Rai leaned against a rock outcropping in their base's training grounds. The boy vizard wore another unusual combination of colors. His hair was red, he wore a button up cyan T-shirt with a loose, purple tie. Khaki shorts and lime green tennis shoes rounded out his outfit. Though this time, he wasn't wearing a belt to put his zanpakutou. He held on to it.

Raiden Arashi had spoken with Rena on this matter. He wanted Kano to not fear his inner hollow, and gave his proposition. If there was a way for Rai's inner hollow to materialize and fight Kano, maybe he can get his point across to Kano. They've figured out a way to do just that. But Rai didn't want to do it right away. He wanted to confirm his suspicion. He wanted to know what Kano's true feelings about his inner hollow was. First, question and answer, second, let the brawl begin.

Shiro couldn't wait to begin, while Shougeki was in agony that Shiro was going to use him. There was a high probability that Kano would be killed or seriously injured. But if he was going to show his inner hollow who's boss, this was necessary. Fear was a powerful thing. Rai knew that, though he fears nothing. Not even Ayumu Kazuki has made him afraid. And that was how he fought.

Now, he just waited for Kano to show up. Any spectators were welcome, but they better not interfere. Or there will be hell to pay.

Kano dragged himself into the area. His eyes had deep dark circles around them as if he were to wear nightliner, and a lock of hair over his left eye was now light gray, and almost shimmered in the light. For a 17 teen year old vizard, he seemed to have aged over the past weeks. it has been almost two months since his last sleep, and it was now taking a toll harshly.

He took his last glug of his Jolt energy drink. He now had to take about five drinks a day to get back the energy he doesn't get from drinking. He basicly replaced Beer with Jolt energy drink. He stopped dragging his feet by Rai."yes? sensai?".

Rai saw Kano come in. He looked terrible. And he was drinking energy drinks just to stay awake. Seriously? Rai shook his head and sighed. He took a few steps forward and sat down "Indian" style. "Sit." He ordered. Rai put his sword next to him and leaned back on his arms, almost thoughtfully. The boy waited a few minutes before speaking.

"Kano, what are you afraid of most? And be honest with yourself and to me." Rai looked at his student with an impassive expression, his voice neutral. But if he looked carefully into Raiden's eyes, Kano would notice something was off. That Rai had a plan of some sort. Something that was definately out of the ordinary. Rai never had a plan. The younger yet stronger vizard waited patiently for Kano's answer.

Kano walked closer and sat down. His eyes look drowzee, but his mind was awake, and alert, but he had no clue how long it would last. "I....I'm afraid that i will end up killling...that my Inner Hollow will take over and wipe out everything i care about...including myself.." he spoke with true honesty. Raiden, being his first and only master, was one of the few people he completely trusted, he had no worries of telling him.

Kano was however a bit anxiouse now. He could feel in the air that something was gonna cause hell for him. Raiden never really asked him such deep questions. He then sat and waiting for the responce from his master.

Rai nodded. "Which are you more afraid of? Your inner hollow or its intentions? There's nothing wrong with killing in itself, but it's the who that matters most. What makes your inner hollow different compared to other hollows that we've encountered? Is it that it mirrors your own abilities? Or is it because it is inside you? Or are you also afraid of other hollows? Think about it a little bit and give your answer or answers." Rai waited patiently and looked up at the sky. He allowed the whites in his left eye go black and the eye color go yellow. Another question hit him.

The Storm of Destruction looked at his student with the mismatched eyes. "Are you afraid of another person's inner hollow?" Whether Kano answered his previous question/questions or not before would not matter, the question would still be asked. After the next set of questions, then things will heat up.

"I fear my inner hollow for it's intentions. it doesn't just want to kill...it wants to completely obliterate everything, including my own body. He just wants death" Kano shudders abit and looks down, remembering the evil snicker in the darkness. "He won't stop at any point if he comes to take over me. He would keep up with destruction, even if this body dies in the process, he doesn't care about life, just death" Kano couldn't believe how well he knew his hollow...yes it was apart of him, but still he was the opposite of him.

"i do not fear other hollows. including other inner hollows..." He spoke simply...he did not care about other hollows. he only knew his own on a personal level.

"That is what most hollows desire. Death, destruction. Including most inner hollows, like mine. But in the end, an inner hollow needs a body. It needs you. Even if it beats you, it can't kill you or it will lose its own life. And thus it can't do what it loves. I highly doubt it doesn't care about its own life. Still, the fact that you seem to know it so well is proof to how close it is to you." Rai's mask started to form on his face, slowly, but surely.

