Looks Can Be Deceiving | NDE / R |

[RayginX]

Thread Title: Looks Can Be Deceiving
Participants: Garret & Iraishin + Shiryou
World: Human World
Death Setting: Non Death Enabled
Rating: R
Location: A rock covered wasteland. There isn't much coverage, outside a few large stones, and the deteriorating corpses of numerous Hollows.
Special Conditions: None
Circumstances: The Twins, lured by the scent of Garrets Osen the night before, decide to check out the living Hollow Bait himself. Garret responds how he always responds to the Hollow kin.

[RayginX]

His deep breathing was the only sound amidst the battlefield. Gravel rested beneath his feet, stained red with the collected blood of numerous giant corpses scattered about. Another sunrise. Another end to the night times warfare. Where he was he had no clue, the fighting having pushed him from his original location. There was more that night, one of the harder ones. This was the first time Garret had seen more than one Gillian attack, believing that the massive Hollows only came in ones. But the sight of three Gillian's at once had made Garret question his rate of survival at this point. Taiho had only told him about the Gillian's when last they met, not going into further explanation on the other levels of Hollow evolution. Damn bitch. That was information Garret needed.

Looking down at the Hollow corpse he was resting on, the Rogue sighed and pushed off the ground with some support of his sword. It was over, for now, but why did he feel so anxious? Why did it feel like he was being watched? Garret narrowed his eye, looking out across the rocky wasteland littered with the corpses of the the slain Hollows. One of the massive Gillian's lay in the distance, it's gigantic body slowly disintegrating into the ever common black particles that Garret had become used to seeing.

For a moment he considered sending out an Echo, fueling his Bakkotos hunger into a pulse outward in a search for more food. He had a considerable range with the technique, but decided that what he was feeling was nothing more than his imagination. Making sure the bandage around the wound on his arm was secure, Garret hefted his mighty weapon into the air, placing it against his back and sliding the sword between the chain and onto the hook that held it. If something was watching him, then it was smart to stay back and avoid him.

He began walking in one direction, not really concerned where he was going to end up again. All he did was walk. During the days he rested and traveled, and during the night he fought. He had to be sure to make enough distance between his last battleground, else the effects of his Osen would be more potent than the night before. Something about the lingering scent caused it to become stronger. As he walked around the corpses, that feeling still remained. Was something actually watching him? Again he refrained from using Echo, wanting to conserve his Life Force before the night came. Pushing the feeling away, Garrets mind began to wander as he continued through the traveled wasteland, the sounds of stones moving beneath his every step.

And suddenly, Garrets right eye socket erupted in pain. The swordsman let out a surprised yell, reaching up and grasping around his eyepatch to make sure that nothing had struck him or stuck in him. He wasn't feeling anything abnormal, outside of this ridiculous amount of pain. The hell was wrong with it now? Was it bothered that Garret had refused to call upon it during last nights battle? It couldn't be hungry, it was always feeding after all. The swordsman growled, deciding to use the pain and turn it into anger, to motivate him to keep moving. He would use his anger to push himself forward, like he always did.

But as he began to walk once more, that feeling of anxiety not only stayed but actually gotten worse. The swordsman stopped, turning around and scanning the environment. With a growl, he decided to go ahead and do it. Tapping into the parasites hunger, it's desire for Life Force, and focusing it, Garret released it into the area around him. Like the radar of a submarine, the Bakkotos hunger flew at least three miles all around Garret, coming back to him when it detected anything possessing Life Force. And when it did come back Garret was surprised to find not one source, but two. The swordsman frowned, planting his sword into the earth and looking in the direction of the approaching sources of life.

And then they came, two young girls. Unassuming at first, Garret narrowed his eye as he noticed what it was that rested upon their heads. Each shared a white, bone like structure formed around their ears before growing upwards into an ear shaped protrusion. He knew what they were, having experienced similar life forms before. Had they been watching him during the night? Waiting for the best opportunity to strike? "Arrancar." he hissed, tightening his grip around the handle of his behemoth weapon.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and Skills}
Strength - 300 Points = 450

Speed - 100 - Points

Spiritual Pressure - 300 - Points = 390

Reiatsu Strength - 50 - Points = 35

Light Aura - 20 - Points

Dark Aura - 80 - Points

Instinct -100 - Points

Senses - 100 - Points = 75

Energy sensory - 0 - Points

Healing Expertise - 0 - Points

Total SP: 950 Points

• [Weapons: Greatswords] {2}
  
  
• [Strength of Will] {2}
  
  
• [Pain Tolerance] {2}
  
  
• [Battle Analysis] {2}
  
  
• [Lack of Fear] {2}
  
  
• [Damage Recovery] {2}
  
  
• [Bleeding Tolerance] {2}
  

[Noriko 'Asuka"]

"Hey Iraishin hurry up I want to eat some more!" Her sister had been lagging ever since they entered the region. Iraishin had always been a stickerly of pacing herself and never wanting to go out on adventures. And what better way to find an adventure than a blood stained rocky field of fallen Hollows. Sorta reminded her of Las Noches, since, it is always a game of survival on a daily basis, but her it was more like a game of tag. Hehehe. Even so, the land got fairly boring with everything lookin the same as always. The ever constant shifting of the white sand out on the front porch and distant cries of monsters was all there was to their home. Ever since Miss Asuka's disappearance, and their Espada never having time to play with them, the pair had to do things on their own. Thus brought them to the human world.

The human world always offered a new adventure with yummy treats to munch on, so it was never a real loss. This time was no exception since both of the sisters caught whiff of a particularly interesting scent. Adrastos, their guardian, mentioned of picking up scent that was absolutely divine, but vanished for some time. He said that it wasn't something that was ever captured before, so it was quite special indeed. And the very same reason that the pair came to the human world again. That scent was on Adrastos for some time, then a few days later some of the Hollows were acting strange and vanished into a numerous Garganta gates. That was the moment when the two caught a glimpse of that special scent.

So they followed and found themselves on the desolate battle ground. Based from the looks to the bodies around them there must have been a war or some kind of scuffle. To Shiryou, of course, it was all a game. Or a waste of food. "Advising: Shiryou don't touch them. You don't know where they've been or what they have been exposed to." Already about to pick at one of the corpses for a quick snack and her twin was already hassling her about it. "Fine fine fine sheesh." Always a nick picker when you'd least suspect it. Shiryou couldn't help it though, she was absolutely hungry. How her belly ached.

It was then that Iraishin pointed her finger to the distant rock formation and spoke, "Caution: Several of our brethren are rallied up there, and are quickly falling." Falling? As in dying? No. No no no no NO! She couldn't stand by and let that happen at all. And without much notice she entered into a frantic sprint, tugging at the invisible chain that bounded them to the other. She didn't care too much as to the blood and gore that her bare feet tread on, nor to the fact that her skirt was partially stained with gravel and blood. All she knew was that she needed to reach the hill top before all of the other Hollows were killed.

And alass the pair had managed to reach the top with a single Hollow facing away from them, and staring at something before it. It was perfect. Absolutely perfect. Shiryou could feel the amount of joy pent up inside of her that she literally could not sustain it it any longer. All she could do was leap up towards the Hollow and gladly rip a large chunk of its throat away from its shrieking body. It toppled over after a few thrashing about motions, finally silent whilst the Arrancar feed happily on the body. Her small fangs ripping, and gnawing at the small pieces of wet meat that were slipping into her mouth. Oh how happy she was, but still, wasn't fulfilling. At least until she caught whiff of it. That special scent.

Her tiny head perked up from her meal and with a single eye she finally saw the source of that odor. A single giant man who wielded a single large blade behind him. The smell itself made the young woman lick the edges of her lips, all the while her bone like ears and eye patch fragment itched with anticipation as the man spoke a single word, "Arrancar."

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Despite her warning Shiryou decided to venture out on her own to fill her belly as usual. She does this without considering the potential risks involved when venturing out into unknown territory. All Iraishin could do was "escort" her sister so that she wouldn't be alone when things became dangerous. After all there was no possible outcome that would be beneficial to her should something horrendous happen to Shiryou. If anything it would end badly for Iraishin. So after Shiryou's little rampage up the hillside and into her meal the two encountered what the source of the enticing aroma originated from.

After the few days that their guardian returned the black haired twin took notice as what remained on the creature. A single overwhelming detail that was neither physical nor emotional, but something that could only be captured by her nose. Looking at the man below she knew already that he was the one that it came from, and continued to call to them like the whisper that called to them in the human world. This sensation was different without a doubt, so it wasn't able to be mistaken for what they've been searching for. If anything the man's aroma could be considered secondary to the whisper, or perhaps thirdly.

Iraishin's eye maintained its focus on the man as it ran up and down his figure, possibly considering that it was the first time she had been enticed to attack first. An emotion which she thought was never possible. By all means she lacked emotion let alone being able to comprehend them. They were useless to her, and thought of as an inconvenience. More so now than ever considering what she was being drawn into. "Action: Go ahead and do what you will Shiryou. I'll be here waiting." she said remaining on the hill top while her sister descended with a hungry expression across her face.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and Skills}

Iraishin

Strength - [300]
Speed - [150]
Spiritual Pressure - [100]
Reiatsu Strength - [70]
Light Aura - [0]
Dark Aura - [50]
Instinct - [50]
Senses - [50]
Energy Sensory - [100]
Healing Expertise - [0]


Shiryou

Strength - [300]
Speed - [150]
Spiritual Pressure - [100]
Reiatsu Strength - [50]
Light Aura - [50]
Dark Aura - [0]
Instinct - [50]
Senses - [50]
Energy Sensory - [0]
Healing Expertise - [0]


1. Mental Skill : Learning [1]

2. Battle Skill : Battle Analysis [1]

3. Battle Skill : Battle Focus [1]

4. Battle Skill : Pain Tolerance [1]

5. Other Skill : Charisma/Leadership [1]

6. Body Skill : Acrobatics [1]

7. Other Skill : Twins Connection [1]
(Sharing the Five Senses of the other sister)

SKP : 7/15

[RayginX]

That single eye of his narrowed, watching as the child shaped monster devoured one of her own kind. Even if they were Hollows, monsters that did nothing but eat, the thought that they cannibalized on each other was sickening to the swordsman. Further evidence they were nothing more than abominations that deserved nothing more than to be put down. One sibling, the one that decided to help herself to one of the Hollows, was beginning to approach Garret. Though there was still a distance between the two, one Garret could cover quickly enough, he was able to get a better look at her.

She definitely looked like a child, with a admittedly warm smile painted across its face, though the image was ruined with the fact that the residue of the Hollow she had just eaten was still smeared across her features. He needed to remember that despite her appearance she was nothing more than a monster. White hair adorned her hair, ending in black tips. Her attire reminded Garret of the laughing fools who entertained those of royalty, something that brought back nostalgia of his former life. Interesting. That was the first time he had ever actually been reminded of something from his past life that was not just bloodshed.

