Los Niños de Izanami: Despertar del Infierno

Previous Chapter

Empowered Prisoners, Warden's 'Sins'
It had been a good few weeks since the attack of Yurei had been commenced, already buildings and battlegrounds once again were rebuilt, retrofitted, and once again flowing with people. While the citizens may have been overall saved due to the quick timing of both the Yurei's Police Force and the two residing 'off-duty' Soul Society Soul Reapers, everyone could feel that sense of shell shock...the fact their entire city not too long ago was part of a bloody, all out war.

One thing that had been whispered out of people's lips was why didn't the military respond quicker, or why didn't the Soul Reapers of their own city react with haste needed for this kind of crisis? The casualties were high for the Police Force, many were left wounded and out of those would not be able to return to service because them. The dead were burried and nearly a day or two of the aftermath, were given a ceremony in their honor for fighting honorably and valiantly in the face of the cult army that attacked them.

During the ceremony, the two Soul Reapers from the Soul Society attended, even Sakura who was begrudgingly dragged along, were given medals of honor, due to their presence and their participation in the battle, would not be forgotten. It also opened up a more military coordination between the Soul Society and Yurei, now revealed with the Higher Ups by Kukkyōna Hayate, that the Espada Afilado were indeed the ones behind the attack.

Despite this, Daisuke and Sakura had began to grow more fond of each other, despite their personality clashes and their own oddities, they began to spend more time talking and planning for the future events that would come of the mobilization of both the Soul Society's military and Yurei's.

It was at near sunset when Daisuke and Sakura were sparring out in the middle of a field far outside the city limits of Yurei, the sound of swords clashing and exhales of breaths could be heard for a good distance. Daisuke had just broke away a sword lock, the sparks that danced from their blades disappeared as he backward pedals a good 4 meters away. When his sandals touch the ground, his black overcoat fluttered around him as he leaped forward again, both hands on his weapon as he threw out a series of slashes of all angles, trying to be as ferocious and unpredictable as possible, not giving her an inch

His smile of glee and excitement clear on his face, enjoying every second of the rejuvinated Sakura he's come to admire and respect.

Sakura was not above enjoying herself.

Her eyes were closed, and a smile of her own was decked on her face. Her body moved naturally through the offensive barrage Daisuke threw at her, defending and counter-attacking the strikes he was making against her. Her bare feet stepped against the grounds lightly, moving at a pace that made it seem like the fight was simply a natural thing to do. She twisted, turned, and danced in order to block his strikes with her own. Despite being a Lieutenant, he seemed to hold great potential within himself as a successor to Kukkyōna.

Her own feelings towards Daisuke had seemed to change after their first meeting. Although it was clear she held opposing views, she did not mind his company. It was really a break from her usual life, what she had been back then. Even as they were clashing swords now, it was more of a friendly and competitive nature more than anything else. It was an effective escape from the commotion going on around the society.... at least, for the moment.

Daisuke chuckled, saying as she weaved to the side, noticing her attunement to the battle is so great, she had her eyes close for a brief few moments, a smile enamored onto her face, expressing her enjoyment of their friendly clash of blades. Then Daisuke grinned mischieviously, as he took advantage of her closed eyes, adding a bit more power to one of his clashing parries, one that would send her onto her butt if she wasn't prepared, using his innate strength to intentionally knock her off guard.

"Keep your eyes open, Sakura! I'm standing right here!" He yelled with a enthusiastic, teasing tone, his eyes blinked and his smile gleamed onto his face.

It was fortunate that Sakura was prepared.

But she didn't block. Instead, as he swung what would've been an off-balancing blow, she maneuvered herself and leaped over the swing, her body spinning in a full pivot. She landed expertly on her feet, taking a few steps back. "Really?" She asked in a slightly sarcastic manner. "I never noticed...." She still had her eyes closed, twirling her blade around in one of her hands in an idle manner.

Daisuke sweat dropped, before turning around, yelling at her with a rejuvinated cheer, swinging his sword again with fierce energy and relentless swings, "Show off! C'mon and take me seriously, dang it!"

"Oh, gettin' mad? I'm scared now~!"

Following this particular taunt, she raised her blade up and started to back off again, placing both hands on her blade and twirled her sword accordingly. This time, she had responded with equal power in her strikes, wrists twisting accordingly. Her blade intercepted his blade's path, sparks flying with each and every blow. She continued her tactic of staying on the defensive, though at a more aggressive and stronger angle. Even through this, her eyes maintained their current position as closed, if only to irk him more.

Daisuke could feel the power behind her counters and parries, now equal to his own ferocity, only forcing her to move backwards and around, moving fluidly with a grace only one who's been fighting their entire life. It made Daisuke wonder just exactly who she has fought, and why she fights, that small conversation they had in the hospital room gave more insight to the reality of how lost her motivations and goals have been ever since she left the Red Sun cult.

He got into deep thought within another violent strike, but backpedaled away, keeping out of range of her potentially painful blows as he inhaled and exhaled, closing his eyes before moving to sheathe his sword, "I think we should call it a draw, Sakura...I need a break." He spoke with a hidden tone, his smile still present but a little more thoughtful and softer than earlier.

Immediately upon the end of Daisuke sentence, Sakura flipped her sword around in a flourishing display before sheathing it back within its holster, placing one hand on her hip and the other to hang at her side. "Already?" She questioned, cocking an eyebrow slightly. "A real shame....I thought you would've lasted longer." This was said in a more casual air, a simple motion of teasing him. She walked over to him, lowering her other arm down to her side. "'Specially with a dad like yours...."

"Hey, I got a LONG ways to go before I reach his level. I don't even think I can ever be as gifted as he is in Zanjutsu skill alone. He's said to be a genius rivaling to that of legends of Shunsui Kyoraku or even Byakuya Kuchiki. Something like that doesn't just get inherited through blood," he said with a resigned sigh, after briefly smiling at how much he praised and thought highly of his father, regardless of his lack of fatherly emotion that some fathers would give freely.

He turned his head away, his hair and coat bristled in the wind as he looked across the field, flowing in sublte rippling patterns in a serene tranquil setting. He smiled softly, before he asked her, "You remember that time...back when you were in the hospital and I came to visit?"

She moved to stand beside him, folding her arms across her chest. "What about it?" She asked simply, her orange bangs billowing ever so slightly with the wind itself

Daisuke looked down at her face, watching her orange bangs blow across her pale brow, smiling before asking softly, "Have you considered what you want to fight for, what you want to live for now?"

"....that's not something to be decided within just a few weeks." A slight frown came across Sakura's face, and she turned her head away for a moment. "You've lived your life with friends and a family, so it's easy for you to fight for them. But I've got nothing compared to that, nothing to even think about. Compared to you...." She idly kicked her foot against the grass. "I'm practically worthless."

Daisuke turned around to cross his arms, raising his brow in a curious if not teasing-like manner, "Really? You think I found my purpose because I have a family or friends? I have a friend, part of the Deep Cover Ops himself, was nothing but a street rat when he started out his life. Before he joined the Soul Society, he was the biggest confident, if not most boastful, daredevil braggart of that side of the Rukon District. He even was apprenticed, and unofficially adopted by the Blacksmith and Swordsman who lived in that neighbourhood before he went to the Academy to become a Soul Reaper. What I'm trying to get around to is...you don't need to be rich or famous, have a big family or have great importance...I determined, on...that day...that I'd strive to be as caring, compassionate, and courageous as he ever was," he said with a distant look on his face before turning away, clearing his throat from the uncomfortable feeling he just created in his stomach. A few images of his life flashed before his eyes, making him regress his smile and replace it with a solemn look.

"What?" Sakura turned back towards him with a raised eyebrow. "Did he die or something?"

"Yes," he said softly, the wind died down, almost as if the air itself detected the lack of warmth coming from Daisuke now, as he continued with his gaze looking down, "he...he was my Lieutenant, back when I was a Seated Officer in the Division. He thought highly of me, acted like a carefree soul, with nothing holding him down, always willing to lend a ear to his fellow comrades. I thought of him almost like a brother we were that close...its just...the Mourning War happened," he said again, gritting his teeth slightly at the mention of it, the horrible grizzly images churned in his mind.

"Mourning War....?" A curious Sakura allowed herself to turn completely towards him, eyes looking at him intently.

Daisuke nodded, beginning in a whisper before raising it to a low morbid tone, "It was a war unlike I had ever seen. I had...had tasted true war for the first time I guess in this way. It started with a Hollow, a powerful one, we never confirmed its nature of origin, but we did find out that it sent out an array of parasitic spores, when inhaled by those weak of heart or bitter resentment, were instantly devoured from the inside out, but that wasn't the worst part. The spores were connected in a 'hive-mind' with the Central Nerve Center, and each time it spread its disease, it would expand its reach and also use what husks it deemed valuable as its personal soldiers or slaves, mutating its features to become almost rotten flesh hunks of what they once were. We had to cut them all down when we finally located the Central Nerve Center of the Hollow plague.

It was raining...like the entire earth was mourning the devestation the war had brough to everyone in the land, the inevitable bloodbath that was going to happen that day. We moved, most of the men under my command with others spread out among different seated Officers comprising from our Division, with our Lieutenant covering the backs of various units that fought against the onslaught of the Central Nerve Center's defenses and numerous husk-guards. After containing the threat to a degree, victory was near, I charged in with the Lieutenant towards the Central Nerve Center, then...he...I was...caught off guard," he hesitated, shame radiating his voice and quivering eyes, as he recalled the event clearly, "it sent out numerous tendrils from its core, knocking away what men I had near me, before aiming to squewer me alive right then and there. But...he saved me. Slicing most of them in his path, before moving his body to intercept the last one, spearing through his gut out his back, making a hole so wide I was surprised he still strength to do what he did next. He used a high level Kido...without incantation to destroy the tendril, then collapsed in a heap, urging me to finish it. It was then...I learned to use my Zanpakuto's greatest Shikai ability, setting the Nerve Center ablaze to the point I blasted a huge crater with such potency, it shook the earth for miles around. I emerged from it, barely conscious as I crawled towards him...he was still alive. He gave me this,"

he said, pointing to the head band, now etched with the phrase 'Remember the Mourning' in Kanji letters, "his headband he never took off for anything, saying he wished for me to inherit his will and drive to become a Lieutenant greater than he ever was, and to look out for 'our' men. He then died, in my arms, with me holding his headband. I couldn't stop my damn crying it was so bad," he chuckled, his eyes slightly watery, a tear fell from his left eye before falling down on the ground below, earning a sniff and a wipe of his eyes with his sleeve.

The morbidity of his statement sunk in within Sakura's mind. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and her eyes were shaped in a seemingly sympathetic expression. She placed a hand onto his shoulder, giving him a light pat. "At least he died for a noble cause...." She said in compliment. "He died so you, along with the rest of your allies, could live. I think he'd be proud of you as of this moment, too...."

"Thanks, Sakura-Chan," He said sincerely, turning over to her, smiling softly with his eyes slightly water-filled before he blinked, "I think he would've liked you too, y'know? Despite how we met, we make a pretty good team, huh?" He raised a hand, slowly up to her brow, brushing away her bangs, looking into her eyes deeply. He leaned in, pressing his lips to her forehead, kissing it lightly before pulling it back, smiling at her. Sighing he began to say, "Sakura-Chan...I want to ask you-"

"Ahem!" Suddenly a clearing of the throat rang out, and suddenly alerted Daisuke's attention, suddenly seeing a pair two figures standing 10 meters away, the one who cleared his throat was garbed in red and black with reddish brown hair and blue eyes, his fist balled up into a fake coughing stance, one to get their attention. The other stood calmly, his hands at his sides and perfectly standing straight and appearing stoic as he gazed at them. They were both armed with swords, and their Spiritual Pressure felt...extremely off, like mixing vile digusting trash with anger and burning hate. He didn't like their Pressure moreso than Sakura's.

Just Like Old Times
Whatever Sakura was about to make fun of him with was immediately cut off by the clearing of the throat.

