth armor was an extremely effective defense, not only shielding herself but also shielding her sort of ally. The flames just kept pouring out, though. The Nakabakki was completely hidden from view as he stood behind the mouth of the cave, jettisoning flames like a fire hose. As the boy was completely protected at the moment by his waves and waves of fire, Souza would have a hard time directly attacking him. His rainbowing would leave him either traveling directly into the flames or simply stopping at the wall of the cavern just out of reach of the Nakabakki's rage.

When Iwamichi's dense air hit the boy in the head, it did little more than annoy him. He simply released a pulse of destructive black flames that wiped out the attack and carried onward. As Iwamichi walked through the nearly liquid fire, she'd notice the earth starting to peel away. She had a lot of power and superiority over him in terms of Spiritual pressure, yes, but even her armor wouldn't last forever. It was simply too weak a material to be able to stand up to Hellfire. The armor would slowly peel away in layers as she remained submerged in the torrent of flames.

Remaining Reiatsu: 400/1500 (-100 Body Technique: Destroy)

?: 11

[Iwamichi Saeke]

So, to recap: Iwa's attack had been a failure; Souza was currently...doing whatever it is that he does. It seemed he had some plan, but it seemed like a whole lot of effort for little gain to her. His arc maneuver would get him close to the Hell spawn and at least open the door for a close attack - if the flames didn't engulf him first. Of course, he was probably more than capable of hitting him with something. And, she hated to admit, it would probably do a lot more than what she could do at the moment. She couldn't voice how much that ticked her off. But, if he was going to make any kind of attack, it would be better if he had some help.

Although it pained her to think of helping someone, especially a shinigami, it was more advantageous in this situation to compile their efforts. In that case, Iwa formed an armor of rock over Souza too. Conforming it to his body was a little more difficult than her own, but it wasn't too hard. With that, he should be able to meet the flames head on and still survive. He probably could do a full-on frontal attack if he wanted to. Whatever his plan was, the armor should give him more opportunities. Iwa expected that if she gave him assistance, he could use it effectively and put an end to this annoying brat. If he didn't take full advantage of it, she would be more than annoyed.

At this point, he had the best chance to attack. He was closer. Iwa decided that it was best to wait until he had finished his plans, because if she tried her own attack at this distance, she might hit him instead. She would be watching, of course, and offer any backup as needed. It was odd how easily she was able to work with others and to use teamwork. Especially with a shinigami. Was this really Iwamichi Saeke, the rogue? Of course, anyone can fake teamwork as long as it benefits them. Remember, you're doing this not because you want to but because you have to. At least that was more assuring.

The black flames of the Nakabakki kept spewing forth; if she didn't do something about it, then her armor would no longer be of any use. She decided to keep herself in motion. If she kept moving, it might keep the armor from disintegrating too quickly. Also, she added a ring of condensed air around her, adding another layer of protection. Before the flames could get to her, it would have to go through the strong bubble of air and the rock around her. With her power, that should give her enough shielding from the fire. Souza, she assumed didn't need that much protection, especially, since he was probably on the offensive. If he used her assistance well, they could be done with this creature swiftly. She hoped that would be the case.

Remaining Reiatsu: 2480 / 2930
Bakkoto Stage 4: 2/3
Life force: 2930 / 2930

[Souza Kuchiki]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Suck on my basketballs}

Rocketing down, Souza had noticed suddenly that the flames were probably leaving too narrow of a gap for him to fit through. He was about to adjust his plans by accelerating them and therefore defend the flames before he attacked the enemy, but the Rogue defended him by creating a rock armor around him. Aha, perfect. This was it. With the armor, Souza was easily able to withstand the flames for a bit, long enough at least to get through them, still make it to where he'd been going originally, and perform his attack. Since the creature, however, had relied on its flames to block Souza, and hadn't tried to block him, not to mention the distraction of the air, and Souza being hidden not only by his maneuver, but by the creature's own flames taking up so much space, it was unlikely the attack would fail.

What it looked like was Souza's attack was guaranteed to sever the hands. Had he intended to? Well, actually, no. He had thought he'd face something to guard it. He had plans for that, just in case. BUT, since there were a lot of factors which would probably prevent the creature from being able to stop its hands from being severed by Souza's blade, meaning it was more or less out of luck. But, Souza's plan hadn't been to sever the hands, so either way, whether or not they were severed, he had a counter option. The creature was just trying to continuously spew fire, which was a mistake. Give Souza an Arrancar, or a Bount, or anything even monstrous things like this, and he woudl pull through. He was the best.

