The War of Four: Courts and Circles

Previous Chapter

Developing situations, Buisness as usual...
It has been nearly a week since the battle with the 10th Division and its Captain after cornering the infamous mercenary organization known as V-14. However, intel was weak and wasn't properly sifted through at a high price. Nearly Two hundred men lost their lives, with only a few dozen injured and a handful among them able to regain full recovery. Due to an unexplained, classified development within the Noble Takuji Clan, Captain Takuji of the 10th Division withdrew from the conflict and failed to capture or terminate a single member of the criminal organization. Since then, the Soul Society began whispering of a imbalance of power within the Takuji Clan as well as potential political problems between the other Noble Houses, a situation currently being mediated by the Head Captain as well as the other Heads of the Noble Houses themselves.

The damage done to the southeastern section of the Rukonagi District had long since been repaired, as a special task force within the 12th Division immediately secured the area once it was confirmed no hostiles remained and the area was available to be monitored and collect any incriminating evidence. Their unnofficial role as the "repair-men" of the Gotei 13 has led them to be highly praised and often beloved by the citizens of the outlying Rukon Districts, as they often improved what was damaged to a higher state of living or even provided incentives for the battle that had berift some of the unfortunate citizens' demises or circumstances.

During all of this, it only occured to some to wonder about the whereabouts of the "MIA" Hayate Clan's prestigious Kukkyōna Hayate, Captain of the 6th Division, and the prodigious heir, Daisuke Hayate also Lieutenant of the 9th Division. After the leave time had been extended an additional few weeks for the restoration project in Yūrei Ōkuko, Captain Hayate announced their immediate return to the Seireitei to resume active duties once more.

Which brings us to the Barracks HQ of the 9th Division...

KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK!

"Captain! I have urgent news!" 3rd Seat of the 9th Division, Seiryō Soyosoyo excitedly rapt his left knuckle against his superior's office door. His well kempt cropped hair slightly aloft due to the exciting news he had to brign to his attention.

"Hm?"

On the inside, 9th Division Captain Hachiro Horikawa looked up from the paperwork he had just finished writing and putting his signature on when he heard the knock at his door. With one hand, he straightened the round-lens glasses on his face, while the other hand set the quill back in the ink container. He could practically sense the enthusiasm on the other side, and it couldn't help but make him quirk an eyebrow and grin a little. Such was natural for the 9th Division of the present...

Slowly, he allowed himself to arise from his chair and walk over to his door. He grasped the knob and pulled it open, stepping back to see the man's smaller form. He blinked in a gesture of curiosity and surprise. "Seiryō? What is it, sir?" He questioned, looking at his subordinate expectantly. It was a habit of him to refer to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Seats as "sir". The rest of them were always referred to on a first-name basis.

Gleaming brightly at hearing the honorary term, Seiryō stood a little taller as he emphasized with a wave of his hands, "I just got word from the Air Traffic Control Unit from the 12th Division! Lieutenant Hayate and Captain Hayate have returned from their shore leave assignment of Yūrei Ōkuko's restoration. They'll be arriving in the Seireitei by one of their air transports!"

This caused the surprise to override the curiosity... and then turn into an amused satisfaction.

The Captain allowed himself to laugh in a brief, yet hearty manner, the grin emphasizing his mirth. "Well, it's about time!" He said. "I was beginning to think that they would've allowed themselves to stay. Do you know of when they'll be here, exactly? If I get the time, I'll make sure they get welcomed by at least a few of the others."

The young 3rd Seat then chuckled sheepishly, as he rubbed the back of his head with his eyes squinting, "Well, actually that's the thing. The control unit I told you about earlier said they're actually stopping by here first. As in...the vehicle they're using is going to land on the courtyard proximate to our barracks..."

Bonk.

With a raise of his fist, Hachiro promptly tapped Seiryō's forehead once, in the manner of knocking on a door. "That's "where", you little git." He grunted, although not in the manner of annoyance. Them landing in 9th Division's courtyard didn't worry him any, and he could probably chalk it up to Daisuke's intervention. "I asked "when". Minutes? Hours? Seconds? Right now? Because if it's immediate, the rest of 'em will just have to deal with not being the first."

Seiryō winced, feeling the strong finger poke him back a few times, going as far as sending him back a couple of steps, "Oh...sorry Captain. Ummm...last time I checked they were going to be here any minute-"

FLAP-FLAP-WHOOSH!

A great wind propelled by the clear sounds of a winged creature landing over quite surprisingly stealthy up until this point, sent a gush of wind through the Captain's office and towards the two conversing men. Seiryō's once perfectly sheen kempt hair was now flustered to a wild look, his eyes drooped and his mouth twitched.

"Right now, Captain," he said with dismay as he looked up sullenly at what happened to his hair.

"Perfect!"

Not much could be said for Hachiro. Considering his hair had a bit of a rough-looking appearance already, all the wind really did was make his coat billow in the intense winds. With the pleasant smile on his face, he allowed himself to make his way out the door. When it shut behind him, he folded his gloved hands behind his back and began walking. "Come on, Seiryō. The lieutenant would be disappointed if we kept him waiting..."

"Yes, Captain," Seiryō said in a disappointed tone, as he reached into his kosode and attempted to comb his hair back to its perfect sheen he had moments ago, even as he exited the door and followed his Captain to the courtyard.

It didn't take them long - only a few steps at best.

As soon as Hachiro reached the door, he pressed a hand to it and pushed it open. The feeling of the evening air hit his face full-force, and he couldn't help but take in a a deep breath. "I see that the day is still young..." He said, his blue eyes setting themselves on what lay in front of him. As his blue eyes set themselves on what was in front of him, he allowed himself to walk steadily with his hands still behind his back. One of them was pulled away to give a wave as he approached.

"This was incredible! I don't know why more of the Gotei 13 use these amazing creatures as air support?!" Daisuke said, deeply enamored by the large Dragonbird that they were able to utilize. Wearing Police Colors over its brilliant colored body, the bird was dominated the epicenter of the courtyard, gathering a good few dozen eyes to gawk and stare at the amazing beast.

"Mainly due to the fact that Soul Reapers can levitate by manipulating the spiritual energy underneath the soles of their feet," Kukkyōna spoke plainly, silently chiding his son for being so expressive and yet couldn't bring himself to do so now, "Hohō's basic practices is the ability to levitate in the air, to allow us more versatility. No high demand for the Soul Reaper arts where they keep these fair creatures," Kukkyōna looked over at Avaron, whom had sat near the middle, but in front of Kukkyōna while behind the other tomboyish-feminine passenger that came with them. He asked with a soft yet plain tone, "right, Avaron?"

In response, the said Avaron smirked in a gesture of pride. "Yup!" She said mirthfully. "You can keep your traditional and boring techniques. We've got pimped-out rides!" The sentence was made in jest, of course, and didn't have any insulting intentions. She looked out towards the courtyard she had landed in, noting all the slack-jawed expressions that her bird was receiving. "See? These Soul Reapers are so impressed that they can't even speak!"

The other female let out a heavy sigh, working out her neck and closing her eyes in an expression of slight discomfort. "Let's just get off this damn thing. Though all the attention's on the bird, I don't like being part of the center of attention..." She turned her eyes toward a blonde and considerably sized man approaching them, followed by what appeared to be his subordinate. Those same eyes widened slightly when he gave a casual wave.

"Wait a minute... doesn't he realize who I am? Why is he waving so casually? Does he even notice me yet?"

"C'mon, Sakura, you can lighten up just a little," Daisuke said, easily lifting himself off his perch and stepping down the ladder built onto the harness, hopping down halfway. He looked up and held hands in a gesture that looked expectantly at Sakura, "let's get down to buisness and introduce yourself to my Captain. I can't wait for you two to meet!"

Kukkyōna allowed himself to chuckle at the term, shrugging in admittance, "As you wish. After all, there's nothing about being less formal these days," he looked after the Captain approaching, waving his left hand while keeping his right hand wrapped around comfortably on Avaron's waistline, "hello there, Captain Horikawa! How has your Division faired without your Lieutenant? I hope we didn't deprive of you of an irreplaceable asset for too long..." Kukkyōna stretched out his lines, lightly joking with the Captain. Among the two closest of comrades, Ryouken and Hachiro have always been the least formal when around each toher. Acting like old war veterans who've shared many experiences together, the three would always know a way to get under each other's skin or charm them when desired to.

A chuckle escaped Hachiro's lips when he heard the elder Hayate speak the words to him, folding his hand right behind his back and stopping when he got close enough. "Ah, not to worry, Kukkyōna!" He said back, smiling in amusement. "The Ninth's been doing just swell as it always has been. Though, I was about to ask..." His eyes drifted towards his Lieutenant. "I hope Lieutenant Daisuke didn't cause too much trouble during your little get-away. I don't think His Majesty could've handled it!"

Eager to get off the bird and away from the prying eyes, Sakura allowed herself to grasp his hand and use his aid to pull herself on the way down. Avaron wrapped her arm around Kukkyōna's shoulder for her to do the same, giving a slight nod of appreciation at the gentlemanly gesture.

Kukkyōna chuckled nervously, "You probably need to get me drunk if I was to speak with you about what Daisuke's adventures got himself into..."

"Ha ha," Daisuke said dryly as he rolled his eyes, bringing Sakura gently by the hand towards the direction of his Captain, bowing first before speaking, "its good to be back, Captain Horikawa."

"Good to have you back, Lieutenant Hayate," Seiryō said, walking over to his Captain's side while smiling at Daisuke, "I was beginning to worry that I was going to take over all of your duties additionally for a much longer period of time..."

"Glad my presence is sorely appreciated," Daisuke said, laughing lightly at his joke with his friend and comrade.

Hachiro put a hand on Seiryō's shoulder. "Yes, Seiryō worked very hard while you were off dealing with the situation in Yūrei. If he hadn't, you would've certainly been stuck with a bunch of paperwork. Though he did his best to fill in your shoes, your presence was still quite missed." He tilted his head to the side, switching his gaze over towards a slightly narrowed-eyed Sakura. "And who's this particular girl, if I may ask?"

"Uh..." Avaron stood on her tip-toes so that she could reach Kukkyōna's ear and whisper in it. "Is it a good idea to let Miss Nihilism over there interact with this guy? Considering that he's Daisuke's Captain, I always thought he would carry a more optimistic nature and they could end up colliding with one another..."

Kukkyōna, having long since left the back of the brightly colored chimera-like avarian steed, arched a brow at Avaron's query, "Worrying that Daisuke's superior will be a bit too disapproving? He may be not as formal as most Captains go, but he knows when to hold his peace...you wouldn't believe how many times Captain Sasayaki tried to get a rise out of him, and always just get a laugh at his face."

"This is the woman I've been telling you about over the reports," Daisuke said with a wide smile, wrapping his arm around Sakura's shoulders and held her close to his side in a encouraging effort to alleviate her discomfort, "this is Sakura Kojima. She's my...umm...girlfriend," Daisuke blushed slightly, but still held the smile as he turned to his said girlfriend and flourished a hand to his superior and mentor, "this is Captain Horikawa, the man who's taught much of what I know now of being a Soul Reaper-"

"Don't mind me," Seiryō said, smiling slightly as he had a twitch residing above his browline, "I'm just scenery for you two to admire, I don't actually exist or anything..."

"And this egotistical glorified man who's dressed in black," Daisuke said in a overdamatic, jocular tone, bowing in heavy emphasis of his teasing, "is the great, magnificent, 3rd Seat Seiryō Soysoyo."

Hachiro nodded in acknowledgement, smiling at the woman despite the narrowed-eye look he got. "Nice to meet you--"

"So you're his Captain?" With the tone of voice she took, one could tell she wasn't going to be nice. "Yeah, you have to be. I can practically smell the optimism rolling right off of you, old geezer. You must be the happiest fucking guy in this military company, huh? Tell me, when you go to the bathroom to take a shit, do you fart rainbows and puke sprinkles?" She sneered at him, expecting him to balk at her insults or even cringe at her choice of words.

But to her slight surprise, he didn't.

"Nope!" He answered readily, as if seeing the insult come from a mile away. "Just intelligence, wisdom, and pieces of advice. I do it everywhere I go."

"Yeah..." Sakura was quick to go back to her rude and and snide tone in an instant. "Bet your wisdom was real good for the Lieutenant that died."

"Why you-!"

"Well what do you know?! I have yet to introduce you to the rest of the Division, Sakura!" Daisuke intervened narrowly before the 3rd Seat could retort with fire, pulling her away from both the Captain and the 3rd Seat with ease, albeit most probably dragging Sakura along her feet.

"Hmm," Kukkyōna observed with a frown as he saw Daisuke pull her away just as she began to speak vehemently towards Daisuke's superior, "I'm getting the sinking suspicion she decided to speak roughly to get back at Daisuke for bringing her in front of everybody...."

"Oh, wait a minute, Daisuke!"

However, Hachiro had moved quickly, placing a hand on his Lieutenant's shoulder just before he could get out of arm's reach. Unlike the 3rd Seat who had reacted with anger, he reacted as if he had been simply caught off guard by Daisuke's sudden intervention rather than what Sakura had told him. This tone caught her off her guard, and instinctively spun around to face him.

"Oh, what?" She said bitterly. "You were his Captain. He was your responsibility, and--"

"No, it wasn't."

Hachiro's smile had disappeared, but the positive and casual tone had not left his voice. He lowered his gaze so that he could stare into hers. "As my Lieutenant, he only served as my right-hand, not an apprentice." He explained. "My advice was merely a door opener. He was the one that made the choice to step through. He did it with confidence, valor, and the desire to protect the ones that he valued the most. He was one of the best soldiers under my command, and in the end, he died with honor and dignity. I could never ask for more than that out of my subordinates, could you?"

Silence. Genuine shock was on Sakura's face as she saw Hachiro smile again in a pleasant manner, the insult clearly not having penetrated him at all. She was rendered speechless. He had defended his Lieutenant without the need for rage, extreme defensiveness, or even emotion. It was almost... frightening to her, how easily he reacted to what she had said.

And thus...

"Heh heh heh heh heh~!" A wide smile came to her face, and she started chuckling in clear amusement. "I think Daisuke was right. We just might get along great, after all." She held a hand out for him to shake - a clear sign of respect. "Oh, and in case Sakura's a bit too much for you, you can call me by my birthname instead. Senkoku."

"Sakura sounds like a much more fitting name for you..." Hachiro answered, extending his own hand and grasping hers to shake it once in a firm motion. It made the girl roll her eyes as he pulled his hand away, but let her smirk remain.

Daisuke felt himself sigh in relief, glad his Captain managed to defuse the fire Sakura intentionally tried to create among his superior and peer. He locked eyes with Seiryō, seeing a slight disturbed look on his face before visible relaxing if not slightly scowling at Sakura. Inwardly, the young Hayate knew he was going to have problems if he didn't try to talk to him.

Tour de la Société, Bitter Memories and Forgotten Plans
Meanwhile...

Kukkyōna looked to Avaron with a slight interested look in his eyes, whispering to her, "Do you feel like you're up to meeting my Division, Avaron-chan?"

"Well, you did bring me here to show us around..." Avaron said back, a smile donning her features. "So, yeah, I might as well start with your division." She moved herself, one of her hands moving to grasp Kukkyōna's. "Lead me on, noble..."

Kukkyōna smiled back, warmly squeezing her hand as he began walking out of the courtyard for the 9th Division's barracks, and onto the cobblestone streets where he'd lead her to the 6th Division's Barracks. The walk was a bit uneventful, as any patrolling Soul Reapers would merely bow to Kukkyōna's passing and look twice slightly at Avaron, if not to be backed off by Kukkyōna's subtle death glares. Eventually, he passed by the 5th Division Barracks that wasn't that far away from his own Division's Barracks.

Ryouken walked around the perimeter of the Barracks, happening upon Kukkyōna and Avaron as he was about to reenter, bearing a hearty smile upon seeing them, "Hello there, Kukkyōna-san! I didn't know you were arriving so soon...and with a woman I see, you sly dog-"

"Skipping your routine inspection and letting your Lieutenant do it for you, again, Captain Aizen," Kukkyōna looked knowingly, as he percieved the nonchalant way he was walking outside his own barracks and the slight derailing greeting he gave the two of them.

Ryouken smiled sheepishly, his eye twitched nervously at being caught, before dropping his head low and saying lowly, "C'mon man...I just needed a break to stretch my legs..."

"Gee, what an example to set for your minions and henchmen, Captain..." Avaron said sarcastically, rolling her eyes in good humor. She placed her free hand on her hip. "You make all of us hard workers look bad."

"Oh-ho, time out there," Ryouken said as he raised his hands in attempt to halt the verbal attack, "its not like I do it on a daily basis. I work here for a living you know, and I'd be fired if I slacked off all the time..."

"Just enough that you can get away with it," Kukkyōna said with a belated sigh, before looking Avaron with a smirk, slightly winking at her before introducing her with a flourish of his free hand, "in case you're wondering who this responsible beautiful woman is beside me, this is Captain Avaron Setsuko of the Yūrei Police Force. She'll be staying for a time here in the Soul Society."

"A pleasure to meet such a fiery spirit to match the equally stoic spark of the Hayate Clan," Ryouken spoke in a respectable, fetching tone while grasping her own free hand in a gentlemanly manner before kissing the back of her hand chastely, "Avaron-hime."

A sly smirk graced Avaron's features when Ryouken kissed her hand. "You men grace me with such strong titles..." She said lightly. "But it's nice to see that there's variety in the personalities in this big group. The pleasure's all mine..." She followed this statement up with a slight bow of the head - a sign of respect for the Captain.

"To be in the presence of the Head of the Noble House of Hayate in such a manner, you should consider yourself unofficially noble yourself," Ryouken said with a smile, crossing his arms as he conversationally continued, "by the way, I left long before you two did. I'm wondering exactly how is Yūrei fairing now?"

"I'd say it's been going pretty well." Avaron said truthfully, placing her free hand on her hip. "Ever since the integration movement, it's like things have been moving much faster in the capital city. Security patrols are much more active and motivated with the extra help and diversity within the population itself is growing to a substantial amount. I guess even the apocalyptic movement managed to teach us all a lesson in our lives, huh?"

"Good to hear," Ryouken smiled, before putting on a serious expression as he gazed out past the string of buildings that made the Seireitei, towards the Rukonagi Districts, "although, I don't think its left everyone in the same manner as others have."

"What do you mean?" The Noble Hayate probed curiously, not having heard any special briefing about the Soul Society's condition as a whole so far, "has something happened?"

Ryouken looked at him with a serious look, "Nearly a week ago, Captain Takuji of the 10th Division had recieved a confidential piece of information that would allow him to corner a dangerous mercenary group in the Soul Society. After carefully evacuating the citizens within that district, the Captain had nearly several hundred men surround the perimeter, with himself standing the closest in order to make himself a more visible target should they react. After audibly giving them a warning, they reacted with an unexpected amount of firepower...and decimated nearly a third of the neighbourhood, slaughtering over two hundred men while maiming nearly the rest of the survivors."

It was enough to not just shoot away Avaron's jovial mood - but shoot it straight down to Hell.

"Mercenary group, you say?" She was quick to go into business mode, her eyes staring into Ryouken's. Her hand had involuntarily slipped away from Kukkyōna's so that she could step closer to Ryouken, a slight scowl on her face. "How many where there? Any names, visual descriptions, anything?" She had a feeling that she knew who exactly he was referring to, but she needed confirmation.

"If you want the dossiers on the known affiliates, you'll have to take it up with Captain Takuji," Ryouken said, placing his hands on his hips as he locked his eyes with Avaron's with an equally serious gaze, knowing just how buisness talk with other people goes, "he's the one who recieved the anonymous intel package about them and their identities, as well as their current HQ. Apparently they're a mobile group, not staying in one place for more than a couple months before moving and clean house, leaving nothing to suspect of their presence."

"Do you happen to know where we can find him?" Kukkyōna asked, inwardly cringing at losing contact with Avaron's hand, but outwardly betrayed nothing, his stoic features emanated a serious understanding of the situation.

"The Captain, unfortunately, has closed off all access to his whereabouts and social access to the 10th Division," Ryouken said, emphasizing with quotation marks with his gloved fingers as he did so, "his talk with the Head Captain did not improve his disposition of his failure to capture them. That, and another more personal matter involving the Takuji Clan's two branches is affecting his duties, so he's currently leaving his 3rd Seat in charge of any extraneous information and management for the Division."

"...yeah. I think I already know now who's he referring to..."

Avaron turned her face away, her blue eyes narrowed in an angry look and the scowl becoming more prominent on her face. She folded her arms across her chest, drawing in a breath. "Four of their agents had infiltrated the city of Yūrei several months ago. 165 civilians had been killed in their rampage, as well as 40 police officers of the Sector 3 Overwatch. Four individual mercenaries armed with Kidō rifles managing to take down an entire platoon without suffering a single casualty... it's a song and dance I've heard over and over again..."

She walked a few steps away from them before turning around to have both of them in her vision. "With further research, law enforcement managed to acquire their names by extracting data from the corpse of one mercenary we managed to capture. They go by the names of Angelika Hartmann, Anton Semenov, Oliver Holmes, and Shou Yoshizawa. The last one was the one that had been captured and terminated..." Her lip curled slightly, as if the next sentence she was about to say would disgust her. "That very same agent somehow "revived" himself, killed the ones escorting him to the morgue, then proceeded to slaughter hundreds of civilians with the release of his personal Zanpakutō. What you've told me just now just supports my suspicions..." She closed her eyes and lowered her head for a moment in thought.

"I can guarantee that the problem you're dealing with is none other than the likes of the V-14, a very notorious mercenary group in the criminal underworld."

"I've heard of their group before," Kukkyōna spoke aloud with a solemn tone as he narrowed his eyes at Avaron, "they're a cold, relentless force that has a large grip in almost every part of the underworld within the Soul Society and beyond."

"They must have gotten ranked up, because Captain Takuji cornered them about a couple months ago, during your Ahijados war you were having," Ryouken spoke intuitively as he cupped his chin as he mulled over his thoughts, "they counted additional men besides the ones you never captured. A tomboyish woman that bears uncanny similiarities to another man, both of whom were gunslingers, but have no real relation we suspect. Another one matched the description of a personal subordinate of Captain Takuji's that disappeared a few decades ago for unknown reasons. The others seem to be the ones who haven't been caught, and the ones who've caused your incident in Yūrei."

"They're nothing but a bunch of crazed psychos for hire..." Avaron said coldly. "I would love nothing more than to see them put to justice. But..." She drew in another breath and let out a heavy sigh. "Since the 10th Division's closed off the matter from the outside, I doubt I could do much to help out. Seems more like assistance from us would just get in the way..."

"I'd suggest going to speak with his 3rd Seat adjuntant after your touring visit," Ryouken said with a reassuring smile, "she may not look it, but the 3rd Seat is more than capable of handling the duties that his Captain has left her as well as mediate the Lieutenant's. If you want to assist in the case, that is..."

Kukkyōna nodded to his fellow Captain before looking to Avaron, smiling softly to her, "With that said, I think its time we head to the barracks. I'd hate to keep my Division waiting to meet the woman who kept me off duty for so long, now should I?"

That was enough to break the serious look off of Avaron's face, replacing it with a smile and a nod. "Of course." She walked back up to Kukkyōna's side, slipping her and within his. Her eyes switched over to Captain Ryouken. "It was nice meeting and talking with you, short as the time was, Captain Ryouken. We'll have to do more of it another time, won't we?"

"Yes, we should," Ryouken said, then haughtily laughing, "we should also invite you to a good anual drinking party-"

"No," Kukkyōna said promptly, his scowl giving Ryouken any attempt to lure her to consume alcholic contents have been derailed, "good day, Captain Aizen."

"As to you, Captain Hayate," Ryouken said with a slightly feigned glum expression as he watched them walk away before trudging into his barracks to resume his duties.

It didn't take them long, as the 6th Division's barracks wasn't too far away from the 5th's, having a similar parallel appearance to it as all the barracks do. However, a slight militaristic, uniformity was occuring inside the Division Barracks, as a tall imposing officer was observing the excercises not too far away from the open gate. With the lengthy amount of push-ups and technique procedures being handled by the other officers underneath the one observing them, it didn't take long for Kukkyōna to reach the young officer first with Avaron.

"Lieutenant Yunban," Kukkyōna said in a stoic tone, gaining the attention of the raven-black haired man, "I'm pleased to see the Division is still doing well."

"Not nearly good enough," the man spoke in a mature, cold tone as he narrowed his eyes, "but they are doing welll enough to meet standard Division parameters."

"...and the first one I happened to meet is an ice-cube. This probably won't go as I expected it to..."

The smile was wiped away from Avaron's face as she eyed the Lieutenant carefully. He appeared to be quite young, with short black hair, grey eyes, and a Caucasian complexion. However, he radiated the aura of a senior military officer with his stance as well as a person who took social distance to the extreme. She knew right away that what she was entering would probably be something far from outgoing and sociable. However, the thoughts caused her to smile in amusement. She would be such a wild card in their midst.

"Wow..." She said dryly, voicing her thoughts. "Can you say "human ice-cube" much?"

"Excuse me?" The man said in a slightly cold tone, not snarling or baring teeth, but merely locking his sharp eyes with her own, "may you repeat that and identify yourself-?"

"Lieutenant," Kukkyōna spoke with a rather commanding tone, earning the Lieutenant's withdrawl from hostility to one of tranquil neutrality, "I would like for you to address our guest, Captain Setsuko of the Yūrei Police Force, with a bit more hospitality if you please."

A sudden light flashed behind the Lieutenant's eyes, causing his eyes to widen and his pupils to dialate suddenly as if realizing something. After regaining his composure, via clearing of his throat, the Lieutenant looked at her with a more even if not more approving stare, "Excuse my rudeness, Captain Setsuko. If I had known you'd be arriving so soon, I'd prepared the barracks to be more accomadating to your preferences."

Avaron frowned, her eyebrows furrowed in a slightly complaining manner. "Pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant, but... you don't have to make it sound like such a big deal..." She nodded her head slightly over towards Kukkyōna. "Captain Kukkyōna wanted to take me here and show me around. It's not like I'm here to perform some big inspection or anything..."

"With someone with your stature, I would've made the place more welcome and have less duties being preformed around the barracks," Seishuku spoke in a explanatory tone, turning his back in a swift 180 towards the men in the courtyard.

After taking a few long strides, Seishuku spoke in a declaring tone, "That's enough exercises today. You can get to your individual assignments now and then take some recess afterwards. Is that understood?"

"Sir yes, Lieutenant sir!" Rang out the Soul Reapers in a affirmative, crisp military manner. As soon as the men began filing away, however, they began to talk more animatedly and socially, though not a single one of them seemed bothered by their militaristic strict superior. Or at least let it show...

Kukkyōna leaned over to whisper to Avaron's ear, "He's been likes this ever since he signed up with the Academy. He's a very commanding, expectant person but he's not an all-around cold person. If you have title and reputation preceding you, he'll talk to you like any admiring peer and subordinate. But...," Kukkyōna trailed off as the Lieutenant turned around crisply and nodded his head to the Captain, the prior man returning the gesture before he left for the center of the courtyard to preform his own exercises, "he's hard to socialize with, considering one of the only things he respects in a person is their fighting capabilities and their ability to lead or follow orders."

"Sounds like he'd get along great with the machines of society..." Avaron muttered, her eyebrows furrowing in slight disapproval. "But, I suppose I can't really judge. I guess I should count myself lucky to be the commander of the Police Force and not a subordinate anymore..." She tilted her head to the side, allowing herself to look over the ones that were socializing. "That, and I can see that no one seems to be deterred by his command..."

"The Sixth Division embodies the principles of the Elite, the most organized and well-tuned Division within the Gotei 13 short of the 1st Division itself," Kukkyōna explained as he watched the socializing of his own subordinates as they filed away into the barracks and other doors of the courtyard, while Seishuku began preforming his own sets of excercises, "each member of the Division brings the potential of becoming a talented and excellent Soul Reaper. While we focus on honing combat training, we also make sure that tactics are rehearsed, new types of scenarios are tested, and new types of entities discovered are debriefed to the men so they won't be surprised when they find it or freeze in the battlefield."

Kukkyōna then allowed himself to smile as he stared thoughtfully at Seishuku, "You could say we're a more disciplined form of the 11th Division, save for our focus derives in other areas than merely swordsmanship combat."

"More disciplined, you say?"

It wasn't the voice of Avaron that had spoken... but rather, the voice of another that had spoken from behind them.

Avaron immediately snapped her head to see the source of the voice with her arms folded across her chest. In contrast to the traditional Japanese attire that the majority of them were bearing, she wore a Western attire reminiscent of what someone would wear in Yūrei. She had long, blonde hair and brown skin. In her mouth was a lit cigar, the smoke steadily rising into the air. She had a slight frown on her face, her eyebrow cocked as she eyed the noble.

"Apparently, their discipline isn't enough if making fun of other divisions behind their back is encouraged..." She said dryly with a hint of sarcasm. "And this is just right after you've come back from Yūrei..."

"Imposing as usual, Captain Nagasaki," Kukkyōna said without turning, crossing his arms over his chest as he sideglanced her with a turn of his head, disapprovingly staring at her attire, "you're not wearing your Haori again, Captain."

It was a running habit for the said Noriko Nagasaki to choose her usual Western attire instead of the traditional haori - something that at least one captain was willing to chide her for. It was a side effect of the integration movement with Yūrei. Some of the Gotei 13 members chose to wear Western variants of their usual attire in an effort to embrace this integration, at the risk of criticism. So at Kukkyōna's hidden accusation, the blonde-haired woman smirked in amusement.

"I didn't feel like wearing it." She said coolly, taking the cigar between two fingers and pulling it from her mouth. "Besides, you're not one to talk about someone else's carelessness, voluntary or otherwise. Have you forgotten what day it is?"

Kukkyōna turned around to fully face the westernized, masculine garbed Captain, his hands now held at his sides as he locked his eyes with hers. After looking at the cool, expectant expression in her blue irises, he realized she came here for some reason, almost like she needed him for something. He then noticed despite her non-traditional attire, she had her Zanpakuto clipped onto her belt accordingly, meaning despite not being "on-duty" she carried her weapon with her. That means she was either doing a mission or...

"Dammit," Kukkyōna muttered under his breath uncharacteristically, cupping his face with his left hand before smoothing it out with a reluctant look in his eyes, "can't we postpone this for another time when I'm not in the company of a beautiful woman?"

"Hm?"

It was here that Avaron's ears perked up, and she turned her eyes towards Kukkyōna curiously. "Postpone what? Is there something going on traditionally that I don't happen to know about?" She asked, raising her free hand to scratch her nose momentarily.

"Only a little competition we've introduced as a part of competitive relations, you could say." Noriko answered her, her tone clearly expressing that she had heard Kukkyōna's swear. She turned her blue eyes towards the orange-haired female. "Every month, we clash swords in a sparring session to see who's the better swordsman. Simply put, it's just a sport that the 6th and 11th Division put together as a product of friendly rivalry."

"Really?" An intrigued smile came across Avaron's face, and she looked up at Kukkyōna. "If that's the case, then you won't have to worry about hindering any plans with me..." She assured him casually. "Sparring between two skilled swordfighters is usually fun to watch, and I've never had the chance to see you in action. What harm could it do?"

"On top of that..." Noriko added, turning her gaze to Kukkyōna's direction. From the way she was speaking, it was clear that she was subtly prodding and jabbing at him. "There's already a small group of an audience waiting for both of us. It'd be a shame to see that the great noble of the Hayate Family decided not to show up out of fear that he would get trounced by a lady..."

"With the amount of masculine clothing you wear, I doubt anyone would care that I'd lose to you, male or female," Kukkyōna said in a cool, contempted tone as his eyes locked onto hers. After realizing that he'd be gossipped about if he tried to cancel the fight and put the other onlookers to disappointment. That, and it appears as if Avaron wanted to watch...

"Alright, Noriko-san," he said in a slightly more civil, social tone as he smiled lightly as his eyes met with a steely gaze towards hers, "if you really want to revisit the last experience I made you endure, then feel free to repeat history again. Just tell me where we're going to this time, considering it seems we like to choose different themes everytime we do this for different affects for the audience's pleasure..."

That was enough to wipe the smirk right off of Noriko's face, at least for a moment.

"Hmph..." She stuck the cigarette back where it was before, holding it between her lips. Though not much had changed about her expression, it was clear that she was regarding him with the same attitude that he was giving her. "We'll have to see about that, won't we?" She turned herself away from the two of them, barely noting Avaron's anticipating grin as she walked away to lead. "The 3rd Division Captain was kind enough to let the fight take place in her courtyard. Plenty of room to move around in and plenty of room for the crowd to gather."

Let the games begin, Most anticipated showdown in the Seireitei!
Kukkyōna allowed him to smile as he wrapped an arm around Avaron, walking in the general direction that combat specialist Captain was leading them, "That Captain Tachibana is probably setting up betting pools again. I wouldn't be surprised if she bet on you, considering from what I overheard she made a lot of money from the last bout we had."

"Figures..." Noriko snorted lightly, not pausing to turn towards them as she walked. "Tachibana always has a habit of making money out of these sorts of things. It's even worse, considering that she has a high streak of luck on her side. I almost feel sorry for the ones betting on the one she's not..."

Kukkyōna allowed himself to smile in amusement, sideglancing Noriko as he fell in step with her, inwardly finding it funny that out of all the people present that it was the 3rd Division Captain who won winnings, no matter who the winner was. Either she had incredible foresight or just incredible luck...whichever it was, Kukkyōna learned long ago the hard way that no one should ever bet against someone who's that confident.

It took them nearly a hour's trek, leaving plenty of time for Kukkyōna and Noriko, as well as Avaron to chat nonsensically about life, how the Gotei 13 was doing as well as the latest gossip about the other Noble Houses, usually leaving Kukkyōna silent and irked about it ever being brought up.

"They're here!" Daisuke, unsurprisingly to Kukkyōna's chagrin, called out as both himself and Sakura along with his own Captain and a few other wandering assortment of unseated members and officers, a good number of Captains were also present.

Among the present was the Captains and Lieutenants of the 3rd and 7th Division respectively.

Gina Tachibana sat with her Lieutenant Tamiko Okayama on a large cloth usually meant for picnics. Tamiko was sitting cross-legged, playing the guitar in the form of entertainment for the ones around her. Gina, however, was sitting with her legs stretched out and her knees bent in a more relaxed position - a sign that she was fully ready to enjoy the scene that would play out in front of them. When her eyes drifted to Noriko and Kukkyōna approaching the "center stage" due to Daisuke's enthusiastic response, she was quick to be the first one to speak.

"And the main event has finally arrived!" She declared, a grin crossing her face as well as a dramatic gesture with one of her hands. "We were beginning to think you were going to take your sweet time getting here."

"Stow it, Tachibana." Noriko grumbled when she got within vocal range. "The noble apparently forgot on account of the girlfriend he acquired during his mission." The last part was said in jest, and thus earned a raspberry blown by Avaron - a childish movement, but also something that expressed the acknowledgement of humor.

"We're glad that you could make it here, Nagasaki-taichou." Masahiro Sugiyama, the Lieutenant of the 11th Division, greeted her with that statement as well as a respective bow. "I made sure to send a heads-up to everyone available so that they would have no reason to miss anything. Duels between two Gotei 13 Captains aren't something you see every day, after all..."

This brought a smile on Noriko's face. "Good work, Lieutenant. I can smell a promotion coming your way soon."

"Thank you for the-- wait..." The statement made Masahiro recoil and stop himself, regarding his Captain with confusion. "Promotion? But you're already in the Captain's seat."

"Exactly. I was just kidding you."

