Don't Kill the Messenger[Open][NoDeath]

[Shinobi]

He assumed, for anyone else, the view of Karakura from above would outstanding. Yet, as he flitted across the night sky like a forlorn wraith, Hideo couldn't find anything attractive about the place at all. It was one of the few times he'd been able to go out into the material world and it was just as boring as the first time. He had assumed there would be more than just patrolling aimlessly, occasionally getting the call about a weak Hollow.

It reminded him too much of the quiet routine of Rukongai. In other words: it was boring. Every time there was even the slightest chance that something interesting would happen, things would be over so fast that Hideo wouldn't have the chance to enjoy it. So he was forced to resign himself to this boring patrol, hoping beyond hope that he'd encounter something of interest. He frowned as he quickly realized the possibilities of that happening.

Without a sound he landed atop a small building across from the Karasu River. "Is this what I'm destined for? Constant boring patrols?" he pondered aloud. He slowly removed his hood and face-mask, letting the gentle breeze cool the sweat on his brow. His blue eyes and blond hair stood out in stark contrast with his outfit and surroundings, too bright in this night in Karakura. "How am I supposed to get stronger like this?" His hand moved to subconsciously grip the hilt of his Zanpaktou. Faintly, he could hear the cry of a bird.

"Ugh!" he grunted and plopped onto his back. "So booored! I wish something cool would happen!" he called out into the night sky. there was a moment of silence... nothing. Hideo groaned loudly. Nothing ever went his way it seemed...

[Saito]

[purple]"So is that how shinigami patrol these days?"[/purple]

The cocky quip pierced through the darkness sure to catch the attention of the man hearing it. As the presence made itself known it stepped forward knowing the familiar shinigami attire would quell any hostilities. The color purple seemed to shine on the boys head as his azure eyes meet with the body of the extremely bored shinigami before them. His body language let Saito know that he really didn't want to be there and the purple haired shinigami followed suit. His gaze was one that carried exhaustion and indifference and the clink of his forearm finding the hilt of his katana further added to the job-like air of the two shinigami's situation.

In truth Saito was not supposed to have yet left for the World of the Living, however he was next to take over for the man in front of him and Saito never really got used to patrolling especially at night when, for the most part, everything was silent. In Seireitei he could simply bring his calligraphy supplies and find peace with the silence around him, however in Karakura at night time it was almost complete and utter nothing save for the few binges of hollows here and there. Why the silence urked him so Saito would never know but for now it was a part of the job description.

At times like these he usually came down from the heavens to meet with the person he would be taking over for, if not just to have a little company before he had to do nothing for a few hours. The man he would be replacing was an unfamiliar face. He had deep blue eyes like Saito however he didn't sport the traditional shihakukusho all black separated him from the mix of regular garb. He was probably affiliated with another order in Seireitei, main examples the Corps. or Onmitsukidō. Didn't matter either way.

[purple]"I'm Saito Hajime of the fifth division. I know I'm a bit early to take over but I thought I would drop in. You are?"[/purple]

This friendly approach would hopefully take the two shinigami's mind off of the boredom that was to come for Saito or at least if not he wouldn't have to wait alone for a bit. Who knew a hollow or two might actually have the gull to come out tonight. It seemed like since the big Aizen incident they were more controlled than before not as many were coming out to play and that was no fun. What was the point in training when there was nothing to prove yourself against, right? For now it would be enough of a goal to simply up the ranks of his division. After all for the moment they were in need of certain positions.

[Drake]

And this is where she comes in, the antagonist, the "bad" guy. Entering the scene to do what these two Shinigami o' so wanted, to excite excitement. The vile sound of the rip of dimensions echoed out over both Hideo and Saito. From it oozed out a dense, savage Reiatsu which coated the area like a warm blanket.

The two Shinigami Krave'd the interesting. They wanted excitement, something other than normal, boring hollow slaying. Well what if that very excitement was the ultimate cause of their death? Would it be so 'fun' then?

No, it wouldn't.

And she stepped. One meager foot touched down on the Karakura air and the rest of her body followed suit. Finally fully out her six tails curled inward resting on her external skeleton. She roared viciously, letting her true full Reitsu pour out over both her natural enemies. It created a rippling effect in the air while simulating the effect of heavier gravity as all Reitsu tend to do.

The Shinigami could take it for what it was worth but Krave was ready to wine and dine on some tasty human souls.

