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 Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 1:38 pm
The ForestThe peaceful forests on the edge of Rukongai were vast and wide not to mention beautiful if you happened upon a glade where exotic and rare flowers grew. Somewhere off in the distance, a river twisted and turned while it ran its course through the mass of brown giants with green hair. Birds sang merrily while insects busied themselves over their short life-spans. The occasional rabbit or deer could be seen dashing off in fright of one thing or another.
Everything seemed perfect in the forest….if it weren’t for the quick steps of a young looking man in a black garb who wore swords strapped to his arms. He seemed agitated by something or someone, and yet no one else could be seen. With great vigor he walked through the forest, stepping over fallen trees and moving aside to let startled deer run past him while he fumed over something. Suddenly he broke the wordless silence, “I told you to never ever do that again without my permission! Did you not hear me—what do you mean you’re a goddess and don’t have to listen to me? Oh no that is it!” He sat down with a thud in the middle of the glade with his arms crossed, “Yes I have indeed asked someone to help me with this, for it is clearly getting out of hand. Like it or not princess, I’m the master, and you will obey me; not the other way around. I will learn exactly how to deal with you, and I will never ever let you gain control of me again!”
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Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:30 pm
"Wow, troubles in paradise William?" Zaine asked with a chuckle as he leapt down from a tree branch and landed next to the muttering shinigami. "Now don't take such a tone with your zanpakuto, you are not her master, nor is she your's you both need to learn to act as partners, especially if you wanna be able to utilize your full potential." He said with a sigh, rapping his knuckle against the younger shinigami's head to make his point more poignant, "That isn't to say you both are required to get along all the time, but you should realize that if you try to exert power over one another you will only end up both being hurt in the long run. Do you understand what I mean?" He asked with a slight smile, deciding that this was the most important matter to address before the training began.
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Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 6:47 pm
((I hope you don't mind some minor gore, because this contains a little much for the squeamish at heart. I didn't go overboard though.))
William didn’t flinch an inch when Zaine landed next to him; his recent bouts with Hantoresu had elevated to a whole new level. She was constantly trying to take over now, and it was quickly becoming an insomniac’s second greatest wish of someone who stayed up with them all the time. William did react to Zaine’s attempts to stay they were supposed to work together. His initial reaction was internal and to Hantoresu, “See?! Listen very, ngh, closely to what he says you little spoiled kitten.” “Kitten?! Oh you had better take that back you, ngh, you, you, smelly alcoholic!” “Please, I’ve heard better insults in kindergarten, ngh.” “You didn’t even pass kindergarten! Grr!” “Enough!” He turned his attention to the person with his knuckles against William’s skull, “Yeah well you haven’t had to deal with her. She’s insane! Hgg.” He cringed from the pain before abruptly standing up and pacing back and forth.
Deep black patches hung heavily under his cat-like green eyes from two day’s straight no sleep and a tireless battle against Hantoresu. “You have no idea what I’ve been going, ngh, through these last two days. Look! Look at my fingers!” He held his bloody fingers up to show the bonelike claws that had forced their way out of his fingertips under his nails. It was a gruesome sight to be sure, and even the crusted blood on his lips was a good indication that some of his teeth had been replaced by force-grown fangs. He then pointed to his bare feet to show Zaine both the similar claw-gore and that the feet themselves were slightly longer with larger balls. "I have not stopped aching since she took me over for the second time. Yes, she took me over and against my will no less. She’s done it twice now, and she’s, ngh, been trying to do again since two days now, two days! I haven’t gotten a wink of sleep for fear that she might take complete control again.”
He sat down in a very uncomfortable looking position like a cat sitting down on its hind legs to watch things go by. “She was the first one to mention being one entity, one being, and I listened to her; it was her that began fighting for control first as well though.” His neck twitched when a spark jumped the length of his arm to his hands, and he almost made a swipe at Zaine with the razor sharp claws; he had regained a grip on his body at the last moment to pull away. “S-see?” “Hantoresu, stop it! You’re being childish, and an obnoxious princess. If you aren’t careful, Zaine’ll likely take this to a more serious level.” “I don’t care! I….want….out!” she yelled with thunder behind each word, almost deafening him from within. He felt the spark jump over his arm again, but he clamped it down with the other arm just before it could lash out. "W-what do I do Zaine? I'm on the brink of letting go, and I can feel my grip on my body slipping with every pulse she hits me with. If I don't fix this soon, she'll be in control before we leave here."
((I’ll try to make this as interesting as possible, so that you don’t get bored. Hopefully I do good.))
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Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2010 4:27 pm
((Bah you call that gore?))
"Yeah I actually have had to deal with a psychotic spirit kid, so don't think you are alone in this." Zaine commented with a grin, though it was a bit disconcerting to see the ravages that the shinigami had undergone in the time that had elapsed since Zaine had last seen him, "Only two days? Looks like this is just the right time to get this taken care of then..." he muttered to himself, unaffected by the slightly grisly sights that William had displayed to him, the battle schooled shinigami had seen more gory sights inflicted upon himself so these, while alarming were not gonna set him on edge in the least.
