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Deep within the forest of Rukongai, a fairly sized stream flowed between the trees, the waters bubbling over rocks that broke its surface in seemingly random places. Standing at the edge of the stream, with her fore paws within the cool waters, was the draconic hollow, red eyes almost glowing in the night. A slight breeze ruffled the fur that lined her body and the nearly bare branches of the trees surrounding her. Every few seconds her tail would flick, side to side, left to right, as she studied the water intensely.

The silence of nature would be broken by a grumbling noise, the hollow frowning in response. How much longer would she have to wait to find something to swim by to be her meal? The hollow made a grumbling noise of her own, her jaws parting before quickly snapping shut again.

“Where are you fishie? Kurai needs her tummy filled,” the hollow said, almost sing-songy in tone. She had to find something before too long, or else the hollow would be traveling home with an empty stomach, which would not be fun at all. If only she could have some stranger come and help her.

It was night within the second district as Ryuu skipped around the many trees that lined one of it's stream's. But Ryuu was not merely skipping around like the homicidal psychopath that he was. For Ryuu had added a new aspect to the skipping. For Ryuu had upgraded his skipping into PRANCING. But not only was Ryuu PRANCING IN A GLEEFUL MANNER THROUGH THE DARK AND MYSTERIOUS FOREST, but he was also whistling while doing so.

Now some may ask why an arrancar was prancing about this far in the Rukongai. However Ryuu had a few reasons beyond the usual one of being bored. For he was looking for a certain dragon hollow. Remember how she had stated her preference for fish, Ryuu found that it was a safe guess to check some of the streams in the second district. Having brought a few "snacks" with him for this nocturnal adventure into the heart of the dark and foreboding woods, Ryuu's search was soon about to bear fruit. For he heard Kurai's voice a bit further ahead (the fact that she spoke in the third person helped).

Smiling to himself, Ryuu began to silently circle around to where he had heard Kurai speak. Barely managing to make the hollow out in the trees, Ryuu smiled and said "Hello there Kurai." as he strolled into her line of sight. He might have ended up scaring the hollow but it was worth it for the nice entrance.

So intent on getting something to fill her stomach, Kurai would almost have not noticed the sudden glow coming out from the woods in front of her. Realizing she wasn't alone, the dragony hollow would hold her wings in a position that would make her form appear larger than what it really was. Upon hearing her name, Kurai's form relaxed, moving to sit back on her haunches and wrap her tail around her fore legs.

"Ryuu, is that you?" The hollow sniffed at the air, confirming her guess to be true, "well, of course it is, Ryuu. Ryuu is the only one that smells like Ryuu." After finishing her rambling, Kurai would give Ryuu a genuine smile.

"What can Kurai do for Ryuu?"

Returning the smile as Kurai confirmed who he was, Ryuu pondered her question a lot more than she probably intended. For that was the big question of the hour. What could Kurai do for Ryuu? After all the answer to this question would be synonymous with the question, 'Why had Ryuu decided to recruit her into his group?' Although without Kurai it wouldn't even be a group given that she was the only member aside from Ryuu but that was besides the point.

But (slight mental tangent aside) Ryuu himself didn't even completely know the answer to that question. Perhaps she would be receptive to any lessons he had on the sanctity of life (and the lack of regard for it). Or maybe she would be able to back him up if a fight broke out. A third possibility would be that the mental and emotional isolation of living in a barren and hostile environment with little to no nonviolent or intelligent interaction for millenia (unless Ryuu traveled into a different sort of hostile territory where any action of his was under some sort of scrutiny and it was vital to maintain a convincing facade which could easily be discovered if he made any sort of mistake and would undoubtedly lead to his violent death) was beginning to take it's toll on Ryuu's sanity (never mind the fact that his idea of a good snack was candied eyeballs). Or maybe Ryuu needed another act for his comedy troupe and he saw Kurai's hidden potential for the best comedy act ever created. Although the most likely explanation was that Kurai's cooperation was the only thing that was enabling Ryuu to kill any time with his newest scheme to occupy himself and he actually needed Kurai to be present in order to work on said scheme.

However whatever use he could find for Kurai, there were still some practical reasons that he had taken the time to search her. "Well I was in fact looking for you. You never really told me where it was that you lived, which would make the group that we are forming rather difficult to gather if we need to rely on random chance in order to meet." Ryuu said to Kurai. He would probably have to convince Kurai to come with him to the wastelands so he wouldn't need to search for several hours in the woods if he ever decided that he wanted to have a chat with the hollow.

Kurai's smile instantly disappeared. Why on earth did Ryuu want to know where she lived? Did he want to take all the shiny shiny that she had accumulated? Was the young hollow going to have to find a new source for her bedding?! Possibly. It was starting to get uncomfortable sleeping on all the shiny shiny. All this worrying and thinking about the shiny shiny was hurting the dragon's head! Kurai shook her head to rid her mind of the tormenting thoughts rolling through her mind, for Ryuu was here and he was talking business, not shiny shiny.

Then, a thought occurred to Kurai, what if she could get Ryuu to help her catch some yummy fish!? Oh, what a dastardly awesome idea that was! In exchange for the help, Kurai would think about telling the arrancar where she usually fell asleep.

"Kurai can tell Ryuu where Kurai lives, but Ryuu has to first help Kurai get fish. Does that sound good?" The hollow stood up at her last words, tilting her head to the right, hopefully in a somewhat cute manner.

