Love's Lies Cruel...[ Setoku~ Lyonin~ Stray ~ Roleplay ]

[straywolf174]

OOC: I figured this would be fun to do, despite Lyonin being innactive, the posts he will do in a few instances will be worth gathering the elders together for what we do best...besides dramatic entries and throwing emotional fits...and trolling...ugh, you know what?! Screw it. On with the RP!
Order of operations are in a post by post order. Meaning...
Straywolf174 ---> Setoku ----> Lyonin
No other members may participate as it is signified in the title by baracades as a "private" rp.

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The Menos forest was empty. A mere echo of what once was...memories etched in every particle of it's being.
Stray looked on in slight stupor, eyes glazing with both sadness and mental strain.

I don't know how much longer it will take for it to break through...

She was abscent mindedly aproaching a tree, pale skin submerged in the shadows around her, Toxin-bleached hair splattered with crimson droplets of many vessels, including her own...judging by a large sliver at her rib cage, clotted with dried blood and tangling flesh...bubbling...refusing to heal correctly.

...mere weeks...?

Her clawed hand raised, black talons tracing over permenant scarring in the hardened, crystalized trunk.

It still felt of her presence...long extinguished by her own and Setoku's.

"Youkai...what have you done to me, Mother...?"

Just you wait, bitch...you'll see soon enough, heh heh heh~

Her hand jerked from the echoed laughter, sheltered by the walls of her mind.
What!? She had never heard something such as that...or, at the very least, not of that calibur without entering her Segunda Etapa...something she no longer bore within.

She clutched her emptied stomach where her womb would have been, shaking with both rage and fear. Not so much for herself, but from being unable to know what exactly they did...she couldn't do much of anything anymore!
It was all taken...all of it...and Lyonin just...he just...left.

"What..." her voice shook with her form, claws digging deep tracks into her flesh as she growled, before the softened vibration became a thrilling howl that sent out tremendous shockwaves, bouncing off - and somewhat breaking, - every object around her, carrying the sound across the reaches of Hueco Mundo as her head was thrown back, eyes filled with a blood lust so thick she coudn't hear anything but her own thoughts...

It's Lyonin's fault...he left me! He let the child die...our child...he-...he...will be torn apart!!

Her foot, degraded the same way as her talons slammed into the earth as she propelled herself upward, the wound she bore festering with the bubbling, burning, acidic liquid preventing regeneration.

I'll kill him...and end this disgusting war myself!

A void ripped high above, gigantic compared to her form, fit for a menos grande rather than a humanoid arrancar...was she even an arrancar anymore...?

slipping through, she focussed on the many ties to soul society, before gripping her fist and slamming it through the darkness, breaking a sort of...barrier in her way.

She forgot about the rift, but chose to leave it open, welcoming the blood thirsty hollows that followed if they so chose.

The light blinded her, sunlight so much brighter than even the human world. Luckily, her bangs sheilded her as she crashed through, causing all of the district residents in the area to scream and run...or...almost all of them.

She glared ahead, whipping her hair to the side in arrogance as her eyes fell onto the Sqaud one members...Hadn't he become the head captain under these fools? Setoku was so much older looking than her now...not elderly...but not as young either. She supposed it could have happened.
The brown haired youngling stared at her in fear, and she growled...raising her clawed hand to feign a cero.
The boy ran, attempting to scream her name in order to either allow his partner a chance to summon captains...or look like a complete idiot.

"Str-Stray wol--!!"

Her hand shot out, gripping the sealed zanpakuto and sqeezing slightly as the shards burst forth from the now destroyed blade. His partner, blonde and heavy thudded to her, easily the height of a giant more than a human, swinging a mighty axe twoards her, the claw that was immediatley shoved through the first swung around in an arc of red and white, knocking the axe to the side with her heightened heirro. It spun out of his grip easily as he backed away in fear, crashing into a local building.

"Do you fear me...?"

her voice purred, left eye leaking the same bubbling mass as the now bony structure her side once carried...hardened and sharp. Painful...but not burning like an open flame at least. Her eye on the other hand...it was taking on a darker hue...disapearing and reapearing as if being driven away.

The giant only shook, puddles of tears at his eyes.
He was...he was gonna be killed!

"Please don't kill me, i didn't--!"

"Listen up, you peice of crap!!" Her form leapt up, landing atop his chest with a sonido empowered lunge, crushing the huge being in the cement as he blubbered and begged for mercy.

Her voice was a deathly calm...a promise she made for him.

"Your going back to the head captain...and telling him that The Stray Wolf of the Desert has come back for war...understand?!"

He nodded in between snotty sniffs, but when he wiped his eyes to look, Stray would be gone...running twoards sqaud two...shinigami easily feeling the immense, Godly spiritual energy flooding the entire Vicinity in a raging, predatory promise of inevitable death and pain.

