Walking a New World

Looking up at the blue sky through the window, William frowned, he had spent so long in the darkness of the abyss that the bright light of the noon day sun cause the inside of his skull a throbbing pain. Looking around he seem to be in an abandoned building in some foreign land, for the walls had strange lines drawn on them with arrows pointing this way and that. He was sure that the if he could read whatever it said that it would at least provide him with a clue to his whereabouts, but like everything else about his life he had no such luck.

I must find out where I am and how long I have been gone... he placed his hands on the sill of the window and looked down at the street below him. This entire building looked like it had been burned out a long time ago. When a crash came from behind him William turned his arms coming up to protect him out of instinct, but all he saw was an older man climbing up into the same room where he stood. Will frowned and looked down at this old man, it was like he couldn't even see him, “Leave here now...” he yelled but the man paid him no mind.

Charging forth he kicked the man as hard as he could in the waist and watched him double over in surprise. “I warned you...now you will die.” With the man on his knees Will raised his leg and let it drop hard and fast on the old man's neck where he heard a sickening crack as the body went limp. “Next time...when I tell you to leave...listen...” he grunted and walked back to the window to stare down at the world stretched out before him.

“What new level of Hell have I found? This can't be the same world I left behind...” Will murmured to himself as he took in the sights, a paved road stetched around the corner and metal carriages rolled along them at a rapid pace. The buildings were sleeker than he remembered and most seem to be made of solid stone and polished glass. He could see the reflection of the people walking in the sides of the buildings. All of them seemed to be talking at once to themselves. To Williams eyes it seemed like he was in a strange new level of hell where all of its inhabitants were force to dress alike and move in a uniform fashion, but still he had never seen the sun in hell before.

"Another slow day." Arawn spoke as he landed upon the next rooftop. He wasn't complaining, not in the slightest. He enjoyed these moments of tranquility. The human world was so much different than Seireitei. Buildings reaching for the sky built of metal and glass dotted the area, the amount of people moving the streets vehicles weaved down the roads, and the smells. Sure there were foul odors, but then there was the pleasant fragrance of food cooking or the fields of flowers filled the parks. While he enjoyed the atmosphere he still kept his job of a shinigami seriously. He wasn't just sight seeing and relaxing. When he first started patrolling he would check his phone ever few moments for updates. Since he learned how the devices work he now set the device to sound a small alarm should anything need his attention. So far nothing was required of him, but he still kept his eyes open.

There was a shout to his right. The red haired man moved over to the side looked down over the alley between the buildings. A young woman was being robbed at knife point. He resisted the urge to jump down and help the woman. It wasn't his place. He wanted to, but he knew better. Arawn wasn't a policeman. His job was protect the people from something far worse; hollows. The mugger ran away with the purse and the woman screamed for help. Two men entered the opposite end of the alley to help the young girl. She was distraught, but unharmed. Arawn swallowed hard. Indeed it would take little effort for him to apprehend the thief, but then what about the next time? A bank robbery? A murder? He could spend all day trying to stop them, but what if an hollow attacked occurred? What then? Was he to let the monsters rampage because he needed to play hero? Shinigami weren't supposed to interfere with the humans. "Hado #1: Crimson Strike." He said and pointed his index finger toward the fleeing criminal. A burst of red light shot from his hand and hit the dumpster just as the man ran by. The explosion sent the metal box rolling away from the wall into the mugger's path. It was too late to stop and the man slammed into it. He fell backwards stunned from the impact. Arawn smiled from his high perch "Zero interference with humans." he muttered as one of the men saw the downed man and sprinted after him. Perhaps he couldn't stop all crimes, but he would do what he could.

Seeing someone running down the path below Will focus his attention on this raggedly dressed man, Why would anyone try to move faster through a river of people going the opposite direction? Will frowned, this man was an oddity and he decided to follow him for a ways as he ran though the burnt out building keeping the man in site from window to window. When he reached the end of his ruined sanctuary William didn't hesitate as jumped across an alley to a rusty fire escape on the next building. Without wasting a moment to look around he started climbing upwards towards the roof; before he could make it though he heard a woman's scream and call for help.

It wasn't a lot, but it stopped him for a moment, a simple cry for help something about that scream made him angry. Pushing himself to move faster he made it to the roof and looked around for the source of the screams he had heard, but before he could find them the sound of an explosion from the other side of the building caused him to spin around ready to attack who ever had just chose to try and attack him. Cautiously he made his way to the other edge and peered over, there seem to be garbage everywhere and the remains of a charred metal box. A few feet from it the man he was following earlier lay on the ground his hands linked behind his back as two men stood over him.

They seem to be surprised by the remains of the metal box, but it was no longer interesting to Will as he looked around for information on where he was. One thing was for sure in his mind now; this was not Hell, but this was not a familiar world to him either. Looking down at himself Will realized how much he stuck out in his scorched and torn clothes, he would soon need to find something better to disguise himself if he didn't want to attract attention.

