Me: Well It's summer time! Wooohoooo!
Shiva: Hells yeah!
Me: So let's kick off this summer with some hollow hunting.
Shiva: We own nothing of course.
Me: On with the show!
I give a shout out to all of the reviewers for the last chapter and the earlier ones that my new readers reviewd on: Thunder Claw 03, Pinkrose1122, Alex Spotlight, TheTygersSereneChaos, The guest reviewer, and of course Ultima Owner who blasted Hsage away again but this time Team Rocket style. Thanks for all the great reviews guys! They made me so happy!
Chapter 26: Leaders Match and First Hunt
Dominique's POV
I stepped onto the ground in the underground training room, thinking that I'd made it back undetected. I stretched my stiff muscles, trying to get rid of the pain in my neck from bending it down so long while looking at papers. I was about to let out a loud yawn when another person's presence made themselves known.
"Hey". A voice came from a few feet from behind me.
"EEP"! I squeeked as I recognized it instantly as Ichigo's voice. I could have sworn I'd jumped about two feet in the air without even using shunpo. I looked around to see Ichigo leaning against a boulder casually.
"Where've you been"? He asked with a smirk on his face.
"Uhh...the barracks". I said as I scratched the back of my head. He began walking towards me until he towered over me.
'Stupid tallness...still hot though, I guess that whole tall guy = hot guy thing was right...SHUT UP DAMN HORMONES'! The jumbled thoughts ran through my mind as I looked up at Ichigo.
Me+sleepyness+paperwork+boyfriend+hunger+aggitation from other idiot boy=me not thinking strait at all.
"Why didn't I get to go"? He looked heatedly at me. I blanched at that. The random thoughts fizzling out.
"Well um, I had to get some paperwork done and I had to tell Rose about what Aizen's planning. You know, about that stuff Orihime told us yesterday". I babbled as I looked up at him.
"I figured as much. Emma called a while ago, on your phone. It woke me up and that's when I noticed you weren't here. So I answered your phone and talked to Emma for a few minutes. After I finished talking with her I followed your reiatsu down here and waited for you to come back". He explained with a shrug of his shoulders. I nodded.
"Yeah. And there's one other thing that happened up at the barracks too". I said with a sweat drop.
"What"? I twiddled my fingers at his question.
"I got challenged to a Leaders Match". I noticed Ichigo's face go blank with confusion.
"What's that"? He asked.
"A Leaders Match is what happenes when another squad 0 member challenges a section leader to their title to their section". Ichigo's eyes widened.
"You could lose your title as leader of section thirteen if you lose"? He said in shock.
"Yes. But then again. I won't lose". I said with a smirk. The worry didn't leave his face. I chuckled as I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him, "Don't worry Ichigo. I won't lose no matter what. I'm not about to lose to some snake. After all I'm a dragon, and a dragon will never lose to a snake". I said as I kissed Ichigo on the cheek to reasure him.
He turned my head and kissed my lips. I would have been completely distracted by that, but I remembered something. Something important. Something that made my chest hurt badly. A familar haze filled my mind, and sadly it wasn't from Ichigo's kiss. I moaned as I broke away from his kiss.
"What is it Dominique. Is something wrong"? Ichigo asked worriedly. He really was a sweet guy. It made my heart thump happily at the kindness in his voice, but the hunger was growing. That was when I noticed that there was a hollow nearby, which was causing the feeling in the first place. My instincts knew it was there before I did.
'No wonder I'm freaking hazing out. The last time I ate was when we were at Hilton Head. It's been way too long'. I thought to myself. This was probably because I went to the barracks, where the reishi is so much denser in the air there than in the World of the Living. It caused my hunger to grow by going from a reishi rich enviorment to one with barely any at all.
Oh well. This would be a good lesson to teach Ichigo now. He'd have to eat sooner or later anyway if he had a hollow form. This was always a good way to find out if he had a hollow form in the first place.
"I need to eat". He looked at me in confusion.
"It's not breakfast time yet". He said innocently. I huffed, but smirked up at him.
"Not that type of food. The other kind". I said as I felt my eyes flash gold. My body wanted to change and hunt. Realization dawned in Ichigo's eyes and he nodded. I began walking towards the entrance to the underground training room. I looked back though when I didn't feel Ichigo following me.
"Well, come on. Lesson time. Plus you need to go on ahead and eat your first meal too. Otherwise you'll just get so hungry you'll eat a random hollow that comes near you". I explained. He nodded and began running up after me. We walked through the warehouse to where the barrier surrounded the compound. I didn't have time to wake up Hachi to take it down, so I put my right hand up to the barrier. The soul reapers could be on the hollow at any moment and I would lose my kill, I didn't have time to waste.
"Kage bakudo number 91, Ishi no kabe no doa (Four step barrier door)". I said as I drew a rectangle into the barrier with my fingertips. The four corners glowed brightly and the barrier opened. I stepped through and Ichigo quickly followed. I then transformed into my full hollow form and took off into the air as the barrier closed itself behind us.
Ichigo followed silently at a distance using shunpo.
I sniffed out the hollow and found it stalking a whole. I landed in front of the whole, who screamed at the sight of me. My instincts were beginning to cloud my mind completely. If I didn't send the whole away, it would become part of my meal. I forced myself to open a link with the whole though.
