A Crack in the Dam II (Hunt)

[Hirato Murano]

After retreating from Broodwitch, Hirato noticed that the damage was quickly repaired. The shallow wounds closed almost immediately, and their opponent didn't appear to be injured in the slightest. Well, quick strikes won't be effective against this one, the crimson haired man thought. Analyzing the situation, he continued to create strategies to defeat the behemoth standing before them. In all likelihood, any surface attacks would be negated by the creature's regenerative abilities. As his mind examined all aspects of this battle, the third seat noticed an attack from his opponent. Its appendages were streaking toward the Shinigami.

Utilizing past experience and simple inference, he doubted that leaping into the air would be an intelligent course of action. Evading an attack in mid air, especially from a opponent of this caliber, would be practically impossible. If either of them leaped, the creature could simply destroy them with brute force; Right before he evaded the attack, the cerulean eyed man said, "However you evade, just be intelligent about it. Don't leap into the air. Other than that, just use your own judgement." Hirato quickly jumped to the side, his momentum carrying him away from the tentacles and off the rooftop. Then, planting his feet on the building's side and using a small amount of reiatsu, he sprang forward to an adjacent rooftop.

As he reacted to the creature's attack, only one thought crossed Hirato's mind: survival. While defeating the opponent was certainly important, his focus remained on just surviving and thinking of a logical plan for victory. All throughout his actions, his mind and body remained constantly aware, prepared to react at any second. A lack of focus could mean death; many comrades had perished due to that, and Hirato refused to share their fate. If he was to perish, so be it, but it would not be due to a lack of awareness. His cerulean eyes examined the creature closely, constantly watching it so that it would not catch him off guard.

[abstract]

紀

and i will find the enemy within

之

because i can feel it crawl beneath my skin

服
部

A dull ache began to form in her achillies heel, making a slight wince shoot across her pale features. There were both the good and bad news that accompanied this irritating throb now possessing her leg. The first, being the more positive of the two, was that she had made contact with the hollow, and hit it with a rather powerful kick. Had she any pride or arrogance, she would probably be standing tall now, looking ahead with blind eyes. However, Noriyuki was taught not to allow such pointless and disgraceful emotions ever to find themselves shown. The second, and much more negative of the news, was that she hit and her kick had done nothing more than scuff the hard shell of the hollow. This fact was enough to slowly draw and etch a frown on her face, displaying to the world the annoyance that dwelled within her as her red eyes narrowed at her opponent; she could have sworn she could see it grinning confidently. Her one attack wiped most ignorance from her mind, and made her think briefly; she was one who excelled mainly at Hakuda and Hoho, neither of which seemed to be particularly helpful at this point.

That was, unless, there was a weak point somewhere on the hollow, one that she could possibly exploit; to give her an upper hand against a creature she could merely judge by aesthetics. But to do that, she would need to get closer to the creature. Currently, in her mind, that was suicide; it would be foolish to directly probe at a creature that could no doubt crush her with its bare hands. Again she would have to judge it's speed merely from aesthetics, which made this entire fight guesswork; she hated that, she liked precision. She nearly growled in annoyance, noting how any tactic she created ended up crashing into a metaphorical wall; this hollow was her bane. If I can not get close to it, than how am I to fight?, she mused.

Uncharacteristically, Noriyuki found herself glancing both ways to the others of the group; noting their luck as well, but more so the ability they had with their blades, a higher level than her own. This simple observation had the gears turning in her head, a simple solution to the problem. She could request to switch positions with the one who dubbed himself Duo; that way she could handle the more agile creature while he undertook the more solid one. She could hope she judged right by his moves though, as he seemed more adept for her current situation. She also could only hope he accepted her bold request, because from his perspective she could understand she probably seemed like a coward wanting a weaker opponent. She frowned at the thought of hope; it never served her any good.

Noriyuki's face scrunched as Hirato's words echoed through her mind, a two second warning for what was to come. She briefly wondered how she had become so lost in her thoughts, so wound up in herself and her mind. She was thankful for both her tense frame and hearing, as the hollow's appendage soared towards her. Shifting slightly to the side, before flipping back and perpendicular to hair, she felt the pressure of the pointed limb as it passed her. She landed on the small roof, hearing the wind being pierced as yet another tendril accelerated toward her. No longer trusting her natural speed, Noriyuki dashed away from the tentacles with Shunpo, nearly arcing around the hollow yet being sure to keep the same distance.

