Strange things in Karakura town

A lone shinigami was patrolling the streets of Karakura town. it was a good evening, he though. There had been a chance of rain but it seemed he'd gotten lucky tonight. Or so he thought until he sensed a hollow. Drawing his sword he moved in to do his duty, and was about to jump the creature when there was a flash of blades and it's limbs were cut from its body. Another flash and it's head was gone, and a woman appeared before the shinigami. From what he sensed, she was also a shinigami.

"Good evening." He said to her. "Thank you, you spared me a tough fight." The woman, a red head, walked towards him and smiled. "Oh, it was no trouble." She said. "I haven't killed a hollow in so long, it feels good to flex my muscles again." The shinigami looked at her, slightly confused. "Oh.. So your not with the gotei. Ah are you a Vizard?"

The woman nodded. "I am indeed, your very perceptive." She said. He smiled and thanked her as he glanced at her still drawn blades. "Thank you. My captain always says I've got a sharp eye. He even thinks if I keep working, I could become a seated officer." He said. The woman smiled in response.

"Yes, I wouldn't be surprised. And who is your captain, might I ask?" She said. "Oh, It's captain Jensen Reinhart, have you heard of him?" Ariel shook her head. "Nope. i don't recognize the name. But its been years since I was part of the gotei. What about Captain AKihiko Iyou?"

"Oh 3rd Officer Iyou is no longer a captain. He was our captain commander but after the fall, when all those nasty maggots escaped, he was hurt and vanished. Some of the men think he failed us but I still respect him. He has allot of pride, working under the Lady commander and her sister without a word of protest." The man said. He really admired Akihiko Iyou.

"Ah so he's alive then. Well, can i ask you a favour?" She said. "Um.. Sure, do you need me to take him a message?" "Well, Kind of.. It'll be tough." She smiled. "I can handle it. What do you need." He asked. "Try not to die to quickly, I need Aki to find your body."  She said. "Wha-" Her blade slasheed across his chest, sending hm spiralling away. He hit the wall and slumped into the gutter.

With a smile on her face, Ariel flaired her energy at full force, a rather unsettling thing for anyone nearby. Then she suppressed her power, and vanished into the darkness. She wondered how long it would take for Aki to figure it out.

Aki was in charge of making sure the shinigami stationed elsewhere were reporting in. Making sure nothing unusual happened. He noticed one from Captain Reinheart's Division hadn't reported in yet, and had missed his time by five minutes. The man decided to investigate. Getting the last known location of the man in Karakura Town, he searched around.

To find the man dead. The wound looked like at was made by a sword. He called in his report and oversaw the removal of the body. Aki decided to stay, in case the same person was around. The attacker wanted attention, he or she got it.

Standing far above the city, he let out a burst of spiritual pressure. Something in the back of his mind was bothering him though. The brunette kept his hat on, but also kept a hand on his sword as he waited...

A few hours passed, Ariel had hidden outside the city and waited patiently for someone to find the dead shinigami lying in the gutter. She felt a little guilty about killing him but she wouldn't have needed to send a message if someone hadn't helped imprison her. And one more death wouldn't weigh to heavily on her conscience for long.

Not long passed before there was a powerful flair of energy, and Ariel sat up interested. It was Aki. He'd responded pretty quickly, all things considering. She wondered if he'd figured it out already, or maybe he thought he was lucky enough to have her die in the invasion. She stood up, and decided to go see him. Gathering up a few Knives she'd made while waiting she moved in.

She tracked him to high above the city. Made sense. Good view of the area. She approached from behind, swords across the back. But she did not attack yet, but instead watched him standing there, hand on sword as he waited for someone to arrive. She reached for her blade, paused.. Let her hand fall to her side.. "Hello.. Aki.." She said. She watched his reaction as she waited for his response.

Aki's eyes widened and his back stiffened. He took off his hat and dropped it, turning around. Upon seeing Ariel didn't have her hands on her sword, he took his off of his own blade. His softened, but also showed a lot of guilt. "Ariel..." He didn't know what to say. So he just looked at her.

