Prime Target [Klein, Amaranta]

Amaranta's way of fighting was admittedly a little bit detrimental for Klein's own approach to combat, but he was still confident in himself. If he weren't, he wouldn't still be here, after all. Every injury he'd inflicted onto Amaranta, and every cero that she'd evaded, simply fed itself back into him, and into the red mist that made up his release. It was all too easy for him to maintain his evasion when she still couldn't tell where he was, and Klein flexed one hand briefly as blood-red arrows formed on each fingertip.

"Well good. I'm hoping ya come crawling right to me by the time I'm through. By the way, that was an adorable little noise ya made."

Even if she couldn't see him, the grin on his face was practically audible just from the tone of his voice. Klein loved toying with his prey, and her admission that she liked his boldness only further egged him on. For such a small Arrancar, it seemed his ego was sky-high. Pointing his hand toward Amaranta, he manifested no less than 8 more fake Kleins, each one the source of an impressive cero that was firing straight toward the beautiful lioness.

"I'm looking forward to hearing it a lot more in the future~"

As the cero fired off, each one an impressive spiritual signature in its own right, the five arrows Klein had formed on his hand shot toward his prey with significantly less fanfare. That was the whole point, of course. Those lacerating shots were the real centerpiece of his combat style, and landing even a single one would get him a whole lot more to work with.

"Oh? Is that so~? Careful now, little guy, this lion doesn't just go crawling on all fours for anyone. But hey, if you keep me entertained, sky's the limit~! "

It was a humorous retort in response to his pleasure in hearing that little noise he'd drawn out of her with that slap. It was a stark contrast to her impatient expression as her body continued to shift through the crimson haze, the leonine woman remaining in constant movement, attempting to follow that voice since he'd been a little bit more vocal than he did the first time. With him firing cero left and right, she had maintain focus here even if such a task was proving difficult. Her sword slash didn't seem to strike anything tangible, prompting her to keep moving forward. Eight Kleins accompanied eight cero as the impressive array of energy beams raced towards her amidst the haze.

She had developed a rhythm for this particular tactic so far that she swung her zanpakuto to create enough friction to form a momentary wall of fire, diverting four of those beams with relative ease. That left her open to suffering damage from the other four simply due to the multidirectional advantage. It was a fierce attack, a little more potent than the first to be exact, but her regeneration would mend her wounds in due time.

Turning toward the haze again, Amaranta saw five arrows less impressive than the cero, race toward her. They were so unimpressive that Amaranta in her own hubris, simply took them head on. They sting, sure, but she found them inconsequential compared to that salvo of cero moments ago. Tch. She wasn't getting anywhere with this approach right now. It was simply this game of cat and mouse. Unfortunately, the roles were reversed and although amused, her pride compelled her to at least try and make this challenging for him. It was time to match him form for form. Something felt off, though. Her small wounds didn't immediately regenerate. Had those arrows did more damage than she expected? Whatever. Not important. Lifting her zanpakuto toward the mist, she boldly spoke out to the dimunitive arrancar hidden within the crimson veil.

"I hope you don't mind if I turn up the heat, Klein. It's no fun if I don't make it difficult for ya! Fan the Flames, Rebelión!"

In that moment, her body was enveloped within a golden orb of reiryoku; a fierce heat wave expanded around her body as far as ten meters. Once the orb of energy had dissipated, Amaranta stepped forward, entering her own ressurecion to match him in battle, her appearance a far cry from before. A forty meter heat wave accompanied simple movements of her body, drying out any moisture that may have existed. Of course, it was Hueco Mundo - so, none at all, really. This was simply done to make that diminutive runt uncomfortable. It was also good for her next move. Punching two fists against the sands, she created small explosions that led to temporary shades of smoke forming through the midst - that was the intent at least. She was moving at a frantic pace now, aiming to find him and seize her victory. Still, she couldn't help but shake her mind off of those wounds caused by the arrow. She was bleeding still, but that wasn't important to her. If she could find him fast enough, it wouldn't matter. Surely, he'd come out now.

