Sang's Power

Nikitio had defeated Sang by submission once already. His warning ran clear through his head though to this very day. Even now, as he sat atop of a tall building in Karakura Town, wearing a black mesh shirt that was made with only the left sleeve and a pair of black cargo jeans with a single red butterfly on the right thigh, he heard the words of the Hollow quite clear. Sang was stubborn if not anything else, and refused to give Nikitio his power, old to lay dormant until he deemed to time was right to share his power with the ex-shinigami. He told Nikitio that his power would never be given until he was beaten into submission rather than willingly giving in when they were both tired. It had been years and years ago, but the threat still worried Nikitio. He had met with his Pacchiri on this matter several times. Each time was more cryptic than the last. Today though Pacchiri was being quite giving with information.

Nikitio sat on the building in the real world, but his mind was with Pacchiri in hisworld. The swirls of darkness and light seemed to hide Pacchiri even though they moved and he didn't. His colors were solid and never moved, but the moving darkness and light seemed to occasionally move to hide him. Hiding him or not though it moved. Pacchiri stood before Nikitio with folded arms. His black arm over his white arm, and his white arm over his black chest. "What do I do? Can I really defeat him? If I do, have I doomed myself?" Nikitio walked around franticly. His thumbnail in his mouth but not being chewed. No, he hated to chew his nails. His nail was just between his lips by chance. He stopped walking and looked at Pacchiri. "Well?"

Pacchiri "looked" at him, Nikitio only had feelings of facial movements on the spirit as he had no face to show movements or expressions with, and smiled. "Does a well fed dog worry if tonight is it's last meal? Do humans worry that the air they breathe will run out, or that the sun will end in their lifetime?" He looked up. "Well I suppose some do, but they are the foolish ones. The facts are right in front of them and yet they turn a blind eye to it all for some foolish fear of theirs. Idiots and fools. Jesters is what they are." He chuckled. When he spoke it was soft so the echoes it caused were loud. Loud enough that you could have been a good mile away from him and still heard his voice. Two miles and it might sound like a whisper. His chuckle was no better. "Do not concern yourself with the question, rather worry about the answer. We all know the question at hand, but you are the only one who does not see the answer. The answer you seek is no farther than your nose...no. It's no farther than your eyelashes! Yes...yes, your eyelashes, that's far closer than your nose."

He looked up. "Hm...what is closer than one's eyelashes though? Oh well I certainly do not know, your tongue of course, but that is inside of you, and I am sure you can get closer still." The darkness and light moved over him and when it passed he was gone. Nikitio used to be surprised by such a sudden disappearance, but it was something Pacchiri did while he thought to himself. "Yourself! Yes. The answer you seek is no farther than you are from you. Ha. Yes, your eyelashes are far to far away , and your nose farther still! But you, you are as close to you as you can be! Anyway, you worry over the nonsensical questions. Worry about the logical answer. You may not like what you seek, but if you want to see the next day then you will take it and run." Nikitio had found the spirit once again as he spoke, but no sooner had he found him than was he gone again.

"Okay, but what is the answer?" Nikitio asked with a heavy sigh. "Bah! Did I not tell you to ignore the question?! If you are as hardheaded during the fight as you are with me, then you shall have no problem winning! No. I shall not chid you. No no no, you need not be chided now, no no no, you need answers! Wrong, you need the rightanswer!" Pacchiri's voice rose and so the echoes softened to a whisper. He began to walk around, and because of that Nikitio was able to find him easily. "What what what, is that thing you always say? Something about skill..." Pacchiri rolled his wrist to signal Nikitio he wished for him to speak his answer. "Skill wins the war, power wins the battle. What does that have to do with anything though? We know I am skilled." Pacchiri held a hand up to signal silence. He never did that unless he was getting serious.

"You havethe skill, yes, but you do not use it...you shy away from it like a beaten dog. You fear it in your heart, and you would rather gamble with other such skills then use the ones you already possess..." His voice was soft and serious now. The confusion and questions were gone. The echoes roared through the world. Nikitio folded his arms and sat down hard. The "ground", if you can call it that as the world looks like it is spherical but when everything looks the same it's hard to determine looks, blew out a puff of dust. That was the odd thing about this place. If you run hard enough dust will appear like it's dirt, sit down hard and dust with puff out. Stand though and look at your rear or feet and they will be as clean as they were before hand.

"You're not making any sense again, Pacchiri..." He said with a sigh. "No." He snapped. "You are not listening. As all Shinigami do, you hear but you do not listen. You read but you do not understand." Nikitio got the feeling Pacchiri was frowning and his eyes would be narrow in annoyance. "Use the skill you have. Do not tryto develop new power. Do not fiddle with elements you do not command. The elements you summon you have a good understanding of and can use them very well, but it is power not skill." Nikitio was truly confused by this. He hated that Pacchiri never spoke straight forward, but he had to admit that this was a rare time for him. He rarely said anything remotely relating to the subject at hand.

