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Post by Knightmayre on Mar 13, 2010 18:15:19 GMT -4
Oketsu stumbled up towards to foyer of the old school, its red brick styling and strong scent of spiritual energy reminding him that once more he stood at the heart of the Brotherhood as waves of memories washed over his battered mind. ~Can you take it from here Oketsu? I somehow think they won't like me too much if we go waltzing in there unannounced.~ ~You are probably right, and I think I've rested enough not to pass out instantly at the very least.~[/i][/color] Oketsu's mask shattered and fell from his face, the small shards of white bone rained upon the ground before fading away in the wind. Almost instantly, Oketsu staggered forward two steps, barely managing to maintain a standing position. Stumbling forward as the realisation he was running well below his required amount of blood sneaked into his mind, Oketsu pushed on, knowing full well how low his chances of survival were if he was unable to make it through the door.
Crashing through the door as he stumbled, Oketsu struggled intensely to reach the front desk, placing his dismembered arm on the table in front of the receptionist and breathing heavily. "Before you ask, yes, that is my arm. I could use medical attention and a meeting with your leader, thank you." With that, Oketsu blacked out and slumped into a pile on the floor, blood still leaking from his former shoulder.
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Post by GoldenKitten on Mar 13, 2010 21:44:03 GMT -4
Apparently Oketsu had lost more blood than even he thought he had, after all the Brotherhood didn't have a secretary at the door. At the very least it was entertaining for anyone watching to see the Vizard talking to thin air and shaking his arm around...using his other arm. Eventually he collapsed to the floor and just as he was passing out a red pair of eyes appeared hovering over him right in his face. Over the next several hours whatever happened was of little concern to Oketsu as he was firmly lost to consciousness and in a deep sleep. However, ever so slowly reality did come to him and the first thing he found upon doing so was the same pair of blood red feline eyes staring directly into his face. It would seem a pure white cat with red, seemingly knowing, eyes had taken to resting upon his chest and was simply staring at him. He might also quickly notice that his arm was still missing though the area where it had been was cleaned and firmly stitched, if extremely red and more than a tad painful, moderate-dizziness suggested he had pain killers running through his system.
Upon closer inspection to his surroundings he found himself in what had obviously once been a classroom now converted into a medical facility. The only signs of what it had once been was the structure of the room, everything else being removed. The walls, ceiling and floors had been replaced with a hardened plastic obviously better for sanitation and the floor had a dozen beds pressed up against it's many walls. On the far side of the room was an operating and check-up table with a large medicinal machine drilled into the ceiling with a dozen different probes used for many purposes, the area around it mirrored your average doctors office. The doors that left the room appeared to be capable of being bolted from either side, while that might not have seemed good to someone who could potentially be a prisoner this was in fact common practice in hospital settings in event of contagion. Given that this place was used to hold those with spirit power it was thus logical that there were probably additional unseen methods to keep someone locked inside should the Brotherhood higher-ups wish.
But by this point there were probably more immediate concerns on Oketsu's mind, namely a girl sitting in a chair at the end of his bed. Other than the cat she was the only one present, she appeared to be in her young to mid-twenties. Her raven-black hair was currently pulled into an informal ponytail using a baby-blue bow, she wore a similarly white sun-dress with blue accents and a baby-blue cardigan and white flip-flops. He might notice they matched her crystal blue eyes but more importantly despite her rather average (if cute) countenance and the small smile and wave she gave as he saw her there was something else there. It was like she was capable of seeing far more than most humans and in fact maybe more than Oketsu himself could see, the unconcerned way she carried herself also suggested she was not threatened by Oketsu despite the fact that his strength was admirable, injured or not.
“Welcome back.” She said with a smile, she stopped smiling and pointed, “You didn't get here soon enough, the arm was already dead, reattaching it would probably have set you with some lethal infections and there'd be no controlling it even if we somehow revived the circulation. I'm sorry.” She paused and looked at him, obviously letting him soak that in before she got down to business, then asking “I am Victoria. What is your name?”
