Returning home (open)

It was a beautiful day to be on watch. Yuudai had been tasked with keeping a sharp eye over the current city, which was heavily populated with humans and therefore Hollows. Yuudai breathed deeply through his nose, then exhaled. It's a beautiful day, eh Museihei? Yuudai's Zanpakutō nodded in agreement. Yes, but it is not for the beauty that we are out here old friend. This is true.

Yuudai had slain a few Hollows earlier, but the activity had seemed to die down. That is, until Yuudai noticed something odd. The Hollows aren't hurting the humans. They're attacking other Hollows. What? Are you sure? As sure as I've ever been.

Yuudai decided to pay careful attention to the next batch of Hollows that came his way, which was another oddity that Yuudai noticed since Hollows don't usually hunt in packs. This seems coordinated, well organized. I agree. We should be wary of any encounters. Yuudai nodded his agreement.

Yuudai watched as the pack descended upon a Hollow that was going to attack a human girl. Sure enough, instead of eating the girl, the Hollows tore the other Hollow to shreds, leaving nothing in there wake. This is unreal. Something has to be up.

After the pack of Hollows finished eating the lone Hollow, one of the Hollows broke off from the others. It started to make its way towards the human girl, frantic and hungry looking. Looks like I spoke too soon. Yuudai prepared to flash step into save the girl, when out of the sky what looked to be a wolf slammed into the Hollows head, caving it in and instantly killing it. What the fuck?

Yuudai stretched out his perception, feeling out what it was that had done this. It definitely wasn't a human, nor was it quite Hollow... An Arrancar. Doesn't seem overly powerful though. Be careful. Sometimes the most powerful ones are able to diminish their Reiatsu. Yuudai affirmed this.

The Arrancar looked over at the human girl, nodded, then jumped back to his perch where he had been hiding. He must be behind this. I guess its time to introduce myself. With a leap, Yuudai landed on the air, flash stepping off of invisible Reiryoku until he was able to flash step right behind the Arrancar.

Yuudai looked carefully at the Arrancar. Up close, Yuudai realized he dwarfed the thing. He stood a solid 3 feet above it, but it looked a little heftier than Yuudai. Yuudai smirked, his right hand on his sword. "Well well well, looks like I found a doggy. Hello there. I can assume you're the one leading the packs of Hollows I've seen roaming around the city."



Word Count: 447
Total Word Count: 447
GP: 8

        It was the end of the day, the sun was bearly on the horizon now, given an hour or two the moon would take the sky and the stars would shine down. The night in the human world had its own beauty and charm to it, however that was destroyed by the buzzing around of these humans. Such a beautiful night and all they can think to do with it is blast so called music and get drunk. They drown out all the natural beauty on the night just to celebrate some pointless ‘achievement’ that’s hardly worth mentioning. They celebrate birthdays as if they earnt their survival. The humans are all pitiful jokes.

        The mere sight of such things greatly irritates Ly, this was one of the main reasons Ly wanted to be gone before first star light. However things could never be that simple. Here he stood after a successful day, his hunting party running around all day killing hollows and protecting humans, he only had to kill one of them. It was going great, yet a shinigami now stands behind him. He couldn’t believe his luck. His hunting party now gathered in front of him, the portal back to Hueco Mundo all but open, yet now he had a shinigami to deal with.

        Ly could tell the shinigami was more powerful than him, he could probably tell that as well. Even still Ly made no move, not even a flinch as his arrival. Still, to land within striking distance of a hollow is still stupid. one touch of my ‘blood’ would teach him not to get so close uninvited. As ly though this he considered a single quick strike, not enough to kill just injure him enough to learn his lesson and allow escape. However, that would properly end badly for him one way or another. Even if he succeeded he would make an enemy he didn’t need to make. Swallowing a growl Ly spoke more officially than he had in a long time, still putting in enough sarcasm that it could be felt.

        Any complaints are to be handled by Hueco Mundo complaints office; it’s next to the lake. Anything else I can help with?

        Still Ly didn’t move, it was a calculated risk, the shinigami was clearly more powerful. However it wasn’t by that much, still not a risk worth taking considering he had his hand on the hilt already. In any case, here he stood before Ly and his hunting party, he still hadn’t attacked or even drawn his sword. He was either very, very confident in his skills, or combat wasn’t his true intent.

        Although Ly didn’t move or really react, the same couldn’t be said for his hunting party. The ones who had been with him the longest tensed up ready for battle, maybe shifted into a better position but that was all. The newer ones on the other hand reacted like normal hollows. They drew their claws, readied their tails, beared their teeth and rose their spiritual pressure as high as they could. All the typical reaction you would expect when a hollow runs across a shinigami and doesn’t run away. This was all cut short in an instant with a look from Ly. Although they still seemed ready for a fight, none made any obvious further aggressive actions as they seemed to calm down a little.

