Los Niños de Izanami: Contención

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Nobility and Royalty, Planning for the worst
Kukkyōna had prepared his Seireitei Soul Reaper attire for the upcoming meeting with the King, among other politicians of Yurei possibly. As he wrapped his scarf around his neck, he remembered that he got word of additional reinforcements from the Gotei 13, one of which the Head Captain spared no expense at employing. He knew their specialities and found their abilities would come in handy as well as their additional input on the situation with this so-called Pillinial Movement that the Ahijados cult had been moving towards.

It only took him a few hours to reach the gate of the Castle, its reaches higher in altitude 2nd to that of the Police Force just by sheer stature and height of the momumental structure. As he approached the gate closer, he noticed the Royal Guards blocking the way, but immediately recognized him due to his foreign attire and the only one in Yurei Okuko 'sides his son.

"C-Captain Hayate! We were expecting your arrival," one of the guards bowed respectfully while feeling a bit inept at greeting both a Head of a Noble Family as well as a Captain of the Seireitei Gotei 13.

"Its nothing to be concerned of, you're doing a fine job," Kukkyōna said plainly, his form walked past the guards after briefly acknowledging each of them, saying, "I'm expecting more arrivals from the Seireitei to be here. Try not to get intimidated too much."

"Y-Yes sir!" The other one said immediately as they watched him disappear inside the magnanomious castle.

Kukkyōna walked with a casual gait, taking time to admire the enamorings of the castle, the decorations, the fine carpet and pictures lining the walls, he could get the feeling that he truly was in the presence of nobility and royalty.

He wasn't the only one to grace the castle floors with his presence.

As he walked by, he passed by several other people who were either wandering the castle halls or standing idly and chatting. All of them were dressed in rather formal attire, some modern, and some traditional. All of them were of various cultures, as had been the case in their first encounter with police organization. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, laughing at jokes or otherwise. It was indeed a popular place to stay at, not just the King's private home.

Kukkyōna sighed lightly, having seen the light-hearted talk and laughter present in the castle, he wished Daisuke attended to more of these events and opportunities to see how Nobility should act and take advantage of the benefits of titles. He hoped to introduce Daisuke more formally to the King, only been graced with his presence when they were awarded the medals by him, but there wasn't anything more than rehearsed lines of gratitude and honor of being thanked in that manner. In this time, he hoped Daisuke could be given a chance to get to know the Royalty here as well, in the future event of him doing dealings with Yurei Okuko as the next Head of the Noble Family.

He managed to turn around a corner, briefly attracting some guest's eyes and attention, hearing the hushed and quick talk as they noticed his uniform and his handsome features. He's been used to the attraction but felt no need to return the favor, seeing as he truly had no one present of late that he had attraction to, nor desired it. It was then he saw up ahead a turned back of a certain individual that seemed to be waiting for him, outside the large elegant, tall doors leading to the Court Room, where the King would be.

"Excuse me," he said out in a polite, yet crisp tone, asking with a stoic, straightforward manner, "are you the liason for Yurei's Royalty?"

It was as if her senses had been snapped to attention.

She had been looking curiously at a portrait when the voice of a male had sounded behind her. Immediately and with a natural flair, she turned around in order to face him so that she could see him as well as he could see her. She had raven black hair cropped into a bob that hung about her face, violet-colored eyes, and a rather pale complexion. She was wearing a Shinigami uniform, but without any insignia. On her arms, she wore white gloves that extended up slightly past the elbow, the endpoint hidden by her shirt sleeve. Her Zanpakuto was resting at her waist.

Upon taking him in quickly, she closed her eyes and bowed out of recognition for the aura of nobility and rank of the person before her. "Yes, that would be me." She kept her tone respectful, but at a much calmer level than the nervous guard had. "Kuchiki Rukia at your service, Captain...."

Kukkyōna took a keen eye over her, within a moment he saw that she was no ordinary liason. He was aware that there were Soul Reapers in the employ of Yurei Okuko, but with that said, any significant amount of citizens with high Spiritual Energy made it impractical to set up a formal training center, like the Shinō Academy, and then employ them as regular means of military or police force. But, seeing one in front of her made him to believe they kept most of them within the Royal Guard and Parliment Security Force, if not most for the Military.

A tactful decision, this King certainly likes to keep his Soul Reapers at arm's length, Kukkyōna thought with reserve, before his eyes furrowed at the name and appearance of the woman in front of him, as well as her name.

"Captain Hayate of the 6th Division," he said before asking with a curious look in his eyes, "tell me. Did you happen to be formally of the Noble Kuchiki Family?"

"Formerly?" That brought Rukia to raise herself up, eyes furrowing slightly at his statement. She shook her head. "I am, and still am, sir. Why do you ask?" She had a few ideas of her own, but the primary one that stuck in her head was desired confirmation of her identity. It was something she didn't really mind.... after all, what possible reason would she have to hide who she was?

"I see," Kukkyōna said, his eyes narrowed before he continued, "so this is where the adopted sister of the late Byakuya Kuchiki ended up. Honestly, this is the last place I thought to see you here, Miss Kuchiki. I wouldn't have condoned your retirement of your duties as a Soul Reaper due to what happened with the Ultharon incident...."

....maybe there could have been a reason that could be possible.

She winced slightly at the rather condemning statement made by Kukkyona, but kept her composure. "I beg your pardon....but I didn't come here because of retirement...." She explained, keeping her arms at her sides. "I was transferred here, due to my own understanding of modernization as well as the need for the Seireitei to concentrate on internal affairs. It was honestly something unexpected to me as well, but it was nothing that I couldn't adjust to...."

"No need to apologize, Miss Kuchiki," he said bowing his head lightly, before saying apologetically, "I never expected you to be here is all. Its been centuries since I've seen anyone of the Kuchiki Family outside the Seireitei, so this is quite a surprise on my part."

Rukia nodded. "So I've seen...." She commented, smiling a little. "I take it you're here for the meeting, right? The others will be here soon...."

Kukkyōna nodded back, with a soft smile and tone he voiced his thoughts, "So I see that his Majesty likes to keep his Soul Reapers within arm's reach. A good tact, for a land with so few with high enough Spirit Energy to attain mastery to a potent degree, and I can see why he would keep someone like you, even closer."

This made Rukia's smile a bit shy, and she looked away for a brief moment under the indirect compliment that was given to her. Of course, she allowed it to cross her face for just a brief moment before returning to her cool and calm demeanor. "For the ones that come from the Seireitei, it would be a necessity to keep them as close as possible, as we serve a great link between the two societies. So yes.... it is a tactful decision...."

"That, and for security reasons. Had there been any attempt on the King's life, or any members of Parliment, they'd definitely be in for a surprise they'd never forget," Kukkyōna said thoughtfully, before relaxing his stance slightly, his shoulders let down, looking from side to side down each of the halls, still hearing the distant chattering and laughter still present within the castle.

"It seems Yurei Okuko has recovered nicely since the battle with the Ahijados. Its a shame people have to prepare for war after a battle like that. I'd almost think people would be less hearty at this time," he said aloud in a casual, practical manner.

That was when Rukia directed her gaze over his shoulder, looking down the alley in which he had came down. "One would easily think that...." She commented lightly. "The city's sustained quite a lot of damage and made its way through the two civil wars. Few, but too quick to follow after one another. Because of the ability to rebuild itself time and time again, the people here have found it easier and easier to put faith within its existence. Many of them were the very same ones who even helped in times where half of the civilization had been destroyed."

Her smile had returned, and if one looked closely, they could see a bit of pride as she spoke the words. "It's quite amazing how far devotion and loyalty can go, isn't it?"

Kukkyōna nodded in approval, saying with a smile on his own face, "These are the foundations that make up a sustaining and worthwhile society. I'm glad that Yurei Okuko is no exception."

"Quite...." Admittedly, Rukia was running out of things in order to keep the topic going. So she simply switched with another. "Do you know who else will be coming to the meeting other than you?"

Kukkyōna retracted his smile, knitting his brows saying in a unknowing tone, "I'm not entirely sure. I'm certain that they're sending in the 4th Division Captain, our Head Captain knowing this battle will probably have higher casualties than the previous battle. I'm pretty sure the last battle was just to test our defenses...how they broke through your advanced security and border patrol is still under speculation.

But to thoroughly answer your question, I am certain he will send two or three additional Captains with their Lieutenants accompanying them to protect the defenses of Yurei Okuko. Beyond that, I think the Head Captain wanted to not bother with the details."

Rukia allowed herself to close her eyes and nod in acknowledgement. She pressed a hand on the door that led to the Court Room, looking over her shoulder at Kukkyona. "If you want, I could allow you to introduce yourself to His Majesty prior to the meeting. I do warn you if you do...." She chuckled a little, her next words taking on somewhat of an amused tone. "He may have the status of nobility, but he's more familiar with civilian populace than traditional followings."

Kukkyōna chuckled slightly, before saying in understanding, "I have plenty of time to have dealt with people of high authority, but are lax when it comes to being formal with other poloticians and nobility. Its a shame I didn't bring my son along today...he'd be able to really relate with him, its seems."

"Then, if you will...."

She pushed open the door, motioning for him to follow her.

Inside was the "office" of the King, surprisingly small compared to the rest of the castle's interior. However, it was still massive enough to be considered beyond the size of the common room. At the desk, they could see a woman with black-hair tied up in a ponytail and gray eyes sitting in a chair beside a man in former attire. By position, one could tell that the girl was an assistant and the man at the desk was the King. By such, one would think that they would've held a stern and strict aura around them just like the common noble. However....

"I....am soooooooooo bored."

THUNK!

Such a theory was disproven when the King slammed his head on his desk, causing the woman to slap her own face out of embarrassment. "Jushin.... please get your head off of the desk. It's unprofessional!" She chided him, her tone exasperated.

"I think I just gave myself a concussion....." was the muffled response.

The woman rolled her eyes, but chuckled a little. "Wouldn't surprise me. Now get up, one of the Captains are coming this way!"

"Huh?" Jushin raised his head as well as an eyebrow as the two approached them. "Ah, I guess some people wanted to come a bit earlier than normal....." Relaxing himself, he folded his hands at level with his face, elbows propped on the table. "Captain Kukkyona of the 6th Division, I presume?"

Shiro sweatdropped as he walked over to Chidori's side, saying with a warm smile and half-lidded eyes, "That's our king for you, Chidori-chan. Always willing to let down his hair in front of anyone and everyone."

Kukkyōna could only sigh inwardly, thinking that his own son has a bit more maturity than the King has, albeit according to his first impression of Jūshin, though the way he held himself would be almost like a act for a deceivingly capable individual beneath his casual act. He knew this because even at this distance, he could feel the subtle thrum of his Spiritual Pressure in the air...

"A pleasure, your Majesty," Kukkyōna said with a noble, professional tone, hoping to make a good impression himself, knowing despite the King's casual attitude he had to keep himself in the position as a Head of a Noble Family, as well as the current representative of the Gotei 13 as Captain of the 6th Division.

"Likewise, son." Juushin lowered his folded hands onto the table, ignoring the chuckle from Chidori. "How can I help you?" His tone was professional, yet it still held that casual and somewhat informal manner that he always carried about his person.

Kukkyōna stepped forward to the table, still maintaining his straight posture while keeping his eyes locked onto Jūshin's, saying in a somber tone, "I'm here to talk about strategy on how the best defend the city districts of Yurei Okuko. It would be best to begin evacuations of all the major populace zones again, and move them to the shelters, as well as move any remaining citizens within the underworks of your castle. From what I've gathered on the Ahijdaos is that they use chaotic, wide-spread panic and damage. We will need to be prepared for this attack moreso than the last one."

Shiro looked onward at Kukkyōna with interest, taking in his initial reasons for being here as well as talks of strategy. He looked over to Jūshin for further input and his thoughts on the plans of evacuating the citizens.

During this exchange, Rukia took the time to silently exit out of the room, closing it behind her in order to let them talk in privacy.

As Chidori gained more of a listening look, Juushin allowed himself to speak, making small hand gestures in order to go with his words. "Normally, that would be the case.... if it were the Ahijados alone." He said, his voice taking on a more serious edge to it. "However, based on information I got from Commander Setsuko, the Ahijados seem to be backed by a Hueco Mundan government known as the Espada Afilado. It won't just be guerrilla war being played out on the homeland, but also a dangerous game of who can outmaneuver and outsmart the other. If this new group is truly helping the cult, then yes, it's pretty obvious that the first breach was nothing but a warning compared to what is to come. That's why I ordered the evacuation-in-masse to be executed as soon as possible. As we speak, hundreds of civilians are being moved out to safer locations and my military troops are setting up security perimeters within the abandoned areas. The only ones who will be on the surface will also be the ones who are going to stand against the assault."

Kukkyōna then crossed his arms, his sleeves covering them, and his eyes narrowed as he spoke plainly, "Speaking of which, there might be a clash with authorities on who's commanding who, when merging both the Police Force and the Military for the defense. Morale will be...questionable due to this. Do you have any plans on how you can change that?"

Shiro slightly winced, remembering how hostile the Police and Military are with each other, and for good reasons as well, even if they sounded foolish to anyone else. He looked over and leaned himself over to Jūshin's ear, whispering, "Do you suppose you should leave the majority of the internal security to the Police Force and leave the perimiter and defense of the castle to the Military? Having hostilities between our forces will be problematic while defending the city."

Jūshin's ears perked up at Shiro's suggestion, eyes widening curiously. Then, he closed his eyes and nodded, focusing his attention back onto Kukkyōna. "Ah, yes! The old competition between soldier and local trooper...." Surprisingly, his tone actually perked up at the mention of it. "That's actually nothing to be worried about. In contrast to popular belief, it's proven to actually boost morale via the competition between the two groups. Furthermore, they have enough sense to know not to kill each other, especially in times of emergency situations. It's really nothing to be worried about."

Chidori put on a weak, but amused smile. "You're not saying that out of you being a former military soldier as well, are you?" She commented, her smile growing wider at his comically widened and narrowed eyes.

"Wha-- no!" He said defensively, closing his eyes and turning away in a scoff. "I'm too much of a free voice to discriminate against the police just because I was a part of their opposition's ranks before. That would be far too narrow-minded...."

"Oh?" A curious tone came from Kukkyōna's mouth, turning over to look at Jūshin, asking, "was I mistaken? From what I've gathered from the Captain Setsuko, it seems that the rivalry was more a bitter atmoshpere than helpful. Is that just her opinion?"

Shino sweatdropped, saying aloud in a pan-smile face, "Oh Avaron-san...you're so blunt and abrupt in your mannerism, you might've as well been a drill sergeant."

"ACHOO!!!" Avaron suddenly covered her mouth with her hands as she let out a sneeze, which was considerably loud. A fellow worker cocked her eyebrow at her superior.

"Uh.... catching a cold, ma'am?"

"No.... but I do think someone's talking about me right about now....."

"Well...." That was when Jūshin's and Chidori's expression turned somewhat sheepish, and they glanced towards each other and then at Shino as if any one of them had a proper answer to it. Then, the two looked back towards Kukkyōna, with Chidori finishing up what she was about to saying. "That really depends.... actually, if you do ever see them interact, you'll know for certain if what Setsuko said was true or not, considering the way they act around each other is pretty much left ambiguous...."

Kukkyōna sighed lightly before nodding to Jūshin and his two aides, saying, "That's good. As for the Seireitei's reinforcements, I'm certain they might bring at least 2 or 3 dozen men from each Division, so it will be helpful to say the least to have Soul Reapers on the troops' side."

Shino nodded, crossing his arms, "Seireitei Soul Reapers are no push-offs from what I've heard. It will be good to have two different Societies fighting this battle, showing how much our two cultures have forged a strong Alliance."

Kukkyōna looked over at Jūshin, asking him, "I know its a little too soon to tell, but is there a specific way you would like the Seireitei Soul Reapers organized in defense of the city?"

"Hmm...." This caused the ruler to look thoughtful for a moment, looking up towards the ceiling in his brief state of thought. "The merge of forces who are normally capable of working alone would be a rather difficult maneuver to work with despite the obvious benefits. It would be best to position the troops under your banner where they should be. The Shinigami can take up positions within the city where the troops are unable to reach, as well as provide assistance and escort when it comes to more dangerous missions that would prove to be an extreme threat to my soldiers. Considering the lethality and power of the Zanpakuto I've seen thus far, I have reason to believe it would benefit both sides, no?"

Kukkyōna nodded, saying aloud while unconsciously placing his right and left hands on the pommels of his Zanpakuto, "Indeed they are. I would be anxious to see just excactly what a Yurei Okuko Soul Reaper can do, outside of this conflict if I am given the chance."

Shiro caught a deadly twinkle in Kukkyōna's eyes that caused him to both tremble in excitement, but also sweat in trepidation as he saw the look of a man who could kill so easily and without hesitation that it made him feel like a child holding onto a weapon he's too young for. He looked over as the gaze was carried over intentionally to the King, knowing that it was a friendly, if not direct challenge towards the King himself.

I hope that the King doesn't plan to take that invitation literally, Shiro thought worriedly with a aghast smile, knowing his King, he probably would to escape the work and boredom he was in just minutes ago.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, a group of robed and cloaked individuals walked the halls of the Castle, holding the gaze of the Castle's residents, drawing some with looks of fear and awe, others with blushes and giggles. The cloaked individuals bore the garments of Soul Reapers of the Seireitei, as some of them were cloaked obviously in the Haori and standard Shihakushō uniforms customary of any Soul Reaper within the Seireitei's forces. Some of them talking to each other, others held stoic looks and keen eyes, moving around, observing and analyzing the environment around them.

Soon, the head of the group lead them towards the doors leading to the meeting room, running into the Liason of Yurei Okuko to the Seireitei Soul Society, Rukia Kuchiki, he himself smiled warmly at her before bowing his head, followed by a few of the other's heads, mostly the seniors, before introducing himself,

"Hello, Kuchiki-san. Its been a long time since I last seen you. My name is Ryouken Aizen, Captain of the 5th Division, and these are my associates coming here on behalf of the Seireitei's Soul Society to aide in the upcoming defense of Yurei Okuko."

Naturally, Rukia allowed herself to bow as well, recognizing the Captain right away due to the gear and the way he carried himself. "Of course." She stated, giving a nod. "His Majesty and Captain Hayate are already inside." She moved to the door and pressed her hand on it, slowly opening it up to reveal the moderately sized meeting room in which the two men were.

Ryouken smiled, saying aloud before entering the room, "Couldn't help but take the initiative, could he?" His Lieutenant, Senshi Fiaresu, cast his eyes uncaringly upon Rukia's before staring ahead, taking in step with his Captain silently, stylized kimono fluttered around him with the feel of pride and honor.

The one to come next was the 4th Division Captain, Taiyō Ikidōri, her Haori held fastened over her black uniform and generous endowment as she briefly paused to smile at Rukia, before walking behind Ryouken, passing by his Lieutenant to join his left side. Her Lieutenant, Tōshi Yūhi, came within step of her smiling politely back at Rukia before joining her Captain.

The last of the Captains to come after that was a flamboyantly dressed, but if not slightly intimidating by the way he carried himself, was none other than the Kidō Captain, Gyakushū Zen'nō Hando. He looked at her with a warming smile of reassurance, almost knowingly his presence to set some people a little nervous or intimidated, but kept walking in step to join Ryouken's right side.

The last one, curiously did not immediately join them. A handsome, if not slightly bored looking young man, wearing the Lieutenant badge of the 12th Division on his left arm, also wearing a different Kimono of his own, not bothering to put his arms through the sleeves like his compatriot, his eyes looking at Rukia's curiously while holding a long unlit pipe between his lips.

He then chuckled, asking, "What's a capable, attractive Soul Reaper such as yourself playing guard dog outside the meeting room? You not priviledged enough to enter?" His words held a sense of increduality along with his sarcasm, meaning to be more of a curious social query than a insult. If anything, he was insulting her superiors.

As the others gathered before Kukkyōna and the King, Ryouken bowed his head, the others gave a polite bow in turn, as he said aloud, "Sorry we're late. I didn't know the meeting was being started earlier."

"It wasn't," Kukkyōna said briskly, a slight smirk endowed onto his features, before turning his head away from Ryouken back to the King's, "I decided to make sure the King had plans of how to defend the city. With our foreignly trained and skilled forces combining with his, I wanted to make sure we were prepared to make any necessary changes to the plan."

Ryouken chuckled, placing a gloved hand up to his beard, scratching it as he smiled warmly, "I didn't realize you had it all figured out, Kukkyōna-san. I guess I'll just stand here and parade you of your good looks and see to it I get you a comb to brush out that ego of yours."

Kukkyōna arched a brow, before asking aloud without actually looking at Ryouken, saying, "Is that a challenge, Captain Aizen?"

Ryouken waved his hands, emphasizing innocence, saying lightheartedly, "I wouldn't challenge you in front of his Majesty, Kukkyōna-san. It wouldn't be proper conduct, and would shame our Clans to do so. Not that I wouldn't mind it-"

"Ahem!" Taiyō interrupted, scowling at the two Captains, crossing her arms while saying frustratedly, "You're in front of the sovereign ruler of Yurei Okuko. Mind your places and act better for your subordinates!"

Ryouken sighed, shrugging while sheepishly saying, "I meant no offense, Taiyō-chan..."

Shiro sweatdropped, whispering loud enough for Chidori to hear, "These are...Captains?!"

"Apparently...." Chidori muttered back, folding her arms across her chest and shaking her head sagely. "At the very least, I'm glad they aren't as stuck-up as I thought they would've been....." Right beside her, Jūshin simply looked on and listened with somewhat of a calm yet deadpan expression, occasionally glancing from the table to his assistants.

Outside, Rukia had taken to leaning against the wall with her arms folded across her chest. The door was still open, so she could still hear the chatter. At the rather non-subtle flirting, she couldn't help but smirk a little. "I've grown to be more of a listener than anything else...." She answered simply, nodding in the direction of the room. "And that room is going to be filled with debate. I just wouldn't belong."

Meikurai made a sigh, before crossing his arms, looking towards the open door, saying plainly, "So, you're a woman of intuition and action, rather than of intelligence and debate. Despite the calm posture you hold yourself for all to see, your aura cries out for action," he raised a eyebrow, sideglancing her as he continued, "you must have incredible self-control when on duty, Kuchiki."

Kukkyōna then looked onto Jūshin, continuing as if nothing happened, his stoic professional expression never wavering, "So, your Majetsy. Would you care to hear any input from the Captains? They seem to have an alternative approach of defending the city than I do..."

"Well, surely you can't expect me to want to suppress the opinions of others when they're obviously within the most beneficial of boundaries...." The king had once again turned his attention to the group in general. "Ladies and gentlemen, feel free to give your input."

"Well, they always say that action does speak louder than words....." Rukia commented, lightly shrugging. "But I see you're not very eager to jump in yourself. ..."

Kukkyōna nodded towards Jūshin before looking onwards to Ryouken, waiting for him to introduce their strategies.

"Right," Ryouken said before settling into a serious expression, walking towards the meeting room's table showing a detailed map of Yurei Okuko's city, the castle, and even a good couple kilometers of land within the society's control, showing lush forests and meadows, even some mountains beyond that showed at the eedge of the map. He put his palms onto the map, leaning on it before locking his eyes on Jūshin.

"We're expecting a fierce fight in this upcoming battle, I'm not going to lie, but if we make one miscalculation in our planning, we could end losing many lives, even the city. That's why the Head Captain has sent both the 4th Division's Captain along with a good many relief teams to help deal with the wounded. The main battle plan however, rests in why he sent in our Kidō Corps, Kidō Captain," he emphasized, waving a hand in his direction, beckoning him to come forth, his colorful attire flowed around him and a mysterious medallion jingled with every step, Ryouken finished up by moving to the side, explaning, "he will explain the strategy.

"Thank you, Captain Aizen," Kidō Captain Hando said, nodding towards him before splaying his gloved hands over the area of Yurei Okuko, saying, "from what I understand from the debriefing, you have an airforce, composed of magnificent bird. While forming as a good means of transportation and retaliation, these birds would not be suited to halt any form of aerial bombardment, or crossfire that will strike the city's surface below. So, with your permission, Jūshin-sama, I will demonstrate something to you so you can have a better grasp of what we will try to accomplish in the upcoming battle."

Shiro looked onward with interest, looking back and forth from the Captains, even giving a approving look to Chidori before looking equally with approval to Jūshin, nodding at him with a serious look of confidence within whatever the Captain had planned.

Conspiracies and Plots, Moles within Yurei?!
Meikurai chuckled, giving her a thin smile with a narrowed hawk-eye look, asking in a almost rhetorical manner, "What are you talking about, Kuchiki?" he then turned his gaze momentarily over to the meeting room, saying mysteriously, "I am in the meeting room. I've never left the side of my compatriots and superiors. I'm not even having this conversation with you," he crossed his arms, a creepy casting of shadows came over his face, his eyes locked onto hers, "I'm aware of everything that is happening, Kuchiki, be mindful of that in the future. Also," his aura suddenly appeared nonchalant, and he cast a wink towards her, saying, "I happen to like women of action and not meddling in debate. I could use your help with something as a matter of fact."

It was enough to convert Rukia's cool expression into surprise once again, eyes widening slightly as she looked into the room.

There was another one of the Lieutenant standing in the room, standing as rigidly as any bodyguard would have done. The others seemed to talk, and the King seemed to listen, but no one seemed to notice that very fact. Whatever ability of illusion the man was displaying, he was certainly performing it to an expert level. Rukia took this all in before turning her gaze back to the Lieutenant in front of her.

"The least you could do before that is tell me your name, Lieutenant...." She said amiably.

"Shiomaneki," he said with a smug grin, his teeth displaying perfectly white teeth that held his pipe in between them, before finishing, "Meikurai Shiomaneki, Lieutenant of the 12th Division and Deputy Director of the Department of Research & Development. Now," he then crossed his arms, cocking his head slightly to the right, raising his left brow, inquiring, "will you help me?"

Captain Hando stepped forward, bowing his head before speaking in a deep tone, "Your majesty, as powerful as your security force and military is, it cannot be omniscent. Even with additional troops, casualties and infrastructure damage is inevitable from the battle. Therefore, I am proposing a plan," he pointed to key high points along the city, the pinnacle being the castle,

"I will be here, while the rest of my Kidō officers will maintain what I will call, a 'City-Wide-Barrier'. Using the technology provided by the 12th Division to augment the barrier's power, we will enact this barrier during times of high concentrated fire or presumedly artillery bombing runs. We can also trap any number of enemy forces within the city, while seperating them into the sky, leaving them easy prey for your air force and leaving the rest for your gun emplacements, armor units, and infantry. Emergency response units will be directed by a joint effort of your Medical Specialists along with the 4th Division's forces underneath the authority of Taiyō Ikidōri, its Captain. Myself and and Kukkyōna," he emphasized with a wave of his hand towards Kukkyōna before gesturing to himself and looking back at the King,

"will be adding the real bulk of the military power, spreading out our forces where needed, 12th Division will provide additional security around this castle to protect the barrier, Captain Hando, and yourself."

Kukkyōna nodded, hearing the entire conversation, really wishing he had his Lieutenant's opinion as well as him learning something from this. However, he didn't want to force Daisuke to grow up too fast...he only had a few strands of his young life left with him. Once he assumes nobility, he won't be able to enjoy himself the way he used to.

Shiro nodded, also liking the sound of the plan, voicing aloud, "Sounds solid, but the real problem is the way your network is spread out. We will need to add additional forces to secure and protect them, with the aid of the Commanders of each Sector. Anything you see amiss or do you approve of this plan, your Majesty?" Shiro asked Jūshin curiously.

"Well...." Jūshin furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "If you have the manpower for such an expansive movement, then I see no issues with it. Just make sure that everything is in proper order and nothing is left out of place, and we shall do the same." In an idle gesture, he balled up a fist, stuck out his pinkie finger and scratched the side of his nose. After setting his hand down, he turned his eyes over to his two assistants and put on a humored smile. He placed a hand on his chest in a somewhat dramatic manner, his tone changing to a Mid-Atlantic dialect. "Thou approveth of thee idea." He earned a short set of giggling from Chidori as a reward.

Rukia made sure to keep an ear listening to the dialogue taking place while keeping her eyes focused on the man in front of her. "You still haven't told me what you need help with, either...." She added, a bit of a laughing tone within her own voice.

Shiro sweatdropped, saying with a sheepish smile of semi-amusement, "If that was all we needed, I'd simply make you sign papers, your Majesty."

Kukkyōna spoke up, reenetering his voice to the conversation again, "Alright then, its settled. Captain Aizen and I will lead the half of our forces to protect and control the districts under the most dangerous of threats, the Plaza District, the Market District, and the Royal District just outside of your Castle. Our Lieutenants will lead the rest of the remaining forces to reinforce the perimter Sectors where needed, mostly the Residential Sectors and Yurei Okuko's Historical Sector. Captain Ikidōri will respond to the heaviest casualty areas, and the Kidōmembers will be stationed as needed at their assigned positions."

Ryouken chuckled, scratching his beard again saying with a smile, "You're making it sound like this was your idea now, Kukkyōna-san."

Kukkyōna was about to retort when suddenly, a handheld device from within his Haori, ringed, he briefly bowed his head to Jūshin before taking the device up to his ear, answering softly with a bit of increduality behind his voice, "Officer Sonada? What is it, I'm in an important meeting..."

Meikurai's smile brightened a fraction before cocking his head to an angle, nodding behind himself as he said, "Walk with me," and as they walked, his kimono flowing around him like a extravagant curtain, cloaking himself with mystery and vague intentions, as he then spoke aloud, "Kuchiki, I believe the situation within Yurei Okuko is far more severe than what you know. Tell me...have you noticed anything...odd about this cult, the Ahijados, their movements being locked within riddles as strange runic patterns, a set of times and dates...do you understand anything about this?"

"I hope it's not more important than your son's life."

Within the hangar, Kenta had the same type of device to his own ear as he saddled up one the Dragonbirds that were about to be taken into flight. A squad of police officers were doing the same thing with their own individual dragonbirds. "From surveillance reports, there's a fierce battle going on between him and that Sakura Kojima girl against an unidentified group of at least four or five. I'm going to lead a team in order to suppress the area and extract the two of them to Landing Pad C of HQ. I need you to head out and wait for the extraction team once they get there."

Rukia, outside of the doors, cocked an eyebrow in questioning and slight apprehension as she walked right beside him. "Other than the fact that there is a massive attack on the entire region within a few days...." She paused for a moment, thinking about her next words. "Thanks to words from some personally known streetears....the runic patterns at Road 701 were supposed to be the first signs of an apocalyptic reconstruction movement deemed by Red Sun. Because of the lack of proof, however, I don't have reason to believe that it's nothing more than some sort of scare tactic by Ahijados extremists. Why do you ask?"

Kukkyōna narrowed his eyes, physically and internally not worried about his son's safety, believing in his son's will to survive and his skill, but was more worried about the origin of the attackers. "Have you confirmed their origin? Are they Red Sun agents?"

Shiro narrowed his eyes, looking over to Chidori curiously before shrugging and just observing the interaction the Captain had with the Police Officer.

Ryouken narrowed his eyes, cupping his chin and propping his elbow while thinking, finding this interruption troublesome and...disturbing. His Lieutenant looked over, his eyes looked at the Captain with interest, feeling worried of slight for his fellow Lieutenant, someone who had a great amount of zeal and compassion. He'd hate to see anything happen to him, but he would never voice his concerns unless asked.

Taiyō's eyes widened with shock, finding that another sudden attack almost unthinkable, whispering aloud, "They're moving that fast? They couldn't be targeting people specifically, could they?!"

"Captain?" Lieutenant Yūhi asked curiously, her own concern for the handsome and inspiring Lieutenant was also now on her mind.

Meikurai remained silent for awhile as they passed some residents, not bothering to make eye contact with any of them, before saying in a serious tone, "The zealots are following far more than simple terrorist attack of hit & run. Among the sights seen by our good Captain Kukkyōna before seeing the Espada Afilado's leader, was a hooded man.

What I gathered up from sources, Captain Avaron and Captain Kukkyōna were both struck with a wave of empathetic energy, so intense that only with the Captain's sheer Spiritual Pressure was able to keep them safe. There was also a uncanny rythym within the air before the hooded man's appearance, seen to have been heard during rare occurances with the Ahijados present.

There is without a doubt the Red Sun deities are watching and observing the Ahijados' actions, meaning the text contains more truth than what you have seen to believe, Kuchiki," he then turned around a corner within the castle, now heading towards a door leading to the underworks of the castle. He grabbed the handle, pushing it open before looking back and asking, "but that wouldn't explain how they got by your city's vigiliant security so easily and launched a surprise attack on your little kingdom. How do you suppose they managed that?"

"Their origin remains yet to be known, sadly." Was Kenta's immediate reply.

As natural as the Sergeant's response was, Rukia also answered with a ready statement. "Agents hidden under the radar...." She said, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. "The police have been cracking down on security policies and the like, arresting anyone who show any signs of a connection with the extremists. Though they try to be as democratic as possible in their efforts, I can't help but feel their motives are out of paranoia--"

Then it hit her, her eyes widening in realization. She was almost tempted to stop in her tracks.

".....or there's someone within the high ranks of the police pulling the strings and attempting to silence targets of opportunity!" She kept her voice composed, but not hiding the surprise within her tone.

Kukkyōna nodded, saying, "That was too much to hope for, I suppose. I'll be there in a few minutes. Captain Hayate out," with a click of his communicator, he pocketed slowly as he locked eyes with all of the Captains before going back to Jūshin's, bowing apologetically as he explained, "there has been an attack by unknown entities on the outskirts of Yurei Okuko. I am needed to be debriefed of the situation."

Ryouken said with a serious tone, "I'll make sure everything is set in motion, Kukkyōna-san. You find out what this is about so you can meet me to finalize our strategies."

Kukkyōna nodded to Ryouken, smiling lightly before saying, "Thank you, Captain," before walking out in a rushed manner, the rapid beats of his sandals echoed through the mediocorely sized meeting room, before walking through the hallway, quite curious for a moment where Rukia Kuchiki went before dismissing the thought from his mind. His son needed him, and he need to know why.

Meikurai smiled approvingly at Rukia, saying, "A woman of action AND keen eye for detail. We will get along just fine, Kuchiki-chan," he said before going down the dark stairs, snapping his fingers towards a torch, mysteriously lighting it before grabbing it, holding it out in front of him as he lead the way down with Rukia in tow.

"Now, before we go and interrogate the entire Police Force of Yurei Okuko and give your King and the Parliment a heart attack, we have to now wonder the 'why'. We need the Bios of all insignficant Police Officers, anyone who wouldn't stand out socially, politically, or career-wise.

Then, we will need security footage of all comings and goings of the Museum District of the Mausoleum that our good Lieutenant Hayate and the peculiar Sakura Hojima character went to, where are supposed leaders of the Ahijados attack were hold up in.

Lastly, we will need any and all mysterious, particularly strange characters entering Yurei Okuko from the time before the D.C.O. agents were found dead. Feel free, by the way, to ask me why I want these items. Knowledge is power, and if you want to be powerful during this time of crisis, Kuchiki-chan, you will need all the power possible."

This caused Rukia to raise a suspicious eyebrow of her own, her tone somewhat skeptical as she spoke the next words. "While I do wonder why you would want such....." She commented. "I also wonder how you would go about acquiring them. You also seem to be willing to go off on your own on this investigation with the way you're carrying yourself...."

Meikurai walked down the steps with loud claps with his sandals touching the dusty, old steps leading deep into the underworks of the castle. He simply responded, "I commend you for your intuition and caution, but its not necessary to be wary of me. This is how I prefer to work, and that's how my Captain leaves me, more of a understanding to better fulfill our goals more effectively anyways. Besides," he turned his face slightly to give a eery glow from the dancing sparks from his outreaching torch, sideglancing her, "I wouldn't be much of a Lieutenant if I didn't do my part, now would I?"

"His face...."

The glow radiating off of the man's face made Rukia wince a little - a rather subtle gesture.

"It's fine as I thought it would have been..... but the way he carries himself.... it's almost as if he always is knowing everything more than he lets on...."

She kept her tone composed and firm. "No, you wouldn't...." She admitted, folding her hands behind her back in an idle manner. "It's good to see someone with such a sense of duty to their cause...."

Meikurai stared at her eyes, catching the wince with seeing his face, something only because his keen eyes would've been able to catch. He kept his eyes on hers, even as she spoke and clasped her hands idly behind her back, her words sounding partially truthfull, and partly held back. At times he knew that there would be people frightened or slightly disturbed by his mannerism, but he never took it personally. People fear what they don't understand, and if they don't understand why he is the way he is, it wasn't his place to make them understand it.

It was a long few moments of his sideglancing eyes stared at her before continuing down the steps, moving down and continued his rhetoric, unanswering her statement, "I need those Bios of the Police Officers with little to no public light but with enough motive to aid the Cult. The most insignificant Police Officers are usually the ones who would join a Cult or sympathize with one at the least. Reading up their personalities, their histories, their records will give us an idea which one will be most likely.

Next, I need your recorded footage that wasn't destroyed from the blast caused by one of the Ahijados conspirators to see exactly of all places to be when monitoring troops or directing orders. Why would they be held up in a Mausoleum? From what I've gathered, was cut off from the rest of the troops and the place was littered with their dead, a place that wasn't in their control. We need to find out the significance of that location as well as the connection it has with the rest of the city.

Lastly, to find out the identity of interesting or strange characters entering Yurei Okuko will determine any possible aid the Cult has been recieving, or if it was indeed a spy of their own sent to scout out the area. Within the last 3 weeks, if possible, before and after the deaths of the D.C.O agents because they might've murdered them to get them from leaking any intel on their whereabout and plans.

Anything else do you think we need to go over?" He finally asked after giving out his long list of reasons why he needed what he needed, stopping at near the end of the stairs, now at the door to the underworks, a strange set of hums and beeping was heared beyond it, something that shouldn't be inside the unused are of the castle.

"There is something I would find in question....." Rukia said, stopping when he did and casting her eyes to the door in front of them. "How do you expect to gain all of this? What you're asking is the divulging of personal information to outside sources, and the police are just too democratic to hand such sensitive information over. Of course, this is a time of crisis, but that doesn't completely assure that they would do so...."

"My my, Kuchiki-chan," he then moved forward, opening the door and a sudden vision of lights were shown before dulling down, showing a large array of equipment in a room that was once housed for a dungeon, now had been filled with computers, vials, and a few walls with papers with queries, facts, photos of individuals with 'X' drawn on them, "oh of how little faith you have in me."

This time, Rukia could not hide the surprise, her eyes widening and her mouth slightly agape. Out of instinct, she quickly stepped into the room and visibly swept the area. "My God...." She muttered, almost rendered speechless by the display. "Did you build this? ..... for how long?" Following this sentence, she looked over towards the walls with the X-marked photos on them.

"Ever since the surprise attack the Ahijados launched on Yurei Okuko. So around 5 days since the aftermath," he said before walking towards the 'X' marked photos, standing behind her and now looking at them ominously, before speaking plainly, "those on the center marked with D.C.O. are the deceased operatives that were dead before the attack. Those on the left," he pointed to the left of them, showing a variety of other individuals all of them strangely familiar to anyone who's worked in Yurei Okuko's security, "are citizens related or knew about security of Yurei Okuko. The ones on the right," he finished with a number of passed deceased photos, clearly liberated out of the Police Station, "are Yurei Okuko Police Officers that have died mysterious to 'natural causes' deaths. So far, I haven't gotten much off of any of these people...I've searched their bodies, discreetly questioned their families, and searched for any connections they might've had with the Cult's activities, or any of the other deceased you see on this wall."

He then brought out a match, scratching it along his palm briskly before bringing it up and lit his pipe, puffing it a few times before exhaling, a thin screen of smoke bathed the pictures and billowed above the short Soul Reaper. He then looked down at her, his eyes bore a serious glow with a face firm and stoic, his brows knit, saying, "Rukia Kuchiki. I've run out of options, and as painful as this is for me, I need your help in obtaining the prior mentioned items to help my investigation. I've tried being discreet for the past few months but I, along with Yurei Okuko, is running out of time. I need your help!"

It was an unnerving situation.

Everything that Meikurai had said and shown her was marked with nothing but the signs of death and destruction. It was enough to send a chill down her spine, and she couldn't take her eyes away from the photos in order to look at him due to the newfound thoughts within her mind. She took in a deep breath and sighed, closing her eyes and lowering her head a little. Then, after a moment of silence, she allowed herself to turn her head in order to look over her shoulder at him. "I understand...." She confirmed quietly, acknowledging his plea for help. "I'll do what I can."

Meikurai nodded towards her, "Thank you, Kuchiki-chan," smiling a little before turning around, his sandals slapped against the stone floor as he reached out to a wheeled chair and pulling it for him to sit down on as he moved over to a desk.

"I think its best we start with obtaining that security footage. Shouldn't be too much a problem, just ask if you could make a copy of all the footage around the Museum Sector and bring it back here. While I am reviewing the footage and anything out of the ordinary, please obtain those Bios of the average to unordinary Police Officers and we will cross-reference any that might stick out. I know it won't be easy, but it has to be done," he exhaled another breath, another wisp of smoke filled the air while he looked at a empty manilla folder, before locking eyes with her, "then we need a list of tourists, guests, or suspicious people that have been here 3 weeks before the death of the D.C.O. operatives. It would be plenty of time to scope out the area for the enemy as well as plan to plant those forboding messages in each particular area within Yurei Okuko."

Rukia turned towards Meikurai with an affirmative nod. "What about the others? When will you inform them of this?"

Meikurai looked blankly at Rukia before exhaling another puff of smoke. His eyes were briefly lit by the fire from his pipe and the blinking lights of various pieces of equipment within the self-made lab, face illuminated by the floating mist of smoke before him, his look of indifference showed just how much he cared about that question.

"Kuchiki-chan," he said, placing his arms on the handrests of his chair, leaning back as he tapped his fingers rythmitically, "what I tell or don't tell is really my buisness, and the 12th Division's buisness, isn't it? This assignment was given to me specifically by my Captain: Find out the secrets of Yurei Okuko's conspiracies, and find out how they ambushed your city. Beyond that, is quite up to me to decide what is and isn't involved with this war and conspiracy of the Red Sun cult."

"Good, then you won't mind if I keep an eye on you...." Rukia thought, eyes narrowing slightly at his answer. "...very well. I'll be taking my leave now." With that, she proceeded to walk out of the room, a slight frown on her face. He simply carried too much of a shady nature that was prominent within the 12th Division, too much of a mysterious mind to be left alone. Although she knew he hit some accurate points, it didn't satisfy the possibility that he knew more than he let on. She would have to go along with what he was doing, for now. Time was of the essence....

Meikurai watched the short, lithe Noble Soul Reaper walk out in a somewhat unsatisfied gait, he could tell by the way her shoulders tensed, the begrudging acknowledgement of his vague answer, and the knitting of her brows. He knew working with someone of a keen mind like Rukia's would be precarious for his sensitive work, but he knew that she could get things done, and by his brief exchange with her, he knew she would be worth the risk.

As soon as he heard the door close behind her, he exhaled again another puff of smoke, turning his head around, shuffling his hand through a pile of folders and papers before bringing out a manilla folder and brought it to his line of sight. It read on the front, 'Prime Suspects' and he opened it, the sound of ruffling pages of notated and queries written along the pictures of individual that could be involved.

One of the pictures he let his eyes drift over for a long while, exhaling another whiff of smoke on the partiallly illuminated photograph, his eyes narrowed at it with a cold, cool look, one that looked ready to murder. Meikurai then leaned his head back, folding the folder back and shuffling it back onto his desk, his eyes closed as he exhaled one more time.

"Well now...I guess I'll find out...one way or another...if you are really my target or not," he spoke ominously in the dark, eerily lit laboratory before moving around, taking test samples and looking over readings, preparing himself for the oncoming trials up ahead.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Within a matter of a half hour, Meikurai had compiled a decent amount of video copies that had angles of the Museum Sector. It took a bit of prompting with the Police Commander in charge of the sector, but Rukia had managed to obtain the surveilance footage Meikurai needed. While he skimmed through it, he had also began skimming through Bios him and Rukia had obtained, Meikurai's keen eye for detail and what he was looking for as well as Rukia's familiarity of the Police Force of Yurei.

Meikurai however, also heard over a brief communique from the Lieutenant of 4th Division that there was a situation that involed the use of D.C.O. resources, as well as Captain Kaze's personal attention with Captain Kukkyōna, even his son, to venture to Hell.

He had given Rukia the summary of what he was told after keeping her waiting, crossing his arms and looking down with a knitted pair of brows and narrowed eyes filled with suspicion and displeasure, "This can't be coincidence. Whatever this new element that wants the Punisher, this Sakura Hojima character, is taking advantage of our time of emergency with the Ahijados," he exhaled another puff of smoke as he looked down at a number of crossed out Bios, showing their total irrelevance to their investigation, and a small pile of possible suspects that could be involved, the rest of the pile almost halfway finished from their studious work.

"They don't appear to be even remotely related to the Ahijados, though...." Rukia commented, having rested herself in a nearby chair. She was sitting with her legs crossed and her hands folded in her lap. "The cult is known for its extremist worship of the Punisher, so why would this particular group deliberately attack and capture her? It just doesn't make sense...."

"Vengeance comes to mind," Meikurai let a puff of smoke escape his lips, his eyes rose to meet his Rukia's, his arms crossed over his chest as he elaborated, "the Punisher is supposed to be the Red Sun deity of punishment. Suppose if that was true, she would have made enemies of those that she punished, such as the beings she sent to Hell. What if someone broke them out, promised them vengeance on the deity who sentenced them to Hell, and then had the power to come and go freely from Hell? There," he snapped his left fingers, grinning morosely, "is the reason why. Other than that, the Ahijados will know through the spies they have within your city that our Military Command and Power will be weakened, rushing their inevitable time of invasion. Thanks to this new element, we will now have less time to figure out who's leaking information to the cult."

"Maybe not...." Rukia said. "The Ahijados won't be the only one who will be aware of this. That's why the police and the military made preparations for fortifying the city and evacuating the citizens early on, when it could be truly confirmed that there would be an invasion. Of course.... that always brings up the question of whether or not that has been leaked out, as well...."

"In any case, we must presume the worst. Before we go any further on the list of potential sympathizers and spies, I have something I want to go over with you," Meikurai said with another sigh, exhaling some more smoke onto the group of Bios before grabbing a remote, clicking a button that turned on a nearby large monitor screen to Rukia's left and Meikurai's right, showing a dimly lit street and the mausoleum that was destroyed, where both Daisuke and the Punisher had their conflict. The time of the recording started about 2 1/2 weeks prior to the invasion, around a week before the D.C.O. were sent into Yurei Okuko to investigate possible leads. He clicked the Play button, and the sounds of wind blowing, the night sounds of a nearly sleeping city, Meikurai leaned back on his chair.

"This particular angle was caught of the maintenance entrance of the Mausoleum that was destroyed by one of the Ahijados agents. Did you ever pick up anything strange other than the debris and unusual energy emanating from that place?" He asked, his eyes never leaving the screen as he gestured with emphasis when speaking.

"What else could there be?" Rukia questioned him, her eyes directing themselves towards the screen attentively.

"I guess you weren't debriefed entirely," Meikurai grabbed his pipe out of his mouth before exhaling one last time, catching Rukia's gaze with his before pointing at the the screen, "this is the last location mentioned within the data capsules the D.C.O. agents were at, as well as downloaded."

As she stared at the screen, Rukia remained silent for a moment. However, she immediately snapped to attention once she saw a black-clothed figure of a young man on screen. "Hold on, who....?" She managed to say, eyes widening slightly as she leaned closer in order to see better.

Meikurai catching the image a moment before Rukia, but wanted clarification it wasn't just his imagination. He immediately called out in a commanding voice, "Computer: Rewind image 5.7 seconds and pause." The computer did as commanded, bringing back the image and pausing when the black cloaked, young dispositioned individual, still faintly dimmed and blurred by the current resolution.

"Maximize target of interest 150%, increase resolution to 295%, eliminate glares and shadow overlays," Meikurai list off a number of commands, the computer maximizing its imagery further, now showing in a rapidly graphic resolution of the individual in question, his young features were shown and dark cloak shimmered with a eery night light, but his face was plain as day. Meikurai's eyes widened, "oh Hell no! You had to turn up HERE of all places!"

"Former 3rd Seat McTavish?" Rukia said incredulously, switching her look to Meikurai and back to the screen again. His name wasn't hidden due to the fact of his "defection" from the Soul Society during the ending events of the Mourning War.

"Yeah, that's him," Meikurai put his pipe back into his mouth, now breathing in and out the crushed herbal mixture within the wooden item, lightly sending more smoke into the air as he sighed, "he was classified as a 3rd Priority threat by the Stealth Force, declared abandoning his post and responsible for the death of his squadmates. They've been looking for this ex-Soul Reaper for decades, and now, of all places to be it had to be right in the thick of a conspiracy and war. Things aren't boding so well for our fugitive here," he sideglances morosely at Rukia.

Her expression shifted back to a more solemn one. She folded her arms across her chest. "What purpose would he have here, I wonder....?" She murmured, almost to herself.

"Well," Meikurai said before pressing the play button, the tape now playing at the enhanced, zoomed view, continuing, "let's see what happens for the next few minutes he's there. Let's get an idea why our fugitive would be here of all places. Computer, set magnification to 190%, maintain resolution, target current image in blue for Ghost Vision, set all unknown thermal signatures to Red, display physical construct of the inside of the Mausoleum" he finishes, pressing the play button, watching the young man go in, now illuminated as blue.

As he enters what would've been previously a unseen location, the background image dissolves the barrier and shows a screenshot of what the Mausoleum looked like before the incident and the current up-to-date appearance on the inside. It showed Braeburn, moving around, as if expecting someone or was trying to lose someone. He approached what looked like a centerpiece of the structure, a altar of sorts, almost taking a knee before 5 thermal images with cloaked Spiritual Pressures on the screen.

"This doesn't look good," Meikurai mentioned as he intuitively guessed it was the D.C.O. operatives that have cornered him, albeit it was nearly out of their mission to engage individuals of interest, but a war deserter and fugitive of the Seireitei Law does grant them immunity of punishment by their superiors. They seem to circle him, and Braeburn appeared to act cooly, waving his hands in a non-threatening manner, almost trying to say something, something that was unfortunately not able to be picked up by the computer. And then, as the D.C.O. agents moved in threateningly, a burst of Spiritual Pressure happened and within a dozen rapid sets of movement, all of the D.C.O. members fell down one by one, fading in thermal imagery confirming their inevitable death.

"Well," he looked sardonically at Rukia, puffing out another cloud of smoke while looking morosely at his current partner, "it seems we found our murder culprit."

"He managed to kill the D.C.O. operators....? All on his own?" Rukia managed to say incredulously, her eyes bearing down on the screen. "I never would've thought...." She allowed herself to trail off in her subject, falling back into her chair once again with a solemn, thoughtful expression. "He wasn't after the data they were carrying, from the looks of it. The whole thing looks like it was just some sort of accidental collision."

Meikurai could only puff another funnel of smoke from his mouth as his eyes bore down Rukia's, then cooly at the screen, showing Braeburn methodically take the bodies out of sight, "It seems that he made sure to hide the bodies from the initial scene of the crime. When D.C.O. found their agents, they were sent down river of Yurei Okuko, close to where a abandoned hovel the Ahijados once used as a hideout. The bodies had multiple sword wounds with random abandon to the pattern, they were almost unrecognizeable until we took out the capsules assigned to each field agent," he took out his pipe, rubbing his eyes as he sighed.

"The only problem is that this only implicates him in their murder. It doesn't tell us anything about what his motives are in Yurei Okuko, or why he decided to appear now in the middle of a war zone, ironically the last place anyone ever saw him, and this may have nothing to do with the Ahijados. The only implication I can think of, is the relation to his conflicting religious status back in the Seireitei as a Red Sun philosipher, believing in the divinity of the Red Sun deities known as the Hankami, rather than follow the laws of the Court of Central 46. Its one of the main reasons, or believed to be, for his desertion of the war and abandonment of his post," Meikurai speculated aloud in depth and detail, his brows were knit and his tone matter-of-fact, hiding his irksome feeling for the whole predicament.

"What do you suggest we do with him?" Rukia asked, shifting her gaze back to him and giving him her full attention. She refolded her arms.

Meikurai tapped his pipe along the handrest while swinging his chair around to fully face Rukia, placing a hand against his jaw and leaning into it as he looked calmly at Rukia, "What can we do? Braeburn McTavish is among allies, and this is a delicate situation. For now, we keep an eye on him and focus on our more present danger: The spies within Yurei Okuko's Police Force and the Ahijados pulling the strings."

"Right...."

Letting out a sigh, Rukia allowed herself to stand back up. "I'll keep you updated with information as the situation goes on. I'll see you around, Lieutenant." Once again, she made her way out the door with a calm and collected gait.

"Oi, Kuchiki-chan!" Meikurai called out suddenly in a sing-song voice, the same he used to flirt with her in the first place, pocketing something by his desk and throwing it for her to catch. A ear-piece phone from what it looked like, reminiscent from a blue tooth of the 21st Century.

"Its to keep updated in the even you or I find something and we need each other's help," he gave a playful wink after a few more puffs of his pipe, crossing his arms and awaiting her approval.

The sudden tone abruptly made her stop in her tracks, and she turned her side to him, a cocked eyebrow in a somewhat unamused expression. With almost natural reflexes, she caught the earpiece and held it between her index finger and thumb. When she raised her hand to look at the device, her face was temporarily shielded from Meikurai's point of view.

When she lowered it back down again, she had a deadpan expression on her face. "Hmph." She only rolled her eyes and shook her head a little as she turned around and walked off, pocketing the small headpice as she did so.

Meikurai sweatdropped as she didn't even say thank you for the device he gave her, saying pitifully, "I guess my charms with women have really laxed, haven't they?"

After she left and her Spiritual Pressure was gone, he rested his arms back on the handrests, his eyes staring off into the distance, not looking at anything in particular as he began to be lost in his thoughts. The beeps, clicks, and bubbling noise within the lab of his slowly began to face as his eyes closed, and he began to ponder over everything in his mind, trying find one particular thing that he might've missed.

As everything descended into a eery silence within his mind, fragments of his conversation with Rukia, the inforamtion he's collected thus far, and the evidence presented to him. Something stood out amongst it all...the Mausoleum!

His eyes opened widely, his breath gasped, and he gripped the armrests of his chair before saying aloud, "That's it!" Before his eyes narrowed, and he quickly raised himself off the seat, bringing his Kimono around his uniform again, and refastening his Zanpakuto, thumbing it slightly out, watching the glimmer of his blade before unsheathing it fully, raising it into the air and then bringing it close to divide his face, basking in the smoke filled air his pipe created.

"Mesmerize, Kagasu," he spoke lowly, suddenly a small ripple happened within the specially sealed laboratory, before settling back into normalcy, no one would've suspected a thing had happened. He then moved his Zanpakuto back into its sheathe slowly, the slide of the metal audible in the air and the soft click emanated in the makeshift lab. He then walked slowly out of the eerily lit area, before exiting a secret passage, leaving his lab behind to find out the epiphany he just had.

Plans in motion, Deep breath before the Plunge
"...and by protecting these transmitters, we can succeed in giving most of Yurei Okuko a City-Wide Shield Array, thanks to the Dept. R&D and the Kidō Corps Captain. Now," Shiro finished the debriefing of the defense and tactical battle plan for Yurei Okuko's impending invasion. With them stood the Captain Ryouken and his Lieutenant, now present with all the Sector Commanders and Juugen.

Having upon later about the inevitable departure of Kukkyona as well as his son were preparing to undergo a mission, leaving them two less Soul Reapers for a extended period of time. However, Ryouken proposed to begin immediately getting everyone prepared for battle and the city for its defenses after the evacuations was complete.

Taka Nakanome was among them, having a unlit cigarette in between his lips and his eye looking at the hologram image of Yurei Okuko's landscape, his other eye covered but twitched instinctively, something he never bothered telling anyone or mentioning. He began to see the plan unfold and throughout it had kept a keen eye on Kenta on the seat not too far away from him, considering he was in the Sector next to his their proximity was inevitable throughout this process.

'OF all the dumb luck, I have to be seated next to HIM,' he glared sideways with his only exposed eye, his arms cross, having one leg over the other as the other Commanders began murmuring. 'Well...nothing to ask? I bet you're taking notes in that steel cage of yours so you can botch this and ruin the city, with you and your men remaining to restructure the governement, bastard,' he inwardly growled at him, but allowed to keep his features in check, just staring at him for a minute before looking back at the board and Ryouken who waited patiently beside the large hologram table, with Juushin Igen sitting next to it as well, with Chidori by his side and Shiro presenting the strategy.

These rather tense thoughts were a foil compared to where Chidori and Juushin were at.

If one looked, they would've seen an extremely agitated and annoyed Juushin glaring at the board, with an exasperated Chidori glancing in his direction with her arms folded across his chest. Though he had asked his own questions, he remained silent with that irritated look on his face at the current point in time. He took in a deep breath, grabbing his face with both hands and dragging on it with his fingers in a comical manner before pulling them away, returning to the aggravated expression he had.

Yes, it was for the good of his city.

But damn, it was so boring!

At this action, Chidori just slapped her hand to her face. "He has no idea how much of a jerkhole he's making himself look like right now...." She thought in embarrassment. "Of all the types of leaders that had to be born....why you?"

Shiro, absentmindedly felt the need to have a deadpan face inside his mind, due to his majesty's irritable and bored expressions, producing a untowardly if not negative inspiration for any Commanders of the Yurei Police Force that looked his way. "Your majesty...is that attitude really necessary? These are your Sector Commanders we're debriefing, not a bunch of rag-tag mercenaries! Please show more pride in your position," he practically begged inside his mind, before a hand was raised in the back, a Commander from Sector 7.

A female in fact with blonde hair cropped into a bun behind her head, blue eyes, fair complexion with round cheeks and a desirable body for any average woman to desire. She asked aloud in a frank unsure tone, "Shiro-sama, if I may, what's the effectiveness of the shield array? If its as powerful as you've just explained and, I beg your pardon, as the Soul Reapers claim, how can enemy troops possibly slip through our defenses and possibly destroy them?"

"I have to agree with her," Taka concurred, leaning back in his seat than what would be appropiate, crossing his legs and his arms as he eyed Ryouken in particular, "what exactly is the weakness of such an array shield? What disavantages do we have to cover our bases on?" He briefly looked over at Kenta, completely aware that any weaknesses or flaws in this shield array might be purposely exploited by whatever means he had. Or that's what he would expect from a man like him...unless he had a different idea entirely.

Ryouken cleared his throat before pointing at the base of the shield where it met the ground, "The defense array shield does have one weakness: the ground level is completely transparent and can be stepped through as if stepping through a waterfall. Its about as resilient to artillery and physical power as the rest of the shield, but its at the edge of where the arrays can support its energy to, so its weakest there. We are planning for enemy infantry and shock troops to come through there."

"....concerning this, the simplest method would be to deploy troops and supplies at these weak points." Jūshin said, his irritated expression changing only slightly with a half-lidding of his eyes. "Unless.... there's somehow going to be a problem with that, as well? I might be wrong with that particular notion, but from the way you're speaking, that might be the case here...."