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Post by Knightmayre on Mar 14, 2010 6:33:08 GMT -4
Oketsu's vision blurred as he opened his eyes, twin crimson orbs staring as if to pierce through his very existence, searching for who he really was. Oketsu leaned forward to brush the cat away, then remembered that he no longer had a left arm to do so with, and sighed as he slumped back into his bed, and took in his surroundings. As he remembered it, the feeling of being in a school never left this building, obviously the med wing was in an abandoned classroom, as was almost everything else as he remembered it. The surroundings, the intense feeling of always being watched, like everyone knew something you did not, and yet that you were safe still pervaded the senses as Oketsu lay back against the pillow of the bed he was laying on.
He also noticed two figures watching him from his bed, one the cat with the infernal stare, white but for it's crimson orbed eyes, still sitting staring into his soul. The other was a much more calming figure, in a way, her almost cute appearance belied a strange knowing Oketsu couldn't place, but he was more than certain she knew more about him than he would otherwise be happy for her to know. “You didn't get here soon enough, the arm was already dead, reattaching it would probably have set you with some lethal infections and there'd be no controlling it even if we somehow revived the circulation. I'm sorry.” Oketsu looked down at his missing arm as she paused in her speech, giving him a moment to fully take in the events that had happened. "Ah, it's nothing big, many a man has endured worse and survived, I'll manage." Oketsu forced a weak smile, suddenly noticing the dizziness that clouded his mind, causing him to struggle to pull together a sentence of the eloquence he wished to convey.
His muddled thoughts were soon interrupted, however, as his host formalised her greeting. “I am Victoria. What is your name?” Oketsu laughed quietly to himself. Perhaps I am lucky enough that she knows not who or what I am, maybe that feeling was all just a side effect of the pain medication! Of course, there is no way a human, even an aware human, could distinguish me from anything else, I hope. Oketsu look forward into the blue sea of Victoria's eyes, losing himself for a moment in their brilliance, the baby blue entrapping him for a moment, before he snapped himself out of it and conjured an answer to her inquiry. "I am Oketsy, Ranmyaku Oketsu. I believe you will find my records from a half century or so ago,I was once captain of a unit recruited from street gangs, until an intel mistake cost me my entire unit and I suppose I disappeared for a while, personal reasons and all that. Some good they did, same personal reasons cost me this arm, which is a cost I wasn't expecting to pay so soon. But regardless, I suppose this is my less than triumphant return." Oketsu chuckled to himself again, searching for memories of a Victoria, but retrieving none, ending with a sigh and a returning his gaze to the woman in front of him, desperate to figure her out.
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Post by GoldenKitten on Mar 14, 2010 23:08:38 GMT -4
Victoria listened to what he said without a word though her eyes and facial expression held an incredulous nature, as if she saw through the stretch he was placing on the tale. As he finished she stood up and walked to the far side of the room where a coffee machine sat on the counter and poured a cup. She then turned to him and suggested the machine in an obvious, “Would you like some” gesture without actually saying such, of course in this setting it was likely just serving a calming placebo effect, after all caffeine exacerbated pain and thus you would never find real coffee in a patient setting. Either way she made her way back over to him and either handed or did not hand him a glass depending on his answer, then sat back in her chair once more. She cocked her head to one side and stared at the ceiling for a moment as if thinking before she nodded.
“I remember you. After all the Brotherhood was small and was of course the most powerful gang back then thanks to spirit power, but they were little more than that, a gang, not at all what we have become. They caused quite a bit of trouble as I recall, but it wasn't really of my concern at the time, there had been bigger fish to tackle at the time and those I was working with didn't really care if there was unrest.”
She took a sip from the coffee and then giggled to herself as if remembering something, she then set the coffee cup down on one of the posts at the base of his cot. She reached behind her chair and retrieved a blade, Oketsu would immediately know it was his. Running her free hand along it her eyes glowed with a purple reiatsu, the kind often associated with concentration or killing intent though in this case there was no sense of danger, just focus. She then looked at him and gave an otherworldly smile.
“Still your energy is far older than that. You were a human, then a soul, then a shinigami and now you are a Vizard, you must be old...rarely do those without years under their belt experience so much.” She paused before asking, “Why are you here Ranmyaku Oketsu? I suppose simple medical treatment could be the answer but if that were the case simply seeking out the Syndicate would likely have ended in the same result and to top it off you wouldn't have had to be questioned like this. And I know it wasn't because you fought close to here, my senses are broad and if you did fight nearby you would have had to have been behind a significant amount of lethality stone for me not to notice. Thus you have to have a purpose for coming here, as a Vizard, what is it?” She watched him from the corner of her eyes, while she carefully set his zanpakutou back behind her chair, then picked her cup up again and took a sip.
