It's Only a Dream [Open]

Tatsuya's fist sunk deeply into the hollow. A deep cut into the side of the hollow sprayed blood into Tatsuya's face. Tatsuya saw the tails shoot off just as the hollow turned to strike him. He quickly pulled on his arm back from the hollow fresh wound. With the hollow's extra effort, Tatsuya was unable to completely block the attack. Tatsuya was sent flying back towards a nearby building. He crashed into and through the exterior wall creating a large hole in the side of the building. People inside were frightened by the crash, some even thought a bomb might have gone off. Tatsuya quickly flipped to his feet and jumped out of the building through the new window, as people gathered around on the inside to try and figure out what was happening. "That the best you got Hollow?!" Tatsuya shouted, faking his stamina, as he looked at the hollow before charging. As he got close to the hollow he leapt up and attacked the hollow with a drop kick.

With the sweet sound of a kiss between lovers, Tatsuya's bladed fist yanked away from Kaoseu's flesh, none too gently, as his forearm connected before his tail even got around. He watched for a moment as the Shinigami flew into a building, though he couldn't exactly be sure of which was him, as spots danced about his field of vision. Shaking his head vigorously, he managed to clear some of them away as he looked back up, prepping himself for a second round of attacks. However, his bulky form could only move so fast after his ordeal.

He heard the taunt, and meant to look up, but his overburdened mind was slipping once again, his personality reverting back to that of the beast. The transition took a toll, and by the time he looked up, he was staring at the bottom of two feet. With a sickening thud, The Hollow was lifted into the air, a ragdoll effect taking hold of his limbs as he crashed back down. Laying there for a moment, he took advantage of his elongated neck, eking out the Shinigami's location as he was landing. Quickly, he lashed out with both tails, the right tail sweeping to the left about a foot off the ground, the left tail sweeping right at about his adversary's chest level.

The unsettling cracking sound made by Tatsuya's drop kick against the hollow, brought a small grin to his face as he sent the hollow flying through the air. Tatsuya slowly made his way to the hollow after it crashed into the ground. As he landed his flame covered gauntlets grew hotter and brighter as he intended to roast the hollow where it laid. He cocked his right arm up and back preparing to release a torrent of flame. Before he could the hollow lashed out with its tails. Tatsuya's eyes shifted to each tail as they shot out to the outside of him instead of straight towards him. As they came at him, one low and one high, he turned to his right and began to bend backwards while jumping slightly into the air. He intended to jump and spin dodge the crisscrossing tails, but the higher tail clipped his shoulder sending him spinning out of control along the ground. He skidded along the ground trying to regain control, until he hit a brick wall that stopped him quicker. "Ugh...Son of a bitch!" He muttered as he dizzily stood up and stumbled. He leaned against the wall for for support and raised his arms into the, angled out in front of him. He pushed his reiatsu out of his gauntlets creating a large five meter wide fire ball. "Eat this, you piece of shit. HINOTE SOUJUU!!" He threw large fireball at the hollow as soon as his vision focused.

laying there, with a clear view of the midday sky, Kaoseu watched ashes dance through the air like fireflies, some still aglow from the massive explosion from earlier. However, his reprieve was short-lived. Snapping back to reality, the Hollow stood as quickly as possible, a mild satisfaction coming from his successful strike. His grin wavered, and then melted into a mind-numbing fury, sending the Hollow back into a frenzy, completely obliterating his human personality at the sight of his opponent beginning to stand.

With a roar of sheer rage, the beast charged forward. Now, he cared little for his injuries. All he craved was the destruction of the Shinigami before him, and the delicious meal that he would make following. So great was his fury, he didn't even register that Tatsuya was speaking. The bright orange ball of flame, however, painted a different picture. Putting on a burst of speed, Kaoseu attempted to close the last bit of distance between the two, but to no avail.

