Here there be Hollows, Dummy (Joint Training | Ray+Shizu)

[Shizuyoko Toraumi]

The color of blood was hardly something she was not used to. That flaying blossom that sprouted from the skin, a flower so red that lasted for but a moment before it's petals scattered, splattering it's surroundings. Those curving lashes of crimson on the ground, as blades, claws, and teeth whipped about. But it had been so long. What she HAD forgotten, was the smell. That deep iron smell that saturated the air and filled her nostrils.

It had been so simple. A venture out into the rukongai. To a mid-hazard district where a few hollow sometimes would pop up. Nothing dangerous at all. Her first mission as a shinigami. Of course....when they did sense the hollow they gave chase. None of them noticed that they had been running after it for a while. Nobody noticed the way time had started to tick, as the hollow played them. Tricking their minds, until one rounded corner later, they were in the wilderness.

And they were surrounded.

Immediately she drew her blades, eyes wide as the hollows, low in strength, but MANY in number swarmed in. The two other graduates with her, and the senior shinigami that was escorting them drew weapons as well, Shizu's heart pounding a strange rhythm as something felt....strange. It was something deep inside of her. An inkling of sensation as she crouched slightly. What was this feeling? Before she could think more about it the sensation was gone.

And they were upon them. Her blade flashed lightly as she lunged, both hands on the longer of her two blades, her wakizashi still sheathed for now as she faced the onslaught of incomming hollows. Several wolf-like mongrels rushed in, one of then snapping teeth at her, flaying bits of saliva at her as it went, backing off and grunting as she tore her bade out of it's mouth, that massive katana cutting through it's skull as she backed off, her breath catching in her throat.

Had it not been for the sheer size of her blade she had no doubt her blade would not have gone through. The hollow hides were tough, tougher than she expected as she noticed the other wolves circling in. Her eyes narrowed as she spun her blade, a fancy windmill of shining metal as she spun it left and right, weaving that weapon rapidly. It was a purely defensive motion, nothing she could attack with, but that whirrling blade caused those mutts to back off.

In the corner of her vision she could sense a sudden gasp, slightly causing her concentration to waver as  Ijuya dropped to her knees, tears in her eyes as a hoillow's claws tore through her shoulder, Immediately the senior shinigami: Tuyoshi, lunged in, cutting down the hollow in one fell swoop, throwing himself into the thickest of groups as he began tearing ass through the group, a loud shout escaping him.

She was....surprised. she had never expected the normally calm and kind-sounding shinigami to be so....vicious. Of course the moment she turned back to those hollows, she felt warmth bloom along her shoulder. Shocked, her eyes suddenly went wide, shaken slightly as she staggered back, the hollow behind her grinning before a blade took them between the eyes, Shizuyoko winced as it's blood hit her and some of it spattered onto her sheathed wakizashi.

"Get your head in the game bitch! You're in NAM!" Ricky shouted in her face, shaking her briefly before shoving her aside and raising his blade, twirling it over his head before he slammed it into the ground, an eruption of spiritual pressure rocking the surroundings, Shizu's eyes going wide. She'd known for a while that Ricky had secretly been training hard, and that among her classmates, he was one of only five who had managed to awaken his zanpaku'to before graduating.

Raising his weapon over his head, she couldn't help but stare a little. The sight of Oku-no-Dikkusu flailing over his head was actually a bit amazing. Watching his blade suddenly burst into a trio of Bo staves. Catching two in his palms, and one inbetween his teeth, he yanked hard, twisting as a sudden ripple of light wavered around him, as suddenly thick iron wire suddenly flashed in the air, slicing apart the hollows that had been near him, the shinigami letting out a roar around that stave as he tore ass off in another direction, leading a large crowd of hollows away.

Why had he....She stopped, staring as she watched them. Ijuya and Tuyoshi going down under mobs of hollows. She hadn't even noticed. And now, almost all of them were charging after Ricky. The idiot was sacrificing himself! She opened her mouth to shout after him when she was suddenly aware of something behind her, stopping mid-shout to leap forward, performing a dodge-roll, eyes flashing behind her as she noticed the hollow that had hit her from behind before.

