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Post by Kisuke Urahara on Aug 16, 2011 21:26:25 GMT -5
The sand under his feet flew by in a monochrome blur, and kicked out behind him in a wide plume of tossed powder. His bare, callused feet took long, fast strides, shunpoing across the barren desert, leaping occaisonally from the top of one grey dune to the next. He paid the environment no mind...why should he? He'd spent half his life surrounded by the same drab grey sand, the same dead-limbed trees, the same cold, black sky with it's sickly pale moon. He knew more about the land of Hueco Mundo than most of its' hollows did, so why should he give a damn about one empty stretch of sand.
Why should he care about anything at all, when he finally knew where to find his prey?
That thought spurred him to move faster still, his ragged clothes and the line of his bound, blue and grey hair whipping in his wind shear. The stubs of trees and the forms of spooked hollow's passed around him, both ignored as his gaze remained locked on the rapidly-growing cluster of buildings called Los Noches. The hollows he had interrogated had eventually led him here, after years of fruitless searching. He had originally figured that Bankotsu was too independant to want to associate with anyone inside that place, but evidently he'd been wrong.
Taiko Fon grimaced and growled to himself as he sped across the desert, eyes as sharp as the blade fused to his arm. What was it his old General had always told him? What had he told his subordinates time and time again? "Leave no stone unturned and no corpse with it's head attached."
It was a mistake he would not make again If Bankotsu was within that white-walled fortress, then Taiko would tear it down to it's foundations to find him if he had to.
The sand of Hueco Mundo passed under his flying feet, and he paid it no mind.
Taiko Fon was hunting again.
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Post by Rikuo Nura on Aug 17, 2011 0:28:16 GMT -5
Bankotsu stood on one of the many towers that were around the castle he was watching the dust cloud slowly get closer most would think nothing of this but Bankotsu knew the source of the dust cloud he had sensed it from a mile away as he got close he grinned and stood up with a slight stretch and yawned and thought.'Ahh nothing quite like a nap before a fight'.With that he reached down beside him and lifted his great sword up and placed in onto his back and jumped with enough force to leave the upper level of the tower in ruins.
He landed on the sands out front of the tower and watched as the cloud of dust drew closer he watched and waited with a slight grin.He couldn't wait for this the first time he and Takio had fought they hadn't really been able to fight Bankotsu was to busy trying to get his comrades away from the battle field but this time would be diffrent.Bankotsu waited as the sand cloud slowed infornt of him.
Bankotsu crossed his arms and spoke."Well then young Captian what kept you"As Bankotsu said that the area grew quite even the wind seemed to slow as if waiting for the Titans to do battle.
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Post by Kisuke Urahara on Aug 18, 2011 20:43:02 GMT -5
Even from as many miles away as he was, Taiko could feel sense the spirit pressure emenating from Los Noches, the familiar, bitter tang of his nemesis. Bankotsu was there...and from the nearly-imperceptable tingle that rode on the emenations, Taiko could tell that he was ready.
The cloud of dust errupting from the peak of one of Los Noches's antennae-like towers had been the first sign that there was action to be had; the long, thin trail of dust that flowed up and arced over the palace, drawn up by the wind shear and trail of spirit energy left in the Hollow's wake was his second; Yes, he thought, yes...it's him.
That thought was confirmed when the heartless spirit landed in front of him, bold as the far-gone day when he had casually popped into the Seiretei for an afternoon of slaughter. The Dai-Captain slowed his flash-step and stopped forty feet from his enemy, Shinaryun almost twitching with eagerness.
At last, Taiko...our search is over.
Indeed, my old friend......now the fun begins.[/i]
As he thought back and forth with his weapon, the shinigami slowly looked the Hollow up and down, noting his impetuous, relaxed stance, the ease with which he carried his massive weapon, the places where his armor didn't cover protectively. He hadn't changed at all since they had last took to the field, still looking like the smooth young aristocrat who had taken off Taiko's arm. That just made it easier for the Dai-Captain to embrace his hatred...like the appearance of his foe, it too hadn't changed...only gotten stronger with every day that had passed.
"What kept me?" He spoke calmly, his voice level and clear, knowing that screaming oaths and threats would be pointless, and boring. He was too old for that kind of shit. Instead of letting it out, letting it boil over and waste him like some ornery teenager, he kept in in stasis within himself, folding it over and over to a smaller, more concentrated source of power that he could draw upon at will, but that he refused to allow to control him. His heartbeat was slow and regular, as was his breathing, his long sprint as ineffectual to his body as mere walking.
