Appearance! Espada No. 5, Nekrus Vularo! (Open To All)

Kyro, Mia, and Sukeno raced along, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, the 5th Seat leading the way. They were heading in the direction of a Hollow that had appeared, and although it didn't feel that strong, since the three of them hadn't seen each other in awhile, they'd all decided to go from where they'd been at Karakura Central Park not that long ago. The three friends laughed at a shared joke as they moved, Sukeno in the lead, hand on his Zanpakutou's hilt, but without any real worry. They had already realized that the Hollow was outside of Karakura's city limits, in the countryside beyond. They'd deal with it quickly, then return, as there was no real threat at the moment.

The edge of the city was in sight now, and so the three of them sped up, moving as quickly as they could without Shunpo, since Sukeno was the only one of the three who could use that. They leapt from the final building, then landed out in the tall grass and ran on, sensing that the Hollow was indeed close. They entered a dense pocket of trees and forced their way through, finally coming across a clearing where there was indeed a Hollow, roaring up at the sky for no apparent reason. When the three Shinigami entered the clearing, it instantly snapped its head in their direction, lips pulled back, snarling. It appeared to be a giant, six-legged canine. Sukeno only laughed and leapt straight into the fray, Zanpakutou leading the way.

Kyro and Mia only looked at each other, grinned, and then followed, ready to back up the 5th Seat if he needed any help. Sukeno leapt straight towards the Hollow, landing on its face as it looked up at the suddenly descending Shinigami. Its mask cracked beneath the force, and with a wild laugh, Sukeno plunged his Zanpakutou deep into the Hollow's head. He back-flipped off, pulling his Zanpakutou with him, and landed easily in the grass, bringing his weapon up in a slash that cut the Hollow's mask in half. It gave one more roar, this one of pain and surprise, and then disintegrated, going to wherever Hollow's went once they were killed. Kyro could only sigh and shake his head, impressed, as always, by the 5th Seat's prowess.

"Nice job, Sukeno! Once again, you've proven yourself as quite skilled," Kyro called to the 5th Seat, his voice light and humorous. Mia grinned, as did Kyro, and as Sukeno headed back over to them, he gave a loud, hearty laugh. "Anyways, we should be heading back to Karakura, just in case another Hollow pops up, and there instead of here," Kyro continued after the laughter had died down. Sukeno nodded his agreement, as did Mia, and the two of them turned to head back to the city, as agreed. That's when something struck them, hard, and even the 5th Seat struggled to stay standing. Mia fell to her knees, unable to move, and Kyro could barely manage to stay up on on knee. It was Spiritual Pressure.

Sukeno managed to turn his head and look at what was giving off so much Spritual Pressure, and in the distance, he saw a Garganta, and emerging from that Garganta was an Arrancar, followed by many Hollow. His eyes widened, for the only kind of Arrancar that could emit such Spiritual Pressure couldn't possibly be anything less than an Espada. The Hollow that followed him, whoever he was, sensed the three Shinigami, and immediately turned in their direction. There were at least twenty of them, and all felt powerful. Sukeno looked back at Mia and Kyro. Kyro had pushed himself back to his feet, but Mia was too weak to fight with this Spiritual Pressure keeping her down. It would just be Kyro and Sukeno.

"Kyro, get back... I'm going to show you something you haven't seen before," Sukeno commanded, his voice grave. Kyro, not daring to disobey at a time like this, nodded and stepped back. Sukeno held his Zanpakutou before him and began spinning it, his Reiatsu flaring. His gaze snapped upwards, towards the Hollow, and he yelled out the next words. "Screech, Kurou no Aruji!" were his words. Immediately, his a blinding light erupted from the 5th Seat, but only for a moment, and once it was gone, Kyro's eyes grew wide. He was witnessing, for the first time, Sukeno's Shikai. He now held a large scythe, its appearance quite threatening.

Spoiler:

"Kyro, watch my back! We need to hold these Hollow back as long as possible, and take as many of them with us as we can while we wait for help!" Sukeno growled. Then he brought Kurou no Aruji, apparently about to swing the weapon. Kyro only gave his agreement. Sukeno returned his gaze to the approaching mass of Hollow. Several more at emerged from the Garganta, and were heading in their direction as well. The Arrancar had yet to move from his spot, up in the sky, too far away for any details to be made out. Kyro swallowed, hard, and held his Zanpakutou before him, knowing he needed to protect Mia at all costs. Sukeno leapt into the air to meet the Hollows head on.

"Dakō Itami!" he cried, and he swung his Zanpakutou. Brownish-Reiatsu erupted from the blade in a wide arc, shooting towards a group of three Hollow. It struck the first in the mask and immediately destroying its mask, and then struck the two behind it as well, cracking one mask and putting a deep gash in the other. However, more Hollow were still coming from the Garganta. Kyro swallowed once more, but stood, determined. They would hold until help arrived. They had to, he knew, because otherwise, this Arrancar, whatever its agenda was, would achieve said goals.

Shioshi practically collapsed then and there from the weight of the Spiritual Pressure suddenly felt for miles around the Garganta, his eyes wide and his breath stolen. He tried to turn, but couldn't. He continued to fight his way up, and once he stood normally once again, he managed to turn and take a step, and then another, in the direction of whatever was giving off this gigantic Reiatsu. Soon, he was moving normally once again, leaping moving as quickly as he could through Karakura towards the Garganta, which he could see ahead of him out in the fields surrounding Karakura Town. He could sense the other three Shinigami there as well, one of the Reiatsus being vaguely familiar. After a moment, he recognized it as Kyro's, a Shinigami he had met just earlier that same week in Seireitei.

