< > = Inner monologue
[The backup plan]

[Play Music]

Senato’s body was consumed by pain through Tomoyo’s kido, it was pushing him to his limit, but he knew two things: he had to buy the others more time to escape and he would not allow himself to be defeated by someone with such apologetic eyes.

Senato: <I need to get this fire off of me and start moving, fast. There’s only one way I can get this off…> (He lowered his head) Tenku no tate…

His few struggled words caught Tomoyo’s attention. She noticed his entire body seem to become crystalline, then with the sound of breaking glass, the crystal shell shattered, flying off of Senato’s body taking the blue flames with them. He rose from the ground, the top half of his robe now completely ripped apart, revealing his chest, covered in scars seeming like old stab wounds.

Senato: (He was out of breath. Tomoyo’s modified Soukatsui had put a large amount of strain on his body, though there were no actual injuries caused, so he was recovering fast) To think you would push me to use my back-up defence so early in our fight…

Tomoyo: (She stopped her chanting. With Senato now free from her crippling pain, he would easily be able to escape her Rikujokuro, even if he is out of breath) your determination and resourcefulness is commendable, not many captains would have a defence technique covering their bodies as a back-up. Judging by the fact that you only used it now, I can safely assume that it is a one-time technique, correct?

Senato: Your assumption is correct, I’m afraid. That technique is nicknamed my “second chance” a final defence, able to deflect away a single fatal attack, in order to allow a counter-attack… <Though in this case, I cannot strike at her, I’ll have to fight more passively, I don’t know just how much modified kido she has at her disposal…>

Tomoyo: If it is your final defence in order to preserve your life, then why did you use it now, the Soukatsui was not life threatening, you would have survived.

Senato: This isn’t a case of my survival. I simply have to stop you here and now, nothing more and nothing less.

Tomoyo: (Her eyes drifted to the multiple scars covering Senato’s chest, they were obviously old injuries as they had completely healed as part of the skin…> may I ask about those scars on your chest?

Senato: These are old scars, from when I was a human. (His voice seemed sad, an obviously horrible memory)

Tomoyo: I see, they were carved into your very soul. That’s why the scars never completely disappeared… It must have been quite painful… <No wonder he was able to stay conscious through my previous Soukatsui, wounds like that could only result in a death which must have been excruciatingly painful and also extremely traumatic. That explains his hatred towards fighting, but not why he is so protective of his allies…>

Tomoyo’s eyes showed nothing but sympathy towards Senato, he could not stand having to fight someone like this, someone whom he bears no grudge against, someone so kind… He suddenly snapped out of his thoughts, reminding himself that he was in a battle, whether he liked it or not. This person was his enemy and he has to defend his comrades.

Senato: Hitosuji no Hikari! (5 Stars pulled into formation above Tomoyo and fired down onto her, she deflected it with ease) <I’ll keep at least 4 stars beside me at all times for defence, the remaining stars I’ll use to keep distance between the two of us, like this I should be able to have a good eye on her and anything she does, but I’ll need to keep awareness all around me, I have yet to see how far her kido can go, and how much she can manipulate it… Distance and awareness, that’s all this comes down to…>

He began firing off beams of light and a few weak kido, trying to keep his distance and delay her mission, Tomoyo easily deflected beam after beam and spell after spell, though she did not move from her spot, this worried Senato, what was she planning? If anything it would be dangerous for him to say the least.

Senato: <I won’t let her do anything> Hado 33 Soukatsui!

Tomoyo moved her defensive magic circles to face Senato, but saw no spell. She turned to see the spell being simultaneously casted from 2 stars, to her left and right. Unable to defend against both at the same time, she was forced to dodge, both attacks barely missing her.

Senato: <She doesn’t seem to move fast, does that mean her weakness is fast paced close combat? Or does it mean that she is so skilled in kido that she doesn’t have to be fast?>

Tomoyo: I see, so you are able to transmit spells to your stars, allowing you to fire them from essentially any location. I assume there is a small object on or near your hands which allows you to transmit and multiply them?

Senato: Close, but not quite right. Your first deduction is spot on, but the second… sounds more like something I’d expect a scientist to say, not a kido user…

Tomoyo: Ah, so the stars are connected to you through a form of kido, making them essentially extended parts of your body…

Senato said nothing, simply smiling before firing off multiple beams again. Tomoyo redirected her shield, blocking all the beams. Senato continued to fire off beam after beam, with unrelenting force. The entire inside of the building was being torn apart and reduced to mere rubble. After collapsing most of the building, Senato’s attack had ended. The air was filled with smoke and dust from the rubble. Tomoyo suddenly sensed Senato’s reiatsu. She fired a spell at it, only to see that the reiatsu she was sensing was being emitted from one of his stars.

Tomoyo: <Using the dust and rubble to hide your physical presence and focusing large amounts of reiatsu at each of your stars to make me unable to sense you, such a diversion would only last 5 minutes before the dust would clear, under normal circumstances that is> Hado 58 Tenran!

The air flowed powerfully around Tomoyo blasting all the dust away from the area, revealing Senato, whom had pulled his stars to create a rectangular barrier around his body in order to protect himself from the spell. As the spell was completed he emerged from his barrier.

Tomoyo: As a strategist, I didn’t think you would resort to such simple tricks… <He must have had some reason behind it, besides delaying me…>

Senato: <So she can cast her kido over large areas as well, that information will help to plan a counter attack later, the real fight will start soon, Shiho should have evacuated most of squad 4 and the injured by now…> (He sighed as he shook his head seemingly disappointed) I had hoped it would take you longer to figure out my trick…

With few words Senato and Tomoyo continued their battle, both silently wishing that they did not have to do this. The bright flashes and loud explosions were easy to hear throughout most of Seireitei.

[Play Song]

Majo quickly leaped away from Yushi, throwing many needles behind her as she moved. Her own spiritual pressure was masked by her speed as she reappeared behind him. Yushi was quick on his feet, pivoting on his heel and locking blades with the injured Captain. They both stayed that way for quite sometime before either of them was truly willing to move.

"I can't believe you would come here... just to pick a fight with captains that you knew would kill you given the chance..." Majo muttered through her shattered jaw.

"I thought you wanted me to shut up," Yushi pointed out as he disconnected from her, aiming a lower swipe for her abdomen. Majo swiftly dodged the strike, aiming her own strike for the tendons of his shoulder. He quickly removed a dagger from his robes and blocke the strike. He quickly lashed out with his sword, managing to catch Majo just above her left knee. She lifted her other leg to kick him in the shoulder, catching him off balance and sending him back a couple of feet. Yushi managed to regain his balance enough to be able to dodge Majos next attempt, flash stepping away from her and hiding from her perception. Majo stopped in her tracks, turning her head to the side and examined her surroundings.

The small outlines that wavered in and out of her vision allowed her to know the general layout of things around her. Suddenly sensing a heightened amount of reiatsu from directly behind her, she saw the large hotspot of energy that appeared directly before her. She managed to quickly flash step out of the way of the 88th hado, dodging it with only a small singing to the bottom of her Haori.

Majo quickly reappeared and stood, regaining her perception of the surrounding area. While her field of vision was limited to twenty feet, her reflexes allowed for a fast reaction.

As she stood, another blade appeared within her line of vision. She quickly dodged it's attempt at beheading her, sliding directly underneath the captain that stood before her. As she sprang to her feet directly behind him she aimed a quick slice to the small of his back. As it landed in the desired area, she quickly put distance between herself and Yushi.

Yushi swiped at empty air when he turned, noticing that she was already quite far away from him. He let out one laugh and adopted another laxed position. "Damn, you're fast."

"Of course I am," Majo replied from directly behind him. Yushi quickly turned and released a dagger into her abdomen, causing Majo to stumble. Yushi took that opportunity to use his foot and drive the dagger deeper into her body with his heel. Majo retaliated quickly with several needles of her own, all of which had managed to bury themselves in vital nerve bundles. Yushi's left arm fell limply at his side. He cursed as Majo was upon him half a moment later and they exchanged a series of blos while his arm remained useless.

As they both flew away from one another, Majo managed to stop herself with her own spiritual pressure, using it as a cushion. Yushi was thrown into yet another building, creating a much larger hole than Majo had.

Majo stood in anticipation, waiting for Yushi to emerge and enter the range of her perception. She took that time to exercise her breathing, calming her rather frayed nerves. She never normally shouted at an opponent like she had at Yushi just minutes before. She needed to keep her anger in check or her judgement would become clouded and her mind would be consumed of only thoughts of mindless slaughter.

Just then a large explosion rocked the building her opponent had been knocked into, sending dust up in a rather tall cloud. Yushi emerged from it and landed not far from her, dusting himself off casually. Majo narrowed her milky white eyes behind her visor as she sensed him acting so nonchalantly. Yushi finished pampering himself and stood forward, his eyes scanning his enemy. Majo, doing the same, had just come to the conclusion that something was off about Yushi.

"Something the matter?" she asked sarcastically. "If you're scared you can always go running back to your captain commander with your tail between your legs."

Yushi narrowed his eyes as Majo flash stepped.

"Or you could run into my blade, whichever you prefer," Majo finished as she appeared to his back-right, nearly managing to impale Yushi on her blade. Instead his flank was grazed, leaving a gash on his side. He retreated readily, throwing four daggers behind him in hopes of injuring her further. Majo dodged them rather easily, standing still as she parried another one that he had thrown. Then, with aim that should not have belonged to someone without sight, she let loose several byakurai, each of them narrow and fast beyond comprehension. One of the seven she had fired managed to find it's place in yushi's shoulder, causing him to grunt in displeasure. He gripped his shoulder tightly and turned his eyes in Majo's direction.

"You're blind," Yushi deadpanned.

"Oh? Just now figuring that out?" Majo replied snakily, scolding herself for the retort. She had to bit her tongue or she would reveal too much to Captain Kenronri.

"I remembered hearing about the injury Kyobo caused," Yushi stated as he held his side. "I had just forgotten who he fought. So it was you, was it?"

"And if it was?" Majo answered him with a question.

"It's incredible that you can fight so well, given your circumstances, and the fact that you had little to no time to recover before you chose to fight me." Yushi seemed sincere, which Majo found rather odd.

"However, don't think that feats like this one are going to save you at this point, Majo," Yushi warned her. ""If you don't release you're shikai soon, you will die."

Majo grimaced. She knew she couldn't hold out much longer with just her sword and needles. She would need to release it sooner or later. "I doubt that," Majo replied in spite of all she had thought previously.

Yushi shook his head and suddenly appeared in front of her, swinging his blade in a large, vertical arc. the attack caught Majo just above her abdomen, slicing into her stomach and nearly all the way to her shoulder. As the blood followed the blade in a large arc, Majo had a difficult time comprehending the pain and simply stood there for a moment, unable to think. Yushi took that opportunity to remove the dagger that she had left in her own boddy. Majo instantly reacted this time, nearly slicing off Yushi's hand as he withdrew. He flinched and dropped the dagger, instantly putting up his guard as Majo continued her assault with a series of quick strikes and well places kicks and punches. As they both separated again, Yushi took a moment to gaze at his left wrist. It was cleanly cut, nearly severing the major artery that sat at the bottom of it. Majo had managed to sever several of the tendons to his fingers and other muscles in the hand, rendering it useless. He lowered it to his side, sighing.

"You're really something else," he murmured.

"Thank you, but you should save the flattery for when I'm not trying to kill you," Majo replied flatly, her voice remaning level despite her injuries.

Yushi smiled. "How about that Shikai then?"

Majo exhaled briefly. I suppose I don't really have a choice in the matter. I was hoping to save it for later, but now If I don't, I really could lose my life here.

Majo opened her closed eyes and stood directly across from Yushi. His outline would shimmer from time to time as she watched his neutrality fluctuate when he felt pain. She held her zanpakuto in a reverse grip, level with her eyes. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Gripping the handle a bit tighter than she normally would have and shifting her grip a bit closer to the tsuba, she raised her head and tightened her body.

"Guide the Thread, Majinaishi."

A large gust of wind was thrown in Yushi's direction accompanied by a thick and constant flow of spiritual pressure. Majo exhaled slowly and took another deep breath, one after the other. The pressure that was built up from her power was so thick that Yushi had to stagger his own breathing just to keep from dropping to his knees. Majo herself was pouring an incredible amount of her own energy into this release, seemingly holding nothing back. Such a large outpouring of spiritual pressure... What the hell is she doing?!

Majo herself was still standing still, holding herself steady as her sword elongated and formed a sharp tip, the edges dulling into a rounded needle. The handle modled around her hand, creating an oval-shaped guard. A long, greenish chain extended from the back of the handle.

Majo relaxed and allowed her spiritual pressure to lower. "I would have liked to wait, however you are becoming troublesome," she muttered. "I hadn't planned on releasing so early, Yushi Kenronri. You should count yourself lucky that I'm not going to let you see my Bankai."

Moments later, she was upon Yushi, not giving him the slightest moment of rest.

[Liquidated Dimensional Voyage]

I suppose…he is well balanced. Tomoyo thought to herself silently as she kept her eyes on Senato as they continued to trade spells. She continued to minimize her movement while her gaze remained trained on Senato’s every movement as he evaded and moved around her constantly. He is respectably agile and judging from his movements, he can use kido as well as close quarters combat…

“I can see the gears in your mind turning.” Senato said as he thrust one palm forward, sending a single shakkaho blast forward with extra velocity. Tomoyo swung her staff and smacked the spell away with ease, bringing her arm around widely to move the magic circle she was using as a shield to block the kido spell that flew at her blind spot from the nearby formation of stars. Just as she made this movement, Senato shot forward to close the space between them and summoned the first hado spell, Sho, and thrust it toward her elbow. Tomoyo’s free hand came around from the side just in time to bring a gale of Tenran that Senato was forced to evade, missing his target while being blown away, though with minimal damage. He clicked his tongue irritably as he retreated several feet as the gust bended unanturally, forming a sphere that quickly expanded in all direction, nearly knocking him off of his feet. “I guess your reflexes are better than you let on. But at least I figured out the technical stuff behind your shikai.”

“Did you?” Tomoyo responded calmly, seeming unworried by his declaration. Senato grinned as he held his palms together.

“Yeah, I did. You’re not just mirroring your staff’s movements with your hand. You’re casting kido with your free hand and sending the energy through the staff in order to change the way the kido technically works. So if I could just disable your free hand or knock away your staff, you’re shikai would be utterly useless.”

“Ah, I see. And you’ve noticed that I move much slower than you, so it will be your win if you can get the staff out of my range, which is why you aimed at a different arm this time. Is that close to what you were thinking?”

“To an extent.”

Senato couldn’t tell what Tomoyo’s expression was exactly behind that mask of her, but the way she cocked her head and the look in her eyes told him that she was probably smiling.

“You’re exactly right. An excellent observation, 6th squad captain. To be perfectly blunt, you have the advantage under these conditions. I imagine you would succeed with your plan if we continue on like this, and I’m admittedly interested to see how you decide to incapacitate me without my shikai.”

Senato didn’t like the kind tone she had as she said those words that should have been her accepting her imminent defeat. He’d planned just as many steps ahead, and was worried about what she was thinking if she’d thought that far as well.

“Bakudo 62: Hyapporankan!”

The formation of stars had just placed itself in Tomoyo’s blind spot when he activated his kido and the tip of the blue colored kido became visible just as he cast it, but the attack suddenly flew in another direction, splitting into hundreds of blue rods that embedded themselves in the nearby wall. Senato’s eyes widened as he witnessed this, unable to comprehend what had happened. It was as if a sudden change had taken her over in a single moment, motivating her to take action.

“I have to apologize for my rudeness, but we must put this fight on hold for a moment.” Tomoyo motioned with one hand and the defensive magic circle placed itself before her. “Please bear with me for a moment, captain. I will try to make this as quick as I can.”

Before Senato could even protest, Tomoyo tapped the end of her staff against the center of the magic circle and the components suddenly changed. The writing began to shift and the designs all began to turn and slide across the two-dimensional surface like gears. Soon, the magic circle seemed to expand and become more complicated with several circles layered over it and all the unintelligible writing continuing to shift and create new chains and combinations.

Senato’s eyes widened as he found himself unwilling to move, feeling a great amount of pressure coming from…the magic circle? No; all around him. It was as if the entire corridor was having its reishi charged by something.

“Please overlook this.” Tomoyo continued to apologize as she held her staff up over her head. “I am aware that kido affecting time and space is forbidden in Seireitei—we are not too different. But as the commander of the kido corps and priestess within the Jūzō Hoshō, I occasionally get special permission. The best warning I can give you is to take deep breaths immediately after activation, as it will be slightly disorienting at first. I’m sorry.”

With that final apology, Tomoyo slammed the butt of the staff into the ground with surprising strength, making the entire corridor shake. Senato took a hesitant step back as the corridor continued to tremor from the blow, as if an earthquake had begun, and he watched as the walls and floor began to break away, making sure not to stay on any uneven portions.

He was even more shocked when the broken portions of the floor that broke away began to crumble to dust and evaporate into thin air. He was vaguely aware that the material was being converted into reishi before rejoining the atmosphere. He’d never heard of such a particular spell before, but that wasn’t the end of it.

With the floor and walls gone, all that was left seemed to be empty space.

Though that term didn’t necessarily fit. From Senato’s perspective, he was positive he was standing on thin air. What his eyes saw a massive array of colorful designs that marked everything in sight—he didn’t even know if they were still in Soul Society anymore. It was as if he’d been sucked in by the universe where there was no matter, only witnessing the complicated designs that he didn’t understand.

The magic circle before Tomoyo seemed to be working like crazy, the words and designs moving at a furious pace without rest. Tomoyo herself seemed calm, her eyes focused on Senato as if to watch his reaction.

“There is no need to be so tense, 6th squad captain. This spell is layered with countless safety measures to ensure functionality and minimal danger. Everything will return to normal shortly.”

“Just…what did you do?!”

“I’m pulling the entire 4th squad barracks into a pocket within the dimensions. I’m sorry to put it like this, but I’m afraid your efforts to stall and allow your subordinate to evacuate everyone have been wasted, captain.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What is this?!” Shen demanded as he tried to catch his breath, nearly stripping over his feet as he felt himself lose his balance. Kyobo had stopped moving as well, apparently well-aware that he’d only face a wave of nausea if he didn’t stay still. “I didn’t you to be the illusion type...Wait, your ally—”

“Just keep quiet and wait for it to pass.” Kyobo spoke over Shen indifferently, though he was silently relieved to see some sign that Tomoyo was doing fine elsewhere in the barracks. “I’ll kill you in a flash if you don’t stay focused.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Make sure everyone present and alright!” Shiho yelled orders to the 4th squad members that were helping to transport the patients outside. They’d nearly gotten everyone out at once, but the scenery had abruptly changed and they had no idea where they were. Many people had collapsed and puked from an intense disorientation and loss of balance that over took their bodies out of nowhere. Several of the medics were expressing worry that the many colors might affect someone with epilepsy or give someone a seizure, trying to stay focused on their job even in this situation. It was strange how those colorful designs seemed to resemble magic circles so much, though it was probably their active imagination. “We have to make sure no one gets separated in whatever this is!”

Luckily, Shiho’s concerns seemed to be baseless. No one seemed to be affected, aside from the disorientation and nausea, and everyone was accounted for as the scenery returned, the reishi around them somehow solidifying and reforming into exactly how everything was just before it all vanished.

“Let’s go!” Shiho called as soon as it looked safe to move. “We have to make sure we aren’t followed and that we don’t get caught up in the fighting! We’ll save the questions about what just happened for later!”

Shiho turned to stride forward, but only go a few dozen yards across the grass toward the entrance to the 4th squad barracks when he came to another stop. The others behind him stopped as well, looking around in confusion.

Where was the exit?

“Is that…medical building?”

One of the medics pointed straight ahead, where the exit should have been. In the distance, across the grassy lawn, was the traditional Japanese style of the 4th squad barracks that could easily be defined as the medical building.

Shiho turned slowly to see the very same building looming over them. They’d just left it, after all.

“…Crap.”

“What the hell is going on?!?!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“With this, you are trapped within the 4th squad barracks along with your subordinates.” Tomoyo sighed as the magic circle faded several seconds after the corridor had returned to normal. Senato was staring with shock, completely dumbfounded. “But I suppose that doesn’t matter, since you can’t leave while we’re engaged in combat.”

“How—why—what—”

“How did I activate that spell so quickly? It should have taken longer—it’s true. But you helped me, captain.”

“HOW?!”

Tomoyo pointed toward the floor with her staff. “Kido takes significant movement as well as chants to affect the flow reiryoku. Your every movement was forced into a distinct pattern that used the subconscious reishi flowing from your body to affect the reiryoku. Basically, just by moving, you ‘performed kido’ without knowing it, slowly supporting my spell. Since I was so focused on controlling your movements, moving around on my own began difficult. I’m still quite incompetent.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!” Senato denied this immediately, his heart clenching with panic. “Just moving doesn’t activate kido!”

“I see. I suppose I could explain, but the theory is quite advanced. How much do you know about the technical side behind kido? Perhaps we can start from there.”

“That’s not my point!” Senato ground his teeth. Was she making fun of him? “You’re basically saying you were limiting yourself because you were preparing a spell the whole time!”

“Yes, I’m afraid that’s true. I also had to limit damage to the walls and floor, since the magic circles might have been disturbed if we did too much.”

“Agh!” Senato roared with frustration as he charged forward, his stars gathering together to form its largest formation at the same time. He refused to hear this. There was no way he’d been deceived that entire time!

“Hitosuji no Hikari!”

Just as the large beam fired from the formation of stars, it suddenly redirected to the side, smashing into the nearby walls. Senato’s eyes widened as Tomoyo raised her hand without speaking a word and a full powered Sajo Sabaku flew from her hand, aiming directly for Senato. He immediately dodged to the side, barely evading the restraining bakudo out of pure reflexes. He roared victoriously as he poured his strength into his legs to go into top speed, aiming for Tomoyo’s open body to engage her in close combat, aiming to deal a decisive blow to her body and defeat her before she could recover.

He was stopped by several extension of gold that sprouted from the side of the Sajo Sabaku he had been running beside—an aberrant action uncharacteristic of the normal spell.

The next moment, he was flung into the air with his arms pinned at his side, his back touching the ceiling for a moment before being pulled back down to slam into the floor below.

“Tenku no Tate!”

Senato yelled and the stars rushed to his aid immediately, forming a shield around him just before he landed, breaking his fall and snapping the Sajo Sabaku with pure energy. The recoil sent him into the air again, but this time he was in control of himself. He glared in Tomoyo’s direction as he prepared to fire another spell.

But he was interrupted by the many black spires that entered his gut and scraped his body from all directions, digging into his flesh to pierce his muscles and sinews.

“Hado 90: Kurohitsugi.” Tomoyo spoke regretfully as she held one finger up with a small black sphere hovering above it. She’d winced as she watched the many black spires sprout from the same stars Senato had used to protect himself, almost as if they had betrayed them. Listening to him collapse to the ground in a bloody heap was no kinder a sound, either.

“Ugh…” Senato muttered as he forced himself to sit up, grimacing darkly. Tomoyo sighed tiredly, shaking her head.

“Please; I beg you. Stay down. I don’t mind talking, but continuing to fight is too cruel. Even if you win, you gain nothing, as the spell will remain active even with my death. Struggling further will only make it worse.”

“I’m not…out yet…” Senato muttered as he spat blood to the side. Tomoyo felt a small shudder go through her as she heard those words. It made it seem like she was the bad guy.

In fact, from his perspective, he was right. Absolutely right. Justice was on his side. She was the villain who was terrorizing the injured for the sake of strategic warfare. The fact that she’d spared their lives with this alternative meant nothing. What sort of life could be led in an alternative dimension such as this?

Even so, she could not hesitate. This was the better alternative. She knew this. She was well-aware of this. At the end of the road, more lives would be spared than her other option.

This justification was barely enough to stop the trembling of her hand as she spoke with a steady voice.

“So be it, 6th squad captain. Stand if you believe you have the strength for it. I will knock you down again and again until you forget your reason for standing again…If that is what it will take to make you give up.”

[Motivation]

[Play music]

Senato lifted himself up once again, blood dripping slowly from his injuries, though, this was not enough to make him stop. He couldn’t give up. He wouldn’t allow himself to give up. “Why do you keep trying? Even if you beat me, there is no way to get out of here…” Tomoyo said, trying to get Senato to stop fighting.

Senato looked at her, his eyes filled with a mixture of determination as well as despair. “You want me to stop fighting? You really think I would listen to you? You invade Seireitei, spit upon our laws by using space-time kido, your captains have killed or injured countless members of our squads and are fighting my fellow captains whom are putting their lives on the line…” Senato looked down to the groud before raising his head and shouting towards Tomoyo, “AND YOU EXPECT ME TO STOP FIGHTING?!”

Tomoyo was silent for a moment, surprised by Senato’s sudden outburst. “Why are you so eager to throw your life away? This alternative has spared your life and the lives of the members of squad 4. You can still learn so much, yet you don’t seem to want to live long…why?” Tomoyo spoke softly.
Senato calmed himself back to his usual composure. “I am not eager to throw my life away...” He began in a soft, sad tone, “I want to live…” Tomoyo was surprised by the words he spoke, “I want to live a life that is happy, a life with my comrades, without being in fear of hollow or other people.” He turned away, “I can’t live that kind of life, if I don’t put my life on the line. I don’t want to be a survivor. There is no life more depressing than being ‘the lucky one’ the one that is left behind after everyone he cares about dies around him, that’s the kind of life you are trying to force onto me, and I refuse to take it.”

Tomoyo could hear from the way he spoke that this was something Senato was already familiar with. “Then tell me…” Tomoyo began, “How do you plan to fight me when not even your stars are on your side..?” She suddenly noticed a small device in Senato’s left hand, but before she could say anything she sensed another presence charging at her at high speed. She turned, raising her barrier just blocking the strike of the sword. As the sword struck the barrier, the figure flash stepped away, striking from behind her, though again she blocked it. She only saw the figure long enough to see that it was holding its blackish zanpakuto in reversed grip before it disappeared again. The figure ended its attacks and stopped next to Senato.

“So it’s finally time to fight, huh, Senato?” Shiho spoke with a determined smile whilst looking at Tomoyo. “Yes, I need you to keep her busy while I try regaining control of my stars.” Senato spoke as a grin crawled along his face. “Well then…” Shiho began, “don’t take too long.” He looked at Tomoyo, he could see that she was strong, “I guess I should take this seriously.” He held his blade reversed in his right hand, and pointed it to the left with the sharp end pointing to Tomoyo, He swiped his left hand over the blade as he spoke, “Sabaku, Shinjutsu no Tsukaite!” The sword reformed into a long shaft as three scythe blades pierced out from each end, pointing perpendicular to each other or the shaft.

Tomoyo looked at the weapon, “So he called his lieutenant in for help…” she thought to herself, “That weapon, each blade is double edged, great offense but if overpowered can cause extreme damage to the wielder, just what are they planning?” Shiho charged at her, releasing a flurry of strikes, Tomoyo erected her shield blocking the strikes, “He’s the exact opposite of his captain, impulsive, offense based, fast…” she thought as she continued to block his attacks.

While Shiho clashed against Tomoyo, Senato attempted to figure out how she was controlling his stars, “Did she intercept my reiatsu based connection? Did she simply cast kido from in front of the stars to make me think she controlled them? Did she replace them?” He contemplated, “Too many possibilities, I need a way to stop most, if not all, with one plan. I need to get back into the fight before she begins to counter Shiho… That’s it!” Senato pulled his stars together, “Shiho!” he shouted, “Strike the stars, remove the taint!” Shiho heard the words and flash stepped to right in front of the stars, striking his blade through them. Yet not a single one broke.

“He followed his captain’s command without a single word.” Tomoyo thought, “He trusts his captain that much… interesting.” Senato looked to her, his determination revitalized, “Shiho’s strike has severed any connection you made to my stars. Even if you re-establish it, he can sever it indefinitely” He spoke, his spirit seemingly revitalized by the presence of his lieutenant. “You two share quite a strong bond for a captain and his subordinate.” Tomoyo remarked. “We’re basically brothers… what would you expect?” Shiho said as if stating the most obvious fact.

Before another word was spoken Shiho charged at Tomoyo, unleashing a flurry of attacks again. This time, Tomoyo was prepared; she fired a Soukatsui at Shiho.
“Tenku no Tate!” Senato shouted as a barrier appeared before Shiho, blocking the attack. The two of them seemed to work in perfect unison, using each other’s strengths, and protecting each other’s weaknesses. Though it would take far more than perfect team work to beat Tomoyo. They both knew that.

“Shakkahou no hogeki” Tomoyo spoke as a bombardment of fireballs flew out from her staff, directed at Senato and Shiho. Shiho flash stepped back to get some distance but the orbs came flying towards him at a magnificent speed, “Tenku no Tate!” Senato shouted as all his stars were used to from two barriers to protect each of them from the bombardment. The barriers just barely held up against the bombardment. “Shiho!” Senato called to him, “she is a master of kido, and has an array of modified forms at her disposal, you need to constantly be on the lookout.” Shiho nodded as he once again charged at Tomoyo, she raised her staff ready to strike.

“Hitosuji no Hikari!”

