Breaking in the West

Its good to know that you're finally back to normal his zampakuto said to him on his mind I never changed, it was probably you who had been lazying around too much and didn't notice it.

Fukki speed up his pace as he felt a strong presence approach the west gate, trying to reach to it before they managed to break into the Seiretei, even not knowing if it was really possible but on such circumstances it wasn't the right time think about it. He was curious about their enemies power level and abilities, and if someone needed to discover about it to inform the others it would be best that he did it as both the 2nd and 12th division captains were at the human world.

Unfortunately as he reached to the gate several hollows were breaking in attacking the shinigamis around and starting a chaos while several menos held the gate and a strange fellow in white standing over a large dead body, probably the gatekeeper body, in the middle of all those hollows. "Stay together we won't let them do what they want" Fukki shout to the shinigami raising his right hand forward as the hollows keep coming "Screams sound! Wrath of heaven strike from this hand!" he waited until the hollows approach him "You think thats gona wor?" "low level kido as that is useless" "Die worm!!!" they screamed been interrupted by Fukki words "Hadō #4 Byakurai" destroying several hollows in a long row in front of him with a strong white lightning, opening what looked like road to the Espada and scaring the other hollows nearby him "A full power kido used by a captain just can't be weak" he said drawing his zampakuto and waiting for another attack Just hope the other gates are in better situation than here

Hezro saw the approaching shinigami through the corner of his eye. He scanned the shinigami's body noting his physique as well as muscle tone and gauged his overall physical strength as opposed to his speed. The man wore a white robe, immediately Hezro thought of a Captain. They wore white just like the Espada, how interesting. his kido was no surprise either, it was quite common for a shinigami to attack with a kido first and work his way up slowly to his shikai or bankai. it was very rare for one to skip directly to bankai. Hezro walked off the gatekeepers body, form his torso to his feet. He turned to his hollow army, halfway as to keep the captain in sight. "Whoever shall keep that gate open the longest shall reclaim their face." Hezro said to the faceless hollows in a voice only they could hear. they were now fighting one another of time holding up the gate as their individuality was their only freedom in life.

Hezro calculated the mans statistics in his head. Captain level meant he was powerful, he was apparently faster than he was strong given the tone of his body in comparison to his muscle mass. He shot a level 4 kido to begin with means he is somewhat cocky of his ability based on what he said to the hollows. Hezro already knew much about him before the battle even began. He needed to know more though before he started to attack, but he groaned over this. He had to speak loudly for the wretch to hear him. Hezro used sonido to appear approximately ten feet from the man, watching how he walked and how he wielded his blade in his hand in a resting position. "interesting." he thought to himself.

"You must be a shinigami captain correct? I believe it to be customary in your race to exchange name and rank before a fight. My name is Hezro, i have no last name to my remembrance and only go by such. I am the current Trecero espada of the arrancar's." He said in a voice loud enough for him to be made very clearly. He hated speaking, but it was worth getting to analyze his enemy for ten more seconds.

Faust popped out a shadow several yards behind Hezro, hidden behind a burning building. Seeing the situation, he frowned slightly.
I meant to go through once he had opened the gate, but there seems to be some sort of situation. Not to worry...
Faust began charging Ceros and firing them into the shadow in frnt of him as fast as he coud while still retaining full power. The instant they disappeared into the shadow in front of Faust, they popped out of a shadow of a Shinigami. The lesser Shinigami troops would never see it coming, as the Reiryoku of the Ceros could not be sensed until they came out of the shadows. By then, it was far too late. Two thirds of the Shinigami troops were killed or incapacitated. The other one third were seriously outnumbered by the combined Hollow armies of Faust and Hezro.
With a smirk, Faust fell forward into a shadow and reappeared just outside the gate. His wicked grin widened as he strode forward to enter the Seireitei.

