Oceanic Training

Colin stretched himself out, enjoying the fresh sea air. He couldn't help but smile, smelling the salt and the fishy scent. It was one of his favorite smells, and he loved it. He was on an abandoned part of the Wing Dock, away from others, as he knew things could get hectic pretty quickly. He had picked out a spot of the dock with no other human beings in a hundred foot radius. There were 4 pillars on both sides in this radius, and 2 of them, one behind Colin, furthest to his left, and on in front of him, second to his right, were a bit unsteady, but wouldn't crash the dock if they broke. I'll have to be mindful of them. He quipped to himself as he continued to stretch. He reached out from side to side with his arms, and crouched down and stretched his legs.

After he was done, he gave a small hop, waving his arms in circles. He wasn't doing it for any purpose than stirring the air, really. Ridding the old smells and inviting the new. He took a deep breath again, rearing his head back to breath in. He moved his head forwarded to breath out. He did this twice while hopping, then stopped. He was waiting for his training partner, an odd one if there ever was. He had come to try and train himself to understand his hollow better and to help his partner. He was ready to spar and was eager to start, as he was sure that he would be facing someting interesting.

He was here on a mission of his own, outside of the Vizard corps. He was wondering at a special place, as this was one of the best ports in the world. It was one of Colin's favorite places. Here he could train and think about fishing at the same time. That thought made Colin smile, and he breathed deeply again, smelling a hint of a new smell. His smile widened as he realized his partner was nearby. His partner was strange, to say the least. But Colin needed to learn more, about himself. His hollow was getting eager, trying to force it's way out. Colin steeled himself and pushed it back, buying himself enough time to hopefully spar without interference...

Channeling his Reitsu, the odd green-haired man walked on the surface of the vast body of water. Thankfully, humans could not see him for they were weak-minded and could not sense a being with spiritual power. He kept his boots dry but walking slightly above the actual surface of the water. His green hair and over-coat waved too and fro in the slight oceanic breeze. He enjoyed days like this, days where it was so relaxing and calming outside, it seemed as though the war between Shinigami and Hollows was just a fleeting dream.

He closed his eyes, breathing the salty air in deeply and exhaling just as deeply. He could sense there was gonna be a fight soon, probably with the young man he had met recently. Stefan could sense him nearby, the "eagle" Visored. Even though he was a member of the Visored Corps, Stefan had no intent to kill him. Maybe just rough him up a little bit. Or a lot. It all depends on how he fights....if he is skilled, he will make sure he knows Stefan is a serious fighter. If not.....then he will just make sure he learns something.

Colin was the man he had met. Or at least thats what he told Stefan. You really cant be sure with people nowadays, always fighting and lying for stupid reasons. Their petty excuses sickened the green-haired man. Now HE fought to fight, a good reason if any. Finally, he made his way to the Reitsu of Colin, reaching him in just a few short seconds.

"Greetings sir Colin. How are you on this fine day?"

Colin felt it as soon as Stefan came in range. Ah, there he is. It's about time. He smiled as he saw Stefan out on the water, placing his tilly hat on his head and the brim over the top of his eyes. He was glad that his opponent had arrived. He had no intention of killing Stefan, as he normally didn't kill his opponents to begin with, and since Stefan was a vizard like himself.

"How am I this fine day? I am well, as the sea is calm and the scent of fish is in the air. Also, Colin is just fine, Stefan. Now then, since you have arrived, how shall we do this? First, as you can see, I have cleared the area of civilians. We can spar however we like. However, whatever we do, I have to lay 3 rules. 1. No maiming. 2. No killing. 3. If hollow goes out of control, we stop until it has been taken care of. This is our fight, not theirs. Now, is there any particular way you would like to do this, then?"

As he finished speaking, Colin let out his reiatsu to its fullest, relaxing. He was going to enjoy this. He smiled, completely at ease...