'Get out of here. I'm saving you from the real monster who's been chasing you'. I managed to get out before the hunger got out of control. I turned back to look at the hollow. This one snarled at me before running away on it's twelve scorpion-like legs.
I stopped for an instant to look back at Ichigo. I noticed Ichigo quickly konso the whole. I then charged towards the hollow who was now running away from a more powerful hollow, aka, me.
I rushed forward, my claws scraping against the concrete of the alleyway as I flat out ran after my prey. I let out a roar and pounced on the screeching hollow. I bit down on it's throat, though the carapass that made up it's insect like body. A very tiny part of my mind was making a joke about this being like the Lion King.
'Slimy yet satisfying'. Shiva said, even though I wasn't really paying attention anymore. The blood flowed down my throat along with the meat that instantly turned into energy as it neared my hollow hole in my body. This in fact, was how hollows eat. Whenever they eat something, it turnes into energy as it gets close to the hollow hole in the body as it tries to fill the hole.
I ate until I was able to regain my senses as the hunger indused haze left my mind. This one had been a very large hollow, with a good bit of power in it too. It filled me up much faster than that weak hollow from Hilton Head Island. I lifted my head from the body and looked at Ichigo. I noted that the hollow was still alive, even though it was halfway eaten, so it wouldn't last much longer.
When shadow shinigami eat hollows, the hollows only get purified after we've eaten the entire body or we finish it off with our zanpakuto. That or if the head gets eaten first, the body dissappears. It had something to do with the fact that our soul reaper energies mixed with the hollow energies inside of our bodies or something. Then again, I wasn't in the Department of Research and Development, so I didn't really care.
The blood continued to drip from my jaws as I looked at Ichigo. He surprisingly still didn't have a look of fear on his face. He was a bit strange on that part.
Even though I'd never seen anyone eat a hollow before I'd consumed my first hollow, I'd freaked out after I'd eaten it. I'd also hadn't had the convenience of my full hollow form when I'd done it too. I'd eaten the hollow when in my half hollow form, not exactly a plesant experience for a twelve year old to say the least.
Now though, I enjoyed my hunts. The thrill of the chase, the capture, and the energy that I get after I devour the hollows. It's like drinking six Monster energy drinks without the crashing side effect. A natural high, without the addictions, or withdrawels.
I walked up to Ichigo. I moved my muzzle to hang directly in front of his face before opening a link with him. The energy was buzzing through me nicely, and I felt the haze go away completely as my mind returned to it's alert state. I felt good, and Ichigo would feel like this two after he ate his first meal.
'You okay'? I asked. It took a minute for him to answer.
"Yeah. I'm good". He said in a small voice. He was looking at the blood on my muzzle. I slipped out my tongue from in between my fangs and licked my jaws clean of the blood. Ichigo's eyes had become glazed and I felt his hollow reiatsu begin to surge undernieth his regular power. I changed into my soul reaper form and moved to stand next to Ichigo, still keeping an eye on his face.
He didn't look at me. Instead, he was focused on the half eaten hollow on the grass. His eyes had lightened from their normal chocolate brown to gold. I moved behind him and placed my hands on his shoulders as I leaned up to whisper in his ears.
"What do you feel like doing"? I whispered. A single, deep growl errupted from deep in his chest. This proved that he had a hollow form if he was acting this way. I knew that I should have gotten him to master his hollow form before setting him out to eat his first hollow though. His instincts were strong enough to command his body to eat now though, so I didn't have to worry. His mask formed itself on his face and he began lowering into a crouch.
"Go". I whispered, and released his shoulders gently. What surprised me though was that he shot up into the air. I stood there for a moment in utter shock before cursing. I grabbed my blade and quickly killed the half eaten hollow before zooming after Ichigo. I followed after him as he used sonido. His left hand was curled into claws while he had Zangetsu in his right hand.
I spread out my senses and found a strong hollow presence near here. The only bad thing was, there were soul reapers near it as well.
"CRAP"! I cursed loudly as I rushed to catch up with Ichigo. Stupid head start! I decided to intercept the soul reapers instead of going after Ichigo. He could handle himself until I got the soul reapers to leave.
I saw Ikkaku and Yumichika were heading towards the hollow. I sensed Ichigo's reiatsu already at the hollow's and was rising, which was a good thing. I shunpoed in front of the two men and blocked their way. Thankfully the hollow was out of sight range so Ichigo would be able to eat in peace.
"Get out of our way Dominique. There's a hollow over there, and we need the early morning exersise". Ikkaku said with a scowl. I shook my head and put a loose grin on my face.
"Don't worry Ikkaku. Ichigo's going to go fight the hollow. I was givin' him a break from his training today, but while we were heading out, the hollow showed up. We just decided to deal with it quickly since we were already here". I said as I waved to Ikkaku.
"Why do I feel the presense of two hollows now". He asked suspiciously. I shrugged my shoulders.
'Shit'. I played it off though with a kind smile.
"Don't worry about it. It's just probably another hollow that was lured here from the reiatsu. Ichigo can handle it. So go on back to wherever yall are staying at, we got this". I said casually.
"Fine. Whatever". Ikkaku said with a bored shrug before shunpo-ing off with Yumichika to their place. I stayed put in the air though to make sure they didn't come back even though they said they would leave. When they were a good enough distance away I began heading towards Ichigo.
