The Fourth Target: Ally Or Enemy?

Young Girl
"HA!" Akiko cried firing a cero at the boy.

"Too weak!" He cried cutting it in half.

"She's getting stronger, eh Shunsatsu?" Ahatake asked turning to his friend.

The said Shinigami elite slowly raised his head up, onyx and lazy eyes gazing towards the man that addressed him. "Hm?" He asked, shrugging. "I really wasn't paying much attention.

"What are you thinking about?" Ahatake asked amidst the clashing of blades.

It made Shunsatsu pause for a moment, eyes closed, as he sat against the sturdy trunk of a tree. When he spoke again, his voice was more quiet, almost sullen in nature. "Tereyu."

"Why? We don't know her."

"We do. She's the last target."

"I know." Ahatake said. "And if she's ugly I'm not saving her."

Ug--

Immediately, Shunsatsu's eyes shot open, and he shot an awestruck, but annoyed glare at Ahatake's direction. "Oh, yes you are." He countered. "After all, you're the one who wanted to fight so bad!"

"Fight my good friend not rescue."

"That makes you look bad, Ahatake." Hitokage said, parrying a blow from Akiko.

Shunsatsu snorted. "Well, the "saving" part actually involves the fight. Unless, of course...." His tone lowered, to a more taunting effect to his tone. "You're not up for it?"

"Like that would ever happen." Ahatake laughed shooting a mock cero at his friend. "I'm ALWAYS up to a fight."

A smile came across the other Shinigami's face. "Of course."

Suddenly they heard a cry and saw a flash of blue-white light.

Huh....?

That was the first thought of Shunsatsu, and his widened eyes and abruptly turned head didn't help but show it. "What....was that?" He asked slowly, cautiously getting up from his position on the ground.

"Such spiritual pressure." Ahatake hissed. I feel Mozou's. And an unfamiliar one."

That could only mean one thing....he's on the hunt.

Shunsatsu put his hands into his pockets, looking over at the two duelists behind both him and his friend. "All right, hold off your spar for now. We gotta move!" He called.

"Right!" Akane said and Hitokage vanished into the sword and Akiko donned her hollow mask.

Shunsatsu's gaze quickly turned to Ahatake, not skipping a beat, or its level-headed aura. "Care to lead? Or should I?" He asked patiently.

Ahatake pulled his mask over his face. "Go ahead!"

It was all that was needed. Shunsatsu quickly turned around, spread his feet out, and leaped, vanishing an inch off of the ground. It was another millisecond more when his comrades vanished soon after, in hot pursuit.

"Let's kill him this time!" Ahatake hissed.

La Distancia Para Un Duelo
"Foolish girl." Mozou muttered swatting the spell away. "What will Kido do to me?"

A weak smile came across the woman's face, as she lowered her hand, holding her Zanpakuto in her other one. "I was hoping it would shut you up..." She replied. "Guess I was wrong...."

"Do you still refuse to release you Zanpakuto? I don't want to kill you."

"I don't know what you mean..." Her voice was innocent, soft, and taunting, all at once, as she balanced the blade on her shoulder, hand on her hip. "Do you mean 'unsheath'? Or do you mean that pointless display of spiritual smoke-and-mirrors?"

"The latter woman."

"I don't need it! That stuff is only for those who want to make their sword look pretty!"

"I see." Mozou muttered and donned his mask. He extended a finger and fired a large cero.

She laughed, even as the beam of death came hurdling itself towards her, a beeline towards its target. "And you say you don't want to kill me? What an outright li--"

WHOOSH!

TSHEW!

What happened next had stopped her cold. A blue figure had appeared right in front of her, arm outstretched to catch and toss away the blast. Its hand was smoking, and its arm lowered, back turned towards her. "What..." She said in shock, backing away a few feet.

He, however, wasn't focused on him, but Mozou. "Pick on someone your own size, copycat." He challenged.

"Shunsatsu." Mozou muttered. "And his hollow wannabe's." He hissed as Ahatake and Akiko jumped in.

"Hey!" The girl immediately piped up from behind, a shocked glare on her features at the two newcomers. "Who do you think you are, barging in on my fight?!"

Ahatake moved his mask up. He stared at the girl through his black and yellow eyes. "She's pretty." He said to Shunsatsu, completely ignoring her question.

"U-uh--?!" Of course, she was taken off-guard, a blush spreading across her features. She couldn't even bring herself to respond, beofre Shunsatsu interrupted.

