Mayuri and Tousen >THUNDERDOME
78th Seireitei--the most lawless of all districts. There is no period of calm or quiet in the Rukongai so far from Seireitei...but at this moment, the situation has grown far, far worse. The denizens of Rukongai 78th run amok, screaming, attacking each other, rioting, looting, and setting flame to almost anything that stands. The reason isn't immediatley clear to someone who comes across the chaos, but it's not hard to see why when one looks in the center of the District's Square--a single arrancar stands in the town's center, his mask vertically covering his face and his zanpakuto is drawn. He attacks noone or any structure, he simply stands in the middle of the chaos like a beacon. Almost five miles away, the most insane of the Rukongai denizens have cut down trees or taken parts of homes--they begin to beat away at the borders separating Rukongai 78 from the rest of Rukongai.
Chaos is a beautiful thing when it is contained, indeed there is even a measure of order within it. The weak fall to the strong, the strong work their way toward their goals and trample all else underfoot. That is where Mayuri is, preceded by explosive beams, orbs, arcs, and all other sorts of shapes in between. He is silent, eyes centered on his objective, toward that lone Arrancar even though many buildings block the way. Bodies fly and tumble through the air, propelled by explosive hadou techniques toned down enough so as not to commit wholesale slaughter but enough to make sure a wide berth is given, in fact there is a rather neat swath of clear ground behind him (periodically marked with craters). Mayuri makes his way to a vantage point that gives a direct line of sight to his target and shifts directions to begin walking toward the Arrancar, head tilting slowly to the side.
As the dubious shinigami moves towards the arrancar, it doesn't seem to notice his reiatsu signature at all. As the shingami draws closer, the appearance of the arrancar becomes more clear. One edge of it's zanpakuto is jagged like a saw, it's very tip already dripping with blood. The arrancar's mask is green and cut in the same way as it's blade, except vertically covering the bottom-half of it's face. As the shinigami moves closer still, the arrancar is still unaware of his presence--though it's head moves around, watching the chaos and enjoying it. Still, the arrancar does not move to attack anyone, least of all the captain-level shinigami.
"You." comes the unmistakable voice of the 12th Division Captain. "You are in luck, today." he begins, striding to stand before the arrancar, his hand raising to offer his palm toward the arrancar. "You have been given the chance to live quite a bit longer than the rest of your friends, how wonderful it must be for you." Mayuri begins, slowly curling his fingers in a beckoning gesture. "You can come with me all the way back to my laboratory and I'll show you what each little tool does. Some cut, some pinch, some cauterize, some drain, some even do more than that." he waxes on, smile impossibly wide and full of teeth. "I understand you must be in shock at the honor of this opportunity but I don't have time to waste." Mayuri says, his hand dropping to the hilt of the sword sheathed in front of him. He tilts his head, keeping the smile, and begins to slowly pull the blade upward. "Tick-tock."
The arrancar is marked by the number 22 on the left side of it's exposed neck. The moment Mayuri speaks to the Numeros, it's half-masked face turns towards him suddenly. The Numeros sneers. "My zanpakuto, Locura, infects those within it's radius with madness," the Numeros turns his body completely towards Mayuri, then points the jagged sword into Mayuri's direction. "Why are you not affected, shinigami?"
Oh, somehow that grin widens to a near gleeful expression. He continues to draw his zanpakuto. "... Madness? This is madness?" Mayuri laughs quietly to himself. "This... this is a tantrum thrown by the impudent masses..." Mayuri continues to laugh "This is natural behavior, not madness..." he confirms, slowly righting his head. "Twenty-two... Well, better than nothing..." Mayuri concedes, his grin still broad. Slowly he raises his empty hand and without speaking he fires an explosive bolt of energy into a nearby building causing the people huddled within to flee as debris spills out from the explosion. "This... no..." Mayuri raises his eyesbrows as his zanpakuto leaves his sheath fully. "... Come, let me show you... what madness is..."