When I got there I saw him fighting the hollow. His sword was left forgotten on the ground as he fought the hollow in hand to claw combat. The hollow already had chunks of it's arms and mask missing. I noticed that Ichigo's hands had also turned into claws, so that meant that he was beginning to hollify in order to consume the hollow.
'Very good. But since he's not in control of himself, this won't count as his first controled transformation'. I thought to myself as Ichigo ripped off another piece of the hollow's arm and swallowed it. His mask was covered in the hollow's blood, and by the way he moved, he was working on pure instinct.
Ichigo charged at the hollow again, and after ripping off another piece to devour, he full bodied tackled the hollow. I stepped down and landed beside him after he forced the hollow onto the ground.
He turned to look at me, and growled deeply to show his claim of his kill. I snarled back at him, but remained in a relaxed pose as my own mask appeared on my face instantly. He let out a hiss at me, but he relaxed as he recognized me as someone who wasn't a threat.
He ripped another piece of the hollow and swallowed it. Since my own hunger was sated, I felt no appeal to the hollow's blood. I left Ichigo to eat his fill until he stopped and straitened out of his crouch. He turned to look blankly at me with his black/gold eyes.
"Don't worry about it Ichigo. Relax. Now that you've eaten, you won't need to eat again for a couple months. It's only when you've been changing into your hollow forms a lot, will you need to eat more". I explained calmly to him. Then I remembered that he probably didn't understand me while in his hollow form at the moment. He only proved that thought more by not answering, the blank look still on his face.
He simply stood there and looked at me, I facepalmed myself at my forgetfullness. I walked up to him and placed my fingers gently on his mask. A low growl rummbled in his throat, then it died away as his mask broke apart on his face when I set a reiatsu pulse through it. I was left standing there with Ichigo as he changed back to normal.
"Dominique"? He asked as he looked down at the still struggling hollow.
"It's okay Ichigo".
"Did I do that"? He asked as he looked seriously at the dying hollow.
"Yes you did. Don't worry about it". I said this as I raised my Zangetsu, and slammed it directly into the hollows head without even looking at it, causing it to dissappear as Ichigo looked down at it. Then I smiled at Ichigo, who was still a bit dazed.
"I feel awesome. Is that normal"? Ichigo asked as the dazed look left his eyes completely. I nodded happily.
"Well, now that you've eaten. You'll now be able to access your hollow form more easily. Now though, I need to head back to the squad 0 realm, and you're coming with me. You need to go see what's there, and I need to try and finish the paperwork at my desk. It'll be fun". I said as I raised my arm out into the air. I called out the spell and the shadow gate opened. Two hell butterflies flew out and one attached to Ichigo. My own hell butterfly, Sen, landed on my forehead gently.
'Hello again Lady Dominique'. Sen said in it's non-voice voice. I smiled as Sen and Ichigo's hell butterfly began to fly towards the gate, leaving a black thread hanging in the air.
Ichigo looked at me questioningly and I grabbed the thread to show him what to do. Even though I didn't need to do this, Ichigo did. I felt the familiar pull and was quickly pulled into the rift. I looked back and saw Ichigo do the same. The next instant, we were in the squad 0 realm. I took in a deep breath and sighed happily. I looked back and saw Ichigo looking around in awe at the beautiful surroundings.
"Welcome to our true home Ichigo". I said happily as I motioned to the central plaza where we'd landed in.
Ichigo's POV
I looked around curiously. I noticed that Dominique seemed more relaxed here then back in the World of the Living. She turned to look back at me and smiled happily before walking forward. We walked down a cobblestone path through what seemed to be some sort of park. I saw other people hanging out around trees and the fountains that seemed to be everywhere.
There were both shadow shinigami and inner hollows everywhere. They each seemed to be relaxed as they interacted with one another. I began to feel myself relaxing as I began to feel like this really was a second home for me.
'Home'. Hichgio said as Dominique continued to lead me towards a set of huge buildings. My eyes widened. They were easily taller than the tallest skyscraper I'd ever seen, and they like a mix of all the worlds building styles put into one thing that wierdly balanced out.
Dominique led me up to a building with a pair of huge doors that had the symbol for squad 0 on it and it's name in several languages. I managed to find it's name in japanese and it was labled as the Barracks. I stared in amazement as Dominique walked up to the doors and lightly touched them. They swung open silently and we walked into a huge lobby that had gray marble floors with flecs of silver in it and a huge crystal chandaleire hanging over us.
"This is where we hold meetings, do paperwork, and manage finances, along with some other things here in squad 0. Pretty much, this is the place of work and buisiness". She said lightly as she walked towards a young woman who was sitting at a desk at another set of double doors. I also noticed that there were several bookshelves and overstuffed chairs scattered throughout the huge room.
When we approached the desk where the woman sat, she looked up and smiled at us. Dominique smiled back.
"Well hello Nique-Nique. How are you today"? The woman said kindly. Dominique giggled before answering.
"Hi Hana. I was in here earlier last night, but now I'm back with my trainee and my boyfriend Ichigo Kurosaki". Dominique said with pride underlying her voice. I felt her arms wrap around my waist as she hugged me tightly. I put my arms around her and hugged her back. Hana cooed at us. Surprisingly enough though, I wasn't emarassed at all.