Reaching out a clawed hand, Kaoseu was still just a few feet shy of his opponent when the massive ball of flame was sent careening into him. It was like being hit by a freight train. All of his forward momentum ceased, and he was thrown backwards, the searing heat burning his flesh all along the front as the flaming sphere carried him further and further, his feet dragging- until they were over open air. There wasn't enough strength left in his body to fight the the weight of gravity as it took hold of him.

From a distance, he was a smoking speck as he fell, the hundred feet to the ground seemingly an eternity up close. It took only a few seconds for him to reach terminal velocity, the upward force of wind balancing the downward thrust of gravity. At some point in the brief fall, he lost consciousness, only to regain it just as quickly. He could only wish he'd stayed unconscious when his large frame crashed into the paved roadway below, sending rubble and debris skyrocketing into the air.

Slowly, he picked himself up off the ground, barely able to move as it were, and for a moment, his intelligence took hold as he gazed at his surroundings, though once more, he only wished it hadn't as his eyes fell on the truck stop, whose parking lot he was now buried in- right next to the pumps. With as much haste as he could manage, he tried to drag himself as far away as possible, not wanting that damned Shinigami's flames anywhere near this place. Half a second's thought brought an onslaught of worry that this may be his dying day, for the second time, and the pain he felt at it saddened him, but drove him to survive even more, though that may have just been his fevered mind, riddled with the self delusional thoughts of an animal.

Tatsuya was lucky his vision focused when it did. Any later and he was sure to have a claw pierce his body and that would be it for him. He threw the massive fireball just as the hollow closed the distance between them to only a few feet. The impact sent the hollow back and into the air before dissipating. He walked forward slowly keeping his eye on where the hollow flew. The hollow was farther then Tatsuya had originally thought. He placed some reiatsu at his feet and pushed off the ground jumping on to a nearby roof. "Damn thing won't die." He thought as he tried to catch his breath while quickly heading towards the hollow. When he finally arrived his body was tired, he wasn't sure how much longer he could continue. He quickly surveyed the area, spotting another gas station close to where the hollow landed. "Shit." Tatsuya thought as he recalled the previous explosion not long ago, but then an idea quickly formed in his mind. He summoned his energy reserves and flash stepped five meters away from the gasoline pumps and right between the hollow. He didn't have much energy to spare, so he put on ruse. "Let's go hollow. I'm still up for a couple more rounds." He lifted up his hands into a fight stance. He didn't like the idea of blowing up another gas station, but if it meant killing this dangerous hollow, he'd do whatever was necessary. Keeping himself between the two also meant the hollow might retreat. Afraid that it might die if it pushed Tatsuya back into the pumps.

A garbled mess was Kaoseu's mind, full of animal instinct and human fear. Both screamed for him to make haste and flee, though underlying it all, his pride, a trait gained from his days as a Shinigami himself, wouldn't let him, not as long as he could still move. Mixed in with this pride, however, was common sense. He was at a loss here. He couldn't gauge his own strength, and his bulky form was something of a limiter. Not only that, but he had no understanding of his abilities as a Hollow.

As the Shinigami made his proclamation, Kaoseu could not only see the false bravado in the rise and fall of his chest, but he could feel the occasional fluctuation of Spiritual Pressure. They were both reaching their limit, having gone all out since the beginning of the battle. Kaoseu knew at this point that it was all or nothing, if he hoped to get away with his life. Drawing his way up to his full height, a deep, rumbling growl rolled across the expanse between them. Kaoseu focused his Reiatsu about 5 meters behind Tatsuya, compressing it so far in on itself that it began to distort the space around it; the beginnings of a Garganta.

Now, the only thing left was to find a way past the being before him. His lips parting, the growl decreased in pitch and increased in ferocity. Slowly, his arms hanging limply at his sides, his muscles almost refusing to act, Kaoseu took step by step closer to Tatsuya. When he was about ten meters out, he began to speak.

"I have no more will to fight, Shinigami... And neither do you. You've no idea who I am... Who I was. When you go back to the Seireitei, tell them..."

