A Disappointing Homecoming [Closed/Caz & Zettai]

Cazador had been training with Zettai for hours, the young arrancar progressed well, quickly picking up the important bits. Cazador guessed the arrancar would advance quickly, not yet ready to be a espada but the potential he had shown Cazador out on the sands had not been a fluke. Yet even while teaching the arrancar he had been training his own cero at the same time, not content to rest on his laurels. His flesh had started to grow patches of what appeared to be bone, they flaked away soon after forming yet where they had been he found his hierro thicker more resistant to damage. He attributed the change to his continued consumption of hollows. He could hear the chaotic swirl of them within himself, anger the only shared emotion among them. Cazador turned his thoughts away from the angry mob within and to the student he had without. “Try again Zettai, I'm not expecting you to master the gran rey over night, but let's see if you can increase your size and power without spending as much time charging your cero.” Three orbs of green energy appeared around Cazador's mouth rotating clockwise faster and faster before merging into a single orb which Cazador took into his mouth before releasing it at the targets. It flew as a single beam before halfway it split into three smaller cero crashing against the distant targets with a powerful explosion, the dust from the shock wave briefly concealing the targets. The king had blow up the three targets leaving only a small crater around where they once sat. Two closer targets still sat nearby waiting for Zettai to hit them with his own blasts.

Cazador reached out with his mind looking harder at Zettai's reiatsu to watch for any odd fluctuation which could impede his student's attempt. He sensed another presence nearby, his reiatsu was stronger then Cazador's not by much but enough for the king to be on guard for a attempt on the throne.

As the new arrancar made himself known Cazador turned to face the man, noting he already carried his zanpakuto in his hand. He had come seeking the ruler of Las Noches had he? Cazador let out a small chuckle at the request, even without introducing himself the man demanded to be taken before the king. Casually crossing his arms over his chest pulling himself up to his full height, “If you seek the king of Hueco Mundo then you have come to the right place. I Cazador, rule Las Noches and the desert around it.” He puffed himself up making his appearance as intimidating as he could, it wasn't his physical power which backed his claim to the throne, it was his unshakable resolve and will to hold on with everything he had. If this arrancar wanted to take the throne Cazador would not let it go without a fight regardless of the difference in power. “Now I wonder, who are you arrancar. I know many of the faces around here and they know mine. So I wonder where have you been?” He mentally reached for Rufino's reiatsu, his snake like tongue leaving his mouth to taste the air as if it would let him get a better read of the man. The new reiatsu reiatsu moved and shifted like smoke, dark and thick almost smothering in a sense, there was something else to it as well, something Cazador himself was familiar with but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

The king opened his arms to motion to the ruined courtyard around them, “Welcome home, to the ruined city of Las Noches. The last few rulers seemed to feel that the walls were a bit claustrophobic so they got rid of them.” The dragon laughed at his own joke, though work was being done on the walls it was going slower then he would have liked. “Times are changing around here, while somethings have not changed. We have suffered much but now that I'm in charge we can only go up from here.”

WC 679

Determination and vigor were the key. It was something drilled into him at a such young age that, even after becoming a different race entirely, his soul still held onto the ideal. Still, it was getting harder and harder to not give up as he struggled to mimic what his fellow hollow-breed seemed to be able to pull off so easily. He had been practicing his cero with Cazador, striking at still targets to focus more on technique than application. As the dragon demolished his targets with a triple-seed beam, he was ordered to do the same, essentially as fast as he could. Normally, Zettai would have no trouble with this, as his hollow ability allowed for him to forego accuracy as long as he could hit the target once. Without using it, he felt as though he were missing a key part of himself. Sweating and panting, with his hands on his knees as he stood beside Cazador, he glanced over at the king. Clean, standing strong, and with what appeared to be scales flaking off of him, he was the epitomy of 'growth'.

Gritting his teeth, Zettai stood up straight, mimicking Cazador's frontal posture as best he could. He wanted a fast cero? Well, there was one trick Zettai had up his sleeve that just might do the trick. Normally, he would never think about using this without the Absolution Wave directing it, but this was an opportunity to test it out in a safe space without the immediate repercussion being death and consumption. Bringing his left hand up to his face, he slowly pulled the curtain of semi-curly brown locks away from his pierced, empty eyehole. Light passed through and through Zettai's head as he revealed his Hollow Hole, the place on his body that signified his greatest loss after he transformed. The reason he lost his eye was because of his frustration and the blind rage of haste and impatience. It was that frustration that made this technique possible.