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Post by Knightmayre on Mar 15, 2010 0:11:12 GMT -4
Oketsu waved his remaining arm as the coffee machine was offered. ”Not much into that stuff, I am more of a fine wine man myself.” Oketsu let a short laugh escape his lips, before a sudden longing for a good drink invaded his mind but for a moment, in which time Victoria had already returned to her chair as he snapped back into focus. Quickly she announced that she remembered him, which to Oketsu was not a good thing. He was hoping to rejoin quietly, remaining with the illusion he was little more than a very gifted human, but if she knew from before and had seen how he hadn’t aged, Oketsu doubted she would be unsuspicious. She told him though of how things had changed, Oketsu was reasonably surprised to learn that the Brotherhood, much like himself, had grown in his absence. They were no longer a loose band of misfits fighting against an endless tide of hollows the scale of which they could never understand, Victoria made it sound as though they had a real purpose now, something Oketsu was mildly intrigued by to say the least. As she mentioned the uncultured nature of the Brotherhood from his time, Oketsu could not hold back a smile, ”Well, we were all young then madam.” Oketsu noticed, however, that something glinted behind her chair, he couldn’t see what it was, but he didn’t like it, and finished his sentence uneasily. ”Well, most of us were anyway.”
With a sip and a giggle, Victoria had at once unravelled everything Oketsu had aimed to achieve. The glint behind her chair turned out to be a very familiar looking sword. Oketsu moved his hand to behind is waist to check what he knew to be true, and sure enough, Genesis was missing, now found in the hands of Victoria. In one moment, Oketsu’s composure changed, no longer was to attempting to appear as an innocent man looking for a good time, she at the very least knew he was a shinigami, and as her eyes glowed with a fierce purple reiatsu, Oketsu feared she knew much more than that, and know she did. With a smile that sent shivers down his spine, Victoria revealed just how much she knew, which was basically everything Oketsu had to hide. Oketsu sighed and propped himself up against the back of the bed so that he could better watch her, keeping himself ready to defend himself should the need arise, though he knew full well in his shape even a human would be unlikely to break a sweat in dealing with him. ”Well well, interesting trick you have there, indeed I am not as young as I once was, and have been around more than a little since both before and after my time among the Brotherhood.”
As Oketsu’s voice died down, Victoria launched into the all important question of his being, why? With a heavy sigh, Oketsu brushed his hair from his eyes and looked over to Victoria, ever wary that his life more than likely hung in the balance. ”Well, as you full well know now I am a Vaizard, which has caused me to run into a few difficulties with my former friends back in the Soul Society. I’ve spent the last few years living on my own, moving from library to library, reading, learning and so on as humans are want to do, I even got a couple of jobs, was all a world of fun and a well of experience you truly must try if you have not. Then, I got a lead that perhaps there was a chance to meet once more with my former captain. There is a question that has been burning at the back of my mind for far too long now, and I would like to have it answered.” Oketsu laughed to himself in a mocking way, scorning his belief in such an outlandish claim as that the Commander General of Soul Society would ever be alone and unguarded, but this moment passed and he continued his story. ”You see, my former captain was the head of Soul Society, so getting a meeting with him is near impossible to put it nicely. As you can see, that did not go to well for me, and I needed more medical aid than I possessed in my own abode. As for the Syndicate, I’ve watched them from time to time during my wanderings, they don’t exactly live up to my expectations, they all just seem like a rather dreary lot who would be terribly boring in the long run. But the Brotherhood, well there is never a dull moment here. Always some hollow invasion to stave off, some rouge shinigami to put down, an evil arrancar plot to destroy the world, it all happens here. This place is the stuff of legends, and I have grown ever tired in my wanderings, thus I figured now was as good a time as any to return to my old post, if such a deal were possible. I seem to remember hearing the Brotherhood are always looking for aid, wouldn’t you want to have one of the ‘great and mighty’ Vaizards fighting on your side? “ Oketsu raised an arm to imply his sarcasm though physically showing off a set of quotation marks which typically signal such a meaning, but with only a single arm, Oketsu gave up and simply lay back against the wall, looking straight ahead to Victoria with a vague and weary smile draped across his face.
