Only Other Thing We Need is a Wardrobe [Mizu, Amaranta]

Mizu's earlier suspicions were proven correct as the Arrancar swiftly broke out of her binds. Having remained on edge, not wanting to allow the woman to take her by surprise, the Shinigami was well-prepared for the sudden turn of events and had her weapon drawn and pointed at Amaranta by the time she finished her Sonido. "Not looking for trouble? You're an Arrancar. You are trouble." she said, venom in her voice, in response to the lioness's threat.

It was evident to Mizu this confrontation could end only one way. With her left hand held above her leg she created a Kidō barrier of translucent blue energy over it, forming protective armor for her limb. As she used her now-covered leg to guard the Arrancar's leg sweep, she simultaneously swung her Zanpakuto downward hoping to open a gash across her torso from shoulder to hip. Though certainly not a master of the sword or in close combat in general, Mizu was at least confident in her ability to use Kidō in any situation. Though, despite the burning determination in her golden orbs, she was worried about this woman's strength; even as she aggressively defended and attacked, Mizu considered the possibility of being severely outclassed. Whether this would prove true or not, all she could do was put her best foot forward and try to survive and win.

"Right, because every Arrancar that comes to earth is supposed to be a threat to humanity. I've seen my fair share of so-called balancers of the realm, but not nearly one of them come off as high and mighty as you do, you fuckin' racist," she humored, grinning from ear to ear. The leg sweep didn't connect as intended, but that suited the leonine woman just fine. For one, she wasn't aiming to debilitate this woman or even enact any real harm on her life. To risk the life she was trying to make here on earth outside of that sandy ass desert known was Hueco Mundo would be the act of a fool. She was no fool.


Hard-headed? Yes, without question. Outright stupid? No, she was going to play this however the woman wanted to play it. If this woman wanted to get off on her high horse and throw vitriol her way simply because she was an Arrancar? Then, fuck it. Why not have a little fun? Mizu's zanpakuto would strike true as it cut through the woman's midsection. Empowering her hierro, Amaranta ensured that any damage caused against her frame would be negligible. If anything, Mizu would feel as though the blade had struck against another blade as that steel skin pulsated with reiryoku.

Amaranted walked towards the woman, settling into a defensive stance as she continued to speak. Knowing this brat, she'd probably throw some more kido at her or some shit. That seemed to be her go to. What did Khaana call it in anime? Signature techniques? Yeah. Those.

"Now, riddle me this. You stalked me the entire time, and not one time did I feel the urge to go causing humans trouble. Now, I ain't no saint. That's true. But I'm not so dumb as to go starting enough shit to have pesky balancers with almighty complexes like you trying to pass judgment. I'm tryna' to make a living here in this realm. I'll be damned if I let you jeopardize that. If it's a fight you want, though, I'll humor ya. C'mon, throw some more of that shinigami magic out, kido wizard!"

Mizu remained unperturbed by the Arrancar's taunts and complaints. She was entirely uninterested in getting into a war of words with someone like her. Whether Hollows and Arrancar like it or not, a Shinigami's primary responsibility is to purify them and protect humans. If she did not want to be targeted by the Shinigami, Mizu figured she could just stay safely tucked away in Hueco Mundo. As is, with them face to face, she could not turn her back on her duty as an officer of the Gotei United.

As her blade collided with Amaranta's chest, Mizu felt a pang in her wrist from the woman's Steel Skin. I'm going to have a lot of trouble cutting her at my current level the blond Shinigami considered as she quickly took a couple steps away. Though she knew backpedaling in this situation could be dangerous, she also did not want to be disadvantaged by being stuck on the defensive either, which she assumed would happen in close quarters. Mizu had previously been fine with it given her ability to use Kidō, Amaranta's Hierro had changed her opinion on the matter.