"Well look at you! The little girl who showed up with Rose one day with two hollows and a zanpakuto who wouldn't even speak, now such a fine young woman. Ahh, to be young again". The woman trailed off as she looked at me curiously.
"Hello ma'am". I said politely. I bowed my head respectfully.
"Oh, he looks just like little Shirozanny! Wait, does that mean-"? She said in surprise and Dominique cut her off.
"Yes. Shirozangetsu was really Ichigo's inner hollow. I no longer have Shirozangetsu within my mind...unless Ichigo and I link". Dominique said with a smirk as she finished the sentence. I felt my face heat up, and I looked away.
"Well isn't this a plesant surprise. It's nice to meet you. I'm Hanabiki, vice chairman of business affairs and record keeping here at the barracks. It's a pleasure to meet you. You can call me Hana". She said happily.
"Well we got's to be going now Hana. We'll see you later". Dominique said as she led me to another set of huge doors. We walked into a large hallway and soon walked up to a noticably smaller door that had a symbol of a rose on the it, as well as what appeared to be a sideways s.
"What's this room"? I couldn't help but ask. Dominique giggled.
"This is section thirteen's office/dojo/barracks. This is where our affairs dealing with squad 0 and whatnot are dealt with by section 13 and it's members. I've got some paperwork to finish, but you can go train in the dojo". She said calmly as she opened the doors with ease. That was when we both saw a tall boy with black hair that covered one eye standing at her desk.
'Who's that'? I thought to myself as Dominique smiled and walked up to him calmly. They grinned as they bumped fist.
"Sup Zork. Where's Kozo"? She asked the boy. The guy shrugged, his one visible red eye closed as he spoke in a bored tone.
"No clue really. You know how hollows can be. Always running off to do this, that, and who the hell knows what else. Just between us, I believe he's with Sero". He said with a smirk. Dominique gave a smirk of her own.
"Yes, well it is the new moon. I guess that Sero's in her usuall 'mood'". I heard Dominique say suggestively. I felt at that moment, that I truly didn't want to know the details of what they were mentioning.
"Yeah she is, but anyway, I was actually here to drop off some more documents that needed your signiture". He said with a smirk as Dominique groaned. Her hands went up to her face and covered it as she walked over to the desk with three large piles of papers on it. When she walked over to the desk she bent forward quickly and slammed her forehead into the desk loudly.
I winced at that. Zork laughed at her silently. She continued to bump her head into the desk. That was when Zork began laughing out loud.
"Uggggggghhhhhhhh". Dominique moaned at him angrily.
"Be thankful you don't have to do what I do kid. Us luietentants got three times as much as what you got. So quit your whining". Dominique lifted her head up and looked at him with a glare. Then she hissed at him. Zork just laughed and went to exit the office. He left and Dominique stood back up before walking over to the chair on the other side of the desk.
"Well let's get this over with. You can go through that door right there and train in the dojo. If you see a tall blonde dude though, tell me, and I'll make sure he gets the hell out of here". She said as she pointed to a pair of sliding doors. She sat down lazily in the chair and scooted up to the desk. She grabbed a pen and began quickly writing on the documents in front of her.
I walked towards the doors and opened them to a large room with a raised wooden floor. There were weapons hung on the walls, everything from maces, to katanas, to wooden swords. There were dummies that were made to look like people and hollows alike. There were also cabinets that lined the back wall with what I thought must be filled with more weapons or other things that would be needed to train.
'Well, might as well train while I'm here'. I thought to myself as I grabbed a wooden sword from a pile of them in the corner. I gripped the false blade tightly and looked at the dummie hollow in front of me. I set a smirk on my face as I charged.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
Rose's POV
After Dominique had given me the report on Aizen's intentions to make the Oken, I set to work on getting everybody on full alert. I had each section prepare themselves to come to fight when the time came. Not to mention all of the other squad members were on high alert for the battle call.
But for now, I focused on Dominique's upcoming Leaders Match. After all, a section leader was very important within the squad. They were usually on the front lines, what with their constant battles with hollows in the world of the living. They were some of the strongest fighters in the whole squad.
As the week passed by, I kept an eye on things dealing with Dominique and her challenger Johnathan. I watched as she trained with Emma and Shaun after she brought them to the undergroud training the vizards used. I also watched how she prepared for each round of the combat that would be needed in the match.
Shuan did not train. From what I saw, he was very confident that he would win, and that his long life of experience would see him to victory. He didn't worry about brushing up his skills, or even really doing much of anything. Dominique though, was set for each of the five rounds of combat.
Each Leaders Match had five rounds. There was Hakuda and Hoho. The next was Kido, and then Zanjutsu with both shikai and bankai. The next one was fighting in hollified forms. Then the final round was an all out, anything goes battle.
Dominique continued with her training of Ichigo as the week passed, as well as training her tail off. I watched as Masaki's son slowly become more comfortable with his hollification. I wondered if Masaki was keeping an eye on him.
I knew she was alive. She soon came to me after Grand Fisher attacked Ichigo, and her gigai was destroyed. She'd told me that she would be resigning from the position of squad 0 captain after her two hundred years of service. Even though she was quiting so early in her life, she told me that she felt that this was the right thing to do.
She said that she'd keep her distance from then on and would keep an eye on things. I simply followed her orders, after all, she was my mentor.