He listened intently to what Colin was saying, lingering on every word. Hmph, full of himself isnt he? Stefan hadnt noticed the smell of fish, only the scents of salt water and people. Now that he was looking for it, he noticed the distinct smell of fish in the air, reflecting the fact that they were at a harbor. He started to listen to what Colin was saying again.

"But I have absolute control over my Hollow, so no problem there. And would you like to know how I wanna do this? Probably....a little something....like This!!"

Taking his Zanpakuto in his right hand, he flash-stepped behind Colin and slashed from above. He quickly jumped left and slashed from the right, left, left, right, and finished the combo with an upper cut from his left fist. Jumping back, he launched a Bala from each hand, finishing his signature Bankai. Before the smoke cleared, Stefan said:

"THAT is how I like to start things. I hope you are ready for anything. Otherwise, I might not be able to prevent your death."

Colin was glad that Stefan had listened to his piece, but he was a bit suprised by Stefan's reaction. Well, looks like I'm going to strecth myself a bit just to stay alive, huh? He thought as Stefan flash-stepped behind him. He cleared his thoughts, becoming totally focused on the fight. He sensed Stefan was very fast, about as fast as Colin himself was. He stepped a bit forward as Stefan came down, resulting in his t-shirt ripping and a small scratch appearing on his left shoulder, vertical, about 2 inches long. He cried out as the small wave of pain went through him:

"Te o agero, Sōringuīguru!"

He spun on his left with enhanced speed, using a flash step. Then he used his freshly formed claws to block against the side atacks, knocking the blades back and stopping the all four cuts. Colin took the punch to his face, his jaw unhinging. However, he used that moment to do a right jab, quickly followed by a left hook. His claws were still attached, extending his reach, allowing him to aim through the pain. As he brought back his right hand, using the hook's momentum to push it on his jaw and realign it, giving a sickening, but working, crack. This left his jaw sore but re-hinged it.

Then Colin met the bala with two of his own, causing an explosion between the two that rent a hole in the middle of the dock. Dang it! I had been hoping to leave the place in one piece, but oh well... He followed these with a Hado 4: Byakurai, firing a lighting bolt from his finger. Then he flash-stepped once more, to Stefan's left side. He did a side-slice with his right claw, followed by a vertical slash from below with his left. Then he used his right claw to jab, and did a diagonal slash with his left claw. He finished the move with a combined attack, where he placed his arms together above his head with a clap and brought it down. Then he pulled out a feather and leapt 10 feet away. Colin was panting a bit at this point but felt satisfied with his performance.

"Well, Stefan. One of the reasons I asked you here was to try out a new move. I know you can survive it, so that was definetly a plus. Let's see how you do against this, hmm? Green Swordfish, slash!"

Colin had tried to fired off an energy wave made with spirit energy in the form of a swordfish. However, he only was able to produce a faint green wave that wasn't very effective, as it was fairly slow and only a line three feet across. Well, if that actually does anything, I'll eat a bite out of my hat!

Stefan calmly blocked the attacks that Colin sent at him. He took the Hado straight to the chest, only slightly singing his clothes. It also gave him a rush of energy, giving him a short high. Stefan quietly side-stepped the attack from above, standing still with his Zanpakuto in his right hand still. He listened to Colins little speech about a new power, being only mildly interested in the name. When the wave of green energy came out of his hands and moved at a snails pace, all Stefan could do was chuckle.

"Hahahahaha! Ha...ahahah!! Thats rich! I honestly didnt think I would get to laugh, you seem much too serious for my tastes. I was even willing to stand still and get hit by your new attack! But honestly, I would die of laughter sooner than from the attack! Please, PLEASE do better, or this would have been a waste of time. And I HATE it when people waste my time....."

Now that he was done laughing, Stefan launched 6 Balas at the green attack, erupting in a giant explosion that left the area in a smog. With the new cover, Stefan flash-stepped directly to the left about 5 feet and sent 2 more Balas towards Colin. He repeated this until he came back to his original position, resulting in a total of 18 Balas being sent towards his opponent. When they all collided, it resulted in a large crash, destroying the dock and harbor even more. By now the area was mostly rubble.