"Why don't you mind your own fuckin' business!!" Was her immediate reaction. She abruptly spun around, eyes narrowed at them with an expression of annoyance. Once her eyes fell upon the two figures, she curled her fingers somewhat out of instinct, a scowl forming on her face. She could also sense the energies within them.... however, unlike Daisuke, who was unfamiliar with such, she could easily identify them as familiar. That was something she did not allow to cross into the surface, maintaining her irritated countenance while staring down at them.

The red-black garbed man waved his hands up in the air, a look of hurt crossed his features, as he responded smoothly, "Easy there, we did not come to offend. We actually came here to just chat for a bit. In a bit more private location," he indicated with a nod towards Daisuke, who's confused features turned stern and a sublte growl came from the back of his throat.

"Like hell...who are you people?! I can definitely tell you're not Hollows, but you feel as if you're something akin to Soul Reapers! What Division are you from?!"

"Easy there hot shot! Daisuke right?" he said, again feigning a hurt look, but surprised Daisuke with widened eyes showing shock clearly on his face, before the man continued, "I'm just here to ask a few questions to here miss...Sakura over here and we'll be on our way as quickly as we came. How does that sound to everybody, no?" he asked with a easy-going smile on his face, his partner remained silent and kept watching the two, observing every gesture and taking it into his mind for later reference.

"Yeeeeeah, my dad always told me not to talk to strangers." Sakura drawled, placing one hand on her hip and letting her other arm hang at her side. "Especially ones that happen to know our names before we ever told them...."

Daisuke nodded, waving his arm out indignantly saying, "I'm not fond of armed people who've been spying on me either! Tell me who you're working for-"

"Its not going to work, Jaaku," said a youthful, yet solemn voice, his eyes staring down Daisuke as he saw the contorted expression of both fear and uncertainty in his eyes, "let's just take her and kill the Soul Reaper. Quickly this time...I'd hate to call in the others because of your sick appetite for blood."

The now announced 'Jaaku' smiled wickedly, saying with a resigned shrug, saying in a nonchalant false disappointed voice, "Well, I did try, didn't I?" He turned back to the now tensed up and gritting Soul Reaper, before Jaaku put his left hand ontop of the sword pommel casually saying rejuvinatedly, "My name is Jaaku Retsurui. I come on behalf of my master to take her," he said with his right hand outstretched towards her, with a eerily familiar finger pistol form before 'pulling the trigger' back, 'shooting' at her, "back to him."

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU PEOPLE?!" Daisuke yelled out, his eyes glaring angrily, stepping forward, unconsciously putting his left arm out to shield Sakura from any unknown attack these strangers might dish out at them.

During this exchange, Sakura remained silent. Her fingers had clenched into fists, and her eyes narrowed to a more intense and cold level. She seemed to show no sign of distress at the turn of events. She folded her arms across her chest, maintaining defiance in her stance. Her eyes caught the finger as it "shot" at her, and the ghost of a smile flashed across her face. Had Daisuke not been right in front of her, she would've made a gesture right back to him.

Jaaku smiled at Sakura, his eyes catching the cool composure she shown despite the random, abrupt appearance of faces that should bring back memories of her 'glory' days...especially since their faces hadn't changed as drastically as their attire and bodies have.

Jaaku then moved at lightning speed, his form disappearing in a sound that resembled something close to static, yet too 'dead' to be clear, almost like a buzzing sound instead of speakers being blown. He caught Daisuke off guard, his eyes widened as an outstretched right hand struck a right hook towards his midriff, knocking the air out of him as he flew backwards with a loud clapping sound following his flight. His body flew head over heels after catching the earth behind him, the grass and dirt kicked up with him as his body rolled over in on itself, cringing from the immense pain he felt, coughing up a few specks of saliva.

"D-Damn...he's fast," Daisuke thought, scolding himself slightly as he tried to get back on his feet, one arm clutching his injured chest while the other began to push himself up, readying himself for battle.

As Jaaku retracted his fist, he moved around with a sadist smile imbedded on his features, eyes gleaming with murderous glee, turning around on the ball of his foot as he engaged a Iaido slash at her mid-riff, expertly engaging a cutting air pressure to exhale afterwards a mere moment after his attack, blowing everything out of the way, the very air itself cutting everything apart.

Sakura was not one to be outdone.

WOOSH!

As he whipped around, she had already drawn her blade, swung it out, and twisted around to barely avoid the strike aimed at her person. As she was twisting around, a smile decorated her face - one that expressed the elation of the danger in front of her. But within that smile was also amusement, almost as if what she was facing down was nothing more than a toy. A glint of that very same amusement could be seen in her eyes as she spun around elegantly with a diagonal uppercut. This would be immediately followed by several one-handed swipes; fast, lethal, and unpredictable in their pattern.

Jaaku didn't lose his vigor nor his grin, matching the blades and slashes with excitement and elation, a couple grazed his either cheek lightly, some of his hair was swiped, but he countered, launching a surprisingly swift amount of slashes. They were calculated, aimed, and perfectly timed, always making sure the moment after a counter or a slash he would follow up with another blow or jab. Their dance of blades sprung sparks and clangs of steel upon steel, and Jaaku didn't seemed the least deterred against his target.

Daisuke grabbed the hilt of his long bladed Zanpakuto, using Flast Step to move towards him, initiating a unsheathing of his Zanpakuto before he was stopped by a thin red string connected by the silent unnamed partner nearby, as he spoke in a low tone, "Don't interfere or you will die," he merely pulled his hand to the side, sending Daisuke arm yanking painfully to the side, pulling his body over in the air like a rag doll before pulled down towards the ground again, this time Daisuke braced his feet for the impact, sliding Spiritual Particles onto the soles of his feet, exhaling the impact along the earth nearby, causing a loud crash.

"Ts-Tsuzuri Raiden," Daisuke emphasized, a crawl of yellow electric energy along his long blade, before tapping the red string wrapped around his wrist, momentarily shocking him before sending it towards the solemn looking man, who simply 'let go' of the string before resuming his nonchalant pose.

"You cannot stop us, Soul Reaper Daisuke Hayate, Lieutenant of the 9th Division, heir to the Hayate Noble Family. Give up and leave the girl to us," he said with an almost soothing calm, as if to reassure Daisuke they wouldn't do anything untowardly.

Daisuke's pain helped him regain his composure, grabbing the hilt with both hands of his Zanpakuto, speaking aloud indignantly, "I will not stop fighting! I know you're up to something, and I won't let you take Sakura away form me!"

"How typical," the unnamed man said with a sigh, continuing with a curious gaze back at Daisuke's eyes, "do you even know WHAT she is, boy?"

"Huh....?"

Sakura's eyes widened slightly at the words of choice.

But at the same time, she had allowed her guard to fall - and that was her undoing.

A jab managed to punch through her side, and she shut her eye, a hissing noise escaping through her gritted teeth. She immediately hopped backwards in order to gain distance, a free hand clutching her now-bleeding side. In all honesty, if it were under normal circumstances, it wouldn't have affected her much. But she kept herself in a crouched position, breathing slightly hitched as she glared at her opponent. A chill of elation went through her as much as the pain did, and she had to restrain herself from smiling.

Jaaku laughed out, twirling his sword in a vertical spin parallel next to his sword arm, saying aloud with a wide gleam of sadist madness, "What's the matter?! You've gotten slower since the last time we tangled! You are after all the reason I ended up there!" He lunged again, pressing the advantage he had now, slashing at her neck before twirling around in a blinding spin to initiate a kick, powered with enough force to send her flying backwards with crushing force.

While the battle continued with Jaaku and Sakura, Daisuke's eyes opened wide, never really knowing exactly WHAT she is, just the fact she was no ordinary soul or a Soul Reaper, so she had to be something else entirely. His pause gave all the room for speaking he needed, as the unnamed man continued closing his eyes briefly saying, "She fooled you too, huh? Don't blame yourself too much, she is after all a sociopathic genius. Toying with emotions is second nature, cruel as she is, I'm surprised who in their right mind would give her that kind of power-"

"Shut the hell up!" Daisuke roared out, his body became engulfed in his Spiritual Energy's bursting aura, taking the hue of a rippling red, his eyes a fluid crimson as his concentration became fully concentrated on killing these men in front of him, his Spiritual Pressure shook the air, becoming hot and crackling. He then rushed at the unnamed partner, both hands on Zanpakuto, swinging it above his head as he came towards him to slay him here and now. Though there was a brief few seconds after Daisuke spoke as the unnamed man allowed a small smile onto his face.

"How ironic, I was getting to that part. Kyōki, Sensō," he called out sternly suddenly two green energy emblazoned figures appeared from either side of the unnamed man. One of them struck out a huge axe weapon at Daisuke to which his Zanpakuto collided with, causing a large break in the air pressure, the being's brutishly large figure matched his strength even at his peak.

The other figure taking on an appearance almost that of a corpse and a mummy, attacked him with cat claw weapons, slashing out of him, making him spin out of the way to avoid their deadly swings, catching his overcoat several times, the scratches large and apparent before them as he skidded across the ground, his feet kicking up earth violently behind him as he engaged in combat with the two beings that substituted for the unnamed man's position in battle.

"Tch....!!!"

Narrowing her eyes and gritting her teeth, she immediately rose back up to her feet in order to continue her defense. It was far too easy to shove him back, to regain offensive and break him underneath her feet. Yet, she kept herself pushed back, allowing him to gain ground over her as she continued to bat away his attacks. Sparks continued to fly as fast as they had ever been, one combatant rushing against the other.

And, even through this, she had a grim smile on her face.

Throughout the commotion, a figure a considerable distance away was observing the battle with what appeared to be binoculars. He was lying on his stomach, using the grass as a means to conceal himself physically. His spiritual presence was perfectly hidden to the point of invisibility, keeping any of them from sensing him out. After a moment of observing, he lowered the binoculars to reveal furrowed eyes and a thoughtful frown on his face. Slowly, he began to move forward towards the group.

If anything went bad.... he would have to intervene.

The brutish figure swung his axe, surprisingly quick, but still slow enough for Daisuke to counter, flip, and dodge around, the partner of his was the real trouble. He moved at blinding speeds, and slashed and twirled in unorthodox patterns that would outdo even Drunken Boxing Masters. He slashed, clashed, and repelled with physical strikes, not even taking an instant to keep himself alive against the surprisingly powerful tag-team. He knew if this kept up, not even knowing the enemies' numbers would cause him to die.

As the unnamed man kept observing the fluid, vicious fight of both pairs of his targets, he sighed out of impatience. He didn't want to cause too much commotion, and didn't really want that particular Captain involved in this battle, finding it would be much more difficult in exctracting her.

"Jaaku!" He called out to his partner, as he kept in beat with his target of choice, their slashes never ceasing, and moved gracefully, somehow also found the time to talk to him at the same time. It would almost look comical if the lethal intensity wasn't so raw in the air.

"What is it?! I'm having fun here!" He called out, his smile slightly hindered at the thought of being interrupted, enjoying the clash of his blade against hers, feeling as if he could go on and on for eternity. It was a feeling that gave him a near feeling of ecstasy.

"Use it and take her. I want to leave here as soon as possible. I don't think we should keep our master waiting much longer," he said cautiously, not wanting to upset the delicate balance of his partner's moves, while urging him to finish it up.

"Tch!" He said in a irritated acknowledgement, clashing against her one more time before reaching out and grabbing her exposed forearm, unknown to her, a tattoo was emblazoned on his palm, unltimately spelling their impromptu victory. A screaming pain would crawl up her arm and across her body, until the pain would lock her muscles and nerves, ceasing any form of movement in her body, a stunning and suprising move it certainly will be for her.

Needless to say....

A sharp gasp escaped Sakura's throat as Jakku's hand grasped her forearm.... then she let out a hoarse scream as the pain tore through her body. Because of the symptoms, she immediately lost her grip on her sword. Her muscles and nerves locked up, and she fell in a manner similar to a fainting goat's. Had it not been for the situation at hand, such a thing would've been hilarious to see the widened-eye look on the woman's face, her bent knees and arms raised above waist level.

