The Sky split asunder to reveal a hollows metamorphasis

[halfnhalf]

The day was never ending, as was a hollow. Isamu though conscious that in fact he was dead, was not at his point of evolution that he understood his purpose. He knew he was dead, he knew he had to eat, and had to kill those who deserved it. These three ideas that encircled Isamu's head, that wandered endlessly through the void that was now Isamu's mind. Blank, and lonely these three small insignificant ideas were dominant.

Isamu opened his eyes, it was dark he knew that. The yellow moon shining upon his opaque body made it glisten. The moon light absorbed into the skin reflected off his face, or should I say the sad replacement that tortured him so. It wouldnt start yet, no, it would in a few minutes though, these few moments every night were the only moments Isamu really had to himself, these were the moments not driven by the dominant, these were his moments for him to reflect on how he was dead, but not how he died. Isamu felt it, it was starting, the pain in his replacement face; his mask, the burning, and then the terrible hunger, this hunger.....this hunger that not only took him, but this hunger that controlled him. It drove him, it made him. Isamu picked up his black body with his six legs, he knew they really weren't his but he could not think beyond this fact. For the rest of the night, his mind would revolve around one thing: food!

He moved his body, no his hunger moved his body as his mind was focused upon the two ideas: he was dead, and he was hungry. He moved with incredible speed, his six legs probably the reason. He felt it was close, he saw the images nearby, the souls, the food. But he ignored them, this was very unusual for a holllow such as Isamu, however Isamu himself was unaware of this. Isamu followed his instinct...he knew food was getting closer, not just food but a food that would fill his hunger partially, fill the hole within his body temporarily and sooth the burning like lotion for a while. It was around the corner, he knew it. As Isamu crawled down the street, past the terrified souls, past the figures, the shapes, the monuments, as each and every one of his pincer legs pierced the soft tar of the street and as they propelled him forward little by little, he knew it was close. As always, all his pains grew increaseling overwhelming by this point, but he still past the other souls, the other food because he knew that gormet food was just upon the corner of the black building, he turned and saw it...his food. His teeth now stung, they too sensed the food, his eyes pulsed with pain, his hands or should I say just arms being as they were like Mantis claws, felt like pins and needles, just itching to rip and tear and slice at that special foods flesh.

Isamu cornered his food and caught him in the act, although his prey was not a soul.....he was determined to make him one. Unable to see Isamu, the prey continued to defile the world with his existence and actions, as he was molesting a teen girl, he felt and heard a huge sound wave right behind him. The prey turned around, letting loose the girl who ran away, the preys eyes, not believing what he saw, they went almost all white as holes started forming in the ground, a powerful force constricted his throat and crushed his chest, little by little, just Isamu's presence was drawing out his soul, and ultimately killing the prey. Right as the soul was about to leave the preys body, Isamu pierced it with his claw and drew the soul out, and proceeded to eat it. He tore up the flesh and tore the veins one by one until the blood now soothed the throbbing in his eyes and the pins and needles in his arms. He chewed the soul and corpse of the prey until his teeth didn't have their stinging pain, he drenched his face in the blood of his prey as to soothe the burning in his sad replacement for a face, as this was proceeding, the all three ideas were present; acknowledgment that he was dead, food, and he had also known that the prey killed was the one who deserved it, the only one that would ease his pain. As these three ideas encircled his head, these dominant motives that controlled Isamu, he digested his prey which eased his hunger, soothed the burning in his mask, and the filled the hole in his body but......... just for a little while.

[halfnhalf]

The prey was long gone now...a fews hours of digestion, of the soul sitting in Isamu's hollow chest being spiritually digested as Isamu absorbed and watched each and every memory of the prey at a fast rate. So fast, yet so precise in the review. Isamu felt more human with every digestion of this type, he didn't know if it was the the people he judged or the level of ones crime but this prey was the most satisfying. He went through the preys memories, of how he was abused, how his mother was murdered by his father, who then killed himself, of how this prey had to steal and kill to survive. This prey was a one who deserved his death indeed, for his mere existence was defiling this world, the world of the pure and world of ultimate balance.

