Trouble In Yuurei
Nori grumbled to himself angrily. Why the hell did this always happen!? "Go to the Yuurei Oukoku for reconnaissance! Don't come back until you've gathered enough information!" he repeated nastily, nearly seething with anger. The realm here was annoyingly modern, as well.. Storming down the sidewalk, he pretended not to notice actual cars in the spirit world. "What a bitch, I hope she burns in Hell! Wait..." Nori reconsidered his words. She was already in Hell. Whenever she died she got sent back to Hell. But it was still technically possible for her to burn in Hell! Right? If she walked into that sea of lava she told him about, she would burn. So yeah, burn in Hell! A small sigh escaped the man's lips. Was there really a point to this, anyway? It wouldn't matter what the place looked like after legions of Demons came invaded, raped all the women children, killed the men, then killed the women and children, took over, and then claimed the entire realm for Bael.
At this time, the city was, unfortunately for the irate Nori, hustling and bustling. Due to the crowds of people constantly moving, he was forced to walk with the impatient flow of the citizens. From a short distance, there were a few cloaked men, otherwise known as the officers, that kept up a vigilant patrol of the area, eyes constantly surveying for any sign of peace-breaking. In any other time, this would've been considered normal.
However, there was two differences.
One was the Yuurei soldiers joining the police in the patrol.
Two... the road, as well as part of the sidewalk, was faintly stained in red.
Nori wasn't bothered at all by the police, soldiers, or the sidewalk. What annoyed him most was the people. The next person that bumped into him was going to get smacked. It wasn't like they had to get where they were going so badly that they had to push their little bony fingers against his back whenever he lowered his pace. Grunting in frustration, Nori headed off of the main sidewalk and into a smaller alleyway. He needed to calm down. If he blew his cover Envy would be less than pleased. But it wasn't as if she could punish him badly. He already had less than nothing to his name... Well, he had his room, but there was nothing in it. If she took his bed he would just sleep on the floor... this train of thought was pointless. He had to get back to the task at hand! Grunting slightly, Nori attempted to push his way back into the endless stream of pedestrians.
He was starting to approach a section of the road that was closed off, soldiers guarding it like a wall. Two of them were having a conversation that his ears could pick up as he made his way through the crowd.
"Did you hear what happened?" One of them asked.
"About what?"
"The shit that went down here a few weeks ago. One of those outsider Shinigami started the mess, according to the commander. Hell, did you know that he had an entire platoon of officers slain by his own bodyguard?"
"No shit. What for?"
"Not being able to put one little bitch out of her misery."
A chuckle. "Only one? They should've been given a punishment worse than being shot in the face!"
"I know, right?"
"...?" An incident? Maybe that would explain why there was so much additional military on patrol, along with the smell and the faint red coloring of the streets.. Still, it wasn't as if he hadn't witnessed more gruesome things in Hell...
Someone bumped into Nori's back. Anger was welling up inside of him. Maybe he should just walk faster... No, that wasn't it! These people! It was the people! No one so be in so much of a hurry to get to somewhere they hate!
Smack!
As promised, Nori spun around and smacked the person immediately behind him. "Asshole.."
The person abruptly fell to the ground, yelling in pain as he clutched his face.
A chain reaction started. THe people around him gasped in shock and horror, slowly backing away from the volatile man in order to avoid getting hit. But their noises, in turn, alerted the patrol around him, and thanks to their adaptive minds, they immediately realized what happened. The clink of several rifles was heard, their barrels pointing straight at Nori's head and ready to fire. One of the officers even had the audacity to hold his own gun point-blank behind Nori.
"Citizen, you have just violated Law Number 8." His voice monologued. "You are hereby placed under arrest, by order of the Yuurei Oukoku police, as well as the word of The King. Come along quietly, and no force will have to be used."
Nori, being careful not to use any hostile or agressive movements, carefully began to survey the scene around him. Apparently, an overly-dramatic citizen witnessed him strike the man behind him, who's unwarrented self-importance had caused him to bump into Nori as he hurried to wherever the hell he was going. This, in turn, alerted the police, etcetera, and now he was screwed over.
"If you don't mind, sir, could you please explain to me the penalty for violating Law Number 8? I can't recall it." he stated smoothly, being careful not to move an inch while adressing the officer behind him.
"That should have been made clear to you when you first entered this city. You should have been handed a piece of paper listing the major laws of Yuurei."
Nori's eyes dulled. "I did not say that I did not receive paper detailing the laws. I said that I could not recall the penalty for violating them." he rebuttled.
"The penalty for violation is to be taken to headquarters for questioning." The officer's ready reply was. "A possible sentence would be three days in local prison, considering your offense was minor."
A sigh escaped Nori's lips. This was unacceptable. His body effectively turned red then vanished, leaving the faint smell of smoke in the air. If he was lucky, maybe they'd believe he was disintegrated. Peeking over the edge of the roof of a building nearby, he giggled, watching the scene fold out.
The officer who had been holding him hostage immediately started blinking, eyes darting around in bewilderment. "W...what?!" He stuttered, aiming his gun around in a vain attempt to search for the man. "Where'd he go?!" Other officers began to do the same thing, though in a less... stupid... manner. The soldiers, however, seemed to be looking on at them in amusement, and even one of them had the gall to laugh.
"Wow. I didn't know the police were so incompetent. Maybe we should get Suki back here to finish you off, hm?" It taunted.
Angrily, the officer rounded on the solder. "Shut the fuck up! If you're so smart, why don't you find him?!" He snarled.
"Ugh... I'm so bored of it now." Nori groaned. Maybe he should have some fun! Starting out as a faint red outline, he appeared in front of the soilder that had just taunted the officer and kicked him in the groin. Then, once again, he disapeared and returned to the rooftop. This was going to be entertaining!
