Minato was stabbed directly and froze into a block of ice.
"Ha, the guys finished." Rai said
A smile appeared on the face of Minato frozen in the ice "Cero..." he blasted a massive beam of energy at Yume, breaking out of the ice, as well as killing several of the birds flying around "Don't underestimate me..." he said as his wounds began to heal. "This is what we call instant regeneration" he stated, pointing his sword towards the sky, as this was done, the vines around the arena broke free from the ice and formed a massive cocoon around Minato. A strange spirit presence filled the arena.
(Note: Minato is invunrable for a bit.... and he IS transforming if it wasn't clear)
Last edited by Shans on Tue Aug 28, 2007 12:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
Kaoru had been standing away from the main battle area, just ouside of the ice that Yume had unleased. He therefore avoided getting frozen in place. Just slightly after Minato had begun his transformation, he drew his fan and unsealed its shikai. "Howl, Elegant Ring Cutter." Kaoru was then standing with a large circular blade in his hands. He still remained out of range though, and would only enter if he was really needed.
Kusa had duplicated Kiku's action of jumping in order to avoid getting caught in the ice. His heightened senses had allowed him to detect the ice just before it reached his feet. However, they didn't help his landing at all. As his feet touched the icy surface, he slipped and fell back onto the ice. "Yeowch...", he muttered, sitting up and rubbing his head with his free hand. Ah well, at least he wasn't immobile. Kusa quickly got back on his feet, holding Saabel in both hands. Whatever was going to come out of Minato's steel cacoon was certainly going to be an even bigger pain than before.
If you haven't guessed as much, I used to be Artemis around these parts.
"IT HURTS!!! ARRRGGGHH!!" minato screamed in an inhuman voice. The cocoon burst open and minato was holding his throat, screeching in pain. The form standing, it had a hollow like appearance in the white claws and the hollow mask on his face. As well as this, he had vines sprouting from his head and back, swing around wildly. He looked in Yume's general direction 'You will die..." he said, moving forward and slashing Yume in the torso. He laughed like a maniac watching Yume's fall in pain.
"Damn!" Rai said. He ran towards Yume as Minato was going in for a second attack. As Minato thrusted his claws forward, Rai jumped in the way and was stabbed through the chest.
~~~~~
"You certainly are stubborn arn't you?" Ayako said to Yuki, their fight had gone on for quite a while. A surge of energy emitted from the area that Minato was "Damn Minato, he's transformed already! I gotta get over there..." Ayako dashed towards the other battle area.
"Ohhh, wait up!!" Yuki said, following Ayako. Yuki dashed passed Ayako towards the school.
As Yume fell, the giant ice bird screeched furiously and attacked Minato from behind, joined with the many dozens of ice birds that Yume had created. The tiny birds simply made numerous lacerations with their beaks, claws, and wings, similar to a billion razor cuts. The giant one went for a different approach. With another screech, it ripped a beakful of vines from Minato's head and tossed them aside before seizing more, digging its talons into his back to stay in place. It flapped its wings for balance, creating gusts of icy wind and sending snow everywhere.
The Shinigami herself gritted her teeth against the pain and forced herself back to her feet, her bleeding already slowing. Her repeated healings were taking a toll, as she was starting to breathe rather heavily, but her eyes were narrowed and her expression was as cold as the ice around her. "Baka," she spat, reaching up and pulling her ruined shawl from her shoulders. "You're the one dying today." She vanished from the spot, scooped up Rai, and set him down on the ice in front of Kiku. "Heal him if you can," she commanded before vanishing again, reappearing in front of and slightly to the left of Minato. Lifting her right hand, she aimed her palm at him. "Hadou no roku-jyuu-san. Souren Soukatsui."
Twin bolts of brilliant blue burst from her hand and shot toward Minato. As they neared, the giant ice bird plunged its tail into the ground, anchoring both itself and its enemy. There was an explosion of blue light, melting most of the ice surrounding them. It had hardly cleared when the giant ice bird resumed its assault on the vines while Yume darted around him, using shunpo to deal swift strokes with her sword. Kiku, now that she had something to do, tore her eyes away from the fight and knelt next to Rai. Thankfully, Minato's claws had missed the Quincy's vital spots. Pushing back her sleeves, and pausing to wonder how many times she'd end up healing him, she began to seal his injuries.