The cloud of smoke cleared, however, Stefan was nowhere in sight. He had been flash-stepping as fast as possible in succession, appearing invisible to the naked eye. When he stopped flash-stepping, he appeared directly in front of Colin, resulting in multiple slashes and stabs from Stefan and his Zanpakuto.

Well... Looks like no hat eating for me today! Thought Colin as he saw his attacks result. Darn... The hado had little effect, but it does look like it affected him a bit. Hmm...

"Well, looks like I'm not the only one who can laugh, huh? I'll do my best, don't worry!"

Well, I've said that, but this is bad! He pondered as he saw the Bala headed straight for him.

"Bakudō 8, Seki!"

The shield blocked 13 of the bala and reflected 4 of them. Then he needed to wait for his Kido to cool off. Colin managed to dodge 3 of them, but two grazed him. One caught his leg, making it feel as if it was was on fire. He allowed the last one on purpose. He brushed it on his left shoulder, cauterizing his scratch, ensuing more pain, but it stopped after a few moments, and the wound was closed.

As Stefan closed in on Colin, he was ready. He met him at full strength, going all out. He barely noticed as cuts began showing up on his chest, legs, and stomach. The main wound was a slash that Colin barely blocked with his claw, but pressed on to what felt like a broken rib.He continued pounding at Stefan with his claws, despite his wounds. As pain shot through his abdomen, he decided he had no choice.

He leapt away from Stefan after a few seconds of this, panting. Once more he clapped his hands above his head. This time, however, he removed 2 feathers. Colin began shaking his hands above his head, building momentum at flash-step speed. He bent his spine back, then shot forward. This time, a much greater wave was produced, 7 feet in length and a limish green color. It still didn't have the right shape, but it was certainly an improvement. It was moving much faster than the last wave, about 3 times more.

Colin looked down for the first time, noticing the dock. He sighed, and brought his right hand to his hair line. Well, I was certainly hoping this wasn't neccesary, but if I'm to learn more about my hollow... He grabbed down and pulled his hand downwards, inserting his hollow mask in place. He then took up a defensive stance, wary of attack. He was going to follow Stefan's pace this time, no matter what. He also began charging energy into his claws...

Even though his Balas didnt do their job completely, his sword had. The cuts that appeared on Colins body certainly werent anywhere near fatal, but it did help weaken him. As they fought, Stefan was ut 2 maybe 3 times, none deeper than an inch. He was a master at the way of the blade, after having training only his sword skill for 300 years straight. Merely slashing with claws was all Colin had showed him, certainly not enough to prove anything.

Laughing at the improved version of the green Reitsu attack, Stefan stepped back, and put his blade in front of him. Still laughing, he cut straight through the "Green Swordfish", causing it to split and explode when it hit the ground next to the harbor. He noticed Colin was doing something, but realized he was just putting his Hollow mask on. So why not do the same?

Stefan brought his left hand to his face, bringing it within inches of his forehead. He dragged his hand down, creating a mask from nothing. His mask had long ears, black eye holes, "teeth" like pieces that covered where his mouth would be, and slash marks on his right temple and left eye. His Reitsu changed as well, turning darker and much larger. Anybody would know he was much stronger than he had been just moments before.

Stefans yellow eyes were just barely visible in his masks eye holes, preventing people from being able to tell what he was thinking. He drew in a breathe, still smelling and tasting the salt in the air. It was relaxing, he thought. Stefan knew he had a good relationship with his Inner Hollow, which gave him almost perfect control over his powers. Though, the only REAL power he gained was even more skill with his blade, which was dying to fight again.

"You know, using your mask will only make things worse for you. Once you cant use it anymore, you will be exhausted, in a worse state than when you first put it on. And if you lose control, thats certainly going to be detrimental as well. You will lose control, and I may not be able to hold back against a crazed Hollow. I will do what i can, but if you go overboard, I will as well. Good luck young one....Shockwave"

A wave of wild Reitsu energy similar to the make up of a Cero washed over the land, emanating from his left hand. The gold covered not only the harbor, but the water did as well. The destructive force eventually reached Colin. What he did next would determine how long he lasts against Stefan.