"If you've been so desperate to see me again, Bankotsu, you might have tried meeting me halfway instead of having me run up and down this damned desert looking for you...not very polite, even for a heartless soul like you." He lifted his sword-arm and rested Shinaryun on his shoulder, the long, thick blade glinting in the moonlight as he spoke.
"You look well, Hollow...I trust that living in Aizen's crap-tank," he nodded towards Los Noches, "hasn't dampered your spirits?"[/color]
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Post by Rikuo Nura on Aug 20, 2011 0:52:31 GMT -5
Bankotsu chuckled as Takio asked why He didn't meet him half way and then spoke on this."Now now young Takio you know that half the fun is the hunt it's self and if I had made it easy for you then...Well it would be a lot less fun"As Bankotsu said this a slight grin spread across his face as Takio called him a heartless soul and then brought up Aizen and Bankotsu laughed as his laughter faded he looked at Takio who was resting his sword on his shoulder and then he spoke."I only stay their to make sure Aizen does not abuse my fellow Arrancar and let's face it their is no other place in this wasteland to find any members of the fairer sex"Bankotsu chuckled slightly before he kept speaking"And besides I thought that would have been the first place you would have looked"
Bankotsu laughed and took a few steps to his left side he then looked at the aged soul reaper he it took only a few seconds to Bankotsu to take in his current condition the years had not been kind to his rival but Bankotsu could tell that Takio was stronger this was good however Bankotsu was also stronger since the fist time that had faced off.The hollow was looking froward to this fight but couldn't help but wounder why Takio wasn't screaming.
Bankotsu the turned to face his foe and sat on a near by rock and signaled for Takio to take the rock across from him before the fight after the run to make sure he was back at full power after his run.They were going to fight but it didn't mean that they couldn't be civil for a bit Bankotsu then spoke."I find it refreshing that you can keep your calm despite your foe being so close and after all that I have done to you I mean not only did I kill your friends I also have killed two members of your clan over the years you have been hunting me".He said the last part with a serious look waiting for Takio to answer or make his move.
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Post by Kisuke Urahara on Aug 20, 2011 3:50:01 GMT -5
As old as he was, Taiko was very certain that there wasn't a single member of the so-called 'fairer sex' who he would even bother thinking once about, let alone thinking twice...still, if he had learned anything while living among these damned souls, it was that their morals were different, disturbingly so, than those of the shinigami.
Certianly not any better, or even any worse...just alien.
He didn't give voice to this thought, though...he was too focused on what the Hollow had said. Two more of his clan? Dead, by his hand? While he had been searching high and low through the infernal plane?!?
The patience that comes from years, centuries, millenia of simply living and waiting for things to happen, of tirelessly persuing a single victim, of meditating for days on end in attempts to reach ever-greater connectivity with his sword, now keeps him from sprining forward and getting his fight started. His outward appearance doesn't change, and his spirit pressure remains stable, tightly coiled within him as he speaks.
"A warrior of dignity, such as yourself, would know the names of those you killed...esspecially if they had any connection to me. Tell me, that I might add their names to the many I must avenge."
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Post by Rikuo Nura on Aug 20, 2011 4:18:43 GMT -5
Bankotsu crossed his arms when Takio asked for the names of his fallen clan members he had to think over all the soul reapers who had fallen to him over the years but it only took a moment till he remembered the day the names hell he could even remember the sounds of the screams.He then looked at Takio with a slight grin and spoke with his normal tone"Oh I remembre their names and more.The first was a man named Minato Fon(Soi fon's eldest brother) and a women named Soi fon(Soi fon's Grand mother who she is named after)".
Bankotsu said this and looked Takio in the eyes with his emotionless glance before adding"Would you like me to tell you how it happened"He said this last bit with a slight amount of curiosity lining his voice waiting for Takio to respond while Bankotsu remembered the day.
