A glowing passage opened up in the middle of the white desert. From inside the light a group of shinigami emerged, most of them dressed in ninja attire. Kuro stepped through last. This mission was insane. Sending a group to the hollow home world was too risky. And choosing a shinigami not even at vice-captain rank as the negotiator was another mistake. Kuro decided to try his best to accomplish the mission with as few risks as he could. He turned to the rest of the 2nd squad members he'd been sent with and gave a few orders.

"Everyone stick together. We don't know when hollows will appear or if they'll be willing to listen to us. Keep your eyes and ears open. I'll try to attract a few, so stay alert."

Kuro flared his reiatsu level up and down a few times to get the attention of any hollows in the immediate area. He hoped that they would meet some with an intelligence level high enough to communicate.

Sekkou and his companions were running with full speed across the uneven surface of the Hueco Mundo desert when suddenly, all of them halted. The reiatsu of a Shinigami- no several, though it was only one Shinigami who was displaying his fluctuating reiatsu level without any seeming concern.

"He is either very brave or very foolish," said Sekkou to himself. And then aloud, "Sogekihei...can you see them?"

Sogekihei flapped steadily to keep his body aloft, and peered into the distance. "I see 'em mates. Bunch'a bastards dressed up in ninja outfits, 'cept one wearin' normal Shinigami robes. 'e looks like 'es the leader."

"Ninja outfits?" said Sekkou. "I have fought them before- when I was a Gillian. They were crafty, but still no match for me- now even less so. I think we should accept their...invitation. We will take them by surprise."

Sekkou and his fellows began running toward the source of reiatsu. As they drew near, Sekkou activated his ability to become invisible, and used the sand that was thrown up from his fellow Adjuchas to conceal his movement. He jumped onto Enji's back, and from there jumped to Sogekihei's. Now 20 yards away from the group of Shinigami, all of Sekkou's companions let loose with their respective attacks, save Sekkou himself and Enji.

Sogekihei wheeled above them all in the air, firing Balas down with pinpoint precision from the tips of each of his massive wings. Demō began hurling his explosives at them, throwing up pillars of sand before their eyes. Sukauto fired Balas many times at once from the points of his antlers.

Sekkou jumped from Sogekihei's back and landed with a soft thud in the sand; his entrance was pretty much masked by the chaos caused by his fellows. Invisible, he crept behind the Shinigami who had been previously fluctuating his reiatsu. It seemed he felt a little fear. Good. Sekkou became visible as he closed the gap between them. His tail lashed out and wrapped around the Shinigami's waist and right arm, though he was unable to get the Shinigami's left- he had faster reflexes than Sekkou had expected.

Still, Sekkou believed he held the advantage, and so asked, "What brings either a very brave, or very stupid Shinigami to Hueco Mundo?"

Kuro's force sensed as Sogekihei started to fire down on them and took evasive actions. The whole area was suddenly in an uproar as the group tried to deal with the hollow's attacks. Kuro was caught offguard as a reptilan hollow appeared seemingly out of thin air charging straight for him. He managed to keep his left arm out of the grasp of the hollow's tail and did not move as he asked about Kuro's intentions. He answered as cooly as he could, but could not keep an edge of nervousness out of his speech.

"We were sent here. I'll agree it's a stupid move, but underlings often have to do things that don't make sense to them. I will explain further if you wish. I only request that you call off your allies..." Kuro plunged his left hand into his robes, silently thanking the heavens he was born left handed, drew his zanpakuto and pressed it tightly against the skin of the hollow's tail that was wrapped around his waist, "...and get this damn thing off of me!"

To show he was serious, Kuro pressed his blade a tiny bit harder into Sekkou's tail, drawing a tiny sliver of blood. He locked his gaze with the giant chameleon and waited for his reaction.

"Stop!" Sekkou commanded his fellows, who instantly stopped attacking, though they all still looked wary, and ready to resume their attack at Sekkou's command. Sekkou looked at the blade pressing into his tail and laughed. "You really think that that blade scares me? So what if you cut off my tail? Hollows can regenerate their wounds- as can lizards, now that I think about it. You however- would not survive the Cero I would fire at you from point-blank range while you sawed away at my tail."