---

words: 565
GP: 11
TGP: 22

Yuudai watched as the Arrancar acknowledged his presence, albeit with a strange and sarcastic comment about complaints with Hueco Mundo. Yuudai laughed, caught off guard by the come back. "Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that kind of response. No complaints truth be told, though I do have some business with you."

Yuudai, what are you doing? You realize you are faced with a plethora of Hollows, not to mention an Arrancar. Relax, Museihei. Firstly, his intent is not to harm me, but simply to escape;
he has a portal back to Hueco Mundo ready, and he ordered his Hollows to stand down when they were getting ready to fight. Secondly, I don't think they could kill me. Sure, it might be a long and painful fight, but I'd survive... Probably. Museihei rolled his eyes, marveling at his partner's stupidity.

Yuudai relaxed a little bit, his hand moving a little bit away from the hilt of his sword. "Don't worry, I'm not here to kill you." Yuudai's smile dropped at this point. "Though let it be known that I will obliterate your underlings should they try to kill me, and that I will show no mercy should you attack." With a slight pause after this, Yuudai let the warning sink in.

"Now, with all of the fine print out of the way... I simply had a few questions for you. Your actions are curious to me. I was wondering if you would kindly explain them."

These are Hollows Yuudai. Are you not supposed to take them out with extreme prejudice. Yes, and at some point I will. They are a threat to mortals and Shinigami alike, and that cannot be abided. So then, why are you speaking with an Arrancar and are making a move to ask it questions? Yuudai shrugged internally. Honestly, I'm curious. Why is he only attacking Hollows instead of humans? And even more so, going out of his way to protect humans, even from his own men?

Yuudai looked back at the Arrancar, his eyes trying to gauge everything about the being before him. "So, first question: Why are you only attacking Hollows? And why are you protecting humans?" Yuudai smiled. "Oops, guess that's two questions."



Word Count: 369
Total Word Count: 816
GP: 16

        It was a good news bad news situation that was unfolding before Ly. The good news was that his calculated rick had paid off and the shinigami not only didn’t attack, in fact he even relaxed a little and released such a tight grip on his hilt. The bad news was he apparently wanted to have a lengthy conversation with Ly about his motivations. Ly could already feel the tediosity of this conversation, and it hadn’t even really started yet. At lest it started off on a good note with him getting the shinigami to relax, even laughed. Although with him still being a shinigami, things could always go very wrong very fast.

        Case and point, he went from a smile and laughter to threatening to obliterate his hunting party in the blink of an eye. Although he properly could kill them all, they weren’t all that strong to be honest, Ly had already put them in their place once the threats were un-needed. if you’re trying to sound intimidating you’ll have to do better. Hollows don’t even know mercy. Than for him to just go on with the conversation as if he didn’t just threaten Ly, sounding polite doesn’t make a conversation civilised. Oh well, Ly didn’t have much of a choice but to continue on with the conversation. He would have to just talk it through and see where it goes.

        Ly let out a sigh, which of course came out sounding like a growl. He aims to ask one question and ends up asking two, this conversation could be a lot more painful than the fight would be. Ly would have to participate for now and just run or fight if it became too tedious. First things first though matters had to be addressed

        For the record I have told them to stand down. If they attack you I’ll kill them myself.
 
        Ly let out a loud growl that sent half the hunting party back two or three steps. Ly really didn’t want to have to kill any more today though, so a little extra fear to keep them in line would work perfectly.

        As for why? I died here a long time ago with people dear to me. I killed enough men and women when I was alive to fill these streets with blood. I was paid to fight in wars, and kill countless people, and they were the only ones I would do anything for. I swore on their memory I wouldn’t harm a human here ever again. From there, hunting the hollows who would do harm is only logical

        Ly had answered his questions, knowing full well there was more to come Ly felt it would probably help cut the conversation shorter if he asked a few questions of his own. Then the question is what questions should Ly ask? Hes a shinigami so that answered half of the questions Ly could have asked. If hes here than he would have to be on a patrol. He could have asked why he didn’t kill his hollows on sight, however how often would a shinigami see hollows hunting hollows with people around. However, there was only one question came to mind. Ly flicked his tail in the direction of a park, in which held a plaque detailing the battle that Ly had died in. Even after reading it multiple times over the year he still couldn’t believe he was mentioned, him and the other black dogs.

        My turn, do you know the history of this ground? The story behind the land this city is built on?

---

words:601
GP:12
TGP: 34

A Hollow with a conscious? What a peculiar being. If memory serves correctly, Arrancars are able to feign emotion, although they don't actually feel anything. Yeah, but I don't think this is emotionally linked. I think this is more of him keeping a promise to himself. I can understand that.

"I can understand keeping promises to yourself. That's a good trait to have." The Arrancar said that he would kill any of the Hollows that attacked Yuudai himself. "I appreciate it. I have no intention of killing you or your Hollows, so I would expect the same from you. Why would I kill you when you clearly have no intent on harming the humans here?"

Yuudai listened as the Arrancar told the story of why he won't harm the humans here. "I can understand that. I have fought in many battles and a few wars, although all of these happened while I was a Shinigami, and it wears on you, the amount of bloodshed you see and commit."