She noticed the formation before it fired, and dodged, whist bringing up a shield to block the incoming attacks from Shiho. Shiho began a high speed combination of attacks, his dance-like strikes were so fast that he almost seemed to lose shape, Senato prepared to block Tomoyo’s counter attack, but before that could happen Shiho broke away from the close combat, “I got to admit, you’re one tough woman, holding off two opponents with kido and minimal dodging.” Shiho remarked, “I’ve exchanged enough hits to see that you have a lot of power within you. If you went all out, on our own we’d stand no chance, but we do have the benefit of outnumbering you… even if it’s a miniscule benefit.”

Tomoyo smiled as she looked at Shiho, “I see, so you aren’t as impulsive as I previously thought, you were using those attacks to gage my power…” her voice was soft, she seemed glad that her opponents weren’t reckless fools who would get themselves killed, the last thing she wanted was to stain her hands with young blood. “You seem far too kind to be someone who would be tasked with strategic warfare, namely terrorizing the injured…” Shiho remarked, “I guess we aren’t always what people think we are.”

Senato was contemplating their predicament. Sealed within a pocket dimension, which could not be entered or left, that much was obvious. He also knew that Captain Tsukubashi was fighting a difficult battle somewhere within this dimension as well. “Four captains fighting within an area roughly the size of a barracks, Shiho is also not far off from captain class power, and he also has a bankai. Unfortunately it is likely that these battles will be pushed to bankai stage eventually, though, the healers should have set up barriers. In combination with the distance between us, they should be fine, for now…”

Shiho and Senato readied themselves to continue the fight. Tomoyo was already prepared. Shiho once again charged at her, she noticed that they seem to use the same pattern each time, Shiho charging, then Senato attack or defending depending on how she reacted to his charge. She fired multiple kido, but to her surprise, Senato did not defend Shiho. Instead, Shiho dodged each spell just barely, with a quick glance she could see Senato chanting on the side-lines, he pointed towards her, and she suddenly noticed a star close-by, “Gaki Rekko!” Senato shouted as multiple green bars of energy came charging at Tomoyo. She deflected the spells, making them charge towards Shiho, whom flash-stepped past each beam, “He really is fast…” Tomoyo remarked as Shiho appeared behind her attempting a strike.

She turned in an attempt to strike him, but then noticed him holding one of Senato’s stars in his hand, “Soukatsui!” Senato shouted. The blue flames enveloped Tomoyo, though she flash stepped out of the way of most of the attack. The small burns on her body quickly began to heal before Senato or Shiho could react. “Such minor wounds are too easy for her to heal quickly…” Senato thought to himself, “If we really want to cripple her, we’ll need to hit her hard, but I can only transmit a high level kido through my stars once, and Shiho will have to attack directly afterwards in order to keep her from healing herself. So I have to wait till the perfect opportunity arises.”

[Chancellor of the Dark Arts]

“Well then,” Tomoyo sighed deeply before inhaling once more, filling her chest with air before letting it at once more, slowly. “Shall we begin?”

Just as she said this, pillars of steel sprouted from the walls on either side of the two shinigami, forcing them to evade quickly as the pillars collided with the walls on the other side with merciless strength.

“What a strange way to use Gochutekkan…” Shiho murmured curiously as he shot forward, tightening his grip on his scythe’s shaft. “But a kido user suits me as an opponent!”

He swiped out violently at Tomoyo, who back stepped softly to evade the first strike. Shiho stepped in immediately and brought the scythe around violently, aiming to severe her neck. However, he only managed to cut off a portion of her robes as she ducked beneath the strike with jarring agility, catching Shiho off guard as she touched two fingers to his chest.

“Byakurai.”

“Tch.” Shiho barely managed to swing his body out of the way, twisting his body around as he used his scythe to help balance himself. But before he could regain his balance to counter, the blue hado spell reflected off of the magic circle that had appeared on the wall behind him, flying right back toward him to hit him square on the back, sending him flying into the wall from the force of the attack.

“Bakudo #61—”

“Hado #73: Soren Sokatsui!”

Two blasts of blue flames flew at Tomoyo from either side of her from the stars that floated nearby, trying to pincer her. However, she merely held her staff up and two discs of energy formed on either side of her, widening as they blocked the attacks.

“Bakudo #39, Enkosen.”

Tomoyo continued to chant even after she cast the spell, eyes focusing on Shiho, who recovered quickly enough to pivot on his heel to attempt to strike her once more with his oddly shaped scythe. However, he was deflected by one of the two discs that abruptly blocked the path of his strike and he was pushed back as Tomoyo swung her staff and the disc gained power, becoming similar to a whirring blade of energy that forced Shiho to keep his distance.

Tomoyo’s attention immediately turned in Senato’s direction as he began to prepare another spell, easily calculating the moment he was undefended as she sent the other disc in his direction to dig into his body.

“Captain!”

Shiho immediately broke away from the disc that was occupying him in order to rush toward Senato and swung his scythe at the disc, barely managing to knock away the disc in time as Senato finished casting his kido spell, sending a powerful blast of Hiryugekizokushintenraiho at Tomoyo, though she easily deflected it by creating a magic circle with her staff, sending the attack back at them.

“Tenku no Tate!”

Senato barely managed to erect a shield with his stars in time to shield both him and Shiho from his own attack at once, blowing away the discs of energy as well.

“It doesn’t look like we’ll be able to defeat this person with kido.” Senato sighed irritably as his stars began to change formation, reflecting his uncertainty as he thought through their situation. “She’s moving as if she’s set down a heavy burden. At the rate we’re going, she’ll just keep reflecting our attacks back at us and we have no room to dodge in this narrow hallway.”

“Then just get her to stop moving so I can get her with my scythe.” Shiho urged tensely. “I can tell that she’s good with kido, but she’s hesitating when I get close, as if she’s afraid of what will happen. I just need to time it right…”

“Captain of the sixth squad.” Tomoyo called calmly as she stood before them without showing any intention of attacking immediately. “I know this is a bad time, but I have something to request of you.”

“I don’t really have the luxury of listening to the needs of my enemy.” Senato shook his head with a wry smile. “More importantly, I have a request for you. Show me what’s underneath that mask.”

Tomoyo didn’t respond to that and Shiho frowned at his captain.

“His mask? Why on earth do you want that? We’re fighting this woman!”

“And yet we haven’t even seen her face. I don’t see why she has to hide her face when she’s already revealed her identity. It’s just insulting.”

Plus, we need to buy time for me to think. Senato thought to himself darkly. They were really going to be in trouble. They could only rely on his lieutenant’s attacks, since his energy based attacks seemed wasted on her ability to just send them back.

Tomoyo’s shoulders dropped slightly as she sighed as she raised a hand toward her mask to stroke it slowly, touching the large fan-like portion for a slightly longer moment as if pondering.

“Knowing the face of your enemy…another rule of the battlefield that I cannot understand. Getting familiar with you will not make it any easier to fight.”

“So you do it to distance yourself from your opponent?”

Tomoyo dipped her head slightly in what must have been an uncertain nod.

“I suppose so. I am quite weak. My eyes are red and puffy from the tears I’m holding back in regret for my actions. I’m afraid I cannot fulfill your request, captain of the sixth squad.”

“And what of your request?”

“I was going to ask you to send your lieutenant away.” Tomoyo replied without hesitation. “But I already know you’ll refuse.”

“As if we’ll submit to a stupid request like that.” Shiho snorted as he crouched low, preparing to attack. “You just want to get rid of a potential threat!”

“I’m afraid that my concerns are not as pragmatic as that.” Tomoyo sighed heavily as she moved her staff through the air in odd motions. “I simply do not want you to be caught up in this.”

Senato frowned as he watched the movements of Tomoyo’s staff suspiciously. Could it be…?

“Shiho, stop her!” Senato ordered, and Shiho shot forward immediately, scythe raised.

“Too late, I’m afraid.” Tomoyo said apologetically as she tapped the bottom of her staff to the ground. Immediately, a large rune suddenly appeared on the ground beneath both Senato and Shiho and Shiho came to an abrupt stop, as if all of his momentum was absorbed and thrown away, preventing him from moving.

“What…is this?!” Shiho demanded as he struggled to take another step. His movements were slowly and unbalanced, as if he were wading through syrup. He could barely move his scythe now as it dragged behind him.

“We of the Jūzō Hoshō specialize in seals and sealing techniques. There are a few spells that cannot be simply classified as bakudo due to their aberrant design and unique method of casting, so we re-categorized them as ‘Sumitsuki’. The technique used to seal your reiryoku is one of them.”

Tomoyo removed her staff from its position and Senato’s eyes focused on the strange rune that had been drawn in the air, as if turning reishi into ink with her staff in order to write in air. It was definitely unlike any normal kido spell.

But…

“That is a wasted effort as well, I’m afraid.” Tomoyo sighed as a beam of light flew past her and struck the nearby wall missing entirely. The stars were nearby, acting strangely again as they seemed to resist Senato’s will. “I have already analyzed your zanpakutou. It creates a shield or a beam depending on the quantity of stars used, correct? It’s just like an astrological formula where you arrange the numbers to add up. Just by adding in my own star to the formula, I can easily change the composition, quality, and overall success rate of your techniques. It makes it all lopsided and it easily falls apart due to a single error.”

Senato grimaced as he understood what she meant after counting his own stars. There was an extra floating there, though he couldn’t be sure which one it was—they all looked the same. How could he not have noticed earlier? Such a small thing had given her temporary control over his stars?

Or rather, she wasn’t controlling them—he could still give commands. She was simply forcing the stars the misread his commands like a corrupted code. It was simple, yet complicated. And she’d thought of this on the spot.

“You’d best find a way to defend yourself quickly.” Tomoyo moved her staff through the air and half a dozen magic circles constructed themselves in the air before her, lining themselves up to form what seemed like a cannon. “This probably won’t kill you, but the damage will be extensive.”

After which, she would approach their damaged bodies and seal their reiryoku. Despite her innocent demeanor, she was quite crafty. If they didn’t think of a way out of this…

“Hiryugekizokushintenraiho.”

The blast of energy flew through several magic circles, multiplying in power and magnitude as it spell up, flying forth like a linear cannon that hummed with destructive energy.

[Innocent Gazing]

Captain Anenokoji: (She stares quietly into the thinly veiled smoke, sensing no distinct location for her opponent. Inspecting her environment carefully, she raises her hand and snaps her finger. Her eyes narrow as she raises her blade cautiously) You’re playing with a fools odds, Captain Gingumaru. Such techniques merely delay the inevitable, serving only to buy you time. Seichi’s Narihibiku Ikasama remains in effect, preventing you from landing a single attack.

Captain Gingumaru: Don’t act so cavalier, Sumiko. I can not only hear the tension in your voice, but your actions contradict your confidence. Why would you need a barrier if you’re technique was absolute?

Captain Anenokoji: (Tension creeps up her spine, stiffening her limbs as fear grips her body. She extends her neck and glares viciously below, unsettled by the absence of her opponent) I suspect you recieved help generating that technique. Perhaps, her cold, lifeless body is lying amongst the ruins, as we speak.

Captain Gingumaru: (He smiles softly, brushing his hands through his head and raising his blade) You know, I find myself less bothered by your petty remarks. I think this means I’m beginning to find my way amongst all this confusion (He recites cheerfully, as he turns his blade horizontally and firmly presses against the neck with his palm). Okasen!

Captain Anenokoji: (She confidently stands her ground, as the arcing energy glides by her. Her periphery catches the glimmer of the golden energy.) Inner-monologue: It appears my fortune is beginning to vanish. His techniques are coming dangerously close to landing and I can’t risk moving, otherwise he will sense me amongst his widening spiritual energy. I’ll be no different than ripples in still water. He doesn’t know it, but he’s beginning to decipher the secrets of my Shikai. I may need to forego Shikai for Bankai soon. At this rate, I will never wound him enough to sedate him. (She calms her racing mind, loosening her limbs as she carefully inspects the source of his technique). You understand that your Bakudo isn’t comprehensive enough to shield the target from the location of such kido, right, Aexus?

Captain Gingumaru: Hado 67: Sukona Hahen! (He leaps forward, thrusting his arms forward and extending his index and middle finger.

Captain Anenokoji: (His fingers summon thousands of shards of green energy, which rip through the sky. He spreads his hands, allowing the shards to travel in numerous directions. Sumiko’s eyes widen, while her body is overcome by a forgotten sensation. A chill overcomes her body as she leaps to avoid the technique, though it strikes her shoulder, piecing her flesh with ease. She leaps onto a nearby building, cuffing her shoulder and growling under her breath. She locates the general vicinity of Captain Gingumaru, as a result of his previous tactic.) You may be playing the game, but remember these are my rules…(she says with a coy grin, bearing her teeth as her joy grows)

Captain Gingumaru: (A blade rises from the ground, releasing a torrent of red energy. It soars through the sky, erupting behind Aexus like a geyser. The sheer magnitude of energy scorches his backside, causing him to fall forward).

Captain Anenokoji: You can’t expect to unleash such intricate techniques without forfeiting your position, even with that technique. I may not be able to sense you, but I can derive the source location. I’m not blind, you fool!

Captain Gingmaru: Actually…you are (He says gruntingly, as he slowly walks forward, revealing his position)

Captain Anenokoji: What do you mean?

Captain Gingumaru: Look around carefully. You were so busy boasting, you didn’t notice what I had intricately placed in the hado.

Captain Anenokoji: (She turns her head in each direction, her eyes narrowing and teeth bearing as she becomes aware of her circumstances. She violently twists her body, howling at Aexus) you placed pieces of a barrier in your hado! BASTARD!

Captain Gingumaru: It conceals our spiritual energy within the barrier. That troubles you, doesn’t it? Now your distance from me is limited as is the depth of your spiritual energy. You can’t use it to deceive me as greatly as you did in the past.

Captain Anenokoji: More help from your friend?

Captain Gingumaru: No, I went with a theory and I was proven right. I thought it was a long shot, but I assumed that either my barrier or my kido would allow me to find a weakness in your technique. And I believe I’ve found it.

Captain Anenokoji: Please…you can’t possibly expect…ugh…(Her body quivers as her eye shutter with the purest form of shock. She lows her head, noticing a large wound on her stomach. She can feel the blood draining from her body, her wound massive and penetrating. She leans over and her grip of her blade loosens. Her eyes rise from the ground, tremulously focused on Captain Gingumaru). You…you did it…(she says with a faint, palpitating laugh).

Captain Gingumaru: You can’t hide from me with such limited space. Your ability to manipulate various aspects of the environment with your zanpakuto is ineffective under these circumstances (He watches as she slowly leans forward, attempting to catch herself, though her wound is deep and draining). Give up, Sumiko. You have lost. I will now finish you. Your life will end, but I promise a prayer will be said for you.

Captain Anenokoji: A prayer? (She looks up and grins) You fool…(unclenching her fist, she allows tiny marbles to fall to the ground. They begin rolling in his direction, abruptly leaping forward. They attach to his flesh and burrow deep beneath his skin). I designed these to help me sedate you…

Captain Gingumaru: (He begins digging at his skin, subsequently lifting his blade in an attempt to crudely gouge them from beneath his dermis).

Captain Anenokoji: I wouldn’t, if I were you. They are built to erect a barbed rooted system, which extends further into the body, connecting to the spiritual network. If you sever them, you could do irreparable damage to your spiritual network. Face it…I may die, but those little monsters are going to drain you dry. And without me to deactivate them, they will completely deplete you, to the point that your reireyoku can no longer sustain itself and will collapse into itself, destroying you.

Captain Gingumaru: So, either way I am fucked. I’d rather tear them out!

Captain Anenokoji: You’d need more precision than just the tip of your blade. Even with a scalpel, you would have tremendous difficulty. Accept it…you are going to die!

Captain Gingumaru: (He leaps toward her, swinging his blade and slicing across her body. She flings backwards, landing on her back. She stares at him, her eyes swelling with anger).

Captain Anenokoji: To think, someone as unintelligent as you could place me in such a delicate position…

Captain Gigumaru: This isn’t delicate. You are about to die. Whether or not I die, it is inconsequential. I will see that you are terminated, as you have now killed two captains.

Captain Anenokoji: You and Captain GeiBt? You should go the way of the valiant hero and try and save her. Don’t waste your time on me (she says with a slight grin, her eyes sparkling despite her misery).

Captain Gigumaru: It is time…(he walks toward her, raising his blade in the air).

[The Knight in Shining Armour]

[PLAY MUSIC]

Kyobo and Shen's blades were locked in a power struggle, which inevitably Kyobo was beginning to turn his way. Shen's two swords were being forced back despite the effort he was exerting to guard himself. Kyobo's eyes were hard in determination, a vein pulsed in his temple as he pressed on forward in the hope that he could finally end the battle. He was secretly desperate for the conflict to end, he could feel his wounds beginning to open up again, blood beginning to drip beyond the surface of his skin and drip down him yet he battled on, his zanpakuto giving him the strength to collapse Shen's guard and slam his axe pole into Shen's chest knocking him back. Shen replaced his blades almost as quickly as Kyobo readied his next attack and Shen grabbed his pink blade, increasing the muscle mass in his arms and legs as Kyobo shot forward with a devastating overhead strike which Shen met head on with his more powerful muscles and both received a large jarring pain down their arms as both blades met. Shen then kicked out at Kyobo, catching him square in the chest and knocking back in a stumbling fashion. Shen launched forward again unsheathing his blade and drawing it across Kyobo's chest but was countered by Kyobo grasping his axe stave in both hands and sweeping the oncoming attack aside and drove the butt of his axe into Shen's chest, cracking the breastbone slightly and knocking the Gotei 13 captain back before driving forward and shoulder barging Shen powerfully, flinging him onto his back a good few meters back.

That was when Kyobo had a prickling sensation in the back of head. His left hand shot to the area and could not feel anything so is was not a physical problem. The sensation then slowly turned into a bad feeling. His instincts were hardly ever wrong so he trusted the feeling. But he could not figure out what was wrong. He then quickly focused back on the battle as Shen fired off a byakurai at him, causing Kyobo to fall to the side in a desperate evasion attempt and dodged a second by vaulting off his hand where he landed sliding a few feet before coming to a halt. and was met with another attack from Shen as he tried to attack from behind Kyobo, cutting into the large man's back before receiving a large slash across the front himself.

Kyobo: [Inner Monologue] This is getting nowhere. At this rate my wounds will open up and I'll likely bleed out before I can fatally kill him and that's if we both don't faint from exhaustion first. (He looked over towards the squad 4 barracks, noticing the flashing lights through the window and the three reiatsu signatures fluctuating dramatically) Tomoyo's up to her neck in it, Akihiko is angry enough to use his bankai and Sumiko....

Then the troubled feeling he felt earlier screamed from the recesses of his mind. His thoughts quickly became panicked but every second one phrase seemed to scream out above all the other thoughts and question his mind raced with. Sumiko is in danger!.

His thoughts were interrupted by Shen's pink blade piercing his chest, just above his heart, narrowely missing both artery and lung but still a serious enough wound for blood to begin seeping out around the blade. But Kyobo was not in the mood for a wound such as this. He grabbed the blade with his hand, ignoring any blood and pain that flowed and pulled the blade out of himself, letting more blood run from the wound before hammering the head of his axe into Shen's abdomen and viciously kneeing him in the face a number of times before letting the captain fall and then severing his left leg and as he stepped over his opponents body he swiftly cut Shen's right Achilles tendon, stopping any thought of pursuing him.

Kyobo: (He carried on walking, blood appearing in the corner of his mouth, notifying him that his lung had not escaped the blade as he had first thought.) The next time we meet Shen, I will not leave you alive as I have now. I hope you learn to surrender in the time before we next meet.

Oblivious to any responses that seemed like they were a million miles away, Kyobo sprinted as fast as his injured body could carry him, his zanpkauto relieving him of any pain, but his wounds were still opening up again as he ran. It was mere moments before he found Tomoyo with what seemed to be a massive kido cannon she had erected herself and shortly fired rocking the building with an almighty explosion, blowing an enormous hole into the wall. However before the debris had even begun falling Kyobo ran to Tomoyo.

Kyobo: (He grabbed her shoulder and turned her around to face him, startling her) Tomoyo, I need you to get me out of this dimension now.

Tomoyo: (Her hand reached for her mouth despite the mask that covered her face) Kyobo, what happened to yo....

Kyobo: (He snapped at her, something he regretted immediately but now was not the time for worry) Not now Tomoyo! Can you get me out of here?! Sumiko...

Tomoyo: (Her hand dropped after visibly recoiling from him when he shouted.) Sumiko...(Shen looked into his eyes and all became clear to her in that instant) Right away Kyobo. Though you better take in a deep breath, this will not be a pleasant ride for you.

She then briefly muttered something and Kyobo suddenly found himself beyond the squad 4 barracks outer wall and promptly vomited. The transportation kido seemed to take its toll on him. That was when he felt Sumiko's spiritual pressure suddenly drop and thoughts of pure malice started to seep into his mind.

Kyobo: (His face contorted in anger as he grasped his zanpakuto tightly.) If that shinigami bastard even thinks about killing her, I'll rip his head off. BANKAI!

_________________________________________­___­___­___­___­___­___­___­

Aexus maintained his steady pace up to Sumiko who looked up fearfully at his blade which glinted in the moonlight, her blood shining a deep crimson on its surface. Aexus's blade then slashed down towards Sumiko, who had now closed her eyes expected the worst. She then hurriedly looked up as she heard a large bang to her right. It was then when her face lit up in a slight relieved smile as she found Kyobo standing tall above her in a set of shining silver plate armour, decorated with golden vine motifs on it. Aexus, emerged from a large hole in the side of a building, rolling his right shoulder painfully where Kyobo had bodily rammed him.

Aexus: (His eyes found Kyobo, who stood there holding his now dual headed axe, radiating a staggering amount of spiritual pressure) Well it seems you have your own personal knight in shining armour Sumiko. And he seems like a strong....

Kyobo: (He disappeared from view and rammed his fist into Aexus's stomach as hard as he could and watched him fall to his knees coughing and spluttering painfully.) SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH YOU WORTHLESS PILE OF SHIT! (His right leg raised and he stamped down on Aexus's back, cratering the ground with the impact) I'm going to make you suffer for what you have done to her.

Aexus struggled against Kyobo's foot as he started pressing down harder onto his back, his vertebrae felt like they were going to break apart from the slowly increasing pressure. Aexus raised his arm despite the pain and fired a shakkaho at Kyobo hitting him square in the chest and Aexus felt his foot lift off of him. As he tried to stand Kyobo's foot swung back and connected with his chest and flung him across the ground.

Aexus quickly got to his feet despite the pain emanating from his chest and shunpoed forward, slashing at Kyobo's armoured chest but his blade just deflected off and Kyobo just stood there looking down on him with his menacing glare. Aexus backed off and fired another Shakkaho at him and watched as Kyobo took the kido head on and emerged from the smoke that was produced from the impact and slash at Aexus with his axe, watching Aexus dodge the attack but Kyobo quickly swung the other end of the axe out and the second axehead caught him square in the chest cutting a deep wound into Aexus but not causing any fatal damage to his organs.

As Aexus fell though, he fired off yet another shakkaho at Kyobo which he this time dodged and Kyobo then realised that the shakkaho was heading straight for Sumiko. Kyobo flash stepped in front of her and took to brunt of the blast on his back shielding her from any harm. She looked up at him with a small amount of fear in her eyes as she saw the rage and malice that seemed to have a firm grip on his mind.

Sumiko: (Her voice was weak) Please Kyobo stop before you get yourself killed. Killing him will not help me in the slightest. If you came to rescue me, please just take me back home.

Kyobo: (His eyes softened and he lifted her carefully, holding her close as he resealed his zanpakuto and opened a Senkaimon. He looked back at Aexus who clutched his chest painfully) Next time I see you your dead. Understand that?

He then turned and jogged through the Senkaimon opening.

_________________________________________­___­___­___­__

Upon returning to Mujūryoku Seiiki, Kyobo ran, carrying a now unconscious Sumiko as he made his way to the Squad 6 barracks. He was of one mind as he charged through the throngs of shinigami around him, barging people out of the way and leaping over obstacles in the attempt to get to Sumiko's barracks before the blood loss became too serious. He ran as hard as he could, fully opening his wounds but he still pushed on, despite the increasing fatigue and lightheadedness he began to experience as blood flowed freely from his body, leaving a trail of crimson in his wake.

As he reached the barracks, he ran through the open double doors and knocked aside two researchers who were walking past at the time.

Kyobo: (His speed was slowing down gradually but his determination prevented his fatigue from making him stop) GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!

Everyone in the corridor immediately leapt to the wall as he careered past them, oblivious to the gasps and looks that they gave him as they watched their captain slowly bleed out.

Kyobo: [Inner Monologue] Hold on Sumiko, we're almost there. Please hold on...please...I can't loose you as well.

He arrived at his destination, staggering about in fatigue and his head felt so deprived of oxygen that he thought he would pass out at any second. He walked forward, his energy depleted and he kicked open Sumiko's office door and hurriedly cleared her desk after freeing up one of his hands, not caring about the mess he made. He then went through her drawers as quickly as he could manage searching for the one thing he knew could save her but every drawer he went through he could not find the thing he needed. He see black creeping into the field of his vision as his blood continued to spill from his wounds. And then he remembered. He turned around and looked at a small wooden box on the counter behind the desk. He moved over to it and opened it, finding a small vial filled with a green liquid and a syringe next to it, lying on a bed of purple velvet.

Kyobo smiled slightly as his thoughts began to cloud over and the blackness crept further into his vision. He ripped the cork from the top of the vial and took the syringe and extracted all the liquid from it. He flicked the needle quickly to rid it of the air and walked to Sumiko. He found vein in the crook of her elbow as quickly as he and pushed the needle through her skin and injected the entire contents of the syringe into her. He gently removed the needle and placed a hand on her own.

Kyobo: (His vision began to fade even quicker. He fell to his knees still grasping Sumiko's hand. His felt weak and tired, almost falling into a slump against the counter behind the desk.) Please live Sumiko...

[Needles Vs. Spirit! Manipulation of the Senses]

[Start Music]

In moments, Majo Shin was upon him. For a blind woman, she was fast and could sense spiritual resonance well; in fact, it was like she wasn't even blind, though the milky eyes proved that wasn't the case. Her Shikai was a tiny blade that looked like it would be perfect for fencing, though Yushi had a feeling that she would be utilising far different moves than that. It had a long, thin blade and no tsuba, instead it had oddly shaped handle which was wider, thicker and had a oval shaped hole through it; through the hole was a thin pole. Yushi dodged a stabbing motion and flipped backwards, waiting for a moment before he shunpoed and brought his blade upwards, in order to counter the attack he was already anticipating. However, it was much faster than he thought and he took a small cut on the left side of his face, right under his eye.

Yushi stopped for a moment and stared at Majo.

'What's wrong, Captain Kenronri? Scared?'

Yushi shook his head, balefully, this just wasn't the way he wanted things to go. If this woman kept pushing him and utilising such a blade, then he would have to respond in kind. However, he would last for now - a Juzo Hosho Captain would never respond to a Shikai, with their own, straight away... he would fight her until he absolutely needed to use his own Zanpakuto.

'Oh no... I was simply wondering how long I would be able to fight you without using my own Shikai... you see, we Juzo Hosho are a tough bunch... we don't need to use our Shikai to fight another Shikai... don't underestimate me, just because you have released your Shikai... you talked about how I'm lucky that I'm not going to see your Bankai, but that's a meaningless bluff. By the the time I release my Shikai, you will be needing your Bankai, that I can promise you. Anyway, that's enough out of me for now.'

'A meaningless bluff? Shut the hell up! You haven't seen the abilities of my blade yet... if you want to stay alive, I'd suggest that you release your Shikai now, because that won't even save you from the pain that I'm going to inflict upon you, you fool!'

Again she attacked him, stabbing at him again, before she released a Shakkaho at him, which he dodged. However, when he reappeared, Majo had already decided where he would be and fired a Sajo Sabaku at him, which curled around his body, leaving him temporarily immobilised.

'Now, witness the true power my Zanpakuto, Yushi Kenronri! Musubime Neji!!!' The chain of her Zanpakuto fanned out and split into many chains, each which grew much, much longer. In a split second, they were coming right him and ensnared him, just like the Bakudo had. He struggled, but it was no use, there were far too many chains for him to do anything about. Majo appeared right next to him and stabbed him with the needle, leaving a small puncture wound; however, the worrying part was the chain of material that came out of his body after she had withdrawn the needle from his body.

'What did you do?' Yushi asked her, still forcing himself to stay calm.

'I stole a chain of your spiritual pressure... don't ask me what for, though... I have no intention of telling you what I plan to do... as if I'd humor an opponent like that... how laughable... Jakuten Neji!'

The thread of spiritual pressure wrapped itself around her needle and she stabbed him again. However, this time it was much different. Instead of hurting intensely, it didn't seem to hurt at all and he began to raise his reiatsu to match hers. After a moment, his chest began to hurt and he bent over clutching himself, as the Sabo Sabaku and chains came off in the burst of reiatsu. Majo jumped back, smiling to herself.

'Painful, Yushi Kenronri?'

