Bad Odds? (Ri O'Nocht and/or Stuart O'Murichu) PM me if you want in

Jacques stepped out of the Garganta and inhaled deeply. It was nice to get out of Las Noches now and then. The high concentration of spiritual energy here made him feel at home, but also the fact that there weren't many spiritually significant beings around made it comfortable. It was a great place to light a cigarette and take a walk, which was precisely what Jacques had in mind. He began walking above the heads of the busy citizenry so he could enjoy his solitary stroll.

((OOC: Let have this take place after the Sometimes, exciting things DO happen thread))

Stuart sat in his apartment staring out the window recalling the many events of the past few weeks. It had only been a few weeks since Stuart discovered his powers but with all the events it felt like month.

He could sense the presence of a few Shinigami in the distance fight a hollow , he had found he was very talented at detecting other spiritually ware beings even when their presence is masked.

Then like a sudden explosion a new presence presented it self to Stuart. It was familiar , he’d been near this presence only a few nights ago. Leaping from his window Stuart headed toward the source.

Jacques was still busy enjoying his leisurely stroll enough so that he barely noticed the approach of a familiar reiatsu signature approaching his position. If he remembered correctly, it was a young man he had met a few days ago who had been in the presence of a Shinigami Captain. An archer or something...but not a Shinigami. A human who had a higher spiritual awareness than most. An idea began to take root in Jacques's mind.

Originally, he was just going to turn invisible and ignore the boy; after all, his powers barely registered compared to Jacques's. But he could be a potentially helpful ally. Perhaps it would be beneficial to befriend, and even mentor the boy. Yes...that definitely had its merits, and would prove more helpful in the long run than killing him and devouring his soul.

Jacques turned and waited patiently for the boy's appearance. Once he arrived, Jacques said, "I remember you...but do not be afraid, I have no intention of harming you. Instead, I have a proposal to offer you. Come train with me; I will teach you to become a force to be reckoned with in a far shorter time than you could on your own. Be warned; I will push you to your limits, and beyond them. But the reward will be well worth it. All I ask in return is that you remember my part in your ascent..."

Stuart caught sight of Jacques , his suit and pressure were unmistakeable able as was the way he spoke. Stuart eyes widened at Jacques offer to train him, immediate his head spun with thought and idea but one goal remained in his thoughts , to become stronger.


"I am honoured. I will be come your pupil" Stuart said as he came to a knee and bowed his head."I pledge to you my obediences and unwavering loyalty. I will train with you and I will become strong enough to fight for you whatever your cause. sensei."

Jacques smiled, and his eyes glinted with satisfaction. "That is good to hear." Jacques extended his right hand and gestured behind him with his left hand, causing a Garganta to open behind him, its black maw giving Jacques a rather dark, powerful appearance. "We go immediately." Jacques turned to enter the Garganta. It would close 10 seconds after, leaving little time for his protege to decide whether this was what he really wanted. True power only went to the deserving...

There wasn't any hesitation, Stuart followed his new mentor through the gate. He knew after this he could knew return to him mortal life but then again he really fitted in the living world so it wasn't a loss really.

"Yes Sensai" Stuart said as he followed Jacques through the gate. what awaited him on the other side he did not know but he wanted to get stronger and Jacques gave him that chance he couldn't pass it up.

ooc: even though we're going to Hueco Mundo we're gonna keep it in this thread because i'm too lazy to make another one

The Garganta opened in the middle of the Hueco Mundo desert, and Jacques stepped out. He walked straight out for about 10 feet, and then turned around to face his student. "I have seen a little bit of what you can do, and so I have a general idea of what you are capable of. Now..." Jacques thrust out his chest. "Hit me here," he pointed at his heart (his left pectoral). "With your best and most powerful attack. You do not hold back, understand?"

"Yes Sensai" Stuart said obediently, he'd resolved himself to following all instructing and he summoned his bow but when he did it felt , stronger. Stuarts power came from gather the reiatsu both with in him and from the reiatsu of the area he is in much like the quincys and since Hueco Mundo was made of reiatsu he could fell a signification boost in his power.

He leaped a few paces away from Jacques and pulling his bow back. At first he gather one arrow but he soon felt the reiatsu build up very fast and so divided the arrow into two so to control it better.

without a word Stuart released the Reiatsu string launching both of the arrow at Jacques. Upon releasing the arrow danced around each other as they made for Jacques, they formed one more powerful arrow and struck Jacques hearth.