As the Arrancar spoke Mizu became more and more irritated by the woman. How could she think she could just live peacefully as her kind slaughtered human and Shinigami alike every day across the globe? Was she entirely unaware of the million year history between their peoples? "By definition you're a corrupted soul! I won't, I can't, listen to you anymore!" With all the rage she'd felt on the day of her brother's death at the hands of a Hollow, Mizu lifted her left hand and yelled a spell's name as Amaranta had asked Hadō #63: Raikōhō! From her hand an orb of yellow energy formed, it's density and power being significantly greater than any of her previous spells, before discharging in the form of a fast and potent lightning bolt. The walls of empty buildings around them were torn apart by the spell as it burst forth.

"Sheesh, lady. What hollow did you run into that has you wanting to fuck up MY day?"

Goddamn. What crawled up this woman's ass and died? There really was no getting through to her at this point. Now, to be fair, Amaranta was wholly aware of her antagonistic disposition, but her explanation was still brought across in a way that would've made any reasonable Shinigami understand she wasn't trying to stir shit up. Apparently, none of that seemed to matter to the petite Shinigami lashing out at her. Huh... how was she going to deal with this she wondered? Well, there really wasn't any time to contemplate that question right now. The leonine woman would indeed receive her wish of further Kido wizardry as Mizu unleashed a pulsating orb of yellow energy. That brilliant lightning bolt raced towards her at a breakneck pace, loosed at such a velocity that the lioness couldn't evade it as easily as she did her other attacks, caught off guard by this woman's ferocity.

Shrouding her body in fire, she crossed her arms in an x-formation as she took the brunt of the attack, her tall frame being pushed several meters backward as the empty buildings around them tore apart. Tch! Damn, this woman really wasn't making things easy for her was she? At this point, Amaranta could run away and call it a day. No one would blame her for it, and maybe she'd never cross paths with this particular brat again. On the other hand, Amaranta her pride was far too massive to let some annoying little shit uproot her day! As the fire dissipated and she felt the shock of electricity around her frame, the leonine woman kicked off with her front foot, speeding towards Mizu like a bullet loosed from a gun. She was aiming to grab and subdue her, but even if she did, that wouldn't probably help anything.

And so, she leaped over the woman's head, hiding behind one of the crumbling buildings as she figured out a gameplan. Even so, that didn't mean she was going to annoy this woman further. That was simply who she was.

"Well, lady, I don't know what to tell you. This is the most I've ever tried being reasonable before. Yeah, I get it. We hollows are quite the pain in the ass, but you know, Arrancar actually have faculties about themselves. I like it here, and I sure as hell ain't going to repeat myself again."

Did she want to fight her? Hell yeah. This lady was unhinged, and Amaranta loved fire in anyone, even if it was the type that genuinely wanted to see her dead. Even so, how far could she actually fight her without it ending in a way that didn't jeopardize her way of life? If she went too far and beat her ass, she could report it to her division and then she'd have a group of these bastards. If she remained on the defensive, well, Mizu would look for her, ready to throw hands - or in her case... multiple energy blasts. Fucking hell... what a day this was turning out to be.

Amaranta being able to block the spell was unfortunate but not entirely surprising to Mizu. Evidently this Arrancar was quite strong, and if left unchecked could cause untold harm in the future regardless of what she said. By quickly ducking Mizu was able to prevent any funny business as the Arrancar passed over her harmlessly. After getting by her Amaranta was able to duck behind one of the surrounding buildings. From there she spoke again about how she didn't want to cause her trouble, while ending her statement with a thinly veiled threat should Mizu pursue her further.

The threat would be forced to come true as Mizu responded by lifting both her hands in the direction of Amaranta's voice and spoke an incantation "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hadō #31: Shakkahō!" With the incantation boosting it's power, this spell would create a Mizu-sized beam of energy that would rapidly surge in the direction she pointed at and burn a hole straight through the building's walls. She hoped even though she said the incantation out loud, her foe would still be caught off guard by the spell's effect and power. The pillar of energy would be volatile and dangerous enough in temperature and concussive impact to cause noticeable harm, though Mizu wasn't sure what Amaranta's Hierro could protect her from.