[Shinobi]

[purple]"So is that how shinigami patrol these days?"[/purple]

The silent approach had gone unnoticed to Hideo as he sulked quietly to himself at the lack of entertainment. So when the other Shinigami spoke, he had been a little surprised. After his 'wail of despair', Hideo has collapsed onto his back, closing his eyes until the next Hollow would register of his cell phone. He opened his eyes to lazily stare at the boy. "Damn straight" he smirked.

In a swift movement, Hideo hopped to his feet. "Aren't you a little early...er..." he trailed off, letting the unknown name hang in the air. He hadn't met everyone in Seireitei, it would be difficult to do so anyway, so it wasn't a surprise that he had never seen this guy before in his life. He looked to be around Hideo's own age, though a fair bit shorter. Purple hair and blue eyes like his own...

[purple]"I'm Saito Hajime of the fifth division. I know I'm a bit early to take over but I thought I would drop in. You are?"[/purple] he responded in a friendly tone.

Hideo grinned and stuck out his hand, glad that there was a chance they would get along. "Hideo Kazuya, 2nd Division, Onmitsukidō. Nice to meet you Saito-san." He'd shake his hand, if given the chance, before sighing in a small amount of depression. With someone coming to take over for the patrol, it just reminded him of the fact there had been no Hollows on his shift. "Man, such a bummer that nothing happened..."

No sooner had the words left his mouth did his cellphone, and possibly Saito's as well, start beeping. Hideo frowned. A Hollow? Now? He reached for the device in his pocket and flipped in open.

His eyes widened at the information.

"W-What?! Why would a-" A heavy spiritual pressure landed thickly on his shoulders, startling him. According to Soul Society's information, this Hollow has Reiatsu above his own. And that power felt like it was directly... "It's here!" He muttered harshly as a roar pierced the air. Quickly he smothered the fear that welled up inside of him and unsheathed his zanpaktou.

"Saito... you with me?" He was grinning again, his eyes locked on the beast hovering above them.

[Saito]

Well definitely the start to a nice friendship it seemed. The man before him, in first judgment portrayed a laid back personality. This was not a kin to Saito's however it was a good fit for him. Someone who wouldn't take the shinigami's quips to seriously and find humor in the stale faces he gave after his remarks. His own chill remark put a slight smirk on Hajime's lips as he welcomed the man's friendship. It also seemed that Saito was correct in his assumption the man was of the Onmitskido and the second division. His footwork was probably immaculate something the purple haired shinigami thoroughly respected as he himself as an avid trainer of zanjutsu relied on it heavily. They would have to a have a friendly spar sometime they could probably teach each other a lot.

As a hand was extended toward the purple shinigami he watched it's journey toward him. Usually he was not one to touch the hands of others but he knew people hated that fact about him especially those he just met. During his time of hesitation the man said something Saito lost track of because as soon as he said it the simultaneously beeping of their cells would alert them to the presence of something neither had seen all day; action.

Saito who was about to grab the hand of the man before him in a friendly gesture quickly found himself going past the hand presented to him and flipping his phone to get the source of the eerie pressure around them. Whatever it was, was definitely more powerful than both of them spiritually though with both of them together the gap could no doubt be bridged. [purple]"Tch."[/purple] A near by roar and closing of a garganta would pierce the stillness of the night as the shinigami prepared for their jobs. The man Saito was soon to replace unsheathed his zanpaktou within seconds and offered to allow Saito to tag along, of course he would oblige.

[purple]"Of course, how could I explain my cowardice now after already knowing the beast was here?"[/purple]

The hand that was once gently laying upon his wakizashi now flipped down to his katana gripping it's hilt as he eyed the creature above them. His azure orbs burned with resolve as he embraced his purpose, to vanquish these demons and keep the balance. A sigh would escape his lips as he calmed himself. Saito only feared one thing and this hollow at the moment did not take that slot. Saito wouldn't hold back on this beast and hopefully Kazuya-san would live up to his position in both the second division and Onmitskido.

