If you need an explanation

[soundfivebitch]

Things had been fucking weird since Orochimaru's death. The Palace had been a weird place to be; Tayuya answered to Kuja now, and that was weird enough. Kuja had always been the damned prettyboy she didn't have much to do with, except for mocking Kadaj for taking after him. Now she had to report to him, take instruction from him...

They'd had to clear out Orochimaru's labs, too. That had been really fucking weird. There'd been a few samples to terminate and dispose of, and lots of research notes to either move, or destroy. L had claimed some, Kuja had, of course, been given everything relevant to the Sound Five....

There'd been some stuff on the Arrancar. Orochimaru had kept some data records from his encounters with some, like Ulquiorra, and Nel, and lots of data on Wonderweiss. Tayuya hadn't told Kuja about that, she knew what politics in Khamja could be like. She'd considered destroying it, at first, but then.... There was only one person that really should have data on the Arrancar, and she knew that most of it probably wouldn't be new, but some of the stuff on Wonderweiss at least, and the procedure he'd been put through might be helpful.

She'd taken it to Aizen, quietly, and somewhat sullenly, telling him that she wouldn't want it to get into the wrong hands. Kuja wouldn't have any use for it anyway, not that she'd asked him, but whoever was taking over the labs, and it clearly wasn't Szayel because he'd bitched loudly about that fact when he'd found out, might have, and they probably shouldn't have it.

She wondered if it had influenced the later decision to allow her, Grimmjow, and Yylfordt out together. Kadaj's absence in their little party was still being felt, at least by her. It was odd just hanging about the Palace. The rest of the Sound Five, Four now, since Kimimaro had taken the peaceful out offered to him, had got over their anger with her for being friends with the Arrancar. It wasn't her fault Nnoitra had got involved, and anyway, it wasn't like she was friends with Nnoitra. Sleeping with him once didn't make them fucking buddies.

Yylfordt had used the excuse of wanting to stop by Rush Valley and pick up some supplies. It was as good an excuse as any, and clearing it with Kuja was easy enough for her once Grimmjow and Yylfordt had been given the okay. Apache wasn't allowed, though; maybe it was because she wasn't actually part of Skite, or maybe Aizen just didn't want too many of the hotheads going out together. Tayuya was hotheaded too, but Aizen hadn't seemed to make much grumble about her joining them. Of course, she was part of Skite, and wasn't under Aizen's control, but maybe handing over that data had got her in Aizen's good books for a couple of days.

She'd asked Kuja if she could get out of the Palace for a while. He probably knew, or at least suspected, that part of her reason for wanting to get out was to see if they could get in touch with Kadaj, even if he wasn't prepared to come back home yet, but she wasn't about to admit that to Kuja. Still, monkeyboy wasn't dumb.

Yylfordt had done his shopping in Rush Valley, and then they'd moved on to the desert around, killing time before heading back, and picking on some of the local wildlife. Tayuya, at least, was finally feeling a bit better, especially after she'd called on Ifrit to murder some really unfortunate things. Working with her Aeons made her feel better in general, and Ifrit was her first, so he was always special.

Killing things helped too.

She'd dismissed Ifrit and was wearing a wicked grin when the absence of the Aeon's reiatsu allowed another one to creep across her senses.

"You have gotta be fucking shitting me," she said, turning towards where it was coming from. She couldn't see anyone there yet, but she could feel it there. They weren't trying to hide their presence, so they were probably on a hunt, or doing the same as them and letting off steam by murdering things that didn't deserve it.

She'd felt the Ryoka berserker's reiatsu enough times to know it by now.

Comments

[jawmask]

Grimmjow had agreed to go with Yylfordt for a multitude of reasons. The first was that he'd never not agree to go on a trip. Anything that got him out of the Palace, for whatever reason, was an opportunity to be jumped on. The second was because being away from his boss and the Arrancar he barely tolerated was always preferable to being with them. The third was that the Palace was a stifling underground complex that gave no room for freedom. It had an 'outside', if it could be called that, but it was nothing compared to the actual outside, with towns to visit, people to speak to and monsters to kill. Monsters that weren't owned by Wonderweiss or Kuja or that pink-haired Ryoka bastard.

The main reason, this time, was so he could get back into condition. His last outing had resulted in him becoming quite badly injured and the effects of those injuries had lingered longer than he'd have liked. He'd suffered a selection of broken ribs and a damaged wrist, among other things, in the fight that had taken place after their mission to Midgar. He sorely needed to get some real fighting against real enemies under his belt if he had any hope of recovering properly any time soon.