He moved quickly then, wanting to help with whatever was happening, even though the Spiritual Pressure was extremely daunting. He drew his Zanpakutou as he moved, knowing, beyond any doubt, that he would need it as soon as he arrived. He could now see the large amount of Hollows coming forth from the Garganta, but he could also sense that none of the Hollow were emitting the mass of Reiatsu. It came from something- or someone- else, someone standing just in front of the Garganta. He closed his eyes, his inner calm taking control. He prepared himself mentally and physically for what was about to come. Finally, he reached the edge of Karakura Town. He moved on without a thought, knowing he couldn't afford to wait if he wanted to provide any help to the three up ahead.

He pushed on through the dense trees and burst into the clearing, immediately taking in the situation. He rushed forward, crying out as he came up behind a Hollow and sliced one of its legs off. It roared in pain, and he came around it, blade flashing upwards, at its mask, and slicing that in two. As the Hollow fell, he moved over to Kyro, weapon at the ready. He helped up the downed Shinigami, allowing her to wrap her arms around Shioshi's neck as well as Kyro's for support. As she found her balance, she brought her arms back to her side, and then drew her Zanpakutou, ready to get into the fight. Shioshi grinned, and then stepped forward, ready to burst into action against the first Hollow that attacked from the dense circle that had now formed around the three low-ranked Shinigami. He saw the other one, using Shikai, facing off against the more powerful Hollow, and knew they'd get no help from one. He took a deep, steadying breath.


Riansho Keiln, rogue Arrancar, and sentinel of human life, could easily feel the massive Reiatsu coming from the Garganta out in the areas surrounding Karakura. His eyes widened as he recognized the one giving off that Reiatsu was none other than Espada No. 5, Nekrus Vularo. There was absolutely no way that he could afford to stand by during this fight. he stood up to his full 7'1" height, and then spun. He pinpointed the location of the Garganta immediately, and then used Sonido to shoot across Karakura Town at high speeds, his expression grave. He could sense the four Shinigami there, fighting for their lives. They'd no doubt think him an enemy at first, but he knew he couldn't hide this time, not in a battle of this importance. He set his expression and then moved on, ready to confront the Espada, even though his own strength couldn't match Nekrus's own.

He finally arrived at the seen, looking around and seeing that the Shinigami had already organized some sort of defense against the horde of Hollow that had also come through the Garganta with Nekrus. "Nekrus Vularo!" he bellowed, his voice easily carrying to his foe. The Espada turned to face him, sensing Reiatsu that was actually powerful coming from him. "You are an evil being, even for the Hollows, the Arrancar! I will destroy you this day!" he continued. He growled threateningly at the Espada, but Nekrus only laughed in his face. Riansho's eyes narrowed, and he was not daunted. He prepared himself for battle against a man that, even in the terms of Hollow and Arrancar, as he had already stated, was truly evil.

N.I.U.S had been spending some time in the hueco mundo desert when it for the first time saw one of the creatures known as arrancar, one of the most powerful at that. He called himself an espada and had quite the following of hollow in his trail and apparently he was going to attack the town of Karakura alongside them. It quickly had come to the conclusion that it could certainly benefit from joining him, both in the sense of having such easy prey from the security of such a powerful presence and also that it would not have to find a one of the massive brutes in order to enter the world of humans again, if something powerful enough to threaten it were to appear it would get out of the way as soon as it was able.

So it went that N.I.U.S now was on the outskirts of Karakura, with several other hollow and the arrancar. For the moment they were headed for the closest nearby spiritual pressure coming from three nearby shinigami and one of them in particular becoming far more clear, similar to the other reaper it had met before that had transformed his sword. It watched as the first wave of hollow charged ahead, three being cut down by the one who had changed and for now it stayed back as it wanted to see the strength of its opponents before rushing in.

--Minutes before--

Alarms were blaring in the Seireitei in response to the massive attack forming in Karakura. Kuro was roused from a relaxing afternoon of sitting around the squad grounds drinking tea and received word from the messengers that he was to take a defense force to Karakura Town and lead a counter offensive against the hollows. Kuro wasted no time in mobilizing his squad, selecting a small group of them to accompany him on the mission. Among the chosen was Mika Nishino, a member that he had been through a lot with so far and expected much from in the future. He did not explain much more than the urgency to get to the living world and fight a hollow invasion. They didn't have time for long briefings. The team dashed to the Senkaimon, Kuro leading the way

--Present Time--

The gate opened up at the edge of the trees with the garganta overhead. Kuro emerged and immediately saw the hollows pouring through their dark door. He also saw and felt the one standing in front of the garganta. "An arrancar..." Kuro's voice trailed. But even as he began to think of what to do, he felt another rising power. Looking to the other side of the clearing, he saw another arrancar. This was not going to be as simple a fight as he had first thought. Two hollows of that level would almost surely be impossible for him to beat by himself. But he had to try. At least to protect those under him. He grabbed his zanpakuto and began to direct his team. "Stick close together and back each other up. Move to the position of those other shinigami. Once you've joined up with them, do your best to prevent hollows from advancing any further into the living world than this area. Nobody is to draw the arrancars' attention to themselves. Leave them to me."

Kuro shunpoed into the air, heading for the arrancar standing near the garganta. He could feel the reiatsus of his squad members rising as they joined the fray, obeying his orders and moving as a unit towards the shinigami who had been bravely fighting the hollows when they arrived. He turned his attention back to the hollows' boss. He couldn't afford to focus on anything else now. He had to trust his team. "Concentrate, Seishou-seijin." he spoke and released his zanpakuto into its gauntlet form. He clenched his fist as he took position across from the arrancar and waited for it to change its stoic role in the fight.

