Espada Social: Bad Bromance and Bad Doggo (NDE, R)

[Myzaraphiston Synderfell]

Thread Title: Espada Social: Bad Bromance and Bad Doggo
Participants: Rio Demonliogalgo (Quinta Espada), Adolf Reinhard (Octavo Espada), Luke Clyburn (UE Senior Employee), Marcus Col (UE Senior Employee)
World: Human World
Death Setting: Non Death Enabled
Rating: R
Location: Karakura Town, near Uzaki Enterprises. Daytime.
Special Conditions: None
Circumstances: After some pleasant conversation with her fellow Espada, Myza decided to play the part of Team Mom and organized a nice little outing for herself and a few of her compatriots. Unfortunately for the folks at Uzaki Enterprises, a social call from the Espada is not a circumstance most would look forward to....

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

Even though it hadn't been long since Rio had last been in the Human World, it was encouraging to return. Hueco Mundo was too damn gloomy. Rio liked the sun, the sounds of the world. Not the vast emptiness of his home world. Of course, this was also a much better place to rampage. Somewhere he could let loose his full power without restraint or inhibition. The Espada emerged from a Gargantua a few blocks away from their destination. Apparently there was a spiritually active building in the Human World. Rio could feel it. Although not an expert at spiritual sensitivity, Rio still possessed adequate Energy Sensory to detect the massive fluctuation at Uzaki Enterprises. "Well. That's new." He grunted. Rio had not explicitly come with another Espada, though he expected one of the others to catch up with him shortly. Didn't matter to him though. Rio started towards Uzaki Enterprises at an even pace. He wanted to rev himself up for the attack. Warm himself up. And maybe cause a little chaos on his way there.

As such, Rio didn't bother with city streets. More specifically, it should be said that he didn't waste his time. Instead of walking around the city, Rio took the most direct route towards Uzaki Enterprises. Which, in true Hulk fashion, meant walking through some of the buildings on the way there. Rio didn't bother walking around them. A house was nearby. The Espada shouldered his way right through the wall, as if it were made of cardboard, the brick, wood and mortar crumbling against the Espada's steel muscles and physical bulk, startling the family inside. Rio didn't pay them any mind. They were vermin. Trash. Rats, not worthy of his attention. Rio just kept on walking, through the next wall, and the one behind that, leaving nothing more than a crumbling hole in his wake. And then he emerged out the other side, continuing on towards Uzaki Enterprises with not so much as a single faltering in his step. The Espada's eyes began to glimmer as he watched into the distance. Perhaps with all the spiritual activity he could feel, someone would prove a worthy adversary for him today.

It was going to be a good day.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and Abilities}
Strength - 400 (800) Points
Speed - 300 Points
Spiritual Pressure - 400 (200)Points
Reiatsu Strength - 400 Points
Light Aura - 0 Points
Dark Aura - 100 Points
Instinct - 200 Points
Senses 150 Points
Energy sensory - 50 Points
Healing Expertise - 0 Points
Total: 1900 SP


Abilities

[Martial Arts: Pankration] 4

[Pain Tolerance] 3

[Unique Skill: Shockwaves] 3

Lack of Fear {2}

[Battle Learning] {2}

[Battle Analysis] {1}

[Marcus Cole]

RED ALERT! POWERFUL HOLLOW PRESENCE IN RESIDENTIAL KARAKURA. DO NOT ENGAGE ALONE. Marcus was quick to see the notification pop up on his phone. He immediately dropped his pencil, left behind his expense reports on his desk, and changed into his Uzaki Enterprise Suit MK I, and dove right out the window as he checked the attached coordinates attached with the text from the Uzaki Enterprise Detection Network.

That’s not too far, Marcus thought as he sprinted on a platform of air ground a couple hundred feet above the ground toward the designated area at a speed of 300. All Marcus had time to take with him was his sealed fullbring in the form of two throwing knives. Marcus had slowed developed confidence in his combat abilities over the past year, but he couldn’t get over the last warning sent by the Detection System. Do not engage alone… he thought to himself with a sense of apprehension washing over him. He had to accept that, in this case, it would be more cautious to reach out for assistance. He sent a brief text message out to all other senior employees attached with the coordinates that the Detection Network sent him. “Engaging hollow threat. Requesting backup.”

After about four minutes, Marcus was close enough to see a figure smashing through the buildings in its path as it made its way toward the Uzaki Enterprise headquarters. Marcus began to descend down a slope of air ground, stopping until he was about eighty feet away from his target. The “hollow” appeared to be an Arrancar, as it only wore a fragment of its mask on its face. Considering the scale of the warning it set off, Marcus couldn’t afford to underestimate this threat.

“Hey!” he yelled out at the Arrancar to draw its attention while raising the throwing knives he held in each hand. Unfortunately, he didn’t plan this encounter out very well, and rather than following up with a bold declaration or intimidating taunt, Marcus simply stood there with his mouth half open. Screw it, I’ll just stand here and buy some time until I can get some help. “So, uh, w-what’s your name and where are y-you from…?”

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats, Skills, and Items}

Strength - [200] (100) Points

Speed - [200] (400) Points

Spiritual Pressure - [250] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [300] (600) Points

Light Aura - [60] Points

Dark Aura - [40] Points

Instinct - [300] (150) Points

Senses - [150] Points

Energy sensory - [0] (0) Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points

Total SP: [1400] Points

Abilities

• [Martial Arts: Escrima] {2}
  
  
• [Weapons: Throwing Weapons] {1}
  
  
• [Battle Analysis] {3}
  
  
• [Strength of Will] {2}
  
  
• [Special Skill: Movement] {2}
  
  
• [Stealth] {3}
  
  
• [Acrobatics] {3}
  
  

Items:

Suit MK I

[Deleted]

Hero Outfit Reference

He couldn’t help but feel a little silly about the whole thing, but couldn’t deny the building feeling of excitement about the whole thing. He had been working on this for the past couple days. Buying the materials, asking some of the engineers at Uzaki’s to give him a hand with a certain part, and just getting everything together before throwing it all on. He’d planned ahead about this too, going through a list of designs until he found the one he liked the most. Sure, wearing a outfit would be a bit cliche but Luke was all for it. Plus he’d been watching a lot of the Marvel superhero movies lately so that might have had a factor in swaying Luke to this decision. He’d decided to get himself a heroing outfit. ”You’re so gay oh my god.” Jäger mocked over Luke’s immature excitement.

It wasn’t anything fancy, standoutish, or a skinsuit or tights. It could actually be rather inconspicuous. But what Luke had decided to throw together was a black leather, bikers, jacket with a duo of red stripes racing from the wrists to his shoulders. For some added style, Luke had gotten a red scarf to wrap around his neck. It wasn’t really there to serve a practical purpose besides simply to look cool. Moving on, his outfit also sported some straight leg jeans that were cold grey in color as well as some boots to keep moving around and fighting easy. But what was interesting where the metal plates on his legs. That had been what Luke had asked some of the companies engineers to help him with.