The Arrancar asked Yuudai a question, wondering if Yuudai knew about the battle that had happened here. "Unfortunately I do not. I don't normally patrol this area and as such did not brush up on my history. But by all means, please explain this battle. You have truly piqued my interest."

Yuudai relaxed his shoulders a little bit more, though this was a deceptive posture since he was still prepared for anything to attack him. So, why are you talking with an Arrancar? Honestly, I think this could be very interesting. Besides, why would I kill such a gracious host? Museihei chuckled. True. I agree we should listen to him, but be warned that you may have to kill him at some point. Oh, I have no delusions about this whole thing. I realize that I will have to kill him at some point, but for tonight I will not harm him or his followers.



Word Count: 322
Total Word Count: 1138
GP: 22

        Although he talks about not having any intentions to kill Ly or his hunting party Ly couldn’t believe him for a second. Ly could see thorough his relaxed posture, given any reason he would attack, try and kill Ly and his hollows. Afterwards, if he was still alive and Ly was dead, Ly highly doubted he would even spare a single though towards Ly. However nether had given either of the other provocation to attack yet, that is how Ly wanted it to stay. Killing a hollow or two to save a human is one thing, killing a shinigami was too close to breaking his oath to risk anything. Not to mention if a fight did break out human casualties would be completely unacceptable.

        If this wasn’t his normal area it was completely understandable as to why he wouldn’t know its history, with that said however, many of the local regular shinigami didn’t know the local history either. Now most of the regular shinigami in the town knew the history, quite a few of them also give Ly a very wide birth whenever he was around. Now it seemed he would have to inform yet another shinigami of the history. It would be much easier if they could simply read the plaque in the park, however since most hollows avoid the park so would the shinigami it only makes sense.

        you say you have known battles and wars? As far as you can see in every direction the ground was stained red with blood. For hundreds of years. War after war. This place has been home to more death than anyone alive knows. The last battle here was in year 507. Everywhere you look was piles of dead and pools of blood.

        Over 50 000 soldiers on one side, they had the numbers sure. But. 20 000 knights on the other side had better weapons, armour, training, you name it. The night before the fated battle there was a betrayal.

        With that Ly lost control for a second, letting his reiatsu slip. Flooding the air with enough power to cause humans walking below to scream and run. This even caused most of the hollows to step back even further as they were overcome with fear. Than with a long deep breath Ly gained control again, calming himself and sealing his reiatsu.

        Apologies for that. As I was saying. Someone killed the guards and opened the gate letting the soldiers into the knights camp while they slept. 50 000 ready and armed soldiers verses 20 000 sleeping knights, you’d think the knights dead right? So did the soldiers. But wrong. They gave better than they got. The knights won with just over 9000 left alive, compared to the 3000 soldiers left.

        But the story follows a group of mercenaries. The ‘black dogs.’ It was one of theirs that opened the gate. However what is highlighted is that their small band was able to hold the hill, the commanders and leaders tents. Even after their number was halved after traitors turned on each other. They held out long enough for the knights to organise a counter attack. A specific mention goes to a single mercenary though.

        The ‘bloody attack dog’ was his title. He stood unarmoured, unarmed, heavily wounded against the endless charge of the soldiers. Using only his hands feet and teeth he killed more than anyone would count before finally dying, taking a strike meant for the knights commander. Now that’s the end of the known history. Whats unknown is even after death the armies clashed, even in death the fighting continued, as more died, more joined the fighting. Than you can guess, hollows showed up, shinigami, yet the living and dead still fought, killing, dying, screaming.

        Your thoughts?

        With the question asked Ly fell completely silent, letting everything sink in as Ly watched him carefully, wondering what his response would be.

---

words:652
GP: 13
TGP: 47

Yuudai listened thoughtfully through the whole story. It was simple enough, although it sounded like it came out of a fantasy novel; betrayal, the underdogs winning. At one point the Arrancar even got heated to the point of accidentally releasing his Reiatsu. Hmph, sounds like someone has a bit of a temper. The blast of energy wasn't enough to move Yuudai, though it did flutter his clothes a bit, and a bunch of humans below were screaming. "Now now, don't get so heated. You'll rile everyone up."

Yuudai finished listening to the story, and was genuinely intrigued. "So, I take it you were in this battle? That means you're even older than me, surprising." Yuudai, it's not all that surprising. Oh will you be quiet? I know that, I was just making a comment.

Yuudai looked back at the Arrancar, who was patiently waiting for his answer. "Well, my thoughts are honestly irrelevant, but if I had to wager, you were a part of the "Black Dogs". I might even guess that you were the "Bloody Attack Dog", which I must say would be impressive. And my thoughts on the fact that Hollows and Shinigami roamed the battlefield honestly doesn't surprise me since that's exactly what happened in the World Wars these humans got into."