"...oh, how cruel you are, sir." The Lieutenant sighed, rolling his eyes at the Captain's "joke". But it was clear he took it in stride.

"You'd better win, Kukkyōna!" Hachiro warned, folding his arms across his chest. "I have a good feeling that I just might show Gina up and end her lucky streak, so don't go ruining it for me!" He paused, adding as an afterthought. "And the other people who bet on you, too..."

Idly, Sakura raised her hand.

"Everyone must be crazy to bet against my dad," Daisuke thought aloud, as he noticed only a fraction of what he expected bet for Kukkyōna, furrowing his brows confusedly, "I mean, Sakura at least believes in his skill, why does everyone think the loser of last time's bout is going to win?"

"Thank you for the support," Kukkyōna said in a cool, thankful tone as he bowed in their direction moving over to their direction of the assembled, "I notice quite a crowd has gathered."

"Of course buddy!" Ryouken appeared out of the blue, patting Kukkyōna much to his chagrin heartily on the back, "everyone loves to watch two Elite swordsmen clash against each other in a feigned duel to the death!-"

"You left your Lieutenant to tend to your Division, didn't you?" Kukkyōna narrowed his eyes disapprovingly at Ryouken causing him to chuckle sheepishly.

"Ah, Senshi never cared for social events like this," Ryouken waved it off, chuckling, "after all...since the Division doesn't know about it and Senshi doesn't care for it, it doesn't mean everybody in the Division has to miss out."

"How unbecoming of you, Captain Aizen," a cold voice rang out, as what seemed to be the cool toned Lieutenant of the 6th approaching with a band of officers from the same, "I believed you to be a man of better standards than that. Once again, I feel disappointed..."

"Hey-Hey! We're all friends here right?!" Ryouken said raising his arms up, trying to get a show of hands in support of the question to save face.

"Yeah..."

Qilin allowed himself a smirk as he sat on a picnic cloth right beside Gina and Tamiko, smirking at the predicament that Ryouken had gotten himself into. "But it won't stop us from picking on you as often as we do. It's a thing between friends, after all..."

"Yes, indeed," Ryouken sighed thankfully as he took his own seat near Qilin and his Lieutenant, smiling warmly as he anticipated the exchange of blades between the two well known swordsmen.

"Glad you both could make it!" Tetsuyo Miyagi said lightly, giving a positive grin to them both as well as a wave.

As Avaron allowed herself to part ways with Kukkyōna for the time being, she chose to sat down beside Daisuke and his two compatriots. "Think they believe in the concept "Since X one last time, Y's gonna win this time..." She commented coolly. "Can't exactly put my money on either one considering I haven't seen anything for myself, but I'm tempted to lean more towards the underdog. Just out of sympathy, though..."

"Your loss," Daisuke said cheekily as he rubbed his palms together, "I may not like to risk big, but I have confidence that dad's going for two wins in a row. I mean, the one before this was a draw, so its not like she's really won yet..."

Seishuku, in the meanwhile, chose a corner on the farthest edge of where the others were seated, dropping down along with the rest of the 6th Division officers present, readily anticipating a tense showdown.

To start off, Noriko positioned herself.

First, she tossed the green coat off of her shoulders and tossed it in the direction of Masahiro, who swiftly caught it in both arms without so much as recoiling at the sudden movement. Then, she allowed herself to walk until she was at the traditional fighter's distance, drawing her sword from its sheath and brandishing it. At the movement, Tamiko stopped her guitar playing, causing the area fall into a still and tense silence. Noriko couldn't help but smirk at the slight chill down her spine courtesy of the ambience. It was a perfect setting.

Slowly, she turned herself towards Kukkyōna, the smirk still on her face. "I'm ready, noble."

"Here," Kukkyōna said to Daisuke, taking off his Haori and folding it neatly over itself until it was a neat square white-black stack handing it to his son, "watch this for me while I go enjoy a good warm-up excercise."

"Sure thing," Daisuke said with an excited smile on his face, taking the folded uniform carefully before setting it on his lap as he sat indian style next to Sakura, "go kick her ass!"

"I'll make sure to past the sentiment," Kukkyōna said with a light chuckle, turning around before walking slowly towards the arena, his sandals sifted through the grass and soil softly and methodically.

Seishuku looked on intently, awaiting to see his superior engage in the monthly duel that always got everyone's attention. He always took notes, from memory or sketch, of what transpires in their duels, aiming to find a way to find both their weaknesses and strengths, grasping for the latter and discarding the prior. Eventually, he'd use their complimented set of skills to defeat both master swordsmen, proclaiming himself as the master swordsman of the Soul Society...which would undoubtedly lead to his recognition for a promotion to Captaincy.

As the Captain left his son's side to the center of the battlefield, a subtle shadow of a man watching from the distant corner of the far end of the courtyard watched onwards. His young visage was hidden by a black hood, obscuring everything above the bridge of his nose save for his fair toned young face with the rest of his body hidden by a black cloak.

His hair flowed smoothly around in their individual strands, scarlet pigmented strands flowed over his beige silk scarf, his crown's braids holding fast his noble and trim appearance as his eyes gained its stoic, unmoved features once again. Once he reached his own position he closed his eyes and breathed deeply, in and out, before slowly sifting his feet into a fighting stance. His hand grasped for his right left hip's Zanpakuto, assuming an Iaido stance as he did so, his eyes still shut as he readied himself for the combat session.

That was all the signal Noriko needed.

WOOSH!

With a single movement, she was in front of Kukkyōna. Her sword was raised in the air before the blade was swung down. It was a move meant to disrupt the iaido movement as well as a mild race to beat him to the first swing. If it worked, she predicted a retreat and a small opportunity to gain the offensive quickly. But if it didn't, then she would have to deal with the field being even for the beginning. Her eyes were narrowed in concentration as she attacked, putting nothing but swift and lethal grace behind her movements.

He didn't even need to open his eyes to know the direction of her attack. Using his back leg as a pivot, Kukkyōna spun around the blade's intended path instead of merely backpedaling or countering. He could hear the ringing of the blade whistle in tune with the beat of his heart, cutting a few strands of his hair as he managed to move away from her downard arc and appear to her vulnerable side. It was then, that his eyes opened to narrowed slits, initiating his attack.

CLICK-SHIIIINK-CLICK!

After unlatching his blade during his maneuver, Kukkyōna unsheathed his sword in a graceful, well-aimed arc towards the exposed shoulder in a diagonal arc before retracting it in a figure eight manner, halway sheathing his weapon within a hue of silver light emanated by the faint sunrays reflecting off his weapon. The move was so fast, only his opponent would be able to see the true motion of his blade instead of the blinding blur that it created that made it look like he was standing still.

It was a movement that created the grin of anticipation on Noriko's face.

WOOSH!

She leaned back quickly, the blade tip barely missing her clothing. It was an old yet effective technique to use - the technique of moving with just enough room to barely avoid the enemy's strike. That way, the counter-attack would be quicker than it normally would, leaving the opponent with little time to counter of his own. As he retracted his sword, she chose that moment to strike again. Her blade swung in a horizontal strike towards his chest before curving for an upwards diagonal uppercut. These movements were fluid and flawless, and not a single one proved to be wasteful. It made the situation all the more tense, in the case of the audience.

Kukkyōna did not even blink as she came at him again, playing the part of defender once more.

CLICK-SHIIINK-CRACK-TING!

He chose to slide his feet back, spreading his stance out while in the middle of unsheathing his blade for the attack once more. But instead of intending to evade the attack, he made sure to send the amazing high-sped strike towards the offending blade itself, clashing briefly with a bright clash of steel spewing sparks before twisting it upwards and away high above his head.

It was then that Kukkyōna chose to counterattack within that moment. Turning his blade clockwise while moving up close to his opponent, he grasped the hilt with both hands keeping the blade itself in front of himself, making a near diagonal dividing line as he swung for the point below her neck and across her chest. The style of using a strong direct strike while coming up close to one's opponent in a focused effort of strength and tenacity. This is known...as Kendo.

Whumpf!

Noriko's reflexes allowed her to the sudden attack - but not in the traditional way.

She bent her free arm and thrust her forearm out due to their close proximity. That forearm collided with Kukkyōna's wrists, blocking the kendo attack and stopping the blade from reaching her head. With a parry of her arm, she pushed his arms up in the air before taking her sword and delivering a thrust motion straight towards his exposed torso. But she didn't stop at one solo attack. Instead, she unleashed a series of lunges and thrusts in order to push Kukkyōna back and break his defense. The first strike aimed to throw off his coordination, and the latter attacks were to completely destroy it.

Such thoughts were keeping the smile locked in place as she struck at him.

Kukkyōna narrowed his eyes as his initial strike was blocked. Foreseeing a relentless barrage of attacks, he resorted to switching styles as he backed up within a instant and released his hold with both hands to allow a swifter and fiercer response to her attacking strike.

CLANG!

His attack met with equal resolve, before parrying with a series of thrusts and slashes of his own, all intended to match her ferocious flurry of blade-fed attacks. A shower of sparks cascaded around them like a rain of a ancient metalic sound, given birth when the first swords were crafted and then met each other in a glorious ceremonial joining of blood and battle.

When the array of attacks drawn out to nearly thirty seconds, Kukkyōna decided to act. Parrying one blow to the side, before ducking a horizontal swipe, Kukkyōna suddenly leaped after the dodging crouch, his left hand deftly reached for his second Zanpakuto on his right hip.

SHINK-SLASH!

And with a sudden unsheathing, slashing motion that blurred within the air, his aim meaning to cut a thin enough line to make it look like it would miss, as the Captain would be easily able to outmaneuver it...as he aimed for the bridge of her nose up her forehead when it appeared he aimed for her whole head, intending on depriving her of a particular item that rested over her eyes. He exited the improvised attack as he landed with a crouch behind her, with both identical Zanpakuto swords in each hand, held in diagonal arcs to cross one in front of the other.

That was when all movement stopped.

After the movement, Noriko suddenly felt her glasses being pushed up and slid off of her face by his blade, the tip barely missing her face. The smile fell, and her eyes widened slightly when she realized what had happened. The glasses themselves flew up in the air, reached the zero point, and then fell back down to the ground a distance away. Fortunately, there had not been enough force applied to break them, so they simply lay there in the grass. But the 11th Division Captain made no move to pick them up. She straightened herself up, lowering her sword for a moment. Then, after several seconds of silence, she spoke.

"That was my favorite pair of glasses."

She turned her head so that she could look over her shoulder at him, her gaze unamused.

"Don't you have any manners?"

"Swordsmanship is about how to use the tool in your hand to the best of your abilities," Kukkyōna said back in a unmoved manner, still holding his stance, "resorting in using your arm to block my Kendo attack shows a sign of weakness within the timing available to use your sword to counter that attack or land a blow on me. Consider the fact I kept from scratching that unfemminate face of yours or breaking your glasses a small token of honor I have as a swordsman."

"Oh, don't try and educate me on how I fight..."

Noriko allowed herself to turn around to face Kukkyōna, pointing the blade tip straight back at Kukkyōna. The smirk had returned to her face once more, courtesy of the masculine remark. "And don't even try to tell me how "unfeminine" I am..." She continued dryly. "Because the more you point it out, the more I'm convinced I'm a better man than you could ever be. And that's terrible..." To punctuate that sentence, she raised her blade and leveled it defensively at Kukkyōna, the blade gleaming in the sunlight. She had taken to placing her other hand in her pocket, finding it useless for the time being.

"...they seem real intent on insulting each other in such sexist forms, huh...?" Qilin muttered to his subordinate, who gave a sheepish shrug.

"Th-they only get like this when they speak to each other. I guess the tendencies of the Kuchiki and Kenpachi of old carried over..."

Kukkyōna smiled back, asking aloud, "How does it feel to repeat history, Noriko-san? I think it was right around the time I drew my second sword was when the tip of the battle bent toward my favor, and I believe I sliced your glasses in half last time..." the Noble then assumed a dangerous pose, reminiscent to the last time he combatted her favoring his dual style adaptable sword art, "and I'm not going to let some cheaply dressed woman get the better of me!"

Daisuke sweatdropped, chuckling sheepishly as he looked over to Avaron and Sakura both, "Hehehe, uh, he must be really enjoying himself, don't you think?"

"Give it to him, Captain Hayate!"

"Yeah! Cut her hair off so she can feel more manly about herself!"

"Kick her ass!"

With a sigh, Seishuku crossed his arms and ignored the shouts of his fellow officers. Considering this was an off-duty occasion, he felt no need to quiet them down for enjoying their recreational outing. He did however plan to make them suffer when drills and duties were scheduled...

"...I think I preferred him when he was being a stoic jerk-ass..." Even Sakura was a bit deterred at the change of tone that Kukkyōna had taken, her head unconsciously leaning back a little. "Now, he's just starting to creep me out..."

"You and me both, sister..." Avaron muttered. "I can see where you got your enthusiasm from, Daisuke..."

Only Noriko seemed to be truly undeterred at the challenging statement, but was surprised to see that there was a crowd cheering more for the noble rather than herself - even if it was just from his division. "Well, well..." She commented. "I think I'm starting to feel the heat, noble. But that's just not enough. You haven't repeated history until you've managed to beat me." For emphasis, she swung her sword out in a readying gesture, spitting out the cigar to the side. "So let's bring on the fire, shall we?"

SCRRRRAPE!

"Let's!" Kukkyōna said with a resumed stoic expression, the sparks flew from his blade as he scraped both of their edges in a intimidating gesture, moreover for show than actual affect against such an experienced and skilled warrior like Noriko. With that said, he leaped towards her flourishing his blades in as how of true aggressive swordsmanship.

The battle's intensity increased, and only time will tell, who this month's victor will be...

Progress Made, The Five Week Training Session of Hell!
"Put your back into it, Rukia!" Kaien shouted, from atop a high perch on his trademark folding chair, his voice augmented through a speaker phone as he oversaw what looked like a giant eliptical race track. Rukia has been training for the past four weeks since her recovery on building up her stamina.

While normally any ordinary person would think that is a short amount of time to make enough progress, Kaien's training was a bit...eccentric, to say the least. To begin with, he gave her a special set of "weighted" armor for which she'd have to preform the majority of her "tasks" with. From intense martial artist sparring with specially designed Mod Soul combatants, to racing across the track while fleeing a few randomly scattering Kido fire from Senna, to swordsmanship against Kaien. Each week, the weights growing heavier and heavier. What she wore now was so large, it dwarfed her tiny body and made her look larger than she really is while carrying its weight.

Needless to say...it was a hell of an experience.

And Rukia was left to wonder.

How wasn't she dead yet?

She might as well have been made of sweat. She ran across the track in a continuous, steadfast manner, having to ignore the burning that had overtaken her body. That was hard enough within itself, considering her normally petite figure. But the fact that the armor was larger than she was just made it all the more comical and irrational. How was she supposed to even run properly with this on? It was ridiculous! Even if it didn't weigh so heavily, she doubted she would have gotten very far with it. Yet thanks to Kaien's insane training, she was managing the feat with extreme difficulty. Her teeth were gritted, and her eyes were wide open in an attempt to keep from passing out.

Kaien's words of encouragement weren't exactly the best of advice, either.

"If this keeps up..." She thought to herself in comical fright. "I think I might die before I complete this!!"

"That's it! Just two more laps and we can go onto the next stage! Sparring practice, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Kaien said in a jubilious tone, laughing through the megaphone in a semi-manical/evil manner. However, his cackling was interrupted when Senna appeared behind him.

Turning around, Kaien asked aloud incredulously, "What is it, Senna-?"

BONK!

"IDIOT!" Senna said, slamming a giant fan produced from the folds of her sleeves, causing him to wince and whine in pain, "she's passed the expectation level yesterday! She doesn't even need to keep doing the physical excercises of your insane scheming now!"

"Ow ow ow ow!" Kaien winced in pain as he nursed a protruding bruise on his head, looking at his subordinate with waterfall eyes, "no need to use the fan, Senna-chan...I was just being a good mentor..."

"Good mentors don't push their students pass beyond what they need to accomplish," Senna replied in a comical fish-lipped, bland expression.

"Party pooper," he said, sticking out his tongue at her before turning around, grasping the megaphone up and shouting out, "change of plans, Rukia! We're cutting off all physical practice for the day! Your last stage of training is near completion!"

That was all Rukia needed.

Abruptly, the poor girl collapsed onto the track on her face in a visibly humorous manner. She managed to push herself onto her hands and knees, her matted hair hanging over her face. "I... don't think... I can even... see straight now..." She breathed out, pushing herself upon onto her knees and placing her hands onto her face. However, she yanked them back in disgust and shock. She might as well have dived straight into a pool! Her hands were doused with sweat, and she had to flick her wrists several times in order to get it off. "But... if it's Kaien-dono I"m training under... I have full faith that he knows what he's doing...!"

"Poor Rukia!" Senna said as she cupped her eyes and saw her collapse on her hands and knees on the field, "she's completely exhausted!" She reared her head to glare at Kaien, "you're so mean, Kaien-teme!"

"No need to name call, Senna-chan," Kaien said, his gleam hiding his thoughtful look he had overlooking the field and the position where Rukia was resting, "we'll get her to the rejuvenating pools and have her restored. This next part...she'll need all of her newfound strength to muster through it."

With a roll of her eyes, Senna sighed as she nodded, "Yes, Captain," before leaping off headfirst of the tall tower which Kaien errected for the overseeing of Rukia's incredibly arduous training. Within a few moments of her fall, wind gathered innately around Senna, causing her to smile as her body was caught in a coursing assembled mass of wind-formed threads, forming what would almost appear like a pair of angelic transparent wings. Just before reaching a handful of meters to the ground, Senna lifted up and soared back up to a dozen meters in height, gliding towards Rukia's position before landing next to her with a graceful landing, emitting a small gust of wind in her wake.

"Are you alright, Rukia-chan?" Senna asked with concern, knowing she's said this time and again for the past four weeks, but knew it was always sincere. She rested her hands on the release flaps of the armor, quickly unlatching the bulky prosthetic handicap from her, causing it to unfold and collapse around her, allowing her to be free from its constraints...as well as emit a nautious odor of her sweat-soaked body, "omigosh, you're soaked like a sponge!"

"And I smell like a skunk..." Rukia said dejectedly, her head hung down in comical depression and shame. "I might as well have dived straight into a cesspool..." She slowly allowed herself to stand up, her fingers burying themselves within her hair. "I didn't think it was possible for someone to be able to drown in their own sweat, but I just might be the first!"

"Here," Senna reached into her coat, withdrawing a tiny cube with light blue and indigo coloration all over it, "let me get something for you to bathe in."

SFT-WHRRRRRRRR-THOOM!

With a clicke of a button and sifting of Spiritual Energy into an exposed port within the six inch cube, a bright light emanated in the form of blue energy. Within mere seconds, a pool had formed underneath Rukia, steaming with generously temperate waters that would relax her muscles and rejuvenate her body. That, and it would wash the stink off her body that Senna desperately plugged her nose during the process until the highly soothing scent of the steaming waters emerged to wash away the unseemly odiferous fumes.

"There we go," Senna said in a soothing tone, smiling gently, "you should feel better in no time, Rukia-chan."

"Ah--!"

Splash!

Rukia let out a yelp as she fell into the pool involuntarily, the cool sensation hitting her like a ton of bricks. She shut her eyes and held her breath as she was submersed in the liquid. However, she opened her eyes in surprise when she felt her tense muscles relax and energy sweeping back into her body. She raised her hands so that she could look at them, working her fingers. What exactly was this particular chemical? It certainly wasn't anything she had been introduced to...

She pushed herself up, tilting her head back and taking in a deep breath the fresh air as she surfaced. "Amazing...!" She said in amazement, looking around at the water she was floundering in. "It's almost as if I never even did anything at all!" A small smile crossed her face, and she allowed herself to move to the edge where Senna was sitting. "What is it, exactly?"

"Its a modified, transportable form of the Shihōin Hot Springs that Lady Yoruichi had once used in the past," Senna spoke with innate knowledge, smiling as she twirled some of the pool's edge, marveling at the surprising warmth it possessed without any scalding involved, "I remember bathing in this pool time and again when I was training in Captain Kaien's Physical Training Regiment."

"Must've been quite rigorous for you to have to use these so frequently..." Rukia commented in sympathy, leaning her back against the side of the pool while resting a bent arm on the track material. "What exactly did you have to do?" Inwardly, she was a bit guilty for even thinking that she would die if Senna was put through much worse...

"Oh, something a bit like what you're doing," Senna said nonchalantly as she laid on her back next to the pool, kicking into the air aimlessly, "just at a longer time period and much more intense. Ontop of that, I learned to take other regiments combined with the Physical regiment, eventually making myself more versatile and adaptable in terms of skill. Of the countless men that got accepted into the Sword Squad, only I was deemed worthy of becoming his Deputy Captain," she beamed with a low tone of pride, blushing slightly in her cheeks as she rolled over, leaning on her side as she propped her chin up with her knuckles, "though from what I heard, its nothing in comparison of what you've accomplished in all your years."

A light scoff escaped Rukia's lips, and she turned her head away from Senna. "Don't make it sound like I've done anything important..." She insisted. "All I did was what I was supposed to, nothing more. My time as a Vice-Captain back then, and my time as a representative of Yūrei right now. It's really nothing to brag about..." She scratched the back of her head out of instinct, emphasizing the humility she held towards her position.

"Maybe," Senna said idely, twirling a lock of her bang's hair as she smiled wistfully at her, "but you're the sole person responsible for giving the savior of both the World of the Living and the Soul Society, Ichigo Kurosaki, a chance to become man he was born to be. That has to be special, right?"

Rukia had to remain silent, having to look away from Senna in order to think about it.

A spark of motivation. A close comrade. One of the things that kept him going when the situation was desperate. Rukia had never allowed herself to think about it so deeply before. But now that Senna put it out in the open, it was sticking to her mind. If it wasn't for her, then he would've never became a Shinigami and the hero that he had grown up to be. If it wasn't for her, then he never would have gotten as far as he did. She had essentially served as the key to open his door to ascension... all thanks to her being in the right place at the wrong time. That was worth a great deal than any of her services to Yūrei or the Gotei 13 would've been.

"...yeah... now that you mention it... you're right..." She finally said, looking back at Senna. "I just never thought of it in such a way..."

"When I read your report...or rather, the history between your time with him," Senna began abashedly, an excitement behind her words while a timid bashfullness overcame her visage as she blushed when she talked, "it made me jealous I could never meet such a man like him. Despite all of his limitations and his faults, he managed to overcome them and ascend pass everyone's expectations. All in the name of friendship and the desire to protect the innocent," she looked starrily at Rukia's eyes, as she said in a marveled tone, "I wish I could've been by both you and Ichigo's side, Rukia-chan!"

And this was the one that made Rukia's smile grow a bit wider.

"Oh, if only you knew, Senna..."

On the outside, however, she knew better than to voice that particular thought - especially when Senna still didn't remember anything. Instead, she settled for agreement. "I think he would've liked you, bunny-like hyperactivity and all..." She answered in slight humor, shifting herself so that her arms were resting on the track material. She put her elbows on it, folding her fingers together at a horizontal level with her face. "Though, you two would most likely tend to bicker like siblings most of the time more than anything else..." It was an extremely subtle hint - something to tease her with.

Senna giggled, a subconscious tickle ran up her spine making her wonder if she really had interacted with the orange haired young man in the past. She discarded the thought as it only brought up static in her mind, winking at Rukia as she chuckled, "I'll just have to take your word for it..."

"CANNON BALL!!!!!"

Senna opened her eyes widely as she looked up in the air above the stadium sized arena. Her mouth opened wide with shock as she saw her Captain, now wearing bathing gear for some reason, was diving towards the hot springs head-on with a manical smile.

"Kaien you bas-"

SPLASH, WOOOSH!!!

"-TARD!" Senna screamed, as she was unceremoniously splashed upon as Kaien splashed onto the hot springs, landing smack dot right next to Rukia as he caused a uproar of steaming, rejuvenating water in the air before splattering across the track all around them.

Oh, thank God she remembered to "expect the unexpected".

With a yelp, Rukia immediately submerged herself just before Kaien hit the water, effectively protecting herself from getting splashed. But it wasn't long before she allowed herself to surf back up, fixing an agitated and twitching glare at the frothing waters. "What do you think you're doing?!" She demanded, throwing her fists up in the air. "Don't just dive in whenever you feel like it!!"

PTOOO-FFFFFT!

As soon as Kaien rose from the bottom of the bubbling, frothy hot springs, he sprayed water out of his mouth unceremoniously in the air before shaking his hair side to side, smirking at her, "You're just jealous cause that looked really fun! Besides, I'm your loving mentor who has your best interests at heart," he said while sticking his chin in the air with pride, pointing his thumb at his torso, "so as long as you remember that-"

"IDIOT!"

SLAP-SLAP-SLAP-SLAP!

Senna slapped Kaien across the face with her very long, large fan as her hair flapped back and forth in sync with her violent, temper-fueld motions, "You got me WET! Do you realize how I hate getting wet?! DO YOU?! You're so amphibious-loving I wouldn't be surprised if you sprouted gills and went to live in a ocean somewhere!"

"Ow! Hey-ow! Stop-ow! Please-ow! Hold-ow! A-ow! Second-Ow!" Kaien begged his second in command as he was ruthlessly slapped cheek from cheek by the large fan, leaving punishing marks across his face as the comical antics ensued before Rukia's eyes.

And unfortunately, Rukia wasn't one to just stand by and watch while Senna had all the fun.

With another dive underneath the water, she sprouted up behind Kaien and moved her arms to lock him in a full-nelson to hold him in place for Senna to continue beating him up. "Loving mentor or not, you interrupted a good conversation!!" She said, a vein popping on her cheek. "More importantly, why are you in bathing gear?! All you did was sit in the chair and laugh at me as I suffered grueling exercises!! You have no rights here!!"

"RUKIA-OW! Why-ow-y-ow-y-ow-y-ow...?!" He cried out as he was continually pummeled by Senna by the fan, a angry smile broke out on the other girl as the two females proceeded to pummel him for his rude interrupting antics.

After five minutes of this, Senna finally stopped, heaving heavily as she had enough wielding her fan and smoke began to rise off the sides of her weapon of choice, as well as Kaien's face. As soon as the smoke cleared, however, no real scarring was shown on his face let alone a bruise. Only superficial angry red marks showed, and they already began to fade away.

"Alright, sorry I got carried away," Kaien said in a calmer, yet slightly humored tone, still locked in the full nelson by Rukia, "but can I please explain what the final stage of your training is now, Rukia?"

"Ah--!!"

Oh, that's right! Of course in all of his silliness, he was eventually going to bring it up. A flustered look came over her face, and she immediately released him from her clutches. "Y-yes, of course!" She stammered, giving a quick bow as best as she could in apology for her actions. "I should have allowed you the chance to speak earlier. I'm terribly sorry..."

"Sorry Captain, I'm sorry," Senna also bowed in apologies, realizing that Kaien is serious when speaking this way.

"Ahem!" Yuhei then rose out of the hot spring, still clad in his tight wet speedo, unintentionally showing off his well-defined muscular body as he turned around and put his arms behind his back, looking at Rukia with sincere curiosity, "first off, before I go into it, how do you feel Rukia?"

Rukia had to remain silent for a brief moment, her eyes falling on his balanced and muscular form. It was a display of how far his particular training had gotten him, regardless of whether he put himself through it or not. Rukia's face subconsciously blushed, but of course her mind was simply on that. Distracting as it was - and even moreso that he was in a speedo, of all things - it would take a lot more to get her mind off of business.

She pulled a hand up out of the water, resting it on the space between her neck and the shoulder blade. As she worked her neck and shoulders out, she could easily confirm that all tension from the tenacious exercise had disappeared completely. "Well, this hot spring did what it was supposed to..." She said truthfully. "It's like I never even went through the exercise and spent the time in this pool. Any injuries sustained during the exercise are gone completely. Oh--!" That was when a comically curious expression fell on her face, and she looked down at the water. "If I drink a bit of it... I could probably rid myself of any disease I could be unaware of!"

Without waiting for any say from Senna or Kaien, she dunked her hands into the water, brought a handful of it to her face, and started drinking it in the belief in her newly found theory.

Senna cocked her head, her eyes blowing to proportions of dishplates, as she had just thought that Rukia cracked some sort've secret she didn't know about. But then tapped her chin thoughtfully, wondering if something like this happened before...

Sweatdropping, Kaien raised his hands, "Its supposed to increase the body's recovery rate through strenuous excercises as well as bleeding injuries, internal or otherwise. There's not garuntee that olive scented and flavored water is going to do your intestines and cardiovascular system any good..."

When Rukia stopped drinking it, she lowered her hands back into the water and gave a hand-gesturing shrug. "I'm covering all of my bases..." She said casually, before quickly regressing back to her calm and reportive tone. "But, all in all, other than my soaked clothing, I'm all ready to go for the next exercise. After all, chances are that I'll need every once of energy if I want to get over the remaining obstacles, right?"

"Of course, but in order to do so, we needed to start with your first and obvious weakness, Rukia-chan," Kaien raised a forefinger in emphasis as he did so, "your physical stamina and martial hand-to-hand combat prowess was one of your real lacking talents. Within this five week period, your body has increased in its capacity exponantially as well as your skill in martial combat. Now, the next basis we're going to cover is the mastery of your Zanpakuto," he narrowed his eyes as he said the next part, "if I can determine the depth of mastery you have with your Shikai firsthand, then I can conclude whether we're ready to start mastering that fragile Bankai of yours."

"Of course, sir..."

Grasping the edge of the pool, Rukia pulled herself out of the water and brought herself to stand up. As she had predicted, her clothes were drenched in water, which continued to spill out the liquid onto the material. However, it was something that she had expected and prepared a solution for. She closed her eyes and focused on her spiritual energy, extending one of her hands out. Upon her mental command, any moisture that her Soul Reaper garbs had absorbed had escaped from the pores before dissipating into visible vapor. This reaction was a chain that started out from the tip of the extended arm and all the way to the other side. In several seconds, Rukia had used her ability to manipulate the ice element to dry herself off, looking as if she had never jumped into the pool in the first place. After all, water was only melted ice...

After the deed was done, she folded her arms across her chest and stood at attention for more.

Senna's eyes opened wide at seeing the display, as Kaien arched his brow in seeing it, with the former clapping her hands in joy, "Wow! You must have a real deep bond with your Zanpakuto, don't you?!"

"She means to say you must be close to mastering Bankai, have you already begun to manipulate your Zanpakuto's innate elements instinctively," Kaien said with a wave of his hand in a explanatory manner.

A sigh escaped Rukia's lips, and she closed her eyes. ""Close" isn't good enough..." She said solemnly, regarding the two of them with a serious gaze. "If I am unable to complete this exercise, I'll be as ineffective as I was in the fight against Lobo..." A mental wince shot through her head when she remembered the way he had appeared before her, impaling his hand through her stomach as if it was a natural movement. Nevertheless, she continued to speak. "I was lucky - very lucky, in fact, to have faced an opponent capable of chivalry and mercy. But luck won't get me through in the situation where the enemy won't be as merciful. I have to be fully prepared in such an event. That's all there is to it..."

"That is why you need to access your Bankai, Rukia," Kaien spoke with certainty, crossing his arms over his chest, "the last four weeks I put you through some of the most rigorous courses the Physical Regiment can take, at its highest level. Doing this, I've considerably bolstered your Stamina, Zanjutsu, Hakuda, and Spirit Energy control. This will allow your body to be in better shape to handle the tedious task of accessing your Bankai.

"Which brings me to my next question," Kaien asked with a arched brow, tapping his foot rythmitcally, "how long can you maintain your Zanpakuto's manifested form?"

Rukia looked thoughtful, closing her eyes for a moment. "In its Shikai form, I'm able to utilize it for a maximum of twelve hours, at best..." She said truthfully. "But that time is severely limited to minutes whenever I access the Bankai form as of now due to the immense power required to keep it active. Five... or if I'm lucky, ten minutes before I start to break under the pressure."

"Aha! But what if someone else were to maintain your Zanpakuto's manifested form while you work on maintaining your Bankai form and perfecting its techniques? Would you be able to train indefinitely longer and hopefully master it at a much quicker time frame?" Kaien asked, a knowing grin stretched across his nostalgic features, winking at her as he pointed at her.

This was something that took Rukia by surprise. Her closed eyes widened, and she almost balked at the suggestion. "Um...well, yes, but..." She was a bit hesitant to voice her thoughts, as she knew Kaien was trying to get her to realize something... only she wasn't sure what exactly it was. "What exactly are you getting at?" Truth be told, she probably sounded like a moron. But who could blame her for innocent stupidity?

"Rukia, mastering Bankai the old way, which is all fine and dandy, but if I'm to understand correctly you've only been at it for the last couple of years, yes?" Kaien said in a rhetorical fashion, now pacing in front of her as he continued with his lecture, "there is another method, which by the Gotei 13's standards, is a very high-risk use of mastering your Bankai. Mastering it the old way, may as well take five to ten years, which is quite a long time for those in our line of work. Invented by Kisuke Urahara, there was a special device that allowed you to manifest your Zanpakuto's body in the real world and allow you to combat/test it until you've officially mastered your Zanpakuto's true form, the Bankai. However, only two people at the time were able to master it without fatality. Kisuke Urahara, and Ichigo Kurosaki..." He then paused, allowing it to sink in to Rukia before he then got to what he was going to say, "the D.C.O. has developed a method along the same lines as Kisuke Urahara did, basing most of it off his technology in fact. However, this should allow you to master it quicker, but the risk is all the same. Should you fail this part of your training...you will die."

"...I see..."

Rukia regressed back into her calm and solemn demeanor. If it were anyone else, it would certainly be high-risk. But death was something that proved to be so common a risk in her duties that it was the farthest away from her mind at this point. It might as well have been a simple slap on the wrist for her trouble. There was no problem, at all.

"I'll see this through to the very end, Kaien-dono." She spoke quietly. "Death is nothing compared to the feeling of failing the ones near and dear to me." She folded her hands behind her back, giving Kaien a respectful bow. "Rest assured, I will see this through to completion, no matter what."

"That's the spirit, Rukia-chan!" Kaien said in a iconic tone, smiling widely with a meaningful look in his eyes as he looked down at her.

Looking to Senna, he arched a brow as she looked as if she was in a daze. Snapping his fingers, he waved a hand at Senna, "Yoohoo! Anyone home?!"

"Huh?!" Senna's eyes dialated before she blinked a couple of times, holding her head as she looked at the two of them with a inquisitive look of her own, "yes Captain, Rukia-chan?"

"Riiiight," Kaien said with bland tone, before thumbing over his shoulder, "go fetch Bob for Rukia's training!"

"Yessiree!" Senna said in a bubble of delight, skipping away before disappearing within a Flash Step. Within only a few minutes after her departure, Senna came back with a life-size model of a white plaster human body. Minus particular external organs, it perfectly embodied every aspect of what a body would consist of minus color, hair, and a few other details. It looked "sex-less" in a sense, considering it was just a body cast with various lines drawn along the torso with a particular bull's eye at the sternum.

"Rukia-chan," Senna said with a giggle, shoving the life-size doll in front of Rukia, "meet Bob!"

"Uh..." Rukia sweatdropped, breaking out of her serious mood and staring at it with a blank and slightly confused. "Hello, Bob...?" She offered hesitantly, looking over it for a brief moment. Upon the sight of the bull's eye, she squinted her eyes in thought. All she needed was a few seconds of thought before it clicked in her head.

"Let me guess..." She said coolly, taking a few steps back. "You want me to stab "Bob" with my sword right where the bull's eye is, right?"

"That's right! Glad you got it right without explanation, Rukia!" Kaien said with a chuckle, gleaming with a pleased look in his eyes.