So, essentially, Luke’s heroing outfit was ”A biker. You just...threw together a generic biker outfit, threw on some scrap metal, and say that’s a superhero costume? That’s so fucking stupid.” Jäger mocked while Luke looked over the outfit. ”Personally I like it. It’s simple and down to earth. I think Luke was trying go for more of a cool factor than anything.” Windstarke offered his opinion. ”But he doesn’t even have a cape! He won’t even look like a superhero wearing it!” Jäger whined again. That’s the point. For one, capes are stupid. Number two, I want something that’ll be good to wear while I’m fighting at night. Luke explained as he looked over at the final piece of the outfit, just before his phone suddenly exploded to life.

Blinking with surprise before grabbing the touchscreen phone, Luke’s eyes widened when he read the popup text. RED ALERT! POWERFUL HOLLOW PRESENCE IN RESIDENTIAL KARAKURA. DO NOT ENGAGE ALONE. Well this was the first time Luke had seen this alert before. Normally there was a Hollow warning, but never a “powerful” Hollow alert. What the hell was he to expect? Not long after as Luke began getting up his phone made its alert sound again. “Engaging hollow threat. Requesting backup.” That was Marcus. So the Fullbringer was already responding to it, huh? Sliding his phone into his pocket the Bount began to go, before he looked back at his outfit. He paused for a minute before he nodded to himself.

Everything fit perfectly well. It was designed perfectly for him. He needed to make sure to thank the people at Uzaki’s who made this suit for him. Following the coordinates Marcus gave him, Luke went rooftop to rooftop at the top of his speed. He cast his eyes upward for a moment and mentally cursed. Had to be during the day. the way his powers worked, fighting during the day had its fair share of challenges. He finally reached the location and noticed Marcus, who had his back to him, and a unidentifiable individual standing about eighty feet away from the Fullbringer. ”Marcus, man up!” The sound of Luke landing beside Marcus would probably spook the Fullbringer, seeing how he was always a nervous wreck, and it might take him a moment to realize who was standing beside him. If Marcus couldn’t tell it was Luke next to him, then Luke would be satisfied that the point of wearing this helmet was working.

”Yo.” Luke nodded to his coworker, his voice still clear through his bikers helmet. But his attention had remained entirely focused on the Hollow standing before him. ”So this is an Arrancar, huh?” Luke asked, his question directed to Marcus and his voice kept low enough in hopes that Rio wouldn’t hear him. Luke, while having never stood face to face with one before, had read about the transformed Hollows thanks to information that Uzaki’s had acquired. Hollows that had broken their masks, regained some of their humanity, and ended up getting their hands on a bit of Shinigami power. Still, standing face to face with one...Luke could understand now why the alert had referenced a powerful Hollow.

”Don’t you fucking do it.” Jäger suddenly said as Luke began to open his mouth, predicting what the Bount was about to do. ”Listen up, because I’m only going to say this once. Anyone, or anything, that disturbs this cities peace or people answers to us.” Luke had almost said “me” but chose to say us to include Marcus. ”You get this one chance to reconsider your plan and go back to wherever you call home.” Luke offered, giving Rio a heroes free “get out of the fight” jail free card. ”Luke.” Windstarke commented. Yeah. Luke noticed it. The path that the Arrancar had made by walking through the builds seemed to be leading straight to the Uzaki Enterprises building a good few blocks behind them. Was this guy heading their before the two Human World Dwellers stopped him? "Don't be stupid here either. You're still acclimating to your new power. If a fight starts do not hesitate to summon us. He's the same level of fighter you are."

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and Skills}

• [Weapon: Swords] {2}
  
  
• [Battle Analysis] {3}
  
  
• [Strength of Will] {3}
  
  
• [Pain Tolerance] {2}
  
  
• [Anti-Stealth] {2}
  
  
• [Charisma/Leadership] {1}
  
  
• [Battle Focus] {3}
  
  

Luke | Soldier

Strength - 100 (50) Points

Speed - 300 Points

Spiritual Pressure - 400 Points

Reiatsu Strength - 400 - 800 Points

Light Aura - 100 Points

Dark Aura - 0 Points

Instinct - 150 Points

Senses - 150 Points

Energy sensory - 100 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points

Total SP: 1600 Points

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

Rio heard the approaching challengers before he saw them or sensed them with his energy sensory abilities. The Espada threw a cursory glance toward Marcus as the fullbringer attempted to challenge Rio. The Espada stared at him with a withering glare, examining Marcus's posture. "Buzz off you peon. Someone else will be coming along that's a bit more your speed." Rio had a dog's sense of smell and instincts that surpassed those of most animals. He could sense Marcus's apprehension. Not that he blamed him. Everyone should tremble in the presence of an Espada, especially a mid-ranked Espada like Rio. Still, there were a handful stupid enough, or brave enough to face an Espada anyways. Rio was a bully who may have thought all non-Espada in all three worlds beneath him. But he still had a certain level of warrior's respect for those who could cast their fear aside and face him, weapon drawn. Men and women alike who would bravely plunge to their deaths for their ideals. Yes, Rio could respect someone like that. He wouldn't remember their names, or anything about them, but they could at least die with dignity and the Quinta's acknowledgement.

But this man? This man, by his stammer, seemed to be trying to dissuade Rio without actually fighting him. As near as Rio could tell, it wasn't an attempt to trick him, or lull him into a false sense of security. The consternation, and apprehension. He was nervous. Rio could tell he did not want to fight. And quite frankly, that body language.... he was beneath Rio's notice. "You're free to go, you insect. You won't get a second chance if you continue to annoy me." He warned Marcus as he continued towards Uzaki Enterprise.

Then the Fullbringer was joined by another. The individual was garbed in an unusual outfit. Is that some kind of uniform? Rio wondered, at the helmeted individual who had approached. Though there was a decent amount of distance between them, Rio had very sharp eyes and could make out details on both Luke and Marcus. Luke may have kept his voice down, and indeed at this distance it was beyond Rio's ability to make out what Luke was saying. He could however, hear that something was being said. Perhaps he was trying to reassure the other one? Both of them were much stronger than normal humans. Rio could sense that much. But the Espada had not yet stopped moving, an indomitable juggernaut, steadily advancing forward.

The uniform'd figure turned to face Rio and issued a warning to Rio. Demanding Rio turn back and leave. Rio raised an eyebrow. Quite unlike the other one, this one was bold. But.... Rio's eyes narrowed slightly. He actually stopped, now about sixty feet from the two. And he clapped. A slow, methodical, amused clap. "So, you've delivered your warning." Rio commented, with a smirk. "Do you walking corpses really think I'm going to back down just because you asked me to? Or is this just your way of absolving yourself of guilt for trying to kill me?" He asked, scanning for any trace of reaction from Luke. "Nice scarf by the way." He added. Rio had one himself, back in Las Noches. One of his few material possessions he was actually somewhat attached to. Black, instead of red though. "....Seeing how you're giving me a warning, I'll let you know what's coming. My name is Rio Demoniogalgo." He said as he resumed his stride toward Uzaki Enterprises. "I am the Quinta Espada of Las Noches. Your partner there is free to go. But you, Deadmask--" In lieu of being given a name by Luke, Rio decided to come up with his own nickname for him, and Deadmask seemed fitting, given Luke's concealed face, and his imminent future as a corpse. "You and I are going to have a fatal chat." He threatened as he advanced. "If you want to offer prayers to some God or another, make your peace, write your will, you've got until I reach you." He growled out, with a grin.

