Ascension [Izumo X Open]

With a sigh, the Vasto Lorde who had come to be known as the Basilisk stood atop a large building on the school campus, presumably the gymnasium. He had his arms crossed, the tail behind him flicking through the air as he watched. Oddly enough, he wasn't here to consume today; merely to watch. Human's were a fickle race, and their power was hardly ever enough to give him the power he had desired. So he began sticking to Hollow's, Arrancar, basically other power spiritual beings. They were much more fulfilling, and he could either eat a couple hundred humans and gain a small portion of power, or eat a very powerful Shinigami, Hollow, etc, and get more than all of those humans combined. It was an easy choice for the man, really.

And of course, he was back at the High School, where he originally met the Shinigami. After that deal he had made, he'd begun having remarkably good luck with his quarries, aside from the Headhunter fellow. So if he were to find him anywhere, he imagined here would be the place. He slipped off the edge, falling foot-first into a throng of people, hardly kicking up any dust, as he walked by a lone tree to wait.

It wouldn't take long for the good doctor to show himself, having stalked his pet project for quite some time now. It was true that the man had been off doing some more than questionable things, but for the most part, he had been watching the Hollow grow and take down larger and larger quarries.He found it amusing that the Basilisk chose their original meeting place to meet him again at, even with not eating a single human. The creature's drive for the more powerful meals was something Izumo himself would have thought up, were he a Hollow. With a heavy sigh, he alighted on the ground, holding a tightly-bound satchel with blood tendrils from his fingertips.

"Well, well... Nice to see you've been growing..." Izumo grinned, really thoroughly pleased that his project was not only cunning and powerful, but a prime predator. Trained right, nothing could stop him, and that was what Izumo was hoping for. "I've got a little something for you. I figured that before long, you'd stop eating humans, so..." The tendrils released the satchel, it hitting the ground with a heavy thump. "I'll feed you a being from the depths of Hell itself..." He kicked the satchel, rolling it over to reveal it just to be a thick tarp wrapped around a disfigured body. The corpse was so torn apart, it was impossible to tell what he looked like before. "This is a Togabito, one of the ones cursed to live within the confines of Hell for an eternity. This man challenged me and lost, and now, his power is yours to devour..."

Feeling the spiritual signature of the one who he had been looking for, Basilisk's head jerked up, looking in his direction. He nodded, as he walked forward to meet the man, only a little bit taller than him. "A gift? The second time I've ever gotten such a thing in this lifetime. The first being from you also. You seem to be a very generous man, indeed." He said, as he gripped the body, his long, claw-like fingers far more slim and lengthy than the average finger, making it easy to grab the bag with one hand. He lifted it, tearing the tarp away, and gripping the body with his other hand. Smaller body parts that weren't attached very well fell to the ground, but other than that, it remained mostly intact.

Basilisk nodded, before two heads seemed to grow from his shoulders, exact replicas of the one that acted as the primary. They each bit in, and between them consumed the body within a matter of moments. When they were done, they receded into his body once again, leaving the main head to lick his fingers of life's essence with a long, forked tongue. He looked up to Izumo once more, determination apparent on his face. "I believe... we are ready for the next level. I am as strong as I am going to become as a Hollow..." Basilisk commented, waiting to gauge the Captain's reaction.

Izumo raised an eyebrow as the declaration by the Vasto Lorde, then smiled. "Hmmm... Indeed... Maybe we should get to your final transformation sooner than I expected..." He laced his fingers together and sighed happily. "Soon... Soon you will be able to tear down all in your path...First, we'll start with Hueco Mundo, and then?" He gives the Vasto Lorde a dark look. "Well... What would you like to do with more power? What are you ambitions? We talk a lot of what I want you to do, but..." Izumo stepped closer to the Basilisk, humming with a thoughtful look in his eyes. "... One can't help but wonder what you want to do... You clearly are not a feral creature, so you must have something you want..."