She could tell them apart even in the dead of night. The darkness had shrunk, melting back to thread the Taichou through under the lustrous corona of her handheld lantern. Here she recognized the willow, bent in prayer, sentinel-like, over the molten quicksilver of a foaming brook; farther ahead, she caught the propagated shadows of an old oak, swarmed by a menagerie of colors so luxurious, so vibrant, that they would put any prolific artist to shame. But not at night. There was a bold, yet therapeutic quality to treading the forest after dark.

Below a layer of scattered leaves, the ground sighed with each ghostly impression and nimble step. She had left the moss-strewn banks of the stream and ventured deeper into the verdant woods to watch the night-blooming glories spread their wildflowers, her features warm, amicable, and utterly unlike the world-weary madwoman of Seireitei; here the veil could be lifted, and here the lone, august rose, dappled beneath lunar lights, could flush to the peak of its beauty. It's what you get, spoke a delicate voice—could it be the moonflowers?—as she settled upon an old log, for wreathing yourself in a snarl of thorns. What they aspired to guard is no more, and your friends, they recognize you no longer.

This upset her, of course, but did not dull the irony that she was being judged by a plant: Kurisuna looked at the offending perennial flatly, her smile sunk to a thin line. ''I didn't come here on some vision quest.'' No, she came because... You are troubled. This thrill-seeking, it needs to stop. You'll create whorls. Would she? Did she want to court danger? Did she feel inadequate, or worse yet, incomplete under the relative safety of Seireitei?

''I'm not! What is wrong with you.'' Her voice was frayed beneath the grim furrow across her brow. ''Are you lonely? Should I water you? Are you too cold? Do you want a hug, or is your soil improperly drained? Because I have a spade,'' from a rift in her shihakushou, she produced one of three kunai, ''Right here.''

Do all your gardening tools double as lethal projectiles? Pause. She was aghast, thrown into one long moment of inertia by the morning glory's impudence. How had things developed so awfully? Even the plants were leaping down her throat.

''I understand. I'll find somewhere else.''

---

She had left the lantern back, way back, where the stream was narrow and the wick had expended its column of wax. She had traveled up, past the oak and over gnarled roots, thinking that, yes, thrill was exactly was she needed—and she needed it soon, Lord help the next individual she stumbled across. She moved sinuously, swift and smooth like a serpent gliding across the forest floor; if she made any noise, any at all, it would blend with the running brook... and the prattling of idle conversation.

Instinctively, Kurisuna sought cover, and the Taichou's dark-clad silhouette slipped behind an expansive beech. In her haste to abandon the broad-leaved ferns for something more substantial, she had but glimpse the rear of a single shape.

And it wasn't human.

SPOILER: Click to show

Had to change the post due to an error

Wondering why Kurai's attitude seemed to suddenly change to suspicion after merely asking her where she lived (he figured she would have at least trusted him with something like that if she was willing to join his group), Ryuu merely decided to shrug it off. Smiling a bit when she instead tried to leverage that bit of knowledge for some fish. Beginning to think about the offer, Ryuu soon came to a decision.

"Probably going to have to pass on that. It's way too dark to find any fish, plus I don't have anything to fish with." Ryuu said to the hollow. It didn't help that Ryuu was a terrible fisher (Usually trying to just make his supplies on the fly or use a sword usually led to those types of results). Although despite it being late, Ryuu wasn't one to let his guard down while fishing when he didn't have his disguise on. "But I have some snacks with me if you want." Ryuu offered to the hollow.

Annoyed as ever when forced to go on a wild goose chase, Kiba once again found himself tramping through the woods, long since done muttering angrily. He'd stopped by the Third Division only to be summarily told that Kurisuna had gone on one of her 'nature walks' she was so prone to for meditation, was given a direction she'd gone off in, and was shown the door he had only narrowly avoided kicking clear of any hinges.

So now here he was, clear of the First District and into the Second, keeping the sound of a running stream to his right as he sought out his quarry in the most simple manner: by walking and looking. Keeping the stream in sight might have been the safest idea, considering what little Kiba knew of survival in the wilderness, but for one as impulsive as himself, the sound would be enough: he was a man who 'hunted', as it were, by sound, after all, so a sudden need to put his ear to the ground would be greatly inhibited by the much more damp soil.

Not being stealthy - indeed unaware that he even needed to be - Kiba let off a loud sigh as he continued trampling through the bushes. Unbeknownst to him, of course, Kurisuna was not far off his side, and as he moved, he did so maintaining tree cover, meaning the Hollow were utterly hidden from his sight. Sound, however, still traveled, and as one voice spoke in a tone just too low for him to actually make out the words said, Kiba paused, turning his head to stare, befuddled, at the tree to his right.

"Who's there?" Kiba said after a moment's pause, his voice above a normal speaking volume but not nearly shouting, nothing even remotely near a threatening tone - simply a wanderer, curious as to the presence of others so late at night. "It's dangerous out here at night. Get away from the water, or you'll fall in."

Of course Kiba would give such a warning - he hadn't seen to whom he was speaking, so really, the best natural guess was 'damned teenagers' or some other such thing. Who would expect Hollow to be in the relative safety of the Second District, after all? Madness, the very idea!

Wearing only his hakama and kosode, having never bothered to grab his haori and being in too much a rush to put on tabi when he left the Fourth, Kiba would readily appear as nothing more than a standard Shinigami once he stepped around the tree separating himself from the Hollow, and the absolute impossibility of their presence would give the Taicho pause, halting him mid-step as he drank in the sight of the giant black dragon.

"I.. ah... what?"

[bgcolor=E86100] "Grrr! I saw him running this way.. that nonuple-moron.."