Sekkou paused a moment; something about this Shinigami was familiar- his face, his manner...Sekkou shrugged away that familiarity and continued to speak. "I must admit that I am curious as to your intentions." His tail slithered away from around Kuro to stay upright behind Sekkou. Perhaps as a retaliatory gesture, Sekkou inflicted the smallest of cuts on Kuro's right hip bone (to match the minor cut on his own tail).

And then it hit him- where he knew this Shinigami from. "We fought a Menos together," he said almost as an aside. The memory was not a fond one. "So, what manner of fate crosses our paths again?"

Kuro stood still as Sekkou's tail left him and nicked his leg. His face lit up for a moment in shock as Sekkou stated his familiarity with him. Kuro had not recognized him at first, for he must have gone through an increase in power since then. His body looked a lot different from their first meeting. Kuro let a slight smile spread across his lips. The hollow might have gotten stronger, but if things went bad here he would learn that Kuro had grown since that day too.

"I was just thinking about that encounter the other day. I have to thank you and your companions for your help on that day. Saroki-san and I would likely have not survived if you weren't there to help." Kuro finished the personal follow up and cleared his throat before speaking in a polite business manner. His mission's success depended on him presenting an offer that appealed to the hollows' tastes. "We of the 2nd squad are loyal followers of the Shihoin clan, one of the four noble families of Soul Society. Recently, conflict has broken out in the Soul Society in the form of a civil war."

Kuro paused at this information. The truth was that he did not think that the war was right. But he was torn between his loyalty to his squad and the family they served, and his wishes for the Soul Society to find the form of equal peace it had previously known. He pushed his personal feelings aside for now. This was not the time or place for feelings like that, especially when he did not have the kind of power or position to do anything about it.

"The four noble families each wish to grasp total control over Soul Society for themselves. To try and turn the odds in our favor, the Shihoin family has sent us here to offer you and your kind a deal. We would like the hollows of Hueco Mundo to join the Shihoin in the fight for control of Soul Society. We are sure that you would like something in return, so name your terms and I will see if they are acceptable."

Kuro finished his proposal and ran his gaze over Sekkou and the rest of his companions. They could serve as powerful allies, but he wondered what kind of rewards they would ask for in return.

"Fascinating," said Sekkou in response. "I must admit that I find your proposal intriguing. But a Hollow's skills...and not to mention 'good behavior' are not easily bought." He paused a moment, considering what he and his fellows would find most valuable. Certainly not money. He spoke again as he came to the only logical conclusion. "First, you allow us to consume the soul of anyone we kill- no exceptions. Second, you do not send us on missions to capture- we fight to kill at all times. And third…you allow us to leave unharmed at any time."

He looked at his fellow Hollows to see if they would like to add anything to his issues of payment. None of them had anything else to contribute. "I trust that these terms are acceptable. If so, then I will divulge what you need to know about our abilities- so we can be...'used' to our greatest potential."

And then he smiled. "Of course, all of this comes with a 'catch', if you will. Even if you accept those terms- none of us will fight for anyone we don't respect. So...it falls to you, and only you, to earn it!" Without warning, Sekkou whipped his tail up from the sand into the air, spraying it into Kuro's face. He tensed his leg muscles and jumped high into the air, where he fired a Bala from all four of his claws, plus the tip of his tail down at Kuro.

Many of Kuro's men stepped forward as if to intervene, but just as quickly, Sekkou's fellows formed a ring around Sekkou and the cloud of dust that hid Kuro (whether he was alive or dead was yet to be seen). As Sekkou fell back down to earth, he charged a Cero in his palm. He hit the ground easily, bending his knees to cushion his fall, and then released the dark energy into the cloud.

ooc: kido mastery, for this. you didn't think you'd win a Hollow's allegiance so easily, did you?

Kuro kept his face blank as he listened to Sekkou's terms. He had expected such terms. This alliance was basically giving the hollows a free pass to eat all the powerful souls they wanted. But he didn't expect that the Shihoin family would be worried about the well being of the other families' soldiers. He was caught off guard by Sekkou's sudden sand attack. He heard the shouts of his squad members as he rubbed the sand out of his eyes. Then he felt a power building up above him.