"Ok.... s-seems the son of a bitch picked up a few new moves while we were away...." She thought to herself, a shaky smile on her face as she looked up at the man standing over her.

Beginning of the Endgame
Daisuke glanced over to see Sakura fall, apparently down for the count, even unable to keep her hand on her sword as he falls limply onto the ground, clattering audibly in the distance.

"SAKURA!" He yells out, ducking a axe swing by the brutish figure before he preforms a Kido to knock him off balance, aiming a free palm, uttering lowly, "Hado #54, Haien!" discharging a orange sphere of flame, striking the brute in the chest, causing him to howl in pain as well as stumble backwards, flailing his axe with abandon as the flames crawled up his body and set his entire being on fire. The corpse-looking partner dove in as usual, corkscrewing towards him in a spinning drill of blades, Daisuke side stepped out of the way before striking his back as it turned with the pommel of his Zanpakuto, initiating a silent Hado #1 as well as Bakudo #1 at the same time, sending him into the earth with a ear-splitting impact, as well as binding his arms behind his back momentarily stunning him.

He then turned towards the unnamed man, as Jaaku leaned down on one knee, holding his sword to delicately slice some skin on her shoulder, saying in a sadist whisper, "Why don't you scream a little for me, Punisher? Its been forever since I remember the day you made me scream as you ripped the flesh off my back, before sentencing me to eternal damnation..."

"Jaaku! Now's not the time!" He scolded tersely, his eyes glared at him, though his figure composed and not even facing the oncoming Daisuke, having seemed like he got him by surprise, to which he only turned his head towards him. As Daisuke roared out, swinging his blade, he was suddenly stunned as dozens of small blue firefly balls appeared, before forming a pattern within a blink of an eye, completely paralyzing his being in mid-air, mere feet away from his opponent, his sword a few inches from his neck.

"That was a little too close for comfort, Korosou," he said to a white coat individual, his lab latex gloved hands outstretched as if he was composing a concerto, as he bore a small confident smile of his own, walking towards Daisuke.

"You should know better than to doubt my timing, Ryūketsu-sama," he said with a proud, confident tone, his smile showing how much he enjoyed keeping Daisuke in the tight bonds he created, making sure not to underestimate the boy having seen his abilities firsthand.

"This one is a problem. Please get ready to dispatch him while Jaaku secures her for transportation," he said softly, dismissing his other partner's comeback, turning his gaze back at Jaaku who reluctantly grabbed Sakura's now tattoo emblazoned forearm viciously before hauling her inert form over his shoulder, sheathing his sword.

"Well...this was fun. Short but fun, eh, Ryūketsu?" He asks, to which he got a small smile in return.

"Yes it has, hasn't it? I can't believe the Soul Reaper over there could keep up, let alone best those two," he offhandedly remarks as he sees the brute exuded a large amount of Spiritual Energy, washing the bodily flames away, leaving a large amount of scalding for display as he walked over to the group, huffing his axe over his shoulder, while wrenching his partner from the earth as he wordlessly unbound his arms from the weak Kido.

"Well, shall I dispose of him now?" Korosou asks with a evil smile, raising his elbows up above his splayed fingers, as if he was enacting a puppet show, the star-like pattern binding grew tighter, urging a swear out of Daisuke's mouth as he glared at the leader, intent on freeing himself, even if it was hopeless.

Ryūketsu stared him in the eye, saying in a honest regretful tone, "You should've stayed out of our way," before turning back to Korosou, saying, "do it now."

He would get a definite surprise.

For the second that Ryōketsu had allowed himself to turn away, the other stranger had managed to re-appear right behind Korosou. A hand grasped the back of his shirt, another hand reached around to grasp his face, and a foot thrust itself out to strike the back of his knee. As that leg went upwards, Korosou would find himself being sent forcefully down to the ground with spiritually enhanced strength that aimed to incapacitate him as well as break his concentration on the hold he had on Daisuke.

The effects were immediate.

WHAM!!!!

The very force exerted on Korosou caused the earth to buckle underneath their feet, the power kicking up a moderately small dust storm. Even though she could not see due to her upper torso hanging over Jaaku's back, Sakura could still sense the newfound presence and cocked an eyebrow at it. "A Shinigami....? What in the hell would someone like that be here, of all places....?" She thought to herself.

Ryūketsu's eyes widened suddenly at the shimmering appearance of what looked like a Soul Reaper, one they hadn't anticipated being there, thus left Korosou completely unawares. His eyes bulged as he felt a smash and felt his body twirled over and crashed audibly into the groud, indenting it with his form, sending dirt and grass up in the excess booming sound.

Ryūketsu's eyes went back to Daisuke, seeing him suddenly freed of the binding spell, dropping down gasping for air as the tight confines had a few moments to shrug off. However, due to the interference of another unsuspected, and unplanned force, Ryūketsu decided to forgo any means of eliminating them...for now.

"Jaaku!" Ryūketsu shouted out, not even turning to face him as his left hand rested on the pommel of his sword, saying aloud as he readied himself to fight, "take the Punisher out of here now! I'll personally make sure that none of them stop you." His eyes narrowed at the Soul Reaper that incapacitated Korosou, watching his two partners, Kyōki, the brutish large one that towered up to a size that would've put former Espada #10/0 Yammy Llargo to shame, his hulking form rippling with muscle and clad in strange armor. He raised his axe, coating it with electrical violent spiritual energy before swinging it down at the unknown Soul Reaper, causing a tremendous blast, destroying a good 15 meters of landscape past the Soul Reaper.

The other one, dove in at lightning speeds, corkscrewing in a drill of cat claw blades, intent on shredding him as he dodged the blast, his apparent mummified appearance made him look like a long dead corpse, given clothes and weapons as if he's depicted as a tomb guardian rather than a warrior or real monster.

Jaaku hissed, stretching his unarmed hand towards the space next to him, opening a tear in space, a violent blue bordered red portal opens in a smaller, grimmer display similiar to a Garganta.

They were pressing themselves into a retreat.

It was something that would bring relief, for now. However, at the given moment, hope was lost for Sakura. Even she knew so, a rather irritated scowl on her face as she glared at the back of Jaaku's head. The only one available was Daisuke, and he was just freshly recovering from the newfound assault on his body. The Soul Reaper's eyes narrowed as he took to the air, using a Shunpo to evade being torn apart by the blast. His tied hair ripped in the winds he created, his head shifting down just in time to see Sensō rush towards him. For now, all they were doing was covering their escape.

For now, all he had to do was survive.

Raising his blade up and twirling his wrists, he intercepted the blows that his enemy brought against him. However, he wasn't just simply defending himself - in a manner that he counter-attacked, he was also bringing the force of Sensō's own blows against him. It was his very own style of swordfighting, one that aimed to wear down his opponent's defenses and completely dominate the duel. His eyes were narrowed, and a smirk decked his features as he fought for his very life.

Daisuke growled, pushing himself up and moving with all the strength he had left, using Flash Step to move towards Sakura, his hand outstretching to grab her inert form, his hand...all that it managed to grab was the bonnet fastening her hair back, letting now fall onto and around her head, as he retracted his movements, avoiding a nearly unnoticable edge of a sword. He leaned back, only hearing the humming of the sword cutting through the air, feeling a slight pain travel underneath his eye on his cheek before the blade completely passed above him, narrowly missing him, but unfortunately gave Jaaku enough time to slip into the portal.

Daisuke's eyes briefly locked onto Sakura's as her head was angled towards his, his right cheek bled down his face, a look of horror and fear entered into his eyes as he yelled out her name once more in futility, "SAKURA!!!!"

Ryūketsu tsked, looking at his sword, then back at Daisuke whispering to himself, "I missed...but it won't happen again," he then lunged towards Daisuke still reeling from the shock, swiping down at his right shoulder, intending to cut diagonally through towards his heart and across his arm. But the blade met Daisuke's own, his eyes burned with rage, and his Spiritual Pressure boiled in the air, a reddish hue came across his body as he growled at him, his eyes a vivid crimson.

"YOU MONSTER! WHERE DID YOU TAKE HER?!" Daisuke roared out forcing his blade to push Ryūketsu a few steps back, holding a single handed grip on his sword whereas Daisuke used both hands with his large weapon, sparks danced sporadically between their weapons.

Ryūketsu looked at him with a hidden analytical look, observing his strong emotions as something...odd that someone had been affiliated with the Punisher. "Why do you feel this way, Daisuke? Is it because you think that she's your friend? Is she your lover, your comrade at arms? Anything that she's said to you, anything she's done has been a lie! Accept it and you won't have to fight us-"

"BLAZE ETERNALLY, KYOI ABATA!" He roared out, his Zanpakuto suddenly forming two spikes on either end of his double bladed sword, also funneling a stream of flames along its edge, causing Ryūketsu to open his eyes open in admonishment of his Zanpakuto being released this close to him. He immediately withdrew his blade and distanced himself, his form backpedaled across the field 15 meters, even as Daisuke raised his Zanpakuto into the air and threw a condensed sphere towards his landing zone, causing a mighty pyrotechnic explosion in its wake, blasting a good 10-15 meters of landscape in its fiery blast.

Meanwhile, during that period of time, Kyōki and Sensō were continuing their battle with the Soul Reaper intruder, Sensō clashed his cat claws in mid-air, violently spinning and twirling his body along to propel a number of dangerous high-powered kicks at him in a spinning-top motion while jabbing out his cat claw blades at his legs.

Kyōki also took the moment of concentration off of himself to gather energy at the tip of his axe, forming what looked like a Bala if anyone was paying attention, suddenly discharging with the weapon in hand as a aiming-tool, firing it at where Sensō was forcing him backwards into. The two seemed like a natural tag-team, one pressing the enemy to dodge and outmaneuver the large destructive attacks of one partner, while the other rushed him the moment he was in the open, swarming him with an array of vicious rapid attacks, until he was open for interception by his partner again. A Deadly Pair indeed!

The resistance was only making the Soul Reaper more elated.

After he parried another set of blows made by Sensō, the Soul Reaper was in the middle of another one. But when he swung his sword down, it wasn't just a simple blow of the physical kind, but one enhanced by his spiritual energy once again. He swung the blade in an arc, making sure with the projectile attack first before the close-up opponent. As a result, a bright explosion occured within the area, the color of the energy illuminating and brilliant against its surroundings. He used this as an opportunity to land back onto the ground, slamming his sword down upon the earth. From the blade, a massive vent of pressurized air was sent in a fissure's path towards Kyouki, racing at an incredible speed.

He had witnessed what had happened, glancing down to earth to see the shocked look Sakura gave Daisuke when he had pulled her bonnet off. He had seen that very same look fade to helplessness when she was finally pulled away to an unknown location. The power of the release was undeniable, and a bead of sweat fell down his face at the blast's range. He hoped the man would get it through his head enough to allow him to explain without consequence - at least, if they could successfully force their enemies back....

Sensō cried out in a high-pitched scream, spiraling down to land onto its feet with a loud crash, covering its face with his cat claw weapons, momentarily withdrawing himself, making it look it was seriously injured.

Kyōki however lowered his axe towards the ground, near waist level for his opponent but near his shins as he was concerned. A sphere of gathering energy appeared on the tip of his axe again as the fizzure grew nearer, suddenly discharging a mighty burgundy Cero, blasting the earth apart effectively countering the fizzure of heat screaming towards him. The Cero also was setting the fields aflame as it violently rushed back towards the unnamed Soul Reaper, intending on pulverizing and incinerating him as the Cero exploded violently where the Soul Reaper would've been, causing a large mushroom cloud to exhale above the blast site, creating a good 40 meter blast radius, shaking the entire fields and a plume of smoke could be seen from Yurei's city limits as well as hear the thundercracking of the explosion.