"I do-" Nikitio stopped as Pacchiri shook his head. "If you don't understand then hope that he at least lets you say your goodbyes, for my power will become his..." Pacchiru said no more. Nikitio knew that this was his signal that he was done for the day, and so he left with a respectful bow. As he came to he realized there was an odd energy in the air. "Hollow..." He mumbled to himself. As quick as he mentioned the word though, the pressure was gone...

Pacchiri had been quite ever since their last talk two days ago. This unnerved Nikitio greatly, as the Zanpakuto was never silent. He also hadn't seen much of Sang, the Hollow inside of him, for a long time. This only worried him more. He didn't like being kept in the dark. Especially when it was about him. Even more so when there was a battle to be fought over / in him! He grumbled and threw about Pacchiri's last words in his head. He remembered Pacchiri telling him to stay in his own element, and not to use forces he didn't understand. What the hell did that mean?! He could only use a light element because Pacchiri was a light element Zanpakuto! Surely Pacchiri knew that. Could Zanpakutos lose their memory? Nikitio sighed deeply as he considered this. Maybe he could get a new one...

Nikitio wore an off white mesh shirt that day. The left sleeve was full in length, and even went a little bit past his finger tips. The right sleeve only went down to his elbow. The shirt went down his torso, but stopped about two inches away from his waist. His jeans were black cargo jeans, with a light purple butterfly on his left back pocket. Pacchiri rested on the left side of his waist gently being pushed out and then falling back into place as he walked. He wore a pair of black and white sneakers as well. On his left hand, middle finger, he wore a silver band. The ring had a sapphire in place held in by tension. On either side of the sapphire, embedded into the ring, were two diamonds. Around his neck was a ruby pendant. On his right wrist was a red plastic bracelet, and two multicolored thread bracelets.

Nikitio walked in the streets of Karakura Town with his hands in his pockets. He had went on a Hollow killing spree that day thinking it might make him feel better. He killed a few with his blade in it's sealed form. After a while though he only became angrier. He switched to using his body as a weapon and killing off the Hollow. Throwing speedy and accurate kicks and punches. After a while he switched to just legs though, feeling his anger rise even more. After the Hollows got the message that he wasn't kidding, they began to back off. They avoided him, but of course those were the Hollows who still retained a brain to think with. A few still tried to devour him. Said Hollows are resting peacefully now.

The Vizard walked in, as mentioned before, the streets of Karakura Town, but more accurately, he walked abovethe streets. He walked about two inches above the roof of a standard truck, so that he didn't get hit by anything. He didn't care if people saw him or not, he knew they couldn't. Even if they could, what would they do? Scream that there is a man walking on air with a sword? People would ignore said person, and probably lock him in the Happy Hotel! No, he was safe walking in the open. After all, what could hurt him? A stray bullet? Please, he'd see that coming a mile away. Oh if only he knew...

"Bala!" He heard from somewhere. It didn't matter, just move! He jumped to the side just as the bala crashed into the middle of the street destroying a car. Civilians panicked and ran in every direction. Nikitio looked up to see a man floating up there with a rather sinister grin. He had messy brown hair, cold gray eyes, a rounded body, and he was missing part of his right ear. It looked like maybe a dog bit it off or something."Espada number seven is in the houuuuuse!!!" He shouted as he threw his fist in the air and gave a little head bang. Nikitio sighed. "Why do I always get stuck with the cretins..." He mumbled, but apparently the Espada heard him. "Cero!" He shouted and Nikitio dodged that as well. The Espada sonido'd behind Nikitio. Big mistake.

Nikitio's kicks were deadly. Something to be feared and avoided. His punches, of course, were deadly too, but he has been known to kill Hollow with a single kick, much like some Shinigami can kill with a single, or two, punches. Before the Espada even had time to draw his blade, Nikitio had already leaped up and twisted his body, and extended his leg in a tornado kick. The kick connected, his foot hit the Espada's face on the side and sent him spiraling into a building. Nikitio shunpo'd above the Espada and let himself fall down, foot extended. He landed, but the Espada was not there! Nikitio looked around through the dust and smoke. A glint caught his eye and he bent backwards as a blade passed him by, barely missing his nose. He back fliped a few times to gain some distance. The Espada laughed the entire time. "You will die.." He said. Nikitio sighed. "So cliche..."

Nikitio sighed and shook his head. "No...you're not worthy of such skill..." It might have sounded egotistical, but no one could argue that Nikitio was a bad hand-to-hand combatant. He drew his sword and held it, ready to defend or attack. "You're number seven right? That means you can be cut with ease to a degree..." The Espada had not moved since Nikitio got out of range of his melee attacks. "Wrong Shinigami..." The Espada laughed. His laugh was cold and rough. "You have to be ALIVE to cut me!!!" He roared and let loose another bala. Nikitio barley got out the way in time. As he came up though he met the bottom of the Espada's foot. The foot collided with a loud thud in his chest. Nikitio was sent crashing into another building.