As I watched Ichigo train from a survelience hell butterfly, I saw much of Masaki and Isshin in him. He was just like her from what she told me of her training days. With training Dominique, I instilled the techniques that Masaki taught me as a child to her. Even though I'm still kind of young to be a captain, I think that I'm doing pretty well with the squad.
I had to give it to Dominique though. Thanks to her and Ichigo's interference in Rukia Kuchiki's execution in the Soul Society, shadow shinigami were now working together with regular soul reapers on friendly terms for the first time in over three thousand years.
Soon, our people would be thrown into a war that one rouge soul reaper started. Though, I had excellent spys high up in the bastard's ranks. Kaien, Metestalkia, Luise, and Piair, just to name a few. The war would be ended with our side being victorious. We just had too many skilled warriors on our side.
Soon the match was upon Dominique. She brought along Ichigo, Emma, and Shaun with her to watch. As well as the massive croud that came to watch as well. What Dominique didn't know was that she was quite the popular person in squad 0 since she became the youngest section leader in our history. Even old Marlow was coming to watch his old two members fight.
The place was filled with squad 0 members, all wanting to watch the battle between the captain's trainee and the famous(if in a bad way) Shadow Snake of the Mississippi; Johnathan Fail.
When Dominique entered the large training area in the recreational building, the chattering between the members quieted down to silence. Dominique walked in proudly, with Ichigo walking in calmly behind her as well as Emma and Shaun flanking the two of them quietly. Soon Johnathan came in and joined in standing beside me. Emma, Shaun, and Ichigo each walked over to the sidelines to watch.
That was my cue.
I jumped onto a large boulder above the others and placed my hands up in the air to call for silence. Though I didn't need to though. Everyone was already quiet and listening attentively.
"As you all know, squad 0 is a family. A disfunctional one, but a family none the less. Even though we are a family, there are still disputes amung us for honor, and title within our ranks. Today we come here to witness such a dispute. A Leaders Match"! I called out as I shot my right fist into the air. The crowd errupted into cheers.
"Dominique"! Some yelled out.
"Johnathan"! Others also yelled. I held up my hands again for silence, which was quickly granted. Then I continued my speech.
"As many of you know, a Leaders Match is a battle between a current section leader and the challenger. There are five rounds to a Leaders Match; Hakuda/Hoho, Kido, Zanjutsu, hollification, and then the all out fight to the finish. The fighter with three out of five wins, either by complete knockout, forfit, or death wins the title of the section of the challenge and becomes that section's leader. With that said, we will now go into the first round of combat". I looked down at both Dominique and Johnathan.
"Since he is the challenger, he may choose the first round". Dominique said calmly. Johnathan smirked at her.
"I guess I'll choose kido". He said with a shrugg of his shoulders. I nodded at the two of them.
"Very well then. The first round will be a duel of kido. Now, fighters, take your places. Twenty meters away from each other". I called out as Dominique and Johnathan walked out into the battle ground. Then they began walking away from each other at a steady pace. Niether one showing any nervousness, or even fear. When they were twenty meters apart, they turned around to look at each other as they took their stances.
"Now, let the Leaders Match...begin"!
Dominique's POV
'You got this. Now beat this punk into the ground'. I thought to myself as I lowered into my stance. He'd chosen kido in the first round. Both a good and a bad thing. By doing kido the first round, your spells would be much stronger, but also, it would deplete your reiatsu earlier. It was a double edge sword for both of us.
I watched as he lowered himself into a crouch of his own with his palms facing me. I saw his lips moving as he spoke an incatation even before the round started. I knew that he was already charging up a strong bakudo that would pin me down, then he would follow up with a hado to finish me off quickly. I had a couple tricks up my sleeve though. I charged up my own power and waited for Rose to say the words to begin the fight.
"Now, let the Leaders Match...begin"! She called out and I immediately rolled to the side. I looked back and saw that there was a Sajo Sabaku chain right where my body had been just a half second ago.
"Sai"! I called out and pointed at him. His arms began to go behind his back, but he tried to keep them from connecting by using his strength. The thing was though, this as only a diversion.
'Time to rack up on the binding spells. Thank you Emma'! I sent a silent thank you to my best friend.
"Kage bakudo 61 Rikujokuro! Kage bakudo 63 Sajo Sabaku"! I called out as the six bars of light stabbed themselves into his body(although harmlessly), and the huge chains wrapped themselves around his entire body, blocking any movement what-so-ever. I then walked up to him and chanted for a more powerful hado. Just before I released it I held my hand to his face as he struggled to get out of the three binding kido's I'd set on him.
"You damn cheater". He snarled at me. I scoffed.
"Yeah, and charging up a kido before Rose even said to begin wasn't cheating? I'll give you a chance to forfiet this round now...unless you want to find yourself with a Kurohitsugi around you. I'm sure you want to save the wounds for later rounds". I said as I showed the small, glowing black box in the palm of my hand. Johnathan did the smart thing though and bowed his head.
"I give up". He called out loud enough for Rose to hear. Rose nodded at me once before raising her voice for everyone to hear.
"The winner of the first round is Dominique Kudo with a forfiet"! She called out. I heard several loud cheers and hoots. Though there were some boos too, and from what I could tell, they were all female voices that booed at me.