Senna however, looked unamused, turning her head around and sticking her tongue at Kaien, "I was joking when I said I didn't know where to stab that damn doll, idiot!"

"Hey now, Senna-chan," Kaien wagged his finger at her, tutting inside his mouth before crossing his arms expectantly across his chest, "this is Rukia's training for real, so let's cut the banter for later and begin."

Sighing, Senna then raised the doll in her hands upright, holding it still for a perfect penetration act for Rukia to preform, "All you need to do is stab the bull's eye on "Bob", and the Zanpakuto will manifest on its own. Don't worry, you'll still have your Zanpakuto's powers, you'll just have to rely on us to maintain your Zanpakuto's body while it's manifested. Once that's accomplished, you'll be able to train to your heart's content at a faster rate with your Zanpakuto. After all, who better to teach you about your Bankai's flaws than your own Zanpakuto, right?"

"Right..."

Drawing in a steadying breath, Rukia gripped the hilt of her sword and drew it in a deliberately slow manner. On the outside, she maintained a calm and serene attitude. On the inside, however, her heart was beating furiously within its chest. This would be the decider of whether she was worthy enough to live or die. She couldn't bring herself to fail when she was so close. She would put forth every bit of her ability into hurtling over this final obstacle and get to the finish line. This would be her defining moment.

With that in mind, she drew her sword back, aimed the tip to the bull's eye, and stabbed it dead-center into the... well... center.

Within moments of being stabbed, the doll began to light up with light and energy of its own. The Zanpakuto Rukia held itself began surging a stream of silver light into the body. After a few moments, the surging halted as Senna herself clasped her hands and created a pair of Kanji seals upon her palms, glowing red and black.

"Bind the Fate of the one who Guides the Warrior to his Destiny! Emblazon us within a Rope that ties Fate in our Hands! Christen thy Blade and Embody the Champion! Sōgu Seiki!"

Within moments, a towering column of Spiritual Power emerged from the white light covered doll, covering its features entirely and creating the perfect host body for Rukia's Zanpakuto. Within a icy wind-covered shockwave, a cold mist arose as a beautiful woman emerged from the mist, snowflakes dancing around her form and a gentle compassionate look embraced her visage.

"Hello, Rukia," Sode no Shirayuki spoke, her voice angelic as her appearance was before her, "it seems you're willing to take the risk in order to fully master my powers, aren't you?"

Senna dropped to her knees before the animated Zanpakuto. Her eyes became starry, and she smiled widely as she could barely utter, "She's...so beautiful...wow..."

"Don't believe I've had to pleasure of seeing her in person before," Kaien said with an approving smile, placing his hands on his hips as he onlooked at the pair at once were one body two parts of the soul now were in seperate bodies...for awhile, at least.

Rukia allowed herself to step back in order to give the spirit room. "That's right..." She said simply. "I've overcome my own doubts and fears. Now it's time I took the final step." There was nothing but sincerity in her words as she spoke to her Zanpakutō, her determination showing itself more than any other emotion she would've had.

Smiling compassionately, the Zanpakutō acknowledged her Soul Reaper master, "I know. You wouldn't have stabbed your sword into this makeshift body otherwise. Now then..."

CLAP-SHIIIINK!

"Shall we begin, Rukia?" Sode no Shirayuki asked, as she clapped her left palm against her fist, causing a sound akin to jingling bells as a white stream of snow flakes and ice formed into a blade as she stretched it out of her palm, as if her hand itself was a sheathe. Now possessing her own form of the sealed weapon she near always garbs as her Soul Reaper's weapon, she readied herself to engage her master for the final test...to see if she would rise to the occasion...or fail utterly.

"Let's."

With that statement, Rukia readied her blade, gripping the hilt tightly in two hands. Her eyes were narrowed in concentration as she settled into a comfortable, defensive stance. She steadied her nerves, for she knew that any slip-up would prove fatal to her and her chances of completion.

Sode no Shirayuki raised her blade to point directly at Rukia, her stance was a semblence of a neutral pose, the ability to shift into combat at any moment. It was also at this time, that Kaien used Flash Step, disappearing from their midst to reappear ontop of the tower with the folding chair, getting out his megaphone. What happened next, made Senna's eyes roll.

"Aaaaaaaaand...FIGHT!"

Sode no Shirayuki took it as a cue, shimmering out of view with a graceful speed only Rukia would recognize. Only a subtle jingling of bells would allow her appearance be known, as she took to Rukia's posterior and slashed out at the ridge where her neck met her spine. A perfect incapacitory slash...should it make contact.

Of course, it didn't - a fact partially helped by listening to those bells.

Woosh!

Rukia bent her head and ducked the blade before whirling around in a reflexive and fluid movement. In that movement, her own blade swung upwards in a swift, diagonal uppercut towards Sode no Shirayuki's chest. Her eyes were narrowed even further now that her body was jumping to adjust to the battle's tempo, the frown becoming prominent on her face as she counter-attacked.

CLANG!

Sode no Shirayuki swung her blade back, blocking the middle of Rukia's blade with the beginning segment of her Zanpakuto's blade near her tsuba. Twisting the blade lithely, she redirected the blade so Rukia's momentum would be pointed in another direction, with a indication to allow her to stumble forwards. It was then, that she initiated a Shikai technique, swinging her blade in a circular movement, causing the ground to light up in a perfect white circle.

Within a instant...the whole ground and sky lite up brightly as it was instaneously frozen into a perfect pillar to the ceiling of the huge stadium. Within moments of its creation, it would shatter and dissipate into thousands of snowflakes, making a beautiful yet deadly indication of the technique's success.

Once again, Rukia managed to act quickly.

With a Flash Step, she evaded the technique as it was initiated, skidding away once she had landed again. One hand and both of her feet dug into the ground - an action that made her grit her teeth slightly. "With the use of my Shikai techniques against me, this might prove to be harder than I anticipated..." She thought to herself, raising herself back up to her feet. "I'll have to pace myself. No getting hasty..."

She boosted off of the ground and raced towards Sode no Shirayuki, her newfound leg speed closing the distance quicker than she would have done otherwise.

Sode no Shirayuki's eyes did in fact widen a fraction as she saw her master move at a higher rate of speed since the last time they made bout. She raised her blade in the nick of time to parry her blade, but also felt the force behind it was undeniably stronger than before, causing her heels to skirt across the ground in the wake of her master's attack.

Acting quickly, Sode no Shirayuki raised her left free hand and blew through the open palm, creating an array of miniaturized freezing particles to form and jettison out towards Rukia's face, intending on gaining some distance from her physically enhanced counterpart.

This was where Rukia let a small smirk cross her face.

Woosh!

With the help of a Flash Step, Rukia was able to leap over Sode no Shirayuki's head in a somersault move. Her sword swung in a decapitating motion while she flipped in mid-air.

"I can't keep up with her...!"

Sode no Shirayuki's realization made her eyes widen with surprise as she barely lifted her blade high enough to intercept the blade's killing edge, but managed to introduce the sharp metalic substance against her neck. As soon as Rukia would land over on Sode no Shirayuki's rear.

Reaching up to touch her neck, feeling the warm blood slowly cool and eventual seal over with her innate ice-creation abilities, she smiled, "You've done well, Rukia," she turned around to face her master and counterpart, raising her blade up in a ready stance, "you have learned what you lacked in terms of physical prowess, and can now keep up with me. But..."

SHINK!

"Is your Shikai prowess better than mine?" She asked rhetorically as she pointed her blade at her direction. Spreading her feet in a graceful arc as she readied herself, she dropped her blade in mere moments what would take the old Rukia seconds to preform. As four stabbing motions created a stream of ice particles to float upwards, Sode no Shirayuki assumed the stance of one of her dances...

"Some no Mai, Hakuren!"

SSSSPRWHOOOOSH!

A tidal pillar of snow rushed towards Rukia's form, intending on rushing and overtaking her, freezing her whole body within an instant.

Clearly, it was a challenge to Rukia... and it was a challenge she was more than willing to take.

She stabbed the ground with a lunging thrust, calling out the name of the technique she used as she did so.

"Daiyon no mai... Juhaku!"

From the tip, a fissure of solid ice raced towards the tidal wave, acting like a rock in the face of a water's tidal wave. Once the wave of ice collided with it, the entire foundation of snow crumbled. The scattered snow fell across the ground. However, the pillar of ice released by the Juhaku technique was racing towards Sode no Shirayuki at an alarming rate, intending on catching her within its freezing midst.

Sode no Shirayuki assumed a calm, composed look on her face despite the alarm she felt within. With a single slash of her Zanpakuto, she created a near instaneous, long-range form Tsukishiro, creating the ice pillar and subsequently stopped the majority of the Juhaku pillar, allowing her to skirt out of range without even needing a high-speed technique.

She then proceeded to blow across her hand, repeatedly sending out large ice projectiles to hit Rukia, intending on freezing or incapacitating her for a up-close confrontation.

Woosh!

Rukia's speed was put to the test.

When the ice projectiles came out, she put her Flash Step to good use. Her figured disappeared and re-appeared, weaving in and out of the projectiles. With each and every Flash Step used, she was getting closer and closer to her target. Every muscle was tensed with anticipation as she moved bit by bit towards Sode no Shirayuki, like a soldier making way through a minefield.

Then, when she was close enough, she landed on a piece of ice that was in the process of flying under her feet, crouched for a brief second, and boosted off of it to close the distance between her and her opponent. With her sword hilt held in both hands, she swung down on Sode no Shirayuki's head with all of the force she could muster.

Sode no Shirayuki raised her own blade to block against Rukia's attack, surprised she couldn't even land a grazing shot against her formerly physically average master. The sheer force inserted by her attack was enough to send the Zanpakuto spirit to her knees, and cause an alarming set of webbed cracks along her blade. The howling wind and ice storm that was created around them was a dramatic white screen effect, enough to temporarily block both Kaien and Senna's view, the latter covering her eyes as she was the nearest to the battle.

Within the Exodus of the clash, Sode no Shirayuki was seen backpedaling away as a defined CRACK sound was heard, showing her Shikai to be shattered in half with the edge plunged in the frozen soil around Rukia and a light wound spreading across the Zanpakuto's chest and garments. Within moments, it began to freeze and cauterize it, allowing her to ignore the pain and injury inflicted upon her person.

"You're proving to be a worthy successor of the full power of my power, Rukia," she said in a admiring, soft tone as she raised back up onto her feet, holding her half-blade's hilt on her right hand, "I'm very proud...to be a part of your soul and to be your blade."

The momentary retreat was enough to make Rukia lax a little, her sword lowered for the time being. It made her smile a little. "I thank you for the words of praise..." She answered back sincerely. "But I can't be deemed worthy to wield you until I can truly prove myself, and my trial is far from over..." She knew that from the words spoken that Sode no Shirayuki was done testing her. So she drew in a breath and raised her sword up again, readying it with a foreboding click of the hilt.

"But of course," she smiled as she raised her blade skywards, ice particles formed across the empty space where her blade was, regenerating it indefinitely back to its former size, "any successor worthy enough may not be entirely ready. We shall now enter the final test of your worth, Rukia Kuchiki!"

With a spiraling blast of blue-white energy from her being, a howling wind swirled around, creating snow and ice particles everywhere it went, cascading across the track and grass of the stadium that hadn't been touched by their battle.

"Bankai," she uttered aloud, her body enveloping in a conical cocoon of snow and spiritual energy, creating a near icicle twister in her wake. Within moments, it shattered into millions of snowflakes, illuminating the Zanpakuto's true form as she was revealed.

"Shall we end this test already," a younger, more femininely pronounced voice spoke as the once well kempt, mannered woman now appeared near Rukia's age, with short hair that was done in a ceremonial bun with stylized pins holding it in place. Her gown's sleeve's were shorter, her skirt was now more akin to a kami skirt than a ceremonial yukata one she once wore. Wrapped around her waist protruded a vivid purple tassel that freely cascaded around her in the wake of the icy wind that she created. More profoundly was that her Zanpakuto's hilt butt gained a purple crescent moon, and her facial features were more rounded and less angular, with the same gentle eyes with a peircing stare along with the same lipstick. She almost looked like Rukia in a sense...with the exception of a pair of beautifully crafted hollow-spaced ice wings protruding from her back, showing her full control of her frozen water properties to a physical extent as well, "Rukia?"

Rukia's eyes narrowed with a piercing stare of her own as she looked over the form of the Bankai. It was tense enough considering the power of the Bankai itself. But the fact that she was a near-mirror reflection of Rukia presented a rather surreal feeling to the situation at hand. She forgot the training ground all around them, the fact that Senna and Kaien were watching them both. From here on out, they were in their own world, a figurative dimension in which no one else could roam but the two of them. It was a perfect setting.

"Let's..."

She spread her feet apart and poised the blade tip to aim towards the spirit - the stance she usually used when utilizing the Hakuren technique. She took in a deep breath, steadying the nerves that had been rattled throughout the entire ordeal. Anticipation and apprehension filled her very being, itching for her to leap into action once again. It would be a tough fight... but she would make it through.

The UnderDogs, How the other half live
While all seemed to be going under way and the Soul Society enjoyed a state of perpetual, blissful if not dangerous ignorance, the Inner Circle has been moving. It has only been a handful of hours since Yashin and Daigomi's combined efforts in destroying the Black Blood Sect, the only other compilation of the Underworld's most dangerous criminal organizations that could threaten to undermine the Circle's plans, have failed. At least, upon the surface...

While the majority of the details remain sketchy, prone due to the illusive nature for which Yashin proceeded with his plans within the Inner Circle, it was heard that a great many footsoldiers under Yashin's personal command perished, though no one knows if they were officially part of the Circle's militia or simply hired guns donning their uniforms for easy money.

Regardless, a certain white labcoat garbed man with a clipboard in hand tapped his pen against it in thought, as he began walking down a corridor down the hall. The location of his particular citadel is remote as well as unknown. Some of the lower ranked members don't even know where its located save for drop-off and pick-up points where they are transported to and fro from said headquarters. All that is known is that its near the "backdoor" of the Seireitei's Soul Society...just beyond the lush forests that border its lands and touching the mountains.

The man caught sight of a particular collegue of his as he passed by, seeing the individual stride into the mess hall. The orange haired man, known as Choku Kanshin, narrowed his eyes at him before following. Inwardly he felt the pangs of hunger clutch at his gullet, he wanted to inquire of this man's status and how his last mission went.

"Tenshina-san," he said respectfully, raising his hand as he tucked his clipboard under his left arm as he waved out to him, "a moment of your time?"

"Hm?"

Bokujin Tenshina stopped in his tracks before he could get in line, a look of surprise crossing his face when he heard the voice. Without hesitation, he allowed himself to turn around and face the one that had called him, a curious look on his face. "Uh, me?" He asked rhetorically, his tone expressing slight confusion. "Well..." After a moment, he gave a light shrug, walking towards Choku in a nonchalant manner. "Sure, I guess. I've got time..."

"I've just recieved the usual stonewall report about one of our illustriously illusive superiors making a raid against one of our...competetive opponents," he said with a humored smile as he began talking animatedly, using his quill-holding hand in sync with his other hand albeit a little more restricted than the prior, "I just heard you got back from a mission yourself. Did you happen to...overhear anything about something unrelated to your mission details or how they might be connected?"

It earned a light sigh from Tenshina, and he folded his arms across his chest. "C'mon, man..." He said, his tone slightly complaining. "You know I really don't have the patience for paying attention to whatever the bosses have to say. After all, if you have to overhear it, it probably means you weren't meant to hear it, and if you were... then that means trouble. Why do you ask?" At the end of the sentence, his tone picked up a curious edge, and he tilted his head to the side to look at him with that very emotion.

"We may not be as low as the common foot soldier or measly spy, but we aren't appropiately named Dogs for no reason," Choku said pointedly, using his thumb and middle finger to press his glasses up the bridge of his nose, light flickering off its surface for a moment before his narrowed eyes looked to Tenshina, "sooner or later, if we get sloppy or we become too good for their liking, we'll either disappear or be publically executed."

He then turned around Tenshina, subconsciously leading him along with him as he moved in line to get a tray, stacking an assortment of foods ranging from all sorts of healthy food groups to a few dessert selections, "Unlike you, I have to pay attention in order to do my job. Of all the things I've been seeing lately is that the Inner Circle is going to become the next world power. I don't know if its possible, but maybe if they achieve that...what use do they have for the underdogs like us? I'm just saying...sooner or later, our warranty will expire just like some of this artificial crap they serve us here..."

"World power?"

A frown came over Tenshina's face as he listened to the other man's words closely while making sure that he was right behind him in the line. "I don't know..." He said skeptically, cocking a slight eyebrow. "I mean... I trust you've got good judgment, but that just seems like you're jumping the gun a little. I mean, the Inner Circle is a private military company with mercenaries that participate in operations for money. We kill, we capture this intelligence, we overthrow a crime boss... that sort of thing. And we get paid for it handsomely. In the case that our "warranty" expires, the worst that could happen is us being out of a job."

He gave a light shrug. "But, with the money we make beforehand, it'd be pretty easy to live before we'll have to get another one, right?"

"No no no!" Choku exclaimed as he shook a packaged, processed brownie in emphasis as he turned to look Tenshina in the face, waving the plastic-wrapped dessert in front of him, "you're too soft in the head to see what's going on! They want us to think that they're just a private mercenary, intelligence, competetive organization. They are so much more than that! Don't you see?!"

Tenshina rolled his eyes. "All right, Mr. Conspiracy." He said sarcastically, snatching a medium bag of potato chips as well as a packaged and microwaved angus burger, placing them on his tray while keeping a slightly unimpressed gaze in Choku's direction. "You got any proof to back up that claim of yours?"

"Ohohoho, I have plenty of circumstantial evidence, my narrow-minded friend," he said in a eccentric, if not maddening tone, only halted by a slightly depressed look as he admitted, "however, I have yet to find some solid proof of what my eyes have seen is real. But I assure you," he slapped his brownie onto his tray as he walked towards an empty table, "I will have proof for you so you can see the inevitability that awaits us all UnderDogs!"

"Forgive me if I withold my enthusiasm..." Tenshina sniffed, albeit following him to the empty table. Although disbelieving, this was something that was proving interesting to him. He wanted to hear more on what Choku had to say on the situation. So he made it a necessity to learn as much as he could about it. Who knew? Maybe the guy was right...

"You are quite forgiven."

Abruptly, his eyes snapped to attention towards the figure of Kameyo Takaki, who was calmly approaching the two and looking over them with an occupied food tray in her hands and a near-blank gaze. For Tenshina, it was something that he was used to seeing. "I apologize if I'm intruding on anything..." She said coolly. "But the majority of the tables are full. Can I sit with you two?"

"If my insane accusations don't disturb you, then by all means, Kame-chan," Choku said in a semi-sarcastic tone, putting his hands up in quotations marks before filing his quill pen away on the edge of his right ear, unwrapping the various foods he selected from earlier, "I'm just glad I have some willing companions to at least humor my curiously conspicuous discoveries..."

"Conspicuous discoveries...?" Kameyo blinked. "Insane accusations? What exactly could you be referring to, Kanshin-san?"

"He thinks he's uncovered some big conspiracy..." Tenshina said coolly, approaching the table before sitting down on it. With calm but eager hands, he pried apart the seal that opened up the bag of potato chips and dug in to grab a few. "The Inner Circle's apparently plotting to take over the world and give the dogs a message stating "You have outlived your usefulness". Doesn't that sound like a bit of an overanalysis and overreaction?"

Kameyo remained silent, a thoughtful look on her face as she sat down at the table beside Choku.

As Choku sideglanced the silent Kameyo in the wake of the query Bokujin stated, he unwrapped his BLT sandwitch and took a small bite, quickly swallowing it as he spoke lowly in analysis, "Correct me if I'm wrong, Kame-chan, but that foreboding silence seems to indicate you're not wholeheartedly agreeing with our disturbingly nonchalant fellow man. Isn't that right?"

"Well, if one takes it into account..."

As Kameyo explained, she shifted one leg over the other in the seat that she was sitting in. She picked up what appeared to be a burger of her own in both of her hands, keeping her eyes on both of them. "Inner Circle mercenaries have been given training similar to that of more elite military organizations world-wide. Tactical armaments range from Kidō assault rifles to powerful weapons such as anti-shield artillery cannons. If one looks at it from the psychological point of our view, most of our superiors carry themselves in a dominating, commanding manner - a personality akin to potential seekers of an empire. This could be due to the simple desire for discipline and to root out the runts of the litter. But the chance of an attempted dictatorship by the Inner Circle is not too far away."

"You can't seriously believe that a group of mercenaries, affiliated with whoever pays them, would make a good army." Tenshina argued, a frown forming on his face as he popped a few chips into his mouth. "A good army requires loyalty, devotion to the cause!"

"How is our relationship with Brina-sama?"

That rendered him silent - an indicator for Kameyo to explain further. "We both would put our lives for her in the extent that it proves necessary. Though we are simply mercenaries, we do not have to be disloyal and independent of our leaders. Loyalty may not be as uncommon as you think it would be." After this, she turned her attention to her burger and took a bite.

"If you think about it, a lot of private mercenary corps and organizations back home tend to have a very dictatorship viewpoint in where they operate. Some of them end up being part of small empires created in Africa or the Middle East, while others get absorbed into Asia and the like," Choku pointed out, speaking of home as in the World of the Living where a good majority with present company not excluded, "so what's to say our ethereal superiors aren't in it for domination and power? You have to admit they never really explained their long term goals to any of us..."

The more that they spoke about it, the more it seemed to make sense.

"Well..." Tenshina frowned, looking a bit helpless at the logical statements. He knew he should've done his research, damn it! "For one..." He began, hesitating at finding a good starting point. "For one, Brina doesn't seem like the type. She's friendly, sociable, and will even play a few video games with me and Kameyo from time to time. For a dictator, that would be an extreme lot of freedom for us to have. A dictator would be the straight-up, asshole type of person that would barely let us do anything without permission. How can you explain that particular phenomenon?"

"Or she could be putting up a convincingly decieving act to keep men in good spirits and none the wiser," Choku countered, waving his finger back and forth as he chewed and swallowed another bite of his BLT sandwitch, "face it, she's the most visibly appealing superior we have. The others are conspicuous, creepy, if not incredibly dangerous to lock eye contact with. Maybe she's only a commander for the very reason the rest of us like her? To keep people from thinking we're a bunch of tools for a evil-purposed organization! Not that I have trouble with the work...but I know when I'm being played over being utilized for my services, and I'm telling you, its looking more and more like the prior than the latter with all this information stonewalling I've been receiving from command."

"That's a little bit extreme even for an act..." Tenshina was quick to regress back into his skeptical attitude. He took a sip from the bottle of cold, green tea. As he spoke, he saw himself making emphasizing gestures with one of his hands. "She may be the co-commander of the Tactical Infiltration Company, but she's just far too lenient on us for it to be anything but genuine. The risk of softening us up would be too high. Besides that, I really doubt that she would be a co-commander just for the sake of being the Inner Circle's morality pet. If it is, it's only a partial reason. For crying out loud, these are the same guys who emphasize the elite fighters over anything else!"

"We're not softened up, however..." Kameyo chose this moment to speak again, diverting her gaze from her sandwich to her colleagues. "We are still quite capable of active combat and direct engagement of targets should the time call for it. But even if she wasn't, it would be quite a gamble in the face of our enemies, as it can promote weakness and emotional instability."

"Augh!!" Tenshina briefly tilted back his head to let out a groan of annoyance, not liking his logic being picked apart as Kameyo had allowed herself to do. "All right, all right, let's say you're actually right about this and that the Inner Circle's eventually going to initiate the takeover of the world. There wouldn't be a reason of telling us this if you didn't want us to do anything about it..."

"I'm just saying to be aware about this," Choku said nonchalantly, tapping a toothpick against his juice box he grabbed, pointing it at Bokujin and Kameyo, "for when that day comes, I want us all to be prepared to split and take what we can and give nothing back!"

"...that's to say if we can get away at all..." Tenshina's tone fell to express a drier and slightly deadpan mood. "In that event, do you really think they would allow anyone even a hint about their existence just walk away scot-free? They've got agents everywhere, and I mean--" He set down his bag, using both hands to motion the emphasis. "--everywhere! They might as well be the fucking C.I.A. of the Soul Society. You eat, you drink, you take a leak, they're going to know when, where, and how you did it to the smallest detail. You'd have better luck staying."

"You sound as if you're starting to agree with Kanshin-san, Tenshina-kun." Kameyo commented coolly.

"Ah--!!" That caused him to balk immediately, recoiling as if he had been slapped in the face. It lasted only a brief moment, before he placed both palms to his face in both realization and embarrassment. "Judas Priest, you're right. Choku, stop influencing me!!"

Sluuuuurp!

"Ahhhh," Choku said with a enthused sigh, before smirking with amusement at Bokujin, using his forefingers to press the glasses up the bridge of his nose, "I'm just an inquirer wanting to know the true nature of one's employer and seeking to enlighten my fellow compatriots. Whether you make yourself believe what I say, or bring up facts you've taken in blissful ignorance from your narrow-minded subconscious...is not mine to be faulted for."

"Would you stop calling me that?" Tenshina complained, his voice slightly whining now. "I am not narrow minded! Just because you happen to study more on this doesn't make you a complete genius and all-knowing. Besides, you said it yourself: you don't have any concrete evidence to show us. This is just about as much speculation as any of my or Kameyo's guesses. You don't have the tools to pull a Sherlock Holmes on us just yet."

"Yet!" Choku countered, pointing to Bokujin with a wry smile, before further slurping down his juice, sighing with relief and enjoyment before continuing, "but I will have it in no time. Make no mistake...I'll find out our benefacting superiors' dirty little secret..."

TAP-TAP-TAP...

"Dirty little secret, eh?" The menacing, yet previously undected presence of Fuhai Yoku himself spoke aloud, right at the corner of the table tapping what looked like a butter knife from the cafeteria on the surface. He smiled a playful, yet underlying creepy grin as he asked in a soft tone, "whose dirty little secret are we talking about here?"

"Fuhai," Choku said in a low hiss, sideglancing him with narrowed eyes and a heated glare. His presence was definitely unwelcome, as he had a tendency to antagonize the Fullbringer-lot of the designatedly ranked Dogs, as he was a spirit and had a problem with humans in general.

His presence did not fare well for Tenshina, either.

Immediately, his body stiffened up and froze upon feeling the spiritual signature suddenly make itself known within his senses. He absolutely hated when people did that normally. But it was taken up to eleven when Fuhai had did it. The man's creepiness, visually and in his mannerisms, was not something he would ever get used to. He might've overlooked it if not for the fact that he liked to jeer the Fullbringers of the Inner Circle as an apparent hobby of his. By now, he had gotten sick of being nice.

But before he could say anything, Kameyo allowed herself to cut in.

"Yoku-san..." She was the only one to regard him with a cool and collected gaze, looking over at him after finishing another bite of her sandwich. "There is no dirty little secret here that anyone has. We are simply sharing speculations, nothing more. You needn't trouble yourself."

"Ah, Kame-san," Fuhai stated, his tone becoming slightly more pleasant, if not just a little, and a bit more hospitable when he spotted the dark haired girl. With a slight incline of his head, "I thank you for the clarification, but really...when I go out of my way to do something," he smiled a little wider as his eyes locked onto Bokujin's face, a slight haze of bloodlust ferreted towards the restrained man, "I'm far from merely troubling myself."

"Then what are you here for, Fuhai?" Choku asked in a sneering tone, pressing his glasses up in a challenging, questioning glance as his glasses flickered with a glare towards him, "if nothing else but to harass us, there are dozens of other tables for you to choose. And I'm sure your partner would be dying for your attention as well..."

A mix of emotions stirred in Tenshina, and he bit his bottom lip in an unconscious display of discomfort and disgust. His eyebrows furrowed, and his teeth was close to drawing blood from his lip. But he knew he had to keep his cool. This was someone who fed straight off of his rage and was more than willing to use it against him if he went berserk. But it was far from his mindset on being nice to the one who was so adamant on taking the role as a high-school bully. So, he opted for verbal retaliation.

"Yeah..." He spoke vehemently. "We're really not in the mood for your shit right now, Yoku. Come to think of it, we're never in the mood for your shit. We're just here to eat and do our jobs. We don't need you making things any harder for us."

"Ahaha!~" Fuhai laughed in a too-sweet musical tone, leaning on the table while merely a foot away from his face while he twirled a bang mockingly as he gleamed with a evil intent, "awwwww, am I getting on your nerves? Can't cut the real jobs cause your stamina is low? See...you don't know it, but your little human body just can't cut it in comparison to the bodies us spirits have. IN fact, I think it just might be you, cause I don't see Kame-san over here whining about her worries, now do we?"

Choku began tapping his straw against his juice box, his eyes glaring behind the light that veiled his irises, maintaining his cool but also figuring of ways to step in and deal with him should things go south. After all, he's dealt with him before...though that was a far more unpleasant time during his career as a freelance mercenary contracted under the Inner Circle.

Tenshina gritted his teeth, glowering at Fuhai and clawing at the table in an instinctive display of anger. "Look, Foobar..." He snarled, his lip curling slightly. "My last mission had me tango one-on-one with a Captain-class opponent by myself, while my team dealt with containing the situation. I've got plenty of power and stamina to keep up with the ones like you! But yeah, you are getting on my nerves, and I'm just about ready to use this table as a slingshot and send your lipstick-wearin' ass flying out of this mess hall!!"

Here was where Kameyo's eyes narrowed in warning, though she was sure Tenshina wouldn't see it. "Tenshina-kun..."

Smiling widely to the point of where his teeth flashed in a canine display while his irises glowed in a menacing, challenging hue, maintaining his pose, "Is that a threat...Ten-Ten?"

"No..."

SPRAAACK-SHINK!

"...its a ultimatum," Choku said cooly, extracting his quill pen from the corner of his ear and swiftly transformed it within a glow of bright light blue light into its sword form, the edge poking Fuhai's spine, "you either get off the table we're eating at and walk away, or continue jestering and threatening us, see what happens when you rattle the cage of snarling Dogs."

"Choku-kun," Not turning his gaze away from Tenshina, scratching the table with a faint hissing sound of sparks being emitted from his finger tips, "you should know me better than this...going around pointing that thing at people will give people the indication...you want a fight to the death."

"Why is he still staring at me?!"

However, the fact that Choku had made a threatening move towards Fuhai, Tenshina snapped out of his anger quickly. "Wait a minute, Choku, put that thing away!" He insisted, raising a hand out in a signal to stop. "Yes, he's pissing us off, but a fight is just what the guy wants, and I do not prefer to give the ones I hate what they're looking for!"

"Even though I would love to beat the shit out of this guy..." He added mentally, as an afterthought.

"Yes, this is quite unprofessional." Kameyo closed her eyes, propping her elbows on the table and folding her fingers together. "If you keep it up, you're going to draw quite a crowd. We are not the only ones in this mess hall, after all..."

"Yes, quite," Choku said in agreement to Kameyo and Bokujin's statement, his glare now apparent past the light's shine off the lenses of his glasses, "but think of this as a safety buffer in the event this mad dog doesn't want to back down."

"I've always enjoyed crowds," Fuhai said, raising his finger towards Bokujin's forehead, as slight spark of energy began dancing on his finger tip and along the airspace, all the way to the edge of his skin, "when I'm about to execute useless worms such as you-"

"I think that's enough," an eerily calm voice called out, as a average height black haired girl of awe-inspiring pale skinned beauty, wearing just a normal school-uniform-akin attire with a tray in one hand and a hand held aloft by her side. But with the way she spoke, and the tone of confidence so tranquil yet so deadly known, might have well been holding a hand cannon in her free hand to emphasize the gesture, "Yoku-san."

"Why?" Fuhai looked over with a bored look at her, his previously bloodthirsty grin regressed into annoyance while keeping his finger and the unsettling flow of static-like energy flowing between his finger tip and Bokujin's forehead, "can't you see I'm in the middle of some-GNK!"

Yūyo however did not have the restraint nor patience the others at the table had. Without any warning, Yūyo grasped the collar of Fuhai's jacket and yanked him off the table with ease and undeniably fiercesome strength, pulling him over her body and slamming him onto the ground with an audible crack.

"Because I said so, Fuhai-baka," Yūyo said with a cool look, the grace she employed not even rattling her tray from what she just done, casting a indifferent stare down at him as if she was annoyed at having to preform the maneuver rather than being angry or glad from its employment, "understand?"

"Oh, thank God..."

The move to subdue Fuhai instantly relieved Tenshina of his emotions. He sighed heavily, his shoulders drooping and his expression changing to one of his relief and gratitude. Not only did he have to fight his urges to openly attack the man, he also had to suppress the anxiety and discomfort created from the fact that he had been stared at the whole time, like a fresh piece of meat. It was not a comfortable feeling.

Kameyo blinked in surprise at the other woman's appearance, slowly allowing herself to stand and look upon the somewhat comical scene of Fuhai laying on the ground - to her, at least. "Thank you for coming to subdue your partner, Hakumei-san." She said sincerely, giving a slow nod of appreciation towards the other girl. "Any other outside help most likely would've resulted in violence..."

Yūyo looked over Kameyo with a neutral disposition, nodding to her as she spoke in her usual nonchalant tone, "Don't worry...we may work with each other from time to time, but he is certainly no partner or equal of mine. I mainly did that out of principle," she looked over, continuing to speak aloud as a angry glaring Fuhai got back onto his feet, "to remind others that there is so much barking to be tolerated before one's throat is slit."

"Damn you, Hakumei," Fuhai snarled out, emphasizing his anger at the moment, "I should kill you for laying a finger on me!"

"Killing me is far beyond your reach, Fuhai-baka, as well as beyond your place," Yūyo emphasized with a wave of her hand around the room, "should you kill me, there will be reprocussions you know will be thoroughly carried out upon yourself. You understand, don't you?"

Choku dematerialized his blade back into a Quill pen as he saw the situation play out favorably, placing it back into the recess between his right ear and his temple. The Fullbringer was now just curious to watch the obvious tale-tell signs each of them exchanged between each other, fascinated by the history the two shared with just a simple encounter.

"Yeah..." The scowl returned to Tenshina's face, and he fixed an angry glare at Fuhai. "You'd better think before you decide to goad us in the midst of a crowd. I'm no tactician, but even I know that's the dumbest thing anyone with a sense of self-preservation could do. You wouldn't want to tick off your master, would you?"

Fuhai glared at Tenshina, looking at him as if he'd outright try and attack him on the spot. But before he could even as twitch, a voice broke the air followed by steady footsteps entering the cafeteria, drawing all eyes onto the new arrival...

"For crying out loud! I'm gone over a week and this is what I come home to? Fuhai, my man," A thinly smiling man with a white high collar coat and a dark red pair of pants with a black shirt underneath walked in, his hands instinctively in his pockets, "you sure get bored, don't you?"

"Jadoku-kun!" Fuhai said with a wide smile appropiately alleviating any hostility he had earlier. Walking over to the other man, he clasped his hands in a comradery show of manly affection, both of them locking dangerous glints within their eyes towards each other before releasing their hands and standing off a few meters from each other, "I didn't hear anything in the reports...how did it go?"

"It was nothing short of slaughter," Jadoku said with a lick across his lips, "so it was nothing short of the usual, Fuhai-san," he then looked at the dent in the floor that looked shapely like Fuhai's backside, looking up with a arched brow and a smirk, "messing around when Hakumei-chan is watching? You sure are reckless..."

"It was the meat's fault for acting like its worth something," Fuhai said in a feigned shrug of ignorance of what happened to him, jerking his head towards Tenshina's direction, "so naturally I was going to cut it to size..."

