Screams in the night [Bear]

[Sobiru Saiyo]

Saiyo stepped through the Training Depot doors, his footsteps echoing throughout the building. His head was still filled with his inner hollow's whispers, something that he promised himself that he wouldn't fall prey to once again. His greed for power had led him down this road, but he still didn't regret his acquiring hollow power. There was someone here who could help him according to the shinigami who brought him here, and luckily, he was on the way.

The past two months had been Hell, pure and simple. Being reduced to nothing but an invader inside his own body, realizing that he no longer had control of a single thing in the outside world. Everything he did ceased to have any effect on the outside world, and isn't that why he became a shinigami in the first place, so that he could affect those around him? It was obvious to him now that the inner hollow had two aims: become even stronger and steal Saiyo's body once again. Neither of these things would be allowed by Saiyo, he had worked too hard for too long to allow himself to be destroyed by his own foolishness.

He stood in the Training Depot and sighed, looking at the numerous doors within the large pagoda. He wondered which one he would enter, which one would lead him to his salvation? He rested his right hand on the hilt of his zanpakuto and gave a sad smile as he thought of the child within. Maybe, just maybe, he had the inner hollow playing games of "superhero" and "cowboys and Indians". It wasn't likely, but hell, he could hope. If he had harmed even a single hair on the boy's head, Saiyo didn't know how he'd react. He wondered if all shinigami had such a close relationship to their zanpakuto spirit and saw themselves as needing to protect them.

He then sighed, realizing that his greed was the thing that endangered Kodomo-no gikyoku. He hanged his head and sighed again, ashamed of himself. And still, he waited.

[Bear]

[maroon]With each day his organization slowly grew, whether it was a Vizard or Shinigami that had joined him it did not matter. They were allies, companions, a family. This is how Hidenseido was run, there was no 'I' when it came to doing things. No, they worked together and died together, simple as that. Training was of course for ones own personal growth, but that was not the sole reason, it was meant to protect others and make sure they were not killed. Karakura town was their home and everyone in the city was their responsibility. And that's exactly what he was about to do today, train a Vizard who had recently gained his powers. It seemed like controlling the Hollow was not easy.

It wasn't.

With hands in his pockets he slowly made his way through the halls of the training depot, a large structure he had created to withstand intense levels of training, the entire building was able to take mass amounts of damage without crumbling. It was perfect for situations such as this, and would definitely be necessary. If it was anything like Kyotei's transformation, then there would be Cero and lots of being tossed around. That was fine, he wouldn't injure the person to the point he couldn't move. He would only have to kill the boy should he fail in subduing the Hollow. With a quiet breath he pushed the door open leading to the main room, and his eyes caught the man before him. This was the new student.

"Greetings, Saiyo."

Yes, he knew of his name. It was his school after all so it was important that he knew such things. After the introductions they would get right down to business, no time could be wasted in a matter such as this.

[/justify][/maroon]

[Sobiru Saiyo]

Saiyo stood silent in the moonlit building as his deep breaths came in and out slowly. It hadn't been long ago that he had retrieved his body from the claws of his inner hollow, but he had decided to go right back into the eye of the beast knowing exactly what could happen. As the door creaked open, Saiyo looked up and found himself looking into the leader's green eyes.

He was a strange looking man, and the first thing that Saiyo noticed was that he wore a mask upon his face already. Saiyo was slightly confused because the man gave off no hollow reiatsu, and he slowly realized in the dim light that it wasn't a hollow mask.

A vizard that wears a mask for fun... what a strange man.

Saiyo looked at his own uniform and realized just how juxtaposed they were. Saiyo, with his battle-torn uniform, needed those little trophies to prove his strength. But this man's uniform was perfectly clean and maybe even ironed. He didn't have to prove that he'd seen battle and had plenty of wounds, his power spoke for him.

Saiyo sighed with sorrow and regret. He dropped his gaze and immediately found himself hoping that the man would peer into his mind to answer the single question that kept swirling around in his head:

Was it this hard for you?

It would be alright to be afraid of his inner hollow if others had felt that way too. But if this man mastered his hollow without fear, didn't that make Saiyo a coward? Of course, the leader of Hidenseido wasn't a mind reader (at least, not to Saiyo's knowledge) so Saiyo received a salutation instead.