While Marcus had failed to impress Rio despite his power, if only due to his attitude, Luke had drawn the Espada's focus. Rio could sense that Luke was strong. And well. Rio had come looking for a fight, afterall. Luke seemed suited to impress. Rio began to close in, at his leisurely pace, seeming, at a glance, to be approaching as indomitably and assuredly as the death that he promised.

[Marcus Cole]

”You're free to go, you insect. You won't get a second chance if you continue to annoy me." Marcus cocked his head to the side, staring at Rio with confused eyes. Did- did he dismiss me that quickly? Marcus asked himself with mild disbelief. As he replayed his words in his head, he realized that he might have accidentally introduced himself as a weakling hoping to make light conversation. It seemed that Rio had come looking for a fight. He wasn’t killing for fun. He was killing for attention.

Not much time after their initial exchange, Marcus heard another individual approaching close behind. ”Marcus, man up!” The fullbringer recognized that voice. Wearing a relieved smile, he turned around to find Luke close by. However, after a quick glance, Marcus realized their was something new about Luke’s appearance. He definitely looked different. “Nice, uhh… pants?” he commented, unsure if the metallic plates around Luke’s legs still qualified as pants. I should show him some Uzaki Enterprise combat suits, he thought to himself, making a mental note for the future. Marcus was wearing own suit now, one customized with a midnight blue streak across his arms and shoulders. Otherwise, it was plain white and boring. But if Luke wanted something more practical for battle, he’d have to look no further than Kazura’s own inventions.

Regardless of attire, it was nice to have a friend present, someone he could trust. Although the circumstance was not ideal. But with Luke by his side, Marcus felt his confidence growing. They’d surely be able to take down the invader. ”So this is an Arrancar, huh?” “Yeah, I think so.” The fullbringer studied Rio carefully from afar. He had only fought an Arrancar once before, but Rio’s incomplete mask certainly resembled the broken mask fragment of that monsterous Arrancar from before. “I think he came here for a fight, not to eat. He could be really strong. Let’s play this one safe.”

”Listen up, because I’m only going to say this once. Anyone, or anything, that disturbs this cities peace or people answers to us. You get this one chance to reconsider your plan and go back to wherever you call home.” The fullbringer was impressed by Luke’s strong words. Damn, I should’ve said something bold like that instead of whatever dumb words came out of my mouth. The Bount seemed to impact the Arranacar as well.

But Rio didn’t seem particularly convinced that he should go home. Marcus listened to his words carefully, and he didn’t vibe with them well. Absolve my guilt? That was a strange notion. Rio seemed to overestimate his sense of morality. Marcus didn’t judge what was wrong or right, he trusted Kazura’s moral compass instead. He was simple Kazura’s sword. Kazura placed Karakura Town under his protection, and if that meant that Marcus had to kill Rio to keep Karakura safe, he wouldn’t hesitate. Nor would he have any trouble sleeping at night.

”My name is Rio Demoniogalgo. I am the Quinta Espada of Las Noches.” The 5th Espada? That’s not good at all for the Uzaki Enterprise duo. They couldn’t afford to make any mistakes against an enemy of that caliber. Marcus looked to Luke with a grave expression, silently indicating the severity of the situation. It seemed that Rio was interested only in fighting Luke, and that was not okay with Marcus. Not even a little bit. He stepped forward defiantly, holding his head higher than he previously had when he first spoke to Rio. Marcus wasn’t backing down.

“Come,” Marcus beckoned to Luke before he reached for his waist. His hands drew two slick throwing knives perfectly fitted to his hands. They were quite small, but they served their purpose well. With a surge in his reiatsu, Marcus released his primary fullbring’s first level. The blades in his hands extended about an inch, looking sleeker and darker than before. More importantly, they were imbued with the properties of his fullbring. If Luke approached Marcus like he asked, the human would touch the butt of his left knife to Luke’s chest before doing the same to his right chest. As a result, a thin transparent string formed between the two. This string was intangible, and no attack Rio threw at it could possibly destroy it. Thanks to Marcus’s power, no matter what stood between him and Luke, he’d be able to offer his help to the bount.

Once that connection had formed, Marcus pointed his right index finger at Rio and activated Energy Generate: Shine. A tiny ball of golden light appeared at the tip of his finger, and from it, Marcus fired a thin beam of light. The light moved quickly, much like the Shinigami technique Byakurai. However, it was quite different in effect. If it hit, it would create an explosion the size of a beach ball. He didn’t expect this kind of straight-forward strike to succeed, but it’d give him some information about Rio’s capabilities depending on how the Arrancar handled it. Like he told Luke already, the best strategy was patience and caution. Any misstep against someone like the Quinta Espada would prove to be fatal.

Reiatsu Remaining: 2275/2500 (-200 for Fullbring Level 1, -25 for Shine)

Fullbring Level 1: 1/10

SPOILER: Click to show

{Energy Generate: Shine}
Technique Name: [Energy Generate: Shine]

Class: [6]

Technique Type: [Energy Generate]

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

Technique Element: [Light]

Technique Description and Effects (Explain appearance, powers, and effect): [Insert Below]

The user harnesses their energy to a single point: the tip of the finger. At that finger, they will have a pebble-sized ball of golden light glowing intensely. The user then has two options. Firstly, they can either fire the ball of light as a miniature beam that releases a small explosion the size of a beach ball upon impact. The alternative option is releasing the technique without any direction, causing it to harmlessly emit a blinding, white flash. Those looking directly at the light from less than fifteen feet away will feel as though they had been hit with a flash grenade. Even to those looking from further away, the light would impair their vision for half a second.

How to use technique (How is it activated?): [Insert Below]

Stated above.

Technique Drawbacks (Limitations, repercussions for use, etc) (Insert Below)

It costs 25 reiatsu to form the ball of light on a single finger. However, if the technique is mastered, the user can pay 100 reiatsu to create five light balls, one on each finger of their hand, or 200 reiatsu to do so for all fingers of both hands. If the user loses focus while the light is concentrated at their fingertips, it will destabilize Energy Generate: Shine and cause the flashbang effect to instantly occur, blinding the unprepared user as well.

Made By: Marcus Cole

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

[Deleted]

His expressions were hidden behind the dimmed visor of the motorcycle helmet he was wearing. Beneath the obscuring lense, Luke threw hard glares at Rio as his words had the opposite effect that he had intended. Luke had to wonder if it was his bad talking skills again, or did he merely stroke the fires inside the Arrancar. “I think he came here for a fight, not to eat.” Marcus theorized, earning himself a hidden sideways glance from Luke. Those brown eyes blinked, before returning to focus on Rio. ”You don’t say..” Luke calmly replied, voice kept low and partially muffled by the fact he was wearing a helmet. Regardless, Rio was giving his own reply to Luke’s order. Seems he wasn’t going to stand down. Combat was inevitable, huh?

Luke frowned beneath his helmet. It was too soon to start fighting. Luke couldn’t risk going all out right now. He hadn’t gotten the all clear call yet. But as he listened to Rio, he had gleamed some information. The Quinta Espada was it? Quinta was five in Spanish, right? Uzaki Enterprise had some information on the Espada, thanks to Soul Society being willing to work with the human world organization a bit. It wasn’t much, but Luke had a basic understanding of the Espada hierarchy thanks to what UE knew. Las Noches was essentially an antagonistical organization built using its own personal army of Hollows. But rather than being lead by giant drooling monsters, it was lead by Arrancar. Hollows that tried to obtain Shinigami powers.