Saving the woman seemed to be the highlight of his day. Thus far nothing else needed his attention. Maybe he should change locations. The thought came to him as he gaze upon the busy street corner. Hollows are usually attracted to places with plenty of humans an souls to feed upon. An active are like this would be like a pie on the window. Yet not a single bite. Arawn gave a grim smile. Hunting hollows was much like fishing. Only the fish could kill you if not careful. If fishing were that dangerous he might be inclined to watch it. Bryce would at least. He knew the hunchback strange attraction to violence would have him spying on every fishing hole across the globe. The irony was the rotund man had no physical prowess save for the muscular arm he had grafted to his large back. He reached into his black robe and pulled out his phone. A press of a button quickly revealed the time. Nearly two hours had passed since his patrol began and he'd only covered half of the allotted area.

"Can't be sitting on my duff all day." he said. He took one more look down into the alley where the police were now arriving. Arawn tucked the phone back into his robe. "Better move to the next block." He pushed off the roof and was launched into the air. He landed on the building on the other side of the street. Often he thought about flying over the city, but it proved to be too difficult. Arawn had trouble spotting the creatures from the air even with his glasses on. Keeping to the rooftops was more effective. And if a hollow happened to spot him first it kept the people out of harm's way. The last part was disturbing to think about, but it was a harsh reality; while he hunted hollows they hunted him.

Will frowned as he looked around, something wasn't right his gut told him so, and in all the centuries within the abyss he had learned that it was usually right. He looked up from the ledge just in time to see a black robed figure land on a roof in the distance; eyes wide and desperate Will didn't waste another moment; having thought he had been spotted he ran realizing that if someone could move like that from roof to roof than there was no way he could drive him away. Running back the way he had came he aimed for the fire escape on the side of the burned out shell and jumped. His hands grabbed the side of the stairs between to floors, but as soon as his feet made contact and his weight landed suddenly on the unstable structure things went south, quite literally. The entire fire escape shifted under its new burden and started coming away from the building as it crashed to the ground below.

Will could only watch in horror as the metal floor below him collapsed; the ground was coming quickly up to meet him and even more worrying was the thought that there was two or more floors of steel above him. This is going to hurt. Even as his mind had given up his body moved on raw instinct and the need to survive, as he kept climbing the stairwell towards the top. As he reached the next level and grabbed the hand rail the ground slammed under his feet and the level above him crashed down on back and shoulders. Realization came over him as he realized again this was not the world he left...this was not the world he remembered. The steel above him was heavy, but again it wasn't as heavy as reason told him it should be...it should of killed him instantly instead it had just pinned him down.

People in the street all stopped and watched as the fire escape came crashing down; some police even got to the front to hold back the spectators. Cellphones came up all at once as the tried to all get a picture so to post something interesting up to color their otherwise boring day.

The clamour from the street increase. For a second Arawn was afraid a hollow had indeed appeared. His phone hadn't sounded, but he pulled it out anyway. There was a loud sound coming from the direction he had just came. The sound increased in volume. The shinigami turned his gaze at the building just as the metal fire escape came crashing down. For a moment he wondered if his kido had contributed to the catastrophe. No, he hadn't hit anything that would result in anything collapsing. Anything stronger than Crimson strike would have put a hole into the wall not destroyed the dumpster. Had something else happened? He was torn between checking up on thing and continuing on his patrol. Arawn flipped open his phone and looked over the radar. No hollow was present. It could be hiding, but it was doubtful. If was such a monster it wouldn't waste any time in filling it's gullet. While the logic was sound his curiosity was not sedated. He half turned to look in the opposite direction. So little happened on the majority on his patrols. Now something had happened and he was to ignore it? Hardly seemed fair. With a groan he turned back towards the now gathering people on the street. Arawn jumped back across the street. He might as well find out what was going on. This second jump to him much higher than the last one rather than land on the building he was flying high above hoping to get a better view of the situation.

As he passed over the scene he saw the source of the ruckus; the fire escape had fallen. How had such a thing happen. The people seemed eager to get closer and examine the site. It seemed rather strange that people were rushing towards an accident rather than walking away from it. Somebody might get hurt. Arawn thought about it for a second. Somebody might have gotten hurt. he said to himself. The wind howled in his ears as he descended from the sky. He focused his spiritual power to his feet slowly his fall. Seconds later he landed on the street where the police were keeping the public at bay. The men said nothing as Arawn crossed line of safety and approached the twisted metal.

Will frowned, he was still conscious and his body ached, but not nearly as bad as he had assumed it would after the crash of the metal structure on top of him. Never thought I'd be grateful for the tortures I've endured but well I guess some good came of it if I can survive the initial part of being buried alive. Trying to move Will found that his legs weren't broken as he was able to bend his knees and even wiggle his toes his arms were in similar shape but still the metal floor on his back held him down. He could hear people milling around at the end of the alley and even two or three closer calling out to see if anyone was here, but years of being hunted and having to fight to survive kept Will from answering back as he worked to get his knees up under him.

