Sizing Up the Appointed

[Sargon Denumic]

(Training for TTP)

Walking over the course light sand of Heuco Mundo the white haired Arrancar strolled with his hands in the pockets of his uniform shirt. The edges of his shirt burnt like they always were from the moment of putting them over his body. Although they were the assigned uniform of the Espada the fabric of the uniforms was always such poor quality. Couldn't even sustain his reiatsu while he wasn't flexing it. Just another aspect of Las Noches that was disappointing from what Sargon had been hoping for a few years ago when he decided to join instead of remain bored in the desert.

Today would hopefully give him at least a minor amount of entertain. He was on his way to a meet up point where he would either find the newly appointed Ninth Espada or he'd wait for a short period until he arrived to find him. After another minute or so Sargon knew that he was at the correct spot atop of a sand hill that overlooked the surrounding mile of distance easily. He didn't notice anyone so far, but it wasn't quite time yet so even if he had to wait a short bit he was fine. However, if this guy made him wait past the appointed time he'd find that he'd already made a mistake before his testing even started.

Sargon heard about the newly appointed Espada from the Cuarta due to the fact that he kept away from the others the majority of the time and only tended to associate himself with his Fraccion and the random entities that he crossed while away from Las Noches. He had been disappointed in the last few Espada and decided that perhaps a test of one of the newly appointed would show him one of two things. Whether Kouhai simply was appointing anyone to the Espada at this point and the group truly meant nothing anymore or if there was something that could be molded into entertainment. So he would test this Ninth and find out if he was truly worth the title that at one point carried with it true power.

[Ailene Haschiro]

As the moonlight of Hueco Mundo shined upon the distant expanses of white sand, Kazuna was walking through the desolate desert to answer a call. This being the first time that Kazuna had actually been called to by a higher ranking Espada, the Tercera Espada no less. There was a degree of interest and curiosity that Kazuna found behind the summons. Ultimately, the reason was irrelevant. Kazuna knew from prior dealings with higher ranking Espada such as Rio to simply lay low when dealing with those who had a higher ranking. There was a degree of solace to Kazuna in Hueco Mundo. A place where true life did not exist. It simply fed his want for nihilism. Yet regrettably, he was forced to occupy this vessel of his former self. At this point, his thoughts could be considered distracting and with that Kazuna dismissed them while still making his way to the designated point.

As Kazuna looked into the distance, he saw a distant dune of sand with a figure standing on top. He made his way there, treading through the sand slowly and casually. He knew he would make good time and as such there was little point in rushing when it was not needed. As he began to slowly approach the hill of sand, he was filled with a degree of dread. This reminded him back to the time that Rio mentioned previous Noveno Espada. He could not quite remember how the Noveno fit into the group of elite Arrancar, but on one end, Kazuna did not truly care. He simply tried to get an idea as to his summons. 

Looking up at the dune, Kazuna saw the Espada, Sargon more clearly. He began to make his way up to the dune. As he began to draw closer and closer, his low level of sensory began to pick up on the unique spirit that Sargon carried. Now, making it up to the peak, Kazuna stood a sizeable distance away from Sargon as to avoid any hostile remarks from the Espada. It was then that Kazuna began to pick up on the minute details of Sargon.

Looking at his attire, his robe seemed charred in a few areas making Kazuna question why this was so. It did, however, make him curious as it would perhaps let him in on some of the characteristics of the Espada. While seemingly lost in thought, Kazuna began to speak softly, but audibly, trying to speak with confidence. "Well, I am at the point you designated me to be at. I believe it would be fair for me to ask what this is all for?". Kazuna carried with him, a degree of confidence, but also a hint of skepticism as to why he was here in the first place. Above all else, he tried to be as respectful as possible, being in the presence of not only another Espada, but one of a higher ranking. Standing with his hands to his side, Kurakusabyou on the back of his robe, the moonlight gleaming off of the blade, Kazuna awaited any form of response from Sargon.

[Sargon Denumic]

Standing atop the sand dune Sargon awaited the arrival of the Novera Espada. It didn't take very long for Sargon despite not having the best eye sight to pick him up noticing the addition of movement in his surroundings more than actually recognizing the arrival of who he was expecting. Everything around him was sand and Sargon was already growing bored with it all. When everything was the same there was nothing to stimulate entertainment. If one thing wasn't appealing than nothing was and that left only boredom to an existence that was constantly on the fringes of aggression.