There were ten of them, not counting their subordinates, all going from one to ten. One being the strongest. So that meant this guy was the fifth strongest of them? If the fifth Espada was this strong, the same class of fighter that Luke was, it made him wonder about the other four ahead of him. ”Focus on the enemy in front of you.” Windstarke advised upon noticing Luke’s wandering thoughts. Crossing his arms across his chest, Deadmask listened to what Rio had to say to him. ”Hmph. So that’s how it’s going to be then, is it?” He confirmed, before letting his Reiatsu Strength bleed out.

No point in wasting the reiatsu using Willpower to try and scare Rio away. It would be about as effective as ”Pissing into the wind!” yeah, okay, thanks Jäger that analogy worked. Air began to push away from Luke as the Bount expressed his spiritual strength, causing a teal colored aura surrounded the outfitted man. The street beneath his feet cracked, spreading outwards as light emerged from the cracks. He was being careful not to release his Gravitational Pressure, seeing how it would have no affect on Rio and might actually hurt someone who was too close by. And, by close by, Luke meant he could potentially floor anyone any number of blocks away from the fight. That was the sort of caliber that he and Rio were. They were at least Shinigami Captain level in terms of power.

It had to be during the god damn day. You couldn’t have attacked at night like every other asshole.. Luke mentally cursed again. Marcus should know it as well, given that Luke had given the Fullbringer a decent explanation about how Bount were strongest at night during one of their many training sessions. Luke had explained to Marcus in layman's terms ”If we use our vampire abilities the sun becomes our enemy.” Luke had lost access to a lot of his abilities because of the time of day.

Marcus had already released, huh? Smart. Luke moved himself closer to Marcus to let the man attach one of his Fullbring strings to him before launching his own attack. Luke sensed it before he saw it, watching Marcus fire a small ball of light at the Arrancar. It was fast, couldn’t deny that, but beneath the tinted visor Luke frowned. The technique was weak. Stupidly weak, actually. Was Marcus trying to gauge the enemies reaction and strengths or was he trying to play up the accusation of him being weak? If he kept hitting Rio with weak attacks and hide his big ones there was a good chance they could get in a good hit.

From what Luke could gather, Rio was potentially a physical power brute. Just looking at him was enough for Luke to tell that. Looking at him made Luke want to do push ups. What confused Luke though was that, unlike a lot of people who devoted themselves to only one strength, Rio had rather strong reiatsu. It didn’t seem like he had a lot of it but it was strong. It wasn’t anything Luke was going to need to worry about, seeing how both he and Marcus were stronger on the Reiatsu Strength side of things. But, Luke had a feeling that if Rio got his hands on either of them it was going to be over. Hmph. Though, even if the sun was out, Luke wasn’t useless. He still had a good number of things he could do. But he would follow Marcus’s suggestion and play things safe. He needed to buy time until they got the message.

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

The other one was gaining some confidence now that his partner had shown up. He'd used a release of some kind... Rio vaguely recalled this sort of thing was called a Fullbring. While it hadn't been that long since he'd fought an empowered human, his last encounter hadn't lasted long enough for it to have been important. He was doing something with his ability. So, was this a power that worked best in a group setting? A team specialist... That could be irritating. But Rio didn't break his stride, advancing on the group. The guy in full uniform was powering up, letting his reiatsu flare out. Rio followed suit, a green aura blazing around the Espada in answer. Stealth was out the window. As Rio possessed 100 Dark Aura, the reiatsu that emanated from him was chilling and terrifying-- sufficient to strike fear into the hearts of those around him. And the look he was giving them. Combined with his reiatsu, Rio's killing intent was palpable. This was a man who did not take prisoners, and did not grant mercy. There would be no quarter. He did not needlessly draw out an enemy's suffering, but neither did he necessarily make careless errors. Rio was someone who would take the pragmatic, if bloody, approach to victory, and strike down his opponent without so much as a glance back.

The other one, the one that had released, then launched an attack at Rio. A bolt of energy that hurtled towards the Espada. Idiot. Rio snarked in his mind. Rio was just under fifty feet away. At this distance, Rio had plenty of time to evade. The Espada turned his body, tilting sideways. The Energy Generate: Shine had been on target, of course. However with this subtle movement, the beam that Marcus had fired flashed through only empty space. And Rio... Rio wasn't actually done. Luke and Marcus's attention primarily on Shine, no doubt. And at this distance, though of course, Shine had crossed it in the blink of an eye, it would still be difficult to make out the most minor of Rio's movements. So it would be difficult for Luke and Marcus to see Rio folding his forefinger and middle finger behind his thumb, before flicking them both out, one after the other in their direction. For most individuals this wouldn't be much. Even other shockwave users probably wouldn't be able to generate particularly great amounts of force with this attack. Rio wasn't like most physical powerhouses. He was eight times stronger than Marcus, and sixteen times stronger than Luke. A slight rippling in the air flew towards the two of them like a pair of bullets. Some physical fighters lost a bit of their power with shockwaves, but not Rio, and if those two minute shockwaves hit Luke and Marcus, it would not be unlike them being struck by handgun rounds, as Rio's nearly invisible shockwaves punched holes through each man's torso. At this range, Rio's aim wasn't perfect, so he could only achieve center of mass shots. But even if he missed vital organs, it would be an extremely jarring and demoralizing proposition to be pierced by his attack like this. Unusually for Rio, this was a fairly subtle attack. Shockwaves weren't easy to see at the best of times, and both of these were only a few centimeters in diameter. With their eyes likely focused more on Rio's evasion of Shine, would they notice the attack in the split second they had to avoid being hit?

Deadmask was studying the fight as well. Uncertain how to approach? Rio straightened himself out again and advanced again, faster this time. Although he wasn't running, he'd be on top of them in ten seconds or less. Barring any changes in position after they dodged his attack. Of course the two would be in a tricky position. Afterall, if they didn't bar his progress at all, he'd simply march right up to Uzaki Enterprises front door at this rate.

Judging by their reiatsu strength, which Rio was forced to concede, surpassed his, they were likely distance specialists. They were probably not going to be able to take him in close quarter combat. ...Well. Not that many could. Works for me. Rio thought as he cracked his knuckles. A Cero began to charge in his hand. He unleashed his attack at thirty feet. Rio abruptly vanished, using the arrancar technique of Sonido, and suddenly appeared next to and slightly behind the ground arm outstretched, as he attempted to clothesline Luke at almost 4000 speed! If Rio was successful at that, Luke's head would quite literally pop off his shoulders like the cork in a bottle of champagne. Even if Luke evaded, it left Rio in a good position, with his hand, still holding the Cero, facing Marcus. He'd already charged it, so Rio was able to fire the colossal blast of reiatsu immediately after his Sonido at point blank range. Rio was done giving them time. Now he was on the attack. How long would Luke and Marcus be able to last? Would they be able to defend this sudden attack on the heels of his shockwave bullets? And where the hell was Adolf?