The Espada chuckled as he slowly walked forward. "Shinigami, you're out of your league." Nikitio let out a sigh as he stood up. His body seemed uninjured from the kick. "I've seen fifth seats who kick harder than that. Maybe you are an Espada, but you're weak as hell..." As he spoke he realized that this man's, hollow's?, energy was the same he had felt two days ago. The Espada glared and let out a low growl from his throat. Nikki merely smiled and shook his head. "You have no reason to be fighting me. Less you have a death wish of course." The Espada charged at him angrily and threw a punch.

Nikitio was not to be toyed with when it came to hand-to-hand combat though. To others the punch would have come quicker than they could have seen. Nikitio was not others though. To him the punch might as well have been a mile away. He easily sidestepped and lifted his knee. The Septima Espada was moving too fast to change direction and easily ran into the knee. Nikitio chuckled and quickly moved his leg from under the Septima and lifted it up high. He dropped his heel on the back of the Espada's head and jumped back, using said head as a spring board. The Espada slowly stood up glaring at Nikki. "Had enough?" Nikitio asked with a sigh. The Espada glared and let out a howl of rage. His reiatsu increased greatly. Nikitio didn't flinch though.

The Espada's appearance changed greatly. His arms and legs grew long and became more whip like. His body narrowed at the waist and became wider at his torso and head. His eyes were covered by a white mask with a single large eye in the center. His fingers and toes grew too, also becoming whip like. He loosely resembled a squid of sort, but because he was human and still walked and such, it was an awkward appearance at best. Nikitio did his best to hold back a giggle. "Ha! What the hell is that?!" He failed at holding back laughing. The Espada glared. "This is pure power! This is beauty! This is Calamar!!" As he roared out the name of his Resureccion, one of his wiggly fingers sprayed a black ink like substance at Nikki. He jumped back avoiding the stuff. As it hit the ground it solidified. "Interesting...I'd hardly call it beauty though. It's more like a step above repulsive." He giggled and grinned at the Espada. His childish side was showing.

The Espada howled and ran at him. Nikitio was impressed. He moved rather fast for his awkward form. Still, Nikitio did not release his Zanpakuto. As the fingers of the Espada lashed out he blocked them with his sword. No blood was drawn though. Nikitio smiled at the Hollow. "Well now...I see you don't bleed as easily when you are in such a state...no matter. We'll just have to pump up the volume!" He giggled again and jumped up high and landed on a rooftop. "Blind thy foe! Pacchiri!!" The blade began to glow white and extended from the hilt.

The blade grew out about two inches more as well, and the other side followed. The light shattered like glass and Nikitio spun around Pacchiri a few times. The Zanpakuto was not a double sided / edged sword. One blade was black and another was white. The hilt was black for the white blade's side, and white for the black blades side. There was a ribbon that wrapped around the hilt as well. The ribbon was white on the black hilt and black on the white hilt. "Come on..." He whispered to the Espada. The Espada charged again, but he clearly wasn't truly running last time as he was far faster this time. To the point where it even caught Nikki off guard for a moment. That moment was all he needed.

The Espada appeared behind him and spun around firing that same black goo. Nikki was caught in the fire. He had shunpo'd away, but the Espada had been half a step faster. Nikitio was stuck to a wall and he felt the black substance solidify. He felt it growing over his body covering him from the neck down to his feet. He struggled but the goo only hardened more and grew more. "It's pointless. Just relax. You'll die soon enough..." Nikitio stopped moving and closed his eyes. He blocked out everything. If he remained calm, he might get through this. Pacchiri was stuck to the wall in his hand as well, so it was not impossible to get out...assuming he figured out how to move his limbs / body. The Espada raised one of his whip-like fingers and pointed it at Nikki. A cero began to form at the tip.

Zeno slowly made his way from the mountains from which he was strengthening himself to Karakura town. His shinigami attire had been tattered and worn, the front of it being cut open, revealing his upper body. He wasn’t very presentable in his state, adding on to the clothes, he was sweating profusely from his training, his hair was very messy, reaching half way down his back, the only thing that seemed any decent from him was his facial hair, which he took care if since he didn’t like having bushy beards or anything of the sort. His bamboo hat was placed on his back, connected with a strap that went over his left shoulder and over his chest, it was under his hair, but it still poked out on the sides. He figured he could get some decent clothing on his visit, maybe cut his hair reasonably too, he purposely isolated himself to control his power, but that didn’t mean he had to look terrible, not that it had mattered anyway.

As he drew closer, Zeno felt something in the air, something bad. He picked up his pace a bit, gripping his zanpakutou tight in his hand. He felt more and more uneasy about it and began running towards the exact spot he felt the disturbance. He quickly rushed to see a shinigami cornered by an arrancar. The shinigami didn’t appear to be as he would seem, he felt something different, something similar. The arrancar began charging it’s cero. There was no time for thinking, time to act. Zeno raised his right hand up towards the arrancar, he had the element of surprise. ”Hado number 31.Shakkaho!” the ball of powerful red energy hit the arancar before he was able to fire his cero, blowing him away. Zeno acted quickly, flash stepping to the shinigami’s position. He noticed the black substances sticking him to the wall. He cut around the man enough to be able to set him free, he was fast ding so with his Iaijutsu style fighting. After freeing him from his compromised prison he threw him over his shoulder and shunpoed to a nearby rooftop, setting him down. Could he have moved himself, probably, but Zeno wanted to get out of there fast.