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Post by Kisuke Urahara on Aug 20, 2011 20:42:44 GMT -5
Taiko recognized the names only as classic titles from within his clan, much the same as certain reigons in the Wrold of the Living use common names special to the area. They could have been anyone from within his clan...anyone from distant nephews and nieces to direct descendants of his murderous bloodline. What mattered was that two more of his kind, his comrades, his family, had been killed before he'd known they were even alive...two more lives, lost to him forever. His hatred and rage coiled tighter and tighter within him,locked within the unbreakable walls of his restraint, waiting for their release.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and steadied his pulse before replying. "Of course, Hollow...do tell." He looked up and narrowed his dark gaze at his nemesis, boring into his opponents eyes. "As long as I'm already going to kill you, I might as well learn what I can from you before we begin." He drew Shinaryun off his shoulder and held the long, thick blade in his hand, resting it across his left knee as he waited for the Hollow to speak.
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Post by Rikuo Nura on Aug 22, 2011 0:31:29 GMT -5
Bankotsu could sense the angry building within Takio but the young aged captain was able to keep it in check but even Bankotsu knew their was only so much that someone could take before even years of mental discipline would break down and Bankotsu couldn't help but wonder what his breaking point would be.Bankotsu couldn't help but chuckle as Takio issued his death threat and decided to tell him how Takio's clan members died.
Bankotsu looked at Takio and sat up straight on his rock and then spoke."Very well Takio I will tell you how your fellow clan members fell in battle but just so you believe me".With that Bankotsu reached into his jacket and pulled out three items and tossed them at Takio's feet two of the items were the Fon family crest the other was a picture of the Fon family that one of the two had in their possession and then spoke."You may find those of interest".
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Post by Kisuke Urahara on Aug 23, 2011 16:36:45 GMT -5
Taiko watched the two emblems of his clan land by his bare feet with something between morbid fascination and a grudging understanding. He should have expected this...after all, he himself carried trophies from his past victories...the nine dried patches of skin dangling from his waist were testament to that. His hand strayed down to touch one of them, marked with a stylized 2...the rough, leathery feeling against his fingertips calmed him somewhat before he dug a toe into the sand beneath each clan emblem and flipped them into his lap. The photograph he reached down to pick up, holding it in his hand to scrutinize carefully.
He saw a man and a woman, both in black assassin's garb...a small smile graced his features when he saw them. Centuries hadn't spoiled his people's fierce looks...both man and woman wore tight-lipped, narrow-eyed expressions of deadly seriousness, and held their unsheathed zanpakuto's like they knew how to use them. The picture gave him hope...even after so long, the remains of his family still looked like a force to be reckoned with.
His smile faded quickly, replaced by the same no-nonsense expression found in the photo that he quickly slipped into the pocket of his frayed hakama, along with the two wooden clan emblems. If the sly bastard wants them back, he can take them from my corpse.
"Very well, Bankotsu...you've proved you killed them. And to be honest, that's all I need to know." Taiko stood slowly from the rock, thankful that the debilitation's of age that plagued the living had yet to affect him. "I have total faith in my people's spirit...I know that they died well, with dignity, clawing for your throat until death took them, and there is nothing you can say to me that will convince me otherwise." He stepped his right foot forward, turning his body slowly until he stood sideways, his sword arm leading towards the Hollow.
"Your people," he said, bending his knees slightly and letting the rope of trophies slide into view, "died similarly...fighting for their kind." He lifted Shinaryun slowly, cocking his arm to hold the long, thick blade diagonally before him as he spoke lowly. "You and I have the same reasons to kill, Bankotsu...you murdered my family, and I murdered yours. It's only natural that it would come to this."
With that, the Dai-Captain flexed his legs and shunpoed forward, intent on slicing the Hollow's head clean off.
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Post by Rikuo Nura on Aug 24, 2011 19:50:33 GMT -5
At first Bankotsu had a slight grin on his face when Takio first saw the trophies from his fellow clan mate to be honest Bankotsu had more and since Takio was sure they had died with honor Bankotsu didn't feel the need to try and dissuade him of his illusion.How ever Bankotsu's grin quickly changed to a look of slight annoyance when he saw Takio's rope of dried hollow skin each which carried one of his former Espada's numbers.
With that Bankotsu stood up and got ready to fight as Takio began to speak about how both of their reason's to fight were simaler but Bankotsu chosse to add something."Takio have you ever thought what will happen after this after all our little war is all we have know for close to 2 whole mellinea*.And with that Bankotsu watched Takio begin his attack.
It didn't take much for Bankotsu to use his Sonido to get behind Takio and as he appred his hand was rasied pointing at Takio with a very deadly blue glow pointed towards the soul reaper."Cero"And with that the beam went flying towards the captain aimed to tear through Takio's chest.