How pathetic, blind me with sand and rain down your attack on me from above. Like that hasn't been done before. Kuro's vision was still blurry as his eyes teared up and washed the last of the sand out of them, but his other senses had tipped him off as to what his next move was. He folded his hands and quietly spoke in the midst of the sand cloud. "Bakudo #27: Heavy Shell Barrier."

A transparent blue dome comprised of connected hexagons of spirit power formed around Kuro and protected him from the four descending balas. He felt a larger blast hit the side of the barrier a few seconds later. Cero... he thought to himself. It seemed that he was going to have to spar with Sekkou if he wanted him to join them. But he had to make sure he didn't kill him too.

"Bakudo #21: Red Smoke Escape."

Kuro planted his hands on the sands of the desert floor as he cast this kido, sending a burst of red smoke covering the area around him as the sand cloud cleared up. He concealed his reiatsu and jumped up and over Sekkou landing behind him. Raising his left fist with his zanpakuto in it, he released his Shikai. "Concentrate, Seishou-Sejin!" His reiatsu spiked for a second before easing up again, letting Sekkou sense Kuro behind him. Kuro's squad members looked at him like he was a fool for not striking at Sekkou's back, but Kuro did not care. He concentrated energy into his gauntlet and called out to Sekkou.

"We accept your terms. And if you wish for me to fight to gain your cooperation, then I shall oblige and defeat you right here without interference from either of our forces. But don't think that cheap tricks will bring me down."

Kuro glared across the short distance between him and Sekkou, waiting for his next move.

(ooc: 2 kido spells should be worth some kido skill, I think)

Sekkou felt his Cero connect with something, but after the appearance of red smoke and then Kuro's reiatsu behind him, he noted that the Shinigami was still in fighting condition.

Without turning around, he said, "I am not asking for defeat...merely adequacy." Sekkou's tail waved back and forth in front of Kuro, as if poised, waiting for an opening to exploit. "And I hardly consider you capable of defeating me anyway," he snorted derisively. Sekkou allowed his reiatsu level to increase to its fullest. It was by far the greatest spirit power level in the area, and clearly, he was showing Kuro exactly what he was getting into. And then, Sekkou acted. He whipped around with terrifying speed, his tail lashing out behind him as he did so to slice across Kuro's chest while his right claw came around in a punch.

The punch was no ordinary punch- Sekkou had put a Bala behind it, and here he also aimed at Kuro's chest, sending the powerful blast off without any seeming concern for if Kuro could react in time or not. Before the punch even connected, Sekkou was on Kuro again, charging him with obvious fervor in his movements. He wasn't holding back.

Sekkou's right claw lashed out at Kuro's left shoulder, slicing in to sever the vital tendons and ligaments that held Kuro's arm to his shoulder. Even though he missed, he turned his momentum to an attack, ducking down and swiping his tail out to trip Kuro up. He rose from the trip fluidly, almost gracefully, and aimed two more quick punches at Kuro, each of them augmented with a Bala.

Sekkou's skinny frame did not belie his great strength, but Sekkou was certainly showcasing it now. His blows were coming at a much quicker pace now; they were practically raining down upon Kuro, aimed at all sorts of vital areas like his neck, head, chest- also crucial combat areas like joints and ligaments.

Sekkou's fighting style was unique- he used all of his body parts to aid in the attack. His tail and two clawed feet seemed to be just as agile if not more so than his clawed hands. Sekkou was certain that Kuro was feeling the strain of fighting someone with such brute strength and speed now. In the past, Sekkou had shown the ability to shatter concrete walls, the thick skulls of other powerful Adjuchas with his bare hands. He suspected that this Shinigami was undoubtedly growing tired of blocking Sekkou's sledgehammer-like strikes.