"You need to learn to work together for sure then, this training can kill you but I doubt you have any other choice than to undergo it and try to get yourself under control so I won't ask if you are sure." He watched William barely hold himself back from attacking Zaine, hearing his comrades plea he sighed and suggested the only thing he thought may work. "Do it, let her take over and while she is attacking me enter your spirit's world and undergo the tests to get her under control, don't worry she won't be getting away from here and I won't kill you if I can help it, take care of it quick though." he commanded, throwing off his cloak and displaying his bare torso, riddled in small scars from previous fights but the most eye catching being the two scars on his shoulders, each one obviously made by a pair of creatures that had massive jaws and if one was familiar with the way animals bit they would recognize that the wounds had been inflicted by wolves, gripping his zanpakuto Zaine separated the sword into two blades and held them leveled at William's form, "Get going then!" he commanded.
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Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2010 7:57 pm
((Well I did say “minor” gore. Besides, I didn’t know whether or not to keep it PG-13, or if I was allowed to step it up to R rating. Best to be on the safe side considering that I found out a few people read what I write who aren’t actually part of the PRP. Also, note that this PRP takes place a little after the current mission that 10th and 13th squads are on.))Forests of Soul Society William’s mind was a mess while he struggled to hold Hantoresu back from taking control. “Hah! Your grip is slipping! Not long now before I’m the one killing Hollow and having fun.” William’s head twitched again when a spark jumped up his arm for the third time, forcing him to hold his arm steady once more. “No, I will not let you!” His attempts to hold her back were reinforced a little more by his willpower. He looked frantically around for something that might help, but nothing could be seen besides Zaine. His mind needed a rest from the constant push of Hantoresu’s determination to take over. Something, anything would have been good, but he could not even think straight with her pushing so hard. Zaine’s words came slow to his ears while he listened to him speak of working together. “I’ll do it, I-I don’t care what it is, I’ll do it.” His arms shook both from the effort of holding back Hantoresu and from anticipation of some sort of relief from his living nightmare.
William almost lost his grip upon his body at Zaine’s next words; he did not believe he had heard him correctly. “Wha—no, no, no, no. I—I’d never gain control again!” Hantoresu’s pushing lessened at Zaine’s suggestion, “Listen to him. Let me take over. Then you can rest for all eternity like I did. You’ll go mad from boredom!” Her laughing was intense and very much frightening for William, for it was something straight out of a horror movie. His breathing was quick and did not slow while he attempted to decide what to do. “Let go and you may rest,” Hantoresu whispered into his mind. “Leave all your worldly cares to me; I will take care of them.” William looked to Zaine who had just taken off his cloak; the scars reminded him of warriors in times past who had fought for glory and honor. The bite marks stood out from the rest though; he had seen wolf bites back in the medieval times, but they had not been so severe nor nearly as big. Zaine’s movements combined with his last words made William choose his final decision.
The world itself slowed down to an unreal speed. His heart pounded in his chest. His ears twitched while Zaine’s blade became two. His breathing slowed to a standstill. He blinked and looked around as if dazed. His sandpaper tongue licked his bloody lips between the fangs. Slowly, he looked down at his hands. They shook with anticipation. His head turned back up to Zaine for one final glance. William nodded to Zaine before he simply let go. Slower and slower his heartbeat went while he fell to the ground in slow motion. He had completely let go of his control.Inner World William stirred from his sleep upon the forest floor. He knew he should wake up, but he did not wish to after being awake for so long. “Finally,” a voice boomed with the thunder above, shaking him awake with a start. He was once again at one of the waterfalls in his inner world. His head fell into his hands while he sat up, “What have I done?” He stayed in that position for a few minutes before he let loose a sigh, “Now there is no turning back. I just hope nothing serious happens in the real world.” He looked around for the tests that Zaine mentioned, but they were definitely not in plain sight. Thunder echoed and screamed through the trees while lightning ripped across the sky. A monsoon of rain fell, soaking William to the bone within minutes. He did not shiver, for it was not cold; on the contrary, the forest was a perfect temperature for him along with the rain. While he turned around to at least get a clue as to where the tests might be, a lightning bolt struck a very tall tree in the distance. “But of course!” Hope entered his nigh on decimated heart while he started to jog toward the blackened giant of a tree. It was a huge distance off, and he knew it would take several minutes if not hours to reach it. He did not tire from the journey, but he did feel like someone was watching him. More than once had he looked over his shoulder to try and see if anyone or thing was there. The monsoon coming down was unbelievable; he had not expected there to be so much water. “I must hurry.”Forests of Soul Society William’s body hit the floor like a lifeless corpse being unceremoniously dropped from a plague cart of the medieval ages. Slowly a static sound filled the air around his body, growing louder and louder until it abruptly cut off. A blue spark jumped from William’s swords up his arms but nothing happened. Thunder sounded in the distance, growing ever louder with every second that passed. Lightning could be seen streaking across the ever darkening sky. A particularly bright flash from above crashed down upon a nearby tree while at the same time William’s right arm positioned itself to lift him off the ground. His left arm did the same a moment later and in moments he was now standing before Zaine with his head hung down. Slowly it looked up at him, but there was an almost lifeless feeling to it.