Faster than what should have been possible for someone of his level in cero manipulation, green reiryoku condensed in the eyehole until it was no bigger than a marble and then fired off. Almost immediately after clearing his face, it spread into a wide, unconstrained blast of pure energy. The 'Blind Cero' was more like a shot-gun than a beam, usually capable of clearing anything in front of him with little effort. Trading range for power and speed, the body-sized burst of energy was capable of traveling only two meters before it stalled and died. "Damn it." He had failed to strike the targets by almost eighteen meters in comparison. It was definitely confirmed, then. Without his Absolution Wave to pull it along and transform it into an eraser beam of death, it was only good for close combat. "Let me try again." Just as he raised his arm to prepare a proper Quickfire Cero, however, they were interrupted by a third hollow-breed.

Immediately lowering his arm and moving to flank Cazador and the newcomer, he observed both carefully. It was his purpose as Fraccion to assist Cazador in both recruiting new members to their ranks as well as defending their home from infidels. As the two began to converse, however, Zettai's guard relaxed just slightly. Neither were tense, both spoke with clear, straightforward intent. It was clear that neither was preparing to engage the other with intent to harm, even if they were both definitely prepared to defend themselves if the need arose. Nothing else was to be expected. At this moment, Zettai could see no point in joining the conversation himself, as this was mostly Cazador's show. His gaze on Tauro never wavering, he prepared for the very moment that Cazador gave a signal. Hopefully, things would go smoother than that. Unfortunately, things rarely went smooth like that.

----

WC: 643/643

Tauro stared up silently at the Hollow would claimed to be King and said...nothing. This thing was no Adjuchas, perhaps an unusual Gillian that somehow avoided the taking on the usual Menos Grande form. However aberrant or not it was still only a Gillian and yet it claimed to be King? Ruler of not only Las Noches but Hueco Mundo itself?

'What happened to my home?' he thought to himself sorrowfully 'What happened to my people that they would fall so far as to obey such an unevolved member of our race.'

As the Hol- no the King began talking about how the former rulers had caused this, in his own joking fashion, Tauro frowned behind his mask and glanced around at the ruins.

'So the Despot Shinigami-King wasn't the only despicable ruler to cause only misfortune to my people.'

Despite the disgust he felt at finding one such as this leading his people Tauro had to admit that the Dragon-Hollow's words were the sort of...well the sort of thing he wanted to hear, the fact that he was clearly trying to rebuild Las Noches was reassuring.

Tauro's gaze transferred to the second individual and he was shocked to see an Arrancar standing next to the Menos. It seemed to be overly...servile in appearance to this Cazador.

'An Arrancar serving a Gillian. I never thought I'd see the day. Either this is a particularly pathetic Arrancar or there is more to this Cazador than meets the eye.'

He could sense their power and they were both certainly weaker although admittedly not by a large margin, if Consumption was here he could handle them both but on his own it was a dangerous proposition. More than that he didn't want to fight them. Defeating a King meant becoming King and that was a station that Tauro had never wanted, it was basically the equivalent of walking around with a huge target on our back and got in the way with the important task of actually helping Hollow.

No thank you.

For now he would play it safe and accept this King so long as he didn't prove to be a fool. Well at least until a more impressive replacement came along.

Deciding to respond Tauro bowed his head in response to the Hollow's introduction and decided to answer the Ruler's questions.

"Greetings King Cazador!" he began respectfully enough "My name is Rufino Tauro. Many years ago I was once theSéptima Espada although I lost that position after the Shinigami King came to power." he said with a hate filled sneer as he referred to the old Tyrant. "I suppose that would make me a Privaron now. Privaron Espada #107"

"Since then I have been...absent. I spent time in the Human world, too long truly and I have missed by Brethren." he continued "Now I have returned alongside my Fracción who is elsewhere in the Capital.  As you can imagine we were distraught when we returned to find the Fortress in such condition."

The Arrancar looked around, glancing at the crippled Citadel, before turning his attention back to Cazador. "What happened here? You say it was a former Ruler? Would you mind sharing further information on this?"