Isamu began to feel hungry now, the pains returned; the sweet melancholy feeling that the prey provided, disappeared; his soul was all but evaporated, he was not gone, well most of him was and remaining the lifeless soul was incorporated into his judge, his savior: Isamu. The hunger overcame him once again, as Isamu lost control of his body and it began to move of its own accord towards food. But this time was different, Isamu didn't have the time to afford gourmet food, he would have to settle for some fast food.

He moved quick, with his multiple legs he went straight to the first soul he saw. It was a small boy, he was crying, calling, "Mommy!!! where are you Mommy!" the boy sobbed more. As Isamu came closer, his drive was stronger, his consciousness was no longer present so that he could kill those who deserved it....he was on a rampage.

Isamu turned to the boy, and the boys eyes grew wide as he screamed for his life, but Isamu was not the savior he was a few moments ago....he was a monster. He pierced the boys body and devoured the soul in pieces. This was surely gruesome and an act that Isamu would not normally do but....he wasn't normal. And just as the light shone of his body the night before, the light gleamed on an object in front of Isamu. Still processing the soul of the little memories it had, and with the burning in his face still there but the absence of the stomach pain, the light grew brighter and drew closer.

The light was enough to subside the pain, and with the hunger gone Isamu was back in control. With his legs he backed up, the light was getting stronger, "a car" he thought. This thought was the first of its kind, an independent thought, one of his past, it was a milestone that Isamu could not realize as of yet. But as the light came closer, it was apparent that it was no car but the glint of a blade, a zanpakuto, a weapon of all hollow's enemies: the shinigami.

Underneath the glint, a figure of a man was visible, and although his body was not yet fully visible the smirk on his face was, Isamu now in control, knew that he was in danger. He knew running was impossible and that he had to fight. But Isamu's intelligence also told him that a one on one fight would probably leave him dead, he would have to think outside of the box to kill this.....prey.

[halfnhalf]

Isamu watched the shinigami as the enigma was turned lucid under the aesthetic light of the moon. The shinigami's banal black robe provided enough evidence to prove that the figure was indeed a shinigami. The figure raised it's austere zanpakuto and pointed it at Isamu; it was a solemn act but it demonstrated the shinigami's negligence and it was now evident that the shinigami had a belligerent nature. These two tips that Isamu picked up from this simple gesture would be the two factors that Isamu would use to win this...game.

Yes a game, not a rigorous fight but a sport, in which the former predator is now the prey and in order to survive, this novel prey must now watch it's predator in a didactic manner; make it's own volition and augment it's own strength, whatever that may be, to deter it's eminent death and kill it's predator in a volatile and virulent manner.

Apathy leads to death in this game, and a conciliatory attempt for escape would be futile because in this game, both sides wickedly hate each other and this hate WILL be the prime factor in this game that will end one of their lives.

In Isamu's mind, if he dies here, victim to the scorn in the shinigami's blade, then his life would have just been a prodigal life. Isamu desires and is determined to have an incessant life punishing the deserving criminals and will not squander or hand his life over until that tentative future becomes reality.

The shinigami full of a complacent attitude voluntarily made the first move. With his gender now clear, his black robe fluttering as the breeze of the dark and narrow streets came upon him, his sandals clicking as they rocked back and forth from anticipation like a see-saw; with his teal eyes staring into Isamu;s black sockets trying to draw out some weakness, his solid expression of uniform manner while expelling his profuse reitsu, and with his blade pulled back in an elaborate manner until the hilt now faced right and the blade covering his eyes, only then did he whisper, "Overflow, 海洋は外皮で包む"
( translation: oceans crust )

OOC: I'm using alot of SAT words to practice for the SAT so if you don't know the meaning of a word, just look it up on dictionary.com and if any1 could find me a japanese tranalter that translates into english-japanese but with no symbols, I would appreciate a pm, thx..and enjoy!

[halfnhalf]

The words whispered by the shinigami seemed to have seeped out of his mouth and enter his blade. At the first touch of those words, the zampakuto lightened up with a furious white and began to contract and change form in a blissful and flowing manner. The eccentric white turned to an elusive and lax deep blue as the form flowed n circles around the shinigami in an unpredictable yet relaxed motion. Soon, the blue form took on elastic properties as it began to wrap itself around the shinigami’s body and then harden revealing sharp edges and the smooth flowing surface of the shinigami’s new armor. The brevity of the shikai’s laudable effects seemed to have created a bastion for the shinigami, a provocative yet static armor that mirrored the look of a samurai’s armor. The stagnation of the armor was masked by the profuse shifts in position as the shinigami faced Isamu with a grin on his face.