Reiatsu Remaining: 1700/2000 (-100 for Sonido and 200 for Cero)

[Marcus Cole]

Marcus wasn’t surprised to see Rio maneuver his body to narrowly avoid the thin beam of light that was Energy Generate: Shine. Marcus’s projectile struck the street about twenty feet behind Rio, creating a tiny explosion that left a small crater in the ground. However, the fullbringer’s eyes were less interested in his technique and more interested evaluating Rio and discovering what the Espada was capable of. Against an opponent at such a high position in Las Noches, Marcus was committed to learning about Rio’s strengths and weaknesses so that he could find some sort of advantage to exploit.

For that reason, Marcus’s eyes quickly detected the flick of Rio’s fingers towards his general direction. A technique? Marcus thought as he already began pushing off his right foot, activating Movement to reposition himself on the streets below him to avoid the mysterious attack Rio had launched. Once he had gotten to safety, he heard the torrent of air pass above him. Wait, that wasn’t a technique, he thought with a mix of concern and surprise. With just a small flick, he could make shockwaves? Marcus was no stranger to shockwaves. Before his hospitalization over a year ago, he had possessed a strength high enough to launch shockwaves of his own. However, he could never muster the force necessary to create a shockwave with a motion as small as a flick of his fingers. This Espada was clearly no joke.

The fullbringer anticipated a step technique the moment Rio pushed off the ground, expecting the Arrancar to rapidly close the distance so he could make sure of his monstrous strength. What was concerning, though, was the bright red orb charging at Rio’s palm. Marcus trusted Luke to handle any physical strike Rio could send at him, although he was a bit nervous that the bright sun above them would prove to be a hindrance for the bount. While Luke disclosed to Marcus that he was not quite as strong during the day, Marcus wasn’t fully aware of the details of that disadvantage. But he had faith in his friend. Luke could fend for himself, and he could always provide assistance via his strings.

After coming out of his sonido and attempting to clothesline Luke, Rio sent a follow-up attack right at Marcus – an enormous cero hurtling right toward him. The fullbringer was used to darting around the battlefield, so his go-to plan would normally be dodge the attack with Movement. However, from the corner of his eye, he could see the houses and terrified families watching out their windows. He couldn’t afford to let the Arrancar inflict wanton destruction to the surrounding houses. He’d have to meet the cero head-on.

Marcus swung his right fist in a straight punch right at the cero. As he did, his reiatsu spiked with the activation of Soul Dominance. This technique was one that took the inherent fullbring ability, Soul Command, to the next level. Marcus was able to use Soul Dominance to control the wind around him. By guiding it with his punch, he sent a gust at the cero with enough force to dissipate the reiatsu attack, thus protecting the surrounding streets. It was a useful ability, but to those without much energy sensory, it would look as though Marcus’s punch created a shockwave capable of destroying the cero in a clash. Hopefully Rio would buy into that bluff, it’d be a useful way to misguide the Arrancar regarding Marcus’s true abilities.

It appeared that Rio was primarily targeting Luke. Marcus couldn’t provide much ranged offensive support without the risk of accidentally striking Luke, so he’d instead wait patiently for an opportunity to protect Luke with the string that connected them. As he did, he’d begin setting up other strings. Marcus touched his left kunai to the ground by his feet before touching it to his chest, creating a new link between himself and the ground (we’ll call this area point A). He’d then touch each of his kunai to each other and tap them to his chest as well, linking himself to both of his release blades too. After setting up his blades, he’d observe the battle from below and wait for an opportunity to jump back in when Rio was vulnerable.

Reiatsu Remaining: 2075/2500 (-50 for Movement, -150 for Soul Dominance)

Fullbring Level 1: 2/10

String Connections:
-Luke’s Chest to Marcus’s Chest
-Marcus’s Chest to Point A
-Left Release Blade to Marcus’s Chest
-Right Release Blade to Marcus’s Chest

[Deleted]

Against most people, Rio’s overwhelming Dark Aura might have had a debilitating effect on his opponents. But against Luke, whose Light Aura was equal in strength to Rio’s Dark, the effects simply didn’t work. In fact, having Luke as his partner might even bolster Marcus’s confidence and resolve. But, moving on, Rio was misinformed if he thought Luke was paying too close attention to Marcus’s Energy Generate attack. He had sensed the attack coming from his partner, and chose instead to focus his attention on the Arrancar. He and Marcus both had the same level of Instinct, Senses, and Analysis skills. But, unlike Marcus, Luke was exceptionally talented at focusing on the fight.

Never take your eyes off your opponent. They’ll use that opportunity to remove your head.

That had been something Aevus had taught Luke with the sting of the Shinigami’s blade being the Bounts punishment for letting his focus slip. The Bount’s eyes caught the subtle movements of Rio’s fingers. He was folding two fingers behind his thumb, and oddly Luke couldn’t sense any reiatsu building up within the Arrancar. Regardless, the motion was suspicious enough that the Bount focused on it, and wasn’t caught by surprise when he saw the small shimmering of air firing at him. A shockwave. Luke realized, his eyes widening briefly beneath the visor before he, just as Marcus did, used Movement to avoid the incoming attack.

It required tremendous Strength to create shockwaves to begin with, confirming for Luke what he thought earlier about where Rio’s real strength was lying, but to create such small and concentrated shockwaves required an exorbitant amount of skill. As Luke dodged the attack, his left arm had snaked its way into his pants pocket to clutch what was hidden inside it. He managed to get his index and middle fingers to touch the matchbox hidden inside his pants before he suddenly felt the reiatsu inside Rio moving and concentrating into his legs. A step technique was coming, Luke realized, and considering the fact Rio was a physical fighter…

There was only logical direction that Rio was going. He was going to be coming towards them. So what Luke did was simple. The Bount vanished just a moment before Rio did and went to his left. What he did was use a Step to get out of Rio’s path, but it wasn’t Movement like before. This one was faster. Luke opted to use Schiene this time. A path of reiatsu was created from point A to point B, enabling the Bount to grind a top it before reappearing at the end of the path. Just as he reappeared, so did Rio. Moving was the right choice after all, seeing how Rio apparently was trying to clothesline him. The helmet he wore hid his expressions, but wouldn’t have done shit to stop that man's attack.

His left hand still in his pocket, Luke finally managed to clutch it. The helmet he wore would also serve another purpose in this moment. It would hide his words. ”Ziege dich..” he murmured, his fingers tightening around the matchbox upon pulling it from his pocket. Crushing it in his hand, Luke opened his fingers up to let the black powder scatter with the wind. ”Jäger.” while neither Marcus or Rio would hear his words, they’d no doubt feel the sudden surge of reiatsu that was trademark for a release. Problem was...it would seem like the release didn’t happen or it failed. There was no change in Luke’s form, a weapon appearing in his hand, no nothing. Hell, his reiatsu wouldn’t feel any different.

The Doll that was released had become a copy of Luke’s own shadow. The reason neither of them would be able to tell that Luke’s release was successful was because of Jäger’s passive technique, Ungesehen, activating as soon as he was free. But all Jäger could do at this time was remain in Luke’s shadow, he’d need his Masters shadow to cross with other shadows before he could really begin to work. But Luke didn’t stop there. Rio had put a Cero on a express delivery with Marcus, who was responding to the Cero by using Soul Dominance on the air. Unwilling to let his partner handle all that by himself, Luke decided to use that opportunity to attack. His right hand flicked outward as reiatsu concentrated within it. The flicking motion was the activation of the technique, resulting in a series of forked tongues of lightning to fire themselves at Rio.

