Welcome to Gaia! ::

That night, Toshiro tossed and turned in his bed as he lived through a painful nightmare. The dream all started with him walking peacefully to the Shihouin Clan house. He knew his motives of why he was heading there. He though this dream would be another one with him and Kuraime having a moments peace together. His pace quickened at the sight of a small dark figure with its back turned to him.

"Kurai! He yelled aloud. Despite the highered tone he yelled, the figure did not stir. "KURAI!" Toshiro continued to yell as he closed the distance between them. Finally stopping to a halt, he placed his hand on one of her shoulders and attempted to turn her around to face him. He was stopped in horror as he turn her around to reveal a unrecognizable figure. The figure replaced her golden mute eyes with blood red eyes. Her perfectly crooked smile was replaced with a mouth full of fangs. Toshiro let go of her shoulder and began to slowly back away from this... monster.

Before he knew it, the monster lowered itself into a crouched position, poised to attack him. He couldn't bear it, he lost Kurai... lost her to this, THING. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" He roared and dropped to his knees. Staring at the creature with tearful eyes, he watched it as it jumped at his at a blinding speed as everything became dark. I promised! I promised her! His trail was stopped upon arriving at the gate to earth. That one moment... made him identify a third party reiatsu. "Torsin..." He snarled. Jumping through the portal, Toshiro's feet laced with reiatsu as the area around him blurred as he moved at a blinding speed.

Jumping out of the gate, the trail of reaitsu was still fresh as he followed it toward the town. His teeth gritted in anger as he frantically searched for either entity. There! he could feel it, the pulsing of evil reiatsu's flaring only to grow stronger upon his approach. Gripping his zanapaktou hilt, he quickly drew it continued to run with it as he kept it to his side. He couldn't control it anymore, his reiatsu jumped to higher levels imbalancing the pressure in the air. Making it heavier. His heart beat jumped once as he felt the presence of two arrancar there. Nothing he couldn't handle on his own.

He stopped... he saw her. Kuraime... no, this wasn't her. The one she was fighting was the reiatsu he found earlier. His guess was right Torsin was behind this all along. He heard what he said aloud. Stay with her? As in, a unification as one? Torsin was TRYING to provoke this thing out of her!. Anger... was all he could turn to, was all he could feel at the moment. Reiatsu engulfed his body entirely as he glared at Torsin. His hands were shaking, his body was shaking, his mind... was completely consumed with rage. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! TORSIN!!! I WILL KILL YOU!" He yelled as he shunpo'd in front of Torsin with his zanpaktou held above his head and brought it down at Torsin's shoulder.

Datenshi chuckled at the sudden conflict that had arisen between Torsin and the shinigami to whom a sharp, icy scent clung. Saved her the trouble of having to dodge Torsin's punch, anyway.

"You two make it sound as though I need saving," She said, amused. "Don't waste your time -- the human world is far too interesting, and I plan to stick around for a good, long while. Then, when I get bored, who knows? Hueco Mundo?"

Her sightless gaze shot briefly to the arrancar who watched them [i.e. Maniak]. She had sensed him the moment he'd arrived. His telltale aura was hard to mistake.

"An arrancar would make good company, don't you think?" She teased as she turned to leave. She stopped in her tracks, wincing. She put hand to her chest.

"Ouch-- this body still loves you," She glanced back at Toshiro with a disinterested expression. "How... inconvenient,"

Datenshi wrenched her hand from Toshiro's grip as though she'd been burned. She rubbed her wrist sullenly, trying to identify the strange electricity of his touch. Whatever the case, it had caused Kurai to stir, even under the Poppy Seal's grip.

"You're too late, pretty boy," She laughed mockingly, seemingly unperturbed by the sudden profusion of ice clones. Noticing the tilt of his head was directed at the pendant around her neck, she growled in annoyance. "You've already lost,"

She reached up and ripped it from her neck, snapping the delicate chain. Letting the pendant slip through her fingers, it fell into the snow accumulating at Toshiro's feet.

Abruptly, another shot of pain flared in her heart. She masked her discomfort, rubbing the skin over her heart absently. Having a body that still loved this shinigami was irritating. These sensations that felt as through her heart was breaking were quite unpleasant. But she could cure it of that. This was her body, now, and it would follow her rules.

Distracted by the burning tearing sensation that could only be described as a breaking heart, Datenshi didn't sense the projectile speeding towards her, nor did she register Torsin's transformation into Garou.

The throwing knife buried itself to the hilt in her shoulder, eliciting a sharp pain that superceded the fading echoes of agony in her heart. With a snarl of disgust, she pulled the blade from her shoulder, tossing it to the ground. The fine layer of snow became dappled with her blood as it bled freely from the wound.

"Has the wolf come back to play?" She laughed derisively. Moving in a blur, she slid one side and caught Garou's wrist in one hand. She grabbed the front of his shirt with the other and turned, pitching him with a judo throw towards the crowd of clones that surrounded her.

Datenshi thrust both hands up, catching Garou's descending fist. She rolled back with the movement, lodging her foot in Garou's stomach and attempting a second throw that would send him flying over her and back into the sea of clones.

She did this all rapidly, knowing that she would need to escape quickly if Toshiro reacted. Though she was confident of her speed, she wasn't sure she'd be able to beat back so many clones. They would overpower her if they caught her.

Of course, what they expected to do once they'd caught her... Datenshi almost laughed. There was nothing they could do. Nothing anyone could do. This body is mine.

But first, to dispose of this oversized dog, here...

Datenshi chuckled darkly as she planted her feet and raised boy arms to block the incoming kick. Garou's leg slammed into her forearms, forcing her back a few inches, but nothing more.

She wrapped one arm around his leg and furled out her own leg in a kick. At the same time, she pulled on the leg she had trapped, attempting to force Garou off balance.

"I don't think I need some overgrown mongrel telling me where I stand," She retorted as she moved. "Be happy I haven't simply ripped your heart out, yet,"

Datenshi slipped to one side, and Garou's heavy metal rod crashed into the ground, raising a cloud of dust and debris. Quick as a flash, Datenshi lept onto the rod and darted up its length. She jumped towards Garou's face, leg furling out in a crescent kick directed at his temple.

"Face it," She taunted, laughing cruelly as she sailed through the air. "I'm too fast. Brute strength could only help you if you could actually catch me,"