If he was the "Bloody Attack Dog", he may feel responsible for all the bloodshed here, and thus feels responsible for keeping the humans safe. That's so odd, especially coming from and Arrancar. Yuudai sighed. "My last thought is that how have you have been alive this long? If you were in that battle, that happened over 1500 years ago. How is it that you haven't been hunted down by a Shinigami until now? Or if you have, how have you evaded capture for this long? Is it because you protect humans and thus there's no need to kill you?"

Yuudai, you're doing that again. Doing what again? Starting off with one question then snowballing into many more. Hey, shut up you bastard. I'm trying to keep the conversation going.


Word Count: 342
Total Word Count: 1480
GP: 29

        Once again the shinigami went to say one thing and ended up saying multiple things instead. He did listen all the way through, that along is enough to show him some respect, as many ignored him and tried to kill him while he was still talking. However from there his response mimicked that of almost every shinigami to date; are you really that old? If you are that old how come shinigami or hollows haven’t killed you? That or wondering how such a weak hollow could live so long. The truth is simply being more skilled and intelligent than powerful. Most hollows are more powerful than smart; in order to show off their power they willingly walk into a trap.

        The only real difference between them and this shinigami, is this shinigami seemed to be a little distracted. It sort of seemed he was following another conversation along with their own convisation. Ly shifted around a little more than before now, trying to pick up this distracting, his ears twitched and turned listening, as Ly looked him over looking for any devices. When the quick look revealed nothing Ly extended his senses. All what he presented his own response.

        I was the attack dog yes. As for how I lived this long, mistrust and making full use of my abilities. As for run ins with shinigami. Avoided them where as possible. Ran from and evaded them when able. Reasoned and made deals with those I couldn’t out run. Oh and of course killed my way out when there was no other option.

        Ly knew there was a potential to push this stranger too far and result in a fight, however Ly wanted to test him just a little. Push a few buttons and see how they react. Ly had made a few long lasting contacts after testing them properly, and more than a few corpses after testing had failed. With that said, he had listened so far and seemed like the kind of guy that would participate in banter rather than start swinging. Still just to be safe Ly would settle him down a little, still enough to get a reaction but not enough to risk death.

        Besides. Shinigami don’t seem to hunt you down as much if you don’t actively hunt humans. Personally I prefer hollows, better tasting and better game to take down. Any human powerful enough to be worth eating isn’t worth the risk of attacking.

        Letting that sink in Ly was sure he would get some sort of interesting reaction, if nothing else his behaviour would, shifting and listening, still not presenting and offensive actions though. Vaguely Ly could feel a portal open across town. It seemed to be only a low level hollow, however it is always worth noting anything to come up in case it saves your life later on. Knowing something as small as the locations of hollows has saved his life many times.

        Than in the distance a massive build up of power followed shortly by an explosion. This was unmistakably an arrancars cero. It had just taken out a city block in a single hit, it was a powerful arrancar. Yet something still had to be done. Ly had sworn to kill the hollows preying on humans, besides the obvious risk, how was this arrancar any different?

---

Words: 556
GP: 11
TGP: 58

It seems as though this Hollow is trying to provoke you. Yeah, but that's ok. I figured he would at least try something like that. Yuudai listened intently, nodding his head at certain points.

"Well if you never attacked a human it would make sense that the Shinigami around here would leave you alone." He looked out at the sky again, then back at the Arrancar. "You know, according to Shinigami code I'm not even supposed to talk with you. I'm supposed to just kill you."

Yuudai, what are you doing? Are you trying to get yourself killed? Yuudai ignored his Zanpakutō, instead opting to focus more on the Arrancar. "But what's the point in killing you? If anything that would simply be a detriment to the safety of the humans here." Yuudai let a long pause go before laughing.

"A Shinigami talks with an Arrancar... sounds like the start of a very, very bad joke." He chuckled and stood up straighter, his sword going back into its sheath. "But I guess I wouldn't mind hearing the end of the..." Before Yuudai could finish his thought he felt a powerful wave of spiritual energy come from the direction of a loud eplosion.

What's happening? I'm not sure, feels like a Hollow though. Yuudai looked over at the Arrancar, whose head also turned at the sound. Seems like he's just as surprised as me. Guess he didn't plan this.

Yuudai cracked his neck and knuckles. "Yo, I got a proposition for you." He smiled, a genuine smile filled with no malice. "Let's take care of the loud asshat ruining our discussion, and then we can finish after. Sound good?"



Word Count: 278
Total Word Count: 1758
GP: 35

        Deal

        Ly let out a loud low growl to his hunting pack, the growl was one which they had been trained to take as the command ‘search and destroy,’ as one they all turned and scattered in all directions. Ly would be able to use them as a distraction if nothing else, if not as a means to take this arrancar down. Hopefully not too many of them would die, however, with their level against this arrancar some inevitably would die. Ly could replace most of them easily enough, as for those that survived; they would be more experienced and hopefully better off because of the experience.