He was using the Class 4 version of this technique. While it didn’t possess any groundbreaking levels of power at this level, backed with Luke’s Reiatsu Strength it would be able to easily pass through Rio’s Hierro and electrocute the Arrancar enough to both hurt and stun him for several seconds.

Luke's Remaining Reiatsu: 3275 / 4000
-25 for Movement
-50 for Schiene
-600 for Doll Release
-150 for Class 4 Electrocution

Jäger's Remaining Reiatsu: 1760 / 2010
-250 for Ungesehen

SPOILER: Click to show

{Jäger's Stats and Skills}
Jager | Freak

Strength - 150 - 300 Points

Speed - 300 Points

Spiritual Pressure - 300 - 201 Points

Reiatsu Strength - 400 - 900 Points

Light Aura - 50 Points

Dark Aura - 50 Points

Instinct - 225 - 151 Points

Senses - 150 Points

Energy sensory - 75 - 131 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points

Total SP: 1600 Points

SPOILER: Click to show

{Ungesehen}
Ungesehen (Unseen) - This is a passive ability, available to Jäger at all times. It suppresses his reiatsu signature, rendering it incapable of being detected by anyone except those who have superior Energy Sensory to his Reiatsu Strength. This alone is potent. However, it also augments his Overall Ability, causing shadow form objects to vanish from energy sensory in the same manner. However, regardless, Jäger is capable of tracking those objects with his own energy sensory.

Drawbacks: Jäger can still be detected by sight when it is in it’s hunter form, regardless of people’s energy sensory. The same holds true for shadow form objects. Additionally, if someone has superior Spiritual Offensive Stat then this ability is also negated. This ability instantly docks 350 reiatsu from Jäger’s pool once he is are released.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Electrocution}
Technique Name: Electrocution

Class: 4-2

Technique Type: Energy Generate

Usable By (Technique is available to which races?): Any Human World Dweller

Technique Element: Electricity

Technique Description and Effects (Explain appearance, powers, and effect): An ancient and powerful Energy Generate technique uncovered, Electrocution is a natural force using technique. This EG uses the raw power of electricity as its weapon, ravaging an enemies body as it is released from the hands or fingertips of its user. As the caster is only the conduit for the lightning, the EG does not rely on any of his physical or spiritual capabilities to perform. He simply needs the necessary Reiatsu to use it. Electrocution is a devastating Energy Generate as no force living or dead can withstand the effects of an electric shock. When the lightning strikes the target they will, typically, clench up and become immobilized as the pain of Electrocution courses through their bodies. Those struck by the electric shock are subject to the pain of high powered electricity. As mastery of the technique rises so does the power behind the electricity. Reiatsu Strength is the used Offensive Stat for this technique, but because this technique has definite damage the OS is simply used for clashes.

Class 4: The user cannot fully utilize the power of this technique at this Class. At Class 4 all the user can do is create a quick blast of electricity, a single and quick bolt that does nothing more than quickly immobilize and hurt the enemy. The bolt is quick, moving within the seven meter range of effectiveness in the blink of an eye. The immobilization caused by the bolt is quick fleeting, doing nothing more than stopping the target from performing an action (someone running would fall over). It is essentially the equivalent of someone being shot with a taser.

Class 3: Class 3 users of Electrocution are a force to be feared on the battlefield. As they practice and hone their talents with the technique they soon reach the level where they are no longer limited to a quick spark. Class 3 can release a steady stream of arcing bolts of electricity from their palms or fingertips for approximately seven seconds. While only one target can be struck at this level, the power at this level is much higher than its Class 4 state. Immense pain is inflicted upon the target, causing either intense tension in the body as it freezes up or simply collapsing. While not as lethal as the Class 2 version, this level of power is very useable in the battlefield. Unlike the former level, this one will even leave smoldering , second degree, burns upon the victim's body where the electricity struck. Machinery relying on electric parts are easily and effortlessly disabled by Electrocution at this level. At Class 3 it is entirely capable of killing people if you’re not careful.

Class 2: The most powerful level of this technique and only few have ever achieved. Upon becoming Class 2 users of Electrocution the user can easily gain the advantage on multiple opponents at once. The user can choose to release his technique from one or two hands or if Mastered from their entire bodies, releasing multiple forked arcing bolts of electricity to attack up to three foes at once. As the beams are forked they can jump between enemies, meaning one man can hit three people at once if they are close together. When the Class 2 version is fired, it doesn’t stop until the user either dies or wills it to stop. Multiple, hindering, third degree burns will cover the victim's body, often leaving them a steaming mess. The electrical power this technique is comparable to a lightning bolt, making it absolutely devastating against people. Continued and multiple exposure to this attack can cause someone to have cardiac arrest or completely disintegrate them.

How to use technique (How is it activated?): Using the technique is rather simple. One simply focuses their reiatsu into their hands and imagines lightning. Its a technique that gives hardly any sign of its preparation, making it an extremely useful surprise attack.

Technique Drawbacks (Limitations, repercussions for use, etc) A technique this powerful requires equally powerful drawbacks, and this technique has its own hindering drawbacks that makes someone think twice before using it. As the user is using his own arm(s) as the conduits for the technique, constant exposure to such high amounts of electricity is damaging. While the Class 4 version of this technique is far more lenient than its other versions, it can still cause numbing in the hand using it if used four times within seven posts. The Class 3 version is not so forgiving, however. The technique can be used safely twice before any of the limb damaging effects happen. Burning of the hands and arms is commonly seen after being used twice, as well as numbing of the arm that hinders its ability to be adequately used in combat. The numbness will recover after four posts. The Class 2 version of this technique though is the most damaging. It can only safely be used once, and anymore runs the risk of permanently damaging the user. Continued use of the Class 2 Electrocution would result in sever, third degree, burns across the length of the arm(s) that conduct this technique. While the Class 2 version can safely be used once, it will still result in the casters arm going completely numb and becoming partially paralyzed for four posts.

It has other limitations as well. Electrocution only has an effect range of ten meters, meaning an enemy has to be relatively close for it to even be effective. As this power is using pure electricity, it can be grounded by things that would normally ground electricity. Spiritual steel is able to partially block most of the power behind this attack, effectively halving most of the power but only if the target can block it in time. Both Hierro and Blut provide a natural defense against this technique, but follow Offensive Stat and Class Clash rules.

Made By: Ray

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

[Ailene Haschiro]

Well, it was time to get to work. Myza established that the Espada needed to bond or something which naturally urked Kazuna the wrong way. He was not much of a team player, having the aspect of nihilism as his focus. Naturally, it made him apathetic in general, but also incredible volatile to situations that implied his weakness. He found this may be a rare opportunity to grow. Arriving to the Human world from Hueco Mundo by whatever means possible, Kazuna simply forced a hollow to open a garganta much like the time he visited Karukura town. It was perhaps one of the only times he could exercise some form of authority because god help him when his Espada comrades find out just how weak he could potentially be. Anyway, Kazuna was making his was through the garganta plopping into the human world very casually. He simply took a longggg look around.