The 22nd Numeros looks upon the paint-masked shinigami with surprise and even a tinge of horror in his eyes and face, possibly in realization that the captain may just be even more a monster than he is. The realization of the situation and his own bad luck hit him at this exact moment--the flaw of his Locura had already been exposed. It had the ability to drive a sane person mad, but would have no effect upon someone already insane. Overcoming his shock, the Numeros gripped his zanpakuto with both hands, and rose into the defensive kendo stance. With a defiant grimace upon his face, he nodded towards the shinigami. "I have devoured over forty shinigami in my time, but never a captain," Numeros 22 says. "The walls of the 78th District will fall, and the maddened citizens here will kill many for me without my even needing to lift a finger. You will not be allowed to interfere." Still in the aggressive stance, the Numeros begins a slowly, deliberate walk towards Mayuri. "You will be the first captain I've devoured!"
"Oh, yes, I've killed a few Shinigami myself." Mayuri muses, utterly unfazed by the gloating. "I am so sorry to shatter your dreams... You have already lost, I'm afraid." Mayuri begins, his sword still drawn up to head height, point an inch or so from the sheath. "Oh, no, rampaging peasants. What ever will we do." Mayuri says without emotion. "Actually, you won't find me trying to stop them, you see... These people are so... below the bottom of my interest that the only reason I don't kill them myself is because even I must follow rules... Or, at least I can only bend them so far." Mayuri says. "Actually, if you wish I could go ahead and take those walls down..." he trails off into thought. "But nevermind, let us go back to the laboratory, I have many things to show you, so many things." Mayuri says with glee. "Don't delay it any longer, I am not a patient man."
The 22nd Arrancar shakes his head in disbelief towards Mayuri as he speaks and muses to himself--uncertain what to make of him at all. His mannerisms, speech, behavior, even his lack of care for life of any kind. However, this wasn't going to stop the 22nd from what needed to be done...and what he would enjoy doing. "The only place you're going, Capitán-shinigami..." the evolved hollow releases his left hand from the blade, and darts his right arm outwards, towards Mayuri. "...is Infierno. Bala!"
Red energy glows in the Arrancar's left hand, and the sound is akin to a rifle blast as over a dozen bala blasts fire towards the shinigami within the first three seconds alone. Behind that, a dozen more bursts of deadly hollow energy follow, forming a steady and harsh barrage.
"I'm sorry, did you think you had a choice?" Mayuri asks with a worried expression. He simply laughs as the determined Arrancar continues on and raises his arm. "Be careful, I wouldn't want you to damage your body... that is my job." and with that the attack is heading for him with several points of light. Mayuri's hand comes up and without speaking a glow of orange-yellow light explodes into four thick beams that arc to intercept the oncoming attack. As the beams near the oncoming blasts they explode once more into thinner beams until they form a lattice of energy, beams connecting with each incoming blast and stopping them flat with virbant explosions, the excess streaking off into nothingness after reaching a certain distance. Mayuri slowly lowers his hand and still bears a smile. "... Would you like to try again?" he chuckles to himself before his hand raises again, hanging limp from his wrist as Mayuri begins to speak under his breath. Slowly he raises his hand and spreads his fingers out. "The only thing that awaits you, now, is horror. Your cries of terror will be my lullabies in the coming weeks... Yes, you will understand madness, isanity, pain beyond any spectrum previously fathomed. When you next see my face... I will be the Baron of your own personal Hell... "
With that last line the world begins to darken around the Arrancar, Mayuri's hand slowly closing into a fist. Dark wisps of energy begin to unfurl like coils from the ground until they form the skeleton of a cube. Paralyzed completely within, the space within the cube darkens to an opaque midnight and within seconds it flickers out of existence, leaving nothing where the Arrancar previously stood but the last marks he left upon the ground.
