Two Can be as Bad as One [Closed]

Hueco Mundo. Quite frankly, he had never been here before. He wouldn't know what to do normally when viewing this location, but he could certainly admit that it was an interesting feeling. He took a long breath and drew in a great amount of air, closing his eyes and trying to get a feel for the place. The area was, to put it quite simply, definitely something he was not used to. The heavy amount of spirit particles in the air around him was stifling his senses, and as a result he could not actually get a feel for where Lasciel--or Kaminari--might be. Instead, he found himself noticing what seemed to simply be a conglomerate of spiritual energy nearby in one direction. Assuming that to be what he was looking for, he decided to slowly trudge off in that direction, not noticing that something had followed him through to this strange wasteland.

As he continued his travels, he found himself wondering if he was even going in the right direction--he would turn around momentarily and realize that it was the same one direction as it was the other, and understood that he was most likely lost right now. Unfortunately, this wasn't part of his plans. "Goddamnit..." He dropped to a knee, shaking his head and sighing softly. "I can't even do this kind of thing right. Am I just going to die in the desert?" His thoughts and worries were interrupted by a sudden burst of energy in the air around him.

He had really never expected Hueco Mundo to feel like this. Stepping through the wastes with a careful gait, he tried to see if he could find what he was searching for. He didn't know what was around the next dune, and the density of the spirit particles made it almost impossible for him to tell what the source of energy he could sense was. He felt like he was going in the wrong direction, but again, his entire mental compass had been completely turned upside down. He looked behind him in an attempt to see if he could retrace his footsteps, but those steps had already vanished. Even if someone had been pursuing him, it would be nigh impossible for them to track him now. He sighed and took a moment to sit down, thinking about his options here and now. He had made a mistake--he could admit that right now. "What was I thinking? I literally know nothing about Hueco Mundo. I have never had any experience out here, and I don't know what to expect. Why did I decide to do this?" He sighed softly, "That said, if Lasciel has any sense of intelligence, she'll likely find me out here. At least I'll die in exchange for Kaminari's life... right?"

Was it worth it, though? Dying for her? "I mean, sure, she's my closest friend, but I doubt that she'd appreciate me getting myself killed for her. 'You played into her hands. You're a damn idiot,' would be the licking I'd get. Gah." He frowned and rubbed his cheek, shaking his head and muttering. "And Midori? What the hell was I thinking? I guess I wanted to get away from those images of Manae, since I started to see her face in her place. Though why would that be a thing? Why would I see Midori's face like that? I don't understand it," He laid down on his back, crossing his legs, "I saw Manae because I loved her, right? I don't love Midori, do I? Why would I? That's prepos..." He swallowed and sat up, eyes widening slightly. "Do... I--"

Synchronous howling shook the land around him, shocking him to his feet and causing him to grip his Zanpakutō with a sneer. "Come out! I know you're there! Don't hide! I'll fight you!" The howls occurred again, a pair of beasts blasting out of the sand. The scythes they carried glimmered in the strange light from the sky, and they began to circle the Shinigami, staring him down and trying to check his strength. He growled, flicking the weapon down to the side and closing one eye. "Grant me Strength, Taiyo no Zen'ei!"

As he spoke the words to release his Zanpakutō, a small materialized on his left arm, while a sword appeared in his right. With a soft sigh, he brought it down by his side and closed his eyes, taking a moment to prepare himself for what he knew was to come. "You wish for a fight?" He opened his golden eyes and stared at them both, slowly beginning to release his energies into the air around them. The light shimmered slightly from the glow of the sigil on the sword. He breathed in the air deeply and took up a combat stance, watching the two Arrancar and attempting to keep them both in his peripherals. "C'mon..." The first one lunged, streaming through the air and howling with a screeching tone at him--or was it howling at its ally? He didn't know. All he knew was that a scythe was making its way to his throat. Reacting as quickly as possible, he brought up the shield and knocked away the blade of the scythe, turning his body around and slashing across its body, rolling away from it and getting into a defensive stance. While this was happening, the second beast appeared behind him and slashed downwards, towards his head. He yelled out and rolled to the side, barely managing to get out of it. He could feel their strength as they stared at him. He quickly jumped backwards and right into melee range of the second beast, swinging out with his shield and knocking it away. It stumbled and lost its balance, which was enough for Daigoro to launch himself at the first creature and get right up in its face, swinging at it and marking it with his sword. He would fight this one, he decided with a grin crossing over his lips.