---------------------------------------------------

WC: 541
Total WC: 1179

Cazador absentmindedly picked at the little plates of bone that had formed along his shoulder, the steady scraping sound was almost soothing to the hollow. His student had come joined him and the new arrancar, Cazador noted the pause that Rufino had at first before he bowed his head to him, a small smile crossed the king's face. He politely listened to the man's story, nodding as appropriate, he stroked his chin for a moment thinking about how much information he should share with this newcomer. He claimed to be a Privaron, Cazador hadn't encountered any other Privaron so he had no one to check with he decided another pair of hands was another pair of hands and accepted the story as he was told it. “Well let me and my Fraccion Zettai be the first to welcome you home.” Motioning around the area he and Zettai had been using for target practice, “She's not in the best shape but that will change soon.” He clapped his hands together, “Ah, I imagine you would like to know more then just I came to be king.” He paused for a moment in thought, he truthfully didn't know much about why Las Noches was so destroyed by Obsession. “Well the king before myself Erasmus Mei, he apparently had some kind of fit. I was still young in this world at the time so the details are vague, needless to say he was very powerful and with that power he used it to destroy the home of his people before using some strange power to send anyone within or near Las Noches to invade the shinigami.” His thoughts turned for a moment to his own battle during the invasion, how he had ate that shinigami woman. He fondly remembered that part, then he remembered Murat, the one eyed bastard of a shinigami. Murat and another shinigami had forced his rampage to end and eventually retreat. Anger burned deep within, anger at being forced back, anger for not just consuming Murat as well. He turned his mind back to the tale he was weaving.

“During that invasion he left Las Noches and went to the Seireitei, I don't know much about what happened afterwards but soon enough most of the hollows came crawling back to Hueco Mundo or they never returned.” The king paced now as he told the story, his tail slowly flicking back and forth, “Upon my return from battle I did what I had traveled all the way across the desert to do. I claimed the throne, there wasn't exactly much competition. I mean even you must be able to sense how weak everyone in Las Noches currently is.” He wondered how Rufino would respond to that, it was a chance for him to speak about if he thought the king was weak, Cazador was ready to signal Zettai to attack should this Privaron decide to mock the king. “My best competition was my Primera, Octavia. She a strong woman even if all she speaks is nonsense.” He did find the woman interesting much in the same way you find a viper in your bedroom interesting.

“So now you know what has happened to Las Noches, however I do wonder, why were you gone for so long? It's not exactly like a shinigami could watch the whole desert. They lack a certain...” He paused before tapping on his mask, “Characteristic to be well suited for our climate.” He laughed, mocking shinigami was nearly as much fun to Cazador as eating or fighting them. “Still I believe you've got good timing to return now, we need people more then ever and not just for repairing walls.” He grimaced clearly he was not fond of the information he was processing, “After a attack like the one our previous king executed, the most likely course of action for the shinigami is for them to attack. So the more fighters I have the better.” He waited a moment the pause almost audible, “Kneel and swear your life to Las Noches Privaron #107. Your king accepts your return.” He wondered if Rufino would actually kneel to him, a mere Gillian. Only time would see how far he could be pushed.

WC 706/1385

Zettai couldn't help but be piqued as Caz explained the past of Las Noches. It wasn't something he himself were particularly familiar with, and found himself wondering if the now-dead rulers of the sands were able to fulfill their purposes or not. Judging by the current state of things, he was displeased. If this was their purpose, then what kind of future were they looking toward? If it was not, how did they screw up so terribly?

His eyes flickered over to the scratching dragon. Would Caz fulfill his purpose, or would he too end in ruin and as a tale told by the sons of sons from now? And what of Zettai? As Fraccion to Cazador, he was now involved in the intricate plots of warbringers. His purpose was to assist Cazador in whatever purpose as King he desired the most.

As he ordered Tauro to kneel, Zettai had to physically force his eyebrow not to raise. That was a new push. As time went on, Cazador must have become accustomed to thinking of himself at the top and it was very clearly showing. Bowing was something he had not even made Zettai do, and he wondered just how far the king was going to go in his quest for dominance over his brood.

----

WC: 215/858

Short Post, Will get beefier as thread goes on.

"Fascinating." was Tauro's simple response to the Hollow's explanation of events with a quiet calm.

Internally was a different scene altogether. The Arrancar's mind raced as he considered what Cazador was telling him. The idea that a King had done this to his own people was disgusting and although Tauro knew little about this mystery stranger he deeply hoped that traitorous scum had suffered and paid for his crimes. Apparently the former royal had then also invaded the Soul Society which, from the look of things around Las Noches, had went horrifically poorly.

