A night on the town (DarkMaster)

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil


The first thing he noticed was the fresh smell. His stay in Hueco Mundo he only knew the stench of death and the dry air. Here the air was fresh and wet. It was dark as he fell from the crack in the sky, the city lights twinkled like the stars above him. Stratus had gambled on finding another one of those towering hollow and slipping into the real world. The gamble had paid off, but he hadn't known where it would lead him. He opened his senses as fell, there were so many signals in the cluster of buildings below. He had grown so tired of hollow flesh. Human souls were the tastiest of morsels. The ground was closing in fast, he wasn't sure how he was going to land. A sudden idea hit him and he wrapped his arms over his body. He summoned his slime. From every pore of his body the green liquid poured out, the wind whipped at it, but it stayed connected to his body. Completely covered he held his breath and crystallized the slime. The green cocoon covered and protected his body. The speed of his descent increased with the sudden weight change. The large green crystal slammed into the building and cut through the roof of the building and continued falling. After he finally came to a stop he made the crystal shatter. The building was demolished, it was like someone had hit the small office building with a wrecking ball. A fire had started on the top floor and was slowly making it's way down. People now filled the streets to see what had happened. Stratus was happy he was invisible to the humans as he moved free of the rubble. There were plenty of targets in the gathering crowd, but he enjoyed the chase. He fired a strand of slime at a nearby building, with a leap he launched himself into the air. Behind him the building finished toppling over. Stratus laughed to himself. Swinging from building to building he enjoyed the rush of wind as it hit him once more. The air was refreshing, but he hungered for more.

Tatsuya sat on a roof, up against its wall, and stared up into the sky. He had already been stationed in Rio for almost 3 weeks and his time was coming to an end, and he would get to return to Soul Society. Tatsuya's time here was boring and hollow activity for the most part was minimal at best. Why he was sent to this area was beyond him. Great scenery and a decent climate, but boring beyond belief in terms of his actual duties. And the fact that he was not issued a gigai made it impossible to mingle with the locals.

The hollows he had fought here were insignificant, annoying pests; an academy student could have easily defeated them without any trouble. As Tatsuya stared into the night sky he ran his right hand along the right side of his face where claw marks were scarred from a fight with a hollow sometime back. He could have had them removed by the 4th squad like he did from the rest of his body, but these scars were different. They reminded him of a painful night.

As his hand ran along his face, he felt the reiatsu of a hollow that had just entered into the world. He stood up and turned in the direction the pressure came from and saw something in the distance falling from the air. It was too far away to make out, but it was falling at an incredible speed before it collided with a building, making it collapse. Tatsuya sighed and began to head in that direction, disappearing as he used shunpo.

He felt the signal move as he swung. It was just on the edge of his senses. It wasn't human. After his run in with that human that had scarred him he knew the power he felt wasn't the same that one. And it definitely wasn't a hollow. That left only one possibility. He groaned as he opened his senses and could track it better. Whoever it was they were following him. Was it a shinigami? Who else would come at a monster? He thought back to the first shinigami he faced. He was terrified, and he only won by luck. He had gotten stronger since then, should he fight him or run? As he swung a sudden idea came to him. Perhaps he didn't have to do either. He quickly ducked into an alley leaned against a wall. Next he sprayed his slime all over himself making it seemed he was pinned down. He took care to cover his hands and arms to give the illusion of helplessness. All prepared he then released his signal and started to struggle against the glue. He could release himself at will, but otherwise he was stuck. He growled and tried to free himself, at the same time keeping his senses open for person's approach.