It was long...skinny, and so....thin. She had a hard time locking her eyes on it's body. every time it moved it immediately hid with it's surroundings, making it hard to keep an eye on. IT must be some sort of assasin type hollow. Concentrating, she congealed spirit energy, focusing on her feet as she summoned a plate of spirit energy, creating a temporary platform as she then vanished, her body blurring for a moment as she used shunpo in mid-air, reappearing on the other end of the crowd that Ricky had left behind, turning her body, the soft, muted step of her foot hitting the ground being the only sign of her presence before she twisted her body, putting all of her strength into that sweeping slash, grunting as she tore that blade through the back line of mongrel hollows, the blade sticking into the last body, grunting as she was forced to silently tug that blade out.

Even with her stealth, the sound of bodies dropping and the sudden lack of hollow spiritual pressures behind them tipped the hollows off that she was behind her. She grunted as she leapt back, tugging her blade as she went. Claws and fangs grazed her skin, causing her to wince as her own blood frayed along the ground, furrowing her brows before her foot hit something. She tripped! She hadn't been paying enough attention and she toppled over one of the bodies.

Grunting, she looked down, determined to look for the source of her folly....it was her classmate's body. She paused, eyes wide as she hesitated. It was all the prompting those monsters needed to leap in. Rushing forth, she looked up, her eyes wide. She had no time to use that obnoxiously large blade just yet. They were too close in. From under her hakama, one of those tails slithered out, snaring her other zanpaku'to, spilling from one of the slits in those bottoms before that wakizashi TORE across the incomming hollows, her eyes wide as blood drenched her, swallowing hard as the dark blade suddenly HOWLED.

EVERY hollow stopped in it's tracks.

The sudden burst of evil aura that gushed out of that blade was smothering, outshining even Shizuyoko's light as fear was literally shoved into the throats of those hollows, that blade screeching and howling as it passed through the air. Staggered, they suddenly took a collective step back. Using this opportunity, she leapt to her feet, dragging her odachi up from the ground, yanking it from the hollow it was stuck in and holding it in both hands, eyes narrowed as her tail lashed behind her, wielding that short blade, ready to carve into them again as that wave of dread subsided from the blade.

Getting over the shock, those hollows started closing back in again, this time a bit more cautiously. There were easily still about twenty of them. Her heart was pounding still, and with Ricky gone, the other two dead....she felt that sensation inside of her again. Something....familiar. And something that was growing inside of her. She didnt' know what it was....but now wasn't the time for that. She needed to focus on surviving.

[Garret]

How long had it actually been since the last time he had set foot in the Rukongai? It was something that he honestly believed was never going to happen again. Nothing had changed since the last time he had seen it, the roads were the same, the buildings were the same, and everything appeared the same. But he knew it wasn't. A key element for him was now gone, lost to the hunger of the monsters that he devoted himself to slaying. But why was it that he was here? Well, it was time that Taiho Kasumi'Oji came calling. He had been doing what he had always done in the Land of the Living, simply surviving. How her agent had found him he could not say, but the pale stick of a woman had come for him.

Opening a doorway through space itself, Garret was lead through that familiar and odd dimension between the worlds. Lead by the silent woman and a butterfly, Garret had been greeted by the nostalgic sight of his old home world. But, it was a short greeting, given that Garret could only remain in that world for, at most, a few short hours before the setting of the sun. Regardless of his time constrant, Garret actually felt a emotion he hadn't felt in a long time. Relaxation. However, like his visit was to be it was short lived. Garret knew this was no longer his home. He could never return to it, nor would he want to. It was nothing to him now. It was nothing without Cassandra.

Garret had been instructed by the unknown woman to go out and wait for Taiho in the wilderness section of the current Rukongai district. Suspicious, Garret questioned further into why this was the case. The only answer he got was that Taiho was busy and that today had been the scheduled day for Garrets arrival. Shrugging, the swordsman accepted it, but still found it rather odd, considering the Kasumi'Ojis interest in him. Regardless, he did as he asked and began to travel to where he was directed.

Walking between the streets, it was nice to get a look at what once. He knew that he couldn't grow remorseful, knowing that such an emotion would only slow him down. This world, his home, had been torn away from him in the bloodiest way possible, the mere remembrance of that fact made Garret began to burn with anger. Good, it was still there, those flames within him. So he walked, facing forward and ignoring the curious glances he was getting from people. Whisperings of him being a Shinigami, or a bandit, were heard but ignored. They were of no interest to him.