Kenta still continued to remain silent, hands folded and his eyes continuing to look at the board attentively. He had a serene, calm expression on his face as he listened to everything around him, making sure to pick up on the details. Occasionally, he'd raise a hand to scratch his face or nose, but that was the only movements he really made besides blinking.

Ryouken turned towards the king, pausing slightly before saying with a deep inhale of air, "There is...a very small possibility, one with enough Spiritual Energy condensed hard enough can momentarily bypass the top of the shield array. We will already be relying on your unique air force to keep any particular sky-worthy enemies from making that attempt and possibly counterattacking their forces as well, but if one with enough skill could bypass both them and the shield, then they would have nearly free access to the whole of Yurei Okuko," he narrowed his eyes looking to Shiro inquiring quickly, "are nearly all of the gun emplacements operational?"

Shiro nodded, his complexion slightly pale at the thought of an enemy that strong could possibly have free access to the castle to harm his lordship or anything within grasp of the skies of Yurei Okuko. "Yes, the last of the specialized land-to-air gun emplacements around the castle and the surrounding few blocks near it are operational. It should reduce any chances of any possible airborne threats reaching our Majesty or your Kido Captain."

Ryouken then looked over back at Juushin, wondering if he had anything else to add or inquire about.

Taka himself started to become skeptical, seeing that this plan, if thought out well by the Ahijados, could exploit everyone of those factors, and there still could be a number of them that they aren't seeing yet. The problem is, he couldn't think of any himself.

"So the air would be ultimately up to me, then...." Juushin concluded, closing his eyes and nodding. "All right, I understand that. But what would happen in the event that they manage to execute this bypass of our weakness successfully?"

Ryouken looked at the King, a confidence born from years of experience matching that of Kukkyona, saying in a voice of authority, splaying out his gloved hands towards the hologram map again, "That is what the Seireitei Gotei 13's forces are for, your majesty. Located here, here, and here," he pointed to numerical signs in the symbols of inverted triangles spanned near a perfect angled position away from the Castle, designated numbers assigned to them what they are, "is the 4th, 5th, and 6th Divisions. The 4th Division's responsibilities is to tend to your troops' wounded and protect weakened forces of either side, as much as they are able. 5th Division's task is to reinforce the castle's perimeter and any weakened Sector's forces. The 6th Division's priorities is to meet the enemy head-on and counter-attack as necessary. There are...contingency plans ready to be set if it the worst was to come, but," he smiled reassuringly and a confidence radiated from his voice as he clenched his right hand into a fist, "that won't happen!"

Shiro was very satisfied with how Captain Aizen has structured and organized the individual Divisions, tasking them to key points to help reinforce and protect the city where needed as well as tend to the wounded. He was slight concerned at the end about the mentioning of 'continency plans' but other than that, the confidence and experience radiating from this man was certainly a match for the cool, experienced Captain Hayate. With a smile, he turned towards his King and Chidori, nodding with approval and showing no personal questions left on his own behalf.

Taka looked a little skeptical, but he had a slight smirk of being impressed by this Captain. He had hoped to meet personally the Captain that had helped organize the Police Forces around the leader of the conspirators as well as take the fight to them with no injuries other than superficial tatters to his clothes. He chuckled as he shrugged, finding this Captain more than a adequate replacement for the absent Hayate.

Both Chidori and Jūshin looked at each other, contemplated what was just said...

...and grinned in approval before turning back to face Ryouken.

"All in all, then...." The king said. "This sounds like quite the effective battle plan, and I believe we have at least all of our bases covered." Though his tone was formal, the way he spoke radiated his anticipation and his own confidence within the given blueprints. "Don't see any reason for questions on my end.... what bout the rest of you?" He turned his attention to the rest of the deciders in the room.

Taka bowed his head, a thin shadow covered everything above his jawline, a small smile emerged on his face. "Well, war does emerge heroes, and this crazy plan is defnitely going to bore heroes, both living and the dead," he thought inside his head before standing up immediately, slamming his right fist onto his chest over his heart, saying, "Your Majesty, as Police Commander of Sector 4 Overwatch, you have my full support and confidence that the city will not fall! This goes on my word, Taka Nakanome, on my life!"

Soon after, another Commander sat up, repeating a similar gesture, shouting out to Jūshin, "Naya Tsunayoshi, Commander of Sector 9 Overwatch, has also your full support and confidence, your Majesty!" Within moments, a rally of cheers and cries errupted from each and every Commander, all pledging their loyalty, confidence, and support to their homeland and their King that they will win this war.

Shiro smiled, scratching the back of his neck, looking over at Jūshin, saying loud enough for his Majesty and Chidori to hear, "Despite your introduction, you sure inspire a lot of confidence, your Majesty."

Ryouken smiled, crossing his arms at the cheers from the Commanders, "They certainly have a lot of energy. They will make fine leaders for their men to rally behind, that is for certain."

Ryouken's Lieutenant quietly observed everyone from behind the table, silent throughout the entire debriefing and just kept watch over the Commanders and took everything to heart. He was quietly disconcerted by Commander Nakanome's actions, subtle as they were, it only took someone who wasn't as interactive with the meeting to notice that there was something going on between him, and the other Commander Sonoda just across from him. He made sure to keep them within his sight and his awareness, hoping they didn't start a feud or worse down the road.

Jūshin's eyes fell into an upside-down U shape, and he grinned cheerily at Shiro. "The tense and stoic attitude doesn't always dominate the area of morale-boosting, Shiro. Sometimes, you just gotta go crazy!" This caused Chidori to roll her eyes, and she folded her arms across her chest while she directed a somewhat amused expression to him.

"Don't you go "crazy" a little too much?"

Jūshin's expression immediately fell. "Hey...!"

It was here that Kenta's eyes glanced over towards Taka. For a moment, a brief scowl fell over his features as he took in the apprehensive and suspicion-fueled movements for a second. Then, he turned back towards where he had been facing before, letting out a light sigh. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a lighter and a cigarette. Taking the cigarette to his mouth appropriately, he promptly lit it and placed the lighter back into his pocket.

It was his own little gesture of "celebration", in contrast to the loud cheering.

Shiro made a embarassed face, feeling a cloud looming over him of foreboding, "Please don't stop while you're ahead, your Majesty..."

As the Commanders began to talk and discuss with each other, some of them began filing out, with Ryouken and his Lieutenant left with Shiro, Chidori, and Jūshin to wrap things up, a officer with a designated numeral '3' the Sector 3 Overwatch, approached Kenta, bending down and whispering in his ear, saying, "Excuse me, Commander, but I have some urgent matters to discuss with you elsewhere."

"....sure."

There was no cock of the eyebrow, no expression of surprise. Kenta simply narrowed his eyes slightly and, with a slight pause, agreed. Slowly, he arose out of his chair, moving the cigarette around in his mouth before stopping it between his index and middle fingers. After pushing his chair in, he waited for the officer to move first and take the lead.

The officer nodded, saying, "This way," before leading him out of the debriefing room in a calm, casual manner, his hands were at his side and his back straight, common disciplined stature for men under the command of Kenta Sonoda. He didn't look behind himself to confirm his superior was behind him, just merely opening door and left it open without turning around enough for Kenta to grab it and continue onwards, before he moved down the corridor, silent as the grave with the exception of his military-like footsteps and his small sounds of breathing.

Taka narrowed an eye at Kenta, seeing one of his subordinates come by as he was lighting a cigarette INSIDE the debriefing room, something as much as Taka himself loved to smoke refused to light it within meetings or in front of his Majesty. Seeing him do so casually and without any real cheer or comradery with his lit cigarette made his blood boil. He became suspicious of the subordinate whispering to him, only gathering it was not for the ears of the other Commanders to hear, watching him carefully leave the meeting room casually.

"What are you planning," Taka asked, grabbing the tip of his cigarette out of his mouth before looking onwards with a deadly, suspicious glare at the doorway he left out of, "Kenta Sonoda?"

The walk was silent for the most part. Kenta didn't allow himself to speak at all, provided it was all would be just idle chit-chat. His gait was a calm and relaxed one in contrast to the military one that his subordinate carried. He only encouraged disciplined behavior when it was necessary, not all the time. But he didn't make attempts to control his subordinates actions. As he walked behind the officer, he couldn't help but smile slightly at the irony.

The police hated the military, yet the police derived some of their mannerisms from that source.

The officer lead him for a few minutes until they arrived at a deserted office, the blinds closed and the overhead lights were flickering, creating a eery mood from which it became almost like lightning and thunder effects inside a office room.

"In here, Commander," He said as he opened the door first, heading inside and held the door open for Kenta to enter, the majority of the office itself was clean, but was gathering dust on the shelves and desk.

For a moment, Kenta paused in his movements, moving his cigarette idly around in his mouth and hands still in his pockets. Then, he stepped inside, eyes wincing at the aggravating overhead light. As he allowed himself to step in, he slowly turned and stepped aside for the other man to enter.

"There now," the man's voice suddenly relaxed, changing from a crisp nearly military voice, to that of a chilling higher pitched tone, the officer smiled widely, unbecoming for someone of his stature or earlier attitude, "now we are free to talk, Kenta-kun."

"....typical."

The sudden change of tone didn't phase Kenta any. It was from the simple phrase "In here, commander", that had set him off to something suspicious. He had trained his men with discipline and taught them to respect his authority. So when a simple command used when it wasn't needed immediately sparked off his alarm senses. It was something that his intellect had a habit of acquiring.... even if it may have been out of paranoia.

At least he had been correct....

"Take me to some dark room before confronting me...." He continued to speak, using a firm and formal tone even when his words were probably taunting. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

"Now now, Kenta-kun," the man's voice changed until it hit a nearlypassive twisted tone, the appearance all over began to change as well. As if a curtain of rainbow particles began to dissipate, muscular arms changed in size and composition, clothing changed from uniform of kempt and perfect cleansliness to a peculiar black garbed long sleeved jacket with a fur collar that showed off his sternum and part of his chest matching black pants and boots below. Finally the skin tone went from a medium fair to a pale gray complexion, with a sinister pair of light blue eyes and a face that Kenta wouldn't forget, "is that any way to treat an old friend?"

"Oh....right. Of course, it would be you, wouldn't it?" It was here that Kenta pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and tossed it into a nearby garbage can. Once again, he placed both of his hands within his pockets and gave the man in front of him a slightly stoic but mostly serene stare.

Tenshi chuckled, unphased by the stare and comment made by Kenta, closing his eyes as he waved his left hand to the side, brushing his blonde bangs in emphasis, "My my, Kenta-kun...that's all I get after 3 months?" he then stared back, a wide thin smile donned on his face as stared back at him, "and such a scary face. So deliciously calm with such a delicate sinister motive behind it. You're a man after my own heart," he put his left hand over his bare part of the chest, making a eerily comical love-dope face.

"Don't make this an awkward moment, Tenshi...." Kenta said bluntly, folding his arms across his chest. "That would give me even more of a reason to call in security."

"Don't be like that, Kenta-kun," he smiled, dropping his love-dope expression, changing it to a sheer sadist smile, saying, "We both know that if I was your enemy, there wouldn't have been time for you do so! But," he simply looked at him seriously, the smile thin and his voice collected now, "I came here to talk about buisness. What's the Soul Reapers planning? I didn't expect so many Captains to be here and from what I've scouted out so far, they're using some sort've devices scattered through the city..."

It was a matter of choosing words. Kenta knew that telling him outright would expose the two to outside sources. But staying too confined from the man would ultimately keep him too oblivious. He put on a small smirk, tilting his head to the side. "You really came all this way to wonder about a plan....?" He asked, somewhat incredulously. "You came to the wrong guy. My mentor did teach me that plans are, in the end, ultimately worthless." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a black pocketwatch with strange inscribings on it.

"Oh really? Then how do you want to explain why there's a laboratory being monitored by a Lieutenant that's being masked by Kido barriers that not even I can penetrate without being discovered?" His smile faded, his eyes glaring at Kenta for being vague, crossing his arms, a barely visible bladeless sword hilt and guard was seen in right hand, while his other gloved hand folded into and underneath his other arm's sleeve. If Kenta knew anything from working with Tenshi, it was when he wasn't smiling, he was deadly serious.

"Because he...." Kenta began to pace around the room, raising one of his hands for emphasizing purposes. "...is one of these planners. He believes that there is some hope if he controls the battlefield. That's what every one of them are thinking. But if you truly believed in the religion of Red Sun, then you wouldn't care for planning or tactics or any of those other pathetic attempts to puppet their worlds. Even if all of those radicals under your command die without a plan...."

He stopped, lifting the black pocketwatch up and dangling it by its chain. On the front, the Red Sun symbol could clearly be seen. "....they'll simply be profiting to your cause, either way."

"Hm, Red Sun is the ultimate Truth, Kenta-kun! Don't forget that for a moment," he smiled and splayed his hands across his face in a manic form of emphasis, "because ultimate destruction, is the true form of giving birth to perfection and eternal life! For that, is what will make the Plinial Movement necessary and that's why no one, not Soul Reapers nor Hollows will keep us from our goals! Creating Utopia through absolute destruction!" He clenched his left hand into a fist, and began cackling aloud, his high pitched laughter reverberating through the room, the light flickering eerily off and on, giving a impression of a true slasher movie with the villain laughing in the wake of near victory within his grasp.

If anything, Kenta's grin grew to a more normal level. "Indeed...." He said lightly after the insane laughter subsided. With an elegant flip that he would've treated a balisong, he stuffed the watch back into his pocket. "Which is why I tell you not to worry about the plan. Just...." He closed his fists, brought them up to eye level, and thrust them out partially, his gesturing fists bursting open. "Do. Attack with everything you have, pound at their defenses until there is nothing left. When all of it is over, nothing will remain, and everything will be thrown into the midst of chaos. You have nothing to fear."

"Heh, isn't it our luck that word of the 6th Division's Captain and his brat are going to Hell itself?! With their numbers dwindling, I can commence the invasion ahead of schedule," Tenshi said with a thin smile, his eyes narrow and predatorial.

"See that you do..." Kenta said smoothly, placing his hands in his pockets. "Every advantage is necessary...."

Tenshi chuckled, saying aloud, "I heard some ruckus in the Rukon outskirts wehre our little project went awry. Unfortunately our weapon was disposed of and even it failed to capture it. I guess that's what happens when V-14 gets involved," he smiled nonchalantly, before twirling his bladeless sword hilt, "guess we'll have to make do with them after all, those special creations we've been working on."

"....you make a habit out of talking pointlessly, you know that?" Kenta questioned him with a blunt tone, a slightly annoyed expression crossing over his face. He was getting the impression that Tenshi was just speaking to hear himself talk. Maybe he wasn't.... but Tneshi, especially in times of victory, seemed like a braggart more than anything else.

Tenshi laughed deviously, narrowing his eyes and smiling widely, saying with a chuckle in his voice, "There's always a purpose in my actions, Kenta-kun. Don't forget that, or it might cost you your ignorant life, hehehe! But I digress," he raised up his Zanpakuto hilt up and swiped it to the side, an invisible force caused the floor to be scratched up by something resembling a blade, but wasn't, "you want to go back lying to people's faces and putting on the 'simple hero' act. I'll go and lurk in plain sight with no one seeing me, but everyone not seeing your true self and being right in front of their eyes."

Tenshi's body began to ripple, small blue particles began to dissipate his form, and he slowly began to disappear into thin air, more or less. "Oh by the way, Kenta-kun," he narrowed his eyes, sideglancing him with a eery shadow cast over his facial features as his body began to disappear, "if you ever try and cross me, I'll kill you, okay? By bye, now," with a mock salute with his sword hand, he disappeared, leaving Kenta alone in the light flickering, dusty office, finally alone without the clever, manic Soul Reaper to deal with.

There was a moment of silence.

As the lights flickered on and off his head, Kenta closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. "It's gonna take more than words and guns..." He began to sing lightly to himself, a slightly upbeat tone in his voice in order to fit the song he was singing. "A whole lot more than riches and muscle....."

As he opened the door and stepped into the hallway again, he pulled out the black pocketwatch and looked at the cover.

"The hands of the many must join as one...."

He slid the watch back into his pocket before shutting the door behind him, walking back the way he came.

"....and together we'll cross the river."

"Sonoda!" A voice called out as he walked for a minute. The shadow covered and partially illuminated figure of Taka Nakanome walked out in the middle of the hallway, the windows of the castle's southeast view in grand, plain sight, the cloudy skies cracking in occasional rays of light, illuminating partial areas of the hallway while darkening the rest of it. Taka's eye glowed eerily yellow as he snarled at him, tightening his fists as he asked pointedly, "what's your game, Sonoda?!"

"....Commander Nakanome, you should know better than to act in such a manner. It's highly unbecoming of a leader."

Kenta allowed himself to stop at the harsh voice of his fellow commander, raising his head up to look him directly in the eyes. The harsh yellow of the implant met serene, blue eyes, yet both sets seemed to carry the same intensity towards each other. Although Kenta's voice held a calm and casual tone about itself, there was a certain coldness that could be easily blended in and be recognized as a mixed-signal threat.

"You of all people would know what's unbecoming of a leader, having served under such a man such as Damian Seken," Taka said it with a narrowed eye, the said artificial implant dampened in glow, showing his normal blue eye but was glaring all the same, a slight grim smile adorned his veteran features. He hoped he landed a small, but brutal blow emotionally to a man who had served in the Yurei Civil War.

It worked.

For a brief moment, Kenta's upper lip twitched for a second - a momentary break of his serene composure. But it was only for a moment. He spoke readily, keeping his tone. "Did you just come here to insult me?" He questioned. "Although it's easy to acknowledge how worthless your "cold war" tactics on me are, we have more important things on our shoulders.... or did you not listen when the Shinigami were speaking of this society's potential demise?"

"Oh, did you actually know I was there? I was too busy interacting with the Soul Reapers and actually being optimistic in my men and their capabilities, while you sat there, uncaring and cold, just like your old master," he sneered at him before he cocked his head, walking slowly towards Kenta, "it almost sounds like you're sure that we will lose. That's a little pessimistic if it was anyone I knew and trusted, but for you," he narrowed his eye, growling under his breath, barely audible, "it sounds like you're planning for us to lose, doesn't it?"

"This is war, commander." Kenta reminded him, a slightly scolding manner within his voice. He held his ground, refusing to be intimidated by the man in front of him. "This isn't some sort of TV show where the good guy automatically wins. Faith and optimism, victory is not attracted by. The more optimistic you are, the more foolish and arrogant you are likely to become. So save me your pointless lectures about optimism, because I'm an individual of logic, not blind patriotism."

"Blind, huh?" Taka closed his eye, breathing slowly before opening his eye again, briefly thinking about that time when he lost half of his vision, "you must be really disillusioned if you think patriotism is blind. Why bother joining the Police Force, Sonoda, if you're more military and dispassionate about our land and people? Courage in the face of certain doom, Compassion to the Fallen and Weak, Honor to those who've given their lives or fought valliantly, Respect to your Leader's Wisdom, and Undying Loyalty to your land and people; that's what it means to be part of Yurei Okuko's Police Force, Sonoda!" He yelled out to him, then pointed at him with a gloved finger, glaring daggers at him, "don't forget YOU'RE King made us remember that, the first time the reorganization of the Police Force was formed, Sonoda!"

"What do you think I've been giving?"

The volume of Taka's voice caused Kenta's eyes to narrow to a clearly angered level. The blue in his ice seemed to reflect the ice of his voice. "My courage, my compassion, my honor and respect.... it's not to the government or some decorated flag. It's to the people of this society and their lives within. It doesn't take patriotism to have those qualities, commander. So I would appreciate it if you didn't make such foolish and narrow-minded remarks. I'd also appreciate it if you stepped aside and stopped this pointless confrontation. It's wasteful for both of us."

"Bastard," Taka growled out, his body only a mere 3 meters away, and he could feel rage boiling inside of him for this traitor they have in the Police Force. He then lunged at him, rearing a fist to smack into Kenta's face, growling out, "what the Hell are you planning, Sonoda?!"

"Enough!" Suddenly, as the fist was within mere inches, a dark blue on black blur with flowing hair 'stepped' in between Sonoda and Taka, grabbing the latter Commander's wrist with a swift grab, his own strength held the fist at bay.

"Stay out of this, Tategami!" Taka growled out, still trying to force his fist forward, despite making no progress at all.

"You're embarassing your King by acting like this, Commander Nakanome," Shiro said simply, a cool gaze reflected off of Taka's now glowing eye.

It was fortunate that Shiro had intervened - for if the man turned, Kenta had not only performed a quick-draw of his gun, but now had the barrel aimed at what would've been Taka's legs. He held that position for a moment, continuing to speak directly to Taka (albeit he had been surprised by Shiro's intervention). "Remember your place, commander...." He stated, twisting his revolver around his finger at a quick speed before sheathing it within its holster. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he moved past the two of them and walked off. "And I can tell you right now.... it's not with me."

"Dammit!" Taka swore aloud, glaring past at Kenta, his glowing eye followed his movements past him, walking so calm and sickeningly taunting at him, he couldn't stand it. He moved to reach for his sidearm, but suddenly heard Shiro speak, causing him to pause.

"Do you really want to disgrace yourself in front of guests from the Seireitei, dishonor your post and your Majesty so carelessly, Nakanome? Then I suggest you don't use that overkill for a sidearm," Shiro said softly, but held a stern tone with him, his red eyes narrowed at him, almost daring him to try and do the unthinkable.

But...unlike Kenta, knew when to respect his authorities, at least he thought so in his mind. He let his body go less tense, and released his fists, but his brows were still knitted as he grit his teeth.

"Tategami, sir. I-"

"Don't mention it and I won't," Shiro said releasing his arm and began walking away from Taka, the latter suddenly aware of a Seireitei Soul Reaper leaning against the wall of opposite of the windows pouring in small quantities of light, "if it wasn't for a quiet, yet attentive Soul Reaper, you probably would be going to lead your men with a hole in your leg."

"You really should watch where you point your guns, Taka."

If they looked up towards the ceiling, they would've seen Chidori abruptly appear. Despite the tense aftermath left behind, it was a comical sight to see the assistant of the king standing with her arms folded across her chest and her hair hanging towards the floor with a cocked eyebrow and a slight frown on her face. "I always assumed that the rivalry was between police and military.... not police and police...." She commented lightly, her gaze towards Taka mostly.

Taka looked up, giving a blank comical look at her, asking, "How did you get up there, Chidori-san?"

Shiro turned around, crossing his own arms, a few feet away from Senshi's cool, dispassionate gaze looking at Taka, the prior asking him in a semi-demanding tone, "What's gotten into you, Taka? One moment you're acting rationally and compelling your fellow commanders to fight courageously and boosted their morale when most needed. Next I see you about to slug another Commander in the face while disregarding the shot he would've placed in your leg-"

"To answer both of your questions, respectfully," Taka cleared his throat, before he looked coldly back at Shiro and briefly up at Chidori, "that so-called Commander was a former student of Damian Seken, fighting for the tyrant's side of the war! So yeah, I guess you could say this IS a rivalry between military and police..."

"Oh....right...."

With a slightly annoyed look on her face, Chidori allowed herself to backflip off of the ceiling and land on the ground. She directed her gaze to Taka, carrying herself in a lighter tone than Shiro. "Even our rivals know when to knock it off." She reminded him, emphasizing it with a light backhand slap to the center of the man's chest. "To be honest, I don't know what's the thing going on between you and Kenta.... but losing your cool like that's just going to make you look like a bad guy instead of him. You just can't go around flying off the handle like that."

"Maybe if acted like the Commander he's supposed to be, then I wouldn't-" he began, before he bit down on his tongue, realizing what he was saying before sighing, looking downwards with a downtrodden tone in his voice, "I've fought and bled for this city, for this society, and he can't even acknowledge the heroes who've done the same but didn't make it back. This eye," he raised his left hand over the eyepatch, hovering over it but never touching it, "is my tribute among other things to rebuild this great city in a righteous sovereignty. I've never seen him nor anyone under his command ever sacrifice anything in the name of our nation. He's never been sincere with me or anyone in his life, not even when off duty does he come out with a honest carefree spirit. He's a danger to us all, and I'm ironically the only one who can see that!" He gave out a grit teeth, rough tone, his eye looking at them desperately to make them understand why he is what he is around Kenta.

Shiro looked down, not knowing exactly the words to say to a man who's sacrificed so much and have problems with a man who he sees hasn't done anything for his nation.

The passion in Taka's voice seemed to soften Chidori's calm gaze. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh, shaking her head a little. "There are some things in which the eye alone can't percieve and first impressions don't prove." She said softly, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. "Just because someone holds a different mindset than another does.... doesn't call for the need to immediately brand that person as an outcast. That's all I can really say to you....but think about it." With a few pats, Chidori gently moved past him. "That being said, I must be off. You'll know where to find me...." With a Flash Step, she had vanished into thin air.

"Taka," Shiro said softly, looking at him less condenscendingly before nodding to him, "I can't say it any better than Chidori-san has, but I just want you to know your actions have not gone unnoticed. Just because someone else is lacking in where you see them, doesn't mean they don't deserve their post. Just letting you know," he turned to leave waving at him as he walked away, "I'll be anxious to see how your Sector fairs against the upcoming battle, Commander. Make us proud," and with that, he Flash Stepped away, leaving him alone with Senshi.

Taka sighed, looking at Senshi questionably before the latter, usually silent Soul Reaper responded, "Tell me something. Exactly how dangerous would Commander Sonoda be if he was the enemy?"

Taka lowered his eye, closing it briefly before he reopened it, saying, "Among those who aren't death gods, he's a force to be recokoned with, and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't let even higher powers best him. He's stubborn, cunning, and deceptive, knows how to cover his tracks and how to make alibis. All in all, because I know he's an enemy, he's the most dangerous man in Yurei Okuko next to my Majesty."

"I thought so," Senshi said with a eery, cool tone before he too leaned off the wall and walked away, not saying another word, leaving Taka to tighten his fists in silence, before moving in the opposite direction, anxious to help secure his sector and lead his men.

Damn my hate for that bastard, if I'm going to die I might as well die standing on my feet beside my men, fighting for my nation and my King, Taka thought to himself with confidence as his dark brown garbed form disappeared from the corridor, once again leaving it empty and eerily lit.

Plots unfolded, Black Truths within White Lies
Meikurai immediately knew he had to distract any enemy intel and the mole(s) within Yurei Okuko so he set out a decoy version of himself, towards Royal District, northeast of the Castle, occupuing any intel by collaborating Police Forces. The real him, had contacted Rukia Kuchiki via communicator, telling her to meet her discreetly at the back entrance to the Mausoleum.

Meikurai's kimono fluttered as a small gust of wind blew by, his bangs flowing across his brow as well as sending smoke in its wake from his lit pipe, his left hand holding onto his Zanpakuto's hilt tightly with it sheathed, but ready for any conflict that could possibly happen.

However, despite the tense stance, he was talking in a comical tone, "C'mon, Kuchiki-chan! Its not like I was asking you out on a date or wanting to secretly make out with you in a dark alley, I need you now," he tapped his tower clog sandals impatiently, waiting for the Soul Reaper rep of Yurei Okuko.

"Yes, because that would be all the reason needed to stay away longer...."

The blunt tone of Rukia came from behind him. If he turned around, he would have seen a deadpan look of comical annoyance, her arms folded across her chest. "I hope you weren't getting any inappropriate ideas while you were waiting, Shiomaneki-san."

A sweatdrop came down his brow as he turned around, smiling sheepishly as he raised his hands up in his defense, "No no no, Kuchiki-chan, I wouldn't dream of anything inappropiate in my mind when it comes to you."

"...uh-huh..." Following that skeptical remark, Rukia immediately reverted back to a serious demeanor, her eyes focusing for a moment on the Mausoleum. "What are we in for?"

Meikurai let down his hands, turning around while exhaling another puff of his pipe, crossing his arms as he looked at the Mausoleum, "For the moment I'm not sure. Call it a hunch, if you will, but there's something underlying the meaning of this landmark that I'm not even sure the dead are aware of."

Rukia nodded in acknowledgement, looking over the structure for a moment. It was amazing that it had been rebuilt in such a short time span. The construction was certainly worth more than they looked. She walked over to the back entrance, pressing her hand on the door and looking over it for a moment. She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. "Well, I guess going in and seeing what's up would be a good place to start, then...." She said. "Unless, you have any objections...?"

"Investigating the inside was part of the plan, Kuchiki-chan," he said matter-of-factly, puffing a few more breaths of smoke flowing into the air before dissipating. He walked over to the entrance, putting his hand onto the handle and opened it just part-way, winking at Rukia.

"After you, my lovely lady," he said in a eloquently practiced, gentleman-tone, making sure he had a handsome smile and dazzling twinkle in his eye.

....ok, she had to admit it.... his action was rather charming.

Not to mention that the smile and the twinkle just added onto the desired effect.

Therefore, she had to smile and chuckle, accepting the polite gesture and walking through the door. "You're such a gentleman...." She commented lightly, stepping through the doorway and stopping for a brief moment to make sure he was following right behind her. Then, she turned back around and kept walking, a composed gait about herself.

Meikurai closed the door behind himself, then calmly walked behind Rukia at a even pace, still smoking his pipe as they walked in. His tower sandals clapped quite loudly upon the very surface which Captain Hayate and Primera Selestino were just months before, and the very center of the chamber, as they saw on recording, where Braeburn McTavish slaughtered the D.C.O. field agents in self-defense or retaliation, either one bad for the former individual.

He then smelled the air, dousing out his pipe as he furrowed his brows, uttering aloud, "Odd...this isn't right..."

"What is it....?" Rukia turned her head back over her shoulder in order to look at him, eyebrows slightly furrowed at his sudden statement.

Meikurai put away his pipe, taking out his shades that hung loosely at the collar of his uniform, and unflipped them, a high-pitched whining sound emitted from them, showing a low green glow from the inside of the lenses, reflecting off his skin as he moved them onto his eyes, "There's something odd about the residual Spiritual Pressure here. Can't you feel it?"

He then showed by example raising his right hand out in the air, not pointing to anything specific to the eye, but what the shades detected was a blue glow of what was assumed to be where Braeburn stood. He emitted a small amount of spiritual energy himself, a neon green glow as he felt the spiritual energy there at its rawest form. When his hand floated over it, it crackled lightly, like the shorting out of a bulb with no source of its own, and then grasped it before it turned red, dissipating through the cracks of his fingers.

"According to my files...there is a remnant of Braeburn's Spiritual Pressure here, but there's something else. Something that wasn't confirmed by Captain Hayate and Lieutenant Hayate," he spoke aloud his hand continuing to find slight traces of blue energy with his neon green glowing hand occasionally causing sparks where Braeburn stood and low hums from where other Spiritual Pressures were as he walked around the room, circling the reconstructed coffin centerpiece of the Mausoleum.

Rukia's mind flashed back to the tape that she had seen earlier. The only people that she had seen other than Braeburn was the D.C.O. operators. Yet, from the way he spoke, he wasn't referring to them. She walked towards a nearby seat of an empty pew and sat down in it, keeping her gaze on him. She remained silent, trying to think about what he had just said. "....do you think that there was some sort of illusion ability cast here, in order to lead potential investigators off-track?" She questioned him.

"Initially, that would be a plausible cause for a frame-up, if it wasn't for the fact that this device of mine is reading an accurate reading that Braeburn was here. The only problem is that there is an anomaly within this are where Braeburn was seen here," he held out his hands in a demonstrative way, a small red aura showed up when his neon green spiritual energy waved over it, "this is Braeburn's residual spiritual energy trail. However, upon closer investigation," he waves over to the side or a little past it, and suddenly a visual crackle of electric light flashed slightly before disappearing, "there is this anomaly. Before I test something out, Kuchiki-chan, can you tell me what are the 5 known ways to cast an illusion to distort reality or the senses of a spiritual or mortal body?"

Rukia's expression contorted to one of slight surprise at the question. "I'm not really one for guessing games, Lieutenant...." She said lightly.

"Then humor me as this will make sense in a few minutes," Meikurai said with a smile, taking off his shades and hung them at the collar of his uniform and began emphasizing starting with raising one finger, then followed with all of them as he spoke.

"The first way to create an illusion is by Touch. Although not oftenly used there are a few of those that have particular abilities that can cause such effects towards the mind. For instance, someone was to touch a blow torch to the skin, the immediate feeling is not hot, but cold, the nervous system is being damaged so badly that the body starts to view it as cold rather than hot. Thus, the illusion of an extremity to the body causes an illusion to be cast on the target's senses, if only for a little bit.

The second way to create an illusion, is by Taste. You've probably have heard of experiences of citizens or fellow comaptriots of yours on how they've been drinking too much alcohol or they take particular drugs that induce terrific trips or fantasies their mind's eye creates. This is another illusion, by confusing the natural make-up chemical balance within the brain and causing it to secrete too much or too little of the wrong hormone within the blood stream, causing illusions or trips that would cause such phenomenons. You'd be surprised how a few of these illusions have manifested in the powers of their Zanpakuto.

The third way to create an illusion, is by Scent. Similar to the prior sense of the body, by discharging or secreting a particular gas or chemical into the air to be inhaled, it usually causes the immediate persons to be effected unless properly equipped. Unless its genetically targets particular individuals or has a short shelf life, illusions caused by scent usually last for quite some time and are quite dangerous considering they can be nigh invisible most of the time.

The fourth way to create an illusion, is by Sound. By sending out a subliminal message over a news cast or radio station, or creating a specific tune or reverberating sound will cause certain frequencies to alter the make-up of the brain waves, sometimes causing them to see things that aren't there, slowly dissolve brain tissue, knock them unconscious, or even brainwash them. Sound is by far the most dangerous of the illusions, though it takes time and resources to create it.

The fifth and final way to create an illusion, is by Sight. Probably known as one of the most practical and common uses of illusions, people have always used the ability to fool people's sight to control their perspective of reality, even if for only a moment, that power is quite spectacular. There is a few known ways of pulling this off. The most common way, is the set-up of particular guises and/or pieces of evidences to create the illusion you really weren't there, like creating a loop-video on a surveilance camera, or an actor changing from one costume or role to another. The other way, but most difficult to attain is the manipulation of solar particles, or more accurately, light particles. This would effectively confuse most averagely intelligent individuals and even keen eyes wouldn't be able to tell the difference at first or second glance," at the end of his speech, he had somehow attained a tripod with a white sketch pad large enough to show scientific descriptions in a visual format for explanation for Rukia, using his unlit pipe to point out things as he wrote/drew them out.

Not surprisingly, this method of explanation had easily caught her attention, and she made sure to let him know with a comically attentive expression and a vocalization of "Ooooooh!"

Meikurai smiled, tapping the sketch pad again with a audible 'tap' sound 3 times, before he asked Rukia, "Now, if this is truly the works of an illusion, which of these 5 would be most likely to be employed, Kuchiki-chan?"

That was obvious, even without the long explanations. However, they did provide a basis for Rukia in order to explain her belief. After thinking about it, she allowed herself to speak on it. "Well, if I had to say, sight would be employed in the case of the camera footage. Might or might not have been something to do with spiritual abilities, but manipulation or outside hacking prior to my acquiring of it might have had something to do with what we ourselves had seen. As for here.... someone may have attempted to mimic at least Braeburn's spiritual energy as well as physical appearance.... something that have to involve a spiritually empowered being with a considerable level of energy control. However, the being could not do so fully, resulting in the accidental leak of the "foreign" aura mixed in with Braeburn's."

"Very good, Kuchiki-chan," he said with a pleased, dazzling smile before he tapped the text pad again, "you're right on nearly all accounts save for one: Braeburn really WAS here. He just wasn't here the night the D.C.O. agents were killed. There are two different methods of framing a person like that. One, the hacking and falsifying data on surveilance equipment and back-up files, requiring the expertise and technology equal or superior mine. The second, and possibly most disturbing of the two, is the use of spiritual powers. And the only techniques available of that sort are reserved for Soul Reapers, who are more specifically coming from the Stealth Force," he finished, his tone now more foreboding and his eyes furrowed, his gaze far off and unreadable, as if he himself was puzzled or reminiscing on possible people he'd met with that ability.

This revelation struck a chord within Rukia's train of thought, apprehension poking at her. "You don't suppose that there could be people within the Stealth Force attempting to target Braeburn, do you?" She said, her voice showing slight tension. "They have too much of a hold on their members in order to ensure the possibility of defect and rogue activity, after all...."

"No, not possible. If you think the last 2nd Division's Captain was hardcore, the next one is your traditional military-minded, the mission is only what matters, kind of guy. There would be NO exceptions to that, unless...," he drifted off, placing a hand around his chin and stroking it in thought.

"Unless....?" Rukia pressed further in order to push the answer from him.

"There was one who possessed such skill enough to do what has been done here. A man whom everyone thought would inherit the title of Commander-In-Chief of the Stealth Force as well as being the 2nd Division's Captain. However, things didn't work out the way he wanted. In short, the Gotei 13 and him had a falling out, and he's been presumed dead for some time, since we haven't heard anything involving his M.O. or sightings of him at all.

That being said, he's the one Soul Reaper I know who had the most powerful Light-based Zanpakuto, having abilities that could mask his presence and Spiritual Pressure entirely, even able to resonate foreign spiritual pressures at will. With the lack of suspects, we have only two people to blame for the murders and the conspiracy revolving this site. Braeburn, and the man I speak of," he said evasively, not wanting to speak names or encourage Rukia that a man who hasn't been seen in over centuries would be responsible or collaborating with a Cult like the Ahijados. As far as Meikurai knew, he wasn't that kind of man...unless he was properly motivated into doing so.

The Kuchiki looked down for a moment, pondering this new information. Then, she looked back up at Meikurai curiously. "Tell me... how skilled and power are individual D.C.O. operators?" She questioned him.

Meikurai looked at Rukia cautiously, momentarily gnawing his lower lip showing some apprehension and nervousness, before he told her, "I'm not exactly...well what you call priviledged enough to know all the details involved with the D.C.O., but I can tell you what anyone who's been part of the D.C.O. will tell you.

There are 3 rankings which seperate the rosters of all D.C.O. agents, and their skill varies within each of these rankings. The first is the Whisper Squad, those who are specialized in analyzing decripted intel, hacking into foreign systems, and overall saboteurs and spies. Skill-wise, they are the best spies in the Soul Society aside from the Stealth Force. The second is the Shadow Squad, those who are specialized in stealth, recon, and assassination. They have less numbers than the three squads, but have extremely skilled in close-quarters combat and fighting from the shadows. The third and last is the Sword Squad, those who specialize in combat, hit & run tactics, and endurance. They are the best fighters among all of D.C.O., and are usually the most populated, which usually gives way to what the D.C.O. call Reserve Members, those who have duties too important within the Gotei 13 to ignore and will only be called upon during emergency measures.

The Squad the D.C.O. operators belonged to," he looked grimly in Rukia's eyes, "was the Shadow Squad."

What he saw was a calm, pondering gaze in his direction. "But if that was indeed the Shadow Squad...." She said, using his information as a reference. "Then why would they choose to confront him openly instead of striking him from the shadows?" That would have been something within their jurisdiction, at least from how Meikurai told her.

"Normally you would be correct to question this, Kuchiki-chan," Meikurai nodded to her respectively, then he pointed to the limited spacing within the mausoleum, "however, it woudln't be easy for someone to target the person in question. No, the person in question lured them in here full well knowing they would have to get close and assault him at a short distance between himself and them. Because of this, our person question was able to somehow, even though its rare in occurances, surprise his attackers by striking first once they revealed themselves. Then that left them all completely surprised by sheer skill and ferocity of our target in question," Meikurai explained, coming up with this theory was more than a simple possibility and he knew that Braeburn, despite his history as a accomplished Soul Reaper, wouldn't willingly lead people to their murder. It would explain why there was a foreign presence among Braeburn's residual Spiritual Pressure.

This explanation caused Rukia to fall silent, her eyes looking away in a slightly troubled expression. "So that would mean someone is attempting to frame Braeburn...." She said solemnly, switching her gaze back to Meikurai. "How would we go about warning the others of this?"

"Warn them?" Meikurai said in a soft, incredulous voice, looking at Rukia with narrowed eyes and studying her reaction, "exactly what would that accomplish? We have no solid proof that our attacker in question is who we think he is. For all we know, this is an unknown entity with even greater power than we suspect. No, that is not the full reason for coming here regardless, Kuchiki-chan."

This rendered the Kuchiki silent - a nonverbal indication for Meikurai to go on.

Meikurai nodded, seeing that Rukia would not say anything and waiting for him to continue, he walked casually over to the centerpiece coffin, walking around the pedestal that held it up, surprisingly most of it was intact from the Cero blast that the assassin 666 caused. Meikurai let his hand touch the symbols etched at the base of the pedestal, his glassese adorned once more, his optics saw something of a code within the pressed stones, speaking while he touched them, "The 2nd reason we came here is to verify Braeburn's reasons for being here to begin with. If we have THAT information, Kuchiki-chan, then we will have sufficient data not only valid of his innocence, but also what the enemy may or may not be up to," after pressing the buttons correctly through the first time, ancient mechanisms could be heard rumbling underneath the raised sarcophagous, and gradually the piece of marble and stone moved in a meticulous fashion, causing there to be a stairway leading around the sarcophagus, lowering deep into the bowels of the Mausoleum.

"Wow," Meikurai let out, his voice carrying into the depths of the stairway, deeper than he would've thought it to be, "that's quite the secret passageway. Would you know anything about catacombs of this city, Kuchiki-chan, or is that before your time?"

"How did he--"

Rukia's eyes widened immediately out of surprise, and she stood up in a reflexive but natural movement. Her mouth was agape slightly as she walked over to him, blinking a few times in order to make sure that what she had seen wasn't just a figment of her imagination. Then, she narrowed her eyes slightly in disbelief, directing her gaze towards Meikurai. "I didn't even know that was there...." She said calmly, but her tone was laced with question.

"I don't anyone but the enemy and Braeburn knew this was here," Meikurai said calmly, his voice in supposition and careful deduction, his hand stroking his chin as he took off his shades to hang them on the hem of his uniform, "That's why Lieutenant Daisuke and Sakura-chan found this place with the most powerful supporters of the Ahijados here, and why they preferred to be here, a place that was already cleared out by one of the Police Commander's forces. And before that, it was the location of a murder of D.C.O. operators, and residual Spiritual pressure of Braeburn."

"Assuming Braeburn doesn't fall into the category of "enemy"...." Rukia added dryly, expression falling to a more normal look. She made the steps to go ahead of Meikurai and down the stairway as she had done before, her eyes looking around. "And assuming you don't, either...." She thought to herself as an additional note, making it a necessity to keep in mind what she had seen.

Meikurai got up, noticing her wary expression when mentioning Braeburn as an enemy, keeping in mind that she could also mean a number of other people as well; including himself.

'''Well then, let her be cautious. It will just make her all the more useful for my investigations on discovering what the Ahijados are planning, and to see any plans the Espada Afilado have with them as well'',' Meikurai thought as he got up and walked to the stairway, walking casually behind her, his clog-sandals clapped noisily behind her as he descended with her into the slowly darkening stairway, illuminated slightly by old-grade lamps and candles still kept alight. Whoever has been using this passage in the Mausoleum, is still using it presently, something that made Meikurai wary of any traps or ambushes capable of happening within the end of the stairs.

"My my, this place sure smells. I wonder what they've been using for preserving the dead down here," Meikurai resumed a more comical, casual tone, his face drawing back onto a disgusted appearance and he waved his right hand over his mouth and nose in emphasis of the dank smell of preservatives and chemicals used to preserve the dead bodies.

"Whatever it is...." Rukia did not bother to hide her own disgust at the smell, albeit she refrained from expressing it with gestures. "It's not working if the chemicals smell worse than the actual bodies..." Her eyes were still wandering around the stairway, her own mind anticipating the possibility of potential traps.

As they descended further, Meikurai could not help but notice with a look at the walls there were built-in sarcophaguses, coffins lining the very walls with every 10 meters holding another body in the stone coffin, and in between them were runes, symbols, and pictures painted in what looked like stories and depictions of the Red Sun and its followers.

Meikurai could not help but run his hand across the surface of the dusty, rough stone surface, looking almost entranced by the depictions and stories held within them, "This...almost seems like this was here when Yurei Okuko was first built...its old, and is showing stories and tales of the dead, and most commenorated followers of the Red Sun and how it connects with Yurei. I can understand why the Ahijados would use this passageway as more than a secret route into Yurei...it seems to connect to their very beliefs as well," he spoke in awe and fascination, his voice lifted with enthusiasm and spirit of enjoyment he never thought this investigation would bring.

His astonishment brought a slight smile to Rukia's face. She looked over towards the symbols, allowing her mind to drift to what she herself knew about Red Sun. "Beautiful, isn't it?" She remarked. "This is what the violence and unethical nature of the cults have overshadowed. Underneath it all, the more remarkable traits and positive attributes remain." She looked over her shoulder at him. "Not really surprised that it's been here as long as it's been... religion has been around as long as civilization has, after all."

"Can't believe each of these deceased had such colorful tales of what they witnessed and beheld during their liftimees. These pieces of art and culture makes the Red Sun scrolls look like the sheer dark side compared of what the Red Sun started out as, and as well as the followers. It almost seems the foundation of Red Sun philosophy started in this nation, this city being built in honor for their 'gods' and they walked among them as equals," he smiled back at her, occasionally looking back at each new piece of story-covered wall and the strange runes that came with them. They seemed to be counting down though, the younger sarcophaguses being above them and the ones they see are dated to be far older.

"These runes...they seem like a calendar that was found used several months ago, where your men found the cultists drawings on them," he said with wondering and puzzlement, how this could be connected with the incident months ago.

"A calendar?" Rukia mused, frowning slightly. "The countdown to each religion's paradise always comes with one...."

"More than likely this is just an account of all the history of the people of Yurei Okuko and the Red Sun Deities. It seems that there was at one point in time hundreds of Hankami, all of them having specific tasks to carry out for the World of the Living and the Spirit Realm of Yurei Okuko. But...its unclear, but something happened to the Demi-deities," Meikurai continued as they entered deep into the stair way, the air became colder and the stench less concentrated, his sandals clicked and clapped against the surface of the aging stairs.

The effects did not go unnoticed. Rukia could see the frost of her breath as they descended deeper. Her arms were clutched to her chest in an attempt to keep herself warm, and she shivered slightly. It was a side effect of having such a petite frame. Despite wielding a Zanpakuto made of ice, it did not mean that she could get used to it easily. "The Red Sun deities have far too much power, though...." She said, her voice slightly shaky due to the cold. "Far too much power to be exterminated by the likes of the Shinigami or Hollow...."

"As beautiful as these stories are illustrated, its not precicely clear what caused their demise. From what's been repeated so far from the last 12 sarcophaguses, it seems like their was a war amongst the Hankami themselves, and the people of Yurei Okuko picked sides, causing a devestating era for them...but it doesn't say anything worthy of details or accuracy, unfortunately," Meikurai said with a tad of frustration, his intrigue gathered from the unexpected cultural marvel drawn and carved into the bowels of Yurei Okuko's foundations themselves.

Meikurai breathed out frosted precipitation in the air of his own, but was less shakily, for some reason or another, but looked onward to Rukia's shivering frame. He walked up to her, while flourishing his blue kimono off his shoulders and then around her lithe, petite frame, hoping his own body heat and the warm coat would warm her up, "Here you go, Kuchiki-chan. I think its going to be a little colder before the stairs end," he said with a soft smile and sincere warmth in his eyes, his arms squeezing her shoulders tenderly showing his empathetic affection towards her.

The sudden contact made Rukia's eyes widen, and she turned her head towards him out of reflex. Under the sudden surge of heat, her body relaxed, and she found herself a bit more comfortable than she had been before. "Th....thank you...." She allowed herself to say softly, giving a weak smile of gratitude. She turned her face away so that he wouldn't see her cheeks flushing a little at his gesture of generosity. After all, she didn't want to give him a reason to break the moment by teasing her.

"Your welcome, Kuchiki-chan," Meikurai said with a bright smile, before walking over to join her on her right, walking down ahead, looking around at the corner ahead, seeing no sarcophagus, "it seems that the end of the stairs is just down below."

"Right..." Rukia muttered in confirmation, taking a slightly deep breath and mentally preparing herself for what she was about to see. Though she made no move to draw her Zanpakuto, her mind was on the alert. They were approaching the final area, and anything could happen.

Meikurai walked ahead, his hands held casually to his sides, also not moving towards his Zanpakuto, but had the decency to unfold his shades and don them as he closed in on the distance, "There's residual Spiritual Pressure here that's not Braeburns'...it feels like Arrancar's and Soul Reaper's however. Stay on your toes," Meikurai said in a experienced, commanding tone, as he approached what looked like an ancient, stone door, with the same runic symbols for buttons that were found around the Mausoleum sarcophagus pedestal.

"I'm guessing the only ones who activated this door, knew the code. Once again, these runes look like dates from the Yurei Okuko calendar of old," Meikurai mused as he clicked and clacked his sandals against the stairs until he stood before it, cupping his chin as he looked onwards at the buttons and the residual 'finger prints' left by the people who used it last. Surprisingly, its been freshly used.

Once at the door, Rukia stopped in her tracks, eyes narrowed and a frown etched on her face. She remained silent to Meikurai's observations, choosing only to listen to them. Once again, she did not make a move to draw her Zanpakuto. If any potential enemies were watching, they would easily see that she was prepared if she did so. The last thing she wanted to do was make her opponents aware of their thoughts....

"This...that...this...that...and this one," Meikurai spoke to himself as he touched the used buttons, then witnessed to the door lifting its locks off both the top and sides, before dropping to the recess in the ground below, "haha! That did it. Come, Kuchiki-chan," Meikurai walked into the room that followed, it was lit by small candles and outdated lamps, casting a eery yellow and red glow within the stone faced wall and floor room. What lied around showed tables of old wooden make with specialized texts copied from a Red Sun scroll and blueprints lying next to them, all of them showing either specialized weapons of war and the layout of Yurei Okuko itself.

"This seems like a laboratory of some sort," Meikurai mused aloud, taking off his shades and hanging them on the hem of his uniform again, picking up blueprints and schematics of sorts, each of them showing revelations of how well the enemy has been informed, planning, and building technology, "I can now understand why Braeburn would try to locate this area. Its a hive of Ahijados illegal tech and gathered information on Yurei Okuko!"

The Kuchiki in question had silently but switfly walked to his side, inspecting the blueprints Meikurai had not picked up. Her hand traced over the patterns in analyzation, and her eyes peered at them. "This.... is quite accurate.... too accurate to be a result of observation and surveillance alone...."

Meikurai caught his breath before speaking, hesitating at first before asking lowly, a dark shadow hung over his eyes as he spoke grimly, "I-Is it possible the Police Commanders could have access to this information?! It seems like its too classified and high priority for any meager officer to obtain."

"That was the case I had been expecting.... and hoping not to be true...." Rukia answered, frowning in disdain and apprehension. Both of her hands were placed on the table, and she was now leaning on it slightly as she continued to look at the blueprints. "That would confirm that there are agents within the police ranks."

"Not good," Meikurai looked at the schematics for what looked like a unique humanoid weapon, made from specialized weapons, armor, and resources only available to-,"it seems like there are a few conspirators within the Military as well...there's no one else I'm aware of that can make this type of firepower with readily resources at their disposal," he grabbed one of the schematics and showed it to Rukia, the thing looked like a cross between a mythological possessed armor with specialized weapons at its bidding.

As Rukia was inspecting it and hearing out his words, her expression shifted to one of slight alarm. There was a hint of that very same alarm in her words. "The military, too?! Just how far has the Ahijados reached into the security?!" Every bit of information was only degrading their situation more and more.

"I can only think of one thing the traitors that are helping the root mastermind behind this could want: a Coup. They plan to overthrow the government in the chaos of the invasion, leaving the rest of the Police Force and Military in shambles to reap the benefits of this war!" Meikurai growled at this revelation, hating that there have been so many unknowns to this whole conspiracy.

Out of the corner of his eye, however, Meikurai saw a video recorder of sorts. It was on a laptop, and it had a specialized webcam built into it, with a previously recorded event already open and available for use. Meikurai walked over to it, musing to himself as he called out to Rukia, "Kuchiki-chan! There seems to be a recording left on here!"

That drew her attention right away, and she was quick to appear at the Lieutenant's side. "Does it still work?" She asked immediately, not bothering to be surprised by it.

Meikurai breathed out another thick, foggy breath before reaching out, fiddling with the keys, "Let's see about that. Such a lousy password...hmmm...aha! Here we go!" He then said in a victoriously low tone, hit the enter button, starting the recording, the voices were mostly recognizeable and the faces for the most part were shadowed while their bodies were illuminated by a eery red glow.

"Is everything going according to plan?" The first voice asked, what seemed to be emanating from a portable TV box, the voice was modified to a degree where it was high pitched and modified so the identity could be kept secret.

"Yes, everything is going exactly as planned, all thanks to Commander Rovino," the Military, wide-shouldered man pointedly emphasized with a gloved hand to the lone female Police Commander.

"I wouldn't have done it without our enigmatic supporter, whom by the way can't help but stand in the shadows every meeting," Commander Rovino said distastefully, a near visible shudder could be seen running through the meaty arms of the Police Commander.

"Its how he likes it, unless you have a problem with the plan altogether?" The first voice through the TV spoke again, a soft hinting of a threat loomed over his tone.

"O-Of course not! As long as Captain Morino doesn't, I don't!" Commander Rovino pointed out to the Military man, whom simply scoffed.

"Then, let me make this official, that starting within 13 days, our operation will begin and by the end of the Invasion of the Ahijados, you my partners, will be head of the new government of Yurei Okuko and the Ahijados will have their new swift holy war they want," the TV spoke, and all at once, the two conspirators with the TV, spoke with conviction.

"Let Paradise Awaken within the new Dawn of the Red Sun! AMEN!"

After that, the recording ended, and Meikurai was left with a sour taste in his mouth. They really believed they could begin a paradise of their own, and Meikurai did not pity the fools, for when their necks meet the executioner's blade, "Well...at least we know the majority of the conspirators...," he said uncomfortably.

Despite herself, Rukia allowed a small smirk to cross her features. "For people attempting to work in secret, they leave behind obvious pieces of evidence." She said in a slightly smug manner. She folded her arms across her chest. "At least this makes our job easier.... at least, somewhat...."

"I'm almost beginning to think that whoever this mystery man in the shadows was, purposely left information on the two named suspects. Probably to divert attention away, if only momentary, from the man speaking in the TV and the shadowy man," Meikurai mused, his gaze wandered off and began taking steps towards a colder part of the room itself, the shadows which the collaboraters were looking at.

Rukia cupped her chin with her index finger and thumb with a thoughful but solemn expression, keeping her gaze onto the laptop. The smirk had faded from her face. "It's going to be difficult for both the police and the military from this point on...." She said softly. "Even if they somehow manage to root out ever spy within their ranks, it won't matter if it leaks out to the public. The civilian populace will lose faith and morale in the government, and even the Soul Society of Japan may lower its own respects of this society." She brought herself to sit down at the seat in front of the laptop, one leg shifted over the other.

"Meaning, even if we take the information with us and confront the moles and traitors, it would play into the enemy's hands regardless. Whoever left this last must've knew what they were doing, unless...," Meikurai began guessing until he saw something off into the far corner. Something hanging by the hands, dark blue hair seen from head, covering a pale face and old bloodstains covering a ragged, burgundy muscle shirt and a pair of tattered cargo pants, with no shoes and socks the bare feet held above the cold surface just mere inches.

"Oh Hell...Kuchiki-chan!" Meikurai called out to her, a look of surprise and worry showed on his face as he was a mere meter away from the confirmed woman, already reaching out to feel her pulse until Rukia could come over or acknowledge him.

"What is it--"

Rukia's words immediately cut themselves off once she had neared him once again, quickly sitting up and running over to where he was. "Oh god...." She muttered, horror written on her features as her gaze fell on the tattered woman. It was all she could bring herself to say at the moment; seeing people held in such manners rendered her too disturbed for words...

"She's alive, but unconscious. Probably due to passing out from her most recent session of torture," Meikurai said matter-of-factly, his lips curled up to a grim look, retrieving his fingers from her neck after noticing that she was alive, "she could be a possible link to this conspiracy, and a witness at that."

Rukia took slow steps towards the woman and reached out to place a hand on her shoulder, looking over her for a moment. She reached out with her senses in order to see how much reiatsu she had within her. A soul's energy was their very life force, so if it was low, so were her chances at continuing to live. Hopefully, that would not be the case. If this was indeed a link to the conspiracy, it was vital that she remain alive--

"Wait!"

When she "caught" the woman's signature, her eyes widened in surprise. She took a reflexive step back. "This.... this woman's not just any soul...." She said. "This is a Gikon, a modified soul!"

Meikurai twirled his head towards her, his own eyes opening in shock, uttering aloud, "What did you just say?! A Mod Soul?!" He took out his shades upon reflex, his fingers activating the specialized lenses as he put them over his eyes, the readings from her Spiritual Energy began to bounce and show irregularities before effectively reading, ' Illegal Spiritron Modification '.

"Dammit!" Meikurai swore aloud, taking the shades off and handing the piece of equipment to Rukia for her to veirfy, "Mod Soul creation or tampering with anything realted to Gikons was deemed unethical and illegal effectively around over one thousand years ago in our Soul Society, the original creator nearly destroyed the Soul Society because of it, discouraging any renewed attempts of the research. However, I've heard rumors and stories of banned researchers or scientists leaving the Soul Society to go to other realms to progress their research and reap the profits from anyone with deep enough pockets and enough power to cover it up. This," he pointedly waved a hand towards the Mod Soul, before crossing his arms and glaring at the thing in front of his eyes, "proves those weren't just stories I've heard about. Know anyting about potential programs within Yurei Okuko that could've led to her...creation...Kuchiki-chan?"

"...only one source." Rukia had once again gained a rather solemn look to her person, only having to glance in the shades and see the words before turning her attention back to the woman. "The military. They've been moving to create better and more efficient soldiers in order to replace the ones lost in the battles of the war. I'm not sure exactly how efficient they are.... but if the Ahijados made it a priority to capture one, I'm sure they're effective enough to give the impression of a threat...."

She walked to the back of the woman and attempted to reach out to the chains in order to get rid of them. However, her short size was limiting her reach capability. In addition, her pride was not giving her permission to jump for it in front of Meikurai. So, she settled for a comical vein on the back of her head. "....this isn't funny." She grumbled, out of the thought that her partner might be laughing or was about to laugh at her.

"If it was from Yurei's Military, then that could mean its is either a defect that was part of the conspirator's plans or its an element they didn't expect and they're holding it for questioning and possible reproduction of its particular skills," Meikurai continued his conversation with Rukia, only noticing that she was less than tall enough to reach the tall woman's full outstretched arms far above her own grasp.

With a slight comical open mouth smile, Meikurai asked in feigned ignorance, "What's wrong, Kuchiki-chan? Can't seem to reach the prisoner? Allow me to help, just to warn you in advance," he then held up a sparking finger, before discharging a unspoken Hado #4 Byakurai spell, the lightning bolt struck the chain and caused it to snap off, briefly and unintentionally jolting shocking spiritual energy into the Mod Soul. However, the Mod Soul happened to fall towards Rukia's direction, the full weight of a limp body came crashing towards her.