"Well, I guess I have no choice but to let loose then, huh?"

From the looks of it, there really was no negotiating with this shinigami. Amaranta's pequisa allowed her to discern - through sight and sound - Mizu's intentions behind the crumbling buildings. It was another chant uttered in preparation for another spell.

Amaranta's hierro was subpar by her own unreasonable standards. Her body's natural durability, trained to it's utmost peak through countless battles, amplified it beyond what it could feasibly achieve in it's current state.

As such, suffering direct contact from someone who specialized in kido could be troublesome. A roaring beam of crimson would burst through the shoddy walls of the faulty buildings, barreling towards her at high-speed. Through the high-speed movement of Sonido, Amaranta evaded that crimson orb of energy by a hair's breadth, watching as it caused the building to collapse entirely.

Amaranta reappeared a few meters away from Mizu as she assumed an offensive stance, charging towards her. There was no use in reasoning with her. The time for battle was near, and she was already prepared for the woman to call her bluff. Her fist shot forward towards Mizu, directly targeting the small woman's gut. She didn't really intend on killing her or even causing irreparable damage. If she wanted to get some frustration out? Fine by her. She'd just beat her up until she passed out.

Immediately Mizu knew her Shakkahō had failed to reach it's intended target, and so as Amaranta moved out the way she readied herself for her opponent to start fighting back in earnest. With her hands already up, Mizu quickly spoke another spell's name "Bakudō: Zuishinkabe!" In the space between them, as the Arrancar's cocked fist aimed at Mizu, a tan barrier the size of a large rug would appear. This barrier's rubbery surface would be better at absorbing impact than almost anything else she could conjure, and would hopefully serve it's apparent purpose of defending against Amaranta's punch.

What the Arrancar might not immediately be aware of is the presence of another Zuishinkabe barrier behind her as well. Having long since learned to simultaneously cast spells, Mizu didn't struggle to do so; the hard part would be what follows. With as much speed as she could muster the blond Shinigami attempted to sandwich and completely envelop Amaranta between and with the two rubbery walls and roll her up like a corpse in a rug. At the same time she cast another spell "Bakudō #9: Hōrin!" which caused an orange rope-like tendril twice as strong as the Hainawa Kidō rope she had used to bind Amaranta, to surge forward and wrap around the outside of the Zuishinkabe barriers hopefully still covering her.

Though she wanted to defeat this Arrancar woman, she was for some reason unsure about trying to kill her outright. If there was any truth whatsoever in her words, Mizu would feel regretful killing someone who maybe did just want to live untroubled. But on the other hand, she thought, every bit of information available about Arrancars said they represent the worst kinds of emotions and wickedness you could expect from a sentient being. Or, at least, the majority do. Could this woman be one of the few and far between exceptions...? Mizu didn't know, couldn't know. All she could do is incapacitate her for now. Try to, at least. Thus without any waiting she cast one final spell in this latest attempt to capture the woman "Hadō #11: Tsuzuri Raiden." which would cause another surge of electrical energy to travel from Mizu's hands, through the Hōrin tendril, and throughout Amaranta's body if successfully trapped by her barriers.

As expected, Mizu employed another spell to defend against her elementary punch. The rubbery surface diverted her fist off of it's natural course, and Amaranta attempted to sidestep to charge in and press the offensive. It was her intent, of course, but no battle ever goes as ideally as one might wish. That's what made it so entertaining. Another rubbery wall had been formed behind her in an attempt to sandwich the woman between two Zushinkabe.

Tch. Much as she hated to admit it, this little brat was pretty crafty. It was a well placed set up, and Amaranta was subsequently being squeezed between the rubbery walls. The Burning Lioness wasn't going to let her bind her without some measure of tenacity. Bearing her fangs, she placed her arms between the barriers to force them back through brute strength. Pushing them back with relative ease, the leonine woman nearly escapes as intended, though her ears catch wind of another goddamned spell.