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Post by GoldenKitten on Mar 15, 2010 15:27:09 GMT -4
Victoria listened to him and eventually came to resting her head on her hands in a thinking arc. Every once in a while she would nod as if she understood, though whether she understood from personal experience or was just making affirmation was difficult to say. When he finished she cocked her head in thought once again and paused for a good five seconds before she returned to her previous posture. This time when she spoke she had less of the cloaked probes in her speech and seemed more sincere, however that did not mean she was suddenly a different person, she was still far from her usual maternal self.
“I said it before but I think it requires greater explanation. This is not the place you once lived, we share only the name and that it is a haven for the spiritually inclined. This in time has grown to include Bounts, Mod-Souls and Quincy, all of whom were either unknown by the greater populace at that time or in the Quincy's case had their own group to belong to until that broke apart. In any case-”
She rested her head in one hand while she lifted the other with her pointer extended and spun it in circles.
“We are no longer a gang. We don't fight others, we fight the hollows. The safety of the common man is important to us and we either take our fights where they won't be effected or if that is impossible do our best to see them protected. Failure to do so, getting in fights or harassing other members, basically the whole ethical shebang, will result in expulsion or worse depending on the offense. This would include you, you nor the rest of your brethren sit upon the untouchable ivory pillar many of them seem to think they do, it would not be such a hard thing to bring you back to Earth. So what do you think of that?”
Some might think Victoria being to trusting but she had not lived for as long as she had for nothing. She could read a persons intentions in their face, their actions and their very reiatsu. Oketsu may have been more than he seemed and he might have had more than the simple reasoning he gave but he also did not have a grand plot behind them, at least not one at odds with the Brotherhood.
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Post by Knightmayre on Mar 15, 2010 19:23:42 GMT -4
Oketsu was slightly off put by Victoria’s constant nodding during his speech. He couldn’t exactly tell what she was nodding about, or if she was simply nodding for the sake of nodding, but he decided it was best not to act upon this, chances are he was on thin ice as it was already. Suddenly, her composure changed, sightly, though noticeably even for Oketsu’s currently muddled mind. Her words no longer masked a hidden agenda, nor did they worry Oketsu. He felt like things were (for once) going his way, which was nice for a change.
As Victoria spoke, the meaning of her words bounced through Oketsu’s stream of consciousness, he was aware things had changed, but last he remembered Bounts were evil, mod-souls were abominations and Quincy were self righteous pansies who the Brotherhood wanted nothing to do with. He was never one to follow the beliefs of his men in these regards, the Quincy especially he admired, their pride in their being, and their ability to survive despite the horrors that had been ravaged upon their race reminded him very much of his own predicament. ”I have noticed, Miss Victoria. I’ve been keeping an eye on things around here, seen a few changed here and there, though I wasn’t aware of the scale to which things had changed. However, and feel free to call me a fool bound by an imagined romantic view of the world, but I am indeed an honourable man. If these races are to be my brothers, then I shall treat them as such. There are only two things which I hate in this world, and none of them are likely to be found here. I’m not like my other hollowfied brethren, I am not one to band together in some motley crew of misfits and whine about how horrible life has become. I want meaning, purpose, or whatever you may call it. I’ve spent a century running around alone, my best and only friends are a sword and a hollow, and it’s been real fun but things need to change. I wish to return to service, however much it has changed, whatever has changed, I’ll adjust. Being a fallen shinigami has taught me to do so much at least.” Oketsu smiled and scratched at his head, he had perhaps thought too much into what he had said, and the medication was giving him a hard time for it.
Oketsu returned his hand to his chest as he exhaled deeply, he hoped he had made enough of an impression to secure his return, but with his head in his current state he wasn’t even sure of what he was saying. Regardless, Oketsu put on a proud face and steeled himself for whatever was to come, for Oketsu knew that, for better or for worse, this was it.
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Post by GoldenKitten on Mar 17, 2010 22:35:45 GMT -4
Victoria continued to sit on her hands the entire time and it didn't seem to be in a contemplative matter, she had more of a “I thought so” look. When he finished she watched him for a moment and then held up each of her hands. She proceeded to move them up and down as if they were a scale and she was weighing the benefits versus the detractors. Looking off into the distance as she did so she finally gave a big nod and then turned back toward Oketsu.