"Release". I said calmly as I waved my hand to dissappate the kidos I'd cast. No reason to have any unessesary energy leeched out. Then I spoke up, "Since I was the victor, I call for the next round to be Hakuda/Hoho". I said as I went back to the twenty meter mark. Johnathan looked at me darkly as Rose readied to call out the next round's start.
"And, begin". She called as I sonidoed up into the air. I was used to taking the high ground. Johnathan looked at me darkly from the ground before dissappearing from my sight. I felt him come up behind me.
'What the hells he got up that nasty sleeve of his'? I thought to myself as I twisted to the side to see wether or not he was really coming from behind me.
WHAM!
That was when a punch came from above me. He hit me directly in the spine with his leg, sending me flying towards the ground. Pain blossomed within my back, but I ignored it as I twisted around to send myself back into the air. Though he was right in my face, his fist aiming righ for my nose. I managed to duck it in time to send a heavy kick into his ribs.
I remembered his profile that I'd read while taking a break from training. He was a major speed type fighter. He used a lot of underhanded tricks and speed to win fights. I disliked fighting dirty, but if he was going to, so was I. I charged my arm with reiatsu and sent a punch flying into his left hip.
He was sent flying, but then something surprised me. The Johnathan that I'd hit, turned into a puff of black shadows.
'Dammit! He used a shadow clone'! I thought angrily to myself as I looked around to find where the real Johnathan was. The thing was though, I didn't have to look far. He was right in front of me, and all around me. Reiatsu charged hands pointed directly at my neck. I knew that if I moved, my neck would be broken instantly from touching the reiatsu barriers around the hands.
"I give. Dammit. I thought shadow clones weren't allowd"? I called out. Rose looked down at us and nodded towards me.
"This round's winner is Johnathan Fail via forfiet". She called out. There were calls of insults and cheating. Rose raised a hand and I saw something in her face that made me smirk. She wanted me to thuroughly trash this boy. Rose would allow for this, even though he cheated. I would finish this now.
He may have one this one round, but that was because I hadn't used my own shadow clones in the fight. Then again, this made things more interresting. I grinned at Johnathan, who'd taken his hands away from my neck and disspersed his shadow clones.
"So, what's your choice in this round"? I asked innocently. He smirked.
"Zanjutsu". I smirked as I drew my Zangetsu from it's place on my back. He drew his zanpakuto from the sheath at his right hip. It was time to bring the pain.
'Ready Zangetsu'? I thought to my blade as the power began running through me.
'I am with you Dominique'. He said calmly. I smiled inwardly as I felt his power flow through me. I could swear that I felt Ichigo's power mixed with it too. I walked over to the starting point and took a quick peek at Ichigo. He looked focused, so that meant that he really was helping me a little bit. This would be even more to my advantage.
I didn't need their help, though I was gratefull nonetheless, but now it was time for the fight to begin.
"Round three, begin"!
"Getsugatensho"! I sent a large Getsugatensho at the ground, creating a dust cloud around me.
"Dammit". I heard Johnathan curse.
"Let's do this Zangetsu". I whispered as I ran forward. I kept low to the ground and focused my power into the blade. I located Johnathan's reiatsu to my left through the dust cloud. I managed to get right into his face with my blade.
"Crap! Smash, (Kiba hanmā)"! His zanpakuto changed shape from a katana into a large hammer that had spikes on each side of it that were big enough to impale the crap out of someone. Those spikes were what really got people in a fight. They could be fired from the hammer and then more would take their place. He swung down and I was forced to jump away to prevent getting impaled with the spikes.
Johnathan looked at me as he gripped his zanpakuto in his hands. I held Zangetsu calmly in my own right hand. I then charged forward and sliced my blade through the air, aimed at his head. He just barely dodged it, some of his hair was now fluttering to the ground from where my blade sliced it off of his hair.
He jumped away from me and glared angrily at me as I smirked at him. I then released my hold on Zangetsu, letting the blade's hilt slip from my grasp. I quickly grabbed the hilt wrap and began swinging the blade through the air. I felt the power in me begin to rise within me as the blade turned faster. I began to laugh as Johnathan's face turned from one of anger to one of surprise.
I swear that I even saw the beginning of fear in his eyes. The sight of it sent a thrill of excitement through me.
"What's the matter Jonny Boy? You're not insulting me like you did in our first fight. You were so ready to call me a bitch and a ho then, just because I wouldn't lay down and spread my legs for you. I truly feel sorry for any girl who's ever been with you because they were tainted by your foulness". I said as I sent Zangetsu flying at him.
He lifted up his own zanpakuto and sent several spikes in my direction. Some met my blade as it travled to it's target, while others zoomed past, aimed at me. I jumped up to dodge them, but one managed to jab into my left leg.
I hissed in pain as the spike imbedded itself in my calf. Johnathan was able to dodge my attack at first, but while still in the air; I yanked the hilt wrap harshly and Zangetsu came back around and slashed into his shoulder deeply. It then stuck, imbedding itself within his shoulder, just as his spike did with my leg.
As I landed back on the ground with only my right leg, I yanked the hilt wrap again and brought Zangetsu back to me, but not before yanking it out of Johnathan's shoulder.
"Gra"! I heard him yell out as the metal was ripped through his flesh. Blood spurted from the wound and onto the ground turning the rocks at his feet red. I then caught Zangetsu as it flew back to me. Then I swung it to rid it of Johnathan's blood.