With a grunt he shift his body all at once as he quickly pushed his legs under him and tried to lift the end just enough so that he could start to work his way out from under it. If I can just get out of here I can run...I can run far...I wont die here...I wont die in this hell...I will find my freedom... The rubble of the steel fire escape shifted on one end looking like it was settling to those at the end of the street. What they didn't see was Will's thin pale arm find its way out to the ground as he tried to drag himself free of the mess. Blood painted his pale arm in crimson war paint as he struggled out of his would be tomb.

Getting to his feet Will looked back at the gathering crowd and even the men dressed in uniform, not one of them seem to notice him. In the distance he could hear sirens growing ever louder. Will started to turn and make his escape, but there was a red haired man in a black robe standing among the crowd...he didn't know why or how, but this one person seem to draw his attention more so than anything else it was like he was the only one who could see the oddly dressed man and vice versa.

“What are you?” Will spoke aloud in a half whisper to himself....

Invisible to the human eyes Arawn moved ever closer to the wreckage. His eye raised skyward as he drew closer. He saw the holes made in the building as the metal tore free. It was wise of the police to keep the citizens at bay. Pieces of brick drizzled down upon the pavement below. There was no telling if the fallen fire escape was but the prelude to the whole structure collapsing. Even if it wasn't they weren't about to take any chances. As they shouldn't. Arawn slowed to observe the street. No, this place was no where near where he had shot his kido. The walls were not scorched nor was there a broken dumpster. There was no way he could have caused it. He gave a much needed sigh of relief. He doubted Soul Society would smile upon him causing unneeded collateral damage. Not that he did accept causing such damage to the human world. Doing so increased the chances of civilian casualties. He had heard stories of shinigami recklessly fighting hollows causing all kinds of wanton destruction, fires, and explosions. Totally barbaric fighters. Now his attention slowly drifted down to the mangled fire escape.

It was then that he noticed the motion. He had thought it only parts of the metal settling, but it wasn't the case. A man was standing next to the shattered stairs. Arawn stopped. The man was looking directly at him. This was a shock as he thought the police had kept all the people away. The people were still being behind the police and the yellow tape they had put up to further barricade the site. The other of the street was a dead end. No way the man had come from that direction. The last possibility was that the man had come from the building. But that one was quickly scratched as the broken fire escape blocked off any such portal into the alley. As he stood there to think about it, the obvious became clear.
"Bloody hell, he can see me." Yes, he noticed the man's eyes seemed to lock onto him. Only things that could see a shinigami or a plus soul. As the man looked at him so did Arawn study the man. He looked like a bum. His clothes looked absolutely terrible and his overall appearance was horrible as well. As if he'd been put through a meat grinder twice and then tossed down a flight of stairs for good measure. If he was human he was in terrible shape, if he was dead he looked like he died in painful fashion.

Will stood his ground for a moment as he sized up the man in black. He wasn't all that tall and he seem to be out of place in this realm of Hell just as he was; the people at the mouth of the alley hadn't noticed his presence either. The man seemed just as surprised that Will could see him as Will was just to be able to see him, but he knew one thing at that moment. If he could see a man who wished to be unseen he was a threat to the man and in Hell when you know you're faced with a threat you end it before it becomes a real problem. Will had to think fast...he had only a few moments before the surprise wore off...Grabbing a piece of the handrail from the collapsed fire escape he charged the red haired man. Will had never been very fast instead he relied on his brute strength and cunning, as he aimed a swing at the man's head he was already sliding one foot back to follow up with a kick the mid section of the man. If I can throw him off balance at least I stand a chance of getting away before he can recover.

The fact the man picked up a piece of metal was proof enough he wasn't a spirit. From what Arawn had seen Pluses were unable to affect the material world around them. They were for all intents and purposes; ghosts. Upon further thought Arawn also realized the man didn't have a chain coming from his chest. No chain of fate, not a Plus. It was just that simple. Having solved the final mystery was well and good, but now he had a human trying to attack him. Great, just great he thought to himself as the man charged forward. If it was a soul he'd only have to perform a soul burial. But since this was a human his choices were limited. Just as he was loathe to cause unneeded destruction of the human world he wasn't about to inflict harm upon a human. The whole point of a being a shinigami was to protect them from hollows, why would he protect them only to assault them? Of course in situations like this he wished he could explain his presence. No matter how misguided that person may be he wasn't going to hurt them. Especially with more humans close by. As the man drew back his weapon Arawn leaped straight up into the air. The crude weapon hit into the spot he had just occupied. Even if it was an earthen material it would hurt to be hit. After rising up his feet found He reached out with his left hand and grabbed onto a windowsill across from the broken fire escape.
"Please calm yourself." He shouted down to the man. "I mean you no harm." he said as much and meant as much.Still he couldn't just let human go. Quite the situation. But there was a solution. A device for such occasions actually. Arawn could feel it in his front breast pocket the small item hidden there. It was next to his phone, but not as often used. The memory jikan was always handy. If he could calm the man down he could get close enough and put this whole nasty business behind him. "I merely arrived to see if anyone had been hurt." Arawn continued hoping the man would at least drop his weapon.

