Game 2 - Chapter 2

Maka gave Sakimoto the evil eye. "I'm not being stupid. I can still fight!"

"This isn't the time, you two!" Satoko yelled. "Look out!"

Igarashi looked up in time to see the Hollow's claw flashing toward him. The redhead's reflexes kicked in and the fierce talons missed him by inches. He swung his sword around to retaliate, but his blow bounced off the monster's tough skin.

"Damn!" Iga growled. "This guy's tough. Satoko, why don't you...," he trailed off as he noticed that Satoko didn't seem to be around. "Um... Satoko?"

The Hollow caught sight of Satoko leaping from the trees just moments before Iga did and spun around, blocking the blond boy's strike with its claw. Satoko hit the ground just next to Igarashi. "I can't believe it saw me coming," Satoko said. "What should we do?"

He was answered by a shout from the woods. "Way of Binding Four! Crawling Rope!"

"That's Kanue's voice!" said Maka, as she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. Looking up, she was startled to see Cardinal Ximenez kneeling over her, one hand gently resting on her shoulder, and the other on the back of Hikari's neck.

"Now, now, now," Ximenez chuckled softly. "Don't you two look like you've been put through hell." He reached into his pocket for another pair of salve dishes, opened them, and reached around Maka's body to gently apply the stuff to her wound. It stung at first, but then soon felt so soothing that she momentarily forgot that the creepy Ximenez was a little too close for comfort. To her pleasant surprise, Maka also found that she could move again. Ximenez then leaned over to do the same to Hikari.

"Thanks...," Hikari croaked out.

The Hollow let out a terrible roar as it twisted its limbs, breaking through Kanue's binding spell. Kanue sighed as another of his spells failed and faded away, watching the monster open its mouth. It was building reiatsu again for another of its paralyzing attacks, and its target appeared to be Kanue this time. He braced for defense.

But the attack never came.

Through the air, as graceful as a falcon diving for its meal, someone somersaulted through the air, her sword in hand drawing blood in a long swath from the Hollow's body. Someone they'd all lost track of, someone who'd darted through the shadows once Iga and Satoko made their move, and who'd waited for the perfect moment to strike. The Hollow screamed in pain as her sword ripped through its midsection.

Ashibue Kijou landed on one knee next to her sister, her back to the writhing Hollow, and her sword still to her side, dripping with the beast's blood. Slowly, she rose to her feet and turned around. It was wounded very badly. But the fight wasn't over yet.

"Damn, that was a nice shot," came a slightly snarky voice from the woods as Duggo wandered into their midst, his hands behind his head. Behind him, following closely, was Daisuke, with Zetsumei slung over his shoulder.

"You've really improved, Kage-chan," said a smiling voice from above. Perched on a nearby branch was Anshou, and Tenkawa on the tree next to his. Leaning against Anshou's tree was Chiken, who appeared to be nursing a rather large knot on his forehead.

"Hope you guys didn't take up ALL the fun," chuckled Duggo, drawing Rojou Seikatsu.

"Yeah!" said Chiken, drawing Myounahanashi, and getting obviously pumped up despite his head injury. "Now that we're all here, there's no way it can stand in our way!"

============================

Sigil dealt 0 WOUNDS to Igarashi

Igarashi dealt 0 WOUNDS to Sigil

Satoko's SNEAK ATTACK failed!
Satoko dealt 0 WOUNDS to Sigil

Ashibue achieved a SNEAK ATTACK!
Ashibue achieved a CRITICAL HIT!
Ashibue dealt 7 WOUNDS to Sigil

Kanue used CRAWLING ROPE on Sigil
But it FAILED!

Ximenez used GREEN SALVE on Maka
Maka healed 6 WOUNDS
Maka can move again!

Ximenez used GREEN SALVE on Hikari
Hikari healed 4 WOUNDS
Hikari can move again!

Anshou was impressed very much with Kage-chan's attack, slicing through the hollow where even tough guys like Satoko and Igrashi couldn't make a dent, Kage-chan had torn the thing a new one. She'd gotten a lot tougher since starting this year, Anshou could see it.

He looked down for Hikari, and was puzzled to see that it was Ximenez healing her. Anshou was grateful of course but Ximenez? Healing? Anshou wondered what his game was.

"Alright!" he said, drawing his Shiroganasashi sword and aiming for the Hollow. "I'm gonna attack this thing! You two probably should be careful with your kidou spells, it looks like this thing might be too tough to capture with kidou." And Anshou jumped down from the tree, his sword out to attack.

Igarashi looked bewildered as many people began to appear to assist them against the hollow, like Ximenez, who Iga would have never though he was one to help others... much less heal them. He would have paid more attention to that rather odd action if his eyes hadn't caught something even more impressive... Ashibue's attack on the hollow was something that impacted Igarashi... so very deadly and yet... graceful. Trough all the time Igarashi had been with her, he had grow to be impressed by her skill, she always acted at the right time with the right action, without any need to be commanded or be pushed around by her sister... she was something else, Igarashi though for a brief moment.

That thought didn't last long however, as he saw even more people appear in that place... the rest of the class it seemed... they were all there now... no, someone appeared to be missing... but he couldn't quite tell who. It didn't matter, with the rest of the class now there, Igarashi's uncertainty of winning this fight had now completely faded... and was replaced instead with an odd impulse... the impulse of showing off in front of all of them.. to be the one to brutally kill that thing.

Igarashi barely suppressed that urge for a few seconds.... not knowing why he was felt that it wasn't like him. Though the urge felt rather... old. As if was something he felt a lot some time ago, but he couldn't remember... or better said, his mind didn't want to remember. He then watched Anshou jump down to attack the hollow. The impulse kicked in again, this time even stronger, urging him to strike before Anshou... let the rest know he was the best....

Unable to think against the urge this time, Igarashi acted upon it, and quickly lunged towards the hollow again, his speed and reflexes pushing him to land his strike before Anshou's... take the kill first...

((I'm not really sure if we are there yet. If we are...))

Zestu could now see the huge foe looming over everyone. He saw Kasahara there fighting even though she was injured.

Surely this means I can do this too, for her...

"I'm sorry Kokubunji, but you have to put me down. I've changed my mind. There's something I need to do."

*After Kokubunji sets him down, he attemps a covert sneak attack on the large hollow.*

Miyo.