Fortunately, Rukia managed to react in time.

With outstretched arms, she caught the woman before she could fall completely to the ground. Under the sudden weight, she managed to keep her balance quite easily. "Either way... she's in our hands now...." She said, careful not to aggravate her injuries too much.

Before Meikurai could quip, a slight coughing could be heard from the Mod Soul, and chapped lips moved steadily but her voice definitely shaking, "W-Where...why are you...here?"

"Be still," Meikurai said commandingly, though not in a kind way as if Rukia was hurt but more in a cold manner, "you won't do us any good if you die on us."

"F'ing hell," she coughed out, looking strained at Meikurai and then Rukia, saying with a paled face, "if...y-y-you're here...then that m-means..."

"Don't strain yourself too much...." Rukia said, voice somewhat stern as to gain the woman's attention. As she spoke, however, she glanced questioningly at Meikurai for his rather harsh tone towards her. "From the looks of things, your captors did quite a number on you, although it's nothing life-threatening. Consider this your prison break-out."

Meikurai rolled his eyes at the vague words the Mod Soul kept spewing, and then stepped closer to her, asking, "What the hell were you doing down here?! If you're no good to us-"

"Run! Get out of here!" the Mod Soul cried out, her eyes locked onto Rukia's, her strong arms tried to push herself up, "the moment you stepped d-down here...triggered a trap...the same I-I fell for...the same one that brought out-" she tried to finish until her skin paled and her eyes locked onto a hulking being that stepped into the room, closing the door behind them, the locking mechanisms clicked into place and their enemy reared its head upon them.

Meikurai's eyes widened, recognizing it instantly from the schematics as one of the weapons the Ahijados were developing, and this one looked fully functional. It stood at 6ft 6in tall, and had a strangely organic carapace for armor, its yellow optics showing underneath it laid a mixture of sentience and refined mechanical parts. What the entity held looked like a organic-archaic rifle, similar to that of a Kido-rifle, but its clear firepower was unclear. It showed that it had a variety of other weapons, but for now it held the weapon tightly with the back of it strut against his right side near its abs.

"Greetings, meddlers. I'm here under strict orders to kill you and finish off the spy. Thank you for walking straight into our trap," it then raised the rifle up close to its archaic-organic helmeted face, before shouting aloud, "THE END IS NIGH!

Rukia's eyes widened at the sound of the menacing voice, and she spun her head so that her eyes could meet the cold optics of the monster that stood over them. But because of their situation, her blood went a few degrees colder. "Oh, no.... this isn't the ideal time to fight, not with a wounded HVI in the area!"

Her gaze fell upon the doors that their enemy had went through. "If I could freeze the lock mechanisms on that door, I can disable them and we can get out of here... but that would require a distraction for me, and we need to make sure this Mod Soul isn't killed. How....?"

"Leave it to me, Kuchiki-chan," Meikurai said as his lips curled into a smile, now his eyes filled with confidence and a cool, calm gait entered his steps as he walked forward, unsheathing his Zanpakuto slowly and methodically,"I would've been worried if the schematics shown earlier needed nothing but energy to run. However, this is a living being with merely extra or exchanged parts. Therefore, my Zanpakuto's abilities can be used to our benefit."

"Doll," the Mod Soul called out to Rukia, asking her with pleading eyes, "where's my Doll? Its a cube no bigger on all sides than my hand is long...it should be...somewhere...on those tables," she tried looking herself, but fond her vision slightly blurred and her breathing labored. Had it been an ordinary soul that went through this torture, they surely would've stayed unconscious.

"Enough talk!" The creature snarled out, pressing its finger on the trigger and fired out what looked like super-heated blades about knife-length at high speeds, towards the three.

"Enkosen!" Meikurai called out, forming a yellow circle of his own Spiritual Energy, reflecting the blade projectiles as well as shattering them, before moving in front of Rukia, before saying, "I'll find whatever she needs, you just head for that door and freeze it off. Your Ice element abilities will make short work of the door!"

"C'mon, stay with me!" Rukia insisted, wrapping one arm around the Mod Soul's waist and raping the other limp arm over her petite shoulders. "He'll get your doll!" That being said, she grabbed the hilt of her Zanpakuto with her free hand and unsheathed it, positioning it counter-clockwise and speaking the words to release her Shikai's state.

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!"

As she slowly turned the blade, it glowed a brilliant white before shifting into its Shikai form. As soon as it was complete, she punctured the ground with the tip of her blade four times. "Tsugi no Mai....Hakuren!!!" From the holes within the ground, ice flowed and built up in front of her, only needing several seconds to have the potency Rukia needed. She unleashed the ice on the door, enveloping and freezing it compeltely.

With a Flash Step and the Mod Soul in tow, Rukia re-appeared at the door, raised her sword and swung down.

SLICE!

The door was shattered with the first hit, the pieces crumbling down and leaving an opening for the three to escape through.

"Th-Thank you," the Mod Soul said before her eyes shut tightly and she held back a grunt of pain from having to move so fast on a wounded body she had, feeling her hair fly around as she moved with the Flash Step towards the door.

The creature turned around with amazing speed, firing at Rukia's back watching as the projectiles pierced her body and the Mod Soul's...when suddenly their bodies dissipated, the room itself dropped bars over where the door was and lined the place within a fiery prison, with Meikurai holding his Zanpakuto turned at a clockwise position, allowing Rukia and the Mod Soul to escape.

"Azayaka Kyogi (鮮やか虚偽, Lit Translation, "Vivid Falsehood,"). You're trapped, creature of machine and flesh," Meikurai said cooly as he walked towards the bewildered, entity his sword scratched along the floor and produced sparks that set the bars around the room on fire, causing the entity to step back with uncertainty as Meikurai donned his shades.

"It will be child's play to kill you now," Meikurai said as his lenses read the structure of the armor and gave him an analysis, showing a weakspot located where the neck met the shoulders, allowing him to smile, "you ready?"

It would be up to Meikurai to defeat the menace.

Rukia immediately took the chance to escape, trusting Meikurai's abilities. With another Flash Step, she was up and out of the door, leaving the two to fight it out.

As the creature cried out, it let out another barrage of projectiles, seemingly striking Meikurai in a gory, bloody mess as his body flailed around like a ragdoll before striking the other end of the room. But then his body encompassed into flames and spread out violently across the room again, shuddering the room when in actuality, it was a mere shudder of Spiritual Energy. As the creature stumbled back in increduality, it suddenly felt a blade stabbed through its shoulder and out its chest, the faint reflection off a pair of black shades showed a menacing, killing intent emanating from Meikurai.

"Child's play," he said with a indifferent blank look on his face, wrenching the Zanpakuto from the body of the creature before flourishing his sword around, flaking the blood away and began sheathing his Zanpakuto, ceasing the vivid illusion he created in the room and showed only a handful of marks where they've done battle, save for the corpse lying on the floor now.

"I'll catch up to you in a minute, Kuchiki-chan," Meikurai whispered before walking around the room, aiming to take care of a few loose ends and find that box the Mod Soul mentioned.

However, lying atop on the surface level of the Mausoleum, lied six white robed individuals, growling and hissing with Zanpakuto's drawn and glowing eyes baring down at the open entrance as they heard the battle below, and the oncoming escapees from below. If the unthinkable happened, they were to clean up after their creation and demolish the basement of the Mausoleum to cover evidence.

It was here that Rukia stepped out from the stairway and back into the main mausoleum, her eyes initially focused on the wounded woman held in her arms. She kept a grip on her Shikai with one hand, keeping the Mod Soul's arm around her wrist. Because she was focusing the wounded H.V.I., she wasn't paying attention to the individuals.

But when her eyes fell in front of her, her gaze falling onto their figures, she stopped cold in her tracks.

"Oh, no...."

The Ahijados growled towards the two of them, slowly stalking towards the two women, surrounding them. If it had been anyone else and another situation, the feeling of rape or sexual predators would don on a ordinary woman's mind. However, seeing the bloodlust and killing intent from the silent gazes of the near-animal minions would give any Soul Reaper the impression of sheer murder.

The first one moved, leaping at a fast rate and raising his Zanpakuto above its head before slashing in a vertical swipe downwards, hoping to slash across Rukia's chest and release the other target.

Rukia had to act fast.

As they moved to surround her, she flipped her blade upside down to point the tip towards the ground. Momentarily regretting that she would have to shake the Mod Soul up a bit with her movements, she swung her sword in a near 360-degree angle while twisting her upper body as much as she could to complete the swing. In the wake of the swing, the dreaded blue circle had formed underneath them. Once it had completed, she spotted the Ahijados leaping at her at the corner of her eye.

Time stopped.

Just as the blade was millimeters away from cutting through the two, the circle glowed with a brilliant light. A pillar of what appeared to be blue light extended from the circle and spread into the sky. It only lasted for a few seconds... but when it cleared up, all six Ahijados were frozen in solid ice. Rukia breathed heavily, sheathing her blade and re-sealing it just before all of the ice statues shattered into fragments. She looked over towards the woman in her possession.

"You are.... more trouble than you should be worth, you know that....?" She joked lightly - a rhetorical question in nature.

"I'm sorry...ms Kuchiki," her voice came out weakly, as she grit her teeth from the flailing, but necessary movements Rukia created, before she clenching onto Rukia's uniform front, clenching her eyes shut,"I've been nothing but a burden to you and my King. I should've never accepted this assignement had I known how worthless my actions and how futile my retaliations against my captors."

Rukia frowned a little as the wounded woman clenched at her uniform front. "Your actions may have opened up a new door in helping preserve the lives of this city..." Rukia answered, giving a small and encouraging smile. "I don't know what you did.... but if you hadn't, then we wouldn't have been able to find the intel we did."

Slowly walking over to one of the pews, the petite Shinigami gently lowered the Mod Soul onto it, kneeling and raising her hands over the body. "These wounds aren't too serious...." She said. "But they would still be if I didn't happen to know how to use healing Kido." Her hands glowed with healing energy, and she hovered them over the woman's body. She kept her senses at the alert; an enemy might ambush her at any possible moment, after all. However, she kept her eyes on the woman, her expression firm.

"Your assignment.... tell me everything about it, as well as the information you managed to gather."

The woman took deep breaths before centering her gaze on the Soul Reaper's eyes, "My name is Ikari, Ikari Heion. I was tasked by my Majesty to uncover a plot within the Ahijados' motives and possible allies they may be using to undermine the Parliment and his Majesty's authority. I began tracking down suspicious individuals for the past few months, but that's when something strange began occuring. They all began disappearing off my trackers or before my eyes, one after another. Eventually the only one I managed to track was into this burial site...only until recently when it was rebuilt that I discovered it had still been used even after the main structure's destruction. They've been using, no, framing certain members of our Government while infiltrating and duplicating their appearances, then video taping them on a device below," she reached out and grabbed Rukia's shoulders, surprising strength came from the still to-be recovering woman, "you must NOT let that information into our higher-ups hands! They'll arrest and execute the wrong people!"

Rukkia nodded, her expression grim as she kept at her healing. "I know...." She said solemnly. "What our enemy is doing is taking advantage of the fact that there are actual spies hidden within the government. It doesn't help that those same higher-ups might be agents themselves..."

Ikari growled, clenching a fist tightly as she grimly looked up at the ceiling, now a gaping ice rimmed hole with small snowflakes raining downwards, courteousy of Rukia's amazing Shikai technique, "I only know ONE traitor. He's the man in the TV box, and he regulates between his Ahijados scumbag allies. He's insane, will do anything and get rid of anyone. The only reason I'm alive was because he knew I had information on the Military and my Majesty's security. I never gave them anything...not for a lack of them trying," she winces as she felt the healing hit a sensitive nerve bundle, before she closed her eyes, "the man in the shadows would every once in awhile bring out superiors I knew and trusted, changing their motives and personalities to perfectly suit his needs. He's the one infiltrating our security, but I don't know if he's Ahijados or simply a mercenary hired for his skills."

"He's a Soul Reaper," Meikurai suddenly said, as he silently came up the stairs and his feet crunched lightly across the icy ground Rukia created around the Mausoleum, noticing the debris and frozen bloody bits of what used to be enemy Ahijados troops, "it seems their invasion is nigh, Kuchiki-chan."

"Yeah...." Rukia said in acknowledgement, turning towards him and looking at him questioningly. "Did you happen to see the doll that she was talking about?"

Ikari looked over at Meikurai hopefully, and was rewarded with a matter-of-fact expression on Meikurai, as he held in between his fingers a small, blue-like cube with a single hole in it, "This what you were looking for?"

"Yes, thank you," she said flatly, looking with narrowed eyes at Meikurai, "can I have it please?"

"Sure," he clenched his hand over it before tossing it over to her, "you aren't much of a threat to either of us at your current Spiritual Pressure level right now anyways."

As the cube flew in the air, Ikari deftly caught it with her left hand before opening it, looking down at it for a brief amount of time. She then asked, "Is the rest of my gear there?"

"If what you mean as 'confiscated weapons,' then yeah, they had your stuff in a chest below. Luckily the monstrocity didn't destroy i-"

"Keiji Higai," She said in a grim, but calm undertone as she never took her eyes off her cube 'doll'.

Those two words was enought to bring about a dead silence within the room. Rukia's eyes widened in surprise, not having expected the sudden and seemingly random interruption from the girl. She furrowed her eyebrows, lowering her head a little as if she hadn't heard properly. "....Pardon?"

"It means, 'Apocalyptic Havoc' in our language. They are the new breed of supersoldiers the Ahijados have been developing. The one that was sent to kill us off, was a Keiji Higai," Ikari said matter-of-factly, before looking grimly at the two.

"Well," Meikurai sighed, rubbing his eyes with his left hand while propping his right palm on his hip, "anything else you want to surprise us with information on?"

"The invasion starts today," Ikari said with a shrug.

"Wonderful!" Meikurai growled, slamming his face into his palm, before dragging it off with a deadpan, comically annoyed face.

"It is a good thing that the Yuurei military chose an early time to prepare, then...." Rukia stated calmly. "They've been evacuating the civilian populace ever since the first battle between the cult members and the police, fortifying the defenses of evacuated locations. Hopefully, that will be enough to keep anyone from being caught off-guard...."

Meikurai nodded in affirmation, crossing his arms over his uniform saying, "At least we have some solid evidence we have conspirators within the government-" He was cut off when a loud round thundering was heard above, and Meikurai looked up seeing bright flares of fire begin to descend from the heaven, followed by a eery tune flowing in the air.

Ikari paled as she looked above, "Its begun...the invasion's begun!"

"Oh, no...."

The sounds were enough to make the Kuchiki pale visibly, her head instinctively looking up just in time to see the artillery-like bursts rain down from the sky. The frightening tune that had sounded before had rang once again in her ears, sending chills down her spine. "It's starting?! Now, of all times....?!" She managed to stutter, quickly finishing up her healing session and standing back up.

Meikurai stared up into the sky solemnly for awhile, before smiling, "Right...about...now," as he said the last word, a loud mechanical voice sounded in a nearby pylon, "...PYLON 13, ACTIVATING!" Suddenly a beam shot into the sky not too far away from the Mausoleum, but could be seen visibly from the hole in the roof, as dozens of other beams fired up into the sky, simultaneously coordinating before creating a wide barrier of energy. The Spiritual Pressure that could be felt from the power of the barrier shook the air for a good few minutes, causing all structures to rattle like a tremore from an earthquake, but it quickly passed. The orange blasts of artillery fire soon dispersed over the shield, but the blasts seem to be absorbed and flow across the length of the shield before dispersing at the perimeter, what could be seen in a aerial view as a excess of smoke and fire going across the landscape.

Ikari looked up towards the sky, momentarily stunned by the Spiritual Pressure and the bright lights before looking over to the confident smile of Meikurai who simply winked at Rukia and her, before she asked, "What is that? What did you do?!"

"The newest innovations for a Kido barrier. Its a similar concept that was used centuries ago to block incoming unwanted intruders from entering the Seireitei. However, it was a flawed system and old technology. Now, after centuries of researching, we came up with a portable system where we can defend any large stretch of space with minimal amount of exertion at top capacity. It is by far, one of Captain Sasayaki's greatest innovations as a Captain of the Gotei 13," Meikurai said with a hint of jealousy, but a small amount of pride leaked into his voice of having him as a superior, despite his antics and methods.

This immediately caused Rukia's shock to fade, and she looked over at Meikurai to catch the wink. This brought her to smile back in approval before she turned her gaze back to the sky. "At the very least, it'll give us more breathing room to operate and prevent the Ahijados from interfering too much in this." She commented, folding her arms across her chest. However, she immediately looked back down when she found that her arms were brushing up against something on her shoulders.

A comical deadpan look crossed her face.

"Oh...."

"I forgot I was wearing this...." She muttered, looking over at Meikurai as she pulled the cloak off of her shoulders and handed it out to him.

Meikurai smiled happily, taking the cloak back asking, "Wasn't it just comfortable? Maybe you'd like me to make you a coat for yourself? You looked quite stunning," he added with a wink.

Ikari was about to remark when suddenly a loud thunderous sound could be heard and a bright light shined at the middle of the Mausoleum suddenly bringing forth a number of individuals instaneously.

"-make me travel to another," Hana began to say when she suddenly realized she had already teleported, but finished regardless, "point?"

Daisuke gasped, and touched himself to make sure he came intact before looking over at Meikurai and the other two women, "Huh?! Where are we?!"

"....yeah, I'm pretty sure this isn't where we're supposed to be right now." Sakura said bluntly, a palm across her face and one of her arms folded across her chest. "Smooth move, you fucking Jekyll."

"Obviously the haste of your teleportation took us off course, Captain," Kukkyona retorted before closing his eyes in a almost taunting way, his stoic expression never leaving.

"Teleporting is no easy task, you Blue Blooded imbecile!" Kaze began arguing as the chaos seemed more and more rampant as everyone began voicing their confusion and excitement.

Meikurai sweatdropped as he draped his cloak over himself, "This is going to be a long day..."

Sudden Arrival! Emotional Entanglements
"UNLESS YOU ALL WANT ME TO CARVE YOU NEW BLOODY ARSEHOLES, SHUT THE FUCK UP."

Of course, it was Braeburn's voice that seemed to shake the very foundation of the building they were in and rendered everyone else silent. As soon as he completed his shouting, Braeburn switched to from an extremely annoyed expression to a smug and stuck-up look. "Thank you." He said bluntly, folding his arms across his chest and keeping his nose to the air.

Sakura scowled, walking over to one of the seats and promptly sitting down on it. One leg shifted over the other, her arms were folded across her own chest, and her eyes were closed.

Kaze twitched, his fist clenching the cane till his gloved hand actually began sounding audibly as he growled, "Boy...if you raise your voice to me again, I can't garuntee you safety from my most base, primal anger which I assure you, will make you wish you to suffer beyond be-"

"Ahem!" Meikurai coughed aloud, earning a surprised twitch before a smile actually encroached onto the ghastly features of Kaze's, "Captain. Fancy meeting you here. I see you're still taking a liking to dramatic entrances."

"Lieutenant," Kaze chuckled before resting both hands on the cane, leaning forward on it as he enthused, "if there's anything you should know, dramatics have their places as well as subtlety. Today, however, wasn't my choice to do anything but be dramatic"

"Do tell," Meikurai chuckled, glad to see that his presence calmed him down from throttling Braeburn, but made sure to wink towards Braeburn's way, indicating his purpose to save his skin.

Hana, meanwhile, walked over and grabbed Braeburn by the ear and pulled him down to her face, a glare that could fire a million Zanpakuto shot through her eyes into his as she steamed, "Yell 2 feet away from my eardrums again, and I swear Captain Kaze will be the LEAST of your worries!"

Kukkyona began to walk towards Rukia and Ikari, nodding towards Rukia saying, "Miss Kuchiki, a pleasure to see you again."

Daisuke on the other hand sighed and walked pass the crowd after scowling at Braeburn, ushering over to the seat Sakura had taken, seeing her closed eyes and merely steaming, as far as he could tell, after what was said earlier. He took a seat quietly next to hers as everyone conversed, clasping his hands together as he leaned back in a more reclined position as well. He didn't speak, he just waited to see if she would address him.

"OW!!!" Braeburn snapped, wincing at her words as well as the ear tug. He almost grabbed her hands, only to remember her earlier threat when it came to touching her. An anime vein popped in his head. "God damn it!! What was I supposed to do, let you guys argue for the rest of the day?! You just can't handle a bit of maturity." After this, he stuck his nose again in the air just to spite her.

Rukia bowed respectfully towards Kukkyona. "The pleasure is mine, Hayate-taichou." She answered him sincerely, straightening back up. "I assume all went well for you?"

"....yeah, what do you want?" Sakura said bluntly, a slightly bored tone in her voice. However, this was only made to hide her irritation.

Hana rose a brow in humor as she released the ear, crossing her arms and cocked her hip to the side in a sensual, yet doubtful bodily gesture, "You? The Mature one? Please tell me that was a joke, because the humor was lost to me..."

Kukkyona sighed, saying, "Its a intricately complicated manner, but in hindsight we accomplished what we set out to do. In all respects it could've ended much worse for all of us," he said with a honest tone, his eyes suddenly meeting Ikari's before looking at her inquisitively.

"Ikari Heion," she raised a hand towards Kukkyona, to which he took and shook nicely earning a smile, "a pleasure to meet you, Captain Hayate."

"The pleasure is all mine, though I have to say I don't remember meeting your lovely company last time I made this young lady's acquaintence," he said in a perplexed, yet polite manner.

"You alright, Sakura-Chan?" Daisuke asked softly, turning his head over to her and observed facial features, empathetically understanding she must be irritated being around all these people, "you went through a lot back there. Want to grab something to heat while things are on a somewhat tranquil tone right now?"

Braeburn managed to catch Hana's gesture by opening one eye, allowing one corner of his mouth to rise in a small smirk. "Well, if I wasn't mature, then we both know that you wouldn't be able to stand me at all." He answered casually.

This brought a sigh from Sakura, and she opened her eyes to stare over at him in a mixture of exasperation and weariness. "Why are you still trying to be nice to me?" She asked him, her voice soft but clearly annoyed. "You can drop the damn facade. You know who I am, so why bother trying to hide it?" Then, a small smirk crossed her face, and she decided to change directions. "Oh, I get it.... you're still wanting to believe that I'm still your pal, your chum, right? That's why you haven't bothered to shove that sword of yours through my gut, isn't it?"

"Why are you so against the idea of me just wanting to be your friend, Sakura?!" Daisuke asked in a hurt, yet exasperated manner of his own, clearly tired of her attitude and her wanting to push him away. "It doesn't change the fact that despite me knowing what you really are, because I know who you are. You're the sarcastic, yet charming girl I met. Despite our differences I always know you're a voice of reason and logic, especially when I get hot-headed. You're great at swordsmanship and the best training partner I've ever had. Why can you just think I can forget all of that?!"

"....were you always this clueless?" Sakura sniffed. She certainly wasn't going to let him approach her, and from the way he spoke, he seemed to focus only on what he saw on the surface. He seemed to be willing to push away the fact that she had manipulated Bokyaku without remorse, toying with his feelings before sending him to eternal pain. If he wouldn't understand through direct words, then maybe he would understand if she kept jabbing at his nerves. "Wait, don't answer that. I'm pretty sure you are, considering it was most likely your obliviousness that let your Lieutenant get slaughtered like he did. I can't help but wonder if he left that little trinket on your head just to mock you in some way, you know?"

Something unexpected happened after her words came out of her mouth. It suddenly, almost by sheer coincidence or sudden hearing of the two's argument that everyone stopped talking. Kukkyona remained silent, closing his eyes, Kaze looked with mild interest at Sakura's direction while Meikurai looked plainly at her with a slight bit of disdain. Even Ikari, not even knowing these people looked over and somehow felt her jaw drop at what she heard from the cold-hearted bitch said to someone who attempted to befriend her.

Daisuke bowed his head, his face held a shadow over most of his features but his lips showed a reluctant smile. "I'm sorry...Sakura-chan...if I hurt you in some way in form, but please do not disrespect my friend and peer like that. He sacrificed his life so that many would survive, knowing that it was the less rewarding and the most selfless, he believed in me and his men," he raised his hand, clutching the headband tightly, before continuing, "many people got slaughtered, as you have elaborately put it, because we were utterly clueless as to who got infected or who to fight or save. I...no, We, who wear these marks or headbands are doing this in the rememberance that despite our victory, it was only a bitter one and there was no happy ending to it," he then looked up with sad, heavy eyes that knew all too well of horror and war, while keeping his sad smile on, "I will not stop being your friend, whether your a demon or a soul reaper, an old lady or an ant, I will keep being your friend whether you hate me or love me. That, Sakura, is what I believe being a friend is really about."

"NO!!!"

Her inner self was now screaming at him, clearly enraged by the response that she was given. "No, that's NOT what you're supposed to say to me! I just insulted your dead friend and his values! You should be HATING me, you idiot!!" She could not hide the shock written on her face as he spoke the words, the words not of the rage she wanted so desperately to feel from him. For a moment, she actually considered wanting to get up and bolt from the area, not seeing any one of them again. But her own fear was forcing her to stay within her spot, and she was forced to listen to every word that he said.

She wanted to leave.

She wanted to kill him.

She wanted to scream at him.

She didn't know what to do.....

"I am not going to lose my cool to the likes of a Shinigami like you...!!!"

Forcing the shock back down, she narrowed her eyes in a mocking and predatory manner, the taunting smirk returning. "Oh, it's always cute to see meatsacks attempting to put value in something so worthless...." She said coldly, still continuing her efforts to press his buttons. "By all means, keep up your little attempts to "befriend" me. It gives me a lot more chances to poke fun at how much of a puppet you've let yourself become."

"What are you afraid of, Sakura?! Why are you so petrified of friendship that you'll purposely push people away from yourself?!" Daisuke looked deep into her eyes, his own hazel eyes pouring out empathy and query, wanting to know why she wanted to lock herself away in a pit of lonliness and isolation.

As he was watching the two butt heads with one another with awe, Braeburn couldn't help but admire how stubbornly empathetic Daisuke was trying to be with the deity. Was that actual stupidity? Or was it truly a belief within the greater good of humanity? Despite himself knowing who the Punisher was from the information in the Red Sun scrolls, he couldn't help but wonder if there was something that Daisuke knew that he didn't.

However, his eyes flickered with alarm when she saw Sakura abruptly reach out with one of her hands and clasp Daisuke's mouth in a swift, rough motion. She brought her face close to his so that he could feel the intensity of the malevolent glare that she was giving him. "Kid.... it's only been a few weeks since we first met." She said, her smile almost matching that of the one she had when she was tearing Bokyaku apart piece by piece. "Other than the woman you see on the surface, you know nothing about me. You have no idea of who I am, because you were never there when the barbed wire was tearing through my skin. You were never there when Mother gave us her will and testament. You weren't there with me and my siblings throughout those thirty five thousand years ago...."

Her grip on his face tightened, and her smile turned into an angered snarl. "So don't you EVER call me your FRIEND!!!!'" She hissed, putting forth every bit of hatred and anger she had within her chilling words. Then, with a forceful thrust, she hurled Daisuke away from her...

CRASH!

...with enough force to crash through the opposite wall.

"AGH!" Daisuke cried out that because of her surprisingly superior strength, he could halt his flight, and his emotions felt too ajar to even concentrate on that. All he could think about was that despite the brief few months he spent with her, he really never knew the real her. He wasn't there to help her through her now revealed horrifying and morbid birth. He wasn't there to comfort her during the proclaimed fate they were each given and the long milleniums of absolute torture and despair that she inflicted onto her victims. He really felt like a fool.

As his body came within a few feet of the wall, only a blurred form moved to stop the probable critical impact from hitting him full force, before it too came with Daisuke through a wall of the Mausoleum into what appeared to be the ancient 'cleaning' room where the corpses were specially prepared to be burried in the appropiate manner and preserved for long periods. The two of them smashed into a table and cracked the surface of the floor, the tiles bent inwards and the plaster mixed with dust, clouding the room and puffing out of the hole that Sakura created.

As Daisuke's eyes opened, he blinked out the dust and plaster in the air, coughing, feeling a little stunned and the ringing in his ears, he couldn't help but feel something other than a table or plaster underneath him. As he heard a slight hissing sound he got up slowly and turned over, seeing the lithe but fit figure of Hana with her arms nearly indented into the floor through the table's surface.

"Hana!" Daisuke gasped out, coughing again and looked her over in shock and immediate thankfulness.

"Stupid...you're really stupid, y'know that?" Hana growled, getting up, whines of metal and tile were heard before pulling up from the floor's surface so she could sit upright, only a few inches away from Daisuke's own upright body. She began feeling the back of her head, as she sighed, "I'm going to be seeing stars for a minute or two from bracing your thick skull..."

"I-I...I'm sorry," Daisuke hung his head down as he got up, the creaking of tile and stone was heard as he got up, a thick layer of plaster and dust held over his hair, face, and overcoat, "please don't get involved, Hana. I appreciate your help, but," he continued speaking as he crawled out of the room and out the hole, his eyes meeting Sakura's softly, "this is something I have to do."

"You can say that again," Hana spoke quietly, spitting out a loose stone that had somehow gotten in her mouth before she began dusting herself off and admonishing the mess that was created, "if it wasn't for me, however, you'd be pretty bloodied up, Dai-baka!"

Ikari widened her eyes when she saw the whole thing, briefly looking to Rukia before asking her quietly, "What the hell is her problem? She's an enemy or having hormonal anxiety?!"

Kukkyona looked onward from the whole endeavor, not moving a muscle to save his son from the prompted anger of the Hankami. He warned him in the beginning she wasn't like everyone else, yet he continued to pursue her. If he insists on dying, here, in the place used to burry the dead, then he will make no move to stop him. Daisuke was no child that needed coddling, he is a Hayate. Kukkyona knew this most of all, when a man of the Hayate Clan makes a decision, they go after it, damning the consequences. He couldn't surpress a small smirk of nostalgia of his own self, wondering if he switched positions if he'd do the same as his son.

Rukia was too shocked to answer. She swore she could've felt mild shockwaves herself from the thrust that the Punisher performed on Daisuke, a bead of sweat falling down her face. It was clear from that one move that she could consider herself lucky that none of them were her targets. She didn't think she could stop someone so powerful.... "I....I don't know....." She finally managed to stutter out, only fixing her eyes on Sakura as she laughed in giddiness at the throw she made.

"How's that for pushing people away, huh?!" The Hankami mocked, chuckling coldly. Slowly, she turned around to face the rest of the Shinigami group, eyebrow raised and a skeptical frown on her face. It was noted that one of her eyes were twitching for a brief second before they returned back to their normal position "Tch.... I throw two of your friends right through a brick wall, and the best thing you all can do is stand there like we've all grown two heads. Just goes to show you that even the puppets treat each other like puppets."

She immediately shifted her eyes towards the shocked Braeburn, grimly smiling when she saw him flinch under her stare. "Isn't that right... Braeburn?" She said, almost in a whispering tone. "Does it depress you.... knowing that your family lives under the scrutiny of the so-called guardians in this so-called heaven? Does it sadden you to know that your mother lost her life in the manner of a cow having its throat slit and left to bleed out in the sun....?"

Her face brightened up somewhat, and Braeburn instantly felt apprehension crawl within his bones.

"I might add that after they killed her, they had a wonderful time playing around with her dead carass. You would've had your own baby brother.... you know, if she wasn't dead--"

That snapped whatever calm attitude Braeburn had at that point.

"ENOUGH!!!" He snarled, unsheathing his sword and walking briskly towards her. She smirked in return, jerking her head sideways and cracking the bones in her neck with a loud, audible sound. Her arms were raised in a "come on" gesture, taunting him to do whatever he planned to do...

Kukkyona watched as the events played out, silent and unmoving. Kaze couldn't surpress a smile, as he inwardly enjoyed the idea of watching the different ways the Hankami could tear the idiot apart.

Ikari looked onward in horror, calling out to Braeburn, "Stop it! She'll kill you!"

Daisuke gripped the broken stone hard, ground his teeth together and narrowed his eyes at the situation in front of him. He only knew one thing to do without escalating this into a battle. With a sharp inhale, and a step forward, he initialized a Flash Step, his body moving fast and the sound of sparks could be faintly heard before appearing in between Braeburn and Sakura, his back facing Braeburn with his arms outstretched and his face near hers. "Sakura," he whispered softly to her, continuing to speak, "don't do this to yourself."

This sudden intervention caused Braeburn to stop in his tracks, his expression fading back to one of shock. Once again, Daisuke had taken the liberty of putting himself under the wrath of the Hankami without hesitation. Even through his anger, he could see that Daisuke wasn't going to let anyone else get involved betwee him. He lowered his sword to his side, a solemn and defeated look crossing his face. "Fine, Lieutenant.... this is your problem.... not mine...." He thought to himself, sheathing his blade and stepping back from the two.

Sakura's smug expression changed from one of shock when Daisuke intervened. Once again, she was forced to look into those empathetic.... sympathetic.... eyes of his. It was more painful than having a sword punched through her head, or her own limbs ripped off and cast aside. "Stop it...." She thought, a flash of fear in her expression as she looked at him in an almost helpless manner. "Stop looking at me like that!!! I don't deserve your fucking empathy, don't you understand that?!!! STOP LOOKING AT ME!!!!"

It took all of her willpower not to do anything rash or anything that would reveal her weakness. Daisuke would most likely see the little signs of it, but nothing more. She angrily scoffed, turning away from him and lowering her arms. "....whatever...." She snapped, not in the mood to keep up her sadistically pleasant attitude. She walked right back over to the bench and sat back down in her spot, closing her eyes and tilting her head back in a manner that made it seem like she was trying to go to sleep.

Within those long few moments, Daisuke felt as if the world stopped. He could actually see something past the rough, twisted nature she used a shield. It was fear....helplessness even. She felt truly afraid of his kindness and his empathy so much she was willing to use her naturally sadist side to deflect his attempts at befriending her. He felt as if his stomach knotted inside out as he saw that look in, that real look he waited to see. He wished he could erase that fear, but the moment as quickly as it came went, and he saw Sakura snap her shield of brashness before settling down on the bench, trying to shut the world out...and most likely Daisuke.

Daisuke let out a heavy sigh, 'We'll talk later, Sakura-chan,' he thought wearily as he did not want to incite another epidemic. Not when a battle knocked on their doorstep.

He turned around to look at Braeburn, the still empathetic, saddened look poured into the other man's eyes, not scolding or yelling at him. What he heard was enough for him to keep his own mouth shut, before he looked over at his father, saying aloud, "I'm...going to meet up with the Division. Even though they're probably aware of it, I need to be oriented with your lieutenant's men..."

"You may take leave, Lieutenant Hayate," Kukkyona said promptly, his cool tone told Daisuke he didn't have anything to say to him. At least for now.

With a nod, he bowed to everyone saying briefly in a small voice, "I'm sorry," before running out of the Mausoleum, intent on being as far away from Sakura, for the moment, as possible.

Little did anyone know, Meikurai kept his left hand on the hilt of his sword, despite the casual manner he held his body he was ready to intervene at a moment's notice had things become increasingly volatile. However, after the Hankami backed down, he released his Zanpakuto before crossing his arms over his chest, muttering, "Now isn't that dandy...the mistress of Hell you go out of your way to save almost pummels someone to death and then antagonizes another, begging for a battle royale from her saviors. Tell me why did you save her again, Captain?"

"Wasn't my first choice as well," Kaze sneered, "that bitch is worth every bit of her malice and sadist nature, unfortunately for us. Don't count on her aiding our defense of this city after what just happened..."

"Right," he looked over to the hole in the wall, a wary Hana glaring at Sakura for a good while before spitting at the ground and walking over to Braeburn's side, allowed Meikurai to give a small chuckle, "she's worth something alright..."

"You okay?" Hana asked Braeburn as she approached him, her own eyes actually became soft and her stance a bit more laxed despite her being braced and thrown through a wall, she looked relatively unharmed, "I heard a little of what the bitch said..."

Braeburn had his arms folded across his chest, bangs overshadowing his eyes. "...yeah..." He managed to mutter lowly. "Though, she was pretty much aiming at what's already damaged. For the moment, I'm fine where I am. But...." His bitter tone had a hint of incredulity within it. "I just don't understand how he can bear to stand up to such a harsh, manipulative woman like her and doesn't break just like that. What can he possibly see in her that makes him so.... resilient....?"

Despite herself, Sakura smirked at the word "bitch" being thrown around. She stuck her nose in the air slightly with an expression of spiteful pride, and even flipped her hair just to mock her verbal assaultants.

Rukia, throughout the ordeal, had remained silent and watched. Her arms were folded across her chest, and she spared a concerned glance over at Braeburn. But seeing Hana was speaking to him, she decided to let the two talk on their own accord. She would talk with the McTavish later, when no one was busy.

Upon hearing Kaze speak, she decided to lighten up the mood a little and take a friendly jab at him as well. Turning her head towards the scientist, she allowed herself to smirk a little. "With someone like you, someone would think that you two would be a perfect match for each other." She said amiably.

Hana chuckled in a bittersweet tone of her own, responding thoughtfully, "I think Daisuke is built to handle people's problems more than others, especially those he cares about. I wouldn't have took two words from that woman either to tell you the truth, but I think Daisuke chose the only option from blowing up this Mausoleum again, and its a good thing she heard something in whatever he said to her to forget her "fun"," she bristled slightly before smirking, aiming a lighthearted punch at his shoulder, "I don't remember you being on the detail list in the initial defense, Brae-san. Why don't you and I have a drink and talk for a little bit. No pun intended, but you look like you've been through Hell."

Kaze looked coldly at the ice princess Reaper, narrowing his eyes resentfully, "I'd take a Mod Soul over that wench anyday!"

Ikari coughed aloud, breaking up the dialogue due to potential awkwardness that might ensue, standing upwards and straight. She turned to Rukia, giving her an appreciate smile saying, "Thanks, Rukia. I couldn't have made it out without you, but I need to report to the King. Do you want to accompany me?"

Kukkyona however walked past them all silently, his sandals clicked and clapped across the melting ice and rubble across the ground, not even bothering to look or acknowledge Sakura's presence, but his mere aura told her nothing but disappointment. As soon as he reached the door, he exited in his stylized sword cut sounding Flash Step, the sound reverberated in the air for a brief while before escaping everyone's notice.

"I guess words are too much of a motherfucker for you too, huh....?"

As Kukkyona passed by her, those were the words Sakura whispered to him. She didn't know if he heard her or not, but she wasn't hoping. As he vanished, she shifted her position so that she was laying on her back on the bench, her head resting on the armrest. Her eyes were overshadowed by her hair, and a neutral curve was made of her mouth, so it was impossible to tell what her expression was. She assumed that everyone was leaving...

"Well, I think that I could use a breather, after what's happened...." Braeburn's light-hearted statement to Hana....

"Of course. I wouldn't mind doing that." The polite voice of Rukia....

And considering the scientist had things of his own busy nature to tend to, she would be left alone for the moment. She would leave later on herself, but for now she would just sit here and lie on the bench and enjoy her (hopefully) alone time.

"Good, then follow me," Hana said briskly, turning around and began walking comically like a stick figure. Stiff, pointedly, and rigid, out towards the door, not bothering acknowledging the Hankami for fear of getting into a fist fight as she exited the Mausoleum.

Ikari walked casually, her features had more warmth than they had earlier and she impassionately looked at Sakura's recliend figure before making a mental note to herself not to piss her off as she walked ahead with Rukia assumedly behind her, when suddenly Meikurai hurried up behind her, "Don't leave me hanging! I worked too!" He made a comical puppy face as he looked to Rukia for acknowledgement as they exited the Mausoleum.

Kaze eerily left without a sound or a word, going onto his own devices, leaving the Hankami relatively alone.

Allowing herself to move to the floor after Kaze left, Sakura curled up, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. Her red hair was scattered across the ground, her crimson eyes shut tightly. She wanted nothing more than to shut out the words Daisuke spoke to her, to push out the empathy and replace it with hate. But it was clear that Daisuke was not going to hate her any time soon. She wanted so desperately for her being to be tainted even more, and she wanted to feel dirty and sick - like she was supposed to be. Out of all the beings she met.... why did he have to be so nice to her?

"I don't deserve any of your kindness..... why can't you let me go....?!" She thought to herself in frustration, gritting her teeth out of the thought.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk...this will not do," a voice emanated in the air in the possibly most cold, sinister sound possible, while a eery atmosphere began to chaotic charges of anger, hate, lust, violence all at once. Something forboding stalked unseen in the shadows of the mausoleum as it continued to speak, masculine in nature, almost reminiscingly familiar to Bokyaku's voice, "I find you as I found all those milleniums ago. Sulking, curled into a ball and feeling nothing but self-loathing. You truly are the most wretched, twisted creature, aren't you? Hahahahahahahaha!"

This made Sakura's eyes widen, her thoughts overtaken by the awareness of this new....entity. The chilling voice sent a chill down her spine, tingled her very nerves, and brought the smile right back to her face. Slowly, she brought herself up to a sitting position, then stood back up quickly. Her head was lowered, and she placed a hand to her rapidly beating heart. She couldn't help herself.... the negative, violent emotion within the voice brought the thrill back to her!

"Who is there.... to speak such cruel words to the mistress of Hell....?" She whispered, lifting her head up to reveal intrigued eyes.

There was a slight pause, but the footsteps became tantilizingly closer, his aura became intoxicating, becoming almost like a aphrodisiac to the negatively fueled Hankami. Little did she know, the entity took the time to smile a falsified gentle smile. He spoke again, "Who am I? That's a interesting question, regarding that if I tell you of myself, my personal features, you would recognize me? No, no, no, my little Hankami, I shall tell you of my birth, which shall tell you exactly what I am.

"I am the child of death, one who revels in the extinguishing of life. I am the embodiment of disasters, wreaking havoc upon hundreds to thousands with joy. I am the master of seduction, forever trapping and torturing countless mortals with perverted desires. I am the whisperer of the shadows, spreading lies and deciet willingly to cause dissention and distrust among millions. 

''I was born into existance feeling dozens of blades simultaneously exit and enter my body in a undying, unrepentant embrace, drinking the blood oozing from my pores and reveling in chaos the moment I opened my eyes as they stung with dozens of pains. Now, my dear Punisher...let me ask you this?''" Suddenly the entity came right behind her, whispering with the smile intact, "what am I?"

"The only person capable of speaking to me in such a beautifully tragic manner...." The Punisher whispered back, enjoying the dangerous and threatening aura the entity exuded. She folded her arms across her chest, looking over her shoulder so that her eyes could meet his. "I remember those words back from when I had the barbed wire around me.... it's been far too long.... hasn't it, Reaper?"

"One thousand years too long, Punisher," he said, using his right hand to brush along her skin, pouring tantilizing bits of his energy into her pores, a nostalgically enticing thing he used to excite her in the past, "one thousand years since my armies of brethren battled against armies of my brethren, in a titantic battle that forever shook realms for eons and still now. One thousand years since I felt your lips against mine," he finished whispering as he leaned down and raptured the female Hankami's lips, roughly kissing her using her teeth, fiilling her with passion that he longed to feel from the twisted creature that near mirrored himself.

Unlike Bokyaku, she did not feel weak and vulnerable in his presence..... and this wasn't fake.

Once he captured her lips, the Punisher's heart accelerated like a madman's. She reached behind her to fiercely grab the back of his head and returned the kiss with just as much force and passion as he had put forth for her. For the moment, thoughts of Daisuke had cleared away from her mind - something that she was grateful of. She needed something to take her mind off of him and his disgusting kindness. Every touch ran vicious chills down her spine, and she loved every minute of it.

She didn't want that moment to stop....

She probably wouldn't get her wish.... but it was the thought that counted, after all.

What would seem like eternity for the Reaper, lasted only a few minutes, but he did enjoy every bit of it. As he released her mouth from his, his eyes opened and he inhaled deeply, smiling predatorially, "I've missed your scent, Punisher. You're scent has been faint, but prevalent throughout this society...I even visited Hell to see your handiwork, but only found your drab minions. They spoke of a titanic battle in the depths of Hell with a Demon influence no less. What became of that entity, Punisher?" He asked as he held her body close, filling her with his presence in more of the addicting presence he naturally exuded that would drive normal mortals mad but those of his own race would merely feel aroused and enticed.

"Where else do you think fools of mortality go when they choose to defy me?" The Punisher hissed coldly, narrowing her eyes and smiling as she ran her finger slowly and deliberately down the side of the Reaper's face. "There's no other place to go, after all. You know that as well as I do...."

He purred at the Punisher's touch, feeling all of his senses tingle and feel like they were burning, like the fiery pits she commands and controls at a whim, it made him long for more. As he stretched one of his hands down her chest, he furrowed his brows, speaking in a slight perplexed manner, "You've been harmed...by mere Hollow-kind? You really have been sinking low, haven't you?" He said in a mocking manner, chuckling in the back of his throat.

The Punisher growled, knowing he was referring to the wound that 666 had delivered to her. "Shut up." She grumbled, pushing his face roughly a little so their eyes would meet. "It's not as if you're any better....besides, the weapons of mere mortals aren't enough to kill the likes of me." She leaned back into him, burying her face into his neck and taking in his intoxicating scent. This was the curse of his touch - it made her feel like she could just stay within his grasp forever. She knew that she would have to pull away sooner or later, and that would leave her rather empty.... she knew that Daisuke would once again come to her mind....

So what would she do then?

"This is true," he spoke in a lull, soft whisper as he felt her face burry into his neck and inhale deeply, smiling widely as she came onto the addiction of his mere touch, presence, and smell. Ironically as he sought everything to a almost maddening point, his mere presence would drive anyone mad to stay close to him forever.

However, the ominous but nearly vague scent that he had caught from nearly all of her recent travels and now especially this place, caused him to stir and his hands roamed slower, his voice rang out softly, but held a silent menace in them, "But why...does the scent of Soul Reapers...cling to you," he said with a harsh whisper, his hands that roamed her head and back scratched at her, though a hint of impressive strength hid behind it with the underlying subtle anger that could cause this passionate moment to crash down within a moment, "so tightly?"

That made her eyes widen in surprise.

She had to commend him for the transition.... it made the parting smoother.

During the moment, she had allowed herself to twist around in his arms so that she would be facing him. Now, within her position, she allowed her hands to press against his chest as his fingers dug into her back, wincing and smirking a little at his anger. "You don't blend into one's surroundings without gaining a little bit of their influence." She said, and it was almost as if she was mocking him. Her sultry, yet playful tone was adding to that effect "Besides, it's not like this is the first time you've caught me with a foreign scent on me...."

"The presence of the scents has never bothered me," he said with a narrowed eyes, gazing into hers with a almost lethal observation while detaching his smile to that of a thin lipped line, "what surprises me is the empath energy flowing from a particular Soul Reaper. I don't know what your game is, little Punisher, but I assure you whatever he said or feels for you is fabricated by his desire to see something you're not. Remember what you are, Punisher, and never forget that," he then left another longing kiss upon her lips, as his body suddenly vanished from sight, using the Hankami high-speed technique to instantly leave her. And keep her within his grasp...

It made the parting smoother...

...but it didn't make it any less easier.

She stood there for a moment, taking in his words slowly. She lowered her head again, her arms lowered to her sides and her fists clenched. As refreshing as the Reaper's visit was, it left her once again thinking back to Daisuke. She just wanted to block him out, to push him away and never think about him again. But the stare that he had given her.... the words he had spoken to her..... it was like they were making an imprint on her very mind. She raised her hands and grabbed the sides of her head, grinning despite the frustration she was feeling. "Of course.... the moment I'm left alone, I have to deal with shit like this...." She muttered, fingers curling. "He'll have to give up sooner or later. He'll see what a disgusting monster I am soon enough. What would someone like him want with a psychopath like me?"

"I think it's the whole opposites attract thing going on, in my opinion...."

Her mood immediately shifted from frustrated.... to comically shocked.

"AH!" She yelped, spinning around to find the Slayer leaning against the wall and comically grinning. She could only stare with her mouth slightly agape and her eyes as widened as dinner plates. "H....how long have you been standing there?!" She demanded, hands shaking slightly.

"Long enough...." The Slayer drawled, pushing himself off of the wall and pointing at her. "And I brought company."

"What co--"

Glomp.

The Punisher was promptly slammed onto her back, courtesy of a young, pale-skinned boy. She growled, attempting to push the clingy child off of her, but to no avail. "God damn it, Melody!!" She snapped. "What is wrong with you, you hyperactive brat?!!"

"But I've missed you!" The Melody complained, putting on a pouting look. "So have all of us! Ever since you've been here, you haven't come back to Limbo in order to visit or anything! Well, not that you'd probably have the time to, considering P.E.'s going to be really soon. But, still, you could have at least considered it!"

An aggravated sigh escaped the Punisher's lips, and she slapped a palm to her face as she ceased her struggling. However, she soon removed it in order to glare at the snickering Slayer. "How goes things on the Summoner's end?" She questioned, a serious tone to her voice.

"Hm? Oh, right...." The Slayer, briefly surprised at first, took on a lax but equally serious demeanor. He folded his arms across his chest, allowing himself to speak as the Melody got up to allow the Punisher to stand once more. "Well, as far as it goes, he and his little minions are doing quite well on their end. I'm impressed how he's managing to keep things quiet in all this mess. It might save the Ahijados the trouble of even assaulting this place." He raised his eyebrow curiously. "He still has that amulet, right?"

The Punisher nodded, smiling. "A little gift I left him during our last talk. I'm sure he'll have lots of fun abusing it. That's how the mortal mind works, after all.... you have a toy and you have to twist every bit of fun out of it for your pleasure."

"Speaking of toy...." The Melody commented, tilting his head to the side and looking at the Punisher in an innocent and curious manner. "How come you let Reaper treat you like a toy?" This made the woman's lip curl a little and the Slayer scowl faintly, but the boy paid no mind to it. "I bet you could beat him up like you did Bokyaku!"

"If she's not in the process of grinding hips with him, that is." The Slayer snorted, smirking when he earned a shocked and angry look from the Punisher. "Yeah, I was here long enough to see you two go at it, and couldn't help but wonder if they were going to have to clean that bench later o--"

WHAM!

The Slayer was greeted with a vicious kick from the Punisher that spun him around a few times in the air, before he promptly fell to the floor on his face. The Punisher glared down at him, her face a beet red from embarrassment and anger. "You are such a low-life bastard!!!" She snapped.

The Slayer rolled onto his back, folding his arms across his chest and glaring with a deadpan look at his sister. "Well, at least I'm not screwing around with the foil of our existence...." He sniffed, unphased by the blow she had given him.

"At least I actually get some!!"

"W-what?! Ok, don't you dare get started with me on that--"

The Melody sighed, folding his arms across his chest and shaking his head sagely as he watched the two argue. "This makes me wonder if I was lucky to be born a child...."

Taking Positions, Drowning the Demons and Unveiling Confessions
Hana lead Braeburn through the streets of Yurei Okuko, their gait hurried but thoughtful, she occasionally glanced up at nearby positions that the Police Force's troops and Military were set up, as well as the bright beam of light emanating from tall pylons that were being powered up and used by members of the Kido Corps. War is on, but it is now the enemy's turn to play their hand. For all Yurei's defenders could do, but wait. Waiting is something that she herself did not take kindly to often, but for now she did not have any immediate assignments from either Kaze or any of her other superiors, so she thought to at least take care of a certain someone before things became heated with no room for second thoughts or remorse.

After walking to a closed down house with no remarkable features attached to it, she made a immediate left towards it, the nearby buildings were the same but were boarded up and locked down but this one had looked plain and unprotected.

"This is the place," Hana said, looking over her shoulder at Braeburn before giving him a brief smile before, knocking on the door.

Braeburn raised an eyebrow, stuffing his hands within his pockets and frowning a little. "This is the place? I was expecting some sort of fancy restaurant." He joked, the frown immediately turning into a small grin. It was a joke - considering that the majority of the town was now boarded up and evacuated, there was probably nothing fancy lying around.

"Trust me, Brae-san," Hana chuckled as the inside of the house emitted sounds, the peep hole suddenly bathed her in a wide net series of different colored lights, each scanning her a different way each time, her words became more robotic than anything during the last few seconds as it was scanning her vocals, "there's nothing in here that isn't fancy. Trimester Equation, Pass Phrase; Delta-Omega."

With a series of clicks and whines, the door handle moved on its own and opened, showing a number of specialized layers of security within the door, showing it wasn't an ordinary door.

"Follow me quickly," she insisted as she stepped inside of the doorway, showing a narrow hallway of steel and glass, showing their reflections on either side while walking on a metalic surface.

Braeburn did so without hesitation, but his eyes caught the mirrors that showed their reflections. He gave a slight whistle, turning his attention towards the hallway itself. The properties of metal and glass as well as the fact that it was...well... a hallway, brought about a sense of slight excitement within the defector. "Wow. If I'm impressed by a simple hallway, then there must be something good up ahead." He commented lightly, grinning a little.

Hana smirked, her amused grin could be seen in the reflections as well as the rest of her curvaceous, perfectly rounded body as it walked confidently and inadverdantly sensually towards another door, this one a mere mirror door.

"Trust me. Everything you will see here is top secret and eyes only. But, since you've proven your worth in Hell, I've made some calls when you weren't looking. As long as you're with me, you have full clearance to any D.C.O. safehouse and HQ we enter," she then simply walked, or rather, stepped through the mirror after casting a wink at him before she seemed to liquify into the mirror. After casting a variety of ripples upon its surface, it retracted back into its reflective state, with Hana on the other side.

"Coming, Brae-san?" Hana's voice emanated through the metal and glass hallway, as if it was a low whisper but reverberated a dozen times over, almost a tickling sensation to the skin from the with a sound waves.

"Impressive in more ways than one...."

Once again, Braeburn cocked an eyebrow and smirked in anticipation as well as impression. The manipulation of the sounds made his skin shiver, and it made her voice all the more attracting to listen to. Folding his arms across his chest, he followed her route. He placed one leg in front of him, pushed himself forward, and entered the mirror. Ripples appeared on the surface as he entered, stopping once he was completely through.

"Welcome," Hana said, walking to a nearby barstool, the entire scene looked like a dinner-lit, casiono-atmospheric bar room, complete billard's table, a pingpong table, dance floor, a dressing room with what looked like racks of unique sets of attire sitting next to wooden cabinets with ordinary looking locks, as well as a number of individuals residing within already, "to Yurei Okuko's D.C.O. HQ, Brae-san."

She sat on a nearby bar stool, crossing one leg over the other before lounging her back and arms on the counter, "Pull up a stool and make yourself comfortable."

"Shit...." Braeburn complimented with a bit of mirth, sliding on a stool next to her. He allowed one arm to hang off his side and the other to rest on the bar counter, his head turned to look over at her. "For such a military-run organization, you guys sure are living it up, huh?"

"We have to be," said a young man with a round, profound chin wearing a similar matte black body suit but also adorned a peculiar grass hat as he aimed his pool stick down at a billard ball, "we don't get much free time or even break from duty for those who are part of the D.C.O. so we make use of all that incredible tech and funding they let us use for missions to set up HQ's the way we want it." After striking the billard ball, it struck the opposing ball expertly before striking others, sending five multicolored ones down seperate holes.

"That is Takashi Kōsoku," Hana said in a hushed tone, leaning over to Braeburn's ear, smiling, "he's a Reserve Member who's part of the Sword Squad. He's one of the best, damn swordsman in the Gotei 13 as well as a 3rd Seat within the 11th Division."

"And also good with the ladies! HAHAHAHAHA!" He laughed heartily as he winked over at a nearby female member who merely smirked at him and went about her pinball machine.

"He's also one of the biggest braggarts, that one is," a unnamed female behind the bar came up with two seperate mugs, filled to the brim with sudsy liquor. The agent looked at Braeburn up and down, a sly smile adorned her rosy cheeks and blonde locks swayed as she leaned close to Braeburn, "And you must be the fugitive that's been hiding for years, Breaburn McTavish. Can't imagine you actually stood up to a Hankami merged deity and lived to tell about it."

"Wow. Just walked right up to the bar and already you've got a chick on you? Dad would be proud of you..."

Laughing internally, Braeburn kept up his casual smile. "You'd be surprised at what years of running around like a decapitated chicken actually does to you. Though...." He nodded his head over towards Hana. "I did have a little help, obviously."

"Yeah, I heard she had to slap you silly to keep you from fainting, hahaha!" She laughed in a light-hearted mocking tone, before she left them alone, cleaning glasses and checking the stock.

Hana smiled cheekily, saying, "I didn't leave out ANY of the details of our mission."

Though their tones were only teasing him, Braeburn couldn't help but give a squinted-eye glare at Hana. He folded his arms across his chest, clearly pouting as he rolled his eyes. "Oooh, ouch... I think you actually crushed my man feelings with that one, Hana." He remarked sarcastically, though he was grinning slightly all the while.

Hana swung around from her lounged position to face the counter, grabbing her own mug before pushing Braeburn's towards his hand, remarking playfully, "With all due respect, you need toughen up a little. I thought time as a, how did you put it? A 'headless chicken,' would make you grow a pair to replace the ones you have, haha!"

"I have!" Braeburn said in light protest, furrowing his eyebrows a little as he caught the mug. He raised it up towards Hana casually, cocking a slight eyebrow and frowning in the smallest of ways. "I just don't feel like throwing them around like a toy." With one hand holding the handle of the mug, he placed a hand on his chest to empahsize. "I like to keep my status as a gentleman, not some chavunistic bastard."

"No wonder you're a fugitive. Guess some people in the Soul Society prefer the chavunistic bastards. Keeps people more honest of their intentions," she made a jocular comment in slight sarcastic tone, winking at him before raising her drink towards him.

Braeburn's grin grew wider as he moved the glass to level hers. Then, he tilted his head back, lifted the mug to his lips, and drank. Of course, the liquid burned his throat all the way down. But it was really something he was used to. It wasn't the first time he allowed himself to do something like this, anyway...

Nearly at the same time, Hana drank her own poison, and slammed the mug onto the counter, letting out a relieved sigh in excess, "It never gets old...that feeling like that burning liquid is purging you of your stress, your fears, and your nightmares," she said the last part in a somber, knowing tone but looked at Braeburn expectantly, leaning on the counter looking towards his eyes. "Now that we've un-sobered ourselves, why don't you tell me what's eating you? I'm a good listener and far better company than the current Soul Reapers within this city."

A sigh escaped Braeburn's lips, and he rested his cheek on his fist of the arm that was still on the bar counter. He rolled his eyes at Hana's statement. "I could already tell that." He commented amiably. "After all, you seem much more forgiving than the others upon my arrival, so I guess I can thank you by telling about what went down while I was away...." He closed his eyes in thought, lowering his hand down to rest on the smooth surface.

"First I gotta ask you, though.... what do you already know about me? I prefer to fill in the details and not have to repeat anything."

Hana smiled widely, taking another sip from her mug before pointing at him, "You're in luck, if anyone happens to be an expert in your background history, that'd be me.

First off, you come from a family that's been known to be wrapped up in the Red Sun's teachings, dating back to even when your grandfather practically started the Red Sun cult that would later spur the arrival of the Ahijados. Your father served for a mere 20 years before disbanding, starting the bad naming your family will soon inherit later, and has been known to be involved in a illegal genetics with Hollows, though that remains to be speculated.

