One on one on...(Sal + ?????)

OOC: This is the continuation from New friend

There were way too many shinigami. Not that their numbers would prevent him from killing them. The problem lay with the other hollow. It wasn't going to cooperate it's would just be in his way. More than likely it would try to kill him too in the process. But he wasn't about to let the lummox take all the meat for itself. He wanted the big guy, the rest could rot for all he cared. He had thrown the large weapon to get his attention. Now he let his energies flare to further his challenge. If he got the message or not it was hard to tell, but if he anything like his spiritual pressure he'd know. With a laugh Stratus raced through the trees away from the big brawl unfolding. The shinigami would either follow or run away. He moved trough the trees with ease. He jumped from branch to branch. It was odd how he loved forests. Nature was the only thing he did like aside from killing. He had made some distance between himself and the hulking creature. The area was pretty clear, just more trees. Good. He dropped down from the branches and landed on the ground. He released his energy again. He hoped they hadn't gotten lost.

Sal was all for equal opportunities. If this Hollow wanted to die so bad then far be it from him to stand in the way of ambition. He had snatched the crystalline projectile from the air and thrown it aside. The crazy creature was challenging him, like it didn't have enough problems.

Sal gave a brief smile, it had balls he had to give it that. He gave chase through the forest, only a few feet behind watching it leap through the trees like some god damn ugly monkey and then kidded to a halt as it landed in a clearing.

"You are either very brave, very stupid or awesomely psychotic." Sal said and walked a slow circle around the Hollow, his sword in his right hand held causally at his side.

Ren saw the new comer and the hollow running through the trees. Chaseing after them she wanted prove to Niko that she was strong enough to take care of her self. On the ground she had no advantage, soon enough they all came to a clearing.

Ren may be small but she did catch the hallow off gard with her Aura Shard. At leat it spooked him that's good. she thought. Now she had to wait to make her move.

Stratus only snickered as he eyed the man. He was a head shorter than the hollow. For some reason he had seemed taller from afar. Perhaps it was the energy he had felt. It was that same energy that told him that this wasn't an average fighter. Something else lurked beneath that arrogant smirk, his eyes looked fierce.
"I'd say the same thing about you, but I think stupid is the only word that fits." he retorted still eying his opponent. Here they could fight uninterrupted, a part of him wondered how the others were fairing against that monstrosity. Almost on cue he sensed the approach of the other hollow. "Well I did promise to kill it after all of this." he muttered "I should really keep my word." Still that would have to wait, he couldn't afford to be distracted.

As the man circled he began to circle as well. He hung his hands to his sides and let the green slime trickle down into his palms. The liquid coated his hand and started to drip down to the ground. In that instant he pushed his energy into the slime turning into the jagged crystal. Stratus raised his newly formed weapons; crude two and half foot swords coming from his hands. "Since we have an audience let's begin the show." He closed the distance between them with a single jump. He brought both weapons down in an overhead swing to cleave the man in two.

Sal felt the presence of the other Hollow as it came into the clearing and gave the Feline a passing glance as he continued to circle the more powerful creature before him.

They remained cautious for a few moments, waiting for the opportune moment to strike, circling slowly foot over foot and then the Hollow charged forward, emerald swords appearing as if by Magic as he dove into the air and brought them down towards Norongachi.

Sal rose up to meet the attack head on, a quick crouch and leap allowed him to meet his attacker in the air and bringing his Katana above his head he caught both blades upon his sword edge. He spun in the same instant, turning his body in the air and firing a round house kick at the Hollow's chest before somersaulting backwards and landing back on the grass.

Ren had entered the clearing. Looking out to see the Shinigami and the hollow from before had already started to fight. Ren caught the Shinigami's glance. Is that..? Ren's thoughts were cut short when she heard a thud as if something had hit the ground.

Running to get a peice of the fight Ren bared her fangs and extended her claws letting out a firce roar. "You will pay for insuting me, Hollow!" Ren thundered. Leaping forward she landed on the hollow and brought her claws down and Raked the hollows back.