Daisuke shielded his eyes from the violent flash from the Cero explosion, briefly worried about his newfound ally's fate, before he heard a voice emanate from his own explosion's site, "Just what I'd expect from a Lieutenant wielding one of the strongest Fire-based Zanpakutos. Truly," he said revealing a slightly marred form of Ryūketsu, his right hand outstretched suffering a few burns across it, but the rest of his body remained unharmed if not a bit toasted, "you and your father's Zanpakuto are the only ones of its kind, 2nd to the legendary Ryūjin Jakka, still to date as the strongest Fire-based Zanpakuto."

"H-How do you know all this?! Who the hell are you?!" Daisuke roared out, waving his brightly lit Zanpakuto, hissing and growling subtly for blood.

"Ryūketsu ōtamu," he responded calmly, letting down his scalded arm to rest unperturbed at his side, still clenching his sword, "Hantā, as well as the leader of these Hantā, who serve my master, Bōkyaku, a Demon of Hell."

Daisuke's eyes suddenly widened in shock, feeling his neck choke and his body shake. He suspected them being some form of renegade Soul Reapers on a stretch, Arrancars, or something, but not errand boys on the beck and call of a Demon! Which means...

"Why? Why did you take Sakura to Hell?! What do you want from her?!" Daisuke yelled out, his desperation clearly in his voice, but his rage boiled around his Zanpakuto, growing hotter and more flamboyant in its production of fire, hissing slightly louder now.

"Vengeance, for she was the one responsible for sending us into Hell, her Daetenshini, her underlings, inflict far more pain and suffering upon us than Hells' Will could. She is, after all, a Shinsei with the ulterior title, "Punisher" after all, though, I didn't think she sunk so low as to drag another one of 'you', like that," he said with disgust, his face rarely showed any emotion, but a small sneer was present along with a burning anger in his eyes.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing...," Daisuke trailed off, at first looking like he was going to stop fighting. to break down into tears. No...the tears came down his face were hot, even sizzling against his skin, as he raised bright red eyes encompassing his pupils, a dark voice of anger filled himself and his Zanpakuto howled in rage at Ryūketsu, his eyes open and widened with the sudden climb of even higher Spiritual Energy bursting from him.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE ANYTHING YOUR TELLING ME YOU BASTARD! YOU'LL DIE FOR SPEAKING ABOUT HER THAT WAY!" His body bathed in a bloody cloak of violent Spiritual Energy, setting nearby grass and earth on fire, crackling the very air around him as he raised his Zanpakuto up towards him, intending on killing him here and now.

In the case of the massive beast....someone else did.

From the sky, a murder of giant, red birds overtook the air. It was an air squad sent by the police in order to investigate the situation from above and effectively neutralize it. The explosions and blasts had drawn attention to their position, and now action was appropriately being taken. The unit sent in was a flock of "dragonbirds", named affectionately by their owners and farmers. Unlike the white doves that managed transportation, these types of birds acted as an effective air support by unleashing fire upon the hapless enemies down below. They were a strong breed, and their flames could melt even through solid steel. It was time to put that power to use.

Riding on the lead bird was none other than Kenta himself. His eyes were looking down upon the giant, and one of his hands had just clicked on his earpiece. "Focus all your concentration of the big one and make sure to check your fire. There are friendlies down there!" He radioed in to the other bird units, before lowering himself in to begin the attack. Upon his command, his own personal bird opened its mouth and breathed outward, a steady stream of fire wide enough to envelop the torso of Kyouki. Two others followed suit, creating a concentration of destruction at the position.

One such member that had secretly recovered among the cohorts of Hantā, Korosou. Slightly injured, his lips and head were caked in a few droplets of blood, though a look of haste and small smile crawled onto his lips as he made a clap of his hands before forming a square of blue energy, pushing it out to form a large cyan barrier between the incoming fire that would've hit Kyōki, who raised his axe in mid-preparation to repel the blast of incoming fire.

"Time to retreat I'd say," Korosou said with a knowing smile to his compatriots, whom they simply nodded as the blazing fire storm outside of the shield would only hold for so long, quickly forming their own portals, slipping into them quickly before disappearing, whisking back to Hell away from their enemies.

Ryūketsu stood his ground though, seeing his compatriots making their escape he was satisfied he could say one more thing to the now shocked, and slightly less furious Daisuke, "Pay heed to my words, Daisuke. If you follow us, I will show no mercy to you, and you'll end up locked into the same Hell I suffered inside of. She's nothing to you...forget about the Punisher," he then formed a Hell portal behind him as he walked backwards into it, finishing as he was enveloped in the dimension tear gate, "she'll only enjoy your bitter suffering in the end."

Daisuke fell to the ground, his Zanpakuto defused and reverted to its sealed form, clattering out of his hands, as he gripped the earth below,and he began to cry out in mourning and frustration, once more calling out, "SAKURAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!"

Immediately, the birds descended downward in order to land themselves. As they did so, the Soul Reaper approached the desolate man with furrowed eyebrows and a frown. He had taken some damage, as well - his left arm was covered in blood, and a trickle of it was running down from his forehead. His sleeve had been ripped somewhat, revealing a slightly burned arm. Regardless of this, he appeared to be in good condition. He calmly approached, his gait slow and deliberate. "Daisuke, is it?" He asked coolly. "Crying won't solve anything.... and it won't save her. Come on, get up." He stopped once he was close enough, folding his arms across his chest and waiting.

Daisuke grit his teeth, fisting up the grass underneath before ending his sobs with a low growl, "What the hell...did do...just watching this entire time?!" Daisuke in a fit of frustration and anger, whirled around, reaching out and grabbing the young man by the collar, bringing his face close to his, tear stained eyes staring at vehemently at the man.

"What in the--"

Needless to say, the soul Reaper was not expecting that.

Instinctively, he gripped the hands of the man who gripped his collar and shoved them off, giving a rather irritated glare towards the other man. "For your information, I was trying my best not to get killed by those other two brutes!" He snapped. "Now get yourself together! Time is wasting, and the sooner we stand around and do nothing, the more time they'll have to spell our demise!!"

However, before he could elaborate on that very fact, Kenta's voice came to the two. "Lieutenant Hayate!" He called out, approaching the two quickly. "What's the status? Is everything all right?"

Daisuke growled at him, saying, "You have some nerve, disappearing like that, then reappearing and only helping when we're nearly beaten to a pulp!" He then pushed Braeburn away, looking over at Kenta, his face full of frustration and grief, as he noticed the man was concerned for another reason entirely.

"They took Sakura...they...they called her a 'Punisher' which I have no bleeding hell idea why they did, but they said she's a Shinsei...I don't know half the stuff they say is true or not, but I do know their Spiritual Pressure is not that of a Hollow's or entirely of a Soul Reaper's. Its like something foul, mixed with death and suffering, while melding the traits of either a Soul Reaper or a Arrancar into their body. Its...repulsive and terrifying," he looked at Kenta, wondering if he had any idea what he was talking about.

The revelations had immediately caught the police officer by surprise. His eyes widened slightly, and for a moment, his voice had caught itself within his throat. "Punisher....Shinsei....?" He repeated in confusion, looking away and folding his arms across his chest. "Honestly, I've never really heard of those particular terms before. I could've sworn I heard them a while back, but...."

The Soul Reaper immediately chose this time to speak, causing Kenta to spin his attention back towards him. When he spoke, his voice as well as his expression was slightly pleading. Notably, it held a moderate Australian accent. "Listen.... this isn't the proper place to speak about this. I can explain everything, but we'll need to move to another spot. You should find your respective commanders and take them with you.... it's imperative that they know, as well...."

"And you are....?" Kenta questioned, raising an eyebrow.

The Soul Reaper bowed out of respect. "The name's Braeburn McTavish, sir."

"He's coward who left his duties as a Soul Reaper from the Soul Society," Daisuke said with disdain, spitting the words out like they were poison, as he glared at him before walking over to Kenta.

"Let's get out of here while we still have time to plan a rescue for Sakura," he said in a slightly more solemn voice to Kenta, not even wanting to look at Braeburn, knowing exactly who he was.

"...." Behind him, Braeburn remained silent. However, he did slap a palm to his face out of frustration. Of course, the emotion that ran high still existed. But it didn't mean that the reprecussions irritated him to no end. Hopefully, his father would be much more of a reasonable man....

In front of Daisuke, Kenta merely nodded, a slightly solemn expression on his face. "Follow me. I'll take you to Captain Kukkyōna and contact the commander along the way." He answered, turning around and walking briskly off to his own bird, which had been perched a good few steps away. Braeburn silently followed, the expression of irritation still clear on his face.

Regrouping and Planning
As Daisuke and company flew towards the headquarters, he could see his father standing on the assigned 'hellipad' for the specific Dragonbirds flying towards them, his Haori, scarf, and Soul Society garb now donned since the reveal of his position and negotiations with the higher-ups in Yurei. His gaze unreadable, his eyes narrowed at the oncoming battle group as they landed, their steeds' wings flapped powerfully and sent a few gusts of wind to flutter the coat of the Captain of the Soul Society of Japan.

He stayed still as Daisuke leaped off, breathing heavily as he looked knowingly at his father, before he dropped his head in shame and bitterness.

"I-I tried to stop them...I wasn't...wasn't strong enough-" he began to say until Kukkyōna cut him off by walking past him, placing a simple empathetic tap on his shoulder before walking past him, wordlessly comforting his son in his own composed way.

However, he was more concerned of the appearance of the known Soul Reaper climbing off his own steed, a few troopers followed but backed up as his gaze turned icy as he spoke coldly, "Explain yourself, former 3rd Seat Braeburn, of your knowledge of the captors and tracking of them, and untimely interference. If you come quietly now, I won't report you to the Stealth Force."

Clearly, Braeburn himself was not pleased with the apparent threat.

Angrily, he threw up his hands. "For bloody fuck's sake-- Ugh!" He snapped in agitation, throwing his hands down. He took in a deep breath, exhaling and inhaling in order to calm himself. "I'd argue with you about the authenticity of that statement, but honestly, we've got bigger problems here than me." He did not pay attention to Avaron and Kenta as they approached, continuing to speak directly to the elder Hayate.

"Those assailants you and that woman encountered...." He explained, re-gaining a calmer edge to his tone. "....are known as Hantā. If you're aware of the regular Sinner, the term for the doomed residents of Hell, then you'll have no problems figuring out that Hantā are a step up from that. My time here's allowed me to research on such. The libraries of Yūrei are extensive archives for information." While this was going on, Kenta had taken to spinning one of his revolvers around on his finger in an idle motion, keeping his eyes on Braeburn. Avaron had her arms folded across her chest, looking over at the man with a furrowed gaze.

"Before anyone else starts asking any questions, let's get one thing out of the way...." She stated, turning a questioning gaze towards Kukkyōna and Daisuke. "Where do you know this guy from?" This caused Braeburn to scowl once again, but he didn't allow himself to object to the question.

Kukkyōna spoke first, not letting Daisuke butt in tersely as he spoke off in a matter-of-fact tone, "Braeburn McTavish, 3rd Seat Officer of the 5th Division of the Soul Society's Gotei 13. Serving after many years was suspected of conflicting theology that disalluded him from his duties. Before being confronted by the Stealth Force, he had already left, fleeing from the Soul Society. He is a minor priority of the Stealth Force's to bring into custody, alive if possible, and brought before the Central 46 Court Chambers to be judged for dereliction of duty and abandonment of post. What he has done in between his dereliction and now has been...unclear," Kukkyōna then turned to look at him finishing, "until now. Apparently from reports of the Deep Cover Ops that were responsible for alerting us in the first place of the invasion of the Yurei had suspicious activity of someone under the profile of Braeburn McTavish, from which they had been tracking him until they untimely deminse. It is unlikely he's responsible for death, but the extent of his abilities improving from the time of his dereliction and now has also been, unclear."

Daisuke just glared at him, hissing at him with a frustrated accusing tone, "Why the hell would you be researching that?! What's your interest in Hell anyways?! That place is supposed to be monitored and not interfered by the Soul Society for nearly any reason or another!"