He continued on, abandoning the civilization and entering into the familiar wilds. It was like he was back in the World of the Living, just with a different feeling air. Well, it was rich with reishi after all. But he continued on, his feet carrying him forward. And then he felt something. It wasn't that he was sensing energy, nor was it his intuition. The Bakkoto was waking up. It had detected something that Garret didn't. If it was waking up, then something was wrong. He narrowed his eye, and sent out a Echo.

Using his own Life Force, he concentrated the Bakkotos hunger into a pulse to be sent outwards, searching for other sources of Life Force energy. And then it came back. Multiple signals, all connected together. Turning his head in the direction of the sources, a grin began to stretch itself across his features. He recognized those life signs. "Hollows.."

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

Shizuyoko would hear a sound behind her, and notice that all the Hollows had suddenly stop. It wasn't the sound of slithering, or running, or growling, it was the simple sound of two feet walking towards her. "Move." His voice would suddenly command, breaking the silence between the three groups. And he would by her, that mammoth of a man not even giving her a passing look as he passed by. His body adorned in that leather cloak of his, he reached up with his battle scared arm and took a grasp of the hilt of his weapon. The Hollows that remained hissed, backing away from him slightly as he approached.

These were mongrels, Garret realized. Weakest of the weak. They were nothing to him, simply pests. But even pests, they were monsters. The remembrance that the Rukongai was no longer his home, that he could never return here, that these things had stolen the greatest thing in his life from him. The fire began to burn. Three of the Hollows lunged, their sizes irrelevant, mouths agape with saliva flowing from the sides. In a flash, though, Garret pulled his weapon free, the gigantic mass swinging through the air and slicing through all three of the monsters without pause. Their bodies erupted into a fountain of red gore raining down on the wilderness floor. Their forms collapsing on the ground, Garret stepped forward and planted his feet firmly against ones corpse. That eye of his burning with such an intense hatred, he began to see red.

All of them. Every single one of them. I will kill them all. Until not a single one remains!

So it began. He roared, rushing in at the remaining Hollows. That weapon he wielded, it was too large to be called a sword. It was too thick, too heavy, and too rough to be called a sword. What Shizuyoko possessed was called swords. What Garret had was more like a slab of raw iron. Each time it swung the air was filled with blood. Each swing was devastating, smashing away the monsters who moments ago had taken the lives of her three comrades, and nearly her itself. For him it was like child's play. These Hollows were nothing.

A savage smile had drawn itself across his features, blood and gore painting his exposed skin as he fought. Though weak they were brave, he had to give them that. At some point he had lost his cloak, exposing his form to both the woman and the monsters. Small cuts and scratches began to form on him, a result of his reckless fighting style. And yet he didn't seem to care. The injuries were no bother to him. The Hollows screams filled the area, slowly dying out as their numbers fell, outdone by the constant sounds of that behemoth of a weapons swings. Finally there was only one left, a creature that resembled a large cat with a pair of deer horns on its head. It was trying to flee, only for Garret to end its retreat with a single swing of that long reaching weapon. And so it was over.

He stood breathing heavily for a moment, the rage in him beginning to subside as he calmed down. He was quiet for a bit, scanning the area and making sure that there were no more. Confirming that he had slain them all, he swung his blade once more to rid it of any excess blood, before returning it to the holder on his back. He began to move, when he realized he was standing on something funny. Looking down he was surprised to find his right foot atop the face of a fallen individual. A man, and from his attire he looked to be a Shinigami.

He then remembered that he wasn't alone. Without urgency he turned, looking right at Shizuyoko with that single eye of his. He had a look of disinterest, and he would have simply left her, but even his hate filled heart had a soft spot for the female gender. Stepping off from her fallen comrade, he took a few steps towards her before asking "Are you hurt?". It was then that he noticed that little growth out of her behind. He stopped, tilting his head upwards slightly as he looked at it, obviously as well. Garret had, somehow, managed to arrive right after whatever effect her sword had caused. He had not experienced it, nor had he paid any actual attention to the girl. Luckily for her, though, he couldn't sense energy.