[purple]"I guess we'll have to get more acquainted through our battle tactics."[/purple]

[Tsukasa]

It was late in the night at Karakura Town and among the people still outside was Shirayuki Tsukasa, a human. Despite being a human, Tsukasa was aware of the existence of Hollows and Shinigami. He didn’t know too much about them, but he knew what they were called and what they generally looked like. And how he knew this information was all due in part to one fact: he was a spiritually aware human. He wasn’t immensely powerful, but he was stronger than most other people to begin with and his powers allowed him to surpass even his current physical limits. He had recently discovered these powers of his, but he was more than excited and was ready to explore them even further. It had been awhile since he had started on his quest for strength and up until recently, he had thought that he had hit his limit; Tsukasa inevitably came to the conclusion that he had started to plateau. A human could only go so far when it came to strength. There was a limit to it all, or at least, that’s how it was for normal people. Finally with a way to surpass even that, Tsukasa’s interest had been reborn.

But this night was just like any other night. Tsukasa hadn’t encountered any particularly strong Hollows. After all, from his last conversation with a Shinigami, Tsukasa had been told that the Hollows he had encountered were the lowest. Over the past few weeks, he had learned something about their habits though, and he hoped that he would chance upon a stronger one. He realized that the best way to improve was to be put in a position where one was forced to do so. Seeking out more Hollows, to at least refine his current skills, Tsukasa had started wandering the outskirts of the districts during the night time. As aforementioned, Tsukasa had somewhat learned of a Hollow’s habits. They tended to appear at the more desolate areas, usually at around night time. He couldn’t exactly figure out why, but he figured it had something to do with Shinigami. So in order to increase the chances of him finding stronger Hollow, he had started to roam in random areas, spots infamous for monster sightings. Amongst those areas was one he had yet to run by: the Karasu River.

“I wonder if there’s anything here…?” Tsukasa wondered as he found himself simply walking along the river. His eyes lay upon the river, which reflected the moonlight, giving it a rather mysterious aura. He had almost lost himself in thought, simply staring at the river as he walked along mindlessly. He had learned that there was really no point in actively searching for Hollows. He didn’t know how to conceal his spiritual pressure so Hollows were bound to come to him either way. However, his daze was suddenly broken by the sound of a loud roar that suddenly pierced his ears. “This sound…!” he thought to himself immediately as he tried to find the source of it, but to no avail. The roar was too loud and he couldn’t actually discern where it had originated from. Luckily for him, this wouldn’t be a problem. Almost at the same time, a heavy pressure befell Tsukasa, who suddenly found it harder to move and breathe. His heart suddenly started to race and he couldn’t help but give off a grin. “This pressure…that roar…there’s no doubt about it.” Tsukasa thought to himself.

The roar was one thing, but the heavy reiatsu was another. While Tsukasa couldn’t actually detect reiatsu and find out where it was, he could move around. Surely, the reiatsu’s pressure would become stronger as he moved closer to the Hollow. If he felt it getting weaker, he would know he was going in the wrong direction. It would take awhile, but he was certain that he would be able to reach the Hollow eventually. “Let’s be quick about this…” he told himself as he started to run around the area, searching for the Hollow.

It certainly did take some time, but Tsukasa was able to find his way to the source of the heavy reiatsu. Arriving at his destination, he saw that the Hollow wasn’t alone. There was a Shinigami nearby, or rather, there were two Shinigami nearby. Seeing as how they were headed towards the Hollow, he was able to gather a little bit of information concerning Shinigami. ”It seems that fighting Hollows are their job…” he noted as he remembered the last encounter he had with a Shinigami. All of them seemed to chase after Hollow and this his logical conclusion. But for the time being, this wasn’t the most important part. This Hollow was strong. Tsukasa definitely wanted to fight against it and test himself.

Concentrating, Tsukasa let his reiatsu flow as the crimson-colored energy surrounded him. He hunched over and bent his back down a little, lowering his stance as he kept his arms at his side, elbows bent so that his hands were pointing ahead of him. His left foot was also behind his right, so that he would be able to kick off with his main foot if he felt the need to run around, which he would definitely end up doing. He knew that his ‘Bestial Slash’ was going to be ineffective against the Hollow, but he decided that it would be in his best interest to use it to at least garner the Hollow’s attention. Straightening his left arm back, Tsukasa gathered his reiatsu at his fingertips and straightened his fingers. Swinging his arm as hard as he could, Tsukasa released a jet of crimson crescent-shaped reiatsu towards the Hollow. It would probably just leave a scratch at most…but Tsukasa wanted attention, no matter what it took.

[Drake]

Krave took it all in; the scene that was. The two Shinigami that decided to take on an offensive approach and draw their Zanpaktou, and the lowly human that felt special because he was aware of his worst nightmare.