You were a known, ahem, 'heretic' for studying a philosophy that was strewn from a known Cult, the Red Sun, which at that time was rumored to have been your grandfather's work and which case it was. You were later deemed a threat to stability, and instead of taking you to the Maggot's Nest like others would, they planned to ...deal with you on the battlefield, make it look like you were KIA. However, when they went to secure bodies, yours wasn't among them, and you've been on the books ever since.

Your sister far outshined yourself and your father in both loyalty and service, being one of the few people to care for your mother after both of your demises, in one way or another. Despite this, your mother served as a Captain with a splendid duty but known brimming hatred for the Courts of Central 46 and some of the other Gotei 13's Divisions for spurning both her husband and her son to their ends.

She was actually known to serve under a famed Captain as a personal apprentice, Seu-Feng the Commander-In-Chief of the Stealth Force and Captain of the 2nd Division. However, after a number of...circumstantial evidence was brought to Head Captain Furuidensho, it was almost certain that she had been planning revenge against the Soul Society. Thus she was sent to assassinate her, your mother and did so without any real struggle. She did suffer an extreme mental episode afterwards...she became what they call 'crazy' and she killed a few of the Punishment Force officers trying to subdue her and it came to a one-on-one battle between her and the Captain. All I know is that they beat each other up real good, but she seemed to escape with her life, and she's been MIA ever since." Hana spun her mug by the rim half heartedly, watching Braeburn's facial reactions and awaited any response to what she's spoken about.

Throughout the first wave of the explanation, Braeburn had a calm and attentive look about his face. He knew the story about himself clearly well, considering that he had said the same thing to Kukkyona. So it was given the impression that he would take everything else the same way.

However, his eyes widened upon the sight of his mother and his sister mentioned, and he could only hold that gaze as Hana spoke nothing but accurate information about her family. He remained silent, but the shock was all too evident to him. His grip on his mug subconsciously tightened as the words rang within his ears. Memories came back to him, and for a moment, he was brought back to the world in where he had been betrayed and nearly killed by his own peers. A shiver ran down his spine, but he had to smile at the fact that she had explained everything within a matter of seconds.

"You have the memory of a bloody elephant, don't you?" He commended her. "Everything you said is right on the money. I only got word of my sister's and old man's abandonment of the Gotei 13 after my own, a few months later. But I was personally there to see my sister fight against the Captain herself. At that time, I had still been trapped within the Seireitei and had stumbled across the scene while trying to escape. The sad thing is.... I think my sister had the best way of going out. While I was struck down and left for dead, she went out fighting against a Gotei 13 Captain. Shows us who got the better out of both ends...."

Following this, he let out a heavy sigh, lowering his head down for a moment in thought. "I told Kukkyona that I came back in order to reconcile my differences and rejoin the Gotei 13. But after what's happened.... I don't think it was destined for me to be within their ranks. If anything.... my family and I seem to be more accustomed opposing them, whether we wish to or not."

"I have to agree with you there," Hana said, turning around to face him, the stool squeaked of leather and metal, before she crossed her arms, looking at him seriously, "you, by terms of your record and what I've seen in your personality, aren't cut out to follow direct orders and give undying loyalty, at the cost of your life. No, you seem more like a survivalist, a lone wolf, a tracker...someone who's used to going undercover and evading detection for long periods of time, but knows when to cooperate with small numbers to take on impossible missions one cannot overcome by one self."

"So what do I do?" Braeburn cocked an eyebrow and looked at her questioningly, slightly surprised by her response.

"By the barbs on the Punisher's ass, you are dense!" Shouted Takashi, finishing a final crack of his pool stick and striking the last ball into the hole, looking upwards before grinning toothily, "she's trying to recruit you, dumbass!" This earned a twitching-eye glare from the McTavish, as he clearly did not like the playful taunts directed towards his person.

"Not one for common sense, is he?" Asked the blonde that Takashi hit on earlier as she passed by and went towards the kitchen, opening a fridge with a click and low hum as a wave of frosty mist came out, showing perfeclty preserved gourmet items.

"Taking on a mission to Hell ain't the brightest thing in the world," mused the bartending agent, smirking at her response.

After Hana snickered, she looked at Braeburn questionably, winking at him, "What do you say, Brae-san? Would you like to join the Deep Cover Ops?"

After retracting his comically irritated looks towards the rest of them, Braeburn resolved himself to a more thoughtful look. He turned towards the bar counter, rested his arms on it, and folded his hands while leveling them in front of his face. The way that Hana had presented it, it was so easy! Join them and he could put his skills to good use for an organization that wouldn't give him a hard time about his beliefs. Have a relaxing time within places like where he was and become a chick magnet, while still being a rather badass quota? Who wouldn't want that?

He did.

But he also knew that it just wasn't his time. Not yet...

Turning to face Hana once more, he gave a mirthful smile. "If the offer's still open later on.... then maybe I'll consider it." He said. "But it's just like you said... I'm a lone wolf. I go by my own standards and rules, live by what I do, and I prefer to act by what I believe in. Right now, in this point in time, it's just not my style to do that." He scratched the back of his head with his free hand. "After this, I think I'm gonna go out and look for my old man and my sister, if they haven't found me first. Otherwise, I'm going to still be left with the thought that they've gotten themselves into more trouble that they can handle, you know?"

"You do realize you'll have your records wiped clean when you join the D.C.O., right?" Takashi voiced his own opinion, not out of outright wanting for Braeburn to join but to state obvious facts to someone who would know nothing about them, "besides...who else do you think has the resources and capabilities of finding your family more than us? No offense to your incredible record of keeping off the grid, as you would think so, but you're not as resourceful as you would make yourself-"

"Thank you, Taka-baka!" the blonde came over with a alcoholic beverage in hand, before rolling her eyes before taking a swig, earning a scowl from Takashi for being misnamed and verbally ridiculed.

Hana sighed, shaking her head before turning her attention back to Braeburn, saying honestly, "I understand the offer is last minute and WE are in the middle of a war, but I was thinking of it as small, slow act of...reintegrating yourself back into a group you worked well in and keep yourself from turning into a nomadic hermit. No offense," she winked at him playfully before crossing her arms, cocking her hips to the side and looked thoughtfully behind half shaded eyes from her bangs, giving her a mysterious, yet sensual look.

"Well, if she's trying to swoon me in by visual appeal, she's doing a real good job...."

"None taken...." Braeburn answered smoothly. "But..." He squinted his eyes and turned his head a little off to the side, raising a slightly waving finger. "What if I don't want to be reintegrated, at this particular moment in time? Hm?" His tone was pondering and curious, and he meant the question as a means to test her. "The benefits seem to weigh higher than the disadvantages, but we are in a middle of a war and our roles could change just like that. I prefer not to be caught in a corner..."

"Then I'll have to slap you to your senses to come to our side. Again," she added with a snicker, remembering her time slapping him in Hell, reawakening his resolve to fight through embarassment and strong language. She didn't expect him to take the offer outright, but she hoped that he would see reason.

"We're really not part of the society we protect anyways," the woman behind the bar spoke, nodding to Takashi, "besides Takashi, who's a 3rd Seat to the 11th Division, there are some of us who are members solely to the D.C.O. . Reserve members like him are people who like to pretend they live life in society while still doing our dirty work."

"You make it sound like I'm being lazy!" Takashi called out indignantly, puffing out his chest and pointing his nose and chin upwards, "I'll have you know I do just as many missions as you do, and as much work."

"As well as the same amount of free time too," she corrected him, earning her a scowl before she laughed back at him.

"You do seem like quite the dynamic group, though...." Braeburn commented, his expression somewhat earnest. "What, can I relate you to a mercenary group or something like that?"

"The only mercenary around here is Taka-bak-" the blonde from earlier felt a spit wad come from a straw, earning her a growl as she tackled Takashi, creating a comical cloud of dust as they kicked, punched, pulled hair, and everything associated with a mad brawl.

Hana stared blankly at the fighting, before she turned her attention seriously back to Braeburn, "We're the people you don't hear about doing the things that are both seen and unseen. We're Black Ops, giving us freedom to act as we see fit and do what we can under our own rules, within reason. We have only one real superior but he acts more as a overseer than a actual boss, always seeing the bigger picture and all that. Since we stem a lot of our resources from two of the Gotei 13's Divisions we do have to be careful how much collateral damage we create for fear of losing face with Central 46 or the Head Captain, otherwise we pretty much act anyway as a freelance group can act. Does that answer your question, Brae-san?"

For a moment, Braeburn's expression was blank and neutral, having gradually shifted to that since Hana had spoken to him. He pondered what Hana just said for a moment more, contemplating that as well as the previous words exchanged within the room. All of it seemed so attractive, even if it wasn't Hana's "eye-candy". With every word spoken, it appealed more and more to his interests. No boss... no rules... just him. This made him smirk toothily, the blank look in his eyes shifting to match it.

"Not only did it answer, but you're making me reconsider my option...."

"A rebel, huh?" The blonde looked at Braeburn up and down, subconsciously licking her lips before smiling at him, "I could get used to that."

"You're a classic, boy who hates authorities type, ain't you?" Takashi jeered, though snorted afterwards, saying, "half of the Reserve Members would agree with your view on authority more than you would know, man."

Hana almost let out a sight of relief, looking at him thankfully, "Thank you for giving it more thought, Brae-san! Despite all the necessary work with getting you officially signed up and introduced to the rest of this HQ's gang, feel free to take your time getting the idea accustomed to your mind. Once you join, your life will never be the same again from here on out," she winked at him before stretching out her arms, letting her chest inadverdantly bulge out for all eyes to see, showing the hourglass delicious curves and endowed chest behind the skin-tight bodysuit.

A comically suspicious look crossed Braebun's face.

"Ok, she's been doing that a lot....and the mind of a woman can be a dangerous one, indeed..."

"Hey." He commented in a lightly protesting manner, raising a wagging finger towards Hana. "Just because I find you pretty doesn't mean it's going to be the main reason why I'm under reconsideration." He followed this up with a coy smirk. "Even if I just took a drink, I'm not that stupid."

As Hana righted herself up, she gave him a blank stare and a coy look, holding a finger up to her mouth as it made a 'o', "Me? What are you implying, Brae-san? Are you saying that I purposely lrued you here into the D.C.O.'s HQ to...what, seduce you?"

Takashi, at that moment, burst out laughing, to the point where he rolled on the ground laughing, beathing his hat against the ground in increduality, "You're a piece...*snort* of work...*snort*...you know that *snort*?! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

That immediately directed Braeburn's attention to the laughing 11th Division member - as well as snapped the last threads of his patience.

"OK, THAT'S IT!!! YOU'RE DEAD, YOU BOWL-HEADED NARCISSIST!!!"

With a comical yell as well as an equally comical vein popping on his head, the Australian lunged at Takahashi and proceeded to unleash another attack involving a dust cloud, punched punches, kicked kicks, and a lot of foreign swearing.... from Braeburn's part, at least.

As Hana leaned back, smiling at the comical fight unfolding before her, she saw the bartender agent fill up her mug again, looking over at the scene with a arched brow of curiosity, "You really think he has what it takes?"

"Besides the fact he went off the grid and has evaded the Stealth Force on multiple occasions, I think he's perfectly suited for the job," the blonde said, taking a seat beside Hana, looking over Hana's shoulder with a sly grin, "not to mention he isn't half bad looking..."

"Please," Hana said with a roll of her eyes, looking back at her friends, taking a sip of her drink before turning back to the fight, "if you saw him and his capabilities, he's more than qualified than over half the Reserve agents on staff, not to mention a number of agents I know personally..."

"I think he's Takashi's caliber, in speaking of skill alone," the blonde said, half interested in the brawl before them and saw that neither gained ground from what she could see, "and from what you've said of his swordsmandship, he might entertain our resident sword prodigy immensely."

"I just hope he doesn't mind who our 'overseer' is," the bartender agent said before going back behind the coutner, disappearing from sight.

"He'll be fine," Hana said as she got up and walked over to the brawl, watching them both aim fists towards each other's bruise covered faces. She then moved like a blur, deftly crouching down between them as she caught their fists full on, with audible cracking sounds of bone meeting her palms, saying before flipping them both off their feet with a graceful, smooth gesture, "as long as you behave, that is."

As Takashi's back met the floor, he let out a long curse and groaned out, "Hana...I was handling it...honest..."

If Braeburn was showing any sign of injury (which he was, considering he had a black eye and several scratches), he wasn't showing it. The only response from him as he lay on his back was a growl in both of their directions. But, of course, it was more comical than anything else. So he really wasn't angry at either of them. It was a sign that he was accepting them.

Hana smiled, turning over to Braeburn and looked at him thoughtfully. She crouched down onto her haunches, reaching a hand just above his chest, smiling at him, "What do you think, Brae-san? You in?"

Of course, this diverted Braeburn's attention back to the female D.C.O. operator. His angry expression shifted to a slightly surprised one, and he looked at her for only a brief two seconds. Then, a small grin crossed his face, and he reached out to grab her hand so that he could pull himself back up to his feet.

"Do you need to ask? Of course I'm in. I've got nothing to lose..."

"Glad to hear it," Hana said with a smile, pulling him up to his feet, inadverdantly *supposedly* stepping on one of Takashi's hands, ushering a yelp, "and you might as well help yourself to the dressing room. Its over there and its got the same material suits in different sizes so help yourself to anything over there," she pointed over to the wardrobe dressing area.

"Let me check on how everyone's doing outside," said the blonde as she began viewing things through a projected hologram cam, switching from view to view, all of which were planted by D.C.O. operatives throughout the city for both discreet viewing but wide angles as well.

After regarding her for a moment, Braeburn eventually shrugged lightly and decided to humor the woman. He found it a bit odd for some reason to be shown a dressing room right after what seemed like incarceration. But Hana knew what she was doing, and she had been in this program longer than he had been. With a slight nod, he turned on his heel and walked away in order to choose his own personal attire.

"What's the status, Yōki-chan?" Hana walked over casually, staring at the projected holographic image that kept flicking back and forth between camera angles.

The blonde, now known as Yōki, shook her head, saying mirthfully, "I have to get to a bigger angle. Most of this was to determine suspicious activity on the INSIDE not the outside. I'll try to get one near one of the pylons..."

"Doesn't the output of the pylons scramble visual instruments?" The bartender agent came back, leaning on her arms and looked forward, her cleavage resting generously onto the countertop.

"NOT true!" Takashi raised a hand up in the air, his tanned hand pointed at the group of girls, his bruised face not kept from grinning knowingly, "due to more upgrades by the boss, they should be unaffected by the output of the pylons stationed around Yurei Okuko."

"Anymore questions, Rokotsu?" Yōki asked the bartender agent, now dubbed Rokotsu, whom merely gave her a dirty look, sticking her tongue out and crossing her eyes while pressing noticably down on her expansive chest.

"I have one!" Takashi called out, now looking mirthfully over his shoulder at where Braeburn could be seen entering the dressing room area on the far side of the establishment before he rolled his eyes, looking at Hana, "what gives you the bright idea to bring in a suspect in a potentially dangerous case that STILL hasn't been cleared. Heck! Even that scary Lieutenant from the 12th Division is on the verge of finding a culprit and he STILL hasn't ruled him out from what I've heard-"

"Takashi," Hana said flatly, before giving him a death glare, a towering visage of anger with a lightning flash behind her eyes as she began cracking her knuckles threateningly, "you want to throw him out, you're gonna have to go through me!"

Takashi stepped back carefully, waving his hands up before dipping his hat to cover his face, saying, "Hey, if you want to keep your toy, just say so. I just don't want him stabbing me in the back is all..."

"You're paranoid," Yōki rolled her eyes before flipping her hair to the side, saying plainly, "Taka-baka!"

Takashi growled, before turning around, heading to the sofa before laying back and covering his face with his straw hat, his suit wrinkled in sync with the couch, "Leave me out of this...I'm done trying to make a point around here..."

"When have you EVER made a point around here?!" Rokotsu asked, laughing giddily while snickering at her male companion.

"Shattup!" Takashi said indignantly, flipping off the girls before flopping his arm down and tried to shut his eyes out of the world.

"In all seriousness," Yōki looked over to Hana, crossing her arms over her slender, tall figure, "can he be trusted? You've but met him in just one day and you're convinced because he wanted to save face by fighting a evil that could've destroyed us all might not make him our ally, just a temporary resource."

"I'm serious," Hana said with a stalwart stare back at her friend, then at Rokotsu, saying confidently, "as much baggage as he has with the Gotei 13 and with his family involved with the Red Sun, he's NOT an enemy. Give him time, and he'll get used to the idea of working in our covert unit."

"You're the only one of us who's covert," Rokotsu snickered, smiling with a reassured air about her after seeing Hana and hearing her speak, "but yeah, I'm sure he'll be fine."

Takashi couldn't help but hearing all the girls reassure themselves and ask amongst them of the newcomer. The only few words Takashi could think of at the moment as he muttered under his breath, "F'ing girl talk."

"THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL I AM WEARING THIS."

WHAM!

Braeburn immediately stormed out of the dressing room, a mad, twitching look in his eye. He had indeed found his own suit and what-not; his was a darkened bluish color. From the looks of things, the suit that he had chosen fit perfectly. However, if one looked closely enough, it fit around him in a way that made it seem like he had curves. Needless to say, whatever chauvinism he had concerning himself was going to be worn down.

"D-did the the designers only manage to think about the women when they made these things?!" He snapped, glaring down at his newfound outfit. "Look at me!"

Rokotsu gawked in a incredulous manner, asking aloud, "Did you read the gender tags right, Brae-kun? I think you might have a female suit on..."

"Keep it," Yōki said with a sly grin, both earning Hana and Rokotsu's bewildered stares, before she crossed her arms while looking him up and down, "I think he's sexy."

Hana slapped her face with the palm of her hand, muttering, " Yōki, please keep us out of your bizarre fetishes for right now," she turned over to look at Braeburn, frowning a bit as she crossed her arms, "Takashi never had a problem with the suits...did you look through them carefully?"

"Every one of them were the same!" Braeburn said, folding his arms across his chest and huffing. "And yes, I don't just carelessly stick my hand where the female section is! This is a men's suit! And it doesn't even look manly!"

Takashi couldn't help but snicker as he looked at Braeburn's getup, calling out to him, "Boy! I'll bet you'll knock a LOT of ladies off their feet in THAT getup! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Hana inwardly steamed, but tried to keep a straight face, crossing her arms, "There are other 'older models' D.C.O. agents used to wear. What you're wearing is the closest thing you can get to a Whisper or Shadow Squad suit...want me to help you pick out something not as...well, updated?"

"Awwwww, why?" Yōki whined, walking over to Braeburn, wrapping a arm around him and surprisingly leaned a taller frame against his, feeling up his side, "I really find this delicious on him."

"Yōki, stop flirting with the new guy!" Rokotsu fussed at Yōki, whom merely shrugged, giving a firm squeeze to his butt before winking at him as she walked over and leaned on the countertop.

At the goose movement, Braeburn's eyes widened and his pupils shrank to comical levels, and he had to involuntarily arch his back out of surprise. However, when Yōki started walking past her, he gave her a suspicious glare with one of his eyes twitching again in an unamused expression.

"Ok, at first, I thought that was a good sign, but now...."

Closing his eyes and letting out an irritated sigh, Braeburn folded his arms across his chest. "You know what? I just can't find the motivation to go back and look for another one. So I'm just going to swallow my pride as well as an overwhelming urge to beat the hell out of that 11th Division bastard and deal with what I have." He sniffed.

Hana arched her brow before shaking her head, smiling subtly as she walked past him, "I'm going to find you something that gives you back your dignity...even if it kills you."

"Yōki, why does it look good on him?" Rokotsu whispered to her in confusion.

"Just look at him," Yōki acknowledged her, waving her hand in his direction, "wouldn't you love to get a body-to-body massage with him wearing that?"

Rokotsu looked at Braeburn thoughtfully, unaware of any hostile looks he would throw at her before she smiled brightly looking over to Yōki, "That's so hot! I think you may be corrupting me, Yōki-chan!"

"Pffft, told you I would one day," Yōki winked at her pointedly, before reflexsively licking her lips as she looked over at Braeburn's direction.

"Yeah, I feel as though I should abandon myself from this conversation."

A blank glare directed over at the two women, Braeburn once again decided to take another look at himself, slightly posing for a better view. "You know...." He started, cocking an eyebrow slightly. "I just might be acting too overdramatic about this. Considering that I'm only going to be wearing this whenever I'm actually doing the work, it's really not that bad. Considering it's the updated ones, I can't really be too picky over simple appearance alone...."

"Yeah, I bet people will pay you good money to showboat your 'slender, curvy figure,' Brae-hime. HAHAHAHA-OW!" Takashi began to jeer, only finding himself smacked by a shoe with a high heel shoe, the heel landing smack dab onto his forehead sending him sprawling back onto the couch, writhing in pain.

"Shut it, idiot," Hana came over to Braeburn, giving him a unreadable and hidden look before bowing her head. The bangs on her eyes covered most of her eyes, overshadowing any real emotion she had but as she lifted a dusty, previously cob-webbed box to Braeburn about 1 1/2 meters long and matte black, with unlocked rusting latches and a stained-over insignia on the top of the lid, "I...thought you should have this. It will probably be more fit for you and it served its purpose well...it shouldn't collect dust anymore."

Rokotsu gasped, a her eyes widening as her breath became halted as she said aloud barely, "I-Is that...?"

Yōki bowed her head, looking away from both Braeburn and Hana, as the air became somewhat unsettlingly quiet, as even Takashi shut up as soon as he saw what Hana was holding out to him.

"Hm?"

Braeburn cocked an eyebrow, passing a glance to everyone within the room. He could feel the air instantly turn from jovial to tense in less than an instant. If anything, he could tell that the gift that he was recieving had some tragic back-story. He let out a quiet sigh, turning to meet Hana's hidden gaze with his eyebrow lowered. He was tempted to ask if Hana was sure of this or not, but he did not want to take what she had for granted.

"This might come to bite me later on.... but I don't want to look like a jerk."

The Australian Shinigami reached out and relieved Hana of the box, taking in a deep breath and blowing off the cobwebs. "This wouldn't happen to have previously belonged to a deceased comrade of yours, would it...?" He questioned her, keeping a casual but serious tone in his words.

Hana kept her gaze down before she turned around, and began walking towards a door on the far side of the hideout, opening it swiftly before closing it just as quickly, the reverberations of the shut door echoed for a brief few seconds.

As the silenced ticked on to a few minutes, Rokotsu looked at Braeburn curiously, asking him bluntly, "Do you have feelings for Hana, Brae-kun?"

"Lay off him, Rokotsu," Yōki said with a slightly venomous bite to it, before looking apologetically to her, then looked at Braeburn, crossing her arms, "the man who used that box, was a former operative when the D.C.O. was formed as well as one of Hana's partners. She became...attached to him, and he to her. It didn't end well for either of them and he's never returned from his last op.

Unfortunately for the Gotei 13, he was a reserve member who also served as the 8th Division's Lieutenant, so the loss of him was staggering and Hana's involvement as his partner had to be kept under wraps. Meaning, she couldn't come to his memorial service or anything to do with him, not even speak to his kin."

This time, Braeburn's sigh was much heavier. "I see...." He muttered. Of course, he was too much of a lone wolf to let such rules stop him whenever he wanted to do something. However, someone more devoted would have a much tougher time dealing with such restrictions to human need. It made him wonder if what Takashi had said had been nothing but a pointless boast to cover up a lie.

"So I can safely say this wasn't given to me out of a desire to earn it..." He said, his tone serene but having a slightly bitter sound to it. "But rather, she just wanted to get all of the skeletons out of her closet...to forget completely about him." He couldn't help but feel that he had just been used, that Hana had put him in a place to make herself feel better. Was that truly what was happening here....?

"Oh boo-hoo!" Takashi said, having deftly walked over to Braeburn without ushering a sound while letting the morbidness sink in what Braeburn and the others said, he couldn't stand it, "cry me a river, bub. If you think Hana's the only one who got skeletons in the closet, then you ought to get that foot out of your mouth. She did that because she had already FORGOT about him. She wanted to give you this old, damned box to you as a gift, not as a sentimental closure to make herself feel better!" He poked Braeburn in the chest a couple of times, his eyes glared as they narrowed at him, nearly nose-to-nose with the australian, "and let me make something clear. If you even go as far as try to make yourself FEEL better while hurting HER in the process, I swear I'll feed you your enrtails. Capiche?!" He snarled out, both Rokotsu and Yōki stayed silent, though the prior had her eyes wide open at seeing Takashi so pissed, not liking it when he is.

"....stop it."

Braeburn did not react violently to the anger that Takashi had projected to him. He furrowed his eyebrows slightly, a neutral frown on his face as he stared into the furious eyes of the 11th Division Shinigami. "You don't even know what you're speaking of, do you?" He asked him, the slight bitterness turning into irritation. "You can annoy the hell out of me, but I know you're not a complete fool. So don't act like it." With that, he allowed himself to turn away from them, walking off to the direction of the dressing room. "I'm quite thankful that Hana gave me this as a gift... but don't expect me to wear it any time soon."

He stopped for a moment, looking over his shoulder.

"I was the target for a gun. I prefer not to be the trigger this time around."

With that, he turned and walked off once more.

"Tch!" Takashi simply hissed out, before throwing his hands up, "to Hell with him for all I care!"

"Takashi," Rokotsu tried calling out to him, who merely thumbed towards Yōki.

"Tell me when the fireworks start and when the order is given. I'm grabbing a nap!" With that, he walked over to the couch before pulling a cot out from underneath the cusions, then firmly collapsing ontop of it, his hat covering the expanse of his head.

Yōki sighed as she watched Braeburn walk off, "Do you want me to find you a place to rest in the meantime?"

"No need, I'm not tired...." Braeburn stopped once again before he could go out of earshot. "Thanks for making me feel welcome here, but I don't plan on staying. I've got my own places to go before the first blows are exchanged." He gave a small, weak smile in her general direction before making the steps to complete his trek to the dressing room, shutting the door behind him.

The two girls in sync closed their eyes tightly and pouted their lips as the door was slammed. Rokotsu sighed sadly, and Yōki looked at the door where Braeburn entered thoughtfully.

"I don't want him to leave," Rokotsu said honestly, but spoke in a whispered tone, "he doesn't seem like a bad guy and I think he'll like it here."

"Rok-chan, if he doesn't want to stay here, he doesn't have to. I think he's trying to get a breather and think. After all," Yōki looked toward the door while crossing her arms, her gaze softening, "after what he's been through, he certainly doesn't need to be in a place like this half-heartedly. When he's fully commited to this idea, he'll come around."

"What if he leaves and doesn't come back?" Rokotsu asked with a fearful gasped.

"Who said we weren't following him?" Yōki smiled with a wide, toothy grin making Rokosu smile with her in the exact manner, both donning eerily twinkling eyes.

That was when Braeburn stepped back out, back in his usual Shinigami uniform. He was scratching the back of his hand, one of his hands in his hakama pockets. In that particular arm was also the box Hana had given him. "All right, I'm off...." he muttered, his eyes visually closed as he walked past the two ladies. "Do take care, you two..."

"Yes, Brae-san!" They both said back in unison, smiling and waving back to him.

"Don't be a stranger, Brae-kun!" Yōki said to him, after winking at him while biting her lower lip, trying to force him to feel bad about leaving, even though it was all a ploy.

Braeburn would've mentally slapped himself if he was aware of it and not having his eyes closed.

But as it was, he only gave a light wave before walking off and disappearing through the exit of the place. Once he was back in the hallway, he used a Flash Step to vanish out of it in order to get himself to the entrance to the building itself. A slightly bemused expression came across his face as his eyes caught the sky, which seemed to have an orange-red color thanks to the hue of the sun. It was almost as if the very sky was bleeding.....

He turned around, continuing to walk down the sidewalk with the box in his hands. "I wonder if Rukia's home...?" He mused to himself.

New developments! Tense Standoff and Revelations
"He's been waiting for you," Shiro said in a rushed, but respectful manner as he opened the doors ahead of them, letting the two women and man inside. When the new developments came in, Rukia had reported the things she could explain over the comm, for fear of the security leak within their security, and told him that they'll explain the rest within the debriefing room.

As they walked in, with Shiro ahead of the rest to approach his Majesty's side again, there was a great deal of reinforcement added to the inside of the room as they had taken his Majesty to refuge here to keep him from any harm that might come to him.

"Is this place clean of bugs?" Ikari asked aloud, her eyes scanned the room to check for any particular place they might be hiding or spies that might be hidden.

"I checked it personally myself," Shiro said with a serious, yet relaxed manner, "the debriefing room is one of the few places that I can assure you no matter of spy or even high grade device can be sent in here without it being found and blocked. We are safe here."

"Ahijados attacked us inside the Mausoleum I was trapped in for weeks!" Ikari said back with a spite of anger, grinding her teeth together as she snarled with offense at Shiro who sweatdropped in alarm, "I don't exactly think that would incline any place as safe when we should be checking for infiltrators like this!"

"...yes, well...." Rukia sweatdropped as well, despite the relatively serious situation that they were in. However, she couldn't bring herself to say much about the situation. After all, she was thinking along the same lines as Ikari. She might as well have been in another "Red Scare", with the threat of spies everywhere, even within the privacy of the human home. Had it not been so serious, it would have been funny.

"They're already attacking people within the city?! Damn," Shiro swore as he looked down, feeling ashamed this hasn't come to his attention sooner, "I apologize about the lack of contact, but we've been in the middle of war preparations. Has his Majesty known about this, he would've surely contacted the others to-" Shiro began to say reassuringly to Ikari before he looked over to Jūshin narrowing his eyes in anger and irriation. He saw his Majesty SLEEPING through a important debrief.

Sharply kicking his seat while clearing his throat, Shiro tried to get his king to act accordingly, "Ahem! Your Majesty, please stay awake!"

Meikurai raised a brow with intrigue and humor, "This is the 'Fearless Leader,' that rules Yurei? I wonder why this nation hasn't been destroyed already..."

"W...where's the fire....?"

Jūshin did not do anything to appease anyone's thoughts of him for that matter. With a groggy voice, he opened one eye and looked over at the group in total. Clearly embarrassed by his antics, Rukia had to slap a palm to her face and kept it there. A ways off, Chidori was leaning against the wall with her arms across her chest and a comical pointed look directed towards His Majesty.

It was then that Jūshin was aware that he was being eyed.... and that Shiro was giving him an irritated glare. "Ah....I'm sorry, Shiro. Were you saying something?" He asked innocently.

"Were you even paying attention, your Majesty?! One of your trusted agents and aides was under captive within our own city and then attacked after a rescue attempt prompted by Lieutenant Shiomaneki and your aide Rukia Kuchiki!" He growled out at him, before promptly slapping his face and running it down, dragging it to show tired lines on his features comically, "the things I do for king and country..."'

"Your Majesty, are you even aware that security may be compromised in this city?" Ikari asked incredulously aloud, unknowing if he would recognize her or even remember the mission he sent her own months ago, only reporting in more than 4 weeks ago and then without contact.

Jūshin sighed heavily, scratching the back of his head as he straightened up. "I might've allowed myself to relax a bit too much...." He admitted, his composure cool and casual as he spoke. He even sported a small smile on his face. "But I haven't allowed myself to slip on details like that." His eyes looked over towards Rukia and Meikurai, the former of whom gained a more serious expression. "Firstly, to the both of you, I thank you for successfully returning Ikari-chan alive and relatively unharmed. Thanks to you, at least one door concerning their operations within Yūrei is opened for us to move into."

Rukia naturally gave a nodding, respectful bow. "Thank you, Your Majesty..." She said.

"With all due respect due respect, your Majesty," Meikurai inclined his head a little as his eyes looked seriously, asking him, "what exact operations involves Mod Souls to be created for precise and tactical missions?"

Ikari looked back at him with a wide-eyed expression, as if he was making a bigoted remark or as if he had something against Mod Souls itself. She bit down on her lip, keeping silent on the matter as she turned her head away and moved closer to Rukia, almost a sign of wanting protection from Meikurai.

Shiro stayed silent, but locked eyes with Meikurai who gave his unwavering gaze back, making Shiro hesitant. He looked over to Jūshin, "Your Majesty?"

What he saw was the shift from casual to surprised... and then to his own serious look. He folded his hands together, his elbows propped up on the table. Chidori remained silent, closing her eyes and silently looking away from the rest of them.

Rukia hadn't paid attention to any of it, however. She had focused a concerned gaze on the Mod Soul as she moved closer to her. A slight bit of sympathy flashing through her eyes, the petite Shinigami reached out to place a comforting hand on Ikari's shoulder, giving a discreet nod of understanding.

"....why do you wish to learn this, Lieutenant Meikurai....?" Jūshin asked him, meeting the man's gaze directly.

"Creation of artificial souls is highly forbidden to this day, your Majesty," Meikurai crossed his arms, not wavering in his gaze with Jūshin, "by signing an Alliance with the Seireitei's Soul Society, you brokered an agreement that all illegal practices, both social and military, would be kept forbidden and would not be condoned by your authority. So, with that in mind, why is IT created and why is IT doing your dirty work, Jūshin Igen?!"

"Mind your words, Lieutenant!" Shiro barked out, his face turned to a sneer and growl at the 12th Division officer as he said, "if you speak to my Lord out of turn one more time, I will see to it personally you are THROWN OUT of this castle!"

"Can you?" Meikurai shifted his gaze towards him, smiling almost confidently, "you're welcome to try, if you have what it takes."

"Why you!-" Shiro growled, moving his hand down towards his own Zanpakuto already on the verge of unsheathing it, and Ikari looked between the two, her eyes narrowed before closing them, already seeing a battle on the verge of happening within the meeting room.

"ENOUGH!!!"

Both Rukia's and Jūshin's righteously furious yells had cut through the tension simultaneously. However, Jūshin's voice seemed to overpower Rukia's, despite both of them being equally angry and annoyed. The King's glare seemed to have gotten colder as he leveled it at Meikurai and Shiro, his expression demonstrating fully that he would not stand for a potential and reckless fight between two allies. It was not a time to squabble.

Rukia remained silent, allowing Jūshin to speak in a low, furious tone. "Lieutenant..." He began. "If you cannot keep yourself at a stable and respectful level while in my presence, I will have you personally escorted out of my castle. Is that clear?!"

Meikurai felt himself squint and close his eyes tightly underneath the dual shouts, albeit Jūshin's to be louder, but he didn't like it how he became a fool out of this inquiry. He breathed out and looked sincerely apologetic, bowing his head to Jūshin, "It wasn't my place, I apologize for raising dissent within this meeting. Please forgive me of my rude behavior."

"And I your majesty," Meikurai bowed immediately, having himself in the same displeasure of being right next to Jūshin when he yelled, got on his hands and knees, his hair awash both sides of his head as he dared not look him in the eye, "forgive me for my lack of self control in a purely diplomatic affair."

"Don't let it happen again..." Jūshin said to his subordinate sternly, closing his eyes. His tone directed itself back towards Meikurai as he spoke. "This has proven that this is not the particular time to speak of Yūrei's use of Mod Souls. In the future, maybe this will come to pass. But not now."

"Sorry," Meikurai softened his gaze to Jūshin and then back to Ikari, "I guess I should leave the discussion of ethics aside and just appreciate it does exist. War is a time when morals and honor is stripped is it not?" He smiled a honest one, looking downwards before looking back up at Jūshin.

Ikari cleared her throat, stepping away from Rukia a foot with a blush on her face that receded within moments as she conducted herself properly, "Your Majesty, those within the cabinet of the Police Force and Military are fakes. They're all being copied and disposed of, leaving key figures at the disposal of a genius actor and spy, who may be the leader of the Ahijados."

"You mean the Espada Afilado's Primera?" Shiro asked aloud, knowing from a pass debrief from Kukkyona had revealed her as such in charge of the assault that tested Yūrei's defenses.

"I'm not sure, but the identity of his partner was hidden for protection so its possible. All I know its a being of incredible power, and I wouldn't doubt it being a Soul Reaper..."

"Do you have any clues to whom it might be?" Jushin questioned, his hardened gaze softening somewhat.

"There is a small, infinitesimally slight chance it is who I think it is," Meikurai said aloud in a grim, but certain tone, "his name was, or may be still is  Tenshi Chinokatsubō. A highly skilled assassin who became a 3rd Seat underneath Captain Seu-Feng and became part of a organization at the time that was relatively new in commision and control. It proved later on that he was KIA during a particularly risky mission that he undertook that is heavily classified. To this day we have yet to hear a whisper speaking of his name and I wouldn't know why a egomaniacal man such as Tenshi would even conspire with the Ahijados cult let alone lead them."

"Power and Destruction are the only promises the Ahijados give to its followers," Ikari looked back at Meikurai with a knowing look, "from the sound of this man it sounds like he'd prefer both."

"So, in other words, we are dealing with a maniac with a degree in espionage...." Juushin summarized, closing his eyes and letting out a slight sigh. "Why does that not surprise me?"

"Its not his MO to work for the Ahijados though," Meikurai argued, hoping that this wasn't the precise truth no matter how much it began turning out to be, "he was fascinated with his targets, leaving roses behind on their bodies or during combat. Why would he defect to the Red Sun philosophy aspect to the Ahijados extremist cult? He never seemed like a religiously zealous type, at least from what I've read or known of him...."

"An Ahijados cultist doesn't necessarily have to pray 9 times a day or kneel at an altar to be in their religion," Ikari looked at him darkly, "its a pact of blood, made in the name of the Hankami gods to bring about paradise through the elimination of all life and rebuilding upon the new world. Perhaps he would find himself placed upon godhood if he worked with the Hankami or conspire to dethrone them when everyone is dead that he wanted them to..."

"He most certainly...would think he would have that chance," Meikurai mused morbidly, rubbing his chin while propping his arm up, closing his eyes, "alright, say it really is him, that means anyone that he's recorded on the 'evidence' is either being set up or bait to lure us to eliminate possibly to knock down all the useful strategists and leaders we have at our disposal."

"What evidence? Who is he setting up?!" Shiro asked alarmed, hoping that no one he knew and trusted to be among them.

"There might be more...." Rukia allowed herself to speak, eyes leveled at Shiro solemnly. She folded her arms across her chest. "But concerning the "bait" that Lieutenant Meikurai and I managed to find within their underground hideout of the Mausoleum, one of these victims might be the former 3rd Seat of the Seireitei's Soul Society.... Braeburn McTavish."

"Wait a minute, Braeburn?" Chidori cocked an eyebrow, pushing herself off of the wall and walking towards the group with a surprised expression on her face. "Isn't that the guy who you requested to stay with y--MMPPH!!!"

However, her sentence was abruptly cut off by Rukia, who had Flash Stepped in front of her and slapped a hand on her mouth, earning irritated muffles from the taller woman. "Idiot!!" She said, a comically alarmed expression on her face. "Don't just talk about that so freely!!!"

"Requested?" Meikurai asked aloud curiously, a small smile donned on his face finding her alarm quite humorous, "what kind of request, Kuchiki-chan, are we talking about?"

"Keeping secrets from us, eh, Chidori, Kuchiki?" Shiro looked to each of them questionably, arching a brow while narrowing the other, "what's this about?"

Now the attention was shifted to the two women.... and the shorter one didn't like it.

"W-well.... you see...." A bunch of small comical sweatdrops were forming on the back of her head as she tried to stammer out an explanation, but Chidori (much to her chagrin) beat her to it. She abruptly wrapped around Rukia's neck and put it within an armlock, despite a protesting yelp from the representative. Her expression was casually cheerful as she explained.

"Apparently not too long after his defection, Braeburn-san managed to find his way here of all places. He was wandering the streets, looking for a place to stay. Of course, considering that knowledge was passed on from the Soul Society to here that he was a defector. So, we had him initially arrested. However, His Majesty decided to be nice. After making thoroughly sure he just abandoned his duty and didn't commit some more extreme offense to Soul Society as well as testing his good behavior with positive methods, Rukia here requested that the guy stay at her house, considering that he might as well have been broke."

She grinned cheekily, using her free hand to pinch at Rukia's cheek. "I think it's rather cute! Both of them are short, skinny, and have the cutest of faces that the respective boys and girls would fall for!"

"Stop it, Chidori-san...!" Rukia whined, squirming in an attempt to get herself free, but to no avail. "It's not like that...!"

"Oh wow," Shiro began snickering covering his face in a poor attempt to mask his idea of finding the truth humorous, "the things you do for strangers...hehehehe!"

"Its too bad I had to find out the hard way you're single, Kuchiki-chan," Meikurai said with a sad sigh, his face bearing a dark cloud over his head and having a depressed aura about himself.

Ikari looked incredulously between all of them, having no idea who they were talking about or what was going on, "Are you all alright?!"

"All right, Chidori-san...." Juushin had to smile and chuckle a little at the teasing display. "Let her go. I think she'll suffer through enough embarrassment later on."

Still carrying that cheeky grin, Chidori released Rukia, the latter of whom scrambled to get away from the green-clad woman and return to Ikari's side. After a few more humorous moments of her regain her breath, she allowed herself to straighten up again and regain her serious face. "Yes.... and now he may be in danger of being framed." She repeated herself, eyes meeting those of the King's.

In return, the King sighed and leaned back in his chair. "What would one possibly gain by framing someone such as Braeburn?" He questioned. "The last time that he had been affiliated with someone, he was only a 3rd Seat... and that's really nothing to be considered important. On top of that, if he was skilled enough to evade capture from the Gotei 13 Protection Squads, then there's really no use trying to pin a target board on him again. Then again, that's just also my personal analysis and opinion on it...."

"3rd Seat Officers are strong enough to take down nearly one dozen and a half of your Police or Military Forces with ease, Kuchiki-chan, and that's just your average minimum requirements for a 3rd Seat Officer," he pointedly suggested why they would frame him, crossing his arms he looked from Rukia, to Ikari, Chidori, Shiro, and then finally locking his eyes with the King as he continued,

"Braeburn is highly skilled in combat and warranted for the deaths of his squad during the Mourning War years before all of this, making him a high priority capture or kill target for the Stealth Force. And from what I understand if he managed to make it out of Hell alive while fighting the forces that are at least Lieutenant or Captain level foes, then it goes to suggest Braeburn would be HIGHLY capable of being framed as liable to be responsible for the D.C.O. agents' murders at the Mausoleum months ago. So, if the evidence for Braeburn's implication being involved in the murders of the D.C.O. agents' murders would not only make him even more worthy of a death penalty by the judges of the Central 46, but also implicate him on some level of treason for aiding the Ahijados cult and impeding our efforst in protecting your nation."

"They must've been tracking his movements for decades then!" Ikari raised her voice in her alarm, her face paling at the inclination of the cult's efforts and planning.

"What exact proof do we have that would make this Braeburn a target?" Shiro asked aloud, he himself would like to know why Meikurai would be so certain Braeburn was a target of being a scapegoat and why the Ahijados would choose him.

"There's a video log of the security feed within the Mausoleum that Lieutenant Meikurai and I found that shows a supposed video of Braeburn killing a group of D.C.O. operators that were attempting to corner him there." Rukia explained. "However, when we ourselves had arrived on the scene, there was a foreign spiritual signature left behind that wasn't Braeburn's or  the D.C.O. members."

"Do you happen to have this tape with you....?" Juushin questioned, cocking a slight eyebrow and lowering his folded arms to the desk level.

"One moment!" Meikurai called out, raising a hand with his finger extended into the air, calling the attention of everyone suddenly. He then walked ahead of everybody, making several handsigns before muttering lowly, " Mirā Hokō!"

Suddenly the space became a 7 foot tall mirror distortion, both the people facing the king and his aides vice versa were able to see their reflections within the meter width of space.

"Uncanny," Shiro looked at it with intrigue, tilting his head to the side watching his reflection follow him but seeing the others just peering at it on the otherside, "its like a mirror...or a portal."

"Huh," Ikari looked at it with her arms intrigued, examining herself out of curiosity before frowning, "I need to get my gear back on, I look like crap like this..."

"Now excuse me for a moment," Meikurai said with a wink at Rukia before walking into the mirrored space, a water rippling effect happened before it slowly became a solid mirror again.

"Woah...."

Both Chidori and Rukia cocked an eyebrow as they caught the wink Meikurai gave the latter before he disappeared into the portal. The green-clad woman gave a whistle. "Wow, Rukia." She commented bluntly. "First Braeburn, and now Lieutenant Meikurai?" She allowed a smirk to cross her face. "You must be practicing to become a rather big playgirl, huh?"

The smirk only widened when Rukia's eyes darkened, an anime vein popping on the corner of her forehead. Her seething was not helped by Juushin's additional comment.

"Well, honestly, she might have some kind of thing going on with Captain Kukkyona, too-- AGH!!!"

Perfoming a Flash Step, Rukia had appeared over the man's head only to land on it and slam his head into his own desk. Her movements were like a rabbit's, with her hopping off to land beside his desk. "Don't just say random things like that!" She snapped, folding her arms across her chest and glaring comically at him.

"....aaaaaand I think I have another concussion." Juushin muttered, causing Chidori to snicker.

Ikari facepalmed, shaking her head, "What I wouldn't give to unwind everything that's happened before I got here and just forget it...what's the matter with you people?"

Shiro chuckled as he saw Rukia's antics, "What's the matter? With all your flustering and rash actions, I almost get the feeling you like the attention of three eligible, talented, and even some nobility is giving you. Feeling age catch up on you, Kuchiki-chan? Feeling that organic clock ticking, hehehe!"

"Don't make me come over there!" The petite Shinigami threatened, waving her fists in the air in a ranting manner. However, she immediately turned to Ikari, her expression showing that she wanted assistance. "Ikari! Do something to make them stop! Defend me!" She pleaded, both of her eyes now looking like wide and white comical plates.

"Defend you?" Ikari cocked her head slightly, before a thought came into her mind and her eyes narrowed to dangerous, threatening slits. A dark, violet aura surrounded her as she cracked her knuckles, walking towards Jūshin, Chidori, and Shiro's direction, saying aloud, "Gotcha, Rukia-chan. Anyone else who wants to say something worth saying, you'll be spitting teeth in the castle's moat for a week. Capiche?!"

Shiro kneeled in horror as her visage made her appear somehow 10 feet tall and himself 10 feet smaller, saying in a small, uneasy voice, "It was a joke...sorry...won't happen again..."

Juushin and Chidori was worse off.

The two had shrank into chibi size and were now holding each other's shaking forms out of fear, looking up at the seemingly monstrous form that they had seen in their visage. Clearly, and despite Juushin's obvious rank, even he knew the rule of completely ticking off a woman.

"Y...yes....we're terribly sorry....." Juushin managed to stammer.

"Please don't make me spit my own teeth...." Chidori begged.

At that moment in time, the mirror rippled as Meikurai stepped through the tape in hand, saying, "Aaaaaaaand I'm back!"

"Didn't I just say," Ikari said with a flash behind her gaze, turning around on the ball of her foot while flipping the sandal off her left foot, tossing it up to her left hand, and then threw it with enough power it shook the room violently for a moment as her aura flared and veins throbbed on her forehead, "NOT to say anything?!?!?!?!"

"The hell?!" Meikurai cried out as he ducked, deftly avoiding the sandal as it embedded itself into the mirror, cracking the Kido construct before it dissipated into blue energy and withered into nothing, "...what did I just miss?"

Rukia was putting on a satisfied smile as she folded her arms across her chest, the only one having not been phased by the fearsome display that Ikari had put on. "Oh, not much...." She answered coolly. "Don't worry about it."

"O-kay," Meikurai said sweatdropping after looking over at the sandal next to him, raising his arms in defense as Ikari walked and deftly put her foot back in it and walked over to Rukia's side. Meikurai shook his head, clearing his throat as he reached into his kimono and pulling out a tape, "here is the evidence tape that I and Kuchiki-chan looked over last night. It contains a carefully refined and detailed footage from the technology my laboratory was able to give me."

"Your Majesty," Shiro said politely to his King as he bent over and whispered into his ear, "do you think we should look at the evidence now, just to see the gravity of the claim firsthand or put it to the side due to war emergency times as of now?"

After having released Chidori, Juushin once again returned to his folded-hands, elbows-propped position, only sliding out of it once Shiro had whispered over to him. "It would be best to view this now and get it out of the way considering the Ahijados are giving our side a lax moment for the time being...." He answered in return, nodding his head.

"Just to be advised...." Rukia cleared her throat in order to get his attention. "At least some of the sound will be distorted and somewhat muted."

Shiro nodded in understanding, walking over to the holo-display table while Meikurai did the same, handing the tape over to Shiro, handing it over to him.

"This will just take a minute," Shiro said as he inserted the tape into a slot of the table and began messing with the settings on the display and visual quality. Within just a couple minutes, the exact starting moment where Meikurai and Rukia began watching the dark, dimly lit street popped up in a large 10 foot tall, nearly transparent display of the camera view.

"What you're seeing here is a rear entrance for maintenance and caretakers of the Mausoleum's 'occupants'. This is the alleyway that runs behind it and there happened to be a operational security camera footage that was saved before the day it was demolished," Meikurai explained as all looked upon the footage as it continued to play.

As the footage continued, a dark figure started to make its approach and briefly stop, taking only a few moments to check its tracks before entering. But the footage suddenly rewinded, then increased its focus on the figure and enhanced the display, showing low and behold, a flawless representation of Braeburn McTavish, clothed in dark wrappings with a precise, stern look on his features!

"Uncanny," Shiro whispered aloud, speaking on behalf of both the imagery technology and Braeburn's duplication in physical attributes alone, "I can't scarce tell any difference..."

"So that's what this 'Braeburn' looks like...seems a lot more life-like and cold than the original I wager," Ikari spoke out of interest and analysis, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest.

"He's a master of disguise and infiltration, that Tenshi," Meikurai mused with a quiet voice as the image and footage was momentarily halted.

"Everything right down to the very color of his eyes...." Jūshin commented, putting on a small smile. "If we hadn't met Braeburn first-hand, I would've assumed that this would be indeed the real him. Quite a dangerous enemy we have here...."

Rukia blinked at Ikari's statement, turning her head to look over at the other woman with slightly curious eyes. "What do you mean?" She asked. "Braeburn was who you had saw attempt to attack that red-haired woman in the Mausoleum."

Ikari sweatdropped, scratching the back of her head as she looked at Rukia sheepishly, "Oops...I forgot, haha..."

"Its continuing to play," Shiro voiced aloud, allowing everyone to watch the display again as the display changed as the figure moved inside, a telltale blue aura showed through a x-ray display of the Mausoleum, showing him approach the center sarcophagus. Within but a moment, several red auras appeared, all humanoid in appearance and appearing ready to strike. However, within a steadied, unmoved stance...the aura of 'Braeburn' made a aggressive gesture, and struck down all of the attackers, just like the time Meikurai and Rukia had saw it.

"He...killed them?!" Shiro gasped, now understanding who the auras were from their previous discussion.

"He didn't even break a sweat from doing it either! Why didn't the other guys dodge or see it coming?!" Ikari questioned in a harsh, uncertain tone.

"Because they can't see his sword," Meikurai answered plainly as the footage continued to show the figure began gathering bodies and dragging them out of the Mausoleum, "Tenshi's Zanpakuto's base abilities revolve around the manipulation of light, allowing him to transform his appearance to be immaculately replicated forms of other people or people he conjured by thought, even making copies of himself. But for his weapon abilities, he can cause his sword to disappear entirely and then extend at will, allowing him to strike unnopposed as well as with the element of surprise at his enemies."

"He sounds like an incredibly dangerous man," Shiro whispered solemnly as he looked down, a bead of sweat ran down his brow as he looked at the holo display before it ended.

"He is an incredibly dangerous man..." Chidori added bluntly and grimly. "But at least we know Braeburn isn't the one behind the killings." It was a rather small victory for them. But now, they had to worry about tracking down and stopping this threat before he could destroy them from the inside out. "The problem now..."

"....is unconvering and stopping this man, when he's already blended in so quickly into our society." Jūshin finished, his eyes narrowing and a scowl crossing his face. "Damn it.... I hate enemies like these."

"What's worse is that he's the Leader of the enemy just outside of our city," Ikari grit her teeth and clenched her fists tightly, "which means he purposely infiltrated inside the city and ordered the attack so that he can take out our defenses, undermine our strategies, allowing even a enemy force with half the strength or skill of ours to overwhelm the city with ease!"

"What do we do, your Majesty?!" Shiro looked over to Jūshin with alarm and confusion, "we can call a consensus with the leaders of our Military and Police Force, try to see if the Lieutenant can sift through their presences to see which is the imposter-"

"That won't work," Meikurai said with a grim, yet firm tone.

"Indeed." Jūshin agreed. "It would be far too obvious of a method to root out spies, and someone like him would see it coming from a mile away. If he managed to put himself this deep into our security, then it's not of the question that he's anticipating our conventional methods of tracking him."

"Dammit!" Shiro swore, clenching his fists and looked down angrily, muttering to himself, "is there nothing we can do to stop this?! Our enemy is at our doorstep and its leader is running amoc, disguised and doing as he pleases...we don't even know what he's after!"

"There is one way we can track him," Ikari said with a assured, definite tone with resolve and confidence radiating her eyes as she looked to the King and his two aides, also attracting the attention of the others around the room, Meikurai staying silent however as he had already came up with his own ideas.

That immediately drew the attention of Juushin, Rukia, and Chidori, all thre of them with widened eyes of surprise. "What way would that be, dear Ikari-chan?" The King questioned, cocking a slight eyebrow as he waited for her response.

"My lord, if I might ask a question," Ikari continued, as she raised a single finger up emphasizing, "despite the number of ways Tenshi could create havoc, what are two key points that would critically undermine our defense and security of this city?"

Meikurai's eyes widened as she deducted something he shoved into the back of his mind, speaking aloud, "You don't think...?"

Jūshin blinked a few times, registering and processing the question before answering. "The level of competence and skill that the leaders of the government, military, and the police have.... and the very psychology of the city itself.." He answered, although aware that his own idea might defer from Ikari's own.

"Close, your Majesty," Ikari remarked, but shook her finger at him with a blank look on her face, "though that's what he's hoping to do by leaving the bait in the Mausoleum and the hopes we'd take all of our leaders away from the battlefield and keep them from doing their jobs, as well as arouse suspicion from the public and the morales of the ranks would drop dramatically. What his TRUE aims are," she paused dramatically before looking towards the King, then looking to Meikurai, "is either the assassination of the King or the death of the Kido Captain operating the defense array."

"What?!" Shiro shouted, almost snarling at the thought the leader of the enemy would be as bold as to take the fight to the King himself and have to most possibly deal with the two bodyguards next to him.

"It would be...tactically beneficial if he attacked the Kido Captain, seeing as he can't defend himself while operating a delicately intricate defense against enemy bombardment," Meikurai said in concurrance, cupping his chin and propping his elbow as he began to ponder which he'd most likely choose to attack.

"Be that as it may...." Jūshin, not at all disturbed by the possibility of being killed by this spy, closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "He is still only one man." An apprehensive Chidori was now eyeing him as he spoke. "I doubt that he is the only spy that's managed to infiltrate the city. If he is indeed working alongside the Ahijados and having people willing to attack directly, then there's the danger of him having allies following him by the path he's cutting through our security."

"If he strikes one key target...." Rukia said, a slight amount of horror coming to her expression. "Then his allies can strike another at the same time before there can be any move made to defend either one!"

"Exactly...."

"Then we'll need to defend both key targets," Meikurai said, resuming his crossed-arm posture as he said nonchalantly,"knowing how powerful this guy is, he'll likely have either equally powerful allies or others grouped together to make up for their lack of strength to target the one he's not attacking."

"He'd be either very confident he can take you on, or simply distract security by sending people after you," Ikari voiced her opinion, speaking to Shiro,"which means its quite possible they'll try to split both you and Chidori-san from his majesty's presence so there can be at least one attacker left to take out the target."

"I won't let that happen! I'll remain by my king's side to the end," Shiro said assuredly, placing a palm against his chest and staring Ikari down with a resolved gaze.

"As that might be, we're dealing with a cunning spy who might be skilled enough in illusion to set you off on the wrong path. Be mindful of what we percieve, otherwise we might fall into the enemy's trap. Same goes for you, Chidori-san," she nodded to the other aide and bodyguard of Jūshin's.

Chidori folded her arms across her chest, a slightly stern yet casual expression on her face as she contemplated the information inside her head. "I didn't get to where I am today just because of good looks..." She replied coolly. "I'm fully prepared on my end. We'll keep on our toes."

"I'm certain that if we just call Captain Sasayaki," Meikurai said with a thoughtful look at Ikari, "he'll lend 'special' support for our just uncovered threat of Tenshi's."

"I'm sure a number of my collegues can also assist if they're not doing anything or are under other assignments," Ikari nodded her head in agreement with Meikurai, before turning her head back to Jūshin, "are they available?"

"That's something I'm unsure of...." Jūshin 's eyes narrowed, and he cast his gaze off to the side. "I haven't been in contact with them ever since my personal security's been reinforced. You're free to see for yourself, however..."

"Its probably better that way," Ikari mused while bowing respectfully, before turning to Rukia. A thoughtful look crossed her eyes, her next action happening unexpectantly as she extended her arms around Rukia and hugged her warmly, whispering in her ear, "Thank you, Rukia...for everything.

Meikurai raised a brow at the emotional move by the mod soul, but shook his head, looking towards Jūshin, "I should contact my Captain at once and ensure those special reinforcements can come as needed. Is there anything you would have of me, Lord Jūshin ?"

Rukia was indeed surprised by the sudden action made by Ikari. However, she did not react with panic or hostility. Instead, she readily wrapped her own arms around the mod Soul's back in a returning hug. "It's no problem..." She assured, a small smile crossing her face. "Don't worry about it."

"I'll be back with my comrades, Rukia-chan," she then lightly kissed Rukia's cheek, walking past her as she lightly trailed her right hand up and over her shoulder, "if you ever need help, just call and I'll be there. It is after all the least I can do for you," with that said, Ikari disappeared as her form shimmered, a unknown fast-movement technique had been used if Rukia would notice, but all traces of her presence had disappeared.

Jūshin directed his gaze back to Meikurai, his narrowed eyes returning to their calm and passive state. "You and Rukia have performed quite exceptionally on your own accord. So the only thing I can advise you is to continue as you are. I trust in your efforts, Lieutenant Meikurai."

Meikurai gave a cocky grin, reaching into his kimono and pulled out his pipe, wordlessly putting it into his mouth before looking over at Rukia, "I do what I can so the world may be a better place. Despite my methods being questionable I am on behalf of all humanity. Both living and beyond."

"Well said, Lieutenant," Shiro said with a admiring grin of his own, crossing his arms as he spoke out to him, "I take back what I said. I'm glad the Seireitei and its Soul Society has such steadfast and competant men and women like you. Keep safe and may we all be living after tonight."

"Isn't that the truth? Same to you, Shiro-san," he said with a smile and nod, turning to Rukia expectantly seeing that she was alone now, flashed her a dazzling smile and thumbs up, "want to accompany me to procure those reinforcements, Kuchiki-chan?"

After turning away from the spot Ikari had disappeared from (and mentally noting the technique that she had used), Rukia gave Meikurai a quirked brow for a moment. Then, she put on a smile and decided to humor him. "Sure. I'd be happy to." She answered casually, folding her arms across her chest and tilting her head to the side slightly.