From Seireitei, Sui Torako had chased after the Decuple-Moron known as Kiba, to get her revenge for.. something she forgot long ago. But she realized something. It was.. cold. Why was it cold? She was wearing her normal ou.. and then it occur ed to her, that she was not. From the accident that occur ed before, her trademark-"hot and cosy"-outfit had been ruined, and since then, she had to resort to using simple hospital gowns. Thank goodness her stuff is still with her, otherwise, she'd be a sitting duck.

However! To prove yourself to others, you must overcome large trials! The trial of.. whatever it now is! She ventured on, only to hear.. "Who's there?" ..in the distance.

It was him! She knew it was him!

Entering rush-mode, the girl towards the source of his voice, only to trip out from a branch and hit.. someone else, the small child flying like a unstable rocket towards the dark figure who would be.. Kurisuna. But Sui didn't know this just yet.

What a TWEEEEEST!

A combination of Kiba's constantly mobile nature and Shigeo's own doubt regarding what to do about Kurisuna's actions conspired to see that the eighth seat did not, in fact, approach his Taichou as he'd planned to on his return to Seireitei. Shigeo had finally gathered his resolve and gone to Kiba's office, intending to speak his mind to the Shuchiku male...only to find the man gone on a trip to the Third Division. Despite deep misgivings -- how wise was it of him, or Kiba for that matter, to enter Kurisuna's domain, given her most recent behavior towards the both of them? -- Shigeo followed after his Captain.

And of course, the rambling man had rambled on, heading towards Rukongai in pursuit of his aggressor. Just Shigeo's luck. Swallowing the scream of frustration that wanted to tear from his throat, the gigantic blond smiled thinly to the Third Division member who had given him the information, and promptly gave chase, hoping to catch up with Kiba before he ran into Kurisuna.

The eighth seat traveled at close to top-speed, slowing only slightly once he had entered the Second District. "Shuchiku-Taichou? Are you here?" he called uncertainly, peering into the murky gloom; he thought he could hear some voices a little ways off, but it wasn't clear who they were, or how many speakers were gathered. Then, suddenly: "Who's there?" Kiba was near. His pace increasing once more, Shigeo moved towards the voice, just as the pintsized pugilist remarked in awe at the sight of the sizeable serpentine Hollow.

"What are you...? Oh."

Hearing Ryuu pass on trying to catch the most delicious thing in the world made Kurai let out a pouty whine. Fishing was the best thing ever! She also didn’t understand how he couldn’t see; due to the fact she could see everything clear as day, but before she could make any remarks about his lack of vision in the dark, Ryuu managed to distract her with the infamous word ‘snack.’

“Oh, Kurai would like a snack, yes she would.” The hollow would nod her angular head in emphasis, happy that she wouldn’t have to go without some sustenance. It would be then that poor, young Kurai would hear a voice, she jumping to her feet to face the source of the noise, wings poised in a manner to make her slim physique much larger than it really was.

Once the blobby form of Kiba entered her sight, Kurai’s stomach would drop like a rock, her heart starting to beat out a frantic pattern. This was terrible. All she wanted was a nice fish for dinner and she would return home, but that seemed like a very slim chance. Keeping her body low so as to not appear threatening, the hollow would slowly back towards the stream, trying to take that slim chance to hopefully escape with minimal damage.

“Sh-shinigami…. P-please don’t hurt K-kurai. Kurai was just leaving a-and doesn’t want a-any trouble.” Before anymore groveling could leave her maw another large blobby form would appear close to the first, leaving the hollow close to tears as she let out a small whimper much like that of a dog. This night was not going to end well.

A Hollow. She had seen it, wreathed in shadows, had identified the beast as draconic and made the connection. There had been sightings of a dark, winged Adjuchas in the pandemonium, she recalled, her mind working like a sieve, filtering a slew of reports from the relevant kernels. And these glittered like diamond prisms, multi-faceted with insight: how had the 5th allowed this?

But there had been no time to ponder their failure to perform. She had shrunk and curled into the beech, only now catching the tell-tale cues of a person marching through the woods, a self-assured note to their strides. Her eyes narrowed, skin prickling as she thought of the dangers awaiting this individual—to roam the forest by one's lonesome during the night was folly in spite of Seireitei's best efforts, and wayfarers were ill-advised to travel solitarily; this man had to be of Shinigami stock, but what purpose did he harbor prowling the 2nd beyond a patrol?

Then she heard it, heard his voice, heard her heart palpitating in the seat beneath her ribs. Damn you, Kiba. Everything mercifully accelerated. A normal man would not rove the forest in the dead of night for a needle in a haystack. Did you stalk me here? Is it a fight you want? More than apt to give him one, she extracted a single kunai: a dagger in the dark is worth more than a hundred swords at dawn, she had read once, and Kurisuna would attest for the phrase's legitimacy.

All stamped steel and braided cord, one look askance caught a second figure, this one taller, bulkier... and... What.

There was third, rocketing toward her at a confounding velocity, such that Kurisuna had barely swirled on her heels before - thwack - the small child barreled into her midsection, winding the air from her searing lungs. This thing. It had attacked her, caused her pain. Was it affiliated with Kiba? She was sure it was.

Kurisuna wrapped her free arm around Sui, bracing the girl's back to her bosom, and fastened around her aggressor like a snare. There her eyes had widened, adopting a lustrous sheen that looked oh-so off beneath the pale moon: cold and sharp as tempered glass, they recognized no child, but something child-like, come unto her to be warped, broken at the joints, preyed upon.

Possessed by some intrinsic carnal knowledge, she had returned the girl-shape to the earth as soon as she had caught the human missile, and cupped her left hand around Sui's mouth. She punctuated the entire process by reeling in the right, as if to drive the weapon into her tender throat. A quiet kill.