Katsumi wasn't sure what to expect as he and the rest of the chosen member of the squad made the way to Karakuro town. The alarms were enough to know that it must be big. Katsumi knew that the Captain was counting on him to do his part. As they finally got to the place he paused for a brief moment to take in the site. Hollows seemed to be pouring out and that man... Katsumi quickly unsheathed his Zanpakuto after hearing the Captains orderds and headed out. As Katsumi got within fighting distance of the hollow, he shunpoed into action.

Quickly spinning Katsumi swung at the closest hollow. His upper body strength made a massive first attack, shattering the mask of the first hollow. With the speed he was traveling Katsumi had no choice but to attack a second before regaining a fighting stance. He quickly reset his zanpakuto straight forward slicing a large cut into the arm of a second hollow. As Katsumi landed, he noticed there were already some shinigami there. Katsumi decided to use finish off the second hollow before grouping with the shinigami. Katsumi jumped into the air and came down hard on the hollow with a downward swing. The mask of the hollow shattered adding to the screams of his previous injuries. The hollow disappeared and Katsumi began to smile. "That wasn't so hard." Katsumi said aloud. As Katsumi looked up he realized that there was still a lot of work ahead. Especially that man standing there. Katsumi heard of this spiritual pressure before, but never had the thought he would have to face someone this strong so early in his career. Katsumi shunpoed to the rest of the group and made his introductions. "My name Katsumi. Does anyone have any idea what the heck where looking at?" With allowing an answer Katsumi quickly stood ready to fight. "We're going to make our stance here. Second squad Captain Kuro needs us to keep the hollow from advancing. No one gets passed us understood?" Although Katsumi wasn't the highest ranking shinigami on the field, he wanted to try and get everyone's attention focused on what needs to be done. However in the back of his own mind, he knew that Captain was eventually going to be needing help. After passing along the Captains orders to the rest of the shinigami, Katsumi jumped into action.

Relaxing in his room at the bount mansion, listening to his i-pod, Akira suddenly sensed the presence of hollows...a lot of hollows. His doll, Sirene came bursting into the room in a near panic, jumping into his lap as she spoke with a shaking voice. "Akira-sama...I hear them. Hollows are here!" Akira wasn't as prone to fear as his doll from the appearance of a large group of hollows. More than anything, he was only getting stirred up from the fact that they were so close by. Standing up suddenly, making Sirene slide to the floor, he pulled his earphones out. "Don't be such a scaredy cat you little baby. We're going after them." Sirene picked herself up and followed as he left his room and dashed down the steps. "Please don't call me that master. You know I don't like being called that."

Akira managed a grin over his shoulder as they began to run across the fields towards the massive reiatsu. "But it's so easy to call you a baby when you act like such a weakling. Maybe you should just stay at the mansion and take a nap with your favorite blanket."

"Master! Stop teasing me!" Sirene's face was red with her outrage at Akira's bullying. Nobody watching them and their drama would guess that they were running toward a dangerous fight. Akira stopped with the kidding around and turned back to the matter of thehollows. He would make them pay for messing around in his territory. It didn't matter how many there were. All hollows must die.

Kyro, Mia, Sukeno were certainly thankful for the help from the first arrival, and then even more so from the arrival of a group of 2nd Division squad members. They had been able to stay alive, but just barely so, taking light wounds here and there. Now, with a Captain facing off against the Arrancar, and so many lower ranked Shinigami taking care of these weaker Hollow, they actually stood a chance of winning. Or so he thought. That's when he noticed the second Arrancar, with Reiatsu almost as strong as the first. His eyes widened as the weight of another powerful Reiatsu fell upon him and his allies. However, for some odd reason, it didn't stay holding them down, which meant that the Arrancar had done that purposefully or had hid his Reiatsu, which didn't seem plausible.

Kyro and Mia stood back to back, blades weaving rapidly to keep the Hollows away. Sweat beaded their brows, but they didn't stop, their constant movement of their Zanpakutou the only thing keeping the enemy from dealing them a painful blow. A massive Hollow came in then, and Mia, knowing Kyro's way of dealing with such things, ducked. Kyro wheeled, placed his hand on Mia's back, and then launched himself over her, into the air a bit, in the direction of the large Hollow. He Zanpakutou came forward, cutting deeply into the Hollow's head through its mask. He held onto the embedded weapon, planted his feet firmly, and then tore it upwards, further sealing the Hollow's fate. Then he yanked his Zanpakutou out and allowed himself to fall to the ground, stumbling but then catching his balance once again.

Immediately Mia was there, at his back again, fending off two Hollows at once. Kyro came around and removed the smirk from their faces with his slashing Zanpakutou, decapitating one. The other, realizing that he could no longer claim victory, tried to retreat, but Mia and Kyro advanced, their Zanpakutous slashing, stabbing, and chopping in harmony. Soon, they put a double-slash across the Hollow's mask, ending its actions forever. It was a small victory, nothing more, and that fact was soon punctuated by the returning press of a seemingly never-ending stream of Hollows. Kyro looked up for a moment as he and Mia returned to their previous form of combat in time to see the original Arrancar take a step forward...


Nekrus Vularo, Espada No. 5, burst into laughter as his only two opponents showed themselves. He couldn't help but do so, as he truly enjoyed just how unprepared the Seireitei had been for this attack. The Espada had been very quiet lately, but now Nekrus had begun to set his own plans into motion. However, he knew that not even he could defeat two opponents of such strength on his own. So, he leveled the playing grounds a bit. "Revlin!" he yelled. Immediately, across the battlefield, yet another spiritual pressure could be felt as Nekrus's only Fraccion, Revlin Nephis, suddenly appeared beside his master. "Help with this, would you?" he asked, his voice coy. Revlin saluted, then turned to face the lesser of the two opponents, the ex-Espada.