He kneeled toward the shinigami, ”Are you alright, what is your name?” Zeno had seemed to gain the time he wanted before, time to wonder about what exactly was it about this shinigami that he felt different about him. He almost completely disregarded the arrancar, but remembered shortly after and stood up, turning towards the direction he had hit him. He brought his zanpakutou up to his right hand, holding the sheath in his left hand and the handle in his right, ”Stay down, I’ll handle him from here.” one could easily see the concern Zeno expressed for the man he didn’t know. He stood there staring at the spot the arrancar once was, expecting an attack from him.

Nikki was thinking of as many different religious figures as he could and saying a silent prayer to them all when a strange man came to his rescue. He felt the man's reiatsu a while away, but it was off. It felt like a shinigami's but there was something to it. A beast swimming just below the surface. He couldn't pinpoint what it was though. It seemed so strange, so exotic, but at the same time so familiar. Whatever it was, clearly it didn't matter. Either the man didn't notice or he was aware of it and ignored it. He looked at the shinigami, or maybe ex-shinigami due to his current attire, as he blasted the Espada away, and cut him free.

Nikitio stood and spun Pacchiri around a few times. He looked at the Shinigami who had come to his aid. His reiatsu was so mixed, so wild. How could anyone ignore such a thing? No. He had to stay focused. It was bad enough he got himself into this situation. He'd be damned if he'd allow himself to be rescued twice. He watched as the Shinigami stood on guard. "No...this is my fight. I am well enough to continue it..." Nikitio said taking up a stance next to Zeno. He looked at the Espada with cold, dead, emotionless eyes. The Espada just laughed. "One, two, three, four! It doesn't matter, you'll all die by my hands!!!" Nikitio sighed. "I don't have time for this..." He mumbled to himself.

He glanced at the other male to see what he would do, but saw that he was just standing there waiting still. Whatever. That was not his problem. The Espada fired four rounds of the black goo, two at Nikki and two at Zeno, Nikki jumped up spinning in air. "Separate!" He commanded and a soft click was heard, and suddenly his double bladed sword split in two! He vanished in a shunpo and appeared behind the Espada, crouching low to the ground. If this man was truly on his side then he would follow up this attack. He had purposefully moved slow during the shunpo, so even the likes of this Espada could sense him. He swung both arms in a slow attempt to cut the Espada at his knees. As planned the Hollow jumped up high. He flicked his eyes to the new man on the scene, dressed in tattered Shinigami clothing. He hoped that things went according to plan.

Zeno looked back at Nikitio slightly as he stood there basically denying his help, it seemed he had some immature sense of pride, but it didn’t seem like he was going to win this by himself, if he was so insistent then Zeno would work with him if anything. He turned again toward the arrancar, “Fine, then he’s both of ours.” As he heard the arrancar he kind of figured he wasn’t exactly the smartest one around, with that and some coordination between himself and Nikitio, he’d be able to execute a devastating attack. He could be wrong about his impression, but he was hoping he wasn’t.

The arrancar attacked the two, Nikitio requested they separate, an obvious move. Zeno dodged the weird black ooze with little effort, paying attention to what Nikitio was doing. He shunpoed toward the arrancar, but it seemed a bit off, like it could’ve been better if he tried. Maybe Nikitio was giving a distraction, worth a shot. The arrancar jumped high to avoid Nikitio’s obvious attack. Zeno jumped up high then dashed down toward the arrancar, he unsheathed his blade and fell for a slash, but he was slow doing so. This wasn’t his attack, but a setup to add on to Nikitio’s. He flash stepped again, this time leaving an afterimage. He landed on the ground and sheathed Tenshoku, if he was correct, the arrancar would shoot his slime ate the afterimage,leaving him wide open. He held his hand out towards him, “Hado number 63:Soren sokatsui.” Zeno made sure to say it quietly as to not warn his opponent of the attack. The two blue fireballs raged at his target, hopefully it would be enough to kill him, or at least injure him enough to ward him off.

Nikitio watched at the Espada went up and Zeno countered. His head slightly tilted as the Ex-Shinigami vanished and appeared on the ground. The Espada had fallen for that though. He fired several ink shots, but Zeno had already left. He watched as the other male fired off a kido. He figured he should add something to this. He held out his black blade to the side. It began to glow softly, and small orbs of white were being taken into the blade. He felt power ripple through him as it went into his white blade. The other blade developed a small white orb at it's tip. The orb grew until it was about the size of a fist. Nikitio grinned a sinister grin as he lifted his wrist up and hand down, causing the blade to point to the ground. He flicked his wrist down and the blade went up, a beam of light shot from the tip.