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk41/evilerico/smallAnimePaperscans_Sengoku-Bas-1.jpg

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk41/evilerico/smallAnimePaperscans_Dynasty-War-2.jpg

“Ocean’s crust is the name of my zampakuto, she is not a normal shinigami zampakuto, no she is of the same craftsmanship and origins yet her power is revered in Soul Society. One of the only four zampakuto that have the power to produce and form armor…what do you think hollow? Are you ready to go against my zampakuto’s awesome power?”

Isamu was now in control of his body but he didn’t see a reason to answer this shinigami’s ridiculous and immature question.

The shinigami was clearly offended by Isamu and in this weird discord of a single yet incessant and reticent stare, it became obvious that this shinigami was no rookie. The shinigami still locked in the stare, pumped out his reiatsu to his full extent, shattering all of the nearby street lamps and with no holding back, the pressure pained Isamu. It was like his skin was slightly boiling yet his movements were not servile to the shinigami’s strength.

“Hollow, my appearance was not random; you are somewhat famous in Soul Society, well amongst other things. You see, it was panned, this whole thing, this confrontation and your death because you cannot be allowed to continue your killings. In soul society, you have gained the name “the Pious Stalker,” you even have quite a good bounty on your head. Two replacements…two of them, victims of your infamous guile, however; your guile and “picked” victims will be eliminated today, and I, Kenshin will be the shinigami to purify your ass!”

Isamu would not, or could not respond. The time of full independence was over and now, only the pain in his mask and terrible emptiness in his hole remained. They were faint yet more solemn than the other pain of the pressure. There was also the fact that Isamu had always been taciturn, preferring to figure stuff out and take things apart; he kept mainly to himself.

The fervor would reach its climax as the Shinigami pulled out two swords. They were not zampakuto’s; they were just regular katanas that had formed along with the armor. So Isamu knew that the shinigami’s strength would be minimal but coupled with his amazing defense and the shinigami could become unstoppable, at least against Isamu’s puny claws. Yet Isamu was not going to be deference or beg for mercy, his mask would not let him and neither would his morals. Isamu made the first move, with his claw, he tried to use any expedient means to gain the advantage; Isamu slashed a telephone booth at it’s base and after lifting it with the side of his claw, Isamu hurled it at the shinigami.

With a single action, the shinigami slide into the flying object and sliced it in two. When the shinigami looked up to return the gesture to his hollow enemy, Isamu was nowhere in sight. The shinigami sensed Isamu’s reiatsu however it was suppressed and the exact location was impossible to find. “Man this hollow is an elusive one, I’ll have to engender a plan” the shinigami thought to himself. After a short lapse of time in which both sides thought out elaborate plans that would be used to relegate their sworn enemy, Isamu made his move. The silence was broken by the rumbling and clanking of garbage cans, a few seconds later about fifteen garbage cans with their lids detached were rolling down the road towards the shinigami. Ignoring the fallacious attack, he turned around, did a vertical slash and severed a sewer cover which had back until the shinigami was thought to be distracted. Weak but astute, Isamu would remain in the shadows trying to provoke the shinigami’s arrogant behavior. It seemed it was working as each object hurled or sent at the shinigami, more and more did the shinigami display anger and erratic movement. A rattling to the right of the shinigami was coupled by the thrashing to his left, remaining clam yet still releasing his reiatsu the shinigami knew that Isamu was stalking, baiting and observing him; however, he would not appease the hollow, he would wait and remain resolute. With the shinigami’s orthodox and uniform stance, it was easy for Isamu to manipulate his opponent making the shinigami slightly advance or retreat.