"GGGH!" Immediately, the poor grunt let out a scream of pain and fell to the ground, clutching his family jewels in a desperate attempt to dull the pain. A few of the officers couldn't help but laugh out loud at the misfortune. The citizens that were looking on before in fear had now burst out into outright laughter, pointing at the fallen and rather furious trooper as he struggled to stand. A fierce and mighty soldier quelled by the simple kick to the private parts!
However, the soldiers were not so distracted. Their eyes immediately, after a few seconds, swiveled in the direction of where Nori had hidden himself. They didn't speak a word, but turned their rifles upwards toward his position, aimed, and fired. Several bullets of reiatsu came flying out from the barrel and at the roof peak with deadly accuracy.
Pushing his foot against the shingles of the roof, Nori launched himself backwards, moving him out of the soldiers' line-of-sight. Should he release his Zanpakuto..? Why not! "Weed out, Nasuka." he mumbled. The sheathed Zanpakuto on his back glew white and morphed into a metallic rod, then became covered in barbs. The barbs dug into his back. He grimaced.
Gripping Nasuka, he slammed it into the shingles of the roof below. "Seiiku." Immediately, several roots burst out of the pavement below, wrapping themselves around the legs of the soldiers and preventing them from pursuing Nori.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"
"WE'RE STUCK!!!"
"AAAGH!"
This time, the officers acted rationally and raced towards the officers, dropping their guns in the process in an attempt to pry off the large roots.
"Tanpopo." Nori stated dully, as Dandelions sprung out of the roots restraining the officers. Without warning, then all released their seeds, forming what looked like a large white cloud around all of the officers and soldiers. Nori hoped this wouldn't kill anyone.
Now, it was complete chaos.
The crowd, after seeing this shocking display, went into a frenzy. The majority of their voices were portrayed in screams, and they turned tail to run away to what they considered safety. In the cloud, however, the officers and soldiers, upon their instinctive nature, stood stock still, their eyes drifting towards the cloud around them. In such a situation, they could easily assume some sort of ambush was going to happen, whether it was in the form of the opponent, or the distracting object itself. They stood, tensely, helplessly, as they waited...
The boy on the roof giggled. How easy this was, toying with people!... But the soldiers and officers were still there, weren't they? They needed to be taught a lesson. He didn't need to kill them... But to permanently disfigure them would be enough. But how would he go about doing it?
Nori tapped Nasuka on the roof slightly, causing the roots to dig into the soldiers' legs. It was barely deep enough to draw blood, but it did cause pain.
A collection of agonized groans came from the crowd, the pain shooting through their legs like a heroin drug rushing through the veins. The soldiers were more dignified in the approach, moaning like zombies as they attempted to pull the roots loose from their legs. The officers however, were outright shouting like women in labor, some of them jerking violently in order to pull themselves free.
Nori allowed himself to smile in satisfaction. The violent movements of the officers disturbed the floating seed pods immediately around them, which exploded into thorns, which disturbed the other pods. A shower of thorns engulfed everything within the cloud. The screams of the officers and soldiers were nice. At this point, Nori rotted the roots, allowing his captives free movement.
They collapsed to the ground, their bodies unable to withstand the onslaught of the thorns. Some had fallen unconscious due to the pain. Others were barely alive, trying to crawl away from the scene with what little they had of their lives. Their blood started to stain the ground once more, feeding what had already been absorbed into the ground. It was a fresh aftermath of a battlefield, bodies strewn everywhere, and red liquid staining the asphalt.
A horrible end.
Nori sighed... Did this count as 'blowing his cover'? It wasn't as if any of the officers that witnessed him were alive... But then again, there were the citizens. Should he hunt them down and kill all of them? But it's not like I memorized all of their faces.. he mumbled in his head, groaning in frustration. Then again, if he could single-handedly wipe out the entire military, he might get rewarded!
Leaping down from the building, Nasuka still in hand, Nori walked merrily down the sidewalk, whistling a happy tune. The dead soldiers on the street didn't concern him. Reinforcements? He could handle those too, if they came. Nothing could stop Nori!
WHAM!
But before he could do anything, something metallic connected with the back of his head, and he too fell to the ground with a THUD. Behind him was a lone soldier, lowering the butt of his rifle as he glared down at the man. "And I thought those fucking outsiders were trouble..." He mumbled, holstering his rifle. "You, my friend, are in very deep shit."
He hoisted Nori over his shoulder, and walked away, several more officers moving in to pick up the mess that was left behind.
A Talk Between Two Inmates
Nori's eyes snapped open. Everything was blurry. Where am I now..? he wondered, though from the faint hum of an engine, and the constant vibration of the floor, he could almost certainly discern that he was inside some kind of vehicle. Had he been captured? Most likely. Shifting himself into a sitting position, Nori began to drown in self-pity.
It was a rather good place to do so. All around him was a large, but desolate and empty space. He himself was in some sort of cage, with reiatsu-inhibiting steel bars surrounding him. Around that cage was several other cages, seemingly filling the entire space that was the cargo hold. Underneath all of it, the ground was slightly rumbling, signaling that the vehicle he was in was moving... presumably towards prison.
"Hello..?" Nori called out nervously. If anyone else was here, they could at least supply him with some company or entertainment. No reason for them all to be sad on their way to prison.. Besides the fact that they were all going to be either imprisoned or killed.
However, caught up in their own self-pity, the few prisoners in the cages around him refused to respond. In the cage in front of him, there was a lone shadowed figure who moved under his/her own cage, apparently having been sleeping. A feminine groan told him that the prisoner in front was of female gender.