Junshirou had chosen a high branch to perch on in order to survey the scene. It seemed that everyone would probably be alright, but beating this thing was going to be quite a challenge... hmm.

Would it be best to go all out now, or could he manage without doing so? Kanue was there, and he would be watching everything intently... Junshirou still wanted to keep some cards close to his chest. But, on the other hand, this Hollow would be difficult to kill... still, the situation didn't seem hopeless any more.

"Alright!", Anshou shouted at Junshirou and Chiken. "I'm gonna attack this thing! You two probably should be careful with your kidou spells, it looks like this thing might be too tough to capture with kidou."

...that was it! Perfect. Time to cut this Hollow down to size.

Junshirou leapt quickly down to a thicker branch, spread his feet out in a wide stance, keeping his eyes on Anshou all the time.

"Way of Destruction 5: Soul Temper!", he shouted, focusing on Anshou.

The whole time they had been approaching the hollow, Chiken could feel his head throbbing slightly from its reiatsu (Or was that from the tree? He wasn't sure anymore.) but rather than discouraging him, it made him feel ecstatic. It was like he was flowing with a sort of primitive energy that had been there all along. Even though his left arm didn't want to be used and tried to scream at him in pain, he didn't listen to it or feel a thing. When they finally broke into the clearing and saw the others, he couldn't help but to speak up.
"Yeah! Now that we're all here, there's no way it can stand in our way!"

Chiken paid no attention to how utterly lame that sounded, he just had to blurt out something. He had the cockiest of grins on his face to match the feeling flowing through his veins. He unsheathed his zanpatukou, hoping to attack the hollow with the pure force that he felt like he had. It was then, though, that Anshou called out.
"Alright!", Anshou shouted at Junshirou and Chiken. "I'm gonna attack this thing! You two probably should be careful with your kidou spells, it looks like this thing might be too tough to capture with kidou."

Chiken let out a small snort, taking what Anshou said as a challenge. He aimed at the hollow and was about to cast restrain when he heard the soft whisper of Myounahanashi float through his ears.
"Shh... calm down little one. Think, just think."
Then, the force that had been running through out his being stopped with those words. Chiken took in a deep breath and quickly felt the pain of his left arm return, along with the throb of his head hitting the tree. It dazed Chiken a little and he had to lean back into the tree for a little support. He quickly blinked it away and aimed at the hollow once more, but this time with a clear head.

"Way of Destruction 2: White Needle!"

Satoko couldn't except it, couldn't take it in, couldn't bare to understand it. Two times, two times I hit this Hollow as hard as I could, two times I used every emotion, every felling I have, every skill I've learned... But still, It's just batting me away. And then she came, the girl with the black hair... she cut through Sigil like he was nothing, and that's... that is... That isn't fair. Satoko watched as others arrived, his mind elsewhere, letting them distract the Hollow, distract Sigil so he could think for a minute, probably less. I... I've been waiting my whole life for this moment, I can feel it inside. The moment where I would face what killed, face a Hollow, any Hollow would have sufficed, but why this one? This Hollow... This is Sigil, this is MY fight. Why are they here!? Satoko's mind clouded, he knew he needed them, he knew that Sigil was to much for one person, but it wasn't what he wanted to know, what he wanted to believe.

Sigil killed me, he took everything I had. My life, any time I had to spend with whatever family I may have had, my emotions, my memory. He... Sigil took everything. And I want it back. I need to Sigil, these people, they're intruding, this is mine. Sigil is mine, Sigil is mine to kill! I won't have them... I won't have them stealing from me, they're stealing. They're stealing what I need, Sigil has what I need, I need his life. Satoko's mind continued to rationalize the feelings he felt, the feelings of rage, and it made them make so much more sense to him, likely because he was willing to except whatever he heard at the moment, as long as it proved him right to feel how he felt. And he did, he accepted that he was right, that he didn't need these intruders, these thieves. This was his fight, his battle, his kill, his only desire.

Takeshi saw others dashing towards Sigil, ready to attack him, Excellent, distractions, Sigil won't be able to focus on me if he's busy with these ones... But, BTU what if one of them kill him... I need to work fast. Satoko bounded upward, moving as quickly as he could, when caught sight of a flash of red, Igarashi was trying to outdo the rest, trying to kill Sigil... "Before me! That red-headed annoyance!" Takeshi knew he needed to move fast, and time perfectly, he had to deal the finishing blow, he had to kill Sigil, otherwise none of this... his life, this fight, nothing meant anything. He would die fighting Sigil, or Sigil would die fighting him, it was that simple, that utterly simple. Takeshi didn't want to live if he didn't kill Sigil, Sigil was everything, killing Sigil made him strong, killing Sigil made him strong enough to accept he was strong, otherwise, he was lost. What would he do if he wasn't? He needed to kill Sigil, he needed to take back from Sigil what Sigil took from him. Killing Sigil would make him a whole person again.

Satoko moved stealthily, but quickly. He had to time it perfectly, he had to hit Sigil when he could kill him; he had to deal the finishing blow, and if anyone else did... He'd kill them! He would kill them all, all these thieves, these intruders, walking in on his battle, trying to take what was his. Because inside Takeshi knew that with this attack he was preparing to launch, he may fail, he may lose, and then he was worthless, he was weak. It would mean more had been taken from, and he more to take back, and he would do anything to take it back, because inside he needed it. "It's time to die Sigil...", Satoko poke quietly, to himself, drawing no-ones attentoion toward him as he prepared to attack, to shatter Sigil, and repair himself.

"You're mine Sigil, and be killing you, I'll finally be able to live. This one moment will decide everything for me, and it will change everything, this is everything!"

Duggo sized up the situation. There were folks running all over the place, planning attacks, shouting, grouping, separating, and at the center of this chaos was Sigil, who was quite obviously enraged and ferociously dangerous.

Duggo thought a bit before making a decision.

Clearly, though his every instinct urged him onward, rushing in swinging put his teammates at risk. There had to be sufficient space between the numerous Zanpakutou to swing freely. This was a case of "Too many cooks spoil the broth". Duggo's limited Reiatsu meant that he could do little to help through that route, and his First Aid was for crap. Dammit. What to do?