<< Re-enforcements incoming in the form of Erika Shikou, Captain of 13th Division >>

He observed waiting as the Espada ordered something to the hollows. His enemy didn't look that strong but to rely only on its appearance would be a stupid thing against this kind of enemy, when the Espada approached him using a similar technique to shumpo he was ready to move but stood still as he noticed his enemy wanted to talk at least on that moment.

"Tercero Espada..." he slowly repeated as he heard it from Hezro, before taking a more relaxed position resting his sword over his right shoulder as it also was one of his usual fight positions "Great then it means we're alike, what might not be a good thing in the end, i'm Fukki Kurayami the 3rd division captain..." he got interrupted as several ceros had suddenly came out from the ground striking a large number of shinigamis. Angry but still surprised by such attack Fukki held tight on his sword hilt while trying to remain calm and focused "Try to resist until the backup arrive" he shout to the shinigami before fastly turning back to the Espada, he also tried to get time, making the espada busy trying to make their talk last for a little longer "I really HATE people who use such despicable tricks like that" he said as he felt another presence really next to where he was, which probably was from another espada lurking somewhere around.

Hezro noticed the mans new stance; his arms tensed slightly, legs slightly bent, hinting at the fact that he fights in said position as well. hezro was now sure that the man relied on agility other than power. He would need to see the mans shikai to learn any more from him in that regard. Now Hezro would analyze him thoroughly, starting with the basics; reaction time, speed, power, endurance, and mental fortitude.

Before he acted however he noticed Faust's appearance. The Captains fate was sealed. Hezro made no attempt to discourage Faust from fighting with him, he actually encouraged it. Hezro had no concept of honor after all, he did what was the most optimal path to victory. that rule dictated a fight that was two on one was much more in his odds than a one on one. If anything this would be Faust's kill, as Hezro would force the man into deadlocks letting Faust attack from behind and from the shadows. It was a good thing Faust was smart enough to take the hint, as he had done with attacking the shinigami during Hezro's talk with the man. This shinigami's life would soon be over.

Hezro disappeared in sonido as soon as the captain finished his sentence directed at Faust who was still in hiding. Hezro knew his attention was directed at locating Faust rather than him and too the opportunity to strike. He was slashing from his feet to his head, as a normal downward strike would be the most logical first strike. He knew the shinigami would react by putting his blade upwards to meet his own as the stance "looked" like it was a downward strike. He would be surprised by the sudden attack, not looking at the direction of the blade, and end up getting the tip of Hezro's blade in his chest, as it redirected off the captains blade. Hezro did this with one hand and charged a Bala in the other, so if the man did block the downwards attack successfully, he would fire the bala at the base of his neck.

Faust turned around, getting a sudden idea. Why not help Fukki with this Captain and share the credit? The sabotage could wait. Hell, he might even get to land the killing blow. All he hd to do was wait for Hezro to distract the enemy.

Sure enough, Hezro attacked from the front. Faust, meanwhile, started charging and firing Balas at a rapid pace. He fired them into the shadow of the gate and directed them to come out of Fukki's shadow. Hopefully, he'd be so distracted by Hezro's attack that he wouldn't be able to sense the Balas coming and the would rip into his back.

As an added measure, Faust stabbed his Zanpakto into the shadow, and it and his forearm appeared out of Fukki's shadow. Faust made a horiontal slash at Fukki's legs, aiming at the bottom right around the ankle to slice straight through the achilles tendon.

<< Arrival! >>

In a 1 on 1 fight, Erika had n doubts that Fukki would come out the victor. However, in his current situation, things wee looking grim. Whether or not he could sense the second reiatsu nearby, he in fact had two opponents. His primary one, Hezro, had forced him to focus on him, leaving Fukki's back open to attack. A very bad position to be in... unless you had speedy friends.

Erika arrived on the scene the moment an arm holding a sword sprung out of the shadow cast by Fukki himself. With her nodachi already drawn, Erika brought it down on the arm before it could attack Fukki's legs. This would either force the arrancar to pull his arm back - or pull back a bloody stump.

