Life or Death. The Trial Begins. [PVT/Trial]

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The calm sway of the trees and leaves in the wind… the occasional fluttering of wings, the chirping of birds, the skittering of smaller creatures among the brush and branches… the faint crackling of small streams of water running to the river further off… the entire scene came together as an almost unnaturally calming environment, which was unusual since there was no greater description for such a scene: ‘natural’. The onyx-haired Visored wondered how long it had been since he’d come out to a place like this. Years, at least, if not decades. But this environment wasn’t what had his attention; instead, it was the Shinigami sitting in the middle of a clearing, clearly meditating. He’d picked one hell of a spot to meditate.

Which was exactly why this was going to be so fun.

A katana black as midnight would suddenly fly through the air, with no sound to accompany it other than the brief whisper of the very air being parted by living steel; the blade would fly within inches of the Shinigami’s head and sink halfway into the ground in front of him. Only now would the Visored reveal his Reiatsu to the Shinigami, a black, creeping mist rolling into the clearing, but not overpowering, though that would’ve been an easy feat for the newcomer to accomplish. Until now he’d been hiding his Reiatsu perfectly; his control wasn’t that great, but with the vast difference in ability between the two, hiding his Reiatsu completely from this Shinigami was no accomplishment.

Should the Shinigami turn around to find where the blade had come from, he would see the Visored squatting on a high branch at the edge of the clearing, arms bare and resting on his knees, wearing his usual attire of a sleeveless top reminiscent of an old Chinese uniform with silver linings, with slim black pants, light grey socks and black sandals. All of his long black hair hung over his right shoulder, a mischievous grin spread across his face.

“A good attitude to have in the long run, that,” he said, heard the Shinigami’s words, no doubt meant only for the Hollow that Hidane could feel growing in him, a reminiscent feeling, “but unfortunately for you, your situation is a bit more complicated than you might think it is.”

Hidane watched the Shinigami carefully, and was honestly quite surprised when he didn’t so much as flinch when Kurosenkou nearly pierced his skull. Given his experience with the current generation of Shinigami, most would have likely as not nearly jumped out of their skins. But this one didn’t, but instead just turned his head back to look calmly at him with steeled eyes. A partial gas mask covered most of his face, a most intriguing feature but also one that masked most of the Shinigami’s facial expression. A playful grin came across the Visored’s own face, listening as the Shinigami struggled with the Hollow and tried to form coherent thoughts. He’d done better than others he’d come across. Maybe there was hope for this one.

“Gladly,” he responded to leaving his treetop perch and explaining to the Shinigami what was going on. Likely the Hollow had not given him much to go on. But first, Hidane strengthened his Reiatsu around the area; the black mist became thicker along the ground and rose softly into the air, and the strength would be enough to significantly limit movements the Shinigami made by choice, though not enough to crush him or cause any significant pain. He seemed like he was probably reaching his limits and was likely close to his first serious confrontation with the Hollow, if he had not already had one or two. After all, he did say it had already been unleashed once, right?

Hidane’s Sonido carried him in front of where the Shinigami had been meditating with a loud crack, faster than the Shinigami would likely be able to follow.

“I’ll put this simply:” he turned, removing Kurosenkou from the ground and gently resting the point of her blade in the middle of the Shinigami’s chest. “There is a Hollow growing inside of you, and pretty soon it will try to take over.” He lowered his blade and slid her back into her sheath at his side. He looked into the Shinigami’s eyes, the playful grin disappearing from his expression. “Make no mistake, that doesn’t mean that it will. It won’t be easy, but you will have a chance to fight it. You have to beat it. If you do, you will regain control. It would be a lie to say living in the state that will come after will be easy, and there could be… complications… later, but it’s a hell of a lot better than what you’re going through now, and the only alternative is a fate worse than death.”

He paused for a moment, tilting his head, the playful grin returning. “But, luckily for you, now you’ve got me here to shut things down if it comes to that. Any questions?”

As the Shinigami before him spoke, Hidane could feel the Hollow Reiatsu in him ebbing, eager to run free. It was close, and Hidane was only about to bring it closer; he would have to move fast once he was unconscious. It would be a close race, getting him back to the warehouse. He had little doubt that keeping the Hollow at bay would be an easy task, but he still preferred keeping environmental damage to a minimum, and they were pretty far out of town. But, the Shinigami had a good spirit about him, and the right attitude. For now.

“We can start right away,” Hidane said calmly and matter-of-factly. He’d been working on a technique that would make this part quick; certainly easier and more humane than the time he’d cut off the arm of a budding Visored in the hopes that pissing them off as much as possible would bring out the Hollow inside. He’d since learned that that wasn’t exactly how it worked. “If you have anything to say, any peace to make with the world, now is the time.” He held his hand out towards Viktor’s face, two fingers together pointed up, the rest curled into his palm, invisible Reiryoku slowly flowing from his hand. “The name’s Hidane, by the way. Hidane Asuka Koga.” The Shinigami would immediately begin to feel drowsy as he would feel his Reiatsu shrink down to nothing, and then the darkness would rise.

“I’ll catch yours if you survive.”