This was boring. Nori kicked the wall of his cage facing the woman, making more noise then necessary in an attempt to agitate her. He would have some form of entertainment here, whether it was a polite conversation, or an argument. Besides, it wasn't as if she could harm him. Wasn't that the point of the cages?
"Well, aren't we a little feisty today?"
Apparently, his actions caused a rather taunting retort in his direction, courtesy of her. Now, she sat in a cross-legged position, and a peek of a Shinigami uniform could be seen through the small beams of light directed in her cage. Her voice wasn't annoyed, just amused at the stranger sitting in front of her cage. "Well, at least you're not like the rest of 'em. They act like friggin' dolls rather than actual people, I swear..."
"Well, they're all here for a reason, so they must have some kind of personality." Nori mumbled. Did she think she was better than him? The tone in her voice made Nori want to smack her. Aggression wasn't showing on his face, yet he was clenching his teeth. Nori kept his expression neutral as he awaited her response.
"Are you kidding me?" The female rolled her eyes, but she allowed herself to scoot closer up to the front bars. "The only ones who are showing any type of personality are the two of us right now. Unless, you consider depression and acting like it's the end of the world an actually full personality..."
"Untrue," Nori rebuttled, "In order to actually feel depressed, you need some sort of intellegence. Stupid people are ignorant to the world around them. They'd probably shrug off the fact that they're trapped in a cage, on the way to a prison where they're going to be either imprisoned or put to death, and be conversing with us right now." ... Did I just call myself stupid? Nah, nevermind, it's not possible...
But the question came up again, courtesy of her next words. "Did you just call yourself stupid?" She asked, a smirk crawling to the edges of her lips.
And he replied, "If I called myself stupid, it means I called you stupid too."
"Oh, I'm fully aware of the fact that my death might be near." The girl said, almost in a confident manner. "It's not like I can ignore the fact that I'm in a truck that's off to a firing squad or something."
"And you're not afraid?" Nori asked cautiously. He was afraid. It would hurt, he was sure. Pain wasn't necessarily a second nature to him. "Or are you just faking? You don't have lie for my sake. Your pride is no good here."
In her cross-legged position, the girl put her hands on her knees. A brief set of chuckles escaped her lips, before they returned to silence themselves. Her mouth was still set in that deceptive smile, but her eyes held a rather blank look to them. It was as if she carried no emotion, and yet could still express it with ease. "Everyone has to die sometime." She said lowly. "You...me... the prisoners all around us... even if we don't meet our end by having our heart stabbed, or our throats ripped out, time will come to give the self-proclaimed invincibles a good ol' kick in the ass. I ain't afraid of something that's natural."
Nori narrowed his eyes, anger flaring inside of him. She was so cocky! It made him want to scream. Unfortunately, that would only lead to his own humiliation. He could already imagine her laughing at him for letting his anger show. An infant could see through the smile he directed back at her. "Good for you. You get to die with a smile on your face." he muttered.
The woman tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and laughed. "Oh, you make a very poor facade, honey." She said teasingly, opening her eyes again to give him a look of amusement. One of her hands raised themselves to her ear. "I can practically hear your blood boiling right now."
Looking away, he allowed a genuine smile to appear on his face. "Well, I'm not surprised they managed to capture a woman.." Nori grunted. She would get angry. All women did, when you looked down on them simply for being female. They think that just because you can't kick them in the balls that they're better than you. Unfortunately for them, a punch to the ovaries would produce cramps similar to that of a period, and a punch to the boobs would hurt like hell if he hit the nipple. Giggles ensued this line of thought.
Immediately, her eyes widened in shock for a moment. Then, the smile turned into a scowl. "Oh, really?" Was all she could mutter, before pressing her earlobe for a minute. For the moment, her attention was diverted from him, and her expression was rather attentive.
"Yeah, I'm in...." She muttered, pausing for brief intervals after every sentence. "Mhm...I still have it..."
Nori's eye twitched. Was she ignoring him? "Yes, really." he replied, not bothering to care that the woman was mumbling to herself. If she was going to ignore him, he would just make sure it was impossible for her not to.
"Uh huh... all right, gotcha. Out." When she pressed her finger into her earlobe once more, there was a small beep that sounded when she did so. She turned back towards Nori, even as she slipped what looked like two metal gauntlets out of her pocket. "So I'm a woman. Does that automatically mean I'm the bitch who needs rescuing?" She countered, the trademark smirk once again on her face. She began to slip the gauntlets onto her hands.
"Not what I was implying.." Nori mumbled, slightly afraid that she was going to use those gauntlets to beat the snot out of him. "But it does mean that you're easy to defeat... Women naturally have a weaker physiology than men do.." Should I use my Demon Form? he mumbled to himself. If she was going to kill him, he could always just go down fighting. Not that she'd be able to kill him. Women were weak.
Once again, the woman chuckled, obviously finding his comment humorous. "Then you're going to love it when you see what I'm like." She declared, flexing her hands that were now inside of the gauntlets. "Just as soon as I get this done..." She allowed herself to stand in the metal cage, walked up to the bars, and reached out to grip them.
Immediately, surges of electricity started erupting from the bars around her hands, giving both forces a blueish glow. Immediately, the prisoners around her snapped out of their trance and looked at her in astonishment. She, however, held her look of superiority, simply gripping the bars tighter in response.
"What are you doing..?" Nori asked obliviously. It was incredibly obvious she was breaking out. Intimidation swept over him. That look bothered him. If she was stronger than he was, then what was the point of being a man? But at this stage of the mission, releasing his Demon Form was prohibited. Nori sighed, feigning interest in the woman. She could have her moment. For now.