It was the worst pain he had felt in years. It had been bearable at first, but continually it grew and grew, until it was simply too much and he began to cry out with such ferocity that he could have sworn he had ripped his throat in doing so. Even so, Majo Shin didn't leave him much more time to deal with it. She came at him again.

'Tsuyo no Hari!'

She stabbed him with the needle again and he felt some of reiatsu draw away from him again. Then it seemed to be absorbed by Majo, because she suddenly became stronger and she appeared before him even quicker than she did before - it seemed that the ability had taken reiatsu away from him and she had used it to increase her strength and speed.

'Curse you, woman!' Yushi said, sounding drained, but the pain had receded and he had dragged himself up again. He was breathing much harder than before and seemed to have lost a lot of steam.

'I'm not finished yet...'

'Shut up a minute. I'm going to speak again and then hold my silence, so I can silence you for good. You already know I'm Yushi Kenronri, but you have no idea of what squad I'm from and what my ideals are. I am from the 13th Division of the Juzo Hosho... that is the Stealth and Assassination squad... you think I'm fast now, but just wait until you see my Shikai... I've decided that I will end up using it after all... it should make this fight a heck of a lot more interesting. Anyway, despite being of the squad, I dislike hurting people if I don't need to... that's true of an assassin... we only eradicate those whom it is necessary to do so... an assassin doesn't hurt others when it isn't in their best interests... that's why I didn't really want to fight you like that and why I'd prefer not to hurt you... however, it has now gotten beyond that... I need to protect myself from the predator, so that's what I'll do. See through the cracks, Nanjuu No Sonoshi Kokoro!'

Yushi's power spiked slightly and raised somewhat, but there was no burst of reiatsu and no flashy release. Instead, he moved with his incredible speed, flash-stepping, while during this time his blade had augmented itself and became three.

'Nanjuu No Sonoshi Kokoro, Final Stage!'

Yushi's senses were alive now and he drew the pain out of his body, forgetting it's existence completely and moved through the air, like he was accustomed to doing so. Majo turned adjusting her senses, as he sped through the air, shunpoed and slashed at her with the three-bladed sword. It took her in the shoulder and she cried out in pain, then pirouetted, moved forwards with her blade and shunpoed, attempting to strike at him. It was futile. What she saw as Yushi was actually the after-image of him and pounced again, weaving in throughout the sky with such ease and kicked her in the chest, sending her flailing backwards, to crash to the ground in front of a building.

'Holy shit, you're fast!' Majo exclaimed, a look of irritation and disbelief on her face.

'No. It has nothing to do with speed. I'd explain, but, as you mentioned about yourself before, I am not in the habit of helping my opponent, either. I must say, I was overwhelmed before, but that second ability you used had one drawback... it doesn't cause any real damage to the opponent... instead, it fades away, especially if you have strong spirit like I do.'

'Nanjuu No Sonoshi Kokoro, Jisou!'

The ability made him disappear and it must have seemed like he had become invisible, even to Majo, because she gave a small gasp when he disappeared, including his spiritual signature and reiatsu. he then phased through Majo, causing her to gasp again, as he was intangible and invisible to her and her senses. She dropped to the ground, trying to figure what had happened to her.

Yushi appeared again, withdrawing himself from the Phaseworld. 'I apologise... that must have felt like I violated your body space... if you can still summon the resolve to move after that, then I applaud you!'

'What the hell did you do to me?!'

'I made myself invisible to the naked eye, along with the senses that all Soul Reapers possess when it comes to spirit energy and bonds. Then, I passed through your body, disrupting your spirit, which will damage your resolve to fight me. So, if you can, get up and attack me.

[End Music]

Majo just stared at him with those blind, milky eyes. (Inner Monologue: What the hell kind of Zanpakuto is this? I didn't know that he had something like this... he's way different from that guy I fought last time... he was incredibly strong, but his Zanpakuto was much easier to figure than this guy's... just how do I fight him, if he can make his energy signature disappear so easily?)

Majo lowered her head slightly as she began to question her own judgement - maybe battling Yushi Kenronri was a bad idea after all. What the hell am I thinking?! Majo shook herself out of the daze as Yushi began to speak again.

"Well?" he asked impatiently. "Do you plan on sitting there all day, or are you going to get up and fight me?"

[Play Music]

Majo didn't answer him, at least not in the way he would have liked. She suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Yushi, attempting to skewer him on her blade. He immediately turned and blocked her strike with one of his own. Instead of either of them backing away like they would have done before, they locked blades for quite some time. Majo studied his face while she discretely moved her hand to the inside of her robe. A moment later, after she had found the desired object, she backed away from Yushi, throwing three, bulb-like objects at him. He stood there for a moment, confused, but as the first of them burst he quickly realized what she had thrown at him. He flash stepped away in an attempt to leave the clouds of toxic gas behind, but he didn't expect the particles of said gas to follow his trail of spiritual pressure. As he stopped where he was, he took a deep breath as he was engulfed in the noxious substance. Majo carefully watched the interior of the gas cloud, keeping a watchful eye on his spiritual signature.

Yushi suddenly burst forth from the cloud, moving faster than it could follow. He was upon Majo in moments, their blades clashing mercilessly

"You got used to the increase of speed quickly..." Yushi muttered.

"All I can say is this - You can't overcome me with such petty tricks! You wont shake my resolve enough to get me to give up, Yushi Kenronri! I have people I wish to protect, and in order to do that, I must kill you."

With that she was gone again, now balancing on her own spiritual pressure high above his head. He grunted in dissatisfaction and disappeared again, his signature gone without a trace. Majo held her breath and waited, steeling herself. Another object that had been hidden in her robe fell to her free hand. She immediately flash stepped to the ground below and slammed the sphere into the ground, releasing a white smoke that was laden with her own spiritual pressure. Thank you, my friend, Majo thought as she waited. From the sudden lack of activity, Yushi had seemed reluctant to attack her resolve for a second time, however moved in towards her regardless. Majo sensed the movement in the particles and lunged forward with a knife she had hidden in her sleeve, hitting Yushi just above his knee and retreating. The cloud of particles followed her and surrounded her again, giving her a natural defense to his ability.

"So I see you figured out a way to bypass one of my abilities... good on you," Yushi said as he reappeared before her, just outside the radius of her defense. "But you know it will have to disappear eventually."

Majo smirked uncharacteristically. "Actually, I have my dying friend to thank for this, and although you may not realize this, it has more than one effect."

Yushi's posture changed. "What?"

Majo scoffed. "I'm surprised you didn't notice, Captain. With your entry into the dust, it began siphoning your spiritual pressure, leaving traces of it behind. With this extra substance in the cloud, not only will it last much longer than before, but it can allow me to track you, even if I can't sense your spiritual presence." She finished her statement by flash stepping behind Yushi and subsequently engulfing him into the mass of particles that surrounded her. He tried to escape, having knowledge of it's effect, but Majo appeared in front of him and thrust her needle forward. "Masubime Neji!" The chains fanned out, as they had before, engulfing the area in a sheen of steel. However, instead of heading straight for Yushi, they formed a cage around the both of them.

"What...?" Yushi asked, bewildered.

"Are you surprised that I'm able to control the chains? Really, I thought you were smarter than that." Majo chided him. "Honestly, Captain."

With that, the chains suddenly started grabbing at Yushi, erupting from all directions and ensnaring him in a metal cocoon. Majo took that opportunity to thrust her needle directly into the center of the mass, forcing it all they way out the back of her assailants body. Retrieving her needle, which now appeared to have something along the lines of a white chain that shimmered in an out of sight, she released her chains and gazed at the captain as he crumpled to the ground. He quickly got to his feet, shooting a dark glare her way. Majo narrowed her eyes behind the dark visor before she grabbed the chain and began to twist it slowly around the needle she held in her hands. "Jakuten Neji."

Yushi groaned again, as he felt the pressure build up in his body, the same pain from before returning to him again. Majo continued to twist the chain around the needle, her face remaining emotionless as she did so. As Yushi began to cry out again, Majo sighed and let go of the chain, the object hanging slack at the back of the needle for a moment before it disappeared. While Yushi was on the ground, Majo released another three bulbs of acidic gas towards Yushi, who jerked in surprise as they broke and released another wave of a toxic fumes. Majo took a deep breath and leaped into the cloud, finding Yushi and releasing another wave of kido.

"Sajo Sabaku!" Majo attempted again. Yushi wouldn't be fooled however, as he managed to doge the kido and fire off another.

"Hado 63: Raikoho!" Yushi shouted. The dust and toxic gas were cleared away by the blast. As Majo felt it near her she quickly dodged the attack and turned, only to find Yushi upon her. He slammed his foot into her abdomen and sent her flying another twenty yards or so. As she fell to the ground, Yushi disguised himself once more. Majo pulled another bulb from her robe, but it was knocked from her hands as Yushi swatted it away and passed through her body not once or twice, but three times. Majo felt an odd sensation creep up her spine as she attempted to back away from the entity that she couldn't see. Was it... fear?

[Play second song}

No. Yushi would have to show himself eventually, and when he did Majo would be ready. she quickly deciphered the location of the pressure cloud that had spawned father away from her, no thanks to her enemy, and made a mad dash for it. Even as she felt Yushi pass through her several times on her way there, as soon as she set foot within the cloud, Yushi was in her sights. She immediately thrust her needle forward and into Yushi's abdomen, causing him to become visible to her again. Without using any particular ability, the wound was more or less lethal, in any other case the ability would have canceled out any bleeding from the victims body and instead causing internal damage. This time, the wound was followed by a fierce flow a blood, especially after Majo removed her weapon. Yushi leaned forward a bit, clutching his wound. After he gritted his teeth and lifted his head, he took a feeble swipe at Majo, who easily parried his strike and knocked him back, pulling out several more needles and throwing them at him, one by one landing in vital nerve bundles. His left leg suddenly went slack and he was forced down to one knee. He cursed under his breath, that much Majo could hear.

"Are you quite finished trying to toy with my resolve?" Majo asked impatiently. "Because if you are, I have a friend who needs my help." Majo swiftly turned her back to Yushi, still keeping her perception on his kneeling form as she began to walk away.

"Don't turn your goddamn back on me, woman!" Yushi screeched as he suddenly came into her view. Majo raised her blade and parried the attack from behind with one strong motion. In the next instant she turned on her right heel and slammed her left foot into his face. He skidded a yard or two before his left leg buckled and he kneeled again. Majo sighed.

"Don't you understand?" Majo asked, with the slightest form of sympathy in her voice. "You are at my mercy, Juzo Hosho. If you plan to fight using lowlife tricks like these, then I shall take my leave." Majo took another few steps towards him as she spoke again. "However, if you plan on making this fight even more difficult than it needs to be, then I shall respond in kind. Which will it be?"

Yushi glared at her, managing to stand, keeping his weight balanced on his right foot. "You will not just abandon this fight, Shinigami. I will finish this, one way or another!""

Majo scowled. "You can hardly stand," she pointed out. "How can you even think of finishing this fight when you can't use your own legs?"

"I'll manage," Yushi replied as he thrust out his hand. "Hado 88: Hiryugekizokushintenraiho!"

Majo clicked her teeth as she dodged the pale blue blast of energy, holding her own needle in his direction. "Bakudo 61: Rikujokoro" The pale beams of yellow light buried themselves in Yushi's body, forcing him to his knees again. Majo raised her free hand to the sky. "Bakudo 62: Hyapporankan." A purple spear appeared in her hand and she quickly launched it at Yushi. It split into multiple parts, littering the surrounding area with many pale rods. Several of them had buried themselves into the captains shoulders, hindering his efforts to stand up. Majo then raised her needle to the sky. Bakudo 75: Gochutekkan!" The five iron pillars slammed into Yushi's body pinning him to the ground. As he struggled against this, Majo reappeared at his side. "Are you done?"

Yushi spat at her. "Far from it!"

Majo scoffed. "Then show me how you want to survive this battle, Yushi Kenronri." She backed away, standing some yards from him as he began to free himself from the multitude of Bakudo she had cast upon him. He grunted with each movement, slowly retuning to his feet. As he turned to face her he growled as he found her again pointing a hand his way. "Bakudo 99: Kin."

Yushi spat another curse at her as the black spears pierced his body, forcing him to the ground and binding him further.

"Bankin," Majo finished calmly. The large iron box became visible after a moment, falling at great speeds and ready to crash down upon it's target, effectively ending his life. Majo's assessment of this was interrupted by a large outpouring of spiritual pressure. she looked back at Yushi, who was managing to stand up, even under the binding of the 99th Bakudo.

He raised his head to his assailant just as the Bankin had come upon him. the box was blown away by gale force winds as his spiritual pressure swirled around him. The spears were snapped in several places and he stood upright as they disappeared completely. Yushi was seething with rage as he continued to release his power in waves, each one increasing in intensity.

"That's enough of your games, Ms. Shin," Yushi bit out.

Majo smirked a bit. "My shikai is no game Yushi, I assure you of this." She stood patiently, waiting for Yushi to begin his assault once more. He simply stood, several meters from her, doing nothing. "Are your threats empty?" Majo asked.

Yushi didn't respond, instead he simply stood.

"Very well then," Majo sighed. "You and I shall meet agian, Yushi Kenronri, as it seems that many of your comrades are gone. you should join them while I give you the chance. " Majo lowered her needle to her side. Casting another array of bakudo, she bound Yushi again, tighter than before, pinning him to the ground and taking some steps back from him again.

"What the hell happened to all that talk of killing me?" Yushi asked her.

Majo shrugged. "I don't feel bloodlust, like my other captains do. Unlike most of them, I can control that part of my personality, normally. It's just that you seemed to bring out another side of me that people seldom see. I congratulate you on that."

"I see..." Yushi seemed much calmer than before, which unnerved Majo a bit. "So, will you actually let me get up, or am I going to be stuck here?" he asked from behind his crow mask.

Majo began to turn around. "That's your choice. You can decide whether or not you want to get up and fight me again, or if you want my Head Captain to decide your fate."

Yushi smiled. "I'll take my chances with you," he replied before abruptly vanishing.

(Below is the first song)

This is the second song used for the post.

Sorry for the wait, had my driving theory test today so I was preoccupied. Anyways enjoy !
*****************************************­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­

{Let The End Song Play}

Sojan gritted his teeth in frustration at his losing predicament. His powerful opponent had the upper hand and the feeling of more and more Gotei 13 reiatsu signatures disappearing didn’t give him any sense of renewed hope. On the other side Akihiko found himself awaiting his quarry’s next action with a strange sense of eagerness; he couldn’t remember the last time he had felt such a merciless lust to completely eradicate someone’s existence. He coolly locked eyes with Sojan as he rhythmically clenched and unclenched his grip on his two blades. His eyes held a murderously destructive aura about them which seemed to conflict with the darkly serene and un-smiling expression on his face, making it nigh impossible to tell what emotions he was truly experiencing.

Visible beads of sweat were beginning to form on Sojan’s brow and his breathing was unsteady as he attempted to keep his composure. The fear that was rushing through his body was almost crippling but, with a loud roar of anguish, he sprinted towards Akihiko at full pelt his arms trailing behind his body. Akihiko grunted in acknowledgement and flash stepped behind him attacking with a cross slash to his back using both blades and followed up with a heavy slash aimed to decapitate him. Sojan frantically tracked his movement and viciously swung his right arm around to block Akihiko’s initial attack, his bladed glove colliding loudly with the two blades, and hurriedly leapt backwards to avoid the follow-up slash and make some room between them. Leaving no time to spare Sojan lifted his left arm and fired off another Densetsu no Iki at his opponent, who nimbly flash stepped out of the way and appeared in front of Sojan slashing destructively at the floor, upturning the ground beneath him. Sojan instinctively attempted to flash step from the quickly flipping ground he was standing on but ended up pushing himself straight towards the floor instead, with the rocky ground landing heavily on top of him. He grimaced in torment at his inability to even flash step as he felt a mighty force strike him through the debris and send him hurtling through away and causing him to crash through another barrack wall.

Akihiko Seinosuke: (He stands a distance away from the hole in the wall) Get to your feet and fight little pig…

Akihiko’s condescending tone made Sojan stagger heatedly to his feet. With a passionate cry he propelled himself out of the hole and towards his adversary. Rational thought had utterly deserted him and only fear and a trained instinct to survive kept Sojan fighting.

Harimakku Sojan: (He lifts his left glove and aims it at Akihiko) Ryū Tsuba!!

Sojan began rapidly firing countless dense balls of green energy from his left glove that whizzed towards Akihiko’s location at dangerous speeds. Akihiko nonchalantly sidestepped the flurry of energy balls as he quickly closed the gap between them and launched a tirade of deceitfully powerful swings that cut into Sojan, spraying blood everywhere. Sojan grunted in pain, hastily re-adjusted his body position and leapt backwards once more to distance himself. His breath had become as ragged as his torn shihakushō, blood seeped generously from the slash wounds on his chest and torso and his body ached from the extensive damage it had received. It was a wonder he was still moving. Akihiko paid no heed to his opponent’s condition and flash stepped behind Sojan, bringing his one of his blades down to his right shoulder.

Harimakku Sojan: (He silently performs Enkōsen blocking the brunt of the attack and violently twirls around whilst moving backwards) Kuyō Shibari! (Eight spiritual energy emitting black holes with purple outlines are generated in the personal space surrounding Akihiko with a ninth black hole quickly manifesting itself in the centre of the his chest, temporarily disabling his movement; despite this Akihiko remains calm and his facial and eye expressions don’t flicker in the slightest. Sojan pushes off backwards and points his left arm at Akihiko) Kongōbaku!! (He leaps backwards even further, but keeps his arm poised as the surging fireball flies at Akihiko) Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!! (Sojan continues his backward movements as the electrical energy attack surges destructively at its target) Densetsu no Iki!! (The intense burst of spiritual energy tears towards Akihiko and joins the triple blast combination, engulfing his body in a might plume of exploding energy; Sojan heaves deeply and hesitates to relax even for a second as he attentively scans for signs of movement)

Sojan’s attention shifted slightly when he felt an abrupt burst of incredible reiatsu coming from Aexus’ general vicinity. It was a relatively new signature and it had an extreme feel of rage radiating from it. It was clear that Aexus was in deep trouble.

Akihiko Seinosuke: (He suddenly appears behind Sojan completely flanking him - seemingly unharmed from the barrage of kidō that had bombarded him - and sharply brings his blade down diagonally, slicing him deeply across his back before Sojan even has time to move) At what point… (as Sojan turns his head behind him and raises his left arm to attack, Akihiko flash steps in front of him and using the nodachi in his left hand, drives it straight through Sojan’s breastbone sending the familiarly ice cold sensation coursing through his body) …did I say… (Akihiko swiftly removes the blade from Sojan’s body whilst simultaneously smashing the base of his other blade into his chest, cracking Sojan’s breastbone, before following up with a heavy knee to his solar plexus knocking the wind out of his lungs and ending with a devastating spinning reverse hook kick that sent Sojan hurtling backwards at high speed) …you could let your guard diminish? (He peers at Sojan’s struggling attempts to get to his feet) Lambs for the slaughter should worry about their own fate before even beginning to think about others’. [Inner monologue: Sumiko… you let your fascination get the better of you again…]







Aexus fell to his knees as he felt his energy slowly decrease and his battered body grow ever heavier. Whatever the things were that Sumiko had plagued him with, worked effectively. It didn’t help that a brutish monster of a Captain had rubbed salt into his wounds by beating him around even further. His chest felt like it had been bisected and the immense pain pulsing in his spinal column still hadn’t begun to recede. He didn’t even know who the guy was; he’d just appeared from nowhere and started screaming at him.
He couldn’t even go to the 4th Squad for relief; he’d stopped sensing the reiatsu signatures from there a while ago. His zanpakutō reverted to its sealed form and he involuntarily relinquished his grip on its hilt, letting his blade fall to the ground. His vision was becoming hazy, his sense of awareness was near non-existent and an overwhelming feeling of nausea was rushing through his body. His eyes flickered and his head rolled before he collapsed face first on to the ground, unconscious.







Sojan stood strong but his shallow breathing, bleeding body and fluctuating reiatsu said otherwise. He attempted to fix his reiatsu and held his left arm up again. Akihiko tilted his head but his facial and eye expressions still remained the same.

Harimakku Sojan: Hadō #91 Senjū Kōten Taihō! (Sojan’s eyes widen in surprise as nothing happens) Hadō #91 Senjū Kōten Taihō!!! (His muscles tighten in frustration as for a second time nothing occurs; he stares at Akihiko aghast) Impossible…

Akihiko Seinosuke: It seems you have realised the new limitation placed upon you. Without kidō, what will you do now? (He tilts his head the other way) Your time is ticking…

Akihiko accelerated towards Sojan and began a murderous assault on him, raining down countless slashes, chops and stabs on his body. To call it a massacre would be putting it lightly. The sheer number of attacks that connected with Sojan’s body and the blood loss he was suffering should have killed him of there and then. Akihiko pulled away as Sojan dropped to one knee, barely breathing.

Harimakku Sojan: I’m not done yet… (using all his remaining strength he resumes his standing position, puts his gloves together and raises his reiatsu) Saigo no Teikō. (His gloves began to glow with his spiritual energy and slowly transforms into a large green glowing broadsword that he grips tightly in his left hand)

Akihiko Seinosuke: (He raises his reiatsu even further) So be it.

[Melody of the Phasing Star]

Yushi smiled calmly, his eyes boring into Majo. 'I'll just take my chances with you, I think. Not that I'd mind fighting your Head Captain, but you've at least managed to deal me some damage, so I'll reserve that judgement for now. Get ready...' he said, as he disappeared abruptly.

[Start Music]

Like last time, Majo could see Yushi through his energy signature, which was illuminated to her, like a cloud of particles hanging around him. However, he had already had figured out a solution to that. He would simply use one of his most difficult abilities to actually pull off.

'Nanjuu No Sonoshi Kokoro, Fragmented Blade!'

The spirit of his blade was separated, as his sword split into two sets of three. The spirit energy of his being was divided between all the sets of three. Then, he decided to use his last Shikai technique, the one that was only the Stage 1 ability of his Shikai.

'Nanjuu No Sonoshi Kokoro, Sparse Landscapes!'

Majo suddenly looked confused and Yushi knew exactly why - Sparse Landscapes was an ability that was partially illusionary and also a result of pouring his spirit energy into the surroundings, so that they changed in a manner, constantly, that he would determine the fate of. The environment around them was at his command, not Majo's. This was his upper hand. Wherever he was, she would not be able to detect where he was, not because his presence would disappear again, but because he wouldn't be where her senses were showing him to be. Even if she somehow managed to, by some slim chance, find where he was, he wouldn't be in that position for long, since he was overall much faster than she and had mastered his shunpo to the very maximum he possibly could. So he moved, like lightning, and swung his blade, then combined a Raikoho and a Soren Sokatsui together, while being right in close to her. The combined Kido attack narrowlyu missed her, due to his own fault of firing them slightly off and alerting her to his current presence, before he disappeared again and Phased past her, stabbing her in the shoulder as he went past. Blood spurted outwards and she clutched her shoulder with pain, wondering where he had disappeared to now.

'You won't find me like that, Majo Shin. The way you were detecting my presence before is no longer available to you, not since I activated my last technique...'

He Phased through the air again, and booted her downwards, until she smashed into the building behind her, leaving a large hole in the front of it. He waited a moment, in clear view, as he watched the surroundings with a sense of slight victory. It was short-lived. Majo exploded from the building, a look of frustration on her face, as she was losing her composure again. She did, however, catch him slightly by surprise, as she ascended to his position much faster than he anticipated and struck him a glancing blow to his left arm, slicing a chunk away and causing the blood to stream out of the cut. Yushi jumped backwards and disappeared again.

'Don't think this is over, yet, Yushi Kenronri... remember what happened the last time you underestimated me?' Majo growled at him and scanned the area for his presence.

'Then I'd better step it up a notch... I haven't released everything I've got, yet, you know. I'll gladly fight back and win against you...'

Yushi raised his reiatsu, until it was everywhere, imbued with the very environment around them. Actually, it was affecting the ability he was using. Sparse Landscapes was getting a power boost and suceeding to throw his spiritual resonance around the whole area, so that there was no real way to tell where he was. That was the benefit of the abilities he used - they could change so drastically, just from raising his reiatsu to counter another Soul Reaper and destroy them right down to their very core. To Majo, his reiatsu was becoming absolutely crushing and, suddenly, the spirit power of Yushi Kenronri was everywhere around her, even when she could tell that he had been standing in front of her the whole time, though, once he moved, because she had originally known his position before he raised his reiatsu, she would unlikely be able to tell where he was with any certainty. Even then, the raising of his reiatsu didn't stop - it continued to grow and grow and then, finally it peaked, while she caught the breath in her lungs, as the reiatsu of her opponent threatened to reap the very air from her being.

'So, this is your true power? Why didn't you release it before, instead of taking so many injuries and causing yourself the pain of wondering whether you would win the fight, or not?' Majo asked, curious now.

'Release it before? Why would I have done that? Any reasonable and logical mind would determine, or gauge, their opponent's power, before releasing more of their own power. However, you are incorrect... this is simply my power raised to 75% of its maximum... if I were to raise it any more at this current time, your lungs would probably collapse in upon themselves... even if they didn't, fighting would be nearly impossible for you. Now, Majo Shin, see if you can find me.'

'I will find you and I will beat the crap outta you! Come and get me, Yushi Kenronri!'

Yushi didn't hesitate. In less than a second, Majo was falling backwards, her other shoulder bleeding and her resolve threatening to fail. Before she had even hit the ground, she was suddenly seized by the throat and slammed into the ground behind her. Yushi had become even faster when he was releasing this much of his reiatsu.

Majo steeled herself and rolled backwards, feeling a rush of air in front of her. Luckily enough, her needle-blade caught Yushi's and she parried the blow away from herself, before shunpoing backwards and stabbing in front of her by reflex. Stupidly, Yushi had assumed she couldn't she him and would, therefore, try and escape his clutches, rather than fight back. The needle sliced him in the chest and he staggered backwards slightly, a look of confusion on his face.

'A lucky break, Majo Shin...' As he figured out what had occurred. 'You caught me off guard there... I wasn't expecting you to try and attack me, but get away from own attacks instead... don't rely on it, though... that's no way to secure victory.'

He disappeared from her senses again and she knew he would be attacking him, so she darted forwards, shunpoed, then rolled backwards, in an attempt to avoid any of the attack he would use on her. Again, she heard the rushing air of his blade and shunpoed once more, then fired off a Sokatsui in the direction of the noise. It exploded a while away, so she figured it missed, so she used a another Kido to distract him and then darted forwards again, shunpoing once she had gone more than 30 metres. Yusbhi caught up to her, as she heard his haori of the Juzo Hosho standard rustle in the slight wind. She jumped upwards, but he had her position now and slammed her backwards with his fist. While she fell, she let off a swift Raikoho, which, to her delight, must have connected, because she heard a muffled snarl and a small explosion of energy.

'Curse you! So, you'll take damage in order to deal some? How pathetic! Your time is running out, Majo Shin. I suggest you use your Bankai soon, before you lose your life to me.'

'Bankai? As if. You haven't got me beat, yet, Yushi Kenronri... I'll never give up!'

Yushi took the challenge and shunpoed to her, then used the Fragmented Blades, which split into the two sets of three again, then he Phased through her again and used the six blades to slice through her very being and shred the last little bit of her steadily dying resolve.

Majo fell backwards and landed in the ground. This fight was starting to go Yushi's way. Unfortunately for her, he wasn't one to just give up. Instead, he had figured out a strategy and had stuck with it, causing Majo to lose the massive advantage she had gained earlier in the fight. He was smart, she would definitely have to give him that. However, now she needed to come up with a strategy to repel his attacks and counter him, hopefully causing him to lose his advantage, so that they would be able to fight on even terms again and maybe she would even be able to hit him with one of her abilities again. If she could, then he would lose that advantage and probably be unable to sustain all of the abilities that he had been using against her. Nonetheless, something needed to change, otherwise she would end up being killed by this guy.

'What's the matter? You wanna give up now? I remember you had me in the same position before, where I was utterly defenseless against you and you were beating the crap out of me. Well, the positions has have reversed themselves and I've found a good strategy to use against you. Perhaps you should try and release everything you've got, Majo Shin! Maybe you'll regain some of the ground you lost.'

Majo ground her teeth, stood up and allowed her rage to take her away. Her reiatsu began to rise now, and it shone like an aura around her, a greenish aura of pure spirit energy. Then, she attacked, suddenly just knowing where Yushi was. He was quick, though and he avoided her attack completely, then dealing his own. She felt his blade and countered it with her own. Steel clashed against steel, as they held together for a time, before separating and allowing the force to thrust them backwards. Again, she attacked, this time stabbing again, in order to use her ability. However, he knew this attack already and spun about on his right heel, the attack missing him by less than an inch. Then, he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him, knocking her into the dust. Majo leapt up and shunpoed away from him, letting him chase her, then she turned swiftly and executed a cleaving swipe, one that would have cut right through his chest, opening the wound that she had already given him there. Instead, it glanced off the side and he responded in kind, thrusting his sword at her, then changing it to the six Fragmented Blades from before. Majo shunpoed and appeared behind him. He expected this, but she already knew that and jumped over his sideways attack, as it came. Then, she used the easy speed of her Needle to attempt another direct attack upon him, which was parried and followed by another strike. She parried that and forced him to keep contact with her blade, then she swiped down low and caught him on the thigh.