“Ok. It's inevitable we will eventually start attracting various forms of spirits to our cause. In that case your appearance could be fortuitous, get the others to trust spirits being part of their daily lives and as part of their alliance. Would also come in handy if we ever brokered an alliance or at the very least an official neutrality with Soul Society and the Syndicate.”
She stood up and nodded.
“When you are well we will speak more and we will go see what you are capable of. Until then I'll be keeping a hold of this, you needn't worry. I've...dealt with zanpakutou before.” She picked up Genesis from behind her seat.
She headed toward the door and it was only now that the white cat jumped off of Oketsus chest and followed her. A smart person might realize at this point what the cat had been doing the whole time, it had been protecting Victoria by being RIGHT on top of the potential danger, literally. Of course it would take an obtuse working mind to realize that.
Right before she walked out the door she turned her head and spoke to him, “Just let our trained medical staff take care of you until then.”, and then she was gone.
In her place a giant of a man who looked to be of Russian or some other European decent in all white clothes stepped through the door and slammed it behind him. He looked at Oketsu as if he were scum and then pointed at him speaking with a thick accent, “You're in my home now worm, lay down and prepare yourself.”, that was when he grabbed a scalpel the size of your average butchers knife from one of the nearby drawers and then descended on Oketsu, why did he need a blade when Oketsu's physical wounds already seemed healed? He wasn't telling.
It was going to be a long few days.
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Post by Knightmayre on Mar 17, 2010 22:50:56 GMT -4
Oketsu smiled and nodded, she seemed to have accepted him, which was a plus. Oketsu wasn't sure what use he would be in negotiations, Soul Society wanted him dead and the Synidcate likely had little idea he existed, but if she didn't know that then all the better for him getting in until he was called to act upon it. Oketsu muttered a brief thanks, his head getting considerably dizzier, making understanding what she was saying increasingly difficult.
His sight, however, was functioning perfectly, and he clearly saw her take Genesis and walk out of the room with it. This not good in Oketsu's opinion, who leaped out of bed, barely finding the ground with his feet, and ran headlong into an immovable wall of Russian. For a moment, Oketsu was confused, surly the medication was just messing with him and he was seeing things? The reality caught up with him as he was dragged over to the bed and placed upon it with considerable force and absolutely no care for his injured state. "Bloody hell, do you mind, I'm trying to....what is that?"
Oketsu winced at the sight of his 'doctor''s 'scalpel'. Oketsu remembered seeing scalpels this size before, in the horror movies young humans loved to watch, especially the kind involving murders. Oketsu quickly realised things were not good and pushed himself off the bed in a desperate bid to escape, falling headfirst onto a nearby counter and fading out of consciousness.
It was going to be a very long few days...
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Post by GoldenKitten on Mar 18, 2010 0:04:42 GMT -4
Three Days Later...
Early that morning Oketsu had finally been given a clean bill of health by the Brotherhood medical team. No doubt he was as ready as any patient to put as much room between him and Mikhail the orderly-slash-doctor-slash-butcher, more commonly known amongst the staff as “him” as he could. However as soon as he was released he was not directed to Victoria as he might have thought. Instead a young unmentionable boy approached him, obviously weary of a spirit but following orders none-the-less and asking him to follow. They proceeded to the front of the structure where Oketsu had originally entered and the young boy went to open the door, however just before he did so he turned back to Oketsu.
“Oh...um...I'm sorry but when leaving the safety of the structure you need to keep the reishi you release as low as possible. We're masked in here but the further you get from the structure the less you are, two-hundred meters out there is no diffusion. Victoria-sama has said we shouldn't expose our signatures within a mile of this place unless there is an emergency or we might attract our enemies to this location.”
With a nod he opened the door, unlike Oketsu he didn't have to worry about lowering his signature as he was a virtual nobody. He lead the Vizard around several corners, it might have been mildly worrisome but it was obvious this kid couldn't do anything to him and if they had wanted to dispose of him they could easily have done so while he was sick and asleep. Eventually they wound up in a back alley and the boy ran up to a man-hole which he quickly prized open with a nearby crowbar that was obviously there for just that purpose. He nodded his head as if Oketsu should go in first and the moment he did jump down the boy covered the hole once more without following, leaving the Vizard in pitch blackness...though thankfully this area of the sewers seemed to have been drained long ago as there was little moisture or smell.