'They came crawling back or not at all he says.' the Arrancar thought to himself with a silent fury. 'Again our people suffer because of the leadership from the mad and stupid. Any invasion of the Soul Society would take leadership beyond the simple ripping open of portals that this Gillian describes.'

When he mentioned how weak the Hollow of Las Noches currently were Tauro nodded "Indeed. When I left Hueco Mundo all the Espada had surpassed me and I had expected to come back to an entire legion of Numeros that would be superior to myself." he paused glancing around "It seems I was quite mistaken. Even the least of the Espada when I went into exile could lay waste to the remainder of the current forces in Las Noches."

Tauro shook his head and sighed in frustration. This was not what he'd been expecting at all upon his return.

When the man asked him to kneel a flicker of anger burned in his chest for a brief moment before he got it under control. "You are quite right that people are needed considering the decrepit state of the fortress. I would be honoured to return to the fold, to serve and protect Las Noches." he replied honestly before smiling faintly "But kneeling...well that is not something that comes easily to our kind, wouldn't you agree?"

The smile was chilling in it's lack of emotion and it promised retribution if the King attempted to force the issue. Tauro knew his fraccion wouldn't be far and if necessary he would call his ally and together they would crush the upstart duo.

'Of course if he accepts things as they are then I will serve him...until someone stronger takes his place.' he thought to himself. The former Espada was quite proud of his word and if he give his loyalty it would remain for as long as this King could maintain his hold on the throne.

The horned Arrancar transferred his gaze to the other Arrancar next to Cazador and an amusing thought came to mind before he flicked his gaze back to Cazador.

"I have never heard of a King taking a Fraccion before." he noted although he'd never heard of something as basic as a Gillian being King before either "This ally of yours, Zettai, must be quite something to be directly chosen as a servant by your majesty. Perhaps you would let me prove myself against him?"

Tauro waited Cazador's response. It was be both insulting and dangerous to challenge the King, to expect the leader of Las Noches to fight him for anything less than a Challenge for the Throne. The Crown as the last thing Tauro wanted. However if he could show the King his strength through duelling one of his subordinates. Then all parties might be appeased.

---------------------------------------

WC: 567
Total WC: 1746

The dragon's thoughts raced as he studied not only Rufino's response to his request for him to kneel but also Zettai's. He had never asked something like that before yet he had to see how far as a leader he could push his men, if they were loyal they would show it however he also knew if they had pride they would not kneel, bow perhaps but never would any proper hollow or arrancar kneel unless faced with a truly great force. The newcomer's response to the recent events of Las Noches had been surprisingly brief and simplistic but understandable given recent events. He wasn't surprised however at the man's response to kneeling, he showed the pride of a warrior and that of a former espada for sure. A thin line of a smile traced across Cazador's mask, he was satisfied with the answer, there was show of respect and loyalty and that trace amount of hostility which would chill most. It wasn't as if Cazador couldn't just defeat the former espada in battle but he considered it would most likely end up a waste of energy for all the parties involved. “Very well, welcome home then. I'm glad to see our proud warriors won't kneel, even in the face of their own king.” The smile grew from a thin line to a broad fang baring smile.

Rufino took interest in Zettai as a Fraccion of the king? This piqued his interest indeed, though he would ponder for the thought for a few moments as he listened to the arrancar speak. He tapped a finger against his chin as he thought a soft hum emitted from him before he snapped his fingers. As the sound of the snap echoed through the area a bolt of lightning escaped from his fingers blasting away the rubble from training and clearing the area for room to maneuver. “Ah Zettai, is a trusted ally, loyal and still young. I am sure one day he will grow into a fine warrior and I will be proud to name him Espada. You may test yourself against him if he agrees to the match as well.” He turned his head slightly to look down upon his apprentice, while he had faith that his student was as hardworking and diligent as he was, he also knew the young arrancar was not yet as strong as he could be.