At this, Jūshin and Chidori gave each other a comical knowing look.

"And we're off," Meikurai said with a smile, secretly rearing his left hand behind his kimono visible to Jūshin and his two aides, flipping them off, "I'm sure no one will object! Ta ta!"

With that said, Meikurai and Rukia exited the debriefing room, leaving Shiro twitching and snarling out, "I'll get you for this, MEIKURAI!!!"

"...wow...." One of Chidori's eyes were twitching at the gesture that Meikurai had made. However, she was much more composed than Shiro. "That.... was completely uncalled for and highly disrespectful. I think you should arrest him... and  subject him to five minutes of straight-up caddle prodding."

Juushin sweat-dropped. "A...Avaron came up with that one, didn't she? I knew there was a reason I was always scared of that woman..."

"Yeah," Shiro puffed, still growling in the back of his throat before a dawning thought came into his mind, "that Ikari....reminds me of Avaron," he shuddered, "it makes me wonder why she and Meikurai are so protective of Kuchiki-san...they don't need to be scary or bastard-like..."

Jūshin shrugged. "Guess Rukia picked some really good friends to hang out with." He supplied.

Shiro huffed once more before turning to the King, "Perhaps, your Majesty. I should be off to instruct security appropiately and gather your personal Soul Reapers to secure all possible entrances and exits. Is there anything else I should do, your Majesty?"

"Only that you take my dear Chidori with you...." Jūshin answered, glancing over at the said woman as she stretched out and yawned. "She's been quite cooped up in here for some time, so I think she would be rather eager to get to do something."

"Mhm..." Chidori murmured in agreement, her voice a bit dulled out by another yawn.

Shiro looked to Chidori, sighing, "Understood, your Majesty," as he turned around swiftly in a almost comical fashion, he waved back to her without turning, "but I won't be responsible for leaving her behind if she falls asleep."

A twitch. Then...

"Hey!" Chidori snapped, one of her eyes twitching as she glared holes into his back. An anime vein popped in the back of her head. "I'm not that tired, you jerk! Don't make me pound the crap out of you!"

"You sound like Captain Avaron...how unlady like of you," Shiro mused with a cheshire grin, raising his brows up and down as he met his eyes with her angry ones as they moved out of the debriefing room, "you should be more like Rukia. Getting flirted with, shamelessly blushing in embarassment, and wearing KAMA SKIRTS!" He spoke without shame and remorse as he laughed heartily.

"....Override the System....Henko."

What he recieved in response was a massive amount of killing intent by Chidori, followed by her release command as her sword shifted into its Shikai form. If one looked in her direction, they would've seen her brandishing the blade with gleaming eyes and a slasher's smile. Even when comical, it was clearly not the best situation for Shiro to be in.

Shiro suddenly paled as he slowly, comically turned his head around to see Chidori bearing her menacing, if not manically sadist intent to kill him, whispering, "Oh #$%*!" Before he hightailed down the hall as fast as he could, yelling out, "it was a joke! I was making fun of Rukia and you at the same time! Don't kill me, don't kill me, don't kill meeeeeeeeeee!!!"

"And there they go...." Jūshin muttered, watching as a maniacally grinning Chidori pursued Shiro down the halls. "Sometimes, I just wonder if we have too much fun...."

Emergency Orders! Faces and Old Ghosts
CLICK!

"Well, she's not home...." Braeburn muttered, shutting the door behind him after depositing the outfit that Hana had given him. He turned away from the door, putting his in his hakama pockets and closing his eyes for a moment in thought. Now that he had done what he had to do there wasn't much choice but to head back to the HQ and relax within the quarters. But considering the tense situation that had been produced, he wasn't sure if anyone would treat him like they did when he first entered. He hoped Hana would be okay.

Little did he know that he was being watched, even as he was walking...

"He's coming out!" Rokotsu said as she looked through the binoculars, homing in on him and the residence nearby, looking as if he ditched his box that Hana gave him, "and he got rid of the box! That ungrateful..."

"Hold it, I'm checking registries to see who lives there," Yōki said as she looked through a lense which had the appearance of a targeting lense for snipers or commandos, but was merely using it at the moment for checking databases within the D.C.O. archives. "Got it...oh! I guess that makes sense..." she uttered as she frowned before looking over at a impatient Rokotsu.

"What?! Who lives there?!" She demanded while bobbing her head and inadverdently bouncing her chest due to the tight black uniform she wore underneath her conspicuous brown trench coat.

"Its the liason between the Seireitei Soul Society and Yurei Okuko's home. A Rukia Kuchiki...formerly a high ranking member of the Gotei 13 before for unknown reasons left to speculation she transfered to aid the alliance and peace treaty between King Juushin and the Head Captain Furuidensho. It seems like she's fairly social with everyone within the palace...so it might go to say that Braeburn is a friend of his," Yōki explained as she saw the files on Rukia while keeping eye contact with her boisterous partner."

However, the said partner had her own way of thinking established, raising a finger to her mouth that had spread to a comical 'o', "Ooooh! So does that mean, Brae-kun and Rukia are...y'know...like this?" She entwined her fingers to show a point, the black specialized material fit smoothly with her fingers that allowed her the maneuver with ease.

"No! Ugh!" Yōki slapped her face with her palm, dragging it down to show a irritated yet tolerant expression, "he stopped by to drop off the box considering he still doesn't feel...well, comfortable at our base."

"Oooooh! So he's mad at Hana-chan?! Why would he be?!" Rokotsu insistantly asked as she leaned nearly nose to nose with Yōki, making the latter scrunch up her nose and widen her eyes comically.

"B-Because," she continued, gently pushing her friend back to a upright position and off herself, "Braeburn is kind've confused, I think. He just needs time is all..."

"Will he be mad that we're following him?" Rokotsu arched her brow and cocked her head to the side in innocent, naive manner.

"Not if he doesn't find ou-...wait a minute!" Yōki went over and grabbed Rokotsu's binoculars, zooming in at where Braeburn was, seeing him walk just around the corner effectively a block away. "Crap! Let's move, or we'll lose our infamous mystery man!"

"Right, Yōki-chan!" Rokotsu responded with a smile, giddily bubbling as she followed Yōki's graceful leaps from building top to building top and keeping a even pace with surprising speed without having to use Flash Step or Spiritual Energy to accelerate their movements at all, before they stopped overtop Braeburn's location and peered downwards.

"Found 'em!" Rokotsu said with a loud whisper, knowing better than to give away their position.

"Good, I'd thought we almost lost him," Yōki smiled as she exhaled a upward breath that tickled her bangs up and down, tracking Braeburn's movements with curious eyes, "now let's see where he's off to..."

"Jeez...."

Braeburn scratched the back of his head as he walked, unaware of his audience. He directed his gaze up at the sky, seeing the brief flashes of green that made up the massive barrier etched over the landscape. "You'd think that there'd be some action by now, what with all of the time that's passed." He muttered to himself. "But, I guess the Ahijados are taking their sweet time showing themselves. Doesn't make it any less boring, though...."

At the end of this particular sentence, he allowed himself to stop in front of an alleyway.

That was when his eyes narrowed, and a slight smirk came across his face. "Though, I could always be wrong about that...." He said, apparently detecting another presence within his area. "Isn't that right?"

A foreign, female voice with a British accent answered him.

"Oh, I could say so..."

Immediately, Braeburn twisted around and swung his leg up--

THWACK!

--just in time to block a kick from the source of the voice.

With a Flash Step, the figure vanished and re-appeared a ways off from him while he allowed himself to spin back into place and face his attacker. Anyone else would've immediately assumed her to be a Stealth Force member, as she was wearing the standard uniform that had been suited to the use of Shunko. She had long, brown hair and a scarf around her neck to go with the uniform. Her brown eyes were serene as they gazed at him, and a smile was across her face. Her arms were folded across her chest, and her body was in an idle stance.

"Hahi!" Rokotsu yelped as she saw through the binoculars an unknown presence moved to attack and Braeburn defending himself, someone with familiar distinguishing characteristics but she couldn't place it at the moment, "Whos is she?! Does Braeburn have a fan club of girls?!"

"Wouldn't be surprised," Yōki mused as she zoomed in on the new character, switching over different forms of vision until it outlined her in red, causing her to draw in a sharp gasp, "and of course he had to attract a powerful fan girl at that. She's Captain-class Spiritual Power!"

"You've got to be kidding me?!" Rokotsu looked at Yōki with a saucer sized comical expression.

"I have to say...." Braeburn said, grinning as he settled into a barefisted stance, clearly anticipating what was coming. "For someone who's been away from the Seireitei for quite a while, you haven't exactly dulled in where it counts. Too bad I picked up a few new moves while I was away myself."

The girl's smile grew wider, and she lowered her arms to her sides. "New moves, huh? Well, I would say they would be new.... if you hadn't picked them up from me." She remarked, hunching over for a moment before she used another Flash Step  to throw herself at Braeburn. In turn, he simply pushed his legs forward in order to meet her halfway.

The dance began.

Punch against punch, kick against kick, and chop against chop. On the girl's side, it was clear that she was no novice. Her movements were quick, accurate, and precise as she fought against Braeburn with attacks that were accurate of that of the Stealth Force's style of Hakuda. She did not seem to be struggling at all, treating the duel with a natural flair as she kept that anticipating smile on her face. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed in concentration as she struck again and again.

On Braeburn's side, he was somewhat stuck on the defensive as she attacked. However, his own expression expressed enjoyment of the fight, and he seemed to hold his own quite effectively against the stranger. Though he couldn't find any openings and gain ground on her, he was putting up a defense to make it difficult for her to gain any advantage on him. It was a stalemate, despite their positions.

"They seem to know each other," Rokotsu stuck out a fish-lipped expression, furrowing her brows and narrowing her eyes, "its obvious he has a history with this girl."

"You could say that," Yōki said as her imaging lense already picked up files and past histories in a record timing as her mug shot was identified even as they entered their Hakuda duel, "obviously this girl had served her time as the replacement Lieutenant after earning her rank as well as becoming a student underneath Captain Seu-Feng of the 2nd Division and Commander-in-Chief of the Stealth Force. She had many classified missions, but from what isn't, she preformed with both poise and skill belonging to someone who truly is a Lieutenant of the 2nd Division...."

"What happened, Yōki-chan?! Why isn't she shaking hands with him or arresting him?!" Rokotsu asked as she watched the melee duel with interest, kicking her legs out as she comfortably rested her jaw on the curled palms of her hands, much to a annoyed chagrin of Yōki.

" Well for one she had a falling out with the Gotei 13 after she what says on the report, "A traumatic episode which led to a critical crack in her psyche which caused her to lose her ability to preform her duties and was immediately decomissioned. Says here that's where her file ends and there's nothing beyond that...oh!" She then turned over to Rokotsu with a blank stare, saying bluntly, "and apparently she's the sister of our fugitive down there."

"WH-mf?!" Rokotsu was about to shout out, blowing their cover and possibly get involved when Yōki deftly clamped her hand over her mouth, despite a fuming and confused look on Rokotsu's face, puffing up her cheeks and flushing her face crimson.

"Do you WANT them to know we're spying on us?! Keep quiet and let's watch to see what happens," Yōki said sternly, but not too harsh as she kept her hand over Rokotsu's mouth as she resumed watching the physical exchange between the two sibblings.

With another kick, the two combatants leaped away from one another and returned to a fighter's distance, both only breathing slightly. "If I didn't know any better...." Braeburn allowed himself to say, relaxing his stance and allowing himself to lean up against the wall. "I'd say you were a bit distracted by something else. Not causing any more trouble in other places, are you?" This earned a chuckle from the girl, and she walked over to stand beside him, her arms folded across her chest once more.

"Well, let's just say I've been quite busy lately. I had to use what spare time I was given in order to come here and pay a visit to see how my big brother was doing. Glad to see you're still alive and well, despite the fact that you've got a pretty good bounty on your head."

Braeburn scoffed. "Speak for yourself..." He said dismissively. "I might be getting my rap sheet cleaned when all of this is over and done with. Can't say the same for you, though.... not with what I heard about you."

The woman smiled, although the smile itself was rather weak and weary. "Yeah...." She allowed herself to slide down on the concrete, arms resting on her knees, and her eyes directing themselves towards the sky. "Funny... the day you bring it up, everything's all sunny and rather peaceful, despite the apparent preparations for war going on. It's nothing like it was back then....."

"Wanna talk about it....?" Braeburn inquired, a slightly concerned tone in his voice as he sat down beside her. He looked at her with slightly sympathetic eyes. "I mean, if you really want to, that is. I'm not pressuring you to do anything you don't want to, but--"

"No, no, it's fine...." The girl closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. "I guess that it would be better for me to start back prior to my little....episode. It was a cold, rainy night, and I had just finished killing the last Stealth Force member trying to subdue me...."

Memory of the Fragile Mirrors...Commence.
Within the outskirts of the 2nd Division barracks, there was a slaughter that had been freshly finished. Blood stained the ground, and several bodies littered the training field. The small area was almost completely covered by bodies of unfortunate Punishment Force operators who had been killed. There was no villain that had suddenly appeared before them in order to execute the gruesume act.

It had been committed by one of their own.

In the center of the scattered pile sat one brown-haired Punishment Force female, sobbing with her face in her hands. Her katana was stained with blood that mixed with the rain that fell from the sky. Her uniform was also stained in the crimson liquid - something that the sky's tears would never wash out. She did not regret killing any of them in her rage.... for she felt as though they had deserved it. They had been the ones who made her kill her own mother.... they had been the ones who attempted to justify the monstrous actions.... so they would burn in Hell for all eternity for their crimes against her.

But she knew that this act would not go unpunished. They would be looking for her with intentions to kill her. From this point on, she was nothing more than an outlaw, a cutthroat criminal. She would have to discard everything just for the sake of living and just to avoid their bloodthirsty hands. Slowly, she stood up with her katana lowered to her side.

"I...can't stay here...." She whispered hoarsely, the tears mixing with the rain. "I have to leave..... I'm so sorry....Mother....."

Shutting her eyes, she kicked into a Flash Step in order to begin her run.... and her escape from Soul Society.

"Dammit to hell!" Seu-Feng bit the inside of her cheek so hard, she swore she could taste the iron-bitter flavor of her own blood. Her eyes narrow and brows furrowed into a scowl at herself. A number of wild thoughts threatened to overwhelm the usually calm, collected female Commander-in-Chief of the Stealth Force and Captain of the 2nd Division. The pain from the calcium of her teeth kept her feet running in soft pitter-pats, her body hung low, the slight sound of her hair fluttering alongside her Haori cloak, and her senses keen to track the one person she would let into her heart.

The only person since Yoruichi...

Suddenly, she saw a number of Stealth Force bodies come into her vision and she could feel faint traces of her Spiritual Pressure from their wounds. She was nearby...running...panicked...and mentally unstable. She knew she should've been the one to take the assignment, but she wanted to ensure her loyalty and confident she could do the task without it harming her role as a Stealth Force officer and Gotei 13 Lieutenant. However...it never happened that way. Not when family was involved.

With a sharp inhale, she used Flash Step rapidly, quickly making but the softest of sounds as she began to pick up a shape, a figure beyond her scope of vision. She knew it was her when she could smell the mud and blood mixed into her scent and the confused distortion of her Spiritual Pressure she felt coming from her.

"Bakudō # 31,"

While in motion, Seu-Feng widened her eyes as she began drawing a yellow-energy inverted triangle, before the corners extended into beak-like protrutions, before she uttered out the name of the Kido, intentionally aiming to pin the body of her closest surrogate daughter, to keep her from escaping as duty demanded of her,

"Shitotsu Sansen!"

"I was a rat back then.... a blind, scurrying rat scrambling for the cover of darkness and away from the danger of sunlight... I was frantic, panicked, and barely within my own state of mind."

The voice, frightening in her ears, almost made the girl stop in her tracks. Her head jerked up in surprise, her confused and aimless stare turning into one of horror and shock as she felt the energy racing towards her. Even in her mental state, she could recognize it as a binding spell. Her hunter was going to pin her to a surface and finish her off without remorse....

The beams were a millimeter away from her back...

WOOSH!

With a Flash Step, she evaded the shots directed towards her person and re-appeared a ways off, her body twisting itself around in order to meet her hunter. At first, her eyes were narrowed, a defiant scowl crossing her face as she prepared to defend herself once more....

However, once her brown eyes met with the cold grey of her mentor, her defiance was immediately crushed, and the horror returned to her water-stained face. Time seemed to stop for her as she stood there, unconsciously waiting for the woman to come to the fighter's distance.

"No.... nonononono....please, no....." She whispered. She would've done anything to block out the sight. She would've convinced herself that it was just an illusion of her fragmented mind and nothing more. But she sensed the spiritual energy as it was coming closer and closer. With each and every foot closed between the two, she could feel her heart tearing itself further and further apart. Frustration, grief, and sorrow was consuming her, and it was all she could do to keep herself from breaking down completely.

"You should've seen the look in her eyes.... so cold.... so remorseless.... I don't think she even cared about my well-being in the first place...."

Seu-Feng closed the distance within a mere few seconds, not hesitant to rush in and dispose of her student. She convinced herself in her mind, even before leaving and having a maelstrom of thoughts and feelings threaten to drown herself to stop her no matter the cost. She knew how powerful she was, what she's capable of. If anyone of her Division, of the Stealth Force, could stop her, it was Seu-Feng.

"Forgive me, Brina, for I do this for not duty's sake, but for our own," Seu-Feng thought inside, fighting back the physical reflex of the burning liquid that would escape her cold, focused orbs.

As she came within a few feet of her as she drew back her right arm while scissoring her left arm in front of her in a motion what would appear to be a block. However, her hand remained flat, as she struck out violently in a three hit burst combo towards neck, nose, and eyes, all of them feints and would distract the near flawless instaneous follow-up of a palm-heel Hakuda strike with enough force to crack open the mask of a Hollow with ease.

"Tessō!"

"Right then.... I knew there was no way that I could reason with her to let me go.... but it was worth trying to...."

Because she had her still in hand, and because she had allowed herself to be caught off-guard, she couldn't bring herself up to block the attacks in time. Therefore, she had to allow herself to pull back, moving from side to side in order to avoid being hit. But as Sui-Feng was attacking her, it was becoming all too clear that she was not in the mood for words. She wanted to kill her creation and walk away, just like that.

She would not allow her to take away what was hers!

When Sui-Feng initiated the Tessō technique, Brina immediately braced herself. From the initiation of the technique, she boosted her legs in a hop that was just enough to get herself off of the ground. Bringing her left leg inward, she connected a kick with her mentor's wrist in order to knock her arm aside and her body off-balance. Then, as she twisted around, she brought her sword in a backhand swing in an effort to chop off the other woman's head. This would be followed by three more fluid and fast sword strikes, with the attacker taking advantage of her target being bare-handed.

At least, for the moment.

Seu-Feng felt more and more regret as she saw Brina snap out of whatever sorrowful depressed state she had been in. By instinct as she felt her body lose balance, she purposed to move in the direction she was stumbling towards. Her head bent down, hearing the humming of her former protoge's sword tickle the hairs underneath her chin as her body twisted out of the way, walking on her hands and spun out of the way of the three flurry strikes of her weapon.

Her anger allowed her to push forward, her indignation for Seu-Feng's lack of connection and effort to talk to her, and her cracked psyche told her to strike down anyone in her way. As her student thrusted her sword one more time, Seu-Feng perfectly timed to split her legs around before scissor-grappeling the forearm, twisting the wrist and arm in a way to rid her of her weapon to throw it haphazardly to the side, before she pulled with incredible strength to throw her over her body towards a nearby tree, all while staying on her hands.

"Grrr...."

Brina gritted her teeth and emitted an angered growl as she lost control of her arm, Soifon's move effectly ripping her sword from her hands. "Not even a word of anything?!" She spat, trying to maintain control over the rest of her body as Sui-Feng pulled. In order to stay on, Brina reached out with her free hand to grab one of her opponent's ankles. As she performed a frontflip and landed on her feet, she twisted the arm within Soifon's grasp as best as she could in order for her other hand to grasp the same ankle. "Are you too much of a coward that you would remain defiant for what you've done to me?!!"

In the midst of her sentence, she pulled with her own strength to spin her enemy around before releasing in order to throw her into the nearest tree.

Seu-Feng in mid-flight kept her emotions in check, keeping herself from having a verbal shout-out to her surrogate daughter, her praised and loved student, her most trusted subordinate. Instead she raised a palm up in mid-flight, a sphere of red energy gathered in two of her hands, but her intention was still the same.

"Shakkaho!"

Her left arm aimed precisely for Brina as it let loose a cannonball of red energy, moving at a incredible distance and speed, leaving little room to evade or dodge due to the small distance. At the same time, she wrenched her ankle and feet away from her hand as she discharged another sphere into the tree she was nearly coming into contact. Once the orb was shot, it began shattering the bark and blasting a opening within the large growth, albeit a few stray pieces of heated bark nicked her arms and caught in her Haori as she spun in the air. Seu-Feng clawed into the grass and dirt, with her left hand, and steadied herself with her right hand.

"What's there to say, Brina?" Seu-Feng said with a sad, yet angry voice, as she locked her gaze to nowhere in particular as her right hand sifted to the handle of her Zanpakuto's hilt, clicking it gently out of the sheathe, "that you murdered comrades in cold blood and I'm here to bring you into justice, whether its through a bodybag or cuffs of Spirit energy or steel? That I regret teaching you everything that makes you the dangerous weapon you are? What's there to say, Brina?!"

As the smoke cleared, it was obvious that Brina had taken the hit. Her arms were in the X-position, scarred with moderate burns across the skin. the sleeves of her gi had been ruffled and charred somewhat. But she showed no signs of discomfort as she lowered her arms and bared her teeth slightly at Sui-Feng's words. Despite herself, her mentor's voice calling out to her with such a tone made her want to rip her throat out even more. It fueled her killing urge, wiping away the regret and replacing it with nothing more than a murderous intent. The more she spoke, the more she could see her mother's shocked expression as she experienced the pain of her Shikai.

She might as well have been practically inhaling her master's blood right then and there.

"So you're going to just push it aside?!" She snarled, her defiant eyes meeting Sui-Feng. "You turned me against my own blood! You made me look into her sorrowful, confused eyes as I took her life away! You made me throw away my family, and for what?! My loyalty towards your precious division?! Did you anticipate the fact that I now have to live with the rest of my family thinking I've become some sort of cold monster like you?!" Upon that sentence, she lowered her head, her fists clenched so hard that blood trickled out from the palms.

"Master.... I was your servant.... your apprentice.... and I wanted ever so desperately to be your friend...." In a struggling manner, she brought her head up to glare with wild eyes into Soifon's own. "I will be DAMNED, BEFORE I WOULD BECOME YOUR FUCKING DOLL!!!"

CRACK!

A flash of lightning punctuated the end of that sentence, the thunder cracking with a vicious roar across the landscape. In that instant, Brina had flashed stepped to her fallen sword, kicked it up from the ground, and expertly caught it by the hilt to lower it to her side.

Seu-Feng felt each sentence rung out by her student like a inch of her left arm burning away, like the time the Arrancar Espada Barragan ate away her flesh. But it was nothing like having someone say such hurtful, angry words towards her. She never had to deal with this...something she should've never had dealt with. Hell, she felt like she shouldn't even see him anymore after tonight is over.

As soon as the lightning struck, punctuating her protoge's last words, she moved. Her feet left the ground and her body flew like a wraith, silent and swift, just like her reputation has always given her. The moment Brina turned her back, was the moment she gave her master an advantage.

As she caught her sword, Seu-Feng had already unsheathed her own, holding the blade behind her with the pommel upright. And in one, swift motion, Seu-Feng strung an arc of steel with a faint hum in the air as she aimed to cut the nerve endings below her neck right along her shoulderblades and spine.

As much as she hated to admit it, she'd rather risk her own life in capturing her student alive than killing her outright. But considering the violent tension in the air, the killing intent Brina perspirated that felt like hot steam to Seu-Feng's battle-hardened senses...she knew it would not be possible.

CLANG!

Twisting her arm behind her in what appeared to be a somewhat uncomfortable manner, Brina intercepted the strike before it could reach her skin. She thrust that arm out behind her in a move to parry the attack and stab at her enemy, while spinning her own body to face the other woman. She followed up with several lunge strikes. Slowly, her grin became more and more apparent, her enjoyment of the battle taking over her anger and confusion.... at least, for the moment.

"Once I got the feel of fighting my master.... it was just too much to let go of. She had been the one to manipulate me into killing my own blood.... the thought crossed my mind that if I defeated her...if I could crush her in combat... I could finally avenge her. That was what kept me going...."

In the midst of her strikes, Brina used another Kidō spell to send lightning through her blade and spread it into Soifon's own in an attempt to electrocute her. "Tsuzuri Raiden!"

Why? Seu-Feng asked herself in the midst of striking and parrying the blows of her student's swordsmanship, the violent clashes gave birth to orange sparks that danced around them in a twisted ballet, one in which her protoge gleefully was taken comfort in the heat of battle. 'Why did it have to be like this?! Why did I send her to kill her mother?! I should've done it myself...at least she wouldn't...be like this!'

As she heard the faint hum and sparking of electricity, Seu-Feng narrowly saw the golden glow of vibrant energy elongate across her blade, aiming to electrocute her master and cause her more pain than she was already in. In a desperate act, seeing the blade swing towards her right arm and shoulder, she spun around on the balls of her feet, gritting her teeth as she could feel the tendrils of hot energy skim pass her body, burning her instead of numbing due to the bare contact instead of cut her student intended.

Bending down, Seu-Feng stabbed her sword into the earth while propelling her lower body into the air, spinning it around to land a powerful twin thrust of her legs at Brina's exposed chest, aiming to give herself some distance as she flipped over and landed a few feet away, staring at Brina with a stern, yet desperate look.

"Oof--!!!"

Brina let out a pained grunt as Sui-Feng's feet struck her in the chest, the power sending her flying back. However, he recovered quickly, positioning her feet behind her and skidding on the flats of her sandals. As an additional brake, her sword dug into the ground and stopped her from going too far off. When she stopped, she slowly stood back up and used a free hand to slap lightly at her chest a few times. At this point in time, the cold rain that decked her skin and clothing was nothing compared to her feelings in the battle. She could feel her confusion slowly suppress itself, every strike allowing her to release her stress. She could grieve all she wanted to later on. But for now, she would show Sui-Feng just how much of a monster she turned out to be.

For her sake.

Once again, a smile decked her face, and she squinted her eyes in moderate U-shapes. "You know, master...." She said lightly and casually. "They say in one's last moments....people can show you who they really are. When I...killed all of those unfortunate souls back there, they showed parts of themselves to me that they would've never shown to you, their own commander. So, in a way... I knew your subordinates than you ever' did....."

She balanced her sword on her shoulder, showing her teeth slightly.

"So you'd probably be surprised hearing that some of them weren't as loyal to you as you thought....would you like to know who they are?"

"Right now, Brina, I don't give a damn what you know of my men," Seu-Feng said tersely, her eyes squinted slightly as the cold rain plastered her bangs onto her brow, an imitation of teardrops fell from her eyes as the rain awashed her body, her Haori coat dripped freely and her hair became matted with the cold moisture, "I care what's happened to you. It was...a mistake to send you to kill your mother, I realize that. I'd hope you would be strong and that instead of me dealing the killing blow, you'd be able to spend a moment with her. But I realized, as of now, how wrong I've been. No one should kill their parents, no matter how right or wrong it is, its not something anyone WANTS to do."

Seu-Feng lowered her sword, genuinely speaking in a struggling, soft tone, "I'll help you through this, Brina. Just please...let us end our fight. I don't want to harm you and I can't stand the thought having to take a life of someone close to my heart. Please, Brina! Come back with me!"

"Then let me leave."

Brina opened her eyes with a serene and callous look directed towards the Captain. "You've already destroyed whatever bonds we had when you manipulated me and turned me against my mother. So this is the price you're going to have to pay for creating this masterpiece." She held her sword out horizontally, her free hand grabbing the back of her blade. "If you really want me to believe that you don't want to harm me, sheathe your weapon and walk away. But if your sense of duty is pushing you to stop me, then there is no other choice."

She switched her blade to a backhand position.

"I'll just have to beat you like the bitch you are.... master."

"Then you leave me no choice," Seu-Feng then said with a resumed, serene and dispassionate voice, a eery red glow encompassed her sword as it began changing its shape even as she began its release.

"Sting all enemies to death," she spoke lowly, the wakizashi turned from usual sword sealed form into that of a yellow-black brace with a wasp stinger blade over her middle finger, to which she held it up diagonally across her wet, teardrop stained face, finishing the name of her Zanpakuto, "Suzumebachi!"

Once finished, her form began shimmering, blurring, then split apart! What started out as one Seu-Feng then appeared as three, then five, ten, then finally nearly fifteen copies of herself surrounded Brina altogether, all bearing the same stance and holding the deadly infamous poison-based Zanpakuto on their right hands.

"Tell me something, Brina," one of the forms spoke as they all began circling her, readying to strike, "did you enjoy feeling the blood of my men awash your body? Did you enjoy the rush it gave you that you killed men who lacked the experience and strength you possessed?"

"You're a addict to bloodshed," another one spoke venomously, spitting out towards the ground.

"A brilliant mind now scarred beyond repair," another one spoke cooly, her eyes gazing towards the back of her head.

"My ward, the one person I believed to take my position when I'm dead and gone, is now an enemy of the Gotei 13," another one spoke lowly, a sad yet angered look transpired before another form's features.

"Now you'll be nothing more than the murderer who is locked away for eternity," Seu-Feng said, referencing Sosuke Aizen in comparison with her.

"It felt so... refreshing.... to hear her say such words. I know they were hurtful... I know they were spiteful..."

"Suppress, Jadoku!" Out of instinct and in response to Soifon's own release, Brina called out the name of her Zanpakutō. She settled into a defensive stance, her sword slowly shifting into a small tactical knife with a rather large and uniquely designed blade. Her eyes narrowed, and her senses reached out. As the clones continued to circle her, she allowed herself to stay still and remain silent against the accusations. With every word spoken, she could feel the killing intent boiling inside her once more. Every sentence had managed to rip away any shred of mercy or regret that had any possibility of existing within her.

There was no more master and apprentice - just two enemies.

The cloning technique Sui-Feng's used was a rather perfect camouflage technique, allowing the original to stake out a hiding position while the clones provided an efficient distraction. However, as difficult as it was to tell the real thing from the fake, it was not impossible. As Brina's eyes looked around, she picked out the difference with simple analysis and deduction. It was a gift (or curse, on Sui-Feng's part ) that had been given courtesy of the bond that they had once shared between each other.

And now, Brina was dead set on using that bond to kill her former mentor.

WOOSH!

In an instant, with one swift, abrupt and almost flawless move, she appeared behind the original Soifon with a hand placed on the woman's shoulder. Her eyes narrowed, and a satisfied smirk fell on her face as she cornered her prey.

"Gotcha..." She whispered, before taking the knife to Sui-Feng's back.

For a moment, Seu-Feng's expression showed shock, horror, and a stunned look that knew no words or retaliation as her student plunged the knife into her back. However...despite the grasp her student had on shoulder, it seemed to be a lot lighter than one expected. Within an instant, the supposed shocked and wet body turned into a weighted, wet Haori coat.

As if on cue, the other clones sprang into action, three of them slammed their palms towards her chest with a powerful three-hit combo to her chest, four of them leaped above the others propelling themselves behind her as they launched an array of kicks, jabs, and punches in sync with their blade-like portrusions on their right hands. The other five formed a quad perimeter, where the original Seu-Feng stood amongst the wet, soaked copies of herself as she kept her eyes on the fight the entire time.

"You've learned well, Brina," she commented, as she viewed the fight the clones would have with her, "I anticipated that you'd go from behind, and that you would tell which one was the real me, unfortunately showing the progression of our bond together and training."

"Tch...."

Now that her opponents had been switched, Brina had to go back to the defensive.

As the clones rushed in on her, she relied on her barehanded skills in order to defend herself. She pulled herself back to avoid being hit by the more powerful strikes, while having to weave in through the small spaces the clones created as they attacked her and kept themselves from hitting each other. Quickly, she allowed herself to strike when the defense was lowered; a knife-stab into the back of one clone, a palm strike to the chest of another, and a kick to the face of yet another. Her body moved with agility and quickness, and it only took her seconds to dispatch the clones on the offensive.

"You can't hide from a fellow assassin, master!" She called out tauntingly, twisting her body around and thrusting her hands outward. "Sokatsui!!" Immediately, a wide arc of blue spiritual energy in the form of lightning arcs raced at her opponent as well as the clones that were guarding her.

The other clones scattered as well as the original from the wide blast of blue spiritual energy, causing a orange explosion in its wake, sending up charred dirt and rain around. Seu-Feng rushed her alongside her clones, their feet splished and splashed along the wet ground as they hung low to the ground as one.

Each of the clones engaged in close quarters at once, hoping to force her on the defensive while Seu-Feng disappeared, using her Flash Step to appear to and fro, spurting up water and air each time as the clones continued to keep her busy. Seu-Feng then reappeared to Brina's left side, moving at speeds only one of her own caliber could possibly counter or move at. Her right arm aimed at Brina's left arm, her stinger silently cut through the rain and air as it intended on marking its target with a single penetration.

If it hadn't been for the fact of being distracted by her clones, then maybe Brina would've seen it coming.

However, in the midst of striking down the ones that had challenged her as quickly as she had dismissed them before, she only noticed Sui-Feng's form behind her and could not move her body in time. Her pupils shrank, as she realized there was nothing she could do even as she twisted her body around.

The stinger managed to pierce her arm.... and the butterfly symbol was tattooed on it, marking her for death.

However, she paid no heed to it. Instead, as she twisted herself around to meet Sui-Feng, she grabbed the wrist that Suzumebachi was fixed onto. She moved her knife hand lower, her fingers positioned with the middle finger pulled back. Then, with a mocking smile, she thrust out her middle finger to execute her mentor back with devastating force.

"Oni Headpoke!"

"HURK!" Seu-Feng let out a grunt of astonishment, the wind knocked straight out of her lungs as she felt her body fly a considerable distance, her body gave a vibrative quality to it ran flew off her body in a wave. She knitted her brows and twisted her body around in mid-flight, clawing at the air for stability, a excess of spiritual energy was given off her hands as she skidded to a halt across the grassy, muddy and wet meadow, casting a large wave of precipitation in her wake.

Wiping her mouth off as well as steadying her breathing, she remarked aloud, "She's gotten good. Three months ago I'm sure she wasn't able to preform a feat like that," she almost was proud of the combat prowess her student had if not for the circumstance that forced her to fight Brina.

She then closed her eyes, feeling the water cascade to a almost slow-motion as she focused the adrenaline within her body, the stamina began to work to its maximum, and her body radiated in a red aura of Spiritual Energy, as her Spiritual Pressure consumed the atmosphere, giving a very weighted and frightening TV static appearance to anyone nearby. As soon as she opened her eyes, through the sheet of rain, a red glow emanated her usual gray eyes as he resolve to kill her student now filled her being. There will be no holding back for her now...

With a shimmer of her form as the aura died down, she rapidly approached Brina within a blink, the same speed that surprised a Arrancar that seemed to be overpowering her but was merely holding back for analysis. She did the same for Brina, to see how far she'd gone and how strong she has become since the last time they sparred.

Now, as she appeared before her student, preforming a knife hand strike towards her student's throat while simultaneously moving her stinger towards the underside of where the butterfly death mark she left. Intentionally, something she never shared with her student, she aimed to hit the same mark through her body to initiate her shikai technique...and kill her student within a heartbeat.

"As the battle between us continued to progress, I slowly began to lose my sense of confusion and torment. All she had to do was tell me she wanted to kill me.... and I instantly felt better. Was it bloodlust? Or maybe....maybe it was the fact that my master was openly seeing me as an equal? I can never tell...."

A chill raced through Brina's bones as she felt the energy radiate off of her master. It was so oppressive and thrilling to her senses. A sense of apprehension swept over her. This was the ultimate message that Sui-Feng truly aimed to kill her, making every intention perfectly clear. A pleased smile crossed her face, and her tongue briefly escaped her lips to trace their edges. "I see....." She whispered, unsure if Sui-Feng heard her. "This is the way things ought to be...."

Then, Sui-Feng moved, and Brina immediately tensed up as she saw her move at a speed much faster than before. Brina's eyes were able to catch every movement made, out of instinct, reflex, and her training. Therefore, she was able to act accordingly when Sui-Feng re-appeared in front of her with the simultaneous strikes of her hands. With her knife hand, she managed to catch Suzumebachi with the blade embedded in the rift between her middle and index finger. She caught Sui-Feng's other hand by the wrist.

"She was aiming for the underside of my arm.... there would be no point, considering the butterfly mark is on the other end...." She thought to herself in the midst of executing the counter-movements. "Unless.... Suzumebachi can work like a pipeline and activate once two corresponding holes are made within each side of the target...."

"Most impressive, master...." She whispered, lifting two fingers with the hand that caught Sui-Feng's wrist in place and pointing them at her target. "But not enough. Rikujōkōrō!!"

Seu-Feng dispassionately stared at her student, locking away her emotions totally within a recess of her mind, something she learned to do over time when in the heat of battle. She knew now, as she gave the resolve of her own intent on killing the enemy of the Soul Society was more than important than past mistakes or broken bonds. Her duty came before her love, as it will always be.

"SHUNKO!"

Upon mere reflex, an instaneous flash of silver energy enveloped erupted with the same tenacity as her mentor's, exploding upon contact and allowing her to wrench Brina's grasp away due to the less than hardened gasp, aiming her Kido spell awry and allowed her a followed up high-speed, augmented punch with the same arm, intending on knocking her away and the breath out of her. An excess of a shockwave came from the power behind the attack, blowing moisture off her own body as well as everything around her briefly before the sheets of unforgiving rain came down again.

"Oh, no...."

Brina's eyes widened in shock as her grip on Sui-Feng forcibly slipped as the bee wrenched herself free from her grasp. However, they instantly narrowed when her opponent followed up with a punch that would surely do some good damage to her chest cavity. Her reactions were quick, and she quickly maneuvered her own arms in accordance to the attack. During this, her own specialized Shunkō flared up, her aura casting her in a display of bright blue fire. It was something that she herself had never shown her sensei.... at least, the parts that she had utilized.

While her Shunkō was lesser in terms of defensive potency, it had another frightening trait. The short-range pulses given off from its aura hit its opponents' nervous system and flooded the body with immobilizing pain. All Brina needed to do was get close to an opponent and this dreaded ability would do the rest.

And right now, Sui-Feng was as close as possible.

In catching her arm, Brina maneuvered herself behind her mentor.... and gave a violent wrench of the arm in an attempt to break it in two, the aura's power only enhancing the pain.

Seu-Feng's eyes went wide as she saw the very aura she hoped never to see again, but in the pit of her mind she knew it would happen someday. Brina's fiery nature led to her to be prone to disobedience in finding out more knowledge and power in proving herself to both her mother and herself. It now will be something that will make it all-the-more troublesome for Seu-Feng to contend with.

Seu-Feng blinked and growled out, finding the pain that she felt years ago when she caught her attempting this variant of Shunko, this more refined version of Shunko into a avarice of pain and sensory disarray. As her student moved, she moved as well, making sure that the pain did nothing to slow her down, like the time her own flesh and blood ate itself away by Barragan's power, she learned to bear with pains five times greater. It now came to be useful in a way she never expected.

"Hanki!"

Suddenly, the aura on Seu-Feng's arm changed and she used an ability she learned from her mentor after returning to the Soul Society, a high pitched chirping sound was heard after a screaming sound became all too clear. Nearly mirroring the time she herself tried to use the technique that she had no idea the name of it was on Yoruichi and was promptly dissipated by this very technique, it matched the frequency and the ugly blue tone of Brina's, sending a violent shock inadvertently throughout her protoge's body because of her partciular Shunko's properties.

"What?!"

Brina's eyes widened in shock at her mentor's move.... and then her pupils shrank in horror as the pulse was sent through her body.

Thankfully, her Shunkō took the brunt of the pulse, and as such, it was neutralized. But she was still able to move, and she did so with haste. She didn't move back, for that would be a wasteful effort due to her opponent's enhanced speed. If she wanted to make the playing field even again, she would have to destroy her opponent's concentration. There was only one way that she knew of that could do it and also by her some time to follow up with a secondary attack.

She thrust her free hand out, uttering one word.

"Hakufuku."

She unleashed the spell on the Captain. If it didn't knock her out, it would at least muddle her concentration on the Shunkō for her to involuntarily dispel it. It would also give her several seconds of time.... enough time for a killing blow.

Seu-Feng noticed the distortions and the continuity with her student's Shunko shrank and dampened, enough to stop that damning sensory attack of hers. As she felt herself wrenched free, she backpedaled and moved towards her student to focus her Shunko's energies around her stinger blade, aiming to penetrate her student's weaker Shunko and deal some damage to her, hoping to end her life and the fight with one blow.

But, once again, she became surprised as a slow-acting Kido was initiated into her field of vision and darkness threatened to clamp down on her senses totally. As her concentration on her own Shunko properties fizzed and distorted, the feeling of rain once again almost present on her skin and the heavy feeling of her own hair slapping on the back of her neck and shoulders.

She grit her teeth, thinking of all things at the time her times with Brina, the times she showed her how to fight, and how she showed her how to feel and laugh again. She remembered the constant pestering of the flirtatious gestures of Akisame and how she found his company amusing over time, and not all unwelcome. She remembered Yoruichi, looking back at her in the rain, that sad look emanating her eyes as she saw her for the last time...

"NO!!!" Seu-Feng suddenly shouted, a giant burst of Spiritual Power poured through her systems as well as excessed through her body, brightening the Shunko dangerously and had a underlying hue within, and her face bore a snarl and her eyes glowed totally red in a frightening, angry voice, "I WON'T LET YOU TAKE ANOTHER LIFE FROM ME!!!"

Seu-Feng wrenched back her hand once more, the anger and emotions awashed her so uncharacteristically, the haven she once fastened to keep her focused now brust forth and controlled her next action. With a burst of speed and power, she aimed a grasp towards her student's face as she reared back her stinger blade, encompassed with Spiritual Energy...and shot it forth with a energized penetration and concussive blast, intending on both wounding her critically, if not killing her, and sending her as far away from her own body as possible.

"SHUNKO!!!!!"

"My god...."

The sudden surge of spiritual energy might as well have ripped through Brina's entire body. Her expression had changed to one of shocked horror as Sui-Feng forced herself out of the spell's embrace with a fury that had never been witnessed from the likes of her master before. The words.... the expression.... she had never seen any of it coming. She thought Sui-Feng would simply accept her loss and die without resisting... but she had underestimated her.

It was going to cost her, even if she survived.

Knowing that she had little options left, she unleashed her own Shunkō and pushed forth every bit of her own energy within in order to force offensive power within. But she could do nothing as her enemy's palm grasped her face, holding her in place. However, it didn't stop her from plunging her knife towards the stinger in what looked like one final act of battle. This would be the decider in who won and who lost. It would all end in one, final, beautiful...

BOOM!

....explosion.

When their energies collided against one another, both of their illuminating and respectively colored auras could be seen within the resulting explosion of spiritual energy from a distance away.

As the explosion encompassed the two combatants, Seu-Feng felt a stabbing pain in her sholder but managed to push through and sink her blade into a unseen target, her eyes dampened from its intensity as she felt the output of her Spiritual Power reach her limit.

Yoruichi...I-I...I'm sorry...Akisame...you fool...you should've...left me alone

As the reverberations echoed throughout the forest, sending the nearby meadow into a cataclysmic, smoldering crater with burnt trees, still alit with fires created by the raw energies. Unbenkownst to the two of them, a number of individuals led by a strong, staunch black uniformed man halted momentarily. After a wordless acknowledgement from each other and their superior, they sped off into the night, towards the location of the end of the battle.

As Seu-Feng's vision came back, the ringing in her ears became apparent and she could feel a dull, throbbing pain in her left shoulder and a thin, tickling stream of crimson blood that made up her life force. She inwardly calculated it was a mere 8 inches above the lung and heart, a forced collision towards her shoulder she thought even as she struggled to see where she struck her stinger blade.

With a slight gasp, she saw that she too struck just a few inches above the heart of her student, a black tattoo confirming this of where the death mark had been given. To her chagrin, the exertion she put forth caused her to lose all ability to move but stand, and her dulled, gray eyes met her student's wordlessly.

"F-Forgive...me...," Seu-Feng sputtered out weakly, but audibly, a distinctive trail of blood ran down her lips and a pair of liquid crawled down her cheeks followed by teardrops, some of the lukewarm drops splashed onto the hand that held the knife that was embedded into her shoulder, "B-Brina...I...I..."

She could not say anymore.

Instantly, her world was riddled with a mind-splitting and bone-paralyzing pain that tore through her entire body. The muscles, bones, and organs within that area began contorting, jerking, and crunching together in an inhuman, terrifying manner. It would be twenty seconds of pure agony and torture.... and it was only the fact that Brina had managed to cut her with her Zanpakutō.

Compared to Suzumebachi's two-hit-kill method, Brina's Jadoku needed only one shot to send her opponent's mind to Hell.

Despite her own agonizing pain and exhaustion, Brina managed a struggling, mocking smile and whispered three words....

"I win, Master."

With sheer instinct alone, her faded eyes looked out into what was now becoming darkness as her midn and body began to tear its nerves apart from the inside out, she pulled out Suzumebachi. Almost with a terrifying eery slow-pace she reared her stinger back to the wound, uttering lowly, "Ni...geki...Kess...ats-"

A soft pitter-patter of thinly covered bare feet running towards the two women, as the form leaped into the air, landing a flying kick into Brina's exposed side with a resounding...

CRACK!

Suddenly as if fate decided to be both merciful and cruel for the second time in her life, she was spared by the knife as it was slid out of her shoulder forcefully, but in turn, her stinger did not meet its target. A foot snapped towards Brina, belonging to the form of a person she did not expect nor recognize at the state of mind she was in as her own form slunk back from the force ajarred from her student and herself.

The figure was that of a ninja garbed, ponytailed subordinate, the 3rd Seat underneath herself and someone she had not expected to follow her.

"Sa..zuke?" She called out before descending into the darkness of her unconscious...and leaving her student forever behind with her subordinates, crowding and guarding her form.

"AAAAAAAAAGH--!!!"

Brina let out a short scream as the foot slammed into her side, shattering a good deal of her ribs. She was forced to skid away, barely able to recover under the power of the strike. Somehow, she was able to stand on her on two feet, keeping a firm grip on her knife. But all she could do was stand and walk.... she didn't have enough energy to do anything more than that. She could not fight against the likes of them in her state.

"Damn it...."

She knew that it was time to stop.

Re-sealing her Zanpakutō, she sheathed her blade while breathing heavily. Her eyes glared daggers at the 3rd Seat, her shoulders moving up and down with each pained breath. "Sazuke Tensai...." She whispered, weakly smiling. "Of all the people I would've expected to come to her rescue.... never would've thought it would be you...."

"Bastard!" One of the punishment forces growled, unsheathing his Zanpakuto dangerously as he crouched down, nearly in sync with a bunch of very, very, very pissed  Punishment Forces.

"Hold it!" Sazuke held up her hand in a fist, keeping them from engaging, speaking aloud them in a commanding voice worthy of her position, "our Captain is injured and in need of medical treatment asap. Secure a stretcher and take her back to Stealth Force HQ and request assistance from the 4th Division. NOW!"

"Yes sir!" They said at once, immediately taking the limp form of their leader and commander, taking out various pieces of equipment, speedily creating a stretcher before they formed a barrier of men around her as they took her off in a remarkable, yet steady pace away, leaving Sazuke alone with Brina.

"And here I thought you would be above this mindless slaughter, Brina McTavish," Sazuke slid down her black cloth mask, showing her face to her as she always had in her presence, something to into view chagrin no doubt, the fact she always viewed her as a equal and not as a superior. Seu-Feng was ignorant of course, but Brina always knew that the officer had a unknown distaste that slowly grew to hatred for her. Now, after what happened, it became justified.

"Mindless....?!" Brina scowled, keeping one hand clutched onto the injury Sui-Feng had made while swinging with another hand to emphasize. "She's the one who manipulated me into killing my mother, and they followed her like puppets!! They all deserved what they got!!" She continued to glare into her former colleague's eyes in defiance. "Don't patronize me...."

"Don't lie to me, Brina. They fought you because you attacked them out of a fit of manical rage, venting on them when you should've brought this to the attention of the Head Captain, or even thought about why your Captain gave you a choice, Brina, before taking on the duty of executing the 8th Division Captain," Sazuke didn't even bother addressing Brina's mother by name since she was deceased and it would only rile up unnecessary emotions within her disturbed former colleague.

"I've already thought about it!" Brina growled. "She wanted me to discard my family name for her division, my individuality for her loyalty! What other reason would she have for making that choice?! Can you tell me that?!" At the end of her sentence, she cringed and hunched over, stumbling and nearly falling over.

Sazuke looked at Brina with unreadable, closed-off expression as rain began to become steady and less heavy, the thunder passed into the distance and the wind had all but ceased, letting the moisture cling to her bodily, showing the accentuate curves of her well-toned, physically honed body on her black uniform, "That's not my place to say, Brina. If you wanted the truth, you should've asked her when you had the chance..."

Sazuke looked at her in a near disappointed look as she saw Brina stumbling around, "Its a shame I couldn't fight you before the Captain did. In my opinion she went easy on you, trying to show you that she would fight you like a true warrior and assassin, instead of blowing you away with her full power," Sazuke shrugged, before crossing her arms, looking at her with dangerously hot eyes, speaking lowly, "I could easily kill you in the condition you're in...however," said the last word with a tempting lure, as if wanting Brina to be aware she would not rush and kill her immediately or there was something else for her to say.

Even as she panted heavily, Brina narrowed her eyes in clear loathing of the other woman. "....however....?" She pressured, curious to what the 3rd Seat had to say.

"I'll let you disappear, just like your dear brother did," Sazuke pointed a hand at her, saying, "but make no mistake. The moment that I obtain the authority, I swear I will hunt you down and kill you, Brina McTavish. Think of this as a grace period, for the sake of my Captain's...emotional attachment towards you," she said with a vengeful spite, yet a sincere ring came from the 'attachment' part of her words.

With that said, she turned around, speaking aloud and clear, "We're leaving as equals, you and I. The next time we meet, I will be superior because I retain my honor and duty, as well as my sanity. Something you easily toss aside during moments of darkness."

With that said, a gust of wind exhaled as she left with a Flash Step, her form shimmering and her eyes closed simultaneously, leaving Brina McTavish alone and in the thin sheet of rain within the darkness amidst the ash, soggy meadow.

"Tch...."

Without another word, Brina turned around and began to run again, knowing that for the moment, her escape was open. Despite the grievous injury she had been delivered, she could perform decent Flash Steps in order to secure her escape. She kept her wound clutched, doing her best to stay stable as she moved out.

"On that day, I had managed to defeat my Captain.... but only barely. She showed to me that I had broken her heart and left her soul at least a little bit fragmented. It was a bittersweet victory.... for no matter how I justified my actions, no matter how many times I told myself that it was to avenge my mother.... I had to rip apart the bonds I had between me and my master in order to obtain it."

Reality Dawning, Heat of battle and conflict
Brina opened her eyes again to come out of her flashback and look over at Braeburn.

The boy had a look of sympathy on his features. He reached out to place a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I....I'm....honestly not sure what to say...." He admitted, trying to find the right words in order to fit the situation. However, he was abruptly cut off by his sister.

"Not to worry about it...." She gave him an honest smile. "I'm just glad I'm still here.... and that you're still alive, as well."

This caused Braeburn to smile weakly, and he returned his hand to his knee. "How's Dad? Have you managed to see him?"

"Yeah.... he's still within that old village, living like a hermit. Mom's death really got to him...."

Yōki looked solemnly on as she heard everything thanks to the amplified audio receptors within both herself and her comrade's ears. The story was so...painful and depressing she almost wished she didn't hear anything, but the revelations and the idea that a longtime actual criminal was within their sights made both of their stomachs knot.

"Y-Yōki-chan," Rokotsu looked up sadly and teary-eyed, sniffling and rubbing her eyes, "she sounds so sad...what happened to her...its so...so-"

"Everyone has had painful pasts, Rok-chan," Yōki said solemnly, bowing her head with a knowing look in her eyes, "we all have. Its the price we pay to pick up the garbs and sword as a Soul Reaper, and even more is lost when we assume the responsibilities as D.C.O. agents. Its something we have to live with, I suppose..."

"....so, enough about the hard times for now...." Brina wrapped an arm around Braeburn's shoulders to bring him closer. She rested her head on his shoulder, ignoring a slightly annoyed look he gave her when she did so. However, he made no move to push her away. "My time here's only brief.... so, let's just sit back and relax.... all right?"

The rather relaxed and casual tone she was taking dissipated the annoyance Braeburn felt right away. He found himself smiling a little, and he leaned his head on hers. "....yeah.... whatever you say, little sister...." He answered her coolly.

"Awwww, they're hugging," Rokotsu said with a smile, wiping her eyes as she looked through the binoculars, leaning precariously over the edge.

"Yeah, or more likely they're sharing some details that she wants to keep away from prying eyes," Yōki surmised as Brina was annoyingly leaning on Braeburn's shoulder while wrapping her arm around the other.

"What is he saying, I can't...whoaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!" Rokotsu, due to her innate curiosity and inability to contain herself, had leaned too far off the edge...and began her rapid descent head first.

"Rokotsu!" Yōki reached over to grab her by the coat, only to be pulled awkwardly with her as they both fell onto the ground with a resounding, comical crash, sending forth a small concussive wave in all directions, mainly towards the McTavish sibblings, as a small mushroom cloud of smoke came up from their crash.

"Oooooooooow," Rokotsu moaned while feeling her head with one hand, suddenly seeing Yōki right overtop of her, with her buttox pointing her way, "Y-Yōki-chan?"

"Don't say a word, you ditz!" Yōki fumed, but ineptly could show her expression as she was facing in the opposite direction of Rokotsu.

"....um...."

It was unfortunate that the McTavish siblings had spotted them, both of them with matching expressions of surprise on their face. A moment of silence passed between the two groups, with the McTavish siblings registering the two as they lay their in their rather suggestive position. For a moment, neither Brina or Braeburn spoke, blinking once or twice occasionally. It was Braeburn who broke the silence.

"Well....that's not random, awkward, and sexual at all!"

"I second that notion...." Brina agreed.

Rokotsu looked at Braebrun and Brina, blinking with saucer-wide eyes as she spoke with a naive bewildered tone, "What are you talking about?! Haven't you fallen on someone like this before?!"

Yōki turned her gaze towards the McTavish's, grumbling under her breath, "So much for them not noticing us," before she rolled off Rokotsu, earning a 'umph, ow!' from the latter as she stood up straight and tall, her coat flourished around her black bodysuit as she locked eyes with Braeburn, assuming a flirtatious teasing grin, "Don't make this all about us! I'm sure you two are very very, very close from how I saw you two go at it earlier!" She gave the two a wink, just to add insult to injury, bearing a cheshire grin as her partner stumbled up to stand on her feet.

It was the Cheshire grin that seemed to twist everything out of proportion.

Immediately, both of their expressions contorted into shock before shifting into a look of comical indignation. They immediately used a Flash Step in order to appear right before the two, giving Yoki a glare. "What in the hell/world are you saying?!" They demanded, with Brina not using the profane language.

Yōki shrugged, retaining a smile as she closed her eyes, raising her hands in emphasis, "I guess since you're that surprised and didn't notice it, I'd wager you're exhibiting more 'brother/sister' love. You must really appreciate each other's company," she laughed lightly, Rokotsu finally by Yōki's side and furrowing her brows, pouting her lips, looking like she was concentrating real hard.

After leaning real close to Brina, a few inches seperating them as her forehead nearly touched hers as she looked into her eyes in a bizarre, childish way. After a few seconds, she scooted over and did the same to Braeburn, making a childish growling sound. Stepping back to Yōki's other side, the latter having a quizzical look on her face before she tip-toed up to her ear, and whispered, "They look like fraternal twins, Yōki-chan."

"Tch...." Braeburn rolled his eyes, relaxing his stance. He folded his arms across his chest, tilting his head to the side. "Don't tell me you guys were spying  on us the whole time...."

However, Brina (much to his surprised) turned and looked over at him curiously. "Really? You didn't notice? I was seeing them the whole time."

That immediately elicited a comically shocked look from Braeburn, and he stared at her incredulously. "Wait, w-what?! You knew  and you didn't even say anything about it?!" He sputtered. To his dismay, Brina only gave a light, casual shrug.

"Once again, I assumed you knew..."

"Hey! We were following Brae-kun, not a ex-Stealth Force Lieutenant," Rokotsu stuck her otngue out at Brina, insulted that she said how she knew so easily.

Yōki shrugged in turn, saying admittedly, "Well, you're not exactly the biggest hero in Yuurei. Not yet anyways," she added with a wink before continuing, "Rok-chan and I were worried when you left you'd get yourself into trouble or you'd join the battle without us. With the enemy on our doorstep, we had to make sure to look out for our own."

"Really....?" After regarding them for a few moments, Braeburn allowed himself to relent and give a casual smile. "Well, thanks, you guys. Good to know that you were looking out for me."

Brina looked over them in a slightly curious manner, particularly the one who had stuck her tongue out at her. "If you don't mind me asking, who are you two?" She asked politely, not wanting to be rude in answering such questions.

Rokotsu immediately retracted her tongue and adorned a happy-go-lucky smile, reaching out her hand, saying, "I'm Rokotsu, 4th Seat of the 8th Division," she said naturally.

"I'm Yōki, 4th Seat of the 7th Division," she said with a nod and polite smile of her own, before locking a knowing look in her eyes to Braeburn, communicating a 'Don't tell her who we are' look as brief as her eyes met his before resuming the conversation with Brina, "I'm sad to say I've never met you before. Brae-kun didn't really tell me much about his family."

Brina's smile came back to the surface once again, and she reached out to shake Rokotsu's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Both of you." She said lightly. "Sorry to say that I can't stay long, I would've liked to know you a bit more..."

Braeburn slightly cocked an eyebrow at the look, but kept silent about it.

"Awww, what a shame!" A voice suddenly came out into the air that wasn't sensed, right behind Brina came a peeling layer of light before the figure of a matte-black, metalic grass-hat with a black trench coat, a metalic mask hiding the lower half of his face, making a slight mechanical sound reverberating the breather within. The body-suit itself had various thin black metal substance over it that seem to meld with the defined muscles underneath, as well as vambraces over to black gloves, "I was hoping to meet the elusive sister of the know-it-all!"

Rokotsu yelped frightened from the sudden and unanticipated arrival of the newcomer, leaping backwards in a athletic and acrobatic manner, holding up a comical karate pose, "S-S-S-Stay back y-y-y-you fiend!!!"

Yōki narrowed her eyes at the newcomer, before snickering, holding a hand over her mouth and somehow began irritating the newcomer, a distinct growling came from his voice, "Oh my gods you're so full of it...ahahahahaha!!!"

"The hell...?"

The comical reaction from Rokotsu immediately nullified all possibilities of a threat when it came to Braeburn's concern. He shifted himself to face the armored stranger, cocking an eyebrow and frowning a little. "Uh.... that you, Takashi?" He guessed.