”I mean you no harm.” The red haired man called as he hung from the windowsill above Will. His attempt to catch the man off balance had failed miserably and even more so he was shown that he was out matched when it came to agility. Will dropped the lead pipe and stared up at the robed figure his eyes burned with uncontrolled rage, he had heard those words many times before and every time it had been a lie.


Letting out a feral sounding growl Will ran towards the crowd of mindless souls, for some reason the robed figure was trying to lead him away from them, so he figured they had to be the key to finding his way out of this level of hell. When he reached to grab one by the throat something odd had happened, his hand passed right through as if the people were nothing but smoke. What are these things? I cant touch them they don't seem to be able to see me.

Turning on the red haired man once again Will ran towards the wall; jumping he started to climb the wall up towards the windowsill. “Who are you? Why can't I escape this level of Hell?”

His words had some effect on the man. That or seeing the shinigami jump higher than an NBA player had stunned him enough to rethink his point of attack. Either way the man dropped his weapon. Good, Arawn thought. He wanted to end things as quickly as possible. Just he was about to plan his next course of action them an took off. To that Arawn could only groan. So quickly were his hopes dashed against the sharp rocks of reality. Nothing ever goes that smoothly. He should know that already. And so it was that Mr Murphy and his stupid law reared their ugly heads. A monkey wrench in his plan, a small one, but a kink none the less. He thought about intercepting the man, but that wouldn't do any good. It would bring only further attention to the man and make a greater spectacle. He started to climb up the building. It would be best for him to observe from the rooftops. The last thing Arawn wanted would be to chase after the man along the streets. If the man was native to the area he would probably lose the shinigami quickly. Still it wouldn't be too much better along the roofs. With a grunt he pulled himself up and over the ledge.
"Just my luck." he muttered shaking his head looking frantic man. "Can this get any worse?" To his surprise in less than seconds the man came running back. Truly puzzled Arawn only stared as the man began scaling the wall. The man was shouting something about escaping to which Arawn had no reply. It would seem he had found a crazy person, a crazy person that could see spiritual beings. This is what he gets when he asked if it could be any worse. Now he was at a loss. Should he wipe the man's memory? Being crazy no one would believe him even if he told the truth. As the shinigami thought it over the man continued his ascent.

Pulling himself up over the ledge Will glared at the red haired, black robed man. “I am only going to ask this once more...” His breath was ragged and his entire body ached and for the first time in a long time he felt a pang of hunger in his stomach. “How do I escape this level of hell?” Will spoke barely able to keep the sound of unbridled rage out of his voice. His fists clenched as he sized up the man once again. He apparently can fly through the air like their were steps there that only he can perceive and on top of that he has that blade of his he hasn't even drawn yet. I have to presume that this man is merely toying with me so that he can either kill me slowly once I am too tired to move or drag me back to the pit.

For the first time since his stay in hell Will felt fear, real fear, he had never once run from a fight. Although now he was debating throwing himself over the edge of the building and ending his suffering now. He stared at the black robed man his eyes trying to see through the man to his real intentions, Run...run now and run fast. Something in his mind was screaming but Will couldn't move.

He was tempted in assisting the man in his climb, but was about to cause him to fall. If he was that determined in getting up there, it wasn't his place to stop or help. Still if he died because he was chasing Arawn it would be bad for the shinigami. He groaned again. Surely he was being punished. Silently he wondered how many other soul reapers ran into this type of thing. Chances were if they did, they didn't take the time to report it. Would he have to deal with this one way or another. Leave the man alone and hope no one believes him, or wipe his memory. Not like it would do any hard either way. This guy didn't seem all that stable. The way he was staring at him was abit unnerving. He probably was some homeless man down on his luck. Odd that he would develop spiritual awareness. Arawn was about to take out his memory device with his phone gave a shrill cry. Startled he reached for his pocket. He pulled out the phone and flipped it open just as the howl reached his ears. Damn The warning had come too late. There was no mistaking the scream of a hollow. Arawn looked at the device's screen. There was a blip on the screen due south of their position. Four city blocks He needed to move quickly before it moved away. Arawn glanced back at the man in front of him. There was no time to deal with this problem when a bigger problem was on the prowl. He gave a snort.
"Sorry, but I can't stay and  chat." he said before turning and facing south. A bigger job. He leaped his leg propelling him high into the sky. Higher and higher he rose. In second he had cleared the first block. As he landed the concrete cracked. Too much force he would have to slow his descent down with his next jump. More power was used in the second leap. He was airborne again, the building blurred below him. Mid flight he pulled out his phone to check the monster's position. Two mo Arawn's eyes widened and his focused his spiritual power to stop in the air. The creature had moved. While it he had moved south it had moved north. Most hollows ran away, few would rush to meet a shinigami. But then the reason became obvious; the hobo. Kicking off the air he rushed back the way he came.