Tatsuya continued to track the hollow as he gave chase, getting closer with each step. After a minute he felt the hollow stop moving, but he continued. Tatsuya stopped on the edge of a rooftop overlooking an alleyway. As he looked over the edge he spotted the hollow, only it appeared to be trapped. The hollow struggled to get free, seemingly unaware of Tatsuya's presence above. Tatsuya took great care, quickly studying the alleyway for any type of trap. He didn't like the way it looked. "How did the hollow get trapped like that?" Tatsuya asked himself as he could not recall the feeling of any other type of spiritual pressure. The alleyway was small, using his zanpaktou inside of it would be very difficult, he thought. This night would go nowhere if he just stood there. Tatsuya leaped off the edge of the building and landed quite lightly on the ground, barely making a sound. He slowly unsheathed his sword as he stared directly into the hollows eyes, not breaking eye contact, or even making any sounds. This hollow was smaller than Tatsuya, no surprise to him. Tatsuya got into close enough striking distance for his sword, he didn't want to get any closer. He made sure to keep complete awareness of his surroundings in case for any surprise attacks. He was already prepared to shunpo out of the alleyway at the first sign of trouble. Without saying a word Tatsuya raised his sword and swung down at the slime covered hollow.

"Damn." Stratus muttered to himself, this guy was faster than the last shingami he faced. The sword had come down in a flash. He hadn't prepared to eject the slime from his mouth yet. On reflex he freed his hands, and used both to block the incoming weapon.
"Now now shinigami, the night is young we don't want to end the dance that early." He pushed the blade aside and jumped up the wall with little effort. He perched himself on the wall's edge looking down on the man in black.
"Ain't you a big one? Gods you're uglier than the last one too. For a second I thought you were just an ape." Stratus plan had failed, he really hadn't thought past that point. He was talking to buy himself some time and size up the opponent. The man was larger than expected and his sword was just as big. If he keeps him in the alley he can restrict his swinging that hunk of metal. He wanted to finish things quickly, but he remembered his own words. The night was young indeed. He flexed his arms and shot out a strand of slime from each hand and quickly crystallized it. Now equipped with two crystal swords he leaps down at the shinigami with a double downward slash. Time to see how well these things worked.

Tatsuya was not completely shocked when the hollow freed itself and blocked his attack, before leaping into air. "Spare me your insults, Hollow. They are just wasted breaths." Tatsuya commented at the wall clinging hollow. Tatsuya watched as the hollow expelled the slime from his arms and created two crystal swords. "At least I know where that slime from earlier came from." Tatsuya thought before the hollow leaped towards him. Being stuck inside this alleyway was less then ideal for Tatsuya, swinging his sword was out of the question, for the most part. But one couldn't count him out just yet. Tatsuya switched to a reverse grip in his right hand and blocked the oncoming attack after quickly reinforcing his legs with reiatsu. The attack pushed him into the ground, cracking the floor beneath him. "You're a strong one, Hollow." Tatsuya said unfazed by the attack, though a bit surprised that the crystal swords didn't break. He pushed back on the sword to push the hollow back and then leaped towards the far wall and took a crouching position against it, before leaping towards the hollow, attacking with an elbow type technique with his sword hand.

Although he had two weapons he wasn't as skilled with them. Stratus was easily pushed back by the soul reaper. And the follow-up attack was beyond his skill to block properly. He held his blades in an 'X' to defend, but noticed too late that it wouldn't stop the opponent's blade as well. The best he could do was move his head to the left out of the blade's reach. The big man's elbow hit the crossed blades while his sword pushed past the hollow's guard and slashed across his shoulder very close to his neck. The strength of the shinigami's blow caused his arms to buckle slightly.
"First blood to you monkey man!" He sneered, Stratus pushed this weapon to the right trying to knock the other sword away. He brought his left foot up and kicked out with his claws extended.

"Heh" Tatsuya let out at the hollow's comment. As his sword was being pushed away, he saw the hollow's foot leave the ground towards Tatsuya with it's claws extended out. Tatsuya rolled to the right in an effort to avoid the claws, but was still caught, leaving decent sized scratches along his midsection on the right side.

Tatsuya landed on his feet with his back turned to the entrance of the alleyway. "I hate cramped spaces." He stated before quickly using shunpo to exit the alleyway. He hated small spaces and he knew if he stayed in the alleyway he would surely be beaten. He hoped the hollow would follow, though he would not chase him through the alleyway if it didn't.