"What does it look like, genius?" The woman replied, smirking. "I'm getting myself out of here... and if you're a good boy..." With one swift tug, she pulled apart the metal bars, the force snapping them in two. "You get to come along, along with the rest of these misfits." Her eyes searched around, and her feet turned and walked away from the cage. "Now, where in the hell did he say it was again...?" She muttered to herself, frowning disdainfully as she looked every which way.
A good boy!?
Nori was going to kill her. He would chop her up into little tiny bite-sized pieces and eat her. Then, after a semi-boring digestion period, he would finally shit her out. After he shit her out, he would take all the little shits she was now made up out of, stuff them into a small paper bag, and burn it. While sitting on a pile of what would be left of the rest of her body.
But he wanted to get out... Swallowing his pride, Nori gave the woman the same fake smile he had directed at her not five minutes ago. "Sure thing. Just don't expect it to last." he said, not bothering to muster up enthusiasm. If she got him out, great! If not, then he would just get out when he arrived at the prison.
"Ah! Here it is!"
Abruptly, the girl stopped at what looked like a control panel. Raising both of her hands up, she went to work, fingers typing in a set of keys in order to enter some sort of code. "8....3....5...Alpha...Delta...3." She muttered to herself, before finally punching in the final button. The effect was instantaneous - the sound of a generator powering down could be heard within the cargo container. The cells of every prisoner in their cages promptly opened up, getting astonished gasps and relieved yells from them.
"We're free!!"
"Thank you, woman!"
The girl turned away from the control panel, headed towards what looked like a large wooden box, and raised her foot, kicking it once. It promptly opened, and a variety of rifles scattered across the metal ground. "Grab a weapon and follow me." She ordered, her ears picking up the sounds of a loud alarm going off. "We'll be fighting our way out of this little prison." She herself reached in, rummaged around for a minute, and finally grabbed a sheathed sword from the pile. She walked away, allowing the rest of them to immediately scatter around the weapons.
Now, her gaze was on Nori again. "Now, what were you saying about women having a weaker physiology than men...?" She asked smugly.
Nori's expression was illegible. "Pressing buttons does not constitute a stronger physiology." he growled, stepping out of the cage. He offered no thanks; she didn't deserve any. The amusement she recieved from making fun of him while he was imprisoned could be taken as her payment for freeing him. Hesitating slightly, Nori picked up a rifle from the pile...
And proceeded to aim it at the back of the woman's head. "Say something now. I dare you." he prodded, nudging her slightly with the muzzle.
Her body froze in place. She craned her head slightly, just enough so that she could see his eyes. But, just to humor the man, she remained silent, her blank eyes just staring at him, waiting for him to make another move. Behind him, the prisoners had their eyes widened, and some of them even had their rifles leveled towards him nervously, fearing for their savior's death.
"What? What's the matter?" he taunted, poking the back of her head yet again. Her eyes bothered him.. They made him tense slightly. She said before that she wasn't afraid of death. So why wasn't she saying anything now? Finger twitching on the trigger, Nori actually began having second thoughts about killing the woman.
She, however, didn't need words for her next move.
With the pivot as graceful as a ballerina, she twisted her body around, out of the gun's immediate firing line. Then, with the agility of a soldier, she grabbed his wrist with both hands, twisted it a little, and turned herself right back around, throwing him to the ground via the use of close-quarters combat. His rifle was lost in the process, and she snatched it from the air.
The smirk was still on her face. "Now, didn't I tell you to be a good boy?" She asked. "Killing me should be the farthest thing from your mind right now. I'd focus that aggression on the solders that're coming onto this position right now... if you don't mind."
She's... looking down on me! Everyone is looking down on me! I'll kill them all...!
In spite of himself, Nori stood, and abruptly snatched the rifle back out of her hands. It wasn't going to happen.. at least not until he got his zanpakuto back. Then he could have all the fun he wanted. "I'm fully capable of killing them without your assistance." he hissed, turning away from her. He didn't need to see that smirk any longer.
The woman frowned, closing her eyes and shaking her head sagely. She folded her arms across her chest. "Suit yourself. But if you had a sword of your own... and you look like you'd own one... it'd be in the box with the rifle you picked up." She called suggestively. She hooked her own sheathed sword to her waist, walking past him towards the door that sealed them from the outside. With a lift of the leg, she kicked it open, revealing the prison camp itself in all of its glory. She leaped out, and the prisoners were eager to follow her, eager to see freedom once more.
With a large Snap! the rifle was torn in half. Throwing away it's remains, he threw the other rifles around restlessly until he finally found Nasuka. "Bitch.. Probably on her period... all them always are." he grumbled, taking the cord connected to Nasuka's sheath and slinging it over his shoulder, making sure to angle it so that the hilt was present directly beside his right ear. Finally, he lept out of the truck after her.
A Wasted Alliance
The sunlight was blinding. It was annoying. He wouldn't be able to see properly without squinting until his eyes adjusted. But now he had his Zanpakuto, and he could kill them all! Unsheathing it, and repeating his actions from before, he pointed it at the back of the woman's head.
She heard the click of the sword. Now she was becoming slightly annoyed, the smile fading from her face. It was replaced by a scowl once more, but she didn't turn around this time. "Are we really going to keep doing this?" She asked, emitting a heavy sigh of exasperation.
"No." Nori admitted, "We're just going to do it one more time, so I can kill you because you're such a self-absorbed bitch and leave." Ignoring the fact that she had just freed him, and everybody else, and gave them the means to kill their captors and escape, Nori actually dared to call her a self-absorbed female dog.