Only, she had not aimed for the victim's neck.

She was gouging for her left eye.

SPOILER: Click to show

Edited due to errors in post

Smiling in response to Kurai's answer, Ryuu was about to take out one of his snacks and present it to her when he heard someone approaching them. However before he could hide or tell Kurai to do the same, their guest was in view. Watching Kurai begin to move away and start pleading, Ryuu then saw a second shinigami step into the area (seems like random walks in a forest at the dead of night were becoming all of the rage these days).

Well this had made things a bit awkward.

Recognizing the first interloper as the taichou who had thrown him during the great snow battle (and not really recognizing the big one), Ryuu wondered if the taichou would be able to recognize him. Sure he didn't have his disguise on but his mask wasn't very noticeable and it was dark outside. While he could try to take advantage of their surprise and attack, Ryuu had a feeling that they were probably alert enough that they could react in time. Instead he would need to take advantage of their surprise and throw them off even more.

"Well that was quite mean of you. Scaring her like that." Ryuu said to the two shinigami. He was quite certain that being admonished would throw the pair off even more (although Ryuu wasn't going to take his eyes off of them at all). Despite having his hands in front of him and not on his sword (so he wouldn't appear as threatening), Ryuu knew that if the two shinigami tried anything they would soon learn a few things about Ryuu.

Hearing another person run towards the area, Ryuu turned slightly so both the shinigami and the runner would be in his line of sight. Hearing the runner then crash into something else, followed by the sound of movement, Ryuu didn't lower his guard at all. "So it appears we have at least three guests. One of whom has crashed into something. There are also these two who are extremely surprised to see Kurai out here. So what are they all doing out here? Couldn't have been to hunt hollow or else they wouldn't be so surprised." Ryuu thought to himself.

Waiting to see if the other interlopers would reveal them self, Ryuu made sure to keep everyone in his sights. If anyone began to attack, Ryuu would be able to pick up on the signs in time but for now the possibility of being able to use the shinigami's confusion to talk their way out wasn't completely out of the question (although it probably would be in the next few moments).

It had to be said, at first Kiba's attention was primarily dominated by the most distinctly Hollow of the two bodies, to the point where it could nearly be argued that Kiba wouldn't have noticed Ryuu at all had the male not spoken. Instead, the man did speak indeed, and the sound of his voice echoed into Kiba's skull and resounded through time, recalling for one sweet, brief moment the sensation of throwing a would-be tough guy into the snow. It was really all Kiba needed, and even without being able to magically discern the fine features of the male in the darkness as the other male apparently could him, Kiba knew who this other figure was, and knew where his attention was now focused.

Indeed, immediately it could have been said that this was simply a case of a Citizen - or now that Kiba noticed the jutting silhouette of a sword, possibly even an inept Shinigami - stumbling upon a Hollow and managing to not be eaten, but as soon as that voice, that voice that reminded Kiba of the aggressive personality and the holier-than-thou attitude, sounded, Kiba knew it went deeper than anything so simple, and what would have been a firm but altogether brusque chiding was now set to become significantly more fierce.

Of course, there were other matters to be addressed - least among them being the male figure's ability to discern specific shapes in the dark at great distance, as he was attempting to do with the sound of a third body crashing some distance away - but specifically, what must have been pointed out was a few simple facts that occurred outside of Kiba's personal range of knowledge.

The first fact was that when Kurisuna approached, and it must be kept in mind this was from a distinct distance that put Kurai in her full view, the only body she saw was Kurai's before she returned to her spot in the trees. This means, naturally, that the Hollow Kurai had prevented Ryuu from being seen - therefore, that between point A, Ryuu, and point C, Kurisuna, there was point B, Kurai, forming a straight line.

The second fact was that Sui had approached from the same direction the Shinigami all had, meaning for her to have bypassed seeing the Hollow as the Shinigami had, her angle of approach had been more specified in Kurisuna's direction, meaning not only had she not at all seen the Hollow, but by that specific nature the Hollow could not have seen her.

Therefore, to summarize, Ryuu turned his direction away from Kiba and Shigeo, two figures who at their distance could not have both stayed within his vision range while he turned, so he could stare directly at Kurai in an attempt to see through both her and a tree at night into a distance, where he would then attempt to stare at a child being held to the ground but somehow not see the person holding the child to the ground: this was specifically a definition of 'lowering one's guard', because it meant he was spreading his attention over a greater area, this particular area being quite futile, and it bore repeating, as the setting was the middle of the night, it would be utterly preposterous to claim Ryuu would be able to see even the slightest movement that could preclude an attack from either Shinigami.

Not that it mattered, the 'guard' part, because suddenly the narrative shifted to things Kiba did know, and one thing he did know was that as a Taicho, he would have to give his underling instruction. "Go for the big one." He would growl as Ryuu turned to look at his compatriot in his attempt to distinguish the form of Sui in the far distance through two obstacles, and that became Kiba's 'moment'.

Kiba was not the fastest being around, not by a long shot, but he had the advantage of being focused on a single entity rather than two to three, and in this regard, he would surely come away superior: his Shunpo was straight forward and short, and when it ended, it would be in a growl as the Taicho fell forward into a shoulder tackle at Ryuu's midsection, his arms already reaching to clutch the familiar stranger not only around the midsection, but with his arms bound at his side, having been caught at the elbows in their apparently raised position at his fore.

While Kiba was not the quickest butterfly in the jar, of course, he was most certainly the strongest, and should his grapple succeed, as surely it would given Ryuu's poor performance thus far, he would put this distinction to example, gritting his teeth as his powerful arms began to squeeze, his right hand firmly clasping his left wrist, the bear hug surely locked in... provided he captured the Arrancar who despite his own claims had to have lowered his guard in order to attempt to spy a third party.