Brina's expression was one of surprised as she turned to face the man, as well. One hand was placed on her hip, and over all, she didn't appear to be too startled (despite the fact that he had landed right behind her). "Oh, hello...?" She said, a bit hesitant at greeting considering the sudden appearance of the person she was talking to.

"Damn right it is!" Takashi yelled to Braeburn before pointing a hand towards Brina, "I came behind you totally unaware and all you have to say is, 'Hello?!' This total bad-ass uniform designed and customized by myself is more than enough to strike fear into the hearts of my enemies!"

"R-Really?! Nyahahahahahahaha! No wonder you look like a movie rip-off! HAHAHAHAHA!" Yōki kept laughing, holding her gut as she laughed at the ridiculous, to her mind anyways, uniform that Takashi donned.

"Hahi?!" Rokotsu yelped, suddenly jumping straight up, inadvertantly causing her chest to bounce like water baloons, "Takashi is a freaky robot ninja?!"

Brina sweatdropped, looking over the uniform with a bit of curiosity. "I...I'm sorry, Mr. Takashi...." She said, looking at him with a mix of sympathy and amusement. "But I'm not intimidated by the look of that outfit in the least. Are you sure you didn't do anything wrong with it?"

"....yeah...." Braeburn dead-panned, giving Takashi a comical glare. "I'm...I'm just not feeling the fear more than I'm feeling embarrassed at your attempt to look scary. You dressing up for a holiday?"

That's when the culminated reactions hit Takashi's snapping point.

"VOOOOOOOOOOOOI!!!!" He yelled out, a menacing dark aura encompassed him and his body seemingly much larger than he actually was, "I'll curbstomp you all if you don't shut your ass-faces, right now!!!!"

Yōki suddenly sweatdropped, holding up her hands in defense as a chibi Rokotsu held onto her leg in terrorized fright, "N-Now, Takashi! No need to get violent..."

"He-heh...." Braeburn chuckled. "Ass-faces...." In turn, this caused Brina to giggle and put both hands over her mouth at the word.

"WHAT DID," Takashi suddenly moved with a enraged boost of speed, his fist reared back and already in motion to Braeburn's face, "DID I JUST SAY, PUNK?!"

"Ooooh!" Both Yōki and Rokotsu said simultaneously, their eyes wide and wide as saucers as the punch came towards impact and Takashi venting his anger at him.

"Huh- OH, NONONONONONO, WAIT--!!!" Braeburn screamed, raising his hands up in protest and attempting to defend himself from Takashi's wrath.

However, he didn't need to.

WHUMPF!

Brina's sandal feet met the side of Takashi's head, knocking him like a rag-doll into the nearest building wall. She landed on her feet, a wide-eyes and comical glare directed towards where he had crashed. "Hey! Only I am allowed to beat up on my brother in such a manner!" She said, folding her arms across her chest and huffing.

A bead of comical sweat fell down Braeburn's face. "Uhm...t....thanks....I think....?"

"Takashi!" Yōki yelled out in alarm as she saw Takashi land into the building wall, cracking it along its expanse, embedding Takashi's helmeted head into it.

"Wow, she's defensive isn't she," Rokotsu remarked to Braeburn, having a cute innocent face on as she didn't mind Takashi being in pain at all.

Braeburn gave her a pointed look. "....you....are a closest sadist, aren't you?"

"OW!" Takashi yelled out, ripping his helm out of the wall, causing the rest of the wall falling apart, a smoldering ruin for part of the building. He turned around, rolling his neck side to side, audible pops and cracks were heard as he walked back nearly unphased by the kick at all, cover over his jaw had a scuff mark but other than that, her attack did no distinctive damage to him.

"Wanna try that again, bitch?! Felt like being slapped by Yōki, hehehe!" Takashi yelled to Brina, holding up a hand in a 'come on' gesture, his feet instinctively sliding into a fighting posture.

"Alright, your sympathy from me is gone," Yōki narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, looking away from him in a flow of motion, her blonde hair following it promptly.

"....you're serious....?"

For a moment, Brina was taken by surprise at the man's declaration, eyes widening and a frown crossing her face. However, the smile returned, and she closed her eyes to give a polite bow. "Very well, Mr. Takashi. I was holding back to keep a light mood, but...."

Her feet spread apart, and her arms were positioned into a battle stance. "If you really want me to, I'll show you how much pain I can really inflict on someone..." She whispered, slowly clenching her fists.

"Bring it, boobs for brains!" Takashi humously yelled in a serious tone, rushing towards her and was about to get within striking distance when there was a loud, thunderous sound in the distance.

booooooOOOOM!

Followed by that, was a series of similar sounds of weapon fire and yells. The battle for Yuurei, has begun.

Rokotsu, Yōki, and Takashi all looked wide-eyed in the direction of the sounds, but distant sounds could be heard all over as the perimeter was under attack by the Ahijados forces.

"The Ahijados are invading!" Rokotsu yelled in a much more alarmed, yet mature voice as she twisted her body towards the sound of the battle.

"I was wondering what was taking their bloody time!" Takashi smiled behind his black cloth mask, his hand promptly reached for his Zanpakuto, ready to go into action.

"We should probably wait and let the military forces do their job and see if we have any special assignments. Randomly entering the fray will comrpomise our military's resources," Yōki said aloud in a cautious tone to stay the hand of her testosterone pumped comrade.

"....I guess this is where we part ways, brother...."

Turning his narrowed-eye look from the direction of the warfare in progress, Braeburn looked over towards her in surprise. She met his gaze in a light-hearted smile, and she gave an appropriate nod. "Maybe we'll meet each other again soon enough. Until then, do make sure to stay alive. For Mom and Dad, all right?"

In return, Braeburn allowed himself to smile and chuckle a little. "Heh heh.... yeah.... for Mom and Dad...."

"See you all later!"

With that, Brina used a Flash Step to disappear from the area.

"B-Bye!" Rokotsu said after Brina, pouting her lips and sighing, "I wish she stayed and helped."

"Its probably for the best, considering she's a Top Priority assignment by Captain Tensai," Yōki said pointedly over to Braeburn, giving him a look that made him remember why they lied about who they were with, "something you should remember about your sister, Brae-kun. I won't and no one of the D.C.O. will hunt her except the Shadow Squad, and that is under direct orders of our boss. So until that happens, your family is safe with us, just as long as they don't know about us."

"Yeah...." Braeburn closed his eyes and gave a heavy sigh. "I got it." He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "So, what're we supposed to do?"

"ATTENTION! This is Lieutenant Shiomaneki speaking! I have urgent orders that I've coordinated permission from your overseer," the voice spoke out through the audio implants within all three of the D.C.O. agents.

"Its Mei-san!" Rokotsu widened her eyes with alarm, but also looked to Yōki for acknowledgement for which the latter gave a nod before speaking.

"What's the mission, Mei-san?" Yōki asked without raising a hand up to her audio reciever, a perplexing action but something that's common for transmissions and communications between D.C.O. agents and their handlers.

"There are two distinct targets that enemy infiltrators are going to target and we need your assistance! Ikari has been sent to retrieve her comrades, but we don't know their status and how much help they'll be. We need all available D.C.O. operators available for this task!"

A slow smile came across Braeburn's face. "I guess that answers my question...." He commented, looking over his shoulder at the two women and his fellow man. "Now we can fit in with the battle...."

"Welcome to my world, Braestard!" Takashi laughed aloud in a slight jeer, but winked at him in approval, unsheathing his sword briefly before looking it over befor use.

"It sounds like you're wanting us to split up," Yōki said through the notice of Braeburn's enthusiasm, smiling at Braeburn's vocal response.

"Negative on that Yōki-san," Meikurai said over the communique, "I know how effective your cell is at teamwork and we can't account for how many enemies are going to be infiltrating. All we know is that they are extremely dangerous and their efficiency isn't in question. The Leader of the Ahijados will be among them in fact."

Nearly every one of the D.C.O. agents' eyes widened and their bodies tensed, Takashi more out of excitement and the two women out of trepidation.

"Then we'll just have to kill every last one of them." Braeburn said simply, placing a hand at the edge of his scabbard. His thumb pushed the sword a bit out of the sheath with a click. Then, he grabbed the hilt with his other hand and drew it out. "They made quite a grave mistake attacking this city, and they're going to pay for it in full...."

"Hell yeah!" Rokotsu said wtih a sudden edge to her tone, as her personality switched from being childish and naive, to that of a battle-born agent, as she smiled wickedly, "tell me who to punch holes in and I'll do it!"

Yōki nodded to Braeburn following the sounds of more explosions in the distance, before asking aloud to the Lieutenant, "Where do we go and what target are we protecting?"

Captain Hando of the Kid'ō Corps'," Meikurai said matter-of-factly, "''he's maintaining the barrier over Yuurei to keep the city as intact as possible, and leaving most of the battle done on the ground. However, he's in some kind of meditative state which increases the effectiveness of the barrier. If he dies or is distracted for more than a few seconds, the barrier will be weakened significantly and artilllery as well as the air forces of the Ahijados will be able to penetrate our defenses and attack key points along the city.''

''He's located in the observatory within the tallest tower of Yuurei's castle. There is a catwalk bridge leading from the Keep to its mid-level, making for quicker travel and less time spent in stairs. That would be a keen point to protect as the enemy would be visible in the air.''"

"Sounds like we'll need to get going then, now doesn't it," Takashi said in a dull, yet anticipating voice, aching for the battle to come, "let's go protect ourselves a Captain."

Yōki nodded, looking over Braeburn while she finished, "Got it. We'll be there within a few minutes. Yōki out!"

"Ready when you all are...." Braeburn said smoothly. "And I'm right behind you."

"Wait! What about Hana?!" Rokotsu asked in concern, reverting to a more worried tone, "shouldn't we go get her or communique with her to meet us there?!"

"We can do that when we get there," Takashi said nonchalantly, already running past them all, "wasting time not moving will give the enemy one more second of an advantage over us! C'mon! Let's move out!"

"He's right, let's go, Rok-chan," Yōki said reluctantly to Rokotsu, the latter whom sighed as she ran after her, all of them and assumedly Braeburn racing off before initiating Flash Steps, whizzing away from view towards the tower's catwalk.

The Fight was on!

Battle on Multiple Fronts! Light and Darkness
"Secure the perimeter! Do not let a single one of them pass!" Taka yelled out to his men, his Sector's police forces fired their weapons and took cover near the outmost layer of buildings within his sector with barricades lining them throughout, causing an exchange of miniature explosions and lights to light up the area.

"We got heavy fire in Block B! Need more support!"

"Where's our Kido tanks?! We need heavy fire over Block C-"

BOOOOM!

A yellow light emblazoned over a number of Ahijados troops, their screams deafened by the large explosion caused by one of the military's tanks, as Yuurei soldiers rushed in to give support, opening fire with their own military grade Kido weapons.

"About damn time!"

"Securing Block B! We need to hold this Sector! Do not let them into the heart of the city!"

"Commander Nashta," Taka too priority to ask the Sector next to his of Sector 5 Overwatch, pressing his gloved hand into his audio implant as he overlook the battle from a fortified bunker close to the fight, "what's your status?"

"We're taking a unusually large amount of Ahijados troops with tenacity I've never seen before! They won't get by us, not on my watch though!"

"How high is the casualty rate? Damage toll?" Taka answered with a crisp, professional tone, not bothering to smile at his female compatriot's grit and bluster.

"25% casualties so far...and the buildings have various but extensive damage. We're holding though. The military commander here is a pain in the ass, but he knows how to give backup and build up morale."

"Good woman," Taka allowed a smile before he went to check on the next Sector, whom he had no pleasure in doing, "carry on. Commander of Sector 3 Overwatch! What's your status?!"

''"Cute, Nakanome...." ''Was the sarcastic voice of Kenta.

On his end, things were going exceptionally well. Considering that he had been the only one trained by a legendary military commander, it was only natural for him to have better results in the battlefield. His fellow S3 subordinates were fortified, hidden within the buildings and using the ruins for cover while engaging the hostiles that were moving to engage them. So far, and unlike the rest of them, there were no casualties whatsoever - a testament to his leading skills as well as their combat skills.

As he calmly reloaded another bullet into his sniper rifle, Kenta continued to explain the situation. "The enemy has been attempting to push against our defenses, but we've been holding out for quite some time. It's only a matter of time before they start to break and I can move up to advance."

"I'm going to kill that bastard one of these days," Taka thought with a angry vein twitching upon his forehead as he barked back to him, "Well when you do find a weak spot, take it! They're probing our defenses and sending in their troops to find alternative routes into the city! If even ONE of them gets past our Sectors, then we'll all be screwed!"

"Report sir!"

"Hold that thought, bastard," Taka redirected his attention to a young officer in light battle armor, looking at him with a keen interest in his visible eye, "what is it?"

"The enemy is pulling back sir! They seem to be withdrawing purposely and not sending anymore men in!"

"What the hell? It can't be that easy," Taka said with disbelief, taking his binocs and looking over the smoking battlefield, seeing the white cloaked figures disappear beyond the green curtain of energy just on the other side, "what's our status?"

"We got a few wounded, but so far nothing worth worrying about sir!"

"At least some of us are having a good day," Taka said as he struck a match and puffed on his cigarette, letting out a thick puff of smoke exhale as he redirected his attention back to Kenta, "they're planning something, Sonoda. They're probably going to try an alternative approach..."

"I'm fully aware of that, Nakanome." Was the slightly annoyed answer within his earpiece. "Just be prepared to switch the positions of your defense when needed."

Taka breathed out another whiff of smoke, saying gutturally, "Just make sure you do the same, Sonoda, and we'll get along just fine. Commander Nakanome out," Taka breathed out with a sigh of relief when he switched off his communique with Kenta, dragging his left glove-covered hand along his face as he groaned, "I hate that man."

Battle of the Beast: Part 1
"We're here!" Takashi spoke aloud as his black armored figure landed near soundlessly atop the entrance of the catwalk, with all the others in tow.

"This is a long expanse," Yoki spoke with grimace as she noticed how long the catwalk went from the tower to the keep, even as there was a oval upside down 'U' embedding of glass overtop to keep airborne options limited to the enemy, the catwalk itself was a good 100 meters long, with a height to the transparent glass cieling of about 10 meters and a width to fit a Kido tank through. All in all, it was good place to defend, but with their limited numbers, that would mean plenty of enemies to fight in the expansive space, "we're going to have to set up near the middle. That way, we can have a good chance of intercepting the enemy before they get too far."

"Mhm...." Braeburn nodded, looking around for a brief moment before sheathing his sword once again. "I'm glad there's a bunch of open space to go through." He commented, lifting a finger up to scratch one side of his face. "My Zanpakuto's much more useful in narrow spaces, but if this was a smaller environment, you lot would've been caught in my cross-fire."

"Mine too!" Takashi stated exasperatedly, patting the hilt of his Zanpakuto with emphasis, "my Zanpakuto, Kusanagi, can be better used at long range, but I can always adapt it to use in tight corners but that's only if I didn't have to watch out for people swinging around their bodies in the way."

"Well excuuuuuuse me!" Rokotsu put her fists on her hips as she grouched at Takashi, before she shook her hips indignantly, "shows how much you appreciate our help!"

"It'd work better if Takashi was back near the entrance," Yoki agreed half-heartedly with Takashi, nodding over to him and then explained to Rokotsu as she crossed her arms in a matter-of-fact tone, "we can't leave the entrance itself unguarded in case one of them happens to get past us, or if there is a hidden enemy that happens to sneak by while we're fighting."

"HA!" Takashi pointed out tauntingly, saying, "I'm going to go get into position where I'm NEEDED!" with that said, he ran back towards the entrance, away from the rest before using a Flash Step to get there faster.

"Thankfully we won't have to hear his rethoric either," Yoki sighed with relief.

"Uh-huh...." After passing a slightly annoyed glare in the man's direction, Braeburn folded his arms across his chest and turned towards the two females left with him. "So where will the rest of us be situated?"

"Despite the limited numbers they'd have to use to infiltrate our defenses, there will be a possible chance that they will overwhelm us with their ferocity and speed," Yoki said deductively, crossing her arms behind her back as she paced thoughtfully, grabbing her left wrist with her right hand habitually as she continued, "we'll need you to remain here with me. Your Zanpakuto's inherent speed and your own swordsmanship will help keep enemies from getting too far, or advancing. My own abilities will compliment yours, let's leave it at that...

"Which will leave us with Rokotsu guarding the frontline," Yoki turned to Rokotsu who seemed to beam as she was now the center of attention, "her own abilities will help slow them down indefinitely as well as her combat capabilities. It won't be unexpected if they managed to get through, but she should slow them down enough for us to launch our own barrage of attacks."

"I'll go get set up, Yoki-chan!" She smiled and said with a set of pouted lips, and a comical salute as her chest bounced in attention with her before she waltzed unintentionally bouyantly to the front end of the catwalk entrance.

A whistle escaped Braeburn's lips, and he stuffed his hands within his hakama pockets. A deadpan look was in his eyes, but a slightly amused smirk was made out of his mouth. "Gotta say... the school-boys in manga would be jumping all over the likes of her right now." He joked, snickering a little.

"Don't joke like that," Yoki stared at him with a wide-eyed horrified expression, her expression seemed to stretch high above his body as a dark aura of dread and horror cast over them both as she explained, "why do you think Takashi, the braggart captain of this op, is constantly trying to rubbing his skills or strength in her face? She's physically the strongest gal of our op, next down from Hana, she's a monster in combat!"

It was all it took to shrink Braeburn down to a slightly shaking chibi form, sweatdrops covering his entire body as he looked back at Yoki with a comically intimidated expression. "R....really...." He squeaked out, holding his miniature hands to himself. "I-I thought it was because he just liked to hear himself talk....m-my bad...."

"Hey Yoki-chan!" Rokotsu spoke, making her jump all of a sudden, speaking through the now activated audio receptor, "there are some people at the door, though the locks won't open. I'm pretty sure they're enemies..."

"They're here!" Yoki said with a narrowed gaze at the end, reaching for her Zanpakuto and drawing it with a excess sound of scraping metal before flourishing it cooly, "Rok-chan! I'm leaving the front door to you! We'll handle any that escape!"

"Okay!" She beams happily over the communique, as she herself began cracking her knuckles and rolling her neck side to side, emitting audible pops even as the door began to be slowly cut away via energy-torch.

Immediately, Braeburn jerked out of his chibi state and back into his normal form. He narrowed his eyes into slits, anticipation and excitement shot into his form. A smile that could be easily described as sadistic in nature came to his face, and he unsheathed his own sword in response. "Duel....Ketto." He whispered, holding the the hilt with his wrist twisted as his sword shifted into its Shikai form. From there, he simply held his position, waiting for the right opportunity to strike down his foes.

It would be a fun shooting gallery, as far as he was concerned.

As soon as the door was cut into a perfect square, a violent red light emitted from all corners of the cuts before a blazing beam shot door towards Rokotsu like a rocket. Rokotsu smiled in turn, reaching out with both hands and smashed the door backwards, a metal-screeching pop was heard as she backfired the metalic square back at the intruders.

One of which, however was crushed subsequently, while the others poured in, covered in white robes but bore obvious cybernetics under their hoods and cloaks, bearing crude looking swords and guns which they began attacking her with while racing forward.

"Cut 'em up!"

Rokotsu cried out, unsheathing her small wakizashi while flailing it towards one of the leaping towards her while bearing down his own vicious blade. But within a arc of yellow that cut through the air, a double-handleed black-&-yellow axe with double edges and a spiked pommel that crackled with spirit energy was revealed, as well as a gory and machine-spray of the Ahijados cultist,

"Hachikattā! (ハチカッター, Lit Translation, "Wasp Cutter,")" The Ahijados agents poured into the walkway, half of them concentrated on Rokotsu while trying to keep a wide berth of her 5 foot long handle and 4 feet long axe blades, keeping them at bay with her unusually high ferocity and power.

"Our turn," Yoki said with a solemn note, raising her Zanpakuto to be vertical with the flat part of the blade while she spoke lowly, a red glow enveloped her sword's edge.

"Unleash the Storm!"

As the Ahijados agents moved towards them, firing their barrage of Kido weapon fire and readied their swords as they neared, a number of fiery red projectiles flew at high speeds. The sounds emanating from them sounded like high-pitched bottle rockets, and when they hit their targets, they could be seen rotating at extremely high speeds, blowing them back with sheer concussive force and energy, crushing their bodies with the amazing power. The spheres then returned to orbit around Yoki, a obvious flaming glow emanated from a foot thick broadsword with a katana grip and obvious holes where the spheres would reside, a total of six in total were available while only four were out of the blade itself.

"Sukārettosuringu (スカーレットスリング, Lit Definition, "Scarlet Sling,")," she said with a warm, satisfied smile as more "targets" approached, obviously the agents were lesser versions of the Keiji Higai mentioned but they were certainly quicker, as they kept Rokotsu occupied and kept their casualties to a minimum at the gate.

For those particular targets, Braeburn allowed himself to step forward.

He spread his feet apart in a defensive stance, keeping the dragon-scaled sword tipped towards those that dared to approach him. His twisted wrist kept its position, while his free hand pressed against his hilt's end. In the stance he was in, it looked as if he was lining up the barrel of a sniper rifle with his targets. Considering the nature of his Zanpakuto, that might as well have been the same case here. In order to emphasize that point, he kept the point at level with their necks.

Then, he unleashed a Tobu Hebi attack.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the blade of his sword expanded and contracted. It only took one millisecond to punch multiple holes into one target with immense speed and force. It only took a total of three seconds for the attack to finish up and for him to cease his technique. He lowered his sword to his side and watched....

...as every one of the Ahijados's chest cavities exploded into a red mist, with heads flying far away from where the bodies landed, and the bodies themselves left in a horrible and mutilated mess. Within seconds, Braeburn had reduced the catwalk to spot to pile bodies. "And that.... is how you kill someone." He finished, a bit of pride within his voice at the demonstration of his technique.

SHINK!

As Braeburn spoke, a blade had elongated right above Braeburn's head, and a spray of blood as well as oil-covered innards spattered around him. Sparks and slight shimmers of what appeared to be a luminiscent-cloaking device that had overloaded on turn of the pin-point accuracy. The blade suspended the body before slowly cutting it in half from the solarplex up past its skull, leaving the body to fall right behind Braeburn.

"What the--"

"And that, is called following through, dumbass!" The audio-enhanced voice spoke from Takashi, already retracting it within a few moments soundlessly back to its normal shape, all the way across the expanse of the catwalk.

Braeburn's grin turned into an annoyed scowl. "Cheeky bastard...." He grumbled, lifting his sword to his shoulder and putting his free hand in his pocket.

Rokotsu managed to cut the last one in half before hefting the rather large axe on her shoulder, looking around at all the blood, sighing, "Someone's made a mess..."

"That takes care of the initial wave," Yoki proclaimed as she inserted the orbs back into the holes of her blade's expanse, lowering her weapon down to hang by her side as she looked over at Braeburn, remarking with a smirk, "nice shooting, tex. That sword-slinging of yours could make any Kido marksman jealous."

That made Braeburn's scowl turned back up into a grin. "Thanks, Yoki...." He answered, looking over at her with a nod. "At least someone--" He immediately spun a glare back towards the suited Takashi. --"appreciates my good works."

"HA!" Takashi jeered back, pointing back across the expanse even though he could be hardly seen at the distance he was at, "I already appreciate MY talents! That's all the approval I need-"

"Cause naturally that's all you're going to get, right?" Yoki joked with a smirk, earning a growl and retort from Takashi.

Rokotsu rounded around, suddenly leaping away from a number of projectiles, scorching the blood soaked catwalk as she held her giant axe with one hand as she skid across the floor to a safe distance, "We got more baddies!"

Coolly, Braeburn flipped his sword back into its "gun" position, his expression contorted and his eyes narrowed into concentration. "Not for long...." He declared, preparing himself for the new wave of hostiles. It was going to take a lot more than what they were facing in order to penetrate their defenses, but it was always a possibility that there would be something heavier than the standard infantry troops. Hopefully, that wouldn't be for a while....

Rokotsu suddenly stared wide-eyed as she saw a group of Ahijados approach, same as the others that entered and were killed within minutes. With one exception...

"Missiles incoming!" Rokotsu shouted back to them, as the Ahijados launched a barrage of projectiles from launchers, illuminated in a trail of blue energy with a spiked avarice towards Rokotsu and the others, even as she used Flash Step to group with the others.

"Braeburn! Handle the missiles!" Yoki shouted out as she presented her Zanpakuto out, revving up the spheres before discharging them, "I'll handle the launchers!"

"You got it!"

Immediately, Braeburn aimed his sword towards the missiles and unleashed another extension attack, slicing through each of the missiles as quickly as he did to the Ahijados troops. As a reuslt, all of them exploded in mid-air before they could even think to reach their targets. However, this time, he kept his Zanpakuto ready. It wasn't in him to let Takashi show him up again.

Yoki's rotating spheres flew with telltale auras of red energy tales as they flew towards the enemy's launchers, striking them fully on the body with high-pitched whines and sickening crunches that followed with loud pops of air pressure, sending them flying into the wall surrounding the doorway as well as smacking into some glass before falling still and immobile.

However, as the spheres began to float up again, a number of Ahijados took the opportunity to rush in, their hands alight with red glows as they discharged wide beams of raw spiritual energy, blanketing the bottom half of the air and blackening the ground.

"Ceros!" Yoki yelled in alarm, instinctively using Flash Step to move deftly move out of the firing range toward the ceiling. As the loud humming and screeching of the enemy's fire towards Takashi on the far end of the catwalk.

"RRRRAAAAAAH!" Takashi roared out, his black armor became alight in a bright green spiritual aura, his spiritual pressure filled the air and distorted it visually as he thrust his Zanpakuto towards the wide streams of spiritual energy towards him.

SHHHHHHIIIINK!

With a loud, painful sound Takashi's green energy covered blade stretched and cut the crimson wave, forcing it towards the windows on eitherside, causing a rippling sensation across the catwalk as a large amount fire excessed from the shattering glass. While the concussive force knocked them into the air and spinning at vicious rotating circles, the exploding glass began sending fiery projectiles into the Ahijados arrancar bodies, tearing them to shreds while setting their bodies on fire.

"BOO-YAH, bitches!" Takashi howled out with a mighty cheer and began preforming what could comically assumed to be a victory dance.

Braeburn sweat-dropped. "Even for me, that was a bit over-kill....I think you're letting the fight get to your head, mate."

"Your welcome, dumbass!" Takashi yelled at him, but underneath the black cloth mask he had a grin ear-to-ear of his accomplishment.

"Don't get on him too bad," Yoki said with a sigh and a soft smile as she dropped down to the ground with a slight crunch, waving her hand in front of her face to get the sulfur and smoke smell out of her nostrils, "he did stop the ceros while killing the cultists. I'd say that did the job."

"He could've warned me," Rokotsu whined, coughing up as she too hit the ground and had a bit of a blackened face from the explosion, "I could've gotten caught in that!"

Braeburn mimicked Yoki's movements, wrinkling his nose in distaste of the fumes coming at his nose. "With what Yoki's been telling me about you?" He asked skeptically, turning away from her and closing his eyes. "Somehow, I really doubt that."

"Well well," a eery, hollow voice came through the air as a presence not detected until now walked over the rubble, glass, blood, and bodies cooly and unphased, "these are the guardians they chose to protect the legendary Kido "God". I shouldn't be surprised," the dark cloaked form bore armor with wear and tear over the years, but its presence was definitely that of an Arrancar. Its voice bore nothing but dispassionate, cold animosity.

"Its another Ahijados," Yoki said in a near quiet tone, sweat rolled down her brow as she could almost tell that this one was different altogether from the rest,"he's...from the files on the Yuurei invasion that happened months ago. This one serves Cortez Selestino!"

Rokotsu gripped her weapon in front of her cautiously, but she audibly gulped down a lump of fear shfelt welling inside of herself.

"And here comes the final boss...."

Smiling grimly, Braeburn readied his sword in a more defensive and traditional stance, his sword clicking with a menacing sound. The spiritual pressure radiating from the newfound enemy was potent and powerful, making sweat fall down his face as well as his body. However, he did not allow himself to move an inch. "So if he's here...." He summarized. "Then maybe Cortez ain't too far away...."

"Master Cortez is omniscient and omnipotent. There is nothing that escapes her grasp or her vision, whether she's physically present or not will make no difference for you," 666 spoke in a dark, intellectual manner never heard by anyone but for very few individuals, "this battle is paramount for the next step closer in fulfilling her plans. And you can't stop them, even if I should die or your Kido Captain lives."

"Rokotsu, find us an opening," Toki immediately spoke, and a simple nod came from her feminine partner as she raised her Zanpakuto threateningly towards her opponent, "leave quietly, and we might not have to brutally murder you."

"I've been observing your movements since the beginning of this conflict," 666 crossed its arms in a confident, unreadable manner, "you're a potent threat but only as a team does your true strength seem to flourish. Individually, each of you are no match for my power."

"Yo ugly!" Rokotsu yelled at 666, as she leaped towards him, scraping her axe along the ground as a vibrant yellow arc of shocking coursed around the edges, "let's play!"

"Nuisance," it uttered as she swung a devestating arc, an excess of yellow-colored kinetic force was released, creating a large crater in the catwalk floor...with no 666 in sight. "you'll all perish in the flames of your own destruction," 666 whispered behind Rokotsu, earning the latter a wide-eyed look of shock as he sent a backhand towards her head, sending her flying into the glass wall with a crack for which she barely braced her hit with her weapon's handle.

"ROKOTSU!!!" Braeburn yelled, before shifting his gaze to her attacker with a tense expression. Immediately, he pointed his sword forward and unleashed another 'Tobu Hebi attack without hesitation at 666. His blade expanded and contracted without end, shooting out and pulling back with immense power and nigh-invisible speed.

"That's it!" 666 goaded in a dark monotone, is body seemingly disappeared within the immense wall of contracting blades and the presence from his spiritual pressure vanished. He then appeared right above, the two, earning Yoki's attention as she sliced in a figure eight pattern, sending a pair of rotating spheres towards him. 666 countered them with a rapid flick of his wrist, sending two Balas to intercept them with loud concussive force, impeding their effectiveness and speed as he leaped down towards the two, igniting two spiritron formed blades.

CLASH, HISSSSSS!

The two clashing blades met towards Yoki's sword while it aimed to strike at Braeburn's head and shoulder, "Use your anger and hatred to fuel your attacks, heighten your senses, let darkness take over your thoughts!" He goaded in a cold, tempting and evil voice, urging them to get angry and lose control.

Fortunately, Braeburn managed to act in time.

He gripped his sword in two hands, swinging in order to block the attack made towards his person. Then, he put forth his momentum as well as his enemy's own power used in its strikes against its very owner as he parried and counter-attacked with a set of swings of his own. "It's guys like you that really need to shut the hell up nowadays!" He growled, attacking with a concentrated, yet furious flair.

Yoki also followed suite, flurrying her own one-handed sword style. Red arcs emanated through the air from the vibrant energy surrounding it and the lightning quick speed she used to aid Braeburn's own set of devestatingly swift attacks. The two of them moved as naturally as Hana and Daisuke did when they fought Ryuketsu, for it was quite a sight to behold.

However...the Ahijados assassin and bodyguard to Cortez seemed to show no strain or stress in keeping up with either of their well-strung and relentless attacks. He moved like shadow and with primal force of a beast, the violet and crimson arcs coming from his spiritron blades moved at higher rates due to lessened weight involved. A faint crimson pair of eyes glowed menacingly back from behind the hidden veil of shadow cast by his hood, as he sought every weak point and hesitation within the many well-played strikes and slashes of his two opponents.

When the two of them came at once to slash at them, he preformed something unexpected. He defused the blades within his hilts, gathering a vibrant-electric display of spiritual power within his palms as he crouched below a set of three of their slashes, before he struck.

"Sangre onda de Choque!"

SSSSSHKCRAAAAAAACKBOOOOOOM!!!!

With a dark, guttural declaration, a blood-red electric shockwave was released in front of them, shaking the very catwalk throughout its foundation, sending tendrils throughout the walkway while sending a tantamount of force towards his two opponents to flail them across the walkway of the catwalk, ensuring the two would feel the force of the blow as well as shock damage. Yoki felt herself feel the brunt of the attack, shouting a near silent scream as she her body rolled across the ground like a ragdoll before she slowed after a good 20 meters of drag, her body covered by crimson tendrils due to the shock she was going through.

"D-Damn," she growled, trying to move but felt her body spasm everytime she tried to move and she couldn't push herself off the ground.

"GAH~!!"

Braeburn didn't do any better.

WHAM!

His back skidded across the ground, his eyes shut and his teeth gritted as he came to a stop right beside Yoki. "Mother--!!" He himself attempted to push up, but could only get onto his hands and knees before he collapsed once more. Somehow, he was able to keep a grip on his sword, although that was possibly due to the electricity coursing through his body. "By the Oracle..." He groaned, managing to open one eye. "Why can't this be some one-sided story in where the hero gets a plot shield or something....?!"

"What in the world of the living are your babbling about?!" Yoki groaned as she got onto her hands and knees, coughing slightly from the force of the blast that sent her sprawling, a few scratches and scrapes adorned her face and neck.

SHINK-SHFT-SHINK-SHFT-SHINK-SHFT!

As 666 walked calmly over towards his prey, he quickly sidestepped a snap-strike elongated blade, before repeating the gesture as Takashi kept striking his long-ranged sword at his target, "Speed is below the one I just disposed of in retraction timing but around the same in release. Accuracy is also above the prior's Zanpakuto abilities. In that case," as the blade shot out again, 666 used Sonido, his body blurred away with a telltale sound of static as he appeared a few meters to the right before firing a Bala from his left hand, forcing the blade into the windows as well as force it to keep being elongated.

"Predictable," he uttered lowly as he held up his right hand, a sphere gathered at the center of his palm of red tint, readying a Cero.

As he was preparing to fire, a shadow suddenly loomed over 666, immediately alerting the Ahijados assassin with a widening of its pulsating eyes within his hood. This action caused him to disengage his Cero's target to force it to Rokotsu's orange-tendril coursing axe as it forced itself down towards the sphere, in the long-run, splitting it with a ear-splitting roar and scream, as a detonation tore holes in the ceiling of the catwalk and shook the floors for the entiriety of its distance.

"Shit....!!!"

Even as Braeburn attempted to stand up, his body automatically crouched down into a cringe when the scream reached his ears. It didn't help matters that the catwalk he was standing on started to shake, and he nearly stumbled over trying to keep his balance on the shaky grounds. A bead of sweat fell down his face, and his heart raced even faster with the adrenaline pumping through his veins. Against this type of foe, it would certainly be a hard fight for the likes of them.

But, if anything else, he was more excited than scared.

When the explosion cleared, 666 skidded to the side with only one of his spiritron blades ignited while Rokotsu skidded away looking slightly bruised and scraped but amazingly no real injuries of critical nature worth observing. She used Flash Step, shimmering away and reappearing next to Braeburn, helping him up to his feet gingerly by grabbing his arm while holding her behemoth black-&-yellow striped axe on her shoulder.

Takashi also appeared by Toki's side as she helped herself up, all of them lined up and ready for another round of combat, silent and attentive to their enemy's next moves.

"As I thought, your strength is in your unity," 666 spoke loud enough for his dark, hollow voice to echo throughout the hallway. He encompassed himself in a rippling, crimson-tendril covered aura as his Spiritual Pressure weighed visibly in the air with a clear killing intent, even going as far as tendrils crawled along the catwalk as a demonstration of how powerful he truly is, "but I will break you all in the end under my might, in the name of my Master, Cortez Selestino!"

Madness and Chaos Clash: Part 1
"Search the corridors for any intruders!" Shiro spoke into a communique as he walked barefoot along the halls nearby the debriefing room, making his patrol as Chidori accompanied him, both of them left Juushin in the company of Rukia Kuchiki as they personally saw to it that the castle was cleared of intruders and properly defended.

"Right away, sir! It will take time to comb the corridors and many passageways, so we're splitting up the guards and Yuurei soul reapers into groups of five."

"Alert me to the slightest hint of enemy presence, or anything out of the ordinary with our personnal. There's a possibility they may acquire disguises to mask their presence within the barracks or the castle armory," Shiro explained firmly, with only a returned reply of "Understood," before he broke the communication link, sighing while rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Tell me about it...."

Shiro's non-verbal had acquired the attention of Chidori, who was balancing her released sword on her shoulder with a rather disdainful expression on her face. Her free hand was on her hip, and she walked step-to-step with her fellow bodyguard. "This patrol stuff is even more of a pain in the ass than just sitting around and doing nothing." She complained. "Doesn't matter how important it is...."

"I think we've been working together for too long," he muttered before nodding his head to her in agreement, "I'd rather be at his Majesty's side that way I would have a definite knowing that I can protect him. But...if I meet the enemy out here and keep them from disturbing Juushin-sama, then all the better. I wish they wouldn't take their time about it!" He flailed his arms comically as he huffed out breaths as he emanated impatience.

In an equally comical manner, Chidori reached over to pat Shiro on the head. "There, there..." She drawled. "Don't get all ruffled before you face the enemy....Jūshin's a tough bastard, he can hold his own when the time comes for it."

"Easy for you to say," Shiro crossed his arms to rest inside his sleeves underneath his kimono, sporting a fish-lipped pout as they continued to walk.

"Chidori-san! This is Officer Ayan of the Reaper Deployment forces," spoke a masculine voice in Chidori's communique, the voice belonging to that of a Soul Reaper assigned for command of four royal security forces.

While that happened, Shiro answered his own communique while retaining a pouting expression, gradually growing out of it as he felt more and more concerned with the situation being presented to him.

Immediately, Chidori clicked her own earpiece on, her eyes looking towards it with a slightly pensive expression. "Chidori here." She stated smoothly, continuing to stay within step of Shiro. "What have you got for me, Ayan?"

"We found a few bodies from another passing patrol down here in the royal greenhouse," Ayan said with regret, wincing slightly before continuing, "they look like they were torn to shreds. I can't tell if it was projectiles or blades, but whatever happened, they were dead before they hit the ground."

"...I see," Shiro said as he drew his brows into a knitted expression, his red eyes stared ahead with a serious expression, "I understand. Keep the threat contained until I get there."

Chidori's eyebrows furrowed slightly at the vage description. "Just to make sure, are those our guys or theirs?" She questioned. It was probably a dumb question, but it didn't hurt to be cautious.

"Hold a sec, Chidori-san," the voice hesitated before going quiet, slight shuffling sounds could be heard and mutterings with his compatriots before he responded within a couple minutes, "they have tatters of Royal security uniforms along with a torn Yuurei Shihakusho on one of the more intact bodies..."

"Don't worry about it. His Majesty is safe and secure, as well as being well protected," Shiro reassured the security team he was conversing with before promptly stopping at a crossroads within the halls, one direction heading one way while the other head the other, "I'll be there shortly. Shiro out."

"And here comes the traditional fork in the road." After clicking off her own earpiece, Chidori rolled her eyes before looking over at Shiro. It was the typical thing to do, but she wasn't just about to go with her instinct if her partner had another plan. "You go one way, I go the other?"

"Sorry, Chidori," Shiro looked at her with a apologetic face as he crossed his arms, "they found a intruder and they cornered him in the atrium deck about at the 9th story. They said they seemed to find the intruder to not put up much of a fight and purposely got into the atrium, almost as if he was waiting for them. Fortunately, we got several squads surrounding the viable exits, and the only way for him to escape is to jump the balcony which is currently being focused by our snipers. So you know, it seems like this guy is expecting one of us," he shrugged as he pointedly referred to "us" as the more experienced Soul Reapers.

"Yeah....well, no helping it, I suppose." Chidori closed her eyes and shrugged, using her free hand to indicate the nearest hallway she was going to go through. "I'll see you later then." Giving a somewhat encouraging smile towards him while opening her eyes again, she turned on her heel and proceeded to walk off in her given hallway. "Try not to get yourself too messed up while I'm gone."

"Right back at you!" Shiro pointed at her, momentarily steamed and a pulsating vein throbbed on his forehead with anger. However, as she disappeare from view, his gaze softened and a small smile adorned his features before whispering, "be safe," before rushing off towards the other end of the all, towards the atrium observatory.

Chidori walked down the hallway, her eyes contorted into a thoughtful look. She reached up with her free hand and slid her fingers down the smooth walls in an idle manner. Up ahead of her, she could sense the people that she had spoken with earlier. Idly, she wondered if it had been a necessity to even split up, as she was getting the implication that both of them went to the same path. This made her thoughtful expression turn to a slightly annoyed one. Hopefully for her, that would not be the case.

"That jerk...." She thought to herself, her mind going back to the communication that she had with Ayan. "What did he think he was doing, answering for me like that? I ought to go back there just to give him a good old punch to his pretty nose!"

It wasn't long before she stepped out of the exit of the hallway and into an out-door area, the smell of various types of flowers hitting her nose.

As her grey eyes searched and her feet continued to move her forward, she discovered that she was in the Royal Garden. There was a clear, concrete path made through what looked like a forest floor, with flowers dominating the grassy lands. She smiled to herself as she walked, taking in the rather attractive sight Mother Nature had presented them with. It seemed that even in times so dire, the gardeners were still doing their job.

She continued to walk until she saw them - Ayan and his troops standing on patrol a few feet away. She raised her free hand in a wave as she approached them, as her Shikai sword was still resting on her shoulder. "Hey, what's up?" She called in order to get their attention.

Ayan sighed with relief as he saw Chidori approach. What could be seen as some of the troopers, garnered in body armor and holding their respective Kido weaponry laxly, but with a sense of tension and dread.

"Chidori-sama, thanks for coming so quickly!" Ayan said with a soft, yet hurried voice, as he approached her with a bowed head and a stressed smile.

Chidori gave him a comically pointed look. "I told you before to stop referring to me with that suffix. If you must, at least say "-san" instead of "-sama". She chided him.

Ayan smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck with one hand while emphasizing in the other, "What can I say? When you train under one of his Majesty's bodyguards and aides, you tend to think of them as a superior position."

"Yeah?" Chidori smiled a little as well, reaching over to give him a light punch to his chest. "Well, here's another lesson for you, grasshopper: titles tend to make my skin crawl." She lowered her sword to her side in an idle stance for a moment. "But enough chit-chat. You said that you found those bodies within the green-house, right?"

"Oof," Ayan faked a pained expression when she "punched" him, rubbing his chest thoughtfully, "I'll try my best, Chidori-san."

As she mentioned the bodies, he could only close his eyes and shudder, before opening them half-mast, his expression much different from the easy-going Ayan that he's used to being, "This way, please," Ayan directed with a wave of his right hand as he walked past his men, the latter of which began standing on guard and at attention as their superior walked towards the scene of the crime.

As they reached it, one could immediately smell the rotting stench of the recently slain, as the taste of the foul iron-metalic blood permeated the air as the chunks of body parts, puddle of crimson liquid, and tattered cloth and armor indicated the butchering.

"This is exactly how we found it, Chidori," Ayan said, holding a firm and serious expression, not even responding to the foul odors and horrifying scene before him. If any consolation, however, he did begin to pale as he kept his gaze fixated on the Shihakusho uniform amongst the middle part of the slaughter bath, "we're not even sure if the enemy is nearby or just came through, and killed them."

".....holy hell....."

A solemn and composed look of horror came across Chidori's face, and she moved closer towards the slaughter. The stench of human fluids did not hinder her movements, apart from her expression. "Either our little intruder's extremely powerful.... or he's just one sadistic sicko...." She summarized, her eyes closing for a moment. "Ayan, let's sweep the area with our spiritual senses. Remember what I taught you... keep an eye out for the slightest spiritual disruption."

Ayan nodded, closing his eyes and slowed his breathing, not moving an inch. He spread out his senses beyond the rushing water of the nearby pools and small waterfalls within the green house, the lush tropical scents of greens and flowers, the vibrant light and colors that emanated in the large construct, the bitter and sour taste of death and honey within the scents...and stretched out with his spiritual power, with the slighest etches within the air and surroundings.

He could feel everything. "See" everything. Except...

Reaching slowly to his Zanpakuto's hilt with his right hand while gripping the sheathe and thumbing it with a slight click out of place, he whispered, "Chidori. The waterfall. My 10 O'clock."

"Gotcha. Approach slowly and with caution. There's no need to rush, this guy's basically trapped himself...." Her sword leveled out to her side, Chidori shifted her position and started walking in the direction of where Ayan had pointed her. She kept her spiritual pressure hidden and contained in order to lower awareness of their target.

"Why would he stay here? If he has nowhere to run, shouldn't he have fled after he killed his...targets?" He whispered aloud, moving in a casual indirect manner towards a group of foilage surrounded by exotic trees and flowers, nearly 10 meters from the waterfall. His steps were relaxed, calm, and practiced while maintaining a grip on his weapon.

"Maybe he was expecting this." Chidori whispered back, her eyes concentrated forward. "It just shows how powerful he or she might really be. A cowardly enemy or a weaker one would've immediately fled the scene out of the knowledge that they would be confronted. To be simply waiting for us.... it's a sign of confidence and faith within his or her own abilities."

"Arrogant and dangerous," Ayan spoke with a sigh, as he slowly unsheathed his sword, making one final step before whispering with venom in his voice and a false smile adorned on his face, "I hate those kinds of people!"

With a sudden shimmer with silence emanating his Flash Step, Ayan rushed his opponent as he fully withdrew his sword and slashed into the surface of the water where he felt it specifically, cutting through the liquid veil with ease. It was when he felt his sword clash with something metalic, he realized it was the enemy's choice of weapon, though not clearly visible because both the water and his enemy's unusual presence.

Within a few moments, the outlines of his opponent began to appear as if a veil of light was being dropped, the mirage finally waning away even as Ayan struggled against what he now could identify as a butterfly knife.

"You did well finding me, Soul Reaper," the voice spoke, now fully revealed as a long blonde haired man that was partially wet because of the running water, but did nothing to hide his elaborate white suited appearance, effortlessly holding Ayan's Zanpakuto back with a much smaller weapon, "I wonder how many pieces I can cut you into before you feel the pain?"

He was not the only one to have a silent Flash Step.

Within an instant, Chidori re-appeared with one of her own behind the man, sword brought up in a diagonal upper-cut towards his head with her cleaver blade in both hands. Her eyes were narrowed and focused, a small smile on her face as she initiated her attack.

"O-ho?" The assassin said in feigned surprise, as his body was enveloped in a blue light before shimmering away from the blade's arc entirely, leaving Ayan and Chidori facing each other.

"This is certainly delightful!" The assassin spoke across from them, now standing upright on a tree limb of another exotic plantlife, the shadows outlined his white clothes and a eery light reflected menacingly from his pair of glasses hung halfway down the bridge of his nose, a sadist killer's smile adorned on his pale angled face and twirled his bloodied knife in between his fingers meticulously as he spoke, "its been awhile since I've killed a Soul Reaper as renowned as the personal aide of King Juushin Igen! Not to mention a woman," he then stopped twirling his knife before holding it up to his mouth, where he lightly licked over the back of his knife, moaning in a perverse manner before finishing, "I'll enjoy tasting your blood as you gasp for your last breaths."

"You psychotic bastard!" Ayan growled, dropping the prior pretense of false smiles as he grit his teeth and shook his Zanpakuto within his grip with contained rage towards his comrades' killers.

"Easy, Ayan...." Chidori warned him lowly, turning around and raising her sword in a defensive stance, her sword tip lowered to the ground. "He's just trying to get you to lose your cool." She was more composed, although narrowing her eyes slightly in disgust and disdain at the display of perversity and immorality the man displayed. However, she didn't allow more than that to show to the surface. Her mouth curled into a smile, out of anticipation for the battle that was ahead.

"That so?" She remarked, keeping a casual and light tone despite the type of opponent she was facing. "And who might you be, oh-so-prestigious killer?"

Ayan breathed deeply in and out, slowly getting his heart rate and anger back under control, before assuming a grim smile of his own as he observed his opponent carefully.

The man smiled towards Chidori, having her light-hearted manner as well as curiosity to whom he was, he gave a garish smile before placing a gloved hand towards his chest with only the fingers touching and gave a slight bow as his eyes met Chidori's over the expanse, "My name is Yūrei Sasayaku. I'm an assassin and hit man, contracted by the enigmatic and flamboyant individuals who called this little internal raid on your security. I must say though," he looked over at the pile of blood and body parts nearby, saying, "they certainly were beautiful when I cut them appropiately. Of course that wasn't much of a fight," he shrugged before regarding Chidori again with a toothy grin.

Chidori's smile turned into a frown as she listened to his words. "Then consider this your lucky day. I bet you were waiting all of this time for a much stronger opponent to face down, weren't you? That's why you haven't fled the area, isn't it?"

"O-ho, you are a quick one!" He said with an enthusiasm that might've been insinuated as mocking, as he twirled his knife in his right hand while snapping his gloved fingers with his left, ending it by pointing at her in a finger pistol fashion, "it really was one of the only ways we could lure the two most prominent and skilled Soul Reapers away from the King's side. You'd only get in the way of my client anyways. But I was really hoping to meet you most of all...Chidori!"

FLING, WHIIIIIIIZ!

As he finished speaking her name, he threw the bloodied butterfly knife at her with incredible speed and aim, moving as fast as any Kido projectile could, the blade whistled at a high pitch that was almost deafening towards her.

All Chidori had to do was swing upwards.

Her blade collided with the high-speed projectile, and the force delivered into her strike was enough to shatter the bloodied butterfly knife into pieces of metal. The broken pieces were knocked away from her and into the "river" that was nearby. "So there's another waiting for Shiro?" She remarked, narrowing her eyes. "I figured as much.... it's always the typical route the bad guys always take before a fight."

"Tsk tsk tsk," Yūrei clicked his tongue in a feigned disappointed tone, his left hand began reaching into his coat as he spoke, "you broke my knife. I'll just have to remedy that," he then removed what appeared to be a modified version of an older Kido rifle, holding it vertically as he smiled at her, "I wonder how good is your stamina, soul reaper? I've got lots of it, so I hope you can keep up."

"Chidori," Ayan said with a firm grasp on his Zanpakuto, his eyes narrowed at Yūrei as he spoke, "let's take him!"

"Yeah...." Chidori muttered in agreement, raising her sword up over head in an offensive position, the blade tip pointing towards her opponent. The blade position itself looked as if she was ready to swing at any given moment. "I'm more than eager to shut this guy up now...."

"O-ho?" Yūrei uttered as he suddenly enveloped himself in blue light...then shimmered out of view. Reappearing right below the two of them, aiming deftly his rifel towards the branch they were resting upon, "I'll be the one shutting you up!"

BRACK!

With a loud shot, a golden projectile fired upwards, striking the branch with pin-point accuracy while causing a explosion of orange fire and concussive force.

Ayan was forced to use Flash Step, disappearing from the explosion and reappearing above Yūrei, diving towards him while holding his sword back to initiate an attack from his blind-spot, "You're mine!"

"O-ho," he simply spoke as he moved his gun within a blur of motion, pointing directly at Ayan, discharging a series of high-sped and inhuman accurate shots, "do you think I'd be blind to your attacks, Soul Reaper?"

Once again, with a Flash Step, Chidori was behind him with her sword raised over her head in one hand.

It was clear that she had not dodged the attack, for there were slight scuffles on her skin and clothing. However, she appeared to be completely fine despite having seemed to take the attack head-on. "Do you think we could be killed by such a lowly weapon?" She retorted, swinging down on her opponent with immense speed and power.

Ayan had managed to dodge the majority of the well aimed bullets, deflecting the few he couldn't dodge in time, and felt one graze his shoulder causing him to wince in pain before landing behind his opponent, backpedaling back into the foilage for cover from his gun fire.

"O-ho," Yūrei said with a smile, spinning on the balls of his feet in a graceful and swift manner, while fishing something out of his sleeve and grabbing a vicious knife in his right hand, slashing towards her exposed face with quick prejudice, "did you think guns were the only thing I carry in my arsenal?"

"On the contrary...."

While Ayan was forced back, Chidori only had to take one step back when her opponent swung at her with the knife. She moved with just enough room so that the blade would barely miss her, smiling in anticipation and satisfaction as she evaded the strike. However, it managed to take out a few short strands of her hair. "I was hoping that you'd have a blade somewhere....." She finished, readying her sword again in a defensive position.

"Well now," he said with a admiring smile, using his knife weilding hand to press his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his eyes flashing red and slitted pupils as he stared her down hungrily, "this might go beyond a warm-up for me."

"Hado #32,"

Ayan uttered lowly as he Flash Stepped into the air above, a yellow orb of spiritual energy gathered before he released it in a wide arc sweeping down below towards Yūrei, with just enough room for Chidori to evade,

"Okasen!"

BRA-BRA-BRA-BRA-BRA-BRA-BRACK!

Within a mere rapid succession of yellow energy projectiles flashed from his compact Kido rifle, the entiriety of the level 30 spell exploded in mid-air. The light caused his being to shine in a bright illuminating light, his glasses reflect in a deadly eery way, and a wide smile to adorn on his face, "You clearly have no idea who you're dealing with!" He yelled out excitedly before spraying the air with a number of projectiles towards Chidori's position, still holding his knife in one hand while firing his weapon with the other.

The reverberations of the explosion caught Ayan unprepared, taking a searing pain across his body as he was propelled above into the green house's ceiling high above, cracking the high durable glass, causing him to cough, "D-Damn..."

Chidori quickly readied her sword and prepared herself. Her wrists twisted in a quick and rapid manner. Once some of the projectiles collided with her blade, they did not explode as they would have under normal circumstances. Instead, they were deflected back at their shooter with as much accuracy that Yurei himself had delivered. Whatever she couldn't hit, she effectively swung her body around to dodge. The result of her body moving around made it appear as if she was performing an elegant dance as she avoided death literally by a hair.

"Hahahahaha!" Yūrei laughed aloud as he began to blur in motion, dodging his own bullets while letting loose a storm upon his target, gradually becoming faster and faster, as well as the number of projectiles he cast upon his target, "that's it! C'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon! Hahahahahahahaha!"

Once he shimmered a number of times, appearing from different directions while firing his Kido rifle with wild abandon and with deadly aim, intending on wearing Chidori down or make her lose footing, or have her run out of patience and rush him as well.

This was a test of Chidori's own will and skill as one of the bodyguards of the king.

She breathed in deeply as she continued to flick her wrists, turning her body around to face her opponent every time he flickered in and out of her view, not missing a beat as she continued to deflect the bullets. Her eyes were concentrated as she pitted her stamina against his, her body moving quickly and with agile precision. It was a good thing that she would've had her Shikai out, otherwise dodging the attacks would have been pointless and a waste of energy.

However, as it was, she had a clear advantage over him.

With each and every miss that he made, his own will would start to chip away little by little. With every shot that didn't hit its target, he would start to lose his resolve and subsequently his own composure. It was the effect of Henko; once it selected its target, it would allow time to do the rest. Slowly, even as she was remaining on the defensive, Chidori was gaining ground against the mad killer.

"O-ho?" Yūrei suddenly felt his blood boil over time in a sensation he knew shouldn't have been transpiring this early in a fight. He felt his pulse quicken, and his energy go into overdrive. He thought was losing his mind to bloodlust, but something unnatural pulled at his will, even as he continued to fire his weapon at her, "this is certainly interesting! I haven't even gone full out and I'm already yearning to leap at you like a mad dog?! What are you doing, Soul Reaper?! Are you sending empath waves into my brain to change my mood and my cognitive skills?! Is that it?!"

With a maddened leap, he forced himself to leap backwards in a acrobatic display before going a good 10 meters. He felt himself regain some thought and his body started to go slower, but it still set his bloodlust on set goal to cut her to pieces. He felt himself laugh as he pocketed his knife back within his sleeve, as he reached into his coat, with his right hand instead, "You're exciting me to no ends, Chidori, aide of Juushin Igen. I never felt such haphazard wave of emotions fill my being to excite me to this point, but I think you've earned enough of my respect to let me cut loose to half my poetential!"

Suddenly, his body enveloped in an aura of Spiritual energy, showing a wild billowing display to his coat and fluttering of his blonde hair with his eyes turning red a, nd slitted. His Spiritual Pressure thickened and coiled wildly around every living thing within the greenhouse, shaking the glass and cracking it. His smile was now feral, and his eyes glowed red as he pulled out a second Kido rifle, the guns themselves began reacting to his Spiritual Power. Crimson tendrils coiled around and into his guns, causing them to glow brightly, even as he growled out with a gutturally delighted tone,

"Did you even know what the original intention of Kido guns were fore, Soul Reaper?! It was to boost the power of the weapon's magazine, charging it with your own Spiritual Power, allowing you to create absolutely terrfying destruction! But allow me to demonstrate," he then aimed one of his Kido rifles at her, his left hand pulling back the trigger, saying, "you'll get the picture soon enough!

BRBRBRBRVROOOOOOOM!

The normal yellow energy projectile that had the size of a soda can, now came into a highly concentrated crimson beam towards Chidori, aiming to totally consume her in a cutting beam that could slice through a Menos Grande's mask with one run through.

"Glide through the stars," As the beam would cause impact into the area of the greenhouse, a shroud of blue light enraptured Chidori as it pulled her out of the way, even as the crimson blast exploded brilliantly into orange flames, punching a blazing hole into the floor below, the glass barrier, the wall with all the foilage with the ceiling above,

"Suzume! ( 雀, Lit Translation, "Sparrow,")" Ayan breathed out as he held onto Chidori as they dove into the far side of the greenhouse, feeling himself tumble with her in the wake of the concussive force's aftermath.

"Eh?"

Needless to say, Chidori was not expecting the sudden intervention by Ayan.

Her eyes widened comically as she was suddenly jerked aside by the light that enveloped her, and even more so as she was pulled before the blast could make quick work of her. This would immediately turn into a contortion of pain as her head banged into the greenhouse. She promptly fell to the ground, comical swirls in her eyes as she lay on her back for a few seconds. Such a rescue had not been anticipated by her.

And for the record, she wasn't happy about it.

An anime vein popped in her head, and she glared at Ayan as she lay on her side, her forearm propping herself up from the ground. "What the hell, Ayan?" She growled, one of her eyes twitching. "I was just about to do something real bad-ass until you had to pull that on me. If you had the time to ruin a perfectly good idea, you could've at least done something like stab the guy in the back!"

Ayan bowed his head repeatedly in a position where his head smacked the ground, shouting, "A thousand apologies, Chidori! I did not know you could handle that attack! Forgive me! Forgive me!" Throughout his apologies, his Zanpakuto had transformed into its released state, a dark blue and black parallel bladed vambrace that wrapped up his arm from his shoulder all the way down to his hand, covering it into a metalic apparatus.

Yūrei looked at the blazing fire, a smile adorned his face as he walked towards the two from afar off, garnishing both rifles in parallel vertical upright positions as the flames that kindled and crackled in the distance illuminated his person in a wrathful, eery aura, "IO-ho? I did not anticipate missing. This won't happen again, I promise you that."

For a brief moment (and in a display that would've deemed her to be insane or fearless), Chidori ignored the threatening display of scenery completed by Yurei.