        With that Ly extended his senses to get all the information he could get. He couldn’t sense anyone else in the area for the arrancar to be fighting, although someone could be hiding if they could really suppress their spiritual pressure. That or they could have been killed in the first blast and the fight was already over. The arrancar could just be out to cause death and destruction, but there had only been one blast which seemed to disagree with that theory. They would have to get closer to find out anything for sure.

        Speaking of information, Ly still had no accurate information on the shinigami he was with. He had to know his capabilities if Ly was going to formulate some sort of strategy against the arrancar. Ly knew the capabilities and limitations of both himself and those of his hunting pack. This shinigami could cause more complications than lead to solutions. He had to be capable in order to be sent out alone, however capable does not always mean compatible. Ly looked back at him, looking him over trying to evaluate him. Without releasing their zanpakuto shinigami can be difficult to really gauge.

        let me guess, you’re a close quarters combatant, probably a heavy weapon. Anything else I should know?

        As Ly asked he tensed up his whole body, readying himself to jump off of the tower and track down their target, the blood already leaking out and ready. It was clear they were still near where they came out, however with the blast still settling, pin pointing its exact location from so far away was difficult. As they got closer they would be able to learn more about their target and hopefully be able to work out some sort of strategy to fight them. Still fighting with a complete stranger was always annoying. Working with hollows and arrancars can be easy enough. Hollows are all self-serving, self- centered creatures. Either they let others take all the risk and try and steal the reward; or they are rush in to prove their strength or for a love of the fight.

        Shinigami on the other hand were annoyingly unpredictable. Their personalities varied much more then hollow. They could be dutiful, or completely laid back, love the fight or afraid of it. Who this guy was could make the difference between life and death.

        Any questions?

---

words:504
GP:10
TGP:69

The Arrancar asked if he was a close quarters combatant. "I'm shocked that you'd stereotype me like that. Just because I have a giant body doesn't mean I'm close quarters." He pretended to have a stern face, which eventually turned into a grin. "But yes, your assumption is correct. Don't worry about me, I can hold my own. I'm better as a frontline tank anyways so there's that."

Yuudai prepared to jump off the tower, his target a building lower than the one he was currently on. "I don't have any more questions for you. I'll let you know what I plan to do however. In order to get this thing under control, I'll attack it from the front. I'll keep it's focus on me. Do with that as you will, though I think it would be beneficial if you and your subordinates attacked from behind, sort of guerilla tactics."

Yuudai, do you really think we can trust this Arrancar to help us? We kind of have to Museihei. I don't think we can take this Arrancar on by ourselves, and we don't have the time to call for back up. Besides, it'll be interesting to see what this one is made of.

Yuudai leaped from his building towards his target. His Zanpakutō unsheathed, he landed on the top of the building and immediately began flash stepping towards the source of the disturbance. It'll be fun to join in this battle. I think this is the first time I've teamed up with an Arrancar.



Word Count: 254
Total Word Count: 2012
GP: 40

        The shinigami pretended to be offended by Ly assuming he was close quarters fighter. Ly couldn’t help shaking his head. With such an arrancar running around the town they didn’t have time to be messing around. They really only had enough time to gather the most needed information before they had to be off for the hunt. After it was confirmed he also typed himself as a ‘tank.’ This Ly could use to his advantage. As both were close quarters that could have caused an issue, however, Ly was more of a speed and precision type attacker than a heavy hitter.

        The shinigami seemed to come to the same conclusion as he volunteered to take the head on assault while Ly and his hunting party do hit and run attacks. That seemed like a somewhat acceptable strategy, however, it would depend heavily on the arrancars abilities and fighting style. However with that said the only way to learn that information is to jump in and hunt down the target. With that, the shinigami made the jump first, heading to a roof just bellow them, drawing his Zanpakuto than rushing towards the explosion with a flash step.

        Ly was quick on his heals leaping after him and catching up to him with a sonido. He was actually pretty fast for a ‘tank.’ It was sad for Ly to say but he was probably faster than Ly himself. Ly had never really been one for gaining power for powers sake, unlike most hollows, he had honed his abilities to make himself efficient. That was until he became an adjucha. As a base hollow he became a powerful being, though that was a long time ago, however, he hadn’t been the same since becoming an adjucha. If he was going to survive to complete his mission he had to become more powerful and train his skills back to the razer sharp edge they were before.

        Ly bit back a growl as he reached out with his senses. His hunting pack was spread all throughout the city looking for the arrancar in case they made a run for it. This arrancar could control their output very well to keep themselves hidden. Knowing arrancars though, they were probably still at the source of the explosion, to ensure their enemy was dead or admire their destruction was unknown. It wouldn’t be long before they made it to the location of the explosion. When that happened, they would either run into the arrancar or fine nothing but destruction and death. This did give Ly some pause though, letting out unwatched hollows in a disaster zone.

        As they were almost at the location Ly released his control of his ‘targets blood,’ what was dry a moment ago was now wet with the thick blood like liquid which flowed from all the red spots all over his body. If they worked together well, a single touch of the blood would create an opening enough to deliver a quick death. If not they could end up dead.