"Looks like you could use a hand," Erika stated, once the attack hd been decided. She kept her wits about her though - it was clear that the arrancar had the ability to manipulate and move through shadows, so she would now be a target for this as well.

With a sigh, Faust flicked his wrist and blocked Ericka's blade with his own. In some things, his opponents may outdo him. Swordsmanship just wasn't one of those things.
Faust withdrew his arm from the shadow and he cogs in his mind started turning. With a smile, he stepped out of the shadows.
"Well, it seems you've caught Me. Allow me to introduce Myself."
Faust summoned and flared all of his intense Reiatsu at once.
"My name is Faust DarkHeart, and I am the Quinto - the Fifth - Espada."
As he spoke, his left eye rolled back in his head. There, on what should have been the perfectly white back of his eye, was his black Number Five tattoo.
"I'll be the one killing and eating you today."

All this time, Faust had had an ulterior motive. When he flared his Reiatsu, it looked like he was trying to intimidate Fukki and Erika. Really, that was just a distraction as Erika's shadow - which was behind her - rose up in the form of hundreds of needles of darkness. He made sure not to make any movements that would indicate he was up to something, and he made sure to keep them out of her line of sight. When he said "I'll be the one killing you today," the needles rose silently and shot forward. They moved at speeds comparable to Sonido and only had to travel a distance of about three feet to make it from their levitative pose to the back of Erika's torso. There were at least several hundred needles, and each was about three inches long.

With no time to think as the espada suddenly attacked him Fukki raised his sword in order to block and hold the incoming attack from him but was caught by surprise as the espada fastly charged some energy on his other hand and aimed for his neck. He bent to his right side trying to avoid it but still getting hit on his left shoulder, burning that part of his cloths as he felt its impact and shumpoed back just as he heard Erika's voice.

He knew now that they couldn't hesitate against these guys no matter what. "Or two maybe" he said moving back and standing some feet right to her, the two captains now facing the two espadas. Lets do it right away then Shiro he talked with his zampakuto on his mind while the other espada said something "Hunt the dark Shiro!" he shout making a large fast flash of light took place, involving everyone around and dissolving the shadows for a few seconds as he released his shikai, now a white saber with a blade made of energy in his hand "Now we're even" he said swinging his zampakuto around before resting it beside his right leg and staring at the espada after he had just protected Erika from an attack coming from her shadow.

Hezro wasted no time in connecting his attacks, Fukki may have gotten out of the way but it left erika wide open. Since she was so close to block Faust's attacks he was within rage for a horizontal strike by Hezro. he didn't worry about her shunpo'ing back, as fukki himself had his blade there to prevent Faust's attack. Hezro's attack was a powerful one. He coiled his blade back, almost touching his own back and released it in a powerful swing across the womans chest. he did so with one hand again while he fired another bala at fukki's right side, forcing him to pass behind Erika if he dodged it. Hezro's viscous side had finally come out. Without a word he executed the move flawlessly. Faust would have a perfect opportunity to strike Fukki while he blocked the oncoming bala which lead him to erika for the moment who was already distracted by Faust. He was also glad that fukki had shown his shikai so early in the fight, it gave plenty of time to prepare for it with his own ressureccion. "This fight is going to be interesting" Hezro thought to himself.

((Fukki, if you look at My Ress, you'l see that Light does not destroy shadows under My control. It weakens them slightly, but it doesn't destroy them. The hundreds of needles are still going at Erika. Of course, feel free not to edit; You told her you took care of them, so she won't be expecting hundred of needles to rip into her back That'd be fine with Me.))

Erika couldn't help but smirk. It was like these Arrancar had never faced an experienced opponent before. Not only did the one who introduced himself as Faust attack it the exact manner she expected, the other chose to attack her at the same time as well. Regardless of whether or not Fukki's assistance dealt with the shadow attack, neither would come in contact with her.