"Lucille" already drawn, he had two plans immediately strike him as viable. First, he could circle around behind Sigil and attack the monster while it was distracted. That would likely work better had it not already been sneak-attacked, and most likely had learned to watch its flanks. No, Duggo would adopt his second plan: Defend against any attacks on his person, and alternately Attack in defense of any of his classmates who could use the assistance. That way his blade wouldn't be in the way.

His resolve strengthened by the mere fact of his having a plan, however shaky it might be, Duggo forged ahead to meet the challenge before him.

Hikari jumped a bit when Ximenez touched her, but his hand was surprisingly warm for someone who looked like a vampire. She looked up at him and murmured "thanks" before looking sadly back at the battle. There was Kage-chan, flying through the air, slicing the thing up. When did she get so strong, Hikari asked herself.

The medicine made her able to move again, but all Hikari could bring herself to do was watch, as everyone converged on the big hollow about to destroy it.

The rain had stopped, leaving behind gusts of wind that rattled the leaves and trees. Silently, Ashibue pointed her sword into the air, letting loose a kidou spell as Anshou, Zetsumei and Igarashi jumped at the Hollow, swords at the ready. Igarashi managed a glancing blow, but Zetsumei got in at a better angle. Tenkawa, in the background, leapt quickly down to a thicker branch, spread his feet out in a wide stance, keeping his eyes on Anshou all the time.

"Way of Destruction 5: Soul Temper!", he shouted, focusing on Anshou.

Tenkawa's surprising reiatsu crackled through the air, focusing on Anshou's sword with a mighty burst of energy. Anshou yelled out loud, energized by the spell, and brought his sword down hard, cutting through the air with a flash of heat so strong it looked like it would take the Hollow's head clean off.

CRASH!

The Hollow raised its hand, and Anshou's sword met with a glowing field of reiatsu. Anshou's blade shot off sparks as he tried to force his tremendous strike through the Hollow's energy. He yelled out in frustration, sweat pouring from his head, throwing all his force behind his blade, but it was to no avail. With a flash, the Hollow released its energy, flinging both Anshou and Zetsumei away from its body.

Chiken was slightly dazed from the pain in his arm, andd he had to lean back into a nearby tree for a little support. He quickly blinked it away and aimed at the hollow once more, but this time with a clear head.

"Way of Destruction 2: White Needle!"

A bolt of reiatsu flew through the air and penetrated the Hollow's shoulder, but it didn't seem to faze it much. The monster treaded on menacingly, towering over the Shinigami cadets. It raised its claw, about to rake through them, when another crackle of reiatsu flew through the air. Ashibue's spell, identical to Tenkawa's, focused on someone else's sword. Someone who'd climbed high above the Hollow, holding his now-glowing zanpakutou at his side.

"It's time to die, Sigil..." said Satoko out loud as he leapt from the tree.

"You're mine Sigil, and by killing you, I'll finally be able to live," he shouted as he flew at the Hollow. "This one moment will decide everything for me, and it will change everything." He raised his sword above his head, his voice turning into a howl. "THIS IS EVERYTHING!"

Satoko's reiatsu-crackling blade cut through the Hollow's mask, its reiatsu spent from repelling Anshou. With his jaw clenched, Satoko sliced straight down through the monster, from its face down its belly. The Hollow's blood sprayed everywhere in a storm of ichor and bits of flesh. With a weak roar of intense pain, the Hollow crumbled to the ground, its form already fading into blue light. Satoko didn't take his eyes off the beast for one moment as it slowly dissolved into nothing.

Tenkawa used SOUL TEMPER on Anshou
Anshou's ATK went up!
Ashibue used SOUL TEMPER on Satoko
Satoko's ATK went up!
Anshou dealt 20 WOUNDS to Sigil
Zetsumei dealt 4 WOUNDS to Sigil
Igarashi dealt 1 WOUND to Sigil
Chiken used WHITE NEEDLE
Chiken dealt 1 WOUND to Sigil
Satoko dealt 8 WOUNDS to Sigil

Sigil prevented 24 WOUNDS!
Sigil takes a total of 10 WOUNDS

Sigil has been SLAIN!


"Yah!" came a high pitched voice from the trees above, followed by a thud as Naomi came tumbling down from the branches above, landing squarely on the victorious Satoko's back. She was soaking wet and the makeup on her face was nearly completely washed off.

"Aw, don't tell me I missed it!" she whined. "Heehee, good thing I fell into that river earlier. That fall would have really hurt if I'd landed on solid ground. I hurried all the way here, and now you've gone and beaten the Hollow without me."

"Would you... get... off!" growled Satoko.

"Good job Satoko, you were amazing! Is everyone all right?"

Quote :

Satoko's reiatsu-crackling blade cut through the Hollow's mask, its reiatsu spent from repelling Anshou. With his jaw clenched, Satoko sliced straight down through the monster, from its face down its belly. The Hollow's blood sprayed everywhere in a storm of ichor and bits of flesh. With a weak roar of intense pain, the Hollow crumbled to the ground, its form already fading into blue light. Satoko didn't take his eyes off the beast for one moment as it slowly dissolved into nothing.

It played through in his mind over an over again, filling him with immense joy as he felt the Hollow die. He didn't question why he felt joy for the first time in as long as he could remember, didn't care that he had needed Ashibue to help him, he had done it, his blade had ended Sigil. He felt great. He just watched the image over and over again in his mind, felt the feeling of extraordinary joy run through him, it felt good. There was nothing to him but that feeling right now, his attack had been weaker, immensely weaker than Anshou's, that would require some looking into, but it didn't matter at the moment. All he wanted to do was stand there, feel humanity rush back into his body, keep feeling these great feelings he hadn't felt in so long.

Thwack!

Ow, that wasn't pleasant, what just happened? Not quite understanding what had hit him, Takeshi realized instantly who it was when they spoke up. "Aw, don't tell me I missed it!" she whined. "Heehee, good thing I fell into that river earlier. That fall would have really hurt if I'd landed on solid ground. I hurried all the way here, and now you've gone and beaten the Hollow without me."
"Would you... get... off!" growled Takeshi. Not waiting for a response he shoved her off of him, not particularly roughly, but he didn't baby her to the ground either. Standing back upright, and having been knocked out of fantasy land by the comedic relief, he just looked around, looked at all the people here who had more power then him, but weren't stronger then him. Not anymore, he wouldn't accept it, he wouldn't accept being looked down on by anyone, particularly not himself.