        Don’t touch the blood on my body, no matter what. Are you ready? Were here

---

words:523
GP: 10
TGP:79

The Arrancar he was once talking with, and whom he had now teamed up with for the time being, yelled out something about not touching his blood. Must be his Hollow power. That would be a safe conclusion. Yuudai yelled out a quick affirmative, and prepared himself for the other Arrancar wreaking havoc.

Yuudai slid into the area that had been attacked by the Arrancar. There were decent sized craters left by the thing, however it seemed this particular part of the city was all under construction. That's good, means no civilians to worry about. What Yuudai had to worry about, however, was the large Arrancar before him.

Large was a contextual term Yuudai used. Large is different for different things. For example, in comparison to a Gillian or Menos Grande, this thing was even close to being large. But in terms of other Arrancar, it was fairly large. It stood about half a foot taller than Yuudai, which is saying something since Yuudai is tall enough as it is. It didn't seem to have any hair or anything on its body, but it did have spiky protrusions coming from its elbows and knees.

"Hey there ugly. Whatcha up to?" With this the Arrancar turned around and saw the Shinigami who had dared talk to him. Well well well, what have we here? A tasty morsel? Yuudai grinned. "Heh, in your dreams ass wipe. No, I think you know why I'm here." Is that so? You're gonna force me out? The Arrancar grinned horribly. You and what army?!

Yuudai smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Oh, don't you worry. I am an army." Yes! I sounded so badass. Museihei couldn't help but shake his head. You are truly a piece of work. Yeah yeah, shut it already.

Yuudai steadied himself, then flash stepped forward into the fray, his Zanpakutō flying towards the Arrancars arm. It deftly side stepped the strike and came down with its elbow, hoping to get Yuudai with the protrusion. "Yeah right, like I'd let you do that." Yuudai brought his Zanpakutō around, catching the blow with his blade and quickly dumping the Arrancars arm to the side. He's certainly strong, but I can't tell if he's a close quarter combatant or not. Gonna have to keep testing him out.



Word Count: 380
Total Word Count: 2392
GP: 47

        As the Shinigami drew his attention and went in for the attack Ly suppressed his pressure and dropped into the back streets and alleys. Out of sight Ly watched and stalked his prey as he made his way around. The arrancar was reasonably big with strange spikes sticking out from his elbows and knees, which all seemed to point to a close quarter’s fighter. What concerned Ly though was the broad sword zanpakuto strapped to his back. If he was this strong before he released, letting him do so could prove fatal for everyone involved.

        Ly studied him as he made his way right around behind them. With this arrancars level of confidence standing against the shinigami Ly decided his first more, remove his zanpakuto from the equation. As the arrancar struck down with an elbow to kill the shinigami Ly, still sneaking, ran for them. In the moment the shinigami knocked its arm aside Ly leapt, biting onto its handle as Ly brought his claws down to sever the straps holding it in place. Weather it was because the shinigami distracted him, or because he was off balance, Ly was able to separate him from his zanpakuto. Ly was able to get about a hundred meters before the arrancar rushed after him.

        Still dragging the heavy blade Ly twisted to get the arrancar in plain sight before Ly struck out with his tail. Ly aimed carefully, not a strike that could do any major damage, nor any strike that would put Ly at risk. This strike was precise with the sole intention of getting him to block the strike instead of dodging. Ly had done this many times and had developed an art to it. As Ly struck out, the arrancar acted exactly as expected. Although the arrancars hierro was too tough for the light strike Ly delivered to even cut, it was enough for ‘targets blood’ to activate.

        The arrancar just dropped to the ground in that instant, as if suddenly incapacitated. As his mind processed what just happened he started screaming in pain and scrambled back with a look of pure terror on his face. The first strike was always the most effective, normally Ly would use the moment to deliver a fatal strike and end it right then, however the arrancar was too powerful for that to work. In addition to that, Ly couldn’t risk letting him get his hands on his zanpakuto. Instead of delivering his strike he called forth a few from his hunting party, passing off the blade to them. Ly took up a stance to block his path even as his hollows disappeared into the city with his sword.

        Now he was separated from his zanpakuto he was at least half the risk he was before. With that said, it was still going to be a hell of a fight. The fight was going to be that much more difficult considering Ly had already used the hidden ability of ‘targets blood’ and the target now knew what to expect. On the bright side of that though, the shinigami knew to keep a distance.

---

Words: 521
GP: 10
TGP: 89

As Yuudai's blade danced around, he could tell the Arrancar's Hierro was going to be tough to crack. Damn, it's like chopping at a fucking tree with hammer. An image of a puzzled monk came to mind, which was Yuudai's Zanpakutō giving his opinion on the strange phrase. Yeah, I made it up. So what?

As Yuudai weaved in between the Arrancar's attacks, he saw a flash as his "partner" flew towards the opponent. It didn't look as though the attack would do much, but Yuudai was surprised when his comrade came off the Arrancar with what appeared to be a Zanpakutō. Holy shit I didn't even see that! That could have made things a hell of a lot worse.