Using his sonido Cazador backed away to the edge of the area, taking a seat upon a large chunk of the castle which rested upon the ground. “Now I'll set up some boundaries, use them as you wish but be careful.” He laughed as he weaved his hands over his head for a moment focusing his mind on constructing a cage of lightning around the improvised arena, the electric bolts alternating between blue and green, containing the thirty meter arena with a forty meter high ceiling made of the same lightning. “When your ready begin!” He sat back and watched excited to see what the two arrancar would do now.
WC 510/1895

Understanding now, Zettai smirked slightly. 'Oh, Cazador... You slippery devil, you..' He thought to himself, nodding in agreement with what Tauro was saying. He was definitely going to make a fine addition to their squad. He was every bit as fierce and every bit as lucid as they were. No man should ever bow for another man, regardless of position. It denotes, automatically, that one has no respect for the other. If a king has no respect for the people he commands, he is unfit for kingship. That was something that Zettai was confident Cazador knew, as he was every bit as civil as himself in their first encounter. If the hand does not respect the blade, it may end up cutting indiscriminately. Similarly, if the blade does not learn to respect the hand, it may find itself never unsheathed. Herramienta hummed on Zettai's back, the zanpakuto strapped to his bare chest with a black and teal strap. It sensed Tauro's challenge, and was eager to display it's plumage, and hopefully receive a color show in exchange.

Regardless of Cazador's nature, there was an energy in the air. It crackled between Tauro and Zettai, a tantalizing new prospect in each of them for each of them. Personally, he wanted to see how stacked up against an ex-Espada. And obviously, Taura wished to gauge the current power level of the Espada. That meant, in this moment, Zettai represented the entire Espada to this man. Perhaps it would be only be for half a moment, but in that moment, Zettai would be considered 'the bar'. The pressure that others might feel for such a responsibility was realized as pure motivation for Zettai. This was the closest he had ever come in his quest to join the Espada. "Sir Rufino! It would be an honor to accept your challenge!" He called out, reaching up to draw his zanpakuto as Cazador cast his current cage to encapsulate them. The strap that bound Herramienta to Zettai fell into tatters before fading into the wind just moments after it touched the ground.

Swinging his sword around so it was pointed at his 'enemy', he smiled for a moment. "Regardless of the outcome, I will hold no ill feelings toward what happens today. As Arrancar, I believe a very large of purpose just may be to fight. To win or to lose is irrelevant. That's for hollow to deal with. When you break your mask and slide to this side of the line, it is the spirit of the clash, the nature of the fight itself, that matters. As strangers, this fight has been preluded with such cheerful tone, that I just might say we shall become allies and possibly even friends after. The idea of camaraderie and sharing skills and knowledge, rather than just hunting power and scraps, is what I believe separate us from our brethren." He paused, his sword lazily waving from side to side in his grip as he spastically spoke. Realizing that he was rambling, he decided to sum it all up in one, conclusive statement. "Enjoy yourself, because it will be impossible for me not to." With that, he flipped Herramienta around in his grip so it naturally pointed at the concrete below them, then slammed it into the concrete between his bare feet.

As he released his hold on it, his body and the sword took on identical shades of emerald green. Immediately, the power of the Absolution Wave took hold, and his body was launched straight up into the air as it was repelled from his zanpakuto, careful to not strike the roof of their spitting and crackling cage. Floating several meters in the air, he raised his right hand up close to his remaining eye and began to charge a jade-colored cero. He had the high point. As long as his opponent tried to dodge it from the ground, they would be hard-pressed to leave his field of vision. Regardless, the moment they decided to join him in the air, his entire cero would be a wasted effort. The moment he realized this, he formed a thin, reishi needle in his free hand. He could use this to guide his shot cero wherever he wanted. Let's see how Tauro dealt with the tricks of the fraccion belonging to the King of Hueco Mundo.

----

Wc: 725/1583

The former Espada was quite glad that the King didn't press the issue, it would be a shame to have to slay the only stabilising force he'd seen yet in this ruin. The Arrancar nodded politely at Cazador's words when the Menos welcomed him back to the Kingdom.

His gaze followed the bolt of lightning the Dragon Hollow summoned with interest as it blasted away some debris. Tauro's smile widened slightly when the King agreed to the match between both Arrancar, it was actually a little bit of a shock to him but definitely a pleasurable one.

Zettai's response surprised him further when he not only looked interested eager for the challenge but he also called out to him politely as he drew his weapon for combat. The sword appeared European in origin and caught his interest, he'd always been interested in the various forms of weaponry carried by his people.

'Now is not the time to become distracted by such things.' he thought to himself.

The other Arrancar pointed his sword at him and give a little speed which honestly brought a smile to Tauro's lips, it wasn't the words themselves that amused him but rather the behaviour of the other Hollow-Breed. He spoke less like a Hollow and more like some sort of Knight from stories. It was a pleasant change of pace and his use of the word 'brethren' resonated within the Privaron Espada.

"I also welcome this challenge Zettai as well as your comradery. We are brethren after all and no matter what occurs here that will not change."

