Chaos quelled (solo training).

[volta]

Byuuto Voruta sighed while opening the door that he had remained behind for almost ten minutes. He had been stunned by fear, but he did not know if it was his fear or the hollow's. Both of them knew that one of them would become submissive down there, one of them would become a slave to the other's will. Voruta breathed heavily as his foot touched the second step, a bead of sweat dropped from his brow. "Snap out of it." he said to no one in particular. He enjoyed fighting, but the seriousness of this particular battle stole any enjoyment that may have been had.

Voruta suddenly smiled and charged down the stairs. He did best in life or death situations, but this was even worse. The thought of being forced to do a hollow's bidding made him want to throw up his last meal. He knew that he could pull through this, he felt an overwhelming joy raise his spirits! "Let us begin.." he spoke slowly "old friend." Voruta found himself jolted into Zavala's world, the warped streets of his childhood town were now familiar. The landscape had become horribly disfigured since the hollow's invasion, but Voruta knew that the land's true form would return soon.

Voruta unsheathed his sword, a simple katana with a red hilt. The hollow suddenly clawed at him from behind, but Voruta knew his adversary by now. He could smell his fear from a mile away. Voruta knocked the hollow's hand away with a flick of his wrist. The hollow smiled "Plan on making this a challenge for me?" Voruta responded with a whisper "You really must stop thinking of me as a pushover." Voruta struck quickly, turning and swinging the sword with all his strength. The hollow knocked the sword away just as simply as Voruta did earlier.

Voruta looked his opponent up and down, regarding his opponent's black and red mask. The black acted as a base while the red tore brilliantly bright scars in the mask. "That will be mine soon." Voruta said while smirking. The hollow launched himself at Voruta, his teeth bared and claws out. Voruta sidestepped to the left, but the hollow's claws still tore at his midsection. Voruta acted unaware of his injury, barraging the hollow with all his might. The hollow's dodges were playful, but the fear still remained in his eyes. Voruta spoke "Thrust" and a weak wind surprised the hollow and pushed him to the ground.

"Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat!" yelled Voruta, and the hollow was suddenly overcome and paralyzing by a blinding red light. "This war ends now!" Voruta spoke "Split, Zavala." Voruta's zanpakuto split in half lengthwise and Voruta's right hand caught the other half. The halves turned into full short swords with a single crimson line down the blade. "Ye Lord! Mask of flesh and bone, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, Upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws!" whispered Voruta as both his swords took on a beautiful blue glow.

Voruta's paralyzing kido had worn off by now, his fiery red eyes met the soulless black of the hollow's and Voruta suddenly knew why he would win. His passion, his life, and his soul all demanded that he conquer this beast. Not because his life was in danger, but because the hollow was his polar opposite. The hollow was chaos itself and Voruta's job was to quell chaos. The hollow was charging at him now, he was a pathetic beast, driven only by bloodshed and despair. Voruta moved his left foot forward, and suddenly found himself at the hollow's side. "I am strength, I am true power!" yelled the hollow, now snarling. Voruta's left sword slashed and a burst of blue collided with the hollow. The hollow's screams rang in Voruta's ears, forcing him to drop to his knees.

It took Voruta a second to realize that the screams weren't what incapacitated him, it was the hollow's reiatsu. He had created a shield of reiatsu at the last second and turned fatal damage into barely a scratch. The hollow's reiatsu continued to fluctuate, forcing Voruta to respond in kind. A conflagration of reiatsu surrounded Voruta, allowing him to withstand the hollow's intense spiritual pressure. "I'll devour your spirit like I should have years ago." the hollow said "If only that bitch didn't decide to intervene!" The hollow spoke of the Shinigami that both saved and cursed Voruta; the one that very well may have been his mother. That was enough to make Voruta act, he began running from side to side, his speed increased with every step he took. Voruta's right sword rubbed against the left one, sharing the blue glow with it. Voruta appeared at the hollow's right side and blew him away with a slash to his arm.