However, his hissing tone only caused Braeburn to smirk, raising his arms up in a "come on" shrug. "You don't know my reason for leaving, but that was one of the reasons I decided to stay away. You see.... because of that refusal to get involved in Hell's matters, the Soul Society has been allowing themselves to become ignorant of the events that take place there." He raised a pointing finger to Daisuke. "However, people like me manage to keep enemies from obtaining advantage of that. If I hadn't did what I did...." He raised a wagging finger. "You would have no idea what those Hanta have in planned for your precious Sakura."

Daisuke growled, instantly reaching out to grab his wrist to pull him over to grab his collar, using his impressive strength to raise him off his feet as he nearly yelled at him, "WHERE IS SHE?! What do you know about her?! How long have you been following us?! Did you just watch the city burn apart in the invasion?! Did yo-" he was cut off by Kukkyōna grabbing his hand, not applying much force at all, but the mere touch sent warning signs in Daisuke's mind, suddenly snapping him out of his rage.

"Calm down, Daisuke! He won't cooperate if you try to kill him," he said tersely, raising his voice, making Daisuke loose his grip on him and back off, his father's mere raising of his voice made him cringe at the possibility of being shamed in front of him.

Kukkyōna turned around, narrowing his eyes at him before speaking lowly, "Speak of what you know now, and quickly. I may be collected but witholding information of this critical importance will further label you as a traitor to the Soul Society. I'd be forced out of duty and justice to interrogate you, which I'm sure would be not in our both's best interest."

"I dislike the bloody wankers as much as you do...." Braeburn said bluntly, passing an agitated glare at Daisuke as he dusted himself. "So I've got no reason to keep any secrets. One: The lady that they took out of your care.... that wasn't just any person. That was the form of a deity whose power has yet to be realized and whose purpose has yet to be fulfilled. She strikes fear within those that oppose her rule and is the driving force for most of my violent brethren. Those who believe are saved from her wrath, even those who do not shed blood in the name of her. Her name.... is the Punisher, and she is the ultimate decider of who is saved and who is forever doomed to the depths of Hell."

Kukkyōna crossed his arms, closing his eyes saying, "Its as I suspected. She is indeed a Deity...I did not know of which group she belonged to. I didn't know she was 'the Punisher' reveled in their extremist cults. Her...graphic representations on the radical posters strung up in converted towns have been...disconcerting, and not all to inaccurate. According to legend, her birth started with barb wires strung all over her body, screaming in pain. She eventually became attuned to the pain, then had a thrill for it, eventually able to feel the sheer pain of others giving her an almost feeling of ecstacy. Although, most of it has been exaggerated, and I haven't seen Sakura act too much like it, save for her sadist and cold nature," he finished with a shrug.

Daisuke stood silent, letting everything Braeburn and Kukkyōna said churn inside himself. He suddenly turned over at him, asking, "You worship the Red Sun though, right? That would explain why you left the Soul Society...but, how come you know about the Hantā so much? Have you traveled to Hell yourself? And another thing," he then raised an accusatory hand at him, outstretched at him, asking aloud, "why would the Punisher involve herself in the affairs of Hell?! That place is supposed to be monitored by the Soul Society, and the Zanpakuto of every Soul Reaper sends corrupt Hollows with past living sins as well as pluses to Hell, so why would she take charge of a duty that's a Soul Reaper's?!"

"Hah!" Braeburn mocked, his tone clearly incredulous. "You are such a naive fool. I'm telling you right now: the Soul Society may monitor Hell on its own basis, but she keeps the hell within it! There's a difference between simply watching it all go by and actually making things happen, you know! So I would think twice before assuming that it's all your responsibility. Besides, if it is, you clearly aren't doing a very good job, are you?"

Daisuke growled, but knew better than to anger his father again, about to retort back when Kukkyōna narrowed his eyes at Braeburn, making his own comment, "Of course only a man with narrow-minded views who thinks the laws of the Soul Society inadequate would retort quickly and unworthy of remarks. Regardless," he looked back at Daisuke, then Kenta, then back at Braeburn as he spoke, "I think its fair to say we've chatted idly long enough. Tell us what you know of their plans and how to enter Hell. The only gates I am aware of is the Kushanada Hell gate that spawns every time a Sinner is exposed without disguise in any world they are in or when someone is sentenced to Hell, by Zanpakuto or, apparently the Punisher. The only gates besides that is one in the Soul Society, guarded heavily by the Kido Corps, even inspected by the Kido Captain himself every so often. The other, is...dangerous to use. Its in the World of the Living...and I'd think its fair to say no one wants to open it too often either."

Daisuke then looked unbelievingly at Kukkyōna, his father, before he asked him in a disbelieving tone, "Why didn't you say anything about this earlier?!"

"I don't know where the gate in the World of the Living is, Daisuke," he simply said, before he finished, "and the Head Captain, no matter the reason, would never let us use the gate in the Soul Society. Its simply off-limits."

Braeburn scowled, shaking his head a little at what appeared to him as an insult. But he bit back the urge to fight back; everything about them would have to wait. "Well, as of their plans...." He said, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. "I don't know. Vengeance.... using her as some sort of conduit for a summoning.... the possibilities are endless, as far as I'm concerned. It could be anything, and it could happen at any time. Fortunately for all of you, I've got a way to freely enter into Hell without such outside assistance. All I need is for you to gather up who you want, gather the equipment you need, and prepare yourself in any way you can."

Avaron turned her gaze towards the two Hayates, giving a slight frown and a cock of the eyebrow. "I'd come with you, but I've still got to monitor the evacuation plans. From what your intel has deciphered, another attack's supposed to come in two days, this time in a much more massive number. We've got a good thousand civilians and counting within the old underground resistance network right now, with military troops moving in to take patrol positions. Though, I would be happy to send a squad in order to assist--"

She was abruptly cut off by Braeburn's voice, which immediately earned him a slight glare of annoyance in his direction. "I don't think you'd be able to, ma'am...." He answered, eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Once you step into Hell, it's going to take reiatsu above the norm in order to navigate the realms. People with normal reiatsu like yours would immediately go insane from the aura that the dimension permeates. At the very least, the Hayates and I should come along."

Kukkyōna nodded towards Avaron, respectfully saying, "Anyone with low Spiritual Energy would immediately fall unconscious, and those average would indeed go insane, easy prey for Hell's Will to ensare them forever. I do appreciate the gesture however, but from what you're telling me now," Kukkyōna said, narrowing his eyes speaking in a low tone, "makes this all the more reason to find Sakura and save her from Hell before the invasion arrives. I want to be the first to intercept the enemy this time around."

Daisuke snapped his fingers on his right hand as he pointed over to his father and back at Avaron, "I know who we could bring along! Deep Cover Ops can send her right away, and she's the best they have!"

"I wouldn't recommend it. Captain Kaze wouldn't let her loose on a unsanctioned rescue mission into Hell for no apparent reason that would benefit himself," Kukkyōna said, crossing his arms, sliding them inside his billowed sleeves and looked at Daisuke with somewhat disinterest.

"Not unless we can convince him otherwise! We owe her that much," Daisuke said with determination and steadfastness in his voice.

Kukkyōna gazed at Daisuke for a few moments, it dragged onto a silence for a good few minutes. He sighed, relenting with Daisuke's tenacity, unfolding his arms as he responded, "We'd need to contact him from the Police HQ...though I'm not too sure he'll be happy by the request, regardless of who it comes from."

"And just who are you talking about....?" Braeburn questioned, folding his arms across his chest and tilting his head to the side a little.

Daisuke crossed his arms, Kukkyōna filling Braeburn in this time, "Deep Cover Ops is a Joint-Division Program that sends a new and secret line of Soul Reapers behind enemy territory, deep within unmapped dimensions, and tracks certain persons of interest, among other classified things. Needless to say, this program was initiated 10 years after the Winter War, and has been in constant development and improvement ever since, all members who meet the quota are extremely capable, only terribly lethal enemies can ever hope to kill them. Captain Kaze Sasayaki was the founder of this program, and one of his prized agents is under his care, more than qualified to partake in this mission. However he's very particular on where he sends her...peculiar, but no one questions him due to his status and the authority he holds over his own program."

"I've sparred with her. She's one of the most lethal fighters I've ever met, and her potential to eventually outclass any Captain in the 13 Court Guard Squads is inevitable," Daisuke said somberly, a slight grin crooked on his face as he remembered his own times in the Deep Cover Ops.

"Hmph....well, hopefully that can be put to the test and not turn out to be some sort of bullshit you just pulled out of your ass." Skeptical of the promise, Braeburn unfolded his arms and shifted his gaze away from them. "After you're ready, when do you think you'll be set to move?"

Daisuke shrugged saying in a bemused tone, "If we're lucky, several hours...if not...well, perhaps sooner perhaps much later."

Kukkyōna turned to Avaron, saying aloud, "Please lead the way to the Police HQ. I'd like to procur temporary use of your communications equipment to contact Captain Kaze, if you don't mind."

"In a situation like this, who would I to mind?" Avaron questioned, giving a smile as she turned herself away from the group and walked towards one of the birds. In turn, it turned its head in order to catch her with its gaze - a sign that this particular bird was one of hers. "Just let me doing the setting up, and you'll be all good to go." She stopped by it, placing a hand on its head and turning towards an approaching Kenta. "Sergeant, I want you to go back to the area with an investigation unit and find any traces of the spiritual residue left in order for future reference. I don't want to risk any more surprises than necessary."

At that, Kenta gave a nod, raising his hand up in a brief salute. "Yes, ma'am!"

Kukkyōna turned to Braeburn, narrowing his eyes at him before turning his head back forwards, "Come! We haven't any more time to delay!"

Daisuke glared at Braeburn momentarily before following his father to the bird Avaron was at, moving quickly in hopes this venture isn't a gamble, and that Sakura still had time left.

"And so the tense alliance begins...."

A toothy scowl on his face, Braeburn allowed himself to move with them. As he passed by Kenta, he couldn't help but spare a glance at him as he lowered his hand and walked off. However, he quickly turned his head back and continued walking. His notions alone would be hindering, especially in the case of those who considered him to be an enemy. It was all he could do in order to keep the balance stable between him and his former comrades.

If he played his cards right, maybe he could get off of their rap sheet.

....maybe.

Punisher's Punishment:
Ryūketsu walked ahead of the escort of Hanta, his steps measured and reverent, not taking steps out of pride or fear, but out of sheer respect for the place he tread upon. The soles of his shoes walked with sounds of crunching, ashes kicked up in minority as he walked, like sand but with a much more morbid origin.

Behind him, Ryūketsu looked back to see Jaaku still holding the unconscious Sakura, moreover aptly named 'the Punisher', according to them, her inert form was limp as Jaaku walked casually with one arm holding her in place while the other rested casually on the pommel of his Zanpakuto.

Beside him walked Korosou, his grin crooked and present, knowing that victory in his mind was good as theirs, and their vengeance will be his own as well as the others'. Both him and Jaaku's feet crunched as softly as Ryūketsu's, their stances nearly mirrored of each other, showing that they were used to traveling with each other and working together.

Meanwhile, behind them walked a fair distance from them was the grotesquely unusual pair, Kyōki and Sensō, the former's stride much larger and kicked up a large cloud of ash in his wake, while the latter moved at a unusual angle, his body slanted and his arms slumped forward one with each leg, as if he was a walking puppet.

The group traveled across the Valley of Ashes till they saw a group of ruins in the distance, old structures of a once powerful empire now simply sticking out and clinging to the ash-sands, like rotting wounds and bones of old wars long forgotten. The very air, if not accustomed to, would cause one to cough on air equivalent to that of a smoke-hued landscape, as far as the eye can see, making this the least favored area of gathering for anyone or anything, even Hell's Will.

Jaaku then asked aloud, after they were all silent for some time since arriving back into Hell, then navigating to the elusive and nearly-toxic Valley of Ashes, "Hey! What do you think Master wants with her? Torture her in public? Kill her over and over again?"

"His plans are far more intricate than mere revenge we seek. You should know that by now from his methods of increasing our powers, Jaaku," Ryūketsu said with a smooth, knowing tone, looking back ahead, not turning back to look at Jaaku's amused reaction.