"Hello, sir." Saiyo was already slightly stressed and being at Hidenseido made him feel like he was at Shino Academy again. So, he decided to just treat this training like a more risky type of class, and that made this man an instructor.

As he spoke, a quote from the Academy came to mind: "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear." He realized that being fearful was not a sin, it happened to everyone. As he looked the man in the eyes once again, Saiyo unsheathed his zanpakuto and smiled, speaking.

"Should we get started, sir? I'm ready when you are."

[Bear]

[maroon]It was easy to tell that the person before him was nervous, well maybe nervous wasn't quite the word for it. More like anxious and slightly worried, nothing came from the boys mouth stating so but his eyes spoke for him. Over the years Kisho had become quite good at observing and reading others, in his line of 'work' he had to. Now the only problem was that the boy called him sir, which brought back memories of his days in Soul Society. The ones where he had led a Platoon of Shinigami as a Third Seat, a title he was not fond of. Sir not only brought back horrible memories, but it sounded far to military like, and this was nothing like the military.

But before he could say anything Saiyo had unsheathed his sword and asked if they should begin, anxious was definitely the correct wording. He could remember the day he finally confronted his own Hollow, sickness had enveloped him and he damn near died, but with a miracle he manged to destroy the beast and become what he is now. A Vizard. A gift and a curse all in one package. He merely nodded and removed one hand from the pocket.

"Two things, please do not refer to me as sir. There is no need to be so formal with me."

Honestly he preferred anything over the typical honorifics when it came to superiors, hell even his first name was fine with him. Hidenseido was a family, sure he labeled it as organization but that was more of a title than anything. They were family. Blood in, and blood out.

"This will not be easy, you will suffer intense pain and wounds. The Hollow will do everything in its power to devour you, do not fall prey to its tricks. When you are ready, come at me and I will bring the Hollow to the surface. You must subdue it from there, I can not help with that."

That was the part he hated, not being able to aid in the subduing of a Hollow. If he could, the fight would be over in a instant and he would have a new Vizard to his ranks. However if he had not seen potential in the being he would not have bothered risking it, that's why he was here.

"And please, do not allow it to overcome you. If you fail, I will have to kill you."

The truth was brutal sometimes, but if he was to transform into a Hollow there was no other way. So now he waited for the move, and then he would bring the demon to the surface. From there it would be up to him.

[/justify][/maroon]

[Sobiru Saiyo]

Saiyo smiled as the man told him that there was no need to call him sir. It was nice to think of each other as equals, even if their power levels disagreed. It made him like Hidenseido a lot more and told him that he wouldn't be coming back to the rigid hierarchical structure of the Gotei 13, he'd be coming back to a brotherhood. But as the man went on, Saiyo still didn't find himself deterred. He liked his honesty, he liked knowing that this man wouldn't send him into battle without the proper knowledge.

He didn't notice his deep breaths subside to more even breathing, he didn't even notice when his feet began to move him towards the man at the other end of the room. Every step took an eternity as decades worth of thought swarmed his mind like locusts. Everyone from his past appeared in his mind, but the first and foremost were the Sobirus, the wealthy Rukongai family that took him in and gave him everything, including their family name. He hadn't seen them in years and didn't even say goodbye to them when he left the Gotei 13. His greed for power had caused him to abandon the only two people who had ever shown him love.

Yet, as he thought the word "love", the face of a beautiful blond woman appeared in his mind. He kept walking and searched for a name to match the face, but nothing emerged from his quick scans of his thoughts. It was strange to have such a vivid picture in his mind of a woman he'd never met: her lips full and red, her pale face blushing ever so slightly, and eyes the exact same shade of gold as his own. He had no idea what this meant, maybe it was the woman he had always wanted to find. But for now, it didn't matter. There would be plenty of time to understand the past and think of the future once he'd sorted out the present.

Saiyo stood a few feet away the masked man and peered into his green eyes with a smile.

"Thank you. he said, trying to choose his words wisely. His zanpakuto suddenly became a bit heavy in his hands as his left arm began to shake a bit, but he quickly conquered the rogue motion. There was no time for second guessing his decision.