As there was nothing of interest visually, Kazuna had to rely on weak average sensory skills to be able to detect a large amount of spiritual activity by the time he had even gotten there. One of the indiviuals he felt, his reaitsu was incredibly rough. Almost animalistic even to him, but it was of an Espada. Kazuna so far had only met one Espada that even closely met that profile, Rio. Of the grand total of one time he had met Rio, there always seemed to be some uneasy tension between the two of them. it isn't like Kazuna was looking to remedy their relationship, but allies were always good. Especially among the Espada were power meant everything and usurping was not uncommon. He simply began taking strides towards the source of reitsu outbursts.

As he walked, he detected multiple flairs implying that conflict may have erupted. It's not like Kazuna thought that it wouldn't develop. Most are either extremely scared or paranoid of the Espada, there was no grey area. With that, he continued on, to a place titled Uzaki Enterprises. An impressive building by far, but nothing of importance to Kazuna. The battlefiled already seemed to warp the environment. Copious amounts of broken glass and other general hazards seemed to adorn the scene. His scythe, Kurakusabyou, as always attached to the back of his robe, he looked on and saw not only Rio, but two others. Noting not only the release of a cero, but also a sonido which was unsuprisingly on Rio's part, he braced himself, digging his feet into the ground.

His clothing identifying him clearly as an Espada, Kazuna watched as Luke simply dodged Rio's fierce yet predictably linear attack. Albeit Kazuna would propably have not been able to react nor move fast enough to avoid it, but that was besides the point. An apathetic look on his face, he stood upright. "Y'know, I know we are Espada, but it seems all we ever do is cause trouble when we go somewhere..." his voice ringing with excessive sarcasm. Sometimes, all he wanted to do was simply relax somewhere other than Hueco Mundo, but it seems like his wish would never be granted. Grabbing his scythe by the lower portion of the hilt, drawing it and tilting the blade down, he began to proclaim, not triumphantly, but because he simply felt that it was the "right" thing to do. "Well for everyone it concerns, I am Noveno Espada, Kazuna Hashiro. A pleasure to meet you two in battle." which he did direct at Luke and Marcus, but it seemed they were a bit too preoccupted at the moment. Regardless, he did not have much expereince fighting potentially more experienced so he thought it may be good to sit back and see how things...played out unless approached. With that, Kazuna placed the blade in front of him and began to lean his head on the top of the polearm.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and Skills}
Strength - 100 x .6 = 60
Speed - 150
Spiritual Pressure - 100
Reiatsu Strength - 100 x 1.75 = 175
Light Aura - 40
Dark Aura - 60
Instinct - 100
Senses - 50
Energy Sensory - 50
Healing Expertise - 50


Total SP: [700 Points]


[Analyzing] [3]



[Calm Mind] [2]



[Strength of Will] [1]



[Anti-Stealth] [2]



[Illusion Resist] [1]



[Lack of Fear] [2]



[Battle Analysis] [2]



[Pain Tolerance] [2]

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

It seemed that the opponents had absurdly good physical senses, that they could notice such a small action of Rio’s fingers despite the distance. Well. It didn’t matter too much. The rest of Rio’s game plan was still going smoothly. Or at least it was, until everyone did their countermoves. Now, naturally, they were gonna react, and defend themselves. Didn’t make Rio any less annoyed that they didn’t have the good sense to keel over and die though. He saw the Bount dodge his shockwave with a surprising display of speed. But was that natural, or a burst of movement? He’d figure it out pretty quickly, he was sure. His Sonido-enhanced charge hurtled at Luke, seeing the Bount disappear an instant before he initiated his attack. A little short notice to change targets, but Rio was already planning his next move. Even his Cero was answered, by the other one, who seemed to repel it barehanded. Unfortunately for Marcus, Rio wasn’t about to misread that. Marcus’s reiatsu strength was too high for his own good. Rio could sense it. Or at least he could sense it was greater than his own. He was still fairly convinced that Marcus would crumple in a physical fight.

Already the annoyance at the failure of his attack was gone. Rio was very much an “in the now” kinda guy, and rather than thinking back, he just kept pushing forwards. He’d picked up a few traits about Marcus so far. He was playing support it seemed. The protector of the other teammate. Normally you took out the support first, but Rio was still focused primarily on Luke. Support wasn’t any good if the focus of the Support went down, and Rio was fairly effective at defeating an opponent in a single blow. If Luke got caught, he was in deep shit.

Rio hadn’t lost track of Luke, shifting his position as he emerged from Sonido to track Luke and Marcus at the same time. Marcus was setting up some kind of field with some knives embedded in the ground, while Luke procured a matchbox, and crushed it in his hand. Rio’s eyes narrowed. Suspecting some manner of subtle technique at that, Rio countered with Pesquis, activating the technique, and gaining heightened awareness of all spiritual activity in the area. Thanks to Pesquis, Jaeger wouldn’t be able to hide from Rio, and Luke’s attempt to blast the Espada with lightning would have similar problems. It’d be very hard to surprise Rio with reiatsu-based attacks now. And judging by how Luke and Marcus fought so far, that meant that every one of their moves would be highly telegraphed to the hellhound of Las Noches. This also meant Rio would be able to detect and sense the reiatsu in the lines connecting Luke and Marcus. He might not be able to discern their purpose, but even invisible techniques wouldn’t be able to help them against Rio at the moment.

Next came Luke’s Energy Generate attack. Rio was very good at reading opponents, and Luke’s actions coincided with what Rio already knew about him. Rio had already detected that Luke possessed high reiatsu strength, and that Luke was trying to avoid close range combat with the Quinta. So as Luke raised up his hand, what else was he going to try but some manner of long ranged, caster blast attack? Rio therefore, was already moving to react when Luke fired his Energy Generate. Rio dodged left, kicking off the ground with such force that the ground actually exploded outwards, hurling debris in a 360 degree arc, and kicking up a dust cloud, sending Rio up into the sky. Normally, Electrocution would have been faster than Rio, without the use of Sonido, but because Rio was already moving when the attack was launched, it passed beside him harmlessly. Rio’s face became a snarl of amusement at Luke.

”Well, you’ve got some fight in you afterall! Very good!” Rio roared. ”I was worried when Myza suggested this game that I might have to fight your entire organization for a decent workout but it looks like your little group can actually turn out some half decent trash. Now if only you guys’d stop fucking around and take me on properly, we might have a real fight on our hands!” Rio exclaimed. Rio reached to his side and drew out his Zanpakuto, a double edged Roman Spatha. About the length of an arming sword, in terms of design it wasn’t anything too special. No defined crossguard. A straight bar of spiritual steel. Simple, straightforward and effective. A design that mirrored Rio’s approach to combat perfectly. ”So can you actually fight, or are you gonna back away like a fucking pussy!?” Rio shouted as he barrelled towards Luke, blade held out to the side. Rio’s free hand was out at his side, out of the way of being a target, but as he’d shown with his shockwave flicks, that did not make that hand a non-threat.