At this, Kaoseu put on a sudden burst of speed, channeling as much speed and Reiatsu as he could into his large limbs, in a sort of makeshift Flash Step, angled to the Shinigami's left. As he passed, he made sure he was close enough to whisper and be heard.

"Kaoseu Enjel lives..."

He forced open the Garganta that was so close in front of him, no longer caring what action the Shinigami took. He just hoped he could make it to the safety of the desolate realm he saw beyond the gaping expanse before him. If push came to shove, he could sustain the Garganta only a bit longer, as he still entertained the thought of battle, though he knew not whether that was the Hollow in him, or just the beast he was.

The hollow rose to its full height, and Tatsuya's stance tightened. When he felt the change in spiritual pressure, he focused his own into his gauntlets. The hollow seemed to lower its guard, either because he was tired as much as Tatsuya, or because it was intentional it didn't matter to him. The rumbling growl was threatening as the hollow slowly stepped forward, and then something unexpected happened. It surprised Tatsuya. The hollow finally spoke. His eyes narrowed on the hollow as it spoke which through him off guard. The entire fight the hollow hadn't said a single word, and yet here...now, it finally did. Mid sentence the hollow cut itself short and quickly charged at Tatsuya. He jumped to his right as fast as he could, not expecting the next words that escaped the hollows mouth. "Kaoseu Enjel?!" The name repeated in his mind as the hollow disappeared into the Garganta behind him. "Captain?!" He shouted, at the now closing portal when he finally made the connection of the name. Too late. The hollow was now gone, the battle over. But it only left more questions then wounds for Tatsuya. But he didn't need to think of them at that moment. He sealed his zanpakuto and slid it back in to the scabbard.

He used shunpo and quickly made his way back to Sumiko. When he made to her, she had already saved Ezrachek from his wounds and stabilized him. Before either had a chance to say anything though, A Senkaimon appeared in the air. "We gotta go. Now!" He grabbed her arm before she could reply and quickly dragged her away with shunpo. Renewed energy took over his body at the new predicament. Those coming from the gate were not just any shinigami, they were more than likely other 2nd Division members, and if they say him there, they would only pursue him. He was in no shape to take on the unit. The unconscious shinigami had know who he was. Tatsuya hoped he wouldn't regain consciousness until after he was able to get out of the town. He wasn't sure if the shinigami would inform them of his presence. And he wasn't going to wait to find out.

There was mixture of frustration and relief as the Shinigami dodged. One half of him craved the thrill of a prolonged battle, whilst the other half longed for the reprieve. However, his words seemed to have some unaccounted for reaction. The look of utter surprise on Tatsuya's face betrayed his demeanor entirely. It rang a bell, somewhere, and Kaoseu confirmed this as the Hollow passed through the opening of the Garganta.

Behind him, the shout reached his ears, the Shinigami having put two and two together. However, this outburst caused more pain than anything in Kaoseu. He could no longer see himself as such. The title Captain was reserved for those Shinigami of distinguished power. He was merely an empty shell of his former self, fittingly, a Hollow. He let the shout die as the world turned dark around him.

A pull in his gut, just behind the navel, guided him through the distorted space. He was deposited high above the landscape, for a second, granting a clear view of Las Noches, the abandoned home of the Espada, far in the distance. His brief experience of flight was short lived, and soon, as it does everywhere, gravity took hold, and Kaoseu had his second hundred foot fall within the expanse of five minutes. This time, however, he lost consciousness for the duration of his trip, a spray of grey-white sand exploding into the never-ending twilit sky. Here he lay, his body weary, his mind rewiring itself. Nagging at the edge of his consciousness was a single thought, one he couldn't comprehend or place as he replayed his battle. Suddenly, his eyes snapping open, he could feel a change, a sudden connection and understanding. He let his eyes close as he drifted off once more, this time into bliss, a whisper escaping his lips into the grains of sand.

"I am... Kaoseu Enjel..."