On his way down, Souza had charged a new Tsuzuri Raiden on his blade, so that as he cut into his opponent, if he did, then the areas where the hands were severed from would suddenly go numb, perhaps making the creature at first unaware that it had lost its hands. But, that was if that attack succeeded. That one didn't need to. Souza had a better one. Since the creature had not stopped him, and had allowed him to get so close, especially with that armor on him, Souza was able to attack. The electricity of Tsuzuri Raiden jumped off of his blade and onto the creature. While maybe guarding or dodging the sword strike was possible, this attack was not.

Why? Too much going on. The creature would probably not even have seen Souza, and even if it did, all the aforementioned factors already made it that difficult to stop from hand severing. So, with that, how could it have anticipated Souza suddenly commanding lightning off his blade and onto its body, and at that distance? At their close proximity, there was just no way to dodge or block on time. The moment Souza's blade had even gotten that close, and in fact before his blade had even approached the hands to sever them, Tsuzuri Raiden had already begun its movement, so that by the time Souza's blade got where it should be, though the cut part would be numbed, the lightning would be traveling to be all over the body.

However, numbing was definitely not Souza's plan here. Nor was paralysis. It would hurt, but not enough to be extremely detrimental. No, Souza had a different, better plan. With his lightning, he was able to control its movement freely. And this meant that he was able to direct it where he pleased. And where did he please? At the creature's ears. It would move inside of the enemy, particularly into the head. Not only would this overload the brain with electricity, but it would completely jog the enemy's senses, and shut down sight, hearing, and sense of touch all simultaneously. So, this attack would shut down the enemy, and would also kill it because brain fry.

Worst of all for the enemy, if the hands were indeed severed, the flames would either explode back onto it and burn the body, while Souza due to the armor remained safe, or they would just sputter out and give Iwa some relief anyway. The enemy was not in any sort of good situation right now. Actually, their enemy was probably dead. That was the best way of putting it. Still, Souza had one more trick up his sleeve just in case, but he figured that it'd be best to save that one for a couple of seconds later. See how this plan played out first. Anyway, it was time for that monster to give up and realize it was no match for Soul Reapers, even if one was a rogue.

Souza's Remaining Reiatsu: 1300/1500 Reiatsu

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Iwamichi's quick thinking allowed Souza to be protected from the flames as well as she was. The condensed air around her was only mildly effective, but it did give her plenty of time to watch the team effort she was a part of go through perfectly. Without abandon, Souza charged forwards, slicing off the Nakabakki's hands and sending electricity across the boy's body. With another pulse of flames from his body, more out of reaction to pain than anything else, Souza's Tsuzuri Raiden was destroyed, but his sword attack had still been more than effective enough to get a rise out of the boy. With flames scattering in every direction uncontrolled due to the loss of the hands to focus them, the boy was nearly about to overcome himself with his own power. That is, if Souza or Iwamichi didn't finish him off first.

Remaining Reiatsu: 300/1500 (Body Technique: Destroy)

?: 12

[Iwamichi Saeke]

Well, things were just about finished here. Souza, as expected, was able to deliver a punishing blow. But, still not very surprisingly, he hadn't finished it off yet. She couldn't understand why he was taking his time with this. Iwa knew Tsuzuri Raiden, so she knew it wasn't a very powerful spell. Sure, it worked to give the creature more pain, but there were countless other ways he could have attacked that would be more effective in ending this fight already. She had to believe her earlier thoughts that his powers were centered around the manipulation of lightning or something of that sort. Tsuzuri raiden fit that category.

Iwa didn't feel like remaining the backup anymore. If he expected her to stay back the entire time, he was wrong. Sure, she had tried to make her own counter moves, but they all had been major disappointments so far. She couldn't leave things like that. If she didn't act, he would eventually finish the beast and she would be left practically useless. No, she was not destined to be in the supporting role. Iwa wanted to be in the front lines, finishing off the enemy. Today, she was learning a valuable lesson about the level of her ability - there was a great need for improvement right now. Feeling frustrated, Iwa planned her own attack in the midst of all of the chaos.

Black flames were literally flying everywhere, with little to no guidance anymore. Iwa could assume that the kid was quickly losing control over his powers and was just about to crumble under the pressure. Now was the best time to finish him off if there wasn't one before. Most likely, his own power would explode before too long, and Iwa didn't prefer to get wrapped up in the ensuing explosion. It was better to keep things contained and less messy. Iwa had a clear view of where Souza and the Hell-spawn kid were standing. Well, since they were surrounded by earth, her kind of material, there were plenty of options for Iwa to take.