Some tried to stop her from entering, emphasis on tried. She easily slaughtered them, blood and fleshy innards sprayed upon the stone walls like street grafiti as she made her way to the very depths of the barracks...the room she was held in...chains...blood...broken seals...it was all there...including the undeveloped fetus...unsavable...wrapped in a deadened womb no longer encased in her. Protected...loved...living...her throat constricted as she screamed loud enough to resemble the abandoned forest's reaction. A tortured animal. A monster...a broken mind.

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OOC: As you can see, my creative juices were flowing.

[Setoku]

"Such a stupid girl.... Half the time..."

Setoku muttered, one leg hanging from a broken quartz limb high above Stray - His own reiatsu suppressed, and his sword hanging haphazardly in his left hand. It was a ritual, practically. Everyday he'd follow her, and every day she did the same stupid thing. Hung out in this god awful portion of Hueco Mundo. How many years had it been since he left? And how many more until he left again? Hopefully tomorrow if it meant more of this. He curled his fingers toward his palm, and gave them a once over. Another few hours of this, and she should be heading back....

"What have you done to me, Mother?"

That was the jist of what he caught, his eyes went wide, and he finally turned his head in her direction below to pay attention. She usually never spoke! Just rubbed her stomach over that damn missing fetus. I mean... who cared? It was gone now, no longer a problem! Same with that irritating Shinigami. No harm done, no foul pulled! Why couldn't she just forget about it?!

"Who are you talking too, Stray...?"

He mumbled to himself, before feeling her presence wash over him. It was nothing like before - It was unrefined like before, sure, but lacking focus and anger. So it wasn't.... much. But enough to cause him to focus on the girl more. She was going to do something, clearly, but what? And the way her body moved, it was like.... she was talking to someone else he couldn't see.

"Let me guess, Mother woes, Stray?"

Setoku smiled, before a shadow shot past him. Setoku sighed, slowly rising to his feet, as Stray shot off. It was like this all the time, he supposed. She would always take off in a hurry, as if she could hide her goings on from Setoku - But a sound followed next, one that was vaguely familiar to him. He slowly craned his head up, watching as a black void of nothing appeared before Stray.

"Oh.... this might be bad."

Setoku coughed slightly, dusting his white hakama off. Of course he wasn't taking this too seriously, women always had their temperaments, and he doubted this was any different. In that moment of doubt though, he realized Stray was gone. Yet the hole in the sky remained.... Which could only mean....

"....You stupid girl! We aren't ready yet!!"

Setoku shot off, his own form flying at a speed with enough speed and force to cause the air around him to tremble, making most Menos quickly back away from the hole. But as Setoku passed through the barrier, he didn't even look behind his shoulders, allowing it to stay open. He could care less about Menos getting in, and was focusing more on getting Stray back here. They should of been dead, their existence wiped out. Seth killing Setoku, and Stray.... dying however she died. If word got out too soon they were both alive.... Well, more problems would no doubt arise.

"Vampiro.... Murcielago...."

A dark purple beam engulfed Setoku as he shot through into the blue sky beyond. He needed to make his entrance not only seen and heard, but felt by all in Soul Society... Namely, one Shinigami in particular. Stray was strong, true, but after everything that happened, she wasn't even near his level anymore. And who would the Shinigami seek first? A weak little Arrancar snooping around? No, most likely not. They'd be more concerned by.... His return.

"Here I come.... Lyonin. I hope you saved a dance for me."

Setoku's clawed feet impacted the ground where Stray had stood only moments before, coaxing the giant to cower as she "infiltrated" the enemy camp. Infact, even as Setoku walked forward, underneath the Giant, so distracted was he by her entrance, he didn't seem to notice Setoku walking directly under him.

"A gate guardian with such little foresight should be killed, don't you think?"

The giant looked down to the bat-thing that stood directly under him, waving slowly. It took a moment for the man to understand just who he was looking at. By the time the realization kicked in, Setoku was releasing the hilt of his sword, letting the glowing purple blade slip back into it's bone saya.

"Set--"

A massive explosion of blood followed mid-word, as the giant fell to each side. Left half to the left, right to the right. Setoku didn't bother with Mercy like Stray did, he just simply cleaved his entire body in two. As the gate begun to fall shut once more (Something Stray left out e.e) Setoku begun walking forward, allowing his Reiatsu to push down on every single being in Soul Society - Even people not in the Gotei. Dark Purple rain begun to fall on the ground around him, as he stopped after a few steps, and spoke softly. Knowing damn well every Shinigami would hear him..

"Shidaka Lyonin. Now."

(Here I come, to punch Lyonin in the face!!! But on a serious note - First off, can I not go one day.... or 4.... without going to work and coming back to find me pulled into an RP?! Like I like to write or something... I mean come on!!! Lol... >.> And Secondly, the name of this RP seems vaguely familiar to me... Like either Stray named it after one of my many chapters... (Most likely) Or she listens to the same music I do... (Least Likely considering her rough and "Tough" attitude.) So which could it be? And Lastly!!! I'm curious to see where this goes Stray, I really am xD)

[straywolf174]

OOC: Since lyo isnt going to reply for a couple days...ahem...*points to his signature* Stupid flea...