Still, what had lured them? With the rising of the dawn, Garrets Osen had ended. Perhaps it was the fact he still remained in it's area of effect from the previous night. If such a thing were true, it meant that even when day broke Garret was not entirely safe yet. Stragglers, still lured by the scent of his curse, could still arrive. A valuable piece of information. That single eye of his remained locked on the single sister approaching him, rising back up the hill to look at the other one. Was it just going to be the one? If that was the case, this might not go so badly. But Garret was not stupid. He knew not to underestimate these things.

Shiryou, the closest of the two, would receive a good look at the man that her stomach commanded she eat. The best way to describe Garret was...big. He was massive compared to her. His body was thick, packed with dense muscle no doubt earned from the constant fighting he endured. Any of his exposed skin would reveal numerous scars, remnants of past battles that never healed completely. If his clothing were removed, one would find not a single inch of his body was free of the blemishes of battle.

As the Arrancar approached, Garret pulled his sword free from the earth and up into the air. The Twins would get a good look at the weapon. It was gigantic. Too large, too heavy, too rough and too long to be called a sword. It was more like a slab of raw iron. And he lifted it with such ease as if it were weightless. Resting it against his shoulder, Garrets eye remained locked on the lone approaching sister. He figured he would give her a taste of what she was dealing with.

Like a heavy wind ramming into her, Shiryou would be blasted with raw murderous intent. It was intense, rivaling that of the very monsters themselves. Anger, hatred, fear, sadness, pain and wrath, all emotions mixed into that wave of intent that Shiryou would feel. With her natural empathy, she would feel it without doubt, and Iraishin as well. The other sister, with her Energy Sensing capabilities would feel Garrets enormous amount of reiatsu flaring up as well.

"This is your only warning." Garret spoke, hatred dripping off his voice like poison from a dagger. His grip tightened around his weapon, his hatred making it difficult for him to resist simply rushing in and cleaving the monster in two. But Arrancars, somewhere in their, possessed a small shred of their humanity. Garret didn't want to waste his time fighting, he wanted to move. He wanted to sleep before the next night came. "Leave. Or your'll join the rest of the trash scattered about." he threatened. It was on them now. Heed the warning and leave, or die. But part of him knew he was wasting his time. He knew what the answer would be. He could feel it waking up, eager to feed.

[Noriko 'Asuka"]

She couldn't help it. The lure of the dark.. of her hunger couldn't be quelled. The closer that the Arrancar came to the bulking man the further her appetite began to overwhelm her. The amount of flesh that clung to the man appealed to that of a full stomach that would last for months on end. The man was prey like any other, as to why he was deemed prey was still over her head. The same can be said why she found him irresistible to her palette.

The distance between them became vague upon the point that the mammoth blade was driven into the war torn ground with a crash. Along with came the weary sensation of raw emotions that spilled out into the air around them. He spoke with a warning, then braced himself for what he probably knew what was to come. And he was right to brace himself for the screeching effect of her blade drawn from her rear hip. Its slender form was brought about tailing the Arrcanar reflecting its sheen in the light of the white fabric that she donned.

Her eyes focused on the male's muscles to sight forms of retraction. Given the man's figure compared to her own Shiryou knew she had the upper hand when it came down to terms of speed. However, given her gender and size she wouldn't be able to meet the man's physical ability with her own. Given that Shiryou merely poured the life of her being into the palm of her left palm to have the that red sphere shriek down at the man's feet. Just inches before his feet the ball would come crashing into the Earth to raise up the bits of rock and dust into the air to shroud her motions. As that went about her posture lowered nearing the dirt floor, prior seeing how quick his blade met the ground, her position would be beside the man's downed Greatsword with to open her assault with wide slash to his right.

This was done to his knee cap, not wanting to cap on his muscular torso. More like shooting a bullet train with pee shooter. Shiryou's mind may have been filled with endless thoughts but not prone to make obvious mistakes as to taking on a giant with feeble tactics. Nonetheless she hoped to topple the giant with a small opening move to see where it may lead to despite being so close to the man.

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Shiryou did what she always does. Her other half went in weapons drawn and without a plan to tackle the equation that lied ahead of them. Thus, Iraishin watched carefully with same caution that she always had when confronting a foe. Her arms calmly rested against her ample chest over the other side of the straps that clung to her. Let alone her that she remained on the hill side to observe the duel closely, but her tummy ached with a strange sensation she hadn't felt before. Shiryou had always been the one who simulated the sensations that she felt through their bond.

Never before that Iraishin became a victim to emotions of humanity as she analyzed how the man and Shiryou faced off. This was the only time that Iraishin felt bewildered and distraught of how human's can carry on with feeble emotions that potentially hold back their true capabilities. She found them to be a nuisance and now one of them was plaguing her, setting her motives to the side in order to fulfill that petty desire. She had to fulfill now that it loomed over her mindset. "Dismay. What a nuisance."

Shiryou's action took a turn for what may have been a good tactic as to blind the large man before engaging further. After the shot of Bala she swung about to the man's right in hopes to sway his posture off to the side. Striking the kneecap to the side was a bright idea but as to the little knowledge that they had on the daunting man that she couldn't make a rational decision. So, she allowed her sister to do what she does best to gather information for her to use later on. So Iraishin's gaze never left the brawl as she took note as to what became of their little squabble and see to where it leads her half witted sister. However, she could feel a tense tremor through their spiritual chain, less taking a grip of it and ready to care for her sister should things go sour.

Remaining Reiatsu: 1950/2000 -50 Bala

[RayginX]

And so she came, just as Garret expected. His sword against his shoulder, he kept his eye locked on the approaching woman, keeping his guard up. With one foot ahead of the other, in a non broken pace, she came. Somewhere inside him, though, he was thrilled to see that she refused his offer of mercy. That black heart of his began to beat faster, excited at the chance to end another monsters life. That sword on his shoulder craved the blood of his enemies, and now it was going to drink once again. The familiar sound of dragging steel filled his ears, as the Arrancar drew her own weapon. Yet another slender blade that seemed to populate every wanna-be warrior in this time, yet he had to admit this one was a tad bit different than the ones carried by the Shinigami.

His body tensed up in preparation as he witnessed the raising of her hand, followed by that familiar sound he had heard once before. It brought back the memories of a stormy marsh enveloped in the chaos of battle. Sound was not the only memory though, but also the biting sting of that power striking against his flesh. He took a step back as Shiryou released her Bala, the reiatsu orb colliding with the gravel floor and kicking up a cloud of stone and debris. Gritting his teeth he raised his hand across his face to protect it from any striking gravel, unaware of Shiryous plan with the Bala. Damn brat! He mentally cursed, swinging his hand in order to clear away the cloud in front of his eye.

The lass's strategy was good, to obscure his vision and to go for his blind side. Had Garret recently lost his eye, and still been used to having lost the right portion of his vision, then he would have been disadvantaged. But Garret had trained, practiced, and survived with only one eye. He no longer needed a right eye, being so used to fighting without it, that any disadvantage he would have without it was near to nonexistant. So when he cleared the dust away and saw that Shiryou was gone, he made the guess that she was trying to take advantage of his limited sight.

He turned his head to his right, and the woman came into his sight again. Her sword at the ready, her posture held low to the ground, she was seemingly aiming to incapacitate the swordsman by striking at his exposed leg. His assumption was proven correct, as he saw her arm begin to swing. He would have panicked, reacted, but he was confident in something. When he had used his Echo earlier, he had picked up on something. The technique was used to gauge the amount of Life that something possessed, by channeling the parasite within hims hunger outwards in search of new prey.

When the Echo came back, he had been shown how much Life Force that these Arrancar possessed. And, for some reason, Life Force was connected to the amount of reiatsu that someone possessed. Garret wasn't worried because he had a defense that would protect him. A defense that Shiryou would not know about until it was too late. His body instinctively tensing up, though he knew he didn't need to, he watched as steel met flesh and...nothing. Nothing happened to him. But for Shiryou it would be a rude awakening. Blood would splatter from the now gushing wounds that suddenly appeared on her arms and hand. It would be a surprise if she could even wield her sword.

Nycha Dartan, the living instability, had been Garrets initial education on reiatsu. During their brief time together, honning and developing Garrets reiatsu, she had explained to them that any conflict between two beings with reiatsu was...just that. Reiatsu colliding against itself. And when that happened the weaker of the two would be met with punishment. This was referred to as Cutback, something the Rogue loved to take advantage of. While Garret was unaware that Cutback worked differently for Arrancar, being a clash of ones Spiritual Pressure against their Reiatsu Strength, the effects were still the same.

Shiryou would without a doubt he distracted by the sudden injuries on her arm, as well as the pain, so it was up in the air if she noticed Garret moved. His other arm grasping the hilt of that behemoth weapon of his, the swordsman let out a roar as he swung it downwards at her. If it connected it would be bad. Her Hierro, if she possessed it, would be useless to stop that weapon. If it collided with her the damage would be incredible, destroying whatever it came down upon with a combination of its weight and and his own power. He wouldn't show her mercy, no matter how human she looked. He wouldn't be fooled by her appearance. He knew what she was.

Whether it hit or not, Garret swung his sword back up onto his shoulder, looking at Shiryou then to Iraishin. "It doesn't matter how human you look, you're no different than the god damned Hollows!" He spate out, hatred dripping from his voice. "And just like them, you'll meet your death on the tip of my blade!!"

[Noriko 'Asuka"]

This was the reason why Iraishin sent Shiryou to recon before entering a fight. Shiryou was a means to gather intel on the enemy by battling the individuals whilst Iraishin sat back and observed. Her single eye maintaining focus on the small clash and already she managed to spot several things about the large man. One, he was indeed slower than they were from Shiryou's brief encounter. Two, the man was stronger than they were in terms of physical strength. How did she narrow that down? Well, she didn't yet. This was based on theory judging from the man's physic and the assumed weight of the blade. That and including what had transpired with her sister when deep lacerations protruded from the length of her arms.

Although Iraishin herself hadn't sustained the injuries herself it was through their connection that both of her own arms tingled with a numbing sensation. It wasn't much but she could tell through that Shiryou was suffering. But the sensation itself wasn't the only clue that gave away Shiryou's pain. Shiryou's eyes dawned over her bleeding arms. The sight itself and the utter confusion in her mind made waves through their bond and called out to her distant other half. Iraishin could hear her sister's distraught breaths. Her quivering as to what transpired in an instant. Shiryou didn't know what happened. Iraishin did or at least a clue. "Cutback..." She had seen from the Espadas and the battle with the Shinigami personally on how the cutback operated with their kind, so it was a means to ponder about if that was what happened to her sister now.