As all five of Klein's arrows sank directly into Amaranta, he couldn't stop himself from grinning confidently, a laugh escaping his lips as he spoke in a tone that was still profoundly jovial, if lacking in any of his innocent facade at this stage. He'd made his intentions and his desires abundantly clear at this point. Now it was just a matter of bringing the pretty lady to heel.

"Well I'm definitely not just anyone. And I'm plenty good at keeping a lovely lady like you entertained."

Of course, he knew not to say too much, especially now that she'd entered into her release. The sheet heat being thrown out was enough to give Klein some pause, but he thankfully had plenty of energy to continue eating up just from his own missed cero, and that was to say nothing of the five arrows he'd sunk right into Amaranta, giving him a steady flow of her own energy to feed off and defend himself. The heat was going to force him to keep his distance, and her speed was definitely enough that he couldn't just rely on what he'd been doing before. It was definitely a good thing he had more to work with now.

As he felt the heat scorch him, Klein began creating many more hierro clones, some standing still and others dashing about to make his own presence unclear. Typical tactics, if in larger numbers now because of the additional energy he was working with, but he wasn't that stupid. This time, he simply stopped right behind one of the false Kleins he'd already created, a cero forming in its hands like any other decoy. But from behind that decoy, Klein raised both hands, ten more of Lämmergeier's arrows forming on his hands before they fired at the same time as the countless cero he'd created. Honestly, if he hadn't landed those first few arrows, he probably would have just had to run away.

But he wanted Amaranta. Klein wasn't someone that let his desires ever get in the way of his survival instinct, but he knew he had a very good chance of winning this. And if he won...well, if he won, he wouldn't have to worry about convincing her again from then on.

"Hahaha... you think so, hm? Well, so far, I've been plenty entertained. Keep up the good work, Klein~"

Of course she was entertained, though that hardly lessened her ambitions of making his pursuit difficult to attain. A hard-earned reward was far more delightful than one easily surrendered, after all. If the roles were reversed and she was pursuing the diminutive arrancar, she would desire the same a similar adversity. Did she believe he'd share a similar viewpoint? Nah. It was simply fun to contemplate as she traversed the crimson haze blanketing the atmosphere. Excitement and agitation danced to equal measure in her soul, guiding her fierce stride, her beastly gaze sweeping through her surroundings. Oddly enough, or perhaps not entirely so from her perspective, this game of diversion and subterfuge was amusing to Amaranta.

He was aiming to earn her favor, while she desired to catch him amidst this veil. Thus, her statement about him proving entertaining was no lie. Even so, that didn't mean she wanted to go down without a fight. It simply meant he'd be someone she'd keep around for entertainment. The fact that the small wounds on her remained fresh did not go unnoticed, but that only seemed to excite her. What was the nature behind it, she wondered? She could worry about that later.

Once more, a collective series of false clones manifested before her eyes. Some mobile, some stationary. However, she was noticing a pattern now. Clones form, firing off a wave of blasts. The true Klein remains elusive. A commendable combination of diversion and attack. The only attack that stood out from the rest, albeit lacking in firepower, was those fire arrows that sunk into her flesh. Could the clones fire the arrows as well or did that ability lie solely with the architect of these illusory constructions? If she couldn't follow the source of his voice, then perhaps it wouldn't be so unwise to follow the trajectory of his attacks, to discern a telltale sign that could help draw her closer to her target.

The sweeping gaze of the leonine woman discerns another wave of attacks all being formed at once from the small army of Kleins. For a moment, she remains stationary, pinpointing each of them with a studied poise, like a predatory animal longing to find their prey. Surrounding her body in fire, she's rushing through and viciously batting away those beams of energy, and though it is highly difficult to tell for certain right now amidst this ceaseless fire of energy beams and the series of arrows, the burning lioness is confident in her approach.

Forming a wall of flame to shield herself from the rest of his assault, arrows included, Amaranta decides that the only other way to draw him out is to turn up the heat, transmuting the wall of fire into a burning tornado intended to sweep through each of those clones he was forming. Executing that act, she decides to play her own game of diversion by tapping into her sonido to such a degree that she's forming speed clones to act as her own afterimages as she bides her time, testing his patience in the process. Why pursue him when she's the prize in all this~?