As the Novera approached Sargon wasn't able to pick up much from him as he didn't possess the degree of Energy Sensory that he knew would be required to search his soul or even the pit of his reiatsu in order to learn how spiritual powerful the Novera was at the moment. All he could see was that this Arrancar didn't seem to carry with him much in regards to his expressions or body movements. The only thing really noticeable was the fact that his zanpakuto was the form of a scythe a weapon not typical in recent years throughout the spiritual dimensions.

Sargon's zanpakuto the long pole-arm with three long spikes surrounding the center spike at the top marker him as another practitioner of the under utilized weapon classification. Sargon eyed his sternly from the moment that he came into view and from that point onwards. He gazed at him as if his mind was at work deliberating with himself whether or not the entity in front of him was worth allowing to live. When he spoke Sargon's right index finger twitched in his pocket at the urge to lash out at the lack of respect shown to him. The Novera hadn't bowed or addressed him in anyway that was befitting of who he was.

Pushing down the urge Sargon allowed the Novera that single action of ignorance and disrespect as he always did to those that didn't know him. "You shouldn't believe anything to be fair such belief is liable to led you towards death. As for why you've been called here. I'm going to assess your abilities. You may have been appointed to the Espada, but the last few who were shouldn't have been. So that's why I'll be doubling checking whether you're capable enough." Sargon didn't care what he had to say what he had just told him was fact. Whether he agreed or wanted to go along with it didn't matter. He could follow Sargon and listen or he would have to face Sargon and be tested directly.

[Ailene Haschiro]

Kazuna straightened up and looked at Sargon intently. Wondering if he had perhaps forgotten something in terms of respect, he would seek to remedy it soon and close the wound. In the end, Kazuna simply fed their ego, but as long as it kept him safe, it did not matter although Kazuna's safety was not even his own first concern. As he sank into a deep bow and lowered his head, he spoke softly, "Of course. I will follow accordingly.". The bow was finished with an internal smile on Kazuna's part. He had sought to get stronger in the past, but he always had to rely on his own mentorship. Perhaps this was a time to prove himself.

Thinking about it deeply, Kazuna fostered a deep respect for all Espada. It was a group in which power was respected and even as the lowest member of the group, he still remained a part of the fabled group. It reminded him back to his times as a Gillian, always fighting for control over his body. In the end, he stood triumphant as the dominant mind, feasting upon corpses of Hollows that quite frankly, served to empower him. Reaping the rewards as an Espada was downright delectable to Kazuna. It was his way to forget his past even when he started thinking about it at times.

Returning his attention back to Sargon, he tried to deduce whether he was making a good impression. Ultimately, it may not matter. This test that Sargon was hosting may or may not push him to the very edge, but he had to endure. This was not only to show his value and worth as an Espada, but to himself, establish some meaning. Despite all this, Kazuna was a nihilist who did not believe in the individual worth and the lies of morality. They represented the fallacies in life that drove excessive compassion. The Espada gave him a sense of group worth that, given his mental instability involving the discrimination between nihilism and his own "human" thoughts, provided stable support.

Placing his hands in his pockets on his robe, he awaited the order from Sargon. Perhaps it was a sense of excitement or adventure, but Kazuna was hoping to carve something up. He has had an uncontrollable yearning for blood lately, unlike his usual self. Under the layers of nihilism was both a generally good soul. When peeled back even farther, there existed instability and pure psychopathy. It originated from Kazuna's origin with the death of his family. Now he was a new person, however, and erased all ties to them. Above all else, he was awaiting the task that Sargon would give him to start this curious assessment.

[Sargon Denumic]

Well it seemed that the Ninth was willing to listen to him and take the test in order to prove that he was worthy of being in the Espada. While Sargon didn't really care about the title of Espada and preserving what it meant what he did care about was the strong. He needed more entertainment and only the powerful and those that have the potential to become powerful could give him entertainment. Sargon would turn and begin to walk off further away from Las Noches going deeper into the sands of Heuco Mundo. He knew that at the moment there wasn't anything around besides himself and the Ninth now. So they would need to travel a decent distance until they would come across anything else.