If this failed, well naturally it would only mean Kiba had gotten nearer to the two enemies, but with Shigeo surely following his orders and following up, Kiba disregarded the Hollow and her ploy of meekness completely: his focus was Ryuu, and the Taicho knew what his opponent apparently did not - never take your eyes off the prize. He wouldn't have gotten the first attack in, but he also would not suffer from diverted attention, a weakness his opponent apparently had in spades.

[bgcolor=E86100] Wait, slow down, what is happening? Why? How? Her mind blacking out for a split second, Sui finds herself almost.. stuck in time, if you could call it that. So.. how did she get here? The last action the small girl remembered was tripping and flying like a cannonball towards something, and now, she was pinned down by..

A Demon. A red-haired demon, hiding in the darkness of the night, praying on the souls of children.

Unable to scream, a hand covering her mouth, fear struck her body, like an invisible rope that tied all her limbs to the ground below her. She tried to move, she tried to wiggle free, but it was a futile effort, as the demon-shaped woman held her down with full force, and soon, as Sui Torako's senses returned to her, she saw it, if only for a small second, a sharp object lowering itself to her, sending a sharp feeling echoing through her body.

As the sharp pain traveled through her body, it caused it to react in such as manner that made it jump up, the body essentially twitching as her voice returned, slowly letting out a scream of pain, which'd be muffled by the demons cold hand above her mouth. As her eye/s stared up towards the demonic woman, her vision was.. obstructed, not seeing anything on her left side.

Why? How? Is this an illusion? Is this reality? Did something just.. fall on her? Her mind sent out a million thoughts at once, being unable to understand what caused the pain in her eyes. Why couldn't she see properly? Then it hit her. The pain originated in.. her left eye.

SPOILER: Click to show

First time writing about pain and stuff, don't hate me. ;-;

The draconic Hollow before him captured Shigeo's attention so fully, he didn't notice the other, smaller one until Ryuu spoke up. The blond shinigami's gaze darted towards the humanoid Hollow as he...was he scolding them? Very odd, that; Hollows didn't typically speak, let alone chide someone for being rude. They usually just did their level best to eat you. This one...this one bears watching. Shigeo's hand went to the hilt of his zanpakutou, gripping it tightly.

For some reason, the male Hollow turned to the side, staring off at...something. Whatever, the case, his attention wasn't focused fully on Shigeo and Kiba, something the latter clearly noticed and capitalized on. As the Taichou rushed Ryuu, he gave a command to the eighth seat: the 'dragon' was his. No reply from Shigeo was needed -- he acted immediately. The shinigami rushed towards Kurai, drawing his sword as he did so, and performed a downward slash, right-to-left, aimed at the cowering beast's lowered neck. Perhaps if he was lucky, he could decapitate the Hollow in one fell swoop and move to assist Kiba with the other...

Fight or flight. Only one word rang clearly in her mind. Flight. That word was made even clearer when the smaller of the two shinigami confirmed that she was a target. Pinning her wings firmly to her side and digging her toes into the soft dirt, Kurai spun her body, front feet scrambling to gain purchase so she could flee in the opposite direction. Her tail, which had been immersed in the cool waters as she cowered, whipped around her backside, making the debris that had clung to the furry tip to fling in the direction of the giant shinigami’s face. Later, after the adrenaline left her bloodstream (if she lived that is), Kurai would most likely find a flaw on her tail.

Not waiting to see if the shinigami paused, the hollow leapt over the stream, stumbling before she found her feet and continued to run away from the man. Knowing that the shinigami’s had magic powers that could hurt Kurai even at a distance, the youngling would weave through trees, much like a rabbit being chased by hounds. Between gasping breaths, the hollow would let out sobs and garbled words along the lines of:

“Please don’t kill Kurai! Kurai can help shinigami’s with information! Kurai is a good hollow!”

In the process of the words leaving her maw, the dragon would come to a realization. She would never find the bond of familial ties to fill the ache of loneliness. She would always be alone. Always. The thought stabbed through her sharper than any zanpakutou, making a foot give out as she tried to continue her desperate flight from the area, a heartbroken gasp leaving her mouth.

She had felt it shift like plate tectonics from the tangle of her limbs, writhing, contorting, in an unmethodical effort to force her mass up after the catastrophic collision. And in direct counterpoint to the victim she had robbed of sight, Kurisuna had tightened like a vice, applying the bulk of her mass to the child's trapezeus. The kunai pierced the cornea, and then the pupil, lodging in the vitreous body.

She'd not been privy to these sensations before. The child had crumpled beneath her, collapsing like a dying star. And for once, she had maintained corporeal control over her quarry, whose every nuance was so cloying, so delectably light, it betrayed an angle of her not once brought under a public lens. One bodily jerk, and the girl had submitted to the paroxysm of pain, consigning her angelic frame to its sadistic captor—at least until the shock subsided.

Kurisuna pressed her lips to the hollow of the child's neck, and retracted the kunai to Sui's delicate throat. ''I'm so sorry,'' she breathed against her, murmuring behind the amorous flush of her cheeks. ''You're so young.'' And her jaws parted, her head canted sideways, tongue gliding across the pristine, unblemished skin beneath the pint-sized thief's ear. It had unsheathed like a blade and claimed her in a deft stroke, leeching, perverting her essence.

And the world was none the wiser.

SPOILER: Click to show

Color code mishap.