He'd sparred back at the Palace, of course. There was no shortage of people to dance with there. Even so, sparring wasn't the same as having an opponent intent on killing you. There was no risk, no danger, no push.

Yylfordt's trip, while it was the official reason they were out, was little more than a detour for Grimmjow. He'd put up with the shopping. Rush Valley wasn't so bad, but it was only a place of thrill and excitement for those with a hard on for Machina. He was largely indifferent. It was interesting, but he preferred the finished products to the components, so he'd spent most of his time there half bored and occasionally translating rapid-fire, slang-filled Al Bhed to Tayuya, who lacked his and Yylfordt's mother tongue grasp of the language.

He'd been patient, however. Yylfordt had got them out, so his errand came first. He had still been pleased when it was all wrapped up and they could finally get to the monster hunting, which he was thoroughly enjoying. Tyrants were a rare treat out in the sands, but he'd taken one of those out quite happily earlier in the day. With the large beast's death and the competition for prey eliminated, smaller predators had grown brave enough to tangle with its killers.

Worgens were among the most numerous of these. Vicious balls of teeth and claws all wrapped up in red fur threw themselves in groups at any unassuming travellers stupid enough to walk into their territory. Most travellers stayed on the road, which the Worgens knew well enough to avoid, but their little party had gone off the beaten track and the locals hadn't appreciated them trespassing.

Grimmjow dispatched one with his sword. Swordplay had been uncomfortable during his early sparring sessions, but he was happy with how his wrist had healed and felt no pull, pain or strain when Pantera's keen edge bit into and cut through the valuable pelt of the monster. He looked up when he felt Ifrit's reiatsu withdraw upon his dismissal and cocked his head at the look that Tayuya was wearing.

It was then that he noticed.

"... you've gotta be kidding."

[palehornedprince]

Yylfordt happily sliced through a Worgen that had made the fatal mistake of being here on a day that Grimmjow was in the area. He'd had a good time in Rush Valley, and it was good to talk normally to people that weren't Grimmjow and Szayel. He'd picked up some machina parts, and bits he could make parts out of, and a couple of new tools, and had then, quite cheerily, headed off with his two buddies to go and give the local wildlife a bad day.

They'd all needed to get out of the Palace. Yylfordt did all right because he could stay cooped up with an airship and be occupied for months, but the other two were restless. He hadn't wanted, really, to bring Apache along on this trip. He liked her well enough, but he didn't really want to take her into somewhere like Rush Valley and spend most of the day talking Al Bhed around her. She'd probably get bored, or pissy, and then kneecap him or something similarly unfortunate. Better to leave her behind, for Yylfordt's own health.

The other two felt it before he did, and then Yylfordt looked in the direction they were, and picked out the same trace. He hadn't encountered it himself for a long time, but he remembered it. "Caneuicmo, pnu?"

He looked at Grimmjow. It had been a long time ago that Yylfordt had last met the Ryoka Berserker, but he'd seen the playback of Grimjow's last scrap with the asshole. "Berserker boy doesn't seem to be alone," he pointed out, because he wasn't sure if Grimmjow was going to head over for a rematch or do the smart thing, although the chances were slim on the smart course of action being his route.

[jawmask]

"No," Grimmjow said, letting the gore from his last kill drip idly from his blade, the Worgen all but forgotten. "He's with the Fire Elemental and the girl." His eyes narrowed.

The other two hadn't felt their Reiatsu in person. Tayuya hadn't at all and Yylfordt only had Ulquiorra's account to go by. It was possible, due to the nature of Ulquiorra's replays, for those experiencing the playback to feel trace amounts of whatever he had felt then, but it was a little like being exposed to someone else's faded dream. It was useful for identification, if you were sensitive enough, but it wasn't the same as feeling it first hand. It lacked the intensity. Grimmjow wasn't sure whether Yylfordt would even remember it from then. Grimmjow, however, recognised it as easily as the Berserker's own.

Grimmjow raised his free hand, put it on the side of his neck and jerked his head sharply with a crack. The Berserker, the Fire Elemental and the girl. He wanted to get even with the Berserker for what happened last time. He was healed now and ready to go, but the last fight had left him out of commission for a few weeks and in rehab for a few more. It wasn't that he was scared, he just wasn't sure whether Tayuya and Yylfordt would cope with an enemy that had the ability to make their side invincible or someone who would have probably matched Ulquiorra if he hadn't pulled the wrong sign in their little game of Elemental Rock, Paper and Scissors.