2 Hours Later

They had been walking in silence now for what would seem like forever. The surrounding area didn't seem to change at all yet common sense would tell the Ninth that they were nowhere even near where they had started. Suddenly Sargon would stop though and turn back to stare at the Ninth. "Despite its infinite size what many don't realize about Heuco Mundo is that there are areas that have always played host to more than others. This is one such place that long ago played a role now long forgotten. Be ready for what comes next and try not to disappoint Noveno." Sargon said as the sands began to shift.

After a few moments Hollows would rise up from beneath the sand around the Noveno. One of them was massive with a worm like body and giant shield like mask over its face. Another was small and thin much like a snake, but it wouldn't be completely seen perhaps it was still hiding part of itself beneath the sand. The last of the Hollows was one that had warts all over its body of white fur as it's massive white face made it look like the Hollow could barely keep support of it. These hollows were obviously going to attack, but the Noveno made them caution what to do giving him a moment to make the first attack.

[Ailene Haschiro]

As Sargon began to tread in a direction away from Las Noches, Kazuna made it a goal to stay as alert as possible while following Sargon. On the assumption that this truly was a test of his abilities, anything could prove to be a threat. As he continued following Sargon, he noticed that they had been walking for a while. Taking a second to glance back from where they came, any sizeable structure was nowhere to be seen. This gave Kazuna a foreboding feeling. As he thought about it, he noticed Sargon stop walking and he himself stopped on a dime. 

Listening to Sargon speak of the area. He listened intently as he saw the sand around him twist and move. As several hollows rose from the ground, Kazuna inspected them intently. Focusing on the hollow with fur, he decided that it would be his first target as its mobility seemed to be lacking from the size of the mask. Kazuna nodded at Sargon's remark that he should not disappoint. Kazuna meanwhile could feel a sense of hesitation from the hollows giving him a clear opening. Noting this, Kazuna slowly grabbed the hilt of Kurakusabyou.

Kazuna immediately took the initiative as he keyed in on the hollow with white fur. Accelerating to a speed of 100, Kazuna closed in and attempted to use his already existing momentum. He moved his back leg in front of his foot while grabbing the hilt of Kurakusabyou with his other hand as well. Using his momentum, he swung in a circular motion towards the Hollow's mid-region. If he hit, he would move his blade further to completely sever the hollow, splitting him in two. If the attack suffered interference, he would wait until the next move of the hollow. Kazuna was intending to conserve his strength whenever possible.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats}
Strength - [100 points]
(60 points after stat changes)



Speed - [150 points]

Spiritual Pressure - [100 points]



Reiatsu Strength - [100 points]
(175 points after state changes)



Light Aura - [40 points]



Dark Aura - [60 points]



Instinct - [100 points]



Senses - [50 points]



Energy Sensory - [50 points]



Healing Expertise - [50 points]

[Sargon Denumic]

Sargon watched as the Noveno grabbed a hold of his zanpakuto and brought it from his back ready to face down the three Hollows that had just emerged from the sand. It only took the Noveno a moment to pick out which one of the Hollow's looked to be the weakest accompanied by the most limitations. He rushed or perhaps dashed it was quite hard to tell due to the lack of real speed that he moved at towards the Hollow. Either way he closed the distance between them and swung with the proper form at the mid-section of the Hollow presuming that the long blade of his zanpakuto would more than likely slice right through the body of the Hollow.

Sargon could see so far that the only thing the Noveno had to speak of in terms of anything even mediocre was his skill utilizing his scythe. It was a much more rare skill in the current time than it had been in the past. Sargon could recall when pole-arms were seen across battle fields, but now it seemed that the long melee weapons were no longer in great use by any of the major factions. As someone that also utilized a pole-arm Sargon could see that if nothing else the Noveno had the skill to match a seated officer of Soul Society in terms of weapon skill.

That wouldn't be enough sadly though as the Hollow with the heavy mask leaned forward almost as if he was falling forward and the heavy blade of the Noveno's scythe slammed against the mask. He'd find that the Hollow's mask was simply to dense for him to cut through. The weakness that he had seen in this Hollow was actually being used as a strength. He had underestimated the Hollow. The Noveno would hear the sound of the sand moving around him. In the following instant of the clash against the mask suddenly the tail of the snake Hollow would rise up from the sand yet it wasn't a simple tail it looked like a heavy ax that was being swung at the right shoulder of the Noveno.