Hmm... Human.

A thick coat of saliva flooded Krave's mouth as she let her jaw hang anxious of the meal in front of her. Forget the Shinigami, it was the human that truly caught her attention just like he wanted. The Hollow's tails brandish back and forth across the air while her heart beat seemingly in tune. "Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh." She purred allowing the saliva to drip slick by slick from her radiant white mouth. Krave's could see the effect her Reitsu was having on all three of her foes, two of them actually filling with fear.

Before attacking the Shinigami, Krave would dive straight for the human so she could satisfy this Krave'ing. Though, the human seemed to have other things in mind. Krave watched him gather Reiayoku and then launch it in a crescent shape toward her. Krave made no movements as the attacked came upon her; she did however expel Reiayoku from her body making a dense yet unstable layer of protection. Yes, there were probably more efficient ways of going about this but her instinct was telling her so and it was something she wasn't used to. The attack collided head on with the base of Krave's body cloaking her and her immediate area in a dense smoke.

Direct hit.

From the smoke sprang not one but two clones from her body. As the smoke slowly faded away Krave was holding one of her skeletal claws up to her face digging into her forehead. She tugged one last time claiming a third one from her own. It came out with a roar similar to Krave's previous one. All three of the clones stood directly in front of Krave ,each one of them no more than five feet from the last. Once again all four of them roared savagely into the air as saliva flew in practically all directions. Now, it was even.

[Shinobi]

"Of course, how could I explain my cowardice now after already knowing the beast was here?"

Hideo grinned, not taking his eyes off the Hollow before them. He was glad to have Saito's help in this battle after all. He had never faced a Hollow at this level of power and didn't want to be caught flat-footed without someone to back him up at least. "I guess we'll have to get more acquainted through our battle tactics." Saito commented, eliciting a nod from the blond. Now wasn't the time to chat anymore, that had passed.

Now was the time for action.

Ironic that the first attack of the battle was not initiated by neither the Shinigami nor the Hollow; but a human. Hideo sensed the elevation of the human's reiatsu as they prepared to attack, his eyes widening. A spiritually aware human with a power? His eyes flicked toward the boy near the river below, quickly memorizing his face. Was it one of the Ryoka that stormed the Seireitei nnot too long ago?

Hideo watched as the attack crashed into the Hollow, obscuring it from view for a few seconds. His hands tensed, his grip on his zanpaktou increasing. As the smoke began to clear, two copies of the Hollow appeared. "The hell?" he muttered, sweat beginning to form on his brow. The original came into view once more as it created yet another clone from it's flesh. "It can clone itself?!"

'What a dangerous ability...' he thought to himself, feeling his own reiatsu increase as he prepared to attack. With a human nearby, he and Saito would have to go all out from start to finish. They couldn't afford for the human to get hurt, or worse. "Don't hold back, Saito-san. We'll have to take out the clones quick if we want to get at the original!" His grin returned anew as he launched forward at the left-most clone, his zanpaktou held firmly in his right hand.

Before he was within eight feet of the clone, his left hand would shoot out, his reiatsu spiking with the power of a kidou on his lips.

"Byakurai!" Immediately a lightning fast blast of energy shot from his left index finger, aimed to pierce through the clones head. His sword was held across his body in a defensive position, ready to protect himself should his attack miss or be avoided.

[Saito]

It would seem tonight would bring the shinigami a good battle. THe hollow stepped out tearing through the air with anger. The standoff had begun. Neither made the first move for an eternal second however something had changed. The hollow's attention had been stolen away by something else. The creature forgot about the two shinigami in front of him and dashed toward the ground. Was it retreating? Running away to gain advantage? At first Saito had no idea what it could be, however almost as soon as he thought about it, it could only be one thing; human. There were no other noticeable powers in the area and a hollow would only react that way in the face of a potential threat if someone more desirable was in the area.

No sooner had Saito came to this conclusion than an explosion occured in the hollows face. On the ground stood a human. One who, apparently, was spiritually aware and could also manipulate reiatsu into some form of power. Interesting to say the least. No matter how interesting it seemed, however, it escalated the situation. The shinigami would have to protect the human while still trying to eradicate the beast. Fun. Whats more is the creature was now perturbed which was noticed when he began making clones out of himself. Saito didn't know how he did it but when the smoke cleared there were now four hollow in front of the original. Great.

