A Strange Meeting

Arata Genji

…Yes, that would be dark.

Arata laughed gently. "I see, well, I hope you will enjoy the place then." Arata began to turn around to walk forward again when he spoke again. Thinking he was talking to Arata himself, he raised his eyebrows and looked around. "Hmm?" He asked softly. Once he looked around better, however, he noticed a new figure, his eyes lit up slightly. He was surprised to see a new body on the terrain. "Well, hello Mayonaka. As he said, I am Arata, Arata Genji. Pleased to meet you." He said politely with a small bow of his head. Arata wondered what brought him here.

"Hello Arata Genji, I am Mayonaka, as Izueo had introduced." he said to Arata. "So what brings you to the forest Izueo?" he looked with curiousity to Izueo. A leaf fell from a tree, falling between Mayonaka and Izueo. "Such a beautiful place, don't you agree?" reaching out his palm, he caught the leaf, and after looking at it for a second, released it and let it flutter to the earth. He had completely ignored Izueo's comments about escaping Soul Society. He still had a slightly too friendly smile on his face.

Izueo grimaced, he hated his own kind. A bunch of pansies in his opinion. He wished for every one of their painful and violent deaths.

Izueo grinned, "I'm here because I felt I needed to be here. No other reson. I met a very interesting character.." Izueo cast a sideways glance at Arata, smirking playfully.

Izueo winced, "No, it's not. I despise the forest, and everything in it." Izueo scowled, glaring at the leaf that had fallen on the ground. Of course, no one here knew his intimate history with this god forsaken place, and he planned to keep it that way if at all possible.

Arata Genji.

…Yes, that would be dark.

He sensed tension between the two. Whatever happened between them must have been rather terrible, and made Izueo uncomfortable and agrivated. Arata was not sure what to do, but the corner of his mouth twitched into a near-smile as Mayonaka complimented the beauty of the forest. Izueo, however, disagreed, he must have some dark history in the forest. Why had he come if he hated it so much? "Yes, it is lovely." Arata chimed in, trying to ease some tension. He wondered what he could do or say. It was beginning to get a tad... awkward what with Mayonaka's more than friendly smile. What was he thinking? Sometimes Arata would love to be able to read minds, other times, he was thankful he couldn't.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Izueo. I'm glad Arata likes the forest as well though. It truly is a peaceful place, where not many troubles lie." Mayonaka said, looking up to the sky. A cloud floated peacefully by, as the wind gently ruffled the trees. Mayonaka wondered who Arata was. He could not see a cross anywhere on him, and he had no Zanpacto. There wasn't any visible hole signifying that he was any form of Hollow. He had spiritual energy though, as he was talking with the two Shinigami. Was he merely a human? Not Quincy, Shinigami, or Hollow... that left only very few possibilities. Arata looked pretty ordinary to Mayonaka, so he thought to assume he was human. An old wise saying came to mind: "Assume makes an ass out of u and me." He would need confirmation before thinking of Arata as human.

"So what are you two doing out here in the forest?" he asked, wondering why they had been here in the first place, and if they had any plans.

Izueo clenched his fists, visibly shaking with rage at this point. His eyes on the ground, "You... bastard. How dare... How.. How DARE you speak of this place as if it was peaceful... How dare you claim that there is no trouble in this place. This.. this was hell for me... for months... And you like it... You both... It's unforgiveable.." Izueo spits, venom in every word.

"Sorry... you don't know sorry. YOU CAN'T KNOW!" Izueo's anger explodes, his spiritual pressure visibly growing around him, his pink eyes narrowed in pure hate. "I felt like I needed to be here... that's the only reason I came to this GOD FORSAKEN PLACE!" Izueo yelled, glaring at Mayo, his teeth clenched, his gaze like ice. Izueo drew his zanpakuto, his spiritual pressure flowing around his entire body.

Suddenly, without warning, Izueo moves, not with shunpo, but sonido, directly behind Mayo, slicing down towards the vice captain's arm.

Arata Genji.

…Yes, that would be dark.

Arata smiled kindly at Mayonaka, he was pleased to hear someone else appreciated nature almost as much as he did. "Well, I am always in the forest. Or anywhere that nature is apparent. It has a certain beauty about it many just... don't understand." He said mysteriously and wisely. Just as he was about to walk forward and say something else to Mayonaka, Izueo began flipping out. Arata stepped back a moment to give him some space, when he withdrew a weapon, aiming it directly at Mayonaka. What had happened to make him loathe such a peaceful place so much?

"Izueo... Don't! Mayonaka, look out!" He shouted loudly, his voice achoing over the peaceful silence. His eye's widened as he watched the scene. Arata wanted to help Mayonaka, but did not fancy fighting a pissed off and powerful Shinigami. He just stood there, uselessly with his hands opened in front of him. He parted his legs ever so slightly, making himself ready to jump in at moments notice. Arata promised himself he would not let someone die in front of him again, what was better... these were not humans.

Sonido, a Hollow technique making a very distinctive noise. Upon hearing this noise, Mayonaka's first reaction was to use Shunpo to get away from wherever he was standing. Drawing his Zanpacto, the smile was gone from Mayonaka's face, replaced with a rather cold look. Standing some twenty feet away and ten feet in the air, Mayonaka looked at the extremely agitated Izueo. It would seem Izueo really was as unstable as he had heard. He looked the man in the eyes when he spoke.

"Would you really bear arms against me Izueo Yokin? In doing this, you become my enemy. I will not hold back." his Zanpacto at the ready in his right hand, Mayonaka was ready for a fight with the former Vice-Captain. He noticed that Izueo's Zanpacto was still sealed. Mayonaka himself would not use his shikai until the other used his, or used some other form of powerful technique. He had used Sonido, a Hollow technique. What else could he do?

"Are you sure you really want to do this Izueo? It would be a dire mistake for someone in your position to attack a seated officer of the Gotei 13, unless they are sure they can handle the consequences. I don't want to fight Izueo, but fight I will if you persist."

His Zanpacto pointed at the Fuku-Taicho, Mayonaka stood at the ready for anything he might try.

Izueo started chuckling madly, running his sword across his arm, drawing blood.

Izueo stared at the blood, almost entranced by it as it ran down his arm. He gathered the blood on his blade, and started walking towards the other vice captain's elevated position. His white reiatsu tinting with a dark purple, he grinned, an evil, sadistic grin from the gates of hell.

Izueo spoke, not in his normal voice, but in an ancient tone. A deep, throaty voice that seemed to be as old as time itself.

"I am prepared to face any and all consequences. No one... NO ONE talks about this forsaken place like it's friendly territory in front of me and keeps all their limbs." Izueo stated coldly. Every breath raising the evil chuckle in pitch.

"I am not your enemy. But you have done something unforgiveable. I can not allow you to progress until one of us is unable to fight any longer."

Izueo cracked his neck, pulling his dagger out of his other sheath, twirling both blades and sonidoing to the direct right of the fuku-taicho, faking a swing for his leg before using shunpo to move to the direct left of the fuku-taicho, actually swinging for the man's left arm.