In a comical manner, she stepped on his face in order to stop him from hurting himself any further, wearing a deadpan expression. "All right, all right, I forgive you. Just keep your brains intact, there's still an enemy wanting to kill us both." She drawled, lifting her foot off and stepping back. It showed just how much composure she could keep even in the face of what looked like certain death.

She turned to face Yuurei, raising her sword over her head in her traditional offensive position. Her eyes were concentrated, yet held a serene look about them. Her mouth was a neutral line as she spoke. "You better keep that promise...." She said coolly to him. "Because if you miss any more, it's not going to be pretty for you."

Yūrei chuckles as he points both of his rifles at her, his Spiritual Pressure once again fluctuates the air as he speaks aloud, "Well then, I better make my next shot count, now shouldn't I?!"

Unparalleled Powers: Part 1
"There you are, Shiro-san!" One of the security officers said with a look of relief as Shiro clapped up to the level landing, with the door just to his left 5 meters away.

"What's the situation? Has the intruder done anything yet that warrants suspicion?" Shiro spoke in a crisp, professional tone, keeping his eyes on the security's officer's as he awaited an answer.

"No sir! He's remained inside...its almost as if he's-"

"-Expecting me, I know," Shiro answered knowingly, startling the officer as well as his compatriots standing nearby.

"Y-You're going to confront him when he's been purposely waiting for you?!"

"This is crazy! He might be insanely strong!"

"I know the risks, officers!" Shiro answered tersely, glaring at all of them with enough steel to silence them. Before he continued, he turned towards the door, speaking aloud, "I want you to seal the doors as soon as I enter. I want no possibilities of him escaping into other corridors of the castle. Do you understand?"

With a slight note of hesitation, the officer in charge nodded, saying, "I'll make the calls and have the other officers coordinate. Good luck sir...and please be careful," he said with respect, giving him a crisp salute followed by his comrades doing the same.

"Don't need it," Shiro said with a confident edge in his tone, his kimono flowed around him as he walked slowly and stoically towards the door, his black edged-white hair flowing over his shoulders and his coat, "all I have is utter power and incredible skill."

With a collective group of sweatdrops, as they heard the pride and arrogance run through their ears, they still were worried despite their superior's confidence.

As Shiro entered the wide expanse of the atrium observatory, he couldn't help but take in the sights of the few decorative trees placed within the center, with walkways and a large pond residing within the center of it, while on his far right, he could see a magnificently tall, curved set of glass windows linked into an arch shape before having a square opening to lead out to a granite curved balcony that spanned a good 20 meters over the edge of the castle as well as being 15 meters wide.

Shiro looked around for the intruder, wondering who the Ahijados could've sent to distract one of his Majesty's bodyguards, let alone kill him or Chidori, with.

That was when the intruder made his appearance.

With a calm and steady gait, he walked from the balcony, through the glass opening, and into the main area. He was wearing a white Espada-like uniform; something of tradition. A mask, with slits for eye-holes and black lines tracing the jawbone, was covering the entirety of his face. He had a total of three swords sheathed to his waist. His arms were folded within his sleeves, and his body posture was somewhat relaxed. His spiritual pressure was hidden, making it impossible to tell how strong he really was.

But his stature, as well as the cool and collected tone in his voice, could give a hint.

"I see that you came alone." He commented, his mask hiding whatever expression he had. "You must have a lot of faith in your abilities, keeping your allies from aiding you."

Shiro narrowed his eyes into half-mast slits, his left hand having a steady grip on his Chokuto Zanpakuto's hilt and sheathe, but so far made no move to unsheathe it yet, "Maybe, maybe not. If a aide and trusted advisor to Lord Juushin cannot fight his own battles, than how can I fight alongside other men who may or may not have what it takes?"

The figure nodded, making no move to attack. Instead, he continued to approach the other man, walking around the large pool in the center of the room to do so. "I can understand that...." He admitted, his sandal footsteps light and casually slow. "So you're fighting for the sake of your leader, hm? What's your name, Shinigami?"

Shiro in turn began to move in the opposite direction, his tower sandals clapped with each step he took around the elegant floor surrounding the pool, "Shiro. Shiro Tategami. Yours?" He asked with cool, simple words, as he recognized the figure to be of eloquent speech, keen understanding, and high intellect. Shiro saw from how the being composed itself that it was a true master combatant, something he knew matched his own skills perfectly as to the contrast of the wild and manical partner of his, Chidori.

"Ningensei Senkaku...."

Immediately, the figure stopped once he had turned the corner of the pool, slowly unsheathing his own blade and readying it in one hand. His other was in his pocket. "Tercera Espada." He finished. However, within his next tone of words, there was a clear hint of amusement. "What's the matter...Shiro? You seem to be awfully intent on keeping away from me as far as possible."

''Tercera...Espada? As in...from the Espada Afilado?'' Shiro thought with sudden trepidation as well as excitement. Who knew that he'd be lucky, or unlucky whatever the case would be to cross such an important target for the war effort as well as a chance to cripple their leadership. On the other hand, this was also no incompetant or second rate assassin. This is an Espada! An Arrancar revered and esteemed above all others, sitting upon the 10 thrones that rule over their bestial empire.

As Shiro heard this now declared Senkaku speak to him, he gave a toothy smile of his own, unsheathing his own Chokuto sealed Zanpakuto as he spoke cooly in return, "I'm sorry if you're in a rush, Tercera Senkaku, but I'm not keen in rushing you like a half-cocked lunatic that you guys have in spades. I'm going to take my time fighting you. I'd be a fool in underestimating someone of your strength, after all. That also can go the same for you," he finished unsheathing, the scraping sound ended with a low hum as the metal was relieved into the air before he held his Zanpakuto aloft but ready in his right hand, his left hand resting inside the kosode of his uniform as he smiled at his opponent, "underestimate me, get careless, and I'll make sure you'll regret it, Espada!"

A slightly annoyed sight came from Senkaku. "I told you...."

There was only a static sound as his Sonido went off.

Within a millisecond, he had went from where he was to back-to-back with his opponent. His sword was lowered, and he wasn't looking in Shiro's direction as he continued to speak.

"....my name is Senkaku."

He emphasized that statement with a backhand swing, aiming to decapitate the other man. However, he knew that his statement would easily tip him off. Such a simple move was always blocked, and a fight with two strong opponents would not end quickly as a second unless one was much weaker. But he had to start off somehow, didn't he?

He's fast!

As Shiro felt his presence, or moreover heard the static tell-tale of his opponent's Sonido and then his voice as he moved to to behead him, only giving Shiro warning by the extent of his enemy's weapon out of his periphreal vision. He swiftly ducked his head, strands of hair flew in excess of the blade's swift movement and his mane not moving as fast as his body. Twirling his Zanpakuto so the blade pointed behind himself, he sidestepped along with the crouch while stabbing through his kimono, intending on skewering his opponent before he had a chance to see the attack.

Under the mask, Senkaku's eyes narrowed, catching the "hidden" attack as the blade raced towards him. However, he did not allow himself to move out of the way as one would have done. As calm as he was, he wanted to demonstrate the full extents of his traits and abilities to Shiro in order to keep him from deceiving himself - even if it meant exposing something that would've certainly been a resolve-breaker later.

So, he reached out with his free hand, catching the metal before it could reach him. His fingers gripped it tightly, yet there was no blood or damage that could be seen. He raised his sword over his head and immediately swung down in what looked like a trap move to kill him. The only conventional method to avoid damage was to relieve himself of his own weapon.

Indeed, he was curious, even as he attacked, as to what his enemy would do.

"Hado # 53,"

Shiro acted within impulse as he saw that his Zanpakuto was held firm and with a vice grip, the obvious use of a high-grade Hierro from the likes of an Espada like Senkaku. He funneled a great amount of air pressure with his spiritual energy through the blade that was being held, redirecting it with precision and skill unrivaled within Yūrei, before discharging a huge widening gale to use its incredible force to send his opponent to flying away, keeping his person from being harmed while having his weapon released within the same blow,

"Haien!"

Senkaku reacted immediately.

The air current knocked him back, but he was able to regain his footing quickly as well as his balance. He kept himself from flipping, landing in a crouched position and quickly standing back up. He readied his blade in a defensive manner with one hand.

Shiro responded in kind, using Flash Step, an excess of hissing sound resounded in the air as he reappeared before his opponent. Crouching low before rising upwards with a deft uppercut strike, Shiro enraptured a curtain of precise spiritual power along his Zanpakuto's blade, intending on landing a blow on his Arrancar counterpart, towards the latter's chest in the vertical swing.

With a responding swing, Senkaku expertly parried the blade. Sparks flew as the opposing weapons clashed, each opponent's strength measured within the force of their swings. Senkaku seemed to operate his weapon with a natural flair, even as he began to unleash a series of slashes and strikes upon his opponent's person.

Shiro smiled ferally as he became enthralled of the sheer expertise his opponent had with the sword. Each and every strike of his blade against his own created a hail of sparks, blurred outlines of their weapons, flourishing of his kimono and mane, the intensity of their combat appeared to be extreme. Their bodies would twirl and move around only a limited space, showing true testament of each other's swordsmanship. At least, for the moment...

It was here, that in the midst of combat, Senkaku began to take notice of Shiro's actions and expressions.

Though his movements were precise, his expression was what unnerved the Tercera Espada the most. It was a feral look that would've only belonged to the ones who enjoyed battle to the point of letting mania slip within their train of thought, whether to a minimum or to an extreme. For the Arrancar, despite the way he had come to be, was not one to enjoy fighting to the extreme. Even now, as he continued to clash swords with Shiro, he was subconsciously holding himself back in order to draw the fight out longer, in order to prevent someone from dying.

Strangely enough, a bloodless fight was always his favorite.

CLANG!

When they clanged blades once more, Senkaku immediately leaped back and settled into a stance. Both of his hands were holding his sword, and the tip was pointed towards the ground at an obtuse angle. "I have to admit, you're an excellent swordsman...." He commented softly and lowly. "It's been quite some time since I've enjoyed myself like this. Certainly, the King has kept the most potent of Shinigami within arms length...."

Shiro chuckled, holding his Zanpakuto with both hands at a low angle, allowing him the most mobility for any attack or counter at this time as he spoke, "You sure live up to the name Tercera, Senkaku. I'm barely containing myself I'm so excited to find another skilled swordsman, not to mention an Arrancar at that. Makes this whole battle kind've...nostalgic, doesn't it? Hollow and Soul Reaper, clashing against one another in a battle to the death. A real test of honor and loyalty, don't you think?"

"...a test?"

Senkaku's voice showed slight disdain for the man's choice of words. "Don't soften up brutality with such pure words." He said in a somewhat scolding tone. "There's nothing honorable or loyal in taking someone else's life. The victor's blade will only have his sword tarnished with his opponent's blood, nothing more. Even if we do fight for an honorable reason, there's no honor or loyalty within that."

Shiro furrowed his brows at Senkaku, obviously confused by the reprimanding tone and distaste for death or battle. "I understand that when Hollows evolve, they gain intellect and understanding, even becoming somewhat rational or tranquil in their mannerism. But," he then relaxed his stance slightly, but still held his Zanpakuto tightly for an Espada who nearly took his head off a few minutes ago, "I've never met a Hollow, let alone an Arrancar, that didn't take joy or pride in taking life. Exactly what makes you coming into this castle, to allow the death of my King any better than the one who would possibly kill him?"

"I'm not better." Senkaku admitted. "But make no mistake. The only ones who come for the head of your King are the Ahijados cultists. The Espada Afilado only lends their assistance, but not full interest in dominating the civilization of this society. Our interest lies somewhere different. Tell me...." He lowered his sword for a moment. "Have you heard of the Plinian Eruption to its fullest nature, as of yet?"

"Fullest...nature?" Shiro echoed with bewilderment. In all honesty, he hadn't had time to review the texts fully as he had in prior months, due to the war effort and updating security ant the like. So naturally he felt as he looked. Clueless.

"Meh?" Shiro uttered as he had a deadpan, clueless look before asking, "you mean there's more to it than utter apocalypse?"

"In a matter of speaking...." Senkaku answered. "At least, in terms of how it can be averted. Before I say anything more, though.... what do you personally know about it, specifically?"

"Bloodbath," Shiro said bluntly, now looking at Senkaku with a hard, knitted expression as his brows became furrowed, "a massacre is needed as well as the destruction of a Soul Society of sorts. Due to the historical and philisophical connection to the Red Sun Cult and the Hankami deity race, they chose Yuurei Okouku by default. By destroying this city and its people, something is supposed to trigger the end of all known spiritual realms, also signifying the end of the World of the Living."

Although Senkaku didn't visually acknowledge his words in confirmation, it became clear when he spoke again. "There are a total of three plains at the corners of this landscape. Once the massacre is completed, three massive crosses, said to be made of nothing but the bodies of those who have descended into Hell, will rise from the depths of the ocean and tower of the entire area. The power released from these crosses will turn this very universe into dust. There is virtually no way to stop it...."

A chuckle escaped his lips as he spoke the next sentence.

"But there is a way to survive it... and the Espada Afilado are currently in the progress of making it happen."

It was worse than what Shiro realized. They'd use his friends, family, his King, and his entire people as fuel for the flame that would rend the entiriety of all the known universe into oblivion. This man who distastes killing, is finding it laughable because he believes their Hollow kind can escape it.

"I see," Shiro said out in a cool tone, but held a foreboding undertone to it, "that's why you find this funny. You'd rather not dirty your hands with blood or the guilt that comes with it, but instead help murderers destroy all known existance?!" He yelled out, a silver aura of Spiritual energy encompassed him before flowing outwards, bathing the air itself in a chaotic static sensation, showing his true strength and potential, rivaling that of any Captain Senkaku would've felt in the past.

"I won't let you survive and live out your existance, you coward!" Shiro's eyes bathed in a silver light as he growled out, raising his Zanpakuto to point its edge towards him, "not after what you've spoken to me! You will pay with YOUR blood for those that will lose theirs this day!"

This took Senkaku by surprise.

The spiritual pressure hit him full-force, and his clothes as well as his hair were billowing in the intense winds. Yet, he did not flinch against the winds. Nor did his body move against the force of his enemy's power. All he did was simply turn his side to his opponent, with his masked face still turned towards him. He tilted his blade a little so that it would be raised again.

"Good grief...." He muttered, looking at his sword as it was illuminated by the light that Shiro's aura was giving off. "And here I thought you'd be a bit more reasonable. Shows what I get for trying to speak peacefully with the enemy...." He shifted to fully face him, readying his sword once more. He didn't want to fight.... but this man wanted nothing more than to kill him for where he stood. He had been holding back, but he had no choice now.

He would have to fight to kill, too. It was the only way for pacification.

"Howl from the Frozen Kingdom,"

Shiro began to speak out in a loud declaring voice, splaying his left hand over the body of the sword as it began to coil with silver energy before turning into snow and ice, cracking open, showing a oval guard with a white threaded hilt and white tassles of fur hanging off both the pommel and guard, retaining a 4 1/2 long double edged blade. When released, a blast of cold wind and air came about, billowing Shiro's hair and kimono as he looked menacingly at Senkaku,

" Kōriō!"

With a twist of his Zanpakuto, he slid the blade along the ground as he rushed towards his enemy, yelling out, "Get ready, Senkaku!" With a burst of speed, he appeared above him, a swirl of ice encompassed his blade as he descended, slashing simultaneously towards his target while the head of a ice and snow covered wolf was created. While the blade was aimed at Senkaku's shoulder of his left where it would meet his heart should it make contact with his body, the wolf head glared with blazing red eyes as it open its maw and aimed to devour the head and right handed side of Senkaku. While the wolf head would be flash freezing him upon contact, making his body easier to become brittle and cracked, increasing the danger of being crushed by the steel-forced maw of the attack.

" Kōtta yajū!" (凍った野獣 Kouta yajuu ; Lit Definition, "Frozen Beast.")

To this, Senkaku only said one word, his free hand's index finger pointed towards Shiro.

"Cero!"

From the tip, the notorious flame-like blast of green and illuminating energy shot from his finger-tips at the dangerously close range his opponent was at. The beam was wide as a building, tearing through the sky and completely destroying the ceiling above them. Its light seemed to brighten up the darkened city, shining down on the ones who were waging war within the streets and other parts of the area.

"SHII-!" Shiro swore aloud as he saw the telltale signature gesture and green-flame energy that gathered as a small sphere, before spreading out at a incredible width. Using only instincts to guide him, as the Cero began to gather, Shiro committed a blurring motion to move out of the way of the inevitable gale of energy.

VROOOOOOOOOOM, BLAAAAAAAM!

As the ceiling was ripped off in a magificent emerald flare, a lone blue kimono was seen burning within the flare before turning to ashes as it was caught in the green energies.

"D-Damn Ceros," Shiro spoke aloud as he heaved and panted from his heart nearly having an attack at the proximity he had been to gaining critical injury, as he was a good 7 meters behind Senkaku. He wasn't totally unscathed due to the large gait the Cero had, as he had forgone his kimono and had his uniform in slight burns as well as his face, a small amount of steam and smoke rose from his body. He knew he should count his blessings, because if he was hit full force he would've been in serious trouble. "I hate 'em."

"You're quite skilled, and your power is considerable."

Senkaku slowly allowed himself to turn towards Shiro in a deliberate manner. "But let's face facts. From the way you fight, you've obviously never fought a Vasto Lorde, let alone one of the top four of the Espada." He raised his sword over his head, the blade pointing behind him. "As skilled as you are, it's just far too early for you to contend with the likes of me."

His blade ignited in a green-black flame, the many tongues of the fire licking at the air with a beautiful and vicious visage.

''He's right. There may be a good chance that I can't handle a guy like this...forget the fact that he's a Vasto Lorde, he's the Tercera Espada Afilado! That means he's only 3rd down from the leader, someone a pro like Captain Hayate didn't manage to scratch. But...even still''

"I won't know what I'm capable of," Shiro lowered his left hand to the ground, a small amount of crimson spiritual energy gathered within his palm as he raised his Zanpakuto at a diagonal position in front of his chest, as he narrowed his eyes with a confident and unwavering stare, "until I give it a try! Sekienton!"

With that said, a loud explosion of crimson smoke discharged, covering the expanse of the area in a blanket the fog of war created, visually hiding himself. As he managed to dampen his Spiritual Pressure to a near undetectable fashion as he began to make his next moves.

"Kōtta yajū..."

As Shiro spoke lowly, a solid body of ice came lunging at Senkaku, its size was that of a horse, and its maw bearing down to encompass the top half of Senkaku's body with its jaws alone while freezing him solid, intending on freezing him and then shattering him within one blow.

It was when that body of ice made its attack, Shiro made his own from behind, aiming to cut Senkaku in a diagonal arc from his left side up his shoulder, his eyes narrowed and his body moving with speed and stealth that he possesses among Juushin's bodyguard.

The next move Senkaku made was swift, fluid, and almost flawless.

He swung his ignited blade in a flaming angle, the wolf's body colliding with the blazing reiatsu. When the two hit each other, the ice was immediately shattered into fragments onto the ground. His body twisted, his sword arm moving in a backhand motion in order to meet his assailant. With the sudden movements made between the two, it would be impossible to pull back - the only option Shiro would've had.

As it was, there would be no evasion on his part.

Senkaku's blade, with its cutting power enhanced by his own energy, sliced through his enemy's blade and delivered a connecting strike with the flesh of the other man's chest.

Shiro's eyes widened as he saw the Senkaku move in a powerful, dangerously graceful manner. Within one sword strike with the eery dark green flames gathered along his blade, he managed to destroy his Shikai ice before turning on him next. Knowing how strong this Arrancar's Hierro along with the observed powers he's displayed so far, Shiro correctly assumed that he intended to break through his Shikai and cut him across his chest. He was already in motion, so pulling back wasn't an option, nor retreating with a Flash Step. So that left him only one, daring option left to use...

Within the time Senkaku managed to cut through his Shikai and baring down towards his chest with swift prejudice, Shiro's body suddenly became engulfed in light, as he roared out with a thrusting motion of his left hand, "RRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"

CRRAAAAAAAACKBOOOOOM!

A blue-outlined white surge of Spiritual energy discharged from every pore on the surface of Shiro's body, using his Spiritual power to its most raw form, while also buffering his body from the impending sword attack. He winced as he felt a slash come across his chest, but the terrifyingly damaging flame became nullified due to his raw energies pouring forth onto Senkaku.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me...."

Immediately, Senkaku jumped back, his mask covering a grit of the teeth and narrowed eyes as he landed. He had been hoping to end the fight quickly with that one blow. However, his opponent had found some way to prevent such an opportunity. Now, he would have to prolong the fight - something that was not within his line of favor.

"This man is....annoyingly persistent...." He thought bitterly, readying his sword once more in the face of the spiritual pressure.

Shiro was seen within a rise of mist, his Shikhakusho uniform's kosode was blasted apart showing an expansive but shallow sword wound across his torso, and his Zanpakuto held tightly in his right hand while his hand steamed where the majority of spiritual energy was thrown out of his body.

"And you thought Hollows were the only ones that can release raw spirit energy from their bodies, huh?" Shiro said as he bore a smug grin, retracting his hand back to his side while his Zanpakuto began elongating ice along the expanse where the blade was cut off, self-repairing it back to 100%.

"I was hoping to kill you cleanly, Senkaku, but...now you've pissed me off...and began awakening something that you never should've," Shiro's eyes glowed red, and his smile bore a menacing, feral smile. It wasn't just enthusiasm of the fight and the challenge that it brought. It was hunger for blood...and his old self began to emerge, "you should've stayed on that desert waste of a land you call home, Arrancar! I'm going to show you, why I was feared during the war!" His body suddenly emanated a bloodlust filled Spiritual Pressure, glowing red in color, matching his vivid crimson glowing irises, giving his feral grin a very intimidating appearance.

"Kōtta Hō!" (凍った芳 Kouta Hou ; Lit translation, "Frozen Fang.")

With a sudden tap on the ground, Shiro suddenly shimmered away, appearing at Senkaku's left side a few meters away while cutting an arc in the air as ice was instantly created and thrown like bullet projectiles in the shape of ice carved teeth towards him. He repeated this over and over, discharging a array of ice fangs at his enemy while moving at intensely high speeds.

"What in the--"

Immediately and out of instinct, Senkaku pushed himself to evade the attacks made to his person. His body moved around the room, the ice fangs inflicting severe damage to the environment around them. Holes were torn through the walls, small and miniature geysers were created out of the pool, and even the walkways above them seemed to tear apart under the pressure.

"What's going on here....?" He thought, surprised and confused by the sudden speed his opponent was displaying. "What's with the sudden raise in spiritual pressure? Where did he obtain this power all of a sudden....? This shouldn't be happening.... but it is....."

" HA!" As a number of more Ice fangs discharged towards Senkaku's last position, he whizzed in front of him, his left hand covered in a ice mist as it moved to grab a hold of his mask in a grappel movement before using well honed strength to throw him into the geyser spouting pools, "don't slack on me now, Senkaku! Not when I'm starting to have fun!"

Immediately, Senkaku reached out to grab his opponent's wrist, stopping the attack before the fingers could reach him, but the sudden force continued to knock him back. Then, he spun around, releasing his opponent and continuing to retreat with his front turned towards the seemingly berserker man. Once again, his finger raised up, and he unleashed another Cero in that direction.

With a wide, bestial smile as he stood nearly waist high in the pool, as Senkaku retreated and raised the obvious gesture for the Cero.

"Like that'll work again!" He shouted as he immediately aimed his Zanpakuto towards Senkaku, using his left hand to grasp the midsection of his limb before a bright light enveloped the blade of the weapon. As the Cero began firing, he also unleashed a wide arc of what appeared to be light towards the Cero.

But strangely enough...the Cero instead of battering away the blinding light, it began to turn cold and frozen upon contact. The emerald energy within mere moments turned into a large, wide arc of green ice as the white energy flowed through and into the Cero. Alarmingly, the white light also shot past the beginning of the Cero towards Senkaku as well, creating a massive pillar of green-white ice in the entiriety of the atrium's loung area, going as far as touching past the ceiling where Senkaku's earlier Cero demolished it.

"Kōtta Sutorobo," Shiro said with a satisfied smile, as he explained, "is a form of "Flash Freezing" light that causes everything that it touches to be turned into solid ice. Its a fast-moving petrifying technique, and also one of  Kōriō's deadliest traits. I'm sure you'd appreciate such a beautiful and deadly art that we're able to conjure."

Once again, Senkaku jerked to avoid it, skidding off to the side and keeping himself within a crouched position. Although his movements were quick and reflexive, his eyes were wavering in horror at the power displayed. "This shouldn't be happening...." He thought to himself. "To freeze solid objects is enough.... but to freeze my Cero?! Even the prodigal Hyorinmaru could not achieve such power!! At this rate...."

His teeth gritted in frustration, his pride swelling up to the surface once more. Out of indignation, he raised his free hand and slammed it into the ground, his fist breaking through the floor.

"Damn it....DAMN IT...!!!"

" Kōtta Ōkami..."

" What's the matter, Senkaku ?" Shiro asked in a taunting, guttural tone, as his Zanpakuto twirled in his right hand, swirling the water around and behind him, freezing it as it took the shape of a massive ice wolf. About twenty feet tall, the wolf's eyes itself glowed red as bright as its creator's blood thirsty orbs as he finished, " looks like you're getting cold feet! Allow me to remedy that! "

With a leap towards him Shiro ran at high speeds while the wolf above him reached the Arrancar within several bounds before reaching out with a large clawed paw, aiming to cut and freeze him upon impact while Shiro aimed a finger towards him, uttering lowly, "Byakurai!" Letting loose a blazing blue bolt towards him with high penetration qualities.

The only thing he could do now was draw it out, for the little time that he had.

With another jerk to the side in order to evade both attacks made towards his person, Senkaku let out a furious yell as he threw himself at his opponent, his sword igniting with his own green flames once again....

A Matter of Honor and Pride: Part 1
"Requesting entry, maam. We have a intruder taken into custody," announced a Yuurei Soul Reaper to the intercom that Rukia would be manning, with several security officers surrounding what appeared to be a white robed Arrancar. He bore the trappings of an Espada, having part of his gray colored mask cover half of his face while his right eye was covered by a black eyepatch band, with a irregular white hat ontop his head of blue dreadlocks, "He surrendered when we surrounded him, and he's willing to speak to his Majesty about their plan."

The Kuchiki nodded, a solemn look on her face as she viewed the security camera in which they would be viewed. "Entry granted." She acknowledged the officer speaking. "I trust you to keep an eye on your captured target." In one of the chairs was none other than a relaxed Jūshin, who had his hands folded on the table, his eyes closed, and his head leaning back. He wasn't sleeping, of course, but simply in thought.

"Right," the Yuurei Soul Reaper motioned for the other officers to follow him as he opened the door, all of them walked in orderly and tightly within a circle around their captive, with the security officer with a black cloth mask held the enemy's Zanpakuto, while the rest kept a close eye on their captive.

The Yuurei Soul Reaper walked the closest up to the King, getting on knees and knuckles bowing to the king as he reported, "We have successfully captured one of the intruders, your Majesty."

"Is he secure?" Juushin asked immediately, slowly getting up from his position from his chair and standing in front of the kneeling Soul Reaper. Rukia had her hands folded behind her back, watching the scene silently from where she was standing.

"Yes, your Majesty, we-grrrK!"

SHINK!

The Soul Reaper was cut off as his head was cleanly severed from his body, a grotesque spray of blood was let loose as the guard with the Espada's Zanpakuto had it drawn and used it to kill him.

"You bast-agk!" One of the guards tried to retaliate, only to have Lobo snap the binds he had with a concentrated burst of physical strength, then smoothly preformed a brutal knife hand strike to one of the men's necks, snapping the trachea with ease. One by one within seconds, Lobor dispatched all of the guards with his bare hands, none of them having time to draw weapons or do more than throw useless jabs and kicks at the weaponsmaster martial artist.

"So sorry about the deception, your Majesty," the man said in a fluent Yuurei accent before taking off the mask and clothes fluidly, showing a unique, but particular garb with none other than the blonde haired leader of the Ahijados himself, "but I do love theatrics. Did you enjoy the preformance?"

Needless to say, Rukia was shocked, her eyes widening and her pupils shrinking slightly at the display of strength. "None of them were able to react, and in only a few seconds he managed to kill all of them.... with his bare hands....!" She thought to herself, subconsciously dropping her arms to her sides. "And his spiritual pressure.... this isn't just a regular Ahijados...."

Jūshin, however, was more composed. One of his hand clenched into a fist, and his eyes narrowed in a tranquil, but furious glare. "As much as I enjoy your little friends raiding my city." He answered in a cold and defiant tone. "You have some nerve, approaching me so bravely, Arrancar...."

"You misunderstand whom your addressing, Jūshin-chan," Tenshi said with a thin smile with half-massed narrowed eyes as he addressed himself with a bow, "I'm formerly a Soul Reaper...my name is Tenshi Chinokatsubō...Leader of the Ahijados at your service," he then raised back to a straight standing stance, before waving a hand over to Lobo, throwing him his sword in return, "and this is the Novena Espada Afilado, Lobo de Norte."

"Charmed," Lobo said in a bland, dispassionate tone as he wiped the blood off his sword onto one of the bodies before sheathing it into his sheathe, "as a Espada Afilado, our interests here should be quite clear to you, Lord Jūshin.

"A Soul Reaper....?" Jūshin kept a steady, intense gaze towards the one that they had been seeking for so long. He closed his eyes. "I can't even think to call you that, after all that you've done, Tenshi. Now that I think about it... I probably couldn't even compare you to the likes of any Hollow...."

A firm look crossed Rukia's face. She walked over to stand beside Jūshin as he spoke, facing the two down.

"Fufufufufufu," Tenshi laughed a throatily laugh, his smile spread and became canine as he spoke with a acknowledging wave of his hands, "you're right about that, Jūshin-chan. I'm something far beyond that of Soul Reaper or Hollow! Something you all fear and can't comprehend! I'm a being who isn't locked within the binds of mere civilization or government...something even Hollows used to follow in the ancient times!

But now, as you sit upon your throne of power, believing all the world's evils have vanished, you've grown lax, ignorant, and blind to the true threat. You truly believed that the world's greatest evils have passed, up until now. Well, I have something to say to you, and your precious Gotei 13 allies," he then opened his eyes widely and splayed out his arms openly, speaking aloud in a menacing voice, "I have returned!"

"Tch....whatever you want to call yourself, I don't care....but you'll end up being called the same thing after this is done."

With that, Jushin grabbed the hilt of his sword and drew it, the metal hissing as it skidded from the innards of his scabbard. He lowered it to his side with a foreboding click, the tip pointed towards the ground. One hand held his sword while the other held onto the body of his scabbard. He opened his eyes, once again returning them to the narrow slits they were before. "But I'll only ask you one thing. Keep your friend out of our fight."

That was when Rukia shifted her gaze towards the Arrancar, and she knew what he was implying by that.

"That sounds fine," Tenshi turned his head to Lobo, giving him a knowing nod before returning his gaze back to Jūshin, his own hand snaking down to his Zanpakuto's hilt, unsheathing it with an equally long scraping sound as he spoke aloud, "I'd hate to see myself giving my opponent a handicap when they're already facing me anyways."

Lobo directed his single glowing eye at Rukia unwaveringly, before he said to her in a firm, plain tone, "You will fight me, Soul Reaper. Do you have any objections?"

Rukia squinted her eyes and lowered her head slightly. "Not at all...." She answered smoothly, slowly reaching to grasp the hilt of her sword. "But I would prefer it if it wasn't here. None of us want to be caught in each other's crossfire...."

"Understandable," Lobo responded in a surprisingly smooth, polite tone, crossing his arms over his chest as he spoke, "Since I'm the attacker in this scenario, it would only be fair for you to choose the battlefield. Once you think of it, I will follow."

"By the Red Sun, Lobo," Tenshi complained at him, sneering at his polite disposition, "you certainly know how to suck up to women!"

This made Jushin smile slightly out of amusement, if only for a little while. It was the humor in such scenes that kept everything from being too tense and stiff. However, he didn't allow the mirth to get to him too much. Even he knew when to knock it off....

Rukia couldn't help but smile slightly, as well. "Well, aren't you the gentleman...." She commented in a calm, but slightly teasing tone. However, the teasing demeanor quickly faded away. "Follow me!" Immediately, she used a Flash Step to disappear from the area, but made sure to keep herself at a level to where she could stay as close as possible to him.

Without speaking a word, Lobo nodded, using a burst of the static-sounding Sonido, following her with ease but keeping a few paces back to avoid being too close. If anything, his self-sense of honor gave people their space and often tried to adhere to the respects of the opposite sex, regardless of spiritual species difference. His pace matched Rukia's and his speech had silenced. It wasn't as daunting as before, but more...withdrawn, as if he wasn't used to speaking openly towards people before.

"Tch, people like him disgust me," Tenshi said with a smile the moment Lobo left. He turned his attention to Jūshin, absentmindingly giving him a slow up and down view with his eyes of his body, even his stance, as well as his drawn Zanpakuto. Licking his lips longingly, Tenshi asked aloud, "Do you want to fight in a more open environment? I feel cramped in this room here," he pointed with his sword around the reasonably spacious room, but too small for a all-out battle between two leaders of a war, "got anything in mind?"

For a moment, Jūshin said nothing. He continued to peer into his opponent's eyes with clear disdain. Then, he allowed himself to speak. "You really want to fight in a more open environment?" He repeated. "You sound as if you want this fight to be drawn out, to be just like what everyone else sees on their TV. It might be for dramatic effect and to your liking. But it also shows just how cowardly you really are, Tenshi." He slowly re-sheathed his blade, but kept his stance as well as his grip on his sword. "Those who wish to prolong battle only wish to live as long as possible. A soldier like me does not abide by such rules and worthless regulations."

His eyebrows furrowed.

"One of us will die right here and now.... before either of us can even gain the thought about releasing their full power."

"Hehehehehehahahahahahahaha!"

Tenshi laughed aloud as Jūshin's words were finished, and he heard what he had spoken. He had covered the top half of his face with his left hand while holding his sword in the other, his mouth wide open with the increduality in his mind. As he calmed down, he drug his hand down his face, before smiling thinly with a display of his pearly white teeth and half-mast eery blue eyes staring at him,

"Do you honestly think that I can't defeat you?! You ruling types always go about your lives never knowing or fearing death, even when you've already lived it in the past. Your mind dulls it, tolerates it, then altogether forgets it. I've LIVED death nearly every day of my life, and I've made death HAPPEN even more recently! I can fight you on your terms moreover you can create a number of handicaps for myself by having a more open space. But I've killed targets in much smaller spaces with much less difficulty. Do you realize that assassinations make you experts in accepting that if you fail, you will die? Rest assured, Jūshin-chan, by signing my lot with the Ahijados, I know I will die. But at least I'll bring the glorious death to the rest of the universe in doing so!"

He squealed out as he held his chest and looked in a sickening, twisted mania with a enlightened smile draped beneath his wide-eyed expression. He truly looked like a pervere killer, who wanted nothing more to destroy the known world.

"Not if I have anything to say about it..."

With that seething statement, the king immediately threw himself at his opponent. His blade clicked out of his sheath, the cutting edge swinging forth to meet his opponent's body in a fluid and precise motion.

Tenshi smiled ferally and his eyes narrowed into slits as he crouched and thrusted his sword towards Jūshin, his own blade meeting Jūshin's with a violent physical clash, with his face near Jūshin's and their bodies pressing their swords towards each other. A battle between a King and a Cultist Leader, the two now would determine the tide of the battle. Only question is...where will the tide flow?

Meanwhile...Lobo continued to follow Rukia silently, moving at her pace, being patient and not asking how long until they reach the appointed destination. The tap of his sandals echoed throughout the halls, the jingling of his sheathed Zanpakuto, the slight swaying of his fabric as he moved his arms in sync with his legs. It was rather quite peaceful to the Novena Espada...but he knew all too well where this would lead up to.

Their trip would not take long.

Rukia's leadership pulled them into the outside of the castle. When she stopped, they were standing within the massive "garage" in where the birds have been stored. Because of the obvious need for air support, everything was emptied, leaving nothing behind but a dusty and open field. It was perfect for a battle setting.

As soon as she reached the traditional fighter's distance, Rukia slowly allowed herself to turn around and face her opponent once more. The wind was blowing with a light flair, softly billowing her Shihakusho uniform as well as her hair with what the casual observer could say to be a dramatic effect.

Lobo waited as Rukia walked to the pace she was desiring, the wind that cascaded over the young woman also cascaded over his blue dreadlocks, his white uniform, and hat, his Zanpakuto jingled with the breeze as well. With hands put into pockets within his kama skirt, he called out, "What terms shall we lay out for the battle? Do you prefer fighting handicapped or with an opponent handicapped?"

Rukia's expression contorted into surprise at his question. "Terms....?" She repeated, narrowing her eyes slightly after. "Aren't you more concerned about the fact that I'm your enemy, and the best way to kill me?" She didn't think an opponent would hold such a view on the field of battle, as if it held certain rules and requirements. He seemed to uphold honor to a high extent....

"I prefer fighting is simplified. Most warriors have practiced and honed their skills through tournaments, by this by this standing they, the competitors, are given rules to hold. Those that hold those rules true without any unknown factors or hinderaces because of deception are called great warriors," Lobo spoke in a stoic, firm believing tone, his glowing eye regarde Rukia's surprise and deisbelief, "I find that battles are more memorable and meaningful when I and my chosen opponent come to terms and rules we both accept."

He let that his words hang in the air for a few more moments, another breeze came by and cascaded memorably across their bodies. If Rukia could tell anything about this Arrancar, he held no menacing aura or malice towards her. If anything, his posture told her he believed her to be a worthy opponent, and thus made him act honorably towards her.

"Do you disapprove?" Lobo asked in a curious, yet calm tone, patiently awaiting his expected answer.

There was no reason to be hostile towards such a respectable enemy. So Rukia answered honestly.

"...no, not at all." She answered, reaching over to grasp the hilt of her weapon before slowly drawing it out. "At the very least, I'm glad that you take such a high regard to such a belief." She settled into a stance, her katana clicking as it was moved. "In any case, I'd like to fight without any handicaps at all...."

"Very well. Its...refreshing to see that not everyone has lost touch with the basics of honor," Lobo said with a brief, yet warm smile before resuming his own stoic plain face, briefly touching the pommel with his left hand, answering her promptly, "acceptable. Do you wish me to fight with handicaps or have me fight without handicaps? I'll let you choose what tactics, abilities, or powers to not use...within reason of course."

"....well.... if it's okay with you...." Rukia, after a moment of thought, spoke again. "I'd like you to keep your hand-to-hand combat out of this." Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she spoke. It would be the one thing that she could guaranteed he would hold over her unless she dealt with it otherwise.

"Acceptable," he said, nodding with understanding considering what he displayed earlier, "anything else? Would you like to establish any additional rules or restrictions?"

"I'll take my chances...." Rukia answered.

"Very well," Lobo shifted his stance to a slightly crouched position, his skirt moved along with his legs and his hands instinctively moved into position where he'd be best suited to unsheathe his sword, showing natural talent within the area of swordsmanship and his single glowing eye flickered towards her before dimming into what could be assumed as a "narrowing" of his eye, "here I come!"

With a distorted sound of static along with a distortion of his body, he disappeared from view, quickly reappearing in front of Rukia, unsheathing his sword and swiftly towards her lower left abdomen up past her chest and exiting her right shoulder. He was striking with utmost physical power, combining his natural strength and speed in attacking. The arc of his swing left an aura of blue spiritual energy, as his body was dimly glowing of his Spiritual Power but not overdosing it like many powerful beings tend to do.

Immediately, Rukia raised her blade up in order to defend from the attack, her sword clanging with his with a clash that shook the very metal of her swords. Against his strength, she found herself being pushed back a little, having to take one step back in order to keep her balance. However, she was able to rebound quickly, pushing herself forward and bringing her sword forth in two horizontal swings and then an overhead strike, her sword kept in both hands in order to back up the strength of her attacks.

"Only the Novena Espada...." She thought to herself. "And already, I can sense a considerable amount of power from him. Just how strong is he....?"

Lobo shuffled his feet back, moving one foot behind the other to maintain a even stance as he used his right hand to move his sword to clash in parrys with her two horizontal strikes cascading scratching metalic sounds in the air along with fiery sparks from the collision of their weapons. As she struck with an overhead slash, he perfectly executed a perfect horizontal block, taking the full strength of her swing with little to no effort, the clanging of their weapons along with further grinding of the substances, producing sizzling sounds as more sparks were created by the clashing weapons.

While holding the sword above, he stared at her face and he could already tell she could sense the power within himself that he tried to restrain. Wasting energy fruitlessly was not his style, and would be counterproductive in a battle where honor and skill was required. Thus he restrained his more brutal tactics for enemies he deemed unworthy.

With perfectly executed footwork, Lobo shuffled around her body, suddenly shifting the weight of his sword away with quick efficiency. Dropping the blade low, taking the hilt in both hands as he rushed swiftly by her left side while swinging the sword along with his movements, the blade cutting through the air dangerously fast towards Rukia's waist, aiming to cut him into half.

Rukia quickly jerked herself back again, the tip of his blade scraping the front of her gi. But it didn't inflict injury other than a scratch on her clothing. In the midst of her strike, she moved just as the blade passed by her, unleashing another overhead strike followed by a swift uppercut. Her blade seemed to blur as it was swung again, warping the very air it was cutting.

Twisting his body around like a expert fencer, Lobo countered with a slash towards her two handed strike, causing him to struggle slightly against the ferocity she used in the strike as more sparks were produced by the metalic stress of their weapons. With a flex of muscle on his left arm, he wordlessly pushed back with enough force to distance her from himself as he rose out of the crouch he was in, and began slashing in diagonal and horizontal slashes that blurred in motion. Lobo as showing a true testament so far as a swordsman, making calculative gestures, well-timed counters, and precise powerful strikes.

The sudden movements managed to initially catch Rukia off her guard.

Her eyes widened as an uppercut sliced through her sleeve, then winced as another strike connected with her chest. She managed to move back in order to evade it, but he had still made a shallow gash. Because of the nature of his strikes, she could not block. Instead, she rolled with every attack, moving in the direction of his strikes in order to keep herself from being hit again. Her eyes watched every move made, taking in the skillful art of his swordsmanship.

Then, she ducked to avoid a horizontal swing, thrust herself underneath his guard...

....and for a brief moment, she was staring him eye-to-eye.

Her sword thrust out, the killing tip throwing itself towards his neck.

Lobo was truly admiring the grace and beauty Rukia displayed during combat. Despite taking a few commend hits, he had the her for only recieving minimal damage as well. She showed incredible skill before Lobo, one of which he had a remarkable fascination for.

Reality snapped back into Lobo's mind as she ducked below his last swing, moving at a speed that didn't allow for a parry or successful counter. His glowing eye widened as he had to sidestep out of the way, feeling the blade cut through his hair effortlessly, while a few flecks of blood along with black trappings of his eyepatch as he visibly grimaced.

He used his sword to counter her thrust and backpedaled a few meters away, lightly floating through the air before landing on the earthen landscape, kicking up dust in his wake, breathing out slightly in effort before maintiang his composure. Unfortunately, he twitched visibly as the black cloth that originally obscured his eye fell down, showing a perfectly unscarred and human side of his face. His human blue eye looked irritated before saying, "Dammit..."

For a moment, and upon seeing his lapse, Rukia relaxed her stance and lowered her sword to the side for a moment. "Oh... that's right." She said lightly, taking a few steps towards the Arrancar. "I was so caught up in the fighting, I didn't even bother telling you my name." She held her sword in one hand, raising it in a near-horizontal position, stopping when she was within the traditional fighter's distance again. "Just so you don't have to keep referring to me as Soul Reaper.... Kuchiki Rukia."

"Oh..."

Odd...this is a rather perplexingly ironic situation, Lobo thought humorously but made show of that emotion other than shock of the name being said aloud from the woman's lips.

"So you're the one responsible for killing Aaroniero Arruruerie, the last one to hold the title for Novena Espada," he said with a thoughtful, almost pleased tone in his voice. He suddenly broke out in laughter, to the point of where he had to cup his mouth to control his sudden incredulous attitude.

"I'm sorry...this is just so hilarious and ironic. I've been wanting to meet the warrior who defeated that crafty bitch for centuries, but all records of that time have either been lost or abused. Its an honor to meet you, Rukia Kuchiki," Lobo bowed in a very respectful, gentleman stance before announcing himself to her, "Novena of the Espada Afilado, Lobo de Norte. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Needless to say, Rukia was surprised at the sudden laughter the composed Arrancar. However, the shock faded when the Novena composed himself. "So you still remember the past Espada...." She commented, her tone showing slight surprise. "I was always under the impression that you forgot and pushed aside the ones that were killed out of deeming them to be weak..."

"Forgotten?! Hah!" Lobo said aloud, before taking a hand towards his chest, pulling away the front of his uniform kosode to reveal a jagged scar over a numerical figure that looked to be "13" over his left pectoral muscle saying aloud in a knowing voice, "I'm what you can call a Artificial Arrancar. I knew the original Espada, the Espada that were chosen as their successors and then the final crafted ones Sosuke Aizen had his hands on.

For the record," Lobo said as he put his uniform front back appropiately over his chest again, saying with a matter-of-fact tone, "Many of us within the Espada Afilado knew of the Espada or knew of them personally. Our Primera, Cortez Selestino, actually predates their existence. So no, none of us have totally forgotten the Ten Blades of old."

"I see...." Rukia allowed herself to nod in realization. "Then let me ask this. Why would such a powerful government such as the Espada Afilado help the likes of extremist cultists? If you were truly aiming to conquer this city, then the forces Yūrei have to oppose would've come in a much more destructive and tactical form. What is your true reasons for being here, Novena de Norte?"

Lobo's eyes dimmed and narrowed, pausing his speech with Rukia altogether. After a few long seconds, another breeze cascaded over his bangs and uniform, rippling it along with the dirt and dust that's collected upon the grassy earth, "I cannot tell you that directly. I am not Novena without reason...I am loyal to my Primera and my compatriots of the Espada Afilado. By divulging secrets to you openly, would be traitorous and dishonorable," he then raised his sword up in a slight angle directed at her, his stance changed to a more fencer form as he readied to battle her yet again, "only circumstances I'd even concieve telling you, is if you defeat me in battle. How you defeat me is up to you, for I will not hold any restrictions for you in that regard."

"Very well...."

Rukia kept her sword within its position, closing her eyes. From a circular radius, her spiritual energy began to billow around her with an illuminating blue aura. Her short hair as well as her clothing were billowing slightly. The pressure she produced seemed to give off the aura of a chilly wind, the air becoming somewhat colder under its influence. She moved her sword in a counter-clockwise turn, and it shifted into its Shikai form.

"Dance....Sode no Shirayuki!"

Lobo held the blade tightly, shifting his feet into a cat stance, his Spiritual Pressure shimmered slightly in the air as a thin veil of spiritual energy enraptured Lobo's body, his blue eye glowed white in sync with this movement, as a thin wisp of frost perspirated from his body.

Mil Axiales Combinado!

Lobo suddenly used Sonido, his body shimmered in the wake of the distortion of sound and movement, reappearing directly in front of Rukia as he launched a storm of thrusts towards her, almost creating the illusion of a wall of blades to the untrained eye. He intended to overwhelm her with his ferocious speed and swordsmanship, rather defeating her this way than using any other form of combat.

Rukia's eyes widened in surprise.

"Such speed...!"

Her teeth gritted as she forced herself to move back, but she knew that even avoid such strikes would be nigh-impossible. It was apparent in the results of her actions; his blade managed to deliver several more light cuts to her torso and arms, but she was able to avoid injury. As she pulled herself back in order to gain a good distance, she pulled her sword back towards her chest and swung in his direction.

"Some no mai... Tsukishiro!!!"

Underneath her opponent, a large ice circle was formed. On the sky itself, another was formed in parallel with the circle on the ground. Within seconds, two ice-mist pillars erupted from both circles and raced towards each other, intent on freezing Lobo where he stood.

Lobo wordlessly saw the oncoming ice pillars form and race towards him, following prior to the phrase that Rukia spoke while twirling her Zanpakuto in a particular manner. Immediately withdrawing, Lobo withdrew with a rapidly employed Sonido, crackling away from the impending ice pillars as they formed a mighty spherical tower from high in the sky to the ground where had stood moments ago.

"Fascinating," Lobo spoke aloud as he watched ice pillar then crack and shatter, sending frozen water across the winds, scattering abound in the air, "your Zanpakuto is certainly beautiful, both in form and technique," he spoke as he eyed her weapon with curious stare.

He then righted himself towards her again, clenching his weapon with a slight clicking sound, taking hold of it with both hands as he spoke aloud, "But I'm not nearly through showing you the depths of my sword's capabilities!"

With a strong leap into the air, he began somersaulting over and over before taking the Zanpakuto in both of his hands as he free falled towards her. A dark blue aura covered his body as a veil of Spiritual Energy crackled from his blade as he distorted the air this time with the enormity of his Spiritual Pressure.

La Guillotina Ejercicio!

With a mighty slash of a vertical swing downwards, only a mere 15 meters above her, a dark blue arc of rippling, distorted energy came bearing down towards her. Its cutting power was near the equivalent to that of a Getsuga Tensho, and its sheer force combined with speed made it near unstoppable as it bore downwards towards its target.

This time, Rukia was prepared.

Having already stabbed four holes through the ground, he raised her sword up and pointed it at the oncoming blast. She narrowed her eyes, stating the name of the next dance. "Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!" She called out, letting the ice build itself up before unleashing itself in the form of a powerful white wave in order to counter Lobo's attack.

As the two attacks clashed, an electric wave perspirated through the Hakuren and a white wave enveloped the blue wave of energy. As the two forces enrapturing each other, before shattering entirely, Lobo dove headlong pas all the chaotic energy and ice. His falling body was cascaded with tendrils, free fall's gale winds, and frozen particles as he approached Rukia at a blinding pace.

Lobo readied his blade within his right hand, a mist of ice had already gathered around his own blade as he rapidly approached Rukia, his eyes bore the seriousness that he held personally for the battle upon his honor.

Congelación Vendaval!

As he swung his blade towards her as he was only a few meters away from her, a mighty ice-blade wind thrust forward, as his spiritual energy sifted through into a more sub-zero nature, making the oncoming attack even more dangerous-so. Its nature wasn't in frightening flash-freezing, but rather the inducement of such chilling cutting attacks, that the wounds would numb the limb it cuts, making it near to impossible to fight at full physical capacity. The gale itself cut and froze the earth around Rukia as it flown towards her along with a diagonal cut of his Zanpakuto.

Fortunately, he wasn't the only one with an affinity to ice.

Grasping the back of her blade with her sword, Rukia braced herself as the ice-blade slammed into her sword full-force. The chill of the winds almost made her lose her own stance and fall victim to his strike. Sode no Shirayuki, however, was not allowing her to give up so easily. Its influence protected her from being frozen along with the ground, although it did send chills down her spine as the cold air hit her.

"Tsuzuri Raiden!"

Electricity shot from her blade to his as they locked blades once more.

"GRRRRKKK!" Lobo couldn't detach his blade in time from the pull of the electric element spiritual energy. The yellow tendrils shocked him and caused him to grunt and growl with pain. However...

"I could actually feel that...Rukia Kuchiki," as the steam rose from his body as he continued to hold his blade against hers, slight pockets of scalding enamored his skin and body but were very minute for someone who had taken the Kido full on, "but I've have far worse!"

A trail of dark blue energy gathered upon the edge of the sword, crackling with intense energy as it coiled around his weapon. "This is the end," he spoke lowly as his blade contorted into a wide arc of spiritual energy, giving off the iconic sound of a Cero, "but its time for me to end the fight."

VRRRRRRBOOOOOOOM!

She was too close in order to react or dodge it.

"Oh, no--"

All she could do was widen her eyes as the Cero enveloped her within its destructive light.....

"SHAKKAHO!!!"

As the Cero just began passing over Rukia's body, an array of red orbs flew with the force of cannon balls, shattering the energy as well as causing it to explode in Lobo's face, causing him to fly backwards. His body skidded and kicked up earth as he flew a good 15 meters away, grunting with effort and indignation.

"Wh-What trickery is this?!" He spoke aloud as he clearly saw a distinct figure covered by the cloud of smoke.

"Hey there, Rukia," spoke a hauntingly familiar voice, as a raven, long spiky black haired man, garbed in a sleeveless Shihakusho, with familiar outlines of the Shiba Clan tattoo embroidered upon his left forearm, and a familiar Zanpakuto resting within the binds of a white sash, "hanging in there?"

Time stood still for Rukia, upon hearing that ever-so-familiar frightening voice.

If the aura that Lobo had created for her chilled her skin, then the voice had frozen every nerve, bone, and organ within her body. The light in her eyes was gone, her pupils shrinking immediately. Was it some sort of deception created by the Novena, as his predecessor had done in the Winter War? It had to be.... the man that she heard was supposed to have been killed by that Hollow far back!

Yet, when the smoke cleared, his figure was seen through it. Her senses were not deceiving her. There was no Arrancar in sheep's clothing or illusion that Lobo had somehow created. Her mouth quivered, and she almost fell over at the sight of her old mentor and superior.

"K....kaien-dono....?" She whispered hoarsely, voice affected by shock and overwhelming emotion at seeing him alive. She raised a free hand to cover her mouth, unable to say anymore.

"Huh?" Kaien looked at her with furrowed brows, crossing his arms as he said in an almost growling tone, "what kind of greeting is that?! Have you forgotten to speak in the past centuries I haven't seen you?!" A throbbing vein portruded from his forehead as he comically pointed at her, leaving a perplexed Lobo in the background.

"That Soul Reaper...why does he seem...familiar?" Lobo narrowed his one blue eye and his other glowing silver eye, standing straight and tall as he regarded the new situation with caution.

The emotional moment immediately shattered upon his gruff tone - replaced by her own annoyance.

She was immediately staring him eye-to-eye, giving him her own comical glare of anger as an anime vein popped up in the back of her own forehead. "What did you expect?!" She snapped. "Am I supposed to act like it's normal to see someone I assumed to be long dead just re-appear in some random moment of time?!"

"What?! Is this how you treat your elders still?! I swear Rukia, you're as incompetant in manners as you are in adjusting to the unexpected! What happened to the competant you?!" He yelled back, continuing the humorous outrage exchange between the two, two veins pulsing on his forehead while poking her forehead in an annoying fashion.

"What is going on?" Lobo sweatdropped, at a loss on how to interrupted this unexpected interruption or how to exactly analyze who the newcomer was, as his back was facing him and had long raven black hair hanging down from the back of his head over his shoulders, making it hard to recognize him.

Normally, she wouldn't have done it. If it hadn't been for the influence of people such as Chidori, she would've just backed off and apologized profusely for her "mistakes". However, as it was, she was just not yet accustomed to suddenly being in the presence of her old teacher once again, and her comical anger was overriding anything else of her thought processes. So, she did the one thing she never would've thought she'd do.

She reached out with her free hand, grabbed his wrist...

CHOMP!

...and promptly bit his finger with a humorous sound effect.

Kaian's eyes went from twitching and angry, to totally dish-bowl size the moment Rukia bit down on his finger.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"

He yelled out as he suddenly spasmed, panicked, and tried to yank his finger out out of Rukia's mouth without much success and increasing the pain.

"Um...excuse me," Lobo tried to call out, to end the mania, still sweatdropping at the scene while plugging his exposed ear from the blood curdling scream that Kaian let out in pain.

Fortunately, Rukia was merciful. Promptly, she opened her mouth and let Kaien go, putting on a satisfied smirk in his direction. However, she immediately turned her head away from him in surprise at the Arrancar who had been left out of the loop. She regained herself, closing her eyes and sighing heavily. "My apologies, de Norte...." She said, being honest. "I wasn't expecting this, either...."

"No apologies needed, Rukia Kuchiki," Lobo bowed his head promptly then fully facing the new arrival. As he saw Kaian blowing on his finger vigorously, his facial features suddenly caused him to widen his eyes suddenly.

I-It can't be...Aaraniero?! Lobo at first thught within his mind, then stiffened his composure as he didn't recognize the Spiritual Pressure as a mimicked version of Aaroniero. As impossible as it was, this was truly Kaien's true soul and body, but seemed a lot more visably aged and experienced than the one his former peer flaunted towards people.

"I can't expect anyone is prepared for the spiritually dead to come back to life either...right, Soul Reaper?" Lobo asked in a low, even tone knowing he analyzed the situation correctly.

Kaien looked towards Lobo, giving him a narrowed, serious gaze before smiling, "So, you're the Novena of the Espada Afilado? It would explain why you were giving Rukia a hard time after all..."

Lobo stayed silent, but inwardly clenched his teeth at the depth of knowledge this newcomer had despite him being a supposedly dead man for centuries.

"Were you watching the whole time?" Rukia questioned him, her gaze slightly curious as she looked over at him with her eyes only. Now that she was paying attention to it, his presence was rather.... refreshing to her. She couldn't bring herself to feel anymore overwhelming emotion to know that he was standing before her as he always did back then. She had to resist the urge to smile at the thought.

"Yeah, its kinda hard to be subtle when your Sode no Shirayuki shoots a pillar of ice into the sky, Rukia," he scratched his neck sheepishly, but made a pouting expression, "at least try to sound enthusiastic to see awesome Kaian again."

''I did not detect his presence this entire time...and yet, he was able to launch a surpirise attack with excellent timing and prestige with a mere level 30 Kido against my Cero. This man, Lobo gripped his Zanpakuto tightly in anticipation while finishing his thoughts, its no wonder how Aaraniero prided his ability to flaunt this man's abilities as Novena''.

This time, the woman had to smile. "Enthusiasm was never my strong suit...." She admitted, a slightly laughing tone in her voice. "But, in any case, I am glad to see you again, make no mistake about it....but...." Her gaze managed to catch Lobo readying his blade again, and she naturally settled into a comfortable stance. Her hands pulled the hilt back at level with her head, the tip pointing directly at her opponent. The smile faded into a more serious and concentrated look, her blue eyes meeting that of the Arrancar's.

"If you don't mind.... I'd like to handle this alone."

Kaian had a sudden flashback, as his eyes dialated and suddenly felt as if he was somewhere else entirely.

.''..He remembered the encompassing darkness surrounding him. His Captain and Rukia by his side, wavering flicker of moonlight bearing over a clearing within the trees, showing a monstrocity that responsible for the death of his wife. The hate and duty welling within his chest, the words pouring forth without hesitation and determination,''

"Permission to fight alone, Captain."

Visibly recoiled at the memory before softening his gaze at her, speaking just as calmly as he asks her, "Is that what you want? Truly, Rukia?"

"You taught me many things, Kaien-dono...." Rukia said. "You helped me through my own times of doubt, pushing me whenever I was afraid to keep going. Without you, I probably would've never come so far as to where I am now. That faithful night, I was stuck watching as you fought alone, succumbed to that Hollow, and died by my blade to protect what you felt you needed to preserve. There is no I can repay my debts to you...."

She closed her eyes again.

"But allowing me to show you how far I've gotten would be a good start in that direction. So yes.... this is what I want."

"Very well," Kaien said with a heavy sigh, placing a hand on her head and scruffling it, smiling cheekily, "Whenever you see a Cero, do the proper thing and dodge, please."

