Vacations Bite! [Hidane]

Hidane suddenly stopped his movement forward as the Quincy suddenly stopped moving. His eyes had been so fully set on the Quincy that, luckily, he had avoided looking at Cae as well; for it seemed whatever Cae had done, it had stopped the Quincy in his tracks. The onyx-haired Visored took a step back and looked past the Quincy at his fellow half-Shinigami. Caesar seemed pleased with the result of whatever technique he’d used, but… there was something off about him. Something about that look, the way the features of his face curved. It was like he was looking at…

… a Hollow?

He’d almost forgotten that Caesar was in the same situation that he was. But to be able to pull off a technique like that… some kind of illusion, surely? When had he become so fearsome? It seemed like this entire battle he had been pulling off attacks so much more effectively than he had been himself. Maybe your friend has simply embraced what he is more than you have. Perhaps. But, thinking back, he’d never fought him before, or fought alongside him, really. Perhaps he had always been this powerful. But it was more about his own inability to keep up. Had he really grown so little? Or perhaps he was far more out of practice than he thought he was?

Suddenly the Quincy jumped into the air; the illusion had worn off, or was about to. Hidane watched his movements closely, watching as the bow formed; but when the other formed on the ground not too far from them, Hidane jumped into action. He refused to keep being useless; when the arrow flew from the ballista of a crossbow, Hidane’s Sonido carried him between the huge bolt and his fellow Visored, left arm outstretched, Reiryoku leaking out to use a technique he’d started to develop during the time leading up to this trip…

…and the bolt ripped right through it, as his arm seemed to explode in a cloud of red. The mask subdued any pain, but the particles of his arm simply seeming to disintegrate as the giant arrow tore through the length of it was more than vivid enough. It skewed off to the side just before taking off his shoulder with the arm, and flew out to the left of Cae, disappearing into the sands. Hidane clutched where his left arm had been, glaring up at the Quincy.

He’s going to get away.

He couldn’t let that happen. But what was he going to do with one arm?

I can fix that, if you’ll let me.

But how do I know you won’t just take over?

Do you have any other choice? You don’t have any healing techniques, and who knows if your friend does. If you don’t use my power, then you’ll be down an arm for the rest of your life, and the Quincy will get away.

Hidane closed his eyes, clenching his teeth tight. She was right. Fine, then.

“Raffreddare le Ossa.”

Suddenly pain rushed through his body; that was wrong. His knees buckled and he fell to them, facing the sands he felt movement in his left arm; the arm that hadn’t existed a moment ago. He breathed heavily as the pain passed just as quickly as it had come. He looked at his left arm; skin black as midnight, his fingers were longer and pointed into sharp tips, his elbow and joints sharper. He looked to his right arm, and it was… normal. He wasn’t in that form he’d been in when he’d come out of their training.

HAH! Did you really think I was gonna let you use all of my power after pulling an idiotic stunt like that?

“Damn you…” The onyx-haired Visored looked up, but the Quincy was already gone. He looked back to his arm again, breathing slowly. It seemed… stiffer, now. But at the same time it almost felt… natural. More natural than the arm that had been there before. How was that even possible? He looked to his fellow Visored, clenching his… claw… into a fist.

“Well… that certainly wasn’t what we were expecting to find here.”