(OOC: This thread is taking place a little bit after the first Shihoin mission of recruiting the hollows.)

Deep in the forest, Kuro was training again with his shikai. Improving his skill with his spirit power was his main strive these days. Focusing a bunch of power into his gauntlet, he set his sight on three large trees and shunpoed forward in a direct charge on them. Pulling back his palm and thrusting it as he passed them, he released the energy in an explosive barrage of blows that felled all three of the ancient giants. Kuro had barely broken a sweat with that exercise. Grinning, he marveled at the rate that his spiritual stamina was growing. When he'd first learned the kibaku hirate from his zanpakuto spirit, seishou-sejin, he was only capable of about 3 medium strength blows from the gauntlet before his energy was used up. Now he stood in the middle of a miniature clearing in the making. A dozen trees surrounded him, all splintered and struck down by his gauntlet's techniques. But this joy only lasted an instant before signs broke out that something was terribly wrong.

A villager from the rukongai camp that Kuro frequently stayed at came sluggishly crashing through the greenery of the forest. Kuro dashed over to the man as his strength gave out, causing him to collapse and forcing Kuro to catch him. His body was covered with wounds and Kuro could tell that he'd lost too much blood. He would not live much longer. Kuro layed the man on his back and tried to make him comfortable for his last moments. The man coughed and stared up at Kuro, his terrorized face showing a faint glimmer of hope.

"Kuro-san! I-it's terrible! Monsters are attacking the camp. We couldn't do anything to stop them. I managed to get away so I could find you. I b-beg you, please save the others!" He said nothing more as he gave one final gasp of pain and his eyes shut for the last time. Kuro hastily turned in the direction of the camp, and suddenly realized that he could hear faint sounds of screams and shouts comming from that direction. His power spiked as he dashed through the forest in a hurry, praying that he was not too late. He ran like he'd never run before, surging his power into his legs to give them a bigger boost. He had to get there as fast as he could. He pressed himself even faster and flew through the trees in a panic.

He burst into the camp and gazed around it in horror. The whole place was ruins. Tents were ripped and collapsed. Bodies were strewn across the clearing. Many of the fallen tents were on fire and filled the space with a hellish layer of smoke. Then Kuro saw the cause of the problem. Five hollows were ravaging the camp targeting the villagers in it. Kuro cringed as men, women, and children were slaughtered with no mercy before he could act to save them. He shook off the shock and tried to see if there were any survivors. As he ran into the camp, two things happened. Sensing his power, the hollows turned from their dead prey and began to regroup in a semi circle opposing him. At the same time Shinn, the little boy who had idolized Kuro ran out from a hiding spot under a fallen tent and tried to reach Kuro.

"Please help me Kuro-sa-..." Before Kuro could stop it, a bala had been shot from the hand of the hollow he assumed was the leader. She stood with a mostly human figure. She was a tall woman with straight hair that was longer than she was tall. Her four subordinates that flanked her were low level hollows that looked like a variety of animals. One looked like a bat, one a mantis, one was a panther, and one was a lobster. All were big and looked more dangerous than the leader at first glance, but the power that eminated from her told Kuro that she was likely a vasto lorde hollow.

The woman's bala tore clear through Shin's small body and killed him instantly. Kuro's eyes filled with tears at this slaughter and his power burst forth in a fury that was too much for his power compressing shikai to keep up with. His power filled the camp and blanketed all of the hollows as his eyes glowed with a fury of vengence he did not commonly feel. He pulled back his left palm and shot a beam of power out of his shikai that caused all of the hollows to disperse for a moment before they regrouped. Kuro stared at their group, his eyes locked on their leader as he spoke.

"You have murdered a whole town's amount of innocent villagers. And to make it worse, they were my friends! In return for these cowardly actions, I will destroy all of you!"

The fire of battle not leaving his eyes, Kuro took a quick breath to bring his power down to a more controlable level. He shunpoed to the left of their group and thrust his gauntlet in a powerful strike that smashed the lobster hollow to pieces before he could move. The rest of the hollows jumped back, and Kuro began collecting more power for his next strike. Today was a day of revenge. The usually collected Kuro was now fighting for vengence.

OOC: Spirit power please.

+2 Spirit Power to Kuro...

The vasto lorde eyed Kuro with a longing expression on her face. She felt his spirit power and it was obvious that she wanted to eat him. She raised a hand to signal her three leftover fracions to stay back for now. She took one step forward and called out to Kuro.

"What did you expect to happen? You were the one who invited our kind into this place. The area around here isn't as plentiful of powerful souls as I would have liked, but there are enough to keep us happy. You must have known that we'd indulge ourselves when you so graciously invited us to this place."

"Shut up!" Kuro roared as he charged the vasto lorde. She fell back with a quick jump and motioned for her fracion to attack him. They circled around, taking three spread out spots surrounding him. He kept his eyes on the panther, taking note of how fast it was. He concentrated for a moment and quickly cast two kidos at it. "Bakudo #9: Strike! Hado #31: Shot of Red Fire!" The panther's charge froze as it was engulfed in a veil of red light. A second later, a ball of red spirit energy shot from Kuro's hand and exploded on contact with the panther. When the smoke cleared, the panther was still alive, but twitching on its side with a large wound on its stomach. Kuro turned back to the other two fracions who hadn't thought of a move to make on him yet. Aiming for the bat, Kuro tried another binding kido.