Still for a few moments he was certainly left with a head full of questions but these were quickly answered as a pair of red eyes came glowing at him from the ground. Then an ever so mild spirit signature went off, though certainly not enough for anyone but the most powerful individuals to sense. With it a small flicker of fire appeared in the air, it was terribly small and hardly gave off enough light to see more than two or three feet but it was better than waiting in the darkness. Just below the glowing fire and the obvious source of it was the white cat from before, it was looking straight at Oketsu and even those not fluent in cat-language couldn't mistake the bored look on its face as anything but thinking this was an utter waste of time. But that was when the unexpected happened, a deep voice spoke out directly into Oketsu's head.
“Follow me, Victoria has already begun...wouldn't want you to be late.”
With nothing more to say the cat turned around and began running. Though Oketsu could probably keep up it was by no means an average pace, if anything it was equivocal to a fully seated shinigami's speed, covering hundreds of meters in a second. This continued with no explanation for a good five minutes with the occasional turn being taken at breakneck speeds which were no problem for the cats agile form but probably involved some entertainment could anyone see Oketsu trying to pull the same turns off. After a while the cat released its full reiatsu which was quite sizable, it was clearly saying Oketsu could do the same and though they were far passed a mile by now it didn't really matter when you were going as fast as they were, it was done without thought. However at the same time they were starting to detect several hollows ahead. After a minute had passed it was clear several more hollows had gathered and there was a strange sense in the air, as if it was saturated by the reishi of pluses. They continued their labyrinthine gauntlet for about two more minutes in which time the power of the hollows grew closer and stronger and then the cat blasted out of a manhole with no warning, disappearing into the bright sunlight above.
Once Oketsu managed to get through the tiny hole he would find that they were on a road surrounding the large central park in Karakura. Hovering above them was a massive disk of energy and the air was still saturated with the feeling of pluses. Hollow were gathering in the park but Oketsu would note that if they ever appeared outside of the park they quickly disappeared, it seemed the Brotherhood had already stationed groups outside the park to deal with them, though those in the park were allowed to roam. At the edge of the greenery stood the obvious form of Victoria, given she was wearing red today but it was still her. The cat shook its head in an human motion telling Oketsu to follow him to Victoria, when they did she turned to them and smiled at the cat.
“Thank you Akabane.” then with a more solemn look she turned to Oketsu, “As you may be aware the Quincy have developed means by which we can attract hollow to a certain place. It may seem dangerous but in fact it is the opposite, many of the beliefs about hollows are false, either pure myth or incorrect conjecture on the shinigami's part. The number of hollows is not infinite, their numbers can be weeded and moreover the great majority of them are more akin to animals than anything, they understand danger. Most hollows want an easy meal, thus if one area proves to dangerous they will stop hunting there for a time. So rather than waiting for the hollows to do as they please we create an organized hunt, it may be a tad unsportsmanlike but afterwards we usually see two to three weeks of virtually unhindered peace and those unaware of the spirit world don't get caught up in the process.”
She turned away from him, “Now, while I can easily size you up with my senses it also helps to see what you are actually capable of...and maybe you'll enjoy it after being couped up for so long by spirit standards. Unless you have any questions, show me what you can do when you are ready.”
She stepped aside, giving him a clear view of the flat park full of hollows and nothing else, apparently the Brotherhood had emptied it of humans by some method beforehand. She then, while facing toward the park, held Genesis out to the side for Oketsu to take from her.
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Post by Knightmayre on Mar 18, 2010 0:48:46 GMT -4
Oketsu was given the all clear, finally he could escape the lumbering tower of meat and muscle that had so tormented him the past few days Oketsu skulked alongside the medical team as they exited the room, using them as cover from the great hulking beast. I've fought hollows less scary then he was, and if he calls that trying to save a life I'd hate to see how he kills...[/i] Sighing as he escaped into the hallway, Oketsu looked around. He could neither see nor sense anything particularly interesting around him, until a young boy with absolutely nothing interesting at all about him approached and asked Oketsu to follow him. Oketsu considered questioning the lack of Victoria, asking where he was going, who or what the kid was, but the honest truth was that Oketsu was fascinated by just how plain and boring this kid was, and often sent discreet glances at his guide, attempting to find just a single feature that stood out from the rest, and failing to do so. The child told him to keep his reiatsu lowered, to prevent enemies from sensing their location, and Oketsu did as he was asked, he didn't plan on messing things up now, and followed the kid through the foyer he had entered through, noting a distinct lack of any form of attendant behind the desk.