"Certainly seemed a little overkill to send all of us to capture her," Kurosou suggested, looking over at the inert body, swaying slightly in step of Jaaku as he carried her.

"Quite...if it wasn't for those Soul Reapers, we could've pummeled her into the ground and then taken her. Stupid Yurei Police Force had to show up and ruin things when everything was getting fun," Jaaku complained, though a smile was plastered onto his slightly scarred features, slightly healed up since the encounter with the Punisher already.

"The Soul Society's reach is much longer than what we realized it seems," Korosou said with a shrug, waving his hands dismissively as they continued their trek.

It was here that they would recieve of the voice of their captor.

"G...aaaah!!! Haaah! Hnnn... hnnn...."

Immediately, Sakura, now fully awakened to their surroundings, was instantly hit with the pain of the seal that bound her. At first, her expression was shocked, and Jaaku would easily feel the furious heartbeat as her nerves were enflamed in the effects. Out of reflexes, her body began to jerk around in his grip, making it harder for him to maintain control with her erratic movements. Her eyes were shut and her teeth were gritted in the expression that clearly showed the agony that she was feeling.

Jaaku knit his brows in a sign of irritation as he felt the thrashing of the awakened Punisher, now having to tighten his grip on her side, purposely taking some of her skin underneath in his fist to remind her position, "Hey! Knock it off! I'd thought you would've been used to this kind of pain before...when did you turn into such a whiny bitch?!"

Korosou just chuckled at the writing and gritting Sakura, his eyes gleamed down at her with a malicious intent behind them as his smile spread thin and tightly, raising a hand towards her face, sparking lightly, "I soooo want to rip your face off the urge is almost too great..."

Ryūketsu just sighed at their antics, but did not stop them, keeping himself walking a smooth and steady pace towards the ruins in the distance they're approaching.

However, at that moment, Sakura stopped her struggles as soon as she realized what it was. She opened her eyes, expression immediately contorting to a mixture of mirth and amusement (though it was somewhat difficult to tell since she was being carried with her back to the ground). Even as the pain continued to course through her body, her muscles twitching occasionally, she was actually putting on a grin, almost as if they were putting her through something more humorous. "Oh, right! I'm STILL under the effects of whatever the hell the guy put on me...." She realized. "I got myself panicked for nothing!!"

When his hand touched her face, and his words reached her ears, she immediately fixed her gaze onto him. Her dangling hair's bangs gently slapped him, almost as if in retaliation. "Then....what's keeping you.....?" She managed to say, although she was still breathing hard due to her body's reaction from the pain. To her, these were nothing more than side effects. "Go on, make my day...." Though her voice was slightly shaky, the taunt and malevolence that she had within herself came to him full-force.

Korosou grinned before retracting his hand, his fist trembling slightly at the thought, before saying, "Not yet...you'll wish I had once our Master is done with you," he spat at her face, his saliva burning onto her cheeks, finding it more acidic than liquid.

"You really shouldn't keep up the bravado considering we're your top fans...or moreover, the ones you've inflicted the most pain and torture on before sentencing us to Hell that is," Jaaku said in a relaxed, nonchalant tone, though his grip on her side was ever so more painful, making sure to inflict even more pain on her as he finished, "its time you find out what its been like for us in this world."

Ryūketsu then snapped his fingers on his left hand, making Jaaku shut up as he stopped walking, finding themselves standing before a large pillar, just beyond it, lied a number of ruins before leading up to a makeshift, black castle, with marks of war and decay everywhere, as well as a fine coating of ash on it.

"We're here," he spoke lowly, his voice carried over the group as they gathered closer now, a howling wind came over the place, shoveling the ash-sand away, showing a number of skeletons, both humanoid in nature and something else entirely, before being barried once again, the howling reminiscent to that of a screaming banshee to anyone else's ears. To them, it sounded like home.

To Sakura, it was home.

She took in a deep breath in the potent air and coughed a little, maintaining her tooty grin. The aura of the place brought a familiar, frightening chill to her bones. It was nothing compared to when she had first seen and experienced it, but it brought about a feeling of nostalgia nonetheless. "Beautiful...." She whispered, her voice only showing slight pain in contrast to what she was actually feeling. "I guess even with what happened, you boys were kind enough to keep things the way they were while I was gone. I'm almost flattered...."

Jaaku grind his teeth together, throwing her across the ash wasteland, causing her body to sprawl past Ryūketsu, his clothes fluttering slightly as her body would kick up some ash-sand, before she would stop several meters ahead of them all.

"Pay your respects, Punisher," Jaaku said with a malicious smile, not regretting a thing he's done, as he waved his hand towards her, in order to gain her sight, saying, "you're going to meet our Master, and know of your demise as well as grace your eyes upon him."

As soon as he said this, a ghastly cold wind was felt, something that would be rare in Hell considering the wretched heat that was everywhere, intoxicating and torturously uncomfortable, save for those who lived long enough to cope with it. This presence could only be felt by the unnaturally residents of Hell, ones no one would see unless they made their presence known purposely, beings of ungodly strength and power, something that not even Sinners nor Hollows, not even Soul Reapers could understand. A Demon was amongst them, his mere presence not even a normal Spiritual Pressure, felt as if one could freeze to death in his presence.

The being was draped in a dark black cloak, his appearance currently unseen and his voice as chilling as ice of the polar opposite of Hell's flames would be, "Welcome back to Hell, Punisher. Or do you prefer to be called by your other name, Sakura Kojima?"

"Ooompf!"

When Jaaku had thrown her, she could only allow herself to fly because of the effects of the spell. She grunted as she tumbled along the ash-ridden ground, settling to a stop. Now she was covered mostly in ash. Yet she only blinked once she hit the ground, taking in a deep breath and coughing a little at the putrid air. However, her ears immediately perked up at the sound of the voice, and a smile once again returned to her face. She tilted her head up a little, the attunement of the pain-induced binds being displayed.

"Please...." She answered, her tone less shaky. "We all know that I am no Sakura Kojima. Do call me by the Punisher, if you don't mind...."

"Well 'Punisher'...it doesn't seem you're in a position to pass out punishment right now, does it?" The cloaked figure said, waving a dark gauntlet hand towards her incapacitated body.

"Just as I thought...my Seal does work on Deities, even your kind. Fascinating...this means I can probably reuse this Seal to incapacitate even Soul Reaper Captains and even Vasto Lorde Menos with this Seal, I thank you for satisfying my curiosity in that area of interest," he said in a scientific-attitude, his dark tone fairly pleased and quite excited from the results his Seal used on Sakura.

"....oh. That's what you were trying to do....?"

The Punisher, as she called herself, had a rather unimpressed and bored tone in her words. She raised her head in order to notion over to the seal on her arm. "Because in all honesty, I thought this was only supposed to give me a ride." She rested her head against the ground, closing her eyes as she continued to speak. "I mean, that actually worked too.... for the first few minutes. Now it's becoming more and more of a boring factor...."

"By what my Hantā have told me, I'd expect you to retain your pride and arrogance, even amidst the pain I purposely left in the Seal. However, that's my Seal, and if I wanted to make it more painful," he snapped his 'fingers' on the visible black gauntlet hand, and suddenly the Seal flared up, crawling up her arm were characters similar to that of the Seal's patterns, and the pain became violently more painful, 2x, then 5x, then 10x more painful, as her entire arm was now covered in the markings originated on her forearm, even her fingers were covered, "I just make it happen. You really should pay attention to what I'm telling you, Punisher, because that big mouth of yours will bring a world of hurt you've never felt before upon you."

"NNNNNNGH~!!!!"

Instinctively, the Punisher's back arched in a reflexive, violent manner. She shut her eyes and grit her teeth, the artificial gangrene crawling up her flesh. Chills raced up and went down her spine. However, that snarl immediately turned into a smile. Her pained sounds immediately were converted into a laughing fit, one that would've been maniacally excited in anyone else's eyes. Her eyes opened wide, her irises and pupils having shrunk. "Th...that's w...what...you think.... hah...is it??!" She jeered him, expression nothing short of frighteningly excited. "''"Y...you....mere, pitiful excuse for a DEMON.... would n...NEVER understand....with...THAT kind of logic....!!''"

"Hmmmm," he hummed an eery tone as he kneeled down, showing he was garbed in a black, skeletal-looking armor, his gaze still hidden, his voice still as cold as Hell was hot, "I believe I forgot how much of a...thrill this gives you? Its only natural for you to feel that way, being born of pain as it were. My plans involve something far greater for both of us, you and I."

The Punisher was breathing heavily, sweat falling down her face. Despite the intense agony that accelerated throughout her person, it only served to fuel her. "Really...?!" She managed to question him. "I'm pretty sure.....they're not TOO....great for me...!!" This was followed by a bit of violent thrashing, her body having the opposite effect of her mind.

The Demon chuckled, but it broke out like grinding glass and hissing, his breath frosty and chilling to the touch as it graced in a frosty hue over to the Punisher's sweat-covered, contorted face, "No my dear...something that you wished you always had. A life purrrrrpose," he purred out the sound, reaching out a metalic gauntlet-hand and cupped one of her cheeks, stroking underneath her eye with his sharp edged thumb, "you will help me become a being that transcends any being known. It will transcend your kind, it will transcend Soul Reapers, Hollows, even the Soul King will be dwarfed in our power."

"A life....p...p...purpose....?" The woman grunted, her eyes narrowed at the man as he continued with his motions. Beside the intense pain that was eating at her, disgust moved in to join it. Despite the obvious threat and ability of cutting out her eyeball if she happened to say the wrong thing, it was as if he was petting her, treating her like some sort of helpless victim! That only drove home an urge to throttle him, to rip him apart where he stood. Her teeth gritted into a slightly feral snarl. "Sounds like...you're just using me for your own personal tool...!!" She bit out. "It sounds to me as if you prefer to play with fate...and that's something beyond your hands, demon... There are bigger things here than you... and I.... something that you could never hope to understand with your current knowledge.... if you continue on as you are.... then the consequences that will befall you will be far more than what I could've ever done to you....!!"

"Well then...I'll just make sure when that 'punisher' seeks to right my sins, I'll make him regret it," the Demon responded cooly, scraping his metalic fingers off her skin, leaving cuts the absence of his touch before rising to his full height. He looked over to Ryūketsu, saying in a cool commanding voice, "I want you to take her to the chambers. Time is of the essence, and from what I know, we will have unwanted company trying to stop us. Its rather...heroic if not entirely naive of them to rescue something like her," he said pointedly, looking down at her, the statement made it all clear that he held no real respect for her in the slightest, before raising head back to his servant, "do this and halt them at all costs."

Ryūketsu bowed his head, before returning his gaze back at the Demon, "It will be done, my master."

Jaaku, however, didn't like the secrecy. He bit down on his lip to the point of blood trickling down his face, the anxiety clear on his face.

"I'd like to fucking walk now, if you don't mind...."

Through her pained tone, blatant annoyance and sarcasm was clear within Punisher's words. Her body had fell victim to numbness once again, and she was now laying on her back. She didn't mind the seal... but it was rather annoying to have to deal with the fact that she couldn't move herself at all. She doubted they would grace her with such a thing, but it was worth a shot. She was honestly sick of lying on her side or on someone else's shoulders, and she was pretty sure they were already tired of carrying her.

As she was turning her head to the side to look at her side...

....she was instantly hit with a surprise.

Sitting right beside her was a black-cloaked figure, arms resting on his knees, and a casual position about himself. From the looks of things, it seemed as if he had been sitting there the entire time. She could only blink her eyes a few times as he continued to sit, not regarding her. However, she only managed to eye him for a few seconds before he dissipated into ash. None of the others would have seen him or sensed his presence; he was simply a ghost that went along with the wind.