"Do you give up? You've sustained a severe injury that you might want to get looked at before we continue. Unless though, you feel like coming close to death". I said as I stood up on my right leg. I left the spike where it was, becuase it might be in an vein or something that if I remove it, would cause me to bleed a lot, too much blood loss was always bad news in a fight.
"You stupid bitch. I'll never give up". He said stubbornly. I sighed and lifted my blade up to point at him.
"Stupid boy. Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu". I called as my power flew out of me in waves. The red black energy surrounded me as my outfit changed into my bankai coat, and my blade changed into the pitch black katana that was my Tensa Zangetsu. I gripped the blade and stood at the ready. Johnathan looked at me darkly as he prepared to release his own bankai.
"Bankai! (Kiba hanmā ōji) He called out as smoke surrounded him. When it cleared, he was still standing there with his same zanpakuto. He slammed the hammer into the ground and when he picked up the hammer again, three spikes remained in the ground. Those three spikes expanded and turned into three huge rock monsters that wielded the same zanpakuto as Johnathan did.
His bankai allowed him to be able to make an army of fighters from the spikes. I felt the spike that was still in my leg heat up and I quickly moved down and ripped the spike from my leg. Blood spurted from the wound and I quickly bandaged it with a ripped off piece of cloth from my hakama. Then I jumped away from the spike that had been imbedded in my leg changed and became a larger version of me with his zanpakuto in her grasp.
I looked at the thing angrily and lowered into a crouch. I would need to preform the Speed Phantom Clone technique in order to win this. He could make even more monsters if any more of those spikes come off. I would need to finish this quick.
I gripped my blade and focused on my power, then I felt the power flow out and soon I was surrounded with nine copies of myself. Each of us wielding a Tensa Zangetsu, and ready to fight.
"Go". I whispered and each of us shunpoed into the attack. Five of them took on the rock monsters, while three of the others took on the monster clone of me. The last clone and myself went after Johnathan. We easily surrounded him and pointed our blades at him.
"Give up". We each commanded at the same time.
"Never"! He roared as he swung at us with his blade. I could tell that he was becoming desperate from the way he acted. He was losing a lot of blood from the shoulder wound I'd inflicted. I knew he wouldn't give up, and I wanted to go on ahead with the hollification battle so I decided to fight dirty.
While the remaining copy of me distracted him, I went around behind him and grabbed his zanpakuto from his grasp. I then pointed my own blade at his throat.
"You have been defeated. Now give up". I commanded with my most serious voice. He looked at me for a moment before bowing his head in defeat.
"I refuse". He said stubbornly as he lifted his head up to glare at me.
"Fine then, have it your way". I said as my clone came up behind him and knocked him in the back of his head with her foot. The blow knocked him unconcious and onto the ground with a thud.
"This round's winner is Dominique Kudo with a knockout"! Rose called out. I heard several cheers. I then tossed his zanpakuto to his side and walked away as I changed back into my shikai state. That was when the medical team came in and began treating our wounds. They weren't allowd to heal us, but they were allowed to cover the wounds with bandages, and to revive Johnathan with a bucket of cold water.
"Thanks". I said to the woman who wrapped a bandage around my leg, even though I didn't need it. Once I went into my hollified state, I would heal with my instant regeneration. I suspected that Johnathan had the same ability himself.
"You're welcome kid. Kick that little hothead's arse". She said with a sweet scottish accent. I nodded to her and stood up.
"The next round of combat will be hollification". I called out. I looked over and saw Johnathan smirk as they covered his shoulder wound with a lot of bandages to try and stop the bleeding. He looked a more than a bit worn out, but that was probably from losing all that blood. We soon got into position and waited for Rose's call.
"Let the fourth round begin". She yelled out. I roared out and let myself change into my half hollow form. As the reiatsu cloud dissappated, I lowered myself into a fighting stance. My claws were extended out at my sides, my arm blades were ready to shoot forward, and my tail lashed from side to side. My wings were raised and I felt my instincts to rip, tear, and shred bubble up to the surface. I felt the sneer on my face, even though he wouldn't be able to see it with my mask on.
I looked over at my enemy and saw his own hollows mask on his face. His looked like a rattlesnake's skull, only flatened into a mask with three gray stripes across his temples. His red/black eyes glared at me from behind his mask. He threw his blade, which had reverted into it's sealed state, across the ground, and away from him. I left my own blade across my back. I wouldn't need it either.
He curled his hands into claw shapes and then charged at me. He used sonido to move faster, but I feinted to the side to dodge his charge. I then lashed my tail out and grabbed his ankle before tossing him up into the air. He looked at me defiantly before pointing his palm at me. A gray cero charged up in his hand. I pointed both of my hands up and charged my own deep blue cero.
"Cero". We both called out as our ceros exploded from our hands at each other. They collided in midair. I raised my wings and flew around to the side, towoards Johnathan's left flank. He had just landed when my claws ripped through his side. I twisted in midair to see his reaction as he snarled at me as I passed by.
I smirked and flew back at him. My arm blades flew forward and slashed at his skin again and again. I made sure not to cut him too deeply to hit any vital organs. I did cover him with shallow gashes all over his body.
As I was doing this, he kept trying to grab me to stop my assault, but I had the advantage here. He'd lost too much blood and wasn't thinking clearly enough to fight back at the speed at which I was fighting.