[halfnhalf]

The battle began to vacillate, neither one giving up much ground yet not getting anywhere either. “Pious Stalker! Let us end this prosaic fight, this futile one. For your defeat is inescapable, so let us fight one on one in front of each other yet ten feet apart to end this in an ephemeral duel of sorts, stop this scanty scuttling and preclude…” a wooden board thrown at the shinigami interrupted his dogmatic speech. The shinigami was now outwardly frustrated and made a change in his stance that would make him ready to pounce on any enemy…however, while doing this, suddenly a figure emerged from the darkness of the alley and a scythe-like claw tore the shinigami’s flesh just above the knee on his left leg. Just as short and quick-lived as the attack, Isamu descended into the shadows opposite of the alley just as quick. The shinigami didn’t expect it and didn’t even have a chance to react; the only thing he did do was see the smile on the hollow’s face as Isamu converged on his leg. The smile was wide, like the hollow craved his flesh and finally got some, like Isamu had had this desire for a long time and finally got what he wanted. It was inevitable that one of them got hurt but Kenshin didn’t expect it to be him; he didn’t expect the hollow: the Pious Stalker to be so smart either. Now Kenshin couldn’t run, the shinigami had difficulty even making a strike!

“This intelligence…” the shinigami muttered to himself “was not of an average hollow.” However, Isamu’s attack type is very rare for his intelligence level. You see, in a hollow at it’s first stage, intelligence is power, brute strength is practically useless due to intelligent hollows’ special features usually including projectiles. However, Isamu is a melee range hollow not to mention a black skin hollow. Almost all of the intelligent hollows are not only ranged but they have either a brownish tint fur or purple to brown color skin. The fact that Isamu had neither of these qualities led shinigami in Soul Society to believe that this Pious Stalker hollow was just quick and didn’t attack unless it had the clear advantage of surprise.

Kenshin had taken the bounty because one of the shinigami that Isamu had killed had been Kenshin’s fellow peer and roommate at the shinigami academy. Kenshin was sent in after his peer was sent in to kill a hollow (Isamu) that had shown some signs of strength and had killed the town’s shinigami and met his death. However, just like Kenshin, he underestimated Isamu and that is what led to his demise. Unbeknownst to the rest of the shinigami of Soul Soceity was that Isamu was extremely smart. When Kenshin’s peer confronted Isamu, Isamu intentionally led the fight to a gas station as it was being robbed. Distracted by the calls of distress, Kenshin’s peer was unaware of Isamu tampering and after a few strikes were made, the trap was sprung and the shinigami was burned by the gas station’s explosion.

In Soul Society hollows are ranked by their strength from one to ten; Isamu was labeled a two, hardly any effort for a trained shinigami. However, this hollow showed signs of very unconventional killings, they were not spree or random killings, all of the victims were criminals or had been. In short, Isamu was a hollow that picked his victims. Isamu was observed for a while to determine the reason, how Isamu picked his victims, and since the victims were criminals destined for hell, the research continued and was never questioned. Research was abandoned after several months; motive, intent, and reason were never found. However, even after research, this hollow still became known for its research name: Pious Stalker, you could say that Isamu became somewhat famous. For a hollow that killed only criminals and stalked them until they committed their crime was extremely rare and downright profound. However, interest turned to an infamous reputation after an unexpected behavior was found. Isamu chose someone who interfered over a criminal as his victim, as a result the town’s shinigami who saw Isamu’s victims as people worth saving was killed. Isamu’s danger ranking became higher as the second shinigami’s death occurred. However the second shinigami, Kenshin’s peer did not die in the stations fire, no he survived with a mangled and flagrant body. Kenshin’s peer was determined to report his findings, to tell Soul Society that the Pious Stalker was a lot smarter and stronger, and that they had made a grave mistake. He crawled for miles, bleeding and scorched; about five miles out, he tried to open a gate to Soul Society but before he could, a sharp claw entered through his back and into his heart. And that is how Kenshin’s peer, the second shinigami that went after Isamu was really killed.

Kenshin at this time drank heavily for his peer had been a close friend. He swore vengeance on Isamu and when news shortly announced after of Isamu’s high priority and bounty; Kenshin was first to sign up for the job. He had to undergo a simple that that was supposedly designed to prepare for the challenge and level of Isamu’s strength that was still grossly underestimated. This is because they believed Isamu to be a weakling that mediocre kidou could kill and when Kenshin entered the fight with Isamu and revealed his shikai, he firmly believed that he was showing Isamu a favor. Kenshin thought his shikai would be the death of Isamu in matter of minutes; he didn’t suspect such a high level of intelligence and guile.