Yushi grunted. 'Good, so you still have a little more fight in you, then. I thought you were gonna give up, for a second there. Oh well, I think that you should release your Bankai, otherwise I will release mine and destroy you completely... Well?'

Majo snarled back at him. 'Shut up already! I'm not going to release my Bankai!!!'

Yushi appeared in front of her, suddenly. Quick as she was, she couldn't avoid the Kido he used on her at such a close range.

'Hado No.90, Kurohitsugi!'

[End Music]

The black boxes swallowed her up and she disappeared from sight. Yushi waited to see the end result and folded his arms, as he shunpoed a little closer. The boxes multiplied by many, then inverted themselves, until they began to almost shake, then they disappeared. Majo fell to the ground, blood streaming out from many wounds.

'So, Majo Shin...' Yushi said, nudging her softly with his foot. 'What are you going to do now?'

[Play first song]

Majo lay, slumped over in a growing puddle of her own blood. What can I do...? If I can't see him or sense him... I might as well be committing suicide... Goddammit, Majo! Think straight!

She began to heave herself up, not bothering to check the wounds that littered her body. She glared at Yushi, becoming calm again, an eerie serene feeling falling above the two of them. Yushi, who was now visible to her, seemed unsettled by her sudden calm disposition. He uncrossed his arms, narrowing his eyes.

"Well? What will you do now... Captain Shin?" Yushi asked, repeating his question.

"Shut your damn mouth," Majo snapped, her face devoid of emotion.

"Oh?" Yushi raised a brow, ginning devilishly. "It seems like I broke you."

Majo let out a hollow laugh. "The only things you broke were some bones," she replied.

Yushi frowned. Majo simply launched herself at Yushi again, swinging at him halfheartedly before being knocked back. She skidded to a halt, blood pooling around her quickly. She coughed and spluttered as she attempted to stand again, taking another swipe at him. She raced forward, attempting to kick him square in his chest but missing completely. She stumbled forward, her knees skidding against the ground. She growled as she turned and fired off several Byakurai, Yushi dodging each one of them and responding with his Fragmented Blades. Majo was flung to the ground again, but stood up not seconds later, breathing heavily. She brandished her weapon easily, though her hand was shaking. Her eyes were dropping and her heart rate was slowing down. She blinked sweat from her eyes as she struggled to focus her perception on the man before her. His outline was slowly fading, her world now almost entirely black.

"What's the matter? Yushi asked as he approached her. "Didn't you hear me before?"

Majo growled at him from deep within her throat.

"If you don't release your Bankai, I will release mine and wipe you from existence," Yushi repeated, pointing his three pronged blade her way. Majo, kneeling in front of him, swatted the blade away with her own and fired off a hasty Shakkaho, nearly managing to hit Yushi. He chortled and once again returned to disguising his presence within the surroundings. "My ability will kill you if you don't start fighting seriously, Captain Shin."

Majo took a deep breath. "You wont get a second release out of me... Not now..."

Yushi suddenly appeared in front of her and drove his knee into her stomach. Majo, caught completely off guard, crumpled to the ground and coughed. Yushi backed away, much to her displeasure. Majo looked up, hoping to see him somewhere and seeing him nowhere. Still shrouded in the cloak of his ability, Yushi laughed. The laugh seemed to come from everywhere, forcing Majo to cover her ears and dull the throbbing in her head. She shut her eyes tightly as Yushi's blade once again penetrated her body, his Fragmented Blade shredding the wound both inside and out. Majo felt the pain shoot all throughout her body, and fell to the ground, convulsing as blood seeped from her mouth. She hissed at Yushi, her face contorted in rage and anger, the blood only serving to make her appear more sadistic. She once again tried to hoist herself up with her sore arms and damaged shoulders, but Yushi pinned her down with an unseen foot, digging his heel into her spine, causing an unpleasant crack to ring out. At this point, Majo was still.

Yushi removed his foot and stood. "You're pathetic," he stated matter-of-factly. "You talk so big, and yet are capable of so little..."

Majo took a shaky breath and lifted her head, her eyes crying tears of pain. "That's not the vibe I got from you when... you were under the influence of my blade, cursing me to my grave..."

Yushi clicked his teeth in dissatisfaction and drove his foot savagely into her chest, cracking her sternum and causing her to roll over and lay motionless. "Why don't you just release? I'd rather not waste my Bankai on someone who is in such a pitiful state."

Majo didn't respond.

Yushi was indignant, continuing to kick at her until she gasped for air with pained breaths. Yushi quickly backed away from her when he'd had enough. "Come now, that can't really be it, can it?"

Majo lay there, unmoving. Yushi grimaced when her felt her spiritual pressure spike and then lower into almost nothing. The Juzo Hosho Captain grunted. "How can I be sure that you're really worth all of this bodily damage I've sustained if you won't even get up and fight?"

Majo lay still, her breaths now sapping what little strength she had from her body. Her eyelids were slowly closing, the outlines of objects disappearing behind a sheen of darkness. She began to breath slowly through her nose.

Yushi tapped his foot. "I'm becoming impatient, Captain Shin."

Majo began to slowly balance out her heart rate, her body twitching. She remained still.

Yushi grunted again, taking some steps towards her. "Very well then," he said quietly. "I shall have mercy on you and put you out of your misery." He spoke those sympathetic words as he raised his blade above his head, the three edges glinting with killing intent.

[Play second song]

I'm really going to die here after all,Majo thought. I can't defend myself any longer... Is this really what my life is going to come to, after so many years of defending and protecting my fellow soul reapers, will I truly die here, like this? It's no wonder people think I'm pathetic when I can't even do something as simple as stand up. How laughable. Majo slowly exhaled, opening her eyes to look at the ground splayed out before her. No. I will not die. Majo slowly began to rise up, using her damaged arms for support. It will not end like this... they are not capable of compassion. If I die, I will die fighting to the very last breath, not facing the ground and begging for death! Majo only had a little further to go. She raised her head to Yushi. If you want to kill me so badly, then why didn't you strike the moment you had the chance? Majo placed her right hand on her knee, still gazing at the captain above her. I have decided. I will not die by your hand, Captain Kenronri. Majo suddenly stood straight up, releasing a small cry as an unpleasant feeling shot up her spine.

You will die by mine.

A sudden spike in her reiatsu sent him skidding back a foot or two. Yushi was immediately on his guard again, backing away and disguising himself with his Shikai. The environment, hiding him again, shifted under the weight of added pressure from the heavily injured captain. Majo was on her feet now, her visor broken and her eyes visible to Yushi, who watched from his hiding place not far from her. Majo stood hunched over herself, holding her wounds gingerly as she poured her spiritual pressure out into the surrounding area. Blood continued to spill forth from her body as she finally stood upright. She glared out into nothing, still managing to unnerve Yushi with her expression. A gale force wind blew, seeming to draw itself closer to her and swirled around. Dust began to rise from the ground, swirling along with the vortex that surrounded her and hid her from view. Yushi put his guard up and waited, a single bead of sweat trickling down his brow. This is huge...

Majo stood in the center of the chaos, calmly brandishing her zanpakuto. Her eyes remained closed as she leaned back into the embrace of her own spiritual pressure, taking as many deep breaths as she could before they became pained and ragged. She cleared her throat and held her zanpakuto at eye level and began to voluntarily raise her spiritual pressure with each pained breath.

As Yushi felt this increase in power his brows raised.

Majo continued to release large amounts of her power in waves, feeling her body regaining mobility, even if only a little. She took one final deep breath and grabbed the needle by its chain, swinging it around in a large arc, disrupting the flow of the dust tornado around her and intensifying the waves of power that came and went. Majo suddenly stopped its rotation, grabbing the needle itself and driving it into the ground.

Damn you, Yushi Kenronri.

"Bankai!"

A sudden and unrealistically large wave of visible spiritual pressure ripped through the surrounding area, knocking trees to their sides and leveling already damaged buildings. The deep and eerie green spiritual pressure spread around the area like a thick and unsightly fog, sweeping hungrily around everything. The fog lapped hungrily at Yushi's body, spreading around him and sewing a silhouette. Majo herself emerged rather calmly from the dust as it settled, confidently holding her now larger weapon at her side, the chain extending farther than Yushi could see. Her dark gas mask covered a big portion of her face and her dark green boots clicked on the hard, dirt ground. She stopped not far from Yushi. She was clearly still struggling with the pain and fatigue, however this new increase in power was unexpected even from herself. She felt better with her new chances in this battle, but-

"So you finally released," Yushi said, interrupting her thoughts. Majo shot him a milky-eyed glare, holding up her needle and resting the end of the object in her hand.

"Rengoku Majinaishi," she murmured. She let the end of the needle slip lazily out of her fingers as she turned her empty gaze onto the enemy who stood before her, able to see the faintest outline. "So you got your wish."

Yushi narrowed his eyes behind the sheen of fog that obscured his view of her. The eerie green glow that seemed to engulf the area was emanating more strongly from her than anywhere else in the vicinity.

The bead of sweat that had hung on his brow finally dropped from his head.

Majo lunged forward, thrusting her large needle forward with a slightly insane killing intent gracing her features. "Your death wish, that is," she finished as her needle pierced Yushi's flank.

This is the second song for the above post.

@ Link. I won't be able to post until tomorrow night, but I will begin writing it before I go to bed and then complete it tomorrow night and then post it once I have made sure that it is epic.

Tomoyo’s kido cannon continued gaining momentum and strength as it flew towards Senato and Shiho. She could see that Senato said something, but the loud noise from her technique made her unable to hear what he said, though she saw his stars moving to make a shield by him, she immediately had her own star intercept the shield, making it weaker, strong enough to keep them alive, but, with heavy injuries.

Her mind was occupied with thoughts about Kyobo whom had ran to her and made her teleport him outside of the pocket dimension. Though her thought was interrupted when she suddenly noticed the powerful spiritual pressure coming from where Senato and Shiho were, though all this power, was only coming from Senato. One shockwave of spiritual pressure blew the dust and small debris away and she saw both Senato and Shiho standing behind a barrier of Senato’s stars. “How did he…?” upon closer inspection Tomoyo noticed that Senato’s robe was fixed and that he now had twice as many stars…

“Shugo Tenshi no Hoshi…” Senato spoke; his voice had now become calmer than before, almost emotionless. In an instant, two large angelic white wings sprouted from his back, the sudden change in his spiritual pressure surprised Tomoyo. “You create an extra star in order to manipulate the algorithms of my techniques… It seems my only choice is to move beyond those techniques, and render your strategy useless.”

Shiho stared at his captain, “Is he…” he thought to himself though he didn’t have the time to finish his thought.

[Play Music]

“Tenshi no koshin.” Senato’s stars flew together, first, twenty of them formed four pentagrams, which began to gain substance, eventually forming 4 angels, and then the last of the stars went to each angel forming into their weapons, twin swords, a large shield, a spear and a bow for each angel respectively. Tomoyo’s extra star was all that was left, and Shiho quickly dispatched of it.
Senato floated a little above the ground, in the area where the roof of the corridor originally stood. His eyes focused on Tomoyo, though they had seemed to lose all emotions that previously flowed out of them.

Without a word spoken, the Angels began their attack, the 1st brought his dual swords to clash with Tomoyo’s shield, as she prepared a counter strike from behind, the 2nd moved in and blocked the attack using its shield. Immediately the 3rd came stabbing in with its spear. Preoccupied with the 1st, Tomoyo had no choice but to dodge the attack, instantly the 4th responded with a volley of arrows which she could only block using a danku.

“Your attacks have become quite aggressive, 6th squad captain…” Tomoyo was truly surprised by the sudden change of fighting style, was this also one of his plans? Though Senato did not reply to her, “Ignoring me?” she thought to herself, “no… he is concentrating, it’s obviously not an easy technique to control.”

“Don’t bother trying to talk to him now.” Shiho shouted to her, “This technique is reserved for when diplomacy or discussion is no longer an option; it seems you’ve pushed him to this conclusion, so nothing you say will have any effect…” Shiho turned to look at Senato, “So I really am gonna be the trump card, huh?” he thought to himself, “guess I should save my spiritual pressure then.”

Senato’s angels continued to unleash attacks at Tomoyo, one after the next. Strength wise he hadn’t improved much, but the speed, and usage of the powers is what was making this slightly difficult for Tomoyo, each angel seemed to work perfectly with the other. “My best chance is to immobilize one angel thus destroying their ability to coordinate…” Tomoyo thought to herself.

As the 1st Angel charged in again with his dual swords, Tomoyo blocked and prepared an immediate counter attack in his blind spot. Though, to her surprise, the Angel dodged the attack, resulting in the kido almost striking her. “The attack pattern isn’t always the same. He just tried to make me think that… his bankai is definitely well matured.” She thought to herself, “but how did that Angel dodge that attack when it was in his blind spot and at point blank range…?”

“The angels have speed, thanks to their wings, they have perfect coordination and they are able to react extremely fast, how are these things linked? What is the similarity between his shikai and bankai? There has to be one!” Each time the angels attacked she countered perfectly, yet she could not get a single hit, it was if they were able to sense all around them…

“I’m going to be quite blunt.” Shiho shouted to Tomoyo, “You’re at a disadvantage here, the best choice would be to deactivate this technique, since you weren’t able to capture ALL our healers anyway, two of our highly skilled healers were moved to a different location to deal with the injuries of higher rank members, you didn’t think we wouldn’t anticipate strategic warfare, did you?” he smirked

Senato’s angels backed off from her, giving her a chance to reply, “Whether or not what you say is true, I will not end this technique, you may have two healers out there, but sadly, I doubt that they will be able to deal with the number of injured…” Tomoyo replied, the word injured immediately reminded her of Kyobo whom came to her covered in blood, she shuddered at the though.

“She’s right.” Shiho thought to himself, “and her mind doesn’t seem to be changing even under the pressure of Senato’s bankai… These Juzo Hosho are really something else…”

Senato’s angels charged in once again, unleashing strike after coordinated strike, it was a kind of bankai that Tomoyo had not previously experienced, though perhaps under different emotional circumstances she would’ve been able to analyze the weapon better and faster.

The 3rd Angel came up from behind Tomoyo, though from the distance she knew she could still turn her circles and block the strike. “Hado 63, Raikoho!” the angel shouted in a noble-sounding voice, the blast of lightning flew out from the spear towards Tomoyo, whom just barely dodged it, though it skimmed past her arm, leaving a small burn mark.

Tomoyo already began healing the wound before the angels could get to her. “You’re gonna have to hit her harder and faster if you wanna win this fight, captain…” Shiho spoke softly, “At least make it so that she goes into bankai, so that I can get involved again!” he smirked.

The angels surrounded Tomoyo, continuing to strike at her, though she could find no pattern in their way of attacking. Sometimes the 1st would begin, other times the 3rd. Sometimes the 4th would fire only one or two arrows, other times a volley. There was no pattern, or at least it was one that was too complicated to figure out in the midst of battle. The angels were only able to get small glancing strikes against her, though it was more than what she could pull off against them.

[Dawn-Colored Sunlight]

“Why…why….why…why…?”

The same word continued to spill from Tomoyo’s mouth as she continued to maneuver around the seamless attacks from the four angels that attacked from every direction, pressuring her without giving her the chance to rest. Her robe fluttered around her from the high energy that passed by her as she forcibly tried to dodge the attacks, creating magic circles around her to deflect the attacks. But unlike before, the magic circles didn’t see as effective as early, constantly changing the formation in the design in order to keep up with the constant flow of irregular attacks.

This must have been a bit of a reflection of Tomoyo’s unstable state of mind.

“…Why? Why must it be like this? We seek not to kill, and yet people die. We seek peace, as do you, and yet we must fight? Kyobo was wounded so badly…he might be dead…And who knows about Sumiko or the others beyond these walls…Did Akihiko restrain himself? Has he taken any lives? Or has he already…”

Tomoyo continued to speak to herself with a painfully worried voice as if she was not focusing directly on the battle and cut off abruptly as she choked, stumbling as the angel wielding the twin swords managed to breach through the wall of magic circles around her and it immediately targeted her exposed neck without mercy, aiming to end her life in an instant.

Tomoyo whirled around as if she was breaking from a trance and barely managed to evade the strike as she whipped staff out, creating a blast of pure kido energy that forced the angel away.

“If any of them died…I would never be able to forgive myself…” Tomoyo continued to muttered painfully as she turned her face toward Shiho and Senato. Shiho leaned forward instinctively as she saw blood running down her neck and staining her robes. It seemed she hadn’t dodged the angel’s attack completely. In fact, it seemed the attack had left a deep gash in her mask, deforming its appearance.

“There’s no choice…” Tomoyo murmured as she raised her hand slowly toward her mask and a chill went down Shiho’s back immediately. What was this sense of foreboding? Fear? Anxiety? Excitement? “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…”

The mask fell to the ground to reveal a delicately pale face marred by puffy red eyes and thick streaks of tears that extended down her cheeks and neck. The expression was similar to a crying child who couldn’t stop no matter how hard they tried to be tough and it was an almost painful sight to see an adult in this state, especially someone who wielded such talent.

Senato didn’t seem to register this at all. The four angels all shot forth at once, two of them aiming to impale Tomoyo with their swords and spear, the one carrying the shield aiming to crush her skull, and the last aiming to cover her with a volley of arrows.

[Play Music]

“…Bankai. Youjutsusha.”

All four angels were forced to a halt, attacks and all, as an explosion of thick energy expanded outward abruptly, like an invisible wave of sheer viscous pressure. It was as if she’d taken all of her tears and infused them with the very air, causing Shiho to stumble and call to his knees as the four angels shuddered under the strength.

This wasn’t a simple result of her sudden rise in her spirit pressure. It was as if she was converting the reishi around her into spiritual essence that she then added to herself, creating an immense invisible force as a result. It was enough to make any normal lieutenant have difficulty standing or speaking.

Her appearance was something to behold. While her actually clothing didn’t change, she was suddenly surrounded by large golden hexagonal translucent energy plates that seemed to stand around her like shields, blowing away the remainder of the walls and ceiling away to widen the area even further. Golden lines crossed between the adjacent golden hexagons, and large spheres were embedded into them like some sort of aesthetic design.

Tomoyo herself was no longer carrying a staff—it had been replaced by a short golden scepter no longer than ten inches in length with a single tassel hanging from the pommel on the button, looking like gilded regalia from an ancient civilization.

Senato still didn’t pay too much mind to these changes, immediately going in for an attack. All four of his angels sent powerful kido spells in Tomoyo’s direction, long before even arriving, they slowed to a stop as if the viscous energy would not allow them any further and they spells dissipated into the air like nothing, still a ways away from even reaching the large golden hexagons floating around Tomoyo.

One could instantly make a simple conclusion from this obvious occurrence; kido would not work on her.

“Koumajutsu.” Tomoyo murmured with regret weighing her voice just as heavily as the air around her seemed to be, waving her scepter. A massive magic circle drew itself in the air before her, creating a complicated design as the air around it instantly began to feel heavier. Shiho’s eyes widened he watched the rubble from the walls and ceiling around them disintegrate into pure reishi along with distant parts of the floor and grass, floating to one point and merging together in front of the magic circle, creating a large form slowly but surely.

“I-Impossible.” Shiho muttered in awe. “She’s using the nearby reishi to cast a spell? That’s like using the very energy that makes up Soul Society—no, the reiryorku itself as a tool!”

“All is one and one is all.” Tomoyo spoke sadly as tears continued to stream down her eyes, though she seemed calmer now as she regarded Senato and his angels grimly. “You and I are made up of the same essence that the grass and trees around us are, all connected to the reiryoku we arrogantly manipulate to cast kido spells. The reishi will return to its original form once this spell is dispelled.”

Just as she said this, the reishi condensed together like molded clay and took color and form. What stood between Tomoyo and Senato was a large reptilian figure with yellow eye slits and scales covering its hide.

“Your four may represent the archangels, but they are merely the result of your bankai. My spell may represent a dragon, but it is merely the result of my bankai. However, you who wields that power without understanding how deeply it affects life must learn. The despair and cruelty behind every step you make, every life you take…That is why I will ask you once more. We can stop this now, sixth squad captain. We can end this bloodshed and suffering with our strength. Please—please surrender. I will personally promise that I will do my best to make sure that no one on any side dies in the future, both your subordinates and my friends.”

There was no verbal answer. The angels merely shot forward, weapons raised. Tomoyo’s eyes closed delicately over her tears as if submitting to the reality she expected.

“Do you all truly believe proud death is preferable to shameful longevity?”

The dragon and the four archangels clashed fiercely as energy swirled rapidly, blades chipping at the dragon’s thick hide as the dragon’s wings slashed through the air and its fangs snapped at the vulnerable wings of its enemy. In the midst of the attack, a fierce blast of energy shot toward Tomoyo, who seemed just as unable to move as Senato, but this too slowed to a stop and was absorbed into the air around her. Oddly enough, Shiho was sure that the density of the air had increased slightly since she’d originally released her bankai, though he may have imagined it.

“Sho.” Tomoyo waved her scepter once as small magic circles appeared in the air around the angels. Shockwaves shook the air with force many times that of the original spell, enough to further destroy any nearby walls that may have managed to remain standing until now, but the angel with the shield managed to protect its brethren as the other three converged on the dragon at once, managing to pierce the chinks in its armor. The dragon gave a somewhat pathetic roar as it sunk its fangs into the neck of one of the angels and trashed its head around, slamming it into the ground before throwing it toward Tomoyo.

Once it was within a certain distance, the angel and its spear were suspended in midair, though it was unable to move even as it struggled too, forced to remain still as its body slowly came apart and merged with the air.

Mastery of kido was one thing, but was this what it looked like when one mastered the reiryoku?

“I’m weak…I’m too weak.” Shiho could hear Tomoyo murmuring sadly under her breath. “In the end, I couldn’t save anyone. What worth do I have if I preach peace but resort to violence just like anyone else…? Oh, grandmother…mother…Akihiko…Akumu…S­umi­ko…­jus­t what have I accomplished up until now?”

[Aria of Legend: Gripping silence]

Captain Seinosuke: You’re out of options, Captain Sojan. You confronted me without considering the consequences, a mistake you have come to regret.

Captain Sojan: STOP! (He rises to his feet, clutching his giant blade tightly)…I regret nothing.

Captain Seinosuke: That is a shame, considering your ignominious defeat.

Captain Sojan: Defeat?!?! Don’t be foolish! I may be bleeding, but I am hardly unable to fight (he shouts angrily through a blood-stained face).

Captain Seinosuke: You may be painted in red, but if the blood is nothing more than your own, you fail to argue a case for victory. You behaved like a heathen and so you will die like one. While I typically regret ending the life of another, I find no reservations in doing so now. I’m thankful we’re alone, for I am able to admit something fairly personal. I am typically conservative in my approach to battle, choosing the least violent and destructive of tactics. This is why I gravitated toward the technique that allows us Juzo Hosho to cripple one’s reiryoku. Despite my training and subsequent mastery of such a difficult technique and spending my life sparing the lives of those I find guilty, I feel an unfamiliar, but oddly satisfying gratification from this battle. You have allowed me to set-aside my beliefs in a moment of total abandon, which enables me to completely unleash my more primal urges. Even the most mild mannered can be ruthless, you know (He eyes slowly raise from the ground, connecting with Harimakku’s. His gaze is bubbling with untamed excitement, though his face portrays otherwise).

Captain Sojan: (He stares into his opponent’s eyes, witnessing the tinge of enjoyment. For a moment, he could have sworn to have seen a subtle grin, accenting Akihiko’s undemonstrative tone. And yet, despite the brevity of his smile, his tone demonstrates a mild satisfaction, choosing his words wisely as to chill what blood remains in Captain Sojan’s body. He can feel the regret his opponent speaks of, acknowledging the profound remorse for impulses so unwisely and foolishly acted upon. Beads of sweat sweep down his brow, smoothing the hardened blood layering his skin.

Captain Seinosuke: Well, are you planning to launch a counter-offensive with that Bankai of yours?

Captain Sojan: (He glares angrily at Akihiko, recognizing his patronizing tone) you’re a damn fool…

Captain Seinosuke: You should truly watch how that tongue of yours operates. You wield it with the full extent of your ignorance and it leads to defeat. You have spoken so confidently up until now and look how well it has served you. You can no longer utilized advanced movement techniques or wield your spirit energy effectively, eliminating all hopes of kido. You’re barely present during this battle, having no true abilities to rely on.

Captain Sojan: (He violently and recklessly bolts toward Akihiko, swinging his green blade with unrivaled fury. His blade clashes with Akihiko’s, but his is quickly overwhelmed. Akihiko maneuvers his blades around Harimakku’s, positioning one below and above its neck. He leans forward and slides both nodachi along his opponent’s blade, slamming his clenches firsts into his chest. This technique disrupts Harimakku’s footing, prompting him to stumble).

Captain Seinosuke: And now, you will experience first-hand the consequences of such unrelenting disregard…(He pulls his blades back, fluidly advancing his strategy. His slams his foot into his ankle, bringing him to the ground. As Harimakku collides with the soil, Akihikos left nodachi pierces his broad-sword, pinning it to the ground. With lightning fast reflexes he rotates his right nodachi in his hand and strikes the same region with his other blade, rendering a large fracture along the neck of his blade).

Captain Sojan: (He leaps to his feet, kicking Akihiko in the chest and leaping backwards. He darts toward him swinging his blade, only to have it shattered with a single swing of Akihiko’s nodachi. His eyes widen as the pieces fall to the ground, leaving behind a blunt, tapered segment of the blade. His eyes widen in paralyzing awe, as his greatest weapon was just shattered before his eyes).

Captain Seinosuke: As a shinigami weakens, over-working their reiryoku, so too does the zanpakuto. The longer you utilize your Bankai, the less robust the blade will be, due in part to the depletion of your spiritual energy. Of course, if it weren’t for our severe gap in strength, I may not have been able to shatter it with such ease, but my suspicions were confirmed. You’re much weaker than I had previously anticipated.

Captain Sojan: (He stands before his fractured blade, watching as it continues to crumble beneath his feet. His mortality is becoming evident, though it had escaped him for centuries due to his strength as a shinigami. His eyes wandered across his blade as the clouds above slowly gathered around the dimly lit moon).

Captain Seinosuke: (He watches as the clouds swell, breaking under the pressure. Rain begins descending from above, drenching the landscape. Akihiko looks at his hand for a moment, as the rain washes away Captain Sojan’s blood from his wrist. His lip begins to slump, finding displeasure in the cleansing quality of the rain. He raises his head and glares at Captain Sojan, watching as the rain purifies his bloodied body. The bloodied water drains down Harimakku’s body, seeping into the soil, leaving little evidence of bloodshed.) This just won’t do, I’m afraid.

Captain Sojan: (He maintains a steady gaze, his eyes pulsating as his opponent’s expression remains indiscernible) what are you blathering about?

Captain Seinosuke: I cannot allow the rain to wash away your shame, which would be far too honorable for a man such as yourself. No, you must remain broken, so when your body is found by the others, you won’t have a modicum of pride remaining. Like your veins, you will have been emptied of such luxuries. Your blood-stained body would have been a testament to your profound defeat, demonstrating your inadequacy and shaming your title as a Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. If I allowed the rain to mask you as merely a victim, well, this whole struggle would have been for naught. And if you’re blood no longer depicts your shame, then I must find a more creative method for doing so (Akihiko’s eye contact does not waiver as he ominously steps forward, prompting Captain Sojan to raise his shattered blade.)

IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE…AND GRIPPING SILENCE

Captain Sojan: (Holding his jagged, shattered blade forward, his expression loosens and his eyes become tremulous. His body remains stiff, muscles tight and resistant, only to relax in a simultaneous exhale of the body. His eyes cease the tremors and his expression dulls, his eyes losing their vitality and pupils expanding. His right arm, flush to his side, abruptly detaches just below the elbow, landing clumsily on the ground. His left arm stationary in the air, his shattered blade in hand, begins to withdraw, but only in effect to his shifting torso. A bloodied splintering erupts horizontally across his waist, angled enough where his entire torso slides off his body and lands awkwardly behind his feet. His cheek is pressed firmly into the ground, conveniently positioning his eyes even with Akihiko’s feet.)

Captain Seinosuke: This is true shame, having your body maimed by an opponent. It is not only the greatest sign of disrespect, but the ultimate depiction of opprobrium. Oh-how you have fallen from grace, Captain Sojan. May your death serve to suppress my atrocities for another millennium (He boldly turns his back to his opponent’s dismembered body, allowing his blades to unite into a single blade and subsequently placing it within his sheath. He slowly walks toward Yushi’s direction, prepared to wait-out his battle before embarking home).

I must announce that I might not be as active as I used to be in the coming weeks, I've just moved into University and things will be a bit hectic for about 2-3 weeks as I get settled in, though I will try and find time to post if I need to. (Which luckily I won't need to at the moment.) However I will keep up with what's going on as much as I can and post whenever I can and I apologize in advance for any inconveniences this may cause, as uptight as that might sound.

As an informal post script, the posting recently has been amazing so all of you get a large round of applause and a smilely :) I'm seriously looking forward to the next battle scenes and the conclusions of our fights.

