Bow and Blade [R, NDE] [Gerald Fromm v Hotaru Kuchiki]

[Deleted]

Thread Title: Bow and Blade [R, NDE] [Gerald Fromm v Hotaru Kuchiki]
Participants: [Gerald Fromm, Hotaru Kuchiki]
World: Human World
Death Setting: Non Death Enabled
Rating: R
Location: A rooftop in Karakura Town. The rooftop is large, taking up about a fourth of a city block in either direction, and is relatively clear of clutter.
Special Conditions: None
Circumstances: Hotaru Kuchiki, a seated officer of the 11th division, was sent to kill a Hollow in Karakura Town, but when she traced it to the rooftop, she found that a Quincy had just slain it. This Quincy, Gerald Fromm, was a Lieutenant of the Vandenreich, and attacked her on sight.

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru Kuchiki had been following this hollow for what seemed like hours. She knew it wasn't that long, but this stupid hollow kept going in and out of her energy sensory range. When she would get somewhat close to it, she was only quick enough to land a shallow cut and it would run. It was one of the most cowardly hollow she had ever met. She thought that maybe it was a newly turned hollow and that's why it ran. Or, it was just weak.

No matter, she would keep on its heels, slashing at it when she could, but always following it. When it started leading her towards the actual city proper, she started to worry. Before, she had found it outside of the actual city, in the abandoned parts of the town and the outskirts. She tried, when she actually cut it, to lead it more outside of the city. But, obviously, what she was trying to do wasn't working the way she wanted it to. She knew that she had to try something else.

She was, however, able to keep up with it a little better. The street layout in the town mad it a little difficult for the hollow to maneuver. When it finally realized this, it started to go up to the rooftops. She tried to keep it in range, but it was actually moving faster on the roofs. She was cursing herself that she let the stupid hollow to the roofs. She started to Shunpo to get close to the hollow to kill it. She was Shunpo-ing for about ten minutes until she finally caught up to the hollow.

When she found it again, she just saw the last remnants of the hollow disappearing. She at first assumed that another shinigami was in the area and slew it for her. Once she had landed on the roof, she immediately knew that that was not the case. What she sensed was similar to Asmoskon's reiatsu signature, but it was different. This man was a Quincy. She stayed towards the end of the roof, only taking a few steps in. She took a deep breath and risked to say something. She knew that Asmoskon told her to be careful with other Quincies, but she just had to say something. "Thank you for taking care of that hollow for me. It was just a little bit faster than me and I couldn't get it."  

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats}
Strength - [(200) - 25%] (150) Points.
Speed - [(160) + 35%] (216) Points.
Spiritual Pressure – [(200) - 25%] (150) Points.
Reiatsu Strength – [(160) + 35%] (216) Points.
Light Aura - [70] Points
Dark Aura - [30] Points
Instinct - [100] Points.
Senses - [100] Points.
Energy sensory - [50] Points
Healing Expertise - [0] Points

[Weapons: Swords] 2
[Pain Tolerance] 2
[Bleeding Tolerance] 1
[Illusion Resist] 1
[Damage Recovery] 2
[Poison Resist] 1
[Learning] 1
[Battle Focus] 1

[Deleted]

"What is the point of Patrol?" his subordinates sometimes asked. "Hollows are hardly worth our time, we have more valuable things to do." Typically, the subordinates that did so would regret their statements very quickly, once Gerald disciplined them, but there was some merit to them asking the question. They were wrong, of course, but it was a valid question. What is the point of Patrol? Simple, The Emperor wills there to be Patrol, and thus it is justified by his will, may he exist eternally and remain mighty.

Tonight, Gerald was on Patrol alone in Karakura Town. He had left his squad behind in the Vandenreich base largely because he didn't need their assistance, and didn't think that they had anything to gain from the experience of Patrolling in the name of The Emperor. They had already demonstrated a disturbing lack of interest in it. He needed to teach them more, with word and stick, that serving the Emperor was virtuous in itself, regardless of the purpose. Sometimes, other people just didn't seem to get it. Gerald knew that his views on the subject were uncommon, but it still bothered him.

Gerald was on patrol partially just to clear his own thoughts, which had been clouded recently. Clouded because the road had become uncertain, and he now found himself struggling to proceed. The mission of the Vandenreich was the will of the Emperor, and logically thus it was infallible. And yet, he was concerned that there was a growing number of members, mostly just Privates, but even a few Lieutenants, who lacked the true loyalty of a Vandenreich officer. It was a problem that at the present moment, he couldn't fix.