[Setoku]

(What about it? Setoku x Lyonin forever in war, and forever smexy. And poem to Lyo and some crazy chick. I don't see any connection >.> damn flea-bitten mongrel <.<)

Straywolf174 Edit: Calling the queen such a thing should be a penalty...instead i shall just answer the previous statement without taking up too many posts for Lyo's reply. This is going wherever you and Lyonin and myself decide to take it. Whether it have a part in the actual plot and storyline is entirely up to you. As you already know my plans for Stray, i have no problem with whatever you do, so long as you include the key points. Confusion about that should be discussed....or roleplayed in our case, in pm's.

Before you ask...i did want to just try out the edit option...its cool.

[lyonin]

The day seemed warm, the sun shining through a thin cover of clouds. It was average to be honest. Just... Another day. Lyonin had taken into hiding, studying the Soul Society from a distance. He had calculated their every movement. their reaction times, their patrol patterns, they were all predictable.

As he sat, drawing away in a little notebook, Lyonin caught a dust of dirt in his peripheral, something that was VERY out of place for the SS. Aside from the simple occurrence, he also felt something. A familiar presence, followed by.... Him....

In an instant, Lyonin dropped it all. His foot planted into the ground, sending him shooting off of the cliff he had been resting on. Setoku... If this IS you... Then... He landed in a sprint. It would take at least 6 minutes for the Captains to find the threat. That gave him enough time to get them away.

The scene was slightly gruesome, having more dead than Lyonin had hoped. Two figures caught his eye... He was right, it WAS Setoku. Blood boiled in his veins, forcing his heart to beat rapidly as he drew his sword, but halted at the other figure. It was...

"STRAY!" Lyonin called out, his entire being lifting for a moment before regaining its posture. Setoku was still there, and still someone to worry about. "Setoku! Both of you! Not here." This wasn't a suggestion, he wasn't asking. "We go to Hueco Mundo. We. Don't. Meet. Here."

[lyonin]

(OOC: Sorry my posts are so short... Haven't actually done this in a while, and don't have that long to make it great. </3

[straywolf174]

Stray had seen enough, clearly, moving swiftly to the outside and meeting up with Setoku's challenging state. What he was doing, she didn't truly care for, but wasted not the effort in saying so.
He developed a strange habbit of watching over her - some twisted gaurdian angel, probably worried over her deteriorating mental state.

She was well aware of how bad off she was, but not so aware of the extremity of the case itself, or of what exactly was done other than tortutrous expeirimentation and killing her unborn child...something that made her shake at just the thought.

Approaching setoku in order to apply some snarky, or angry comment, she froze at the mention of her name, whipping.her head to.the side in a nasty glare, only for her eyes to sharpen with an unfullfilled hatred and thirsting vengence....it was...the traitor.

"Lyonin..." Stray was barely able to pronounce his name without it becoming inaudible gurgling of a growl being drowned out, burning hot bile threatening to choke her. Her "talons" raised in a hostile, animalistic manner, face carving itself into a more wolven act of baring fangs as the bile was strewn outward from Bone-covered lips, slinking down her neck as one of two eyes began to form a black, inky coverage.

Feral.

Lethal.

Completely murderous.

Stray tried her best to control herself, and managed to for some small fraction of a moment as Lyonin - the damned worm, - continued to order her around, but then it seemed her body was more of a puppet on strings as her foot pressed onward, forming elongated Claws raised to rend, despite her mental protests!

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OOC: short i know, but i had to rush before my phone lost service.

[Setoku]

"It's been sometimes, Lyonin. Not here you say....? You speak as if I'm here to chat."

Setoku tilted his head to the side, and pulled up his arm. Two fingers pointing accusingly at Lyonin. He didn't care Stray was headed his way - What he cared about was her reaction to him, to which he, or his plans, had little time for.

"Sara... Calm Down."

Setoku's eyes slid to the side, to catch her just barely in his peripheral vision. That was the reaction he was expecting, sure, but it seemed more primal in nature. As if she was reverting to her old self - A thought that could bring a smile to his lips. But right now.... After he spoke, Stray would feel an incredible pressure upon her body, as if hundreds of pounds of water were forcing her down.

"We do not attack now. Do you understand, little Sister...?"

Again, the familial terms. And again, the pressure on her would increase. She was nowhere near his or Lyonin's level - Something she seemed to fail to comprehend. She needed to hold off... for now. As his Reiatsu continued to push against the girl, his eyes slid back to Lyonin, fully taking him in.

"You allowed my Sister to be defiled, Lyonin. I could of sworn when I lost contact with you.... my last words were along the lines of protect her, were they not? You fought so hard to stop my rise, then helped me in the fight with my own sensei.... I figured you of all people would be the one to do such a thing. Obviously..."

A black and purple ball suddenly begun to form on the extended fingers pointing toward Lyonin. Swelling larger as Setoku's own reishi begun to form rain-like droplets from the sky - Falling upon the three.

"You weren't capable. And not only that.... You destroyed my Zero. She is nothing more than a former shadow of her own self. Would I be wrong in assuming you allowed something to happen to my eternal bride as well? The next Zero?"

