“Kagetoki Manzou,” the ‘Herald sighed, his eyes lazily scanning the cityscape beneath him. “A Hollow?”
"Kagetoki Manzou,” the speaker on the other end answered after a moment, his voice as robotic as ever. “We have detected a Hollow in your vicinity. It is an A-ranked Hollow. Number zero-four-four-zero: Buzi. You are to intercept and cleanse it immediately. The Third-Seated officer of the Eleventh Division, Arashi Ryoujin, is close to the target. You will rendezvous w---.”
“Got it,” he interjected before ending the call and navigating to the on-screen map.
On a black background, white lines were rapidly drawn across the small square display, illustrating the streets and buildings of Tokyo. Symbols and hieroglyphics flashed to life, none of which really made any sense to Manzou. Red lines were traced atop the whites, splintering off at seemingly random points, indicating the districts designated as such by the Soul Society. Inside of one of the irregular configurations pulsated with a blurrier red, followed by another white dot moving rapidly within.
After snapping the flip phone shut, he tucked in back in between the breast of his shitagi and keikogi. A slight grin surfaced. Without hesitation, the raven-haired officer pushed himself off of his perch atop Midtown Tower, freefalling to the surface.
The one with the wind blades? Tatsunokuchi asked.
“Yeah,” Manzou replied aloud, eager to work with Arashi again.
Hmph...
“What, you wanna fight him, too, don’t you?”
Scared of him?
“You really gotta chill out with that,” the Third Seat replied indirectly, shaking his head.
The basilisk grumbled in the darkness, shooting air through its callus nostrils pompously.
Collecting his spiritual energy along his body, Manzou gradually shed his momentum as he descended closer to the rooftops below. With a loud thud, he landed and immediately bounded high in the air, moving toward the rendezvous point.
It soon became clear to the Walker that finding the target itself was going to be a challenge. Had the hollow stay put, the rendezvous point would have remained the same in Manzo’s denreishinki. He wasn’t so fortunate to have that sort of luxury though.
In what was now turning into a very troublesome predicament, the hollow that Ryoujin was in pursuit of had lead him on a goose chase for the past ten minutes or so. He had called for reinforcements just in case in order to surround the target if it were to suddenly change directions once more. Even if it were to turn out to be someone he wasn't acquainted with, he could use the assistance. Although the last bounty, Nightmare, had been a hellish Menos Grande to take down, this one was going to be just as formidable, if not more.
From the description that he had been given on the ivory-masked fiend, it was a three-headed dog. It wasn’t everyday that you encountered Cerberus rampaging the streets of Tokyo. Although he would have initially enjoyed giving chase, his patience was quickly running thin.
Arriving at the next bend, he sensed foreign reaitsu levels. If he had not been in Tokyo, the city that was (un)fortunately rich with spiritual signatures, he would have not found it difficult to discern who or what it belonged to.
Come on Bitch-kun. Where are ya at? he thought, feigning ignorance as he assumed that the presence he had detected was none other than the hound's.
There hadn’t been a single morsel of decent reiatsu that whole week, forcing Buzi to munch on the occasional Plus or particularly weak hollow whenever one came near. Two of its three heads were listless and bored, whereas the third always managed to get distracted by birds or passing cars.
A bird passed too close to the third’s snout, and in one snap it had eaten the little avian. All three ivory-masked heads immediately perked up, however, when two very powerful presences made themselves known.
The beast rose up and dashed towards the reapers’ signatures, skidding across the pavement as it turned each corner on its way. A swath of cars dared to separate it from its meal, but it could see a pink-haired snack turning a corner just ahead.
It took a moment to rear back and leap forward, eventually bursting into a sonido in order to close the distance more rapidly. On the other side, it appeared just in time to be charging right at the shinigami with all three deadly maws open and waiting to bite into his flesh.
The signature became more dense and defined as the ‘Herald closed the distance between his correspondent and the target. Beneath the weight of Arashi’s spiritual pressure, a certain malevolence resonated within the purity of the ‘Templars’ presence. As different as the two essences were, they both moved with the same swiftness. It was only because of the Hollow’s thirst that was Manzou able to finally catch up to either of them.