"Nice job!" Yuudai grinned with anticipation, now ready more than ever for the fight. As his opponent's attention was drawn towards the small Arrancar, Yuudai took that opportunity to take a good sized chunk out of his enemies back with his Zanpaktuō. The Arrancar howled in pain, but continued to focus his attention towards Yuudai's companion.

As if to show he was not to be trifled with, Yuudai's partner lashed out at the Arrancar with his tail. It didn't seem like it would cause any damage, but again, Yuudai was pleasantly surprised when the big Arrancar immediately dropped to the ground, moaning in pain as his eyes filled with terror. What the actual fuck? Both Yuudai and Museihei were astonished at this feat. It seems as though our friend here has a special ability that allows him to cause immense pain with a simple cut. Something to take into consideration if you were to ever fight him. Yeah, you ain't kidding.

With the Arrancar on the ground, his Zanpakutō taken away from him, and multiple people helping Yuudai, it seemed as though this fight would be done in a short amount of time. Don't get cocky though, this could turn into a drag of a fight.

With his Zanpakutō, Yuudai stepped into close range with the Arrancar. The bellowing of the beast was starting to die down, but almost immediately went back up as Yuudai expertly sliced at the beasts arms, leaving a deep gash in both of its forearms. After the initial attack, Yuudai sliced down across the chest of the Arrancar, who managed to put up some modicum of a block. The momentum, combined with the paltry block, allowed for Yuudai to completely slice the Arrancar's left arm off.

Yuudai backed away again as the Arrancar howled, his eyes now full of rage and pain. What a convincing act, I thought Arrancar's couldn't feel emotions? I'm not sure to be perfectly honest with you. Ah, well it doesn't matter.

The Arrancar glared at Yuudai, his rage and frustration pointed towards the most recent attacker. I'm gonna kill you! I'm gonna rip you to fuckin' shreds, you stupid fucking fucker. Yuudai clicked his tongue at the Arrancar, as if to say that he was disappointed. "What a nasty mouth you have on you. If you're going to yell out threats and expletives, at least have the strength to back them up." Yuudai grinned devilishly at the Arrancar, and prepared himself defensively.



Word Count: 530
Total Word Count: 2922
GP: 58

        The Shinigami had strength and a good concept of timing if nothing else. After the arrancar fell from Ly’s ‘blood’ the shinigami pressed the attack. The way he swang his zanpakuto showed training, straight and speed. If Ly ever had to verse this shinigami it would prove to be one hell of a fight. Fighting alongside him on the other hand was a little more comforting. While the shingami had the strength, speed and training to be an effective ‘partner,’ he had the presence to serve as a almost perfect distraction. Ly had just taken away his zanpakuto and caused him to drop in fear and terror in a mere moment, yet Ly was now completely forgotten.

        Ly started to charge up a bala on each foot and a cero at the tip of his tail. If the arrancar was any smarter he may have noticed, although this seemed very unlikely. While Ly charged up for his attacks to come he gave out a loud growl and his hunting party reacted. All at once they sprung from hiding; around 20 hollows now cycled them with all eyes carefully trained on the arrancar at the centre. If the shinigami was not enough of a distraction this would without a dought be enough of a distraction to hide Lys power build up and movements.

        While the hollows cycled and the shinigami stood off against him, Ly slowly worked his way around to behind the arrancar on his left hand side. When Ly was in position Ly nodded to one of the hollows and it rushed in from the arrancars 2 o’clock. Just before the arrancar struck, the hollow pulled up short narrowly avoiding his punch. The strike hit the ground with enough force to shatter the cement and leave a hole where it hit.

        Ly used this moment to strike, Lys first was to the arrancars left knee. As Ly struck, he felt his claws slightly cut into his leg. Instantly the ‘blood’ took effect and he screamed. This scream only intensified as Ly let the bala loose, there was an audible creak as his leg broke. As expected, Ly’s ‘blood’ did not have the same impact as the first strike now he was ready for it. The arrancar struck out with a powerful punch. This punch was met with the bladed tip of Lys tail. Just before contact, Ly shot out his cero. The blast was concentrated short distance attack, the effective blast range was barely past the tip of his pointed elbow.

        The blast was powerful enough to throw the arrancar back five meters and stir up dust, this gave Ly time to pull back to a safe distance cutting his assault short, pulling back was the safer option. A blast like that would normally vaporise anything caught in its radius. However, as the dust settles and the target came into view it was clearly not powerful enough. It seemed all the skin on his arm, right side of his chest and face was gorn. Other than that, it only annoyed him, he was now flooding out reiatsu that felt like pure anger.

Word count: 523
GP: 10
TGP: 99

Yuudai watched in amazement at the level of organization and precision he saw before him. All these Hollows are completely subservient to this Arrancar. It's actually quite impressive. Impressive, or alarming? Yuudai chuckled ever so slightly at this. A little bit of both.

