"I dared you for a reason, baby," she growled huskily, baring her teeth against deep red lips. She kept her face close enough that the fog from her breath grazed against his cheek. Surely from this distance, he could smell her perfume, a rich, luxurious aroma of jasmine and alyssum that was almost hypnotizing. With her free hand, she stroked away the dark locks that fell over Garren's face.
"At least if you took a stab, you would have had a shot of escaping."
And it was in that primal instant that she plunged sharp nails into his forearm until blood trickled through his skin and soaked her pale hand, immediately marring her snowy complexion with crimson. Her opposite hand reached out and clamped over his windpipe, blocking his ability to breathe.
"But now you've got nothing now, lover-boy!"
She cackled wildly as the ground split apart and roared as shining, brilliant diamond mirrors rose in a circle from the ground all around them. In a series of brilliant geometric shapes, they ascended like a glittering wall. Higher and higher, the mirrors surged upwards in a sphere-like formation that surrounded the duo.
Garren fought against her. She felt him writhe and squirm, and his movements only caused her nails to slash deeper into his forearms. His thrashing only tightened her grip around his throat. She pinned him like a flailing fish, one that she caught and would flay alive. Strength was summoned into her arms, drawing it in to fill her muscles and overpower his will, his body, and bend his resolve with her own.
Okay. Wrong choice, Garren thought to himself as he struggled against the vise-like grip.
He was losing air quick, and he couldn’t move his dominant hand. So the Quincy looked out past their location, sensing two other reiatsu signatures nearby. Desperate, he began to radiate his own power, hoping that the spike of energy would somehow alert them. At the same time he moved his free hand to her grip on his throat, in an attempt to alleviate and delay the blackout.
One knee on the ground, resting on both his hands, he observed the two reapers as they neared the spire. Wearing his suit, the boy was happy that the ground was dry. Taking his suit to the drycleaner for a second time in a week didn’t really sit well with him.
Taking one of his hands from the ground, the boy combed his hair back, slightly touching the scar that ran across his face. He blew up at the few strands of hair that were left over his forehead, pushing them in place.
His ability to observe was great enough to follow the assassin and the healer with his eyes only, watching as they moved, listening to them chat and watching his surroundings. They had not managed to fish him out it seemed, which was good. He was completely silent in his position, hiding his presence completely in the shadows.
“Not really,” the assassin replied. “Not unless you’ve got some interesting stories about how to kill a man.” Cackling to himself, Hayato shook his head. “In all seriousness, though, having this area as our patrol was pretty lame. Nothing more than two humans that are even close, and they’re not even doing anything!”
Something unsettling happened then, as Hayato reached out with his senses once more. It caused him to stop in his tracks and glare in the direction of the two unknown people. “That’s odd. Feels like-” Power erupted for a fleeting moment. Then again. Again. As if it were a beacon; a signal flare fired in a moment of panicked desperation.
“Someone’s flexing their power,” he stated abruptly. His jovial tone had dropped away from his voice, leaving only a dry and hollow thing that reflected only facts. Turning to the medic he stated, “Go ahead and find out what’s going on. I can’t flash-step, but if you can get over there fast,” he hefted his hand towards the two humans.
Without warning or further instruction, Hayato sprinted off towards the nearest alley to cloak himself in bending shadows.
[935]
Your show for now, Gloam. Hayato's not going to be seen for a bit.
Without warning, a flare of reiatsu invaded the spiritual senses of the two scouting shinigami. A mirror sphere rose in the air, remaining suspended with the Quincy and female inside of it. Then, without another word past the orders given, Hayato disappeared. Now it was only the vampire? Fun.
With a sprint, the medic headed towards the sphere of mirrors with the spiritual beings inside of it, locked in combat. 'Kyuketsuki, this might get dangerous. I'll probably need you if it does.'
Watching the assassin leave, the suited human made a mental note of his disappearance. With the healer left alone, he had a lot less to follow this time. Unable to follow both of them, he put his focus on the vampire-like creature.
Following the sprint, the advent jumped between roofs quietly, making sure that he was still unnoticed. He let the scarlet eyed shinigami run for a while as he made sure that they were alone. A swift flash of speed and he landed in front of his target, startling the poor woman.
Standing in front of her, he reached his hands out and summoned a book, white as snow, with a small mark on top of it. The wooden hammer slamming on a small ledge that was stamped on the book was almost invisible from a distance.
Opening the book, the almost six feet tall boy started reading aloud from it. The cloth that was lying in the middle rose from its seat and almost floated in the air.