"Serve well, Soldado Intencional..." said Revlin, and so the fight began. Revlin's Reiatsu flared to new heights as his mask erupted, engulfing his body and then shaping to form his released appearance. As the transformation was completed, Revlin stood beside his master once more. Then Nekrus nodded, and Revlin Sonidoed towards Riansho. He appeared behind the rogue Arrancar and brought his gauntlet in for a strike against his head. Riansho's eyes widened in momentary surprise, then spun and caught the punch, the spiked gauntlet stopped by his hard skin. He skidded backwards a bit, but then brought his own fist forward, punching Revlin in the face. The Fraccion suddenly flew backwards through the air from the force of the attack, but then caught himself. He Sonidoed back towards Riansho once again.

Spoiler:

"You can't afford to watch..." Nekrus whispered in the Captain's ear as he suddenly Sonidoed behind him, grinning the entire time. He brought a finger up to the Captain's head. "Cero..." he said, still whispering. The dark purple Reiatsu immediately began to flare, ready to obliterate the Captain's head once it fired unless he moved. However, Nekrus didn't know that this was the Captain of the 2nd Division, the fasted Shinigami in existence at this time. If he did know this, he wouldn't have been too daunted, but he would've known that such a simple attack's chance of actually hitting would be next to impossible. So he waited for the Captain's move.

Kuro was confused as a third arrancar appeared and proceeded to attack the second one that he had noticed. Inner conflict? he wondered to himself. But his thoughts were cut short as the arrancar leading this attack sonidoed at him. He couldn't help cracking a grin as the enemy took position behind him, even with the cero threatening to fire at any moment and destroy him. He spoke with a voice that was tight with the tense mood of battle, but surprisingly calm. "It's not wise to get this close to a squad 2 member you know."

Kuro bent over into a lowered position, keeping his head beneath the level of the arrancar's cero. Whirling on the spot, he spun himself around clockwise to face the enemy and slammed his open gauntlet clad palm at his stomach, releasing his spirit energy within it as he struck to fuel a super strong thrust. He didn't stop there. Shunpoing immediately after his attack, he rocketed after the arrancar and extended a glowing gold blade of spirit energy from his gauntlet to slash horizontally at his neck.

Shioshi's blade flashed around and about, completing the X on the Hollow's mask as it cut. He didn't stop, though, instead rolling to the side immediately to avoid another Hollow's fist, which struck the ground where he'd been standing only moments before and then embedded itself in it. He came up and then removed the arm that the hand belonged to from the Hollow's body, drawing a roar of pain from said Hollow that was cut short by another slash that sliced the Hollow's mask in two. He spun and was suddenly sent flying by yet another punch, from a Hollow he hadn't seen in time to dodge. He hit the ground, gasped in pain for a moment, and then pushed himself back to his feet. As long as nothing was broken, he'd continue to fight at his peak against this massive Hollow attack.

Shioshi watched the two Shinigami, one he suddenly realized was Kyro, a man he'd met not that long ago, and the other a woman he hadn't met before. They seemed to have practiced that form of combat before, the two of them working in absolutely harmony. He could only imagine what would happen if the man with the Shikai were added into the mix. He certainly didn't want to ever cross them. Shioshi's attention was suddenly captured by something burrowing through the ground, although he couldn't tell what it was. The ground above it, though, was pushing upwards, which meant that it had to be large. "Watch out!" he called in the direction of Kyro and the woman, and then it erupted from the ground.

It appeared to be a large worm, its Hollow mask different in the fact that instead of a face, it was a giant, gaping maw, and inside of its odd mouth, row upon row upon row of teeth could be seen, all razor sharp. He could feel a powerful Reiatsu coming from it, and he knew that it was by far the strongest in the massive horde of Hollows, or, the strongest that was planning on showing itself any time soon. He looked around to see if there would be any forth-coming aid, but saw that all the other Shinigami were already preoccupied. The thing was about to strike down Kyro and the woman, so he did the only thing he could do to save them. He let out a roar and then attack, blade stabbing deep into the worm's side.

The Hollow thrashed, sending Shioshi flying, Zanpakutou clattering to the ground several yards away as he crashed back down upon the ground. His breath was taken away, and his arm snapped out of place. He cried out in pain, his cry reaching across the battlefield. He couldn't afford to just stay down, though, so he forced himself back up, and stumbled over to his Zanpakutou. The arm that had popped out of socket was the arm he used to wield his blade, so he picked up his weapon with his undamaged arm. He spun to face this powerful Hollow, which seemed to tower over the others, and swallowed hard. This was going to be a long day.

It appeared that it had made the right move in waiting as more shinigami arrived in an incredibly short time from the onset of the attack, including one possessing power it had never before felt in a reaper. Along with the arrival of the shinigami came also an additional arrancar, one that from the looks of the other arrancar's reaction was hostile, curious. Perhaps arrancar were more alike normal hollow then it had thought after all.

Deciding that things had come to a balanced enough state for it to act, it burst into action. It followed a pack of hollow heading towards the small group that had been reinforced that remained fighting from the start, now having fallen under attack from a large worm like hollow. It kept itself behind the other hollow as they charged ahead, watching them get ripped apart in the onslaught and then deciding for a more clever approach as it saw the worm beating back one of the shinigami that had just attacked it, it kept itself on the outskirts, waiting for the best time to strike.

A piercing screech suddenly tore through the area where the hollows were engaged with the small shinigami group. Louder and more intense than a normal scream, the sound distracted and agonized the combatants, shinigami and hollow alike. Akira burst into the fight in the minor confusion, striking out with all limbs at any hollow that came within his striking range as he made his way toward the main scene of the clash. Leaping over a giant worm-like hollow that was bearing down on a shinigami that appeared to be injured, Akira took a position alongside the shinigami, facing the worm. Sirene glided over the swarming hollows and found her way to Akira's side. He held out his hand and she immediately reformed herself into her core form, a giant feather shaped sword. Akira brandished this weapon at the worm, daring it to come closer.