All theories at this point again and needed to proven, but as for now Shiryou was trouble as Iraishin's gaze never left the distant scene. A hulking piece of metal rising into the air over the man's shoulder and was about to be brought down on her paralyzed twin. She couldn't allow that to happen, she couldn't take the risk of something happening to herself if her sister met some ill fate. The Arrancar took caution at its upmost highest level in most scenarios and wasn't going to change her course of action now. Which was why her arm coiled itself around their chain to yank back her significant other some distance away from the colliding broadsword. Like a fish on a lure the Arrancar continued to repel the sister back to side to review their situation as the man's blade crashed down into the blood soaked floor.

He then spouted out some nonsense about killing them with his blade. No matter how much they resembled human beings that they will always be Hollows. His words did make the Arrancar reminisce about how Vannan treated them. To him they were mere girls. Weird girls but almost human in some ways. What did it mean to be "human" exactly? Was the sensation that was growing within her one aspect of being human? She didn't like it. "Lol. You humans are all the same and spout the same nonsense as the other. It is funny how some of you treat us like humans while others despise us. How troublesome you beings are." To her it was quite humorous since humans are two-faced beings. But at the same time, who was right? Were they monsters or were they humans? These new thoughts actually made the monotone Arrancar fret for once. Frustrated actually.

Shiryou's wounds cleaned up pretty well despite how they appeared to be. She had torn both sleeves from their top pieces, using the fabric material to bind the twin's arms. Regardless she was still hurt and unable to use her arms for the time being, so her Zanpakuto was all but useless to her. A long screech sounded as her blade was holstered back into its sheath, then the pair turned to the man. "Cooperate. We do not know what the man's abilities are yet, so we will do this my way now. Understand?"

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Shiryou wasn't one to follow plans or orders. She was more of the flow with the wind, freelance sort of gal. This time however she wasn't able to do much with her arms in a bind like now. Teehee. For now she will go along with her sister's plan until she was able to act on her own again. Though her pain tolerance was allowing her to endure the winces of pain for movement it still wouldn't be enough to withstand moving her arms to hold her blade. For now she would be patient for the wounds to heal regularly so she could go about her business once again. She pretty much had to.

Her mind went blank when blood gushed from the lengths of her arms without realizing what happened. She was in shock when her arms erupted in jolting screech of pain. But after a lil probing into her sister's thoughts she found that the man cheated using a trick to have his pressure overwhelm her. If anything she was more than pissed. So it was going to be a tremendous pleasure getting back at him for what he did to her. "Fine then. I just can't wait to make him into a sloppy mess." she grinned with her baby fangs hanging from the plump lips. And without a moments notice they two charged forward, one behind the other. Iraishin took the lead.

Down the dust, rock, and bodies the twins came down onto the Rogue's position. Shiryou taking up the rear her fangs parted as did her sister's. Soon the man would find a red sphere conjured from Iraishin's mouth like a large wad of spit down at his bearings. Whether the man decided to withdraw or guard against it both rock and dust would once again spout forth from the ground beneath him to obscure his vision. Immediately after the dust rose Iraishin would take flight in the form of using her own sister as leverage, jumping off from the small girl using her overall strength. This was a signal for Shiryou to release the accumulated reiatsu in her mouth to launch at the Rogue as well.

Once Shiryou's Bala had be released she took notice to the thoughts that her twin mustered moments back. Iraishin would take the high ground to observe the man's reaction to their tactics, then once he does she'd fire both of the Balas conjured in both hands. Shiryou loved the idea of sticking to the ground sincec she was more closer to the action, and this way the man would be pinned from both air and ground. A good combination, but, would it work?

Remaining Reiatsu: 1750/2000, -200 Bala [x4]

[RayginX]

His sword swung through empty space, occupied only moments ago by the injured Arrancar, now meeting the earth. That great weight and power shattered the ground, kicking up a large amount of dirt and debris. Garret didn't move for a moment, his eye looking down at his sword as he pondered over what had just happened. Though his attack had missed, he had been awarded with an interesting little bit of information. He turned his gaze back to the two Arrancar, in the process of bandaging the others wounds. For a moment he was...surprised, seeing these two monsters actually showing a level of human care for each other, but then reminded himself that wolves cared for their own as well.

But he had learned that there was something connected the two women. A person could not naturally move the way that Shiryou just had. It appeared, quite literally, like she had been yanked backwards by some sort of attachment, like a rope or chain was bound to her. She had been returned to the side of the other, who had begun to spout some nonsense back at Garret. His eye narrowed, not really finding a reason to reply yet. She stated that humans were all the same, yet that they all said different things. How was that the same then? Gritting his teeth, he lifted his mighty weapon up and onto his shoulder, shaking his head slightly.

"Troublesome? Tell me, how many people did you eat so you both could look the way you do?" He asked venomously.

"I suppose it doesn't matter though. I don't see the need in arguing these sort of things with monsters." He responded quickly, lifting his sword from his shoulder and holding it in front of him, getting ready for either his own next move or theirs. And it was the Twins who decided to make their next move, barreling down the gravel and bodies in a bee line for him. Adjusting his sword so it pointed behind him along a horizontal plane at his side, Garret watched both of them rather carefully.

What was their plan this time? A frontal, physical assault wasn't going to work, surely they knew this from Shiryous last attempt. He then noticed that their mouths had opened, and the sound and sight of Reiatsu collecting together to form something. This didn't bode well. The ball of Reiatsu shot free from Irashins mouth and the sound and speed of the ball immediately clued Garret into what it was. Bala. It was something he had dealt with before, and knew from experience that being hit by them wasn't fun. He leapt back as the high speed Reiatsu orb collided with the earth at his feet, calling up another cloud of dirt to obscure his vision.

Bitch! he was getting sick of these dirt cloud tricks. But his agitation would only grow when a red light within the dirt would collide with his shoulder, throwing it back a bit and catching the swordsman by surprise. Steam rose out of the freshly charred hole in his attire, but the swordsman barely noticed it. In fact, he barely felt anything out of that attack at all. These Balas lacked the punch that the ones he had felt before possessed!

He was beginning to wonder if what he was fighting were even Arrancar at all. This was...laughable. The swordsman actually began to laugh. The Twins would hear him, clear as day, his deep laughter ringing out across the battlefield. He continued on like that for a moment, before finding himself able to speak again. "Is this some sort of joke? Are you two actually Arrancar? There's no way you can be because the one's I've faced were never this weak!" that last word had extra emphasis added to it.

Regaining himself, Garret decided to show them what it meant to have actual power. His target was Shiryou, the twin on the ground and the one already injured. He began to dash forward, dragging his great sword along the ground behind him. It was, honestly, the easiest way to carry the thing while running. After moving for, maybe, four feet he suddenly vanished, using the Shunpo technique in order to immediatly cover the distance left between him and the woman. But, it wasn't a Shunpo to simply move, but to attack.

If Shiryou did nothing, then she would be slammed into by that man moving at a speed of 1000. It easily knock the air out of her and onto the ground, with Garret responding with planting his foot firmly on her head to hold her down. He was curious to see if Irashins could pull her sibling free from his strength, and would apply some pressure on Shiryous head to see what would happen. He was curious and angry, a dangerous combination.

Remaining Reiatsu: 2850 / 3900
-50 for Shunpo

[Noriko 'Asuka"]

"Monsters...... Weak...... Did I even have a choice in the matter? What does he know."

Exactly. Shiryou couldn't have agreed more to what that little whisper in her mind had said. This man, this "monster" had no idea who they were or what they did. So what if they robbed a convenient store. Set a shop on fire. Raided a festival... Or even infiltrated a luxurious Hot Spring Resort without paying. Errr, okay so maybe they did a few bad things but nothing that intentionally did anyone harm, to say the least. And how dare he say that they were weak. Shiryou was still growing in many places. She pouted. She was pissed.

Even as the man drew near, clearly their simple Balas didn't work, she wanted nothing more than to tear the bulking man apart. She wanted nothing more than to wrap her hands around his neck and tear it apart. That grinding of metal and rock drew ever more closer. Her eye could make out that hate filled expression. Much like her own his mind and purpose was keen on their destruction and so ever sought it out. She did as well. Mean, his destruction, not their own. Wasn't long before Iraishin called out her name, "Warning. He is coming for you Shiryou. His reiatsu is building." from 25 feet in the air. She couldn't feel it at all being without training in Energy Sensory, but Iraishin did.

From what her other half was thinking Shiryou was the target based on how the man's movements were going about. With his speed ever so increasing and the positioning of the blade Shiryou was indeed the prime suspect. Even more so when he vanished from sight. Wouldn't be long before another tug was felt her end of the chain to repel the girl into the air. Not much since Iraishin had no footing to support her sister's weight while in midair. A powerful swish of air came about from her ass like a nick of a wind scythe. What the hell was going on?

"You are weak......

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Her sister was definitely the target from what her eyes could see. In order for the man to alter his sense of direction he had to pause in order to push off the ground. Even with reiatsu building, if he planned on launching himself into the air he would have halted his movement then apply his pent up energy to do so. But he didn't. Instead he applied it during his advancement onto Shiryou's position. Once his movements were beyond her eye could see she had little to no option but to remove her significant other from the area. That meant another yank from her 'loving' sister. A powerful pull followed by rotating motion to reel her half witted sister.

"Hey hurts when you pull me without telling me you know?" Shiryou always spouted nonsense despite being saved by her responses. "Rebuttal. You are too slow and dim witted to even know what was about to happen." The two descend toward the ground with Shiryou taking the lead, and still bickering. "Well if you let me know in advance then I could do it myself. You always do this." Shiryou continued on her ramble whilst Iraishin maintained eye contact with the Rogue. She couldn't help but keep a careful eye on the man while her sister pounded both in words and in thoughts as to how much she despised Iraishin's antics.

"Clarification. If I didn't do anything you would have ended on the floor with your face in the mud. Oh wait, you would have loved that anyways." Her words turned sour in her other half's mouth. How could she know, because of her connection to her in both senses and thoughts. But never mind that it was how they were going to prevail over the Rogue that was important. What Garret spoke of was true. When comparing their latent abilities in reiatsu strength, in terms of power they were among the lowest of their race. Regardless of how much strength they applied to their techniques they would only go so far. "Infuriating. This is intolerable. If only we were hole, then perhaps." Yes, if only they were complete, then they'd be able to fight to their fullest.

"That will never happen because you are mere fragments. So, why don't you two disperse and allow me." the presence from back then returned. Like a cool whisper it echoed from beside her. Her body tensed, shuttered, then the light in her vision faded black. Any words that Garret would spout would be nothing but mere droplets in a cavern.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

{spoiler}{Play Me.}[/spoiler]

It was as if the temperature plummeted. The air stilled itself and all sense of sincerity had dissipated from the area. Those two fragments ceased function. The cheerful banter of the one fell silent. The curious nature of the silent one faded with the noise in the background. The pair were unfazed to the world around them, ignoring all that came about. The pair of bangs obscured their vision but never the mind that was originally born into the world. "Monsters you say. Weak you say... They spoke as if one being would have. Humorous, it was amusing to one that lurked within the shadows between worlds. She sneered with joy from the bottom of her being at the pitiful human that dared to stand before her.