“So... Kiss of the Vampire... Tell me a little bit about that won’t you?” His scar moved almost in sync with his lips, reaching almost to the end of his smile. The full beard, hiding the smiling face somewhat, was one of his better characteristics.
[229/379]
Resonance [1,400/10,000 - 14%]
Important note
So, this guy looks almost identical to Eiji, meaning Ren would probably recognize him.
Ability used:
Inquiry As Eij activates Torishirabe, the cloth that is tied to the book flies straight in the air. It transforms into a quill that seems to have endless ink stored inside of it. Much like its name, Torishirabe is able to inquire information about the advent’s opponents’ abilities. The information comes slow but steady, and for each turn that passes, he gets more and more information.
After the first turn, he learns the name of the targeted ability, which is limited to one per turn. At the second stage, he may inquire information about his targets abilities, although only one may be learned per turn. This can be anything from what it does to how many times it can be used. As the time passes, Eiji learns more and more about his targets abilities.
To activate Inquiry, Eiji must pay 5% reiatsu and another 2% per turn to sustain it. If the ability is cancelled, any information that has been written down will be lost.
The medic stopped in her tracks, scarlet eyes hovering on the form of the new person. New indeed, as the vampire couldn't sense him at all beforehand. When the book was summoned, her wakizashi let out a slight rattling noise, showing that the blade was drawn and ready. But no offensive abilities came from the crisp pages of the book, nor the pen that wrote in it. Only words.
Words of her zanpakutou ability. But how would some random man know of it? He wasn't wearing the clothing of the shinigami, which drew out the option of the man being Eiji. But he looked so similar. Right down to the scar that marred the assassin's face and the voice he spoke with.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Ren looked into the advent's eyes, her scarlet eyes showing the obvious confusion she was feeling, "but you're in my way. Please move." The vampire took a single step to the side, still keeping her eyes on the new man.
He followed the raven-haired as she tried to side-step him, standing in her way once again. Blocking her path, he read another sentence that just appeared in the book.
“Blood huh?” The boy asked, slowly turning the page to reveal the next secret. “So you really are a vampire? Interesting.
“Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself, about these abilities of yours?” The boy was usually not interested in anything most people he met had to say but there was something about the scarlet-eyed that triggered something within him. He wanted to know more, before continuing with his task.
Inside of the vampire's head, the regal spirit was raving. This scarred man was curious about her abilities? Why wouldn't Ren demonstrate them for the young man then?
'He's not Eiji. He's in your way,' the zanpakutou spirit reminded Ren, 'Get rid of him.'
"Move," Ren repeated, holding her hand up towards the scarred advent, as if she was going to tear his book from his hands. Arcane energies began to whirl about them, gathering in her hand in the shape of a single golden ember. "Hadou number thirty-two, Oukasen." Without anymore warning or preparation, the ember expanded into a glorious flame that rushed towards the man.
The advent slammed the book shut and moved in towards the scarlet-eyed woman in an instant. Before she managed to release her attack, he held a palm in front of it and it vanished into thin air, as if it had never existed. Putting his hand down, he opened the book again, looking closely inside of it.
“Kidou eh?” he asked her as he watched the vampires facial expression turn into something not as easy on the eyes as her usual face seemed to be.
“Why don’t you show me a bit more of what you are capable of? Or are you maybe scared?”
[104/584]
Resonance [2,800/10,000 - 28%]
Ability used
Objection!
Eiji has, through some means, managed to pass most obstacles in his career by knowing at exactly what moment to be defensive. This has helped him develop an ability that lets him act solely on his reflexes. If he can see the attack, he can dodge it.
Igi allows the advent to block any attack that is within its range of cost. To activate it costs him 5% of his reiatsu and he acts on his reflexes, blocking the attack as it comes to him. He has to have visual of when the attack is launched and may only intercept attacks that are up to twice his Agility stat. If he manages to intercept a kidou, he nullifies the attack completely, as long as he pays twice the cost of the kidou, up to 5% of his reiatsu.
Ren's eyes narrowed as her attack was wiped from existence, seemingly washed away by the reiatsu the man exerted. One simple thought came to mind. 'Kyuketsuki, we're going.'