As the kid lead Oketsu on, they traveled through a veritable maze of back alleys and side streets, finally arriving at a manhole which the child lifted using a crowbar, and directing Oketsu inside. Sighing, Oketsu did as he was asked, and plunged into the darkness below, the sole beam of light above vanished as the child returned the cover to its place of residence.
Suddenly Oketsu notice two, oddly familiar, crimson orbs floating along the ground before him. A weak fire lit up above the orbs, revealing an incredibly bored looking and uncaring white cat, which Oketsu remembered from a few days before. As suddenly as the cat had appeared, a deep voice rang through Oketsu's mind, Follow me, Victoria has already begun...wouldn't want you to be late. What the heck is that, I thought I was the only one in here? Is that a cat? I seriously think that cat is evil Oketsu, I seriously do. Grow up, you're a soul eating monstrosity, quit your whining and let me get on with things.
Oketsu slowly walked towards the cat, who bounded off at a speed much faster than Oketsu expected, and he was forced to raise his reaitsu considerably just to keep up with the cat, though as the cats own power grew Oketsu realised they had moved far enough to stop hiding their strength. For what seemed like an eternity, Oketsu bounded after this tiny ball of evil fluff, nearly slipping and returning himself to the hospital on several of the unbearably sharp turns the cat directed him through, until finally emerging from an ungodly small hole into Karakura park. Great, the park, and it feels like its feeding time too, I feel a test coming on...[/i]
Oketsu noticed Victoria, now dressed in bright red, watching over the swarm of hollows they had gathered to this point, explaining how the Quincy were responsible for the technology to do so, and how they were putting it to good use. She assumed Oketsu knew this, and he nodded as if he did, but a lot this was news to him, and not the good kind of news either. As she explained what was going on, Oketsu realised that he was going to have to fight the hollows, a task which he wasn't quite looking forward too, but one he would accept nonetheless.
“Now, while I can easily size you up with my senses it also helps to see what you are actually capable of...and maybe you'll enjoy it after being couped up for so long by spirit standards. Unless you have any questions, show me what you can do when you are ready.” Oketsu sighed and stretched his remaining arm, allowing his reiatsu to fully release in the hope of scaring a few of the lesser hollows into the Brotherhood's field of death that surrounded the park. As Victoria held Genesis out, Oketsu figured he may as well activate it, he needed to learn how to balance it with a singe arm anyway, and weaker hollows was probably the best thing for him to test it on. "Decimate the unholy, Genesis!"
A white light enveloped his blade as he walked towards the hollows, thin ethereal trails of reiatsu forming the wire frame for great angelic wings behind him, and the light in his hand elongated and changed its form to that of a long spear, with an ornate bladed head decorated with glowing runes and sigils. Shifting his old on the shaft to halfway down, Oketsu ran towards the hollows, hoping his release would gather their attention and draw them towards him as he stopped and shoved Genesis into the ground, "Holy Light Break!" An intense blast of white energy shot down the spear and into the ground, bursting out at Oketsu's chest height and screaming towards the hollows, if he hadn't gotten their attention before this, then he certainly would have now.
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Post by GoldenKitten on Mar 18, 2010 14:52:02 GMT -4
The beam whipped through the group of hollows. While they were currently your average animal type hollows a few stronger ones seemed to be popping up around the park though not in Oketsu's current location. Back to more important things the beam ripped through two smaller hollows which immediately expired, another jumped out of the way but lost a limb, after righting itself on the ground it turned its attention to Oketsu. Likewise three other hollows, one a particularly large brute, who had not been injured at all turned to him as well and began making their way in his direction.
Three of the smaller creatures began a beeline for him, running on all fours like the worlds most angry wolf pack, the speedier of the three got to Oketsu first and took a running lunge at his chest. Meanwhile the one who lost a leg remained behind and then after several seconds a mounting spiritual pressure could be felt and a relatively weak (though still more than deadly to an average individual) ball of red energy was released in his direction, completely ignoring that three of it's “allies” were in the way of the blast. At the same time the largest of the hollows, a lumbering beast on two awkward legs, was making its way toward the Vizard. It lacked even the remotest form of grace and looked ready to trip over itself every time it took a step making its imposing bulk an actual hindrance to its own wellbeing and the danger it posed more minimal that initial looks might have suggested.