There's a resounding crash as the west border is broken, then the northern border. Still driven to insanity even though the Arrancar has vanished, the maddened denizens of the 78th District pour into the 77th, bringing their riotous behavior with them. Even within a minute, the 77th Rukongai District is already in flames, screaming and crying heard for miles in all directions.
"Wonderful." Mayuri whispers to himself, slowly sheathing his weapon and relaxing his arms. He turns about, examining the devastation with amusement. Slowly he brings his hand up to his head and with the manipulation of something beneath the golden rim about his face, just behind his jaw, he begins to talk to no one, it would seem. "When I return I expect the subject to be subdued and on the examination table, I won't have a second of time wasted. I'm on my way back as soon as I finish looking around for anything of use." and with that he lets his hand fall and re-sets his jaw. He begins to look about the remains of the area, looking to see if the Arrancar might've dropped anything special or perhaps had some underlings cowering before the terror that is the 12th Division Captain, Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
As the denizens of the 78th Rukongai flee this district in favor of the 77th and those closer to Seireitei, the district square begins to quiet--though not for very long at all. "Don't talk to yourself, Kurotsuchi," speaks a deep, unseen voice through the dark area. To the ears of Mayuri, footsteps can be be heard approaching his direction in a gentle, deliberate way even if the figure itself cannot be seen yet. "-you wouldn't want people believing you're insane, would you."
Mayuri pauses, his grin returning. "... What is that, the wind carries a message for me?" he muses, taking hold of his zanpakuto once more. He slowly pulls it up from its sheath and turns toward the footsteps. "People is a broad term, you know. I, for one, don't consider the residents of the Rukongai to be people. They're more like... Rodents, I suppose you could say." he speaks, eyebrows raised. "What a familiar voice, excuse me for not recognizing it but I rarely value anything anyone else has to say." Mayuri remarks plainly. "But I am going to be honest and say I really don't give a damn who you are... My all-consuming hunger for knowledge will soon be at ease for the duration of the life of... Twenty-two? Did he have a name? No matter, he won't even remember his own face in a few days."
Near the hut Mayuri himself destroyed several minutes ago, the figure of the person who speaks to him becomes clear. Dressed in a white-black hakama, a sleek black visor, long kendo gloves, and his orange scarf tied tightly around his neck is Kaname Tousen. His hair has changed since the last time Mayuri saw him- his black hair now fashioned into stylish shoulder-length braids. The look upon his face is similar to that of Mayuri's own which is indifference and even a touch of amusement. The treasonous former captain of the 9th Division moves towards Mayuri slowly, his arms at his side. "We've always been well aware of how you feel about others, Kurotsuchi," Tousen states. "You do not care for life of any kind. You do not believe in the prospect of there even being a King, which Aizen-sama will soon become." Tousen stops walking, standing across the square to Mayuri's right several yards. His sightless eyes are not turned to Mayuri's direction. "To you, emotions are a chemical balance. Life is simply a state of being, like dreams. Justice is intangible, foolish belief." He nods slightly. "Existence itself is nothing but another science."
Mayuri nods as Tousen appears, that was who the voice belonged to. "Oh, I have regard for all life... so long as it serves to further my knowledge or desires." he corrects. "As for Kings... Really, I couldn't care less who becomes king, it is just that I don't think Aizen has room in his realm for a mind so much greater than his." Mayuri says, perfectly serious. "As for emotions... Well, regardless of what you believe, emotions are directly connected to chemicals within the brain." he continues. "Oh, there it is, there is your staple, how wonderful. Here I thought I was fortunate enough not to hear you talk about Justice." he chuckles. "I'm not sure if you're aware but it seems you're missing someone, I sincerely hope you don't get punished for losing him." Mayuri continues, slowly turning his sword to point in the general direction of Tousen. "Have you heard about Hinamori? Oh, you really should see what Aizen has done to her. It is always different from person to person when they realize that the world is not a happy place." he chuckles. "While I'm discussing interesting things, did you know that Komamura would like to see you? I could go get him, if you want? He would love to see you."