The woman clenched her wakizashi tightly between soft hands, reiatsu pouring forth from her figure. "You want to know about it so badly? <span style="color:#800080;">T</span><span style="color:#80007c;">h</span><span style="color:#810079;">e</span><span style="color:#810075;">n</span><span style="color:#810072;"> </span><span style="color:#82006e;">l</span><span style="color:#82006b;">e</span><span style="color:#820067;">t</span><span style="color:#820064;">'</span><span style="color:#830060;">s</span><span style="color:#83005c;"> </span><span style="color:#830059;">l</span><span style="color:#840055;">e</span><span style="color:#840052;">a</span><span style="color:#84004e;">r</span><span style="color:#85004b;">n</span><span style="color:#850047;">.</span><span style="color:#850044;"> </span><span style="color:#850040;">D</span><span style="color:#86003c;">r</span><span style="color:#860039;">i</span><span style="color:#860035;">n</span><span style="color:#870032;">k</span><span style="color:#87002e;">,</span><span style="color:#87002b;"> </span><span style="color:#880027;">K</span><span style="color:#880024;">y</span><span style="color:#880020;">u</span><span style="color:#89001c;">k</span><span style="color:#890019;">e</span><span style="color:#890015;">t</span><span style="color:#890012;">s</span><span style="color:#8a000e;">u</span><span style="color:#8a000b;">k</span><span style="color:#8a0007;">i</span><span style="color:#8b0004;">.</span><span style="color:#8b0000;">"</span> The vampire's sword shattered around the two, immediately gathering once again on her forearms. They revealed a pair of gauntlets the beautiful colour of lilac and ebony, a kanji appearing on her shoulder that began glowing with the intensity of a hungry vampire.
"Hadou number fifty-three, Sanjukageki." The trio of coloured flames gathered in her hand, raging at full power as she aimed her gloved left hand at her target. A violet ember traced lines into the Hadou's very flames before it erupted like the fury of a volcano towards the scarred advent.
[150/1,135]
So
Ren released Kyuketsuki. Used an augmented Sanjukageki, which is at full strength anyhow since it's x3 equipped. So something around 1.5k.
“Hey! Pretty Bird!” Hayato’s voice shot out from the darkened corners around the spire, all shouting upwards at the woman crowned by mirrors floating in the air above her, and her hand clutching another person.
Cloaked and secure in reiatsu no senpuku, the assassin’s golden eyes darted from the woman back to Ren’s direction. Something had come up. Something that required shikai. He silently cursed whatever fate that had thought it funny to toss him in this situation. By the time he had realized the medic wasn’t with him, he’d already seen the humans.
If he didn’t do something, someone innocent could die.
Hopefully Ren was stronger than some other medics he knew of.
“Yeah, you!” He spoke and moved, never staying in one place too long and never speaking immediately, never following any pattern. Sometimes his voice was closer, sometimes further away, but always moving.
He hated this. He hated having to draw attention to himself. Why didn’t he just stay quiet and stab her from the shadows? Why hadn’t he waited for her guard to be down? Her attention divided? He could have poisoned her, stabbed her, or a dozen other methods his life and training had taught him about killing and hunting.
Instead he was lurking, and he knew why.
“Put the fish down and try something with a bit more meat on it.”
Like dark jewels, her eyes glistened as she heard the man's voice nearby. She couldn't help but smile at his arrival while the bright mirrors continued to ascend around her and Garren -- a giant dome that swallowed them within its shimmering maw.
"Well, babe, it sounds like you have a new friend here. It's a shame he's so late to the party."
The structure's jaws were already drawing in to close. Ivory teeth gleamed against the reflecting surface in a wicked smile. Her arm still outstretched, the woman kept Garren pinned in place as she strained to listen for the newcomer.
But even under the guise of invisibility, the secret savior was obviously such a stupid man. So naive and disturbingly slow. If only he knew how much his cruel listlessness had sent his compatriots to doom.
The woman's menacing grin widened, taunting Hayato. "Maybe later, you can stop hiding and have a romp with me too, sweetheart. But I'm going to play with this delicious man alone first."
With a sound like crushing steel, the edges of the sphere slammed closed, sealing the clinging pair inside the lavaliere dome.
The sound of the dome sealing jolted the Quincy back into consciousness. Evidently his call for help had gone unanswered. There was only a single signature outside of their location, and two more who seemed to be fighting elsewhere. What the hell was going on?
Would it kill the shinigami to do one thing right? he thought. The Seele Schneider reignited in his hand, and he cut upwards, looking to sever the hand that gripped his throat.
The advent moved his head slightly to the side, avoiding the blast of reiatsu that came his way. The hadou itself was no issue for him but the released zanpakutou could be another matter. The gauntlets implied that the female might be a close combat fighter, which was fine by him. Knocking out someone with force could prove a bit difficult if the person fought it, especially one that could move.
He had not managed to get more information on her attacks either. All he knew were the names but there was no worry in his eyes. He still had his trump card, his own release to show her.