Not far from the first rooftop

There was no response from the ground as the long boney leg cut into the pavement of the street.What had appeared resembled a pumpkin that had sprouted four spider like legs from it's bottom. The black appendages suspended the white mass a good 15 ft off the ground. What looked like a pumpkin at first glance was actually an oval shape. The legs originated from the narrow section of the egg. A black line appeared on white front the shell. This line widened until the shell revealed a black gap vertically down it's middle. A green iris glowed from withing the darkness of the hole. A sickening laughter erupted from the opening. The legs bent and the creature hopped. It's leap brought it upon roof adjacent from where Will stood. "Why hello there ducky" The voice greeted him. Something pink emerged from the shell. It shifted and orientated on Will. It looked like a tongue, but there was an opening on the end of it. An opening lined with many white teeth. "You look absolutely DELICIOUS" With this the tongue shot forth at the man, it's maw opening wider to encompass the tasty morsel that was Will.

Hollow's stats:

Will stood his ground as the red haired man reached into his robe for something, but when something starting making noise he quickly pulled out some sort of rectangular object and a look of annoyance came over his face. Just like that he turned and started to run south ignoring the laws of physics as if they didn't apply to him. When he was gone Will moved to follow, but as he got to the edge of the building a low rumble stopped him from jumping to the next roof, What the fuck is that? Will squinted as he looked around and then spotted the disturbance.

A thin leg boney leg had just cut into the pavement leaving cracks everywhere, people on the side walked stopped and stared at the unusual occurrence and then when another appeared and crushed a man under it all of them started to panic and run. The screams were like nails on a chalkboard to Will as he cringed under the torment of that sound which had haunted his every resting moment for the last three centuries. When he finally saw the bulbous body that commanded the legs he almost laughed; it was a big jack-o-lantern complete with glowing green flame like eyes. A heart beat later the creature jumped and moved with swiftness not natural to its size or look, and sat on the adjacent roof across from him.

“Why hello there ducky.” The creature could speak in a very maniacal tone as it seem to greet Will as it's next victim. Then from the maw a pink tongue like object shot forth at Will and stopped just inches from his face, so that he could see the teeth that seem to form a mouth and throat at the end of the tongue.

The creature was speaking once again, but for some reason Will didn't hear its words. The intention however was as clear as day. The teeth shot forward at Will, but he rolled out of the way, I won't be an easy death...to anyone. Will grinned as he got to his feet, the rest of this level of hell didn't make sense to him, but now he hand found something that made sense. This creature wanted him dead, so now he had to kill it first. Will's body moved almost out of pure drive to kill as he dodged another tongue strike and then another, this thing was fast.

On the fourth attempt to catch him with his tongue the creature swept one of its massive legs at him, Will just manage to duck it but was rewarded with one of the teeth from the tongue catching him in the shin. Will howled in laughter at the pain, it felt like his leg was going to be ripped off, but he would not give the creature the pleasure of hearing him scream. Ripping the tongue from his leg Will held onto it with anger fueled strength, “You think you can hurt me...I have been tortured every day of my life since I stepped into hell, you cannot hurt me anymore than the others tried too.”

Will grunted with effort as he attempted to rip the tongue out of the monster, “Come on 'ducky.' Don't you want to play with me?” Will mimiced the creatures tone...

The creature continued to assault the morsel before him. Unfortunately the man wasn't too ready to add itself to his stomach. Still it decided it wasn't about to let the meal get away. The man danced to avoid it's simple attacks. After a fashion his speed won out and the tongue managed snag upon it's target. Before it could declare victory the man broke free. At the same time the man took this chance to grab hold upon the tongue as well. He taunted the creature thinking he had gained the upper hand in their encounter. Instead the hollow laughed. It's insidious laughter filled the air. Although invisible to the humans on the street below, they were visibly effected by the sound. A chill raced through their bodies. Some disregarded it as nothing more than a sudden gust of air. For others they quickly acted upon the strange feeling of terror that overwhelmed them.
"Now, now ducky." it's voice wasn't hampered in the slightest by the man holding the tongue like object. "I always play with my food." With that being said blackness oozed from the gap. It flowed forth like water, but wasn't a thin liquid. A large puddle grew beneath the hollow. The legs shuddered and then pool of black moved. For all intents and purposes it jumped wove itself around the spider limbs. In a second the shapes of the legs had changed. Now the white egg was supported by a pair of ebony legs. They were smooth in appearance being completely black, but they flexed with hidden muscles. The other legs were gone. Their replacement were two thick arms complete with clawed hands. The single green eye stared at it's target. Another fit of laughter exploded from the small gap in the white shell. The newly formed hands reached forward to grab the silly little man.

Will frowned as he watched the spider-like monster start to change as a black tar substance formed legs as black as night under the egg shaped body; the limbs which he had considered its legs earlier had woven together to form arms complete with clawed hands. Oh crap... Will watched as the monster before him rose up before him its massive eye staring down him. Letting go of the pink tongue like appendage, Will stumbled backwards, he suddenly realized that this monster had been holding back.

The air seemed to grow slightly thicker Will's movements were slower than they had been as the creature reached for him. I can't keep fighting like this, but I refused to turn and run from this...this thing. Will's body glowed slightly as his spiritual power was pushed to its limits. “Do you really think I am going to allow myself to become a meal for such a creature like you?” Will forced his legs to move one step at a time as he move forward, “I would rather die once again then help you in anyway, I have lived in hell for as long as I can remember and I promise you that I will escape...nothing...not even you will stop me from finding my freedom.” The renegade spirit raised his arms in defense as the hand drew itself closer.