Takeshi began to smile, he hadn't had a real smile in a long time, and he doubted he would ever again; he just wasn't a smiling kind of person. The smile was brief, it lasted only a moment, but it was there, amidst his blood covered face. After slicing his sword through the Hollow, through the blood, he now found himself covered in the spray, but it was slowly being washed off by the rain. It was still raining, it was hard to imagine such gloomy weather when he felt so good, but then again the cold rain felt good too. It all felt good. Takeshi glanced upward, staring into the sky and the clouds, letting the rain fall on his face, cooling him and cleaning away the blood from his eyes. He almost felt like he could make a metaphor about the rain washing away all fragments of his old, self-hating self, but he knew it wasn't true. A small part of himself still hated him, still felt he was weak, and he felt that it would grow again, and he would continue having to prove to himself that he was strong, but again he felt it didn't matter right now.

Takeshi looked back to the world around him, Zetsumei had said something. "Good job Satoko, you were amazing! Is everyone all right?" Takeshi smiled, it felt good to be complimented, felt better than it ever had before, and it ever would again. "Thanks ", although not the most friendly response, it was a response he wouldn't have given before, "You're the most beat up, Zetsumei, tend to yourself, everyone else can managed, you look like a miniature poodle could take you down". Takeshi strolled towards Kasahara, taking his time, not feeling particularly rushed with Sigil dead. Once close enough that he felt comfortable to talk, he did so. "You were right", Takeshi spoke without any real emotion, his voice surprisingly empty, "I should never have doubted you, I should have had confidence in myself. Thanks for... Uh, believing in me? Is that the right phrase? Crap I suck with this sentimental shit. Eh, whatever thanks for having confidence in me? Yeah, that sounds alright". Done talking Takeshi leaned against a nearby tree, smiling to himself again, but only on the inside. No one in the area could have possibly noticed how happy he had been feeling, unless they looked into his eyes close enough, they were the only things that betrayed the joy he thought was obvious.

Sigil was dead, slain, and by his hand. His blood had been spilled, his death had been done, and nothing was left. Sigil was dead, and that meant a great deal more then anyone here could have guessed. He felt that there was another way he could have felt, he wondered how he would have changed if Sigil hadn't have died at his hands, had have died at another’s? He could only wonder, but he didn't really want to know.

Naomi got pushed by Satoko she did'int really get hurt she just laneded on mud. Naomi got up and let out a sigh. "I was hoping to kill something." She then trailed off. "Thank you for saving me Satoko" Naomi said winking at him. Naomi then stopped. "You know what I'm sorry, but I got hungery on my way here and I ate some mushrooms". Naomi shirt was partly ripped from the henchman earlier but was now worse due to the fall out of the tree.
It was now revealing her bra. Naomi blushed covering herself up. I'm sorry, you don't think I'm a whore do you Satoko?"

Satoko Takeshi wrote:

Done talking Takeshi leaned against a nearby tree, smiling to himself again, but only on the inside. No one in the area could have possibly noticed how happy he had been feeling, unless they looked into his eyes close enough, they were the only things that betrayed the joy he thought was obvious.

Despite the fierce battle that had been raging around him, Ryouichi appeared to be completely unruffled. This may have had something to do with the fact that he had been leaning against a miraculously dry tree after his binding spell had failed, arms folded and watching impassively. There wasn't even a hint of surprise in his expression as the monster Sigil was finished off by Satoko's blade. Had he known that his fellow classmates would be able to slay the hollow? It was impossible to tell from Ryouichi's posture or expression. The only thing available to read was his nearly always-present smile, and that wasn't saying much.

"I'm sorry, you don't think I'm a whore do you Satoko?"

Ryouichi nearly facepalmed at Naomi's obviousness (or obliviousness), but then he remembered that he had thought her dead since what seemed like a few minutes ago. Seeing his teammate alive and well was enough to bring a genuine smile to Ryouichi's face. Well, almost. As his gaze wandered to Satoko, however, Ryouichi's smile widened even more. But this was a very different sort of smile.

Rising from his position against the tree, Ryouichi quickly made his way over to where Satoko and Naomi were standing. Still wearing that strange smile, he extended a hand for the other boy to shake. "You must be pretty happy, finally getting rid of that nemesis, hmm, Satoko-kun?" If it was possible, Ryouichi's smile widened even further. It was hardly a leap that Ryouichi would make the connection between the beast that had just been slain and the monster that Satoko had been unconsciously muttering about during their private training sessions; his protégé had even uttered the hollow's name during spars on days when he was coming at Ryouichi with a particularly large amount of suppressed anger.


((Author note: If you are confused about my training of Satoko, see here, here, and here. Assume that the training has already happened over the timeskip.))

Igarashi looked at Satoko as he silently celebrated his victory against that Hollow, Igarashi had no idea why, but the blond kid looked almost ecstatic about this fact, even if he tried to hide it. Igarashi probably should have been happy about that, heck, he should be happy that all that was over, and that they have finally killed those hollows. Yet he wasn't. He wasn't exactly angry or sad either, even though he felt a bit frustrated that his last attack had proved to be less than stellar. But he had acted upon a weird impulse, so he was more upset about that fact than having failed to take the spotlight, he didn't even knew why he would want to do that in the first place.

Sighing, Igarashi dug his still unsheathed Zanpakutou into the ground were he stood. He somehow felt restless, probably because despite all that happened, he didn't fought as much as he would have wanted to, it might also had something to do that all the things that had been troubling him recently were now returning to his mind now that he wasn't being distracted by the fight anymore. Many didn't even made sense, specially since they resonated with things he couldn't quite remember. Man, was that annoying, he had managed to spend almost 3 years just fine, if his mind didn't remember, it was because he didn't want to, so why the heck was all those things coming back?, he didn't want them back, and yet. They kept becoming more and more frequent.

Igarashi then stretched. Unsure of what to do next, he didn't remember if they had told them about how many Hollow they had to kill, but since he was not sensing any nearby anymore, he assumed they had wiped out with all the one in the area. Not really talking with anybody, Igarashi just scanned around the area briefly, watching what the others were up to, including Kanue approaching Satoko to talk with him... he'd have to keep an eye on that.

"Good job Satoko, you were amazing! Is everyone all right?"