{One Dying Soul}



Moments before the final exchange between Akihiko Seinosuke and Harimakku Sojan…



Akihiko Seinosuke: I cannot allow the rain to wash away your shame, which would be far too honourable for a man such as yourself. No, you must remain broken, so when your body is found by the others, you won’t have a modicum of pride remaining. Like your veins, you will have been emptied of such luxuries. Your blood-stained body would have been a testament to your profound defeat, demonstrating your inadequacy and shaming your title as a Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. If I allowed the rain to mask you as merely a victim, well, this whole struggle would have been for naught. And if your blood no longer depicts your shame, then I must find a more creative method for doing so.

Harimakku Sojan: (Akihiko’s eye contact does not waiver as he ominously steps forward, prompting Sojan to raise his shattered blade) [Inner monologue: I will have to end here. All of the strength that remains in this body must go into this final attack. Everything that I stand for, everything I despise in this conceited fool before me must go into this last strike. The pride of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads is at stake. My pride is at stake! All the people I’ve aided and all of the comrades I’ve fought to protect are counting on me to pull through this. All those harsh years of training to reach this level and prove myself to everyone. It all comes down to this moment, to beating this Jūzō Hoshō scum. I CAN’T LOSE!!] (The two Captains launched themselves at each other…)


IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE… AND GRIPPING SILENCE


Harimakku Sojan: (Holding his jagged, shattered blade forward, his expression loosens and his eyes become tremulous; his body remains stiff, muscles tight and resistant) [Inner monologue: Impossible… this is impossible! I… I can’t… I can’t lose! Impossible… I’m… dying…?] (His muscles relax in a simultaneous exhale of the body; his eyes cease the tremors and his expression dulls, his eyes losing their vitality and pupils expanding) [Inner monologue: Was… all my decades of training for nought…? Was the gap in power between us that large?? No… I refuse to believe…! This can't be happening... no... NO!] (His right arm, flush to his side, abruptly detaches just below the elbow, landing clumsily on the ground; his left arm stationary in the air, his shattered blade in hand, begins to withdraw, but only in effect to his shifting torso) [Inner monologue: Hahaha... hehehe... ridiculous... I'm... I'm actually...] (A bloodied splintering erupts horizontally across his waist, angled enough where his entire torso slides off his body and lands awkwardly behind his feet; his cheek is pressed firmly into the ground, conveniently positioning his eyes evenly with Akihiko’s feet)

Akihiko Seinosuke: This is true shame, having your body maimed by an opponent. It is not only the greatest sign of disrespect, but the ultimate depiction of opprobrium. Oh-how you have fallen from grace, Captain Sojan. May your death serve to suppress my atrocities for another millennium. (He boldly turns his back to his opponent’s dismembered body, allowing his blades to unite into a single blade and subsequently placing it within his sheath; he slowly walks toward Yushi’s direction, prepared to wait-out his battle before embarking home)

Harimakku Sojan: (His sight becomes increasingly darker and his body slowly loses feeling) [Inner monologue: This wasn't supposed to happen... I was supposed to defeat you... I tried my hardest with all my strength... I was righteous with my actions...? So why does my soul feel so cold…? Why...?] *almost inaudibly* Damn you to Hell and back… Akihiko Seinosuke… (The last thing he sees are Akihiko’s feet walking triumphantly away)

[Taking Action]


She had remained still for a long time since the reiatsu of captain and foe alike had ignited in battle. Desperately she longed to set out. She wanted nothing more than to fight alongside her allies. No, those thoughts could not creep into her mind. These Juzo Hosho imprisoned Sekhmet with their powerful sealing spells, and if she were to fall in battle, the Seretei would be lost. So she sat, her brow furrowed, brooding over her dilemma.

She sat idle through the surges of Shen's reiatsu, through Senato's and Kie's, through Majo's and Harimakku's. She sat, gritting her teeth, angry at herself. But though her body and mind were wound tight as the noose of duty around her throat, she took a certain solace in the trust she placed in her captains. They were, all of them, incredibly skilled fighters. She convinced herself that they would hold the Seretei sufficiently.

She sat idle even as alien reiatsu disappeared, as Shen's took a steep dip, as more foes seemed to vanish. She sat still when she felt Bankai from all corners of Soul Society.

Then she felt it.

Harimakku's pressure began to dwindle. His power began to fade, wobbling in and out of existence. Not a steady fade or a sudden drop, but inconsistent, like the breathing of a mouse or shrew. Then it disappeared. Harimakku's presence disappeared completely.

Senya rose to her feet, pulling her silver bo from her back and twirling it in her hand. Her face was flat, emotionless. She took a step towards the door, making no sound, but knowing exactly what had happened. One of the captains had perished.

Sekhmet was insane, but she never stood by and watched her subordinates die, for all the good it did her. But now, Senya finally understood what had gone on in the Shirub's mind that day. In an instant, she disappeared.

If they were going to fall, the Gotei Thirteen would fall with pride.

[End]

@BP. I was just wondering if something was up. If you're busy or something then it's fine, but I'm itching to get this battle up to it's climax.

[Conviction]

[Play first song]

With the loss of one of their brethren, the remaining 3 angels flew backwards, making considerable distance between themselves and Tomoyo and her dragon. Tomoyo watched the angels, her dragon waited for them to make a move, but they didn’t. Instead, after the angels were far from Tomoyo and her dragon’s reach, Senato himself began to move, lowering himself to the ground, his angels seemingly watching what was soon to unfold.

“You ask me to surrender, and if I do, you’d stop the bloodshed, you say?” Senato spoke with an elegant tone, there were now some small traces of emotion in his voice, though still he seemed distanced from emotion. “You know that I will not, and yet you still ask. I want this fighting to end but why should I surrender to do so? You attacked us, why?” he was silent for a moment but before Tomoyo could reply he spoke again, “It’s not because you were ordered to, it’s because you’re afraid that something will happen to your friends if you go back on your order, you don’t want them to get hurt, so instead, you move the pain on to another, whom will inflict pain back to you or to another. An endless circle of pain…”

“Then help me stop the circle of pain, by surrendering.” Tomoyo replied, eagerly hoping that Senato would submit, though deep down, she knew it was futile.

“It’s too late for that. Take a moment to sense around us, specifically the reiatsu outside of your technique…” Senato replied as he stared down to the ground, “That monstrous murderous energy that is one of your allies has killed one of my comrades.” A tear dropped down to the ground. Senato thought to himself, “Again, a friend has died and I couldn’t protect them… Why? Why can’t I seem to protect anyone? All this time has passed since then, and I still can’t protect anyone!!”

“If one has already died, then why do more need to die?” Tomoyo spoke. No matter how she tried, she couldn’t keep herself from being affected by the tears of a child, the same child whom she has to fight in a viscous battle.

Senato flung his head up to lock eyes with Tomoyo, his few tears flew from his face, “You asked me if a prideful death is better than shameful longevity...” He clenched his fist, “For me it is, because… because I’m weak! I don’t have the strength to live on without my friends. So if you want this fight to come to an end, then you will have to surrender or kill me yourself.”

Deep within Tomoyo realized this at the very beginning of the fight, but she pushed it away ignoring it. Until now; Senato had forced the truth of their situation onto her, she didn’t want bloodshed but going against her orders could endanger her allies, her home.

“Perhaps we could have been friends of alike minds, had war not forced us to be enemies.” Senato said as he pulled a fake, comforting smile across his face, “At least if I do lose this battle, I won’t regret it. I’d rather lose to someone who respects life, than someone who kills just because they can. I’m sorry.” He stretched out his arms, “Dai Tenshi no Shin’nen.” The three remaining angels let lose their weapons, though they themselves remained in the air, watching from three different vantage points. The twin swords and the bow combined to form an English-style longsword which was as white as snow and the cross-guard of which resembled the wings of an angel. The weapon flew into Senato’s right hand. The shield of the other angel came towards him and latched onto his left arm, gaining a winged-cross crest on its front. “This… is my conviction.”

[Play second song]

“What the hell is this?!” Shiho thought to himself, confound by Senato’s technique, “I’ve never seen this before.”

Tomoyo’s dragon poised itself for battle. Though before she could blink, Senato had disappeared, “Where did he go?” She looked around trying to figure out his position. Then a sudden flash slashed past the side of her dragon, leaving a small cut in its scales.

“I’m sorry about this,” Senato spoke, his voice changing position with every word, “This isn’t my preferred form of battle, though it would be an insult to not fight you with everything I’ve got. Distancing myself like I did with my previous technique was rude, so I’ll make up for it like this.” He came in for another strike. The dragon swung its hand at him through primal instinct alone, though Senato blocked the strike without being moved.

“A strike like that should’ve at least moved him, even if he perfectly blocked it…” Tomoyo thought to herself, though as she focused on the shield, she noticed a small light of some kind on the shield as it was blocking the strike, “A barrier!” she suddenly realized how he did it, his shield was erecting a barrier just before the strike would hit, giving what seemed to be a perfect block. The dragon used its other hand to attempt to strike Senato while he was open, though he raised his sword at the incoming hand, and a beam of light energy fired out of it, cutting a small hole in the creature’s hand, and then he disappeared again.

“His speed is incredible,” Shiho was completely bewildered by Senato’s technique, “After so many years, I’ve never seen nor even heard of this technique… We’ve faced many opponents, some very strong yet he’s never used this technique… but I need to remain focused, if we can find a way past that seemingly impenetrable defence of hers then I must strike, using full power.”

Senato continued numerous clashes with the dragon, though none were longer than two strikes before he would disappear. “I need to see if there is a way past that shield of hers. It seems to break down any nearby reishi into energy for her to use… there has to be some way to beat it, everything has a weakness or a limit.”

Tomoyo’s eyes had slowly begun getting used to Senato’s speed, he no longer seemed invisible, but there seemed to be multiple of him. No matter how much she trained her eyes she wouldn’t be able to completely see him without the after-images.

Senato moved in once again to strike at Tomoyo’s dragon. The two clashed, now was Tomoyo’s chance, “Soukatsui” she murmured regrettably. Magic circles appeared around Senato, releasing an ocean of blue flames, though he had already moved out of the area, coming down to strike the head of the dragon, “Sho” a magic circle appeared on the dragons head, Senato lifted his shield blocking the spell though being knocked back, the dragon attempted a counter attack, but Senato flashed away in an instant.

“Neither of them are breaking through to the other…” Shiho murmured, “At this rate it would be a test of whom could last the longest through this parade, though they both must be planning something. Though at least she won’t be able to sneak an attack on Senato, cause he’s got both awareness and speed, but he can’t strike at her because she seems to have a perfect defence.”

Senato and the dragon charged towards one another yet just before impact, Senato moved to the side, skimming past the dragon, towards Tomoyo. He stopped a decent distance from her and swung his blade through the air; it was definitely heavier than it should have been. As he completed his slice through the air, three beams of light shot towards Tomoyo. They got close but one after the other they slowed to a halt and disintegrated. Before the beams even disappeared, Senato already went back to full speed, circling around the area in which they were battling.

He analyzed his previous attack attempt. “That shield slows things down to a halt and then disintegrates them, but it doesn’t disintegrate until it has slowed down. Those three beams were released at different speeds and the fastest one took the longest to disintegrate… but it’s no use, the speed I’d need to reach those hexagons might not even be reachable on my own, and anyhow those hexagons look like they can take some decent amount of damage…”

Tomoyo waved her sceptre in calm motion, though through close inspection one could see that she still trembled slightly, she couldn’t completely dismiss the cold feelings of despair deep within her. “Sajo Sabaku”

Multiple golden chains sprouted out in all directions from her, one of which skimmed just past Senato’s leg. Another nearly hit his chest forcing him to dodge with a powerful flap of his wings. As the chains of the Omni-directional attack subsided, Senato landed on the ground, facing Tomoyo and her dragon, poised to attack. “I need to find a way past her defence soon, unlike her I can’t keep healing my body after every graze… it’s going to catch up to me eventually…” He thought to himself. He turned to Shiho, whom was cautiously analyzing the battle and waiting for his chance to strike. He pulled a determined grin across his face and charged towards Tomoyo and her dragon once again.

[Unholy Parting]

The sound of a large crash echoed loudly as the dragon made entirely of reishi spread its wings and slashed them both through the air, stirring up a wind that caught debris and through them into the air with stunning accuracy. Senato evaded the flying pierce of the 4th squad building with surprising agility, though he had trouble approaching the dragon due to the winds the wings created, buffering his flight path. His eyes narrowed as he focused on Tomoyo for a brief moment, seeing her murmuring an incantation under her breath as she held her scepter close.

By using inductive reasoning, he came to the conclusion that kido attacks would be easily stopped short upon trying to reach Tomoyo. Even if he was to use an attack with high output, the distance was just too great. He’d have to get as close as he could and attack Tomoyo directly, or at least fire an attack from up close.

That was where he was conflicted. She seemed to be able to break apart reishi that was within her range, but did that include organic forms, like himself? He would have assumed no, as he could see some flowers from outside (now visible with the walls broken down) close by, yet left alone. But at the same time, the floor beneath her hadn’t been destroy, which meant she could choose what she did and didn’t break down.

“Dragon’s Breath.”

Senato braced himself for the oncoming attack as he heard Tomoyo speak those words, but not attack came from Tomoyo or her general vicinity.

Instead, the attack came from the dragon looming over Senato.

A blast of pure reishi fired from the dragon’s mouth like an energy blast—so thick and so simple, it could hardly even be called kido. It was a pure destructive blast that was meant to cause destruction, no more and definitely no less. Senato had trouble evading it simply due to the reckless scale of the attack, having the block the brunt of it with shield as he was enveloped by the light it released.

The roof of the barracks not far behind was blown off by the stray attack and Shiho prayed that no one was over there.

“Aaaahhh!”

Senato roared as he broke away from the force pressed on him by the energy blast and sailed beneath it as he headed beneath the dragon’s legs, already preparing a kido blast to fire directly at Tomoyo.

“Shakkaho!”

The red blast fired directly at Tomoyo just as the dragon’s tail whipped out forcefully, forcing him to abruptly change course to evade the attack. But surprisingly, the tail whipped back around after being dodged with incredible dexterity, forcing Senato to block with his shield. He ended up being thrown back several yards, away from Tomoyo, but not before he managed to see the attack he’d managed to fire shrivel up and disappear.

Despair ate away at his body as he came to a realization.

The range was growing.

While it was true that the stronger attack managed to travel further, it seemed that the more time passed, the more the distance between the moment the attack began to slow down and Tomoyo increased.

To put it one way, it was as if whatever force was protecting her was growing with every attack he threw. Come to think of it, what actually happened to the kido after it vanished? Did it just disappear? Or did it…

“A field of reishi…” Senato murmured as he evaded another swipe from the dragon. “She’s using the reishi around her to create a field of energy that makes the air viscous, which slows down kido. The attacks are disintegrating…their joining with the reishi already present.

It was like firing a water gun at a lake. No matter how hard you tried, the water you fire would be stopped and become one with the lake, because they were the same substance. If nothing else, the lake would grow in size.

Which meant throwing kido attacks would only make things more difficult.

“That explains the dragon.” Senato continued muttering as he swung his long sword and easily cut through the claws that slashed at him in midair.

The dragon that had been so big had now shrunk in size after firing such a large blast of energy. It was now smaller and more slender in size, its tail sticking out like a long whip that it could freely control. It was now able to fly with its massive wingspan and might’ve had a better time keeping up with Senato.

The energy it had fired had come from its own body, emptying like the tank connected to the water gun with a hose. It had sacrificed its huge body and large quantity of reishi for speed and lightness.

This made it easy for Senato to slash it to pieces in an instant, as it had become much weaker compared to before.

The severed pieces of the dragon began to dissipate, melting into the air as Senato focused his sights on Tomoyo once more. But this proved to be a fatal mistake.

The reishi from the defeated dragon began to convert into small balls of light that hung in the air around him, glittering like white stars.

Senato’s eyes widened, but not because he was surprised by the surprise attack. These looked just like his stars—carbon copies, but with more of them. They didn’t seem to be in any formation, either.

The blasts that were fired from them felt just like his zanpakutou as well.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Their targeting and precision were off, making it easy for him to evade, and their overall strength was of as well. He only failed to evade one due to their overwhelming numbers that surrounded him, getting a single beam through his leg. While it hurt, it was far less than he expected.

It was as if it was a distorted copy of his attack, that seemed the same, but was different.

“I see.” Senato grinned dryly as he tried to ignore the pain in his leg. “That dragon was made from the residue energy left behind by my zanpakutou’s attacks.”

“You’re a fast learner.” A small, sad smile appeared on Tomoyo’s teary face. “Yes, that’s exactly right. I used it all up in that attack; I was hoping to break your spirit.”

“Well, you surprised me for a moment. But at this point, I’m not surprised by anything you throw at me.”

“I see. That’s very flexible of you. But I’m guessing you will refuse to bend on giving up?”

“I won’t stop until you either die or give up.”

“I see.” Tomoyo merely repeated sadly as she shut her eyes for a brief moment. “In that case, I’m left with little choice. I surrender.”

A brief silence filled the air as Senato frowned in disbelief. Tomoyo smiled softly as she saw his expression.

“I thought nothing I do would surprise you? I’m absolutely serious. If you won’t submit, I give up.”

“Don’t listen to her!” Shiho immediately called from the sidelines. “It’s a trap! There is no way she’d go through all of this trouble and then submit!”

“Actually, it’s because I’ve gone through this trouble that I’m submitting.” Tomoyo corrected. “I have nothing to gain from continuing this fighting. I’m more concerned about my fellow squad members. I may not be in charge of healing, but my kido may come of use. I’d like to do whatever I can for them.”

“Wait…” Senato grimaced darkly. “If you leave, how the hell are we going to get out?”

A pathetic expression passed across Tomoyo’s face and she had to look away as she spoke her next words.

“I’m afraid you’re all stuck here with no way to leave. Those are my orders, after all. I can’t disobey them by letting you leave.”

“Don’t screw around! As if we’ll let you go! That’s not giving up! You’d still be the winner, in the end!”

“That’s debatable.” Tomoyo sighed shortly as she waved her scepter. A rip in space occurred behind her, much different from a senkaimon. It must have been the exit to the alternate dimension they were in. “Winning and losing depends on priorities. More importantly, I suggest you go find the 4th squad captain. After fighting with Kyobo, regardless of the outcome, I imagine he’s in poorer shape than you.”

“STOP, YOU DAMNED VIXEN!”

“Wait, Shiho! Don’t!”

Senato’s shout came too late as Shiho shot after Tomoyo at full speed, weapon held firmly in his hands as he intended to attack her from behind as she entered the rip in space. Just as he prepared to shoot between the hexagons of her bankai and slash through her body…

…he slammed full force into an invisible sphere far away from Tomoyo.

“Viscous fluids are as hard as concrete when you fly that quickly into it, you idiot…” Senato sighed miserably as the dimensional rip vanished, Tomoyo along with it.

And so they were stranded in an alternate dimension with no way to escape.

Fantastic. Simply fantastic.

{Inside Voice}

Aexus blinked a few times as he immediately realised where he was. Dark sands underfoot, dead-looking trees here and there, the odd desecrated building and nothing else around for miles upon miles. The bleakness of his inner world greeted him. He noticed that the trees were smaller and even more dead-looking and the buildings looked much worse than he remembered. Even the sands underfoot seemed drier and less vibrant than usual, if that was even possible.

Aexus Gingumaru: (He walks forwards, his zanpakutō in hand, his eyes looking around, and realises how tired his body feels) Kyomusuke? (He coughs heavily and quickly remembers his fight with Sumiko and his beating from the other Jūzō Hoshō Captain)

Several metres behind Aexus, a male figure dressed in a long flowing dark cloak that covered his body from head to toe, slithered upwards from the dark sands. The extremely pale white skin of his face contrasted greatly against his long wild black hair which, despite the lack of wind in the area, seemed to blow about. His face was incredibly strange in the fact that he had no mouth and while he had a nose he had no nostrils; the strangeness was further accentuated by his eerie-looking eyes that were large, completely black like coal and made you feel uneasy and uncomfortable when you looked at them.

Kyomusuke: *emotionlessly* Even in here you exhibit signs of your injuries…

Aexus Gingumaru: (He turns around, drops on to his bum and grins cheekily) Hehehe, even as you are I can still tell that you’re in pain too.

Kyomusuke: Are you proud?

Aexus Gingumaru: I beat a Jūzō Hoshō Captain didn’t I?

Kyomusuke: (His facial expression and body language do not change) *emotionlessly* Barely, and at what cost?

Aexus Gingumaru: Ahhh stop bumming me out, we’ll get through this!

Kyomusuke: Yes. You’d better. (Without any movement from his lower body he slowly spins around so his back is facing Aexus) And when you do, go and eliminate that Jūzō Hoshō Captain.

Aexus Gingumaru: Who, Sumiko?

Kyomusuke: Who else Aexus. She knows of our bankai. The only person who should know about our bankai is the Captain-Commander. Her existence is a threat to me, to us.

Aexus Gingumaru: I don’t just kill like that, that’s not how I roll.

Kyomusuke: Well find another reason to purge her. I am not concerned how, just do away with her so our problem is resolved permanently.

Aexus Gingumaru: (He yieldingly huffs and crosses his arms) Fine then.

Kyomusuke: *his tone is still emotionless* The way you capitulate is infuriating… also your colleague, the 8th Division Captain, died.

Aexus Gingumaru: (His eyes widen in shock) How do you know??

Kyomusuke: You had already lost consciousness but I could still feel the reiatsu of everyone engaged in combat. It is a shame.

Aexus Gingumaru: Your lack of emotion is killing me…

Kyomusuke: As long as you do not meet with death, I will remain satisfied.

Aexus Gingumaru: Again, your lack of emotion is killing me.

Kyomusuke: (He is silent and his body language remains the same)

Aexus Gingumaru: So what now buddy?

Kyomusuke: Go back to sleep. Your body needs to rest and recover. I do not know what those machines were that she used on you, but they are spiritually intruding in places I’d rather not have them.

Aexus Gingumaru: (He begins to explode in laughter) You don’t understand how funny that sounded to me. (He observes the spirit of his zanpakutō’s silent form) Alright then Kyomusuke, see you in a little while.

To save me from having to message every person individually, since we no longer have instant message capabilities, I will provide a 'news bulletin' via the forum. However, you'd think they'd allot us the function of a multiple e-mail function, considering there is no other way to communicate aside from mucking up the forum with chatter. Regardless, I think it is just time we transition, despite there being one battle that hasn't resolved itself. I suspect the posters are having a difficult time finishing the battle, due to either writers block or an absence of time. Although it is not customary, I think we can post whatever we planned for after the battle sequence. Therefore, Ryu, feel free to post your long awaited dialogues, of which we discussed. Link, I presume you want to finish the battle, but you can always write it as a "flashback" of sorts, to help add an element of cohesiveness. No pressure to hurry a post, just a recommendation. I'm sure you'll conjure something creative. I will post something regarding Sumiko and Akihiko, of course, which K0V and I discussed. K0V, I recognize you're still in transition, but if you want to post something small, feel free. I enjoy reading whatever you contribute, as we all do, I am sure. I'm uncertain where BP or Zord are, but they can catch-up once they return. Senato, I look forward to reading your dialogues. You did an impressive first battle sequence! :) Silver, if you have anything planned, go for it. Your posts had a lot of reactive moments, so perhaps Tomoyo can reflect on those as she dwells on what she had done and or during interactions with Akihiko and others. I hope these dialogues truly lay down some unique character development and there is some reflection on what has transpired (Ryu can, of course, educate all gotei 13 members on what he, I, and link discussed).

Guys I'm back. As soem of you know (I believe I messaged some of you about it, tough not all) I was having some personal issues. But I'm back.

Still not entirely happy with it, but after over a week of editing and re-writing here you go !





{Aftermath: Burn Baby Burn}

Barely a few hours had passed since the last of the offending Jūzō Hoshō Captains had retreated back to Ukishima Rakuen. They had truly left the Thirteen Court Guard Squads broken and in utter disarray. One of the Gotei 13 Captains was dead, another had lost his spiritual power altogether, three were incapacitated, two were in a completely different dimension altogether and one was trapped in Hell.
The Shinigami had been forced to use the Shin’ō Academy as a temporary replacement for the absent Fourth Division barracks and their level of healing expertise was severely compromised by the amount of healers trapped within the separate dimension. But despite all that had happened, the atmosphere within Seireitei was a subdued and silent one. One could probably have heard a pin drop if they tried.

Within one of the Shin’ō Academy classrooms that had been converted into a relief station, the Twelfth Division Lieutenant, Miko Kira, stared at her comatose Captain with her hands gripped frustratedly in her lap and her tears balling powerlessly in her eyes; she was morosely marinating in the fact that she wasn’t able to do anything for anyone in the events of the Jūzō Hoshō invasion. She then remembered the brief words the Captain-Commander had whispered to her during the final moments of the incursion. She could still redeem herself. It would take some effort, some ingenuity and a lot of brain power, but she could do it. She took one more look at Kie Geißt and silently wished her Captain to wake up as soon as possible.
Furiously wiping the tears away from her eyes before they could run down her cheek, she got to her feet and coolly walked to another converted classroom where she greeted Okamita Sanji and a prone Niji Kyosui, the 3rd and 4th Seats respectively. Luckily for the two officers of the Twelfth Division, the strange plant-like creatures had been effectively removed from their faces and they were in the process of recovering from it latching on to their faces; unfortunately they were left with lasting facial scars to show for it. They both turned their gaze towards her expectantly when they saw Miko enter the room.

Miko Kira: (She looks at the two officers) How are you guys feeling?

Okamita Sanji: We’re good thanks (Niji nods in agreement) feeling a little rough, but overall pretty good considering.

Miko Kira: Well that’s good to hear. (There is a brief but awkward silence) Sooo, do you guys think you’re ready and willing to get back to work? I need some help in the labs.

Niji Kyosui: (He yawns as he stretches, flicks about his ponytail and turns to look at his friend Okamita) *sarcastically* Well it’s not like we’ve just had an information siphoning creature, that could’ve torn off our faces, removed. I mean sure we’re ready, but willing, well. (He takes another look and calmly notes Miko’s somewhat pleading expression) What do you say Sanji?

Okamita Sanji: (He looks at Niji and then shifts his gaze to his Lieutenant with a warm smile) I guess it couldn’t hurt. Let’s go.


The three Twelfth Division members began their slow walk back to the SRDI complex. There was a significant lack of noise, even ambient ones, that permeated the Seireitei and it was becoming more stifling by the minute. Okamita rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably as they walked through the entrance to the Twelfth Division barracks; something seemed off to him.

Niji Kyosui: So Kira, what exactly are we doing when we get back to the technological department?

Miko Kira: Well the Captain-Commander just informed me that Captain Abel is somewhere inside Hell and-

Niji Kyosui: Hell?! What’s he doing in Hell??

Miko Kira: (She furrows her brow in annoyance) If you’d let me finish. (Niji silently mouths “sorry”) What the Captain-Commander told me was: Captain Geißt sent Captain Abel to Hell for some reason, before the Jūzō Hoshō arrived, and now he’s stuck there due to the interference of the Jūzō Hoshō Captain that put those things on your faces.

Niji Kyosui: That sneaky masked devil! (His eyes light up) But then that’s a good thing right? I mean that son-of-a-bitch Captain is a psychopath! He’s threatened my life on more than one occasion. Why would you- (He stops mid-sentence and looks at her with a cheeky grin) Ahhh, I get it now…

Miko Kira: (She understands what Niji is getting at) Well, the Captain-Commander tasked me with bringing him back once the fighting had quelled since Captain Geißt is still in a comatose state. More heads are better than one, right?

Niji Kyosui: Haha I knew it. As much as you try to sugar-coat it, you only dragged us in because you couldn’t do it yourself. (His facial expression is exuding smugness)

Miko Kira: *her tone is defensive* I could actually! It’s just that-

Okamita Sanji: (He interjects their conversation) Uh guys, something doesn’t feel right…

Miko Kira: Hmm, what do you mean Okamita?

Okamita Sanji: I don’t know… something just doesn’t sit well with me.

Niji Kyosui: I think that creature messed with your brain buddy. Relax, those Jūzō Hoshō have all gone. Nothing to worry about. (Okamita acknowledges his friend’s words with a nod but the uncertainty is still plain to see on his face)

The three scientists entered the SRDI labs and make their way to Captain Geißt’s lab quarters, passing through the dimly lit corridors thanks to the many blown bulbs. They passed numerous other Twelfth Division officers and SRDI scientists on their way there; it seemed that despite everything that had occurred, nothing could stop the Shinigami Research and Development Institute for long.

Miko was the first to step inside Kie’s lab, her eyes widening as she saw the damage that had been inflicted inside. Papers dashed everywhere, equipment flung all over the place and a large hole that carried on through other rooms on the far wall; the place was a pigsty. There was also stench coming from a gaping hole in the centre of the room; walking over to inspect she realised the hole reached into the underground sewer system. She calmly disregarded the mess and began, with the aid of other two seated officers, searching for any notes or pieces of information that might help in bringing back the Captain of the Eleventh Division. All the while Okamita Sanji was mumbling quietly to himself, unease visibly filling his body.

Niji Kyosui: (He suddenly jerks upright, sniffing ardently, with an inquisitive look on his face) Can anyone else smell that?

