Episode 1: Pawn forward

((editted due to having misread epeire's post))

arina watched curiously as jin's expression suddenly changed. it was then that she felt it too. an unrecogniseable reiatsu. it trembled about her sinisterly, and she whipped her head around to look for tetsuya-

-only to see that separating him from arina and jin was a column of reiatsu.

her eyes trailing down the column, she saw far below her a small figure that looked like a human child. only, this child had a suspicious boney 'mask' covering a part of his face.

"fuck," she gasped. "that is no hollow! that's arrancar!"

somewhat hesitantly she pulled out her sword, silently debating with herself on what would be the best thing to do- run and live another day (they were newbies facing off an arrancar, after all), or stay and fight.

Tetsuya grumbled slightly, pissed about what arina just said.
fuck them - they think I haven't heard that? Gonna wipe the floor with their asses later...

All of a sudden the young man stopped as he felt a spiritual pressure so high it left a painful feeling in his chest.

"Fuck" he hissed as he noticed that he was separated from his teammates.

He got down on one knee and brought his hand to the place where is heart is.

shit not now...
He breathed in deeply, trying to calm his painfully pounding heart, before reaching in his pocket, grabbing a pill and taking it.

After this he reached to his back with his now free hand, gripping his huge sword, before the pain eased and he stood back up just to notice a small boy who eyed him with innocent eyes and an expression full of curiousity.
But he noticed the mask and suddenly was at full attention again.

Holding the sword in front of him he observed the situation for a moment, considering what to do.

"Yo you two"! he shouted, not letting the arrancar out of sight for even one second. "Get out of here! It's better if he kills just one than us all!"

Tetsuya knew he had no chance against an arrancar but at least he could try to buy some time to let the others escape.

"Be warned - I won't go down without a fight, little one" he spoke to the small arrancar.
Fucking great. My first day and I won't even make it to the evening...
he thought bitterly while eying the creature in front of him, not daring to attack but ready to defend himself if needed.

"Yo" calls Slash as lands beside Tetsuya.

@Anil:

The question caused the creature to give pause, as if he had been asked to ponder something that he had never in his life given thought before... It turned to him, showing a partially solidified hollow mask that encompassed all of the face except the left eye.

"N-name... My name..." The creature repeated the word, terror reflected in the still-human left eye as tears began to fall from it. After a moment's silence he suddenly filled the area with a deafining shriek, his back swelling further, and several spikes emerging from where his spine had once been. After taking a moment to hunch and accomodate its new body distribution, the creature lunged.



****

@ Epeire:

Alexi simply shrugged as his diminutive comrade departed, and focused on the supression of his own energy. He sat on a nearby rooftop casually observing the two male shinigami who came to confront Hion. These were probably very new shinigami, he reasoned. Their reiatsu was so far beneath significant that they could probably be brougt to their knees with just the spiritual aura Hion casually emitted when at full power in his unreleased state. Still, the shinigami seemed cautiously optimitstic, a trait which seemed born of an ignorance that was probably best for them. Without hope, what was the reason for fighting at all?

He reached into his coat's inner pocket and withdrew a stick of gum, carefully unwrapping it and then placing it into his mouth with delayed satisfaction.

"Boys will be boys... I suppose all children have the right to chase ants with a magnifying glass every now and again. It violates the mission a little, but who cares about the little things?" he flicked his wrist, the face of a pocketwatch emerging from his sleeve, "It's not as though we have anything but time on our hands while Queen slumbers, anyway."


***

@Captain:

At this late hour. the industrial park is completely deserted and deathly silent, which may be disconcerting, but also helps to better focus on the task at hand. With your group spaced apart, you can get a clear view of the surrounding area, and see that many buildings have been partially crumbled, and metalwork everywhere has been set asunder, as if gnashed by massive teeth. An oppressive reiatsu hovers in the air, but just like in the other districts, no immediate source of it is visible to you.

Jin leaned towards Arina while keeping her eye on the midget that appeared before them and whispered, "Fuck. I say we get Tetsuya and Slash and make a run for it."

"I'm NOT running Jin!" said Slash his back turn to them only the small cat on his should looks at the two.

"Meow, meow"

"no wait..." she whispered back, her mind running wildy.

arina had watched in confusion as suddenly everything was thrown into madness. first tetsuya collapses, an unnamed shinigami appears, 'mini-arrancar' and tetsuya exchanged taunts, and once arina had time to properly analyse her surroundings, there was one more adult arrancar down below. things were not looking good at all.

still holding her sword before her, she considered the best tactic. as 'mini-arrancar' was currently distracted, she could probably attack him from behind. that would give the shinigami and tetsuya enough time to escape and call for help. the other arrancar below would probably come for his aid, and when he does jin could take him from the side.

"im going to take shorty over there." she said to jin, her eyes not leaving the scene before her. "im sure youve already noticed the second one down below? if he comes, get below him and attack from the side."

she grinned wryly to herself. "once all that's done, we try our luck in surviving until reinforcements."

Phoenix frowned, looking at the disaster area that was the industrial park. She shook her head. "It doesn't seem like anyone is around, but we should keep an eye out just in case." Her hand went to her zanpakuto again as her feeling of unease increased. "I have a bad feeling."

Light the small cat on Slash's shoulder watches the two behind his master.

"What is it Light?" asked Slash his hand resting on his Zanpaktou. "Meow.." Slash looks over at the two behind him. "How badly hurt are you two? Are you as hurt as this guy here?"

