Fight Night Forever: Ad Es Caelum [Yuuto, Ulquiorra]

Complacence.
The confidence with which Yuuto operated was palpable, such a leisurely state in which the man need not exert himself in the slightest. She could only fathom what was going through his head. But that did not mean she would tolerate it.

Without even so much as the use of a Shunpo, the man charged in, attempting to circle around the Arrancar. With all the confidence of a man who was so fast that most would not even be able to react. But she did. As he surged forward, he would so very suddenly hear a loud dull rumble in his ear, any flicker of spiritual pressure entirely occluded by the saturation of energy in the air. The sound of blood circulating in his own ear Canal as her palm clamped over the side of his head, as if she had been there the entire time.

And with a sudden violent strength, the Arrancar swung her arm, jarring him from that intended trajectory, using that momentum of his to promptly launch him straight into the side of the arena, intent on plowing the man bodily into that powerful barrier set in place to contain the both of them.

"Whatever it is that you seem intent on comparing me to in your head." She raised her hand and pointed toward the man, whether he'd crashed into the barrier, or found some way to right himself. The air instantaniously roared with a sudden explosive burst of pure black Reiryoku. A Cero Oscuras blooming wide and loud, not even an inkling of charge time as the saturated energy in the air simply collapsed and fired, enveloping the stage in a sudden massive burst of explosive energy, one large enough that the dark roil of it's breadth filled the barrier, creating a smooth square black surface as the Cero perfectly filled one antire section of the arena to the brim.

An attack intended to stoke a reaction. She anticipated, given his nature, that he might escalate to the use of Shunpo and ocne again try to circle her. And if he did so, he would find her other finger pointed squarely at the center of his chest.
"I'm stronger." She'd finish her recitation of his own line, and fire a second Cero Oscuras with just as much obscene destructive potential as the last. Be that pointed at him as he readied his counter attack, or piling it on after he'd eaten or dodge the first attack. A sufficiently aggressive attack that would be lethal had she not witnessed his regenerative abilities. And were she not aware that he had more than enough energy to keep himself alive.

A score. She made note of the damage her Cero had inflicted upon the area, her pesquisa tracking the man as he shot around, those piercing green eyes leering forward as he unleashed a veil of smoke and she felt the lock her pesquisa had promptly dampen. Interesting. All the same, she promptly flared her wings, pumping herself up and shooting up higher into the air, out of reach of that smoke as her eyes locked onto the cloud itself.

Watching for an inevitable attack she was anticipating. Still, his speed suddenly was amplified and his attack, that explosive burst of lightning shone through that veil. Even with the kido in place, she noticed that sudden spike of reiryoku as electricity exploded upward toward her position. That blistering cascade of energy tearing through the smoke all at once, and then charging toward her position. It was a powerful attack for certain. And so her body blurred, slipping off to the side using Sonido as that burst of energy rocketed up towards the sky. Hm. It seemed that the barrier was taller than she thought. That made sense, he had used his energy to manipulate the weather. If the barrier were simply an enclosed box, he would not have been able to affect the clouds outside. Still. Interesting that he had done so. That attack had also been rather far away, surely he didn't expect it to hit her. Or perhaps he had thought she would block?

Even so. He had not released his bankai. Perhaps he needed a bit more incentive.

Flaring her wings, she gave a powerful pump as she launched herself even further up into the air, energy coursing along her frame as she did so, until she burst up into the clouds themselves, curling her wings around her as she finally reached a suitable altitude. High up enough that the crowd would not see what she was about to do.

She sank her fingers into her eye socket, and gently peeled the organ from her own head, her eyelid gently sinking down to cover the loss as she severed the optic nerve with her reiryoku, and then held the small sphere out before her. Before energy suddenly exploded along her frame. Black flames tearing around her as that eye promptly dissolved, reduced to fine particles which then erupted, igniting in a sudden twisting maelstrom of black energy around her body. The turbulence promptly shearing the dark clouds, so that up in the sky, that darkened canopy was pried open, allowing a single beam of sunlight to shine down as that spiraling energy gathered at her palm where the eye had once been.

It was not uncommon for the sacrifice of blood in order to empower a Cero. After all, sacrifice was necessary in the pursuit of power. Ulquiorra had never taken such an option. And there was a reason for that.

A reason such as this. Burning away her blood AND Flesh for the sake of an almighty attack.

"Ojo del Rey: Tormenta Lanza"

That twisting energy collapsed, and a shockwave bloomed, blowing away the clouds in a clear sphere as all of that twisting energy shrank down into a single writhing lance. She swing down and the air went quiet, the shockwave accompanying her attack was instantly deafening and that twisting spear shot down straight into the arena. She barely attempted to aim toward Yuuto. Once that spear slammed into the stage, it would explode in a sudden violent tornado of black cero energy, one that would completely fill the entirety of the stadium as that spinning column of explosive energy burst and transformed into a literal storm of energy.

A familiar sensation coursed through her frame.

One she ad anticipated. But not quite to the scale that she was feeling. And as she felt that sudden explosive release of energy down below, she quickly felt a crackle of thought spark in her mind.

I'm about to be Attacked.

Her pesquisa flared, and in that brief instant, Yuuto sped past her with such incredible speed and ferocity that cuts simply bloomed across her flame. Tearing through her hierro in bright sparking lashes across her body. Deep cuts blooming across her form, all but shredding her to pieces as he sot past her. And a singular thought coursed through er mind, as the blood glowed brilliantly. Of course he would wind up behind her. She had no chance of reacting. But she knew what was about to happen. No attempt was made to block or mitigate that stoem of slashes. No, she was already turning around. And as Yuuto spun to face her from behind. He'd see the Arrancar Half-turned. Chunks of flesh burning away after having been severed from her frame, and turning into green flames which blotted out the air between them as Yuuto charged a Cero of his own.