"So the ape can move after all." Stratus kept his bravado to hide his surprise. What had just happened? The big man had vanished and then reappeared out of the alley. How could he move that fast? Looked like his plan to keep him confined to the alley wasn't going to work. But the display of speed had shaken his confidence. What else was he hiding? Stratus decided to play it safe, and test the waters. Outside the alley were plenty of buildings for him to swing on, but people would get in his way. Get in his way? If only his mask allowed for him to smile, it would be the broadest of grins.

"I must say you're pretty cold blooded for a shinigami." He hopped off the ground and onto one of the left wall. He held there for half a moment, then jumped to the next, ping-ponging his way to the top of the roof and at the edge of the alley. With a single leap he was airborne, and fired a strand on a nearby lamp post and began to swing. He swung from building to building circling the new area. He comes to a stop atop a build across from the alley

"Here I was trying to keep it a private fight, and then you bring it out here. Now these humans might get involved." With that he fires two strands of slime into the street below. A man and a woman walking by are caught, Stratus yanks them off the ground. They both scream as they dangle in the air off the building's edge by the invisible beast. "It's a real pity." A crowd starts to gather below looking up at the flying people. With a flick of his wrist Stratus sends one of the human flails at shinigami. "Don't think you want to dodge this shinigami, hate to see what happens if he hits that wall or ground." The man screams as he hurtles at the ground, unaware of the invisible target. His cries are mirrored by the screams of people on the street.

"Cold Blooded?" Tatsuya thought to himself as he watched carefully as the hollow jumped from wall to wall, until it reached the roof. He listened to the hollow before watching the two humans being yanked into the air. "Bastard." Tatsuya stated just before the hollow sent the man flying towards him.

He quickly sheathed his sword and braced himself to catch the man. Tatsuya slide back as he tried to cushion the impact from the hollow's throw. He didn't wait to completely stop before tossing the man to the side. Most of the people were completely shocked, but a few came to his aid quickly. Tatsuya jumped into the air to avoid the people and stayed suspended midair by pushing reiatsu through his feet.

Tatsuya quickly came to terms with his decision to take the fight out of the alleyway. He didn't know what would happen in the city had he been killed in the alley. Tatsuya began to runs towards the allow in midair while chanting a kido spell. "Bakudo no. 1 - Sai" Tatsuya shouted, aiming to lock the hollow's arms.

The spell hit the hollow and his arms moved to lock behind his back. He tried to move them, but they wouldn't budge.
"Well this is new." Stratus said aloud, but more so to himself. "You really are cold blooded." What Tatsuya had failed to notice was the two humans were still connected to the hollow by the green strand of slime. The sweeping motion of his arms locking had some effects on his hostages. The man on the street was yanked backwards into the air by the elastic like strand. He and the people around him gave a yell of surprise at the man's sudden flight. The woman wasn't as fortunate, since she was already hanging next to the building the sweeping motion banged her against the concrete sides violently while pulling her upwards. She was grinding against the wall, she only had time to scream once before knocked out from the impact. Howls of dismay came from the street below. The people weren't sure if this was real or fake, some elaborate ruse for a hidden camera show. Stratus made a quick decision, and simply released the strands. The man went over the hollow's shoulder and into the night sky catapulted by the power of the recoil. He screamed as he flew higher into the air, with no control of his horrific flight. The limp and bloodied form of the woman came over the ledge of the building a second later. Stratus reached out with his still functioning legs and caught her. The woman's clothing was torn, stained crimson in places. Her hair matted to her face also dyed red. Stratus could feel her shallow breathing through his foot.

"Well this one is broken." said the hollow "If it's broken we might as well throw it away, right Shinigami?" With that being said he tosses the woman with his foot down the street to the right. The gathered crowd gasped is horror. Stratus giggled to himself. This was interesting. Which one would the shinigami go for? The pawns or the prize?

