With the Captains suffering casualties and heavy injuries on their side, all hope seemed to be lost... until Shinji Hirako appeared, along with the rest of the former Shinigami. Though the aid of the Vizards certainly helped to draw the battle in their favor, it seemed Aizen's power alone proved too much for them.
He had been following it for a while now. He promised he would let it go as long as it didn't go after anything. But, do hollows ever just leave everything be? No, this particular hollow wanted to chow down on a little spirit who inhabited the local park. With a sigh, he raised his left arm and the handy little bow appeared. It wasn't little, albeit, but he wanted this to sound less serious than it was.
"Sorry buddy. Can't let ya kill things."
With a sharp exhale he fired at the hollow. The arrow pierced it in the leg. With a turn and a scream it looked at him. Its mask had antlers, it resembled a moose in a way. It would be quite comical if it wasn't for the fact that it was a monster. Its body was green and extremely muscular. No wonder one arrow didn't kill it. He would have to fight this thing for a while.
"Damn." He spat on the ground as the thing began to rush towards him. He fired off another air which hit it in the hand; he had been aiming for its torso. Shit, he was distracted. This wasn't good. No, this wasn't good at all. He didn't have the time to fire another. Even if he did, he couldn't kill it with one more. As it neared him, he pulled out his Seele Schneider and let the bow dissipate.
Over the scene stood a lone figure watching what had begun to unfold. Who was this figure? It was non other than Dante Tennin the new Commander of defense of body in the new upcoming organization "The Haven." Orders were fairly simple... "find promising recruits" was what he was told by Tataki Masu the leader and fellow vizard. Why was he here right now? Well he had felt the hollow and was originally gonna slay it but... this young boy had decided to get involved, of course he would help him if he got into trouble but for right now he was gonna wait and see. What was a better way to test a possible new recruit, then seeing how they do at protecting the city. EWhich was gonna be the goal of "The Haven" until they could expand and protect the world.
"Alright kid let's see what you can do," Dante said when a glimmer of hope in his eyes and in his heart. He could feel his inner hollow stirring unfortunately as well. "C'mon we can slay that hollow just use me.~ Use my power.~" The dreaded hollow teased at his ears. No, he would not give in or give him the pleasure of his response. But it would seem like it didn't matter to him. "You know I know what your thinking right?~ You can't hide anything from me.~" Chirped the hollow. That accursed dragon. Hopefully soon Dante would be rid of him... returning his attention to the fight at hand, he prepared just in case he would need to intervene.
As the thing neared him, Toshioni used a quick flash of Hirenkyaku. This put him right in front of the thing. With a long slash he was able to cut through the thing's wrist about halfway. Screaming in pain, the thing swatted at him. He tried to block it but the hand was so big. Knowing he was going to get hit anyway, he figured he might as well do some damage. With a quick swat, he was able to cut off its pinkie. Given, the pinkie wasn't vital and it only really managed to piss him off. The impact of the hand sent Toshioni flying back. He was able to gain traction on the air and managed not to crash into anything.
"You're angry, aren't you?" With that he returned to the bow. He slipped his Seele Schneider back in his pocket and raised his left hand. The bow appeared and he fired a couple arrows at it. They all pierced him in the chest and the hollow let out a scream. Whether it was anger or pain, it was charging him again. Letting out a small sigh, Toshioni fired upon the monster again. It hit him in the throat; blood began to spew out. That seemed to somewhat discourage it as it began to approach more cautiously. "I see where this is going."
This time, he didn't grab for the Seele Schneider. He simply let the bow dissipate. This thing was weak, no need to use the sword on what the hands could finish off. The hollow grabbed at him with the hand with the half slit through wrist. Toshioni used the point of his fingers to deflect the attack. He didn't fight using his fists. He fought with a softer style that used his palms and his fingers. It was more defensive than offensive which is how he liked to fight.
The hollow wasn't discouraged much by the deflection. It swung at him again with the arm with the injured wrist. Toshioni clenched his fist and bent his elbow such that it would block his head. With an open palm he struck at the hollow's hand. The effect was immediate. The hollow's wrist made a nice snapping noise to indicate that the attack had worked. It wasn't completely detached yet, but it was getting there.
With a slight crackling noise, Dante had company. Stour tilted his head, and looked at the fight happening before him. "Kid's getting cocky," Stour said, noting the way he didn't just finish the fight, but instead attacked hands-on. "Felt the reiatsu. This one promising?" Stour was aware of the flows of the reiatsu that the fight had let loose, but by the time he was distracted enough from these wonderful new human treats he had discovered, something called 'pizza rolls', he was too late to see how the fight had started. Only being a witness to the brutality now before him.