So far, she had tried to keep things simple, which mostly ended in failure. However, she didn't want to try anything too outrageous here either, since Souza was still standing close to the target. She didn't necessarily care if she messed him up a bit, but it wouldn't go well for their continued cooperation in the future. Besides, she hated people trying to play the "hero". Things never get accomplished when people work like that. It's more counter-intuitive to the sake of the mission. So, what Iwa did was again, simple - but it could be more effective than anything previous.

Underneath the boy, Iwa crafted a long, round spike and shoved it straight upwards out of the ground. The intention was to go straight through the anus (if he had one. she guessed that maybe there was a possibility he didn't have one if he wasn't human anymore. but animals have anuses too, so why wouldn't he? did hollows have butt holes? ... wait, was she really thinking about butts now?). It's better to just drop that subject. Anyways, it would hopefully go straight through and pierce his entire body like a stake. It would be an ironic ending - the demon could burn at the stake. She had to chuckle in spite of herself at that. Well, if it didn't kill him, at least he probably wouldn't be avoiding Souza's next attack. If things went right - which they should because he was almost dead already and distracted by Souza - then Iwa could smugly affirm herself as a competent fighter.

Remaining Reiatsu: 2480 / 2930
Bakkoto Level 4: 3/3
Life force: 2930 / 2930

[Souza Kuchiki]

No need to do anything. Souza's eyes kept themselves half focused on the defeated enemy, half focused on the world around him, in case another enemy was soon to appear. What enemy would challenge Souza after what had just happened? Not too many, in all likelihood. Not of this level anyway. Then, another thing. He had been about to move, but had seen the rogue decide to seize the opportunity to go on the offensive. A spike of earth had shot out to skewer their enemy for what would be a slow, but guaranteed death. It wasn't gaudy, though it was pretentious. It wasn't too bad, as far as art went. The irony of a demon burning at the stake was not lost on Souza, who regardless showed no visible reaction.

He was ready to react to any stimuli, including further attack by the rogue, in case she decided to attempt to attack or damage him as well. However, judging by her choice to attack, Souza could assume that either she was someone that played slow and seized moments of weakness to her advantage, or had been attempting to take the kill to assert herself. In either case, she wouldn't attack Souza. Attacking him was dangerous while he wasn't showing weakness, and even moreso if the second was true. If the latter theory of her personality was true, then she did it because she had recognized the difference between her power and Souza's. Despite earlier pride in herself, her ego had been damaged by seeing Souza's superior abilities.

And, even if she didn't realize that before, she must have after that last exchange. It had been almost entirely Souza's work defeating the enemy. She had been supportive, yes. Therefore, she was not useless. However, her personality seemed to indicate an individual operator, and not a support type, meaning that to fall into the support role as a result of Souza's superior capabilities was probably wounding to her pride. She had been given the opportunity to recognize that he was stronger. Souza had used less reiatsu, less attack styles, and more efficient strategies, and had always been prepared. There was no way that she couldn't recognize that he was stronger, and that attacking him would lead to her defeat.

Besides, there might still be more dangers. There was probably one more coming, so she needed to keep him on her side. Then again, maybe she was wondering why he didn't use more powerful attacks. That was because he was saving his power, and holding back. If she put two and two together to realize this, she'd know that Souza's power was far greater than hers, because she had had to use her main ability, even if it was not at its highest level, while Souza hadn't even gone beyond use of swordplay and spells. His Zanpakuto had yet to play a part. In fact, none of Souza's main abilities had yet to appear. But they might, soon. The next enemy might get a taste.

Anyway, Souza stayed prepared, waiting, and ready to move on and to advance. If there was somewhere to advance to, then he advanced. If the rogue was ready and willing, and the enemy was defeated, then Souza continued forward, probably down the tunnel, or else down any other pathway that might suddenly open up to them. Either way, they were going to continue. Souza didn't need to deal the finishing blow. He was prideful, but not stupid in that way. Continuing forward, Souza thought about what it meant to be the Kuchiki Heir. It meant that no matter what, he was expected to be the best. Well, he had never lost, so didn't that mean that he already was? I am always victorious. Therefore I am always correct.

