Zato glanced out over the clear-blue skies and waters of the land he called home, taking note of a rather.. unsettling change. The water's tint had been darkening recently, and some wave of what felt like negative energy seemed to be washing over him and the nearby village at a rather unsettling rate. The skies hue had changed alongside the water, but it was so far off in the distance that Zato struggled to think it could be the cause of any problems, at least, not until recently.

Zato's village had been ransacked in a rather violent way, mayhem wanting monsters had been devouring and tearing apart the village with a ferocity that couldn't really be explained. Zato had heard that it was worse in other areas, but they were of course much less protected. Zato couldn't help but smile everytime he carved up one of these monstrocities, letting their souls go to join the damned where they belonged was the least he could give to the place he'd called home for so many years.

And now as one of those occasions. A simple thrust and slash had been enough to separate the monster from it's sentient form, and as it's body faded away like the others Zato was confronted with something much more.. compelling.

Why was it holding a sword?..

Waves violently crashed against the dock as small hollows began to creep out from its edge into the small fishing town. Hollows had began to frequent the town with greater intensity over the last few months. The reiatsu of the town and many surrounding it had began to pique Zingar’s interest. He had made many visits over the time almost as if he were guiding the hollows to their next meals. The Arrancar enjoyed watching the humans suffer and the hollows gain in strength it was the natural order. He too had his own part to play in the cycle of life and death among the living.

Zingar’s eyes gazed upon the crashing waves once again as he found peace in the chaos that had ensued since his arrive that day. A slash and scream of a hollow broke these peace and his eyes turned to meet the hollows murderer. He chuckled at the boys confusion. The human must not have seen a hollow no, a warrior, like him before.

”A loss for words are we?” The Arrancar bellowed as he brought his sword to a battle position. He knew what was upcoming and there was no need to delay the inevitable. This was just another human who thought they could save their little town with their own hands. Zingar knew it was the shinigami that always saved the human’s asses whenever they got the chance.

The dragonic warrior was excited. It had been a while since he stretched his legs, maybe this human could give him a chance to let loose.

It was always strange to see one of the Hollows speak, and stranger still to see them with such.. a humanoid esque form. The mere sight of the monster was enough to make Zato's blood boil, and his drawn blade was more than enough expression of intent. "Not at a loss for words, just not much need to speak them to a monster. I hope the last sound you hear is the last breath you take at the end of my blade.. now fight me!"

Zato would grip his blades tightly, biting down firmly on the third which was clasped between his teeth. His eyes were locked on his new foe, Reiatsu began to poor forth from his body at a rather observable rate as he used Blur to make the first motion forward. First a diagonal slash up with his right hand, then one across with his left. He would step back after this first offensive, measuring the monsters response if he had one to offer at all. He didn't want to get cocky, the odds that he was as weak as the ones Zato had been killing was, well.. unlikely.

This one seemed different, and Zato couldn't really explain why but it was more than self-evident. "Come at me, monster!"

Zato spit out a few snide remarks about the humanoid hollows existence. Zingar chuckled at the comment, his comrades had much worse things to say to him. Those “comrades” did not survive the battle that happened after that and the hollow decided the same fate awaited this human. A burst of excitement came over him as he was going to battle. It always gave him great joy.

The human had a highly unorthodox way to carry his blades. Two of the swords he held in each hand as normal but the third was in his mouth. Zato then quickly disappeared using his Blur technique. Zingar could follow him of course due to his training in Huecho Mundo. An immediate first slash came and Zingar parried it with his blade. Another quickly across his chest he blocked with his forearm. The blade would move across his skin like it had just hit a metal bar thanks to his highly trained defenses it would prove difficult to do any damage with weak swings like that.

After the human backed off and slightly taunted him the hollow spoke again. ”This shouldn’t take too long if you keep hitting like that.” As he finished speaking Zingar, with his Sonido, would appear behind the human and attempt a downward slash with his zanpakitou. Hit or miss he would take one hand off his blade and charge a beam of energy in his palm. The hollow’s signature weapon the cero. ”Take this punk.” He said as the beam aimed for his opponent’s chest.

This Hollow wasn't like the others. He was oddly intense, even the aura he held was different and he almost reeked of death and destruction. Whatever path he'd carved to get to this point came at the expense of whoever had been dumb enough to get in his way and now, that particular honor belonged to Zato. Zato had carved a swath of bodies a mile-wide in his own right, he was no stranger to combat and the implications of it but he had a feeling this guy was beyond his grasp, a thought that was easily reinforced when his blades slid off the mans Heirro like nothing. Was the gap really that wide?..