Yuudai watched as the Hollows circled the enemy Arrancar. Yuudai knew that now would probably be a good time to retreat to safety. He flash stepped backward, his Zanpakutō still at the ready. He watched as some of the Hollows rushed forward to draw the Arrancars attention. The enemy moved to attack but fortunately for Yuudai and his "compatriots", the Arrancar was still way too slow.

As the Arrancar missed, Yuudai's companion attacked from behind with a precision strike that caused the enemy to scream and curse. Explosions could be heard from within the wounds that were inflicted, and Yuudai couldn't help but be impressed. He's very organized and precise. He may not be physically strong but that is more than made up for with his intelligence. You said it. Honestly, I don't think I'd be able to win against him. He may be weaker, but he's smarter, and he has a bunch of lackeys. At this last observation, Yuudai just smirked.

The enemy Arrancar looked as though part of his skin had been disintegrated. "Well goddamn! You look like shit!" The enemy, seething with rage and unable to control his reiatsu output, violently turned his head to look at Yuudai. His eyes were full of rage, and his grim look said something along the lines of, 'I will murder you'. Yough shiwthads! I'mg gonncta kill yough! The sentences coming from the mouth of the Arrancar were garbled, probably due to the damage done to its face.

"Uh-huh. You keep saying that, but I really don't think you can do shit." Yuudai rolled his shoulders, his annoyance starting to get to him. "I think we're done here. Much as I hate cutting our time short, I really don't want to be here that much longer." The enemy Arrancar froze, his eyes locked with Yuudai's. Then, a half-smile came from the Arrancar. Yough talk bigg shwit. "Because I can back it up."

To prove his point, Yuudai shifted his legs to put more weight on them, becoming more like a spring with each passing milisecond. A moment passed, then Yuudai burst forward, flash stepping with all the force he could put into it. The enemy, who was slow to begin with, raised his hand to slam into the ground... And froze as Yuudai appeared in front of him, his Zanpakutō sank deep into the Arrancar's body. The Arrancar, eyes now full of fear, went to say something as Yuudai sliced upward through the rest of the body and out the top of the head. The Arrancar fell apart in two halfs almost immediately, blood spraying everywhere and getting all over Yuudai.

Yuudai, who by this point ahd turned away from the dead Arrancar, looked towards his compatriot as the Arrancar behind him started to dissolve away. "Well, I'd say that was successful, wouldn't you agree?"



Word Count: 513
Total Word Count: 3435
GP: 68

    As Ly pulled back to a safe distance to prepare for his next strike, the shinigami took up his part as a distraction. Engaging the arrancar in conversation, antagonising him and provoking him further to enrage him and throw him off of his guard. Ly cycled the arrancar now, stalking him. As Ly inspected him closely Ly could see just how much damage the arrancar had taken, how much the arrancar had been weakened. One arm missing, the other a smoking mess, half his body stripped of skin and a leg shattered beyond repair. This arrancar had no chance of victory, no chance of survival.

    Ly watched on with surprise as the shinigami struck hard. Before the arrancar even knew what had happened, the shinigami had plunged his zanpakuto though him. This alone would have been enough to kill him given his other injuries, however, for good measure he continued the attack. With a powerful slice the shinigami brought his zanpakuto up through the arrancars body, cutting him in half. This shinigami would be one to look out for if Ly had to ever fight against him. If he did he would have a hard time. Ly would have to get more powerful.

    First this first though, focus on the present. Now the arrancar was dead it was just Ly, the shinigami and Lys hunting pack. Given everything Ly could use this opportunity to kill the shinigami, remove any potential threat he could cause in the future. However, that would also ruin any potential to have a contact or maybe even some sort of ally. With a loud growl and a swipe of his tail, Lys hunting dispersed, each opening up a portal and disappearing back to Hueco Mundo. Now it was just Ly and the shinigami.

    Yes. We actually work well together.

    Ly had to admit that they worked well together. However it wasn’t quite over just yet, until they parted ways things could either improve in Lys favour, or they could still turn against him. Regardless of what happened during an encounter, Ly found that it was how they parted ways which determined what would happen when they next met. With this in mind Ly had to tilt the scales in his favour. After all a contact or ally in the shinigami ranks was a valuable asset to have, they could perhaps help track down prince once and for all.

    Ly looked back at the arrancar cut in half and let out a chuckle. Ly had no idea what it would have sounded like with his growly voice. With one look up to the sky Ly gazed at the stars before he caught sight of the moon. The moon always reminded him of the desert, it was time to go. Before then, they had to part ways on a good relationship, so if they ever meet up agiain things would work out.

    My name is Ly. It was a pleasure, shinigami.

    Ly slowly turned around and opened up his own portal back to Hueco Mundo. This presented the shinigami with a few options. The first option would be to try and strike, try and kill Ly before he could get away. The second option would be to let Ly walk away without an introduction or a word. This would not be a bad way or parting ways, however lent itself to possible complications. The third way would be to introduce himself, open up some kind of potential relation in the future.


word count: 583
GP: 11
TGP:110