The scowl immediately twisted into her own and almost feral sneer, which he couldn't see. "You really think you can kill me?" She said, calmly. But this time, even her own voice held its very own malevolence in it, a threatening tone that increased the tension of the situation. "Too many people have attempted to do that before. I don't think you'd be any different."
Nori flinched, but quickly shook it off. Sure he could win! "I'm assuming that answer makes you think that you can kill me." he retorted uneasily, pulling Nasuka back towards himself. In all honesty, that wasn't a very good position to put himself in. There was nearly no way to defend.
She turned her head to look at him. Now, the malevolence was clear. Her eyes were narrowed in a venemous look in his direction, and that smirk had gained a more dangerous look to it. "I could..." She muttered, hand on the hilt of her own sword. "Like I said, no one is invincible."
Disturbance!
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a squad of soldiers coming up from the rear, crouching down and lowering their guns at the group. Another squad came from the front, following their comrades' actions. In this way, they had the entire group surrounded. "You are hereby under contempt of law enforcement!" One soldier shouted. "Drop your weapons and place your hands in the air!!!"
Nori immediately burned up the same way he had done on his first confrontation, and disapeared from sight. Bursting from a faint red outline behind the first squad that had entered, he laughed. How easy this would be! Taking his unsheathed Zanpakuto and driving it through the neck of the soldier directly in front of him, then kicking the now-dead body off of Nasuka at another of it's former comrades, he began his work.
The other ones reacted immediately. They separated into two different groups in order to keep the man surrounded, all the meanwhile unleashing the fire they had kept up in their guns. On the other side, the prisoners had taken cover and were locked an intense firefight with the other squadron, trying their best to keep them pinned.
The only question was now: where was Tereya?
It was easy to answer.
Like a tiger pouncing upon prey, she appeared in the air, descending towards Nori and the soldiers attempting to take him down. It was a clear ambush, and the side she was aiming for never saw it coming. The force of her landing was brought down upon the chest of one of the soldiers with a sickening crack. They backed away, raising their rifles towards her immediately. But, they couldn't stop the second life from being taken; with a lift of her leg, she kicked another soldier in the chin, the force snapping his neck into pieces. Then, she charged towards the remaining ones, eyes widened in primal excitement as she took her sword to them.
It was a dance of lights. She dodged every single shot that was fired upon her, and with lightning-speed steps, she closed the gap between herself and her quarry in a matter of what was seconds. Her sword swung and slashed, cutting every throat, every chest open that dared to stand in her way. She spilled their blood without remorse onto the cold ground, leaving one's corpse to rot on the surface while she hunted for another. For her, it was nothing normal.
And yet, it was too far estastic.
Nori, who was far from incapacitated, allowed himself to be taken over by his anger. She had made fun of him. She had humiliated him. She had stolen his prey! And now she was going to die, whether it was at the hands of Nasuka, or by a trigger-happy guard that happened to spectate the battle that was about to begin and couldn't sit and watch in awe.
Actually using shunpo instead of kogeru, Nori appeared before Tereya, blade drawn. Positioning himself in an offensive stance, he lunged for her stomach. He could almost imagine the feeling of bifuricating her. It would be wonderful!
Thankfully, she was quick to react.
Her sword twisted around, colliding with the tip of his own sword. She twisted her wrist slightly, allowing the blade to slide past her defense for a minute. Then, when she had enough leverage, she swung her own blade to the side to knock his sword off of its path. "Hey!" She called out, seemingly in question as she stepped around him before turning to face him once more. "Why're you pointing that thing at me? There'll be more coming!"
As if to emphasize the fact, another squad of soldiers came around the corner, readying their guns at the two of them and ready to avenge their fallen comrades.
"Because you're an asshole!" he screamed in reply, holding his zanpakuto out horizontally in front of him. "Weed out, Nasuka!" he shouted, releasing his zanpakuto, and once again grimacing as the barbs dug into his skin. This would be easy, at least. "Seiiku."
With a Thud!, all of the newly arrived soldiers were flung into the woman by roots protruding from the ground.
With another boost of Shunpo, The woman vanished, evading the bodies of the fallen soldiers as they fell hard into the ground. A grim smile came across her face, and she lifted her sword up defensively. "I guess I should've seen this coming. All right, then..." She settled into her own stance, her sword turning at a horizontal angle. "Tear It Up... Nokogiri."
Her spiritual energy glowed a bright blue as it erupted around her body and expanded around her, its appearance like that of a wildfire. With a swing of her sword, she forced those "flames" away from her person, an aura only visible to the energy-sensitive around her body. "Before we begin, though... the name's Tereya Kurosaki." She said to the man below her. "Nice to have met you while it lasted..."
"Nori Haruo." he returned the gesture happily, allowing Nasuka to lean on his shoulder gently. The barbs didn't pierce! It was a miracle! "Please be advised... I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're a woman." he chuckled, allowing his own reiatsu to flare. Then, as he commonly did, Nori disapeared...
.. And reappeared in front of Tereya, slamming Nasuka into her own blade. When I win, is she going to beg for her life~? he wondered, then laughed at his own joke. This would be fun! For a little while, anyway.
Once again, she allowed her defense to falter, taking her sword to the side and allowing his blade to fall through her defense. She swung her blade in a seemingly meaningless strike that missed short of his face. She leaped away, raising her sword defensively in one hand once she landed back on her feet.
Currently, she shared that single thought with her opponent.
This was going to be fun.
Nori did not falter; Nasuka pointed at Tereya, he willed it to elongate, and it did. The other end of his Zanpakuto he jammed into the ground below, stomping it with his foot to ensure it was secure. He didn't need it moving while he was attacking her. Finally, Nori ran along his Zanpakuto's elongated body, pulled his arm back, and launched the strongest punch he could at Tereya's beautiful face.