However, if he grew stronger, he could become Captain, and radically alter the path of the Vandenreich to be more inline with the vision of the Emperor. Yes, that was the perfect plan. And he would follow it to the end, no matter who he had to bury six feet down in order to get there. Bounts, Shinigami, Arrancar, perhaps even non Vandenreich Quincy, all of them were valid targets in Gerald's eyes. Oh, and Hollows. How could he forget them? Especially given that at this moment, he was patrolling for them right now.

It hadn't taken long for him to find one, and he dispatched it with relative ease. He hadn't found the need to release his bow at all, instead sticking with a simple mundane bow. The Hollow, a creature that had appeared rather Lupine in form, had it's feet pinned to the roof, then an arrow through the center of the mask. Simple, efficient, and clean. That was Gerald's way. Of course, upon dispatching the Hollow was when things got more interesting. He heard the steps from behind him before her voice called out, and was already turning when she began her sentence.

A shinigami? Oh, tonight might actually be interesting. "So, you were trying to hunt this beast? It is your job to cleanse Hollows, shinigami, but you let this one escape you. This monster could have devoured innocents, and you wouldn't have been able to stop it. Their deaths would've been on your head if that had happened. I intervened, but that is irrelevant. You are a failure, Shinigami, and your incapability to accomplish your job makes your nature as a shinigami unforgivable." In a single fluid motion, Gerald strafed right, and let loose an arrow directly at Hotaru's chest, his white Vandenreich cloak flowing with the motion.

Reiatsu: 2000/1730 (+300 for Quincy Cross, -30 reiatsu for a Class 5 arrow)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and Skills}
Strength - 80 (60) Points
Speed - 250 (375) Points
Spiritual Pressure - 230 (173) Points
Reiatsu Strength - 300 (450) Points
Light Aura - 100 Points
Dark Aura - 0 Points
Instinct - 200 Points
Senses - 200 Points
Energy sensory - 0 Points
Healing Expertise - 0 Points
Total SP: 1250 Points

Abilities


[Strength of Will] 2

[Battle Analysis] 2

[Ranged Weapons] 2

[Memory] 2

[Focused Eye] 2

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

When Hotaru got to the roof and spoke to the Quincy, she took a closer look to what he was actually wearing. It was the standard Vandenreich uniform. She had only met one other Quincy that wore that uniform and he was nothing like what she expected from a Quincy from the Vandenreich. Vannan was definitely an interesting man, that was to be sure. But, it seemed like this man was nothing like him.

She listened to what this Quincy had to say. From just the way he was talking, she thought that he was more inclined to be one of the more devout followers of the Reich. Though, she was getting annoyed by what he was saying. It was faster than her, but she had the power to slay the hollow. This Quincy just happened to be in the right place at the right time. No innocent would've been injured.

She didn't like him assuming things like that about her. She was not a failure. Enduring what she has and still be able to keep her outlook on life was testament to that. She was not going to let this Quincy make assumptions about her. She was better than what he was saying about her and it was really starting to get on her nerves. She could sense his strength and they were fairly evenly matched.

After he finished berating her, he decided to run off to the right, letting an arrow go, aiming it for her chest. She quickly unsheathed her zanpaktou. She stared down this Quincy and quickly Shunpo'ed out of the range of his arrow. But, since her sword was in front of her when she Shunpo'ed, she appeared to the left of this Quincy and slashed at him. If she was quick enough, she could try one of her only hand to hand techniques, but she figured she wouldn't have the time to do so.

OOC: Reiatsu 1450/1500 -50 for Shunpo

[Deleted]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Minstrel! Play The Song!}

Oh good, she didn't intend to roll over and die. This would be an interesting fight, without a doubt. And in this fight, he would become stronger, in the name of The Emperor. It was good that she had dodged the initial arrow, because that wasn't the arrow that was meant to kill her. Of course, the second she drew her sword, it was obvious to him what the course of action would be: She wanted to close the gap. He was mentally a step ahead of her. Without a moment of hesitation, he fired two arrows directly into the ground in front of him.