Adrenaline was pumping rapidly through her veins as she landed on the balls of her feet a couple rooftops away, giving her a high she enjoyed on the battlefield; one that stopped the berating her mind was unleashing for thinking too much. She would have to thank Hirato later for his foresight, knowing full well she would have been in a predicament had she opted for instincts over orders. Her red eyes scanned the large hollow, remaining oblivious to the shredded clothing on her midriff, as she chalked yet another advantage it held over and against her. One last futile tactic ran the course of her mind; if she could manage to successfully entangle all four of the tendrils with her Horin, she could send a shock of Tsuzuri Raiden through the appendages and to hollow. But there were so many flaws with this; the first being the amount of time, the second being the strength required, third was the accuracy, and fourth was the risk. The tendrils could do serious damage to her.

Which left her with either the option of being a distraction, or of switching places with someone more opt and powerful for this battle. Her red eyes caught the white captain's haori in her peripheral, and she resigned herself to asking; something she would prefer not to, if only because she was used to following orders versus thinking by herself. "Duo, we should switch opponents," Noriyuki shouted loud enough to hear over the roars of the hollows, emphasizing the should in her sentance. She hoped, scowling at the word, that she would not have to explain her reasoning as it would not only be tedious, but if their opponents had sentience then it would also harm them in the long run. The Onmitsukido soldier tensed her frame, readying herself not only to dodge, but to take out Duo's enemy if he agreed. It was a risky move, but better than any other idea she had buzzing around.

NORIYUKI DOING
"SPEAKING"
'THINKING'

dear agony

just let go of me

wordcount; 931
taggtagg; ze party crew
credits; abstract - template, breaking benjamin - lyrics
notes; switch with me plz Hiryuu x3 Nori cant punch Broods skin to do
damage, and with your shikai you should be able to pierce deep enough for
the regenerative aspect to be void/slow down. (hopefully the former)
once again, long post; nothing happens :3

[npc]

Each of the three hollow’s failed attacks would play out in sync with one another as the shinigami made their move. Flicker’s whole form skid backwards from the Omnitsukido’s hado, but never fell or changed its stance; a rushed, low-level spell wouldn’t be enough to deal it damage, but its form emitted a bizarre energy for a moment or two as it stood, it’s physical image wavering quickly like an image on a screen before solidifying again. It’s glowing red eyes bore intently into the young shinigami that had pushed it back, but a moment or two would pass without movement; then, without warning, it’s body flickered out, vanishing as if it had never been.

Elsewhere, Killbug’s tiny body was struck about the midsection by the shaft of Hiryuu’s zanpakuto, throwing the small hollow off its course and sending it flying off to one side as the force of its explosive jump was redirected. It’s limbs sprawled in midair, but its stature seemed to return the instant it touched ground, rolling and turning until its eyes and claws were once again directed at the shinigami. It may have been an aggressive creature, but it did know hesitation, and while it’s body seemed to coil up in preparation for another swing, it did not yet stir. What it would do next would be difficult to say.

As for the hulking Broodwitch, it’s thick body had still not moved an inch since it had planted itself in the center of the battle zone, its only signs of life having been the violent attacks it had launched on the pair of shinigami, an action already being corrected as its tendrils rushed back to their origin beneath its mask. Its style of attack would not be changing anytime soon, either; completely still, twisted grin drawn across its face, and its four appendages rushing forth to strike its newest targets: Hiryuu and Jai. Two tendrils each flew like arrows, and the chilling battle then commenced.

Except not every move had been made just yet; the absent mirage, Flicker, would appear again just as he had the first time he had vanished, though this time on the opposite edge of the battlefield. A short distance behind the withdrawn Hirato, the creature’s dark figure blipped into existence with only the shiver of Reiryoku to mark its appearance. The chance of this shinigami having seen the earlier scuffle, and there would be little time to react to this quickly advancing attack, as a single piercing hand shot forth toward the center of the man’s back; it was certain that the creature would be detected, but whether or not the shinigami could react was up in the air.

((OOC: Already mentioned elsewhere, Broodwitch’s attacks are not slow… at all, so dodge, then talk, or whatever actions you plan to take.))

[seikouki]

The creature had done it again, it's form construing to adapt to the attack the young Shinigami performed. This monster seemed to be able to phase. This technique allows free passing through objects through other matter by controlling the molecules of substances. This one seemed to be able control all of the particles of matter in it's body, that make their surroundings, harmless, and allows for interesting variations. This beast used this ability as an ultimate defense, able to evade and avoid all damage done to it. Not many attacks could harm such a beast being that anything it saw, it would just phase through.