The street lights flickered in the uniform darkness around the light. It covered a short radius as if they were compliant to the shadows in which Isamu lurked. Kenshin was baffled at how Isamu had torn the exact ligaments that made moving his leg almost impossible. How was it that this hollow knew where to attack? Was it a lucky guess or was the hollow even aiming for his leg? Kenshin thought hard, dubious that the attack was not planned. But again that smile returned to his head, the hollow’s smile; was it really in joy of his victims flesh as all hollow crave and enjoy? No, if this hollow was this smart, this unique, wouldn’t it have alternate reasons for smiling? Suddenly a terrible thought came to Kenshin’s mind, what if the hollow had smiled because it enjoyed the battle and had planned this? Kenshin immediately repressed the thought and tried to efface the thought from his mind but the more he tried, the more he thought of it. It scared him, it even angered him and with his belligerent, arrogant attitude and with combination of the two, Kenshin’s behavior and stance became erratic.

The figure and form of the shinigami became enormously erratic; it was the pivotal moment Isamu had been waiting for. With just a few cryptic yet planned moves, the shinigami would be dead. Jeapardy had now set in for Kenshin and a tangible victory was at hand for Isamu. Isamu tried to instigate the shinigami more, it was apparent that the sage shinigami of before was now a soldier filled and covered in caustic emotions. Now the attacks were more frequent, trash cans, their lids, wooden planks, debris, garbage, dumpsters and even bottles now flew at Kenshin from multiple directions. The shinigami bleeding profusely from his leg could not deflect all of the objects and just ended up more injured. The shinigami’s strength began to atrophy, until he noticed he was beginning to languish and he dashed to where a suspected Isamu was, quite clumsily and slow only to find some dormant objects waiting to be thrown. At that moment Isamu appeared above Kenshin with his claw ready to come down and decapitate his foe. Kenshin looked in horror as he believed his end was near, his eyes cringed and he grabbed his left bleeding leg with his arm.

Isamu’s acute and deadly fast claw came down of Kenshin’s head; finally this battle was at an end…at least that’s what Isamu thought. In reality, Kenshin in a last stand had jumped making Isamu’s blade make contact with his armor rendering that attack benign. No damage was awarded as a result and not only that but Kenshin’s shikai allowed the armor to flow around Isamu’s blade like water and then harden. With Isamu’s arm disabled, Kenshin now had a clear and facilitated slice to Isamu’s mask with his sword. Although Kenshin’s swords are not connected to the armor and are not zampakuto’s they both carry the purifying characteristic of any zampakuto. Now the tables had turned, and the astute Isamu was now the prey caught in a cage. The game it would seem was over, and Isamu had failed to overcome his predator and take his tile, he had come close but even Isamu being as intelligent as he was could not predict such a characteristic of the shinigami’s armor he had fallen victim to. Isamu thought the shinigami;s shikai just made a pedestrian armor, that it just blocked swords and the such, who knew that it could be used as such and ultimately give the user an offensive advantage. As the night began to fade to the crisp orange glow of the crimson sun, Isamu’s death was at hand, the final blow was initiated.

[halfnhalf]

However, another turn of events interrupted the blow of Kenshin. His swords stopped just short of Isamu’s mask as a huge amount of pressure was blasted at his body. It was the huge number of reiatsu from many new hollow…and they were close. After this, Isamu’s smile returned and a series of sounds much like the electronic bass with a “boing!” was heard as a ripple in the orange sky was forcefully opened wide...a ganganta had appeared!

Out of the garganta, claws were visible as they ripped the ripple further and further apart. The claws forced the ripple open as tears were inevitably were made, revealing many masks of madness. Suddenly the ripple opened wide and about twenty hollow poured out of the profuse vacuum. Screaming and thrashing in discord, they all differed in appearance yet they were drawn to one spot: where Kenshin and Isamu stood. Kenshin’s eyes grew wised in hollow as the odds were now stacked against him, he wanted to finish off Isamu but he had to release his hold to deflect the ranged attack of some of the other hollow.

As soon as he was released Isamu fled into the shadows once more, with the side smile visible even as he crept into the shadows. By the time Kenshin saw Isamu’s smile descend into the dark, he was surrounded by all kinds of hollow. Kenshin’s grave mistake here was his prodigal reiatsu. Had he remained reticent and calm instead of pumping out his reiatsu, then he wouldn’t be surrounded by the hollow drawn to him. Of course, it was probably inevitable with Kenshin’s belligerent and dogmatic nature. He was after all complacent and didn’t think things through, now he was surrounded by hollow and he had let Isamu escape. But with his nature, he would remain resolute and would fight rigorously to the end. Kenshin derided at the situation for it was his attempt to mitigate the situation.