"THAT"S IT"! I heard him screech out as his reiatsu skyrocketed. I flew back and prepared for his next move.
'Here it comes'. I thought to myself as he thrashed his head back and forth, as if trying to shake water from his hair or something.
"I will not lose to some stupid female"! He screamed out as he transformed into his hollow form. After his reiatsu dissappated, he sat there as a fifty foot snake. He looked like a giant python, even though he had huge fangs that made his jaw look like a rattlesnake's mouth, and razor sharp spines that grew down his back that looked like a brim's dorsal fin(Type of fish for those who don't know).. He lifted his head up and hissed at me menacingly. I smirked as I looked at the huge hollified snake before me.
"Well now that you've practically insulted every female here, I'm going to put you in your place". I said as I charged up my own reiatsu. He didn't want to lose to a female, but this day he would. I felt my own change come, but I did not raise my reiatsu to hide it. I let everyone watch as my body was torn appart in the change from my soul reaper form into my hollow form.
Even though I knew that my skin was being ripped appart as my bones crunched and grew, I didn't feel it. I'd stopped feeling it over a year ago after transforming enough for the numbness to take over when I changed. Though the change only lasted about a second, it was enough to leave a visual impression on the crowd and Johnathan.
As the transformation finished, I stood on all four legs and felt the wound that had been in my left calf completely dissappear. I planted my feet to the ground, lowered my head so I looked like a bull about to charge, and roared so loud that the ground shook with it. Johnathan seemed unaffected, but I mentally smirked as I saw his tail twitch.
I stalked forward, my claws clacking on the stone benieth me. Johnathan began slithering forward. He opened his mouth to show his four fangs at me. I opened my mouth to show him how sharp the massive ammout of fangs I had were. We silently talked, even without the use of a mental link.
That was when he charged at me, his serpent body sliding towards my body with his fangs exposed. I jumped forward and grabbed at him with my front claws. He tried to twist around and snap at my neck, but I used his wieght against him and climbed on top of him, using my claws to dig into his hierro flesh.
He let out a screech as my claws ripped through him, though they healed up almost instantly after they were made. I let my instincts take over and felt my power surge as my draconic pride raged.
I lunched forward and snapped my jaws around his neck, though from the bottom because of the razor sharp spines on his back. Blood rushed into my mouth, but I didn't dare swallow it. I ripped the chunk of flesh that I had in my mouth away from his body and tossed it out of my mouth as well as slinging the blood away. His blood tasted nasty.
I continued my assault on his body, even using his hollow hole as leverage to hold onto as I ripped and teared at his body. I knew that he would begin to heal with his instant regeneration, but the pain would soon get to him. He snapped at me and managed to grab my tail in his jaws. I roared out in pain as he bit over two thirds of my long tail off.
I shook my head against the pain and flashed around to face him. I watched as he ate the piece of my body that he'd bitten off. That pissed me off and I snarled at him menacingly.
'How dare he bite off my beautiful tail'! I snarled in my mind. I lunged forward with my whole body and bit down on his face. He screeched again as I bit down harder. I soon let go and flew off of him. I landed on the ground and took a quick look back to see my tail already reforming. I watched as Johnathan hung his head and panted while his body tried to heal all of his wounds.
I decided that it was time to finish this. I reared up on two legs and felt the bones in my body shift as my body changed so that it could stand upright. I heard gasp from the crowd as they watched me. My shoulders bended and so did my hips to move into a standing position. I now towered over Johnathan.
This is why I had such long legs. Though I am more comfortable standing on all fours, this form can also stand on two legs. I could also summon my zanpakuto and use it while in this form. I felt a shiver roll down my body as my hierro skin shuddered, causing scales to errupt from my flesh.
Normally I kept my scales hidden, but by bringing out my scales, my skin would become even harder. This was a tactic I rarely showed anyone, but now it would be public knowlege after today.
I ran forward on two legs and tackled a stunned Johnathan to the ground. I pinned his head to the ground with on foot and held my jaws over his head. I began charging up a cero. I wouldn't even give him the option of forfeit this time, so I blasted him with my cero.
As the smoke cleared, I stepped away and saw Johnathan still in his hollow form. His body was shaking and much of his snake skin had been blasted away with that last attack. Blood dripped from him in buckets almost. I then looked up at Rose.
She didn't look at me though, she was still looking at Johnathan. I turned to look at him as he managed to move in an upright position. He glared at me crazily as he screeched.
I felt his reiatsu rise again as he began changing. His snake body melted down until he was human shaped again. I watched as claws errupted from his fingertips and a long tail errupted from his back. Two long fang-like things horns errupted from his palms as his skin began to cover itself with markings and fangs grew from his jaws.
After the transformation was finished, he stood there in his torn up shihakusho and hakama glaring at me with his red/black eyes from his now elongated version of his rattlestake's hollow mask.
He had changed into his vasto lorde form.
Me: Wow that was a long chapter!
Shiva: She even got it up on time this month.
Me: Yeah. I was just finishing it up this morning to be exact.
Shiva: Well we hope you enjoyed the cliffy.
Me: Send lots of reviews! They make me happy!
Shiva: Until the next chapter.
Impossible by Manifest
I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!
COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!
A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!
YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!
I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!
ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!
REVIEW!
REVIEW!
REVIEW!
REVIEW!
BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!