Once she had ended up next to him, however, Gerald activated the inner potential of the arrows, a power all Vandenreich members have access to. The arrows would detonate like human world grenades, just as she was mid swing. Of course, Gerald wouldn't be there to be hit, because as he detonated the arrows, he activated the Human World Dweller step technique known as Movement. Unlike most step techniques, Movement forced the body to move uncharistically, and was in general more difficult to predict as a movement. One moment he would be there, her swing coming towards him, the next he'd be gone and an explosion would fling Hotaru back.

Now that he was about halfway across the roof, he shook his head and spoke to Hotaru, if she was still capable of listening to him. It was possible the explosion had blown out her eardrums, or even killed her. But he doubted it. "Shinigami, I am not a foe that you can beat. For I am Gerald Fromm, Lieutenant of the Vandenreich, and my every action is the will of The Emperor. His will and wish is infallible, and your simple attempts of resisting are like a moth trying to fly in a hurricane. It is unfortunate that I was your opponent today, the hesitancy of Vandenreich members nowadays could have saved you." 

"Unfortunately, I am not the average Vandenreich member." He rose his bow again, and nodded his head, as if beckoning her to try to come at him again. "Your move, Shinigami." In reality, he had no intention of letting her do what she wanted. The second she began to move towards him again, this time she'd be less likely to use Shunpo. In that case, he'd shoot her legs while she was running. If she tried to do the same Shunpo movement again, he'd play the same cruel trick on her. She had seemingly no way of predicting it, or countering it, so he was comfortable repeating actions.

Reiatsu: 2155/1730 (+300 for Quincy Cross, -25 for movement, -80 for 2 Class 4 arrows, -40 for explosive detonation)

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru was glad that she was able to avoid the first arrow. But, if he was anything like Asmoskon, this Vandenreich member wouldn't stop there. No doubt that he was at least one step ahead of her, if not twelve, knowing how her luck ran. But, she wouldn't give up. She hasn't given up, even when all the odds were stacked against her. She will fight to her last breath against this man, especially if he would keep insulting her.

When she landed next to the Quincy and started to slash her sword, she noticed the arrows in the ground. She thought that it was really odd that he just shot arrows into the ground. But, during the swing, she thought that she felt something change within the arrows. When she looked up again, the Quincy was gone. It was then that the arrows exploded. She had no idea that arrows could explode like that. She only thought the human 'grenades' could do that.

When the blast actually hit her, thankfully her arm didn't blow off. But, it did throw her back a few feet. She was able to right herself before she landed, but she still landed hard. She slowly got up to a standing position and shook out her limbs. There was a little soreness from the actual fall, but the rest was good. Thankfully when the explosion went off, her head was turned, so only the front part of her head took it and her ears were safe.

He then started talking to her again. This time, he actually gave out his name and rank, saying that he was Gerald Fromm, Lieutenant of the Vandenreich. Then, when he said his every action was the will of the emperor, she knew that this was one of the members that was insanely loyal to their emperor and nothing she said would change his mind. He said it was unfortunate that he was her opponent because he showed no hesitancy like other members.

She was thinking to herself of how lucky she was indeed. This was going to be a hard fight for her, but she would try her best to beat this Quincy. She definitely needed to train her skills more, so she would be more equal to people than she was right now. When he said that it was her move. She took a minute to think about what she should do. Knowing what she did about this man and the explosive arrows, he would more than likely do it again if she got that close to him.

This Quincy also wasn't even breathing hard. He was going to fight smart, so she needed to as well. The last time she didn't think that his arrows could do that, but she needed to get some better sense of what his arrows felt like so she could read it better. She thought back to what she felt and decided to try to feel the same thing again for his arrows. So this time, she would try something different. She Shunpoed near him and right when she appeared, she would now use Shunpo Eichi to try to knock the man back. She would then reappear about six feet away from him, sword at the ready.

OOC: Reiatsu 1250/1450 -50 for Shunpo and -150 for Shunpo Eichi

[Deleted]

Hmm. She hadn't suffered that much external damage from the explosion. Not a huge loss, he'd put her down rapidly anyways, but he was hoping to at least injure one of her limbs. From the looks of it, she was relatively intact. Hurt, but nothing broken yet. A pity. He'd have to take care of that in the near future. He was thinking of taking her right kneecap first, then the left hand, left kneecap, right hand. Yes, that was going to be just lovely. And even better, it looked like she was about to give him the opportunity to do so. 

As she burst into motion, again he fired an arrow into the ground next to him. And she shunpo'd into his guard, he once again used Movement to throw himself away to the right, ending up standing on the edge of the roof. However, this time, the rest of it didn't go exactly as expected. Instead of slashing, and receiving nothing but air and an explosion for her troubles, the Shinigami used another step technique to cross the roof top, back near to where she started. What was the purpose of that? Ah, now it was clear.