His sword, Pantera, was in the Arrancar approximation of Shikai. He wore the jaw-like mask of his Coeurl-type Hollow on his face and he knew for a fact that his tell-tale half-Hollow Chakra had been broadcasting their position since he released it. There was no way that the Berserker's group wouldn't have felt his presence from the moment that Tayuya dismissed Ifrit.

Potentially before.

[palehornedprince]

Grimmjow's mentioning of the fire elemental and the girl triggered the memory for Yylfordt. He'd seen Ulquiorra's replay, and felt it, but he couldn't place the reiatsu he felt until Grimmjow mentioned them.

That group could be an issue. The girl had some scary abilities, scary enough that even though she was a girl, Szayel had practically been wetting himself about her. The fire elemental was a whole other ball game, though. The Ryoka, when they had an element, like Marluxia, really seemed to embody it. Yylfordt had never seen anyone fight with fire the way that guy had in Ulquiorra's memory.

He glanced back towards Tayuya. She was fire elemental, but even though she was a good ninja, she wouldn't be able to keep up with that guy. Not a chance.

"That could be a problem, bro," he said, frowning. Grimmjow didn't look like he was ready to beat a hasty retreat, though.

[soundfivebitch]

"The fuckers from last time?" Tayuya asked, looking between the two Arrancar. She hadn't been privy to Ulquiorra's replay, didn't know the reiatsu of the other two, but she could feel the fire elemental, and another one, that felt a lot like Nel.

She hadn't seen them in action, but she'd heard about it, and she'd seen what a mess Grimmjow had been. Going up against them probably wasn't a good idea, and Grimmjow had only just recovered; they were a smaller group than before, and she and Yylfordt hardly matched up to Ulquiorra and Nel.

"The girl's a white mage, right?" And the fire elemental was obvious. If they did go against them, they'd have to play it tactically.

[innatelunacy]

There had been a sense of something powerful and fire elemental. Saix hadn't been overly concerned. They were on the hunt for a Chocobo Eater which had a tidy bounty on its head, and which would be drawn to them, and their chocobos. Saix, privately, would have only objected to the trek back if the chocobos had ended up eaten, rather than about the deaths of the accursed birds, but he wasn't about to admit to this.

The fire elemental disappeared suddenly, and in its wake....

His expression changed to be more serious and severe as he looked in the direction of the reiatsu. There was no mistaking it; he'd encountered it enough times, and the other two....

One he knew as a girl. He hadn't fought her personally, but she was comparatively weaker than the other two. The other one he'd only met once before, but he wasn't about to forget that encounter because he'd been dragged away, half crippled and getting worse, struck with a number of status ailments which had left him weak and useless for days.

That attack, however, had not come from this one.

His chocobo stamped its feet and warked unhappily. Saix pulled on the reins, holding it steady. "They'll know we're here," he said.

[gotitmemorised]

Axel brought his bird to a stop with a gentle tug of the reins.

Feathers ruffled from head to tail and the bird shook once, but stopped steady. It was nervous. It clicked its beak together with a hollow sound and glanced around itself with rapid movements of the head, crest rising and falling. Axel thought that the Chocobo Eater was putting it on edge, but now he questioned that assessment...

"It's not the same group as last time," he pointed out, stroking the Chocobo's fluffed neck feathers soothingly. "Right?"

[jawmask]

"Yeah," Grimmjow replied, jaw tight.

She was a powerful White Mage at that. From what he remembered, she kept to the sidelines, but neither of the two men she was with were content to let her get hurt. Both would drop whatever they were doing in the midst of a battle to go to her aid. Luppi found that out to his cost.

She was a Synergist too, and she had no qualms about buffing her team mates.

[soundfivebitch]

"Is taking out the healer first an option?" She asked.

She was a bard; silence would be useful, although if the girl was warded against it, it could be a problem. Failing that, if Yylfordt could keep the Fire Elemental busy, and Grimjow could keep the Berserker occupied, for a couple of minutes, she could deal with the healer, and then help Yylfordt. When it came to games of Elemental Rock, Paper, Scissors, Tayuya had a one up on most.

[palehornedprince]

Yylfordt grunted, remembering what Ulquiorra had shown them all. "Luppi got fucked up for going after her," he replied, simply. He looked over at Grimmjow, "I hate to admit it, bro, but I won't last long against someone who can keep pace with Ulquiorra."

He thought about it, and then shrugged. "On the other hand, if Grimmjow doesn't give his buddy time to build his limit first, we might be okay." He grinned; it was a slight dig, but there was a point to it. Grimmjow always went in to enjoy the fight against the Ryoka Berserker; if he didn't give the Berserker that time, the fight might go more their way.