[Ailene Haschiro]

As the clash of steel against the Hollow's mask occurred, Kazuna realized that there were little other choices open to him if he decided to maintain his stamina. He thought about his conservation and realized that he could not play it completely safe. He had to take risks to get ahead. In the meantime ,however, he needed to create distance and wait for an opportune moment to unleash his strikes. Risks were necessary, but recklessness was not on his agenda. Due to this, he shifted his weight slightly in case anything happened. He was content with his choice to not go all out right away or else he would be out of stamina before anything even started.

He felt the sand beneath him shift as he noticed and even heard the tail rise from the sand. Adorned by a giant axe, Kazuna had a grim look on his face. To supplement his current predicament, he had not been able to dispatch of one of the hollows. If he could create an opening, then Kazuna could use dexterity to his advantage. As the axe swung towards him, Kazuna maneuvered to the side, spinning in a circular motion to create a slight amount of distance between the hollow he had just attacked and himself. Then utilizing that distance, he moved his hand backward and made a punching motion, firing a bala at the tail itself, hoping to at least have the Bala snap any connection between the tail and the hollow. He hoped the hollow's themselves were weak enough that he could accomplish at least this.

As a cautionary measure of defense, Kazuna took the recoil and placed the blade of his scythe to try and at least block the attack if the bala either missed or did not do anything. At this point, Kazuna had to try and maneuver himself away from the hollows a part of his next set of movements. He could not be on the defense for too long. At this point, he was wondering if he was approaching this the right way. Either way, Kazuna had to go on the offense at some point and he hoped that the Bala could give him an opening on the Hollow that was submerged below the sand.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reaitsu}
-50 Bala
Reaitsu Capacity: 950/1000

[Sargon Denumic]

The actions of the Noveno weren't all that refined yet they weren't sloppy either they were enough that he was able to dance himself away from the failed attack against the heavy masked Hollow. He could pick up the sound of movement enough that predicting he was in trouble could be accomplished easily enough. As the ax like tail motioned through the space between them Sargon watched the Noveno unleash a quick bala with a punch that would hit the base of the ax blasting the section of the Hollow off from the rest of its body and sending both blood and flesh across the area even if it was small in mass.

While his maneuver had been acceptable his position at the moment wasn't very good. It wasn't the placement of his body that was lacking more that the position of his zanpakuto gave his enemies to many options and one such option was about to be made against him. The worm Hollow with the large shield like mask similar to the other Hollow was rushing across the sand right towards the Noveno and now would leap off the sand actually moving through the air to smash into the Noveno on his left side. While the worm like Hollow attached the screech of the snake were heard across the sand obscuring the sound of the cero being charged by the heavy faced Hollow.

[Ailene Haschiro]

As the bala made impact and flesh and blood stained the white sand of Hueco Mundo, Kazuna noted that he had to do something quick. It was then that Kazuna noted the rushing of the worm-like Hollow that was screeching and rushing at him, leaping into the air, hoping to strike with a heavy blow. He knew that this was a bad position to be in. He was not adept in combat and he needed distance above all else. If he could land some good strikes at another time, he could potentially kill these hollows off. Something told him that perhaps this group of hollows was tough to take, even for an Espada such as himself.

Kazuna wanted no part of what was about to happen as out of the corner of his eye, he saw a cero being charged by the Hollow he had stricken earlier. Kazuna's face became pale as he realized the predicament of his situation. Not choosing to remain in this location any longer, Kazuna took a step forward before entering a Sonido moving him at a speed of roughly 600 for an instant as the Sonido carried him away from the group of Hollows. As Kazuna was not used to the incredible speed the Sonido allowed him to travel at, he had to adjust in that fraction of a second. Only partially doing so, he ended up in the location he wanted to be albeit sloppily. Kazuna grasped Kurakusabyou tightly and let out a tremendous sigh.