"What you say is true, though I am quite different from those worthless dolls." Shinzui, the original soul born into Hueco Mundo. She, the one who fought, devoured, and survived to become what she was that stood before Garret. However, her spirit was divided into two separate beings, but soon, very soon she will become whole once more. The two carried on, with utter joy approaching the man. Like that of the walking dead the girls were drawn to the man in a trance. Pools of swamp water filled their lifeless eyes as they were keen on the man.

{spoiler}{Now Me.}[/spoiler]

Each step taken brought upon a new presence onto the stained field. Whether or not Garret would recognize Shinzui was upon him. "Go on ahead and call me what you wish, for it all is true. However, you humans are monsters as well. Or perhaps even worse." the two sneered in sheer amusement. Oh how much she longed to see the anger and distress on the human's face. Humanity itself was a joke. And she was going to have Garret recognize how much of a joke, how much of a monster he was. "Erode into the depths of darkness, Tsuitoi Kitsune."

The pair of smirks vanished within a torrent of black mist. Engulfed by that intoxicating aura the presence of the pair dissipated from the world and were replaced by a single entity. A chilling chuckle ripped through the swirling mass of black gas, and soon the pair of piercing yellow lights, "Does this appeal more to your description, human?" The Arrancar mocked the Rogue with such a vulgar tongue without heeding the previous experiences she took in from the twins encounter with him. All of it for not while already serving its purpose as they too were scouts for what she was facing. In all she wasn't impressed.

A single brush of her pale white tail whisked away the pent up reiatsu for the man to take in the female Kyuubi that stood before him. Her aura toyed with his senses as both light and darkness seethed from her person. That jet black hair whipping about from behind as well as the other remaining tails that coaxed her gently. Curved talons dug into the rock beneath. The drags of her loose kimono lazily swept across the floor with her approach. A mere 15 foot gap that divided the two she snickered, "How much you humans carry on with your every day lives without realizing the things that you do. The monsters in which you create with your own hands, with your own blade." her small pale talons gestured to his broad sword that he donned.

Her words ceased within the dust that was left behind in her movement. Sonido. A rate that was going beyond what the man could anticipate when compared to the twins that he faced before. In a blink of an eye, three times his average speed, no, even further than that, her figure reappeared toward his rear. A single tail nuzzled against her cheek whilst a secondary tail whipping to the Rogue's left side. However, that wasn't the only one. A single tail whipping to his left rib was followed by secondary tail side swiping his right leg from the right, and a third diving into his right shoulder blade. A three pronged attack and with interest, Shinzui would love to see what he would do.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Shinzui Stats}

Strength - 400 - ^50% [600]
Speed - [300]
Spiritual Pressure - [200]
Reiatsu Strength - 180 - 30% [120]
Light Aura - [25]
Dark Aura - [75]
Instinct - [100]
Senses - [100]
Energy Sensory - [100]
Healing Expertise - [0]

Reiatsu Remaining: 1200/2000, -400 Release, - 150 sonido x1

[RayginX]

Something was...wrong. Once again the injured Arrancar had been pulled away from Garrets reach, mere moments before devastation, and even death, had reached her. Garret was beginning to feel like a fish chasing a lure, and to say it was pissing him off was an understatement. He didn't pursue though, seeing no real reason to right now. It was obvious their attacks wouldn't work against him, so why push himself when the inevitable was clear as day? But as he watched those two Arrancar in the sky, his single eye locked onto them, he became increasingly clear that...something wasn't right. He was preparing himself to go after them, to use the reishi in the air to generate a stable airground, when he saw a strange reaction from their bodies.

He blinked, frowning slightly as that feeling of discomfort continued to grow. He repositioned his weapon, holding it before him and in between himself and the twins. The air around him suddenly grew colder, and a feeling of dread began to creep through the area. Garret, who had an outstandingly strong strength of will, was able to shake off this creeping feeling as it continued, radiating off of the now frozen couple of women. Then they spoke. Yes, they. Both. At once. Garret blinked, not really liking the look of this. Yet, despite this, he was interested in seeing where it went. Then he heard a new voice.

The swordsman blinked, quickly taking his eye off of the pair and scanning the area around them in case there was actually a third Arrancar. But, finding none, he came to the conclusion that the voice really did come from the two above him. What was happening now? He prepared himself, steeling his will and body for whatever was coming. The two Arrancar descended from the air, their feet resting back on the earth before approaching him. The way they walked unnerved Garret, as if they were puppets controlled by a collection of strings. Their eyes seemed dead, filled with the murky waters one would find in a swamp, looks of joy painted onto their features.

He became increasingly aware of another presence on the battlefield, though where it was he still could not determine. Yet again the Twins spoke in that voice, a voice different from the ones they each possessed. It spoke to him, admitting that what Garret was saying about them had been correct. They were monsters. Yet, it was humans who shared this title. Garrets eye narrowed, though he could not disagree. He was painfully aware at what humans could do. Living through the Dark Ages had exposed Garret to the darkest of humanities hearts. He fought the battles, watched what happened to the villages that could not protect themselves. He never said humans were not monsters. But...in comparison to these creatures, which one was worse?

They spoke a phrase, followed by a name. That name, being spoken, released something. A black smog consumed the two twins, and Garret realized what was happening. The release of the Arrancar, told to him by the Shinigami Taiho Kasumi'Oji. Ressuercion. Finally, things were getting interesting. He tightened his grip on his weapon, ready for whatever was going to step out from that cloud. A chuckle escaped from the darkness, followed by a new individual that Garret did not recognize. He blinked, his eye watching the raven haired woman step towards him. Long raven hair flowed down her, a multitude of thickly furred tails followed behind, each colored like freshly fallen snow. Garret blinked, his mouth parting just slightly as he stared at her face, a look of recognition in his eye. She...looked so much like her. The face of a woman that Garret tried so hard to forget painted itself in his mind. If the Arrancars eyes were blue, had she lacked the tails, the resemblance would be incredible.

No! He forced the thought back, gritting his teeth as he continued to watch the approaching Arrancar. A sinister smile painted itself across his lips, peeled back to expose his teeth. "Yeah. Now this will be easier. Fewer bodies to cut down now." Garret responded, regaining himself. When she was a mere fifteen feet away, she began to talk again. He blinked, listening to her once again carry on about how humans were monsters as well. Once again, Garret never stated otherwise. In fact, he would have been inclined to agree. He, himself, was a living example of this.

"How much you humans carry on with your everyday lives without realizing the things that you do."

"You pose a danger to the balance"

" The monsters in which you create with your own hands, with your own blade"

Release me

Garret knew what she said to be true. Ever since he had begun this crusade he became painfully aware of what it was he was becoming. He didn't respond, not able to find the words to do it. That thing in his right eyes socket was reacting to the presence of a released Arrancar, beginning to try and goad Garret into letting it out. But he rejected it. He rejected it for his own reasons. He remembered what happened the last time it was released. He remembered the pain, the blood, the fury.

Suddenly the Kyuubi vanished, followed by the familiar static sound of the Arrancar step technique. He didn't have the time to properly react; only feeling the tickle of her tail across his cheek before multiple points of his body were smashed into by the Kistunes tails. Garret let out a pained yelp, his cutback being completely ineffective against a released Arrancar. He was pushed forward, able to maintain his standing position, at the very least, though the pain on his left side wasn't very good. The impact he felt from those tails told him something, that the Arrancar now possessed more physical strength than he did!

The impact of her tails snapped the rib they collided with, causing Garret the most pain. He snarled, gritting his teeth and quickly spinning his body, utilizing a unique technique when he swung that six foot weapon through the air behind him, letting the weight carry him through the turn. Shunpo Karin, the partial Shunpo technique, granting the speed boost to a single limb, giving his swing a speed of 1000. Aiming to cleave her in two, but even if she were to move there was more behind Garrets attack. His swing released the force within his body, letting a blast of physical energy fly out from his swing.

The force that was released flew forward for some distance, literally ripping the earth free into the air as it flew over, creating a path of destruction aiming to catch the Arrancar within it. His sword slammed into the earth, ending the Shunpo Karin and giving Garret control over his arm once again. Looking at the destruction his shockwave caused, he couldn't help but smirk. "So things are finally getting interesting, huh?" Reaching up and grasping the collar of his cloak, the swordsman unhooked it and allowed his cloak to fall to the earth below. It was only going to get in the way of this battle. But with a cracked rib, how well was he going to do?

Remaining Reiatsu: 3750 / 3900
-100 for Shunpo Karin

Remaining Life Force: 3700 / 3900

[Noriko 'Asuka"]

She could never have had a more delicious sound emit from the man than the pain filled snarl. To see him writhing in agony as he toppled forward enticed her bestial instincts, desiring for more. How far were human's compared to the strength that the Arrancar's wielded. No, not -just- Arrancars, but the "Chosen People." Yes that is what they were, what Shinzui was. The sound of a rib snapping from the pressure brought about by a single tail, and nearly bringing him down with the remaining two strikes was enough evidence that her strength toppled his. Shinzui's grin widened.

The man was slowly becoming a toy that she could do with however she pleased. However that would have to wait a bit longer. Garret's reiatsu was rising once more, and as much as it thrilled to inflict further amounts of pain she didn't wish to see what was going to come. Not while she was in control instead of the two, the possibility of being in danger was quite surmountable. A single tail dabbed the heavy air behind her to create a simple rift. As though reality itself began to ripple behind. And with a single step back the Kyuubi would simply vanish into thin air as the chosen being caught glimpse of a flash of movement from the man.

A powerful brush of air entered the void along with her, but as to its effects was nonexistent. Shinzui was no longer part of the reality that Garret nor any other human would know of. Not at all. A realm which Shinzui spent much of her own existence within while the twins went about -her- daily life. The dark realm, that is where the Arrancar escaped to. A separate world that resides apart from all the others, but at the same time closely connected. Kaitou was its name and Shinzui was more than familiar with it. As for Garret himself and his attack, both would lash out at empty space that was previously occupied by the -monster- be faced. She stood at the point of which she entered her world to chuckle at the sight of what would be a bewildered man. From his perspective all he would hear was her soft laughter at what she would see.

Her presence would obviously linger from what the man was aware of, although her actual being no where to be found. Yet she could be heard, toying with the human that she paced around. "Tell me human, for an individual such as yourself, a monster, who would ever be fond of you? Who would ever accept a monster like you?" From behind a single white tail sprang forth from the fabric of reality to whip the man's bare back before retreating into the safety of the dark sanctum. As for the woman herself she would watch and test the man's resolve against an enemy he couldn't see but still feel.