William’s mouth broadened in a very happy grin before he started laughing. Only lightly at first, but then it picked up to a full blown hysterical laugh. He wiped a tear from his eye before he said in a somewhat female voice that was not his. “Thank you Zaine; you cut off a full two day’s worth of worrrk that I still would have had to do to gain control otherrrwise. Let me reward you with another scarrr for you to add to your substantial collection therrre.” Dark blue sparks began flowing over William’s arms and to the rest of his body. The blades upon his arms slowly began to melt into his arms while a black viscous fluid coated them. The black liquid flowed up his arms and down his chest under his robe until it also covered his feet. It cut off flowing at point before it finally settled upon only his forearms and lower legs. “Ooh this feels so good,” William’s body exclaimed after taking a deep breath of fresh air. Rain began to fall around them while lightning struck here and there at random.
The viscous black fluid around his arms and legs began to solidify despite the water hitting it. What was left of the wreathing mass of black fluid was black and, in some spots, dark blue fur. Retractable claws of what looked like matte dark metal could be seen poking out of the tips of his fingers and toes when they were flexed. Dark blue sparks shot through the fur and across his body without him so much as twitching. “Let us play a little bit; I have been oh so borrred inside his mind.” The forest where they were had grown fairly dark compared to before, for the clouds above were hundreds of meters thick with rain now. The rain had picked up to a very hard downpour and the lightning threw split-second shadows that danced with movement. With the crack of lightning, she shot straight for Zaine, dropping at the last moment to all fours for an added boost of strength for her tackle. Her aim was on, and if Zaine did not either quickly dodge or stop her, she would definitely take him down.
((If I did too much or something that wasn’t allowed, just tell me. I wanted to create a creepy/dark atmosphere without trying to godmod. I wonder, did you notice the change in sex which I used to show that Hantoresu was in control at the end? Also, the fight that you’ll be having is with her and not William. If it’s allowed, she’ll fight with the Shikai powers on William’s profile; however, William will not be able to use them without training. Sorry if this was too long or boring; I’ll try to cut it down from now on if you want me to. [Pauses for thought.] And to think that I was at first having trouble thinking up what to write.))
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Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2010 11:19 am
Zaine watched William's body fall to the ground in a boneless heap, his expression becoming stoic and his position unchanging even as a spark jumped from the still form, "It's starting then." he thought to himself, tightening the grip on his swords and preparing himself for a fight he observed the marionette like way that William's body had begun to move in. As the laughter started the shinigami smirked slightly until the creature that was William spoke in the feminine voice that didn't quite suit the mouth that it came from, the thing then began to thank Zaine for his help which actually widened his smirk some and when it said that he was to be rewarded with more scars he couldn't stop the derisive laugh from escaping his lips.
"Don't thank me ya mangy cat, and don't expect me to take your 'reward' without giving ya some gifts of my own." He commented dryly, unaffected by the sparks and the new changes that William's body was undergoing, he was mildly surprised at the rain that began to plop down and the transformation that had finally completed, the feline form that had been William purred in a self satisfied way and the rain became a torrential sheet that drenched Zaine to the bone in moments, the crack of thunder and the flashes of lightning made the shinigami's blood pump hard with anticipation, and after a particularly close flash he saw the lunge that the creature had made for him, easily sidestepping the tackle Zaine brought the hilt of his blade slamming down on the passing creature's back, the Vice captain's mocking words following the attack, "Come on, I thought you wanted to get some fun outta this, you're gonna have to step it up if ya wanna get me going little cat."
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Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2010 3:04 pm
Inner World William jogged along the jungle’s ground, finding it very much to his liking. Several spots had enticed him for a rest along the way, but he had been explicitly told he needed to hurry about doing the tests. For hours on end he ran, and he did indeed stop at one or two places to catch his breath. It seemed a little odd to him when he would drink from a stream of water within his own mind, but he stopped questioning it when he felt a little more invigorated after doing so. All sorts of exotic plants and flowers could be seen and even felt, but he continued to run toward the huge black tree. He had seen telltale signs that he was getting closer, for the roots of the black tree stretched out far and wide. After several hours of jogging, he finally made it to the base of the tree where the diameter of the roots was larger than him. As if in anticipation, he found a lit entrance in the base after walking past several roots. The lighting seemed to be electrical, but in the sense that there were permanent arcs going between two small black branches. The initial room was nothing to even consider, for all it held were the strange arc lights. A staircase led up into the center of the apparently hollow tree, and William knew he had to get to the top. Even if the tree were half as tall as he had seen from the outside, it would be like climbing to the top of a small skyscraper using only the stairs. “You have got to be kidding me,” he exclaimed at the thought. With a hateful groan, he began climbing what seemed like an eternal staircase.Forests of Soul Society Hantoresu growled at the blunt object’s contact with her back. It sent her back down to the floor where her arms and legs caught her only to take her a little farther away. She spun on the spot before standing back up, “Ooo, I like games…let’s play my favorite: hide and seek!” With the flash of another lightning bolt, she disappeared into the darkness of the storm combined with the forest’s natural darkness and her black clothing. Cautiously, she stalked her prey, making her presence as minimal as possible just like a real huntress of the wilds. “If he wants to play, then I’ll play.” She closed her eyes for a moment, drawing from within her powers that had lain dormant under William’s naïve and inexperienced hands, not to be touched by him until she thought he was ready for them. Now that she was in control; however, she highly doubted that he would ever even see them in use. She suddenly opened her eyes to reveal that they were glowing an eerie blue. Upon closer inspection, one would notice that it wasn’t so much a glow as hundreds of thousands of electrical sparks going through them. A smile of content passed over her face before she quietly stalked Zaine from the shadows. “He is mine to take and do with what I want,” she yelled to Zaine before changing her position. “He will never come back, for I have locked him in my own world. Only I know how to get back out.” Again she changed position so that even if he followed her voice, she would be long gone before he could get there. Patiently she waited for her power to charge while she stalked Zaine, making sure he did not get too close to her in the shadows.Inner World “Almost….there….” he said while heaving from the effort of climbing to what he felt was the entire height of the staircase. He finally emerged upon an open room where the stairs ended and collapsed in the non-hostile area, breathing heavily from exertion. He rested for at least a minute there before he began to look around. A doorway to the outside revealed that he had climbed quite far up the tree. The rest of the room was blank, but when he approached the doorway, he saw that there were more stairs. This time they were on the outside of the tree, and he almost collapsed again when he saw he was only halfway there. He slammed his fist onto one of the stairs while he started to climb them; his hands began helping his legs out by pushing up on the stairs before him. Soon this became almost no problem at all until he came upon a huge gap in the stairs. “What? Who the heck designed these?” he questioned when he saw that there was no possible way to reach the stairs without risking his life. He didn’t even realize he had shifted to a leopard form while climbing the previous stairs, making it a lot easier on his body. The jump, although he knew he could probably make it, seemed far too risky. He rolled his eyes when he realized that this might just be one of the tests. “A test of self-confidence,” he told himself before crouching down for the jump. All at once he leapt forward, reaching for the edge, but when his stomach hit the edge with moderate force and his claws dug into the wood, he knew what had happened. “Wish I had known that before.”