"You shinigami seem to have your hands full." he said to the shinigami as he kept his gaze locked on the hollow. Saying nothing else, he charged forward at the worm. It was big and powerful, but that didn't stop him. The worm lashed out with its tail as if it was a whip. Akira skipped to the side to avoid the tail, and the worm followed his dodge and responded by lunging at him with its large mouth of teeth. He jumped in the air as its head reached him and sailed over it, striking with his sword as he dodged. The sword did little damage against such a powerful hollow, but Akira could see that he'd gotten its attention. Turning to face him, it let out a loud roar that sent its saliva flying out of its mouth. Akira raised his sword and began to circle, looking for his next chance to strike, or distracting it until someone else launched an attack on it.

Katsumi began to look around at the shinigami who were all fighting valiantly. This was going to be a long day and there was no time for mistakes. With the shinigami spread across the battle field, there was a lot of room for confusion. Still Katsumi was concerned about the Captain. Although his full potential and reaitsu weren't released, the fact that there are 2 Arrancar fighting against him and a third that seemed to be a little confused made Katsumi very uncomfortable. Katsumi decided that he would tighten up the line in the battle field. With two major fighting areas amongst the lesser shinigami, it made the center field a perfect place for mistakes to happen. Katsumi shunpoed to the center field where he noticed a certain hollow waiting. He seemed to be watching the shinigami who were fighting the worm like hollow. "There is something about that hollow that doesn't feel right." Katsumi thought. Katsumi shunpoed to the two hollows that seemed to be in front of the said hollow. As he reached the first hollow Katsumi quickly knelt on its head, "Hado 11: Bound Lightning." A surge of electricity quickly bolted through the hollows head and with a loud scream it began to disintegrate. Before the second hollow can react, katsumi shunpoed across to it with his Zanpakuto held forward. Stabbing the hollow between the eyes, Katsumi then pulled out his Zanpakuto and followed with a hard strike downward on the hollow splitting it's mask in two. As the hollow began to disappear, Katsumi reformed his stance ready to fight. "I don't know who you are but I refuse to let you stand back and watch. What kind of coward are you?" Katsumi said as he began to chuckle.

Kyro saw the worm-like Hollow, and the robotic-like one, but he and Mia could not afford to break off from their current foes to help against either of them. Their Zanpakutous were barely moving fast enough to protect themselves, let alone others around them. Sukeno was the same, his Zanpakutou, in its scythe Shikai form, twirling about and striking down Hollows left and right. He did well, but the horde did not relent, and for every Hollow that was cut down, another three seemed to take its place, especially since the 5th Seat could easily be recognized as the strongest of the Shinigami there save for the Captain up in the sky, the one who was facing the most powerful of the Arrancar. Kyro desperately wished he could join his other friend, but knew that he could not.

"Mia, we need to help with that worm-like Hollow so we can join up with the other Shinigami and whoever our other ally is!" he cried to his friend over the roar of battle. She managed to divert her attention long enough to throw him a nod, and then she leapt back, rolling away so that Kyro could do what he did best. Improvise, with powerful results. "May the tears of those killed, of those harmed by those of wickedness deliver their judgement upon those around! Hado No. 10, Rain of Pain!" he roared. Immediately, acid rain began to fall, causing those Hollow around him that he had just been fighting to roar in pain, their masks melting from their faces. Soon, he moved onto those giving chase to Mia, quickly supressing them, allowing Kyro to make quick work of the them with his Zanpakuto.

Then Mia turned and moved in the direction of the worm-like Hollow, Kyro close behind. They almost managed to strike without being detected. Almost. However, the Hollow sensed them and spun, and, still angry about the few minor wounds it had already received, it opened its maw as wide as it could. Red Reiatsu immediately began to form into a perfect sphere, and Kyro's eyes widened in horror. It was preparing to use a Cero. "MIA!!!!" he cried, and he ran towards her, trying to get close enough to her to force her out of the way. He brought his hand forward, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get to her in time, and began chanting the words to a Kidou. "Hado No. 2, Reel!" he cried. The Kidou took effect on Mia as the Cero fired, yanking her back to get her away from the central radius of the blast.

However, she was still struck by the edge of it, and the shock wave sent her flying. Kyro was forced back, and then, when he opened his eyes and saw Mia flying through the air, Zanpakutou shooting in a different direction, he dove towards Mia, catching her and crashing to his back because of the force of the shockwave that had sent her flying. He saw her, face bloodstained, shrapnel embedded all across the front of her body. Her eyes were close, and her breathing coming slowly. She was alive, but only just. He closed his eyes, trying to force down his utter rage, and failing utterly. He stood to his feet, his body shaking, and his face extremely pale. He set Mia down gently, wishing that the reinforcements had brought men from the 4th Division along, and then faced the Hollow.

"May the Black Sounds of Those That Have Felt Death Emit and Destroy! Hado No. 7, Black Lightning!" he roared, sheer hatred and rage in his voice. He raised his free hand, the black electricity already sparking from it, and then fired it at the Hollow, which was already shooting in his and Mia's direction. The black lightning bolt struck it in it's huge, gaping mouth as it opened it, as if to devour both of them. The bolt caused the Hollow to reel, howling in rage, but Kyro wasn't finished yet. "A Single Feather Flutters. Sojourn On the Clouds, Bend the Wind On My Wings! Hado No. 16, Sonic Wave Arrow!" he growled, and immediately, the invisible 'V' formed before his extended hand. With a roar of anger, he fired the the Hado, and the 'V' struck the Hollow at the top of its mask, breaking a single piece off and then blasting out the back of the thing's throat.