The hollow backed away, stunned, then a barrage of black cero suddenly sprouted from his fingertips, ready to destroy Voruta. Voruta released his stored kido, but that only minimized the damage of the cero. "What a lovely light show." said the hollow, laughing. The smoke cleared and Voruta reappeared, his jacket ripped to shreds. His breathing was hard once again, but amusement lay beneath his pain. "I won't let you bad mouth her." he spoke with a smile
"What?" the hollow was confused, he had almost killed Voruta, yet he still dwelled upon his earlier comment.
"I won't let you talk that way about..." he repeated "about the woman who died to bring me into this world!"

Voruta's reiatsu rose again, the red and yellow of his aura made it look like the entire world was on fire. "You pathetic dog, you'll never spill the blood of innocents again!" Voruta screamed, overcome with passion. The hollow responded with his own screams, but found himself unable to gather his strength. He realized that his brute strength may have been greater, but Voruta's heart was stronger. The hollow found that he was too tired to even raise his hands. "I am Sunierdou..." he said, softly "Sunierdou Saturayou." It had been years since he had spoken his human name, it shocked him to see that he remembered it. "I will lend you my strength." he continued "But know that if you have even a second of weakness, I will consume you whole."

Voruta, unlike the hollow, had a conscious to answer to. He couldn't destroy an opponent who was basically waving a white flag. He held his swords' hilts together and they became one again, he slowly sheathed the amazing weapon. "That's fine..." he said, smiled even though blood covered his face "Just remember that I fight back."

The look of fear on the hollow's face did not disperse, as Voruta saw the grass turn to green and the sky became blue. "Good fight." said Voruta, shocking the hollow even more as Voruta left his newly re-conquered world. He walked from the basement and closed the door. He began walking and almost passed out as he laid in bed. He slept for hours and it was the sleep of an innocent child. No more did nightmares of the hollow torture him, all he saw was blue sky, the same beautiful sky from his childhood.

[volta]

Voruta awoke with a start, the sound of Saturayou's distorted voice had invaded his wonderful dreams. "Even sleep is weakness..." were the last words he remembered hearing and Voruta found himself regretting his actions the day before. Voruta knew that hollow were mostly despicable creatures and that Saturayou would have no problem raising a false white flag, but Voruta didn't completely conquer him anyway. Voruta raised his hand to his face, concentrated, and slowly drew his hand across his face horizontally. The mocking tone of Saturayou was unavoidable as he spoke. "Hey, look at that amazing mask you've got on now!". Voruta's face was just the same as it had been for the last 100 years. "Yesterday was nothing!" he yelled forcefully "If you think you can defeat me, come back again." Voruta's injuries from the previous day had not yet healed, but a battle went on in his mind anyway. He kept telling himself that the power he could gain far outweighed the risks, but he felt that those thoughts were ignorant. Being forced to take a back seat to that beast would be more dishonorable than abandoning his squad could ever be.

He found himself at the basement door once again, but this time he practically jumped down the stairs, as if unaware of his wounds. He unsheathed his sword and entered his inner world, where the world was once again distorted. Voruta thought that this was a sign, that maybe he had conquered the hollow yesterday, but he fought for control again. All theories were thrown out the window as Saturayou walked down the reconstructed streets, meeting Voruta as an equal for the first time. "You might as well know that I'll fight you until my death." he said as he walked towards Voruta. Saturayou's mask held a wicked grin even through the crimson scars on it. Voruta quickly realized that something was wrong as Saturayou reached for his right side. Had Saturayou somehow obtained a zanpakuto? Voruta's fear went sky-high as Saturayou pulled out an almost exact replica of Zavala, Voruta's zanpakuto. The hilt was now the same black as Saturayou's eyes, but everything else remained the same. "Like my sword?" he laughed. "The time that you spent sleeping, I spent with this beauty."