He continued up the tree at a moderate pace, finding the air to be much fresher and the wood to be fairly slippery when he didn’t use his claws to keep him in place. He came upon another jump, but it was twice as far as the last. Again he jumped at it with some fear in his mind of the possibility of falling, but he made it to the edge of the stairs with his claws ready to pull himself up. It was quite an effort for him to continue, but he did nonetheless. Several more minutes passed before he came upon yet another break in the stairs; it was three times the length of the first, and he knew he’d never make it even in his leopard form. He clawed at the wood in contemplation before he realized what he could possibly do. Without thinking of the consequences of failure this time, he jumped toward the staircase digging his claws into the wall of wood to his left to give himself an extra push in between. His claws sunk deeply into the wood when he barely made it to the staircase. He collapsed on the landing he had reached just after the feat, breathing just as heavily as he had upon reaching the halfway point far below. “So you finally made it up here did you?” Hantoresu’s voice mocked from across the landing. His eyes widened, and he stood up still breathing hard from the journey to see that Hantoresu stood in her human form before him with her arms crossed.
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Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 3:08 pm
Zaine chuckled at Hantoresu's words, the fleeing form of the spirit melded into the shadows, "Sorry cat, I don't much care for Hide and Seek, so I think that I'm gonna decline your invite to the game." He commented dryly, feeling out for her reiatsu in the area, she may be able to mask her scent and hide from his sight but she couldn't utterly erase her presence. "You know, that mewling of yours is a bit annoying and for your sake you better hope you are wrong." he trailed off leveling a finger at the vicinity he sensed her reiatsu coming from, "Hadou #1 Sho." he commanded, sending a powerful push that tore at the ground and shredded the brush, the area of this spell was fairly wide and wouldn't be an easy thing to dodge. "Cause I won't hesitate to kill ya." he said calmly.
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Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 7:03 pm
Forests of Soul SocietyHantoresu watched with curious eyes while Zaine looked around and spoke of her words as if she were a kitten. She tilted her head from side to side while she did this, but when he pointed straight at her she hissed with both annoyance and amusement, “Yourrr, cheating….” He spoke an incantation she had heard before, and her eyes widened at what he was trying to do. The blast came, and her legs and arms hardly had time to react given her charging powers; even then she was thrown a ways off to the side by the sheer size of the thing. Her tail balanced her back out while flying, and in a moment’s flight she corrected her landing to one of in place feet and hands. Her tail whipped back and forth in agitation of his bad form as far as games went. “Killing me will be a little harder than you think, and besides; wouldn’t you be killing one of your own too? I still hold William prisoner you know,” she quickly moved and stayed on the move considering that Zaine was cheating at their game. She could feel her charging power at its three-quarter marker while a few more dark blue sparks began jumping across her fur with the others. “Only a little longer and he’ll be at my mercy,” she purred happily while debating how to attack him once she was ready.Inner WorldWilliam desperately tried to catch his breath as fast as he could, for he knew if he didn’t he’d have a serious problem with the being before him. “Well it wasn’t exactly what you'd consider a walk in the parrrk,” he purred while he remembered what form he was in. He couldn’t fight her the way he was, but then it hit him, “How did I change while on the way up then? I don’t remember sneezing at any point so how did it happen?” She gave an amused laugh, “Obviously you like making things difficult for yourself because I was not the one who designed this tree; I only shaped it more to my liking and color. The stairs are rather new though.” She came slowly closer to him before she was but an arm-reach away. “I must say, you look rather cute in that form,” she said while scratching him behind the ears. He had permitted her movements on the grounds that she had not attempted anything against him yet. “However,” she said before removing her hand, “this is my world, and your body is now mine as well. You no longer belong here.” A lightning bolt struck him square in the back, sending him to the ground as if it had been a very strong blow on the same area. “Hantoresu, ngh, why are you doing this?” She frowned at what had obviously been a failure to rid herself of him, “Because you disappointed me. I am the Goddess of the Storm. There is no other faster than me when I am at my peak, and yet I was severely confined in this world, faster only than myself on occasion.” She turned her back on him and walked over to the edge of the tree. A lightning bolt struck her hand, but it stayed there in a ball of light. “I wanted more power; the ability to show my peak to everyone else of your world. I wanted to show them all how slow and inferior they were compared to me, but then there was you. You and your inferior ways.”