Tousen doesn't yet move his right hand to his zanpakuto, but does turn his whole body towards Mayuri. Though his eyes are without vision, they seem to not only meet Mayuri's attention, but glare straight through the paint-masked scientist. "I am certain myself and Saijin will meet again in time. What will be said between me and him is our business alone, as we are friends." Tousen shakes his head slightly. "A concept you are unfamiliar with, Kurotsuchi. Whatever has happened to Aizen-sama's former lieutenant is her fault, now. Aizen-sama chose to be merciful in taking her life, yet she lives. It is true what Aizen-sama has said--she is better off dead." Tousen motions with his right hand towards Mayuri. "If the 22nd Numeros was killed in it's weakness, it would be no loss. Aizen-sama has no room for the weak within the ranks of his army. However.." The blind shinigami takes a single pace towards you. "We both know I cannot allow you to keep the arrancar, Kurotsuchi. You see..I detest your very being. You're almost as terrible as the reckless and bloodthirsty. You are insanity allowed to roam free as long as a bone is tossed into Yammamoto's general direction. The living call beings like you...sociopaths, and like them, you are a poison that will slowly kill many before you're dealt with yourself." Tousen's disdainful sneer clears from his face, and he nods slightly. "Yet, if you return the arrancar, I will let you leave here completely unharmed, do you know why I offer you this mercy?"
"Friends? Really? I had no idea friendship involved such lust to cause bodily harm... I think I may have a few friends, actually, when you put it like that." Mayuri trails off, tilting his head back a little bit. "I understand all concepts, more than you know, I just choose those which I utilize and those which I do not." he assures. "I don't honestly care if she lives or dies, to be honest, I just thought it was entertaining." he admits with a slight shrug. "Oh, my. You're blind and yet you can see all of that? I bet Aizen must be proud." Mayuri muses, tightening his grip on his zanpakuto. "The living call me nothing because I am beyond their comprehension." Mayuri states fiercely. "I am no more a poison than the rot that begins within all structures of power. I am given such right because I demand it. There is no room for morals in research." Mayuri grumbles, shaking his head. "I am going to assume you're offering because you know nothing of who I am." he says with a broad grin. "I don't really care, to be honest I'm not really able to focus all of my attention on you at the moment, I have such a wonderful specimen being strapped to the table, right now... The first cut will be the best... The first scream and the last are always the most memorable since between them it becomes a wash of agony that brings me a bliss beyond your understanding."
Tousen shakes his head, then finally lowers his right hand towards the hilt of his zanpakuto though he only touches the top of it. "I see many things, Kurotsuchi. Far more than you do. This mercy is offered upon this..." a strangely pleasant smile begins to form upon Tousen's usually stern face. "It hardly matters what you do to the arrancar, what you will do here and now, what you will do in the future. It doesn't matter how much you've assisted the Gotei 13 because you and your predecessor have already assisted us far more. Your secrets protected us far more than they protected you. Our scientists...and yes, we have them, have based their experiments on the design of some of your own. Your refusal to get rid of some of the works of Kisuke Urahara, even in your staunch refusal to work with other squads so you can obtain your own research specimens." Tousen's grin, for the first time, turns into a strangely charming smile. "You'll never know just how much you've served our cause but only one thing is certain, madman. You've served us far more than them, Kurotsuchi." Finally, Tousen's hand grips the hilt of his zanpakuto fully. "Which is why you're offered mercy, Kurotsuchi. And you are offered for the final time. Return the Numeros."
