The Lotus's Forgotten Thorns (solo)

Kuro was sprinting through a forest somewhere in the country of America. He wasn't normally assigned to missions here, but he'd taken the hollow slaying job out of boredom. The hollow was mainly small fry. Only a huge hollow close to menos strength that was no match for Kuro. It had sensed him as he readied his power and had taken off running through the trees. Kuro was hot on its heels.

Closing the final distance between them with a shunpo, Kuro stabbed his zanpakuto into the top of the hollow's head. The tip protruded from the bottom of the thin, serpentine head and the hollow's long thick body dissolved into thin air. Kuro sighed with relief and prepared to head back to Soul Society. As he held up his blade to open a senkaimon, a loud howl sounded on the hill behind him. He brought his blade to a ready stance as he spun around to face the being that had made such a sound.

To Kuro's surprise, he was looking up at a wolf. But something was odd about it. It's body was strange, covered with a hard and cracked material rather than fur. It looked a lot like the bark on the trees of the forest Kuro was standing in. It snarled at him as it saw his leg twitch, as if daring him to try and move from the spot he was standing in. He decided to wait and see what it wanted. A few minutes passed with Kuro on edge, then another being joined them.

The newcomer was a man. He had tan skin and long black hair. He was dressed in clothes that seemed to be made of animal hides. His face was stern and bony, his cheeks painted with red face paint in a war paint fashion. Kuro had never met a person like this. He seemed like one of the natives of this continent. The ones that people called indians. The strange man reached out a hand and petted the bark wolf before speaking to Kuro from the hill top.

"You are not the first of your kind that I have seen in my forest. And I'm sure that you won't be the last. But I will not allow you to leave here and send others to me. No, I'd rather deal with your people one at a time as they stumble into my trap. I shall devour your soul and continue my existance as this forest's keeper."

Kuro was confused. The man had spoken of eating his soul, but he didn't look or feel like an arrancar. In face, Kuro had trouble sensing anything from this guy. He could only think of one explanation for this, and his theory was confirmed as the wolf that had called the man spoke in a fluent voice.

"Is it alright if I tear him to shreds? It's been so long since I had a worthy fight. I want to rip...I want to shred...I want to peel his flesh from his bones and make him scream in agony!"

Kuro's eyes narrowed in a glare as he stared down these two. "You're a bount aren't you?"

The man didn't seem surprised by Kuro's analysis. He calmly smiled and replied without hesitation.

"Yes, I am what you call a bount. I would tell you my name if I even remembered it. I have lived in this forest for hundreds of years without any interaction from others besides my doll. And it only calls me Chief. But there's no need for you to ask anymore questions, nor for me to answer them. My doll is restless and you have invaded our home. Goodbye stranger."

The wolf took this as a signal to attack. It leapt from the hill top and began charging down the slope at Kuro at frightening speed, its teeth barred and a snarl rumbling in its throat. Kuro braced himself for the initial clash.

(ooc: *whew* I havent had a good post like this in a while. About time I got back into it. I'll post more later. Stay tuned for a fearsome duel of the beasts.)

The wolf came at Kuro with an insanity flashing in its eyes. This doll loved to fight. Or maybe it was more accurate to say that it loved to kill. Its speech earlier accounted for that fact. Kuro wasn't enjoying the situation of having to experience it. Aware of the fact that bounts were strong, especially ones as old as the native man had said he was, Kuro released his shikai and prepared for battle.

When it was about halfway down the slope, the wolf let out a bone chilling howl like it had before. Kuro disregarded the sound, believing it to be an attempt at intimidation. He refused to back down this early in the fight. He held his ground and brought his left hand back, preparing to strike the wolf when it reached him. The wolf leapt at him when it was about 10 feet away, sailing over the final space between them with its teeth flashing. Kuro was about to counter-attack when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He stopped his attack and shunpoed to the side instead, moving away from the attacking wolf and the presense he'd noticed.

As he came out of his shunpo, Kuro noticed TWO wolves fly past the spot he'd been standing previously. The new one he'd spotted a moment before had jumped right at where his arm had been before. A counter-counter-attack... The new wolf was identical to the first, with the strange barky body. Kuro corrected his stance to oppose both of them and watch their movements. The wolves paced in a back and forth semi-circular motion as the bount on the hill laughed with amusement.

"Do you like my pets? They are unrivaled in offensive might as well as coordinated teamwork. No opponent has ever beaten them."

Kuro had to admit, this situation was dangerous. This was his opponent's home, and the enemy had more numbers than him. He decided to temporarily retreat while he tried to think of a plan. Turning quickly, he began to shunpo through the forest away from the bount and the wolf duo. He could hear the three of them pursuing him, the wolves much quicker than the bount of course. But Kuro was faster than them. Slowly, he pulled farther ahead of them. He could hear the sounds of their paws on the forest floor getting quieter as he put more distance between himself and them. Then he heard one of them cry the same howl as before.

As Kuro side stepped around a tree in his path, a snarling mouth full of razor sharp teeth extended from the tree's trunk and bit Kuro's side as he tore past. Luckily it hadn't gotten a good grip on him, so his flesh was just slightly torn instead of bitten clean off. It looked like he'd been crudely slashed by a blunt blade four times close to the same area. But it did hurt, and it was bleeding. Kuro could hear the wolves again, and now it sounded like three of them. He started to piece together what was going on...why the bount was so confident that Kuro couldn't win. This doll's ability was to call an entire wolf pack from the hearts of trees. If Kuro's guess was right, this bount could summon a bark skinned wolf from every tree in the area. And the signal had to be that howl that they did everytime. No wonder he chooses to live in a forest. He thought to himself in a minor panic.