"Glad that you see so. I thought I would've had to drag you here."

"Guess that mean's I'm good to go." Ahatake said and he pulled his mask back on.

"Surely you haven't come to fight me?" Mozou asked.

"Nah." Shunsatsu pointed a finger towards the girl behind him. "We were just here to save her. Unless, of course...." A grin came across his face. "You got a problem with that...."

"I'll let her go, the moment she releases her Zanpakuto."

"Oh, god damn it..." The target grumbled in irritation. "Do I have to repeat myself? I'm not using it!"

"You're not using it, or you can't?" Akiko asked.

"Well...." She half-shrugged in reply. "Kind of both. It's something that my brother taught me."

"I see." Akane and Mozou said at the same time.

"It seems I was mislead." Mozou muttered. "I guess I'll just kill you."

A smart reply of her own was about to be fired back, before Shunsatsu stepped in once more, eyes narrowing. "Ah, ah, ah...." He replied, wagging a finger at Mozou. "Now, what did I just get through saying? We're saving her, so you're going to have to go through us. Got it?"

Mozou sighed. "Scatter, Senbonzakura...." He whispered and blades scattered into petals.

"Silence...Razor!"

Immediately, Shunsatsu's blade shifted to that of his Shikai, cleaver sword and all. Within an instant, he had vanished again, leaving the girl to stand alone and stare in amazement.

"That's Shunsatsu." Akiko said, appearing in the girl's face and she removed her mask. "You're pretty."

As if she had been slapped, the stranger ducked back, nearly swinging her sword at the red-haired woman in front of her. But instead, she let out a gasp, sword tip falling to the ground, and placed a hand to her heart, eyes looking Akiko down. "Please don't do that..." She muttered.

"Well you are. Prettier than my boyfriends ex."

"Akiko I'm not sure that's possible." Ahatake replied.

The girl let out a sigh, in a decision to change the subject. "I believe I haven't introduced myself yet...." She said in a mockingly guilty, but friendly manner. "I'm Tereya Seishou."

"I'm Akiko Kurosaki."

"I'm Ahatake Kurosaki." Ahatake replied.

Meanwhile, Mozou and Shunsatsu were having it out.

The petals sneaked around from behind and tried to envelope the young Shinigami.

WHOOSH!

"Too slow!" Shunsatsu's jeering voice rang out.

A second later, the body appeared, sword held in the air for a moment before it came downwards like a pendulum, straight for Mozou.

The petals came and blocked it. "You're too slow."

The sword did not stop.

With the force that Shunsatsu had used, it broke straight through the defense, as it seemed to connect, the air slicing in two at Mozou's shoulder. But there was no sound of metal cutting flesh. Had he connected?

He hadn't. Where Mozou had been there was only his scarf and Kosode.

"You....who haven;t even mastered bankai...haven't chance against me." Mozou hissed from behind ramming his hand into Shunsatsu's gut.

It made Shunsatsu gurgle in pain, spit flying from his mouth as he fell to his knees, the wind being taken from him. "D....damn...." He gasped, attempting to rise to his feet.

But he was pushed by down by an un-chanted Kido spell from Mozou.

"OOF!" He was shoved onto his back, skidding ungracefully into the ground. "And I'm STILL no match..." He thought, a smile forming onto his face. "Should've known better..."

Ahatake charged in a blew past Mozou to get to Shunsatsu helping him up. "I'll take it from here. You go rest."

Shunsatsu nodded, immediately sheathing his sword and backing off. "With pleasure..." He mused.

Ahatake's hand glew red. "Mozou I have a saying. When life gives you lemon's make lemonade. When life gives you cero...yeah...you're pretty much fucked." And Ahatake launched his cero at Mozou who dodged accordingly.

"You haven;t gotten much stronger, Ahatake."

Tereya smiled darkly, before she took one step forward.

WHOOSH!

The next moment, she was skidding to the side of Mozou, sword swung in a horizontal attack.

He blocked it, and flung her towards Ahatake who caught her with one arm.

"What are you doing?" Ahatake asked her, putting her down.

"What's it look like?" She retorted, eyes looking over at him skeptically. "I'm helping you out."

"Just don't get yourself killed." Ahatake muttered launching a cero at Mozou who deflected it with his petals.

"Hmph!" She vanished once again, flickering occassionally in sight as she rushed towards Her opponent again.

Ahatake jumped up and got hit by petals he didn't see coming. "Shit!" He thought as blood spurted from his side.