(Thank you, Mandi. Actually, I didn't mean to sound so pushy... Sorry about that.)
Rune suddenly appeared from nowhere and dealt a fierce attack at Ayako. He hadn't bothered to unseal his shikai yet, but there would probably be a need to soon. Ayako, who was taken by suprise, took the majority of the strikes damage. As the two landed apart from each other, Rune was the first to speak. "Foolish woman... Did you think I would allow you to get away after you tried to harm my little brother?", he growled, wielding his katana.
Rath ran up to him, hiding behind Rune. He was still holding his zanpakuto but he had decided to allow his brother to take care of things now.
~
Kaoru could see that Yume pretty much had Minato on the ropes. It soon became apparent that his assistance probably wouldn't be needed, though he decided not to take any chances. He kept his shikai unsealed and remained near by in case anything happened to tip the scales of the battle.
Kusa was beyond impressed at this point. Yume had incredible strength, and could probably have surpassed a lot of the captains back in the soul society. He watched in amazement as Yume's bird helped its summoner to completely shred Minato to bloody ribbons. The guy honestly didn't stand a chance in hell. Since Kusa could offer no help, he stood back with his scythe in hand.
If you haven't guessed as much, I used to be Artemis around these parts.
"I have more important matters to attend to" Ayako said. She fired a ball of fire at Rune and dashed towards the school while the diversion was in effect.
Yuki had already arrived at the school and watched Minato being ripped to shreds "Wow!" she said, staring in awe.
Ayako arrived at the school watching her comrading being defeated so easily "*sigh* What a fool...." she said "At least he wore them out, now I can step in and complete the mission."
Minato fell from all the quick blows "I can still win..." he said. His hand began to glow "Gran Ray Cero!!!" The whole area was engulfed in light as the Cero blast directed at Yume blasted the field.
Bael, ever the one to look out for others before himself, quickly launched himself towards Yume, tackling her out of the way, and taking the full blast himself, bracing as much as he could.
Look at this signature. Isn't it the funniest and most hilarious signature you've ever seen?
(I wouldn't say it was "easily"...XD)(And Bael is going to end up severely screwed over. oO)
Yume was taken by surprise at both the Gran Rey cero and at Bael's selfless attempt to save her. She jumped to her feet, seized his arm and used shunpo to make her way to Kiku and Rai. She slung the Quincy over her shoulder and grabbed the Shinigami's wrist with her free hand before vanishing with all three of them just as the Cero reached where Rai and Kiku had been. The giant ice bird tightened its grip on him and folded its wings, ignoring the giant blast shooting away from it. The tiny birds, on the other hand, zipped over to his arms and wrists, pinning them to the ground using their sharp wings.
Yume set Bael, Rai, and Kiku down near where Kaoru stood. A glance at the fourth division Shinigami told her she would do her best to heal Bael, so she vanished yet again, reappearing in front of Minato and holding her sword to his throat. "Might be best to give up now," she suggested icily, "or you'll end up dead. I'm not prone to forgiving those who hurt my friends."
Kiku was extremely worried about Bael. Even a normal-strength Cero would be sufficient to kill a Shinigami. It was likely only due to his immense stamina and strength that he hadn't been vaporized by the much-stronger variant. But that didn't mean he would survive. She left her treatment of Rai, who wasn't bleeding as much anymore, and infused Bael with some healing energy. After making sure he wouldn't die immediately, she drew her dagger, ran over to Minato, and reached down to prick one of his hands.
(You can make him attack Kiku, give up, die, try to kill Yume again, or something. I'll think of something to do in any case.)
"Wow!" said Yuki, while eating the popcorn which appear out of nowhere for some reason "They're all so strong, I hope I get to be that strong!"
~~~~~
In other bushes Ayako was watching "I can already predict his next move" she said "He's just going to get thrashed by ice queen over there anyway."