"People need to master finesse. It's more inspiring than brutality, no, Dante?" Stour asked with a grin, keeping a bit of focus on the fight as it unfolded, the poor hollow being tortured by this quincy. Quincy... Stour hardly knew anything about them. And now he was to work with them. And Vizards. How odd. Vizards were like looking at a distorted funhouse mirror. Strange, strange versions of his own kind. But, impressive nonetheless. His new life would be interesting, if nothing else.
Our bed becomes a grave before we blow ourselves away!
Ah yes Stour was finally here. He easily topped Dante in strength, this was why he was put into a Leader position. Tough, Dante still was over qualified for the Commander position in body. But, that didn't matter to him. He was finally a part of something and not just brooding around and maybe... he would be rid of his hollow one day. Watching the battle Dante barely heard his question but heard it none the less. "Yes but, it seems like it might be for good reason. Though, if your cocky you must also try and be reserved with it, not using a blatant show of power like this. He has much to learn but, don't we all?" He said with some degree of understanding.
The quincy was young, not like he had time to learn too much but, he was sure he was what they were looking for in The Haven anyway. Stour went on to ask another question. Yes, the boy's reiastu was rather impressive, as was his techniques he utilized. "It would seem that way, though, I am not completely sure yet. We have to take into account the fact he might not even join at all you see? Also, he is young, so we don't want to ush him into anything he is not ready for." Listen to him... he sounded like a prattling mother protecting her child from the world. Oh well, that was why he was the Commander of Defense for body now wasn't it?
Though finess was more stylish than brutality, this was true, brutality also had its uses. "Oh? The leader of the assassins doesn't like a little brutality sometimes? Fufufufu." Dante mused and chuckled a little. Granted he wasn't too fond of brutality himself either. "Well anyway, you could always teach him how to utilize finesse in necessary times, couldn't you? You are the leader of Blood after all," Dante said in a matter of fact kind of way. He wasn't too sure on how eager Stour was for his position, he having only been recruited recently himself. Then again... Dante was only recruited recently too. "I will agree with you however that finesse in most situations tends to be far more practical, especially with The Haven's goals in mind." He finished.
Dante continued to look upon the battle. "Well judging by his techniques I recommend him to your group, his talents will be better suited there I would think. Help him if necessary and make sure not to intimidate him too much. Better to have members join of there own free will. As for me I shall be heading back to HQ, I have some things to take care of." He said as he began shunpoing away. The "things" was because his inner hollow had spoke to him. He didn't like this, not one bit, how close was his hollow truly to surfacing? Better to be safe and sorry and be with a group of people who could hold him down if that ever occurred...
He felt the reiastu of someone incredibly strong. So, unfathomably strong. Whoever this was was most likely stronger than Xuan. Maybe even stronger than Hachi. With a sigh, he looked back up at the hollow. The hollow was recovering after getting its wrist broken. Looking up to the sky, Toshioni knew he would have to investigate who and what this strong reiastu was. After all, he was a Quincy, it was kind of his job. He doubted his necessity, yes, but he also had learned something. It didn't mean he could try to fight.
"Guess I'll finish you off quickly. 'Kay?"
As he spoke he pulled out his weapon of choice, the Seele Schneider. Taking a deep breath, he let all of his reiastu bubble to the surface. Toshioni had been holding back before. But now, now it was time for business. With a quick cut he went all the way through the already partially-severed wrist. This took out a weapon the hollow had, and that was just good for him.
The hollow didn't seem to like this: not one bit. He swung at him with the other arm. Toshioni held his ground and pierced him with the blade. Having stabbed him in the hand, Toshioni was not giving in to the force of the hollow. He had gotten stronger after all. In a swipe he pulled the Seele Schneider out through the hollow's hand. He hand gone all the way done through the middle finger, effectively cutting the hollow's other hand in half.
In reaction the hollow lunged at him and tried to bite. That wasn't fun; that wasn't fun at all. He hadn't pulled out the sword fast enough so he had to drop it with his right hand to deliver an open-handed blow to its mask. It knocked the hollow's head back a little, but didn't discourage it much. However, that second was what he needed as he dove after his weapon of choice. He uses Hirenkyaku to speed himself up so that he was able to catch up to his sword. He used Hirenkyaku again to place himself right in front of the hollow's throat.
"Bye bye."
With one slash he was halfway through the neck of the beast. After pulling back a little he was able to slash the rest of the way through. Not a bad decapitation. It lacked some finesse, mind you, but it wasn't bad considering that he was only fifteen. However, now the young Quincy had another matter to deal with entirely. That large reiastu presence had to be attended to. With a turn of the head in the presence's general direction, Toshioni relaxed his guard. Anything that strong had to be intelligent enough to reason with.