Had it been that long since Shi entered the Rukongai that night had passed? And now he found himself further in the districts, the second to be precise. Hunger was present, but he wished to push on a little further. After all, an enemy would just become a meal in his mind, so there was no rush to return. Yet.

Idly, the short Arrancar wondered as he moved through the forest, where the Shinigami and Rukon Citizens were. What the purpose of the area was really. Why he had yet to be caught or noticed really? Then again, it wasn't as if they could honestly just pinpoint him from a distance. Could they? He wasn't sure, but given how much time had passed since his arrival, Shi was leaning towards the simple fact that they couldn't.

Which of course, meant there were limits to the Shinigami's influence perhaps. Or perhaps not, Shi wasn't sure once again and frowned. So much information to process, so much to do-

Wait, was that Kurai's voice? Sobs even? Mention of a Shinigami?

Shi immediately grasped his zanpakuto and crouched low to the ground, weaving his way forward towards his fellow Hollow. All senses were alert and using his own knowledge of the body (his body in particular), he would weave and contort around the trees to aid in his movement. Nothing remarkable really, just skilled use of the mind and body.

Though one thing was clear as he made a zigzagging path towards Kurai. Shinigami were about; the very damned creatures that condemned him to the wasteland because he was a Hollow. Shinigami that he vowed to destroy, to ravage until their race was nothing more than dust and bones.

Shinigami he was going to kill.

As it turned out the shinigami instead decided to jump right into a fight against them despite the fact that neither he nor Kurai had done anything threatening towards them (not that he should have been surprised). Having heard Kiba state his intentions moments before he attacked, Ryuu immediately took action.

Using a sonido to quickly change to a different position in order to throw Kiba off, Ryuu found that he was fortunate to have done so or else he would have been hit by Kiba's attack. Firing a bala straight at Kiba, Ryuu fired 4 more of them at the shinigami although these ones were slightly spread out on both of his sides.

Smiling as he drew his sword, Ryuu counted himself lucky that he only had to deal with one of the two shinigami.

Kiba grunted mildly as his attempted hug was thwarted by the Arrancar predicting his attack despite, paradoxically, being caught by surprise. Fortunately, the Hollow thought to try and catch Kiba off balance by imitating his Shunpo, evading by moving a foot to Kiba's right. Of course, as a fisticuff artist by nature, and as a warrior of a very, very long time, Kiba was not so easily thrown off, and so the Arrancar made his first mistake of the encounter: he raised his right hand in a position Kiba knew to be one for focusing and firing Reiatsu, a universal position to Hollow and Shinigami alike.

Of course, at only a foot's distance, this put the Arrancar's hand dangerously near to Kiba, to the point where Kiba would not be able to dodge the reiatsu spheres... if they'd have been fired. Of course, putting one's hand so dangerously near a master of close quarters combat was the first lesson in the 'do not do' syllabus for any up and coming Reiatsu-specialist in the Shinigami, and the Arrancar was swift to learn why as in retaliation to the extended limb, both Kiba's hands became twins of rapid movement, aided by a shunpo localized to them alone as the right hand would move to cross over and grip the Arrancar's extended arm behind the elbow, while the left grasped for the Arrancar's wrist.

In this movement and in continuing this movement, Kiba's right hand would act as the brace as the left rode itself forward, intending to turn the entire forearm on the axis of the elbow using his opposite hand as the fulcrum; should the action succeed, the Arrancar's right arm would become a shattered mess, hanging only briefly at an obtuse angle before, free of it's bindings keeping it rigid, the forearm would simply dangle. If the action failed for whatever miraculous reason, likely the 'surprised' Arrancar still responding with perfect timing, then surely he would escape, albeit without his little spheres escaping his person, and the Hollow would be free to draw his sword without consequence.

[bgcolor=E86100] Fear. An interesting emotion that when exposed to, cause the victim to react with pre-programmed responses. Fight or Flight. Now, normally, Sui Torako would be the kind of girl who fights against the things she fear, but this time, it was different. The pain and the position she was in sprouted the ideas in her head such as; Run. Flee. Get out of there. Disappear. Hide. But as it turns out, being pinned down by a much larger being prevents that those ideas will turn into actions. The only thing left to do is..

Feel the fear and drown in it.

Torako, unable to move, has her whole body paralyzed from the events unfolding, letting out small squeaking noises under the hand of the beast, the muzzled noise vibrating against the others hand as the whole body shook from the pressure.

''I'm so sorry,''

A voice! Was this.. "demon" sentient enough to know what it was doing?

''You're so young.''

It was! And as the warm and burning tongue of it touched her in the cold night, a chill went down through her spine, causing her to let off a twitch as a reaction.

What the hell was going on here..?

Shigeo's opponent was apparently not the kind of vicious beast usually encountered by shinigami...no, this one simply turned and ran, shrieking bloody murder and blubbering like a babe. Shigeo swore darkly under his breath, leaping back to avoid the clutter that was flung from the end of the drake's tail (looked like it was...hairy, at the end? Damned odd). Damnit. Can't let that thing find its way to any citizens. Grimacing, Shigeo broke into a run, chasing after the fleeing Hollow through the trees.

Though its path was easy to follow, due to its incessant wheedling and crying -- it was claiming to have information, as absurd as it sounded -- the damned Hollow was fast. The blond shinigami found himself falling behind, much to his frustration. "No you don't," Shigeo snarled, as much a denial of the possibility of Kurai's escape as one of his failing to execute his Taichou's command. He couldn't let this slip past him. Not now. A perfect chance to demonstrate that he was wasted where he was, a low-seated officer in the division...clenching his jaw tightly, the giant began employing Shunpo, seeking to close the gap between himself and the large serpent. I just need to get within a few meters...