“But I wanted to get faster and more powerful,” William explained while getting back up from the ground. “I desired my former glory just as much as you wanted to show your power.” Hantoresu sighed at his naivety, “And that was the entire problem. You desired more power and speed, but you did not try to obtain it. Instead of communicating with me on the subject, you simply fought two enemies. I helped you with one because I wanted to make it clear that you needed to communicate with me about using my power. Instead you just rejected it, not wishing for me to instill upon you the power of the Lightning Goddess herself! It was quite obvious what was going to happen after that; I take over, and you disappear.” The ball in her hands turned back into a lightning bolt which struck William square in the chest. He had shifted once again without knowing it, but now he was being knocked to the edge of a very long drop. The lightning bolt had hurt, but it was not nearly as painful as he thought it might be. Hantoresu frown when he started standing back up, “Why won’t you just let go and disappear? I’m already controlling your body, and now I’ve got you here as a prisoner for all time. There’s no hope of you beating me.”
“Right, ngh, and why haven’t I died from the bolts of lightning you’ve been hitting me with?” She almost sneered at his comment but he continued, “And why did you seem so annoyed that what you had expected to happen, didn’t happen? There’s a very simple answer to it.” Her eyes widened as he faced her once again, “Don’t you dare say it!” William smiled a devilish smile, and when he looked down at his own hands he was surprised to see that they were covered in black fur. In fact, his entire body was now covered in black fur from head to foot. A closer inspection showed that he could now see the top of his wide and longer nose. “The answer is that I’m gaining back control!” He lunged at her with a growl which she instantly returned while she shifted into a similar form. The lightning became fiercer and fiercer by the second while they fought hand in hand, claw in claw for reign of his inner world. Blow after powerful blow was delivered between the two wereleopards upon the blackened tree. Hantoresu would occasionally hit him with a bolt of lightning from the sky, but they started to become little more than mosquito bites. Flesh was carved away by their bladelike claws while bites here and there provided tribute of blood to the black tree. Bones were crunched and blood soaked their fur more than even the rain could manage or indeed wash away fast enough. On the outside, the internal battle was taking a severe toll as well.Forests of Soul Society“Finally,” she said with an anticipated moan of delight. She could feel her power coursing through her now material body, and it only took her a moment before she let out a maniacal laugh of triumph. “You should have prepared for a storm...Inazuma Kiba!” she said so that Zaine could clearly hear her. With her speed now at the maximum her physical body would allow for the moment, she shot around Zaine’s back and slashed with unnatural speed at him. With just as much speed as before, she withdrew back to the dark forest. She ran around his back once again before attacking for a second time, her attack just as fast as the one from before. Again she withdrew to the forest, but this time she attacked from the side, “You will die by my—GRAOOW!!!” she yelled in agony from no apparent source. In her suffering, she stumbled over her own feet only to fall to the muddy ground and slide to a halt coincidentally at Zaine’s feet. Her fur soaked up the mud and water, making her a lot heavier. The rain had actually lessened and the lightning and thunder came a lot less frequently. Her head twitched and moved of its own while she fought the intense internal battle. “I—I will, ngh, take you….down….” she slowly said while reaching at his legs with her bladelike claws. Her attacks were far slower than her previous two and were back on the same level as her initial tackle. Her eyes flickered open and closed revealing the rapidly dimming light of the sparks within. The sparks on her fur had completely gone out, signifying that she was close to no power at all. She gave Zaine one last menacing glare before growling in protest against redirecting her entire attention to her inner world where the battle was going horribly.
((Note that when she attacks two times after saying "You should have prepared for a storm...", she's roughly 5 times as fast as before. A mere blur for anyone not using Shikai, but on equal speed terms with a Shikai'd VC like Zaine. Zaine might be a little surprised by the sudden increase. Her scratches wouldn't be deep though because of Zaine's power being greater than hers (more like skin scratches from a cat). She's just as fast, but not necessarily as powerful.
I'm not sure exactly how long Shikai training is supposed to go. There should be a good two more posts before I start to run out of steam. As far as I can tell from recent Shikai applicants, I think I've been making roughly five to ten times as long of posts, but they have five to ten times more posts than I do. The problem is that if there's a minimal amount of posts, then we'll have to go into recovery and eventual other training which won't be nearly as interesting in my opinion. Honestly, I've been trying to draw out both worlds as long as possible, but you can only do so much in a fight before it ends. Most fights usually only last a few minutes at best, unlike the epic three episode fights of Bleach.))