[hearstheplanet]

Aerith stroked her chocobo along the side of its neck. It had been unsettled, but in an area where there was known to be a chocobo eater, that wasn't a surprise.

She'd felt that familiarly dark and twisted reiatsu at the same time Saix had. She remembered it well; people who had Fiend reiatsu, and strange Fiendish abilities. They unsettled her almost as much as they were unsettling the chocobos. These people were not right.

But while there were three people, only two of them felt like that.

"One of them isn't like the others were," she said, "they feel," she hesitated slightly before concluding, "normal." Strong, for a normal person, but they lacked that dark malevolence that tainted the other two.

[innatelunacy]

Saix nodded, just the once. "I've met them before; they're part of the usual group." Their previous meeting had been with an unusual group, but not an entirely unknown one.

This was not, however, the whole of the usual group. They were short; the one that had given Saix issue last time was absent.

"Weaker than the last ones we encountered," he added, looking towards Axel, "but not necessarily less dangerous." Last time there had been a woman, a white mage of their own, who had appeared to be in command, and had seemed to try to keep a lid on things. She wasn't present this time, which meant that there would be no one trying to control them.

[gotitmemorised]

Axel's chocobo shook itself again uneasily.

"So what do we do? Y'think we can take 'em?" He asked Saix, not entirely uncomfortably.

The one Axel had faced last time had been powerful and would have probably beaten him had he used his Element as freely as he did himself, but he wasn't there. Neither was the woman with the lance.

After going into the Mark business, he'd read up a little on monsters. There wasn't a great deal of detailed information down on paper, but it seemed to be common knowledge that regular monsters were afraid of Fiends, or Hollows, or Akuma, or whatever the people local to a particular area called them. That group were probably keeping making the Chocobo Eater as uneasy as its intended prey.

"Or... uh, chase them off, of course." He added quickly, not risking a look at Aerith. He knew there'd be disapproval on her face.

[jawmask]

"Yeah, I know," he said, glancing at Yylfordt.

There was no disrespect in the look, or his tone. Ulquiorra was the Fourth most powerful Espada among them and Yylfordt was the Tenth. There was too much of a gulf between their levels and abilities for Yylfordt to stand a chance at besting an opponent that Ulquiorra hadn't been able to quash even after a protracted battle. He was a dour little freak, but he was good at his job and his time in the Gotei 13 had only made him better. Ulquiorra also had the Elemental advantage, but that and all of his skill and training hasn't stopped the Fire Elemental from being able to cut him, hierro and all.

"We coulda done with Kadaj on this one," he muttered sullenly, glancing back in the direction of the enemy party. "But since he ain't here..."

He shook his head, looking at his friends with narrowed eyes and predatory consideration. They had two Arrancar and a Ninja Bard. She had the ability to inflict status ailments, which was a plus. Another plus was that they all had Aeons and she just happened to be a specialised Summoner.

[innatelunacy]

"We can," Saix answered, also noticeably avoiding looking in Aerith's direction, although his expression remained serious. "If we want our Mark before someone else gets to it, we may have to."

Saix would prefer not to leave and come back another day, when another hunter may have already claimed their prize, on account of Arrancar in the vicinity.

He frowned before he looked around directly at Axel. "They don't seem to be making a move to retreat, nor are they advancing on us. If we move away, it could leave us open to attack, potentially with them having had time to gain reinforcements." His frown deepened as he glanced away, admitting, "Or they may also move away and leave us be." Right now, it seemed, the others were waiting to see what they were going to do.

He looked Axel directly in the eye before he asked, his voice low, "If you were in their position, which course would you take?" Axel, of the two of them, had always been the better judge of other people, and he'd always been the wilier one when it came to planning.

[hearstheplanet]

There was disapproval on Aerith's face, but it was mixed with concern. She cared a great deal about Lea, and Saix, even if he tried to be a grump, and last time they'd run into these people, she'd had to see Lea get very badly hurt. She didn't want to see that again. She couldn't be sure she'd be able to save them again.

But the way the blue haired one had been last time, it seemed so unlikely that he'd just let Saix walk away. Whatever was between them was really personal. Saix seemed just as unwilling to walk away from a fight with him as vice versa.

She sighed, unhappily.

[soundfivebitch]

Tayuya looked at Grimmjow. They could have done with Kadaj on this one; he'd have swung it far enough in their favour to make it less of a risk.

But he wasn't here, so they'd have to think.