Whether it was or not, Zato couldn't let the intrusive thoughts win even if they probably spoke to reality more than his current disposition seemed to. Zato tightened his grip on his blades, just barely reacting quickly enough to parry the Hollows downward strike. It was around this moment that Zato noticed a brief hue of light from the monsters fingertip, and he knew he was in trouble. His eyes widened quickly, and he blurred to the right as rapidly as he could to try and avoid the oncoming blast.

The good news? Zato was alive. The bad news? That thing fucking hurt. The slow drip of blood down Zato's side would tell the story of a man who'd nearly lost a lung to that particular encounter. Instead, he was 'fortunate' enough to have escaped with a broken rib, and the skin seered from the left side of his stomach. Zato tightened his grip, his hands holding his swords so tight he was nearly shaking. "Come on monster! That all you've got?!"

The Hollow’s first attack had been parried the sound of the crash filled the air. The following cero instead made contact, not exactly where it had intended but contact none the less. The human had was visibly phased by the attack and that made Zingar chuckle. That small cero was only a fraction of his real strength. If the human had trouble with his attacks so far this would be a simple matter in the end. Zingar decided to have fun with him. The hollow would put his off hand in his pocket his sword over his shoulder now.

“If that attack hurt you that badly then maybe just one arm will do…” As the hollow spoke he raised his spiritual pressure to a point that any weaker humans or hollows would have difficulty standing. Zingar thought the same for Zato. Surely the strength he displayed at this point would have Zato second guessing his cockiness towards the agent of death before him.

Zingar sprung into the air leaping several meters above Zato. Still using one arm he swung his sword directly downward intending to split the human in half if the move connected. Either way the slice be deadly, leaving a crater in the ground if dodged.

This Hollow was a cocky mother-fucker, Zato had to grant him that if nothing else. The hand in the pocket was disrespectful, fighting Zato with one arm was an offense he wasn't going to forgive, and thankfully the Arrancars cocky leap into the air gave Zato a perfect opportunity to capitalize on his arrogance. Zato began to spin for a second, a twister of Reiatsu forming around his swords as he chucked it towards the Arrancar's descending body. "Shred and blow away.. Tatsu Maki!"

Whether this attack had indeed succeeded in blowing the Arrancar away or if it had just deterred him from pushing forwards was somewhat irrelevant, the key was that it gave Zato a chance to Blur backwards to create some much needed space so that he could evaluate this battle a bit more effectively before jumping back into things. "You're strong, but make no mistake if you underestimate me I will kill you like the rest."

Zingar was an immensely strong hollow but, like all he has his weaknesses as well. His just so happens to be his vanity. This would cause the hollow to severely underestimate his opponents. This just so happen to be one of those moments. The hollow fully committed to his next attack huge downward strike meant to destroy. The leap and the set up gave the human enough time to charge a counter attack. He spun around and a twister of reiatsu shot from him toward the hollow at a fast pace.

The tornado met its mark dead center. The impact blew to hollow back a ways. The ground shook as he landed on his ass. Zingar stood up, a trickle of blood flowing from the corner of his mouth. His chest and clothes shown the damage of the impact from Zato’s strike. This kid had some fight in him after all. Maybe only using one hand was a bit too cocky. He chuckled before shouting. ”That was a nice little attack you had there. If you put some more power into it you might have actually hurt me!” Of course this was a lie but, Zingar had to keep up the appearance that his heirro was invincible.

He decided at that moment to show this kid some real power. A massive amount of reiatsu gathered around his arms a began flowing into his zanpakuto. He had activated his Kami Ryu. His next few attacks would be immensely stronger than before. Without another word the sinister sound of his Sonido activated and he charged straight for Zato. With both hands on his sword now he attempted a horizontal slash straight on Zato. The attack would either blow the kid away or if he managed to block it he would follow up with an upward diagonal slash. Surely the kid would know what he’s dealing with now.

Good news! Zato's attack had landed and it was even at least somewhat effective. The bad news? Everything else that followed.

Tatsu Maki had done enough to at least blow the Arrancar away and do some damage, but did little to dissuade him from future onslaughts, a fact that would cost him in the coming moments. The Arrancar would use Sonido to get on top of Zato in a moment, and soon enough afterwards Zato would feel the sickening thud of the monsters arm colliding with his raised blades. He didn't have long to process it, as the explosion of sparks and energy had sent Zato careening across the ground in a heap as he finally skittered to a halt. Zato had to get to his feet quickly, but his body screamed for a respite he simply wasn't in a position to offer.

The blood seeping into his mouth confirmed his worst suspicions, and the aching coming from his side was all too familiar. On a normal day, at a time of less threat, he'd take this opportunity to forfeit or escape but that wasn't an option today. If the man came forward, he'd be met with might. "Come at me bastard.. Keep toying around and I'll have your head on a spike!"