He decided on some words...probably not the best ones. "Stop killing any more shinigami. We'll leave you alone if you do. Do your worst to me...and me alone...I refuse to fight you again..." He closed his eyes, awaiting her judgement.

As he removed the hand from his sword her fists clenched and she scowled. But he didn't have much to say. She watched him until he finally spoke. His words only made her angry, and she stopped supressing her energy. "Oh so now you refuse to fight me! Its a bit late for that, Aki." She shouted. "You could have walked away before. I know how much you hated central 46, so why stop me?"

She stamped her foot, the air vibrating as the force of her energy came down around them in her anger. "I won't kill someone who refuses to fight. So help me Aki, draw your sword or I will go after the other shinigami in Karakura town. I'll kill as many as it takes to make you draw your sword and fight. I doubt your new commander will let you off the hook if I go ape shit on this town."

Ariel let out a shock wave of spiritual energy containing the power of a gran rey cero. If he still refused to fight it would only make her more frustrated. She drew her swords. "I Hate you, Akihiko Iyou. Almost as much as I hated Kayn. He's dead by the way, he failed to escape me twice." Unless he drew his swords she would not attack though.

"Because of your hollow powers. That's why. You know what one of my biggest regrets are? Not letting you go. It was only after that I learned that it wasn't your choice. I'm not even sure if it is a choice." Aki started to walk towards her. "Even if you've improved, I'm sure I can still get in the way of your blade. Don't think that I don't think I deserve something. I'm willing to accept it. Don't bring anyone else into this. I'll just become their shield without drawing my blades."

He dodged the energy attack, but still continued to walk, well within her striking range. He still didn't draw his blades. "Good. One less person for me to kill. I refuse to attack a friend a second time. Here I am, Ariel. Strike me down. Or move on. If redeeming myself in your eyes mean I die, then so be it. Try to get anyone else involved...what's to stop me from drawing my blades and killing myself with them?

I don't have the heart to fight you again. You have every right to be angry, to feel betrayed. Exact the punishment you deem necessary on me. I deserve it and we both know it." The man kneeled in front of her, head out, ready for it, He kept his eyes on her feet, however. Ready to move if she does to take it out on the city. "I want your forgiveness..."

"You really think I would do that to myself? It wasn't a choice. At the very least I can live with it and the power it gives me." She said. "You can get in the way of my blade but I don't think you can stop what my mask allows. The devestation it can unleash. Not unless you put your all into it." But could she really do that. She was angry, yes, and unhinged most definately but she hadn't come so far from her former humanity, had she? Attacking innocent humans... Just for a fight.. She didn't know if she could do it.

"Would you really take the easy way out? I don't think so." She looked at him. "You're trying so hard to avoid a fight, now. How do you think I felt... It broke me, Aki. It could have been anyone but you. Why did you have to show up?" She stamped her foot again, causing a similar effect as before. "What If I think you're punishment should be to fight me again AKi! I wan't you to feel that pain again, It obviously left a mark!" But he continued to refuse, and went as far as to bow and offer his head.

Ariel went deathly silent as she watched him... She could do it, and that would be that. No more pain. She would be free... With a scream loud enough to burst ear drums she threw her swords. "That is not fair!" She shouted at him as she started to cry. "I spent over 400 hundred years locked in my own head! Do you have any Idea what that's like? NO! It was your fault, but now I can't even kill you because your to damn pathetic!"

"Because I was closest. I was on my way to visit you. To talk to you. Fight you again as punishment? Would I have have the heart to fight you with my all? And give you the proper fight that you want? Friends shouldn't fight each other to the death like this. I've no doubt that was hell, being stuck with a monster waiting at the first opportunity to steal your body. Me, pathetic? Who is more pathetic? A woman hell bent on a revenge that would only leave emptiness or a man willing to accept the punishment for the pain and suffering that he caused on a friend, so long as he doesn't have to fight her again?"

He lifted his head and stared into her teary eyes. Aki got a chill down on his spine. Looking around, he felt like someone or something was watching them. But he couldn't find them...he just knew that whoever it was, wasn't human nor shinigami...