"You deal with their blue haired asshole, me and Yylfordt can deal with the healer and fire elemental." She looked at Yylfordt, "If things start going sour, I'll use some genjutsu."

[jawmask]

Grimmjow looked at Tayuya. Even this small group all had their attributes. Grimmjow himself was easily the strongest of them physically and likely the fastest. Yylfordt was pretty good himself, being both fast and miles stronger than a normal person, but his expertise lay outside the battlefield and their enemies weren't exactly normal. Tayuya ... well, Tayuya was clever. Tactics came easily to her, so Grimmjow nodded in agreement with her.

"Right," he said and turned to Yylfordt. "Red's fast, so don't feel like a pussy if you have to throw up Steelguard. Hierro ain't enough."

In normal circumstances, their natural Hierro would easily be strong to fend off an attacker, but Red had proven able to cut it on a stronger Arrancar than those two. Nnoitra might have weathered it, but if Ulquiorra had failed to, Yylfordt didn't stand a chance. Steelguard on top of it should be nigh impenetrable. Luckily for them, both Yylfordt and Grimmjow were versed in the Sentinel Class.

"If things get sticky, we've all got Aeons." He grinned. "If those three're Ryoka, I doubt they'd be able to get a Fayth to take 'em."

[gotitmemorised]

Axel thought about it.

He'd been told a bit of the history behind the Arrancar vs. Ryoka encounters and none of them seemed to be particularly amicable. All of them had ended in fights which made for revenge on top of revenge as a reason to continue doing it. As well as that, whatever Saix and the blue haired guy he fought last time had going on, it was personal.

"Me? I'd run, because I know when running's a good idea." He looked at his friend seriously. "That guy..?" He inclined his head with a slightly pained expression. "He didn't even want to run last time. The others were circumstance, but he went after you personally. You're right -- if we run now, we risk them at our backs."

His brow furrowed as looked back in the direction that their collective reiatsu was coming from.

"And they have ranged attacks," he murmured, recalling Ceros and Balas, but not knowing them by name.

[palehornedprince]

Yylfordt grinned, "That asshole cut Ulquiorra, I ain't gonna feel like a pussy for using Steelguard, bro." He was the weakest of the Espada, and he was okay with that. He enjoyed a good fight, and sometimes he got in over his head, but he knew his limits, and he wasn't about to suffer any dings to his pride over them.

He rested his sword on his shoulder, still maintaining a cocky grin. "Especially if it's to stop my back up getting hit, yeah?" He jerked his head towards Tayuya.

[soundfivebitch]

"Yeah, you'd better, fucko," Tayuya replied, with a nasty smirk, before she eyed Grimmjow. "Go in hard," she told him, knowing that Grimmjow preferred to enjoy the fight, which meant letting it build up, "then you can help us finish off Red."

[hearstheplanet]

Aerith frowned. Lea was probably right, as much as she didn't like it. She concentrated and drew her chakra together. "If you are going to fight them," she said, with distinct resignation, "then we might as well get a head start."

She cast protect on all of them, before giving Lea a steady and concerned look. "I don't want you to get hurt like that again, all right? Make sure you don't."

[innatelunacy]

Saix nodded, and was about to speak when Aerith spoke. He looked at her as she cast protect, and felt, for a moment, a slight pang. Neither she, nor Axel, had been involved in the Order's dispute with the Arrancar until they'd insisted on standing by him.

He allowed a wry smile to make the corner of his mouth twitch as she told Axel not to get hurt again. "I'll second that."

[jawmask]

Grimmjow looked at Tayuya flatly, but nodded all the same. He did enjoy a good fight, especially against this opponent, but that did mean that he tended to let the fights drag out. Doing that did always give the Berserker chance to use his transformation Limit. His Limit clearly reacted to damage dealt, so a long battle of traded blows was guaranteed to have him hulking and furry before too long.

He needed to avoid that. He needed to do what Tayuya said and hit him hard and hit him fast and prevent that from happening.

"Right," he said, his expression turning to a more characteristic grin. "Let's go."

[gotitmemorised]

Axel looked between them and nodded.

He would have made a quip about them not needing to be worried, or not being his parents, but he was the one who suffered the most serious damage in the last fight and he'd needed to replace his Chakrams after the centaur girl broke one of them. He had, of course, been training himself to use a generated weapon like Saix and the rest of the ex-Nobodies, but he hadn't had as long to perfect the art as they had. He didn't much like the idea of them failing during a battle with a similar group of people to the ones he faced last time and leaving him open.

"Right, right," he said awkwardly. "Let's hit them before they hit us."