"If-" he cut across himself quickly and forcefully. "when I get out of this alive, I swear to you that I'll train hard and become a captain here."

Saiyo sighed, giving himself just a couple seconds to look down and frown. Intense pain and wounds... he thought to himself. He looked up and found the man still waiting. It made him happy to know that he understood and wouldn't rush him.

"I'm ready." he said, hoping that the small smile on his face looked courageous.

[Bear]

[maroon]

This was the type of person he liked, in fact it was like looking into a younger version of himself. Knowing that there would be so much pain and struggle but yet that want to continue was still there, the desire to get stronger and come out alive in order to rise through the ranks. He had been there, and it made him the person he was today. Sure he had constant nightmares but their stories were different, Kisho had experienced things this boy most likely did not. Still, it was like a mirror. Odd how a lot of his new recruits reminded him of a younger self, maybe secretly he wanted that feeling again? Maybe. But now he was veering off and losing focus, this wasn't his story it was Saiyo.

"A respectable and admirable goal, I thank you for that. Fight hard, and win."

Removing his right hand from the pocket of his jacket he stretched it out, palm facing the man who had told him he was ready to continue on. To conquer the demon within, a purple swirling mass forming around his fingers.

"One last thing, Saiyo. Use your abilities wisely, everything you have the Hollow has. On a greater level."

His final words before nodding to the man, it was time to begin the battle. The purple swirling mass would become like a pulse and surround the recruits head, black would envelop the soon-to-be Vizard as he would lose any form of consciousness. The ability he used was not a fancy one, anyone with a basic grasp of reiatsu could do it. No, it was merely a pulse of his Hollow reiatsu reaching out to the Hollow inside Saiyo, to bring it to the surface. The man would slump forward, and Kisho would wait for the outer transformation to take place. That's when the real test began.[/maroon]

[OOC: Sorry for short post and slight GM near the end, did it to move it forward]

[/justify]

[Sobiru Saiyo]

(OOC: Not a problem, thanks for responding. Do I need to RP Saiyo's hollow hybrid form as well? Also, is there any minimum word count needed for acceptance of my training?)

In less than a moment, Saiyo felt a veil of pure darkness wash over him, quickly suffocating him. He was certain that he had been tricked, that this man was trying to destroy his very being. He tried to scream out and use his last breaths as a cry for help, but he found that he was actually underwater. He swam towards the full moon in the sky as hard as he could, gasping intensely once he reached the surface. He looked around for land and found it quickly. The mountainous countryside that Kodomo-no gikyoku lived on was now a tiny island.

He submerged it?! he thought furiously as he swam towards the island and began noticing the several other differences. A full moon was in the sky, but the inner world was supposed to be in perpetual sunset. The grass on the island was dead and pitiful, almost begging for water. The only beauty left was the full moon that reflected on the ocean below and Kodomo-no gikyoku's little house.

Saiyo opened the door and walked in, expecting to see his old friend. Instead, he found the monster that plagued his nightmares sitting on his bed, smiling widely. The first thing Saiyo noticed was the smell of rotting corpses that was indicative of his inner hollow's presence. As the hollow opened his mouth, the scent immediately thickened, propelled forth by the decaying teeth within the hollow's mouth.

"You mind closing the door, buddy? I'm about to take a nap." the hollow said with a laugh.

"Where the hell is he?" Saiyo said. His seriousness even shocked himself. He was ever the jokester, always taunting his opponents and laughing at their idiocy, but this battle was different than anything he had ever been through. He came into this knowing that this enemy was more skilled, more powerful, and better than him in almost every way.

He didn't care.

"He's hiding, I've got no idea where he is." the hollow said with a puzzled look. "Kid saw me and figured that it was time to jump ship... Now then, why the fuck are you here? I kicked your ass around for months, what makes you think that you can beat me now?"

It was true, the hollow had definitely won most of their battles. But Saiyo came out on top when it came to the most important one. In this moment, Saiyo realized why it took months for him to remember to stay calm: every damn thing about his inner hollow irritated him to no end.