~~~~~
Minato only laughed a very wicked laugh "I'm not done yet." he said "I might kill myself doing it but, I have allies that can pick up the boy later" he continued "As long as I kill you, I'll be happy!!!". Minato used a combination of echo movement and shunpo to get out of Yume's grasp. He then stood watching and raised his sword "Bankai!!!" as soon as the words were said, he's body ripped in half, blood splurting everywhere whilst the whole arena was filled with very large spiked vines. The creature was no longer Minato, he was fully Hollow and his vines emmited a poisonous gas, not to mention the immence spirit pressure the was being radiated.
~~~~~
"*sigh* well, he died. At least he went down with his bankai" Ayako said. She stood out to where the vines were and spoke "I have an offer to make, your all weakened, if you just hand over the boy, I can stop this vine and give you the antidote for the poison. If not, I'll let the vine kill you all, and finish off what's left of you myself.
~~~~~
Yuki was watching the battle still, and was preparing to jump out.
(i'm releasing my control of Ayako now so... I hope someone takes over....)
As soon as the vines began releasing their poison and radiating their spirit energy, Kaoru decided that he could jump in. He ran around to all the shinigami who had worn themselves out or were unable to get away and began moving them out of the immediate danger zone. After only Rune, Kusa, and Yuki were left to fight with Ayako, he began using his ring blade to stave off any vines that attempted to attack the weakened shinigami.
Kusa was the first to step up and face Ayako, wielding his scythe as he did. "I'll take you on. I haven't even gotten a chance to fight yet.", he explained, wielding his scythe with expertise. "Bring it!"
"Kusa, hang on! She has the antidote and the power to stop the vines. We can't kill her...", Rune quickly injected.
"What are you saying? That we hand over Rai and everything will be all right? We can't do that and you know it!", Kusa called back.
If you haven't guessed as much, I used to be Artemis around these parts.
Taken by surprise, Kiku didn't know quite what happened until she found herself seated on the grass well outside the former battle arena. Lying next to her were Rai and Bael, and judging by the intense cold she felt behind her, Yume was there with her giant ice bird. Kagebana was still held tightly in her fist. She checked on Bael, feeling a little woozy, then sealed the rest of Rai's injuries. Then she got unsteadily to her feet and tottered to where Yume was.
"Um...Mizuaki-san..." She stopped in her tracks and took in the odd sight before her. Yume was standing in front of the giant ice bird, left arm around its neck and her head resting against it. Her right hand held her sword. She appeared to be talking to it in a low voice, and oddly enough, it seemed to be listening. Snow was still drifting down from it, leaving heaps of white against the green grass.
After a while, the Shinigami backed away from the bird. It crooned and stretched its wings. Then she lifted her zanpakutou and held it to its beak. The bird closed its eyes and with incredible speed converted to water and shot down the length of the sword, slowing as it reached Yume's hands. She remained standing still as the water extended past the end of the hilt. Some of the water solidified into the white braid and crystal. The rest splashed onto the ground, making that part look as though it had just been inundated with heavy rains for the past week. Yume picked up the crystal and draped it over her shoulders. "Um, Mizuaki-san...?" Kiku tried calling again. Yume looked around at her. "Oh, Kiku." She tried to smile, but the drain of using bankai showed in the way she was standing. "I was just wondering...if you needed me to heal you...?" "What? Oh, no, I'm fine." Yume made her way back to where Rai and Bael were still lying. "If he wakes up, tell him I said thanks," she instructed Kiku before turning back toward the arena. "Wha-Mizuaki-san! You shouldn't fight anymore!" Yume seemed amused and a little thankful at the younger Shinigami's anxiety. "Don't worry, I'll just be in the background." She swung her sword yet again, sending another group of ice birds to help the ones already fighting the vines.
"My turn!" Yuki said, jumping out of the bushes "Spread your wings, Hayaikaze" she held the fan and started to fan it, blowing all the poison away from the arena, "Quickly!! Kill the vine Rune-chan!!" she said.