"But all hollows can smell or sense fear. How did you fight your hollow? Did you have fear in your heart? In your eyes? After this, you might want to check history books about a man named Sosuke Aizen. After you answer, you better be worried about another person's inner hollow, cause you're gonna fight one soon. And I expect you to fight him just like you would fight against your own." Rai looked deathly serious. Kano needed to face his fear, and destroy it. And then confront his inner hollow. But first, he needs to be conditioned for the encounter. And what better way than Shiro, an inner hollow, and Rai's at that, to do it?

Rena trusted Raiden Arashi as far as she could throw him..which was an impressively good distance considering his power and her own..but after giving permission to use a Tenshintai..Courtesy of her time being the 1st division vice-captain for so long.. To draw out..not the shinigami spirit..but the hollow spirit instead..she began to worry. She knew Raiden had come to terms with his hollow..but to have the hollow fight Kano..even for a limited amount of time. Well it worried her.

"I must get there and make sure nothing happens..I won't interfere unless Raiden loses control of the situation..but I want to be there just in case." She muttered to herself as she continued to shunpo again and again towards where Raiden had said they would be training.

She stopped short to be just behind Raiden and was silent as she sat down next to him. Whether he tried to scold her for showing up or not was up to him..but she was here and she wasn't leaving until this was over.

Though she did whisper something to Raiden when all the talking between the two had stopped. "Just remember..the device can only hold a spirit for 72 hours total..and only for a few hours at a time. This must be done quickly..not to mention it will slightly tax you as well since your power will be drained to help keep the spirit materialized..unless you want me to do it."

She took her seat again and smiled while waving at Kano..she didn't have her spiritual pressure up..she didn't look pissed..she was just there..looking very cheery and hoping genuinely that kano did well during this training..She was actually hoping that Raiden's plan would work..and strengthen Kano into a real Vizard.

“He doesn't even care about his own life....” Kano obviously had a glimmer of fear in his eyes. But regardless, he put on his brave face and stood up. Kano walked a bit back before turning around. He knew deep down this would not be anywhere near an easy fight. His ring shined a bit in his hand. His spiritual pressure rose a bit, as if getting ready for the fight. “so how am I gonna fight your Inner hollow?” he asked, having no idea.

(sorry, I didn't know what to say really, my posting should be longer once the battle begins once ^~^)

Rai turned to Rena and nodded. He got up and went around the corner. He brought out a dummy, a Tenshintai. "This will help with that. You have 36 hours to prove to Shiro that you can fight without fear. At least, with the limits I placed with him. Then you'll have a break. And then you will fight him again, with fewer limits. Watch out for his Kuragari Arashi. I can only use it three times before my mask shatters, but with him..." Rai trailed off, hoping Kano would be able to finish his sentence. That move is his strongest.

"His strengths are also slightly different than mine. Let's begin..." A black spiral consumed Rai and the dummy. It felt evil. It felt like a hollow. When it died down, a pasty white version of Rai was next to him, wearing a brown T-shirt and red sports shorts, green tennis shoes, and had purple stripes in his white hair. Shiro was grinning sadistically. "Hello, Kano. Pleasure to meetcha' face to face. You better be faster unleashing your shikai!"

Shiro kicked Rai's sword up, caught it with his left hand, drew the sword with his right. The hollow dropped the scabbard and charged. Shiro aimed a fist to the face and then a knee to the stomach. The hollow charged again, this time with the sword. Unlike Rai, Shiro's physical strength was actually above average, but at the cost of some speed.

Rena smiled a bit as Raiden used the dummy and closed her eyes as she felt the hollow manifest. When she opened him..there it was. So thats what it looked like..Funny..it reminded Rena of Aner in alot of ways.

"Now to see if Kano is even capable of fighting in his current condition.." She thought to herself as she noticed he was still sleep deprived..being dead didn't mean they could ignore the body..the man was going to be forced into a sleep deprived coma if this kept up.

She herself was just an observer..so she didn't even have her Zanpaktou out. She was just sitting on a rock watching the hollow charge at Kano twice. She looked at Rai..and he seemed comfortable with the situation..so she didn't see a need to do anything but watch.

"I got ten bucks on your hollow Raiden." She said with a small smile in a joking manner. Course..she figured the hollow would win anyways..but..it wouldn't be fair to sell Kano short. He's always proven to be..useful.