After hearing this remark from Zetsumei, Chiken turned to look at him, only to see what a horrible mess he was. Zetsumei was hardly standing and was especially winded from his attack on sigil. Chiken let his left arm hang limp at his side as he walked over to Zetsumei; his injury would wait, especially since Zetsumei's were way more intricate and exciting. Besides, Chiken wasn't left handed anyway.

"We are, you aren't. Come on, I want to take a look at that... and that... and... oh my. How are you still standing?" Chiken asked himself out loud. He was impressed and wanted to know all about the injuries that were not enough to take down Zetsumei. Chiken started pointing at one of Zetsumei's legs which was mildly bent the wrong way, only to notice a long gash on his arm that looked quite interesting. Then, he noticed the other cuts, discolorations, and other such problems that the pointing just became a wave in the direction of Zetsumei, signaling all of the problems that seemed quite devastating.

After getting close, it was obvious Zetsumei needed far better help than Chiken could apply unless he had a long time to work. This made Chiken smile, he'd have more time to observe everything. Once Chiken was next to Zetsumei, he looked him up and down, making many little notes of everything that he could see. After taking a second, Chiken aimed at Zetsumei.

"Way of binding three: Refresh!"

Suddenly, a chill rippled through the air, accompanying the sound of Ximenez chuckling, and then laughing out loud.

"Don't tell me you can't feel that."

The other members of class 3-A paused and looked at each other oddly.

"You people are amazing, you know that?" Ximenez laughed, drawing his sword. "This isn't over yet, folks."

The forest suddenly... twisted. The land shook slightly, and everyone in the clearing was left with a sense of momentary vertigo.

Light streaked through the sky, but it wasn't like lightning or kidou. Or any other sort of reiatsu. More like the sky itself was coming apart.

The ground trembled, and as Satoko gathered his bearings again, he looked up. And froze.

Lumbering toward him through the trees, its claw shining like steel, was that same Hollow he'd just killed. It let out an earth-shattering roar.

"No," Satoko said out loud. "It's... not possible. I... I killed you..."

The Hollow answered by advancing menacingly, hot breath eminating from its mask.

"Hey!" called out Kanue suddenly. "There's another one! Over here!"

"What?!" answered Maka. "There's... there's one here too!"

Slowly, slightly shivering from shock, Satoko turned his head to look.

There were no less than six identical copies of Sigil shuffling into the clearing.

Simultaneously, they all raised their claws, let out a roar of rage in unison, and began converging on Satoko.


You encountered:
6x Sigil

Naomi froze at the sight she had seen. They were all getting closer. Naomi knew Satoko was a better asset to the team then she was. "All I can do is trie she murmured. She then ran when they were about to stick their claws in him. She used her body as a human sheild.

EDIT BY SMYTHE: Sorry, as of right now, there's not a 'defend others' rule (except for the one player who has it for a special ability, three guesses who that is)

Ximenez just smiled and pushed his glasses up on his face, making no indication that he was planning on doing anything to help.

Igarashi had his eyes wide open. He had a bit of a hard time at first to take in what was just happening... Six identical hollows to the one they had just eliminated... and they appeared from nowhere, since he had not felt any reiatsu moments before. Igarashi then quickly reacted, picking up the Zanpakutou stuck in the ground. He then chuckled, barely containing a laugh, the irony here was just too much, He wanted to fight more? his wish had been granted now alright.

Igarashi looked again... this did look like a serious challenge... then again, their whole group was now there, so this could be doable if they acted right. While not being used to lead, Igarashi had already mapped a solid plan on his head. from his previous experience with the first hollow, he figured that not more than half of the class currently present was needed to strike one down quickly.... if they coordinated well enough, they could take down two of them before they had a chance to attack. He thought this was the better way to do it, since it would do no good if they dispersed their attacks to all of the six hollows, andd it would be a waste of power if they focused only on one.

Readying his Zanpakutou. Igarashi shouted loudly so all the others could listen to him. "Look ready! if it has not been evident by now, this isn't a dream! this is a real fight! and we need to act like a group now if we want to have a chance... I have an idea, at least 3 of our strongest shinigami should direct one hollow! I suggest Maka, Satoko, and Naomi focus on one while Anshou, Daisuke and me focus on another one. The rest should provide some sort of support like with the last hollow! with one casting one strengthening spell to the strongest attacker of Satoko's group and other one doing the same with our group! "

Igarashi looked at his classmates again, a bit surprissed he had talked just like that, he didn't know he could do it, and also, he hoped that others would at least consider his plan, he knew he wasn't the leader, but right now, no one here was, and they need to cooperate if they wanted to stay alive. "We can do this!" He shouted once again, encouraging his classmates to take action, and then rushed forward against the hollow closest to himself, Anshou and Daisuke. Ready to attack.

Naomi then realized she could not defend him. She ran over to Ashibue. "I need you to use the spell to make my attack more powerful. After that I will attack."

Takeshi looked u at Kanue, about to reply when it happened. They showed up; six of them, six of the dead monsters. He had just slain it; the feeling inside him was gone, it was impossible for there to have been more, there was only one Sigil, and he knew it. This was impossible. That’s when he though about it, this was impossible all of this was completely impossible. What were the odds that after only a few years, he would run into the exact same Hollow that had killed him on his first outing? Low given the amount of Hollows in the world, and how far away they were from his initial encounter with Sigil. None of this made any sense, there was no way it could be real. Then he heard Igarashi.

"Look ready! If it has not been evident by now, this isn't a dream! This is a real fight!”
“You’re wrong”, Takeshi muttered quietly to himself. “This isn’t real, it’s impossible”.
“And we need to act like a group now if we want to have a chance... I have an idea; at least 3 of our strongest shinigami should direct one hollow! I suggest Maka, Satoko, and Naomi focus on one while Anshou, Daisuke and me focus on another one.”
“You’re still wrong, that leaves four Sigil unoccupied and clearly able to pick us off. While we fight the other one, we can’t kill this many”, Takeshi knew Igarashi couldn’t hear him right now, but he felt like voicing his thoughts aloud.
“The rest should provide some sort of support like with the last hollow! With one casting one strengthening spell to the strongest attacker of Satoko's group and other one doing the same with our group!"
“If we take out two Sigil this quickly, the other four will just pick off at least four of us every round, they can paralyze us remember?” Takeshi yelled this aloud, making sure Igarashi could hear him.