"That tail. What are you?"

[Shizuyoko Toraumi]

Ricky grunted as he dropped to his knees, panting softly as he stood before the remaining hollows. Blood littered the area around him, his shihakusho was literally drenched in the stuff. He was on his last leg as it was....he hoped Shizuka managed to get away. He chuckled, shaking his head. Was this how it was going to end? He certainly hoped not....there was so mu-

WHAM! That spiritual pressure suddenly caught his attention, his eyes wide. As suddenly, all of the hollows around him seemed to instantly lose interest in him. He watched, dumbfounded as they ran off, in the dirction of that pressure. He grunted, barely getting to his feet as he watched, astonished... Hell, wh was he to look a gift horse in the mouth? Shouldering his weapons, he let out a soft grunt as he shakily rose to his feet and began to try and look for Shizu amongst all this chaos.

---

Shizu stared, her eyes wide as she watched the hollows rushed for the strange man. She moved out of the way in time for him to swing that massive sword, obliterating the hollows that had been there before. She was....awestruck at how he simply swiped them away. She swallowed softly, rubbing lightly at her throat as she looked around, not entirely sure how to react as she looked around at all of them. And once the last one had been run down...he turned to her.

At first he seemed to meander about, until finally he seemed to remember her presence. His eyes immediately snapped to her tail and she gave a bit of a nervous look off to the side as well...it was too late to hide it now. She had hoped to put it away before any rescue came. But she hadn't expected it to come in such an....odd form, and so soon as well. She swallowed nervously, looking at the brusish man before she smiled, that nervousness lasting only a moment as she nodded her head. And he would sense something.

Unlike his curse, that ominous aura, she had something very....different. Something light. And warm. Something that radiated from her with such intensity that every wave of it seemed to shave off the tension in Garret. "I'm fine. Just a few scratches....thank you for helping me. I dunno how hurt I would have gotten if you hadn't shown up." She admitted. She was so very rusty, she still hadn't the slightest idea what kind of power she could still muster... Even so her attention shifted suddenly as her blade stirred.

More... It had not taken long at all and he...probably....couldn't feel them. But they moved in. They weren't far off, so she didn't have much time. "I'm not sure who you are....but It doesn't seem like we'll have much time to chat.....if we live through the night...I'll have to thank you somehow." She noted with a warm smile, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. It had been dark for a while now. She could only imagine they had a few more hours until it was dawn. Hopefully, with more awareness at the day, Soul Society would send someone, and they would be saved by morning.

Of course she could always hope that it would happen a tad sooner than that. Swallowing softly she looked around. She sensed a lot of them. And well..they were stronger. They weren't hiding their spiritual pressure. so even she could sense their strength. She jammed her larger blade into the ground, suddenly focusing her spiritual pressure, making it felt among the incoming hollows. Even if Garret could not feel her pressure, he would feel that aura.

That sudden warmth sharpening into....something else. A sudden determination, a focus that cut like a knife. Something that caused those hollows to shriek as they began to close in. Stepping between Garret and the horde she cleared her throat, a sheepish little smile spreading across her lips as she thought about what she was going to do. Well, it was better than nothing. He probably could do much more. but this at least would help.

"Whatever you sense. Don't worry. There SHOULD be an opening. Once I start. Just go for it. "She stated somewhat cryptically. Resting her palm on the handle of that dark wakizashi, her tail slipping back out to pull that longer blade from the ground, adding an insane reach to that long tail of hers, more than enough to cut down anything that started running at her. Even so, she couldn't help but shake a little as she heard those horrible screeches growing closer. Was this what fear was like?
Her grip on that dark blade suddenly tightened. And Suddenly Garret's ability to feel Shizu's warm aura was suddenly blotted out, as she poured her reiatsu into the blade, and suddenly.

The Blade Sang out..


And there was Fear. Not from power. Not From some special ability. But from the pure evil aura that the sword was able to put out. One that reached out into the instinct of everything around Shizuka, she herself only immune thanks to her brilliant light aura. That darkness suddenly tore at the minds of everything around her, as waves of that aura washed outward, and those hollows suddenly stopped involuntarily in their tracks. Torn between running and rushing towards Garret.