Miko Kira: (She begins to sniff too) Yeah, smells like… fire?

Niji Kyosui: (He draws his zanpakutō that is slung to his sash and cautiously walks out of Kie’s room, back into the SRDI corridors and in the direction of the smell) An unregulated fire within the Institute…?

Okamita Sanji: (He watches as Miko also unsheathes her zanpakutō and follows the 4th Seat out of the room; he lets his body move him to the doorway as the previous feeling of unease intensifies and completely washes over him) Fire…?



Senya stood still, her hands resting on her stave, overlooking Seireitei from her balcony with a pensive expression on her face whilst being lost within her thoughts. This was defeat number two. Her attention was suddenly drawn to the Twelfth Division barracks, where large flames and ballooning smoke was coming from the SRDI complex. Then, less than a split-second later, the SRDI buildings exploded viciously, shooting forth giant balls of fire and torched debris. Senya’s eyes could only widen in shock as she witnessed the Shinigami Research and Development Institute go up in flames.



Back within the ablaze buildings Okamita glanced painfully over at the dead body of his friend and comrade. Niji’s badly burned corpse had a look of realisation painted all over it. Okamita frowned frustratedly; it seemed Niji had realised just as he had. His eyes shifted over to another area as he saw Miko feebly rise from underneath some smouldering rubble. Upon noticing him lying there she hurriedly crawled over to his body. His condition was dire with a piece of metal having impaled his throat.

Okamita Sanji: *weakly*That damn Jūzō Hoshō woman… it was no coincidence she ran into us… (His desperate struggle for breath is agonising for Miko to watch) she… planned all… of this…

Miko Kira: (Her face registers shock and anguish as Okamita dies in front of her) …



It took just over an hour to settle the flames but the damage inflicted was clear for all to see. Although some Division members and scientists managed to escape, quite a notable amount were injured and killed from the multiple explosions. Not only had the Gotei 13 lost their healing Division but now also the Division responsible for the advancement of their technology. Salt in the wounds never hurt so bad.

[Whispers of Blades]


Captain Akihiko Seinosuke: (Armed with a steady gait and stoic demeanor, Akihiko triumphantly passes along the streets of Mujūryoku seiiki. Officers spend minutes taking in his presence, as he leisurely passes them, his glory instilling a sense of accomplishment on all those around him. His gaze is stubbornly fixated, taking no notice of those gawking from the rafters.)

Captain Yushi Kenronri: Tell me, Captain Seinosuke, how did the battle inevitably end with you and your opponent? I sensed his reiatsu vanish, which means he died. I wonder, though, how did you kill him…?

Captain Seinosuke: (He steadies his gaze, resisting distraction. He hesitates, remaining silent before responding to a most unnerving inquiry) I simply allowed him to become his own executioner. The whole confrontation was less than entertaining. You really should find amusement in other subjects, Captain Kenronri.

Captain Kenronri: I’m sorry, but I believe I have misled you. I wasn’t asking for my own amusement, I was simply curious. I’m well-aware of your pacifist principles, so when that man ceased to operate on my radar, well, I became concerned as to why he vanished. That’s all.

Captain Seinosuke: You’re a respectable warrior, Captain Kenronri, but now I see even you fall victim to idle gossip. (Akihiko abruptly halts, firmly holding his ground, his back to Yushi. He slowly rotates his torso and tilts his head, so his eyes may gaze upon his comrade) you are also a terrible liar.

Captain Kenronri: (He watches carefully as Akihiko resumes his mission, leaving Yushi to merely speculate. Yushi narrows his eyes as his lip droops, expressing a degree of irritation by Akihiko’s cold reproach.)
Captain Meibatsu: What exactly happened there, Yushi?

Captain Kenronri: (He continues to stare at Akihiko, speaking softly in response to Jisano’s question) …he killed a Gotei 13 Captain. Mercilessly so.

Captain Meibatsu: I see…(Jisano carefully inspects Akihiko’s distant form, as he contemplates the most surprising news).

Captain Seinosuke: (He begins walking down a series of white marble stairs, revealing a vibrant and expansive oasis hidden beneath the surface of Mujūryoku seiiki. The mountain-side oasis is nestled deep into the base of the floating mountain, accompanied by a picturesque view through a intricately constructed terrace. He kneels, looking into the reflective waters.)

Captain Shimo: You come here to sulk, always have.

Captain Seinosuke: (He continues to gaze into the water, softly commenting to Akumu) I’m not sulking. Don’t be childish. I’m contemplating my actions.

Captain Shimo: In other words…sulking. For you to be here, means you have something you finding particularly alarming. Does it have to do with what happened in the Soul Society?

Captain Seinosuke: Word certainly travels fast among hens…

Captain Shimo: Don’t be so defensive, Aki. It was one life. Think of the countless lives you’ve spared over the centuries. In comparison it is…

Captain Seinosuke: …A colossal failure.

Captain Shimo: (She releases a delicate sigh while she rests on a nearby ledge) You’re making the issue far more significant than it needs to be, Aki.

Captain Seinosuke: I’m not really in the tradition of murdering others, no matter how misguided they may be. And he certainly was misguided and loathsome.

Captain Shimo: All the more reason to rid this world of him (He cites passionately)!

Captain Seinosuke: The world’s problems should not only be met with violence and carnage. One must demonstrate restraint to truly wield justice efficiently.

Captain Shimo: This wasn’t about justice, which is why your’e so distraught. It was about maintaining what we have built over millennia. If we don’t do as the council asks, we won’t need to worry about bearing the weight of justice any longer. There will be no Mujūryoku Seiiki.

Captain Seinosuke: There is more than one way to fight with a justice, Akumu. When one endlessly uses it to shed blood, without cause, they are condemned by the very practice they enforce.

Captain Shimo: What are you talking about?

Captain Seinosuke: I’m saying that this entire façade of enforcing the code of the council will ultimately be our end. We are impaling ourselves with the very same blade used to bleed our enemies dry.

Captain Shimo: …Aki. What has gotten into you?

Captain Seinosuke: Can’t you see it? (He rises to his feet, staring passionately in Akumu’s direction) This war was never meant to include us. We were thrust upon tragedy and became enmeshed with it. Have you recognized how this war has changed our head-captain? She’s practically mad with fear. It is sickening. In four centuries we have not needed help healing our wounded, and yet, we were required to contact her. Do you understand the direness of these circumstances?

Captain Shimo: All this because you took a life?

Captain Seinosuke: I’ve been considering this catastrophe since the very beginning. Don’t insult my insight, Akumu. No single event would ever provide me sight. No… (He walks to the terrace, overlooking the entire land) I have been watching carefully from the very inception of this war. I foresaw nothing but conflict by intervening with the Gotei 13 and look now at our current predicament. We are waging a war for those who we know nothing about. We don’t understand their motives, their justification, there morals…We understand only one thing. (He turns and stares directly at Akumu, his laurel colored eyes absorbing the glow of the moonlight) We are being ripped asunder by this war. A war that if not completed in our favor, will mean the end of the Juzo Hosho.

Captain Shimo: (He eyes fall to her feet, as she leans against a nearby pillar) Yes, I suppose you’re right. That is precisely why we must win this war.

Captain Seinosuke: I’m aware.

Captain Shimo: So…what exactly happened over there? You’re riled up, even for this.

Captain Seinosuke: I desecrated his body by bisecting him.

Captain Shimo: You did what?

Captain Seinosuke: I’m certain Captain Anenokoji had her drones filming every filthy detail. You may contact her and watch the recording. (He begins traversing the stairs to the surface) I don’t regret eliminating that captain, but I regret having given in to my primal urges. I had thought I were far beyond that of Jisano. It appears even with my sophistication and training, we are all primal at heart.

Captain Shimo: What about the other opponent?

Captain Seinosuke: I can’t even recall his name; A testament to how insignificant he truly was. I’m sure he’ll seek me out again. And when he does, I will eliminate him. This time, using a full-proof method (His eyes are cold and honest before he dulls his expression and leaves Akumu to contemplating his words).

[Defaced Solutions]

Tomoyo Daidōji and Elizabeth Renoir.

The silence between the two women was jarring. Both wore their masks, one side standing with an erect posture that gave nothing away while the other stood with a slightly reserved slouch. Both faced each other directly, their different personalities clear as day even with their masks hiding their expressions.

“Good evening, Captain Daidōji. I expect you succeeded in your mission without problem this time?”

“Thankfully. And there were no casualties, though barely.”

“You expended a great amount of energy, casting such a dangerous space/time kido along with releasing your bankai. And then you return here immediately to help heal our injured captains without pausing for a break. Your diligence and idealistic naïveté are commendable.”

“So I’ve been told. You needn’t worry; I am carefully monitoring my own health. I will not collapse from overexertion at my carefully regulated rate of energy usage.”

The tone between the two women was kind and understanding, politely exchanging words as two colleagues might. But the tension in the air between them was so viscous, a person might get stuck if they tried to pass through the short space.

“Please stand aside, Captain Daidōji.”

“I must refuse, Captain Renoir.”

No compromise from either side. It was amazing they could both continue speaking so kindly to one another with such a friction around them.

“I apologize. I must have mispronounced my words. Allow me to rephrase so that your thick head filled with rainbows and unicorns may better understand; let me enter the ward, Captain Daidōji.”

“I must refuse, Captain Renoir.”

A short twitch shook Elizabeth’s entire body for a mere instant, almost seemingly like a spasm.

“I simply wish to speak with Captain Anenokoji. She is well enough to speak, I’m sure.”

“Perhaps. I’ve spent quite a bit of energy making sure of it, so I can only pray.”

“Then let me speak with her.”

“I must refuse, Captain Renoir.”

“Daidōji, this is not your business. I need to crush a certain worm, but he is not available for a sound stomping. In accordance with some madness beyond my ken, he went to Hell. Fitting as it is, I need Captain Anenokoji to assist me with pursuing the quickest means of annihilating that worm. If I must descend into hell after him, so be it.”

“You’re quite the holder of grudges.” Tomoyo sighed miserably as she shook her head. “But I cannot allow you to do that. I am not going to stand aside while lives are being blatantly threatened.”

“I won’t threaten Anenokoji’s life; it is the worm who I want to kill.”

“I’m well aware. In any case, I’ve been meaning to make a request of you at some point. Please excuse me for imposing on you now…”

“A request?”

“Please relinquish your hatred for Captain Livius of the Gotei 13 and strive to spare his life along with the rest of the captains.”

There was a long pause where nothing was said, Elizabeth merely regarding Tomoyo, who was bowing pleadingly toward Elizabeth without any hesitation in her movement. It was clear that she was candid; she wanted to spare ever survivor in the Gotei 13.

“…I’ve been meaning to make a request of you two, Captain Daidōji. Please erase that stupid ideal of saving everyone. Immediately.”

Elizabeth’s tone was as harsh as ever, but it did not discourage Tomoyo.

“In any case, even if you were to chase after Captain Livius, you’d most certainly died. That is not to say he would kill you; the Head-Captain would not tolerate the action in the least. You should be well aware of the punishment that would await you, should you return.”

“So you intend to stand in my way to protect me?” Elizabeth had a hard time keeping the scorn out of her voice. “What a horrible farce. The way you selfishly cling to lives is burden to me as your colleague. The way you cry at the idea of killing is a shame to me as your comrade.”

“It is simply how I am.”

“So it seems.” Elizabeth agreed coldly as her emerald eyes met Tomoyo’s scarlet eyes through the holes of their masks. “Even now, you cry with the force of a cascading waterfall at the thought of the violence that would probably follow if you stood in my way if I tried to force my way through.”

Tomoyo had no response for that. Though the mask hid the actual tears, there was no hiding the way her voice cracked. In truth, she’d been weeping ever since her fight with the sixth squad captain of the Gotei 13, fresh tears pouring down her face at the sight of the injured Sumiko and Kyōbō. Even now, they had yet to stop, now brought on by another source.

“The moment I see that man’s face again, I will run him through without mercy.” Elizabeth promised as she turned her back to Tomoyo, heading back down the hall. “Neither your words nor your tears will stop me.”

Tomoyo could only bow at Elizabeth’s retreating back wordlessly, silently thankful to have avoided conflict.

Alright guys, my already delayed post is going to be delayed even more due to some serious crap that's come up within the last coupla days. I'm working on the post in the time I've got to myself but don't expect anything too soon.

[The angels convene]

Shiho sat on the ground rubbing his head in pain. “That witch!” He shouted, “The nerve!” he was obviously extremely angry, “I mean, she just leaves us in this damned dimension, ooh when I get my hands on her!” He had both his arms stretched out in front of him, making a motion as if to strangle thin air.

“There’s no point whining about it now, Shiho.” Senato spoke calmly while re-sealing his zanpakuto, “Right now we have more important things to attend to…”

“Like what?” Shiho questioned him, confused, “We are trapped here. What can we even do?”

“You don’t think I’ve realized that we are trapped?” Senato replied, annoyed, “That’s why we have to get everybody together and organised and do what we can.” He turned around, looking at all the rubble around him, “Shiho!” Senato commanded, “You make your way back to the members of squad 4, I’ll go find captain Tsukubashi…”

“Right.” Shiho replied as he took off in the direction of the 4th squad members. “As much as I want to help him,” Shiho thought to himself, “He needs to be alone now; being in a helpless situation was never easy for him…”

Senato began running towards the area were Captain Tsukubashi and his attacker were fighting. He closed his eyes, entering into his spirit world, while he continued to run.

He stood atop a tower of marble, just above the clouds. Around him there were multiple broken marble columns, though the area still seemed to hold a kind of peaceful serenity. Four figures in white robes appeared in front of him, two were male and two were female, though when they had their armour on, one would not be able to tell the difference. They still had their weapons with them, on their backs.

“Welcome… Senato.” The female angel with the shield began, “It seems that our opponent was trickier than you thought.”

“Indeed you are right, Chikai.” Senato replied, “I did not expect her to use such tricks…”

“How the hell can you two speak so calmly about this?” The male angel with the spear shouted, “That bitch tricked us, looked down on us!”

Chikai turned to him, “Calm yourself, Gekido.” She said raising a hand to silence him, “Do not get angry just because you were defeated.”

“Are you trying to call me weak?! You shield-wielding coward!” Gekido shouted, enraged.

“Oi, Gekido, Chikai, don’t start arguing now of all times.” The male angel with the twin swords interrupted them.

“Keep out of this Ketsui!” Gekido shouted again. “This is between me, and her!” he continued while pointing at Chikai.

“Stop bickering, we have more important things to do.” The female angel with the bow spoke, not a strand of emotion in her voice.

The other three stared at her, at a loss for words. When Chikai began, “Hakujo is right, though I’m surprised that you actually said something…”

Hakujo did not reply, she simply turned her attention to Senato, who was watching their bickering.

“Right now we need to plan what to do when we meet her again.” Senato began, “Our fight will come to a true end, I will not let her sully the pride of the Gotei 13 by thinking she can attack us and leave without concluding the battle.”

“Is that the real reason behind it, or are you just using that as a reason to cover what your true motivation?” Ketsui began, “It reminds you of being helpless, unable to stop those who cause pain for you, and those you care for. Correct?”

“Ketsui!” Chikai interrupted, “Do not question Senato’s reasons. He does what is expected of him, as a captain of the Gotei 13. Do not disrespect his loyalty!”

“Chikai…” Senato spoke as he placed a hand on her shoulder, “enough…” He turned to look at Ketsui, “Ketsui, your thoughts are both correct and incorrect. Although my failure to defeat her may have reminded me of the pains of the past, they are not my motivation to conclude my battle with her. But you are correct in the fact that I am using my oath as a captain of the Gotei 13 to suppress my true reasons.”

“As interesting as always…” Ketsui answered, “Even though we four are simply parts of you, you continue to intrigue us…”

“I’m just glad that we’re gonna beat that woman.” Gekido spoke still annoyed about being defeated during the battle.

“For now though…” Senato turned to face all four angels, “We need to figure out how to escape this dimension that she has created…”

“One can only assume…” Hakujo began, “That space time based kido can only be affected by kido. Though most likely, only space time kido would be helpful in this scenario and unless someone within this dimension broke that law…”

“Unfortunately, I did not give in to my curiosity when it came to space time kido, and I’m pretty sure that captain Tsukubashi has not gotten involved in it either.” Senato sighed. “Well I guess there isn’t much more we can discuss, in which case, I’ll return to my search for captain Tsukubashi.” Senato turned around, ready to leave his spirit world when Chikai suddenly grabbed his hand. “Chikai?” Senato was truly surprised.

“There is one more thing I wanted to talk to you about.” She began, “you haven’t forgotten their last words that day… have you?”

Within a mere moment the image flashed into Senato’s head; his dying friends lying before him, the fear of losing all those he held dear… and those few words that struggled to reach his ears;
“Live on, nothing is worth discarding your life willingly, fight… and live…”

“I haven’t forgotten.” He replied, a tear rolling down his cheek. He opened his eyes, having left his inner world, “Those words are something I will never forget…” He continued running in search of Tsukubashi.

I'm switching my writing style back to a more normal writing format just to see if it is any better. (The first part is excluded as I'm quoting a past post)

Sorry for the lateness but here is the long awaited post.

[A Healer Appears]

Captain Gingumaru: (He leaps toward her, swinging his blade and slicing across her body. She flings backwards, landing on her back. She stares at him, her eyes swelling with anger).

Captain Anenokoji: To think, someone as unintelligent as you could place me in such a delicate position…

Captain Gigumaru: This isn’t delicate. You are about to die. Whether or not I die, it is inconsequential. I will see that you are terminated, as you have now killed two captains.

Captain Anenokoji: You and Captain GeiBt? You should go the way of the valiant hero and try and save her. Don’t waste your time on me (she says with a slight grin, her eyes sparkling despite her misery).

Captain Gigumaru: It is time…(he walks toward her, raising his blade in the air).

And then the knight appeared. Sumiko's consciousness had returned, though her eyes had yet to open. Her thoughts carried on drifting back to her battle with Aexus, mentally cursing herself every time she played the blow that finished her fight. But more often than not she focused on Kyobo appearing to rescue her, however seeing the look in his eyes every time that memory played through in her head scared her slightly. It looked like he was possessed by a devil, the pure blood lust that seemed to radiate from his eyes every time she focused on them.

After reviewing these images for what seemed like hours, a voice started to intrude into her mind, turning the images that still popped up in her mind turn slowly into a murky haze. The then gradually gained clarity, she managed to hear words that sounded feminine.

"She is regai.....consciousness. Refill.....IV.... Sodo....unconscious," Sumiko gradually began hearing more of the voice as her eyes slowly opened, blinking against the harsh glare of the light that forced its way into her vision causing her to raise her hand to combat her intrusive foe.

It was at this moment she heard a voice she had not heard in a long time. "Captain Anenokoji, I wouldn't move now if I was you. Any unnecessary movement right now may open the wounds Captain Daidoji and I worked so hard to close." Sumiko carefully raised her head and noticed the delicate hands resting on her abdomen from within a green aura that sent a gentle warmth into her body. Looking up at the face of the hands owner, she was met with a beautifully pale face with deep amethyst eyes and matching hair.

"Elder Healer," She said bowing her head slightly out of custom. "I couldn't imagine that I would need specialist care...I thought one of my squads healers would be able to take care of my injuries."

"If it was only you at risk I would have allowed them to heal you...That was until I saw the state of you." She shook her head with a slightly unsettled expression on her face. "If they had tried saving you, I would give it a 60% chance of survival. This was not the outcome the Head Captain wanted so she asked me rather eloquently to "Save your miserably weak hide!" in her own words of course, though I rather doubt that she would have said to me directly given the chance."

"Wait. 'Only me at risk' who else is hurt?" She said looking over to the other bed next to her and immediately stopped as she saw Kyobo sitting up against a wall of pillows, breathing slowly and deeply with a pained expression on his face. "Kyobo? I knew you were injured but..."

He opened his eyes from his almost trance like breathing state, and turned to look at her with a pained smile. "Not to this extent? Well my zanpakuto doesn't exactly heal wounds though it does give off that impression." He turned to look at the Elder Healer, bowing his head as Sumiko had. "If it wasn't for Elder Healer here and your medical staff I'd probably be in a coma from blood loss."

The Elder Healer continued healing Sumiko though her face broke into a gentle smile. "While I appreciate the gratitude you obviously feel, I wish I could do something about your pain." Her expression became more concerned. "Unfortunately we have nothing as potent as the anesthetic your zanpakuto produces. Still from what I was told about your fight from the Head Captain, it could have been worse."

Kyobo's face grew darker at the mention of the Head Captain "You mean our paranoid, egocentric, terrified Head Captain? That bitch is only concerned because I'm a noble. Fuck her!"

"Kyobo don't be as dense as Jisano and badmouth her. We don't need you getting punished as well." Sumiko reprimanded him. "I don't know what she'd do to you but it'd be just as painful for you as it was for Jisano to have your limbs replaced."

"Captain Anenokoji is right, Captain Sodo. I wouldn't advise you to disrespect the Head Captain." The Elder Healer stated flatly. She then looked at Kyobo with another smile on her. "Besides if she didn't kill you, I certainly would. After all, my healing would have all been for nothing in a situation like that now wouldn't it?"

Kyobo swallowed audibly, before laugh nervously at the statement. He turned to Sumiko in an effort to move on from the statement. "So Sumiko how are you feeling?"

"Well I certainly feel a lot better than when Captain Gingumaru had sliced me open. It's ironic when you think about it. Instead of me dissecting him, he dissected me." She giggled quietly to herself. "It's a scientist's luck I suppose. My attempt at experimenting went down the plug hole as it were."

Kyobo chuckled to himself. "Well at least your brain seems to be functioning correctly. I'd be worried if the blood loss caused any lasting damage."

The Elder Healer removed her hands from Sumiko, the green aura fading as she did. "That is that. Your wounds are healed Captain Anenokoji. I will recommend that you stay well rested until you no longer feel any pain from moving." She smiled warmly again as she moved the bed cover over Sumiko's chest. "Though knowing you and your friend there, I doubt you will heed my advice." She turned to Kyobo with the same smile still on her face."Captain Sodo, I suggest you talk with Captain Daidoji as soon as you can. She was rather worried about you and your injuries, misguided as those worries may have been. However I will give you the same advice I have given you the twenty or so other times you have been sent to me. Don't be reckless. Your zanpakuto is a marvelous thing but it should not be abused to the extent you seem to carry on doing. Sooner or later you will suffer gravely."

"As for you Captain Anenokoji...Hmm...Lecturing Sodo made me forget your own personal lecture. So I'll advise you not to be on an operating table in front of me for the next fifty years or so. If you do I might just slip and cut your Aorta by accident." She smiled sweetly after her "threat". "Understand?"

Sumiko just nodded at the statement.

The Elder Healer clasped her hands together in joy. "Excellent!" She turned elegantly, grabbing a white gown complete with cowl from a nearby chair and slipped into it effortlessly. "Now I will bid you goodbye, or at east until the next Captains' Meeting. It must be important if I'm being called do you not think?" She left with a melodic laugh not shortly after that.

Kyobo stared at the closed door even after the Elder Healer had left. "I swear Madam Kyō gets even more eccentric every time I see her."

Sumiko half laughed at the statement. "And people say I am. If she's the definition of eccentric, what does that make me?"

"Slightly mad maybe?" Kyobo proposed as a possible answer.

"Isn't that worse?" She questioned.

"Your point being?"

Here she is. The Healing division commander.

Name: Iyashi Kyō

Age: 1154 Years Old

Gender: Female

Race: Juzo Hosho

Height: 5"6'

Eye Colour: Amethyst

Hair Colour: Dull Amethyst (Short and straight falling to the base of her neck. A couple of strands of hair fall to her shoulders.)

Rank: Elder Healer of the Healing Division. (Similar to the Gotei 13 Kido Corps, they are not a squad)

Appearance: Iyashi is a fairly slender woman who has often been described as the most beautiful woman in Ukishima Rakuen. She wears a light blue kimono held together with a navy blue sash that is wrapped a umber of times around her waist and dons a white gown and cowl ensemble with a green Japanese symbol of health in the middle of the gown. She normally does not carry a weapon.

Personality: Iyashi is a gentle and well spoken individual, who is often smiling more than frowning. She is a reclusive individual who is rarely seen outside of the noble households where most of her work is performed outside of the Juzo Hosho. She is however a very reclusive individual, spending most of her time in her home. She has a very eccentric side to her personality and will often threaten the lives of her patients so they don't injure themselves.

Zanpakuto: [To be decided at a later date]

(In my opinion, this post took way too long to finish. I blame a persistent case of writer's block.)

Majo lay in the makeshift infirmary, her cot rather uncomfortable as she sighed and took a sip of the tea that sat on her short bedside table. Thinking back on the outcome of the battle, it wasn’t hard to see where she had made mistakes, minor slip-ups that could have changed the outcome of the fight entirely, not to mention blatantly releasing her Bankai. She smirked a bit when she thought back to the moment their battle was put on hold, and yet at that moment still had a clear victor.

Again, Majo took a sip of her tea and set it back down on the table. Yes, if not for her Dokubari, which she had merely used as a last minute precaution, she would have been sliced in two and that would have been that. Yushi was the dominant force between the two of them, and had nearly killed her several times. She slowly sighed, falling back into her thoughts as she recounted the events of that battle, particularly the way it had sorted itself out in the end.

Yushi sneered at her, despite his growing worry. He quickly leaped back from her needle, gazing at her as he skidded to a halt. The ground beneath him seemed to be swallowed up by the mist as it swirled around beneath the two of them like shallow, murky water. He grunted as she suddenly kicked him in the chest with her new strength, sending him flying back into the remains of a toppled building.

"Are you quite done acting tough?" she asked as she approached him.

"Are you really going to question my strength as a Captain?" Yushi groaned. He slowly raised himself to his feet, glaring at her.

Majo raised a brow. "Are you angry with me? Frankly, I couldn't care less," she said from beneath the mask, her voice ringing clearly in the eerie fog despite the gas mask that adorned her face. Yushi looked into her milky eyes again, searching for something other than emptiness. The only emotion he found was the coy eyebrow raise, causing him to growl slightly. "What?" she asked innocently.

"Shut your mouth," he replied almost instantly. He gripped his blade with a new ferocity that Majo had not seen from him previously.

"I see. So that's how it is," Majo said, narrowing her eyes. "I don't like having to repeat myself, but if you want me to fulfill your death wish, I have no problem with that."

Majo suddenly lunged at Yushi, releasing more spiritual pressure than before. They clashed, releasing a wave of pent up energy that sent rubble flying in all directions. Majo shielded her eyes from the stinging of the dust in the air. Yushi attempted to break contact when she did this, trying to sever her right arm. Majo was quick to react, parrying the blade and forcing his arm away from her. She landed a knee to his chest and wrapped her arm around his neck, the crook of her elbow tightening around it. He clawed at her for a moment before he raised his sword and reversed his grip. He thrust backwards with all his might, managing to catch Majo's flank as she attempted to dodge the strike. She was shocked slightly, her body reacting to the pain on its own. She grunted as Yushi smiled and forced her to release her grip on him. He turned without removing his sword and looked her straight in the eye.

"Fragmented Blades," he said simply and quietly.

Majo realized too late to do anything about the ability. She only took a hasty breath to prepare for the pain that immediately followed as her insides were shredded. She let out a cry of agony before she reacted instinctually by grabbing Yushi's arm and twisting it. He yelped and let his grip on the zanpakuto in his hand loosen. Majo kicked it away as he removed it from the site of the wound. Blood followed the sword, the thick red of the life-giving substance staining Majo's robes and Yushi's blade. He quickly attempted to swipe at her with his free, and now broken arm, knocking her mask from her face.

She backed away and hacked, an unpleasant feeling settling into her stomach. She watched as Yushi rubbed the spot that Majo had abused, the cracked bones obviously causing him to wince slightly. The downturned corners of Majo's mouth gave away her frustration as she again attempted to attack him from behind.

Yushi parried her thrust but had misjudged the strength behind it. Her attack found its mark in a place she hadn't been aiming for, but she accepted it nonetheless and activated her ability. "Ketsueki Dosuko."

The thick black substance trailed out of her body, following the path of the blood that patterned her skin. It began to flow faster and faster until it eventually found it's way to the weapon she held. As it flowed down the needle and into Yushi's body, he flinched when he felt the immediate stinging sensation that came with the toxic and acidic material.

Yushi flinched as he felt the toxin begin to eat at his flesh from the inside, his blood literally boiling. Majo held her arm in place silently as Yushi’s breathing became more laboured and erratic, his posture betraying the pain he felt. He slowly sank to his knees, feebly gripping at Majo’s wrist, trying to remove the weapon from his body. He coughed, blood finding it’s way out of his mouth as he hunched over himself. Majo relented and removed her needle from his body, yet the substance still poured into his body from the outside, obviously still under her control.

Yushi continued to hack and cough as Majo slowly walked around to his backside and held him up by his collar, pricking the small of his back and whispering, “Dokubari.”

Majo dropped Yushi again and watched as he stood up, reaching for his blade and turning to her, clutching the fabric of his robes.

“You… are a very inter-” he was cut off by a sudden spasm that wracked his body, but continued, “...interesting woman.”

Majo bowed slightly. “The complement is appreciated,” she replied.’