Their weapons clashed. The man's weapon and his own sparked as they impacted. Stratus grinned. The man didn't hesitate to rush forward. He had chosen well. The grin quickly faded as the man planted his foot squarely into his chest. The force of the blow was more than expected not to mention the pain from the strike. The man's counter attack sent him flying backwards, but he managed to land on his feet. With a cough he eye the warrior before him. This was going to be fun. Just then he heard a shout and sharp claws ran down his back. Stratus didn't bother to stop the scream of rage and pain. The crystal that encased his hands shattered into numerous shards. He spun and grabbed at the attacker. His left hand managed to grasp her left paw before it could finish it's cut. The gray hollow held the offender like a freshly caught fish on a line.
"You little tosser!" He growled before ejecting a gallon of sticky slime from his mouth directly on the white hollow. With a grunt he tossed the slime covered feline in a high arc at the swordsman. "Catch." he chuckled. As the feline went up Stratus dashed directly at the man. This time he formed a small emerald blade in his hand. He swung the newly formed weapon at the man's legs as he thrust his other hand at his stomach.

Sal stood motionless as the tussle between the Hollow took place and as the goo-covered Feline soared towards him he caught her in one hand and looking her square in the eye spoke in a tone that was more befitting one of her own kind.

"You're in the way..." His voice was like ice as he set her down and quickly stepped backwards to more easily initiate his defense. He bent his knees and dipped his upper body slightly as he brought his Katana in form the inside to ping the crystal blade from its trajectory.

He freed one hand from the Katana's handle in the same instant and crouching further onto his haunches smashed his forearm against the arm that was now on a deadly course for his face and rose up into a rising knee aimed directly for the Hollow's face.

Ren got hit by a strange slime in the face. Eww. she thought in disgust. The Hollow threw her in to the Shinigami; having caught her he said in a cold voice. "You're in the way." he placed her on the ground and took off to fight the Hollow.

Ren let out a frustrated growl. She shook of the slim and growled to herself "'In the way' my foot. I don't care what he says I'm going after that Hollow." She ran after the Shinigami, ran past him and said "I don't care if I am in the way; this Hollow will pay for calling me a "Kitty". Well this "kitty" has speed!" mustering up her strangth in her legs she let out a burst of energy and ran faster closer to the Hollow.

Stratus was a bit at a loss, he had hoped his slime would have held his opponents. Perhaps being in Soul Society was messing with his powers. His plan thwarted he continued his rush. He could still hit the man. He just had to time it right. As the shorter man deflected the blade he knew he was too late. The bastard moved fast, way too fast. He had expected a brick not this. I guess I did choose well. He had planned a dual strike in case the first one failed, but not even he had his doubts. And he was right. His hand met the other man's forearm as his knee came up. Fine, let's see who is harder. Stratus slammed his head into the approaching knee. He could feel the impact against his forehead and the shockwave rattled the back of his brain. There was the sound like fine porcelain shattering as pieces of his mask fell away. He quickly leaped back as blood spilled into his eyes. The mask had cracked straight down the middle, and had cut into his skull.

Spoiler:

"That was some kick." he said. From beneath the mask was a humanoid face covered in horrible burns. He had no real facial features; no eyelids, lips, or nose. The only thing that didn't look humanoid were the sharp fangs that made up his mouth. He heard the small hollow scream as it rushed at him. He laughed. An opponent that truly intrigued him, one beyond his expectations and one below his standards. A deep growling laugh. The blood continued it's journey down his face, it reached his mouth and he licked it away with his tongue. In his hands new weapons formed. He gripped a blade in each hand, the crystal glowing brightly. It was warm to the touch and he could feel the power pulsate within. He threw one of them in the hollow's path. The ground exploded in front of her making a small crater many feet wide and deep. There was a hiss as fragments of crystal shot in every direction after the explosion. Dirt rained down on him, but he didn't flinch. Another weapon slowly formed to replace the one throw. It glowed as intently as the first. "Come then." he waved the glowing weapons.

Sal let out a laugh as the Hollow broke the confrontation, the true face of the monster finally revealed for all to see. He stood his ground when the smaller Hollow took off after the ragged faced creature, the one who had caught his attention so.

He watched with mild curiosity, wondering exactly what such a frail being could do against the crystal wielding Hollow's might. Sal was not known for his patience however and the blood lust was growing, he needed to kill something, anything. This Hollow, that Hollow, the one back there, the Gotei, it didn't matter. Any and all who stood against him were fair game and they'd all know the true meaning of War.

"Sound the Funeral Bell! Claidheamh Mor..." The words fell from his mouth like atom bombs, the sound of a bell tolling against the backdrop of battles symphony. The cries and the screams, the pleading of the damned, all made up this merry ditty as the sword glowed white hot and its blade shattered in a blaze of fire, giving birth to the true form of Claidheamh Mor.

All it took was a thought for the space between himself, the burn victim Hollow and the feline to explode in a ball of fire, engulfing the trees around them, reducing the very grass to ash and gouging a crater in the earth sending debris blasting out all around him as the flaming dome expanded and his wrath was unleashed.