The ball swelled ever larger, as Setoku reached toward Stray, allowing his hand within biting distance. She would know what he was doing, hopefully - But would Lyonin?

"Well....? Answer... Lyonin Nee-chan"

[lyonin]

A red tint filled Lyonin's face. With every word he said, ever accusation Setoku made toward him, the grinding of Lyonin's teeth grew louder. Yea, he knew that he wasn't around like he should have been... That was something he had to live with, but for this, fiend... Unknowing of true love, to point it out.

Lyonin reacted quickly, grabbing hold of the rosary that swung from his neck. "Protect the innocent! Seijin no Kurosu!" A bright flash erupted, revealing a bright aura around Lyonin's being.

"It's sad that happened Setoku. It really is. What's worse...." A grin spread across Lyonin's face. "Even with her being a, how did you put it? 'Former Shadow'... She still trumps you in power." His body bent into a defensive nature. "A damn shame, I'd say, that you couldn't hone your strength, even with so much time at your fingertips!"

[straywolf174]

"Setoku--!!"

Almost instantly, as if summoned by the scream that echoed his name, her spirit snapped. Forced into a rapid, spiraling riptide of suffocating energy, pulled under violently, strong enough to have crushed her, causing her to cough from the sheer density, throwing up the ever flowing, acidic white burning that slithered along her body, practicly fully covering her into a sort of...hollow-bone armor. Black markings streaking this way and that as a tail began to form behind her, just at the end of her spinal cord.

"Crap...!"

Her vision was fading, and her throat was constricting, as if being choked by invisible talons. Stray wanted to scream, to say something was wrong, anything!
It wasn't normal. She had never gone through such change as this. Never began to lose complete awareness from the painful sensations scorching her physuiqe. Dragging along like fangs, shredding into her mind a deep chortle and rumbling growl.

Or was that her? Could it have been her own laugh, travelling to meet the two men before her, mere foot steps beyond her paralyzed  state? She asumed so.

Stray held up her hand slowly, blurry vision revealing the once humanoid talons to have grown into much more primal weapons as they spoke amongst themselves.

"What the hell...?!"

In fact, her entire form had changed; a beastial, demonic entity with...what appeared no spirit energy whatsoever.

It hurt to crane her neck, look up, and see the shinigami summon his own holy light...but...what was his name? Who were these people!?

Her eyes squinted in the light, glowing orbs hidden behind a mask of fang and bone.
As setoku held out his hand, she merely looked upon it in stupor, the choking pressure and mask allowing little words for the confusion the barely recognizable Arrancar.

"i-it...hur--tssss"

More like Stray herself...who had become too unknown at this point. To even herself more than them.

In fact, it was getting easier to not move at all. Not see. Not hear. Not feel...yes, it was SO much better to just sleep for awhile. Only a bit...she would wake up from this horrid nightmare. Escape the constant laughing in her mind.

Her form straightened then, a presence barely known to her as she slipped farther away. Talons raised, seeking a target. Any target, really, as a violent barrage of long stored spiritual energy burst forth with a deep snarl, seemingly locked away since her captive days for this moment, reaching to the past for power long thought lost...as her sonido launched her twoards Lyonin himself, her bone maw drooling bucket loads in hopes to taste the soul in front of her.

It smelled so great!!

The very sonic boom that exploded from her landing place richochetting outward, crushing all structures and demolishing them to rubble in her wake.

No one can say she hadn't tried to stop herself...but now, she wasn't even bothering to let herself wake up! The power, the speed, it felt miraculous to reclaim it...it was as if she was Queen again. A goddess...a beautiful, powerful, animalistic goddess.




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OOC: Sorry guys, i rushed again. Still, thinking about it, She probably wouldn't have been able to hold that crap in whether i rushed or not XD

[Setoku]

Setoku's eyes slid back again, taking Stray in. When his reiatsu enveloped her it indeed made her stumble, but that wasn't all. He looked back to Lyonin, and a smirk drew over his features as his once proud queen begun her transformation.

"All this time, Lyonin? That thing... Still trumps me? Curious."

Again, Setoku's eyes took in Stray, as she smacked his hand away in transformation. But something wasn't right.... She was not Human, nor hollow.... No, this transformation smelled of something else entirely.... Setoku continued to stand in place, as Stray shot forward, heading directly for her prey.... Lyonin. But a voice seem to echo as the beast shot forward, yet Setoku seemed to pay it no mind.

"I thought I told you, Sara.... Not yet."

Blood trickled from his fangs as he appeared between the two - Sara closing in on his right, Lyonin on his left. What was he doing...? And why the hell was there two of him...?

"Grimlas Sonido.... Not the only one who learned new tricks anymore, Sara."

His arms crossed over one another, his left arm at his chest, palm facing the closing beast - And blood trickling down the finger tips. Yet his eyes remained on the released Lyonin.

"As I said, Lyonin.... Former Shinigami, Former Brother... A former Shadow. Gran Ray..... Cero."

Underneath his left arm, his right finger tips, pointer and middle, again pointed at Lyonin.