"I don't think I can win... I know I can." with that, he charged toward his enemy. The hollow had obviously been expecting an attack because he appeared right next to him in the same second. "Too slow!" he yelled into his ear, punching him through the back wall of the house.

Saiyo hit the ground hard, though he did a backwards roll and recovered quickly. His right arm had taken quite a hit, he could already feel the bruise forming there. He smiled with a sigh, realizing that if he didn't release now then he'd have a hard time of defeating him.

"Kokoroniegaku, Kodomo-no gikyoku!" he said, as the gold chain rattled softly. He waited for the hollow to launch a second attack, lifting his right arm and making a gun shape with his fingers. As the hollow sped out of the house, Saiyo smirked. "Kenjuu." he said, as the golden bullet released itself from his fingers and struck the hollow right in the chest.

Saiyo was overcome with glee until he heard the shock of sonido behind him. He turned quickly and knocked the hollow's claws away, taking the opportunity to aim a stab into his chest. The hollow deflected the attack, causing it to become a shallow slash into his shoulder. "Multiplicar" the hollow said, referring to the copy of himself that Saiyo had hit with the bullet. "I learned a couple new tricks for you, buddy."

The hollow disappeared in a second, appearing with the full moon behind him. He was floating high above the sea, beckoning him to leave the land behind. Puzzled, Saiyo only figured out why as he felt his feet getting soaked.

Flying through the air to meet the hollow, he sighed. He wasn't so sure that victory was in reach now as he watched the hollow's crimson eyes glow in the night sky.

[Bear]

[OOC: Yes control the outside transformation as well, and no req for training but keep it above 300, other than that just make sure the quality is good and you don't make it too easy for yourself.]

[maroon]It was only a matter of time now, the pulse of reiatsu had rendered the man unconscious and his body slumped over. Face down in the dirt. Turning around Kisho put some distance between the two and replaced the hand in his pocket. Facing the limp body on the floor but not saying a word, he knew in a matter of mere minutes this man would begin to transform, and the timer would begin. Back in his day when he first did his own battle, he had been lucky that he survived, and managed to beat him in a decent amount of time. There was no one to watch over him, and had he not been in a deserted part of town, lives would have been lost. But he managed, so that was good.

This would be his third time battling the outer shell of a Vizard, his first was to help his lost friend, Suza. The second was his now fuku-taicho and Saiyo was lucky number three. The only bad thing was that he would probably be pretty sore after all this, of course Kisho wouldn't use any moves that could be fatal but punching and being tossed around? That would definitely make him sore. Kyotei had slept for a good couple days because of it, but that's what happens when you're tossed through a building. So now, it was time to wait for the transformation.

[/justify][/maroon]

[Sobiru Saiyo]

As Saiyo's body slumped to the ground, a dark red miasma of hollow reiatsu began forming over his body. It formed a cloud over his unconscious body, concealing him from the rest of the world. His guttural screams shattered the momentary silence, as Saiyo's hollowfied body burst from the miasma and began tearing towards the nearest reiatsu. His body, intensely muscular and covered in rock hard hierro was the classical picture of a true monster. His face was hidden by a mask of crimson with random black cracks in it. Crimson antler horns went down the back of his head, though the two largest ones erupted from the sides of his head. Behind the mask there hid a smile that was born from pure bloodlust.

Charging towards Kisho, the chaotic being brought both of his fists into the air together and attempted to slam them down into the body of Kisho. He followed up with a flurry of punches and kicks, with pure malice in every one of them. The beast could sense immense power within this man, but right now power meant nothing. The only thing that mattered was his need to destroy.

. . .

Back in the inner world, Saiyo stood before the inner hollow with a face full of sorrow. He burst forth and found that he had been blocked by the hollow's claws once again. Seconds later, he felt the hot stickiness of blood released from his face as the hollow's claws were unleashed upon his cheek. Saiyo was kicked in the chest and he felt himself falling quickly towards the ocean below. He recovered in mid-air as he heard a little voice beneath him.

"Saiyo... stop doubting yourself! You can do this!" Kodomo-no gikyoku said as he floated in the ocean below.