She chuckled even more at the what he may have been pondering about, what he would say, what he would do to to defy her. The safety of her dark realm sufficed for a certain period of time without having to worry about spending excessive reiatsu, however to remain inside its dark depths would mean losing her own sanity. So why not risk her mind when she was having her own little amusing time with the man. The insurance of a five foot distance from his current position would allow some time for them to trade words all the while for her own power to take effect. Thus from thin air a rippled gate was created to allow the woman to pass through and return to the world to continue their little scuffle. But to her it was more like playing.

The nine behind her whipped about to keep the filth of the corpses away from flawless form as well as controlling her space. "If you have not guessed already, then a monster is the only other being that can accept a monster." Shinzui continued to toy with the man with her words, knowing that what she was, what Garret referred to her as was completely true. One playful step after the other had the Arrancar pacing back and forth, waiting. Not for the man to make his move, as her golden irises were trained on him, but for the effects of her ability to spread throughout his body. And it was a beautiful thing at that.

For each time contact was made the reiatsu that seethed from her body spreads into her victims from those points of contact. After the first initial touch, for each time contact is made it hastened the spread of her reiatsu within the person's body. She counted. Three times. Three times that she touched the human. One breaking his rib, another at his leg, and the other from the shoulder during their first encounter. A total of three times that her virus like reiatsu would spread throughout his already diseased body. Now was the time for the man to feel the effects of what was her power. Perhaps not yet. She was too busy having fun. "So come to me human, and allow this monster to embrace you in a way that only a monster can do." her appetite was mustering up once more, and this time she wanted a bite.

Remaining Reiatsu: 1000/2000 : -200 Kaitou x1

Resurrection: 2/6

Contact Made: 3

SPOILER: Click to show

{Phase 1}

[Level 1 - First point of contact to 3 post: 1/3] Anxiety
* - 200 Reiatsu Per Post

--- [Senses 150 and below] ---

*Feeling of Fatigue
*Anxiety develops
*No physical Reactions
*Classes Above 150 Instincts/Senses become aware of Infection.

--- [Curing Methods] ---

*-100 Reiatsu to push back for each Post. ( 3/3 ---> -100 reiatsu ---> 2/3))
*Removing the Infected Area from the body. (Must be done during this Phase.)
*Healing/Purging Technique ----- Pushes back 1 post for each technique, or prolonged use of technique.


Level 1 - Lag Phase

A stage that Shinzui's reiatsu is introduced into another individual. Intertwined with her grief and sadness, the reiatsu will begin to spread from the point of contact on the surface, and into the body. As the reiatsu flows throughout the body, so will the emotions of the Arrancar. Like all viruses in their Lag Phase, the infection will hardly be notice, aside from the emotional effects until it progresses into its advance stages. And due to not being a bodily poison, poison immunity will not protect against Dread Spore.

In the Lag Phase, the virus spreads throughout the infected body at a slow but steady rate, converting the hosts reiatsu into Shinzui's own reiatsu. During the conversion the emotions of the Arrancar melds with the hosts reiatsu, however, like any body reacts to foreign influences, the immune system will engage to ward off the intruder to only have the two collide and destroy one another. Thus, resulting in the hosts reiatsu to erode through the conflict within. Such an effect causes teh reiatsu to be lost and leaving the sense of fatigue behind while the strain continues to progress into the Climbing Phase.

[Resistance]

-- Classes higher than Shinzui --

*-100 reiatsu per post instead of 200.
*-100 push back remains the same.
*max post into next phase -----> 0/4 instead of 0/3
*W/ Strength of Will -------> 0/5 instead of 0/3

-- Lower Classes --

*costs and push back remain the same
*Max post into next phase ------> 0/2 instead of 0/3
*W/ Strength of Will -----> remains the same 0/3

-- Both --

*If contact is made with Zanpakuto, Doll, Bow, Fullbring, etc ------> +1 to max post [0/3---> 0/4]
((Only during this Phase))

Ongoing to..

SPOILER: Click to show

{Phase 2}

[Level 2 - Posts 4 to 6: 4/6] Depression
* - 350 Reiatsu Per Post

--- [Senses 300 and Below] ---

*Sadness
*Anxiety
*Slower Heart Rate

--- [Physical Reactions] ---

*Blurry Vision
*Discoloring Around the Eyes.
*Black Tribal Markings Appear at Infected Sites.

--- [Curing Methods] ---

*-175 Reiatsu to push back for each post.( 5/6 --> -175 ---> 4/6)
*Healing/Purging Technique ----- Pushes back 1 post for each technique, or prolonged use of technique.


Level 2 - Climbing Phase

The second phase is known as the Climbing Phase, in which the virus strain becomes most active as it follows the reiatsu flow within the body at an aggressive rate. During this phase the emotions build from the previous level and intensifies. As the strain evolves, so do grievances of Shinzui. At this point they begin to affect the mind and body, causing them to shut down. Not immediately of course, since such emotions do take time to cause physical and psychological harm. From the Lag Phase, such harm follows immediately after the virus spreads at the same time for the body and spirit are sustained and balanced due to emotions.

A prolonged exposure to such emotions can cause great harm to both body and spirit, in which the the climbing phase expands on the anxiety that is currently present from the previous phase, is now pushed further by influencing the mind to stimulate the condition. From the grief that is experienced, signals from the brain are sent throughout the body to the organs. More specifically the heart, lungs, and the eyes. A few moments of adrenaline would course through the veins as a basic reaction from the stimulation, but will be replaced shortly by the growing despair that is caused from the anxiety. Although the stats within sensory or senses will not be affected, but a sense of weakness and vulnerability in the mind will settle in. As a response, the body will begin to follow suite by the signals from the brain.

Physically, the body will emit signs of infection to reflect the presence of the virus that currently courses through the body. The skin will start to darken as blood flow is stricken from parts of the body, such as the mentioned body parts above. Discoloring around the eyes are shown from the lack of blood and oxygen, leaving a purplish bruise around the affected locations. With each post that passes the blood flow will continue to lessen in parts of the body that could potential lead to organ failure. Over time the result will only allow small amounts of the required amount of blood and oxygen to pass into the organs. By stickening the flow to the organs and body parts, like the eyes and heart, such parts will become impaired. For the eyes, only blurry vision. For the heart, short breathes and a slower heart beat. Including, the effects of the previous phase follow into the next phase until cured or death.

[Resistance]

-- Classes higher than Shinzui --

*-175 reiatsu per post instead of 350.
*-175 push back remains the same.
*Max post into next phase -----> 4/7 instead of 4/6
*W/ Strength of Will -------> 4/8 instead of 4/7
*W/ Strength of Will -------> Immune to Sense Impairment/Physical Reactions until 50% of Total Reiatsu
*Immune to Blurry vision until Level 3
*W/ Focused Eyes ------> Immune to Eye Impairment

-- Lower Classes --

*costs and push back remain the same
*Max post into next phase ------> 4/5 instead of 4/6
*W/ Strength of Will -----> remains the same 4/6

[RayginX]

That single eye of his widened in surprise when he saw that there was nothing more than empty space behind him. His foot slamming itself into the ground to act as an anchor, Garret slowed down his swing and tilted it, so the sword would find its tip buried into the earth. He frowned, quickly turning around and trying to figure out where the Kitsune had hid herself. He didn't hear the sound of a Sonido, the unmistakable blurring would have clued him into what was going on. But this was different. He could still feel her presence around him, and yet his eye could not find her. Is this her ability? He wondered, lifting his sword up into both of his hands.

Taking a few steps back he continued to scan the area, searching for any sign of the Kitsune. His mind began to race, wondering at what exactly her power entailed, while being painfully unaware of the fact her power was already eating its way into his mind. He felt a tinge of fatigue, as her Ressurection ate at his reiatsu, but he didn't notice it at first, thinking it merely the cost of the Shunpo Karin and his shockwave. So he wasn't able to notice that the reiatsu being stolen from him wasn't from his own techniques, but instead was a poison corrupting his body.

"Tell me human, for an individual such as yourself, a monster, who would ever be fond of you? Who would ever accept a monster like you?"

The swordsman's body tensed up when he suddenly heard her voice, and yet there was no sight of her rematerializing. Suddenly Garret felt something was wrong, and he kicked off from his position with a Shunpo, just as one of those fluffy white tails lashed out at where he just was. Garret reappeared some distance to his left, but because of the awkward footing he used t cast the Shunpo, and his broken rib, he ended up losing his footing and rolling. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself back up. It wasn't that the pain was getting to him terribly, but it was still an inconvenience. But what she had said was also bothering him. Who would have cared about him? He grit his teeth, not seeing why he was being so bothered by his mind games. But...even so, two people came to mind.

The first was a man with hair as white as Garrets, caused by years of stress and fighting. His uncle, Daurth, the man who taught Garret how to fight in the first place. The Rogue was born in a time of war and disease, if one did not take a family it was the other. For Garret his parents had been taken by the plague, burned alive in their very house before Garrets eyes. His uncle had taken him in, but as a Mercenary the parenting route was a bit more difficult than most. The swordsman had been expected to fight, to kill, to win when he was only seven years old. And he did. Garret fought. He killed. He won. All for his uncle. All for his uncle to see him as a battle loving monster.

A brief remembrance of that moonlit night, where Garrets own actions had sprung a trap for himself and his uncle. A river side forest, the two surrounded by at least a hundred men. He remembered that fight, the weight of his sword, the faces of the men he slaughtered, the feeling of cold steel stabbing into his back. He remembered the rage he felt at his Uncles death, the fire that consumed him and everyone else that night. He remembered how it felt to die, the coldness overtaking him, the fire dying away. But it was all his fault. Daurth dying was all his fault.

Then there was another. A woman. One with raven black hair and piercing blue eyes. She stood in his memory, arms folded behind her back, a soft smile adorning her face as she looked at Garret. Remembering her brought him so much pain, so he quickly blocked her out.

Who would accept him? He was a killer, born only to know battle. The way his life was, a chance at a normal existence was impossible. There might have been a chance he could have fell in with the Shinigami, joined the ranks of the Gotei and pretended that his bloodlust was being put to good use. But the way he was now? The way his life was...there was no way he could return to normal society. His Osen made such things impossible. Each night. Every night was the same. The Hollows. He heard their howls. Each night he fought against the monsters that came for him. The monsters that came to devour him. No matter how hard he fought he knew the inevitable answer to the question "Will this be the night?" Anxiety was blossoming inside of Garret, leading to these thoughts, the sort of thing caused by being infected with Shinzuis reiatsu.

The hell is wrong with me?!

Garrets eye widened when he realized something was wrong. Her words were getting to him. He was feeling panicked over his Osen. He blinked. When did he ever feel panic over his affliction? He learned to deal with it. He knew that this was his life. He had been fighting for nearly six months now, each night being harder than the last. Garret knew that eventually he was going to die, but he wasn't going to be done in by a god damned Hollow! His eye widened, anger beginning to consume the anxiety caused by Shinzuis release. His Strength of Will fighting back against her poison, Garret was wondering what in the world was wrong with him right now.