Immediately, the pair of them settled into the routine of making and parrying each others' strikes, this was standard fare as far as Daigoro was concerned. The creature, despite wielding not exactly suited for general swordplay was working well with it in combat like this. Dai knew that a scythe was not going to cut it properly, though. As a result, he was waiting for the creature to attempt to do something underhanded--he would keep the other creature in his peripheral vision in order to ascertain its position. "Where... is Lasciel?" No reply. Not that he expected one, especially not in the middle of a fight (if it even had the capacity to reply.) Little did he know of the recovering enemy... or the ally on her way. Good thing he was putting out a decent amount of energy, right?

Was he really this weak? He felt his chest heaving up and down as he fought the beast--he hadn't even been here for that long, but it was causing him to feel a lot different than usual. He considered the possibility of it being the heavier air, weighing down his movements in a way that he wasn't used to. He growled and continued swinging at the enemy, moving up and around in attempts to duck through its strikes and get as many hits onto its body as he could. It howled, trying to get its footing and bring its weapon back around, but Daigoro continued to duck and dart nimbly around its attacks. He moved his body quickly around the body of the creature and swung his weapon at its back, putting long cuts up its flesh and hearing a howl of pain as it turned. Daigoro quickly shifted around its body again, rolling down and through its strikes again, trying his hardest to get his weapon up to its mask. He was still having difficulty as he moved and shifted through the attacks, body moving as if dancing. Every so often he felt the blade of the scythe cross his flesh, gritting his teeth in pain. Once more it would swing at him, and with that he discovered an opening--using Shunpo to get into the air in front of the beast's face, Daigoro brought his weapon across and swung it through its mask. The creature howled and retreated backwards, but it still wasn't down. Scowling, Daigoro took a step back and evaluated his situation. The creature was holding onto its mask, in obvious pain. He'd almost completely forgotten about its friend in the adrenaline. Instead, he was fixated upon this single target. It screamed and charged at him again, Daigoro using Shunpo to bypass its attack and appear right in front of it once more, driving the sword through and out the other side of its skull. It howled and vanished into nothingness, Dai landing on his feet and brushing himself off. Almost immediately he would feel the other beast appear behind him, raising its weapon into the air. He slowly turned around, realizing too late what was about to occur, tears edging his vision.

"I'm sorry."

"..." You'd think that time had stopped. Every little thought in his mind had slowed down, and he felt that life was just trying to push him to the Earth. All that he could hear, besides the wind in the air, was the beating of his heart in his skull. "I'm sorry... I t-tried to get here f-faster..." He leaned forwards, reaching out with his hand and running his fingers softly against her cheek. Tears bridged his eyes, and he fell to his knees knee as he watched her. "No, you were fine. You didn't need to come." His body shook, and his mouth was slightly open as he watched her. "Dai, I-I... l-lo-..." The skin under his fingers vanished as Midori was thrown to the side. "...M..." His entire form froze, Dai watching the air in front of him clear. "...I..." His heart was beating hard, and the sounds of crunching footsteps on the sand approached him. "Manae..." The Hollow stepped before him, only a foot away, "Your friend is not here to save you this time..." He could not see the other two Hollow approaching from behind the first. That did not matter. Two faces appeared upon his vision, the first of Manae, the second of Midori.

"Do I... just lose another here?" Kneeling down on the ground, he looked up with tear-streaked cheeks, up at the reaper of his demise. He could just give up there. No more Daigoro meant that Kaminari would be let free. No more Daigoro meant that nobody had to hurt at his expense. But... "Midori, I..." "Now... Die!" Gladly. Gladly. Gladly. Gladly.

