[PM] [V/O/1st/11th] Week --: Intercession

[Shadowwind]

The air of the market was stifling, even the flies which hovered around the pieces of flesh and bone seemed to do so lazily. Everything moved at a crawl in the afternoon sun, shopkeepers batted away the insects that landed on their wears too tired to hawk them. The small poorly built shacks yearned to topple in a breeze, yet that small comfort was denied.

Everywhere the stalls saw little traffic from customers, it was far too hot to go shopping today. Piles of animal skulls stood bleaching in the sun, still others still had remnants of flesh rotting from them. Wooden effigies of unknown use looked out with blank stares at the few passers by. The place looked sluggish, except for a single merchant who seemed slightly more exuberant than his fellows, if not by much.

It seemed to be just a normal day, aside from the people mumbling more than usual in the heat. However, those who knew the flows of reishi could sense differently. Something sinister lurked within the market waiting unseen. It’s influence however permeated every stall and every mind. Madness has come to Togo.

[189]

 

[Wayne]

To consider the place ‘occult’ was a grave underestimation. At every corner of the marketplace, from makeshift stands to stone huts, the idols and fetishes of mortal man came as rather eerie even to the psychopomps heralding the afterlife. Death reeked from the place, both in a literal and figurative sense. In the dawn of mankind’s technological advancement, such belief in esoteric and mystical practices came off as rather questionable, sometimes even taboo. To shinigami, the guardians of this life and the next, the sight was a clear and almost worrying view of the misguided hand played by man. Their meager existence of flesh and blood, fragile and easily broken, understood so little about the true nature of the universe.

But perhaps he was looking too much into it. It was rare for Kyuketsu to venture anywhere outside the jureichi, and even more so outside Japan as a whole. Yet, as his mission demanded, he had to once again travel to the farthest corners of the Human World to slay one of the many scions birthed by the Vasto Lorde. Reports indicated yet another powerful source of spiritual energy corrupting the region. The captain opted on tackling the expedition by himself despite the protest of many of his subordinates. He could have asked for assistance, but something about the location piqued his interest. For some strange, inexplicable reason, he was drawn to the place long before he even knew what it looked like. There was an itch that clawed the back of Kyuketsu’s neck, pushing him further and further into a precipice of solitude and uncertainty.

Watching both tourists and locals alike go about their ways, the Eleventh’s commander stood meters above ground surveying the vicinity. As fragments of reishi gathered underneath his footing, a cold chill ran down Kyuketsu’s spine. The sensation was less of fear and more of foreboding, as if despite not seeing anything out of the ‘ordinary,’ the man still felt eyes on him, piercing his soul from afar.

333​

 

[Redfin]

"Ooh, ahh," a young tourist or Japanese descent cooed. Her large green eyes shined at the wonder of it all. Everything here was just so magnificent.

A wide brimmed sunhat kept the bright heat out from the girl's face. She wandered around, poking, prodding and generally getting close to all of the strange things being sold. Her face was so close to a stack of animal heads that their noses almost touched. There were deer, or whatever version of deer they had here with long, spiraling horns, cheetahs and many other creatures not normally seen outside of a zoo.

Buying anything was a chore though. The shopkeeper didn't speak good English and had a heavy accent. The girl was also pretty bad at English. Neither of them could properly understand each other. The green haired girl persisted though because those heads were awesome.

[143]

 

[Several Zombies]

Of the new arrivals, none was more out of place than Rune. As a man, a product of science, the mechanist was farther out of his element than he'd ever been. With an outlook completely contrary to the shamanic, occult, or ritualistic ideals that the fetish market pandered to, one might expect the youth to be at least a bit uncomfortable, but truth be told, the strange boy relished the chance to study some of the rarer specimens for sale in this strange place.

After all, when would he ever get an opportunity to examine oddities like the Rhynchobatus luebberti again? If markets like these were good for anything it was, at least in Rune's eyes, their disregard for the well-being of endangered species.

There was one other individual who caught his attention, however.

"Do you wish to procure a Cervidae cranium?" the blue-haired mechanist chirped, tugging on the sleeve of the green-haired woman. Like him, she stood out like a sore thumb, both in appearance and reiatsu. Perhaps, he thought, she was the source of the strange readings he had been sent to investigate.

"If you require an interpreter, this one may be able to assist you."