"Is that right?" Fuhai asked with a smile, raising his brow with curiosity, walking past his partner towards Bokujin's direction, stopping appropiately a good two meters away...a much greater distance than his partner's rude interjection upon his personal space, "is that what happened, Tenshina-dono?"

Choku pulled a look of surprise. Though he hardly ever interacted with Fuhai's new partner, he heard that he was nothing short of bloodthirsty and crazy on his missions, though he never saw him socialize with anyone else. To see him act respectably before Tenshina...showed that he had might've exchanged words if not pleasantries with the man beforehand, causing the the former to press his glasses expectantly against the bridge of his nose in anticipation.

On the other hand, Tenshina was not in the mood to exchange pleasantries. However, he drew in another calming breath, his shoulders rising and falling with one motion. Maybe this particular man would be reasonable if he explained what had happened. But considering that they seemed to be partners...

"Your transvestite for a friend tried to goad me... or us, rather, into a fight." He said, his tone showing that he was still peeved at the incident. "And he was real close to getting one, had it not been for the intervention of Yuyo. Hence that little butt-marking on the floor." To emphasize, he nodded his head towards the dent that had been created.

If Kameyo herself showed any surprise herself, she didn't let it pass through her calm and serene facade. "The only string of violence that actually happened was Yuyo's subduing move on Fuhai. Other than that, there was no harm done. Though..." She tilted her head to the side, her eyes examining the room around her. "I cannot say the same for the mood of the atmosphere..."

"Yes so I noticed," Jadoku said as he looked at the whole of the mess hall looking their way, smiling at them as they watched, "I could feel the anxiety mounting from a mile away...and I could smell my partner's bloodlust even further still," he looked over at the three of them, "you did no ill to my partner, and any beating he got from Hakumei-sama was probably well deserved, so I have no quarrel with any of you."

As he turned away, he began walking towards a infuriated looking Fuhai, he then warned in halfway of his stride, sideglancing them as he turned his head, "However...if you had been lying to me, I'd know...and I would've let my other partner bite you to death!"

HISSSSSSSSSSS!~

A ominous hissing sound was made, as a previous undetected presence now revealed itself overhead of the ceiling, wrapped around one of the makeshift mess hall's old archaic pillar, its massive form easily dwarfing any boa constricting python back in the World of the Living. Its eyes locked onto them hungrily, hissing out an almost sentient warning to the three.

Yūyo just stared quietly and ominously throughout the whole series of exchanges of conversations and antics, awaiting any need to set her platter down and teach manners to another. Her eyes followed Jadoku's form the whole time, awaiting any indication he would strike...whether it was from his snake or his fists, she would be ready.

A slight growl escaped Tenshina's lips, his body tensing at the sudden sight of the boa snake. However, he was far from intimidated by it. He had fought opponents capable of leveling buildings and disrupting the very atmosphere with their energy. An overgrown snake certainly would not be enough to strike fear through him.

"Whatever..." Was the simple reply, as he turned around and sat back down in his seat. "I'm done with the violence. Please, leave us."

"Yes, please do so," Yūyo spoke in a clear tone of annoyance, narrowing her eyes at Jadoku, finishing firmly, "Now."

"Just making a point, no need to get all riled up here," Jadoku said with an apologetic smile, the large purple scaled snake descending down upon the ground, slithering up and over Jadoku's frame before he began walking away, nodding to Fuhai to follow. With a eery smile, Fuhai winked at the group he first antagonized before smoothing his bangs in a arrogant gesture, walking in step with his partner before talking animatedly with him as they walked down the corridor.

Survival of the Fittest, A Matter of Pride and Honor
"Good riddens," Choku sighed, pressing taking his juice box and crushing its empty hollow space within his hand, "I don't know why we keep such barbarically wild men under the same organization when they can clearly cause more trouble than they're worth...."

"They possess efficiency of our kind..." Kameyo said softly, sliding back into her own chair. "Even though their personalities might not be appreciated, they are still capable operators of the company they belong to. The Inner Circle holds competence over emotional temperance."

"Real glad we aren't like that..." Tenshina grumbled.

"Agreed," Choku said with an appreciative smile, looking at both of them equally, "and I believe that being Fullbringers...no...human helps us bond in a way many of the others cannot. Working as a team, we've not only accomplished much but have become even moreso," raising out his straw, as if it was a sword itself, he said in a chivilarious tone, "we are comrades!"

What was probably expected was a enthusiastic cheer of agreement.

Instead...

"...no." Tenshina gave him a deadpan glare, turning from his food in order to do so. "That was cheesy. This isn't some movie or story about friendship and rainbows. I don't care if it's true or not, that is still the most absolutely corny thing to say!"

Kameyo frowned in a somewhat poutish way, giving Choku a sympathetic look. "I thought it was poetic... somewhat..."

"Have you no sense of honor to the team we have made?!" Choku exclaimed in a surprised, shocked expression, waving his arms in emphasis, "my goodness, you could at least have gone with it instead of just giving me the evil eye or just a bland look...my goodness, one of these days you'll end up as boring as Hakumei-san."

"Oh..." A sarcastic smile crossed Tenshina's face, and he regarded Choku with mock belief. "Really? Maybe I'm just being subtle about it. Or what? Are you expecting to shoot laser beams made out the "bonds of our team" from my eyes and unleash swift friendship upon my enemies? Maybe I'll just name my sword "Friendship" just to emphasize that to the whole world. Or maybe you think I'm capable of pooping rainbows every time I go to the bathroom."

"Well, being able to defecate rainbows would be quite a visual spectacle..." Kameyo suggested innocently. "And for some, it may grow to become a fetish."

SPLURCH!

Tenshina nearly hit Choku with the spit-take of the drink that fell from his mouth. He swiveled his head in Kameyo's direction, his shocked and twitching-eye stare at Kameyo's cool and casual expression. "Wha-I-that-what the--?!" He couldn't bring himself to speak for a good several seconds, rendered speechless by the words that she spoke. However, it didn't last long. "Okay, no. One, that's not even something a woman should be saying. Two... just... no! There are no words to describe how messed up that is!"

Choku deftly raised his platter up as a makeshift shield, sweat-dropping at Bokujin's antics, muttering aloud, "My my, so much for our reserved companion...," lowering down his platter and examining the wrappers that fell off, he began to fold them neatly before putting them back onto his empty platter, "you know, Tenshina-san, this was your fault. Saying things in a provocatively crass manner will often get feedback not to your liking. Receiving momentary humor is far outweighed by the repulsiveness of a equally well-equipped comeback."

"It was not meant as a means of retaliation..." Kameyo said. "Just a simple theoretical guess. Everything in existence will draw some sort of obsession, whether in fantasies or otherwise. What you might find crass, someone else might find to be an aphrodisiac. One's trash is another's treasure." She followed this up with the finishing bites of her burger, swiftly sucking her fingers clean.

"...why did that seem to be philosophical?" Tenshina resumed his deadpan expression, staring at the two of them blankly. "Kameyo, you really have a screwed up way of thinking."

"I will take that as a compliment, considering it's not uncommon for someone to say that to me."

"I think she's got a point," Choku said in a semi-defensive posture as he pointed his straw towards Kameyo, "even if it seems a bit unnatural, there's always something to be learned by another's perspective."

On the far side of the cafeteria, a series of pitter-patterings were heard as a group of individuals rushed to one of the reserved tables. After talking animatedly, the group turned to each before dashing off. Soon, within a few minutes, nearly half of the cafeteria stopped eating and began rushing down the corridor where the excited individuals came from. Eventually, others began to file out of the cafeteria towards the commotion.

"...the hell...?"

This made Tenshina and Kameyo's head crane in curiosity and confusion, with the former voicing his thoughts. However, it was the only words that he allowed to escape his mouth. Slowly, he got up from his seat and stood up, watching as a good majority of the cafeteria was filing out. "Ok... what could possibility be so important that everyone's running out of here like they're in high-school?" He questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

"My intuition tells me if we are to find out, we should follow," Choku said pointedly, pressing on the ridge of his nose, raising his glasses up before standing up and looking at the others with a hint of a smile, "right?"

"Eeyup..." With that being side, Tenshina decided to break into a sprinting jog. "C'mon, we don't want to miss getting a front row seat if we're going!"

Swiftly standing up herself, Kameyo was quick to follow right behind him in an almost soundless manner, her boots treading the ground lightly even as she caught up with him.

Choku began walking methodically alongside Kameyo, letting Bokujin get ahead of them as he began smirking.

"Do you think on of our illustrious superiors is punishing someone publically again, or do you think its going to be a mad brawl out on the garden courtyard again?" Choku mused aloud to Kameyo as they began making their way with the remainder of the cafe's occupants towards the wide open space at the far end of the corridor.

"If it is either of those choices..." Kameyo said coolly. "I would choose the former. I would doubt the professionalism of these mercenaries would allow them to be attracted to something so trivial as a brawl or an unlawful engagement..."

Ahead of them, animated shouts of various sorts and cheers, all of them looking like the crowd was witnessing a spectacle or a competition. With a chuckle, Choku scratched his chin while half-liddedly staring ahead, "Well, I believe that there wouldn't be so much rambunctious cheering if it was the former instead of the latter, don't you think, Kame-chan?"

In response, Kameyo narrowed her eyes. But it was obvious that she acknowledged her own mistake. "What kind of battle and what kind of participants would attract such a large crowd...?" She questioned, a slight frown on her face. It only drove her own curiosity even higher.

Choku began looking to stray passerbyers, with a couple of men talking to each other as they hurried pass them, saying, "I can't believe he challenged him!"

"What can you expect?! A lot of people want to prove they're better than Valeur-san!"

"Valeur is going to take these guys down just like the rest...he's undefeatable!"

"I bet he likes to flaunt that pretty face of his when he does so...what a showboat!"

"If you had skills like he does, wouldn't you want to get some attention?!"

"There it is...the show's about to start!"

"Valeur...Valeur...why does that name sound familiar?" Choku began saying it aloud, looking upwards in thought as he cupped his chin as they methodically and patiently strode towards the crowd that assembled around the garden atrium, a common place for gatherings and contests despite its archaically well preserved beauty. It also, has become as of the late past few years, a good place to do bouts or duels between the more elite men of the Inner Circle's ranks. Reason being, most of the time rookies or amateurs do brawls and the like, they end up tearing up the place and get reprimanded for it. So long as they're not leaving a considerable amount of damage in their wake, they're allowed to use any part of the citadel grounds as they see fit...within reason.

Because Kameyo and Tenshina were moving faster than he was, Kameyo got ahead of Choku and slowed down to a walk beside Tenshina as he skidded to a spot where he could view what was going on.

"Great..." Tenshina muttered dryly, sighing lightly as he folded his arms across his chest. "A couple of guys get together for a little "gentleman's challenge". Wonder how much damage's going to be made this time?" Although it was only the rookies that ended up doing the damage, it still put skepticism that such would be a common occurrence to see.

"If its that unappealing, Tenshina-san, you can always go back and take a nap somewhere," Choku said teasingly as he walked in step beside him, having a perfectly good view of the descended atrium courtyard, where a fountain stood in the center that spout off from a few distinct statues embodying what looked angels, with a stream around it, while a handful of men stood on its left side, staring down with arms crossed or hands on the hips. The opposing side held the declared Valeur, the well defined and well known warrior within their ranks looked at the handful of men with a smile of amusement. It looked like this was going to be fun for him while the others looked like they were going to have a field day getting him on his knees.

"Can you percieve anything of why this is going on, Kame-chan?" Choku asked Kameyo with interest, always appreciating his female companion's opinion over his more provacatively dry toned compatriot.

"From the looks of things..." Kameyo supplied, keeping her eyes on the two sides. "And from the snippets of conversation from what we heard from the watchers, then this said Valeur holds a high amount of prestige. The opposing group wishes to challenge him for the reason of obtaining that very same prestige, if not higher." She leaned over, resting both of her arms on the balcony in order to lean her weight against something as she watched the courtyard down below. "If there's a mass crowd, then this should prove to be quite entertaining."

Although Tenshina was listening - and he really was listening! - he couldn't help but lean back and divert his eyes downward - a less-than-subtle and somewhat comical movement made to ogle Kameyo's backside. "Uh, yeah..." He said dryly, trying to sound like his tone was agreeing with her words and not something else. "Interesting...right..."

"It will most certainly be anything but boring," Choku said with a smile as he pressed his glasses against the bridge of his nose, as the group opposing Valeur began speaking out aloud, silencing the rambunctious chatter to attentive silence and mere whispers.

"You're pretty face is going to be under my boot today, Valeur!" Shouted the head of the group, a man named by Takeshi Suzaku, often seen as a man of tactical worth and success, his group carrying out many dangerous missions with hardly any failures. While it seemed he only brought his lieutenants along with him, he certainly didn't lack for confidence, "your constant passive boasts will no longer ring in these halls! It will be my name, Takeshi Suzaku that will be fit to be sung by all those who bear our titles."

"You sure sound like you know what's what, for a mere alpha male ahead of curs," Valeur spoke with an educated tongue, an amused tone carried across with an equally humored smile, "challenging my honor like this will be one of the last mistakes you'll ever make, Ser Takeshi."

SHIIINK-SPHT!

"Ha! As great in skill you are, there is no way you can be unmarked by my tactical prowess, and physically admired skill!" Takeshi spoke aloud, drawing a katana from his back, causing it to alight with spiritually aligned particles of bright blue flames, marking it as the originated design of a Spirit Weapon. The rest of the men began to unsheathe their own weapons, whether it was mere gauntlets which they alight runes of various sorts, or merely seals that hid away their true martial strength.

So far, Valeur had not moved nor unsheathed the obviously blatant weapons sheathed diagonally on his back. He just stood there with his arms crossed over his muscular armored torso, and his eyes appraising them individually of each of their strengths and weaknesses.

It was here that Tenshina turned his attention away from Kameyo and to the fight at hand.

"Ok, that guy's not even moving?" He said incredulously, moving to lean on the balcony as well. "Somehow, that tells me which way this is going to go. One guy, outnumbered and seemingly outmatched, is standing like he can own them all. We all know where this is going to go."

"Indeed. Only a rookie would underestimate the said Valeur due to the concept of numbers against him..." Kameyo agreed, her eyes still focused on the battle. If anything, she hadn't shown any awareness of Tenshina checking her out. But of course, Brina had taught her personally to be a particularly good assassin with really good senses. Perhaps she simply was more interested in the fight than anything else...\

"I think nothing but respect of Takeshi for his exploits," Choku said admittingly, before he sighed at the spectacle and for what he heard, not having paid explicit attention to his leering comrade, "but his pride sometimes outweighs his common sense and his discernment what not to challenge and what to challenge openly. Now, he merely sees a man mocking him by simply existing. That enough, is making all of his accomplishments pale in comparison of the famed Valeur standing amongst him and his cohorts."

It was then that Valeur looked at his hands, looking like he was checking his nails for dirt, but as he was striking his fingers up one after another, he raised his hand up showing it to the challengers, "Three."

"Three?!" The men behind Takeshi vocalized at once, sweatdropping slightly at the spectacle and single word statement, with the leader growling audibly as he gnashed his teeth towards his opposing challenger.

"If any of you make me fight you longer than three minutes, then you will have earned my respect and I will release half of my true power against you," Valeur spoke with a smile, closing his eyes as he grasped one spear then the other, unsheathing the immaculately designed and shaped weapons strapped to his back, "but until then, this will be nothing but a nice workout...a sparring session for myself. Come then," he slid his left foot behind himself, holding his spears in diagonal directions, one different from the other respectively, a sign of a man who knows how to wield a spear, let alone a pair of them, "let us test your mettle and prove if your pride is a strong as your blade."

"Bastard!" Takeshi snarled out, jettisoning himself from his position, while swiping his blade out in a brilliant arc in front of himself, discharging a blast of flames to rivet the air hotly while not touching the immaculate cobblestone ground below him, "you should know better than to openly goad me!"

However, instead of hitting the intended target, all he hit was a spear stabbed into the ground barely marring its surface, proving its craftmanship was more resilient than it appeared.

"They say fools like to chatter, Ser Takeshi," Valeur spoke, as he held his left hand's spear aloft while his right hand propped on his hip, "keep on speaking if you want everyone here to view you as one when you have barely started this bout!"

WOOSH!

Valeur then seemed to descend upon his opponent in a blur, his body somersaulting in the air indiscernably to the man's eyes with only few in the audience that could catch sight of him, before a foot planted onto the frontside of Takeshi's face, causing him to sprawl backwards and land head over heels past his men, sputtering unintelligibly.

The men looked dazed and slightly confused, before the man with the gauntlets retaliated back, making a few handsigns before slamming his palms outwards, sending burst of electrical power towards Valeur's position. Valeur smiled as he backpedaled a good few steps, stopping only a meter past his planted spear...from which the the incoming stream of electricity seem to divert to and ground into the stone it was stabbed into.

"He used his own weapon as a lightning rod?!" One of the people near Choku and his companions spoke, before exclaiming, "that guy's thinking on his feet two steps ahead of the other guys!"

"He has to..." Kameyo answered readily. "He is outnumbered by a handful. It is only natural that when cornered, a combatant tends to stick with strategy and tact rather than the use of direct combat." Following this, she raised a free hand to idly scratch at her face before returning it to its position on the balcony. "Furthermore, this could be done simply to antagonize the lesser and more emotional combatant into a rage in order to increase that tactical advantage."

The observations made Tenshina chuckle in amusement. "C'mon, Takeshi. Open your hands up and show us some hell..."

While another of the four remaining cohorts took the initiative after the spell was wasted, this one seemed to be garbed with a number of bladed weapons and pockets, suggesting him to be a skill within the designation of a weaponsmaster. Quickly moving his hands, he unlatched the pockets with ease and threw out his hands in a number of precise, carefully aimed gestures, sending a number of projectiles towards the opponent near his spear.

Valeur chuckled, grasping his spear with both hands and began spinning it methodically and gracefully, catching each and every projectile by the tip of his lance, or its posterior butt end. He even grasped a handful of them by the edge of his spear without letting them fall, before letting them loose back at his opponents, causing them to duck and weave out of the way, pock-marking the cobbleston around them.

Takeshi, however, had recovered from the kick that Valeur delivered, a red imprint donned on his previously proud chiseled features, causing him to growl angrily, his blade acting in accordance to his emotions blazed hotly. "You wanted me pissed off, Valeur?! Well that will be one of your last mistakes!" He called out, swinging his blade in a arc within the air towards Valeur.

This time, the flames didn't simply manifest as a wild current of fire, but as a large lion that took a semi-solid form of magma and flames, roaring out as it charged towards Valeur's form with twice the speed and even more power threshold.

Valeur however, charged at the beast, stabbing the cobblestone before himself and vaulted over the superheated aura of the beast as well as its manifested maws and claws from possible physical damage. While halfway past the magically crafted beast, Valeur lifted his spear from the stone in front of its face before arcing it around brilliantly before slashing its backside with a clean sweeping motion. Landing a good few meters away from the construct, it suddenly howled in agony before smoldering into nothing but ashes and flickering tongues of fire, showing a success in disabling the attack.

"Strange," Choku said while massaging his chin as he observed the battle, "he purposely drew both of his spears during the battle, even coming off in a preferred stance of fighting with one in each hand. Yet, he's using only one to deal with each of these attacks or techniques, while leaving the other one firmly planted on the ground. Is he merely using it as a means of defense or makeshift maneuverability...or is he waiting for something?"

It was enough to jar Tenshina's attention a little.

"Oh, right, I didn't notice that little detail..." He muttered, furrowing his eyebrows. "But, hey. We'll find out soon enough, won't we? In any case, if he's waiting for something, Takeshi better move fast..."

"Kill him!" Takeshi yelled out, his eyes grew red with rage, his blade lighting aflame as he readied himself to intervene, "leave nothing of him to look upon!"

One man with well defined muscular physique nodded to the weaponsmaster, both of them making a dash towards Valeur with their weapons bared.

"That's more like it!" Valeur goaded, spinning his spear around as he rushed back towards them. Within a flurry of fists and blades, Valeur began dancing elegantly with his lance, countering parrying and kicking, he moved around them with a grace far beyond the two's combined experience overall.

It was within a simultaneous rush of both opponents that Valeur managed to backflip, slashing one's arm off while slicing the tendons connecting the other man's off causing them both to fall down writhing in pain or unconscious respectively.

"I got you!" The man with the gauntlets cried out, slamming his palms upon the earth, sending a rippling chain reaction, from which runes instaneously materialized underneath Valeur's feet. With a quick side step leap towards the fountain's immense top, he managed to narrowly avoid the golem hand that was created. High above, however, he saw that his main adversary had taken flight...upon a great flamed phoenix construct with his sword held high above him, readying to attack him full on.

Looking around the battlefield, once...twice...three times, Valeur then smiled. He had the perfect plan. Once he locked eyes with the gauntlet man with a smirk, it was all the provacation he needed to attack once more.

"DIE!" The spell weaver shouted, using the earth style technique again, causing the fountain itself to change shape and attempt to crush him as it changed and morphed into a golem-like fist. Valeur surprised him as he utilized the sudden change in height to propel himself up high into the air,

"You fell right into my trap, Aethian mutt!" Takeshi said as he charged his phoenix towards him, even as Valeur gained a slight bit more altitude than he did.

Then, Valeur's eyes shifted to a serious gaze, with no smile at all. The biggest mistake, pitching a battle against a spearman and thinking you have the upperhand...when you didn't consider the ramifications of putting him at a distance...would be Takeshi's last mistake.

WHIZ!

With a swift, blurring motion, Valeur threw his spear towards Takeshi, the versatility used was incredible as it honed in on its target...

WHAM-CRACK!

And shattered the Spirit Weapon at the base of the blade where it met the guard, a common weakpoint in any bladed weapon when struck with incredible penetrative power. The result also caused the flame construct to dissipate instaneously causing Takeshi to start a outcrying free fall...as well as the spear that had been thrown to narrowly, unintentionally strike the spot right in front of Bokujin's lap, with only a meter of space to spare, as its crash landing caused quite a ruckus and splintered the ground it struck.

"HOLY F--!!"

Tenshina was viciously jarred out of his calm demeanor when the spear struck the space in front of him. He reeled back in a comical manner, frozen in a karate pose and staring that the spear as it lay embedded where he stood. "Th... this shit is why I usually don't go to gatherings like this..." He said shakily, one of his eyes twitching repeatedly.

Surprisingly, Kameyo hadn't moved an inch, not phased by the accidental collateral damage that had been done. She was completely focused on the battle, her eyes following both of the fighters as they descended to what appeared to be their demise. Of course, it wasn't that easy...

But Valeur wasn't done there, as he propelled himself towards his target, somersaulting forward with the intention of landing another kick upon Takeshi's face.

Takeshi however, managed to catch the foot and push himself away from Valeur in midflight, still causing the latter to smile as he shadowboxed the man while falling thirty meters from the air downwards.

"You can't beat me, Valeur! You may take down my men, my weapons, my power, but I'll still beat you!" Takeshi yelled out in a manical, outraged tone.

"Amusing," Valeur spoke as he then propelled himself away from Takeshi, causing the man to twitch in surprise, "cause I believe you brought this upon yourself!"

"What are you-"

CRACK-THUMP!

Any protest Takeshi would have was cut short when his body was propelled...right into the path of the erect, planted spear where Valeur planted it right in the beginning of the fight, with his back split and his body outstretched in a instinctive show of shock and anguish. A silent scream emitted from his mouth as his eyes widened bulbously, as his mind blanked out from the pain and the sudden paralysis inflicted upon his body.

With a sudden graceful clap of his boots upon the ground, Valeur looked over to where Takeshi lay limply upon the butto his stationary weapon, "Such is the price the prideful must pay. You may believe your pride can let you destroy a mountain, but my Honor is more powerful than any weapon of your crafting. So long as a man has his Honor, the boasting of the Prideful will never reach me, nor will never touch me."

He then walked over to the unconscious, half dead man, grasping his spear and pulling it with ease from its perch, and let the man's body fall limply onto the ground. Looking to any remaining combatants around him, he gave them a glare of reckoning, "Should any of you try to challenge my Honor again, I will not hold back from utterly annihilating you fools!"

The gauntlet-bearing man shivered with fear, gulping down whatever loyalty and pride he had, he merely ran towards his comrades and helped them up, making sure they all got away with their lives, leaving their dignity far behind.

"Oh, sweet black fucking Sabbath, that is gruesome!"

Tenshina hissed and winced as he lay eyes upon the impalement scene, from where Takeshi had landed on the spear to when Valeur threw him off of it and onto the ground. A vicious shiver went down his spine. "No matter how many times I see it, I'm never going to get used to stuff like that...

"Within that calm and casual facade, he was holding back his own anger and contempt." Kameyo commented. "He was truly aiming to humiliate them and crush any thoughts of victory they had against him. Quite a frightening soul, indeed..."

"Two minutes, seven seconds," Choku muttered aloud, pressing his glasses against the bridge of his nose as he analytically observed how much time it took for the gentleman spearman to take down his opponents, "he didn't even reach very far past two minutes. Can't imagine if there's any single opponent who can take him on in a physical match, one-on-one let alone five against one."

"There probably is..." Tenshina grumbled, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. "We just don't know of it yet. Maybe he or she isn't in the mood to step down and fight in front of all of these people. Maybe he or she doesn't feel like boasting about their abilities. Who knows?"

"You there," Valeur asked Tenshina's twitching form, his body moving within an instant reminiscent to a Flash Step, much faster than he displayed during his bout. He stood before the said man with his other spear in hand, grasping the other before Bokujin's front, pulling it from the cobblestone step he took a seat before the projectile's destination, "I apologize for almost causing your person injury. It'd grieve me if I caught anyone in this unfortunate occurrence over the matter of my Honor, but I'm pleased to see you are unharmed."

"Ah--!"

Still somewhat shaken from nearly having been impaled by the spear, Tenshina shrank back briefly when Valeur reappeared before him. He raised his hands up defensively and reassuringly. "Hey, really, it's no big deal!" He insisted, putting on a mildly weak smile. "As long as you didn't hit me, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

"Fear is unbecoming for a fellow warrior," Valeur said with a arched brow of amusement, before raising his weapons and sheathing them respectively, his eyes closed while speaking, "but alas, in the face of such brutal executions, some of the most veteran of combatants might be if only slightly unnerved. Again, I-"

Valeur's eyes then opened and locked on Kameyo's face, halting his speech for a few seconds. His gaze broke out a slight mesmerized look of astonishment, as if he saw some unknown treasure or discovered something new he hadn't seen before.

"...apologize," he finished his speech, his cheeks tinted with a slight crimson complexion, his awe and mesmerization not being lifted even after finished speaking.

Choku couldn't help but blink, looking back and forth between Kameyo and Valeur, remaining silent with his own personal speculations he gauged to be...awkward, for this situation.

"...keep staring. I might do a trick."

Kameyo's cool and somewhat unimpressed look caused Tenshina to stifle a chuckle as he switched his gaze over towards the two. She had parted from the balcony and took to standing, meeting his eyes with the crimson of her own. A neutral curve was made of her mouth, but he could clearly hear the smirk in her voice as she spoke the deadpan snarker-ish words to Valeur.

Valeur shook out of his daze with those words. With a clearing of his throat, he bowed before Kameyo in a gentleman manner with a forearm under his midriff while the other behind the small of his back, "I apologize, Mademoifelle. I thought I caught a glimmer of perfection in your eyes, so I was stunned for a few moments, forgive my impertinence."

"Smooth as a silk veil," Choku chuckled, trying not to be too obvious for fear of impeaching his Honor and earning the wrath of his more deadly edged weapon than what Takeshi fared.

"Really?"

Kameyo tilted her head to the side briefly and slightly before returning it back to its straight position. "Glad to see such a brutal fighter also's capable of showing chivalry..." She said simply, taking a few steps to approach him. A few steps, in fact, was all it took to close the distance to a point where they could freely use indoor voices and still be heard. She kept his gaze within his the whole time, even as she moved. "But I'm sorry to disappoint you. I'm far from perfect. But of course, you might find that out soon enough..."

"Its true, you live within an impure vessel as a human, madame," Valeur shrugged nonchalantly, before smiling sincerely to her, "but you have a spark inside you that far outshines any impurities that dwell upon the surface. That's the true meaning of perfection, after all...the one quality that each entity has within them that outshines the darkness that underlies each of our impure shells."

This time, Tenshina could hear a smile in her voice - as well as see a ghost of it on her face.

"...I think we could get used to a person like you..." She commented after a moment of silence, allowing herself to turn her body away from him. However, her eyes were kept on him. "So it'd be appreciated if you didn't deviate from those expectations, Valeur-san."

"I swear it upon my Honor as a gentleman and a warrior I will stay true to those expectations," Valeur said with a smile, bowing halfway, while smiling at her, "madame."

"With that being said," Choku said as he raised a hand from his coat pocket while keeping the other in said opposing pocket, "do you want to accompany us in finding a good place to talk? None of us has had any summons for another mission yet, so I'm certain we can benefit from your stunning company, Valeur-san."

Valeur smiled, placing a hand on his right hip while looking off to the side in thought, his eyes looking as if they were distant. After a few moments of thought, Valeur raised his eyes back to Choku's and the others, "I accept your offer, Serah."

"...wait a minute. We're friends with a guy with such a high reputation?" Tenshina couldn't help but stare in surprise, shifting his gaze from one person to the other. "Well, I can't complain. Maybe we'll use this guy to get popular. Who knows?" Putting on a small grin, he shrugged lightly. "Sounds good to me! Lead the way, my neighborhood Brainiac!"

"Oh how your compliments rain down on my soul, my skeptical lounging cat," Choku elaborated in a semi-sarcastic tone with a smile on his face, walking down the corridor from whence they came, but with a different destination in mind, leading the way for his two comrades and their new guest.

Valeur chuckled at the antics he witnessed, following their lead while maintaining a favorable viewpoint of Kameyo's face and hair. While normally men would let their gaze linger, Valeur was a man of principle. If one cannot appreciate the woman's innate facial beauty and their hair, then don't trouble your eyes to see anything else. So, as it stood, he kept himself quite occupied chuckling at the random antics of his intriguing new acquaintences as well as keeping his eyes locked on Kameyo's enamoring beauty.

And then Tenshina knew.

"She must've been ignoring it the whole time! She doesn't even seem to care!"

The revelation caused Tenshina to relax, and he almost breathed a sigh of relief as he glanced at the "exchange" between Valeur and Kameyo. He could see that she had glanced at him once to notice that he was doing so, before continuing to look forward. Was she indifferent to it? Or did she actually feel comfortable with him looking at her? With that serene and neutral expression on her face, he couldn't tell. He could only wonder who taught her how to do such a perfect poker face.

"I think I might start liking to socialize with a band of unusual people...once again..."

Valeur thought inside his head as he smiled, feeling nostalgic as he traveled with these people and aimed to forge bonds from them. Who knows? Maybe they'll accept him, or maybe they'll call him friend. In the end...Valeur knew that a man with Honor, is a man who'd use that honor to forge friendships greater than any weapon or technique a entity could concieve. That...is what Valeur believes is the greatest honoring thing to do in this life and the next.

Tread Lightly, Perches of Fire and Teeth
Beyond the halls and commons of this particular fortress the Inner Circle takes refuge and stations their headquarters lies the higher levels reserved for only the Dragons and their masters, the Four Horsemen. Within these halls rose impossibly tall vaulted ceilings, with marble walls and pillars, sculpted nearly a millenia ago and yet so perfectly preserved. Some rooms were of a pure albaster white color, with mixtures of violets and pinks, giving it a mesmerizing beauty, while others had dark, contrasting and shadowy crevices within ever partition of the rooms. Each hall were specifically chosen to meet the particular aesthetic tastes of each particular high-ranking entity that claimed the coveted title of Dragon.

This...is where a more reclusive to the Inner Circle grunts and Dogs, going by the name of the Mist Dragon for his mysterious and well kept identity. This entity currently embelished in a black kimono cloak over a set of dark red and black set of attires, with a mixture of a kosode, kama skirt, leggings, black slippers and long sleeves with a elongated series of pouches holding a variety of tools and miniaturized devices. Being the most "social" of the Dragons besides the comrade he was going to visit, this one was known for having a personality that was constantly evolving and changing before his allies and enemies' eyes.

His name...is...

"You there," the man in question, asking an attendent in front of Brina McTavish's personal hall was, putting his hands in his leggings pockets as he looked at the attendent with a pleasant inquisitive smile, "do you happen to know where I can find McTavish-san? I'm wanting to discuss something with her..."

"She is in her personal monitor control room, sir."

The attendant in question was wearing a green, military-style uniform reminiscent of any foot soldier within the inner circle. On his back was a Kidō assault rifle. He had his hands folded behind his back, looking at the one who approached him with a steel expression on his face. "Shall I lead you to where she is? If you wish to speak with her, she's currently available."

"When you put it like that," Meikurai said with a sheepish grin, scratching the back of his head, "I might get lost if I try to find her, so if you would be so kind as to lead me to her please, good man?"

"Of course."

With that being said, the attendant pulled an about-face and walked down the hall, already assured that Meikurai would follow.

The hall itself was a massive corridor, although it only took fifty steps or so in order to reach the end of it despite its twists and turns. They were made of the said alabaster white that had made up some of the rooms and offices within this particular sector. However, at the end of the hall was a rusted door, with a window that had the words "T.I.C. Surveillance HQ" in bold letters. Through the window, artificial light from monitors could be seen.

Pulling out a card from his pocket, the guard inserted it into what looked like a card lock for the door. A small beep sounded in confirmation, allowing the guard to pull out the card and slip it back within his pocket. Automatically, the door itself opened up. The guard moved aside for Meikurai to enter.

The room itself was, of course, a massive surveillance room with several screens active and online. In the center of it was a table with a chair facing away from them. It was occupied by a feminine figure who was leaned over. The sound of tapping on the wood could be heard, as if she was constantly moving something from one spot on the table to another.

This was Brina McTavish, a Dragon of the 1st Horseman.

"Hello there, Brina-san," Meikurai said with a cheerful note, taking a leisurely walk around her surveilance center and admiring the various screens and pieces of elaborate equipment, "I never get tired of seeing this lab...my mobile ones always seem so dull or small in comparison, its a pity I can never re-create one like this on my own."

"Hm?"

Brina abruptly stopped what she was doing and turned her head, a surprised look in her eyes as she swiveled her gaze to him. However, recognition dawned on him, and a cheery smile became present on her face. "Well, if it isn't Shiomaneki-kun!" She said, enthused by his entrance within the room. "Never would've thought that someone would've bothered to come down here just to visit. To what do I owe it?"

On the table lay a map of Aether, listed with cities and exact locations. Some of these locations were marked... but not with pen or pencil... but chess pieces. There were various kinds of them marked, both black and white. Hers was white, while what was presumed to be the other side's was black. Beside the chess-marked map was a remote meant for controlling the screens.

"Honestly, I had nothing better to do," Meikurai shrugged, smiling in a evasive characteristic manner, before walking over to the said table, cocking his head and bending his back here and there to look inquisitively at the chess pieces. Furrowing his brow, he looked at Brina dryly, "why are you using chess pieces again? Is everything a game to you, Brina-san?"

A poutish look came across Brina's face for a brief moment. "You make it sound like it's a bad thing."

She turned her head away from him, placing her elbows on the table and folding her hands together, her eyes looking at the map. "It's not an off comparison, either. After all, what's the difference between planning out ways to corner opposing forces, breaking down fortified enemy targets, and the elimination of pest resistance any different from solving a puzzle game? To the intelligent mind, yes. This can be seen as nothing more than a game to win or lose."