"Catch me if you can, Klein~"

Oho, she was baiting him in now, was she? It seemed like she'd already started to learn how to handle him, but when fighting someone like Klein, you couldn't give him so much as a single inch, or he would start taking miles at a time. Within this red mist was where Klein thrived the most, and as he formed several external layers of hierro to shield against the searing flame, the small young man simply closed his eyes and focused.

There was only one thing to focus on here. That leaking spiritual energy from the arrows he'd thrown at Amaranta was the key here. It was feeding him, and more importantly, it was something he could trace. She'd clearly come to understand Klein's approach to these things, but all that meant was he needed to shake things up again.

Firing a Cero toward one of her speed clones, Klein once more began to move, leaving trails of hierro clones behind him and manifesting more of them to launch cero at Amaranta. But actually shooting her didn't matter now, and he knew his own barely-existent spiritual presence was going to be the best way to handle this. He'd been firing from range, keeping his distance.

So surely, the last thing she'd expect was for him to actually come in close, even if he was moving from behind. As one hierro clone formed above her, another moved in behind her, as if to fire a cero into the small of her back. And at that same time, the real Klein, still barely perceptible to spiritual senses, had stepped with sonido to Amaranta's side, his arrows forming on his fingertips yet again. Rather than firing them, however, he'd only made them moments before clawing at the woman, intent on causing more bleeding injuries for him to feed off of.

Amaranta maintained a seamless flow of movement, fiercely bolting in any direction she could to throw off her location. Since she was already playing mouse in this crimson haze, might as well move around enough until the feline comes racing in to catch it's prey, right? Well, she didn't quite fancy herself as prey. She was a natural born apex predator, after all. She was merely choosing an alternate method to throw his advantage off, if only slightly. Her speed clones are taking the damage, while she's pausing every now and then to pinpoint those arrows. It's truly a gamble to let herself remain stationary, but the ceros, while potent enough to at least grab her attention, don't nearly fascinate her as much as those arrows.

Her wounds hadn't closed up, after all. She's still bleeding. As such, there is only one thing she wants to test. A moment where she can follow the trajectory of those arrows and bolt right towards him. In an instant, there's one clone forming right above her and one aiming a cero at her back from behind. Two clones formed, one poised to attack.

Even so, part of her gamble was finding a moment where she might discover Klein for herself. If that meant taking another cero or two, or three, then so be it. She'd find him, and then... she'd tried to hold the diminutive arrancar in one place. She hadn't really won in the way she'd like, being forced to use her ressurecion. Simply put, she'd probably commend him for pushing her, but that could be put off for when she actually found the crafty little bastard---

"!?"

Of course, much like Klein expected, the leonine woman hadn't expected a direct attack at all. As he had only ever employed cloning and firing a ceaseless wave of cero, she didn't expect him to boldly soar in for a direct attack. Truth be told, it caused her excitement to rise. This type of bold action was precisely what the woman enjoyed, and rather than allow him to go rushing away, she pushes her side into his claws, aiming to get it as deeply accustomed with her body as possible. It's mildly similar to what she felt earlier, and Amaranta's hand bolts forward with as much speed as she had to offer in an attempt to secure her grip around his wrist.

If her hand earned purchase against his wrist, she wasn't intending to let him go. If not, well she'd just suffered more bleeding damage, which would only play into the hands of her diminutive foe. The idea, in theory, at least was to seize him and hold him in place. Obviously, she'd be burning him simply by merit of her body being covered in fire from head to toe, to say nothing of the constant heat wave dominating the atmosphere, but at least he'd hear acknowledgement and approval in her voice regardless of the result.

"Finally decided to come in and strike me yourself, huh? Bold. Very bold. I like it. Heh, I didn't expect much out of ya' when it began, but I'm growing quite smitten so far. Now, stop playing hard to get!"