(OOC - Skip me if you want. I'll poke in an oberservation now and then without breaking order. But don't wait on me to post. :3)

Kano's eyes went into awe as the black aura covered the dummy. But awe quickly turned to anxiety as the dummy charged after him. Kano clapped his hands together and intertwined his fingers while jumping backwards. “Ookami, supureddo yori sono Hitomatome !” he shouted while pulling his hands apart. A white and black aura shot up his arms encasing them in a swirl of the opposite colors. He ducked over backwards sliding his hands on the ground as the punch came up and quickly hopped upside down before the knee came. The aura solidified making to long chain mail sleeves with color as white as snow, and two claw gauntlets as black as night. He clawed at a tree branch to keep himself from flinging into the woods and pushed forward. He clawed at the dummy inner hollow along with lowering himself to claw uppercut. He then spun himself to the back of the inner hollow of Rai's and jabbed a kick towards his back before kicking far back.

He scraped at the ground and grabbed a jolt out of his bag while still sliding backwards. Keeping the eye on the inner hollow he chopped off the top and glugged it down all the while jumping into the air landing on branch, more alert then he was a minute ago, and close to jittering, his eyes fijiting left and right yet still focused on the hollow.

Rai nearely fell over when he heard Rena's bet. "What the HELL?! Are you saying Kano has a chance of beating Shiro? I don't think so. Shiro's only limits is no bankai at this stage. In our sparring matches, it's been an even 132 wins to 132 wins. There is no way Kano will win. Actually, the only way for Kano to *puts up air quotations* "win" is to not hesitate, not be ruled by fear. Not to show it at least..." Rai looked away and blushed. "Believe it or not, I even have fears, but you never heard me say that..." Rai muttered to where it was only barely audible to Rena. He didn't want to admit it. But he never let that stop him either. Where Kano is.

Shiro grinned ever more widely when his attacks failed, and moved accordingly. He wasn't as fast as Rai, but he was still fast. He spun and side stepped, avoiding the first claw. The hollow version of Rai stepped back to avoid the second one. "Seriously? You've moved faster when you spar against Rai! What's hold'in you back, Kano?" The creature taunted him as Kano continued. The student spun around him and kicked at his back. Only for Shiro to disappear in the last minute, reappearing on a different rock outcropping from where Rai and Rena were at.

"Tsk, tsk, still move'in slow. You gotta do better than that. Don't tell me your fear stems that much." Shiro watched as Kano took out an energy drink and chugged it down. "My god...I didn't realize you're that weak! I'm surprised your inner hollow hasn't taken over you yet! You fear him so much it's pathetic. If Rai was like you, I would have torn him to shreds long ago..." Shiro disappeared, reappearing right above Kano with a downward swing.

The inner hollow continued with a spin kick and a cero charged up to the max in two seconds, firing right after being charged. Shiro jumped up, black electricity surrounding the sword. Upon landing, he charged again, this time though, his sword was much stronger, and aim a horizontal strike. Shiro followed it up with a downward blow, unleashing the black lightning with name. "Kuragari Arashi!" The black lightning was fired with a width that would encompess a 100 degree angle of Shiro. If the attack hit, only reason it wouldn't kill or knock Kano out was because of how wide spread it was. Serious damage was sure to be dealt if it hit. Shiro stopped and waited for the smoke to clear to see what happened.

When the hollow brought his sword down, Kano griped on the ground preforming a curve handstand along with pushing forward extending a kick towards his face, at the same time pushing forward and rolling on the ground, never leaving his focus on the hollow. Not many people understood, but it wasn't dreams of his hollow. He was fighting him many times whenever he tried to put his eyes to rest, not just a nightmarish face, but like a replay of the whole battle. Kano gripped hard into the ground stopping his roll and as the spin kick came at him, a boulder of earth intercepted the attack, while Kano hopped over it to make a stomp on the hollow's face along with using it as a spring board. As he rose in the air, gravel flung up at high speeds under the ground. Not aiming at the hollow, but aimed at Kano's feet. He noticed the cero being fired and attempted to jump. He accidentally flipped off the gravel under his feet in the air and his left leg was hit pretty close to direct by the cero. “ugh” he mumbled as he hit the ground and stuttered a bit. Once Kano hit the ground, he dug his feet into the earth and brought his arms up to block the blow. Softening the earth it pushed him down making so more of the impact was absorbed. He pushed the earth around him sinking him into the ground with the blade passing over his head. Then shunpou'd into the air. He didn't rise that high into the air, just enough so he can touch his foot to the edge. He pushed back from the lip of the hole he made and raised his hands up lifting boulders of the earth to block some of the lighting, some of the strands came in contact and attracted to the chain mail, burning his arm a bit. And almost breaking the wall of earth between them. Dust rose around him the rock explode towards Rai's inner hollow. It wasn't a fiery explosion, just the rock breaking apart and flinging them towards his target.