Why did he feel so tired? Where were these feelings of doubt coming from? The swordsman released one hand from his sword, and gently rubbed over the area where the Arrancars tail had collided with his rib. He paused there, putting two and two together. Where...these feelings coming from her? Did something she do to him cause him to begin suffering these effects? It had all began right...after she had hit him. Garret blinked, beginning to realize what was going on. Despite his appearance, Garret was not an idiot. Someone did not survive the constant nights of his Osen through simple raw strength. He was forced to begin to pay more attention to things, to better increase his Battle Analysis capabilities.

It was then that Garret realized that there was something inside of him. Was it a poison? It had to have been. There was no other explanation for him to suddenly begin feeling like this after only having a rib broken. Thankfully, he already knew how to deal with poisons. Many months ago when Garret trained with the living instability Nycha, she had taught him how to use his reiatsu. Back in those days the swordsman wouldn't have even been able to tell you what reiatsu was. She taught him the Shunpo, how to manipulate your reiatsu, how to generate air ground, and many other necessities he was going to need in this living hell of his life. One of the things she did teach him was how to deal with poisons.

Certain poisons could be counteracted by using ones reiatsu to fight back. Garret was going to let his reiatsu do the work for him, not being bothered by how much it was going to take to cure himself of the Arrancars infection. He was about to get to it when she reappered, his eye training itself on her. Those nine tails of her, whacking away the corpses and dirt, but also showing Garret that she controlled all of that space. "If you have not guessed already, then a monster is the only other being that can accept a monster." Garret frowned, visible displeasure on his face. Yet again with the mind games. He wasn't anything like them!

Perhaps to Shinzuis surprise, she would watch as Garret was suddenly, and violently, consumed in an inferno of red reiatsu. His energy resembled flames, wrapping around and consuming his being for a moment before fading away. Taking a sharp breath, he was relieved to find that the anxiety he was feeling was now...gone. The reiatsu he spent to rid himself of Shinzuis poison was more than he was expecting it to be, and he could feel the slight drain on his stamina. But even so, it wasn't enough to make him worry. Lips peeled back in anger, his eyes brimming with hatred, Garret hissed out a word to Shinzui. "Bitch."

He was mad. The fire within him was beginning to burn. Garret did not appreciate having his head played with like this. "So that's your power...huh? Hiding is only part of it, something you do to fool others. The real ability is...whatever the hell that poison was, isn't it?" Garret asked, his eye narrowing as he removed his hand from his rib and gripped his sword once more. He wasn't going to simply take her taunt and dash in. Those tails had proven that they packed a serious punch, and with that little display a few moments before she had shown that she was controlling quite the reach around her. It was essentially nine weapons against one. Honestly, Garret seemed at a disadvantage.

But your not

Suddenly, pain. The Kitsune would get to see Garret suddenly reel in pain, as the sensation of a thousand knives penetrated the back of his skull. He let go of his sword with one hand, quickly placing it over his eyepatch covered area where his right eye should have been. It was acting up. The fighting had excited it, waking it up. It wanted to feed. It wanted both of their blood. It was starved for his life energies. Gritting his teeth, the swordsman struggled to push back the growing madness inside of him. Honestly, it was like Garret was being attacked on two fronts. Almost like Shinzui had an ally inside of Garret.

You killed them. Nobody else. Only you. You've killed every single one of them, all so you could let out your resentment.

Be quiet!

All those souls you destroyed. All those Hollows you damned to oblivion. Remember how you felt killing them. Remember how good you felt. You like killing. At least they kill for a base instinct. But what about you?

I said be quiet!

You know the answer already. So ask yourself...who's the real monster?

Garret had had enough of this distraction. Gritting his teeth he pulled his sword back, horizontal across from his waist. He was going to need to improvise here, otherwise the Kitsune would simply pick up on his reiatsu usage and dodge him. So, what if he used something that didn't cost reiatsu. She was tempting him to come in, to be, as she put it, "embrace him as only a monster could". Even in his assaulted and rage filled mine, he wasn't going to so easily take the bait. He could feel the Life Force within him ebbing out, flowing into the sword in his hands. He felt a wave of fatigue rock his body, but he was able to maintain himself and concentrate through it, despite his use of this technique weakening him. And suddenly his sword erupted. Black flames covered the weapons blade, and with a roar the swordsman swung his weapon. He had no idea if this was going to work or not, having never tried it this way before, but god damn it he needed to do something!

He was combining the Vita Sollertia Soul Burn with his own shockwaves, trying to create something new from the both of them. If this didn't work it was going to be a waste of his own Life Force, but at least a shockwave was going to work. As he swung he released the additional force building in his arms, a blast of air being released from his blade aiming right at the Kitsune. And wouldn't you know it, those black flames were flying right alongside the shockwave, aiming to both smash into the Kitsune and begin to incinerate her. Airblasts were fast, but he had no idea if the Arrancar was going to try and block his attack or dodge it, so he knew he had to do something before she reacted. So he used Shunpo to get back, to get some distance between himself and the Kitsune. He wasn't fleeing, but he needed some space in order to see what her counter was going to be.

You won't kill her so long as you're human.

You'll only be able to do it if you become the Beast.

Remaining Reiatsu: 3150 / 3900
-100 for x2 Shunpo
-200 for Lag Phase
-300 for Purging

Life Force: 3500 / 3900
-200 for Class 4 Soul Burn

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC}
Feel free to PM me if I countered your ability incorrectly.

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC 2}
Edited because cool idea for a attack

SPOILER: Click to show

{Soul Burn}
Technique Name: Vita Sollertia: Soul Burn

Class: 5-2

Technique Type (Kido, Hollow/Arrancar Technique, Human World Dweller Technique, Other): Vita Sollertia

Usable By (Technique is available to which races?): Rogues

Technique Element: Fire

Technique Description and Effects (Explain appearance, powers, and effect):
This technique is one of the most directly offensive Vita Sollertia. The soul has incredibly potent energy in it, and the usage of Life Force techniques allows someone to tap directly into that energy. This specific one converts the a Rogues Life Force into a burning force that surrounds either the Rogue’s hand, or weapon (which can be any object that the Rogue picks up, it doesn't need to be a specifically spiritual weapon). The burning force doesn’t produce light, although its strange reiatsu is detectable via 100 Energy Sensory, and the heat it creates doesn’t extend far off the affected area. However, Soul Burn produces incredible amounts of heat that only effects organic matter.

A single touch of a hand that is utilizing Soul Burn can cause degree burns the instant of contact, which suffice it to say, makes this technique horrifying in usage. This technique can be used at any class as low as five and as high as two. Class 5 usage causes first degree burns upon contact, and second degree burns upon repeated contact or extended contact. Class 4 does the same, but of course beats more things in clash. Class 3 usage allows for the creation of second degree burns on contact, and three degree burns through extended or repeated contact. The Class 2 version causes instantaneous third degree burns, and fourth degree burns (burns that penetrate the muscles) upon extended or repeated contact.

How to use technique (How is it activated?):
Focus on the body part or weapon you want to use in conjunction with the technique, and expend the necessary Life Force.

Technique Drawbacks (Limitations, repercussions for use, etc)
This technique costs 100 Life Force for each class of it (Class 5 is 100, Class 4 is 200, etc) per post. It also causes subtle muscle damage to whichever arm is holding the weapon that the technique is being used on, or whichever arm is using the technique. This muscle damage means that using this technique for more than four posts per thread will render that arm useless.

Made By: Tsubaki Shiba

Reserved? (Yes/No) (Can others use your technique, or just your character?): No

[Noriko 'Asuka"]

"My my, what a foul mouth you have human, even after my offer of love to you." she carried on with her sly tone. The single dreadful word that he marked her with was one that she hadn't heard of for some time. A disrespectful word seethed from his distasteful lips, only to have her scoff with playful giggle from her own lips. There was some distance between them as he appeared to be wrestling with some internal dilemma. She found it to be partially due to her own powers having some influence over him, though not completely. She felt the little influence she had over his form flee after some expense to his own power reserve. Either way it turned to her favor nonetheless.

A ghostly pale hand flipped the long bangs of hair away from her sights and around her shoulder to better gaze at the Rogue that opposed her authority. Her lips curled at a single end to mimic her amusement at his current status. Mused if anything considering how he carried himself with such dread. Each little bickering that he did only welt her appetite all the more. More so when her Energy sensory picked up a rise in energy within the man's being. Strange, since the energy was foreign and not quite the reiatsu nature. Her 100 trained in Energy Sensory nudged her focus onto the rise of power within him, giving her a cause of concern. She didn't show it despite not knowing what was coming.

A crimson flame came forth. A flame that not at all felt threatening to her existence. The more she eyed the shearing aura the more she came to realize how beautiful it was. "What a alluring color. Tell me, is your power as amazing as the color itself? I have to say that I would make good use of someone like yourself." He humored her. An Arrancar was one of the Chosen People, and all that loam around them was meant for them. How pitiful humans truly were. Humans like the man before her were troubling individuals, so someone has to be the one to embrace them for who they are. Whether it be naturally or forced.

But she couldn't stop herself cackling softly at his remarks of her tactics. Of her power overall. He wasn't completely wrong, "My ability you see, is about me sharing my own being with those who I wish." Yes, that was it actually. Her answer. "Sharing my love to those who are around me." She, one of the Chosen People, was the one who had to take on the responsibility for sharing love around the world, and to those who resided within them. Vannan made it clear that humans sought out love, and desired for that companionship. This man before her was one who seemed to be distraught and in pain.

The Septima told her that Shinzui was one of the Chosen People, but for what exactly? So, with a bit of time and the thanks to those she had the chance to encounter, she found her answer. Her eyes keen on the man's movements as he brought down the blade colored in red. A forceful explosion came into existence when the Rogue's blade met with the ground. It was coming for her, or at least where she was. The size of the blast only grew as it drew closer, but all for not when Shinzui tapped the rear of her figure and slipped into the vacuum of the dark realm. She was enjoying herself to the up most.

From among the stream of destruction left behind from the Soul Burn combination a chuckle is heard. "Oh my, what a wonderful display of strength." she joked. From her own experience the Espadas and other Fraccions displayed more might and strength than what Garret could muster. That was the difference between humans and the Chosen People. She couldn't help but frolic around in the other world as she drew closer to Garret. Garret's ears filled with the echoing laughter of the lingering Kyuubi as she toyed with her prey. Why the laughter?

Like a fox hunting its prey she scrolled about, pacing back and forth around the bewildered human. "A monster like yourself seems to be plagued by your own existence. Wandering around as you have been without purpose, without meaning. What could it be that you are searching for? A purpose? A place to belong?" And so forth, from the fabric of reality around the man six of the nine tails sprouted forth from the air to enclose the man inside a fox made cage. Six tails bristled with small strands of pale white hair flexed to keep him inside. From his own sights there would be enough room to take a step in a single direction, while at the same time limiting the means of him swinging his blade around.