In addition to the explosion of his arrows, a shockwave pulsed through the air. She had been intending on striking him with that force. Unfortunately, he had relocated himself the second she entered his guard. Still, the action was impressive, and had it have connected, Gerald had to acknowledge the fact that it likely would have hurt. But it didn't, for The Emperor had other plans, plans that exceeded the scope of this puny Shinigami. And Gerald would be the executor of these plans, for that was his right as heir of the Fromm family.

Now, it was time to get a little serious. Gerald narrowed his eyes at the Shinigami, and blurred into motion, moving at speed that was perhaps greater than Shunpo. Hirenkyaku, the Quincy step technique, allowed Gerald to move temporarily at 3750 speed, a speed that the Shinigami would struggle to match even with Shunpo. But where was he going? He wasn't actually running away. Rather, he was engaging the Shinigami directly, because she wouldn't expect that. Gerald appeared on Hotaru's right side, so that she couldn't cut him in the act of drawing.

The instant he arrived, Gerald already had five arrows notched, and fired them directly into Hotaru's side. If she was lucky and fast, she could block one or two, but it was unlikely that she could block all of them at this distance. If she did dodge them, he had a trick up his sleeve that would make her regret it. Or perhaps she would tank the attack, and try to attack him. That would likely be the most dangerous choice, for both of them. Gerald had committed to the attack, and thus couldn't simply use Movement to fling himself back.



Reaitsu: 2080/1730 (+300 Quincy Cross, -25 for Movement, -40 for Class 4 Arrow, -20 for detonation, -50 for Hirenkyaku, -150 for 5x Class 5 Arrows)

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Once she had appeared next to Gerald, she noticed that he had shot an arrow into the ground again. He also disappeared like he did the first time. Obviously, he was expecting her to do the same thing that she did the first time. Thankfully, she hadn't planned on doing what she did the first time. So, after she had appeared, she Shunpo'ed away again, completely avoiding the blast of his arrow on the ground.

Though, sadly, since Gerald had used what she assumed was a step technique to get away, he was out of the range of the shock wave that accompanied Shunpo Eichi. But, she was just glad that she did something different and hopefully threw him off his game a lit bit. She stood there, in her fighting stance, ready for whatever he threw at her next. But, since she had never fought him before, she had no idea what he was going to do.

She noticed that he narrowed his eyes towards her. Obviously, he didn't expect her to pull off that move either. The only thing was that it seemed like he wasn't getting that exhausted. She needed to keep that in mind when she continued this fight. His stamina was greater than her own and she needed to fight smarter to try to get this to work. Then, she noticed that he actually blurred away.

This must be the step technique that she saw Asmoskon use against her in their fight. She took a deep breath and had an idea if he got close to her. Since her sword was out, it would be easier for her to execute it. She felt him arrive and immediately turned and performed the Shunpo Flash Blossom technique. She saw him shoot the arrows into her side, but she just hoped that the arrows missed and she moved quick enough. With the technique, she transported directly behind him, and she hoped that the two strikes actually hit him.

OOC: Reiatsu 1150/1250 -100 for Flash Blossom

[Deleted]

Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. That's what this shinigami was, an utter disappointment. Maybe that was harsh, but it was rather justified. Gerald was uncertain if she was even worth his valuable time, because as far as he could tell, there was nothing to gain from this fight. She wouldn't be able to force him to release, and although she was agile, she lacked the true analytical capabilities to keep pace with him in the slightest. He was uncertain whether she was even a seated officer, since she had demonstrated no expertise that would suggest such.

She was at least three steps behind him throughout this fight, allowing him to direct it however he had wanted. And now, he was bringing it swiftly into the endgame, right where he wanted to be. And the funniest thing was, she probably thought that she was doing well. She was probably proud of her attempts at countering him, of evading him. And such pride was what came before the fall, the fall according to The Emperor's will. For Hotaru wasn't simply fighting against Gerald, but rather the inexorable will of The Emperor.

She had used some type of Hoho, a Shunpo variant, to dodge the arrows and end up behind him. She clearly thought that her mobility was going to be her saving grace. Unfortunately for her, she was wrong. Although she had dodged the five arrows quite effectively, as they were now on the opposite side of him compared to her. They hadn't moved far yet, because the actions that had occurred so far were taking place in a split second. And yet, this was the deciding split second. Her sword came swinging down, and that was when she lost.