"I wasn't really in the mood to talk." Ariel said. She shook her head. "I.. Why would you think we're even still freinds? Why do you accept so easily! I couldn't! I faught tooth and claw to escape my death and I survived, why won't you!" She was quite frantic. She was starting to doubt she could actually even fight him now, but he had some more to say.

"Thats where your wrong Aki! My hollow saved me. I was half mad with rage when I broke out of the nest but I wouldn't have been if it wasn't helping me. I'd have died in It's never once tried to take ocntrol. Its not a monster Aki, its my friend." She said.

"Who's to say! Both of us! I don't even know if i can bring myself to do it now! But don't think i've forgiven you either! This is not..." She noticed him look up and his expression changed ever so slightly... "Whats that look..."

"Fair enough...I've met a another vizard that said the same thing. Even a former friend that I hurt I couldn't do it." He stood up some more, but still looking. It was awfully cloudy out. "I...don't know...do you feel like we're being watched? I hate to change the subject...you know my sensing capability is utter crap...my spine just tingled..."

A good distance away, in one of the clouds was a small being. Watching and observing them. He had heard...about half of what they said. It was interesting. Relationship stuff. But it seemed the man had instincts. The four foot ten boy stayed in the clouds. He contemplated on leaving...but he really wanted to see the end of this...

(OOC: it's Rui. I really do need to use him more...)

She started to look around.. It was cloudy, making it difficult to spot anything around.. Ariel became suddenly wary, as if this was a trap... "Seed, Ame." She said, releasing her Zan, She then proceeded to gather the clouds towards her sucking them into a ball of water, clearing a 100ft area of clouds. She calmed down slightly, seeing as the group of shinigami she was expecting to find weren't there... "Do you see anything? I can't sense anyone..."

She looked around a bit more, than cursed. "I can't even fight you now. I killed that shinigami for nothing. You keep calling us friends but I can't forgive you yet and I can't do this. I can't be your friend again." She was unsure how this had even happened. She was so ready to fight before but now she didn't want to. "You win Aki. You managed to talk me down, since there was no real danger of me attacking the city..."

Aki nodded. "I doubt it, but maybe eventually you could. I'll leave you be." He leaned in to whisper in her ear. "There's a small shadow to your right, just outside your range. Be careful." With that, he started to walk away from her, eventually shunpoing away.

The shadow moved slightly. The four foot ten child sighed. Nothing more to see. He was about to go when he felt an attack incoming. Red eyes wide, he sonidoed away, and out in the open sky. His tail coat was black this time, though with red ribbons on it with matching hakama and socks. His hand was on his sword. His warped arrancar energy was now starting to leak as his migraine spiked.

"And here I was enjoying watching that display. Surely you can let me go as well?" He doubted it. She had a lot of anger...and she had no reason to let him go.

"Not today... Stay alive for now, I might decide to forgive you eventually. Who knows. I'm not right, anything could happen." She watched him leave after his warning and picked up her weapons. Then she looked in the direction of the intruder that had interupted her discussion. She wasn't in the mood for playing games so she launched a small ball of water from the water she'd gathered up at what ever was over there and stalked after it.

"It's not nice to spy on people. You caught me on a bad day so no, I don't think I'll let you just walk away strange man hollow thing." In the case of most things she would never harm a child but she had never seen such a strange being that felt so odd. He was not a vizard, and he felt hollow but she wasn't sure what kind. Possibly a vasto lorde since he was so strong, which made her think he was up to no good.

Ariel slashed one blade towards the boy's arm, reversing the other she brought it upwards to cut at his chest. She followed this with a double spin attack, slashing with both blades twice in a row rapidly. If he backed off she would lash out with bala strength balls of water from the reserves she'd gathered earlier.

"Man Hollow thing? You've never met an arrancar before? Though I do feel different than most..." It was an interesting thing that she never met one before. But he still defended himself. He drew his sword in time to block the strike, but had stumbled back a bit. He again put up his sword for the second attack.

He then backed off. Only for a water attack to head towards him. Leaning back, he dodged it, but was now glowing red. Energy shards came at her from an angle to her left and above. The boy also fired a red cero, but it curved away from her. His migraine was at full force. Rui needed to maintain his distance. Something he was very good at.

