Sharpening Dulled Claws [Kita, Adalwolfa]

A warm evening in some southern American city, a red-headed arrancar filthied from her long trip away from her typical grounds, head hung in disillusion - none of the hunts she could find in this world satisfied that urge in her, they were mere whelps compared to her, crushed beneath her strength and sword.

She simply couldn't find an opponent to fill that void she felt grow ever larger within her, that made going on feel like a mindless work to the bottom than a triumph. There was no purpose, there was no direction, there was nothing for the Arrancar past the one she loved, and he was not here, nor had he expected anything of her beyond something she couldn't grasp. Not even the one she loathed was around.

The dark, rippling visage of her self in the shallow water of a fountain was what stopped her wandering. This nobody before her, with unfamiliar red locks, a cowardly expression, existence hardly beyond a thing floating about with little more than a 'trophy' to her name now, alone... It turned her tired stare into one of pure rage.

"JUST DIE ALREADY!"

Once a peaceful evening was jarringly sunk into chaos, the furious arrancar having swung her sword to render the fountain a sopping wet mound of rubble sinking into the ground, the pipe initiating the flow of water a pathetic reminder of what it once was. A roaring scream tore the air, spiritual pressure flaring with anger as occupants fled from the sudden explosion of chaos.

Diplomatic work on behalf of the Empire, naturally, meant traveling overseas. Not that Ada minded that at all, of course. She was rather used to traveling. Just as well, then, that she was also used to dealing with problems as they arose, and used to handling them through violence. She sighed as she set down the cup of coffee she'd been enjoying to go handle this apparent mess, hoping that it would, perhaps, still be there, and still be warm, when she returned.

She wasn't a woman of impeccable speed or anything like that, but she was certainly faster than the average person, and it hardly took long to find the source of the commotion. She simply looked at the destroyed fountain for a moment or two, before turning her gaze to the presumed perpetrator with a look of what could best be called "indifference."

"Lashing out is well and good, but not in a public forum, hm?"

Past the crowd of squealing morsels, the enraged arrancar could sense a presence worthy of fighting approach, not even a muscle's twitch lent to attack any of the fleeing citizenry - she was uninterested in tearing into the weak, they would drop in a mere breath. Furious gaze looking upon that worthy being, that anger burned hotter for a reason she couldn't quite describe; Was it her appearance? Her calm demeanor? Her dismissive gaze? There wouldn't be an answer for that, hardly a thought was put into the why - she wasn't a woman who got terribly introspective.

"A worthy being approaches me," Her rigid voice clawed through tightly clenched teeth, her wild gaze looking upon her, "I am uninterested in engaging here - weak lives need not be further disturbed. I wish for a challenge, not blind destruction of lives."

Her weapon was gripped tighter, "So if you wish, we may move. Else I will continue causing distress until a bolder party comes along."

"Then you should have started this little disturbance somewhere else, shouldn't you have? 'A worthy being approaches,' really? There are certainly less destructive avenues for finding some challenger than this."

Rolling her eyes, Ada gestured for the red-haired Arrancar to follow, no hint of fear in her voice. After all, why should she be afraid? This didn't seem to be one of those forces that could crush the common man like a mere insect, and even if it had been, Ada had seen far worse when she fought in the Third World War, and in the Fourth World War as well.

Her boots clicked against the street below, every step so filled with confidence that it seemed to border on condescension toward the woman she'd challenged. Why shouldn't she speak in such a manner, dealing with a creature so unrestrained? She was content to go wherever was a more suitable arena for their bout.

Gazing at this woman just made her angrier and angrier with her dismissive and nonchalant reaction to her presence, as if she were a minor annoyance or a pest than a potential danger. Yet, she calmed her tongue for now to spit falsehoods in service of maintaining face, "Cries for help is what draws the worthy to arrive in order to slay the beast, no?"

She wasn't about to follow like some meek girl, keeping stride to not be behind her challenger, not very close either, constantly eying those confident footsteps with an air of suspicion and the sting of envy. Her stride was low and lurking in comparison, those fierce golden eyes looking for tricks or sudden movements, until they were a way's away from any innocent parties from being affected from their blows.