196

 

[Shadowwind]

One.

A simple wave of his hand and a small straw doll manifested from the ether, a simple pulse of reiatsu that quickly faded away into nothing. Most would think it just a trick of the imagination, the wave was so brief many would simply miss it. The only lasting remnant of the pulse at all was the doll that vaguely resembled a featureless swordsman. Why was the swordsman wearing a tiny black outfit...

Two.

The merchant thought as another effigy awakened. Straw dyed the color of grass poked out from above the doll’s head. A proportioned sunhat blocked the noon sun from assaulting the poor creations form with more rays. Why were there tiny white beads clinging intermittently among the grass colored hair as though to prevent it from blocking the creation’s face...

And three.

Once more another creation quickly manifested itself from the void. A tiny bomber’s jacket cloaked a smallest of the three dolls, strange blue straw anointed the creation’s scalp, or at least what would have been the effigy’s hair. But what did a straw man need with a tiny woven gun...

Rather than answer the curious circumstances, the shop keeper let out a deep slow laugh. Slowly he found three small pins and placed them through the heads of each of the summoned dolls binding them to the wooden table where the rest of his fetishes lay. It was about to begin. When he at last spoke, his speech was slow and heavily accented. Yet the man was speaking Japanese, “Come one, come all. All you need to see the spirits of the dead.” The man’s dark brown eyes scanned the marketplace. He let out a small sigh as though he didn’t find what he wanted, until his eyes drifted upwards locking in on the shinigami hovering above, “And what of you swordsman? Would you like to see the world that lies beyond?"

[318/508]

 

[Wayne]

A sharp scowl drew over the swordsman’s countenance. His eyes of cold amber locked undeterred with that of the merchant witch doctor’s own. There, as a shallow breeze scraped over the humid African landscape, Kyuketsu replied vindictively despite bearing a light and buoyant tone, “That won’t be necessary. I already know what’s coming.”

He held out his left arm, finger pointed outwards into the horizon.

“Hadou Number Three, Beniikazuchi.”

Despite its feeble strength, the kidou was nonetheless capable of releasing a massive bang to scatter all throughout the marketplace. The noise caught many unawares, thus prompting an immediate panic from the unassuming masses. Some cried out from fear of gunshots, while others of an explosion. Whatever assumptions any of the humans held, many still fled the scene seeking shelter. Alas, there was a handful left... and from what the captain could deduce, a few of them held some level of spiritual pressure.

A human... and... a shinigami...?

Beneath Kyuketsu, the dubious stranger laid in wait for a proceeding response. The captain was only happy to oblige.

“What ‘lies beyond’ is quite simple.” The Duelist’s hand slithered for his sword as his voice remained disturbingly casual. “I foresee your head on my sword, and your entrails pulled out from your bellybutton... starting with the ovaries, of course. But that goes without saying. I must ask though, how are you doing this fine and wonderful day, my der scion?”

570​

 

[Redfin]

"Ow," Hotate muttered as she pressed both hands up to the side of her head, covering her ears.

She looked around at the panicked people. Her gaze immediately returned to the shopkeeper of the stall with the animal heads. "Stay please. I have things I wish purchased," the girl said in English.

In Japanese, she turned to the blue haired man next to her. "I would greatly appreciate it, if by cervidae cranium, you mean this one." She motioned towards a skull with large spiral horns. "Ask him how much he wants for it, and see if he has any blood of the animal as well. Thank you very much."

[253]

 

[Several Zombies]

At his mental whim, the fabric of space and time began to warp around the blue-haired mechanist before, with a pop, a small metal contraption blinked into existence behind him. The bulbous machine bobbed up and down slowly, its singular 'eye' rolling around to stare at the shopkeeper huddled behind his stall.

"Bonjour!" it chimed loudly in a chipper-sounding, computerized voice, floating closer to the frightened man. "Ne vous inquiétez pas!"

Despite the odd contraption's reassurance, the shopkeeper seemed as afraid as ever. Bobbing even closer, the blue glow of the machine's optic sensor illuminated the sweat -- and presumably tears -- now rolling down the man's face.

"Nous tenons Á  l'achat ..."

"Démon!" the shopkeep bellowed, scurrying out from beneath the machine's cold gaze. "Un monstre maléfique!"