"This.... Ends now..... Cero."

A bolt of red energy shot from under his left arm, as a ball of crackling purple energy begun to build up in his palm. A Gran Ray? Here? And not only that, a Cero in the same movement..?

[lyonin]

His muscles tensed as the one he feared, no, respected the most shot forward. Lyonin shifted, only to be surprised by the flash of his long time rival. The speed that Setoku displayed was more than the previous encounters... Much more.

Cero

Lyonin strafed right, dodging the actual attack. As it crashed into the ground behind him, debris struck his side, knocking him back and forcing him to slide across the ground.

Lyonin could feel the ground tearing at his skin for just a moment before planting his hand into the ground, springing him into the air. His left hand grabbed at the pendant hanging from his neck, his right readied his blade, preparing to take another hit.

"You may think that your speed is impressive..." Lyonin taunted Setoku, all the while the Rosary began radiating it's blue light. "Doesn't mean you won't tire out just as fast!"

A light struck the ground, just in front of the Shinigami, leaving behind a bright crucifix. Lyonin pushed his hand into the holy barrier that had formed, as he did, it latched itself to him, sinking into the flesh of his left arm.

Only seconds passed before Lyonin stared toward the two. His right hand, holding the hilt of a deceptively invisible, flaming blade. His left arm now bore a hefty shield, half his height, Black plate trimmed in midnight blue with the crucifix embedded in the center.

"You aren't the only one with new tricks....

[straywolf174]

The peircing light of the beam crashed into her skin with the force of- well, Stray wasn't really sure. All it truly did was cause a bunch of smoke and heated resistance, billowing about her defective state and causing the once charging animal she took form of to stop and merely stare, attentive...it appeared, to every surounding.

A warning growl shot out then, menacing and hoarse; akin to a dragon or some demonic dog if anything, though with the "watered-grave" echo to it, it really was it's own unuique threat.

As were the talons held up in defence.

"YoU DoN't...BeLoNg...HeRe,"
Her voice was becoming cut off, either in too much pain to speak or, too numb to remain speaking. Either way, so long as death would not touch her, she didn't care. She didn't remember how too anymore.

Watching as the Shinigami bore his tricks, she made a mental note to go after him later. If this other pale-haired man interrupted...it would be a never ending game of tag. So, that in mind, she immediatley acted upon the desire to kill her prey; Tail swinging from side to side in anticipation as her glowing eyes narrowed to slits in the darkness. As soon as she saw the Prey was distracted by the Shinigami's pretty little show, she lunged with tremendous speed and precision, apparently using a Grimlas Sonido as well, although even that looked distorted. The cracking of a bone could be heard ever dissapearence...but, she paid no mind.

The reflection of her past self opened it's maw slightly, unleashing an inky black cero. Thin and seemingly destructive, most likely a Cero Oscuras if anything - although a smaller version, - it was clearly made for precission as it fired with ferocity and very high density, heading straight for Lyonin himself.

The real beast, however, was by now already engaging with Setoku. If the attempt to kill him by impaling his stomach with her own tail had not worked, she would have easily dissapeared once more, anticipating a recount of blocking, dodging, or otherwise painfully enduring his spirit and physical attacks, bone armor doing a nice job of advancing her Heirro, at least. That...and the giant hole burning slowly into her stomach was making things increasingly difficult as well.

It was now, after such acts, that she would have lunged once more, roaring and extending a...cero-covered talon? Was she using herself as some sort of energy weapon? It would most certainly fair against a sword. Especially with her bladed tail swinging down twoards Setoku's head at the same instant.

She would kill them both if she had too...who cared anyway?
Thet were just Food.

"DiE..."

[Setoku]

"Vaizard..."

Setoku spoke slowly as he observed his surroundings. Would he need to use his second state here? No. A former Shinigami - A captain no less, and a Vaizard transformed former Espada - The Zero. They weren't enough. Even with his attention divided between the two of them, this would turn out to be a simple matter. Stray had become insanely aware, insanely stronger, and it was indeed frightening. But too bestial in nature to pose a true threat like her old ascendance. Lyonin on the other hand posed much more of a threat, one Setoku would actually break a sweat dealing with. Why couldn't times be like old...? It would of been so much easier. As he thought this, a black cero shot toward Lyonin, precise, and dense. Clearly..

"Cero Oscuras... from a Vaizard...? I'm sorry former-Zero Stray, I'm still not impressed... And you, Former Shinigami..."

He had had a point earlier. Setoku showed premature age, perhaps he would tire out just as quickly - If not quicker. But his hand suddenly shot up, fingers splayed open, and took the dense black cero in his hand, literally sparring Lyonin what little dignity he had from being destroyed. Or not, maybe he was just tired of Stray's games. Setoku jerked that same arm out, and redirected the beam into a random building, causing a massive explosion to light up the area.

".....What.... was that, Stray?"