”Show me your power Bount! You just released your weapon didn’t you? That stupid little matchbox? Show me what it can do! It’ll make it so much more satisfying when I kill you!” Rio snarled, delivering a hacking slash at the Bount, cutting from Rio’s right to left. There wasn’t a lot of technique to Rio’s attack, just brute, raw power. A simple and straightforward attack, that left little to the imagination. Of course with Rio’s strength, that was all he needed. It had been once said by a certain Visual Novel, that technique was made to compensate for weakness. If that was the case, then like a certain Berserker, Rio possessed so much physical strength that refined sword technique was wholly unnecessary for the Espada to split a man in half with a single swing. And possible whatever building he happened to be standing behind.

Rio was into the fight right now. So into it, that he didn’t actually notice the arrival of his fellow Espada. How Kazuna intended to contribute to the battle? Rio didn’t care at this time. He didn’t even grace Kazuna with a greeting. Indeed the other Espada probably wouldn't have liked it anyways. Causing trouble wherever they went? What was wrong with that!? They were asserting the superiority of arrancar! Kazuna’s greeting would be nothing more than the onslaught Rio threw at Luke.

Reiatsu Remaining: 1600 (-100 for Pesquis)

[Marcus Cole]

OOC: I apologize for the delay. My exam is finally done so let’s kick this thing back off in style!

Rio was quite an impressive opponent. His violent explosion of strength caused some severe damage to the ground below and around his feet as he launched himself into the air. Based on the strength of his cero and the raw physical power behind his movements, there was no question that this Espada was a force to be reckoned with. Luke and Marcus might be equipped to deal with the fight ahead, but there true challenge would be limiting collateral damage to the environment and preventing civilian casualties. Rio was not to be trifled with or underestimated, for even if they could beat him in this fight, the loss of civilian lives would automatically result in their failure to properly handle the conflict.

As impressive as Rio’s jump was, it also gave Marcus a perfect opening. For that brief moment that Rio kicked up dirt and shot into the sky, he also obscured his view of his surroundings. Well, not all his surroundings. He seemed to hone in on Luke, deeming the bount the more notable threat. Marcus, on the other hand, was an expert at slipping in and out of view. Rio created the distraction necessary for Marcus to speedily and silently slide into cover, hiding behind the walls of a nearby building. Only a silver of his face poked out from the side of the wall just so that he could continue to observe the fight without being detected.

Marcus couldn’t help but be concerned with the appearance of Rio’s katana, the sealed form of his zanpakuto. Marcus was vaguely familiar with Arrancar and their general abilities. He was well aware of the power such a weapon could summon, and if Rio could cause this level of damage without even bringing out his release, there was no telling what kind of strength he was really hiding. Luke would need help.

It would all be about timing. Marcus watched carefully as Rio drew closer and closer to Luke, rushing head-on at his opponent. His sword arm seemed to cock itself across Rio’s body in preparation for a slash. That’s my chance, Marcus thought, his feet already silently moving out from the cover of the wall. Marcus had to trust that Luke could dodge the slash, but that slashing motion itself would be the fullbringer’s opening. He sprung to action right when the slash started, and by the end of the motion, he’d have Rio right where he wanted him.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Cue Music}

The fullbringer kicked off with a quick step technique, the fastest one in his arsenal: Bringer Light. The step would take him to an awkward position, one generally behind Rio but about fifty feet to his right. But Marcus never truly reappeared from the step technique. After all, humans had the unique ability to “double-cast” step techniques. Normally, this would result in two uses of the same technique, but Marcus was particularly skilled with Movement abilities. Thus, mid-step, he’d activate another variant of Movement called Bringer Stealth. This allowed him to close in the distance completely, silently appearing directly behind Rio.

And by directly, I mean directly. There was less than a foot of distance between Marcus’s chest and Rio’s back, and that small distance was necessary for the execution of Marcus’s plan. The fullbringer used his primary fullbring ability to attach Rio to the string between his chest and Luke’s. By attaching Rio to this string, Marcus could dictate Rio’s velocity – the speed with which he moved along the string. Marcus set this speed to 0.

This meant a handful of things. First, Rio was forced to stay along the intangible string, moving as it moved. And because the string always remained the shortest distance between Luke and Marcus, that meant that when Luke and Marcus moved any direction except toward or away from each other, Rio was forced to move too. But there was one more effect. Because Rio’s velocity was set at 0, he couldn’t move along the string in either direction either. While no part of his body was immobilized, he was still locked in space relative to the position of the string. That would make it hard to charge forward and continue his counter-attack on Luke.

And as Marcus attached Rio to this string, he also drove his knives into Rio’s back with a stabbing motion. The left knife, if the move was successful, would pierce Rio’s left shoulder blade while the right knife punctured his right tricep, one of the muscles necessary to properly wield his sword. With those strikes, Marcus would also create new string connections linked the targeted areas on Rio’s body to his chest as well. While that didn’t have an immediate effect, it might prove useful during the remainder of the fight.

Hoping to avoid Rio’s retaliation, Marcus backed away from Rio at his full 400 speed, only stopping on a platform of air ground when there was twenty feet between himself and his Arrancar adversary. While it was nice to have trapped Rio along his string, Marcus would have accomplished a second goal if his plan succeeded. He’d also have had tagged Rio with some of his own reiatsu as well. By stabbing Rio, each blade also left an imprint of Marcus’s reiatsu coutesy of his technique Shadow Punch. Those reiatsu imprints could be detonated to deal severe damage whenever Marcus willed it. If Rio broke free from his string, that would be no problem.

"Y'know, I know we are Espada, but it seems all we ever do is cause trouble when we go somewhere..." Huh? Marcus looked down to see an Arrancar-y looking figure staring back up at him. Very Arrancar-y. He had the whole mask fragment thing going as well as the black-and-white Espada apparel that was quite obviously derived from the traditional Shinigami garments. He was certainly another Arrancar.

“Well for everyone it concerns, I am Noveno Espada, Kazuna Hashiro. A pleasure to meet you two in battle." A pleasure? I can’t tell which of these guys I hate more, Marcus thought bitterly. On one hand, Kazuna had manners but on the other, he came off as kind of a smug dick. Then again, so did Rio. They were just as bad as each other.

“Hey,” Marcus called out to Luke, jerking his head toward Kazuna below them as if to say ’Take care of this one.’ “Stay close though, I have your back.” Luke would have gotten used to Marcus’s strange dual personality. The casual, timid fullbringer was nowhere to be found. In his place, confident battle Marcus smiled comfortably at his colleague and friend. Two Espada at the same time? Most might be concerned, but Marcus didn’t display any uncertainty to Luke. He wasn’t hiding any doubt either. In the brief time that he knew Luke, he developed a strong sense of trust for his friend, and while this battle would surely be a challenge, Rio and Kazuna were the unlucky ones: they picked a fight with the greatest duo in the Human World. Marcus and Luke were a team, and there was nothing they couldn’t handle together.

Reiatsu Remaining: 1875/2500 (-50 for Bringer Light, -150 for Bringer Stealth)

Fullbring Level 1: 3/10

String Connections:
-Luke’s Chest to Marcus’s Chest
-Marcus’s Chest to Point A
-Rio’s Left Shoulder Blade to Marcus’s Chest
-Rio’s Right Tricep to Marcus’s Chest

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

Only counting for Rio and Luke due to abandonment otherwise, so in that case:


Rio: 18 paragraphs x 10 TP per paragraph = 180 TP + 100 TP for winning = 280 TP total

Luke: 21 paragraphs x 10 TP per paragraph = 210 TP total