"Attendez, s'il vous plaît!" Kaisen Karakuri chimed, attempting to float after the fleeing man. "Nous voulons juste..."

But he was gone, and with him went any chance of acquiring the skull Hotate so desired.

With a few dejected beeps, Rune's mechanized companion bobbed low to the ground in what one could only describe as a sulk.

"My apologies." the mechanist muttered impassively. "The vendor appears to have fled."

With a tilt of his head, the blue-haired boy turned to look at the Shinigami who had so rudely interrupted their transaction.

"Two others," he murmured coldly, turning his gaze back to Hotate. "Acquaintances, perhaps?"

419

 

[Shadowwind]

A man ran in front of the stall attempting to flee from the apparent gunshot. The man’s body reached the other side of the vendor’s table while his head had flopped off halfway. “I believe you should ask him if he sees something similar now swordsman. Cockiness should be dispensed only after you can determine if it holds truth.” The vendor’s hand gripped a ornate spear easily eight feet in length, the edge of which had the remnants of the poor unfortunate fellow’s blood and tissue. “My kin prefer to toy with the minds of those they encounter. I much more enjoy to break the bodies.”

With decided agility, the shop-keep vaulted over the table. A small smirk touched the edge of the man’s face as he looked up at the shinigami. Leveraging the severed head with his spear point, the scion lobbed it at the swordsman with startling speeds. “My name is Orixa shinigami, I do hope your fighting skills are better than your trash talking. I am so looking forward to a fight.” The skull hurtled through the air still trailing gore in its wake.

Turning his attention to the human and the strange girl the scion spoke a simple sentence, “And of course I did not forget about the two of you, that one is just far more uncouth and deserves to learn his place.”

[228/736]

 

[Wayne]

A thin line of silver drew against the decapitated head right as it could reach the captain. Two halves fell back to earth with a meek thud, carrying about a tepid rain of dirty crimson. Secured tightly in Kyuketsu’s hand was his zanpakutou, already stained yet very much at the ready. Glancing briefly at the other two, the swordmaster’s attention couldn’t help but touch upon that of the other undead warrior present. With the Gotei being in a state of alert concerning the scions’ locations, surely it couldn’t have overlooked one particular soldier ‘visiting’ an area of interest. With that being the case, the girl was either a rogue or a vizard unfortunate enough to get caught in the crossfire.

In spite of its seemingly harrowing attempt at intimidation, however, the Arrancar’s ferocious grin was reciprocated spontaneously with Kyuketsu’s own. The feral, animalistic sneer defining the Duelist only further justified the swirling madness already coiling the damned marketplace.

Lowering himself to the ground, following the captain’s descent was a devastating spike in the area’s temperature. The entire locale was immersed in a sudden heat wave, discriminating against neither Hollow nor human alike. The tropical climate suiting the topography was made null, and whatever source of moisture in the vicinity soon started to wither and dry out. With the onset of the invisible inferno came its source—none other than the shinigami himself.

“Reijuu Kyuketsu, Captain of the Eleventh.” He raised his sword, pointing its tip steadily for the witch doctor’s head. “And you’re not the only one out for blood. Try and kill me. I am begging you wholeheartedly to come and try.”

843​

to quote tropic thunder: "I'm talking about Scorched Earth, motherfucker."

 

[Redfin]

"Of who? Me?" Hotate said innocently. "I'm just here shopping. I have no idea what's going on at all."

She turned to look at the metal eyeball thing. "Thank you for trying, little guy." Her hand reached out and stroked it across the top. For seeing someone summon a thing right in front of her face, the tourist was taking it rather well.

Hotate shot a furtive glance over to the shinigami claiming to be the Captain of the Eleventh. He certainly had traces of the previous captain's gusto and machismo, though the previous captain had been a woman. She felt rather confident he could handle things alone. Getting involved in shinigami business didn't interest her all that much anymore.

"Since all the shopkeepers are gone, I guess I'll come back tomorrow," Hotate said.

She lifted her hat up slightly and readjusted the two long strands of front hair that was clipped to the side.

[408]

 

[Several Zombies]

"Advised," Rune murmured, turning to face the Shinigami captain and his opponent. "This one must must commence combat proceedings."

Issuing a mental order to his robotic counterpart, the mechanist's reiatsu spiked. The shopkeeper-come-hollow's lack of subtlety had made it clear to Rune that the green-haired woman was not the source of the malevolent reiatsu signature he was sent to investigate. Although spiritually aware, it seemed she was little more than a bystander not otherwise involved in the events that were unfolding.