“But you should know something,” Yushi continued through the pain that obviously hindered his ability to think in complete sentences. “This farce, this so-called “War”, is nothing more than fear.”

Majo narrowed her eyes. “Fear?”

“Yes,” Yushi answered. “Fear on both sides. The Gotei Thirteen fears being eradicated because of a single incompetent decision that was made a millenium ago. And the Juzo Hosho fear eradication at the hands of those who ordered us to eradicate you, should we fail.”

Majo sneered. “Ridiculous,” she answered, throwing herself at him once more.

Yushi responded by quickly parrying her needle and bringing his body around into a tight spin, attempting to slice horizontally across her stomach. Majo immediately copied his stance and they both froze in place. Majo relaxed, forcing Yushi to reluctantly do the same, thankful for having avoided losing her innards. Once again she paid Yushi her attention as he refused to stop speaking.

“We are just as scared as you, though most of us would deny it,” he continued. “We are strong willed, but the Gotei Thirteen is as well. In all actuality, there is nothing that truly separates up from one another, other than the idea that we are fundamentally different.”

Majo smirked a bit. “I see,” she replied quietly.

“And it’s just that. An Idea,” Yushi finished.

Majo made no move to stop him as he broke free of her Dokubari and resealed his Zanpakuto, walking past her as she did the same. She watched his back as Yushi moved away from her.

Surely they would finish this. One day, they would meet again and the battle would truly be decided. Majo collapsed to the ground.

************

Kira had cried profusely that night. While she stood outside the remains of her captains personal laboratory, she could only feel a sense of failure on her shoulders. Okamita and Niji were both dead, and the others who had been in the lab at the time had yet to be found. Turning away from the horrible sight, she began her trek back to the main section of the twelfth squad barracks, which had remained relatively undamaged, aside from a series of rooms that had been caught in the flames of the explosion.

Settling herself down in her own quarters, she lay back on her thin futon and sighed. She closed her eyes dejectedly and smiled wryly. Her captain, valiantly defending the Soul Society, was forced into ruining her own good name, all for the sake of an objective she knew nothing about, propelled into an intense, yet short, battle with the Juzo Hosho Captain, and was nearly killed because of it. The devastating wounds she had suffered were something Kira could have done without seeing, especially when they had still been untreated and bleeding all over the concrete floor of the facility, still fresh.

With those images, along with the sight of Okamita and Niji’s maimed bodies, still ingrained in her mind, she could not sleep for the life of her.

Sitting up and running her fingers through her long, crimson locks, she stood and left the barracks without another word.

She wandered for several minutes before she eventually found herself in the makeshift healing area of Shino Academy. Not even realizing she had set foot in the direction of the place, she herself was quite surprised at the fact that she had navigated there so quickly and without even thinking about it.

Looking around, she noticed several of the remaining staff from the fourth squad gathered around her own captain, doing all they could to keep her breathing. Once again, Kira found herself crying without even knowing, wiping away the offensive tears as soon as she realized their presence. Taking several steps closer to Kie, the staff looked to her and lowered their eyes, shaking their heads slowly in unison. Kira nodded to each of them as they continued their work, simply staring at the face of her commanding officer. She allowed her eyes to wander across the body of the much older captain, taking in just how wounded she actually was. As she noticed the bandages that covered the sight of the ugliest wound, she winced slightly. Tearing her eyes away from the horrid sight, she noticed a small device that the staff had apparently neglected to remove from the captains body, still strapped to her abdomen and surprisingly untouched and unbroken.

Tapping the shoulders of one of the healers, she pointed to the object. “What is that?”

“I honestly don’t know,” he replied honestly, scratching his head. “It was strapped to her body, and not knowing it’s use we didn’t want to remove it.”

Kira looked harder at the device, noticing some familiar aspects of the thing. Realization suddenly dawned on her. “A denreishinki?”

Looking closer, she noticed a few things that were off. The small device’s screen was displaying something akin to a dimensional portal, rather than the communication lines it was built to uphold. Reaching over the shoulders of the worker in front of her, she carefully removed the device from it’s strap and held the thing closer to her face. Kira scrunched her face, unsure of what to think about the modified denreishinki in her hands. Turning around and glancing at her captain one last time, Kira left the makeshift healing quarters without another word.

The device still clutched tightly in her hands, she walked slowly to the barracks. Entering her own room, she sat down again and sighed. Looking at the device, she lost herself in her thoughts, the soft beeping of the denreishinki soon lulling her into a deep sleep.

Her mind had conjured many thing during that short nap, but one of the things she hadn’t forgotten was a flash of an undamaged laboratory that closely resembled something Kie would use. Another image was ingrained in her mind - an image of the futon in her captains personal quarters.

Taking in a sharp breath, she sat up, still clutching the device to her chest so hard that her fingers had begun to bleed. Slowly releasing her grip on the device, she looked at it and took a deep breath, exhaling as she got up from her futon.

She left her own quarters, still under the cover of night, and headed directly for her captains room. She would apologize for it later, but if her hunch was correct, then she could most definitely get Livius back.

As Kira entered her captains quarters, shoving the door aside with a rather loud thump, she walked up to the futon and knelt beside it. Setting the device on the ground, she began to move the mattress. Lifting it up to peer beneath it, her breath hitched.

A trapdoor.

Steeling herself and clenching her jaw, she moved the mattress completely out of the way and opened the hatch. The smell of dust permeating the air, rising up from within the hole in the floor. Looking down into it, she saw a small notch cut into the wall every foot or so. Using that to descend into the hole, closing the top above her, she reached the bottom and tried her best to see past the sheen of darkness. As her eyes adjusted she was able to see several small lights in the distance. Approaching them, she nearly tripped over herself as she missed a step. Clattering to the ground, she dropped the denreishinki and it slid away from her, ending up several feet ahead. The light from the small device illuminated the counter in front of it. Kira got up and dusted herself off, grabbing the denreishinki and using it to look around.

The lab seemed rather quaint and small for something that her captain would use.

A moment later she happened to shine her light on something that looked like a familiar device. Sauntering over to it, she read the words “on” and “off” on it’s surface. Flipping it into the on position, the lights to the lab suddenly flared to life.

Everything was illuminated. The devices Kie had been working on without anyone else even knowing about it were all brought to Kira’s attention. There was an incubation machine, which held the bodies of the recently deceased, Kira knew that this was to prepare them for burial when the war was over, having seen that very process many times. Turning her eyes away from it, she began to walk in circles around the lab, studying each device she came across.

A large computer, meant for storing information, sat in the middle of the lab, with it’s six screens each displaying something different. A large column rose from in the middle of them, travelling up to the ceiling, and farther down into the floor, Kira suspected.

Several power generators were spread evenly throughout the place, each of them switched to the off position. Kira eyed them skeptically and followed the series of wires from each of them, eventually finding her way to a strange device.

Further studying the device, she noticed the screen that it displayed. Narrowing her eyes, she realized that it was showing the same image as the screen of the denreishinki curled in her fingers. The words on the screen read something similar to the denreishinki.

A sudden beeping broke her stupor of focus and she looked directly at the device in her hands. A small yellow bulb on the backside of the device was flashing as she held it gingerly. Kira realized that a yellow light on the side of the larger screen was also going off.

Looking back down at the device, it read, “Awaiting Activation.”

Suddenly, Kira looked back up at the larger screen and understood. The denreishinkin had been modified to be a dimensional transporter, rather than a communication device. The reason that Senya had asked Kira to bring Livius back was because she knew Kira could find this place, and Senya knew that Kie had created a second machine for the denreishinki to correspond with. She smiled as she flipped several switches and began waiting for the larger machine to boot up entirely.

“So the artificial garganta is what Kie used to send Livius there,” Kira muttered to herself as the machine began to rip open a portal to Hueco Mundo. The dark skies of the place many shinigami dreaded were visible through the spacious rip that the resonance had created. After a minute or two of marveling at the portal her captain had created, Kira walked forward and looked through the portal. Not seeing anything at first, her sight being limited by the endless sandstorms of the Arrancar’s home, she peered harder through the dark. Kira looked as hard as she could, hoping to see something, anything she could use to get Livius back.

And then she saw it.

The absolutely monolithic gate that stood several thousand feet from the opening of the garganta. The gate to Hell.

As she spotted the bright orange glow of hell, Kira happily pushed herself all the way through the portal and into the land of Hueco Mundo, moving swiftly towards the place where, surely, she would meet Livius.

Slowing her steps as she approached the daunting structure, with its skull decorations and chains, she shuddered a bit. Thinking of just what it must have been like to be trapped in hell, Kira could barely understand the reason that Captain Abel would even go there, much less of his own accord.

Halting as the fumes of Hell washed over and around her, Kira held her breath for as long as she could and let it all out in one long exhale, calming her nerves as she did this several more times.

Standing there for what felt like hours, she was disappointed when nothing happened, the gate merely staying open on its own for whatever reason.

Kira was in the process of returning back to the Garganta when she heard a slight shuffle behind her. She turned only to come face to face with a man several times her size. Smiling coyly, she addressed him exactly the way her own captain would have.

“Welcome back, Captain Abel. I trust your stay in Hell was less than pleasant?”

He merely grunted in response.

{Reaper Dead}

Chains and thick rope began to sprout from the behind the gates of Hell making heavy clanking noises as if attaching to something. Not a second later the looming skull and chain-adorned doors swung shut with a deep thud, the emanation of Hell’s miasma ceasing, and promptly shattered and crumbled to nothing leaving the two Shinigami in the night setting of Hueco Mundo.
Although the domain of Hollows wasn’t the brightest Kira could still clearly make out Livius’ tattered condition. His shihakushō was near nonexistent with only part of his burned ragged hakama and one sandal remaining; his body, which had dried blood on some areas and was still bleeding lightly in others, was covered in severe battle and terrain wounds. Finding herself staring she noticed the moderate burns to his right foreleg and severe burns that traversed from the left side of his neck, down to the centre and left side of his chest and back as well as his left shoulder and part of his upper arm. Although it was still bleeding, his chest and torso had deep claw marks in them. Eventually Kira’s eyes guided themselves to his head where she saw that his left ear has been completely burned away leaving gnarled flesh where it once was; his face was marked by an open and lightly bleeding vaguely crescent-shaped cut that ran from the left side of his forehead down to the right side of his chin and was interrupted by his left eye and his lips.
Livius, aware of the Lieutenant’s motionless observance of him, closed his eyes, cracked his neck and, after reopening his eyes, growled aggressively towards Kira in a tired and agitated attempt to shift her into action.

Miko Kira: (She quickly takes her eyes away from the Division Captain’s tattered body and swiftly begins walking in the opposite direction) Well then, now you’re here (she taps a button and reopens the artificial Garganta) let’s get back to Seireitei.




Several days later, after most of the available Captains had recovered somewhat, they stand before their Captain-Commander in the Assembly Hall.

Senya overlooked the six Gotei 13 Captains standing before her. Only six. A mix of grief, disappointment, frustration and fury coursed through her mind and body, though years of experience once again allowed her to subtly hide her emotions behind a face of solemnity. Her feelings were well complimented by the subdued atmosphere of the room. Yet again, they had lost Captains to the Jūzō Hoshō; and, covered in various bandages, the ones in front of her weren’t shining beacons either.

Senya Tatami: Those of you here, I already know of the roles you played within the recent invasion. While not pleased, I am satisfied that you were able to pull through, somewhat, in the end. (She sighs and closes her eyes as her hands rest on her stave) But, so you all up to date, I will run through the situations of the Captains absent from this meeting. Former 2nd Division Captain, Reiji Tsugari, had his spiritual power removed. We are assuming that the former 5th Division Captain, Sero Fang, was completely obliterated as we cannot find any trace of his body since the invasion ended. Former 8th Division Captain, Harimakku Sojan, was killed by the same Captain who felled Captain Roychi. (Yoishiro’s eyes lower to the ground in frustrated sadness) The 4th and 6th Division Captains, Shen Tsukubashi and Senato Ajibana, are still trapped in a complete other dimension and the remaining 12th Division members and Kidō Corps are currently unable to find any way to retrieve them. Finally 12th Division Captain, Kie Geißt, is still in a coma within the Shin’o Academy.

Livius Abel: (He narrows his eyes in disgust) *bitterly* So basically our Captains just rolled over like a bunch of weaklings while I was away? The thought is embarrassing…

Akarui Hyosho: *furiously* Seriously?! You just can’t keep it shut, can you!

Livius Abel: Am I wrong?

Akarui Hyosho: I can’t believe you Livius! Where were you anyway, hiding in fear? (She properly takes in his facial scarring and burn scarring in loathing) You don’t exactly look too hot yourself!

Livius Abel: (His brow twitches in irritation) *slowly* I was in Hell… (The other Captains’ faces register levels of surprise, some more than others)

Yoishiro Roychi: *the shock is evident in his voice* Why were you even there?

Livius Abel: *agitatedly* That does not concern you… but I would have returned sooner if Kie Geißt hadn’t been so weak…

Majo Shin: (Her calm composure escapes her) *viciously* Don’t talk about Kie like that, you pathetic egocentric excuse of a man. You’re a vile disgraceful pig. How can you call yourself a Captain of the Gotei 13 with an attitude like that?

Akarui Hyosho: *vehemently* I swear, if I was not bound by the laws of Soul Society, I would have your head…

Livius Abel: *goading* Try me, woman.

Senya Tatami: Silence! You are Captains of the Gotei 13. Behave like them. (They grudgingly stopped but the atmosphere was still heated) The funerals of the Shinigami that lost their lives, as well as those of the fallen Captains, Sero Fang and Harimakku Sojan, will be proceeding tomorrow. You are dismissed.

The Captains quickly exited the assembly hall in varying emotional states, each becoming caught up in their own agendas as Senya sighed heavily and sat down in her seat, watching them go as she did.



Later that evening…

Livius stood, reiatsu suppressed to the best of his ability, outside the entrance to the makeshift morgue full of the recovered Shinigami corpses that had been dutifully prepared for the funeral the following day. Fortunately for him the ‘morgue’ was placed out of view and wasn’t heavily guarded in the dead of night so getting in was a cinch.
He walked in and was greeted by the strong aroma of death. For most it would be off putting but for Livius the stench of death was as normal as breathing. He slowly walked through aisles of corpses observing each and every body and carefully noting their ranks and Divisions. Eventually he found the corpse he was looking for: former 8th Division Captain, Harimakku Sojan. Kneeling, Livius inspected Sojan’s corpse further and noticed that his body had been respectfully reassembled and cleanly stitched back together again, to the point where the average person wouldn’t notice, to hide Sojan’s violent cause of death.
Livius returned to his feet and unsheathed his zanpakutō, its black hilt-wrapping and darkened cross-guard matching his black garments. Without a word he released Shishōmen, its blade lengthening slightly with six semi-circular indentations running along the back edge of the blade and downward-curved prong extension near the tip of the blade.

Livius Abel: We will enjoy this. (He stares admiringly at Shishōmen’s shikai form as his reiatsu slowly begins to build and delicately positions the blade horizontally in front of him, causing it to float in the air; suddenly Shishōmen begins glowing in a dark hue and he places his right hand underneath the floating blade) Bankai, (restraining as much of his reiatsu as possible, his body starts to glow with his mauve spiritual energy as his zanpakutō changes and grows into its bankai form) Shiga Futari wo Wakatsu.

Firmly gripping its hilt with his right hand, his blade had now lengthened into a 1.3 metre, straight bladed katana with thirteen semi-circular indentations running along the back edge of the blade and a larger downward-curved pronged extension near the tip of the blade. Floating silently behind him was a ghost-like entity wearing a dark hooded cloak that covered its seemingly very bony body, which trailed off where the legs would, and was carrying an inverted version of Shiga Futari wo Wakatsu in its left hand. Livius turned to look briefly at the entity before pointing at Sojan’s corpse with his own blade.

Livius Abel: (His eyes have an excited glint in them) Honshitsu Kyūshū.

The entity immediately traversed to the Sojan’s corpse and, after hovering over his chest for a few seconds, impaled the body where his Saketsu and Hakusui would have been causing a white substance to begin flowing upwards from Sojan’s dead body and into the entity’s blade. After several seconds, the entity removed the blade from the corpse and silently floated back to Livius, stopping directly in front of him. Livius, with a satisfied sneer, flung open his arms and tilted his head backwards as the entity impaled him through his Saketsu and Hakusui. His eyes glowed white as the white substance taken from Sojan began flowing into his body and soul.
The process ended moments later when the entity removed its blade from Livius’ body leaving the 11th Division Captain with a large devilish grin on his face. All of Harimakku Sojan’s knowledge, physical muscle memories and mental memories and a fraction of his spiritual power where now incorporated into Livius’ mind, body and soul. Livius had a quick skim through Sojan’s memories and smiled contently; Sojan had turned out to be useful after all.

Right after the Captains meeting, Yoishiro walked back to the camp of the 3rd squad. He was greeted by his officers, his fellow comrades. Some waved at him… But he didn’t waved back. He didn’t even stared at them. He then proceeded to his office, and closed the door. He sat back on his chair remembering of that night when Akihiko defeated him. He never met an opponent so powerful, so… unpredictable. Yoishiro tough, that now that he had acquired his Bankai, he would be in the same line as the other captains… But he weren’t even close. He still needed more training, to synchronize perfectly with his zanpakuto. He learned that the hard way. His pride was his doom. Believing he would be able to put up a fight against another Captain, was foolish. He and Sojan managed to battle equaly against each other, but they were both newcomers. He was sure, if he ever fought Aexus the outcome would be the same. Simply achieving Bankai changes nothing. It is required skill, training, wisdom and experience in order to keep evolving, achieving full synchronization whit one’s inner self. A task even harder than achieving Bankai.

Sojan… Yoishiro’s only friend in a long, long time… Sojan went there to back him up, try to save him… But he was killed by Akihiko. Killed by the same man that defeated him. Yoishiro felt upset, and also uncofortable. He felt as if Sojan’s death was his own fault. But how could it not be? If only, Yoishiro had been stronger, if only Yoishiro had managed to bring his opponent down with him, if only…

Yoishiro took a deep breath. Thinking about such things would never help him. Instead he needed to get stronger. The other members of the Juzo Hosho were just as strong, and if he were to face any of them in his current state, his defeat would be absolute. Thinking back to his fight, it seemed like Akihko was always one step ahead. He always knew what Yoishiro had under his sleeve. However, unlike other captains, his defeat was not a reason of shame. But of rage, as his own friend was killed, due to his own defeat. He decided to meditate for a while, see what Hitei tough…

-----------------------------------------­---­---­---­---­---­---­---­---­---­---­---­--


Yoishiro opened his eyes, and saw himself back to the endless sky, white clouds passing by, as a refreshing breeze swept trough his white hair. He waited for a few minutes, until he heard the voice of his companion.

“I’m sorry for your loss…” said Hitei.

Yoishiro looked back, trough the corner of his eyes. “Our loss… Sojan was a friend. For both of us…”
“Yes.” Said Hitei with a smile, as she walked closer to Yoishiro.

“We have to train. Become more powerful, more synchronized. So our fellow allies don’t die because of my weakness… I don’t want another Sojan chapter in my life. That’s why I’m here. We need to train.”

“For what?”

“I need to become more powerful, so I can meet him again… See into his eyes, and listen to an explanation of what he did to Sojan.” Said Yoishiro with his serious face.

“Revenge? That’s not like you, Yoishi.” Said Hitei, surprised, to say the least.

“You know I’m not that low. Revenge is not something I would seek, even against my worst enemy. I’m sure Akihiko had his reasons to do what he did. But I don’t know these reasons, and this emptiness is eating me from the insides. I need to know why he did it. Why kill Sojan… But spare me.” He got up, and started walking in circles. Yoishiro was denying his feelings for what had happened, and as doing so, dark fillets of energy swept trough his skin, and flew torwards the black door, passing trough it, remaining inside. “It makes no sense… He promised not to kill me in our battle, and that was more than just a reply to my promise of doing so. It was something he always followed, like a code, or something similar. And right after he had defeated me, and had the opportunity to kill me… He let me live, even taking the risk, of me recovering, and seeking revenge… And then, he kills Sojan in cold blood… In such a gruesome way.” Yoishiro stops. “I saw Sojan’s body. I was the first to do so, to be honest. Before any Captain arrived to rescue me and Sojan, I managed to see how tore up he was. Akihiko’s energy still lying around the scene. I need to understand why he let me live, but killed my friend. I doubt it was just an evil act, if it was an evil act at all.” Yoishiro put one of his hands on his head. “It’s so… complicated… I can’t wrap my head around that.”

“Maybe I can help.”

Yoishiro looked around, his eyes in absolute confusion. He felt a dark energy, that was not mysterious. He faced the black door, and once more heard the voice inside his head, like a whisper of some kind.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“Your true self.”

Hitei walked torwards the door. “Remain quiet. Yoishiro doesn’t want to hear your nonsense.”

The voice laughed. “You are just a reflection of Yoishiro’s attempt to deny everything he truly feels. I am his true self, the true power he yields.”

“You are nothing like me” said Yoishiro, with anger on his voice, despite seemingly calm.

“I am the embodiment of all your true emotions. Your true power, lies here, within me. Open the door and you will see it.”

“This is just an stupid attempt to destroy Hitei. I will not let your thirst for revenge taint me again.” Said Yoishiro.

“I can wait. I’m waiting here since you aligned yourself with Hitei. But one day or the other, you will open this door. You will have to. There is only so much a “fake zanpakuto” can do.”

The voice suddenly went silent. Hitei looked to Yoishiro, who in turn looked at her.

“You knew her?” asked Yoishiro.

“Yes… she and I are… the same.”

Hitei turned his back to Yoishiro as if she wanted to avoid the conversation. “Come back later for our training.”

Yoishiro nodded in response, and closed his eyes, ready to go back to his office.

-----------------------------------------­---­---­---­---­---­-

Just so you guys are wondering, I'll explain about the one behind the door.

I don't like having to create many characters, usually I create only one, max two, and stick with then. I feel content with having only one in this RP, and I plan to play this with you guys to the end. However when this arc ends, I don't want my character having the same powers as he had before. So the one behind the door is an response to being able to have a new character, without adding another one. Understand what I mean?

Hitei and the one behind the door are the same zanpakuto. However, when Yoishiro alings himself with one of them, his outer appearance changes along with his zanpakuto. The root basic of his powers are the same, but depending on who he is aligned to, his powers act differently.

On this arc only Hitei will be used. When the next arc comes, I'll introduce the one behind the door. Also when he changes his alignment it takes weeks for him to get used to his "new" zanpakuto, but that doesn't matter as in this arc only Hitei will be used. I think this is a cool concept, and I tough of sharing it.

I planned to keep this a secret for a very long time, but Yoishiro's humiliating defeat against Akihiko proved to be the best chance to introduce this concept.

[Starless Exploits]

Captain Umemoto: (Gazing into her own eyes, Satomi Umemoto, head-captain of the Juzo Hosho, contemplates her triumphs and misfortune. She sinks slowly into her murky past, filled with despair and striving. Troubled memories of a distant past deluge into the present, reminding her of the many insecurities she runs from. Shielded behind layers of opulent silks and precious metals and stones, Satomi worries that she will be submerged into dark waters. The bottomless waters reveal truths she wishes to hide, memories, and fears, she desires to extinguish. The splendor of nobility and wealth tormented the aging queen, for she was born without such pleasantries. Born amongst the rabble, she clawed and connived her way from the filth and muck, only to find an even greater force oppressing her. Spirit. Those who possess profound levels of energy, emanating from their core, reigned supreme. Even nobility was beneath the select who wielded such might. Her beauty and wit were no longer an ally, for she needed more. She needed…power. And not just any power, but the ultimate power. Her beguiling smile and ethereal appearance would still serve as a weapon, confusing those who would surely betray her. Over hundreds of years she cleverly climbed, gazing on level with those who were once the select. She was now among them, but her appetite could not be satisfied, for as long as others threatened to demonstrate dominance, she would need to be vigilant. She understood her ambitions, but not her fears. The fear of descending into a position of servitude was petrifying. It was also…life affirming. She understood what needed to be accomplished in order to conquer that which could oppress. The day finally arrived when she seized authority, permanently cementing her ambitions. It was unreasonable to kill all those who could do her harm, so, instead, she endeavored to rule over them. And rule she has, for almost 800 years. Now her beauty slowly retreats, but she clutches to it defiantly, seeking the services of expert artisans. They bathe her in fragrant oils and nutrient rich creams, hoping to purify her aging appearance. She stares vacantly into the mirror, her finger slowly caressing her wrinkled cheek. Her mind drifts, only to hear a monotone voiced man. The man’s deadened, monotone voice echoes throughout her chamber.

???: You lament over your frail, aging body, when you have more pressing matters to supervise…

???: Enter slowly, my dear. You wouldn’t want the shift in atmosphere to leave you feeling disoriented. We desire your full attention (The soft, nurturing voice recites from beyond the mirror).

Captain Umemoto: (Seven torches erupt, illuminating seven pillars, each hosting a throne sat-upon by seven cloaked figures. She scans the room, watching as it slowly retreats from darkness and is bathed in a vibrant red hue. A chair resides in the center of the room, in full view of the seven pillars, and those gazing down from the sky.)

???: Well, take a seat, you silly girl. You are familiar with the function of a chair, are you not? Or has our arrival left you ignorant of worldly features (A voice shouts acerbically)?

Captain Umemoto: (She sets in the chair when she is suddenly alerted by the crest on an individual pillar. It shines brightly as a booming voice echoes).

Shikitsuhiko Tsuiho: You have made little success, Satomi Umemoto… (the deep, booming voice remarks).

Samai Futotamashiki: (A sickly, winded voice enters the conversation) this is true. Why haven’t you successfully eliminated the Soul Society (The male voice trails off like a wailing ghost, only for others to add further inquiries)?

Nekohiko Oho: I am sorry, but if things do not improve, further action will need to be taken. It would be shameful for the Juzo Hosho to be wiped out for the sins of another. I feel terrible for your predicament, but…

Okinaga Mikoto: …yes, my dear, you must hasten your actions. We are slowly becoming impatient. And we have been quite agreeable so far. Our kindness has its limits, you know, especially when atrocities of this magnitude have been committed. You understand, do you not, my dear?

Nekohiko Oho: Oh my, we do apologize, you’re in utter shock. She’s speechless, Okinaga. I believe you frightened her.

Ooa-Sakumachi: Be still with your tongue, I prefer for you to simply listen. When your kind speak, you only worsen your circumstances (The elderly, high-pitched voice shrieks from atop her pillar).

Kamuyamato Iwarebiko: I require her voice. She must vocalize why she has not succeeded. (The prosaically toned man speaks smoothly and slowly). Yes. I would like that. Speak.

Sukune Ohosi: Yes..sss…tell me…exactly what you have done to quell the rebellion?

Captain Umemoto: (She cringes as the hissing of the man’s voice dances around the room) …we…we have managed to eliminate five captains. We are planning another assault and this time, the remainder will fall. We did not suspect they had so many captain-class replacements, however…

Okinaga Mikoto: Did not suspect? Are you feigning naiveté or are you simply admitting to foolishness, my dear (Her delicate, motherly tone is offset by her snide words)?

Nekohiko Oho: I do apologize, but you seem so misguided…so foolish…so unknowing… (He speaks eccentrically, with a rushed prosody).

Shikitsuhiko Tsuiho: (A voice booms above the others, causing Satomi to widen her expression) These might be considered successes, but you have had more than enough time to eliminate all of them. A captain-class shinigami is nothing without experience, which many do not have. YOU…ARE…FAILING!

Captain Umemoto: (Her body begins to shake as her fists tighten around the arms of the chair, her nails digging into the wood. A fear suddenly sweeps across her and her body freezes, her eyes locked onto the center pillar.)

Sukune Ohosi: Come now, woman, you musssst have sssome sssemlance of a plan? You cannot be thisss ill-equipped?

Ooa-Sakumachi: The poor girl is in shock…(she shrieks) she cannot even answer a simple inquiry. We should have never entrusted such an endeavor to her.
Nekohiko Oho: No…no…we’re sorry. We gave you so much responsibility. You can’t handle it all.

Okinaga Mikoto: My dear, why do you retreat to silence? Your beauty has faded, but your mind has not, correct? Instruct us on a plan, a movement you have prepared, perhaps?

Kamuyamato Iwarebiko: You promised success. Deliver it or…(in unison) perish.

Shikitsuhiko Tsuiho: You have until the solstice, otherwise you and your comrades will become collateral. We wish not to release them, but if we must, it will be decided unanimously.

Samai Futotamashiki: ...it will bring destruction and ruin (the man quickly adds, ending his threats with a faint wispy cough).

Nekohiko Oho: I would feel terrible…so terrible. I am sorry, but my vote would be for your demise (His speech is rushed and emphasis colorful).

Sukune Ohosi: By the end of the sssolssstice, you mussst bring usss newsss of their demissse. If not, then we will have no other choiccce (He speaks with a smile, though you cannot see his face).

Okinaga Mikoto: My dear, here is what you must do: Remove them from power, eliminate them through death or that quaint little gift you and your comrades possess. No matter how you do it, we want them removed, permanently. They may no longer possess a spirit weapon or the rights to travel to and from the human world. Do you understand, my dear?