Tatsuya did not think of the backlash that occurred from the casting of such a simple binding spell. The impact of the female against the wall was all but enjoyable and the man's screams filled the air as he was sent soaring through the air shortly after being saved by Tatsuya. He quickly glanced between the hollow and the humans trying to decide whether to finish off the hollow and more than likely having the humans die on the spot, or saving them and having to continue the fight. Tatsuya grunted in frustration after coming to a decision. "We will finish this in a minute, Hollow." Tatsuya stated before quickly jumping towards the opposite building wall and unsheathing his sword, taking it in his right hand. As his feet made contact with the wall, he threw his sword towards the falling female, having it spin rapidly. After releasing his sword, Tatsuya didn't wait for the outcome before flash stepping off the wall towards the flying man. He quickly appeared in front of the man, catching him in midair. The people along the streets stared up in shock, unable to come to terms with the current events as the man hovered in the air. The man looked around the air, wondering what was holding him before he realized that he instantly transported on top of a nearby building after Tatsuya used shunpo. "Wait here." Tatsuya stated towards the man even though he knew he couldn't be seen or heard. Tatsuya walked over to the edge of the building and looked towards the unconscious female who was now pinned to the building she fell from, pinned through her shirt by the sword he threw just a few seconds earlier. The people wondering how she was stuck to the wall, they had no idea of the 'powers' that were before their own eyes. Tatsuya then looked towards the hollow, whom, he was sure got free from the binding spell he cast.

He had done it again. The shinigami had moved so quick that Stratus was unable to follow the motion. Even though he knew where the shinigami was headed, he only saw a flicker of movement. To make matters worse he had that strange skill to pin down his arms. He hated to admit it, but this guy was tough. Speaking of his confined arms; with the same focus he used to shatter his crystal he was able to free himself. It was good to know, but he didn't think the shinigami would give him time needed to free himself again. The people on the street no longer amazed by the spectacle were now fleeing in terror. "Just as well." Stratus muttered, he didn't feel like doing the same thing twice. It was best he keep his distance, but what could he throw at the shinigami that he wouldn't expect. He looked over at the saved female. "Well something old, but something new." he laughed. He created two swords again in his hands. The shinigami had just finished saving the male. Mimicking the shinigami he threw his weapon with a spin straight at the would be hero. Stratus had observed how the opponent's weapon had pinned the female to the building and attempted the same, but his weapon was different than the shinigami's. His swords were essentially just a edge in the shape of rod. The spinning throw made it look like a buzz-saw flying through the air. After completing his throw he jumped towards the next building, mid-air he tossed the second weapon. As he landed he created two new swords. He threw these new weapons at like the first two from this different angle. He wanted to press the shinigami from different sides, keep him moving, not give him time to think or use other skill again.

He stood on the rooftop looking at the fleeing people, a bit of relief came over him since he didn't have to worry about getting others caught in the crossfire. Looking back at the hollow, wondering about his next move. Though unarmed, Tatsuya was anything but helpless. He just needed to get up close to clobber the hollow with his big fists. As he thought of how he wanted to beat him down, the hollow created two crystal swords. "Good. He's bringing the fight to me." Tatsuya thought to himself, believing he would not have to chase after him. Tatsuya's eyes opened wide when the hollow threw one of the crystal swords towards him. As fast as he could, Tatsuya dodged the first sword and quickly began running along the rooftop as he noticed the second sword headed his way. Tatsuya barely edged out the second sword as it passed only a couple of inches behind him. Noticing this he tried to gain more space between him and the hollow by jumping back while facing the hollow. When he did this however, he failed to notice the rooftop access point behind him, and in doing so put himself in a compromising position. After his back hit the wall he quickly looked back towards the hollow's direction only to see two more swords coming his way. Not having enough time to react, the two swords pinned him against the wall through his shikakushō, one above his right shoulder and the other under his left arm. "DAMN IT!" He shouted as he struggled to get free.

"Time to die shinigami!" he cackled. There was not telling how long the shinigami would stay trapped. Stratus had to to act fast. The hollow let his slime collect on his right arm covering it completely. The next instant it was hard heavy crystal , his arm looked like a green spiked club. Taking no time to admire his work he jumped into the air towards the shinigami. As he left the ground he fired a strand of slime with his free left hand. The green rope his the wall near the shinigami. Midair Stratus yanked the strand increasing his charge. Actually it helped him move faster since the added weight of the crystal threw off his balance from the jump. He held the encased arm forward like a battering ram speeding at his target.
"It will only hurt for a moment. But treasure that moment, it will be your last!"