Kazuya-San acted instinctively fast shooting off a kido toward the creature. Byakurai was a good technique to have on hand, however long range left the user quite open if the enemy was able to dodge Saito had faith in the man he was fighting alongside, however, and trusted that he knew what he was doing. To get through this they would have to work together and Saito would rely on his comrade to be able to hold his own for now especially with a human in the area. He seemed to have some sort of power he didn't have a blade so him having a zanpaktou didn't seem likely especially with the level of attack released. For now however he could be useful. Saito utilized shunpo as his ally shot off the Byakurai and appeared next to the human.

[purple]"What are you doing? You should be running away if you can see this."[/purple]

Human's were unpredictable creatures. Usually those who could actually see these hollows were so frightened that they ran however this one chose to try and stop it. Respectable and annoying at the same time. The shinigami stood beside the human not taking his eyes off the hollow in the sky. He would probably send off two of those clones toward them and for now long range wasn't an option for the shinigami. His array of kido wasn't advanced enough for such tactics. He would have to strategically outsmart the creature, which shouldn't be a problem seeing as it was just a mindless hollow bent on one thing; the feed. Saito's hand gripped tightened on his katana as he awaited the hollow to make a move after Kazuya's attack.

[Tsukasa]

”It just hit…?” Tsukasa thought to himself as he found himself eager to see the results. His crescent-shaped projectile of reiatsu had reached its target, clouding the Hollow immediately as the blade and Hollow came into contact with each other. As the dust cleared, dispersing to the side, the Hollow had revealed that it was perfectly fine. It wasn’t just fine though. It had replicated while it was masked by the dust, and Tsukasa could see that there was a clone of the Hollow right next to where it was. He continued to watch silently as the Hollow proceeded to pull out more from within itself, creating a handful of copies that all simply stood near each other, letting loose a roar as they settled down. ”Great…! This is just perfect!” Tsukasa thought to himself with a grin on his face as he let loose more of his reiatsu thanks to his excitement. His heart started to race and his eyes seemed to exude eagerness. However, much to his chagrin, he wasn’t the only person around; there were two Shinigami nearby.

“Byakurai!”

One of the Shinigami had shouted this phrase as he pointed out his index finger, letting loose what seemed to be a bolt of lightning from his fingertip. Tsukasa simply looked at the Shinigami with disdain. He had wanted to go against the Hollow one on one and this wasn’t likely to happen. They were interfering with what he wished for. Sadly, there was nothing he could really do about it. ”…disappointing…” he commented as he laid his eyes upon the other Shinigami. The other one seemed to react to Tsukasa’s presence, evident by the fact that Tsukasa had locked eyes with him for a brief moment. Suddenly, that Shinigami had vanished from his sight, confusing Tsukasa. ”Where he go?! he wondered, a little shocked that the person had suddenly disappeared.

“What are you doing? You should be running away if you can see this.”

The words carried over from a voice behind him, and as soon as Tsukasa turned his head to face the person who had approached him, he noticed it was the Shinigami who had vanished from his sight just a moment ago. ”Fast…probably stronger than me too…” he commented as he turned back, ignoring the Shinigami’s words. A normal person would run away from the sight of the monster. In fact, Tsukasa’s own instincts were telling him to leave the battlefield. He knew the Hollow was considerably stronger than him and that he stood no chance, but he refused to just back down without trying. He had something to prove and he would gladly risk his life to attain the strength that he needed. To him, running wasn’t an option. ”Tch.” he simply made a noise in response to the Shinigami’s words, signaling that he didn’t plan on retreating. Facing the Hollows again, Tsukasa wondered how strong each of the clones were.

There were a few things he was able to assume from what he had seen. Whether his assumptions were actually true or not is unknown. For one, the others were just clones. It wasn’t an entirely separate entity on its own, which he figured from the fact that the original Hollow had ‘pulled’ a third clone out of itself. If they are simply clones, then that means that their power has been either evenly divided with the original or their power is just a fraction of the original’s. However, this still raised a couple of different questions: Did they all have equal strength? Were they weaker than the original? Would they still be strong even if they did split their power? While the first two were pretty important, the third one was the most important. If they were stronger than him regardless, then the first two questions were essentially useless.

