Sulking (Open, 1v1)

[Kyoshin Oscuro]

The Commander's chambers were silent and empty, lit only by the subtle moonlight that filtered in through the open ceilings, which as it was left much to be desired. The rooms themselves were shaped like the insides of cylinders, and tall enough that no light from above reached the floors, creating a great deal of shadow for Kyoshin to lurk in. And lurking he was.

The young Arrancar hadn't taken physical form in nearly a week, rather his particles were scattered through the shadows as Reishi by his Esparcir technique. He hadn't been thinking much during all that time either, for as he saw it there was nothing to think about. The worlds had become empty, devoid of most Spiritual life forms and home only to humans. Sure, one way to see it was that he'd won, his enemies had been driven to extinction, one way or another, and order had been restored. He could start a reign of terror over the humans any day now, if he desired... But he hated it all the same. There were no enemies, no fights, no purpose. He might as well simply stop existing... Which, in essence, he already had.

[Karzan Zaraki]

Karzan wandered around the Control Room, sensing his Second in Command's presence in the Shadows. "What are you doing holed up in here Kyoshin?" he shouted into the darkness, "We have work to do."

Karzan had not seen a trace of his Espada commander for some time, and he was in the midst of planning for the fruition of his final goal...he was going to place the Arrancar on top, not just in their minds, but in fact. He needed Kyoshin to lead the others in his stead, so that he could confront what he viewed as the main threat to his dream...Clyde.

[Kyoshin Oscuro]

"Do we..." echoed Kyoshin's disembodied voice, the shadows near the Lord of the Deep seeming to stir. "'Cuz I just love work..."

Out of the almost tangible darkness flowing around Karzan, a hazy human form condensed, which while remaining mostly insubstantial became defined enough to make out the facial features and body of the Commander. "There's no one left to fight, Karzan... They've all been obliterated, demolished... Why kick them while they're down? I'd much rather wait for them to regroup, so they'll at least be fun to end..."

[Karzan Zaraki]

Karzan resisted the urge to strike his lieutenant. "Obliterated?" Karzan asked in an icy voice, "My friend our enemies surround us, they are anything but obliterated[/i]. We barely made a dent in our last assault, you managed to injure some stronger enemies, and kill some mindless pawns, that proves nothing."[/color]

Karzan's hand rested lightly on the hilt of his sword, trying not to show his annoyance. "We're invading the World of the Living soon...and we're taking it from the Shinigami and the Humans, before they can regroup. We're at war Kyoshin, we need to capitalize on our victory now, before the power balance flips back in their favor."

[Kyoshin Oscuro]

"Take it? And then what?" Kyoshin fixed his Lord with a bored glare, obviously not convinced that there was any urgency. "I really must ask, what are we fighting for? What are you fighting for? Respect? Dominance? Are we gonna end the world? What do we get out of trashing the Mortal Realm?" Now fully condensed, Kyoshin stepped out of the shadows and stood but a few yards from Karzan, his sword held casually, ready to defend or strike.

"Surely it's occurred to you... Or do you not yet understand?" He asked, raising his eyebrows expectantly. "We need the Shinigami, Karzan. We need the humans. This universe survives from conflict. When a Hollow claims a human soul, that soul is forever locked away, and if it perishes it will not return to the cycle. Purification is the only way it can again be liberated... But 'saved' souls, the ones the Shinigami claim, would live so long in the after life that souls would cease entirely to return to the Mortal Realm, and the cycle would be destroyed. Don't you see? One cannot live without the other. The Shinigami and us... are symbiotes, fueling the world with our conflict. If either of us wins... This meaningless world will die."

[Karzan Zaraki]

"So what?" Karzan asked with a raised eyebrow, "Our 'relationship' with the Shinigami doesn't change because we have control does it? Even if we annihilated every single Shinigami existing today, there'd be more eventually. They discovered their powers from nothing in the first place, just as we discovered we could remove our masks...so what's wrong with aspiring to be the group in control for once?"

Karzan's grip on the hilt of his sword tightened, as he no longer cared to hide his anger. "You speak the words of a coward Kyoshin." he said with venom, trying to goad the other Arrancar, If the world is meaningless as you say, then wouldn't it be better for it to die? Or do you fear death?"