"Too slow!"
Tereya's eyes were able to follow the attack to the letter. She pulled herself to the side and ran forward, pointing her blade to the side. Then, she ran forward, the tip of it once again short of his arm. Yet, she was still smirking as she turned back around to face him.
"Bullshit!" Nori screamed in frustration. Stepping onto the air in front of him, he didn't mind the barbs impaling his hand as he gripped Nasuka, and proceeded to rip it out of the ground. "What the Hell are you smirking for!?" he shrieked. She wouldn't be smiling when he shoved Nasuka down her throat.
Tereya cocked her head to the side, balancing Nokogiri on her shoulder. "I want you to take a good look at yourself right now." She stated calmly, raising a finger to point at Nori. "Maybe through your pissy attitude, you just might see that long gash going up your arm, as well as the one on your face."
"...!?" Nori didn't feel the need to point out that is was physically impossible for him to see his own face without a mirror, or some other kind of reflective surface. And since Nasuka was made out of some kind of black steel, Nori doubted Tereya was going to pause in the middle of the fight and let him look at himself using her Zanpakuto. But his arm was enough..
"Gahou." Nori stated dully, watching boredly as his wounds fixed themselves and sealed shut silently. "Yeah, I know! I can regenerate too! Total Mary Sue, right?" he chided. Normally, Nori wouldn't joke around as such, but this was fun! He was enjoying himself! "Seiiku!" he stated for the umpteenth time, allowing a wall-like hedge to spring up in front of him and obscure him from Tereya's view. "Tanpopo!" he shouted. Dandelions sprouted and covered the hedge. Things were beginning to repeat themselves.
"Oh, so you're a regenerating type...."
Following Nori's movements, Tereya herself took to the air and stood in space, "hovering" over the land where the dandelions had been planted. "That makes this even more fun.... 'cause I get to tear you apart until you can't put yourself back together anymore." She said in venemous excitement. She raised her sword to point at him, tip gleaming in the sunlight.
Nori sighed, and his eyes dulled. This was going to be over much too quickly. "Release, release..." he muttered, watching in silence as the Dandelions gave off their seeds yet again. They surrounded Tereya, as if daring her to try and make a move. "You may try." Nori prodded, his ego inflating to the size of a blimp. Hey, if she made it out, she'd be the second person to ever survive it! Not that he'd used it on a lot of people..
This made Tereya's eyes widen in shock. "What the hell...?" She thought in confusion, relaxing her guard for a minute. "This isn't going to be good if I just sit here..." She closed her eyes. "I'm not wanting to rely on it, but... just for a brief moment..." A white, hardened material began to form on the side of her face, seemingly out of thin air. She remained calm, even as the dandelion seeds surrounded her threateningly.
She would not dare surrender.
Nori's tree.
"Oh?" Hollow powers? Awesome. That would make things better.
Giggling, Nori span twirled his Zanpakuto in the air above him before smalling it on the ground in front of him. A gnarled, wicked-looking tree ripped itself out of the ground beneath him and sat there, awaiting Tereya's escape from the cloud of Dandelion seeds.
It was smiling at her.
The Demons Surface
The mask was on.
Her Hollowifed eyes snapped open, a wild look coming across her hidden face. She emitted another, much more powerful flare her spiritual energy. However, it took on a much more intimidating appearance; black in color, and seemingly soulless. It expanded against the wall of dandelions, freeing her from her prison. It flared fiercely, causing shockwaves from the air to hit the ground and the buildings around them. She had the aura of a tornado around her, as well as all of its destructive power.
Intimidation and fear swept through Nori.
The same could not be said for his tree.
Freeing itself from it's earthly prison, it walked on it's roots, using each tip like a tiny spider leg. The tornado was apparently facinating it. Observing it quietly, the tree rooted itself back into the ground so it could not be sucked in. "Gihi.."... It giggled?
It was only when Tereya once again removed the mask from her person that the tornado that the flow of dark energy stopped, dissipating immediately to reveal her form once more. Her eyes fell down upon the monstrous tree, and she slightly grimaced. "Nice tree you got there..." She said sarcastically. "I'm sure it'll make a great spectator."
Nori himself was trembling. His limbs had stopped functioning properly. He couldn't think of a way to stop Tereya with her hollow mask without resorting to his Demon Form, and that was unacceptable.
The tree, however, was not paralyzed as such. Reaching out with one if it's arm-like branches, the twigs on the end elongated, each like a tiny blade aiming to impale Tereya. "Gihihi!" it giggled again. Maybe it had lungs?
Taking in a deep breath, Tereya raised her sword above her head and swung down, allowing herself to descend like a missile. Once her blade collided with the twigs, she forced straight through the arm of the tree like a missile. She landed on the ground, backing away and careful to keep her eyes on both the tree and Nori himself.
Nori was busy trying to calm himself down. Breathing slowly and deeply, he intook as much air as possible! He could think of something soon..! Maybe.
In the meantime, the tree would keep her occupied. Seemingly not perturbed at all by the loss of one of it's branches, it hunched over slightly as five things grew on it's other 'arm'. Pinecones. Swinging it's arm, it released them from the branch, lobbing them at her.
It was here, that even as she avoided the pinecones, she noted her true opponent in a state of panic. At first, she herself looked surprised, wondering what he could possibly be frantic for... then, it hit her. She had only seen a glance of it, but he had been shaking right after she had removed her mask. An amused grin crossed her face as she landed back on her feet, crouching down low and placing a hand into her own face.
If that's how it was, then she would have no problems unbalancing the odds a little.