”I’m just gonna have to find out…” Tsukasa thought to himself as he drew his arm back once again. There was no point in thinking too deeply about it. He could just find out by attacking the clones. The rest period for his ‘Bestial Slash’ had long been over, and he was ready to see just exactly how strong this monster was. Gathering the reiatsu at his fingertips, Tsukasa straightened his fingers once more as he swung the arm across, releasing a second jet of crimson red, cresecent-shaped reiatsu towards the Hollows. Which one it hit was none of his concern, but he was hoping it would hit a clone. His first attack had already attacked the original, and like he expected, his attack had no effect whatsoever. He decided that he would ignore the Shinigami and just attack the Hollow as much as he could.

[Drake]

As Hideo moved, so did Krave and the clones. The one to the farthest left jumping forward to Tsukasa quickly closing the distance between them. Even before Hideo approached the eight foot mark he'd feel a draining force sucking the speed and power from all of his movements and actions. Every movement being a bit more taxing as it time passed The motion of the lifting of the arm and the pointing of the finger, all being progressively slowed.

Byakurai!

The white lightning shot forth at the clone. But it was too slow. By the time he had lifted his hand and called out The clone had converted internal Reiryoku into pure Kinetic energy. The clone with a now increased amount of momentum dash quickly to Hideo's right dodging the destructive Kido. Themselves being so close the draining force was even that more potent. Krave's clone, now filled with an increased amount of momentum continued to move forward pass Hideo, while doing so it swung out with it's skeletal claw aiming to claw at Hideo's right knee, claiming all the flesh off of the Shinigami's very bones and hopefully doing some damage to his joints.

The other two clones swarmed Hideo. One came from above, jumping into the air and descending from the sky a top of Hideo's head. From it's mouth the clone gathered up a sufficient amount of Reiryoku. It molding and shaping into the Reiryoku into a mighty Cero. At the same time the clone was slowly destroying the kinetic energy that was causing it to descend to Hideo, allowing it to gain more hang time to charge the Cero. The other clone simultaneously jolted forward, ducking under the excited Bakurai and transferring Reiryoku into Kinetic Energy propelling the clone forward at an increased speed like the one from before. Each of the three clones collectively draining Hideo's kinetic energy right from his very body. Each one of them draining 2% of his overall bodily speed every .01 seconds.

And that was the plan. Divide and conquer. The original Krave kept her position back where she arrived and surveyed the fight. Krave looked down at the other Shinigami and the human on the ground. A large amount of saliva continued to drip from her boiling hot mouth, "Ahhhhh...." She growled in anticipation of her next meal.

[Shinobi]

'Something is wrong.'

Hideo wasn't very strong, not in the least. In fact, when compared to just about any other Shinigami, he was rather weak. But he wasn't dense enough to overestimate himself. He loved to fight, but even he knew his limits. If anything the blond underestimated himself greatly. It was his mind that was his greatest strength and weakness. He was intelligent, his mindset shifting when in battle, despite his lack of confidence in his skills.

That is why he knew something was off when he got close to that Hollow.

When he charged forward at the speed he did, he knew and was reaffirmed of the fact that he was fast, even without using shunpo. So when his attack seemed to slow down before his very eyes, even just that small fraction, he knew. For a battle maniac, even the smallest changes can become glaringly obvious. He started off strong and fast, and then he wasn't as fast as he knew he should be moving.

The Hollow seemed impossibly fast.

By then, the moment the kido was off his lips, Hideo already felt he needed to make some space. The once forgotten shunpo was trying to fuel his quick retreat, even as he continued to slow. Truthfully, the difference between his speed was only a small bit, but in a battle between beings who can vanish from sight with a single step, that fraction would cost him.

Even as his reiatsu raged as he tried to move, the Hollow had closed in. A claw flashed into his knee, his movement saving him from a truly debilitating wound by only tearing a deep and painful wound though his leg. He'd be able to use it, but not with pain. His movement was effectively cut in half.

He kept moving.

Thick rivulets of blood sprayed from his fresh wound, his eyes catching note of two more attackers intent on finishing him off here. But he wasn't going to die just yet. "Seki!" he hissed, a large round shield flickering to life before him. With one of the clones charging him, he was sure that it would run into the glowing shield. And when it did, no doubt it'd be paralyzed on the spot. Giving him time.