Immediately and momentarily, Rukia dropped her stance momentarily to give him a deadpan glare. But she didn't push his hand off of her head. "Oh, how could I have forgotten such an important rule of battle? What would I do without you, oh great and powerful Kaien-dono?" She drawled sarcastically.

"Quite dead, maybe," he gave her a wink before releasing her head before giving her a wink, walking a good ways before taking a seat a good 50 yards away, where a conspicuous fold-up chair resided. As soo as he sat down, he grabbed a mega phone, yelling out to Rukia obnoxiously, "KNOCK HIM DEAD, RUKIAAAAAA!"

The woman sweatdropped. "Where did he get those....?"

Lobo resumed a fighter stance, narrowing his eyes back at Rukia, anxious to resume his battle, "Are you ready, Rukia Kuchiki?"

Turning back towards her opponent and regaining her serious demeanor, Rukia settled back into the stance she had before. "Yeah.... let's continue." She confirmed, mentally bracing herself for the fight of her life.

A Matter of Honor and Pride, Part 2:
"Alright," Lobo then crouched low, with his left forefingers touching the ground and the edges of his feet propping him up, in almost animal stance as he held his sword with the pommel outwards and the blade pointing to his right side, "I will drag whatever remaining power you have left out of you, and see what kind of power your peer sees in you!"

Lobo then distorted from view, rushing towards Rukia with a ferocious, almost feral attitude as he closed in on her. Once within range, he began leaping and slashing with renewed tenacity, forgoing brute strength and relying on speed as his weapon, slashing her low and close to her waistline, aiming to incapacitate her and not give her a chance to use her Shikai's give innate abilities.

"Focus, Rukia...."

This time, her resolve was a bit stronger.

She allowed herself to move backwards normally. Her body was reacting to each and every strike that was unleashed upon her person. She was relying on her eyes as well as her spiritual senses to see and percieve each one, blocking only when she had no alternative to prevent him from cutting her. To her, time seemed to move in slow motion with each and every stroke made by Lobo. Her blade was twisting around, the tip to the ground with each movement.

"His attacks have just gotten faster....there's no change within the style he's using.... if I can get used to his speed, if I can time my attacks accordingly....I can open up holes within his defense...."

Her eyes widened as the sword came towards her again.

"I can beat him...!"

Immediately, she ducked and stepped forward so that their sides would be facing each other. However, her sword was already in place and would ensure an effective strike his sword would be unable to reach and counter in time. She twisted her body in a horizontal swing for his exposed side, both hands gripping the hilt tightly.

"Too naive," Lobo spoke aloud, suddenly pouncing upwards at an incredible pace, the cloth of his uniform flourished just mere inches above the white blade that swung beneath his body as he remained in a crouched like state. As his blade had "missed her" he perfectly timed a toss to his free left hand, making a vertical slash downwards at her right shoulder, switching from sheer speed to a combination of speed and strength in the one blow towards her body.

"Its over, Rukia Kuchiki...!"

All it took was that switch in order to give Rukia a chance to counter it.

All she had to do was twist her sword around in her hands and swing upwards.

Her blade struck the base of his blade - a move that Kaien had used on her when they were sparring. The strike ended up disarming her in a second, knocking her sword away and allowing Kaien to obtain it with a natural ease. Now, she was attempting the same maneuver on Lobo, hoping to use his airborn state as a factor that would help her.

Following the strike, she moved her blade fluidly in position for another uppercut and swung for her opponent's chest.

"I knew it..."

As soon as she used the maneuver to clash at the base of the blade, it slipped out of his fingers for a fraction of a second, suddenly causing him to lose momentum in his sword wielding hand as she moved to upper strike towards his chest.

"Knowing my skill for swordsmanship, she'd aim to take away my weapon of choice, also knowing my promise to keep any form of hand-to-hand combat out of this fight. In that case..."

VRRBAM!

As she moved towards his chest, he struck out with his palm, an intense dark blue light flashed before a Bala discharged point blank at her chest, strengthening his Hierro to take the chance that Rukia's blow would follow through and he would sustain minimal damage.

The Bala was in the path of her swing, and was sliced in two in the split-second it had to hit her. However, thanks to his sudden concentration of spiritual pressure, the blade only ended up giving a nick to his Hierro. But now, she was close enough to initiate another counter-attack on his person. In the middle of her swing, she took one hand off of her hilt and slammed her palm on his chest, uttering one word.

"Sai!"

"I've got no choice, dammit!..."

As Lobo recognized the said Kido being slammed and forcing his arms towards his back, he began to grit his teeth and a sudden large excess of Spiritual Power was thrown from the inside of his body and outwards, sending a shockwave with the aura of a dark blue, coiling energy.

Breaking free of the Kido, Lobo growled as he kicked up his sword into his hands and leapt towards her, placing both hands over his hilt as he called out a telltale signature attack towards a presumedly stunned Rukia with a forward overhead swing.

La Guillotina Ejercicio!

With a arc of coiling, dark blue energy aiming to cut her apart towards her, Lobo already prepared for any counterattack by the dangerous and unpredictable Lieutenant.

Eyeing slightly over to see a smiling Kaien, he narrowed his eyes back to Rukia, wondering just how strong she was due to this man's influence upon her.

Fortunately for Rukia, she had percieved the breaking of the spell and had already set to work, and by the time Lobo was about to unleash his next strike...

"Hakuren!"

The wave of ice was unleashed upon her target, using the point-blank range that Lobo had allowed himself to fall into. The Sai spell had allowed her to gain some headway on him and valuable time to prepare the attack before he could unleash the counter-attack. During this time, Rukia had her eyes narrowed in concentration, a contemplating frown on her face as she unleashed the assault.

Lobo's eyes widened upon seeing that his La Guillotina Ejercicio being overwhelmed by the point blank ferocity of the Shikai's attack. Backpedaling at a rapid pace while the Hakuren was gaining on his figure, he made sure his sword was parallel with his chest as a thin dark blue aura collected over his sword.

VRRRRBOOOMBLAAAAM!

Within a few seconds of being overtaken by the ice stormhead, he unleashed a devestatingly wide dark blue Cero. Its energies cascaded a large amount of steam from the superheated aftermath of the Shikai exploding over his area, billowing a heated wind towards Rukia as the shockwave emanated over the landscape.

Kaien narrowed his eyes at the display of power between the two, and appraisingly looked over at Rukia. Her use of her Shikai has vastly improved since the time she displayed it to him, and her other skills within Kido, Zanjutsu, even the perfectly executed palm-heel strike carrying the Kido spell showed more promise within her Hakuda employment.

But as he saw that explosion and the steady, firm stance that Lobo presented through the haze, he knew it was far from over.

"Be ready for what's to come, Rukia," Kaien said lowly, but knew that she would hear it within her heart and mind, "for you will witness this Espada's true strength now that you've driven him to the edge."

Rukia kept her stance up, shutting her eyes and turning away when the heat of the winds hit her full-force. Her hair and Shihakkusho uniform billowed violently within the intense air, but she held firm. She knew from Lobo's deteriorating demeanor that he had had enough. He was going to show her the full extent of his power. It would be a test in order to see if she could still fight against him and defeat him or not.

She took in a deep breath, bracing herself once more.

"I must commend you for your tenacity and skill, Rukia Kuchiki," Lobo said aloud through the veil of steam, his uniform now had burn spots along with various blood stains from wounds that she inflicted during his exchange, but nothing serious from the sight of it. His hat was also missing, as well as the curls holding his hair up, now showing a shoulder length crop of hair, matching his human deep blue iris in contrast to his gray wolf hollow mask. "But that ends here. You've earned the right and priviledge to have me release my full power. Remember this name, and never forget it."

Taking the sword into a vertical position of its blade pointing down, speaking low hollow words as he stared her down intensely.

"Howl across the frozen wastes..."

As he began to be covered by a dark hue of spiritual energy, the Spiritual Pressure of his release increased nearly three, four times than what it was before, shaking the air with density and causing the ground around him to freeze over, into a more tundra soil. Suddenly, he became enraptured by maelstrom dark blue energy as he stabbed the Zanpakuto into the ground, causing a high pitched scream. The color of the spherical maelstrom turned solid white, exploding outwards in a wave of icy wind and energy, further causing the artic climate to affect the atmosphere. It finally broke out into a chilling, loud howl, the ice itself turned black nearest to his position, a good 15 meters away from her.

"Fenrir."

As he appeared from the wake of the energy and mist, he bore an entirely different appearance. He donned what appeared to be tuffs of black fur that was interweaved with obsidian armor, with a pair of forearm claw-blades with black gaunts with armored claws over them as well. His chest had magnificently crafted appearance of black metal with black fur interweaved in between each of the crevices, going for the same as his back. Going down to his legs, he had a set of black fur around his waist with a black metalic cuirass, leading down to thigh and shin armor that also had tuffs of black fur around it, leading down to menacing fur-laced metalic boots. He had twin black fur pauldrons that portruded two spikes moving at a 90 degree angle from the sides. For his face, he bore no semblence of a Hollow mask, but had a more bestial pair of eyes with red eyes with slit irises, wearing a fur-laced cowl with a pair of wolf-like ears.

As his being pulsed with power and hyper-augmented senses, Lobo spoke lowly as he stood straight and tall towards Rukia with an entirely different demeanor, "Why aren't you releasing your Bankai, Rukia Kuchiki?"

Immediately, Rukia's eyes widened in shock at his statement.

"He knows....?!"

"....how did you know I'm capable of using it....?" She questioned him, narrowing her eyes slightly at the change of demeanor. It seemed quite typical for an Arrancar to put on a polite and mild-mannered facade only to discard it in the heat of battle. She had rarely used her Bankai ever, and so it wasn't much of a known fact to anyone other than a few higher-ups.

"My form of Pesquisa is...unique," Lobo said in a honest, admitting tone as he emphasized with his right hand, as if to demonstrate for his lack of weapons other than what it resided along his hands and forearms, even his spike-padded elbows, "my Zanpakuto sends subtle vibrations when making contact with my target, that it sends back through my weapon into my body. Like human sailors dropping a weight to measure fathoms, by making contact with your Zanpakuto and your body, my blade gave me precise readings of your Spiritual Power. And, by judging from your reactions, my analysis through my Pesquisa was accurate," he crossed his arms, then gave her an expectant look.

"Damn, Rukia," Kaien chuckled as he propped his chin with a free hand that had balled into a fist, looking at her admirably more than she would've realized, "how much have you grown...since I last saw you?"

Rukia closed her eyes, her bangs overshadowing her expression as she remained silent for a moment. "...you have a keen sense when it comes to detail, Novena...." She complimented lowly, straightening up and lowering her sword to her side. "So I'll be honest. The reason why I didn't use it immediately was because of its price. The major weakness in a Shinigami's Bankai is the formidable power that it utilizes and exerts in combat. For one like me, I'm still within the 10-year-period it requires for full mastery. As such, I don't have full control of its abilities just yet...."

She raised her head up to meet the Arrancar's gaze.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I do not wish to bring a weapon to combat that even I am unable to control."

"Wise words," Lobo spoke back towards her from the expanse, exhaling a stream of black frost before continuing, "but unfortunately for you, the state I am in as of now, is that equal to a fully trained Soul Reaper's Bankai. If you fight me in the state you are, I won't promise myself holding back this time."

"I wouldn't ask for anything less." Rukia answered, settling back into her stance defensively. Her heart was set in resolution. She had asked to fight alone, and Kaien had granted her permission. His words struck the notion that she would face defeat, but of course, they were just words. "Let's test that theory. Prove the worth of your Resurrecion to me!"

As he words taunted him, he narrowed his his eyes as he brimmed of power, coursing tendrils of dark spiritual energy wrapped around him, turning black as he slowly crouched into a all-fours stance, saying briefly,

"Here I come, Rukia Kuchiki!"

With a suddenly screaming pressure released behind him, a blast of air pressure exhaled in frosty mist as he moved at such speed, he shimmered out of view right in front of Rukia's eyes, almost disappearing from all senses...before a straightened, metal-edged obsidian left hand drove straight towards Rukia's gut, aiming to deal incredibly critical damage to her body with one blow.

That was when time stopped. Completely.

From the first movement made, Rukia couldn't even see any of it. The ability to see his attacks that she had used against him before had disappeared completely, and she found herself virtually blind to him as he attacked her. Her pupils dilated, the light fading from her eyes as he re-appeared in front of her. She could only manage to raise the sword over her head....

SPLURCH!

....before his hand tore through her stomach, freezing her movements and stopping any retaliation. With an eerie movement, her fingers released the sword over her head. It clattered to the ground behind her.

"W....what....?"

"This is the difference I am referring to, Rukia Kuchiki," Lobo explained, in more condescending and reprimanding tone, as he held his hand within her rapidly bleeding insides, unknowingly keeping her bleeding from going out of control, "the difference between a Soul Reaper's full functioning and skill of Bankai and the power of a Espada Afilado's Ressureccion are of near equals. You however, willingly goaded an opponent who's power and skill was beyond yours. Your pride and brash disposition kept you from winning this exchange," with a swift revertion of his blood soaked weaponized hand, he watched her for a few more moments before turning around, saying aloud, "I am dissatisfied with the outcome of this battle. I shall withdraw and return for you when the time is right."

Rukia fell to her knees, her arms dropping at her sides. Her head hung low, her hair overshadowing her eyes. Blood spilled from the throat and out of her mouth, spilling onto the ground in front of her. She was breathing heavily and wheezing, pain searing through her torso as the wound continued to bleed. "Your Resurrecion...." She said weakly, still keeping her head down as she spoke. "Is equal to that of a fully trained Soul Reaper's Bankai....?"

With difficulty, she managed to stare into his back, her violet eyes having lost their light in their weariness.

"....you're not even close...."

Then, she finally allowed herself to fall to the ground, her strength leaving her. Behind her, her Zanpakutō returned to its sealed form - the seal of her loss.

As Lobo looked down at her thoughtfully, a gust of wind blew in excess around him, cascading his fur-laced body and Rukia's inert form, the grass swaying in the direction of the wind.

As the wind dampened, the stoic-cool walking form of Kaien came forward, looking down at her with a look of concern before looking back at him, asking, "How much damage did you inflict, Espada Novena?"

"Not enough to warrant threats or vengeance from the likes of you, Kaien Shiba," he said with a cool, but understanding tone, his stance non-threatening and bore no hostility towards him that Kaien could sense.

"And...you won't fight me?" Kaien asked in a almost disbelieving tone, flexing his hands, but did nothing more than cross them into fists across his chest.

"My battle isn't with you, unless you wish it to be. I'm withdrawing from this exchange for its not my place to shed anymore blood than I desire," he then turned away, his back facing Kaien as he began to walk away, towards the horizon. With a simple tear into fabric of space, a tell-tale "jaw" opened up to form a miniature garganta, the dark form of space and maelstrom of spirit energy howledg lowly from within.

With his head turned back to look at Kaien, he spoke simply, "I'm not satisfied with how my battle with this woman ended. Make sure to tell her I will return when she's acquired that strength she needs to battle me again. Make no mistake, my battle with this honorable warrior is far from over."

"She'll welcome the challenge alright," Kaien said with a challenging smile and narrow predatorial eyes, "with open arms and a blade in her hands!"

Lobo looked into Kaien's eyes for a brief minute before walking through the black veil of space, shortly afterwards the "jaws" closed behind him and the fabric was returned to normal within the space proximate to Kaien and Rukia.

Kaien sighed heavily, turning around on the heel of his straw sandals, taking slow measured steps to overlook Rukia, "Well...I respected your wishes. Now I can tell you this much," he crouched on his haunches, took out a special red capsule within his sash, quickly putting into her mouth before having her subconsciously swallow it. When he picked her up in a bridal style fashion, he only smirked as he said, "you've become as skilled and stubborn as I was!"

With a silent laugh to himself, he quickly turned about and stepped off the ground, soaring up into the air with a gust of wind cascading his and Rukia's hair, as well as flourish their respective uniforms. Within a near silent blurred movement, his Flash Step took him away from the frost covered and icy battle.

As he was moving through to the respective area, the woman in his arms continued to remain in a seemingly unconscious state. Her hair was overshadowing her eyes, effectively hiding her expression. However, the theory of unconsciousness was disproven, as a weak smile crossed her face even as she was carried. She had heard every word that Kaien had said as well as what the Novena had said to him prior to the leave.

At the very least, she was glad that her mentor had seen everything.

Battle of the Beast, Part 2:
"Cero incoming!" Rokotsu yelled as she once again leaped to the side in a acrobatic dodge from the red emission that came from the orb that momentarily gathered on 666's palm.

VRRRRBLAAAAAAAAAM!

Another wide arc of destructive energy was let loose, manipulated in a way to give the impression of a laser beam following fleeing targets as Yoki and Rokotsu joined them as they ran along the side of the catwalk glass walls, occasionally hoping and vaulting across broken and mangled bits of metal that had come loose during their fight.

Takashi managed to get to a safe distance from the end result of the Cero as it exploded a mere 10 meters away from Yoki and Rokotsu, both of them rolling with the shockwave as they dropped expertly near the majority of where the group huddled and gathered together.

Braeburn was certainly battle-worn. One of his sleeves were torn, a trickle of blood was coming down his forehead, and parts of his blood-stained clothes were scarred and scratched to show scars underneath. "This is ridiculous...." He hissed, breathing heavily as he readied his sword across his chest once more. His form was crouched behind a large piece of metal that had come aloose in the ensuing battle. "One person should not be able to fend the four of us off like this!!"

"Dammit! He's picking us apart whenever we get seperated or when one of us stop to take a breather!" Takashi huffed and puffed, his own "custom-made" armor was all but ripped and torn, but he didn't shed much blood thanks to it. The one thing left untouched so far was his metalic black matte grass hat. His jaw mask was already ripped off due to the inability to breathe comfortably while fighting.

"He's a helluva strong bitch," Rokotsu acknowledged as she hefted her axe over her shoulder again as she crouched, finding that it weighed a lot more than it used to earlier, "he can take my axe swings with stride and has yet to show any visible signs of slowing down. What the hell do they feed him?!"

"I shouldn't be surprised," Yoki growled as she discharged a small round cylinder full of what looked like foam over a open wound she was sporting along her thigh, having earned it in a explosion where shrapnel succesively tore a gash through her combat suit, "this is the Primera's underhanded right hand man. I heard a rumored term she gave him was the numerical code, 666."

Despite himself, Braeburn smirked. "He's certainly lived up to his name...." He commented in compliment. "At least he did one good thing...." He turned his gaze towards his wounded male compatriot, a comical look of amusement on his face. "Guess your armor isn't so scary and invisible after all, eh, bowl-head?"

"This isn't a bowl, asshole!" Takashi growled, pointing up at it, emphasizing with his hand and words, "THIS. IS. A. GRASS. HAT! COMPRENDE?!"

VRBRACK!

As Takashi had pointed to said hat, a crimson orb flew like a bullet towards him, narrowly missing his head and taking off his metalic grass hat, shattering it to pieces, causing Takashi to crouch low and swear a length of profanities that were unintelligible to the group.

Meanwhile, from the thick smoke that was brewing with bright fire of the battlefield, their opponent emerged with a gaunt-covered hand steaming from the shot. His appearance was hardly touched by the battle, save for a few pockets of scratches to his armor, his cloak recieving burns and tears by the battle's intensity and it has yet to show any real wounds from the group.

"Unfortunate," he began to speak as he drew eerily nearer, his Spiritual Pressure still weighing within the air and rose with every step nearer he took towards them, "I was hoping to kill the one with the mouth and ugly face."

"Who you calling ugly, you hood-covered bastard?!" Takashi growled towards him, ready to charge at him blindly if not for Yoki holding her Zanpakuto edged towards his chest, halting him immediately.

"Always the first to bark as well as the one with the first bite," Rokotsu chimed in cheekily, earning a growl from Takashi, confirming her belief in a prior life he was a dog of some sort.

Had it not been for the fact that he had to jerk his head low as well, Braeburn would've responded to the comment. Slowly, he allowed himself to stand back up and ready his sword again in two hands. The sweat was beading down his face, and the pain of his wounds burned as much as the heat had done, but he was far from caring. He still held a smirk on his face despite the worn condition he was in.

"I've gotta say, Arrancar. I'm impressed." He said, lowering his sword to his side in one hand. "Not many live to tell the experience of my Shikai or even come out unscathed. For you to be able to do both just tells me I need to step up my A-game a bit more...."

"None of you, even combined, can hope to equal the power of the Elite Four of the Espada Afilado," 666 said plainly, taking out his two spirit-swords and igniting them, their snap and hissing sound icnoically leaving the air with a low ominous hum as he approached his targets, "Besides them, I retain more power than any individual Espada Afilado below their ranks. You have no hope of killing me, let alone defeating me. Surrender," He pointed his twin blades towards them as he crossed their edges together, multicolored sparks were produced as they poured upon the scarred battlefield with an aura of destruction behind him his cloak billowed as his spiritual pressure came back to an all time high once more, "and I might make your end painless."

Yoki took a efforted step and stood up, raising her Zanpakuto back into its horizontal iconic stance, the wind billowed up as she took charge and said aloud, "I won't let you pass, monster!"

Rokotsu stood up, grasping her Zanpakuto with both hands, saying with a wide smile, "Let's take him, Yoki...all or nothing!"

"Right," she turned her blonde flowing head towards Braeburn, giving him a half-hearted smile, saying bittersweetly, "you take care of Takashi...its been fun."

This did not suit well with Braeburn.

WHAM!

Raising a leg up, he gave the blonde female a kick to her backside, a comically angry look on his features. "Don't you dare start talking like that, lassie!!" He scolded. "We aren't dead yet, so don't declare us so until we're actually killed! Got it?!" He lowered his leg, continuing to give her that comical deadpan look for a few more seconds until returning to its seriously calm demeanor, readying his sword towards his opponent.

"Besides.... even if we die.... I think it's better for us if we all died together. All or nothing, just like Rokotsu said...."

"The hell?!" Yoki promptly landed onto her face the moment that Braeburn comically kicked her. As she propped herself back up, she comically shook her hand at him, yelling back, "its improper to strike a superior officer, let alone treat a lady like that?! What kind of monster are you?!"

Rokotsu could only snicker at the sight, and Takashi rolled his eyes as he observed chibi sized next to Rokotsu, mumbling, "Let me know when we're ready to charge, Rok-chan..."

The comical deadpan look returned to the Australian's face, and he immediately lowered his sword again to give her an eye-twitching glare. "Well, it's improper for a superior officer to speak so bleakly!! Keep talking like that, and the rest of us'll start losing morale, ma'am!" With the last word said, he put on a taunting smirk just to add effect to it.

"Why you-!" Yoki growled, on the verge of strangling his neck when a pulse of Spiritual Pressure rocked her back to reality. As she turned around, still in-mid comical nature, she saw 666 flaring spiritual energy off his body as he became angered with their antics, "oh s#**!"

"I'm growing tired of this game," crimson arcs snaked along his spiritual blades created by his unique Zanpakuto hilts, as he charged towards them, "I intend on destroying you all now!"

Rokotsu leaped forward first, swinging her axe towards in a string of furious arcs, yellow electric arcs trailed her swings as she aimed to strike him at least once. However, every time her axe came close, he simply dodged the side or used Sonido to appear on another angle. When she swung downwards mightily, a giant crackle followed by a explosive detonation of yellow electric force, causing an indentation that threatened to break through the catwalk's floor of 10 meters.

CRACK, HISSS!

Rokotsu's eyes suddenly widen as she looks down, finding a violet blade stabbing through her back out her waist

"You're too slow," 666 responded cooly, yanking the blade out swiftly before letting her drop to her knees, "you'll never catch me using those tacti-"

CRACK!

Unbeknownst to the assassin, Rokotsu had managed to aim the pommel of her axe and slam it into 666's back, despite the raging hot pain she felt in her gut. The attack forced the cloaked figure to fly straight into a concrete partition of the catwalk's wall, causing a momentarily shaking to the infrastructure.

"Take that...ugly," Rokotsu clutched onto her gut as she said so, struggling to stand as Yoki rushed over to her side and held her up.

It was a perfect opportunity for a counter-strike.

Immediately, Braeburn shifted his blade to point to the area that 666 had smashed into, his smirk turning into a concentrating scowl and his eyes narrowing. His dragon blade shot out once again at its traditionally immense speed, its user taking advantage of the lightning-fast quickness of the weapon. Unless 666 had recovered quickly, he would be struck by the attack and hopefully killed before he could rise again.

Unfortunately, 666 had recovered quickly.

As Braeburn took time to aim, 666 duplicated a "Clone" using Sonido's higher tier skill techniques, allowing him to leave a considerably authentic appearance of himself before the storm of blades cascaded across the concrete before totally demolishing the catwalk wall for a good five meters, a large detonation of smoke and debris could be seen for anyone nearby as it rained down far below onto the castle grounds.

VR-BAM-BAM!

As 666 reappeared above, he discharged twin Balas from either hand. One shot straight into Takashi's chest, unable to read the movements of his attack, causing him to hack in mid flight as he tumbled head over heels across the catwalk, rolling over in pain and gasping for breath. The other was shot towards Braeburn's unprotected backside, aiming to incapacitate him as well and possibly send him hurtling out the gaping hole his Shikai created.

WOOSH!

By the skin of his teeth, Braeburn managed to avoid being hit by the blast. He gritted his teeth, his figure in a crouched form as his sandaled feet skidded across the floor. What was it with people trying to hit him in the ass? First Ryuketsu, then Yoki, and then this guy! What did his posterior ever do to the likes of them?! "You guys still doing good over there?!" He called out to his teammates, not taking his gaze off of 666.

"Rokotsu is wounded, but not mortally...she'll need to keep from fighting on the frontlines though," Yoki grimaced out loud, trying to aim her Zanpakuto at 666 without harming Braeburn in crossfire, but couldn't do it while protecting and supporting Rokotsu.

"Dammit, I'm so sorry Yōki-chan," Rokotsu bit on her lip and winced at the pain that burned through her insides, literally and figuratively, as she struggled to keep her weak legs up straight.

Takashi meanwhile groaned as he held onto his chest, coughing, "At least...some of my armor absorbed the impact of it...dang it...can't move..."

As they spoke, 666 lunged relentlessly upon Braeburn, using a variety of lunges and slashes in sync with each other, moving at such high speeds that rivaled that of Braeburn's prior opponent Ryuketsu, making sure that every move and every strike was in an effort to push Braeburn to the edge and cause him to slip up.

"Here he comes....!"

Immediately, Braeburn readied his blade in order to engage his opponent. The pain of his injuries was the fuel that was keeping him going. He pushed his body forward, moving with a speed that mirrored his movements against Ryūketsu. With each and every swing that cut the air as well as collided with the spiritual blades of 666, a mix of emotions came within him. As he continued to fight, his pupils were shrinking, their light dissipating in a wild and almost primal look.

"You said before that our greatest strength was in our unity, Arrancar?!" He said, his tone fueled by the fight that was taking place. "Well, that's where you're wrong!! For me, I've spent the entirety of my life on my own, fighting my own demons and existing as the only link between my life and my death!! I can try to become a link to the chain that is everyone else.... but in the end, I can only fight to my fullest if I can fight by myself!!"

One of 666's blades landed a slice on his arm, blood spilling from it. But he didn't seem to care anymore.

"So get ready,...."

With a powerful one-handed swing, he delivered a brutal parry of his opponent's blades. His power was weakening, but his resolve was never stronger at that moment.

"Because I can't promise I can hold myself back this time!!"

Yōki stared at the brilliant clash of light and steel, sparks and blurs of motion merged into one distorted dance of tenacity and speed. She felt like if she interfered now, she'd be hindering Braeburn more than helping him. So with a deft Flash Step, she lunged across the battlefield, momentarily locking eyes at the dance of death the two swordsmen were emerged in, before rushing over to Takashi's side, laying Rokotsu down near him as she began wheezing for breath.

"Takashi! Get the "Patch" ready," she said as she tore open part of her second-skin suit, it easily ripped away because of the duress that the blade caused to the material, holding it open for the burned edges. Takashi coughed several times, mumbling unintelligibly profanities of some sort while opening a can and spraying "The Patch" foam all over her wounds. Slowly solidifying, Rokotsu felt less pain and could breathe easier, making Yōki sigh with relief.

"We've got to order backup," Takashi said with a haggard, reluctant look on his face, "I don't know about you, but I'd rather have some artillery fire upon the bridge right now. Maybe it will phase him and delay his arrival-"

"You idiot! Braeburn is still out there fighting him!" Yōki snarled at him, almost finding it treason to turn on their most recently added comrade.

"If he dies, then we will all die! If we kill that bastard and Braeburn takes the fall, then less people will die!" Takashi argued back, growling back, looking frustrated as he was trying to make the smart choice rather than the right choice.

666 felt the resolve burning within his opponent, his eyes glowing behind the hood glared hotly at his words as he felt a renewed strength behind some of the parries, despite how exhausted he should be.

Using Sonido in mid-slash, 666 distorted from Braeburn's front, to his side, then his other side, using multiple distorted movements as he continued to attack, aiming to overwhelm on all sides. Within his mind, he gathered that his immense speed and ferocious timing, his Shikai's attacks were limited to a near 180 degree angle of what he's facing. However, if he doesn't have time to aim or focus that ability, 666 gathered that he'd rush him, and by the time he'd launch an attack, he'd miss his opportunity and 666 could claim the kill.

"One can only move so fast..." Braeburn hissed, launching another Tobu Hebi attack. But this time, he swung his sword in order to meet 666 head-on - a mirror of his attack against the entity that had been the Harbinger. Despite the speed of 666's movements, it was only natural that his tangible form could appear in one spot at a time. His movements had managed to keep up with the Arrancar thus far. He was thankful 666 had never witnessed his attack on the Harbinger.... otherwise, this attack would've proven to be less of a surprise.

But had Braeburn been at full-strength, he would've been able to escape unscsathed. However, as quick as his defense was to meet 666's attacks, it didn't allow him to escape injury. When he pulled himself back with a Flash Step, blood spurted from his chest courtesy of the slash wounds that had been delivered to him. He was starting to lose consciousness, his form hunched over. However, he was stubborn against falling over, refusing to fall to the ground even with his blood-stained clothing.

"Damn it.... if I was at full-strength, I would've been better off! Good god, I suck as a teammate!" He inwardly complained, panting heavily as he struggled to keep himself upright.

666 actually was caught within the blades of storms, only thanks to his heightened reflexes and use of Sonido "Clones" he only managed to recieve a handful of the strikes. One scratched his armor, verily nearly penetrating his Hierro on the other side, while another scratched his shoulder, once again verily close to cutting his skin open while producing sparks upon contact, and the last two struck his leg and other arm, also producing sparks upon contact.

As he was witness to his enemy's withdrawl, he inwardly became satisfied as he saw blood spurt from Braeburn's chest, causing him to fall down to nearly all fours. 666 was patient, as he walked over to Braeburn, readying his blades to make the final kill...until the thick reinforced glass underneath him cracked showing what looked like vibrant flames cascading just underneath.

RRRAAAAACKBOOOM!

A violent pyrotechnic pillar about five meters by five meters in diameter blasted upwards, creating a secondary hole just above, the fiery blast could be seen for miles around the castle grounds and the city as a brief thunder crack and flash near the Keep.

666 narrowly escaped the worst of it as he dove out of the flames with smoke rising from his form as he somersaulted head over heels before readying his blades, not expecting to be attacked while near victory.

What came out of the flames was unusual, as anyone still alive or that could sense well could tell that whatever created the flames was not a Soul Reaper, nor a Hollow. In fact, it felt almost...nearly human.

As the flames dissipated by will, a blonde haired regal-looking individual floated down onto the ground next to Braeburn, wordlessly picking him up and leaping deftly over to Yoki's side, kneeling down to let Yoki hold him.

"He's not hurt badly, and if he still has the will to fight, I'd like his help," he spoke in a soothingly calm, gentle voice, but brought almost a subtle commanding tone from within.

Yoki nodded as she began using the same "Patch" as she had earlier, then noticed a strange...red capsule residing in one of Braeburn's torn pockets.

"Braeburn, you idiot!" Yōki smacked him on the forehead before promptly waving the capsule in front of his face, "did you not think to ONCE use Kaze's special Spiritual Energy Rejuvenation pill?!"

"OW!"

Braeburn let out a whining yell as he was smacked in the head, giving a retaliating glare towards Yōki. "Damn it, woman, why'd you have to--"

However, his glare immediately into a comically stupefied look once his eyes fell onto the pill. He blinked a few times, as if registering the pill for the first time. "....oh...." He muttered, placing the tip of his index finger to his bottom lip. "Well, there's me being stupid, huh?"

"Duh! That's what I just said," she then takes the pill while forcifully, if not comically, opens his mouth and tries to force it into his throat, "c'mon! Swallow it! We don't have all day here!"

"Wait, what the hell is wrong with-- OOOGHCK!!"

Typically, the Australian, caught off-guard, immediately swallowed the pill without thinking about it. For a brief moment, his face turned purple, and he had to jerk away in a coughing fit. However, it lasted only for a few seconds, and the pill went down without trouble. "Ugh...." He groaned, holding his throat while still holding his sword with the other. "I thought this was only supposed to deal with me having little to no spiritual energy left, not the fact that I'm cut up like a Christmas turkey...."

"Hold that thought," Yōki spoke without missing a beat, placing her hands over his now foam-filled wounds and began radiating a green textured spiritual energy over it. Within about a few minutes, the foam began to actively regenerate his tissue while inwardly healing up his blood vessels and reconstruction of his blood moved quickly until he was left but a few light colored scars. "Its not perfect, but its one of the best forms of healing these days available for both the 4th Division and any half-decently trained field agent within the D.C.O.," Yōki said with a lopsided grin, brushing his forehead absentmindedly while feeling his chest out of curiosity, "feel better?"

Braeburn couldn't help but cock an eyebrow and frown as one of her hands roamed his chest. Inwardly, he was feeling a bit self-conscious. He was definitely no muscle-head, and the type of clothing he wore gave off a deceptively scrawny and skinny appearance. However, his training typically gifted him with a moderately well-toned body. So he was pretty sure she could feel the muscle within his chest; something that would earn him with potentially more of these moments in the future.

"Well, let's just say I might be tempted to stay here for a little bit if you keep it up." He drawled, a slightly sarcastic yet amused tone in his voice. To emphasize, he raised his sword hand and stabbed the tip into the ground, giving the implication that he was about to stand up again.

Yōki smiled cheekily, winking at him before she tapped his head and ruffled his hair, groaning as she stood back up and backed away from Braeburn to give him some room, "Go kick his ass, you hunk!"

Shōmei had meanwhile kept a intense gaze upon his opponents for any moves of aggression while 666 did the same. It was the calm moment before the storm, and 666 could tell just how strong he was by not just the flames that he produced to enter the battlefield, but the way he held himself in a calm, confident manner. The resolve to fight and win was burning within him without any need to excess Spiritual Pressure, 666 could tell.

Quickly, and with a casual wave back in Yōki's direction, Braeburn briskly jogged over to the newcomer's side and readied his sword, his eyes leveled with the Arrancar's. "Well, well.... I have to congratulate you for your little appearance." He complimented. "A shame you didn't actually slot the bastard, but... definitely an entrance." For the moment, he was interested in sharing names. Based from the interaction he had with Yōki, he could safely assume that this man was an ally.

"You should thank Ikari-san, Braeburn-san," Shōmei said smoothly, briefly smiling without making eye contact with Braeburn, "there would've probably have been no additonal reinforcements had I not gotten word from her. Most of the other agents are scattered and assigned accordingly for missions, so I left my...comrade to deal with it while Ikari herself went to help with the reinforcing of the Keep. From what I've gathered, there are multiple intruders within the Keep, scattering security away from the King while they move in to assassinate him. However," he narrowed his eyes briskly at 666's direction, "this one's strength is comparable to the one that blew a hole in the atrium not too long ago."

"That so?" Braeburn grinned. "So not only he's a tough bastard, but he's also a priority target? Lucky for us...."

Shōmei could only smile softly, sliding his feet into a fighting stance with his unique gloves with italic I's on them, speaking frankly, "All the internal threats are priority, Braeburn-san. Why else would you be assigned to this catwalk?"

"Yeah...." Braeburn agreed. "But this one's strength makes it all the more worthwhile...." He narrowed his eyes, shifting himself into a comfortable stance.

Shōmei said nothing, even as he saw 666 begin to walk in their direction, he merely uttered, "So it begins..."

666 used Sonido, his body emanated a buzz of static within the air distorting his body, before reappearing in a second distortion of static, raising his blades to meet both Braeburn and Shōmei. Shōmei blocked with a yellow glowing aura of flames around his left glove while 666 moved with lightning tenacity, propelling itself over and around the two warriors. Shōmei used an unusual type of hand-to-hand combat as he began repelling the blades themselves with his gloves while aiming to strike him with physical force, while 666 expertly combatted them both.

"Now, I'm fighting with a partner again...."

Braeburn was fully aware of his own short-comings when he fought alongside someone else. Thus, when he swung his sword at his opponent again, he put himself a distance away from his partner when doing so. He only struck when he had enough room to, hanging back defensively when the newcomer moved in. His eyes narrowing in a concentrative look, attacking and retreating, not breaking away from his pattern.

As 666 deflected another swing, Shōmei did something unique. As he let Braeburn stike and parry with the enemy, he backpedaled before moving his hands out behind himself, open palmed, before a vibrant blast of flames propelled him at such speeds, it made it almost seem the original Flash Step was too slow.

As 666 saw the impending rocketed Shōmei, it moved out of sword length of Braeburn's weapon before discharging a handful of Balas, the crimson orbs rocketed towards the speeding Shōmei...only to have them miss him entirely, launching a vicious knee kick which 666 barely blocked. The force of the kick surprisingly caused it to slide across the war-torn ground of the catwalk, allowing Braeburn to intervene with more effectiveness while Shōmei hovered in the air, his cloak billowing around him as he gave a serene, stoic gaze towards the battlefield.

There was his chance.

Braeburn immediately used a Flash Step to get behind his opponent in order to challenge and attack the Arrancar once more, his blade flashing and seemingly disappearing in his hands with each and every stroke. The speed of his wrists as they were flicked accordingly was astounding and an attractive interest to watch to the observant eye. To the untrained professional, it seemed as if only the blade was moving, while Braeburn himself was standing still.

666 was no ordinary Arrancar or swordsman either. Unfortunately the moment where Braeburn began his assault, Braeburn managed to land five strikes. Three of them tore through his cloak but scraped off his Hierro, while one was absorbed by his breastplate while the other...cut a small gash into his left forearm. Spinning his weapons and matching the amazing speed Braeburn initiated in his attacks, 666 felt himself slowly being pushed back again, his boots scraped across the glass, marred, concrete ground of the catwalk.

As he was about to retaliate, a brief high-pitched whining sound was heard, as Shōmei aimed one of his palms towards 666, flying at high speeds while propped in a sideways manner, with his left hand propelling him while his right hand aimed.

BLAAAAAAAAM!

As the flames discharged an intense pressurized burst, 666 flared its left handed blade towards it, dampening the flames themselves, but was launched across the catwalk with tremendous concussive force, flailing a good 15 meters before he righted itself, and readied its weapons as he renewed the charge against him. A patch of his cloak could be seen smoldering and smoking from where he deflected the flames, but it did nothing to dampen the sheer tenacity 666 had.

As it used Sonido rapidly, distortions lit to and fro around its opponents as it attacked them at multiple angles. Shōmei himself had to reverse to the defensive because of this. Blocking and attempting to counter every strike, it was difficult for even himself to predict the wild maneuvers.

"My blade on its own can't cut through his Hierro...."

As he contemplated to himself, Braeburn continued to unleash his attack. Like before in order to counter his opponent. He dodged and flipped, gritting his teeth as he blocked and evaded the attacks directed towards him. If it was only him, he would've had to stick to a more defensive position. But because he had another to take 666's attacks alongside him, he could move a bit more freely.

He used that to his advantage.

The second 666 used to attack Shōmei was the second Braeburn used to go on the offensive. Timing his attack, he pointed his blade and fired in a manner that a soldier would use to fire from the hip. There was no time wasted in aiming; he had trained with his Shikai for quite some time in order to prevent such a drawback. All he could do was raise his sword and fire off his attack. But he knew that it wouldn't be enough.

"If we can just force this guy into a corner, I can take him out with one shot...." He thought to himself, furrowing his eyebrows in anticipation. "At this rate, he'll just keep dodging our attacks and wear us down!"

666 maneuvered in lightning reflexes, Sonido distortions riddled the air as he moved to keep away from the shower of blades that would force him back into a corner or create a opening for Shōmei to leap in for the kill. However, as 666 moved out of the way from the third "from the hip" volley, Shōmei was already waiting for him.

Vibrant flames danced along his gloves as they shined brightly, as he spoke, "Let's go...Rechtschaffene Flammen!" With that said, he unleashed a wide arc of condensed flames, forming a pillar of fire heading right towards 666, its eyes glowed widely with anticipation and anger.

"Imputent fools!"

Suddenly, the true power behind the spiritron particle blades of 666 flared to life, as a mighty burst of Spiritual Power pulsated into the blades, causing them to grow infinitely larger than before, creating dancing light blades that cut the top of the catwalk's ceiling. As the flames bore towards him, he clashed the giant blades into it, causing a cascading pillar of light and energy to warp in front of him, and halt the flames. As the flames bundled up in front of him, however, the ineveitable occured.

VRRRRRBKABOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

A vertical explosion pillared both upwards and downwards, while sending a hot shockwave in both directions, causing 666 to be thrown aside, and across the catwalk head over heels before crashing into some debris from the earlier fight, causing a concrete-packed explosion.

Shōmei, on the other hand, had managed to stave the blast off, maintaining a unusual gesture of his gloved hands, as he glowed blue for a few seconds before it dimmed and he let out a silent breath of relief..

It only took a Flash Step for Braeburn to re-appear at his side once more, his sword vertical and level with his side. The tip was pointed towards his front. "I've gotta tell you...." He commented. "For someone who just arrived, you certainly are making one hell of a difference. Hell, you probably don't even need my help in killing this guy."

"He's far from dead," Shōmei said with a cool, composed look as he gazed across the haze of smoke and steam that created a 20 meter gap in between the catwalk, a straight drop-off to the bottom of the castle grounds lying just a few feet in front of the two of them, "I just made him angry."

666 pulsated another high rise of Spiritual Pressure to prove the C.M.U. Leader's point, as 666 rose from the rubble with both of his blades pulsating violently.

"I may not have permission to use my full power currently, but rest assured, I will make you wish you hadn't taken courage against the likes of me!" It growled out, whipping out a 10 meter tall slash of solid, coursing energy in the color of violet, its cutting properties extremely high as it tore through the catwalk with ease towards them.

"Oh, fu--"

Immediately, the Australian Shinigami used another Flash Step in order to get himself out of the area and to the air, his hair whipping around him as he ascended. His eyes were narrowed, and his teeth were gritted in slight frustration of his own. Truthfully, it was starting to look bad once again. For the moment, they could keep fighting, but it was only a matter of time until one side gave out.... and he had a feeling it was going to be theirs.

Shōmei used his incredible agility to leap and preform a flip to his right to avoid the cascading, charging energy before it fully dissipated due to the lack of shelf life given to it, leaving a large cut through the durable floors of the catwalk past the large gap created by the earlier explosion. While in mid-leap, Shōmei propelled himself off the wall and discharged flames behind him, moving at inhuman speeds towards 666, even while the latter began unleashing a torrent of balas towards him.

"Cut them up, Braeburn!" Shōmei shouted out to him, even as he swerved and dodged the first assault of the red crimson orb, his body shimmered to and fro with gusts of blazing heat in his wake.

"Right!"

Floating within the air, Braeburn pointed his blade and fired, wrapping his free hand around his sword's wrist as he did so. Because of his aerial standpoint, it would be easy to lock on and attack without having to turn too quickly.

As the storm of cutting motion created by the rapidly contracting and retracting Zanpakuto, nearly all of the Balas were simultaneously oblierated in mid-air, causing miniaturized forms of concussive blasts before withering to nothing.

Shōmei smiled as he dove headlong through the cloud of smoke that formed from the explosions, 666 angrily leaped at him with blades twirling in its hands as it moved towards him. "Time to make short work of your abilities, Beast," Shōmei called out to him curtly, referring to the other translation name of the numerical code given to the assassin of the Primera.

As 666 swung both blades at him, Shōmei expertly moved forward and grabbed the balled fists that wrapped around the hilts of his weapons, the flames rapidly reformed from its deadly hot state to a near unthinkably cold state. As frosty mist dispersed, a bright light emanated from his gloves as it suddenly froze up the length of his hands and wrist.

"Wh-What is this treachery?!" 666 howled with agony and anger, finding that he was unable to light up his weapons nor use his Arrancar abilities of Cero or Bala.

"I placed part of your body that manipulates and controls your personal Spiritual Power in a spiritron stasis," Shōmei explained as he released the now frozen forearms and hilts, "you're no more a threat to me than any of those Ahijados cultists are! "Shōmei delivered a righteous knee kick to 666's stomach followed up with a roundhouse kick, sending him crashing into the ground with a mighty crackling slam motion.

Shōmei landed a mere 9 meters away, staring cooly at his opponent writhe upon the crater, looking and hissing at the "ice" that encased his arms.

It was the perfect moment for a finishing move.

A sneer crossed Braeburn's face, and he pointed his blade at the helpless target.

"Gotcha...."

His blade was shot forth once more, the notorious white light flashing as the blade extended forward towards 666.

666 growled, an almost inhuman crimson light danced inside the ice as it cracked and as the white light of the near inconcievable array of thrusts caused by Braeburn's blade, he used his arms as a shield, the ice absorbing multiple hits as well as his Hierro as he backpedaled and continued to move at hieghtend speeds. Almost all at once, a bright crimson pillar fired at the contracting blades, forcing it back violently as 666 let out a ungodly howl.

"RRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"

Braeburn's eyes immediately dilated at the sound, the roar of anger sending chills down his spine. The vicious winds created from the energies forced him to back off. "Good God, I think we've just managed to piss him off even more....!" He muttered to himself.

Shōmei barely managed to jetison himself towards the pillar of energy, putting himself in between the oncoming energy frieght training towards his companion, before resuming the same stance he used beforehand. What happened next looked incredible. A rippling, almost rainbow light crackled along the entiriety of the pillar as it instantly froze within the air, before it shattered into thousands of blue spiritron particles that harlmlessly flowed throughout the catwalk.

"Are you alright?" Shōmei asked as he breathed slightly a little more haggard, as the timing and use of the technique took a slight toll on him as beads of sweat trailed down his forehead, "our enemy is near his limits..."

"H....how the....?!"

Now Braeburn was staring at the frozen and shattered particles as they flowed down to the ground like a snowfall, almost dropping his sword in disbelief. It was one thing to freeze both organic and non-organic substances alike.... but to freeze reiatsu?! If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would've never assumed it to be true. His mouth was agape, his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Other than the first two words, he was effectively rendered speechless.

"Think of energy as a constant maelstrom, a storm that continues to move if even at a slow pace is still capable of returning to a collosal force or simply provide an ample amount of rainfall," Shōmei then raised his gloves up, demonstrating as he lit up his gloves with the telltale orange flames, "my body has merged and become one with Rechtschaffene Flammen, almost in the same sense that a Zanpakuto is bound to its Soul Reaper. Because of this, I gained a innate prodigal ability to manipulate spiritrons to a finite and intricate manner.

I found during my training and harnessing our power, I could reverse the flow of Rechtschaffene Flammen's flames into a subzero-type particles. This way, I'm able to place all things within a reversing flow and place them under stasis. Its not actually "Frozen", its more like I reversed the flow to "Stand Still". It would take incredible skill with personalized manipulation of Spiritual Power/Energy in order to melt or shatter the ice, as well as shattering it with brute force."

He then turned his attention to a crimson aura encompassing a staggering 666, the Spiritual Pressure brimmed with its white hot hate and anger, but its body was moving slower than before, "I...will not...be denied!"

"You know what, just save the spiritual techno-babble for latter...." Shaking himself out of his stupor, Braeburn raised his sword again in a defensive position, his eyes swiveling over to 666's lumbering form. Indeed, it seemed like he was wearing down little by little. However, from what he had seen, the reiatsu that the Arrancar had unleashed had managed to knock his attacks aside, when they normally would've cut straight through the energy. He realized that he too had to be wearing down after such a long and tenacious fight.

It would be a matter of who broke down first.

666 then suddenly did the unexpected. As soon as it took one step after the other, it forced itself to slash out of the cracked glass wall of the catwalk, vaulting up and over it as it began moving at top speeds across the catwalk before taking aim at the pinacle of the tower. The tower where Hando was meditating at. As the telltale energies gathered swiftly within its palms, it added blood to energies from its forearm. Crackling and now taking on a more chaotic appearance as it changed from red to blue, he growled out as he launched the razor shaped anonymoly.

"Grand Ray Cero!"

"Oh, hell...."

He had completely forgotten about the target that he had been protecting.

Without thinking, Braeburn immediately Flash Stepped in the path of the attack, his blade still held in the defensive position that he had been in before. However, he knew that there was no time to initate another attack in order to deflect it. He gritted his teeth, holding his blade out in front of him as he prepared himself to take the attack full-force.

As Shōmei ran towards the tower helplessly, he propelled himself upwards with his gloves, but lost his speed from the earlier technique he preformed. His rocket streaking sound was dwarfed by the spinning, haphazard speed of the Gran Ray Cero, its edges and shape almost reminiscent of a razor blade homing in on its target. Then...a forboding yet unwarranted feeling pulsated through Shōmei as he heard another violent sound emanate the air.

vrrrrrbbbrraAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!

A yellow, crimson lined, pillar of fiery coated energy took over the blue Cero with full force. The destructive properties overpowered it with such intensity, the Cero didn't even get a chance to explode as it dissipated into nothing in the wake of the powerful fire it recieved.

Just below them, the origin of the shot stood a angry, vehement glaring individual. His black, lazily worn coat flourished around him from the force of the blast billowing around him, his black hair flew about his head, making the iconic red feather flutter slightly. What he held above his head was a small kido gun, the size of a pistol, but with enigmatic red x's enamored over the body of the gun itself.

"Shinsetsu...," Shōmei breathed out, feeling a bead of sweat come down his throat from trepidation and relief at the same time.

"Little shits...needing me to pull your asses out of the fire," he growled unheard under his breath, before he held the weapon ready and pointed upwards as he narrowed his eyes across the ruined, almost completely smoldered catwalk as he stood stoically and unphased ontop of it, "if it wasn't for the fact I could cut loose, I wouldn't even bother."

That killed any thoughts of thanking the guy Braeburn had.

He scowled, eyes narrowing as he maintained his position within the air. "Well, maybe we didn't need your help, jerk-ass...." He grumbled, though he doubted the man could hear him. He lowered his sword, slowly floating back down to the ground while keeping a glare towards the second newcomer that arrived.

666 felt stunned. He held his outstretched posture for some time as he saw the unseen intervention's shot, overpowering a Cero with enough equivalent power to reduce a good size of the city itself into nothing with just a single shot. He took a wary step back as he could see the menace with his sharp eyes within the newcomer, and his spiritual pressure bristled vaguely on the surface, showing how little he had to put forth effort within the attack.

This isn't good...

Shinsetsu aimed his gun across the platform, saying aloud as Braeburn came close as well as Shōmei as he rocketed up and landed nearby him, "You might want to stand back, unless you want to be caught in my crossfire..."'

"Shinsetsu! You're actions may have saved the Kido Captain and the city, but that doesn't excuse your lack of duties-"

" Shōmei," he growled out at him, saying with a death glare, "I'm keeping in contact with the operations as we are talking like little bitches. You can let me do my job, and you can keep back."

Shōmei briefly bristled before standing back, taking a few measured steps to make sure he was exactly behind him. He crossed his arms and waited.

As the exchange between the two commenced, Braeburn watched and listened silently. From what he could tell, the two were obviously friends, or at least associates. If the newcomer wanted to take charge of the fight, who was he to stop him? It would save them all a bit more time. Plus, it would allow him to get more of a grasp of who they were.

He closed his eyes, re-sealing his Zanpakutō and walking past him as he sheathed the blade within its scabbard. "Good enough for me..." He muttered, shrugging lightly. "Have fun with your new friend." He walked back towards the more damaged of his teammates, folding his arms across his chest as he approached.

Shinsetsu then released a thin trail of what looked like spiritual power into his gun, making it whine at a high pitch and glow yellow, as he spoke, "Hell yeah, I will."

VRRRBRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!

This time as the blast fired, it began ripping up and tearing off the entieriety of the catwalk just behind Braeburn and the others, the rippling yellow pillar of death rippled the metalic glass and concrete structure before it barreled towards 666.

666 used one last restort to aid his survival. Igniting his blades, he funneled them with tremendous power before lashing out and having them surge out in a twin, wrapped beam of energy that crackled into the freight train of deadly flames and energy. As the flames came into contact with the stress and impeding force, however, it began to gain ground and push 666 back, his feet bore through the metalic roofing as it growled to keep up his own power. But in the end, as it was a mere 10 meters in front of him, the blast all funneled up and detonated with a tremendous explosion, destroying the catwalk entirely while sending a vibrant shockwave to be felt by the entire Keep and seen from all over Yuurei.

After a brief few minutes, there was no retaliation nor presence of 666.

"He may still be alive, but he will no longer be a threat either way," Shōmei said solemnly, before speaking to Shinsetsu directly, "thank you."

"Tch," he scoffed as he holstered his weapon before walking towards the edge of the smoldering, flame curtling edge of what was left of the catwalk on their side, "I liked doing that. Haven't fired my gun like that in months..."

Yoki would've greeted Braeburn warmly had it not been for her having to cover her eyes and shield herself with her arms, as well as Rokotsu as she was passed out and splayed on the ground with Takashi next to her, "Holy hell! Who took that shot?!"

"You can blame our second reinforcement." Braeburn said flatly, nodding with his head behind him. As he was facing away from the explosion, all he had to endure was his hair and clothing billowing away from the shockwave produced.

"That guy could've taken us down too, the idiot!" Takashi muttered hotly, but made sure not to "his "rescuer" heard his banter.

Rokotsu moaned as she rolled over on her side, still unconscious due to the treatment and patch-up job she recieved, letting her body do the rest.

"Still," Yoki limped up and walked over to Braeburn, surprising him as she grabbed him into a tight hug as she whispered in his ear, "I'm glad you're safe, Brae-san."

Thanks to Yoki's intervention, Braeburn ignored Takashi for the moment. He smiled. "Was there ever any doubt?" He said back, sticking his nose up in the air. "I just don't know the meaning of the word "die"."

"Yeah, but it certainly tries to knock it into you, you dolt," Yoki gave him a playful punch into his shoulder while winking at him, walking over while sheathing her Zanpakuto, returning it into its wakazashi sealed state, "let's get Rokotsu back to base. After that, we should standby for further orders..."

"Tch, can't believe she got taken out so easily," Takashi grumbled, looking abashed as his entire suit was tattered and cracked, "and that I busted this crappy suit with my Epic! GUH! It took me a week to make this!"

"Just goes to show you that armor just proves to be rather useless in these situations..." Braeburn commented, folding his arms across his chest and giving a slightly smug grin.

"Voooooi!" Takashi yelled out at him with renewed vigor, growling at him as he pointed accusingly at him, "who had to get patched up and refilled?! I'm the only one who didn't suffer severe injuries or run out of Spiritual energy! Don't go act all tough when all you did was get in the-"

"Shaddup, loser!" Yoki yelled at him, causing Takashi to yell at her as well.

Shōmei looked at the ongoing recovery and comradery between Braeburn and the other D.C.O. operatives, a small smile crept onto his face as he spoke aloud enough for Shinsetsu to hear.

"Reminds me of us when we started out, eh, Shinsetsu?"

Shinsetsu just remained quiet, holstering his gun as he looked briefly with unreadable crimson eyes at the ongoing banter and companionship. Without a word, he walked towards the edge and leaped off, shimmering out of view before disappearing altogether.

Shōmei sighed before turning his head at the D.C.O. group once again, distantly hearing a large explosion where the atrium was. This battle was over...but the war was far from over.

Unparalleled Powers, Part 2:
CRRRRRACKBOOOOOOM!!!

A violent emerald explosion unfurled inside the atrium, sending Shiro sprawling head over heels into a nearby wall, cracking it violently while letting out air from his lungs too soon.

"GKAAH!" As Shiro felt himself fall from the wall, he barely could stop himself from hitting the floor face flat, catching it with one hand, then the other with a shattered blade and hilt in his other. He was covered in frosted sweat over his body. Despite how the battle seemed to progress, his "bloodlust" lasted only for a short while and the straining of freezing things instaneously took a toll...and the drawback had the Cero that was frozen suddenly explode when Senkaku shattered it with his own explosion. Hence his agonizing pain and exhaustion current now frost covered and dried blood tattered body's state.

"D-Dammit...h-how can he be....so strong...?"

It didn't help that Senkaku was angry.

He had allowed himself to freak out due to the very nature of the technique. But when it was revealed to him that there had been a massive drawback to it, it was clear that his reaction had been uncalled for. He was angry that his opponent had tricked him into nearly jumping the gun, angry at the sudden arrogance and brashness that he displayed, and angry that he still had the gall to raise a sword towards him. He was dead set on focusing all of that anger and destroying his opponent where he stood.

To emphasize this, he had even sheathed his sword and settled for using his bare fists to contend with his opponent.

"Gotta...keep...fighting," Shiro grunted out as he managed to shakily push himself onto his knees, then shakily and waveringly get onto his feet, holding his shattered blade's hilt tightly while curling his left hand into a fist, "must...protect...my King!"

Another Sonido, and Senkaku was in front of him.

WHAM!

A resounding echo swept within the space of the destroyed atrium deck, courtesy of Senkaku's fist burying itself into his gut. He spoke with anger, a cold and malevolent tone heard within every word. "I could care less about your King..." He hissed. "He can keep living and leading his own kingdom. As far as I'm concerned, he's prey only to the Ahijados. The only one I'm concerned with you, Shiro Tategami. So count your blessings and say your prayers, because I'm going to make you suffer for your arrogance."

With his free hand, he let out a feral growl as he swung it. The blow connected with Shiro's face with concussive force, sending him careening into the opposite wall.

"GAK!"

Blood splattered onto Senkaku's arm and around the ground where he stood as Shiro coughed up blood, feeling his insides take a severe beating from the single enraged punch Senkaku delivered. The pain surged throughout his pained and bloodied body, as he felt his legs shake but keep him standing, despite the blow that was landed on his torso.

"No good...I can't move let alone fight like this. Is there no way I can live through this? Somehow-"

"AGH!" Shiro grunted out as he felt his jaw bloodied from the inside as he felt his consciousness momentarily ajar into darkness even as his body careened heavily into the cracked wall, sending large pieces of it splintering everywhere, further burrying him into his proverbial grave.

His eyes fluttered open half mast, he could hear his own heavy, straining heartbeat in his ears. So defeaning, he could see Senkaku and everything behind him but couldn't even hear anything surrounding him. No battle cries, no explosions, no air or rubble crumbling around him. Shiro closed his left eye as he felt incredible pain build up all over as he knew if he kept taking a beating, there would be no chance of recovery, even still he tried to move his arms only for them to fail his commands.