As the clawed fingers started to wrap themselves around him Will forced his body to act as he lashed out pouring everything he had into one last attempt to retaliate. The spirit had spirinted toward the palm of the hand and with two fluid steps attempted to get atop the creatures wrist where he would push off and launch himself at the creatures eye aiming one final punch at the massive eye of the monster

As he streaked across the sky Arawn caught sight of his quarry. It was hard to miss the titan. The black legs and arms stood out against the somewhat dull cityscape. And the white mask even more with the ebony limbs supporting it. Still airborne his right reached for the sword upon his hip. It would seem the creature had yet to spot him. As he drew closer he found out why. The hollow was attacking the hobo. Arawn had thought it would be over quickly, but evidently the man wasn't too keen on the idea of dying suddenly. After all the crazy antics he had witnessed; the man was trying to fight the hollow. He had manged to dodge the massive hand reaching for him, only to be captured mid leap at it's mask. While some would call attacking such a monster courageous, it was also suicidal to do so unarmed. The man's frontal assault was thwarted and now he continued towards the open maw of the mask. There was still some distance between himself and the creature. Attacking now he might injure the man. Focusing his reiyrou he shunpo'd to the rooftop.

Arawn's sword flashed in the sunlight as he pulled it free from the sheath. He had landed only a foot from the leg of the hollow. The creature paused as it became aware of his presence. Too late. He gave a yell as he grasped the zanpukto with both hands and swung. The blade cut into the black calf. It's skin felt like rubber, but the sword edge did it's work. A dark liquid came out as he pushed the blade onward. The smell of it's blood was like spoiled milk. He didn't relent and finished his cut. The large foot fell free of the leg into a puddle. A torrent of black liquid now shot out of the open wound. The rest of the limb quivered then exploded like a water balloon. Black goo went everywhere. The giant wobbled on it's single leg, it's arms pinwheeled as it tried to balance itself. One hand occupied it had no choice but to use it's free hand to keep from falling off the building. It looked at the puddle of black, but the shinigami was gone. Arawn had reappeared in the air next to the hand holding Will captive. The sword that he held over his head came down. Once again the weapon met some resistance, but severed the hand at the wrist. That done, the shinigami now moved onto the shocked hollow. Will fell down towards the roof as the hand liquidized releasing him from it's hold. Supporting itself on one leg and one arm it was at his mercy. His blade flashed again and came down upon the white shell. The hole had closed and the mask looked like true egg. Arawn's blade rested against the white substance. He had failed to pierce the shell.

Will let out a yowl of pain as the creature caught him with his free hand in mid air, his burst of power had cost him dearly and now he was caught. Isn't this my fucking luck? I fight through the pits deepest pits of this prison and now my freedom is so close that I can almost taste it. Will closed his eyes as he readied himself for the fate that he could no longer escape.

He felt his journey towards the creatures maw stop as the creature let out a howl of pain and slumped to one side. The smell of rotting milk filled the air as Will opened his eyes to see the red haired man stood his sword drawn as he faced the creature. The next thing he knew Will was falling the man's blade had sliced through the arm holding him and turned it to black, foul smelling tar. Will stood and got to his feet as he tried to wipe the black tar off of him but to no avail.

Will grunted as he faced the creature and the red-haired man once again, “Just because you saved me from this....this thing don't think I am going to let you get away without giving me answers.”

The man's words were lost on the shinigami as he had his hands full. The two ebony limbs began to buckle and shift. Arawn quickly moved back unsure what was about to occur. He didn't have to wait long as they contorted into a new shape; two large black wings. With a single flap they took the white shell into the air. The gust created a cloud as it swept all the dirt from the roof. Arawn coughed and tried to cover his eyes. Although blinded he could hear the flapping as the hollow continued to rise in the air. Squinting he could make out the large shape's ascent. He had to turn his head away as another flap of the wings sent even more particles his way. The shinigami jumped into the air freeing himself from the obscuring cloud. Slowly he opened his eyes to see that the creature ha taken the time to grow new arms. They were thinner than the last ones, and shorter than it's wings. Although smaller the three finger hands ended in wicked hooks. The crack in the white shell was open again, and the glowing iris locked onto Arawn. It's wings pumped furiously keeping the egg aloft and the hand flexed. Now that it was ready for him there was no way it was going to go down easy. He needed to figure a way to crack the shell. He didn't have much time to think as the hollow swooped forward it's claws leading. The bony fingers met the shinigami's blade. But the zanpukto didn't pierce the substance like it had moments ago. The sound it made when it hit was like striking metal or perhaps hard stone. Had the larger limbs been weaker? Again Arawn didn't have long to dwell on the matter as the second took it's turn. Apparently the hollow was keen on killing. Since he was unable to break it's mask, it had taken that as meaning he was weaker than it. The creature continued to fly about taking swings at him. It's long arms kept him at a distance, but he knew getting close wouldn't do him any good. He had only two cards to play, if successful the hollow would fall. If not chances were it would run away. Arawn flash stepped just as the hand took another swipe. His new location was behind and above the flying egg.
""Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!" he spoke as he held his hand out before him. "Hado #31:Shakkahō" His spiritual energy flared and from his hand a large ball of red formed and then rushed forward. The hollow had barely noticed his disappearance when the bolt of red crashed into his back and tore through it's wings. The went into a tail spin as one of it's wings was completely eradicated and the other was half aflame. It crashed back down into the building below. The whole street shuddered with the impact. Arawn landed on the roof as the fire ate at the creature. It's tattered wing shuddered and the hands dug into. There was a black spot on it's shell where the energy had touched it. The stench of the burning liquid many times worse than the first time. There were cracks along the shell's surface.