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Post by Kisuke Urahara on Aug 26, 2011 0:15:25 GMT -5
The canny Dai-Captain shunpoed from the lethal blast without difficulty, appearing just behind and to the side of the distracted Hollow, blade cleaving at his ribs as he growled*
"Half my life has been spent trying to find you...a few hours more will be speant killing you...whatever comes after that is inconsequential."
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Post by Rikuo Nura on Aug 26, 2011 0:29:31 GMT -5
Bankotsu turned to aviod the attack but wasn't able to dodge completly and winced slightly as the blade sliced through his left arm just below his elbow.As the limb fell he used his Sonido to slightly distance himself from the captain.He looked at the wound as the limb regenarated in a few seconds and Bankotsu chuckled slightly at the irony of the tempory loss of his limb.
Bankotsu then entred his combat stance and rasied his hand to the hilt of Kuroi Ookami and drew the great blade from his back and let his reiatsu rise slightly and swung his sword and brought it to rest on his shoulder.As he did a shock wave went outward in all directions sending wind and sand foreward and at the young captain.As this happened Bankotsu roared at the young captain."WELL THEN LET US END THIS"!!
As the word's left his mouth he used his sonido and appred behind the the Dai-Captain and brought his sword from his shoulder and brought the slash aimed for the Captain's neck.
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Post by Kisuke Urahara on Aug 27, 2011 21:12:49 GMT -5
Taiko heard the words and watched the sand rise up, riding the reaitsu-wave, and grinned. At fucking last... Shinaryun had tasted first blood and practically howled in macabre delight, quivering against his stump. He let his spirit pressure flare to match the Hollow's, the energy straining at his binding chains and making his tatters of ruined cloth flap like dozens of small banners caught in a tempest, forcing the wave of sand to part and gust sideways from them.
As the Hollow's huge blade created a crescent in it's descent towards his neck, the Soul Reaper spun and caught it against Shinaryun, stopping it dead. Sand billowed around both warriors as their growing spirit energies focused against each other, their eyes locked from either side of their blades, murder clear to each.
"I'm going to kill you, Bankotsu...you're living on borrowed time!" Taiko roared as he heaved his arm and slashed powerfully, throwing both weapons into the air and forcing them to take a step away, the air between them crackling dangerously.
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Post by Rikuo Nura on Aug 31, 2011 17:14:45 GMT -5
Bankotsu took a step back as their blades broke away from each other and a slight smile appread on his face at Takio's declaration of Bankotsu's death.As Bankotsu lept back he and landed and brought his sword back up to his shoulder.He could sense the strain on the chains wraped around Takio's torso and it didn't take him long to figuer out what they were for.Bankotsu thought for a second'So those chains are holding back his reiatsu odd that he would keep them on while faceing me I thought he would just go all out'.
Bankotsu took and step foreward and let his hand leave the hilt of his sword and he graped the chain that was attached to Kuroi Ookami as he grabed the cain he brought the sword around using the sword much like a whip and brought it down towards Takio's skull.Bankotsu was glade that his blade's chain was able to extend so he could change his fighting style quickly.
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Post by Kisuke Urahara on Aug 31, 2011 19:41:56 GMT -5
Taiko watched the master Hollow's stance shift to allow him to whip his weapon out, sharp, attentive eyes missing no detail of the way he brought his weight back before leaning into the stroke. The long curve of his swinging arm told him that it would be a long downward slash instead of a flick toward his body, and a subtle clink-clink-clink of chain sprouting let him know that he was extending it's reach.
He jumped back a precise distance and sucked in his abdomen, curving his hips backward...while pushing his chest forward a hair's bredth. The cleaving blade sliced downwards in a glittering arc, missing his head...but slicing through links of his reitsu-binding chains with an almost musical sound of breaking metal.
The Dai-Captain leapt back another few paces and shook himself like a dog, sending fragments of broken chain flying and shuffing off the short lengths that had loosened, the thick metal piling around his feet and taking his tattered rags with them, leaving him bare-chested before his foe. Taiko shuddered and shook his head as he felt his spirit pressure, long repressed, billow up and flood his body, and in his bliss at the feeling, he allowed it to cyclone around him, a sudden, enormous collumn of riotous energy that shot upwards in a violet beacon before he forced it to collapse and focus within him, holding it in check while allowing it to empower him freely.
"Now, Hollow...let's see how strong you've REALLY gotten." He flicked his sword-arm and dashed forward, racing at his enemy.
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