Higgins drew his sword, and decides to check around to try to find the source of the reitsu. " Don't fan, stay in a triangle, or else they will hit us in the back."

@Higgins, Phoenix:

Higgins words were an ironic choice, as a pair of intense eyes stared at him from behind, perched carefully in the foliage of a nearby tree. There was no emotion behind their gaze... just a deep and misunderstood hunger... more like a zombie than a traditional hollow. Seeing the party approach, he begins to crawl down the tree's trunk, muttering softly to himself. His body is still concealed by the shadows.

Phoenix unsheathed her zanpakuto as her feeling of unease intensified. "I think there's one nearby. I can feel it." Her eyes darted around, and from the corners she could see the battered buildings. It made her remember her purpose. She took a fighting stance, the unease replaced with a sense of purpose. "I know you're out there! Show your face so we can fight!" Hollows were basically bullies; the more she could purify, the better off the world would be.

Higgins turns around to listen to Phoenix, and notices a rustling in a tree. "There might be one the this tree." He then approaches the tree to cleave it in half.

"That brute!" she screamed, her eyes widening in horror. She sensed something in that direction, but shes pretty sure it isn't any regular Hollow.

She dashed towards Higgins, in an attempt to get him out of the way.

Aspin grabbed hold of Higgin's uniform and threw him towards Phoenix. "Don't just rush into things like that!"

"Yeah, that's my job!" Phoenix said, only half-joking. She looked at the tree Higgins was focused on. "I think you're right, though. It does seem to be coming from there."

"But if I cut it in half, I'd definitely have the element of surprise, plus, I really want to do it." Higgins pouted.

Phoenix grinned. "Aw, you're a man, don't pout. Besides, its eyes could already be on us. Don't you feel like we're being watched?" She tightened her grip on her zanpakuto. "I think we lost the element of surprise a long time ago."

Tetsuya stood by and watched his comrades.
They seem to make a plan, eh? I better don't do anything dumb to ruin it.
Stay calm, talk to the arrancar he thought, before the small arrancar was suddenly on Arinas shoulder, crushing all their plans.

Tetsuya eyes Slash who still stood beside him, before he tried to get the small arrancars attention.

"You want fun, eh? If you don't want to kill us what do you want? A fight to leave us half death? Doesn't sound too tempting if you ask me" Tetsuya spoke, trying his best to sound at ease while slowly taking a few steps in Anils direction, informing Slash with a nod to follow quietly.

@Phoenix group:

The sound of the group's excited voices stirred a sense of nostalgia deep inside their stalker that his groggy brain couldn't fully comprehend. There was something familiar about the way they behaved... comradarie? Friendship? The words formed in his mind, but he lacked the capacity to associate meaning with them... This was something he could no longer experience, and being presented with it awoke a primal rage, along with an intense feeling of emptiness... perhaps it was... hunger?

The creature, a hollow in form, but somehow less evolved and coherent than hollows typically were, slithered from behind the tree into the dull light created by the nearby lamp. Its body was almost entirely serpentine, leading up to a humanoid torso, sans arms, and finally to the head, adorned with a horrifying mask that came to a dull point at the mouth, not unlike the head of a snake. It uncoiled to it's full ten foot length before the group, its eyes on them with curious bloodlust.

"Pardon me..." He said, his voice far clearer than his mind, "might you happen to be able to tell me... just who I am... and why I want so badly to devour you?"

she could barely feel hion's weight on her shoulders, and all she could see were his mocking eyes. she heard tetsuya speak to him, and secretly wished that he would save her. that anybody would save her, for that matter. if hion's speed was anything to go by, there was no way in hell she'd ever win--

but then another plan struck her, something she hadnt noticed until now due to fear. hion said that he was bored. he also said that he wanted to play. she spared at glace at tetsuya and slash before she returned her gaze to hion, forcing on a shaky grin.

"hey, that was pretty good, kid. youre really fast." she said, and she resheathed her sword to show him that she wasnt looking for a fight. "but i bet im faster."

'dear god i hope im fast enough!' she thought silently to herself, before she pointed to the east.

"see that water tower over there? bet i can get to it first." she said in a taunting manner, hoping that it seemed entertaining enough to the child. "you up for a race? if i win, you have to do whatever one thing i ask of you. if you win, i have to do whatever one thing you ask of me."

Phoenix's mind raced at seeing the creature before her. Its serpentine form did not lend well to fighting it with hakuda; much like a boa constrictor, it could probably squeeze all of them to death without much effort. If it came to a fight, it would probably be best to try and slice its head off with her zanpakuto. But the fact that it had not immediately attacked, and had instead started a dialogue, gave her pause. Perhaps they could negotiate? The creature might be happy to be purified and not put up a fight. Phoenix decided to talk to the hollow, but kept her sword ready just in case.

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure who you are. Or rather, who you were before you changed into a hollow. That's why you wish to devour us. But we can fix that, if you let us purify you."

Shira sighed, landing close to a Shinigami she vaguly remembered to be called Phoenix. She was undetected as of yet, and curious as to what the girl was doing. She'd recieved a mission to go along side these Shinigami, and she would happily do anything if it was ordered by her Captain, Soifon.

She watched from the shadows, the moonlight glinting dangerously off of her teal eyes, awaiting the outcome of Phoenix's dialogue. If there was to be conflict, she would quickly enter the fray, and she would have surprise on her side as well.