The rumble of his robotic companion's jets intensified as the small machine hovered upwards away from Rune and Hotate. Gears clicked and whined as Kaisen Karakuri entered its combat-ready state. Drawing his lone pistol, affectionately dubbed 'Asimov' by the young mechanist, Rune focused his sights on the Scion. By virtue of his post-human powers, the boy was at the very least buffered from the stifling effects of the Captain's reiatsu, but he knew that he wouldn't last long if the Shinigami continued to expel his energy indiscriminately.


"You are designated 'Kyuketsu, Reijuu'," the mechanist chirped at the swordsman, his cold gaze still locked on the hollow-born shopkeeper. "This one's records indicate you are an acquaintance of General Fujikawa. Is it correct to assume you are an ally?"

625

 

[Shadowwind]

Orixa

“I believe you have forgotten what exactly you are dealing with mortal.” The shopkeeper chuckled. The man’s hand erupted in ebony flame enveloping the entirety of the man’s body. Without warning there was an echoing boom as the cero erupted sideways at the human. “One should take care to not ignore a monster in their midst.”

There was a small chuckle from the center of the blaze before it faded away taking with it the skin of the shopkeeper the scion was using. Stringy black hair clung loosely about the creature’s shoulders. The scion’s face was enveloped in white, though rather than a mask it appeared to be simple paint that marred the creature’s visage. What remnants of a mask remained constituted a half smile on the left side of Orixa’s face. The creature wore simple baggy clothing and what parts of skin remained were covered with the white paint that surrounded the scion’s face.

“You are a captain?” The hollow sneered turning the gnarled spear in his hand. “I did not realize the Gotei was so want of leadership they promoted a pup to replace a monster. I do not see the need to attack a child shinigami, so I am quite afraid you’ll have to be the one to move.€

[212/948]

 

[Wayne]

“I’ve met him once before,” replied the captain, briefly touching his attention on the human. “And no, you assume wrong. I am not your ally... but I’m also not your enemy. Take that however you will. If you want in on this, then by all means, have at it.”

Feeling the Arrancar’s spear aim for his figure, Kyuketsu immediately returned his sights back on the revelatory emergence of the scion’s true form. A low, derogatory scoff left his lips as he continued, “And a pup, you say? Hmph. That’s funny. You sound a whole lot like your friend Metanoia with all that snarky hubris. I killed him, by the way. It was fun.”



“And you know what the last thing he said was?” The swordmaster’s head snapped to the side. His voice then became cold and robotic amidst the sweltering blaze, unemotional yet still somehow bearing a tinge of sadism behind every syllable. “...Madness. Madness is a beautiful thing. Prove your sibling right and show it to me.”

His zanpakutou bore fruit to a second blade, the murderous match of Tenzansatsu’s twin fangs. There, held tightly in the captain’s hands, were the guillotines meant to reap away Orixa’s existence, the dyad toccatas to sing a melody of utter obliteration.

At last, the raptor pounced. A sweeping flourish drove his left blade, shrieking forward for the scion’s neck. From the Duelist’s right, with his stronger and more resilient hand, brought forth a rising crescendo surging from the knee up to the elbow. In the wake of his paired blows came a volley of dimensional rifts, transcendent strokes forged by Kyuketsu’s own spiritual pressure. In an instant, Orixa was surrounded and entangled in a rapacious corral of fire-born slashes.

1,130​

after the two swings, I used [Predation]

PS: I see your Hierro and raise you a super cutter skill.

 

[Shadowwind]

It happened in an instant, the scion’s hand reached out to grasp the left blade with his right hand while the right sword found only the shaft of the creature’s spear. At that instant pain wrecked across vizard, human, and shinigami alike. A wound identical to the cut that now marked Orixa’s hand appeared on all three individuals. “You expect to even touch me with a strike like that?” The beast snarled. The creature didn't even flinch as his arms became littered in the small wounds of the shinigami's assault littered his arms. The crimson began to flow readily from the wounds as the other three individuals received matching afflictions.