Karzan inched his sword out of it's sheath, preparing to defend himself. "Whether it is my vision or yours that results from the destruction of our enemies is meaningless...all that matters is that something is changed! If we burn this world to the ground something else will rise from the ashes! The world balance isn't as fragile as your weak mind!"

[Kyoshin Oscuro]

"You're the one who'd rather strike our enemies while they're weak than in an even battle, and I'm the coward?" Kyoshin's derisive laughter rang out through the complex, not taking much of what Karzan said to heart. "I'm still not sure what it is you want, and I'm beginning to doubt that you know, either. You'd finish the Shinigami here and now... So new, weak ones can come along later and we can fight again? Or you'd end the world, purely in the hopes that something new will be born?

"If I feared death, Karzan, I would have stayed weak and died that way," Kyoshin said, prepared to fall back into the shadows should Karzan attack. "Now I've grown strong, yet I see there is no point to my power, nor to yours. I don't fear change, I don't fear death, yet I fail to see why having lots of power and no brain entitles you to drive this world to its end."

[Karzan Zaraki]

"No battle is equal!" Karzan spat, "There is always a winner and a loser! I will not have us be the weaklings who sit meekly in our halls and wait calmly for our next defeat!"

Clenching his teeth and gripping his sword even tighter, Karzan continued to speak. "What I want is very simple Kyoshin," he said as his knuckles turned white from the strain, "I want to fight...that is all. I have a goal that can be attained by fighting, I enjoy fighting, all I care about is FIGHTING!"

As he shouted the last word his right hand whipped his sword out of its sheath, as his left hand charged and fired a teal colored Cero. If you believe that our powers are pointless, then resign yourself to the same fate as those who leave Las Noches! You will die, and become more sand for the desert to feed on, held back from your precious cycle of life!"

((In case you didn't get the hint, I'm using my Rascar Cero))

[Kyoshin Oscuro]

Using Sonido to fall back into the shadows before Karzan's Cero could even reach him, Kyoshin grinned smugly as the five blasts passed through him harmlessly. "If your only purpose in being is to fight, then letting the world keep turning and leaving your enemies alive is the most prudent option. It was by your orders that I spared that human Clyde... But by your current logic I should have just finished him off while he was weak, right?"

The Commander disappeared completely, his voice continuing to echo from around Karzan.
"I do not recommend abstinence, merely patience, oh Lord of the Deep. Give your enemies time and they shall multiply in both number and power. Then you can have your fight. A battle truly worthy of the Espada and thyself, not a job meant for thugs and assassins that will end the war, and this world, forever."

[Karzan Zaraki]

"Clyde is a special case," Karzan said as his dodged Cero blasts bit into the surrounding walls, "Clyde needs to be used as an example...he cannot simple be killed...his death must be long drawn out and painful...his allies must see him fall from where he's risen to."

As the walls behind Kyoshin crumbled, light from outside filtered in, breaking the shadows where Kyoshin hid, exposing him once again to attack. "Battle is battle," Karzan said simply, "there are no battles 'worthy' of a particular class...besides from the death of one enemy another enemy rises to take revenge...or did you forget about your pack?"

As Kyoshin's form appeared from the light hitting his particles, Karzan fired a Gran Rey from his left hand, before using Sonido to move toward Kyoshin, aiming a slash at him. "We've had a long enough waiting period," he whispered just loud enough for Kyoshin to hear "it's time to act and let the cards fall where they may."

[Kyoshin Oscuro]

"It won't be a battle, as our enemies are now-" Kyoshin was insisting, before he froze upon seeing what Karzan was charging. "You ****in' insane? That'll tear this whole ****ing wing apart!"

Given the time necessary to charge such a powerful Cero, Kyoshin had more than enough to perform evasive action, which wasn't his only objective with a Gran Rey involved. Sound stepping a few times, he dodged above Karzan, who would most likely correct his aim and follow the Commander, so that the Cero shot up towards the sky. Simply 'dodging' wouldn't be an option, and Kyoshin knew it, so as the Cero enveloped him and proceeded to tear him apart, his hand was already gripping the hilt of his Zanpakuto as he muttered, "Climb, Noche Espina."