Knowing Garret would probably barrel straight ahead, shizuyoko vanished, shunpo-ing to the side as she planted herself to the left flank of that first wave of hollows, unsheathing that small sword, those hollows rushing in to meet that terrifying blade before her tail whipped out in a wave, clotheslining those hollows and cutting the feet from under them, forcing a stumble, where that second sweep would dice into their bodies, ripping them apart as best she could. Her spiritual pressure was hardly enough. She was barely able to slice through some of their tough hides.

But even so, her blade did damage, and when it met a mask, it cut clean into that sensitive section of hollow, cleansing the hollows that it cut down, as the rest of them screeched from the wounds that her sword inflicted. Of course she didn't know any hado, any kido that could be used. No special moves. All she had wee her weapons, her tail, and her shunpo. And with those waves coming in, piling over eachother. Well....what else could a gal do?

She would be forced to use the shit out of what she DID have. In every way she could manage. And certainly HOPE that it helped her survive long enough for help to come, or at least for the area to run out of hollows to throw at the pair of them. She was hoping on the former naturally. Even so, she couldn't help but shiver a little as she felt that dark wakizashi enjoying itself. As if to remind her why she didn't like using it in battle in the first place.

[Garret]

So, the night had come. Without him even realizing it, the sun had set behind him, enveloping the two spirits in the darkness of the night. He couldn't help but smile, realizing that the Hollows from minutes ago where nothing compared to what was coming. For Shizuyoko she would also realize it soon. His left eye moved back and forth as he picked up on the presences of the approaching Hollows. His attention shifted from Shizuyoko, being more interested in the number of the Hollows coming. He sent out an Echo, reaching out to five miles around him before it came back, feeding him the information he needed to know. He felt a bit weaker, using his own Life Force to fuel the technique, but it wasn't much of a concern for him.

But what did concern him were the numbers coming. It made sense that there were more than usual, given that they were in the Rukongai, a world brimming with reishi and fresh victims. He drew his weapon once again, resting the tip on the ground as he waited, patiently, for his victims to come to him. But then the girl did something interesting. She gained his attention once again, using whatever trick it was that her sword could do. But what he was paying attention to was that aura being released from her.

Her sword was releasing something, something that was attacking at Garrets mind. The swordsman blinked, pushing back against it with his own hardened will, until he was able to resist it. It took him a few moments before he realized what it was. Honestly, he was hesitant to refer to it as he felt it was, since true forms of such things did not exist. But all he could refer to it was evil. His eye narrowed at her, the grip tightening around the grip of his weapon, but he held himself back when he heard her speak. It was some ability she could call up, then?

Regardless, Garret only paid it a fleeting interest. His attention being pulled back to the problem at hand, he began to wonder just how the woman was going to get through this. These weren't going to be the same Hollows from before, mongrels that were far below his own abilities. No, these were going to be Hollows on his level. So he stood tall, like a great iron fortress, turning his back on Shizuyoko. Whether she liked it nor not, she was only going to get in the way now. Garret was the only one here who could handle the oncoming Hollows.

Their abilities and spiritual pressure would overcome her if she were not careful. Some of these Hollows, in fact, would be evolved, stronger than the Base Hollows she was having trouble with merely moments ago. In fact, the two spirits would get to watch quite the sight play out before them. The sky itself began to crack, as if made from glass, falling away and revealing pure blackness within. The darkness began to spill out, like the sky possessed a terrible, bleeding wound. Then the two would see a white mask push in from the black sludge, and begin to fall to the earth.

The gigantic Hollow falling to earth collapsed like a puddle into the wilderness near them, before slowly rising up into the giant shape of a Gillian. Its mask opened, inhaling for a second before letting out a long howl into the air. Garret stood unfazed, an idea coming to his head which caused him to smirk. Turning back towards the Shinigami, Garret lifted his weapon and pointed at the Hollow. "Go. Do your job and purify it. Hurry up and save it, otherwise I'm going to destroy it." Garret was not a fan of the Shinigamis ideals of saving Hollows, only seeing them as monsters that had to be destroyed.

"You are a Shinigami, aren't you? Do your job."

[Zeich Yajuu]

46 Paragraphs, so 230 TP each. In the future, please mark what you are training for, or it will automatically be assigned as CTP.