Saiyo looked down for just a moment, smiling. He couldn't see the child from here, but his encouraging tone told him that he was alright. He thought for a moment and realized that the hollow could always see him coming. If his movements were so obvious, he'd just have to become faster "Souzou." he said, as the bottoms of his feet gleamed gold for just a second. He sped towards the hollow again, throwing his reiatsu to his right while flash stepping to his left. He brought his sword down upon his shoulder and felt his blade meet flesh. He didn't make the mistake of momentary happiness again, he jumped into the air and used the blade as leverage, forcing it deeper into the wound. He spun and kicked the hollow in the back, causing him to skid away slightly.

Saiyo flash stepped behind the hollow this time, but his blade was knocked away and he was greeted with a punch to the face. He slid away a couple feet, but even his mind was working faster now. As the hollow appeared before him again to mount a counterattack, Saiyo had already released his Kenjuu. It grazed the hollow's left shoulder, taking a chunk out of it and knocking the hollow off balance slightly. Saiyo attempted a stab into the hollow's stomach, but was too slow. He gasped and looked down, seeing the hollow's claws had punctured the right side of his chest.

The hollow's cackle was what brought the idea to mind, his right arm grabbed the wrist that was stuck within Saiyo's chest and his sword fell in the same second, slicing straight through the hollow's left shoulder. The hollow was gone in a second, leaving his arm still stuck in Saiyo's chest.

"Tawamure nai" he whispered, letting his body drop to the cool ocean below. He hoped that the hollow would be convinced that he gave up and left. In any case, he'd have some time to seek the advice of the child that waited for him just a few feet away.

[Bear]

[maroon]And so it had finally begun, red waves of energy began to emit from the body laying on the ground. A cloud of it hiding the body from view, but he made no movement. Kisho simply stood there and waited for this partial transformation to finish, the area covered in silence. He tilted his head slightly, and not a second later a figure tore through the cloud of reiatsu and directly at him. The mask was a little different than he had seen, but interesting all the same, yet Kisho stood there. He had no need to move, the gap of power was large enough that he could take whatever the soon-to-be threw at him, without worry of injury.

"..."

Not a word as the two fists managed to slam into Kisho, but he didn't even flinch from it. He was a like a brick wall and the fists were mere pebbles, but the attacks transitioned from that to punches and kicks coming from all directions. But he didn't let these ones strike him, instead he moved his body with each strike, easily dodging them. However as a fist came forward, he reached out and grabbed the Vizard by the forearm, his other hand extending out palm first towards the chest. A small purple ball of reiatsu formed, a Bala. The energy behind it was minimal, only putting enough to cause more of a blunt strike and to push the man away. Which it would, allowing it to release, and letting go of his arm at the same time. The point blank, watered down Bala would make contact and he would be sent across the room. No other physical harm done, and easily recoverable.

[/justify][/maroon]

[Sobiru Saiyo]

The beast was only further incentivized by the man not giving in to his attacks. Oh, this would be great fun, fighting a man who didn't think he was worth the trouble of even unsheathing his blade. He almost laughed, telling himself that he'd prove the man wrong before this battle was over. The distance between their strength was a chasm, but he had the power to leap great lengths.

As the bala knocked him into a wall, he growled fiercely. The wall splintered with cracks as his weight battered into it, but the attack didn't even hurt him. He was insulted! The man was fighting him humanely, as if he was nothing but an unintelligent beast! He roared once again, charging towards him with murderous thoughts in his head. He began charging a crimson cero as he charged forward, he knew that he would force this man to bow to his strategic prowess. The sound of sonido broke out, but the beast continued hounding towards the man.

Beside the man, a copy of the beast released its cero as the original beast did the same. They then split further, each of them creating another copy. As the four beasts watched the man, a putrid scent filled the room, their stench gave way to nothing. Three of the beasts stood in front of the man, slicing at him with their claws. Just above the battle, the fourth beast charged a cero and waited until the man's counterattack to release it in his direction. As the cero released from his palm, the copies detonated, spreading bloody gore upon the floor and walls of the building.

. . .

As he hit the ocean, the saltwater mingled with his wounds, the agony almost forced him to scream out. He watched as a ribbon of crimson in the water reached out to the child, his mentor, his one and only true friend in this world: Kodomo-no gikyoku. The child's hand darted out angrily, as if the thought of letting the blood near him was the most horrible thing on Earth.