El Vengador still lay sheathed and carried in Tauro's left hand and he planned to use it with his own kind of unorthodox Iaijutsu to get the advantage over his opponent. The Arrancar slid one foot back and bent his knees slightly as Zettai dropped to the ground before him. Tauro had an eager, almost bloodthirsty, smile on his lips as he prepared to attack.

The actions of Cazador caught him by surprise as the Draconic Gillian set up some sort of electrified cage around them, setting out a specific area for the two to have their little duel or practice session...whatever you wanted to call it.

'Interesting but I'll have time to discover his powers later. Let's focus on the Fracción for now.'

As soon as Zettai began to move Tauro followed not willing to give the other Arrancar time to prepare his tricksy attacks. Utilizing all his speed Tauro shot after his opponent however when having crossed three quarters of the distance between them he immediately used Sonido to appear behind his target.

Grabbing the hilt of his sword he performed a draw cut, the crimson blade leaping out of the scabbard to slash towards his opponent's shoulders.

------------------

WC: 465
Total WC: 2211

There was no time for the Absolution Wave to repel him into the air. Rufino was on him, and he was on him hard. Instinct took over his body, a tingle running across his skin as the arrancar he was facing disappeared from his field of view. The feeling of Rufino's reiatsu blew up behind him, engulfing them both as the words 'DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE' roared within his ears. Ignoring it as he let his own spiritual energy rise to combat the effect the stronger being was having him, the effects quickly died down. A single step backwards, chin to chest, and a fraction of his weight lowered stopped Rufino's blade from running it's full course and separating his bust from the rest of his torso. Instead, the stroke of steel cleaved a large chunk of one shoulder out, rendering his scarred arm completely useless, but otherwise leaving him intact. A spray of blood accompanied the strike, and Zettai couldn't help but let out a hard grunt. That was definitely going to need some medical attention. Wondering for a moment how hard it would be to learn to naturally regenerate, Zettai continued his hakuda technique. Sponging damage was only part of the reason he stepped back.

With Herramienta stuck in the ground in front of him, it was the perfect tool to create a slingshot and propel himself forward. Almost touching Rufino, a hair's breadth away, Zettai created as much space between himself and his sword as he could before motioning toward it. Immediately, his body was engulfed in the sea-foam green aura that marked the activation of his Absolution Wave. Likewise, the zanpakuto before him acquired a similar cloak of emerald green. Pulling him forward, the power of attraction ripped Zettai out of his opponent's personal bubble. His feet scraped the ground, drawing a line in the rubble and dirt as he was hauled forward. With some quick feet work, he managed to flip himself around the blade just as he reversed the polarity on his Absolution Wave. His aura now matching that of his sword's, he was pushed back with surprising force. Facing Rufino as he created a bit of distance, Zettai reached up toward his bleeding arm and grasped it firmly just below the base. A small tinge of sea-foam joined the flaring light around him as he created a seal to stop the blood flow loss and restore general use to his arm. Essentially attracting his arm back to the rest of his body, Zettai grinned as he wiggled his fingers and flexed his elbow. Rufino held no bars in his slash, eager to fulfill his purpose as a combatant. That stirred an excitement within Zettai, causing adrenaline and energy to surge through his body. It would do.

Straightening himself up, he wasted no more time with words. To do so would sully the spirit of their match. Surveying the electric cage around him, Zettai smirked a cocky, toothy smirk. With nowhere to go, there was no way he could miss. Releasing a flurry of bala from his fists, the ten or so blasts of concussive energy honed toward the planted Herramienta, still standing erect in front of Rufino. The mixture of green energy from his multitude of attacks and applications of his power filled the area with a bright glow, which Zettai found ironic. The irony was in his dimming vision from the bloodless he had endured so far. The majority of the damage that had been done was taken care of now, but regardless, he had suffered a serious injury and his body was alerting him to that. The adrenaline from Rufino's attitude toward their battle was only going to keep him going for so long, so it was pertinent he found a way to overpower or out-speed his opponent quickly. Otherwise, he was only drawing out the inevitable.

----

Wc: 651/2234

Tauro was awarded with a the pleasurable sensation of his blade ripping through the other Arrancar's shoulder. However the former Espada clicked his tongue in annoyance as no matter how crippled the arm now was the blow had not been as severe as Tauro had hoped. Of course he didn't want to kill his brother Hollow but he had hoped to end their match quickly. A smile tugged at his lips as joy began overriding his frustration. A longer fight however was certainly not a displeasing thought. Sliding his sword back into it's sheath he considered his next move.