"Yeah, I see what you mean," Meikurai said with a smile, standing up and pocketing his hands while looking at Brina with a hidden smile, "but after you play the game so many times, it just seems...boring. Seeing those pieces just reminds me how easy this all really is for people like you and me, since we've been playing it for so long. Right, Brina-san?"

"Normally, you'd be right..."

Brina raised her arms over her head while keeping her hands folded, shutting her eyes and arching her back in order to stretch her back for a brief moment. "But..." She continued, opening her eyes and returning her hands back to their former position. "This isn't just some regular game of chess where the board is always going to be a pattern of black and white squares. The setting shifts, new players step in, and everything moves in a constantly unpredictable cycle. The concept may stay the same, but the place will always change over time. The tables may turn in favor of one side or another. It's what keeps everything so interesting..."

It was here that she turned her blue eyes to Meikurai.

"Which brings me to a question. How are things going on your end of the field, if I may ask?"

"Ever since that incident of the Red Sun plot and the Plinian Eruption, I've managed to merge my list of trustworthy contacts and information hubs all intwined where the Sword Squad has reinforced the security within Yūrei Ōkoku. We now have nearly unlimited access to all activities, duties, and schedules of every individual within Yūrei's borders," Meikurai said with a smile, pacing around the board, tracing his fingers around the edge as he continued his jargon, "the Hankami are being secretly monitored, of course, and what gives us the best boon is that one Lieutenant Daisuke Hayate is currently in...a relationship with the Queen of Hell herself. With her nearly at his side on a constant basis, it'll be easy to keep track of her movements as well as station special watchmen to keep track of her control of Hell's forces under her sway."

These words brought an intrigued expression on Brina's face. "Such a dangerous turn of events..." She commented softly, shifting one leg over the other while folding her hands within her lap. She had scooted back from the table and had now resorted to idly spinning the chair around. "Watching the likes of a mortal city is one thing. But keeping the very Queen of Tartarus herself contained would certainly provide a challenge, especially considering how close she is to her siblings. Are the rest of the Inner Circle so sure they can do the job?"

"That's a question you'll have to ask our other associates, Brina-san, I can only say what I'm in control of," he said admittingly, shrugging as he shuffled his feet against the floor, "for the moment, I can confirm some of the reports of what I've heard. I shared some...data with a illustriously illusive co-worker of mine underneath our leader, Tsukishima-sama, and he enacted upon it. If it wasn't for additional reinforcements and certain data that sprung the Captain of the 10th Division away from the battle, he would have been able to finish him off, and our most recent battle wouldn't have turned out so disasterously against the Sect..."

"Oh!" Brina's eyes brightened up, as if suddenly remembered something. "That." Her smile momentarily widened, and she put her elbows on the armrests while her fingertips touched together. "Yes, that was quite a show Yashin put on for us, wasn't it? This must've been quite the humiliation for the 10th Division Captain to have his prey slip away due to unfortunate circumstances twice in a row. Doesn't help that the second time he had them right where he wanted them..."

She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath and pausing for a brief moment before speaking again. "But, who knows? Maybe it was fated for V-14 not to get destroyed so early. Maybe fortune decided that they would be one of our greatest adversaries to oppose us. If anything, I'm quite eager to see if they're the ones capable of piercing the heart of this very organization..."

"Surely you jest," Meikurai asked in a incredulous tone, walking in the opposite direction with his back to his feminine compatriot, "nothing is fated to happen just because things seem to go bad. Miscalculation, bad judgement, and error of tactics always play a part in coincidences, stray encounters, and often destined conflicts. If anything, the only thing I'm concerned about is that Yashin hasn't been more...enthusiastic than he has in the past decade, despite the fact these could all be labeled as disasters or failures," Meikurai spoke in a wary tone as he turned back to face Brina, now on the far side of the strategy board, sideglancing her with a wary stare.

"They can..." Brina murmured, the smile lessening. "But we have to be honest with ourselves. Despite what we've seen, Shiyōnin is nothing short of a being who does his best to stray away from our understanding. As far as he could be concerned, his so-called "failure" could be nothing more than an inconvenience or even something to benefit him in the long run. After all..."

She raised one of her hands and snapped her fingers.

Upon that nonverbal command, the monitors acted as one, switching from various scenes to one that could be viewed by the two of them.

What they both could see was what remained of the landscape after the fight between the Nihilist and Mōshin. What had been a calm plain of ice now looked like that a meteor had smashed into it. The sky had taken on a blood-red color, the clouds giving off the visage of a distorted atmosphere. The camera was moving in a helicopter-view, surveying the immense damage that had been done.

"...what's the point of crying over a few thousand shock troopers or a couple of targets slip away from his fingers..." She purred. "When he has forces that are capable of doing this?"

"The fact that he didn't even appear upon the battlefield until this...demon of his was about to unleash the literal forces of Hell upon the surprised Hankami, means that he was monitoring the entire battlefield...at least on the outside," he placed his hands behind his back, pacing back towards Brina's direction while speaking aloud, "not when one of our best associates nearly killed or incapacitated a third of the Sect's cultivated members when he revealed himself. I even heard he managed to tangle against two Daitenshi simultaneously and hardly waste any effort. If there's any other entity that I am more wary than Shiyōnin-san, its going to be Daigomi Bandai that I'd watch extra carefully..."

Brina folded her hands behind her head. "You know, when you mention it like that, it's somewhat sad to have to keep watch on your own colleagues like such..." She commented. "But I guess deception, even when in the midst of the organization itself, is a price that has to be paid for the ultimate goal." She tilted her head to the side in a curious and inquisitive manner. "You need any help with your surveillance, by any chance?"

"I just need more intel on our said two illustrious associates, Daigomi and Yashin, that's all," Meikurai quickly and honestly admitted, crossing his arms while leaning against the strategically arrayed table, smirking, "one can never have too much knowledge of those two, as obscure as it may be. The wild cards of our midst may be too wild if you ask me..."

"...oh, Shiomaneki-kun..."

Brina's tone became much more humored, and she regarded him with a look of teasing disapproval. "You may be one of the best when it comes to infiltration and espionage..." She purred. "But you just have no appreciation of a good challenge. There's no such thing as "too wild". That's only said by the people who believe that they're unable to handle it, and I'm sure you're more than capable. You should stop looking down on yourself so much."

Shrugging while smiling lopsidedly, Meikurai scratched his chin, "I probably have them figured out more than anyone else within our ascended organization, don't I? I guess maybe I'm just playing coy in case you knew something I don't?" He winked at her mischieviously, and somewhat flirtatiously as he always does, "you may never know, will you?"

A smile was made of Brina's lips, and she gave a wink of her own in return. "I may, I may not. We'll just have to see, won't we?"

With that being said, she allowed herself to rise up out of the chair and give a yawn as she performed another back-stretching maneuver. "Ah, jeez! I've been in that chair longer than I would've thought..." She complained, frowning in disapproval as she placed a hand on her hip. However, that was quickly lost when she turned her eyes towards Meikurai. "In any case, you don't have to worry about getting more intel. As a former member of the Stealth Force, I can prove to be quite resourceful when the time calls for it. In the meantime, though," She followed up with a quick tossing back of her neck in order to snap it again. "I think I've stayed in here for far too long..."

Smiling an appealing smile, Meikurai walked to Brina's side, outstretching an arm for her to loop casually, "I hear that the observatory wing is currently unoccupied. Since you're in the mood to stretch your legs, would you mind accompanying this humble associate of yours to enjoy the view?"

"Not at all..."

In appreciation, Brina moved her arm within his, her hand resting on his bicep. Her other arm was folded within the small of her back. "Lead the way, my fellow Dragon..." She said politely, squinting her eyes and allowing for the fingers of her free hand to snap again. Within that instant, the monitors simultaneously shut off, leaving the light of the overhead lamp the only light within the room.

"My vocal commands are cooler," Meikurai childishly commented in a mutter of his breath, as he witnessed the instaneous shut-off command with a simple snap of her fingers, a probable audible-recieved command to the audio recievers of her monitoring equipment.

As he led her out of the way they came, he began to subtly admire Brina's aesthetically attractive attire, as well as her innate beauty. Of all of his fellow Inner Circle associates, he's always come to Brina McTavish the most attractive and not most enjoyable he could find company with. Anyone of the same status, as he spoke earlier, were a bit too standoffish or untrustworthy to have a honest or decent conversation without them peeling away parts of his psyche or life and studying it like a operation on a raw fish.

After leaving the office main entrance, he began whistling aloud as he began hearing the loud echoes his footsteps made in the large arched ceiling corridors they traveled, "I gotta say...if our superiors know anything, is to give themselves a dramatically large base of headquarters. I feel like I'm one of the human's illustrated greek gods, walking around one of the many halls of Olympus..."

A chuckle escaped Brina's lips. "It's perfect for those who think of themselves as gods..." She said coolly. "Some lowly hideout or common criminals' nest would be far too much of the common man's dealing. If this indeed was sculpted out of the likes of Olympus, then I wouldn't be surprised." She raised her head to take a look around. "But I must say, it's quite the sight to look at. One's tempted to simply stop and stare at even something so simple as the walls..."

"I'm fairly certain, besides the obvious security reasons, that our superiors want to keep these levels as immaculately pure as possible. I guess to keep the illusion of being perfect, omnipotent beings, one must look to aesthetics to provide the right atmosphere to enhance that feel of power," he slid his hand across the marble wall as he walked in a meticulously slow, if not enjoyable stride along his female compatriot.

"Calm down..." Brina said, trying to stifle her snickers as she watched. "I don't think the building likes you touching it that way."

"You're right!" Meikurai said in a comically mocked look of paranoia, "if I'm not careful...I could cause the whole wall to be pissed at me for caressing its luscious surface and cause it to bitch slap me across the room before the floor impales me and then devours me to keep everything clean! Ooooh, how terrifying," he finished with a arched brow of amusement.

Somewhere in another place, Shou sneezed.

This time, Brina had to slap a hand to her mouth in order to muffle her laughter, turning her head away in her mirth. Unlike the majority of the other Dragons, who seemed to hold some psychotic behavior, Meikurai always behaved in a normal, sociable manner. Other than the possibility of her team, she considered him to be one of her closest friends to hang around. His presence provided a light in the midst of the jaded environment she was subject to ever since her incarceration into the Inner Circle. Moments like this made him even more fun to hang around.

"You know, I think read a report that Daigomi-san said he utilized such a security system against his Daitenshi opponents," he said offhandedly, chuckling as he used his free hand to cup his chin in thought as he looked up at the ceiling, "I think he liked the idea of not having to move an inch to combat the entities for the first few minutes of them attacking him. He can be such a showoff sometimes, I swear..."

"ACHOO!"

"...are you getting a cold, Shou?" Angelika questioned, cocking an eyebrow lightly as she looked over her sneezing servant. "I don't exactly know if going to the doctor would work for those of Hell's races..."

"...no, ma'am..." Shou muttered, scratching his nose. "I think it's a case of someone speaking bad things related to me..."

Brina stopped laughing, arching one of her eyebrows as she looked at him. "There was a security system for that building?" She questioned in slight skepticism. "Where did it go when our forces had first attacked? If it was powerful enough to hold against the likes of two Daitenshi, then it should've been enough to give the forces that attacked a much more difficult time..." Though, she could already probably guess the answer to that particular question.

"From Daigomi's reports, its semi-sentient. Meaning its a lifeform that's been sealed inside their acclaimed Hallowed Hall. From the other reports, I heard its absorbed the remains of the Sect's deceased, capable of creating mock copies that possess their skills and abilities to combat enemies within, as well as evolve to become tougher the more power you use against it," Meikurai then looked curiously at Brina, "if such a force was allowed to expand without precedence or reason, then it would be theoretically possible to be unlimited in strength or power. Eventually it would gain sentience and possibly try to absorb everything around it....theoretically," he added with a shrug and a lopsided smile.

"Why am I not surprised?"

Brina, however, did not allow herself to dwell on it anymore than she should. She closed her eyes and shook her head sagely. "Oh, well..." She muttered. "I can't be too interested in how an Inner Circle operative completes their mission as long as they got the job done. Their monsters are theirs alone to deal with. We've got our own..."

"Well until then," Meikurai tapped her arm winking at her as he pointed out to the now visible open arched-windows that showed not too far ahead was the extended observatory balcony of the citadel. It looked like at one time it could hold a party of two hundred people and not even cause stress to the supports. Its marble handrails and mineral flooring and supports showed no wear or tear to its structure, as if no particular element has marred its surface, "we're here."

Brina's eyes opened back up, locking onto the balcony as soon as they got a glance of it.

"Perfect!" She exclaimed, pleased with the setting of the area they were approaching. "It's been a while since I've actually allowed myself to step through here, I've almost forgotten what it's like." With that being said, she allowed herself to release Meikurai's arm and move ahead of him, taking a few mock ballerina spins as she did so. "Whee~!!"

"Hehehe," Meikurai chuckled with amusement as she moved in a giddy series of imitated ballerina spins, observing her hair spin around in tune with her lithe body. She may not be a dancer by trade, but her martial artistic prowess gave her a seemingly mesmerizing grace. He had to shake his head a little and clear his throat to break his concentration off her seemingly innocent gestures, "the balcony is that way," he said pointedly to his right, as a large archway along with a vaulted ceiling led out to a exposed space which the balcony hung out into open space.

"I know."

After that statement, the brown-haired girl allowed herself to spin in that particular direction. She was humming a pleasant tune to herself as she did so, not stopping until she was right at the said balcony. Once the air hit her face, she allowed herself to close her eyes and take in a deep breath of air, placing her hands on the railing. Her head tilted back, her eyes slowly opening up again to look at their new surroundings.

Meikurai walked methodically casual behind her as he graced himself upon the immensely sized overhanging balcony, looking at the stylized marble below him, etched and weaved with numerous colorful designs upon its immaculate surface. Once he reached her side, he sensed an underlying if not foreboding feeling within the edge of his peripheal senses...but it was gone as quickly as it came, causing Meikurai to shake his head in dismissal.

"Wow," Meikurai breathed out as he looked upon the horizon, seeing the sun set in the distance caused an array of pink and scarlet colors to cast and dance across the clouds that enveloped the lower sections of the citadel of which it was perched. What precise precipice or mountain this ancient and beautiful utopian structure is made, no one knows for certain, as no one physically comes here...without special jump points established all over the Spiritual Realms and World of the Living.

"I think I've managed to learn something about the weather..."

Brina lifted a hand to gently move bangs of her hair from her face, looking out at the mix of bright and vibrant colors that made up the environment. It was clear that she, too, was entranced by the beauty of the horizon. "When the sun shines down and the sky is clear, nothing reigns but peace." She spoke softly. "It's as if nature deemed it a crime to suffer under such a beautiful environment. But when the sky is enveloped in clouds and the rains pour fourth... it is clear that a great tragedy has befallen the earth. The raindrops are the tears of the angels grieving for whatever loss has occurred on the earthly soil, crying for both the victims and the causers of the calamity. It would mean the world to me if everything could stay like this forever..."

She paused for a moment.

"But I know it can't. As much as we were made to enjoy life, we also have to suffer through the consequences it throws at us. It's a sad way the world works, isn't it?"

Meikurai looked at her thoughtfully, smiling softly as he asked in a bemusing tone, "You're suggesting that the Spiritual Realms are a inversion of mankind's actions within their world? That every phenomena that transpires here is a result of either great joy or suffering? That seems a bit romantically far fetched, don't you think?"

It brought a chuckle out of her, and she turned her head to look at him. "Maybe, maybe not..." She admitted. "But I never was one for sticking to boundaries. It'd be far too boring to set limits on what I think just because it seems a bit "far-fetched". No one would be able to see how far they could go if they kept themselves constantly shut away, right?"

"Mhm," Meikurai muttered, leaning a bit closer as he spoke a little softer, "I've never been one to stick to boundries either, Brina-san. My whole life I've been able to operate with a free mode of operation. My own Captain even said to me that I can do what I must, as long as it preserves the balance the worlds of this one and the next needs. But in a sense, he never knew just how free I was to choose what I would do and not do," he then smiled at her, his eyes graciously looking over her own splendid visage, "all you wanted was the freedom to do as you saw fit, and the society you strived to protect ended up destroying all precious to you. You're here to make a difference, to win back that precious freedom we both wish to keep forever. You and I..." Meikurai began to lean closer, his eyes became half-lidded and his face drew closer to hers...

BLINK!

...and then he felt a presence that filled his mind with alertness and his heart skipped a few beats. As his face was mere inches to hers, his eyes bolted open as he grasped her shoulder and brought himself and her down to the marble ground, barely missing what looked like a spinning projectile, cutting effortlessly through the immaculate spindles holding up the balcony, causing it to tumble and fall endlessly to the air below.

At that point in time, Brina wasn't sure who to thank.

Meikurai, for pulling her out of the way...

...or her attacker, for interrupting what could've been a possibly awkward moment and saving her from an awkward moment.

Either way...

"D'ah--!!"

Her eyes widened, and she let out a yelp when she was pulled down to the ground, barely avoiding having her body sliced in two by the spinning projectile. Her heart had nearly stopped when it happened, her mind having not expected the sudden attack on her person. However, once she recognized it as an attack, she snapped back from her shock very quickly. It would take a lot more than that to shake up the likes of a former Stealth Force member like her.

"Nice reflexes!" She commented lightly, putting on an impressed smirk before flipping herself onto her feet with a grunt.

"Yeah well, umm," Meikurai said, clearing his throat as he stood up in a crouch, "I think it was more that I was the only one who sensed its presence...if you had, I think you would have been the one pulling me down, instead of vice versa," Meikurai shifted his hand to grasp the hilt of his Zanpakuto looking around the area for where the attack originated, "and it happens that it has to be an enemy I hate fighting....the invisible kind."

"What did we just get through with talking about boundaries?"

After rolling her eyes, Brina allowed herself to take a few steps back from the destroyed balcony. Her gait seemed calm as she moved, but her senses were now on full alert. Clearly, this was an enemy who was specifically meant for the likes of infiltration judging from Meikurai's deduction. As such, concealment was the greatest weapon the intruder could use against them. That, as well as the precise attack on their location, indicated that the enemy was not only an infiltration expert, but also an assassin.

Underestimation would be a very fatal mistake here...

"The only boundries I see is the fact he's able to damn senses and keep himself invisible before the moment he launches an attack," Meikurai then smirked a little as he clicked his Zanpakuto out of its sheathe, "you could say I'm feeling....bloodlust released from the direction of his attack."

SNIK!

"At our 2 and 11 o'clocks!" Meikurai spoke swiftly, unsheathing his sword in a expert use of an Iaido defensive posture, clashing with the miniaturized projectiles that made distortions within the air because of their incredible speed and high-pitched whistles they made. Sparks rained everywhere before the distortions flew off the balcony or onto the ground, slowly unveiling through a few crackles of particles to be a handful of shattered shurikens.

Simultaneously, similiarly laid attacks were sent towards Brina's location...all of them with a variety of locations with pinpoint accuracy and cutting power, but overall purpose was to maim rather than kill.

"Roger!"

All Brina had to do was raise her hands and move quickly.

''PING! PING! PING! PING!''

Her hands moved like blades being swung, her fingers held together and pointed the tip of a knife. With frighteningly accurate timing and even more frightening speed, she struck the projectiles aside. Her body moved in order to both evade and and fend off the assault with natural speed and grace. This, combined with subtle use of her spiritual energy, was enough to shatter the projectiles that threatened to injure her. All of this was done with natural ease, and she slid back into a comfortable stance once all of the projectiles had been broken.

"Its probing our defenses," Meikurai thought as he held his Zanpakuto to the side, looking at the choice projectiles, the cracked blades themselves looked as if they were self-made, crafted by an expert in crafting an array of deadly weapons, "and it seems to have done this for awhile. Why do I get the feeling...that I've felt this presence before?"

Then his eyes widened as he felt the presence incredibly close...causing him to lean forward and bend around, catching the incoming spear by its edge, repelling it away and into the immaculate balcony, the weave of particles dissipating as soon as it made contact with it.

"Wait a second..." Meikurai suddenly began to realize what and who they were dealing with, right before he turned around and raised his left hand, discharging a current of blue-hued lightning from his forefingers, uttering simultaneously after utilizing it, "Byakurai!"

BZZZT-CLING!

A blade, causing a vibrant flash of white and other colors, causing the practitioner to repel his blade away from Brina's neck, causing it to backpedal, scraping sandals against the marble ground that had become gradually more and more pocked and scarred.

"Honestly," the revealed attacker revealed well kempt gray-silver hair, a malicious confident smile donned on his face as he raised his bladeless kotetsu sword hilt aloft, placing his other hand on his hip, "I should've expected my dance to continue longer...but you two are called Dragons for a reason, now aren't you?"

Associates' Reunion, A Comparison of Powers
Brina had not moved.

Even when the blade had neared her neck, she had not allowed herself to jerk out of reflex. Of course, she was not so blind as to not see it coming. She had simply taken Meikurai's move beforehand into account, not wanting to jeopardize his attack due to her acting out of instinct. When the attacker had moved away, she shifted around to face him with a calm and natural gait. The light behind her cast a shadow that enveloped her face, and only of the ice blue of her eyes could be seen.

"If you wanted someone to toy around with..." She said, slipping her hands into her cloak pockets. "You should've picked a few of the dogs to play around with. Who do you think you are, daring to stick your hand near the teeth of dragons like us?"

"Who? That's a good question," he turned his head towards Meikurai's direction, an amusement beckoned upon his feral grin as his eyes drew to slits of hunger, "I can't believe, my own senpai, would forget my face...despite me being a lowly seated officer in the presence of the Lieutenant of the 2nd Division, I surely would've had made an impression...when I left a rose for you the day of my disappearance, Brina-chan."

This was where Brina's eyes widened in surprise, a piece of recognition clicking in her mind.

"...Tenshi?" She spoke softly after a moment of silence, a pleasant smile crossing her face. "My, my, it feels like it's been ages since we've spoken. How have you been?" She allowed her eyes to peer a little, tilting her head to the side as she looked him over.

"Fantastic!" Tenshi said with a wide smile, his eyes widening with a nostalgic ecstacy, "I got to lead a cult, can you believe it Brina?! A CULT! And we waged a glorious war that nearly ripped apart the fabric of all life itself and...well you know what happened. I'm slightly disappointed by how short my Hell lasted," momentarily casting a gloomy look on his face, before snapping his free hand and smiling widely, "I almost killed the King of Yūrei! That battle was so exciting I think I would've passed out if I saw his corpse fall on the floor...though, that was also rudely interrupted," he fish-lipped pouted before shrugging, laughing in a haughty manner, "but I digress, I've been doing well. And from what I've heard, you've turned into a really psychopathic murderous bitch, haven't you, senpai?!"

Meikurai blinked owlishly. The last thing he expected...was to see Tenshi of all people being buddy-buddy with someone like Brina, especially after attempting to kill both of them. Then again...it could be a momentary pause and facade to mentally prepare for the next engagement. Either way...Meikurai couldn't deny the peculiar nature of their conversation.

"I take offense to that!"

Brina's mouth contorted into a poutish look of her own. "You've been hearing too much from Sazuke." She complained, placing a hand over her heart. "I'm a professional assassin who operates with cold precision! Sure, it may be for a criminal organization, but that doesn't make me less sane or anything!"

"My my, don't get yours loins in a knot, senpai," Tenshi held up his hands in defense, smiling while doing so albeit sweatdropping slightly, "I wasn't necessarily mocking you. On the contrary, the fact you were able to kill nearly half of your Punishment Force subordinates and then live past a duel to the death against your own Captain as well as Sazuke Tensai herself...that's nothing short of spectacular!"

Brina's poutish expression was replaced by her usual, casually carefree one. "It was, wasn't it?" She remarked, the smile returning to her face at the praise. "A shame that I couldn't kill her and finish it right then and there... but there's no use crying over spilled milk. Besides, it got me quite the worthy adversary out of the entire ordeal, and I'm hoping that my demise isn't too far from her mind as of this minute..."

The smile faded away from her face at the end of that sentence, but her tone didn't change. "But I digress. If you don't mind me asking, why are you here? From your introduction to both me and my friend, I'm under the impression that you didn't come simply just to check up on little old me."

"A bread crumb trail," Tenshi said plainly, while wearing the same smile he had once he was revealed, "all I had to do was place carefully disguised suggestions that would allow you both to be led out to the only exposed space where I can contain a battle that could be very violent but also very concealed. Telling you how would spoil my secrets, but why," he then raised his left hand to point at both of them, "you two are probably the most entertaining individuals of the self-acclaimed Dragons. Nothing more, nothing less..."

"Go ahead and entertain yourself to death, Tenshi!" Meikurai called out, raising his Zanpakuto out towards his direction, "for I intend to dance on your grave for daring to take my life and marring the beauty of this sacred place!"

"There's just no reasoning with people today..."

Brina took her hands from her pockets, resting one hand on her shoulder and working out her neck. "But if this is the way it has to be, then I don't see any problems with it. At the very least, this will give me the chance to stretch out my legs." She lowered her hand, her arms lowered to her side. "Just make sure that you live long enough to make this worthwhile..."

"You mistunderstand yourself, senpai," he said with a feral smile, as his body became enraptured in light and began disappearing as he spoke, "I wouldn't lure two well armed, skilled warriors out onto an exposed space and merely duel you to the death. I am a man of preparation and patience, after all..."

"You're not getting away, monster!" Meikurai swore aloud as he extended his palm out, gathering a sphere of blue energy, "Sokatsui!"

SPRAAAAAACK-FWOOOSH!

Within an instant, Meikurai discharged a magnificently wide arc of destructive energy towards where Tenshi just disappeared. The attack itsself was so wide, it nearly encompassed the half of the balcony, ripping the marble up from its sheer force and incincerative properties. However...what it smashed into wasn't its target...but a wide curtain of light particles that blocked off the entrance to the balcony and radiated a large conical barrier with fifteen meters of height and space in between each of the balcony's protrusions. The light itself was incredibly dense, almost incapable of being destroyed by mere Kido.

"Dammit!" Meikurai swore aloud after seeing what his efforts bore nothing but vain results.

"...well..."

Brina frowned in slight disdain, placing her hands within her pockets once again and turning to look over her shoulder at Meikurai. "Out of all the people expected to come pay a visit, he certainly wasn't one of them..." She muttered. "You all right?"

"You must be joking," Meikurai said as he held his Zanpakuto tightly, but still aloft as he retracted his steaming hand that initiated the spell, "we have walked straight into this madman's trap! He's one of the last people I wanted to end up fighting against," he looked to and fro across the steaming balcony, saying aloud, "I'm not exactly built on fighting against assassins that have more knack of creating illusions than I do. It makes the chances of winning down to 50%, not favorable odds at all..."

"Must you be such a a pessimist?" Brina put on a lopsided frown, looking all around her. "As long as the odds aren't zero, there's still a chance to make it through this. Of course..." Her eyes drifted towards a segment of the barrier. "We're going to have to find a way to get rid of this wall around us. Any ideas?" She gazed out into the open space, trying to figure out something of her own accord as she did so.

"I think-"

SPRACK-SHINK!

"-grk!" Meikurai growled out while in mid-sentence, as a pike of collesced hard light discharged from the air above, causing him to reflect it with his own Zanpakuto before narrowly skirting away, "I think we should use immense physical force against the farthest reach of the barrier. He's trying to keep us from reentering the citadel and containing the threat here-"

SPRACK-PHT-PHT-PHT-PHT!

"I-ngh-think-grk-we-c'mon!" He tried to multi-task, repelling a number of hard-light created projectiles that seemed to form from many directions at once, using Flash Step to move close to her side as he kept his Zanpakuto with one hand while keeping the other free, "we need to jump off the edge of the balcony and use a burst of incredible force to break the barrier's weakest spot. Then its a simple matter of turning ourselves around and reentering the citadel, leading our opponent to a plane of our choosing!"

SPRACK-WOOSH!

A wide arc of materialized hard light slashed towards both of them, intending on cutting them in half, making Meikurai leap over with a forward flip, looking to Brina after his own personal dodge was complete, "Sound like a plan?!"

Brina shrugged. "Good enough for me. Try to keep up."

Then, all it took was a step and a hop... and she was free-falling.

In truth, she could've stopped the fall at any time using Flash Step. However, since this barrier seemed to be made of hardened light, there was no use wasting energy if there was something in place that could already support her and keep her from falling to her demise. She could simply use the barrier itself for support, walk around and locate the said weak point quickly. All she needed was an immense amount of physical force to hit the right spot, and the pesky obstacle would be shattered just like that.

At least, that was what everything pointed to at this very moment.

PANG!

When she landed, her legs bent in a crouched form in order to brace the rest of her body from the brunt of the impact. What she had landed on was not solid ground, but the barrier of light itself. Slowly, she raised herself back up into a standing position, her eyes looking around and scanning for the guessed weak point of the barrier.

"Mesmerize," Meikurai spoke aloud the release command, focusing its energies around Brina instead of himself, "Kagami!"

"What a pain," a voice vibrated the air, causing Meikurai to hold his weapon at the ready and looked around for the source, despite how potentially futile it would be, "you're using your Zanpakuto's sensory and visual camoflauge around your friend so I can't land any attacks? You do realize how pointless that would be, considering I can feel the distortions of light being contracted within here right?"

"I'm not using light-based illusions, fool," Meikurai stated holding his Zanpakuto horizontally in a declarative pose, "my Zanpakuto is a resemblence of a visual distortion, but it doesn't just use one basic sense to distort vision. Though, that's really up to you to figure it out..."

SNIK-SNIK-SNIK-SNIK-CLASH!

Nearly a dozen pikes of hard light contracted and materialized within the same space as Meikurai, making it look like he was squewered and stabbed repeatedly, with blood spraying everywhere. That is, until his body segmented and shattered instaneously as if he was made of glass...

"Found it yet?" A faint whisper was heard behind Brina, and Meikurai's form materialized out of the air, as if he was ghosting into reality once more.

"Eeyup!"

Thanks to the technology within Brina's eyes as well as analysis on the cone structure itself, she was able to find the weak spot within the barrier without much trouble. It was the very ring of the base. A sizable amount of physical force applied could disrupt the connection between the base and the cyndrical walls, causing the entire foundation to shatter. It was a perfect move for a double Tesshō attack.

She stuck out her index and middle fingers, kissing each tip before readying her palms.

Then she moved.

WOOSH!

With a single Flash Step, she had covered the distance between where she was and the spot she had chosen for attack. Her body moved with frightening speed, her eyes narrowed and her hair whipping around her in that brief instant. Her palms were pulled back, using her momentum and her physical strength as a catalyst for the planned disruption. Then...

SMASH!

She threw it all forward, her palms striking the point with immense, bone-shattering force.

Then it happened...

Tk...Crk...clk...

following a instaneous, if not victorious...

CRAAAACK!

As all the light particles gathered in front of her fists shattered and the whole of the barrier shattered along with it, a slight subtle hiss of frustration could be heard as a perturbed Tenshi appeared standing along the edge of the shattered balcony where he first attacked.

"I was hoping not involving any of the others with our Spiritual Pressures hidden," Tenshi spoke aloud, before pointing his Zanpakuto's bladeless tip towards Brina, "but I guess it'll make things interesting to see which of you die before I make like a bandit..."

FZ-SPRAAAAACK!

A blade of light materialized nearly within an instant, moving with the same speed and penetrative power as he used against Jūshin Igen, making sure not to underestimate them any less because they didn't garb themselves in royalty or public titles. The curious thing...was that despite the illusionary aura that Meikurai had put around her before the shattering of his barrier, the blade of light was aimed directly at her heart, as if he could see directly through the guise of Meikurai's concoction, causing the latter man to widen his eyes with surprise at seeing the attack itself moved in a direct manner.

And here was where Brina first allowed herself to smile.

WOOSH!

With careful timing and another demonstration of her immense speed, she had evaded the blade right before it could touch the likes of her heart. In that very same instant, however, she had appeared with one foot standing on Tenshi's wrist. Her other leg was raised high above her head in a position that threatened to split Tenshi down the middle. Her face was overshadowed, and there was nothing but the blue glow of her artificial eyes.

She swung her leg down.

Tenshi's face lit up with excitement, spinning on the sole of his right foot, he managed to redirect his head out of the firing range of Brina's heel, allowing the force of it to billow his bangs and rush past his face. Using precise control of the muscles in his right arm, he lifted her up while she was still planted on his wrist, and grasped the downfalling leg, twisting around in a circular arc before throwing her aside with bountiful poise and strength towards the length of the balcony's wide open space.

"Scary as usual, senpai," he said with a entertained smile, tossing his Zanpakuto hilt playfully from hand to hand as he walked towards her direction, "you certainly don't hold back when it comes to executing enemies, do you, Brina-senpai?"

Meikurai himself held back, his Zanpakuto still actively manipulating visual currents around his own body while trying to hold back his attacks until he could figure out a weak point in Tenshi's defenses. Inwardly, he past on his desire to fight this monster to Brina, knowing if anyone could outmaneuver this terror of the Stealth Force and D.C.O., it would be her.

Woosh!

When Brina was tossed aside, she naturally righted herself. With a twist of her body, she was able to perform a backflip and land, her legs once again bending in order to brace herself and keep her balance. Slowly, she brought herself back up to a standing position, looking on for a moment as Tenshi brought herself towards her. Then, with an acknowledging chuckle of her own, she allowed herself to approach him with a calm and steady gait. It might as well have been a scene from a Wild West showdown, with two gunmen approaching each other instead of walking away.

"I'm sorry..." She said, though grinning all the while. "Holding back is a sign of showing mercy, and that's something I don't give my enemy the luxury of feeling comfortable."

It was at that moment, Tenshi couldn't help but laugh a little, before narrowing his eyes and crooked his smile a bit wider and thinner, "I've been dying to know...Brina-senpai...was that the same merciless feeling you had when you murdered your own mother in cold blood?! And...was that the same feeling when you managed to defeat your own sensei and Captain?! Tell what it felt like...to kill the two closest to your heart," he then slid a tongue around the edges of his mouth, his eyes widening maddeningly but with menacing intent, "it must have been deliciously breathtaking!"

Beat.

Brina stopped her calm walk, her eyes briefly widening in surprise at his words.

No.

When she had struck her mother down, all of her emotions had been carefully and painstakingly faked so that she would ensure that everyone said she completed her mission without mercy. But that went out the window once she had psychologically broken down and slaughtered her own subordinates as well as put her master on the brink of death. The second time, she had felt nothing but unadulterated rage. Now that she thought about it, would Seu-Fung's death have given her as much satisfaction as she thought it would have if she had the chance to kill her...?

As well as that, the mention of her mother made her heart clench slightly in her chest.

But all she allowed herself to speak was one sentence, one that would answer it clearly without need for detail.

"Didn't I tell you before that I am not a psychopath...?"

WHIZ-SLASH!

Tenshi chose that moment of hesitation to strike. Using a incredibly swift utilization of Flash Step, he appeared before her, crouching low, before swiping up in a blurring motion of his bladeless Zanpakuto, materializing a wide weightless elongated blade of hard light, intending on catching her off guard within that split second of sifting back through the past. He thoroughly enjoyed twisting his target's feelings...

"Don't lie to me, Brina-senpai. You may have felt within the shallows of your heart felt nothing but regret or righteous rage against your mother and superior, but you enjoy the bloodshed. You reveled in their last dying breaths...didn't you?!" He yelled out in a manical yell out as he struck a barrage of nigh-invisible bladed attacks, making his swift and graceful swordsmanship all the more deadly at close quarters, intending on pressing her back and eventually land a critical blow.

It was here that Brina was made to go back on the defensive.