This was fine. It wasn't ideal, but it was fine. He was burning up a whole lot from all this flame, and it was only his ability to constantly manifest hierro around himself, consuming all the wasted fire she was throwing into the aether alongside his own cero, that kept him alive. Even in spite of that, and his own impressive regenerative abilities, he still wasn't exactly coming out of this unscathed.

But hey, he never expected to do that. Grinning as he met Amaranta's gaze head on, he simply shot her a confident wink as he raised his free hand.

"Smitten, huh? Perfect! Then I know just the place to go when we're finished here!"

He had no chance of actually hurting her with his free hand, but he'd never even planned to. Instead, without any hesitation or even the slightest bit of fear, Klein manifested his arrows on his fingers yet again, and simply tore off his own arm, using sonido to dash away and leaving the limb in Amaranta's side. Blood shot everywhere, of course, but he didn't mind. That was hardly the first time he'd done something like that, and between his natural regenerative abilities and the energy pouring in from his resurreccion, it probably wouldn't take long for his arm to be right back to normal. The burns were honestly just as bad, but they'd pass too with just a little time.

If he had to flee, he would flee. But he was still confident that he could win this, and the prize was far too sweet for him to give up if he could help it.

"That so, huh? Countin' your victory already, loverboy? Hahaha...!"

Bold was indeed the apt term, so much so that he had willingly tore his own arm off to avoid remaining in her grasp. The sheer tenacity of the act had left the woman aching with excitement, shifting her opinion of the diminutive arrancar entirely. Klein proved to be the determined sort when there was a prize on the line, and the leonine woman was certainly excited to see how far those desires reached. Truth be told, she hadn't considered the little guy much of her type when this all began, but man... he was proving to be quite the source of entertainment.

There were a few more arrows in her flesh now, and while the flames around her body had burned the arm buried into her side to ashes, it hadn't prevented the wound she so ambitiously welcomed. Honestly, even if he wanted to flee, Amaranta would keep pursuing him, anyway. At the moment, she simply cut her losses, a fierce grin lining her lips as Klein dashed away, likely aiming to return to the safety of this haze, but the burning lioness wasn't prepared to part with him just yet. Whether being pursued or in pursuit, none of that really mattered at the moment. The Burning Lioness was euphoric right now, entertained beyond a degree she hadn't initially expected in the slightest.

She had no idea how fast he could regenerate, but given how boldly he tore his arm away, she would have to guess it was probably rather quick. In that case, it was best to pursue him before he started forming a series of the clones, to follow the spraying trail of blood and catch him for good if she could manage. And she would manage!

Determination burned in that herculean frame as she bolted forth, bringing forth the maximum extent of natural speed as it melded with her sonido, loudly booming forward, following any trail that could head her to her destination. The wounds, the illusions, the evasion - all of it, every single element had set her own ambitions into overdrive. Forget just being a tool to get her close to this Cero expert, he was a source of entertainment she wasn't going to let slip away without a fight.

"Hahaha... your such a tease, you know that, Klein!? Either way, I'm having one hell of a time right now! Come on! Keep entertaining me!"

Amaranta had been all too correct that Klein's ability to regenerate was remarkably impressive. Most Arrancar didn't even have the ability, but Klein had trained it well over the years. In this environment, with the red mist of his resurreccion consuming any reishi that sat idle for even a moment, his regeneration was radically sped up, and he could already feel the stump growing back into a new limb. It wouldn't be long before he could do that again, and he'd already ceased bleeding any further.

She was coming for him. Directly, with purpose. Klein liked that, and it meant he'd gotten what he wanted at least in part. She was interested, sure, but now he had to establish who was in charge. With a woman like this, that was kinda the hard part, but the wounds he'd left in her made it fairly easy to track her as she hunted him down. Pulling from the energy of all the wasted attacks, all the flames and cero, Klein had already begun preparing for what he hoped would be his final trick. After a bit more movement, he stopped, whipping around and all at once barrelling toward her with his full speed.