Their tips penetrated the stone floor and dug into the foundation that made up the man's footing. At her own expense her tails were left nearly vulnerable to a small degree, but it wasn't the end. The last trio emerged from the sides of the man's arms to slap them with the ends of the tips. Sorta like them fluffy cuffs, but attached to a spiritual being whose potential can level cities single handed. Their purpose was to immobilize his movements while offering a close and personal moment with him. From that moment her pale figure descends from above, along with the remaining surfaces of where the tails originated from. He would find her chuckling.

"What if I can provide you place? A place that can make great use of your -ailment- while offering you protection." Like how the Septima attempted to do with her she will do with Garret. If everything was successful the Rogue would find her two hands wrapping around his neck with embrace. Her presence alone wouldn't be intimate but open to accepting a new being into her selected group of peers. And so on with her embrace locking in his muscles her previous six tails were to close in and constrict the remaining limbs that he possessed. Like being caressed by fur the six would tangle themselves around the length of his legs, and to keep his sword locked into the stone floor below them.

Overall, if successful Shinzui would have pushed the man into the worse case scenario when it came to her ability. The potential of being touched eleven times would be a great cause for concern as he will suffer the severe effects of her overall ability, Dread Spore. The idea of having a human like Garret on her side, then the possible chances of her goal coming to fruition would draw even closer.

OOC:

Remaining Reiatsu: 800/2000 : -200 Kaitou x1

Resurrection: 3/6

Contact Made Possible: 11 (if successful)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Level 3}


[Level 3 - Posts 7 and above (Until Reiatsu is Depleted)] Dread
* -400 Reiatsu Per Post
*Contagious (Able to spread to others through physical or reiatsu contact)

--- [Impairment - Senses 400 and Below] ---

*Eyes unable to perceive light
*Loss of Desire
*Anxiety
*Depression

--- [Physical Reactions] ---

*Discoloring of the Skin
*Slower Heart Beat

--- [Curing Methods] ---

*-200 Reiatsu to Push Back for each Post ((Must be done at 7, or Method will not work))
*Healing/Purging Technique ----- Pushes back 1 post for each technique, or prolonged use of technique.


Level 3 - Standby Phase

Phase 3 is where the virus has reached the peak of its growth to where it is capable of spreading to others, meaning that the host now becomes contagious. Simply through the means of touching another individual physically or by reiatsu contact((Healing techniques or through reiatsu attacks)). The effects from the previous phases are carried over into this phase as well as the new afflictions. The skin is now entirely discolored as consciousness fades away. Nearing the end as reiatsu depletes the will to continuing to live dies. Entering soul suicide.

[Resistance]

-- Classes Higher Than Shinzui --

*-200 reiatsu per post instead of 400.
*-200 push back remains the same.
*W/ Strength of Will [3 - Only] -------> Immune to Sense Impairment/Physical Reactions until 25% of Total Reiatsu
*W/ Focused Eyes [3 - Only] ------> Immune to Eye Impairment

-- Lower Classes --

*costs and push back remain the same

SPOILER: Click to show

{Kaitou}


Class: [4]

Technique Type (Kido, Hollow/Arrancar Technique, Human World Dweller Technique, Other): [Hollow/Arrancar]

Usable By (Technique is available to which races?): [Arrancars]

Technique Element: [Darkness]

Technique Description and Effects (Explain appearance, powers, and effect):

Remnants of the power that Shinzui held before, the isolation that she sought out, the darkness that she had once dread. Discovering a means to alter her power she had lost what she had before, however, something lingered. That world secretly hidden between the folds of reality remained. The Arrancar rediscovered the means to return to the world of darkness once again. Kaitou rips a gateway into a shrouded world that resembles the real world in every way. See it as a world that is layered on top of the real world. The buildings remain, figures of people, and the flow of reiatsu, however not all of it is the same since it is a dark world. Within this dark world, each object and person are made out in silhouettes with white outlines. But since this technique resembles much to its foundation, the gate opens at the same rate as a Garganta gate does.

This technique, unlike an actual Garganta, can not bring the user to Hueco Mundo, only to the alternate world. To those who are strategic can find many applications for the technique to be used, however, when applying them in a face to face encounter with other techniques, then there are requirements that must be followed.


How to use technique (How is it activated?):

With a cost of 200 reiatsu for every gate, followed with a tapping motion, a ripple effect will form where ever the motion is done on. This is not restricted to only surfaces but can even be done in the air as well. Now, when inside of the dark world, a cost of 100 reiatsu is required to remain inside and refusal to pay the requirement will have the user rejected from the dark world. A single payment of 200 is required when entering into the dark world and exiting a single time, when wanting to re-enter another payment is needed. After dwelling into the dark world and desiring to return from it, a rippling effect will occur when exiting.

Technique Drawbacks (Limitations, repercussions for use, etc)

This form of Garganta sounds like it possesses a variety of uses, which it does. But, in the means of going against an offensive technique, for instance a Cero, allowing the technique to swallow an incoming reiatsu attack the user must have a greater reiatsu strength stat than the attacker, therefore rendering the technique harmless. As for physical attacks, then the reiatsu strength must be equal or greater than the attacker's spiritual pressure since the gate does not recognize another individuals body passing through the gate that is not the user.

The technique only recognizes the user because it is the user that is applying the technique. This technique can be used to engulf reiatsu techniques but merely allow a means for the user to escape. Now considering the obvious cost of creating the rippling doorway and maintaining the cost while inside, the technique itself can be taxing with its constant use, which the user will not recognize the amount if reiatsu that is being applied for the technique.

Perhaps the greatest drawback of Kaitou is the growing madness that resides within the void. Not much is known about the void, but not long (within the 2nd post remaining inside the void) the user will begin to face against their own fears and doubts. Past experiences of tragedies, fears, anger, rage, despair, all of those little dark emotions that are pent up inside the user flourish within the void. How come? Ever been alone in a dark past for a long period of time? Some say that the darkness plays tricks on the mind. This one is no different. Actually, it thrives on it. The void is actually created by the Dark Aura of the user and the longer that the user remains within the void any Light Aura points will become Dark Aura points. 10 points will be transferred from Light to Dark. This effect remains for the remainder of the thread even when leaving the void. Although the points will not be transferred when exiting the void, but the damage will have already been done.

For those who do not possess Light Aura, then they merely enter into Lunatic State after the 2nd post remaining within the void. (Look at Lunatic Type for personality description.) Stats will not be altered and or changed, merely the personality of the individual will show the change.

[RayginX]

She just wouldn't stop. She had avoided his attack by once again backing away into her own hidden dimension. She claimed to what to share her love with him, and unbeknownst to her that statement caused more issues within him. His issues with her were ever growing, and her words were affecting him just as badly as the ones within his own head. Her laughter and words filling his head, Garret was beginning to lose it. He wasn't sure how much of this he was going to be able to take, especially considering he was getting nowhere against this creature.

His improvised attack had yet again failed, the Arrancar hiding herself away in whatever space she was capable of coming and going into. Gritting his teeth, Garret lifted his sword despite the pain in his arm. Soul Burn was not a technique to be used lightly. It did not use Reiatsu like most other techniques, but fed on Garrets own Life Force as the necessary energy for its casting. It was a technique only someone with a parasitic entity within them could call forth. Yet it was still dangerous for more reasons than that, but because this was Garrets first use of it he was only plagued with pain in his right arm. Not enough, by any means, to keep him down.

Blacker and blacker you will become..

But this hide and seek game was growing tiresome, and Garret, at least, had an idea where she was going to strike from next. A surprise attack only worked when you still had the element of surprise. But Garret had seen her technique and now knew, for the most part, how she would use it. Her laughter continued on throughout the time between her disappearance and her reemergence, giving Garret time to ponder what she said and reply.

"A monster like yourself seems to be plagued by your own existence. Wandering around as you have been without purpose, without meaning. What could it be that you are searching for? A purpose? A place to belong?"

Garret knew, he understood, that she was simply trying to get to him. That she was playing mind games with him, doing whatever she could to weaken him both physically and mentally. So, knowing this, why was it that what she had just said had stung so badly? The swordsman paused, mentally and physically, as he pondered over her words, unable to find a argument in them or to really counter them in anyway. She was right. He had nothing. He had nobody. No place to call his home. He wandered, cursed by his affliction and forced into a battle he would not win. Eventually he would die, be consumed by the very things he fought against.

The sudden sight of her tails above him, not only that but around him, pulled Garret back into reality. Without really thinking, he leapt backwards using his full Strength and Speed, escaping the fluffy cage before it pinned him in, yet not without a cost. When trying to escape from the cage, and being as slower as he was than the Arrancar, one of those tails came right down onto his left leg. If they were pumped with enough strength to not only keep the swordsman inside, but to penetrate the earth floor, then the result of that tail coming down on his leg did not go well for the swordsman. He heard the crunch before he felt the pain.

Landing on his back, Garret let out a gasp for air as a wave of pain shot through his body. Leaning up and looking down, he saw the massive bruise and the blood escaping from it. Reaching over and touching it, he hissed as he realized the damage that had been done. His femur had been smashed. Gritting his teeth, the swordsman knew that there was no way he could continue like this. Groaning, he managed to get onto his feet using his sword as a crutch, leaning against it as he growled in pain. Turning his eye back to the kitsune, hatred bleed from them as he glared at her from within her little cage.

Gritting his teeth he could not believe he had let himself get into this condition. Why was it that he was struggling so much? Was it because he toyed around with the other two? If he had killed the air headed Arrancar first, would this kitsune have ever appeared? "What if I can provide you place? A place that can make great use of your -ailment- while offering you protection." Garret paused, blinking as he looked at her. What did she mean by that? There was no where his affliction could not catch him. No place was safe for him. His breathing began to slow down as his breath returned to him, his gray eye locked on the Arrancars.

Music for this section

You reek of death. Your stench is coming ever closer to theirs.

Enough!

What is it that holds you back? What is it that makes this one different from the hundreds you've killed before it? Could it be...because she resembles that woman?

!

He couldn't lie to himself. Maybe that was why Garret was so messed up fighting this Kitsune. Their appearance was so similar that Garret could not find it in himself to give himself over, to satisfy his anger with her death. If her eyes had been blue, she would have been the spitting image of that woman. Gritting his teeth he tried to push the memories out of his head. Yet he couldn't. He couldn't forget the woman he loved no matter how hard he tried. Memories of their many years in the Rukongai, a couple that stayed ageless together, living out their meager yet happy lives together. Before this, before the curse, Garret remembered the time that he was...happy. But he couldn't ever remember Cassandra without remembering it.

Love? What do you know about love? How can you still even say you love her? Whatever love you once had has been burned away. You keep her memory with you only as an open wound, something you can poke and prod to fuel your hate.