With each and every swing and thrust, she found herself having to move herself in order to evade. It was a chase, with her being the mouse and him being the all-too-hungry cat. Every miss was a near one, and she had to constantly go back in order to keep herself from being impaled. Her eyes narrowed, and in the next time that she allowed herself to speak, her calm tone held a subtle venom within.

"So what if I did...?"

In her bid to avoid his strikes, she mirrored a move that had been performed against her by her very mentor so long ago. She performed a half-flip, walked on her hands and used her legs to scissors-grapple his arm before twisting both it and his wrist in order to disarm him. Then, summoning her strength to her, she pulled him to hurl him away from her to complete the backflip. Once again, it was a call back to the death duel that she had with Seu-Fung...

...and for some reason, it felt awfully foreboding...

"Then..."

Tenshi began to say, even as he spun his body around in accordance with being thrown, he halted his backdraw by taking hold of the spiritual plane along his finger tips, causing a backwards spray of spiritual particles in the form of a light blue smoke. He didn't even break stride, jettisoning his body like a projectile towards Brina with impressive individually honed speed, swinging his hands and the tips of his own feet with a thin layer of transparent energy, acting as a cutting current in order to slice her to pieces in the event of making contact. The affects it would make audibly would be similar to buzzing and whistling sounds when cutting through the air. After a flurry of quick thrusts and slashes of his feet and hands, he then extended his palm outwards towards her, not making contact as he shouted in finality,

"...you exceeded all my expectations, Brina-senpai! You've become the killing machine I've always aspired to be as well as hoped you would become!"

SCRRRRRRING!

A bright flash of light emanated from the palm of his hand, acting like a flash bang, allowing him to maneuver within a instaneous Flash Step maneuver to reappear by his Zanpakuto's hilt, kicking it up to his palm. With a smirk, he slashed the open air with a materialized transparent blade, the arc was long enough to cut into the surface of the arched entrance.

These were moves that Brina anticipated.

When Tenshi moved, she moved as well. Once again, she forced herself to stick to evasion, backpedaling in order to keep herself from getting hit. Her eyes were on him the entire time, analyzing each and every move made even as she was pressed on the defensive. As far as she was concerned, it was no different from his previous barrage. All she had to do was duck and weave...

Until the "flashbang" was unleashed.

Then she made her move.

When Tenshi kicked up his sword, Brina shut her eyes and used a Flash Step in order to get behind him. As she pointed her fingers and thrust her hand out towards his back, a white, flaming aura surrounded her and overtook her outline. "Shunkō!"

Tenshi's eyes widened, seemingly being caught in the silver-transparent exhaust of an incredible powerful attack, combining Spirit Energy with incredible physical force. Any practitioner using it, no matter its form, would create a devestating strike at close quarters. Tenshi's form cracked and snapped painfully audible above the roar of the blast, sending his body careening across the balcony's walkway, causing a few dents and pock marks while his body rolled away from her.

Then...as quickly as she disposed of his person, a voice began chuckling as light unveiled Tenshi's real person leaning against the balcony to her right, his Zanpakuto's hilt held readily but offhandedly, "So that's the legendary hybrid technique, combining the physics and intense vibrational properties only Kidō can produce and then surge it with incredibly fluidly controlled physical force. Flash Cry, if I remember its translation correctly," he smiled as he twirled his Zanpakuto, "you actually may be one of the only people of the Dragons that can actually outmaneuver me physically, senpai. Consider that a gesture of respect and praise from your former, lesser associate," he finished with a bow before standing upright and in a neutral-ready stance, his Zanpakuto held ready for another engagement.

And once again, Brina smiled in acknowledgement.

Slowly, she turned to face him, his eyes meeting his. Slowly, she slid into a stance, her Shunkō aura flaring about on her person. Her face expressed one of both amusement and anticipation, her body readying itself both physically and mentally to exchange blows once more. The moment of silence between them was deafening, ready to be broken at any time. It was a very tense situation.

Meikurai had been studying the exchange so far, and he found himself frustrated. It seemed like Tenshi liked playing close to the chest, always holding something back in the event something went terribly wrong. That, and like Meikurai himself, it appears he's also an analyst to a degree, studying his opponents and varying their array of weaknesses and strengths, even their wild cards. Tenshi hadn't goaded openly for a Zanpakuto vs Zanpakuto so far, which could only mean he didn't come to challenge her openly as equals.

He came to break her and show her who's superior.

"Shunkō's abilities enhances one's physical capabilities," Tenshi voiced aloud for what he and his target already knew, "so anything less than something to be on par with such a incredible ability would be near suicide. I would revel the chance to see if I could outmaneuver you with my Zanpakuto's skills alone, but I don't think I'd like to expose myself for a slight chance of a devestating counterattack. You're nothing but effective when you strike, after all..."

Shift!

"So I'm going to show you a little something I've rarely shown to anybody. Only two people have ever witnessed this and lived," Tenshi said with a smile, as a transparent field of light coated his body, making his appearance shimmer but not disappear, his left hand raised above his forehead before dragging down slowly, "I would be disappointed if I couldn't make you two number three and four...!"

SPRACK-VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMM!

As a dark red bordered, white light centered on his face, an amazing burst of Spiritual Pressure shook the confines of the observatory balcony, skyrocketing a pillar of Spiritual Energy and Pressure into the atmosphere and high above the clouds which the palace resided.

Once he emerged, a black and white decorative form of his previous attire emerged, as if bordering the concept of a hybrid of Soul Reaper and Hollow, while the mask itself looked like a Shakespearian actor mask. One side of the mask was black, red eyed snarling human face while splitting vertically at the middle, revealing a white alabaster face that had a half-mast eye slit with glowing silver eye from behind while the rest had a cheshire grinning face with fangs bared.

"I'm curious, Senpai," his hollowed voice echoed as his multicolored irises locked onto Brina's eyes, her body surrounded by her costantly vibrating, vibrant aura of Shunkō's properties, his body glowed vibrantly of red and silver energies, causing his uniform and visible bangs to flourish dramatically, "how many masks you've seen in your lifetime...maybe this will be your last, hehehehe!"

"...I see..."

Brina's smile slowly faded into a frown as she looked at the freakish mask that now dawned his face. "What exactly have you been doing to yourself to acquire the power of a Hollow?" She spoke, her eyebrows furrowing at the sight. "Where did you get such foreboding power from, Tenshi-kōhai?"

"Th-That's..." Meikurai uttered aloud, his illusion based abilities contracting slightly in the wake of such awe-inspiring power that the aledged Tenshi had gained. His body seemed to seep foreboding energies that shifted and distorted the atmosphere around him, and from what Meikurai could tell, his physical disposition had also changed as well.

"What the hell...happened to him...?!" Meikurai thought with vivid anticipation and inner curiosity.

"Myself? If only that was possible without self-destruction, Brina-Senpai," Tenshi's body shifted and crackled, raising his left hand, clenching it audibly to crackle with definition of his physical change, "you could say...this was a gift for pledging certain allegiences for a certain someone," Tenshi then looked back at Brina with glowing multicolored eyes, a smile welled up behind his mask, "a certain someone who's about to make himself known to your illustrious leaders...the Horsemen."

BLP-WHIZ!

Tenshi moved with lightning speed, the same speed on which he took on Jūshin, matching the unthinkably nigh untrackable speed he displayed with his own augmented light-speed, appearing behind Brina within an instant. Using that same speed, Tenshi propelled a snap-kick that caused a reverberating shockwave that cracked and snapped a great deal of the surface the balcony's flooring had, creating gusting winds in the aftermath that blew across the front of the citadel's heights.

It was only quick reflexes that allowed Brina to act in time.

Twisting around and throwing her arms up, she was able to block Tenshi's leg and keep it from striking her. However, the force of the kick had sent her skidding away, and she had to dig her feet in to keep from losing her balance. The Shunkō barrier had taken the brunt of the damage that would've surely broken her arm otherwise. However, it wasn't that which she paid attention to. As she kept her gaze locked onto him, one thought in particular was running through her head.

"The pulses don't seem to be working on him. Either that, or he has an extremely high tolerance for pain..."

If she wanted to wait until reinforcements arrived, she would have to fight harder in order to hold her own. Anything less would result in her getting smashed into the dust. But even then, she knew that she couldn't hold back. In the event that Meikurai was unable to find a weak point, she would just have to settle on killing Tenshi herself. She drew in a breath, mentally preparing herself.

Tenshi had expected his former associate within the Stealth Force to react in kind. She hadn't been able to dodge, so it meant Tenshi's speed was exceptional but he didn't get the attack in sync with his movements. Inwardly, he knew to alterate his style a bit more. He also could subtly feel a rythymitic series of pulses, like heartbeats, ricochet off his light-based aura that allowed him to preform at the current superhuman levels of speed he was utilizing. As his eyes scanned for the traces of spirit energy ribbons, he widened his eyes as he realized that they were psionic empath waves, targeting the nervous system of anyone within proximity.

Chuckling, Tenshi looked up at Brina with a sense of respect and intrigue, "Your Shunkō is different than Seu-Feng-sama's, isn't it? Your multi-tasking on sending out innate beats from your core through the chaotic energies of your Shunkō's base-elements and causing a constant wave of psionic-empath energies that attack the nervous system. While I might be able to handle it for a few hours, I'd rather not expose myself to make my fighting capabilities any less effective than they are now," he then raised his Zanpakuto to bear towards Brina, "now you shall see the true extent of my mask and Zanpakuto's powers!"

BLP-WHIZ-SWISH!

With the same incredible speed of utilizing Flash Step, Tenshi reappeared several meters to her left flank, swinging his transparent blade across in a horizontal arc to cut through her Shunkō's shield as well as produce enough sheer force to rattle her again. He then proceeded to up the tempo, shimmering in and out of view, using the amazing speed his Hollowfied Shikai abilities allowed him to, slashing his transparent blade to and fro, always making sure he was just out of reach of her attacks, or would evade and parry her physical strikes with his own set of precise Hakuda-based maneuvers.

The battle Tenshi was combatting...gave him a rush like none other! Instead of talking base philisophies with a incompetant tyrant, he was fighting a past associate to the death, testing each other's skills to the limits and to see which of them were stronger. There was no mutual clash of morals here...it was a simple matter of buisness and bloodthirst, as well as the innate call for survival.

WOOSH!

Once Tenshi attacked, it was a mix of strikes between the two combatants.

Brina's body moved quickly, unleashing punches and kicks, jabs and holds, grapples and parries. She was moving aggressively as much as she was moving evasively, attacking as much as she was defending herself. Every attack she had to fend off only barely struck her, but the constant barrage of these attacks made it all the more tense. If she slipped up once, she knew that it would spell her demise.

But eventually, she struck back.

"Seki!"

One of Tenshi's kicks was intercepted by the Kidō spell that Brina initiated, his leg being caught by the small orb that had materialized by her wrist. It repulsed the said leg, and the paralysis would leave a small moment of opportunity. She did not waste it, lifting a finger and initiating the second Kidō spell.

"Rikujōkōrō!"

Upon that command and the glowing of her fingertip, six yellow rods of light slammed into Tenshi's midsection and pinned him in place. Of course, the Seki spell would not be enough to subdue him without him recovering quickly, and thus that spell was used to increase the time Brina had. It would also be the time used to unleash her own Zanpakutō... and unleash a horrendous counter-attack of her own.

She grasped the hilt of her Zanpakutō, tossed it to catch it in a backhand position, and threw herself at Tenshi while calling out the name of her release.

"Suppress, Jadoku!"

The sword glowed a brief moment before shifting to its fearsome combat knife form. A smile once again donned Brina's face as she moved in for the kill.

It was here that Tenshi knew he was in a bind. The momentary numbness, an unfortunate afteraffect for the targeted, followed his said leg before six individual rods of binding energy slammed into his midriff from all angles, giving the impression of a actor within a box where swords were thrusted in conjunction with each other. Growling, he knew it would take a little time to physically break out of the bindings...but she made a mistake choosing this particular Kido.

And he wouldn't waste the opportunity...

"Tenkan," he whispered, without even moving his Zanpakuto the transparent blade pulsated, losing its structural constitution in exchange for bending the rays of light all around indefinitely. And the particular rays of light he wished to bend...were bound and closest to Brina's charging form.

SPRAAAAAAACK-SHINK!

The two rods of yellow light shimmered and instaneously twisted, bent, and widened in an incredible arc, creating a wide gait of cutting energy towards Brina's racing body, intending on slicing her in half. Not nearly done, he manipulated the other rods upon his body to diagonally race around his body in a series of disorienting movements, aiming to strike at her with fierce penetrative ability and force, intending on utilizing all of his spontaneous creativity to its maxiumum output against his opponent.

"!!!"

Brina's eyes widened, but in her rush, she could not pull herself up in time. Her heart stopped, even as her body didn't...

"No--!!!"

SPLURCH!

The arc of energy cut halfway through her waist, causing her pupils to dilate in both shock and pain. It didn't help when the other rods sliced through her knife arm when she neared him. The blood sprayed everywhere, coating her arm in crimson red. She was forced to reel back, but her motor functions were already shutting down. The rod had cut too deeply into her stomach, nearly severing the spinal chord. She had allowed herself to get far too reckless in the face of potential victory...

The light dissipated from her eyes, and blood spilled from her mouth as she began to fall.

And then...

...there was a cloak, sliced up into pieces.

No blood.

No body.

No Brina.

For she had appeared right behind him, her knife poised to make the strike. In a brief opening that the other rods had made when moving around him, she had cleared it with a single Flash Step in conjunction with the Utsusemi technique. Now without her cloak, the only thing she had around her torso was the bindings wrapped around her chest. With a pull back of the knife, she thrust the blade to his back.

SNIK-CLAMP!

Tenshi moved in a perfect fluid 180 degree angle, with only a scrape inflicted upon his back as he reared around with the same intense speed he had been acting upon. It was only mere instinct that he figured out what he saw before him was nothing more than his brain slowing down to the maneuver preformed by his opponent. Despite a violent stabbing pain flowing throughout torso, he could already feel his Hollowfication begin to repair the damaged nerve centers and repair the minimally damaging cut.

"Close, but no grenades for this dance...BRINA-SENPAI!!!!"

With his hand wrapped tightly around her wrist, he slashed violently downward, creating a vibrantly large fissure of hard light, intending on sending her to her knees with his Zanpakuto's transformed blade for attacking him from behind.

"Oh, my..."

That was the only thing that passed through Brina's mind when Tenshi performed the ferocious slash. She knew that with the grip on her wrist and the point-blank range they were at, it would be nigh impossible to evade. She shut her eyes and held her breath, raising her free arm in front of her as well as her Shunkō for a defense.

The light slammed into her full force, enough to rip her away from his grasp. It sent her a considerable distance away from him before scattering in what was reminiscent to an explosion of energy. It illuminated the entire area, bright enough to be visible from a distance. It was a fearsome display of power by Tenshi and his enhanced powers, showing just how much powerful he had become.

When the spoke cleared, Brina could be seen standing with a casual hunch. Her blue eyes were staring right into the Hollowfied ones of his own. Blood was dripping from her forehead, forming a line that went through her eye and down her jawline. Her hand was also somewhat scarred from the tight grip that Tenshi had on her wrist. But despite this, she regarded him with an expression of approval, the smile still present on her face.

"Magnificent..."

"Glad to see you approve," Tenshi said, with a smile underneath his mask, backpedaling away raising sword for another attack, "but I'm afraid-"

SLASH-SPURT!

A wound appeared upon Tenshi's shoulder, causing his eyes to widen as he scowled at the now appeared attacker, "You...get out of the way!"

Meikurai looked unrepetant as he threw out a palm towards the fallen Soul Reaper, launching a kinetic burst of destructive-based energy, Sho, mingled with the powerful gait and destructive power of Sokatsui, "I don't think so..."

VRRRRR-BOOOOM!

The dark blue energy head created enough force to decimate a good 10 meters of the balcony itself, slamming past it and into the side of the resilient walls of the citadel itself, causing a reverberating shockwave. Within the wake of the destructive blast, a hand parted the smoke and Tenshi walked out of it with a slightly chipped mask, standing on both feet without wavering as his wound began to heal on his shoulder already, "You pissing me off isn't going to bode well...for either of you!"

Meikurai landed next to Brina while holding his Zanpakuto aloft and his hand ready, asking in a serious voice to her, "Are you alright? I hadn't expected him to actually break past your Shunkō's barrier, and it was only in that moment he lost his perception of reality and illusions, which allowed him to be attacked without seeing it," he raised his slightly bloodied blade, saying in a dismayed tone, "unfortunately, I couldn't risk being close enough for a kill shot with his regenrative abilities...he would react faster than I could counterattack."

"Not to worry..."

Brina shifted her gaze to look at him, the eye on the bloodied side of her face closed. The Shunkō barrier dissipated for the time being, allowing him to stand near her without repercussions from the pulse waves. "My head hurts, but it's not much to worry about..." She assured him casually, placing a hand on her hip. Despite the blow, it was clear that she didn't seem too shaken up about it. "My Shunkō barrier was enough to lessen this to little more than a scratch. A shame you couldn't strike him down completely..." She turned her head toward Tenshi, folding her arms across her chest.

"Though, I have to say... those Hollow abilities of his are most troublesome. Every wound inflicted on him just heals up instantly, and it doesn't look like even my Shikai's just inconveniencing him. He's quite a glutton for pain..."

"What are you two talking about? Its not polite to have conversations when I'm standing in front of you," Tenshi tossed his Zanpakuto's hilt back and forth between his hands before swinging it nonchalantly, "I was known to be one of the most bloodthirsty men within a secret corps of the Stealth Force. I slaughtered thousands of men in perfect poise, preformed hundreds of eloquent assassinations, all without breaking a sweat. I even preformed painful rituals in front of my servants of the Ahijados Cult to lead them in a mindless war against two of the most powerful nations of this plane. Exactly what part of that," he proceeded to stare wide-eyed, his body permeated a menacing aura of bloodlust and murder, "doesn't make revel in the joy and equisite taste pain itself?"

"I take it back, you're just a dangerous kind of crazy instead of the normal kind," Meikurai said in a snarky tone, but still felt his scalp wet with a nervous, spine-chilling feeling about this guy.

"Why?"

Brina's smile slowly contorted into a frown as she stared into the wide-eyed and maniacal stare of Tenshi. It was a look and attitude that she had seen many, many times, so it wasn't something that would shake her nerves. But her voice expressed a subtle form of disappointment. "You were perfect before..." She lamented. "Why did you choose to have your self tainted with such a disgusting presence? Why would you sacrifice the very part of your soul that made you unique for something so trivial?"

"P-Perfect?" Tenshi queried aloud, almost confused. Did...his former associate actually think he was perfect, at the level he was before? Closing his eyes, Tenshi chuckled as he raised his hand in a half-hearted shrug, "maybe I was, maybe I wasn't, just because I chose to become the monster I was capable of doesn't mean I am any less different than when you knew me, Brina-senpai. I just have my horizon expanded," snapping his left forefingers, he stared at both of them, "just a whole lot more."

"The only horizons I see are your death, if you keep trying to think you can mess around for the likes of us!-"

"Oh I'm sorry...did I offend you, Lieutenant Shiomaneki of the 12th Division's Department of Research and Development," Tenshi said in a knowing tone, laughing lightly as he saw Meikurai's glare harden, "you are in such a difficult bind...I bet you're thinking if you killed me, your secret would stay safe, am I right?"

Meikurai knew that from the look of things, that Tenshi was trying to strike up a bargain. Other than some violence, Tenshi had no reason to hold back and play around as he had done. If he wanted to, he could've killed them with his actively released Zanpakuto instead of throwing a projectile his targets might sense. He was up to something, and as Meikurai raised his weapon to bring the fight to him, something else interrupted...

"My, my, my," tutted a light-hearted voice as the casually stoic form of Yashin Shiyōnin emerged from the archway entrance to the balcony, fully garbed in a black trenchcoat, gloves, slacks and shoes with a lightly tied necktie and a white shirt, "you two sure make a racket when you're being nostalgic."

"Yashin?"

The sudden presence made Brina's eyes widen in recognition and surprise, and she almost spun around to look at him. However, it was courtesy of her training that she allowed herself to keep her attention on Tenshi, knowing that any second she turned away would be the second that he could use to strike her. "You took your sweet time getting here, Yashin-kun..." She commented lightly. "Did you stop by the lunchroom and get donuts?"

"I've been watching actually," Yashin said evasively, closing his eyes before comically adding, "while I was drinking oolong tea, it was quite refreshing watching all that destruction while enjoying something so primitive, I could feel the primal pleasure coming from its herbal remedy's ingredients."

"You know...I just think I'm one of the only sane ones around here, present company included," Meikurai dryly added, not moving either from his own spot.

"Yes, Yashin-kun, why didn't you come earlier," Tenshi said with a hollowed sense of satisfaction and curiosity at the same time, raising his left hand up in emphasis, "I was waiting for you to come out so I could cut you up, but I guess you don't have the decency in showing yourself, now do you?!"

"Tenshi-chan," Yashin said with a lighthearted tone, his eyes resuming a predatory stare, "are you the one providing the distraction, or was it something else permeating this ominous feeling underneath this clash of Spiritual Pressure and bloodlust?"

A distraction.

That's what the entire thing was. Now that Yashin had brought it up, it had come from a minor inconvenience to an insistent problem. Brina breathed steadily, trying to think for a moment as to what exactly would be going down below. But what exactly would he be providing the distraction for...?

"Alright, I confess, this was all an act to get the majority of your attention off of the main event, hehehehe!" Tenshi said with a lighthearted tone, though his mask was still on showing that he wouldn't truly let his guard down with three Dragons in his midst, "though I would've enjoyed the bonus of actually offing one of you guys, but still, that probability would be low on your home turf."

"The Horsemen...you mentioned them earlier about being visited by a certain someone," Meikurai called out with his sword raised threateningly, glaring at him heatedly, "who is it?!"

"I have a proposal," Yashin raised his left hand's pointer finger with his smile still intact as he looked to and fro from all of the entities present, "I have means of monitoring what transpires above in the Horsemens halls, but not their personal quarters. If something is truly occuring, they'd be in their Chamber of Collectives, discussing things and going over data, especially at this time and hour. If there is a presence going to grace our omnipotent leaders...why don't we witness history 'in the making?"

Slowly, Brina lowered her arms to her sides once again. Now that the threat was acknowledged, there was no need to show concern towards Tenshi anymore. However, it didn't lower her guard. There was no way that she would or could turn away in the face of the dangerous man standing in front of her. She turned her head towards Yashin. "Well...?" She murmured. "Since the farce is over with, I'm all for it."

"Might as well," Meikurai shrugged, "its not like it was going to get any easier killing this guy..."

"Awww, thanks," Tenshi said in a creepy, pleased tone as he fanned himself with his left hand, "and here I thought I was the only who acknowledged my superior skills..."

"I said easier, not impossible you psychotic nutcase!" Meikurai comically yelled back, the two engaged in an amusing if not slightly disturbing series of taunts and shouts, their antics totally breaking the tension they had earlier.

"Just to make sure there is no foul play, I'll be the one playing the visual devices and I'm the only here unarmed," he looked to Meikurai, Brina, and then Tenshi as he stood in between all of them, reaching into his trench coat's pocket, "since we already agreed I'll begin activating them..."

Yashin then raised a small orb from the recesses of his trench coat, letting it hover before glowing brightly, and within just moments...it flared a brilliant set of digitized colors and encompassed the four of them...allowing them to witness this supposed benefactor and leader of Tenshi's that he'd enter the presence of entities rivaling gods...

Enter the Shadow, Ghost of the past entering the presence of Kings
"...that's why I believe these setbacks with Yashin's are quite curious. He never seemed perturbed or even irritated at losing his prey or completely destroying them," Kyōaku spoke, his delightful tone never skipping a beat as he tried to ping the focus of their current discussion on his fellow compatriot, Shūkurō Tsukishima. Because of the recent expense and destruction caused by none other than Yashin Shiyōnin, a Dragon who often acts as a subordinate underneath said Horsemen, who's failed to destroy the particular organization involed with their only Underworld threat, the Black Blood Sect, "shouldn't anyone here be curious, or even concerned? Defeat isn't something we should take in stride, no matter how irrelevant it may be."

"Concerned about what, exactly?"

The Horseman in question had his elbows resting on the chair that he was sitting in, his fingers folded together and even with his face. His brown eyes looked over at Kyōaku as he spoke, unmoved from his calm attitude by the choice of words. "The effectiveness of Yashin's shock troops dealt a considerable blow to the Sect's fighting force. In addition, thanks to our defector Daigomi, we now have access to vital information concerning each and every individual within the Sect, as well as some others. If I wanted to, I could have every single one of them to be hunted down and killed with just an order. Don't be so quick to label this as a "defeat" just because you don't see the full picture, Kyō-senpai."

"...even though you say that..." Although maintaining a casual tone of his own, 4th Horseman Suna Tekketsu was looking at Tsukishima with questioning. "It cannot be ignored that our side suffered considerable casualties, as well. Your subordinate is well aware of this, I'm sure. So how exactly is he able to believe that everything is all right when there was a heavy price to pay for it?"

A slow smile came to Tsukishima's face. "We aren't exactly the time to concern ourselves with something so pointless as to how many of our soldiers got killed. Shock troopers or not, they are very much expendable and can easily be replaced by others. If every single one of those troops died, neither of us would shed a tear over it."

Kyōaku smiled and shrugged, waving his free hand with his forefinger spiraling up, "While I can understand and appreciate the effeciency and focus you and your subordinates have, we can't ignore the fact that a Hankami has interfered. Be as it may that their species have always tended to themselves and matters accordingly, but one of the only reasons that we lost was because the aledged Queen of Hell, the Punisher, has left her own servants free to act as they please. Subsequently, their attacking our unprepared forces was enough to force our good Dragon's hand and withdraw," he then folded his hands together and tapped his thumbs together as he looked from Horseman to Horseman, each of their varied heighted throne sat in a semi-circle, allowing them to face each other as well as any that they are briefing or being debriefed from, "so...really the question why we don't strike is obvious, lady and gentlemen. The Hankami are becoming a problem, we can't simply ignore anymore..."

"...oh...that problem..." After saying that, Suna took in a deep breath. It was something that he didn't really want to talk about, but he knew that he as well of the rest of the Horseman had to speak of it sometime. "If the very Queen of Hell decided to let her personal minions interfere with us, then that's a clear sign that she's decided she wants a taste of us. If there's something I want to avoid, it's the wrath of a proclaimed deity that caused the apocalypse so long ago."

"We have the Punisher under watch..." Shikyo said coolly. "Courtesy of Meikurai, we're able to keep track of her every move. Actually silencing her would prove to be a more difficult maneuver, considering who and what she is..."

"Not to mention the fact that she's got siblings..." Suna added, as an afterthought.

"Didn't your subordinate, Shiyōnin-san, say that two other Hankami were revealed as well?" Kyōaku asked pensively, tapping his chin as he spoke his thoughts as he looked upwards, "what were their names...their Hankami names, for that matter...I believe it was the Dominator, and the Nihilist," he then looked at them all, "the Queen of Dominance and King of Chaos have appeared before our very eyes, with the prior being the latter's daughter. What makes this worse is that she's allied with the very enemy we failed to destroy...twice," chuckling he tapped his forehead as he leaned against his open right hand while his left tapped his left armrest, "somehow I believe the Hankami have unintentionally involved themselves in a war of our own making."

"I doubt anything of what they do would be considered unintentional." Shikyo remarked. "Their omnipotence as well as their vast knowledge of the universe itself leaves them in a position of being fully aware of the conflict taking place." She closed her eyes, lowering her head in thought. "But as far as concern for the Nihilist goes, he would never actively involve himself. Had that been the case, he simply would have appeared before one side or the other and did away with them."

"The other Hankami also have a policy of not getting involved within things like this..." Suna supplied, raising a finger to push up the shades on his face. "The only true way they would have to join in is if our affiliates possess some sort of otherworldly connection. Yashin wouldn't be stupid enough to use elements that would invoke the attention of Izanami's children..." His eyes drifted towards Tsukishima. "But still, that doesn't explain why the Daitenshi decided to assist in that attack. They had no reason to be there, at all."

"It would be tempting to say that the Punisher simply let them do as they please..." Tsukishima commented smoothly. "But it can also be said that she deliberately sent the Daitenshi forces there in order to purge those "additional elements" from our ranks. After all, why bind someone to your will when you would give them freedom to do what they wished?"

"I'd rather not concern myself if she had a legion of lobotomized shock troops or a thousand mavericks," Kyōaku chuckled in a bemusing tone, sighing aloud his annoyance while still retaining a pleasant tone, if not irate, "sadly, we cannot bother with semantics when we're dealing with the semi-omniscient entities. When someone allows something to happen, its the same as commanding it because you know what will transpire. So, again I must ask this, " Kyōaku narrowed his eyes and drew his smile into a thin straight line as he asked in a dead serious tone, "how do we stop this problem from becoming more of a threat than it already is?"

"It's simple, really..." Tsukishima said. "The Daitenshi were there only because of the "additional elements" that were supplied, such as the Hanta group. They are the only thing keeping the Queen of Hell's forces in this war. Once those elements are separated from us, the Daitenshi and the only Hankami that would even bother to interfere will be out of our way. There is no threat I see here, Kyōaku-san. Unless, of course, you're able to tell us otherwise...?"

"The Dominator," he said plainly, sideglancing towards his direction as he leaned on his hands as he made a bridge for his chin to rest on as his elbows rested on his armrests, "while she has yet to show her true fury towards us, she's allied with the mercenary band, V-14. As long as V-14 remains allied and in league with the Sect, there is no getting rid of a force that powerful," he crossed one leg over the other before resuming a relaxed position, smiling as he chuckled with bemusing humor, "that, and she happens to be the daughter of the Hell Queen and the King of Chaos.

While normally I wouldn't have worried about either of these factors, the Nihilist almost reduced that ice capped landscape into nothing instead of a kilometer wide crater and the Punisher...well you know what she and a handful of her closest sibblings almost achieved, so need I say more? The Hankami are already involved! That much IS clear. Withdrawing a handful of wanted criminals from our arsenal won't change that, and it most certainly won't keep them from being thrown upon our doorsteps either," he then looked with a mocking gaze at Tsukishima as well as to the other three, "so really, no additional elements were necessary for their intrusion of this war. Its an excuse, one of a million. They want this war because they lost the last one. No matter of simply withdrawing and negotiating won't change that. Not now anyways...," sighing, Kyōaku looked resigned as he closed his eyes and clasped his hands together, twittling his thumbs as he awaited his collegues' responses.

It was a tense moment of silence between the Four Horseman, as soon as Kyōaku finished speaking.

Behind his own hands, there was a scowl on Tsukishima's face as he looked at Kyōaku. One thing was for certain: he did not like the mocking look in the other Horseman's eye when he regarded him as well as the others. In addition, he also didn't like the idea of the Hankami getting involved just because of the loss of a previous war. It gave off the impression that they were no different from soldiers who started conflict to die with meaning, or simply to say that they won a fight. What kind of logic was that? The deities of the Red Sun surely weren't that narrow-minded--

However, his thoughts were interrupted by his sensei, who let out a heavy sigh as he leaned back in his chair.

"I really hate to say it..." He drawled, closing his eyes behind his sunglasses. "But Kyōaku has a point. The Sect is one of the few who are capable of rivaling us in direct warfare and would be a good cause of heavy casualties on our side. The Dominator, however, remains the major problem. She's the only one who's picked a side in this war. If she happens to be killed... if there is a way of killing her... then that'll most likely draw in her parents... which will draw in their siblings, yada yada yada. They'll all be out for vengeance and our blood - something that they'll certainly get once they unleash their unholy wrath down on us."

"Then what should we do...?" Shikyo questioned, regarding all three of the other Horseman with a controlled wariness. "If there's a right choice in all of this, it's masked by so many of the wrong ones..."

Then...a laughter errupted in the most calm, eery manner in the room. And it didn't belong to anyone present that anyone could discern.

"Well now, that's the funny thing about right and wrong," the voice continued, as ominous footsteps from the darkest corner of the meeting room began to draw closer and closer in a casual, methodical pace, "perception of any one entity usually blinds you by the vast majority of what truly is the right choice. Sometimes, you must follow your based instinct, and grasp ahold of the most outlandish goal, taking it for your own. That is, after all..."

The footsteps ended when a foreboding, if not menacing figure drew into the midst of the Horsemen. Long dark brown hair cascaded over a black collared shirt, with sleek black slacks and a dark red sash around his waist, where a sword was sheathed on his left hip. One hazel brown eye that was right next to a dangling brown bang over the bridge of his nose, with a contrasting white iris with a black eyed background. A calm, composed smile cast over a perfectly angled, cheekboned visage, and the most unsettling thing...was that there was no residual spiritual pressure leaking from him whatsoever. It was as if, exactly as it looked like, a dead man walking.

"...the term siezing destiny really is, Horsemen of the Inner Circle," Sōsuke Aizen spoke aloud in a tranquil, amused tone as he eyed each of the leaders of the most powerful Underworld superpower.

And that was where time seemed to stand still for everyone who was watching.

All eyes swiveled towards the figure with varying degrees of surprise. None of these expressions conveyed extreme shock. The face, the tone, and even the lack of spiritual pressure that was exerted from him... there was no mistake about it. This was the very same man who had been the cause of the White War, the same man who had caused so much atrocities, and the same man who had been sealed in the deepest part of the Soul Society's prison for his heinous crimes. Yet, he was standing free before them, straight and confident as he always had been.

Tsukishima was the first to acknowledge him, maintaining his calm and cool tone as his brown eyes met Aizen's directly.

"Aizen Sōsuke. What a pleasant surprise..."

Within the monitor, Brina's eyes had widened to a considerable degree, her mouth contorted into an "o" shape as she stared. "...well..." She muttered. "This... is certainly not what I was expecting." Although she remained calm on the outside, she felt a stab of apprehension. The very same man that Seu-Fung had compared her to was standing before her leaders as if he hadn't suffered from imprisonment, as if he had simply been hiding all along. Even as she saw it with her own eyes, she could hardly bring herself to believe it. Was it some sort of trick?

"I suspected he was one of the people who would preform such a bold, calculated maneuver," Yashin said in a perfectly poised stance and clear tone, not showing that he himself was shocked beforehand when he came to the revelation of whom infiltrated their citadel, "but I never knew he would be so...lifelike..."

"Aizen-dono gave me this," Tenshi said pointedly, tapping his Hollow mask, "as a reward for my steadfast loyalty working as one of his subordinates."

Meanwhile, within the Hall of Collectives itself...

"Fascinating!" Kyōaku spoke aloud, leaning forward from his throne, his eyes dialated and allowed him to look at the aledged traitor of the Aizen Clan for himself, and identified him by any number of visual protocols he submitted himself during his time in the Circle, "its really him...and here I thought he was buried under that pile of rubble during the Grand Hollow War?"

Sōsuke smiled a bit wider, curling into a smirk of amusement, at seeing their collective responses.

"Shūkurō Tsukishima, thank you for responding in sync with my expectations. As well as Kyōaku Hōritsu for your exasperated excitement over seeing something you've believed to be plastered behind glass for your curiosity," he said with a pleased tone, as if he was petting a dog for preforming a trick, as he cocked his head slightly to the side to look at the other Horsemen, "though I should've known only half of you would be struck speachless, the least you could do was make a more welcome environment. Everything here...looks so preserved, I thought I walked into a mausoleum of a dead race. Turns out I've only found four predators ruling over a pack of wild dogs and vermin, clinging to this place like your Fortress of Supremacy. Its really," he ended by looking at Tsukishima once more, lowering his eyes into a half-lidded mocking stare, "amusing."

"Am I really hearing this from you?"