The Demon then turned to the rest of his Hanta, saying aloud to them in a commanding, cold voice, "This is my final command before I begin preparations. Do NOT let the enemy, neither of Hell or of beyond, stop the process I will start, for once I begin, I cannot lend you any personal strength towards your fight. The enemy is going to be powerful and in near equal numbers no doubt when they arrive. Hold them, and for your faithfulness, I will grant you even greater power than you have, enough to join me in my conquest in Hell and beyond!" He raised a fist, clenching tightly into the air, causing the rest of the Hantā to raise their own fists in salute, even Jaaku, who's suspicious glare gone unnoticed by all as he began to have doubts about his charismatic and enigmatic leader.

Ryūketsu bowed his head once again, his master mysteriously disappears, with a silent scream in his wake, before moving to pick Sakura up, unaware of the strange vision she had as he hauled her up in a bridal style of carrying, any other time than this might've looked quite comical and would spark jealousy in Daisuke's heart for sure. "Sensō, Kyōki, Korosou," he spoke to the three, immediately gaining their attention, as he sideglanced at the three, giving them orders, "you will meet the our 'guests' at the 2nd Level of Hell. With luck, the Kushanada will slow them down enough to buy time, maybe bind one or two to Hell's Will. If not, then they will naturally meet you in the 2nd level. Make sure to kill them, if possible, and stall them for time. Jaaku and I," he said as he looked over to a less than pleased Jaaku, making Ryūketsu give pause slightly before continuing, "will stay here and take on any remaining invaders, kill them where they stand. FAILURE is not an option, understand?"

Each of them gave a nod of knowing, fearing the wrath of their master if this plan goes awry as well as the pain of death itself quite unpleasant. He then moved away, saying under his breath, "Jaaku...I will speak to you after I deposit the girl in the chambers," he said before he began a aganozingly slow trek towards the chambers, in between steps he would initiate a blur of motion, causing him to move at accelerated speeds to gain distance, before halting at the last 100 meters before a large dungeon-looking infrastructure...the last remnants of a obsidian ruined castle.

Once again, the pain had numbed her body back to a somewhat immobile state. It was the only source of satisfaction she could get from her situation, even if anyone else would've given their very life to avoid it. She breathed heavily, unconsciously leaning on the man's chest as he carried her (much to her resentment). Her hair blew against his face slightly as he sped. When he halted himself, she made no indication that she was aware of it, continuing as she was.

With what voice she could muster up, she whispered, "Ryūketsu.... I thought that, despite your crimes to man.... you would have much more sense than this."

Ryūketsu stayed silent for awhile, almost flinched at her words, something he'd rarely do around anyone. Even his master. "Punisher...you're a great source of my pain and suffering. Despite what I've done in life, the real irony is that the pain and constant death, rebirth I've had as a Sinner here was not the real greatest pain. It was the sheer, utter, isolation...I was constantly alone. Its the one thing I find in any life I live to actually fear or look down upon is being alone again. What I find ironic about what's going to happen to you, Punisher, is that you won't be alone...you're be reborn and whether or not Master succeeds, you will become something that the Red Sun has always meant you to be. A god of wrath and judgement," he then looked down at her face, a look of slight pity and almost regret. But the sign of long hardship and loneliness outweighed the prior emotions seen, and it showed the conviction to punish her as much as he been punished.

"....reborn, huh....?"

The woman looked away from him, the light lost in her eyes for a moment. Then, she closed her eyes and smiled weakly. "If I didn't know you all for who you are...." She whispered. "I would've taken that as....well.... comforting and of good fortune...."

Ryūketsu stayed silent, not wanting to respond or gloat, nothing of the sort mattered but ferreting out his judgement to her. As he entered the dark obsidian ruined castle, he walked down...farther down than anyone would've liked. There was little to no light, save for a torch every 20 meters, and he moved with effortless grace through the darkness, moving from one corner to the next, taking a good 10 minutes before they approached a large dome ceiling room.

There was a large crimson stained satanic star drawn on the vast, cracked tiled floor, various stains of blood were shown in isolated corners of the room, as well as a chopping block in the center of the satanic circle. It looked like a executioner's room that she entered.

"I have brought her here, like you've asked, master," Ryūketsu spoke aloud, his voice carried into the room and it appeared deathly empty. Then the Demon reappeared, emerging from the shadows of one corner of the room, his heavy footsteps took one step after another forward, his nearly transparent, fluid cloak fluttered about him despite the void of wind in the castle.

"Good, Ryūketsu. You've done well, despite difficulties that you've encountered. Now, place her ontop of the block," he pointed a metalic hand towards the chopping block. Ryūketsu did so without hesitation, walking slowly over before laying her in a quite uncomfortable position of the middle of her back onto the block. He then stepped back, as the inner ring of the circle around the block glowed vibrantly, nearly a dozen tendrils of energy reached out and tied around her limbs, making any attempt she would've made, regardless of the Seal on her body, futile.

"....oh, for the love of Mother...."

The falsely orange-haired woman looked around at her bindings, wincing slightly as they latched around her arms and legs. However, the wincing look immediately turned to one of disdain, and she glared at her bindings in annoyance. "You must really love going out of your way to practice the art of "overkill", don't you?" She questioned sarcastically.

"I must take no chances. Especially with the likesof a Hankami," the Demon said before walking towards her prone, unmoving body, before pressing a metalic hand onto her face, caressing it coldly and chillingly, anyone feeling it would swear their blood grew cold underneath his touch.

"Ryūketsu. Leave us. You're job here is done," he spoke commandingly and swiftly, ushering Ryūketsu to bow swiftly and disappear with a blur just as well. The Demon then began raise his metalic hands up and took the edge of his hood before lifting it back over his head, showing his true face before her, smiling a wicked fang bearing smile, but otherwise handsome and intimidating.

"Now we can speak freely as our final moments as individuals fades before we become one, unfathomable, god-like entity," he spoke in a more sultry, seductive voice than the one he had before, his eyes told a familiar story to Sakura, like as if she'd seen him before....

This earned Sakura's head turning itself away from him under his touch, her teeth gritted and her eyes narrowed. However, it wasn't an expression of anger as it was an expression of annoyance. "Oh shit no...." She said vehemently in a whispering, hissing voice - well, as much as she could while still trying to fight off the seal's effect. "I told you before, Bokyāku, that damned tone you're taking with me isn't going to get you anywhere.... it wasn't the thing that saved you from that whirlpool in the Level of Lust, and it won't be the thing that's going to help you here...." She paused for a moment, closing her eyes abruptly and taking in a deep breath. "I'll tell you again... you don't know what you're doing.... quit now, while you are still the tormentor...."

Bokyāku just smiled, chuckling as he heard her bring that up again, "Oh you tease...its such a shame such a woman of fiery spirit has to treat me in such a way...we could've seen this as allies rather than unwilling partners in this arrangement. But I'll spare you the preaching for I'll tell you what is really going on in here," he said as he raised a hand towards each of the similiar satanic star patterns, each of them moving a different position every other second, small clicking and hissing sounds was heard, "can you hear that? The spell is already in progress...this particular spell has been long forgotten amongst my kin. Its an old and very powerful spell that binds two individual entities into one, godly being. This being will far surpass the Head Captain of the Gotei 13, or that ridiculous female leading the new Espada Afilado. This power, will match that of the Soul King himself! If not immediately, but with time...we, as one being, will rule ALL of creation! Its something I once offered you once, wasn't it, Punisher?"

He scraped his hand, now in the form of a surprisingly warm and soft hand, rubbing gently and tenderly over the scrapes he made with his former hands, now slowly healing them himself. He smiled disarmingly at her, lowering his head down so his face was mere inches from hers, a few dark bangs drapes over her, as he whispered in a sweet, promising, seductive tone, "I can make all the pain disappear...I can let you give the universe a new definition of pain, for all that you suffered from being merely birthed into existence. Isn't that why you've done it? Toying with your victims and preying on their pain? Isn't that what you want to prey on all of existence? You know I'm right," he said with a smile, his breath breathed warmly into her nostrils and along her face comfortingly, "you don't care about duty. You care about being the harbinger of wrath and pain itself, to make everything 'guilty' feel as much pain as you do. Now," he then let his lips grace hers gently, knowing the spell allowed a fraction of movement, but not enough to be hostile, allowing her to feel and respond in kind, as he kissed her slowly and tenderly, cupping the left, now healed side of her face in a warm hand. As he broke off, he asked, "what do you say to that?"

It was a guilty pleasure - something that the Punisher was not accustomed to having.

It clearly wasn't kindness. She understood that perfectly, despite all of the touching he was doing. She squirmed a little, not able to do much about it due to her bindings. The kind, sweet, and rather lady-killing tone was picking at her defenses, and with each and every move that he made, she was feeling more and more vulnerable by the second. The pain, having formerly been seen as a gift, was now serving as a negative aphrodisiac in order to drive her further and further down. Oh, how she hated feeling such things! If only she had one hand free, she could push him off, punch him in the face, something in order to make him stop!

Then his lips met hers.

"Oh, god, please stop...."

She unconsciously shut her eyes as he kissed her, cupping his hand onto her face. Now he was hitting at her, making an effort to break through her shell. His way of comforting her....these feelings....it was torturing her more than any efforts of pain could've ever done. She had never felt such things before, and he was using that weakness to his very advantage. She was trying hard not to allow herself to break.... but these new feelings were pushing, pulling, and kicking at her. A chill raced through her body, created from the sudden warmth that he gave her, only to vanish once he pulled himself away. There was an emptiness left behind, one that she had been eager to avoid.

It hurt more than anything in the world.

"Th...this...." She began to speak, then shut herself up immediately. Her face was slightly flushed, and the discomfort that she had felt was now expressed on it. That, as well as the shakiness in her voice, made it all too clear that he had succeeded in wearing her down.... at least, to an extent.

"Tell me you want to never feel empty, and I'll never leave your side. Tell me you want to inflict horrors upon mankind like you've never have thought possible, and I'll make it happen. Tell me you want to be reborn not out of pain, but out of joyous incredible ecstacy of sheer godhood, and I'll make it happen. Doesn't that sound like something," Bokyāku asked, smiling disarmingly once more as he breathed a arousing and intoxicating breath into her face, swirling unnatural pheromones and twisted words flowed around, into her, and allowed her to feel his comforting words and promises, even as he was again mere inches of her lips again, "you desire?"

"I-I....." She couldn't bear it any longer, immediately turning her gaze upon him in pleading resignation. "Yes!" She finally allowed herself to say, a passionate shamelessness within her words. "Yes....everything you say is true....what I have now.... it's nothing! Humans.... Shinigami.... whatever! They're all too wrapped up in the world of sin to realize their wrong-doings. All of them must pay the price...!" The final dam had broken, and now she was willingly putting herself within his hands.

Bokyāku smiled greatly at this, letting those words of acceptance and resignation sink into his mind, having to restrain himself from laughing in joy for this moment finally coming. He then flourished his cloak in a large billowing motion, his unseen body draped her around in a surprisingly intoxicatingly burning embrace, his body meshing with hers, and his hands cupped her face, smiling expressing a knowing joy as he caressed her face, whispering to her, "And pay they shall. If they think they all can escape the clutches of Hell, then they are wrong. As one being, we will accomplish what either of us individually could not. We will be Harbinger...the emodiment of Wrath and Pain, cursing the Universe for their sins and condemning them all to Hellish nightmares for existing," he then pressed his lips against hers in a passionate display of mutual lust and relishing of power, now inwardly laughing as things were set in motion, and no one could stop him now.

Driven by his influence, Sakura closed her eyes and allowed him to kiss her, returning the favor with the mutual feelings that she now shared with him.

The deal was sealed.

Unbeknownst to both of them, however, there was a figure within the shadows of the chambers, arms folded across the chest, and back leaning against the wall. Because he was in the shadows, it was virtually impossible for him to be seen, and his energy was perfectly cloaked to make him invisible to both of them. However, piercing blue eyes were staring at them, particularly at the back of Bokyāku. He studied them for a bit longer, not moving in any way or expressing any form of reaction to what was happening in front of him.

Then, within a second, he had vanished from the area.