Howls began to sound more frequently, and the forest around Kuro started coming alive with snarling figures rushing through the shadows of the trees and brush. Kuro had a few near misses as wolves jumped out of trees directly at him, costing him more blood as his limbs got attacked and minorly shredded. The wolves' and the bount's voices rang out from different directions taunting at him.

"Why do you run? Don't you want to fight?"

Kuro didn't answer, but he knew the bount was right. Running wasn't going to do much at this rate, with the enemy able to summon allies in front of him as well as behind. He poured his energy into his gauntlet and slammed his palm into one of the trees in his way before a wolf was summoned from it. The tree broke from its base under the pressure of Kuro's crushing blow. Guiding more power into his hand, Kuro fueled his gauntlet's ability and granted his left arm amazing strength. He pushed the tree while it was still airborne and sent it crashing into other threes, knocking more down. He then blasted bursts of energy from his palm to take down even more trees. In moments, he'd made himself a nicely sized clearing to make his stand. He positioned himself in the center of the clearing and waited for his opponent.

The wolves arrived much earlier than the bount. The clustered around the edges of Kuro's custom made clearing and snarled and snapped at him while they awaited their chief. The bount showed himself and came a few steps into the clearing, taunting Kuro from the safe position of a few feet in front of a mass of bark and teeth.

"You sure are an odd man. Your fighting strategy mostly involves running away or waiting for the foe to bring the fight to you. Why do you deny your nature? All living things are born with the instinct to fight. It is the natural way of things."

The bount paused for a moment before continuing. "Or maybe the reason you're so quick to run, and run fast at that, is because you're the lowest of the creatures. You are the prey...the insignificant rabbit that runs from the wolf because it fears its inevitable death. Yes...you choose the "flight" reponse as opposed to fight. Do you deny this?"

Kuro took a deep breath to keep himself calm. "I fight this way because I believe there is more to be gained from keeping a level head and maintaining a clear view of the battle. Rushing in to attack can leave one blind to things that they would see otherwise."

"That sounds like an excuse to me. Just admit that you're one of those types to try and put off fighting. Probably hiding behind some hypocritical claim that you don't like violence or predjudice."

Kuro didn't reply this time. The bount's words were affecting him in ways that he had not expected nor desired. Something distantly recognized was bubbling inside of him and it was taking all of his effort to keep it under control. The bount scoffed at him from the edge of the clearing and spoke its final words of opinion.

"If you want to cling to those goody goody claims so bad, then we shall allow you to take them with you to the grave. Attack!"

The mass of wolves surged forward like a wave of bark, flooding into the clearing heading straight for Kuro. He responded by extending a blade of golden energy from his palm and began to slash at the wolves as they came upon him. Their numbers were boggling and there was no way for him to keep them all in sight. One of them managed to flank him and raked its claws across his back. Kuro roared in pain and slammed his gauntlet into the ground at his feet, causing a large crater to form underneath him and sending earth and wolves flying away from him in a circle. He panted with the agony of his gashed back and fought back further unbecoming cries. The wolves began to regroup in front of him as the bount proclaimed his victory.

"Goodbye young hypocrite. He who refuses to embrace who he is is doomed to lose himself."

The pack took this as the final judgement. They began to run at Kuro again. It all seemed to be in slow motion to him. The bount's last words had sent him on a mental trip through his memories. Various images rushed through his mind's vision. His time as captain, fighting against hollows, mastering his zanpakuto, joing squad 2, his academy days, and finally...his time in the Rukongai.

The wolves were blown back by a sudden move that the bount missed as it happened in an instant. His face errupted into a shocked look as he tried to find out what had happened.

"W-what trickory is this? You were on your last legs! What can you accomplish at this time?"

The dust that had been kicked up around Kuro from his previous strike cleared, revealing him with a different appearance. His gauntlet hand was glowing, coated in a layer of spirit energy that was fashioned around his hand like a thick, clawed glove. He flexed his fingers, moving the claws menacingly and cracking his knuckles. His eyes had lost their calm and passive look. Instead, they shone with power and killing intent, glowing like the eyes of a predator in the dark. His breathing was harsh and carried a light growl in it like the wolves had against him. The bount stepped back in obvious fear as his wolves slowly started to pick themselves up from the ground.

"Who are you?"

Kuro took one threatening step toward the bount. "I am Kuro Akarui. I am the captain of the second squad of the gotei 13. I am a shinigami who excels at speed and spirit power. And I am a person who grew up in poverty preserving my life through theft and slaughter. I am "The Black Lotus", a rougue who found purpose in life and learned to use his skills for others instead of just himself."

As Kuro finished talking, the wolves had finished regrouping and were preparing to attack again. Kuro did not give them the chance. Shunpoing into their midst, he slashed with his clawed hand as ferociously as if he were one of them. Wooden wolf bodies were shorn to pieces as Kuro gave back the treatment he'd received from them. Whining in fear, they began to back away from him in an attempt to escape his rediscovered fighting will. The bount was displeased as their cowardice opened up a clear path between him and Kuro. Kuro was suddenly behind him after shunpoing again, smiling with a vengeful look as four deep gashes appeared stretched all along the bount's front.

"You said it yourself, Cheif. 'He who refuses to embrace himself is doomed to lose himself.' You talked big and confidently while your pack had the upper hand, but you turned out to be nothing but a coward in the end. That is why you deserve this ending. Farewell."

Kuro turned his back as the wolves began to snarl again. He was not worried, for he knew that he was no longer their target. He'd wounded the bount just enough that his blow wouldn't kill him, but he would lose control of his doll. As Kuro opened a senkaimon and departed for soul society, he smiled briefly with grim satisfaction as the screams of the bount echoed through the forest.