SPOILER: Click to show

Reiatsu: 200+90= 290
Attack: 200+85= 285
Speed: 210+85= 295
Weapon Skill: 215+80= 295

The massive Cero was met with an even stronger concentration of Reiatsu as Kyoshin assumed his true form and destroyed the blast from the inside-out. Through his sudden power boost and sheer willpower, the Commander split the deadly Cero down the middle, the two halves continuing up his tower and still managing to devastate much of the structure before flying off into Hueco Mundo's night sky. As Karzan Sonido'd up and attacked Kyoshin, his sword blow was met with a backhand that sent it flying out of his grasp as Kyoshin bore down the full weight of his Reiatsu to slow him even more. With movements nearly too fast for Karzan to perceive, Kyoshin brought down his left claw to make four deep gashes on the Lord of the Deep's face, blinding him in both eyes, before grabbing the loose sword in a flash and bringing it down on Karzan's shoulder, cutting deep and rendering his left arm near useless. With that done, he instantly Sonido'd backwards, taking care not to be hit by any falling rubble from Karzan's Cero, which the Lord of the Deep would likewise have to be wary of. Still clutching Karzan's sword with clearly the upper hand in this battle, Kyoshin grinned his usual grin for the first time in a while.

"That was for the last time we fought," the Commander taunted, referring to how he'd blinded Karzan. "And the second one was for that ****in' Gran Rey. You ****ing deserve it, too. I'm still amazed how long it took for me to see you for what you are... "

(Right, so, that may have seemed like Autohitting, but having 155 weapon higher than you when you attacked me entitles me to a free disarm and 2 automatic hits, which were justified anyway considering my current stat advantage. And I'm way too fast for you to touch me and start godmoding, play by the rules. I'm not gonna kill him, so take it like a man and RP, 'kay? )

[Karzan Zaraki]

((Sorry, but you misread something. Free disarm and two autohits is if you have 200 Weapon Skill over. 155 falls within 100-199 range which means the most you have is a difficult disarm: bleachalt21.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=system&action=display&thread=5597 Your speed justifies the attacks happening, but they aren't free, I'm still allowed to react, hence the following post.))

Karzan roared in anger as his eyes were slashed, but kept all his other senses open. He felt Kyoshin approaching again, and heard the whistles of a blade through the air, and knew what was happening. Grabbing the blade with his right hand as it bit into his shoulder, Karzan gasped in pain, but still managed to shout something before Kyoshin could move away.

"Destello...Colmillo!"

SPOILER: Click to show

Reiatsu: 210 + 65 + 10 = 285

Attack: 235 + 65 + 15 = 315

Speed: 190 + 65 +15 = 270

Weapon Skill: 140 + 65 +10 = 215

The resulting out-surge of energy wouldn't knock Kyoshin back, but it would cause him to stagger. As the effects of releasing his power healed his body, Karzan stood up and used Sonido to put some distance between them, charging and firing a Cero as he backpedaled away, keeping his healed eyes peeled for any trace of movement.

[Kyoshin Oscuro]

(Ah, my bad )

So close, Kyoshin thought to himself, wincing as he felt Karzan's blade disappear from his grasp as his master assumed Resurreccion. Next time I'll have to avoid practically handing the sword back too him when I take it... Watching Karzan charge a Cero, Kyoshin fired his own and dodged the resulting explosion, sound stepping back into the shadows of an adjacent chamber that hadn't yet been destroyed by Karzan's Cero.

Usually, he'd be raging at Karzan by now; the Lord of the Deep's antics were always enough to drive him furious. This time around, however, he was determined not to be manipulated, and rather than the usual hate, he simply felt annoyed. Annoyed that his sleep had been interrupted, annoyed that Karzan was blowing massive holes in his personal sanctuary, annoyed that he had a master he could no longer respect. But voicing that annoyance had grown tiresome, Karzan wasn't listening at any rate. So, just vent it with pain, pain that Karzan couldn't ignore...

Suddenly, a light turned on behind Karzan, one that cast a deep shadow before him and would blind him should he turn around to see its source, especially with his heightened senses. Before he even had time to question it, though, invisibly black tentacles sprung up from the shadow before him, directed at his chest with the intent of piercing straight through him. Kyoshin was scattered through the darkness again, and it would take more than a few Cero to force him out this time...

[Karzan Zaraki]

((The tentacles can't really be invisible if their light coming from behind me...not gonna dodge them completely of course, just saying they'd be visible.))