Garret didn't want to hear that. He knew it was true, but he didn't want to hear it. He didn't have the right to call what he felt for Cassandra love anymore. It had been released by this hate, this unyielding anger that burnt his soul to cinders. His black heart could not taste the sweetness of that emotion anymore. Yet he couldn't let her go. He couldn't forgive himself for what had happened.

Forgiveness? You use it fuel. Your justification.

The scene played out before his eyes just like it had a hundred times already. That night. He remembered the Hollow attacking, Cassandra running at Garrets request as he distracted the Hollow. He remembered escaping, going to find her. But what he found...what he found. The Kistune would detect something building within Garret. Teeth so tightly ground together that crimson beads of blood were emerging from between his teeth. He didn't want to remember it. He couldn't remember it. The pain that memory brought him. A single tear began to drip from his eye. But, the inner voices wouldn't let him. The entity within him knew that Garret needed to relive it.

Unleashing the Monster

The sound of her screams. The feeling of his eye being gouged out. The last thing his right eye had seen. Her face, her expression, her arm reaching out for him...before she was torn apart by the group of Hollows. Garret was suddenly consumed in crimson reaitsu, unlike the show that he had given Shinzui before when he purged her poison. Like before, her poison had been affecting his mind, but he had purged it yet again. But this time the reiatsu was different, uncontrolled, violent. He was consumed within the flames, his form disfigured, almost giving him the appearance of some sort of spirit of anger. The only thing that remained constant was that eye though. That glowing eye that seemed to have taken a new shape.

I'll destroy you...no...I will devour you

Descend. Reach, yet again, into the flames.

There's no time to figure out if this is the right thing to do! Just move...

"The battlefield.." Garret suddenly shouted from within the flames, no doubt catching the Kitsunes attention. "This battlefield, this war, is where I belong! Not until I've killed you all, every single one of you, will I stop! You will never be forgiven for what you took from ME!!" and with that, Garret released a roar unlike any before. The flames that consumed him suddenly exploded. From within them the swordsman roared out, a mixture of wrath, pain, and something completely inhuman.

Whenever you bathe in blood your thirst grows, and with it the unending hunger of the Beast. The more you kill the more you thirst. The more you thirst the more you kill. Your bloodbath will never end, you will only keep on killing. You will keep on thirsting. All alone. And then the Beast will devour you, and it will take your place. It will feel nothing but hate and the monster will take your shape.

From within those crimson flames a new color sprouted forth. From what seemed to be the location of Garrets right eye, blue flames came forth, mixing in rather beautifully with his crimson reiatsu. The flames covered, followed by what sounded like something hardening. Garret roared in pain as the heat of what was grafted to him struck him, adding to and fueling his anger. His form was consumed within the fire, before a new sound blew it all away. A roar, a mixture of both man and beasts. Garrets was in there, but something inhuman was as well. The flames were blown away, and the man that had been there was gone. What began as a man consumed within the fires of hatred, had been replaced with a Beast Clad in Black.

It was a armor, one of monstrous design. Its design was like that of a hound, jagged and sharp, with a torn black cape flowing behind it. Two lightning shaped eye sockets glowed with the same crimson color as Garrets reiatsu. The suit trembled, the armor rattling, before he leaned forward and released another roar at the Kitsune, a shockwave being released around him as a result, blowing away the earth. The roar was massive, as if Garret was five times his size, and mixed in was a wail of something else. The inside of the suits jagged mouth glowed like the eyes.

The Arrancar would hear a sound; the sound of stabbing comes from the armor. She would see splatters of blood escaping from within, exiting from both his left leg and his torso, the sites where she had done the most damage to him. The sites where she had broken bones. Unbeknowest to her, the Bakkoto had penetrated Garrets body with steel teeth, stabbing right into the bones to hold them together. The purpose? To let Garret fight. He stepped with his left leg with such force the ground exploded, a splatter of blood coming from his thigh, but the Kistune would see that he was having no trouble walking. Shouldn't the pain have been bringing him down, though? Garret showed earlier that the pain of a broken leg had given him trouble. It should have been a problem.

If Garret could still feel pain.

With a roar, the beast came. It vanished from sight with a step technique, Shunpo, only to reappear before Shinzuis tail cage, if she still kept it up. He came sliding to a stop before her, that gargantuan blade of his already in motion before it too vanished, followed by a fountain of blood and exploding earth. If Shinzui had kept her tails off, she would soon be lacking in at least two of them. There strength had a difference, yes, but using Shunpo Karin to increase his swing speed coupled with the fact that he given over control to the Beast meant Garret was not holding back. A 1000 swing speed with his strength would lop off her tails, flex defense not working due to the difference not being distant enough for that form of defense to work.

There was also the issue of she could not sense the reiatsu used. His reiatsu was out of control. A flurry of madness, a hurricane of anger. The armor was reiatsu, almost. It emitted such strong signals that the small amount of reiatsu used during Shunpo Karin would have been undetectable, at least by only a 100 in Energy Sensory. He did not remain in the same spot though. If his attack had worked, and he had breached through the cage, Garret would lunge at Shinzui herself. That sword of his coming down from above, aiming to smash her into a little bloody pulp. She could taste it, feel it in the air, the raw anger and bloodlust emitting from the man. No, not the man, the thing he had given control over to. Shinzui had gotten what she wanted.

He had let out the Monster.

Release Duration: 1 / 3

Remaining Reiatsu: 2950 / 3900
-100 for Purge
-200 for Bakkoto Level 3 Release
-50 for Shunpo
-150 for Shunpo Karin
+300 Bakkoto Level 5 Ability

Life Force: 3300 / 3900

[Noriko 'Asuka"]

A majestic color reigned supreme in the dark depths of her gaze. That crimson light engulfed the spectrum of light around them only to have the blood stained field to be caressed in its light. She found great favor in that light so much that her smile was brought about, despite the danger she knew was coming forth. That same aura came with an putrid form that began to emerge from his body. It began to caress the man's body, that delicious demeanor of a human being tormented, and transformed it into a stature of disgust and unsightly presence. Such a transformation rid her smile and staged a deep frown. More irritated and disappointed with what transpired.

"What a disgusting scene." How dare Garret don such a terrible power. Just as Shinzui was beginning to enjoy herself a new persona appeared to takeover the man's conscious. Black armor shimmering beneath the crimson red flame as it molded his shape into a new brand new being. His stature grew from what he once was and exchanged his intelligent existence for a dumbfounded monster. No, not a monster, but an animal. A foolish animal that believed that could destroy one of the Chosen People. Shinzui's eyes narrowed as a flare of blue flame filled the void as the new creature cried an inhuman shriek from within the depths of its hollowed form.

Its step forward caused the ground to erupt in an explosion. The Arrancar's eyes remained focused on its movements while analyzing it completely. His previous injuries appeared clearly to be healed or rather composed to the point of allowing full mobility. A closer look from her trained eyes revealed that he was indeed injured, but it was the armor that was holding his broken body up. Whatever the armor was it was both unpleasant and a hindrance to her overall enjoyment. With its next step the newly formed creature vanished from her sights. She knew immediately that it was Shunpo. Throughout their entire encounter Garret had been using the same tactics over and over again, this included the use of his Shunpo Karin to lash out at her with his sword.

Shinzui's ability to Learn from past experiences wasn't keen, so with his repetitive tactics and strategies the Arrancar kept her guard up when the creature vanished. She knew more than anything that his next few strikes were going to use Shunpo Karin, but unknowingly which one would contain that rapid flash of movement. Since his transformation she studied his minor movements; this included his use of Shunpo. Surprisingly enough that she couldn't detect his use of his stepping technique. Actually, she felt reiatsu but nothing other than the reiatsu that clung onto the black mass. Her instincts peeked when not being able to identifying her assumption to be true or false. She didn't like it at all.

The nine withdrew from their positions when he appeared, grinding to a halt and blade readied. From his emergence stood an aura that towered over her pale figure. How ridiculous. Ludicrous even. The Kyuubi took one step, a single blurred step forward when his arms came to bring about his swing. That single step positioned the woman directly behind the raging creature as both earth and force ripped the stone floor from its peaceful state. Shinzui found the status quo to be most displeasing, and for one of the Chosen People to be facing such an excuse of a being was down right disgraceful. Most on unpleasant she felt turning her gaze to meet the armored figure that ran rampant behind her.



Despite his lack of detail the creature would continue his assault with an overhead strike. The first strike he lashed out she felt that explosive force of rapid motion of his massive blade, but that could have been from his raw strength alone. His reiatsu was running rampant on its own so she had difficulty in detecting subtle changes in the flow of his reiatsu. Her focus did not waiver. While his attention would be focused on her destruction, driven mad by his own desire and hate, a single tail would have been coiling around his neck as she passed through with her Sonido. "Stop it, you're in the way."

It was the fault of that armor that clung to the man that stole her amusement, her chances at accomplishing her goal when she finally graces the worlds with her presence. She will rid that nuisance herself. So, when the man would swing around to bring that behemoth sword down upon the Arrancar her tail would go about a whip the man's bulking body around from his swing, and lash him up into the sky. The distasteful display of savagery didn't appeal to her since she spent years in that form. The difference between them was she did so for survival. Those years spent within the Menos Forest eating, to prevent herself from returning to the weak individual form of a singular Hollow.

Being among the Menos Shinzui had to constantly devour the souls of other Hollows to grow and sustain herself. This was the only means to prevent an Adjuchas such as herself from reverting back into a Menos, but that time it would be without that of a mind. She was more intelligent now and had no need to revert to such methods to sustain her. To her, Garret became what she should have been if she refused to consume. A tragedy indeed. Back to the current situation if her coil made contact with his neck then the human would soon find himself dangling in the air for a second before being slammed into the stone ground.

The size and weight of his armor played a factor when lifting his rage induced body into the air. To her own benefit his weight was more fruitful when her tail whipped his body down towards the ground. This would happen once more to tire the Rogue or at the very least disrupt his blind conscious. Perhaps it may not work seeing how his body was moving about despite his previous wounds. What was this thing latching onto his body? Either way the blade was what would have to be restrained before continuing on. After the second slam to the ground Shinzui would pin the human spirit to the ground by binding his arms and legs with another four tails.



More like restraining a wild animal or taming one. She wasn't mused at all. Her cold gaze locked onto the useless human male. His aura dimly lighting her hidden expression beneath the black bangs as her eyes were keen on the subject before her. Each tail would tighten its grip on the man's limbs to prevent the creature's armored form to move. "How pitiful you've become. It is that form of your's isn't it? I'll rip it off." she sounded so displeased with his current behavior. However, he may find some form of reprieve should the armor be removed. All the more reason that his limbs would feel a powerful pull from each of the four tails. Their tips digging into the small gaps of armor plating for leverage as they pull.

"You stain me human, but do not worry though. I'll make it all better. However, I can not say that it will be a pleasant experience for you."


Remaining Reiatsu: 650/2000 : -150 Sonido x1

Resurrection: 4/6

Contact Made Possible: 5 (if successful)