Rune nodded, quickly running to take care of the vine. As he neared it, he unleashed his shikai. "Ascend, Meteraura!", he cried. His katana then broke apart, becoming the numerous shuriken that hovered in the space around him. "Attack!" He held his hand forward at the vine, unleashing the shuriken on it. The tiny weapons flew at the vine, proceeding to slice and hack into it. It fell to the ground in tatters. "All right, it's down!", he called to the others.
"That's great! Now, I can take care of her!", Kusa called back, looking at Ayako.
"Don't act so tough, little boy.", Ayako said in response. "That quincy will be mine, and you will die."
Kusa wielded his scythe, twirling it swiftly above his head before gripping it soundly with both hands. "Don't be so sure... When it comes to my friends being in trouble, I can be pretty effective.", he replied, lunging to strike her.
Ayako blocked his strike, barely holding him back. "Even so... You need me for the antidote to the poison."
Kusa smirked. "I'll just take it off of your dead body!" He then forced her back and sent her sprawling. After she fell to the grass, he began walking towards her.
Ayako quickly pulled herself together and fired an arrow at him as he approached.
The arrow missed its target as Kusa swiftly knocked it away with his scythe. "Those silly little tactics won't work anymore... You've gotten me quite riled up.", he said, effectively kicking her weapon from her hands.
A look of horror stamped itself on Ayako's features. "Am I... really going to die? I... I will have failed the mission...", these were the thoughts that passed through her mind.
Kusa raised his scythe above his head and quickly thrusted it down towards her. It cleanly sliced into her shoulder where it connected to her neck. After the initial spray of blood, an explosion of flesh and other things occured.
Ayako's corpse, now almost headless and severly damaged, fell to the grass. The expression was forever plastered on her face. From within the folds of her clothing, a small vile of liquid rolled out onto the ground. It was clearly the antidote that they needed.
Kusa bent down and picked the vile up, walking back to his fellow shinigami. "Well, I think this is what we need... I hope.", he said, holding the vile up for them to see it.
Kaoru looked at his younger brother with uncertainty. He had never seen Kusa become this fierce in a battle before. It worried, and perhaps even scared, him a little bit. "Yes... I'm sure it probably is...", he answered.
It was then that Rune walked up to them, sheathing his katana. "Well, there's only one way to find out, right?", he questioned, looking at the others. He didn't appear shaken by Kusa's bloody victory in the least.
(I really hope that I didn't screw it up that bad...)
If you haven't guessed as much, I used to be Artemis around these parts.
To say the least, Kiku was thoroughly freaked. To be more precise, she was half-fainting and leaning on Yume to avoid falling onto Bael. Yume coughed lightly, waiting for a few of her ice birds to flutter over to Kiku before sheathing her sword. Luckily, the arm supporting Kiku was her left. All of the ice birds promptly collapsed, splashing gently onto Kiku's face.Kiku stirred and managed to stand on her own, though she still looked mildly traumatized. "If I may say so, Miyazaki-fukutaichou," Yume began, "that was quite an unusual exhibition of malice. Would it be too much to share why?" She was quick to add, "I apologize if I was disrespectful."
"Well... The short story is I had to get rid of her. She would have attacked the rest of you and most of you are injured or unable to fight on her level. Besides, even if I had let her go, she would have kept coming back for the quincy. It wasn't worth it to waste what little mercy I possess on her. Also, I do tend to lose control when no one is around to keep me in check.", Kusa then glanced at Bael. After closing his eyes, he sighed softly. "But I'm sorry to have scared you guys. It's just an extra effect of my scythe..."
"Works for me. Now, we need to return to the Soul Society. Most of us need medical treatment and the antidote must be distributed... Then Kusa and I will go and report on the events that have occured. Kusa, Kaoru, and myself will help to carry those who are unable to walk.", Rune said, taking control of the situation.
Kaoru nodded and resealed his shikai, putting it away. He quickly moved to pick Bael up and balance him enough to walk comfortably. As he did, he desperately hoped that Kusa was still the same little brother he'd known and that it really was only an effect of the scythe.
If you haven't guessed as much, I used to be Artemis around these parts.
)