The beam was about the size of a fist, and moved rather quickly. It caught up with the hado easily, but the Espada moved. Nikitio flicked his wrist and the beam instantly changed direction. The Espada was caught off guard but recovered quickly. Unfortunately he recovered in the wrong direction. He sonido'd back to his previous location and the kido cast by Zeno ripped through him. One shot through his arm, and another severed his fingers on his left hand. Another flick and his beam changed direction again and crashed into the Arrancar causing an explosion. Nikitio shunpo'd to the man he looked at him. His face was all business. "Remind me to never make you angry..." He said turning his attention to the cloud of smoke and dust that soon dissipated.

The Arrancar still stood there, but he was a mess. His remaining fingers were ripped and town, his chest was bleeding, his arm had a hole in it from Zeno's kido, and it was clear he was panting heavily. The Arrancar growled and weakly pointed his remaining fingers at us. "Die...die, die, die, die, die, die, die, DIE SHINIGAMI!!!" He shouted launching several ceros from his fingers. Nikitio dodged one but the onslaught didn't end there. More and more continued to be shot. In between the shots short blasts of the black goo would be shot out. "Face my ultimate ability!!! Can you survive a downpour of ceros and of my special ink? I think not!!! Hahahaha!!!!" The Arrancar shouted as he continued the barrage of blasts. Nikitio shunpo'd back and forth dodging each shot. "Well? Any ideas?" He asked Zeno.

It seemed Nikitio also caught on to Zeno’s actions. He had sent his own attack diverting the arrancar into Zeno’s, and then hitting him again, very smooth. He looked at the arrancar who had taken heavy damage from both attacks. It seemed Zeno’s own kido had given him a hole in his arm, his chest was beaten an bloodied, probably from Nikitio’s attack. Although Zeno did quite some damage, he was more interested in the shinigami’s technique, a strong reiatsu blast that could change direction at will, Zeno wished to himself that he had such an attack. It seemed the arrancar still had some fight in him, he was now furious at the deal of pain and embarrassment he had just under taken. He jumped into the air, firing a large barrage of ceros and black ink towards himself and the shinigami.

This definitely was not a good situation, the attacks were numerous and even Zeno himself was finding it hard to avoid. He or Nikitio needed to do something quick or they’d both be put in grave danger. It seemed it had to be Zeno to take action since it was Nikitio asking Zeno if he had a plan. He did have one, but afterward he would have to most definitely kill the arrancar, or maybe even Nikitio as well. But Zeno felt something about Nikitio that was like himself, something dark that matched Zeno’s, he was sure he could trust him with his secret. Zeno swiftly swiped his open hand up over his face, donning his allow mask, immediately after ward he created a shield of reiatsu facing the arrancar, it blocked the attacks rushing toward them, but not for long. “As soon as this moves, there will be an opening, you need to move fast and attack.” His voice was a bit darker now and deep. The shield was project forward towards the arrancar, still blocking his attacks, Zeno rushed behind it, keeping some distance. “Hado number 31:Shakkaho!” Zeno fired the ball of red energy and dispelled the shield, coordinated to hit the arrancar right after it disappeared. Hopefully Nikitio had gotten over the shock of Zeno’s hollow side quick enough to follow up.

Nikitio continued to dodge and moved trying to keep close to Zeno to hear him if he ever said anything, but above the crazed Arrancar's laughter it was quite hard. He looked at Zeno for a split second as he spoke. "Fine. Just do it!" He said is a hurried voice. He noticed the gesture and was familiar with it the white substance that began to cover Zeno's face. There was no shock but he noticed that a cero was coming for Zeno as the mask was formed. It was too fast and close for Zeno to get out the way off before the mask finished. He stuck the black blade out and the Cero flashed for a moment, the blade glowed with a deadly red light before fading to black. Nikitio felt power surge through him as it was transfered to the white blade and the power increased. He flicked his sword out and a cero came out. The cero was able to stop several ink blasts and two ceros before it was removed from existence. The time given was enough for Zeno to finish the mask and even put up a shield. "Fancy..." He mumbled.

He nodded as Zeno began moving forward. Nikitio didn't have a mask, but he did have a bankai. "Bankai..." He whispered softly holding his swords across his chest. They both began to glow and wrap around him. A white light ran across his eyes. The light shattered and Nikitio stood there with visors across his eyes. On the top half going diagonal was white, and on the bottom was black. On his body, from foot to neck going diagonal, was white on the top and black on the bottom. He carried no weapon though. He shunpo'd away and appeared behind the Espada. The attacks from his stopped. At first nothing happened. All was still. Nikitio turned and nodded at Zeno. "He isn't dead...just hurt..." As soon as he finished speaking. Holes appeared on the Espada's body, the remaining fingers fell off, blood poured from his body, and his face seemed to register the pain. He glared at Zeno as if blaming him. "Ahem..." The Espada grunted and turned around to face Nikki. A mistake on his part. Nikitio's legs kicked the Arrancar in his face hard and fast. He went spinning away and Nikitio nodded at Zeno. "All yours..."