Despite the clearly scathing remarks, all it did was make Tsukishima smile in return as he looked at Sōsuke. "Are we really hearing it from you? The so-called god who was brought down to Earth and on his knees by a mere human boy? The same one who was silenced for all of those years within his enemies' prison? I can't believe that you, who fell as greatly as he rose, are actually daring to talk down on us. It's just too late for you to regain that pedestal, Aizen. Far too late..."

"Why do I need a pedestal at all?" Sōsuke asked without missing a beat, maintaining his smooth tone as he began walking forward, closer and more proximate to the four adjacent, varying height thrones, "if anyone feels the need to raise themselves on high, I believe its you four. I've already ascended far beyond the point, where anything in this universe," he smiled elusively as he spoke in a ominous, foreboding tone, "can possibly raise me up higher than I already am."

"While it pains me to say it, but my counterpart associate has a point," Kyōaku said in a fluid, amused tone of his own, "you've lost the right to speak of people within our plane. You've been beaten, broken, and then bound to a mere fraction of what you once were when you almost reached the pinnacle. Its quite sad really...I envy that feeling of righteous arrogance you must have felt...though I can't say I would've liked being beaten by a human boy who've surpassed any opponent you've ever faced-"

"That's what you'll never understand," Sōsuke interrupted, looking to the Horseman in a gaze that actually unsettled him, "that boy was anything but mere, and was certainly no ordinary human. Though I'm sure none of you ever witnessed his greatness personally, for I've been the only one priviledged to find my equal...and then surpass his power as well," raising his hands up to them all, he declared, "I have no equal, which is why I'm here on my own behalf instead of bringing in three others to be your match. I am...deitified."

"His words drip with arrogance I can barely keep myself from puking," Meikurai muttered as he heard the words of the self acclaimed man of genius intellect and once rivaling power. Rolling his eyes he just sideglanced at Brina with a look of what he would assume would be mutual disapproval.

"I don't think after three centuries of being assumed deceased and gone from the universe, he'd simply enter and not have a plan," Yashin countered, his eyes narrowing with anticipating and his lips smiled a bit wider, "something is about to happen..."

"...Master compared me to this guy...?" Brina had a palm on her face, her head hung down and shaking from side to side slightly. "I'm not that pompous about myself..."

"Fine." Suna rolled his eyes, the scowl clear on his face as he glared at Sōsuke. He wasn't in the mood to reduce this to gloats and insults from one side to another - something that the "god" in front of them probably didn't come here for. "So you have no equal, apparently. Why exactly are you here in our presence, then? I'm pretty sure you didn't come just to ask for a cup of sugar..."

"Simple really," Sōsuke raised a hand, returning back to the smooth and fluid tone he had, not looking to declare his position any longer, "you had a interesting verbal debate, and I couldn't help but overhear...are you having trouble with the Children of Izanami?"

"Indeed we are..." Shikyo allowed herself to speak, inwardly glad that Suna had directed the conversation back on track. "If you were overhearing us... then I take it you understand everything about the situation?"

"Correct," Sōsuke continued as he snapped his fingers, as energy began materializing before everyone's eyes, slowly but surely taking a solidified form before...turning into the scroll of the Red Sun, "and I've done my homework on them, as well as taking a grain of salt for every radical cult that's worshipped or feared them. They are a race of powerful sentient spirits who've once belonged to the womb of the powerful entity who was said to have rivaled the Spirit King in Omnipotence, Izanami.

Thousands of years ago, they used to rule over a large portion of the World of the Living through deification and worship, as well as the Spiritual Planes beyond. It wasn't until a thousand year old war that ended with nearly the entire extinction of their kind that less than a dozen exist today. More recently, a Cult known as the Ahijados made an alliance with a delusioned pact of Red Sun worshipers as well as the Espada Afilado, nearly wiping out all existence as we knew it and remaking it into their own utopia.

However, fate brought us a grand clarification...the Hankami aren't as godly as we all believed. A Soul Reaper ripped through the very essence of the Punisher while gaining the misguided faith of one of their ilk, before turning upon them all, briefly allowing them mortality in order to reverse their world's apocalyptic creation. One of their own fought the other to ensure it transpired and the Soul Reapers managed to defeat the others, but all that is heresay.

Unfortunately, their most recent marks in history have unveiled their own weakness," Sōsuke elaborated, the scroll floated around in front of Suna before dropping fully onto his desk with a clear thump, "they are not unfallible, nor are they unkillable. If you so wish it, we can destroy these entities and snuff out the last of their kind, but if you don't...," Sōsuke shrugged, smiling as he closed his eyes and half-heartedly bowed his head, "then I suppose you can always pray that they don't destroy your little empire of yours..."

"And you know the way...?" Suna questioned him, his eyes focusing on the scroll that was in front of him. With one of his hands, he reached out to grasp it before pulling it open in order to read it himself. "The way to kill these established gods of existence...?"

"Up until this point in time, Hankami have shown to display supernatural defying traits to avoid death or fate," Sōsuke began to elaborate, taking steps in a pacing casual manner from one side of the asymetrical layout of varied heighted thrones to the other, "from eye witness report, some of their radical followers even possessed this trait. This has always kept the Hankami for all intents and purposes, perfectly immortal to ensure their race's survival. However," he then placed his hands in his pockets as he turned to face them all again, "that all changed when their Plinian Eruption happened not as they foresaw..."

"And...?" Tsukishima pressured, his blue eyes peering at Aizen with each and every pace move that he made.

"Their focuses of "Fate-Defying-Immortality"...these objects they used to have, were destroyed when the Eruption occured, due to the preparation of them becoming true souls and not gods. However, because their world was reversed, their objects were never reformed," Sōsuke said with a smile turning to Tsukishima in particular as he elaborated, "there is no second chance for another Plinian Eruption to occur. This was their one, and only, chance to change the universe to their liking. Berift of their immortality, they are now brought back onto a reasonable playing field," he looked to each of the Horsemen in emphasis, "any one of you, provided if you've done your homework and are prepared, can kill a Hankami if you so choose to. They are no more powerful than any single one of you...sans the Nihilist, of course."

All four of the minds processed the new string of information quickly.

Behind his shades, Suna's eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion. "That seems... awfully convenient for us..."

"But very true." Shikyo said seriously, her eyebrows furrowing as she looked at Suna. "I myself have read the Red Sun scrolls, and it speaks of artifacts that Izanami gave her children in the event of carrying out the Movement. Because the Plinian Eruption was reversed, it was a sign that humanity did not want everything to turn out as it did. Therefore, the Eruption was not needed, and the Hankami had no further reason to be protected for carrying it out. Sōsuke speaks nothing but the truth."

"As per usual, its the female element that ends up being the most learned and wise of the four of you," Sōsuke said lightly, though it had no mocking tone as he nodded his head with respect to Shikyo.

"While it does answer our question if they can be killed, our question remains of how they are to be killed," Kyōaku said pointedly, tapping his gloved hand on the left armrest as he looked to the others before looking to Sōsuke, leaning slightly forward, "they have lost none of their strength if I am correct?"

"They lost nothing but their unlimited power and their immortality medallions," Sōsuke said plainly, crossing his arms over his chest as he regarded the Horseman, "killing them won't be any less a challenge than it would to defeat the likes of the Primera of the Espada Afilado, Head Captain Shin'en of the Gotei 13, or the Keeper of the Black Blood Sect."

"This makes things quite easy for us, then..." Tsukishima said coolly. "Now that the advantage has been disrupted, it would be a matter of luring them out of their hiding places and confronting them ourselves. However..." His eyes narrowed slightly as they directed towards Sōsuke again. "I can't help but get the feeling that you didn't simply tell us this for the fun of it. What is it exactly that you want out of us in return?"

"An arrangement, to make this easier for your little Circle as a whole as well as for myself," Sōsuke spoke levelly and truthfully, his multicolored eyes latching onto Tsukishima's in response, "this does involve your eventual takeover of the Underworld of the spiritual planes and eventual pseudo-control of the Order's control of the spiritual planes. Legitimately, no one would accept that a criminal syndicate would take over how the world works, no matter its sophistication and organization."

Kyōaku smiled, chuckling aloud as he locked his scarlet eyes onto Aizen's now fixated sideglance gaze, "So in exchange for an Alliance of resources, intelligence, and additional forces, you want to take over as the figurehead ruler?! You, whom loves to control, wouldn't mind not being the sole controller of the world?"

"Unfortunately, it is arrogance incarnate to rule solely as a individual ruler over such a grand scale," Sōsuke said plainly, looking at his hand as he spoke in thought, "if one was that omniscient, then strategies and war wouldn't be necessary. Existing in of itself would deign your supremacy as its god or king, no question needed. Sadly," he looked up with an amused smile, "there is no such thing, not even I, can be something that cannot be achieved."

For a moment, there was silence once again. The Horseman traded glances towards one another, making sure that the overall decision was constant between all of them. The moment passed as quickly as it had come, however, and Suna was the first to speak after the silence.

"Fair enough, Sōsuke." He said coolly, with a waving hand to gesture emphasis. "We shall agree with these terms that you've set."

Sōsuke smiled a bit more, speaking in a calm, pleased tone, "I shall make arrangements to exchange the data I have on the Hankami's whereabouts and their movement patterns. That should be more than enough of a start..."

"We'll also exchange data on what we have of the Sect and other current adversaries allied with them. I'm sure that's more than acceptable?" Kyōaku began to say, before looking halfway to Suna, Shikyo, and Shūkurō for deigned approval of this offer.

"Obviously, we're not going to get anywhere by keeping information from each other, especially in an agreement..." Tsukishima closed his eyes and allowed a light shrug of the shoulders. "Of course it's acceptable." This was followed up by an acknowledging nod from the other two Horseman as well.

"Excellent," Sōsuke said in a lighthearted tone, placing his hands in his pockets casually as he began explaining, "one of my subordinates is probably listening in right now. He'll be my contact for any updates or sources of information while residing here. His name, is Tenshi Chinokatsubō."

"Residing?" Brina repeated the very word with a raise of the eyebrow, folding her arms across her chest and looking over at Tenshi. "Don't tell me you're actually deciding to stay here for a while. I mean, it was nice catching up on old times, but I have my limits when it comes to mask-wearing psychopaths wearing swords staying in the same place as I do." This was all delivered in a casual, conversational tone, and it was difficult to tell whether she was being genuine or sarcastic about it.

"C'mon now, Brina-senpai," Tenshi spoke, raising a hand up to his face and shifting it upwards, causing his appearance to return to normal as well as dissipate the mask into a veil of spiritrons, the rest of his body emanated a brief presence of energy before it too dissipated, "if we're all on the same team, you shouldn't be worried. I mean, its not like I'm gonna sleep with you...hahahahahahaha!"

Meikurai twitched slightly, inwardly believing that he'd have to double, if not triple, his security around his hall if he'd ever feel safe in the citadel again.

"Charming," Yashin said in a pleasant tone, he then quickly cut the connection, allowing everything in the balcony to return back to what it was, "I'll be looking forward to having our chats again...Tenshi-chan."

Meanwhile...

Kyōaku twitched slightly before laughing aloud, in an almost incredulous tone, "I can't believe it! Are you implying what I think you're implying?! The man behind the insane Ahijados cult was being controlled by none other than the presumed deceased Sōsuke Aizen himself! What a farce this may have been for all those poor cultists, hahahahahahahahahaha!"

"A psycho under your service..." Suna muttered, staring at Sōsuke with slightly narrowed eyes. With one of his fingers, he pushed up his shades a little bit more. The light reflected off of them effectively hid his eyes from view. "On top of that, you were the reason every one of us were thrust into that hellish assimilation. Somehow, I'm not surprised."

"Out of curiosity..." Tsukishima added, not bothering to hide his slightly curious tone. "Were you exempt? From what we've seen out of you, if there was anyone who found someway to slip through the grasp of the Plinian Eruption, it would have to be you..."

"I was," Sōsuke said with a calm, yet more of a matter-of-fact tone than a boasting one, "its not a matter of hiding away in a secret dimension, or because I'm the one who triggered the events...no, its because my existence itself is a paradox. I won't try to explain, but I was exempt from everyone else because of my unique case...well, and maybe one of your own subordinates, but I won't say anymore."

"I'm fascinated how you could do such a feat, but I'm really wondering what else were you doing while you had your little armageddon experiment. Were you just watching for the entertainment, or did you really know the Hankami would fail to make their world a reality?" Kyōaku couldn't help but ask, seeing as he was the man behind an event that could very well be an end to all of their plans, including his if he guessed right.

"Ahem!"

Any more conversation was interrupted by the clearing of the throat, courtesy of Shikyo. She looked at them all with a somewhat stern gaze, not even filtering Sōsuke out as one of her targets. "Let's not break away from matters at hand." She said coolly, looking to each and every one of them. "Is there anything else we need to know?"

"Party pooper," Kyōaku said comically, sticking out his tongue at her before saying, "no cake for you!"

Sōsuke allowed things to settle before closing his eyes in thought. After what seemed like forever and then only a few seconds passed by, Sōsuke raised his hand, speaking aloud, "What do you plan to do with the various factions on Hueco Mundo, more specifically, that group of successors to the Espadaruling over Empresa, the Espada Afilado?"

"What is there to do?"

A slight frown came over Tsukishima's face as he spoke the words. "The Espada Afilado were and still are enemies of Yūrei as well as the Soul Society. The only reason that they had a hint of relation with our targets is because of the Plinian Eruption. Now that it's over with, each of the governments have gone back to the way they were. Why would they have any reason to interfere with the likes of us?"

"Now now, there's no need to be coy with me," Sōsuke said with a smile, his gaze darkening slightly, "I know your plans for the future as if they're foreshadowing my own, especially now that we're allied. If you take total control over the Spiritual Planes as well as the World of the Living, wouldn't that threaten the balance and rule that the Espada Afilado have? Wouldn't considering them an obstacle while they have no allegience with us?"

"Hmm..."

This caused Tsukishima to fall into a thoughtful silence for a moment, closing his eyes and lowering his head. "Now that you mention it, you may have a point..." He muttered. "It's not unnatural for a government to become threatened upon another government's expansionist nature. Most likely, they will attempt to oppose us once they are aware. However..." He opened his eyes once more. "I doubt they will act the moment we take over both the Yūrei and the Soul Society of Japan, considering their distance. In addition, eve our forces might get stretched too far if we strike too many targets at once. The Espada Afilado will be recognized as a tertiary threat - one that we'll focus on once we have the first two within our grasp. It's all a matter of patience and planning here, after all..."

"I'd rather deal with the matter of the Hankami first," Kyōaku said admittingly, flourishing his hands while retaining a composed disposition, "we should at least strike the sibblings with the most minimal emotional connection to each other to at least thin their numbers first in the remote possibility in them uniting against us."

"You worry about the Soul Societies that can muster military strength or would actually dare raise a finger to your expansive network and armies," Sōsuke said with a ambitious, confident tone, his eyes widening with a look of a hawk, "I'll handle the Espada Afilado for the meantime. You could say...it'll bring me a certain nostalgic pleasure in dealing with their ilk once again, not as an ally, but a harbinger of their own destruction."

"Very well..." Tsukishima said in acknowledgement, a small smile befalling his own face at the tone that Sōsuke took. "We wish you the best of luck with that, Aizen-san..."

"As to you all with your endeavors, so we reach our mutual goal," Sōsuke said with a bow, putting his right hand over his chest while keeping the other pocketed out of habitual reflex. After returning to his full height, Sōsuke looked to them all with a pleased expression, "I've had a much better conversation than I anticipated. I hope everything turns out to be just as entertaining," he said in a vague, ominous tone as he turned around and began walking towards the way he came, the emptiness and void feeling still carried with him as he left, disappearing from sight altogether.

"Well...," Kyōaku started, looking to the other three Horsemen, jocularly stating, "can anyone ask me what was the number of that mountain that hit me? I may be knowledgeable, but how come no one here knew about Aizen's return...?"

"It's Aizen." Suna said bluntly, leveling a bemused and slightly annoyed stare at Kyōaku. "I thought that was obvious by now. This is the man who caused so much in both the Soul Society and the Material World. He's been operating like this for hundreds of years. What did you expect?"

"Still," Kyōaku said, now showing a bit of honest unease creep onto his face, "I would've thought as vast as our own network is, combined with the intelligence we gather with our deep cover operatives in place, we couldn't locate a single man or suspect him. Call me jealous if you will, but his strategies have always seemed a little too...well thought out."

Suna folded his arms across his chest, tilting his head to the side and regarding Kyōaku with a mixture of curiosity of skepticism. If there was anyone within the Horseman that took pride in the system and security of the Inner Circle, it would have to be him. Of course, they all had their own varying degrees and types of faith within their organization, but Kyōaku was always the most vocal about it compared to the rest of them.

But before he could bring himself to speak up, Shikyo did it for him.

"That's the reason why exactly we need to be careful when dealing with the likes of him." She spoke, her gaze and expression serious as she regarded them all. "Sōsuke Aizen is a man of many things. But trust is not one of them. We should not let down our guard simply because he has chosen to be our ally for the time being."

"I will keep this place heavily monitored and have the agents within target systems informed of any suspicious activity." Tsukishima assured her. "Do not worry about any loopholes."

"Sure it's not too bad for you?" Suna questioned, turning an inquisitive gaze to his former pupil. "I mean, this on top of dealing with the V-14--"

"--is no big deal." Tsukishima interrupted coolly. "In the meantime, you all are free to focus on dealing with Yūrei and the Soul Society."

"I'll make sure I research more on the Hankami and pinpoint a good place for interception while I come with something potent enough to dispose of them," Kyōaku said with enthusiasm, clasping his gloved fingers together as he leaned against his throne while crossing one leg over the other, "that should keep me more than occupied."

"*cough*-Nerd!-*cough*"

Shikyo had to level a slightly annoyed glare at Suna as he coughed out the jocular insult towards the Horseman. It was times like this that she began to wonder how exactly the two of them acquired their positions as high as they did. Out of the four Horseman, they were the only two to maintain a social attitude towards everything - too social, in her opinion...

Kyōaku sneered at Suna, rising from his seat before his body began to shimmer and slowly fade out of existence, as his holographic image began to dissipate, he spoke, "The ignorant always mock the genius, fool. I'll be in my laboratory if anyone needs me. Ta-ta!"

A slight ringing on Shikyo's person was heard, as it belonged to those of her personal subordinates.

"...ouch. What a jer-- huh?"

Suna's attention was directed towards Shikyo when the latter looked down at herself in slight surprise. However, it soon regressed back to a calm and serene look. "That's my cell, and this is where I exit this meeting myself. Good luck on your endeavors, Horsemen..." She said, shortly before her own holographic form began to shimmer and dissipate.

"Betcha it's Kunō again..." He murmured, mostly to himself. "Probably the only one who never lets her mentor catch a break..."

"If you need me, Tekketsu-sensei..." Tsukishima said, giving a respectful head bow to Suna. "You will know where to find me." With that, his own holographic form vanished in the same way that the others did. Shortly afterwards, Suna followed suit, leaving the area in a midst of total silence and emptiness.

Shikyo reached into her robes, pulling out the standard Inner Circle phone and flipped it open, pressing the talk button and raising the phone to her ear. "This is the Fourth speaking." She said smoothly, placing her free arm behind her in the small of her back.

"Lady Ninaru, this is Kunō. I need to speak with you immediately," the woman spoke over the comm, though filled with a serene peace, an underlying stress was filled within her voice, "please..."

And Shikyo was quick to pick up on it.

Her eyes widened slightly at the tone that she took. Although subtle to the majority, the anxiety spoke as clear as a sunny day looked. It made her eyebrows furrow and the frown become more prominent on her face. She took in a silent, deep breath before speaking once again. "I'll be there right away. Just a second..."

Woosh!

In an instant, she had vanished from the area that she was in and re-appaered in the same area that Kunō was now in...

"Thank you for coming, milady," Kunō spoke in a tranquil, yet tired tone. Her appearance, while usually in front of her subordinates and those around her while she worked, usually teemed with bright red veins, the same veins that extended onto the clothes she wears as a symbolic reminder of her curse and her power. However, whenever she feels anxious or at peace, she returns to a alabaster pale complexion, with a beautiful pair of silver eyes that match her white hair.

Currently, she was looking just like that, with a long flowing silk robes, giving off a foreboding feeling around herself.

Giving a nod of acknowledgement, Shikyo allowed herself to approach and take in Kunō's appearance. Although the pale complexion could be normally taken as a sign of normality, she knew that it wasn't the case. Nevertheless, her tone remained calm and controlled as it always had been. "What happened?" She asked. "You look quite exhausted..."

"I had the nightmares again," Kunō said honestly, her hands shook slightly as she gripped the front of her silk robe while the rest of her body remained eerily still, even as she spoke there was no tremor in her voice, "I can still feel others out there, like me...its as if they wanted us to feel each other's anger and pain, to fuel our own suffering and power. I can feel one that's writhing in her own agony, much like mine...and I know for a fact she's an enemy."

"Come here..."

Taking all of this information in, Shikyo allowed her more motherly side to come to the surface. She rose a hand and rested her palm on Kunō's forehead, focusing her energies. Glowing, luminescent light could be seen coming from it, signaling the use of Kidō energy at hand. Although obviously not ridding her of the memory of the nightmare, it would soothe the physical effects that Kunō had from it. At the time, it was the best she could do without risk.

"Are you happening to be referring to Karitori, by any chance...?" She asked quietly, keeping her gaze on Kunō.

Kunō began to breathe easier as Shikyo's energies poured into her. While her mind kept haunting her with faint shadows and flashes of her dark past, her body itself began to be renewed from her brief trauma.

She looked to her sensei and mentor, nodding slightly while her eyes looked a little far away, "She was the only one who acknowledged me. Everyone hated each other and hated the researchers, the doctors, the guards. But Karitori...she feared nothing and bowed to no one, no matter the consequences. Its only by her will and her friendship of a rivalry-base that I was able to live through that Hell. And now...her existence haunts me endlessly!" She shivered as she spoke in a guttural, emotional tone and her eyes briefly ignited yellow and spawned red veins around her face.

"Her existence won't be around for much longer..." Shikyo spoke coolly, taking her hand off of Kunō's face. "With the 1st Company hunting the V-14, it will only be a matter of time until they catch their targets. You needn't worry about an enemy who doesn't have long to live..."

"You don't understand her," she said bitterly, though an underlying admiration was behind her words, "she never gives up. Her emotions are powerful, and she was known as one of the most unstable children in the place I was. That also made her the most powerful, next to me," veins continued to bring back her normal appearance, snaking down her scalp and along her shoulders, her silk dress slowly contorted and changed colors, also taking the appearance of red veins while shifting the beautiful white into a rich, intoxicating black, "she is the reason why I'm not there anymore...and why that form of research doesn't exist anymore!"

"So what...?"

Shikyo's eyes narrowed, leveling a stern glare at Kunō after she had finished speaking. "I could care less about how strong her resolve is, or how strong she is in particular. The will of one measly mercenary is not enough to compare with the will of a soon-to-be empire. You should not be concerned of an enemy because of the past you had with them. That was then, and this is now. Now, she's nothing but an opponent that needs to be dealt with. Nothing else should be a higher priority than that, Kunō, because everything else will only get in your way."

"I know," Kunō said with a sigh, grasping her hood and pulling it over her silver hair, her entire demeanor and appearance changed drastically within only a few seconds, pulling on a glove on her right hand as she turned towards her direction, "which is why...I'm going to pour personal attention over her extermination!"

It made Shikyo's eyes widen slightly.

"You intend to focus your attention on the V-14, as well?" She questioned, looking at her intently. It wasn't that she was worried about her subordinate, for she had always proven herself in the line of duty. However, she couldn't help but smile a little in amusement. "It is bad enough for them that they are being pursued by the Soul Society, as well. I almost fear for their safety once you get involved..."

"Their only folly is having the likes of Karitori as an ally," she said in a vehement tone, her eyes glaring as her irises swirled with red and yellow colores, "that is one of the only reasons...why I will ensure that their voices be drawn silent in this dance of chaos we are creating," she began walking past Shikyo, her cloak flourished dramatically as she began to distort some of the energies around her, causing slashes and cracks to appear within the pristine hall, red tendrils flashed briefly on and off as she continued her ominous, wrathful gait, "I'll need access to all of V-14's past records and roster list. I want to dissect their lives to the point I know what cells and memories they have, and never know it themselves."

"Of course..."

Closing her eyes, Shikyo folded her arms behind her back and walked to follow Kunō as she walked, her steps treading the ground lightly even as the energy crackled around her apprentice's body.

"They will not survive. No one will survive. Only I will be the victorious standing upon the mountain of their writhing bodies," Kunō thought with a sincere, dark satisfaction as she walked towards her newfound goal. The utter destruction of V-14...and Karitori.

Chilling Anticipation, The Bankai Training Conclusion!
If the atmosphere around the event of Rukia's Bankai training could be summed up in, apt word, it would be this: Cold.

Ever since the release of Sode no Shirayuki's true appearance in her Bankai manifestation, Rukia herself adopted the same stoic, cold appearance her brother had often had done when entering a serious fight. As soon as they clashed, the excess release of sub-zero attacks caused the hyperdome to quickly become a frigid temperature, not so welcome as it was before the final phase of Rukia's Bankai training had been. Though really, the only one suffering was Kaien, as he quickly adopted a parka attire while holding his Captain coat around him like a makeshift blanket, while Senna looked totally comfortable in her red-laced light winter clothes.

Right back to where they started, Kaien and Senna could only see large pillars of ice soaring into the ceiling of the vastly tall arena, sometimes all the way through, causing large penetrations and shattering indentations from the ferocity of the techniques. Below them, a new level of ground was seen as a glacier covered everything below them for a good 30 meters in solid ice and a thin layer of snow overtop of it.

Ever since a dramatic clash and charge below, the sounds of battle have become fainter and quieter, until for a good few minutes, neither of the overwatchers could witness anything behind the mist.

"H-H-How're you doing, S-S-Senna-ch-chan?" Kaien asked in a cautionary, yet comically frigid tone as he chattered his teeth as he spoke.

"Fine...its straining me to keep my distance, keep warm, and maintain the incarnation of Rukia's Zanpakuto, especially since she went into its Bankai form. I never imagined Rukia could be this powerful," she said in a enamored tone.

"I-I-It won't m-matter if her Bankai i-isn't battle w-w-worthy," Kaien said in a poutish tone as he rattled his molars, sticking a shivering hand up in emphasis, "any skilled Soul R-R-Reaper c-can earn a B-B-Bankai...but it takes nearly a d-decade for a fully f-f-functional Bankai can be used in a r-real battle."

"You think she's earned it by now?" Senna asked as she cupped her hands over her eyes, looking down towards the thick mist where she last saw her friend and its manifested Zanpakuto collide.

"We won't know u-until we feel it, S-S-Senna-chan," Kaien said, hugging himself with his coat while being smothered by his parka-getup. He really hoped it would be soon...he was freezing his balls off in his seat waiting!

On Rukia's side, it had been a tough fight ever since Sode no Shirayuki had allowed herself to get serious.

Her skin and clothing had slash marks, but all of them were minor at best. But she also found herself having to steady her breath due to a bit of stamina exertion. It was only thanks to her newly acquired physical skills that allowed her to fend off the wrath of her Bankai. At the same time, it took extreme effort in order for her to combat, demanding nothing less than all the effort she had.

But in the end, it was worth it.

She was now decked in an attire that could only be described as a mix of her old attire and the kimono that Sode no Shirayuki wore. Her sword was gripped lightly in one hand, her eyes were closed, and her overall form was still. The raven color that had dominated her hair before was now a tint for the silver color that was a result of the transformation. Her hair itself had grown down just enough to reach past her neck, almost resembling her own hairstyle. When she opened her eyes, she revealed her irises colored an artistic white.

She took in a deep breath. She could feel the aura around her as well as the snow-flakes that were forming and dancing around her in a wide arc. Every part of the ice that made itself present on the landscape was recognized as a part of her, her influence having expanded itself where the aftermath of the attacks had lay. Never before she felt so exhilarated and so... powerful. A ghost of a smile came across her face, and she slowly worked out one of her hands out of instinct. It felt quite good.

Now, it was time to go show the other two.

Woosh!

In a single movement, she had allowed herself to appear just within the minimum visual distance. She walked with a calm and slow gait, raising her arm to give a wave of the two as she approached.

"There she is," Senna said with a smile, waving back to Rukia as she breathed a sigh of relief, "if she took any longer I'd have to call it quits for the day..."

"G-Glad to s-s-see she m-made it," Kaien said with a shivering smile, raising his own mitten garbed hand to wave back at Rukia, "n-now if she could make it w-w-warmer again...I'll be happy..."

Fortune smiled on him.

With a wave of her hand, Rukia forced every inch of ice to shatter into snowflakes. All of them moved towards her, merging together as they got closer to her. The snow wrapped around her arm - something that would possibly instill confusion. However, as Rukia kept that arm outstretched, it was clear that the energy that made up the snowflakes were being absorbed back into her body. Within several seconds, all of the snow had dissipated, leaving the environment back to the way it was.

A look of comical amusement could be seen on her face as she eyed Kaien and his shivering form. "Seems like you came a bit unprepared for this particular situation, Kaien-dono..." She teased, sheathing her sword. "I didn't give you a literal case of "cold feet", did I?"

Senna's mouth opened widely with delight and surprise, clapping as she saw Rukia effortlessly absorb the spirit energy within the snow and ice that she created through her battle, "Oh wow! You really did it! This is so cool!"

"In more ways than one," Kaien muttered dryly as he twitched at seeing Rukia tease him about his choice attire. Sighing reluctantly, he began to unzip his parka and other winter gear that he put over top his Shikhakusho uniform, "first off, I expected you to wreck the place, not cause everything to become the freaking eve of new year's! Secondly, yes, you did give me a case of very bad cold feet...it was sub-zero temperatures everywhere!" He huffed, pouting as he looked away and crossed his arms, "now I know you're a Kuchiki. Your very blood and Zanpakuto nature gives you such a cool, composed and freezing edge to your personality!"

It was a statement that made Rukia swell up inwardly with pride. However, all she let out was a light-hearted chuckle as an acknowledgement. She took a few steps back, placing her hands on her hips and allowing herself to turn so that could get a good view of her new appearance. "About my appearance... what do you think? Is it a bit too much? Because I don't know about the fact that the sleeves on this are several times wider than normal..."

"I think you look beautiful...no, dead-drop gorgeous! I love your dress, its a lot like mine when I initiate a Bankai, though its not as dazzling as yours, but wow..." Senna said with a honest, dazzled smile, her eyes being starry as she adored Rukia's Bankai's visage, "and I love what you've done with your hair...and your eyes! Oooooh, I wish my eyes changed colors like that!"

As Senna continued to gush over Rukia's newfound appearance, Kaien could only give a small smile, leaning against the armrest of his slightly wet chair as just watched the two interact, muttering something unintelligibly to himself as he drifted into thought.

The compliments made a visible blush spread across Rukia's face, and she had to avert her eyes downward at the starry look Senna was giving her. "That's a bit too much to be saying!" She complained lightly. "I'm sure it's not that much of a big deal..."

"Awwwww," Senna cooed cheekily, pointing at Rukia, "I think someone is being too modest and bashful...c'mon! They say your Zanpakuto is the most beautiful in the Soul Society, right? That would also goes the same for its wielder, and now your showing your Zanpakuto's true form melded with your own, you look even more gorgeous then you were before!"

Behind all this complimenting, a faint vibration could be felt within the folds of Rukia's kosode, as her phone began to hum with the indication of a incoming caller. On the screen's ID would read, "Lieutenant Shiomaneki," with a mugshot of him hugging Rukia upon the aftermath of the Yuurei crisis, grabbing her own face in the shot along with his gleaming face.

"Huh?"

The blush faded from Rukia's cheeks when she heard the phone go off. She reached into her kosode to pull out the cell phone and flip to reveal the LCD screen. When she saw the mugshot, she couldn't help but smile and chuckle a little at it. Even if she was in a bad mood, she could guarantee that the particular picture would cheer her up almost immediately. It made her wonder.

"Wonder what he'd think of the new look...?"

With that, she pressed the thought button and raised it to her ear. "Kuchiki Rukia speaking, how may I help you?"

"Kuchiki-chan! How are you?! I've finally dragged myself away from work and believe me...the work I have to do for my Captain's satisfaction...not a very pretty thing!" Meikurai began to elaborate in a jovial tone, emphasizing lightly in a comical grossed out tone, before continuing steadfastly, "anyways, I was wondering if you had some time off and you wanted to...I dunno...go out somewhere for fun?"

"Oooh!" Senna then tried to stare wide-eyed at who Rukia could be smiling about and now talking to, "who is it?! Is it your boyfriend?!"

"Hush, Senna!" Kaien said with a semi-stern, poutish look, "I can't hear what they're talking about," he finished with a cheeky grin.

"...gee, thanks for the defense, my beloved mentor..."

After giving both of them a deadpan stare of annoyance as well as a twitching smirk, Rukia turned her attention towards the call at hand. The smirk was still visible, and she turned away from the two of them to hide the look of slight amusement of her own face. "Are you asking me on a date, Meikurai?" She asked, focusing on herself for a moment. Slowly, her Bankai's form began to recede, and within moments, she and her Zanpakutō were back to her regular self. "That would be a much easier thing to say..."

"Well...if...you don't mind...going on a date with me...then, sure! I'd like that even better, ahahaha!" Meikurai laughed sheepishly over the phone, though obviously a little reluctant on bringing the exact word to beging with.

"You are such a Cassanova Wannabe..." Rukia remarked dryly, rolling her eyes. Inwardly, she considered her options on the question. Now that she had officially completed the training, there was really nothing left for her to worry about. Thanks to her own worrying as well as Jūshin's constant nagging, she had made sure to fill out the paperwork she was sent weekly (something that she was grateful for). As far as she was concerned, she didn't have anything of a problem on her end.

"But, yeah. Depends if you're available or not and where exactly we'll be going..." She snuck a glance over her shoulder at the other two to see their reactions.

"Fantastic! I got this great place near Aether's borders," Meikurai began to say, his confidence regained by the answer Rukia gave him, "its a resort near the mountains, very high grade and secluded from nearly the rest of the world. You'll love it there!"

"Omigosh!" Senna covered her mouth as her eyes went to saucer size with excitement and surprise, "Rukia's going out with somebody!"

"I wonder who the unfortunat-I mean, lucky boy is?" Kaien asked rhetorically as he chuckled as he tapped on his makesshift folding chair, imitated as a throne.

Once again, Kaien proved to be less than helpful.

Rolling her eyes, Rukia kept her attention to the phone. "Sounds classy..." She remarked. "When'll we be going, and where do I meet you?"

"Since I know you're busy with whatever training Captain Shiba has been giving you, maybe I'll pick you up tomorrow around early morning. At the entrance to the artificial construct hyperdome he made?" Meikurai said, with a comical smirk-tone hidden within, as he was familiar with his D.C.O. counterpart's antics.

"Of course." The Kuchiki said smoothly, a small smirk of her own crawling on her face. "I'll see you there..."

"Bye-bye!" Meikurai's voice trailed off before the tone clicked to its ending.

"Tell-me-tell-me-tell-me!" Senna began hopping up and down comically, as her face gushed with curiosity as she clapped in sync with her hops, "who's the guy?! Who's the guy?! Who's the guy?!"

"Ah--!"

Rukia had to jump back in order to keep herself from falling over under Senna's sudden burst of hyperactivity. One hand was raised up as a comically vain attempt to calm the woman while the other placed the phone back where it had been. "You don't need to run me over in order for me to tell you that!" She protested, certain that if she didn't say anything, she would be subject to that fate. "It's Lieutenant Meikurai of the 12th Division. I mentioned his name earlier while we were talking, remember?"