Lyonin seemed completely forgotten, as debris from the building littered the area. Setoku's eyes were wide with shock or surprise - Half of the hand he had caught the cero with was literally burned away, to the elbow. Clearly, that wasn't an average cero - That was meant to kill Lyonin - Like actually.... destroy him. Setoku turned his head back, eyes wide, giving Lyonin a quick look. Would he comprehend what he just saw too? Such power... to actually take out his arm... He was suddenly yanked back into reality as a bladed tail headed for his stomach. A simple attack, one that Setoku easily smacked away with his other arm - And in the same moment he drew his energy sword. That same tail coiled back around, and now came down for his head. Not to mention the seemingly Cero-enhanced claw strike. Perhaps he was wrong... perhaps...

"Segunda.... Etapa."

As Setoku's sword came up to smash into the tail, his foot kicked up and into the side of the Cero-enhanced claw attack, redirecting it harmlessly away, causing the black socks on his feet to faded away, along with the white sandals - The pale skin beneath charring and blacking from the attack - And a cloud of Purple Reiatsu enveloped just the two of them, as Setoku's own transformation begun. Sure there was Lyonin, but Setoku would have to worry about that later.

[lyonin]

Debris dropped around behind Lyonin causing him to shift to the side of the two. Now was his chance, while the two were distracted by each other.

He dropped to a sitting position, placing his palms together and began inciting a prayer. As he did, the two would feel his spirit pressure increasing rapidly. A glow began to form around Lyonin, spreading out as he continued to speak his words.

"My Lord, shine your light on this battle. follow me through this encounter and protect my soul. Find me with no harm as the aftermath may come, but take care to spare my foe, for they know not what they do..."

As he progressed, the aura continued to spread, overlapping the two and continuing on.

"Keep us under your grace, but guide my feet, my mind, and my blade. I call upon thee, shroud us."

As the words escaped, the blue aura would fade from sight, unable to be detected by those effected.

"Preliminary Field!"

The two would feel a pressure for only a split second as Lyonin opened his eyes. a light circled the retina in both his eyes. Before the two could see, or anyone around for that matter, Lyonin was standing and, walking? He was at a slow but steady pace toward the two almost as if he did not care, or maybe he didn't understand what he was walking into.

[straywolf174]

Stray jumped back, Talons digging into the reiatsu so forcefully the air beneathe seemingly shattered with the effort. It was only three feet away, claws dragging across the cracking sky matter as Setoku transformed. He seemed to be taking the enemy seriously now, and that was good, though her true enemy was...praying?
Stray let the animalistic eyes glance in wonder, a low growl of anticipation building in her chest. She wasn't planning, oh no, she was waiting. Anxiety running through her very marrow as the bat like creature would soon emerge.

Two birds with one stone.

The beast had risen to her full stature as Lyonin himself changed. Her tail hung alert, swaying slowly with every step as her shoulder blades tightened. Her maw opened in warning, or perhaps in calling...she wasn't sure why, but, she wanted to kill this stranger far more than the batty hollow before her. With a sharp snarl, Stray challenged him to make his move, not so unintelligent as to ignore the secondary enemy; Though, not intelligent enough to keep her eyes on him.

"...I'll eat...you..."

(Sorry for the small reply boys, kinda busy at the moment,)

[Setoku]

"Do you know what it's like.... Too occupy the seat Aizen had wished for so bad.... Lyonin-kun...?"

The ball of energy faded, no fancy swirls, no collapsing onto his pointer - Clearly, something was... different about him - And Lyonin as well. All of Setoku's attention on her infact, was lost. In his left clawed hand he gripped the classic bone-hilted purple energy blade, and those dead orange eyes bored straight into Lyonin. Indeed, this was no longer a battle to keep Stray away... This had become something else.

"Your stance... your walk... Even your eyes... Much different than before. Your Reiatsu... almost beyond my own detection... What... are you, exactly..?"

Setoku stood to his full height, and slashed his purple reishi sword outward, causing a mass of concrete and rubble to rocket off the floor, making a half-moon crater next to where he stood. His bone wings fully spread out behind him, as his hair seem to whip around his head by an invisible wind. He didn't want this, nor did he need this. His body already pushing beyond it's limits. And in a flash, and silently, he was gone, before the tip of his sword was pointed directly at Stray's jaw, yet he did not face her. He was still keeping his eyes on Lyonin.

"If there is any shred of intelligence in that fractured Vaizard mind of yours.... I suggest you get as far away as you can. And then even farther after that."

After he spoke, and immense curtain of purple and black rain begun to fall from the sky, the pressure comparable to being miles under the ocean depths - Setoku knew Lyonin wouldn't be affected by this, but Lyonin wasn't the target with this simple push of reishi.

"Because I might just kill you to complete the circle... Isn't that right, Lyonin-kun?"

[lyonin]

The drops of reishi fell from above, pelting Lyonin as he walked. He did not mind that so much as the beast holding a blade to the one he loved.

"You shouldn't hold a hostage that can kill you so easily Setoku-kun." His words finished as another prayer began. "Banish my fear and shine your light." In an instant, the blade, once invisible, now blazed its bright flame.

A glimmer set around his body before he disappeared, showing himself next beside the two hollow, striking the blade away from Stray's neck and quickly maneuvering to parry her anticipated strike, as well as pushing the shield to deflect what he knew would come from Setoku.