Eiji slammed the book shut, lifted it a little and slammed it down in the ground. A small rift opened in the space between him and the ground, the book itself vanished and a bar of metal rose up for him to grab. Pulling it to himself, he made sure that he held a tight grip around it with both hands before moving.
He took one step, creating five bars that flew at high speed towards the vampire. All five surrounded her neck and pressed together. Another step and five more bars flew out towards her, targeting her midsection this time. They held her tight in place, leaving only her feet free. The boy took another step towards her, standing only a foot from his target. The last five bars flew towards and pressed her feet together.
Five more bars flew from the sky, connecting with the ones already around the shinigami. Another piece of metal dropped down, creating a roof over her head.
The human took the staff he had in his hand and pressed it between the bars with force, hitting the reaper right in the head. With that hit, she lost consciousness and was left unprotected. The attacker moved his hand towards his chest and grabbed a phone from his jackets inner pocket. He dialed a number waited for the signals to go. The call was connected.
“I have her.”
[342/926]
Sorry Groin, had to knock Ren out here.
Ability used
Sentence
Slamming the book down into the ground, the advent creates a small crack in space where the book passes through. Out comes a metal bar, seven feet long, fitting perfect in his hand. The bars are made of an unknown metal and are just as powerful as the reiatsu infused in them.
Eiji may create up to 50 bars, until he has reached his limit. Each bar costs 2% of his reiatsu to create and has the same power thereafter. He may choose to infuse the bar with more spiritual power upon creation, up to 20% of his maximum reiatsu.
As he unleashes Senkoku, the bars move at the speed of his Agility to surround his target. Upon reaching their desired destination, they latch themselves to whatever the advent targets. The second step allows him to create a roof over the bars, covering whatever he has targeted. Senkoku acts as a cage for four turns, acting out the sentence which is forced upon it.
She pulled away and jumped back to dodge the soul-cutter's strike, but the upward slice slid across the woman's fingertip, leaving a small, thin trail of blood that slithered down the length of her hand and left little dribbles to decorate the ground. Tsking her tongue, the woman winced and hissed back sharply, "Well, that wasn't very nice of you."
In a smooth, singular motion, she brought her finger to her lips. Pursing her lips together, she applied pressure with her teeth and sucked the crimson liquid from the laceration.
"I thought you would be nicer since we're finally alone."
Her eyes swept over the quincy's form, unfazed by the way he gripped the blade and his obviously heated response. But rather than continue any form of abuse, she simply smiled back at him, baring her teeth as she kissed the wound he gave her.
--------
From the human's cell phone, another male voice responded:
"Roger. Nicely done on capturing your mark, Agent. Our vehicle will be rounding the corner of the Imperial Hotel in zero zero four five seconds. Be prepared with your captive. And if you can relay a message to Agent Violent Mirage, tell her to stop playing with her targets."
Note: you cannot be a taunting hero and an assassin.
Movement flashed inside the dome, and though his unnatural sight could aid him only so much, he could still recognize coalescing energy of reishi as it jumped alive from the captive human.
Gritting his teeth, Hayato dearly hoped that the man he was about to save was not a quincy. Either way, the human had bought time for both himself and the assassin.
“I really didn’t want to do this,” he remarked to himself, begrudgingly. Sucking in a deep breath, Hayato dropped his reiatsu cloak and flexed his spiritual power. It wasn’t something amazing, but it was enough to get attention to the fact that he was right outside the dome. Before anyone could realize just where he was, he held out his hands and whispered, “Shift, Varjo.”
The gauntlets on his arms became alive with haunting black and red power as his shikai unfurled. Runic scripts - their meaning unknown to even Hayato as his eyes became like demon’s - etched themselves on to unremarkable grey contraptions. And with a press of a button, two blades, one running over the backs of each hand, sprung from their hidden place.
The air surrounding the three spiritual beings darkened - the likes of which no light could pierce - and an unmistakable feeling wormed its way into the spines of both humans. It was inescapable and real, a familiar thing that they could name from the earliest moments of their life.
“Fear,” the assassin said, his voice reverberating within the crystalline dome of the woman. As if he was now there, with them, under the dome.
[1443]
Note
Eikyouken no Aishou (Sphere of Sorrow ability) - When Hayato calls upon Varjo, a bubble of shadowy wisps, akin to black flames, sprouts to life around himself and his enemy. His eyes turn a blood red, and slitted like an unholy being. Everywhere within the dome’s 30ft radius is filled with an oppressive, fear-exploiting darkness that covers all but the first 2ft of the enemies vision. While the sphere is active, Hayato may pay 5% of his total reiatsu to toy with his target.