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 1:54 pm
(( Taking over because Zaine is lacking inspiration and doesn't want to keep you waiting~
And in reply to your question, there is no minimum amount of posts for Shikai, and I think you've written quite enough. However, it's up to you whether you continue the RP after you gain your Shikai, e.g. test out some moves whilst sparring me. It's usually a good idea if you've spent the entire time inside your Zanpaktou's world ^^ ))
"Hmm." Having arrived near the scene by Shunpo a while ago, Hinata had been observing, unobserved, William's progress with his Zanpaktou. She had to say that it was interesting that his Zanpaktou spirit had decided to take over his body - evidently, it did not think William worthy enough to wield its power. However, she was impressed at his attempts to fight back, apparent in the wild fluctuations of Reiatsu and jerky movements as they fought in their internal world.
When said Zanpaktou spirit released her power, Hinata could see the devilish glint in her eye, sparks of electricity leaping about her fur erratically. As Hinata watched, she darted around Zaine and took a vicious swipe at his back, then another. Once again, she sprang forth from the shadows of the trees and aimed a slash at Zaine's side.
Then, without warning, she appeared to falter. Stumbling blindly, she skidded and fell on the muddy soil. Despite her position, she still grasped at Zaine's legs - however, this time, her attacks never hit.
"Enough," Hinata said, as the metallic screech of claws on steel rang through the forest. In the second that Hantoresu had reached out to swipe, Hinata had leapt from her silent perch, and had lodged her blade between Zaine and Hantoresu's claws. The sparks in her fur fizzled out, and the fire in her eyes had also been quenched. Calmly, Hinata withdrew her weapon, just as William's body became limp once more. She turned to Zaine.
"Captain Genji needs you at the 9th Division offices," she announced, brushing dirt off her Kosode. "What, you didn't think I just leapt into your battle for no reason, did you?" Flashing a grin, she glanced back at William's still figure. "And now... I wait."
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Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 10:36 am
Inner World Bubbles of rain were thrown off their collision course with the ground as shockwaves of unnaturally strong blows were triggered with every hit. Truly the battle was a fierce one, and for good reason: whoever won would permanently stay the ruler of both body and inner world. The battlefield was scarred beyond belief; pieces and indeed entire chunks of the blackened tree had been broken off by blows or strikes of lightning. Blood coated the rooftop, giving it the look of a flowing red carpet upon which two equally black and red figures danced. Both figures breathed heavily from the strain of the fight, making it appear as though neither would ever win before they both died from blood loss. Each time they came together, another shockwave was let loose to throw the rain away, but with every collision the frequency of another collision diminished. Had anyone else been watching, they likely would have attempted to stop the combatants from continuing their pointless power struggle.
William held his side where a particularly gruesome cut had almost gotten to his innards, “Give it up Hantoresu, I am winning. You and I both know that.” Hantoresu took in several deep breaths while she prepared for her retort, “Only you believe that!” The sparks in her fur began to grow a little larger, and she held out her hand pointed at him. In that second a very large lightning bolt hit William in the back, sending him to his knees. The bolt continued to electrocute him, but he slowly stood back up as if it had simply been a mere addition of weight. The bolt stopped striking William, causing Hantoresu to cringe in pain from the extended effort. “I told you I was winning. You no longer have the strength to take me down.” Hantoresu’s eyes narrowed at what she considered to be an insult. After a few more breaths she sprinted at him to engage in another fight. Their strikes were slower than one would think, and William fought with only one hand because of his side. A quickened block and swing of his fist sent her flying back several paces to land on her back. William watched as she slowly got back up, her body shook from the effort. “I….I am the Storm Goddess! I will not….loose against such a weak opponent as you…” She began lifting into the air while sparks jumped meters long to enable her to float as she did. She moved back a little so that she couldn’t be struck by him, but the sparks and her floating faltered. She had been over the edge of the tree, and William knew that she would die if she fell the entire way in her current condition. Ignoring the protests of his side, he leapt forward and grabbed her hand while she fell past the side. When her weight made itself known to his arm, he saw stars and a bitter iron taste met his tongue. His vision faded a little, but he still held on. A moment later, he pulled Hantoresu up and onto the top of the tree. Both combatants were exhausted beyond their normal bounds, but William knew he had to go the extra two miles if Hantoresu went the extra mile. He crawled on top of her and began locking her in a hold that pinned all of her limbs apart. “Stop it Hantoresu. I have won, and there is nothing you can do about it.” She struggled futilely against his hold in her weakened state. They both breathed heavily while they struggled to either keep the hold or break it, but nothing changed for over a minute.