"The things I see, have seen, are beyond your imagining. Don't attempt to pretend you have seen such true horrors for I am Horror incarnate." Mayuri hisses out. "My work under Urahara was a means to an end and I don't care what it did for you. My loyalty is unfaltering because I am loyal to my own desires and I have no reason to care what the rest of the filth about me thinks, does, or says. For every thing your scientists think they know I have grips of unfathomable strength upon thousands more. No matter what you say or what becomes of you or the abortions of that idiotic device... I will still be advancing my knowledge. If anything I have done has helped anyone it has been purely unintentional. I work for myself and every one else is a distant second. Everything I have invented, created, destroyed has been for me, my own purposes-- if someone benefits then so be it, I don't give a damn." Mayuri barks. "You and your offer are similarly rebuked as before, I serve myself and if that is under the foolish reign of that old bastard or Aizen himself then so be it. In my world there is only me and my desires, you are tertiary in the purest sense possible." he whispers with ice on his breath. He raises his sword, pointing it to Tousen. "Claw him out, Ashisogi Jizou." and with that the blade of the weapon in hand forks into three serpentine blades, rooted at the head of Ksitigarbha.
Following the captain-level shinigami's initial release, Tousen, in a masterful flourish, draws his zanpakuto and immediatley rises into the chudan no kamae stance of kendo. "That's the beauty of it, Kurotsuchi," Tousen says calmly. "It was unintentional. With all of your genius..." Tousen swings his blade with blinding speed sideways, aiming a slash at Mayuri's midsection. "-not even you calculate everything."
Mayuri sighs with frustration as Tousen insists on melee combat, turning his weapon to catch the force of the strike between two of the blades before he vanishes for a moment to reappear a few yards back. "I rather dislike this sort of combat, it requires no intelligence-- which is exactly how Zaraki wins. He swings his arm and pounds his chest like a gorilla until the opponent is dead." Mayuri says with disgust. Turning, Mayuri raises his finger to point at Tousen and with an incantation uttered under his breath he unleashes a bolt of energy at Tousen.
True to form, no movement escapes Tousen's attention and he becomes aware of Mayuri's shunpo following the clash of the blades. As Mayuri takes the time to prepare the low-level destructive kido, Tousen doesn't take the time to begin the chant--he simply turns and fires into Mayuri's blast with a lightning blast of his own. Countering the attack, he points his zanpakuto into Mayuri's direction, and whispers. "Cry, Suzumushi."
"At least you seen to be taking this serious now." Mayuri muses, bringing his zanpakuto before him in a slow arc that trails a noxious purple fog before him. "I hope you understand that you made no effort to hide the abilities of your zanpakuto..." he states, smiling. "Unless you have kept a secret, and it is very possible, I understand all of your abilities..." Mayuri warns, the face of Ksitigarbha still spewing poisonous fog. Mayuri has, actually, deafened himself from the moment he heard the release command of Tousen's zanpakuto. "I hope you understand that I don't have time to fence with you." Mayuri states, whipping his blade upward and staring at Tousen with intense, sickly-yellow eyes. "Bankai." and with that the blades of the weapon slowly revert to the single one of the zanpakuto's sealed state and from behind Mayuri the ground explodes into a cloud of that very same toxic air. From the haze the halo-encircled, golden head of Konjiki Ashisogi Jizou emerges, trailing clouds of toxin from the corners of its mouth. Konjiki Ashisogi Jizou continues its march foreward until it stands next to Mayuri. Slowly Mayuri points his blade at Tousen and gives the slightest hint of a nod and with that Konjiki Ashisogi Jizou darts foreward with surreal speed. From the 'chest' of Konjiki Ashisogi Jizou dozens of blades extend as it heads at Tousen with full intent to steamroll him.