The combined arrows tore right through the fabric that covered Jacques's Hollow hole, and went right through him, leaving shreds of smoking fabric behind. Jacques's touched the area around it with his gloved fingertips. "Not too bad for someone of your level...you have control, at least."

"Now, I would assume you prefer mid to long range fighting as opposed to closer combat. Can you still fight effectively in close quarters? Either way, it does not matter. We will work on both. Your answer will determine what we do first."

OOC: Sorry posted with wrong account there.


"My weapon is very versatile" Stuart said as he grasped his bow in the centre and snapped in two giving him two blade and by focusing his mind he reattach the reiatsu string to the end of the two hilts.


"I Prefer fighting afar as there I have an advantage but I always have a back up" Stuart said as he held one sword normal grip and the other reverse. Truthfully Stuart had never train with the swords but he found he had a talent for it.

"Fine. We will fight at a range first," Jacques said. "Prepare yourself." Jacques raised both hands and threw three Balas at Stuart. "Avoid getting hit, and make attacks of your own." More Balas followed these, some aimed directly at Stuart, others aimed to cut off areas of escape if Stuart chose to dodge.

"Push yourself! You will never get anywhere if you do not! Fight me as if your life depended on it!" To emphasize this point, Jacques fired off a weak Cero. "Strength lies in your resolve to use it!" Another Cero. "Do your best...to KILL ME!"

Stuart reconnected the sword to form his bow once more as Jacques started fireing his balas. Stuart reacted off impulse and leaped back to his right but a balla was already on it way to that spot and so he moved repeatedly but each time he narrowly avoided the attack.

He tried to pull the string back but every time he did he had to move to avoid being hit. He finally stood his ground and summons an arrow and fired , unintentionally he’s fired it into the cero.

The arrow was cast aside by the cero that was hell bent on getting Stuart. He only just managed to move out of it’s path but knew he couldn’t keep this up. An idea sparked in his head and kicking off the sand he leaped back a few paces and drew three arrows.

He fired the three arrows into the sand between him and Jacques causing the sand to kick up and shield Stuart from sight. He pulled back the string with all of his force and let the reiatsu build. He found it had to control the intense arrow as took reiatsu from the sand and the air to form it.

He hand was shaking but he had to try it , he charged toward the Jacques , ran through the sand closing the distance between the two . when he came near he leaped and released the arrow aim for Jacques head.

Why does he not use his arrows to shoot down my Balas? wondered Jacques. Is he that bad a shot? Is he not confident of his ability to shoot them down? All he does is RUN! As the curtain of sand sprang up in front of him, Jacques did not lose his head. It was a simple technique really, and easily countered if one had the experience. All one had to do was not rely on one's eyes.

Thankfully, Jacques was quite skilled in Pesquisa. "Above me!" Jacques's hand thrust upward, a butterfly knife pointed upward at the arrow- BOOM! A small explosion caused the dune Jacques was standing on to sink inward a bit into a shallow bowl. "Innovative, I suppose. You need to learn to hide your presence better. I do not expect you to be able to disappear completely as I can, but at least learn to hide your spiritual ability."

"Let me ask you; why did you not try countering my Balas with your arrows? What are you going to do if an opponent's attacks are too fast, or come too quickly for you to dodge?" Jacques Sonido'd away from Stuart about 10 ft away. He pointed his left finger at Stuart. "Try to shoot these down. It will be hard. You will need to focus every drop of energy you have into each arrow you fire. It will be exhausting. It will be excruciatingly painful. You will do it because you want to increase your power. Understood?" Without waiting for an answer, Jacques sliced his hand through the air, sending three waves of Balas at Stuart. The first wave contained 4 Balas, the second contained 3, and the last contained 5.

“I’m sorry Sensai but the level of Reiatsu here is much greater then the living world and so I’m find it difficult to control my arrow” Stuart admitted as Jacques gave him his new instruction.

“understood” Stuart said as he raise his bow and start swiping his hand over the reiatsu string rapid each time forming an arrow but know of the arrows flew normally instead they floated around over Stuart head waiting for orders.

He sent eight out to counter the first wave of four balla then soon after six more to deal with the next four but he’d only six arrow for the final wave , he sent them out and took out three of the ballas but missed two.