As the sword came down to strike his skin, Gerald activated the greatest blessing that The Emperor had seen fit to bestow upon him thus far. Blut, the legendary armor technique of the Vandenreich, gave the user an armor that was comparable to, nay, totally exceeded the Arrancar Hierro. Gerald's Blut's strength was 450, which was more than enough to totally repel the attack of Hotaru. However, that wasn't where things were going to get bad for her. In fact, as the sword collided with his back, Gerald dropped, as if actually injured.

This was checkmate. Game over. Hotaru dodging the arrows meant, more or less, nothing. Because the moment he activated his Blut, Gerald willed the arrows to detonate. The arrows were only a few feet away by this point, and Gerald was falling, so there was nothing in between Hotaru and the explosion. Given how much damage two of Gerald's arrows had done to her before, even while muffled slightly by the ground, there was no way she was going to walk away from five explosions at almost point blank range intact.

Her death wasn't certain, but she certainly wasn't going to be escaping this with burns and bruises. But wouldn't the explosion hurt Gerald as well? He of course was in the blast radius, and the arrows possessed equivalent strength to his Blut. But the arrows were a Class 5 technique, and his Blut was a Class 2 one, allowing it to absorb the force harmlessly. A pity she hadn't seen this coming. Since she was in the middle of her attack, she wouldn't be able to Shunpo away to safety, even if she had expected the attack. The attack had been planned, and she'd walked right into it.

Reiatsu: 2005 (+300 Quincy Cross, -300 Blut, -75 for Class 5 Arrow detonation x5)

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Once she started the attack, she knew that this probably wouldn't end well. But, what could she do now? She had already committed to the attack, so she had to go through with it. She knew that her enemy was probably twelve steps ahead of her, but honestly, she never thought too much during a fight. She would try to get in a personal with her enemies and defeat them that way. But, as she was learning, Quincies made that rather difficult.

Once Hotaru had finished the attack, she felt something off from Gerald. She noticed that her sword had hit something on his body that pretty much deflected her blade. It wasn't good for her, that's for sure. She knew that his arrows could still detonate, and she just thought about it when she finished the attack. Gerald was starting to go down from her attack, but she knew it didn't do any damage.

She then figured that he must be trying to do something sneaky against her. She thought about using a Shunpo to get away, or to try to use the actual force of the blast to her advantage. She decided to use the force of the blast to her advantage. She put her sword in front of her and while Gerald was going down, she felt the spike in his reiatsu. At that moment, she jumped up just a little bit.

When she jumped, the arrows exploded. She used the force from the blast, while pushing her sword down to protect her legs from the brunt of the damage, she got a few feet into the air. She guessed she was about ten to twelve feet in the air. Once the momentum was gone, she made an air ground to stand on. She then gave herself a minute to get her breath. She checked out her body and didn't find anything too bad with her, besides a few burns on her legs. "Your turn now Quincy Gerald Fromm."

OOC: Reiatsu 1075/1150 -75 for Air Ground

[Deleted]

As he lay on the ground, the explosion cascading over him, Gerald began to consider if he had underestimated his opponent. Because the air was not full with the sound of screams of pain, but rather simply a heavy grunt to go along with the sounds of the arrows' detonations. So, she had survived? As he rose up, the hardened veins of his Blut beginning to fade from sight once again, he gave the Shinigami a slight nod. "What did you say your name was, Shinigami? It will be worth remembering, even once I wipe you from this earth." 

Examining the Shinigami, it quickly appeared that she had endured most of the trauma he had inflicted upon her thus far no worse for the wear. Well, at least not much worse for the wear. She had burns on her legs, minor bruises, and her breathing had noticeably gotten heavier. He, on the other hand, was feeling fine. Well, mostly fine. He was actually beginning to get somewhat peeved, and the fact that she was getting him to feel emotion in the fight was a somewhat worrisome sign. He was typically good at focusing on the battle, and she was actively distracting him.

"However, I'm afraid that I must laugh slightly at your remark. While I understand the point of the remark, a call back to my earlier one, it's not quite accurate in the slightest. This entire fight has been a chess match, but with an altered set of rules. Every time you take a turn, I take two. I've already have taken my turn. This whole fight has been my turn. Look, you've yet to even scratch me, and I've already inflicted several blows upon you. So please, once again, I invite you to try and make me fight seriously. Please, Shinigami, show me what your Zanpakutou can do."