Eve of Battle, old faces and new crisises
It had taken a little while to get back to the Yurei Police HQ, making Daisuke all the more anxious, something that had been giving his father a bit of a migrane, having to glare at him from time to time to keep him from causing any more embarassment or trouble for them both, as well as their allies.

Once they arrived, it took all of Daisuke's will to keep from barging into the HQ like a bull in a china shop, letting Avaron lead the way again to the HQ's computer systems. Once there, Kukkyōna took over and began to transmit a series of complicated, yet memorized codes back and forth between the nearest buoy, of course the location of it was also encrypted. Needless to say, it took a great deal of time for Daisuke to keep himself under control, moving his gaze to rest uncomfortably at the composed and beautiful Avaron, then to glaring at Braeburn whenever he had the nerve to glance at him, finding himself too worked up to even retort anything for fear of disgracing himself again.

Kukkyōna said aloud, "It should only be a few minutes now...they're connecting me to the Captain now."

Daisuke sighed, muttering under his breath, "If the Deep Cover Ops had any specialization, it would be in making it a pain in the ass to contact them. Period."

"So, just for the sake of reference and to be prepared ahead of time...." Avaron had her eyes half-lidded in a rather casual manner, cocking her eyebrow slightly. Her arms were folded across her chest, and she stood patiently in front of the massive screen that would project his image. "What's this man like?"

Nearby, Braeburn rolled his own eyes at Daisuke's tension, walking over to one of the nearby terminals and sitting himself down. He reached over to turn it on, waiting boredly as it exited standby. However, his eyes widened at what he saw, immediately fixating himself on the screen. With a set of clicks, he was within a computer game and playing away.

Daisuke shivered, immediately casting his eyes at Avaron, saying, "He's not exactly you'd want to get on his bad side. Overall, he displays a sense of composure to the rest of his...'comrades' in the Gotei 13, though he's not nearly as kind to the residents in the Soul Society, mostly the Rukon District citizens. His mere presence...would send shivers down your back, his voice make your blood freeze. He's a terrifying man, truly, and he's very reclusive and secretive when he's inside his Research and Development Department, always studying and tinkering. He's a man who developed the Deep Cover Ops before he became Captain and Head of the Department of Research and Development. His genius truly rivals that of the previous generational heads of his Division and Department."

"He's also the sole creator and inventor of over 90% of Deep Cover Ops' equipment and gear, as well as their own personal style of combat, teaching, and training. Even their method of recruitment is unorthodox, selecting people that the Captain alone has seen fit or capable of going under the program," Kukkyōna followed up Daisuke's rhetoric, not missing a beat as he kept awaiting the said Captain to appear on the screen.

"So he's the "mad scientist" type." Avaron summarized, closing her eyes and letting out a light sigh. "For once, I'm glad I'm not the one that has to do most of the talking here...." She unfolded her arms, shifting them so that one hung at her side while the other hand its hand resting on her hip. "Will this be much of a problem if we don't manage to convince this Sasayaki person to let us borrow one of his subordinates?"

"We'll be down one powerful ally and entering unknown territory for most of us," he glared at Braeburn's direction as he said 'most', before returning his gaze back to Avaron, saying, "but yeah, if our mad scientist Captain doesn't agree, not only will we have 'wasted his time' we'd wasted ours in not entering Hell sooner," he said, initiating fake finger-quotes, before suddenly a omnicious voice, surprisingly deep voice, emanated from the speakers before a ghastly pale, red bags, pale complexion, and a icy blue glare.

"What is it? What could possibly be the ma-...ah, so its you, Captain Hayate," Kaze made a thin smile, his eyes fixated on the stoic and calm Captain before him, his face leaned back some to show himself reclining in a large leather chair, his pale hands clasped his fingers, his white Haori garbed around his form gave him the definitely apt 'mad scientist' appearance.

"Captain Sasayaki," Kukkyōna said, nodding tersely at him, before getting straight to the point, "I'm using the Deep Cover Ops secure channel because we're currently compromised here in Yurei. We're facing a now revealed enemy and element that could threaten both Yurei and the Soul Society as a whole perhaps greater than the one we face now."

Giving off a slightly bored yawn, but keeping a wide smile of enjoyment that they came to him for help whereas he basked in his power and prestige. "Exactly what could be more interesting than deciphering secret codes the Adhijados have been ferreting in the streets, or finding out the exact location of the Espada Afilado's forward base, allowing us opportunity to launch a counter-strike against them before they've attacked Yurei OR the Soul Society again?"

"It revolves around the affiliation of Hell, if you must know," Kukkyōna said in a nonchalant manner, averting his gaze in a suggestion he might close the channel, feigning fear of wasting his time. He cleverly bated the scientist, now leaning forward, resting his chin on his 'bridged-clasped' hands.

"What are the facts? I'm assuming the Yurei Police Force can give some details of their own, can't they?" He said, giving off a slight tone of presumption, underlying with boredom that the Police had anything useful to give them at all as he sideglanced Avaron past Kukkyōna.

Daisuke rolled his eyes, crossing his arms, "How typical," he muttered.

"Details, huh....?" Avaron muttered to herself, allowing herself to look at the scientist. "Well, if you have to know.... then I'll be as quick and explanatory as possible. From what intel we've gathered up courtesy of an outside contact--"

"Boom....headshot." Braeburn interrupted briefly.

"...as well as you and the Deep Cover Ops...." Avaron was almost tempted to roll her eyes at the sudden and somewhat humorous interruption made by the defector, but she let it slide. "....it's been made pretty clear that this is just more than just some attack or a beginning of a war on both our sides. This is the start of a sort of movement, an attempt at world destruction and recreation. Under normal circumstances, I would've hardly believed that it would've been possible for such things to happen....at least, until what happened today...."

She moved herself over to the terminal in front of the large screen, typing in a few codes. On Kaze's side, it would show a photograph of Sakura. "This...." She explained to him. "....is the high-value target the Stealth Force of yours had been hunting down. Her alias was Sakura Kojima, but her real identity is the Punisher - one of the deities prominent in the Red Sun scrolls. She was captured by a group that came from Hell called the Hantā and effectively taken prisoner. From what I can tell, these individuals were souls that the Punisher had sentenced to Hell and want nothing but vengeance. Now, I'm no expert in the field of this culture.... but when all the facts point to Red Sun being real, I'm willing to bet that if this "Punisher" individual dies.... she's most likely going to bring a good chunk out of the damn universe with it... if not all of existence."

"So I see," he smiled widely, narrowing his cold blue eyes hungrily at the picture of Sakura on his screen, also displayed on theirs for reference, tapping his fingers together as they lay flat and clasped together, mulling over what he had just been told.

After just a minute or two, he said with a heavy drawn out sigh, "You know...this might've not happened if we transferred said 'Punisher' to Stealth Force after the Ahijados' battle. THEN she would've been confined at worst, and protected from such forces at best," he looked at Avaron coldly, then turning to Kukkyōna lightly growling before continuing, "BUT! Seeing as things have already been set in motion, time is of the essence, yes? I'm already coming up with theories as we speak as to what their plans are, and IF they are linked to our enemy's as of now, then it would definitely be my duty to see this through personally," he said as he straightened up on his seat, looking them all over a few scrutinizing times.

This gave Daisuke chills, but also alarmed him by what he said. "Wait a minute! You're actually-"

"-Intending to leave my laboratory? Young Hayate...you have much to learn. If all a Captain had to do was sit around behind a desk or in a dark dungeon all day long, we'd grow weak and fat, purposeless and without identity, something that our dear Central 46 is already doing pretty well," he scorns, lightly smiling but frowning at the mention of the his personally dreaded set of politics.

"Are you sure you can make the trip?" Kukkyōna asked quizzidly, crossing his arms as he wondered if the Captain could usher such a journey or not, being one who wasn't present at his Captain Examination nor knowing the full potential of his skill or prowess beyond his intelligence.

"You wound me, dear Captain Hayate," he said with a low chuckle, flashing perfectly set pearly white teeth, before standing up before them on the screen, saying proudly, "if I'm not Captain of the 12th Division, 3rd Generational Head of the Department of Research and Devlopment, as well as President and founder of the Deep Cover Ops program, then I'd be a fool not to miss a wonderful opportunity to preserve all mankind, both mortal and soul alike! I'll be sure to bring her along, since that is what you were requesting in the first place," he chuckled, eyeing up Daisuke a few glances, muttering, "she'll be certainly glad to see you, young Hayate."

"I can't wait," Daisuke chuckled back, but felt a chill run up his spine as he rubbed his wrists together uncomfortably in the gaze of the eery Captain.

Bristling a little at the clear insult towards competence, Avaron couldn't hide the scowl that crossed over her face. She opened her mouth to speak, a slight skepticism within her tone. "Yes, well--"

"DOMINATED! Take that, ya twinkle-toed Barry Bonds muppet!!!"

"--...." Avaron slapped a face to her palm, lowering her head down in sheer embarrassment. "I'm going to kill the one who convinced me to install that on the network...." She muttered lowly, shaking her head at Braeburn's antics.

Daisuke sighed, before flicking his middle finger at the turned back of Braeburn, ushering a silent Hado #1 at the back of his head in order for him to faceplant on the computer console he was messing with, saying aloud, "You sure you're going to be alright without us, Avaron?"

Kukkyōna then concluded his conversation with Captain Kaze, turning around to the group, crossing his arms, saying, "We can expect him within a few hours. Don't ask how he can, just know due to the wide reach of the Deep Cover Ops, his reach is even farther as well as his transportation around Soul Realms. We should get prepared in the time being."

"OW!!"

The technique worked. Braeburn's face automatically hit the keyboard, eliciting the yelp of pain from him. Immediately, he jerked himself up from the screen, eyes comically swirling in a dazed manner and his hands gripping the sides of his temples. The display caused Avaron to chuckle a little at his misfortune, but she immediately turned her attention back to Daisuke. "I've lived this far into my career, I'm pretty sure some more dramatic hours wouldn't kill me." She answered easily. "And as for you, Captain Hayate...." She smoothly turned herself towards him in order to give him her undivided attention. "You happen to have anything in mind on how we should do that, specifically?"

Kukkyōna answered without skipping a beat, "I know Yurei has access to Soul Reaper resources of your own. Bring whatever equipment and medical supplies we can carry on a light load with us, as well as possible weapons or gear that would be manageable that we'd be accustomed to."

Daisuke snickered at the sight of Braeburn's antics, before moving back over to Avaron, saying, "It'd be pretty funny if we had some tech of yours that would make any that the good Captain Sasayaki had brought irrelevant."

This caused Avaron herself to grin out of slight cockiness, and she even added in a short laugh. "I wouldn't be surprised if he brought anything just to purposefully outdo me. After all, I did crack what was supposed to be next to impossible-to-crack encryption keys...."

Daisuke grinned back, chuckling as he wagged a finger, saying, "To be fair, the dear Captain's decryption codes are a bit of a prototype. He only put them into production, or so they say, about 6 months ago, hence all the bugs and kinks in decrypting the information."

Kukkyōna sighed briefly before letting his arms drop, saying, "I'll leave you to that. For now, I'd like a moment to commune in tranquility. Is there a place with little to know thru-traffic and little sound, Captain Avaron?"

Avaron shrugged lightly. "Well, there is the library. It's usually quiet, and the number of people who go there daily are pretty much little to none." She answered immediately.

Kukkyōna nodded to her, before saying to Daisuke, "I'd think it best if you meditate as well, Daisuke. The mission we are about to undertake is one of the most dangerous you ever will face. Failing in Hell, means not only your personal damnation, but possible collapse of all delicate balance in the universe of both the Living and Spiritual Worlds."

Daisuke looked down, grasping the hilt of his Zanpakuto, before saying aloud, "I know, father. I'll...find my own solace with him as well."

Kukkyōna nodded to him before swiftly walking out of the computer area, with Daisuke left with the Avaron and Braeburn.

Daisuke then asked Avaron briefly, but hesitantly, "Is there...another place where I can take some time to meditate with my Zanpakuto?"