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Iwamichi's attempt to let the boy burn at the stake went through without a hitch as the spike impaled the Nakabakki from his exit to his opening. He continued to burn until nothing but charred ash was left. The dark flames sputtered out and then were gone. The first of the Messengers had been defeated. The mountain started to shake, but not terribly violently, and again the voice boomed inside their heads. "The first Messenger's Message has been ignored. Take heed of the second one, and begone from this place." The words having no effect for the previous warnings, it was doubtful that the student and the Rogue would do anything less than continue down the tunnel. It would wind down farther and farther into the earth, and it would become darker and darker. Eventually, there would be no light that could be seen.

When they had continued, whether cautiously or confidently, whether they had a plan to combat the darkness or not, they would find themselves walking on a level path rather than a downwards incline. With a rumble, smoke, and fire, three hounds identical to the ones they had seen on the surface would crawl out of the ground. Whatever the two were headed towards, there was something demonic in power here. Hason were forcing their way out of the ground with fire around their bodies, and while it would cast off a demonic glow, there was still little to see but the dark walls of the tunnel. With a ceiling not more than ten feet high, and walls five feet apart, Souza and Iwamichi were going to need to fight these hounds in fairly close quarters.

?: 13

[Iwamichi Saeke]

The first "Messenger" defeated, Iwa was finally satisfied. At least she had been the one to finish it off, pretty spectacularly too. But, that was not enough. For this Shinigami, her powers would probably never be enough to impress him. She couldn't stand a stupid Shinigami looking down on her. She was going to have to just swallow her pride and continue down the tunnel. With a nod to her temporary partner, she motioned that they should continue forward. Iwa started walking through the tunnel, although she knew that it was going to be different than the last one they just went through.

There was less light than before - barely any. She didn't like being unable to see what was ahead. They needed to be alert just in case this second Messenger was hiding in the dark. Some may call hiding cowardly, and in some respect it was. But, if she was in a situation that demanded it, she would not hesitate to do what was necessary to win. Putting her hand to the wall, she did this mainly for balance and to keep from bumping into something since her sight was limited. At least the slope of the tunnel wasn't too steep. It did turn out to be another long one.

Iwa could sense when they were getting closer to the end of the tunnel. The musty cave smell - a damp and earthy smell - came to her nostrils. The tunnel was opening into another cave. She heard another familiar sound as they approached. There was snarling and scraping of claws against the stone. If she could, she would have made a soft "Tch" like she often did with nuisances like this. She knew exactly what these signs meant. For sure, when they exited the darkness, there were hideous hounds waiting for them. Iwa cracked her knuckles. It wouldn't be too hard to dispose of them.

Checking her surroundings, it was very close quarters. It explained why the hounds had been so noisy: they were so close that they clawed and scratched one another whenever they moved around. They were like bees in a beehive - densely packed around one another and buzzing madly. Also, they were still exuding the demonic flame as before. If she remembered correctly, it wasn't just for decoration, although it did speak to their ugly origin. Iwa glanced at Souza. She had an idea of what she wanted to do, but she wasn't sure if she could communicate it to him.

Her objective was to take the one in the middle out while Souza took the two on the side, or at least one of the remaining two. She doubted her own ability to fight all three, but she was thinking about what would be the most efficient with the greatest chance of success. Since she had sheathed her Bakkoto once more, she was not going to try to do too much at one time. Sure, she had kido, but she also had to be smart about how much reiatsu she used. Her Bakkoto required a near constant supply after all, and that was a pain. If the second Messenger was more powerful than the first, she needed to start conserving her reiatsu.

She took out her katana and stared at the targets. What would be the best way to kill them, hopefully in one shot? It didn't seem too impossible. They were like normal hounds in certain ways. Although they were from Hell, one could still cut off its head and kill it dead. It wasn't some kind of undead zombie that just keeps coming back, even without a head. She knew this from her prior experience. She was assuming that they were the same as the ones before. She would keep her mind open just in case they weren't. But, for now, it was useless to try and fix something that wasn't broken.

She got a running start and lept into the air above her target. She knew at this point the mass could see her. There wasn't a second thought before she did a quick shunpo. The stupid beasts would have no ability to react. Iwa appeared behind the creatures. It would take them a while to figure that out, probably. But, she wasn't going to dilly dally here. She was going to pulverize this one. Extending the palm of her hand, she let one thought ring through her head: Hado no gojuu: Mabarashi Dangan! She could feel the reiatsu burst forth from her hand. The corner of her mouth turned in the faintest curve upward.

-150 for class 4 Mabarashi Dangan = 2330 / 2930
Life force: 2930 / 2930