And then Sekkou thought he saw his opportunity. As Kuro blocked a strike from his left claw, Sekkou twisted his arm, driving Kuro's fist away from Sekkou's own body, outward, away from the fight. It was a moment where Kuro was no longer in a position to defend. Sekkou took it. He thrust out his right claw with a powerful Bala behind it, aimed directly at Kuro's chest. His tail swept up under him and aimed at Kuro's groin.

ooc: fighting skill please. and hey, there's no such thing as fair in a fight groin hits are perfectly valid

Kuro felt the terrifying reiatsu comming from Sekkou, and it was clearly at a higher level than his own. But for talents than just reiatsu decided a fight. And he was on guard this time against Sekkou's attacks. He quickly ducked underneath the tail swipe and the bala enhanced punch from Sekkou's claw. When Sekkou's tail came in again with an intent to trip him, Kuro's hunched posture was able to keep him upright, but the tail sliced a wide cut across both his thighs. He marveled at Sekkou's movement as he immediately lashed out both his front claws to punch him. Kuro sprung back up to his feet and nimbly dodged to the side with a short shunpo.

He then began a long and strenuous clash of blocking multiple blows from Sekkou, both from his hands and feet. Kuro was being annoyed by the constant attacks that didn't seem to leave room for an opening, but he was faster than Sekkou and commited himself to continue dodging and blocking his blows until he slipped up. He took a couple of blows in different spots of his torso, but managed to protect his vital organs and muscles from major damage.

Kuro was also storing up a trump card. He hadn't known his zanpakuto's name when he had first met Sekkou, so he was sure that Sekkou had no idea what his gauntlet's ability was. As he continued to block and dodge Sekkou's flurry of attacks, Kuro kept sending bits of spirit energy to gather and concentrate in his gauntlet. The compressed energy didn't give off much of a sensible prescence to others except for the red jewel on Kuro's palm glowing brighter as the fight went on.

Kuro was starting to fatigue a bit from the clash. He was starting to think that he should find a chance to shunpo away and fight long range with kido. But as he blocked Sekkou's next attack from his left claw with his gauntlet hand, Sekkou twisted his arm in a way that forced Kuro's stance to be altered leaving him less ready to block a simaltaneous attack from his right claw and his tail. Kuro saw them coming. Dammit!

Kuro quickly gathered energy into his right hand and launched a right cross palm strike to meet Sekkou's right claw head on. Just before his cross hit, he shouted, "Bakudo #8: Repulse!" A gathering of blue spirit energy formed in the palm of Kuro's right hand as he ran his palm right into Sekkou's advancing claw. The energy from Sekkou's bala burned Kuro's hand, but Kuro's bakudo temporarily paralyzed Sekkou, causing his tail to fall limp before it could reach Kuro's groin. Kuro saw this as the only opportunity he would get to land a heavy blow on Sekkou and spun his body around, using the momentum from his turn to add more strength to his already powerful next attack.

"Kibaku Hirate!" Kuro roared as his left palm flew at Sekkou's chest. He was saving no energy for later. If this attack didn't work, he'd have to start a new plan.

(ooc:Speed or fighting skill for this one. And I'm not saying anything about your attacks. I'm the person who broke the kido ban in a friendly spar and smashed a guy's throat in. I know that all is fair in battle lol.)

ooc: some guys have issues with groin hits
Sekkou was somewhat satisfied with the injuries that he had managed to inflict on Kuro, but he was of course unhappy that he had been unable to severely wound Kuro. The sight of blood certainly got his senses going though, and the blood that was currently leaking out of Kuro's body from numerous places was going to have to suffice. Sekkou's tongue tasted the air, he could almost taste it, could almost feel a frenzied attack focusing completely on pure murderous intent about to form- but he stopped himself. This was only a test after all.

Perhaps this holding back was a bad idea, Sekkou thought as he was briefly paralyzed for a moment by Kuro's bakudo spell. I must defend myself as best I can, he thought, and greatly increased his spiritual pressure. And then he was punched in the chest with strength that Kuro had not previously displayed. Sekkou flew back tens of meters and crashed into the dunes, throwing up plumes of dust and sand everywhere. The blow knocked the wind out of Sekkou's lungs, and he was breathing hard as the dust cleared. "I must admit, if it wasn't for my reiatsu level- that could've caused some severe internal damage," Sekkou commented.

"I'm afraid brute strength won't aid you against me," said Sekkou. "Nor will speed, really." He swept his tail through the sand, his reiatsu spiked, and he punched the ground, sending up a veritable wall of sand, which he quickly breathed all over with his superheated smoke breath. The sand solidified into red hot glass, which Sekkou proceeded to shoot a premature Cero into. The glass exploded outward, shards of razor sharp red hot glass spun through the air towards Kuro.