The Sigil, all six of them, were closing in on him, like some sort of terrible nightmare, all six of them with two sets of claws, they could tear him to shreds in a matter of seconds, and they would, but while doing that they should be to distracted to kill anyone else. Takeshi took up pose, preparing to defend from the oncoming attacks, and opening his mouth again. “Run you idiots, they’re here for me, and in the end who gives a damn if one Shinigami cuts cut up in favour of all of you?” Takeshi felt the rain run down his brow, thankfully heading the nervous sweating, he was not afraid, just slightly nervous that his thought process may be incorrect. “This has to be a hallucination of some sort”, he muttered quietly to himself, and then looked up, into the skies, and one thought came to him.

“How were we supposed to get back? We have no obvious way back into the Soul Society down here”, Takeshi spoke loud enough that anyone nearby could hear him, “That means that they must be watching us- our teachers I mean- in some way or another, there’s no way the could just let us sit here in Indonesia with no way home. So either they’re standing by or all we have to do is hold off until the reach us, or this isn’t real, and they just need to get us out”. Takeshi was not completely confident in this, but it was something he would like to believe. “Anyway, that’s just wishful thinking I guess, you can all stay if you want and listen to Igarashi, but I think these guys may send more of us to the morgue, so I suggest you get yourselves out of here. Anyway, those are some real options.”

Takeshi yawned, his mind was drifting from the scenario at hand, he longer feared Sigil, because their couldn’t be more then one Sigil, so these Sigil’s couldn’t be real, if there were multiple Sigil’s the Shinigami would have documented at least one case of them by now. This scenario could not be real. He hoped. “Well, I’m going to attack it, so, respond how you will”. Takeshi then leapt into the air, preparing to attack the Sigil standing directly in front of him; this scenario would kill him, if he fought the Sigil or not, so may as well go out having fun.

Ximenez was a mystery to her. Having him heal her felt out of question after thinking about what he had done in the past during class. Why did he do it? To Kasahara, it would've made more sense if healing her and Hikari benefited him in some way but she couldn't see that. It kind of creeped her out but the tomboy couldn't dwell on him for long; Sigil was still at large and needed to be taken down.

Kasahara lifted her zanpakutou and stood steadily without much difficulty. She was going to attack; she was ready to prove to Sakimoto that she could still fight but then Takeshi yelled out to everyone. He made it clear that he wanted to be the one to bring down the large hollow. Whatever the hollow had down to the blond boy, Takeshi made this battle a person matter and made it seem like he was ready to maim anyone who got in the way. she hesitated for a slight moment but before she could do anything, the fight had already ended with Takeshi defeating the hollow.

In relief, she relaxed against the tree she was lying under only moments ago to inspect her wounds. Her limbs still ached but she was able to move them more freely thanks to the healing solution Ximenez administered to her. The bleeding had stopped but her wounds were still open and apparent. The most important thing was that she was alive and they were done with the better, right? Atleast that was what she thought.

Takeshi, after dealing the finishing blow, walked up to her and thanked her for her encouragement. It made her feel awkward to be thanked with such sincerity so she quickly brushed it off. " Y-yeah. No problem." The boy seemed a little brighter after defeating the Sigil; it was almost as if he was a whole different person from whom she learned to know these past few weeks. He was being a lot more talkative.

The peace was short lived. Soon after her classmates started to relax, six other hollows appeared before them with the same appearance as the before hollow. Her eyes darted towards Chiken, who was in the middle of casting refresh on the badly wounded Zetsumei. They would be in trouble if the Sigils started to attack them but they were focusing hungrily on Takeshi. Her friend, Naomi, seemed to be more defensive of the blond boy than she was for her own safety. Ximenez, from what she could see, looked like he would not lift a finger to help their classmates. That was the normally aloof behavior of the crimson cladded male that she had learned to fear. Unconcerned about everyone else and was seemingly patronizing his classmates.

Sakimoto quickly took an offensive stance and spoke out with a strategy like a leader. Two teams of three offensive classmates attacking one Sigil per team with the other students as support. It seemed like a logical idea until Takeshi spoke. It was true that they would be leaving four other Sigil unattended. From her experience, an attack from a single one of them would easily bring down her classmates. But does this mean that she should run and abandon her classmates? "I'm staying here with you. I'm not going to flee like you did to u-" She almost let it slip but quickly cut that last remark short. Kasahara wasn't one to let a grudge go but now was not the time to bring that up. She quickly changed the subject as she readied herself to attack the same Sigil Takeshi is attacking.. "We could have Kanue, Tenkawa, and the others cast thrust against the other Sigils. Negate their attacks until we can deal with them, right?"

Chiken Kazenosei wrote:

"We are, you aren't. Come on, I want to take a look at that... and that... and... oh my. How are you still standing?"

"Way of binding three: Refresh!"

"Thank you for that, I was in a bit of a bad way. I'm indebted to you."

*Zestumie's expression changed quickly from his usual carefree demeanor to one of abject terror. It was only for a second as he felt the hollows appear again. He quickly changed his expression to merely a serious one.*

"Why are there more of them? I was under the impression hollow's were each individually different from each other."

Satoko Takeshi wrote:

“Run you idiots, they’re here for me, and in the end who gives a damn if one Shinigami cuts cut up in favour of all of you?”

"I'm sorry Satoko, but you're my schoolmate and my friend. I care if they cut you up. I don't care how beat up I am. You all have taught me something about courage and friendship that has become so important to me. I couldn't do anything before for my friend when she was in danger. Now, I am stronger, and I want to help you."

Satoko Takeshi wrote:

“How were we supposed to get back? We have no obvious way back into the Soul Society down here. That means that they must be watching us- our teachers I mean- in some way or another, there’s no way the could just let us sit here in Indonesia with no way home. So either they’re standing by or all we have to do is hold off until the reach us, or this isn't’t real, and they just need to get us out. Anyway, that’s just wishful thinking I guess, you can all stay if you want and listen to Igarashi, but I think these guys may send more of us to the morgue, so I suggest you get yourselves out of here. Anyway, those are some real options.”

“Well, I’m going to attack it, so, respond how you will”.

"If you're not running, than neither will I. I will fight beside you no matter what the costs."

*Zestumie attacks the Sigil closest to Satoko*

"Lucille" unsheathed and at the ready, Duggo looked around a moment, blinked, and muttered, "Shit". In his mind he pictured the clearing in which he stood as a circle, and the oncoming Hollows as a hexagon; he could see no safe, solid strategy. Fleeing would invariably bring the wrath of at least one of the "Sigils", whereas fighting would achieve the same.