"Here is acceptable." The red-haired arrancar affirmed, stabbing the tip of her blood-red blade into the ground as if to further enunciate her decision, "We are of the understanding this is not play."

That was the only thing she'd say before the brief buzz of a Sonido would lead into her coming high, a two-armed swing wishing to gore the proper lady with a blade hungry for blood.

Ada had been prepared for a strike well before they reached the arena, given the wild nature of her apparent opponent. Only a fool would have expected to wait for some formal declaration of a match, and so being given forewarning was all the time she needed to respond as if she'd seen the swing coming a mile away. Her leg shot upward, heel slamming into the side of the blade in order to send the swing off course.

"Of course. You have made that much rather clear."

There was a condescending edge to Ada's voice as she offered that bit of feedback, her palm shooting upward to hit Kita in the stomach. Aiming for the torso was too much of a potential risk this early in a bout with an unknown opponent, but the gut was harder to block, and more importantly, it was the sort of impact that threw someone off.

A powerful jerk threw her weapon off course, but not out of her hands. She was left open so quickly, the woman's voice only serving to mock her as she went to swing her blade down in response. Was this how it was going to be, even her opponent looking down at her as they exchange blows? Even with the strike punching into her stomach, her swing remained uninterrupted, braced and refusing to allow her knees to buckle.

Whatever the blade would manage to make contact with, an explosion would go off, a gunshot-like bang whipping the air. If this first strike didn't hit, then she would be going for a second one, a bitter expression on the Arrancar's face.

The explosion that struck the ground behind her momentarily caught Ada off guard, if only because it had been such an unforeseeable outcome of a strike like that. Still, adaptation was second nature to her, the most fundamental approach to combat that she had refined over centuries. As the second strike came, Ada moved to whip her body away from it, the momentum throwing another heel toward the Arrancar as she spoke again.

"I wonder what drives you to such savagery. It isn't simply in your nature, is it?"

Perhaps it was. Some simply fell prey to the Will so totally that this kind of cheap violence was sufficient for them, but the woman's expression was hardly that of someone caught up in the experience of sating their hunger. Ada was curious enough to have asked, but not curious enough to halt the fight simply for the conversation.

Though the opening was closed in, it would not be left unpunished, hardly a thought lending to retaliation as a clawed hand tore through the air to tightly grasp the ankle of her opponent before it struck her, adrenaline pulsing through her as that grip would feel like a powerful vice on the body of many beings, holding back the attack. Those prodding words flowing from her opponent only embittered her, lip curling to reveal sharp incisors, though her acidic gaze did not present an animalistic drive starving for the woman's blood. Rather, it harbored a mystifying kind of hatred and frustration,

"Tis the nature of a beast to destroy and eviscerate, to hold care for none but fury for all," Her voice hissed amongst the momentary stalemate, those words feeling like stinging poison on her tongue and thoughts, "Tis the role of man to slay and dominate the wilds, not speak to what cannot be reasoned."

Her expression wavered, darkened, and steeled as she spoke. Even with how resolute her words were, there was a hanging question of if she truly believed such things of this clash.

"What a simplistic view. And incorrect, no less."

Her ankle being gripped wasn't a huge concern for Ada. No, on the contrary, it presented her with a point of motion around her opponent, doubly so given the arrancar wasn't properly striking back. Take a moment to analyze, and speak while doing so. Easy enough for someone like her.

"Man raises what is around him by his presence. That which cannot be raised is simply ignored as nothing more than a distraction. Man which descends willingly into base nature is simply a symptom of hungers unsated and untempered. Giving into that hunger is simply a sign of weakness, but such weakness is temporary. If, that is, one wishes it to be."

Using the grip around her ankle, Ada swung herself closer to her opponent, her sheer mastery over her body allowing her to hold herself in place as her free foot shot toward the hand holding her. In theory, one could certainly break such a gambit, but Ada doubted there were many experienced enough to be ready to handle such a risky attack.