Reiatsu: 2305 (+300 Quincy Cross)

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Once he got back up to his feet from his little ruse, he asked what her name was, saying that it would be worth remembering even after he wiped her from this Earth. "My name is Hotaru." She could obviously tell from the look on his face that he wasn't expecting her to do what she did. Even though she was taking more damage than him, it didn't matter. As long as she fights to her fullest, that was all that mattered to her.

She took a breath to calm herself. This guy was really starting to piss her off. His superiority complex was getting to the point of being completely ridiculous. He was strong, she did give him that, stronger than her. But for him to think that he was better than pretty much everyone but his emperor really was stupid. Just because you were stronger than someone, it didn't make you automatically better than them.

Then, he continued talking. He was saying that the entire fight has been a chess match with different rules. He then started to explain that when she took a move, he took two and he already took his turn, like this whole fight was his turn. Then, he pointed out that she hasn't scratched him while he's inflicted a lot of wounds on her. Next, he invited her to try to make him fight seriously and to show him what her zanpaktou can do.

She was completely pissed now. There were very few opponents that pissed her off this bad. He was now one of them. She figured since she couldn't hit him, she would pull out all the stops. "Burn, Rivu~aiasan!" Once the change started and her cannon formed on her left arm, she immediately made a grenade and threw it in the ground in front of him.

If he got hit by it, her liquid would explode from it, hitting him and letting her fire burn. She then jumped off her advanced air ground and started to spread her liquid all around her, the complete 360 degrees, by turning quickly. Once the liquid was done, she had covered an area of 150 ft with her liquid. She then stood in the middle of this liquid grass, ready for whatever he decided to throw at her.

OOC: Reiatsu 825/1075 -200 for Shikai, -50 for Kasai shuryūdan Shikai 1/8

[Deleted]

Interesting. Hotaru. A name that Gerald would have to report back to his Captain, once he was done ending this battle. It was rather generous that she offered it to him, with so little resistance. Perhaps that was just a nature of her personality, not resisting. It made sense in the context of this combat. He wasn't sure if he was quite fascinated with the Shinigami, but she certainly was just one of the few specimens he actually had exchanged words with. Typically, he killed them, and moved on. In this case, he was talking to her, killing her, then moving on.

His words were making her unstable, that much was obvious. They were upsetting her. She was having to try to actively calm herself. She wasn't dedicated to the battle, and that would cost her dearly as this fight continued. Once her emotions had taken control over her, he would eliminate her with a cold heart and a quick hand. And then, he pushed her over the edge. He saw the change in her eyes, when he asked to see her Zanpakutou. And so she released, with a fearsome roar, and her weapon rapidly unfolding over her body.

It created a canon of sorts, and it was easy to tell at least part of the functionality. Ranged combat. So by the time that she had decided to launch the grenade, he'd already decided how he'd deal with it. The instant that the grenade left the canon, he unleashed a single arrow, imbuing it with no small amount of power. The Shinigami release was, mechanically speaking, a Class 4 technique. Ergo, Gerald fired a Class 3 arrow. Combined with his superior reiatsu strength, it would overcome her Zanpakutou abilities with relative ease.

The arrow pierced through the grenade when it was only about a foot from the canon, releasing the the liquid directly upon her and the area around her. However, it seemed that that wasn't a significant deal for her, given how she had begun to spin and release more of the liquid everywhere. Instantly, Gerald used the Quincy step technique Hirenkyaku to retreat. The area of effect of Hotaru's Shikai would likely cover the entire roof, but that was fine. Gerald simply used the air ground that Hirenkyaku effectively created to cross the gap between this building and the next.

The two buildings were relatively equal in size, with a two foot gap in between them. So while Gerald stood on one, and Hotaru stood on the other, they could still meet eye to eye. "So, was that your turn? Was that your attempt at so much as touching me, Hotaru? Shinigami are meaningless in comparison to Quincy, and the might of the Vandenreich, the Emperor's chosen people, can crush even the mightiest of Soul Society. What makes you think that this battle is winnable? What makes you think, even for a second, that your release could even cause me to break a sweat? Please, show me your courage. Show me the determination that makes you think that you're capable of winning."