Voruta attempted to play it cool "A sword won't make a bit of a difference." He could hear the fear in his own voice and feel the terror that laid in his heart. "This isn't just any sword though, my friend." he said slowly "Split, Zavala." Voruta watched silently as the sword tore in half and turned into two separate short swords. Suddenly, one of the swords was hurtling through the air, aiming straight for Voruta's head. He dodged quickly and managed to catch the sword, but was quickly pulled towards Saturayou who was now laughing maniacally. Voruta raised his sword to meet Saturayou's, but it was nowhere near enough, Voruta was smacked into the ground by the strength of Saturayou's attack. Saturayou's sword had begun floating back towards him and Voruta realized that Saturayou was controlling the swords with strands of his reiatsu. Voruta rose slowly and spoke "Split, Zavala.", quickly grabbing the second short sword. He began to gather his strength and Saturayou quickly did the same, casting a shadow across the land that was darker than midnight.

Voruta's reiatsu rose slowly and steadily, he refused to exhaust himself by using all his energy. The fire that raged in his heart was all the strength he needed as his footsteps became lighter and his body moved quicker. He charged at Saturayou, knocking away one thrown sword and meeting the one that he kept in his hand. Voruta's reiatsu continued to accelerate slowly as he began slashing at Saturayou with intense speed. Saturayou's mask remained the same, keeping that same insane grin, and Voruta found that that was what annoyed him more than anything. No matter how much he put into this battle, that smile refused to go away. He swiped at Saturayou's body with a diagonal slash from each sword, and both hits connected. "How pathetic... My turn!" Saturayou said with glee. Saturayou now had only one sword, but it was all that he needed. Saturayou grabbed Voruta by the throat with his left hand and held him above his head, slowly choking the life out of him. Voruta closed his eyes, broken, knowing that he had lost.

Saturayou raised his sword, ready to carve the newly lifeless corpse of his adversary, but something was wrong. Out of the corner of his eye, Saturayou saw the leaves of the trees return to their usual magnificent green. He despised this color, he dropped Voruta's body onto the brown soil and walked towards the tree, his manic grin still unchanging. He opened his hand and a black cero lived within, growing stronger and stronger. He unleashed the dark energy upon the gorgeous oak and laughed, knowing that he had destroyed Voruta and everything he loved. But, once the smoke cleared the tree still stood without a scratch in it. Saturayou screamed, the scream of one who has never been rebelled against, one who feels that even inanimate objects should bend to his will. Saturayou gathered his energy again, barraging the tree with the midnight black cero, but still the tree stood triumphant. Countless trees sprouted in the world, pushing by buildings and homes so that they would have space to grow in.

"What the hell is this!" Saturayou screamed, that same pathetic scream. It echoed throughout the trees, allowing him to hear the weakness in his own voice. Voruta rose, his location unbeknownst to Saturayou. "This... or I guess I should say these." began Voruta "These are my meaning." He continued slowly, not out of lack of power, but for emphasis "You fight for the destruction of this world and all others, but I fight for their preservation. I have something to protect, but all you have is power." he said. "And really, what use is power when you have no real reason to use it?" Voruta appeared behind Saturayou, ready to attack "Ha!" Saturayou yelled, as he attempted to pull the sword he had thrown earlier back to him. This sword was now propelling towards Voruta's back, primed to destroy him. A wildfire of reiatsu rose from Voruta, stopping the sword dead in its tracks and forcing Saturayou to the ground. Voruta drained his excess reiatsu into his swords, decorating them with the flames of his aura. "Cruelty isn't my strong point, but I'm sure that this will be worse than death to you." Voruta pointed both swords at the downed hollow and unleashed his excess reiatsu upon him, a cold look in his eyes and hope in his heart. Saturayou's body lay on the ground, battered and bloody. Voruta walked away slowly, then turned for a second "You'll recover soon enough..." he said "You're good at that at least." This was Voruta's territory for now, but he would have to remain here for awhile, just to ensure that the world was truly his.