The Shinigami would fall unconscious, and Hidane would catch him before he hit the ground, immediately throwing him over his shoulder, a crack sounding as Sonido carried them to the top of the trees and back towards town. He had to make this quick.

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Such a calm, serene place this was. Soft grass swaying in a gentle breeze as far as the eye could see, with not a hill to disrupt the smooth surface from horizon to horizon. There was not a cloud in the blue sky above, the sun shining down endlessly. The kind of place one went to meditate, to reflect on more peaceful days and to relax. The type of place that has only ever seen the light, with not even the slightest tinge of darkness, of reality, to disrupt the flow of positivity. It was positively…

…disgusting.

The grass stopped moving, as if frozen in time, not a single blade swaying with the breeze that had stopped entirely. From the eastern horizon, the lush green tone of the green started to fade, turning from green to brown to grey, the change slowly flowing as a wave from horizon to horizon until the whole field was grey. At the same time, black clouds began to appear in the sky, first as specks on the horizon and quickly growing. Soon, they would cover the sky entirely and blot out the sun, leaving the field a dim, grey, hellish landscape. A single raindrop fell on cold, white skin as black eyes opened on the glorious scene.

“Come, Viktor,” the shrill, chilled voice spoke, a note of menace in his voice, “come watch as I take everything you have for my own.”

The boom of thunder sounded from the distant horizon and rolled across the plain as the rain grew heavier, though not nearly a downpour. Not yet, anyway. Let the corruption slowly sink in, slowly eat away at the Shinigami’s confidence as the battle goes on. It’s no fun if he’s broken right away, right? No fun in just killing him. It’s all a big game in the end, so why not have a blast! As Viktor asked question after question, a sick, crooked grin crossed the Hollow’s face, and soon he erupted into laughter, a hideous cackle that seemed to echo throughout the entire space.

“Who am I? I’m you, of course. I’m here because this place is mine, and I don’t need to take what’s already mine.” He paused for a moment, putting a finger to his lips, then biting the fingertip and licking the blood from it. “I should correct that… I’m a better you.”

He bowed, picking his head back up at the last moment.

“The name’s Rotkiv. Eddie Rotkiv.” He swept his right arm out and low, releasing a flurry of Bala towards the Shinigami’s feet, aiming to make him jump up into the air. Should he respond as intended, the Hollow would use stepping to intercept his path in the air, blade already drawn, and strike down towards Viktor’s shoulder, aiming to cut deep, though not lethally just yet.

“A pleasure meetin' ya!”

After Viktor defended against his attack and retreated a small distance, Eddie stood straight, letting the tip of his jet black katana rest on the ground, a sick grin crossing his face. Fleeing already; how pathetic. Was his fear truly that great? The Hollow looked the Shinigami in the eyes; while he would find fear mixed with a sense of strength and resolve in Viktor’s, Eddie’s black eyes with pink irises would return nothing but bloodlust and killing intent, the will to dominate Viktor and take over everything that was his. That was his purpose in life. That was his destiny, and that was what he could accomplish.

“Alone? How rude, I’m right here.” Viktor stepped forward, blade ready for an attack. Eddie quickly reacted, moving backwards and to the right, away from the blade, bringing his own up in a way that Viktor’s would graze along the edge and catch against the katana’s guard and stop its motion; before Viktor could follow up with the kick, Eddie would dig in with his feet and push forward, his left hand reaching out to grasp Viktor’s face, aiming to put his full weight into the motion and throw Viktor against the ground, his wicked smile ever widening, the edges of his lips seeming to begin to tear to make the smile wider.

“You think a simple trick like that is enough to do me in?” He cackled wildly, keeping pressure to hold Viktor down while not aiming to immediately kill him. In the end, it seemed it might be fun to drag this out and see just how much he could make the Shinigami suffer. “If so, do me a favor and just die for me.”

The Hollow felt the rush as tempers flew and the Shinigami moved his hand to cast a Kido; however, just as the Reiryoku would surge and the Kido form, the Hollow would move back. Not quite in time, however, as the lightning would leave a nice, large scar on his right shoulder; but it was merely a burn, nothing more. To a Hollow like him, it was nothing that would hinder him in the battle going forward. A wicked, unnaturally wide smile crossed his face, sharp teeth showing and glittering with a furious joy as the Shinigami showed some potential.

But that was it. Potential.

“Ah, so the kid has some bit to ‘im,” the Hollow jeered, “but you’re only hittin’ the tip of the iceberg. Until you know the joy of ripping your opponent to shreds, you’ll never have shit on me, kid!” The Hollow would rush forth, pivoting and dashing left and right in an attempt to throw Viktor off, and as he closed half the distance between them he would start gathering energy in his left hand, a small, jittering ball of red energy. As he would come to all but completely close the distance, he would throw his left hand forward, and the energy would fly out in a wide arc, the Cero aiming to completely consume the Shinigami and the terrain behind him.

“This world is mine now,” the Hollow would say in a cold-hearted tone, the rain around them beginning to build up to a downpour as thunder rumbled in the distance, “and soon everything beyond will be too.”