Hollow Heat [Rita/Amaranta]

"Aye. Life is tiresome and challenging, but you have to fight that bitch and claim the glory for yourself if you want it. Shit gets hard, but you have to keep going. So you get it as well."

After speaking those words, the sensation of tiredness eased into the body of Rita. Her vision blurred intermittently, and it felt like she could close her eyes, nap, and rest away. Yet, it kept nagging at her like an annoying mosquito pecking at your flesh. Yet, she knew nothing would be gained from this encounter if she gave in here. And it's at these moments of extreme exhaustion you push through, if only for the mental development of becoming a stronger-minded spirit.

So, with that sentiment in mind, the woman decided to suck her teeth, grit it and have a slight grin come across her face as she saw the hollow coming straight for her. Refocusing her energy on her left arm, Rita let out a small exhale of breath before deciding to meet that punch with a resounding explosion. Forcing herself to move and act, the collision of each woman's fist would ignite another round of explosions for multiple city blocks around them as Rita roared and gave it everything she got.

It didn't matter what happened at this point; all that mattered was seeing it through. She was going to be injured, maybe unable to stand after this, but she had to keep going. Her mind, no, her will, demanded it. The body wanted to give out, but the spirit of growth blossomed within her heart, and she wanted to see the seeds of fiery progression surge in her.

Hence, with one final yell, she roared:

"LET'S FUCKING GO!!!!!"

"That's right. Life's a bitch. It's not going to give you anything you want, so you might as well fucking rob her blind until you fucking break that bitch!"

A roar of laughter followed as Amaranta grinned from ear to ear. That was always her strategy. Was it always the most conducive one? Of course not. Did she care? No. It was one thing to proclaim you were hot shit, but she held a great deal of respect for those who knew their shortcomings, knew their inabilities, and yet in spite of it all, they still yearned to go beyond their limits. She would never feel weak again. Held not a single desire to go back to that life of a mere bottom feeder.

On the path she wished to travel, there would be losses before there were ever victories. She was no fool. She was well aware of her limits, and yet... precisely because of her awareness, she wished to go beyond it all. The pain, the blood, the wounds, everything that assaulted her body----it was all secondary, inconsequential, a minor inconvenience. She didn't expect the woman to share a similar lot in life in terms of their respective origins. She was a hollow. Rita was a human.

And yet, in this woman, she felt something of a kindred spirit, felt as if she truly understood what she desired out of this existence. Something so benign. Something so simplistic. It required no forethought. No grand-standing plan. Strength. History would always favor the victors, after all. A torrent of flame flashed around her single limb.

Crimson and Aqua clashed, dancing together to form a tumult of energy that blossomed across the battlefield. No matter how much that arm threatened to tear, Amaranta fortified her hierro to ensure she would not falter in the midst of battle. Adding every ounce of energy necessary, Amaranta let out a war cry in response to the woman's challenge to give it everything she's got.

"LET'S GO OUT WITH A BANG, SHALL WE!?"

Defeat, victory; none of it really mattered. All Rita sought from this was the strengthening of her soul against someone that could push her to that level. So regardless of who was left standing in the remains of this explosion of crimson and aqua, the woman believed the two of them would receive what they needed.

Hence, the rain seemed unable to fall where the two women had clashed as their colliding energies made it a rather rough ordeal to withstand. Still, when all was left said and done, Rita was left standing after coming out of a pile of rocks and smoke; but her eyes seemed to be closed, and there was a mass amount of blood spewing forth from her body as she panted and felt everything last bone in her body screaming out in pain.

Really, there wasn't much left to scrape out in her as she seemed to let steam out of her mouth. The woman's eyes opened and would give one final snarl before punching the air and letting loose a final torrent of kinetic energy out toward wherever Amaranta would be standing. It would take the form of an aqua-hued torrent; akin to a mini twister. And sure, this attack wasn't gonna do much damage, but she gave one final hurrah and was promptly sent back down on her backside as she felt her body cramping out, and she coughed up more blood from the strain.

"I'd rather go out standing out then on my ass, eh?"

And with that, Rita coiled over in pain as she was done and felt her body shredded to shit.

The two clashed and found themselves sent back by their colliding fists as another blossoming tumult of energy whirled around them. Even until the very end, beyond her regeneration being tested, the thrill of battle had never wavered, had never flickered out. The embers of flame burned wildly, her soul satisfied with a battle well fought. Rita had defied her expectations well beyond what she imagined, and for that, Amaranta held nothing but genuine respect.

Their bodies were sent flying backwards, but much like Rita rose back up, the leonine woman rose from the ground, bloodied and bruised, her regeneration tested to its absolute limit. Her ressurecion was faltering now, but that no longer mattered; her mind was lost to adrenaline, relentlessly addicted to the moment at hand. A ceaseless appetite that was all her own, difficult to be measured by anyone, and certainly something that would never be satisfied.

With the remnants of fire surrounding her body transferred to her remaining arm, Amaranta rushed forward as she punched the air, sending her a torrent of burning flame forward to collide with that twister of energy, recklessly barreling through the torrential flow of energy to appear before her, a wide grin curved across her lips. Her body was going through its own motions, to be sure, but a hollow's regeneration did wonders. Most of her wounds, albeit slowly, would correct themselves in due time. For now, as she watched Rita stumbled and fall onto the ground, coiling back in pain, she simply sighed in contentment as she fell beside the woman, playfully nudging her in the face with a fist.

"That was one hell of a time you gave me, Rita. What a fucking blast."

Ah. To be an Arrancar must be amusing.

....

Actually, it's probably not. It's filled with a lot of hell, death, torment, and all the other angsty human bullshit that comes with becoming a monster like that. Still, it must be hella convenient to regenerate like that. If nothing else, Rita was considering perhaps learning if there was a way for her body to regenerate like that. It certainly makes bouncing back from injuries a lot easier.

Regardless, Rita snorted when Amaranta nudged her face, and she did the same in return since she still had some consciousness and movement left in her.

"Aye, aye kitty kitty. I'd say the same for you. You are honestly making me think having regeneration powers are the move as my body feels like it got hit with a mack truck."

Now with her team arriving on cue, a group of medics would come around the two women and start to jump into the hole. With her teal eyes locked, she coughed up a bit of blood and looked back over at Amaranta.

"Gave me one hell of a time, but if it's alright by you, my good people are gonna make us like new unless you were planning to heal and recover yourself, eh?"