(OOC: don't worry Stray. In a fight scene, the post don't NEED to be long, they just need to be progressive. )

[straywolf174]

Have you ever felt the agony of having your flesh ripped off? Stray did, right when that disgusting slop fell from the sky. It was as if the bone-matter that made her entire being was being ripped off at a slow agonizing pace, though she was certain it was but a mind game...or perhaps some other reaction. Something indistinct, but equally painful. This batty hollow...hadn't she killed him once before? With a cursed growl Stray held her ground, but soon thought better of it - bouncing back from her clawed heels in order to put some distance between herself and the fiend.
Her claws shook, and her eyes stung...it was as if the very fabric of space was closing in on her, and her lungs were about to collapse from the pressure. She so desperately wanted to stop standing up but she couldn't even have the luxury of falling. It was as if her body was obeying two commands at once, and all that ensued was pained shaking and more animistic taunts. A ploy to get attention on herself, most likely, and also to avoid moving as much as possible.

****

"Stupid, wretched girl!" The woman bellowed, clawing at the spiritual ribbons that bound her in the broken village. "Let me end them while they're distracted!!"

Stray stood in front of the woman, the original Stray, but she seemed...empty. Her icy blue eyes lacking any form of life and her black hair in her face, not even bothering to move it from her vision. The inner menace scoffed at the sight, spitting upon the girl's arrancar-sandal with disdain. "If you were half the woman you once were you'd at least revere me..."

A shadowed form loomed over the dark-haired Stray, putting a white talon at her side. It was far taller, and built akin to a warrior rather than a rogue. It spoke with malice, but also something far more protective. "She's not yours...anymore."


******

Yellow eyes blinked beneath their bone-masquerade, looking to the speaking men some ways away from herself, though hardly so far that she couldn't hear them. She decided...to wait until her limbs could move correctly, though it was more of a forced decision if anything.

[Setoku]

Setoku listened absentmindedly to Lyonin, not really caring what he had to say. As Stray backed off, he could taste it. It was her.... Youkai-sama. Yet instead of give chase at her sudden appearance within Stray, he was quickly reminded of Nikana Diri. Ten Vasto Lordes of the beginning... Did Lyonin, as a former Captain himself, known of them? That their presence could still be tasted even now? His orange eyes slid back to Lyonin, who had pushed his blade away, and was blocking with a shield. He was so considerate of Stray-hime's feelings, and so honor-bound to a woman who did not continue to love him. Thinking she had a chance of actually being able to kill Setoku as she was now... Insulting to most hollows, intriguing to him.

"Tell me Lyonin-niisan. Why do you fight...? Why do you protect her? She is not the woman you bore a child with... Nor the woman you fell in love with. She is something altogether... Different."

Setoku's clawed hand reached up, and gently he pressed it against Lyonin's shield, purple and black flames erupted against it, protecting Setoku from the unknown energies that Lyonin's own aura could inflict upon him.

"What is it you hope to gain from that... beast? She is the next Youkai thanks to your damage... so what compels you to try and take me on?"

Setoku's sword rose up, and he shoved it forward, shoving the tip of his purple sword directly for the center of the shield, removing his hand seconds before the shield and the sword met, giving Lyonin an easy parry and opening if he so chose it.

"What makes you think... you can stop that descent into madness YOU inflicted upon her?"

[lyonin]

The pressure from Setoku's blade only etched the shield as Lyonin twisted it away. He was right, something else was developing inside of her, but she wasn't in the middle of the danger any more. So Lyonin could focus on one person now.

As Seto's blade pinged past his shield, Lyonin dropped his own blade. He brought his fist from beneath his cover, landing a descent blow against Setoku's rock jaw. in a split second, the shield dissipated, freeing his other hand to continue with a barrage of strikes and weaves.

"How dare you insult me as though I never loved this woman!" As he spoke, Lyonin continued to advance the bare handed assault. "You couldn't understand even if you wanted to! Who's love have you fought for? How many times have you almost lost someone??"

Mid assault, Lyonin clapped his hands together to create a small whirlwind. Not to harm Setoku, but to push himself away and create distance.

Lyonin's eyes cut to his rival. His pupils inside of blue eyes that were slowly developing a crimson tent.
"And how much would I win, if I bet that you just let them leave?"

[straywolf174]

It was but an instant. It was forever ago...and yet the time it took for her beastly form to move, well, it was far too fast for her brain to keep up. Stray somehow managed to move, and fast, and yet...she didn't know where she'd gone. The place she had been standing left her vision, and was soon replaced with a void of some sort, though looking into the black mass, she could make out areas that would otherwise be incapable of travel. It was similar to looking inside a shadowed hour glass...seeing events and choosing which to step into. It was from here she watched the captain and bat bicker amongst themselves, though the Captain's insults of the Bat's loss made her suddenly furious for no apparent reason.