Tauro was ready to pursue, keep the pressure on Zettai, rain blows down on him with savage fury so that the other Arrancar couldn't hope to stop him. However when the other Hollow became bathed in ethereal light as he activated some sort of spiritual power at his disposal and one that Tauro clearly didn't understand. His Pesquisa sent a pulse of spiritual power outwards as he tried to detect what was happening and he saw some sort of link connecting Zettai to his Zanpakuto, whatever the power was it was that spiritual tether that had something to do with it.

He dropped to the ground and was half way through planning his next strategy when that power of his pulled Zettai down to the ground before immediately being pushed away by the blade clearing even more distance between himself and Tauro. By his estimations he was sure the could of caught the Fraccion and matched the speed of his movement easily enough but he was too busy using his Reiatsu Perception abilities to watch this strange unique power of his opponent's.

Sensing a build up of reiryoku from the other Arrancar he stopped focusing on using his normal senses to watch the other Hollow. A moment later the air was filled with light as his enemy loosed a series of Bala at him. Tauro briefly considered using Sonido to get out of the way of his enemy's attacks which would have been the prudent course of action however there was more to this fight than merely winning. Tauro had to prove that he was a worthy soldier to join the ranks of Las Noches and there was no better scenario than to do so in front of the King against his personal servant.

'Fight fire with fire it is.' he thought to himself.

Sliding one foot back he sunk into a low fighting stance, his sheathed blade still held in his left hand as his right hand grabbed the hilt of his sword, red energy rippled over him as he grew upon every ounce of Spiritual Energy at his disposal. Once the balls of concussive energy reached him the man drew his blade. Tauro's Zankaputo flicked out in the air rapidly, with controlled strokes, as the crimson blade deflected each and every Bala that would have hit him directly and left the Arrancar thankful that it hadn't been Cero his opponent had used. Bala didn't explode so deflecting them was fine but a Cero would have blew up upon meeting his weapon an engulfed him in destructive energy.

Once the Bala were dealt with he slid into a casual stance looking calm as he resheathed his sword. This casualness of the Arrancar was somewhat feigned considering his entire arm ached from having to parry the spiritual attacks.

With a boom he used Sonido swiftly vanish and reappear beside his opponent's Zanpakuto and immediately, with all speed, reached for Zettai's sword which was embedded in the concrete with the intention of grabbing it and throwing the blasted weapon as far away as possible to test the range of the Fraccion's strange power.


WC: 621
Total WC: 2832

Cazador sat and idly amused himself as he watched the two arrancar battle before him, they had speed but Rufino was faster, they had power yet the former espada adapted quickly he would prove a useful member of Las Noches. Cazador decided to inject some of his own fun into this battle, he slowly started to shrink the electric field around the two, limiting their movements even further. He turned up the voltage on the field so that the hum over the current covered any of the static sound of a sonido, “Impressive display of skill thus far you two, yet I feel the challenge can be greater yet.” As much as he was testing the newcomer on his abilities, this was time he had set aside for training Zettai. He slowly rose from his seat, his large size helping him to quickly cross the distance to the cage. He was impressed by the display of deflecting the bala, not easy to do yet if you had the right timing possible. Cazador slowly built a small cero upon his fingertip and then another and so on until each of his fingers held a small electric ball of emerald light.

With a wave of his hands the orbs floated into the cage, surrounded by a small barrier of electric force holding them together. “If you bump into one of these well.... Lets just say if you touch one I hope you can regenerate or you have excellent hierro. Sure to finish the match regardless.” The king chuckled to himself almost hoping for one of the two to bump into one of his cero mines. They had spread evenly through the arena some low others high. They pulsed faster as anyone neared as if warning of their destructive nature.

“Now Zettai tell me, how do you judge this man from what you have seen thus far? What do you feel when your blades meet?” The golden orbs of the dragon passed over to Rufino, “As for you what do you believe my pupil needs to work on? As much as you are being tested this is also for the benefit of young Zettai here.” A large hand of the king coming to rest under his own chin as he spoke as if pondering the field before him like a game of chess. Though unevolved as he was, the Gillian seemed to possess a gift for higher thinking then most others of his level.