He managed to dodge one but the last balla hit into his gut and exploded on impact sending Stuart straight into the sky only to come back down with a hard landing on the sand.

Jacques watched impassively as Stuart did his best to counter each of Jacques's Balas with one of his arrows. Jacques had to admit that he was gaining a sort of grudging respect of Stuart. True, Stuart was not at Jacques's level. But Jacques saw the insatiable drive for power in himself emulated in Stuart. Of course, he could not let that show- any sign of softness from him could possibly result in Stuart slacking, not trying his hardest. Undesirable. Jacques now had an emotional stake in Stuart's rise to power. It would happen as it was a matter of pride now.

Jacques walked over to Stuart and bent over, hauling him up so he was standing. "You will live, get up, I doubt I hit you that hard," Jacques said. "And I do not wish to hear excuses from you. I do not care that Hueco Mundo has a higher concentration of spirit particles than you are used to. That is a good thing. I am not here to coddle you. I told you I would push you. And I will. Without question."

Jacques smirked and walked 20 feet away from Stuart. "Stay where you are. I want you to fire your most powerful arrows at me. Keep doing it, even when you feel your arms will falls off, when your fingers bleed, when you feel you have expended every last drop of your reiatsu. It is important in battle to not only be able to land a solid hit, but also to be able to push yourself to take as good as you give. This will build your stamina. I do not expect you to develop Hierro- but you damn well won't be a pushover."

Stuart arose from the ground , his clothes where burn and his chest was badly so but he put on a stronger face and forced himself through it. Stuart nodded in acknowledgment of his Sensai’s orders.

He brought his bow up to shoulder level and taking a deep breath he pulled back the string , he focused his mind on the arrow and everything around him seem to disappear. Gathering the reiatsu from everything around him Stuart soon felt his arms grow numb and his hand began to shake.

He managed to steady with bow as a large bolt of reiatsu formed thought it did not resemble an arrow in the slightest . He took carefully aim letting the arrow build and build , he had never attempted to hold an arrow this long and soon he wondering just how powerful one arrow could be.

He finally prepared himself to release the arrow as the bow it self began to shake under the strain. He let the end go send the poorly formed arrow speeding through the air, Raising the sand as it past.

Jacques watched impassively as Stuart's arrow sped across the sand toward him. He raised his left hand and braced himself. The powerful arrow slammed into his hand, pushing him back a little; Jacques dug his toes into the sand and pushed back. He squeezed his fingers shut, and the arrow dissipated into little sparks of reiatsu. "...Not bad...not bad at all," commented Jacques. If he had allowed the arrow to hit, Jacques was sure that it would not have killed him...but he wasn't so confident as to think that he would have taken no damage at all.

"It's too bad you're not a Hollow...else I could just ask you to eat something and replenish your spiritual reserves," said Jacques. "As it were, you are just going to have to fight me in your current state."

Without waiting for a response, Jacques Sonido'd forward and aimed a direct punch with his right fist at Stuart's right shoulder, followed by a quick jab with his left at Stuart's midsection. Jacques was of course holding back- he didn't want to pierce Stuart's skin, but he certainly wasn't going altogether easy on him either. "Show me that you can be resourceful in battle, even when you are close to falling."

The first hit surprised Stuart and the second knocked the wind out of him , he had enough sense to back off and put distance between himself. Take a firm grip on this bow Stuart snapped it in two ,creating his dual blades and reattached the string to either hilt.

Dashing directly at Jacques, Stuart suddenly threw his left blade but it flew clear past Jacques right shoulder. As Stuart neared his target he feinted right and leaped behind by his enemies left having the reiatsu string come around Jacques’s throat.

Stuart keep the string tight as he dash and recovered his second blade. Pulling the sword apart he pulled harder on the string.

Jacques moved his head easily aside to dodge Stuart's left blade; he just as easily dodged the subsequent quick strikes that Stuart threw at him. What purpose was there to his movement? His blows all seemed to lack the resolve that you would find in blows ended to injure- was he feinting? Jacques's question was answered when he felt the reiatsu string around his throat.

He grinned bemusedly as it tightened. "You expect to strangle me with this? Or perhaps cut my head off?" Jacques's Hollow mask covered his entire head and neck, like a balaclava. There was no way either of those things was going to happen. "Oh please." Jacques pushed forward with his palm- his hand glowed green. Essentially, a Bala-enhanced palm thrust to Stuart's chest.