As Mayuri speaks, and moves Ashisogi to it's release position, Tousen reaches deep into his hakama. Knowing Mayuri's penchant for what Tousen called "magic tricks" and especially his zanpakuto, Tousen wouldn't have even faced him if he wasn't in some way prepared. From an inner pocket of his hakama, he withdraws a small facemask that will fit over his nose and mouth, the same he wore during his earlier days of operation with the 9th Division--the same he wore when he attacked them all at Aizen-sama's command. Quickly placing it upon his face and holding his breath just as the toxic fumes of Mayuri's bankai are released, he returns his hands back to the grip of Suzumushi. As the heinous form of the Mayuri's bankai is released, Tousen holds his stance firm and does not move. "Your bag of tricks is deep, madman," says Tousen, muffled from the mask. As Konjiki Ashisogi Jizou begins it's fast crawl forward, still Tousen does not move from his position--he seems to be waiting for precise moment. As the grotesque caterpillar is mere feet within striking distance, it's now the blind shinigami moves. Channeling all of his power into shunpo, he backflips over twenty feet into the air, clear out of Konjiki Ashisogi Jizou's strike range and swings his blade in a wide arc, aiming it towards the monster. "SMASH IT'S LIMBS!"
Dozens of blades materialize as Tousen swings in the circular arc, then fall from the sky in a surge towards Mayuri's bankai. The dozen blades break apart into a dozen more, and within seconds they continue to multiply until twelve become almost a thousand...all crashing towards the creature.
"Tch." Mayuri lets out, his brows furrowing as Konjiki Ashisogi Jizou begins to wheel around in an all too slow curve due to speed. Mayuri watches as the hundreds of blades rain down like the arrows from hundreds of archers. Konjiki Ashisogi Jizou is perforated with the attack, howling in a grotesque sound of pain as it endures the assault. "... Damn it." Mayuri grumbles to himself, whipping around while chanting beneath his breath and shoving his palm toward Tousen. A crackling lance of energy fires toward Tousen from Mayuri's palm. Reaching into his haori, Mayuri pulls a hypodermic from the folds of his clothing. Suddenly Mayuri's arm severs above the elbow and fires forth, trailing a cable, to slam the hypodermic into Konjiki Ashisogi Jizou's flesh, shoving the plunger down. Mayuri stabs his zanpakuto into the earth and takes hold of his bicep causing his detached arm to reel back in and connect to his bicep. Mayuri takes hold of his weapon once more as some of the wounds on Konjiki Ashisogi Jizou begin to close. Alas, the dosage is not enough to completely heal the large creature.
The blind shinigami begins falling from the sky after unleashing the second stage of his shikai, twisting in the air as he notices the lightning blast surging towards him, only narrowly dodging it. Mayuri's attention is left upon Tousen for a moment, but upon his own zanpakuto--something Tousen may soon take advantage of. Landing upon the grotesque caterpillar's back, Tousen points his right arm downwards. "Bakudo Sixty-Three, Chainlike Desert." A yellow burst of energy streams from Tousen's palm, and Konjiki Ashisogi Jizou is struck in the back it's head. The beam shrinks and materializes into a tight, yellow chain that immediatley wraps itself around the creature's head, then within seconds spreads to all of it's limbs--completely restricting it's movement.
Mayuri frowns and narrows his eyes as Tousen binds his bankai in place. This seemed to be an uphill fight, at the moment. With no warning Konjiki Ashisogi Jizou violently erupts into an explosion that tears through its body, shreadding it apart with gouts of chaotic energies. A contingency, it seems. Mayuri swings his zanpakuto through the air with frustration and growls, turning the blade through the air and raising his free hand. He mutters an incantation and from each fingertip a swell of energy forms that each fire off into individual beams of force which arc outward before curving sharply back in to combine in a rope-like beam aimed at the still detonating remains of Konjiki Ashisogi Jizou.
Tousen Tousen vanishes completely in the explosion--possibly already completely incinerated himself. He was in fact standing on the creature's back as it was destroyed by it's master--but as the smoke clears, and Mayuri begins to gather it's remains, Tousen's body is not seen. Not a single piece of his remains are about the area...though to Mayuri, somewhere in the vicinity, a faint reiatsu can be sensed. Faint as in a dying being...or one masking its signature.