Tatsuya had no luck trying to free himself from the wall when he realized that the hollow had leaped into the air and was hurdling towards him. "Bastard," he stated as he stared up in horror as the hollow neared in a battering ram fashion. Just as the hollow came within a comfortable distance for Tatsuya, his facial expression changed as a sinister smile crossed his face. He quickly raised his right arm in front of him. "Bakudo no 8 - Seki" he shouted, creating a shield in front of him just as the hollow was about to land the seemingly fatal blow. When the hollow's attack was repelled, Tatsuya easily tore through his shikakushō leaving it hanging on the wall behind him, revealing his muscle toned, stone-like body; a truly menacing appearance. He slowly walked forward while looking towards the hollow. "Next time I suggest you make sure your opponent is completely immobilized before jumping in for the kill. Now I got you right where I needed you. Up close." Tatsuya stated confidently.

"I'll be sure to remember that with the next shinigami I meet." Stratus grimaced the damned shinigami had used the very same trick he had used at the start. He was only pretending to be captured to draw him in close. This man had more brains then he originally thought. Still the hollow wasn't about to let things end like this. He had plenty of tricks left. The first he gathered some slime into his mouth. It was perfect that the man was getting closer. The closer he was the harder it would be to dodge this surprise attack. Eying the man's long arms he quickly realized he didn't want him to get too close. With only the smallest motion of his head he aimed at the man's broad body and inhaled. He converted a small amount of slime in his mouth into crystal and expelled the half foot dart. He quickly made another dart and fired, and then a third dart to follow that one.
"Let's see that monkey man dodge that!" he said to himself. His right arm he aimed and charged the shinigami again.

"The next shinigami?! Heh. Your under the impression that you are leaving here alive. Well your wrong." Tatsuya commented as he walked closer. "He thinks he can still win." He thought as he tried to find a way to break its' confidence and place fear in the hollow. Just as he finished thinking, the hollow started attacking with a volley of crystal darts. Tatsuya's facial expression changed from confident to aggravated in an instant as the volley was too close to dodge effectively. He quickly moved his right arm and grasped the first of the three darts which was aimed at his head, cutting his hand deeply as he caught it. He made no effort to dodge the other two which embedded themselves in his left shoulder and the left side of his lower abdomen. He dropped the dart from his right hand and parried to the right of the hollow's charge. Using his longer arms, he grabbed the hollow's right shoulder and forcibly guided it right past him.

Tatsuya smiled at the hollow. "That tickled a bit, and here they looked to be more painful than they are." Tatsuya stated while removing the two spikes still embedded in him. He didn't give any type of indicator that he was in pain as he removed them and dropped them to the ground.

This shinigami was getting to be a real pain now. It was bad enough that he was bigger than him, now he was trying to belittle his attacks.
"Impossible." he muttered to himself, he remembered shooting into a stone wall with little effort. What was this man made of? But in all fairness a wall can't fight back. Just because it worked then might not be the same against a living target. He grunted. "Well let's see how much this tickles ya!"
The gray hollow gave a short jump into the air. It was only a vertical jump while in the air he raised the clubbed arm over his head. His left arm errupted in slime and then it too was a green crystal club. A moment later he brought both weapons down as he fell back down. There was a thunderous crash as his encased fists hit the stone beneath his feet. The stone lost from the point of impact a hole was made. Cracks appeared looking like lightning bots and the ground collapsed completely.

Tatsuya entered into a fighting stance when the hollow jumped into air, preparing to counter the hollows next attack. "Let's go, hollow" Tatsuya stated when it created a second club with its left arm. As the roof began collapsing after being impacted by the hollow, he jumped into the air. "Your making this too easy hollow." He snickered. "Hado no 5 - Fireball....Fireball" He shouted, throwing two punches and sending two fireballs toward the hollow. "Lets see how strong those shells are hollow." Tatsuya stated as the fireballs soared towards the hollow. "Crusader of the sky ensnare thy burning clouds. Burning clouds set ablaze thy captor." Tatsuya whispered quickly, careful not to alarm the hollow. "Bakudo no 28 - Inferno Buckler" He continued whispering, preparing for the hollow to counter as a fiery disc surrounded his left arm.

