No Thought of Safety (Tenshineko)

Shioshi's feet padded softly against the ground as he moved through the hallways, the time just about reaching midnight. His blade was strapped to his hip, and he wore his uniform, as he was about to sneak out of the Academy to the forest not far outside of it for some solo training. It had been a few days since he'd gotten any practice in, so he wanted to get do so in complete privacy, with absolutely no chance of any staff finding him and punishing him for being out of his room past the Academy curfew. Thinking himself brilliant for his plan, he finally reached the final obstacle to his exit from the Academy; the main gate, with two guards standing at the ready. Realizing being caught now would get him into even more serious trouble than what he'd been doing the past few weeks in the Zanjutsu Courtyard as night, he moved among the shadows, sneaking towards the garden courtyard. He entered it and, after finding and collecting a few stones, moved back to the main gate.

With a grin, he casually, but strongly, threw the rock in the opposite direction of himself. It struck something hard, and there was a resounding clang. Immediately, the guards were at the ready, hands on their weapon hilts. After another throw with his second rock, the guards ran in the direction he'd thrown them. For good measure, he threw the third before the guards went too far, and then darted for the gate. He opened it with as little sound as possible, and then slipped through the opening. He was free of the Academy for the night! Suddenly realizing that, Shioshi's grin turned into one of a maniacal kind, almost, so great was his joy. He was actually free of the Academy, if only for a single night of training in the forest. With a skip to his still-silent step, he moved swiftly towards the forest and then entered it,

"I can't believe I haven't left the Academy since I first joined it! It's ridiculous!" he cried, although not too loudly. If he were to yell, the guards would be able to hear him still, and that would certainly not be good at this time. So, no longer having to move silently, at least, he ran deeper into the forest, ready to get going with his training. He quickly found a suitable clearing far enough away from the guards to ensure that they wouldn't be able to hear him, no matter what, and so he drew his blade and removed his shirt, so that it wouldn't stick to him when he started sweating. He immediately began to twirl his blade, which soon turned into fast spins, and then into that graceful place of calm he entered whenever he practiced with his weapon. It would've been graceful to watch, if anyone was watching. Of course, he had no thought of his safety at that moment. No idea that Hollows did, in fact, sometimes come this close to places such as the Academy...

Clunk! A sound and a thunk on the head woke Ren from her sleep. Hearing footsteps comeing tword her she took of to the forest for safty. Before she took off she saw a strange Aura on the stone. Someone was sneaking out. Well that hurt. What is that student up to? she thought. Eventually she followed the Aura from the stone and saw a shinigami student in a clearing. Growling silentaly Ren thought of nothing but the safty of this arrogant kid, She knew the dangers of being out this late at night.

Hollows were waiting for young Shinigami like him. So she thought for a moment. I need to get this kid out of here before it's to late. So what better way then to fight him in order to get him back to the Acadamy. Ren rised her SP. "Awfully late to be Training. Eh, Shinigami?" she said in a sweet but dangeruos voice. With that Ren used her Aura shard. Time to fight!

Shioshi immediately spun, weapon at the ready to block any melee attack. Of course, though, his opponent just had to decide to use a ranged attack. Thinking quickly, the Student rolled out of the way, coming back to his feet and standing at the ready, his glare intense as he watched the Hollow's every movement. What was one doing so close to the Academy?! He hadn't even thought of the possibility of a Hollow showing up, but one had, and that was a very bad thing. He'd never been in a real combat situation before, and that meant he had to be even more careful. Even in his humiliation at the hands of Draylon, the chance of death had never been there. His adrenaline was pumping, though, and he was already trying to think of a way to quickly bring about an end to the fight. No quick finishes seemed within his grasp at this time, though, so he could only try and stay alive for the moment.

""The fires of hell, a scrap of your power, another damned soul! Hado No. 5, Kakyuu!" he cried. Immediately, a ball of fire formed around his fist, ready to be fired at the opponent and glowing green, the color of his Reiatsu. With a yell, he punched the air in the direction of the Hollow, and immediately, the fireball exploded forward, aimed directly at the feline-like monster. He didn't wait for that to hit, though. Instead, he followed close behind, his arm brought back to begin a wide arcing-slash designed to use the Hado to blind the Hollow to his follow up strike. He knew that this would be harder than that, though, and so knew that this attack would almost definitely not do as it was intended, and end the fight right there. The odds were so stacked up against that, he actually had to suppress a slight chuckle.