Ren heard the Shinigami call out the true form of his Zanpaku-to. She stopped here she was and turned around. With a look of fear and shock on her face. The Zanpaku-to was engulfed in fire and was comign in all directions. Thinking fast she used her Aura Shard on herself. By doing so she created an Aura stone barrior surounding herself. I'm not sure if this will hold. she thought in a stuggle.

When the blast came closer something strange happened. "Ren-chan don't give up you can do this." It was a voice in her head that was not her own. What was that? she thought. Crack. Ren's attention was brought back to the current stuation. She had to focus. The barrior that she made was starting to crack from the fire. I have to hold on! she thought.

Just then her body began to glow blue. The sheild crumbled around her. Fire was every where. Ren let out a silent yell of terror. It was like the last time when she was alive. No. She past out for a moment. When she came too she heard the voices of the Grey hollow and the Shinigami.

He threw his weapons down at the encroaching wave of fire. The glowing weapons impacted with the ground and the ensuing ball of flame was quickly squelched by the warrior's fiery wall. He raised his hand over his face as slime flowed from every pore of his body and quickly solidified. The wave of flaming fury washed over him. Everything went dark.

The flames died, but he could still feel the heat inside his emerald prison. The intense heat had melted and burned the crystal. There wasn't a piece of green to be seen only charred black. He focused his energies and the crystal shattered around him. The whole area looked like a wasteland, like a war had been fought and lost in a matter of seconds. Stratus took a deep breath, although the shell had protected him, it did cut off his breathing completely. If not for the crystal he would surely be dead. Was this was the man was capable of?
He roared in defiance of the power he had just witnessed. Anger welling up in his chest. The gray hollow tilted back his head and raised his claws to his face.
A geyser of slime rose from his mouth as it shot from his hands. Up and up it rose until gravity could began to affect it. Stratus pumped energy into it and the all became heavy glowing crystal. The gray hollow lowered it's head as he held the 10 ft pulsating emerald over his head. It resembled a huge stalk of shining broccoli from the shape of the slime before it he froze it. His legs buckled under the weight of the huge crystal.
"I've never made one this big before." he panted "You should feel honored." Stratus said with a gasp. His veins bulged across body as his muscles struggled to keep the huge stalk upright. With a massive heave he threw the volatile substance at the warrior.

The explosion did its job and then some, the once lush green and rather scenic battle field had been reduced to ash and flaming trees for dozens of meters in either direction. Claidheamh Mor would have approved, it was a fitting setting for the Lord of War to conduct his destructive symphony.

Sal looked to the Feline, lying injured and smouldering upon the ground and then to the black, almost cocoon like, skin that had covered the grey Hollow.
He wasn't surprised, these two had more to them than met the eye...but that was a mere light show compared to the hells he would unleash to saite his thirst. To quell the monstrous Titan that resided within his blade.

He watched with a passive expression as the cocoon broke and the Hollow, enraged by his own lack of power, roared into the air before forming a large misshapen missile...that looked strangely like...a vegetable?.

Sal tilted his neck to the side and it cracked loudly before a grin smeared itself across his face and he shifted his footing, spreading them a little further apart.

"That's the spirit..." He laughed and planting the Claymore in the ground before himself he spread his arms wide and the flames around his body shifted under his command and moved to the front of his body, twirling in a circle they formed a fiery bullseye in front of Sal's chest.

"Don't miss..." Was all Sal said before the resonating crystal surged toward him and he was engulfed in a massive explosion, shards of crystal thrown in all directions as it erupted against him and its energy blinded him from view.

Ren tried to get up but her legs were shaking to bad that she could not get her balance. About half way on her feet Ren saw the Grey hollow throw some kind of crystal and the Shinigami or human whatever he is. The crystal had burst into tiny shards scattering everywhere, she could feel the adrenaline flowing in her body quickly she tried to dogde the shards only to get hit by several of them. Ren fell to the ground trembling with anger and fear she was in over her head. She was amazed at the power of the two fighters both so strong while she; a new hollow was still to weak to even tack on a hollow on her own. What was I thinking? She thought in shame.