Of course, another hierro clone of his had already continued sprinting away, even firing a few red arrows from itself to really be convincing. He'd already tried this sort of gambit once before, but this time, it was so bold-faced that surely it couldn't be real. He'd never come straight for her so obviously, would he? Obviously he was just throwing a clone at her to bait her, right?

No, it was very much the real Klein. But he doubted she'd see that coming, and with such a pitiful spiritual presence, who could even tell the difference?

"Don't think of it as teasing, beautiful, think of it as foreplay!"

As Klein bolted directly back for Amaranta, he made certain not to manifest his arrows. He didn't think she knew he could even make them on his clones, and that worked out well for him. Instead, he began manifesting countless layers of Mercurio over his fist, and swung for Amaranta's gut with every bit of strength he had. This swing was unquestionably going to turn his arm into pulp no matter what it touched, but that was fine. His other arm would be back in action soon, and he had to imagine this would be over really soon either way.

Excitement continued to rumble within the woman's soul, continuing her fierce dash as she traversed the crimson haze blanketing the atmosphere. In terms of all the damage she had accumulated, it wasn't entirely all that bad in a vacuum. Of course, that vacuum didn't necessarily account for those arrows. Her wounds had not healed, her body was still bleeding, and yet none of that mattered to her in the slightest. The thrill of the battle was simply too intoxicating to care about her current condition.

It wasn't about a victory here, as by her standard, he had certainly surpassed all her expectations, but she wasn't pressed into a corner just yet. She could still reach him. He's a deceptive sort, and she's already contemplating her next move, as well as the action Klein might take next. Would he go in for a direct strike once again? Or did he favor returning to the strategy that had arguably reaped him the most benefit so far? From a strategical standpoint, she leaned on the scale of saying he'd return to what worked best - subterfuge and misdirection. That's what got him this far. The betting man would probably go with it, too.

Then again, he seemed determined to have his prize, and ambition was one hell of a motivator. It truly was a tossup, and that only made his next move all the more exciting to predict. In the distance, she could see a series of arrows being fired as what her perquisa perceived to be the true Klein had remained elusive, bolting away in the distance. So, that's his strategy, huh? Play the long game until his body regenerates? She evades the arrows with relative ease during her pursuit, which meant that the Klein that came racing back toward her was indeed a baiting mechanism to throw her off of her game. She'd simply power through this false image and go straight ahead to the real Klein---

Except that prediction proved to be an misstep on her end, for his intent was anything but what she predicted. What drew immense contact with her gut was a fist layered in an impact fierce enough that actually it tore through her weakened hierro, and by extension, it created a visible wound in her abdomen. Heh... he certainly pulled the wool over her eyes, and she simply couldn't hold back her blood-colored joy at his determination. That was no clone racing towards her it was... truly him.

Sheer force of will kept her upright as she gazed down at the arm that had effectively been rendered into a pulp. He would probably be able to regenerate one of his arms soon, no doubt. Even so, what a hell of a blow that was, to say nothing of how bold it was to repeat the same move, with the sole exception that this one came with far more vigor at the momentary cost of his arm. Extending her hand forward, she had, if he remained where he stood, placed her hand against his head running her fingers through his hair. This diminutive arrancar truly was amusing.

"...Heh, foreplay, huh? Well then, I wonder what you'd call this. Haha... I gotta admit, I didn't expect much out of you at all, but you've definitely brought me a fine level of satisfaction today. Even so..."

It was indeed true that this battle was reaching it's conclusion. Several wounds were piling up on her body, and none of them had recovered in due part to those arrows. Her side had a deep cut, and there was a tear in her gut. Her regeneration had ceased being an effective tool here somewhere along the battle, and by her own account of the battle, she hadn't won on all fronts.

Be that as it may, she couldn't resist the urge to offer one more form of resistance, shooting her arm forward in a direct line, a fiery hit, a last bid to land one good shot in before she declared him the victor. It didn't matter where it landed, it was simply and truly a matter of displaying what he was signing himself up for. A defiant woman till' the very end...

"It's no fun for me if I can't go out with a bang, either!"