The foot that gave out from under the hollow caused her to tumble to the ground, rolling end over end before slamming into a most solid tree. The collision, no doubt, would make the young hollow let out a yelp upon impact. Shaking her head as she righted herself, Kurai would glance back from the general direction she came from, trying to spot the illuminated heat signature of the giant shinigami.

Dark…. Dark… Dar- light. Picking herself off the ground, the hollow slipped around the tree she had rolled into and started to run, much slower than she had before. She was getting really tired, tired of running. Slowing her run to borderline walking, Kurai looked around the immediate area for a suitable tree to hide in.

There, a giant oak just off from the left of where she was standing. Not thinking it was an obvious hiding spot, the hollow quickly dashed to the base of the tree, crouching, leaping and landing on the nearest branch. Once she was balanced, Kurai would quickly scurry up higher, hoping her desperate hiding tactic would actually work. If not, well, it would get ugly, fast.

Kurisuna was unfeeling, unhearing. Her eyes were hooded, head cocked in an amorous gesture, but all assigned meaning was warped as the supple weight registered beneath the seal of their bodies, and her embrace became something eldritch, something wrong. She was coasting down the precarious slope of insanity, one fulgurous leader stroke away from the thunderclap. Stop mewling, her addled mind exclaimed on the side, animated by the pitiable keening sounds emitted from the girl's throat. It was unable to catalogue the stifled voice as that of a child.

What a tease. Sui had jerked against her, creating a delectable friction. Kurisuna's tongue moved sensually, stroke deliberate and full, beginning at the middle and up the length until, with a pliant rear movement of her neck, she artfully reeled in the tip. It retracted partways, slavering, a wicked sickle of pleasure mangling her innards as she shifted at the seduction of her senses.

She breathed a shuddering sigh, felt the warmth of her exhale reflect off the taut nook in the child's neck. The offending organ receded to a depression of teeth, and the gaping wound of her lips shut, streaked with a cupid's bow smile. She bore into the child at the periphery of her half-lidded, vivid honey eyes.

Something about the efficacity with which she'd taken the girl—the resignation of the latter and the absence of a struggle—flared a red flag in the back of her head. She could scarcely resist the urge to saw into Sui's neck, rewarding that defeatist attitude with an arterial spray of blood.

The death knell would sound, and the intrepid field mouse, molded in the snake's cast-iron stranglehold, would expire. Did she even need to murder her in a press of limbs, a glimmer of steel? Gouging into divets of visceral flesh (she could feel the tendons stretched rigid), a flash of teeth would be more than enough.

But no. She had heard the Hollow cry out. It had snapped her from her reveries as she'd been caressing Sui's hospital vestments with the tip of her kunai, from the taunting vulnerability of her throat to delicate hip bones. Her eyes had widened, as had her lips (presumably to bite), but the dragon's plea had yanked her from those dark depths, and Kurisuna's maniacal features settled like flint.

''And as the child resolutely tread the forest, she came upon a menagerie of shadows, swaying below the draconic beast as if a parallel dimension set in stunning realism,'' she whispered lustily in the girl's ear, well-nigh slipping it into her mouth. ''That's your story. You'd better stick to it, sweetheart.''

Kurisuna let go, liberating the child not a moment too soon. She had caught the cues of a scuffle, peering prophetically over her shoulder in spite of her inability to perceive much of anything at all. Grown bored of lying in wait, she rose to her feet, this time floating above the forest floor, and stepped out of her cover, sword drawn, facing... Kiba and the back of his foe.

Emboldened by the sight, the depravity returned to her features.

Shi narrowed his eyes as he moved through the trees, already planning ahead as he listened attentively to any sounds. Particularly, any voices that were clearly not from any Hollow he knew of. And within seconds he was not only moving still, weaving around through the trees but also calculating the best vital to go for.

Killing blows would be difficult straight from the beginning; he would need to be cunning instead and go for the precious tendons in the arms and legs. Disable and then decimate, let them feel how futile their struggle and that his face was the last thing they saw. Though there was another possibility he had to consider; the strength of the Shinigami.

He had not encountered many in his lifetime, there was a chance they could be rather powerful. Shi survived on instincts and intellect as well as savage cunning; he frankly did not believe pure brute force and power could win. As a small Arrancar, and even before, a small fox of a hollow, he learned to overcome the weakness of strength with precision and knowledge. In particular, medical and more importantly, his numerous tails.

But it was too soon to think of going that far, he needed to keep his greatest power in reserve. He scowled as he heard a yelp and moved slowly and carefully, focusing on anything to indicate not only the voice; Kurai obviously, but also the pursuer, a Shinigami.

He was coming in at an angle and keeping himself at a steady pace, crouching low to the ground while moving. A trick in order to convey the image of an animal moving instead of an actual Hollow or perhaps a child. Either way, it would be enough to fool a Shinigami and that was all that mattered- speak of the god, Shi caught movement and quickly followed the blur that was too fast to keep up with his eyes. But the mind was another thing and began to adjust his course to stalk his prey.

Like a predator closing in, already thinking of which blows to deliver, which muscles to cut. Which words would be the last ones that the Shinigami would ever here as he closed in further, keeping a steady prowl in his movement.

Being close enough to the taichou and having his eyes adjusted enough to have a passable view of his foe despite the time of night, Ryuu was able to pick up on the movements of the taichou that indicated that he was about to attack. Instinctively, Ryuu brought his arm back upon seeing this movement just a few moments before Kiba attacked. Fortunate enough to not have his wrist grabbed, Ryuu was less successful with the rest of his attempt to pull his arm back. For Kiba had managed to grab onto his elbow with his other hand.