Tears of defeat and pain finally welled up in Hantoresu’s eyes when she couldn’t stand it anymore, and she completely stopped struggling. She even reverted to her human form while still pinned by her master. “Why?! Why must I be stuck with you? I thought that I had chosen someone who I could easily gain control of and finally be able to walk the world. Instead I had to choose the one person who could defeat me, whose will was stronger than mine, and whose heart was so close to my own as to make me hesitate.” William slowly let Hantoresu out of his hold but stayed in the position he was in just in case it was a trick. She sobbed for several more minutes; her fighting spirit had finally met its match. The rain and thunder had lessened around them, making it a lot quieter than before. Her next words came to him somewhat unexpected, “Kill me. Please kill me; I don’t want to spend another moment in this solitary hell.” While she spoke, she displayed her vulnerable neck for his fangs to bite at. She had expected him to bite down; to snuff out her life with her blood in his mouth, but when his neck touched hers and his head laid next to hers she gave another sob, “Why do you torture me so?” The soft patter of rain on the top of the blackened tree, the distant and harmless thunder, and Hantoresu’s weeping were the only sounds that could be heard for several minutes. In that time, William thought of his options and remembered something that might make Hantoresu feel better and more inclined to live on, “I….I remember reading somewhere that there might be a way to let you out into the real world. You’d be able to interact with others and indeed the rest of the world as you wished, but it required some intense and very much difficult training on both our parts. Apparently it requires several decades or even centuries to achieve, but maybe with enough dedication and teamwork it might just be possible to achieve within only a year or two. It’s the only way we can both be in the real world and not alone. I’d be more than willing to try to achieve it, but I’d need to know if you’d help me.” Hantoresu’s eyes widened at the news, and she consented to helping him with a nod. Her arms contracted around him, and he realized she was hugging him. “Thank you,” she whispered before he felt himself fading back to the real world.Forests of Soul Society “Numb,” William thought while his mind slowly came back to his body; he felt numb all over. “What had she done while he was locked away?” He felt his face on something cool and when he opened his eyes he saw that he was lying on the cool and wet ground at someone’s feet. “Gods, I wish it didn’t have to be so painful. Zaine?” He looked around, but Zaine was nowhere to be seen. Instead there stood someone else, a female this time, and she wore a white haori. It took him a moment to realize that it was his Captain; he had only seen her once or twice but never talked with her before. “Um hello Captain...Hinata wasn’t it? Forgive me, but I can’t seem to remember your last name at the moment; I’ve got a very bad headache from having to deal with my Zanpakuto. She won’t be causing trouble anymore so long as I learn a few more things.” He began brushing off as much mud and grass as he could when he saw that he was covered in it. His right eyebrow rose when he noticed that his hands were covered with a black fur and his fingertips effortlessly stuck out blade-like claws just like in his leopard form. “What is this?” he asked Hantoresu. “It’s my second form or Shikai in the physical world as far as the blades go. You should be a lot faster and somewhat stronger than before. Those blades you had on your arms earlier are still there but they are now that fur and those claws. Your legs should have changed up to your knees as well.” He examined them, finding the fur to be genuine, “How do I cancel—,” he began but was cut off when the fur shifted and returned to the two gladius’. “And how do I make it happen again?” Hantoresu was silent for several seconds before she said, “You must summon me to your hands with an incantation. The incantation is ‘Play with your prey, black huntress of the lightning filled skies.’” His hands burst back into the black fur and claws once she had finished saying the incantation. “Thanks Hantoresu,” William said before turning his attention back to his Captain. “I—I think I managed to attain Shikai. Is that good after so short a time span?”((Thanks for taking over. It's too bad Zaine couldn't continue. Still, it means I can roleplay with you and your character for the first time as well so there's always a positive side. Hope my posts aren't too long or boring for you. Honestly, this is the first inspiration I've had in a while; most of my other RP's suffered for it, but I think I might be slowly getting back into the groove.))
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Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 2:30 pm
(( Inspiration's good! Too bad I haven't had any for ages... I blame the overload of summer Maths homework xD
Yeah, not to worry. I remember when I was doing Shikai training, I wrote 8 pages' worth into one post. ))
"Kazuki Hinata, and nice to meet you too," Hinata said, "I would offer you my hand, I don't particularly wish my fingers to be lacerated by those claws of yours." She nodded towards the dangerously sharp claws which had grown in place of William's fingernails. "As for Shikai, well - everybody finds their own pace - but you sure attained it fast. Now we must ask: how long will it take you to master it?"
Pausing at this, she raised her eyes to William's face in a questioning manner.
"Well, want to try? Let's see..." She tapped a finger thoughtfully, contemplating whether to throw him in the deep end with this one. After all, it had been shown to yield spectacular results... though his energy may be spent up in the process. After a violent tussle with his Zanpaktou spirit, she could hardly expect him to be in the best of condition and raring to go.
Just then, the Captain caught sight of an interesting glint in the corner of her eye. She shot a discreet glance in William's direction and her eyes locked onto just the thing she had been hoping for - bait.
There's nothing like bait to keep a person motivated.
In the time it took William to blink, Hinata had used a silent Shunpo to land herself behind him, slipped the silver necklace from around his neck and had returned to her original position. This process was so fast that, at best, he could have detected a slight waver in her shadow. Raising the hand in which she held the necklace, she fastened it to her head, so that the crescent pendant was dangling in the middle of her forehead.
"If you can get this back, you win." Sensing his alarm, she chuckled, before adding: "I won't use Shunpo, but I will release my Shikai. It's only proper for me to do so - after all, you are kindly demonstrating yours. However, I will refrain from using its ability offensively. But just to warn you-" the devilish glint in her eye betrayed just a hint of what was to come, "-once I am in Shikai, my speed will be increased threefold... Aww, come on, I can't make it too easy for you, can I?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 6:11 pm
William’s hands kept touching each other while he got used to the very strange feeling of real fur that he could actually touch as opposed to his leopard form. His mind was very much exhausted, but his physical body had recovered a little from the constant strain of the two sleepless days. To say the least, he felt tired, but he knew if he fell asleep in the middle of the day, his sleeping patterns would really shift. Hinata’s question on whether or not he wished to try to see how long it took to master was an odd but not unexpected question. “I guess we might as well; if I fall asleep now, I’ll have some trouble with getting back in the groove. It’s kind of like what people would call jetlag back in the real world where your body is used to sleeping at a certain time, but you change areas and therefore time zones. Somewhat annoying for people who don’t know how to combat it. So what are we going to do?”