His eyes narrowed onto the three-headed creature charging toward Arashi. He would arrive too late to stop the blow, but the beast hopefully hadn’t seen him yet. Descending toward Buzi’s rear, the ‘Herald unsheathed Tatsunokuchi and brought it above his head, ready to lower it through one of the auxiliary masks.
While it didn't stop the hollow from striking, the Blood Templar smirked. Spinning on the spot, Ryoujin, with one fluid motion, drew his zanpakutou; however, it's steel was encased within the crimson scabbard. Using the sheathe in order to defend against the fangs that were inching dangerously close towards his flesh, he attempted to overpower the Menos Grande. As his feet began to skid a bit along the pavement, he maintained his ground despite the force that was pushing down on him. In a clash of sparks, he finally managed to launch the three-headed mongrel back towards Manzo's incoming swing, at least enough so that he could reassume a proper stance.
Sliding Kazeoni smoothly from the sheathe, the Blood Templar fluorished the blade, and with his one free hand, he touched the side of his neck as if he were trying to stretch a non-existent ache in order to provoke the fiend into attacking recklessly once more.
"Long time no see, Manny!"
[ 420 ]
For good measure
Stats although I would rather not really focus on numbers : P
For a single, glorious moment Buzi could practically taste the pink-haired shinigami’s reiatsu-rich flesh. The center head tried to break the tasteless scabbard between its teeth, and found itself flying through the air before it could even give up. For a moment it thought that the second reaper was offering himself as food, and the closest head reached out in an attempt to snatch it up. Pain, blood, and disappointment spewed from the incoming wound. Most of the damaged mask cracked and crumbled away, but even in spite of the wound the bloody muzzle could still bare its teeth and growl in defiance.
Though the pain radiated just as viciously in the other heads, they were of one mind in the face of the attack. The sound of three hounds growling in unison slowly filled the air until it echoed off of the buildings. A red light began glowing through the center head’s teeth as it poured reiatsu into the mounting ability, eventually culminating in a deadly red beam released from within its toothy mouth. The cero surged outward towards the Herald at a blinding speed.
The ‘Herald’s essence and skill coalesced along the edge of his blade in the face of the crimson beam. Ripping the blood-stained metal up from beneath his waist, the Cero was slapped skyward, sending the blast harmlessly into the clouds. A flash of light colored the city red for an instant and then dissipated.
Manzou toward his head toward Arashi and gave him an amicable nod. “Likewise, Ryoujin-san.” His onyx irises floated about the canine’s masks, diverting from the shattered one to the other two. The ‘Herald mused the beast’s capabilities and what the two of them could do to cleanse it without any unwanted damage to the surrounding area. Tatsunokuchi was rested on his shoulder, his other hand at his waist. The pensive poise was lost as his stomach grumbled loudly. “What do you say we get this over with quick as possible? I’m starving.”
Just like that, he was gone in a flash step. As he reappeared, the blade in hand was morphed into its initial release. “Hadou number eleven---!” The tongue sprung forth and aimed to coil around the beast’s neck. “---Tsuzuri Raiden!”
The electric current funneled through the ‘Herald’s wrist, into his blade and along the tongue that attempted to hold the beast down for Arashi to deal a deadly blow.
And deal he did, or at least, tried to. Despite how quickly things seemed to transition, their victory wasn't an assured fact. Thus far, they clearly had the upper advantage against the hollow, but being in this line of work for a while now, there was always some sort of catch to each enemy that they encountered.
"Let's say four, maybe five rounds?" Ryoujin nonetheless said, even though there was a strong possibility that Buzi may be concealing its true power. Doubtful though given that it was a Menos Grande.
On second thought, five rounds might be too much, he thought confidently as he vanished in a blur. Reappearing above the target, he unleashed a barrage of slashes, his blade glowing with each strike that came from multiple directions. With each and every strike, the force behind the impact seemed to gradually grow. Although it seemed like dozens of blades were attempting to cut into the hollow's durable flesh, the reality settled in as it realized that the pink-haired youth was combining his prowess in both agility and swordsmanship.