Unlike the man's attack the gray hollow's unstable crystal had a quite different effect. Both did cause a blast of fire, but Stratus' glowing gemstone launched a hail of razor shrapnel in every direction. But the main difference was that instead of an intense inferno the crystal caused a huge explosion. With the crystal that big the force of the explosion was greater than expected. Even as Stratus tried to protect himself the emerald shards hammered into him and then the shockwave struck. The rush of air and fire hit him head on and tossed him like a leaf on the wind. The large gray hollow was sent flying by his own attack as he frantically tried to summon his slime to encase himself. It was a futile effort. He had expended too much energy in making the large bomb, and now he was at it's mercy. An attack that endangered himself not just his opponent. Hardly his brightest moment, but it was some consolation to know that the warrior was ground zero of such an attack. Stratus could feel more crystal shards hit his body as he continued to sail through the air. There was no sound, but the roar as the air from the aftermath of his attack There was nothing he could do but ride the explosion out. He tried to cover his face as he fell end over end and crashed into the hard earth. He lay there for several moments before looking up. He'd flown quite far. He saw no sign of the warrior or the other hollow. His body hurt all over. Looking down he noticed his body was riddled with holes and large chucks of jagged green rock. There was a foot long piece sticking out of his leg. Slowly he grabbed the piece. Pain ran through the whole leg. Bit by bit he rocked it back and forth. He grimaced and then with a tug pulled it free. Blood oozed out the gaping hole. Stratus tried his best not to cry out. There was no telling if the others were close or not, the wound was already closing up. Shakily he stood up and opened his senses. The signals were jumbled, it was hard to focus. He was still too weak from the last attack and the damage he received didn't help matters. The gray hollow staggered and then righted himself.

If there was ever a time where Sal Norongachi should have learned humility, it should have been just before his world vanished in a brilliant display of sheer destruction.

He couldn't hear, he couldn't see, his mind was fogged over from the sheer sensory overload that his body had just endured. Pain ran helter skelter from so many points he wasn't sure where it was coming from.

The only conciliation was that when he finally ceased being airborne and hit the ground like a comet he was in so much agony he barely felt himself being buried face first into the earth. He lay there a moment trying to reassemble his mind to form any sort of coherent thought and then pushed himself up onto his knees with one hand.

The damage was extensive, his torso was cut to ribbons, bone showed through in some places across his sides and his left arm looked like a dart board with all the razor edged crystal shards embedded in the skin.

He felt the familiar feel of his Zanpakuto still clutched in his right hand and then with his entire body quivering pathetically looked around. He couldn't see anything, there was so much dust in the air that getting any kind of line of sight was practically impossible and the blood pouring into one eye certainly didn't help matters.

Sal ground his bloodied teeth together and has face became a mask of rage. The very tentative control he had upon his spiritual power was released and all the screaming pain centers in his body found a voice in a roar that ripped from his lungs along with his considerable spiritual energies that burst from him like an erupting volcano.

Ren struggled to get up she was no match for the hollow, the human was right she just got in the way here she is now nearly half dead, or more dead; then she was. Half way up she opened a portal to the World of the Living but was intterupted the a firce roar and a strong SP not from the hollow but the human. Who knew he could give off that much energy?! she thought. Forgetting about the portal she ran for the forest.

Ooc: I appoligize for it being short.

There was no mistaking the direction the torrent of spiritual energy was coming from. The warrior's yell only hightened the feeling of terror that washed over the gray hollow. While he had hoped his attack had killed the man, it had only proven to make him angry. In his current damaged state running into the enraged man was the last thing he wanted to do. There was no choice, he had to retreat. Stratus directed himself away from the awesome spiritual pressure and put one foot in front of the other. Painfully slow, each step was utter torture. The body was trying to heal, but by moving the shards cut the wounds open anew. He didn't have time to take them out. As much distance as possible had to be made between him and the opponent. If they crossed paths now, chances were it wouldn't end well. Another day, another time. The man would be the one battered and broken running away. If not that, he would feast upon the man's soul before tearing it asunder. Stratus spat on the ground. He would remember this, and he would indeed pay.

The faint spiritual energies were growing fainter still, moving away from him and for that he was truly grateful. As quickly as it erupted the font of energy vanished, blown out like a candle, and Sal fell onto all fours hacking and coughing flecks of blood hitting the ground beneath him and trickling down his chin.

He was in rough shape, that was without a doubt, he had no illusions that if those Hollow had used their heads and come at him two on one at this very moment it would be a very one sided affair.

No matter, he thought, it was time to get the hell out of here before any Shinigami showed up. It wouldn't be the best time, that was for sure.
He struggled up and using his sheathed weapon as a makeshift cane hobbled away in the opposite direction from the Hollow, deeper into Rukongai where he could eventually open a gate out of here.

That Hollow....the Crystal wielding one. They'd meet again and next time Sal wouldn't be so polite.