Once again, she summoned the deadly energy along with her mask, the tornado sphere of black and dark energy twirling around her once more in a death dance.
Nori giggled. So it had come to this? A shadow overcame his face. She didn't have to know just yet! He could wait until the tree was finished.
The tree launched it's other arm in a similar fashion as before, watching with delight as the twigs sharpened and shot towards Tereya once again. It obviously wasn't intellegent enough to figure out that if it didn't work the first time, it most likely wouldn't work the second time. As a supplementary attack, it's roots burst out of the ground behind Tereya, aiming to impale her as she was fending off it's remaining arm.
Now it was time to annihilate the monster.
With an enhanced Flash Step, Tereya vanished high into the air, hovering directly above the air. For a moment, she regarded the tree with nothing more than disgust, staring at its delighted form for one last time. Then, she threw herself like a missile once more, sword poised. Dark energy trailed behind her as she sped down, down, down...
...until her blade cut the tree down, straight through the middle.
She landed on the ground in a crouched position, the cut surging with her own dark power. She didn't move from her spot, as the tree's halves split apart and fell, collapsing to the ground lifelessly. Then, she stood up, turning to face Nori once more. "Now, where were we...?" She asked rhetorically, slowly taking her steps towards him and readying her blade once more.
Nori looked up.
Seven bulging eyes stared back at Tereya.
And he smiled with fanged teeth.
God vs Angel
Wasting no time at all, Nori launched himself at Tereya, pumping as much energy as possible in the split second he had into his right arm. It grew to massive sizes; thicker even than the circumference of the rest of his body. Swinging his now incrediby grotesque arm at Tereya, Nori aimed to crush her. Or at least swat her away from him like an annoying fly.
"Holy..."
This immediately caught Tereya by surprise. Her eyes widened, body jumping back in order to avoid being crushed. However, the arm still knocked into her body. Thanks to the combined efforts of speed and strength, she was sent flying into one of the buildings and collided into with with a ferocious crash. The force caused the entire foundation to collapse in on itself, kicking up a dust storm as it did so.
Nori's arm returned to normal. A wave of fatigue swept over him... And then the dust storm. Covering his eyes with his left arm, Nori wondered if Tereya was actually okay.. This was his equivilent to Bakai and Vizard powers. He didn't especially expect her to survive. But still, just in case...
Nori stimulated his shoulder blades, willing two more arms to grow there. And they did, causing Nori a considerable amount of pain... which he was able to ignore by shutting off the pain receptors in his back and in said arms. The hung over his shoulder limply, awaiting a chance to be used. "Hello~?" he called out, half-expecting a response.
There was indeed a response.
A dark beam of energy shot out from the dust cloud, condensed in form, and potent in power. It traveled straight towards Nori, its structure tearing through the very air as it did so.
All seven of Nori's pupils dialated. He was not prepared.
The cero blasted him backwards, sending him several hundred feet in the direction it was heading. But this wouldn't be enough. "Seiiku!" he shouted once again, as tree after tree began rising out of the ground behind him, each one slowing his speed significantly as he crashed through it. Finally coming to a stop, he laid there on the ground for a moment, before finally standing again. No movements were made. He awaited Tereya's follow-up.
"Behind you."
Having used the attack as a distraction, Tereya herself had followed and gained ground ahead of Nori ahead of where he had landed. With perception a Kurosaki had only seen from her son, she had intercepted the man where he now stood. Now, her blade was swung in a backhanded position, inches from the man's neck.
If he didn't react in the next second, his head would suffer the fate of the guillotine.
"Yes... this.. This is the feeling I want to express!"
The left arm Nori had grown on his back grabbed Tereya's wrist, and, using the force she had put into the swing, easily flung her over his shoulder. "Is that really it? Is that all you can do? Speed is nothing. I can do speed." Nori laughed haughtily, now pumping power into his legs as well. They bulged, then became as ripped as his arm had, if not a little bit smaller.
Tereya was stomped into the ground, the entirety of her head under Nori's massive foot.
She gritted her teeth, the pain incredible as it shot through her skull. She shut her Hollowed eyes, having to bear the brunt of being cruelly crushed. Her heart pumped desperately, reacting violently to the agony she was experiencing. She could feel her own blood seep out of her ears in a trickling manner, and she knew it wouldn't take long before her skull cracked open under the pressure.
She did the only thing she could do under his brutality - summon her energy once more.
The trademark dark energy erupted from her body, but this time consumed her opponent in its corrosive grip. The whirling of energy seemed to sound like nothing more than an inhuman roar as it swallowed its quarry whole.
"W-what..?" Nori whimpered. It wasn't even that he couldn't think of a solution anymore; this energy was terrifying. Still, he could always regenerate, couldn't he..?
Using his toes to grip Tereya's head, he lifted his foot, and by extension, Tereya, off of the ground. "What's wrong~?" he taunted, despite the fright he was obviously showing on his face. Should he finish it quickly? Save her the misery of a slow and painful death? For the second time, Nori hesitated in carrying out the deed.
It was that hesitation that allowed her to make her next move.
With a free hand, her fingers gripped and bore straight into Nori's collarbone, tearing through the skin and gripping the bare body of the bone itself. The wet, warm feeling across her hand helped snap her out of the own pain, and she lifted her head, allowing her dreaded eyes to look into his. "There's nothing wrong with me..." She whispered, her voice almost demon-like as a result of the Hollow's influence as well as the pain she had registered. "But everything will be wrong with you once I'm done...."
The spiritual sphere around them expanded a little more.