However, instand regeneration took effect on the Hollow's body, and the mask, and the holes the Hado had created, healed, although the Hollow still felt the sting of the attacks. It roared angrily, and then opened its mouth again, as if to fire off another Cero. However, Kyro wasn't where he had been before. Instead, he was leaping atop the Hollow's body, Zanpakutou stabbing repeatedly into its back as he landed. Blood poured from those wounds, but Kyro didn't stop, instead standing up and, balancing on the thrashing Hollow, he came up near to the worm-like Hollow's mask and slashed repeatedly at it, putting several gashes into the beast. Blood spurted out, spraying into the air, and the thing thrashed, finally sending Kyro flying. He landed hard, but then, after recovering from the crash, pushed himself back to his feet, and prepared to attack again, watching as once again, instant regeneration took effect.


Nekrus put a hand in his pocket as he flew backwards. He had already gotten past the force of the gauntlet-strike, and had simply continued backwards himself. As the odd blade of Reiatsu came in at his neck, he raised his Zanpakutou and smacked the attack out to the side. Then Nekrus spun, twirling in the air, and brought his foot in with a powerful strike to the Captain's chest, reinforced with a large amount of Reiatsu. Then he came to a stop, standing in the air. They had come away from the battle by quite a distance, which would only aid him. He didn't want to accidently effect his own soldiers once he truly got into the fight. Nekrus stood, left hand in his pocket, while he held his Zanpakutou with his other hand, allowing it to hang comfortably down at his side. He once again burst into laughter, as for once, he actually had a worthy opponent.

"The name is Nekrus Vularo, Espada No. 5. Don't bother giving me your name. I don't need to know who I'm about to kill," he said as he finished laughing. He reached up and pulled down the clothing over his upper body, allowing the five, imprinted on his right shoulder, to be shown. He then covered up his upper body again, and brought his Zanpakutou up, his free hand still in his pocket. "Squad 2, huh? I've never faced a Captain before, so this should be quite fun," he spoke. Then he broke into laughter again. However, as he ended, a dangerous glint came into his eyes as he stared at the Captain. He slid his Zanpakutou back into its sheath, his smile still on his face. His eyes narrowed as he spoke next.

"Entrance and then Torture..." he whispered, and his Reiatsu suddenly flared, igniting and soaring to new heights. He winked at the Captain as he finished his sentence. "Noche Asesino." Nekrus's mask exploded across his face, quickly engulfing his entire head, and then spreading down his body, until it completed the transformation. The last thing to happen was for his Zanpakutou to disappear. The dust cleared, and there he stood, in his Resurrection form. He cackled, an evil sound that was quite loud in the now-reigning silence around the two combatants. He took a step forward, and then another, moving slowly and deliberately towards the Captain.

Spoiler:

"Tell me, Captain of the 2nd Division, what is your worst nightmare?" he asked. It was an odd thing to ask during a battle, and of course, Nekrus didn't need to know for his abilities to work. He didn't need to know what his enemy's worst nightmare was for his abilities to form them. A grin spread across his face yet again. "No, better yet, don't tell me. I want to be surprised. I want to see the sheer terror on your face without knowing just what it is that scares you more than anything else," he continued, his grin still growing larger as he moved forward, ever so slowly. His Reiatsu continued to grow larger and larger as he prepared to unleash one of his abilities. The first time that someone experienced his abilities had always been the last, and always because the fear that gripped their minds was of a pure level. He used one's greatest fears, a person's worst nightmares, against them.

"Grito Cráneo..." he whispered. He brought his hand back, and then forward. Dark purple Reiatsu exploded in a giant net like fashion, surrounding the Captain and then being drawn inwards, towards the Captain, as the ability took effect. The net was made for those with speed to be unable to escape. As the net finally entangled the Captain, it was absorbed into his body, Nekrus's Reiatsu entering the man's mind and then transmitting the images out to the area around him, images that only Nekrus and the Captain could see, as the migraine part of the ability took effect. "Let me see what it is that you fear, Captain....." he said with a hiss, and then, as he felt the final stage of the ability take effect, he launched forward to deliver a punishing Reiatsu-enhanced blow with his fist.

Spoiler:

"Ametralladora! Ten Shots!" cried Revlin, and he brought his cannon arm to bear as the Reiatsu quickly formed. The shots exploded forward, homing in on Riansho, who had his Zanpakutou drawn. The Rogue Arrancar brought his blade to bear, focusing his Reiatsu into his Zanpakutou and then slashing apart the first four shots. The fifth and six came in, too soon after the last shot, but Riansho raised his hand and stopped one with it, while spinning and then redirecting that shot with his hand to catch the second, causing both to explode. He spun and brought his foot around, catching the seventh shot with it and then sending down to the ground to explode far below. He Sonidoed past the remaining three and appeared just before Revlin, bringing his Zanpakutou down for a decisive blow.

Spoiler:

Revlin, though, caught it on his armor-like bone that now covered most of his body, the section on his forearm. He then brought his knee up, striking Riansho in the stomach and sending him up. However, the Rogue Arrancar spun in the air and then came straight back down, Zanpakutou extended in a stabbing strike from above. Revlin Sonidoed into the air just across from Riansho, though, and brought his fist forward. Riansho brought his free hand up and caught the punch, forced back through the air, and then twirled forward once again, Zanpakutou coming down and cutting through the bone armor, putting a slash deep into the Fraccion's shoulder. Revlin grimaced in pain and then Sonidoed away, coming to a panting halt far off to rest for a moment. Riansho wouldn't allow a break, though, and as stabilized himself in the air, he brought his Zanpakutou up before him. He couldn't afford to allow this fight to go one for too long.