Kazuna began to breathe somewhat mildly, the exertion of the battle beginning to take a toll on him. He needed to find a way to finish this fast. Albeit now he was somewhat drained, but still able to fight. He stood, his feet placed firmly in the sand. Gazing upon the 3 hollows, he awaited a reaction aiming to go for a more drastic measure. Using his resurreccion only a few times, Kazuna was not particularly accustomed it its fighting style given that he could not remember any of the times. At this point, he was only considering the thought if necessary. Currently, however, he looked at the Hollows as the Sonido from earlier carried him about 50 ft away. His breathing becoming heavier, he decided to go to a more defensive stance again and not out himself like earlier. He needed to find some way to separate them.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reaitsu}
-100 Sonido (1 Step)
850/1000

[Sargon Denumic]

Each Hollow was proving that despite lacking the power to match the Noveno alone together they could push him. Sargon had believed based on the fact the fact that the Noveno had been able to blast off the tail of the snake like Hollow that he was skilled in the use of the fast projectile of reiastu. In the few moments that followed though it was made clear that the Noveno although he had been welcomed into the ranks of the Espada by Kouhai still had much to learn in terms of combat experience. It was actually rather insulting that this Arrancar was allowed into the same group as himself when just from the last few actions that this battle was comprised of that Sargon couldn't easily see that either of his Fraccion were superior than the Noveno.

There was the possibility that the Noveno was some sort of test subject of Kouhai's that possessed some special property or ability while he lacked the typical prowess of an Espada or that he was one of the rare entities that only showed true strength when his full power was released. Either way it didn't matter the Noveno was able to evade the tackle of the heavy worm Hollow by executing Sonido. Sargon although he had mastered Sonido wasn't one of the very few Arrancar that specialized in the use of the technique despite that though he could see from the Noveno's body motions that he wasn't quite used to it.

The Noveno put quite the distance between himself and the small group of Hollows, but it looked like this little bit of combat was already draining his stamina. Although Sargon continued to watch his interest was virtually gone at this point. The group of Hollows though would continue to attack what they perceived as food. The worm and the snake Hollows quickly burrowed below ground descending low enough that the surface of the desert gave away no notice of their positions. The heavy masked Hollow make it no secret what it's plan was though as it turned towards the Noveno once again and began to charge another cero. As the cero was prepared after another few moments suddenly the heavy mask snapped down on the cero breaking it apart and suddenly sending out the scarlet reiatsu as a crescent wave towards the Noveno.

[Ailene Haschiro]

Seeing the hollows descend into the sand below, Kazuna realized this as his chance to attack an isolated hollow. As they began to descend further and further, Kazuna began to feel lessened vibrations which actually made him elated. This meant that the travel time for them to strike would be longer, although the other side to that was that he was susceptible to attacks from unexpected angles. Kazuna decided to be on his guard for this next maneuver. This all started with the hollow that was releasing a Cero in a peculiar way.

As Kazuna saw the Hollow break apart the cero and release a scarlet wave of energy at him, Kazuna sprung into action. Swiftly kicking up into the air at a speed of 150, his maximum velocity, to dodge the dispersed Cero and remaining stationary for a brief moment before using a Sonido once more to close in on the Hollow. His Sonido once again carrying him with a speed of 600, Kazuna appeared next to the Hollow with residual momentum. Kurakusabyou in his grasp, he attempted a similar motion to his first attack only this time with much greater speed to back up his force. Angry at the Hollow of goating him earlier, he grinned. He hoped and was somewhat sure that this strike would slice the Hollow practically in half as he angled the strike from the backside of the hollow to avoid the mask. He knew this would drain his stamina to hell, but he did not care.

Kazuna's hope was that the loss of contact with the ground would disrupt the buried Hollow's sense of where he was. Running on the assumption of them using vibrations, he hoped that taking out this Hollow would give him an edge as it had an annoying tendency to release Ceros. What he gathered from the others is that those Hollows preferred much more physical ways of engagement. He could use that to his advantage, thinking about striking them in the middle of their attacks. Right now, however, Kazuna was heavily focused on cutting this Hollow into tiny pieces.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reaitsu}
-100 Sonido (1 Step)
Reaitsu Capacity: 750/1000

[Sargon Denumic]

Sargon watched the continued battle between the Noveno and the three Hollows that had risen up from beneath the sands of Heuco Mundo. He was actually quite surprised that a Hollow like the heavy masked one possessed the creativity along with the skill to utilize cero in such a way. Crushing the cero with it's heavy jaw causing the reiatsu to be sent out in a wave was actually a very creative spin on the typical attack of all Hollow kind whether they be any stage of Hollow or Arrancar. It was clear though that the Noveno wasn't caught off guard by the attack as he leaped off the ground getting up just high enough that the scarlet reiatsu didn't burn his legs.