After a moment's reflection, Duggo had come to a decision: this would be a matter of pride, not of strategy. There was no pride in abandoning allies to their fate. "Very well", he thought, "Fight it is, then".

Recalling what he had learned at the Academy regarding Hollows, Duggo was baffled to see six of the Hollow "Sigil". Wasn't there supposed to be only one? Racking his brain, Duggo came up with a few scenarios. First, he followed Occam's Razor, and concluded that there were indeed six more "Sigils" coming at him, thirsty for blood, contrary to Shinigami knowledge of the subject. He didn't like this scenario much. Second, he allowed for the possibility of mass hysteria, or hallucination, or somesuch. He didn't like that one much, either. Third, he allowed for the possibility that he was the only one seeing these monsters, and that his classmates' reactions were just as fantastical. He liked this option even less. Eventually, he stumbled onto this idea: that there was a Hollow, one of which he was unaware, which could mimic another hollow, and that he was seeing six of this Hollow mimicking "Sigil". He liked this explanation the best. At least it made sense, even if it did scare the shit out of him.

Now, what to do about it? This theoretical "Mocking-Hollow", as it were, would have unknown powers, and therefore any attack would be a gamble, strategically. Duggo thought about his personal strengths and weaknesses, and settled on a strategy. He would stay close to the badly-injured but still brave Zetsumei, using his dodge-and-parry skills to act as a decoy to keep his classmate as safe as possible from whichever Hollow attacked him first. He would keep an eye on his back, seeking opportunities to move to cover others in need, and attack whenever the opportunity presented itself. He would leave the frontal assaults to the members of his class who were best-suited for such things, and use his own talents to their best advantage.

Satisfied that his plan was the least stupid one he could come up with at the moment, he turned and winked at Zetsumei, then chuckled when he realized that this gesture was likely obscured by his Ray-Bans.

"Assume the position!" he muttered to himself, bracing against the onslaught about to come.

Maka Kasahara wrote:

"We could have Kanue, Tenkawa, and the others cast thrust against the other Sigils. Negate their attacks until we can deal with them, right?"

"I applaud you for thinking on your feet, Kasahara, but we can't be sure that will work. Ashibue's Thrust barely fazed it last time, remember?" Ryouichi commented, jumping to land smoothly on a tree behind Maka, "In this situation, where the enemy's strength and numbers are unknown, we'd be better off augmenting our own strength than warding off the enemy."

From his high vantage point, Ryouichi could see exactly where the battle was headed; he didn't like what he saw. He narrowed his eyes, "And if right about where things are going, this is about to get really ugly, really fast." he muttered, glaring daggers into Satoko's back. And if I have to expose myself by saving you brash fools, so be it...

"Ashibue, Tenkawa!" Ryouichi barked, his voice firm and ringing with authority, "Change of plans! Focus your Soul Tempers on Satoko and Naomi! If they don't have the strength to take out that first Sigil, Satoko and Zetsumei will die!" Ryouichi had more or less discarded his facade at that point, uncaring what kind of implications his sudden change might have later. At the moment he was focused purely on the survival of class 3-A.

Now where is it? he thought fervently, sweeping his eyes over the clearing and extending his senses to search for his target. It must be here somewhere...

A wave of loud, mocking laughter came from behind, as Ximenez was nearly doubled over, cackling with glee.

"You people!" he laughed. "You people amaze me to no end. Running around, panicking like newborn Hollows with your heads cut off." He took a few defiant steps forward.

"If I were you, I wouldn't worry about something as small as this..."

No one listened, then again, had he really expected them too? Obviously asking them to leave him to die was too much, none of them would do that to another person. Oh well, he couldn't change their minds for him, and if he was wrong about this all being some sort of hallucination, simulation dream, something where the impossible could occur, then he wasn't keen on dieing anyway. Takeshi perched on a tree branch for a moment, taking note of everyone's actions, nothing notable, Kanue was yapping on about how he would die if the others didn't do something, yadda' yadda' yadda', they talk to much. Takeshi looked down, observing for a moment before something red caught his eye, Ximenez.

He hadn't noticed him at first, but something about him had caught Takeshi's eye moments before he spoke, convenient. First came laughter, maniacal idiots always laughed, damn this guy was pompous. "Wow, he's almost rolling around on the ground, you'd swear we have a comedy routine going on here", as much as Takeshi hated to be mocked, he didn't feel like doing anything about it at the moment, instead he just listened. "You people!" Ximenez laughed. "You people amaze me to no end. Running around, panicking like newborn Hollows with your heads cut off." He took a few defiant steps forward. "If I were you, I wouldn't worry about something as small as this..." Takeshi swore, he was going to kill them, somehow, why else would he boast- hey, what the hell, Chiken's talking.

"Oh oh, are you going to shoot that red lazer at them?" Chiken's eyes appeared to light up like he was seeing his first snow or something, weird. Oh well, irrelevant to him, kind of interesting the way Chiken reacted though.

Takeshi wanted to fight a little on his own but he didn't want to get in Ximenez's way, because whatever he was about to do, it should be impressive. Shrugging, Takeshi leaped back at the Sigil he had been previously attacking, he wanted some fun, and the more danger, the more entertaining, he thought. Diving at the Hollow he looked up at Ximinez and commented dryly, "You're an asshole! Now shut up and do something, these copycats are boring!" Takeshi was about to attack the Hollow, wondering if he'd be even close to as successful as last time. No, probably not. Oh well.

Satoko Takeshi wrote:

"You're an asshole! Now shut up and do something, these copycats are boring!"

Satoko suddenly felt a strong hand grasp the neck of his collar and yank him to the ground. "Shut up and watch," Ximenez said.

Quote :

"Oh oh, are you going to shoot that red lazer at them?"

"Something like that," Ximenez smiled, raising one hand with a motion. A small, nearly transparent symbol appeared in front of his hand, something like a fancy silver cross outlined in gold, the whole thing surrounded by a violet circle marked with cryptic white writing. "See, it seems that... I've just figured out how to break Kurotsuchi's seal."

And he touched one long, crooked finger to the center of the circle.

The symbol shimmered, then shattered, the pieces falling away with a soft sound, like the tinkling of a tiny piece of broken crystal.