Using his clubbed right hand he batted the first fireball away. The fiery orb flew away into the sky. With his left he did the same, but one hit the far wall of then damaged room he fell into. He shattered the clubs. This shinigami was getting to be a real pain. From his right hand he shot a strand of slime at the shinigami.

OOC: It's short, but it works.

He figured as much, as the hollow easily deflected his attack. Though he had hoped the hollow would have charged at him so that he could have trapped him. Tatsuya was amazed a bit at the ease in which the hollow shattered the crystal surrounding his arms. He was getting ready to charge forward himself when he saw the hollow's slime heading towards him. He brought the fiery disc from his left arm in front of him to block the attack. When the strand connected with the disc it immediately caught fire surprising Tatsuya. "What the..."

The tendril caught fire on the end and the flames raced down it's length. Stratus grinned. The flame stopped short of his hand. The slime that had been connected to his palm was now crystal. The flame whip retreated with the smallest motion of his wrist. He hadn't expected it to work that well. Upon examining it up close it hadn't. The slime was burning quickly there was no way the new weapon would last long. He also noted it no longer stretched it was like rope on fire. Soon it would be useless. He flicked the whip at the shinigami again and attempted to crack it at him. Rather than a crack it released a shower of hot embers as bits of the end broke off. With his free hand he shot a spray of slime, and then ignited it mid-air with his fire whip. The weapon was shorter now, but it still could be utilized for a few more attacks.

Caught by surprise, Tatsuya jumped back a little as the flaming whip swayed away from him. Though the heat was immense it was not a bother for him, but he wasn't too thrilled about being hit with it. As the whip cracked, sending embers towards him, he brought up his left arm to shield his eyes from getting burned. As the flaming hot embers touched his bare skin, he grimaced in pain. "Hot hot hot." He shouted as he patted down the the flames erupting from the remaining portion of his shihakusho, seemingly unaware of his current predicament.

The flame whip fizzled out. Stratus discarded the weapon it had given him a slight opening. From each hand he shot a rope onto the edges of the walls. He pulled them tense and then used the tension to slingshot himself high into the air past the shinigami.
"One last card to play." He muttered now several feet in the air. He gathered his slime in his body and directed it into his mouth. Rather spray the ooze down upon his foe the gray hollow inhaled through his nose and exhaled into the green slime. In seconds a green bubble was forming from his mouth. First it was the size of his head, next the size of his body, and soon it was well 5 times his size. The slime was like chewing gum it stretched as he pumped more and more of breath into it. But soon it was too hard to add more air to the balloon. Being so rubbery made it stretch, but was starting to resist his lung power. Stratus sealed the orb, and reaching out with his hand forced his energy into it. The slightly translucent balloon became more solid looking but now it was covered in rough crystal edges. As it fell it started to spin him over til he was on top of it. Being filled with air the spiked orb fell slowly.
"Let's see you dodge this one shinigami!" he shouted and the hollow kicked off from the orb pushing himself back higher into the air. He then covered himself in crystal cocoon again, but this time before hitting the ground he slammed through the orb. There was the sound like a glass breaking as the orb shattered into pieces and the cocoon came hurtling down. The broken pieces, now free from caught the wind and rained down on the city below. Shards of heavy crystal fell like bullets piercing and cutting all in their path with gruesome effectiveness. The people still on the street were cut to ribbons as their cars were made to resemble swiss cheese. The pieces ripped through stone buildings like tissue paper. Those pieces that didn't slice fell like stones to crush and smash all below them.

Stratus wasted no time, he used the chaos to hide once he landed. Keeping a layer of crystal on his body as he moved to protect himself from his own attack. The thin armor cracked as a larger piece hit him. He didn't think the idea would work, but hadn't thought about controlling the affected area. Suppressing his energy as much as possible he moved away from the battle ground. "Burn in hell shinigami." he chuckled as the emerald rain lessened as he moved away.