It seemed that there was no shock or confusion as Zeno activated his mask, this helped Zeno to confirm that Nikitio was the same as he, but he didn’t use the power as willingly as Zeno had. Was it because he was inexperienced with the power, or maybe he feared it, or rather he didn’t very , much prefer it, none of that mattered at the moment as they had went in for the arrancar’s kill. As he rushed forward he felt Nikitio’s reiatsu shift, he had activated his bankai, not very impressive looking, but looks can be deceiving. As his attack shone throw along with Nikitio’s, the arrancar should just about be dead, but he wasn’t, as Nikitio decided to bluntly point out to Zeno. The espada met a rude awakening when he turned around to meet the raw strength of Nikitio’s foot. He twirled towards Zeno, it was obvious he would be the one to finish it. He held out his hind towards the spinning arrancar, his fingers relaxed and slightly curled to point towards his palm. The olive green orb of reiatsu formed in his hand as he prapred the finishing blow. His cero was one of his strongest attacks, he let it fire freely, giving it a wider range than usually. The arrancar was completely engulfed in the blast, being crushed under the very attack that made arrancar infamous.

As the blast subsided, the only nod to the arrancar’s existence were whatever pieces of flesh and blood there were in the surrounding area. Not one single cell survived the destruction of Zeno’s brutal attack. He brought his hand to his chin and slowly waved it up, the opposite action from when he formed his mask, the mask slowly disappeared under Zeno’s actions. This was the power he had chosen to gain, it seemed that Nikitio had the same power deep within, but he wondered if he too had chosen such a thing, or if it was fated to him. He gave Nikitio an apathetic look. What would be his next move, would it be a nod of gratitude, a sudden attack, or anything else? He wondered.

Nikitio saw the charge before it became fully visible. With his original rank it was deadly important to always be aware. You had to notice the slightest of movements, and always be ready to move. That applied in everyday situations. He quickly dropped down as it blew through the space where he was a moment ago. His hair blew forward as wind rushed by. When it was over he turned to look at the man who killed the Arrancar. Then he looked at the damage to the town. He shrugged to himself. He had seen worse. It wasn't too too bad. Especially for an Arrancar attack. He used shunpo and appeared in front of the man, his bankai was still active. His lense of his visor lifted up to show his sparkling eyes as he smiled and cheer. "YEEEEAAAAH!!! Fucking AWESOME!" He laughed and held out his hand to the man. "Name's Nikitio. Nikitio Uril. Ex-Shinigami." He giggled playfully.

This was the inner workings of Nikitio. Serious one moment and kid-like the next. While it was awkward to see such a display of emotional and personality changes in such a quick moment, Nikitio managed to always keep them separate. Often, when he was a Shinigami, people would hesitate to follow his orders, and as such he developed his serious personality rather quickly. When off duty though, or doing something that requires some level of deception, or just relaxing, he will be more kid-like. It is something that can be comical to watch. Especially if he is fighting and not serious. Often people will make the mistake of thinking that because he is acting so childish that he is not giving it his all or not very strong. You won't find a person alive to say he wasn't.

A smile danced upon his face as he looked at the other man. His mask didn't frighten him at all. Nor was he taken back by it. He remembered donning such a mask when he was nearly taken over by his Inner Hollow. Of course back then he had no control over it. At the current moment he had no mask, as Sang, the Inner Hollow, refused to allow him to use his powers. He didn't feel he was worth it. He saw it as being an issue to let someone so weak hold onto his powers. When they first fought it was not that Nikitio overpowered him. It was just that he stood up for a half second longer. Sang gave no hint as to when their next fight would be, the fight that would determine Nikitio's fate, but he said it would be soon. If only Nikki knew how soon.

Nikitio had met a man by the name of Zeno. He seemed to share the same ailment that Nikitio did. So he was clearly a friend. The question was, would Nikki ever be able to meet him again? The man had mentioned something about having a base in the mountains to the west of Karakura Town. He wondered if he should head there now, but he decided against it. Why? Because he didn't want to be near a potential ally when Sang decided to attack. He had no idea what would happen when they fought. The first time he had fought Sang, the entire division was killed as well as some of the barracks. He didn't want to accidentally kill Zeno in the midsts of trying to tame his Hollow. Sang seemed deathly serious about coming back, and had proven true to his word that Nikitio would not be allowed to have his powers yet. Every time he tried to summon a mask, it failed. He never felt the slightest change. Zeno seemed to summon and use it so effortlessly. He was jealous.