Both attacks did connect with something though - Erika's white Captain's haori, which she slipped out of quickly, before flash stepping away, off to Fukki's side. The garment was, of course, torn to shreds, but Erika was left completely unharmed. "Quite the cocky things aren't they?" she commented, raising her nodachi - her zanpakuto in its sealed form - into a basic stance beside Fukki. She gave the other Captain a quick nod of thanks for his assistance, regardless of whether or not it had been necessary. "Almost insulting that these are the beings leading the attack." Erika made a note not to introduce herself as the Arrancar had. She was not a friend of theirs, nor did she want to be. They were beasts, nothing more. Intelligent beasts compared to the regular Hollows, sure, but still beasts.

Raising her hand, Erika aimed her palm quickly at Faust, the cocky one. "Hadou number 63: Raikouhou." A blindingly bright flash of light erupted from her palm as the blast of yellow energy shot towards the arrancar. The blast was wide enough to threaten both of them, even though it was only aimed at the one. This was due to Erika's raw spiritual power; like all other Captains, even kido used without the incantation was incredibly potent. An added benefit of the attack was that the light from it forced the shadows in the area into two positions - directly behind the two Captains, and behind the two Arrancar, limiting the directions Faust could attack from.

Instead of simply avoiding the kido by using sonido off to the side, he rushed forward, following the edge of the blast towards the two. Hezro knew Faust's abilities well, such was something both a higher ranking espada and the most intellectual of the group would want to know. Hezro quickly found himself about a foot from the woman.Since the two were together, Hezro attacked with another horizontal slash to the woman and across to Fukki. However he made sure to cut one of his fingers, his index to be exact, as he glided his hand along the blade. He knew these Captains hadn't fought Espada before and that they knew nothing of the Gran Ray Cero which he would preform after one so foolishly blocks his attack, as he really meant to form a deadlock between blades. He would anticipate that they both attempt to block the attack, giving Faust time for a counter attack. He also had created his own shadow slightly to to Erika's side, A perfect striking position for Faust. Hezro only hoped the man would be able to keep up with his constant trap setting for the two shinigami.

As he attack he looked at the girl with his cold grey eyes. "You speak to much." He said to her only loud enough for her to know what he said. She was more cocky than the other one, and apparently faster. She opened with a kido as well, a typical attack that he knew Faust would handle with ease, thus his actions on not to even bother with it. She even sacrificed an article of clothing to prove that she was fast. She would be surprised at how slow she really was when it came time for Hezros release.

Like all Espada, Faust was adept in the art of Sonido. He used it to avoid the blast by getting as far to the side as possible. The edges of his custom Haori-esque Espada jacket were singed, but he himself was unharmed...except for his hand, which had somehow been cut. Although from that far away, the Shinigami would not be able to see the shallow cut.

When the blast had dissipated, Faust was seen standing to the side, chuckling at a thought that hadn't occurred to him before now. Whe he stopped chuckling, he spoke.
"We Arrancar are the culmination of the Hollow race...a race that you, as Shinigami, are charged with wiping out. Tell Me, Shinigami: How does it feel to know that your gates are being breached, your buildings burned, those you were supposed to protect killed...all done by beings that are essentially the personification of your incompetence at the one job your race is charged with? How very pathetic."
With that, he disappeared into the shadow of a crumbled piece of wall from one of the buildings. He appeared a mere ten feet behind the two Shinigami an instant after hezro appeared in front of them.
His cut hand began to charge Royal Purple energy. Raising it, he said three simple Spanish words.
"Gran Rey Cero."

The truly massive blast of Royal Purple energy blew towards both Shinigami. Faust had poured quite a bit of energy into it, enough that the energy was in fact compressed even though it didn't look like it was. It looked like massive blast of wide, unrestrained Royal Purple energy. It was wild and jagged, ready to incinerate the two foes.