WC 412/2307

What a fine specimen Zettai was facing. He found great use in his sword, capable of using it for offence and defense with incredible skill. As Rufino parried his blows, the arrancar scowled. He was almost sure that would work. Well, no. He knew it wasn't going to work. Something still bothered him, however, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. As Rufino charged Herramienta, Zettai grew a large grin. The only rule when dealing with Zettai was rather quite simple: Don't touch his stuff. As Rufino reached out for the hilt of Zettai's zanpakuto, he dashed into a sonido, appearing a few meters behind his opponent as his zanpakuto was hauled from the ground. The wind whipped around Zettai's ears, suddenly picking up. A low hum filled the air, causing Zettai to note the electric balls Cazador had introduced for the first time. Distracted, he was too distracted. But there it was. Throwing his Absolution Wave over the sword twirling in the air away from Rufino, he attracted it once more back to his hands. He was careful when selecting his target, and rather than choosing to encase the entire blade, it was actually just the tip that glowed sea-foam green in response to the emerald cloaking Zettai's palm.

With Rufino between the two of them, he would have no choice but to move or block his blade. In doing so, he would distract himself just long enough for the true attack. Within Zettai's empty eye-hole, a cero charged. Unlike the usual 'Blind Cero' that he ejected from that point, this one was full and true. It would require several moments to build up the appropriate density before firing, and he would use that time to hone in on his target while he was dealing with Herramienta. Regardless of if he moved, he was sure he would have enough time to adjust his aim in response before firing the cero. There wasn't a lot of room in their cage to maneuver to begin with, and Cazador's floating doomsday devices and the cage's diameter being reduced only further acted to tie them together. "Oh, I really enjoy this fellow, Caz. It may be too soon to tell definitively, but so far, the only thing I find lacking in him is an instinct for something other than his sword." Winking to Rufino as he delivered his judgement on the fight so far, he hoped the arrancar would take his critique as it was given -- honest and for the sake of self-improvement, not an insult to one's personal ability. Remembering what was bothering him about Rufino before, Zettai used it to answer Caz's second question. "Oh, to be quite honest I wouldn't dream of clashing blades with him. The thought is terrifying in itself. My skill isn't currently enough to engage him head on." He paused here to look his opponent as square in the face as he could. "..But others will have that skill, and I'm hoping he has something to fall back on when his sword is rendered obsolete."

----

Wc: 511/2745

Tauro smiled, he liked this other Arrancar, he had spirit and more than enough imagination to be a capable warrior. Of course the Former Espada had no idea how old Zettai was but he assumed the other Arrancar was perhaps younger or at the very least less experienced in combat than Tauro was. In the end it was, to the Privaron's surprise, that this fight would come down more to experience than sheer power.

"Your student is quite able and filled with potential your Majesty. I believe he simply needs experience. As he commented on my skill I offer a similar issue with his abilities, he has spread his training too thin in each area and he lacks exceptional strength in any one area to give him an advantage over his foes." he grinned, warmer than his usual expression and nodded "I believe when he finds that which he is most talented in however that this will solve itself."

It was then time to turn his attention to how Cazador had gotten involved, honestly Tauro was surprised the Draconic Hollow had been able to resist for that long, and suddenly loosed a number of glowing orbs which arrayed themselves around the arena. Immediately the veteran Arrancar's mind began working.

'Some sort of trap. Explosive stationary energy techniques of some kind. My regeneration would never keep up with the damage they can deal, I'll be better off to just avoid them.'

They were no doubt dangerous but the Arrancar had them already mapped out in his mind and he wasn't planning to let this little sparing session continue much longer.  Behind him he heard something a slight swirl and realising it was the sound of a blade cutting through the air he swiftly used Sonido to charge straight at Zettai. A moment later the other Arrancar unleashed a Cero at him. It was at that moment that Tauro used Sonido again to immedately reverse his direction and dodge the incoming blade which had been pulled towards him by Zettai's invisible tether to that sword.

As the other Arrancar's Zanpakuto whirled past him Tauro struck it with his own blade expertly as he redirected it's path straight towards the oncoming Cero causing the energy blast to explode with bone trembling force.

A moment later Tauro used Sonido to dart right through the dust left behind by the failed attack and came to a stop in a low fighting stance right in front of his opponent. However instead of unsheathing his weapon he spun the sheathed blade in his hand and rammed the saya straight towards Zettai's throat. If it struck then it would hurt like a bitch and put him out of commission while he struggled for breath but it wouldn't be powerful enough to shatter the neck of something as durable as an Arrancar...probably.

----------------------------

WC: 470
Total WC: 3302