The shunpo was slow working, his legs moving too slow for him to avoid the quicker attacks. But the clone above him charging a cero, that took time. And then it was different. To prepare his retreat, Hideo, like any person, required a brief second to stop and redirect his momentum. He still felt somewhat slower, but once he began to move again, he noted his original speed was renewed. As such, his shunpo took him away from his opponents', rendering the cero moot. Wary of this Hollow's ability, he put more than enough distance between them.

His didn't stop until he was at least 12 meters away.

His breathing was haggard, his right knee bleeding profusely. He'd hate to admit that he had gotten himself in this situation. He was so excited to fight that he didn't think his actions through. But he never would have expected to meet a Hollow with such a devastating power.

Hideo hung back to reassess the situation.

"Saito-san! Watch out for this one, it seems to have some kind of control over time. I immediately began to slow down the moment I got too close." he paused, trying fervently to remember any healing kido he may have learned.

He got none.

"I don't know how it works just yet, but I'm sure it has a limited range. If you have any ranged attacks, now would be the time to use them." He frowned, not entirely sure of the range. Not knowing how the power worked made him cautious and nervous and angry. This wasn't a game anymore, it never was. But he wasn't going to take it lightly.

He began to chant.

"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!"

He held his palm toward the Hollow and it's clones, ready to blast any one should they attack. He had never been too good with kido, but there was never a bad time to learn.

SPOILER: Click to show

Actions:
+ Seki - 8. Seki (Repulse) — Creates a round shield that seems to temporarily paralyze and repel whatever strikes it.
Incantation: unknown/none

+ Shunpo'd away - put 12 meters between Jin and any given clone

+ Talked to Saito and chanted the incantation to:
31. Shakkaho (Shot of Red Fire) — Fires a ball of red energy at a target.

---

Number of actions: 2 and a half.
State: Hale overall. Wounded right knee cutting movement speed.

[Saito]

The human almost entirely ignored the shinigami's existence as he pressed on with his attempt to attack the hollow. At least now Saito could see exactly what he was doing. It seemed he could channel waves of reiatsu through his body. Saito watched as he charged exhaling deeply as the boy sent an attack toward the clones after his first proved futile against the main one. This time however even though Saito thought the human was a nuisance he would use his attacks to his advantage. Especially with the way things were going with his friend Hideo. The hollow sent all of his clones toward his comrade probably hoping to end him in one fell swoop. Two were physically on him while one was in the sky charging what could only be the mother of all hollow moves; cero.

Saito raised his hand as the words quickly left his lips. [purple]"Hadou no Roku: Yajirushi no Hakai"[/purple] The full power of the technique erupted from his finger tips as the hollow charging the cero was smashed by the humans attack. It was obviously not ready for it as it prematurely let loose its technique in a much weaker state. Milli seconds later Saito's technique would already have rippled through the air and through the hollow's mask realistically incapacitating the hollow unless something was done. However what really could be done the hollow would not be able to move fast enough to do anything to stop itself from getting destroyed by the combo and the only way it could be saved by one of its friends would be for them to sacrifice themselves as far as Saito knew and since they were in the midst of attacking Hideo it was likely one clone was down. Still, there was the mother hollow to worry about as well however he doubted it would put itself at risk in this situation. Either way Saito was ready with a follow up should the need arise.

All in all he was right Hideo did kind of leave himself open with the hollow, and it tried to take advantage with its 'clones', or whatever they were. Luckily his comrade had some skill and was able to do much more than simply evade and live to fight another day. Hideo was able to gather valuable Intel on the beast and judging from what he said this was not the time to play around. Saito calmly acted as if he was still thinking about the situation as he sheathed his Katana. His hand released it's hilt and made it's way to his Wakizashi the source of his true power. It was time to take this threat even more seriously especially with such a dangerous ability.

[Tsukasa]

Tsukasa simply looked over the Hollow’s actions, which had seemingly decided to attack Hideo, the Shinigami who was up in the air. “So it wants to take us down one by one…? Or it’s just ignoring us…? Or rather, me?” he thought to himself, not sure which one it was. Perhaps it would be the first one if these monsters had any shred of intelligence, but was that really the situation? Maybe it deemed Tsukasa unworthy of being taken care of first, which he couldn’t stand the idea of. But he realized that there was nothing he could really do, deciding to simply look over, silently. He was a little jealous. After all the effort he went through to try and draw the Hollow’s attention, it went and aimed for the Shinigami first. He was a little disappointed by it, although he couldn’t help but feel a little relieved since the Hollow seemed to be considerably stronger than him. He still couldn’t shake off the urge to fight against such a thing though. Paying attention, to at least observe the Hollow’s abilities, Tsukasa watched as the Shinigami released the white lightning, observing that the Hollow seemed to instantly speed up to avoid the attack.