Izumo hummed and stopped as he got Saria's message, lowering his gaze with a wide grin. "So... They don't know yet... Either that, or that excuse of a Captain has been detained based on unfounded claims... Of course, they'll probably come for me based on the fact that I'm no longer in the Seiretei... I dunno..." He rubs his chin and looks off, bobbing his head. "In any case, they've no reason to make any hostile movements against me while the only evidence they have is a cut-up man who claims things. For all they know, he could have attacked me, and I defended myself..." He shakes her head and laughs. "Well, best to always plan for the worst outcome, my friend... Do me a favor and open a Garganta? We'll be needed to be in Hueco Mundo for a bit so we are undisturbed..."

Basilisk thought, wondering. More power was all he had truly wanted, with no goal in specific in mind. But then again, the only reason he wanted that power, was because of the sense of fulfillment it gave him; the true sense of fulfillment he would never achieve, because of this accursed hole in his chest. He just wanted to be... full. "I... want to not feel empty. To consume until I no longer need to. " He said, pausing when the captain appeared to be listening to something. Hearing the Captain's request, he turned, placing a claw flat on a spot in the air, before pulling down, his claws seeming to rip into the air, as a Garganta opened. He stepped back, gesturing for Izumo to go first. As he waited, he couldn't help but note the nearby spiritual pressure's of soul reaper's. Four of them, and a bit off, but not too far. Curious. He would have checked them out more, but at the moment, he was more concerned with attaining his stronger form, than consuming a few more souls.

Landing just a building's length away, one of the shinigami that had been fighitng so closely took refuge, ducking back behind the wall. Hoping not to be noticed, concealing her reiatsu as best as she could, she peeked her head around, inspecting the situation. Hitomi had been right. Something was indeed off. The shinigami was one she recognized as a captain, even if he wasn't one she saw all that often and even if he was in a rather bad shape. That wasn't what brought shock to her eyes about him though. He was peacefully speaking with a hollow? That wasn't normal even on a good day, let alone one where a tragedy like this one had struck. He should have been cutting the hollow down with more determination than ever. Yet he was doing nothing.

That wasn't the end of it though. The hollow proceeded to open up a garganta right before her eyes, making a gesture that looked too much like an invitation. What was going on?! Why was a captain going along with a captain into Hueco Mundo? Something was terribly wrong here. Hitomi felt her legs tremble and her throat suddenly stop all air from reaching her lungs. She couldn't just stand by but...the feeling she had gotten before, the feeling that this had been a horrid idea, was growing stronger by the second. She mentally told herself to go back and get Deisuke but she knew that would take too much time.

While she was debating within her head, her body seemed to decide her fate for her. There was a rattling of chains though no weapon was clearly seen, her zanpakuto using its invisibility ability while it could. Somehow without her know she had stepped from behind the corner in which she was hiding thrown one end of the kusarigama and it was racing toward the one she recognized as the captain of squad 4, even if that was no longer a title he held. Just before it made impact, The weapon revealed itself, the ice covered sickle blade coming down over his shoulder. Hitomi knew the moment she saw it that she had gotten herself into a mess. She had attacked a captain. She might have been strong but there was only so much she could do. Again she became stiff, not making any move for another attack, frozen with fear. However she tried to show some courage, her face holding a serious, deadly look. She didn't understand what was going on but she was going to everything in her power to stop it.

Izumo apparently wasn't paying attention, because he didn't so much as move as the scythe blade came down on him. It embedded in his shoulder, making him stumble forward and groan in apparent pain. However, the groan slowly formed into a dark laugh, Izumo grabbing the blood soaked blade and yanking it out of him. It didn't go in far. The red crystallized spikes jutting out of his shoulder saw to that. Slowly... Very slowly... He turned to look at Hitomi with dark eyes and a small smile.