He stood contemplative of what she might make him do. He definitely wasn’t in top form to fight, so he hoped she wouldn’t ask him to do that. He shook his arms in a relaxing and waiting motion to show that all she needed to do was say what they were to do and he’d do it. Hantoresu’s voice suddenly entered his mind and sounded aggravated, “Hey! She’s stealing our necklace!” At the same moment he noticed a very subtle movement in the corner of his eye and felt a distinct lack of weight around his neck. His eyes quickly followed Hinata’s movements while she put the necklace on her head. When she removed them, he saw that she had indeed taken his necklace, making his eyes widen with both slight surprise and worry. “Hey Captain, that’s not nice.” He was quickly informed by her that they were to play a game. His job was to recover his necklace in order to win, but all he saw that he would win was his necklace back. She then went on to explain the limitations she was putting on herself and what was going to happen when she used Shikai as well. He raised an eyebrow and said, “I doubt you’ll even need the speed boost since apparently people of higher rank and more power tend to be faster on their own let alone with a speed boost from their supernaturally latent powers. For instance…” Without warning, he lashed out as fast as he could with his hand to snatch the necklace off her head with his claws. As if in slow motion he watched the claws come out of their scabbards with needle precision only to barely touch his silver necklace before returning empty clawed.
He was still somewhat uncertain about the claws, and he was glad he had made sure to carefully watch what he did while he accidentally touched the silver necklace. No doubt it could have easily ended very badly if he had not been practicing, but he was fairly certain Hinata saw it coming. If Zaine had been any indication of the power and speed difference he had to cover, then Zaine’s former superior officer would very likely be even faster. He looked down at the palm of his hand before forcing the claws out of their scabbards once again to be held under examination. “This could take some getting used to,” he mused while scraping the black pieces of metal that were his claws against one another. The sound and feeling of it made him cringe with dislike, but he needed to know what exactly he was dealing with. “So what exactly am I supposed to be attempting besides getting my necklace back. I mean, there must be some sort of ulterior motive to this; it’s not like I’ve gotten any fas….ter…” his words faltered when he looked carefully at the trees and grass. Something was off about them; they were moving far too slow for there to be wind. In fact, William then noticed that even the wind had slowed to the point that he hardly felt it. Bugs flew by at vastly slower speeds, and with the tips of two claws he actually caught a housefly by its wings while it flew by. He gave a disbelieving huff, raised an eyebrow, and softly let out a universal expression of amazement. “This is….unreal….” Everywhere he looked, things were slowed down to strange and very much too slow speeds.
((Forgot he, like everyone else, gets a small speed boost in Shikai, so I decided to emphasize what that exactly meant. At least this is what I thought Bleach tried to do but never actually showed; they still had the wind and plants moving at the same speed as before despite what was described as an increase in speed. Also, he's just touching the necklace and didn't even mean to do so; he's lucky he was only trying to show that she was a lot faster than him even without Shikai [tried to make her flinch or do something else].))
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Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 2:08 pm
"Well, I've always been a speed-over-strength person, so even without my Shikai released, you'd have a hard time catching me. However, if I observed correctly from the actions of your Zanpaktou spirit while possessing your body..." she paused thoughtfully, before continuing, "... it is likely that your Shikai release will make you faster than is normal for a Shikai."
As if demonstrating her point for her, William suddenly lashed out in an attempt to grab the necklace with his claws. In response, she gave a minute tilt of her head, so that his claw barely touched the crescent-shaped pendant. She blinked, seemingly unfazed, and continued.
"Strength isn't going to help unless you somehow beat me to the ground and forcibly take the necklace from my head. The point of this exercise, therefore, is to use your speed to snatch it away. And hopefully, in the process, you'll get used to fighting at the speed your Shikai allows you to," the girl explained nonchalantly, as if a game of chase was the obvious and natural thing to come up with when training someone in Shikai. Despite her many years of experience, she was still young, and her bizarre training methods definitely reflected this.
... Or perhaps her Sensei was really rubbing off on her. Either way, she had not stooped to his level yet. Or so she hoped. Training by psychological torture wasn't something she wanted to try any time soon.
Noting William's surprise at everything seemingly slowing down around him, Hinata chuckled slightly.
"Well, come get me, then!"
And without a further word, she darted off, ducking under tall foliage and between the boughs of trees. Soon, her silhouette had merged with the shadows in the forest. If he was fast enough, he might just catch up.
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Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2010 12:05 pm
William looked up just in time to see his Captain shoot off at an impossible speed. "Impossible....." the word seemed somewhat ironic when he considered what he had just done. His arms were covered in black fur and had blade-like claws which retracted at a mere thought; impossible was when he was alive. "Death was only the beginning I suppose," he said with a chuckle. With one foot in front of the other, he attempted to catch up to his Captain who was leading him by only a little bit of flora disturbances. He dodged and weaved through the shadows, slowly noticing he was gaining on her. Without saying a word, he began shadowing her a little off to the right while he caught up. No doubt if she saw him she'd speed up more if she could, but he felt like he could go a little faster as well. He got within striking distance of her and lashed out at his necklace to try and get a claw on it.
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