Seeing a fireball Ren had a sudden de javu. She quicky moveed to the left and stood on her hind legs; the fireball had missed her and she saw the Accadamy student close behind the attack. with a smirk on her face she laughed "Foolish boy." With that being said she brought her right paw down and stuck the student on his back with razer sharp claws.

Ren jumped back to give them some distance. She looked at her handy work. Her claws had left a rather large slash on the kid's back. That will be painfull for a while. It must really hurt. What am I thinking?! she scolded herself. Shaking her head she quickly used her Aura shard again only this time she surrounded the kid with her strange stones. It was now the student's turn to attack.
I waonder what he will do? she thought.

Gritting his teeth to get past the pain of the strike to his back, he spun in time to see the odd Reiatsu based crystals floating around him, ready to strike if he moved. That, of course, gave him an idea. If they were Reiatsu based projectiles, then they had a weakness, one that he could exploit. "Stop the Impelling Shot, From a Prompt Arrival! Bakudo No. 3, Sutoppu!" he suddenly cried. Immediately, the odd Reiatsu shards stopped moving, and Shioshi rolled underneath them while they were stopped. His wound on his back flared up as he did so, and a lance of pain shot through his body, but that wouldn't keep him for more than a second. He only had about two more before the Bakudo would wear off. He stood to his feet quickly, and saw that he had come out on the opposite side of the Hollow, so he prepared yet another Kidou. He mumbled the words to the incantation quickly.

"Bakudo No. 8, Seki!" he cried. The rapid use of three different Kidou were definitely taking its toll on the Student, especially since he wasn't exactly the best in that area anyways. However, he couldn't afford to stop and rest in the middle of the fight, and so when the small shield formed before him, and his original Bakudo's effect wore off, he stood there and focused on keeping the shield active for as long as possible. Most of the Reiatsu shards collided with the shield and shattered, but as the Bakudo wore off, one last one shot through, striking Shioshi in the side with a glancing strike. It wasn't serious, but it was still painful. He ran towards the Hollow again now, coming in on a random zigzag pattern so that the Hollow wouldn't know which side he'd attack from. He ended up on the left, so he brought his blade around in a series of small thrusts and slashes and ended with an overhand chop. He then hopped back out of reach of any close range attacks to see if any of his attacks had hit the feline Hollow.

Ren had dogded the thrust attacks. But she got slashed on the chest. She leapt back and let out a loud hiss of anger and pain."You are good for a Student. You got a name kid?" Ren asked out of habit. She really needs to stop doing that. Ren bared her teeth and let out a small growl.

She leapt at the Student and bit down on his shoulder. A second later she felt a stabing pain in her shoulder as well. She looked down and saw a blade in her shoulder.

Ooc: I appoligize if it is short.

Shioshi tumbled backwards as the Hollow's jaws clamped down on his shoulder, and then gasped and fell down to one knee. He felt his own blade penetrate the Hollow's own shoulder, and managed a grin of satisfaction that lasted for a second. Shioshi brought his free arm up and then began repeatedly punching the Hollow, anywhere that he could reach, trying desparately to free himself from its teeth. Finally, he managed to bring his knee into the Hollow's chest, which allowed him to break free. With a gasp of pain, he fell back, blood pumping from the painful wounds. He looked up as he stumbled backwards, collapsing to the ground against a tree. He was pummeled, but against a Hollow, he couldn't afford to sit there and wait around. He knew he had no choice but to continue the fight, because if he didn't, he'd be killed by the Hollow, 'cause he was quite sure that the Hollow would not sut there and wait for him to recover.

Using his weapon to steady himself, he pushed himself back to his feet, and then, stanching the flow of blood with his free hand somewhat, he came forward at the Hollow with a new attack. He brought his weapon around in an arc, going for a neck-chest-neck combination, forming a triangle of attacks, in a way. Without waiting to see the effects of his attacks, he followed them with a massive amount of stabbing attacks, and then brought a foot up to try and kick the beast in the neck. As he performed this kick, he brought his Zanpakutou arcing around to slash at the Hollow's mask. He felt his shoulder crying out in agony, but he couldn't afford to pause to examine his wounds. He let out a cry of anger as his attacks closed, and then watched, to see what would happen, and, if his attacks managed to hit, what the effect would be. His intense focus took effect now, and resulting calm spread through him, beating back his other, hindering emotions.