"Well, well... It seems my not paying attention has caught up to me today... Let's see now..." He began walking over to her slowly, eyeing her features studiously. After a while, he nodded and smiled. "Squad Two Lieutenant, Hitomi Kitano... One has to wonder what such a delicate little flower is doing out here... Certainly, there can be better things you can do other than throw your life away trying to detain me... Now, I'm not entirely certain whether or not you received the order or not, but it's rather foolish to attempt a capture on your own... Surely they taught you that in the Academy? If not, times have surely changed since my childhood..." He gives a glance to the Hollow behind him and nods. "You can go on ahead or watch. Either is up to you, as I wont be needing assistance..."

Izumo stood in front of her, being forced to look down upon the small girl as he towered over her. He was within five feet of her, still tightly holding the weapon that was thrown at her. Slowly, he raised his hand, dripping in his own blood. However, instead of attacking, he merely laid his hand upon her shoulder, allowing him to leave a bloody handprint on her shoulder. "Although... One must wonder why you would chase a quarry that you know very little about... You weren't around back when I was actively part of the Seiretei, so you can't possibly know that much about me... Let's see, little flower... Did you study on your quarry? Because if not, you should take this as your first lesson..." He drew his pointer finger to her forehead, a small red needle forming at his fingertip. Of course, since he wasn't holding her tightly at all, and he would stop before he broke the skin, he was just doing this to scare her.

Hitomi was surprised to see her blade actually hit it's mark. She blinked a few times, not sure if she was really seeing the fresh blood and hear that groan of pain. Maybe this wasn't nearly as bad as she had though the situation was. She almost got a boost of confidence. Almost. Then that dark laugh replaced the groan the captain had let out before. She felt herself shiver, able to tell all the color was draining from her face as he ripped her weapon form its place embedded in his shoulder, watching the spray of his blood. Her brows knit together as he looked her way, blue eyes showing true fear. When he took a step forward she took one back, thoguh most unfortunately her stride didn't match his and he had reached her in no time.

The lieutenant looked up at him with wide eyes. He was so high above her, like a daunting monster. Her shoulders shook and her hands had since gone numb. A cold sweat was forming over skin, giving her a rather clammy look. Her heart was pounding in her ears. She wasn't hearing everything Izumo was saying but she did catch his words to the hollow. So he was planning to go along with the thing. "Wait. What? What's going on? Why are you...?" She eyed the still opened garganta before looking back up to Izumo who had drawn even closer. Her mouth opened and closed a few times like she was trying to speak but nothing was coming out. She couldn't seem to remember any of the wodds she had every learned.

Hitomi instantly stilled when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Blood soaked through the fabric of her clothes and her cold skin was met with the warm liquid. She felt herself gag, but through her will didn't double over and empty the likely still very alcoholic contents of her stomach. She eyed his hand, just waiting for it to do something even if it was just resting there lightly for now. She flinched when he began to speak again, frowning deeply. She had gotten herself into a mess. The hand raised up form her shoulder and she watched it carefully as it stopped at her forehead, a needle being formed from the blood. She couldn't stop staring, figuring out that she really was in trouble. There was blood...everywhere...

She was trembling again, looking like her mind was somewhere else completely. For a moment it was. "I don't want to die...' the words echoed in her head all over again. Moisture began to form in her eyes but no tears fell as of yet. 'I can't!] She mentally yelled at herself, regaining her focus. Her eyes were suddenly filled with a flash of life and in that same instant she through her arm up with a flick of her hand that held the other sicked blade of her weapon. following her movement the ice that had softly been falling from her blades and the chain that attached them suddenly made itself known. A large sheet of it with the top edge much like a blade came shooting up form the ground, right around the area of where Izumo's elbow was right about that time. Hitomi wasn't sure if it would do it's job in slicing up the limb quick enough or if giving the captain another cut was the best idea she had ever had. But she had to do something.

Izumo looked coldly to her as he inched closer... Ever so closer to impaling her forehead with his finger. He was so focused on it that he almost didn't notice the sheet of ice before it was too late... Almost. He moved back and out of the way of the attack, sighing softly. "Oh, my... Seems little Hitomi does not wish to learn her lessons..." He claps his hands together and nods, grinning darkly. "That's okay. If anything, I'm an agreeable man. You don't want to learn that lesson? We'll have you learn another... For instance..." He points to her shoulder and nods. "Since you know nothing of my abilities, let's start with this... Be sure to take mental notes, as I'm not going to be repeating myself. It's important for young ladies to learn as much as possible so they can make good wives, yes? I'm certain that there's a young man that would love to make you a blushing bride..."