"Yessss, but I still wanted to hear you say it!" Senna said giddily, spinning around on her heel like a ballerina away from Rukia, before pointing at Rukia, "admit it, you really like the guy, don't you?!"

Kaien couldn't help but smirk at Rukia's predicament with Senna pinning her against the proverbial corner of awkwardness as she tries to pry out the truth that her female intuition knew.

"Oh, stop it!" Rukia huffed, closing her eyes and folding her arms across her chest. "Just because he asked me out on a date doesn't automatically mean that I "really like" him, as you put it. Sorry to disappoint you, but this is a date and nothing more than that."

"Meooooow!" Senna pawed at her comically, imitating a cat as she continued to tease, "temper temper! Didn't mean to make you so defensive...after all, its just a date, isn't it? With just some guy you know?"

Now she was starting to sound like Chidori... and Chidori always knew how to grate on her nerves. Had Senna been talking to her?

Rukia suddenly found one of her eyes twitching at Senna's playful accusations, and she wondered if there would be another woman she knew that could push her buttons so easily. "Y-You know what? I don't have to take this!" She exclaimed, pulling a humorous about-face. "Your thinking is way off-track, and I don't care what you say. I'm going back home!"

"Have fun with the your date, Rukia-chan!" Kaien said with a cheeky grin, encouraging Senna's antics as she continued to make meowing noises and laugh giddily as Rukia escaped.

"Up yours...sir!" Was the immediate reply.

Kaien sweatdropped as Senna laughed at her superior next, watching Rukia walk out of ear shot and away from their jeering.

"Honestly, I never thought Rukia would voluntarily go on a date," Kaien said with a raised brow as he crossed his arms in thought, leaning back in his folding chair.

"What's that supposed to mean?! She's certainly not lacking for looks or the ability to swoon men," Senna said indignantly, stamping her foot causing Kaien to raise his arms in defense.

"No no, not like that! Ever since I knew her as her superior and peer, she was sole heartedly devoted to her duty. Her place as a Kuchiki almost made it impossible to mingle with men like the other unseated or seated officers were able to in the Division. She was always...distant," Kaien looked thoughtfully after her, "now, nearly three centuries have passed and she's just now dating, showing that old habits die hard for someone born with the noble-blooded curse."

"I think its great that she's finding love," Senna said with a dreamy stare after her, putting her hands behind her hips while flipping her hair to the side and staring after her, "I envy her sometimes. She spent a great deal of time with that Ichigo Kurosaki, someone I'd have no doubt had a blast hanging out with, and maybe getting to know him in the personal level she did. I just wish...I guess I wish she had been more intimate with him, so the memories wouldn't be so far off with her."

"That's a little presumptious of you, Senna-chan," Kaien said with a frown, before looking over to her, "besides, I think we have more things to consider carefully than her love life..."

Senna stared wide-eyed at him for a few seconds before paling slightly, remembering the whole reason why they had the training, "You don't think-"

"I think our gentleman-like warrior has been perching on a pretty good spot, waiting for his chance to have a rematch with our Kuchiki's renewed powers," Kaien said in a serious tone, standing up and putting his sleeves through his coat as he began walking down the pyramid structure that was established for himself, "I want all the most recent data the Whisper Squad could've established over his movements. I want to know where he's planning to make his move against her before she's prepared."

"Yes Captain," Senna said in a serious tone of her own, hopping down the steps of her own, "anything else? Should I warn Rukia?"

"I'm very aware she knows he can come at any time. Telling her he's arriving at her doorstep won't be as productive as we hope it could be," he said as he looked towards his subordinate and partner, "all we can do is hope he doesn't drag anyone else into this duel of theirs..."

Finale of the Duel, Urgent Matters to Attend to?
The battle between the two swordsmen, if summed up into a singular word, could be described as one thing: Intense.

Battling between the two renowned swordsmen with nothing but their reflexes, wits, and skills in swordplay, the two Captains have put on a remarkable play from the start for the onlookers, showing nothing but fiery determination and dominant complexes clashing between the two, varying from the occasional verbal battering to an array of sparks flying from their respective weapons.

Not a single ounce of Spiritual Pressure was ignited by either swordsman as well. As a testament to strength of Zanjutsu rather than strength in Spiritual Power to not only keep the audience from unintentionally being dragged into the battle, but also prove the sword prowess of one fighter over the other.

In the end...an unexpected development between the two fighters occured...

"Draw," Captain Hayate spoke aloud, his body having various slashes inches from a flesh wound but no real worse for wear as well as a delay in his breathing, but a faint light in his eyes detected a note of seriousness, "let's call it a draw. I think if we get too carried away, we might actually end up fighting without abandon towards each other."

In response...

"Awwww~!!!!"

Various groans came from the likes of Sakura, Avaron, Qilin, Tetsuyo, Tamiko, Masahiro, and Hachiro immediately upon the declaration. They had allowed themselves to get too into the battle and hope for an outcome that would've leaned one way. However, it was clear that they would not get such. It was a disappointing way to end such a brilliant battle, but it seemed there would not be any other end to it.

"Fair enough, noble..."

Although suffering from her own near misses against Kukkyōna's swordplay, Noriko allowed herself to lower her sword and sheathe it back within its place. She allowed herself to turn away from him, walking towards the spot where her glasses had lay. Of course, she had made sure to keep the fight away from them so that they would remain unscathed - another subtle testament to her ability. "A rather anti-climatic way to end it... but I'm not one to complain, especially when I got a good duel out of it. I'm glad to see your skills haven't rusted over while you were in Yūrei..."

"What a pussy-foot..." Sakura muttered, promptly receiving a punch to the arm courtesy of Avaron. "Ow!"

"I'm...kinda disappointed myself," Daisuke said with a drop of his head, sighing sadly, "I guess this is what it means when a warrior can predict the outcome of a battle. Perhaps he foresaw that he and Captain Nagasaki would eventually create a haze of bloodlust with the intensity their battle created...?"

"That's what happens when you put two opposing forces of destruction in a pit," Ryouken spoke out, sitting next to Qilin and Tetsuyo, with a serious gaze over his own eyes, "if they become too serious, their handicaps and witholding their powers would eventually snap, and we'd all suffer the consequences, including themselves. That's what a duel between Captains is like, without causing defeat in a bloody way."

"I think he gauged the opposing Captain's strengths and decided to back away with dignity rather than possibly losing without any," his Lieutenant spoke under his breath, as cries of his own assorted seats were saddened at the outcome.

Kukkyōna chuckled, looking towards the 3rd Division Captain's direction as he sheathed his blades respectively in sync, "Though...I think it paid off to see her lose for a change. With every scenario mapped out in her mind she probably didn't expect this one, hm?"

And sure enough...

"...I hate you so much, Qilin..."

Gina found herself shifting the winnings over towards an innocent-looking 7th Division Captain with a twitching-eye glare. "Out of all the guesses that were made, you happened to be the one-of-ten person. You must be feeling very pleased with yourself, aren't you?"

Qilin immediately raised his hands up defensively. "Hey! I just do what I usually do, and that's take the minority side. It's not my fault your guessing ability sucks!"

"Poor Gina-san," Ryouken turned a grinning smirk towards her as he wagged a finger chidingly at her, "that's why you don't bet on skilled warriors. The outcomes are...too unpredictable to wager monatary gain upon them."

On the far side of the ring which the two combatants participated in, the illusive and now confirmed Captain Takuji watched with intrigue and a slight smirk at the conclusion. With his arms crossed and leaning against a tree he inwardly admired the irony that one of the only reasons Captain Hayate would pull a draw is to see a change in the betting pools to humor himself.

Daisuke also noticed the despaired cries, blinking a few times before chuckling, "It looks like Captain Tachibana is mourning for more than a pulled fight. She probably bet a good amount on the winner of this fight."

"Don't you wag your finger at me!" Gina spun her glare towards Ryōken right away, quick to retort. "Talking as if you know everything about betting, when you've lost more to me than your dignity could allow! You've got nothing to boast about when everyone loses!"

"I think more of us are looking at the fact that you actually lost a bet than everyone of us making the wrong guess..." Hachiro piped in.

"Everyone except me, of course..." Qilin quickly sniffed. "Go on and hate."

"I will do more than hate if you don't shut it, Unicorn!" Gina threatened.

Of course, all of this was all in good humor. The Captains were merely jostling each other as they usually did, even if it seemed somewhat aggressive and insulting to the outside observers. Anyone could say that it was quite unusual for the so-called "backbone" of the Soul Society's military force to converse so casually as if they weren't high-ranking officials and just simple civilians. But to those that lived with them - like their respective Lieutenants that took to watching in amusement - it was nothing more than normal behavior.

Avaron allowed herself to shrug. "What can you say? That's what you get for getting involved in gambling." She said in resolution.

Kukkyōna began walking straight over to the rest of the group, resuming his stoic expression as his pleased one defused as he knew better than to antagonize Gina over the bet. He walked up to the rest of the assembled Captains, casually asking, "So...did we provide enough entertainment for you ladies and gentlemen assembled?"

Ryōken just laughed even more, "The fact you actually lost a bet just goes to show your inhuman intuition and perception can also be flawed by the undeniably unthinkable! HAHAHAHA!"

"All right, that's it!! Come here, asshole!!"

Hachiro sweatdropped when Gina promptly grabbed Ryōken by the collar and placed him in a headlock, having finally lost her restraint. He allowed himself to turn away, shaking his head sagely as he looked over at Kukkyōna. "You certainly did, Kukkyōna..." He commented, putting on a smile. "I think that if we were to lean towards the fight anymore, our eyeballs would've fallen out of our heads just to get a closer look! A bit disappointed that it had to end in a draw, though, but what can you do?"

"Agh! I give, I give!" Ryōken pleaded as he waved his arms wildly in the headlock Gina placed him in, shouting in retort, "you're as bad as Taiyō! AAAAAH!"

"Hehe," The Noble Hayate chuckled at the antics, closing his eyes in thought before locking them back with Hachiro, "yes well, I guess some are disappointed, but I'm afraid life is full of them. I'm just glad we're all still having a good social gathering despite the fact the betting poles as well as the duel ended in a unsightly matter."

The senior Captain chuckled at the statement. "Come now..." With one of his gloved hands, he gestured towards the group in general. "Just because a duel didn't go the way anyone expected it to go doesn't mean that there's going to be people too upset about it. Even if Gina's being a little aggressive at the moment--"

"Taiyō didn't give you a chance to redeem yourself before getting throttled, did she?!"

"...she'll be fine, nonetheless." It was somewhat humorous for the Captain to pause upon Gina's ranting at Ryōken before picking up his casual and conversational tone with Kukkyōna.

"That is to be expected," Kukkyōna said in a jocularly aloof tone, closing his eyes in resignation, "she's a Captain. We have to get over things, no matter the irritation. Its expected of us, for people in our position to set a good example for our subordinates and the next generation."

Daisuke looked over to Sakura, asking her with intrigue with a smile on his face, "What did you think of the duel, bar the inconclusive ending?"

He would not get a direct response.

Sakura was not paying attention to him. Instead, she had her head lowered, a palm encasing her face. Her expression was effectively masked, but slight beads of sweat could be seen the side of her face nearest to Daisuke. Her shoulders seemed to be shivering slightly, and if he perked their ears, he could hear a hitch in her breathing. Under her breath, she was muttering incoherent statements, most of which seemed to be in an entirely different language.

"S-Sakura?" Daisuke asked with a sudden curiosity and alarm, putting his hands on her shoulders, shaking her slightly to break her disturbing reverie, "are you okay? What's going on?!"

It was then at this time, all of the Lieutenants and Captains around the Soul Society heard a clear clacking sound reverberate in their eardrums, via audio implants.

"ATTENTION! An Emergency Captains' Meeting is being called by Head Captain Shin'en! I repeat, all Lieutenants and Captains report to the Emergency Captains' Meeting Hall!..."

Kukkyōna opened his eyes slightly wide as he regarded the message and looked around to see everyone's reacitons in kind.

The reaction was instantaneous.

Hachiro's head snapped up, a look of surprise coming onto his face. However, that switched almost instantaneously to a look of the command that attracted the attention of even Captains nearby him. "You heard the man!" He barked, his voice strong and loud enough for all to hear and feel. "Get up and get moving!" After all, this was an emergency meeting...

No one dared to ask why.

"Yes, sir! We'll race you there!" With a quick salute, Qilin jumped up from his sitting position and onto his feet, whipping out what appeared to be a white band of cloth. With a swift and twirling motion of his arm, he extended that cloth and twisted it around the position of him and his Lieutenant (who had barely managed to shake himself out of his shock and jumped up to stand beside his Captain in time). It was an unspoken Sentan Hakuja spell, used with masterful proficiency.

"An emergency...?" Tetsuyo muttered to himself, looking quite apprehensive as the Captain-commander's words rang in his head. "Really hope it's nothing too problematic..." That was the last statement that was heard before he and his Captain were teleported by the spell, not a trace of them left behind.

On Gin's side, she had allowed herself to quickly release Ryōken and gain a more serious attitude, although still allowing herself to remain casual. "Sounds like the boss's found something he didn't like..." She commented, quickly looking over towards Tamiko. "Let's go, Tamiko!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

With that being said, both women quickly used a Flash Step to teleport out of the area.

"Agh!" Ryōken gasped out, wringing his neck before standing up straight and clearing his throat, "I mean...I'll get to that as well. Excuse me everyone," he then began running off before taking off in a signature Flash Step of his own.

"...knock it off..."

Sakura had finally allowed herself to snap out of her trance, her hand lowering itself from her face. She leveled a slightly annoyed glare towards Daisuke, pulling away from him and standing up. Neither of the motions were rough. Sweat was still present on her face, and the light in her eyes was flickering slightly, but her snarkish tone and expression was all too clear. "I'm fine... nothing you need to pay attention to."

"That means you too, Daisuke." Although Hachiro lowered his tone, the authority in his voice was still clear. "Any problems you have with the Ms. will have to wait until later."

"...yeah..." As Avaron stood up, she had a frown on her face and furrowed eyebrows as she switched her gaze from one person to another. "Are the non-Gotei 13 personnel allowed to come? I've got the feeling you didn't happen to make some sort of waiting room for us while the Captains talk things out..."

"Right," Daisuke left Sakura, but not before enrapturing in a hug, whispering to her, "whatever's going on, I'm here for you always. I'll wait to hear what you have to say later," he then left with a smile before following en route, Flash Stepping away after his own superior through the wind.

"Normally that'd be the case," Kukkyōna said smoothly, his Lieutenant appearing by his side after trotting calmly near him, "but since you're also the Head of the Police Force in Yūrei, you're a diplomatic envoy by default. Unless Head Captain tells me otherwise, I think it be prudent you should come along."

Seishuku nodded with agreement with his superior, regarding Avaron with nothing more than professional courteousy, feeling obligated to treat her no different than any respectable military superior who's earned their place.

"In other words, I'm going to have to play the role of Rukia..." Avaron sighed in resolution. "Oh, well. Guess I couldn't avoid it forever..." With a hand placed on one of her shoulders and a roll of her neck, she looked at Kukkyōna and Seishuku expectantly as she approached within arms length. Of course, she wasn't bestowed with the ability of Flash Step, so she would have to reply on external help.

"You might not have to hear me say it at all..."

As Daisuke left her, Sakura took in a deep breath of her own in order to calm herself. None of them had known it, obviously. But visions and what she considered to be hallucinations had entered her mind, which was why she had fell into her trance. What she saw and felt shook her core, made her grit her teeth and narrow her eyebrows slightly. She did not like any of it - especially what was happening now.

"They have the nerve to try and contain me?" She muttered bitterly under her breath. "Those ungrateful mortals..." She raised her head up, sparing a glance towards the trio before using a Haya movement in order to vanish. After all, she couldn't help but feel that she herself would be involved now, whether she would like it or not...

"If you would prefer," Seishuku said in a cool tone, he raised a hand for Avaron to grasp, "I'd be more than willing to aid you in your fast-movement handicap, Captain Setsuko."

Kukkyōna raised a brow at Avaron, wondering if she'd allow his less than socially appealing Lieutenant to carry her, more or less, to their destination.

Of course, Avaron wasn't naive enough to let personal opinion get in the way of business at hand. She returned the gesture with a nod of acknowledgement and a grasp of his hand. "Of course. Lead the way, Lieutenant Yabun." She said coolly.

"Let's go," Kukkyōna said with a tone of stoic seriousness once more, his body disappearing with the sound of a scraping sword, his iconic sounding Flash Step.

With a slight holding of his breath, Seishuku successfully braced himself to hold Avaron in a respectful manner as he took his passenger along the air, his body shimmering to and fro as his Flash Step moved towards his destination...and the reason for the emergency that forebodes everyone this hour...

Emergency Captains' Meeting, What Lies Beyond the Black Veil?
It only took a few minutes for everyone to arrive at the Meeting Hall, annointed as the traditional place where the Head Captain and his fellow peers, subordinates would be debriefed by the imperative emergencies and information that all Captains who are able must hear in person.

As the Captains and Lieutenants walked in respectively, the seat for the Head Captain sat empty. A bare seat with a few opposing parallel wooden planks that hadn't changed in appearance since the days of Head Captain Yamamoto's use, it could be either interperted as a form of a throne to some or for others as a indefinitely long-term prison stool. Either way, the gathering mass had no Head Captain to speak of at the moment, so mingling is to be expected for the brief few minutes allowed the company...

"Wonder what meeting could be so important as to have us rush so quickly, with no Head Captain to present the emergency?" Ryōken commented, his own Lieutenant standing quietly and attentively as always a meter behind him.

Kukkyōna just stayed silent, occasionally looking back to where Avaron would be standing, as opposed to Seishuku's own spaced position behind him as customary for Captain meetings including Lieutenants. He wondered what could be so important but delay the Captain Commander's arrival or purposely wait for everyone to talk about it first before arriving. He never understood the workings behind his superior's mind and his antics...

"Aaaaaaaaaand he's not here!"

Qilin was the first to say anything, his words directing themselves towards the head Captain not being present. "Of course, he would call us here and then be the last to arrive. Betcha he's planning some dramatic entrance just for the hell of it." He grumbled, folding his arms across his chest and rolling his eyes.

"Captain!" Tetsuyo was slightly alarmed at the man's informal nature, raising his hands up defensively. "C'mon, don't just say that out loud! For all you know, he could simply be listening in!"

"Yeah... like he would bother wasting time watching us converse when he himself said this was an emergency. Late he may be. Stupid, he is not."

"Think we should get into our positions?" Tamiko questioned, looking over at everyone curiously as she folded her hands in front of her. "I don't think he would be pleased if he saw us scattered and all out of line..."

"You all bicker over simply standing still a few minutes? Such simpletons I'm surrounded by," Kaze said with dismay, his white-silver hair draped over his Captain Haori laxly, his icy blue eyes looked at those around him as he was on the far end of the "throne's" left side closest, "can't you stop acting like children and do what you're supposed to do?! The nerve of all of you..."

"You're the one bickering now," Sazuke said, a bountifully breasted woman with her Shikhakusho and additional armor wrapped around her chest, forearms, shoulders, and shins, with only her Haori to cover the elaborate pieces of defense, "why don't you relax until Head Captain arrives?"

"I don't see our 8th Division Captain present, nor his Lieutenant," Taiyō spoke promptly, her Lieutenant also adopting a respectful distance behind her as she walked to her own post, crossing her arms while tapping her tower clogs noisily, "wonder what he's up to now...?"

"Oh, sweet god, the enemy has infiltrated our base!!" Upon hearing Kaze speak, Qilin performed a mock recoil of shock as well as fake astonishment, let the statement hang in the air for a few seconds, and then relaxed his pose with a smirk. "Oh... no wait, never mind. That's Kaze whining. False alarm, everybody." It earned a slight chuckle from Gina, who was standing right beside him.

CLAK!

"Mind your tongue, whelp, should you wish to continue valuing it attached to your mouth!" Kaze slammed his cane and clenched his free fist as he glared at Qilin with a promising threat should Qilin cross him.

"...is that really something to joke about, Captain Qilin...?" Tamiko questioned, sweatdropping and cocking an eyebrow.

"'Sup, fags?"

The voice of Sakura could be heard right above their heads. She was standing on the sealing with a deadpan casual look on her face, her arms folded across her chest, and her long and red hair hanging towards the ground.

"NYAH!" Ryōken suddenly recoiled in comical shock, pointing upwards, "its a woman in our hall, standing upside down and speaking poorly of us! We really are under attack!"

"Captain, that's just your paranoia kicking in," Senshi said with a sigh, blowing his bangs up with an annoyed breath as he had to deal with his idiotically acting superior. Full well knowing the intellect behind the comical facade, it pained Senshi to put up with it at all.

"Glad you could grace us with your presence, your grace," a dry sarcastic tone emanated from Kaze, bowing halfway with a mocking smirk, "and here I thought you had millions of sinners to oversee their grotesque punishment. Do our inferior affairs trouble you that greatly?"

"Do tell," Captain Takuji asked, his onyx orbs looking up with a curiosity masked by his indifferent visage, "I'm sure we're eager to know why you bothered to interrupt our feuding with your own inane prattle," he finished, smirking as he saw Kaze glare at him as well before renewing the look at Sakura.

"No need to be rude to our guest," a gentle, kind tone interrupted Takuji's own irritating stare, as Captain Kasumiōji, Head of the Noble House Kasumiōji Clan, smiling up at Sakura in a way that was warmer than even Daisuke's own warming spirit, "we should be honored our Hankami neighbour has joined our meeting."

"Sakura...," Daisuke breathed out slightly, but didn't say anything despite all the comments made by some of the less than surprising individuals of the Captaincy towards the Hankami, one of whom had nearly been responsible for all of their eternal torment, "what are you doing here?"

"Hm?"

Now, the Hankami could sense the mixture of emotions directed towards her. She could easily shrug off the insulting remarks made by Takuji and Kaze. She only glanced at Daisuke when she sensed his "wariness" of her presence. But what had grabbed her attention was the kindness of Captain Kasumiōji. Certainly, she had sensed her aura and knew the nature behind her own immense power. Yet, she looked upon her with greetings as if she were an old comrade of hers.

It showed that she still had much to learn about the "light" of the mortals.

She allowed herself to chuckle a little, shrugging casually. "Sorry if my presence comes off as somewhat... intimidating..." She spoke, indirectly mocking those who had spoken against her. "But there was a little voice that told me it wouldn't be good if I just let you all have a discussion without little old me involved. Don't mind me, I'm just--"

"Hanging out?" Gina interrupted sarcastically, snickering a little.

"Yeah..." Sakura rolled her eyes. "Hanging out. And around. And whatever else."

"I'm glad you could join us then," Nozomi said with a smile, her Lieutenant gazing at the Punisher curiously but nothing else of note. A unseen tension in her sword arm gripped when she saw her at first, but then realized who she was...and her current affiliation with the mortal souls.

Kukkyōna smirked slightly, allowing his eyes to look up at the Hankami with amusement, "Glad you could find a productive way to pass the time, Sakura-san. If you would, I think it be a little more appropiate if you would stand among us before Head Captain arrives..."

"Appropriate?" Sakura snorted. "You obviously have no idea who I am, noble. I don't do "appropriate". What's your Captain-commander gonna do to me? Knock me down with a stick?"

TAP-TAP!

What happened next was probably the most comical sight possible, causing even Kukkyōna to open his eyes a fraction wider, along with Daisuke and nearly all of the expressive Captains and Lieutenants present. Head Captain Shin'en, a dashing young looking man with dazling facial features and a lock of long black hair stood looking totally unfazed by gravity as he stood behind Sakura (Daisuke doesn't know how he comes in without causing an earthquake with his presence) and pokes her head with a ruler.

"I could try with this ruler, miss, but I don't want to cause an epidemic in the Soul Society over inverted seating, do we?" the Head Captain smirked as he held the ruler towards her head with a cheeky grin on his face.

"GAH--!!"

Needless to say, his sudden appearance had caught the Hankami off her guard... and that was saying something.

In her startled attempt to spin around, her feet had lost their hold on the ceiling. In turn, this caused her to descend, a startled expression on her face as she fell. In her surprise, she had allowed herself to forget the need to right herself in mid-air...

WHAM!

In a comical manner, she ended up collapsing face-down on the floor, laying promptly still for several seconds. Slowly, she allowed herself to slide into a position into where she was sitting on her legs, one of her arms holding her chest. A mixture of annoyance and pain was on her face, one of her eyes twitching. "Well, thank you for nearly defusing my bombers..." She hissed sarcastically, fixing a glare at the man. "Really, I needed it..."

"Cranial exposure to gravity-pulled impact," Taiyō analyzed under her breath, wincing slightly in a comical breath, "that's gotta hurt, and I don't care who you are, its gotta feel bad tomorrow..."

"That's going a little far, don't you think, Head Captain?" Ryōken sweatdropped, chuckling sheepishly at the display of antics in front of everybody.

"Poor Sakura-chan," Daisuke's head dropped as a cloud of depression held over him, "I would've warned you about Head Captain...but I didn't think he'd do that antic again..."

"Oho! No need to be so glum," Shin'en said with a wink, allowing himself to fall face forward before gracefully landing weightlessly next to her. Bending to one knee, he reached out a hand to her, a sense of genuine compassion filled his eyes, belying his humored grin, "I'm sorry if I scared you. I just wanted to see if I could was all, no harm intended."

"It would be if this whole place became an inferno because of her temper," Kukkyōna inwardly thought with a slight shiver, wondering if she would really resort to something like that if someone ticked her off too much.

"Hard to believe that someone like that is on the status of a deity in the minds of many, isn't it?"

Hachiro had to quirk an eyebrow as he watched Sakura gingerly accept the hand to pull herself up. "Now I know why no one's treating her like she's actual royalty or anything..." He commented. "It'd be hard to when she acts so casually in the face of others..."

"Well, congrats..." Sakura muttered to Shin'en as she rose up on her two feet, standing back and dusting herself. "You scared me, and you've probably got most of your lackeys here laughing at me in their heads. We gonna get this show on the road now?"

"Oh! I almost forgot," Shin'en had a comically blank expression as he realized what he came here for, fist palming one hand with the other. Turning around, he walked directly towards the seat, flourishing his Haori around before he sat down, sighing.

"Captain Sasayaki," he said with a incline of his gaze towards him, his visage now a much more serious glance to it, "if you'd please bring up the most recent readings our D.C.O. has collaborated."

With a creepy smile, Kaze nodded his head to his superior as he took a step forward, reaching inside his coat before turning on a spherical object. Letting it go with a simple toss, it hovered into the middle of the congregation of gathered high ranking Gotei 13 members, before creating a digital readout of the World of the Living as it stood, as the planet Earth in a aerial geographical series of images.

"Over the past one hundred years, we began to analyze the number of Spiritually empowered humans within the World of the Living in comparison to the 21st century. What we've gathered is that the sighting of spiritually empowered humans have barely ever risen to the extent of over the dozens if not the hundreds at their peak.

However, the spike of abnormal spiritual energy wavelengths over the last century has increased at a exponantially alarming rate. Meaning, a great deal more humans have gained and honed their own personal spiritual powers, with a great majority of them taking up criminally based work. D.C.O has maintained their numbers and kept most of them in line for the last five decades...but something strange has been occuring," Kaze then clicked snapped his fingers, causing the images to roll from the simple rise and decrease of Spiritually empowered humans, to a number of what was labeled "departures" and "reentries", "a good number of humans have been conscripted, theoretically allowing them free travel between the World of the Living to any number of Spiritual Planes..."

"Humans crossing into the afterlife...?" Hachiro summarized the words, sharing his own form of surprise with the rest of the Captains as he looked on at the display. "And spiritually enhanced ones being involved within criminal work. Have there been any disruptions due to the sudden flow of human traffic? This is bound to cause problems when it comes to the boundary between the spiritual and material world..."

"That's the problem," Sazuke said with a steely crossed gaze at the holo readings in front of the Captains, "most of these humans we are noticing this from are having some kind of sophisticated tracking scrambler. We are surmising that its from the organization(s) they work for, and somehow have evaded most of our basic D.C.O field agents and have always chose to avoid contact with anyone they couldn't ambush or kill immediately."

"The real problem isn't just the ryoka traffic," Kaze implored as he waved a hand at the spots where they are disappearing and reappearing, "the real problem is where are they going? The normal routes to Hueco Mundo would've been sensed immediately by our long-range stealth sensors and we haven't as had much of a glimpse of them trafficking there. No disturbances within Hell, though I'm sure she would know about that," Kaze briefly waved a nonchalant hand at Sakura before continuing, "but it has to be spiritual planes bordering the Soul Society, because it would be a fool's errand to simply drop in front of the Senkaimon gates and hope no one notices..."

"And what about these said organizations helping them out?" Gina questioned. "Any information on them?"

"Hardly anything beyond cryptic and speculation," Kaze said with a irritated sigh, "this organization is far from a meager gang of thugs striking out to get rich or undermine the balance of order with hi-tech toys. This is an established presence with a deep knowledge of the worlds around them, possibly capable of knowing a great deal of our ranks and histories as well if they are keeping so many underlings secret from us."

"A single entity claims they exist though," Sazuke looked over at Gina in particular, "a human male, goes by the pseudonym moniker of the Burning Knight, has been seen in the Soul Society a couple of occasions. It's even speculated that he had something to do with the Southeastern Rukon District battle, as his resonant spiritual pressure was found at the scene..."

In return, Gina regarded Sazuke with a curious and somewhat surprised stare as she registered the words. "The Burning Knight...?" She repeated, before her face contorted in realization. She snapped her fingers for emphasis. "Oh, wait a minute! I've heard of that name before!"

"Really...?" Hachiro questioned, cocking an eyebrow.

Gina quickly nodded, shifting her gaze over towards Qilin. In turn, the male Captain had a slightly weary look on his face - something that she didn't bother to acknowledge. "Qilin was telling me about it in one of our daily convos, said something about the guy waging a one-man war against some criminal organization. He mentioned the name, too... but I can't recall."

"Sure..." Qilin grumbled, shrugging helplessly. "Put me on the spot, why don't you?" He fixed a slight glare in her direction which was returned with a cheeky smile.

"Has he harmed any of the Rukonagi Citizens?" Nozomi asked with a note of curiosity with an underlying concern whom they were dealing with.

"Surprisingly from our reports he's somewhat of a walking good samaritan for those who know him by face," Sazuke said with a roll of her eyes, as she appraised them all without making any specific eye contact, "sometimes you hear a widow say he fixes up her shop or patches a hole in her home in exchange for some soup and a place to rest. Others he simply steps in and inimidates the gangs without any dramatic violence, sticking up for the weak and the helpless, that kind of thing..."

"Sounds like a man in shining armor, if he wasn't known as a flaming knight already," Ryōken joked with a chuckle, earning a slight frown from Taiyō causing him to sweatdrop nervously, "its a good thing he's not an official criminal though. Maybe we can interrogate, formally, on what he knows..."

"Captain Sazuke..." Qilin furrowed his eyebrows as he looked over at the said woman with slight seriousness. "Before I go on with a possible theory, did you happen to sense any other segments of energy other than the said Burning Knight's, the V-14 members, and the members of the 10th Division who participated in the fighting?"

"There wasn't," Shindō said with a knit of his brows, turning his gaze towards Qilin with an icy stare, "the moment I withdrew from my battle...unexpectedly and unfortunately, their Spiritual Pressures disappeared and their presences ceased to be. They escaped before we could intervene, but as I remember, there wasn't any additional factions..."

"That isn't what I found out, Captain Takuji," Kaze intervened, a wide smile showed a mocking intent as he raised a hand upwards, "there was an unexplained barrier that was errected upon your retreat, that sealed all sensory of Spiritual Pressure within that corridor. There are a number of unexplained battle scars and explosions within that area, including tissue samples and presences of unknown variables. Someone, or something, was trying to keep their disposal a secret," he then looked to Qilin with a pleased certainty, "probably the same that has been hiding the hundreds of humans coming and going from the World of the Living was responsible for this elaborate cover-up, as well as coercing our own 10th Division to soften them up..."

"And I can guess who..." Qilin finished, a small smile crossing his face at Kaze's deduction. He allowed himself to walk in view of all of the Captains, one of his arms folded behind the small of his back. His other hand was gesturing for emphasizing reason. "Popular belief claimed that they didn't exist. But these details and events have left me to wonder if the majority was wrong for thinking so. Tell me, any of you... do you happen to know of the Inner Circle?"

A rapt silence followed Qilin's statement, as a number of the Captains looked to and fro, wondering if one would even speak about them or even confirm their existence. Kukkyōna locked his eyes with Captain Nagasaki, wondering if the 11th Division Captain silently knew anything about them of what he knew or only suspected.

"Nothing beyond what police reports or whispers within taverns wouldn't tell us," Shin'en joked, leaning his jaw against his fist as he stared at the collective group of Captains, "anyone who might know something beyond the superstitious jargon we hear annually, please speak now. I'm anxious to hear your overall opinions before I hear Qilin-san speak."

"Its a surmised rumored criminal group that's been around for centuries, having slowly taking firm control over the underworld of the Spiritual World and the World of the Living," Taiyō said, crossing her arms as she spoke of what she heard, "beyond that, we really know next to nothing about them...except some criminals try to claim they are a part of this cult-based organization in a effort to intimidate or confirm people's claims, with next to nothing to back it up."

"Maybe we should ask the lovely Red Sun Ahijados," Ryōken joked lightly, before clearing his throat, "maybe they've had dealings with our elusive enemy within the dark, unless our young lady knows something we don't?" He concluded by gesturing towards Sakura, whom had remained standing in the midst of the Captains nearly the whole time.

And sure enough...

"...of course I know." The red-haired woman had her eyes closed and her head lowered as she spoke, her arms folded across her chest. "Don't be such a dumbass. I and the rest of my siblings have been around since the creation of existence! It's common knowledge to us whether some measly criminal group exists or not. Though..." Her annoyed tone shifted into a somewhat thoughtful one, and she tilted her head to the side. "I never thought that they would be able to evade the universal forces of you mortals so easily, especially considering that your precious Onmitsukidō has their nose in practically everything that moves."

"Oh, crap..."

Noting the subtle jab towards Sazuke, Qilin immediately decided to pick up before the topic could be derailed. "Yes! Well..." He cleared his throat, giving a brief and nervous smile before regressing back to his calmer expression. He had to ignore the slight look of annoyance from Sakura for interrupting. "Anyway, before I was a Captain, I was a simple streetear looking for knowledge. The topic of the Inner Circle was discussed widely among the populace in where I was... too big of a rumor to simply be just a rumor. After a little research, I discovered that there were several company buildings that had been attacked and destroyed by one lone individual. Of course, that individual was none other than the Burning Knight we now know of."

Noriko remained silent as she listened in, remaining silent at every word Qilin spoke and following every move that he made with her eyes. Out of the Captains, she seemed to be one of the few that had expressed less surprise than anyone else. It was a clear indication that she knew more than she was allowing herself to present....

"These said companies, after further painstaking research on it, I linked the attacks together. All of them had a good majority of folk who did a lot of dirty and illegal work such as smuggling weapons, contract assassinations, and more. Furthermore, I was able to evaluate that all the said companies also had at least a communication connection with each other. That means that they were operating under a bigger organization."

He stopped his idle steps, folding his arm behind his back.

"The details provided here such as Shindō being unable to detect the V-14 and the Burning Knight's spiritual pressure has only enforced that theory. In that territory, I'm fairly certain that detection-blocking made by any other force would have been nullified by the Stealth Force. There is only one group that could do so and one group that would particularly attract the attention of our Knight."

His eyes met the Head Captain's.

"I think you all know what I'm getting at... don't you?"