Along with the graveled rock shooting at the hollow, Kano dashed forward and clawed down on his mask. His eyes became a bit more calm actually, but less alert as before. He rushed in faster, the whole time thinking to himself about his inner hollow. For some reason, this one, although much more powerful, was not as frightening, just the fact that Raiden had made peace with it, showed that it valued life if any amount. While his inner hollow didn't even care for its own. His master may have said that a Hollow won't kill the host, but in this case was wrong. He knew a frightening amount about his inner hollow, seeing him almost every time he closes his eyes.

Kano tapped his gauntlets on the ground bringing up four boulders about the size of his head that began to rotate around him. They spun faster and faster around until the max speed of 100mph was hit. Kano rushed forward and shunpou'd past his rocks. He did a fly kick at the dummy's face, along with the boulder flinging into his body. Right after he disappeared and smashed into the ground about ten feet from were the hollow was and then sunk into the ground. While under the ground, fogged up his eyes, the way he focuses instead of closing them and pressed his hand on the rock. Kano was about 10 feet underground in an orb with ant tunnels pretty small spread out to the surface for a steady air intake. He tried his best to read vibrations in the ground for the steps of the hollow. This was the first time he had ever preformed this style of combat. He was switching from Close-ranged combat, which he would most likely lose, to Ranged combat, a style he was not found of. Once he felt the foot steps reaching on the ground, he shot up earthed spike with a little delay for using the technique for the first time. He hardened up the earth around him and then flung himself out right were The hollow is supposedly. He came up with his claw slicing upward hoping to at least knick him.

Kano managed a handstand to avoid the first strike, at the same time counterattacking. Shiro leaned far back to avoid the kick and continued. Only to smash a boulder the boy brought up. But Shiro felt something when he hit it. Often, a person's feelings are in their own attacks. Being an inner hollow, Shiro was much more sensitive to such things than Rai. He even felt things in Rai that his "master" never admitted. But the hollow wasn't sure exactly what he felt, so he stayed focused. Shiro held his ground when the student used the top of his head to leap into the air. The hollow noticed the gravel coming up. "Oh no you don't!" Shiro fired his red cero. Kano noticed it and jumped off the gravel, not really meaning to. But it seemed he grazed him.

As Shiro swung down with the enhanced blade, Kano used his arms to block it, and sunk into the earth a bit more than what he expected. When he fired the black lightning though, the boy was smart and put up several boulders. Shiro didn't even flinch when pieces of dirt and gravel hit him harmlessly. Then he spotted Kano pulling down his mask. Shiro grinned ever wider, and darted to meet him head on. The kid pulled up four boulders that started to spin around the charging student.

Kano charged on ahead of the boulders, doing a flying kick. Shiro just slid beneath him, standing up immediatly after passing him, ready to destroy the boulders, readying a cero. The first he chopped in half with the sword, his grin disappearing. He fired the cero next, destroying the rest of the boulders. He definately didn't imagine that.

Shiro stood still. He was thinking while Kano tried to read his moves. So, Rai was wrong...this ought to be a fun discussion...The hollow thought as he stared at the ground. He stomped his foot on the ground and jumped. First a spike came out, which Shiro just batted away. But he didn't expect Kano to come up as well. The hollow back flipped and landed on a rock outcropping. A tiny bit of blood trickled on the rocks. The clawed gauntlet barely knicked him. The hollow looked at his prey like one would look at a favorite student that surpassed their expectations.

"That was a neat trick. I'm surprised though. Who would have thought one hollow would not care about his life. Why hadn't you killed it yet? Why hadn't you rejected it yet? Surely your resolve isn't that bad...or is it? Or do you truly want him with you in your heart?" Shiro stared into Kano's eyes for a few moments, trying to figure them out. He was less alert...Perhaps this will get his attention.

"I haven't made full peace with Rai just yet. We're just waiting for our epic match till he's ready for the next level. And he will be very soon. And when I destroy him...you'll be first on my hitlist. Then Rena. Then Nika. Then Ayumu. Then everyone else in the Kishimasuku! Shock: Shougeki S!" Shiro's sword transformed into a rapier like sword. But instead of a blue cone shaped aura, a black one was around the blade.

Shiro charged Kano, leaving an afterimage that would go straight through him and do no damage. The real Shiro was behind him and stabbed at his shoulder. Just because he was using the defensive form, didn't mean he wasn't going to be aggressive. He continued to do stabs and swipes in rapid succesion, trying to keep him on his toes. He still haven't proven to Shiro that he could fight without fear against his inner hollow. But now Shiro was looking for resolve more than anything.