Tereya swung once again, this time in an overhead swing, with her feet poised into the ground to keep her balance.

And the petals blocked once again.

It wasn't much of a defense.

The lessened number of blades raising up to defend Mozou formed a thin clump of where Tereyu's sword was aimed for, and the heavier blade simply smashed through the defenses like butter, continuing its path for Mozou's neck.

But he blocked it with his arm, and then punched Ahatake who was coming up from behind.

"Nice try."

"Tch..."

Tereyu could only glare at her own blade, the metal sticking coldly into the arm of her seemingly emotionless opponent. Her trembling hands pushed forward a bit, trying to pierce deeper into the living flesh, but it refused to budge. It was a slight struggle between the two as they fought for the top of the table.

A grin came across her face. "For someone with flesh and blood...." She commended, voice low and impressed. "You're pretty sturdy..."

Mozou pushed her off and wiped his arm. "Release your Zanpakutou and maybe you'll have better luck."

Skidding back on stretched legs and a hand, she slid to a crouch position, sword pointed back and upwards. "I don't think you heard me correctly..." She replied, pushing herself off to her feet. "It's not that I won't release. It's that I can't release it."

"And you call yourself a Shinigami...." Mozou sighed.

"This could be trouble." Ahatake thought.

Immediately, a scowl came across her face, as that word registered in her head.

"Shinigami?..." She hissed, narrowing her eyes dangerously. "You're actually comparing me.... to those lowlife military soldier want-to-bes?"

Mozou removed his mask showing his black and yellow eyes. "Then what are you?"

"Simple..."

That was when everything changed.

A violent burst of spiritual energy erupted from her body. Her eyes began to glow with the same, dangerous yellow and black, with that same dark, invisble aura that enveloped both Mozou and Ahatake. Half of the fearsome mask appeared on the left side of her face, leaving half of her dangerous glare back on Mozou.

"I am what I am!"

"Hollow." The two Shingami said at the same time.

She snorted, the aura subsiding. '''"You're wrong again! I'm not even that, not even human anymore." ''' In a display of might, she raised her sword, twirled it around her head once, and then sliced into the very air, emitting an immediate, but small shockwave. "I'm a monster..." She whispered. "A host for the insanity inside me. You'll never truly understand what this is like!"

Mozou blocked it with one hand. "I know what that's like."

"As do I." Ahatake muttered wondering whether to attack Mozou or not.

"Do you?"

It didn't come from in front of him this time.

In an instant, she had vanished and approached her target from behind, eyes gleaming with the intent to kill, and body tensed viciously. She swung ths sword down, the tip slashing into Mozou's back. It wasn't enough to be considered a mortal wound, but the resounding shockwave caused the pain to be more intense.

Mozou had actually jumped back which was the only thing that caused that blow from harming him severely.

"Might as well." Ahatake muttered and charged in at Mozou, making a slashing motion with his sword. "Meidou Wangetsu!" Ahatake cried but Mozou dodged again and Ahatake's attack collided with a rock, sending it into a Garganta.

SHING!

The horizontal blade stuck out right in front of him, the hilt grasped by a slender arm. But the force was anything but slender, as the arm pulled backward, his attacker's other hand wrapping around his waist to keep him from getting away.

The petals came, however and enveloped them both, cutting at them and successfully stopping the attacker but also harming Mozou. With Tereya's grip loosened, Mozou jumped back from her and fired a cero.

"AAAH!" Tereya's pain-filled shout echoed in their ears, as she herself staggered back, stunned by the sudden attack on her person. Opening one eye, her heart quickened immediately, as she saw the beam of death coming straight at her.

She had to act quickly.

Twisting back her sword, she swung the blade right into it, pushing against it with her fighting strength. Gritting her teeth, she pushed the blade further, seemingly struggling with it.

But it was to no avail and the Cero overwhelmed her. Or so it seemed...

The resulting cloud of smoke was immediately sliced apart, revealing a bruised, but triumphant looking Tereyu, as she grinned maliciously at Mozou. "A regular Hollow could fire a more potent Cero than you ever could!" She said tauntingly.

"Foolish little girl..." Mozou muttered. "Thinking that was my best. This is far from over."

"He's right." Ahatake muttered, landing next to her. "If that was his best we'd have killed him in our last battle."

"That's a good thing." Tereyu replied immediately. "I wouldn't want to end this fight so soon, would you?"