"No." The scythe blade slammed into the ground beside the male, seemingly missed by the Hollow who had swung down at him. The Hollow stared at his weapon with a scared demeanor, almost confused as to what had just occurred. "You..." His breathing was still heavy, however it was not what had been before. The male raised his head up to meet the Hollow's gaze, staring at him with a blank expression, giving off no emotion whatsoever. "How?" "I refuse to lose another love to scum." His voice was cold, rigid, and yet as he got to his feet, the creature would see that he had tears rolling down his face. "I... love her." Without warning, Daigoro Ito shunpo'd into the air, aiming his knee directly at the face of the creature. It collided with a resounding crunch, knocking it back slightly and causing it to scream. "You no longer get mercy." In the middle of the air he would continue to pummel away at the beast's face, eventually knocking it back into its partners and sending them into the distance. He quickly looked over in Midori's direction, before landing on his feet and growling.

"I..."

I am thou, and thou art I.

"Ban..."

Borrow my power, smite those who have wronged you.

"...kai."

[MUSIC]

An immediate surge of energy escaped from the body of the Shinigami, causing the three who were standing in preparation for the kill to reel back somewhat. The sword and shield in his hands vanished into the aether, and instead Daigoro was left unarmed. "Asahi." His entire body continued to shake, while tears rolled down his cheeks. The creatures would normally have laughed at what had occurred, but as the Scythe from their fallen ally was pulled from the ground, they started to give a slight wonder as to what was about to happen. Without warning, the Shinigami was in the air again, rushing down one of them and slashing at its mask with its ally's blade. The cut was clean, the death quick. As the Hollow screamed and vanished, Dai threw aside the scythe and landed in front of the other cronie, materializing what seemed to be some kind of great-axe polearm from out of nowhere. He stepped forwards and swung it around, aiming to hit with as much force as possible. Each hit rocked the internals of the creature, causing blood to leak from its mouth as it screamed in pain. The last hit cut it straight in twain, and Daigoro then split its mask in mid-air. He then turned to stare at the beast, entire body still shaking as he gripped the weapon as tightly as possible. It was laughing, crying, scared and yet hysterical. "What... are you?" He growled and turned his whole figure towards it, pushing off of the ground and launching himself at the monster, preparing a large swing up behind him as he aimed to bring the weapon down on its face. The weapon streaked through the air, the blade glowing red-hot as it came slamming down, cleaving the skull of the beast with pure unbridled force. Landing on the ground and watching the creature vanish into nothingness, Dai allowed the weapon to dissipate and let out a long breath.

"I'm in love, that's what I am." He took in a deep breath and coughed loudly, looking around to see where Midori had been thrown. "Midori? MIDORI?" He rushed through the sands, seeing her body slumped and laying down. He knelt down beside her and placed his fingers on her throat, checking for a pulse. It was faint... but it was there. "Midori... Midori... Midori..." He took in a deep breath and attempted to channel his energies. He had not needed to do this in a real situation before, but maybe he could do it here. His hands glowed with energy, slowly trying to refill some of the energy in Midori's body, and at the same time close some of the more superficial wounds. He wasn't sure how much he could do, but it seemed to at least be enough to make her a bit more comfortable. He slid his arms underneath and got to his feet, looking around to see if he could recall the direction he'd come in. Sure enough, one or two landmarks ended up seeming familiar. He would trudge off in that direction, hoping that he'd find where he could get them back to Soul Society.

---

"ARE YOU AN ABSOLUTE FUCKING DUMBASS OF EPIC PROPORTIONS?!" The voice of the eyepatched Captain rang out inside the Fourth Division. "NOT ONLY DID YOU DIRECTLY DISOBEY THE ORDERS OF A CAPTAIN, YOU ENDANGERED THE LIFE OF ANOTHER GODDAMN CAPTAIN JUST TO FULFIL YOUR OWN STUPIDITY? AND THEN YOU HAVE THE GALL TO DO THIS FUCKING BULLSHIT? GIVE ME ONE GOOD FUCKING REASON AS TO WHY YOUR ASS SHOULDN'T BE ARRESTED, EXILED AND/OR KILLED." His head was lowered towards the ground as he was chewed out further. He had nothing to say, and nothing to give back. She was right, and she had every reason to be angry. Yet... His head raised up and he looked her in the eye, tilting his head with a confused expression.

"She's a Captain?"

[END Thread]