Suddenly, Hitomi's shoulder would erupt into burning pain, like someone pushed her shoulder onto a lit oven burner. This was the effect of Izumo's blood boring into her pores and into her body, instinctively seeking out her bloodstream. Once this happened, Hitomi's life was completely Izumo's to snuff out or nurture at his will. While he could not subjugate her blood while she lived, his blood could still be manipulated within her, and he would make this know. Soon enough, however, the burning pain would cease, and the blood stain on her clothes would be gone. "Now... I have no doubt that you felt what just happened. Let's go ahead and explore the feelings of that for a bit. What do you think just happened? More to the point, where has the blood stain on your clothing gone?" He began walking back to her, smiling. "Where could it have gone? Surely, if you are a Lieutenant, then you know this much, or should be able to figure it out, at least."

A red mist came from his lips, malevolent in look and feel. It smelled of decayed flesh and death, and would be painful to breathe in. Izumo himself even made this known. "Since I don't want you to die, I'll give you a free answer... Do your best to breathe in as little of the mist as possible, because once it gets into your lungs, it makes breathing incredibly arduous... In fact, it's been known to completely remove your ability to breathe!" He laughs darkly as he looks to her, the red mist surrounding them. Of course, he would take it away from her before it got to a fatal level. No point in killing her quickly when she had so much to learn before that, after all!

The girl looked down to her shoulder when Izumo pointed her attention that way. Her jaw was stiff as she prepared herself from a stab of sorts, expecting it to take the needle like form she had seen before. However instead she was met with a sudden searing pain. A gasp escaped her lips before she clapped a hand over it, refusing to let out the screams that were muffled behind it. She could feel that blood sinking into her skin. Her trembling worsened due to the pain and her knees began to give way, buckling which caused her to slump forward. Finally the pain was one. Shakily Hitomi removed the hand from her mouth, moving it instead to her shoulder which still ached to the touch. The damp feeling of blood was no longer there and instantly she knew what had happened to it. Just to make sure though, she tore at her sleeve, pushing it down from her shoulder just slightly but enough to see the pure white skin below, no traces of blood anywhere.

"You..." She looked up to him with horror in her eyes. What was wrong with him. The man seemed to e truly enjoying this. It sounded like some kind of fun class to him. Finally the tears that had been forcibly held back released themselves from the corner of her eyes, leaking down softly in a thin trail down her cheeks.

"Your blood went...in-" Hitomi was going to answer, hoping that if she at least played along she'd have some chance of being freed at the end. She was cut off though when she snapped her mouth shut as some mist began to come out of Izumo's. She didn't know what it would do, but most of the time a mist was a bad sign. And she was right when Izumo warned her not to breathe to much, even explaining how far it could effect her. She closed her eyes tightly, focusing only on not breathing. For a while it seemed to be working. But she had her limits, and they were hindered by fear. After a minute or so she had to take in a large gasp of air, in that one breath feeling the mist begin to take its effects. Her lungs began to ache as did her throat. It wasn't but a few seconds later she had to gasp again. She thought she had taken in more air that time but hardly anything reached her screaming lungs. Another gasp with less air followed. Then another. And another.

Hitomi reached out with a trembling hand in the direction Izumo was. Her hand found cloth somewhere, which happened to be his sleeve, and she latched on with what strength her hand still had. Slowly she opened her eyes, looking up at him. They were half lidded and clearly foggy. She couldn't focus on the man just a few feet in front of her. Her chest was heaving with quick breaths that were in vain and she felt her legs ready to give out. "Please.." her eyes pleaded with him, the lifeless look they held while brimming with tears being among the most pathetic sites one might ever lays eyes on. She was desperate.