Although he employed Sonido in the proper manner to accelerate his speed and get the advantage from behind the Hollow the speed at which he moved seemed far to tame. Sargon's eyes narrowed as he came to the conclusion that had been circling throughout the back of his mind since the beginning. The Noveno was holding back. As he slashed with his scythe the blade would slice through the flesh of the Hollow's back cutting clean through both muscle and bone until the creature fell forward in two separate halves of its complete self. Such a strong victory might cause the Noveno like many others to let his guard down as he basked in his accomplishment, but that was just what the remain two Hollow's were planning on.

Only a moment after the heavy masked Hollow fell forward did the sand burst upwards ten feet in front of the corpse. The snake Hollow in an instant was already a few feet out of the sand and in it's mouth was a small crimson orb of reiatsu. The Noveno would only have an instant to process everything before the small orb was fired off at his chest moving at a speed far superior to anything the Noveno had shown so far. Sargon watched expecting to see the Noveno show some of his true skill. That or he was going to watch as the Noveno proved that Kouhai really didn't know what to look for when searching for true power.

[Ailene Haschiro]

Cutting through the Hollow gave Kazuna a sense of relief. He looked at the remains of the Hollow with victory, yet he knew the battle was far from over. He was moderately drained from these Hollows. They were giving him, an Espada, trouble. This made him disgusted of his own weakness. Sure his rank within the Espada was rather new yet he felt like he had a certain amount of strength to uphold. It was at that point that the sand about 10 ft away from him erupted with ferocity. He noticed that the Hollow had already been charging a Cero and that he had a split second to react. He noted the distance of the Hollow and made his decision.

Kazuna raised his hand in a quick motion and concentrated the reaitsu into his hand. A purple orb of reaitsu began to materialize in his hand as the high pitched sound of his own Cero filled his ears. He didn't aim to fire at the same time, but instead fire his own Cero just in time to intercept the Hollow's Cero at any point. With that, he spoke, "Cero." as he released his own. In the meanwhile, he reared his other hand back and punched quickly twice to release two Balas at the cross-section of what could be considered the upper body/neck of the Hollow and its head. He knew that he could successfully sever a weapon from a hollow so it was too much to think that he could sever its head with two simultaneous balas. He was not even looking to please Sargon. He was only looking to survive. If it came down to it, he knew he had just enough reaitsu to unleash a part of him long buried underneath his nihilism. Before that, however, he pushed all he could into both the Cero and his Balas.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reaitsu}
-200 Cero
-100 (2 Bala)
Reaitsu Capacity: 450/1000

[Sargon Denumic]

Standing there his arms crossed over his chest it was almost like what was happening in front of him was causing the Tercera to drift off into a somber daydream as he thought back to training his Fraccion. Both had tried their best to harm him as a test to their skills and while his first Fraccion Aurora the more powerful of the two had been much weaker than she was at the moment when she had first been tested neither of them regardless had been able to do a thing. Yet despite that comparing the both of them to what he watched in front of him right now he felt was actually insulting to his Fraccion. They served him and as such they were due respect along with the respect from their own abilities and efforts of course both of them could handle this situation easily perhaps even prior to receiving his training.

The Noveno was proving quickly that the only thing he had experience in the field of was weapon combat as he continued to utilize his scythe correctly for the most part yet everything else was bland and mediocre. He was either barely at the surface of his power or he didn't have any power to speak of. Sargon knew he was holding back the question was though how much. Based on his movements the Noveno didn't have much experience facing off against multiple opponents and extended combat wasn't something that suited him. He couldn't cast the Noveno off as a complete weakling until he knew his true power perhaps it was something that didn't require him to possess the raw strength that many other Espada possessed. Nevertheless based on what he was seeing it was like watching ants fight over food.

The Noveno was showing success as he eliminated the snake like Hollow causing its body to explode from the clash of the reiatsu that both had just expelled from within themselves. However, the victory over the Hollow was short lived as suddenly the sand wound shake for a moment and then almost right away the final worm like Hollow broke through the sand and would slam its large mask into the right arm of the Novemo with a strength of 200.