[volta]

Voruta slept in the trees he had created for five days. Those five days would have been five of peace, but he had to remain constantly vigilant. He had not felt Saturayou's reiatsu ever since he defeated him, but that was no reason for him to relax. He had seen Zavala on his second day in the inner world, but no words were exchanged. Zavala smiled at him with his usual knowing smile and Voruta gave a respectful nod. The panic they had shared in their last conversation was completely gone, as was Voruta's fear of being overtaken by Saturayou. Voruta still remember the look on Zavala's face that day, his usual serenity had completely dispersed. Maybe Zavala knew that Saturayou was somehow obtaining a zanpakuto, but it didn't matter now. Voruta considered his presence necessary so that he could stop any chance of Saturayou attempting to rebel, he just as well could've decided to leave and return, but he felt that that was a bit of a hassle. The quiet of this place was what made him stay. The beautiful oak trees, the air smelled lightly of roses, and there was not a cloud in the sky. There was one thing that irked him about this place and that was the fact that there was a complete lack of animals. He had always admired birds and their beautiful songs, but the fact that he couldn't hear them here was a bit saddening. He daydreamed, reveling in his memories of the sparrow's song.

The sound of a cero being charged has quite the sobering effect, especially when that cero completely destroys the 18 or so trees that were just a few feet away from your treetop paradise. "Come out, come out, wherever you are." mocked Saturayou "Come out and meet your death!" Voruta sighed and restored the trees with a wave of his hand. It was a completely unnecessary gesture though, he only did it to make sure that Saturayou knew that he could. With another wave of his hand, the trees disappeared and Voruta stood on the grass that was still wet with fresh dew. "Back again I se-" was all that Voruta managed to get out before Saturayou threw his already released sword at Voruta. Voruta dodged with ease. It seemed that Saturayou still hadn't completely recovered, but that was likely what he wanted Voruta to think. Saturayou had already made it known that he was a despicable opponent with no qualms about playing possum. Voruta decided to test a theory, after seeing Saturayou's technique of controlling his swords with reiatsu strands, so he decided to see what else could be controlled. Voruta smiled as he powered up a bit, just enough to make his aura noticeable. He found that he was a bit weak from using so much reiatsu during his last battle, but that couldn't stop him from fighting. He found that he could stop Saturayou dead in his tracks with a simple shield of reiatsu, but the gap between their power was not so wide that Voruta could control Saturayou. "You honestly think you're stronger than me, don't you?" said Saturayou, chuckling slightly "You arrogant idiot..." Saturayou's reiatsu suddenly rose as he charged at Voruta, drawing the thrown sword towards Voruta's back at the same time. Voruta dodged to the right, grabbed Saturayou's airborne right hand and smashed his entire body into the ground, just barely missing the flying sword.

Voruta smiled, amused by the fact that he could overpower Saturayou even without his sword drawn. Voruta looked down, shocked. The man that he had slammed was no longer there and all he could hear was a scream of happiness coming from above him. Voruta yelled in pain as the force of Saturayou's sword came down on his right shoulder, spilling crimson across the grass. Voruta now realized what had happened, Saturayou's speed has completely outclassed his own. He was using some strange kind of shunpo that allowed him to move even if his feet weren't on the ground. As soon as Saturayou's feet touched the ground, Voruta went on the offensive. He grabbed his zanpakuto and threw it into the air, an action that puzzled Saturayou. "Split, Zavala!" Voruta yelled, smiling at his idea. The sword split in half as usual, but the two sword just hung in the air, suspended. "So, you injure my right arm so that I can't use both swords..." Voruta began "It's too bad that you showed me that arms aren't necessary to wield swords." The swords flew at Saturayou, each one controlled by Voruta's reiatsu. Voruta looked on as Saturayou struggled against the two swords that attacked so quickly that it looked as if the two were six. Doing this took a lot of energy out of Voruta, but he knew that the battle would be over soon enough anyway. Voruta concentrated on the sword that Saturayou had thrown earlier and forced it to be stabbed through his back. Voruta sighed and his swords turned into one again. He caught it with his left hand and placed it in his sheath.

"Don't think you've won..." said Saturayou. His voice was free of any weakness, but Voruta ignored it and assumed that it was just the last words of a broken enemy. He left the inner world quickly, eager to hear the song of birds again. That same voice rang within his head again "You'll regret doing that..."