"Bakudo #1: Sai!" The spell missed however, as the bat flapped its wings and soared out of Kuro's vision before the spell took effect. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the mantis approaching, trying to take advantage of the bat's distraction. It raised one of its scythe bladed claws high, preparing to swing down on Kuro. Kuro spun to face it and cast another kido. "Hado #27: Reshi Blade!" A curved blade comprised of spirit energy formed on Kuro's forearm, which he brought up to parry the mantis's strike. The clash lasted for a few moments as each of them tried to force the other down. Kuro's eyes flashed with his fury again and the mantis's courage failed it. Its strength faltered and Kuro forced its arm up with a strong grunt of effort. Aiming both hands at its unprotected, skinny body, he cast again. "Hado #33: Blue Fire, Crash Down!" A blast of blue energy flew out of Kuro's palms and struck the mantis's body in a powerful strike that tore it clean in two. It screamed in pain and rage as its body faded away. Kuro was starting to feel a little winded. He breathed deep again and turned to glance up at the bat that was hovering above the tree tops. He waited for an opportunity to strike it, taking the opportunity to rest from the constant action.

OOC: kido mastery please

+2 Kido Mastery to Kuro

The bat was continuing to stay out of Kuro's reach. As he tried to think of a way to bring it down, it started to charge a cero. Kuro tensed himself, ready to jump out of the way when it fired, but then he was shocked as the bat began charging four more ceros in a line along its wingspan. The ceros completed their charging at different times and fired off in rapid succession. Kuro ducked and leapt out of the way, but had difficulty. The last cero managed to graze his arm, causing blood to start flowing out of a medium sized wound. The vasto lorde, who still hadn't moved from her observing spot laughed and taunted Kuro.

"That's my mightiest fracion member. His specialty allows him to fire up to five ceros at once. You'll have a hard time dealing with his height advantage on top of that."

Kuro smiled. "You're right. His height is the first thing that's got to go." He raised his wounded right arm and cried out, "Hado #22: Blood Daggers!" The blood flowing out of his wound solidified into five dark red kunais that Kuro took hold of in his right hand. He turned his gaze back to the bat, who was still hovering above him. The bat snarled at Kuro's confidence and began to charge five more ceros. Kuro took the chance and flung all five kunais up toward the bat. The kunais hit their mark, tearing the membrane of the bat's left wing, causing it to fall out of the sky. Kuro leapt up over its crumpled figure on the ground and brought his left fist down in a crushing strike that smashed its head. He stood up grinning at the vasto lorde as the bat faded. "He wasn't so tough. I didn't even have to charge up my strike to finish him off."

The vasto lorde laughed again. "He still served his purpose. All of my fracion have worn you down. Now you'll be easy prey for me!" She charged forward and launched a punch that Kuro blocked with both his hands. He realized her intentions and worried about how the fight would continue.

OOC: Fighting Skill

Awesome Fight so far

+2 to Fighting Skill

Kuro had barely managed to block the hollow woman's punch. She was right, he had used a lot of energy and stamina against her fracion. He had plenty of power left, but she had the advantage since she hadn't fought anyone tough yet. He struggled against her strength, but realized something that he felt might give him an advantage. He skipped back a step away from the hollow and resealed his zanpakuto. He charged forward again, but to his surprise, the hollow laughed again.

"You thought that you'd take advantage of me not having any weapon? Well I sorry, but you're mistaken. I do have a weapon!" Without further warning, the hollow's extra long hair sprang to life behind her and split into eight separate strands that came at Kuro from different sides around their master. The strands turned from wavy to a solidified form that seemed somewhat metallic. Kuro had no time to react or stop his charge and was slashed all around the outer perimeter of his body. After cutting him, the hair turned back to a normal wavy composition and returned to lay back behind the hollow. Kuro was down on one knee breathing heavily and gasping from the pain of the new wounds. The hollow continued to laugh at him as she revealed her power.

"I am able to change almost any part of my body into a weapon. Guess you'd have liked to know that before underestimating me." For no further purpose than showing off, the hollow momentarily transformed both of her arms into metal with her forearms sharpened into blades. Kuro was impressed by this ability. If she had not so carelessly slaughtered his comrades, she would have been a powerful ally in the seireitei's war. But he had to take her down. He couldn't forgive her for what she'd done. Kuro stumbled back to his feet and held up his zanpakuto.

"Concentrate! Seishou-sejin!" His power spiked and his gauntlet reappeared on his left hand. He immediately began to focus energy in it and shunpoed straight at the hollow.