If she remembered, or of what she remembered...Setoku...He'd done much in his vision for his loves, in his mind. What right did this bratty boy have to talk down to Him? Granted, Stray spoke down to the Hollow constantly, but that was different...and she hardly gathered that strip of her identity. All she knew was what the Captain said made her angry enough to move, to step forth...appear, as it were, out of nothing. Her snarl of distaste wouldn't echo until after her tail seared down the captain's back, which would at such a defenseless range certainly leave a gracious wound - not a death...or, not yet. Stray would rectify that with a raised claw if He didn't counter her fast enough.

[Setoku]

The assualt on Setoku ran it's full course, and strangely, Lyonin me no resistence. No sound. Just the beating of Setoku would fill his ears. Blood splattering from his knuckles and Setoku's own face, before the assualt ended, and Lyonin propelled himself back. And standing stock still in the aftermath, head lowered, stood Setoku. He did not wobble, nor did he seem fazed. He was quite a moment, before his voice would finally end the silence...

"Almost.... lost? Surely, brother... you jest."

Setoku slowly rose his head, and turned it too the side, spitting out some blood and a couple of teeth. No matter, they would regenerate.

"I've never 'almost' lost anything. Love or otherwise. I lost.... Everything. Who's love who I fought for...? No ones. I sacrificed my very being for only one woman's love.... And...."

Setoku took a breath, and his eyes cut to Stray, and then back to Lyonin.

"She went with another man. I killed my dear flesh and blood to protect this girl, sacrificed what I thought was the ultimate evil for her, and gave my very life to her. And now look at her...."

And Setoku was gone, literally less then a split second later his voice came from behind Lyonin, it sounded pained, as Stray's tail had just ripped through his flesh instead. Had he known...?

"She forgot about me. Fell for a Shinigami... and is becoming the very evil I was misguided into thinking I ended... It's a shame... isn't it...?"

Setoku staggered to the side, as Stray spoke, and left Lyonin open to her, yet he didn't stop talking, even as he stumbled away from the two...

"No... Stray... not... yet..."

[lyonin]

The pressure that reigned as the beast moved was almost crippling, but was it his? Lyonin felt Setoku behind him just as he heard the ripping meat. He turned quickly, throwing his hands up in defense, just to be struck by the claw coming toward him.

Lyonin felt the ground skidding beneath him as he was thrown to the side. His arms maimed from the strike. He tumbled a bit before sliding to a halt. With trembling arms, he pressed himself up.

"If what you say is true Setoku-kun, then you know just what it is that I fight for." As the words escaped his lips, Lyonin cut his eyes toward the woman he held so dear in his heart. His shield began reforming on his arm. His blade, too far away to reach without leaving himself open.

'Stray, What is becoming of this? What has driving your hatred toward me?' Lyonin thought to himself, gritting his teeth as he thought back to the times he couldn't be there, answering his own question before he could speak the words.

"What has happened Stray... Why are you letting this be you, consume you?" Lyonin braced the shield, readying himself for what may come.

[straywolf174]

For whatever reason, the bat she so readily defended protected his offender, and the beast tilted her head only slightly as the churning growl seemed to never end. What was the purpose of this...?

********

"Now look what you've done!" the woman screeched, staring down the alleged deaf mute as if that alone could free her from the spiritual ties. "You've slain perfection you filthy abomination!"

The claw at Stray's side visibly tightened it's hold, causing her face to contort with a pained expression, though other than that - there was no outright response.

"That thing..." The inner being murmered, looking upon it with an unsatisfied gaze. Not angry...just...unpleased. As if she expected greater from the damaged girl in front of her.

"You were my priestess, my perfect little angel...you were supposed to protect this family and instead your folly lead to it's death!!"

The woman struggled, using her eyes to pointedly accuse instead of the dainty fingers trapped in silk. "I was a fool to think you were anything but a martyr."

Stray's eyes began to leak, but only because the talons dug into her side too forcefully. A small wound began to form under her shikakusho, but a voice stopped her from looking down to it. It froze her with it's might. "Set-o...-Ku...save...Set-"

A sandal flew, crashing straight into the tall beings face as the woman before the two bellowed out, "You're the one who hurt him mindless oaf!"

********

As Stray stood, seemingly dazed for a moment by the happenings of the battle, she slowly reached up to her face...the bone...it was beginning to crack in various places, and she grew curious of it's texture.

As Lyonin spoke his questions Stray ran her claw down the cracks, ignoring his meaningless words as easily as she had Setoku himself. Soon, though, her claw broke the soft spot and a great pain made her cry out in a sickening howl. Half of the mask fell off and shattered against the reiroyku they stood upon, leaving a bleeding wound above her blackened eye to rain down.

In this moment she began to see clearer, as if a film was ripped off of her vision. She felt better when the thing fell...there wasn't pain where it left...so with a sudden feral haste she began tearing violently at the other side of her face with her left hand, the right pointing towards Lyonin with a charging bala. Not nearly as dangerous as her cero, it was meant to get rid of distraction.

As the mask finally began to tear off her features she let the barrage of bala fly towards him, shouting out a warning that still sounded as if she was submerged in muddied waters. "LeAvE!!"

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