And suddenly, those walls feel like they are closing in once more. To say she was incapacitated would've been an oversight, but Mizu was making some form of progress, forcing Amaranta to confirm that she had to come at her with more than just fists and direct drives. Electricity followed along that rope, applying shock damage against the tall woman's body. It did shock her something pretty fierce, but MIzu would soon learn, that much like their previous clash, Amaranta was not a lion so easily felled.

Amaranta forced her upper body through those walls while her legs remained entrapped, grabbing onto that rope like a ferocious beast. If she wanted to play this game, she'd drag her towards her and force her to let go. She couldn't manipulate this thing, but she could cover it in flame, and she did exactly that, shrouding the binding rope in hellfire as it raced along the chain towards her.

"Kh... Ha, wanna play a game of tug of war?!"

Though things were not going completely according to plan for Mizu, she could still claim her actions had been somewhat successful. The Arrancar had been mostly wrapped in the rubbery walls and her electrocution spell had at least managed to hit her in the cocoon. Still, Amaranta was fighting against her like a wild beast and she knew such ferocity made her a dangerous foe. It was at this point the woman managed to free her upper torso from her rubber coffin and lashed out by sending fire across the Hōrin chain Mizu had used to shock her. Even this was something she was prepared for, however.

Before the fire reached her, and with her left hand still grasping the Kidō chain's end, Mizu grasped her tucked away Zanpakuto and said yet another spell's name "Hadō #32: Ōkasen!" This caused an orb of yellow energy to transfer from her right hand gripping her weapon to the Zanpakuto itself, and with a flourish she withdrew the sword and slashed it through the air in front of her. From the weapon's blade an arc of yellow energy would rapidly expand and shoot toward Amaranta's location, enveloping the Kidō, fire, and her body as well if she was still held in place by all of Mizu's spells. By this point Mizu found herself beginning to pant a bit from using half a dozen spells in a short period of time. Through the light exhaustion golden fire blazed upon her eyes as she remained doggedly determined to defeat Amaranta.

Amaranta certainly respected Mizu's determination. She wasn't backing down without a fight, matching the leonine woman strike for strike. The fire she expected to race along the chain and burn the woman's hand was met with another counter in the form of another spell. By now, the leonine woman had pulled herself out of the rubbery cocoon, but that consequently left her open to the wide-ranging arc of yellow energy. Engulfed within the whirlwind of that energy wave, Amaranta growled loudly as her body was pushed several meters backward. The damage was piling up, and even she would be a fool to ignore it.

Her regenerative function was working as intended, but Mizu was testing it to a considerable extent. Lacerations could be seen on her arms, blood could be seen pouring from the side of her head, staining her jet black hair in a bright shade of crimson.

Spitting at the ground, Amaranta recognized that facing her with mere half-assed effort would only result in her loss, and she was losing. And, then she wondered. What would happen after that? Would she purify her? She was attacking her with such vigor and rage that this particular scenario seemed like a reasonable conclusion. It was a Shinigami's duty, after all. Well... it was her duty to maintain her way of life. At all costs. Pulling her zanpakuto from her hip, Amaranta lifted it towards the air and uttered a release phrase.

"Fan the Flames, Rebelión!"

The moment she uttered those four words, her body was swiftly enveloped in a radiant orb of reiryoku, a fierce heat wave spreading ten meters outward. Once that golden orb subsided, Amaranta stepped forward. Three notable alterations had rooted themselves in her appearance. Her hands were covered in fire, resembling the paws of a lion. Her jet black hair now resembled a lion's majestic mane, drowned in a sea of fire. Her fiery tuft of a tail flickered around as she licked at the blood pouring down on her face. What accompanied her overall change in appearance was a heat wave extending in a forty meter radius, depriving the area of it's moisture. There were no civilians in the immediate area. She had no intention of being defeated. To hell with that. She still wasn't going to leave this girl injured beyond repair, but she wasn't just some target practice for a bunch of spells! Swiping a claw in an upward arc, she unleashed a crescent of fire towards her as she charged towards the woman at breakneck speed.