Stefan charged up a Cero in each hand, the black Reitsu building and building. He watched as his previous ability destroyed buildings and boats alike. The entire area had been hit, destroying whatever had been left from his earlier attacks. Finally compeltely charged, he launched his Ceros at Colin.

Dang it! Does he always fight with so little discipline?? Colin took a deep breath, finishing his charging. He was mad at Stefan. There had been no reason to destroy all those things. If there had been any people, they would have died. Colin clenched his fists and completed the charging. Then he swung out, his right hand at his left shoulder, and his left hand at his right shoulder. He swung them horizantally out in front of himself.

"Airwave!"

The two combined attacks merged, becoming a bigger wave. They met the gold attack head on, and were dissipated, along with the gold attack. Then he had to take a quick breather. He began charging a cero of his own in his left hand. When he looked up again he saw Stefan charging his cero. Only one thing for it then. As the cero's left Stefan's hands, Colin flash-stepped behind Stefan. He twirled his right fist, placing a maximum power uppercut at Stefan's back, the attack rotating due to the twisting. He then flash-stepped above Stefan, and smiled. He brought his left hand down, firing the cero at Stefan. Then he pulled both hands behind his head. With the hollow mask, I should be able to do it! He borrowed a bit of power from his hollow, and clapped them together. He hands seemed to alight green with fire as his reiatsu and the hollow's mixed, becoming emerald. I'll get you this time!

This time as he brought it down he rotated his hands, causing the result to spin. What was produced was emerald in color, and two feet wide. However, on the end of it it seemed to have something like a razor-edge, ending in a point. This moved about 2x faster than the last one had, zipping through the air.

"Don't think so little of me, Stefan! I know that if I fight without it, I'll only wear myself out worse! I know if I can't do anything sufficeint in this state, I might as well be exhausted. Oh, and don't worry about me losing control. I'm so focused right now on my goal my hollow is probably feeling like he's being run over by a train!"

What Colin had said was true. There was no way he was going to let his hollow interrupt this fight. If nothing else, he was going to show Stefan how much waste can truly hurt you...

Stefan took a direct hit from Colins Cero in the back, taking some damage. It would have done more had he not put on his Hollow Mask a few minutes ago. He had been blown away from it, landing on a small piece of wood that stuck out from the water. Stefan calmly watched as the new and even faster wave of green Reitsu came at him. Stefan wanted to try something new, since he recently obtained two new weapons.

He drew a small handle-like contraption from his belt, and swung it in front of him. Muttering "lightning", he slashed in front of himself as a blade formed from electricity appeared on the contraption, forming a sword. When he slashed, an X appeared and stayed there, floating in the air in front of him. Then he said "fire" and made a circle around the X, creating a dula-element shield. He finished it by saying "ice" and created a Z of ice behind the elemental shield. He took his Zanpakuto and began spinning it in front of him, forming a circle. Stopping, he slashed the multi-elemental and sent it towards the wave of green fire.

When the two forces clashed, a spiral of flame shot out of the top, columns of ice erupted from the bottom, and an explosion of electrical energy occured in the middle. The destructive force of it all sent gigantic waves away from the area, removing all water and in the process, destroying even more land.

"Well that was fun! I honestly didnt know if that would work! Aaaahhhh, thanks for that. Now I can use that ability later on when I actually need it. Not that you are weak, no no no. But you just arent TEHRE yet, you know? Anyway, I think Imma use my Shikai now....you know what? Lets go Bankai, simply because I am the desert, and I brook no intrusion."

His Bankai transformation began, starting by making his upper body clothing disappear. His sword also changed, the blade turning blood-red and the hilt turned black. Skulls attached to chains came from the bottom of the swords hilt. The rest of Stefans clothing turned to a shade of green.