Once this payment is made, fears are brought to light. Haunting images are thrown across the dark surfaces of his domain. Making it difficult for many people to think about running out of the dome, and too afraid to take immediate actions that would put them in a deadly situations.
This is, of course, relative to reiatsu levels. Anyone who’s of considerably higher reiatsu then Hayato may not feel the same amount of dread that those who are lower might.
Clarification: Only the chick is being targeted by Eikyouken. Rest is flavor b/c unnatural darkness.
The siren dodged his cutting strike, though it did accomplish the goal of getting her to release him. She taunted him, referring to the fact that they were sealed in together.
“No I thought that when I got into a serious relationship, there would be a ring somewhere,” he replied.
Before he could muster up a second action, the area they were encased in suddenly became dark and cold. Garren could hardly see anything in front of him.
“This isn’t you, is it sweetheart?” the Quincy asked.
"Not yet." Her voice was liquid and sweet as she let the aroma of nightmares fill her senses. The darkness descended upon them, dragging with it a sense of impending doom that crushed down like a thrust of gravity unbarred. "But give it a moment."
The dread slid around her with its long, cold appendages writhing around her waist, around her neck, twisting and crawling through her lips, her ears. She gasped briefly as the true girth of fear entered her to bring forth the tormenting dreams of her past. The images manifested -- the images of her sister's silky, short black hair, the seppuku that tied her locks up, those red lips that sang to her at night as warm arms bound her close. Then him, it.
In the darkness, she dropped a shell and slipped through the diamond carapace. The mirror melted and let her pass, only to harden again.
Like that, the fear reflected back at Hayato and Garren. Every mirror, every reflection emulated the power of Eikyouken no Aisho. With over a dozen mirrors surrounding the two, the horror raged back over a dozen times worse, directed now at the men that once stood against her.
And beside the cry of terror rang a quiet, red ticking.
[212/1562]
kjhkjnk
So the chick escaped the dome. Every mirror redirected Eikyouken no Aisho onto Garren and Hayato. There's more than a dozen mirrors, so Eikyouken no Aisho is now a dozen times worse against them.
The scene was set, and all the players were on stage. Hayato took another steadying breath before he committed himself to the stupidity he was about to attempt.
Because trying to take on someone who was probably as powerful as Haresuno was nothing but stupid.
He sincerely hoped the person he was trying to save was worth it.
Then something happened. His instincts picked up on it before anything, but by then it was too late, and the powers the assassin had unleashed turned themselves on their master.
Varjo stepped out from the shadows. The demon-child was neatly dressed, his crimson eyes were bereft of any emotion beyond gluttony. His ivory horns stuck out from smooth skin the color of dried blood. Crooked, jagged, yellow teeth peeled away in a horrific smile.
“Well, well, Hayato,” the zanpakuto said. “I think it’s been too long.”
Hayato’s eyes went wide. Varjo couldn’t manifest. Not yet! No. No. No.
His arms began to shake, and when he spoke his voice was as cold as the sweat that was lacing his skin, “Y-You shouldn’t be here.”
“But I am.”
Something behind the demon moved. It shifted just beyond the darkness of his shikai. Had one of the people escaped the dome? If he didn’t keep quiet they’d find him and strike. But Varjo was there. More things stirred beyond his vision just at the corner of his eyes. A sense of dread and danger washed over the assassin as he turned on his heels attempting to find whatever lurked - No. Hunted him. But how?
“Scared, Hayato?” Varjo asked. “Afraid, maybe? Or even terrified?” The emphasis on the demon’s last word drew Hayato’s attention, but instead of finding the demon he instead found something far worse. Kyoketsu. His brother.
The brother he had murdered.
“Hello, brother,” Kyoketsu said. Two simple words from a too-soon-gone-yet-familiar voice. It drew to the assassin a sense of fear he had not felt since he was a boy. “You did a good job. Killing me, that is. You’d have made da’ proud.”
“N-No.” Hayato took a step back as if to retreat, but someone placed a hand on his shoulder. It was big and calloused. Something that belonged to a man of hard laboring. A man of a craft. The assassin already knew who it belonged to.
In the matter of seconds that his own ability had turned on him, Hayato let out a blood curdling scream. It echoed throughout the dark night. A scream not heard in centuries. A scream that resonated with the fears of a child. A fear never overcome.
The fear of losing humanity.
And then the darkness faded. Gone forever along with any sign or signature of the assassin.
Leaving the quincy, the mirrors, and the healer all behind.