Will watched the creature in horror as more of the wicked black ooze seeped from the egg shapped body. Why won't this monster just die already? He could feel the strength starting to seep back into his limbs as he watched the monster start to form two black wings and new three clawed, thin arms. However the beasts attention was no longer on Will, he could run, he could find his freedom from hell if he left this monster to deal with the red haired man. He turned to run when he was caught in the back by a gust of powerful air that nearly knocked him off his feet.

I am getting really tired of being thrown around... Hate filled his eyes and his spiritual pressure spiked as he turned back to face the creature and the red haired man as the sound of metal on metal filled the air. Will smirked as the beast thought that since the man's blade could do no harm that it had the upper hand, it might have a hard shell but it has one flaw and that is that great big eye... A grin crossed the haggard man's face as he sprinted back to the fire escape and worked to kick loose a piece of the railing to make a make shift weapon.

Will felt the percussion of the blast through the air as the creature was shot to the roof below by the red haired man. What the hell was that? Will turned to look back in fear as he saw the smoke coiling from the black robed figure's hand just as the rail broke away. He wasted no time in grabbing and running to the edge of the roof. Looking at the monster Will gripped the jagged rail white knuckles, his own spiritual energy pouring down it unconsciously when he let out a yell of rage.

Will slammed the rail home in the creature forcing it deep into one of the cracks of the shell. Nothing else mattered anymore he only wanted to see this defeated monster scream in pain and agony just like the end it had intended for him.

Although he had grounded the creature the shinigami didn't release his hold on his zanpukto. It was injured, but in no way was it disabled. The way it's hands tore into the concrete was proof of the pain it felt. Still that didn't prevent the creature from turning it's talon upon Arawn. Still the red haired man gave a small smile in the fact his guess had been correct in using a kido. He had figured the substance to be resistant to physical attacks. But hadn't been heavy. If it so then the strange stuff couldn't be used as wings. It had felt like rubber so he had decided to apply some heat. He wondered if the kido would have been just as effective without the incantation. Had he been any slower and the creature would have avoided the shot. Arawn also wondered if the cracks he saw in the white shell were a result of his spell or the large fall. His blade had been unable to pierce the creature's mask, but to think a fifty foot fall could was mildly embarrassing. Did that mean to defeat the hollow he had to throw it up into the air and let it hit the ground? An egg drop? Arawn shook his head at the silly mental picture that idea gave him.

As he struggled with his idle thoughts, the hobo decided to make a move on the hollow. Too late did he see the man rush forward and try to stab the creature.
"Get back!" he shouted as he rushed forward with his zanpukto in hand. Not only was it crazy to attack the downed monster, but stupid. There was no way the weapon would do any harm to it. Even as he moved forward the hollow's thin arms twitched. There was sound like shattering glass as the shell shattered were the man had stabbed the metal. But rather than have the metal's edge dig into soft and vulnerable flesh it hit only the black tar like substance. There came a cackling from the hollow that filled even Arawn with a chill. There was a gust of air as the creature's spiritual pressure rose. Only half of the creature's shell was gone and but a torrent of black rushed forth. The ooze quickly took shape into more thin bony arms.These arms were even thinner than it's initial arms. No more than half a foot thick at best. At a glance the creature looked like an octopus, but the ends of each tendril were three fingered claws. Using the larger hands as support it 'stood up' The white half egg shell as at the top with a slit down it's middle. From this the green iris peered out. "Sorry Duckies, playtime is over." That being said the tens or twenty tendrils reached for Will. Arawn who been stunned by the creatures sudden transformation now acted. A shunpo had him just inches from the reckless hobo. He wrapped his arm about the man's waist and flash stepped again. This wasn't something Arawn had done before; using shunpo while carrying someone else. Not to mention going backwards so quickly. It's easy to gauge distance going forward, but aiming behind you isn't so simple. When they reappeared they were several feet in the air above a roof facing the first building. Almost half a block away. It took the shinigami a second to stop them from falling. He looked at the fully transformed hollow. No, not an octopus, more like a jellyfish. He didn't like the way things were going. He could run, but what about the people. What about the hobo?
"I'm going to drop you. Hide yourself." Arawn muttered as he release the man. The drop was less than ten feet, but he didn't dare take his eyes off the creature. Sure enough it was looking around. It's face stopped as it spied the shinigami hanging in the air. His hand now free, he dialed the emergency code into his phone. He would need some help with this one. The hollow was already scurrying across the rooftops toward it's prey. It would seem it had it's heart set on eating the poor man.