He took a nose dive down for about fifty yards, then darted straight south, leaving behind energy bars that would cut. Though some seemed a bit weak, others seemed to have exploded due to too much power...

She barely seen the energy attacks coming from the side and above but her spiritual shield repelled them, and Ariel watched in confusion as his Cero curved away and shook her head. "An Arranwhatnow? I've been trapped in my own head for the last four hundred odd years I haven't been updated on the current list of creatures from Hueco mundo." She said.

She chased after him but he was much much faster. She did not follow him directly though but stayed above, gathering water from the clouds as she moved along, before suddenly diving down on him firing ten balls of water as strong as two bala each and half the speed. "You've piqued my interest, Um... Whats your name? Anyway, why don't we keep this little fight none fatel and you explain some of the things I might have missed out on. You owe me since you eavesdropped on me."

So, she had a spiritual shield? That wasn't too surprising, given her output. He listened as she attacked him, staying away from his own attacks. An energy wall appeared between them, but shattered from the hits. Except one broke through, hitting his sword and pushing him down some. He stopped to consider her offer.

"That is better than a life or death fight...I get too many of those as it is. I'm called an arrancar. Think of me as the anti-thesis to you vizard. A hollow that has gained shinigami powers. Either naturally, or artificailly due to a man named Aizen or other shinigami that have experimented on hollow. My case was the latter...about five hundred years ago. And my signature is a warped version of a normal arrancar. My name...is unimportant. Just know for the moment, you're at an advantage due to my constant migraine..."

Cutting his left hand, the small boy pointed it up at her. A stronger cero appeared, and fluctuated a little. "Gran Rey Cero." The large, red ball of energy fired at her. Though it moved erratically. His small wound healed near instantly.

Due to his constant migraine, he couldn't concentrate all that well with his massive amounts of spiritual energy, and complete and total control over it. The more he uses, the smaller his migraine becomes. Allowing him better control and be much more effective in battle.

Her demeanor had changed rather quickly and she seemed less angry. Not smiling though, that was a rare occurrence. She listened to the arrancar with great interest. "I see, I see. You poor soul... I also suffered at the hands of wicked Shinigami, that is how I became a vizard. This Aizen man, He was the one sealed in the maggots nest that everyone feared to free? He made arrancar? Is it safe to assume he might be behind some Vizards too?" If the answer was yes, allot of things from her past made sense suddenly. And she realised Kayn couldn't have been working alone.

The boy cut his finger and spoke. "Gran Rey what now-" She spluttered. Didn't matter what it was called, she'd stopped ceros with her spiritual shield before. But it didn't stop and she looked at it sheepishly as she threw up her hands to block, which resulted in her being pushed backwards by the ball of energy. She rolled with it, letting the attack push her away. Her hand swiped up just long enough to pull on her mask before bracing against the attack again. She fired her own cero into it, and the two energies met.

Despite her over powered cero it wasn't enough to stop it, but it did slow it down long enough for her to vault away before the opposing  balls of energy merged and exploded. She rolled out of the explosion and flipped back onto her feet. She sheathed her weapons an watched as the burns on her hands slowly healed thanks to high speed regen. This was new.... She was slightly surprised it had not only gotten past her shield but had burnt her through her spiritual armor.

She looked back up at Rui. "Can you teach me to do that? That was... Amazing. Nothing compared to my Super Nova Cero but still..." She said as she fired a cero of her own at him. It was notably more powerful than a standard cero but still nothing close to the gran rey.

She...handled that attack quite well. Especially whenever she used her mask. "I kinda doubt it. It's called Gran Rey Cero...most upper leveled arrancar can use it, and there's another specialty cero that most upper leveled arrancar can also use, but only in their second form and above. And yes, that would be him. It's a known fact he was a major factor in turning a bunch of Captains and Vice-Captains into vizard a hundred years before his capture, so it wouldn't be surprising if he helped others do the same or had some part in it before then with other officers. He's such a big threat that even the King of Hueco Mundo, and me for that matter, would actually team up with the Shinigami and even the Coalition to take him down."
 