Realizing that he needed to put some space between him and his foe before Kiba could grab him with his free arm. Ryuu used a sonido to break the taichou's grip and found himself about 2 meters away from Kiba, by the treeline that was at both his and Kiba's side. While this was painful for his arm, it was far more preferable than having it snapped in two by the taichou.

Realizing that there was a second shinigami who was just entering the clearing with her sword drawn, Ryuu opted for his usual method in the face of unfavorable odds. Instead of using the time he had to draw his sword or even trying to fire bala at one of the taichous, Ryuu would run into the forest as fast as he could. If the two shinigami did choose to give chase, Ryuu figured that he would have a somewhat better chance if they had as little time to coordinate as possible.

What the Arrancar had not counted on - indeed, what he could not have anticipated - was Kiba's prowess in hand to hand combat, though one supposed a guess could have been made concerning his lack of Zanpakuto. As his mighty hand clenched viciously down upon Ryuu's arm beneath the elbow, once again Kiba's movements were fueled by his Shunpo Strikes, drawing his arm backward in a sharp, hard tug even as Ryuu attempted to Shunpo away, ideally yanking the Arrancar off balance, inflicting too much pain to engender his use of Sonido if not simply throw off his 'aim'. The purpose of this yank was obvious, because unlike Ryuu, Kiba had a very clear line of sight to Kurisuna, and knew well how to react to his surroundings.

There was no love lost between Kiba and Kurisuna, but they were both professionals - or as close as either could be - and as Kiba attempted to yank the Arrancar before him, he would lower into a crouch before surging forward, attempting to plant his shoulders into Ryuu's chest, his left palm against Ryuu's abdomen as he attempted to bodily throw the Arrancar at Kurisuna. He could only hope the mad woman would comprehend what he was trying to get across by flinging a body at her, and all things considered even if the floating bitch didn't she'd no doubt respond with her drawn weapon regardless.

Naturally there was always the possibility Ryuu would have escaped these actions, but Kiba's reactions in turn would not be calculable - instead, fortune would best be suited to handling the situation as performed in the most viable path, with the ensuing consequences as they came.

[bgcolor=E86100]Like an empty canvas of paper, Sui Torako was being subjected to a new color. A mixture of black fear and pain-filled red, this new color was writing the events of the moment onto her, with the intent to never let her forget anything that happened. The feeling in her eye, the pressure on her body, and the warmth of the demons sharp tongue 'cutting' her neck. Everything was being recorded, whether she liked it or not. As the story writer of her mind continued to write the book of her life, the inhabitant of her body continued to experience it all.

Laying still, or as still as she could, her body shook with each movement her predator made, responding to her in a conversation of body movements, as any movement beyond a fear-filled twitch would be utter madness to attempt. No matter how strong and cocky Sui thought herself to be, fear won, like a villain in her mind.

'How can I.. be this weak..?'

..the girl thought, feeling the snake-like movements of this.. this thing, as it moved up and delivered it's message of warning for the girl to hear..

''And as the child resolutely tread the forest, she came upon a menagerie of shadows, swaying below the draconic beast as if a parallel dimension set in stunning realism,''

.. w-what..?

''That's your story. You'd better stick to it, sweetheart.''

The feminine and rather lewd voice of a female told her all she needed to do, a set of instructions, so.. that this won't happen again? She got off, and revealed her identity.. sort-of. As Sui turned her head backwards, her eye absorbed the tall figure in front of her, possessing a feminine stature with long red hair and black clothing, catching the vision only for a brief moment, before it darted off to.. a larger pray?

What was so..?

But this meant that.. nothing was holding her down. The pressure, the fear, it was.. still there, written over the entire page of that night. The pain, her vision, the smell, the sounds. Everything was written over and over again, both sides, and in small letters. Things she did not want to remember.

Sui got up slowly, mustering the energy to leave quick, her legs moving her faster and faster.. and soon, she would be running in whatever direction seemed good.

Back.

[EXIT]

His quarry was slipping away from him, despite his best efforts, much to Shigeo's disappointment. The Hollow had gone to the very edge of his visual range, becoming little more than a faint grey shadow flitting through the gloom of the forest, and now...gone. Damnit all. Most others would, at this point, realize the futility of pursuing such a swift creature. Most would report back to Seireitei. Form a plan, send out a hunter-killer team, someone with the abilities to keep pace with this Hollow. Shigeo, however, was determined -- perhaps to a fault -- to do this alone. Those were his Taichou's orders, were they not? "Go for the big one." So he would. Shigeo would catch this Hollow. He would kill her. And then he would show the bloodied carcass (and his own worth -- something he feared had been in question since that...incident...with his former subordinates) to his Taichou. The thought brought a grim smile to Shigeo's lips, and lent a bit more speed to his feet.

There was a cry. A yelp, even. Surprise was there, perhaps some pain. The eighth seat had to wonder, briefly, what gave voice to it (the Hollow, most likely) and why; of course, the only way to find out was to go towards it. Shigeo peered into the dark as he moved through the undergrowth, trying to see with little success. Nothing but shadows, especially deep at the base of some larger trees. Aha. One shadow of a faintly lighter hue suddenly shifted, sliding against the black behind it. The shinigami crashed into the clearing, just in time to hear...what was that? The sound of climbing; of bark being stripped from a tree by claws, as someone -- something tried desperately to put distance between itself and Shigeo.

He had it; the fact brought an empty smile, a baring of teeth, really, to his face. Shigeo eyed the tree the sounds had emanated from, his sword raised before him in a guarded fashion. He had her...now, how to get to it?