Karzan swore as the liight came on, not daring to turn away from his enemy to look at it. When the tentacles erupted from the shadows, he used Sonido in an attempt to dodge, but 3 of them pierced his left arm, which Karzan broke off with a swipe of his right hand, so that he could continue moving. Firing 4 of his Fang Bala blindly behind him, trying to destroy the light source, Karzan also fired a Cero up in the air. It didn't matter to him if Kyoshin was attached to this room, or even to this castle. His point was going to be put across, even if he had to torch half the desert into glass to do it.

[Kyoshin Oscuro]

(True, true, on InK my Dormir makes any part of me in the shadows invisible, but this isn't InK.)

Being that Karzan's Cero were shot behind his back, the Luminoso orb had no trouble dodging the Bala, only one of which was close to hitting it. Guided by its creator's mind, the orb shut off its light and retreated into the shadows, in a way that would distract Karzan from his focus, Kyoshin, should he attempt to follow it with his eyes. Of course, now that there was no light save that of the moon above, which Karzan had helped with his Cero to make so readily available in the room, his largest shadow was under him, which Kyoshin exploited as soon as Karzan Sonido'd.

As the Lord of the Deep charged yet another Cero in an attempt to destroy the young Commander's entire quarters, Kyoshin attacked him from below with another set of tentacles, shooting out of the shadow below him to try and stab him from all sides, and while in the midst of charging an attack, no less. As the tentacles made their move, Kyoshin made his next attack, relocating silently to a shadow near the base of the room with his Sonido variant and charging his own Cero, which he waited to fire 'till after Karzan had reacted to the tentacles. After releasing the Cero he Sonido'd again, to the chamber opposite to the one Karzan had just attacked, not attacking Karzan directly simply to test his Lord's patience and show him the meaninglessness of such a battle. As long as Las Noches still stood, there would still be shadows.

[Karzan Zaraki]

The tentacles pierced his abdomen, causing him to grit his teeth and growl at the pain. Cutting the tentacles as he had cut the others. He looked up just in time to see Kyoshin's Cero, and with no time to dodge completely, Karzan simply used Sonido to move back again. As the blast hit the floor, it would knock him back, and fling rubble into his face, leaving a series of scratches.

As he came to a stop, he got to his feet, and fired the tips of his claws in Kyoshin's general direction, before firing off normal Bala in every direction. When he had fired 10, Karzan fired off Cero in Kyoshin's general direction, aiming to destroy as much as possible.

"I fear that I've let you get too full of yourself," Karzan snarled into the barely lit space, "I brought you into this organization at the top, I see now I should have made you work for it!"

[Kyoshin Oscuro]

"Like you had to work for it, huh, Karzan?" Kyoshin asked, grinning derisively as he appeared out of the shadows, Karzan's final Cero taking down much of the wall between them. "You became Lord of the Deep 'cuz your precious Anubis abandoned you. You don't deserve your rank, you simply took it when there were none to oppose you... Don't act so entitled, my Lord. If your own followers become stronger than you and you fail to give their counsel even the slightest consideration... They would be justified to take issue with your rule. Don't pretend you're too godly too be challenged... We're all equal as Hollows."

Then, in the blink of an eye everything was dark, enveloped by Kyoshin's Umbrio Horizonte. Karzan might detect the faint smell of Kyoshin's blood as tentacles were suddenly shooting at him from all directions, nearly twenty at a time in number, most intended to ensnare but several meant to shoot through him before wrapping around. If any were to successfully break the skin, foot-long thorns would instantly spring from the sections inside Karzan, tearing muscles and inflicting much greater damage even if cut, making escape harder and harder. The tentacles wouldn't let up no matter where he went, taking but a few seconds should Karzan relocate before dissolving and pursuing him to his new location. And deep in the inky blackness, a new Cero was charging, a strong one at that, which Karzan might detect if the vines weren't enough of a distraction.

With a final volley of tentacles set to trap Karzan, Kyoshin Sonido'd forward and instantly released the Cero, giving Karzan but a split-second to react to his new location before unleashing the Gran Rey upon him. With the attack complete, Kyoshin released his attack and let light back into the arena, appearing near to the floor of one of his destroyed chambers as he watched to see what damaged he'd caused his foe.

(Slight edit, I left my tentacle attack way to vague when I first posted.)

[Karzan Zaraki]

"Don't talk about what you don't understand!"