"Strike, Maestro del Rayo!" he roared, and then his transformation began. Revlin clutched at his wound, but wouldn't allow himself to lose to such a simple attack. He brought his gauntlet arm back, ready to unveil another of his abilities. Riansho's transformation was finished now, though, and so as Revlin charged up his Reiatsu for another ability, Riansho stepped forward out of the smoke swirling about him from the transformation. He Sonidoed forward, extremely fast, too quickly for Revlin to get a good look at him, and only fast enough for the Fraccion to just evade the attack by Sonidoing away. He continued preparing for his new attack, charging up his Reiatsu, as Riansho followed him, still too quick to be seen. Finally they came to a halt, and Revlin took in his now-changed opponent at this break in the fight, panting in the silence.

Spoiler:

"Puño de Trituración!" cried Revlin, and immediately, the giant copy of his arm and fist formed in the air above him, made of Reiatsu. He swung forward, and the arm and fist reacted, obeying his command and doing as Revlin had done. They reached Riansho, but the Rogue Arrancar, in his new form, reached out and caught the giant attack with his untransformed hand. He moved back a step, and then came forward, flaring his Reiatsu and shattering the attack. He then charged his own Reiatsu for a counter attack, growling at the Fraccion, who's eyes widened in shock at the power difference between the two of them. He couldn't afford to lose, though. He couldn't afford to fail his master, lord Nekrus. So he gritted his teeth and prepared to attack once again. And the attack began in earnest.

Spoiler:

Kuro wasn't surprised that his second attack had been stopped. An arrancar wasn't going to be defeated by such a weak and straight forward attack. Kuro's speed and reflexes came in handy when the arrancar spun and delivered a powerful kick aimed at his chest. Putting his arms up, he blocked the blow, but was sent flying a short distance by the strength backing it. Kuro was mildly surprised that the arrancar revealed his name. But then again, that was probably a pride thing, giving his name and number. And now knowing that he was the fifth espada, Kuro knew that this Nekrus was going to be a handful. He was a little insulted that he was being so underestimated, but he figured that was to be expected when a person took such a tame position on the battlefield like he was. Maybe it was time to go on the offensive a little more. This train of thoughts was interrupted by the release phrase of Nekrus and the enormous spike in his power. They would surely be able to feel that strength all the way back at the garganta where the fighting was taking place. Kuro took half a step back as Nekrus began slowly pacing toward him in his released form. He didn't know what the enemy's abilities were like, so he decided to hold back on his attack for a moment. This decision would cause him much grief.

When Nekrus asked Kuro about his nightmares, Kuro was puzzled, and he could feel a confused look spreading on his face as Nekrus continued talking, saying that he'd prefer a surprise. Everything about this arrancar was sadistic and overconfident. Like he felt that he was constantly controlling the fight and had nothing to fear. His rising power completely engulfed Kuro's, seeing as Kuro's shikai kept his power at a minimum level of detection by constantly focusing any amount that rose. Nekrus then whispered something that Kuro missed, and with a wave of his hand, the rising power he'd been collecting exploded into a net of dark reiatsu that surrounded Kuro and quickly closed in on him. As the foreign reiatsu entered his body, Kuro's head began to feel weird. It was sort of like a throb for a moment, then quickly burst into the worst headache Kuro had ever felt. He grunted, and began to moan as he tried to keep his wits about him and not lose focus on the enemy. This was much easier said than done. It took every bit of Kuro's effort to keep his eyes open through this torture, his face a horrible grimace of agony. But as soon as it began, the pain stopped. What came next was much worse.

The sky they were standing in and the field below faded from sight as a new image began to appear. Kuro found himself standing in front of the door in his office back at the seireitei. Something inside him filled him with dread, telling him that he would not like what he saw on the other side of the door, but he ignored this instinct and wrenched the door open, stepping out onto the squad grounds. He immediately regretted this action, as what he saw was the worst sight he had ever witnessed. The squad grounds of the second division were strewn with the corpses of his squad members and blood was splattered everywhere. Kuro's eyes grew wide with disbelief and he put a hand up over his mouth which was hung open in horror. He turned to leave the grounds and saw two living figures by the gate. Kuro came closer and saw that it was a hollow...and the girl Mika from his squad. The hollow had her wrapped in a giant fist and was raising her up over its head. Kuro stood frozen as time seemed to slow down and the hollow slammed her into the ground, smashing her mercilessly. The hollow turned its head back to face Kuro and grunted a slow, taunting laugh. Kuro finally couldn't hold it in anymore. The horror had pushed him to his limit.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Kuro screamed in agony and fury. His power was filling his body, trying to flare out in a massive wave. His shikai continued to try and keep it all compressed, but Kuro's amount of power was now surpassing its capability to keep up with. His reiatsu escaped with a surge of heavy golden light. The scene of his squad disappeared and he saw Nekrus for a split second as he moved in to attack Kuro in his vulnerable state. Kuro's head was still filled with that terrible image of the dead squad he'd been unable to save. Nekrus's attack struck Kuro right in the gut, the pain of which snapped Kuro back to reality as he flew back from the force of the impact. He stood up straight again, still feeling the sting of Nekrus's surprise attack, and thrust his gauntleted fist into the air.