"... It's never this easy." Mayuri laments, kicking at the scraps of cloth and remains of his dearly detonated and departed bankai. "Bastard." he grumbles, zanpakuto in hand. His eyes flicker around, searching the horizon amidst the columns of smoke and pillars of fire. Mayuri points his zanpakutou ahead and slowly brings it across the horizon until he is sure the strongest reiatsu comes from the direction his weapon points in. "There." he mutters to himself, taking a step foreward and flickering ahead several yards before his foot reaches the ground. He takes a few further steps before he stops, looking around. He, unfortunately, wasn't too fond of shunpo-- it seemed to make him exert way too much energy. "... I know you're here." he speaks, cutting through the air with his blade.
Suddenly, a single ring of energy seems to surge into Mayuri's direction, though as it reaches him...it completely passes through his body, leaving Mayuri unharmed. However, this was not the true aim of the maneuver. Seconds after the white ring of energy passes through Mayuri's body, complete and total darkness forms in the air fifty feet over Mayuri's head. It begins to surround Mayuri in all directions, shrouding fifty meters in all directions in the complete dome of black which is Tousen's bankai. Sight nor sound, taste nor smell mean anything here...and escape is near impossible. It's hard to gauge how much time passes within the Devil Cricket as time means little here.
Mayuri had expected this, sooner or later, and it only takes a moment for him to move into action. There really were few choices now. Mayuri opens his mouth and closes his eyes, they're useless anyway, and from his mouth that noxious vapor begins to uncurl, drifting upward until Mayuri uses his diaphragm and unleashes a dense cloud of toxin. It sprays into the air, billowing and curving in upon itself with the force for several seconds until Mayuri ceases the flow and swings his sword through the air around him. With a twitch of his facial muscles he activates a special circuit inside of his flesh that runs to his chin where it activates the counter-measure to blindness. A pulse of sonar fires, or tries, but doesn't bounce back, causing Mayuri to grow visibly unnerved. He had theorized on the ability to simply deafen, not absorb all sound completely and now here he was completely blind and deaf, screaming obscenities in his mind and trying to focus so that his final gambit might work, he just has to get the mask off of Tousen's face, in here the vapor can cover the entire area within a short time.
Tousen stands amidst the darkness of the Devil Cricket, still unseen and unheard by the shinigami captain. "I have seen many types of struggles within the Devil Cricket, Mayuri Kurotsuchi." He knows Mayuri cannot hear him, so he muses unto himself. "While I wish it were so you could feel the same fear others do, I know that isn't possible. You are a monster, and as such emotions are alien to you." Tousen moves several yards away from Mayuri, listening to his every movement and hears the hiss of the gas release. "You cannot hear me, but I believe you know what I want." Tousen begins spinning the tear-shaped attachment to his hilt around, spinning it fast. "Kenpachi Zaraki was the first and the last to escape this dome, because I underestimated his ability to find a weakness." Tosen continues spinning the blade. "For his monstrous ways, he is a genius of combat. You are not." He stops spinning the blade, and aims his left arm into your direction as he flashsteps backwards several meters away from you. "I do not need to slash you to finish you. Kidou 63, Thunder Roar Cannon."
A yellow surge of energy grows between Tousen's fingertips, and within another seconds launches in a large arc towards Mayuri in the form of a wave of power similar to the strength of a high-powered Cero.