“At best shinigami, you will deliver paper cuts to me. How do you hope to do anything when your strikes are hollow?” There was a quick smirk before the scion let go of the blade as his right leg drove hard into the captain’s stomach hurtling the shinigami backwards. With booming laughter the man address the direction of the other two individuals, “I do hope you two are less pathetic than he.”

[183/1131]

 

[Redfin]

Hotate sucked in a breath of pained air as she looked down at her hand. That wound, it looked familiar, very much like what had just happened to the hollow. She then took a step back, clutching her stomach. Her dark green eyes glowered at the hollow. It was just unfortunately fantastic that an ecclesiastic, fetishistic hollow was so bombastic on her vacation.

"Break apart and return, turn and overcome. Unity from division before the sickle moon. Chiyudou number one, Mend."

Hotate clutched her hand into a fist. The bleeding soon stopped as the gash on her arm began to close. She wasn't watching her wound however. Hotate tried to pay attention to the wounds on the hands of the others'.

[529]

 

[Several Zombies]

With a flash of reiatsu, the spear of virulent energy split around Rune; an ethereal bulwark of arcane power stemming the crimson tides. Still, the Hollows attack was powerful, too powerful for the mechanist to halt without some assistance. Pushing back against the lance of malefic reiatsu, the mechanist reached for a small trinket clipped to his person. Grabbing the cylindrical device, Rune thrust it into the soft earth at his feet. With a loud pop, the apparatus sprung to life, projecting a spherical barrier of reiatsu around the mechanist and his companion.

Buzzing noisily with what one could only assume was elation, Rune's mechanical accomplice bobbed closer to him, chirping a congratulatory tone at its master. The blue-haired boy was singed, but otherwise unharmed. How long he would remain that way however, remained to be seen.

"Ouch." the boy muttered distantly, his cold grey orbs peering down at his palm. A deep cut slowly began to form across it, dribbling a few crimson drops onto his boots.

As his barriers dissipated, the mechanist took another step towards the Hollow. With a wave of his hand, the boy directed his mechanized companion forward. From deep within the contraption, a pale blue light began to build, accompanied by a high-pitched screech that grew in intensity. Finally, with a flash, the machine spat forth a bright white blast of energy -- the high-powered laser cutting a burning swathe through the market as it zeroed in on Orixa, accompanied by a trio of shots from Rune's own firearm for good measure -- each imbued with an explosive charge of reiatsu.

868

Thangs

Cero is reduced by True Grit. Rune then popped his Resonance Shield item and used Bulwark to not get blown up, before firing back with Kaisen Karakuri's laz0r. Laser is charging Minerva. Rune also is shooting back with his gun. Additionally, I'm applying Danger Close and Seireiyoukyou to the gunshots. Puts them at roughly 640 w/ concussive damage. Then, since I'm assuming Hierro counts as armor, that's doubled if it hits Orixa. Not that numbers really matter -- its mostly just for me to watch my Resonance.

Resonance: 3,123/12,070 - 25%

 

[Wayne]

Catching himself from the Arrancar’s devastating kick, the captain couldn’t help but notice the oddity that took place before him. Orixa’s defenses were expected considering the nature of his kind. His hierro was indeed something to take note of, yet far less so compared to the strange ability that made his wounds reflect on all three of his opponents. Even as he felt the lines of red trickle down his flesh, Kyuketsu never once broke his concentration from the witch doctor. As the luster from the human’s attack shined briefly against the Duelist’s steady glare, a small spark trailed down his left hand’s sword. There, nearing the tip of the blade was a small crack bearing a missing fragment.

“You’d do well to take heed of those ‘paper cuts,’ half-breed.” The swordsman chuckled back.

As with that of the white-faced fiend, Kyuketsu’s blood-hungry grin persisted with unyielding vigor. Bursting madly from Orixa’s sliced palm and catching him unawares was a cluster of blades born from the shard left within his flesh. Their instantaneous rise bit and slashed like a parasitic worm burrowing itself within a host. With the blue-haired human’s destructive attack inching for its mark, a whispered chant then slipped quickly from the captain’s lips.

“Bakudou Seventy-Nine: Kuyou Shibari,” the Eleventh’s commander sung, watching as the eight black spheres manifested around the Arrancar. Further strengthening the spell’s grasp, he continued, “Cast a memorial for heavenly light, buried in the traps of consummate darkness. Stolen shadows, rod of enmity, cast forth and draw in and go fuck yourself.”