Jai had to catch the monster off guard, since the monster would have to solidify once it was about to attack being that phasing wouldn't work well for attack, especially with claws such as it's. Jai looked up and saw the large brute casting appendages at him. He didn't hjave time for such an annoyance. Jai flickered out of existence, Shunpo'ing about 20 mneters over to a building top, looking over the entire area. Scanning. Searching. Stalking. Flicker was around. His disappearance wasn't just a coincidence. Jai outstretched his blade out completely rising his reiryoku rapidly. This was the move that was going to kill this creature.

The idea was that if physical mass and grounded effort couldn't hurt this creature then Jai would have to rely on an energy attack. It's hard to phase though plasmas as they effect even gases. Jai watched carefully thinking of the right way to approach the beat. If the beast could be attacked in surprise an ambush attack seemed very effective. Jai continued to focus until he felt a small flicker of reiatsu at the slightly point. It was the beast ! And it was after Hirato. Jai flickered out of existenca as fast as he could, flicker back to back with Hirato, protecting him from the unsuspecting beast, instantly outstretching his free arm and quickly screaming "Byakurai !" A strong beam of pale lightning popped from his finger right through the heart section of Flicker's anatomy. Jai then slashed his blade in a diagonal slash from his left shoulder to his right hip, hoping that the prior surprise beam would make Flicker mallable and ready for it's death !

[/color][/blockquote]

[Mudo-Toshin Ruide]

Sorry, Sei, you've registered your shikai in the Development center, but you can't use it until you've gained the proper IC experience (which is why it's not in your application yet); this thread won't be able to continue until your post has been corrected.

[seikouki]

[Modified]

[/color][/blockquote]

[hiryuu Mihai]

The milliseconds passed like painful strikes against his heart as the hideous form of Killbug raced at his front, his reaction already in motion by pure instant reflex. In a breath the world suddenly sped up and he brought the butt of Komainu into the hollows stomach. STRIKE! Takeshi’s senses suddenly exploded as the adrenaline had little to do other than keep him alert. His sudden counter sent the little thing away like – well – a bug. A smirk crossed the Haori adorned shinigami as he watched the bug fly away. “Ha ha,” He laughed viciously in his successful hit.

There was a sound, air being rapidly misplaced, like an almost inaudible whistling sound. Takeshi spun upward and vertical, dodging the first tendril by a hairs width; the second right behind and aimed at his midsection. He turned and grabbed the second tendril just behind its head, pulling himself over it. While the Haori missed being damaged, his uniform did not. A long tear had been placed along the entire right side of his kimono’s, leaving an awkward view of his grey tank top shirt.

One would assume that after dodging the attack that he’d let go of the appendage and commence to examine the enemy, instead he gripped tighter to the tendril and waited to be pulled in. Or that would appear to be what he was doing. Takeshi slowly mumbled a chant. Something he’d said a million times. “BAKUDO NUMBER FOUR BYAKURAI!” the shinigami roared as he pointed his right and middle index fingers at the hollow, Komainu being held by his thumb, ring finger, and pinky. He only hoped that attack would sever one of the two tendrils that had attacked him.



((OOC: Darn SxS and deleting my first new paragraph every post))

[Hirato Murano]

Hirato's cerulean eyes glanced around, noticing everything that was happening. Duo's attack had connected, knocking Killbug violently to the ground. Good, he thought. At least one of them was actually damaging their opponent; the Third Seat's gaze returned to Broodwitch as its tentacles attempted to destroy his comrades. The foolish one who assaulted Killbug earlier disappeared with a flash of Shunpo, reappearing directly behind his back. Utilizing reiatsu detection, Hirato quickly realized that Flicker launched itself at him.

The black haired comrade slashed and discharged a swift Byakurai aimed for Flicker; meanwhile, Duo latched onto one of the tentacles, firing Byakurai at point black range. Crimson hair shook as the cerulean eyed man disapproved with this action. Hopping onto an adjacent rooftop, he remained aware of Flicker and Killbug's general status by monitoring their reiatsu. "Duo, I agree with Noriyuki. You and I should handle Broodwitch together. We should be able to at least damage it somewhat." As the words reverberated through the air, every aspect of this Shinigami remained alert. Catching Broodwitch in his gaze, the noble examined it closely.

It was obviously the most potent threat, and should be destroyed first. Depending on the others to respond intelligently, the mind contained behind crimson hair pondered everything; Duo's course of action could serve to either confirm or disprove a hypothesis about Broodwitch. Still, Flicker could not be forgotten, even as the focus returned to the large hollow. Hirato prepared himself for anything that might happen. Cerulean eyes examined the hulking form, searching for a weakness. The enemies would be annihilated; that much was certain.