Mayuri continues to focus, trying to get a sense of anything in proximity but it isn't very useful, in fact it is the fact that he is utterly unable to sense anything that is angering him but he has far too much dignity and too little energy to run about in a panic. It is not until the swinging of his sword meets resistance that he takes action. Mayuri sidesteps and lunges ahead with his palm, attempting to grab Tousen by the face but what he finds is the pain of the blast as it collides into his arm and snaps his wrist. His arm whips back with the force of the attack, buffeted by the energy that begins to rip flesh away and burn it into nothingness, coming down to the bone until it, too, begins to deteriorate. After the attack has passed Mayuri stands with his blade in his only remaining hand. There is a fundamental problem here. Mayuri hisses in pain as the cauterized crescent of remaining shoulder simmers and screams with ache. Mayuri takes the blade of his zanpakuto in his teeth and rips a hypodermic from his haori, tearing it away as the last few threads give way. He takes the hypodermic and slams it into his juggular, eyes snapping open with a rush of chemicals that do nothing to change his lack of perception. Mayuri throws the hypodermic ahead and takes hold of his zanpakuto once more. From his good arm his flesh begins to bulge and tear away, revealing the true color of his skin. The bulges spread an begin to branch away from his arm and suddenly begin to fire out like an arc of lightning, branching and curving as joints snap and branches take on the ability to move and hands sprout from their tips. One hand stays close to him, the one holding his zanpakuto.
The blind shinigami cannot see the response to his attack, but knows Mayuri has done something to counter the effects of his kidou assault. Tousen's lips slowly curve into a grin. "You are indeed full of surprises, Kurotsuchi." His sightless gaze turns towards the shinigami captain, and he nods. "I'm certain that given enough time, you could find a manner with which to escape this place, with your genius. However, I would have to kill you before that happens. I need you--" Tousen moves in a suddenly flash of shunpo, aiming two deep and fast slices that tear through Mayuri's shoulder, then across his belly, nearly disemboweling him. "--alive." Tousen steps away several feet, then sheathes his zanpakuto. The darkness of the Devil Cricket begins to dissolve back into the natural state of Rukongai, the pure darkness of the
Devil Cricket replaced by the darkness of the night sky. The riots persist, but the 78th District itself is emptied.
Mayuri explores outward with hands that would unnerve most, raw and almost skeletal, they crawl over every inch of ground and search for something, anything. He is screaming inside, aching to get a hold of something to strangle and wrench the life from. He doesn't hear anything, he can't, and the gashes that tear into his flesh almost make him laugh, it is just the sort of laugh one would expect from someone who isn't completely balanced. He staggers lightly, his arms swerving in like a greedy wave of starving peasants, clutching outward to try and catch hold of Tousen but his movement brings him out of range of their grasp. Mayuri can see the light returning and finally a sharp cry of murderous rage and frustration leaves his mouth. Obscenities and less than proper comments spill forth as the arms slowly begin to wither and crumble away, his blood pressure dropping from the two wounds and unable to keep the chemicals circulating fast enough. The arms crumble away, leaving only streaks of paint on his arm from where they ripped outward. Mayuri snarls, the side of his face scorched and burned from the attack that took his arm. Suddenly Mayuri angles his blade toward himself and runs himself through without hesitation. His hand releases his zanpakuto and Mayuri extends his middle finger and shoves it toward Tousen as his body begins to lose coherence and almost seem to melt. "If you'll... excuse me... I have research to do."
This is definetly not a sound that Tousen is used to hearing...though the scent is unmistakable. Mayuri's body seems to simply melt away--an ability Tousen heard Mayuri had, but it was so imperative Tousen take him alive. As the shinigami scientist melted away, his remains sifting into the cracks of the Rukongai streets itself--Tousen recognized he maintained this victory, but it was bittersweet. Only Kurotsuchi knew the location of the 22nd Arrancar, and Aizen-sama would be truly upset that Mayuri would be able to research it's capabilities. Though part of the mission was accomplished. Hundreds, maybe thousands would die in the Rukongai lawlessness that would follow. "Please, continue your research, Kurotsuchi." Tousen placed his right arm out, a black field of energy emanating around it as the dark maw of Garganta opened over Tousen's body as if it were devouring him. "You will always do more for us than you have for them." The maw begins to close around Kaname, and he scoffs a final time. "Or yourself."
Tousen and Mayuri met in Rukongai 78th district, TWO MEN ENTER, ONE MAN LEAVES (in goo form).