“So it’s quick too…” he thought to himself as he acknowledged the Hollow’s speed. He continued watching and saw that the Hollow had continued with a swipe, slashing at the Shinigami’s leg. From the looks of it, the attack had connected as well. As two more clones rushed towards Hideo, Hideo cast a shield, effectively paralyzing the clone. “He’s not bad either…” he commented as he saw the Shinigami starting to back away, avoiding a reiatsu attack unleashed by another one of the clones that was above him. Overhearing the words of the Shinigami, Tsukasa made a mental note to himself: ”Moving near the Hollow results in becoming slower. Limited range.” Tsukasa made sure to be cautious; it seemed like this Hollow was much stronger than a regular one…perhaps even worlds apart. That ability alone could provide some serious advantages. It would for Tsukasa anyways, seeing as how he shined in close-ranged combat. The Shinigami had then proceeded to gather reiatsu at his hands. Tsukasa tried to pick up the exact words, hearing it a little, but it didn’t really mean much to him.

Turning his attention back, Tsukasa noticed that the Shinigami beside him had initiated an attack. Some form of reiatsu attack, which included a name and a number. He could really care less what it was but it caught his attention. It was a red projectile attack, most definitely made of reiatsu. Tsukasa wasn’t sure how strong it was but he was curious to see. ”Shinigami are pretty interesting…” he noted to himself as he wondered what to do next. He wanted to try and capture the attention of the Hollow, but his plan had obviously failed. Hideo, the Shinigami up in the air, had become the primary target for the time being. It wouldn’t be wise to use up his reiatsu so quickly. ”Alright then…I’ll just wait and see what happens…” he thought to himself as he looked over at the only stationary Hollow, which was looking down at him as well. It was drooling, perhaps in anticipation for its next meal. This gave Tsukasa a sense of satisfaction; he knew that the Hollow did at least plan on fighting him at one point or another.

Looking at Saito, Tsukasa noted that the Shinigami seemed to become more serious. The Shinigami had sheathed his katana and revealed a wakizashi. Tsukasa didn’t know the significance of this, so he turned his attention back to the Hollow’s clones, deciding that he would simply enjoy the show until it was his turn to battle.

[Drake]

And there it was, blood.

How it trickled down the boy's leg. It's potent red color perfectly matched that of the Hollow's skin: "Mmmmmaaaaaaaahhh.." The successful clone's couldn't help but let out a mellow bellow out of satisfaction. After taking a nice chunk of meat, the clone extended it's fresh, clean claw and swiped just as quickly toward the Shinigami's side.

"Seki!" The Shinigami called out launching a Kido effectively saving himself from the second clones assault. The clone hit the wall of Reiryoku and was knocked back and momentarily stunned. The Cero charging clone was knocked by the human's attack, forcing the Cero out prematurely not even five feet from Hideo. The weak Cero erupted but before it could even get off the ground a red projectile broke it's mask easily into pieces, dispelling the clone.

The Original Blinked.

The only successful clone as said before continued her assault with a second strike as the Shinigami launched his Seki attack and while he was in the moments of starting his Shunpo. The second attack came not even seconds after the first and the clone converted a small amount of it's already small amount of Reiryoku into kinetic Energy forcefully propelling himself forward toward Hideo at an increased speed. If Hideo wasn't fast enough the clone would ram directly into Hideo's frame. The external skeletal structure colliding powerfully into him. The first to hit Hideo would be the protruding bones along the spine of the skeletal system which could cause some impaling.

If Hideo was fast enough and able to use his Shunpo before the clone was about to swing with his other arm only moments from after the first one ripped through his knee then the clone would use the converted Reiryoku to propel him toward Hideo thus closing the distance and internally converting the last of it's Reiryoku into kinetic energy and storing it into it's body at dangerously higher levels.

The original Krave at this time hissed faintly, letting a small amount of Reiryoku out of her body and five feet directly behind her emerged three opening Gargranta's.

Krave's facial features twisted into an odd formation, one that closely resembled that of a smirk if it weren't for the amount of deadly teeth and typical facial structure.