"You can come on out. I already know you're here."
Stour simply smirked and shrugged when Dante finished speaking, his eyes watching the fight that was playing out beneath him. The quincy was overconfident, and that nearly cost him the upper hand. It had been quite an erratic rant, and Stour raised an eyebrow to Dante, "For me, huh? How nice of you to be my talent agent. And before I go so far as to recruit him, I think I'll ask him a few questions about himself," Stour grinned, and nodded a farewell to Dante, before he watched the hollow dispatched was summoned by the quincy below him.
"Overconfidence is dangerous, Quincy," He said, with a grin, as he used a quick burst of sonido to appear a few feet in front of Toshioni. "And you seem to be reeking of arrogance. You should learn, like I did, that humility is invaluable."
Stour began to slowly walk towards Toshioni, very slowly closing the gap, with a grin planted on his face, and his hands in his pockets. "I'm here to talk. You've caught my interest. So who are you, Quincy?"
Our bed becomes a grave before we blow ourselves away!
Toshioni saw the man who spoke to him now. He was obviously an Arrancar, that was obvious from the fangs on his face and his reiastu. With a small sigh, he looked up at the much larger man. The young Quincy figured that this man must have been watching him. He must have watched him fight the hollow. Or else, nothing would have warranted that comment.
"I didn't toy with that hollow because I'm confident. I did what I did to stay sharp. Surely a man of your strength can understand that."
Looking to the side, Toshioni scratched his head as the man went on to talk about how he was arrogant and the like. Figuring his first quip would deem a response moot, he didn't acknowledge that with an answer. However, the Arrancar stepped closer to him. That simply put Toshioni on edge. His eyes darted at the Arrancar and he he wore a serious face for a split second.
"I'm here to talk. You've caught my interest. So who are you, Quincy?"
His body language seemed to reiterate what he said. As such, Toshioni put on a friendly face and out stretched his hand towards the Arrancar. He didn't trust him, but he couldn't fight him either.
"Sarungekki Toshioni. And who might you be my good sir?"
Stour grinned as Toshioni tried to relate. He wondered how old this Quincy was. Regardless, this Quincy seemed to think that toying with someone you're stronger than kept you sharp. Stour disagreed, but figured it could be a fun introduction. As Stour kept walking slowly forward, Toshioni introduced himself. "Your name is like the pizza rolls," Stour said, looking at Toshioni's hand, and grabbing it. "My name is Stour, it's a pleasure to meet you," he grinned, releasing Toshioni's hand.
"And what you were saying, about staying sharp by messing with that hollow, I can't help but wonder how you'd feel if someone did that to you," Stour said, taking a step back. "I mean, would it be okay to you? For me to 'stay sharp' by toying with you?" He dropped his grin, and took another step back and taking his hands out of his pockets.
"It's up to you, really. I'm here to recruit you. But I'm not about to recruit someone if they don't know how to control themselves," Stour sighed, noticing how much what he was saying sounded like a threat. He shook his head, and spoke once more. "Well, Toshioni. Are you perhaps interested in joining a... community of sorts? Perhaps it would serve you to work with others. A variety of others."
Our bed becomes a grave before we blow ourselves away!
Toshioni didn't quite understand what the Arrancar meant about his name being like pizza rolls. Was that a compliment or what? Pizza rolls were good he supposed. Therefore, he figured that his name was good. This assumption was further solidified as he smiled when he introduced himself. Stour. What a peculiar name indeed.
However, the young Quincy's brow furrowed as Stour asked him if he would find it okay if he toyed with him. What made him most upset is how bad he felt. He would get pissed if someone didn't take him seriously. Hypocrisy tasted bitter.
"I guess you're right. It would piss me off if someone toyed with me." His usual grin was replaced by a frown as he said this. He was so proud of himself for getting stronger recently. He had forgotten about Xuan, but now the defeat was fresh in his mind. He still was nowhere near as strong as the Arrancar. Shit, when was that memory going to go away. It wasn't fun to think about. It wasn't fun at all.
"Well, Toshioni. Are you perhaps interested in joining a... community of sorts? Perhaps it would serve you to work with others. A variety of others."
Looking into the eyes of the taller man, Toshioni was intrigued indeed. He wondered what it would be like to be around different kinds of people. Arrancars who wouldn't attack him and Vizards who were more Hachi than Ikatsui. However, he couldn't trust this to be real. He had to ask more questions first.
"Is this community an organization or more of a team?"