And then, to say all hell broke loose would have been an understatement.

A raging blast of fiery reiatsu exploded forth from Ximenez's form, enveloping the clearing, the forest, possibly the entire island. Maybe even the entire world, it seemed to Satoko. It was like nothing he'd ever felt before. Ximenez wasn't moving, not one muscle. Just standing there, his hand still out, emanating enough power to dwarf any Captain in Soul Society. Satoko tried to move, but Ximenez was still holding fast to his collar. Good thing too, because Cardinal's mere presence seemed to be incinerating everything in front of him.

Satoko looked out through the inferno. Without any effort on Ximenez's part at all, he could see the six Hollows that had killed him, melting away, writhing in pain, their masks and flesh disintegrating away.

Ximenez began to laugh, his voice growing darker and deeper. He made a minor gesture and a wave of force rippled through the fierce reiatsu, tearing through the Hollows, leaving nothing left.

Ximenez dealt 720 WOUNDS to Sigil A
Ximenez dealt 728 WOUNDS to Sigil B
Ximenez dealt 726 WOUNDS to Sigil C
Ximenez dealt 719 WOUNDS to Sigil D
Ximenez dealt 727 WOUNDS to Sigil E
Ximenez dealt 730 WOUNDS to Sigil F

Cardinal's laugh echoed through the forest, sounding like unholy roaring to Satoko's shocked ears. He couldn't believe his eyes, how easily that six of that horrible Hollow had been dispatched. How...

A scream, barely audible over the roaring reiatsu. Satoko looked out to see that it wasn't only the Hollow that were suffering. Hikari and Naomi were there, barely holding on to a nearby tree. Zetsumei, Tenkawa, Chiken, and Kanue were already gone, nowhere to be seen. Ximenez let out a loud "HA!" and another wave of reiatsu dislodged Hikari and Naomi's grip, sending them flying into the sky.

"Hey! Stop!" Satoko yelled, as if the one holding his collar were someone reasonable.

Daisuke was holding his ground the best that he could, with Duggo, Anshou and Ashibue behind him, but the flesh was already starting to peel from his arms. Another wave of reiatsu drove the sumo back, leaving deep trails in the ground, and another one blew him and the three he was protecting back into the forest, out of sight.

"Satoko!" The blond boy looked up to see Igarashi clutching onto Maka, who was clutching the ground for dear life. Straining, Maka reached out a hand. Satoko reached out to grasp it, but the heat from the intense reiatsu singed his fingers and he drew his hand back instinctively. Before his horrified eyes, Iga and Maka were torn away in the storm as well, disappearing into the clouds.

He was alone. Satoko was alone in the clearing with this madman. Ximenez had stopped laughing, and he slowly turned to face the blond boy. Satoko noticed that his eyes were glowing a bright yellow, and his outstretched hand seemed to be... something other than human. He couldn't tell if it was covered with scales or feathers or fur or something else altogether, and his hand was a twisted claw tipped with razor sharp talons. Ximenez grinned down at the boy, and it was a horrible sight, even obscured by the shadows.

"What... the... what... are... you."

His voice was an otherworldly howl, echoing from planes unknown.

"Ego sum abyssus ipsum."

And he slashed his claw down toward Satoko's face.

Satoko suddenly sat up, screaming.

He caught his breath, disoreinted. It was dark. Was this death?

His foggy mind slowly realized that if he was dead, then he wouldn't be breathing. He also became aware of the heavy weights on his face, chest, and arms. He heard a muffled noise nearby.

Are they alright? Get them out of there. Check on Takeshi-san.

And the sense of people at his side, fumbling with his arms, his face, and his hands. The weight was removed from his face, and the sudden shock of light made his mind ache.

Slowly, Satoko's vision came back into focus. He was in a sterile-looking room, in some sort of metal pod, one of many in the room. Shinigami were scurrying everywhere, attending to him and to...

The others.

With a start, Satoko looked out. The pod across from him was labeled "I. SAKIMOTO." And sure enough, there was Igarashi inside, sitting up, looking very much alive, although just as disoriented and confused as Satoko was.

That's right... Satoko's heart and breathing were normalizing as it all started coming back. That... it was just a dream. No... not a dream, more like a--

"That was a most interesting simulation," came a deep voice from behind them. Satoko looked out to see a tall man with glasses and a white lab coat. It was 12th Division's Funui Shingi, a professor of science at the Academy.

"Are they alright?" Isane Kotetsu asked again. "If this crazy machine of yours hurts them in any way, Fourth Seat Shingi--"

"Trust me, Lieutenant," Shingi said respectfully. "The YumeTek RealDream Simulation System cannot cause any physical harm. It simply stimulates a subject's mind using controlled electrical impulses, so the subject experiences the simulation as a dream, thereby remaining unaware that it is merely a simulation and responding accordingly. The devices attached to the subjects body stimulate muscles and nerves, allowing for proper reaction and sensation, and allows a subject's muscles to remain effective and developed by the device. And the memory center of the brain is stimulated as well, allowing everything that happens in the dream-simulation to be remembered. It's simply the nature of the brainwave stimulus we use to occasionally stimulate memories from a subject inside the device. It's never happened before, but it's certainly possible in theory." He smiled at Satoko. "If I could, I'd like to have a word with you after everyone is dismissed."

"What... sure...," Satoko looked around. They were all there. Chiken, Maka, Kanue. Even Ximenez was there, looking normal - well, as normal as he usually did. They all looked disoriented and confused, but they were there. Alive.

It struck Satoko suddenly. Then that meant...

"Hi, Toki!"

His eyes shot wide open as he turned his head back.

Rikiki Brown was standing there, smiling, sipping iced tea from a straw. Midori Yuansuzaku was standing next to her.

"Didja miss me?"

Duggo, as usual aloof and cool, dropped his facade a moment.

"What the FUCK?"

As he looked around, the world seemed a good deal less sensible than it had just a few moments before.

"Anyway, I'm just glad everyone's safe," Isane sighed. "Fourth Seat Shingi, I suggest you adjust your machine a little to keep those brainwave stimulus or whatever from causing any more malfunctions before you subject my students to something like that again."

She stepped away a bit. "Alright, everyone!" she called to the class. "Go ahead and get something to eat and then report to homeroom for some announcements. The cafeteria should still be open for another hour."