Wrong Place, Wrong Time (Kalama, Open to 1)

There was definitely something going on with the smoke from Kurai’s flames and the more that the assassin became affected by them, the more she struggled to focus. The green haired woman couldn’t quite fathom what was going on but as she continued to lash out at the poor fools who came towards her, she was starting to find that some of her attacks were simply not landing. What was going on with her senses? She could see the target and yet find herself striking nothing. It was as if her mind was becoming confuddled, a sensation that Kalama didn’t like. In a way though, it was making her stronger, more unpredictable and only caused her rage to grow.

As she made her own way through the mansion, slicing and lashing out at those she came across, a tall blonde male would come into view. He was dressed differently from the others, wearing an expensive suit. The look on his face was one of fear though, an expression that the assassin loved to see. He looked like his father and rather than just kill him, the Shinigami decided to stretch it out rather more, uttering the most basic Kido spell in order to paralyse him. He fell to the floor like a bag of potatoes and Kalama was on him in a moment.

All he could do was look up at her, feebly struggling against her spell, petrified as Kalama drew her zakpakuto, releasing it so that it took on its dagger form, crackles of lightning coming from it. The look in her eyes was devious and as she began to run the blade across his face and body, he would start to spasm and twitch as the charge of her blade travelled through him, causing every nerve in his body to feel like it was on fire. His cries echoed throughout the building but more importantly than that, every second would be recorded by a camera in the corner of the room, showing every moment of pain in horrible detail, straight to the prime target.

“You’re not expiring until I decide it’s time!” Kalama barked angrily, her zanpakuto still probing and puncturing the skin of the man beneath her. She was meticulous in her cruelty, knowing precisely when to stop and when to push on. His body was becoming a bit of a mess though and while he still screamed horribly, it was becoming apparent that even as effective as Kalama was and drawing out the torment, he could only survive so long. The green haired woman’s zanpakuto didn’t boost her powers like most but the lightning was effective in itself.

The sound of a gun suddenly caused her head to rise and the assassin’s head snapped around to see a guard pointing a rifle at her. He looked a bit unsteady on his feet and was muttering to himself for some reason. Was that something to do with Kurai’s powers or was he simply falling apart? Whatever it was, the sign of weakness only caused Kalama to respond more swiftly, pointing a finger at him and shouting. “Hadō #4. Byakurai.”

From her finger, a blast of lightning would emerge, hurtling towards the guard and launching him straight through the window, leaving him in a crumpled heap outside.

Satisfied, she’d look back down to her victim, only to find that he’d died while she’d been dealing with the guard. Her eyes narrowed with fury and taking her dagger in hand, she’d repeatedly stab the man, wanting to turn him into an unrecognisable mess.

“We’re not done yet you fucking idiot.” Kalama snapped angrily, standing up to her full and rather insignificant height. “This fool was one of his sons, not my boss. I told you there were 5 targets we had to kill and we’ve only killed 2 so far. We go after him only after his family is dead. That was the plan and they might’ve gotten away now that you’ve set fire to the damn place. Is this all it takes to turn you on? A few deaths and an unfinished job? Figured you had more stamina than that.”

Watching the flames as they burned around her, Kalama would then drop to a knee and slam her fist into the floor, channelling her Kido powers. “Bakudō #73. Tōzanshō” An inverted pyramid would form around her, manipulated so that the size was such that it was barely larger than her body.

It would somewhat help against the newer flames but the effects of it were already making things difficult for her. The voices of the past were louder than ever and out of the corner of her eyes, she could see the faces of those who’d been slaughtered by her in the past. It was an unsettling feeling and would’ve probably caused a weaker person to drop but Kalama wasn’t weak willed and what was more, she didn’t feel guilty over the lives she’d taken.

“No doubt it’s your fire that’s causing me to see all this random shit.” She spat, eyes burning with anger, her fires of wrath still well and truly still burning. “So what happens now? You going to fuck off since your hunger is satiated or are we going to both feed a little more?”

“Last person who said that to me found themselves in a ditch.” Kalama retorted with equal venom, not appearing to be intimidated by the threatening tone. When it came to flight or fight, the assassin had never been one for the former. Anger was better than fear and the latter had been beaten out of her centuries ago, when the world was a far more frightening place. The green haired woman wasn’t sure what to make of Kurai at that point but one fact was clear…she was and probably always would be, a complete bitch.

With her modified Kido surrounding her, Kalama was able to walk around the flames gracefully enough, the pyramid keeping its shape around her as she moved. It’d taken a long time for her to get it to work and she’d most certainly had a few temper tantrums during its development but then again, that was pretty much what happened whenever she did anything. Patience had always been a rather difficult concept for her.

Walking over to the women, Kalama would flip the body over and scan the woman’s face. She was considerably older than the man she’d killed and judging from her garb, definitely gave off the air of a wealthy snob. “His wife. A pity we weren’t able to make her suffer but I’m sure just seeing her corpse will be enough to upset him.” She’d pick up the woman and throw her beside the son, watching as the flames would start to build up around them. Flicking her gaze up to the camera which still seemed to be functioning, Kalama would stick a middle finger up, before making a rather crude gesture.

Turning back to the Arrancar, still clearly annoyed by Kurai’s previous threat, she’d then explain. “With these two dead and the boy as well, that leaves us with the girls. One’s the same age as this guy and the other’s a teenager. Both are blonde and their dad seemed to think that they are spiritually aware. He never said if they were trained but it wouldn’t surprise me if they were. A bit more effort might be needed here.”

Gazing around at the fire, she’d muse. “If they are then there’s a chance they might not have run off. If we’re lucky, they might want revenge for what we’ve done.”

It was somewhat of a relief to see the flames disappear and Kalama snapped her fingers once they’d vanished, causing the Kido around her to disappear into nothing. The effect was rather swift as the voices and imagery in her mind seemed to melt away, leaving her with rather more clarity. No doubt if she kept breathing it in, she’d have become mad or something or that was the assumption she was willing to make from her own experience. The people she’d seen were long dead and if anything, all seeing them had done was cause the fires of anger to grow.

The Arrancar had made a fair point and Kalama mused that after seeing three members of his family die rather swiftly, a slower approach might just be the ticket. The assassin had other methods at her disposal, after all and she always did enjoy testing out some of her more interesting spells.

Due to Kurai’s flames, the floor they were on was a bit of a mess but from what she could see, the foundations seemed to have held. Enough that Kalama pondered if the two women had maybe decided to hole up on a higher one. That seemed possible if they thought they were trapped and the assassin would head up the first flight of stairs that was encountered and head on up.

No sooner had she reached the next floor, the Shinigami was swiftly forced to duck as a bullet whistled over her head. It seemed the floor was inhabited although as she took cover, she couldn’t sense any spiritual pressure from the shooter. Another guard perhaps, trying to defend someone important?

Sighing, Kalama would take her chance when it came, jumping up and aiming her hands in his direction, tapping into her Kido again. “Hadō #63. Raikōhō”

The lightning blast shot out of her hands like a rocket, smashing into the guard and launching him through the door at the end of the corridor.

What wasn’t expected was what happened next, as a powerful beam of ice came back at her, combined with one of fire, forcing the assassin to shunpo out of the way. Two women would be standing in front of the badly damaged guard, both blonde, seemingly prepared for a fight.

Neither looked pleased.