"You're going to regret riling me up with that torture you freak." Kuro was not in his carefree mood anymore. Nekrus's trick had shaken Kuro considerably and even allowed him to land an excellent attack on him, but it had also tossed Kuro's nice guy routine out the window. "BAN-KAI!!!" Kuro's power spiked in a flash of energy that formed a towering gold pillar that rose high into the sky for a split second before fading and revealing Kuro in a new outfit. He was now donned in a black ninja suit trimmed with gold color and a black sash decorated with seven hollow gold rings. Any trace of his rising power was gone now, all being contained by this suit and the pairs of gauntlets and boots he now wore. To any outsider to this fight, Kuro would seem to have less spiritual presence than a powerless human right now. But Nekrus was sure to notice the brilliant glowing jewels on Kuro's gauntlets and boots, filled with his compressed energy. Kuro folded his hands in concentration, and two of the rings on his sash quickly filled up with golden color. He raised a single palm and pointed it at Nekrus, firing a thin golden beam of compressed energy at him like a bala. Immediately after, he guided more of his power into his boots and fueled a shunpo quite faster than he'd been capable of doing before and appeared behind Nekrus. Not feeling as merciful and sporty as the arrancar had earlier, Kuro gave no warning of his presence and flung his right gauntlet at the hated foe's back while extending an arm-wide spike of reiatsu from his palm. He was sure that the concentration of his power now would make his constructed weapons a threat to even an arrancar's tough skin.

Shioshi stared as Kyro unleashed a powerful barrage of attacks against the worm-like Hollow, only for all the wounds that he inflicted to be instantly healed. He glanced at their strange new ally, and thought that he may have been a Bount, but he didn't think too much on it. Instead, he focused on the Hollow they faced. It could fire a Cero! With an ability that strong, their chances of winning had just gone down quite a bit. Not to mention that Kyro was currently acting in complete fury. Shioshi shut his eyes, focusing, supressing his rising emotions with calm. His head had to be completely clear for this. He eyed the Bount's odd weapon. It seemed to be able to emit high-pitched screams, as it had when it entered the battle, and could obviously cut through objects as well as a Zanpakutou.

"Hey... I'm about to attack. Try and use that as a distraction to get to this thing's mask. I'm not sure how much of an opening I'll be able to make," said Shioshi, moving closer to the Bount so that he didn't need to shout to be heard. He sheathed his Zanpakutou, took a few deep, calming breaths, and then put his plan into motion. He raced forward, leaping into the air and spinning, both arms held out, hands open. He skipped the incantations for both of the spells. "Hado No. 5, Fireball! Hado No. 7, Black Lightning!" he roared. In one hand, the fire flared, engulfing his hand, and in the other, the black electricity sparked and began rapidly spinning around his hand. As he himself spun in the air, he unleashed both Kidou, at the same time. The electricity struck the back end of the Hollow, while the fireball crashed into the back of its head.

Roaring in pain, the thing whipped about, and, spotting Shioshi, it did something new. The many different rows of teeth within the things maw began to rotate, every other row turning to the right while the other rows turned to the left. As they spun, rings of Reiatsu formed, and then, as they continued spinning, the rings were filled up until they were discs. Then they floated out from the Hollow's mouth, seven in all. They quickly reshaped into orbs, and began to spin around the Hollow's head. They reached an extremely fast speed, and then exploded towards Shioshi. His eyes widened as they converged on him and then began to spin again, circling him. He realized he was no longer falling; instead, he was going up. His shock managed to overrun his calm just as the orbs exploded around him.

It seemed it wasn't even required for it to itself move into the battle as instead the fight was brought to it. The heartless eyes simply observed as its dimwitted 'guardians' were slaughtered by the shinigami that had appeared before them, utterly unconcernered by their death. It remained equally unshaken by his remark and laughter, this one had the attitude of an overconfident warrior, one who enjoys being in the heat of battle and considers it part of their life. Fitting for a creature such as shinigami.

"Cowardice? An organic ideal created to cast blame on those who would not fight when ordered. Later used to accuse any who refuse a challenge of being without honour. Utterly useless to me." The emotionless voice reprimanded what it had assumed to be single-tracked fighter before it, its body prepared for its first attack. "I will show you how little such ideals matter. You will be destroyed." It did not finish speaking before settling into motion, in fact it began its attack the moment it started to speak. The creature had released a swipe of its tail, attempting to smash the shinigami with the strength it held while simultaneously releasing an electric discharge against its opponents leg in order to hamper his chances of evasion.

"Don't just stare you fool! Get away from them!" Akira shouted as the worm performed a new technique that looked like it would seriously wound the already injured shinigami. "Sirene, go get him out of there!" Arching his hand back, he tossed his feather sword like a spear straight at the shinigami and the orbs encircling him. The sword quickly returned to the form of the little winged girl, soaring through the air as fast as she could. Akira tried to get the worm's attention again to distract it and hopfully delay the activation of whatever it was those orbs would do. Dashing around to its front again, he bent his knees and sprung up to get at its mask, kicking at the white mouth with all of his strength. He could feel a minor depression in the mask material as his foot made contact, and tiny fractures appeared where his foot had struck, but it was not enough to completely shatter the thing and destroy the hollow. The worm was not happy with Akira's stunt, roaring in pain from the injury, though minor, that he'd inflicted to its mask. Snarling like a beast, it lunged at him again and again, forcing him to repeatedly jump from side to side. Without Sirene to use as a weapon, he didn't have the means to inflict serious damage on a hollow of this size and strength. His focus was shaken as he heard a high pitched scream ring out from where the shinigami had been. Sirene had flown at high speed and pushed the shinigami out of the middle of the orbs as they blew up, getting herself caught in the blast instead. Her body heavily injured, she reverted back to her sealed pendant form which flew through the air and landed on the ground a short distance away. "Sirene!" Akira shouted in concern. He knew that as soon as he unsealed her again, she'd be as good as new, but it still felt wrong for him to let her go through that kind of pain. The worm took advantage of Akira's diverted attention and struck quickly while his gaze was off it. Akira felt immense pain as his latest dodge was a fraction too late and he received a painful shredding tear to his left arm. His white shirt sleeve was raked with rips from the worm's teeth and stained red with his blood. Akira jumped far back clutching this wound and waiting for a chance to break away from the worm and retrieve his precious doll.