His attack had done no good, Will had tried to make the beast suffer and in the end all he did was prove to the beast that he was the weaker of it's assailants. Now he floated next to the red haired man about ten feet above another close by roof, I am out matched...There is no way I could win this fight even if I wanted to, but if I run I am only proving that I don't deserve to escape from hell. Will's spiritual pressure spiked again at the thought of being thrown back into the pit...

The red haired shinigami spoke in an urgent tone telling him to hide himself. Will only frowned, he knew that there was really no other choice, but still if he ran and hid now how could he ever expect to escape from this hell. No sooner had he hit the ground than his feet started moving as he ran towards the monster on the other roof. As soon as Will reached the edge he jumped knowing there was no way he would make it to the other side.

The sound of shattered glass would echo between the two buildings as Will rolled into the building, cut and bloodied but still very much alive. I only have one chance for this to work... He stopped in front of one of the support beams. “This...is going to hurt.” Will crouched down and got a running start as he rammed his shoulder into the beam....Nothing happened. “Come on!” He barked in rage as he backed up and charged it again...this time he was rewarded with the sound of groaning...The damage to the building had already started to take its toll but if Will could knock out the supports he could bring the building down and if the monster chose to follow him on top of it as well.

"Drift, Huang Long." Arawn spoke as his zanpukto spun in his hand. As the handle rotated over his knuckles he flipped wrist to catch the handle. When the weapon had completed it's circuit a golden blade replaced the polished steel. His weapon transformed he felt the rush of power. There was no need to adjust to the changed weapon. It was longer and curved, but it was perfectly balanced. Actually it felt practically weightless. Often he wondered if this was an effect of it's gravity defying power, or just that he was used to the weapon's heft. His vision was drawn to the man running toward the hollow. The shinigami's mouth dropped in disbelief. What the hell was wrong with that man? Did he have some kind of death wish? After this was over he would be sure and try to drop him off at a mental health facility. But then the man jumped into the next building. Was he going to hide after all? There had to be a better way to hide oneself. All that aside he rushed forward to intercept the creature's advance. With the boost of power from his zanpukto he arrived on the edge off the roof just as the creature cleared the last one. Arawn held his sword before him and the monster stopped. It could feel the change in the man as well as notice the change of weapon. The shinigami glanced over his shoulder into the building behind him. He would have to hold it off until help arrived. The hollow had other ideas. It jumped. Up and over Arawn's head and landed upon the building that Will was hiding within. Already it had forced several of it's tendrils through the window while the rest of it's body turned to face Arawn.

Inside the building

The arms stretched through the room like roots inching through the earth. It wasn't hard for the hollow to locate it's meal. Since the fight started he had never let his eye off the juicy target. The thin arms slide across the floor and hugged the walls. Sightless they sough out Will. They found him as he hammered away at one of the support beams. The hollow felt the vibrations as the man attempted to destroy the whole structure. His arms acted accordingly. As Will pulled back to charge again several of them wrapped around the cracked pillar. They quickly wrapped and intertwined themselves protecting not just the building but the tasty morsel from being smashed flat. The other tendrils made their move on the man they surrounded their target from the front trying to capture him. They all jerked forward, but suddenly stopped.

Back outside

The creature was motionless. It's clawed hand extended at the shinigami, but the attack was held at bay by his sword. One would think it would pull it's hand back, but it was unable to do so. No sooner had the black substance touched the blade that it had frozen. At first it was unsure what had happened until the effect had moved to the rest of it's body. Paralyzed it's shook back and forth. Although it's body couldn't move, it's mouth continued to function. "What have you done to me?" The rage in it's voice was like acid. The man called Arawn merely smiled, there was no need for him to explain anything. He needed only to focus and keep the monster restrained while the back up arrived. The hollow couldn't see the dark hazed surrounding it's body holding it firm. It could only struggle fruitlessly to free itself. Still Arawn didn't know how long this effect would last as it was the first time he'd used it on someone other than himself. He could only hope it would be long enough.

The black inky arms of the monster wrapped around the support pillar of the building, Will couldn't believe his eyes. The monster wouldn't give up pursing him no matter where he ran, It looks like I am going to die no matter what I do...might as well make this beast suffer. Will's eyes glowed as his spiritual pressure began to rise again, right before he started his next charge at the pillar the arms stopped moving dead in their tracks. It was as if something was holding them perfectly still.

Will stopped and looked around curious enough he saw more black claws behind him, apparently before they froze it was going to grab him from behind. “What in the hell happened?” Will wondered aloud. Knowing that the collapsing the pillar was out of the question the Will decided to take the robed man's advice and run. Making for the stairs Will made his way quickly out to the street, when he looked up he could see the robed man holding the point of a golden blade to the monster. Still the beast didn't move.