As soon as the Gran Rey Cero left his hand, he began firing volleys of Bala from each hand, aiming at their respective sides of the blast. So while the blast itself was easily twenty-five feet wide, the Balas increased the width of destruction to thirty feet. With the way Faust had aimed, the two Shinigami were squarely in the center. He delayed the Balas slightly so that the Shinigami wouldn't be able to see them coming behind the blast. However, because the Balas were moving faster than the Gran Rey Cero, all the attacks would arrive at the same time. Of course, the speed of all was more than sufficient considering Faust was only ten feet away.

Knowing hezro's style of fighting, he would fire a Gran Rey Cero of his own from the front. The two would collide with the Shinigami in the middle, spelling certain death, as well as save Hezro from Faust's attack.

(( ok got it faust, and Erika too it seems )

"Thats not gonna work now" he said giving a step forward and cutting the incoming bala fired by Hezro in two parts with his saber, noticing Faust up to something charging an amount of energy when he turned. As Hezro managed to approach him and Erika, Fukki keep on with his move and using a shumpo he retreated some meters away to his right and thought that Erika would be able avoid it it in time as he targeted Hezro "Hado #32 Okasen" firing a wide arc of yellow energy at Hezro just at the same time Faust had just fired a strange and powerful cero at her and Hezro direction.

It seemed the fates frowned upon Erika today, as both arrancar focused on her entirely. Fortunately enough, they attacked in a predictable manner. With her kido fired off, Erika slid backwards in her stance, putting a bit of distance between her and Hezro, who had launched forward with Sonido. Erika was prepared to counter attack, when two things forced her to quickly change her tactics: Fukki leaped off to her left to fire off a kido attack at the arrancar before her, and the other arrancar - the one who could move through shadows - had disappeared. Based on his actions so far, the first thing Erika expected was an attack from the rear. Regardless of whether or not that was true, she was moving anyway.

"Bakudo number sixty-one, Rikujokoro!" Erika called out, flitting away with shunpo a moment after the kido was complete, targeting Hezro. By using the kido, she had cut it terribly close, enough to get her back singed by the strange cero. However, she made it out before being engulfed by the attack itself - something that would be very tough for Hezro, who now had to deal with a binding kido, Fukki's hado, and the powerful cero. Erika's shunpo took her to the opposite direction Fukki had moved, where her shadow was off to her left. Her nodachi was raised in her right hand, the left resting on the flat of the blade, in preparation to release it. She held off though, waiting to see the aftermath of the attacks. Her burnt back, while painful, would not be an issue in the fight, hopefully.

((Fukki, you irritate Me. I used the Gran Rey first, the the Balas. So coming at you, ith the way I aimed them, it would've looked like this:

[Balas][Gran Rey Cero][Balas]

You said you chopped up a single Bala...even though I fired more than one...then you said I fired My Gran Rey Cero after you had chopped up one Bala...even though I fired it before My Balas...Wow. Just, wow.
And Erika, you fired a high-level Bakudo and then a dodged a thirty foot wide blast that was coming at you from ten feet away. Have you seen the relative speed of Gran Rey Ceros in the anime? You must truly be a God among insects in terms of speed.))

(I'll post after this is resolved, I was just about to address it myself.)

((That's exactly what I was talking about, Faust. Your second attack, and you clearly expect me to be grievously wounded or dead. I would like to point out that your little speech wouldn't be possible in the small time frame you intended to say it, since Hezro rushed Erika the instant he fired the blast. Going by this, Erika would have plenty of time. Talking's not a free action dude.

Of course, if it would make you happy, I could just shunpo away without the bakudo, as that would make just as much sense.))

(if u go by that logic erika, u wouldn't have even seen the cero to begin with, as he hadn't fired it yet before u evaded my attack. going by what u said, it would look like this:my attack to u, faust's speech while u evade my attack, fasut's cero plus your bakudo on me. in this case u would be hit by faust's cero.)

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