The hollow closed in on the shinigami, some through forms of projectiles such as acid or goo yet the shinigami evaded the attacks. Next, about ten hollow charged at the shinigami with their fists and edged melee weapons however, the weapons were blocked and the fists were amputated. After a series of such attacks, one hollow surprised Kenshin from springing up from a sewer grate, slicing the shinigami’s back vertically. Kenshin failed to return the blow but he wasn’t done yet. He started to use his armor, as it flowed and hardened on the melee hollows or shot hardened projectiles at the ranged hollows. It seemed as though the shinigami would remain triumphant, as only eight hollow remained. In a huge charge, the entire remaining hollow attacked the shinigami; however, Kenshin used his shikai to its full extent and incased all of the hollow within a huge area of hardened crust. Kenshin stood alone, above the hollow, laughing and showing his arrogant behavior. Fate however would not grant Kenshin victory today, nor his life because Isamu had not given up on his prey. Kenshin heard the rustling and then saw Isamu charge straight at him; ready to use his armor to stop and finally end Isamu’s life, he was surprised to find a telephone pole with wires and everything still intact flying right at him. Isamu went in for the kill, but Kenshin payed too much attention to the Pious Stalker and allowed the telephone pole to fall upon him. Now the pole itself barely hurt the shinigami but the wires and electrical charges still within the pole interacted with his armor and electrocuted the poor shinigami.

The seared body of the former shinigami lay in the middle of the street. Naked except for his zampakuto, it was a tragic end indeed; however there is always a loser in any game. Isamu did not touch the body; he left it to the other hollow. Isamu heard a whisper as he left “Bastard….I’ll get you…..even if it’s after I die…” and then the shinigami collapsed under the weight of the other hollow. Isamu looked over his shoulder to see them ravaging his body…he was a good prey. However, Isamu felt different after this fight…like something in him had changed, he couldn’t quick spot it but this fight definitely altered something within him.

Kenshin was motionless, aware barely of the hollow devouring him but unaware of the pain that coincided with his demise. Only two thoughts lingered in his mind at the time of death, his vengeance and of Isamu. Right before he died, he stared at Isamu’s back… “perhaps,” he thought. “This hollow had actually orchestrated the whole fight, maybe he never intended to kill me on his own…maybe…he had planned this whole thing, with the hollows and everything…he was after all the Pious Stalker…an underestimated hollow genius.” Those were his last words, but the beginning of Isamu’s first.

“You, fellow hollow…where did you come from?” Isamu asked in a novel yet familiar voice. They answered “Hueco Mundo a home to all hollow but there’s no way back now…another hollow had granted us access to this world.” Isamu smiled… “There’s a place just for hollow?” And that was the start of both Isamu’s voice and the beginning of his evolution that would take him to being an espada. You see, Isamu couldn’t remember his former voice…it was lost within the madness of his mask…instead…he learned how to speak….from his opponent: Kenshin.

Suddenly a rush of new thoughts came to Isamu and he had an epiphany! The fight definitely had changed him, and now he knew that humans would not grant him the power he needed to become stronger and fill the void within him. The burning in his mask now took over and the emptiness…the extreme hunger now consumed him, he became his old self but only now; he did not eat the criminals…he ate the other hollow. Slowly but ultimately they were no match for his novel addiction. He felt fuller, stronger because now he was not eating individuals but creatures that had eaten hundreds of individuals if not more. Isamu now realized that eating one hollow would be like eating many individuals’ souls….this was the best and most filling way. As the pains took over Isamu once more, with the last shred of sanity, he forced his reiatsu into his hand. It was not like he knew what it would do, just after those hollow he had eaten, with the huge amount of power and memories that flowed into him; he had gained new found ideas. He felt like he had to do this, and suddenly with the power surge in his hand, he released it and then the sky began to split asunder….revealing a new world in which Isamu would thrive, he entered the ripple before it closed behind him only to see an endless field of sand with a parallel horizon; however, this place was not empty….for Isamu felt thousands of hollows reiatsu…awaiting to become a part of his evolutionary process….he would devour them all!