[ 600 ]
tech used
Blade of the Templar - The primary skill taught to every Blood Templar, Blade of the Templar fortifies the Zanpakuto into a more precise and dangerous force. The Templar may channel an exceedingly powerful aura into their weapon, regardless of the state of release. This manifests as an increase in physical attack strength and Zanjutsu proficiency proportionate to the amount of hits the Templar is able to deal in battle.
For each round that the Templar lands a hit, his zanjutsu increases by 2%, up to a maximum of 10%, until the end of battle. While active, the blade glows with the color of the user's reiatsu, growing brighter as it gets stronger.
The staggering shock was followed by three simultaneous yelps of pain. There was still food to be had, but Buzi couldn’t eat anything that fought so hard against it. As the templar rose above it, the center head raised up with the lethal red energy already gathering between its teeth. When the maw opened and released the energy, the rest of the body wouldn’t let even a second pass once the beam had left it.
An instinct buried deep within the conglomerate that originally formed it had arisen, one that applied not just to a territorial or biological function but as a means of distraction and escape. In a manner that was brand new to it in its current incarnation and yet programmed into its very being somewhere within its muddled subconscious, its leg rose up and its torso shifted just enough.
A steaming hot stream of putrid yellow liquid then sprung forth, threatening to, among other things, drench the raven-haired reaper from head-to-toe.
In what had to be the most ridiculous thing that he had seen in his career as a death god thus far, Ryoujin felt fortunate. Even if the Cero was far more threatening then what putrid filth was aimed at Manzo, he would have taken on a dozen of the fatal rays any day. Seriously though... you've gotta be kidding!
Using his enhanced zanpakutou in order to defend himself against the beam, Ryoujin could only watch stupified in wonder and disgust as the three-headed mongrel urinated in the Herald's direction. Had he been less dumbfounded and more aware, he would have escaped with minor wounds. As he felt burns from failing to completely cut down the cero blast, the pink-haired youth was launched back.
Barely managing to come to a stop by digging his blade into the ground, Ryoujin maintained his distance away from the filthy abomination. As he reclaimed his soul slayer, he made a motion to move forward but stopped himself suddenly. After a very unexpected stunt like that, he didn't want to approach the thing so soon when there was a strong chance that it could showcase more of its excrements.
Luckily enough, even from somewhat of a long range, he still had the ability to use other more versatile techniques and abilities that made up his arsenal. And by the looks of it earlier, Manzo had used the all-too familiar lightning based spell that he too had come to grow fond of. If their victim was so intent on sticking to its nature of excreting wherever it pleased, then he too would strike the beast down with his elemental nature.
"Thor's pride springs forth from me. The power of the skies give me strength," he began, electricity bending to his will as it began to run along the length of his left arm. "Destructive art twenty-three, Raigen!"
As the words echoed before fading, an electric wave shot forth from his index finger, piercing through the very spiritons in the air as it surged forward towards the Menos.
A flash step carried him a few feet away. His eyes opened narrowly. The bangs hanging between his eyes reflected the street lights overhead sharply ... and dripped a pale yellow liquid. Where there was the smell of gasoline and noxious city air ... there was now a salty and dingy and moldy emission. Manzou tucked his lips in his mouth to avoid any of it getting in his mouth.
His grip tightened harshly around the hilt of his blade.
"YOU SON OF A BIIIIIIIIIITTTTCCHH!"
The 'Herald burst forward in a Senka step, threatening to sever the beast cleanly in half.
[FuckifIknow/FuckifIknow]
GDocs isn't working. Will update word count when it comes back.
For a moment, Buzi felt as if it had truly escaped and would have the chance to dine. That moment was stolen from it by yet another excruciating electrical shock that burned through its body, jarring all three heads into a daze. However, it quickly snapped back when the lack of the slimy tongue around one of its necks registered, and realized that the time had come for escape.