The boy dodged it. Though below, he felt a power boom. Probably the other one playing damage control. That other one wasn't moving up there, so that was probably it. He fired a small barrage of six red bala. But two of those burst apart before coming anywhere close to her. He also started five cero and fired them all at her. Two went off course completely, and one burst into energy ribbons that were no where near the strength of a cero. Sighing, the little one started having electricity gather at the tip of his sword.
 
Now it would be a wait and see on how she responds.

the four bala hit her spiritual Shield and rebounded back in the little Arrancar's direction. That was also an interesting attack, but if she couldn't learn the gran Rey it seemed unlikely she could learn them. She ducked and weaved through the cero and energy ribbons, throwing several knives of solidified Reiatsu at Rui. A cero hit her shield, and was blocked but one of the energy ribbons managed to get by and slice into her.

She got closer and used her spiritual pulse again, letting out a powerful blast as strong as a gran rey cero. It only had a 50ft radius so the city was more than safe, and between that and Aki playing guardian the chance of accidentally killing any more innocent people tonight was low. And the fight was doing wonders for her mood. "It's good to let off some steam." She said to the boy while firing two cero strength balls of water at him.

"Well now I understand why all the maggots were so worried about Aizen's seal being undone. Glad the leader didn't hold the same reservations when it came to freeing me. So, tell me about your king of Hueco mundo, is he an arrancar too? He must be strong to be a king of hollow, considering they dont tend to listen to good advice." She said.

Huh...so that barrier thing could rebound weak attacks? That was nice to know. The child like arrancar easily avoided his own attack. He used his sword and and his reaction time to avoid and block the knives. When she got close, and unleashed a very strong area of attack, Rui sonidoed away with a sharp crack. Only to have him skidding in the air trying to stop. And delaying his ability to deal with the water balls.

He got hit solidly by the first one, but the second one hit two energy walls. Getting back into standing position, he answered her. "He is, on both accounts. Los Noches, a fortress Aizen built and is still in use, is the symbol of power in Hueco Mundo. Naturally, not all hollow follow him. I would even question the majority doesn't. But they also don't resist him either...and often help him out anyway when or if he calls for it. But they're not there one hundred percent of the time. His generals are mostly arrancar themselves called the Espada. Each numbered in accordance to how powerful they are.

We met before he was king. And have earned his respect...hence why he tends to leave me alone, even now. So long as I don't do anything stupid. *points his sword with the lightning ball on the end of it at her* Lightning Cero." The electrofied cero launched at the girl at twice the speed of a normal cero. But was also strong enough to crack and weaken barriers equal to Bakudo 81 so badly that one of his standard ceros could break through it. And he fired one too.

Rui would wait to see how she reacts to that ability before making another move. His wound from her first water ball was already mostly healed.

She listened to him and nodded. Good to know. She decided that she liked the little arrancar, and would also give other arrancar a break unless they showed the wrong intentions. After all, they did not seem mindless like most hollow, and they shared a little on common with vizards. The boy then fired a very fast lightning cero. She noticed the difference in speed and assumed that this was something like a gran rey. Her spiritual shield wouldn't stop it, even if it was active.

She had no choice but to dodge it, letting it fly into the distance and hope it didn't hurt anyone or Aki dealt with it. However she was to busy concentrating on it to realise he'd fired a second cero. It hit her head on and sent her flying from the impact, but she managed to regain her feet, and hold her anger in check for the most part. But if they were going to show off, then she would oblige the hollow. She pointed a finger towards him and a large blue-purple cero formed. It contained the force of two cero oscuros, and was as fast as a gran rey. "Super Nova Cero."

After firing it, her mask cracked up the middle, parts falling away. Ariel removed it completely. "So, tell me something else. How about the state of the human world? I sense allot of people with Reiatsu now, as opposed to four hundred years ago. Why is that? Or you can ask me a question or two. I might answer."

Well...he at least got a hit in. And she responded in kind with something massively powerful of her own. He too decide to dodge it. It was a bit surprising. The small boy noticed that the hollow mask she had on cracked from it. High power, but at a cost. He looked down when he realized he couldn't feel his right leg from the knee down...and noticed it was gone.