It wasn't the first time that the boy had seen blood, but then again, it wasn't the first time that he had reacted so violently towards it. His aversion to blood and battle in general was what made Saiyo like him so much. Their personalities balanced out, Saiyo - ever the warrior and always looking for ways to become stronger and Kodomo-no gikyoku - a simple child that just wanted to play around with his best friend. His very existence reminded Saiyo not to take himself so seriously sometimes.

"I'm sorry for this. Saiyo said, the roar of the oceans turning his solemn whisper into pure silence. Waves had kicked up and were now dragging him along with Kodomo-no gikyoku. The child reached out and grabbed Saiyo's hand, somehow hearing his words even over the ocean's rage. "I know. But only you can fix this. Stop worrying about me and go end this." Kodomo-no gikyoku never failed to surprise Saiyo. The child was wise beyond his years and the most generous being that Saiyo had met yet. It was with all weight released from his heart that he spoke next: "Thank you, my dear friend."

"COWARD! Show yourself, you pathetic shinigami! I won't wait here forever!" The hollow stood in front of the moon once again, this time with his maroon reiatsu flying angrily around him. Either his genuine anger had caused him to lose control or he just decided that playing nice wasn't worth it anymore. He planned to fight at full power and so did Saiyo. But at least Saiyo had a leg-up on him since he had sliced off his arm.

The crimson red cero shot straight at Saiyo, he immediately picked Kodomo-no gikyoku up and flash stepped him to a safe location before returning to battle. In his head, the child's words of "I can take care of myself!" echoed and Saiyo realized that defeating the hollow comes first. He would have to leave the child to his own devices, he would have to trust him. He appeared in front of the hollow with solemnity in his eyes and calm in his blade. His golden reiatsu flared up as he allowed himself a small smile.

"I am the ruler here. You're just a peasant." Saiyo said. It was now that he stood before the hollow that he saw his arm was regenerated. It was a shock, but it no longer mattered. Victory wasn't far away. "Bow down." he said, charging forth to meet the hollow face to face, swinging his sword with tactical precision instead of emotion. As his blade met the hollow's claws, an explosion of reiatsu caused shockwaves in the ocean below.

The true battle had finally begun.

[Bear]

[maroon]He simply turned on his feet as the Hollow was blown back into the wall, which splintered and cracked behind him. Hands slid back into his pockets as he rolled his shoulders, there was no need to go all out on him. He didn't want to injure the lad too much, after all he was a student here and he needed the young one to get as strong as he could. The boy made a promise and Kisho took such things very seriously, that and he wanted to see how each individual grew here. Watching as the half-Hollow pushed itself from the wall, the roar echoing through the room, but Kisho made no movement. The cero was clear as day but suddenly the man split into a copy of himself.

"Hm?"

It was an interesting ability really, but it didn't seem to stop there. Instead more copies formed leading up to about four of them total, the gap was large enough that he could tell the difference between real and fake, but he would humor the thing. The only real thing that threw him off was that damn scent, it was pretty awful with the four of them now. If he wasn't busy watching the Hollow he would have been gagging and retching, in all honesty. But three of them came charging forwards while the fourth remained above him, claws struck at him but the Vizard had no problem ducking and weaving away from such attacks, not once moving from his location. And then a Cero began to charge above him, eyes shifting their gaze for just a moment he took in the sight, easy enough to counter.

"Escudo Hueco."

He removed his right arm from the pocket of his robe and held it above his head, the entire length of it was covered in a purple layer of reiatsu. Although the copies seemed to detonate and spew guts and god knows what else all over the place, forcing him to close his eyes. Gross. But the Cero would never make contact, instead it would slam into the layer of reiatsu, and be redirected towards the Hollow, the power remained the same but it would still not be enough to kill him.

"As a beast you cannot comprehend the level of power between us, you will never reach me."

Lowering his arm he wiped off some of the guts from his opera mask, unfortunately his clothes would need to be washed. Throughly. Man this was one disgusting ass Hollow.

[/justify][/maroon]