The student was punching as hard as he could to get away from Ren; he managed to kick her in the chest witch knocked the wind out of her. She lost her grip on his shoulder and fell back. Both were exusted both they both would not give up. Ren struggled to get up then she started to dogde the students attacks. She dogded all of them but then the kid slashed her mask.

She brought her head down. The mask fell and shattered.

Ooc: No she is not Dead. There is more to it.

Shioshi watched in satisfaction as the Hollow's mask cracked and and fell away from its face, shattering against the ground. He grinned, having gained victory against a true Hollow for the very first time in his life. He sheathed his Zanpakutou and then collapsed to the ground, staring at the Hollow, who still stood, not quite yet dead. However, with its mask shattered, there was no way it could live. It wasn't possible. At least, he'd never heard of it happening before, and so he certainly didn't believe that this Hollow would be the first. However, as the Hollow continued to stand for far longer than a few seconds, his eyes began to widen in shock.

He realized that this thing wasn't dead yet. His hand grasped for his Zanpakutou, but he found he was just too weary to fight anymore. He closed his eyes, believing his fate was sealed. "Just end it quickly, Hollow..." he whispered, and then he sat in silence, awaiting what was to come. He wasn't sure what to expect after the afterlife, but he hoped that there was something next. He had no idea what it could be like, but at that moment, he didn't care. He supposed he would see it when he got there. However, he opened his eyes after a few more moments of silence to see that the Hollow had not attacked him, and was not moving to do so. His eyes widened yet again. This night seemed to be full of surprises.

Ren just stood there waiting for the Student Shinigami to do something. But nothing came. The kid must be in shock to see her still standing there. Maybe I should explain. she thought. " You seem confused that I'm still alive,Shinigami. I will explain so you can understand. You see I have this vary unique ability. I can sense and controle Aura. Though I'm not fully sure about it myself but, that is not the case at the moment. What shatered was not my hollow mask but, it was a layer of my own Aura."

She looked up and saw him trying to reach for his Zanpaku-to but he had no strength left. "Just end it quickly, Hollow..." he said. Ren squented her eyes and turned around. She walked away say these words hopeing that they would stay with the Shinigami "I will let you live for now, be happy that I did not kill you. Remember my name, Ren Zugaikotsu. Untill we meet again Student Shinigami." Ren continued to walk opening a way to the World of the Living to rest and tend to her wounds for the night.

Ooc: These words were inspiered by Kenppachi Zaraki.

Shioshi stared at the Hollow as it walked away. It had called itself Ren, and then had warned him. Yet he was still alive! Somehow, he hadn't been killed! He didn't know why the Hollow had spared him, but he grateful that it had. Using a tree to keep his balance, he pulled himself to his feet. He swayed for a moment, but then completely regained his balance. He sheathed his sword and heaved a great sigh of relief, and then examined his wounds. There was a large gash across his back, and several other, minor, wounds. The gash would definitely scar, but it would be alright in the end, and the rest of the wounds would simply heal and go away. He had no idea what he would do during the day classes, though, particularly Zanjutsu.

Muttering under his breath, he headed back towards the Academy. He would sneak back in, then return to his room for some much needed rest. His wounds had already stopped bleeding, except for a minor trickle from the gash on his back. He was certainly glad that he had an extra uniform that he had never worn before, since, if he didn't, he'd be in serious trouble, because it would be obvious he'd been out of the Academy. As he reached the Academy's gates, he repeated the same maneuver he'd gone through before to fool the guards, and it worked once again, allowing him to enter unseen. He moved quickly to his room, and then entered, immediately removing his damaged clothing and bandaging his wounds. He then slipped on his extra uniform.

"Now I just have to hope I can get through the next few days without letting my scars be seen," he muttered as he lay down. As he lay there, slowly, yet inevitably, he drifted towards the world of dreams. He smiled as finally removed his Zanpakutou from his back and laid it next to the bed so that he could sleep comfortably. His hand lingered on his weapon's hilt for a moment, and then came back to to his side. He stared up at the ceiling for a while longer, and then finally, he slipped into sleep, his chest rising and falling as his dreams swept away his worries for the time being. That was one thing that would never change in the world of the Shinigami.