So Nikitio sat on a car that drove through Karakura Town. The driver got out at some stops, but for the most part he seemed to be killing time, just like Nikitio. He felt a slight tug on the back of his mind. Karasu was calling him. He stood up and pushed off the car ascending into the air. He found a nice building ledge to sit on and pull out his Zanpakuto. The metallic scabbard was cool against his skin. He closed his eyes and focused. When he opened them he was looking up at a stary night with a full moon. He sat up and the smell of fresh flowers surrounded him. Everything was kissed by moonlight and seemed to have a silver aura around it. There was a lake in front of him, and a white weeping cherry blossom tree behind him. All around him on the ground was green grass and a few clusters of various roses. He looked around, but he knew where he had to look. He stepped back from the tree and looked up into it. There was that shadow of a human, Karasu. He stood there looking up at the sky like he was truly deep in thought.

The figure of Karasu used to terrify Nikitio. He hated looking at him, and being here. Over the years though he got used to it. He began to appreciate his being, and love to be here. It truly was a relaxing place. Odd how Karasu struck fear into everyone's heart, but he resided in such a calm place. It didn't matter though. Karasu didn't acknowledge Nikitio's existence with a look, but he did speak. Since nobody else was there, he had to be talking to Nikitio. "What do you desire?" He asked. His voice resonated through the world. Because he had whispered it, the voice was rather loud in Nikki's ear. Nikitio was confused about the question. He didn't understand why that was important. He knew better than to test Karasu's patients though. "I...I want to live..." Karasu turned and looked at Nikitio. His stoic and fearsome yellow eyes seemed to pierce Nikki and reduce him to that of a child. "To live? And you think you can do that as is? By acting the way you do? So uptight. So arrogant. So...prideful! You are not a Shinigami anymore. Accept that. You are more. You are different. Stop acting like you are one of them. Stop being such a child. Maybe then, you will live..."

Nikitio was about to respond, to ask questions, but Karasu's eyes narrowed, and Nikitio was forcefully ejected from his domain.

It had officially been a week since Sang spoke his warning to Nikitio. Well, not officially. Nikitio still had about thirty minuets. Who's counting? Certainly not Nikki. He was nervous, sure, but he was also so confused. Karasu seemed to know something that Nikitio didn't, and he hated to be left in the dark. Karasu was supposed to be his partner, his friend. Why wasn't he helping him? Why was he avoiding direct help? Two days ago he had been so cold with Nikitio. He was always cold and blunt, but he seemed to almost be disappointed in Nikki. He sounded like he was yelling at Nikki, like a parent would yell at their child. Karasu also withdrew his power from Nikitio since then. He has entered Karasu's inner world, but he is not there. He can feel his presence, but Karasu is nowhere to be found. In battles he cannot bring out his Shikai, nor Bankai. Nikitio was forced to rely on his sealed state, and his body as a weapon. He was still trying to better himself with a blade though. If Karasu wanted to be stubborn like that, then fine. Nikitio would do this on his own. He wondered when Sang would be ready to fight him. He had seen him once since he last gave his warning. Still though, there was nothing. He even tried to go to find him, but he was not to be found as well.

Nikitio had still not seen Zeno in a while. He wondered if maybe he was just a traveler who happened to be passing by. Nonetheless, he assumed they would meet again. After all, someone of there race was an outcast. Hated by both Hollow and Shinigami. They had nobody else to go to. He would track him down after this business with Sang is over. Hopefully by then Karasu will be willing to allow him to use his power. Unlike most Shinigami, Nikitio never referred to Karasu's power as his power. When you looked past it all, he was just the wielder, but he did not possess the power of Karasu. Karasu held the power of Karasu. Nikitio was well aware that Karasu could withdraw his power at any point, but he never thought that he would. Oh well, he would have to rely on his own power for now. It was a good thing he learned Shunko.

Because of this new discovery of power, he had to be wary of Sang. He knew that sang could use his own Zanpakuto against him, but he wasn't sure to what extent. He also didn't know if Sang could use kido and the such as well. He didn't know what he was going to do. He had to do something though or he would be in big trouble. If the Hollow used Shunko, things would get bad rather quickly. So hopefully they couldn't. He looked around at the town below him. He sighed and wondered what would happen to his body when the fight began. Hell, he wondered what would happen to it if Sang won. No...he couldn't think like that. He had to win. There was no choice. If he lost, there was no hope for plenty of people. He had no choice. He wouldn't hold back in this fight. He would win. He would crush Sang and force him into giving Nikki his powers. There wwa no other answer. There was no other road. It was this, or nothing at all. Nikitio would not settle for nothing.

Just as he decided this, he was pulled into Karasu's Inner World without warning. He sat up and stood when he saw Sang standing on the water of the lake. The lake was odd in that you only went under if you wanted to. Otherwise it was as solid as land. He looked at Sang's solid and still face. He was dressed in silk translucent pants, and an open silk translucent shirt. They were both white, with red endings. His hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail, and his dark eyes were focused on Nikki. His face was impossible to read. Nothing would break him. In his hand he held what Nikitio feared he would. Karasu. "Die..." He whispered softly before vanishing with great speed. Sang's speed was what made him such a deadly enemy. He appeared in front of Nikki and jabbed the hilt into Nikitio's stomach and kicked him back. Nikitio landed on his back and Sang was in the air. He unsheathed Karasu, and fell down. The tip of the blade was aimed for Nikitio's throat. Quickly, Nikki unsheathed his Zanpakuto. He held the flat side up and blocked the attack. "You're getting weak Nikitio...there is no way in hell I am serving you.." Nikitio narrowed his eyes at him, and raised the lower half of his body. His legs wrapped around Sang's neck and he jerked him away. His feet let go and Sang was sent flying.