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Post by Knightmayre on Mar 18, 2010 17:48:47 GMT -4
Oketsu sighed as only two hollows were killed, and a third injured. He was hoping to kill a few more than that, and now he had a pack of very angry bestial hollows charging at him, and one particularly ungraceful hollow teetering around on legs far too small and awkward for its massive structure. Oketsu readied Genesis, waiting until the last moment to thrust it forward at the hollow leaping through the air, piercing its chest and slamming it into the ground. Oketsu could also feel the familiar sense of a hollow spiritual power charging as he moved, pushing reiatsu down into his legs as he slammed the hollow into the ground, using Genesis as a pole volt, he lifted himself into the air and performed a flip, Genesis' blade glowing eagerly with bright white energy once more. "Holy Light Slash!"
As Oketsu was spinning, he couldn't tell if the hollow had already fired its cero before he jumped, or if in fact it had readjusted its aim and fired up at him. He was sure his Holy Light Slash would break through such a pathetic excuse for an attack either way, but he would still be left to deal with the other hollows below, including the big dumb looking one. Coming out of his spin, Oketsu would flex the reiatsu wing frames from his back, pushing reiatsu off the air below him, and turning like a drilling, Genesis forward, aimed straight for the big one.
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Post by GoldenKitten on Mar 19, 2010 13:11:15 GMT -4
These weren't exactly Vasto Lorde and it was clear from the start they were way outclassed even if Oketsu was no Captain-level opponent. His extremely complicated maneuver of “stab at the rushing enemy” worked flawlessly and one more was down for the count as it was thrust to the ground. He had been correct in assuming that the creature had adjusted its aim for him in the air...he had not been so correct about it piercing the attack. While it was indeed a weak attack it was a very condensed attack meaning that even if it was only 1/10 the strength of his own attack its compaction and smaller surface area meant it stood up to the middle of his wave. This lead to the middle of the attack equaling out and the lower portion of the wave slamming into the ground and the upper portion sailing over the hollow, it did seem it had nicked it on the scalp but it didn't even take notice.
Back over at the large hollow where Oketsu had shifted direction to it seemed to take notice of his attention and stopped it's hobbling. Just before Oketsu began to come down it jumped off the ground a few feet and fell backwards on to its rather rounded backside, it then began spinning like a break dancer, its legs flailing every which way. Then just as Oketsu fired downward like a drill the legs straightened out and aimed straight at him, then with no warning they launched from the hollow at their Vizard target. It became clear why they were so small now, they were dense bludgeoning objects that could be launched at high speeds, they were also attached via long black cables to the hollows body so it could pull them back should the attack miss...though on their current trajectory they wouldn't.
Elsewhere in the park, other hollows were taking notice of the big fight and coming to check it out.
Back where Victoria and Akabane were neither having moved the cat looked to the leader, “This is pretty pathetic...”
Victoria nodded but said the opposite, “You're missing the obvious. He has a respectable amount of strength, he's just unsure of how to use it with only one arm...he'll learn, we've all learned to deal with our limitations.”
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Post by Knightmayre on Mar 19, 2010 19:41:17 GMT -4
A break dancing hollow? Now I have seen everything. Oketsu momentary smiled to himself before instantly being brought back into the realisation something wasn't quite right. Oketsu knew the hollow was up to something, and decided to act before whatever the hollow was planning went horrible wrong for him. Oketsu plulled his arm back and thrust Genesis forward, releasing his grip so that it continued its spiraled decent towards the hollow, and quickly raised his arm forward towards the hollow with all the speed and strength he could muster, feeling the rush of reiatsu through his body as he prepared his technique. "Way of Binding 61, Chains of Fury!" Oketsu wasn't sure if the chains would reach his foe on time, but he hoped that throwing Genesis forth would provide an ample distraction as the hollow burst from the ground with amazing speed, twin bludgeoned legs flying towards him.
The ground where the great hollow had stood only moments ago shook for an instant before great chains of the deepest blood red shot through the earth, shackled heads open wide like the slavering jaws of a hollow itself. A faint tinge of fear fluttered though Oketsu's mind as he grew mildly worried they wouldn't make it in time, and no longer having Genesis to defend himself with [perhaps a less intelligent idea than he originally planned it to be] and slightly leaned to the side, hoping to avoid the worst of any damage were he to be hit.
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