Shikitsuhiko Tsuiho: Complete the task you burdened upon yourselves through that imprudent act of solidarity. Because while you may require time, once yours has expired, ours will begin You and the Gotei 13 will be wiped out almost simultaneously. You will lose everything. Nothing will remain… if you fail. So you will have even less then you have NOW (The voice bellows violently).

Captain Umemoto: (Her vacant gaze persists, though her pupils slowly contract and she once again regards her strained expression. Her finger resumes sliding across her face, only to cease abruptly, her eyes still fixated, as they have been for over an hour. Her expression begins to dull as her vision returns. She stares for several seconds into her eyes. She suddenly and violently screams, her rage roaring alongside a surge of her spirit energy. Before the mirror bursts into pieces from her ferocious cry, it catches one last glimpse of her darkened, aging face; Fury surging within every line.) AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!­!!

What should I boil the inactivity down to?

It's fine. I've been busy finishing my semester, too. I was simply curious. In retrospect, my comment sounded a bit antagonistic. :P And yes, Sinwalk, it is. I think we've just been preoccupied with school. If you would like to join, message me. As for posting, let's all coordinate on here who is going to post and whatnot. Normally, I hate using this as a notepad, but since the IM function is gone, it beats using e-mail a thousand times. Link, are you planning on composing a post regarding Kie and her lieutenant's decision to create her double? What do you know of what Ryuu and I discussed?

Also, has anyone spoken to Ryuu? Is he going to be composing a captains' meeting and something discussing the previous battle?

Senato, are did ryuu update you on what is happening with your captain and lieutenant? Kie is supposed to get you out of there, but there will be complications? I want to be sure both you and Kie are aware of this.

If you don't mind me joining here's my guy.

Name: Aisumasutā (Ice master) His real name is unknowed by others and so they gave him this nickname, because of his zanpakotu.

Birthdate: May 23

Gender: Male

Affiliation: Soul Society squad ten.

Rank: 6th seat, captain rank fighter.

Zanpakotu: Kōri-ō (See the Make your own zanpakotu page.)

Hair Color: White

Hair Style: Short and hangs down.

Eye Color: Blue/white.

Height: 5:11.

Weight: 120 pounds.

Cloths: He wears the same black kimono has the other soul reapers. But he also has an arm ban on his right arm with a sown flack on it.

Personality: He stays to himself and normally only talks when he has too. He spends most of his time alone talking to his zanpakotu. When he fights, he ends it as fast as possible and prefers to avoid conflict of any tape. But, when his hand is forced he will show no mercy.

History: When he was younger he was bullied by many of his village’s kids. One time it got so bad that he lost control of his ice like spirit energy and froze part of the town and wounded many people. After wards the caption of squad ten at the time found out about him and tracked him down. Soon after he was on his way to becoming a soul reaper. But, because no one knew his name and because he didn’t want to say it the started calling him Aisumasutā, because of his ice like spirit energy and zanpakotu.

Offense: 100

Defense:100

Agility: 50

Kido: 40

Intelligence: 70

Physical Strength: 40

Just to let everyone know (officially), but I'm back and I'll proceed with the plan the Crazie, and you others, had going. I apologise for my long hiatus... most of it was due to no internet for about a month... the rest was due to my own problems, of which I won't go into any detail about.

Anyway, I'm glad to be back and if anyone needs to message me about the RP, feel free to at any time. Also, sorry for leaving you hanging, Link... you finished our fight well. I was impressed when I read it.

(I thought I would a small something to show Yushi's emotions and feelings after the battle with Majo... since I haven't posted in a while, I thought it might help... it won't be very long, however, just a small filler until the others post their material.)

[Flashback! Fleeting Thoughts Remain/Yushi's Zanpakuto Dilemma]

As Majo limped away and disappeared from sight, making her way past him, Yushi reluctantly sighed with a bit of relief and sat down on the ground. The things he had told her, regarding the war, were mostly true, if not everything he said. Despite this, he still harbored some kind of resentful feelings towards her general dismissal of them - certainly, she was no woman to be trifled with, nor was she one to change her mind in the midst of battle, or to take any relief in the fact that Yushi was essentially describing the Juzo Hosho's feelings to be similar to that of the Gotei 13. Indeed, it was irrelevant now... the battle was over and he'd have to deal with his own feelings on the matter, otherwise it would eat him up inside.

[Inner Monologue: It's ironic how she didn't want to listen to my words, just like the Gotei 13 don't really want to admit any kind of similarities between us and them... I thought she might have at least been somewhat interested in hearing what I had to say, but apparently I was naive. It's true, though... I see it in the eyes of most of the others... Akihiko, no... I can't read anything that man feels... a true enigma, but a powerful one at that, he'll be the one to cause whatever defining moment in this war... I feel as though something terrible is going to happen before this war is over, otherwise, I feel like Reiteki Rojin will be displeased if we do not get rid of these Shinigami soon, certainly they are not the patient kind, if anything I've ever heard about them is reliable enough to go by... I'm unsure what to do now and I don't feel right... my injuries are not life-threatening, but something feels wrong with Her... I'd better talk to her, sooner, or later, otherwise she'll never let me live it down and I'll never hear the end of it...

Yushi sat up and relaxed into a meditative sitting position. This was the best way for him to achieve inner calm convene with his Zanpakuto. He could not achieve this peace of mind sitting in any other position, for some strange reason. He closed his eyes and listened to the noise of the slight breeze swirling around him, the melodic tweeting of birds and the voice that should be occurring in his head, the one of his Zanpakuto. It seemed that she was angry, or annoyed, possibly even injured, because there was no immediate response, nor was there any change to the noise surrounding him.

Curse it, woman! What's the damn problem? You know I'm here, so why aren't you replying to me?

Yushi waited a bit longer, unsure of the reason She wasn't answering him. It took a bit of time, but, finally, he heard her familiar voice in his head and the darkness of his closed eyes changed into his Inner World, a place of calm and tranquility, usually, but uncharacteristically chaotic today. The light forest he was normally used to had become a dark, dense one, with shapes moving throughout it. In front of him, stood a young-looking woman, his Zanpakuto. Gowned in a dress, which flowed around her slim body, showing off her desirable curves and wearing a tiara made of flowers, she glared at him and threw something his way... it was his Zanpakuto.

'What the hell happened to you, bastard?! You fought that woman and something went wrong... why did you not destroy her?'

Yushi shivered unconsciously. 'She was strong... much stronger than anticipated... I just escaped with my life, though she also just escaped with her life. I assure you, beloved, that the next we meet, I will destroy her completely and utterly!'

She snorted. 'Not likely, when she had you pinned down several times during your scuffle... your trouble is, you have become complacent with me and don't utilise my powers to their full extent... if you continue to fight like that, you will be destroyed, particularly if it is that woman again... you underestimated the Shinigami, because you were fueled by your belief that you were stronger. You could have been much stronger, but you chose not to use my powers properly... you're a fool!'

'Perhaps you're right, but that is irrelevant now... I can become much stronger and I will... you just wait and see! Next time I meet her, I will make sure she disappears from this world...'

'You better. You fail again and I won't respond to you any more... as it is, don't bother trying to call on me again, for a while... you can wallow in your miserable shell of arrogance and I will wait until you see clearly and come seeking my help, which, undoubtedly, you will do... I know you all too well, Yushi Kenronri.'

'Fine... if that's what you want, then I know better to argue. I won't call upon you again for a while... Goodbye.'

With that, the Inner World disappeared and Yushi opened his eyes. It seemed as though it was time to go home, to Ukishima Rakuen.

Dammit! I hope I don't need to use her again for a bit, otherwise I'm screwed... this war is certainly causing a lot of unseen problems, that's for sure...

Hey if y'all don't mind I made a Sean for my character. It's short and will not make any big changes to the story line...it's more of an intor.

{The ice king's awaking.}

Aisumasutā sat alone in the forest...far from the soul society. Ever scene he heard the degree he has been in hiding...wait for the right moment. He crossed his legs and drew his zanpakotu, Kōri-ō. He closed his eyes and called his friend.

Soon the darkness of his eyes fell away to a land of snow and ice. The wind blew fiercely as it always have. Soon from the blizzard came a man sitting on a thrown of ice...his zanpakotu. Aisumasutā made a chair of ice and sat down to face his friend.

Aisumasutā: " Kōri-ō...it has been sometime scene we left...and the winds blow coldly." Kōri-ō nodded at him to show he agreed...for he was not much of a talker. "I have felt many battles for sometime yet you have told me to stay hiden...why?"

Kōri-ō: "It was not time yet...but now the winds blow to the enemy of your comrades..." Kōri-ō stood up off his throw and walked over to Aisumasutā. "It is time for the king of ice to return and turn the tide of battle." Aisumasutā stood and nodded at his zanpakotu. As he did so...the icey clod of his inner world faded and he was back in the forest. He looked down at his blade one last time before sheathing it. Now he stood and turn to the wast.

Aisumasutā: "Very well my friend...it is time for ice to turn the war." And with his flash-step...he started making his way back to the Gotei 13 barracks...where he hoped that he didn't wait too long for his return.

Much apologies guys, haven't been as active as I would've liked on the RP front. Occupied and busy aren't the words...
On a brighter note I have an idea for a post that would lead on to what Link and Senato are doing. Back to a bum note, I can't guarantee that I'll have it up in the week :/
Again, apologies !

I've been inactive, because of some particular problems, I hope will be solved soon. As for the question you made crazie, no, the one behind the door, isn't a completely different zanpakuto. But you can message me for some tweaking so it can help you formulate the future arc, as you stated if you want.

I sent a very detailed message to Link (Sorry, Link), so she is now privy to all the details regarding Kie. I also sent an e-mail to senato, explaining his part in the story. Now, of course, Link and Senato can coordinate their posts. I imagine they're both be brilliant! As for you, Leleu, it is fine. The Gotei 13 members should really be involved in a dialogue about pocket-dimension and Kie's plan to free them. And by the way I mean you can write posts about that, interacting with Kie, and so on.

{Dem Feels}

The sombre ambience permeating Sōkyoku Hill was somewhat nauseating. Paying respects to the dead could invoke feelings of grievance but the raw nausea she felt was a new emotion, and not one that she found particularly comfortable in dealing with. Maybe it was just her, but the bitter taste that was in Senya’s mouth spoiled what should have been the solemn mourning of deceased Gotei Thirteen members.
The Shinigami present at the funeral proceedings quietly surveyed the multiple pyres with corpses lying peacefully upon them. In the centre were the more grandiose pyres of Harimakku Sojan and Sero Fang who, despite having not found his body, had one put up out of sheer respect. Senya stepped forward and nodded at the Kidō Corps standing in front of her.

Senya Tatami: *her tone is light yet powerful* Light the fire.

As the pyres were lit the freshly dancing flames served to softly illuminate the faces of the funeral audience and wasn’t long before the roaring fires began to ravenously lick the sky. The funeral had given the Captains some real time for reflection, their inner thoughts visible on the exterior. Yoishiro bowed his head, eyes closed, with small tears crawling down his cheek, Aexus looked on his expression painted with anguish and Majo, her visor removed and held tightly in her hand, had a look of extreme frustration in her blinded eyes. Akarui’s stony facial expression showed indifference although her body language said otherwise, Livius’ entire posture conveyed a strong sense of smugness, his eyes glinting with satisfaction and Yani stood erect with an air of acrimony surrounding him.
The ineffectively warm glow of the cremations failed to soothe the spirits of the Captains. All had made their appearance at the funeral; even Nagaishi and Karyuudo, in their humbled powerless states, were present. Only Reiji Tsugari and Kie Geißt were absent. And, from the mumblings Majo's enhanced hearing could strainingly pick up, it seemed like quite a few Shinigami were beginning to notice.

*****************************************­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­*

Senya stood pensively in the Captain-Commander’s office, looking out over Seireitei. It was comforting to see the place returned to its former state. The feeling did not last long and she sighed as an Inner Court Troop member silently flash stepped beside her, kneeled in a respectful position.

Inner Court Trooper: Ma’am, the Central 46 have requested your immediate attention.

Senya Tatami: (Her disappointed gaze slowly rests upon the Central 46 compound) *softly* Thank you. (The Inner Court Troop member nodded in acknowledgement and silently flash stepped away, leaving Senya to her thoughts) …



Inside the Central 46 compound assembly hall.

Central 46 (#23): Captain-Commander Senya Tatami. We assume that you have heard the gossiping regarding the 12th Division Captain Kie Geißt?

Central 46 (#39): And her inability to resume her active duty as Captain?

Senya Tatami: (Her face registers realisation at why she has been summoned) I am well aware… but as you know, Captain Geißt is still in a coma. She, nor anyone else for that matter, can help that.

Central 46 (#20): From your expression, I take you recognize what we are getting at? (Senya turns to look at the 20th Central 46 individual)

Central 46 (#43): You need to appoint a new 12th Division Captain with haste. We cannot afford to have any ‘weak links’ if we are attacked again.

Central 46 (#8): And a Captain-less Division is a weak link.

Central 46 (#46): Are we understood Captain-Commander Tatami?

Senya Tatami: (She stares at the 46th Central 46 individual with defiant reluctance) I understand, members of Central 46…

*****************************************­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­***­**

It only took a matter of days before the faint rumours of there being a replacement for Captain Geißt began to circulate throughout the thirteen Divisions. Many believed the hearsay, others did not, some agreed with the apparent decision and several outright rebuked it; the topic was quickly becoming the most talked about situation in Seireitei. Senya had a decision to make and fast; the rumours needed quashing as swiftly as possible. Little did she know, she wasn’t the only one that the stories had shifted into action.

[The lost fighter…found.]

Aisumasutā now has appeared in on top of squad 12’s barracks. He looks around noticing how things have changed. He also notices that most of his friend’s spirit energy is low.

Aisumasutā: “This is not good, not good at all. What happened while I was gone?” Then he felt a presence. He turned to see a member of a squad. “What do you want?”

Random squad member: “I could ask you the same thing.” Aisumasutā turns to face the man.

Aisumasutā: “I am former 6th seat member of squad ten, Aisumasutā.” The squad member looks very surprised and can’t speak clearly.
Random squad member: “Aisumasutā! Everyone thought you die once the war started.” Aisumasutā hangs his head low.

Aisumasutā: “I have been away for a long time.” (Raises his head) “But that does not matter now. Take me to the captain in charge. I need to…apologize for my lateness.” The sqoad member nodded, and together he and Aisumasutā flash-step to the Captain-Commander’s office.
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The squad member stopped at the door and then flash-stepped away, leaving Aisumasutā alone in front of the door. With a quick breath he reached out and opened it…and then stepped inside. The room has not changed scene the last time he has been here…the only thing that did way the person sitting in the chair to the one side. It was a women and from what Aisumasutā could tell…a powerful one. Aisumasutā slowly bowed to show respect then rose to face the women.

???: “Who are you?” Asked the women with a mix look a surprise and tension.

Aisumasutā: “I am former member of squad ten, 6th seat Aisumasutā.” The women looked angey now at the sound of Aisumasutā’s name.

???: “Not possible…we have reports that Aisumasutā was found dead a few miles away from the Seireitei.”

Aisumasutā: “Those reports as the body they found where faked. I was acting on orders from my captin.”
???: “And what where this orders?”

Aisumasutā: “To live and grow stronger.” (He slowly grabs his zanpakotu, still sheath, and shows it to the
women.) “It has took me many years, but I have finally surpassed my 6th seat rank and achieved the Capitan’s power…the power of bankai.”

???: “I see…well, I will not ask you to show me your bankai here…but I and the captains will decide what to do with you another time. But before that happens I except you to go and help restore the Seireitei.” (Aisumasutā returns his zanpakotu to his side and bows before leaving the room.) “One last thing.” (He turns to the women.) “My name is Senya Tatami…and it is good to see one of us return alive.”
(Aisumasutā nodded and flash-stepped away)
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Now Aisumasutā has been helping restore the Seireitei and he has learned of who has been killed and injured in the many battles he has felt. Still with all his hard work keeping him distracted…he knew that his fate was still hanging by a thread. For if the captains think that he was a spy…he would be killed. However there is still a chance he will be fully re-accepted to the Gotei 13. But for now he must do what he can to help repair the damage already done…the damage he couldn’t stop.

{Rumors Die} - It's a bit long, which I apologize for -

Kira sat in the shadows, resting just beyond the gate to the academy. The bushes providing some measure of cover, she thought over her plan one more time.

In order to get Kie out, Kira would need to distract the shinigami inside and slip past them when they weren't paying attention. In order to get out with Kie in tow, she would need a different tactic. Glancing at the smoke bombs tucked in the folds of her robes, Kira thought about the laws again. To take someone away from the medical facility while still healing was never a good decision, but when the safety of many depended upon it, Kira knew she had no other option. Taking Kie away from there was the only thing she could do to make sure that the rest of her operation went smoothly.

After she got Kie out of there, she planned on making sure that the rumors of a new captain would be put to rest.

When she had heard the news of Kie's replacement, Kira had been absolutely furious. Her entire squad had been furious for that matter, as well as a number of captains. Among the people who most detested the decision were Akarui, Majo, Aexus and Yani. Several of the other captains hadn't even bothered to spare their opinions on the matter, because they knew it would be futile to try and sway the head captain, especially in circumstances like these. When a captain is unable or unfit to return to duty, a replacement, either temporary or permanent must be called into place. With Kie's coma showing no signs of letting up, it was likely that the replacement would be permanent. Kira couldn't stand the thought of being the lieutenant of another captain. Having been Kie's right hand since the moment she was made a captain, that made Kira one of the older seated officers in the Soul Society - not that it mattered to her, but the others kept telling her to let go. The fact that she had her bankai had everyone in her squad telling her to replace other captains.

Every time Kira heard this she thought about the other squad members. How would they feel about it? They would feel exactly how she and her squad felt now - betrayed and furious.

That was what had deterred her from becoming a captain, and the fact that having no experience as a leader made her less qualified then most of the other choices that the Captain Commander had. Kira had refused to let the others see her Bankai exactly for this reason, knowing full well that she would be asked to fill the place of another captain, only to get peoples hopes up and then shatter them when she were defeated. Kira knew that she would never win against a Juzo Hosho captain, not when so many other experienced captains had already lost their lives and powers to them when they had so much more experience than she did. Kira was only trying to keep her squad, and admittedly herself, from suffering through the absence of a captain any longer. Kira, as well as many others, knew that replacing Kie would not go over well with many of the captains that still held their positions. She had to do something.

So as she moved past the sentry guarding the gates, Kira could only hope for the best, asking whatever god there might have been for success.

Grabbing two smoke bombs from inside her sleeves, she tossed them up into the air and dove into a nearby bush just as they hit the ground. They hissed as the smoke was released, both the sound and the sight attracting the attention of those just inside the doors and the sentry. As they all gathered around she made her way past them and through the doors, running until she was safely away from any eyes and ears before she slumped against one of the walls. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she looked around.

In her haste, she had run in the wrong direction. Kira swore under her breath, but sighed as she realized that the guards would be back in their positions, and so the direction she had entered from was off limits to her. Going all the way around was her only option.

Taking a deep breath, Kira began to walk down the halls, listening behind her for any signs of trouble. She walked down several hallways like that, poised and cautious, waiting for someone to appear. When nobody did, Kira became confused. It was only the moment she turned the corner that led to Kie's room she understod why.

Guards everywhere. With Kie's room situated as a separate island that wasn't a part of the walls themselves, the guards were posted all around it, most likely to keep the injured Captain safe from any impending dangers like another attack. Kira rubbed her temples. Great, she thought. Now what am I supposed to do? Kira pressed her back to the wall and closed her eyes for a moment, allowing herself to think. Knock them out? No, that would only get her noticed. Try and slip past them? No, she recognized at least half that were from the Second Squad. But...

"The vents," she murmured.

Not many buildings had ventilation systems, but the academy was one of them. Air conditioning was a thing of the human world, so of course that did not exist within the Soul Society, but the vents were used to keep the air moving freely about the school during the hotter days. With the vents being wooden, the likelihood that they would hear her would be very low, and she always had illusionary kido if necessary.

Kira nodded to herself and slipped past the hallway and into the one parallel to it, climbing into a small, rectangular hole. Shimmying herself into place, she slowly began to make her way in several different circles, crawling ever so slowly to her destination. The webs and assorted insects she would find every so often made her cringe as she neared her target. Finally seeing a small hole in the wall ahead of her, she began to crawl slightly faster.

Peering through it, she saw several guards sitting in a circle around several different healers. An eerie glow had enveloped the room as they all sat in a circle with strange runes surrounding them, meditating. Quiet chanting filled the otherwise quiet space as they all moved in sync with one another, using whatever method they could to wake Kie, who sat in the center of a circle of torches. Kira smiled ruefully at the sight of her unconscious captain. Reaching slowly to grab a smoke bomb or four, she hesitated for only a brief moment. She suddenly felt guilt flood her senses, telling her to go back and forget about her silly plan. Kira knew that once the damage was done, there would be no going back. She couldn't afford to have her own name tarnished, but her captain had been ever so kind to her. Her own name meant nothing next to the reputation that Captain Geißt had spent a millenium building up. Everything Kira did always paled in comparison to her captain, but the least she could do would be to bring her back. Kira narrowed her eyes and pulled out a pair of ragged goggles, the same pair Kie had first given her when she became her Lieutenant. Placing them over her eyes, she let the four bombs slip from her fingers and over the edge of the wall.

Four different pops sounded, and with each pop came a new wave of smoke. The guards reacted almost instantly, unsheathing their Zanpakuto and looking around for signs of danger. The medical staff jumped in fear, backing away from their circles and checking themselves for signs of damage. Kira dropped out of the hole and into the spirit smoke, making a mad dash for her unconscious captain. Grabbing the taller woman and draping her arm over her shoulder, Kira pulled out a remote and slowly pushed the botton, detonating the small charge she had planted earlier. A small opening appeared in the ceiling, and Kira flash stepped out onto the roof just as the smoke cleared. As she sat upon the tiles with her Captain at her side, she heard several gasps of shock and disbelief as they saw the subject of their job suddenly missing. A regretful smile was plastered upon her face as she made her way back to her own barracks, crashing to a halt within her own quarters. As she tumbled into the wall, Kira grunted and sat up. Slightly dazed, she stood and stumbled over to Kie and opened the door to their joint room, which was ordered by Kie not long before she entered her vegetative state. Opening the hatch wasn't the problem, it was getting Kie down that Kira knew would be the challenge. Sighing, she began to search the room for a tool she could use to lower her captain down into the laboratory, when something hit her.

Kie's scarf. Unusually long and study, it would make the perfect way down. Kira unwound the cloth from her Captains neck and body and tied it around her own waist. Moving herself to Kie, she began to tie it around her shoulders and torso in what could have been considered a scarf headlock. Slowly, she lowered the woman down the shaft feet-first, hanging onto the scarf for dear life. Slowly she began to shuffle herself into the shaft, but stopped as she began to hear frantic footsteps. It must have been her squad members, and they must have heard about the news. Kira felt a small twinge of panic rise in her chest as she saw the shadows of fellow members, most likely the fifth and seventh seats, approaching hers and Kie's rooms. Kira began to lower herself with more haste, wincing each time she felt her captain hit the walls of the secret passage. As she was near the bottom, she loosened the scarf and let Kie fall the last couple of feet before she frantically climbed the rungs again and leaped out of the passage, closing the trapdoor and moving the futon on top of it just as the entrance was shoved aside and two figures barged into the spacious room.

"Kira!" one of them shouted. She looked up and met the eyes of the fifth seat, Hikari Danjou.

"Yes?" she asked, seemingly impatient. Hikari huffed and crossed her arms over her well endowed chest as she began to approach the Lieutenant.

"They say that Kie's gone missing!" the other figure explained whilst holding Hikari back.

"I see," she responded in mock sadness. "Thank you for telling me. I will begin helping the search effort right away," she said, nodding to Hikari and the other, called Kazuma.

"Hang on," Hikari replied, narrowing her eyes. "Kira, you seem much too relaxed about this."

Kira glared at Hikari. "Oh? You think I'm too relaxed when my Captain couldn't have gone far from her room? Well, I think you're too relaxed when it comes to daily responsibilities, Hikari."

"What?!" she shouted, placing her hand on the hilt of her blade and curling her fingers around the grip.

"You heard me," Kira snapped, glaring at the fifth seat. "You're lazy, disrespectful and irresponsible. Hardly worthy of the captain you work under."

"I dare you to say that again," Hikari growled, nearly managing to unsheathe her sword. Kazuma grabbed her arm and pinned it forcefully behind her back.

Kira sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose, it was as though she were speaking to a child. "Kazuma, you two get back to searching. I will join you shortly," she said as she waved them away.

Kazuma did as he was told and dragged Hikari out of the room as she protested, shouting obscenities at Kira all the while. Sighing in both exasperation and relief, Kira picked herself up and off the cushion and slipped through the trapdoor again, making sure that it all slipped back into place.

As she set foot onto the floor of the lab for only the second time, she picked Kie up and dragged her over to the central computer, hitting the on switch. The lab flared to life, lights flickering and illuminating the surrounding area. Now able to see, she began to drag Kie over to her destination - the preservation tubes that Kie used to prepare bodies for funerals, specifically when the damage was too much for Captain Tsukubashi to repair. With two of them occupied and three of them in total, all of them would be occupied. Kira knew it could prove to be a problem in the future, but at the present moment it didn't matter to her. Cremation is always an option… she thought to herself.

As she lowered the capsule, she opened the lid and hefted the body of her superior inside, she quickly undressed her, leaving the bandages alone. Strapping a mask to her face and closing the capsule again, she returned it to it's position on the wall. Walking over to the switch and pressing the button, the tube began to fill with liquids latent with reishi, keeping her alive. Kira nodded and then looked at the small clump of hair she had retrieved from Kie. Looking around and spotting the machine she was looking for, Kira mall walked toward the contraption - a device for creating artificial souls.

Although the practice had been outlawed several years ago, Kie had mentioned to Kira that she always had one handy should the need arise, although it was normally only adequate for shinigami who were not of a seated rank. Kira was unsure of how well the process would work with a Captain-class shinigami. Hesitation suddenly gripped her like the fear of a monster. She didn't even know if it would work at all. Then again, how could she expect it to? Reigai were always able to be detected, wether it be minuscule differences in behavior, strength or spiritual presence. But Kira had ways of fixing small issues like those. And yet, at most, the Reigai would only be able to sustain itself if it used less than half of the spiritual power needed to be a complete clone of the Captain it was meant to mimic. Should the need arise, the copy could always head off into battle, even if only to buy time. But if the others witnessed the defeat of the clone, then she would have a problem…

Kira mulled these things over in her head only as she carried the process out, and a pill was soon dispensed from the machine, silvery white in appearance. Gingerly retrieving the small object and placing it within a small bag, she stepped to the machine next to it. An unfinished prototype of what Kira recognized to be a Spiritual Compression Machine. Kira knew it used to be used for solidifying spiritual pressure, though she didn't know the reason. They would fire different types of Kido into the machine and it would mesh all of it together to create something solid and tangible that could actually be used.

Tampering with it was something she wasn't particularly comfortable with, but the circumstances seemed to justify it.

Minutes later, after a few minor changes, Kira had managed to create something that would, hypothetically, create a body made from pure spiritual pressure, which was different from a normal Reigai. This body would consume the pill and take on Kie's features over a period of several minutes, rather than instantaneously. This would allow the body more time to analyze the thought process of the person it copied, to analyze their behavioral patterns and analyze their emotional attributes, which would all contribute to it becoming a more believable copy of the real thing. Kira had even made sure to swipe Kie's zanpakuto from the room she had been in - just in case.

Switching the machine into it's on position, Kira began to fire several Kido into it's center, mostly sokatsui and byakurai so that the others wouldn't feel any fluctuations from above. As it began to fill and compress, a body took shape. An eerie glow filled the room as Kira finished, the body slumping to its knees before her. She quickly pulled out the pill and slipped it into what she thought - and hoped - was its mouth.

Apprehension gripped her as she watched and waited for something - anything - to change. Kira took several deep breaths and began to pace in small circles.

Suddenly, a sigh. Kira looked in the direction of the body and saw prominent facial features begin to appear. A refined face that Kira knew all too well was beginning to form, as well as the long, white hair that everyone knew. The body slowly began to grow to the height and stature of the Captain whose reiatsu had been implanted inside of it. Kira heard a few cracks as a bone structure was formed, causing her to flinch involuntarily. She watched as the distinctive garments suddenly appeared on the body of the clone and it reached up to hold it's head in its hands, as though suffering from a migraine. Kira looked on anxiously.

It stood straight for a moment with its eyes closed, head titled towards the ceiling, almost like it wanted to see through the floors above. Suddenly it opened its eyes and shifted it's gaze to Kira, who gasped as she was once again set upon by the dazzling green eyes, although they were merely copies of the real thing. It blinked - once, twice, three times. Opening its mouth with a smirk, it spoke.

"Hello, Kira," it said, it's voice ringing in the silence of the room.

For a moment, she could do nothing but gawk. When she finally got her bearings she began to stutter, "I… but, uh-um… " After a moment of uncertainty, as well as a bewildered look from the new Kie, she straightened herself and smiled up at the replacement captain.

"Hello Captain Geißt. It's good to have you back," she replied.

The clone smiled.