Sighing, his high speed regeneration kicked in, a bone foot/leg coming out of the wound. He didn't react quite soon enough. She spoke some more. "Some blame the increasing activity of spiritual beings around the world. No one really knows why though. It started shortly after Aizen's defeat. The humans have a dedicated organization called the Coalition to monitor and defend the world from spirituals that decide to cause trouble. They're probably keeping a close eye on us right now. They also monitor other advent humans and keep tabs on them, making sure they're not abusing their powers. If you think the Gotei will always have their hands full...they're worse. Their base of operations are in New York City. They have a lot of support around the world. Likewise, they also have enemies of all kinds, including the King of Hollow, Arngrim Wolfcloak."

Rui fired off a small barrage of bala and cero, some too weak, some just burst harmlessly. An energy wave came at her at all directions as well. He really needed to use up power. "Some vizard have made their own home here in Karakura. The state of the human world is a tough question to answer...you'd have to explore the four corners of it to really get an idea. I may get around, but with humans constantly changing, it's tough to stay up to date..."

She listened closely. "Very interesting. Well if they stay out of my way we wont have a problem." She said. She dodged around his cero and bala easily enough though in the case of the bala a few hit her shield and where bounced back. She was far enough away that dodging wasn't so difficult despite how fast the bala travelled. As the wave of energy came at her from all sides she gathered a ball of water, as another formed somewhere behind Rui. She touched the one closest to her was sucked into it, popping out behind Rui as the wave hit where she was.

Ariel launched a plant pod towards the arrancar. it would explode in a cloud of spores that would cause nausea, pain is the chest and lungs, and he might possibly vomit or caugh up blood, assuming he inhaled the spores. Though if he did, she would offer him a cure since she was just testing to see if it worked on arrancar. While she waited to see if it did indeed effect him she threw 3 Reiatsu daggers from both hands, while collecting and firing a ball of water as strong as a cero.

"Depends on what you do. If all you do is kill hollow and the occasional Sinner and fight in self defense or in the defense of others, they'll let you off and won't bother you very much." Her shield dealt with his weaker attacks, and avoided the rest. She also used water to teleport behind him. While he turned to face her, he created a red shield to block the plant like thing she threw at him.

It broke the barrier, but the dust of spores were creeping over it. The boy's eyes widened and he sonidoed out of there. As the three energe daggers closed, he shifted slightly so that none of them would hit him. Except for the last one, where he let it stab his left hand. The small child also fired a cero, matching the water blast. His migraine was almost down enough for him to start fighting without his attacks doing stupid stuff. His leg was healing quite well, too.

The boy closed in, using sonido to show up above her. Only to cut off his left hand and using sonido to disappear again. The hand glowed red as it exploded with the power of a grenade. Hopefully catching her in the blast. Mostly to hide his second attack, one that she dealt with not long before.

"Gran Rey Cero." A large cero was fired from his "wound", which was a skeleton like hand. "I'm not sure how far you wish to take this...as I said, arrancar have two other forms, though the last is rare. My migraine is down enough now that I can go into one...if you desire. I realize the other shinigami isn't weak by any means...but still...collateral damage is much more likely..."

The boy dodged and countered her attacks. Then surprisingly he cut off his own hand. Confused she jumped away just to be safe, and indeed it exploded. "I haven't survived so long by falling for tri-" He said something that cut her off. Another of his gran reys shot at her. She threw her arms up to protect herself as it hit and sent her streaking across the sky in the trail of smoke. She fell close to 100ft before stopping herself in the air with a burst of spiritual energy.

Flipping onto her feet, dusting herself off, examining the damage. Some burns, a few scratches, her spiritual armor had mostly held up against it. Still, that had hurt, but she could keep fighting. She held her anger in check, feeling mild annoyance towards the boy, but not blood thirsty rage. She had agreed to not kill him, going back on that would be unfair. Plus she didn't think she could, he looked like a child no matter his age. She wasn't so far gone that she could easil kill children.

Responding to his question she nodded. "Sure, why not. I assume if your going to get stronger I'll probably need to go bankai. But try not go any farther than that, I'd have use my inner hollows form and... That would get messy. I'm curious though, you said Arrancar have two other forms, do either suffer from the same drawbacks as a vizard's 3rd form?"