The explosion of the Cero obscured a lot of the battlefield, but Sekkou saw several of the Shinigami that Kuro had been with unable to dodge the glass, and thus get pierced fatally in several places, falling over dead where they stood. "If you're still standing," Sekkou said. "You've passed. And as a reward...or a courtesy, if you are close to death right now- my name is Niiro Sekkou."

ooc: intel please

Kuro swayed from fatigue, he still had spirit power to spare, thanks to engaging in a mostly physical fight. The only energy he'd expended was the eariler kidos and his one shikai attack. But his phyisical stamina had seen better days. He smiled as his attack landed a hit and sent Sekkou flying away from him. He knew it wouldn't be that easy. One major hit on an Adjucha level hollow wouldn't be enough to finish the fight. And Sekkou wouldn't be likely to take such an attack and finish the battle there. He'd want a revenge shot. Kuro's worries were confirmed when he saw Sekkou knocking up the sand.

Kuro was amazed at the quick formation of the glass, and shocked as Sekkou blew it up into a blizzard of shards that threatened to mow down everyone on site. Kuro winced as he saw some of his men go down, but he had no chance of helping them. Right now was the time to save himself and complete his mission. He quickly looked at the incomming shards and glanced down at his own bleeding body. A crazy plan instantly jumped into his head.

"My power comes only from my sword...my talent is speed...but my true weapon is my versatile mind that can almost always come up with a way out of a jam." Kuro quickly gathered his power before casting two kidos in front of the incomming shards. "Hado #7: Black Thunder!" The resulting burst of spirit energy that surged out of Kuro's body met the glass shards head on. Kuro's spirit power wasn't at a level that could stop their advance, but it considerable slowed their speed down to a managable level. Next, Kuro bent down onto one knee and cast again. "Hado #22: Blood Daggers!" Kuro had to concentrate hard. Most casters of this hado turned their bleeding blood into simple blades like knives or kunais. Kuro influenced his blood, flowing from the cuts all over his body, to gather in front of him in the bulky shape of a western style midevil shield. He ducked behind this new weapon and waited for the shards.

The blood shield stopped the shards that hit them, but Kuro had not been able to make it wide enough for his whole body to fit behind it in time. Many shards flew through the flesh on the sides of his arms and his shoulders. The holes left by the piercing shards did not bleed much due to the searing effect of their heat. Kuro let the shield dissolve after the shards passed, but could not stand. He was too weak from exhaustion and blood loss to move much anymore. If Sekkou continued even further, Kuro would have to cast Kido from this spot leaving him as an easy target. He sighed in relief as Sekkou gave his name and announced the end of their match.

"Niiro Sekkou...my name is Kuro Akarui. I hope that we can work together from now on rather than fighting on opposite sides again." The remaining members of Kuro's escort rushed over to him and helped him get back to his feet. At a signaling nod from him, one of the members opened up another passage to lead them back to the Seireitei. Kuro continued to watch the hollows. "You may come with us now if you please, or stay here and wait for missions. The choice is yours." With these words, Kuro limped through the light back to the Seireitei, supported by his squad members. He made a mental note to request that vice-captain Ryouta join them on missions this dangerous next time.

(OOC: Intel attempt)

Sekkou smirked, his lizard lips tweaking into a positively evil smile. "Naturally we will accompany you. There is nothing here that holds much interest." As he and his fellows moved to enter the gate, each one picked up the bodies of the fallen (caused by Sekkou's glass attack) that they passed and consumed them, reveling in the spirit power boost it gave them. Sekkou picked one of the limp bodies up with his tail and examined it closely.

"Still alive...but fading fast," he commented. And then he tore into the helpless man and absorbed his power. "Ah...consider this a down payment," he said to Kuro. "Lead the way...Kuro Akarui."

ooc: Vice-Captain Ryouta will not be joining you- cuz he's with the rebels

Kuro:
+.5 intel
+1 fighting skill
+.5 kidou
Niiro:
+.5 intel
+1 fighting
+.5 kidou