Reiatsu: 2505 (+300 Quincy Cross, -50 Class 3 Arrow, -50 Hirenkyaku)

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru listened to this Quincy talk before she decided on any course of action. He was being pretty crafty and she needed to think of some way to deflate his enormous ego. Or, at least try to deflate it. But, from how he was acting and what he was saying, his ego had already grown out of control and there was no hope of it ever shrinking. It was one basic fact about this man that she wasn't going to like.

She then thought over what the Quincy had actually done for her attack. She knew his reiatsu strength was greater than her own, but she didn't truly realize how great it was until he shot an arrow at her grenade attack. Once the arrow hit it, it completely broke it apart, throwing her liquid everywhere. Thankfully, she didn't get hurt by it. But, when she thought he would strike her again, or at least move closer, he didn't.

In fact, he just jumped over to the next roof. It was interesting that his first inclination was to run away to a different roof. He hadn't even seen what the liquid could do, but she assumed that he didn't want to find out. He wouldn't like what he found out anyway. For someone preaching to her on how great he is and how powerful his faction was, running away to a different roof didn't seem like a good idea.

Then, she addressed him. "So, it seems like all you do when you talk like this is taunt. You only scored hits on me due to my inability to foresee what your arrows can do. I will hopefully not make that mistake again. I don't care what you think of yourself or your faction. But, for being so powerful, running away to a different building doesn't seem like a thing you would do. I never said that I could win this fight. But, I will fight till my last breath to bring you down Quincy. Make no mistake about that."

She then runs over to the edge of her roof and jumps onto his roof. She stares him down while thinking of what to do. Then, she has it. Even if she can't think too far ahead of this man, she was going to fight him as best as she could. She started to move her sword in a cone shape, and then disappeared. When she reappeared, she shouted "Doragonburesu!" and sent her attack towards the Quincy.

OOC: Reiatsu 675/825 -50 for Shunpo, -100 for Doragonburesu

[Deleted]

(OOC: Just as a headsup: When docking reiatsu, you should always list your total max reiatsu rather than your max reiatsu from the start of the post)

Hmm, the girl had a bit of wit to her. She was wrong, of course, but at least she had a sharp tongue in that head of hers. The thing that Hotaru, this Shinigami, didn't seem to understand was that Gerald wasn't simply running away. Rather, he was playing the long game. As long as he played defensive, he was fast enough that she shouldn't be capable of tagging him with any attacks, and would tire herself out without him even having to beat her down directly. On the other hand, was this really a battle that would honor the Vandenreich?

There was a large amount of honor in victory, but there was also honor to how one won. This, of course, was not a reference to underhand tactics. Gerald had no qualms using those. Rather, this was alluding to winning by not fighting, as Gerald was clearly doing. You were denying the enemy combat, then claiming that you had beaten them, which was an act of cowardice. Although Gerald's strategy was working, it was rapidly becoming apparent that it wasn't something that the Emperor would have expected him to do.

Gerald was a Lieutenant of the Vandenreich, and obliterating this Shinigami in direct combat would be laughably easy. So why was he running? Change of tactics. He decided that he would fight this Shinigami with all the force she deserved. He would dodge, of course, but he would never run. His eyes narrowed as she ran and jumped towards his roof, beginning to flick her sword in a cone. She'd never hit from this far away, which meant she had a trick. She would Shunpo, of course. He couldn't let that work.

Once again, Gerald triggered the technique of Movement, and forced himself back on small jets of air, so that although her cone of flames would strike out nearby him, he'd be two steps away from the direct area that was engulfed in flames. As soon as the movement terminated, Gerald had manifested his Small Bow, a two handed crossbow, and let his normal bow dematerialize. "Shinigami," Gerald said, a smile in his voice, "You are cordially invited to dodge this." And with that, he unleashed a single arrow from the bow.

This arrow, of course, was fired from the small bow at outrageous speeds, moving at double normal speed. Gerald's normal arrows moved faster than Hotaru by over 150 Speed, and this arrow would be moving at twice that speed, effectively moving at over 500 speed more than Hotaru was capable of, and at almost point blank range. Suffice it to say, it would be difficult to dodge. However, what would come next would occur entirely based on whether or not Hotaru was going to dodge it using a Step Technique. If she did so, Gerald would let her. If she didn't, however, he had a nasty trick up his sleeve.

Reiatsu: 2705/1750 (+300 for Quincy Cross, -25 for Movement, -25 for a Class 3 Arrow from Small Bow, -50 for speed augment)