His muscles tightened watching the beam inch closer and closer. Whatever its effects, he simply couldn’t just stand back and wait. Allowing not even a small window for his quarry to recover, Kyuketsu dove forward as he took to the skies. Both talons of his zanpakutou positioned to drill and pierce, he was bird of prey descending from the heavens in one thundering swoop.

1,452​

this shit is bananers

Okay. I used my zan skill to make Orixa's cut explode with a buncha blades. Chances are, its gonna mess up his concentration against Rune's shit. Then, following that was a Kuyou Shibari, buffed with the chant to make sure he stays in place. Then, whatever Rixy does against the lazer, Kyuketsu strikes from above just after it detonates/gets swallowed/whatever you decide on doing with it.

Attack 2: A true warrior’s mentality lies in their desire to kill with whatever means necessary. Be it detrimental to oneself, what truly matters the most is victory. If Kyuketsu is able to dig his blade into an object (or individual), he is able to break off a tiny shard from his sword and leave it stuck inside the punctured area. Once paying 750 reiatsu, he can mentally command the fragment to fulminate, creating a spherical cluster of smaller blades 15 inches in circumference. This does continual damage to his zanpakutou with every use, dulling it until it is resealed or otherwise.


Kuyou Shibari (Nine Sunlight Traps) - Bakudou #79, 3000 Kidou

Description: Creates eight black holes that emit spiritual energy in the space surrounding the target. The combined pressure tugs the target in all directions, threatening to pull their body apart. A final black hole manifests in the center of the target's chest, tightening the hold. The first hadou cast while this spell is active will be drawn immediately and entirely to the bound target.

 

[Shadowwind]

The words were sluggish and long before the man finished the scion was delivering a large toothed grin. By the time the captain’s kidou manifested the orbs themselves clung to nothing but the air. Similarly the swordsman’s strikes caught only the win putting him in line for the gunman’s assault. Orixa emerged out of his Sonido back in the direction the swordsman had attacked from the grin still lingering on his face, “How do you expect to even touch me shinigami when you do not strike me in earnest. I can see the hesitation in your assaults swordsman, why do you hold yourself back?” The spear danced idly through the air occasionally tapping on the ground with either point or shaft as the beast awaited the result of the attacks.

[130/1261]

 

[Wayne]

As his blades dug through empty, barren dirt, the smile on the captain’s face vanished in an instant. The momentum of exhilaration that built up the moment he arrived was beginning to dwindle, straining as the Arrancar went about his way against Kyuketsu’s attacks. There was no staggered pause in the swordsman’s movements, no panicked gasp as he entered the trajectory from the mortal agent’s offensive.

Instead, the golden-eyed raptor simply stood there with a vexed, tired grimace. Whipping his right sword in a vorpal climb upwards, a silver line tore itself against the river of energy. Fire scattered and the earth shook, energy dispersing rapidly as the bullets following behind were caught within forced ignition. In front of the shinigami captain was a pillar of light wrought from the mechanist’s strike, searing with expelled rage before inevitably succumbing to its own half-life. The few shell fragments and embers left behind still seared Kyuketsu, yet came without a corresponding reaction.

“...”

From the dust and dim cloaking the area of impact, the demon raptor stood tall. Carnivorous were the orbs that pierced through the smoke, intent in watching the hybrid’s every movement.

“...Why do you?” Kyuketsu asked back, his tone all the more vindictive and disparaging. “I’ve asked you twice now to show me what you’re capable of. And yet all I’ve seen is you defend against my attacks and run around doing nothing but talk. You’ve yet to make me bleed with your own attack, prompting me to believe otherwise in regards to your capabilities.”

A heavy downward swing carved through the blanketing smog, revealing the swordmaster inside.

“I’ve given you every ample opportunity thus far to try and destroy me, to end my breathing. Your frightful appearance and that spear of yours is just for show, it seems. You’re weak, you’re insignificant... far bellow even the most meager of Hollow-scum. You disgrace the already miserable name of all Arrancars. Even that clown sired by your master’s imagination was a better fighter. And he wasn’t real.”


Kyuketsu turned around, facing away from the masked titan. “It’s unfortunate how my hopes have been thoroughly misplaced in you, Ory... something. See? I’ve already forgotten your name.”

1,817​

Used zan tech against the laser, though the bullets scratched me a little bit.