Just as the Herald’s unreasonably fast attack threatened to cleave the hound in twain, it burst into a sonido. The maneuver succeeded, causing half of its body to stay on the ground as the other half shot into the air at a blinding speed. The pain was unthinkable, but it still had two of its masks and thus it still had a chance.
However, it was suddenly stuck mid-air and without its hind legs—which had dissolved on the ground the moment its front half had left. The movement had taken it high above, however, and it felt a different instinct from within. This one came from a different consciousness, one that it had assimilated into the amalgam that was its very being long ago.
In a desperate attempt to escape as quickly as it could and possibly kill anything that tried to follow it, the tri-headed creature released yet another cero this time from its center head. Its decreased weight afforded it the chance to travel in a way it had never travelled before. In a booming red blaze, the bisected hollow rocketed away as fast as the reiatsu-rich beam could carry it.
As the beam rocketed toward Manzou, his shoulders still facing where the beast’s hind legs had disappeared from, red light saturated his vision, coloring the black asphalt and the dim-yellow street lights a brilliant rose red. He was still fuming, so much so that the most acute of observers would be able to witness a countless number of thin yellow streams of evaporating urine floating off of his body.
Tatsunokuchi was swung in a wide arc as he pivoted toward the blast, parrying the Cero away as he had the last. The beam faded into the endless sky, sapping the cityscape of its crimson luminance. All returned to normal---other than the ‘Herald.
For all his efforts to avoid the urine getting on his tongue or lips, the smell was so strong that there may as well have been a mouthful on his palette. If not for his seething anger, Manzou likely would’ve puked by now. That fury kept his muscles contracted and his forehead and brow shriveled like raisin.
Without making eye contact with him, Manzou spoke to Arashi. “Ryoujin-san.” His blank eyes were fixed on the pavement. One with a keen eye would’ve been able to make out what he was thinking: the absolutely vicious beating and slaying that he intended to give the forlorn creature---but like this. “I ... I apologize, but ... I can’t fight like this.” Out of the corner of his eye, the raven [and now slightly blonde]-haired officer could see Buzi rocketing into the distance. “I ... I need to ... clean myself up.” The look in his eyes declined into utter devastation, disgust, the worst kind of humiliation. “I’ll, uh ... I’ll be right back.”
In an instant, Manzou was gone, racing toward the nearest source of water to cleanse himself. Though he was, deep down, confident in Arashi’s ability to handle Buzi himself, it wasn’t his immediate concern.
He felt defiled and violated---more so than he’d ever been in his entire life.
With one man down temporarily, the odds of the battle had slightly shifted, although it was evident that Ryoujin was not perturbed in the least; in fact, he was more so understanding of Manzo's sudden withdrawal from the fray.
Before what remained of the creature could blast off into space and beyond, two words were called. Normally, he wouldn't have used his shikai so soon, but there was no avoiding it. A hollow should have disintegrated once its mask shattered, but it appeared as if all of this one's masks had to be crushed before they could so much as cleanse it.
"Scatter Kazeoni."
As he gripped the blood-red blade of his released zanpakutou, Ryoujin pursued the beast before it could rampage through the city. Before long, in a brilliant flash, twin nodachi blades appeared above the fleeing masked terror, each of them swooping down for the remaining masks.
As Buzi soared majestically through the air, its outer heads turned aside and let the wind flop its ears around every which way. During the trip its pain eased somewhat, but eventually the cero ran out and the joyride was over. No sooner than its descent began had the Templar caught up, and to top it off he had the audacity to attack with not one but two deadly blades.
No matter the pain nor the loss of limb or torso, the hound wouldn’t just roll over and die so quickly. Blade cut through flesh and mask once again, but there was still one other head and it could at least maintain enough focus to raise its untouched head up towards the aggressor.
It needed to move away from the reaper’s unreasonable blades, and if at all possible it needed to kill him as well. Another cero charged and fired from the hound’s rightmost head, and regardless of its effectiveness would throw the beast off and away at a blazing speed.