Nikitio rolled backwards and on his feet in a kneeling position. He pushed off the ground with all his might, and charged forward. Using shunpo he reached Sang before he hit the ground. But Sang was not fighting being air born, he was going with it. When Nikitio showed up on his left ready to slice down, Sang spun over, sword out, ready to cut him. Nikitio was forced to jump back. Sang landed under the water unharmed. As Sang lifted out of the water he didn't carry the blade anymore. "I am tired of playing games...we will end this NOW!" He shouted. Three shadows that looked exactly like him walked out from his being. "Kill him!" He shouted and they charged. "Shit..." He jumped back as one of them punched the groundwhere he was just moments ago. Nikitio spun on his left foot and swiped his sword outwards. The head came undone. Another Shadow was already attacking though. He attacked from behind and caught Nikitio off guard. These shadows gave off no reiatsu, so it was near impossible to cover blind sides. They also made no sound, which made things even harder. They were the perfect killers. The perfect spies. What else could Nikitio do? He was kicked in the back and forced forward. Another shadow appeared and kneed him in the chin. He went back up and back. A shadow gripped his arms and another began to throw fast punches.

Nikitio was pummeled. Punches blinded his vision, covered his chest, and knocked the wind out of him. Sang lowered himself to stand next to Nikitio. The punches stopped, and Sang spoke. "Face it...I am destroying you with your own element...You cannot win..." Sang smiled. That struck a cord within Nikitio. His element? Karasu had said something about that...about Nikitio playing with elements that he wasn't familiar with. Of course! He wasn't talking about his Zanpakuto, himself, he was talking about this. Nikitio smiled as he realized why Karasu had taken his powers back. Nikitio smiled at Sang. "Who needs a blade when you have a body?..." He grinned and closed his eyes. "Shunko..." He whispered softly. Sang winced at the words. Like he hadn't expected that word to be spoken. The shadows were blasted away by the powerful release of energy. Sang was too, but he didn't go as far. The land around them lifted as the energy released surrounded Nikitio. It leaped off him in waves. He looked at all the shadows and vanished. The Shunko increased nearly every aspect of his being. They were all decapitated. He then appeared in front of Sang. One punch to his face, a kick to his stomach, and then a overhead smash. Nikitio jumped up and flipped forward. His right leg was extended. Sang was just getting up when Nikitio crashed down on them. For a moment nothing happened but Sang going back down and Nikitio entering a split. Then the impact caught up with the earth, and a large crater was created.

Nikitio looked at Sang as he vanished from sight. "Don't get cocky..." He said from behind. Nikitio turned around and was stabbed just a few inches from his heart. Nikitio spat up blood as the crimson liquid rushed down his chest. Nikitio shook his head. "For the longest time I doubted my abilities. I feared death. I questioned the value of my existence. I still don't know the value, but I sure as hell don't fear death. I don't fear you. And I don't fear the raven..." Nikitio grinned as he took out Karasu. "Quoth the raven 'Nevermore!' Karasu!" His reiatsu increased and the blade turned into black mist and reformed on his arms as a band and a blade. Sang's eyes opened wide and he drew back. "Fucker!" He shouted. "Shadows!" Nikitio smiled as he continued to bleed. His own shadows appeared as did Sang's. They began to fight and it was just Sang and Nikitio. "You will submit..." He smiled and vanished Sang did too. Their blades clashed. Echoes rang through the air. They were there one moment, and gone the next. They were never in one area for long. It was always some place different. Finally Nikitio had had enough. He needed to end this here and now. He charged Sang and Sang charged back. They were high above the ground. Nikitio drew his arm back, still in Shunko, and charged a kido blast. Sang didn't care. He didn't care about anything. He wanted Nikitio dead. He wanted him alive. He wanted him strong. He wanted him weak. He wanted a fucking answer! Nikitio extended his arm and launched the blast at point blank range.

When everything settled. Nikitio was panting heavily. He dismissed Shunko and looked down. Sang was there on his back. Beaten, bloodied, and exhausted. Nikitio knew what he had to do. He dropped down and stabbed him in the heart. Sang spat up blood. "Not bad..." He grinned. "My power is yours...for now." With that Sang faded, and Nikitio returned to the human world. A lot of Karakura Town was destroyed. There were several Shinigami surrounding him. He looked at them all. They looked at him. They raised their swords. He stood his ground. They charged. He swiped his hand across his face. Power rushed through him and the Shinigami died where they stood. He let out a laugh, as he went on a new search. For the man called Zeno.