A sudden explosive wave of black and green energy lashed out, slicing into that charging Cero just before it went off. A slim blade of black energy cleaving into the incoming attack, fueled by her blood and flesh. But it was if nothing else, a defensive measure. The concentrated burst of energy was merely a buffer as that obliterating Cero swallowed up the sky over the Arena and detonated. An enormous explosion rocking the stands and even the Barrier itself as Yuuto's explosive spike in power tested the confines they'd been trapped in. And all the same, Ulquiorra's smoldering form slammed into the ground moments later.

Even sacrificing chunks of her frame for a countering Cero, that sudden burst of power and might had completely overpowered her, acting merely as a shield to mitigate the devastating damage from that attack. Glowing emebers clinging to her body, still burning as she lay on her back, eyes still staring straight ahead as she felt a wave of nostalgia hit her. Slowly peeling herself from the ground.

Her left arm was currently gone. Her left leg was not faring much better. That side of her body was not mortally wounded, but that was the side that she'd fire the cero from, and while it had proven an adequate shield, she still had suffered incredibly damage. Enough that her body wasn't even healing. No, she had to focus her regeneration. Mending and regrowing her bones, her missing eye, vital parts of herself over restoring more of her mass.

This was where she should have Conceded. And yet she couldn't help but cause her spiritual pressure to swell within her. This feeling. This shaking in her bones and ligaments. Every nerve and muscle fiber in her body was in piercing harmony in a single thought that thumped away in her chest.

Keep fighting.

A loud harsh crackle sounded as a bright veridian lance formed in her grasp, as she stared up at Yuuto. She didn't have much more energy.

"A shame. Had you executed such a move in Bankai. You may have stood a chance." The air burst with a loud, deafening crack as the Arrancar launched herself back up into the air at top speed. A sonido breaking the distance between them, as she aimed a vicious downward slash. Aiming to bat the Shinigami straight down and into the dirt. Specifically aiming to hit him through those rings of his. Intent on seeing if she could break them. To see just how much damage she could do with these last vestiges of energy she had left.

He was too fast. She had made note of this prior. While she had been able to keep track of him, it had only been barely. Her Release had somewhat softened the difference, but only barely. And as he suddenly opted to put more and more potency into his frame. She could see that she was rapidly losing the ground she needed to keep up with him. The Crackle of that energy was the only warning she got, her wings flaring, a Cero exploding into existence a half second after his own blast was unleashed. BArely able to form and fire, even as instantanious as the process was, she was just slower. And so that roiling burst of energy sent her flying, not as far as it would have otherwise, but it wasn't much of a reduction.

Faster.
Her heart pounded in her chest, the familiarity of the situation throttling her system with adrenaline. As she stared. She barely could keep up with him. But that didn't matter. She could, barely, focus on him. Putting all of her focus, but she wasn't able to move fast enough for it to matter. In almost an instant, that blade flashed and severed both ofher arms at the biceps, her eyes wide for just an instant, and before the limbs could even fall, his blade was pointed to her throat.

A kick of energy. And for just a split second, she almost considered converting her severed arms into a Gran Rey Cero. But that itch in the back of her mind suddenly kicked in. Reminding herself. This wasn't a battle to the death. She was panting slightly, her chest heaving a bit from the exertion, both from her energy as well as how far he had been pushing her, she fell silent in that moment, watching him closely.

As expected. She had no chance. For all of the bluster she had produced prior, she had been more than aware that Yuuto outclassed her from the very beginning. To taunt him into pushing himself. And for the crowd of course.

CRACK.

A wet splish noise sounded as fluid burst from her biceps and almost instantly reformed her arms, hands reforming around the blade that was pointed to her throat as she gently pushed to direct it away. But without the ferocity she had had moments before. All at once, she seemed suddenly tranquil, the only sign of her exertion being her heavy breathing.

"You destroyed my outfit, so I cannot seal my released form. But I will concede you have won this exchange.Even if you still have yet to put in your full effort. I apologize that I was not able to push you to your limits." She observed, slowly lowering her atms as the crowd promptly broke out into a roar as Ulquiorra voiced her concession. And as Yuuto was declared the victor, those wings of hers folded neatly about her shoulders, covering herself up as she turned her back to the man and began to walk back toward her corner of the arena. The barrier opening up so that she could go rest, be healed, and recover.

She paused.

She glanced over her shoulder toward Yuuto as he offered such words towards her. The adrenaline was slowly fading, she didn't know how to feel. That had been a sensation she rarely felt. Being utterly and completely overwhelmed. It was a sensation she had only once experienced before. To feel it a second time was strange. But more than that, the almost friendly response she had managed to garner something akin to friendliness from the man.

What a shame it was a shinigami, detached from the world she herself was tethered to.

"Perhaps. But your obligations to the soul society I imagine will make our meetings sparse." A simple and blunt response before she resumed her departure. She perhaps could have been more friendly, but she felt there was no reason. He would go back to the Soul Society and she likely would never see the man again. There was no point to utter a promise to someone who may as well be a ghost. To vanish into obscurity. The most likely place they would ever yet meet would be the battlefield.

A small part of her mourned that fact.