Strike two, he thought, his celebration cut short by the incoming Cero. ...Jeez, not this again.
He had already endured a brunt of one of those rays before, and he wasn't about to allow himself to be pierced right through by one of them this time around.
Using his summoned weapons as shields, Ryoujin aimed to slice right through the ray just like the Herald had done twice already. The twin blades seemed to show signs of cracks before they finally shattered. While successful in cutting it in two and making it disperse, his hands seemed to burn even more from the contact with the Cero and the energy that it took to manipulate the swords.
By the time all was said and done though, the target was still on the loose, and at this rate, it was about to lead him on another goose chase around Japan's capital, or worse yet, he was going to lose sight of it.
"Think you can run, eh?" Ryoujin said, flashstepping forth in pursuit of the last mask. After having used the ray as a propellor to gain speeds that could have very well rivaled that of his own, the hollow had gained a considerable amount of distance on him. If he weren't careful, then this thing might after all succeed in its ridiculous attempt at a getaway.
Summoning another blade with reiatsu rapidly coursing around it, he swung his own zanpakutou back before unleashing a gargatuan shockwave towards the hollow in hopes of obstructing it.
Too much pain was burning all throughout Buzi’s mutilated body for it to properly enjoy the flight. It did notice that the other shinigami had fallen behind, but there wasn’t any time for rejoicing. A destructive wave traveled after it with such speed and power that it could hear the attack push against the wind, and to top it off the cero began to sputter and eventually ran out.
All three of the hound’s heads started growling in unison again in defiance of the cutting wave. It had descended slightly, causing the wave’s trajectory to cut its body into a third. Its leftmost head and a large chunk of what remained of its torso fell by the wayside, rapidly vanishing in mid-air. The rest of the body could only fall, made helpless by the pain and drained from constantly firing a cero each time it needed to move.
Unfortunately for the hollow, it crashed into a small lake and bounced a couple of times before skidding to a stop just over the water’s muddy edge. There was a familiar reiatsu signature nearby, which it immediately identified as the shinigami it had so expertly distracted just minutes ago. However, it refused to simply give up, and it growled and bared its teeth in spite of its immobility.
Cupping his hands and plunging them countless times into the surface of the lake, Manzou splashed water over himself time and time again, trying to wash away that which would not. Though the liquid was gone, its contaminants remained embedded in every pore of his skin and saturated into his uniform. Whether or not soap would even help, he wasn’t sure, but he couldn’t sit there and do nothing---much less fight.
As the tainted signature of the beastial creature neared, the raven-haired officer didn’t bat an eyelash or even remove himself from his tireless routine; his acknowledgement of the creature went no further than a mental note buried far beneath the priority of washing himself clean. Tatsunokuchi was sealed and sheathed, just the same as Kaisoukaki, ready to be unraveled at a moment’s notice---but only when absolutely necessary.
And now wasn't exactly the proper time. Despite the feeble attempts at provoking them, Ryoujin ignored the Menos. With reiatsu pooled underneath his feet, the pink-haired Templar floated in mid-air a few yards away from both the wretched creature and Manzo. Instead of delivering the killing blow immediately, Ryoujin could only watch as the Herald was still preoccupied with trying to rid himself of the hollow's filth.
"Ehhh, fancy running into you again, Manny," Ryoujin began, using his one free hand to pinch his nose to avoid having to smell the foul odor that permeated in the air.
"Can't say that it's much of a pleasure like last time though..."
That Buzi’s flesh had not been torn asunder yet again surprised it, but not enough to let the opportunity that had been presented simply float away. Without warning its chins would snap downward in preparation for a final destructive expenditure. Reiatsu gathered in between the right head’s fangs and in mere seconds the fatal red glow of a cero would light up the area.
Once again the canine aberration attempted to take to the sky, and in doing so vaporize both shinigami in the process. If it could just move a little faster, it might survive long enough to lick its wounds and eat again. All that mattered to it just then was survival. No snack was worth getting hurt as much as it had, and it didn’t like eating things that it had marked anyway.