"I have to say, though. You are one of the most impressive opponents I've fought so far. I could tell by the way you looked at me from when we first met... we are a lot alike. We seek recognition, refusing to be weak, and refusing to surrender. We're both demons that walk these grounds, with no real purpose in this life. It's comforting, actually..."
Slowly, the sphere moved in, its walls coming closer and closer with Tereya's control willing it to do so. "I'll relinquish every bit of your fear..." She whispered. "Whether you live or die."
Nori was beginning to run out of energy.. It was tiring to keep himself like this. Still, she was right! He wouldn't surrender. He would win! And then he would do as he said before; eat her and shit her out, then burn her. Maybe even get a drink from those oversized tits she was sporting. The wound on Nori's collarbone regenerated around Tereya's hand, binding it there under several layers of flesh and muscle. He wasn't even feeling it anymore! It was wonderful to feel no pain!
But now, the walls were inches around their backs, and still closing in at a slow rate. "You just killed yourself..." Tereya said jeeringly, almost in a sing-song voice. "Now be a good boy..." The corrosive energy touched his back now, acting like acid and burning away the skin. "...and die with me."
Nori allowed himself to whimper. He still didn't want to die. If he released her, would she let him go? Nori allowed himself to return to semi-normal, leaving Tereya without anything keeping her from killing him. His face... was still demented. But he wasn't attacking any longer. "Stop. You win. Just...stop."
She could kill him. Feed upon his pleas for mercy and crush him where he stood. It was so easy, with his life now in her very hands. Her feral teeth had been twisted into a cruel smile under her mask, eager to deliver the final blow.
But, then... something flashed within her mind.
It was a vision. She saw herself... a younger version of herself, being dragged away by several Shinigami. She saw herself saying the exact same words that he said, begging to a boy of her age to save her. Her pupils shrank out of horror, and her heart skipped a beat, showing her affliction by the vision.
She couldn't do it.
Before she even realized it, her Hollow mask had shattered into fragments that dissipated into the air. Her sword hand was shaking slightly, her eyes glaring coldly at the man. Her mouth converted into a rather feral snarl, but the breaths she took between her teeth were hitched slightly. Then, after another deep breath, she sheathed her blade, closed her eyes, and simply scowled, turning away from him.
Her husband's mercy had influenced her too, it seemed.
"I'm sorry." he muttered. An apology was in order. He shouldn't have started the fight. She did nothing to deserve it; she rescued him, she asked him to stop, and now, she spared his life. Even as a wave of relief washed over him, he couldn't help but feel guilty. Still, she wasn't getting more out of than that. 'I'm sorry' was more than enough. Unless she expected him to kiss her feet and beg for forgiveness..
"Don't be."
Her composure seemingly regained, Tereya craned to look behind her, the amused smirk on her face once more. "But I think you know now what happens when you fuck with a Death God... espeically me." She closed her eyes, turned away from him, tilted her head back, and laughed heartily, much of the hostility gone from her tone.
Nori permitted himself a weary smile. "I'm sorry, what exactly was keeping me from crushing your skull in~?" he teased, finally exiting his Demon Form. Your inability to actually kill the person who was about to watch you disintegrate into small, tiny bits of dust. his head seemed to answer. He rolled his eyes in reponse. At least he didn't converse with himself outloud! Then again, maybe he should start.
Tereya allowed herself to chuckle at the remark. "Ok, I admit, you had me there." She relented. "But--"
"Ma'am!"
Her expression snapped upwards in surprise as she looked at her rag-tag group of remaining prisoners. In their possession, a rather disgruntled-looking guard was glaring at what he could of all of them, in bounds and being dragged around. She folded her arms across her chest, a serious expression dawning her face.
"We captured the official of this area." The one who was currently binding him informed. "We also found another automatron truck in one of their cargo bays. We can use it to get out of here and back to base!"
A content smile graced the woman's face. "Well, all right, then. Juu's gonna have a field day when he hears this. Go on and head back there, I'll join you later."
"Yes, ma'am!"
With that, the group ran off in the direction of the bay, leaving the lone fighters to stand with each other once again. Tereya allowed herself to turn towards him, her side facing his front.
"But?" Nori prodded. His Zanpakuto was mysteriously back on his... back. "But you're an inferior woman who could never hope to defeat someone as smart, handsome, and physically superior as myself without some kind of leverage." he said cheerfully. It wasn't as if she'd actually defeated him. Nori had just surrendered. It wasn't the same!
Tereya snickered. "Tell me that the next time you willingly surrender to me, hm?" She countered. "But, I think you have it on the mark, at least with the handsome bit..." She added, a bit teasingly.
Nori blushed, but covered his face with his hand as if he was annoyed, so she could not see. "I didn't surrender. It was a tactical retreat." he retorted, choosing to ignore that second thing she said.
"Whatever you say." Tereya tilted her head knowingly. "But, if we ever meet again, make sure you don't ruin the moment with that tactical retreat." She said, turning her back to him completely.
Nori shook his head. This wasn't happening. "Whatever; I'll be leaving now." he stated solemnly. He had no intentions of following Tereya back to her 'base', nor did he plan on staying in the Yuurei any longer. He'd gathered enough information! The entire place was a pitiful, rotting shithole with no strategical or monetary value whatsoever, and there was no reason to invade at all. The people here wouldn't even be good as slaves. All of the women were flat and ugly. All of the men were frail and sickly. It was a failed utopia; rich in appearance only. Nori grunted with satisfaction. That would do.
Burning up like he had done so many times before, Nori watched Tereya's figure until he faded away.
Tereya huffed. "Hmph..." She muttered, shrugging her shoulders non-chalantly. "What a stiff..." She walked off, in order to join the team of prisoners that had gathered around the truck that would take them out of the area.
The End