"So you're still trying to fight?!" she roared with disbelief as she struck out with her right hand, turning it into a sharp spike as she thrusted it. Kuro read the stab and side stepped, changing his direction and comming out of the shunpo on her side. Before she could think of a new attack, Kuro struck out with both fists, hitting her all over her body about five times. She screamed with defiance and spun around to face him. Raising her arm, she turned her hand into a razor sharp blade and chopped down at Kuro's head. He had seen this move as well and raised his own hand to meet hers.

"Bakudo #8: Repulse!" A pool of energy enveloped his hand and paralyzed the hollow as she touched it. Using the window of chance he'd created, Kuro struck at her torso with his shikai, unleashing a ferocious amount of power in an explosive blow that sent her flying back away from him. She stumbled back to her feet and glared across the blazing camp at him.

"I am going to enjoy every bite of your defiant soul, you troublesome boy!" With this declaration, the vasto lorde sped across the space between her and Kuro with a move that he'd only read about. This must be sonoido! Thanks to his own speed, he was able to read her movement enough that the strike she aimed at his neck missed. But before he could react further, she sent him flying with a powerful kick. He ended up on his back, staring up into her murderous eyes as she pointed a blade transformed arm down at him. "Thanks for the exercise brat. But now I need a snack." She raised her arm and prepared to slash Kuro in two. He had no time to evade.

I guess this is it...

OOC: I guess this post works best for more fighting skill

+2 Fighting Skill to Kuro...

*Clang!*

Before the hollow's bladed arm could reach Kuro, it was stopped by a pair of scythes crossed defensively in front of him. Kuro could not believe his eyes as he stared up at the girl that he had just sparred with a few weeks before. Hikari Getsuai and the shadow clone that her scythe zanpakuto allowed her to create had saved his life. She was staring with a look of disbelief at the hollow.

"Nobody is allowed to beat Akarui-kun in a fight before me! Anyone who tries to do so will have to take me on!" With a forceful push, Hikari forced the hollow back and positioned herself between Kuro and her clone. As Kuro got back to his feet, Hikari wheeled around and slapped him full across the face. He put a hand to his cheek as he stared at her dumbfounded.

"Don't make me worry like that again." she said with a relieved look comming to her face. "I don't care who the enemy is, you can't just give up like that. You have to keep fighting to the end."

Kuro smiled and muttered a happy thanks to Hikari. He turned his gaze back to the hollow as his power level rose again and became more focused. "So we'll be taking her on together?" he causually asked Hikari. She smiled a dark smile belonging to one who grew up in the rough parts of the rukongai as she held her scythe at the ready.

"I can't wait."

The three of them, Kuro, Hikari, and Hikari's shadow clone all charged at the hollow from different sides. Kuro shunpoed so that he was behind her as Hikari and the clone drew her attention to her front. As the Hikari duo in front slashed with their scythes, the hollow blocked with both of her arms. Hikari followed with an upward kick that sent the hollow a few feet into the air. Kuro took the chance behind the hollow and launched himself at her "hovering" body. With a quick, powerful kick he sent her flying across the camp. He passed her with a superfast shunpo and met her as she reached the other end with a kibaku hirate strike in her gut with his gauntlet. The hollow coughed up blood and staggered back to her feet as Kuro shunpoed to regroup beside Hikari. At the same moment, Hikari's shadow clone sank back into the ground beneath her turning back into her regular shadow. Hikari whispered something in Kuro's ear and he grinned as he focused more power in his feet to run again. He sprang forward and started a quick dashing dance circling the hollow shunpoing continuously while throwing the occasional taunt.

"You're not that tough. Your fracion were much better. Maybe it's because they knew at least a little about teamwork."

"You bastard!" The hollow roared and sent her hair flying at him, which Kuro nimbly dodged while continuing to pay her back for all the taunting she'd thrown at him. "I'm going to kill yo-...what's going on?! Why can't I move!?" the hollow strained with effort but couldn't move a muscle.

Hikari let out a giggle that sounded a bit too evil for a girl of her cuteness. "Hehe...you've fallen into our trap and become the first victim of my zanpakuto's third ability...shadow trap." Kuro stopped shunpoing and grinned along with Hikari as she explained her new power. "I can turn my shadow into any formation of threads on the ground that I want like a net. Anyone who steps on the net becomes unable to move until I release the bind or they overcome it."

Kuro added, "And I'm not going to give you the time to overcome it." He shunpoed again, this time straight at the hollow and released the rest of his stored up energy in a laser blast that surged out of his gauntlet and tore right through the hollow's frozen figure. Kuro then shunpoed over to the half dead panther hollow that was still lying on its side and smashed its mask with a punch.

Turning back to Hikari he gave a thumbs up sign with a friendly grin. "Thank you Getsuai-san. I couldn't have won without your help." He walked out of the camp, leaving behind the ruined scene of violence and destruction, trying to keep himself from crying about the loss of his friends. He had been involved in this. By allying with the hollows, he had invited wild beasts that sought to consume large numbers of souls into the area he lived in and knew people in. That fact paired with today's events would haunt him for quite a while.

OOC: Speed Attempt and the end of this thread.

+2 Speed to Kuro