Karzan's face was livid. Extending his claws to their full length, Karzan spun around 360 degrees, slicing the tentacles that tried to entrap him. At the last minute he felt the Gran Rey charging, and spun to face it, charging and firing a regular Cero. The Gran Rey barreled through his blast and smashed into Karzan sending him sliding across the floor, still on his feet. When the dust cleared, Karzan would be standing there, his head bleeding, and his torso burnt.

"Lord Anubis was a god amongst our kind," Karzan said spitting blood out of his mouth, "you have no right to speak of him as you do...I do not claim his position, I'm only trying to bring us back to our former glory, so that he will have an army to command when he returns...we need a true victory behind us to inspire the nothings to join us and become stronger, to restore the strength of Las Noches."

As he finished speaking, Karzan would use Sonido, moving straight at where Kyoshin was standing, charging his attack as he went. You won't dodge my Rascar Cero this time!" he shouted as he fired the teal colored Cero, which split into 5 claw shaped blasts halfway to Kyoshin's location.

[Kyoshin Oscuro]

(OoC: Good, I was afraid for a sec you'd phrased that last attack wrong. Charged while you Sonido'd, good technique, doesn't give much room to dodge. So now I don't feel as bad taking the arranged hit XD )

Kyoshin's eyes nearly rolled at Karzan's last statement, before they shot open in surprise upon seeing the fully charged Cero aimed directly at the young Arrancar. One, two of the blades hit his chest, the first cutting deep into him, before he reacted, sound stepping back into the shadows and dissolving as another hit him, then the other two passed through harmlessly. There was a few seconds pause, Kyoshin recovering, 'observing' Karzan, but more like burning holes through him, the young Arrancar's two red eyes gazing from the shadows with the utmost contempt and rage.

Suddenly, a large chunk of rubble 3 feet around would come hurling at Karzan from the shadows, unexpected but not unbearably fast. The second one, however, was much swifter. It was Kyoshin's tentacles doing this, forming in the darkness and latching on to rubble to toss, some sections thrown being even 10 feet wide. Not only from Kyoshin's direction, after the first volley, rubble was being dropped from overhead and tossed that Karzan from behind. Kyoshin wanted to pummel him, more than anything he wanted to see Karzan bleed and suffer.

"I've no right?" Kyoshin demanded from the dark. "You've shown me Anubis, oh Lord, you've forced him right into my mind, and I remain unconvinced. You're a weakling, as if depending on this Arrancar. He's strong, oh yes, and alliances must be made to gather and build strength, but your loyalty to a dead Arrancar does us nothing, nor will our conquest at the expense of the worlds." Suddenly he shot forward, his tentacles leading the way, attempting to skewer Karzan as others reached around to strangle him. He grinned wickedly, really not knowing why he tolerated Karzan at all... So why not just end him here?

[Karzan Zaraki]

(my reaction is based on the assumption that you just moved into the light since it wasn't very clear.)

Karzan swiped at the flying rubble, turning as he heard each one flung toward him, trying only to keep the debris away from his head. As he took bruises and cuts to his exposed body parts, his armored Hollow skin began to crack in places from the pummeling, and the blood running down his head was now dripping down his arms.

As Kyoshin came out of the darkness, Karzan let the tentacles impale him in multiple places, but as they impaled him, his left hand would charge a Gran Rey, building up as each root embedded itself in his body, and just as two of them would wrap around Karzan's neck, he let out a howl, the sound reverberating in the now destroyed facility, causing Kyoshin to stop in his tracks.

"One who's powers who are the same scale as Shiro Jin does not simply die," Karzan said as he raised his hand to fire the Gran Rey, point blank into Kyoshin's chest before he continued, "and my loyalty is the only thing that separates me from the filth you fools call our bretheren...we evolved beyond mere Hollow, and while we may share some of their traits, we are more...if you but look at your thoughts closely you will see we are not as they are."

The Cero would explode as it hit Kyoshin, engulfing them both, and knocking them both away from each other. As he hit the ground, Karzan would struggle to his feet, his armor shattered in places, and his former form restored, his blade in his hand, the same events probably transpiring in the cloud of dust that hit the Second in Command from view.

"We're attacking the World of the Living..." Karzan said spitting blood again, "you can continue with your childish vendetta when the invasion is finished...I made you an Arrancar, and brought you to Las Noches to help me realize my ambitions for our kind...and you spit that kindness back in my face...I should have finished you like I had your pack so many years ago."